Back of Beyond in 15mm

[sukhe_bator (Neil)]

My take on the campaign of the Mad Baron in Mongolia with scratchbuilt scenery and a heavy presence of Peter Pig figures. First off an unusual terrain objective - A Marconi Radio station. One was established in Urga (Ulaan Baatar) by Marconi on behalf of the Chinese to listen in on the Soviets. It was transported in pieces across the Gobi desert by Maj. S T Dockray and set up immediately before Ungern Sternberg seized control... the freelance model uses girder struts from an old architectural model and is probably a tad more imposing than the originals would have been. The cats cradle wire array is based on photographs and feeds into a central receiver shed and generator. The Lorry is by Minifigs.

[Colonel Kilgore]

Those are some nice-looking models, Neil!

Simon

[sukhe_bator (Neil)]

A Mongolian monastery (still w.i.p.) and the ubiquitous 'ovoo' stone cairn with sky blue prayer flags being passed by a team of yaks (Milliput-clad oxen from a C19 colonial wagon team).

[sukhe_bator (Neil)]

Ungern Sternberg raised 2 regiments of Mongolian militia to defend Urga. Peter Pig Russians in greatcoats and furry hats with suitable Mongolian head swaps from some surplus Essex medieval mongols served the purpose quite well...

[sukhe_bator (Neil)]

But by far my most successful conversion was a mounted infantry camel patrol for my Chinese Warlord army composed of PP WW1 British cavalry mounted on Essex bactrian camels.
The Chinese Warlord occupation of Mongolia is spearheaded by General Xu Shuzheng (from the safety of his staff car of course!)

[Leman (Andy)]

An absolutely fascinating period and one I've had on the back burner for too long. Terrific photos.

Andy

[Colonel Kilgore]

The figures and vehicles do indeed look the part!

I like the "loose history" angle to this "theatre" - a little like an earlier version of "anything goes AK47"?

There's maybe a post-MexRev project here - the majority of the necessary figures and vehicles are already available courtesy of Mr Pig, but could perhaps do with the RFCM treatment for rules?

Simon

[Grey Heron]

Really nice work on this setting. Thanks for sharing your collection.
Helen

[sukhe_bator (Neil)]

Thanks all,
My particular favourite is my take on 'Khovd' a provincial Chinese fortress in W Mongolia which makes a good HQ for my Warlord Chinese forces... The Warlord faction have a little extra motorised muscle in the form of a Reno and a Peerless under new management... Motorised transport is not so far fetched in Mongolia as it seems - the Peking to Paris rally took place in 1907 with a leg from Kalgan to Urga across the Gobi desert and proved it was possible...

Neil

[Leslie BT]

Great stuff Neil, good to see that all the models are based.

[martin goddard]

Neil you are prodigious.
Some lovely scenic bits that i would like in my games.

Big wargames room ?


martin

PS. saw some pictures on TMP of a man's SCW Madrid university district buildings. Really nice.

[Colonel Kilgore]

Great stuff Neil, good to see that all the models are based.

Very good point, Les. I find it protects figures nicely, as well as making sure that things are at a standard height on (well, as base-depth above...) the table.

Simon

[Matías]

Everything looks beautiful. I really like the Ovoo (sacred stone heap), It's pieces like that that really bring tables to life.

This is another period I would like to game in, but lack of time, money and even an interested opponent makes it quite difficult.

[sukhe_bator (Neil)]

I wish I had a big wargames room, Martin... but most remain boxed up hence the heavy emphasis on modular scenery. The Chinese fortress all fits inside a dress box. As much thought goes into the design of the scenery for storage. All the figures and models are based as much for storage as ease of handling on the table. They also present a unified look which is important when mixing different figure manufacturers on the same stand.
I'm having some issues with the artillery and MGs on the improvised trains. Designing gun emplacements with removable stands of guns and crews so they can be swapped out and still make them look like they work well together takes a bit of thought. There's a limit to how many bespoke items/trains I can make...
As for opponents - I don't really have any, so this is primarily for my own personal satisfaction.
I always try and find some ideosyncratic scenery and figures to give the table a real period feel. My 15mm 'theatres' - Mongolia, Siberia and Turkmenistan were relatively easy but I'm having real problems finding suitable MexRev inspiration since most of the usual source material for scenarios (films) were either shot in Spain or on film ranches North of L.A. and buildings entirely fabricated for the purpose...

[Leman (Andy)]

Just a thought, but is Khovd the 19th fort in a chain of Chinese defences?