Re: Field Marshal Games Pieces Project Discussion thread

So… have the decisions about what specific ships/ planes/ tanks will be used for all of the other countries yet?  What about what order they will be released in? If not, I have my own thoughts about these issues, but I’m not sure if it’s a fait accompli (or, for that matter, if this is the right thread for throwing in my 2 cents…)

@DrLarsen:

So… have the decisions about what specific ships/ planes/ tanks will be used for all of the other countries yet?  What about what order they will be released in? If not, I have my own thoughts about these issues, but I’m not sure if it’s a fait accompli (or, for that matter, if this is the right thread for throwing in my 2 cents…)

All the sculpts have been chosen at this time.  As you can see this thread is now 40 pages long!  I will reveal each as it is going into the mould…

Maybe these will be ready just in time for Christmas :-D

So do you have any sort of date on which you will begin to take pre-orders?

@C_Strabala:

So do you have any sort of date on which you will begin to take pre-orders?

I am waiting on the factory to finish the samples of ITALY.  Once I have something physical to show I will put up the pre-order page.  This first set is taking longer than expected.

I am told to await news for something big very soon.

I will share the moment I have it!

What the heck, I’ll throw in my 2 cents anyway, since their might always be more projects along these lines, even if this one is already set in granite…

Before I go into the nitty gritty’s, though, to get to my absolute, bottom line, highest priorities, what I want the most are:

1. Heavy tanks for those that did have them (or could have had them, in the case of US M-26 Pershings…) , esp. the JS-2, Tiger (I or II, whichever) and M-26 Pershing.

2. “Normal” battleships and carriers for the Japanese (Soryu/Hiryu/Unryu class carriers, perhaps, and any of the 4 classes of famous  “pagoda-mast” battleships.)

3. Paratroopers (with their unique helmets and weapons) and other elite infantry (USMC, SNLF, SS, Commandos, etc.)

4. And… I see that there are already plans for a range of at least 3 aircraft classes per country, which I wholeheartedly support.

So here’s my current wish list:

Soviet Union
Infantry 1: Naval Infantry (NI) Paratrooper [?]
Infantry 2: Helmetless [WITH USHANKA] with SCOPED mosin-nagant
Artillery: 76-mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) or  122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30)
Mech: T-60
Tank 1: BT light tank
Tank 2: JS-2
Fighter: Ilyushin IL-2
Bomber: PETLAYAKOV PE-2 [?]

Germany
Infantry 1: Fallschirmjager
Infantry 2: Has Stg44 or FG42
Artillery: 10.5 cm
Mech: Sdkfz 251
Tank 1: Panzer II or Panzer II or Panzer IV
Tank 2: Tiger I or Tiger II
Fighter: Fw190
Bomber: He111

United Kingdom
Infantry 1: Paratroop Helmet with sten submachinegun
Infantry 2: with lend-lease tommygun or australian infantry
Artillery: 25 pounder [non-SP]
Mech: Universal Carrier
Tank 1: Cromwell
Tank 2: Comet
Fighter: Hawker Hurricane
Bomber: Avro Lancaster

Japan
Infantry: SNLF or para (w/ Type 100 smg)
Infantry: winter get-up [?]
Artillery: Type 38 75 mm Field Gun or Type 91 10cm Howitzer
Mech: Type 1 Ho-Ha
Tank 1: Type 3 Chi-Nu Medium Tank (Closest the to a Japanese “heavy” tank that went beyond the prototype stage)
Tank 2: Type 97 Chi-Ha
Fighter: Nakajima Ki-43
Bomber: Kate Torpedo Bomber

United States
Infantry 1: Airborne
Infantry 2: Marine
Artillery: 155 mm
Mech: M3 Halftrack
Tank 1: M3 Stuart
Tank 2: Pershing M26 [MUST DO PERSHING!!!]
Fighter: P-51 or F4U Corsair
Bomber: B-25 or B-29

Looking forward to seeing the Italian minis… would certainly pre-order.

There, I changed it to “Naval Infantry Paratrooper”… is that better?

Note also that, after a little quick artillery research, I changed my “wish list” for artillery.  I disagree with the SP Artillery idea, so I chose the most widely used “normal” artillery piece that I could find info on… In some cases there were two key options, I guess you could say a “heavy” (100-155 mm) and a “light” (70-88 mm), and I wasn’t sure how to choose between them.  It might be interesting to have, say, a “standard” and a “heavy” alternative for each but… How to do this?

It’s tempting to say to go with something heavier for the axis (which already have 70 mm and 88 mm pieces from AH) and lighter for the allies (who are already all using the 105 mm), except that there doesn’t seem to be any lighter US gun that the community sees as sufficiently “iconic…”  Add this to the fact that the 105 mm AH scupt is already rather tiny and the 88mm sculpt is kind of biggish in comparison, and… what to do, what to do?

I tried to pick both a “heavy” and a “light” tank for each that hadn’t already been done by AH, but this was problematic for Japan, who didn’t have anything larger than the Type 3 Chi-Nu (18 tons, 75 mm main armament) that got much beyond the prototype stage.  (The Type 4 Chi-To, 30 tons/ 75 mm got beyond prototype stage, I suppose, but only 2 were actually completed…)

With this exception (and Italy which was even worse off) in mind, having sculpts of the ones that I recomend, added to the AH ones already out there, would allow for 3 levels of tanks for each major power: light, medium and heavy… though perhaps this is “overkill…”

So… which thread is it?

Oh, and for the record, what I was talking about, primarily, is how to have more gradations of unit types in several categories, not just infantry:

Air: fighter, Tac Bomber & LR Bomber (which I guess might be solved by the AA40 roll-outs anyway)

Armor: light, medium & heavy (which I definitely hope this project contributes to)

Artillery: light & heavy

Infantry: standard, elite & para

For me, the whole purpose of this project is to try to get some of these sorts of finer distinctions for “advanced” or house rules versions, otherwise it’s just a matter of aesthetics.  I already do much of this sort of thing using TT, TWG, alternate-color AH, HO’s, Eagle, and/or Zeno pieces, but the FM project is exciting to me chiefly because it could provide new and/or better possibilities for these sorts of things (in plastic, w/o having to resort to ridiculously expensive and often fragile metal).

You neither answered my question nor addressed my main point.

The Spetsnaz discussion did start to get off track… and was moved to its own thread accordingly!  Since it was 40 pages long already (and yes, I took the time to read ALL of them, though it took me a while) I’d say the thread had gotten, let’s say, unwieldy, months ago, but I attribute this mainly to FMG’s continuing to put us off, month after month.  Perhaps we should have a new sticky thread just for the “ever upcoming Italians…”

However, since there’s absolutely nothing more to say about the “new Italians” until FMG finally deigns to show us something, right now I’m much more interested in hearing various views on the different approaches to unit gradations/ variations that I referred to in my previous post… (And which I do hope will be addressed in FMG’s announced “complete” package that was the original focus of the thread.)

I have a question, Is FMG, in addition to providing the units, also writing rules/stats for these new units? Or is it where we get the units & houserule them in ourselves?

@C_Strabala:

I have a question, Is FMG, in addition to providing the units, also writing rules/stats for these new units? Or is it where we get the units & houserule them in ourselves?

I think the best place to find house rules for extra units is here!  Members of this community can do that and already do in a separate section of this Forum.

Italian units would make a nice Christmas gift, Don’t you think?

@Brain:

Italian units would make a nice Christmas gift, Don’t you think?

I wish!  I don’t think everyone understands how EPIC a project like this is…  how expensive and how much time it takes.

We are moving as fast as we can.  They will be out 2010 100%

I’ll probably be broke until after Christmas anyway.

@FieldMarshalGames:

@Brain:

Italian units would make a nice Christmas gift, Don’t you think?

I wish!  I don’t think everyone understands how EPIC a project like this is…  how expensive and how much time it takes.

We are moving as fast as we can.  They will be out 2010 100%

I can empathize with you man, Projects slipping to the right is just a natural part of business. Usually people underestimate the work required during the planning stage, key people are away, or certain supplies can’t deliver on time etc etc.

It’s just part and parcel of business and business planning. I do commend you on fronting up here and informing your customer base of the delays though, good man.

I know the guys at FMG aren’t just screwing around. If it were up to them, the pieces would be on the market now. I just want to commend them for their great work and their commitment to the A&A community. Let us not forget how WotC has treated us……

FMG PROJECT UPDATE

The first test Sculpts are coming out!  Once I have the FULL Italian set ready I will post a picture on the AA50 board and some comparison shots with the original pieces.

This is the FIRST one complete and ready for production.  This is a blown up image to show detail.  The unit is in the standard AAA Tank unit size.  The production units will of course be made in COLOR… as this test sculpt is just made in Grey plastic.

ENJOY!