From StuartL - Challenge Island Safari Journal - 20th March (80 Points)

Greetings and salutations sturdy C.I.S.T.ers!

Today the Challenge Island Safari Tour is heading inland a bit to Bromley's Butte, another famous local landmark.

Once again it appears as if there are already some tourists in the area, let's go see who we are meeting with today.

Hmm, it appears to be a squad of British commandos, specifically a troop from 42 Royal Marine Commandos. If memory serves, this unit was part of the 3rd Special Service Brigade and served in India and Burma from 1943 until 1945. While their brethren were storming the beaches of France, these fellows were carrying out amphibious landings along the coast of Burma. I guess that explains the rolled up sleeves, these guys are used to tropical weather.

I see their sergeant is reading some sort of proclamation.
"To the individual known as StuartL, you are ordered to turn yourself over immediately to stand trial for your numerous crimes and misdemeanors. You are charged with the following:
Theft of a boat,
Aiding and abetting a known badger botherer,
Illegal possession of an anti-aircraft weapon,
Consorting with demons,
Making light of a speech by the US President,
Numerous counts of reckless endangerment of lives,
And finally, impersonating a tour guide.
If you surrender now, you will not be harmed!"

Ah! I guess that is my cue to leave then. I know this island like the back of my hand, it should be easy to give these guys the slip and hide out here for a few months. I'll wait until the heat dies down before heading back to the mainland in time for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XI.

So long folks, thanks for following along on the safari. Just remember, all tickets are non-refundable and they'll never take me alive!
Bye.

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The figures above are a mix of Warlord bits. The bodies, heads and backpacks are all from Warlord's Commandos plastic set, the arms in short sleeves are from their 8th army set. Interestingly, Warlord decided to have the two plastic sets be incompatible. Well done Warlord. The torsos from the 8th army set are a little narrower than the older Commando box and taper inwards slightly. This meant that I had to do a spot of creative trimming to get the arms to fit. Even so, the bergen backpacks obscure some of the gaps at the back of the shoulders. I have quite a lot of minis for the Burma campaign in various stages of assembly, but I was only able to get these ten ready in time for the Challenge. 

Anyway, 10x 28mm minis plus the bonus for the location (the target being elite light infantry, which I think applies to Commandos) should get me a reasonable 80 points, enough to clear my challenge target.

That about wraps things up for me. I didn't get to visit every spot on the island, but I hit my personal points goal and painted a bunch of cool minis up.

Best of luck to everyone working on their last couple of entries. Thanks for reading my nonsense over the past 3 months, see you all in the summary posts.




Another day, another Safari Journal entry from Stuart. Good luck with your escape from those spiffing Commandos!

TamsinP

From NoelW: Butting out at Bromley’s Butte (35 points)

As we cross the grassy plain in the early morning light, Bromley’s Butte rises before us as firm and roundly butte-like as if it had been designed for a Kardashian. 

Getting closer, we see a dot of light glinting on the peakest point of its peak, like the sun reflecting off a bald man’s forehead, or the twinkle in his eye he’s no longer got the capacity to act on. Shiny!

Then it vanishes.

Then it’s back again.

Gone again. Back again.

Gone. Back. Gone. Back.

Wait a minute! This might not be a natural phenomenon. Could someone somewhere be signalling with something?

My deep intellectual rumination are suddenly interrupted by a rustling in the bushes nearby. Grabbing the latest of my sergeants (I seem to be running out of them) we dive courageously into the long grass, holding our weapons and our breath.

Zulus! Tall, muscular men clad only in loincloths and sweat, edging the way cautiously towards the mountain outcrop. At their head their leader reins in, to confer with a scout who points out the flashing signal on the hilltop.

More Zulus appear. You can guess how many. They fan out to left and right in classic oxhorn formation, the central chest following the track as nonchalantchally as zulus can, directly towards the mountain, whilst the hidden horns on both sides slide through the grasses with hidden menace, closing in surreptitiously on the flanks of the lone mountain.

If Admiral Ackbar was here, he’d know what to call it. Those men on the mountain have no idea of their peril. In a few moments they’ll be surrounded and their position enveloped. If only there was someone here who could signal them. Or someone around who could distract the Zulus. Or perhaps attack them in the rear, bluff them into thinking they were under attack from a much larger force.

I look around but there’s no-one. Just us.

Dot dot dot.

Which direction is Piper’s Peak?

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Sander mentioned that I'd neglected to include an (updated) map, so here's the start of the return journey, beginning at Snowlord's Peak and aiming to get to Douglas’ Shallows.

Continuing with my return journey, at Bromley’s Butte I’m required to provide a reconnaissant model. So here’s two for the price of one: one for each side in the Zulu Wars. I’ve still managed to stick with my aim of small vignettes for each theme (though there are some future encounters that might be a bit of a headache…)

Here's a spotter for Chelmsford's column, equipped with heliograph to signal any sightings.

And here's a zulu command stand, an nduna interrogating his scout.

All the figures are Perrys. The zulu scout and the three soldiers with the heliograph are plastic; the zulu commander and the guard for the heliograph are metal models.

Scoring: 5 x 28mm foot and 1 x 28mm rider: 35 points

Another Noel anecdote and some lovely looking Colonial figures.  I do love the Brits in there scarlet tunics and blue pants and nice basing on the ZULU commander.  But who can resist the Heliograph, it brings back memories of a mischievous childhood using a "borrowed" mirror to blind one's friends or start fires.
PeterD

From NoelW: I see no Butte : Bromley’s Butte (45 points)

“I like big Buttes and I cannot lie,” as the old folk song has it – and that Butte ahead is certainly a big one. Big and butte-iful.

Our slight contretemps at the crossroads has sent us the wrong way again. Wouldn’t you know it? So, we embrace our fate like men who realise the only certainties are death, taxes and choosing the longest queue in the supermarket. 

Some might call it an inselberg, or perhaps a mini-mesa. Some might mistake it for a volcanic plug, or even an acclivity. You might even think it’s a bluff – but we’re sure it’s real.

Now, you may remember that, in our exploration of this island, we’ve more than once stumbled upon unanticipated armies. Not this time. We’re going in prepared. I chose three of our nosiest, quietest, eavedroppingest companions to secrete themselves among the scrubland, see what they can spy out, report back and, probably, be the first to run.

But there’s nothing there. Our intrepid observers report that the butte is as bare as a grisly, as uninhabited as a flock of ex-nuns, as unsettled as jelly in an earthquake, as covered in tenuous similes as a pensioner attempting to use emojis.

It’s only after we’ve turned away, heading once again towards the sea (The sea! Oh, how we’ve missed it!) that our highly trained patrol realises there are such things as lens caps, and that all our binoculars are as fully equipped with them as our observers are with stupidity.

(I only decided to write this little story this way after, in first trying to photo these figures, I had a serious panic that my camera had packed up. You may be able to guess why.)

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Here are three more WW2 Italians, slightly more on the ball than my reconnaissance team. Or, indeed, me. Like my previous post on the Italians, they’re Perry figures (what else?) and there’s not much else to say. I rather like the prone figure, hidden amongst the scrub, and I’ve a certain fondness for the tropical helmet – which is surely amongst the weirdest of military headgear – so there may be more of these later in the Challenge.

Scoring: 3 x 28mm figures= 15, Bromley’s Butte: 30 = 45 points total

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By Paul: 

The Italians in WW2 are certainly underrepresented by Wargamers in relative terms. After all, Mussolini did boast of his "8 million bayonets".  So its great to see some of the plunky little fellows in 28mm.  Personally, I think the tropical helmet is rather dashing - not far at all from the iconic pith helmet of the British!

That is quite an impressive Challenge Island map you've constructed there Noel - well done indeed
45 points chalked up for this submission.