Bookings open for wargames Holidays for 2024

 Wargames Holiday France 2024

We are taking bookings for 2024, contact us through the website here to have a fabulous 3 to 5 night holiday in Western France.

Plenty of options for tours, battlefields, cultural events and wargaming France through history. 

Accommodation in a former Counts townhouse circa 1790, with fully paneled rooms in the Carolingian city of Mayenne in Western France. 

Next year we are also conducting five Wargame long weekends with limited numbers of 6 gamers, 4 day, 5 night events. These events will include lead up planning and a photographic and scenario book of the event see the website for full details and costings. 

• Cold War April - Whisky on the Rocks includes day tour to Saumur tank museum, two days wargaming, formal silver service dinner.  
• Ww2 June - DDay event includes day tour to DDay event, two days wargaming, formal silver service dinner
• Napoleonic July - event includes a day tour to the largest Napoleonic reenactment in west France, and a visit to a Vendee battlefield at Entrammes. Plus wargaming Napoleonic and Vendee rebellion. Formal silver service dinner.
•  Ww2 August - Pattons breakout, includes Ww2 Mayenne liberty festival, and tour of southern flank of the Falaise pocket, plus two days wargaming. Formal silver service dinner.
• Medieval September - day visit to the French jousting championship, plus battlefield and chateau visit, plus two days gaming. Formal silver service dinner. 

We will also continue to offer regular 3-5 night wargaming holidays from April to October for singles and couples with fully guided tours of the regions of the Loire, Brittany and Normandy. These can be one on one holiday or small group (3 couples). 

 Wargaming the 60 regional battlefields and defensive works from the Caesarean invasion, the Goths, Franks, Bretons, Vikings, medieval Norman, Plantagenet dynastic struggles, the 100 years war, the Breton wars of succession and mad war, the wars of religion, the revolution in the Vendee and Chouanerie, the Franco Prussian Wars last battle and ww2. 

Hope to see some of you next year. 

Cheers

Matt

Riecharbeitsdienst “Albert Speer” guard RAD Panzer Grenadier Abteilung 1945

 

 Albert Speer RAD Panzer Grenadier Abteilung 1945

I have commenced my kampfgruppe 1001 nights, part of the unit was Albert Speer’s RAD body guard Abteilung, which was made up of Reichsarbeitsdienst troops from Berlin, many of whom come from anti aircraft batteries around Berlin. One RAD motorcycle company plus the Armoured cars joined the Kampfgruppe 1001 nights to fight in the Seelow Heights. The remainder stayed in Berlin to man 88 gun batteries and to act as infantry in he Spree sector. 

The miniatures are from Simons Soldiers fall of Berlin range, the medic from FAA miniatures which are very perfect for the last days of the Reich wargaming 

HQ company

RAD commander

RAD panzerschrek

Rifle coy

RAD rifle company

RAD Rifle coy

MG Support Coy

RAD MG42

RAD MG team

Rapid Fire Organisation
Panzer-Aufklarungs-Abteilung Speer
HQ, Co + 3 car, medic, panzerschrek
2 x Motorcycle company (RAD uniform) 7 figs, two Fausts
Armoured car company 2 x Sd.Kfz 231 A/C, 1 x Sd.Kfz 263
Support Company Pak 38 Anti Tank mot tow, 4 crew
Sdkfz 7 quad 20mm flak 38, RAD 4 crew
Two kettenkrads plus trailers 2 x MMG 5 figs
It seems that this unit may of increased in size with infantry reinforcements and armoured cars or have been just renamed on the 3rd of April as the “Spree Panzer Grenadier Regiment” (this also may be a mistaken renaming as they were assigned the Wehrmacht Feldpost 43449 and posted to the Spree sector in Berlin).


I hope you found this an interesting unit, I have had a interesting time researching for it. If you have any notes, organisational mistakes or further information please let me know!


Cheers
Matt

Galleys

 Possibly one of the smallest ships I have painted for some time (around 1cm long) , these galleys have been in my collection for 10 years or more as a sample purchase for looking at scales for galley warfare during the Greek wars. I have painted them for “The Wargamers Forum” summer build which finishes next week. I hope to also complete some other naval pieces for the build also. 

Not sure what rules to use, but will complete my larger ships first before I dive into researching rulesets as I would prefer small fleet actions rather than huge battles. 

Cheers

Matt

Gestapo types

  I was looking for some pieces from my drawer of 20mm bits (I was looking for some MMGs  and 81mm mortars) and found these lurkers in one of the box’s and decided to get some paint on them whilst I am on holidays. 

I think they are Battlefield miniatures a simple job of grey, black and brown, a wash and then highlight. I elected to do simple dirt basing which can double for streetscape or countryside. They can work for armed civilians, secret service types or gestapo. Happy with the results 

Cheers

Matt

Photo Booth upgrade

You may of noticed over the last few weeks I finally updated my Photo Booth which I have been putting off for some time. We happened to be in IKEA recently and I spotted a ideal box size and when I returned home I decided to order some model railway backgrounds terrain, buildings and sky.  When they arrived I placed them onto cardboard backing and printed a science fiction one also while I was at it. 

I then purchased some daylight serial led light strips form our local €2 shop. I assembled the box, added the removable backgrounds, and then tried a few photos and worked out I needed to lift the models to blend in better with the shrubbery or buildings in the background. So I then decided to build a platform to lift the models to blend in better with the backgrounds, adding flock the base to match my basing. Also I built a small pin platform so my aircraft and space ship models could be lifted up too. 

Really happy with the improvements, although I could of purchased a bigger box for artillery limbers and large regiments …… next one I guess. 

Cheers

Matt

Prussian Artillery

 Completed a Prussian artillery battery from the Prusse Regiment, the white epaulettes are the only distinctive element from 1812-14. Miniatures are 28mm from the Elite Miniatures range and are part of my second Division for my 1812-15 army.

Cheers

Matt

Scottish Archers unit 4

 Scottish archers 

My third unit for my later Scottish HYW army, again plastics from Perry Miniatures, based for impetus or Test of Resolve. Two more units to go, then onto man at arms and nobles. 

Cheers 

Matt

Scottish Archers unit 3

 Another archer unit off the desk, for this unit I have painted a Saint Andrew on the cross on the banner, not historical at this time (much later). 

Two more units to go, again perry miniatures 

Cheers

Matt

Norman casualty markers

Casualty Markers 

I have commenced holidays for two weeks and now have an opportunity to complete some workbench projects. First up some Norman mounted casualties from conquest games, they have been in my project drawers for a long time!