Partizan Loot!!!

After taking all the photos of Partizan, I didn't get much time to spend my hard earned dosh, but I gave it a bloody good go!

Above you can see, some wagons and loads from Warbases, some Bolt Action dice that I picked up from the Market, Draft horses from Iron Gate Studios and couple of tents and horses again from the market and finally a set of counters for Sharp Practice that Rich Clarke gave me and Lee for free!!!!

Some 10/15mm trees from the Tree Fella

Some walled/hedged fields or enclosures, again from the Tree Fella

Magnetic bases and sheets from Coritani, I wish I'd magnetized my Retreat from Moscow figures beforehand, but I'll be sticking these under there bases and I'll no doubt heed a million more!

Finally and my first purchase of the day. Musket and Tomahawks and the supplement Shako's & Bayonets, just incase me and Lee totally break Sharp Practice??

Well that's my selection of loot, for Partizan this May.

Salute Loot 2026 & Blogger Meet up

 

For a change, when I rummaged through my bags of loot I picked up at this years Salute, I was very surprised at how much there was!! (That never usually happens???)

So firstly was my Salute Goody bag, the Saladin figure, some Dwarf figures, some very handy magnetic bases from Warmag and another base, I've not really delved into what it is yet?

And in no particular order...

From Products For Wargamers, two large ponds, a small pond and some counters.

All of these will be snowified, for the Retreat from Moscow and the Winter War.

A mix of figures for Jason and the Argonauts, from Wargames Foundry, Crooked Dice and Fenris. From Warlord, some Bolt Action dice, (£18 for dice!!, my heart bleeds!) and artillery markers and some free Konflikt 49 sprues. Paints from Sheppey Models and 15mm Ottoman tents form Debris of War.

The Campaign Book, Chronicles of Midgard

I've got the rules already and am seriously thinking about buying 2 armies to paint up!

Hmm???

Stream/River sections from The Last Valley and a few bridges, once again these will snowified!

And finally I picked up a pre-order of some magnetic bases from Warbases and a strip of  Green Stuff!!

So this lot should keep me bust for the foreseeable future, especially if you add all the other stuff I have in my leadpile.

And lastly a rather small Blogger Meet up was held at 1 o'clock, which was a shame, but thanks to all the guys who made it.

Matt, Andy, Carl, Lee, Postie, Steve, Mike, me and Reject Dave

See you all at Salute 54!!!!

AHPC 16 - Russo - Finnish Winter War 1939-40 Finnish Heavy weapons

Time to sneak in my second post of the day. More Finns, this time its their Heavy Machine Guns and AT Gun and a Mortar. All figures are once again from Parkfield Miniatures and bases from Warbases. I had a big issue with yellow snow on these, can't work out why though???

I undercoated the mdf bases all over painted them white a few times and varnished them, they still seem to be leeching....groan!

The Lahti-Saloranta M/26 was the standard Finnish light machine gun adopted in the mid-1920s and designed by Aimo Lahti and Arvo Saloranta to provide mobile automatic fire at the squad level. Chambered in 7.62×54mmR and fed from a 20-round detachable box magazine, the air-cooled, gas-operated M/26 weighed about 9 kg and had a relatively high rate of fire of roughly 500–600 rounds per minute.

 It was well made and accurate, reflecting Finland’s emphasis on quality manufacturing, but its tight tolerances and complex mechanism made it sensitive to dirt, snow, and extreme cold, reducing reliability in harsh field conditions. Soldiers often criticized the small magazine capacity and the weapon’s tendency to jam compared to more rugged designs, leading many units to prefer captured Soviet DP-28 “Emma” machine guns during wartime. Although it served throughout the Winter War and Continuation War and remained Finland’s official light machine gun for years, the M/26 never fully earned the confidence of frontline troops and was gradually supplemented and replaced by more dependable alternatives.

During World War II, the Finnish Army made extensive and increasingly widespread use of captured Soviet 7.62×54mmR DP-28 light machine guns, nicknamed “Emma,” (which is my wife's name hence the gas operated,  and no she won't be reading this!) finding them more dependable in Finland’s severe cold, snow, and muddy conditions than their domestically produced LS-26. The DP-28’s rugged, loose-tolerance, gas-operated design resisted jamming and fouling better than the more finely machined Finnish weapon, making it especially valued by frontline troops. 

Weighing about 9.1 kg unloaded, it fired from a distinctive 47-round top-mounted pan magazine—earning the additional nickname “record player”—at a rate of roughly 550 rounds per minute, providing steady and effective suppressive fire at the squad level. Its use of the same cartridge as Mosin-Nagant rifles and Maxim machine guns greatly simplified logistics and ammunition supply, further increasing its practicality. Captured guns were inspected, refurbished, and stamped with Finnish “SA” (Suomen Armeija) markings before issue. By the end of the Continuation War, more than 15,000 DP-28 and later DPM variants were in Finnish inventory, outnumbering native LS-26s and becoming one of the most common and trusted light machine guns in Finnish service.

The Maxim M/09-21 was the standard heavy machine gun of the Finnish Army between the World Wars and throughout World War II, developed from captured and inherited Russian Maxim M1910 guns that Finland acquired after independence. 

Reworked domestically during the 1920s, the M/09-21 featured improvements such as a redesigned rear sight graduated for Finnish ammunition, a strengthened mount, and compatibility with locally produced 7.62×54mmR cartridges, allowing it to integrate smoothly with the army’s existing logistics. Like other Maxim variants, it was a water-cooled, recoil-operated weapon capable of sustained automatic fire, typically fed by 250-round fabric belts and capable of a rate of fire around 500–600 rounds per minute.

 Though heavy and usually mounted on a wheeled or tripod mount for defensive and support roles, the gun was extremely reliable and well suited to Finland’s harsh winter conditions, where its water jacket could even be filled with snow in emergencies. Rugged, accurate, and capable of prolonged fire, the M/09-21 served as the backbone of Finnish heavy machine gun units and remained in frontline use throughout the Winter War and Continuation War.

The Lahti L-39 was a Finnish anti-tank rifle developed by Aimo Lahti in the late 1930s to provide infantry with a portable weapon capable of defeating light armoured vehicles and fortified positions during the Winter War and Continuation War. Chambered for the powerful 20×138mmB “Long Solothurn” cartridge, the gas-operated, semi-automatic rifle was exceptionally large and heavy—earning the nickname “Norsupyssy” (“elephant gun”)—weighing around 50 kg with its bipod and often requiring a two-man crew to transport and operate. 

Fed from a 10-round detachable box magazine, it delivered strong armour penetration against early-war Soviet tanks, armoured cars, and bunkers, and was also highly effective against machine gun nests and other hard targets due to its high-explosive and armour-piercing ammunition. Although it became less effective as enemy armour improved, the L-39 remained valued for its accuracy, long range, and versatility, and it continued in service throughout the war in both anti-armour and heavy support roles.

During the Winter War, the Finnish Army employed the 50 mm light mortar, most notably the 50 Krh/38, as a compact and highly portable infantry support weapon designed to provide close-range indirect fire to small units. Based on a Finnish design by Tampella, the mortar was lightweight and simple, allowing a single soldier to carry and operate it, which suited Finland’s forested terrain and fast-moving ski troops. It fired small high-explosive and smoke rounds to ranges of roughly 800 meters, enabling squads to engage enemy troops behind cover, suppress machine gun nests, or screen movements with smoke. However, its limited explosive power and relatively short range reduced its effectiveness against entrenched positions, and ammunition capacity was modest. While useful for harassment and close support during the early phases of the war, many Finnish soldiers considered the 50 mm mortar underpowered compared to larger 81 mm mortars, and its role gradually diminished as heavier and more effective systems became available.

So there we have it, I'm a bit confused about the points, there are 5 figures either kneeling or sitting and 9 laying down, so I'd make that worth 47.5 plus all the crew serving weapons, 5 machine guns and a mortar, I think I'll leave these for you Dave?

Retreat From Moscow - Colonel Marbot's Sledges - 23rd/24th Chasseurs a Cheval.

Back in late March this year I posted my last entry in the Painting Challenge, here,

 which just so happened to be a very nice looking sledge driven by remnants 

of the 23rd/24th Chasseurs a Cheval.

Its taken an age but I've finally completed the unit and made and painted the other 3 sledges.

The delays firstly was the Perry's fault as one of the Sledges was out of stock for quite some time.

And then it was me, trying to find the time!

I must admit, I'm quite chuffed with the results.

"During the Retreat from Moscow, Colonel Marbot seeing that

his regiment, the 23rd Chasseurs a Cheval, was falling apart,

decided to dismount them, use their remaining horses to pull two-man peasant

sledges easily found in local villages. The 23rd formed up with the

24th Chasseurs a Cheval to create a sledge born brigade. At night

these formed squares which were frequently used by Marshal Ney and General

Maison for shelter. Each man was ordered to have two muskets to enable them to

resist attacks with ‘the liveliest musketry"

from Perry Miniatures website.

https://www.perry-miniatures.com/product/fn-177-marbots-two-man-sledge-galloping-retreat-from-moscow-1812/

I asked Martin from Warbases to make me some special sized pill shaped bases, to match in with the pill bases me and Lee used for our cavalry bases.

Each sledge comes with 4 heads, so can swap them over and make each look a little different.

It was guess work putting them together, until I found this page on TMP. 

Which shows how they're supposed to be built. My first Sledge looks nothing like this, as I hadn't a clue how to put it together!

So there we go an 8 man team of 4 Sledges to hold off those damn Cossacks!!!

Retreat From Moscow - Deployment Markers or Command Stands

 

As if I haven't got enough to paint already??

Me and Lee are planning to use Sharpe Practice for our Retreat from Moscow shenanigans

We spoke about the Deployment Markers used in the rules, I had a few spare figures and said about using some of those instead of a counter as per the rules?

Lets just say I got a tad carried away and only used 2 of the spares I had and bought another 2 packs of Perry's to make them both.......

The standard bearer is one of the spares, he's from the plastic Guard figures from Victrix.

I must say, I'm pleased with how they both came out.

Lee hasn't posted any photo's on his blog of the 2 stands he made, he posted a video on You Tube BELOW, instead. Its only after I finished mine when I looked back to Lee's and realised he only painted 3 figures per base, Damn!!!!

I've gone for the full effect....5 figures per base!!!

We both bought our flags from Andy at Grubby Tanks

The spare I had for this base, is once again the standard bearer, but this time he's a Front Rank figure.

The figures are a mix of Perry's from packs, FN51 Support Staff and FN53 Hangers On High Ranking Officers, while the bases are from Warbases.

Which way, should we go?

Unfortunately most figures on the bases have no thick coats of scarves to keep them warm, but hey, they're the best of the best in French elitism, they're making the decisions, so they don't need to keep warm??? Do they??

So what are they Deployment Markers or Command Stands?