Just a quick heads-up.
We are planning a July game based on Operation Dynamo, nice to have an early war game for a change and since the PBI June game was US only then a Brit only game gives some balance.
Beltring is on from 22-26th July so we are looking at 4th/5th July unless there are any external dates likely to influence player take-up.
Ooo awesome stuff... heh... may have to get myself sorted with early war webbing for that!
You do know that its going to be a nightmare getting everyone in the right early war kit?
Most important of all is no denisons at all! So a few people will need to buy BD blouses...
To be honest the rest can be overlooked... but some of us will try and get it right!
The date looks clear for me at the moment.
BTW, guns could be interesting... SMLEs and Bren... no tommy guns or stens...!! lol I think we may have to work around that.
Okay... maybe a few tommy guns, but no stens or no4's
Yup I'm up for that, nice one Dave.
Any help we can give just shout.
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
Heh... a brit only game on Independence Day... lol
Perhaps I will need to buy some webbing bits at sabre after all.
Well, the Yanks will be busy celebrating elsewhere then!
Good-oh. Yup, it's hard enough getting chaps kitted for late war so we will definitely have to be flexible for early war!
Still, grey vs brown should be awesome. And there is no reason why we can't try for a good degree of accuracy...
We will be emphasising that this won't be a blatfest and player's attitudes need to change. It's not a huge site so we reasonable player number should enable us to keep tighter control...
Denims are really cheap on ebay.
Also brown/khaki/green jackets and shirts can have the odd pockets picked off to look like denims.
Brown overcoats are cheap but probalby not a great skirmish idea for July
If you allow French as a option then you could possibly get away with modern brit no2s and high puttees....
Sgt Heide is casting up para helmets at £10 a piece apparently, maybe ask him if he could do brit tommy helmets for the same...
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
Yeah... I've been thinking of ways to make this work and require the minimum effort from people.
At a minimum I guess it means full DB (either pattern) NO INSIGNIA AT ALL, tommy helmet, webbing (no entrenching tool cover). Weapons could be interesting, usual CiA rules I guess would have to be used. But preferred is SMLE, Bren, 1928 tommy.
Ideally people need to have: 37 pattern BD, gas mask bag, pea green webbing, side fastening skeleton waterbottle cover. Gas Cape. There are other details, but they can be gone into another time. Could have hessian covers on their tommy helmets, SMLE bayonets, early pattern entrenching tools, etc...
People could also do OR's Serge Service Dress if they want!
What about for the Germans? It'd be the MP38 rather than MP40 wouldn't it?
Tommy helmets can be picked up pretty cheap anyway... but maybe.
To be honest Dave, I'm surprised you haven't gone with the Operation Sealion idea. It gives a much wider range of kit.
Operation Sealion would be much better played as urban I think 
yes true..
Re the germans pre 41 kit I reckon
All in Field Grey would be nice , Panzer Blacks or Lufty
Deffo no cammo smocks or clothing . Splinter Zelts is about as far as I'd go as they were issued by then .
No M43 peaked caps ....if not helmets then Schiffs .
No 44 pattern gear (it's rare anyway) and ideally Jackboots over gaiters.
Less SS ( unrealistic expectation ) as they were few in number in 1940 .
No obvious wrongs ..MP44 ..G43s...going to have to be K98s or MP40s. Reckon given the likely weather K98s will be weapon of choice. Suggest MG42 is allowable given the fact there are no MG34s and '42s are short in number. Denying the Germans any support weapons is poor. Would we allow 30 cals ? bit early for Lend Lease .
As a final thought I personally would like to see if we can up the anti a bit with the standards asked for . No modern fabrics or one , the nylon gunbags, ruscksacks and bloody carrier bags at Herbsnebel really turned my stomach .
the nylon gunbags, ruscksacks and bloody carrier bags at Herbsnebel really turned my stomach .
You are shitting me?
Who turned up with carrier bags?
Personally for PBI we're reviewing acceptable counts as.
Given that we came up with the original list nearly two and half years ago when there was no real cheap repro clothes, no clone chinese tommy guns or mp40s or k98s (i knowits not a great skirmish weapon) and in reality all you had was expensive mp40s and tm m1a1a it was pretty good list.
If i wrote it again *personally* i'd probably takeout flectarn and strictarn (i'd rather see someone in plain grey or green) and I'd probably bin MP5 and AK47s as they were really there to provide cheap axis SMGs to counter the thompson.
I dont feel thats being elitist or prescriptive i think it reflects the change in the scene, the standard of player kit and availability or previously rare stuff.
I think Josh caters very well for the 'first time' crowd with counts as hire kit in roughly green US and Austrian kit germans... perhaps time to differentiate a bit by raising the bar just a smidgen?
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
We've been having similar thoughts , TBH , I would like to get back to more the idea of "reeanacting airsofters" that we started off with .
Herbsnebel was a bit of a wake up call for me , way too open day , way too SISK .
I'm not so worried about the uniform rules, I can't reacll the last time I saw someone wearing felcktarn ( ever ?) , it's more I'd like people to get more into the spririt of 1940's . The parades and singing at Arnhem ..ok bit naff... but worked better for me . They go to great lenghts ot look right , and then act sooo anachronistically ...pointless. The recent debate with HS and the Amis said loads to me . Would ratherhave 15 fully commited than 50 half assed....oh dear ..we're agreeing ot much again 
BLANCO SUCKS 
BLANCO SUCKS
Oh it does but at least we can agree on what shade it should be unlike the great yank helmet debate...
"My helmets a different shade of green than yours..."
"Mines got a knobbly texture..."
etc etc
The fact no one has turned up in flecktarn for some times sort of makes me feel its even more valid to remove it discretely - the players obviously think its naff so we ought to follow suite.
Getting folk to *act* 40s is the tricky bit. I dont know what the answer is.
Incidentally we had a rules review last night.
We're going to experiment with 300/1000 (rifle/support) ammo limits with 500 of the 1000 being held by the loader/no2.
We're also making grenade kills outright kills in an attempt to get folk to use them but limiting players to two or three on their person (unless they carry assault pioneer bags).
I'll let you know how it pans out (as can Steve actually as he'll be there too)
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
Funny how it goes in circles...the Germans have been a lot less anal since Stubblehopper left...probas about time for a StitchNazi thread 
Well, I am agreeing with Guy - it's much less to do with whether the kit they are wearing is pukka-ish but more about attitude.
Those with great kit can be knobbers (Blaggers standing in the open in the middle of a field engaging the enemy, Sgt Ash's crowd disobeying orders) and those with OK kit (Steve.D relying on out ranging instead of being remotely tactical) and those with rubbish kit (dayglowfroggy, who turned up with a collection of modern kit and a lousy attitude).
We know role playing works (and my favourite games all had it on my side) so I look forward to more!
SS, 1940.
Type 1 smocks & helmet covers - majority of which were in Plane Tree pattern
Jackboots
SS-M37 tunics
M36 & M40 tunics
M35 or M40 helmets
M34 or M40 sidecaps
SS units in combat in France
Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
SS-V Division comprising SS-Panzergrenadier Regiments "Deutschland", "Germania" & "Der Fuhrer"
Totenkopf Division
Regarding collar insignia, this was the "change over" period, so the SS-VT would have either the numbered sigrunen on the collar, or the regular sigrunen used for the rest of the war.
And yes, I am a sad bastard for knowing that......
PS - Roleplaying side of things always adds to the experience
When we were a Kingdom it was run by a King
When we were an Empire it was run by an Empress
Now we're a country we're run by a..........
Yes... I really liked the massed parade at Arnhem... that really was a high point for me. Got everyone in the mood, etc.
It wouldn't have been possible at Mist anyway, no room in the safe zone.
Gadge, we have LOADS of room at Grange Farm and should go back to a parade for that... Especially since its invite only type thing! BTW guys we do have places available! hint, hint 
The nylon gunbags was because people had to bring spare guns to the HQ and had to keep them in something. I was lucky that I have a bren spare barrel bag that the MP40 fits in...
I didn't see anything untoward on people's actual kit though, not with the allies.
SS- were there in Regiment strenght ...as opposed to the Heer ...who were there in Corps Strenght 7 The 2nd SS still managed ot commit a warcrime in only 3 weeks of combat and before the evils of Russia .....
ok just making a point ....no need ot debate
Roleplaying ...it's the way forward.