SS Mg42 Gunner
More from Mark in 1/16th scale.Basic kit is Dragons "Handshar' figure figure in 1/16. Minimal alteration to figure other than adding a helmet instead of Fez, and A frame in place of Mt rucksack.
Another great piece with some super detail. Cheers Mark.
Desert Dave in his wanderings popped into a Museum at Cape Helles, Gallipoli in Turkey and has sent me some nice photos of a diorama depicting the April 25th landings by the 1st Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers and the 1st Battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers plus two companies of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Hampshire Regiment (from the 88th Brigade) and one company of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
The landings were at V Beach which was 300 yards (270 m) long with Cape Helles and Fort Etrugrul (Fort No. 1) on the left and the old Sedd el Bahr castle (Fort No. 3) on the right, looking from the sea. Ahead was Hill 141. The beach was defended by about a Turkish company of men from the 3rd Battalion of the 26th Regiment, equipped with four machine guns.
The first ashore was to be the 1st Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers which landed from ships boats that were towed or rowed ashore.The tows containing the Dubliners came in at 6 am. All appeared lifeless following the bombardment. As the boats were about to land, the Ottoman defenders opened up, laying down a withering fire. The guns in the fort and castle enfiladed the beach, slaughtering the men in the boats. As they came down the gangways they continued to be mown down. A few made it ashore and sought shelter under a sand bank at the edge of the beach where they remained, pinned down. Out of the 700 men who went in, only 300 survived, many of whom were wounded.
The next to come was the Trojan horse, the SS River Clyde, a 4,000 ton converted collier. On the bows were fitted eleven machine guns. Sally ports had been cut in the hull to allow the men to embark via gangways. The ship held 2,000 men.
The River Clyde followed closely behind the tows. To connect the collier to the shore, a steam hopper, the Argyll, was to beach ahead of it, providing a bridge. However, the Argyll ended up broadside to the beach, out of touch with the River Clyde. The captain of the River Clyde, Commander Edward Unwin, led men outside to manhandle three lighters (transport boats) into place and so a bridge was formed. Two companies of Munsters emerged from the sally ports and tried to reach the shore but were cut to pieces, suffering 70% casualties. Around 9am another company made an attempt which also failed.
Hunter-Weston, the British overall commander remained oblivious to the developments at V Beach. At 8.30am he instructed the main force to begin landing at V Beach. At 9.30am he ordered the covering force at V to link up with W Beach. This prompted a third attempt to get ashore from the River Clyde by a company of Hampshires who were likewise killed. The leader of the main force, Brigadier General Napier made an attempt to lead his force ashore and was also killed. Finally, at 10.21am, General Hamilton, who had been watching the landing from the HMS Queen Elizabeth instructed Hunter-Weston to land the main force at W Beach. The 1,000 men remaining aboard the River Clyde waited until nightfall before making another attempt to land.
Six Victoria Crosses were awarded at V Beach, all to sailors or men from the RND who had attempted to maintain the bridge of lighters and recover the wounded, including Unwin, Seaman George McKenzie Samson and two with the rank of Midshipman, George Leslie Drewry and Wilfred St Aubyn Malleson. Lieutenant Colonel Charles Doughty-Wylie was awarded a posthumous VC for leading the attack to finally capture Sedd el Bahr on the morning 26 April during which William Cosgrove of the 1st Royal Munster Fusiliers also won a VC.
After the Helles beachhead was established, V Beach became the base for the French contingent and the River Clyde remained beached as a dock and breakwater. Her condensers were used to provide fresh water and a field dressing station was established in the hull. She remained a constant target for Turkish gunners on the Asian shore.
Airfix WW1 British troops wade ashore to the beach.
In 1919, after the war had ended, the River Clyde was refloated and taken to Malta for repairs. As a tramp steamer, she was operated by Spanish shipping companies for another 50 years in the Mediterranean under various names, the last being Maruja y Aurora. In 1965 there was an attempt to purchase the River Clyde for preservation but in 1966 she was sold for scrap instead and broken up at Avilés, Spain. A sad end for a famous ship.
A very nice diorama. Cheers Dave.
Mongol Archer - 13th Century
Tonight I have another of Marks fantastic models. Basic figure is Verlinden's 'Hun Warrior', a resin casting, with re-detailed face and modified helmet. The figure was originally holding a severed head aloft in triumph, but that just looked tacky to me, so raising a shield and hollering to his mates replaced that idea. The small shield was formed from miliput, while the shoulder guards and arm protectors were added and as the 'fluffy' cuffs that were originally there were a bit, well, boring, plus this is more accurate.
Sword scabbard scratch-built as well as harness.
Painted, as always, with Humbrol paints.
Cheers again Mark.
With the success of Gun Month and Plane Month I now propose Truck Month in order to help clear a backlog of unbuilt vehicles. The most recent being the twin Bedford QL set from Airfix which arrived last week. Al is pretty keen as ever and has dibs on one of these trucks.
Easternfunker who sent me a Roden Opel Blitz this time last year will be a starter as well I am sure. I have been putting this kit off long enough so it will be first on the list.
And lastly the JB Models/Airfix Landrover 1 Tonne Forward Control which is needed for cold war taskings. Anyone else up for a Truck build?
