Jack's 28mm 'Canteena'

Jack has been busy building a number of 28mm 'Canteenas' for friends and family.

Jack was a '£10 Pom' in the 1960s - for those who don't know, or can't remember this was the scheme under which Brits were subsidised to emigrate to Australia.  Jack lived out there near Perth for a while and even served in the Austrian Citizen's Military Force  unit of Cameron Highlanders - kilt and all.  The point for mentioning this?  Well Bob and I were saying to Jack that he had mispelt 'Cantina' but I notice there is a 'Canteena' bar in Australia. Although it is newish, maybe this was a long lost Australian memory coming to the surface?  It's a good excuse if nothing else!

The roof lifts off and the building is design as a small storage box.

Jack's 28mm ACW gunboat

In his early 80s (now 87) Jack made this model for our 28mm ACW wargames.  She is equipped with two Redoubt Miniatures guns and gunners and figures from their naval landing party.

The flag pole is removal so she can also be used as a Union ship.  Again with the Redoubt gunners and sailors from 1st Corp.

 

28mm ACW/Wild West Water Tower

Sorry about the absence of posts,  I keep this page for articles and pictures about Jack and his models.  When we get together for an actual wargame, I post them on our sister site abcwargamers.blogspot.co.uk.

As part of a further reprise of the range of Jack's models he has made for our games. A year or two ago, Bob and I were talking to Jack about getting out ACW/Wild West train back into action and the lack of scenery.  I showed him a paper model of a water tower from the White Wash City set.  Whilst he liked it, he felt that he might be able to make something.

Here's the result!

28mm Small Fort

Bob asked Jack to make me a small fort/outpost and this is what he produced. It has been used with colonials, pirates, TYW, Samurai and as shown here with the Tangiers garrison. It is small enough to have on the table without dominating it and large enough to take a unit or a battery.

The dock was also made by Jack. As well as being a dock for a variety of periods it also doubles as a platform for my Samurai houses. Although the Arab houses come from a variety of sources there is a “house that Jack built” – the square two storey house was made out of foam board and then stippled.

Bob tells me that the unit holding Jack’s fort are the Queen Dowager’s Regiment, the 2^nd Foot. The unit on dock are The Guards – both by Parkfield Miniatures. Other  British figures are a mixture of Parkfield and Dixons.

28mm Death Valley Wagon

Another 28mm 'monster'.  

Jack saw an article about a twenty mule team pulling wagons loaded with Borax across Death Valley, Califormia in the 1880s and decided to build it in 28mm scale.  Needless to say we have not used this in any of our wargames!

I remember being at the Redoubt Stand at one of the shows and Jack seeing a wagon they made which sparked the idea.  He bought the wagon and asked did they have any mules? The Redoubt staff are always helpful and said 'yes'.  At which point Jack asked for '20'!  Not your usual item carried in bulk by any trader to a show, so they handed over the 8 they had and good to thier word posted the other 12 plus an out rider to him within a few days.

Jack thought about the wagon and decided that whilst it was an excellent model it was too small!  He set about scratch building the 2 wagons in the pictures to scale based upon pictures he had.  

These were the juggernauts of their days a round trip took 20 days to complete and covered some 330 miles.

28mm scratchbuilt Fort Zinderneuf

Amongst the many films we talk about whilst passing the time and being is the 1939 film Beau Geste starring Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy and Susan Hayward.

Jack told us about a modeller who apparantly used stills from the film to make a model of Fort Zinderneuf and decided he would like to make a model for his 28mm Foreign Legion and Arabs. 

We managaged to find a plan of the fort from somewhere and Jack set about making this model.  As with all Jack's models it is scratchbuilt with any metal parts being cast by him from moulds he makes up himself.

Plan of Fort Zinderneuf

 The nets to save any wounded from falling too far are 'lady's hair nets' cut down.

Black Horse Tavern - Gettyburg

Jack made a visit to Gettysburg back in 2010 with his son and became fascinated with the various fences and buildings he came across.

One was the Black Horse Tavern which served as a hospital for confederate wounded following the Battle of Gettysburg. 

This view was taken facing northwest circa the 1860s and is courtesy of John Winkleman 

http://www.gettysburgdaily.com/adams-county-civil-war-taverns-part-6-gettysburg-lbg-john-winkleman/

Jack decided that we should have a 28mm scale building of the Tavern for our ACW games and scratch built this.  As usual, all of the roof tiles are indiviually cut and stuck on!

Jack's 28mm Black Horse Tavern model

Union Troops scout around the building

This is a big building!

28mm ACW Cereal Box Houses

These two buildings were made by Jack using cereal boxes and some plastic card for the chimneys.