Something different!

 

I am happy to share today these two restoration pieces I have finished. The figures are from Manoil Toys. Manoil figures closely resembled Barclay toy soldiers, and often some are outright copies of the other. This happened frequently with the Dime store soldiers, and nobody seemed to be too worried about it. All of the companies from Northern New Jersey and New York City at the time were doing quite well financially.

These two figures date from the late 1939 into 1940. They are M80  Motorized Machine Gunner and M41 Machine Gunner. I have included some “before” photos so you can see how they came to me.

A note on scale: These are large figures; the average foot soldier stands about 70 to 75mm tall. So, they are really big hunks of metal.

The first order of business was the strip the old paint off of them. I use Biostrip exclusively to strip these antiques, as it doesn’t harm them at all and easily strips off paint decades old. I procured some copy replacement rubber wheels for the machine gunner and removed the axle pins.

The figures were hand primed with a brush-on primer and let to dry. I then painted them with acrylic paint in thin layers, letting them dry properly in-between steps. The originals were sprayed with enamel in the factory, and then the details hand painted. Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury to work with enamels in my flat, so acrylic and gloss varnish will do for now.

Ideally in the future I will spray them with enamels and mimic the factory process. That’s for another day.

The figures were finished and then coated with two coats of brush-on gloss varnish, letting them dry in the sun. The results are spectacular.

Think on this, the last person to touch these toys like this was more than 75 years ago. In breathing new life into these figures, I feel a kinship with that community that came before us. I wonder what they would have thought knowing hobbyists are still appreciating the work generations later.

Thanks, and I hope you enjoyed seeing these.

The Ambush at Cooper's Wood.

 

The country placed and the table is set.

 

 

 

 

"The night air was cool, and the moonlight glistened off the surface of the Silver River as we moved silently through the thick underbrush.

 My name is Sergeant Tomas Harrow, and tonight, my squad and I were far from the safety of our encampment in Cardinalia. Our mission was clear yet heavy with danger: to uncover the rumoured location of a Berylian cache of Lunarite, a substance that has altered the fate of both nations."

 

 

This game will be played using the "Close Wars" rules from Donald Featherstone.

 

This beginning skirmish was a solo adventure. I wanted to see if the recon forces of Cardinalia would fall prey to the Berylian trap. The game progressed over four rounds. Let's follow along.

 Army Red deployed within 9 inches of the table edge, their mission was to find and secure the precious cargo of Lunarite. Army Blue were allowed to deploy up to half of the table's edge and in cover. 

 

Army Red's forces included regular riflemen from the 1st Cardinalian Regiment of Foot, led by Captain George Fairchild. 

(You can read the history on this prestigous unit and Captain in previous blog posts)

Captain Fairchild and his men advance towards the small hill.

Two privates ready their rifles and proceed towards the rocks.

Army Blue was led by Squad Leader Corporal Vance Taryn, of the Iron Squad. He sequestered a group of mercenaries, The Riverclaw Brotherhood, woodsmen and excellent shots to help him set up this ambush. 

 

 

 

The Riverclaw Brotherhood are excellent marksmen.

"Wait to fire until I give the command."

While Army Blue readies it's ambush, Army Red moves forwards and begins to head towards the cache of Lunarite. Rounding the top of the hill, the Army Red Riflemen hear a twig snap, and spin to see the ambushers! 

They quickly leveled their rifles towards the enemy and fired! 

Sixes hit!

In the opening shots of the skirmish, Army Red suceeded in felling the enemy officer and a member of the mercenary band in a brutal close quarters round of shooting.  

(I really did roll two sixes. I know that the rolls could have been flubbed, but the universe wanted Army Red to do well I think) 

The beginning of the second turn saw the mercenaries ready and fire, springing the ambush properly. They were still getting paid, officer or no.

One hit and one miss!

One of the riflemen fall to mercenary fire.

Captain Fairchild leads his men up the hill. They clear the top to the sound of gunfire!

An ambush, sir! 

Army Blue has repositioned and will commence to fire next turn. Meanwhile, Army Red is mopping up the mercenaries on the hillside.

"Give em lead, boys!"

Army Blue is now positioned to fire effectively, and they do so. Their hope is to kill the Captain and rout the rest of the Army Red troops.

Army Blue mercenaries fire to little effect. 

Army Red charges downhill, bayonets fixed if it comes to that. The Captain bravely charges forward with his sabre, aiming for the hardiest looking Riverclaw mercenary.

The final volley from Army Red sorts out the mercenaries amongst the rocks.

The dice are thrown, and quick as silver the mercenary is run through.

"Secure the cache, men. See to the fallen, doubletime."

"The smoke cleared, and the cache of Lunarite was picked up from amongst the fallen mercenaries. Captain Fairchild unlatched the strongbox and gazed at the Lunarite. All of this blood spilt for some stones."

 The game went quickly, and I did my best to play solo with little bias. The rules are simple, and perfect for this kind of engagement. I wanted to get the ball rolling before I move forward with a "big battle" game. I will be using "A Gentleman's War" rules from here on outward, the link to them is below:

A Gentleman's War

I feel that the Riverclaw Brotherhood lost face in this battle, getting shot to hell by the Cardinalians. Captain Fairchild performed wonderfully (albeit a bit slow to get his horse up the slope) and will doubtlessly be commended with a fine glass of brandy back at camp.

Thank you for following along, I hope you enjoyed the photos and the narrative. The next post will be soon, with history on the artillery units of both countries.

Parade Colors

 Some vanity shots today. I am gearing up to launch the first series of narrative games. I am just waiting on some cannon in the post. Enjoy! 

"The Swift Second", 2nd Cavalry, Beryl Kingdom.

 I am still writing up the results of the recent battle, so while you wait for that battle report enjoy some pictures of these dashing gents.

“The Patrol”

 

 

 

 Please enjoy this short story, I wrote it as a lead up to tomorrow's battle. I will be playing through a solo scenario and photographing the game. Afterwards I will be writing up the battle report and publishing it on the 4th of July. 

 

Thanks for following along! 

 

The night air was cool, and the moonlight glistened off the surface of the Silver River as we moved silently through the thick underbrush. My name is Sergeant Tomas Harrow, and tonight, my squad and I were far from the safety of our encampment in Cardinalia. Our mission was clear yet heavy with danger: to uncover the rumoured location of a Berylian cache of Lunarite, a substance that has altered the fate of both nations.

 

As the captain of a veteran patrol unit, I had been witness to several skirmishes along the volatile borders. Still, rumours of what Lunarite could do had added a sharp edge to our duties. The high command believed that obtaining more of this resource could be the key to overpowering Beryl's technologically advanced weaponry.

 

We approached silently, the only sound being an occasional night bird. My men were alert, their eyes darting over the shadowed terrain in search of any sign of the enemy. As we moved closer to the source, the soft murmur of voices shattered the night's quiet. With a silent hand gesture, I ordered my men to conceal themselves close to the ground.

 

I saw them through the bushes: a small contingent of Beryl troops, an officer with his men, guarding a nondescript wooden crate stamped with unfamiliar symbols—the Lunarite. They were well-armed. Their body language and the way they held their weapons spoke to them expecting trouble.

 

The direct engagement was too dangerous given our small numbers, but the Lunarite had to be recovered. I retrieved the map from its case and plotted our approach, using the terrain to our advantage. Our best bet was a swift, decisive strike catching the guards before they could react fully.

 

I turned to my men, whispering the plan as softly. "We strike hard and fast, secure the crate, and retreat before they can regroup. Remember, speed is our ally tonight."

 

There were nods of agreement at my words, and we prepared our weapons. Looking into the faces of my men, my resolve steeled: for Cardinalia; for our future, we could not afford to fail.

 

I uttered the signal; and, like shadows, we converged upon the target of our encounter: an encounter that would undoubtedly engulf us in the fires of battle.