Breakout Normandy - 7th June on the 7th June

Time has moved on, but I meant to post this before now. 

This month we started playing my double sized version of the Avalon Hill game, Breakout Normandy. The idea was (and still is) that we play what we can in a club-night, then note where everything is, and then pick it up next time. Four of us want to play for fun and without feeling pushed into finishing as much as we can in one night.  

One of the guys took these photos on 7th June, just as we're about to start the 7th June turn. The photos are slightly fuzzy from a phone-camera, but hopefully give an impression of how it looks. 

And as for the game - the Allies made it ashore in reasonable shape, though Omaha was a bit of a worry. We got through 7th June turn and part of 8th. The next game session picked up and we went through to the overcast 9th June. A couple of nervous moments around Caen, but the Allies have managed to counter the drives of the panzers and are looking good to press forward.  
Next time will be the 10th June and onwards. 

Another 18mm French battery

And some photos of a horse artillery battery, just before it is passed on to the owner. 

 And the limber team.   

Hopefully the horses look OK here. I've tried to get a good look and feel for the horses. I don't know if the satin sheen to the horses coats are visible in the picture. Thankfully, the models were good to work with.

One of my pet peeves for several years has been that many sculptors and painters who do magnificent jobs on human anatomy, fail when it comes to horses. Some horse models look like they belong on a fairground carousel. And specially with Napoleonics, where people who paint little human masterpieces, complete with buttons and piping and all, then just fail when painting horses. 
For example, the photo on the box of this horse battery I've just done had lovely painted gunners (better than I've done), but every horse was the same flat shade of brown, with no facial or leg markings at all. Painters don't seem to realise that horses have facial and fetlock markings; that manes, tails and fetlocks are generally a darker hair; and most of all, that all horses (except greys) have a sheen to their coats.

Bah humbug! That's my rant over for this week.