This Second carrier will be used to transport the Lieutenant’s Support Section so that it can move quickly to any sector on the table that may require its assistance.

Tomorrow an infantry squad to support the machineguns.

This first carrier will be used to transport the Captain’s Support Section so that it can move quickly to any sector on the table that may require its massive close fire support.

Tomorrow the Lieutenant’s Carrier.

The list for these “support” platoons that I am building allows for the officer and up to five additional supports. Normally you wouldn’t bother with any more than 1 because it makes the officer a large target. With five armed with an SMG you have a very powerful unit especially if it is in a vehicle. Up to now that is the way that I have designed the platoons to fight.

The problem has been that a Universal carrier can only take a total of five not six. The flash of light hit me when I was preparing the figures for my next project, the 2/7th Field Artillery on Tarakan. Instead of the Universal Carrier option it allows for a White Scout Car which the Australians were being supplied by the US.

I decided to up all of the Command sections to an Officer and five men and either use the lot without a vehicle or reduce them by one if they only have the Universal Carrier Option!

Problem solved.

This post provides the additional two figures for the Machinegun Support Platoon. While painting these up I also painted the Platoon s medic.

Tomorrow the first of the “Command” Universal Carriers.

I wanted to paint something a little different but yet stick within my plans for this year. I hope to paint up a small contingent of British Union of Fascists of about 500pts including their leader and founder, Lord Oswald Mosley. He is a special character whose details can be found on Page 79 of the Bolt Action Sea Lion Campaign book.

During the 1930s Mosley led Britain’s virulently anti-Semitic fascist movement, whose street fighters – known as blackshirts – were notorious for their violence against Jews and left-wing opponents. He was on friendly terms with Mussolini. Hitler was guest of honour at his second wedding which took place at the home of Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels!

The British authorities definitely considered Mosley a threat. During World War Two he was interned as a suspected enemy sympathiser. It was widely assumed at the time that, had the Nazis successfully invaded the UK, he would have been installed as head of a pro-German puppet regime.

The figure has a distinct likeness to this photograph.

In the 20s he was a fashionable figure,” says Stephen Dorril, Mosley’s biographer. Born into an aristocratic family, Mosley was a champion fencer who distinguished himself during World War One and was elected Conservative MP for Harrow at the age of 21.

He married the daughter of an earl, and was invited to lots of parties. He knew Churchill, he knew all the politicians. A massive womaniser – he was very tall for the time, although he had a limp. He lived life shall we say “to the full”.

Actually, after leaving the Conservatives he became a Labour politician – the MP for Smethwick, in Tommy Shelby’s West Midlands stamping ground.

Following the 1929 stock exchange crash he became a government minister tasked with finding ways to solve the unemployment problem, but his proposals were rejected.

Mosley couldn’t accept this because he was incredibly egotistical, and believed he was the right man. He believed that he had the solution.

That’s when he set up the New Party, which held meetings stewarded by heavies known as the “biff boys”. Then, after touring Mussolini’s Italy, Mosley formed the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932, blending his economic programme with explicit anti-Semitism.

How could you build a contingent of Fascists without such a personality!

I have one figure to be mounted in the Lanchester and another for using on foot. I will also paint up his wife The Honourable Lady Diana Mosley.

More of her when I get around to painting the miniature of her.

Why the Armoured Car. It stems from a debate on the release of Oswald Mosley in the House of Commons on the first of December, 1943. During his speech Mr Daniel Chater, the Honourable Member for Bethnal Green stated “Every activity of Mosley and his Fascists was modelled upon the system which had been employed by both those men whom we are now fighting to dethrone. I have seen Oswald Mosley in his armoured car come through Bethnal Green with a chauffeur sitting with a steel bar ready to punch out at anybody.“ Citation: HC Deb, 1 December 1943, c409

According to the Bolt Action reference above the Blackshirts managed to acquire a broken down Lanchester armoured car that was found in a lock-up in Coventry. After it was more or less repaired Mosley used it for his personal transport. It is classed as in-experienced and must roll each turn for movement (pins or not) because the transmission was a bit dodgy!

In order to keep him in his Lanchester exerting his forces on the table I glued a trimmed metal washer to his base and a magnet into the tray of the Armoured Car. Works well. I could only find the one magnet so the turret will have to wait before I secure it in the same manner.

These are a blast from the past. Four Global Games Legions of Steel Heavy Assault Troopers – sadly now long out of print. They often appear on eBay or Noble Knight Games at hugely inflated prices.

RAFM produced this Legions of Steel range of miniatures to support the sci-fi miniatures combat game of the same name created by Clark Browning, Marco Pecota and Derrick Villeneuve and published by “Global Games Company”

Australian sniper teams were drawn from hunters, competitive shooters, natural marksmen, outdoorsmen, city dwellers, farmers and veteran soldiers, they fought to assert local battlefield dominance and instil among their enemy a paralysing fear.

Sometimes admired and other times reviled by their own comrades because of the retaliation they drew, they were always too few in number.

The sniper model I generally choose for the Australians is from Eureka Miniatures. For me it has that quintessential Aussie lay-back laconic look and feel to it.

I generally like to include an army Chaplain in my lists if I can because I just think they are cool and I also had a very good friend at college who became one.

I am really glad that I brought a handful from North Star Miniatures as they have come in very handy.

They add flavour to your army by aiding the morale of your army but are probable not worth the points cost.

“Xenoarchaeology, a branch of xenology dealing with extraterrestrial cultures, is a hypothetical form of archaeology that exists mainly in works of science fiction. The field is concerned with the study of the material remains to reconstruct and interpret past life-ways of alien civilizations. Xenoarchaeology is not currently practiced by mainstream archaeologists due to the current lack of any material for the discipline to study.” Wikipedia

OR IS THERE!

Egypt has long been a significant site for Xeno fiction, but also ancient wall art that depicts large creatures in human and non-human form, thought to represent Gods and Pharaohs. 

Outside of the ancient city of “Siwa” archaeologists had thought they had reached bed rock, as their digging machines struck something hard.

The rock sounded quite strange when scraped by the the diggers bucket. It seemed like a high pitched echo.

Suddenly what seemed like an earthquake erupted and the metal was pushed to the surface displaying a huge, rusty, and dilapidated metal statue representing some strange god.

A deep growl appeared and the statue seemed to come to life, standing up and moving towards “Siwa”.

Both fear and awe transfixed the archaeologists and site workers alike, until it disappeared over the sand dunes.

What strange creature was this, and where did it come from.

Bought in a Thrift Shop for AU $0.50 (UK 25p) The model was quite broken. I checked that all the bits were there and quickly paid. Just like the story above it sat in stasis for a millennia until I finally decided to get it off the painting table. I know it is a familiar story. Lots of drilling and pinning later and it was ready for the brush.

The 6mm buildings are from “Knights of Dice”, sadly no longer in business.

Trees are from Irregular Miniatures.

It will make an ideal “walker” for “Xenos Rampant” or “Mars Code Aurora”.

More eclectic stuff to come.

Artillery Observers, Artillery Observers, or Forward Observers (FO) are soldiers responsible for directing artillery and mortar fire support onto targets. An artillery observer usually accompanies a tank or infantry unit. Spotters ensure that indirect fire hits targets invisible to those in the fire support base.

We had this game of “Ruthless” that was run by Michael. The games objective was to be the outlaw at the end with the most loot. The game started with a standard game of poker and we were given a few chips each to start.

The first hand I had a hand that was just “Ace High”. I went all in and everyone folded in the end so I ended up with a tiny sum. After three hands we finished playing poker and left the saloon.

Playing in true character my two Banditos took the first shot of the game and shot another outlaw in the back, but only damaged his arm!

The lawmen ride in to try and spoil the fun.

Here are a couple more entering “Dry Gulch” on foot.

Gun fire everywhere but no substantial hits.

Even the cards were in theme!

One lawman down. I really liked the idea of the red paper blood pools. Really cool!

My bandito leader advancing to try and find some more loot.

Another lawman down.

Another one bites the dust.

A great game was had by all seven of us crammed around the 4X3 table. The Banditos returned back across the Rio Grande with the second most loot.

Cannot recommend this game more highly.