Very Simple Generic Miniatures Rules

I've been corresponding with a guys called Michael Taylor about the FUBAR Sc-Fi version of the rules I adapted Link.  He referred me to a yahoo group dedicated to a concept called 'Very Simple Generic Miniatures Rules' which are described as, 'A very easy to play set of generic miniature rules for any time period and any figures'.  They certainly look worth investigating.  Link
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Pompeii - Official Teaser Trailer (2014)

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Comment:  This looks like it could be good !  :)
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The riddle of the 400-year-old shipwreck

It was discovered by chance and hailed by archaeologists as the most significant find since the Mary Rose. But in spite of years of painstaking work, two tantalising details about the vast wooden ship lying off the Dorset coast remain elusive - its identity and how it came to its meet its end. But tomorrow, as the recovery phase ends, the biggest clue yet will come to the surface when the vessel’s 27ft, 2.4 tonne rudder, complete with Baroque carved face, is brought to the surface. Read more Link.
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The Difference Between The UK, England, And Great Britain

For those what are aren't quite sure what the difference is between The UK, England, And Great Britain. Link

WWI tourism: Looking for your family hero

As the 100th anniversary of WWI approaches, growing numbers are tracing their genealogy back to Europe's battlefields. Matthew Davis went to Ramicourt in France to find the spot where his great-grandfather won the Victoria Cross. Link to the BBC web site.

Friday Humour - Phil's Scrotum

The pastor asked if anyone in the congregation would like to express praise for answered prayers.

Suzie Smith stood and walked to the podium. She said, "I have a praise. Two months ago, my husband, Phil, had a terrible bicycle wreck and his scrotum was completely crushed. The pain was excruciating and the doctors didn't know if they could help him." You could hear a muffled gasp from the men in the congregation as they imagine the pain that poor Phil must have experienced. "Phil was unable to hold me or the children," she went on, "and every move caused him terrible pain." We prayed as the doctors performed a delicate operation, and it turned out they were able to piece together the crushed remnants of Phil's scrotum, and wrap wire around it to hold it in place." Again, the men in the congregation cringed and squirmed uncomfortably as they imagined the horrible surgery performed on Phil. "Now," she announced in a quivering voice, "thank the Lord, Phil is out of the hospital and the doctors say that with time, his scrotum should recover completely." All the men sighed with unified relief.

The pastor rose and tentatively asked if anyone else had something to say.

A man stood up and walked slowly to the podium. He said, "I'm Phil." The entire congregation held its breath.
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"I just want to tell my wife, the word is sternum."

The US Navy's Newest Toy

Film - Ralph

Ralph is a short World War One film, based on the true story of Producer Matthew Lightstone’s Great Great Uncle; Ralph Howells, Signing up under aged as a pioneer he looked for an adventure, but what he finds is something far from that.  Link
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Comment:  Looks like a film worth watching.

Seven Decades After World War II, the Search for Germany’s War Dead Continues

This weekend, German officials will travel to Russia for the opening of the latest in a long line of war cemeteries containing the graves of Wehrmacht soldiers killed on the Eastern Front during World War II. The cemetery, located near the western Russian city of Smolensk, will eventually be the final resting place of 70,000 soldiers and is just one of 20 similar sites in Russia, commonly known as “concentration cemeteries,” that have been created in the country since the fall of the USSR two decades ago. Link
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Kampfgruppe Von Abt Website

This site is dedicated to 1/6th and 1/30th scale models built by the Kampfgruppe von Abt modelling team, living in England.  Well worth a look this site has some astonishingly good modelling on it.  Link
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Eve players stage giant online space battle

One of the largest video game space battles ever seen has taken place in the Eve Online game.
For five hours on 28 July about 4,000 players took part in the epic battle between two of the game's biggest alliances. Link
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Comment:  This looking incredibly cool.  Must confess I'd never heard of the game until reading the BBC article. Looks very interesting.
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Boeing 747 Does Extreme Low Pass !

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Comment:  We like low passes :)
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Minecraft

My 11 year old son has become totally immersed in the whole Minecraft thing.

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Is the Mosquito the greatest warplane of all?

The Spitfire is more famous but, discovers Jasper Copping, the de Havilland Mosquito can claim to be the plane that won the war. Read more here Link.
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Picture Of The Week - No 17 - Destroyed Sherman Tank

Comment:  I have never seen a Sherman so badly blown apart, supposedly by German engineers after the battle of Kasserine Pass.
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Film - A Field in England

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Comment:  I've read a couple of reviews (link) and this film is meant to be well worth seeing.
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World War 2 History: The Only Time in History a Submerged Submarine Sank Another Submerged Submarine

In movies and books about the Cold War and whatever era we are in now and wherever we're going, it is not uncommon for two submarines to fight each other deep below the ocean's surface. Usually, one emerges victorious, while the other, holed or blown to pieces, disappears into the freezing, inky depths below. In actuality, there is only one documented instance in history of a submerged sub attacking and destroying another submerged sub.  Link
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Russian T35/85 Tank - War And Peace Show

Nice bit of footage of a T34/85 at this years War & Peace Show here in the UK.  Wish I could have made it along...  :(
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How aerial photographs tracked down Hitler's flying bombs

At the height of WWII, as deadly German V1 and V2 rockets were fired from northern France towards the UK, a country house by the banks of the River Thames became the centre of Allied attempts to discover the Nazis' test and launch sites. Link to BBC web site.
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Yorkshire Wartime Experience - Military Event

Went along with the family plus CCKW truck to the Yorkshire Wartime Experience on Saturday 6th Jul with the family and my brother-in-law.  Fabulous weather helped make for an excellent event after it was almost washed out last year.  Lots of vehicles, trade stands to browse, re-enactment events and displays all made for an entertaining day.  I shall be along next year ! :)  Here's a few photos:
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M10 Tank Destroyer
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Nice replica PIIIM built on the chassis of a FV432.
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British Para re-enactors.
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M10 Tank Destroyer
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M24 Chaffee tank.
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Kursk legacy: Will there ever be another massive tank battle?

It's 70 years since Kursk, the largest ever tank battle. Will there ever be another battle involving thousands of tanks on each side or has armoured warfare had its day? Link to BBC web site.
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Russian Dash Cams

Some astonishing footage here...  (no-one gets hurt, so kid safe)

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Abandoned Airfields, Airports & Airplanes

Air travel has become a major part of our society, with industries and individuals depending on air transport for their livelihood. But have you ever wondered what happens to the artefacts of our airborne culture when they’re no longer needed? In many cases, they’re simply abandoned and forgotten. Link
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Battlefields of the Netherlands

This article on the Battlefront web site about Battlefields of the Netherlands in WW2 is worth a read. Link

Picture Of The Week - No 16 - Sherman With Extra Armour

My chosen picture this week is of a Sherman tank at Okinawa. I've never seen one with this much additional armour tacked on!
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Truck Stuff & 1940 Event On Fathers Day At The Valley Gardens

Since I posted on 3 Jun about the issues with the trucks windscreen seal, after a great deal of ringing around I sourced a replacement from a company called 'Dugdales', the part being described as a Rubber Extrusion R40 Windscreen Section.  It was quite straightforward to fit thankfully.
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This allowed me to attend a 1940s event at the Valley Gardens in Harrogate last Sunday without the truck looking too shabby.  Initially I drove over to Knaresborough on my own in the morning and then swung by to see my old friend Chris.  He fired his Jeep up, and my godson Gareth became my co-driver and we drove up in convoy up to Harrogate and parked up with a collection of other 1940 vehicles (mainly Jeeps it has to be said).
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Chris in his Jeep

This is the 3rd year that the Valley Gardens has hosted the event, and it is getting better each year so it seems.  The goodish weather this year helped with the attendance, with over 22,000 people going through the gardens.  Mrs Vulture and son Alex turned up just after lunch and during a break in chatting with people I decided to try and lay the windscreen assembly down.  This was a first for me, not having tried it before in the almost two years I've had the vehicle.  After untying the ropes holding the cab roof canvas with the assistance of Chris, Gareth and Chris other son Graham the four of us then applied some muscle to the windscreen which slowly started to move.  The repeated application of some light oil eased the pivot joints that probably haven't moved in over a decade, and  eventually the windscreen assembly lay flat.
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The truck certainly looked different !
When it came time to leave I decided to drive home with it down which was:
a)  Quite a cold experience, and
b)  Quite disconcerting as the view forward to so heavily restricted !
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All in all a good day out :)
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Breaking the Westwall (Siegfried line) October–December 1944

Allied penetration of the western defences of Germany. The Siegfried Line an Allied label based on German World War I defences, known to the Germans as the West Wall was a system of defensive positions in western Germany. The Siegfried Line ran south to north from the Swiss border along the Rhine River to the area of Karlsruhe and then northwest to Saarbrucken; it followed the Saar River to Trier and then paralleled the German border with Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.  Read More Link

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The ruins of Normandy: Unpublished colour photos taken in northern France in 1944 show the devastating impact of the Allied Force's battle to defeat the Nazis in World War 2

A series of never-before-published color images of the devastation in northern France after the D-Day landings have been released by LIFE.com   Read more: Link
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Tanks - Getting Lazy People To The Battlefield Since 1916

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WWII Dornier bomber raised from English Channel

A German World War II Dornier bomber has been raised from the bottom of the English Channel. Link to BBC Web site.

CCKW 352 at Cliffords Tower

Brought the truck home yesterday and detoured via Cliffords Tower here in York for a quick photo  :)

The historic and the ancient together.

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Once home I attacked the windscreen seal.  As you can see in the photo below, I had had to resort to using insulating tape to stop it dropping off.  The rubber had just perished with age and was splitting.  

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Here's a piece I removed from the side.  

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Anyway, after removing all the old seal I then took the opportunity to clean up the channels where the strip slides into and sorted out a little bit of corrosion.  Just need to source some new rubber now.  The normal suppliers seem out of stock though :(

Newark Air Museum

Had to make a trip down to Grantham today, so took the opportunity on the way to visit by the Newark Air Museum.  For years I have been passing the sign on the A1 and kept thinking to myself "I must drop by there one of these days".  Well today was the day.  The weather was rubbish, but thankfully large elements of the museums collection are under cover.  Well worth a visit.  Here's a small selection of photos.

Phantom
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Saab Draken

One of the display hangars.
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H-Bomb
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Saab Viggen, one of my favourite aircraft.
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Lighting T4
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Sea Harrier FRS2.
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Sea Harrier FRS2.  Sadly no longer in use.
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Wessex
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Vulcan with H bomb in the foreground.
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In the Emperor's Name - 3rd Edition Released

I'm happy to re-post the announcement from the Forge Of War Yahoo Group.  This a rule set well worth supporting for those interested in the 40K universe.
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I'm very pleased and proud to announce that the Gamer's Edition Third Edition of In the Emperor's Name is now available to download from the ItEN website, http://iten-game.org.

This edition builds on the Second Edition (released in July 2011) with enhancements to almost every part of the core rules. It updates and revises some of the core game mechanics such as the points calculation formula, and introduces a new Equipment system.

The Gamer's Edition has the same clean and simple layout as the First and Second Editions, with all new cover artwork from Joe Urban.

In the near future we will be releasing updated editions of the Retinue List and Campaigns Book. In the meantime, the online Retinue Builder can be used to manage and update retinue lists.

Once these are released, we'll start work on the Gold Edition of ItEN, which will feature full-colour artwork and fan fiction submitted by the community on the ItEN forum.

ItEN is the work of many enthusiastic gamers, who are listed in the Credits section at the front of the book, but particular thanks go to:
* Craig, our benevolent dictator
* Joe for has fantastic artwork
* Pascal for his enthusiastic advice and suggestions

The Emperor Protects!

Great Famine (Greece)

It is on reading this article about Greece's suffering during WW2 that I now start to appreciate/understand the Greeks fury at having austerity terms (however correct they might be) imposed on them by the current German state. Link
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Picture Of The Week - No 15 - Taking A Rest

Saw this photo, and just loved it.
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Audi R8 V10

This is a class advert (turn the volume up loud).  I might be lusting after this vehicle just a tiny tiny bit...  :)
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Ark Royal makes final journey to scrap yard

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Comment:  Nothing feels good about this :(   Link and Link

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Picture Of The Week - No 14 - Hercules Tail Art

Saw this impressive looking C130 Hercules at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at RAF Fairford in 2006.
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6 Mind-Blowing Things Recently Discovered From WWII

We think of the world as a crowded place in an era when even Mt. Everest has cell phone coverage, you wouldn't think that anything could go undiscovered for long. But you'd be surprised for instance, nearly seven decades after World War II ended, stuff is still turning up and we're not talking about an old rusty Luger here or a set of dog tags there. We're talking about stuff like... Read more: Link
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Humour - FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THE PHILOSOPHY OF AMBIGUITY, AS WELL AS THE IDIOSYNCRASIES OF ENGLISH:

1. ONE TEQUILA, TWO TEQUILA, THREE TEQUILA...... FLOOR.

2. ATHEISM IS A NON-PROPHET ORGANIZATION.

3. IF MAN EVOLVED FROM MONKEYS AND APES, WHY DO WE STILL HAVE MONKEYS AND APES?

4. THE MAIN REASON THAT SANTA IS SO JOLLY IS BECAUSE HE KNOWS WHERE ALL THE BAD GIRLS LIVE.

5. I WENT TO A BOOKSTORE AND ASKED THE SALESWOMAN, "WHERE'S THE SELF- HELP SECTION?" SHE SAID IF SHE TOLD ME, IT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE.

6. WHAT IF THERE WERE NO HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS?

7. IF A DEAF CHILD SIGNS SWEAR WORDS, DOES HIS MOTHER WASH HIS HANDS WITH SOAP?

8. IF SOMEONE WITH MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES THREATENS TO KILL HIMSELF, IS IT CONSIDERED A HOSTAGE SITUATION?

9. IS THERE ANOTHER WORD FOR SYNONYM?

10. WHERE DO FOREST RANGERS GO TO "GET AWAY FROM IT ALL?"

11. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE AN ENDANGERED ANIMAL EATING AN ENDANGERED PLANT?

12. IF A PARSLEY FARMER IS SUED, CAN THEY GARNISH HIS WAGES?

13. WOULD A FLY WITHOUT WINGS BE CALLED A WALK?

14. WHY DO THEY LOCK GAS STATION BATHROOMS? ARE THEY AFRAID SOMEONE WILL BREAK-IN AND CLEAN THEM?

15. IF A TURTLE DOESN'T HAVE A SHELL, IS HE HOMELESS OR NAKED?

16. CAN VEGETARIANS EAT ANIMAL CRACKERS?

17. IF THE POLICE ARREST A MUTE, DO THEY TELL HIM HE HAS THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT?

18. WHY DO THEY PUT BRAILLE ON THE DRIVE-THROUGH BANK MACHINES?

19. HOW DO THEY GET DEER TO CROSS THE ROAD ONLY AT THOSE YELLOW ROAD SIGNS?

20. WHAT WAS THE BEST THING BEFORE SLICED BREAD?

21. ONE NICE THING ABOUT EGOTISTS: THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE.

22. DOES THE LITTLE MERMAID WEAR AN ALGEBRA? (This one took me a minute)

24. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A CIVIL WAR?

25. IF ONE SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER DROWNS, DO THE REST DROWN TOO?

26. IF YOU ATE BOTH PASTA AND ANTIPASTO, WOULD YOU STILL BE HUNGRY?

27. IF YOU TRY TO FAIL, AND SUCCEED, WHICH HAVE YOU DONE?

28. WHOSE CRUEL IDEA WAS IT FOR THE WORD 'LISP' TO HAVE 'S' IN IT?

29. WHY ARE HEMORRHOIDS CALLED "HEMORRHOIDS" INSTEAD OF "ASSTEROIDS"?

30. WHY IS IT CALLED TOURIST SEASON IF WE CAN'T SHOOT AT THEM?

31. WHY IS THERE AN EXPIRATION DATE ON SOUR CREAM?

32. IF YOU SPIN AN ORIENTAL WOMAN IN A CIRCLE THREE TIMES, DOES SHE BECOME DISORIENTED?

33. CAN AN ATHEIST GET INSURANCE AGAINST ACTS OF GOD?

34. WHY DO SHOPS HAVE SIGNS, 'GUIDE DOGS ONLY', THE DOGS CAN'T READ AND THEIR OWNERS ARE BLIND?

WW2: Test of captured German Armour in Haustenbeck,Germany (1945)

Testing of German Armour by the French army at the secret Henschel tank testing grounds (Henschel Panzerversuchsstation) in Haustenbeck,Germany
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Comment:  Some interesting footage here.
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Time-lapse: Space shuttle Endeavour squeezes through L.A. streets

The space shuttle Endeavour made its last journey, traveling 12-miles on city streets from Los Angeles International Airport, through Inglewood, to the California Science Center in Exposition Park.
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'Battlegroup North’ at the Elvington Air Museum

Yesterday I went along to ‘Battlegroup North’ at the Elvington Air Museum. I had a choice of attending on either the Saturday or the Sunday, and decided on the Sunday as it was forecast to have the better weather of the two days. Leaving home at 08:20 I rolled in with my CCKW into the vehicle show area adjacent to the museum at 09:00 and joined the other 150+ vehicles parked up. Mainly WW2 there was however a spread of more modern vehicles. I had hoped there might be the odd WW2 tank but the most heavily armoured vehicles from that era were a couple of half-tracks, both in beautiful condition it has to be said.
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I met up with a few GMC owners I knew and had a good natter about the vehicles foibles. I thought there might be an extra GMC to add to my CCKW Photo Blog, but as it happens I already had all seven vehicles already recorded.
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An old friend of mine Chris Jenkins along with his sons Graham and Gareth was part of 25pdr display team who put on an excellent little firing display.
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One of the wiper blades on my GMC has been knackered for quite some time, so I was pleased when browsing the outdoor stalls to pick up a pair of replacements for £10.
The air museum as well as throwing open its doors as part of the joint event fired up a couple of its aircraft, and we were treated to a Buccaneer and Victor tanker charging up the 3,094 meter runway doing fast taxi runs.
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They have one of my favourite aircraft at the museum an English Electric Mk 6 Lightning, although it is not a runner like the Buccaneer.
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Unfortunately the weather forecasters got the days mixed up, and for about 2.5 hours in the afternoon we were subjected to quite persistent rain that saw most people leave early. Still not a bad day all in all, and I'm already looking forward to next year :)

Stunning Beauty Of Bunkers

Here's a link to an interesting article on WW2 bunkers along the French coast.

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