Zulu Wargaming

I recently watched a YouTube video related to the Zulu War and it got me thinking of my Zulu wargaming.

Back in the day, I was introduced to miniature wargaming with a set of rules called "The Sword and The Flame."  In a single session we played two British vs Zulu games.  I was hooked.  I bought the rules and bought all sorts of 1:72 plastic figures.  This was my foray into the hobby.  Looking back...wow...my scenarios on the tables looked horrible and paint flaked off the plastic figures.  I even tried to do a campaign but realized I had to paint too many figures to make it work.  I guess fortunately wargaming the Zulu War with all the issues did not make me leave the hobby.  Maybe WWII North Africa using 1:72/20mm miniatures with Rapid Fire kept me going.

Zulu game in 1997

I have since played other Zulu War games and do have good memories of wargaming the war, but I have no interest in going back to it.  So many other interests to focus on.

Those who want to see reenactors in South Africa commemorating the war, check out the video below.

Named Locations on WWI Middle East Maps

When I first browsed WWI Middle East maps I was a little confused by the locations marked on them.  I thought they were towns, but in reality they were not.  Below is an example of part of a WWI Middle East map.

Here are some examples of location from this map that I thought were towns.

• Bir Abu Rami
• Bir en Nuss
• Hod El Enna
• Tell El Farama
• Hod Marzugiat

It took a little bit, but I figured it out.  Here are what these locations really are:

• Bir: well
• Hod: oasis
• Tel: hill

Some additional features:

• Khirbet (or Kh.): ruin
• Beit: house or small village

Hopefully this is of some help for wargamers trying to figure out what all these named locations found on the maps.  I'm sure there are additional locations I did explore and I welcome if people want to share their English equivalent.

Italian S.M.79 Bombers

Here are a couple photos from my first group of 1:600 planes for my future Operation Pedestal game.  In the photos, the planes further off the ground are S.M.79 bombers and the lower ones are S.M.79 torpedo bombers.  The 1:3000 aircraft carrier is the HMS Furious.

My research on paint schemes on the S.M.79 bombers turned up quite a few variations.  I went with as much variation as I could.

I have tried different basing options for 1:2400 and 1:1250 scale planes in the past and have not been very happy with the outcomes.  I am not going with plastic rods and plastic bases.  The rods are wood on a wood disk which is on a metal 1" washer.  The planes are either glued onto the rod in a groove (torpedo bombers) or via a pin embedded into the rod and then in a drilled hole on the bottom of the plane (bombers).

I thought I could not place decals at this scale, but I surprised myself.

Now I am onto the Ju 88 bombers.