The Battle of James' New house

James, of MadTinHatter fame is moving into a new build house on the site of the old J Hill and Sons company ( it was F Hills but my typing was off). This was a furniture factory and during the 1930s dabbled in aircraft manufacture, the Hillson Praga Monoplane

As James has never played a VBCW it seems an ideal opportunity to break him in. The joy of VBCW is you get to fight imaginary stuff like this.

I needed a factory model and a e-bay (BanksJohnEdward store) and I was sorted. The mdf models from him are basic and very very cheap. It arrived promptly but was incomplete and a quick email exchange later and not only were the missing parts supplied but I recieved an entire building. Some cutting of board and I had 3 factory buildings and a massive factory. Quick spray paint and a raid of the internet for images of advertising signs and I was sorted.

This will do nicely for the main battle. The story will be that the fascist forces of Lord Percy have ventured South in his attempt to refound the Kingdom of Northumbria. The workers of Hills have banded together with the local Fire brigade to prevent Percy from capturing this important aircraft factory and have sent for reinforcements from the Post Office Workers Union. Can they hold out until the Posties arrive. Find out in out next thrilling installment (actually probably the one after next as I have some 10mm Austrians to paint)

Normal Service is Resumed

It's been while since I posted. The IX Analogue Hobbies Challenge has now ended and I generally don't like to post stuff twice so posting has been reduced. Overall I came 3rd in the challenge with just under 4500 points, my highest points tally ever, and top amongst the participants with a full time job - bloody retirees and the semi retired.That being said the quality of my work wasn't the best, just wasn't feeling the artist mojo so got my mass production head on. I painted the equivalent of 900 x 28mm infantry although the majority were 15mm so loads of figures. I painted an entire Classical Indian Army, obviously I've since bought a few more to act as generals. i also painted a WW2 commando company as a tribute to my Grandad who was a Commando in WW2.
Overall I'm 3rd in the total painting list, averaging over 3600 per challenge for my 5 challenges and only 39 points behind Dave who has done 8 challenges
I also finished my ACW collection and then unfinished it. I have a new goal which is to have 2 full divisions, 1 per side. I've picked Early's division and Birney's division - 1st Division III Corps as they were at Gettysburg. There s a little tweak as I have an extra Union Zouave regiment but that's a minor and colourful tweak.
I'm putting on a full ACW battle at the end of April and therefore need to finish the missing units so here is the 1st lot

Couple of Union Limbers. These a basically scratch built with the horses being some terrible ones I had from Irregular miniatures. I had to add harnesses out of milliput. The limbers are either from the Victrix British Napoleonic artillery box or made with some metal wheels I had. The outriders I made from a mix of Nap British Hussar legs, cast bodies and heads and arms from the bits box. They look OK, not great, but seeing as they will only get brief time on some battle fields they will do

Union 6lb cannon, Victrix cannon and figures i bought from Hammerhead bring and buy

5th Michigan

Union camp fire. This will make a useful objective in the upcoming battle

Confederate General - this is Jeb Stuart and was a Salute figure that I picked up from ebay

Finally at Hammerhead I bought a couple of vehicles from Urban Construct. They are not great quality but one of them had lots of potential. It is an armoured tractor for VBCW. I armed it wil at Boyes ATR to make it the equivalent of a deadly "tank hunter"

The paint job is bloody terrible and hasn't worked at all. Will paint it again. It was a undercoat issue - used shiny green paint and it just hasn't worked.

Off to paint 2 more union regiments and 1.5 Confederate regiments - I am obviously 8 figures short. Also need to paint 2 more limbers and some confederat horse holders and I'm done - again.

Nice t be back

Aftermath of an Assassination - The Assault on Coldstream

The Death of  Lord Ridley had filled the radio channels is panicked cries for help and revenge. The Fascists will want revenge but it will take time to call the troops to punish Coldstream.

The troops from the firebase are ordered forward to support the Vampires on the edge of town. The artillery can only reach the edge of town, this battle will be won by infantry and armour. 

More militia arrive in Coldstram to support the defence

The cricketers advance to take the hill. However the team captain is distracted by news from home. His wife and daughter have been see around town with the notorious philanderer Alan Clark. Is he to be cuckolded.

Following the cricketers are the Post workers Union, heavily armoured with rockets and machine guns

The 1st XI cross the hill under fire from the Vampires in the house

More Vampires and another Lancia arrive

The Vampires are under heavy fire from the snipers who have advanced to a shop 

The Posties put a machine gun and a squad into the row of terraced houses to hold the flank

Posties advance and set up their rockets.The Cricket Captain is still inconsolable and somebody should make him a brew

The opening salvo of the Rockets destroys the Lancia on the edge of town

But the infantry have arrived and advance to the old farmhouse and along the hedge line

The cricket team have taken up position around the pigsty but more Vampires have debused from the Lancia and just in time as the cricket bat mortars have opened up and destroyed it 

The cricket bat mortars - the 2 opening batsmen hitting hand grenades for 6, treated as light mortars. The Captain is recovered and furious. But withering fire from the Vampires wipes out the cricket team

On the other side of town, under the cover of the burning Lancia a squad of postmen advance to try and take out the Vampires in the house. The Vampires are now at 1/2 strength and heavily pinned

A random event dice causes the Vampires to charge out the house and charge the Postmen, slaughtering them all

 .

The Vampires were now dangerously exposed but drew the next dice and retreated back into the house.

The loss of the 1st XI has forced the remaining cricketers back to the cover of the terraced row.

The battle lines are now drawn. The Fascists own one end of the town and the towns people the other end. Will either side get the required strength the take out the other.

Battle of Coldstream

It was a bright and sunny day in August 1938 in the border town of Coldstream. Lord Percy has spent the summer consolidating the border between Northumberland and Scotland.The famously loyal English town of Coldstream defended a key crossing point.

Coldstream High Street

Edge of Town (where the darkness comes from)

Hill in the centre of town

Farm land. Lord Percy has built a firebase to protect the road to the South

Lord Ridley, Percy's war minister has decided to tour the border to prove it's security and the strength of Northumberland

The tour has been well publisized and the local media are waiting to film his procession through the town

The cavalcade advances through the town with motorcycle outriders at the front and a motorcycle mounted vickers and Lancia armoured truck with a section of the Northumberland special service force (the Alnwick Vampires) to the rear.

Suddenly and shot rings out fromthe upstairs floor of Grace Bros Haberdashers. A sniper has rushed his shot and it flies wide. A 2nd sniper fires and shoots Ridley through the heart killing him immediately.

A section of militia known as the Border Reivers charges out of the Miners Arms and assaults Ridley's Prince Henry staff car. However the assault fails. and the car and motorcycles move forward 

The townspeople lead into action and drag barbed wire road blocks across the road splitting the convoy in 3 before diving back into cover

The machine guns in the convoy open fire and kill 2 of the Reivers. The snipers open fire again and kill and motor cycle machine gunner. The outriders and the staff car carrying Ridley's body have escaped the west 

To the east the local cricket team had been waiting for their moment and march into the town

The Reivers capture the motorcycle driver as the Alnwich Vampires, their advance blocked, retreat, debus and prepare to occupy the outskirts of the town

The death of Ridley will enrage Percy and he will launch a major assault to punish the town. Will the town hold out.
This battle will be fought over the next few weeks and will escalate as every VBCW figure I own joins the battle.
Old Guard on Sunday, most are fighting another ACW battle in preparation for Battleground. Me and James, and others,will be fighting the next battle in James WW2 campaign. Staffs vs Germans in a night battle. Can't wait for that either

Writing the Definition of Alliance - The Battle of Scruton

Alliance -  a formal agreement or treaty between two or more nations to cooperate for specific purposes. a merging of efforts or interests by persons, families, states, or organizations: an alliance between church and state.

New Definition

Alliance - a formal agreement or treaty between two or more nations to cooperate for specific purposes until the 1st opportunity arises to shoot them in the back.

Today the Old Guard fought the Battle of Scruton in the Very British Civil War. It was a  large scale battle with 7 (seven) sides fighting for control of the pub which was having it's 1st delivery of beer in 4 months. Everybody was thirsty. The victor would be the side that controlled the inside of the pub at the end of the day.

The pub is the white building in the middle with 3 Royalist / Fascist types at this end and 3 Communist types at the other end. The 7th force would not arrive until lunchtime. My main thought was that the 3 this end would form an alliance as would the 3 at the other end. Much fighting would occur until the alliances failed.  It that happen, did it boot.

Matt Crump joined us for the day with the Penrith Expeditionary Force, like all the others, commander, 3 sections of infantry, machine gun, something that goes boom and a vehicle - not a tank

The Fascist end

Lord Coore's forces - John

The Anglican League - Dave

Workers end - Angus' Northallerton Workers Council

Sporting Association - Pete. 

We had a 2nd newbie - Roger who controlled the Scruton Workers but no photo of his starting position.

We started with 5 minutes of passing notes to each other to plan alliances

Anglican league advance through the long grass

Sporting Association and Northallerton Boys advance to the pub, the building on the left is where we play

Rogers forces advance, they have to, Angus has opened fire on him and is butchering the postmen

Angus' truck is taken out but the crew save the 37mm cannon and set it up by the tree

General advance from the Fascists

Pete's WAGs have captured the pub

But others are closing and it's not even lunchtime yet

John has positioned an ATR in the building to cover Matt's advance. As soon as Matt advances John shoots it in the arse. John is also slaughtering Dave's WI

After lunch Stig arrives with the LDV and starts to attach Angus from behind

Roger attacks Dave with a Flamethrower and kills nothing. He attacks with the 37mm and kills nothing. Dave attacks with the Monks and kills them both. Roger is not having a good day but his infantry is in prime position to take the pub

Stig arrives with more of the LDV at the other end and starts to kill John's troops. A random event roll sets off 2 mines under Stig's AC and it is pinned

Matt's mortar has got the range of pub. His shoot goes through the roof and through the upstairs floor to explode in the bar. The bar is empty and the WAGs in the upstairs floors can't believe their luck

Forces are gathering and the WAGs dart out and wipe out Roger's infantry section. The WAGs retreat into the pub and another mortar shot from Steve destroys them.

The last shot. Pete has a unit of footballers - Port Vale no less - in the ground floor and Roger is poised with this the only unit that can kick them out. But they fail the activation. Pete wins.

I had a great day, everybody was utterly ruthless and generally it was very funny.