Plastic Fantastic Gladiators

The plastic figures 

Some of my metal gladiator figures

 I was in town this morning and spotted the latest edition of Wargames Illustrated with a free sprue of 28mm plastic gladiators. These looked rather good so I bought a copy, which comes with a spliced down set of hex based rules called Blood on the Sands. The rules look decent but I already have about half a dozen to pick from and prefer a non-hex based system, so will probably just be stashed away. The figures on the other hand look like they would be a good match for my existing gladiatorial collection, giving me an excuse to dust them off and run some games with the sprog. I also have a very nice Sarissa Precision arena that I haven't built yet, so that might even get glued together when I find the time. Happy Days! 

Digger Dogfight

Digger Dogfight in Action

I've set up an Algy game at the local club for June 16th as a refresher before I take it to the Sarisbury Green club later on. This will be the Digger Dogfight scenario from the Lard Mag Jasta 18 collection but, much as I like my 1/600th scale aircraft, I'm thinking of painting some 1/300th scale 3D printed models for the game. These will add a bit more visual punch and are also easier to distinguish when working out which aircraft is being flown by which pilot. I have a couple of weeks to get them sorted but can always fall back on the Tumbling Dice models if I don't pull it off. Tally Ho! 

Half Term Fleet in a Week - Air Power

You'll just have to imagine the Chilean roundels! 

It's been a bit of a sluggish couple of days at the work bench, partly due to the heat but also as a result of being way laid by other 'spur of the moment' distractions. One thing I have resolved is the exact format of the Chilean air wing for the carrier Almirante Cochrane AKA HMS Eagle. By the time frame of my project c1937-1938, Chilean naval aviation had been absorbed into the Chilean Air Force but, as this is a 'What If?' project, I'm going to keep it independent. After a bit of thinking I'm going to equip the carrier with four flights of Hawker Osprey reconnaissance / fighter bombers and four flights of Hawker Nimrod fighters, the total being the number of flights allocated to HMS Eagle in Find, Fix and Strike. This also conveniently equates to a 1/600th scale pack of each from Tumbling Dice, which I just happen to already have, so no need to order anything new. The Fleet Air Arm was actually in the process of replacing these aircraft with more modern equipment at the time, so they would have been navy surplus and just the sort of thing the Chileans might have been sold, if they really had a carrier of course. 

Tiddly Fiddly Firepower

I bought some 0.3mm brass rod by mistake a couple of weeks ago, intended for 1/3000th scale warship masts but too thin for the job. Instead, I thought I'd try to use it for observer's Lewis guns on 1/600th First World War two seater aircraft. I had a go with a Tumbling Dice Breguet XIV model and I think it turned out looking not too shabby. It wasn't particularly tricky to do either, especially as superglue goes off at the speed of light in his hot weather. I might go back and add some guns to my painted models but I will definitely be using the brass rod on any new aircraft I assemble in the future. 

Jutland Battlecruiser Action Club Game

A rare trip up to the club yesterday for a big multiplayer game of the battlecruiser race to the South using the old Sea Wars Fleet Actions rules. I was given command of the Royal Navy 5th Battle Squadron right at the back, so didn't see much action but it was a very enjoyable game and good to catch up with other club players. Next week it's the actual battle so I'm hoping to actually roll some dice and sink some of the High Seas Fleet! 

Half Term Fleet in a Week: Basing

It doesn't look like much but the Chilean Interwar fleet has now been based and undercoated in matt black, ready for the bases to be blocked in tomorrow. I've also added an oil tanker to the line up using a Japanese tanker that is not too far off the actual Chilean fleet oiler Rancagua. 

International AK47 Wargaming Day 2026

As you are no doubt aware, today is International AK47 Wargaming Day! I was planning to run an al fresco game using the classic rules this afternoon but the weather has gone into meltdown and it's just too hot to be outside in the sun. Instead, I have organised a parade of the Zubuto Army of the People, featuring the 'elite' but otherwise bog standard red beret para-commandos, the armoured units of the regular ZAP mobile brigade, the local tribal militias and some shady mercenary types, as well as a fly past by a helicopter gunship and a fighter bomber. Hip Hip Hooray! 

Half Term Fleet in a Week: Assembly

O'Higgins (converted Asama) 

Almirante Latorre (original / modernised) 

Chacabuco (Takasago) 

Almirante Williams / Serrano

Libertad / Constitucion

Almirante Cochrane 

It's flipping hot today so all DIY has been cancelled, giving me a free afternoon to assemble the 1/3000th scale interwar Chilean fleet. I added brass masts to the models as I had some new 0.3mm rod that I ordered by mistake, but which is ideal for the top masts. I also converted the Navwar Japanese armoured cruiser Asama into something not unlike the Chilean O'Higgins. The next thing to do will be to base the models with acrylic paste, which is a different approach compared to my other 1/3000th stuff but which I use successfully for my 1/2400th scale models. 

Half Term Chilean Interwar Fleet in a Week

 

A slight change of plan after I realised that painting the Royal Navy for the Norwegian Campaign might be a little ambitious in one week? Instead, I'm going to paint and base almost the entire Chilean navy c1937-38 for an Interwar extension of my ongoing 'What If?' Chile vs Argentina naval campaign. The models are all from Navwar with some new additions making it a feasible project, along with a couple of 'might have been?' extras, including the dreadnought battleship Almirante Cochrane as converted into an aircraft carrier. I'll get cracking today! 

Half Term Home Fleet in a Week

It's the May half term holiday next week and I thought I'd have another crack at painting and basing a Fleet in a Week. I've done this before and it's a really good challenge that helps to shift a lot of lead in the right direction. This time I'm probably painting the early war Royal Navy warships for the Norwegian campaign, to add to the ones I have already done. The 1/3000th scale models are all prepared, so I can start painting straight away, which is a bonus. I may well add one or two more battleships to the mix and possibly another carrier. 

War of the Pacific Base Repainting

I've been meaning to repaint the bases of my 1/2400th scale War of the Pacific models for a while, as they don't match my other ironclad ships and are too dark compared to the blue sea terrain cloth that I use for games. This is a relatively simple task but does require some precision to avoid getting paint all over the models. The base labels will be replaced with new ones printed on more durable thin card, so I don't need to worry about splashing blue paint all over them. It'll be a good job once done as I'd like to run some more games with the Chilean and Peruvian fleets, having really enjoyed the scenarios I devised for Dahlgren and Columbiad a few years ago, although I might dust off Iron and Fire instead? 

Argentinian Pre-Dreadnoughts Finished