Happy Christmas

Atlantic Wall à Merrien

I'd read about a tobruk stand with a turret in situ at a little port not far from the in laws, so decided to track it down yesterday while out for a bit of fresh air with the kids. The turret looks like it's from a Renault R35 tank although it's pretty smashed up, missing it's gun mounting and having been used for target practise at some point judging by the holes punched in the side. It's quite impressive nonetheless and quite rare as well.

On the headland along from the turret bunker I also found a concrete gun position for a light weapon of some sort, probably a single or multiple barrelled Flak gun. There was also a very unusual bunker poistioned directly behind the gun with a strange sloping U shaped roof feature. I can only think that it was some sort of roof mounted searchlight position, even though the stovepipe from the bunker underneath pokes through it. Either that or it just saved on concrete?

Very strange.

Atlantic Wall à Erdeven

We went to see a cargo ship that ran aground on a beach between Lorient and Quiberon yesterday. It's stuck fast and will have to be cut up in situ once the fuel oil has been drained from the tanks, hence the pipelines and cables. It's now been sectioned off but when I visited you could get within fifty metres or so, although that was quite far enough away for me, given the diesel fumes and the waves.

However, I also had a wander around the adjacent bits of the Atlantic Wall which included a couple of large bunkers on the beach and a whole network of command bunkers, tobruk stands and weapons pits in the dunes behind, including traces of the trenches that connected them together. One peculiar feature was the remains of what looked like black vulcanised rubber tiles on the floor of the beach bunker, which was a bit unexpected to say the least.

I'll have to have a look on Google Earth to, see what the layout is like from a birds eye viewpoint, as it was quite extensive and I couldn't cover all of it on foot. A couple of what looked like mortar bunkers had been blown up with sections of concrete lying all over the place but others were untouched. I suspect that the authorities had tried out a bit of bunker clearance after the war but realised it was a bit pointless, except for cutting away the steel shutters and embrasures for scrap?

Happy Xmas to Me (3)

We went on a shopping trip to Quimper today which is usually deadly as it's full of clothes shops and not much else. There's only one bookshop for a start. How bad is that? However, as I dragged the boys around various side streets in search of something of interest while the other half browsed in various expensive boutiques, I came across a little board and childrens game shop.

Lo and behold, in the front window display there was a deluxe box set of the Wings of War rules, complete with four planes, for only 50€. This works out at about £40 or thereabouts, which is worth it for the plane models alone. The rules are in French but that's not a problem as I can read them with reasonable accuracy and know them fairly well already, having already collected the first three boxed sets of the original game.

As the other half had already spent the GDP of a small balkan country on her new winter collection, I was able to persuade her to buy the set for me as a Xmas present with very little persuasion. It helped that the boys were keen, having been indoctrinated at an early age to back me up, as they get to play the games too. A result all round, especially as the game is out of print at the moment and not easy to get hold, even if you can find one in the deluxe version.

Jingle Bells!

Go Strong Into The Desert

I bought a copy of this rather splendid book at Colours a couple of years ago but didn't get round to reading it until now. I've brought it along with me for some background research on the Gordon Relief Expedition and the Suakin Field Force, with particular emphasis on the uniforms of the various units involved, at least one of which will feature in my Anglo Egyptian infantry force for PITS. I quite like the idea of some Royal Marine Light Infantry, backed up by a contingent of the naval brigade with Gardner guns, but some further reading is needed before I make up my mind.

PITS British (1)

I've been planning out the Anglo-Egyptian force for Patrols in the Sudan over the last couple of days, using the rules and my box of figures as a guide. I originally thought of doing Egyptians but, after a head count and some number crunching, I realised that I don't have enough figures and would need another half a dozen packs to make up the numbers. I'm hoping that I might get a Peter Pig voucher in my stocking this year so I'll probably use it to fill the ranks of the Egyptians before the price goes up in January.

The revised plan for PITS is now to do a British infantry force including two or three infantry units of four to five bases plus an officer and sergeant base. One of these will probably be a naval brigade unit, as I like the idea of painting up some sailors and they'll double up as a gunboat landing party as well.

For artillery support, there will be a unit or 2.5" screw guns as a two gun battery with an attached officer base and, as a variation on the same theme, a two gun naval Gardner battery, all with mule transport so they can keep up with the infantry. I'll also do two or three scout bases plus the requisite wounded, dead and scouted markers, which are essential for the game and add to the look of the battles.

I reckon I can get away with about thirty bases all told, which should make it a feasible project over a couple of months, give or take the usual diversions. I'm also thinking of making some more PITS terrain to add to the stuff I already have scratchbuilt but including some modular terrain squares made from cork tiles, which are my latest discovery for scenery construction and will conveniently fit the 5' x 3' PITS table area set up. 

Review of the Year 2011

It's time for the annual review of the year and I'm pretty pleased with the overall result, despite having not completed everything on the 'things to do' list in 2011. The big result has been the completion of my Back of Beyond Oil Prospectors army which took up a quarter of the last twelve months but was actually finished, give or take a  few optional figures. I've even played a couple of games with the army in the club campaign and almost won one of them. Blimey.

The second success story was the AK47 dictatorship army which is 95% complete and only needs the bases painted to be done and dusted. In the end I just couldn't find the time to wrap it over the last couple of weeks, which is partly my fault as I got side tracked into the amphibious units and terrain rather than cracking on with the bases. This will have to be tackled when I get back from France and hopefully completed by New Years Day.

The third project big project that I grappled with this year was the 20mm Rapid Fire battlion for the DCLI. I'm disappointed with myself for running out of steam with this as I only have some carriers and a few support weapons to finish off for the force to be complete. I really should try to get it done at some point in 2012, as I've always wanted to try Rapid Fire and have a potential opponent lined up too.

A few projects were also started but didn't really get off the ground, including the 28mm armoured train for the Back of Beyond Bolsheviks, although I did finish the train for the club participation game. I re-based my old 15mm Essex Picts for Impetus but didn't get on to painting the new bases. This is something that I can squeeze in to a spare weekend as good practise for basing other figures in the future.

I also started building some terrain bits and pieces for AK47, which I'm going to add to in 2012 with more railway and road sections at the top of the list. I've enjoyed the terrain construction that I've tried out and have lots of ideas for scenery that I can scratchbuild in 2012, most of which will be for AK47 but with some bits for Darkest Africa on the 'to do' as well.

Finally, I managed to prepare and base a good selection of 28mm gladiators and half of my 28mm Nkonde villager army for In the Heart of Africa, the last of which I'm planning to continue into 2012 as the 'big project'. As quite a lot of my holiday time is spent away from home, I reckon that cleaning up and basing figures is time well spent and a good way to move the leadpile in the right direction, even if half of these projects end up stockpiled for subsequent painting.

Overall, it's been a pretty productive year and much better than the previous one in terms of actually getting things done!

Happy Xmas to Me [2]

We got to the in laws in record time yesterday, only twelve and a half hours door to door including an hour visiting friends on the way. As a result, we're taking it easy today thus allowing me some time to get the holiday plans sorted out in my head. To help me along, I've splashed out on a second Xmas present for myself in the shape of a Fuzzy Wuzzy army for PITS from Peter Pig.

I have a handful of Fuzzy Wuzzys that I picked up in a bundle of PITS figures on ebay ages ago, so I'll now have enough to build a decent sized force to take on the Anglo Egyptians. You can't really do the Sudan without them really, can you? They weren't very expensive either, so I think it's entirely justifiable in the interests of reviving one of my more complete 15mm unfinished projects.

Jingle Bells!

Bon Voyage!

As usual.we're off to the in-laws in Brittany for the holidays, so I've packed up some lead for the duration in the hope that I'll get some cleaned up and based over the next few days. The box contains the remainder of the 28mm Nkonde native villagers army for In the Heart of Africa, together with the glue and tools I'll need to get them sorted.

In a change of plan, I've also included a couple of boxes of 15mm Peter Pig figures for Patrols in the Sudan. Although my original idea was to pack some 1/600 scale coastal warfare models I've decided to tackle the second half of my long standing PITS project, with either an Egyptian or a British force as the objective.

This is something I should have done a  long time ago, as I already have an almost complete Dervish army and have used it for a very enjoyable game or two of PITS in the not too distant past. If I can base up the PITS stuff it should give me the incentive to finish off the Dervish and get the opposition painted up too, so that I can run some games at the club with everything ready to go.

A bit ambitious but who knows?

AK47 Terrain [6]

Things have been a bit quiet on the AK47 terrain construction front recently, as I've had far too much to do at work to spare the time. However, I have added a neat little resin pontoon bridge to the collection which I bought from a company called PMC via ebay.

It's obviously been sculpted using match sticks and balsa wood, which means I could have scratchbuilt it myself, but I think it's quite cool nonetheless. It saves me the bother either way. I'll crack on with the terrain project, including more road and rail sections plus some river, when I get back from the holidays.