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Author Topic: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"  (Read 39886 times)

Offline von Lucky

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 8796
  • Melbourne, Australia
    • Donner und Blitzen Wargaming
Re: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"
« Reply #75 on: June 01, 2016, 08:47:41 AM »
Just an old version of the Airfix one, ie:
http://mfpilot.com/raf-tiger-moth-biplane-1-72-airfix-kit.html

Will probably paint it as a Brazilian trainer that's been smuggled into Victoria:


The rest of the aircraft were painted for an LPL round:


Clockwise from top left: former RAAF (one that in this timeline didn't get destroyed in the late 1920s) Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 flown by Victorian nationalists; RCW-era SPAD S.XIII of the Australian Labour Army; former (TBC) VVS Polikarpov I-5; another ALA SPAD S.XIII; privately owned Avro 504 flown by Tasmanian volunteers.

Haven't used them in a game, but I'm imagining some sort of WoG/X-Wing hybrid.

« Last Edit: June 01, 2016, 02:41:54 PM by von Lucky »
- Karsten

"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Blog: Donner und Blitzen

Offline Matthewc451

  • Student
  • Posts: 12
Re: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"
« Reply #76 on: June 24, 2016, 03:52:47 AM »
Von Lucky's planes are gorgeous in the flesh.

They were one of the lovely surprises at Little Wars. My favourite is a play who is producing a "Country Women's Association" CWA, force for ARBM, complete with tea trolly.

I have sent the book to the printer, and am waiting for a proof before finalising things. The proof is mainly to check color reproduction. It will be a 266 page, cloth bound hardcover full of useful information (most historical) for gaming in the period. The bulk of the book is faction guides, outlining the major players and minor factions and offshoots. It does not stop the creation of your own factions, indeed I have done so myself, rather it gives you the information to understand the environment  they operate within. I apologise that it is not wargaming porn, but it has some interesting photos and useful maps.

They tell me 30 days till I receive my proof, and then another 30 days before the final books arrive in my hands. On the upside I will have the ability to send an individual copy to any non-Australian country direct from the printer, so questions about availability overseas have been solved.

Happy Painting
Matt

Offline Matthewc451

  • Student
  • Posts: 12
Re: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"
« Reply #77 on: June 24, 2016, 04:35:02 AM »
Hi,

I have started a new thread asking for assistance, essentially preferences for ARBMs web presence.

Your insights would be appreciated.

Matt

Offline von Lucky

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 8796
  • Melbourne, Australia
    • Donner und Blitzen Wargaming
Re: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"
« Reply #78 on: June 24, 2016, 02:19:20 PM »
Thanks Matt. And good news!

Here's the link to that thread to keep things easy:
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=91534.0

I'm also saddened to hear that John from Showcase Models (who I bought the I-5 from) passed away earlier in the year. Very sad news.

Offline Ewan

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 360
Re: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"
« Reply #79 on: June 24, 2016, 06:37:45 PM »
I will definitely be buying a copy  :)

Offline The Breaker

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 350
  • Enjoyably annoying
Re: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"
« Reply #80 on: February 22, 2017, 06:00:23 AM »
Apologies for the threadnomancy but I was wondering if this project was still going?

Cheers.
"We shot them under rule 303"

Offline Huascar

  • Librarian
  • Posts: 137
Re: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"
« Reply #81 on: February 23, 2017, 10:07:22 AM »
Nic Fromm Eureka had a copy of the ARBM Book at CANCON in late Jan. Had a quick flip through it and it looked excellent. Unforntaely they could not given me a release date, but can't be too far off. Very keen to  get my hands on this.

Offline Ewan

  • Scientist
  • Posts: 360
Re: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"
« Reply #82 on: February 23, 2017, 01:32:25 PM »
Hopefully he might bring along a copy to Salute in April 😊

Offline Sheerluck Holmes

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 658
Re: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"
« Reply #83 on: November 25, 2017, 09:40:06 PM »
Any news on when the book is coming out? Having looked at a copy at Eureka Miniatures last year, I am very keen to get this.

Offline von Lucky

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 8796
  • Melbourne, Australia
    • Donner und Blitzen Wargaming
Re: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"
« Reply #84 on: November 25, 2017, 09:49:21 PM »
Nothing firm, but latest I heard was "by Christmas". It will be announced by Eureka Miniatures I imagine.

Offline Matthewc451

  • Student
  • Posts: 12
Re: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"
« Reply #85 on: December 14, 2017, 04:36:49 AM »
Hi Folks,

Brief note.

A Right Bloody Mess has finally arrived from the Printer!!

The courier dropped off two cartons yesterday morning, just in time for the Eureka open days on this Friday/Saturday. (15-16/12/17)

I have had a brief look and everything appears to be in its correct place. I ordered two cartons having not seen a final proof so my anxiety levels were a little high. Fortunately I have little beige pills for that.

I will start a new thread later today. It will include the Table of Contents so folks can get an idea of the scope covered by the book.

BTW both the 1932 Lang Affair and the 1933 secession leading to civil war are covered.



Matt

Offline von Lucky

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 8796
  • Melbourne, Australia
    • Donner und Blitzen Wargaming
Re: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"
« Reply #86 on: December 14, 2017, 06:46:58 AM »
Excellent news Matt, I won't be able to make it, but I will try and pick it up in the new year in the shop or at Cancon.

Offline wharfedalehome

  • Lurker
  • Posts: 1
Re: Australian Civil War or "A Right Bloody Mess"
« Reply #87 on: January 26, 2018, 12:44:49 PM »
This is a book review of A Right Bloody Mess by Matthew Clarkson. I don’t normally write reviews of, well, anything. I think that if a product is good enough it should sell itself. I know that in an age of mass media and image building this is very much a minority view. So be it. However I think that A Right Bloody Mess (ARBM) is truly exceptional and deserves acknowledging and widespread exposure - hence the review!

The book blurb elegantly and succinctly summarises the entire book for me, so I quote it in full:

Welcome to A Right Bloody Mess, an alternate history of civil war in Australia during the 1930s. A Right Bloody Mess provides you with everything you need to know about the first year of the Australia War, the events leading up to the crisis and its participants. A Right Bloody Mess is a plausible, alternate-reality sandbox environment bursting with historical detail. Created by a wargamer for wargamers, this volume is full of comprehensive information about Australia in the early 1930s and the factions involved in the conflict.

These are ambitious claims I think you’ll agree. But the truth is, Matt delivers these and more with style. OK, enough of the effusion. Here’s the nitty gritty:

Title: A Right Bloody Mess
Author: Matthew Clarkson
Price: £45 / A$80 + postage (you need to ask for local rates as it varies considerably)
Publisher: self published, Australia 2017
Distributor: http://www.eurekamin.com.au/ or direct from the author at: ARBM1933@iinet.net.au
Importer to UK: None at present (but it really deserves somebody to get behind this exceptional product)
Support & Information: from the author at: http://arbm1933.blogspot.co.uk/
Format: hard back, 6” x 9” (your regular hardback book size).
Pages: 275 pages (there is probably more information in this one volume than has been published on all of VBCW in 10 years. OK, this is not a competition, I’m just trying to give you an idea of what you get for your money).
Quality: professionally bound, with colourful dust jacket, beautifully printed on semi-gloss sepia paper (gives it a very 1930s feel), lavishly illustrated with hundreds of images (troops, models, flags, equipment, interesting places, personages, maps, plans – you name it)
Contents: The contents are broken down into 6 sections:
• Section 1 – An Overview of the Australian War (background on Australia in the 1930s, the constitutional crisis over funding that provides the “what if” trigger [ie: like the Edward Abdication crisis in Britain for VBCW] that led to the kidnapping of New South Wales’ Premier, Jack Lang on 13th May 1932 by the New Guard [ie: the “what if”], and what subsequently happened)
• Section 2 – Australian Armed Forces Pre-Secession (a breakdown of Australia’s army, navy and air force in the 1930s including their equipment and weapons, details of civilian weapons and equipment that could be pressed into service)
• Section 3 – Descent Into Chaos (commentary on the factionalisation that led to war, how troops might be organised equipped and uniformed, model figures that you can use or adapt)
• Section 4 – Faction Guide (a long and imaginative list of factions that you could organise anywhere from the towns of New South Wales and Victoria to the outback of South Australia or Westralia. Factions cover left wing union and political groups, state organisations such as police, criminal gangs, right wing extremists as well as immigrant groups and more)
• Section 5 – Wargaming ARBM (using and adapting miniatures, useful rules to model ARBM, setting up scenarios and campaigns, how to play skirmish, platoon ands regimental sized games, how to add roleplaying elements, two fully fleshed out examples of Factions from Section 4)
• Section 6 – Additional Information (the use of Morale and Quality in an Aussie setting, Primitive 30s technology, raising Militia units, taking the history beyond the opening year of 1933, designer notes, useful links)

This is a work of love by Matt and a real thing of beauty. It is an inspiring, fun and intriguing wargame book on a believable, exciting and new campaign. So if you want to know what happened to Jack Lang, figure out who are the New Guard, want to lead the Australian Light Horse into battle or fancy tooling up an old roadster and screaming across the dusty tracks of the Big Red then get this book. Read it and you’ll be hooked, trust me. It’s like VBCW meets Back of Beyond with a dose of Mad Max thrown in. If you think VBCW is a little unhinged and jolly good fun then your Kangaroos will be loose in the top paddock when you’ve read ARBM.

Once in a generation a wargame book sets new standards. ARBM does this and more with it’s novel approach, its exciting ideas and its bravura performance. For me this sits up there with the best - Featherstone's and Bath’s early stuff of the 60s and 70s. Go on treat yourself, you’ll be pleased you did.

 

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