Monday, 8 November 2010

French Indo China War Storage

This is the storage system I've designed for my planned Indo China war infantry.  They are mounted, in 2's and 3's on 1.5mm thick 40mm diameter plywood disks, with magnetic sheet added.  In the Really Useful Box I've put a double-decker layer of 99p metal baking trays (separated by wooden spacers).  These should take up to 240 figures, with pace for dice or vehicles in the plastic drawers.

So far I've only finished one company of Viet Minh, but I should be able to base up a company or two of French, soon (figures mustering in the foreground). 

Sunday, 7 November 2010

'Arfur Legion III

 
Here's the (slowish) progress on my second legion; 5 cohorts fully based, 2.5 partially based and the remaining minis awaiting reinforcements from Nick.  I'm planning to use them all in a game in less than 2 weeks, so I shall need to get my skates on!  When all 10 cohorts are finished I shall take a proper pic.

Wednesday, 3 November 2010

Missed the bus

I missed this from yesterday's post; in days of yore I painted this bus up as an informal troop-transport.  It may see duty evacuating planters and French-sympathisers from under the nose of the advancing Viet Minh menace.


And below, the destination!

Tuesday, 2 November 2010

Looks like we got us a convoy...

I've excavated my 1980's collection of French Indochina stuff, and here are around half of the vehicles, displayed as a supply convoy.  They aren't too bad...  not brilliant, like Troop of Shrew's, but playable until I get better stuff.  


Above, an M8 armoured car patrols cautiously ahead of the convoy.  It is in the wrong shade of green (not olive drab), but with broadly correct markings. 
    

Above is the front section of the convoy.  The tanks are a slightly unfortunate hybrid of M3 and M5 (I converted from the former to the latter; perhaps it was hard to find M5's in the '80s).  But they are nicely weathered, and the Airfix M3 half track has the correct tent-like canopy.


Above is the body of the convoy; a US tanker and GMC trucks, and a rather lost-looking Matador that I bought around 1975, presumablly left behind by the Brits in WW2.  A third "M5" is in overwatch.


And to conclude (above) a closeup of one of the M5s.

I have around another half-a-dozen vehicles that need painting.  My plan is to supplement these with some of the new 1/72 Italeri and Pegasus fast-assembly kits, especially their GMC trucks, M3 half tracks and jeeps, and make up a GM100-like mobile column.

Tuesday, 26 October 2010

Street Without Joy

...is an excellent book written by Bernard Fall about the war in French Indo China in the late 1940's/early 1950's.

I read this in the mid 1980s and got very interested in this very interesting but little-gamed war, which culminated in a huge defeat for the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.    I collected and painted a few hundred Platoon 20 minis, which in those days were made from a rather brittle metal.  Unfortunately, I carefully  stored all the minis at the top of a high cupboard, and one day accidently dropped all the boxes from a height of 8'.  Almost to a man, they snapped off at the ankles (and many of the rifles broke).  See Exhibit A, below, for one of the four boxes. 


More feet without joy than Street without Joy!

It has taken me around 20 years to overcome the pain and return to the period, but this week I've started to repaint the surviving minis, and I'm going to order a few dozen more (well perhaps a hundred or so...).  I'll either use an adapted Memoir '44 ruleset, or write a simple set myself.  The battlefield of Zama, with some added hills and vegetation, is going to become Route Coloniale 19. 

Several things are a lot better in 2010 than 1990; firstly I'm a somewhat better painter now, and have a lot more nice terrain.  Secondly, the 1/72 diecast vehicles that one can buy these days look outstanding; the French transport pool is consequently going to be a whole lot bigger than it was 20 years ago!  Finally there is a lot of great material on the war that wasn't around in 1990, especially this excellent site on the war which has OOB's, which was information I could only dream of, twenty years ago.  En avant!

Monday, 25 October 2010

Another hobby

My eldest has got a place to read Ancient History at Kings College.  As part of this he will be learning Latin, and this made me nostalgic for the period form 1974-1976 when I did GCSE Latin (my efforts were ultimately blessed with an A!)

The same course I studied (Cambridge Latin), is still in use, and I bought the updated version of the books I used to use way back, when.  I have been thrilling to the old phrases, such as "Caecilius est pater", "Metella est mater" and "Cerberus est canem".


I've been making good progress and am now on book 4; my ultimate ambition is to be able to read the great Latin classics in their original language, such as:

Sunday, 24 October 2010

'Arfur Legion II

I've made good, if slow, progress with this project.  The first half of the legion (below, clickable) is painted and based.  I still need to add tufts, tonight, and do a little snagging work; then they will be finished.
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Around half of the second half (not shown) are also stuck onto their bases.  Nick is furiously painting away on a draft of reinforcements, in Essex, which will complete the legion (at 1:20 scale).  

In other news, I have been inspired by these stunning photos to dig out a project I last worked on around 20 years ago... more anon.