DOMINION WAR NEWS, JAPANESE COMMANDOS, NEW BOAT, and more

                           NEGOTIATIONS FOR A CONCLUSION TO THE DOMINION WAR

In Berne, Switzerland, representatives of the United States, and representatives of Great Britain and the Dominions have met face to face to discuss the present conflict. Both sides have indicated their wish for this meeting, and all future meetings will seek to conclude the current hostilities that exist in North America on fair and respectful terms. 

The Commissioners have agreed that the War in North America should be divided into five theatres. A sixth is presently disputed, as the United States is requiring restitution for businesses that have suffered during the Royal Navy blockade, and the Empire has had its proposal for compensation to the government and people of Canada also rejected.

The agreed five theatres are Lower Alaska, British Columbia, Lower Ontario, Ottawa and the border, and the coast of Maine, 

In an attempt to promote good will, both sides have agreed to exchange two captured military units per side in the Ontario area. The Royal Navy will allow civilian shipping to resume from Boston and Rhode Island, on the condition it excludes certain war materials, etc.

The Empire has agreed not to recognise the Spanish occupation of Florida. The United States has declared it will not involve itself in Empire affairs outside the Western Hemisphere.

The Empire and United States have agreed not to use sea mines, and aircraft will not carry out independent bombings. The United States recognises the Kingdom of Hawaii is a sovereign state in alliance with and under the protection of the British Empire.

A LOCAL TREATY IS SIGNED (DICE)

Six scenarios were envisaged for British Columbia. A D6 was thrown. The United States Army lightly besieging Vancouver has agreed to return to American territory. Some measure of compensation will be available for civilian losses sustained during this brief siege. No further military engagements will be enacted in British Columbia, or Washington State. Both sides, however, are permitted to remove their troops for service elsewhere. 

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                                                    JAPANESE AIRBORNE COMMANDOS

Have just reconstituted one of my Japanese infantry battalions into Giretsu Kuteital, or Airborne Commandos. In recognition of their suicidal tendencies , it will be given peculiar wargaming characteristics. On entering the table it will move as normal but on receiving fire, the LMG may choose to return fire, but the rest of the battalion will automatically charge towards the enemy. Moreover, it will continue to charge all opposition, with no requirement to test morale!

Interestingly, in 1945, during the battle of Okinawa, they are known to have smeared black ink, alternatively described as soot, on both their uniforms and accoutrements, as a form of camouflage. I have now painted up a standard bearer, with a flag based on a WW2 Japanese paratrooper badge, and also a cadet parade flag. Black patches have been added to their uniforms. Have chosen the Airfix charging figure to help capture their image.

                                            For purposes of education, no profit, no copyright.

                                                        This is a Paratrooper uniform patch.

This is apparently a WW2 parade flag for Air cadets, 

Mark Felton has an interesting article on these troops..... http://markfelton.co.uk/publishedbooks/suicide-commandos/

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A NEW SAILING BOAT ARRIVES

Very pleased to have picked up a splendid fishing boat from a local charity shop. And it only cost £3. I already had another, slightly smaller. But this one is in perfect condition. All I needed to do is remove the wooden stand and carve away the base, so it rests flat on the board. Will have to consider raising a civilian crew!

And here it is completed, the fixed rudder will be more durable.

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FOOT GUARDS BATTALION

The three guardsmen picked up at Exeter Toy Fair have been painted and integrated. The figures are Crescent box 1488, aka Castle Guard Figures. 

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DISPLAY CANNON

In December last year I picked up several artillery pieces from a local charity shop. They cost only £5 for the pair. However, one of them was a solid brass piece which would have been fixed to a wooden display base. I was able to find a supplier of mahogany bases and felt it was a worthwhile project, although it cost £11 delivered. Still, it is now restored. Steel rods at three locations secured the cannon to the new base. I'm still planning to use it in some games as I feel it captures something of early wargaming. 

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ROYAL NAVY OFFICERS

Thanks to Chris picking up a batch of cheap lead railway figures I've been able to paint up five captains and a midshipman for my retro toy ships.

Original condition, I had to home-cast some arms.

The following are for purposes of education, review, and no profit.......

MGB

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REPLYING TO FRIENDS COMMENTING BELOW

Thank you, Donnie. I like my military units to be clearly identifiable. It speeds up knowing how many casualties a unit has suffered, and do they need a morale test (for most units). I am also keen to add some flags to my Japanese. We know they had regimental colours but practically all were destroyed before capture. Most of those actually taken in action are small personal banners from family and friends. I'm very pleased with the new naval officers.... vital too.

Thanks Brad. It has been a successful spell with some nice additions to include in future games. We both share the same view on the inclusion of flags, they add so much to the table display. The arrival of the railway figures has really cleared a problem, the lack of suitable captains. Concerning the young midshipmen, I think it was the writer 'Farrel' (?) who suggested we like to think all who went before us were just predecessors to our generation, but what if we are just the afterglow of those that came before us? I fear, he might be right.

(Postscript It was actually J. G. Farrell)

Thank you, Roger, for the kind comments. I was contemplating those free WW2 figures you were given by your friend. But it really does depend on what your wargame ambitions are. If you are satisfied with skirmish 'team' type gaming, involving less than a dozen figures per side, then you now have enough for numerous teams. However, if you wish to engage in something that could be described as a battle, this will involve some serious contemplation and calculations, to be followed by research, etc. Not everyone has that wish, space, or the resolve. For what it is worth, I prefer to fight battles, although I fully recognise the fun I have had in some skirmish level games played with others. I do have some suggestions for battle level wargames, if they have some value. 

That's fine, Roger. I thought you might be more inclined towards that style of gaming, so I decided not to leap into potential battle groupings. Skirmish wargaming is arguably much more popular now, I suspect it was role playing games, and later Games Workshop rules during the 1980s which has seen a massive decline in the numbers seeking to fight and command troops in large-scale battles. Well, you now have enough figures for a very large number of platoons, from various nationalities!

Sure, Roger, they could 'just' be used in their original designation, but I too have converted 'odd' contingents. I used some cheap Chinese figures and raised a WW2 Dutch 'purely defensive' army. I converted some other cheapo figures into Ugandan Army and Somali warlord. But I became bored with point-based, even-sided wargames so many years ago. I now prefer games with difficult or even impossible odds to overcome. How can I make the best of a difficult situation? I was more interested in how you 'designated' or 'appointed' some contingents. To give you an example, the thirty 50mm Japanese could be designated an 'island defence force', with figures integrated into interesting defensive models, each a terrain/vignette piece on the gaming table, to be overcome by American landing forces. But I mustn't get involved, lol, each to his own. 

Splendid news, Graham. I have just had a quick view. Great to see some of your 54mm traditional toy soldiers in action. I shall be making regular visits. To be honest, there aren't that many blogs using historical 54mm figures in battles. I often have to wait for Tim (Megablitz), or Brian (Collecting Toy Soldiers) to post some inspirational photos!