VBCW: Duke of Farndon's Militia

The Duke of Farndon is a powerful figure at the royal court of King Edward, although his reputation has been tarnished by his close association with the British Union of Fascists, especially since the Prime Minster, Mr Oswald Moseley, has fallen out of favour with the King. Recently the Duke has tried to distance himself from the BUF, and Moseley, by openly supporting the more conservative British Fascisti (BF). His political maneuverings mean that the Duke is forced to spend much of his time at court in Madresfield.


The Duke is also the main land-holder in and around Chester, with his ancestral home just on the outskirts of the city. Having lost many of his holdings in Westminster to the Anglican League, the Duke is determined not to loose Chester to the damn Reds from Liverpool, and so has formed his own militia, the Chester Local Defence Force (CLDF). This private army of volunteers drawn from his estates has been armed and financed by the Duke himself. While they are firmly Royalist, the dukes history with the BUF mean the CLDF are as likely to clash with the BUF as they are fight along side them.

Captain Hon. Robert G. Grover

of the Chester Local Defence Force

The Duke, being absent at court most of the time, has appointed his youngest Nephew, Hon. Robert George Grover, as commanding officer of the CLDF. Styling himself as Captain R.G. Grover, the young lord has taken to his new role with relish, despite his lacking in military experience, or ever having held a commissioned rank. He designed his smart uniform himself, and is believed to have bought the glittering array of medals he often sports at an auction. He believes that it is more important to the average British tommy that their CO looks and acts like an officer, rather than actually having any experience.

Captain Walton, Royal Artillery

Luckily for the defenders of Chester, not all of those in command lack military experience. As well as the BUF Legions from Manchester, the city is defenced by detachments of the Royalist Northern Army, in the form of the Manchesters, loyalist members of the tretcherous Liverpool Regiment, and a detachment of the Royal Artillery.

These officers represent the start of my new force for VBCW, the CLDF. I plan on building up a small force of the militia, possibly with some allies from the regular army, and the Manchester Legion BUF. Captain Grover is a Black Tree Designs miniature representing a Russian general, but I painted him in the fictitious uniform of the CLDF, using English uniform paint by Valleyo. Captain Walton was one of Gripping Beasts WW1 German air force officers from their Red Baron pack. I just painted him up as an Artillery officer instead, without converting him.

In addition to this CLDF Stuff, I have also been out shopping, and have bought myself a train. I bought it from the Entertainer, for just £6, and I think it scales very well with the 28mm minis. Great value at the price. The trouble is I am not sure what to do with it. I think an armoured train might be cool, or I could do it up as a piece of static scenery. I think I might throw the topic out onto the Gentleman's Wargame Parlor, to see if any of the VBCW fans there have any ideas. I am thinking of getting another to use with my Legends of the Old West cow folks.

A train. Any ideas?

More British Black-shirts

Captain Ernest Webster, of the Manchester Legion of the British Union of Fascists; sometime known as the Butcher of Beswick. He likes to encourage the use of this nick-name in the hopes of fostering a fearsome reputation, but in actual fact he earned it not for some act of brutality but because before the war he was just that: owner of a village butchers shop.
Webster is an ambitious man, who sees the BUF as a means to an end- and that end is to become ennobled. In his own mind he sees himself as a crusading knight, fighting for king and country against the forces of liberalism and socialism. He honestly believes if he distinguishes himself in battle, then the king might grant him a knighthood, or even a peerage. The fact that he has no experience as a commanding officer, or even served in the military, does not seem to daunt him.

Corporal Edith Benson, of the Women's Volunteer Axillary of the BUF, is Captain Websters driver, and sometimes bodyguard. Many snigger that she is a good deal more than that, but never to her face. She is absolutely loyal to the captain, and shares his vision of his eventual rise to the ranks of nobility. The BUF are not short of weapons and equipment. The Prime Minister, Oswald Mosley, makes sure that they have the latest equipment at their disposal. It's a pity that so few of them have the skill and training to put them to good use. Here is a heavy machine gun section ready to lend support to their BUF colleagues during the siege of Liverpool.

These minis are by Musketter Miantuires, exsept for Edith, who is by Pulp Miantures.

Mr Achnacarry and Mr Archer (VBCW)

In the alternative Britain of 1938: a Very British Civil War, the city of Liverpool has declared itself a free city, independent form the rest of war-torn Britain. It's mayor, Henry Walpole, is a socialist, and has managed to unite the diverse forces in Liverpool, ranging from Irish Nationalists, to Communist dock workers, Anglican league militias, local volunteer militias and elements of the Royal Navy and the Liverpool Regiment who have declared themselves in support of the Liverpool Free State. Keeping this desperate group of idealists acting together as a cohesive force in the face of the besieging royalist and fascist forces is no easy matter. Mayor Walpole is a charismatic man, but sometimes it is necessary to use more direct forms of persuasion to influence his supporters.
These two 'gentlemen' are Mr Archer (on the left) and Mr Achnacarry, agents of Mayor Walpole. Officially they are civil servants, but they are more commonly known as the mayors secret police. Mr Achnacarry passes himself of as a gentleman, mild mannered, sporting an umbrella and a monocle, but his soft spoken threats are real enough. Rumor is that he used to be a policeman in Shanghai, and knows as much about killing as is possible to know. Mr Archer is his assistant, bodyguard and sometimes his enforcer. Most people believe the rumor that he used to be a circus strongman or a wrestler. Certainly the way his muscles bulge beneath his ill-fitting suits suggest their may be some credence to these rumours.
Mr Achnacarry and Mr Archer are seen all over the Liverpool Free State, having quiet words with the commanders of the various forces fighting for the city, ensuring that Mayor Walpole's wishes are carried out.

These two minis are by Artizan Designs. I liked them so much I just had to come up with a back story so I could use them in my army. I will probably treat them as special characters, or something like that.

Later in November I will be joining a load of other VBCW fanatics at the Big Game 3, in Evesham, where my Reds will be representing a militia force working for Lord Bath. The chap who is playing Lord Bath has requested I bring along a heavy machine gun or a mortar. As I haven't got one, and I am a bit skint at the moment I thought I would have a stab at making one. Here is the work in progress shot of it. The bipod is a GW mortar, and the barrel is a piece of plastic form a cotton wool bud. Minis are by West Wind. I am quite chuffed with the result. It might not be an exact copy of a ww2 3 inch mortar, but you can tell what it's meant to be. I also hope that a lucky shot form a mortar might prove to be effective against the royalist armoured cars when I next go down to Stourbridge, because I had nothing that could damage them in our last battle.

Welcome Newbies

Firstly, let me say a big welcome to new members Jfreeman2002 and the mysterious follower known only as S. I am still amazed that 22 people follow my blog- it's very encouraging to know that people are interested in what I slap paint on to.

This Blog has been criticised in the past (mostly buy my good mate Leon aka Pulp Citizen) for straying too far from it's core content, which is superhero related 28mm gaming. A quick view of the blog content will reveal that this is probably justified, as I have interest in other areas of gaming, but I will always return to the core Four-Colour theme. I hope you find something in the diverse mix of blog entries that peaks your interest, be is Supers, Scifi, Old West, Conan or Very British Civil War.

Greys in Red-Shirts

More Alien Invasion nastiness for my forthcoming Supers campaign. I have added to my Grey alien force, by painting a squad of security officers, also known as "Scenargs". They are variously armed with an Aznarg stun-probe, twin ear-cannons and a light particle transmodifcator (PTM), and wear the obligatory red-jackets clearly compulsory to all members of the Secnarg caste . More Greys will be joining their ranks soon!

These lovely little guys are made by Black Cat Bases, ad I picked them up at Salute 2010. I love their fun, cartoon styling, and think they look great in their primary colours. they will be useful for my supers campaign, but will also find their way into my SciFi campaign, when I get around to writing it, and may even surface as a team of mercenaries in AE Bounty- I love multi-purpose miniatures.

Additionally, here another space ship. This is a private yacht, The Advent, owned by the notorious smuggler-poet Andre Eg'moss. it's heavily modified engines feature particle injectors salvaged of a wrecked Martian Light Cruiser. It's a bumpy ride, but when those injectors kick in there are very few ships this side of the Arms of Orion that can match The Advent for speed.

This tiny bad-boy is just 28mm long. Again I picked it up at Salute, from GZG (Ground Zero Games).

VBCW buildings

I have been splurging some of my hard earned cash onto some new scenery for my 1938:A Very British Civil War (VBCW) table. I eventually plan to make two possible tables, one rural and one urban, to represent the area of Cheshire and Merseyside from where I originally hale. I have started with the rural scenery, as that is probably easier. Some of the cowboy scenery I made of Deadhorse will easily be pressed into service for a rural Edwardian England, such as the barns and shacks, as well as the fences, but I want my board to look more typically English. To that end I have bought a pub ( what could be more English than a pub). This is the Red Lion Pub, made by Warbases. It is laser cut from MDF and is very strong and durable. It cost just £12, has a removable roof, and a back yard, with a brick privy shown below). All the details are etched onto the surface, so all I have to do is paint it, and add a roof out of a suitable material. I could use plasticard, but I will probably go with the cheaper option of using a cornflake box (reuse, recycle etc).

A slightly more expensive, but less bothersome option is the second building I bought, a timbered building with a tiled roof. This is from Conflix and comes prepainted, ready to use out of the box, but I might repaint it anyway so it is black and white- All of the historic timbered buildings in the area I am trying to depict were painted black and white during Victorian times, so it would look more convincing if I do. I payed £17.99 for this, but I have since found it going for about £15 on the net (plus p+p).

I need to add some hedges, roads etc, and then may be get my hands on some farm animals etc. Mean while work progresses on the British Union of Fascists- more photos to follow soon.

Pulp City Game- Trial Rules

Today Leon and I had a couple of games of Pulp City, with a bit of a twist. Leon, in his alter ego as Pulp Citizen, has been trialing some top secret experimental rules for the guys at Pulp City. Fans of Pulp City might have heard some rumours, but I don't want to let the cat out of the bag prematurely. I will simply let the pictures do the talking!


The minis and scenery are Leon's. It's very cool to get to play one such a good looking board. The giant ape is from Reaper; he is one serious piece of lead.

Flames of War British Rifles

Never let it be said that I am not easily distracted. Honestly, I am not sure anybody would ever say that. Having recently rediscovered the joys of the excellent 'Company of Heroes' game on the PC I decided to launch myself into another mini hobby, namely Flames of War. I managed to pick up a British Rifles Company for a good price on EBay, and have started to paint them. I imagined that painting 15mm figures would be relatively stress free, simple and speedy, as you don't have to worry too much about details, shading etc (an more importantly, you don't have to paint their eyes) but to be honest their a bit of a pain in the backside. My German force will be mostly tanks, with as few infantry as possible.
I will also have to make/paint up some suitable 15mm scenery to. Some of the VBCW stuff might be able to suits scale-wise (hills, rivers etc) but I think for the most part I will have to start from scratch. I am, however, determined to make sure this doesn't distract me too much from the VBCW stuff I am making.