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i want to start a british army, with mostly infantary but i'm not sure what to start with. I think the parachute guys are cool though.please help as i don't want to spend loads just to find what i've got is the wrong thing. thanks

First step, get a rule-book. You can find the V3 mini-rule book online for cheap. Get it and then get it spiral bound. Trust me, good investment. It's cheaper than the hard-backed book and has the same information (no lists, but that's why you have Easy-Army).

First step part 2, go on EasyArmy.com and look at some of the different lists you can make. Find one that is cool to you. You can buy lists from other books if you find something really cool sounding or from a specific theater you want to fight, but the Vanilla Rule-Book lists perform just fine if you aren't sure you want to keep playing.

Second, get it out of your head that this is 40k. It's not, and thus there are very few "bad units". Most everything is a workable choice, and of course some are weaker than others but nothing is particularly OP or UP. In my opinion, there is a nice balance right now but YMMV.

And always look into other makers. Remember, this isn't 40k or a GW game, so that you don't have to use Battlefronts minis. You can if you want, and they aren't too bad, but there are other cheaper options. Look at companies like Plastic Soldier Company and Forged In Battle.

As someone who plays British, I can help you with some particular list choices. I've been playing Battlegroup so I'm a bit rusty on FoW, but I still know my stuff.

For the first models i was thinking of getting it's a bit of a toss up between the simple rifle company and a parachute company. Any recomendations?
Bearing in mind i have no real clue how this game works at this stage. a friend of mine has all the rule books and things which is why i'm thinking about this.


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Also how many companies make up an army

Well that depends. Para's are infantry heavy, Veteran soldiers that are hard to dislodge when dug in. Normal Rifles aren't Veterans (the rule book makes this distinction in game terms, very important) but have many more Combined Arms options. It's a toss-up, but normal rifles are able to get a more balanced force I find. I'm sure someone else can give a much more in-depth distinction between them, but for the most part Infantry armies are very defensive. Dug-In Veteran soldiers are difficult to move without a lot of fire-power, so that is a plus. But, they're slow compared to tanks so a tank force is better for attacking. Really, having both is the best but hey it's your army.

Also, you only command a Company. One company is your entire army (unless you play Soviets). A company is made up of Platoons, which are the units you give orders to

ok.
i've had a look at the easy army website, and think i might start with something like a rifle company with an aircraft - a typhoon - and a parachute platoon as support. Then get some anti armour maybe.


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Also what book should i look at to find the unit stats, like the typhoons.

Okay,

On Easy-Army if you make the list, and go to the "print list" screen it will give you a chart of your list and all the unit stats at the bottom. Without the rule-book, those probably won't mean much to you so I suggest getting one (helps a lot, because now you can tell exactly how good that 11 or 13 is or the difference between limited or priority air support).

So, make up a list and post it. Anti-Armor isn't a maybe, it's a positive. There are a ton of tank lists, you need to be able to counter that. Infantry are poor at countering tanks outside of assaults, and that's a big risk to take.

So pretty much make a list up and post it, and we'll see how to make it better/improve.

There are no lists with British rifle and para's in (other than the odd platoon)

I play both armies, British paras are very very forgiving as a new player, but you will have limited options. I'd start by looking at the british para list in market garden as they have excellent options. 75mm howitzers, 6pdrs are the key there.

The Brit infantry list is more versatile though as they can also be poles, Canadians, Czech welsh, Scottish!

Best list I think is Canadian infantry, a couple of platoons, with APC's (ram kangaroo) and then shermans backing them up ( again use the market garden book )

Hope it helps

Agreed Canadians are rather awesome!

Although, I believe he meant British Rifles and American Para's. If he didn't, then yeah the "Para Rifle Platoon" in the Brit Rifle list is actually Americans. Has to do with Market Garden I believe.

the list I was thinking of starting with is:

rife company HQ - 25
rifle platoon x2 - 280
heavy Anti-tank platoon - 175
typhoon air support - 170

total - 650

then I was thinking of adding

sniper team - 50
universal carrier-95
2x .50 cal MG
1x PIAT
parachute rifle platoon-205

total - 1000

also do you know any good websites to get Scottish models off of.

The first list could be if you where using the Market Garden book:

Company HQ - 50
Rifle Platoon w/ three platons each x2 - 380
Heavy Anti tank (17pdrs) - 190
Typhoon (Priority Air) - 220

Total - 840

Another thing that wasnt mentioned is what Era of the War you are choosing to play, Late?

Yes it is late that i'm playing.
However since i posted that list i've been thinking about what to use and have changed my mind to have an army basic around a british parachute company.
something like:

parachute company HQ
parachute platoon w/3 squad x2
parachute platoon w/2 squad x1
17 pdr gun x2
typhoon limeted air support

total 990

adding in some tanks and commandos afterwards
thoughts, ideas, suggestions?

Go for para's from market garden (British I assume?)

2 platoons
4 6pdrs
8 75mm howitzers with medium support

Trust me this is the best starting point