Bag the Hun North Africa [11]

These are the additional planes that I need for the Bag The Hun 2 game in October, with four Raiden Hurricane I's forming the final flight of the RAF squadron with a lone Hudson that I found all based and undercoated in my 'to do' box of bits. The Leading Edge Hudson is a bit superfluous, but it's such a neat little model that I couldn't resist including it, even though it won't get used this time round.

DIY Hex Mat Lab

I've set up a Bag The Hun 2 mulitplayer game for mid-October, using my North Africa Italian, German and British 1/285th scale aircraft. As a result, I'll be concentrating on finishing off the Hurricanes and Blenheims that I started to paint up back in July, alongside a few extra aircraft that I need for the scenario. This will be based on a scenario I wrote a few years ago for the Battle of Britain, with a few adaptations for the skies over Tobruk in 1941.

I've also been thinking about 'terrain' for the game, as I've been using my Hotzmat sky coloured hex cloth for my BTH games until now. If I'm going to set up a game over the Libyan desert I really should use a hex mat that fits the scenario, rather than my default 'blue skies over the white cliffs of Dover' offering. As a result, I've been experimenting in the lab (that's the garage, to you) using a rectangle of felt, a brown OHP marker pen and a plastic hex that I pinched from the Maths department at school, when they weren't looking.

It took a couple of minutes to knock up this prototype, although I was a worried that the hexes would drift a bit as I ascended from top to bottom of the felt sheet. In the end, there was a bit of a slide but nothing to make the concept unworkable if scaled up to a full on table-sized hexcloth. I have a large light brown felt cloth, which I acquired from EM4 for PITS, that could be converted using this method but I need to work out how to avoid the drift problem if I'm going to make it work.

''Igor, fetch the OHP pen...!''

''Yes, master.....''

The Longest Siege

After a bit of a hiatus on the reading front, I've finally settled down to read The Longest Siege by Robert Lyman, which follows on from Hurricanes Over Tobruk which I read over the Summer holidays. I have a Tobruk Bag the Hun 2 game organised for the club in October so this will be useful background research. It's a good read thus far and I'm sure it will be well worth it!

Aaarrgh! Matey?

As it's International Talk like a Pirate Day, I thought I'd post some completely gratuitous pictures of my pirate crew, complete with their saucy four gun sloop.You've seen them in action before but they only get dusted off once in a blue moon, so they've probably got a nasty case of cabin fever....or even scurvy. 

I really should set up a game at the club sometime so that they get some much needed exercise! I quite fancy the idea of scratchbuilding another ship, complete with a crew of 'goodies', the Treasure Island variety rather than the 70's TV version that is (although it does have some potential...?)

Anyway, I've got far too much to wade through first, before I even think about embarking on such dastardly diversions...arrrghhh!

BKC Air Support [2]

I got back from work late after a very tedious meeting this evening, so decided to cheer myself up by posting some photos of the 1/144th scale Sweet Macchi Mc200 Saetta that I completed yesterday. I tried the mottle camouflage decals at first but gave up, so painted the green blobs by hand using an old pot of Citadel Battle Green.

The rest of the decals behaved themselves but I couldn't be bothered with the white fuselage band transfer or the microscopic insiginia, so left them off. I knocked up the base from some acrylic rod, a GW flight stand and a couple of tiddly magnets, which makes it easy to store the aircraft away with the rest of the Italian units.

I'm taking a break from the BKC stuff for a bit, so that I can get some of the other things shifted from the workbench. Next up will either be the BTH2 North Africa RAF aircraft or the VBCW Red Militia, which have been hanging around for ages.  How virtuous am I?

BKC Re-Basing

Way back when the first edition of BKC came out, the club decided to go for 25mm x 25mm bases as standard for infantry units with support weapons on 30mm x 30mm bases. As I had the BKC bug back then, I based up a company of early war French infantry to this specification, complete with armour and artillery in support.

When the club BKC Aegean campaign began, I based up my Italian units to the same sysytem but soon found out that things had moved on, with the new edition of the rules suggesting 25mm x 50mm as a standard. It seems that the rest of the club have re-based or set out in this direction, leaving my poor Italians out in the cold.

Not that it really matters but, for the sale of appearences and etiquette, I'll be re-basing my units once the campaign is over, with the simple expedient of sticking two bases together as the obvious way forward. As I have two regular battalions, I will easily have sufficient bases to make up one 'large base' battalion using this method. This wil leave the paras and the coast defence battalions at half strength, but that's fine with me.

The armour, vehicles and command bases won't change at all, so it's a minor bit of aesthetic surgery for minimal cost or effort. It's also got me thinking about my other 10mm BKC project, the Norwegian Campaign, for which I have a small selection of figures. This will obviously follow the second edition style of basing, which means that I'll need some extra figures to fill in the gaps.

...whenever I get round to doing it that is.

BKC Air Support

I've had a go at sticking together a 1/144th scale Sweet Mc200 Saetta kit as a ground attack asset for the Italians. It's a lovely model and very easy to assemble. You get two models in the box and the option of clear transparencies or solid cockpit mouldings, so it's ideal for wargaming purposes. The decals include the camouflage patterns for the wings and fuselage as well, so if should be a bit less daunting to pull off the otherwise scary sand and spaghetti finish.

I undercoated the model with Halfords Khaki camouflage spray then over brushed with Foundry Boneyard Shade and Vallejo Tan Yellow. This was followed by a wash in Citadel Gryphonne Sepia and a drybrush in Citadel Terminatis Stone. The next stage will be to paint the undersurfaces, the cockpit glazing, the cowling ring and the prop boss, before I tackle the decals. It shouldn't take too long to complete, as long as the decals don't go wonky?

I had a browse in the local Games Workshop on Saturday and was really impressed by the new Citadel paint range, so picked up a few pots to try out. The Terminatis Stone drybrush paint is excellent, so I reckon I'll be getting some more of the various combinations that are available. It looks like this range might be stiff competition for the likes of Foundry and Vallejo, assuming the price is competitive.

BKC Aegean Campaign [12]

I finished off the armour and artillery units today, spending an hour or two farting around with the bases to makes them look less dayglow green. They look fine now but I haven't quite cracked it, so will be doing some more experimentation with the next batch of units that I tackle. The camera's been playing up too, so apologies for the dodgy lighting and blurry bits.

BKC Aegean Campaign [11]

I had to abandon plans for Full Thrust this weekend as I belatedly realised that I need some re-inforcements for the Italian BKC battlegroup, pending the imminent prospect of a follow on to the Battle of Mikonos last Tuesday. I spent some time this morning in deep thought and shot off an email packed full of cunning plans to the long suffering campaign umpire.

One such plan, which I hasten to add is not definite (in case the enemy is listening in), is to reinforce the defenders with the other half of my mechanised battalion. In the campaign rules, each protagonist is allowed to field 700 points of armour, most of which must be light and/or ad hoc. This is relatively easy for the Italians to manage, as it fits well with the 'top of the range' kit that they have in their inventory.

As a result, I spent a couple of hours painting up three Pendraken M13/40's, three Pithead L6/40's, a Pendraken AB40/41 and an HQ base of a Pendraken M13/40 armoured command tank. This is about as powerful a force as I could manage given the restrictions in the campaign rules and the existing value of the L3/35 tankette units that I've already deployed.

I originally planned to include some FT17 or Fiat 3000 tanks in the mechanised force but I've decided to leave them out for the moment, unless I'm in desperate need of some WW1 vintage tank support in extremis. However, I have painted up three 75mm field guns as an element of the 250 point fire support battalion that I'm allowed in the campaign.

What I actually deploy in the second day of the Battle for Mikonos now depends on the deliberations of the campaign umpire, who thus far has been very supportive of the Italian war effort. However, there are limits and I wouldn't be at all surprised if my so-called 'cunning plans' get no further than General Robusto Gorgonzola's over stuffed out tray.

It's worth a try though!

BKC Aegean Campaign AAR - Mikonos

Italian Headquarters Andross


PRESS RELEASE - Victory on Mikonos!

Friends, Romans, Countrymen!

I am delighted to inform you of the imminent liberation of the island of Mikonos from the imperialist force of the ever perfidious British.

The British have once again attempted to deny the Greek peoples of their rightful place alongside their Italian cousins, launching a despicable invasion of Mikonos using an overwhelming force of tanks, infantry and paratroopers.

Clearly the safety and welfare of the local population was completely ignored as the brutal British military machine attempted to crush it's way though the defenceless villages and towns in it's path.

However, they did not expect the island to be defended by the valiant Italian expeditionary force under my command...no one expects the Italian expedition!

I, General Robusto Gorgonzola, threw my troops into a valiant defensive action to protect the lives and liberty of our Greek allies. Shoulder to shoulder with the brave partisans of Organisation X and the local gendarmerie, the Italian troops threw back the onslaught of the criminal gangsters in a furious battle for the port and airfield, which I ordered to be defended to the last man.

Using a defensive screen of tankettes and light artillery to block the British advance, the brilliant commander of the expeditionary force, Capitano Dolmio, was able to inflict severe losses on the enemy whilst suffering minimal losses and holding all of our objectives to boot!

Not even an amateurish last minute paratroop assault by puppet greek traitors could save the calamitous collapse of the British invasion.

Bravissimo!

The defence line has now been consolidated and night has fallen. Tomorrow will see the dawn of a new day of total victory for the Italian liberators and the complete destruction of the imperialist British remnants and their duplicitous stooges.

Even as you read this, powerful Italian re-inforcements will be approaching the island by sea and air to bolster our troops in their immiment offensive assault on the quivering, demoralised and utterly out manouevered British.

People of Mikonos!

I urge you now to rise up and throw out these interlopers.

Your island will be yours and your future assured under the benevolent guidance of Il Duce!

Ciao baby

General Robusto Gorgonzola