Knights of the Sky Kit Pile

                                                                           

Last year building kits of WW1 aircraft for Knights of the Sky was on my list of things to do, with both British and German models being completed. I did intend to make some French models too but ran out of options, the kit pile only having some Nieuport 17 or Spad VII kits, which I didn't really need to build or have the time to kit up.

So, although it's not on my project list this year, I have added an old Merlin Models limited run injection kit of the Breguet 14, which is a much more useful aircraft than more single seaters. It's also very basic and should be tough enough to put up with some rough handling. I will build it later in the year, perhaps alongside a couple of Airfix Spad VII scouts, just for fun when I fancy a change. Tally Ho!

Malta Game Model Refurb

 

I dug out my 1/300th scale aircraft for the Malta scenario today, only to find that they were looking a bit worse for wear. I knocked up some paint to touch up the bases, the original colour being a long extinct Citadel Blue shade, then replaced the little colour dot stickers with pilot name labels, albeit a bit basic. They look better now with a lick of paint, so I'm all ready for the game in a couple of weeks (I think?).

Technical Hitch

 

We run a monthly competition over on the AK47 Facebook group and this month, back by popular demand, it's scratch building a 15mm technical. It's more converting than building from scratch, as you can use a diecast toy, a wargaming model or a model kit as the basis of your vehicle, just no 'off the shelf' ready made things. The only other proviso is that it must have a Peter Pig crew or weapon bolted on to it somehow. The picture above shows the sort of thing you can do...Skytrex trucks with Peter Pig crew and weapon mounts from Peter Pig or The Scene. It's great fun, so I'm going to join in, even if I already have enough technicals to equip a small revolutionary takeover!

Mongolia or Malta?

 

185 Squadron Takes to the Skies Again

I thought I'd ask the players in the Bag the Hun club game what they'd prefer to do and they picked the Malta option rather than Mongolia. This game is pretty much ready to go, so the pressure is off when it comes to making new flight stands and painting more planes. It's a scenario I've run several times before as well, so I know it works. As a result, I can spend some time this weekend on the Norwegian Campaign 1/3000th scale ships instead. Tally Ho!

Bag the Hun Game Tweaks

           

After a bit of a rethink I've modified the Red Rocketeers scenario to include a Ki-21 bomber squadron of the 61st Sentai. This was the formation that the Ki-27's were screening during the action, although the rockets fired by the I-16 Type 10 Soviet fighters ended up hitting the Japanese fighter escort rather than the bombers. There were actually ten of the Ki-21's but I only have nine models, so they will have to make do. The Japanese have lost one section of fighters to make way for the bombers but otherwise the scenario is pretty much the same, with the bombers now included in the victory objectives.

Bag the Hun Club Game

           

I've organised a Bag the Hun game at the club in a couple of weeks time, to make up for having to cancel a game before the holidays. The original plan was to run a Malta 1941 scenario which I've umpired several times before as it's off the shelf and ideal for four players, but I'd like to try out my new green hex mat, so another Khalkhin Gol scenario seemed like a good Plan A. This means I can use my 1/600th scale aircraft and just have to run up a few paper resources to have a scenario ready to go.

I might run the Twilight Dogfight scenario from the Lard Mag but have also written a scenario that hasn't been played yet, involving rocket-armed I-16 fighters in the first ever use of the RS-82 air-to-air rockets. I wrote this for the Lard Mag article but didn't submit it. This does mean I will have to paint half a dozen rocket-equipped I-16 models and, more importantly, make a load of new flight stands to match the hex mat, not to mention the record sheets and some cards.

It's going to be a busy weekend!

Strength and Honour Battle of the Ister River

 

Mark Backhouse has very kindly offered to run his show participation game - the Battle of the Ister River - at the club next week, which I am very much looking forward to. This features his stunning winter terrain boards that were made especially for the scenario, which pits a small Imperial Roman legionary force against a marauding Sarmation horde during the the First Marcomannic War , with the added twist of fighting on the frozen surface of the Danube. I'll do a write up when we have played the game.

Early War Warship Wash

 

It's my last day of the holidays today, damn and blast the pen pushing jobsworth who decided the term starts on the 2nd, so I thought I'd grab some time to do some painting of the Royal Navy and Kriegsmarine heavies. This involved a couple of pin washes, one with Citadel Nuln Oil and the other with Ahead Earthshade, which was all I had time to complete. Next up will be the highlights and details, which I'm hoping to start on tomorrow after work.

Back of Beyond Turkish Army

The Turkish Army Bits

Mad Mullah

Circassian Cavalry (a bit like Muslim cossacks)

AA HMG (converted Great War French)

The Support and Command Group

CO and Staff Officers

HMG (two of these)

Krupp Field Gun

A late addition to the project list this year, an old project I started on way back in 2014 but didn't get round to actually painting. The core units of the army were assembled and based in 2016 and there are about three or four units still to prepare, but essentially it's good to go. I did think about doing a Chinese Warlord or British Expeditionary army, as I have all of the stuff required, but both of those would have to start from scratch, so the Turks are a much better option. 

The army consists of a CO and two staff officers, a Mad Mullah, three units of infantry, a unit of Circassian cavalry, two machine guns, an anti aircraft gun, a field gun, an Erhardt armoured car and an Albatros CII aircraft. I've also ordered some Turkish lancer cavalry from Caliver as an additional unit and have some ideas to convert Copplestone Siberian Riflemen into a unit of Bukharan infantry, if I can make them look the part.

The Wars of the Roses: The Soldiers" Experience

     

I found this paperback in the local Oxfam second-hand bookshop yesterday. It's unusual in that it focuses on the military aspect of the conflict from the perspective of the ordinary, or not so ordinary, soldier. It's not really a wargaming friendly book but it does contain some very interesting and relevant information that is potentially useful for my Lion Rampant project this year.