World of Not Painting and FnF

With some well deserved time off of work, I have been busy painting, reading, and trying to get some things done around the house. With the arrival of my parents from the east coast of Canada, I need to get this all out of the way and finished so I can make my way to Historicon relatively 'guilt' free.
Having time off and having friends living close to downtown, it's easy to get a game in at Boutique FDB's (Freres de Bataille) new store. Obviously with the french name, it's a short trip over the bridge into Gatineau Quebec, where they recently moved into their newer, brighter and roomier space. Dennis and myself were eager to trial our Historicon lists and generally talk about our other passion at the moment, World of Not Painting, also known as World of Tanks to everyone else in the Flames of War, or PC gaming community. If you're not a PC gamer, the Xbox 360 will soon have it as well, I know the July 4th weekend was the BETA for the game and so far has had great reviews. The game however will be hosted on a separate server, so right now Xbox vs. PC for World of Tanks is a no go for Wargaming.net

Most Tank Battles End Up Like This

So MattVarnish (Dennis) and myself had a game this Friday as well. We intended to paint a few things, but I had the board set up in my workshop after cleaning it up a bit, so I decided painting could wait and we would play one more time at home before setting off on the road to Virginia for Historicon. We rolled up Cauldron and it went something like this.

So after playing out the game on time, I have a better understanding of a few rules. When you get a chance, have a look for 'leaderless' platoons or units and you'll find that not being able to move is a HUGE problem for armored vehicles! You can fend them off if they come for you, but laying in wait against Germans that Stormtrooper is not a lot of fun and you may not have a lot of opportunity to shoot back! As you saw in the video, there were a few times where the Americans had the Huns on the ropes and during mid game, that door was shut and all they could do was wait for the relentless amount of half-tracks and infantry being thrown at their dug in positions. I'm liking the AT assets that are available to the 82nd, but the firepower 4+ of the M-57 AT guns is tougher than the 3+ that most other AT guns benefit from.

Friday Night Fights takes to the air!

Seven confirmed ground kills during the game.

Dug in paratroopers hold the objective.

The Germans hide out behind the farmhouse.

Looks like I have one less day to get a lot of things done, but my para AT guns are ready for basing, and then they'll get the paint and will give me a chance to finish up two more command stands and the eight tanks I have to get ready. I had started Plastic Soldier Company tanks, but decided to make a deal for some Battlefront ones instead, I'll get them done and primed before I would even have a chance to finish putting the PSC ones together. For those that are lucky enough to be able to travel down to this year's Nationals tournament being held in Virginia, we'll see you there! I look forward to meeting everyone and no doubt having a good time. All of it kicks off on Thursday with the doubles event! Look for updates from Nationals and more while we're on the road.