Angel of Mercy

 Here's a model that has been sitting in my lead mountain for far too long, a nurse and her patient, from Bad Squiddo.

Happy New Year, everyone!

AGNM Supports for the 1940 Germans

 While Army Group North Miniatures (AGNM) is officially on hiatus, I reached out to Andy for an update, and he was able to send me a few models that he still had in stock.  

First up is a Panzer III E, which was one of versions that participated in the invasion of France (at least according to Tanks Encyclopedia).  I decided to assemble it 'buttoned up', first off as I didn't have a tank commander figure handy, but also because I found that in games it's too much bother to swap the TC in and out anyway.

Here are a couple of shots showing the German armour that I've assembled to date, including the AGNM Panzer 38(t) and the Company B SdKfz 221 light armoured car.

Andy was also able to provide me a 7.5 cm leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18 (7.5 cm le.IG 18), along with 6 crewman (rather than the usual 3, thanks Andy!).  The 7.5cm IG is much more likely to see action on the table, as my Siggy is a bit overpowered for most games.

Here are the crewmen.

And a few glamour shots of Iggy.

And a comparison shot of Iggy, the 7.5 cm light infantry gun and Siggy, the 15 cm heavy infantry gun.  While Siggy would be able to knock down anything in its way, it would be much easier to move Iggy's 400 kg compared to Siggy's 1600 kg!

Queen Elizabeth and Princess Elizabeth

 For the first time in memory, we won't have a Christmas Message from the Queen.  I'll probably listen to the King's message, but it won't be the same.  So to remember the late Queen, here are the Bad Squiddo figures of Queen Elizabeth (at the time, queen consort for George VI, but better known since then as the Queen Mum), and the then Princess Elizabeth, in her uniform as a member of the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service).

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Spiders!

 I picked up these Wargames Atlantic giant spiders, with the idea that we may someday get to play a game based on the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and Co in Mirkwood.  This isn't even the whole set!

Here are some closeups of one of the large giant spiders, nice detail, even if it's a bit fiddly to assemble.

I kept to a simply paint scheme.  Just a base colour, heavy ink wash and then picked out the eyes.  I experimented with a slightly fancier pattern, based on spiders I found outside.  You can see the one on the right with the pattern.  It looks better, but I don't have the patience right now to paint all of the spiders this way!  I also based up two of the smaller spiders, but as these are fairly robust figures, the basing isn't really necessary.

This kit includes some special masks and legs arms appendages with science fiction-style weapons.  So, of course I used them for a couple of the spiders!

Another bonus is the inclusion of some trussed-up victims, being saved as spidey-snacks for later!  There are two styles, human and hobbit.

And lastly, here is a quick size comparison with the GW LotR figures.  Yet another hazard for Thorin and Co on their trek to the Lonely Mountain!

Magnificent Moustachioed Miniatures

 I contributed to Bob Murch's Movember Campaign again this year, and my reward was the 2022 Movember Figure, Capitaine Bacchantes!  He has a vaguely French Foreign Legion look about him, so I will need to practice restraint or I will end up collecting another Légion étrangère force.  

He certainly has a long moustache. (Obligatory Longest Day reference, but completely out of context)

I also purchased Bob's Ukrainian Cossack figures, which are a fundraiser for UNHCR to support Ukrainians displaced by the current war.  Slava Ukraini!

These lads also have fine moustaches!

And to fill out the post, here are some reinforcements for the early war Highlanders.  This will be enough to allow me to field them as a 1940 regulation platoon, with 11 soldiers per section, including their corporal.

More blog posts coming over the next week or so as I will get a chance for some painting over the holiday!

Char B1 bis from Italeri

For my 1940 campaign, I may have the option of supporting my British platoon with some French armour, so I decided to add this Italeri/Warlord Char B1 bis to my collection.

The kit includes quite a selection of decals.  I chose to use the decals for 'Indochine' of the 2^e Division Cuirassée, aka the 2e DCR or 2nd Armoured Division.

The commander is removable.  He looks fine when he's in the turret, but a bit like a double amputee when he's out of it!

A one-eyed fat man and a one-legged spy

 When I recently purchased some Crusader Miniatures from North Star, I added a few extra figures to my order, including an old west marshal and an SOE operative working behind enemy lines in France during WWII.

The marshal, derided as a 'one-eyed fat man' by his opponents, is based on John Wayne's portrayal of Rooster Cogburn in the 1969 version of 'True Grit'.

I managed to break the horse's legs when cleaning the miniature and attaching it to the base, so I built up around the legs with green stuff.  It then looked like the horse was up to its withers in mud, so I added a bit of teddy bear fur to make it look like the horse had kicked up some dust.

Here is the video clip I copied for the paint palette.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-cPWheNyaA

My next offering is one of Bad Squiddo's SOE agents, this one based on Virginia Hall, the one-legged agent who managed to avoid capture while operating in German-occupied France, despite being obviously not French, and having a pretty distinct physical handicap besides!  She is a figure that I noted as missing from my collection previously when I added some other Bad Squiddos.  

Unfortunately, my camera's autofocus chose to focus on the background instead of the figure, so these are not the best representation of Ms Hall.  Or perhaps, a manifestation of the evasion skills that she practiced so effectively in France in 1942!