A Gentleman's Aeronautical Conveyance....

I am really looking forward to repainting these (I have four of them) from their RAF plumage and interestingly enough, the Turks refitted the Mk1 with two 20mm cannon in exchange for four of the .303 machine guns.

I am of course referring to the Hawker Hurricane in the title of this post - with grateful thanks to Mr.Fox for continually reminding me of the fact....;-)

The club night was a welcome change and we took to the skies over Southern England in 1940 once again with a match up of four 109 Es, a pair of Spitfires and a pair of Hurricanes. Yours truly was driving the Spitfires and rather carelessly managed to lose one to the eager attentions of the marauding Germans. I managed to down one of  'yellow-nosed bastards' but  the real stars were the Hurricanes. They fired twice in the entire game and shot down two fighters. My remaining Spitfire managed to nail the third of the four 109s so the final score finished up RAF 3 Luftwaffe 1 - no need for penalties then....;-)

I have mentioned previously about my project list and my long time tradition of buying myself something when I have gotten back into work. Well, the parcel arrived yesterday and very nice it is as well. However, I needed to send off for some rather essential additions to the collection and so it will not be unveiled just yet.

My decision not to proceed with a Pacific set up for the WW2 aerial game has served to enable me to concentrate rather more on what I want to do in regards to the Middle Eastern project. I have come up with a provisional list for each of the four forces based on what models are currently available in the range and are suitable for 1941.

Germany

4 x Bf 109E (the tropical version), 4 x  Me109F, 2 x Bf 110 and a pair of Ju87s. I currently need to get the 109Fs and the Stukas. I have 4 x FW190A on the way from the US but am undecided about how I am going to fit them in as they are rather good....;-)

Turkey

4 x MS 406 and 4 x Hurricane. I originally intended on using P40s but decided on Hurricanes simply because I wanted them 'in theatre' and the RAF would have access to Spitfires. This does raise the spectre of Spitfire versus Hurricane dogfights which should be interesting, to say the least!

RAF

4 x Brewster Buffalo and 4 x Spitfire. The Spitfire will be the Mark 1 - I would have preferred to use a Mark 5 but they do not make one yet in the range yet. I rather liked the idea of a Fleet Air Arm contingent of Fulmars and Martlets given that the old fields being protected are primarily for the benefit of the navy. I may do something with this and if I do then it will require two of the former and four of the latter.

Soviets

4 x Polikarpov I-16 and 4 x Yak 1. I want to get a pair of IL2 Sturmoviks for them as well - Mr Fox has one of these and it is a nice model for sure.

If I ever add the French into the mix then four each of the D.520 and the MS.406 would more than suffice.

If you have not tried the Axis and Allies WW2 air game then you really should - it is enormous fun to play and is quick and easy in its execution.

We enjoy it anyway.

Goodbye to all that....

A variety of Zero paint schemes - gotta love the orange underside of the example at the bottom! Sadly these will NOT be appearing in a blog near you any time soon....;-)

It has been as busy as stink in my new job over the last few days but I have been enjoying what I am doing so that is the main thing! I have spent a little time on the hobby at odd moments and as a result have made a fairly big decision concerning my Axis and Allies Angels 20/Bandits High aerial collection.

I am going to drop the Pacific theatre.

The reason for this is very simple and comes down to the fact that I will need an awful lot of kit in order to do it properly. If I represented every type available thus far the collection would run into around 60 odd models and I simply cannot justify it - especially as the Middle East/Army Group South set up will finish up at around 40 odd models spread across four nations! In truth I only own a few models for the Pacific at the moment but the prospect of acquiring great wads of assorted Japanese and US aircraft was quite daunting (or should that be Dauntless?).

The models I need to get for the aforementioned Middle Eastern set are far fewer in number and I have sourced most of them in any event. Without exception repaints will be needed as most of the airframes will be in a desert style paint scheme.

I have a few replacement command packs on order for the ACW 15mm set up simply because all the Essex standard bearers have cast on flags which are far beyond my level of effort and concentration to paint despite being lovely figures.

I also have a model arriving that is the forerunner to something else I have in mind - I won't spoil the surprise but all will be revealed in due course.

Give Aways - the Gift that keeps on Giving!

That incredibly generous, gifted, witty and all round good girl, Tamsin P over at Wargaming Girl is giving away, via her prize draws assorted hobby related goodies so - you have gotta be in it to win it!

Well done Tamsin and I would like to publicly apologise for not following you sooner!

(Grovelling earnestly....;-)

Phew! That was the week that was....

I am a huge fan of this series of ACW pictures - the reality was somewhat different though!

I know I was only in the office for a mere three days but it feels like a whole lot longer! I have had three days of intensive training using new software and reading procedures manuals until my eyes bleed. I actually made contact with a live potential candidate today and have sat in on three interviews so all is moving along nicely. Next week I will be unleashed on an unsuspecting city so watch for the FT Index going haywire and shares of Starbucks going through the roof!

I am absolutely loving it so far.

One thing that did occur to me though is that as yet I have not kept to my time honoured tradition of buying something for myself to celebrate being back in employment. Such a tradition cannot lightly be set aside and so I will be splashing the cash in due course although probably in a direction that may come as something of a surprise. Of course with Broadside just around the corner I may wait until then.

I will say no more on this.

In the meantime though, I have been reading Rally Once Again by the late and great Paddy Griffith. The book is a study of what battle in the American Civil War was all about and it is one of the most thought provoking titles on the war I have ever read. Revisiting this title is to maintain my enthusiasm for all things blue and grey prior to the great paint fest. I will need to get a couple of packs of figures though to finish this off completely but nothing major.

I have also been applying the brain cell (or rather what ever is left of it after some 16 hours of 1980s VHS training goodness - did we really look like that back then? If so, WHY?!) to the ancient galleys or rather reacquainting myself with the Salamis campaign, again, prior to starting the painting.

My final instalment of models from Stonewall is still en route but oddly enough painting these is not worrying me in the slightest. All the models I have in stock are cleaned up and ready to base and paint and as mentioned previously will be tackled on a blitz basis.

That's the plan(s) anyway.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more....

Henry V in his 'King of the Swingers' mode....

Tomorrow sees me going back to work for the first time since September 21 last year. The DIY list has been blasted into a million pieces, the project list has grown and shrunk more times than the UK economy; my library at home is now a lean, mean repository of selected tomes as I have been busily financing my hobby from my own resources, so to speak and I have even managed to get a lot of stuff painted (well a lot by my standards anyway!) during my enforced absence from the land of gainful employment. However, all good/bad things (delete as applicable) come to an end and so the inevitable reality of the workplace looms large once again. I am truly delighted to be doing so - especially as the job I am embarking upon represents a change of career and a new direction and challenge. It will be a grand adventure and so I wanted to write something suitably witty and original but instead decided to let the bard himself do the talking as he can describe the situation and how I am feeling far better than through the medium of my own humble efforts! 

SCENE I. France. Before Harfleur.

Alarum. Enter KING HENRY, EXETER, BEDFORD, GLOUCESTER, and Soldiers, with scaling-ladders

KING HENRY V
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'

Over the top? Probably, even by my standards - but then I have never been one for the subtle or understated turn of phrase....;-)

The 7 Ps of Painting Blues and Greys

The title for this is rather tongue in cheek. I have been spending some time tidying up what needs to be done in the next phase of my modelling/painting projects for the year and one thing has stuck out somewhat. Union and Confederates or the blue and the grey of the title.

I will be completely honest about this, I shall be going for a simple painting style and I will also NOT be mixing types of figures up to get that authentic 'unit-on-campaign' look. The base figure I am using for both the infantryman and the cavalry trooper for both sides differs only in respect of the headgear. The Union troops will be wearing the kepi whilst the gentlemen of the South will have hats. Boring I know, especially when you consider that I am using Essex Miniatures and they are lovely figures. Everybody will be wearing light blue trousers as well. I have opted for the minimum types of figure so that I can really attack the figures en masse for painting.

I am going for the stylised look and so no shading or highlighting will be involved - just flat colours dry brushed for the main but with details picked out in block colours where needed. I shall also be using a black undercoat which is a truly scary prospect for me I might add, despite having used it successfully for my ships. In any event a degree of experimentation will be called for beforehand, just to bed the technique down. My aim is to tackle the whole collection in one fell swoop.

That's right - in one fell swoop....;-)

Mention of the painting of figures has also extended into what and how I will tackle my next project - that of Fezia and Rusland circa 1900 to 1914. I am going to cheat a little here. My plan is to use Balkan Wars Turks or Colonial Egyptians for the Fezians - both in the dark blue uniform with that rather fetching red fez - and for the Ruslanders I am going to make use of 1905 Russians so that I can ensure that a smattering of Russian dark green is in evidence. I could go straight for the WW1 uniforms but I really want to preserve a degree of colour if I can, hence using the slightly earlier uniforms.

On the subject of yet another project, I received this morning the last of the ancient galleys I need for the Greek and Persian set up. The next phase will be to see about the painting of them and organising the new hexed surface for use with the models.

It is a lot I know but funnily enough I feel more confident about completing these than I would have done a couple of years ago - mainly because I have learnt the simple truth that 'proper prior preparation prevents piss poor performance'....;-)

The Ultimate Imperial Adventure

Khartoum - I can almost feel a rush of Kipling based war poetry coming on just looking at the cover!

I picked up the above title for two reasons. Firstly, the author, Michael Asher, has written a first class biography of T.E.Lawrence entitles Lawrence: The Uncrowned King of Arabia which I enjoyed enormously and secondly, because my knowledge of the wars for the Sudan is rather modest.

Khartoum - The Ultimate Imperial Adventure by Michael Asher (ISBN 0-670-87030-7) covers the military campaigns from the massacre of the Hicks Pasha column at Shaykan in 1883 to the final confrontation at Omdurman in 1898. The story of the Gordon Expedition, gunboats on the Nile, Camel regiments, 'Fuzzy Wuzzies' the Mahdi, naval brigades and charging with the 21st Lancers at Omdurman are the quintessential elements of any good Colonial war game and  so I am really looking forward to reading this.

If truth be told I would also like to tackle this using figures at some point but this is some way off. I will go so far though as acquiring a copy of the rules published by Peter Pig - Patrols in the Sudan - as they are pitched at the right level in terms of the amount of material needed - typically 80 figures a side - so it would well within my means to take on.

Not of course, that I need another project....;-)