FREE GAME: WWII Pacific Logistics - Fleet Train (Louis Coatney)

Just when I thought there was not much to LinkedIn somebody goes and posted an interesting game link! Click bait it is not, thank you Lou Coatney (see link to his website - not LinkedIn, below):   

https://www.coatneyhistory.com/FleetTrain.htm

Remember the quote: "Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics."

Undercoating some vehicles: [28mm. 1/56] M3 Lee, Tiger I and King Tiger

Making full use of the spray can to its last spluttering gasp I managed to cover three of my 28mm AFVs (see below, the US M3 Lee Warlord Games sprue sale bargain at £12, well worth waiting for): 

The mighty King Tiger (see below, I know it is totally overkill for Chain of Command but for £12 in the Warlord sprue sale I could not say no to my inner teenage school boys' "yearnings". It still is a beast!): 

Side by side you can see the "huge" difference in size, but remember their combat introduction/debut was but two years apart (see below, 1942 for the Lee, and 1944 for the Tiger II):  

Finally the spray-can's splutter finished in a timely fashion over the Tiger I (see below, again another steal from the Warlord games sprue salem guess what £12):  

I am please to say that the vivid green dries to a dull, dark, camouflaged dark green. 

Note To Self: Late War German WWII Infantry - Victrix (Painting Guide)

Victrix Late War Miniatures Painting Guides: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xvqv96qQ1E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ooQ15k9Ihg

Looking forward to painting these!

Note to Self: WWII Question to the Germans - "What was it like fighting the British?"

If you want to know the answer watch the video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDOWXeWFNJg

Spoiler alert: We can be beaten and pushed back, but somehow "we don't break like the others". We are annoyingly back the next day as if nothing happened! Importantly we don't know when we are beaten so - we tended to spoil the German's day and with it their Germanic plans for world domination!

Happy ending or am I believing an jingoistic urban myth (but from the mouths of Germans)?

More 28mm WWII Undercoating - US Infantry, US Paras, 1940 BEF Brits and French, Japanese

Just to complete the full story (or is it?) of the "Spray Can Day" event!

Wargames Atlantic British 1940 BEF and a few (6) Imperial Japanese Infantry from Warlord Games: 

Wargames Atlantic French 1940 Infantry:

German Late War Infantry - Warlord Games: 

US Paras - Warlord Games: 

US Infantry - Perry Miniatures and Warlord Games: 

Left with empty spray cans! Job well done!

Next Projects - Wargame Atlantic/Victrix 28mm Figures: Three Boxes

I blame them (Wargames Atlantic), yes them, for making such nice figures you "have to" buy them and then, er, find a use for them? So I have three (new)projects: 

Project One: Wargames Atlantic German Sentries - Coming in useful from being used as nasty Colditz sentries, to combatting partisan operations, commando raids, deadly SAS missions, Para airborne drops on radar installations and even denizens of "Weird WWII"  dark laboratories (see below, all sorts of uses beckon - all being behind enemy lines): 

There is even a healthy proportion of Alsatian dogs to German sentries (10 dogs to 30 soldiers). The poses come straight from the movies and are definitely "behind the front lines" Security Police support troops. The officer literally looks straight from the lead in "The Man in the High Castle" (see below, this is a highly recommended set - no other excuse needed to buy it):    

Second Project Victrix Napoleonic Old Guard Infantry - Next we move on to a "man (or rather a wargamer) of a certain age" issue. One who to his embarrassment wakes up one day and realises that he does not have a unit of French Napoleonic Old Guard in 28mm to show off to his friends (see below,  thank you Vixtrix for coming to my rescue, in fact they do the Middle Guard as well in plastic [but as time of writing I have only seen the Young Guard in very expensive metal]):  

Third Project Wargames Atlantic Pulp Adventure Operators -  Then there was the "buy it" because you saw it and you knew you already had a use for it. Specifically skirmish level gaming with 28mm Modern Special Forces - Terrorists - Hostage Release SWAT - Jungle LRRP/Mercenaries. Twenty Figures in total but four sprues, so a sprue for each of these categories will do (see below, the options on each sprue is fantastic):  

I know one game these are destined to play is Hostage Cluedo, even borrowing a dog from the German Sentries box for a K-9 handler, now that is synergy (see below, a "niche" but also a nice buy):  

I certainly seem to be in a "28mm assembly and paint mode of operations", also fuelled by the range of nice painting tutorials readily accessible on the Internet. Im short I am just having fun!

Post Partisan Research - Early War Miniatures: The Raid (WW2 Isle of Wight Kommando Attack)

As part of my post Partisan debrief, I took a look at Early War Miniatures' web-site ostensibly to look at their 20mm Italian Early War range associated with the East African Campaign and the Abbassian/Ethiopian crisis (or rather a blatant invasion of a League of Nation member state [no double standards involved here at all, just because it was black African not white European state]). Please note my growing interest in this period from an earlier post of mine (see link below): 

https://exiledfog.blogspot.com/2026/05/audio-book-prevail-inspiring-story-of.html

While on the  web-site I discovered a fascinating link to a suggested (aka probable) WWII German Kommando Raid on The Isle of Wight in 1943 (see link below): 

https://earlywarminiatures.com/index.php/raid/

Absolutely fascinating, as I had read the cited book just before we went on a family holiday there (pre-Covid). You can imagine a few choice words were said during that holiday, "Why have we stopped here? Are we lost?" and "Why do you want to go this hill? I cannot see anything!" (see below, Adrian Searle's detective story on the alleged/probable raid, it is a good read):

Since the publication of the book there has been archaeological work that seems to suggest (prove?) that German weapons had been fired within the perimeter of a RAF radar station at St Laurence! So, so interesting! There has even been a series of follow up talks in 2025 regarding its finding, so I will be watching to see if there is some form of follow up publication .. or even scenario scenario "in the wind"!

Sometimes You Buy a Book for the Game Idea it has Hidden Inside It!

Ok, first of all it was second hand and therefore cheap, secondly the subject matter is intriguing and thirdly there must be a game in it (see below. matrix, role-play or even figures - only time will tell what it stimulates): 

There is at least one game in this for sure!

Inspirational Photo of an IS2 (pair) - Berlin 1945

A friend posted this photograph and I am totally entranced by it. I am pretty sure it is, as he stated Berlin 1945 (although I stand open to corrections). It shows that even in cities there are big open spaces. Perhaps it is false colour, but I love the details. The crazy Ivan to the left of the IS2 tanks on a bicycle, soldiers just standing around (so not a direct combat photo - which makes sense to me). Civilian vehicles, abandoned and people just milling around in the background. The wheels (bottom left) presumably of a Russian infantry support gun or "something" [that "something" turned out to be probably a Panzer IV chassis rear wheel, from either a tank, assault gun or SPG version - exactly what is undetermined, see comments] in the middle of the street! (see below, absolute chaos - but a lovely composition for a diorama):   

It inspired me to take a look at my late war Soviet armour (in 20mm) as I have a couple of IS2s. A late-war fall of Berlin scenario beckons. 

Note to Self: 28mm Warlord Games US M3 Lee Assembly Instructions

I am still wading through the Warlord Games AFV "sprue sale" bargains I picked up. I have to confess, despite my initial forebodings (post purchase click, "Did I need this?"), I am glad really I purchased this M3 Lee. It slotted together perfectly. which is a plus, as a very easy model build and the end product looks quite imposing. In fact it was far easier to build it in 28mm than the multiple Airfix and Hasegawa kits I have put together in 20mm (1/76 and 1/72  in old money). The M3 Lee is an intimidating beast despite its archaic sponson mounted 75mm howitzer (see below, in assembly you could be forgiven in thinking you were putting together a medieval castle): 

It suddenly comes together as a tank when the top is placed on (see below, the M3 Lee 90% there, or there until an 88mm gets the Lee in its sights): 

Complete with radio aerial (and like the Tiger I model I wonder how long the radio aerial is going to last) and a few more fiddly bits - front and rear lights, handrails (see below, the finished "monster", possibly for its crew survival potential rather than fighting ferocity, although a 75mm high explosive shell is highly respected by infantry and anti-tank crews on the Tunisian battlefield): 

Primed in The Colour Forges (Renegade Green) as a primer (see below, using this colour also as a shade colour, with a Vallejo dipping wash to follow in teh recesses, then a new set of greens [Olive Drab and highlights] should lighten its appearance up): 

 

Although "cheap" by buying a loose sprue these online assembly instructions from Warlord Games saved me from stupid errors. Despite the cleaness of the build I had to make study of these, particularly in reference to the turret build and the M3 Lee commanders hatch (see below, Warlord Games M3 Lee Assembly Instructions link): 

https://assembly.warlordgames.com/files/4070200017_M3_Lee_Grant_assembly_booklet.pdf

Another interesting Blog post comparing the plastic kit version (much better IMHO) versus the old resin version!

https://www.goonhammer.com/goonhammer-historicals-warlord-games-plastic-m3-lee-grant-review

Italian WW2 Infantry Platoon for Chain of Command (Wargames Atlantic Figures)

Two packets (32 figures each) of Wargames Atlantic WWII Italian Infantry allow a Chain of Command basic platoon plus some extra infantry supports (another squad, plus SMG upgrades and extra pioneers/engineers [people with spades] specialists). Altogether a nice entertaining project (see below, housed in the carefully "husbanded" [much to the annoyance of the long suffering wife] butter and margarine tubs - we seem to eat a lot of dairy products that might not be good for my cholesterol):    

The mass assembly complete and the weather outside favourable meant it was spray painting time (see below, attacked from four quarters the Italians take on the subtle sheen of Ghoul Grey courtesy of "The Colour Forge" [www.thecolourforge.com] 500ml spray can): 

Next stage is to grit the base (PVA, sand and grit) before putting over a Vallejo Brown "Dipping Wash". Please note the cute CV33 AFV tucked in amongst the infantry (see below, provided as a generous Xmas gift from Renko, to the chagrin of the Greeks): 

The intention is to paint the platoon up in "homeland european green" to fight the Greeks in 1940/41.

Another Fairey Battle 1/72

My fascination with the Fairey Battle aeroplane continues. I came across another manufacturer (Special Hobby) that did a "Battle of France" Fairey Battle in my loval hobby shop. In conversation with a friend I was informed that the Airfix Fairey Battle was a little inaccurate. Instead of technical design drawings the Airfix model designers apparently were given a Painting guide (based on a modified Hurricane diagram) rather than the true technical drawings, This was a simple admin error, but as a consequence the tail and wing areas are too small (see below, I need to make this kit and do a compare and contract):   

Watch this space!

Post Script: When I see a cheaper copy (than £40 - Kindle could be an option) I will but this book (see below). I managed to flick through a reference library copy. It is a reassessment of the potential of the Fairey Battle. It claims it was more strategically/operationally mishandled rather than being an implicitly bad design.

Note: More successful designs had "two engines" - it seems that it was being asked to perform too much with too little horse power, with too big a crew (three)!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fairey-Battle-Reassessment-its-Career/dp/1781555850

Big Man Spotted in Small Tiger II Turret

Hats off to Trebian for spotting this anomaly - from the same manufacturer (I think Tamiya, via Warlord Games) totally different scales of Panzer Commander - both of which are supposed to be representing a 28mm scaled figure (see below, the Tiger I Commander [on the right] seems to be the correct scale, whereas the Tiger II Commander [on the left] is a bit to much of a "big boy" and would really struggle to slip in and out the turret without being "greased-up"):  

I removed the "big chap" from the Tiger II and just "closed up" the tank for action! Problem solved!

Postscript: Excuse the blurry picture below - but he even looks big to other (Allied) tank commander figures from other Warlord kits (see below - and and superman?): 

It shows more clearly when you click and expand the photograph.

Note to Self: Tamiya/Warlord Games 28mm King Tiger Assembly Instructions Link

The "big cat" beast - the German King Tiger tank (see below, another "why on earth not" Warlord Games "sprue sale" purchase):

Although  a relatively simple build - instructions help (see link below): 

https://www.chaosbunker.de/en/2018/07/23/review-bolt-action-king-tiger-with-zimmerit-plastic-kit/

Note To Self: Tamiya/Warlord Games 28mm Tiger I Assembly Instructions Link

 

Warlord Games 28mm Tiger I purchased in their annual/seasonal "sprue sale" (see above and below - please note cute but fragile aerial on engine deck that won't last long!):

Useful link to Assembly Instructions (see link below): 

https://www.americanwargamersassociation.com/2017/04/tiger-i-tank-by-warlord-games-review.html#google_vignette

It is a relatively simple kit but these instructions helped me from making "sad" simple errors that all modellers live to regret, I think the kit is originally the Tamiya 1/56 one. Nice clean lines and an easy assembly. Recommended, certainly in the "sprue only" sale at half the retail price of the boxed version! Better for the planet too - less packaging *he said grasping at straws").

Four Books on Midway

Stemming from an interest that was cultivated from an early exposure to XTR's (Command Magazine) Victory at Midway, I have been fascinated by this battle (see below, and still my most favourite wargame - that is a game plus an excellent reference magazine): 

Since then I have been collecting books about the battle. My four specific reference books being.

Book 1: Midway The Battle That Doomed Japan, the Japanese Navy Story. Albeit acquired and read late in the day (of my interests) but early in the literature review (1954), it is a classic - but suffers from deep political motivations (written for a post war Japanese and Western audience). Extremely interesting as it gave an insight into the Japanese view, from a surviving protagonist, but projected myths about the battle that are still persistent today.   

Book 2: Midway - Incredible Victory. A somewhat popularist follow on from the above, but from an American perspective, that is dramatic in its recounting of the battle. It seems to set the pace and scene for most wargames of the battle. A fight against incredible odds and patriotic American sacrifice, There was great patriotism but the actual combatants were more evenly matched than portrayed. Nevertheless it does convey the tension of the times,

Book 3: The Battle of Midway - The Battle that Turned the Tide of the Pacific War. To my mind not much separates this from Incredible Victory - but it is a different recount of the same battle, again from the US perspective, which fleshes the narrative and lists all the moving parts (essential for a wargamer). 

(The) Book 4: Shattered Sword - The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway. Quite frankly this book blew away the "I already know the story" cobwebs right out of my mind. "Myth busting" and with access to IJN archive material it gives a definitive account from both sides, explaining the who, what, how and why. It places Midway in the context of what it was, an USN "ambush" that the IJN sleep walked into. It also places the nature of the IJN wargaming into its correct context, a tick box exercise. The IJN set themselves up to fail because they expected the USN not to interfere with their (overly) complex plan. Amazing detail, surfacing truths that had already been exposed for years in Japan's academic world.  

Read it. The description above in no way diminishes the US heroism but frames the Japanese operations (because you cannot forget about the Aleutians). With the IJN so focused on Midway they gave the USN a "first strike" opportunity it so gratefully took. The relatively inexperienced USN pilots pulled it off, not in a prefect fashion, but the end results speak for themselves. Japan lost the strategic initiative - but there was much gruelling fighting still to be done.     

PS: Yes I also have the Osprey Midway book, and yes there are hundreds of other "good" books on Midway (it is a very popular battle), but these are the four on myselves. Please read Shattered Sword, it is far ad away the BEST and the most DEFINITIVE account of the battle - but this is only my humble opinion (as well as many better souls). Enjoy!

Been making some 28mm Kits

For my Chain of Command 28mm British Infantry the welcome sight of a Sherman Mk I (see below, the ubiquitous Western Front armour support): 

She came up nicely, less parts in 28mm than most 20mm kits (see below, looking ship shape and ready for battle): 

Keeping with the 1944 theme, my Crusader originally bought as a Western Desert AFV had a course change and became a AA D-Day+ addition to the British Armour inventory (see below, the Crusader had an extended career with the various specialist functions it found itself in): 

The Western Desert armour support was provided by the Valentine Mk II/III variant (another nice Rubicon kit). I did briefly toy with the idea of a Soviet version but decided that could wait for a 6pdr later variant (see below, 2pdr and 3 inch turret options shown):  

Assembly of 28mm kits is faster than 20mm! Painting might take longer though!

Book: Victory to Defeat (Richard Dannatt and Robert Lyman)

We had won, with a magical formula of 1918 combined arms warfare, hard earned through bitter experience of four years of fighting and then we lost or rather forgot it! Such criminal complacency meant that another generation of youth experienced a second World War. The people who "had practical experience of fighting it" drifted away and did other things. The world wanted to be pacifist. The politicians became politicians again and took their eye off the ball, they took the easy option, cutting to the bone military spending. The "war to end all wars" was supposed to be exactly that, although there was a dissenting feeling in Germany that in 1918 they had not been defeated in the field (the very same myth used by National Socialism and the "stabbing in the back" from a caste of politicians). However, in 1918 the Allied armies pummelled the German Imperial Army to its knees in the 100 Day Offensive with "combined arms" and overwhelming industrial power (infused with the additional of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) - which was not specifically called out in the book). The armistice came, it signalled the end of the war (11/11/1918), then came the Treaty of Versailles with its own cauldron of snakes that poisoned international politics for decades to come. The League of Nations was born and withered on the vine through application of realpolitik between the Great Powers. In Britain there was a spirit of the war is all over now, let's get back to normal (proper) peacetime soldering as we have an empire to run. Contemplation of another war of this magnitude was an anathea. Politicians who thought different were not elected .No peer war was expected within the next ten years, so colonial policing was the order of the day for the British Army. The British Army was shrunk to a rump (prioritising Empire over continental commitments) and certain important or maverick personalities played with their own hobby horses and pet projects within the confines of the Treasury's frugal remit. Britain literally became an island nation behind a sea and air barrier, the Royal Navy in her senior service role and the over promising of the RAF (capable of punishing enemies with the bomber and protecting the homeland with the fighter) gained favour. There was no appetite for a tangible army capacity capable of force projection on the continental mainland to deter the rising power of Nazi Germany. Without such an army, even if scaled back, there was no way of keeping the hard-earned organisational knowledge of "how to do things" at scale. Then the chickens come home to roost through a series of international crisis and the early war defeats of 1939-40 (see below, a tale of the once and future king - the practice of combined arms warfare, found - lost - then painfully recovered from 1942 onwards; although the British 1940 successes of The Western Desert Force against the Italians - Wavell's 10,000 (Beda Fomm), the East African Campaign and reconquest of Ethiopia and Somaliland, again against the Italians, was not called out):

The allegory or case study to modern times (2022+) is called out, how different is the current political situation with Russia and continental Europe? The message is clear. Let us not make the same mistake again. The world of 2025 seems horribly similar to the 1930's and the lead up to the Second World War. This time we also live in a nuclear age where the stakes could not be higher. The general (Dannatt) also seems to indirectly pushing the value of wargaming in military circle - when you do not have the physical items it does not stop you from imaginative thought experiments (with reference back to the Germans formulating the doctrine of mobile warfare in the 1930's without any tanks - they wargamed and conducted imaginative field exercises). If you want peace, then be sure you are prepared for war. A protagonist thinks twice before attacking a prepared potential victim - or rather the "victim" is not viewed as a victim but rather a "respected or feared foe". Deterrence has to be credibly backed up or the paper tiger will be called out.  Knowing what form of armed forces (Army, Navy, Air, Cyber, Space, Civil) you need is the key to knowing what capabilities you have to nurture or retain for future use (and their scalability for wartime needs). That comes from an unending intellectual engagement across the whole spectrum of government. I for one cannot fault the main theme of the message!

David Isby gave an informative and interesting review of the book too:     

https://www.strategypage.com/bookreviews/2537#gsc.tab=0

Latest 28mm WW2 Project

These are just beautiful figures from Wargames Atlantic - Italian WW2 Infantry (see below, two boxes needed for a 1940 Italian Infantry Platoon): 

I am in the process of building up a force for Chain of Command. The source of this interest came from a recent holiday to Italy (an absolutely beautiful country) and Rome is the Eternal City. In addition, on my return, I started reading this book (see below, basically everything you wanted to know about the Italians in WWII but were afraid to ask - a highly recommended read): 

Also useful, is this assembly and painting guide for the Wargames Atlantic WW2 Italian Infantry (see below, Wargames Atlantic page watch-listen-learn and be inspired to so it yourself [the video is really useful]): 

https://wargamesatlantic.com/blogs/news/valhalla-reviews-the-ww2-italians?srsltid=AfmBOoqszIwSdZIKvxmyl57Z2d1NvoieHkTJRMRt7MYSYfUDrWPkhAAe

Happy days ahead. Watch this space for updates!

11th November - Lest We Ever Forget

A tribute to the fallen in Great Ayton: 

From the first to fall in WWI: 

To the last to fall in WWII:

Including the lad who died on his very first day in France: 

Bless them all.