Yet more Chinese.....

The Chinese steamroller continues, with the first taster batch completed in January the pace is really picking up, first game in April if I can crack a couple more sections over Easter.

Coming off the paint table 2 additional sections of Chinese.

I have been playing quite a bit of Xenos Rampant of late for WW2, just need to now think about how I present the Chinese in the unit stats.

This are Kyoushuneko Miniature 3D prints a number of head swaps amongst this bunch to give me more variety within each section. 

Looking forward to getting this into a game.

2nd Sino-Japanese War - Chinese Infantry Part 2

After last weeks support weapons time to get to grips with more infantry, as mentioned in previous posts I wanted to break up the Chinese formations with different uniform colours and styles.

These section is issued with British helmets and comes in a khaki tunic.  

Lovely designs from Kyoushuneko Miniatures on my of the close ups on the web they look a little cartoon like but painted up they compare really nicely with Warlord, Perry's and Battlehonours.

I need to think about what their national characteristics look like, the misconception is that the Chinese were very poor quality, but the more I read on them they are perhaps more stoic than first thought, outside of the German equipped divisions they lacked support weapons, armour and artillery.

Next up more boys in blue.

Who wore it best - Chinese Infantry - Sino Japanese War 1937.

With the last of the Arab cavalry complete now for something that little more modern.

With the testers completed in January in the bluish grey, I thought I would mix it up a little with some Khaki for those troops in the south of the country, I have some lighter tunics planned for the third phase to really given that unstructured feel for the uniform types for the Chinese troops.

Nice designs from Kyoushuneko Miniatures, with plenty of characters in the faces on the Chinese troops.

Heavy Machine Gun Teams, will they be enough to stop the Japanese onslaught?

Spotters and mortars to help keep the enemy at bay... Next up more Infantry.

Sino-Japanese War 1937 - 1945 - Chinese Infantry WW2

Something a little different for 2026 and the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War Project.

Lots more to come but I thought I would start with a small section in a bluish-grey uniform, this was common in northern China with Khaki dominating in the South. The Nationalists appeared to have a patch work of uniforms due to the lack of centralised manufacturing so the plan will be to paint up a number of sections each in a different uniform shade. This will tie in with the mix of kit ranging from British, French, Russian & even German kit in the early years of the war.

These are all 3D prints from Kyoushuneko Miniatures and my first large collection of prints instead of metals or plastics, they have a reasonable range of sculpts but with a choice of 4 different heads in some of the packs and with a snip or too on the others you get quite a range to put on the table.

The greatest challenge is sticking them to the circular base as they don't print with a moulded base- Super glue is your friend here. They can be a little brittle in some areas but they represent great value for money when being printed locally.

They take the paint really well and have just the right level of detail without to many buckles, smaller elements that are missed when on the table.

For this cohort these were the colours used.

Uniform - GW Russ Grey 

Helmet - Foundry STorm Green Shade 27A

Blanket Roll - GW Eshin Grey /GW Straken Green

Boots - Black.

Sword Sheath = GW Catachan Flesh

Flesh - GW Kislev Flesh

Rifle/chin strap - Foundry Chestnut Shade 53A

Nap sack - Foundry - Rawhide Light 11C

Webbing Foundry - African Flesh Light 126 C

Wash - Warpaint Fanatic - Soft Tone.

Wyre Forest Gamers - Pacific Landing - Rapid Fire.

One of the things about club gaming is the ability to put on that BIG game outside of the limits of gaming at home.....

What a fantastic table to play on.... John at the club really does like to do things on the grand scale.

US Marine forces look to storm the beaches and push in land but where were the Japanese?  Apart from the occasion artillery round the US had it their own way as they started to push through the jungle terrain.

The big reveal, bunkers and pill boxes littered the dense jungle and poured fire into the advancing US forces.

From further back Artillery pounded the advancing troops.

Fearing the tide was turning against them armour was called forward as the second wave had landed on the beach.

We had planned for that and with clear fields of fire hit the advancing armour with hidden anti-tank guns.... Despite being heavily out numbered as the defenders we were feeling pretty happy with our defensive positions.

However over time one by one our positions were ground down, we had one more throw of the dice and a large infantry attack if we could punch through to the beach we might be able to slow the US advance.

Despite over running the company HQ and destroying another tank, we were a spent force.... Time to retreat inland and the next line of defences.

A great looking game and fun to play, played using Rapid Fire V3 which made for a fast game given the numbers involved but they did leave a feel a little too thin for me, in other rule sets the US should have been pinned or forced to ground and given some of the various ambush and kills we inflicted on them. There are other rules that perhaps give a better feel but you would have been playing a lot longer to get a similar result.

The shortening of the rule book from previous versions perhaps leaves gaps in the understanding, but given the number of ambushes and the human wave attacks they are not a typical occurrence in every game so it's not surprising you players have to work out what might feel right in working this element out.

But at £5 a set very good value for money verse others on the market. If you want lots of toys on the table and plenty of action I can see the appeal.

Bolt Action Far East - (Not) Breaking the Jitra Line 1941

Wow this seems rather green and lush compared to the number of recent desert games. A great club game bringing together various players collections of Far East forces with an encounter based loosely on the breaking of the Jitra Line in 1941 and the blocking force at Nangka.

Japanese forces advance on mass looking to capture the bridge and break through the US forces defending it.

The Marines were dug in and were able to pour fire into the charging Japs.

Both sides were able to pick their own support points so we (Japanese) opted for a light tank to break the line.

However the Yanks were ready for them, rushing forward with satchel charges meant for destroying the bridge instead throwing under the tank and immobilising it. There would be no breakthrough today.

Games like this really get the creative juices flowing despite several projects on the go, some of the new Warlord releases for the Far East are very nice..... I must stay focused.

Junior Hacksaw Ridge - Bolt Action Far East.

As it's snowing outside why not put on a jungle game I thought... 2000 points and all the toys for the Far East... Playout using Bolt Action.

The mission was a simple one, the Japanese had to take the ridge line and village beyond, receiving 1 point for each unit near the ridge and 2 points over the ridge. Meanwhile the Marines scored 2 points for each enemy unit wiped out.

In a cagey opening the Japs sent infantry forwards but were greeted by MMG fire from the temple and Mortar fire from the ridge. With a 50% of the US Forces in and around the ridge, it was difficult for the attackers to know what to expect.

More and more enemy flooded the table. A squad of Marines made a nuisance of themselves in the wooden hut, whilst few in number they attracted the fire from many of the attackers, with Infantry, MMG's and Snipers pinning them on the dirt floor.

The remaining Marine stood to and started to move out of the village to defend the ridge including a Stuart light tank to counter the Japanese armour which was making it's presence felt on the temple defenders.

The defenders in the temple poured fire into the advancing Japanese, catching them in the open however the supporting fire of the attackers forced them 'down'.

The Marines fell and the Japs cleared the temple.

The Japanese FOO called down the artillery to plaster the defenders rushing to plug the gap.

With the Japs pushing an increasing number of units into the ridge zone and racking up points the defenders launched a counter attack, but was it too late in the day?

Bursting from cover the flame thrower hoped to send the attackers packing, but with a easy roll the attackers went and missed and were shot down.

Banzai....... urged on by their Officer the Japanese charged the tank and with bayonet and grenade were able to immobilise it. 

With the loss of the Stuart and Flame thrower coupled with the the attackers having too many units in the ridge zone and the yanks had lost too many defenders to mount a serious counter attack, victory went to the Japanese.

A well balanced affair with the game seesawing between the attackers and defenders for the majority of the day. Nice to get all of the models on the table. The temple was able to hold out until the infantry went in.... Snipers were an annoyance for both sides even if the they did not score a kill, they were pinning units at crucial moments.

Next up finally back to the Middle East, I am running out of excuses to complete the Vichy Forces....

Warlord Games - Japanese Infantry

The recent restructure of the Far East forces for Bolt Action allowed me to expand the Japanese forces by a couple of sections but left me with a few gaps, fortunately Warlord were having a November sale so I picked up a couple of items to make up the postage - Honest.

The medium mortar will be a useful addition to the Japanese forces.

5 plastic infantrymen they match up well to the original Westwind Infantry I already have. They are full of character and are some of nicest castings amongst their plastic WW2 ranges.

That's all the Japanese and US Marines complete.

Now on to the Middle Eastern theatre after this distraction.

Going Green...... Marines and Irregulars.

Yet again a minor distraction but in my defence it does complete the last of Marines and Insurgent figures on a couple of projects... this pile of lead had been languishing in boxes for several years and going for a common palette allowed me to rattle through them relatively quickly.

These extra's will come in handy for the US Marine selections within the Bolt Action units list.

.50 Cal Heavy Machine Gun team, a useful extra to keep the Japanese hordes at bay.

The 81mm mortar team and forward observers will add a little more fire power to the table and can be used in a direct or indirect role.

Leap forward about 50 years and these last three chaps will bolster the Zikanga Insurgent forces. these were from Spectre Miniatures and their launch kickstarter from a number of years ago... It might be a touch warm in deepest Africa for a balaclava. 

That's all folks......