All This and World War II...

So why am I naming this blog entry after one of worst cinema flops ever?  I happen to like the title, plus I enjoy the sound track (which I still have on vinyl), and it is actually a very good description of what this entry's topic covers.

All This...

I still have not finished doing the prices for the 25mm to sell so I can get it posted up for people to look at as I have been going through my other scale projects to decide what I want to keep based on storage availability.  I haven't figured out how I a going to store my air or naval models yet, but I got most of what I plan to keep in 15mm and smaller figured out for storage, even if I haven't actually separated them into their storage boxes.

First off, I started to mess around with 3mm (1/600) ground combat projects for various periods.  This scale is officially dead to me.  It is too small for old eyes.  I do plan to keep the Falklands aircraft in this scale, but that is all.

Next, my 6mm (1/300) projects are also going away...even including my beloved 1950's Pentomics.  Again, I just don't see me ever using these figures for various reasons.  I do plan to keep a small token force of my Pentomics mounted on bases for display purposes only...especially my Honest John nuclear battery.

Third, my 10mm projects will be reduced in numbers and in sizes.  I am keeping most of my Vietnam project which should take up two 4L Really Useful Boxes, plus trays.  The other 10mm project that will be kept is my battalion level Falklands where each stand equals a section/squad and this should fill one 4L box, plus a tray.

Currently, I am waving on keeping the 10mm French Indochina project.  I want to do it, but I am thinking of dropping the 10mm's for 15mm's.  I love the details of the Pendraken's 10mm, but they have a extremely limited number of poses for the French.  Eureka's 15mm has more dynamic poses and are nicely detailed.  I am OK using the 10mm terrain and buildings with the 15s, and they don't use the same vehicles either, there is no loss there.

The only other 10mm projects I might consider is forces to play the Neil Thomas rules for war gaming, maybe an ancient period and/or 19th Century European war.  But I think I rather do those in 15mm, if I were to pursue them.

This now nicely rolls into discussing my 15mm projects.  This is my 'big battles' scale  other than the couple of 10mm projects mentioned above.  I am converting everything over to a uniformed base sizes as for 'Flames of War', except those that are specifically for individual skirmishing.  

There will be two exceptions to this basing rules.  The first is for the Triple Alliance War project which I am using the Neil Thomas' rules with a slight modification to the base sizes.  Instead of using four bases of 40mm x 20mm for a unit in which there is always a 2nd rank, I went with two bases of 50mm x 60mm with a die holder and name tag on the back side of base.  If I do any other projects using the Neil Thomas' systems, I will probably stick with this basing size.  The second will be for my Ridgeway project which I am still unsure of what I am going use for rules and how to base them.

Since I mentioned that one of my 15mm projects to be kept will be the Triple Alliance War of 1864 to 1870, the storage for that will take up two 4L boxes unless the mounted lancers will allow me to still use a tray.  Then I should only need one 4L box with a tray.  As I have not decided on how to do the Ridgeway project, it should not that up more than one 4L box. But what else do I plan to keep?  

For skirmishing, I plan to break it down into sci-fi, horror, and historical.  I am going to try to get all of the skirmish figures in to a 4L boxes with a tray per type of skirmishing. The painted figures that you saw in one of my previous entries with the astronauts and Green Slime, etc. is part of all of this.  I haven't started going though all of what I got, but that gives you a general idea of what I will be keeping.  The historical side of it will probably be only the French & Indian War skirmishing project.

But as for the FOW based projects, there are basically only two periods, and possibly a third if I do decide to convert from 10mm to 15mm for the French Indochina project.  

The first period will be post-WW2 Africa.  This project will focus on the Congo in the early and mid 1960s.  I plan to do four main forces, a Kantaga company, a mercenary force with an ANC platoon, a Simba horde slightly bigger than a company, plus hostages, and a mixed UN company of Irish and Indians.  This should fit in two 4L boxes with trays.  I probably will add a Belgian Para-commando company too, and expand the ANC and UN forces for a third 4L box with a tray.  I also plan to use one more 4L box and tray towards a Rhodesian Fire Force project and a South West African Police's Koevoet project.  Both of these be a platoon or so in strength, plus a couple of platoon size groups of terrorists and some civilians.

...and WWII

Now you should see the connection with this entry's title, as my final 15mm projects are about WW2.  This actually will be the biggest of all the 15mm projects for number of figures and the number of 4L boxes needed to store everything.  Right now I am looking at six boxes with trays.  This project will be broken down into three different theaters and time periods.  

First is the Winter War of 1939-40.  One box will hold a Finnish infantry company, plus supporting platoons.  The second box will hold a Soviet rifle company, plus engineers and tank support.

The second is Operation Seelowe,1940-41.  In one box will be an infantry company, plus Home Guard and improvised weapons and vehicles from the long defunct SDD line.  Another box will a German Fallschirmjager company with limited heavy weapons support.  This Fallschirmjager company will also do double duty for the third and final WW2 project.

That final WW2 project is Normandy, 1944.  The Fallschirmjager company mentioned above will also have some Panzerfaust stands, some 7.5cm PaKs and a couple of StuG's in it 4L box.  Their opposition will be an American infantry company, plus support platoons including a M4A3 platoon and a M10 platoon.  This will take up 1-1/2 4L boxes or so.  So whatever room I might have left, I am plan use to save for my Free French  M4A2 tank platoon and possibly upgrading my Finnish forces to be usable for the Continuation War, 1941-44.

So there you have it!  I am looking at 21 x 4L boxes and trays for my 15mm and smaller, excluding naval and air, projects.  My shelves can hold 12 x 4L boxes.  So I can get all of my 15mm and 10mm projects on just under two shelves, which puts me where I wanted to be, in that one shelf per scale of figures. I really was hoping to take up less room so I could increase the number of boxes to hold 28mm projects, but more on that later. 

I need to start going through my 20mm projects to figure out what projects to keep and what is my storage requirements will be for them.  The good news is that they are still small enough for the most part that I can get them in a 4L box and still be able to use a tray in that box so that I can double the capacity count for that box.  So with any luck, I will not need a whole shelf for 20mm and give that space to 28mm projects.

Cheers

Sapper