Bolt Action - Retreat from Stalingrad Scenario.

Today's game at the local club was one of my own creation. Based on an incident outlined in Gunter K. Korschorrek's excellent memoir "Blood Red Snow", it pitched the Soviet forces against a rapidly assembled Wehrmacht rearguard. The Germans were defending a small town and a bridge which had been designated an assembly area for those retreating from Stalingrad at the end of 1942. The defenders consisted of three infantry squads (of mixed Regular and Veteran troops), a light infantry gun (pictured), a couple of MMG's and two Panzer IV's. The Russian side had three infantry squads, two mortars, and Anti-Tank Squad plus two T34's. A devastating barrage and some lucky dice rolling held the Red Army in check at the beginning, and prevented them from concentrating their attack. Although the T34's fared somewhat better by rolling forwards and pinning some of the German infantry in the buildings whilst destroying a Panzer, then bringing down some deadly mortar fire on a nearby Infantry squad who pretty much disintegrated. The infantry gun's inexperienced team were quaking in their boots and hitting everything but a target until the last Panzer IV swung round a corner to smash the Russian armour. Next the Soviet hordes came crashing through undergrowth on the German left flank only to be cut down in crossfire from the MMG and LMG of a nearby infantry squad. 

Waffen SS Motorcycle with Sidecar and Dispatch Rider.

Both are 20mm Britannia Miniatures (http://www.britannia-miniatures.com/catalog/) WW2 models. A nice addition to my ever expanding German army. Noticed lots of people selling off 20mm models secondhand recently. Managed to grab a whole box of Russians plus vehicles the other day for the bargain price of forty quid from a nice man at the local club. These will undoubtedly turn into my winter project should I find myself snow bound ("is this it? is this Stalingrad?" to quote the Peep Show TV programme). By the way Skytrex the local and much famed miniatures company are now selling off their entire Wargames arm and solely investing in the train side of things from now on. If someone is looking to take any of this over, and has cash to invest, then they should drop them a line here: http://www.skytrex.com/. I'm assuming that includes the Command Decision 15mm WW2 product range, which are great models plus much cheaper than FoW and Battlefront.

Napoleonic Polish Regiment - 28mm

Front Rank 28mm Napoleonic Polish, along with their White Eagle flag top (also FR). The flag itself came from Maverick Models, which is the same place I bought my Italian standards from. These figures were lovely to paint. I decided on a Vallejo Dark Blue with highlight on the jackets rather than the usual darker Prussian Blue that I used on my French infantry. I've one more unit to paint before the Sunday game and their ultimate (hopefully victorious) destiny!

"Vive L'Empereur" Statue at Les Invalides, Paris

A photo of the Statue entitled "Vive L'Empereur" taken at Les Invalides in Paris. A fantastic statue which depicts a Grenadier waving his bearskin. The plaque nearby stated that it was made sometime in the 1940's. Interesting as this would have been during the period of the occupation. From what I gather the statue has been moved around quite a bit. I've seen web pictures of it when placed in the courtyard and other places. It currently resides on the upper floor overlooking the aforementioned courtyard. Wonder if anyone has considered replicating it as a Wargaming figure? Might be a nice idea?

20mm Western European Buildings

A selection of the 20mm Western European buildings I bought from Lancer Miniatures recently. Purchased unpainted originally, and finished by yours truly. The first 3 storey building comes in two sections to reveal a groundfloor bunker. I was really pleased with the quality and the price. They've a very nice selection on their website (including a pretty cool looking ruined Casino), plus their delivery time was excellent - came just two days after placing the order. Take a look at their website here: http://lancerminiatures.com/

Graves of Marshal Ney, Marshal Massena and Generals Foy and Gobert

The photos above are from the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, situated on the Eastern side of Paris. Not difficult to get to and only four or so stops along from the City Centre (Notre Dam or Latin Quarter area). It's literally heaving with graves and monuments relevant to military history, and contains the final resting places of not only the above mentioned Ney, Foy, Massena and Gobert, but also Bessieres, Davout and others. There's also some stunning monuments dedicated to all those (including foreign nationals) who served in the French Resistance and Free French Army. Maps are available online, or at the main entrances to the cemetery grounds.

Napoleon's Tomb - L'Hotel Des Invalides, Paris

I've just got back from my holiday in Paris, and decided to upload some of the military related photos that I took during the six days I was there. Obviously lots of sights to see (I've the sore feet to prove it), which can't fail to impress anyone involved in the wargaming hobby whatever their chosen period. I'll post these up in sections anyway, which will be easier to browse on the site.

Napoleon's Tomb is situated in the Église Du Dome (Dome Chapel) to the rear of L'Hotel Des Invalides which houses the National Army Museum. As many would already know Invalides was originally started by Louis XIV to lodge veterans from his wars, but Napoleon I reorganized it and converted Saint-Louis Chapel into a National Military Pantheon. It was in 1840 with the creation of Napoleon's tomb under the Dome that it was finally esatblished as such. Included under the Dome, near Napoleon, are the tombs of Viscount de Turenne, Marquis de Vauban, Napoleon's Son (The King of Rome), his brothers Joseph and Jerome and also Marshal's Foch and Lyautey.

Early WW1 British Infantry

Ready to go over the top (or possibly over the hedge). As these are all 1914 British Infantry in Service caps, their tussling with the Pickelhaubed Boche primarily took place above ground at this juncture. Trench warfare as we commonly know it in that era began slightly later in the year so much of the fighting was done across fields, canals and through towns and villages. With these new figures I'm hoping to capture something of that and what Lyn MacDonald called "The Year of Hope", and perhaps focus on some games involving Mons, Le Cateau, the Marne etc.
All models are in 20mm scale from Tumbling Dice UK (www.tumblingdiceuk.com). They do some awesome army packs, with a great range of WW1 from early to late war.

Early Prussian Fusiliers - 28mm Napoleonic

These chaps are all from the Wargames Foundry discontinued line they were selling off months ago. Not sure if they're being brought back after the re-organisation, but they're nice models. Only a couple of people doing the very early Prussians in 28mm from what I can tell. As you can see there's no standard, but apparently that was typical in this period. Instead I just have a Prussian Dragoon officer painted up differently to go with the unit.

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.

General Quiot du Passage and General Marcognet - 28mm

General Joachim Jerome Quiot du Passage (on the right) and General Louis Binet de Marcognet (on the left). Both Perry Miniatures and come in the command pack with Prince Jerome Bonaparte. Lovely models to paint. The names of both are inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris:

http://www.virtualarc.com/officers/quiotDuPassage/

http://www.virtualarc.com/officers/marcognet/

French Artillery Caisson with Camp.

This is a Foundry 28mm French Caisson. I got round to painting it after many months. The additional camp was from a bag of assorted Napoleonic figures I purchased at a bring and buy. I'm pretty sure they're all Front Rank models. The wood on the Caisson was painted Vallejo Gunship Green and then given a dark wash. Finally all the metalwork was touched up with Gunmetal Grey.

Napoleon's Red Lancers 28mm Perry Miniatures.

The finished squadron of Napoleon's Red Lancers. Led by the near indestructible General Colbert. All 28mm Perry's Miniatures. Apparently the drawn sword troopers were the second line. As mentioned I bought these as an unpainted set from Triples at the bring and buy for twenty quid (wargaming on a budget is definitely the order of the day). The Fanions are temporary paper and ink jobs I knocked up myself (and it shows). I guess they'll do for the table top anyway. I noticed Dean at WAB Corner is currently doing some of the Front Rank Red Lancers right now and they look great, so head over to his blog and take a look. He opted for the red undercoat which was a good move, as my black primer took a while to paint over and made the uniforms look slightly darker.

General Colbert - 28mm command figure

General Colbert (Pierre David Édouard de Colbert-Chabanais). A 28mm Perry Miniatures figure I picked up with their Red Lancers set. I've done him in the full dress uniform. The rest of the regiment are currently being based and almost ready, so I'll get them posted on the blog in the next couple of days. I bought the Red Lancers from Triples bring and buy, and knew little of their history, so it influenced me to read up on them and General Colbert as soon as I got home.

Prince Jérôme Bonaparte - 28mm Perry Miniatures

Prince Jerome command figure from Perry Miniatures. I decided to paint him in one of his white uniforms rather than the standard French Campaign dress. He was notoriously flamboyant, and as many already know, was chastised by his brother the Emperor for insisting on travelling "in State" with his entire court at the beginning of the Russian Campaign. He'll be great to use on the table when we play Waterloo again.

28mm French Napoleonic Voltigeurs

Some Front Rank figures I picked up from the bring 'n buy at Sheffield Triples last week. There were 25 all together, and unpainted. A nice purchase for twelve quid and thought I'd use them as skirmishers for my recently completed Italian regiments. Used GW Devlan Mud Wash to give them a weathered look again. Great poses on these, especially the guy biting the cartridge and one in the foreground about to pull the ramrod on his musket.

British Napoleonic Foot Artillery 28mm

Theses are the Victrix plastic 28mm British Foot Artillery. I'd been hesitant to start these for a while because of the amount of small parts and gluing involved, plus I managed to break several of the gun carriage chains because they were so brittle. In all honesty I can't see myself purchasing another one for those very reasons. The price is a positive, along with the fact you get the limbers included. They also look ok once painted. I'll definitely buy metal again in future, maybe Perry's as they come in a pack with crew and cannon for around £8.50 each which is not bad.

Napoleonic Italian Regiment 28mm

These are Front Rank late French figures painted as an Italian Line Infantry Regiment. They (along with a second one) were painted ready for a Sunday game at the local club. As I had an old tin of White primer spray I decided on using that instead of the normal black undercoat. Slightly regretted this decision only for the fact that it took me so long to finish them due to constantly re-touching areas. I used a GW Devlan Mud Wash to give the uniforms a weathered look, and then went back over with some highlights afterwards. The flags are from 'Maverick Models' www.maverick-models.com and came very cheaply and in good time.