My last post (and only the second) in July - Longues-sur-Mer.

July hasn't been great for me, to be honest. My arthritic hand issues haven't gone away and it looks as though they are going to be a permanent part of my life from now on. This has limited my painting massively, I've only completed four figures and have another eight on the painting table.

So, I'll post something else about my holiday instead - a trip to the Atlantic Wall battery at Longues-sur-Mer.

Above is one of the four large Type M272 casemates, each of which contains a 15 cm TbtsK C/36 naval gun, originally designed to be used on Zerstörer 1936A (Mob) destroyers, Mob meaning "Mobilisation". Seven of these destroyers were built. 

In addition to these large guns, which had a maximum range of around 20km and fired a 45kg shell, the site was also equipped with machine guns, mortars and anti-aircraft guns, all surrounded by barbed wire and a minefield. You can read more about the site HERE.

The battery was controlled by a fire control bunker near the cliffs overlooking the Channel. Below is a photo showing the view from just to the left of the bunker.

Below is a shot from the bunker looking back to the guns.

The guns were capable of firing at the invasion fleet and were able to reach ships off of both Omaha Beach to the west and Gold Beach to the east. The photo below shows the cliff path down to the port of Arromanches, which was key to the landings as it would be the site of the Mulberry Harbour.

The gun below is a Russian 76.2mm M1902 which formed part of the defences of the battery.

Following the surrender of the battery to troops from C Company of the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment on 7th June, a temporary airstrip (B11) was constructed on the fields adjacent to the battery. This was used by Spitfires from the RAF 2nd Tactical Airforce. Below is a commemorative memorial to this, mentioning Free French ace Pierre Clostermann who flew for RAF 602 squadron from the airstrip. 

The whole site is fascinating and very well preserved. It is well worth a visit. 

Back from my holiday in Normandy.

I've been back from Normandy for just over a week now, so I thought I'd put something up here. 

I've posted photos of this M4A1(76)W HVSS tank before, but this is the old warhorse with a nice shiny new paint job and a fair amount of remedial work. I have to say that it was long overdue, seeing as the first time I visited Utah Beach was back in 1989.

So, I've now got a hat trick of anniversary visits to Normandy, having visited in 2004, 2014 and 2024.

I've finally also got some decent photos of Omaha Beach, due to the sun being out this time. I know that there is a lot of foreground in the first photo, but it does show how the exit from the beach was a lot steeper than on the other beaches in 1944.

I really like the modern sculpture memorial above. It certainly seems popular with visitors who often walk around it and stand touching it in contemplation. 

We visited a few other D Day sites on our travel, but I'll keep those for other posts. I'm going to post non-wargaming stuff for a week or so, because my arthritic flare up I mentioned previously hasn't gone away, and I am not painting until the pains go away.

The rest of my completed figures, six in total.

All rephotographed in better light. First, two Copplestone female archaeologists (yes, I know I already have these, but I wanted them in more tropical attire;

And here are their armed companions (who I also already have);

Next up is a Bad Squiddo Community mini, Queen Zenobia of Palmyra. You can read about her HERE;

And finally, here is a Steampunk version of the Marvel super baddie, Doctor Octopus. He is from Ironclad Miniatures;

He is a suitable colleague for another Ironclad Miniatures bad guy, who I pained ages ago and called The Mad Inventor. I'm going to assume that this chap has been given these extra limbs by the former. The pair of them, plus their Automata should be a real handful in Steampunk, In Her Majesty's Name and Pulp games.

So, that is me finished with painting until I get back from holiday.

A few more finished figures

These would have been finished a week or so ago but an arthritic flare-up in my right wrist made painting difficult and painful. Anyway, here are two angry Yetis from the Copplestone Back of Beyond Adventurers set.

Blue skin and white fur seems to be de rigueur for a Yeti these days, but I wanted mine to be more naturalistic colourwise. I thought that a Yeti living in the woods or below the level where everything is covered in snow would need to blend in with its surroundings, so I chose a brown palette. I think that these are terrific figures which could fit into many different games and locations. I am particularly pleased with their reddish skintone.

The next figure is from Bad Squiddo. It is a Forest Spirit.

I've had this figure for absolutely ages, maybe as long as three or four years and it has been undercoated for most of that time. I thought I really ought to get it finished. It is a resin figure, cast by Ristul and is a sort of manifestation of the forest in animal form. I think it is a lovely piece, a spirit inhabiting a body that is both tree and creature combined.

I've got a few more figures finished, but I'm not happy with the photos, so I'll have to redo them tomorrow.

By the by, I don't recommend having arthritic wrists. It is not only very painful but it really limits what you can do.

Anyway, I won't be starting anything else off because I'm off on holiday soon.

A few more recently completed figures

All of these figures are from Bad Squiddo. Scroll down to see them all.

First, a rather sinister-looking Jester;

I wanted him to have burning red eyes, which look a bit messy on close examination on a blown-up photo but which are fine on a 28mm figure. I'm not sure that he is very full of jolly japes and witty comments. I certainly wouldn't trust him to do a children's birthday party gig.

Next, we have Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, eldest daughter of King Alfred the Great of Wessex and ruler of Mercia from 911 until her death in 920. She was buried in the now-ruined St Oswald's Priory in Gloucester. She is accompanied by a female warrior.

Her companion's shield design isn't particularly of the period, being a late Roman one but I rather like it.

The remaining four figures are from the Bad Squiddo Community Minis range. Firstly, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Harriet Tubman;

And secondly, Julie d'Aubigny and Ching Shih.

I'm sure that most people have heard of the first two, but maybe not the second pair. 

Finally got the camera and lightbox out.....

 ....so that I could photograph some completed things. Here are some tanks. First a really silly Soviet monster;

The T-35 couldn't be called a success in any meaningful way, but it has a certain WTF? quality about it. This is a 15mm Zvezda kit and I'm not sure how or when I might get it onto the table, except maybe as a broken down vehicle that could be an objective. I think I've painted it up a bit pale, the green really ought to be darker, but my excuse is that the factory that produced it only had a lighter batch of green paint available.

Now, three more sensible German AFVs;

From left to right there are: the Czech CKD LT vz. 38 which, as the Pz 38(t)  was a useful (and much needed) addition to the early war Panzer forces, the workhorse Pz Kfw III Ausf. G with the 5cm Kwk 38 L/42 and the Sd Kfz 222 with the 2cm KwK 30 autocannon.  These are also Zvezda kits and will work nicely for the invasion of the Low Countries and the Battle of France and also for Barbarossa.

Copplestone Back of Beyond British infantry

Well, I've done the officers, so here are some rank and file for them to command. There are ten figures in total.

The group above are led by an NCO (with raised arm). The following two groups make up the rest of his section of riflemen.

As with the officers, I think that their KD tropical uniforms are slightly too green, but I don't think it matters that much. One thing that I think does matter is that they are wearing shorts, which I don't think were introduced with the tropical KD service dress until the mid-1930s, so these infantrymen might be a bit of an anachronism in the period immediately after the First World War and in the 1920s. Still, these are intended for all manner of games, some of which will involve Egyptian mummies that walk, unspeakable eldritch horrors and all manner of other weird things, so nit-picking over uniform details seems a bit pointless.

I bought a blister pack of Lewis gunners to add some firepower to this rifle section, hoping that I might get two gunners and two loaders/spare magazine carriers. Sadly, the set only comes as pictured, three gunners plus one loader. I enquired from North Star as to whether it might be possible to buy two loaders alone but apparently this isn't possible, which means I have one Lewis team and two extra gunners that I doubt I'll bother painting up, which is a shame. I'm not sure what I'll do with them.