15mm SCW Republican Army [1]

It's been a struggle to get things started today but here's the first unit of the 15mm Republican Company, in the shape of four Peter Pig T26 tanks. These were leftovers from a long abandoned PBI project, so are themselves rather long in the tooth, requiring a fair bit of sanding and scraping to make them look half way decent.

However, they will contribute a very respectable 112 points to the 350 that I need to field for an army in BAIT, assuming the crew are Average rather than Raw. They'll also be very handy for IABSM, although the rest of my units will fall well short of company strength, given the lists in the Up Your Cara al Sol supplement.

I'm also pondering the whole 'how to base the rest of the things' issue at the moment, but I think I have a workable plan...??

SCW Books

I already have a few Ospreys and the like for the SCW but, as usual, I have acquired a few more books for reading over the summer holidays on the Kindle. It's not a subject I know that much about, although I have a pretty good idea of the flow of the conflict from previous books that I've read, so I'm looking forward to getting into the period in a bit more depth. I'm also going to be watching the Granada TV series on the SCW that's available on Youtube, thanks to a tip off from my opponent Paul (cheers mate!)

New 15mm SCW Project

Now that Ofsted is over, it's back to the workbench with my latest project ready to go. As you can see, it's 15mm SCW using Peter Pig figures and designed for the BAIT rules, although I'm also going to use them for IABSM. The focus is on a Republican regular army company, built around the list in the BAIT rulebook. It will consist of a Company Command unit, two or three platoons of infantry with LMG's, one support platoon of three HMG's, a couple of 75mm guns with trucks and a tank unit of four T26 tanks. It's not too much to tackle and I'm hoping to get started over the weekend on the basing up.

Ofsted...bugger.

We've got the unmitigated delights of Ofsted in at work for the next couple of days, so it'll be a bit quiet round here until the weekend. On the plus side, I have had a small but perfectly formed package from Peter Pig through the post box today, so will be starting a new 15mm project next week, if I'm not queueing for my P45.



Bag the Hun Operation Bodenplatte Game

The game this evening pulled in far more players than I calculated for and, at times, became very heated and loud. However, it went down really well with the players and ended in a good game for just about everyone, even though some got more of the action than others.

There were plenty of dramatic dice rolls, some good and some not so good luck with the turn cards, with a pretty close result for both sides by the end. I was pleased that the DIY turncard idea worked well, so I'll be using the same approach for some of my future games.

I quite fancy doing some late war Soviet planes next but this will have to wait until later in the year, once some of my other projects are out of the way.

Bag the Hun Operation Bodenplatte [30]

I finished off a couple more P51D's and the four FW190A8's this evening, which for the moment at least means that the Operation Bodenplatte project is finished. I didn't get all the Luftwaffe aircraft painted and definately want to complete some additional RAF and USAAF fighters but, as long planned game is set for tomorrow, I've reached a good place to stop. I've had an overload of tiddly planes as well, so it'll be good to move onto to something a little bit different.

The game tomorrow will be a bit different from the usual scenarios that I've run, as it won't feature a lot of detailed research and background fluff but will involve the players in the generation of their pilots and the creation of their own sets of turn cards. I thought this would add a bit of a challenge and bring a bit more of a roleplay feel to the game, which should be fun and also introduce some of the players to the system in a little more depth.

Bag the Hun Operation Bodenplatte [29]

Today was all mucked up for various reasons so I didn't get to go to the NWS show in Gosport or the RN submarine museum, even though this was 'booked in advance' with the Ministry of the Interior. However, I did find some time to finish off half the P51D's with decals and a final topcoat of gloss varnish to bring back the shine to the bare metal.

They're not great but better than I thought they'd be, half way in. Anyway, I'd be eternally grateful if someone could remind me never to try bare metal ever again, at least not this way round. In theory, they should look something akin to this, only with an olive drab anti-dazzle strip:

Not to be put off, I'll get the FW190A8's done this evening and the rest of the P51's tomorrow night, ready for the game on Tuesday.

Bag the Hun Operation Bodenplatte [28]

I finished off the painting on the P51D's and half of the remaining FW190A8's this afternoon, although they still need a bit of lining out on the canopies and the spirals on the spinners. They're looking OK but not as tidy as I would have liked, although the decals should make things a lot better. I'm planning to get those sorted out tomorrow.

BKC Aegean Campaign Update

I've been a bit out of the loop with the club BKC campaign of late, mainly due to the fact that the battle I fought last turn happened a couple of months ago and, in the meantime, the rest of the players have been resolving theirs. As my last battle, against the British on Mikonos, ended in total defeat for my brave Italian forces, including the complete destruction of my armour and artillery units, I have very limited options for offensive action this turn.

I do, however, have a battalion of paracadutisti airborne troops that I can drop behind enemy lines in support of my Axis allies. I haven't used them much in the campaign thus far, so this turn they'll be strapping on their parachutes and dropping out of the sky on an as yet undisclosed but unsuspecting enemy. I'm doing this in support of another Axis player, who will be providing the armour and infantry on the ground. It'll be interesting to see how this works but, at the very least, the other side will get a nasty surprise.

AK47 July Game

To finish off gaming before the Summer holidays, I thought I'd set up another AK47 game at the club next month. It will be the usual format of four players, two a side, with umpiring services provided by myself. I've promised to add a new unit or two, so will be finishing the bases on the tribal militia loonies, together with some new terrain features. The latter will probably take the form of a scratchbuilt shanty town or some suitably African-style buildings. I'll also try to incorporate some of the rules that we haven't used yet in previous games.

Bag the Hun Operation Bodenplatte [27]

Before and After...not that you'd notice the difference!

Arrggh!!

I knew I was going to have some problems with bare metal finish aircraft but this is really winding me up. I had a go at a test model this evening, in an attempt to blackline the control surfaces and paint in the canopy. The end result is definately sub-standard and does not bode well for the remainder of the P51's.

I think my decision to use an ink wash over the bare metal was, in retrospect, a mistake. It just makes them look 'grubby' rather than defining the panels or adding detail. I'm also crap at lining out, even though I invested in some new brushes a few weeks ago.

I'm hoping the decal will lift the overall effect and make up for some very dodgy painting!

More Bayonets and Ideology

To make the most of our recent experience with the BAIT rules, we've organised another game for a couple of weeks time, which should be much quicker and less one sided. To cut down on the preparations, I'll be working out my own army composition and reading up on the rules beforehand in a bit more depth. I'm also going to see if I can sort out a terrain cloth of some sort, marked out with dots or little stones in six inch squares.

I'm also planning out a 15mm Republican Regular Army company based around the tanks, trucks and guns that I already have. I have sketched out a basic orbat with two infantry platoons, a support platoon, a tank platoon and a battery of one or two 75mm guns, together with a few optional extra bits like snipers, casualty markers and so on. If I can squeeze this out of ten packs or so, it's a viable project for July and August, although it'll have to wait until the end of June before I go ahead and order stuff.

Bag the Hun Operation Bodenplatte [26]

I did some of the basecoating and blocking in on the P51's this evening but it all looks very slapdash at the moment. I'm hoping they'll look a lot better once I've given them a wash and some blacklining. In the meantime, I need to basecoat the canopies and tidy up the anti-dazzle strip on the engine cowlings. If I can get the bulk of the painting done by the weekend, I'll be able to use them in the game on Tuesday.

Bayonets and Ideology SCW Game

I had a really enjoyable try out game of Bayonets and Ideology Two at the club this evening, using Paul's excellent 15mm figures for the Spanish Foreign Legion and International Brigade. The rules took a bit of navigating and head-scratching at times but, once we worked out what we were doing, they started to move along at a good pace. The longest bit was the pre-game recce and initial deployment phase but even this was good fun.

In the end the International Brigade defenders virtually wiped out most of the Spanish Foreign Legion, who attempted to launch a frontal assault on the village held by the Republicans, with inevitable results. As the commander of the former, I was lucky enough to roll lots of high dice, whilst my opponent had some awful luck with his. Nonetheless, we had a good game and will be returning to BAIT at a later date, with other alternative rules also on the cards.

I really want to try out the Mexicanski rules variant for AK47, which is available via the excellent Freewargamesrules site, as well as the IABSM variant Up Your Cara a Sol. I'm also seriously considering a small 15mm army for the Republicans using the new SCW figures that Peter Pig have recently added to their range. I'm not sure what at the moment but I have some old T26 tanks and GAZ trucks in the leadpile, so it may well end up as an International Brigade or Regular Army company of some sort.

Good stuff!

Bag The Hun Operation Bodenplatte [25]

I've been off today with a splitting headache but it's cleared up now, so I found the time to base and undercoat eight Raiden Miniatures P51D Mustangs for the late war game next week. I've decided not to do the P47 Thunderbolts, as I don't have the time and they're a bit superfluous for the scenario that I'll be running. The Mustangs will be painted up as 336th Fighter Squadron planes, as I have some I-94 decals with the correct squadron codes, which should make life a lot easier when marking them up.

Wings

I started reading this today and have high hopes that it will be as good as Target Tirpitz, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Thus far, I haven't been disappointed. I'm slightly disturbed that I haven't actually read a real book for a few weeks, so will have to make an effort to do so before the holidays, during which I will be enslaved to the Kindle for a whole month.

Imperial Commander Update

The order that I placed with 15mm.co.uk for some extra bits and bobs for Imperial Commander arrived a couple of days ago, which is a pretty good turnaround. I now have enough figures to field a decent 1000 point Early or Late Dynastic Redemptionist Force including Warrior Lords, Trikes, Fanatics, Devouts and even some Scout Skimmers. I love the old TTG Redemptionist range as it's packed full of character and has some really cool scupts, especially the ubiquitous figure with the laser rifle.

                                      



With the order was a voucher for 15% off until the end of June, so a quick stock check of the Imperial figures in the bits box and I put together a second order for the extras that I need. This involved a few additional Black Guard, enough for a self contained fifteen man detachment, some Power Armoured figures to make up a full platoon and some Scouts to sprinkle around as required.

                                     

I'm thinking of making July the Imperial Commander revival month, pushing other things over until the end of the Summer holidays, but I haven't made up my mind yet. It would be fun to base up and paint a couple of forces as a nostalgia trip, especially as the figures still look the business despite their thirty year old vintage. The rules may be showing their age a bit though but that won't stop me using other rules systems if they turn out to be too clunky.

Bag the Hun Operation Bodenplatte [24]

It's all a bit rough and ready at the moment but here are the Museum Miniatures FW190A8's in their basic camouflage*, with a Future based gunge wash to blend things in a bit. I'm hoping to do the black lining, canopies and details tomorrow, leaving the decals for later in the week. I really need to start on the USAAF fighters over the next few days, as I only have a week or so to get things sorted for the actual game.

* the camouflage patten should really be in shades of dark to mid-grey but I wanted to have a match with the other late war fighters that I've painted up, so I've stuck with dark / mid-green instead.

Alien Invasion! (?)

I was sitting in bed this morning, randomly browsing the wargaming web as you do, when I decided to check out Matakishi's Tea House, something that I'd neglected to do for quite a while. Anyway, I stumbled across his Alien Invasion rules, which are free to download, together with a game write up and lots of photos of his 28mm MIB, Spugs, U.N.I.T, and Daleks, amongst other things. The more I read, the more I thought to myself...

'..this would be great in 15mm'!

The idea would be to cut a lot of time and expense by using the 'larger' 15mm figures produced by The Scene UK, together with diecast toys and various other things scraped from the bits box, to run the game as a multi-player set up at the club. The Authorities figures are perfect as MIB, while the US Special Forces figures would do as a good substitute for U.N.I.T troops. The Karlock alien figures and ersatz Terminators could stand in for the Spugs and Daleks respectively.

I think this would be great fun.....but it needs some more 'thinking time' before I get too carried away.

http://www.matakishi.com/alieninvasion2006.htm