Dispatches from the front XXVIIII - Back to the Future.

Last post of the month, it been a while since the last dispatch from the front. With the weather being a touch on the hot side, it felt like the perfect time to play an Ardennes game - Andy does like a large game :-)

Played using Bolt Action with the US defending the town from a two sided German attack, great photo's from the clubs resident war photographer which puts my efforts to shame.

Medal of honor goes to this AT crew who inflicted 3 kills on the advancing Germans.

The Allied forces managed to blunt the Axis attack inflicting significant losses on the advancing infantry and armour, with the Germans only managing to secure a couple of buildings on the outskirts of town.

Jumping ahead a few weeks and it's back to the old west and 'What a Cowboy' cracking layout from my secret wargaming buddy, who has been busy adding to his collection, nice to get the Cinderella Cattle Company on to the table looking to stop the funeral cortege secure the map held in Stinky Pete's boot.

As the bullets fly, the civilians ran for cover, with henchmen taking pot shots at the opposing gangs as they looking to secure the body,

Great fun although that might be because the CCC got away with no wounds. It got me thinking about Simon Walkers idea to convert to the Zulu Wars and his Death of the Prince game that did the rounds of wargames shows last year, the Zulu's being henchmen - We did a variant to Sharpe Practice several years ago, it would be good to get the figures back out. One to think about in the months ahead.

Talking about Simon's adaptions looking forward to this supplement for Men Who Would be Kings. Simon and I have swapped e-mails on many occasions on various adaptions of rules for the Pony Wars, great to see this passion project reach a new audience and a published rule set.... 

Whilst waiting for this it's tempted me back to rollout the Pony Wars Games for my wargaming gang, the card system is fantastic but back in 1980 you needed a maths degree to work out casualties so I am borrowing the firing and melee mechanisms from MWTBK to hopefully reduce the time spent in the rule book.... stay tuned as the US Cavalry saddle up to rescue the homesteaders..

With e-bay funds burning a hole in my virtual pocket, I got thinking about how these rules could be adapted for Starship Troopers and some of the new STL prints... next thing you know these are on order. Whilst I own a bunch in 25mm - the mass in 6mm could be quite scary.... 

What you can get now in 3D Prints is fantastic and it should be a rather quick paint job and a project to chip away at over the winter months.

Not sure what the September paint queue looks like just yet, there are several small bits in the draw, so lets see what's sparked by forthcoming games.

Chinese Motor Pool - 2nd Sino Japanese War

A few weeks away so little to show on the painting front, fortunately the Sino-Japanese project moves forward thanks to blitzkriegworkshop on eBay who offer a custom print and paint service for 3D printed vehicles. Great value for money when you compare to plastic kits and the construction and paint time.

In this order we have a SDKFZ 222, a Panzer I and a Soviet BA-10, I asked for 'blanks' so I could add my own decals.

One of the things that attracted me to this conflict in the first place was the mix of kit available to the Chinese Nationalists and varied uniform and paint schemes. 

The Chinese armoured forces were few in number and heavily influenced by wider global politics and foreign imports. The main suppliers came from Germany, Italy, Britain, and the Soviet Union:

• German equipment included armoured cars such as the Sd.Kfz 221/222 and a small number of Panzer I tanks. The vast majority were destroyed around Nanjing.

• Italian CV35 tankettes were acquired in significant numbers (around 100). While widely used into the early 1940s, they were lightly armoured and vulnerable.

• British Vickers 6‑ton tanks Deployed around Shanghai.

• Soviet T‑26 tanks became a key reinforcement after heavy Chinese losses in 1937–38. These were among the most effective tanks in Chinese service, valued for their reliability and the ability to recover and repair damaged vehicles.

I have not be able to source any significant engagements between Chinese and Japanese Armour, the Chinese armoured organisation was known to mix different vehicle types within the same units, reflecting the inconsistent supply through out the war.

Whilst largely outgunned and poorly supplied they will at least give the Chinese some options in future games and whilst the waiting time is around 8 weeks from order to supply they are table ready and reasonably priced.

Next up more Japanese Infantry.

The last of the Kyoushuneko Chinese (for now).

Just before the weather got to the point where paint was drying on the brush, the last of the Kyoushuneko prints roll off the paint table production line finishing off - Chinese month for June.

I went for a lighter Khaki for these, which appears to be prominent in the south of the country. Unlike the previous 88th division these are equipped with British & US Kit (or copies)

I had a couple of head swaps to give me a little more variety and pinched a couple of backpacks and water bottles from some warlord supres to give them a slightly different feel to the other troops.

Whilst I am really happy with them, the Chinese in apple green looked great, so now think I need a 'few' extra's to top up the Nationalist forces - Looks like an order is coming Eureka's way.

In total 2 more squads, a second AT Gun, 81mm Mortar and Sniper.

Let's see if these reinforcements can slow the Japanese advance.

Chinese heavy weapons.... 2nd Sino-Japanese War.

Last batch of Chinese for a while..... as the itch to paint something different takes hold....

Again a mix of uniforms for the AT Teams to support the completed infantry sections.

Also something a little stronger to put a stop to the Japanese advance. A Pak 36 supplied by the German Army to the Chinese before supplies were switched off.

A nice kit from Kyoushuneko Miniatures 3D print. Now to get some game time....

Next up.... something a little different....

Chinese 88th Division - 1937

You can't beat an Easter weekend an opportunity to bag a day or two of painting.

With the Chinese Army made up of a number of Warlord factions, some troops are better than others. One of the most famous was the Chinese 88th Division deployed at the battle of Shanghai.

One of Chiang Kai‑shek’s German-trained divisions, they make for an interesting addition to the Chinese forces.

During the 1930s, China cooperated closely with Nazi Germany for military modernisation. The 88th Division was reorganized, trained, and partially equipped following German Army (Wehrmacht) doctrine, including, Modern infantry tactics & Improved discipline and drill.

Perhaps they should be heavy Infantry in the Xenos Rampant tweaks.

They will need some heavy weapons to help keep the Japanese at bay.

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.

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.

Dispatches from the front XXXVII - Last post of the year.

It's been a while since the last dispatch from the front....... 

Time for an end of year review and some annual awards to dish out..... :-)

Unit or Unit of the Year.

Looking back over this years painting efforts I thought it would be interesting on which units where the most enjoyable to get on the table. 

The paint count this year was not to bad at all.

Over 150 15mm Foot Figures, 24 Cavalry, 220 28mm Foot, 30 28mm Mounted Figures and around 20 buildings and Terrain pieces.

The winner has to be the men of Massachusetts. 

At the time these 10mm Pendraken miniatures were far too many in one go... but 10 months later and reflecting on the overall output it was great to get 5 units on the table in one go. 

Rule set of the year.

It has to be Lion Rampant - They are so flexible and have provided numerous well balanced games. The Outremer games have kept the paint table ticking over.

More next year that's for sure.

Game of the year.

This was a tough one, but based on the look, feel and challenge playing VC forces against a mobile well armed US force it has to be La Drang Valley - Dust, Tears & Dice: Ia Drang Valley 1965 - Force on Force. We played using Force on Force which gave a great feel for the period.

Book of the Year.

Saul David - Tunisgrad a great read that takes you from the trenches to the generals map table. Inspiration for future games that's for sure.

Near miss.

This was a fun one... Projects or Rabbit holes that almost resulted in another project - Inspiration can come from a range of things. A weekend trip to Barcelona and a sense you had seen this building before. 

Several years ago I completed a Nationalist Spanish force - I was almost tempted to build an CNT Militia force I put it down to too much sangria.

Find of the Year.

Blitzkrieg Workshop - Printed and Painted WW2 vehicles - Items for sale by blitzkriegworkshop | eBay

£22.50 for a ready painted Tiger I

Now that's good value for money.

Save from the brink.

I must be getting old but the past 12 months I have seen several trusted brands wind up or retire. It was great to see Pendraken acquire Ironclad Miniatures and keep them in the market they had a great range of figures and terrain it would have been a shame to see them disappear. 

It's been a productive 12 months it was good to finish off the American War of Independence project with more than enough completed for most encounters especially using the Rebels and Patriot rules they play really well and have resulted in some great games - This year finally Lexington and Concorde over a couple of days.

The Crusades project is almost complete definitely a project that got out of hand.... so many cavalry. I bloody hate cavalry. With two more Arab units to go... the aim is get these done before the return to work on the 5th.

So what for 2026

The Christmas haul is a hint.

The occasional Aztec project continues with some additional cavalry, more Japanese for the January project more on that below and some US Rangers for Operation Torch - Curse you Saul David.

I have taken my first dip into 3D prints, having purchased the occasional mini this is the first major army purchase. I can't see myself buying a printer especially as there are lots of people popping up with print on demand businesses. Good to get a friendly local supplier who I can chat to about purchases and get them picked up within a few days. 

A couple of shots of the work in progress.

With an eye for the lesser known periods I fancied some Chinese for WW2 I already have plenty of terrain for the Far East and Japanese troops already painted they seemed like the perfect choice. There are some great files available for the Chinese army in a mix of headgear and supporting armour from Panzer II's to French FT17's.

These are the first batch a mix of the 88th Division in German kit.

Plenty more in British Issue helmets.

With a mix of uniforms ranging from Blue to Khaki they will certainly look that little bit different on the table... Not overly bother by Rules at this stage - Perhaps Chain of Command, Bolt Action V2 or even Xenos Rampant (Tweaked for WW2)

Having gone all in and purchased enough for 6-8 squads plus supports it will be a refreshing change from the Crusades.

Have a great new year everyone.