28mm Spanish Civil War Republican Guardia de Asaltos (Assault Guards) and a Spanish Romanesque Church from Barrage Miniatures

In an attempt to be somewhat simpatico with our recent hot weather I thought I'd feature some more Spanish Civil War figures, this time a few squads of tough-as-nails Republican Assault Guards.

The Guardia de Asaltos were a large body of para military police created by the Republican government in reaction to increasing instability throughout Spanish society. The Assault Guards were primarily tasked in maintaining public order in urban areas whereas the Guardia Civil's jurisdiction focused on rural areas.

When civil war broke out in Spain in the summer of 1936, the majority of the Assault Guards remained loyal to the Republican government. They quickly proved to be a highly dependable force for which the government relied on time and again in its struggle to control the cities of Spain. They were particularly effective during the siege of Madrid and it has been mentioned several times that of the Assault Guards that were in uniform in 1936, very few remained alive by 1938, being ground-up in the vicious street fighting in the intervening years.

These guys arrived from Empress Miniatures less than a week before my game with the guys from The Fawcett Ave Conscripts and so being a complete idiot I decided to try to get them done in time for kick-off. After several extremely late nights I managed to get the sixteen of them done and ready for deployment. 

Of course, as these things always work out, they never even made it onto the table as they kept missing their reinforcement rolls. Sigh. Anyway, they are now sitting in the wings, gnashing to get at the Nationalists. I know Peter has been chomping at the bit to get stuck-in commanding the Republicans so I think this is the unit for him. 

Also seen here is a 1:56 Spanish Romanesque church, a very generous gift given by the vastly talented Alf from Barrage Miniatures. This was part of the loot that I managed to smuggle home after visiting his workshop in Madrid earlier this past spring. 

This resin-cast building is inspired by the very picturesque 12th century Sant Quirc de Durro church found in the Vall de Boi, Catalonia. 

The church is a wonderful model, with loads of deep relief for easy of painting/drybrushing. Like a dolt, I first primed it dark brown, but then realized by looking at photos of similar mediterranean buildings, that the mortar used is typically cream coloured - so I traipsed back outside to respray it a light khaki. 

I can't say that I'm completely happy with my efforts, but I finally decided to throw in the towel and call it done. Nevertheless, it will be a welcome addition to the growing SCW and Napoleonic Peninsular terrain collection.  Thanks so much Alf!! 

Finally, I want to give a big shout out in celebration of the debut of Wargame Bloggers Quarterly which was launched this past Saturday. WBQ is the brainchild of the ever-industrious Millsy, one of the famed contributors of Canister & Grape. I had the pleasure to witness the whole production unfold (being characteristically lazy, I can't say I helped that much) and can attest to the high standard and tremendous level of work that has gone into this publication. So, please download the premier issue and enjoy! I understand that the editorial duties of WBQ will change from issue-to-issue so there should be a wonderful variety of articles and viewpoints as the Quarterly moves forward. Congratulations Millsy - this is a real triumph!

One of the 'Guns of August': 28mm Great War in Greyscale French 75, Caisson and Crew (& Major LaBossiere)

August commemorates the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War. So to mark the occasion I thought I'd finish a set of models for my greyscale project that have been sitting in the wings for quite some time, something fitting for those first terrible weeks of the Great War - a French 75mm gun with its crew and caisson. 

The Matériel de 75mm Mle 1897, or simply 'the 75', became legend amongst the French as it along with its crews carried a tremendous burden in slowing the German advance on Paris in 1914. 

The 75 was a relatively light gun, easy to maneuver and capable of keeping up with infantry in relatively difficult terrain. It was a weapon which embodied  the French cult of the attack which was prevalent at that time - the Attaque a Outrance ('attack to excess') demanded massive, high-tempo assaults and many officers at St-Cyr believed this was the perfect gun to accommodate this aggressive doctrine.  

The '75' also had a very quick rate of fire (approximately 15 rounds per minute, with a capable crew) which allowed it to lay down a deadly carpet of high explosive and shrapnel on exposed troops. 

Nonetheless, once hostilities began, many of the perceived strengths of the 75 proved to be double-edged. While the 75 could indeed put out a terrifying volume of fire in close support, the crews were prone to run out of ammunition quickly - especially in those early weeks of the war. This often left the gun vulnerable and many crews were found dead next to their guns, with their ammunition expended.  Also, while the 75 proved to be an excellent anti-personnel weapon, it did not have a heavy enough shell to be effective for trench bombardments so as the war progressed it became more and more evident that heavier guns were required  - so the 75 lost it pre-eminence in the French arsenal. Nonetheless the reputation (and mystique) of the gun lived on and it was used by several nations at the beginning of the Second World War.  

This model is from Scarab Miniatures. Not a bad kit but it was a bit fiddly to assemble. While I like the crew well enough, they are a bit doughy and muppet-like in some of their features (and their uniform is the later design). I really need to get the new(ish) early-war set offered from North Star as it better fits the rest of my collection.

On a lighter note, it must be mentioned that the French gun's fame was such that it even had a drink named after it, the "French 75" - or perhaps more correctly "Le Soixante-Quinze"!

Beware, like the 75mm Mle 1897, this cocktail may seem lightweight, but it actually packs a ferocious kick...

Finally, I include a French infantry officer of 1914, resplendent in his red jodhpurs, laced kepi and St. Etienne revolver. I've named him Major LaBossiere (one for you J). 

When I look at him I think of a grizzled veteran of 'The Debacle', perhaps wounded at Sedan as an officer Aspirant, leading his young troops from the front, furious that General Joffre would presume that his men lack in fighting spirit. 'Vous n'aurez pas l'Alsace et la Lorraine!'

This figure (a 28mm casting from Great War Miniatures) is for my friend Nick over at Moiterei's Bunt Welt, who kindly painted me a beautiful Viking warlord for my collection and wished a greyscale French Poilu in return. I decided to do a quasi 'Sin City' colour effect on him to add a bit of punch. Here you go Nick, I hope you enjoy him and thanks so much again!

1:56 Spanish Civil War Hispano Suiza Armoured Car & 28mm Moroccan Regulares Tank Hunter Team

'Pretty' or 'sexy' are not words you typically associate with an armoured vehicle, but I think those words just might apply to this wonderfully curvy and characterful Hispano Suiza MC36.  This 'tiznao' (roughly translated as 'smudgy' in Spanish - thanks Juan!) was a cannibalized armoured truck manufactured by the Republicans during the early period of the Spanish Civil War.

This model is from the very talented folks at Minairons Miniatures in Spain. In a flurry of credit card induced euphoria I picked up this kit at Atlantica Hobbies in Madrid this past spring. The model shown here is 1/56 scale, but it's also available in 1/72 and 1/100 as well. It's a very simple kit, with perhaps 10 parts in total, including a nice up-gunned variant which features the turret from a T26 tank. 

Compared to my good friend Greg, who is a complete whiz with painting and detailing vehicles, I always have a tough time getting my head wrapped around how to best approach the buggers. Probably if I worked on more of them it would get easier. Anyway, I plodded along and went with a Soviet green foundation and weathered the bejeezus out it, thinking it appropriate based on the rustic environment of Spain at the time. The decals were a bit of a bear to work with, and while my application of them has a lot to be desired, I admit they certainly help to finish off the model.

I put on a SCW game last week for a few of the guys from the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts and Dallas rolled out this bad lad for a bit of mayhem. Funny thing is it didn't even blow up, which completely floored me, being a new model and all. Of course this means it will end up as a expanding gas cloud sometime during the next scenario...

I also completed a few other units in the lead-up to the game. One was this Moroccan Regulares tank hunter team. Excellent Paul Hicks sculpts from Empress Games. 

You know, nothing says HARDCORE like a of pair of loons who think effective 'tank hunting' means being solely equipped with a crowbar, pistol and a couple sticks of sweating dynamite. Yup, completely mental.

Pistol? Check. Crowbar? Check. Dynamite? Check.  Right, we're off.  Now, where's that pesky tank...

These guys are a welcome addition to my existing Regulares unit. 

Next up: Something for August 1914 and then Guardia de Asalto!

28mm Spanish Civil War Republican Anti-Tank Gun and a New Book: 'The Shattered Peloton: The Devastating Impact of World War I on the Tour de France'

I thought I'd bash out a few more Spanish Civil War figures in preparation for an upcoming game I have scheduled in a few days with the fine lads from the Fawcett Ave Conscripts. 

Here is a 37mm Bofors anti-tank gun with a Republican crew. Even though the Bofors fired a relatively light shell it could easily penetrate the armour of any tank used during the Spanish Civil War. From my reading its reliability, low profile and high rate-of-fire made it well liked by its crews. 

This is a great little set produced by Empress Games. Paul Hicks sculpts with his typical great character touches (I love the gunner who is raising his sunglasses to better see the effect of their shot.)

I decided to keep the gun in its basic green colour, without the black camo 'blobs' which are often seen in period pictures.

I have a few other SCW figures in the wings but I'll roll those out in later posts.

Also a brief book review! 

Every July for me is sheer heaven as it means that for three weeks I can bask in the summer heat while following my favourite sporting event: the Tour de France.

This year's Tour is the 101st time the event has been held. The now world famous race began in 1903 and has continued to this year uninterrupted, except for the years of the two world wars. And so upon this theme, I came across, 'The Shattered Peloton' when we were on vacation this past spring - and immediately ordered myself a copy as it focuses on another passion of mine: the Great War and its impact on the riders of the 1914 Tour.

Believed to be Guiseppe Azzini during a mountain segment of the 1914 Tour.

The book describes the start of the 1914 Tour which occurred on the 28th of June, at 3am, where 145 riders met in Saint-Cloud, a suburb near the edge of Paris.  Little did those riders know that, later that day, archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie would be assassinated in Sarajevo, beginning a spiralling sequence of events. By the end of the Tour in late July it was regarded as inevitable that a general war in Europe would soon begin -  and a few short days later the First World War began. 

French cyclists doing what they do best...

The organizer of the Tour de France, Henri Desgrange, although being fifty years old at the war's outbreak, volunteered into the French army and encouraged all French cyclists to do the same. Many of the riders from that 1914 Tour de France were killed during the war, including three winners of previous Tours. Patriotism's bitter harvest.

I won't go into any great detail regarding the book other than to say that it's a good read for anyone who enjoys military history and the sport of cycling. It doesn't break any new ground in the historiography of the Great War or for competitive cycling, but it does a nice job of joining the two disparate topics together for a very interesting and poignant perspective. Recommended.

28mm Napoleonic French During the Russian Retreat and FormulaD Racing! (wtf?)

Ahhh, summer has finally made its presence felt here in the Canadian prairies (upwards to +30C temperatures this past week). Admittedly it's a bit late, but I'll happily take it, and so to celebrate I decided to host our weekly game out in our courtyard. This week we played an old favourite: 'Formula D'. 

Yes, they may look a mild mannered bunch but you should have seen the fisticuffs in the street after the game...

For those who may not have tried it 'Formula D' is F1 racing game which has players competing over a variety of tracks which depict famous Grad Prix racing circuits from around the world. Each car is rated 'wearpoints' for its Tires, Brakes, Gearbox, Engine, etc. which the players have to carefully manage during the race. The game utilizes various modified polyhedron dice to reflect gear changes (D4 for 1st gear, D6 for 2nd, etc.) and the trick is to find the 'sweet spot' gear in order to speed down the straights, but yet slow enough for the coming turn. Its dead-easy to learn, a trick to master and a heap of fun to play. The cars models that come with the game are fairly uninspired plastic affairs, but you can find 'after market' models on eBay to pimp your game. My good friend Dallas acquired and painted these cars for my birthday years ago (Thanks Dal!) and they get heavy use in our F1 scrums (I've had to give them a few touchups due to 'rubbing' in the corners!). 

1/300 scale F1 cars (with my favourite, Jaguar Racing, in the lead.)

As one of our several ongoing mini-campaigns, we've been conducting a full Grand Prix season this past year and this was our 4th race (Hungarian Grand Prix - a fairly fast track). 

The only place where you can safely drink & drive... Here we have Peter utilizing his mad math skills and devious slight of hand tricks in an effort to bamboozle the rest of us.  Sylvain, as you can see, was onto him like white on rice.

I managed to cheat better than the rest of the boys and so pipped first place, but Sylvain surprised us all by not exploding spectacularly, or driving headlong into the fan-packed stands, instead he came through with a heart-stopping second place, just in front of Peter. We will not speak of Stacy's appalling luck-of-the-dice as his curse may manifest itself in the retelling... 

Otherwise the hobby desk has been largely neglected in favour of enjoying the weather and working on some yard projects. That being said I have managed to get a few pieces done. Here are four unfortunate sons of France, fighting their way out of snow-swept Russia.

The fellow firing over his frozen comrade, the kneeling chasseur with sword and pistol and the carbine-armed lancer are all Perry models, while Michel Ney, 'The Bravest of the Brave', is from Gorgon Studios.

'Le Rougeaud': The last Frenchman to leave Russian soil.

It was a treat to paint these guys during the recent warm weather as many of their predecessors were grudgingly 'inspired' by the -50C conditions of our past winter (yuk). 

I have quite of few of these poor blighters left to do but they'll have to wait a bit longer as I feel like moving on to something else...