Jared - The Beginning

A similar welcome from myself as well! Having been a Flames of War evangelist for a while now, I thought it high time that I put some words where my mouth is and contribute a bit in the form of a blog. When Ben asked if I would be interested in co-authoring with him I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share some of what I’ve worked on and also motivate myself through the mountains of lead and resin that sit behind my hobby area.

I started Flames of War a little over two years ago after a year spent trying to paint up and build an army for Warhammer 40,000. I could complain all day about the Games Workshop’s system, but at the end of the day it all really came down to complaints about scale. 15mm might be a bit abstracted in terms of range across a 6 x 4 ft. board, but the scale at which everything operates just feels right to me—and that’s what’s kept me at it the past few years.

It took some searching, but this was some of the earliest
forays into painting Germans. 

I’m also a bit of a WWII nut, so take that as you will.

I’ve played Flames of War long to have undergone a few evolutions in how I prefer to play the game. When I first started out I tended towards defensive lists and defensive units for an otherwise entirely reactionary, defensive game. While this is a perfectly viable strategy, I’ve grown to really enjoy aggressive themed lists that either win fast or lose fast. I don’t think any Flames of War players out there will argue how much more exciting an aggressive and fast-paced game plays versus two players picking away at each other from the safety of their trench lines for 15 rounds.

That said, I own a pile of partially-painted Germans and some Russians that can fit just about every situation.

This is a example of my most recent painting (Russian Tankovy.)
You can't tell from the first picture too much, but I've come a long way.  

The Goal

Similarly, I want to have a few fully-painted but well balanced list options for when I face off against Ben at Gen Con this August. Between now and then I aim to wrap up my brief foray into Russian Lend-Lease Tankovy that I picked up to break up the German painting monotony then return to wrapping up my German Lehr/Armored Panzergrenadiers. From there, I hope to finish some armored options of which to bring along as well.

I’m already sitting on a pile of modular terrain which I plan on bringing to Gencon to help flesh out a table when the evening gaming sessions commence—so I have a bit of a head start in not needing to worry about any of that.

The Plan

Summer is coming full swing here in Illinois, so I won’t set the expectation that I will make awesome progress, but I hope to be able to share something at least weekly. I’ll also have a bit of leave of absence coming up soon as my wife and I escape to Germany for a few weeks. That being said, I look to get the motivation and paint flowing.