Summer Sale

I'm thinking of shifting some of my dead end projects to clear some space for other things. As my erstwhile VBCW opponent has disposed of his 28mm Anglican League army, my BUF and Red Workers are at a bit of a loose end, so may end up on the market.

The BUF are complete but the Red Workers need a few finishing touches to be ready to use. I'll probably post them on TMP or LAF when I get myself organised but, if you're interested, drop me a line and I'll get in touch when I get back from France in a week or so.

Anyway, here's a few pictures to show you what's up for grabs:

That's unless I can summon up the energy to finish them off AND find a decent set of rules to use them with!

Atlantic Wall Construction Site

I took the family on a detour to the gravel extraction and concrete manufacturing site at Treguennec today. They were very impressed, as you might expect. I thought it was well worth it too.

It was a little worse for wear due to the extensive graffiti (some of which was quite good) and the slow process of degradation due to the elements.

However, it remains an impressive and rather poignant reminder of the effort that went into the construction of the Atlantic Wall, with particular reference to the thousands of enforced labourers who had to work to build the vast but futile project.

Central Africa

I gave in to temptation and bought a copy of the new Chris Peer's book on Central Africa today, having found a seller on ebay who was charging two thirds of the asking price compared to Foundry. I'm planning to make my next 28mm project an army for In the Heart of Africa, once I get the gladiators wrapped up, so it seemed like legitimate expenditure (to me anyway).

;O)

Dusty Warriors

We did the annual visit to the extended family today and only got back an hour ago, so no painting today or tommorrow for that matter, as the in laws are coming to stay for the weekend.

Anyway, I finished reading The Gladiator yesterday and was underwhelmed. It was all a bit random and disorganised although I did find out a couple of useful details about the organisation of gladiatorial games.

To make up for lost time, I'm now reading Dusty Warriors by Richard Holmes. It's not a subject I'm especially interested in but it's about the only book by the author that I haven't read. I'm expecting it'll be well worth it.

Le Petit Journal

We went to the local brocante today, which is a cross between an antiques fair and a junk shop, just to have a look around at the various overpriced bits and bobs that they try to sell to the tourists. Most of the stuff is expensive junk but there are a few interesting things to see and the occasional bargain to pick up for a few euros.

I bought a couple of factory reject diecast 1.100 scale planes in their packaging but without any decals or markings apart from the basic camouflage. I now have (another) MiG 17 and a Gloster Meteor to add to the AK47 air support collection for 10 euros for the two, which is pretty good especially as they don't need to be repainted.

I also found a trunk full of illustrated newspapers dating from the 1890's and 1900's but was put off buying any by the 10 euro per copy price tag. They were all originals of Le Petit Journal which was published in Paris at the turn of the last century. They have large colour front and back pages illustrating contemporary events and incidents, including a lot of colonial campaigns by the French military in Africa and the Far East.

After a bit of googling I've found a site with colour scans of most of the issues from the 1890's to the 1920's:

http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb32836564q/date

If you are in any way interested in colonial wargaming, Victorian Science Fiction or late Nineteenth or early Twentieth Century history they are a fantastic source of contemporary illusrations of all manner of interesting things. As an example of the sort of thing I mean, here are some illustrations from 1892 and 1893 issues at the time of the French campaign against Dahomey:

I immediately thought of In the Heart of Africa when I saw these pictures and, in particular, the excellent range of 28mm figures by Dixon Miniatures of which I have a small selection. There are some new French colonial figures in pith helmets from Artizan as well which could be used for campaigns in West Africa. I also reckon they'd be great for Aeronef or other VSF games.

I'll certainly be looking for more of these atmospheric images as I trawl through the various on line issues. As you can search my year and month, you can even narrow down your search to particular events of campaigns, such as the Fashoda Incident or the French invasion of Madagascar, so it's a great resource for colonial gaming and Beau Geste style derring do in particular.

The Gladiator

I've finished reading Bomber Crew by John Sweetman and, as expected, it was a bit of a page turner.

It was well written and packed full of anecdotal detail, with some unbelievable examples of survival against the odds and some extraordinary acts of bravery on the part of the bomber crews. It baffles me that there is still no campaign medal for the veterans of RAF Bomber Command but I guess political considerations have put paid to recognition of their sacrifice.

Anyway, I'm now reading The Gladiator by Alan Baker as a bit of background for the Warhammer Gladiators project. I bought my copy in the local Oxfam bookshop for a couple of quid so, although it looks a bit popularist rather than academic, it should be worth the outlay in terms of potentially useful information. It's a quick read too, as I'm already a third of the way through it after one afternoon.

Half Year Review

I know it's not half way through the year in August but, in my way of thinking, the summer holidays mark the apex of the workbench calender, before the downwards slide into autumn. As a result, I usually take a look back at what I haven't achieved in the last seven months or so before predicting what I won't get done up to Xmas.

I've had a fairly inconsitent project completion rate so far this year but have made some decent inroads into the leadpile. The following have been tackled with varying success thus far:

• Rapid Fire! 5th Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry c1944 (20mm) - 80% complete 
• AK47 Dictatorship Army (15mm) - 40% complete
• Back of Beyond Expedition Army (28mm) - 100% complete (blimey!)
• Old West Railroad Train (28mm) - 100% complete
• Back of Beyond Bolshevik Armoured Train (28mm) - 60% complete
• Gladiators (28mm) - 10% complete

I'm pleased that the Back of Beyond army was completed but I'm less happy that the Rapid Fire and AK47 armies have, as a result, been sidelined for a few weeks (or months). My first priority, therefore, must be to clear them out of the way, if possible by October half term. The gladiators also need to be pushed along, as they are a quick project that shouldn't take up too much time.

After that, I'm thinking of a change of emphasis, having concentrated on land based forces for the last six months or so. I really need to tackle some naval or air projects of some sort, with the obvious candaidates being the stalled 1/600th scale MiG Alley! or 1/2400th scale Victorian Ironclads that have been consigned to the waiting list for far too long.

I'd also really like to finish the PITS project by adding the finishing touches to the Dervish army and then painting up a corresponding British or Egyptian force to match. This has been a project that I've invested in quite heavily but which has languished in a half completed state for a couple of years.

The 1/300th scale Iron Cow project is also waiting for a kick start as well! Whether I get any of this done really depends on workload and time availability from September onwards, neither of which are looking too generous at the moment. I will, however, try to get at least one big project completed by Xmas.

Atlantik Wall Forum

Whilst rambling around the web tryign to find information in coastal defences in Brittany, I came across this very comprehensive French language forum on all things to do with the Atlantic Wall:

http://atlantikwall.superforum.fr/forum

It is literally packed with reference material, photographs and site descriptions, so well worth a look even if your French (like mine) is a bit pants.

I need to persuade the wife to translate some blurb for me so that I can post the pictures of the sites that I've visited over the last couple of years, with a bit of written explanation to tie it all together.

Good stuff!

Warhammer Historical Gladiator [9]

I realise that my lack of progress with the gladiator painting must be pretty obvious by now but I haven't quite given up hope that I'll get them painted up by the end of the holidays. We've been very busy doing holiday things including bodyboarding, visiting snail farms and entertaining the relatives, so painting has been off the radar.

However, I have added a few extras to the leadpile having been only too aware of the lack of light infantry types in the current set up. I have ordered a pack of javelin armed skirmishers from the Crusader Miniatures Roman range, half of which I'll use as velites and the other half convert into noxii or sword-armed slaves.

These will help fill out the ranks and, when added to the Crusader condemned men pack that I've also ordered, will make it possible to run some larger scale scenarios. I think I'll leave it at that for the moment as I have more than enough figures to be getting on with. If I can, I'll try to make a start on the painting of the undercoated ones this week.

Atlantic Wall Beach Bunker

We went back to La Torche today to meet up with some neighbours, who were camping in the area for their holidays. I managed to slip away for an hour or so to walk along the beach and have a look at one of the command bunkers that are slowly slipping into the sea.

It reminded me of the bunkers that in saw in Jutland many years ago, which were also being stranded out to sea by the retreating sand dunes. I'm not sure the funky grafitti and groovy surf sculptures were quite what OKW High Command expected but at least someone appreciates a bit of Atlantic Wall concrete, if only as a blank canvas?