9th 'Pasubio' Division, Italian Infantry, Warlord Games

These figures* represent members of the 9th 'Pasubio' Division. This was a motorised Infantry Division of the Italian Army during World War II and served in both the Yugoslavian and Russian campaigns. 

Breda Light Machine Gun crew - gunner and ammuntion bearer

with Capitano (captain).

 

Rear View of Light Machine Gun crew.

Note Capitano's yellow loop rank insignia.

 

As with most other modellers and gamers of a certain age Airfix were the only real source of affordable historical figures in our formative years. My brother had a set of 1/72 scale WWII Italians in the familiar soft grey plastic. They were always attractive figures and, from purely personal point of view, they have far less negative connotations associated with the other Axis forces.

Even though the Italian army's reputation during the war is still generally held in low regard here in Britain (I won't repeat the jokes here) the famous phase "Lions led by donkeys" (often unfairly applied to British soldiers and generals during WWI) is probably a more appropriate epitaph for the Italian forces in WWII (infantry attacking tanks single handed, anyone?).

 

An Italian Infantry Division normally consisted of two Infantry Regiments (three Battalions each), an Artillery Regiment, a Mortar Battalion (two companies), an Anti Tank Company, a Blackshirt Legion (Regiment of two Battalions). Each Division had only about 7,000 men. The Infantry and Artillery Regiments contained 1,650 men, the Blackshirt Legion 1,200, each company 150 men.

And according to the Perry Miniatures website:
"An Italian Platoon was divided into 2 squads of 20 men. Each squad was made up of 2 Breda light machine gun groups of a corporal gunner, assistant gunner and 2 ammuntion bearers, all commanded by a sergeant. The other 11 were made up of riflemen."

However the Pasubio were a binary division composed of two regiments, rather than the normal three, the 79th and 80th Roma Infantry regiments (plus the 8th Artillery Regiment). Neither regiments were assigned a Black Shirt Legion on the Eastern Front.

The 79th Infantry Regiment and 8th Artillery Regiment were made up of men from Verona, whereas men from Mantua made up the 80th Regiment. Although in different regions, Lombardy and Veneto respectively, these northern Italian cities are in fact only 45km (28miles) apart.

The soldiers could be recognised by their red/yellow/red striped collar patch.

The division was mobilized in August 1940, and took part in the invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, capturing Split and Šibenik, Dalmatia (now in modern day Croatia).

When Germany invaded east into Russia on 22nd June 1941 Hitler only informed Mussolini, the dictator of his Axis partner Italy, once the invasion had actually started. Eager to have a claim for a share in the 'spoils of war' Mussolini insisted that Italian forces would assist the Germans.**

So in early July an initial force of 62,000 personnel of the Italian Royal Army formed the 'Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia' - CSIR (Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia) mobilized to take part in invasion of the Soviet Union.

Arriving via Ukraine and Romania in August 1941 the Pasubio took part in the Battle of Two Rivers (the Bug and the Dnieper).

In September the Pasubio and Torino Divisions along with the German SS Viking took the town of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, winning rare praise from the German commander. The CSIR later covered the left flank of the German 11th Army (German Group South).

Along with the Torino, Prince Amedeo Duke of Aosta and Sforzesca divisions the Pasubio would suffer greatly in 'Operation Saturn' in December 1942. Attacked by the Soviet 1st Guards the Italians were surrounded and defeated; the commander of the Italian armoured force, General Paolo Tarnassi, being killed in an aerial bombardment.

Remnants of the divisions remained in Russia until May 1943, when it was withdrawn to Italy. The division was being reformed and refurbished in the Salerno area when it was captured by German forces.

Left: Sergente (corporal) armed with

9mm Beretta M1938A sub-machine gun.

Right: (lance cpl) armed with standard 6.5mm Carcano rifle.

 

Note the red/yellow/red striped collar patch.

Useful Reference books:

If anyone is interested in collecting an Italian Army for use in the European theatres with rules such as 'Bolt Action' or 'Chain of Command' I would highly recommend on following books.

The Italian Army 1940-45 (1)
Europe 1940-43
Osprey Men at Arms 340

The Italian Army 1940-45 (1)
Europe 1940-43
Osprey Men at Arms 353

The Italian Army at War
Europe 1940-43
Concord

In the Name of Roma!
Actions of 80° Roma Infantry Regiment on the Eastern Front: August to December 1941
Chris Stoesen

The Osprey books greatly helped in working out paint schemes and also solving one piece of equipment that had me puzzled. Some of the Warlord figures have a cone-shaped bag on their left hip, which was normally out of shot in the period photographs. The Osprey book revealed that it was M1935 gasmask bag which was normally utilized during the war as an extra storage bag.

The Concord book might be a bit more difficult to track down (try specialist bookshops such as Iain Allen). I grabbed a copy at a large model show for a bargain £5.

The Roma book is actually a scenario book available in PDF format directly from the author and is stuffed full of useful information. The fact I chose to paint my figures as part of the Pasubio division is a happy coincidence. Although primary written with Chain of Command in mind it is easily to play the scenarios using Bolt Action rules.

The book contains six campaigns with between four and six scenarios per each campaign. The book costs $11 US (approx £7) and if you're even vaguely interested in the Italian involvement on the Eastern Front is a must buy bargain.

The Roma book is available here:
http://cstoesen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/in-name-of-roma-is-released.html

Italian Infantry Painting Colour Reference.
The following list is the same as the one I keep in my 'little black book' in which I keep (or try to but usually fail) my painting references, model ideas, historical notes etc. These are just the main block colours, obviously free feel to adapt to your suit own paints and methods for applying shading and highlights. Hopefully this may be of some use for anyone starting from scratch.

Grey Green V866 Vallejo - Uniform & M1933 Helmet
Black Shade 34A Foundry - Shoes, webbing, ammo pouches etc.
Med. Sea Grey V870 Vallejo - Garters/Bindings
Black Grey V862 Vallejo - Ground sheet/Blanket
Russian Uniform WWII V924 - M1929 Camouflage cloth (tent/poncho) Base colour A #
Dark Flesh Citadel - M1929 Camouflage cloth Highlight B
Buff Leather 7B Foundry - M1929 Camouflage cloth Highlight C
Flat Brown V984 Vallejo - Rifle stock
Khaki V988 Vallejo - M1935 Gasmask Bag etc.

*If some of these look familiar it's because they were originally due to be Alpini figures (WIP post). After some feedback from Italian viewers saying that Alpini uniforms were more green/grey rather that grey/green I decided to use these figures as standard infantry. Instead of repainting the figures (I'm not as daft as I look) I removed the feathers and simply touched up the paint on the helmets. I hope to purchase a few of the new Perry Miniatures WWII Italians and use these as the Alpini.

**Just as the little known Corpo Aereo Italiano (CAI) the Italian Air Corps expeditionary force involvement in the Battle of Britain, the Italian experience in Russia would result in high casualties in exchange for little or no gain.

#M29 Telo Mimetico (camouflage cloth) was the longest used military camouflage pattern in the world from 1929 until 1992. There were at least three quite different patterns used by the Italians (and Germans) during WWII.

Partisans, Warlord Games

These figures present partisans or members of resistance movements during WWII. 'The French term "partisan", derived from the Latin, was first used in the 17th century to describe the leader of a war-party' - thanks Wikipedia, I never knew that.

Please note that these are the contents of two packs of figures. 

Group 1 Front

Group 1 Rear

 

Group 2 Front

 

Group 2 Rear

 

Group 3 Front

Group 3 Rear

 

 

Group 4 Front

 

Group 4 Rear

 

The packs are supplied with a mixed set of eight from a certain random number of figures. With the two pacts I've purchased thirteen out of the total sixteen are unique sculpts. The figures come with a mixture of civilian, military clothing and equipment (mainly Soviet but with a Thompson sub-machine gun and a German stahlhelm helmet thrown in for good measure). Suitable for resistance fighters in several theatres including Russian/Soviet, French maquisards (with their berets) or possibly usable for Dutch, Jewish, Polish, Yugoslavians partisans etc.

 

I had been struggling to think of suitable colours to use as I could find very little info or colour reference images of casually dressed (especially eastern) Europeans from the 1930's and 40's. However it was whilst sitting in my local pub that I happened to notice the television was showing the latest episode of Foyle's War (a British detective drama television series originally set during World War II). 'Hello' I thought, 'this may be helpful' so I settled back with pint in hand and noted that all the male civilian clothing which seemed to be variations of rather sober shades of grey, blue and brown. Therefore I have deliberately painted these figures with a relatively subdued colour scheme, which makes sense seeing as they are supposed to represent sneaky partisans ready to ambush any passing bad guys. 

Whenever possible in the future I'm going to do all my research down the pub. It certainly won't improve the quality or quantity of my painting output but I'll be too pickled to care.

Regular readers (hi mom) may have been somewhat surprised to know that I've actually prepared, modified, primed and block painted dozens of Soviet soldiers for my on going Bolt Action project but I do have various excuses for the distinct lack of finished miniatures: 

• I was waiting to pick up the official Bolt Action army book,
• Ongoing research into clothing and equipment,
• I lost my USB cable so haven't been able to download any photographs,
• I'm a lazy arse who is far too easily distracted.

With the death of Google Reader I've been missing numerous updates on the 500+ blogs I follow (Google+ is also getting on my nerves but that might be because I'm getting old and grumpy). It was whilst pondering this I remembered that I hadn't posted for a quite a time myself. In fact I realised that I had nearly missed two consecutive months, which would have been for the first ever since starting this blog. After checking it also dawned on me that this blog been going for five years (five years exact last Sunday to be precise) - doesn't time fly when you're having fun. So without making any promises I'm going to try and post on a more regular basis i.e. more than once every eight/nine weeks!

 

And, as always, thanks for reading.

September 2013 News Round (no John Craven - guaranteed)

A bit of a random blog post this one, just a quick round up of my travels, past and future, plus a chance to win some every nice goodies from some jolly nice bloggers.

So first up few very generous give away competitions:

Terrain For Hippos - although non hippos will also find the advice very useful and easy to follow:
Annual Terrain Compometition Prizes

Anne's (Now not so) secret give away:
Double Triple Secret Give Away including extras:
"This give away is being sponsored in part by author Patrick Hatt. You can find Mr. Hatt's Amazon Writers Page at http://www.amazon.com/Pat-Hatt/e/B00AGFMYVC."

Chris Stoesen at Wargamer's Odds and Ends is offering a chance to win figures, 15mm armour and other material. I was planning on buying his Italians in Russia scenarios anyway so I'd prefer it if no on else entered, thanks.
Lets try give away

Future Travels
The coming weekend 28th and 29th September see the Derby/Donnington Show which used to be held in early October and in Derby. I'm easily confused so I'll hopefully be attending on the Sunday with friends. If you see three rather rotund gentlemen all wearing glasses, one with too much hair (Ade - aka Wargaming For Fun), one with crazy hair (my brother) and one lacking any hair (me) plodding round clutching numerous plastic bags full of metal and plastic goodies, that will be us. We should be easy to spot amongst the typical wargaming crowd (cough, cough). Please feel free to say hello and if you want to ply us with free figures, drinks, cash and chocolate even better.

I've actually been quite busy over the last few weeks (although judging by the lack of updates on this blog it would be hard to tell). The stinkers at work keep insisting that I actually work a full day, every day, five days a week! Therefore my interent access has been limited. The inhumane rotters.

Past Travels
My brother and myself managed to visit the recent excavation of the WWI model of Messines battlefield built on Cannock Chase recently. Interesting blog entry (here). I already have some images on my Twitter feed but I hope to upload better quality images some time in the future.

Other Stuff
The Great Round Tower (although this is not the name I came to refer to it as. I'd like to keep this blog PG rated so you'll have to ask me in person if you want to know what it is) is very nearly complete with just the base needing to be covered in grass and flock. Its only taken me just over a year but it should be finished in a week or two. Hopefully my brother and myself will be visiting the inspiration for the model over the weekend, Skenfrith castle. So if you're in the area and hear someone repeatedly shouting something like "oh fudge! I can't believe I missed out that detail." then that will probably be me.

If you've forgotten or have no idea what I'm talking about here's a reminder:
Great Round Tower WIP

Our First YouTube Bolt Action Game

aka "Hello Mom, I'm on the telly."

Well not quite. Last weekend my old mate Ade invited me over to the heart of sunny Shropshire to visit the Man Cave. This is actually a large purpose built shed at the bottom of his garden which for most people in the UK is probably the next best thing to a dedicated games room in your home.

From this battle-shed Ade has been playing and recording wargames, mainly Warhammer Fantasy and Warmachine, just for his own amusement and to share the results with the wider community. Slowly but surely Ade has built up a loyal following of over 4600 YouTubers (or whatever the proper collective noun is) which is growing exponentially. He has been wanting to branch out and cover more game systems for quite a while and seeing as we are both collecting WWII figures at the moment he thought it was an ideal opportunity to play a few games of Bolt Action, the WWII skirmish ruleset from Warlord Games.

The main purpose of my visit therefore was to record, hopefully the first of many, a couple of games of Bolt Action. Regular readers (hi mom) will realise I rarely, if ever, mention playing games on this blog. This is because I'm primarily a model maker/painter/collector so if you looking for an in-depth report on tactics, formations etc. then you'll have to wait a while until I can fully comprehend the game. If however you'd like to watch a relaxed game between to old mates then watch and enjoy.

Wargaming For Fun - 1st Bolt Action game*

*Be warned the video contains implied strong violence against toy soldiers, poor jokes, light hearted banter and heavy midlander accents (well mine is thicker than black puddin').

This Day in History - Battle of Bosworth 22nd August 1485

It was this day in history that the Henry Tudor defeated Richard III in the penultimate battle of the Wars of the Roses. With the recent discovery of Richard's body at Greyfriars in Leicester, plus the screening of the BBC television series 'The White Queen', has raised considerable interest in this time period.

Following on from our visit earlier this year (click here) my brother and myself decided to once again to travel the fifty odd miles and spend a couple of nights in Leicester to explore the city at our leisure and to attend the anniversary re-enactment (I usually get some funny looks/reactions whenever I tell people where I go for my holidays).

On the Sunday we visited Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre for their 528th anniversary re-enactment. Once there we had the opportunity to attend the unofficial launch of the book "Bosworth 1485 A Battlefield Rediscovered" by Dr. Foard & Prof. Anne Curry. It's a fascinating read, finally revealing the location to the site that had been lost for hundreds of years. Also the authors convincingly argue that far less combatants were involved than is normally mentioned (the authors using different methods; Curry using the financial accounts and Foard using landscape archaeology to reach their conclusions). There are lots more fascinating insights but you'll have to buy the book to find out.

 

As the visitor centre was due to be refurbished Leicestershire County Council with Lottery funding understandably wanted to know exactly where the battle took place. The relevant experts were given three years to find the precise site of the battlefield after numerous locations had been proposed. The main purpose of the book records the results of this search.
 

In the talk, two years and fifty one weeks into the search Foard honestly admitted that he had given up hope of ever finding the site as no real evidence had been found. In what sounds like the plot from a thriller with just one week left he authorised one final use of metal detectors to check a field on the very outer edge of the possible locations. A small lead shot, just 30mm diameter and undoubtedly from a medieval weapon, saved the day. Given extra funding, and just as importantly time, the team went on to find over thirty pieces of various sized shot along with various other pieces of contemporary military providence.

View from Ambion Hill looking toward Fenn Lanes Farm - site of the conclusion of the battle of Bosworth.

 

One of the many reasons people had been looking in the wrong place was mainly due from the misreading of historical maps which is discussed in detail in the book. Even though the site had been noted during numerous occasions, including a skirmish during the English Civil War, the location itself was eventually lost. It turns out all previous thoughts were wrong, historians Hutton, Nichols, Jones, Wright, Burne, Williams all misplaced the site with only Foss (1998) getting near. The site is actually on the old Roman road (on the particular stretch called Fenn Lanes) between Leicester and Mancetter, located west of Dadlington and north-west Stoke Golding.

 

The location of a long gone marshy area that was pivotal to the battle had also proved problematic but a local farmer mentioned to the team that his tractor had previously become bogged down for three days in a certain field. Further testing confirmed this was the site of the medieval marsh. This was where the high status silver boar livery badge was discovered and probably the site where Richard III died in his attempt to charge Henry Tudor to ground. The vicinity is on private land but there are numerous public paths through the area. A visit to the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre is highly recommended to give you a good idea of the background, plus how and why it happened and where. 

All of this has motivated me to get underway with my own long delayed Wars of the Roses period figures (side by side with two other projects). A Dudley Council historian has given my a far clearer idea of how to proceed with painting the (unknown) livery of Lord Dudley and his retinue which should then enable me to finally publish my eight part posting for this fascinating character.

Soviet 76mm infantry gun M1943 & Crew, Plastic Soldier Company

This is the second model taken from the 28mm plastic '45mm Anti Tank Gun' set from the Plastic Soldier Company (PSC), the other can be seen (here) . This model depicts the 76mm infantry M1943 which used the same carriage.

There will eventually be a online video showing how this base was made detailing in particular the tree roots. This will be on Ade's own website (Wargaming for fun) and on YouTube (Wargaming For Fun).

Ade does a great job of editing his videos which actually takes a substantial amount of time. This video will have a new voice-over as the original involved a fair amount of industrial language as it doesn't show the bit where I managed to superglue my fingers to the acrylic base, or the important bit (i.e. making the actual tree roots) when I didn't realise the camera battery had run out.

This Day in History - Battle of Evesham 4th August 1265 (almost)

My attempt at posting remotely was obviously a dismay failure. This post was supposed to be published yesterday but when I tried to check via my mobile it was clear that it didn't work. I couldn't even access my dashboard with my mobile to publish it that way. Anyways, pretend this is Sunday morning and you still don't know who the new Doctor will be. There was a thunderstorm before the battle just like there been throughout the midlands over the last few days.

 

This is the first in a (hopefully) regular series of posts highlighting various events that took place on 'This Day in history' but adding my own personal slant. My brother and myself have visited hundreds, if not thousands, of historical sites, buildings, castles and battlefields etc. across the world over the years (followers of my recent Twitter feeds will probably have better indication of the number of places we visit).

We recently visited Evesham where one of the main forefathers of modern parliamentary democracy, Simon de Montfort, was killed in battle. Clicking on the following links will take you to sites that will give a far better accounts of the battle and the life of de Montfort himself than I ever can:

Simon de Montfort Society

wiki - Battle of Evesham

Battlefields Trust & Battlefields Trust

The battle took place a mile north of the town centre and is now easily accessible thanks to the hard work of the Simon de Montfort Society and kindly allowed by the landowners. If you do visit, please stick to the proper pathway as it passes through and around fields of barley and fruit trees, which is all still private land.

The path isn't marked that well from the east. We parked on the nearby Tesco's carpark and walked past FS Marble & Granite Ltd (if you're using a new fangled Satnav the post code is WR11 4RA). The path starts down the side of  Ivy Cottage which is just behind the factory.

View from South-west looking north-east towards Green Hill. Simon de Montfort charged uphill from the right towards Prince Edward's army on the left of this image.

 

Charging along this ridge de Montfort would have seen, from left to right Roger de Mortimer, Prince Edward and Earl Gilbert de Clare deploying into battle along Green Hill in the background.

Information panel in the area know as Battle Well.

Battle Well looking west, generally thought to have been were Simon de Montfort was cut down and butchered. With the lost of their leader de Montfort's forces were quickly broken then pursued to the east and south. The remains of de Montfort were gathered and buried in the nearby abbey.

 

As per usual I like to crowbar a reference to Dudley in my posts which is quite easy with this one. Roger de Somery, Baron of Dudley was probably present but not actually fighting. He had been captured, along with the king Henry III, earlier in the year at the Battle of Lewis and was released soon afterwards.

One of my many side projects involves painting numerous figures depicting the knights from this period along with those involved in the Anglo-Welsh wars, including of course the knights and soldiers from Dudley and the surrounding areas. The heraldry from this time lends itself very well to colourful and attractive looking figures but more of this at a later date.

Soviet DP28 Light Machine Gun, Plastic Solder Company - Part 2 of 2

These figures are also from the 28mm plastic 'Russian Infantry in Summer Uniform' set - others can be seen elsewhere on my blog (click here). These are the final group of miniatures from the Plastic Soldier Company (PSC) for the time being, except for another piece of artillery, that I've completed from that particualr boxset. There are more in the set that I have block painted but I can't quite motivate myself to finish them. They are perfectly adequate for gaming but they don't (without wishing to sound too pretentious) inspire me  to spend the time on detailing them up to my own preferred standard.

 

 

Next up, if I can take some decent photographs, will be a few pieces/figures I've recently finished for use with Bolt Action rules.

Soviet DP28 Light Machine Gun, Plastic Solder Company - Part 1 of 2

The DP28 or Degtyaryova Pekhotny "Degtyaryov's infantry machine gun" introduced in 1928 (hence DP28 code, the Russians had a very simple and logical method of creating their equipment codes). The pan magazine could hold 47 rounds firing at a rate of approx. 500rpm.

This effective weapon saw service throughout the WWII by both the Soviet forces and the Finnish army, which captured thousands during the Winter and Continuation Wars, and was later used in large numbers by Communist forces in Asia.

 

These figures are from the 28mm plastic 'Russian Infantry in Summer Uniform' set. 

 

  

 

The tree stump with roots was made using the same method described in a previous post (click here). It adds a little detail to what would otherwise be a relatively bland base.

Soviet 82mm mortar team, Plastic Soldier Company

Finally this is last group I painted up taken from the 28mm plastic 'Russian Heavy Weapons' set, Plastic Soldier Company (PSC) - for the Plastic Soldier Review (click here). As you may notice from the review there are other figures within the set but I don't need them at present.

 

 

Once I've completed my Warlord Games plastic Soviet infantry I'll add any spare weapons, rifles, sub-machine guns etc. to these groups as they look a bit vulnerable at the moment.

 

Also in the same boxset:

Soviet Maxim M1910 Heavy Machine Gun

& Soviet 50mm Mortar 

 

Soviet 50mm mortar team, Plastic Soldier Company

Another group taken from the 28mm plastic 'Russian Heavy Weapons' set by the Plastic Soldier Company (PSC). For a proper review (click here).

 

 

Soviet Maxim M1910 heavy machine gun & Crew, Plastic Soldier Company

This group is taken from the 28mm plastic 'Russian Heavy Weapons' set, Plastic Soldier Company (PSC). For a proper review, although of the 1/72 scale kit version, take a look at the Plastic Soldier Review site (click here).

 

 

The tree stump is made from a real twig picked up from my local park and stuck into place with PVA glue. Alternatively if you have more money than sense you can buy a 0.5oz (14g) bag of sticks..sorry 'Broken Stumps' from Woodland Scenics (for between £3.75 and £5.99). To quote their website:

"Use this natural, realistic product to model fallen or standing dead trees and stumps. It has the look of aged wood with gnarled branches, knots with some smooth, weathered pieces."

Or, as I've just said, you can pop outside, look under a tree, bush or hedge and grab a handful of dead wood for free.
The roots are simply made by twisting a suitable length of tissue paper. Glue one end, (you'll have to use super glue) near the stump. Once dry twist the tissue paper again and carefully glue the other end into position, being careful to avoid gluing your figures to the base (not like I'd be daft enough to do that, of course). Then apply super glue over the length of the paper to set it so that it doesn't unwind itself. Simple as that.

The most notable problem with this set is that there isn't any ammunition being fed into the machine gun. This would be less obvious with the 1/72 scale version but I will have to add an ammo box and belt sometime in the future.

Soviet 45mm anti-tank gun M1942 & Crew, Plastic Soldier Company

This model is taken from the 28mm plastic '45mm Anti Tank Gun' set from the Plastic Soldier Company (PSC). This model depicts the 45mm anti-tank gun M1942 and is one of three available options you can make. The boxset for the 28mm version contains enough parts and figures to make two guns complete with crew.

 

 

There is a far better detailed review, of the 1/72 scale kit, on the Plastic Soldier Review site (click here).

Soviet PTRD anti-tank rifle & Crew, Warlord Games

Taken from the 28mm plastic 'Soviet Infantry' set from Warlord Games this set depicts the Soviet PTRD-41  anti-tank rifle.

 

 

 

The PTRD-41 was the Soviet anti-tank rifle that saw service from 1941. The single-shot (14.5 dia x 114mm) weapon became less and less effective against Germany armour as the war continued.

 

The Warlord boxset offers a multitude of options and enables you to create unique combinations of miniatures. I thought this set was reminiscent of the old Airfix multi-part plastic 1:32 scale figures. I have modified a number of the models from the plastic boxset but haven't had the opportunity to paint them up yet.

Although the Warlord figures are better models (in terms of both scuplting and detail) than those produced by Plastic Solder Company (PSC) they also work out more expensive per figure (as always, you get what you pay for). I'll be posting a number of models from various PSC sets set over the next few days.

Shameless brass-necked bid to win free stuff.

To celebrate the seriously impressive number of hits to his blog (1,000,000 - count 'em) Big Lee is having a give-away competition with some very good prizes (actually if I had them in my grubby hands I wouldn't give them away). At the current rate my own blog will hit the same target in March 2037 (yes I'm sad enough to sit down and work that out).

The entry rules aren't too strict. All you have to do is pop over  to his site (click here) become a 'follower', leave a comment and keep your fingers crossed. I don't even mind that it will lessen the odds of winning anything myself. Note to self - must be more ruthless in the future.

Batavi Iuniores Britanniciani - Late Romans, Lunt Roman Fort - Part 3 of 3

 

 

Part 1 - Batavi Iuniores Britanniciani

Part 2 Batavi Iuniores Britanniciani