In Chain of Command players deploy their troops from so-called Jump-off Points, represented by a round 40mm token. There are no strict rules on how to represent a Jump-off Point and many players like to get creative when making them, as they offer a chance to build a small piece of distinct terrain or fun mini-diorama to represent their exact army. In this post I will be showboating some of my Jump-off points for Chain of Command, but they could easily be used as objective markers in other games.
“A-section, move up to the outhouse and prepare to assault on my command”
In game terms Jump-off Points represent rallypoints where men gather around, readying their weapons and looking at the map for a final time, in preparation of an imminent attack or defensive action. A common way to represent Jump-off points is therefore to use ammo-crates and other items that soldiers have brought with them, but a Jump-off can also be many other things. I imagine orders given to prepare for battle are often issued in a hurry, and therefore Jump-off Points can be made out of a variety of items such as haystacks, foxholes, outhouses and similar terrain pieces that are naturally occurring on the battlefield. This widens the number of options you have for building a Jump-off Point considerably, as you can now use all sorts of bits and bobs from terrain-kits and tank sprues, and yes, with 3D printing there really is no limit on how creative you can get.
Match the basing and colors with the rest of the army
The Soviet jump off points shown above are made to go with my autumn themed soviet army and therefore autumn colored leaves have been added to the bases so they merge with the overall theme of the army. Below you will find examples of desert Jump-off points, which is a very distinct type of terrain where Jump-off points with green grass or snow would look really out of place. Besides basing Jump-off Points similar to the army and type of terrain you will be playing on, ideally the colors used to paint the Jump-off points should also assemble that used on the rest of the army, in order to tie it all together.
For my Deutsche Africa Korps army I have build a set of desert themed Jump-off Points. At first I found it quite challenging to make Jump-off Points for a desert battlefield. Compared to the rich farmland of Normandy where fences, roads and farmhouses are numerous, there is little of such terrain features in the deserts of north Africa, said for sand of course. So I started thinking about what kind of items an army in the desert would need and bring with them, and found that fuel and drinking water would probably be in great demand. So I’ve used a bunch of empty jerry-cans and fuel drums to build these pieces. I also came across a picture of a soldier standing next to a post filled with various road signs and decided that road-signs would be the perfect center piece for an army that was historically known for its motorized mobility.
Excotic Jump-off Points
For the British troops stationed in North Africa I’ve gone a bit loopy as I wanted to make them desert, but distinctly different from their German counterparts. I tried to come up with the most stereotypical items that Monty would bring to war and figured it would be alcohol, music and of course and umbrella. Additionally, as with the Soviet example above, I have also included the Union-Jack with a small vicious dog guarding it.
Both the Soviet flag and the Union-Jack are made out of very thin brass sheet (0.3 mm thickness). In case of the Union-Jack I painted it fist, then carefully folded it around the box.
The making of
Where possible I try to paint the individual parts of the Jump-off Points prior to assembly. However, for parts such as crates and oil-drums, that need to be placed on the ground level, I recommend to put those down first and then add the basing material like sand, rocks, etc. afterwards. This ensures that the parts are firmly bonded into the ground and not appear to be “hovering” a few millimeters off the ground. I spent quite a lot of time moving bits around to get a design that can looks balanced from all angles. As a rule of thumb, I build them in the overall shape of a pyramid, placing few and small items near the edge of the base, with the larger items like barrels and crates in the center.
For my desert Jump-off points I wanted to try and use the new series of contrast and speed paints from Games Workshop and The Army Painter, so I gave all the items a good white drybrush before applying the paint.
That’s it, hope you got some inspiration.
Slowlypainted 