57mm RR and crew in 20mm

Yes one more very slight addition to my Vietnam Conflict project. I really need to get some games with that project this year. Anyway today is a 57mm Recoilless Rifle with three crew.

While the dead figure is by SHQ, (He had been waiting on my painting table for a good 6 months) all the rest are by Britannia. I bought the crew thinking the RR would be included but  it was not. I remember thinking at the time. "Cor! that's a bargain" not realising the Recoilless Rifle was not included. LOL It all makes sense now.

Anyway I went to the 57mm as opposed to a larger calibre as my US troops are not overly blessed with armour, yes I do have some M113's and a Patton but this level of support should be rare on the table top. As a consequence Viet Minh Anti tank should be equally rare. Britannia do make a larger gun but this was much more common and the 57mm while heavy enough to carry through a jungle would be easier.

The crew  consist of a spotter, who could also be an officer, a loader and one other. Giving a 3 man crew. All mounted on separate bases in case the gun or the crew take hits and can no longer fight and have to be removed.

The basing is very simple as well. Starting with a 2mm thick MDF base just coated with sand and painted a cheap acrylic brown. Clumps of static grass and bristles from a wall papering brush make up the reeds. Simple yet effective. And one wall paper brush lasts an age. I have so far managed to do 1 15mm FOW Parachute company and both the US and the Viet minh in 20mm (1/72nd scale) and still have about 1/4 of the brush unused. So considering the brush was only 99p (at the time) a very quick and easy basing product.

I am not saying this is my Vietnam project finished, but I think it is for now at the least.

Thanks for looking today and I hope you are having a fantastic weekend!


All the best Clint

Risk Taker (Curtgeld)

As part of the Analogue Hobbies painting challenge participants are to submit a figure to Curt (AKA Snowlord) as a kind of entrance fee. The theme this year was gambler/risk taker.

And here is mine. I called it "the Over confidence of youth!"

The figure is from foundry "Street Violence" range therefore 28mm tall.

Although you can hardly see it I clipped of the metal base and drilled and pinned the figure attaching it to a resin base I had spare. By doing so and with the aid of a sharp knife and small file I was able to get the figure to do a shallow wheelie on the base t add to the feeling of taking risks and youth and mainly just because it was fun to do so.

I could not make a more dramatic wheelie as that would involve re-sculpting both the legs, and being honest I am a rubbish sculptor.  So better just to not try at all on that.

Colour wise I went for bold and clashing colours of the type I do see kids wearing on occasion. I did have to change the colour of the hoodie 3 times (Dark Blue then light blue) before settling on orange. I find painting Orange very hard to get right but am pleased I did in the end as it does make the figure POP! I also did want the jeans a little lighter, but this is how they came out and I was happy with the result so brand new dark jeans it was.

As a Kid the skate board to have was a "pacer" which were yellow deck silver trucks and red wheels. So that is what this chap has. I know things have changed since I was a kid (dinosaurs no longer walk the earth for example and we are not playing WRG 6th edition anymore), so I concede the skate board is out of date but painting it did bring back memories.

I cannot remember where I got the resin base but it has hung around for a number of years so was about time it got used.

So this figure was my "Curtgeld" this year and it is probably in Canada as you read this As it was posted on Monday. No idea what it will get used for (IF at all) but it could be modern skirmish in any of its forms.

Thanks for looking another post on Sunday.
All the best Clint

To the strongest game 3

Having played 2 games of to the strongest and enjoying the simple mechanics a third game was to be played. As with the other 2 games I was given the troops and just had to get on with it. The two armies in question were Ptolemaic Egyptians and the Classical Indians. I do not believe the two armies ever fought each other so I am not aware of any historical precedence. But just looking at the army lists it is EASY to predict the result.

I was given the Indians. Facing off against Dave. With Relfie on my right and Kev diagonally opposite.  Dave and Kev the Ptolemaics and me and Relfie the Indians. before any of this starts sounding wingng I will say I did enjoy the game but understood and vocalised the result LONG before it happened. Anyone with any knowledge of ancients has probably already worked it out.  Both sides had a lot of units and both sides had limited space and I could have deployed far better than I did so some of it is my fault. And I put my hands up to that. If I had been a real life general I would have chosen a better place to fight the battle which allowed for manoeuvre which was about the only advantage we had. Still sometimes you have to fight in areas not of your own choosing.  So fair play.

All the dice in pictures represent remaining missile weapons that unit has.

I did manage to score the first success and killed some Ptolemaic skirmishers so the game was of to a good start. Now the classical Indians had some raw quality longbow archers and a good amount of ammo.  However neither Relfie nor myself were able to cause any lasting damage on the pike armed phalanxes as they closed the distance. All that happened instead was that we ran out of ammo and while we did disrupt them they were able to re order their ranks and move forward without much difficulty.

My cavalry on the left were able to stop Dave moving down my flank and went into position on turn 2 of the game and stayed there as I tried to move elephants to support but due to them being hemmed in and poor card draws were not able to support them. Just as well they did not need my support. While they did fail to kill anything else in the game they did stop Dave from advancing. And were my most valuable troops despite the points indicating otherwise. I did manage to get some heavy chariots close to that flank but they were unable to assist because of the terrain and location of enemy troops.

Relfie on my right had also run out of arrows and replacing them was a struggle. The right flank did seem to see-saw a few times, mostly sawing on the Indians But Relfie was doing OK. Dave and myself were not quite in a stale mate position as Dave did manage to kill all my skirmishers and seize my only bit of defensible terrain.

But despite trying to win the raw Indians with only 2 wounds wer in the end just no match for the Ptolemaic's in pike blocks with better saves and 3 wounds. So eventually the inevitable happened and the Indians lost.

Congrats to Dave and Kev on their win and commiserations to me and Relfie but at least we delayed the inevitable for as long as possible.

Final result was 6VP (Victory points) to me and Relfie and 16 VP to Kev and Dave. Kev to his credit did offer to swap side with me when I stated a the beginning that the forces were not balanced which was nice of him, but what was the point, it would still have been an Indian Loss and a Ptolemaic win!

If we had room to manoeuvre we might have been able to attack the pike blocks in the side (Relfie did manage it once against the same unit twice but the cards did not favour him. ) But in front of me was just a solid mass of pikes and unarmoured bowmen would have trouble killing them in any set of rules when they are out of ammo.

I do not blame the rules or the army lists but perhaps we did have far to many troops in far to smaller area so (Not our choice although we could have deployed better). My first time in using that army and not an army I would choose to use again. The army match up was just not good and you could see from the start how the game would end. I am sure some players would have done better. But we did what we could with what we had and took a long time in dying. I am sure some players who know the armies better would have faired so much better and may even win. But that on the day did not happen.

Thanks for reading all the best Clint

A slow boat to china (ok the Mekong Delta)

 The last bonus round on the Analogue painting challenge was "Nautical". As I had set myself the challenge of not buying figures for the challenge but instead trying (but not succeeding) to reduce the lead mountain. I submitted my latest item for my Vietnam figures. The picture gives it away of course but Britannia/Grubby Tanks do a "Sampan!" So here it is in all its glory. I do have very little use for a Sampan as Most of the scenarios I want to play are in country and I am not planning any "Brown Water navy" antics. However I had it sitting here doing nothing so get it painted and submitted for the bonus round.


Britannia do a few other US Vietnam vessels but this (as far as I know) is the only Civil Vietnam boat they do. When I say Civil Vietnam vessel I do of course mean "Target of Opportunity" as I know how many US players will take great delight in destroying something new. Just so they can say that they killed it!

I was going to paint the water brown, but as all my river sections are BLUE it just made more sense to go with the blue water.

The model was a 2 piece casting a white metal crewman and engine and a resin cast hull. A very simple paint job all colours taken from the picture at the bottom which is either fishing or trading. But during the conflict they might just as readily been ferrying supplies or people to the Viet Minh bases to fight the US troops. So they were treated with some degree of caution.

As with all things they did come in a variety of sizes and colours and even shapes. But I just wanted a typical Sampan with nothing outrageous. they were used all over the SE Asia area and have been used (without engines) for centuries.

That is it for today. Thanks for looking and

Cavalier show 2016

Deal wargames

One of the joys of the Cavalier show is its the first show for me each year.  As such it is a place to meet other clubs and players and get back in the vibe after a winter hibernation.

Firstly let me say there were 2 games I got no photos of. Simply because they just did not appeal to me. One was a Trojan wars game using "Hordes of the things" rules and the other was peter Pigs Hammering Iron. The first because I do not like the over reliance of heroes in games and the second before fear of getting roped into a game.



Prison Break- Los Banos the Philippines 1945

Big apologise to anyone I get wrong. TWWS did not have a map and key of what was going on when I did ask in the afternoon.

Overall a good show and worth going to if it id not too far. Several Traders were missing and that does seem to be the way these days. Perhaps with fuel, hotel rooms and the like it is just not worth many traders attending small local shows. Which is understandable but still disappointing.

You will note there are no pictures of other bloggers or the bring and buy so if you are looking for such a thing best of luck elsewhere!

On a personal note I found the bring and buy disappointing, But I am sure for some others it was fantastic. Oh well better luck next time.

Lots of Jungle scenery.



1879 Zulus... yeah that's right Roakes Drift
Station, Participation Game.

Friday Night Fire fight club.

North London Wargames Group

Not sure of the game name but modern Afghanistan skirmish

Gravesend Gamers guild
Warmachine.

Still Warmachine and I still am not a fan!

Maidstone Wargames club.

Road to Homs. A fictional Battle in 1982 of Israel against Syria using 3 mm figures

Home made rules that did seem to work well




I don't know the details but did like the town.



Tonbridge Wargames club
10mm ACW.



SEEMs wargames club

Not sure but I think it was a big battle Saga game. At least it seemed to be!

Cute Nuns.
the "Anti Alchemists" were running a participation game about Rommel's First action in WW!

Society of Ancients
A Roman vs Carhaginians bash up
 



The Germans attacking. Trying to kill the nuns
who in an earlier game had managed to fight off the German Uhlans!
Three cheers for the nuns!



Crawley wargames group
A Participation game

Called "Stretcher bearer" as one of the club had a grand father who did that in WW!

Hailsham Wargames
battle of Malplaqut
Spelt wrong as I cannot rad my own writing.

The game did look good, but not a period I know at all.



Southend wargames club.

Cavalier Swag.

Well not much this time. I was not on a tight budget or needing to sneak anything into the house, just nothing really grabbed my fancy.

Money spent was about £20 in all for the day including entrance and snacks. So enough excuses but what did I get.

1 Black scorpion female pirate for my cousin. (Colonel Bills). Used to belong to Roy so I am told.
1 Tub of black acrylic paint. (Tole Haven)
1 28mm dog cocking it's leg! Oh come on it was 50p well spent! (Redoubt)
1 20mm Recoilless Rifle (Grubby Tanks) Vietnam project
1 Milady de Winter, (Redoubt) just another 3 musketeer figure I just wanted to paint.
1 Pack of Japanese 20mm WW2 Airfix Infantry (Harfields) As I want to do some Pacific wargames later this year and you need to start somewhere and this seemed a logical start and is so much cheaper than eBay when Postage is taken into account

There was nothing for me on the bring and buy it was all over priced as far as I could tell or in very poor condition or just something I am not interested in. I am sure some people will say the best bring and buy ever. But not for me!

So no real splurges and very restrained and respectable. Yes I could have spent more and I could increased the size of the lead mountain but I am happy with this small amount as I now recognise that buying a lot and painting a lot are not the same!

I will most likely do a show report tomorrow and some of the games were very interesting. So that may be something to look forward to. And It my not we will both only know when te pictures are shown.

Betteshanger Miners

Betteshanger colliery opened in the late 1920s and was the largest of the Kent collieries. It had two shafts of almost 2300 feet, plaques can still be seen where the shafts were once sunk. The colliery was served by a railway branch which left the main line between Deal & Sandwich.
Betteshanger had a tradition of union militancy; it was the first pit to come out on strike during the second World War and took active part in the miners' strikes of 1969, 1972, 1974 and 1984-85.
A sit-in was staged at the colliery in 1984 and those involved were sacked for trespass.The Kent Area's NUM initially refused to return to work until those sacked were reinstated and continued to picket the rest of the country after the NUM's national executive had voted to return to work, so Betteshanger was actually the last pit in Britain to return to work after the strike.
Thereafter, Betteshanger became known for the brutality with which strikebreakers were treated. Posters had gone up in the village with photographs and names of the 30 men who had broken the strike. It was the last Kent colliery to close, closing for good in 1989.

The above was taken directly from the Wikipeadia. I will attempt to write the Colliery up for the VBCW forum this week.  But in essence they are a socialist faction within Kent working against the London Fascists and Allied with the Anglican League. However they are not hand in glove with the Anglican league they are allies of convenience against a common foe. More will be explained on the forum (I Hope). But there is a rivalry and while it may result in a few punch ups and beatings it has so far not lead to permanent injury! So Far!

The figures are all for Matt and a collection of makes including Sloppy Jalopy, Musketeer miniatures and Ironclad. there is even a Warlord figure from the Dads army set. So quite an eclectic bunch.


But most importantly let me talk about the flag. The Flag is a "ONE OFF" by Pete Barfield (aka Petal aka Panserkaput) and his blog is HERE! I am very grateful to Peter as it does make these miners unique. It makes you realise how many nice people there are out there blogging!

While this is not the Official Betteshanger banner it is now the official VBCW Betteshanger Banner. (OK semi official VBCW Banner). I am very pleased to say it has the "Invicta" horse on display. When he sent it to me It really did make my day.

So if any of you VBCW players want to represent this unit contact me by leaving a comment below and I will send out a PDF. I have already gotten permission to pass it on from Pete and he is a Generous guy indeed to allow it.

These will be my last Miners for VBCW for a while I think as I am about to crack on with some socialists. perhaps they will be dock workers from the ports in Kent, who knows at this stage.

It has been suggested that I make a beer wagon to follow along behind the miners but as yet that is just a twinkle in my eye!

Thanks for Looking and I am off to the Cavalier show on Sunday so expect a show report or swag post on Monday. Until then take care have fun and do not get too cold.

Kent Miners (Part 1)

Yes part 2 will be along in a couple of days. yes these were the first batch of Miners shown over a week ago on the Analogue painting challenge. The rest will follow in the next posting. They are of course painted for my mate Matt and equally obviously they have a flag by Pete Barfield. These are part of the socialist assault column in VBCW.

A mixture of makes, Sloppy Jalopy, Ironclan and Musketeer miniatures and armed with a variety of weapons. Mostly with rifles but also Smgs (Lanchesters used by the Royal Navy), shot guns and revolvers.

Most have miners helmets but as 1/5 of the Kent miners did work above ground not all are wearing them or have them slung on their belts. But there are enough in the group to make it look like they are mostly equipt that way. All dressed in sombre colours appropriate to the time and all as keen as mustard to get stuck in against the London Fascists and the Kentish fascists as well.


Thanks for looking today a bigger batch next time, but NO I cannot do a group shot of them all as Matt has already gotten these back.