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Thursday, July 18, 2013

It's better with the King...

... or, the Tiger, is dead, long live the King Tiger !

With the Wellington Warlords Call to Arms tournament just around the corner, I was in a bit of a quandary as to what force to take. I knew I was probably going to go with my favoured armoured half track German list, but which support elements to take?

Last year, Panthers were a good choice, as a supporting panzer... but with the release of the Market Garden publication, with its improved Allied arsenal including the upgunned 6pdr and 17pdr AT guns and the upgunned Firefly VC, that thick front armour of the panther is looking decidedly vulnerable... so what to do?

Stick with the game plan and use the panthers, and try not to get hit?,... or drop the panthers and take a whole punch of Panzer IVs for more return fire?,... or continue the arms race, and up the ante with the King Tiger?

Having recently enjoyed a demo game at the KWC, where 2 Tiger IEs in a Midwar setting proved nigh on unstoppable... I pondered trying the same idea in Late War with the King Tiger...

So in a bit of a dilemma, I decided there could be a strong chance I may favour a list featuring the King Tiger, aka; the Tiger II Ausf B.

So I put an order through to Caliver in the UK, who had the boxed set of three at a discounted price...and crossed fingers it might arrive in time... it did, last Friday to be precise... and thus its been a week of frenzied work to get these done in time. I have managed it with a fortnight to go, so might get a chance for a practice game or two in before I must submit my list to tournament organisers.

Tiger II Ausf B
In the game, they are a hell of an investment in points! If I were going with a Schwere Panzer Kompanie, I could field all three tanks for just over 1000 pts, leaving ~700pts for the rest of my force.  But for my mechanised company, I will most likely just go with 2 Tiger IIs as a support platoon, though they still cost about 700 pts...


Still, with an in game range of 40", AT 16 FP 3+, they can kill any tank they hit, and with a Front Armour of 15, will be nigh on invulnerable to the front. Side armour 8 and top armour 2, like a regular Tiger I, is their weakness, so I must keep their flanks secure... and I may have to dodge about to avoid ranged in artillery, stay near woods and buildings if planes are about, and move about if I get smoke bombarded... but hey, if they are soaking up all this attention, the rest of my force will be free to operate unmolested... and if they try to ignore them, and go with the kill everything else approach, they will undoubted keep knocking stuff out turn after turn...

With division markings of the 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion
 The 503rd saw action on both the Eastern and Western fronts, so this seemed a good choice to go with for my platoon.


The 503rd emblem being a Tigers head motif, see above left front mudguard...


After a while, having spent the week assembling and painting them, they begin to seem 'normal', nothing outstanding... its not until you put them next to other similarly scaled tanks that the difference becomes apparent once more... see pics below these are all 15mm scale Battlefront models...

L to R: Firefly VC, Tiger IIB, Sherman V

L to R: Firefly VC, Tiger IIB, Sherman V
The Tiger IIB, truly monstrous...

29 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks Ray, I hope they intimidate a little...

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  2. I hope you've made some extra large smoke and flames to go with them! :-)

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    1. LOL, the boxed set actually comes with the Tiger Ace skills dice(4) and custom bailed and bogged markers... I pondered the lack of smoke and flames markers, may suggest they never get destroyed!? Here's hoping... ;-)

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  3. There is nothing quite so satisfying as pushing around Tiger IIs - they are an awesome tank adn a main reason that I take Allied air-power whenever possible. A pity they soak up so many points. Can't wait to see how you go with them.

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    1. Yeah, air is one of my concerns... but if I can stay next to woods/buildings then they are 50% to range in, followed by 50% to hit with bombs, and then I get a chance of a save, another 50%...

      Typhoons would be a little worse for me with rockets ...

      An alternative is to advance toward the enemy, to force a wave off, but brings greater risk to the tanks flanks...

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  4. I'm sure they will evoke the same fear on the gaming table as they did in real life.

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  5. I glad I don't have to face you with my Irish Guard. I take enough beating as it is from the Panthers!

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  6. Ouch,,facing those would be scary. What's your plan for massive artillery barrages of AT5 FP2+? My tigers have been blown to pieces from unfortunate saves on my part haha.
    Good luck for the tournament!

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    1. Cough,.. I have a plan? ;-)... Yeah Heavy arty can hurt... I guess I just have to ride it out and trust to luck a little... keep them spaced out so only one under the template at a time... they have to range in (33-50%), then hit( 33-66%), then I get a save (50%) ... I just need to stay lucky...

      Or hide in woods storm troopering back and forth, and risk bog checks...

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  7. They look awesome! They really stand out next to the smaller (or should I say standard) sized tanks. Looking forward to hear how they go and if the points spent are worth it.

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  8. great work on them and they look massive too

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  9. Gawd...they aint arf big! so size does count after all. Must have been positively terrifying going up against these monsters in a piffling little Sherman. Thank God the Allies had total air superiority as it must have been impossible to move in daylight without being clobbered from above.

    I read your earlier thread re: Wargames funk. I'm pleased to say Im very much in the last category of wargamer with the emphasis on GAMER.

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    1. Yep airpower and heavy artillery are my main concerns...

      LOL, OK, Gamer it is then!

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  10. Those are great choices Scott now you'll have to tell us how they make out on the day in question.

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  11. Wonderful Tigers, Scott. The camo stripes really accentuate them. Best, Dean

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    1. Thanks Dean, I do like the late war three colour german camo scheme...

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  12. Nothing like a few Big Cats to help grease the rails to victory! Beautiful work, Scott.

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