Pendraken Price Hike

Pendraken Miniatures are putting up their prices on the 1st January by quite a bit, so it was time to make some pre-emptive purchases from the French Indochina range. A while back some new figures were added to both the French and Vietminh packs, which makes it much easier to build some varied and interesting bases. I'd put off buying the relevant packs but, with the price tag going up very soon, it was a good opportunity to get in there before the deadline. I really should revive this project for my 2025 hit list now that I have the figures I need for some good looking units. 

Nam '68

I'm thinking about getting hold of a copy of these new skirmish level rules for Vietnam, having read some positive online reviews. I'm intrigued by the use of an umpire to control the VC / NVA and to run the scenarios, my only question being how this might work as a solo system? I also like the campaign focus of the rules and the set up requirements, which look manageable and fit well with my 15mm Bohica project, which didn't quite make it onto the workbench this year. It's not cheap even as a print on demand book, so I'm going to dig a bit deeper before I order a copy. 

Thud Ridge Reading

 

I haven't been to town for weeks, as there's nothing worth going for these days, apart from the local Oxfam charity bookshop. Today I was pleased to find a copy of this illustrated chronological history of the Vietnam War air campaign, which is a great resource for This Ridge. It's got loads of black and white photos, as well as a detailed text which clearly explains in overview the various stages of the campaign. Excellent!

New Tumbling Dice Cold War US Aircraft

As promised, Paul at Tumbling Dice has filled some gaps in the Cold War US range with some really useful new models. The Voodoo has been a missing link for Vietnam games, especially Thud Ridge, so is a very welcome addition, as well as being a really cool aircraft. For me, the Neptune is also an excellent new model, as it can be used for the Black Bat RoCAF CIA backed intruder flights, while the Orion can be used in the maritime patrol role for numerous nations, most obviously my Chileans. Nice!

Post War Whirlibitds

 

The 3D printed helicopters from Lambda Gaming arrived today and, once again, I'm very impressed. I particularly like the Whirlwind as it really looks the part and is very sturdy, perfect for wargaming purposes. The Flying Banana is also really good but a bit more fragile in the tail department, so will need careful handling once assembled. The models come with stands and magnets to attach the rotor hubs, so will dismantle to pack away. I'll use the Whirlwind for the Sandbox Skirmish project, where it fits in perfectly, while the Shawnee will go to Vietnam for the Bohica project, as transport for the ARVN. Excellent!

Hello Helo

                 

I had a message from the chap who runs Lambda Gaming a while back, saying that he had added a 15mm scale Piasecki Shawnee and Westland Whirlwind to his range of 3D printed models. As I was dead impressed by the Mi-18 helicopter I bought from him via eBay, and had been after both of these types for Vietnam and Aden for years, I shot an email back to him today and put in an order for one of each. I think I've also persuaded him to make a Westland Commando and a Westland Scout, but we'll have to wait and see?

Fire in the Streets

A new book to read for next year's Vietnam Bohica 15mm project, this one covering the Tet Offensive and the Battle for Hue. As my US platoon will be USMC, this is an ideal source of inspiration, with my ARVN platoon also having a role to play in the action. The VC or PAVN / NVA will probably be second to hit the painting table for this project after the marines,  but I'm still working out exactly what will be in the final mix, so it's very early days.

15mm Vietnam Bohica Project Vietcong

 

The NVA figures that I ordered from Peter Pig this week arrived yesterday and they are excellent, packed full of character and far better than the old ones that I've now assigned to the AK47 leadpile. I've now decided to add a couple of squads of VC to the project, as you only need a few for a decent ambush or search and destroy type scenario, so I'll have that option as well. It's just a shame the US range didn't get an overhaul at the same time. I'm also going to have a dry run at painting these figures by practicing on the Sandbox Skirmish British platoon, using a Citadel Deathguard Green spray basecoat, as I picked up a can a few weeks ago and it looks a really good match for a faded OD shade.

House To House

 

I can't remember when or where I found this second hand hard back book but it's an excellent source of inspiration for my upcoming 15mm Vietnam project. The book covers an action by a mechanised company during the so-called Mini-Tet offensive in May 1968, so not exactly what I'm doing but close enough to be useful, especially when it comes to the little details that make a scenario or game realistic. Very well written and researched too.

15mm Vietnam Bohica Project: The NVA

 

In advance of my Vietnam 15mm Bohica platoon level project next year, I've ordered a shed load of the Peter Pig NVA figures to form one-half of my forces. I already have some of the older NVA figures but the newer range is much more varied and has a lot more options, so I decided to start from scratch rather than use my existing figures, which I will repurpose with some head swaps as additional Viet Cong or use for AK47. I'm really looking forward to building, basing and painting the PAVN / NVA platoon and its supporting elements including HMG teams, mortars, snipers and sappers. It's all slated for some point in 2023 but, in the meantime, I'm going to spend the next couple of months on more naval projects, including the pre-dreadnought era Argentinian cruisers that I'm now painting.

15mm Bohica Vietnam War Project

I bought the Bohica platoon-level Vietnam War skirmish rules at Colours last month, as I'd heard good things about them and liked what I read on the FB group. The plan is to do this in 15mm using Peter Pig figures and vehicles, with Hexon terrain tiles to make things easy to set up and manage for terrain. I'll need to paint a couple of platoons, one USMC and one either VC or NVA, for which I already have some figures in the lead pile, together with some vehicles, civilians, buildings and terrain pieces. It's not a lot but at my usual slow ace it will probably take quite a while to get sorted, so I'll be spreading it out over several months rather than trying to do it all in one go. This will likely be one of the two land-based projects that I'll be tackling next year but I'm already sorting out the planning for this, so that I can get in up and running as soon as possible in 2023.

Magasin de Presse

A habitual trip to the newsagent here and a couple of cracking magazines to read over the weekend. The Vae Victis game looks excellent and has the added bonus of being a fascinating subject that I've wanted to game with 10mm miniatures for ages. sing Fivecore Company Command. The rules are also available in English from the website, so what's not to like? 

There's also a good review of Mark's Strength and Honour small-scale ancients rules, with some very positive comments. Well done Mr Backhouse! 

The latest edition of Los! also has a great article on Vichy French actions against the Royal Navy off Syria and Lebanon, which is another theme that I've thought about for 1/3000th scale wargaming, although I'd need to paint up the required destroyers, submarines and cruisers to add to my existing fleet. 

A really good haul!

BOHICA

I had a tip off that these new rules for Vietnam skirmish to platoon level games are pretty good, so I thought I'd take a closer look. They're based on the Danger Close two-page, fast-play modern rules but with lots of additional tweaks for Vietnam. Although designed for 28mm I don't think there would be any problem using them for 15mm.

MPL'I Starter Skirmish Scenarios

There's an interesting Q&A thread on the Mourir pour l'Indochine FB page all about how to start off with the rules, with the author, Shawn Taylor, suggesting a gradual approach building up the complexity as you go but starting small. His suggestion is to run a simple scenario on a 2' x 2' board, involving a patrol of a single squad of French troops on the hunt for a Vietminh sniper. I thought this sounded very much akin to the ideas I had for a section to platoon level set of games using No End In Sight, which I've had kicking about for several years. 

Jim's Wargames Workbench: French Indochina War Skirmish Starters (jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com)

I really like the concept of making some bespoke terrain, which I actually had a go at before, and using the 15mm Eureka figures that I have, although possibly also cutting some corners by using my hexon tiles as a quick fix. As it's such a small scale and scope, I don't think it would be a massive effort to do either, with the bonus of being able to scale up to larger engagements over time. This is all very much my cup of tea and may well be a project for a holiday at some point this year, now that there is a dedicated set of rules to use alongside No End in Sight.

Mourir Pour l'Indochine

The pdf copy of the French Indochina War rules by Shawn Taylor, Mourir Pour l'Indochine, popped into my inbox this afternoon. I haven't had time to read through them yet but I'm really looking forward to exploring how they work and how I might use them for either 15mm platoon level skimish or 10mm company level games. 

It's a really under valued and relatively obscure conflict in wargaming terms but there is so much potential, with all sorts of fascinating scenarios beyond the obvious Dien Ben Phu, Foreign Legion angle which tends to dominate the subject, at least as far as the wargaming media is concerned. It's a credit to the author that these rules don't fall into that trap but include a wide range of fascinating scenarios across the length and breadth of the war.

Mourir Pour L'Indochine

 

I have joined yet another Facebook group, this one for a soon to be published set of rules for the First Indochina War, which look really interesting. It's actually two sets of rules in one, the first for platoon level skirmish games and the second for company to battalion level games, or skirmish plus as the author, Shawn Taylor aptly puts it. There's no exact date for these to be out yet but it seems as though most of the work has been done and they aren't far off. Who knows, it may even get added to my land projects for next year, with my 10mm Pendraken figures finally getting to see a lick of paint?

Mourir pour l'Indochine! | Facebook

The Franco Thai War with Bag the Hun

After some reading around the various options I have narrowed down the next Bag the Hun scenario project to the Norwegian Campaign and the Franco Thai War. The Norwegian option looked good on paper but had less going for it once I dug a little deeper, with the Norwegian Gladiators wiped out in a single day of fighting and the RAF really only engaged in the air defence of Narvik and some attacks on shipping, with a distinct lack of much dogfighting. 

It's still worth a look, perhaps as a basis for two or three scenarios on the 'Last Stand of the Gladiators', so I'll save that one for later and push on to research the Franco Thai option instead, at least for the moment. I haven't abandoned the other ideas either but need to find a lot more background material for Syria, for example, before making any scenario outline sketches. Thanks to everyone who has offered their ideas, as it's always useful to have a second opinion.

Football War Flight Stands Finished

EL Salvador (FAS)

Honduras (FAH)

I finished off the extra tropical themed flight stands for the Wings at War project today, so now have an additional six sets of normal fighter stands and two sets of larger ones for the bombers. To try them out, I thought I'd do a mass Football War fly-by of the Honduran and Salvadoran air forces to see how they looked with some actual model aircraft. If you look closely, you'll also spot a few later jets flown by both sides in the 1970's.

Bag the Hun Scenario Projects 2022

I've been looking ahead to next year and have some ideas in mind for another Bag the Hun scenario writing project, to be combined with some 1/600th scale model painting so that I can run some more, very enjoyable solo games and club multiplayer sessions. So far, I've come up with four potential themes, some of which cross over with Wings at War as an added bonus.

First up is the Franco Thai War in 1941, which is limited in scope but features some really unusual and interesting aircraft, with the added bonus that you don't need very many of them! I've mentioned this before on the blog and have at least four or five scenarios already sketched out in rough, with all the models in the lead pile ready to go.

The second option is the Norwegian campaign in 1940, with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and Norwegian Air Force taking on the might of the Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine. This would have loads of potential, with lots of 'derring do' and some classic early war aircraft types to paint up. I'm keen on this idea in particular, as I don't know much about it and I think it would be a popular choice.

The third option is the campaign in Syria in 1941, again with the RAF and FAA but this time fighting the Vichy French, who put up a stiff fight by all accounts. This has the advantage that any aircraft I paint up can also be deployed in North Africa, where they can take on the Regia Aeronautica as well as the Luftwaffe.

The last theme that I've been considering is the 1948 War of Independence or 'Al Nakbah' depending on your point of view. I started on a Wings at War Desert Spitfires project before so have all the aircraft with some even painted, albeit in a half finished state, so this would be an easy option with lots of dogfighting thrown in for good measure.

What do you think?

Wings at War Flight Stand Factory

 

I've now started to make a whole load of additional jungle themed bases for the Wings at War rules, which I can use for both Corsairs and Cavaliers and Thud Ridge. These are divided into 40mm x 40mm bases for the larger aircraft like the C-47's and 30mm x 30mm bases for the fighters and light aircraft. I've drilled the bases to accept panel pin flight stands, with the new 50mm ones for Level 4, 40mm for Level 3 and so on down to 20mm for Level 1. This is a much better system than my original panel pin heights and makes it more obvious which altitude is which, so I'm cracking ahead and have converted some of my old stands to the new system as well.