Get Rewarded For Having Fun

It’s that time again! Armies of France is nearing its release, and we’re beginning our Intelligence Report series, taking you inside the covers of the newest Bolt Action book. As is traditional, we’re starting with the National Special Rules, which inform the army’s overall character and determine how it plays on the tabletop. En avant!

We’ll begin where we usually do, with the overarching rules which apply to your entire army, but this book is, like Armies of Italy, a little bit different. Armies of France includes not only rules for fielding French forces of 1939-40, but also the collaborationist Vichy ‘Armistice Army’, and the Free French forces who would continue to fight alongside the Allies for the liberation of their homeland. These latter two will be shown off in their own article, but for now we’re focussing on the core of the book!

As we can see, while Battaille Conduite rewards getting your troops to take up defensive positions in cover, a French force need not be a purely static entity! Colmater allows you to turn a single unit per platoon into an Outflanking machine, letting you build a small but incredibly flexible strike force within your army that can arrive exactly when and where it’s needed to wreak havoc on the enemy’s plans late in the game. Supporting this is Le Feu Tue, because while one artillery strike is nice, two is significantly nicer – unless you’re the enemy! Finally, Lack of Radios is a blessing in disguise for armour aficionados, letting you save a few points on your Command vehicles.

French forces with these rules naturally tend towards a ‘hold-and-counter’ style of play, blunting enemy thrusts on their defensive positions before launching a deadly counterattack (although of course as with any Bolt Action army you can build your list to play in an endless variety of ways!), and they aren’t doing it with just the basic troops in the army list. As with all our other Armies of… books, you can theme many of your units to represent the elite formations of the French army. Let’s meet Honneur et Patrie!

Whether you want the last word in defensive grit with the French Foreign Legion (and their snazzy new plastics!), an elite force of Chasseurs Alpins moving swiftly through cover courtesy of Fieldcraft, or fast-moving Dragons Portés driving headlong into the fray, you can do it with Armies of France. While these are some of the most important rules in the books, we’ve not even scratched the surface when it comes to the new and updated unit roster or the two new ways to field French forces – we’ve got plenty more to come!

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We recently held our annual Trade Sales Conference, with staff flying in from all over the globe to attend. Naturally, we had them face off in a Konflikt ’47 tournament while they were here! (I’m given to understand that this is how bonuses are decided in the Trade team. -ed.) Isaac arrived from the US with a frankly astonishing effort on his British Commonwealth force, so of course we had to get him to tell us all about it!

“Holding Burma was not what we expected. Years of fighting the reanimated bodies of friends and enemies in the darkness of the jungle, of ghosts appearing among us, slaughtering my friends before they even knew what was happening. Morale was… lacking.

Once we were bolstered by the metal men, something changed in our disposition. We no longer felt that we were on the back foot.”

This 999pt British Commonwealth list is based on a rag-tag squad of Chindit engineers and the automated infantry assigned to their sector. They have been fighting a war so visceral that a unique bond has grown between the bots and men.

The Burma Campaign was always fascinating to me, as it’s often forgotten against the backdrop of the wider war. Chindits were always going to be my go-to for Commonwealth forces in Bolt Action, and the squads I kitbashed using the Commonwealth and Inter-Allied Commandos sprues were originally the foundation of this Bolt Action army. (Finally something from Isaac that isn’t German or Romanian! -ed.)

Once I saw the Automated Platoon box featuring all the new plastic K47 British Commonwealth kits I couldn’t say no. The project pivoted to K4, and I targeted completion for the Sales Conference Tournament while we were visiting HQ. I… may have gone a touch overboard with the theming. (Leaflets. He produced gorgeous informational leaflets for every opponent. Honestly, I think he’s just showing off! -ed.)

The Chindits were painted using Ghillie Dew speedpaint over a zenithal prime of Vallejo Ivory on black primer. I highlighted the uniform using Warpaint Witch Brew to really make them stand out on the board compared to the colors I used on the ‘lifeless’ bots.

The Mk IIs were built pretty much identically using light autocannons with the only kitbashing being slight battle damage and barbed wire rusting around their bayonets. The Mk IIC Director got a head swap from the base MKII set and a reposition of the left arm to give him a more, well, directing pose, easily setting him apart from all future MKIIs I may add.

Painting the bots was trial and error. I started with a pure black primer, followed by a drybrush of Vallejo German Grey, and an overbrush of AP John Blanche Thicket Grove. On the MKIIs Vallejo Burnt Umber was sponged on to give them a dirtier, rustier appearance.  The models were doused in enamel grime wash and cleaned up using odourless spirits. Once the enamel dried overnight I went over and did a light dry brush, as well as adding splotches of Warpaint Crypt Wraith to brighten up the drab look. I used a sponge to add a bold metal chipping effect using Vallejo Air Aluminium. After all those colors were applied, I mixed black acrylic with gloss varnish and applied it to many of the joints and spots that looked like they were leaking oil. They’re machines in motion after all!

The 10 Mk Is were split into 5-bot squads. The cleanest and most put together were the HMG-wielding bunch who were pretty much painted identically to the Mk IIs. The MMG gunners with their bayonets received the extra touch of red paint to their replaced limbs and blood splatter to represent them dealing frontline Banzai charges, Shibito, and traps!

The truck is an ever-so-slightly modified Bedford with a jury-rigged automaton to drive it. I’d like to say this was an inspired idea, but really it’s because I completely forgot to put the driver in his seat before I glued the cab shut! It features the closed canopy without the full frame giving it more of a flatbed design. Painted identically to the automated infantry, I adorned it with spare bits to show how the Chindit mechanics fight to keep their automated comrades in working order as best they can in the hellish jungle.

We’ve also reproduced Isaac’s leaflet here for you – it’s things like this that can really elevate a force, and if you’re hunting for ideas for winning those all-important ‘best themed’ prizes at events, you could do worse than take a leaf (geddit?) out of his book!

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A New Global Event for The Other Side

Wyrd is excited to announce The Widow’s Toll, a new global event for The Other Side, running October 14 through November 25 as part of Echoes of the Breach.

Rally your allegiance, prepare your models, and investigate a mausoleum that has decided to take a walk. Your games will help shape what happens next, with the full event rules and campaign page arriving October 14.

Meet the Walking Widow

The Walking Widow is a brand-new digital STL, available now from the Wyrd webstore and MyMiniFactory. Part model and part terrain, this massive walking mausoleum makes a striking centerpiece for your event games.

Get the Walking Widow and get ready for The Widow’s Toll.

Buy the Walking Widow from Wyrd

Shop the Walking Widow on MyMiniFactory

The full campaign details arrive October 14.

Read this week’s Waldo’s Weekly