Hawker Demon

Sorry it's been a while since my last post - busy with work and other stuff, meaning lots of screen time and a resulting disinclination to write blog posts!

Anyway, let's have some pics of toys, 'cos that's why you're here, right?  Readers of a nervous disposition look away now.

This battered specimen was part of the loot from COW last year.   I've always liked the Demon/Hart/Fury family of pointy biplanes.  While planning a Spanish Civil War game a few months ago I felt a need for a republican light bomber/recce biplane.  The 'correct' thing would have been a Breguet XIX.  There were also a few (three?) Hawker Fury fighters in Spain so it didn't take my fevered mind long to join the dots.  So Demon = wrong.  But then Demon = free.  Still with me?

Repair work commenced to my usual high* standards - liberal doses of blutac and glue being employed in the process.

Elegant eh?

Soon everything was perfectly* aligned.  

I managed to preserve the previous owner's impressing rigging thread.

Paint was added and markings were also painted on.  The result is clearly Republican and has the correct quantity of wings, and for a walk on part in a daft game that's good enough for me!

SCW Asturian miners

I needed a detachment of coal miners from the region of Asturia for a game in which such chaps would dig siege works.  I rummaged in the box of random figures and selected a few from the Airfix German Mountain Troops set.  After shaving off weapons and webbing I lopped off their heads.  Heads were replaced from my stock of spares - three bare heads and one wearing a nondescript floppy hat - and tools added.  The latter were in the form of shovels and pickaxes from the ever useful Airfix Support Group set.  Paintwork suggested the wearing of overalls and I added some 'rocks' to the bases for added atmosphere.

 

Siege of the Alcazar, 1936

This game was set during the opening stages of the Spanish Civil War and played in Sheffield back in August 2024.  It was in turn a development of a game run a few years previously by Funny Little Wars author Mr PHW.

Situation: The Army revolt against the Republic has been partially successful, but has left the Infantry Officer’s school isolated behind enemy lines.  The Alhambra is a Medieval fortress, modernised in parts and very, very strong.  The Garrison have taken over the outlying hospital and stable complex which are hastily fortified buildings.  Relief is on the way, from the Colonial Army but the Republic are determined to capture the Alhambra and secure a major propaganda victory.

Objectives

Army – to defend the Alhambra fortress until the end of play – and fight to the last toy soldier if necessary.  Optional  - conduct a sortie against the enemy.

Republic – to capture the Alhambra fortress before the end of play, and use all means available.  Optional – to maintain cohesion in the different factions in the Republic army and find the guilty men.

A cast of toy soldiers and players was assembled and battle commenced.

The republican players were all vying for overall command and faced varying levels of difficulty in controlling the militias.

The mighty fortified military academy.  The accurate* model has at it's core the Armies in Plastic Afghan fort, with bits of Elastolin castles, sandbag sections and buildings added.

The Republic's forces were riven with the factionalism which characterised the conflict.  Here is the Communist commissar with his loudspeaker van.  His troops soon worked out that only by engaging in combat would the sounds of gunfire drown out his inspiring political speeches.

The rest of the town was rather representational.  Here we can see defenders manning for fortifications.  The piles of wooden blocks indicate areas which have been shelled.

The socialist militia, supported by Asaltos.

The actual army had provided some high-tech kit, including these Renault tanks!

The view from the roof of the Telefonica building.  The communists control the building (surprise!) while the Battalion del Muerte advance under cover of an abandoned tram.

Militias assault the weakest part of the fort, still accompanied by the persistent ramblings of the Commissar.

The garrison was mostly cadets and small numbers of Civil Guards - the latter still upholding standards in their white gloves!

In the fort the medical teams were kept busy.  Here a Nationalist aeroplane drops messages for the Colonel.

The attack was observed by a government minister....

...who had arrived from Madrid in a stylish motor car and observed from a safe distance.  Historically, the siege was day-trippable from the capital, with small crowds gathering for a picnic and a couple of hours sniping.

Here, the socialist milita get close enough to for the garrison to fire off some shrapnel rounds,  Carnage!

Government aviator's view of the fort.  I think it looks rather grand.

Another view of the busy hospital (actually in the cellars).  Note the Colonel's private latrine in the background.  During the battle I informed the Republicans that they had captured the Colonel's son.  They did same as their historical counterparts and rang the Colonel on the still functioning telephone.  Calling upon him to surrender, the son was given the 'phone and implored his father not to give in.  The Colonel stood firm and the poor lad was duly executed a few months later.

Guardia Civil man the walls.

While the battle raged, (and indeed before it began) a detachment of Asturian miners had been digging under the gatehouse.  This done, charged were placed and detonated....

...the result - no gatehouse!  This greatly encouraged the attackers who surged forward.

The miners themselves in the foreground. I'll do a seperate post about some of the figures I bodged especially for this game.

The desperate fight hangs in the balance.  We agreed that the fort would eventually fall but only after a few more days.  But of course the Army of Africa soon arrived and put the Government forces to flight.

Regular army troops preparing to  advance.

Tanks break into the outer fortifications.

What can only be described as a 'mess' of militia waiting for a post-game sort out.

A very pleasing game to run which benefitted from some disturbingly enthusiastic role playing from the players.

SCW Anarchist Militia

I picked up this chap for £2 at a recent show and have now treated him to some paintwork.  Blue trousers, a grubby shirt and a rolled blanket complete his 1936 look.  He’ll fit in well with my other, largely plastic SCW figures.  

SCW Carlist Militia

 

I bodged these figures a while back and recently painted them to represent Carlist militia.  The main part of the transformation was adding big floppy berets from Miliput.  The same material also provided satchels and blanket rolls.  The original figures are a combination of Airfix DAK & Mountain Troops and Replicants/Marksmen ACW types. 

Much of the webbing was carved from the WW2 figures and the heads trimmed down to secure the berets.  As usual they were finished off with a coat of Ronseal Light Oak Satin varnish.  

As usual, they are a long way from both Spain and perfection but I think they give the right impression.

SCW Nationalist Regulares - again

 A couple of recent games have revealed the need for more Nationalist troops.  I had already bodged a couple of companies of Moroccans (see this post from far-off 2019) and thus it was off to the unpainted plastic mines to see what could be adapted.  The ever-useful HAT ACW Zouaves sets looked a promising starting point for more Regulares, so a little bodging and painting later, here is the next batch.

I crowded them on to some bases for a quick photo session between rain showers.  There are a few head swaps in there and the standard bearer is my usual adaptation (carve away musket, replace with brass rod flagpole, add paper flag, varnish).  Some of the chaps have cloaks made from kitchen tissue soaked in PVA.

On the weapons front, mostly I cut down the original muskets.  The figures with 'ring hands' intended to carry musket at the trail were crying out to be re-armed.  Some have Airfix Lee-Enfield rifles, others LMGs from various kits.

They look quite a mean bunch. I have a further batch converted and undercoated.

Madrid 1936 - part 7 - the final reckoning

As the battle drew to a close the Republicans could have been forgiven for being quite pleased to have saved Madrid.  You'd like to think this would have put everyone in good spirits.  Here is the scene at Gen. Gorev's HQ where smiles and handshakes are indeed happening:

photo by Martin

But not everyone was joining in the festivities.  Having had another look at his personal victory conditions (see part 2 here) , NKVD Representative Orlov swooped on the Government meeting which was still in progress.  Here, ministers Miaja and Olivier had been joined by Durutti.  As the Anarchist Militia had been driven back and the POUM militias had also suffered greatly the explanation was - to Orlov at least - clearly treachery.  Thus it was that he and his NKVD comrades carried out a political education and realignment exercise.  Though it looked a lot like a firing squad to me.

On the Republican side the most points were amassed by Jerry.  Mostly for for in-character role play but also for  having arrived by bus, while his comrades had each travelled in German-badged motor cars.  Very suspect....

Agreed by all the players to have been a great game, this exceeded my expectations and was an excellent start to what I hope will be a busy outdoor campaigning season.

Madrid 1936 - part 6 - losing their bottle

 

Having come under fire from several enemy units, the Lenin Division suffered greatly.  Among the casualties was Georges Kopp himself who finally bled out on the road.

The Italian tankettes had come under fire from a pair of Russian tanks and one was soon ablaze (it was too windy for smoke markers!).

Enraged, a company of Moors set out to lob petrol bombs.  Seven figures set out - the other three learned the hard way that trying to light a Molotov Cocktail while running is jolly dangerous!

The Republican tanks on the left meanwhile had chased away the Panzers.

This rescued the Anarchists who had been the Panzers' main target.  Note the presence of the Miliciana in the rear rank.  She was referred to throughout the game as Sophia Loren....(photo by Russell)

And what of the Internationals?  They remained far from the battle throughout.  Indeed, the sound of gunfire was drowned out be the clacking of typewriters as they all wrote their memoirs and novels. (photo by Russell)

By now both sides were pretty exhausted.  The Republicans still occupied most of the area so we agreed that the Nationalist assault had stalled.  But it had been close and the Nationalists' successes were clearly  - according to Colonel Orlov - due to treachery.  See the results of his even-handed investigation in the final part of this debacle!