SEAL STAB Boat Part 2

You may recall a few weeks ago I got some pics of the SDD STAB boat.

Stephen Bankhead has kindly setup a page with some pics of his compleetd STAB models, with added HMGs and a seated fig.

I must say they look a lot better than I thought they would!

http://thebeachhead.co.uk/html/photos.html

Vietnam Cold War Commander

Tim has posted a BatRep and lots of great pics of his Battalion level Vietnam game using Cold War Commander

"I finally got in a game of Cold War Commander. Below is a link to a full report of the game – with loads of pictures.

The scenario took place in Vietnam, 1966, and involved a US battalion from the 1st Air Cavalry Division pursuing a force of Viet cong through the jungle. "

Its great stuff - go check it out
http://saskminigamer.blogspot.com/2007/08/cold-war-commander-first-game.html

Riverine Ops

VIETNAM STUDIES: RIVERINE OPERATIONS1966-1969

by Major General William B. Fulton
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, WASHINGTON, D. C., 1985

http://www.army.mil/cmh/books/Vietnam/riverine/index.htm

Minefields

Another fine modelling article from the Flames of War website
http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=110&art_id=303&kb_cat_id=24

The sounds of the Nam...

I am a huge fan of background music while gaming, and its best when its thematic with what you are playing.



A quick win is to use good generic soundtracks such as Gladiator, Lord of the Rings, Gettysburg, Last of the Mohicans, Glory etc. I also make genre specific ones. For example, I have made a great compliation of WW1 period songs for Ace of Aces style flying games, I have an SF one wth various clips, and Ive been working on my Vietnam one for the last few months too.



If you like this sort of thing, you will find this site "The Sounds of Vietnam" enjoyable
http://www.manchu.org/sounds/



They say" The Rock and Roll war..... To most Americans, the Vietnam War has a rock and roll soundtrack. Almost every novel, memoir or oral history of the war by a veteran mentions the music that the author listened to in Vietnam. All the songs of the '60s were part of the life in a combat zone. Troops listened to Sony radios, Akai stereos and Teac tape decks and new troops arrived weekly with the latest records from the states. Many of the sound clips below were recorded on a reel to reel recorder in Vietnam. They were then sent home and transferred to cassette. The sound quality is not the best but it sounded good to us back then. "



Enjoy! And remember: "Theres nowhere to run to baby...."

Terrain Thralls

This website has some great terrain making articles, filled with ideas and techniques you may be intrested in

http://www.terrainthralls.com

STAB Craft

I found this STAB (SEAL Team Assault Boat) on the Stronghold Games website the other day, mysteriously alone and unsupported by the rest of a range.

SDD: 15mm Vietnam
15V01 Light Seal Team Craft (STAB) Price: £3.95

Mike from Stronghold infoms me that there is:
"No other picture currently, but the rear is a hollow so that figures can be placed in there."

You can see the model on the website here:
http://www.stronghold-miniatures.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Vietnam_15mm_253.html

And some pics of these craft in action here:
http://brownwater-navy.com/vietnam/BoatsMisc.htm

USMC Update

Painted up the 2 Company HQ stands (3 figs each) and 6 casualty markers over the weekend, in addition to some small bits of terrain. I'm trying out a slightly lighter Olive Green (Vallejo) and a flesh wash with these ones, otherwise they are identical in colour and technique to my other Leathernecks.

I'm still playing around with the basing and flocking, so pics will be up once that is complete

Landing Craft

For those of you interested in BWN, I found this neat 15mm scale WW2 US landing craft made by Kerr and King. Given that all the ones used in the Delta and other riverine areas were all exWW2, this is the perfect one for Vietnam Ops.

Their website says: This is a one piece casting of an allied landing craft suitable for 15mm scale wargames. The The craft is approx 155mm long and 45mm wide while the passenger area is large enough to comfortably accommodate 2 standard Flames of War style bases of infantry or an AFV such as a Sherman. The Landing craft is cast in high quality Polyester Resin and is supplied unpainted.

They also do a bundle deal for 3 LC, so you can move your whole rifle company at once.

Note these these guys also offer free world-wide shipping by air for purchases over 10 UK pounds! Excellent...

http://www.kerrandking.co.uk/15mm_scale/kk166.html

Palm Trees Tutorial

Want to make your own Palm trees?

I found this rather good tutorial online.

Its a fiddly process, but has good results.

And at about $1 each, the price is right!

http://www.tabletop-terrain.com/archives/2006/06/05/588/

Mounted Operations in Vietnam

VIETNAM STUDIES: MOUNTED COMBAT IN VIETNAM

by General Donn A. Starry

The Official US Army study into Armoured operatoins in Vietnam can be found online at the US Army military history site.

I've had a cursory skim and think it looks excellent- I'll be making a hardcopy of this for sure!

http://www.army.mil/cmh/books/Vietnam/mounted/index.htm#contents

New link: Wargaming Vietnam

I discovered this Vietnam Wargaming website today, which has loads of great figure reviews and details for manufacturers of Vietnam figs in 10mm, 15mm and 20mm. It is a little bit dated regarding range availability but its well worth a look for the modelling notes and other Nam wargaming goodies!
http://sfclarke.pages.web.com/vietnam/index.html

Swamps and Marshes

The well known Flames of War games uses 15mm figures, and the official website has a number of great modelling articles. I found this one relating to making swamps and marshes which may be of interest.

http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=110&art_id=237&kb_cat_id=24

Painting Inspiration

I came across this painting gallery today at War-painter - all I can say is WOW. This jungle hut is from their website.

The gallery is mostly WW2 focused, but the painting and basing of these 15mm figs is just amazing. Urban, jungle, snow, desert -its all here! The pics might give you a few ideas for your own troops, I know I made quite a few notes!

And if its all too much for you, they do commissions and sales too!

http://leafigs.homestead.com/frontpage.html

Sponge painting technique

Eleven-Bravo has just (re)posted a great article about painting with a makeup sponge fto apply highlights as an alternative to more traditional drybrushing techniques. An interesting method which I shall use on the next vehicle I do to give it a try.

You can see the excellent results that can be gained (this pic is from the 11B site) and you can read the full article here:

http://www.eleven-bravo.co.uk/reviews/figures/britannia/m113acav.php

Timecast Resin Buildings

http://www.timecastmodels.co.uk/range_30/range_30.html

Osprey: The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War 1956 1975 (Osprey Essential Histories 38)
Author: Andrew Wiest Paperback; 96 pages

The Vietnam War was arguably the most important event, or series of events, of the "American Century." America entered the brutal conflict certain of its Cold War doctrines and certain of its moral mission to save the world from the advance of communism. As this book explains, however, the war was not at all what the United States expected. Outnumbered and outgunned the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces resorted to a guerrilla war based on the theories of Mao Zedong of China. This was war reduced to its most basic level - find the enemy and kill him.

Background to war: The Cold War
Warring sides: Superpower verus guerrilla forces
Outbreak: An undeclared war
The fighting: Battles of attrition
Portrait of a soldier: John Young
The world around war: A nation divided
Portrait of a civilian: Kim Herzinger
How the war ended: US withdrawal
Conclusion and consequences: Legacies of victory and defeat

My overall comment: A good starters guide and very good overall narrative including domestic and international aspects, but not much in the way of details if you are after a particular battle or unit.

MiG Colours

If you need some colour references for North Vietnamese aircraft (Charlie dont surf, but he DOES fly!), have a look here:

http://br.geocities.com/alvmaia/Mig/

There are several different colour schemes shown for each of the different MiG types used by the NVN Air Force.

Buddha Head

If you like jungle temple type terrain, you may find this piece by Fanatscene to your style. http://www.fantascene.net/bitsandpieces.htm

RAN Helo Squadron in Vietnam

As part of the Royal Australian Navy's contributions to the Vietnam War, a Squadron of UH-1s were attached directly to a US 135th Assault Helicopter Squadron at Vung Tau

You can read some of their exploits on the official magazine of the Australian SeaPower Centre here:

http://www.navy.gov.au/spc/semaphore/2005_8.pdf