Plastic Fantastic

In the summer holidays I will have a week or so when I'll be on my own, apart from the dog, in Brittany, the rest of the family being off doing other things. This means I'll have nothing much to do apart from reading and solo wargaming, apart from walking the aforementioned mutt and the occasional dip in the sea.

I'm planning ahead for this rate interlude in the joy of parenting, with Plan A being to spend some of the time building an army (or two) in plastic. This has the advantage of being easier to do while away, much cheaper in outlay as compared to metal figures, while being quite a pleasant process at the same time. 

The current idea is to assemble a Zulu and possibly a British army for Death in the Dark Continent using the Perry Miniatures boxes. The other option is to assemble a British army for the East African campaign for Chain of Command. These both have the advantage of being compatible with the excellent modular African savannah terrain that I've recently been gifted, so a great way to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

Turkish WW1 Black Sea Squadron

This is what I've been able to assemble for the WW1 Turkish squadron, fleet being a bit of a stretch given the small number of models available. It's still a pretty formidable force, however, with one battle cruiser, a light cruiser, two pre-dreadnought battleships and eight destroyers in two variants. I've also included a float plane spotter, why not? 

Aviation Hardback Books

I was walking the dog this morning and passed the local charity shop, popping in while the dog took a breather in the shade. Here's the result, a couple of aviation themed additions to the holiday reading list. I think I've read Tail End Charlies before but there's no harm in reading it again, while the history of the Israeli Air Force is a new one to me. Good finds both!

More Fistfuls of Lead

Black Sheep Miniatures, available from Warbases, have added some new Wild West figures to their range including a band of Pawnee braves and a posse of Pinkertons. These were so nifty that I couldn't resist ordering a set of each of them, despite having more than enough 28mm lead of the same ilk. The holidays are just around the corner, so I will have some painting and modelling time to kill, which is as good an excuse as any!

New Project - WW1 Turkish Black Sea Fleet

This is something I've had planned for a couple of years now, a WW1 Turkish fleet for the Black Sea, using Tumbling Dice 1/2400th models. There a couple of minor gaps and a proxy model here or there but otherwise it's a complete line up, give or take. I also have an opposing Russian force to tackle after this lot have been assembled, based and painted. I might even add some merchant shipping later on. Excellent!

Filling Gaps in the Line

After reorganising the plastic storage box for the French and Royal Navy fleets, I have space for three more French third rates and a couple of frigates, as well as another Third Rate 64 for the British. It just so happens I have an 80 and two 74's in the spares box, as well as an assembled 38 gun Sixth Rate frigate for the French. I've also got a spare 64, which will be painted as HMS Agamemnon. I doubt I'll get these finished by the time the holidays start but it's worth a crack!

Royal Navy Napoleonic Fleet Finished

...well pretty much, apart from some flags and magnet basing in the storage box. This lot and the French fleet will be off on holiday this summer for some solo fleet action games.

Age of Sail Fast Play Fleet Actions

In the summer holidays I'm planning to try out a couple of sets of fleet level rules, as well as running some games of small ship to ship actions. For the former I'm going to be giving both Far Distant Ships and Grand Fleet Actions a go, although I have played the latter a couple of times at the club in the past. I'm aiming for some fast play games, so no complicated sailing or gunnery involved, so that I can use a decent number of squadrons solo. It will all be a bit ahistorical as far as the actual battles but, if the rules work well and I enjoy the games, I will aim to fill the gaps to run some real engagements later on.

Spitting Distance

I'm within spitting distance of finishing the 1/2400th Royal Navy fleet c1800, with only the base labels and ensigns to add before they're done and dusted. I'm quite pleased with how they came out but they won't win any prizes for neatness or detail. They're still a bit shiny but once the varnish cooks off they will tone down a bit. 

Sea Base Dry Brushing

I've been feeling a bit under the weather today so spent quite a lot of it lying down. However, not to be defeated by a bit of wonky vertigo, I've dry brushed the sea bases on the Royal Navy ships with Vallejo Deep Sky Blue, a very versatile shade and perfect for this sort of thing. If I'm feeling better tomorrow, I'll add some wakes and bow waves, tidy up any snags then varnish the models ready for base labelling during the week. The deadline to complete this project is the end of June, so there's no time to waste.