Le Casino

When i made my last posting, I was fairly certain that I didn't have much of a chance of meeting the 28th Feb deadline for getting my Riva-Bella casino boards done. Surprising myself, i hunkered down and actually made it!

Uni started back on Monday, and the decision to travel to the Newcastle campus for two of my subjects looks like the right one. Introductory French is really quite fun, even if there is an exam every other week. The French Revolution and Napoleon class is taken by Philip Dwyer, Napoleonic scholar and author of the recent biography 'Napoleon: The Path to Power 1769-1799'. I'm REALLY looking forward to getting into this subject, and have already chosen my major essay subject, which is concerns the organisational and tactical developments in the Revolutionary French army.

So, for those of you who are visiting the blog for the first time, perhaps some explanation is in order. The excellent Guild forums (http://www.guildwargamers.com/phpBB3/index.php) Holds a yearly 'project build' for members, where basically you set deadlines for yourself throughout the year for whatever project you're working on. Great way to keep focused, especially when you consider that at each deadline, your work is put up for voting against all the other entries.

So, my project is to build up, in 20mm (roughly 1/72-1/76) scale, a set of terrain boards and forces representing the attack on Ouistreham and the Riva-Bella casino by Commandant Kieffer's French commandos of No.4 Commando on D-Day. The forces i've been building up are based on the TooFatLardies rulesets, Troops, Weapons and Tactics (TW&T) and I Ain't Been Shot Mum! (IABSM).
My first task consisted of two terrain boards depicting the fortified Casino strongpoint and the adjoining beachfront board, two squads (or gruppen) of German infantry, a 2cm flak gun and a 10.5cm howitzer, both crewed; a commando MG section, mortar team and sniper, and bringing up the rear a two storey building.

The boards were made on a 2 ft square MDF base, built up with coolroom styroboard sheed which was then covered in builders filler and then a pva/sand mix. The Casino and the bunkers were made from blue foam sheet, again covered in filler and the sealed with pva glue. Trenches and other details were made from balsa, and the grass is teddy bear fur. The whole lot was painted with emulsion paints picked up from the local hardware store in $5 sample tins. Static grass and wire was added, along with various obstacles - dragon's teeth, Czech hedgehogs and Belgian gates, scratch built with either blue foam offcuts or plastic strips.

On the whole, I'm really happy with the result, and am looking forward to getting started on the next two boards, 'due' 30th April. These will be the AT wall and PaK positions where the commandos advance first bogged down. It will be located adjacent to the casino, and accompanied by another beach tile.
As far as figures go, the Plastic Soldier company is providing the basis for my German troops, leavened out with superb (but expensive!) AB command figures and heavy weapons from the excellent Kelly's Heroes range. The guns and their crew are from Britannia, and were a joy to paint up. The Commandos are also from Britannia, and are again lovely to paint. Supporting the commandos will be a Royal Marines Centaur IV tank from Cromwell, along with a troop of Britannia DD Shermans. As the local gaming club is looking at getting into 20mm WWII gaming, I'm also going to try to paint up some more generic British and German forces, based around the 15th Scottish division and the 21st Panzer division.

So, on to the pictures. Next up i'll be making a start on the first of two commando assault teams, as well as the Centaur, so stay tuned.

Steady as she goes

This update is really more of a 'Work in Progress' piece than anything else. As i've mentioned previously, i've entered the 2011 project build over on The Guild forums, my particular project being centered around the Sword beach D-Day landings. The first task is due to be completed by 28th Feb. This is pretty convenient for me, as uni starts back on the 28th as well! Can't wait to get back into studying, and am especially looking forward to the 'French Revolution and Napoleon' subject, even if i do have to travel to Newcastle for it. :)

But back to painting and terrain modeling. My first task consists of two terrain boards, a building, a platoon of Germans and a subsection of Free French commandos, plus a few odds and ends. Well, with just over a week to go it's all looking pretty good, quite surprisingly. I've completed the excellent resin boulangerie model from lasermodellbau which Laur got me for my Birthday, as well as a 2cm flak and a couple of gorgeous AB miniatures command figures to use as my big men. Pics of these completed are below. I tried a new technique with the splinter camo, based on Piers' beaut tute over on the guild. I think it looks great, a lot more effective when viewing from a distance as well. I'll definitely be using this technique for the rest of my Jerries.

For the boulangerie, i spent the better part of a day on google images, right-clicking and saving as many 40s era french posters, family photos, newspapers and magazines as i could find. After a bit of rescaling and printing them out, i think they add a little something to the model. A great dolls house site provided the wonderfully terrible 30s/40s wallpaper. I'm quite happy with the result. The models themselves are great, and went together with only minimal fussing and sanding. I've got another two, the boucherie and a two storey house which will be going into the terrain board representing Ouistreham, along with a bunch of scratch built ruins. Now i just need to get my hands on some Frontline damaged furniture to provide the finishing touches.
Next on the list were the two command figures. I tried out a different, grey-er field grey recipe on the figure in the peaked cap. I'm happy with the result, and the next german section is also going to be this colour. I'm planning on mixing them in with the greener guys to give a nice mix. The sculpting on the AB stuff is simply superb, so lifelike. These two guys are Hauptmann Leo Mabhoffer, commander of the Riva-Bella strongpoint, and Leutnant Michael von Recke, a fictional commander who i'll probably end up using for a 21st Panzer force. I've also taken to painting the Big Man's name on the back of the base, just so they stand out a little more. While the Plastic Soldier figures will do for the rank-and-file, Some AB command figures along with some heavy weapons etc from Kellys Heroes should help add that je ne sais quoi to the force. I've also added some comparison pics showing both the PSC and the AB figures side by side. Aside from the superiority of the AB sculpts, any differences in scale or style are virtually indiscernible.

When painting was out of the questiond due to the heat wave, i decided to knuckle down and get some work done towards the project anyhow. IABSM and TW&T both use cards to activate units. I found a great template on the Toofatlardies yahoo group, and using this have built up almost a full deck. Below with the pictures i've got two pages out of the 10 i've completed. Oh, and i thought i might mention something which probably seems quite obvious, but as i had a couple of enquiries thought i'd best. If you click on the images you will be linked to lot larger, higher resolution version. All the better for seeing clavii, right. :)

I was terribly saddened to hear the news about the passing of Dave Hollins of Britannia fame just after the new year. In my dealings with Dave he was always a perfect gent, and he will be sorely missed. My final completed item is the superb little Britannia 2cm Flak 38, which will top the Casino strong-point. The Britannia figures were, as always, a joy to paint. I wasn't too sure about the colour of the waffenfarbe shoulder tab piping. I ended up going with red for artillery, figuring that army flak troops fall under this category. Besides, it sets them apart from the white of the infantry.

Now on to the terrain boards. I've finished the bunkers, covered them in polyfilla and scored in the shuttering marks before it was completely dry. Some ladders made from staples were also added. The trenches were lines with scored balsa, the steps were balsa too, and almost drove me insane. Still, i'm really happy with the results and can't wait to get some paint on them. I've also added some faux-fur grass, which was trimmed with a pair of hair clippers. I built up some mounds of earth on the terrain using bits of Styrofoam which i the covered with polyfilla. I also made a sloping beach on the second terrain board, and am going to add some obstacles made from bamboo skewers and toothpicks, plus eventually some dragons teeth obstacles which i'll made from blue foam.

The latest progress on this is covering all the earth or sand areas with watered down white glue and covering the lot with sand. Next step is painting, then it's done! I originally wanted to get the interiors done by the deadline, at least of the casino, but i'm not really liking my chances. Some of you may notice on the WIP pics below a landing craft. This is the Britannia LCI(S), or Landing Craft Infantry (Small), the landing craft used by Lovat's commandos on D-Day. This one was a nice surprise, a belated christmas pressie from Laur's brother and his girlfriend. I think it'll look great! Now i need to get some LCAs, just to add to the scene. :)
Anyhow, i'd best get back to it. All going well, i'll be able to post an update with the competed terrain, the 10.5cm gun and crew and a few more infantry by the 28th.

Wish me luck!

Plastic Soldiers, Birthdays and Christmas

Well, it's about midway through the first week of 2011, and with the silly season winding down I'm managing to get some painting done. A bit of drama in the leadup to christmas, and then the crazyness until new years has meant that the brushes have been gathering dust in the corner for the last while.

So, first off, i've been getting on with my latest commission work, the Late Roman infantry. These guys are still a WIP, so no pics yet, but hopefully soon.

In the meantime, my 20mm D-Day Sword Beach project has been gaining steam. I've managed to get a whole swag of great stuff for this between my birthday and Christmas, Laura even surprised me with a triad of resin buildings from the German company Najewitz Modellbau. These are great, very crisp detail and go together well. I've only assembled the two story house as yet, but i've also got a Boulangerie and a Boucherie to do. I'm planning to have a representation of Ouistreham / Riva Bella in the setup, so these will look great and save me some scratch building :).

So, besides the buildings, I scored a load of vehicles from Britannia, Cromwell, Skytrex, Raventhorpe and RTR, a bunch of 'tobruk' MG bunkers from Defence in Depth along with a leavening of Britannia and AB figures. Topping it all off was a box of the new Plastic Soldier Company German infantry. Needless to say I'm well chuffed indeed.



For the initial project, which will revolve around the assault on the Riva-Bella Casino strong point, I'll need to build up the following force:

German 716th Infantry Division forces

2 x German platoons + support. (~ 60 figs) - Plastic Soldier, Britannia and AB.
2 x PaK 38 on fortress mount and crews Britannia
1 x 2cm Flak 38 and crew Britannia
2 x 10.5cm leFH guns and crew Britannia
2 x Marder III - Skytrex

British / Free French forces

2 x Free French Commando sections + support (~ 60 figs) Britannia
1 x Centaur Mk IV close support tank Cromwell
3 x Sherman DD tanks Britannia

Quite a lot of painting, especially considering I'll be juggling ongoing commission work. Anyway, i've managed to paint up the first pieces for both the axis and allies over the last few days, as well as making some progress on the Riva-Bella Casino board. Painting in 20mm is a lot faster than 28!

I've completed the basic structure of the casino strongpoint, which will be armed with one of the 10.5cm field guns and a 20mm flak, which i've placed unpainted on the roof in the pics below. I've also completed a H644 bunker with an armoured MG cupola along with a generic infantry shelter. I've also scraped out the AT ditch and the basic trench system, but the trenches need to have sides and bottom added from balsa. I've also had my first trial of using teddy bear fur for grass, and think it's looking pretty good. I've also started on the interiors of the bunkers and casino, as I'm going to have all of the roofs as removable.



As far as the figures go, i'm basing these up on 5c pieces and have stolen the idea of painting the unit name on the rear of the base. See the picture of the French 'Big Man' below to see what i'm talking about. This ties the units together without taking away from the aesthetics too much. So, as far the Germans are concerned, i've completed the first of six 8 man squads, along with a Leutnant 'big man' to lead the first platoon. The Frenchies have got Commandant Kieffer himself, a sniper, 2" mortar team and a 5 man Bren gun team, which together with an 8 man assault team makes up a subsection. Suffice it to say that Commando organisation is very confusing.

The plastic soldier Germans are great. The sculpting is very crisp, if some of the poses are a little odd and require a bit of cutting to make look right to my eye. I've hacked away at two figures to use as crew for the first of the two Marder IIIs. I based them on 5c pieces, to add a little weight, and painted them up in the Vallejo field grey. After seeing the infamous field grey picture, i've decided that I'm going to paint up squads in different variations, then mix them all together to give a good mix-match look to the force.

The casino board has come along in leaps and bounds, inspired but the magnificent work by alcal over on the guild forum.

So, enjoy the pictures, leave a comment, and as you can probably tell from the picture of some of my goodies, there'll be a lot more coming, including some 21st Panzer and 11th Armoured stuff.