Welcome to 'Seize the Day'
German Pz V 'Panther'
Welcome to my World War II miniatures wargaming website. This site represents my first steps in this particular period of history (of which I have little or no previous experience) and it went live on 13th May, 2006.
30 years ago I dabbled in WW2 using Battle! Practical Wargaming rules from the book by Charle's Grant. On the floor of our bedroom, my brother and I used plastic figures from Airfix and some poorly modelled tanks to fight over terrain that took a real effort of imagination to accept! We had some fun but never realised that we were just scratching the surface of the hobby.
Wargaming has come a long way since then and time has come full circle to bring me back to this period of gaming all these years later. This site is my attempt to chronicle a more serious look at the period and, hopefully, to recapture some of those exciting days of my childhood. I hope that you find it interesting and useful. Let me know by signing my Guestbook.
Now that I have started in this period I am planning to collect and paint a lot of figures. See my plans for 2009.
Paris, France 1940
There we were, on the Champs Elysées, sat outside of a café drinking wine and making merry. Apart from Steiner we were all in an exuberant mood. France had fallen as easily as the rest and now here we were in Paris.
As we toasted the health of the Fuhrer only Steiner sat solemnley with a glazed look on his face as if he were somewhere else.
"Oh Steiner," I said, "Stop being such a bore."
"Soon my friend we will be fighting again on another front," he said "and it will not always be as easy as this campaign has been."
As I raised my glass to the Fuhrer, Steiner turned to me and raising his own glass he said simply, "Carpe Diem my friend. Seize the Day..."
Currently On My Workbench
US Infantry Battalion
Painting American Infantry
I have completed painting my Pendraken figures and have just started those from Miniature Figurines. I intend to base mixed stands of Pendraken and Minifigs infantry.
When the Minifig figures are completed I need to base all the infantry stands which equates to about two battalions. So, plenty still to do.
Trial Run
This is how my Americans are turning out. This unit was a trial run to test the colour schemes.
Tank Trap
To accompany the entrenchments that I am in the process of producing I am also planning on some scratch-built tank-traps. These will be of use in the various scenarios that call for a defensive posture. I'll be providing a step-by-step guide to how I built and painted them once they are complete.
German Recce Motorcycles
These are Pendraken figures and I have six of them. I'm going to be painting them for use as a Recce unit. They are all without side-cars. I currently have no recce units in my German Battlegroup so these will be a welcome addition.
US 105mm Infantry Guns
These are Minifigs figures and you get three in a pack which is more than I actually need. They are now undercoated and awaiting the first coat of paint. Although I only have one gun in my US Battlegroup I am nonetheless painting all three in anticipation of future expansion of my US forces.
Plans for 2009
So, what's in store for 2009? Well, since I only started collecting World War II figures late in 2008 I have to admit that there's more than enough to keep me occupied . That being said, probably the biggest problem confronting me is prioritizing all the many things that I both want to do and need to do.
10mm Figures
Having now completed relatively small Russian and German forces for late-war Eastern Front I plan on expanding those and adding to the collections so that I can recreate mid-war Eastern front games. Also, I want to be able to use my Germans on the Western Front and have decided to create a late-war American force.
Complete 1000pt late-war Russian battlegroupBuyand paint 2000pt NW-Europe American battlegroup- Expand Eastern-Front late-war Germans to 2000pts: options include adding an Armoured Grenadier Company (3 x SdKfz 251), an independent Tiger Company, SdKfz 234/2 Puma (recon), a
Medium Panzer Company (3 x Pz IV and 1 x Pz V) - Expand late-war Russians to 2000pts: add a second Infantry Battalion, increase T-34/76 to battalion strength, add some artillery and FAO, add a KV-1 Company, add some anti-aircraft, add aircraft and FAC
- Buy figures to create 1000pt Eastern-Front early-war German battlegroup
- Buy figures to create 1000pt Eastern-Front mid-war German battlegroup
- Buy figures to create 1000pt early-war Russian battlegroup
- Buy figures to create 1000pt mid-war Russian battlegroup
Wargames Terrain
I'm woefully short of terrain and this is now a priority. I plan on producing all the terrain listed below in suffient quantities to be able to create a table-top for practically any of the set-piece scenarios in the BKC rules book. I think that creating sufficient numbers and varieties of buildings will be the biggest single task.
- Trees
- Roads
- Rivers
- Barbed Wire
- Minefields
- Entrenchments
- Gun Emplacements
- Buildings
Gaming
This is really the crux of the matter and everything else is being undertaken in order to actually play the game and have some fun! I lack opponents and may well have to be content with playing solo for the most part but I'm trying to entice my two sons and their friends for some games.
- Get to start playing BKC on a regular basis
- Produce Battle Reports and Lessons Learned
