Second US Infantry Platoon and Pre Colours Analyses

Hello All

The last platoon for Colours 2013 painting challenge is completed! I have finished the second infantry platoon and so I'm done! Again sorry about the lack of terrain in the pictures but my terrain is still with Alex waiting to go to the event.

So long with a little talk about the infantry today I'm also going to talk a little about the event as it's this weekend!

Looking at this platoon compared to the first platoon I painted I can see a few differences in style and colours used, not enough to make a massive difference (especially on the table during a game which is all that really matters anyway) but it does show I may have spent a bit more time on the first lot than this platoon.

 So anyway I'm happy with the platoon as a whole and happy with the army.

So challenge over! 8 weeks of hard work, my wifes tolerance stretched to the limit and my social life has taken a bit of a hit...

From this...

...to this in 8 "easy" weeks...

So how well prepared for Colours do I feel... well not as prepared as I would have liked. I have only played two games with the list a 3-4 lose to Alex's Cromwells and a 6-1 victory over Robin Spence's Pieper list. I learnt a lot from the lose to Alex, I made a massive mistake on deployment by leaving the second infantry platoon off the table in a half on half off mission and I was never quite able to react properly. The win vs Robin didn't really tell me anything as I basically won on the first turn when both Tank Destroyer platoons and ambushing 57mm Anti Tank guns popped up on the first turn and blow most of robins army away.

I'm already thinking about changing the list for the next event after only 2 games. The 155mm battery having only 2 guns has been a headache for me, it's not enough guns to deploy in a half on half off mission as they need the 105mm artillery and that means two platoons of artillery on the table to start with which cuts into the Tank Destroyers and Infantry on the board. The 57mm also seem overkill, with so many bazookas and Tank Destroyers on the board do I really need a third anti tank platoon? Probably not.

Currently I'm thinking of dropping the M10's, 57mm Anti Tank and HMG platoon to upgrade the 105mm's t Veteran, add two guns to the 155mm plus also making them Veteran, adding in a Pioneer Platoon and then adding in a second Towed Tank Destroyer platoon. This list would give me the option of having the 155mm artillery on the table in half on half off missions which can bombard or smoke and then either deploy two platoons of Infantry and one platoon of Tank Destroyers or visa versa. My first worry was the lack of mobile anti tank ability of the list, but the Towed Tank Destroyers have been surprisingly mobile and I figured the points I saved by taking them over M10's means I have points to upgrade the artillery and get the third infantry platoon I like to have.

But anyway back to Colours this weekend (well tomorrow when this is posted), I'm hoping to do well and I think the list can get me high up the standings, but I think I'll bleed too many points to be a top contented. Still nothing about this challenge has been easy and I feel up for the last part of the challenge the event itself. I'll be happy with three wins out of the four games and thats what I'm going to set myself as a target. So as always thanks for reading and wish me luck at the weekend, from the sound of some of the lists I'm going to need it!

Ben