Monday 29 April 2013

Chindits Special Force


There seems to be a fair bit of interest in the campaigns in Burma waged by the Chindits; certainly there are a few figure ranges being pushed at present. My late uncle was in the Royal Signals firstly in N Africa and then in Burma where he was attached to the Chindits, specifically the Royal West African Field Force, a Nigerian Brigade which formed a substantial proportion of the entire Chindit force. My uncle was captured by the Japanese but made it through the war and when I was going through his effects recently I found some of his insignia, including his Chindit shoulder badge and RS/RWAFF shoulder tapes. He never spoke about his experiences in Burma ( he did, a bit, about N. Africa and Tobruk) but did have good words to say for the Nigerians of the RWAFF. Perhaps one of the manufacturers of figures for this campaign might like to add some to their range of figures, or at least suitable separate heads?

Friday 26 April 2013

Big change afoot

Well, last nightafter much umming and arr'ing I finally decided to go back down to the Durham Wargames Group with a view to rejoining after an absence of what must be ten years. I had been a member at Durham since 1972 but the demands of working away and balancing a family life  and lately being a single dad, not to mention living about an hour from Durham meant that regular gaming was kicked into touch. I have had some great games with Rob and John over the years, but that opportunity for future gaming appears to be on pause, for whatever reasons. It is a shame but life must go on. Nevertheless, that door is open should the very welcome opportunity arise.

I've not had a wargame (with a live opponent, although not sure a dead one would much fun, despite being a Walking Dead fan)for quite some time and whilst I have got through an imense amount of lead in terms of painting, e.g. my Thirty Years War armies (ok, many of them are plastic but...), I reckoned it was time to take the plunge and jump back over the hedge to the original and still green grass.  Anyway, to cut a long story short, I received a warm welcome from those DWG members who I know from the past and I am glad I made the trip. I hope it won't see the end of any regular use of my own games setup; we shall see, and I am looking forward to next week as I think there is a  Seven Years War game on.

On a final note, I received my copy of Miniature Wargames (with Battlegames) last week and to be honest I was enormously underwhelmed. In my  humble opinion it can only get better, please.

Saturday 13 April 2013

A slight diversion - Polish Winged Hussars

A while ago a picked up a couple, ok, four boxes, of Warlord Winged Hussars. Here is the (almost) finished result as I need to add lance pennons to the majority of the figures. If I say so myself they look pretty good and I am sure my Swedes will be quivering in their plastic boots at the thought of this lot thundering down on them!