AK47 Winter Wobbler [22]

Just goes to show how long this project has been hanging around, waiting for the all important 'there's a game next week' incentive to get it finished off. These are the assembled AFV's, APC's and vehicles of the Zubuto Army of the People (ZAP), with the base texturing freshly applied ready for some undercoating, drybrushing and static grass tarting up tomorrow. 

I think I've worked up a pretty decisive roster for the game on Tuesday, using my existing MDF infantry bases alongside the armour and transport from the ZAP arsenal. If it all works according to the 'master plan', I'll be fairly confident of a victory over the Bana Soto colonial puppet interlopers, although there is always a fair degree of randomness in any game of AK47 that can really, really screw things up.

NEWSFLASH - WaPongo missile missing over Bana Soto border (Reuters)

 
From our defence correspondent in Bojobo

Unconfirmed reports are coming in of a missile test firing malfunction in the Mbote - Bana Soto border zone. It would appear from local eyewitnesses to the incident that an unarmed short range WaPongo rocket, fired from Mbote territory during a joint military exercise with Zubuto forces, has had a serious guidance error and has now landed somewhere in the Bana Soto border strip. As yet there has been no confirmation of the loss of a missile by Zubuto - Mbote joint military command or a response from the government of Bana-Soto.

Narrow Seas [28]

Here's the last addition to the RN coastal forces which, as I realised today, is probably a good extra to add to the MTB's, ML's and MGB's. I need some sort of convoy defence for the Schnellboote to run in to, so a Hunt Class Type 1 escort seemed like a good idea. This one will be HMS Tynedale (L96) which was active in the Western Approaches in 1941-42 and took part in the escort part of the raid on St Nazaire. It will give me a chance to try a funky Western Approaches camouflage scheme too!

Narrow Seas [27]

A small extra for the British coastal forces, in the shape of a U Class submarine, HMNoS Uredd, which is an old Skytrex model that I got as part of  a bundle via Ebay. As most of the U Class submarines operated in the Mediterrannean I had to give this one a Norwegian crew for action in the North Sea. The reall HMNoS Uredd was lost in 1943 whilst landing special forces in Norway, so I thought this role would be the sort of thing I could use as a basis for a scenario.

AK47 Objective Marker

There's an AK47 game at the club on Tuesday, so a new objective marker seemed like a good idea. This is bit of a clue to the next installment in the ongoing Mbote - Bana Soto conflict, although the Zubuto Army of the People will also be making a debut appearence. The rocket is a heavily bashed plastic toy from the box in the loft, while the debris has been gathered from various left over aircraft kit bits and bobs. Cheap and cheerful!

Narrow Seas [26]

 

I'm now off work for 48 hours on doctors orders, with plenty of painkillers to keep me happy. Rather than waste the time, I've been fiddling around with the Tumbling Dice Graf von Gotzen and have had a go at converting it into a Sperrbrecher. These were merchant ships used to set off any mines laid in the path of  convoys or warships leaving port. As such they were heavily adapted with anti-mine equipment and additional bouyancy aids, together with a shedload of flak.

As you can see, I've swapped the original bridge and funnel for ones from a Skytrex Vorpostenboot, added flak mountings using some extra sprues from a Tamiya Narvik class destroyer kit, used the radar antenna from the same kit as magnetic mine gear on either side of fore deck and fnished off by adding a barrage cable cutter at the bows. I think it looks a bit like the real thing, which varied in appearance from ship to ship, so I'm quite pleased with the overall end result.

Narrow Seas [25]

I'm sitting at home this morning waiting to go into hospital for a minor operation, so thought I'd spend the time wisely by adding some more boats to the coastal patrol. These are two Skytrex Raumboot and a PT Dockyard ex-French sub-chaser, uparmed with approrpriate weapons fore and aft. I like the PT Dockyard stuff but they aren't half fiddly to put together, especially the tiddly guns which would be much better if made of metal.

I've also been playing around with the very nice Tumbling Dice Graf von Gotzen, which I ordered the other day and which turned up in the post in double quick time. I'm planning to turn her into a Sperrbrecher using some bits from a surplus Skytrex VP boat, of which I have enough, together with some spare 1/700 scale AA mountings from a Tamiya destroyer kit. It may or may not work and I'm sure it won't look anything like the real thing above, but who's to know!

NEWSFLASH - Zubuto and Mbote launch joint military exercise (Reuters)

From our defence correspondent in Bjobo

In a sign of recent co-operation between Mbote and Zubuto, a joint military exercise - Operation Rampant Jambok - has begun in the Watumi highlands adjacent to the Zubuto - Bana Soto border. A combined MDF and ZAP mobile brigade has conducted a series of manoevers in the region, with tank and infantry units playing a major role.

The latest addition to the aresenal of Zubuto, the short range WaPongo rocket system, has also been cleared for test firing. The WaPongo has been developed in a collaborative project between the Zubuto armaments firm, Dudu Defence Systems (a subsidiary of Dudu Industries Inc) and the Albanian government. The system has yet to be confirmed as operational but will add a significant capability to the ZAP armed forces.

However, unconfirmed sources close to the project have indicated in a leaked memorandum that the guidance system on the WaPongo rocket has been subject to serious software issues, with a number of simulated launches having to be aborted due to mis-tracking. There has yet to be confirmation of the extent of these problems but, with a test firing proramme now in place, it would seem that they have been resolved.

Narrow Seas [24]

A small addition to the Kriegsmarine coastal forces this evening in the form of a Skytrex K UJ1 Escort Trawler. This was a bit of a challenge being a very mushy casting with lots of flash and some nasty seams, but it came out well in the end. I replaced the gun in front of the wheelhouse with a Tumbling Dice AA gun, as the original was a bit of a blob. I also substituted the flimsy mast with a much less fragile spare from the left over Kriegfischkutter bits box. It may not be prototypical but I very much doubt anyone will notice.

Narrow Seas [23]

It's nearly 10pm and I've only just finished marking a set of Year 10 books, so it's a good thing I managed to get these four schnellboot cleaned up and undercoated yesterday evening. They're the classic early to  mid-war version, with integral torepdo tubes but without the armoured bridge and weapons fit of the later series. I really like the models so may well get a couple more from Heroics and Ros, along with some of the early war equivalents, although I have plenty to keep me occupied in the meantime.