Inspirational Movie - "5 Days of War"

While this movie gets panned for being a weak commentary on the war in Georgia, I found it to be a good, entertaining action movie with some excellent action, enough story and plot for the sort of movie it really is and all the Russian hardware and AK-47s you could ever want. That's all the movie review I'll give it.

Anyone who was looking for more out of this obviously missed the part on the box where it says, "From the director of Die Hard 2". Not exactly and endorsement of deep, meaningful cinema.

What the movie DOES have is plenty of eye candy and fuel for anyone wanting to run modern Balkan warfare games. As you follow the characters through the movie, you get a good look at very convincing scenery and terrain of this sort of setting. The vehicles in the movie are all authentic from the T-72s to the Mi-24s. Rough eastern volunteer militia and Georgian soldiers are depicting convincingly and you get plenty of chances to give a good look at them for the purpose of painting guides.

There are also several possible tabletop scenarios in the movie, especially if you are looking for missions that involve non-military objectives. The actions of the the movie centers around a group of reporters as they try to get their story and get out alive enough to tell it.

Now, where can I find a miniatures of a 15mm, chubby Val Kilmer in reporter gear?

-Eli

P.S. The movie does have a nice redeeming bit at the ending where they have real survivors of the conflict showing pictures of their lost friends and relatives and explaining how they were lost. 

Easter Observances Throughout Alcovia

It has now been over two weeks since a general cease fire was issued and agreed upon by both sides of the civil conflict in Alcovia. With peace talks still mostly ineffective, but continuing, the war-torn nation has enjoyed its rest from the sound of bombs and guns. Military units have remained in a stand-down status but do remain ready to resume action at a moment's notice.

With the peace, an attempt has been made to return to some semblance of normalcy and on Easter Day, citizens from all over the country gathered, yesterday, for traditional Easter Mass. With over 80% of the nation prescribing to Eastern Orthodox this was a great opportunity to bring people together, regardless on which side of the conflict they found themselves. In churches and chapels, and in some cases in the open air, observances of the holiday were carried out with as much traditional show and ceremony as there could be.

In the eastern village of Grovernia, where a hundred years old church was destroyed in an artillery barrage by government forces, townsfolk gathered in front of the ruin to pray and share a moment of community unity, casting aside all affiliations for the day. Member of local militia stood in the crowd, faces covered so as to protect their identities. No political banners were waved and it seemed that for the moment all sides had set aside their differences.

But all was not peace and celebration. The township of Bartanerni was rocked by violent clashes between local militia and government security forces. While government forces stopped to listen to a broadcast prayer, shots were fired from surrounding structures as mortar fire rained down upon the hapless soldiers. The resulting firefight left 32 dead and countless injured among soldiers, militia and civilians alike. Fighting ended only after two Mi-24 attack helicopters were dispatched to support the pinned NAA troops. Once fighting in the town had ended, the helicopters set to the task of peppering the surrounding hills with fire from their rockets and cannons. 

As the sun set, national and rebel forces all slipped back into all too familiar roles, once again assuming their now usual alert status. One soldier was seen sharing a tender moment with a local elderly woman who had lost her son just days ago in a skirmish outside the village where he was stationed. Despite being on opposite sides of the conflict, the woman bestowed kisses and blessings on the National Army soldier who had held her hand during the evening's mass.

Truly this was a day for miracles in the tragically torn nation of Alcovia.

Crisis in Alcovia is Not Dead

I believe that I may have sent out a false message to some with the cease fire post.

Crisis in Alcovia is not a dead project.

With Mark and Maff occupied on other projects and my decision to rescale my efforts in the setting to 15mm, there has been less activity than there had been. The cease fire was merely a thematic choice to frame this slow down in an in-game context.

Crisis in Alcovia will be back when I can get troops and vehicles built up in 15mm and I'm sure Mark and Maff will be back some day when the mood swings. As diverse gamers, it is impossible to focus on one setting all the time and believe it or not the news stories that characterize this blog take a lot of work to keep fresh and interesting.

Thanks for your continued interest and as usual if you feel you would like to game in Alcovia, drop me a line and we can always post your AAR or a ling to your post on this blog too.

-Eli

Cease Fire Declared in Alcovia

"Though hostilities have by no means ended, leaders of both rebel and government forces have met in the presence of civic leaders, labor representatives and orthodox clergy with an aim to find a reasonable end to a conflict that has now raged for more than a year. Sources, both official and unofficial have stated that they are hopeful that these talks will prove to be constructive and a positive move toward peace in the war torn nation.

But is it too soon?

Have the two sides of this conflict accomplished anything close to what they set out to do?

These are the sorts of questions that haunt foreign onlookers as even the most hopeful of outsiders can only notice that the civil war in Alcovia has produced no decisive victories on either side and, as of the time of the cease fire, there are still large portions of the nation under rebel control or official martial law. These strained occupations have imposed a stifling interdiction on daily life across wide swaths of once free territory leaving many people to question the motives of their government and rebels alike.

Even with hostilities under official cease fire, there is still plenty of fighting going on across the nation. Militia bands have, on several occasions, clashed with government troops. These attacks have often been made against routine patrols and police units enforcing the various security measure put in place in zones of high militia or rebel activity. Though government troops are not actively conducting operations against rebel and militia forces, they are doing what they can to contain outbreaks of violence and have not ceased what they deem to be necessary police and peacekeeping measures.

Despite the terrible tole on the people of Alcovia and facing potential strains on foreign relations, King Ullo has stood fast in his insistence that the civil war remain a purely Alcovian affair without foreign assistance or aid. Public opinion remains high for the king with some 60% of the people stll in favor of his current course of action. 

But can the king of Alcovia retain the love of his people now months into the second year of the war?

Time and the outcome of the peace talks will only tell..."

Crazy Emu's Used Tank Blowout - Sold Out!

Thanks to everyone who chimed in for the tank blowout. It took a single day for me to clear out all these tanks models. I hope they will all find good service in your respective armies.

Crazy Emu's Used Tank Blowout!

I've got a crap ton of 1/72 modern Russian tank model kits that I'm not going to be needing. All are unassembled, though a few have been opened to examine the kits. I'd like to sell them off, if I can. Feel free to email me on the email in my profile to ask what is available.

I'm looking to get about $8 a model and will ship actual postage. I'll consider offers for the whole pile.

I have the following -

Sorry for the glare. It was hard enough to get all the tanks into a single picture.

Thanks for considering,

-Eli

Merijny Christnovsky

 

 

 Merijny Christnovsky abnij alle aza Criziz inj Alcovnisk

Cheerjski Morodny