Mediterranean Goodies

It is a very good time for gamers interested in the Middle East. 

To start off Wargames Illustrated in Issue #312 offered a 1967 Six Day War supplement. This will go along with their release over the next month or so of the vehicles of the Six Day War. Many of these will be repackaged Vietnam ear weapons with some notable additions. This includes the M50 Super Sherman and the M51 Isherman (the i-Sherman). Both of these are useful for my preferred period the 1973 October War. And they do have a certain coolness factor.

I am also glad they will be repurposing some of their Vietnam vehicles. I have wanted to purchase the ZSU 57 but I didn’t need four of them, so I am pleased they will be selling them in groups of two. I need to check and see if Mark needs one.

While right now they only have four product codes showing, more are on the way.

Nice complements to these are the releases and announcements from Khurasan Miniatures. They are releasing for next month a new line of Yom Kippur War figures starting with Syria with Egypt and the IDF coming soon.

The Syrian Infantry looks really good and I bought one of the new T62s as a test. The prices for the infantry is acceptable but the cost of the tanks are approaching FoW. I just need to wait to see the quality. I have been impressed with his figures in the past and on that I made my purchase.

Lastly Mark and I will be running a Golan engagement on Oct 26th at Dragonhead Distributors. Rules are FFT3. Game will start around 12 so stop buy if you can.

Now back to painting the 3mm aircraft insignias, again.

Looking for the Missing Link

I recently went on a hunt for a set of links I lost dealing with Arab and Israeli forces. I thought it was in French and dealt with models but my Google abilities appeared to be lacking. After a day and a half, ok I am stubborn, I found them. I was glad they were as good as I remember.

Here they are for you as well.

Lebanon

http://als.miniature.perso.neuf.fr/index.html

Arab

http://www.tsahal-miniature.com/arabe.miniature.html

Israel

http://www.tsahal-miniature.com/

What amazes me is the junk both the West and the Soviets sold to these countries. Israel using versions of the Sherman into 1973 is hard to believe. Than again the Lebanese used theirs into the mid-1980s.

There is a good mix of color photography to help the modeler and gamer. Let me know what you think. Also what are your favorite sites for information from the Arab Israeli Wars?

Next up a strange aircraft just released that was used by Egypt in the Arab Israeli Wars. Once I get them painted. Oh bother.

Type 89 Ready for Paint.

Well the Type 89 tanks are coming together easily. The only problem I had was with one of the commanders in the turret. He was too tall in the turret. I had to remove is neither regions.

Tomorrow I will be priming them and base coating the tanks along with two Isuzu 1.5-ton Trucks. These trucks, along with the Soviet GAZ, will be useful for conflicts in Africa and the Middle east in the post war era. This will speed organizing and painting the Peter Pig figures I have had on my list to paint for a while.

My only internal question is do I look to run 1939 battles or 1945. 

I promise the next post will involve the Arab Israeli Conflicts. 

Here are a few links to resources dealing with Japanese Armor and Tactics.

• TAKI'S HOME PAGE
• Japanese Tanks 1939-45
• World War II Japanese Tank Tactics

They Are Here - Type 89

Just received from UPS today my Type 89 tanks. These seem to be as rare as hens teeth. I ordered them a week before they were due to be released and they showed up nine weeks later.  None of the local stores that carry Flames of War have had these. 

And what will I do with five of these. At a minimum a few will be painted for my nascent Japanese Army. I can see one as a pro-Sci Fi tank. Maybe for a group of colonials for a planet on the rim like FireFly.

All I can say is now that I have these new toys I need to get them to the workbench and started. 

On to Richmond

The hills and farms north of Richmond have seen the angry blue bellies marching through. Can you guess which side I am playing?

Tim and I have started another long and involved game in the GCACW series. This one is On to Richmond, the battle on the Peninsula Campaign.

The Union landed at Urbanna instead of Fortress Monroe forcing the CSA to redeploy their meager forces along the Mattaponi River. General Magruder has taken command on the Mattaponi ordering all of the ferries and bridges destroyed. 

Generals Johnston and Smith with their two divisions have taken up a position on the left of the Mattaponi Line looking for an opening against the Union forces while still covering the northern approaches to Richmond.

General DH Hill is sent to defend the Warwick Line and across the river at Gloucester Point. There is little activity on the Warwick Line but a division of Union infantry is marching south to take the fort located at Gloucester Point from the land side.

Both sides have a lot to be proud of. Magruder’s brigades along the Mattaponi River have destroyed most of the ferries destroyed. These same brigades are in position to cover any forced crossings while waiting on General Johnston. 

Union forces were able to get to the Mattaponi River in four days, in half the time allocated by my CSA forces. Unfortunately the rest of the Union forces, including General McClellan are not to arrive at Urbanna for three days. 

Looks to be a very good start for both sides.

Type 89 Chi Ro

In the world of really cool tanks the Type 89 Ci Ro is at the top (along with the FT 17, Medium Mark A Whippet and M50/51 Super Shermans).

As I wait for the arrival of my platoon of Japanese ingenuity from Flames of War (I only ordered them a week before the release) I want to share this link for a review of the kit itself. I found it informative and will be useful once I receive the tanks.

For those not aware of this gem. It was used in China and along the Russian border in the 1930s. After Pearl Harbor, it was used in Malaysia and the Philippines.

WWPD
http://www.wwpd.net/2013/08/review-type-89-chi-ro-medium-sensha.html