IJN Tama Part 4

I returned to my slow work on the IJN Tama this week. I've added some of the fittings to the hall. Next I might start adding some of the camouflage to the harder to reach areas.

It's actually starting to look like a ship now.

A close up of the funnels

In other news, I've started basing my next batch of ships for Shipwreck. These well be more early cold war designs, this time for an actual historical scenario. I'm also starting to collected up the forces I need for a HOTT army. Lastly, I'm hoping to do a Shipwreck game some time in the next couple of weeks.

Gembloux Gap

Yesterday me and Christian played our first game of Megablitz. The scenario was the Gembloux Gap with the French verses the Germans. Here is a look at the map.



Even though this was NW Europe I went a little overboard with the road network and wasn't able to get them all on the table.

I commanded the French forces with the following:
             The Corps de Cavalry
                                  2nd Light Mechanized Division (2nd DLM)
                                  3rd Light Mechanized Division (3rd DLM)
                                  Remnants of the Belgian 2nd Infantry Division
                                  1 Fighter, 1 Light Bomber (Limited Fuel)
Christians had the Germans which had the following:
             The XVI Army Corps (Motorized)
                                  3rd Panzer Division
                                  4th Panzer Division
                                  2 Fighters, 2 Dive Bombers, 1 Level Bombers




The initial deployment. The 3rd DLM is in the north (top) around Hannut. Most of 2nd DLM is in the south behind an off shoot of the Muese River. The remnants of the Belgian 2nd Infantry Division can be seen deployed around Waremme just to the east. There engineer battalion deployed at Villere de Bouillet. At the crossroads in the NE corner is the bulk of 4th Panzer Division. 3rd Panzer Division and XVI Corps troops wouldn't arrive till later in the day.

In first game turn the 4th Panzer moved down the road and attacked the Belgians in Waremme. I sent out my numerous recon elements to get a picture of what the Germans were doing. Amazingly, though battered none of the Belgian units were lost in the first turn.



The 4th Panzer Division attacking Waremme. While the small town didn't cost LOG to attack it did give up to one battalion a defense factor of 1.

 On the second turn I started moving my tank regiments up to engage the 4th Panzer. Once again 4th Panzer attacked Waremme, with support from the 2 dive bomber groups. This time the Belgians weren't so luck, with all of the Belgian units around Waremme being destroyed. The Germans also started to deploy units to hunt down my recon units.

The armor regiments move up, while Ju-87 dive bombers attack the Belgians.

 On the third turn, the armor regiments clashed with 4th Panzer. They were supported by the French air force who were in turn attacked by the Luftwaffe. Fortunately I didn't lose many aircraft. Unfortunately I kept my armor units in mobile which made them less effective against the Germans.

The armor attacks the Germans with French air support.

 On the forth turn I pulled the armor back to place them within range of my artillery.

 On turn five my engineers finished making fortifications for some of my infantry units. Christian attack my armor regiments, destroying several of my tank battalions, while more of 3rd Panzer started to arrive.

French engineers hardening some of the infantry.

The end of turn 5. Some of 3rd Panzer's units can be seen arriving in the upper right.

 Turn 6 was the last turn of the first day. This saw the remainder of 3rd Panzer and the corps troops of XVI corps arriving in the NE corner. Christian launched another assault against my remaining armor battalions while also starting to attack my infantry line with dive bomber support. Despite using the last of my airplane fuel to give my units air support, the remainder of my tank battalions are destroyed. However my mechanics worked through the night and managed to bring one battalion back on line, some what.


The Germans attack across the front line.

The bulk of 3rd Panzer as well as the XVI corps troops arrive on the table.

During the night my corps maintenance company repairs enough tanks to bring one of my tank battalions back on line at reduced strength.

 Turn 1 of day 2 things stated to get gritty, as the Germans destroy several of my units north of Hannut. I sent the MG battalions that were attached to 2nd DLM north to launch a counter attack, but with little results. As a precaution, General Prioux pulled his headquarters back.

Things are starting to look bad.

 On turn 2 of day 2 the both the remainder 3rd DLM and 2nd DLM's infantry starts to pull back to the Dyle line allowing the Germans to overrun Hannut. The engineers blow the bridge across the off shoot rivers.

2nd DLM's engineers blow the bridge linking Hunnet with the south, as the Corps de Cavalry started to pull back to the Dyle line.

 Turn 3 of day 2 saw the french force trying to reform near the Dyle line as the Germans started to by pass them in the North.

French units trying to reform near the Dyle line.

 On turn 4 of day 2 I launched one last attack with the remaining infantry. While several of the German battalions were destroyed so were my remaining infantry units. At this time I decided to call it as I now only had one battalion of engineers available to hold Gembloux and the Germans were about to unleash the full fury of their Luftwaffe. My remaining combat units (an engineer battalion and two artillery regiments) would not be able to get there to help, thus this was a victory for the Germans.


The end of the game only battalion of engineers holds Gembloux as the Germans begin to breach the Dyle line. General Prioux can be seen hiding in the woods just to the north of the Germans.

Over all it was a fun game, some of the things I could have done better:
          Used attack orders during the first battle.
          Pulled back the infantry units of 2nd DLM sooner or maybe placing the one of the other battalions behind the Dyle line.

I also want to get some better terrain. Either some 3mm buildings or maybe some Monopoly houses. The cork tiles I was using appeared bumpy, but I think it was because of the felt cloth I was using to keep them in place. I hope to return to this someday, with an east front of desert scenario.

IJN Tama Part 3

Things are going ever so slowly on the Tama. I've started some of the initial painting. Hopefully I'll get more done later. But I'm going to be spending the next few days getting things ready for a game this Sunday. Anyway here are a few pictures.

I've added the base coat and painted the deck. I've also started painting the spotter plane.

Here's a picture of the completed gun turrets.

As I stated above I'm planning to do a game this Sunday, so I should have some better photos for you next week.

America Faces Defeat

Well its been a month since I've last updated and what have I accomplished...

NOTHING!!

I've been adjusting to a new work schedule, so I haven't had time to do much building or painting. I have been reading some however and this is the latest book I've started.



I found this book years ago among all the free books in Iraq. I've just now started to read it.



How can I turn down a book endorsed by John Wayne!

A current affairs book written in 1972 before the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, or even the Yom Kippur War, its an interesting look at how fearful the Western powers were of the Soviet Union and why. It paints a very different picture of the Soviet military from what we know now or even what we knew in the 1980s, seeing it as a overpowering and superior force. Among some of the arguments was the fact that the Soviet Navy was made up almost entirely of new ships and subs while over half the US fleet dated back to WWII. Of course we now know that the ships were built in a rush and that the much vaunted Soviet submarine force rode on the edge of safety, suffering numerous accidents and heavy loss of life. It also talks of the threats of China and India with its 'new' ties to Russia, among other countries.

That's what I'm reading now. I hope to get some more modelling, painting, and gaming done later this week.

IJN Tama Part 2 and my find of the week

Things are going slowly on this new model. Not only is it more complex than the Mig, my house right now is an icebox. Still I've managed to make a little progress on it.

I finished  most of the larger fittings. From left to right we have the main bridge, funnels, rear deck, and spotter plane. Not pictured are the 6 gun turrets. 

Here the main hull is being assembled.

I also started working on the base as I plan to make this model into a diorama.

And now for my find of the week. I managed to find a copy of this book on line for only $10. Not bad considering the book cost hundreds when it first came out.

Still in very good shape.

These books were used by western intelligence agencies and full of useful information. I like this copy as it was printed just after the end of the cold war when information on the Warsaw Pact was becoming unclassified, but before the mass decommissioning.

Not only are major warships covered, but it also has information on support ships and even government owned civilian vessels.

Unfortunately having started another job has started to cut into my game time. I also currently have no coms as I'm behind on my phone bill. Still I hope to get back on track soon.

Year in Review

With New Year's approaching I've decided to reminisce on what I've done for the past 12 months. So lets take a look back.



In January I played my first Shipwreck game with Christian. The Greeks verses the Turks.

In February we played a Shipwreck game with larger forces and more players. This time it was China verses Vietnam and India. That was a good game. We played another game sometime after that at Christian's house. That game was NATO verses Soviets and Libyans. Unfortunately I can't find any of the photos I took of that game.

In March we played yet another Shipwreck game. This game took place in 1963 during the early Cold War period, with the Soviets fighting the Dutch. I hope to do more early period scenarios next year.

April was Gnome Con in which we played Shipwreck again this time using Christian's toys and his awesome new table mat. I played in the first game with the Soviets verses the US off the coast of Syria.  

In June I finally manage to branch out a bit with a game of Victory at Sea. The scenario was the Battle of the River Plate. The game was a little too short so we ended up playing several games of Munchkin later.

In July I tried out Christians Stompers game which had the troops of a small African nation fighting hordes of bugs.

In August we played our longest Shipwreck Game yet with the Soviets invading Norway.

If the Shipwreck game in August was the longest then the one we played November was the bloodiest. Of the eleven ships that started the game only two survived.

So that's what I've done in gaming in the past year. For next year I hope to do more. I have several Shipwreck ideas in the works including Russia vs. Japan, Indonesia vs. England, and another carrier scenario. I also what to try and do a Megablitz game and some more Victory at Sea.

Cruiser Tama Part1

For the rest of the year I've decided to continue working on my model collection. This time I'm doing the Japanese light cruiser Tama. I've just started this project as well as a new job, so this may take a while.

A picture of the kit itself. What attracted me to this particular kit was the fact that the ship was camouflaged during the invasion of Kiska in the Aleutians. Most Japanese capital ships were just plain gray.

A look at the parts.

The first step is building the various sub structures and fittings. Here is the beginning work on the gun turrets. I decided to keep them on the sprue as I added the guns.

Hopefully I'll be able to get more of it done this week.