Sixth AHPC - March 2016 and Final Tally

The dust has settled after the manic last week's of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. Votes have been cast and prizes awarded, as things should be. The Challengers are able to shuffle back into the sunlight for another nine months. 

My first entry in March was my Curtgeld for the challenge, for which I drew on our shared interest in the Spanish Civil War: that's what I've been painting for most of the past year, and Curt's own collection has been a great inspiration. So here's my rendition of Eric Blair, better known by his pen name George Orwell, from his time serving in the Spanish Civil War.

He's from Artizan Designs' Thrilling Tales range, they've managed a very good likeness.

In December 1936, Blair, a democratic socialist and staunch anti-fascist, set out for Spain to fight for the Republicans. Entering Catalonia from France, he encountered the conflicting factions supporting the government in Barcalona, and joined The Worker's Party of Marxist Unification - POUM. Sent to the quiet Aragon Front, he initially saw little action, only deprivations visited on the loyalists from lack of supplies. Having recnently married, his wife Eileen O'Shaughnessy visited him there.

 

 

He traveled to Madrid, intending to join the Communist party's International Brigades. There he was appalled at the factionalism dogging the Republican cause and denunciations of POUM from the Communist press, and resolved to return to Catalonia instead. Back at the front, he was wounded in the neck by a sniper and ruled medically unfit to serve longer. Blair being 6'2" was probably a factor, you can identify him in the photo below standing a head taller than his comrades. By June, POUM had been outlawed as a "fascist" organisation that hindered the Republican cause, and as its members were arrested and put on trial, Blair fled to France and then back to England. 

 

 

So why a "gambler, daredevil or risk-taker"? Well, I thought as a published author, setting aside his burgeoning career to participate in an unpopular foreign conflict for his beliefs was quite a colossal gamble. And actively seeking combat to fight for what he believed in was undoubtedly risky - he travelled specifically to fight, not as a writer, though he later wrote classics about the conflict. 

 

I painted him as best I could to fit in with Curt's existing SCW collection, choosing appropriate colours as best I could and using more subtle skin tone to my usual. The base is left bare for Curt to match. I couldn't resist giving him a patch showing his allegiance to POUM, a white hammer and sickle on red. 

 

For the challenge theme round, 'Gamblers Daredevils or Risk-takers', I entered a diorama of a downed Spanish Civil War Republican fighter, whose pilot managed to nursed his beloved "Mosca" into a crash-landing.

The Republican pilots of the SCW were doubtless daredevils, gamblers and risk-takers. Outnumbered, they started the war with obsolete planes and were quickly up against the German Condor Legion and Italian Legionary Air Force supplied by the Rebel's allies. The Rebels superior air power, innovative and controversial use of it contributed to many of their successes, and to Republican defeats.

The plane is a Polikarpov I-16 Type 10 fighter, nicknamed the "Mosca" (Fly) by the Republicans and "Ratta" by the Rebels. More than 250 I-16s were supplied but the Soviets to the Republican Air Force. This is a 1:48 scale kit from Czech company Eduard. I was originally looking to build a reconnaisance or light bomber, intending to do a larger plane but under-scale in 1:76. But the SCW is less well served by kits compared to WWII, so I went for this larger I-16 in quick-build 'weekend edition'. It's got a pleasingly Soviet functional look, it's snub nose making it look a bit like an oil-drum with wings. I was really chuffed to snag one for a mere £9 with delivery too! Unfortunately, the decals weren't usable, but I painted on the main markings. 

I built the kit as is, as Google-fu'd pictures of crashed I-16s seemed to be impressively whole - they must be pretty sturdy! So I just knocked some bullet holes in and had fun doing some mangled landing gear and a shrub that had been clipped as debris:

The embryo for this idea was originally to be my Curtgeld - A thought to do a SCW pilot as 'daredevil' for Curt. I ditched that idea quickly when I remembered that Curt had already put on that scenario! - http://analogue-hobbies.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/worst-case-scenario-12-condor-down.html

The pilot miniature is from the SCW edition of Painting War magazine.

A really neat miniature, though much skinnier and more finely detailed than the main 28mm SCW ranges. Mine also had weird casting issue of horizontal lines all the way down the front, it looked almost like 3D printed minis do. I got most of them off eventually.

  

Lastly the theme entry was a gamble for myself - I only got the pilot the weekend before the deadline and ordered the I-16 the following. Very fortunate it arrived by Thursday to build and paint, and that I could find enough time to get it and the pilot done (Curt's impromptus extension bailed me out there)! 

Next came a SCW Schneider m1908 70mm mountain gun, submitted on the final day to provide some heavy firepower for my Nationalists. A squat little thing in a fine Empress kit. 

Each Spanish infantry battalion had one of these, and unlike many support weapons there were actually enough for the Peninsular army to receive their allocation.  They were typical detached and brigaded together into batteries. I couldn't find that much about them online, nor many pictures of either real ones nor painted miniatures. The camo is conjectural but a saw a B&W photo of one in a camo scheme and the green/khaki colours seemed most likely to me. It received a heavy dose of chipping and more weathering pigments than the photos suggest. 

This was a real bugbear on my painting desk. I blitzed through the crew while on holiday at the start of this month. But the gun took me ages, working at it on and off. The hassle of basing it up after painting, not my favoured method. But I'm pleased with the result. 

I then cast about for something to quickly work up for the finale. I received these Pulp Miniatures 'cowled cultists' for Christmas. As my Secret Santa got me 'evil hooded' cultists as well, I settled on doing these in a colour scheme of grey robes, and will save the classic purple for the hooded cult. I feel like these need a decal of some kind to break up their robes, and will keep an eye out for something suitable. 

I imagine that and the other half of the group will form a 'not-necessarily-evil' cult, that may work to aims that aren't so blatantly nefarious as global domination, annihilation or the attempted summoning of elder beings. Perhaps they like knitting or something. 

And here's everything assembled into a Challenge group shot, with my 'winter tools'. A small host compared to most Challengers but I'm satisfied that I crept past my target, and am delighted that the Challenge served to get a whole bunch more of the Spanish Civil War project finished.

My tally made it to: 

15 SCW infantry

1 SCW cavalryman

1 SCW crewed artillery piece

1 SCW Polikarpov I-16 (crashed)

3 Napoleonic guerrillas

4 Pulp cultists

7 GW Plaguebearers

...and 1 Curtgeld

All in 28mm - there's nothing like consistency!  

With that, I'll just repeat again my massive, heartfelt 'thank you' first to Curt, who is generous enough with his time to organise and shepherd us through the challenge over the winter months. It's a great pleasure to be able to participate once again, this time my fifth challenge. Also to Curt's excellent bunch of minions, whose amusing commentary and enthusiasm was appreciated by all and really gave this challenge some new facets. And to Resident Statistician Miles, because what isn't improved by a resident statistician. And finally to my fellow challengers, whose outstanding work keeps my enthusiasm and creativity up across the whole year. Here's to AHPC VII!

Normal service will be resumed soon

Apologies for the lack of posts recently, hobby time has taken a back seat with my recent move, with plenty of unpacking and DIY to be done. A few weeks with no painting at all and I'm only just getting a little time for it. The endless trips to B&Q, Ikea and many others will be with me for months, as will the DIY as my wife and I work our way around the house. As if I needed a new project! 

On a slightly more hobby-related note, I recently caught a fascinating exhibition: 'Newseum' by the Times. It was a fairly small but interesting look at (UK-centric) journalism throughout the ages, touching on the Crimea, colonial conflicts, the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, conquering of Everest and onwards. 

The highlight for me being two of the telegraphs sent by Frank Powers during the siege of Khartoum. Including this one, to be hand delivered after the telegraph line was cut. If you look carefully, you can see it was annotated with 'send this' and signed by General Gordon. Apparently, it didn't make it though the Mahdist blockade and was found years later, stuffed in the walls of a hut. It's significance was realised and it was eventually received by The Times in London in the 1890s. The Times archive must be full of such fascinating snippets from history. 


Unaware of the no photography policy, I caught just the one snap before I was politely but firmly told to stop. 

Frank Powers himself was killed in September 1884 alongside Gordon's assistant Colonel Stewart when a group tried to break the blockade around Khartoum aboard the Steamer Abbas. The attempt failed when the Abbas ran aground and all passengers and crew were killed in an ambush. 

Finally, I had the good fortune to visit Wyvern Wargamers the other week and managed to get a game of Chain of Command in 15mm. Stu, Paul and the rest made me feel very welcome and I definitely intend to visit as often as I am able. 

A Weekend of Living History

A rare non-wargaming post from me. One of the great things about living the UK is the sheer amount of history to dip into all over the country and number of living history groups happy to dress up and enthuse about their chosen era to the (faintly bemused) public of a weekend.

Last weekend the family headed to a fine event on at Sherwood Forest between Nottingham and Doncaster. A 'walk through history, it has 20 or so groups covering stone age to Cold War and everything in between: Romans, Saxons, Medieval, ECW, WWI , inter-war, WWII and 50's, all scattered through a charming forest trail around the visitor's centre.

It was a fine day so the crowds were out which was nice, though some of the groups themselves were quite low on numbers. As well as providing a bit of fun and some hobby inspiration, I also had chance to give the camera a whirl,so without further ado...


 Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood statue obligatory

A medieval camp in a forest grove - the reenactors were in a central area doing a demonstration

The Fairfax Regiment demonstrate ECW drill 

A handful of Coldstream Guards on the march

Can you see...?

This fine fellow?! Falklands era British army lurking in the undergrowth

Book Review: All the King's Men by Saul David

I picked up the attractive-looking hardback 'All the King's Men: The British Soldier from the Restoration to Waterloo' earlier in the year when it was on offer in  my friendly giant high street book chain. Purporting to be a 'compelling and vivid portrait of the British Soldier from Blenheim to Waterloo', I was expecting a slightly different perspective from the usual military history fare.

Unfortunately, It didn't really succeed at separating itself from its rivals. While it is well written and perfectly readable, I didn't find it added much of a different perspective at all. In fact, it seems to present something of an idealised view of something very different to the British Soldier: their finest generals: Marlborough, Wolfe and Wellington.

It details their brilliance, campaigns and occasional errors in some detail. But it is also frustratingly inconsistent. Some campaigns and battles are heavily detailed, some are barely referred to. There are precious few maps, many more would be welcome though those that are present are clear and appear well-drawn to my inexpert eye. It also takes huge tangents to offer context. It details Wellington's early life and Political career, which aren't hugely relevant to the prowess of the lowly infantryman under him. It also details the biography of military rivals, perhaps as a counterpoint: particularly Washington and Napoleon. Napoleon's rise and the French Revolution take up a substantial segment, despite being very heavily covered elsewhere. These don't really offer anything more than context to the thrust of the book. I think it gives undue weigh and words to the life and career of Napoleon, given the subject of the book is the British solider, not French!

There was no analysis of made British infantryman different, or better than his French, Prussian or American equivalent. It claims the British were the finest, despite their tendency to loot and pillage, but offers no real evidence to back up that assertion. It notes they lost the American War of Independence but 'learned to adapt (and) hadn't lost their ability to fight', one of many general and sweeping judgements. It barely touches on the life of an infantryman, their training or experiences and how these changed. While there are some first-hand accounts, chiefly from the memoirs of infantrymen, they seem to be those quoted in other modern histories, rather than anything unique.

Covered, but I'd prefer more about the British, thanks!

It is a very readable primer, but not something for those well-read In military history. I found the earlier sections illuminating, but more as I'm less well read on the War of the Spanish Succession and American Revolution. Given all three are well covered by military history books in English, I think you would get more depth from a specific book on each subject. Perhaps I'm being unfair and expected something that this book isn't really meant to be. As I note, it is well written and and an enjoyable as a light introduction/overview. But 'All the King's Men'? More like 'Three of the King's Men'.

I haven't been to SELWG

Unlike what seems like every other gaming blogger in the UK, I couldn't make it to SELWG this year. Which sucks a bit, I would have liked to have poked about at a decent games show. It sounds like everyone had a ball of a time and picked up lots of goodies. 

I did get a trip to Greenwich on a lovely crisp autumnal day, taking a river boat rather than the tube for a change. Once there, I visited the recently re-opened Cutty Sark. While it was the Missus' treat, I did get to squeeze a bit of history in at least! Today I get the Eurostar to Bruges for a relaxing few days break. Bruges doesn't seem to be a hotbed of gaming, but ive brought the bumper WI issue 300 to keep me entertained and of course there is certainly plenty of history in the area to absorb. 

Approaching Greenwich

View from the deck

The hull of the now-raised Cutty Sark

I did hope to have some finished models to share, shock horror I have been painting Napoleonics once again. After 9 months off them, I could just about face more red and white. They just need finishing touches and basing, so I'll post them next week. 

I may get some more blogging time over the next few days, so I may be able to  post a few other bits that I had planned but haven't got around to writing. 

Procrastination and Sightseeing

Morning all. I've not much to share this weekend, my free time has been sapped by renewed enthusiasm in Company of Heroes. I completed the campaign last night so am back at the paintingarable this morning. Starting with tidying up a few more bits for my WWII Brits. I've a game of Blitzkrieg Commander arranged for tomorrow evening at CLWC - I will try to take some pics and post an AAR.

Here's a snap I took a few weeks ago on my phone. I was sightseeing and visited St Paul's cathedral in the City of London. Down in the crypt there is this massive tomb for Wellington; he given a full state funeral and buried at St Paul's. The flags hanging over it represent the allies at the Battle of Waterloo (Britain, Hannover, Brunswick, Netherlands amd Nassau). Note there are five flags hanging above it, yet six flag-holders.

The missing flag is of course Prussia, their flag was taken down during WWI and never reinstated.

Wall Art for the Hobbyist

I've continued to work up some 10mm WWII, here we have some more punch for the poor bloody infantry - two 6pdr AT guns and one 25pdr Field Gun. A quick job as I only painted and based the guns themselves - the crew were already finished (mostly borrowed from a 17pdr actually). Note there is space on the back of the 25pdr base for a Morris Quad to drag it around. I've since noticed that the late war Europe list in BKC doesn't allow 25pdrs as on-table support, which is a bit annoying. So I've painted a pretty paperweight (or useful reminder of my off-table guns).






I mentioned the Capitan painting competition some months ago and as the deadline looms realised I haven't even started. Seeing Curt's lovely entry here, I've primed my entry and turned him around in no time. Looks like i wont evem need their recently-announced extension. I'll post a pic up in the morning. It was a welcome change to do just one Napoleonic - it seems like an age since I painted some!

I've also been doing quite a bit of sightseeing and thought this might interest in one of the room of Hampton Court Palace:

Can you tell what it is yet?

A closer look at one wall

Yup, this is wall art made of pikes, muskets, pistols, armour and so on, covering four walls with thousands of pieces. It was in fact was the first formal room of the Royal court of William III (1689 - 1702), a Guard room and something of a display of England's military power for the dignitaries visiting court. All of them were working firearms and were cleaned annually. Interesting stuff, I'm sure you'll agree.

Living History and a few finds

I was in Peterborough this weekend, when they just happened to be a heritage festival in the cathedral grounds. It was pretty vast and completely free. Plenty of groups had pitched up camp, including good contingents of Romans, Vikings/Saxons, ECW and WWII reenactors. Poorest turnout was the Napoleonics - a pitiful two redcoats, compared to the 30 or so from the Sealed Knot doing ECW, including this gaggle demonstrating their musketry.

While wandering about town I found these in The Works (a UK discount store): two die cast vehicles from the recent Tron movie. I figured a quick repaint and they would make good non-military hover vehicles for 15mm SciFi.

They also had the board game 'Ponte del Diavolo' for £8, which I snapped up. There were a handful of Rio Grande board games and this seemed to be the best of the bunch. It filled a niche in the collection, a two-player area control game with a Venetian theme. We played a few games last night and it seems like a good filler game with quality wooden pieces, at a price you cant argue with, really.

Got some more playtests of Aegeus in the evening too, I'll post my snaps later, looking better already with my Minoans painted up.

History: Exeter Cathedral

With an hour to spare after a shopping trip in Exeter, we went to Exeter Cathedral. Not normally one for religious buildings, I was pleasantly surprised. It had a stunning interior including the largest medieval vaulted ceiling in Europe. It was rich with history, too, having been a religious site since the 7th Century.
The Cathedral also demonstrates the military importance of the local area, with the major port of Plymouth just down the coast. There were numerous memorials, not only from the World Wars. The finest was one for the 9th 'Queen's Royal' Lancers. Not pictured here, but it was a fabulous monument noting their achievements and losses during the Indian Mutiny. Unexpectedly, more men were were lost to 'the climate' than in combat.

The first memorial pictured is to the 20th East Devonshire Regiment. Hanging above are their mid-19th century Colours, which haven't aged well.

Next up, memorial to Lieutenant General John Simcoe, who founded Toronto, apparently. The figure on the right was curious, wearing a toga where the other two are richly (and seemingly accurately) uniformed. The small inscription below notes that his son was killed in the siege of Badajoz while the memorial was being constructed.

Finally, an outdoor shot showing one of the oldest, Norman towers of the Cathedral. All in all some unexpectedly good history to learn. And the shopping? A curious haul of socks, bread and two new board games!


EDIT: The store I got the board games from is well worth a shout-out. Clifton Road Games near Exeter city centre. Lots of board games to browse and a motley collection of miniature gaming ranges and supplies. A friendly staff member was happy to recommend me games based on my somewhat vague parameters. Without that I'd probably have left without a purchase as I wasn't after anything specific. But after just one game of Evo I'm happy with my purchase.

A little bit of history

Living in London means there is an incredible choice of museums, galleries and other attractions to see.

Crossed another off the list today - the small but interesting Household Cavalry museum on Horse Guards Parade.

Much of the museum was detailing the odd blend of ceremonial and active combat duties that the Household Cavalry perform, as well as the daily duties of the Regiment. Apparently on
Ceremonial duties they spend 10 hours cleaning and polishing both their and their horse's kit each day. A really nice touch was passing through part of the stables, most of which is still in use. So you could see some of the horses and squaddies going about their daily business.

Plenty of relics on show too: their Squadron Standard (you can see the Peninsula and Waterloo battle honours in this snap) for the Napoleonic enthusiast there was also a copy(!) of the French Eagle of the 105th that they captured at Waterloo, Uxbridge's false leg after he lost his at Waterloo and plenty of original sabres, helmets and kit. Smaller displays touched on duties quelling the Jacobite rebellion, in South Africa and changes in warfare into the 20th Century, World Wars and present day.

All in all a great little museum at a fair price so well worth a trip.

Illuminated manuscripts - surprisingly interesting

This weekend my Dad wanted to see an exhibition on illuminated manuscripts at the British Library. I was happy to indulge, but couldn't muster much enthusiasm in the subject. Turned out it was a nice surprise - a vast collection on both religious and non-religion texts, delightfully illustrated, from the Royal Collections held at the BL.

The works themselves were nothing without the context around them, which was succinctly presented and integrated into the displays. Plenty detail to the historical backdrop, mostly of the Was of the Roses and 100 Years War. Having studied Henry VIII at least twice in school history lessons, seeing the very Bible the King and Cardinal Wolsey pored over and annotated in their search for the justification for Henry to divorce his wife was pretty darned interesting, actually.

Most of the works were from between 1100-1500 and were real treasures. There were even a book of psalms from the Anglo-Saxon period, and the burned remnants of one work dating from around the year 500. I wonder if these artists realised their work would survive a thousand years later? Not bad for some cured hide, pigment and gold leaf.

Another fine example of just how much history the UK has to offer. Darn, I sound like a tourist-board advert. Highly recommended but I stress I have no affiliation with the BL!

I'd best bring this back to wargaming - the exhibition almost tempted me to grab some miniatures for Wars of the Roses/Medieval skirmish. Perry miniatures just happen to do a couple of boxes at a very reasonable price... Whilst I'd have fun painting them, I would never get a game with them, so I'll leave it as a project I could do as a diorama one day.

Hendon RAF museum

I had a long family Christmas this year and to wrap it up we went to the RAF Museum at Hendon today. One of the advantages of living in London is the wealth of good museums, sites and cultural activities on offer!
The Museum was on a large site and had an impressive collection of aircraft on view, understandably focusing on WWII. It seemed sensibly laid out and there was plenty of detail available for even the most ardent plane buff (I wouldn't claim to be one!)
Highlight was being able to walk through a Short Sunderland, which I learned was a long-range anti-submarine plane. Also, the wrecked Halifax bomber which was recovered from a Norwegian lake after it crashes on its first mission - to sink the Tirpitz. Fascinating stuff and plenty of inspiring stories for any gamer!
To round it off, entry to the museum was free.
Almost make me want to revisit WWII gaming, a project very much on hold at the moment.

News and a pic

So, personal life scuppered painting, let alone gaming in recent months. In a nutshell, I've relocated with work to London for the next couple of years. The change is great, but things got pretty busy, especially as I spent some months working in the city and only being home at weekends.
Anyway I'm in a new flat now and looking to new projects. News on that soon.
London also presents many opportunities for those with historical interests. The first is below - during a relatively aimless wander around tourist London my girlfriend and I stumbled across the Guards museum (and caught some of the Changing of the Guard).
The museum was small but reasonably priced and had some impressive artefacts. One is below - one of the Guards regiments' Colours carried at Waterloo. Awful that I forget which, but there were a few in varying conditions.
I found being in the presence of these humbling, and couldn't resist taking a snap. Among other artefacts for the Napoleonic connoisseur was the lock and some remnants of the gate from Hougoumont. Fascinating.