Major Ballsup's Hobby Shed

On the hobby front May has been a mix of finishing and fiddling about trying things.  At first I thought I hadn’t done much but on review I have, so this is a long one! Completed I started the month making some scatter terrain for swamp/marsh areas:    I then spent some time looking at micro armour, painting up some Heroics & Ros and Butlers' Printed Models samples I've had for years.  I wrote up a comparison which you can see here . Going up a notch in scale to 10mm I painted up the two Pendraken M24s that I bought at Salute.  Lovely little models.  Not sure what I'll do with them though.  And going up to 1/72nd scale I finished off painting the H-21 and H-34 helicopters for the Algerian War project.  I also painted up the 6 helicopter pilots from Elhiem to go in them.    You can see more of them here .  Completing the 'copters got me back into the Algerian War mind set so I knocked out 4 more ALN fighters.  These were act...

Background Belarus 1943.  After the failure of the inept Sonderkommando Dirlewanger’s attempt at eliminating Kapitan Deyna’s Armia Krajowa (Polish Home Army) partisans ( read here ), the German command turn to a regular Heer unit to try and destroy the partisans.   Table Set up The game is played on a 3ft x 2.5 ft game mat.  The area is heavily wooded, closed forest which provide cover and potential ambush points.  The terrain hampers movement, reducing all movement to Cautious movement of 6 inches.  One side of the table also consists of a boggy area and is even more difficult to traverse.   Six numbered hotspots have been placed on the table from which the German forces will deploy.  The reinforcement level is 5, therefore German units will deploy on anything other than a 6 being rolled on a d6.  Roll d6 and consult the reinforcement table to see which German unit deploys and roll d6 to determine which Hotspot they deploy at.  The...

I finished off the two 1/72nd scale French helicopters last week, a Piasecki  H-21 and a Sikorsky H-34.   These are both Amercom Collection diecast and plastic pre-built models from the Helicopters magazine series.  I got these off  eBay at the start of 2022 from a local seller, we did a deal on the pair and I picked them up which saved a lot on postage which was nice. First off the Piasecki H-21C.  These helicopters made a real difference when they became available to the French in Algeria.  Their capability to take 20 men meant whole platoons could be transported quickly.   My favourite is the Sikorsky H-34.  These were used in a variety of roles.  Most famously they were armed with various machine guns and light cannons and used as gunships.  The French in Algeria were the true pioneers of helicopter warfare.   When I got them, the H-21 was in USAF camouflage and the H-34 in French Marine colours. I ...

Background Belarus 1943.  During an anti-partisan operation (Bandenbekämpfung) an Armia Krajowa (Polish Home Army) unit is trying to escape encirclement.  They have managed to escape their pursuers, but now elements of the infamous Sonderkommando Dirlewanger are closing in.  Can they escape as the cordon tightens? Table Set up The game is played on a 3ft x 2.5 ft game mat.  The area is heavily wooded, closed forest which provide cover and potential ambush points.  The terrain also hampers movement, reducing all movement to Cautious movement of 6 inches.   There are no German units on the table as the game begins.  Six numbered hotspots have been placed on the table from which the German forces will deploy.  The reinforcement level is 5, therefore German units will deploy on anything other than a 6 being rolled on a D6.  Roll on the reinforcement table to see which German unit deploys and roll D6 to see which Hotspot they deploy at. ...