7 Armoured Division - part 6 - the complete division

As mentioned in a previous post, this division is now complete - I offer the following photos as evidence!

The complete 7 Armoured Division - artillery on the left, armoured brigade front centre, with recce, AA and infantry behind.  AT, LOG and command on the right.

19 stands, with models from at least 12 manufacturers!



The whole division fits neatly into a box file.



Better Red than Dead - preview

I mentioned in a previous post (http://megablitzandmore.blogspot.com/2011/04/coming-soon.html) that I would post a preview of the new Wargame Developments (North) participation game which will be launched at Sheffield Triples on 21 & 22 May. 

I had the idea (and came up with the name) early in 2010, and John Armatys finally managed to turn it into a 20-30 minute game early this year.  Players begin the game as junior unit commanders in the Red Army of 1918 and must strive to be promoted - and survive!  No conflict there then....

On Wednesday evening we ran a final 'dress rehearsal' of the game at the Sheffield club, dragging in a couple of 'volunteers' to help make up numbers.  This gave us four players and a umpire (the game will accommodate from 1 to 6 players) to give the final version of the game a decent workout.

I remembered to take a few photos during the game and offer them here for your edification.

The layout of the game - ready for play!

An individual player control panel.

The game in play - clockwise from left - Martin, Tommo, John, Gunter and your humble correspondent.  Silly hats are optional but highly desirable.

Some of the figures in play.  28mm toys painted by John.

The figure representing Gunter - it looked very like him!

Half of the players ended up here at some point.

In the game we played, several of us made it to Colonel, two ended up in the Gulag, one was purged and one killed during the German invasion of 1941.  Pretty historical then.
As mentioned earlier, we will be running the game at Triples later this month - do come and see us if you are at the show - and bring your own silly hat!

Forbodian Brigade Staff

These chaps represent the staff of the Forbodian Infantry Brigade and are HAT ACW Zouaves with head transplants. 

That's not as clever as it sounds, as HAT thoughtfully supply a few spare heads with wide-brimmed hats.  So a bit of slicing, trimming, drilling and glueing was all that was required.  

The two coats of varnish have worked well, as I've already dropped two of these chaps onto a wooden floor while placing them on a 4 foot high shelf - with no ill effects.

The Brigadier (left) with his adviser (right) and their runner.

7 Armoured Division - part 5 - tanks!

In a shock development I have now completed this division!  The newly finished models are below - a further post will show photos of the complete formation.

65 AT Regiment RA, represented her by an M-10 Achilles.  This is an Armourfast M-10 with the gun barrel from a Matchbox Firefly (I built it before Armourfast made their Achilles...).  The commander figure is an AB tanker, complete with mug of tea!

131 Infantry Brigade.  Three infantry battalions (Platoon 20 figures) and a resin Bedford OY lorry.

15 Light AA Regiment RA.  Crusader AA Mk1 by Frontline.

8 Hussars (Armoured Recce Regiment).  The Challenger is a Frontline resin kit.

The Divisional Signals Company.  Daimler Scout Car by Matchbox.

An essential part of any armoured division - tanks!  This is 22 Armoured Brigade with it's three regiments of Cromwell cruiser tanks.  I can't remember the manufacturer, but these are resin models with white metal gun barrels.