NEW BOOK

 

Regular readers of this blog will know that I can take my own sweet time in updating it with new material. Compared to the 15 years+ it has taken to get this project over the line, that seems pretty efficient. 

I must have started this at least 15 years ago and got it 90% finished. It then lay on the shelf whilst other things got in the way. I have finally managed to get it done and I must admit I am quite pleased with it. This is the first in what will hopefully be a series of short monographs on aspects of the Franco-Prussian War that interest me. 

The mitrailleuse is one of those subjects that is often talked about in relation to the battles of 1870, but in truth is little understood. Michael Howard's dismissive comments on its role and usefulness have been uncritically echoed by most subsequent English language writers and I am pleased to make a start in adding a little balance to the debate.

The book traces the development of the weapon before moving on to examine its technical characteristics and its tactical use on the battlefield. It will I hope, convince people that it was not a largely useless curiosity, but an imaginative and, for the time, remarkably well engineered piece of military technology. It had its shortcomings to be sure, but is deserving of a long-overdue reappraisal.

It is currently receiving its final proof reading before heading off to the printers. As it is a fairly specialised subject, I will probably only have a hundred copies printed initially, so if you would like to reserve one, please contact me at steveshann@blueyonder.co.uk Price will be around £18.00 plus postage.

Arrived at Last!!

 

Hi All.

Well it has finally arrived - a few days late, but considering all the postage troubles at the moment, not too bad. Firstly a quick apology: I have sent out all the inland copies but the chap behind the counter at the Post Office clearly didn't have English as his first language because despite asking for 1st Class postage "for everything" after the first 7 had been processed he said - "you did say 2nd Class didn't you?" Being English I said no, I wanted 1st Class, but not to worry (that wasn't what I was really thinking!). So a few of you will be getting your copies a day or two late - sorry about that!

Here are a few photos that you might enjoy, whilst waiting for it to arrive - these are my pre-production shots, but you get the general idea.

If you would like to order a copy for immediate despatch PAYPAL is probably the best way to go. The book costs £23.50 within the UK including 1st Class postage (!!) £27.00 in Europe and £29.00 for the rest of the world.

You can contact me at steveshann@blueyonder.co.uk if you have any questions.

The book has come out rather well with some lovely photos and maps. I hope you will enjoy it. 

Thanks very much once again for your support - if you like it, please tell your friends, as getting the word out there is the biggest problem for one man bands such as I

Last but not least, I hope you all have a pleasant Christmas and New Year and a great wargaming 2023.

Cheers

Steve

Scratch Built Normandy Farm

More years ago than I care to think about, I remember buying my first ever Mick Sewell building. Mick had been on the "Rapid Fire" scene as it were for a while, along with Colin Rumford, Richard Marsh and Tony Chadburn of Raventhorpe Miniatures. Their demo games and later Rapid Fire supplements were an early and enduring inspiration for me to try and improve my own modelling and painting skills, especially in the field of 20mm WWII. After Mick sadly retired from model making, I was fortunate enough to get a one-to-one tutorial from the master himself on how he did things. I have been trying ever since, with varying degrees of success, to produce buildings (and other terrain), that I would be happy to put out on the table. For a while I was able to make and sell quite a few pieces, but the pressure of my day job - figure painting - always got in the way. I do enjoy making terrain and it is a pleasant change from the figures, so I have decided that, whilst I can't take on many commissions, I could at least produce the odd piece. It is likely to be a very occasional enterprise, but as and when I can, I will put them on the blog for anyone that might be interested. If, after a while, they remain unsold, then they will go onto EBAY.

First up is a sizeable Normandy farm, around 17" x 12" It is comprised of a farmhouse a stable and smaller barn on an irregularly shaped base. In order to save time and get a better finish, the ever obliging Martin from Warbases makes the walls and internal floors, which I have designed, on his laser cutter and I add the roofs later.

The dry stone walling is made from fish tank grit from the local pet shop, layered and soaked in PVA for strength. Whilst time consuming to make, it is worth the effort, looking suitably rustic and run-down. A home made tree and vegetable patch also add a bit of character and contribute to that lived in look, as does the greenery growing up the walls.

A module of this size obviously involves a fair amount of work as well as material costs. One such as this would be around £175.00. If you are interested in this one, or something a little different, then let me know. You can contact me via the blog home page.

Scratch built buildings

Here are some close up pics of some of the buildings I made for the Seelow Heights game at Partizan. They are actually fairly generic and would do for most of Western Europe. They are all constructed from 3mm MDF, with the windows and doors cut out with a sharp Stanley Knife. The windows were all made to order (laser cut) by Warbases, who did an excellent job; they are quite happy to make any size or window pane combination on request and are very reasonably priced. The doors and shutters were specially cast for me by Tony Chadburn of Raventhorpe Miniatures and are a real time saver.. For the bases, I use 2mm plastic card - this offers a durable, non warp surface and is easy to work. For the roofs, I tend to use the Wills range of plastic sheets; they work well for 20mm buildings, although I do usually hand tile for larger (28mm) structures. The roofs are, of course, removable to allow figures to be placed inside.

Although figure painting is still the core of Nations in Arms' business, I am starting to take on more commissions for terrain pieces such as these. If anything you see is of interest, please let me know.

House with attached barn (front and rear views) £80.00

                                                                  ****SOLD****

House with detached barn (front and rear views) £80.00

                                                         ****SOLD****

Detached house (front and rear views) £45.00

                                                          *****SOLD*****
  

Different house with attached barn (front and rear views) £80.00

                                                           ****SOLD****

Larger detached house (front and rear views) £40.00

                                                              ****SOLD****

Detached house (front and rear views) £45.00

                                                       *****SOLD*****

 

 

Half-timbered detached house (front and rear views) £50.00

                                                     *****SOLD*****

Over the coming months, I hope to feature more buildings, terrain boards and other terrain pieces, as well as figures from my collections as they continue to grow.