Paintertainment

Actually, it's 'prepertainment' in this case.

My table/work bench in it's current glory.

I have spent my wargaming time of the past couple of weeks on those things that take a lot of time for little apparent, immediate ‘output’; prep’ing, undercoating and basing figures ready for painting. I am also back building ships in somewhat of a production line. I decided to finish all the ones that I have (and three scratch-builds) before the end of the year, which will only leave the eight ships in seven kits (one has two Japanese subs) that I have on order but are yet to be available. All going to plan, come end of December, the grand total built will come to 195 (32 made by Julian, 28 3D-printed and 137 made by me). These will cover all that I need/want for late ’41–’43 and I expect all for the late war actions too.

I have divided the ambitious plan that I devised earlier in the month into two time periods: October to December and January to March. The items in the first period are more ambitious than those in the latter, so we’ll see how much carries over, hahaha!

I have been watching some old classics (and not so classics) while I have been doing the figure prep. and ship building.

The Wild Geese

This latest film-watching feast was started by a post on Jeffer's Battle '77 blog that had me look to find a copy of 'The Wild Geese' to watch again. There is a digitised version from a VHS on archive.org. Perfect. Makes it like a home viewing ‘of the times'. I have not seen the film since an original viewing at the cinema in Darwin as a young fella. Geez it’s good. It has all the things that most modern films don’t. Plot, character development, not needing things to blow up in the first five minutes. In fact, there is not much ‘action’ until the last hour, but it is completely engrossing. Some excellent dialogue between the main characters. A two-minute sequence of the fellas flying on a herky-bird to the drop zone, alone in their own thoughts, fears and anticipation. The whole thing leaves you in doubt and with some angst over right and wrong. ‘Cept for merchant bankers. The rhyming slang always holds. Top flick.

As if on cue, Stu has posted about this top game.

Code Name Wild Geese

In searching for the above, I found this. Watched it first. What a load of drivel. Clearly Lewis Collins, Ernest Borgnine and Lee Van Cleef needed the cash. It has the quality of being made over a long weekend, but they took the last day off. It’s so bad that it is compelling to see how bad it can get. And a real laugh, coz it’s such a joke. Especially the car chase in the tunnel. Priceless.

Who Dares Wins

I had saved a copy of this and not watched it previously. I watched it after Code Name… It showed that Collins could act if script, direction and production were good. Not to the standard of 'The Wild Geese' (which I watched as the last of the three), but a pretty good script, good acting, dramatic moments. Our 'WA-own' Judy Davis as the femme fatale is excellent as well as pleasing to the eye.

The Master of Ballantrae

A 1984 TV movie. R.L. Stevenson was a weird cat wasn’t he? I remember trying to read 'Treasure Island' as a young fella. Could not get into it. This is darker stuff, characters with no redeeming features and a really convoluted tale.

The Devils

Another that I saved long ago but had not watched. A Ken Russell film based on, apparently, a book entitled 'The Devils of Loudun' by Aldous Huxley. Classic Russell stuff. Artistic, weird and wonderful but bloody ‘punchy’. A forever tale, about what happens when people give in to corruption, distortion of information, political witch-hunts and more. A tale very much for our times.

Midway

The ’76 version. I read the book and saw the film at the time. Have watched it again since, a few years ago. It was good then and is still good. Top cast, good script, use of archival footage, along with much from earlier films, including the excellent Japanese film "Storm Over the Pacific" (1960) which I watched last year. So, so much better than the CGI & World of Warships used in the recent re-make. They also used good mock-ups for Midway (Terminal Island Naval Base, Los Angeles, according to the entry in Wikipedia) and the Essex-class carrier USS Lexington was used for the close-up carrier scenes (for both sides). There are errors, naturally, Yamato is shown incorrectly with only double turrets, looking more like Nagato, the planes drop torpedos on Midway Island, sometimes Vals seem to be shown instead of Kates, Dauntlesses as Devastators, Corsairs (or Hellcats) instead of Wildcats. Yet it captured the tension so well. The good intelligence, bold, sound and poor command decisions and luck. “That is what I want to represent on the tabletop,” I was thinking as I watched the carrier scenes, planes in flight and combat scenes. The same reaction that I have had when viewing archival footage.

Here are some stills c/- the entry on IMDB.

Remember the big deal about 'Sensurround'?!

One of the big stars: a black cat (grey actually).

Kates in formation, shōtai of three planes. Re-used from "Storm Over the Pacific". 

Vals this time. Ditto the source

No it isn't!

Kates dropping torpedoes on Midway. I am pretty sure that it is re-used footage of the attack at Pearl Harbor from "Storm Over the Pacific".

Scratch one flattop.

USS Lexington (CV-16) was used for the on-board footage of the carriers (as noted in the closing credits).

The Dirty Dozen

Not the best WWII romp going around, but I have seen it several times and always enjoyed it. Did so again. Lee Marvin was great. As were the other cast. Mind you, for the first time I reflected on the mission of assassinating German officers (and their consorts), herding them into a bunker and blowing it up. Very much the stuff of that particularly horrible beast called 'total war'.

Kelly’s Heroes

Another re-watch. Very 70s. Very American. The characters seem more Vietnam than WWII. However, the scene of the combat in the town with the three Tigers (refreshingly, actual Tiger tanks from what I could tell) is d@mned good. The parody of the Patton-esque character is cutting.

The Last Days of Patton

A TV movie. Not to the standard of the original Patton, but a good flick nonetheless. Watching it (for the first time) I would like to have asked my Dad how much interest, hysteria perhaps, his car accident and hospitalisation caused in Dad's area of occupied Germany (or elsewhere).

Which one next? Perhaps a re-viewing of Patton to begin with and then we’ll see where my random selection takes me…

On Thursday of the week previous (15/10) I had some work in the late arvo'/evening at Merredin, so stayed overnight. Unlike work trips in years previous, the next day was my own so I decided to do something that I had wanted to do for ages: go to the Merredin Military Museum. I was so pleased that I did.

T'was a glorious kambarang day and an enjoyable, short stroll across the east-west railway to the museum. I did not see that I captured a blowie in the shot until I got this photo ready to post!

It's a small museum, run by volunteers, but is packed with loads and loads of artefacts, 'kit', models, letters, descriptions, vehicles and planes. The contents have mainly been donated or are on permanent loan from local people, some have been purchased or gifted. The volunteers have done the restoration work. Much remains to be done, but they are getting long in the tooth now.

I took over 80 photos. Here are a few to give a taste of what is there.

Approaching the entrance.

Restored 6" howitzer at the entrance.

One of the exhibits in the WWI room.

The WWII room.

Munitions. All rendered inoperable, naturally.

Communications room.

Part of the Korea, Vietnam and 'modern' room.

'Huey', Bell and APC in the courtyard. 

Black Cat. Not fully restored, main wings on ground behind it, but still magnificent.

Restored vehicles and guns in the main shed.

This Stuart 'Honey' shows the amount of work and wonderful job of restoration that has been achieved with the others.

As does this M3 Grant.

There are several other military museums around the wheatbelt, as there are in other country towns around Oz. I have been meaning for ages to get to at least the 'local' one and will make it my 'business' to get on and visit them.