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I'm looking into flames of war and I have few questions.

1. How similiar is fow to 40k? I looked at fow's main site the boot camp section and it looked pretty similiar.

2. How much does an average army cost (in points and €€) if I only use official models? What the cost will be with other manufacturers?

3. How many models are metal because I would as little metal as possible?

4 How good quality are http://www.zvezda.org.ru/ models compared to gw's epic? (I saw some pics and they looked pretty nice for their scale, I have one 1/35 tank from them and it lacks detail)

5 What kind of armies I'm able to create within the foc? Kult of speed? IG parking lot? Green tide? Deff Swadron? Arabian Lawrence style cavarly force? and how many models each army usually consist (infantry squad is 1 model)

6 How different are each main faction from each other (gameplay wise)? How about minor factions?

7 Is the game good? on scale 1 to 10, 40k is 5


thx in advance

EDIT and can ussr use BT-2?

illuknisaa wrote:I'm looking into flames of war and I have few questions.

1. How similiar is fow to 40k? I looked at fow's main site the boot camp section and it looked pretty similiar.
While there are many similarities, such as the game phases (movement, shooting, assault, etc.). There are also many key differences. For example terrain plays a huge part in FOW, because infantry teams only get 1 save roll per hit. Thus everything is much more squishy.

2. How much does an average army cost (in points and €€) if I only use official models? What the cost will be with other manufacturers?
Depending on where you get your models the prices can very. I would say a starting army could be had for under 100 USD. (Depending on where you get your models.) You can use 3rd party models in FOW, as long as they are to scale ,and are generally correct.

3. How many models are metal because I would as little metal as possible?
Pretty much all of BF minis are metal, while most of the 3rd party stuff is plastic.

4 How good quality are http://www.zvezda.org.ru/ models compared to gw's epic? (I saw some pics and they looked pretty nice for their scale, I have one 1/35 tank from them and it lacks detail)
I don't really have any experience with zvvezda so I can't really comment here.

5 What kind of armies I'm able to create within the foc? Kult of speed? IG parking lot? Green tide? Deff Swadron? Arabian Lawrence style cavarly force? and how many models each army usually consist (infantry squad is 1 model)
You can create a Russian horde army that is very similar to IG,or a German force that is few in number but very experienced. Also it takes 3-5 models (depending on the army list you are using) to create a fire team. The Russians use a crap ton of models, the Germans not so much.

6 How different are each main faction from each other (gameplay wise)? How about minor factions?
Generally speaking. The Russians are horde based. The Germans are quality based. The US/GB are a mixture of the two. The minor factions very wild IMHO. For example the Finish faction have a high moral, and are usually Transvaal. But, finish tanks are ok.

7 Is the game good? on scale 1 to 10, 40k is 5
I'd give it a 5 based on that scale[/red]

thx in advance

EDIT and can ussr use BT-2?

[color=blue]I think the Finish factions gets them ,but not the Soviets IIRC.

I'd recommend this website for figuring out what kind of army you want. Just note that you have to donate 2 per book you want to use. Which is really a bargain. http://easyarmy.com/

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Starting_a_Flames_of_War_Force

read this...Any other questions ask them here I will incorporate them into this article.

mwnciboo wrote:http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Starting_a_Flames_of_War_Force

read this...Any other questions ask them here I will incorporate them into this article.

Very well done article, maybe we should sticky that.

I wish i knew how people stickied stuff, but I would like for all the members of the Dakka FOW to edit in their own pieces/ opinions or even change my own if I have made mistakes, or have failed to be succinct and accurate.

EDIT - Everyone get involved and use this as the framework, add, take away and change as you see fit. Darwinian Evolution should make this article a good one.

Ok another question.

How will the game change if I use 1/72 scale models instead of 15mm? What I've googled people modify ranges with 25% but I'm also interested what will happen if a person with 1/72 scale army fights against 1/100 scale army?

Massive advantage, remember that distances are measured hull to hull, plus area terrain effects etc. You can make it work but it's just a bit of a pot mess.

1/72 vs 1/72 could still work, but mixing scales causes significant, but not insurmountable friction.

personally i would have to give FoW a 6, there is alot less "iffy" stuff than 40k.

on the down side there are not the standardized tournament values like 40k, so its a little harder to pre plan lists.

and the infantry models are metal, and the tanks are mostly resin/metal. but PSC and zvezda are all plastic.

the cost of build an army is just like 40k, the cheapest possible ~1550 list i think is $80 + book. if your going for something very specific obviously your cost could be much higher.

if your going to do armor company using psc expect to be inthe range of $150 for 1500

mwnciboo wrote:Massive advantage, remember that distances are measured hull to hull, plus area terrain effects etc. You can make it work but it's just a bit of a pot mess.

1/72 vs 1/72 could still work, but mixing scales causes significant, but not insurmountable friction.

To whom it would be a massive advantage?

The one who had the 1/72 army. You could be alot closer to enemy at the front of the vehicle, and the back still be within 2" of area terrain stop aircraft Auto ranging in. Equally with a bigger vehicle your distances become skew, line of Sight becomes crazy, (e.g it will hard for the 1/72 to hide, but you gain extra range by your vehicle size when measuring range).

Equally, Artillery templates will you scale it up or down? You get less of 1/72 scale vehicles under a template than 1/100. What about command distance?

True line of sight gets buggered when tank turrents are 1cm higher (clearing walls or low buildings etc).

This is off the top of my head. But believe me if it worked, many players would have exploited this to save money.

illuknisaa wrote:Ok another question.

How will the game change if I use 1/72 scale models instead of 15mm? What I've googled people modify ranges with 25% but I'm also interested what will happen if a person with 1/72 scale army fights against 1/100 scale army?

You really can't cross scales. It messes up the terrain, TLOS, amount of models all that fun stuff. Stick to one scale, 1/100 or 1/87 should do you just fine. Remember different manufactures do different scales so even though it says 1:72 or 1:100 they might not match up againsted the BF stuff.

With stuff in the 15mm range (1:100) it's not that big of a deal though.

One thing to remember FOW and historicals are not like GW games. They might play kinda the same but it's more about telling a story with your models then making the hardest list you can and kicking A## at the local turny. Everyone gets something different out of it. Some guys don't like using army lists and re-create battles from history using what was there at the time. Some people like to do off the wall stuff, some people just like to get together with some friends and toss some dice and some people take it rather sceriously and paint each unit 'correctly' with approperate unit markings and grafitti. No one way is right or wrong, just find a group that thinks like you, have some fun and roll some dice. =o]

On top of the rules etc, have a good read of FoW fan sites. Good examples being www.wwpd.net (many battle reports and podcasts) and Model Dads http://www.modeldads.co.uk/Life-at-the-Front/wordpress/

illuknisaa wrote:I'm looking into flames of war and I have few questions.

1. How similiar is fow to 40k? I looked at fow's main site the boot camp section and it looked pretty similiar.

2. How much does an average army cost (in points and €€) if I only use official models? What the cost will be with other manufacturers?

3. How many models are metal because I would as little metal as possible?

4 How good quality are http://www.zvezda.org.ru/ models compared to gw's epic? (I saw some pics and they looked pretty nice for their scale, I have one 1/35 tank from them and it lacks detail)

5 What kind of armies I'm able to create within the foc? Kult of speed? IG parking lot? Green tide? Deff Swadron? Arabian Lawrence style cavarly force? and how many models each army usually consist (infantry squad is 1 model)

6 How different are each main faction from each other (gameplay wise)? How about minor factions?

7 Is the game good? on scale 1 to 10, 40k is 5


thx in advance

EDIT and can ussr use BT-2?

1) Everything is different, but not all that much. Everything is done with single dice rolls. No D3s or 2D6 tests of any kind.

2) Depends on what kind of army you go for. Armored Companies are cheaper then Infantry, but not by much. Your typical Combat Platoon will run you about $50-75, but you will never need more then 3 and you can easily get by with only 2. $2-300 will easily get you into the 3k range with no need to expand. PSC is much cheaper, but their infantry have poorer detail. Their tanks are an absolute steal for the price.

3) Boy did you pick the wrong game All infantry models are pewter. Vehicles are either completely Resin OR metal/resin hybrids. The metal bits will usually be relativly large pieces like the track assemblys. Artillery pieces are the only multipart metal models they have. They can be a pain to assemble, but bcause the parts are so small your Glue will dry faster and you won't have to hold the pieces as long as you would with 40k.

4) ?

5) The way FoW works is you have a historical company layout for a particular type of company. You then pick a specific historical company(which determines your rating)

For example: In the book Operation Cobra for US armored companies you have a choice between the 2nd Armored "Hell on Wheels" and 3rd Armored "Spearhead" companies. 2nd Armored is rated Confidant Veteran and 3rd Armored is rated Confidant Trained. This determines how much your basic units cost and what certain support options are avaliable to you(based on historical support) the 2nd armored, for instance, can get Rifle Platoons from the 4th infantry division as support whereas the 3rd armored can only have Armored Rifles from its own company.

The closest equivilent to a "Kult of Speed" army would be a Stuart light tank company(found in Turning Tide) which has loads of cheap weak Stuart tanks. They can really only hurt german tanks from the side(and can't hurt Tigers), but they are deadly to Panzers, Stugs, and Panthers because of their numbers.

"Parking lot" would probably be an Armored Rifle company with tank support.

Cavelry forces would be either early war actual cavelry companies(acutal dudes on horses) or Desert companies from North Africa. Just be sure your local group actually plays Desert or Early Ear before buying these forces. There are 4 basic combat periods your force can be from and be compatable with other forces from that same time period. Early War, Mid War, Late War, and Desert. Mid War and Late War are almost completely interchangable with only some slight differences. Early War is a completely different ball game. Desert has the different periods, but the forces should be kept similer because there is some heavy equipment in Europe that Desert companies simply can't deal with.


6) Germany has more mechanized infantry battalions then the other factions. They of course have the big cats and their forces are, overall, more experienced and better motivated then other factions(exceptions apply)

Panzer IVs and Stugs are roughly the equivilent of US Shermen tanks. The Sherman has better side armor, the Stug has better front armor, and both the Stug and Panzer IV have a better gun(although both guns have a very good chance of a kill on the other tank) although the US can upgrade some of their Shermans to carry the 76mm gun which is better then the KwK40 and these Shermans also have the same front armor as a Stug. The German tankers however are more experienced then the US tankers so its roughly a wash.

The US has excellent Air Support(while the Germans have poorer airsupport because of Allied Air Superiority) and while their units are not as experienced as the Germanst they are more numerous and have tons and tons of fancy equipment. Bazookas are handed out like candy while the Germans have to pay alot for their Panzerfausts and Panzershreks(which are better individually)

US infantry also have lots of MGs, including AA .50cals on almost every vehicle.

The British have experienced, and expensive, infantry and tank companies(Irish Guards) They also have the Sherman Firefly which has the deadly 3in gun which can take out Tigers and Panthers at range even against front armor. However it does this while sacrificing HE rounds(Its gun can't hurt Infantry or Gun teams, only vehicles)

the British also have some heavy tanks like the Crocodile, which the deadly german 8.8cm gun(Tiger) simply bounces off. Even the Panthers gun can barely scratch it.

Nearly all the british big anti-tank guns are useless against infantry and gun teams because of the "No HE" special rule(which also applies to their tanks)

Because of this British companies need to have good internal synergy because sometimes their expensive tanks can become expensive MG platforms. One of the regulars here gets really irritated when he plays my German Fallschirmjagers that have no tanks and he brought all these expensive Fireflys.

The Russians are the Horde army in the game. Their units are on average poorly trained with good motivation and they have Kommissars(Which do exactly what they do in 40k) Instead of being companies, Russian FoW forces are Battalions. Their Companies are the equivilant of other nations Platoons.

They run absolutely massive numbers of infantry that are twice as hard to Pin down as other nations infantry, meaning it is difficult to avoid their assaults with defensive fire.

Russian Tanks are run in large numbers as well. They however have the Hens and Chicks special rule which makes them suffer a penelty to hit when moving in addition to reducing their rate of fire. They do have some well armored tanks with some VERY heavy guns.

They also have good artillery support. God of War batteries leave absolute devestation in their wake. They also have rocket batteries.

Grey Templar could you copy and paste some bits out of this post into the article here.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Starting_a_Flames_of_War_Force

Some good points for the FAQ.