Something a Little Different...

I have been playing wargames with my friend Barry for 51 years and for the past twenty years his basement has been the defacto home for our group. Not only does he supply the space, but provides tea and coffee and heats the space in winter. So when he asked me to make some pieces for use in his adaption of Wings of War it was a pleasure to do so, and even more of a pleasure will be to present them to him tomorrow (Sunday) on his 89th birthday.

The first item is a bridge, that he wants to use as an objective in his game. It is made to fit in with his existing rivers. The intact bridge is placed over top of the destroyed version - when it is destroyed just lift it off...

Intact...

...destroyed!

Then there are two home airfields - a grass landing strip, a few tents and a place to park aircraft.

Finally there are eight anti-aircraft gun positions scratch built from various left over plastic parts and placed within sandbags, earthworks and similar.

They were all a bit of fun to make.

Grenadier Battalion Welsberg

Today sees the completion of the fourth battalion in my Austrian expansion - Battalion Welsberg. - made from Victrix miniatures

The battalion was made up of two companies each of Regiment Number 16 Erzherzog Rudolf (pale yellow facings), Regiment Number 26 Hohenlohe-Bartenstein (green facings) and Regiment Number 27 Chasteler (yellow facings).

It will be brigaded with my two other grenadier battalions.

Second Battalion, Erzherzog Karl Regiment No 3

I actually completed this 36 figure unit two weeks ago, but it has sat with its bases half completed ever since. Now with birthdays, anniversaries and other complications out of the way it is time to complete them.

This, with the first and Landwehr battalions, completes the regiment.

Next on the painting table is a grenadier battalion.

Travelling Again

Another month, another birthday (mine this time...number 68) and a wedding anniversary to boot. To celebrate we headed south again.

Although the main even is not actually until the weekend, we decided to take advantage of the weekday rates. In my years in the aviation industry I used to flinch when comments were made about airlines gouging prices at holiday times, but airlines have got nothing on car rental companies and hotels! I mean, $212 for three day car rental during the week, but nearly $450 over the weekend. Hotels can be much the same. It's amazing how we just accept that. In my earlier years I used to work for a wholesale stationery company and there was a standing joke in that trade that people would complain about spending $30 on a present, but would think nothing spending another $20 on the wrapping paper and a card.

Anyway, early Tuesday afternoon we boarded our flight to Christchurch then, after picking up our rental car, drove north for an hour and a half to Hanmer Springs. 

 

Now we've been to Hanmer before, during a trip through the South Island in March 2021, but we only spent one night there - a stop-off point between places. We 'took the waters' in the hot springs and really liked the place. We fully intended to return and in fact had booked another trip until another Covid lockdown intervened and we had to cancel. So we decided that now it was time to go back,  this time for a little longer - three days in fact.

Despite the MetService predicting gale force winds and rain for our arrival, the weather was calm and dry, although a little cool. Arriving a little before 5:00 we topped up supplies at the local supermarket and settled in for the night.

MetService told us to expect stronger winds and more rain in the morning, but they didn’t get it quite right … as you can see from this image from the hotel room porch just after 9:00AM.:

Still it was a little cool, at a degree or two above freezing, not that that is a problem for us as the morning was to be spent in the hot pools. This is an excellent place and not too many visitors in the morning.

However, by noon the weather had closed in, not the stormy forecast, but a drizzly rain. A late lunch and a couple of drinks helped to pass the afternoon.

The grey skies of Wednesday cleared overnight to beautifully sunny, albeit frosty, Thursday. We returned to the pools in the morning. It was much more popular on this day, particularly amongst the grey population - so much that as we approached one fairly full pool her indoors muttered ..."my God, its's pensioner soup!", even though we had entered complex on an aged concession!

After lunch we climbed to Conical Hill, for view from north of the town.

A little retail therapy and a drink or two in a local pub followed.

Dinner at an Indian restaurant finished the day and ended our Hanmer Springs break. Tomorrow it's back to Christchurch, then home. We should be turning the key at home before the rush hour starts...Friday rush hour starts at 2:30 and ends at 6:00.

Austrian 12-Pound Gun

This is the final gun set in my Austrian expansion and gives me five guns in total for the Army.

I wanted this to be a 12-pound position gun. Strictly speaking it is not. I did not have a 12-pound model and the Perrys don't make one. I did, however, have a 12-pound barrel to spare, so with a bit of cutting and filing I got it to fit onto the trail. Possibly the trail should be larger, but I think it looks the part all the same.

Landwehr Battalion, Erzherzog Karl Regiment No 3

To avoid the tedium of painting two large Austrian infantry units in white  I switched to the landwehr battalion of the regiment.

This is an under strength unit at 24 figures that uses the Victrix command figures for some variety.

A

Also slipping off the painting table is this chap...a Russian Mounted Jäger officer...who had been sitting around unfinished for several months. He should make a useful commander of a light cavalry brigade, or maybe an ADC.

Austrian Artillery

After finishing the first of the Austrian infantry, I have painted a couple of gun sets: a 6-pound set and a howitzer set.

A 12-pound set is waiting to be worked on.