AK47 Golf War

The Zubuto Army of the People (ZAP) suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Mbote Defence Force (MDF) and Peoples Volunteer Army (PVA) militias this evening, with a definative victory going to the forces of dictatorship and pro-am golfing. It was a bit of a thrashing but I'm sure Colonel Banga Boum will be issuing some suitably revisionist propanganda soon.

AK47 Extra Bits [3]

I finished the bases on the last of the units that I need for the AK47 game tomorrow this evening, although my plans to complete the objective markers fell through due to a lack of time. This means that my Superpower Backed army is now up and running, which is a bit of a result as I started it over two years ago! I'd really like to do a third army or even a fourth AK47 army but two will do for the moment, as they will allow me to run some games for the kids at home as well as at the club.

Bolt Action Yanks [36]

One small thing I did get done last night was to dig out my Bolt Action late war US stuff and sort out the bases, which I'd been meaning to do for ages. These were originally decorated with some dried herbs as leaf litter but I was never really happy with the end result. So, with the aid of some GW Flesh Wash ink, I've stained them a dark autumnal brown and I think they now look much better. I was tempted to add some snow but I think that would be a bit too much?

I've also finally worked out what I need to expand the force to a full platoon plus support for Chain of Command. I have an unfortunate habit of picking armies that have very large section sizes, so I need another half a dozen new riflemen figures and an equal number of crew to fill out the numbers to a full three squads of twelve GI's. I'll order these from Artizan and get them painted up in the summer holidays, as a simple little painting project that I only need a set number of paints to complete.

TFL Summer Special 2015

I've been out all day at an U9's cricket tournament at the Ageas Bowl so have missed yet another weekend of wargaming related fun. It was a good tournament and my sons team came fourth out of the thirty odd teams that took part, only losing by eleven runs in the semi-finals against the eventual winners, so well worth the nine hours of a Sunday that I spent supporting them.

Anyway, the latest Summer Special from the Toofatlardies is out today, so I'm going to spend a bit of quiet time this evening having a good flick through, if that's possible on a tablet? I'm looking forward to this as, although I haven't got anything published in it this time round due to not getting my act together, it does feature three articles for Bag the Hun and what looks like some good 1940 stuff for Chain of Command.

The Too Fat Lardy Specials are always worth the asking price and are full of great material for a range of TFL rules, so I highly recommend grabbing a copy for your summer holiday reading. I'm definately going to get some things in the Xmas edition this year to make up for having nothing sorted this time round. I have some Bag the Hun articles and scenarios up my sleeve that will be just the job!

NEWSFLASH - Mbote claims Zubuto golf course violates sacred tribal land (Reuters)

From our correspondent in Mpongoville

In a heated broadcast on MBC radio the President of Mbote, Colonel Banga Boum, has condemned a new golf course and leisure complex on the shores of Lake Bagombo recently opened by Dr Dudu, President for Life of Zubuto. In a withering address to the people of Mbote, Colonel Banga Boum accused the Zubuto government of violating the sacred lands of the semi-nomadic Wapongo tribe. According to Wapongo religious tradition, the shores of Lake Bagombo must not be disturbed, as they are the spirritual hunting grounds of the tribal ancestors.

President Banga Boum pledged full military backing to the tribal elders of the Wapongo, who have 'spontaneously petitioned' the Mbote government for support in their on-going territorial dispute with Zubuto. Meanwhile, a full mobilisation of the MDF regular forces and PVA militias has been ordered. A senior contact in the MDF high command has indicated that this mobilisation is in readiness for an imminent cross border incursion into Zubuto territory. As yet there has been no response from the Zubuto government as President Dudu is playing a round of golf.

Time for a...

I'm having a massive clear out of stuff before the summer holidays as I have far, far too many things that I'm never going to get around to starting, let alone completing. This includes all of my 28mm big armies in the lead / plastic pile, a whole load of 28mm odds and ends and a variety of other things in smaller scales. One of the reasons I rarely get anything done at the moment, aside from work and life pressures, is the back log of projects that are weighing down the loft. I really need to cut this lot in half to focus my attention on a smaller range of projects in a manageble format, so the big stuff has to go. I've contacted a guy who buys up surplus wargaming collections, so will be sorting out the leadpile into what I will keep and what I ditch over the next week or so. I'll also donate some stuff to the club and to the local charity shop...all very liberating!

Charles Whiting Books

There are several titles by Charles Whiting going cheap on the Kindle at the moment and well worth downloading for reading on the beach over the summer holidays. I've read many of them before but they are good, so I've filled in some gaps in the library. I'm interested in the late war campaigns in NW Europe in particular, so there's plenty here to use as reference material.

AK47 Extra Bits [2]

I started on the third objective marker for the AK47 game and have completed the actual base, with the figures and other elements to be added later, although what they are will be revealed later. I've also done the basecoating on the small arms bases and AFV's that I need for the Superpower Backed army, ready for some drybrushing and static grass tomorrow. A rummage in the AK47 'to do' box also turned up a half painted machine gun armed technical truck, so I'll add that to the painting list over the weekend too.

Chain of Command Malaya British Platoon Transport

The extra metal BD figures arrived from Perry Miniatures a few days ago and they're very nice, especially the command group which has bags of character. I now have all I need to kit out the figures for the platoon, so have been looking at support options and especially vehicles. One of the options on the support list is a car, presumably a staff car for command use, so I set about trying to find a suitable cheap diecast for that very purpose.

I already have some diecast Days Gone By Fordson 7V lorries that I originally bought for VBCW, so will use them to transport the platoon about in. I now also have located a Days Gone By 1939 Chevrolet to use as the staff car. The Aussies used similar cars for this role and it would be entirely reasonable for one to have been brought with them to Singapore or to have been requisitioned from civvy street for military use, so it's pretty much spot on.

NEWSFLASH - President Dudu declares new golf resort open for business (Reuters)

 

From our sports correspondent in Djumbali

The President for Life of Zubuto officially opened a new five star golf course and holiday complex on the shores of Lake Bagombo today. In an up-beat address to the press and VIP guests, Dr Dudu declared the course open for business and fully booked for the inaugaral Zubuto PGA pro-am golf tournament to be held in a few days time. President Dudu is a  keen golfer and opened the course by teeing off from the Number 1 green alongside his personal coach, the US golf champion Walter P. Niblick III. 

Normandy Firefight Project [9]

I had to go to Eastleigh yesterday so thought I'd make the most of it and take a look at the newly extended AC Models shop. This turned out to be a good move, as I found a 1/35th scale Italeri Willys jeep and trailer kit for a tenner that will do very nicely as a blown up scout vehicle to use in one of the Normandy Firefight scenarios.

I also went next door into the Games Workshop bit and found a display of 28mm Warlord Games Bolt Action figures, from which I picked up a squad pack of Japanese veteran infantry, complete with their jungle camouflage. I'm not sure what I'll use them for but at the very least I have another couple of sniper teams and an LMG.

AK47 Extra Bits [1]

I assembled a couple of new objective markers for the next game at the club, one a tribal hut and the other an ammo supply dump. These were not what I set out to do but ended up falling together from various spare bits and pieces that I scrounged from all sorts of odd corners. I may add another objectve marker tomorrow more along the lines that I originally thought of, although these two will do for the moment. I've also done the texturing on the infantry and heavy weapons bases, so should get round to painting them tomorrow, once they've fully dried out.

5th D.C.L.I. Re-enactment Society

I've had a keen interest in the 5th Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Regiment for a long time now but had no idea that there is a very active re-enactment society dedicated to recreating the 2nd and 5th D.C.L.I. in both a 1940 and 1944 guise. The wierd bit is that it's not here in the U.K. as you'd expect but over the pond in the U.S.A. They're based in the Chicago area and clearly doing a splendid job when it comes to accuracy and attention to detail. There are some excellent photos of webbing and kit on the website which are great as painting references too!

http://dcli.weebly.com/index.html

Jungle Terrain for Malaya

A big part of the 28mm Malaya / Burma project is the terrain, which I started on a few months ago with the construction of a jungle outpost using the then, newly released Sarissa Precision mdf kits. This means that I have a set of jungle buildings, a watchtower, a fuel dump and a bunker but, as yet, no actual jungle, apart from some plastic undergrowth that I've used for Saurian Safari.

I was wondering how to go about making some more effective jungle terrain when I spotted an Ebay shop selling 1/50 scale palm trees for model railways. These come in packs of fourteen trees and in a variety of sizes from 6'' down to around 4'' tall., each set costing around £3.50 with a 5% discount if your spend £20 or more.

An oil palm plantation in Malaysia

They're not really suitable for primary jungle, which would be difficult to move figures around in anyway, but for plantations or secondary jungle they are spot on. I'll base most of mine up in clusters on mdf bases, so that I can add additional ground level vegetation as in the photo above, with some individual trees to scatter around as well. I think they will look just the job!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161240486989?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT 

Normandy Firefight Project [8]

The build up to the summer holiday Normandy Firefight project continues, with the arrival of a British tank for the Germans to ambush in the Tank Hunter scenario. I really wanted to get a Sherman III (M4A2) as the 13/18th Hussars and 4/7th Royal Dragoon Guards were equipped with them in support of the 5th DCLI, but a Churchill MkVII will have to do. It's certainly a lot more impressive and will really look the part as it trundles it's way into a panzerfaust ambush.

The 31st Tank Brigade was equipped with Churchills in June-July 1944, when it supported the 43rd Wessex Division up Hill 112, so that gives it some historical legitimacy. The Tamiya kit even includes decals for a tank of the 9th RTR, which took part in the battle for Hill 112, so it will fit in quite well with the project theme. A really nice kit and not too expensive either, compared to a 1/56th or 1/48th scale version, which would actually cost a bit more!

NEWSFLASH - President Dudu announces drive for tourism (Reuters)

From our correspondent in Mpangi

President for Life of Zubuto, Dr Dudu, has today confirmed a drive for tourism and investment in a range of leisure facilities by the Ministry for Economic Development. In an up-beat press conference, Dr Dudu declared that tourism would become a high priority in the growth of the stagnant Zubuto economy, with an emphasis on high value inward investment from foreign visitors.

 

 As a pivotal element of this strategy, Dr Dudu announced the imminent completion by Dudu Construction PLC,  of a nineteen hole, five star golf course, casino and leisure complex on the shores of Lake Bagombo. This de-luxe golf facility, designed in consulation with US golfing champion, Walter P. Niblick III,  will be opened on time for the first Zubuto International Golf Tournament in June.

What could possibly go wrong?

AK47 Game Plan

I've decided to put on an AK47 game in a couple of weeks, as there are a couple of new club members who haven't played it before and it's always a popular choice with the old hands. I'm going to use both of my armies for the game for a change, so need to finish the bases on the Superpower Backed regular infantry and APC's this weekend.

 

I'm also going to scratchbuild a new objective marker or two for the game, as it will be based upon one of my usual 'tongue in cheek' back story news streams. I also have some cunning plans for a presidential motorcade, if my latest order from Peter Pig arrives in time? In the meantime, I'll be banging out some dodgy propaganda to set the scene for the game and wind up the opposition.

 

Bunga Bunga!

Galleys and Galleons [24]

I ran another playtest of Galleys and Galleons this evening which went down very well and resulted in two really enjoyable games. The first one was a repeat of the Pursuit scenario, this time with two Royal Navy sloops hunting down, sinking and boarding two pirate schooners. It was a good game and it was really interesting to see how the grappling and boarding rules worked. 

In the second game we set up the Treasure Islands scenario, with four players competing against each other to search three islands for a buried chest of pieces of eight.This was a quicker game as everyone now had a good handle on the rules mechanisms. In the end one of the pirates found the treasure and made a successful escape, evading the other pirate ships as they tried to catch up.

There were no real glitches with the rules and only a couple of minor queries cropped up, all of which were easily resolved by a careful re-reading of the text. I think everyone agreed that it was a lot of fun and that the system is really solid. I'll put on another game next month but, hopefully, with some painted ships to make the whole look a little less basic!