AK47 Objective Markers [1]

I was rummaging around today and found the unfinished AK47 objective markers that I scratchbuilt a long while back in a box on top of the shelving in the garage. In the interim while I sort out my Nkonde figures, I thought I'd have a crack at finishing the objective markers off. I have a very busy week so a little painting can be squeezed in as and when, making the markers a perfect option for a few spare minutes here and there.

I had an hour or so today, so knocked up another marker on a 'think yourself thin' CD that came with the Observer. As I have the six pack of a svelte nordic god, this was clearly surplus to requirements and made a very effective base for a UN peacekeeper checkpoint, complete with knock off 'Made in China' diecast APC and a few spare Peter Pig Vietnam figures. The checkpoint itself was made from a dodgy resin truck load, suitably truncated and soon to receive a roof from corrugated plastic card.

I hope to get some more done on the markers as and when I can find the time over the next week or so.

Fat chance.

Mbote Independence Day!

As I've finally completed the AK47 army I thought it would be appropriate to declare that today is Mbote Independence Day, as decreed by President Elect General Papi Mpongo, Supreme Leader of the Mbote People.

Bunga Bunga!

A full military parade has been organised in Wanga Wanga with an impressive display of the most up to date weaponry from the arsenal of the Mbote Land Forces. A naval regatta has also taken place in Port Mtumtu, with the Mbote Coastal Defence Force taking a central place in the proceedings.

AK47 Odds and Ends Again

I finished off the casualty bases today, in between doing lots of other things, so the AK47 army is now officially finished and ready for the first game of 2012. I'll add a few extra bits at some point but it's fully operational as it is, so anything else is entirely superfluous and can be tackled as and when I feel like it.

Job done!

I've also finally decided to crack on with the Nkonde army for In the Heart of Africa, although with a couple of changes to the line up in order to cut back on workoad. I'll explain what I'm planning to do in another post but it won't sacrifice too many points and will still enable me to field a decent 500 point army by the time it hits the table.

Rapid Fire! Redux

I've had a change of mind over the last couple of days and have been thinking about finishing off my Rapid Fire! 20mm Late War British Rifle Battalion, the 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. This may seem to be overly virtuous on my part but it makes a lot of sense.

The force is about 80% complete as it stands and thus only requires about twenty figures and half a dozen vehicles to be painted up. I can add a couple of new assets to the force to beef it up a bit but I don't need to, so I can keep things manageable given my limited time for painting.

I can scale the force up and down to use with other rules if I want to including Kampfgruppe Normandy and  the new edition of IABSM, the latter of which I have on the birthday present wishlist. Finally, I have an opponent with a fully complete German Kampfgruppe to put them up against, although we'll have to wait until after half term for me to get myself sorted.

I'm feeling quite enthusiastic about a return to Rapid Fire!, having lost my cutting edge a few months ago when it started to drag a bit. I'm not completely decided yet, as I also want to work on preparing the rest of the 28mm Nkonde units for In the Heart of Africa and also have the PITS / Men of Company B 15mm option to consider

Hmmmm.

AK47 Odds and Ends

I only have these to finish in order to complete the AK47 army ready for a game at some point in the not too distant future. As you can see, they are pretty much there, only needing the texturing, painting and flocking of the bases to be useable. I should get this done tomorrow night, after which, I'll be moving on to the next project.

I have been mulling this over and have two projects in mind, both aiming for completion by half term in mid-February. The front runner is the 28mm Nkonde army for In the Heart of Africa, which has the advantage of having been started and will be relatively quick to paint. The downside is that it requires a lot more cleaning up and basing to get to the painting stage, as well as a some scratchbuilding of a village, pitfall traps and other bits.

The other thing that's been on my mind is a 15mm army, either for Patrols in the Sudan or for The Men of Company B. The latter has the distinct advantage of only needing about twenty bases of figures to start with if I go for a US Marine force with some attached armour. It also doubles up with the AK47 terrain that I've been working on, which would be a real incentive to scratchbuild some more and, at the same time, save me additional effort.

I'll have to give it some more thought over the weekend.

Tomorrow's War

I had a surprise and somewhat belated Xmas present in the post today. I had put it down on my Amazon wishlist but didn't expect to get it, so I was very pleased to open the parcel to find a brand spanking new copy of Tomorrows War.

I have had a long standing 28mm  near future French Foreign Legion project in the leadpile for a couple of years...

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/2011/05/iron-cow-and-other-stuff.html

...so I thought this new ruleset would be perfect for the job. The background fluff in the rules actually ties in really well with my project, which uses Copplestone / EM4 figures and the Antenociti Workshop 6x6 wheeled armoured vehicles, as it includes lists for the French Foreign legion with VAB and VBL type APC's.

When (if) I get round to this project, it'll be a miracle but at least I now have a glossy new set of rules to flick through rather than my old dog eared copy of Future Wars.

Fire from the Forest, Steel from the Sky

I've added a couple of books to the reading list for the potential 15mm French Resistance project, one of which I already had and the other being by the same author, Roger Ford. These two volumes cover the SAS teams and the Jedburgh teams respectively, with chapters detailing the actions of both forces region by region across occupied France.

I've had a flick through Steel from the Sky already and Chapter Three on Brittany includes a section on the Francis Jedburgh group that explains in some detail the events that led to the execution of Major Ogden Smith and Trooper Myodon, together with two of the local Maquisard, all of whom are recorded on the FFI monument in Quimperle.  

Brave men indeed.

AK47 Army Finished!...(well almost)

I finished the bases on the vehicles and AFV's today, having completed the small arms and heavy weapons bases yesterday. This means that, to all intents and purposes, the AK47 Dictatorship army is done, give or take half a dozen casualty markers that I can paint up at my leisure. Oh, and a couple of half complete but non-essential techinicals. And a professional unit that I don't really need....yet.

Anyway...

Huzzah!

Or as General Mpongo would have it... 'Bunga Bunga!'

I can now take a couple of days to sit back and relax, before I tackle the first project of 2012, which will be the Nkonde army for In the Heart of Africa.

Nice.

French Resistance Ideas

I've had this on the bookshelf for a couple of years and originally bought it for the Ministry of the Interior to read, as her family live less than ten minutes away from the area in which the events took place. However, after my recent trip to Brittany, I've decided to read up on the FFI, SoE and the SAS in the region partly out of historical interest but also with a view to wargaming potential.

The book is actually very good and a bit of a page turner. It's packed with interesting detail and some dramatic real life incidents that are described in depth from the personal perspective of the men on the ground. It's given me a lot of food for thought and I reckon there's some mileage in a 15mm approach using Peter Pig figures and vehicles.

There's obviously the French Resistance range to use, together with some of the SCW figures in berets for the FFI. The SAS are covered by the British Paras range, with some judicious headswapping and perhaps a bit of green stuff, with a 'Normandy Jeep' also available for transport. The Milice can be found in the SCW range again, perhaps with a few Adrian helmet headswaps, while the Germans are easy to select from the relevant packs in the PBI range.

The civilian vehicles are available from Peter Pig and QRF, while the Germans can use some of the Zvezda Opel Blitz trucks to keep the cost down. There are also plenty of suitable military vehicles to hand, especially ex-French early war armoured cars and trucks that would be the sort of thing that rear echelon troops might use to track down the Maquis. And Old Glory even do a Lysander in 1/100th scale.

The rules would have to be the key element of the set up. A conventional set like FoW just wouldn't work for what I'm thinking of, so I have something like PITS or MOCB in mind, with one side trying to locate and/or destroy the other, either by searching for arms caches, hideouts, dropzones etc or by setting up ambushes, sabotaging railway lines, blowing up bridges or whatever. I might try to work out something based around AK47 mechanics as a first step.

Interesting stuff.

Happy New Year