AAR: Fischfang Day 1 - A

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Originally posted 27th February 2014

Craig Ambler has been working his way through the Anzio scenario pack. Here's an AAR from his last battle (although not the last in the pack) covering the opening phase of Operation Fischfang. 

This was a truly colossal battle (the Germans have two companies of infantry!) that gave an excellent game.

WW2 US Artillery HQ from Battlefront

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Originally posted 16th February 2014

Whilst waiting for more decals to arrive from Dom in order to finish my Churchill squadron, I thought I'd polish off something that has been sitting, half-finished, on my painting table for ages: the Battlefront US Artillery HQ.

Absolutely pointless in wargaming terms for IABSM, it's nevertheless another piece of battlefield clutter with which to dress the table.

Oh, and for those interested, the maps are made from the QR code found on the cards you find inside the Zvezda boxes. Just cut out a square or a rectangle from the QR code and add a little blue line (for a river) and some green patches (for woods) and away you go.

Bashnya or Bust!

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Originally posted 15th February 2014

Good news for those awaiting my next scenario book: the writing bug has bitten me again. 

I am now deep into Bashnya or Bust! - a Vyazma/Blenneville style scenario pack set in late July/August 1944 during the Kaunas Offensive i.e. the latter stages of Operation Bagration.

Can't promise when it will be finished (early summer's my best bet) but I can promise a linked campaign featuring a possible thirty-one late war eastern front scenarios.

If you liked Blenneville, you'll love Bashnya!

Lend-lease Churchill

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Originally posted 20th January 2014

Those of you who visit regularly will know that I am in the process of painting a whole squadron of Churchill tanks: 19 vehicles if you include the full HQ Troop. 

Boxes of tanks from PSC come in fives (although they also do single sprues if you need just a single tank etc) so the four boxes I bought at Warfare left me with one left over. 

This I painted up as a lend-lease tank sent to the Soviets. It gave me a chance to practice painting a model from start to finish, which was very useful in terms of finding out if the spray paint I was using would melt the plastic (it didn't) and such things as checking and then repainting the road wheels not in black 'tyre' colour but in 'rest of the tank' metal colour - doh!

So here is my single lend-lease Mk III Churchill from PSC (with Battlefront Soviet tank commander). Lovely model but, as always, the turret was a pain to put together. I'm just glad that all my British Mk IVs have the cast turret! BTW, note the way the varnish has frosted the (very thin) gun barrel...must remember to watch out for this when painting the '19'.

WW2 British Tanks: Great Sources of Info

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Originally posted 20th January 2014

Now I am not normally particularly fussed about making my tanks from specific units: I use the same Panzers for every theatre they fought in. With the Churchills, however, I am endeavouring to paint up one specific unit: C Squadron from 4th Coldstream Guards, part of 6th Guards Tank Brigade. This is mainly because Dom's Decals provide a sheet with the names of all the C Squadron tanks on them, so I don't have to go mad painting the little blighters' names myself!

I thought, therefore, I'd share some of the research I used when deciding which unit to paint up, all of which came via the excellent TFL Forum.

June tank returns:

http://niehorster.orbat.com/017_britain/44-06-06_Neptune/Land/z_tanks_44-06-22_21AG.html

A complete list of British tank names (this is incredible!):

http://mmpbooks.biz/mmp/tables/Vehicle_Names_V3.pdf

The Armour in Focus page of the Churchill tank:

http://freespace.virgin.net/chris.shillito/a22new/

And, finally, the FOW page on Churchill tanks in Normandy:

http://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=404

AAR: Three for IABSM

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Originally posted 1st January 2014

Those of you who regularly visit VL (bookmark us now!) will know that I love finding and collecting After Action Reports from all over the web. I especially like seeing how other people interpret scenarios that I have either written of played. So I was very happy, yesterday, when I found Whisperin' Al's blog which has several AARs for either IABSM or CDS.

Here's the first batch covering scenarios from the Defence of Calais and Sealion scenario packs. Lovely photographs of well set up tables and nicely painted figures. More to follow.

Coulogne

Coulogne Redux

Rearguard at Pevensey

Leichtgeschultze 40 Recoilless Rifles for the Fallschirmjaegers

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Originally posted 1st January 2014

Some Christmas painting: I've added some Leichtgeschultze 40 recoilless rifles to the Fallschirmjaegers. Thinking about it, I should have used a slightly different yellow for the guns and for the base smock colour; and camouflaged the guns as well. Lesson learnt: laziness always leads to a slight feeling of dissatisfaction!

Japanese Type 94 Tankettes

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Originally posted 31st December 2013

Second, we have the Type 94 Tankette for the Japanese. Typical Battlefront tank model but, again, seemed to fit together more easily than usual. I also like the command figure. The Type 94 wasn't used in the invasion of Malaya and Burma, my usual theatre, but will be useful elsewhere I'm sure. Again, recommended.

Soviet SU-12s

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Originally posted 31st December 2013

More Christmas painting: this time figures from Battlefront's range covering the pre-war battles between Japan and the Soviet Union. 

First up we have the SU-12 battery: Gaz trucks with a 75mm field artillery piece mounted on the back. These are nice models that are much easier to build than others that I have done, particularly in the way that the wheels went on and the gun went together. The Su-12 was used during the Great Patriotic War as well, so great for Barbarossa scenarios too. Recommended.

A WW2 German Field Kitchen

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Originally posted 28th December 2013

The first of my Christmas painting: the German field kitchen from QRF, with a couple of customers from Peter Pig's 'German Infantry Eating Lunch'.

The kitchen itself is really nice: a good cast with plenty of character. The two chef models are horrible, though, no definition to the faces. The Peter Pig figures are exactly what you'd expect: well cast infantry in imaginative poses with the usual open mouths...more appropriate than normal here. 

Useless for wargaming, but absolutely necessary for the serious wargamer, I also like the way the vignette makes it look as if the chef is being taken to task for the quality of his food! 

Blenneville or Bust! Reviews

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Originally posted 21st December 2013

Here are a couple of comments that have recently appeared about my IABSM scenario pack  Blenneville or Bust! on the TFL Yahoo Group:

I am about to start Blenneville (which I think is probably one of the finest wargaming scenario books I have ever come across in three decades of wargaming). 

Justintonna 17/12/13

It was only when playing Robert's Blenneville campaign after many years that it hit home how good IABSM is.

Craig Ambler 09/12/13

Most kind, Gentlemen!