AWI rebasing - loads of Militia

I'm behind on plan but my"background task" of working on the rebasing continues. This finished all the rebel militia, I have swapped some figures around to improve the appearance, but generally not bothered.


Just the commanders to work on now, and they will need extra figures added like all my other tricorne stands - something for next month.

AWI rebasing - additional continentals

I've rebased my additional continentals, in the front rank, plus a couple of units of militia and the remaining cavalry


From left to right the regiments of Samuel Webb, William Lee, Henry Sherburne and Thomas Hartley. The cavalry are the 2nd Dragoons (Sheldons) and 1st Dragoons (Blands)

Otter light reconnaissance car

Very much an impulse buy when I saw it in the Early War Miniatures damaged remnants bin at York. I've patched up the four wheels and scratch built a turret.


I've given it markings for the 43rd Wessex Division to fit with the rest of my forces, but I don't know if they actually used any.

For those interested the turret was created with a cone of thin plasticard fitted and cut to shape. Then reinforced by a second layer and then the MG aperture cut out. The MG support was part of an old aircraft undercarriage.

British 15pdr BL guns

Another Strelets set and again this time I've used the crews for three different periods Anglo-Zulu War in blue(ignoring the putees) the Sudan in grey and North West Frontier in khaki (but it will stretch to WWI)

The guns are only used for the Sudan and later as the British Army reverted to muzzle loaders during the Zulu War.

I'm not sure about a few of the poses, especially the limbo dancing characters who should be adjusting the bearing by manoeuvring the wheels.

2019Q1 progress against plan

Up until being admitted to hospital I had been making great progress with my annual plan. The final result was 810 items made up of

AWI	465
Revolution	208
WW2	58
ACW	36
Colonial	31
SYW	9
WW1	3

Progress against plan

• Continue tricorne rebasing (just AWI now) plus extra/replacement cavalry units - well underway
• Medieval – More WOTR longbow/bill units, mounted archers, cavalry, Scottish cavalry , extra Crusader foot - not started
• Renaissance – Russian Stoldatski, etc. using up the Strelets bonus figures plus Galleys - not started, although I have managed to swap some to make up suitable units
• Revolution – doubling up my French and British forces in Egypt. One Additional Austrian line unit plus another in Austrian style uniform (Baden?), Maybe replace Springwood grenadiers?. - French and British complete except for the British Sailor drawn limbers
• Napoleonic – work on the Spanish, continue the cavalry, acquire more early infantry, Tidy up French artillery, especially limbers, Pavlov Grenadiers - not yet started
• WW2 – bits and pieces (I'll try to avoid buying more), but I will buy and work on some Free French for Bir Hacheim - Free French completed
• Interwar - Rifs and more French Foreign Legion - not yet started, I'm waiting for Strelets next releases!
• SYW – Hanoverian Infantry Brigade, more (French?) Cavalry, British guns - not yet started
• WW1 – increase/rebase British - not yet started
• WSS – French Infantry (Mars)- not yet started
• 28mm – “skirmishing” WSS figures to provide some opposition for my pirates - figures assembled and I have bought some artillery to accompany them
• Terrain – more buildings, wadis, vines, etc- not yet started

AWI rebasing New York brigade

I'm all behind at the moment, I finished rebasing these at the end of March. They New York brigade is my original rebels painted way back in the 70s for a Saratoga campaign. The four regiments were originally either standing or kneeling firing so I had to swap some of the figures around and also repaint them as all the coats, etc. are different.


Accompanying them is a single unit of Lafayette's Light Infantry

On the workbench - April 2017

I had thought I would have a clear run through March to make progress against my 2019 plan. Typically life threw a wobbler in the middle of the month with an emergency two night stay in hospital and I'm still not back to normal as I can't paint for more than 30 mins at a time. So I have a backlog to catch up and for the rest of the month life is beginning to look complicated. Hopefully I will work on:

• Matelot drawn limbers! - not yet started
• Continue rebasing my AWI American Rebel forces - I've already completed some more that I haven't posted yet
• British colonial artillery - underway
• 28mm! Wargames Factory War of Spanish Succession figures to fight my Pirates using Rebels & Patriots - the majority of figures are assembled, but I need to complete some officers
• 28mm Wargames Factory War of Spanish Succession figures - just acquired to go with the infantry and I've started assembly
• Three SYW Hanoverian battalions
• Some WSS French Infantry

Operation Hercules - Malta 1942

For Crisis Point this year myself, Andy and Richard put on a couple of games based on the proposed German/Italian assault on Malta in November 1942. The rules were Battlegroup with most of the stats from the Tobruck book

Day 1 was the airborne landing and the attempt to seize an airstrip.


Italian Aircraft over the table


The runway, defended by an infantry platoon and a couple of bofors guns


All quiet on the rest of the table, British reinforcements will arrive on the roads on the opposite side of the table to the airstrip.




A "nice" clear area for the para drop


But several teams from the first platoon ended up in rough ground an suffered higher losses as a result


The situation after the other two platoons (one German the other Italian) had dropped. The Germans landed successfully, but the Italians managed to drop a lot of their unit in the olive groves.


British forces trying to relieve the airstrip


The airstrip about to fall, the Germans have taken most of the nearest end.


Not quite in time, a Matilda arrives


Preparing for Day 2, we skipped on from a beach landing to their attempt to meet up with the successful airlanding forces

The landing beaches - the defences have been cleared and the combined German and Italian follow up forces had to break out.


The approach for the Gebirgsjager from the airstrip.


The British defences line is along the road between the two villages


The British right flank taking a hammering from the Gebirgsjäger


A KV-2 rumbles up from the beach, a British 25pdr managed to immobilise it shortly after and later on it was abandoned






A successful shoot out for the British Armour against Italian Semoventes
between I
So a day of two halves both left flanks were successful

The theme for Crisis Point this year was the Mediterranean and I took a few pictures of some of the other games

Menton - French Italian acion in 1940


Song of drums and shakos - the French Revolution in Northern Italy.


Cold War Gallipoli