TK-436: A Stormtrooper Story (FULL DIRECTOR’S CUT)

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Comment:  Quite impressed with this :)
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English Electric Lightning - Cape Town - South Africa

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Comment:  Nice quality video of one of the Lightnings that used to operate at 'Thunder City' in South Africa.  Years ago I used to buy parts for these when the RAF operated them.
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A Sad Day

A very sad day here in the Garbutt household.  Our fabulous black Labrador Jed is no longer with us :(
Lovely with kids, adults and other dogs he had such a great disposition.  We got him when he was 4 months old and today he wasn't far short of being 14.   A small piece of  my heart is broken...  :(
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For liberty and righteousness': A chaplain at war

Early on Christmas Day in 1916, a group of soldiers knelt on a rough floor in a candlelit barn in France to receive Holy Communion from their chaplain. The man tending to their spiritual needs was Samuel Leighton Green. He had swapped a quiet life as a Norwich curate to share in the physical and mental suffering of those on the World War One front line. Why?  Link to the BBC web site to read more.
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Alien: Covenant - Official Trailer 1

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Comment:  Awesome !
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Elefant Arrives

The historic Elefant tank has arrived safely at The Tank Museum for new Tiger Exhibition, opening Spring 2017. Seventy-two years after it fell into Allied hands, one of the largest combat vehicles to see action in the Second World War has arrived safely at The Tank Museum in Dorset. Link
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D-DAY normandy 70th anniversary (DRONE PICTURES)

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Comment: This is quite good :)
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BBC granted exclusive access to nuclear bunker

Last month, Russian authorities conducted large-scale civil defence drills and announced they were upgrading underground nuclear bunkers to accommodate the entire Moscow population. 

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg was granted exclusive access to one attack-ready shelter in the north of the city.  Link
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When Soviet tanks crushed Hungary’s bid for freedom

Seen this on the BBC web site.  Worth a visit.
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After seven years as a Soviet satellite state, many in Hungary were chafing at the restrictions imposed by the communist government.
In October 1956, thousands of people came onto the streets of Budapest to demand greater freedom
In a confrontation with Hungary's secret police, several unarmed demonstrators were shot and killed.
Violence flared forcing Soviet troops to withdraw from the capital.
But the Hungarian revolution's triumph was short lived as Peter Pallai, who joined the demonstration told Witness.  Link
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FUBAR 40k Themed Game

I ran a game at the club on Thursday using an adapted version of the FUBAR rules with a 40K themed army and weapon listing. I do like the activation sequence and acton options in this rule-set.  The game was a good excuse to get out and some of the huge range of 40k figures we have between us.  A first outing for my friend John Elwen's nicely painted Space Wolves.
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By the Emperor, Someone Made a Working Warhammer 40k Chainsword

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Comment:  Vey cool :)
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Heligoland, a tiny island that survived the second largest non-nuclear explosion in human history

'With 4,000 torpedo heads, 9,000 depth charges and more than 91,000 shells – all in all some 6,700 tons of explosives – set aflame, a 40-mile-tall black mushroom cloud rose above Heligoland and shook the island to its core. The detonation, a third of what had happened in Hiroshima two years before, was registered as far away as Sicily.'

Read more about this:  Link

That one time when president Roosevelt almost got killed – by a US warship

Found this interesting article on the history of the USS William D. Porter.  It is worth a read :)   Link 
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Royal Artillery in WW2

For anyone who is interested in learning about the British Royal Artillery and its role in WW2, you need look no further than this web site:  http://nigelef.tripod.com/

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The Grand Tour

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Comment:  Looking forward to this :)
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Massive US Submarines Breaking Through Ocean of Ice in the Arctic

US Navy Submarine USS Hartford emerging from ice during the ICEX 2016.  Link to article.
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Panzers in the Golan Heights

A fascinating web page here about Panzers in the Golan Heights. Worth a read :) Link
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Dragon Rampant - Harrogate Wargames Club - House Rules

You know what it's like; you have several games using a rule system.  Not all the situations you might want/need covered are in there, so you agree with your friends an approach to take.  You then leave the system for a few weeks and when you go back to it, there is confusion over what was and wasn't agreed...  This is what my gaming group had with Dragon Rampant a few weeks back.

The simple way forward is of course to write down this stuff down, so I resolved to put pen to paper and write up a set of 'House Rules' that we could all agree on.

My efforts can be downloaded at this link (currently at version 8-4-0), and reflect our collective thinking after playing some 75+ games.  (note, the latest version can always been found here)

If you have any questions or suggestions for improvements, feel free to post them here :) 

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Aliens | 2016 Comic Con Full Panel (James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton)

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Comment:  This is great :)
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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer (Official)

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Comment:  Slightly underwhelmed by this trailer. Might be the music score which seems a bit confused. Thoughts everyone ?

2011 Flying Legends Mustang Tailchase

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Comment:  Nice piece of footage of WW2 American P51 Mustangs flying.
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Viking Gold Treasure found at Vejen in 2016

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Last week three amateur archaeologists found seven bangles from the 10th century in a field near Vejen in Jutland. The amazing thing is that six of the seven are made of gold, while the last is of silver.  Link
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Yes Minister — Why Britain Joined the European Union

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Comment:  After the vote yesterday, this clip seems quite topical...
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Humour - VW GOLF 'GAS STATION' ADVERT - 1996.

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Comment:  This is such a great advert, I just had to post it :)
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Tiger Day 2015

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Comment:  Worth a watch.  Gives me an itch to go Bovington for one of these events.  Perhaps in 2017...
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Picture Of The Week - No 60 - M36 Tank Destroyer

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Comment:  A classic photo of an American M36 'Jackson' Tank Destroyer on its way to battle during the Battle Of The Bulge.
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Gulf of Sidra incident (1989)

The second Gulf of Sidra incident occurred on 4 January 1989 when two United States Navy F-14 Tomcats shot down two Libyan MiG-23 Floggers that appeared to have been attempting to engage them, as had happened eight years prior in the first Gulf of Sidra incident, in 1981.  (Link to Wikipedia)

Came across this on footage on U-Tube, the declassified dogfight footage.

5sqn Lightning f3 Display RAF Binbrook Airshow 1987

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Comment:  Came across this video on U-Tube.  I was at this show, although the weather was crap the pilots put on a great dsiplay.
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Yorkshire Wartime Experience 8th - 9th - 10th July 2016

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Looking forward to this years event !  More details can be found here :)   Link
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Picture Of The Week - No 59 - Sherman Tank Called 'Bomb'

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Comment:  The tank named "Bomb" of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers regiment on June 8, 1945 in Zutphen, Netherlands. Markings on the side "D plus 365" note how it survived fighting from D-Day to the end of the war, the only Canadian tank to survive unscathed from D-Day to VE Day.

Source Library and Archives Canada

DHL box challenge (No 4, medium) JC

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Comment:  Made me chuckle :)
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Carcassone - A Wargamers Ramblings

Well guys I returned to the UK on Friday after a weeks holiday in France with the family.  We stayed in a delightful villa about 2 miles from the centre of Carcassonne.  The weather was a bit mixed at times but didn't get in the way of us exploring the area in our hire car and visiting many of the local historic spots.  The fuel shortages affecting some areas didn't bother us at all.

I don't intend to give a potted history of Carcassonne as you can read all about it on Wikipedia (link), but post some of the photos I took.  What I would say is that the walled town and its defences are on a scale I haven't experienced before.  In summary you have two rings of walls (most of the interior one being Roman) and a citadel inside as well.  The walls are massive and very whole place is very impressive.
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Looking to towards the walled town from the river.
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Section of the outer walls.
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Main entrance way through the second wall.  This gatehouse is massive.
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To the left the outer wall, to the right, the inner.
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Inner wall section with Roman turret
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Inner wall section with distinctive Roman turret
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The approach to the citadel.  This used to have a drawbridge in it.
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Gatehouse to the citadel.
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The gatehouse had two portcullises, the mechanisms were in separate rooms to help prevent successful treachery.
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The main gateway at night. Quite a place  :)
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Monsters For Dragon Rampant

Whilst on holiday in France (more on that in a later posting) I picked up two figures suitable for use in Dragon Rampant :)   Both need basing and perhaps a bit of work on the painting.  I'll post photos later when when the work is done.
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Lion Rampant - Battle Report U-Tube Video

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Comment:  Quite by chance came across this U-Tube video today of a Lion Rampant game.  For those who haven't yet played tried the rule system out, this worth a watch.  For those who have, this is good background stuff to have on whilst painting figures :)   Makes me feel like doing a Dragon Rampant one...

Humour - You think you have lived to be 80 plus and know who you are, then along comes someone and blows it all to hell!

An old Marine Pilot sat down at the Starbucks, still wearing his old USMC flight jacket and ordered a cup of coffee.

As he sat sipping his coffee, a young woman sat down next to him. She turned to the pilot and asked, "Are you a real pilot?"

He replied, "Well, I've spent my whole life flying planes, first Stearmans, then the early Grummans... flew a Wildcat and Corsair in WWII, and later in the Korean conflict, Banshees and Cougars. I've taught more than 260 people to fly and given rides to hundreds, so I guess I am a pilot, and you, what are you?"

She said, "I'm a lesbian. I spend my whole day thinking about naked women. As soon as I get up in the morning, I think about naked women. When I shower, I think about naked women. When I watch TV, I think about naked women. It seems everything makes me think of naked women."

The two sat sipping in silence.

A little while later, a young man sat down on the other side of the old pilot and asked: "Are you a real pilot?"

He replied, "I always thought I was, but I just found out I'm a lesbian."

Jordanian Challenger One Tanks Train with U.S. M1s

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Comment:  Just come across this. Although a few years old, interesting for tank enthusiasts nonetheless.

Death Star over San Francisco

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Comment:  This is so well done :)
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Leaked Star Wars Episode VII Filmset Footage

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Comment:  I know this has been around for a while, but I just think its great :)
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They Were Not Divided - War Film (1950)

A few nights back I watched the 1950 film, "They Were Not Divided".  Some good clips of Shermans scattered throughout it, a short sequence with an actual Tiger I  (0:51:30 to 52:40) and CCKW trucks at 0:16:08 and 1:30:18.
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Star Trek Beyond - Offical Trailer #2

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Comment:  Might be worth seeing :)
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How the Pentagon is Preparing for a Tank War With Russia

For those interested in modern warfare, this is an interesting read:  Link
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Gaslands Game At The Harrogate Wargames Club

I've been intrigued by game being played at the club this last month.  Called 'Gaslands' it is described as a 'game of post-apocalyptic vehicular mayhem'.



It very much owes it lineage to the old 80s game Car Wars, a copy of which I'm sure I still have buried somewhere in my loft.  In this case the came uses actual cars and terrain, of which you have to supply both.  James D invited me to join in a game, and the week before I was given a small car to customise.  After some debate I painted it grey and black and added a rotary cannon to the roof :)  I mean, why wouldn't you ?  :)
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Can't say anything about the rules mechanics as they are in play-test, and will be eventually published (by Osprey in 2017 I understand).

The game itself was a 6 player affair, of three teams (two players in each).  The winner was to be the first to have a member of the team navigate round the board passing between all 4 'gates'.  It's fair to say that getting through the first gate was a major challenge with vehicles spinning off all over the place, frantically dodging each other, some getting rammed, some looking to ram etc ! I narrowly escaped getting wiped out by a complete manic in a bus !

Once through the first gate we were allowed use any vehicle weaponry.  This was the time to deploy the cannon (it seemed wrong not too...), so I managed to damage Gavin M's car several times.  I was ahead of him for a while, but then he managed to just nip ahead.  Before I could get past him his team mate James D rammed me, and my car was wiped out, so allowing Gavin M and he to win.

Overall quite an entertaining game.

A few pictures from early in the game are below.
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Picture Of The Week - No 58 - Buccaneer Aircraft

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Comment:  One of my favourite aircraft, the Blackburn Buccaneer.  For a short while I was involved with the support of the fleet in the mid 1980s and still retain a lot of affection for the type.  I photographed this particular example at the Newark Air Museum in Oct 2015.
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Royal Armouries Gaming Event (RAGE) - 100 Years War - Harfleur game

After the success of the Napoleonic Wargaming event last year at the Royal Armouries the Armouries decided to hold a Royal Armouries Gaming Event (RAGE), but this time focusing on the 100 Years War.  The trigger for this was to celebrate the arrival of the Battle Of Agincourt diorama that the Perry twins had constructed last year.  Initially it was on display in the Tower of London, but has now moved to it permanent residence in the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

John S suggested a 28mm game using the Lion Rampant rules for a battle recreating the Siege of Harfleur.  In our game the French sortie out to try and wreck the bombard and approaching seige tower.   John S constructed a fabulous castle and he and Gavin M did sterling work on painting figures up as well.  You can read more about his construction of the Harfleur Castle on his Blog (Link).

Over the two days of the event (23-24 Apr) our club ran a total of 14 participation games.  8 games played on the Saturday with something like a 5:3 split English wins to French.  6 on Sunday, all French wins!

Points were c. 45 per side.  Odd number but worked ultimately on what we had.

English had:
4 expert archers (longbows)
1 expert yeomen (melee armed archers)
2 Foot men-at-arms
2 bidowers (skirmishing bows)

French had:
1 mounted men-at-arms (mounted Knights and sergeants)
2 foot men at arms (foot Knights)
3 expert foot sergeants (foot sergeants doh!)
2 crossbow
1 bidowers (handgunners).  All targets were 2 armour when shot, but could not shoot if evaded.


Here's a selection of pictures of our participation game.
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Of the 10 games at the event, there was an outstanding looking display game of Agincourt - very inspiring :)   Here's some pics of it.
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Comment:  Amazing looking castle.  I'm reliably informed (by the owner Simon) that it is a Hudson and Allen model with heavy conversion work undertaken to add a wooden palisade, new top tower with gothic windows, brochette etc).
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