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So after GW announced the self-destructing doomsday device set to go off this June, I'm considering taking my tabletop gaming elsewhere, with a company that supports its consumers and not take a log on them. And Flames of War appeals to me as a tabletop fan and military strategy/history fan. I probably won't hop on the FOW wagon just yet, but I do have some pressing questions I wish answered.

1) I'm considering building a Soviet army, probably MW. What's a good way to start?
2) What are the strengths and weaknesses of such said army?
3) If I have a friend who decides to play American, can I take him on in a game? Or is that a big no-no since they're actually allies?
4) What paint line is recommended?

I think that's it for my questions. Many thanks in advance!

1) Look online at Zvesda, Plastic Soldier Company, Point of Contact, Forged in Battle. They are comparable models to the BF line but much CHEAPER. Zvesda being out of Russia so they may possibly make more Soviet stuff. And these smaller companies usually make better models.

2) Soviets strength is in their numbers. You field Battalions of infantry where other armies field companies. Whatever type of list you take you're going to outnumber your opponent in model count. (Using PSC, Zvesda, Forged in Battle, Point of Contact models will save you a lot of money)

3) The rules are built so that any army that's MW can face off against any MW army and not be at a disadvantage. Any army can fight anyone, but stay within the same period otherwise someone is going to be at a large disadvantage. So unless you're playing strictly historical scenarios you won't have a problem playing against an American opponent. Most tournaments also try and pair Axis v Allies if at all possible.

4) FoW actually has their own paints, that come in sets for about $20USD. They make them for every major army. They are P3 (Vallejo) paints though if I'm not mistaken. If you currently use GW paints there are charts online that convert the titles of GW to Vallejo.


ALSO: Look at Easyarmy.com.
It allows you to build lists out of the base rulebook for free and for only a small price ($1 or $2 USD) you can unlock the lists from each compilation. It's very, very useful. Can build some lists to see what you like and then help decide which models you will need to purchase.

If you have any more questions I'd be glad to try and help.

What makes the soviet great is there numbers pure and simple.
Always max out there numbers.

Thank you very much! This was very informative.

 BattleCapIronblood wrote:
So after GW announced the self-destructing doomsday device set to go off this June, I'm considering taking my tabletop gaming elsewhere, with a company that supports its consumers and not take a log on them. And Flames of War appeals to me as a tabletop fan and military strategy/history fan. I probably won't hop on the FOW wagon just yet, but I do have some pressing questions I wish answered.

1) I'm considering building a Soviet army, probably MW. What's a good way to start?
2) What are the strengths and weaknesses of such said army?
3) If I have a friend who decides to play American, can I take him on in a game? Or is that a big no-no since they're actually allies?
4) What paint line is recommended?

I think that's it for my questions. Many thanks in advance!

I've recently been getting into the game, switched over from 40k.

1) Look at the plastic soldier company models. base the army off that... and I find the game is really only interesting when you have mix of everything, not just tanks. Look at lists on EasyArmy.com to see how you build it. Then you just need to grab a rulebook. T-34's, masses of infantry, keep it simple with plenty of models and it will be fun to learn.

2) as above, numbers.... that's why you use the cheaper PSC models.

3) Alternative history! US and soviets were at each others throats after the war. Maybe stalin was so offended by his treatment by the allies that he decided to push on through and just take the rest of Europe. (I'd recommend late war though... seems to be the most popular especially for noobs)

4) Painting Soviets is easy, you can use any mini paints.... vallejo is probably your best buy. I use vallejo model air, but I have an airbrush.

Coming from 40k too, I always think of the Russian style of play being like Orks in 40k.

The Russians have the potential of fielding big blocks of troops, and they have a few special rules that give them a boost in assaults.

Which company would you say makes the cheapest ones?

PSC simply because they are plastic kits.

 BattleCapIronblood wrote:
So after GW announced the self-destructing doomsday device set to go off this June, I'm considering taking my tabletop gaming elsewhere, with a company that supports its consumers and not take a log on them. And Flames of War appeals to me as a tabletop fan and military strategy/history fan. I probably won't hop on the FOW wagon just yet, but I do have some pressing questions I wish answered.

1) I'm considering building a Soviet army, probably MW. What's a good way to start?
2) What are the strengths and weaknesses of such said army?
3) If I have a friend who decides to play American, can I take him on in a game? Or is that a big no-no since they're actually allies?
4) What paint line is recommended?

I think that's it for my questions. Many thanks in advance!

What's GW doing in June?

And I completely agree with everyone about checking out Plastic Soldier Company and their Battlegroup Kursk rules - they're superb. FoW's ethics have a lot in common with GW so I'd stay clear...

 eorltheyoung wrote:
FoW's ethics have a lot in common with GW so I'd stay clear...

FoW has had a few PR slip ups, it's true. The change in policy for BF models at tournaments (which they loosened up on within a matter of days) being the most glaring and unfortunate example. On the other hand, I don't see GW giving away free rulebooks for two editions in a row, or posting a multitude of free, tournament legal army lists on their website. Or releasing new army books without invalidating any old ones. The FOW guys also interact directly with players on their forums on a regular basis. GW doesn't even have forums.

BF is absolutely not perfect and they have their issues, but comparing them to GW isn't really fair.


As to the questions:

1. Soviets, particularly in MW are going to be a horde army. You can mitigate this slightly by upgrading to Guards, but it's still going to be on the large side in terms of model count. This is of course, one of their strengths.

What kind of an army are you interested in? Mostly tanks? Mostly infantry? Lots of artillery? Cavalry (Soviets have that too)? A mix?

The existence of easyarmy.com (almost free army builder) is a very nice thing (imagine that with GW? no.). There is no ownership of IP for WW2 so, no wild pricing. Also, WW2 gaming will never be as big as sci-fi or fantasy gaming, so the company will always be forced to listen to and serve their customer base to some extent.

Not to mention, there are alternative WW2 rulesets that work fine in the same scale if you ever need to switch over for some reason, or even if you like something different. I just play the battlefront rules because they are the most popular, they are pretty good rules (especially compared to GW), and are comprehensive (covering everything in the war, pretty much).

 eorltheyoung wrote:

 BattleCapIronblood wrote:
So after GW announced the self-destructing doomsday device set to go off this June, I'm considering taking my tabletop gaming elsewhere, with a company that supports its consumers and not take a log on them. And Flames of War appeals to me as a tabletop fan and military strategy/history fan. I probably won't hop on the FOW wagon just yet, but I do have some pressing questions I wish answered.

1) I'm considering building a Soviet army, probably MW. What's a good way to start?
2) What are the strengths and weaknesses of such said army?
3) If I have a friend who decides to play American, can I take him on in a game? Or is that a big no-no since they're actually allies?
4) What paint line is recommended?

I think that's it for my questions. Many thanks in advance!

What's GW doing in June?

And I completely agree with everyone about checking out Plastic Soldier Company and their Battlegroup Kursk rules - they're superb. FoW's ethics have a lot in common with GW so I'd stay clear...

They announced a new policy that prohibits the sale of GW products by online retailers. This is the reason why MiniWarGaming is closing its stores come that date. It also means no more discounts on their models from other retailers and all online sales are to be made on the GW website at full price.

You can build a tankovy with Zvezda and PSC models only for around 100GBP
That way you also get 76mm and 85mm turrets making it a good MW and LW list.

 BattleCapIronblood wrote:
FoW's ethics have a lot in common with GW so I'd stay clear...

Don't listen to this guy, I guess bandwagon hatred for the big player in the market is fairly contagious. BF (the makers of FoW) practices are NOTHING like Games Workshop, prices are often quoted to be high compared to other companies but BF doesn't care if you buy from said rivals. They also actively interact with the community, hell, the owner of BF stops in my FLGS and runs/plays games from time to time. Bring in your old rulebook from a previous edition and BF updates you to a smaller version of the new rules for free