I was on dad taxi duty tonight, so in and out of the house like a yo-yo, with some hanging about time in-between. To make the most of it I assembled another 98 gun second rate ship of the line for the Royal Navy, the celebrated HMS Temeraire. I have one more on the ASN3 100 gun models which I may build as either HMS Neptune or even HMS Victory.
This month's competition over on the AK47 Facebook group is to scratch build a river crossing of some sort including at least one Peter Pig figure, vehicle or accessory. I may well have a go at this if I can find the time, with a watering hole, river ford, footbridge or something similar, as there's loads of potential for some unusual twists on the theme.
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There's a Knights of the Sky multiplayer game at the club next week, which I'm hoping to be able to play in, depending on work. It's a late 1918 game with plenty of planes to borrow but I may bring one of my Fokker DVII scouts in the fictitious black and white scheme of Jasta 84, which was formed in October 1918 but never became operational. The last time I took to the skies in one of them it ended up going down in flames, so it may not be such a good idea!
I've never played Black Seas and don't intend to start but I am interested in the smaller unrated models up to and including the fifth rate frigates. I bought the starter set here in France last year and acquired some extra frigates and brigs from a friend (thanks DC!) to go with them, then moved on to other projects. Today, I spotted this bargain on eBay to add to my plastic pile of shame. The plan, if you can call it that, is to use them for some French Revolution of early Napoleonic channel action, using a suitable 'skirmishy' set of rules, to which I'm open to suggestions. Just don't hold your breath!
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I have a few 1/48th scale plastic kits I could build for my Back of Beyond White army but, like books, red wine and ammunition, you can never have enough. This is the latest acquisition via eBay, an old Testors kit of a Nieuport 17, complete with horrible engraved insignia and a very spindly upper wing Lewis gun, both of which will be removed when I build it. I've actually made one of these kits before for a fellow Back of Beyond player and it's not half bad, even given the dodgy details. The decals are lovely too, which is a shame as I won't be using them!
Some fair forward momentum today with five third rate 74's and a fourth rate 64 blocked in with white, then tidied up with matt black. The aim tomorrow will be to block in the last three third rates then get at least a couple of the frigates done as well.
I'm really pleased to say that the AK-47 Republic Facebook group I started a couple of years ago has popped the 500 members mark, which doesn't sound like much but is quite a lot of people for a rather old set of niche wargaming rules. It's a lot to do with an excellent, enthusiastic team of admins and experts, as well as some active participants who always get involved. Thanks chaps. Brilliant!
With only three days of holiday left before we pack up and go home, time is running out for me to shift the 1/2400th scale Royal Navy Napoleonic fleet further forward. To achieve something I've slimmed down the number of models to block in by about half, concentrating on the third rates and less than half of the frigates, the objective being to have all of the white blocking in completed and tidied up over the next few days. It's more of a squadron than a fleet now, which is a bit more realistic and should be doable given a fair wind and plain sailing?
In the Contemptible Little Armies Back of Beyond army lists the Whites can field a tank, either a feeble Ft-17 or a more potent Mk V, the latter a bit of a leap in imagination for the middle of Central Asia. Ideally I'd have a Mark V but, given the price tag for a metal, resin or 3D printed one, it's a non starter. However, in my big box of bits and bobs I have one of the Warbases Mark I Male tank kits in cheapo laser cut MDF and cardboard. I think I could potentially convert this into something with a passing resemblance to a Mark IV or V, modifying the sponsors and cupolas on the top, then adding various details like unditching beam rails, rivets and track plates to make it look a bit less cardboardy. I reckon it's worth a try.
