THE LIBERATION OF NOUVION.

At the model railway exibition at Aberdeen, recently, Aberdeen Wargames Club put on a display game using Bolt Action rules.

The game concerned the liberation of the town of Nouvilon. Near the town, there is a POW camp for British Airmen.

A view of the POW camp.

A force of commandos and paratroopers were sent in advance of the main force to protect or release the POWs. They could expect help from the local resistants, but would be opposed by a force supported by 'een little tank', according to intelligence.

German HQ: General Von Klinkerhoffen and Herr Flick of the Gestapo look on.

 

The German defences come under fire. Who's cafe is that in the square?

 

Cafe owner, resistants, French Policeman. Not having a 'Good Moaning'!

 

 

Cmmandos moving through the churchyard. 

 A view of the scratchbuilt terrain.

 Another view of the church. It had internal electrics that illiminated the windows, sadly not visible in the photo.

 

I did not see the game through to a conclusion. I left when the paratroopers had just arrived. Lieutenant Gruber later told me that the Germans were defeated, but not before they had caused heavy casualties to the paratroopers.

 

for more on Aberdeen Wargames Club  http://aberdeenwargamesclub.com/ 

OPERATION CHASTISE AND MY PART IN IT!

When I was at Skelp! last week, we had a go at the Leuchars (Veterans) Wargamers' participation game simulating the Dambusters raid, officially known as Operation Chastise.

 

The game required a team of three to pilot a Lancaster on a bomb run against the dam.  

Each crew consisted of: a Front Gunner, whose job was to suppress the flak from the dam's towers; Bomb Aimer, whose job was to calculate the correct time to drop the bomb and the pilot, who made adjustments to speed and height suggested by the bomb aimer or necessitated by damage.  

The crew of B for Baker: Matthew (Bomb Aimer), David (Pilot) and yours truly (Front Gunner).

B-Baker makes it's run on the Mohne Dam.

Despite my total failure to suppress it, the flak is innefective.



It was only a matter of time! Two hits by flak reduce height and speed. The pilot will need to adjust speed and height to allow the bomb aimer to drop from the optimum position.

Poor dice rolling (bad luck, surely!) meant that I failed to suppress the flak on every occasion. Another two hits mean that B-Baker was shot down.

 We had another try in the afternoon. This time as P-Peter attacking the Eider Dam. I was Pilot this time (so too busy to take photos). David was Bomb Aimer and Matthew did a far superior job as Front Gunner!

As pilot, I was responsible for compensating for the effects of any flak hits. These reduced speed or height which meant losing height to speed up or slowing down to climb. David, as bomb aimer, had to work out when to release the bomb. There was a formula to work out the distance covered by each bounce, depending on height and speed when dropped.    

We only took two hits, thanks to Matthew rolling lots of 6s to suppress flak. With adjustments made, David dropped the bomb at the first line of torpedo nets.

P-Peter gets a partial hit.

The roll of honour for all the bomb runs. The Mohne and Eider dams were destroyed, which was also the historical result.


 

This was an enjoyable and memorable game. It is well worth looking out for it if you are going to Targe at Kirriemuir in November. A big well done to Jed and all the other Veterans.

SKELP! 2014 : PAINTING COMPETITION.

Compared to previous years, the painting competition at last week's Skelp! was a bit sparse. David had entered the Vehicle or Monster and Single Figure categories.

 

David's Alliance Modelworks Steampunk Submarine. He added a couple of 10mm figures to give the model a bit of character.

Some of the opposition in the Monster and Vehicle category.

David's entry is top right.

Two entries in the Wargames Unit category.

The other entry.

Another view of the Single Figure entrants.

This late entry in the Monster and Vehicle category pipped David's submarine.

David with the trophy for Single Figure.
 

There were one or two categories with no entries and one with only one. David took prizes in categories where there was competition. Althoug surprised by his success, he has reason to be satisfied. To see David's impression of the show, and more photos of his winning entry, have a look at http://ironmammoth.blogspot.co.uk/

ABERDEEN RAILWAY MODEL CLUB EXHIBITION 2014.

Another week, another show! Fortunately this one was within walking distance. I have been a regular attender at the Aberdeen Model Railway Club Exhibition for the last dozen or so years. This is the fourth year that it has been held in the sports hall at the Robert Godon University.

General view of the hall

Another view of the hall.

Aberdeen Wargames Club was in attendance. Look out for a separate post on their Bolt Action game on the liberation of the French town of  Nouvion.

Terminus of the Dundee Model Railway Club display.

A view along the display.

Aberdeen Model Boat Club.

Thomas!

Aberdeen Modellers Society: Schnellboote.

More from the Aberdeen Modellers Society.

And some more.

My area of modelling interest.

Cardale Halt: Fourdon Club.

The engine had real steam effect.

Another view.

 

Inverness Club: I can remember those billboards!

Black Road: Real steam engines!

 

Elgin Club.

Track runs over a dam.

Through rural scenery.

Into a tunnel.

I followed this train along the route.

And over this spectacular bridge.

 

This display is made from simple card buildings.

Second hand and recycled engines, rolling stock and track.

It shows what can be done on a budget.

Disapointingly, the Museum of Transport display did not travel north this year. Just as well. Having taken a lot of pictures at Skelp! last week and during the week, my battery died on me. I was not able to take photos of the dolls houses, transport collections and the Embroderers Guild display, which had a wonderful embriodered armour breastplate on show.

I was there late morning, when there was not a huge attendance, and was able to visit the traders. I made a dent in Squires stock (as usual) and picked up some resin walls from Aberdour MR Co. It was good to see Mutineer miniatures attending, although they only had scenics on their stall.

By all accounts, it was a busy afternoon. This is a really good show for all the family.

IHMN: CATCH THAT PIGEON NOW!

Our most recent game of In Her Majesty's Name saw David's Prussians taking on Del's Star Theatre Players.  

 The scenario was 'Stop the Pigeon'. Having played this scenario before, I know it can be tricky chasing down the randomly moving pigeon to recover the message. The scene was ' Cathedral' so David came up with terrain representing a ruined place of worship.

 The pigeon didn't move far from it's starting position, finding some succulent bugs in the temple. Meanwhile both factions converged on it.

 The Prussians set about things in their usual, efficient way. Using a grenade launcher to fire poison gas at the poor bird (and anything else that got in the way!). The pigeon expired and was collected by a Prussian wearing a primitive gas mask.

 The Star Theatre will be short of two stage hands following another well aimed gas grenade.

 An overview of the contested area. Showing off David's own design gas grenade burst markers, complete with a counter to mark the durstion of the cloud.

 The early design gas mask was going to need some more work on it: the pigeon collector had been affected.

 The Prusian medic rushed to his assistance. The Players moved round to try to cut off the line of escape. Good use of the 'Mesmerism' talent allowed them to fight off a Prussian attempt to stop this move.

 The pigeon, with the all important message, was now making it's way to the Prussian lines in the firm grasp of the Prussian Medic.

Two further gas grenades, this time thrown, ended any attempt to stop the pigeon leaving the table.

Another interesting and entertaining game. The gas grenades had a significant effect on the outcome of this game. They are effective, but at 7 pts each, can be expensive as 4 or 5 can be equivalent to a character. David had 8 in total. 4 out of 6 used hit their target. The use of gas masks is not foolproof, but does increase the odds of surviving. I think that they may now become standard police issue!