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i'm coming from 40k, like most players seem to be, and i want to collect a late war soviet tank force. what do i need to buy? theres the main rule book and then the "hand books"- are they like codexes, as in neccessary? or are they just specialized units or rule expansions?

also what scale are the models? would 1/72 scale models work? i'm not a fan of those resin ones FOW makes.

You'll need to just get the main rulebook and possibly Za Stalina, which is mid war Soviet armoured & cavalry formations. Keep in mind that at the moment all published army books (and therefore 90% of most games) are mid-war. Battlefront (makers of FoW) does plan to publish late war army books either at the end of this year or the start of the next. Possibly a revamped main rulebook too, though I'd check out the FoW forum to verify those rumors (my memory sometimes plays tricks on me).

There were, however, late war (and early war) army lists that were once available on the FoW site as PDF's (but have since been taken down in preparation for the expansion). If your local gaming group is doing late war, I'm sure someone will have the late war PDF's. Keep in mind those PDF lists were more experimental/beta tests that these days are rather dated.

Scale wise, FoW is 15mm which translates to 1/100 scale, so no, 1/72 kits will be waaaaaaay to big. As far as the vehicles, I've been quite impressed with Battlefront's resin. They're some of the best sculpts on the market, the castings are usually flawless, go together fast and are easy as heck to paint. Also, their boxed sets and blister packs have everything you need for whatever FoW formation your're putting together. That said, Battlefront isn't the only maker of 15mm WW2 figs and one is spoiled for choices of alternate mfrs. Old Glory's Command Decision line, Old Glory 15's (an entirely separate entity from Old Glory...) Quality Castings, Resistant Roosters and Peter Pig are but a few companies with extensive 15mm WW2 lines. Good luck & happy hunting!


edit: and yes, the army books are just like Codexes, in that they're required to put together the army of your choice. There are some army lists in the back of the main rulebook, but they are woefully out of date, extremely limited and over costed. Grab Za Stalina and get yer T-34 on.  

yeah, the armor is pretty good. however there are litterally hundreds of WWII kits to choose from, and some of them HAVE to be cheaper. and probably more available. also the infantry look horrible, although i havnt seen them in person. i'm sure when they're not zoomed in hardcore they look better.

is there any hope for Japanese? me and some freinds were thinking of an alternative history campaign, where the bomb was never dropped, focusing on soviet versus japanese battles in manchuria.

how easy is it to write new rules for the game? i love Red Alert and a Red Alert mod with tesla tanks and mammoth tanks would be fun.

If you send me a PM, I'll try to e-mail you the late war Soviet briefing (I'm pretty sure it has been taken down by now). It isn't particularly well polished though, and as noted, due for replacement.

Japanese? No, it seems the FoW team are going to be focusing on Europe for the next few years. However, check out the FoW forums, as there is a semi-reasonable set of unofficial rules put together. If you ask nicely, they might tell you where to find them.

WRT the alternate history thing... I think that would be staggeringly boring to be honest. During the Manchurian campaign the Japanese forces were completely hosed. It is hard to imagine that they could have put a better fight even if they hadn't been nuked.

The rules are not hard to mod, but doing it well takes some skill (the system is abstract, so solutions can be a bit abstract too). The FoW Modern mod I worked on for a while, which has now becoming something of a train wreck, are testament to this.

I agree with Smilin' Dave, I'd hate to be the Japanese player in the scenario your suggesting. The Russians consistently thrashed them in Manchuria as they had vastly superior armaments. A Chi-ha is no match for a T-70 much less a T-34 or any of Stalins super nasty heavy tanks.

The only reason they gave the Allies a problem in the pacific was they forced us to dig each and every one of them out of some very, very extensive fortifications scattered over hundreds of islands. Add to that being in some very inhospitable terrain that Europeans & Americans simply weren't acclimated to (IIRC, non-combat casualties were much, much higher in the pacific due to things like malaria and such). But I digress!

Yes, you can definitely find plenty of 15mm WW2 minatures/models out there. Old Glory even has a big sale going on right now (40% off! w00t!), and even when not on sale their prices are a little bit cheaper than Battlefronts. Be quick! That sale ends this week, midnight Eastern Standard Time this Thursday to be exact. My personal favorite are Quality Casting's vehicles, available via Old Glory 15s. Do note that both Old Glory & Quality Castings vehicles are true 15mm, and as such will look slightly smaller aside Battlefront's stuff.

Infantry wise, I really do think Battlefront's figures are the best, hands down. Keep in mind these figs *are* tiny (15mm!), and as such, any detail is going to be a bit hamfisted when super duper zoomed in. When viewing 12" away, and even more so several feet away, such details are unnoticible. Thier infantry packs also contain everything you need to build whatever squad/platoon/company you're putting together. Also, like the vehicles, Battlefront's infantry is a bit beefier than Old Glory & Quality Castings (both of whom have okay/decent infantry, and great for all the extra poses).

I also really like what I've seen coming from Resistant Roosters. The figs look gorgeous and from those that have seen them first hand, they match Battlefront's scale. And, something I think you'll appreciate, they have Japanese and will soon have Soviet Naval troops. Another fave infantry mfgr is Peter Pig, whose sculpts I'd say are second only to Battlefront's, and quite possibly their equal. The facial details can be a bit soft, but (again) at this scale it's not that much of a detractor. Lots of variety, scale is comparable (kinda inbetween OG/QC and FoW) and fairly priced. Peter Pigs vehicles are also quite nice and are the same size (even bigger) than Battlefronts, but they are expensive.

Well, that gives ya some places to look! You might also want to check out WarWeb.com, which is an online retailer that carries both Old Glory and Quality Casting lines as well as the FoW books (but not the miniatures). Enjoy!

If your in the New Hampshire area Empire Does demos on saturdays and has every mid war item and some late on the shelfs to look at....