Action Station!

Having started the latest pint-sized Chain of Command campaign "Old Hickory" against new oppo Ian (this time I get to play as Germans), I saw in one of the scenarios there is a train station. I've already got a lot of Normandy buildings for 15mm but don't have a station so I set out to add one to the collection.

I had in mind what I was looking for. The building at the top of this photo is the station in Bayeux, Normandy. On previous trips many years ago I'd stayed in the Hotel de Gare (bottom right) and the view each morning from my attic window was of the station some 50 yards away.

 

Searching on eBay turned up this Auhagen kit in TT scale. There were many other stations but many of them looked too German while this one was near enough. Unsure exactly now suitable TT was for 15mm I decided to jump in with both feet. I was NOT disappointed!

The kit arrived next morning from Wales & I set about putting it together.

I quickly got the main structure assembled but decided to leave the windows and detailing until after I'd painted the main building.

I cut a base (which would eventually include an enclosed stock yard) and gave the whole building a rough and ready base coat of chocolate brown craft paint to add some depth to the finish.

Next came a heavy drybrush of the walls. The windows with the kit came in white plastic, but remembering that the ones I'd seen were green I sprayed them and all the other fittings before drybrushing them too. Paul had given me some white Wills picket fencing in HO scale when he moved out so in a lightbulb moment I resolved to use them for my perimeter.

After working up the roofing and stone areas I added the doors, windows, gutters, fencing and the clock on the platform. Heavy drybrushing again to the base area made of hardboard. I like the pseudo-cobbled effect it gives so I use that a lot now. When finished I fixed the building down with No More Nails and added the grass.

Finished station with some 15mm paras for scale.

Another scale shot with a DD Sherman crossing the line.

I'm really pleased with the final outcome. It fits in a treat with my other buildings. Having been time consuming and relatively expensive (this kit was £18) I'd only recommend going this route when specialist structures are needed, But I'd definitely confirm that TT scale stuff is a great match for 15mm!

This should see its' debut within the next week or so in Mortain.

OML3 The Post 20th Century Games

Moving on to the games from the turn of the 20th century......

First up is Stu Surridge's lovely Russo-Japanese War encounter based on the battle of Shaho 1904 using Through the Mud & Blood. Both morning and afternoon games were apparently bloody affairs and remarks were made about not wanting to be a leader as they nearly all died!

Morning session of Shaho. Sid Roundwood & his opponent Douglas McMillan receive their pre-game briefings. You can read Stu's own coverage here: http://dusttears.blogspot.co.uk/

I ran my version of Sari Bair Ridge-Gallipoli using Chain of Command. Morning and afternoon produced very different but equally knife-edge games. I'll expand on this in a future post.

The Custard Guzzlers from down Devon way put on a Big CoC game based around events from the 6th June 1940, where the British & French joined up to try tol hold the Weygand Line. You can read more over at Jason's own blog: http://welshwargamesdevon.blogspot.co.uk/

Rob Avery stepped up like a hero at the last minute to put on an IABSM late WW2 Russian Front game. Rob ran this in the morning before partaking in Rich's afternoon Fighting Season. while Geoff Bond ran the afternoon session. Here Rob (grey shorts) briefs Noddy & Ralph (Russians) as German commander Jamie (red hoops) looks on. Full AAR at: http://www.vislardica.com/blog/2015/6/9/iabsm-aar-bashnya-or-bust-4e-holm-again

Nick Overland brought along his Cold War adaptation of IABSM. West German forces were tasked with trying to stop the Red Army's advance into their homeland in this one, over some natty new terrain. Originally part of the "Lard Approved" program, this was I Ain't Been Nuked Mum's third annual visit. Hopefully it will see publication in it's own right later this year.

Last, but by no means least, is Rich Clarke's pre-cursor to his forthcoming release "Fighting Season". Set this time in Afghanistan's Green Zone. The scenario, rather aptly for the event, involved capturing that lovely, shiny red tractor! My son Connor had a go in the morning and now wants me to invest in a complete set up for this "'Cos it's ACE!" but then again what would you expect?

 

Next up, a more in depth look at the Sari Bair-Gallipoli game I put on at OML3

OML3 - The Pre 20thC Games

Last Saturday saw the latest OML event OML3 - The Lardest Day take place here in deepest Tractorshire. 36 TFL enthusiasts from Devon to Northants and South Wales to Buckinghamshire assembled for the usual recipe of a day's gaming followed by a social curry and lashings of alcohol.

 

Early morning during set up. Taken from the stage where Rich Clarke was running his Fighting Season game. There's two more WW2 games out of shot to the right. More on all three in  the next post.

 In all there were 10 games on offer for the day, hosting between two and four players each. Between them they covered a large part of the Lardy rules repertoire and from the fifth century to the last ten years! Here they are in chronological order.

Chris Churchill ran a game of Dux Brittanniarum involving getting a wagon train to the safety of a local village before it could be ambushed.

Jumping 1000 years to the Wars of the Roses, Paul Baldwin ran two sessions of the Sharpe Practice variant from the Summer Special 2013 entitled "Of All Base Passions" written by Pat Smith.

 Next up was without doubt the prettiest game on show. This time Sharpe in it's true setting of the Napoleonic Wars. Jim Ibbotson's wonderful brushmanship really put the topping on a cracker of a scenario where the French have to dawn raid a British held supply dump which is destined to aid the local Spanish guerrillas. I'm lucky enough to play on this set up whenever Jim's able.

 

 

Jim used a remodelled Citadel Realm of Battle game board & the excellent Spanish buildings are from Grand Manner.

"En Avant!" A mounted commander urges his men on to catch the British still asleep in their tents.

 

Having been rudely awaken by the dustman, err I mean sentry, the Brits line the walls of the churchyard to repel the attacking French.

Last up for this post is Phyllion's adaptation of Sharpe Practice (they're remarkably versatile y'know) for the Sudan. Unsure what the scenario was for this one, but it went over well with all who gamed it.

"They don't like it up 'em". British forces defend a lookout tower against the Mahdi's forces.

More Beja tribesmen bear down on the outnumbered colonial force.

That's all for the first installment. Apologies to those I've stolen photos from. I never had chance to take any all day.

Part 2 tomorrow......