Memories of ‘34 etc

 

Finally got this armoured car ready for the table . I went for a “toy tank” vibe to fit in with the glossy figures or is that an excuse for my painting of it ?

The armoured car will swell the forces of Morava against their bitter foe Ostmerk.

Now to set up a game for the coming days. I finally found a copy of Brian C’s splendid rules “ Memories of ‘34 “ which I printed off. It was like rediscovering an old friend. I look forward to reacquainting myself with them. Thank Brian for these. .

Whilst uptown I bought the above magazine, it has an interesting article about a layout set in an imagination. Lots of other inspiration too. 

Pillbox!

 Here is a box, a cardboard box , painted and ready to play…

The interior of the pillbox complete with artillery piece and crew.

Revealing the interior of the box…

The external aspect of the pillbox with one of Mark’s Little Soldiers for scale.

The origin of the idea, a picture from an interwar Elastolin catalogue. 

More Elastolin fortifications from the same catalogue.

Barred wire from the above source.

I found this cardboard box lying about and immediately thought it was idea for the project. I feel it has a suitable toy soldier vibe as an idea to fit in perfectly with MLS figures and game aesthetic. Might try it anon in 54mm scale, availability of box permitting.

Mark’s Little Soldiers and Brian’s rules- a winning combination

 Set up a games for the first time in ages-

Looking forward to playing it in the coming days..

Terrain ideas for gaming

 I’ve been painting more of my backlog of Mark’s Little Soldiers. Now the mountain troops are done ( five infantry to a unit/ per hex and officers on 2p bases) I have some overall clad worker’s militia on the go. Today l set up a wee scenic trial using the mountains l had been working on and some houses l found yesterday whilst sorting.

The mountains are paper mache with Vallejo terrain paint covering them.

I might try and set up a solo game of “ Memories of ‘34” over the the weekend if time allows…

Moving forward and an arrival

 An arrival. See here for more info-

https://tabletopscoutingwidegames.wordpress.com/2024/04/24/backyard-battalions-usa-and-three-man-sorry-kid-patrols/

Also moving the mountains forward…

Currently painting

 These are on the painting table at the moment-

Mountain troops.

Mountains.

Aircraft for MLS

 I looked on eBay for some aircraft to use in the Memories of ‘34 game with MLS. Initially l wondered about 1/72 plastic kits . I have some interwar ones already for gaming in that period but wanted a change, probably something smaller. So after a look around l bid successfully for these-

The wing span is around four inches. They are die cast metal.

Manufactured by Corgi as part of a series about the history of flight.

I think they work well with the larger scale figures, look right on the table flying a few inches above the surface. I have gone with a slightly antiquated vibe as counterpoint to the modern efficiency of tankettes and other ground forces. Currently considering painting them in colours to reflect which imagination they will serve. 

In other news I am endeavouring to tidy the garden and part of the lead mountain collapsed over night-

The painted AWI militia survived , as did some large scale railway figures,but a partially built 16mm. Mdf railbus kit took a lot of damage. I will have to see today if I can patch it  up…

Pleased excuse the socks and sandals combo. Only worn to go to the shed and back, honest.

We went down to the river

 Trying some terrain ideas for MLS game- mdf hexes the same size as those on my mat are painted to use as a river with the banks built up with Vallejo Earth Terrain paint. Will see how they look when completed…

Thinking of using the mdf hexes to represent marsh and forest too.

On the workbench- MLS

 Having based almost all of the 1790 big battalions l’m currently turning my attention to MLS. On the workbench are some mountain troops, an assault unit, mortar with team, anti tank rifle, officers and the newly released cavalry figures. Units to fit a hex are five/six infantry or for a cavalry unit one mounted and two dismounted. These will be used with Brian’s splendid Memories of ‘34 rules which are fun and suitably different from other games I play. Here is what I was working on today-

P.S currently working on some ideas for mountain terrain, more anon…

Greenshirts or boys from the Banat - MLS again

 Been working on some figures for the Banat of Samovar-

The above are reservists, wearing old fashioned uniforms supplemented with personal items of attire.

These are Social Credit Party of the Banat of Samovar Militia or “Greenshirts “ as they are commonly known-

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_Party_of_Great_Britain_and_Northern_Ireland

Well organised militia with heavy machine guns.

Finally working on some officers -

I stuck them to bases so that they could be easily identified on the battlefield and when leading units. I also have decided to have five figures per 4 inch hex or square as opposed to four as I like the look it gives. This is a busy week so l doubt if I will have a chance for a solo game for a few days…

Memories of ‘34 - a Wargame using ‘Mark’s Little Soldiers’

 I had the pleasure on Thursday afternoon to have a Zoom game with Brian C. We tried out his rules ( see title of this post) and had a most enjoyable game indeed. The rules worked really well giving a game that was both exciting and enjoyable. Here are a few screenshots l took-

Brian moving troops on the off set square grid. 

A soldiers eye view of the battlefield.

The game in progress as we played to an exciting finish.

Follow up to yesterday’s post…

 Got this off the shelf today- 

Btw do pop over here-

https://manoftinblogtwo.wordpress.com/2022/11/25/my-elastolin-castle-invaded-by-st-trinians/

to see another splendid castle and interesting background.

A castle in deepest Ostmerk

 The young reporter is visiting a castle in Ostmerk today…

Ostmerk on the march.

 Ostmerk troops marching through Weltschmerz…