VBCW: Troop Transport Boats (Work In Progress)

Here are the first shots of the Wirral Socialist Canal Workers Battalion transport boats. These have been converted form 28mm scale models from Sarrissa Precision I have added an armoured prow (which will sport a passenger served Vickers MG on an AA mount) and armoured skirts to protect the pilot at the stern. The windows have been boarded up with armoured plates to create shooting ports for the passengers.

The two vessels will carry the bulk of my WSCW Batt. platoon. They have been fitted with somewhat cramped passenger cabin that will sleep twenty men (or fourteen men with a small sick bay and an officers mess) . There are designs faults, which is to be expected given this is VBCW. Firstly there is no access for the passengers to disembark from the sides of the vessel- All passengers must embark or disembark from the prow or stern of the vessel, making it a slow process. The walls have been reinforced with extra timber, sand bags and sheet steel (counts as improvised armour), but the roof and hull have not been armoured, making it vulnerable to air attacks, indirect artillery and underwater obstacles.  

VBCW: The Wirral Socialist Canal Workers Battallion

This post marks the start of a new VBCW project I have been planning for years, and the fact that I have a VBCW game in Hereford coming up has given me the intensive to finally get it started.

History of the Wirral Socialist Canal Workers Battalion in the 1938 British Civil War

The Wirral Socialist Canal Workers Battalion is one of the battalions that make up the armed forces of the Wirral Socialist Workers Council. They have a depot in Ellesmere Port, on the Wirral, although they travel widely due to the nature of their work. Their brief is to protect the canal boats transporting goods between the Liverpool Free State to the Sociality enclaves in Birmingham and Stoubridge. This trade is vital to the survival of both socialist strongholds: Aid, in the form of guns, steel, coal and grain, is brought into the port of Liverpool from soviet Russia. From there it is transported across the Mersey to Ellesmere Port, loaded onto canal boats and it begins its journey to the West Midlands along the Shropshire Union Canal to Stourbridge and Birmingham. On their return journey the canal boats bring back vital weapon, munitions and machine parts from the heavy industrial factories of the Midland, as well as much needed manpower and technical knowledge in the form of volunteers willing to fight for the LFS and the WSWC.

Early experiments at arming boats to protect convoys by members of the Canal Workers Militia (later the Wirral Socialist Canal Workers Brigade)

In the Civil War in England, 1938, the slow moving canal boats are vulnerable attacks from Fascists and Royalist from Wolverhampton and Chester attempting to enforce the blockade of the Liverpool Free State. The chance of a of acquiring firearms and food makes the canal boats tempting targets for bandits and criminal elements too.  Initially the Canal Workers Battalion was formed as a militia  to supply armed men to ride on the canal boats, hoping to discourage attacks, but it was quickly realised that a more organised approach was needed, along with a lot more fire-power.  

Many of the pilots and captains for the armed canal boats were drawn from the ranks of the itinerant 'boat people' who plied the canals of Britain before the civil war broke out

Work began in early 1938 to develop armoured canal boats to protect the cargo carrying boats against the threat of attack. Initially there were hastily up-armoured canal boats fitted with boiler-plate skirts, but this idea rapidly developed and soon canal boats were being modified at Camell-Laird's in Birkenhead to the specifications of the Wirral Socialist Workers Council. The majority of these were troop transport consisting of a lightly armoured enclosed compartment accommodating up to twenty men, and their supplies. This was protected by a passenger served Vickers Machine Gun on an anti-aircraft mount. Another variant included a smaller passenger allowance but with the extra space being used for a small sick bay, a radio and an officers mess.

Gun crews and landing parties were recruited from Royal Navy sailors, merchant navy sailors and canal boat folk. Uniforms were based on marine navy uniforms to develop an esprit d'corps 

The Wirral Socialists Canal Workers Brigade also make use of canal boats specifically manufactured with military applications in mind, as opposed to the improvised modification for the troop transport. The most common of these was a river monitor based around the hull of a narrow barge- and fully armoured with heavy naval plating. It's main weapon was a turret mounted 2pdr antitank gun, and it has a secondary turret mounted Vickers MMG on the prow. All in all twelve monitors were made at Camell-Laird for the Wirral Socialist Canal Workers Battalion. 

A canal Boat on its way to Camell-Laird in Birkenhead to be converted into a 'Dragon'

Other attempts to use canal boats as mobile artillery platforms were less successful. Various weapon form 17pdr field guns to 8 inch howitzers were tried but the massive recoil and the unstable platform adversely affected the range and accuracy of the weapons. The most successful on these artillery pieces was the Rocket Propelled Field Artillery Barge, known by the nick-name 'The Dragon'. The Dragon used an experiment rocket technology developed in Liverpool by members of the Pitt Street (Chinese) Militia and later manufactured at Mr Soo's Factory in Liverpool. This weapon was wildly inaccurate even when used on land, and so the fact if was on a moving canal boat had little impact on its efficacy, and further more the lack of recoil meant there was less chance of it sinking the boat. The rockets were very unpopular with the crew, as they were almost as dangerous to the gunners as to the targets, however they did have the ability to saturate the bank of the canal with explosive shells, and so were an effective deterrent against infantry attacking the convoys. 

Ancient Celts

Here is something different...I have been working on these since before Christmas and this is the first time I have showed them off. It is a Celtic army for ancient-era wargaming. I intend, when my army is finished, to get some games in at Earslwood. I have gone all out for colour on these guys, unlike the muted shades for the Dark Age Saga figures I painted. They are a combination of Foundry and Crusader miniatures. I want to add a couple more units of spear-men, and a few more skirmishers, as well as some war-dogs and light cavalry. 

Peninsular War: Portuguese Light Infanrty

I have added another unit to my Peninsular War skirmish collection- this one is Portuguese Light Infantry (cacadores). Their uniforms and equipment are very similar to the British rifles (which is hardly surprising as they are trained and equipped by the British). Half of them have rifles and the other half still carry muskets. these ones were sculpted by Paul Hicks and originally sold by Victrix. Victrix sold their metal range to Brigade Games in America, and these figures are still available from there. 

Frostgrave Hirelings

Three more hirelings for my Frostgrave Wizards. The first is an infantryman. He is a GW Militiaman with Frostgrave soldiers arms. 

Next is an Apothecary made from a GW Warhammer artilleryman. I added flames to make the fuse into a torch, but otherwise haven't messed about with him much. I don't normally bother painting eyebrows but this guy needed big bushy eyebrows. 

Finally this knight was a leftover from an ancient Celt army I have been working on- he is by Crusader Miniatures and hasn't been converted.

Frostgrave: Beasty and Soldier

I can't remember where I got this from but it is a sabre-toothed tiger painted up as a Snow Tiger. It could be a proxy for the Snow Leopard in the wandering monsters table, or even serve as an exotic war-dog for a wizard. 

This Frostgrave plastic has a shield taken from a GW Ogre Kingdoms sprue. It is split and has been crudely bolted back together with metals strips. I like to think that this guy used to be a humble thug, but found (or stole) some leather armour and salvaged this broken shield and is trying to hire himself out as a man-at-arms for more money. Good luck to him...it's good to try to better yourself. 

Frostgrave: Apprentice Wizards

I have just finished work on my two wizards apprentices which means I am ready to start gaming (I know there has been a delay, but I am back on track now!). I hope you like them.

 

Some Pictures form Earlswood

 I managed to get a game of Force on Force in at the weekend, down at the Earlswood Wargamers club. I also took some pictures of Big Al's Battle of the Bulge Chain of Command game which I just had to share because the look so nice. I can't take any credit for the WW2 stuff- it's all Al's. 

I have posted a full AAR for the Force on Force game over on my other Blog (Hotel Zugando), if you want to pop over and see even more photos and read about the action. 

More Adobe Buildings Completed

I have finished two more larger compounds for my adobe village. The top one used two of my old adobe buildings re-created with the addition of a compound wall and a new staircase. The second complex featured a larger building I bought on ebay, with a small outbuilding or workshop. I put a new door on this building (and used the old door on the inside) to make it tie in better with my other buildings. This one and has lift-off roofs. I also decided to paint the interior and added Persian rugs on the floor just for fun. I printed these of the internet, and resized them with Word. 

Next- A mosque and perhaps some shops. 

Peninsular War: Ladies

I have added a couple of civilian ladies to my collection of Peninsular War figures. Finding suitable civilian models for the Napoleonic period is a nightmare, and these two fall into the 'well it will do' category as they are not ideal. 

The lady in the lilac dress was bought on ebay, and comes form a range of Napoleonic ladies (many of whom are in Napoleonic era army uniforms for no apparent reason). They also do a female gun crew and a guerilla leader that might be useful. This one is described as an officers wife. She is carrying a small pistol. I would have preferred if she was unarmed, but there you go. She is also rather on the tall side, towering over my Spaniards. In some scenarios she could be a spy- perhaps 'she' could even be a man in drag?

Her costume is quite authentic for the period although the details on the pistol are very soft and unconvincing. I would consider getting another one and converting it to a civilian by changing the pistol to something else- a parasol perhaps. I would also consider grinding down the thick base and making her a few millimetres smaller. 

The second lady was from West Wind and was found in a box of old figures Pulp citizen gave me. It's not right on so many levels- the sculpt is odd (as many West Wing models tend to be), and her figure is very peculiar, with a tiny waste and big shoulders and the dress is completely wrong for the period (and any period as fas as I can tell). her gloves look like they would be good for welding or handling hazardous waste. On the plus side- this figure didn't cost me anything and she isn't armed- so that's good. She will make a suitable model for some damsel to be rescued by a dashing Royal Navy Officer or a grim rough and ready Rifleman.