Bolt Action - How I build an army
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ค. 2024
- Hello everyone and welcome back to the channel. In this video I’m going to be taking a look at how I actually build an army, the thought process and what purchases I like to make when building a new army for Bolt Action.
The video was inspired by a comment left on the previous video asking if I could make a video on what steps to take when building a new Bolt Action army. Starting an army is a very personal choice with no right or wrong answers so I thought I would outline how I do it and talk through how I went about building my Stalingrad German army.
I’m not a competitive gamer by any stretch of the imagination and this is always reflected in how I go about building an army for games of Bolt Action. For more information about the actual nuts and bolts of building an army using the theatre selectors, you may wish to check out the first video in the Bolt Action Basics series;
Building an army - • Bolt Action Basics - B...
Major Koenig build - • Bolt Action Stalingrad...
If you enjoyed the video, please give it a like and consider subscribing to the channel for more gaming goodness!
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Credits;
Gently, onwards - ELPHNT - เกม
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Panzer III and your basing is just amazing.
Cheers! When I initially painted the Panzer III, it looked really pretty dull so that's why I added additional weathering and stowage 🙂
I do go about planning my forces and try to work on what I have before making more purchases, but that’s always difficult to stay away from other cool stuff! But my issue is, I only like to play with painted models so it takes me a while before I can field an army acceptable to my standards. And once I get a game or two in, I realize my list is missing something or I need to make changes. Always a struggle!
Staying away from the cool stuff is definitely one of the more difficult aspects of the hobby! I tend to keep vehicles, tanks and team weapons as rewards for completing infantry sections. I'm the same as you with regards to online playing with painted miniatures. I think getting those first few games in is important in that it allows you to refine the list after you see how it plays 😊
Really enjoyed that mate, I’ve not played yet but I’m building my first army, the US Airborne. Like you I’m more interested in the overall feel of my army, rather than their competitive balance. Thanks for sharing👍🏻
Thanks Chris, glad you enjoyed it mate! Having spoken to a few gamers about this I think the historical route is one that many choose to take to really get immersed in the game and background of their chosen army. Good luck with your US Airborne 😀
Looks great. Love your bases and the poses you modeled. I just finished my Stalingrad summer army and am about to start my winter Germans. You've given me some great ideas, thanks!
Thanks Justin! The winter German infantry box is really good to work with and has some great poses. I'm half way through repainting mine and adding to their bases but it's progressing well. Ahhh sweet! I'm the opposite, I want to start a summer Stalingrad project in the near future as I think this would be a good continuation. No worries dude, glad you enjoyed the video 😊
Excellent video mate, I find just physically building up an army is one of my favourite parts of the hobby. Watching it grow over time is so satisfying! Always good to hear other people’s methods. Looking forward to starting early war Germans next year
Cheers Josh! I definitely agree with you about seeing an army growing over time, it's that visible progression that makes it all worth while. There are lots of ways to put an army together and I always enjoy the theory that other people use when building theirs. Nice, I'm planning a Blitzkrieg German project too 😊
Thanks for making this, it’s something I’ve been struggling with!
No worries buddy, really glad you found it useful! I think everyone has different ways to go about building an army and sometimes seeing how others make theirs can be helpful for tips and guidance 😊
That was really helpful. I’m not a competitive player, either so it’s nice to see the thought process behind selecting an army.
Cheers Matt, glad you found it helpful buddy! I'm not sure I would even know how to go about building an ultra competitive army. Even when I played at X Wing tournaments, I always tried to have some sort of theme to my list and this definitely applies to Bolt Action too 😊
Great video. Lovely to hear a video based on collecting to a theme.
Cheers Cal! That's what I like about Bolt Action in that it gives you scope to really add a theme or background to your army building. The selectors give you the lists but a bit of research allows you to really add the history to it 😊
When I had WWII armies I would build them around historical formations (aka paper strength) and then depending on the game I would leave troops out due to attrition.
I think this sounds like a great approach to take. I think by adding a back story or some form of realism to your armies and projects, it means you can become that bit more immersed in the history when you're painting and playing 😊
Epic video, really helped me get a few ideas for my army! Thx mate!!!
Cheers dude, much appreciated! I think that sometimes seeing how others go about building an army, painting etc is definitely good for inspiration with your own projects. I'm looking forward to adding to this army soon 😊
Absolutely brilliant video, I've been binge watching your channel and it's amazing what it's turned into. Over the years I've caught the occasional army showcase, but you've really stepped it up a notch and I think you're doing a great job at promoting the best miniatures game which badly needs the sort of online presence of another larger gaming in company.
Personally I'm a plastic horder who has no shame in having a pile of joy. I actually hate the term pile of shame, I love the fact I've boxes of sprues to pick through to bash together fun little projects. But I fully understand that it can be intimidating and offputting to have a mountain of work for a newcomer. My trick is just to pull out small amounts at a time and that way I don't get overwhelmed. But when I buy, it's always a few hundred pounds at a time.
Metal minis are awesome. Very evocative of my childhood, I even like the bad sculps. But your kit bashing ideas have been invaluable so that you don't have many duplicates in theatre selectors where you can take more than say one flamethrower team or if you're going super cheese and baking them into your squads too.
Hey Danny, thank you so much for your kind words about the channel. It's hearing this sort of feedback that really makes it all worthwhile and demonstrates what a really awesome community we belong to. People always say you should make videos about what you're passionate about and Bolt Action is definitely my passion.
I too am a plastic hoarder! I never throw anything away from any sprue that I have as you never know when a certain piece will come in handy for a specific project that you're working on and having the resources to kit bash a unique and one off build is one part of the hobby that I always enjoy. That is a sound approach and you're correct in that can be intimidating if you're sat in front of a 3000 point army. I tend to bounce between different projects to keep things interesting and this always keeps me motivated.
Metal miniatures are definitely growing on me! After the batch of German figures that I converted with plastic bits and pieces, I can certainly see potential in them and really enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone with them. But absolutely, kit basing plays a big part in my hobby. Thanks again for your support :)
Interesting thought process mate that'll be a great help to new starters.
Thanks Paul! Hopefully it will show new gamers just one way of building an army. I guess there are no real right or wrong ways of going about it but sometimes a structured approach may be more suitable for someone just getting into the game 😀
Beautiful work
Thanks Adam, much appreciated 🙂👍
Love your content bro.
That's awesome and very kind of you, thank you! I'm looking to make a lot more content this year than in 2021 with a lot more emphasis on Bolt Action. Thanks for watching the channel, its always appreciated buddy 👍 🙂
Solid advice for anyone wanting to dip their toes into Bolt Action. I tend to build my armies in the same way. I build up a 1000 list and then just add to it over time. I always go infantry heavy with a minimum of 4 sections if not 5 or 6 only because I love painting and I think I've already made every tank out there. lol
Cheers James and agree with everything you've said her. I think the first 1000 points are pretty crucial when building an army as after this you can add to it and really begin to shape the army to how you want it to look. Once the infantry is down, you can really start to personalise it 😊
Outstanding video and very good ground rules for building an army. Would you have tips for a British Mech army for Normandy? Your miniatures in this video are just bloody brilliant. love the basing and snow affect.
Thank you! Even now I still use the same principle when approaching my projects. So for my current US Airborne project I wrote down my 'core options' to give it a spine and from there I have added support to make it playable but also give it a sense of realism and character. And they are based in the snow too! I've changed my snow technique since this video though.
As I mentioned earlier, have a look at your chosen theatre selector for your British and then do a little bit of research into what their mechanised support would be. My British are set in Normandy so I'd be looking to add Shermans. I'm even looking to expand it for the Tank War rules to give me a squadron of Shermans backed up by motorised infantry 😃
Nice looking minis in the video Ste and very informative too.
Cheers Keith! I really like the winter German range but I really don't think my initial paint scheme did them justice. This is why I'm currently tidying them up and giving them more interesting looking bases. It's so relatively small army so shouldn't take me too long. After that I plan to start expanding on it 😊
On Point HQ I look forward to seeing more of them.👍
It's good to have squads, medic, sniper, flame, panzewreck team, mortar, tank, puma, observer, as many dice as at least 10 units. Nice video. I like the winter soldier in his trench. Cheers.
I have quite a few more things to add to the army but I want to keep it fairly understrength to reflect it being a veteran platoon trapped in Stalingrad. Up next is probably going to be some artillery and an armoured car 😀
Nicely explained and showcased. In the end I believe just doing what you personally think is the best is always the way to go. If you want to paint a winter german army with desert bases holding panzerfaust and STGs I dont really see a problem as long as your opponent is fine with it.
Thank you, much appreciated! And definitely 100% agreement from me. I've always said that the best way to be passionate about the hobby is to do the things that you want to do and do it your way. The best approach in my opinion 😀👍
EXCELLENT
Brilliant video very informative!
Thanks mate, much appreciated! It's been really interesting hearing about other people go about building their armies. It's such an individual part of the hobby 😊
Great video. As a newby it’s deffinatley food for thought before I jump in and potentially waste money on things I may not need
Cheers Stuart. Seeing how the army building process works in a game can often be a big factor in if someone takes the plunge and gets involved. I take a pretty organised approach with my Bolt Action armies and plan around 1000 points. This gives me a core that I can work with and then add additional sections, support and vehicles etc. It also ensures I don't end up witn bits and pieces that I'll never use ☺
Good one Ste. Can’t build a WW2 force without a medic and radio operator, purely because they’re my favourite type of miniatures.
I don’t actually play any games but I use rule books (Chain of Command for me) as a basis for collecting and painting. I do tend to just go and buy a load of stuff I like the look of (and whatever deals I can get) and then see what just happens to make up a force. Just started some WW2 minis again, after a fairly long hiatus from the period. I’m doing 8th Army, all Perry miniatures, I’ve bought a radio truck for the Brits and an ambulance for the DAK regardless of whether they have a role in the rules because they’re great looking vehicles. Also got some British dispatch riders on motorbikes and DAK on m/b & sidecar because they’re fantastic models.
Cheers Lee and I definitely agree about radio operators! I seem to have made quite a few of these across my German army. Good to hear you dipping your toe back into WW2. I've painted up a section of Perry's DAK and they were really enjoyable to paint. I can imagine that the 8th Army will be just as good, some great looking miniatures.
Its been really interesting to hear other people's approaches to collecting and building an army, it definitely shows how diverse the hobby is :)
I bought afrika korps models about 3 months ago, and hadn't done any research at all, I just knew I wanted afrika korps models. So I bought everything in the theater selector, and everything in western desert campaign book.
Since then, I've branched into other german theaters, and I'm much more selective in my purchases. I've got plenty of blitzes and hanomags to go around though :D
Thanks for sharing Matt! It's always really interesting to see the steps that other people take when building their armies and it definitely appears that you have tailored your approach to it. DAK is a project that I definitely want to start next year. And you can never have too many transports 😀
Loving the feldgrau on these (thinking in particular of 07:13 when you show the first two infantry sections). Nice work! What colours have you used? New sub btw!
That's awesome thank you! I painted these using my usual process for painting my Bolt Action Germans - Vallejo Field Grey, a wash of Agrax Earthshade and then very basic highlights using a small amount of Vallejo Sunny Skintone mixed with the original Field Grey. It's a really simple way of achieving field grey. Hope that helps! 😀
Thanks Ste, nice video. I agree, I'd always go with historical over competition, every time. I've just completed the 1000pt British Army box, and have purposely left out the last rifle section. A. Because if I built it I would have a complete platoon of three rifle sections, and also an odd single rifle section, and B. even though they're of no strategic use I wanted to include in those 1000pts three Bedford trucks to transport the platoon around. ('Cos it felt right.).
cheers.
Cheers Allan! Definitely agree with you about taking the historical route with Bolt Action armies. I think that's a wise plan and the good thing with Bolt Action is that you can really tailor your armies with the theatre selectors like you've done in choosing to motorise your three infantry sections. 'It felt right' can definitely sum up building a Bolt Action army 😊
I like your "philosophy" on "building thematic army".
I am myself planning on builing a K47 Finnish army, with some inspiration of "Detatchment Thorne".
Thank you! I think with Bolt Action and Konflikt47 there is definitely scope for themed army building. I find that using a basic theatre selector and thinking 'what could I include or leave out to make this more thematic?' really helps. I'm not a competitive player so I much prefer armies built this way 🙂
Nice video matey
Cheers buddy! I think that army list building/creation is a part of a game that can make people decide whether they want to take it up or not. Hopefully this video outlined just how the list building mechanics and theatre selectors work :)
I really liked this video. I am a professional painter, so do not usually work out the configuration of an army. Very informative and well painted. How did you get the snow effect?
Thank you David, I'm really glad you enjoyed the video. I'm more of a painter but that's because I don't really get much chance to game these days! The snow is the baking soda and PVA glue technique. I don't actually use this anymore since starting to use the Army Painter Battlefield snow effect. Probably the best snow effect I've ever used. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment 🙂
I have 5 armies now. For every one of them, I decide on a real historical unit during a certain time period. I then look up the appropriate selector, design the army, then buy the models.
Hey Jay, absolutely love this approach dude! I think knowing that your army is historically accurate really helps to be more invested in the project as a whole. My late war Germans are based around kampfgruppe Becker and use the relevant selectors to run them accordingly 😊
Its appropriate l was the first veiw, much thanks Ste
No worries Justin, I thought it was an excellent idea for a video. Building an amry is very much down to personal preference but hopefully this video will outline the main points that I opt for :)
Enjoyed this I go with the ob/historical build in creating mine against the number crunching crowd what’s the fun in that
Hey Eric, glad you enjoyed the video! I'm very much of the same mindset when it comes to building an army. I would much prefer to have an army with a historical background, it certainly makes collecting and gaming with them a bit more interesting 😊
That’s why in both Bolt Action and Flames of War start with original OB’s and then make stories up to justify the differences.
Great video. Love all your work on both video and podcasts.
A lot of players do not know this as this is how the game system works. Building your force is the most important part of this game.
I started two years ago and was totally blind to this element of BA. I just painted and built.
I ended up many times with too many LMGs (cause their cool), and not enough rifles or spotters or whatever.
So I had to fill in gaps as I played more and more games. I need this, I need that.
Finally I got it!
I am building a US Marines force for the new book of the Pacific theatre.
So I started on my weapon teams and support units. Light artillery, mortar, sniper, MMG, HMG, anti-tank, medic, officers, spotters, flame thrower, etc.
So now I have two boxes of Marines to build my squads around.
LVTs after that.
I love this process and aspect of BA!
Hey Shawn, that's awesome buddy, really glad you enjoy the channel and the podcast! You're definitely spot on with this and I think sometimes it's probably very easy to look at one of the armies of books and just decide to buy, build and paint all the cool shiny bits and pieces. I mean, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach at all, but like you mentioned, it can often lead to an unbalanced or disjointed army that you will likely have to add more to at a later date.
Good luck with the USMC! Mine were for the first real Bolt Action project that I completed and I absolutely loved every minute of working on them. With those, I pretty much followed the same process in sorting out the core choices and then adding bits and pieces as I went. Its really rewarding when building an army and seeing it grow over time. Like you said, a really enjoyable process! Thanks again for the support, its much appreciated :)
Did you add more to this
Hey Micah, I expanded it yes. It is currently at HQ, Higher Officer, medic, forward observation team, sniper, flamethrower, four infantry sections, two medium machine gun teams, medium mortar with spotter and a Panzer III. Next additions will be some anti-tank and artillery options 😃
Only just watched this but disagree slightly. If you want historically accurate then agree follow the recommended eras and use the correct guns. If it's just for fun I would say do whatever you want. Worrying about whether that gun was used then would put off any casual gamer
Nice video 🙂 But You have mistaken competetive players and 'that Guys' 😜
Cheers buddy and you're absolutely right, I probably do a bit of a disservice to competitive gamers. I really need to separate them from 'that guy' Thankfully I've only ever encountered one of them during all my years of gaming 😁