WW2 Victory Show 2012. Cosby, Leicestershire.

Back from the WW2 Victory Show held at Cosby, in Leicestershire (UK). Saw some stunning vehicles and witnessed a few fantastic aerial displays. The latter of which included a "Dawn Patrol" of nine WW1 bi-planes and tri-planes (both British and German). Seeing them all circling in the sky above you is just jaw-dropping. The British infantry above were entrenched in a wooded area which the public were allowed to walk through and examine. All the re-enactors we spoke to were highly knowledgeable and friendly. The trade stalls were interesting too. Although one or two were very overpriced in regards to their militaria, there were a couple that had some great stuff at bargain prices. The show carries on again tomorrow (Sunday) so if you live nearby and have some free time it's definitely worth your while. More details can be found here: http://www.thevictoryshow.co.uk/

Napoleonic Polish ADC - 28mm Command Figure

This is my recently painted Polish ADC courtesy of Front rank miniatures. Technically he's the ADC to the Prince Poniatowski figure I posted photos of a few days ago. The French allies of the Napoleonic period are always interesting, as they give quite a wide scope of different uniforms. I seem to remember getting the colour scheme for the above figure from another Blog. Hence I'm not sure about the historical accuracy, but I really like the sky blue and deep red combination.

Indian Mutiny British Troop Carrier Elephant

This is the Foundry British Troop Carrier elephant for their Indian Mutiny series. A lovely model I think, particularly the variety of poses given to the weary passengers (there's an extra model along with the seven featured here, to give more choice). The elephant was given a mix of Vallejo Greens and Browns to reflect its Indian heritage - I found out that African elephants are mainly grey! I've yet to do the base for him but reckon he'll be a nice feature on the table, perhaps even accompanying a few others on a hazardous convoy somewhere.

Prince Poniatowski - 28mm Command Figure

The Prince Poniatowski model from Front Rank miniatures. I loved this figure when I first clapped eyes on it, and finally picked one up at Triples this year. I decided to do him in a slightly different uniform which made him stand out from the rest of the Napoleonic generals in their red/white/blue etc. Front Rank also do some nice Napoleonic Polish infantry, so I'll probably get a couple of regiments for him to oversee shortly!

Jagdpanther - 20mm Britannia Miniatures

This is my completed Jagdpanther (also from Britannia/Grubby Tanks). Resplendent with its mighty 8.8cm gun. Both this and the Sturmtiger are part resin and metal kits. The hull and tracks being resin whilst the main armament and machine gun are metal. The detail is really nice with some battle damage here and there. It'll probably be used in a Panzermarsche game fairly soon, or maybe if we decide to adopt Rick Priestly's new upcoming Bolt-Action rules.

Sturmtiger - 20mm Britannia Miniatures

This Britannia Miniatures Sturmtiger (or to give its full title: Sturmmorserwagen 606/4 mit 38cm RW61) was a pleasure to paint. I used the usual Vallejo Middlestone, then mixed in some GW Bubonic Brown and finally drybrushed with GW Bleached Bone. The finished item is not quite on a par with Matt Parkes Sturmtiger diorama in Wargames Illustrated 1260 (which was the inspiration here), but it'll look ok on the table at least. I can't praise Britannia Miniatures/Grubby Tanks enough and think Andy is well worth supporting. Good prices with excellent service. Check out the website here: http://www.britannia-miniatures.com/catalog/

French Napoleonic Infantry - 28mm Front rank

These are the last of my Napoleonic French for a while. I've got some other projects on the go which I'll hope to post up in the next few days (including some WW2 stuff). I managed to take the above photos outside in the sunny weather this afternoon. Infinitely better than my usual indoor pics. Napoleonics are still on the radar, especially as one of our regular members has sold all his Naps on ebay - which means I'll be providing most of the models for the foreseeable games.