20mm 00 scale Hornby Buildings for WW2?

This is an 00 scale (1:76 scale, 20mm is 1:72 scale) pre painted Hornby Skaledale railway model building and I'm thinking of using a couple for my Operation Sealion project to show rural England, what do you think of them, as far as I know you can't take the roofs off any of them, there is no internal detail but I think they look alright if they're a good price and the first building should always be a pub.

What are you having?

20mm figures for scale purposes.

The good old Masons Arms

Have a good weekend, on holidays next week so posting may be a little hit and miss but I should be able to visit your blogs.

20mm Painted WW2 British Pillbox's.

Don't know where yesterday went, I can only think over medicating!!!

These little 20mm pillbox's (maybe some form of Type 24) are from Frontline Wargaming for the Operation Sealion project for holding up the enemy advance, seen mainly on the south coast of England.
20mm home guard figures from SGTS Mess for scale and size purposes.

20mm or 00 scale Police Box....or Doctor Who?

I'm trying to furnish my Operation Sealion project with some 00 scale painted scenery from Hornby to give it that English sleepy village look, so I picked up this second hand police box (which looks really good) and a pub which I will post later this week.
The figures are a pair of 20mm bobbies from The SGTS Mess WW2 range for my fictional town...or a game of Doctor Who.

89 years ago on the 22nd of August 1922.....

....Michael Collins, "Commander-in-Chief" of the Irish Army, was assassinated in Beal na MBlath (mouth of the flowers or mouth of the ford of the buttermilk).
He and his party had left Cork City at approx 6am that day on a tour of west Cork. On their return journey to Cork City, through this valley at approx 8pm, the party was ambushed by anti-Treaty forces, who had a roadblock in place.
After an exchange of gunfire by both parties General Michael Collins was shot and killed, dying at the roadside where a memorial now stands.
I wonder how Ireland might have turned out if he had lived?

Eamonn DeValera is reported to have stated in 1966:

"I can't see my way to becoming patron of the Michael Collins Foundation. It is my considered opinion that in the fullness of time history will record the greatness of Collins and it will be recorded at my expense"

Read about him here and if you get the chance see the Liam Neeson movie "Michael Collins".

Apologies for the lack of visits on your blogs, still feeling like hammered faeces, back at work today and will check out some blogs.

Angry Movie Lurker Honest Review 47: The Red Baron 2008 (3 STARS)

The Red Baron is a German biopic by Nikolai Mullerschon from 2008, about the legendary WW1 fighter pilot Manfred Von Richthofen, it was filmed in the Czech Republic, France and Germany, entirely in English to improve its international commercial viability.

Caught the end of this movie one night on TV and wanted to see the whole lot, this movie seemingly has two versions, the English and German versions which are slightly different, the movie bombed in Germany for being too positive and it suffers from a terrible script but good performances from the actors who were acting using a different language than their own, there are a lot of little inaccuracies about the movie (ages, planes, people but nothing I noticed).

The main issue with the movie that people had was his proto pacifist and anti-war leanings it portrays, an affair with a nurse which seems to be more intense than it really was and if it did happen at all ( it's only used to highlight the futility of the war) but in real life there was no basis for this, in the movie he says only to kill the plane but he is known for saying in real life to aim for the man and with two seater planes to kill the observer first before the pilot because until you've silenced the gun firing not to worry about the pilot.

Now you're thinking is their anything good about this movie at all, yes, the effects are really good (the planes are really colourful and well depicted to me) and the air battles are good and exciting and the trench scenery is well done but it could have had a little more action but I always think that, if you get a chance it's worth a watch but nothing more I'm afraid.

No one knows who actually killed him and it remains a mystery to this day with several people claiming the kill, the term flying circus came from it's mobility (tents and trains) and the colourful aircraft, he is credited with 80 victories and some consider he had more.

More information about him here

Zombie movie "A Father for the Dead" shooting in Sheffield, England tomorrow!

A father tries to protect his son from hordes of the undead whilst struggling with the realisation that his child has already been bitten and will soon become one of them...

One of the security officers at work asked for emergency annual leave and you normally need a good reason to get this but going to Sheffield to play a zombie extra (unpaid) was a good enough reason so I organised it for him (I'm a sucker for a zombie movie and so is he). So he's off to Sheffield tomorrow to be a zombie and should take some pictures of the experience himself (hopefully). Now they are being quite secretive about the filming with people only being contacted by email and given information nearer the time of shooting as to location but he has been guaranteed that he will be a zombie extra.


For more information here

20mm WW2 Painted Operation Sealion German Fishing or Tug Boat.

Some invasion barges were not motorised and would need help crossing the channel, so fishing or tug boats and other craft were used, this boat is from Frontline Wargaming and should be the last of my fleet aspirations due to costs.

20mm WW2 Painted German Operation Sealion High Command

This set reminded me a bit of the scene from the Dad's Army movie with the Germans surveying the English mainland from their side of the channel while the boys from Walmington on sea look on from their side, figures are from Lamercraft and Mercedes from The Sgts Mess, figures painted by Ray Rousell and finished by the Lurker.

Things that may make a Wargamer cry 3.

Apologies but I have been quite ill this week and got worse at the weekend, took some of the SWMBO's offered prescribed medication and spent a lot of time in bed sleeping but Sunday morning she offered to bring me out to lunch in Rochester (her treat) well to cut a long story short the lunch was nice but it cost me (for her) 2 sets of earrings, a photo frame, chocolates and a wooden duck called Edwin (we have 13 real ones in the garden).

So I decided to buy myself a pack of 20mm Plastic Soldier Company T-34 76/85's (future project) in the model shop in town and came home with the 15mm pack, this is not a wind up or a gimmick I genuinely came home with this bloody pack, I think that what little sense I had is gone and Edwin is laughing at me still or is it a plot by the SWMBO?

Unbelievable.

He's mocking me.

Will wander around your blogs today, apologies for the lack of visits.

Things that may make a Wargamer cry 2.

Have you ever bought something that you don't know why as it was the wrong scale and the wrong price, have been picking up some of the 20mm/1:72 scale Plastic Soldier Company 20mm Russian stuff for future wandering around the Soviet Union but still came home with this?

................28mm?

.....instead of this?

It's sad when the mind goes, anybody else do this sort of thing?

Inspiring Picture 26: Picking up Hitchhikers (Warning signs to look out for).

......maybe not that legit. Could be a woodsman/logger?

20mm WW2 Painted German Panzer IV Platoon.

The forces for Operation Sealion increase in size again with these Panzer IVs from Frontline Wargaming, they weren't a particularly good model (lot of holes, some pieces broken and detail lacking) but they'll do for romping around England.

Included some comparison pictures with the Pz-38T from Pegasus Hobbies. The Pz-38T was a light tank compared to the Panzer IV being considered a medium tank.

1809 Napoleonic Battle Report Part 2.

The last part of the battle report with the French having some good luck with the dice and the Austrians on the back foot but the dice and luck are fickle bitches. Ray found his camera and paperwork and should be posting today.

Battle of Pisek 8th July 1809.

Saxon grenadiers arrive as reinforcements but would never taste battle but they influenced other units, if you know their on the way you can be a bit more bold nearer the front.

A French juggernaut slips through a gap and punches forward.

My elite battalions assault the heights with a skirmish line for protection.

The Austrians come off the hill and a firefight ensues.

Sneaky Austrian skirmishers assault a Saxon medium gun battery from the woods.

Windswept picture again.

Mike's Saxons assault the Austrian lines.

My reinforcements, French cuirassiers and carabiniers and lots of them.

A better view of their position on the battlefield.

Then the Austrians get their combined elite grenadiers.....

....and their elite cuirassiers.

The dice and luck have sent my elite 25th Legere fleeing and disordered but still fighting.

The hill is still in Austrian hands and the grenadiers approach.

So I go for it with everything available and try to take the hill.....

....but the Austrians have the initiative and fire first........

.......things go badly for the French and they are driven back disordered, (when one disordered unit goes back it disorders everything it goes back through)

Not a disaster just a nuisance.

I unleash the cavalry but night and darkness conclude the action with the French and Saxons getting a minor victory on points (those poor Austrian generals, 1 less Austrian general killed would have meant a draw!).

This melee went on for 3 turns with Mike only having one dice against Surjit's many and holding and once nearly winning (yellow markers are disordered).

The victors rejoice.

Mike is made an honorary Reject (Dutch Chapter).

The Austrians had 23 infantry battalions (364 figures), 5 cavalry brigades (60 figures) and 5 artillery batteries (30 guns).

The French and Saxons had 24 battalions (384 figures), 6 cavalry brigades (72 figures) and 6 batteries of artillery (36 guns), a little extra but we needed them as we did all the attacking.

The battle and game were one of attrition with no one gaining a foothold to finish the other one off or get enough points to declare the major victory, damn dice gods!

A good day it was, good food, good company (Mike's a nice guy, our age(old), Ray is always a git), learned some Dutch swear words which I have been practising on Ray and a good game and no women  until Postie's missus came home and gave out about the mess the chef made!