Call of Plastic

I am a member in a Fb-group called 'Super Cheap Wargaming', which is right up my alley regarding my interest for wargaming on a budget. Earlier this year another member of the group and game designer, Adam L. Dobbyns uploaded some very easy rules called 'Call of Plastic'. At first glance I thought these rules looked just too simple to be interesting, but since I've already done some other very basic wargames last year (Basic Battles and Lunge, Cut and Stop Thrust Dueling game) I decided to take a closer look at this one as well.

The rules

The rules was posted in the mentioned Fb-group, but later removed again. The rules can also be found and downloaded on this link for free.

The scenario

The Call of Plastic rules is designed to be a very easy and fast play wargame based on smaller units only allowing to activate 3 individual soldiers each side each turn, rather than several larger units. So I think this calls for a small skirmish scenario and game. 

It's tempting to use 'modern army men' as the Call of Plastic's very graphical rules suggests use of modern assault rifles and Kevlar protection. I've decided to interp the rules to be basically about ranged combat, close combat and savings and use them for what ever period I like.

I would also like to something to compare theses rules with, so I've decided to re-use the scenario I've used for the wargame reviews of Chain Reaction and One Hour Skirmish Wargames. So again I've placed this skirmish to the United Nations largest mission in both scale and operational scope during the Congo Crisis 1960-65, when UN troops 'peacekeeping' was more offensive 'peace enforcement' with force. 

Situation: 

To secure the main supply route (MSR) between the UN-bases in Kamina and Albertville, The United Nations temporary deploy several traffic control posts (TCP) at critical points along the MSR a head of the convoys and other priority transports, to avoid and handle 'disruptions'. This service are conducted by the Military Police, and each TCP are usually manned by a single Military Police patrol with a few members.

Place:

A head of several planned supply convoys from Kamina to Albertville at the 7th of May 1961, several TCPs are established by UN Military Police along the route. One of these Military Police patrols are securing the junction between Manono and Kitotolo located in the self proclaimed state of Katanga.

Forces:

• UN:
• 1 MP Patrol/ Traffic Control Post of:

• 1st. Sgt. Hicks with SMG
• Sgt. Wayne with pistol 
• Cpl. Dreyer with M1 Garand
• Cpl. Cord with SMG

• Katangese:
  
• A small squad of 5 Katangan Gendarms:
• Cpl. "Crazy Gali" 
• 3 members armed with rifles and 1 private with a SMG.

Mission:

• Katangese: To interrupt the UN presence and possible capture some of that UN equipment or weapons. I think they'd really like that Jeep too.
• UN: To hold and secure the junction so the UN convoy don't get lost on the wrong way and ends up in areas controlled by Katangese forces.

AAR

Time:    16 minutes 

Turns:   5

Result:  UN victory by accomplishing their mission, eliminating their oponent and by points.

When arriving to the junction Sgt. Wayne suggest that they take a closer look at the courtyard across the junction, as if it's safe it can eventually be used as a hold-and-turn area for those UN convoys passing later to hold some of the convoys back, a place to do maintenance on them or turn them if needed.
1. Sgt Hicks agrees. As they have plenty of time before the first convoy are expected, they decides to have a closer look at the courtyard. The buildings looks empty:

Meanwhile the UN MP's are unaware that Cpl. Gali from the local Katangan Gendarmerie detachment are leading a small patrol approaching the same courtyard from the opposite side:

Cpl. Gali needs to secure both buildings to control the courtyard and road cross, and orders one of his Gendarms up on the roof on the building they're hiding behind. Then he orders 2 others to advance to the well to give cover and and supporting fire to secure the further advancement to the furthermost building of the yard:

As 2 of the Gendarms reach cover behind the well...

...they're spotted by the UN MPs. 1st. Sgt Hicks orders his MP's to seek cover and open fire against the potential danger:

Sgt. Wayne, Cpl. Cord and Cpl. Dreyer immediately takes action and opens fire:

- They hit both of the Katangan Gendarms seeking cover behind the well. From being outnumbered, it seems like the numbers are evening out and become more favorable for the UN MPs now.

Cpl. Gali immediately orders the last member of his patrol to advance to the well, seek cover and provide supporting fire from there:

When reaching the the well the Gendarm opens fire and hits Sgt. Wayne:

Cpl. Cord opens fire and hits Cpl. Gali hiding behind the corner. The Katangan Gendarmerie are now without command, and any further advancements comes to a halt. The 2 last Gendarms are only holding their ground for now:

Meanwhile 1st. Sgt. Hicks has teamed up with Cpl. Dreyer, and they both opens fire against the Katangan Gendarm on the roof. -And hits!

The Last Katangan Gendarm is trapped by the well as there are no one left to give him covering fire so he can retreat. He unsuccessfully return the UN fire. The UN fire on the other hand is massive, presise and devastating...

...and they finally takes out the last Katangan Gendarm:

Even if the UN Military Police patrol suffered one casualty, it's still a 'victory' to them as they manage to hold the road cross for the coming UN Convoys, and they control the courtyard if needed for one of those Convoys.

Pros

• The rules are free.
• The 2 page graphic rules makes this very easy and quick to learn and play. 
• You can play this game with any toy soldiers or readily available  army men regardless of they have assault guns and Kevlar or not.

Cons

• There are only rules for ranged combat in general without any consideration to different firearms, RPGs, grenades etc. and different rate of fire and damage potential. Some weapons just make more damage than others and have different effective ranges.
• There are no negative modifiers for moving over or through difficult terrain. A soldier will move as fast through or over cover as he would in the open.
• These rules doesn't differ between different covers from hard, medium or soft, or if the soldier is just 'concealed'.

Conclusion

Thise is a very basic game in it's simplest form, limited to moving and fighting on 2 different ranges. The only modifier is for cover. The graphic rules makes them very easy and quick to both learn and play, and these rules are great if you want to introduce wargaming to a newbie.

My experience is that these rules makes it too convenient for the combatants to stay in cover and exchange fire as there isn't any positive modifiers to move into a closer and more favorable position and add the chances for hitting in ranged combat. Perhaps the intention in this game is actually to have the combatants rush into battle and fight heads on, as you gain more points for downed enemies in close combat, like described in this YouTube-video?

Nevertheless if the point of this game is to storm into battle to try to score as many points as possible, I played it my way and had a narrative and enjoyable game. Since being both easy and  very fast to play, I had time for a couple of games. Thus using same scenario, forces and tactics the result varied (a lot). If you have not tried these rules yet I recommend you to give them a try. - it won't take much of your time.

It looks like Adam L. Dobbyns has made a slightly more advanced verison of this wargame addressing some of my 'cons' above. Please follow my blog for updates if I decides to try them out as well. 

A 50th Anniversary reissue - A post 1st of April update

Breaking News!

This year it's exactly 50 years since Airfix released their 1/32 scale 'Modern British Infantry', and therefore announces a limited reissue of the set as it can be used alongside Airfix' new 1/35 scale British vehicles from the same period (Alvis FV622, Alvis Stalwart Mk.2, Ferret Scout Car Mk.1 and Mk.2 and Alvis FV 603 Saracen Mk.5):

It's weird to think that this 'modern' set is turning 50, while their WW2 counterparts was only some 30+ when I grew up. This set will later be followed by other limited reissues of 'Modern' Cold War troops like the 'Modern German Infantry'...

...and 'Modern US NATO troops:

There will also be a reissue of a set of 'modern' opponents:

The release dates are not set yet, but all of these sets can be pre-ordered from April 1st. (only)

A post 1st of April update:

Ok, these 'breaking news' didn't seems to fool any readers of this blog. While 'working' with these ChatGPT generated images I was about to fool my self as these are old Airfix figure sets I'd really wish to see re-released again. I wonder if any others felt a slight excitement when seeing these images?

I'm not sure why Airfix has never re-released these figures. I've seen the 'Modern Russians' being sold for over £100 secondhand. Perhaps these are some of the mold which were lost or destroyed after the 'Heller period'?

I did not fool 'Messenger' today either. When writing the URL in a message for my son, this is what the link preview showed:

I really hope that Airfix will re-release these sets one day. If they can.

Close Encounter in the 'Dawn of Man'

In 2023 I made a scenario and played a prehistoric 'fantasy' wargame between Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals using my own house rules. Is it possible to create a scenario for en even earlier period than this 'prehistoric' game?

In 2024 I made a 54mm 'Ape Army' for Sci-fi and Fantasy wargames. Even If my Apes depicts 'Chimpanzees' I envision that they also could substitute for early Hominids in the 'Dawn of Man', like those in the beginning of '2001 - A Space Odyssey' too. In that movie the evolution accelerates when the Hominids receives a Monolith from space some 4 million years ago, and they learn to develop tools and weapons. -Not only for hunting, but to battle each others as well. What if these early Hominids eventually got armed with simple spears not only received a 'monolith' from space, but actually got into a close and violent encounter with aliens armed with high tech weapons? -That could be an interesting scenario for another prehistoric Sci-fi/Fantasy wargame.

I don't have many 'alien' miniatures either, but I made some 'V'-miniatures last year. Like the early Hominids there aren't detailed records of the "Visitors" history either and all we actually 'know' is that they're from the 4th planet from Sirius in the 'Canis Major' constellation. They're a militaristic race of reptilian aliens, who travel to stars and plunder other worlds. We don't know how old their world is, and for how long they have been space travelling and plundered other planets. So for the scenario for this wargame I presupposes that they had such technology and were performing such activities at the same time as the 'Dawn of Man' on earth.

I had almost everything needed to play this game at hand, but decided go fancy and 3D-print and paint a 'Monolith' to set the scene:

The Rules

For this little skirmish game I wanted to combine FUBAR 4th Edition with FUBAR Dark Fantasy, as they have (almost) similar Core Rules. Close Combat and morale rules are slightly different between them, and are played as FUBAR 4th edition. I'll use FUBAR Dark Fantasy for the Hominids due to their melee weapons, and FUBAR 4th edition for the "Visitors" due to their ranged weapons and body armour. Their laser rifles are treated as 'assault rifles' according to the rules. 

However, some house rules seemed necessary; I guess early Hominids are 'comparable' with modern Chimanzees which are very fast, so I let them move 8" insted of 6". They also have brutal strength, a strong bite and deadly teeth, so I think they will be far superior to the reptiles in hand-to-hand combat, so they get to improve their expertise with +1 in melee for their physical strength and another +1 for their 2 handed spear.

The Scenario

About 4 million years ago an alien space-ship on their way home to their planet after a plundering raid on another planet, experienced technical difficulties when passing our solar system. The technical challenges resulted in that they needed to drop their loot from one of their cargo bays.

The dropped loot was valuable hard drives from another ancient world, and salvage patrols was eventually sent from this reptilian's home planet near Sirius to see if this loot could be found and salvaged. Several patrols searched through our solar system to see if the hard drives could be found by smaller crafts and recovered by larger vessels. 

One of these smaller 'Search and Rescue' patrols were searching planet earth. When passing the area we know as the African continent, they spotted an objective which could be one of the hard drives. They decided to land to have a closer look before contacting their Motherships and report their possible find...

Forces:

• The Shock Troopers:
• 1 squad of 2 fireteams:
• Fireteam 1: 2 troopers with High-Output Energy Rifles (like assault rifles according to the rules) and 1 trooper with a heavy laser blaster (like a LMG in the rules)
• Fireteam 2: 2 troopers with High-output Energy Rifles (like assault rifles according to the rules) and 1 trooper with laser launcher (rocket launcher in the rules).
• The Shock Troopers have body armour which will save on 5+ and are 'Veterans'.

• The Hominids are not 'organized' but fights as 3 groups of 5 each. They have not yet developed the capacity of throwing their spears, so they can only use them for thrusting. They will fight as 'Seasoned and their  experience gains a +2 in melee. They have no armour but will save on a +6 due to a 'stray shot'.

Mission:

• The Shock Troopers: To gain access to the 'monolith' for one turn to decide if it's a rock or if it's one of the lost hard drives.
• Hominids: They see the 'Visitors' as invaders and a threat to their tribe, and will try to eliminate them.

AAR

Time:    30 minutes

Turns:   3 (!)

Result:  Hominids victory

A 'Search and Rescue' Skyfighter flies by an object and decides to take a closer look at it from the ground:

When the Skyfighter lands the crew disembarks, and then they sees that the objekt is surrounded by some sorts of primates:

The Shock Troopers does not know if the inhabitants of this planet are friendly or not. It doesn't look like they have any advanced technology or weapons.The Shock Troopers goes on guard to see how the primates acts:

One group of Hominids rush against the strangers, and it becomes clear to the Shock Troopers that they are not friendly and they opens fire:

And makes one hit, which is 'pinned':

Then a second group of Hominids hastes against the other group of strangers. It's very clear that they have no friendly intentions with this behavior and the Shock Troopers opens fire:

This group of Shock Troopers also have a heavy blaster:

The Shock Troopers tries to hold the Hominids on a distance by heavy fire, but the Groups of Hominids just don't seems to care and and now a third group of Hominids joins the battle. How long can the Shock Troopers hold them back:

Not very long. Despite some hits, none of them were critical and the Hominids didn't seems to care and they rushed into an assault on a group of Shock Troopers:

It's a fierce melee and casualties on both sides, but it still looks like the Hominids have the upper hand:

The second group of Hominids also rush into an assault on the Shock Troopers:

And it's a brutal melee with casualties on both sides:

Finally the first group of charging Hominids have killed all the Shock Troopers in close combat with no further casualties:

That alien gunner is a though one, and really  hold his ground in the close combat for another turn:

-Until the third group of Hominids also made an assault and joined the close combat agains the last alien. Even if he was a brave alien, he was chanceless against this horde:

This was an victory for the Hominids. They tried to enter the space craft, but didn't manage to open it.

While on their way back to their 'base' they heard a nose from above. On the sky they could see another similar ship as the one they just abounded, but it didn't land as the first one. It just opened fire and destroyed the first ship, so the 'enemy' wouldn't take advantage of their advanced technology. They did not have intention to land in a such hostile environment...

... at least, not yet. Perhaps they would come back to this planet in the future better prepared for battle:

Toy Soldier Day - March 4

I did not realise that our 'small fighters' actually had their own day until March 5th last year. 

Anyhow, this is a day to appreciate the miniature warriors who have stood proudly on our tabletops, bookshelves, and battlefields for generations. Whether you’re a collector, a wargamer, or simply someone who grew up with these little figures, today is the perfect time to honor them.

Here are a few ideas for how to celebrate them:

• Set up a battle – Only for the set up it self or to play a wargame.
• Show off your collection – Share pictures of your favorite soldiers online or with friends.
• Restore and repaint – Give some love to your worn-out miniatures with fresh paint and repairs.
• Teach someone new – Introduce a friend or family member to the hobby.

No matter how you celebrate, take a moment to appreciate these tiny troops who have brought strategy, creativity, and fun to so many. 

How are you honoring your toy soldiers today? Let me know in the comments!