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So, given the way GW has been going lately, I've decided to look into Flames of War and I have a few questions.

1) I know the game is divided up into Early Mid and Late War, but what years are each session? When I hear those phrases I think 39-41, 42-44, 44-45 respectiely.

2) How different is painting 15 mm tanks and infantry from painting 25 mm? Can I use my GW primer and paints on the 15 mills just as well?

3) I'm thinking of either doing Soviet or Wehrmacht. When I think of a Soviet WW2 army, I see hordes of infantry supporting T-34s, while ungodly numbers of Katyushas and other heavy artillery pound the enemy to bits. When I think of a WW2 German army I see small squads of infantry supporting Panzer IVs, with a few Flak 88s and Tigers tossed in for good measure.

Can I do this in Flames of War?

Thank you.

1. I believe you are correct in the Era's dates.

2. I haven't gotten to painting my models yet, but as a 28mm gamer, trust me when I say I've looked into this.

GW primer is fine. The paints are ok as well, but you may have trouble producing historically accurate shades.

There are also different methods to painting. One is placing the models on a Popsicle stick or nailhead, and painting one at a time. Another method is simply placing them on their bases and then painting once the base has been modelled.

3. Again, you're correct. If you're going for Soviets, prepare to paint a lot of miniatures. When other factions group their units as platoons, the Soviets use entire companies.

The germans will, at least in mid/late war, be the most expensive army in points. They will be veterans and have access to some pretty heavy firepower. Tiger's can be overkill when facing Americans/Brits, and swarms of T34-85's will quickly flank, even if it costs them a couple of tanks. When facing Soviet heavy tanks, however, Tigers really come into their own.

A note about artillery. It really isn't something you should rely on during the game to kill units. With infantry having a 3+ save and an access of ways to make them harder to hit, artillery will really shine when your trying to pin a unit or two down.

ChrisWWII wrote:So, given the way GW has been going lately, I've decided to look into Flames of War and I have a few questions.

1) I know the game is divided up into Early Mid and Late War, but what years are each session? When I hear those phrases I think 39-41, 42-44, 44-45 respectiely.

2) How different is painting 15 mm tanks and infantry from painting 25 mm? Can I use my GW primer and paints on the 15 mills just as well?

3) I'm thinking of either doing Soviet or Wehrmacht. When I think of a Soviet WW2 army, I see hordes of infantry supporting T-34s, while ungodly numbers of Katyushas and other heavy artillery pound the enemy to bits. When I think of a WW2 German army I see small squads of infantry supporting Panzer IVs, with a few Flak 88s and Tigers tossed in for good measure.

Can I do this in Flames of War?

Thank you.

1) Early War is 39-41, Mid War is 42-43, Late War is 44-45.

2) Painting is painting still; but since you're doing 15mm, it's smaller, so it takes less paint to do them. I've found I probably spend more time basing the models more than anything else. However, primer still works fine as I use a combo of GW Citadel Paints and Vallejo Paints.

3) I think you're spot-on here; The Germans have the smaller, more elite units as opposed to the Russian hordes. Typically, you're paying for more skilled units with Heer forces (German) and even more if you go SS. Russians have Red Army and Guards forces, but nothing in the veteran category like the Germans do.

Additionally, German units are organized into platoons (the default combat unit in FoW) and their squad sizes vary depending on type of unit. Russian infantry are organized into company-sized units (but still count as platoons for FoW FOC purposes) as are their tanks. Other lists do this as well, like Italian Fucilieir/Bersaglieri (infantry), Romanians, Hungarians, and Poles.

When running artillery units, like the previous poster mentioned, is good for pinning infantry or using smoke to blind other units (like tanks or at-guns) or make them move, cutting down their rate-of-fire. It can be used against armor, since it hits the top-armor rating of the vehicle, but you'll find that it's nothing to depend on.

The Tigers are good (especially when you have Tiger-Ace skills) but tend to be expensive in Mid-War. Late War, they're cheaper and can really kill their fair share of tanks. Panthers work too. Though in Late War, you'll have Königstigers (Tiger-II's) as well which are beasts, but expensive.

However, it's all good.....depending on which era you want to run in and which battle briefings you take (army/campaign books).

How easy are the rules to pick up coming from a WFB/40k background?

ThirdUltra wrote:

Additionally, German units are organized into platoons (the default combat unit in FoW) and their squad sizes vary depending on type of unit. Russian infantry are organized into company-sized units (but still count as platoons for FoW FOC purposes) as are their tanks. Other lists do this as well, like Italian Fucilieir/Bersaglieri (infantry), Romanians, Hungarians, and Poles.

Small nitpick. Hungarians aren't fielded in battalions, they're still fielded as companies, with an organization very much similar to the Germans.

Ralin Givens wrote:How easy are the rules to pick up coming from a WFB/40k background?

Quite easy. The assault phase is very different though...bloodier

Ralin Givens wrote:How easy are the rules to pick up coming from a WFB/40k background?

Not terribly hard. Many of the fundamentals are the same, but I personally feel the FoW rules are more... Liberating. You have far more control over who can shoot at what. For example, platoons can split fire at enemy units, so that anti tank fire doesn't get wasted being shot at infantry if everyone else in the platoon shoots at infantry. There are also far more rules concerning what models can be pulled after a unit takes casualties.

I find the rulebook a slightly harder read than the WH40K rulebook. It isn't organized nearly as well, and the index and table of contents are lacking, making the book somewhat hard to constantly reference. That said, the rules themselves are well written.

Hmmm...sounds pretty good so far. I'll probably be picking up FoW once I get some more money on my hands instead of just buying more 40k stuff.

I just picked up a early war german army and a early war french army, and all the books i need i think, i will let yah know how it goes

Ralin Givens wrote:How easy are the rules to pick up coming from a WFB/40k background?

Forget what you learned in 40k. The FoW rules are much better written and much more realistic. 40k will give you the basic understanding of the necessary gaming lingo, though.

Skriker



Automatically Appended Next Post:

Commander Endova wrote:
I find the rulebook a slightly harder read than the WH40K rulebook. It isn't organized nearly as well, and the index and table of contents are lacking, making the book somewhat hard to constantly reference. That said, the rules themselves are well written.

That is actually kind of interesting, because I feel the exact opposite. I think the FoW rulebook is better organized and its index is more useful than the 40k one. Hahahahaha...I also find that once you grasp the concepts of the FoW rules there is less need to refer back to the book. Seems no matter how often I play 40k multiple times a rule needs to be looked at because people don't interpret the rules the same way. Rules in FoW are much clearer from that respect.

I do agree with the liberating comment, which I seem to have clipped out of the quote, oops!! It always struck me as a really stupid in 40k that a unit that has heavy and non-heavy weapons in it cannot split their fire. Oh the guy with lascannon is shooting at the tank. We can't hurt the tank, but we'll just watch him and not shoot at the threatening infantry squad that is also nearby. It also struck me as pretty stupid that if a unit is surrounded by multiple enemy units it can only shoot at one of them. In FoW I like the fact that every stand/vehicle in my platoon can shoot at whatever the heck it wants if need be.

Skriker