A problematic kind of day - don’t ask - but I was able to get some work in on the final batch of models for the ACW project. Now the sensible thing would have been to finish up the models already under various degrees of construction but, hey ho, a modest challenge presented itself and it would have been churlish to turn it down….

The ‘Yellow Regiment’ was the short-hand or nickname for Gustav Adolph’s Household Regiment that evolved from the Drabant Guard of his father and grandfather. (It was still properly referred to by the current Colonel’s name.) During Gustav Adolph’s reign the regiment went through several evolutions. It was always expected to serve on active service, and was often heavily engaged in the action. They were certainly not a formation only used for palaces and parades! Calling them ‘Yellow’ may actually have followed them being given yellow uniforms in the mid 1620s, and their colours/flags then followed suit in being yellow as well.

One question I get asked a lot is "Do you have a tutorial for Marvel United?" and, well, the answer is no. On average, a Marvel United mini takes me 4 hours to complete, as you'll see below that is due to the number of layers being used. But other times it is because I'll spend 30 minutes building up a colour through 5 or 6 different layers, before washing it back down because I don't think it's quite working.

I'm no modeller I know full well, despite belonging to that post war generation who regularly spent our precious pocket money on Airfix kits! Embarking on the current 15mm Cold War Gone Hot project in 15mm exposed me to the daunting task of assembling Main Battle Tanks and supporting armoured fighting vehicles from plastic kits, this due you might recall to Matt's challenge pre-pandemic. Of course you will have already got ahead of me when I say that it couldn't stop there! First I decided I could not really avoid helicopter support for both sides: a Hind for the Soviets and a TOW-Lynx for the B.A.O.R

After their defeat in the Six Day War, the Egyptians prepared thoroughly for the next Test: new T-62 tanks, Sagger ATGMs, ingenious sapper high pressure water hoses to breach the Suez Canal defences. But of particular significance was the long range SAM umbrella the Soviets set up for them, extending some 20 clicks beyond the Canal Zone. Victory was assured under this umbrella, but one step beyond was to invite catastrophe at the hands of the Israeli Air Force!

A Ship's a Fool to Fight a Fort, Nelson allegedly said. And that's exactly how it feels in this CMO scenario.

The scenario: North Pacific Shootout. The game: Command Modern Operations.

The Soviet Union has stepped up its harassment of American and allied aircraft off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. While the aircraft are operating in international airspace, the Soviets have been performing increasingly aggressive intercepts which last week culminated in a fire control radar from a MiG-31 Foxhound locking on to one of our EP-3s. The Soviets retreated a short time later when F-15Cs from Eackerson were scrambled, however the incident has considerably ramped up tensions between American and Soviet forces in the Pacific.