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Tabletop Gaming, Models, and Minis => Modelling and Miniatures => Topic started by: bayonetbrant on August 02, 2013, 05:22:45 AM

Title: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: bayonetbrant on August 02, 2013, 05:22:45 AM
Not sure how long the link will be good, but here it is

http://www.wargamevault.com/shopping_cart.php?products_id=114889&src=sub
http://www.wargamevault.com/product/114876/Micro-Armour-The-Game-WWII-2nd-Edition-%28Full-Color%29

the official Micro-armor WWII rules.  All of them, too, not just some 'quick start' or something.
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: ArizonaTank on August 02, 2013, 06:43:40 AM
Gotta love wargame vault.  I feel guilty that I haven't really ever bought much from them...  Just a great copy of micro-napoleonics
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: Toonces on August 02, 2013, 02:49:08 PM
Wow, that's a lot of gaming for free.

I all the rules and TO&E's.  Nice find!   ;D
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: GJK on August 02, 2013, 02:53:54 PM
All that I get is an empty shopping cart if I click that link however if I search for "micro" on their site, I see a lot of free micro-armor rules downloads for free.
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: bayonetbrant on August 02, 2013, 03:02:39 PM
try this link instead

http://www.wargamevault.com/product/114876/Micro-Armour-The-Game-WWII-2nd-Edition-%28Full-Color%29

^^^ full-colour version!
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: GJK on August 02, 2013, 03:18:10 PM
Much better - thanks!
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: Toonces on August 02, 2013, 05:13:09 PM
If you click on the little GHQ logo, there are a bunch of TO&E's and rules and all kinds of free stuff!
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: GJK on August 02, 2013, 08:42:04 PM
Cool thanks - downloading a bunch of very large pdf's now!
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: GDS_Starfury on August 03, 2013, 02:07:47 AM
the rules are free.
the minis not so much.
but I do love my GHQ minis!
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: Toonces on August 04, 2013, 03:20:04 PM
Yeah, I was reading the rules a bit and they seem to be geared specifically towards the 1:285 scale or whatever that GHQ scale is.

Any preferred place to buy this stuff online?  I'm guessing my LFGS probably has assorted minis, I know he has a ton of FoW but I think that's a different scale.  I don't want to break the bank kitting myself out until I find out if my son has any interest in playing something like this with me.
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: Michael Dorosh on August 07, 2013, 07:18:04 AM
Quote from: Toonces on August 04, 2013, 03:20:04 PM
Yeah, I was reading the rules a bit and they seem to be geared specifically towards the 1:285 scale

That's exactly what "micro-armor" refers to.
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: TheCommandTent on August 07, 2013, 07:24:08 AM
Quote from: Toonces on August 04, 2013, 03:20:04 PM
Yeah, I was reading the rules a bit and they seem to be geared specifically towards the 1:285 scale or whatever that GHQ scale is.

Any preferred place to buy this stuff online?  I'm guessing my LFGS probably has assorted minis, I know he has a ton of FoW but I think that's a different scale.  I don't want to break the bank kitting myself out until I find out if my son has any interest in playing something like this with me.

GHQ has a wide range on their website.  Let me know if you and your son decide to get into this.  I have some GHQ stuff that is lying around that I don't really plan on using.
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: Michael Dorosh on August 07, 2013, 07:26:56 AM
Quote from: TheCommandTent on August 07, 2013, 07:24:08 AM
Quote from: Toonces on August 04, 2013, 03:20:04 PM
Yeah, I was reading the rules a bit and they seem to be geared specifically towards the 1:285 scale or whatever that GHQ scale is.

Any preferred place to buy this stuff online?  I'm guessing my LFGS probably has assorted minis, I know he has a ton of FoW but I think that's a different scale.  I don't want to break the bank kitting myself out until I find out if my son has any interest in playing something like this with me.

GHQ has a wide range on their website.  Let me know if you and your son decide to get into this.  I have some GHQ stuff that is lying around that I don't really plan on using.

Some more research over at BGG shows that this is a new version of the rules, and they are distributing them for free? I wonder if this isn't an attempt to clear out all that old 1:285 stock off of hobby store shelves? I know that the Sentry Box in Calgary has had some of the same dusty GHQ kits sitting around for at least 25 years.
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: bayonetbrant on August 07, 2013, 07:40:08 AM
I think they're trying to get more players in the door.  The 'freebie' is through Wargame Vault, so it's not like they aren't still trying to sell books or anything
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: GJK on August 07, 2013, 07:42:30 AM
Only speculation but I believe that many/most miniature manufacturers have or are moving towards the cheaper plastic/resin models.  Perhaps GHQ has something in the works for a new product line.

The other obvious guess is that just as you said Mike; there's a bunch of old stock lying around so maybe they're hoping for a revival of some sorts by publishing "new and free" rules. 

I haven't even looked at them yet - how recent are those rules? 
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: Michael Dorosh on August 07, 2013, 05:17:37 PM
Quote from: GJK on August 07, 2013, 07:42:30 AM
Only speculation but I believe that many/most miniature manufacturers have or are moving towards the cheaper plastic/resin models.  Perhaps GHQ has something in the works for a new product line.

The other obvious guess is that just as you said Mike; there's a bunch of old stock lying around so maybe they're hoping for a revival of some sorts by publishing "new and free" rules. 

I haven't even looked at them yet - how recent are those rules?

Good questions to all. I have the original GHQ rules somewhere on my shelf, but haven't looked at those, either. I had some of the original micro tanks when Deluxe ASL came out - a donation from a friend who bought some and never used them. I think there are a lot of people - they seem to be coming out of the woodwork as news of these new rules come out - who are in the same boat. They bought the cool little 1:285 tanks but never actually did anything with them. I at least painted a few Tigers and Shermans. I wonder if there is anyone who actually played the rules out there - or what the ratio of hoarders to players is?
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: bayonetbrant on August 07, 2013, 05:47:33 PM
I have a handful of modern ones that we used to use for officer professional development when I was in the army. I even ginned up some Q&D rules for my guys that based their hit rolls on their gunnery scores & fire commands.  Still have them but haven't used them in years
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: Toonces on August 08, 2013, 12:24:01 AM
I didn't realize "micro-armor" was a name for a specific brand/scale...I figured it was for a range of scales.

I don't know how much money I want to throw at miniatures, but there is merit to giving the rules away for free if the idea is to sell minis...I'm a perfect example of that marketing at work!
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: bayonetbrant on August 08, 2013, 06:04:07 AM
Micro-Armor is a GHQ brand name, but there have been occasional other manufacturers that made compatible minis.  The nice thing about them, to me, was that you could fight a BIG game on a dining room table, and store it all in a shoebox.
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: GJK on August 08, 2013, 06:40:11 AM
Somebody posted this...
QuotePicoArmor.com mini

Hi

What do you think about this mini : PicoArmor.com vs GHQ ? http://www.picoarmor.com/pages/home.php

Thanks

Philippe

... in the CSW "Panzer" folder just over night.  The mini's look fine to me but I didn't compare prices, shipping nor availability.  There's probably no competing with GHQ however as it seems *every* FLGS has some old stock of GHQ micro-armor laying around.  Speaking of Panzer though (the point of my post), that might be a great system to look at using with GHQ micro-armor: http://www.gmtgames.com/c-34-panzer-series.aspx 

I still have my copy of the latest GMT version in shrink and hope to get to it some day (I better hurry....).
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: bayonetbrant on August 08, 2013, 06:45:45 AM
picoarmor is tiny.  What is cool about it is that you can glue a tank platoon to an existing PanzerBlitz counter and use it on the hex maps :)
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: GJK on August 08, 2013, 07:25:41 AM
Oh crap, they're that small?  Let's just set up some division level conflicts then!
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: bayonetbrant on August 08, 2013, 07:55:05 AM
Quote from: GJK on August 08, 2013, 07:25:41 AMOh crap, they're that small?  Let's just set up some division level conflicts then!

from the manufacturer
Quote from: PicoArmor WebsitePicoArmor is a website dedicated to war gaming at the 1/600 scale.
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: GJK on August 08, 2013, 08:22:41 AM
Quote from: bayonetbrant on August 08, 2013, 07:55:05 AM
Quote from: GJK on August 08, 2013, 07:25:41 AMOh crap, they're that small?  Let's just set up some division level conflicts then!

from the manufacturer
Quote from: PicoArmor WebsitePicoArmor is a website dedicated to war gaming at the 1/600 scale.

I don't actually read the pages that I link to Brant...come on!
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: bayonetbrant on August 08, 2013, 09:16:37 AM
see, you can get away with that at CSW, but 'round here we demand excellence!
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: bayonetbrant on August 08, 2013, 09:17:23 AM
Quote from: bayonetbrant on August 08, 2013, 09:16:37 AM'round here we demand excellence!


(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.7thgenhonda.com%2Fforum%2Fimages%2Fsmilies%2Fsmiley-rofl.gif&hash=c8c635810514d811a53898920698f5d189ac4fea)
I can't believe I said that, either...
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: Toonces on August 08, 2013, 09:51:06 PM
I got a couple of boxes of pico-armor when I bought Hind Commander a few months ago.  They're pretty small.  I was thinking I'd somehow use the pico armor with the micro armor rules, but the way the micro armor are written they don't look like they scale to a different size. 

I only browsed them, though.

I might head down to the FLGS tomorrow or this weekend and ask around.  This guy has rooms full of all sorts of minis, so he probably has some GHQ stuff I can look at.
Title: Re: Free WWII Microarmor Rules
Post by: GDS_Starfury on August 12, 2013, 10:43:16 AM
as a modeler I prefer the casting detail on GHQ stuff.  theyve got to have some seriously near sighted sculptors over there.