Side view. Note broad white strip. Yeah. it's by hand. :-/  

And of course, the requisite belly shot. This would be the last thing the allies see, as I plant a template on their chuckling backsides! How's it feel to be templated by a bi-plane!? :-)

I happily say it again, if you haven't stopped in to see Dave at a convention or purchased one of his aircraft yet, you need to do so! They are really beautiful models and paint up so nice!

Next, my desert camo P-40 which will provide air support for my All American Airborne division in the desert. 

Top view to show Italian national emblem.  

First rough paint on the CR-42AS

I'm really excited about this little bi-plane, don't ask me why! Here is a bit of eyecandy. More will follow!

Dave over at Armaments In Miniature has truly outdone himself on both the model and the beautiful decals!

Soviet Guards V.S. Aufklarungsschwadron (Recon Squadron)

Before dawn the infantry digs in. Their 'tracks have all been sent to the rear - this looks like a Soviet Guards armor attack! Dig a hole and pull it in after you! On turn two, Bwana Bill rolled for 'sunrise' in this 'Dawn Assault' scenario - and just like our last game of 'Dawn Assault' - day breaks on turn two! (Way to go Bwana! Last turn it was my evil die, if I recall correctly!) 

Opening gambit! Aufklarungsschwadron recon assets make their "recon move" before the start of the game. The 231s and Panzer II Luchs take cover behind a hill before charging onto the left-flank objective. (One Luchs bogged and took 2 turns to move out of the muddy field!) 

There were several crossing points to include small bridges. This shows the rubber terrain (river and craters) as well as the new bridges that Bwana Bill just acquired while at Cold Wars 2006! 

The survivors of the SS detachment of Pak 38s mounted on SdKfz-10s round the hill and open fire on the surprised T-34s. Someone will be dying from the 9mm flu for allowing an entire platoon of T-34s to be decimated by jeeps with guns! 

On the right flank, the T-34 platoon advances (slowly!) across the river; several were held up in the woods on the hill across the river, while another bogged in the river. Their support was 2 massive SU-152s - one of them bogged in the river as well. Meanwhile, the slugfest knocked out two panzer IIINs, while the other panzer III and the two panzer IVs use cover wisely. 

A closeup of the carnage. The platoon commander passes his morale check and holds for one more turn. The Luchs and 231s are surrounding the Tiger (objective). In the next turn, the T-34 commander will die bravely and the Luchs will advance past the village to occupy a bridge that is critical to the advance on the second objective. 

The SU-152s move through the river; one is already in the woods, ready to kill the remaining panzers.  

Unfortunately for Bwana and his Guards unit, the other flank has already fallen at this point. The 152 that bogged, along with 3 T-34s that are bogged in the river and the trees on the hill spelled out the fate of this battle. A win for the Aufklarungschwadron; One would think that a tank company against a recon unit would be a "no brainer" win for the tank company. Not so, when you consider that this was a Soviet Guards unit. Bwana had around 1165 points to use to build his force, while I was able to use a full 1500 points. It was a close battle because of that and a learning experience for us both!  

Two Models from Aircraft in Miniature

Sorry about the lighting - this is the newly remodeled P-40E. I'll be using this to support my American Paratroopers in the desert! 

The newly modeled Italian CR-42AS Ground attack aircraft from Armaments In Miniature."Fear me! I am a biplane with bombs!" :-) 

French Colonial Infantry

I thought you might like to see one of the latest painting projects that I plan to undertake. There is a new line of 28mm minitures called "Askari Miniatures" that are very nice quality and very well priced. I saw a painted unit of French Foreign Legionnaires (FFL) on display at the Cold Wars convention and decided that I had to have them. I also grabbed a bag of tiralluers algeriens to use as French colonial allies. I thought they would be a colorful addition to the table top. So, the problem is finding information on how to paint them. I don't have any books with color plates on the FFL and the internet sources are rather sparse. The first picture is about all I have found so far. I get the impression that the tiralluers algeriens normally wore blue over blue unlike the zouaves that wore blue over red. I am also assuming that it is not a very dark blue either. I also see that the Askari Miniature chaps painted theirs blue over white! (second picture) Maybe there were variations from regiment to regiment? If anyone knows, please leave a comment.

New Material for the Reading Room

I don't know if you wargamers out there have noticed it or not, but it seems to me that just within the past few years there has been an sudden rush of memoirs from German WWII veterans. These books provide new perspectives that are of great interst to anyone with an interest in WWII. I have seen several already. The best examples are the "Panzer Aces" books by Franz Kurowski and "Blood Red Snow" by Gunther Koschorrek. So far my "hands down" favorite is "Blood Red Snow."

Just this morning I started the latest release, "Sniper on the Eastern Front" by Albrecht Wacker. I have only read a couple of chapters, but so far it looks promising. I'll write more on it when I'm finished, which shouldn't take long, it's a short book.

Sihayo's Kraal Concluded

To conlude the description of this game let me just say that it was a good close game. In the end the British side failed to earn the required number of victory points, but not by much. The NNC units were only moderately successful in charging up the hill. Two of them took too much "friendly" fire from the British infantry units behind them and they evaporated. The two Brit infantry units continued on without them but they were not able to capture enough objectives before time ran out. I was able to get the NMP unit to the top and exit it off the table for two whole victory points. I thought I might have the game won at that point but I still fell short.

Sihayo's Kraal Opening Moves

Here you can see the NNC advancing toward the Zulu positions in the rocks and the hill sides. You can't see the British infantry that are right behind them in every picture, but believe me they are there.

Sihayo's Kraal Scenario (continued)

Today we'll get back to the Sihayo's Kraal scenario I brought up earlier. Here you can see my wife Teri, the worlds most recent TSATF convert, and scenario designer Roy Jones plotting the Zulu defensive strategy. In the bottom photo you can see the task facing the British force. They have to scale the plateaus, capture objectives, and exit troops off the table edge at the top. If you look carefully you can see clumps of boulders and caves in the side of the cliff, these are both objectives and places for hidden Zulu units. The path going up the middle is the only way for the British regulars to get up onto the cliffs. Their Natal Native Contingent (NNC) allies are the only one who can scale the cliffs at any point.

Speaking of the NNC, this was the most intriguing aspect of the scenario. There are only four NNC units, two regular Brit infantry, and one cavalry unit of Natal Mounted Police (NMP). The idea is to put the NNC out in front to attack uphill. As long as there is a British unit directly in their rear they get a -2 die roll bonus on all there morale checks, including "closing-to-assualt" and "standing-to-fight." This makes an otherwise totally unreliable force fairly effective. Just imagine the scene! The NNC are advancing toward Zulus who are waiting for them up above (and in this scenario all Zulus have muzzleloaders), they are of course reluctant, but because of the rows of British bayonets right behind them... Well, you get the idea! I thought it was a brilliant idea that really made the scenario something special. It was a blast! (pun intended, sorry) Next time I'll tell what happened!

News Flash! Sudan Wargame Scenario book in the "Pipeline"

"Charge of the 21st Lancers at Omdurman"  

Interesting news everybody! I just found out from a good source that Mark Fastoso and Roy Jones have plans to write a Sudan Scenario book once they finish their "Zulu War 1879" book. But here is the big surprise; they say it will cover the "Late Sudan campaign," in other words, the Kitchener/Omdurman campaign as opposed to the Gordon Relief Expedition campaign that is commonly gamed with the "Sword and the Flame Rules." To quote my source: "...there will be a massive 21st Lancers scenario." Now that sounds jolly good, doesn't it?

Remember, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!