WIP, 30mm WH40K Martian Dunecrawler, 30JUN17

Here is a photo of two assembled WIP, 30mm WH40K Martian Dunecrawlers, 30JUN17:

                                          WIP, 30mm WH40K Martian Dunecrawlers, 30JUN17.

Review of the Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

Author:  S.C. Gwynne.
Title:  Empire of the Summer Moon.
Publisher:  Scriber.
Copyright:  2010.
Pages:  371.

Overview and Impressions:

This book took several months to finish.  It's about Quannah Parker and the Comanche Indian Wars in the American Southwest.  I didn't realize how bloody the history of the area was.  The Texans and their Anglo-settlement on Comanche land was the tip of the iceberg.  The Spanish and Mexicans were just as brutal.  I felt I was reading history written in a sea of blood.  Ugh...

The part of about Quannah Parker and his mother, Rebecca, was interesting.  He was one of the few Indian chiefs to adapt to the world of the whites after the 1870s.  He kept a large household of wives and children, while selling horses and cattle.  Interesting personage.

Recommended.

Review of Such Men as These by David Sears

Author:  David Sears.
Title:  Such Men as These:  The Story of the Navy Pilots Who Flew the Deadly Skies over Korea.
Publisher:  Da Capo Press.
Copyright:  2010.
Pages:  401.

Overview and Impressions:
This E-book took a while to read.  I should have finished it sooner.  It's about the US Naval aviators who fought during the Korean War from 1950-1953.  Day to day operations, tactics, downed pilot rescues, bombing runs, and POWs in North Korea were covered.

James Mitchener's The Bridges at Toko-Ri were based on his experience as a reporter aboard an US Navy carrier during the conflict.  His novel was an underlying theme in the book.  The use of naval reservists to fill the Navy's aircraft also weighed heavily, too.

Overall, recommended reading.

Photo of completed 28mm Vietnam Era US Marine Platoon

Here's a photo of a completed 28mm Vietnam Era US Marine Platoon:

                                          28mm Vietnam Era US Marine Platoon.

Another 28mm project: 50th anniversary of the Tet Offensive

I've completed two different 1:1 28mm Free World infantry platoons.  I finished the 28mm Vietnam era US Marine platoon this morning.  It needs to be sealed at this point.  My 1:1 28mm ARVN Ranger Mechanized Platoon is also done.  The only thing left for the 50th anniversary of the Tet Offensive is a 1:1 28mm Viet Cong "Local Force" infantry company.

The problem is there are a lot of figures to paint.  90 total.  That doesn't include the 28mm Vietnamese civilians, too.  There are too many figures to fit on my 5' x 6' table.  Ambush Valley handles about three squads per side before breaking down.  I  need to come up with a TS&TF variant to handle larger games...

My main impetus is to get everything finished for the 50th anniversary of the Tet Offensive.  If I can run a game at Command Con 2017 in November 2017, so much the better.  I also need 28mm Vietnamese buildings or grass huts in addition to painting the figures.  A rice paddy or two would help, too...

Mid-June reading: part II....

Here's a list of what I've read this week:

1)  Empire of the Summer Moon.  Read another 50 pages in the book last Sunday.  I plan to finish tomorrow afternoon.

2)  The Long Way Home by Sabina Chase.  Read another 50 pages in the military sci-fi epic.  It's over 800 pages long...

3)  Men Such as These by Sears.  Read another 70 pages covering the Korean air campaigns of 1952-53.  More on the North Korean treatment of POWs.  It was brutal.

4)  Another 100 pages in Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.  More on the native Martians and their campaign to subvert Terran rule..

Mid-June 2017 reading...

I didn't get too much accomplished this week reading-wise:

1)  Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.  100 pages read.

2)  Men Such as These by Sears.  Another 25 pages read on the Korean War about US naval aviators captured in North Korea.

3)  Empire of the Summer Moon.  More reading about the Comache.  Another 50 pages read.

Photos of my 28mm games ran at Die Con 17, Collinsville, IL, USA

Here are some photos of 28mm Great War in Africa and 28mm Masai Warriors vs. Colonial Germans in 1885 games I ran at Die Con 17, Collinsville, IL this weekend:

                                          Initial set up for the 28mm Great War in Africa.

                                          Both sides deploying their askaris.

                                          The Germans licked their wounds while the Belgians advanced.

                                          Both sides bloodied another.  Both failed army morale the same turn.

                     Masai were able to advance.  The German play could roll movement to save his life.

                                          More Masai warriors advanced on the Germans.
                                             

                                          At the end of the game, the German play blew army morale big time.

Photo of WIP, 28mm VIetnam US Marines platoon, 02JUN17

Here's a photo of a WIP, 28mm Vietnam US Marine platoon:

Early June 2017 reading...

I've been reading the following books this week:

1)  Such Men as These by Sears.  More reading on US Naval aviators during the Korean War by some excerpts by Mitchner....

2)  The Long Journey Home by Sabina Chase.  More reading about an ex-NASA astronaut in the 22nd century...

3)  Empire of the Summer Moon.  More reading about the Comanche and their raiding in Texas against the Texas Rangers...

Photos of Completed 28mm ARVN Ranger mechanized platoon

Here's a photo of a completed 28mm ARVN Ranger mechanized platoon for my 28mm Vietnam War games:

                                          28mm ARVN Ranger mechanized platoon.