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Tuesday 31 December 2019

A formation in a box

I've begun to organise some of my recently renovated 20mm-scale World War II figures into formations that can fit into a box. The first was a Hungarian infantry 'division' that comprised:
  • 1 x Commander
  • 3 x Infantry units (each of four figures)
  • 1 x Artillery unit (one gun and two figures)
  • 1 x Anti-tank artillery unit (one gun and two figures)

These figures fit quite easily into one of my A5-sized WestonBoxes, and there is enough room left for me to add a vehicle for the commander and towing units for the artillery at some time in the future.



This size of formation is ideal for small-scale, quick battles using my PORTABLE WARGAME rules.

Such formations can be used to represent anything from a battalion (with artillery support) up to a division, and fall very much into what Chris Kemp recently described on his 'Not Quite Mechanised' blog as Fractal Orders of Battle.

12 comments:

  1. It's nice to be able to keep an 'army' in one box, which is something I'm trying to do myself. I will be doing a post in this subject in the next day or so in fact.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steve J.,

      It’s a simple idea ... and it seems to fit my requirements very nicely indeed.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Hi Bob,

    That is a very neat idea and would work very well with your Napoleonic divisions as well. As an aside I like the camo schemes on the guns.

    All the best and a happy new year to you both,

    DC

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    Replies
    1. David Crook,

      Cheers!

      I think that it will work just as well with my Napoleonic collection. All I need to do now is to buy some more boxes!

      All the best,

      Bob

      PS. The camouflage scheme was copied from some colour illustrations of Hungarian military equipment that I found online.

      Delete
  3. Looks good!

    I've settled for an "army on a shelf" and proved to my satisfaction that regardless of the chosen container, the army will always seek to expand if not kept firmly in check!

    May the two of you have a Happy New Year with plenty of joy and cruises.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ross Mac,

      Cheers! I am getting to the stage where the amount of storage space in my toy/wargame room is pretty well full, and trying to find things can be a bit difficult at times. I am hoping that my ‘formation in a box’ will help solve this problem.

      All the best,

      Bob

      PS. May we also wish both of you a Happy New Year. We aren’t likely to be visiting a North America soon, but when we do, we hope to see you again.

      Delete
  4. Very nice looking units Bob. Are they going to see action in 2020? Happy New Year.

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    Replies
    1. Maudlin Jack Tar,

      Cheers! With luck, I hope to get some of my newly renovated figures in action in the near future.

      May I also wish you and yours a Happy New Year!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. A great idea I can't use! Far too much kit. I have, however, taken to placing infantry units/ formations in A5-sized containers - the sort of thing you get with Chinese or Indian takeaways. E.g. Soviet Battalions/ Brigades comprising 3 x 2-figure rifle stands, 1 x MMG stand, 1 x mortar or infantry gun stand, and 1 x Anti-Tank Rifle stand. I have been considering adding a single figure command stand. I have one heck of a lot of these units. My 'Operation Uranus' posting of a couple of years back is a bit of an indication... And that's not counting my SMG units.

    Methinks my WW2 projects got a little bit out of hand...
    Happy New Year, Bob. I do like recent work on your WW2 stuff.
    Cheers,
    Ion

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Archduke Piccolo (Ion),

      It sounds as if you are already ahead of me on this curve ... and adding some single figure command stands seems to me to be an excellent idea.

      I must admit to owning far more World War II figures and vehicles than I will probably ever use ... but as I wrote a short time ago, I am a bit of a hoarder-wargamer, so what else could one expect?

      Happy New Year to you,

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  6. Now that's military organization. Nice little formations for quick games. Looks good.

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    Replies
    1. Fitz-Badger,

      Cheers! I think that this might be the solution to my 'where are those ...?' storage problem.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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