British Army Wolsey

When I saw this in Modelzone today, I had to buy it as it's just the thing for my British Commander's transport.

And only £3.95 made by Oxford Diecast.

Last of the US Paras

Well here they are, on the left an engineer company, on the right the regimental HQ and behind the spare company (for use as a Reece or Defence company in the RF orbats)

In the front row, second from the left is a flame-thrower converted from a US Marine torso added to para legs and head.

In with the new - part 2

Some close ups for those that like more detail.

Plastic Soldier Company infantry - I used Humbrol 83 ochre as the base uniform colour and a wash of GW Ogryn Flesh.

Heavy weapons - all Plastic Soldier company, except a Hong Kong copy alongside the AT rifle.

For the AT guns I mixed in a few other figures as commanders, so I can use the extra figures on other guns as I upgrade them.

Regimental HQ, quite a mix, from L to R Esci(HK), Revell x2; Esci(HK), Esci (the soft plastic set) and Airfix

Now back to the rest of the list

In with the New - part 1

Time for the new Russians, a full three battalion regiment plus extras to give extra flexibility. At the back are a couple of bits to remind me I still have quite a bit of rebasing still to do for the heavy weapons

47mm AT guns are by Plastic Soldier that will either be used as a stand-alone three gun AT battalion or allocated to individual battalions if like motor rifles they have them in their establishment. Behind is the regimental HQ.

1st battalion, dominantly Plastic Soldier, note that I have included a pair of MMGs and AT rifles so they can be used as Guards Rifles. It also means I can swap the figures between marching and deployed when they are not.

2nd battalion, same organisation as the first, but the figures other than the Heavy Weapons and LMGs are a mix of Pegasus and Zvezda, mostly already painted. In addition there are some of the old Esci Hard plastics that were reworked to current standards,

3rd battalion - more of a mixture

4th battalion - this is where I've tried to maximise flexibility, its basis is a late war SMG armed motor rifle battalion, but I've added a couple of figures to each company so they can be used as ordinary infantry, and I still need to rebase a few more bits to complete it. Figures are from all sources and even a few from the Matchbox T34 kit.

Some close-ups to follow

Out with the old

Well it was time for an upgrade, so after more than thirty years service the bulk of my WW2 Russian infantry is being retired from my service. In total a regiment of three battalions organised for Rapid Fire.

The core of the force was a pack of Hong Kong copies of the Esci Hard Plastic figures, they were quite reasonable copies in a fairly solid plastic and have stood the test of time.

There are various add-ons from other sets, but only a few Airfix, which formed my original Russian army that was passed on many years ago.

For those interested in such things the AT guns are conversions of the Airfix 6pdr to give something similar to a Russian 47mm following the instructions in Airfix magazine.

I hope they will fight as long and as valiantly in their next owners service as they have done in mine.

Black Powder variations

Variations to the Black Powder rules based on local playing experience and ideas from the Black Powder Yahoo group.

1) Move Sequence (all moving player unless mentioned otherwise)

· Initiative moves

· Normal command moves

· Move generals (who have not issued rally or follow me orders)

· Remove disorder from stationary units

· Defensive fire (non moving player) and break tests

· Hand to hand combat and break tests

· Follow up moves and any resulting hand to hand combat resolution.

· Check brigade morale

2) Disordered units

Cannot take orders, but may retire into their rear quarter as part of initiative

3) Movement

All movement into flank or rear quarters is done at half pace

Close order can move through woods, but at half speed and for each 6” or part moved though the wood roll a d6. If the result is 1-3 the unit is disorganised and movement ceases.

4) Interpenetration

Any close unit passing though a gap between close order units narrower than half its frontage rolls a d6. If the result is 1-3 the unit is disordered and movement ends. Passing through skirmishers and artillery has no effect. Distance moved is measured via the gap between units.

5) Brigade morale

As per Hail Caesar, more than half units broken, or all shaken for the brigade to be broken. Ignore tiny units, small or artillery count ½; large count 1½ if needed. Rallies still possible.

On the Workbench - September/October 2011

I was getting on fine in August until late in the month when family came to visit, restricting painting time and then the bulb failed in one of my lamps. I've only just got a replacement and the result was the Bashi-Bazoukis are only half started. Why a two month target this time? Well I hope to sneak in some holiday in the period, but nothing definite yet and I've got to get on with a number of projects so I'll be flitting between them. At the end of October I'll be putting on an Aztec/Conquistadore game for the Lance & Longbow Society at Fiasco, so hopefully I'll see more fellow bloggers there if not at Derby.

Plan:

• Finish the figures for the US paras, the HQ, Engineer Company and a "Multi-purpose" Company that will be able to act as either a Defence or Reece Company or just as a spare if needed. About 30 odd figures
• Overhaul my WW2 Russians, these go back at least 30 years and I really need to bring them up to a common standard and replace a fair proportion with the new Plastic Soldier Company figures, so about 100 new figures to paint and 50 to rework/rebase. Net result will be to release some old figures for sale.
• Massive effort on my Imagi-nation SYW Frundsbergers around 120 infantry and 20 cavalry to paint.