Expanding Board Game pieces


  • Hello, I am completely new to this forum.  I have been playing A&A since I was 7 and will play it until the day that I die.  However I am wanting to expand my own board games with simple miniatures that add more depth and units to the original board game, the expansion board games, and the latest Europe and Asian boards that can combine into one.

    So I am looking for anyone who can either point me in a direction of basic pieces, or has some available to sell.  I am looking to expand all aspects of the board game; land, sea, and air.

    If you have any information for me, I would greatly appreciate it.  I will keep my eyes on this post daily for any updates from you kind individuals who are willing to help me.

    Thank You



  • Wow, thank you very much!


  • Let me know if you have any questions about the different pieces- size, quality, etc.  I’d be glad to share my opinions on HBG’s custom sculpts.

  • '17 '16

    I’d be glad to hear your opinion of HBG’s custom sculpts… if I just want to enlarge my copy of 1942 SE’s available force pool… are there any must haves or must avoids?


  • Keep meaning to ask Wolf: With your combined pool of 1941 & 1942.2 sculpts, what shortages are you expecting to make up from HBG?

    I ask because I would not have thought you would need to. :-)

  • '17 '16

    My “shortages” are a product of my own OCD mind.

    You see… when I combine 1941 with 1942, I will still be short on things like Japanese tanks, American Tanks, British tanks, etc, etc… because I can’t allow Japanese Tigers, or UK/US Joseph Stalin tanks that come standard with 1941.  1941 shares one model of each type for all allies (like Joseph Stalins) and one for each of both axis (like Tigers).  This means, if I want all nations to have the same number of tanks, for example, i’ll need to order 5 more tanks each for Japan, US and UK (and that’s just the tanks, there are others)… so i’ll want something like Type 95 Ha-Gos for Japan, Shermans for US, etc, etc, to make up for the Ziplock bag hell in the corner that will become of things like Japanese Tiger tanks.

    WWII Equipment is a hobby of mine… I literally have scores of books (just a few posted below, and I just noticed my daughters pokemon snuck onto my shelf) in my private library in my study about equipment from all the powers in WWII… tanks, fighters, bombers, ships of all types, etc, etc.  I completely rewrote an over 300 unit database for the PC game Pacific General back in the day, and i’m just a stickler for things like this… I would lose sleep moving Japanese tigers across Asia!

    So ya… i’ve been perusing the HBG site for extra equipment!

    I’ll be picking everything up this weekend… can’t wait to get back into A&A.

    MyLibrary.jpg


  • Thanks for taking the time to reply Wolf. You make me feel quite “normal” which is not so easy!

    Good to see the energy and enthusiasm you bring to the forum BTW.

    Cheers
    PP


  • Very nice.

  • '17 '16

    @Private:

    Thanks for taking the time to reply Wolf. You make me feel quite “normal” which is not so easy!

    Well, if you mean obsessing over little equipment issues that 99% of ‘normal’ people would never even notice, ya, welcome to the club.  Because of the way I think about equipment and what’s proper and isn’t, i’ll probably be ziplocking half or more of the 1941 units and tossing them to the side.  Of course half of the 1941 units is like about 20 units or so… lolz… looking at the units provided in 1941, man, they sure did cut the budget on that one for sculpts.

    But I know what countries used what and what they didn’t.  Japan didn’t have any Tigers or Tiger copies, so to the ziplock bag they go… they won’t be in my storage trays for the game, and if I toss out 5 Japanese tigers, i’ll order 5 other Japanese tanks (that Japan did use) to fill the void.  I’ll do this for each unit in the 1941 box.  I’m fine (and actually prefer) having a variety of sculpts for the same unit type… so things like Germany having Tigers from 1941 and Panthers from 1942, both representing German armor, is perfectly fine with me.  If I can find unique sculpts for units that aren’t in 1941 or 1942 from the HBG site (either custom HBG or from the 1940 games), I may order them for variety to replace things like Japanese Tigers and FW-190s.

    @Private:

    Good to see the energy and enthusiasm you bring to the forum BTW.

    Meh, I’ve been bored lately and looking for a new obsession… falling back on A&A just reinforces my WWII hobby… I’m mostly looking forward to seeing if I can get my kids into it.

    Besides, like Groucho Marx once said… “I’d never join a club that would accept me as a member”.  :wink:


  • @Wolfshanze:

    WWII Equipment is a hobby of mine… I literally have scores of books (just a few posted below, and I just noticed my daughters pokemon snuck onto my shelf) in my private library in my study about equipment from all the powers in WWII… tanks, fighters, bombers, ships of all types, etc, etc.  I completely rewrote an over 300 unit database for the PC game Pacific General back in the day, and i’m just a stickler for things like this… I would lose sleep moving Japanese tigers across Asia!

    I’m getting the impression that you and I operate on very similar wavelengths (in addition to having similar bookshelves, though minus the Pokemons for me).  There’s a funny Monty Python sketch that I can relate to very well, and may also be the case with you.  The sketch takes place around 1900 in the gondola of a Zeppelin, where an airborne cocktail party is being hosted by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin.  The gondola is full of German officers with spiked helmets who are chit-chatting and drinking champagne.  One of the officers walks over to the proud inventor and says, “Ah, Graf von Zeppelin, zees is a magnificent balloon you have built for ze German Army!”  The Count blows a fuse and roars in outrage, “Zees is not a balloon, zees is a dirigible airship!”  He then tosses the offending officer out the door, causing him to fall to his death.  A moment later, another officer makes the same unfortunate remark to the Count and meets the same fate.  The Count ends up hurling the entire German General Staff out of the gondola one by one.


  • @CWO:

    I’m getting the impression that you and I operate on very similar wavelengths ….

    OMG - I hope we’re not going to have a dewy-eyed duet about the wonders of Flambeau Zerust plastic tackle boxes from the two of you! :-D

  • '17 '16

    By Grabthar’s hammer, by the suns of Worvan, Flambeau’s Zerust plastic tackle boxes shall be avenged!


  • You recognised the pic then! 8-)

  • '17 '16

    Marc, we may have similar thoughts on WWII equipment representation in game, but I’m heavily leaning towards a Stanley 25-bin Removeable Organizer(s) over the Flambeau Zerust plastic tackle box(s).

    Also… balloons vs dirigibles maybe funny… but nothing is funny as the World’s Funniest Joke… lethal at over 50 yards, seeing two words of it will land you in the hospital for weeks… it ended WWII, and Hitler never could reproduce something as funny, despite Nazi Germany’s best efforts at a funny joke.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ienp4J3pW7U


  • @Wolfshanze:

    Marc, we may have similar thoughts on WWII equipment representation in game, but I’m heavily leaning towards a Stanley 25-bin Removeable Organizer(s) over the Flambeau Zerust plastic tackle box(s).

    Which is fine.  I wasn’t saying that the Flambeau boxes are any kind of ideal choice for everyone; I was simply saying that they work well for me and for my particular requirements.

  • '17 '16

    I haven’t bought anything yet, but i’m definitely window shopping and taking a gander at everything i’d LIKE to get, starting this weekend.  Still recovering from taking the kids to Orlando earlier this month!  Hands-on starts this weekend.  Couple more days, can’t wait, then I start playing around with stuff again!


  • @Wolfshanze:

    I haven’t bought anything yet, but i’m definitely window shopping and taking a gander at everything i’d LIKE to get, starting this weekend.Â

    Very sensible.  A good officer always weighs his options carefully before committing his forces.


  • @Wolfshanze:

    I’d be glad to hear your opinion of HBG’s custom sculpts… if I just want to enlarge my copy of 1942 SE’s available force pool… are there any must haves or must avoids?

    I think that there are definitely some must-haves.  Personally and I may be alone on this, but I’m not too crazy about HBG’s very early releases, such as their first German set.  I find that the quality of those sculpts is just a bit “off”, but HBG totally won me over with their last few sets, starting with the Russian Early War set.  IMO, that’s when their quality level jumped up noticeably, and the sets that they’ve done since then, the Japan, UK, and US Expansion Sets (as opposed to the Supplement Sets), have been excellent/A+.

    Also, just in case you don’t know, some of their battle pieces are of various scales to the effect of: Heavy Tank, Medium Tank, Light Tank, in order to accommodate games which incorporate those.  So, right off the bat, I want to let you know that the US Pershing and the custom German Tiger are large pieces, so if you’re just playing A&A and you want to keep the piece size to a minimum to save space (like I am), that’s something to be aware of.  Likewise, the Japanese G8N Riga and UK/ANZAC Sterling Heavy Bomber pieces are relatively large, and so is the 155mm M1A1 Heavy Artillery.

    There is one piece that I would advise you to avoid, which is the Swordfish Naval Fighter.  I really want to love the Swordfish sculpt, but many of mine have tails that are slightly twisted… and I’ve read on this forum that you might be able to fix this by dunking the piece in hot water, and then cold water, but I haven’t had the time to try this yet.  If I do, I’ll post about it.

    Anyway, on to the recommendations!  The following are pieces that I particularly appreciate and would like to recommend.

    United States —

    The M4A3 Sherman is my favorite piece.  I replaced all of my original US tanks with these.  They’re solid, they’re molded really well, they “fit right in” and look awesome on your board.
    http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/5X-M4A3-Sherman-Medium-Tank–Olive-Drab_p_2087.html

    The US Late War Infantry look fantastic.  Again, this one fits-in on your board perfectly, the proportions of the trooper’s head, boots, et cetera, are spot on. A+
    http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/5X-US-Late-War-Infantry-w-MG–Olive-Drab_p_2078.html

    I’m very happy with my P-80 Shooting Stars.  They’re a nice solid sculpt with thick features that won’t bend or warp.
    http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/5X-P-80-Shooting-Star-Jet-Fighter–Olive-Drab_p_2095.html

    Japan –-

    The Type 89 Cannon is very solid. Grade A.
    http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/5X-Type-89-Cannon-Heavy-Artillery–Pumpkin-Orange_p_1764.html

    The J9Y Kikka Jet is solid as well and looks absolutely vicious!  It’s a great opponent for your P-80 Shooting Star.  This one deserves an A+.
    http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/5X-J9Y-Kikka-Jet-Fighters–Pumpkin-Orange_p_1796.html

    UK / ANZAC –-

    The Humber Scout Car makes for a great Mechanized Infantry piece, IMO.  I use them alongside my original out-of-box M5 half-tracks in that role.  In my experience, about 1 out of 5 of these seem to have a crooked gun or a bent turret, but the coolness of this piece is worth it anyway.  It’s otherwise solid, the wheels look great.  It’s an A-.
    http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/5X-Humber-Scout-Car–UK-Tan_p_1887.html

    The Churchill Heavy Tank is a somewhat large piece, but I had to get this one anyway, and I’m glad that I did.  Again, about 1 out of 5 of mine had issues, again with the turret.  Just want to let you know that if you go with these, you might end up benching 1 or 2 duds like I did.  However, the ones that look good, look great! So, they’re worth it.  A- for these.
    http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/5X-Churchill-Heavy-Tank–UK-Tan_p_1891.html

    Russia –-

    The KV-2 Heavy Tank is a beast.  It’s about the same length as the out-of-box T-34, the turret is appropriately tall. The piece feels very solid and weighty. Highly recommended.
    http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/HBG-Battle-Pieces–Russia-Early-War-KV-2-Heavy-Tank_p_1146.html

    Hope this has been helpful.  Have fun with your new collection!  Let me know what you get.

  • '17 '16

    I scored 1941 this weekend… with all 10 pieces for the five countries… what a let down… and half of them are all the wrong sculpts (like Joseph Stalin tanks for the US, and Tiger tanks for the Japs)… with as few pieces that come with 1941, its amazing the game is even playable out of the box (I won’t even attempt it till i get more units from HBG and 1942).

    I have 1942 SE already en-route via mail, and I ordered nearly $100 bucks worth of HBG sculpts (placed a 2nd order when I realized “i wasn’t done”).  I bought a bunch of early war US HBG Shermans to completely replace the Shermans that come with 1942… i wasn’t impressed with the 1942 Sherman… also some Pershings, F4Fs, Essex CVs, South Dakota and Nevada BBs, Japanese Type-97 tanks, Nagato BB, Fuso BB, and well… a bunch of other stuff (for each nation)… I really, Really, REALLY wanted something for England besides Matildas… either the Valentines or Churchills would have done, but both were out of stock (bummer).  I’m surprised there’s no Cruiser tanks available for the UK.  There weren’t very many Matilda’s in England’s arsenal, and they were quickly abandoned for just about any other type of tank.  Oh well… it’s better Matilda’s then English Joseph Stalin tanks! lolz.

    I also ordered some Battle Bucks from HBG… I have the classic IPC’s from my 1984 A&A Classic, but they were heavily used and I think the HBG set looks nicer anyways.  I’m scavenging the 12 Industrial Plants from my A&A Classic, but knowing that barely covers what is initially placed in 1942, I wanted more than a couple spares… HBG is constantly out, but I was able to scoop up another dozen Industrial Plants off E-Bay for $5 bucks, so now I have plenty of Industrial Plants.

    Now its just the waiting game for everything I ordered to come in.

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