Dispatches from the front XXX - New Projects & the real world of gaming.

Not done a dispatch for a while and this one seems to have a touch of the real life about it.

I've recently had a clear out of older wargaming projects. You know the sort of thing: Units that never made it to the table top, spares or projects that have not seen a battle in few years, its always good to release extra funds for new projects.

Thanks HMRC. 

Selling more than 30 items on platforms such as eBay can trigger reporting requirements to HMRC under the new digital platform rules. That doesn't automatically mean tax is due, but it does mean your activity may be reported. What sticks in the throat slightly is that many of these miniatures, rulebooks and hobby supplies were bought new years ago, complete with VAT. In many cases they're being sold at a substantial loss rather than a profit. It feels a little cheeky that after paying VAT on purchase, a hobbyist having a clear out can find themselves caught up in tax reporting thresholds designed to identify trading activity. 

I get it, of course there's a difference between running a business and simply reclaiming some shelf space and while HMRC generally distinguishes between genuine trading and selling personal possessions, I thought I only had to worry about the wife finding out about my spending habits.😉

On to real life distractions.

Spotted these on Kickstarter from Brigade Games in the US and yes you can rest assured tax will be due on the import, a great collection of Chinese civilians to add to the Sino-Japanese project to populate the new buildings and clutter up the roads.

Sad news with the death of Patrick Stewart last week, he played King Leondegrance in Excalibur and a great battle scene. On the thread on the Northstar FB Nick mentioned some very exciting news.

Coming in January - A whole new range to compliment the movie.... Well that scuppered my original plans for 2027 and Operation Torch.

It looks like 2027 could be back to the 80's & 90's.... Over 12 years ago I kicked off a project for Starship Troopers we had some great campaign games, but scale was always an issue, when you want to re-fight the battle for Ft Joe Smith but you only have managed to amass 50 bugs it felt a little below par.

So why not do it in 6mm I thought?

Crow Industries have produced some great individual prints including a whole cluster or swarm of bugs.

A few odds and ends to clear this month but December will be bug central if the Excalibur range lands in January and the tax man does not snaffle all my funds. Being mostly black they should not take that long - But so many legs....

Finally one for the Blogger community, it will be interesting to see what others are seeing. Every now and again you get random comments pop up on posts, normally an advert for some off shore something or other. But lately AI posts appear to be creeping with far more content. Apologies to Omar & Michael if you are real but not many humans write 3 paragraphs about how insightful and great each post is. :-)

Operation Martlet - BIG Bolt Action.

Wyre Forest Club Day & Operation Martlet.

The British push from Fontenay-le-Pesnel through St Nicolas Farm and onwards towards Rauray. The farm is not the objective itself. It is the gateway. Fail there, and the attack stalls. Capture it, and the battle for the Rauray begins. 

The attack begins before dawn. Ahead lies St Nicolas Farm, its stone buildings concealed behind ripening wheat fields. Beyond it Rauray where German observers direct artillery over the entire battlefield. The farm must be taken quickly. Every minute spent fighting there allows fresh German reserves to assemble. Capture the farm and the road to Rauray opens. Fail, and the attack dies in the wheat.

Played using Bolt Action with a few modifications, where each dice pull allowed units in a radius to all activate. That kept the game moving along with 20 dice in the bag vs what would have been 80 vs 60 dice a side.

A cracking game, Jerry deployed on the map and only came into play when they moved or fired.

With no Germans on the table the British commander had the choice of 2 artillery barrages, picking likely German defences, the Germans were canny and avoided the obvious choice of deploying in the farm hiding out in the Orchard behind the barn.

Every turn as the Brits moved forwards another Sherman brewed up. The farm was assaulted and the German defenders forced out by bayonet point.

The Germans fell back on Rauray in good order as the Brits ran out of steam and tanks.

A few more pics from Stephen our resident Robert Capa

A great days gaming and great to put on a large game......

Japanese Support - Sino Japanese War

 As October draws to a close the last of the regular forces.

This is a nice piece of kit from Mardav Miniatures, the crew are a little thinner than a few of the others on the market, but some good poses for a crew in action.

Next up and the final Japanese mini - A flamethrower from Eureka.

I need to work out some stats - but this should be a fun getting him to help clear out the Chinese defenders.

Next up a month of odds and sods..... before a new project in December.

Wild Geese - The last flight

Club day and the opportunity to play a game which has been long on the wish list - A recreation of the classic - Wild Geese movie.

Colonel Faulkner's Briefing

The mercenary force has suffered a major setback. The vehicle convoy intended to carry them to safety has been destroyed at a river crossing, leaving the surviving troops stranded deep in hostile territory. Communications are intermittent, ammunition is running low, and enemy forces now know their approximate location.

The only chance of escape is a remote airfield 25 miles away where a transport aircraft is scheduled to make a brief landing at dawn. Between the survivors and their escape lies rough terrain, hostile villages, roadblocks, and an increasingly determined government army.

To be read to the assembled mercenary force shortly after the destruction of the lorries at the bridge.

"Gentlemen, listen in.

The good news is we're still alive.

The bad news is that every man in this country now knows roughly where we are, and they know exactly where we're heading.

The bridge is gone. The transport is gone. What should have been a fast run to the airfield has turned into a twenty-five-mile march through hostile territory. We're carrying our wounded, we're short of ammunition, and we're going to be hunted every step of the way.

So let's be clear about our situation.

Nobody is coming to rescue us.

We are the rescue.

 

Ahead of us is an airfield. At dawn tomorrow a pilot brave enough or crazy enough to keep his word will attempt to put an aircraft down on that strip. If we're there, we go home. If we're not, we're left behind. 

In a running battle, against more than 4 times their number the Mercs would have a job on there hands but they were professionals and training should get them through this.

Played using Force on Force, with the mercs with always on initiative they were able to supress multiple fire teams that popped up as Faulkner and his men ran the length of the table.

With the Heavy Machine Gun sweeping the open ground the majority of the mercs made the runway.

As the local militia started to fill the runway the last of the Merc's piled on to the plane.

A great game and mission accomplished for the raiders.

Julius Limbani was on the plane all for the loss of 2 dead and 3 wounded.

Next up some alternative scenario's in Zembala and the government of General Ndofa.

Operation Iron First.

Following the escape of the Wild Geese, General Ndofa launches a brutal purge. Intelligence indicates that loyalists of Julius Limbani are gathering in the northern highlands. Ndofa sends an elite battalion to eliminate the rebels before an uprising can begin.

The Diamond Convoy.

A convoy carrying Zembala's diamond reserves is travelling to the capital to finance Ndofa's regime.

The Battle of Mamba Airfield.

Months after the failed rescue operation, foreign governments secretly back a second attempt to overthrow Ndofa.

The Presidential Return.

Rumours spread that Julius Limbani survived and has secretly returned to Zembala. Escort Limbani through hostile territory to a major town where he can rally supporters.

Operation Cobra Strike.

The only thing keeping Ndofa in power is a sophisticated communications centre coordinating his forces.

Chinese Support - Sino-Japanese War

Another week and an hour a night eats into the Chinese backlog.

The Chinese crew are from Eureka Miniatures with gun salvaged from some WW1 British, the great thing is the Chinese had a mish mash of equipment so the old gun felt like a nice fit.

Next up a Chinese knee mortar, from what limited information is available they were not used in collective platoons as with the Japanese formations so one team it is for the nationalist forces.

Finally a one time only Anti-Tank team - The original suicide squad. 

I need to think about how to represent these in Xenos Rampant, perhaps some kind of wild charge when an enemy AFV is in sight?

Well lets see how these units can slow the Japanese advance.

A day on the brushes tomorrow and the last of the Japanese forces.

Dust & Tears Campaign - A German Reconnaissance Mission

One of the benefits of a permanent gaming space is some times you just need to shuffle the table pieces. The second game of three for the Axis force.

This game is pretty even with both sides at equal points. Rolling for a scenario it's a reconnaissance patrol with the German forces having to unearth the true strength of the allied forces.

As this was a solo game, the counters represent the various potential Commonwealth forces, Yellow for light, pink for support and red for heavy. 

A desert farm complex has been identified approximately 5 kilometres beyond the current forward line. Intelligence reports are inconclusive regarding the strength and disposition of enemy forces occupying the position.

The farm may serve as:

A supply and water point, a platoon or company defensive position or an observation and reporting post for enemy forces operating in the sector.

Enemy troops are expected to conceal their true strength and will seek to avoid exposing defensive assets unnecessarily. Any advance guards or listening posts encountered should be assumed capable of raising the alarm and withdrawing to the main position.

Your detachment will conduct a reconnaissance of the farm complex 

The mission will be considered successful if:

• More than half of the suspected positions within the farm complex are identified.

• At least one heavy weapon or vehicle location is confirmed.

• The majority of occupied positions are identified.

• A reliable estimate of enemy strength is obtained.

• The patrol returns with sufficient information to enable a future attack plan.

The destruction of the enemy is not the purpose of this operation. Knowledge is the objective.

The Axis force probe forward using the stone wall as cover looking to get eyes on the main complex and immediately bump into a defending Indian section.

Meanwhile in a bold move throwing an armoured car forward flushed out more defenders and a shower of high explosive shells.

Pressing on yet more defenders this time an Armoured Car and AT Rifle team, the Axis scouts fell back.

A radio message back to Battalion HQ and a return dose to on the defenders.

A brisk fire fight and the olive grove was clear of defenders, the German AC having been beaten back on the main road to the village looked to push left only to be countered by the defenders.

With Germans firmly in control of the grove and eyes on the farm with over 50% of the defenders revealed, it was another victory to the German forces - They are finally on a roll.

With the Brits losing 625 Points and the Germans 350 - The Brits fall back on the campaign map.

Chinese 88th Division Command.

It's Sino - Japanese month (again), this month the plan is to get all final pieces finished before a new project in November.

The 3D prints from Kyoushuneko Miniatures are very good, but are missing certain elements such as high level command and the like, so I have dropped in a couple of items from Eureka's range to fill in the gaps.

The Officers with machine pistols and a big sword are just the ticket to take the fight to the Japanese.

I saw a youtube video on converting Warlord Japanese Infantry into Chinese, so had a crack at a head swap on the standard bearer dropping on Kyoushuneko head - he's come out OK.

I did the same for the knee mortar. A useful addition to the defenders.

 Next up a more Chinese in blue.