28mm Bolt Action Japanese Banzai

 Here are some more Japanese Warlord Figures in action...for our Tarawa Game 

(you can see our full video by clicking here... )

I have already built the standard pack  (and we have two other packets incl. the Jap marines) and so we wanted something a little different from these figures. .

So this figure is actually an American head on an Imperial Japanese body...with a explosive pack. The other is a Russian head on an Imperial body.

Charge!

I also thought a command post/section would come in handy

Did a an American Marine in combat with a Japanese guy - just to get some other poses for both models -  

I just got fed up with the ordinary Japanese Imperial Army builds.

I also tried to do a Japanese pilot from green stuff, arms, head and legs, parachute and goggles. 

I tried to get the flight suit and harness look. Warlord please sculp some pilots for us!!.

                                             

Ammo supply dump.

Type 98 Shi-Ke Artillery Tractor

                           I 3d printed this and then just added some boxes and then printed a sign for Ammo. The guys are just extra parts and green stuff.

3d printed a  Soko Sagyo Ki (SS-Ki) 

Its an engineering vehicle with three flamethrowers and HMG.

As i get to the end of the Jap figures - I wanted to use them slightly differently.. So I did an ammo dump with some guys unloading/moving crates..

But storage of this piece will be murder as its fragile

I also started to use up some of the Japanese spare parts for trenches etc.

With some trench damage markers...

I also printed some Kurogane Type 95 transport from Thingyverse.

Added a guy onto the back kneeing on an ammo box.

28mm Bolt Action Jungle

 So instead of buying the regular jungle towers (Sarrisa 4 ground etc.) I decided to build one out of the remaining bamboo skewers.

This is for our Pacific game  see our full video by clicking here...

So i first took a small box (from I phone ear phones) and hot glued the cut skewers onto it. Then took some balsa wood and made a roof and covered it in bristles from an old paint brush. I used earth magnets to hold the roof in place. Painted and washed the whole thing.

I added in a oil drum / can and placed  it inside then added a heavy mg.with a couple of sandbags made from green stuff.

I think it looks more authentic than the really perfectly square mdf pre cut mdf ones. The base is also attached using earth magnets.

I added twine (thread) around the tower base areas to simulated rope bindings. 

See also our previous Tarawa  / Pacific posts.

 

Tarawa 28mm

28mm Beach Obstacles - Tarawa 

After looking at our test game - I went back and re-covered the palm trees again with another wash to dull them down and added more grass to some of the features,  then added some more blue to the sea "shell" explosions. Its getting better.

One of the other things I had also found from more online research was that the Japanese used a "horned scully" which was basically an anti landing device...it  was a mound of concrete and coral with iron beams sticking out. Some were encased in palm tree trunks.  

So just to add a little to the beach detail  I did some of these....

So I started with some bamboo skewers and starting cutting them up... 

This type had a cradle around it. So i mounted them onto clear plastic bases.

Grab it glue mixed with paint, cork and plastic girders

I might use half of these in the water... so out will come the grab-it adhesive and paint again!

                                                    Guy carrying USMC is just for scale.

Air Support

We also thought that for this game we would use some air support...so we (actually Joe) built a 1.72 scale US Dauntless for some air cover. It was then mounted on a base with an telescopic mount on the bottom.  It actually turned out really cool and will feature as USMC beach support.  

The white number10 appears on the photos of the planes used at Tarawa.

The magnet holding the plane to the stand can be adjusted - to make it look like its pulling up after dropping bombs on the enemy.

Now that's low level flying!

28mm Tarawa Marine

 No one gets left behind!

I had fancied doing a casualty being carried to safety by another 28mm Marine for the Tarawa board. 

So I did some parts searching in the bit box and came up with enough parts. I would not be able to curve the body enough to go over the lifting marine - so i just used green stuff for the t the torso of the wounded guy. Some parts were already painted. 

They were all Warlord parts....paratroopers, marines and infantry.

I placed the arms as high as i could and pulled them inward.

The green stuff was easier to mould but i wanted the wounded guy to be holding on -almost to the belt.

I used a head without a helmet to make it seem like it had been left behind somewhere...

So then I re-painted and washed, highlighted them. Then based with our clear home made base.

It reminds me of the movie Heartbreak Ridge. 

Finished guys looks ok on the table...bearing in mind the scale of the actual guys compared to this photo.

So It looks ok and will add a bit of detail...

Pacific Wargame

 So we eventually got our mats and the Pacific game out for the first time - all in one layout. A tactical battle all on its own! Where is that box again....LOL

The idea was to test-out what works (rules and terrain wise) for the game. This is for our Tarawa Pacific game and we all thought it was impressive!.

So its planned for the Red Beach 1+2 area (where the large yellow arrow is below).

So we are using 3 deep cut mats (one sea, one beach, one jungle).12 foot x 6 foot in total.

You can see our full video by clicking here...

The mats looked great as our Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT1's) roll in at Tarawa.

Men and machines race to the  "palm tree" sea wall for cover. The Japanese now start shelling the beach.

Soon everyone is trying to find space!  We made up some 3d printed LVT1s with the tracks submerged into the water. the third one back you can just see the troops disembarking. The LVT white numbers are not stenciled because the actual photos show the USMC had a crude approach painting the actual numbers...

The wading Marines are green stuff and spares on clear bases. With white water splashed around the bases.

At the top end some Marines charge over the wall to the Japanese positions and it goes hand to hand.

Centre of the board is looking ok but Marines are awaiting more troops. Centre shows a mortar being deployed and a Bangalores get prepared for the sea wall.

The LVT have the troop inserts removed...as the troops have disembarked.

 Which is just as well as these guys at the top of the picture  (Centre other side) are just waiting for the underside of the LVT! to show over the sea wall.

                           Some guys bail out at the shallow water.

More troops wade ashore under fire. Movement is restricted in the sea. 

There is a lot of action in the sea...with Landing Craft (Higgins) are running aground... 

its then a long wet walk to the beach under fire.

Its now all GO !

I like this shot as it shows the blurred guys in the background.

The guys disembarking look cool...(we can then replace this LVT with an empty!)

                       

                        

More troops unload onto the beach.

Casualties on the beach (on stretchers). Two guys next to them look at a map to try to locate where they are

"Pass me that canteen would you!"

Numbers pile up at the lower end of the sea wall.

Below: the centre a break in the sea wall. The top is taking a pounding from jap artillery.

The Sherman (M4a2) in the centre makes it to the beach and starts to move inward. 

There are no Army white stars on the tanks - because they belong to the Navy!

Note the "prancing elephant" image on the side of China Girl (Sherman tank)! 

These were particular to the unit on this beach. 

We have made up six 3d printed Sherman's in total all with the correct unit badges and tank names.

The elephant decals took ages to get right. They were drawn at 4 times the scale, then transferred onto decal paper, each tanks decal is unique.

The Sherman M4a2 breaks through and takes on a bunker.. We had made up 2 sections of broken beach wall for such a task.

The 3d printed coastal gun (at the top of the picture) is massive. We also printed the steel bunkers.

You can just make out two Japanese spider holes to the left of the steel bunker.

More LVTs now move forward over the blown up sea wall. Over the top...

This is "classsic" Tarawa if you google Tarawa pictures  you will see an LVT in this position.

Notice the palm tress in the picture above...

these have magnets on the bases and a tin placed under our mat so that the trees appear to stand up on their own...

This is from the Japanese viewpoint. You can see a spider hole trench at the steel bunker (bottom -centre of the picture).

A flamethrower is used on bunker by a Marine

By the end of the day the Marines are over some of the wall and moving forward.

More and more plough forward.

More cross the sea wall. 

Again notice the palm tree - magnets placed on the base and a tin underneath the gaming mat 

This is an up armoured version of the LVT1 - if you Google Tarawa LVT you will see the actual number 49 in the black and white pictures. Not all of the LVT used were field modified in this way. Basically an armour plate across the front cabin and a shallow plate on the side. In the original Black and White pictures its strange that 49 has the star with the one point facing down (on the front)...as you can see here.

                         

                         Wrecked Landing Vehicle Tracked LVT 1 are everywhere. 

A good gaming day was had by all with some good pictures.

We have some improvements to make...but it's starting to look good. 

I am going to wash the trees again and gloss the water effects again plus a little more foliage on some of the bunkers, we also have a deep cut road /track for the centre area leading to the the coastal gun, a Japanese mule train, more SNLF troops, a kamikaze lorry - strange but true (its a Japanese truck with oil drum on the front), more shell effects, more jap casualty markers and some more Marines in water effects in shell holes...

p.s.  If you haven't seen it …you might like our 28mm Stalingrad game on this blog.

But I cannot wait for round two of our Pacific game!