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Wednesday 29 May 2019

28mm British WW2 - Crusader Miniatures & 1st Corps Figures

I've been busy trying to finish off a late WW2 British/Commonwealth force for use in Bolt Action or CoC games.

Crusader Miniatures

The core of this army was a unit box of 24 Crusader figures purchased some years ago.

Crusader Miniatures

To these I added a 2" Mortar team, 3" Mortar Team and Vickers MMG Team from various other manufacturers.

Crusader Miniatures Vickers MG Team

I really love the Crusader figures. They are chunky and very accurately equipped (Late pattern respirator cases etc.) and a pleasure to paint.

Vintage Bolt Action Miniatures 3" Mortar and crew

When finished, I realised that I needed a few more figures to make them up to platoon strength. To do this I looked at all the 28mm manufacturers to see who was best value for the figures I wanted.

I needed:-

  • PIAT Team (2)
  • Bren Team (2)
  • Riflemen (6)
Most manufacturers pack their figures in such a way that I'd need to buy more than I needed. Then I found 1st Corps. They pack theirs in sensible numbers, the price is sensible and they look to be a good match. So I ordered a PIAT two man team (£3) + a section of ten including a Bren Gun team (£8).
1st Corps

They arrived very promptly and only need the minimum of cleaning up. Unfortunately the PIAT loader had a deformed face as part of the rubber mould had torn away and become lodged where his chin should be! This was largely hidden once based (the figure is prone) so I didn't worry too much.

1st Corps

To paint the figures I follow this process after basing on Renedra plastic bases and texturing with Vallejo Grey Pumice;-
  • Spray undercoat of PSC British Khaki Uniform
  • Paint all Webbing and anklets in Vallejo Middlestone
  • Paint respirator case in Vallejo US Green Uniform
  • Paint in hands and faces Vallejo Flesh, followed by Vallejo Flesh Wash
  • Paint weapon woodwork Vallejo Game Leather Brown
  • Pick out weapon metalwork, water bottle top, boots and underside of helmet rim with Vallejo Game Black
  • Pick out the buckles and butt plate in Gold to simulate brass.
  • Paint helmet surface with Vallejo US Olive Drab and pick out any scrim with Vallejo US Green Uniform
  • Apply Vallejo Sepia Wash to all uniform, helmet and wood surfaces
  • Finally dry brush whole figure and base with Vallejo Iraqi Sand
As ever I spray the finished figure with Satin Varnish first followed by Anti-Shine Matt varnish afterwards. Finally applying a little flock to the base with PVA glue.

1st Corps

I'm quite happy with the 1st Corps figure. They're not as historically accurate or as finely sculpted as the Crusader ones, but on the tabletop they'll look just as good.

1st Corps


Tuesday 28 May 2019

Back & Forth Tour 2019 - Day Seven, The Batterie Todt and The V3 Fortress of Mimoyecques

We handed our Gite back pretty early on Saturday morning which allowed us to visit something else on our way back to the ferry port at Calais.

Top of our list was the Batterie Todt at Audinghen - Cap Gris Nez  with a secondary target of the V3 Fortress of Mimoyecques should time allow.

The Batterie Todt museum is within one of four massive concrete bunkers that were captured in September 1944 by the Canadians. Only the one bunker is open to the public, but it is a very well stocked museum which kept our attention for over two hours.

Whilst the French Army took over these sites for a number of years post war, they are now stripped of their original armaments....a good job as they could hurl shells as far as Dover and did so on a daily basis.

The pictures below will give you a feel for the site;-


88mm Flak Gun

Beach defences - tetrahedrons

More beach defences - Belgian Gate

Tobruk position, with a particularly large aperture. Maybe built to accomodate an FT17 turret or similar?

The K5 280mm Leopold Railway Gun....very impressive! One of only two in existence.

Post-war Czech OT-810 standing in for an SDKFZ 251

Pak40 75mm Anti-Tank gun

Nice example of a Summer Oak Leaf pattern smock

MG42 in the medium MG role

Kettenkrad half-track motorcycle

A Pak 97/38 - a captured French barrel (75mm) on a Pak 38 (50mm) carriage. Quite an unusual anti-tank gun.

Kettenkrad trailer
Once we'd had a spot of lunch we headed for the ferry port. There wasn't time to do a proper tour of the V3 Fortress of Mimoyecques so we will have to do that another time. We did stop for a quick look though....

Part of the immense steel, armoured doors protecting the gun apertures

The western entrance tunnel to the site. The guns were never installed here as the RAF destroyed the site between 1943-44. The concept was proven later in the war and a smaller version was used to bombard Luxembourg during the battle of the Bulge.

Inside the Western entrance tunnel
That's it for another year. Hope you enjoyed the pictures....

Back & Forth Tour 2019 - Day Six, The Kaiserschlacht

Our last but one day was to be spent touring the area of the German March offensive from West to East, Amiens to St. Quentin.

Our initial plan looked like this;-


An ambitious day, that led to some sites being left out as time ran out. Once again the pictures can tell the story.

 Vaux-sur-Somme Brickworks (Chimney) –site of Red Baron’s crash
Querrieu Chateau – Rawlinson’s HQ


Villers-Bretonneux. site of 1st ever tank vs. tank action

Musée Franco-Australien Villers-Bretonneux. Nice museum, not too many exhibits....but a word of warning...don't visit unless you subscribe to the fact that Australian Forces fought alone without the support of any Commonwealth forces!! It's extremely "Australian"!

Turkish Uniform in Musée Franco-Australien 

The Australian National Memorial Villers Bretonneux (now incorporating the John Monash Visitor's Centre) 

The view from the top of the tower is impressive. The tower itself was strafed by Luftwaffe aircraft in 1940 and still bears the scars.

A helpful tableau guides you around the topography of the battlefields. The New John Monash centre is a very impressive addition to the site. There are now toilets, a coffee shop and state-of-the art digital displays to tell the story of how Australia won WW1. Be aware to get full use of the displays, you will need to have downloaded an app to your phone and bring your headphones. There are cheep headphones for sale in the cafe if you forget. The centre piece is an all action (and quite bloody) video presentation of the battles which is quite atmospheric...but not one for small children!

Close by is the Australian Memorial Park at Le Hamel. I guess this is their version of Newfoundland Park? There are some very shallow trenches to see, as well as some information boards to tell the story.

At Soyecourt there are some German Trenches preserved in Wallieux Copse. These are quite nice and have an information board too.

Sadly there's nothing to see today at what was the Manchester Hill last stand. The area of the redoubt is today a dis-used quarry and closed off to the public. However in nearby Francilly Selency, there is the 16th Manchester's memorial to the action outside the local church.

Finally we went in search of the German jumping off trenches for Operation Michael. These are still just about visible in woods near to the village of Fayet. However when we arrived we found the road blocked in a failed effort to stop a large Gypsy encampment from setting up alongside the wood. As we'd gone all that way we decided to take a look, but imagine our horror when we discovered that the wood had become the Gypsy's outdoor latrine......😡
And that was our final day on the Western Front over with. Tomorrow we would start our epic journey home once more....

Wednesday 22 May 2019

Back & Forth Tour 2019 - Day Five, Villers-Outreaux & The Hindenburg Line

Thursday was always going to be a little different. 

A friend had put me in touch with Bernard Delsert, an amateur historian living in the village of Villers-Outreaux who would "show us around the Hindenburg bunkers in the area".

Little did I realise that this fantastic Gentleman would plan an entire day of battlefield exploring for us, and then invite us into his home for refreshments when it was all over! What a guy.

My original plan looked like this (see below) and wasn't a million miles from Bernard's plan. He just took us to places near these spots that we would never have known existed.


Once again, I will let the photographs do the talking.

The 38th Welsh Division Memorial in Villers-Outreaux. Erected by the hard work of Bernard and his friends.

Bruce takes in one of the bridges crossing the St Quentin Canal near Villers-Ouitreaux

On the roof of a Hindenburg Observation Bunker. The metal plate would have originally mounted a periscope

Now combined into someone's garden wall, another bunker near by.

"The Knoll" near to Gillemont Farm on the Hindenburg Line. It was here on 31st August 1917 that my Maternal Grandfather was captured during a battalion sized trench raid on this position by the German forces opposite. He remained a POW until 11 November 1918. As you can imagine, this was a great moment to stand in his footprints.
The US Cemetery of the Somme at Bony - containing three Medal of Honor winners.
St. Quentin Canal, looking down on the Bellicourt Tunnel Exit. The steep bank to the right was once pock marked with MG positions cut through to fire on troops advancing on the canal
Excavated bunker defending the tunnel exit. You can still enter this but the gun slit is now below the level of the ground. Originally it had a field of fire 2000m+ across the barbed wire.
The mouth of the Bellicourt tunnel after its capture.
The Western Front Association memorial at Riqueval Bridge. This commemorates the capture of the bridge 100 years ago by a company of the 6th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment, and a detachment of Royal Engineers on 29 September 1918.

The Bridge today

The bridge as it was then. Brigadier General J V Campbell addressing troops of the 137th Brigade (46th Division) from the Riqueval Bridge over the St Quentin Canal. 2 Oct 1918. IWM Q 9534 
46th Division Memorial

Another Hindenburg Bunker built into a narrow guage railway embankment near Villers-Outreaux

Prospect Hill Cemetery on the Beaurevoir Line . The crest behind the cemetery was littered with bunkers but we couldn't access them as the crops were too dense.

The team with Bernard (right) and the St Quentin Canal crossing point in the background.

 A memorable day that few of us will forget in a hurry. Thank-you Bernard.