sabato 25 maggio 2019

... -Waterloo .. we are coming ...

Months ago Luciano (one of my club mates) asked us a strange question ... "why not to organize a great Napoleonic scenario using our 15mm miniatures?" 

At the beginning this sentence was considered by some of us a provocation but after some months of hard work I have to admit that the future can give us beautiful surprises.

A target of this kind can be reached only by a club in which every members can give his support ... so Ezio and Riccardo in these weeks started to study and  to create the table for Waterloo


Last week-end Luciano put some miniatures on a table to check the quantity of miniatures various club members (Aurelian, Filippo, Riccardo, Alberto, Maurizio, Marco and others) have prepared. He concentred his attention to German and Austrian troops so I took some pictures


Some Bavarians regiments


The same miniatures in combat against a group of Grenzers



Below other pictures of specific units my friends painted
Wurttemberg Cavalry



Bavarian Light Cavalry



Austrian Hussars (Hungarians)



Berg Regiment of Light Horse


Bohemian Landwehr


Reign of Naples (Settimo Real Napoletano)


Sassonian line infantry



Sassonian grenadiers



sabato 18 maggio 2019

Bolt action and Lion Rampant – La Piccola Armata activites


In the last months, La Piccola prepared different events. A large battle adapting Lion Rampant to an Italian Renaissance scenario …


… and various Bolt Action combined scenarios for a campaign


To prepare these events required great attention to the details and skills to involve a group of different (and busy) persons to participate but the results can be see in the photos below
A Papal artillery


"Burn the tents!"



... and conquest the village



The Normandy invasion is started but ... 




... the North France is only one of the war theatres. Below a duel between DAK and USA in Tunisia






sabato 11 maggio 2019

DAK vehicles Sd.Kfz. 250/3, Sd.Kfz. 138, Sd.Kfz. 222


Since the first time in which I saw the Altaya model of a Sd.Kfz. 250 during Milano Wargame 2019 I thought that I have to paint it  ... so …



I found some (rare WwII original colorized) photos and …


… I started to work on it


During WwII, with his MG34, the Sd.Kfz. 250 was largely used for reconnaissance and scouting missions but Rommel used it many times the version 250/3 as command vehicle
I found another colorized photo with Rommel on his GRIEF that is speaking with Oberst Crasemann (the commander of 15. Panzer – May 1942)


Unfortunately I did not find a 20mm Rommel model but Caesar produced two boxes of panzer crews that can be used for the DAK



as well as the Italeri green devils ... perfect for Ramcke brigade



A great part of the plastic vehicles models have not crew  so I used the Caesar miniatures to create the crew of a Marder III with good effect. 


The model I bought it was painted for the Normandy but this kind of tank- destroyer was used also on the African front




The Marder IIIs were used in panzer divisions of both the Heer and the Waffen SS (as well as in several Luftwaffe units) such as the Hermann Göring division so with this camouflage I can use it also for Italian and Tunisian theatre.
The Marder' IIIs weaknesses were mainly related to crew survivability due to the open-top armor protection that made them vulnerable to indirect artillery fire, handicap that is correctly reflect into Bolt Action army list.

Another light reconnaissance vehicle designed by German army to meet a simple construction and good off-road performance was the Sd.Kfz. 222.

Below the only one colorized photo I found of this model even if the crew  that is inspecting it are English and not German



Times ago I bought a Altaya model 1/72 and I re-painted it 





It was the first DAK model I painted using these colors so ... it is not the best vehicle I re-painted but for Bolt Action can be used





mercoledì 8 maggio 2019

SAGA Age of Magic

SAGA - Age of Magic is arrived into the Italian wargame shops only last week but in my association (La Piccola Armata) we are just testing it


Why not to start with a classic ... Who will conquest the tower?


... of course the player with the Panda monster has certain advantages


But why not to play also some classic SAGA matches 

Pagan Rus vs Pagan Rus




Some Pelegrins and some Crusaders try to conquest the Holy land 



while the San Lazarus Mauri's knights defend their territories from a Mongol horde




venerdì 3 maggio 2019

French colonial troops


In the last months Ezio gave to Maurizio the commission to paint a French colonial army for his future battles at "La Piccola Armata" (our wargame club).

A couple of weeks ago he brought the miniatures painted to the club so I had the possibility to take some pictures of them. Miniatures painted by Maurizio are a very high level in my opion so why not to share them?

French troops in their camp



A column of supply in the desert



Some legionaries in an old monastery



A cavalry squad



Some troops involved in a desert battle