Leading Edge FW190 D9's

 

Here are some pictures of the Museum Miniatures FW190 D9's that arrived in the post yesterday. They're really clean, well sculpted castings and are crying out to be painted up. I've been thinking about a BTH2 Operation Bodenplatte scenario to use them with but it'll have to wait until next year, as I have the Rapid Fire! project to shift first.

The Dreaded Lurgy

The wife was sent home from work this morning as she has TDL. This means that I can't go to the club tonight for the WW1 aerial game as I have to babysit while she sleeps it off in bed. It's a pity as I was really looking forward to what would have been my last game of the year. I did manage to drop off some planes at the club after taking the eldest to cubs, so at least there will be enough to go round for the other players.

On a more positive note, I got some Museum Miniatures FW190 Dora's in the post today to use against my late war RAF aircraft. I think they must have re-mastered the molds or improved their production somehow, as the castings are virtually flawless. In the past I've had to fill great big holes and pit marks in their models but these are really well done. Not only that but they're lovely to paint as well.

Rapid Fire Reading continued....yet again!

I posted a query about useful books on the 5th DCLI and 43rd Wessex Division in general over on TMP yesterday. As a result I now have a number of new leads for potentially useful book titles, a couple of which I've already snapped up for peanuts on Ebay.

Top of the list is Assault Crossing by Ken Ford, which looks like a really good source for the attack on  Vernon and the crossing of the Seine. I've also put a bid in on Assault of Germany by the same author, which includes the battle of Hoven amongst other actions, and on Hill 112: Cornerstone of the Normandy Campaign by Major J.J. How, which is obviously relevant to the attack by the 5th DCLI on Cornwall Hill.

I wouldn't want to game Hill 112, to be honest, as from what I've read it was a brutal and horrific bloodbath with little to suggest it would make a decent  scenario, in more than one sense. However, it's an important part of the history of the 5th DCLI, so it deserves my attention and respect. I'm always on the lookout for other books, so if you have any suggestions, I'd be really grateful.

Rapid Fire 5th Battalion DCLI [1]

Right, it's about time I started on the Rapid Fire! project so, without further ado, here's the breakdown of what I hope to get painted in the next couple of weeks. I'm going to build a standard British infantry battalion 'out of the box' using the guidelines provided in the Valiant set.

This requires the following:

1 x HQ (7 figures)

4 x Infantry Companies (32 figures)

1 x Support Company (9 figures)

1 x FO team (2 figures)

There are four carriers plus a six pounder and mortar to equip the battalion as well, but I've decided to leave the attached 8th Middlesex Vickers platoon out of the painting schedule for the moment.

Finally, for armour support I will add a squadron of the Sherwood Foresters or the 4/7th Dragoon Guards, both of which will be equipped with a Firefly and two Shermans. As an alternative, I may also paint up three Churchills of the 8th RTR.

It doesn't sound like a lot but I have a feeling it'll take more time than I have available?

Battlecars Revisited

We've moved on from Cry Havoc to Battlecars, another of my favourite boardgames from the 80's. I'm sorry to say that I've been blown up two or three times by a five year old, aided and abetted by his elder brother on at least one occasion. I'm not happy.

Anyway, it's an ideal game for the boys being full of rockets, machine guns, flamethrowers, mines and spikes. I think it appeals to their creative side? I've often thought about turning it into a multi-player game using converted Hotwheels diecasts and 18mm figures but I'll probably never get round to it.

If you fancy trying it out for yourself, you can often pick up a copy of the game on Ebay for a few quid, which is how I added some extra components to my original box set. You can also download the rules and sheets from this site:

http://www.headlesshollow.com/archives/2004/11/boardgame_revie_2.html

Good fun!

Rapid Fire Reading continued...

I finished 18 Platoon by Sydney Jary a couple of days ago and it was well worth it. Although it has very little to do with the 5th DCLI it gives a very good account of the campaign from Normandy to the Rhine through the eyes of a platoon commander. If you can find a copy, definately pick one up:

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/2010/11/rapid-fire-reading-list.html

I'm now re-reading Infantry Colonel by Brigadier George Taylor, who commanded the 5th DCLI from July 1944 to April1945. I'm only skimming through it, as I've read it fairly recently, but it's still very good as a reference for the campaign.

I've also dug through the top layer of the bookshelves in the search for other relevant books that I already have. Thinkng laterally for a change, I remembered that I have a few books that, while not dealing with the 5th DCLI directly, do have relevant bits that I could tap into.

One book, in particular, looks really useful, By Tank Into Normandy by Stuart Hills. Not only is it an excellent read but it also covers the action of the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry (Sherwood Rangers) who were one third of the 8th Armoured Brigade attached to the 214th Brigade. I'll definately be re-reading it as a useful cross reference.

Finally, I've ordered a copy of Ken Tout's book By Tank, which is a complation of the three volumes of his autobiography. I read the first installment Tank!: 40 Hours of Battle,  many years ago and it's excellent. It has little direct relevance to the 5th DCLI but it's a great read nonetheless, so well worth getting hold of.

Bag The Doodlebug Finished

Thanks to the snow, I had a day off today so was able to finish off the aircraft for Bag The Doodlebug. I added the last of the decals then did a bit of fine-lining and cleaning up, before painting the bases and spray varnishing the models to seal everything in. I didn't bother black lining the canopies or the wing panels, as it's not really necessary and takes ages.

So, that's another project wrapped up and ready to go. I'm planning to try out the Bag the Doodlebug scenario over the weekend to see how it plays out. At some point next year I'll also be adding some late war Luftwaffe aircraft as opposition, with some FW190A8's, Me109G's and Fw190 Doras being at the top of the 'to do' list.

Meanwhile, it's on to the slightly overdue Rapid Fire! Tommies...

Bag The Doodlebug [14]

I got onto the decals this evening and managed to finish the Spitfires and the Tempests, although the latter need the first half of their squadron codes to be properly completed. As I don't have the correct letters, they'll have to do as they are I'm afraid. Never mind, they look OK as they are.

The same goes for the Mustangs although I might try to make up the PK codes for 315 Squadron using individual letters. A bigger problem is that I'm running out of C type roundels and have been forced to do some adaptation of B type ones in order to finish off the fighters. I've ordered some more but who knows when they'll arrive given the inclement weather.

I'll see if I can scrape enough roundels together to finish the fighters off tomorrow. I need to spray varnish them afterwards to seal in the transfers but might do a final bit of weathering and lining first. After that I'll just need to paint the bases and it's job done.

Cold War Hotshots

Over at North Star they've got a selection of the HLBS Chris Peers rules on sale, mostly at £5 each. I like Chris Peer's style of rules writing, being a big fan of the Back of Beyond, Darkest Africa and Saurian Safari, so I thought I'd try out one of his aerial warfare series to see what they were like. I have perfectly good rules for WW1 and WW2 so the only option left was the jet age aerial combat rules Cold War Hotshots.

They arrived yesterday, before the snow cut off all communication with the outside world, so I've had a brief skim through to pick up the salient points. They're not hex based, which is quite a nice feature as I'll be able to use them with the Wings at War MiG Alley based aircraft without the need for new hex stands. They're also quite fast play by the look of the mechanics and designed with 1/600 in mind, so they tick all the boxes so far.

I'll need another more detailed read through, before I decide if I'm going to try them out but they look promising as an alternative rule set, particularly for club games with multiple novice players and a shallow learning curve. I may also invest in some of the other rules on offer while they're going cheap, as you can never have enough rules in the stockpile (at least that's my excuse).

Bag the Doodlebug [13]

After a couple of evenings feeling a bit rough, I finally got back to the painting schedule this evening with the aim of completing the fiddly bits by the close of play. I've added the theatre bands in Vallejo Pastel Green (885) together with the leading edge strips in a mix of GW Golden Yellow and White. I've also painted the exhausts in Foundry Tan Shade and Tan Shade light.

Unfortunately, one of the Mustangs has been consigned to the bin after a fairly disasterous painting episode in which I tried to correct an over wide theatre band with a white basecoat for some invasion stripes. It ended in FUBAR territory so I decided to cut my losses, which is a shame as the cockpit work on the offending model was rather good, if I say so myself.

Bollocks.

Anyway, I need to do some tidying up and blacklining but otherwise there's light at the end of the painting tunnel. I can't wait to get on to the decals, although I'm sure I'll regret it when I do. I may cut back on the D-Day invasion stripes for a start!