NEW SHIP, NEW ARMOURED CAR, NEW CANNON

A number of completed projects joined the collection on Sunday. First up is my rendition of a German-made toy gunboat. I'm thinking of adding a brass railing to the model at a later date. Wasn't too excited by the original guns so constructed some based on other toys. The original is described as a torpedo boat.

Partly inspired by, photo reduced and severely altered to respect copyright.

One of the recently acquired Bren Gun Carriers has been revamped. It has also received a crew of three. These were badly oxidised 1960s figures, but still having value in a seated role. They represent the 28th New Zealand Battalion. Ethnic Maori warriors, they gained a reputation befitting their heritage. They served in the Desert War, Crete, and Italy.

Legs restored.

Finally, have repaired this 'probable' Simon et Rivollett cannon. The carriage trail has been restored and appropriate wheels issued. I will use it as an all-metal garrison gun in the Schleswig Wars.

MGB

DOMINION WAR CAMPAIGN (UPDATE)

My Dominion War campaign has reached a genuine stalemate. The Americans have captured Ottawa and some border areas in Ontario, but are unable to proceed further. The Empire has secured the State of Maine coastline and Alaskan coast, but is unable to risk any attempts to liberate occupied Canada. 

While the Empire has maintained a successful blockade of American shipping, the American navy is growing, and the Royal Navy is not confident of maintaining their blockade for ever. If an American fleet escaped the blockade, they could seriously undermine the entire empire.

The Spanish have been successful in taking Florida, and appear to be satisfied. France has not done well out of the war but remains a formidable power in the Gulf of Mexico. They have also established a foothold in Texas. Their original plan to control Louisiana has failed.

MILITARY UNITS (Can be converted into infantry, cavalry, or artillery) It does not show armed locals.

NB. American manpower is restricted due to a need to protect its coastline population centres.

BATTLES (With points awarded)

 NB. Florida did not have a large population pre-1900, and Spanish controlled Cuba was close by.

OCCUPIED TERRITORIES (With defensive lines and naval blockades)

Footnote. Feel free to voice possible campaign moves, no guarantee I will adopt them but it might change the cause of the campaign, breaking the current stalemate.

MORE AMERICAN TROOPS

In my campaign to clear the spares box I was able to muster six damaged lead Highlanders. As I already have seven Highland battalions in my British army these figures were rather surplus to my needs. Well, not quite, what could be more novel than a Highland unit raised in the United States.

The 79th New York Regiment was organised in October 1858. It served during the American Civil War, and was eventually disbanded in January 1876. For much of their existence Highlander dress was not really fulfilled, but early on in the civil war one or two companies did complete their appearance. Although the officers were often of Scots ancestry, the rank and file were more all embracing in their background. 

Here are a group of American re-enactors.

Some conversion work was necessary on the lead castings, didn't want them shouldering arms on the left side (British and Germans), the Americans and French mainly shoulder on their right. Decided to use some spare trail-arms, and openhanded left-arms. Milliput was used to construct the epaulettes. I was able to cast some of my own heads and swords.

MGB

PANTHER on the PROWL (in my garden)

I can't claim any credit for this post. Spotted this 1/35 German tank on Ebay. I offered £16, keen to have it in my collection, and unwilling to purchase a new model and then have to construct and paint it. That would have cost about £16. Not surprisingly, the seller declined. So I put a bid in. Well, I was the only bidder, and it arrived at the cost of £12.50. I'm no expert on German tanks but I think it's worth every penny. It is very nicely put together, and spray painted. Actually, it did arrive with it's gun barrel snapped. Further inspection lead me to the conclusion the barrel was far too thin and flimsy for wargaming. It was going to break sooner or later. Fortunately, a very strong piece of wood sorted out that issue, and metal rods have secured it to the turret and the gun ferrule in a vastly superior way.

Concerning the German tank commander, this was a gift from my friend, George Mills. I believe it is a Del Prado figure. Unsure how or when I might use it, I just left it in my spares box. That issue has now been sorted!

My games don't require more than one Panther tank, attrition is my method of knocking it out. That is, if you are able. It really is a nice counterpart to my Soviet T34.

MGB

VISITING A LOCAL SHOP, more acquisitions!

Last week I visited a local collectables shop. Out came the shopkeeper with three trays of recently acquired goodies. Now most of these were out of scale, but others were very acceptable.

This Lone Star Bren Gun Carrier had been very nicely repainted. It included two cut down figures in plastic. £5. Not sure about the camouflage, the closest I could find is Empire troops in the Desert Campaign, so will probably reassign it. The paintwork and finish is very nice, very clean. I think the previous owner had paint stripped it.

This Welly (Chinese-made) die-cast is a Mercedes-Benz 1936 500K, in a 1/36 scale. Picked it up for 50p! 

This Dinky jeep (left) had only a few chips on its khaki paintwork, and original transfers. I will construct some crew and replace the missing spare wheel at the back. It cost £5. It will join my WW2 American army.

This W. Britains jeep (right) was missing a tyre, two Deetail crew, a spare wheel, and a heavy machine gun. It also had a broken bumper. But at £3, I don't mind. Actually, I had already decided not to collect Deetail US figures, preferring to raise a WW2 American army using other makes. Will keep the original paint, and make general repairs. But I will get rid of the exaggerated suspension which adds nothing to its service and causes the front axil to repeatedly brake away. This dark-green jeep will then be drafted into my British WW2 army.

The W. Britains 25pdr above had lost much of its paintwork, and the barrel spring has only a rather poor six foot range for matchsticks. Cost £3. Fine, I only wanted the wheels. Footnote, the gun is proving very useful. It will be converted into a post-1900 naval gun, while the trail will furnish a carriage for a pre-1870 deck gun....... no waste here!

The figures below cost £5, comprising four odds, and four halflings. The latter were no doubt used to man vehicles. I will do the same, but restore their legs.

THE FOLLOWING DAY 

Pleased with the above additions, I again visited the shop and purchased some more items. Two Lone Star Bren Gun Carriers joined the collection. These were showing signs of wear, their tow bars were missing, and the paintwork was in a poor state. My plan is to paint strip these, and restore their tow bars. I also picked up four more figures for converting. Cost was £6 plus £2 for the figures.

MGB

SOVIET JEEP completed yesterday

I picked up this badly damaged Dinky jeep in May, for £2.50. Later, I purchased a Corgi Thwaites Dumper, in a similar condition, for £2. The latter furnished the jeep with a steering wheel, potential driver, and the rear spare wheel, all vital to restoring the jeep. Plasticard furnished a replacement dashboard and a folded down windscreen. Some wire replaced the aerial, and I luckily had a petrol can to replace the missing one.

Decided to issue this jeep to my Soviet army, serving as a staff car. The United States lend-lease system  (to be paid for later, if not returned) provided 50,000 to the Soviets during WW2.

Used a spare plastic Foot Guardsman to construct a seated NKVD colonel.

Here it is repainted, and with a coat of varnish for added protection.

The crew are painted and fixed. I don't like too many loose figures so typically glue them, a small dice placed next to the vehicle can record any hits.

MGB

Colonel Mileham's Toy Gun

As a follow-on to my post on the restoration of a rather large toy artillery piece (see link Mileham), I had an interesting chat with another member of the Mileham family.

Patrick Mileham is another son of Colonel J.G.Mileham. He is also the grandson of the famous artist Harry Mileham. We have now exchanged quite a few emails, sharing our interest in researching British auxiliary troops, typically styled Volunteers, and Yeomanry. However, I thought I would just mention this initial comment, for the interest of those visiting this wargaming blog.

"I have memories of militaria, toy soldiers, and wooden bricks in our grandfather Harry's house in the 1950s. I can recall being told about the Crimean War, by him. He had acquired CV Wedgwood's book The Reason Why. I can certainly remember many hours of embarking the army on toy shipping, presumably artillery as well. John was enthused about joining the Army in c1931, as he was a keen member of the oxford UOTC Gunner Section, but plumped for the infantry, including between 1936-1946 seconded to the King's African Rifles, with active service in Abyssinia, and in the latter months, Burma. Had he not made some of those choices, he wouldn't have met my Mother in Kenya."

At this point, I must mention that Patrick is a respected writer and historian. He also served in the Army 1963-92. Here is just a few of his works.

The Scottish Regiments, 1633-1996

Wellington College, the first 150 years

Military Ethics for the Expeditionary Era

Before concluding, here are some examples of Harry Mileham's paintings. The last one shows a child surrounded by his family. That is Colonel J.G. Mileham, that played with the artillery piece now in my collection. The Mileham's certainly have a record of service to the British people, defending our land, and enhancing our culture and identity.

MGB

NEW ADDITIONS (that 'Mixed Box' keeps on delivering)

A few months ago I picked up a Mixed Box of home-cast and original lead figures for the silly price of £5, we saved on postage by a member of my family picking them up after work. Well, it keeps on delivering! 

My German states have acquired a command base. They will be visiting Denmark (Schleswig-Holstein Wars) in the near future.

My Royal Artillery for colonial service has just gained a new recruit.

The Post Office Volunteers have also gained a recruit, seen here carrying a reel of wire. The telephone pole is also a new addition, made up of metal and wood bits.

The German State of Reuss has a unit of eight figures. Six were surplus British infantry which I decided to paint strip. The ensign is a plastic Britains guardsman. The officer came from the Mixed Box. 

My WW2 Dutch have their second military policeman (Royal Marechausee). This one is a cavalryman, or cyclist, with their distinctive fur hat.

Even my Lone Star Bren Gun Carriers have gained a new recruit from the Mixed Box.

 

Finally, my collection of WW1 British have gained two more artillerymen. This has allowed me to form two field gun crews, the other four figures are original W. Britains in fine condition. 

POSTSCRIPT. The following are some plastic figures that have been recently converted, but were not part of the Mixed Box. Firstly, a detachment (4) of French Marines in their Tonkin 1880 dark blue uniform. And an extra Soviet naval officer for their gunboats. Home-cast metal extras drilled into the plastic will ensure good service.

MGB