Dungeon!

I bought this for my son for his 8th birthday, as he loves the old Dungeons and Dragons boardgame which we've played to death. This game is a lot less complicated and, as a result, he can play it solo or against his friends without the need to get me involved. We've played it through a few times and it's been really good fun so, if you're looking for a game to get your kids interested in roleplaying, then this one is a winner. It's not too expensive either and you can find it in Waterstones.

Our Friends Beneath the Sands

Yet another addition to the Kindle backlog of books, this time one that I've had my eye on for quite a while. This is primarily due to the Indo China and West African content, rather than the sterotypical Beau Geste bit, with particular emphasis on background for the French connection with In the Heart of Africa. I'm looking forward to reading this as soon as I have the time.

Corgi 1/50 Sherman M4A3 76 (W)

I found this lurking in a murky corner of Ebay this week, listed as a Corgi camouflaged Sherman tank. As a result, it wasn't picked up on the usual diecast collector radar and I was able to win my tentative but slightly cheeky bid. I have now added a fourth tank to my Bolt Action US late war reinforced platoon for less than seven quid, which is a bit of a bargain to say the least.

In other news, the situation at work has 'all gone a bit Frank Spencer', to pinch a paraphrase from the Arctic Monkeys.

This means I am up to my neck in unexpected bumpf and pseudo-educational guff, leaving me with no time to think about wargaming, let alone paint anything. However, I have promised myself an evening at the club in the next week or two and have signed up for a multiplayer game of In Her Majesty's Name on Tuesday, which will be good fun and will help to tide me over until Colours.

SAGA saga

I've been thinking about the next project after the Bolt Action US are finished some time in the next few weeks, given a bit of effort and some time. I have recently added some PMC dark ages buildings to my scenery set up so it makes sense to go back to SAGA project that I started on last year but didn't finish. I have a Viking warband that's already assembled and undercoated, so I'll start with that before moving onto some Normans, using the Crusader figures that I picked up cheap from Northstar a few weeks ago.

Bag the Hun Burma Air War [3]

We got back home about half six this evening so, after unpacking the car and sorting things out, I had a few minutes to do a quick stock check on the aircraft for the Burma project. A quick rummage in the storage boxes produced the following:

6 x Raiden Brewster Buffalos
6 x Hawker Hurricane I's (non trop filters but possibly of use?)
19 x Museum Miniatures Ki43 Oscars (blimey!)
8 x Museum Miniatures Ki27 Nates

I also have a load of Raiden Curtiss P40C's that I haven't yet located, as well as a few left over bits and bobs that might be useful. This is a really good starting point for the project, although I'll also need some bombers for both sides, together with some additional fighters for the RAAF / RAF or KNIL.

Back from Brittany

After a hectic few days of packing, travelling and visiting people, we're now back in the UK, although not yet back home having stopped off in Cornwall to visit yet more relatives. This summer has been a complete non-starter as far as wargaming goes, except for the few days at the beginning when I made some progress with the Bolt Action project.

As a result, I'm feeling less than encouraged by the imminent return to work and by the backlog of things that will now hamper my wargame plans even more. At least I have something to aim for in the short term, with the completion of the 28mm US Late War platoon as a priority for September. After that, I'll have to think very carefully about what to do next, as I'm going to be very short of time over the next three months or so.

:O(

On the ever diminishing plus side of the equation, I did find a second hand copy of Operation Epsom by Tim Saunders in the Battleground Europe series on a bookstall yesterday. This features a decent account of the role played by the 5th Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry Regiment in the battle, including the epic five Panthers in a day PIAT skirmish in Cheux, which has revived my interest in this old project.

I'm thinking of 15mm or 28mm now, rather than the 20mm Rapid Fire project that has now been re-cycled on Ebay. I have a good selection of figures for both and have plenty of rules options too, with IABSM3, Bolt Action and now Chain of Command as serious contenders. Yet another one to ponder in the aftermath of the Bolt Action Yanks. 

Burma Books [2]

I've just finished reading Burma Victory by David Rooney on the Kindle and, although it's overshadowed by Road of Bones in my opinion, it was still well worth it. I'm now embarking on  Fighting Through to Kohima by Michael Lowry, which looks pretty good and is endorsed by the late Professor Richard Holmes no less, so should be a very worthwhile read. This is in further preparation for my long delayed 15mm IABSM3 Burma project, in case you were confused, but will cross over to various other things I have in mind at the moment. 

Bag The Hun Burma Air War [2]

I've been adding some books to my existing collection of relevant titles for the planned Bag The Hun 2 Burma / Malaya / Dutch East Indies project. I already have a good selection of relevant reference material but, to quote a certain Mr Rudyard Kipling Esq:

 ''A man can never have too much red wine, too many books or too much ammunition''

So, this is what I'll be reading in the next couple of months or so, in more than ample preparation for the start of the project, which should kick off sometime before the end of the year, in theory at least. I'm looking forward to expanding my grasp of the subject and to developing some ideas for potential BTH2 games.

Bag the Hun Burma Air War [1]

With the holidays nearly over, I thought it would be a good to finish off my usual ramblings with the final project that I'm planning for the next twelve months or so. I've been thinking of another Bag the Hun project, having completed Operation Bodenplatte to a workable point, so have been considering the options. There were two real front runners, one being mid-war RAF v. Luftwaffe, based around the after action reports of No 263 Squadron flying Westland Whirlwinds on ground attack rhubarbs over Brittany:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/laurieburley/jeff/index.html

The other was to do the air war over the Dutch East Indies, Burma and Malaya in 1942 and 1943, with a focus on the earlier stages of the campaign, at least to begin with.

I'm still thinking about this but, as a chap at the club has just started his own Midway 1/285th scale project and has painted up some Japanese naval aircraft, the latter option is looking like a real possibility. I already have a collection of 1/285th scale Japanese planes so would focus my efforts on the Imperial Japanese Army, using Museum Miniatures Ki43 Oscars and Ki27 Nates, but having an opponent would mean that I won't have to paint up as much as usual.

The Allies would initially be equipped with four Raiden Brewster Buffaloes that came with a winter war starter pack that I bought ages ago. I really like the idea of painting these up as Dutch East Indies aircraft, complete with their distinctive orange triangle insignia. Some Scotia Martin B10 bombers would be really cool as well! I also have some Raiden Curtiss P40B Tomahawks that were destined for the Western Desert but could now be used for Chennault's Flying Tigers, although I'd rather stick with the RAF and RAAF.

 I'm trying to avoid painting up more Trop Hurricanes after having done twelve of them for No185 Squadron over Malta, but I may well do a few more, this time using the Museum Miniatures models for a change. To finish things off, I can also add some Museum Miniatures Blenheims, which are lovely models if a bit useless for anything other than cannon fodder. I may even squeeze in some cannon armed Hurricane IIc's to even things up a bit for the RAAF and RAF.

This is all a bit theoretical at the moment but I have invested in a shedload of reference material as usual, which should give me a much better idea of the sort of thing that is feasible. It's a great opportunity to do some scenario development for a start, although the mini-campaign in the CY6 rulebook could provide a lot of the scenario options, converted over to a Bag The Hun 2 format. Anyway, loads of reading to be done and lots to think about.

Good stuff!

Chain of Command Arrives

After a slight technical hitch, my pdf copy of the new Chain of Command rules arrived in the in-box yesterday. I've had a quick flick through and, together with the video tutorials that I've watched, I think I have a reasonable grasp of the way things work. The production values are right up where you'd expect them to be, given the recent high quality of presentation that the Toofatlardies have been achieving with their rules, so worth the extra expense in my opinion. I pre-ordered the complete set of rules and markers, so the hard copy of the rulebook will be waiting for me when I get home in a few days time.