Tis the night before.........

New Year!  I missed Christmas as we went down to see my mum and sister, but now we are back.  It's been a pretty ropey month health wise, but hopefully things will look up in the New Year! Sadly I missed the December meeting of the Devon Wargames Club, but should be there in January hopefully.

Anyway, I hope you have all had a good Christmas, I know I have.  I ate more than I should have, didn't drink anything I shouldn't and had a good time with the family in damp Cornwall.  Presents were exchanged and I did pretty well overall.  I got the Baby Blitz add-on for Duel in the Dark, the Sons of Anarchy boardgame, two 15mm Tigers, a uniform book on the French Army in 1940, a copy of Soldier, A Visual History of the Fighting Man and a set of Lion Rampant rules.  Plus other stuff that was welcome but nothing to do with wargames. In addition to that lot I also received a secret Santa present from parts unknown.  A trio of 15mm Pz35t's have joined my Early War German's and very nice they are too.  Thank you to however was my Santa, they are much appreciated.

The Secret Santa I sent to a chap in America was a US 60mm mortar with 3 crew by Bolt Action, pre Warlord.  Hopefully you/he liked it.


I did make it to the annual "All Day Bash" of the Chuckadice group, which had a 100% turn out for once.  We played a Big CoC game for the day, with the German's attempting to break through the Russians on their way to Moscow.  This was followed by a quick and fairly bloodless game of Zombicide.  Details of the CoC game will be in my next post as it was fairly busy and I took a few pictures.

Painting for December was very limited.  I did manage a few things though, so here are a few pictures.

 First up is a 15mm Seven Years War unit, painted for my mate Gus' widow as he never got the chance to paint them.  No idea of the unit, I used Gus' painting guide and the flags were with them in the box.

 Then there is a few additions to my BEF 1940 force for Chain of Command.  A 2pdr with 5 crew, 3 Bren carriers and a jump off point.  The 2pdr and figures are all Peter Pig while the carriers are Battlefront.  Can you spot the sneaky blighter in this photo?

There he is!  Damned sneaky Hun type listening in to the British chat as they have a cuppa.  The idea is based on the "Loose lips sink ships" slogan from WW2.


I also painted up 14 cowboys for Dead Man's hand, but posted them off to Germany without taking a photo.  D'oh!

Anyway, that's it for now.  Have a good New Year and I will post a batrep of the CoC game tomorrow.

La Cambe finally falls

Unterfeldwebel Dieter Muehlen stared back at the smoke laden village of La Cambe with a mixture of anger and depression.  An aging former office manager, his receding belly still stretched his uniform trousers to their limit.  Losses and shortages had left him in command of a platoon of Wehrmachts finest with orders to delay the American advance.  His troops were limited and support was almost non-existant, but he had managed to hold for three days before being forced to fall back.

Day one had started poorly, with an enemy barrage coming in accurately and pinning two thirds of his platoon under its fire.  As he sheltered from the explosions and shrapnel, he heard a few screams as some of his men were hit.  Suddenly the barrage lifted and, as he rallied his troops a man shouted that Squad Twos NCO was down.  Damn und blast it, that was Rainer Matthess, who worked for him in the office before the war.  He hoped it wasn't bad as Rainer was a damn good squad leader.  A shout from the attached mortar observer brought his attention back to the enemy and, as the smoke cleared, two Ami panzers could be seen approaching.  A glance told him Eric was ready with the panzerschreck, but he wouldn't fire yet would he?  They were still far off and shrouded by smoke.  A hollow whoosh sounded and Dieter swore as he watched the rocket exhaust.  "Too early" he swore, then ducked as there was an almighty explosion.  Somehow that young fool had managed to hit the panzer and blow it apart. He was either damned lucky or damned good, hopefully the latter.

Then a shout came from the observer and mortar shells began to rain down on the barely visible Ami soldiers as they ducked into some buildings.  As he watched he could only imagine the devastation being caused and hoped it would be enough to stop the enemy advance.  Then he heard the MG42 on his right flank open up.  He couldn't see what they were firing at, but he could see their rounds hitting a house.  Suddenly there was a shout and he could see the Amis pulling back.  Was that it?  Was that the enemy attack stopped?  As the Amis pulled back, Dieter went around his positions and sorted out getting the wounded carried back and the dead buried.  Three men in squad two were dead or severely wounded , plus Rainer and another were wounded badly enough to need a days attention at the aid post.  They had got off lightly.  After reporting in to HQ and organising a resupply, Dieter settled down for the night. 

The next morning dawned clear and fresh and he was glad to have woken early as the sound of tank tracks heralded the approach of the Ami invaders again.  Ahead he could see the shapes of three panzers this time, with infantry on either flank.  Damn it all, where was Eric with that bloody panzerschreck?  There was a roar of engines and all three panzers suddenly shot forward towards him.  He could identify them now as Shermans.  A massive crack, followed by an explosion saw one of the Shermans explode spectacularly.  It seemed the 88's of Flak-Sturm Regt One were still operational.  Then he saw Eric suddenly appear in the hedge and fire his Panzerschreck.  Another bang and another Sherman was destroyed.  Two shots, two kills, what a start to the day.  Again the Amis stopped and pulled back, the lose of two tanks obviously shaking their morale.  A quick report in to HQ and Dieter waited.  No further attacks came and he was glad to relax, with squad two being cheered by the return of Rainer.

Dawn of day three had been the worst by far, as the Amis mortar pounded away and the assault force this time included four Shermans.  Oh what he would have given for a PaK 40.  All he had was a few Panzerfausts and a single Panzerschreck.  Fire was soon being traded with Americans in the buildings.  Their numbers were greater, but their firepower was matched by his MG42s.  Three of the Shermans shot forward, spraying HE and machine gun fire as they came.  The 88 fired again, but could only damage one.  Then Eric had a shot, damaging another before Obergefreiter Gapp of Squad One fired his Panzerfaust.  With a mighty bang the lead Sherman was hit and came to a halt.  As the smoke cleared Dieter could see the Sherman sat still.  Surely they were all dead?  Then the turret swung around and fired into the dugout that Eric was in.  As the explosion cleared, Eric and his loader were nowhere to be seen.  The other Shermans also started shooting everything they could see, with heavy and sustained machine gun and high explosive fire causing heavy losses to the German squads.  As the fire continued the American infantry surged forward, urged on by the voices of their Lieutenant and Sergeant at the back.  then the mortars hit again, unerringly accurate and devastating.  This was enough for Dieter and he signaled a withdrawal.  He had held for three days, destroying three Shermans, damaging three more and killing an unknown number of enemy infantry.  Now it was time to regroup and occupy the next village........if he had enough men left.

This is an attempt at a write up of the first 3 games of our newly started "29 Lets Go" campaign.  Nathan did well holding for 3 days, aided it must be said by amazing dice rolls in games one and two.  Game three came apart for him when Colin managed to get three phases in a row after his Shermans had survived shots from an 88, Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck all in the same phase.  The heavy fire from the mortars and three Shermans proved too much for the Germans, who pulled out before they were wiped out. 

Losses were as follows
Game 1   Germans lost 1 junior leader and 6 others
                Americans lost 12 men including a junior leader and their FO, plus a Sherman.
Game 2   Germans lost nothing.
                Americans lost 8 men and 2 Shermans.
Game 3   Germans lost 1 junior leader and 14 others!!!
               Americans lost 6 men including a junior leader, plus 3 damaged Shermans

All the best, I will hopefully put up some more later on this week.

Tower of London Poppies, 3-11-14

In commemoration of the 100 years since the start of World War 1, the Tower of London has been showing the "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red".  A collection of 888,264 ceramic poppies in memory of all those British and Colonial casualties in the Great War, I had expressed my disappointment that I couldn't go to see it due to being ill.  My little sister and my dear wife then hatched a plan to take me up and organised it all for my benefit. 

Tamsin drove us all up on Sunday, we then spent the night chilling in the Travelodge (cheap and cheerful, but comfortable and quiet) before getting up to catch the tube into the big city.  Despite being proper country types we managed to get there without any mishaps and then joined the masses to get a look at the spectacle.  I struggled as the queuing went on, but was determined to see it and enjoy the day.  It was well worth the discomfort and pain, the atmosphere was calm despite the massed ranks of people and it was awe inspiring to see the display.  It is only when you think of the sheer multitude of poppies and then think that each of those represents somebody who died in the war that you realise the cost that that generation paid for us to live like we do. 

I am really grateful to Tamsin and Tina for making the effort to take me up there and I will always remember the experience.  I managed to get half-way around before I had to call it a day and we went and sat in a pub for a bit, where I went to sleep for a bit while the girls chatted and munched on some Nachos.  A trip back in the tube to the hotel, then into the car for the drive home.  We had to stop a couple of times as I felt so rough and I was wiped out for 3 days afterwards, but it was well worth it.  I managed to take some almost in focus pictures, so here are the best few.

One of the cascades down the tower wall.

A view of a section of the total display

An almost smiling Tina, almost in focus too

What an ugly bloke.  Who took that picture?

A closer look

The poppies have all sold now, we were lucky enough to order two before they sold out, one for us and one for my mum.  It is now 3am and I am off to bed, stupid stomach ache and nausea has kept me awake so I decided to do something productive with my time.  Take care folks.

Secret Santa, Flockbox and yet more painting.

Hello again,  I'm back with another update of absolutely no importance.

In a moment of madness I signed up to Chris Stoesen's Secret Santa project.  So I have bought, painted and based my "secret" and it will be soon winging it's way to the far reaches of New Hampshire, USA.  I won't put up a picture until after Christmas as I want it to be a surprise for the unfortunate chap who got me as his Santa!

Talking of Santa, my lovely wife has bought me an early present so I am now the proud owner of a Flockbox.  I have had a play about with it and it really does make a difference.  The static grass stands up and looks like grass, as opposed to my usual mix of flock and flat grass.  I am impressed and I will almost certainly end up rebasing lots of my based figures as it looks so much better.  The first figures I have used it on are shown below, along with the last figures I based with my old system.

British Highlander extras

Painting has been somewhat slow, but fairly steady.  I managed to find, paint and base the remaining BEF 1940 Highlanders that I had left over. Another 12 Highlanders, supported by another Vickers MG with 3 crew.  I just need a 2pdr and some bren carriers to make the force fairly complete.

1940 German Platoon

I also managed to get a full platoon of 1940's German infantry painted up, these are from the Plastic Soldier Company box.  There are 59 figures, making 2 commanders and 4 squads with support in the shape of a 5cm mortar and an AT rifle.  There are also 4 spare LMGs and 4 extra riflemen.  These have been based with the flockbox, so upright grass is all over the place.  I just need to add an HMG, Pak gun and some form recce elements.  Then it's on to the French that I bought in January!

I am now cleaning up some more Cowboy figures for Germany again, Lawmen and Desperados this time.  There will be a slight delay on these though as I am off to London on Sunday to see the Tower of London poppies before they are taken away after the 11th of November.

Well that's it for now, I am off to do something less productive.  Keep rolling those dice folks.

Painting continues, new figures are purchased and other ramblings

Hello again, unfortunately for you all rumours of my demise have been vastly exaggerated.  I am still struggling on, painting when I can manage it and playing the occasional game.  I have been back to the hospital again, I should probably have my own bed by now.  Still no sign of any immediate fix, but new consultant and new tablets and a new plan, so it's all good (hopefully).

First up, my new purchases.  Best bargain by a country mile is the latest supplement for Chain of Command, covering actions of the US 29th Infantry Division in Normandy.  "29 Let's Go" is 32 pages of goodness for less than the price of a pint.  Scenarios, background and special amendments make this supplement both a treat and a bargain.  I am looking forward to running the scenarios for the local gamers, espescially as there are no Tigers!

My other purchases have been from the Plastic Soldier Company, with a box each of their  Early War German Infantry and Late War British Infantry joining the painting line.  The Germans will provide opponents for my BEF Highlanders and French infantry while the British will bolster my existing platoon to enable me to field a company for Battlegroup Overlord games.

15mm ANZACs

Painting has been a bit limited, both due to feeling ill and having other things on.  I did manage to paint up a couple of platoons though, so it's not all bad.  First up is the first of my Vietnam period ANZAC's.  These are Battlefront figures, bought in their recent sale and painted up and based for Charlie Don't Surf or Chain of Command.

The other platoon involved a bit more time and effort, but was quite rewarding to finally get painted.  I have had these original Bolt Action figures since they were first released many years ago.  I never had enough to make a full platoon though as for some reason I didn't buy enough.  Then I decided to reduce my collections of WW2 figures to just 15mm and sold of the painted figures I had.  So these sat in a drawer, ignored and forgotten for a long time.  Then, following a moment of madness, I contacted Warlord Games and just asked if they still had the original figures or molds?  A very nice chap called Nick spent some time finding out for me and then got back to me to say yes.  So I spent a few quid and finished off the platoon.  Having spent a few extra quid on figures in a scale I didn't use I then spent several days painting and basing them.  I actually quite enjoyed painting them, the figures are lovely to paint and I still rate the Paul Hick's sculpts as some of the best out there.

25mm US Platoon

1st Squad

2nd Squad

So, here they are.  A full platoon of three 12 man squads plus command and some support options.  Each squad has an NCO with Thompson, a BAR gunner and ten riflemen.  These are supported by three 2 man Bazooka teams, an M1919A6 LMG moving and firing, a sniper, a mortar FO, two Officers, a platoon sergeant, a radio man, an extra rifleman and a medic.  All told there are 54 figures all marked up, coincidentally, as members of the US 29th "Blue and Grey" Division.  As I don't use them they are going to go on eBay, probably on Sunday.

3rd Squad

Support and Command

Well, that's it for now.  I am off to pick up the in-laws from Exeter in a little while, so wish me luck.  Hopefully my ears will be able to stand up to 3 days of constant, inane chattering that always accompanies the meeting of my wife and her sister.  Have fun and keep rolling those dice.

Absent without leave.

I have been a bit remiss of late regarding posting on here, I can only apologise to anybody who actually reads it for that.  I have been pretty crock for the last couple of months and, to be honest, it's got me down and I have been struggling to get back to any form of normality.  Painting and gaming have both taken a big hit and I am finding it hard to concentrate on anything, so finishing anything has become a problem.  I am just waiting now on a referral to a London specialist to find out if he has any ideas for treatment of my stomach, as my local consultant has tried everything he can think off.  Ah well, I am still losing weight, so its not quite all bad.

Gaming has been very limited, just a couple of boardgames and a Napoleonic naval skirmish in the last few months.  I played Firefly the boardgame with Zob, Andy and a visiting Student Layabout Mat last week, which Mat won and I definitely lost.  Getting all your crew eaten by Reavers is not a good thing to do.  The week before that I played Axis and Allies: Battle of the Bulge a couple of times with Nathan, which I really enjoyed.  I enjoyed it so much I bought my own copy so I have it to hand.  Its simple and the combat system works very well.  We still have not managed an American win yet, but it's a lot harder for the German's now that we are doing the trucks properly.  If you can give it a go and see how you do, it doesn't take long to play and the rules are quick to pick up.

Last night I played a Napoleonic naval game using "Signal for Close Action" by Langton.  I had 2 French ships(a 1st rate and a 3rd rate) while Zob had 2 3rd rate British ships.  Despite my excellent rolls for crew quality and captains ability, I managed to completely screw things up in 2 turns.  First I rolled a double 1 and damaged my own 1st rate, then Zob rolled a well laid shot and took down 2 masts, then I rolled another double 1 and blew up my own gun deck, starting a major fire in the process.  Because of all this I had too roll several morale checks and, while I passed the first two, the final one was a test too far and my first rate ship struck its colours.  In all I rolled four double 1's last night, all on my own ships firing and all causing damage to my ships.  I don't know why I bother sometimes!

I have managed to get a bit of painting finished in the last few weeks, but they have all taken a lot longer than they should have.  Some more delightful 15mm Napoleonics have joined the finished pile, with another British Line unit being joined by some RHA gun crew.  I still need to paint their guns though.




Then there are the Foundry SWAT figures, eleven in total that I stripped and repainted as my old paint job looked quite crap compared to how I paint now.



I also got some Dead Man's Hand gangs painted for a nice chap in Germany.  7 Outlaws and 7 Pinkertons, which were actually quite nice to paint after the 15mm gun crews.

So that's it for now.  I am off to the dentist tomorrow, then to see a medical type on Thursday so it's all go here this week.  Keep smiling folks, it's not all that bad really.  This time last week I was preparing to have a camera shoved up my "Khyber Pass"!!!

Sick again, plus other things

I have been struggling with my stomach again for the last few weeks, so there has not been much in the way of things to report.  I have missed Monday night gaming for the last 2 weeks as I feel so crap, but I am clutching to the vain hope that the consultant with come up with something new when I see him on the 18th. 

The good news is my ongoing weight loss plan is working well.  I have gone from a being a humungous fat b*****d to a still big fat b*****d as I have lost over 2 stone so far this year.  Only another 5 or 6 stone to go. 

Painting has taken a big hit, all I have managed to finish have been 12 Tumbling Dice 1/600 Bf110 fighters for Bag the Hun.  I still have loads of BoB planes to paint, but now have enough to play most encounters in the campaign. 

Apart from them I have failed to paint anything.  Not good, I will have to have a stern word with myself.

I do have lots of things I want to paint(15mm WW2, 15mm Vietnam ANZACs, 15mm AWI, 15mm ACW) and some things I need to paint(15mm Napoleonics, 25mm wagons), but at the moment I can't.  My mojo as left the building, I could really do with it coming back now. 

My oldest son and his family(that's his daughter on the left) are moving this weekend as well, so I will probably be drafted in to help as much as I can.  They are moving a lot closer to us on the other side of the village, but also its a much bigger place for them with 2 decent double bedrooms instead of a small double and a box room.  It's also in a much nicer area, so they can actually go outside without being surrounded by drug dealers and drunks. Its also a cul-de-sac instead of a main road, so quieter for them too. 

The bad thing is that even if I was feeling well I wouldn't be going to the Devon Wargames meeting, which is a shame. 

Well, that's it for now.  A bit of a ramble.  Hopefully next time there will be some gaming and/or painting to report.  Take care.

Duel in the Dark plus more Zombies

The outin-laws were down for the weekend(3 extra women and a baby), so on Saturday I picked Pingu up and we went over to see Nathan for a few games of Duel in the Dark.  We managed 3 games, with Pingu and I being the Luftwaffe while Nathan was the RAF.  It's a deceptively involved game, it looks really simple for the German to win but it's not!  I kept running out of fuel in my night-fighters as the wind did it's best to screw us over in 2 of the games.  End result was 1 big win each side, with the decider being a 1 point win for the Germans. 

The Germans have 4 night-fighters and various "defence resources", such as flak, searchlight, fire trucks etc.  These have to be placed without knowing the objective, while the British have to preplan the bombing mission without knowing where the defences are.  Then there's the annoying Mosquito, which can score points by shooting night-fighters, can suppress defences or mark the target to give the Bombers bonus points when the reach the objective.

It is a juggling game for the Germans, as they can't catch the bombers if they get left behind, but also need to refuel at the most inopportune moment.

It's a cracking game though and is a good way to fill a few hours.  Well worth the £15 I paid for it.  The pictures are stolen from boardgame geek as I didn't take any while we were playing.


 I even managed to get a bit of painting done, mostly in the dark hours of the morning when I couldn't sleep as I felt too sick.  Nine "Toxic" and 8 normal zombies have joined the ever increasing ranks of painted Zombicide figures.  I quite enjoyed painting these in the dark and quiet hours as it gave my ears a chance to recover from the constant, endless chatter that the multitudinous women of this family make.  There were 7 of them here on Saturday evening and they can all seemingly talk without needing to breath in, ever!  They spent all day together, yet still managed to talk non-stop all evening.  My ears were bleeding by 8pm and they kept on talking until past midnight.

Today would be a nice, quiet day as they have left but they are digging up the road outside the house now, so it's a bit noisy with tarmac strippers and pneumatic drills going.  So today I shall mostly be wearing my headphones.  Have fun and I'll catch you later

Attack, Zulu's and random ramblings

Last Sunday I was taken out for the day by my chaffeur Nathan, with Pingu in the back "resting his eyes".  No matter where we go, what time we go or who drives, he has a nap, poor old fella.

Bless him, he looks all worn out.  It must have been the vast amount he didn't spend at Attack.  It was a pleasant day out, but we are not sure we will be going back as it takes as long to get there as it does to get to Reading which is a bigger show.  My purchases were limited to a can of Necrotic Flesh spray paint for zombie painting and a copy of Duel in the Dark on the bring & buy.  Oh, and some extra D10s for In her Majesties Name.


Monday night was Zulu night, as the Chuckadice lads got together to refight Nathan's Rorke's Drift scenario.  Zulus under the command of myself, Andy and Pingu were attacking the defenders, commanded by Lt Chard(Zob), Lt Bromhead(Colin) and Colour Sgt Bourne(Nathan).
 Suffice to say, the heavy fire from the hospital quickly drove off the few Zulu's in front of them, but the lesser fire from the store only slowed down the advance.  Eventually the Zulu's reached the building and some redcoats were felled.

On the other side the British line looked pretty solid and was holding well for longer than expected.

 Andy looks pensive as he prepares to receive the British fire.  Not much cover down there, so losses were pretty heavy as the Zulu's advanced.

 The store is attacked, as only a few men could fire out the loopholes. 

 Zulu's reach the defences, but were unable initially to break through the line.  Bayonets lunged and Zulu's fell, but the occasional Redcoat fell too.

 Zulu's get around the side and into the building, but its a dead end and the British fired through the window, killing the Zulu warriors. 

 The 2nd wave reaches the defenders, again taking horrendous losses.  Eventually the British will weaken, won't they?

Sniping from the hill finally took effect, with 3 hits on the British reserves as they finished the redoubt and moved to reinforce the wall.

 Bromhead's line was also holding firm, despite Pingu's best efforts to break through.  He did manage to break in momentarily, but Bromhead gathered a few men and drove the Zulu's back out again.

At the same time the Zulu's broke into the main store rooms, driving the few defenders back wounded.  It's was starting to look a bit problematic for the Brits, but at least Chard was holding his section......

Then Chard was driven back suddenly as all his men fall to some damned lucky dice from Andy.  Four d10, 3 of them were 8+, killing 3 defenders and forcing Chard to retreat.  This is were we left it, to be finished next Monday.  The Zulu's are in the compound and threatening the store, but the British still have quite a few men left and should hold, probably......well maybe......



In other news, I have been sick as a dog again.  The new anti-nausea tablets I am on are rubbish so it's back to see the quack again this week.  Hopefully something will sort out soon, as it's impacting work quite noticeably now.  I have managed to paint a few bits, so expect some pictures next week hopefully.

Off now so catch you all later.

Bag the Hun 2 again

Last night saw B Flight of 605 Squadron go into action.  Flt Lt "Bunny" Noel was in command as Blue 1 with FO "Pingers" Pengilly leading Green section.  They came in behind the bandits, which turned out to be 9 Ju87 Stukas with an escort of 4 Bf110s.

 Initial moves saw the Messerschmitts try to block the attacking Hurricanes and fail miserably.  Green section dove straight past them and latched onto the tails of 3 of the Stuka's while Blue section lagged a bit, but came in on the flank.  As Green section opened fire.....

...bits of two Stuka's went raining down.  Pingers was the only one who failed to down his target, but PO Flynn and Sgt Henderson both destroyed their Stuka's.  Unfortunately the twin explosions proved too much for Pingers and he lost control of his normal stable Hurricane.

 With Pingers heading down struggling to regain his equilibrium, Blue 3 latched onto his erstwhile target and, with a highly accurate burst of fire, blew it to pieces.  Three down and the Messerschmitts were struggling to get anywhere near either the Hurricanes or the Stuka's.

  Pingers managed to regain control and strove to return to action while Bunny did his best to get in amongst them, but was slowed down by the attentions of a vengeful Messerschmitt.  Some nice manoeuvering shook off the heavy fighter, but it took him away from the action.  Luckily PO Henry(Blue 2) and Sgt Patterson(Blue 3) had better luck and both bagged a Stuka, giving Patterson 2 kills.

Sgt Henderson also got a 2nd and damaged a 3rd before his guns ran out of ammo, with PO Flynn also getting in and bagging a 2nd kill before the Stuka's broke away and the Hurricanes left the Messerschmitts behind.  

All in all it was a bad day for the Luftwaffe, with 7 Stuka's going down and another one damaged for no RAF losses, or even any damage.  Luckiest bugger of the night was "Bunny" Noel, who managed to survive being hit 5 times by a Messerschmitt 110 by rolling 5+ on 5 dice out of 8.

After day one the squadron has racked up 8 kills and 4 probables at the cost of 2 damaged, but repairable, Hurricanes.  PO Flynn has even been awarded the DFC for his endeavors on the day. 

Thanks to Andy and Pingu for playing, I enjoyed it and look forward to the next missions in a few weeks time.