The Imperial Japanese Navy … in 1/1200th-scale: Some new additions

I recently acquiring three more 1/1200th-scale models of Imperial Japanese Navy destroyers. They are IJNS Fubuki (a Type I Fubuki-class destroyer), ...

(2,090 tons; 38 knots; 6 x 5-inch guns; 18 depth charges; 9 x 24-inch torpedo tubes)

... IJNS Amagiri (a Type II Fubuki-class destroyer), ...

(2,090 tons; 38 knots; 6 x 5-inch guns; 18 depth charges; 9 x 24-inch torpedo tubes)

... and IJNS Hatsuharu (a Hatsuharu-class destroyer).

(1.530 tons; 36 knots; 5 x 5-inch guns; 18 depth charges; 6 x 24-inch torpedo tubes)

The Wargame Developments Autumn Virtual Gathering

Today I will be taking part in Wargame Developments' Autumn Virtual Gathering. This annual virtual event (it is conducted using Zoom) began in October 2021 in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, and proved so successful that it has taken place every year since then.

This year's programme includes the following sessions:

• A talk about the development of the radar for the Tornado Air Defence Variant in the late Cold War.
• A forum on wargaming the hypothetical Third Battle of Britain, August 1985 ... as featured in General Sir John Hackett's book, THE THIRD WORLD WAR.

• A talk about Don McCullin and Robert Capa – two antiwar photographers who were drawn to war.
• A forum on the wargaming conflict in the Baltics in the near-future.
• From Bench to Tabletop – A panel discussion on the latest wargaming research discoveries and their potential applications in our game designs.
• A presentation on an aspect of the history of wargaming: Don's War: Don Featherstone 1939-1945.
• A historical sing along session covering the ending of World War II.

Memoir ‘44 … twenty years on

MEMOIR '44 was created by Richard Borg and published in 2004 by Days of Wonder and has proven to be a very popular hybrid miniatures/board game. I own the basic set as well as most of the supplements and one of the scenario books, and over the years I have enjoyed playing the game. In fact, it was playing MEMOIR ‘44 that sparked off my development of MEMOIR OF BATTTLE (MOB), MEMOIR OF MODERN BATTLE (MOBAT) and eventually THE PORTABLE WARGAME.

A new, revised version of the game has (MEMOIR ‘44 REFRESH) been released to mark the twentieth anniversary of the game’s release … and I just could not resist buying a copy. I ordered it via Amazon, and it arrived on Wednesday.

The box contains:

• 1 x A double-sided board
• 144 x Axis and Allied miniatures
• 36 x Obstacles
• 44 x Double-sided terrain tiles
• 60 x Command cards
• 22 x Summary cards
• 8 x Attack dice
• 6 x Activation tokens
• 2 x Cardholders
• 1 x Rulebook
• 1 x Scenario book

If one compares the two editions, the new version includes the following changes:

• New elevation rules: Units on a higher elevation can now shoot over their own adjacent troops.
• More scenarios: The new edition includes a total of 22 rather than the original's 16.
1. Pegasus Bridge
2. Sainte-Mère-Église
3. Sword Beach
4. Pointe Du Hoc
5. Omaha Beach (First Wave)
6. Mont Mouchet
7. Battlegroup Heintz at Hauts-Vents
8. Belle-Lande
9. Panzer Lehr at Hauts-Vents
10. Counterattack of Panzer Lehr
11. Hauts-Vents is taken
12. Vassieux, Vercors
13. Operation Cobra
14. Counterattack on Mortain
15. Toulon
16. Liberation of Paris
17. Montélimar
18. Arnhem Bridge
19. Arracourt
20. Saint Vith, Ardennes
21. Saverne Gap, Vosges
22. Omaha Beach - Overlord (this requires two game boards)
• New miniatures: The new edition has re-modelled miniatures that are made of a harder, more detailed plastic.
• Activation tokens: The new edition includes activation tokens to track which units have moved and fired.
• Card holders: The game now includes two curved card holders fore players to place their cards in.
• New dice: New, plastic dice, have replaced the original wooden ones.
• Terrain pieces: The sandbags and barbed wire are now produced in a neutral grey colour, unlike those in the original game where they were coloured for either the Axis or Allied side.
• Terrain pieces: Some new, double-sides terrain tiles(e.g. sea walls) have been added.
• Rulebook: The rulebook has updated and reorganised
• Box: The new edition’s box is larger and thicker, with a better designed insert for storing the components.
• Box art: The new edition uses a slightly different colour palette and the box art has been updated.

All-in-all, the new edition is a worthy celebration of the original game and - in my opinion - was well worth buying. All I’ve got to do now is to persuade someone at my local club to play it!

Nugget 375

The editor of THE NUGGET sent me the latest issue on Sunday and I sent it to the printer (Macauley Scott Printing Company, Welling, Kent) this morning. I hope to be able to collect it next week and post it out to members of Wargame Developments as soon as I can afterwards.

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IMPORTANT: Please note that this is the third issue of THE NUGGET to be published for the 2025-2026 subscription year.

If you wish to subscribe for the 2025-2026 subscription year and have not yet done so, please request a PayPal invoice or the bank transfer information from the Treasurer or follow the instructions on the relevant page of the website.

The Imperial Japanese Navy … in 1/1200th-scale

I have recently been acquiring a number of 1/1200th-scale models of Imperial Japanese Navy warships. It started when I bought a model of IJNS Fuso (a Fuso-class battleship). This was for sentimental reasons, as I ‘commanded’ her during the famous Madasahatta campaign.

(35,900 tons; 25 knots; 12 x 14-inch guns, 14 x 6-inch guns; 8 x 5-inch AA guns; 37 x 25mm AA guns; a catapult & 3 floatplanes)

I then bought some smaller units, the IJNS Yubari (a one-off light cruiser), …

(3,587 tons; 35 knots; 6 x 5.5-inch guns; 12 x 25mm AA guns; 4 x 24-inch torpedo tubes)

… the IJNS Shimakaze (an experimental one-off destroyer), …

(3,048 tons; 39 knots; 6 x 5-inch guns; 6 x 25mm AA guns; 18 depth charges; 15 x 24-inch torpedo tubes)

… and IJNS Asagiri (a Type II Fubuki-class destroyer).

(2,090 tons; 38 knots; 6 x 5-inch guns; 18 depth charges; 9 x 24-inch torpedo tubes)

I have now added to this collection by buying the models of a Kongo-class fast battleship …

(36,601 tons; 30 knots; 8 x 14-inch guns; 14 x 6-inch guns; 8 x 5-inch AA guns; 8 x 25mm AA guns)

… a Myoko-class heavy cruiser …

(14,980 tons; 34 knots; 10 x 8-inch guns; 8 x 5-inch AA guns; 8 x 25mm AA guns; 8 x 24-inch torpedo tubes; 2 catapults & 3 floatplanes)

… an Aoba-class heavy cruiser, and …

(10,822 tons; 33 knots; 6 x 8-inch guns; 4 x 4.7-inch AA guns; 8 x 25mm AA guns; 8 x 24-inch torpedo tubes; a catapult & 2 floatplanes)

… Isuzu, a Nagano-class light anti-aircraft cruiser.

(5,570 tons; 36 knots; 6 x 4.7-inch AA guns; 50 x 25mm AA guns; depth charges)

I also have three more destroyers on their way to me. They are IJNS Fubuki (a Type I Fubuki-class destroyer), IJNS Amagiri (a Type II Fubuki-class destroyer), and IJNS Hatsuharu (a Hatsuharu-class destroyer).

All I need now is at least one aircraft carrier to complete my Imperial Japanese Navy task force.

I have been to ... the Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Plumstead

It was Diwali - the Hindu Festival of Light - on Monday, and Sue and I were part of a group who were invited to attend the local Hindu temple, the Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple.

We arrived just before 9.45am, and Sue and I were directed to the respective men's and women's entrances. Once inside, we removed our shoes before entering the temple. A service was already in full swing, and we were invited to sit and watch. At that point, the shrines (sinhaasan) that contained the deities (murtis) were concealed behind curtains, but soon after 10.00am the two priests pulled the curtains back and revealed them. The service continued until just before 10.30am, at which point the men were invited to go into the women's half of the temple. We were then joined by a group of school children from a local primary school, and one of the satsangis (devotees) explained the basic beliefs of Hinduism and the importance of the various deities. She told us the stories of the main gods, the most important of whom as known as the Trimurti and their consorts, the Tridevi:

• Trimurti
• Brahma (The Creator)
• Vishnu (The Preserver)
• Shiva (The Destroyer)
• Tridevi
• Saraswati (The wife of Brahma)
• Lakshmi (The wife of Vishnu)
• Parvati (The wife of Shiva)

She also mentioned:

• Hanuman (The Monkey God who helped Rama - the seventh avatar of Vishnu - and his brother Lakshmana search for and rescue Rama's kidnapped wife, Sita - an avatar of Lakshmi. This story is told in the Ramayana, one of the two epic texts of Hinduism.)
• Ganesh (The Elephant-headed God, who is the son of Shiva and Parvati.)

Before we left, were all given a small gift and allowed to take photographs.

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The site of the temple was formerly an army drill hall, but by 1986 it was no longer in use and was derelict. As Woolwich and Plumstead had a growing Hindu population, many of who came from India and Kenya, the site was bought for £45,000 by a group of Hindus who wanted to build a temple. Once the land had been acquired and the site had been cleared, building work began, and by 1988 the temple was completed and it was inaugurated on 20th to 28th August.

By the 2010s the original building was proving too small for the congregation, and in 2017 it was remodelled and expanded. The building now houses the largest Hindu temple in Southeast London and Northwest Kent as well as a nursery, a supplementary school, a large function room, and provides Gujarati Shaala and music lesson as well as services for the elderly.

Living in an urban village

I've read somewhere that London is not so much a unified city as it is a collection of villages that are all connected together. If this is true – and I suspect that it is – then I must live in the village of Shooters Hill.

Wikipedia defines a village as:

'... a human settlement or a residential community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand.'

The dot on the map marks the approximate top of Shooters Hill (132m/433ft) and the circle has a radius of approximately 800m.

Going by that definition, Shooters Hill certainly qualifies as a village, especially as it has the following amenities and historical sites:

1. Foxcroft Stores
2. The Bull (public house)
3. The Red Lion (public house)
4. Shooters Hill Golf Course
5. Shooters Hill Tennis Club
6. Shooters Hill Bowls Club
7. Shrewsbury House Community Centre
8. The Memorial Hospital
9. Shrewsbury Park
10. Severndroog Castle
11. Christ Church
12. Christ Church Primary School
13. Bronze Age Burial Mound

A large part of Oxleas Wood – an area of ancient deciduous woodland – is also within the 'village' of Shooters Hill.

The ‘village’ has also been the home of several interesting people including Algernon Blackwood (the writer, broadcaster, and journalist), Steve Moore (the comic book writer), and Perceval Parsons (who created manganese bronze). It was also the place where engineer Samuel Brown tested an internal combustion engine that used hydrogen as a fuel. He fitted the engine into a vehicle in 1826 and drove it up Shooters Hill.

I may be thinking a lot ... but I haven't been idle

Since my last blog post, I have been doing a lot of thinking about my future wargaming. I have several ideas and possible strategies that I want to explore, but I have not come up with anything definite as yet.

Rather than sitting in my armchair pondering, I have been working on a couple of things. Firstly, I have continued renovating the Fallschirmjäger figures that I inherited from Eric Knowles' collection ... and they are looking good!

Secondly, I have been repainting the resin model of Tallinn's famous Viru Gate. The original model was painted silver(!) and red ...

... and I have repainted the stonework using a dark grey undercoat (Humbrol No.67) which I dry brushed with beige (Revell No.314). The roof tiles were repainted using carmine red (Revell No.36) and dry brushed with a 3:1 mixture of carmine red and beige. The results looked like this ...

... and I think it looks miles better.

You are old, Father Bob

Back in July, I wrote a blog post about getting old … and recently I received an unsolicited email from a 'legal advisory service' asking if I had my personal matters in order (e.g. Will, Enduring Power of Attorney), and offering to 'help' me ... for a fee!

As it happens, these matters have been sorted out for some time, and Sue and I have no concerns in that department. However, one fact in the email stood out; the average life expectancy of a man like me who was born in 1950 is 87 years, with a 50% chance that I will reach that age (These figures were produced by the Office for National Statistics) and that I have a one-in-four chance of reaching the age of 92.

Almost five years ago, I was diagnosed with a cancerous polyp in my large intestine, and on 2nd December 2020 – at the height of the COVID pandemic – I had an operation to remove it. This left me with a stoma ... which has been an inconvenience but nothing more. Then – on 14th April 2022 – I was diagnosed as having prostate cancer, and on 19th of that month I began the treatment that was designed to halt its further growth and spread.

On 1st June 2022 I underwent a TURP (Transurethral resection of the prostate) at University Hospital Lewisham and was allowed home the next day. Since then, I had a course of chemotherapy drugs that lasted until earlier this year and – from September to the end of October 2023 – I underwent a course of radiotherapy directed at my prostate cancer and the nearby lymph glands.

Just as I thought that things might settle down to something approaching normality, I began to experience problems with my legs. This culminated with me falling over on 10th April 2024 and breaking my right leg just above the ankle. As a result, I spent nearly three weeks in hospital, followed by thirteen weeks confined to bed, during which I was diagnosed as having axonal polyneuropathy. Thanks to the local council's Reablement Team, I learned to walk again ... but my mobility is now permanently impaired and will not get better.

Seeing the email from the 'legal advisory service' and life expectancy prediction gave me rather a jolt ... and I have been doing a lot of thinking about my future, both in general and wargaming terms. I have not yet reached any serious conclusions, but the plans I made not long ago may well need to be reappraised.

Nine hundred and fifty nine years ago ...

 ... the Battle of Hastings took place and changed the course of English history.

I can remember the nine hundredth celebration (I was sixteen at the time) and I even have a Post Office first day cover* as a souvenir ... somewhere!

From a personal point of view, it is an important date as my surname is Norman French in origin and my ancestors probably came over in the period after the invasion. The name is probably derived from corderei, (a place where ropes are made), cordier (someone who makes ropes), cuer de roi (king's heart), or Cordray, a commune in Eure, Normandy.

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* A first day cover is a postal card or stamped envelope with a special commemorative postage stamp on it that is franked on the first day the issue.