Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler?

One of the great British comedy roles has to be that of Captain Mainwaring, played by the late Arthur Lowe and growing up as a kid in the seventies, gathering around the family TV to watch 'Dad's Army' and the antics of the Warmington on Sea, Home Guard Platoon commanded by the splendidly pompous and very often imperiously incompetent Mainwaring was a national past time.

This summer I and a few of the chaps will be making the annual trip up to Chez Chas for our summer big game and last year at the conclusion of our Punic game, the Battle of Numistro reported here on JJ's

Battle of Numistro 210 BC

we decided to set this years game in Warmington with Mainwaring and his platoon defending the country from a German invasion.

We are all working on various figure contributions and my efforts include Mainwaring himself and a small platoon of Fallschirmjager.

So here his the great leader himself all kitted out ready to deal with the Bosche, pocket whistle and Webley service revolver at the ready.

I really think the figure captures the character brilliantly and I wanted to do a paint job that did it and the man justice and make him a centre piece for our forthcoming game.

One of the funniest shows in the series was when the platoon is tasked with guarding a captured U-boat crew and their rather confident captain played by Philip Madoc The U-boat captain starts to play mind games with Mainwaring and his men by announcing that when the Germans occupy Britain various people will be rounded up and dealt with, pulling out a pocket book in which he starts to record names.

Philip Madoc as the U-boat Captain starts to take names

Private Pike decides to retaliate by singing a little ditty about Hitler being a twerp, to the tune of 'Whistle while you Work', and when the U-boat commander demands to know his name, Mainwaring immediately barks out an order to the young soldier, "don't tell him Pike!". 

This comedy classic even found resurrection during a promotional campaign by a certain coffee shop chain when they instructed their staff to welcome customers by asking them how they were and to ask for their names so that they could personally deliver their ordered beverage. With an ever growing queue of impatient customers, one wag at the rear of the queue on hearing the request for the chap at the front's name called out from the back, "don't tell him Pike!".

Needless to say, it seems we will be having a few German sailors involved in our little set to and I am sure the best comedy quotes will surface now and then.

For my part, I have also completed two sections of ten Fallschirmjager and a Platoon commander and his 2IC having ordered up three plastic sprues on the recent offer from Warlord.

FJ Platoon Command team

These chaps are more fitted out for mid-late war with their LMG's being the later MG42 but I have done them up in early war green smocks and helmet covers so they should pass muster with a little bit of looking the other way, and I must remember to brush off that excess static grass!

In between now and June I will look out for Warlord at the upcoming shows and see if I can pick up some FJ rank badge and helmet decals just to finish these chaps off.

So with my little contribution done, I will now turn my attention back to the Dacians with my second warband on the desk as I write and with the scenario plan and force structures worked out, to put on a display game this September, all being well.

In the meantime, next up we have a book review from Mr Steve, an AAR on another thrashing for me at Maurice and a trip to Corinium to report on.