Splash Markers



 I've been inspired by this very effective yet elegantly simple scratch build, to have a go at some home made splash markers for the Victory at Sea campaign:

 

http://wishfulwargamer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/making-splash.html  (genius!)

 

Thus far my efforts are less than impressive but I'm hoping that a bit of additional layering of the modelling paste and some patient fiddling will pay off in the end? If not, I have some golf tees in the post as a painless alternative!

 

Back of Beyond Japanese For Sale

 

 

I've decided to shift my old, half finished Japanese army for the Back of Beyond, offering it to the club first then, if there are no takers, putting it up for sale on Ebay. They've been gathering dust in a box for years and I don't have the willpower to finish them off!

 

As you can see, it consists of one unit of twelve regular cavalry, one unit of twelve irregular cavalry, two units of twelve regular infantry complete with converted officer figures, an HMG and crew and field gun and crew, a staff officer and a mounted general.

 

I'll throw in two diecast painted trucks, a diecast 1/45th scale armoured car, which looks fine next to the figures despite the scale, and a pre-assembled but unpainted 1/48 scale SVA5 fighter plane kit, complete with pilot figure.

 

The whole lot could also be used as a Chinese Warlord army with a few extra 'special' units attached. The paint job is basic but fine for wargaming, although the figures will need finishing off. I reckon a minimal amount of detailing and a dip in Army Painter Quickshade would do the trick!

 

I'm hoping someone at the club will be interested, as I'd rather they went to a good home and got used for club games. I'm asking for £50, which isn't bad for the amount of lead you'll get and well below the price of all this stuff new, but only for club members.

Back to the Back of Beyond

 

After the Battle of Five Armies game the other day we were having a chat about what to do next week and one of the chaps suggested a game in the Back of Beyond using the Contemptible Little Armies rules. We haven't played this for ages, so there are some new players at the club who haven't had a go with the rules.
 

You wait all day for some Bolsheviks..and then three turn up at one go!

I'll be bringing along both my Bolshevik Third Workers and Peasants Shock Brigade and my Trans Asia Texan oil prospectors expedition team, so that there is a choice of forces to use. I suspect that we'll end up with a couple of parallel games but, if not, we'll run a multiplayer encounter battle with muggins as umpire.

It should be good fun either way and may well lead on to a bit of a revival of Back of Beyond at the club. I've always wanted to do at least one more army and have a half completed Japanese army that I'm thinking of selling on, so that I can concentrate on a British or Turkish force instead , so it would be good to encourage some of the new chaps to have a go!

Battle of Five Armies Game

We had an enjoyable try out of the old Games Workshop Battle of Five Armies game at the club this evening, which ended in a fairly decisive victory for the forces of good. The game looked really good too, with lots of superbly painted 10mm figures. I'm not too keen on Warmaster style rules systems on the whole but this was a fast moving and fun game, with some definite redeeming features.

Victory at Sea Italian Fleet [1]

 

I've really enjoyed painting up the French for Victory at Sea, so I thought I'd get some opposition in the form of a Skytrex early war Italian battlepack, with a couple of extra cruisers for good measure. I wasn't planning to branch out this way, as a couple of other campaign players already have Italian fleets, but it makes a lot of sense for my own games at home or when I want to set up a one off game at the club.When this pack arrives I may well attempt to get it based and painted before half term.

Victory at Sea French Fleet [10]

 

A pretty hectic day again so little progress on the Victory at Sea project. I have, however, cleaned up and undercoated the various light cruisers, so I'll be able to crack on with them this week. I'm off to the club tomorrow night for a game of Battle of Five Armies, which should be a lot of fun, so there will be a brief interval in the painting production line until Wednesday.

 

Victory at Sea French Fleet [9]

 

I spent far too long farting about with the bases on these but they're now finished and ready to deploy for the club campaign. I'll crack on with the light cruisers and a handful of destroyers tomorrow. I also need to base and paint the aircraft, which will be a bit of a challenge, although I have a cunning plan to keep things as straightforward as possible?

Victory at Sea French Fleet [8]

 

It's been a busy day but I've finished the painting on the second instalment of the French fleet including the hypothetical Joffre, complete with some tiny Breguet 890 torpedo bombers on the flight line and a single aircraft ready to launch. These 3D printed planes were a bit fiddly (!)  but they look quite effective and certainly add a little something to the flightdeck. I'll get this lot based up tomorrow, although I may do a bit of disruptive camouflage and weathering first to break up the grey on the Jean Bart.

Victory at Sea Soviet Black Sea Fleet 1941

As this is May Day, I thought I'd splash out on a small Soviet fleet for Victory at Sea, which I've been thinking of doing anyway. This will consist of one battleship, five or six cruisers and about a dozen destroyers, together with some submarines and minesweepers. This is all that the Russians had in the Black Sea in 1941, give or take lots of patrol boats, MTB's and other light craft. However, this will keep things down to a reasonable cost and size, whilst also allowing for some decent smaller scale games. 

Channel Bash

 

Here's the latest addition to the digital bookshelves, covering both my Victory at Sea and Narrow Seas projects. I thought that I already had this book but, after a quick rummage in the library, I found that it was not in the collection. As a result, I thought it would be a very useful addition, especially for mid-war coastal forces scenario ideas.