Gaming Update, 1MAY21 1900hrs

 We will be gaming at my place this Saturday May 1st, 2021AD at 7pm.

Rumor is that The Housemartin will be rejoining us after his long hiatus.

Photo Survey, Tellico Blockhouse, Tennessee

 

a look at the blockhouse from our friends at Google Earth

the left half is the original military fort, 

the right half is the rather ramshackle civilian trading post that grew next to the blockhouse

       Built in 1794 to "protect" the Cherokee from encroaching settlers the Blockhouse served as the official liaison point between the United States Government and the Overhill Cherokee people. The Blockhouse stayed in service from 1794 until 1807. Today it is surrounded by water from a TVA dam built in the 1930's it originally was near the top of a large ridge. Several significant treaties were signed between the Cherokee and the U.S. government and the Blount Conspiracy was initially exposed there as well. You can find further information on this Wiki post and on the State Park's website.

Wargames Atlantic Lizardmen in 28mm

        Another addition from the seemingly tireless crew at Wargames Atlantic these Lizardmen are perhaps the most versatile so far. Usable either in High Fantasy, Victorian Science Fiction,  Post-Apocalyptic or Regular Science Fiction this box is bursting with options. Cast in a firm gray plastic they are flash-free and nearly devoid of mold lines. The detail is crisp and carefully rendered with fourteen heads and a choice of weapons ranging from swords and spear through to modern-looking assault rifles on each of the eight sprues. At less than two dollars a figure these are a must-have for anyone building an army of the lizard persuasion. I got my set from Michigan Toy Soldier who would be happy to sell them to you in person or by mail-order.

  

cover art

1/72 Curtiss Goshawk II by Monogram

        Yet another addition to my collection of aircraft with spats this one also falls into the "Yellow Wings" sub category. There was a period of about fifteen years when a desire to be the most garish air force on the planet overcame the U.S. high command. Flying surfaces were painted a bright yellow-gold and many tailplanes were painted to match ot decorated in even louder colors. This all ended when we joined the party of the Second World War but it certainly makes for some fancy-looking models. 

       One of the last U.S. carrier biplane fighters the Curtiss Goshawk II was the culmination of a long line of Curtiss biplanes that served the armed forces. It never saw combat under U.S. colors but a number saw combat under Colombian colors and fifty-two fought for the Chinese against the Japanese in the early years of the Sino-Japanese War. A detailed Wiki can be found here.

 

the hazards of Ebay, it looked OK in the cellophane

 but upon arrival I found that it had gotten wet and moldy

And There Goes Flintcon!

Thanks to the Decrees of the Madwoman of Lansing we won't be enjoying Flintcon this year:

 

 

Rodney Cain <flintgameconvention@gmail.com>

To:anton ryzbak

Wed, Apr 21 at 9:26 PM

We had to call it off again, the restrictions do not look like they will be lifted in time so I had to call it off.

We will try again for next year in February.

Hat Industrie 20mm 1/72 scale Austrian Infantry; Marching, In Action and Command

     Finally someone has done Austrians in my favorite uniform, the 1798 regulation with the classically inspired helmet. As with several of their recent releases HaT has provided a box of Command, a box of soldiers marching, a box of soldiers "in action" and then a sampler set with one sprue of each type in it.

         The sampler pack is a great way to get the figures and be sure that they are compatible with your other models plus it gives you a good look at what to expect from each box. All four sets are cast in a firm but still flexible yellow plastic that reflects the detail very well. There is a small amount of flash on some of the figures that will need cleaning with a fresh razor-knife.

        All of these sets are cast in the same type of plastic and have an equal level of detail (which is very good), style and anatomical accuracy so my comments apply equally across the range.

 

the usual above-average artwork

 

Not Dead Yet!

 

the Nylian fleet begins to take shape

        I confess that I have been remiss in generating posts of late. That does not mean that I have quit the field entirely, just that I have too many things that are making very slow progress. I did dig out a long-shelved project and return to it in preparation for Flintcon on 15MAY21, in fact I expanded that scope of the operation (big surprise there?). The photo above hints at the direction I am headed, a post soon to appear on the Epicurean Wars blog will explain further.

1/72 Fujimi KI-36 "Ida"

 

 

the classic old Japanese kits always had such cool box-art

       After the trauma of the Airfix BV 141 I needed something simple to restore my sense of balance. I entered The Vault and randomly selected a kit (knowing that it was unlikely that any of them could be worse than the nightmare that the BV 141 kit had been) and found myself with this tiny plane as my next project. Funny how different a model can be. Both kits were of single-engine multi-place recon/light bombers and as kits and aircraft they were about as far apart as is possible. the KI-36 was a simple aircraft  of conventional design; the kit was straightforward, well-designed, finely-detailed and the parts fit perfectly. What a relief!

       The real KI-36 was an army cooperation/recon/light bomber that performed satisfactorily but was outclassed as time went on. It served out its years flying over the "safer" Chinese front. A short Wiki can be found here.

What is that THING!?!

 

mine was all marked up with sale stickers 

so I borrowed one from the web

oldmodelkits.com has a wonderful selection by the way

       There are certain things that are so unsettling that they make you look again to be certain that what you thought you saw really WAS what you saw. This abomination  (and a lot of other Blohm & Voss aircraft) is exactly one such thing. Looking a great deal like a bug that got caught in a window fan or perhaps something assembled with spare JU-88 parts this bizarre addition to the annals of flight is the product of B&V's habit of building asymmetric aircraft. It seems like they were trying to prove a point of style; but all it got them was a series of rejected ideas. A fuller description of the development and use of this odd bird can be found on Wikipedia.  I do have to think that the strutting little Nazi in his smartly turned-out uniform had nothing like this in mind when he wrote the specifications of a single-engine, multi-seat reconnaissance plane (doubtless he had something much more mundanely functional like a Henschel HS 126). One look at this aircraft would be enough to pop the monocle right out of your eye!

       But enough about the plane, what about the kit? Frankly, it is horrible. First released in 1971 it shows it's age; huge rivets, thick plastic that is badly warped, poor parts fit, thick glass (and this bird has a lot of glass) and thick, stiff decals that are off-register (and after forty years are a medium amber color). Not one of Aifix's high points!