Bear attack in the desert.

The second year of the Great War rages on into the high summer of 1878.  The Russian advance continues at an alarming rate towards India - the nexus of all of the Empire’s war efforts in the Asian arena. Further westward, the British, supported by their Egyptian allies attempt to hold thePink-Walled city of Karabumabum.

An Anglo-Egyptian force, supported by a detachment from the royal navy mount the famed Pink walls of Karabumabum in an attempt to see off the Russian Assault.

The Russian Line forms ready to rush the Pink-Walls.

The Russian Artillery bombard Karabumabum.

Riled up Anarchists, supported by a Gatling gun mounted on a local engine make their advance on the west wall of the city.

The Russian advance goes on despite casualty’s sustained from musketry from the walltop marksmen.

]

A well dug-in Screw gun takes a heavy toll on the enemy.

The Russians make it to the East wall under the cover of the artillery, wiping out virtually all of the defenders on that side of the city.

Thomas the cat gets comfy on the table and has a nap for the rest of the battle.

The Russians take the east wall, as their reinforcements rush the eastward gate – both raining fire upon the Royal Navy defenders –and natives - within the city itself. As the Egyptians flee to the boats to make their escape a white flag was seen above the burning ruin of the Citadel.  

The Pinkwalled City of Karabumabum now belongs to the Czar.

More 15mm Soviets

Just some things that Ive been painting over the last week.



A Pair of Stalenettes


KV2 Tank


Also the first half of an Infantry Platoon






Ive also added some freehand eagles to my Polish armour. I think that the one on the hetzer looks good, but the one on the FCM36 looks kinda like a lobster.




All of it together.

Vale In Aeternum

Cleopatra

2009 - 2011

Yesterday evening my much beloved pet and friend Cleopatra died. She was run down by a car  in our quiet col de sac and passed away soon after. This morning we laid her to rest in a quiet corner of the garden. She was only two years old with her whole life, with us, ahead of her.

Over the last year and a bit I have gone through one of the hardest periods of my life so far, and I don’t dare to think how much worse it would have been without her constant companionship. She is sorely missed.

 

I have nowhere else to write this, but I didn’t feel right letting tonight pass without some kind of mark being made.

...some more 1/1200 ships

I realise now that I left out a few ships last night. I had a migrane. That is my excuse. Eh-hem.

The Chilian Ironclad Almirante Cochrane (Huston) [Not happy with the guns at all - my bad not the models]

 

The Harbour Defence Ironclad 'HMVS Cerberus' (Brigade Models)

Note: This model is probably the best naval model I have ever had in this scale. I do wish that Brigade Models would make more of them.

The Fictional Turret-Ram 'HMS Thunderchild'

This model is converted from a WW1 Submarine Cruiser and has been made based on the descriptions and proposals for the type of ship that Wells describes in his famous novel. The most noticeable features that I have tryed to get accross are the 'turtleback' hull and the dagger shape.

Fleet Review: 1/1200 Ships

At the request of a fellow wargamer, here are some pictures of my collection of 1/1200^th scale late Victorian warships.

Enjoy

The Ill-fated Peruvian Ironclad ‘Independicia’ (Houston miniatures)

 The Famous Peruvian Turret-Ship ‘Huscar’ (Houston miniatures)

The Fictional Peruvian Ram ‘El Toro Suprimo’ (Navwar)

The French Costal Defence Ram ‘Le Tigre’ (Houston miniatures)

Nemo’s Nautilus (MB Models and Spares)

A generic armoured paddle-steamer (Langdon)

The Peruvian Monitors ‘Manco Cápac’ and ‘Atahualpa’ (Navwar)

The HMS Majestic (Houston miniatures)

I’ve been Painting: Soviet Armour

Hey all

I’ve been at that painting thing again. This time some Mid-War Soviet armour. Two KV-5s, a M3 Lee and a KV-1e. They just need to wait for me to get them some decal red stars and a good coat of varnish.

Ignore the T-28/85 (It’s been in some other posts). I didn’t paint that tonight, I just had it out on the table for reasons of colour matching.

I am currently re-painting my Soviet Tank Company that I use for MW Flames of War, because recently I had the revelation that I rather like FoW as a game, but don’t enjoy playing it as my models were assembled and painted so very half arsedly.

M1 Power Armoured Infantry Platoon

Recently, a few of my friends and I have decided that it would be rather fun to extend our games of Flames of War into 1946 and beyond. Our plan is to play out Cold War games between the West and the Soviets in the years following the end of the Second World War. Plan is to expand our current forces (mostly Late War Fow) with post war units that we will stat up and playtest amongst ourselves – a combination of real-world military equipment from the immediate post war period & early 1950’s, and units of the likes of those seen in pulp science fiction boy’s-own adventures.

My first unit in this new-departure is a platoon of American Special forces in state-of-the-art Powered Armour to provide support to my Polish resistance forces in their struggle against their new Soviet oppressors. 

 ^ The unit all together

 

  ^ The Command Unit

  ^ The Anti-Tank Section

 ^ The Infantry Teams

 ^ The Machine Gun Section

HQ Section with;

-          2 Squads for 250 pts

-          3 Squads for 350 pts

Option;

-          Add up to two M1945 Machine Gun Teams for 40 pts per team.

-          Add up to two ‘Big Bazooka’ Teams for 40 pts per team.

Equip ‘Big Bazooka’ Teams with ‘Fat Boy’ sub-atomic rounds for 20 pts per team.

Rating - Confident Trained In 1942 preparation began for the likely invasion of the Japanese mainland. Amongst various other research projects the ‘M1 Power Armoured Suit’ was developed. The Armoured Suit was  designed with the intention of providing a heavy weapons support platform that would be able  to navigate broken terrain otherwise inaccessible to vehicles. The end product was a suit of steel  armoured plates, all but resistant to small arms fire, supported and propelled by an internal system of hydraulic rams, all powered by a back mounted diesel-electric-turbine. Although they saw little  action against the Japanese, they proved themselves a well-received addition to US special  operations units operating on the European mainland. -          This unit receives a ‘+1’ to skill tests in close combats. -          This unit always counts as if being in bulletproof cover, even when moving. This roll is made  in addition to a regular firepower test for being in bulletproof cover. -          This unit is required to take 10 hits rather than five before becoming pinned. -          This unit is susceptible to ‘bogging’ in exactly the same way as vehicles.

Gun                                                       Mobility              Range  RoF        Anti-Tank          Firepower          Notes

Automatic Rifle                                 Infantry                  16”         3              2                             5+                          

M1945 Machine Gun                      Man-Packed            24”        6              2                             6+     RoF 2 if Pinned.

110mm ‘Big Bazooka’                     Man-Packed           12”         1              12                           4+     Tank Assault 4.

- firing ‘Fat Boy round’ bombardments                24”        -          4                      4+

The minitures themselves are from alternitive army's 15mm Science Fiction Knights with the exeption of the commander model, who is (I think) a Space Goblin in Power Armour.

Flames of War: Armia Krajowa (Home Army)

Just thought I’d show what I’ve been up to this week. I’ve got a fair way towards finishing my current Flames of War force. To get up to the playable skirmish points threshold of 750 Points I only have to finish another 6 bases of elite infantry and a pair of improvised armoured cars that I can swap out for the Hetzer. I have yet to buy these miniatures however, and am not allowed to (by order of the wife) buy them until I have finished an as yet undecided amount of my lead hillock – for the time being this force will remain at the 75% level of completion and rather unplayable. Anyway, enjoy and tell me what you think…

Partisan Platoon

Pair of 76mm Light Howetzers

A Pair of captured 75/Pak40s

Machine Gun Platoon

A home-made mortar platoon

A pair of captured German Assault guns, a Hetzer and a StuH 42

And finally, a pair of home-made Molotov/Mortar Round Catapults. These are very simple scratch builds made of a 1/72 suspension spring and a sliced up wooden coffee stirrer. I’m pretty happy with the result given the miniscule amount of effort involved and the character they help to give the force. In-game, I’ll count them as Light Mortars

They were a real improvised weapon used by the Polish resistance during the Second World War, particularly during the Warsaw Uprising. They were very simple, made from car and lorry suspension springs attached to wooden bases, and could launch various petrol bombs and home-made or captured mortar shells They varied from crude springs bolted to pieces of wood to larger and more complicated and medieval-looking types with larger stands and winches and locks that would allow the weapon to be drawn back and held before firing.

Picture of a surviving example kept at a Warsaw Military Museum.