Welcome to the LnLP Forums and Resource Area

We have updated our forums to the latest version. If you had an account you should be able to log in and use it as before. If not please create an account and we look forward to having you as a member.

Tank On Tank Series with Miniatures

David Heath

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2014
Messages
2,108
Points
113
Age
59
Location
Pueblo West, Colorado
Website
lnlpublishing.com
Hi Guys,

David Schaffner expanded on our Tank On Tank series for an evening of gaming goodness. Please find David changes and let us know what you think. We also like to highly recommend the hobby shop Game Nite in St. Louis, Missouri. You can find contact information listed below.

Game Nite
8330 Watson Rd.
St. Louis, Missouri 63119.
Phone: (314) 270-8440
Web: http://gameniteshop.com/

Get Directions: http://gameniteshop.com/index.php/location

By David Schaffner

Tank On Tank has been a long time favorite of mine. This weekend I got my 3D-converted version up and running at our local game shop - the guys loved it!

TOT-2.jpg

Here's the BIG game version being played with 3mm O8 brand (Pico Armor) miniatures stepping in for the game's counters.

TOT-3.jpg

Close-up view on my customed-textured, printed-on-vinyl game mat, and some of the units

TOT-4.jpg
 
Joined
Oct 16, 2014
Messages
77
Points
8
Age
53
Location
St louis
Dave's taught me a lot about mini gaming. He does an excellent job (as well as Pat, pictured) of blending board games and minis.

Thanks for posting this.
 

Jack Tremble

Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2015
Messages
14
Points
1
Age
72
Location
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
This looks awesome and right along the same line of thinking I'm wanting to do for several games, Tank on Tank being one of them. Thanks for the visual inspiration. Takes a wonderfully fun game to new heights of enjoyment. Have already done some of this with the original Tank on Tank a few years back. One thing I like to add to the 3D experience is when a tank or a vehicle unit is destroyed, put a smoking marker (a black painted tuft of cotton that is embedded on yellow sticky/tack on one end ) on a tank to litter the battlefield and show where these units were when hit and "killed". : 0
 

FlyXwire

Member
Joined
May 23, 2015
Messages
8
Points
3
Age
68
Location
Missouri, USA
Hi Tank On Tank Fans - looks like lots of TOT developments are coming up for one of our favorite WW2 fast-play game systems here!

On a personal front, in the past year I've continued my "obsession" with tweaking Tank On Tank in "3D", having made two differently-styled vinyl mats after the initial versions seen above, for playing Tank On Tank with miniatures on. The latest version pictured below (this mat modified from an excellent, commercially available texture map), is for an idea to take the game system from using hexes, to using field sections as the system's measuring mechanism (that is from hexes to field "areas"). Here's a few WIP pics of this ongoing TOT obsession -

TOT_Tactical2.jpg

The above user-created map preview shows a general view for this next Tank On Tank 3D-iteration of mine, using a vinyl battle mat with differently-sized fields as a substitute for the game's hex-grid system.

TOT_Tactical3.jpg

With this new map modification, I'll be switching to using 6mm miniatures, instead of the previous 3mm figs., and with this transition to using larger minis (that are individually based, but to be moved together as a unit) comes the possibility of using a simple step-reduction mechanism with the TOT rules, so that internal unit losses can be tracked (by removal of the individually-based minis to reflect these reductions). I'm modeling game units as platoon/batteries for deriving a unit's core strength number - usually somewhere from 3-5 internal elements (as vehicles/guns/squads).

I figure (no pun intended), it'll be a month before I get a chance to play-test this latest Tank On Tank obsession at a local game shop, but looking forward to the new visual fidelity of seeing the map with 6mm minis up and running, and hope you've enjoyed the preview here.

Your Tags: Add tags
 
Last edited:

FlyXwire

Member
Joined
May 23, 2015
Messages
8
Points
3
Age
68
Location
Missouri, USA
We ran through a 1st-play of my 3D Tank On Tank version today, using the new field-areas mat, and the 2 part scenario played very closely. The action was inspired by the German counterattacks of their newly organized Panzer Brigades that occurred in the Lorraine region of France in Sept. 1944. The German units in this scenario were based on the single armored battalion structure of the initial Panzer Brigade TOE, of mixed Panther and Pz IV/70 companies, supported by a Panzergrenadier battalion. Specific to this scenario, the German player had 1 Panther company of 3 platoon units (of 3 tanks) and an HQ unit of 2, 1 Pz IV/70 company of the same organizational structure, 1 recon unit of an Armored Inf. platoon of 4 halftracks, and a company of leg infantry which was riding into battle on the decks of the Panthers. In front of the assault was a thin screen of American Armored Cavalry (2 platoons of M8s armored cars), supported by 2 sections of SP artillery (2 M8 75mm Howitzer Motor Carriages, combined into one battery unit), and finally 2 Wolverine TD platoon units.

Here's part of the opening round as the German tracked recce makes contact with one of the US cavalry outposts. I allowed the German and US recce units to make their moves w/o costing an AP, to reflect the efficiency of their training and their ability for rapid deployment (especially for retrograde movements away from the enemy).
TOT_Lorraine_Campaign1.jpg


In the photo below, the M8 armored cars on the flank have been eliminated by supporting fire coming from the Panther company following up the reconnaissance. In the background, the Pz IV/70 company can be seen lumbering forwards on the far left flank of the Panther company.

TOT_Lorraine_Campaign2.jpg


A few turns later, the American forces having been unsuccessful at engaging the pressing Panthers, had largely been eliminated, and this was the trigger to launch the second scenario into motion with an American Task Force counterattack, comprising a Sherman tank company (3 platoon units of 5 tanks), and an Armored Infantry Company, less their AT Gun platoon (which contained 3 Armored Infantry platoon units of 5 halftracks, and an HQ of 2).

TOT_Lorraine_Campaign3.jpg


Although the American force was able to gain the first line of villages and woods across its front, and part of the second, the tanks attempted to remain in these positions and shoot it out at the Panthers in the open fields ahead of them. Once the Panthers reversed out of enemy tank range, and kept up a steady fire against the American positions to their front, the Pz IV/70s which had slowly crept forward on the opposite flank finally began to push in against that flank, most importantly forcing the M8 HMCs there to displace. At this point the scenario was hanging in the balance, with the initiative weighted towards the German player. It was time to pack up and hit the road before the afternoon traffic home got too bad, so we called the game a draw. Everyone was happy with that!, and felt the game had been a lot of fun.

TOT_Lorraine_Campaign4.jpg


One of the rules mods I had tried was a step reduction mechanic, but in most of the combat exchanges it didn't seem to make that large of a difference, so I think I'll stick with the standard unit elimination rules as written.
Hope you enjoyed the short AAR here, and the action shots.

Dave
 
Last edited:

Trent Garner

Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2016
Messages
147
Points
28
Age
55
Location
USA
This is just fantastic, well done! Nice work on pretty much every aspect. The area movement map is great, the minis are even better, and the scenery is icing on the cake. Thanks for sharing!
 

FlyXwire

Member
Joined
May 23, 2015
Messages
8
Points
3
Age
68
Location
Missouri, USA
TG, thank you for these kind words!

I'll be looking forward to playing some more scenarios out on the 4ft. X 4ft. mat here, and then thinking of having a longer one printed out (probably to 6ft. X 4ft. dimensions). A larger mat would allow for multi-mission scenarios to evolve, generated as a result of force movements right on the map board - the concept of a "mini-campaign" unfolding out on a single tabletop. Tank On Tank would be perfect for "Operations" gaming, especially since air and artillery support works so seamlessly within the system.
 
Top