Entry for April 24, 2008

*** BOOK REVIEW***

The Mahdi of Sudan and the Death of General Gordon by Fergus Nicoll
Interest book which covers the life of the Mahdi from all sources, even his biographers, after filtering out as much of the PRO/CON of whoever is writing about him. One of the best parts of the book is the information on early life of the Mahdi and battles fought, which are for the most part ignored in other books, giving a wargamer such as myself information to use to re-fight these battles, of which there are several. The part about General Gordon is brief, as so much has been written about him by other sources and what's in the book is about the interaction of the Mahdi and Grodon's correspondence as they wrote a couple of letters to each other during the seige of Khartoum.

***The Sword and the Flame 25mm***

All the Fuzzy-Wuzzies except the 6 riflemen and the Command figures are done. Currently working on 2 batches (2 x 10 figs) of British as a charge of pace. British are easier in some ways as that "paint all the white, all the black, etc." on each figure. I have approx 30 (?) British infantry and then the Gardner Gun. Oh yeah, the 3 mounted Amirs for my Mahdists.

***Patrols in the Sudan 15mm***

Finished the 2 British Officer Command stands. Now the Naval Riflemen and the Gardner guns and everything on the list is done. Then on to he all the extras, such as Egyptian and Sudanese infantry and painting all the all Fuzzy Wuzzies Hugh gave me. With the Egyptians I can do the Egyptian Uprising in 1881.

And for those wondering about the photo, it's a Call of Duty 2.

TTFN

Entry for March 25, 2008

Book Review!

"Operation Albion -The German Conquest of the Baltic Islands" by Michael B. Barrett
Very interesting book on a little known operation in WWI. The Germans perform a amphibious operation to invade the Baltic Islands of Osel, Dago, Moon & Worms. This operation involves German Battleships, torpedo boats, Zeppelin's, bicycle troopers. The Russians are currently suffering during a provisional government just before the Bolshevik Revolution, and army morale and willingness to fight is very low.

Well written with enough info for wargamers, I recommend it for WWI fans.

***Patrols in the Sudan 15mm***

All my Dervishes are finished (for my starter army) and the British are almost finished. I made a small boo-boo as the British units can be up to a maximum of 7 bases, PLUS the Sergeant & Officer stands. In the Dervish units the Leader stands are counted toward the maximum number of bases allowed in a unit.

I have a lot of Fuzzy-Wuzzy's in 15mm (Hugh gave me a bag of them) and I might use Old Glory for more Brits, Egyptians & Sudanese to add more bases in case I want a larger battle.

***The Sword and The Flame 25mm Figures***

Almost all of the spear armed Fuzzy-Wuzzy's are done. The next to the last batch is 80% done and then one last batch of 8 remain. Then a group of 8 rifle armed figures (do I need more riflemen ) and the Command figures, the Leaders, Drummers and flag bearers. I need to try to get better pictures of them. If I want more figures for this army I might use figures other than Perry Miniatures, such as Castaway or Old Glory (for more Dervishes, Sudanese & Egyptians).

***Flames of War***

Tim went up to a private tank museum up north (Lucky Dude) and is in a FoW mood. I need to get back to my FoW figures to pad out my Italians . I have more aircraft, 88's, and other AT guns. After I finish my 25mm Colonials, I will get back to them. Need to list what I have & need to do in what order....

***AT-43***

I have almost eveything I need for my Therians, a couple of more types of Golgoths, a couple of Infantry types & I have enough. Time for a list....

TTFN