Richard Steer

Where did this image come from? It’s the first concrete information I’ve seen about Checkpoint Charlie, but I can’t it on the Battlefront website.

Screenshot of a Canadian report from Jan 1944: “An interesting detailed comparison of the Ram and the Sherman was made by a committee assembled by Brigadier R.A. Wyman, commanding 1 Cdn Army Tk Bde, a formation which had used both vehicles. Its report (31 May 43: copy, CMHQ file 1/Tk Cruiser/1) made the point that "The general suitability of the Ram II does NOT meet the requirements of a first line operational tk. Its disadvantages are far more numerous than its advantages in comparison with the Sherman ..." Among the points of detail made were the superiority of the 75 mm gun to the 6-pounder, and the facts that "The Sherman ... is superior on rough going or hill climbing and better for general cross country work" and that "the Sherman is an easier and much less fatiguing tk to handle than the Ram". The Sherman's traversing mechanism and firing controls were both described as "more satisfactory", while "From experience, it is estimated that the vision from a Sherman is infinitely better than from a Ram". Both protection and escape arrangements in the Sherman were considered to be superior; and the point was made that whereas in the Sherman "the controls are very convenient", "in the Ram the controls are so situated that the driver becomes very fatigued after driving for a short distance".

There’s an interesting summary of the Ram’s technical issues in this Jan 1944 report, including a comparison vs the Sherman. Even by the end of 1943, there was a view that the Ram was not suitable for use as a frontline tank.

www.canada.ca/en/departmen... - paragraphs 58-65.

Great thread. Thanks.

I think that’s right, I haven’t seen anything that suggested they re-equipped with the move, plus two Staghound II 3-inch cars in C Sqn HQ appear in both Italy and NWE, so I think them keeping the halftracks is a safe bet.

The April war diary doesn't specify what they had, but refers to them as "SP 75mm". My guess is that this is the M3 GMC.

Exactly like that. It’s perfect.

It also highlights the need for a 17th/21st Lancers mug…

You’ve done a brilliant job. Absolutely superb.

Maybe District Miniatures? I’ve used them in 15mm and they were really good.

Box art for an Airfix 1/72 Bf109E-4. It is flying at extremely low altitude with a burning engine, and is obviously about to have an encounter the Kent countryside. In the background a victorious Spitfire is zooming away.

Box art for an Airfix 1/72 Dornier Do17z. Its port engine is burning, the victim of a Hurricane in the background, and the crew is bailing out.

Box art for an Airfix 1/72 He111. It is flying over a snowy Norwegian landscape with its starboard engine burning, suffering the indignity of being shot down by a pair of Blackburn Skuas.

Another Airfix Bf109E, this time in 1/48. This one is shown mid-crash, wheels up in a field and about to be buzzed by the Spitfire that shot it down.

To be fair, there’s a long tradition at Airfix of cover art showing their Luftwaffe subjects getting shot down, so you’re in good company.

A screenshot from the GeoNet app, showing a map of Wellington, coloured by the severity of ground shaking experienced by people during the 4.3 magnitude earthquake at 7:24am on Saturday 8 March 2025.

The GeoNet app is such a brilliant example of crowd sourced data. Within minutes of this morning’s earthquake, 10,000 people voluntarily reported their experience of the shake, rapidly building a picture of how it affected the region. #eqnz

Heard that one rather than felt it. #eqnz

They’re looking great. Looking forward to seeing them when they’re finished.

At this point the new format looks like a stroke of genius. If the old guys approach the game like they did last year then they’re going to be embarrassed. Ego is a great way to make them care about the game.

I really enjoyed the podcast. It was great getting content relevant to the NZ scene.

A “Dog Stick Library” at a beach. It’s a square green sign, about 1.5m tall, with seven sticks sitting on shelves made of nails, for dogs to “borrow” during their walks.

Nice selection of sticks at the library today.

Thanks heaps, I appreciate your help.

Hi @uk-tank-markings.co.uk A question has come up about AoS markings for regiments in 22nd Armd Bde while they were an independent brigade group in mid 1942, before they joined 7th Armoured. Do you have any guidance on this?

There’s been a big reduction in industrial electricity usage per capita - maybe the overall energy trend is similar.

Maybe a contribution from the increase in geothermal/wind generation: those would be listed by electricity output, but the displaced coal/gas by fuel input (incl conversion losses)?

They look great!

Most recently, I found Ungentlemanly Warfare problematic. “Inspired by history” in that Postmaster was real, but their representation of it was complete fantasy. Then they gave bios of the main characters before the end credits as if it were all true.

Death or Glory: Flames of War at ValleyCon 2024 By Richard Steer Every year, the Hutt Miniature Wargames Club hosts the ValleyCon wargaming event in Upper Hutt, New Zealand. 2024 was the club’s 25th anniversary, and fittingly, ValleyCon 20…

Some new writing from me at No Dice No Glory, about a #FlamesOfWar tournament I played in earlier this year.

nodicenoglory.com/death-or-glo...

View from Kaiarahi in Cook Strait, looking north. Blue sea, blue sky.

Lovely day out in Cook Strait.

Engines running, back under way, and heading to Picton.

“Not looking good… limited propulsion.” We’re going to be towed back to the berth by tugs, but “this may take some time.”

“Continuing to be worked on… we will keep you updated… no safety concerns”

Interislander ferry Kaiarahi, with a “slight technical problem”, currently drifting in Wellington harbour…

Black and white photo of an M5 halftrack, thoroughly bogged down on a muddy road in Holland, 19 October 1944. Three British soldiers are pretending to try and push it. (IWM B11061)

I was surprised to learn recently that the flash colour could indicate the role of a specific vehicle, rather than that of the parent unit. This halftrack is numbered 50 (Armoured Brigade HQ, in this case 29th Armd Bde), but instead of a red flash it is white-over-blue, indicating a Signals vehicle.

I love these threads so much. Just brilliant.

Nice! That’s a good size table. I’m looking forward to seeing some photos of the game.