Xmas Holiday project - Scratchbuilding a Saxon Longhouse

Hello Folks,
In the last couple of week I felt very (extremely) lazy about all my hobby projects.
I got a laser (Femtolasik to be precise) surgeon on my right eye just to correct some degree of myopia and I keep off painting as much as possible.
Now I'm looking forward to the incoming vacations in order to keep up with my several WIPs...

On the top of all of them are my saga warbands, which I'd like to complete in a short time. I'm working on three of them, Anglo Danish, Anglo Saxon and Early Saxon. They are more or less based on similar kind of figures which I bought from Gripping Beast (nice, but not the best: rating 3 on 5) West Wind (very good sculpts, I like a lot the command set with Sutton-Hoo-ish warlord. Rating 4 on 5) and, best of all Footsore Miniature Early and Late Saxons (I really like these, 5 on 5 as they are extremely well sculpted, very good pose variety and well researched. Really, give a look).
Second, I'll dedicate some care to the Lebanon '82 project, which is a huge 3mm scenario with the outstanding Oddzial Osmy's minis but I'll came back on this another day).

Anyway, the most part of my hobby efforts will be dedicated to the project on title: I want to build from scratch a well researched, historically accurate Saxon Longhouse in 28mm (1/50 scale). And I want to build it in a sort of living archaeology manner. Using only natural materials taken from my treks and wandering (I'll do a lot of trekking and mountain walking during my vacation, usually).
I mean, I do not want to be 100% accurate with material (I will not use scale wooden plugs, but a more comfortable vinyl glue), but I don't want to make a fantasy/nordish house/mead hall/ Skyrim castle as we usually see on wargaming tables.
I want it realistic AND playable.
Will I success? I don't know yet, but I'll keep you posted.
here some examples of what I'm figuring...

German Infantry Guns

Infantry Guns are among my favourite close support weapon (who doesn't has a favourite support weapon?).
German infantry guns have a very nice look, small in size, cramped with crew.
They are not so effective in truth, both in game and in reality. Less agile than a mortar, they are cumbersome to deploy and transport (requiring towing) they suffer also from a low production efficiency, as a lot of work is needed to produce those beauties (mortar, instead, are hollow tubes on bases...).
In game they suffer from their number (2 per platoon is not enough to deliver some serious damage).
But, nonetheless, I like them a lot!

here come a couple of platoons I did some years ago (2013...) and I still like the result.
They are Forged in Battle 15mm German 15cm sIG33 and German 7.5cm IG18. Quality is top notch and I appreciate when poses are reasonable and you can easily understand what they are doing. I really hate when you get artillery crews with shouting poses (to whom are they shouting and why they need to shout in middle of a bombardment) and, worst, with officers intent to look far away with their binocular or with the hand over their eyes... (what do they think to be? Napoleonic artillery officers overlooking their direct fire on enemy battalions?).
In both these sets people is busy with their work of loading, aiming and firing their ordnance without too many distractions...

I'm sorry for the quality of these pictures. They were done in a sunny morning with my old cell phone.

A new post and some Israeli Tanks for 6 days War of 1967

Hello guys,
It's a lot since my last post, 2 whole years without any posting.
In this meanwhile, I've continued on my neverending path to wargaming Painting Nirvana, where is told you manage to paint your minis the same days you got them... No lead pile, no queques, no stress.

Anyway, I feel again in a blogger mood, so please take a look to some of my works.
These tanks come from a new mania for modern era wargaming I'm feeding with various projects, from Sinai to Iraq from Indochina to Afghanistan. Israeli are on top of my interest since beginning.
Therefore, here comes some 15mm tanks from Battlefront Flames of War Arab-Israeli range.
I've painted them with the excellent Life Colors Acrylic range, which I raccomand, and pigments from the same brand.
In the whole a very nice models, with a lot of details.

Centurion Sho't Platoon




AMX-30 Platoon



and M50 upgunned Shermans



As ever, you can click on the pictures to get a larger shoot.

El Alamein - a FOW friday night game

I try to play a FOW game almost every week.
I really enjoy that ruleset and his detailed gameplay.
I've set only 3 parameter to myself:
1. you shall play only historical plausible matches (my personal toy soldier's god set this imperative to me...)
2. you shall play only with fully (or almost fully) painted minis
3. you shall play only with your own armies (borrowing armies is a capital sin to the forementioned god).

Last Friday I've contravened to the third commandment... I've enjoyed a very fun match with not even a soldier painted by me on the field.
It was a "for fun" match, which means we could play more relaxed, without the usual millimetre counting we are used on tournaments and, of most evidence, both lists were non competitive, with a lot of funnies you'll not field usually.
We had planned a mid war desert battle and, after seeing a lone train station sitting on the table aside a tiny and unnoticeable hamlet, we got a shiver… we were at El Alamein. A name still capable to make our Italian hearts lose some beats. 

On the allied side, we had a huge British armoured company, with 3 Sherman platoons, 2 grant platoons, and a crusader platoon. All of those with 3 tank per platoon. There were also 3 Daimlers acting as company own recce plt. and a motor platoon with full complement. This company was supported by an impressive field battery support of 8 25pdr guns.

On the axis side, we got 2 small companies with a German grenadier company with 2 grenadieren zugs with an organic Pak38 attached, a support of 2 fearful 88s, 2 Diana tank-hunters, 2 8 rad armoured cars and a lonely but dreadful Tiger1e tank.
Italians got 3 platoons of m14, 1 plt. of their good performing Semoventes and a small (and this time mostly ineffective) howitzers battery. 6 L6 were on the field looking for a good chance to deliver severe punishment on everything or everyone who dares to move in front of them...

Brits launched an enveloping attack on both Italian flanks, trying to seize the objective on the far left of axis force, threatening the right objective as well, in order to keep everyone busy and unsecure...

But, on their left flank they had a very unpleasant surprise… 4 semovente and their carro commando, were in ambush in the thick palm tree wood and start to pound very hard on British exposed flank… a menace that, simply, the brits tanks couldn’t ignore.

In the meanwhile, the 88s and the tiger in the centre of the field start to exact their toll on both british flanks, thanks to their long range guns. On the Italian left there was a preliminary manoeuvre, to keep all the allied assets covered from the houses and the linear walls. They simply cannot forget to have a full platoon of grenadier with their pack and a couple of Dianas waiting for them.

Both artilleries achieved nothing, with English crews showing a little more competence in aiming and Italian ordnance getting a lot of misfires and unexploding ammo.

With the British charge on the right flank nailed down, the Italians could move some assets to support the left flank, while the British tried an all out attack against their positions. Some good shots from the brits got a Diana and some m14s burning on the field reopening the match, with the slow Tiger still far away and the Italian tanks under strength.

Unfortunately a daring action from the company commander, with a solitaire charge to outflank the Shermans, levelled this tiny chance to close their objective. The other m14 platoon, in the meanwhile, keep the British infantry with their head down behind a fence, just some inches outside the small hamlet, which was the British main objective…

After a very hard gun fire, on the right flank, the British M3 Grant proved themselves invulnerable to artillery and semoventes shots, and managed to destroy the feared tank-hunters platoon, but they proved to be unable to rally and to remount their bailed crews, among which was the platoon HQ.

Unable to move, they got the Italian daring counter-attack on their flank. And, even if with only 3 m14 surviving, the Italians managed to destroy the last Grant.

The game was over, the British retired, letting the Axis force to begin their long march to the Mareth…

Pendraken Painting Competition 2014 (3)

Last entry for Pendraken Painting Competition 2014:

German Panzergrenadier in the Ardennes.