Meanwhile, somewhere on Lüneberg Heath

As my loyal reader must surely know, Phil and I have processed all we set out to achieve for this 'project outside my comfort zone'. We hope that Matthew is satisfied with our efforts. As I've mentioned I've written a piece about our struggles, warts and all, especially my efforts to love plaaastic! On Wednesday next week Dan from Wargames illustrated is due to visit GHQ, for the first time since the plague, to take photos for the article. With that in mind I thought that I'd have a play around at a possible table layout which would facilitate his needs in the confined area around my table.

My first attempt at a terrain layout. Two open spaces at front centre and back right should allow Dan 'wriggle room' to get closer to the 15mm vehicles, figures and such.

An alternative arrangement of the buildings, seeing more modern accommodation for the workers of the factory and extending the settlement of Bikelheim.

The older industrial centre of Bikelberg. My wife has pointed out that I need to flatten out the roads!

A view from the modern industrial centre of Bikelberg towards the more traditional town of Bikelheim.

"From Russia With Love" ~ a film revival perhaps? I could not resist this German film poster I found on the net!

Housing the workers C19th style! Robansahn Metal Fabrik knows how to treat the workers!

The bucolic country scene encapsulated by two farms, one ancient, one modern. I'm not sure how the Creatures Great and Small will take to the coming conflict...

German Black Angus beef steaks may be on the Russian menus it seems.

Bikelheim, a small village which will soon achieve notoriety in the world's press as the centre of NATO defence in the shape of the B.A.O.R. against Soviet aggression!

A different configuration of the buildings, traditional village extended by modern buildings into a small town?

The next task is to lay out possible figure, vehicle, aircraft and helicopter groups to find the best look of the collection in action. Tricky as I've little experience in photographing smaller scale stuff myself. Nevertheless I've tried just one or two layouts and would welcome any constructive comments ~

Soviet T55s move cautiously through Bikelberg, their advance covered by a Hind gunship.

On the distant wooded ridge a Rapier anti-aircraft missile defence system targets the Hind.

While to the Rapier's flank a Troop of Chieftain MBTs await the T55s from the cover of the forest, carefully choosing their moment to open fire.

Bought on a Whim, Parte the Laste..

I'd like to show you the last of the purchases I made on a whim while wandering around Partizan back at the beginning of the summer. Some of you will probably recognise these three pieces, but for those who don't they are from Empress Miniatures' Anglo-Zulu War range and are sold as a mounted/dismounted version of the 'Prince Imperial'.

I have no idea why I bought it. I arrived in front of their stand with a list of two packs from their Indian Mutiny range, honestly, and just saw the figures and asked for them. Completely unplanned, definitely not wanted, but there you are. Even stranger than that, I'd almost sold my collection on last year, given that we never decide to play the period nowadays it seems. Anyway, passing by on the subject of my unexplained impulse buy, here are the two versions. He will make a useful British officer in any future games if nothing else ~

When I think about it now, I'm still at a loss as to why I bought this pack. I can only conclude we are a strange group in this hobby...

An Away Day!

 Towards the end of last week I had the very great pleasure of a trip out to Lord Walton's stately pile, for a WWII bash on Jon's new wargames table of course. Not only did the stars align to make this treat possible, but also to grant me a fine win in what was a really engrossing game. Now, I freely admit I'm no gaming genius, especially when it comes to WWII games - Phil says I am in the 'a tank is something you store water in' brigade! That's as maybe, but headlong assaults as a Russian I can usually manage, no need for much tactical thinking, just get stuck in with numbers!

Anyway, I took a few pictures during the game as Jon's terrain and figures and vehicles are a joy to game with and I'd like to share them with you all ~

One of two river crossing objectives for the Russian hordes! The bridge cleverly lifts out of the bespoke terrain and can be replaced by a destroyed version. Did I achieve this objective you are wondering?

Ominous lines of trenches and a wooded ridge backing the bridge suggested to me that if I ever reached this objective then it would prove costly to take. Perhaps the secondary crossing might prove a better ploy, allowing the Russians to flank any bridge defences?

Ah, the secondary crossing - a ford in the river at top right in the picture - is also heavily defended. This looks like it might turn out to be a bit of a slog!

So, some sort of loose plan - a direct assault and damn the losses - in place, the Russian lead elements set off to probe possible German forward positions. Early mortar fire suggests I will encounter some opposition in overrunning the forward elements. 

Tanks with infantry support advancing on the Russian right try to drive through the defenders here and flank the defensive line. A bit of a blood bath ensued, but the Russians force the position and the first line is overcome. We are drawing chits for lost elements à la Battlegroup rules, but otherwise using a mash up of Rapid Fire Reloaded and Rapid Fire!2. Both sides have a decent collection of chits following this opening phase of the action!

On the Russian left the advance is more costly, but the loss of a few tanks and infantry is as nought to we Russian generals! Forward Commrades...or else!

As the Russian attack unfolds the German's second line of defences is encountered and over run after bitter and costly fighting for both sides. More tanks are lost as one position holds out against the odds. Surely maned by troops deserving of their Iron Crosses with Oak Leaves! But, even heroes can perish...and they duly did!

The climax of the battle arrives with the Russian steam roller crashing into the remaining scattered and demoralised defenders - the chits are mounting up rapidly now for the Germans. One final flurry and the German defence is shattered. The ford is open to the Russians and the route to the bridge is now open, and as it turns out, undefended. A Russian victory but at a great cost!

Well, I do hope you enjoyed seeing Jon's wonderful gaming set up! It was a joy to get to play on his table again after so long and to handle his excellent WWII collection in a fine game! Mind, winning does help I freely admit!

Postscript

Finished did I say? Oops! I'd forgotten that I bought some farm animals from Pendraken at May's Partizan show to give a bit of life to my farm scenes. Old age at play I fear! Anyway, I was sorting through the Lead Pimple, sorry, Lump and found the two packets stowed away out of sight! Cleaned up and spray undercoated PDQ and on to the painting desk they went. I doubt they'll be much interest, but for completion's sake, here they are ~

Some pigs! German diet seems to have been big on pork from what I've found looking around. Sadly all searches threw up nothing more than the run of the mill pinkish piggies, so here they are. Base colour is Foundry Terracotta Light, washed with the same company's Rawhide Midshade. Bases are from Warbases and ground texture is Basetex applied thickly to crack on drying out for some suggestion of summer grazing.

I had more luck with German breeds of cattle. These are German Black Angus, a cross breed from the 1950's and fine for my second farm scene. They are painted with the Foundry Equipment Black triad and lightly dry brushed with the same's Slate Grey shade. The bases are two larger Plastic Soldier Company's plastic bases I'd left over, painted with Games Workshop's Steel Legion Drab and liberally covered in static grass and a few clumps of taller vegetation. 

I suppose I should source a few farm vehicles, equipment and suchlike, but...well, we shall see. Hardly a priority in GHQ I'd have to admit.

Up in the Air and Down on the Ground.

The final(?) pieces for our Cold War Gone Hot project are done and dusted. First a second view of the aircraft after Phil's titanic struggles with the transfers provided ~

The Battlefront kit of pointless parts, a Harrier VTOL Fighter-Bomber.

The SU-17 Fitter Fighter-Bomber also from Battlefront and thankfully sans pointless fiddly bits!

Secondly, five T55As for the Soviet force. Lovely little kits from Plastic Soldier Company which go together really well, bar fixing the spare fuel drums on the rear that is ~

A Command tank sporting one or two in the field modifications. Embellished with two spare Battlefront Soviet tank commanders naturally.

There was just one Tank Commander going spare so my Methodist genes told me not to be wasteful!

The remaining three T55As built straight from the box. As you know, Phil has painted all the vehicles while I have assembled the kits and done the basing and such. I've penned a piece for Wargames Illustrated about the project, warts and all, and hope it will appear sometime in the Autumn after Dan's visit to take the photographs to accompany it. Looks like I've been stood down now as Photographer 2nd Class! Oh Well....can't win 'em all. If nothing else it's a welcome back to pre pandemic normality.

Hello Helos!

 I am not seeking sympathy, I'd like to be very clear on this, but tiny rare earth magnets and my eyes and hands are not the best of combinations! Not withstanding these seemingly perennial issues I have managed to fix said magnets to the completed helicopter models and their stands! I thought you might like to see them...

The Soviet HIND gunship first. I've a second kit still to make up, but Phil has well deserved a rest so that must wait patiently for a while in its box ~

For the B.A.O.R. we have a TOW Lynx to provide air to ground close support. Similarly there is a second of these still in kit form awaiting assembly and processing ~

Both kits were from Battlefront in the two starter sets I bought from Caliver Books when I first started out on this project  With these two having been processed to completion there are just the magnets to fix to the two aircraft I've shown in an earlier post and it's all done, for now... We wargamers never say finished do we?

Bought on a Whim, Parte the Second

Refering back to the first of these blog posts revealing figures I had no need of, no intention of buying and indeed didn't know existed which I purchased back at May's Partizan show at Newark Showground, here is the second post featuring Murat as ADC to General Bonaparte. Again the figure is from Trent Miniatures of course. I had thought to put him on the same base as the two you've already seen, but somehow I couldn't find a composition I liked so I decided to base him separately and use him in games as the ADC he is portrayed as ~

I've painted him in the uniform of a Chasseurs à Cheval regiment as I've not found any other illustrations of him in this early period of his career.

Although the range of figures for the Wars of the French Revolution were originally sculpted back in the day by Matt for Duncan, they have more recently been in the hands of other sculptors. While perfectly adequate they somehow lack the movement and character of the earlier iterations, though as I've said before are somewhat lifted by being mounted on Copplestone sculpted horses. Of course this is just a matter of taste and opinion on my part.

I've just started work now on the third item I bought on the same whim, though from a different manufacturer and for a very different period too. As they say, more as and when...