Shingle Street Nick

Spurred on by something a little different, here are the Boys in Blue from 'Shingle Street Nick', led by the ubiquitous Sergeant Kipling (DCM*), a WW1 veteran of some reknown.

Although Shingle Street in Suffolk is well known for mysterious goings on in 1940's Britain, it has become the backdrop for a fictitous Bolt Action mini-campaign which will see all sorts of wierd and wonderful units take on the might of the Wehrmacht in the fields of Britain's home counties following a full scale german invasion of England.

Next up, the Gentry, the landowners shooting club and their hounds!

*Distinguished Conduct Meadal
(Level 2 Gallantry Award)
Instituted on 4^th December 1854.
The D.C.M. was the first official medal award to recognise an act of gallantry in the field by a member of the armed forces who was below the rank of officer. It was the other ranks' equivalent of the Distinguished Service Order.

The D.C.M. was awarded for gallantry in the field in the face of the enemy. Other ranks in the British Army and also non-commissioned ranks in Commonwealth Forces were eligible for this award.
The reverse of the medal bears the inscription “For Distinguished Conduct in the Field”. A bar carrying the date of a subsequent deed could be added to the ribbon until 1916 when the bar was changed to a laurel wreath. A recipient of the award is entitled to used the letters D.C.M. after their name.

The D.C.M. was discontinued as an award by the British Armed Forces in 1993, when the three awards of the D.S.O, the D.C.M. and the C.G.M. were replaced by the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross is now the second level gallantry award for all ranks of the British Armed Forces.

More Bolt Action Germans

This time Heer from Warlord which I have been working on in the run up to Christmas. Seems to be a recurring theme this time of year - lots of people with missing painting mojo's.

These have been finished for a while but I just cant muster any energy to finish the basing off before varnishing.

On a more positive note there has been some progress on my LMP 2013 - nothing new painted but the collection has been added to and in true fashion my willpower lasted all of two weeks before a purchase not on my list of new purchases was made in the shape of Battlegroup Kursk which is getting rave reviews at the club.

I will find out this evening as I have a game lined up with my regular gaming buddy Nick B at SADWC

I bought the final bits and pices for my Irish SAGA warband and have today ordered some Artizan Long Arm of the Law minis and Woodbine Designs Gentlemen and Poachers.

Random purchase you might say, however there's method in the madness so to speak. Rather than collect more Late War British for Bolt Action, I am going for something slightly different and aiming to collect a Home Guard unit accompanied by armed civilians which can double up for AVBCW...

 

2013 Lead Mountain Plan

Collections I Own That Require Finishing

Like all fellow wargamers I have a relatively large collection of projects at various stages of completeness.

Following a very targeted and productive year in 2012 where I tackled the big jobs, finished off lots of loose ends and then cut my losses on other projects and evil-bayed a significant chunk of my collection, my 2013 LMP sees most of the outstanding projects at the starting stage.

Unless noted (*), the forces and projects listed are prepped, undercoated and ready to paint.

 
10mm

·       ‘Generic Medieval’ lead mountain

·       Vikings

·       Napoleonic French

·       Napoleonic Austrian (* still in bags…)

·       Parliamentarian and Royalist forces  

·       Byzantine Army (* still in bags)

·       SCW (* still in bags)

·       Post Romano British force

 

 SAGA (28mm)

·       Gall Gaedhil mercenaries

·       6 point Scots’ Warband

·       4 point Irish Warband (and reinforcements)

·       Baggage wagon and farmers

 

 6mm

·       Matching ACW forces

·       WW2 Landing Craft

·       Matching Colonial British and Zulu Armies

·       Future War Commander ‘Not Squat’ army

·       Future War Commander Andrayan army ­

·       WW2 Early War German for BKC.

 

 15mm

·       Finish AWI collection for Maurice

 

28mm Bolt Action/Rules of Engagement

·       Late War German Grenadiers

·       Late War German tanks and Vehicles

·       Late war British tanks and vehicles

 

 
Purchases I need to make to round off collections
With the threat of redundancy hanging over me this year, I fully expect my spending on the hobby to be hit and to be hit hard.

The following lists includes odds and ends I am hoping to purchase in 2013 to round off existing projects before embarking on any new follies.

Last year I planned to hold out until March and managed February – this year I am hoping to hold out until March before making a ‘new project purchases’.

·       SAGA Irish reinforcements to bring the force up to 6 points

·       SAGA Javelins

·       LBMS Shield transfers for SAGA Scots

·       Panzer IV for Bolt Action

·       Regular British/Commonwealth Platoon for Bolt Action

·       Napoleonic Austrian (to fill gaps in FOG Army)

·       28mm Hedgrows/fields

 

 

New projects I am keen to look at in 2013

Depending upon the job situation I would like to look at the following wargames in 2013. I already own the rules sets marked (**)

• Muskets & Tomahawks (**) Starter Armies in 28mm
• Dux Britannarium (**) in 28mm
• Algeron Pulls It Off – TFL WW1 Aerial Combat Rules

More Kraut reinforcements

A Pak40 and late war SS crew and a Hetzer in ambush camouflage scheme.

Of all the warlord models I have the PAK40 crew are really dissappointing. I am not sure what it is but the observer clearly plays in the front ro for his local rugby team and seems to have no neck, whereas the crew members 'urban surfing' on the gun trail just looks odd.

 

Bolt Action in action.

After a fair few months painting I finally managed to get two 1000 point armies on the table for a Bolt Action Bash - Krauts v Commando's somewhere in Holland late 1944.

The above pic shows the table set up. A village, dominated by a Walled Manor house and surrounding farming community.

The British won the initiative and chose the table edge closest to the church which would provide an ideal spotting location for the allied FO.

The krauts depoloyed primarily within the cornfields heading directly for the Manor House but wer caught in a frighteningly effective artillery barrage which KO'd a half-track and left its passengers with a game-telling 6 pin markers.

The British supported by a solitary Churchill chose a left flanking manouvre, whilst a blocking force scaled the maor walls to secrete themselves in the courtyard. The right-flank was secured by a MMG deployed in the woods.

View from the hidden Commando MMG position

Flanking manouvre by the Commando's and their supporting armour

The Krauts struggle to recover from the initial barrage laid on by a female FAO - the wife... whilst the Commando flanking manouvre draws fire from the fields

Commando sqauds press home their flanking manouvre supported by the Churchill

The Churchill exchanges blows with the Kraut Hetzer 

The commando MMG is assaulted by Kraut infantry

Commando's close assault the Hetzer knocking it out whilst fire from the manor house decimates the kraut infantry despite some hroic interventions from their medical officer!

Outflanked, outnumbered and down to only four action dice the krauts call it a day 

Progress Review 2012

2012 Review

 
Interesting year 2012… on the whole I think creating my project list for the year was a good thing as I can’t remember such a productive year in terms of getting things done, however it also went to prove that I am indeed a Wargames Whore that flits from project to project as the latest new shiny things hits the market.

 
So what have I managed to get done in 2012?

 

1.    From the lead backlog

·       I finished my Franco Prussian War Collection in 6mm

·       I made up several ‘vignette’ style stands using 6mm Timecast Buildings and accessories I had knocking around

·       Made a significant dent in my ongoing 10mm ‘Generic Medieval’ lead mountain and added to the mountain by including some generic spear armed units

·       Finished a 10mm Polish/Commonwealth Army for FoG Renaissance

·       Finished a 10mm Ayubbid Egyptian Force for FoG Ancients

·       Started my 10mm Viking army

·       Finished off the last few remnants of the Secrets of the Third Reich US and German forces as well as a couple of additions for Incursion 

 

2.   Progress on things I ‘Originally’ planned to do in 2012

·       Purchased a French and Austrian army in 10mm for FoG Napoleonic. The French are based and the Austrians are rather shamefully still in their bags. However (and in my very weak defence) I put this project on hold waiting for the last few bits from Pendraken’s range to be completed. Which was completed in October but I didn’t get around to because I had been distracted by…

·       I had hoped to have collected and made a start on a Falklands Project in 10mm but again put this on hold as the range was incomplete. This has since been rectified but I didn’t get around to fulfilling this dream because… OK, so there is a theme emerging here, but I have already admitted I am a Wargames Slut.

·       I planned to do some matching forces for Maurice using Pendraken’s League of Augsburg range but again this project is on hold pending release of the LOA cavalry and artillery

 

All in all my lack of progress is clearly down to those pesky Pendraken Kids.

 


3.   Things I didn’t plan to do but got distracted into in 2012

I did make a few 10mm purchases this year (Spanish Civil War for A World Aflame and Post Romano-British) however 2012 has been the year of the skirmish game and for me a distraction into the 28mm Market.

 

Whilst there has been no progress on the SCW and Arthurians, I did pick up several really cool rules sets which appeared in 2012 – SAGA, Muskets and Tomahawks, Dux Brittainarium and Bolt Action to name a few.

 

These have all led me down the path that is 28mm – something I genuinely believed I would never have as much time for, but a scale I am definitely warming to.

 

SAGA

·       I have completed two matching 6 point warbands - Anglo-Danes and Vikings

·       Completed a Jomsviking mercenary force

·       Bought and based a Gall Gaedhil mercenary force

·       Bought and Based a 6 point Scots’ Warband

·       Bought and Based a wagon and farmers set

·       Bought a couple of MDF laser cut buildings from 4Ground which are beautiful!!!

 

My Saga collection inspired me to purchase Dux Bellorum and Dux Brittanarium rule sets and I am looking at buying a Romano-British force in 2013 to go head to head with my Saxons.

 

Muskets and Tomahawks

No purchases other than the rules set at this point but with the new ‘Frontiers’ building range from 4Ground hitting the market and Artizan Designs bringing out more and more French Indian Wars figures I think this will be high on my agenda in 2013.

 

Bolt Action/Rules of Engagement

This range has probably had the best of my attention since the summer and so far I have collected 1500 points or so of Krauts and Commando’s which I am making astonishing progress with.

 

I also invested heavily in 28mm terrain and went the route of buying pre-painted, pre-built stuff purely because my own modelling skills are appalling. To fund most of this I sold off a number of projects I was never going to get around to.

 

4.  Funding the habit…

I sold off the following projects in 2012:

 

·       10mm Armies for Warmaster/FoG Ancients -  Carolingian, Rus, Samurai and Welsh Medieval

 

5.  Things I didn’t quite get around to in 2012

Due to a whole host of reasons I didn’t make any progress at all on a few of the smaller odds and ends I need to get around to doing including:

 

·       Matching ACW forces in 6mm – really not sure what to do with these as 1) its not my period and 2) I can’t find a set of rules I like. If I thought I might recover what I paid for these via Evil Bay they would go that route, but judging by recent sales on the site I am highly sceptical.

 

·       WW2 Landing Craft in 6mm – these would take seconds to do but just keep slipping under my radar

 

·       Matching Colonial British and Zulu Armies in 6mm – I reckon if I put my mind to these they could be done in a weekend. It’s just finding a clear weekend in my hectic social calendar…

 

·       Parliament and Royalist Forces in 10mm – I am already considering doing these as generic Renaissance Forces to pad out my Swedes and Catholic Germans for Pike and Shotte. It is the volume of cavalry that is in each force that is putting me off (which anyone who followed my threads on painting cavalry will be able to appreciate)

 

·       10mm Byzantine Army for Warmaster – I couldn’t bear to part with these in my last purge, but if they are still around this time next year I think they will have to be found a new home.

 

6.  Things I stumbled across in 2012 that I forgot I had

Storage of my wargames goodies is a massive issue given my burgeoning family and invariably things have found themselves being relegated to the attic. Amongst the wargaming paraphernalia I rediscovered was the following:

 

·       A 6mm Future War Commander ‘Not Squat’ army - undercoated and based

·       A 6mm Future War Commander Andrayan army ­- undercoated and based

 

I quite like FWC and haven’t played for sometime so these babies really do need to be got on with.

 

·       A significant quantity of 6mm WW2 Early War German kit – for BKC. They were bought specifically to do an Operation Seelowe game which never happened.

 

Clearly 2013 is going to be another busy year!

 

 

 

Bolt Action Commando's

Quite enjoying doing something different and Bolt Action in 28mm has certainly given me the oomphh i needed to get back into skirmish gaming in a big way.

My latest efforts are some British/Canadian Commando's and there's the bulk of the force - 30 riflemen, nco's and Bren/Vickers gunners.