Clean out that storage space! Swap Meet / Flea Market coming soon at Bastion Gaming 16APR22

        Here is your chance to ditch all of those old projects that are never going to get finished and make a little coin along the way (maybe even start a NEW project the will "certainly take top priority"). Painted, unpainted, still in the box or never even opened; bring it all on down!

 

plenty of room in the Main Gaming Hall

        Bastion Gaming Center is hosting a Swap Meet/ Flea Market on Saturday April 16th from noon until three in the afternoon in the main gaming hall. Sixteen 6'x3' tables are available. All gamers and hobbyists are welcome, tables are free but space is limited so get there early to ensure that you can claim your spot.

Wargames Atlantic 28mm WW2 Italians

       Often considered the "junior partner" among the Axis powers in WW2 the Italian army had a longer battle history and wider experience than the Germans. While Adolph and his gang were Anschlussing a friendly Austria  the Italians had been fighting campaigns in Africa against Ethiopia, finishing the conquest of Libya and meddling in the Spanish Civil War. The Italian army had no lack of bravery, experience of battle or of fighting in wildly different climates. What they did lack was capable commanders and an advanced armaments industry, this led to them becoming less combat effective as the onset of war forced the pace of weapons development.

       This set of minis will allow you to build Italian forces for most of the pre-war conflicts as well and most of the troop types that saw service during the Second World War. The models are cast in the now-familiar soft gray plastic that give very precise detail and exhibits no flash and very few mold lines. Included in the kit are the dizzying array of headgear worn by the Italian army between 1936 and 1943 (some might start before and last longer for all I know), pith helmets, Alpini caps, steel helmets along with an assortment of feathers to mark them as Bersaglieri. Also included are  shovels and axes in a surprisingly large quantity. A particularly nice addition is a water-cooler MMG on the smaller command sprue, complete with tripod and arms with hands holding the grips, nicely thought through and parted-out.

 

the front of the box 

Wargames Atlantic 28mm Panzer Lehr

        Among the many units in the German army that laid claim to the status of "elite" few had a better claim than Panzer Lehr. Composed of veteran  (and very often decorated) soldiers drawn from German forces these troops were first assembled into a school unit but ended up being thrown into the maelstrom of combat that was the Normandy Campaign. Almost destroyed there they were withdrawn only to be used in the ill-fated Ardennes Campaign known to the Western Allies as The Battle of the Bulge. A distinctive part of their dress was the panzer-style crossover jacket rather than the usual infantry blouse. This set is molded in the now-standard soft gray plastic that provides a smooth finish and displays detail very well, no flash and very little by way of mold lines ca be seen. 

          Included in this set is the full array of Late War German infantry small arms; rifles, pistols, SMGs  and the ever present MG42. You get a bit of anti-tank ability with the included Panzerfausts and there is even enough spare parts to assemble these models as Panzer crews (seen fighting on foot at the Battle of Arnhem). There is even a jerry-can!

        The proportions and posing are natural and effective and the modeling of the uniform captures the comfortable loose fit of the German gear. Molding of the weapons is precise and crisply detailed,

 

the box cover

Time for a mental re-set; Playing around with the AD1813 project

       I traded some built-up aircraft to my buddy Rich for some painted Prussian Landwher, he hates building models, I am no longer fond of painting minis so it was a win-win for both of us. Frankly I think that I came out way ahead on the deal but he won't let me give any further payment. To celebrate the fact that I am now overstaffed I thought that I might take them all out for a review. Now it occurs to me that I need a bigger table!

 

I also need to make a bunch more sabot-bases 

 

      The collection is a smorgasbord of manufacturers; the Line troops come from Perry Brothers, the Reserves from Wargames Atlantic, the Landwher are from Warlord while the guns and cavalry are from Old Glory 25s. Despite their different origins they all work together rather well.

Ooops, I did it again (again) Another KI-10 joins the fleet

 

the cover illustration is rather nice

        I had sworn to myself that I was done with the Japanese Army Air Force but I spotted this kit at a ridiculously reasonable price (and justified the purchase by thinking that it lowered the overall per unit cost - do I sound like a DoD representative now?). My second thought was that it is a much newer kit and would be less bother to assemble. I was very badly wrong. The kit presented issues that were different, but overall it was every bit as much a bother to get ready for use.

One Last Mountain to climb, the Kawasaki KI-10 squadron UPDATED!

 

 

dating back to 1994 these are hardly "latest releases"

 

       Having hunted through the expanse of the internet to find a few of these kits at a reasonable price (which I am not about to state in case my wife reads this) I have finally collected enough of these to start a build. The fact that these are short-run kit means that I will be facing a lot of fitting, filling and sanding, but they are the last three aircraft I need to complete the Japanese for my Far East air combat game so I will just have to "power through" to the end. Wish me luck!

Wargames Atlantic 28mm Great War French Infantry Multi-part figures

       At last we have an opponent for the Great War German infantry, and by extension, any Second World War Germans you might have lying about. This versatile set covers French infantry from the switch to the "Horizon Blue" uniform in the middle of the Great War through to the end of Vichy France. The models are cast in a soft (not bendy, just not brittle) gray plastic that takes detail very well and exhibits no flash and nearly no mold lines. 

       Aside from the officer figure all of the models all wear the knee-length overcoat that was the trademark of the French army in this period. They also are cast with belting in place to support "light kit" or they can have the optional backpack added. As is usual with Wargames Atlantic kits there is a considerable assortment of head options; Adrian helmet, helmet with gas mask (both early and late versions), and the unique Sengalese Tirailleurs with their cloth caps. Officers in kepis are also a choice. 

       Being spread across two world wars means that there will be a substantial variation in weapons and this is accurately reflected in the array provided. Both Lebel and Berthier rifles are included as are the later rifles for the Second World War. The notorious Chauchatt LMG is included as is its replacement the FM 24/29. Having owned all but the FM 24/29 I can attest that the precisely cast weapons capture the look and detail of the original guns. These guns are molded into at least one of the arms carrying them (no fiddling around trying to hold two loose arms and a tiny model gun while gluing things together!) and you will have loads of spares once you are finished assembling these figures

       Having seen these I can hardly wait for the upcoming Russians and British sets (maybe, just maybe, if we all write-in requests we could add Austrian and Italian troops to the Great War ensemble)

 

 the front of the box

Imperial Japanese army and naval air forces in 1/72nd scale

 

lacking only the three KI-10 Perrys 

       After a couple of very busy weeks I managed to get all of my "in progress" Japanese aircraft finished. This will provide me with pretty much all I need for my Nomonhan campaign as well as the forces for the Second Sino-Japanese War. I have the Russians lined up for my next building effort but I still need to get a couple of Polikarpov R-5 or R-Z bombers and a PO-2. For the Chinese I have a few kits in hand but they had such a complex assortment of aircraft in service that it may take a while to get them collected and assembled. Once the Russians are done I might just jump over to the Finnish Air Force (I have several kits already built and others in the queue) as the Finns and the Russians had a bit of a go-round in 1939.

 

the Army Air Force

furthest from the camera three KI-15 Babs recon/light bombers

off to the left in the crazy camo scheme a KI-36 Ida

second row three KI-51 Sonias 

third row theeKI-27 Nate

and closest to the camera on the left a KI-30 Ann and then a KI-32 Mary

 

the Imperial Naval Air Force

five A5M2 Claudes

two Type 99 Vals and a stray A6M2 Zero

Convention Update: Battlefields by Pro or Con 12MAR22

        Just a reminder that the Pro or Con Gaming group  will be hosting their annual wargaming convention "Battlefields" on the twelfth of March in the Livonia Elk's Lodge, 31117 Plymouth Rd, Livonia, MI 48150, USA . 

       There is a bar and food available at the Lodge as well as many restaurants nearby. I-94 Enterprises, Bastion Gaming Center and Michigan Toy Soldier will be attending merchants. There is also the usual Bring and Buy so you can sell your excess figures and then buy someone else's minis!

       This has been a great local convention and isn't one to miss so make plans to attend. Further information can be found at Tabletop Events where you can sign up to run a game or participate in a game and take a look at their Facebook page to see what sort of fun they have been having lately.

Spatsapalooza! The Japanese Army and Navy Air Forces, China 1937

 

all but one proudly wearing spats!

        Having gotten tired of the slow progress on my Air Combat forces I decided that the "modelling" approach that I had been using (building whatever took my fancy at the time) simply wasn't getting the job done. I decided to complete one entire force all in one go; first up the forces of Imperial Japan. These aren't quite done as I do need to build three KI-10 fighters, but the monoplanes are built, painted and decaled; they only need matte coating and canopies to be complete.

      Next is the rest of the Russians and I can have a go at a really big battle over Nomohan with my Red Stars and Rising Suns rules!

Warlord Epic Scale Waterloo French a photo review

       This month's edition of Wargames Illustrated featured a sprue of Warlord's new "Epic Scale" (known in other terms as 15mm) Napoleonic infantry. I managed to convince the good folks at Michigan Toy Soldier to give me an extra copy of the sprues so that I could review both. You can find the British review here, and a look at the associated mounted troops here. The minis are cast in a dark blue plastic that is standard hard styrene which holds detail very well. I would have preferred gray plastic but this allows enthusiastic beginners to play the army right out of the box.

       The eight stands of infantry are accompanied by eight skirmishing infantry, a mounted officer and an artillery piece.The groups of soldiers are cast joined at the elbows (as period drill regulations would have them) with their rifles at shoulder arms while the skirmishing infantry are modeled in active poses of firing and loading their guns The figures are cleanly cast with no flash and only the slightest hint of mold lines. The level of detail on the figures is very good, more detailed than many of the metal miniatures that I have seen. They are slightly larger than my old Minifig 15s so they ought to mix well with the new larger figures that fill the market but I would hesitate to try mixing them with the 18mm subjects that some companies produce.

 

the front of the sprue

Hero Nation

 

"The fight is here.I don't need a ride, I need ammo" 

    Donations can be arranged through their Embassy or one of the Consulates. 

Information regarding joining the Ukrainian Foreign Legion is available though them as well.