Wargaming at the Teachers Club II

For our second outing at the Teachers Club we got two games in.  

This is the first game - one of the two Overlord scenarios included in the Sword of Stalingrad expansion.  This is "Rats in the Factory", which is based on the struggle for the Dzerzkinsky Tank factory during the early phases of the battle. It's a tough scenario, the German player has air surperioity and advantages in terms of troops and command and control, the Soviet player has the edge in terms of terrain and begins the game holding several valuable objectives. 

Note the Balkas in the foreground. 

These are deep ravines and are a major headache of the German player as they slow movement down to a crawl. I intend to play this particular scenario on my five inch mats some day and I am damned if I have any idea how I will model them. I was thinking of building drifts out of kitty litter, but I usually use litter to mark roads, so it would run the risk of turning the entire map into a sea of kitty litter. 

That said with my new sandbags and barbed wire, this is looking like more of a possibility. 

ccattlecry.net

There was a demand by popular acclamation for another American Civil War game, so I went scratching around for a scenario.  Now as it happened, I wasn't aware the boys behind ccnapoleonic.net had a website for Battlecry, but I was very happy to find out that they did.  This has the rules and all the scenarios up on it.  There are also fan made scenarios, including some for the Indian Wars and the Zulu War of 1879. 

Union troops move swiftly into the centre

Given that it was our second American Civil game - Gettyburg seemed like an obvious choice.  It was an interesting game, made all the more so by some trash talking from the internet. 

Old John, dyed in the wool rebel that he is, wasn't able to make this games day, but sent a message to the boys to let them know that he was with them in spirit. It concluded with. 

have some great games and kick General Creanor's Yankee ass for me :-))

I read this out just after General Creanor had been defeated at Stalingrad, because well - Wargamers are a cruel breed. Consequently General Creanor, playing Meade, was determined not to be defeated at Gettysburg. 

TK and General Creanor discuss tactics, while Boomer remains stoic. 

The game was played with 6mm figures on two standard boards.  I substituted cork tiles for hills and model buildings for built up areas.  Unfortunately, despite scouring the dungeon for them I have so far completely failed to find my 6mm trees - though they must be in there somewhere. 

Anyway, this led to an interesting battle as Boomer & General K fought a long range sniping engagement around the Peach Orchard. Neither was convinced that he had sufficient strength to cross the open ground and deal a decisive blow the other. 

However, the game took a drastically different turn when General Creanor led a sudden movement in the Federal centre against an uncharacteristically defensive General D.  This allowed him to dictate the pace of the engagement while TK and Fatz slugged it out on the Rebel left.  General D managed to put together a defensive line after being pushed off the hills, but it wasn't enough to salvage the situation. 

The victorious Federals 

A specially posed shot for Old John. 

The innate perversity of Kinch

This is what I got

I got some of these recently of that nice fellow Brian of The Hobbyden.  They're Vickers Light Tanks from S Models, so a British tank made by a Chinese company bought from an Irishman. We're just a melting pot here. 

I assembled these and they're designed as fast builds so they went together pretty quickly. There was actually stuff that came in the box that I didn't use. The box comes with a number of brass etched pieces, I left them off because to be honest, I couldn't get them to attach easily and they were very delicate, more delicate than I'm comfortable with in a wargaming model. 

These were €13 per box of two and they are nice, but I think if I was doing this again, I would probably go with Frontline Wargaming resins. 

We had a painting evening the other day, which was fun. Mr. E and Mr. Target dropped over. Mr. E painted some Soviet Motor Rifle troops while Mr. Target assembled a Hornby pylon from my plastic stash.  Mr. Target also brought along some Rogue Trader era Orks which he very kindly passed on to me. 

I got my six Vickers six tonners basecoated.  The trick with that being, multiple thin coats.  The first one always looks awful, but these came up OK.  I'm in two minds about drybrushing a highlight on, but we shall see. 

I want them to look a little bit like this

So at the moment, I have two main projects on the go, my stalled Cold War Project and my ongoing Napoleonics project.  

What am I excited about painting at the moment - my BEF/Very British Civil War Tanks and possibly some Rogue Trader figures. 

Which just goes to show that I can be guaranteed to want to paint whatever it is I'm not meant to be working on at the moment. 

This made me laugh. A lot.

If you've ever wondered how your dog would react to a magic trick - now you have your answer. 

Barbed Wire

Being supportive

Given that I have been poking away at Second World War and other 20th century unpleasantness of late, it was becoming apparent that I was sadly lacking in defences.  

This is a Javis barbed wire support which I got from Andy Harfield of Harfields. I would probably run something up myself, but at a quid a throw for a solid resin piece, it seemed sensible to spend the money and save the time. The model itself is solid resin and extremely sturdy, I've dropped mine several times ferrying them out to the shed to get sprayed and haven't had any problems. These got a white spray undercoat with my house style Vallejo English Uniform on the ground.  

The supports were painted grey and then the whole thing got a quick drybrush of "Constables Snow". 

Garnish with a touch of Javis barbed wire et voila!

One section of barbed wire will do for two supports.  If I was being realistic I would probably wash the wire with brown ink to give it a bit of rust, but they'll do for the time being and having knocked out a round dozen in two hours, I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself. 

Memoir 44 - D-Day Landings

A big box of fun

There was some very interesting news for Memoir '44 fans yesterday.  Things have been pretty quiet in Memoir '44 terms over the last few months, but Days of Wonder announced that they will be releasing a new expansion for the game called "D-Day Landings" in June of this year. D-Day Landings will feature six pre printed Breakthrough style maps covering the entirety of the Normandy invasion. 

The suggested retail is about $35 and the set will offer the player six large scale scenarios in an enlarged breakthrough format (13 hexes by 23 I believe).  The pre-printed maps will also allow the game to be set up quickly, which can be a bit of a drag when playing breakthrough games. 

Look at it - it's beautiful

Now that's all very well and good, but the main attraction of this particular announcement is the fact that while all six scenarios will be playable by two players and that is holy and wholesome and earnestly to be wished, they can also be combined into a six map mega-game that will stretch over a board measuring approximately fourteen feet by five.

This game will cover over six times as much space as a standard Overlord set, will require a team of twelve players and I have absolutely no idea how long it will take, but I am itching to give it a go. 

I can see this easily taking a day and a fair commitment of resources to work, but the gentlemen of the mess are already intrigued, so it's likely that we will be giving this a lash over the summer. 

You can read the official announcement here. 

Command & Colours Napoleonics: The Prussians - Part Two

General Du Gourmand was not amused

I have been tardy in posting this apparently - so I've decided to repair the fault and hop to it as apparently I was upsetting General Du Gourmands digestion by not getting to this sooner. So without further ado, allow me to present the block count in the upcoming Command & Colours Napoleonics Prussian expansion. 

Along with some thoughts on how to replace the blocks with plastic for those of use considering building a post Scharnhorst reforms Prussian army. 

Line infantry 9 units 4 blocks per unit 36 blocks

Revell do a very nice set of late Prussian infantry, but to be honest there is only one real choice here. HAT recently released a three box set of late Prussian infantry and they are lovely. Each box is about the price of a pint and holds 40 figures in either marching (see above), action or command poses. They are very find indeed and for those of use who like our Napoleonics marching along, they couldn't be bettered. 

Light infantry  5 units 4 blocks per unit 20 blocks

HAT again do good box of Prussian lights in a variety of skirmishing poses. The figures aren't perhaps quite as nice as their line infantry brethern, they are still quite good. However, the box only includes rankers, so officers, nco's and hornists will have to be got elsewhere. 

Prussian Guard Jaeger by Knotel

Grenadier inf 2 units 4 blocks per unit 8 blocks

Guard Grenadier (labeled Guard) 1 unit 4 blocks per unit 4 blocks 

These I think will have to be metal, though so far as I can tell the only thing that really distinguishes the Guard from the line is the addition of plumes, which were most likely packed away while they were on campaign.  However, never being a man to let practicality get in the way of a good show, I would certainly field 'em with plumes, though a quick scan of the Kennington/SHQ website shows that they stock Prussian Guards. 

Landwehr Infantry  4 units 4 blocks per unit 16 blocks

Now this is an interesting one - Airfix did a set of Napoleonic Prussian infantry that was almost entirely Landwehr and it was one of their best. I've never had a set, but I always thought they looked rather well. I can't see a reason not to use this particular set. 

Reserve Infantry   5 units 4 blocks per unit 20 blocks 

These fellas are a new unit type that hasn't been present in Command & Colours Napoleonics before, so it will be interesting to see how they act.  Now as it happens, HAT do a very nice set of Prussian Reserve infantry in peaked cap and with rolled blanket. Normally, I would be beating a path to their door, but I know that Great Britain sent large number of uniforms in British cut, shakos, muskets, etc to the Prussian in 1813.  I happen to have a mountain of HAT British Peninsular Infantry that are looking for a home, so I was thinking it might be an idea both for the sake of clarity (different head gear making it easier to tell the Reserve and the Landwehr apart) and economy, that I may dress my Prussian reserve in Lancashire cloth. 

Light Cavalry 3 units 3 blocks per unit 9 blocks 

I will always associate the Prussians with hussars, mainly because of Bluchers association with the cavalry arm, but we're spoiled for choice when it comes to Prussian Light Cavalry. I would suggested using the HAT late war Prussian cavalry set, but Waterloo 1815 have brought out not one, but two sets of Prussian hussars for the period and they are exquisite.  I know Plastic Soldier Review had some problems with the fact that they have slung pelisses (the HAT boys wear theirs), but I think they look grand. 

But my weakness of hussars almost compromised my decision to stick to an 1813 army as I have a box of the old Revell Seven Years War set and some Zvesda hussars as well and they are wonderful. 

Lancer (labeled Uhlan) 1 unit 3 blocks per unit 3 blocks

HAT produce a set of Prussian Uhlans and sadly, they are one of the worst sets they produce.  As this a single unit, I will probably go with the beautiful (albeit pricey) Art Miniaturen figures above. They just look so well. 

Militia Cavalry  ( Uhlan Landwehrt) 3 units 3 blocks per unit 9 blocks

These are the HAT Uhlans I was referring to above and they just aren't very nice. Damned if I know what I'll do about them. 

Dragoons 3 units 3 blocks per unit 9 blocks

These fellas share horses with the HAT Uhlans and likewise they don't exactly set a heart racing in terms of sculpting quality. Raising six cavalry units in metal may stretch the treasury more than it can bear. 

Cuirassier 2 units 3 blocks per unit 6 blocks 

The figures shown above are the Italeri Prussian cuirassiers, by 1813 they had abandoned that particular uniform and moved to something with a helmet.  I'm not 100% sure, but I think it may be possible to use Zvesda's Russian or Saxon cuirassiers as an acceptable substitute with a paint conversion.  Something to mull over. 

Foot Arty 4 units 3 blocks per unit 12 blocks – 24 stickers

Horse Arty 2 units 3 blocks per unit 6 blocks – 12 stickers

HAT is the only company offering Prussian artillery in plastic at present and they are fine, if a touch uninspired.  As unlike cavalry, raising a unit in metal doesn't cost the Earth, I may look at that as a possibility. We shall see. 

No one produces Prussian Horse Artillery in plastic at present, but I imagine there will be options in metal. 

Leaders 5 blocks 

Now, as it happens I have quite a few Prussian generals from the Italeri box above.  They are fine simple sculpts and they look rather well. I may spend some mad money on a metal Blucher and possible a metal Zieten as they are my two favourite Prussian generals, but in the meantime, these will do very well. 

Storage

The Great Wall of Figures

Peter over at the Single Handed Admiral asked recently how wargamers approach storage. This is actually something I've given a lot of thought to, so I thought it merited a full post. 

Above you'll see where most of my figures are stored. These are A4 box files, they're not pretty, but they are extremely practical and Capability Savage has a cunning plan for making them more attractive to look at. These cost me between €1.50 and €5.50 depending on where they were bought, some were on sale, I pick them up when I can. They're the best storage solution I've found for 1/72 scale figures.

However, to be honest - it does not matter what sort of box you use. What matters is that it is freely available and comes in a standard size.  This is important because it allows the boxes to be stacked which is a huge advantage. When I worked in the book trade, I used to curse those suppliers that used non-standard sizes. A standard size will make things a lot easier for you. 

The Workhorse 

For figures I use A4 box files lined with steel paper. The figures are magnetised and are held in place by those magnets. This makes it a lot easier to keep things organised. While obviously, you don't want boxes that are too small, a big box is harder to transport and manipulate. Bear that in mind when you're organising your forces. Obviously if you don't intend to travel with your collection it is less of a concern, but look at how you intend to use them and plan accordingly.

Another thing I've noticed since using this method of storage.  There is a temptation to cram as many figures are you can into one of these boxes. You'll notice that there's a little gap between each group in the box. This makes it a lot easier to lift figures out and put them back in again.  You may be saving on boxes, but you'll be wasting time when you're actually trying to get at your toy soldiers. 

The field of Mars
(under construction and everything else apparently)

I'm lucky enough to have a dedicated  War Room and to be honest, there is going to be a certain amount of showing off, but I've been working on this for quite some time and I am exceptionally proud of it. The table above is six foot by four and a half feet. There are wings attached to it, so that it can be expanded to six by six and a half feet. This is the largest sized table I could reasonably fit in the room and still have space to move around. 

Observations on tables. Go as big as you can, but ensure that you leave space to walk round.  Also, don't spend a lot on it because you could get the size wrong. This cost me the price of two sheets of MDF and some hinges.  I intend to play on it for twelve months and then re-evaluate and re-think in light of how it stands up under actual play. I have two terrain mats, which I store flat on top of each other on the table. I'd like to add more funds permitting. 

But given that the table didn't cost the earth, I've no compunctions about hacking it up in twelve months. 

Storage for books and terrain. 

This isn't ideal, these shelves were actually built for figures, but needs must when the Devil drives.  These shelves were built to fill the alcove on either side of the fireplace and consequently are rather too deep for books. Most of the books here are double stacked, which isn't great for getting at them, but it was better than leaving them in boxes in the Dungeon. Eventually the plan is to shelve the Box Room and turn it into a library cum recording studio for Mrs. Kinch. Those shelves will be narrower and most of the books will be going up there. 

Scenery storage

This, I'm not happy with this. The file boxes are good because they are a standard size and they do stack, but I need to work out a way of storing the buildings in them so that they don't get flittered.

 6/10 - Could do better. 

Also with hats. 

This shelf was the brain child of my Father in Law. It's for books that you like, but don't read very often.  It looks lovely and adds nearly twenty feet worth of shelving with no discernable loss of space. The problem is that they can be difficult to get at - though I'm told there is a library steps in my future. So much so that I've been given strict instructions not to get one for myself. 

Also, it provides excellent storage for my collection of head gear. 

Armchair and storage for smokeables 

This was a Christmas gift from Mrs. Kinch and came from Lissandel House where, clever girl that she is, she picked it up at auction.  It was reputedly used by WB Yeats as it was kept in the room that he habitually stayed in.  Pipes go in the bottom, cigars in the humidor on top - with some drinkables stashed towards the back for when it's early in the morning and dragging myself the eight feet to the drinks cabinet is more than I can bear. I usually park myself here with a book after finishing nights with a drink, a smoke and a book. Drinking at 0700 is perfectly normal and is one of the things that makes me bearable as a spouse or so Mrs. Kinch tells me. 

More scenery storage. 

Whatever book I'm reading tends to end up balanced on one of these boxes. There's more scenery stored in them.  The red and blue boxes hold Little Wars figures. The boxes themselves were handmade by my good pal Tootsie and they are beautiful.  I hope to display them to better effect once some of the figure boxes have migrated to the other shelving.  

The swords live here at present, though once I've finished framing prints, they will  migrate to the wall - ideally placed so that they can be seized during a Robin Hood versus Guy of Gisbourne style showdown. 

You'll notice that this is the only chair in the War Room. That's mainly because I usually stand when I wargame. However, one does want to sit down on occasion and I keep some folding chairs under the table for when we have company. 

The Plastic Soldier Barracks

Plastic figures - everything gets taken off its sprue and is put in a plastic bag. I've gotten into the habit of doing this whenever I get a box of plastic figures. It helps a lot - prior to this I had stored them in their boxes and it took up a lot more space.  About six times as much in fact. There is a lot of empty space in a box of toy soldiers. Make sure the bags are clear so that you see what's inside them and don't dump everything in a box without bagging them first because you'll be looking for that one last chap in a marching pose and you'll never find him. 

The camera stuff usually lives under the table, along with some GW carry cases and the Plastic Soldier Barracks. 

The magic cave. 

This drinks cabinet is a wonderful piece of furniture and was the gift of a dear friend of mine, Ms. N. The top shelf holds drinkables, the shelf below that glassware and everything below that is a mix of paint, kits and other bits and pieces that don't really go anywhere else. Things like decals that might be effected by damp are also kept here. 

Daddy loves you all very much. 

I'm sorry I couldn't resist.

Oh well here goes nothing

Now this is probably the best piece of storage we've been able to integrate into the War Room. It is fantastic because it allows me to have stuff close at hand without cluttering things up. On the other hand, if I'd known how much work it would take I'd have never started it. We were able to build this because of a trick of topography.  The front of our home is a good six feet higher than the back, consequently there was a significant drop underneath the floor of the room.  The original floor needed to be replaced and it seemed like the time to do it. The area was dug out, levelled, damp proofed and a concrete floor laid. 

It was a lot of work.  

I suppose the motto of this particular project is that there's storage there if you look for it. I doubt anyone will be in a position to replicate this exactly, but if you look around and use a little imagination, you can make space. 

Just packed

There's actually a considerable amount of space down there. This picture makes it look rather more packed than it is. Again, archive boxes used for storage because they stack, though there's a portion of them that have kitchen ware, etc in them at the moment while we're still working on the kitchen. Hopefully, by the time I get the main collections sorted, I'll be able to put a bit more shape on this. Coming along swimmingly.  

So to sum up. 

1. Store your figures in standard sized boxes that don't cost the earth and that can be stacked. 

2. Label things or use clear containers. 

3. Examine the space you have and see where you can integrate additional storage. 

4. Make the storage fit what you want to store. 

5. Make it work first and then make it beautiful. 

National Theatre Live: Coriolanus

There's a spot of claret about. 

Last night was date night and Mrs Kinch took me to see Coriolanus - National Theatre Live.  For those who are unfamiliar, National Theatre Live is a filmed theatrical performance which is then shown in cinemas.  The first performance is live, but we missed it because we were both working - so it was great to catch an encore.  The production was put together by the National, while the show itself was performed in the Donmar.

The show is incredible - absolutely fantastic.  Spell binding stuff. 

There was a fifteen minute interval, during which the director spoke about the direction she wanted the production to go in and the choices that she made.  I found this a bit confusing as I didn't see much of a connection between her stated intention to talk about the plebs of Rome and the struggle of their tribunes. 

The Tribunes of the people were as slimy  as I expected, the people as fickle, Coriolanus as noble. But whatever the thinking behind it - it was a superb show. 

Tom Hiddlestone as Coriolanus was fantastic and delivered an electrifying performance. Physically impressive as well as superbly acted. I don't normally like Mark Gatiss. He makes an exceptionally irritating Mycroft Holmes, but as Menenius he was wonderful. His lightness of touch, whimsy and depth of feeling, particularly in his last speech, were the work of a mature craftsman at the top of his game. 

But if the boys were good, the real star of the show was Deborah Findlay as Volumnia, Coriolanis's mother.  She was every inch the Roman matriarch.  Tough, but not unfeeling, brave and loving.  She was electric - I cannot write enough good things about her. She owned the stage in every moment she was on it. The relationship between her and Tom Hiddlestone was beautifully nuanced and intensely real.  She was superb.  I regret to say that she doesn't seem to have picked up an awards nods for it though. 

Good plays about duty are rare these days, so we must find old ones. Coriolanus is not often performed (though the Ralph Fiennes film of 2011 is well worth seeing), I suppose because its themes are not much in accord with the 21st century as we live it. But if you want to be transported to another world and see a masterpiece performed by a cast at the top of their game - I would urge you to see this. 

Command & Colours Napoleonics: The Prussians - Part One

General Blucher

A man once described by Capability Savage 

as "...one horned helmet away from being a bloody Viking."

The next Command & Colours Napoleonic Expansion is coming and it's going to be a doozy.  If the Austrians are the hard working, unpopular kids in the High School Teen drama of Napoleonic Europe, the Prussians are the big sporty types.  Though I think that would mean that Spain is the strange, troubled child with problems at home.  Britain is the "normal" one, the Harry Potter of the situation if you will, while France is the obnoxious rich kid that has the audience rooting for his downfall within two scenes. 

At least, when I direct the Napoleonic version of "The Breakfast Club" that is exactly what it's going to be like. 

It will look just like this, but with more shakos. 

So, the jocks are arriving in the next few months. There are 18 scenarios in the box which are listed below. So we have the first lot. 

Saalfeld - 10 October 1806
Schleiz - 11 October 1806
Jena - 14 October 1806
Auerstädt - 14 October 1806
Greussen - 16 October 1806
Halle - 17 October 1806
Prenzlau - 28 October 1806
Waren-Nossentin - 1 November 1806

To be honest, I'm only really familiar with Jena and Auerstadt of these. But I'll have the opportunity to get genned up in the next few months. These eight scenarios make up the first half of those included in the box and take place before the Scharnhorst reforms.  I'm curious to see whether the Prussian special rules will change depending on the year. 

The second lot are. 

Lutzen - 2 May 1813

Bautzen - 21 May 1813
Grossbeeren - 23 August 1813
Grossbeeren (Blankenfelde) 23 August 1813
Leipzig (Möckern) - 16 October 1813

Chateau Thierry - 12 February 1814

Laon - 9 March 1814

Ligny - 16 June 1815
Wavre - 18 June 1815
Waterloo (Plancenoit) - 18 June 1815

These I'm a lot more familiar with, though to an extent that's an artifact of the last three scenarios being part of "The Hundred Days". There's an interesting mix of stuff there and I think there's a lot to look forward too, particularly those games set during the 1813 campaign. I suspect the Prussian player is going to be a bit of whipping box in the 1806 games, but as time and tide turn against the French, the 1813 games will be rather more satisfactory. 

So this of course begs the question. Which army do I collect? 

Like so many things in wargaming this comes down to a matter of hats. The Prussian army of 1806 wears a very fetching side to side lid.  Unfortunately, the only figures available for that army in plastic are these fellows from HAT. 

And they I think you'll agree are not going to win any beauty contests.  I understand that this is totally irrational, as these fellows have similiar proportions to alot of the Strelets figures in my collection. But, I really like Strelets figures and I don't like these. 

HAT's late war Prussian Napoleonic Infantry 

These on the other hand, are just lovely, simple figures. They are available in the HAT Marching-Action-Command format and they're just lovely.  They also have the advantage of being from the period when the Prussians weren't being kicked around by the French quite so much. 

So I've decided that my Prussian army will be aimed at the latter part of the Napoleonic wars. Though knowing me, we're probably just talking about my first Prussian army. 

Coming in Part Two - The Block count for the Prussian Army and some ideas for figures to use. 

RAF Control Tower

Just realised that I've left the top off - that RAF fella isn't just sitting on top of a building

With all these aerial shenanigans - it seemed to be time to make sure that my birds had somewhere to roost.  While emptying some boxes I came across this venerable kit - I have no idea when I picked it up or when though I know it's been around for ages. That said despite the multiple house moves and so forth - it doesn't seem to be too bashed. 

A certain amount of brute force and ignorance was required

Some of the railings are missing, but I've started replacing them with brass wire. I will need to add a rail to it once I've replaced the broken ones. The instructions for this kit are long gone - so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? I've seen cotton being used, but I would superglue stick it properly or should I use more wire? 

Swordfish

The plane spotters amongst us will almost certainly recognise this as a Fairey Swordfish, a biplane torpedo bomber used by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.  Antiquated even when it first entered service, it did good service, as it's low speed and rugged construction provided a stable platform for launching torpedoes. Most famous for its service at the Battle of Taranto where they inflicted heavy losses on the Italian navy.  There was a double page spread in a Warlord annual about it - so I mainly remember the Swordfish (also known as the stringbag) in four colour comic form. 

Swordfish also took part in the Channel Dash, the only time since the Anglo-Dutch wars that an enemy fleet has successfully traversed the Channel. This was a battle that took place in 1942, when a group of German vessels sailed from Brest to bases in Germany, during which they were attacked by a flight of six Swordfish.  The attacking planes were wiped out by superior numbers of more advanced German fighters, but their determination and grit was saluted by no less a personage Admiral Ciliax, the German officer commanding, who said "....the mothball attack of a handful of ancient plance, piloted by men whose bravery surpasses any other action by either side that day."

This specimen was something I picked up as a passing fancy. I have a weakness for biplanes and I managed to pick this one on eBay, fully assembled and painted for about the price of a pint. I don't have any plans for naval games, so I think this will be doing service against the Anglican League or the Soviet Socialist Republic of Liverpool in Very British Civil War games. 

As the Swordfish comes, like the Gladiator, with its landing gear deployed, it can also be used on the ground either as an objective or a piece of scenary.  I've been playing a number of Very British Civil War games via webcam with a nameless mysterious figure in Roscommon known only by the codename Steve. The British Union of Fascists air power has been making life somewhat difficult for me, so it might be time to play an attack on an airfield scenario. 

This will give me an excuse to put a shape on my newly discovered RAF control tower and will give the Swordfish and the Gloster Gladiator a bit of an outing. 

Although it may mean that I may now have to build some sort of 1/72 scale wind sock.