Finished!: 15mm Morris Commercial CDSW Light Breakdown Truck (conversion)

Hi Folks,

Another AHPC entry for this week. This time a quick conversion I launched into having had a spare Morris Bofors Tractor (BR279) from Battlefront. I discovered that there was a 'wrecker' truck version of this vehicle and that this type of equipment would have been used by the Light Aid Detachments attached to individual Battalions in a Division. So the plan is to make myself a small unit to represent these chaps. Not much use in a standard game, but it's the type of thing we would find a use for in our big battles at the club.

Note, for those that saw this on the AHPC blog, I've finished a few details on this since I posted on Tuesday. Mainly the correct markings now for a REME unit, a little light weathering and the usual base gubbins I put on to make it look like it might be parked up against a hedge 'somewhere in Normandy'.

The conversion part included adding a paperclip wire frame for the cab roof along with a cut down 'stowage' tarp . I also reworked the rear of the vehicle, cutting off some of the boxes at the rear and building up the sides a little. I built the jib on the back out of plastic rod I had, and added a spare wheel and some jerry cans from the bits box (different size than the others, but it will do as a generic spare). I could have got a bit heavier with the stowage I think, but decided to keep it pretty simple - there is a covered area which is no doubt jam packed with the crew's 'stuff'.

For crew, I went with the driver that came with the kit and a spare passenger from the bits box. I specifically selected a passenger that was holding a rifle, as I wanted to highlight that while this was not a front line unit, the job was still dangerous!

This entry for the challenge got a lot of positive comments - it seems military recovery trucks are cool!

4Ground 15mm Church and buildings, plus random Lancaster!

Hi folks,

I had intended this week to get on with some actual 15mm models but found myself at a loose end and making a start on my 15mm 4Ground Parish Church. For those of you not familiar with this model here's what it's supposed to look like:

Picture not mine - taken from the 4ground website and used without permission for reference purposes!

One of the reasons it took me so long to decide to get this model is that it's not quite what I was looking for to suit my Normandy theme. The main issue had been the nature of the damage (far too clean looking, no rubble and the back end of the main building just missing) and the tower (both the massive hole in the tower and the fact it was not a steeple - which seems to be more common in Normandy).

Having done some work on the normal 4Ground ruined buildings, I thought I could remedy the 'clean' issue, and I had some ideas with what I could do with the tower. My original plan was to take the top off and have the remains of a steeple 'crashed' down on the ground.

So, I started building the model, and when I got to the tower I bravely (read - not so bravely) started hacking up this expensive birthday gift from my wife... This is what I ended up with. Ignore the (very) dirty paint water!

Along the way, the cunning plan had changed. I decided that making the fallen steeple would be a tad difficult, and that the nature of the hole in the tower would probably have meant the upper layers would have 'slid' down the building.

I assembled the tower as per the instructions using a small amount of PVA and blue tack. I then marked out the shapes I needed to cut. I then took the sections I needed to cut apart again. I used a fine tooth saw to cut the parts before gluing the whole thing together again.

At the base of the tower, I got my clippers, the remains of the sprues and a load of glue, and set to work.

Gradually the look I was aiming for took shape:

Until I eventually had the type of damage and rubble I was looking for:

I've still a bit of work to do on this - I can seem some areas that will need painting and the likes - mainly to tie the colours together in the rubble and the rest of the building to my other buildings. But I'm pretty pleased. The tower could be a bit better, but I think at first glance it resembles a collapsed steeple. The rubble pile at the base of the tower could possibly do with being a bit bigger, but really it works as is. Once I get some paint on I'll see how I feel as to whether it needs expanding. As ever guys, your input is sought. I think when you spend a lot of time thinking and working on something you can lose a bit of perspective!

As you can see from the final picture above, the rubble piles are wherever possible removable - for transport and model deployment reasons. The damage to the tower is fixed in place, although the tower itself still splits down into multiple levels.

Having taken a whack at the church, I moved onto the other two ruined 4ground buildings I've had on the shelf since the last bit of work. I did take a few more pictures as I went with the first one, so hopefully this will be a useful insight into what I'm doing.

Starting with the built model, I use clipped off building sprue to make the base. In this case, I should probably have gone for multiple sections rather than one big one.

Things to watch for here:

1) that the thing your adding on (assuming you want it to be removable) is not glued to the model.
2) that you think about how your adding sections. In this case, this additional area actually has to 'slide' into place rather than being lifted up or down.
3) try to have a think about where the rubble would have fallen
4) do you need to 'replace' any missing sections of the building. In this case, a wall is missing which I've added back in.

Once the base is assembled, I use bits of sprue glued down with superglue to hold all the bits together. Just watch for warping, which I encountered slightly here.

Then, I start layering up the depth I want. Initially this is done with offcuts. I try to think how the rubble will sit. I also added some height to this one by adding a remaining corner.

For floor areas, I start by laying a piece of sprue down that fits the area. I then start layering up the beams and areas that will have rubble. You can see this a bit better below. If you plan on making this removable, just be careful with the glue. From time to time make sure that you can still take everything apart and that it all fits together again as well. Again, I'm thinking about the look of the whole thing, and how a 'naturally' ruined building would look.

Next up, I start adding more depth. I've been using cork chip for this. You can see the bags in some of the pictures. The bigger bits I use for the base layer. PVA works but is slow to dry. Superglue also works, but you need to be quick.

For a lot of this, I coated the area I wanted to cover in thick superglue then just poured over the cork 'rubble'. Leave it to dry, shake off the loose stuff and do it again till you have the depth you want.

As you can see, all removable!

Once I've gotten the basic shape down, I add clipped up bits of sprue to lay on top of the rubble and look like beams, wall sections and bits of roof.

I then take the quite fine (brick like?) cork chips and apply using PVA as the base. I literally just dab PVA onto the areas I want to have the finer rubble and then shake the chips onto the model. This is normally done in a tub, so the chips can be reused if they don't stick.

This building needs a little more work - one of the things I did this morning was just build up the wall between the rubble piles a little so that it makes sense height wise. It also helped blend the colours in.

The last building is still a work in progress. I was a bit stuck with this one as the base model is one I have already 'ruined' so I had to do it differently. This time I built up the missing walls to use as a frame work, and just added a lot of rubble and a collapsed floor:

I'm not planning to build the rubble up any higher, just to detail it with beams and fine cork, and make sure lots of roof looks to have fallen onto the upper level and the rubble pile! Fingers crossed it works out.

So, I'm getting close to having this batch finished - I need to order more materials before starting the next lot. Those with be the buildings I purchased from Lee, which all need the same treatment for their damaged sections.

The sad cost of Liberation:

In an odd twist, I was drawn to the window on Friday night due to an altercation in my (otherwise very quiet) street. Some sort of road rage related incident was happening. While watching events, aero engines could be heard, and from behind the neighbours roof comes a Lancaster at pretty low level!

I had a proper split second of thinking 'that Hercules is Looooooh my god' before shouting 'it's a Bloody Lancaster!!!' (I may have disturbed the altercation by shouting 'It's a  Bloody Lancaster!!!' as the living room windows were open)

I scrambled to get my phone camera up and managed to get some shots as the aircraft flew away:

My wife was suitably mortified... apparently people would know I was watching the argument and think I was taking pictures of them. I couldn't care less, I saw THE only current flying Lanc from my own window!

The pictures don't do justice as to how low it was - it seemed like only a couple of hundred feet. it was heading from our left to right, but towards us as well, if that makes sense. I think it had been taking part in the airshow at Sunderland.

A little while later, something small and fast with a single prop engine went over in the opposite direction, but high and at a distance so I couldn't tell the type. I'd like to think it was a Hurri or Spit!

Exciting times! (Oh, and Police arrived a short while later. I think it was an argument over right of way and some bashed wing mirrors, resulting in someones face getting bashed and someone else being arrested. The assaulted mans daughter ran out with no trousers on and had to be bodily carried back inside by her husband... But the Lanc was much more interesting!)

Black Powder Battle Report - The 3rd Battle of El Teb

Hi Folks,

I had the pleasure this weekend of attending a Sunday Gaming day with 'The Old Guard Wargames Club' just outside Northallerton. We had a day of gaming (with a short visit to the pub for lunch), and much of the day was spent playing a 28mm game of Black Powder using Dave D's impressive collection of Sudanese figures.

We were playing on a 12' by 6' table, and the scenario was from the Black Powder rule book. Notice the village at the very very very far away end of the table.

Other reporters have gotten their 'stories to the papers' first. Check out Dave's report here, and Martin's here. Excuse the tongue in cheek report!

I had volunteered in advance to command the British 2nd Brigade. This comprised of:

- A Battalion of the Black Watch
- A Battalion of Royal Marines Light Infantry
- A Battalion of the Yorkshire and Lancaster Regiment
- A detachment of sailors with two 'machine guns' (and a small skirmish base once deployed)
- A Royal Artillery Howitzer

I was fighting alongside Martin, with his 1st Brigade:

- A Battalion of the Kings Royal Rifle Corps
- A Battalion of The Gordon Highlanders
- A Battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers
- A Royal Artillery Howitzer

And John with his Cavalry Brigade:

- 10th Hussars
- 19th Hussars
- Mounted Infantry
- Abyssinian Mounted Scouts

Some pics of the arrayed force:

And my own forces....

My Brigade - front left is the artillery gun on the back of the camel (limbered), on the right of that the Black Watch with the RMLI to their right and the two naval 'machine guns'. Behind them the Y&L's and some correspondents.

Our mission was to capture the village ahead within 8 turns. This seemed like a tough order, given the size of the table (and this was reinforced by the first few turns being less than stellar). Our 'emergency' path to victory was discussed before the game and quickly became 'Plan B' (AKA 'lets just smash the F*ck out of their army and win that way').

The Mahdist forces were split in two, with one large 'brigade' of 10 or so infantry units and two guns, while the cavalry 'brigade' consisted of two horse cavalry units and two camel skirmish units. These were deployed after ours, with a lot of the units in 'reserve' off table. 

Our forces had a limited deployment area as we were arriving in column. We squeezed as much in as we could. The plan was for my brigade to go up the centre, martins on my right with 3 Battalions and a gun to advance up my right (clearing the terrain there as he went) and the Cavalry under John to scout terrain and cover my left.

We immediately realised that the Mahdist forces would likely try to hold the ridge line and the wadi to our front, but knowing the enemy to be sneaky beggars, we were expecting ambushes from other terrain. We were also planning to get our artillery forward to a position to be able to hit the ridge line.

So, with the bold Black Watch leading the way, the attack stepped off.

Initial movement was slow, with several units failing command checks. We didn't know at this point that units in column get to move once without any checks.I moved forward quickly, while Martin on my right deployed troops to check out the wadi there. The Cavalry advances to keep pace except for the mounted infantry, who were to hang back - they were a small unit and losing both small units could cost us the brigade. However, they kept failing command checks and I think it was turn 3 or 4 before they moved!

Mahdist troops appeared on the expected ridge line, with two cannon and several infantry units. Skirmished appeared in the wadi to the front and left. Mahdist artillery at long range proved very (too?) adept and put a hit on the Black Watch causing them to fall into a state of disorder (I think the rum ration may have been hit...). The skirmishers on the left also hit the leading cavalry unit and put them into disorder. This is where things started to go wrong...

2nd turn, the Rifle Brigade troops on the right decided to blunder, and rather than clearing the wadi they moved sideways - into my columns. This caused further disruption to the advance, and meant the right hand brigade was only advancing on the Generals command check (Roy was the supreme commander).

The RMLI deployed into line to advance on the skirmishers ahead, and the machine guns moved up and unlimbered with the skirmishers covering the flank (towards the wadi). 1st brigade did move forward to support. The cavalry stopped to water the horses, it was time for Gin, or something...

Fire was opened on the skirmishers ahead, with the machine guns being pretty underwhelming!

On the 3rd turn, the Black Watch got shifting and moved out to the left to tackle the skirmishers there. 1st Brigade moved up on the right and deployed into line beside the RMLI. Our guns began to hit back at the Mahdist artillery, deploying into firing positions. The cavalry were now having tea with little cakes...

While the Ethiopian scouts were forward with the leading troops and actually engaging the enemy with small arms!

But little did we know what was coming!

Fire from our units at the fore destroyed the Mhadist unit in the forest while the Black Watch disordered the skirmishers on my left with close range fire.

 
However, Mahdist turn 3 saw the rest of their army turn up - mainly in the rough ground ahead of the Black Watch. Time to fix bayonets lads! Lots of fanatic spear armed units suddenly appeared in the undergrowth...

Thankfully, none could charge straight away due to distance and terrain. But there was now a veritable horde in front of the lone Black Watch battalion.

On the right flank (a sideshow compared to the main battle...!) a mass of Mahdist cavalry advanced, lead by skirmishers on camels.

Thankfully in the British turn 4, the British cavalry finished their tea party and decided to help out the Black Watch. A solid cavalry charge by the 19th Hussars destroyed one enemy unit, while the Black Watch fired on those to their front and disordered them (unable to move or charge next turn).

White rings on units represent casualties and red rings disorder.

The other units in my brigade hurriedly shifted to the left to support the Black Watch, while the Machine Guns lost one gun to artillery fire.  The 1st Brigade (Martins) on the right put fire into the camel skirmishers to their front, putting both units into disorder and (we decided) effectively blocked a charge route for the mass of cavalry behind. This was to be a recurring theme, with a traffic jam developing on that flank.

With a little more help on the left, I felt a little more secure - and Plan B (Kill them all!) was now in force, so it was useful that the Mahdists had come to us! Johns Cavalry charged another Mahdist unit and both groups took a beating, with the cavalry winning the fight but deciding to fall back having become shaken.

The combat which resulted in the British Hussars winning, but returning to their own lines to regroup!

In the Mahdist turn 4, yet more troops arrive! Those across the wadi surprised us by leaving their positions to charge forward into the centre and developing fight on the left flank, while the fight on the right hots up. My sailors with their Machine Guns moved up to support the 1st Brigade line, but the gun jammed...

The Royal Marines moving up to support the Black Watch but receive a charge from Mahdist units across the wadi, which they manage to beat off against the odds - becoming shaken from casualties in the process.

Turn 5 saw poor command rolls from me, and not much movement. The cavalry held the line, with the plan to charge any incoming charge and allowing the Black Watch to concentrate on firing at the units to their front.

The Mahdist turn 5 saw more charges hit the British line. The under pressure Royal Marines, the Black Watch, the Sailors with their jammed Machine Gun and the Y&L's all take a charge, with the Y&L's being charged in the flank. This ended badly, with the unit being forced to retire in disorder. The RMLI drew their combat but found themselves surrounded. Things were looking bleak. The Black Watch gave the incoming charge a volley and I think it failed to connect. The Machine Gun managed to draw the combat - unwilling to give up the gun! The Mahdist cavalry moved around the stalled skirmishers and charged the Gordons - suffering a volley in the way in and then ranks of Scots with bayonets fixed! The Cavalry broke and fled.

But the poor RMLI...

In the British turn, the ongoing combats with the Royal Marines and the Machine Gun ended in disaster. The Royal Marines fell to the blades of the Mahdists, as did the gun crew. One unit of the  skirmishing camels on the right flank finally had enough of the sustained volleys of rifle fire and fled, reducing the 'brigade' to half strength.

On the other flank, the Black Watch put in a charge which destroyed one Mahdist unit and wheeled onto the flank of the two others (already threatened by the cavalry). Behind them the guns and Y&L put fire into the Mahdist units that smashed the RMLI... Things still looked up in the air with Mhadists broken through in the centre, even with their cavalry gone... but the loss inflicted by the Black Watch also meant that the main Mahdist 'brigade' was also at half strength and the Mahdist forces were broken!

So that's it! A great looking game, Dave's collection is impressive and the table looked fantastic. Great atmosphere all round and we made good progress. Afterwards, I got a quick game of Battlegroup with Stu, just giving him an example of play:

Lots of burning tanks (and an abandoned Tiger!). The Germans lost this quite heavily, but were out pointed! They would have lost a lot sooner had we been drawing morale chits.

Thanks to the guys for the games!