VBCW POLICE (2)

Faced with this unexpectedly heavy police presence, the Herefordshire Scallywags paused their armoured forces, recognising that the original plan of "scoot down the main road, beat up the village, then head off for some beers and a singsong" might now have become slightly outdated:

The Scallywags armoured might - at bay.

But it was already too late.....the Herefordshire Constabulary opened up with every heavy weapon to hand (and there were a lot of them) - with inevitable results:

The Scallywags armoured might - burning furiously.

Enemy armour eliminated, Chief Constable Recurrin-Lockdowne ordered his forces, at long last, "forward to victory!":

Police advance - in the background, the HMG armed Rolls-Royce pursuit cars
 of the "Armoured Section (Light)" speed into action.

Gamers Notes

(1) Most of the constabulary figures are plastic Lledo figures (obtained in a cheap joblot from Ebay) armed with metal rifles or Lewis LMGs (available from Colonel Bills). The HQ section (not seen) come from a variety of the usual 28mm manufacturers. The police heavy armour is all based on the "Shoddy Tank" chassis (see blogposts passim), with the addition either of turrets from cheap Revell 1/48 kits or of converted soft plastic "toy soldier" artillery pieces (the "Big Gun"). All of the 'Scallywag' armour was again based on "Shoddy Tanks", this time with minimal conversion (add wire aerials, chop one of the barrels off and argue that 'offset barrels' were quite the thing in the VBCW - actually hardly noticeable as per the photos) and Perry Miniatures tank commanders. The remaining police forces came from Corgi (Rolls Royce Armoured Cars), Matchbox Yesteryear (Rolls Royce Cars converted into HMG carrying 'Pursuit Cars') Matchbox (AT guns, barrels converted) Lledo (trucks, not seen) and Dinky. AT gunners and seated truck passengers all originally came from the Redoubt 28mm Victoriana range, whether "Colonials" or "Home Service" types, again picked up as a cheap Ebay joblot.

(2). All of the terrain, tea and photographs provided by Umpire Roo, to whom many thanks. The village was entirely made from HO/OO scale card (Superquick), which looked fantastic and 'just the job' provided (probably) there was no attempt to mix it with 1/56 scale buildings. Reports are that, apart from 'some fiddly bits', they are indeed quick to build. A special thanks for the photos - characteristically VBCW-ish conduct for Roo happily to volunteer photos of his own tank force "brewing up"...

VBCW POLICE (1)

The Herefordshire Constabulary have not had an easy time during the VBCW. 

First introduced in a vain attempt to 'keep the peace' during the County Golf Challenge, an entire section was 'blown away' at the start of the tournament, even before the factions got down to the truly serious sport (of blowing each other up). Short of officers, the Constabulary then had to endure the intervention in the County's affairs of Superintendant Ronald Bigsworth-Hill and the Wiltshire Police Flying Column, only to find its own newly raised forces (including a solitary anti tank gun) either defeated, destroyed or "defecting" to other factions during the Battle of Mortimer's Cross :

 

A motorised section of Herefordshire Constabulary at the Battle of Mortimers Cross.
It did not seem as if they had won 'the hearts and minds' of the locals....

Faced with these disastrous results, the County Watch Committee decided upon the appointment of a new Chief Constable, the highly experienced Reginald Recurrin-Lockdowne. Within a very short period of time, the "new broom" had raised, trained and uniformed several sections of Auxiliary Constabulary, and from somewhere (it is best not to enquire too closely) obtained a great deal of heavy weaponry.....

These newly raised forces were soon to put to the test in the north west of the County, restoring order and preserving property against an anonymous but free roaming band of "notorious scallywags":

The Herefordshire Constabulary defend a village against a 'scallywag'
armoured attack. Seen here are two Anti Tank Guns, a mortar, and
a marching section of Police Auxiliaries.

Within the village, lying in wait, are two armoured cars of the Constabulary's
 Armoured Section (Light) and a tank of the Armoured Section (Heavy). Further
sections of Auxiliary Constabulary advance in support in the background.

Yet further back, but stoutly advancing, are the remaining elements of the 
Armoured Section (Heavy), including a tracked "Big Gun", supported by
further infantry sections and support weapons....

PUBLIC SCHOOL CIGARETTE CARDS

During the slight hiatus in the Herefordshire VBCW [note 1], the Bishop of Ludlow has been riffling through his collection of cigarette cards - publishing this collection of "Arms of the Public Schools". Not the most strenuous activity, admittedly, but its preferable to the Bishop delivering yet another lengthy sermon. And with a bit of photoshopping, the cigarette cards could make very useful VBCW flags....

When's the next VBCW battle? Old Etonians happily race towards the Cadet Force's armoury....

[Note 1]: By this Autumn, it will be (unbelievably) two years since the last Hereford VBCW Big Game - see the (October 2019) "Battle of Mortimer's Cross" HERE. Such has been one (extremely minor) result of the Covid pandemic and UK Government lockdowns. Happily, the 1/55 Herefordshire VBCW universe operates on a completely different (and often indefinable) timescale, and thus the Bishop, his allies and enemies, may only have experienced a delay of two weeks or so since the last engagement. 1/55th scale Herefordshire, of course, has never experienced a pandemic (unless you count the 1919 'Spanish Flu' pandemic, where HMG's advice to the population seems to have been to "Keep Calm and Carry On", no doubt with the stiffest of upper lips). As "the past is a foreign country", particularly where 'the past' is completely invented, we hope to return to it by way of an October 2021 Big Game....