Burma British

I've now had a chance to quickly paint up a few opponents for the Japanese.  Again nothing special, simple block painting, a quick wash and then highlights.

I also quickly painted the Sherman.

Unfortunately, the tracks appear to have suffered in storage and it has developed a lean.  Never mind, it will suffice for now.

Next batch have received a watered down PVA wash in preparation for priming tomorrow.

I quick look on the Too Fat Lardies Yahoo Group has revealed two lists for the Japanese, with Type B apparently being suitable for Burma.  This is going to stretch my plastic resources as the rifle squads consist of a corporal, a LMG squad with three crew and a nine man rifle section each.  I may simple reduce numbers as I'm planning actions based on George MacDonald Fraser's memoirs, Quartered Safe out Here which relates his involvement in the 1945 campaign.

Burma Japanese

Well, it couldn't last.  I've managed to be relatively good so far this year and stay focused, however, I recently reread Field Marshall Slim's memoir of the war in Burma, Defeat into Victory, and had a bright idea.  There's a large box of old Airfix plastic figures in the loft.  Further investigation revealed a box of both  Matchbox Japanese and ANZACs so I decided to quickly, to be fair very quickly, slap some paint on a few and give them a quick wash.  They're not going to win any prizes but applying the three foot rule give a wargames standard I'm prepared to live with.

Lists for Chain of Command have yet to be finalised but I'm reasonably confident that I should have most of the figures required.  I can always buy a few metal figures to round things off but the Japanese in particular shouldn't require much in the way of support.   I did find a plastic Sherman which I'll paint up though for the Brits.

I'm trying to convince myself that this isn't a new period but an extension of an ongoing project and it's not that I had to buy any new figures either.  Anybody convinced?

The downside is that I have no jungle scenery and of course this could also be used for Indo-China which I've been thinking about for ages.  I'm sure I'll submit in the event the CoC amendments are released. 

Danes - Second Schleswig War

Painting continues at its normal snail's pace but I've at last completed some Danes for my Nineteenth Century project based on Neil Thomas' book.  This represents the infantry, minus command stands, for the Battle of Oeversee as described in Chapter 11.  Figures are by Pendraken although to speed things along I've gone with 15mm basing rather than that suggested for 10mm.  Just simple block painting with a brown ink wash to blend things together.

Uniforms are very similar to Union troops during the American Civil War and I'm wondering if I can get away with using them for both.

This is one of those little remembered European conflicts with obscure origins, Palmerston's famous quote about only three people knowing the origins springs to mind, although the recent BBC series may go some way to changing that.  I've recorded the first two episodes but not had a chance to watch them yet.

I've now based up the rest of the Danes and the Austrian contingent, however, I'm waiting for a dry day to prime them.  The aim is to paint up Prussians for Rackebull after and then move to the 1866 Austro-Prussian War and finally to the 1870 Franco-Prussian.

The Somme Part III - Eperlecques

Having a bit of time to kill before we were due on the Tunnel last year we decided to visit the Blockhaus at Eperlecques.  This massive concrete structure was apparently designed as a V2 launch area.

The actual building is a testament to the determination of the Germans even at that stage of the war although it has to be remembered that slave labour was used.  Thankfully it was never used for its intended purpose having been bombed extensively by the allies.

One of the V2 launch pads.

A V1 on its launching ramp.

Aside from the massive concrete structure are a selection of militaria although there is little apparent in the way of order and the impression is that they are just left where they were dumped.

Overall, the Blockhaus was a bit of a disappointment especially considering the ten euro entrance charge.  The building itself is, undeniably, impressive but little has been undertaken to explain the story of the V2 or the other Vengeance weapons.  A further opportunity has also been lost by the failure to sort the other exhibits which are just dotted around the site in a seemingly random fashion.

That aside, we assembled back at the car before heading to Calais and home while reflecting on the overall success of the trip.  Plans were already being discussed for another trip the following year and this will feature in posts in, hopefully, the not too distant future.