Supply wagon

Supply wagon

I needed something for a "build" over on The Wargamers` Forum, the build is "Heavy", now as anyone reading this knows I don`t do big stuff or hvy tanks. But I did happen to have this British supply wagon by Tumbling Dice, so built it with a full load. The load itself is various boxes and tarps from the spares box, I added all the ropes and traces with wire and cotton, the driver is an Italeri plastic with a head swap.

This will fit into any of my early C20th forces and will even work with WW2 French or Germans or civilians.

12 cm Granatwerfer 42 heavy mortar

12 cm Granatwerfer 42 heavy mortar

Tube and crew all Britannia

Mexican Revolution Inventory pt3 - Pershing`s Yanks

Mexican Revolution Inventory pt3 - Pershing`s Yanks

My initial plan was to create a three-sided game: Federals/Villaistas/Americans

But as the project has grown, I will probably be forced to fight one against another - Federals vs Villa OR Colorados vs Madero OR Villaistas/bandits vs US forces and of course the Federals also fought the Yanks also in a couple of historic engagements too so the choices are quite wide.

For those of you old enough to remember I wrote an article of Pershing`s expedition into Mexico after Pancho Villa for The Journal (later published by Miniature Wargames too).
The period is fascinating from an American military standpoint as this was the first time they tried motorised transport and air reconnaissance. During one of the actions was also the first time US troops advanced supported by machine guns too.

A mix of figures and manufacturers: IT Miniatures (now available through Frontline), Tumbling Dice, EWM, Jacklex plus a few Airfix plastics

My entire expeditionary force

60 infantry

25 mtd cavalry, 19 foot cavalry - all painted as 9th Cavalry (colored)

A 7.7mm Ehrhardt field gun with 6 horse limber and crew

Platoon from the Provisional Motorcycle company with: 2 bikes and one motorcycle combination w/MG 

Provisional machinegun company with: 3 x 2-man LMGs + Colt MG w/3 crew

Elements of Cannon Company 6th Infantry: 2.75" Vickers-maxim gun + 4 crew, 2 mules, 2 ammo bearers

Supply company with: heavy truck, Ford Model T car plus crews

HQ: Mtd Colonel, 4 officers, standard  

2 companies of 6th Infantry Regiment

2 dismounted troops of 9th Cavalry (colored)

2 mounted troops plus squadron HQ of 9th cavalry (colored)

force commander plus staff

Motor transport unit
The truck is from Irregular Miniatures (WW1 truck), the Model T is EWM

Platoon of the Provisional M/C Company
Models from EWM

Machine gun Company 6th Infantry

"A" gun, 1st battery 6th Artillery Regiment
By Jacklex

Cannon Company 6th infantry
Gun by David Reasoner

Mexican Revolution inventory 2 - Villaistas

Mexican Revolution inventory 2 - Villaistas 

Obviously, these don`t need to be supporters of Villa, they can be bandits or just irregular troops fighting for or against the Federals

Again a huge mix of manufacturers:

Raventhorpe, Jacklex, Irregular, Shellhole Scenics, EWM. Elheim plus various plastics and minor conversions & head swaps

 25 cavalry

50 infantry

22 Soldaderas

13 Yaqui

Villa & staff (11 figures plus a mule and horse)

A French `75 with 6 horse limber and crew

A mountain gun + 3 crew

A 37mm Hotchkiss pom pom + 2 horse limber + crew

A Colt MG w/crew

16 various civilians and clergy + a mule and bull

 Civilians

 50 infantry

 Villa and staff

 Yaqui

 Soldaderas

 Irregular cavalry

 Artillery

 Conversions

Now when I started this project, no one did Mexican soldaderas (girl soldiers), let`s be honest very few armed female figures were available at all! So I was forced to improvise, converting resistance and SCW Milicianas to the desired look. Later Minairons released a box of milicianas and I was able to convert another unit; Now ERM also do girls with guns, so anyone new into this period has it a little easier :) 

Anyway whilst photographing the figures I thought I`d try to show what i did. 

 L-R Minairons (with head swap), Minairons (skirt of plasterscene), Warrior Miniatures resistance fighter (skirt of plasterscene), Warrior SCW Miliciana (Raventhorpe head, long hair of plasterscene)

 L-R Warrior resistance fighter (as above) with skirt and long hair of plasterscene, Minairons (SMG pruned away, replaced by rifle), Minairons (untouched), Minairons (head swap)

  L-R Minairons (head swap), EWM (untouched), Minairons (head swap), Irregular (untouched) 

Finally two versions of the Warrior SCW miliciana shown above, the one on the left has a head swap from a civilian refugee figure

Mexican Revolution inventory 1 - Federals

Mexican Revolution Inventory

As always when we go out to Spain I take some stuff out, as part of this load was the more recent finished painted figures including those various Tumbling Dice additions for my Mexican Revolution project. Whilst putting everything in its correct box in the wargames cave, I took the opportunity to list and count that part of the collection.

 Federal forces

These are a mix of Federal line infantry and cavalry plus Rural Corps and Colorados, I have to be honest, I`ve played pretty fast and lose with some of the uniforms as I`ve used some from earlier periods (1900-1910) just for fun.

The figures are a wide mix:

Irregular & Bandera SCW, Warrior Miniatures cavalry with head swaps, converted old Airfix US Cavalry, Shellhole Scenics, Raventhorpe, Tumbling Dice, Italeri & Hat & Airfix plastics, plus odds`n sods like Combat Miniatures Japanese and minor conversions and head-swaps too. 

The whole army

125 various infantry
33 gunners w/34 cannon & 3 machine guns & 4 horse limbers
66 cavalry
3 vehicles
General + staff & German advisors (14 figs)

2 platoons of Rurales/Colorados
Armoured truck, EV4 armoured car
Hotchkiss team & 2 Rexor LMGs

 2 companies (30men each) of Federal infantry

Col. von Bratwurst and his German military mission
Federal signals unit

 General Diaz & staff + staff car

 1st battery w/ 1 x `75 & Krupp 105mm

 2nd battery 2 x 70mm
The guns here are scratched together, the carriages are from Hat Gatling guns and the guns PSC Pak38s with a very mixed crew :)

 3 x 11man cavalry troops
Mixed Federals & Rurales/Colorados

 2 x 11man cavalry troops
Mixed Federals & Rurales/Colorados

 Last 11man troop

 Federal military cadets

 Federal infantry wearing the 1910 era cotton uniform with kepi & havelock

Machine gun company wearing 1908 era Presidential Guard uniform

Reinforcements for the Armee du Levant

Reinforcements for the Armee du Levant

A few extra French bits for my Vichy Forces in Syria/Lebanon

Ft17 75 BS

An SPG with the 75-mm short-barrel S-type Blockhaus Schneider howitzer installed in the armored cabin. It was larger than previous guns, which increased the vehicle mass to 7.3 tons and cut its ammunition to 30 shells. High command saw value in the project and placed an order for 970 vehicles. By the end of World War I, a total of 39 vehicles were manufactured; after that, production was discontinued. At least one was captured in Syria/Lebanon

My rather crude model based on the Hat Ft17

Gen. Weygand reorganised the French colonial forces after the armistice in 1940, among his suggestions was mechanisation and the organising of mixed motorised columns. 

I saw this image and based my model on it:

The truck is by Shell hole Scenics (1.5ton Chevy), the gun is Hat, the crew are Elheim`s brand spanking new French tropical guys, I built the racks and added the stowage

Same gun with more of Elheim`s wonderful figures (he does two packs, I mixed them)