On the Loos

 This was a corps-level Great War game run by Martin using his modified Drumfire system.  Martin also provided most of the 15mm toys....

...though the 1/144 aircraft were supplied by me and (in the case of the DH2), John.

My division with added artillery awaiting to order to attack.  There were two British divisions in the attack.  The other one, under the command of Graham, had far more support!

After detonating two mines...

...the chaps surged over the top!

Quite a few perished in No-Man's Land as (astonishingly) not all the German defenders had been killed.

The DH2 raising the tone of the air war.

As the lead brigades fought for control of the German front line trenches enemy artillery arrived.  Meanwhile the DH2 has been replaced with my battered and much-repaired Re8.

Soon it was on to the German second line...

...while the remainder of the division advanced across NML.

The Germans launched several counter attacks from the town - all were beaten back.

Ultimately we secured all the German trenches and were poised to advance over 'The Green Fields Beyond...'.  Well the surviving half of the division was...

The Megablitz archive

While preparing for the recent "A Battle Lost?" game, I noticed various photos and articles going back to the mid-1990s.  Perhaps you'd like to see some of this, after all - I've endured it - why should you be spared?
I have already posted reports and photos of some games which pre-date the blog*, but that still leaves the following list.  I have created a poll (top-right-ish) where you can make your preferences known.

A US bombing raid makes life difficult for some Panzergrenadiers.
Sicily, 1943 (or was it 2008?)

Game reports/photos**
Kick in the Door - Eastern Front played in Wellingborough, 1997
Kick in the Door 2 - Eastern Front played in Wellingborough, 1998
The Race for Tunis - er, Tunisia played in Bedford, 1999?
The Race for Tunis - Tunisia played in Newark 2000
A Bridge too small - Market Garden played in Newark, 2005
A Drop too many - Market Garden played in Sheffield, 2006
Tunis Lite - Tunisia played in Sheffield 2007
The race to Messina - Sicily played in Newark 2008

Other stuff**
Various articles from 'Kleiner Panzerbehfelswagen' - an informal newsletter I ran for 11 issues in the 1990s.


* - notably Kursk (North) and the 1940 Dyle Plan
** - be aware that quantity and quality of material may vary.

Massive Mavis

What can I say?  It's a big bu**er!  This 1/144 scale Kawanishi H6K is another of those Japanese pre-coloured 'Gashapon' kits.  This one required more assembly than most. 

It is truly vast and not conventionally pretty, but I can't help rather liking it.

That's a 12in/30cm ruler!

Little Claude isn't impressed.

The Flying Clog

Known as Der Fliegende Holzschuh (the flying clog) - and one can readily see why!  This three engined horror is a Blohm & Voss BV-138 which, like the Claudes of a few days ago is a 1/144 scale Japanese 'Gashapon' pre-coloured kit.  So no painting required but a fair amount of assembly and some additional markings.

Not an aircraft I am particularly au fait with, the '138 is possibly unique in having two 3-bladed props and one 4-bladed, although given that it was designed by Dr Richard Vogt who also brought us the asymmetric BV-141 this was a far from forgone conclusion!

More on the BV-138 on this astonishing website.

Big it may be but the clog is dwarfed by my Kawanishi H6K 'Mavis'.  More on that soon.

A quad of Claudes

The Mitsubishi A5M - or Type 96 Carrier Based Fighter - was the direct ancestor of the rather better known A6M 'Zero'.  It flew on in front line service until mid 1942, the few survivors ending their days on Kamikaze flights.

These little gems are pre-coloured Japanese 'Gashapon' kits by F-Toys - the photo above shows the component parts.  So no painting required, and only a modest amount of assembly!

The set I bought contained four different Claudes - here they are assembled and awaiting additional markings.

Armee de l'Air - 1940 and beyond!

Time for some aviation eye candy now.  But remember - too much can be bad for you.
When I began building my 20mm forces there were no 1/144 scale French aircraft available.  Even now there aren't many, so I'd ask you to take that into account when judging the following crimes against accuracy....

Humble beginnings.  My first effort was this Dewoitine D-520 which sadly still bears a striking resemblance to the old Revell Spitfire on which it is based.  Better luck next time...

Next time.  This Potez 630 was based on the plates in one of the old Funcken books and began life as a Bf-110.  I know, you'd never have guessed....

Things improved (for both the real A de l'A and my version) with the arrival of the Hawk 75.  This one is a Reverisco metal kit.

The most numerous modern French fighter in 1940 was the Morane MS.406.  These are True North metal castings painted by Wg Cdr Luddite.  The Morane in the background is clearly planning ahead as it is already wearing the colours of the post-armistice Vichy administration.

A Megablitz game a few years ago generated an urgent need for a couple of French bombers.  Both were finished in time for the game with several hours to spare....  First was the Bloch 131 above which I produced by mangling a kit of a Japanese Yokosuka P1Y 'Ginga'.  It has French markings - that's close enough...

he Bloch's stablemate (well not very stable really) is this Amiot 354.  This was the result of another hacked-about Jap kit.  I rather like it.

More recently a degree of professionalism has crept in - in the shape of this pair of diecast models found on ebay.  First is the splendidly antiquated Bloch 210.  Actually this isn't as old as it looks - deliveries only began in 1936!  A few were supplied to Republican Spain and Rumania.

Finally we have the very modern-looking Liore & Olivier LeO 451.  These continued in French, German and Italian service throughout WW2.  Production was resumed postwar and the last French versions served until 1957.

Borrowed Bomber

The third of my 'Gashapon' pre-painted SM.79s is this rather fetching Luftwaffe example.  Quite a few Italian aircraft were placed under new management following the 1943 armistice.

I think the yellow indicates that is aircraft belongs to a training unit.  It certainly makes for a colourful addition to the Luftwaffe bombers box!

Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero

This pair of SM.79s are Japanese pre-painted 'Gashapon' kits.  Like the other such kits in my collection I completely dismantled them and then assembled the cleaned up parts before finishing off the decals.
A familiar shape which simply shouts "1930s", the 'Sparviero' (Italian for Sparrowhawk) flew in Italian service from 1936 until 1952.

The Sparviero served mostly as a torpedo bomber and both these models are so armed.  I suspect that in Megablitz games, however, they'll mostly be used for conventional bombing.

Finnish Folly

Hot on the heels of its relatives is this delightful 1/144 Buffalo (actually a Brewster 339) in Finnish colours.  Once again this is a Japanese pre-painted 'Gashapon' kit, so my input was limited to assembly and additional decals.  I love it.

Bijou Brewsters

More progress has been made with the latest batch of 1/144 scale pre-painted kits. (see http://megablitzandmore.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/yet-more-in-144.html)
This pair of Brewster 339s (yes, OK Buffalos) has rolled off the production line and been test flown over the games table.  The one nearest the camera is clearly an RAF machine - the other belongs to the Dutch (Far East) Air Force.
Another Buffalo will be along shortly - stay tuned Mr Beat!

Hurried Hurris

Some progress has been made with the batch of 1/144 scale 'Gashapon' models which arrived a few weeks ago. These, it will be remembered, are pre-painted kits which require assemble and some decals but no painting.
I began with a couple of Hurricane IIC - one one in a rather striking night fighter finish.  As usual these went together easily - though I managed to break one of the delicate cannon barrels on the second model.