tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14537651632396383882024-03-12T23:35:01.247+00:00Buckets of Dice Wargaming BlogMy little corner of the web. It has my thoughts and ideas on the hobby and will be a diary of my gaming. If its not your thing or you dont like what I do or say there are lots of other blogs out there! Move along quietly please.Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.comBlogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-9174276472781129752022-08-08T16:36:00.001+01:002022-08-08T16:36:56.863+01:00Painting Sudan<p> With a new vigour for painting and some motivation to get things done, I ordered a Dervish army from Peter Pig a couple of weeks ago and painted them up over the last few days. For some reason, I thought that they'd be relatively easy to get done. However, they felt like a real slog! It perhaps didn't help that I did them all at once - 192 infantry, 32 cavalry plus guns, wounded and dead.</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway here they are. Basing still to do. When I've had a few days break from them, I'll get that sorted, but holidays are looming so realistically it'll be September before I get to play with them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlmrOdLWyelmrkaekKJ6ILxtKSSC4mRCIuld_DeRmrU2rNBxYAtNDJUZq5jHFK5bSGVQGsT1tEvtYyulAJ6JHUFzlCbdicqSDN03L1rv18Mtyd_-LQssD1PL4GNm2s00uRsnhe-HWzbJ2xtFGzEG6FHk0B10m-rOQOQ0CBRDvn0AW8x5FBTYw-opBN/s4608/20220803_014923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlmrOdLWyelmrkaekKJ6ILxtKSSC4mRCIuld_DeRmrU2rNBxYAtNDJUZq5jHFK5bSGVQGsT1tEvtYyulAJ6JHUFzlCbdicqSDN03L1rv18Mtyd_-LQssD1PL4GNm2s00uRsnhe-HWzbJ2xtFGzEG6FHk0B10m-rOQOQ0CBRDvn0AW8x5FBTYw-opBN/s320/20220803_014923.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEW9CoCQqsp2M-d7V0GOu63jMqkdLEBC6wKS0En4z_E0nME4cmzIuTxSocYlYh-r5KjegqnUDBCRF6iZ4vYAqND2K1JMFJqpmzHST-NTDUx7bsIuxaoQ3qHSHj8IggfmV0QNsTHD-Z2dX9hCd4fj6WgqqId5PbnkJCHCSRAjU-YBFgfrYQkD1gWNSP/s4608/20220803_014936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEW9CoCQqsp2M-d7V0GOu63jMqkdLEBC6wKS0En4z_E0nME4cmzIuTxSocYlYh-r5KjegqnUDBCRF6iZ4vYAqND2K1JMFJqpmzHST-NTDUx7bsIuxaoQ3qHSHj8IggfmV0QNsTHD-Z2dX9hCd4fj6WgqqId5PbnkJCHCSRAjU-YBFgfrYQkD1gWNSP/s320/20220803_014936.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Nothing special, just basecoat and Agrax Earthshade wash, but they are tabletop ready.</p><p>I'm down in Weymouth this weekend for an ECW day on Saturday. I've placed a pre-order for 2 Russian Civil War armies that will be my main focus for a while. I've also ordered the Mexican wars Rebel army. An expensive order, but that will be the majority of my spending for the rest of the year. I'll likely place an order to collect at the Weymouth Wargames Weekender. More of thast another time.</p><p><br /></p><p>More soon...</p><p><br /></p>Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-1689910091161977132022-07-24T18:42:00.002+01:002022-07-24T18:42:23.629+01:00Much Occurring<p> No, not a village vin middle England, but a description of my hobby activities.</p><p>First up is a refresh of my Sudan figures for Patrols in the Sudan. These figures first featured around 13 years ago on this blog, so truly veterans of my hobby! First though is a new army - The Ansar or Dervish. All sprayed white and here you can see I've started to add the flesh tones. You might just be able to make out in the top right a couple of casualty figures that I've used as test bases. One is using the new Agrax Earthshade wash which I quite like. The lighter toned one is Soft Tone from the Army Painter. Not sure which I'll use yet. </p><p>As I'm home alone this week, the plan is to get these done this week and then hopefully a game as soon as possible at the club.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvUs59e2DIGp_Us4YXFXBVWOJS6eLmWv8RnnWFqWgrW6kRXVJA7RhznK1AAr8KTNJqqDM6LrHiVHRjmwhKtkP2HShnDWkSDb3I1tNeh8Z6u_KhhoY6S9UVD-iSBjb-99VXDCwOF2YiNvDnCvxsWl8wR43QEwCnPAYH288uHzrE1LtcPNfvo0ZKq_FM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1218" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvUs59e2DIGp_Us4YXFXBVWOJS6eLmWv8RnnWFqWgrW6kRXVJA7RhznK1AAr8KTNJqqDM6LrHiVHRjmwhKtkP2HShnDWkSDb3I1tNeh8Z6u_KhhoY6S9UVD-iSBjb-99VXDCwOF2YiNvDnCvxsWl8wR43QEwCnPAYH288uHzrE1LtcPNfvo0ZKq_FM" width="320" /></a></div><p>This picture shows my refreshed British. They were originally in khaki, but I've always thought they looked too drab and so I have now given them red coats. Maybe slightly anachronisitc but I'm happy and they are my toys. The artillery crew to the right of the picture have a gun, but it must have fallne into the box when I took them out for the picture!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhkp8PwZEzsHrwDo9TaWAsFTAbrxuJuOnC6AJAdcY0sGqaRzQFw-eDFgpBMaPus_7ugAikfXJmc8KkCv1bBaPo6at8IYg66zbHqe2bCnd_Rb6UIX8wvKhYTIQEpMJP4yxcwmg9dIGymKCe120kBTD0unDreX7jWE65ghH0rkpLpTHsFdRCSEzBryAUi" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1218" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhkp8PwZEzsHrwDo9TaWAsFTAbrxuJuOnC6AJAdcY0sGqaRzQFw-eDFgpBMaPus_7ugAikfXJmc8KkCv1bBaPo6at8IYg66zbHqe2bCnd_Rb6UIX8wvKhYTIQEpMJP4yxcwmg9dIGymKCe120kBTD0unDreX7jWE65ghH0rkpLpTHsFdRCSEzBryAUi" width="320" /></a></div><p>We played out the rest if the inagural battle for the ECW campaign on Friday. From a strong position, the Royalists fell apart very quickly, pushing probably too hard against the enclosures in which the Parliamentarians were ensconced. Hancock fell within the first half hour of play (;-) ) in a cavalry fight on the Royalist right wing. Rupert ended up seeking parley which was accepted and in fact saved the field army from probable destruction. </p><p>We calculated overall losses and translated them back into the boardgame nechanics using a very simple system. It did mean that Rupert retired into Oxford, surrounded by Roundhead forces, and releif from the King some distance away.</p><p>The picture here wasn't the actual end of play for the evening unfortunately. We played out the rest of 1642. The King moved further north to the safety of Yorkshire and the Royalist strongholds there. The south and east is very much in the grip of the Roundheads. Rupert has now actually lost Oxford and finds his forces scattered around the Thames Valley region. The King will need to make a bold move south to rescue the situation. </p><p>Winter recruitment has been carried out and the Royalist forces in the north have strengthened and a march south is likely to be attempted in early spring of 1643.</p><p>The Parliamentarian forces have consolidated their position in the south, east and West Midlands, winning several small skirmishes to eject local Royalist sympathisers.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCz6AcJTm4ld3sgIBDKEmWnlKu9tJ_B8E5m8a_-HNLhiWEOW6FGHnQXjUxbRAYaeOuhj9f5QeavsOId7jtc3WryzMqvI5uDYZR-Vib44v6jTydwwUU25caHiVoK8vJEkhCCJ23PbVlZJbNdvxBFQySTYt_My5B3PwHjpE9C_LkXbpRt8f-lGF1QzrL" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="686" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCz6AcJTm4ld3sgIBDKEmWnlKu9tJ_B8E5m8a_-HNLhiWEOW6FGHnQXjUxbRAYaeOuhj9f5QeavsOId7jtc3WryzMqvI5uDYZR-Vib44v6jTydwwUU25caHiVoK8vJEkhCCJ23PbVlZJbNdvxBFQySTYt_My5B3PwHjpE9C_LkXbpRt8f-lGF1QzrL" width="180" /></a></div><p>This picture is from behind the Royalist lines, just prior to their collapse and reitrement from the field.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtm1Uqa-PXKM0tD4EKirt8hpHJi-lhVPJbNuD85A9UARJu87UpHk1EDzolm4DrrfNk6C8W00MHhisVrl-BeBZK3WXLQasY6uPP7NWjDhhmzZ9We9hv6nPftwd592uP1Wc4TESsbq2Jh6zNaeVXr-rklhWxt4SXYoaC0oSgPXfqVwCBTGpb-xrqq3v2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1218" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtm1Uqa-PXKM0tD4EKirt8hpHJi-lhVPJbNuD85A9UARJu87UpHk1EDzolm4DrrfNk6C8W00MHhisVrl-BeBZK3WXLQasY6uPP7NWjDhhmzZ9We9hv6nPftwd592uP1Wc4TESsbq2Jh6zNaeVXr-rklhWxt4SXYoaC0oSgPXfqVwCBTGpb-xrqq3v2" width="320" /></a></div><br />I am missing from the club this week as we are down in Somerset for the weekend. However, Ade has invited me over to his house for a game using his newly painted 6mm Ancient armies using Impetus which should be interesting!<p></p><p>More soon...</p>Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-60876227258546543162022-07-18T11:47:00.001+01:002022-07-18T11:47:19.464+01:00English Civil War Shenanigans<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Friday at the club was heaving. Since our change of venue the club really has gone from strength to strength. Lots of different periods and genres of gaming are played. This week I took down my ECW collection to try something different. I took down the old Ariel Games boardgame 'The English Civil War' in order to play a campaign with the aim of generating tabletop battles.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Ade and Kev took the Parliamentarian side against Dan and Keith taking the Royalists. Keith had played the game many years ago, so maybe had a slight advantage! </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGoe108lQIncn12LVlcsUMWs7xAk3ucwzk8Pp5pcGuDL5DUwxe0hOsyEIPWhrLB3FF1mv1Kmu_UCgRYdV5dCLY3qfkLKfnqG4vrm0BAsd3SfsbLfwqVfoOc4JrrLHY8aI_5bKkUtu-ctmdKl4hPs0-Qq_f52Z7jn7Roj-kujdMrC8KWcBLmNot85F/s4608/20220715_201605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGoe108lQIncn12LVlcsUMWs7xAk3ucwzk8Pp5pcGuDL5DUwxe0hOsyEIPWhrLB3FF1mv1Kmu_UCgRYdV5dCLY3qfkLKfnqG4vrm0BAsd3SfsbLfwqVfoOc4JrrLHY8aI_5bKkUtu-ctmdKl4hPs0-Qq_f52Z7jn7Roj-kujdMrC8KWcBLmNot85F/s320/20220715_201605.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Although not a great picture, here is the board after the inital moves during July and august 1642. The Parliamentarians are stronger in the south whilst the Royalists are stronger in the north. The King holds the north Midlands, but there is concern he is isolated with not many troops around him!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There was some minor skirmishing in the south of England and Fairfax for the Parliamentarians looked to move his army north towards Oxford, but was unable to find safe passage without bringing a major engagement, which would have been disadvantageous with the size of the field army he had to hand.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Royalists did take advantage of their numbers in the West Midlands region though and attacked Waller who had managed to move north from the south west. This brought about the first field battle of the war in September 1642 outside of a village just outside of Gloucester called Churchdown.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">To translate the boardgame situation to the tabletop, we simply adopted 1pt of foote or horse in the boardgame to 1 unit on the tabletop. I also gave each army a couple of guns and a unit of dragoons just to keep things interesting. Using the Regiment of Foote rules, we used the scenery set up as per the rules but didn't use the death rolls section, as the strength of each army had been already determined in the boardgame.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As the Royalist army under the command of Prince Rupert had attacked, they were the attackers in the tabletop game. They deployed on the outskirts of Churchdown, facing open moorland with some enclosures and rising ground upon which the Parliamentarian army deployed under the command of William Waller</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGY5v5C502isKwfuq8Gla3kvxx5c5rWuo1hew6_DU-djjXCSbPnvWQtfGv0WKgVp1B1JlaCjhjCdpocJOHckQfE9JiRYWWinobg7A59UN-jqDj1WtuV4Be3rQc_k_l0bvcYkSITzd6QawWCrbruwuIDdMbDpRaBugugO5EsSxuxXpc_Ys7grpgfAxH" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><img alt="" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="538" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGY5v5C502isKwfuq8Gla3kvxx5c5rWuo1hew6_DU-djjXCSbPnvWQtfGv0WKgVp1B1JlaCjhjCdpocJOHckQfE9JiRYWWinobg7A59UN-jqDj1WtuV4Be3rQc_k_l0bvcYkSITzd6QawWCrbruwuIDdMbDpRaBugugO5EsSxuxXpc_Ys7grpgfAxH" width="194" /></span></a></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #424242; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Rupert was a nephew of Charles I and commanded the Royalist cavalry during the English Civil War.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #424242; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Rupert was born on 17 December 1619 in Prague. His full title was count palatine of the Rhine, duke of Bavaria but he was known as Prince Rupert of the Rhine. His father, the elector palatine, was briefly ruler of Bohemia, but in 1620 was forced to flee to the Netherlands, where Rupert spent his childhood. His mother was Charles I's sister Elizabeth. Rupert became a soldier and fought in the Thirty Years War (1618 - 1648). This gave him useful military experience when, in 1642, he joined Charles I's army in the English Civil War.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #424242; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">He was soon appointed to lead the royalist cavalry and fought in the first major battle of the war at Edgehill in October 1642. His cavalry charge completely routed the parliamentarians but he got carried away and pursued them too far from the battlefield, losing the chance to inflict a decisive defeat. Other military successes gave him a formidable reputation although his relationships with other Royalists commanders were poor. They thought him arrogant and he was impatient with what he saw as their lack of professionalism.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #424242; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In 1644, Rupert led the spectacular relief of the siege of York but then in July, he was defeated by a parliamentary army at Marston Moor, losing York and the north of England for the royalists. In June 1645, he took part in the Battle of Naseby at which the royalists were defeated. Rupert now advised Charles to seek a treaty with parliament, but the king believed he could still win. In September, Rupert surrendered Bristol to parliament. In response the king abruptly withdrew his commission. Rupert left for exile in Holland.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #424242; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In 1648, part of the English navy mutinied and sailed for Holland where, in January 1649, the Prince of Wales gave Rupert command. The naval campaign took Rupert's ships to Kinsale, then to Lisbon and in November 1650 to defeat by Commonwealth admiral Robert Blake off Carthagena in south east Spain. Rupert escaped and spent the next decade in the West Indies and then in Germany.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #424242; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Rupert held a series of British naval commands, fighting in the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars. He died on 19 November 1682.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #424242; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #424242; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJ8jAn2e2m_rvJnYnBHBWzZ9ukl9tkqqb5mCJHhPZJvCbiDpYiaM2nITv0e1s8rAevsOgju9ygOrSe3Amrlz6IYUiDNrHnAOi3w4D_Y05k-n4mlDg1Vgw3vMabwu2X28frtW5ATQyGy2krv-k1hTBM7BeKhXIWRNuan58iACbzd1-LX8v9273YRzxx" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1469" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJ8jAn2e2m_rvJnYnBHBWzZ9ukl9tkqqb5mCJHhPZJvCbiDpYiaM2nITv0e1s8rAevsOgju9ygOrSe3Amrlz6IYUiDNrHnAOi3w4D_Y05k-n4mlDg1Vgw3vMabwu2X28frtW5ATQyGy2krv-k1hTBM7BeKhXIWRNuan58iACbzd1-LX8v9273YRzxx" width="196" /></a></div><p></p><p class="topic-paragraph" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Waller fought for Bohemia in the early campaigns of the</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> 30 Years War</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">(1618–48) and was knighted in 1622. Elected to the</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Long Parliament</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> in 1640, he became a colonel in the Parliamentary army upon the outbreak of the Civil War. In September 1642 he captured Portsmouth and, soon after, several other towns of southeastern England, thereby earning the nickname “William the Conqueror.” Promoted to the rank of General</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">, he seized Hereford</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">, Herefordshire, in April 1643. Nevertheless, on July 13 Ralph Hopton</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> severely defeated him at Roundway Down, Wiltshire. Waller prevented the Royalists from invading Sussex in January 1644 and stopped Hopton’s advance on London</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> in March, but he was defeated by King Charles I</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> near Banbury, Oxfordshire, in June. The setbacks</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> suffered by Waller and other talented commanders led to demands for a reorganization of the Parliamentarian forces. Waller was evidently the first to suggest the creation of a professional army. This New Model Army</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> was formed in February 1645, and two months later Waller resigned his commission. Waller was a leader of the Presbyterians in Parliament during their unsuccessful struggle (1645–48) with the army, which was dominated by Independents (radical Puritans). For opposing Cromwell's</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> Commonwealth regime, he was imprisoned several times between 1649 and 1659. Although elected to the Convention Parliament of 1660, Waller never took his seat and subsequently received no political encouragement from King Charles II.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #424242; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirr4JsEbolklIPS6-MOBElTCmzfUikZQ7yYwXy0JwOb_zjOq3_tkByFCTvaETj_ByIUDn6QVsou29qVw90lVeKSUoMuDiqlsLls8SurZs-iJBt857RS1zsJE3Do7wmP43zEtzrA1U_B4-siTtgoLuRb6fDOm5UIUXvJpnvddEs7RzO0Fcp3PoNNcKK/s4608/20220715_214636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirr4JsEbolklIPS6-MOBElTCmzfUikZQ7yYwXy0JwOb_zjOq3_tkByFCTvaETj_ByIUDn6QVsou29qVw90lVeKSUoMuDiqlsLls8SurZs-iJBt857RS1zsJE3Do7wmP43zEtzrA1U_B4-siTtgoLuRb6fDOm5UIUXvJpnvddEs7RzO0Fcp3PoNNcKK/s320/20220715_214636.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Here are Parliamentarian forces within the enclosures of Farmer Barlow, a local landowner in Churchdown. Dragoons skulk around looking for an advantageous position.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zula3yMz7WMFKbntWsrqqmM3sze20ldUTaxvrRv-tEtVMyynJ7whSsRhO4REdbUOliB1D5jgCAztKXFg-cVr2fQIKu1lMZ4QDp6GB66Pg0GGSlbtg5STYINdxWdPEy7FxKDbtgJwhIfOiNr1rNDo6UKTsAQ-eleV9Y9ix8X6k5Sj-n8Ka2vHyZ_m/s4608/20220715_214648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zula3yMz7WMFKbntWsrqqmM3sze20ldUTaxvrRv-tEtVMyynJ7whSsRhO4REdbUOliB1D5jgCAztKXFg-cVr2fQIKu1lMZ4QDp6GB66Pg0GGSlbtg5STYINdxWdPEy7FxKDbtgJwhIfOiNr1rNDo6UKTsAQ-eleV9Y9ix8X6k5Sj-n8Ka2vHyZ_m/s320/20220715_214648.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Ruperts men approach Dilly's Wood as they approach the Royalist positions.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2D8afO_CDJtCmgV8yBhC36F7IbYElWj7sfKoFlYPM2GhtE56F5sEEkOOyYXRUGYowlprRCXyfL3A1j1DjyVuuIsA-CWrQeEHBi_ZpfAru3_BLusPJiYh_CSYuErxXh17Vjl86jDOB1MiHYecMsAaKpFG-j7T83ZSSW-0BbQ4PZ2kmJL-HTOHM-vn0/s4608/20220715_214947.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2D8afO_CDJtCmgV8yBhC36F7IbYElWj7sfKoFlYPM2GhtE56F5sEEkOOyYXRUGYowlprRCXyfL3A1j1DjyVuuIsA-CWrQeEHBi_ZpfAru3_BLusPJiYh_CSYuErxXh17Vjl86jDOB1MiHYecMsAaKpFG-j7T83ZSSW-0BbQ4PZ2kmJL-HTOHM-vn0/s320/20220715_214947.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>A clash of horse on the Royalist left flank, as Silas Hancock leads his horse across the Common. some Royalist horse took flight chased away by Hancocks men, though he managed to reign them in from heading for the Royalist baggage. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRcrT0J1K9peLEYNE5L8omqSRIcElGj29SnVEfqYuV0yin1qzkIeTlv63UEAoZCHy8Is_ijq0Q99zj2dcpXQifH-ja-6r0QTVtFFoRdw1nZn-DDX4QpVeBti-8zNfazH5VF3j-2PVQmm-YPfF9Vw0NXXgJQDD-Gsabb03HUf6wvCF2WdLAongL5FF/s4608/20220715_215000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRcrT0J1K9peLEYNE5L8omqSRIcElGj29SnVEfqYuV0yin1qzkIeTlv63UEAoZCHy8Is_ijq0Q99zj2dcpXQifH-ja-6r0QTVtFFoRdw1nZn-DDX4QpVeBti-8zNfazH5VF3j-2PVQmm-YPfF9Vw0NXXgJQDD-Gsabb03HUf6wvCF2WdLAongL5FF/s320/20220715_215000.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Waller here atop Callcott Hill. The Royalist centre was weaker here and the gap in the enclosures was a focal point for the Royalist advance.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Y3cgNlr47WrRXcGp221LGUPEqIrrUovplyBkYC0qE-YdkqVV2hbbHod1mW8bSqXSc4_r0xJAKR_jHITiXr4CuSSDZ07OwJR710vA_oeWzH_OkAbVK5yYTEgut6lb88JWxrxNbtsKD-WKVXEY1sg-HTmu4UkLeSCvUHyW3OPjCttT67xL1kTjqwpP/s4608/20220715_221539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Y3cgNlr47WrRXcGp221LGUPEqIrrUovplyBkYC0qE-YdkqVV2hbbHod1mW8bSqXSc4_r0xJAKR_jHITiXr4CuSSDZ07OwJR710vA_oeWzH_OkAbVK5yYTEgut6lb88JWxrxNbtsKD-WKVXEY1sg-HTmu4UkLeSCvUHyW3OPjCttT67xL1kTjqwpP/s320/20220715_221539.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The first push of pike across the nasty hedges of the enclosures.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfAPaZNGkKSpWuZESq2GVrsI50LDGxxV1MfLuWDqMFxi85sxnni14NKTwLmO_9gJTphQl4oD7Ki5UkE97kShYsVApnhQBix06UfSvCt8bJm9bHfGdFa594xONufq-RUyz_oyax-w9eEeVcC1OtsFcKEQs_hrEgnvmv-nzo-ggUk_ex6pP-ET1HrLF/s4608/20220715_221551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfAPaZNGkKSpWuZESq2GVrsI50LDGxxV1MfLuWDqMFxi85sxnni14NKTwLmO_9gJTphQl4oD7Ki5UkE97kShYsVApnhQBix06UfSvCt8bJm9bHfGdFa594xONufq-RUyz_oyax-w9eEeVcC1OtsFcKEQs_hrEgnvmv-nzo-ggUk_ex6pP-ET1HrLF/s320/20220715_221551.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>On the Royalist left, Hancocks horse continue the fight against the Reiters of Wallers army. A counter charge took Hancock by suprise as the Parliamentarians rallied. The swirling melee continued for some time.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSCnkuo_7ua62GU_pgsXY1l9a6g8JjjxsHih9wl2mmOBdgA8wHYONwQ_3Jhbh-eeQ1gaRJvhfvF4ng_507MOL7H5tjvKde6vI4p5fTCWGPEPsD8jsUYA4UE3lbLFjGyFU1LBWeWGVkh5xjLrSc82vSvzGlPQz7af6cMUzK4LcJ498l6-kLfKPFPiN/s4608/20220715_221558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSCnkuo_7ua62GU_pgsXY1l9a6g8JjjxsHih9wl2mmOBdgA8wHYONwQ_3Jhbh-eeQ1gaRJvhfvF4ng_507MOL7H5tjvKde6vI4p5fTCWGPEPsD8jsUYA4UE3lbLFjGyFU1LBWeWGVkh5xjLrSc82vSvzGlPQz7af6cMUzK4LcJ498l6-kLfKPFPiN/s320/20220715_221558.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Rupert spied the opportunity to force the issue in the centre on the slopes of Callcott Hill.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYNmraxfQPvfb9RL_9fnZa0gx_gJr2hGrwWlWTlLmCVz6iE3UNzNwFtj8gMz5rvLUXXU3tkltbLoJGZ3xXUfNNYV3eCilFbg9MtfKuTRjpV_tKY703yGFdJ5bRObDHAkpzK_O1fsehjxLg7myWICBcSnmBHR4I0N4aDOodHwrArGhKApR9Sd-293h/s4608/20220715_221946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYNmraxfQPvfb9RL_9fnZa0gx_gJr2hGrwWlWTlLmCVz6iE3UNzNwFtj8gMz5rvLUXXU3tkltbLoJGZ3xXUfNNYV3eCilFbg9MtfKuTRjpV_tKY703yGFdJ5bRObDHAkpzK_O1fsehjxLg7myWICBcSnmBHR4I0N4aDOodHwrArGhKApR9Sd-293h/s320/20220715_221946.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>A general shot of the battlefield, to be continued next week. Churchdown can be seen in the middle right. Sir Algernon Smythe MP, commander of the Royalist right has managed to swing his foote around to assault the extreme Parliamentarian right across the enclosures.</p><p>As this is a campaign game, the generals may decide to withdraw from the field to preserve their army. However there will be a risk in doing this (rules undecided as of yet!). Friday night will see the conclusion of the fight and hopefully some more manouvering, ready to set up the next battle.</p><p>More soon!</p>Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-21938098572474381372022-07-11T11:24:00.004+01:002022-07-11T11:24:46.559+01:00A New Lease of Life!<p> The last few years have gone by in quite a flash. It's funny that as you get older, time distorts, contracts and slips through your fingers like water. There's only ever decreasing amounts of it left for you to squeeze in all that you wnat to do.</p><p>Wargaming wise it's been quite a journey. Through various love affairs with the likjes of Games Workshop, Mantic and Privateer Press in the fantasy and sci fi genre, to 6mm, 10mm, and even 2mm with Too Fat Lardies, Black Powder and Blitzkrieg Commander in the historical side of the hobby.</p><p>I have spent way too much money, not painted or played near enough, sold mostly at a loss whole collections, only to then buy back into a period or project at greater expense.</p><p>Of course there's been no small matter of the global pandemic, as well as the trials and tribulations of real life parenting, work and marriages to maintain and keep together. Oh, and significant mental health issues with diagnoses off complex PTSD and emotionally unstable personality disorder bought about by childhood trauma and my dad been sentenced to 14 years for offences committed over 35 years ago too terrible to discuss.</p><p>I've ran a moderately successfully podcast which is in all likelihood staggering towards a conclusion. I've also not been a particularly good person to friends, family and colleagues; letting them down at short notice, failing to maintain contact and generally retretaing into a cave-like existence.</p><p>Having said all that, I am still upright and breathing and my hobby butterfly is in full flight as I dance around between various projects. So this is a long winded way to say that I am going to try and resurrect this long ignored blog and my Youtube channel. My aim is going to be pretty much as it was 14 years ago when I first set it up - to chart my hobby progress, both here and on the Billy Goat Youtube channel. I'll post and produce content as and when I feel like it with no set timetable, agenda or focus. </p><p>The creative freedom to do as I wish will hopefully liberate me to be, well, more creative. The irony is that any followers this blog may have had will have wandered off elsewhere and in any case, the whole blogging concept has perhaps moved on without me. There are far more hobby content creators out there than ever before in numerous mediums. I do wonder whether blogs have had their day! Still, I'll continue and see how things develop.</p><p>So, in the spirit of picking up where I left of all those years ago, here are two pictures of my latest Mexican Revolution project.</p><p>First is my HQ base for my Governement/Federalista army. All figures are Peter Pig for their Fighting for Mexico rules.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0Uo8jJE6QbKYhDgDbf6zyYNcTlr0O8sABh7Gkx5-f17p1eLVHPd9mgcJRXM-nrUNlGZ4dGdJgYYh6JF996FBqxs7i_xYyreYimDDFZ-kjaQLzNgA3eOo0vVK8gVrkkhiLSU19hBk539l_fqyGLw0ARWJ03LMdGNRI3x5RqLvmkGiJ0QNra3qRqAX/s4608/20220701_204956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0Uo8jJE6QbKYhDgDbf6zyYNcTlr0O8sABh7Gkx5-f17p1eLVHPd9mgcJRXM-nrUNlGZ4dGdJgYYh6JF996FBqxs7i_xYyreYimDDFZ-kjaQLzNgA3eOo0vVK8gVrkkhiLSU19hBk539l_fqyGLw0ARWJ03LMdGNRI3x5RqLvmkGiJ0QNra3qRqAX/s320/20220701_204956.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Here we have some government troops from the second half of the Revolution - likely the Carranza period. More properly these are Constitutionalist troops, but they will fight as part of my Government army all the same.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NMkq7spo8umnlYOML7b1Zjkic7rrWWg_9Z4Xx5gtqDctu9PCBwwEyyLkkRWMWpO-BU7R7IfXRLCWF7yf9amLQ9q_j3gXAeOvJh9xnlXF80w61cKVEoPZ5slPlV2wApTMFlGh9VKaakTfR1pl0-QKYnbrLRV56zQsk3dAgUeIMJ_tvy-Polo47yFX/s4608/20220701_204946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NMkq7spo8umnlYOML7b1Zjkic7rrWWg_9Z4Xx5gtqDctu9PCBwwEyyLkkRWMWpO-BU7R7IfXRLCWF7yf9amLQ9q_j3gXAeOvJh9xnlXF80w61cKVEoPZ5slPlV2wApTMFlGh9VKaakTfR1pl0-QKYnbrLRV56zQsk3dAgUeIMJ_tvy-Polo47yFX/s320/20220701_204946.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Okay, thats enough of me wittering on. Let's see where this takes us! </p><p>More soon...</p>Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-42344633163764980812021-05-18T20:44:00.000+01:002021-05-18T20:44:01.019+01:00What's all the this then!<p> Not sure how these things work anymore. But check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBjXtcWKTxg3oUqmDrfCNMw">Billy Goat Wargaming</a></p><p>I'm still working on my camera skills. They're somewhat limited. I need to look around and do some research on how best to do the painting videos.</p>Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-34232104180772423862018-12-26T10:23:00.000+00:002018-12-26T10:23:01.796+00:00Plans for 2019It's that time when we all start thinking about what the new year will hold for us on the hobby front.<br />
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I generally am far too much of a hobby butterfly to have any hope of sticking to i might consider as I type this. My interests can sometimes fluctuate between breakfast and lunch, never mind week to week or month to month.<br />
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Anyway....here are some to consider and hopefully look back on come 12 months from now.<br />
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1. Play more games. I would like to aim for 1 a week but that may be too optimistic. Still reach for the stars and all that!<br />
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2. Finish off the rebuild of my Samurai and Wars of the Roses collections. The ACW and AWI collections are all but done (for now). These are my core collections of figures for my favourite periods. Also in this category is my ECW collection but they are also in a finished for now state.<br />
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3. Sort out my scenery. I've paid far to little attention to scenery over the years so some hill building and building building is in order.<br />
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4. Attend as many RFCM game days as possible. I already do this but I want to maintain this wherever possible throughout the year. There is a Viking day in February, Squarebashing in June and the weekender in November but hopefully there will be others.<br />
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5. Show attendance is less important to me these days but I imagine York, Alumwell, Salute, Hammerhead and the Partisans will be my definates. Probably 5 or 6 compared to over a dozen in previous years. Blame the internet and family life I suppose for the decline but I'll look forward to them all the same.<br />
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5 will do for now. Not too taxing. Let's see how I get on.<br />
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More soon....<br />
<br />Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-74337242961340557582018-12-17T11:38:00.002+00:002018-12-17T11:38:51.828+00:00A little chat.Having played an excellent game of Lingships - Wrath of the Vikings at the club on Friday, Ade and I discussed future projects.<br />
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Neither of us are averse to selling one project to fund another. But what? Ade revealed a hankering to do a large 28mm project where he collects both sides and creates bespoke scenery. The sort of thing you might see at a show. Periods under consideration are Carlist Wars (lovely!), Napoleonics, Wars of the Roses and a couple of others I can't recall.<br />
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This got me thinking about that unlimited time and unlimited funds project that we all must dream of doing. The criteria being it must be one period in one scale. To be honest I'm not sure I could choose. I've mentioned dozens of times over the life of this blog my love for the ACW and how when I started at the club we'd play big games on a 12x6 table using Dixon miniature on beautiful home made terrain.<br />
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But I'm not sure I'd want to do this kind of game anymore. RFCM rules by Peter Pig give me the variety of periods I like. The figures are beautiful and look nice with my painting style. Games on a 5x3 mean I can build or buy my own scenery to play on. And games are done in a night. For me it's the perfect combination and I'm not sure that money could buy me anything better. As for time I'm happy spending what hobby time I have painting my 15mm figures. Sure I'd like to play more but who wouldn't?<br />
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Another discussion we had was what might be called the 'opportunity cost' decisions of how to spend your hobby time. If we collect 1 period in 1 scale, then 100% of your hobby time can be spent researching, collecting, painting and playing that period.<br />
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Add in a second period and at most you'll have 50% of your time to spend on either of them. The reality of course is that the latest shiny project will demand a greater percentage of your time and the original project will languish with barely a second glance.<br />
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Now say you have 10 periods that you want to play. For most of us our hobby time is finite. Rarely do we get any increase ither than possibly on retirement, but most retired people I know are busier than ever. So the maximum time you could spend equally on each period would be 10%.<br />
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Now if you attend a club say for 4 hours once per week and manage 4 hours of 'hobby time during the rest of the week that's roughly 32 hours of hobby time in a month. Those 10 projects? Well you'd be lucky to get a game in with 4 of them per month. Play let's say 50 games in a year and each period would get played 5 times. And that's if you behave like no Wargamer that I know of and divide your hobby time like this. Most of us will follow 1 period for say 3 or 4 months whilst the inspiration is strong before moving onto the next period for a similar period. Which means 7 of your chosen periods will unlikely make an appearance within a calender year.<br />
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That's figures that you have purchased and possibly spent hours and hours painting, sitting in a Really Useful box on a shelf unloved and awaiting their inevitable fate of ebay or a bring and buy. The proceeds of which you will no doubt plough into another project or period to maintain the status quo of 10 periods.<br />
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I reckon I have at least 14 historical periods on the go at the moment. I also play some fantasy and sci fi.<br />
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You do the maths!<br />
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<br />Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-76866106019536535392018-12-10T23:59:00.003+00:002018-12-10T23:59:45.750+00:00 Painting today.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On somewhat of a painting roll at the moment as I try to clear the decks as much as possible before years end. I have an embarrassingly large lead pile of Peter Pig figures that I really should turn into painted game pieces. Nearly all of my ACW are done and the AWI figures are close to being done apart from the Hessians. I think I have two more units to do but they will have to wait a while as I complete the orders of battle for the scenarios. </div>
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All of the required cavalry arrived late last week and I have now painted three of the five units I bought. Pictured below are two of the three - 16th Light Dragoons and 1st Continental Dragoons. Each unit is only three bases of 2 figures so not a huge amount of painting gto do. I've also done the dismounted versions too. </div>
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Not in the photo are the Legion cavalry leaving me the 3rd or 4th Continentals (not sure which to do yet) and the 17th Light Dragoons.</div>
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First picture is both units with dismounted. Oh and 4 guns I did too.</div>
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1st Continental Dragoons</div>
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16th Light Dragoons<br />
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Really quick and simple with no fuss. From gaming distance they look fine. Basing will be completed tomorrow.Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-86784966806550563402018-12-10T12:56:00.003+00:002018-12-10T12:56:43.063+00:00Native Americans for the American War of Independence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I actually painted these a few weeks ago. They still need matt vanishing. There are 15 bases as that's the number I need for the historical scenarios in the Washington's Army rule book organised in 3 units of 5.<br />
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Not sure how historically accurate my painting is. I've been inspired by Kev Lowth aka Fat Wally as well as some limited research using Google Images. These days I go for more of an impressionistic approach to painting to get figures battle ready as.quickly as possible. My figures are definately based on their historical counterparts but I don't slavishly follow every button or lapel.<br />
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Following receipt of a few figures for my Christmas present to myself last week, I've now painted a unit of British Legion and 1st Continental Dragons - both in mounted and dismounted versions. Pictures may follow!<br />
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Anyway, back to the paint brushes.<br />
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More soon....<br />
Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-69799594930273827002018-12-07T22:46:00.002+00:002018-12-07T22:46:42.512+00:00Wow! I've painted stuff. Had a tremendous time at the Weymouth Wargames Weekender. Thus is my fourth year in a row and I managed a record 11 games. I even won a few!<br />
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Admittedly 4 of the games were the fast paced Pieces of Eight Pirates Land Raid game which plays out in under an hour. But it's shaping up to be a great game as is the ships side of the game. I heartily recommend watching Black Sails on Amazon to get some inspiration.<br />
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Here we see playtesting of the ships game underway with Martin G and Simon P taking on Miles M and Les B-T.<br />
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It'll come as no surprise that I have a few ships waiting to go under the brush. Not yet got any figures for the land raid - that will have to wait until after Christmas now as I have just taken receipt of my very own Christmas box from Peter Pig with AWI cavalry (at last) and the last few figures for my ACW collection. Both additions mean I can now at last play all of the historical scenarios in bith Civil War Battles and Washington's Army.<br />
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In preparation for the weekend I thought to myself what shall I take down. I was committed to play a game of Bayonets and Ideology so knew I needed my Anarchists. I was also signed up for a game of Western. I had purchased a Lawmen/Posse force a while ago. As usual they had been put away in the drawer as I cracked on with ither projects.<br />
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Suddenly inspiration hit me at around 12.39hrs on the Wednesday b3fore I was due to drive to Weymuth on the Friday. Cowboys wear mostly brown and black don't they? So I decided to paint 50 odd mounted cowboys along with 50 odd dismounted cowboys to take with me.<br />
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The picture above is the finished force, and from bare metal in plastic bags to this stage took just over 24 hours. Actual painting time always less - I didn't work around the clock. Probably between 6 and 8 hours of actual work time I would guess.<br />
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They won't hold up to scrutiny close up but from the tabletop they look pretty good. Goes to show what a nice base will do for a figure too. They were sprayed Army Painter Leather Brown which is a really excellent colour to base coat with. I then selectively dry brushed various shades of tan, lighter browns and khakis and creams. A few odd washes with blues or blacks and then selective washes using one of four GW washes - Agrax Earthshade, Reikland Fleshshade, Seraphim Sepia (this was brilliant) and Nuln Oil. I would for example use one shade on the horse, a different one on the coat and another on the trousers. The effect was pretty good to give varied tones across the whole force, with a dirty and dusty palette. It'll be a technique I shall return to.<br />
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Here are a couple of shots of them in action.<br />
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I played three games over the weekend with them, all against Plains Indian forces. I won one, losing two. One of the losses was probably my favourite game. I was playing alongside Mark R against Rob R and Miles M. The Indians as attackers had first turn and destroyed two of my 4 units. A third also suffered some casualties. All before we had had a turn ourselves! It was too much for mark who wondered off elsewhere leaving Martin G to jump in his place. We then proceeded to put up a stout defence with what we had left in a homestead in the middle of the table with Injuns all around us. It was only in the last turn that my commander 'Bad Bob' finally fell and the game was lost. But it goes to show you should never throw in the towel and there is still fun to be had in making the most of a bad situation.<br />
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This was the only picture I took of the Bayonets and Ideology game. I teamed up with Rob R using my Anarchist Militia against Mike H using his Assault Guard assisted by Chris. This was another great game. I threw away countless men trying to take the bridge objective seen in the distance. Between my men and the prize was a gully through which I attempted numerous assaults against Chris's defending platoon. I was winning the war of attrition but time ran out as the countdown reached zero. One more turn and would probably have taken the objective!<br />
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No pictures of the Pirate Land Raid game. It is still in playtesting but feels close to completion. I think the only issue is a balancing of the victory point schedule. It is a quick and bloody game with the raiders needing to get in, plunder as much as possible and get out again before they get ground down in firefights and melee.<br />
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I arrived home from the weekend enthused to paint more and so have been completing the figures needed for all of the historical scenarios in the Civil War Battles and Washingtons Army rulebooks. The aim is to finalise this by the years end and then its onto doing the same with my Bloody Barons and Battles in the Age of War rule books. The majority of the Bloody Barons figures are based and ready for painting. The Samurai figures are mostly purchased. Rumour has that Bloody Barons is the next set of rules to get a make over which I will look forward to.<br />
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Enough for now. Play nice.<br />
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More soon...<br />
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<br />Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-6125005192804796702018-10-09T23:24:00.003+01:002018-10-09T23:24:44.458+01:00Pirates and PBI<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Another fun weekend in Weymouth and Poole. A couple of games of PBI at Entoyment in Poole. I used my raw Russian company, first time out of the box since buying them around 10 years ago! The day was arranged by Miles M and we were to use 1943 forces. I played against two German companies, played by Chris C and Mike H respectively. I lost both games (surprise!) but both were close. A real grind fest in both game.<br />
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I fought both of my games on this table which was a lovely with lots of scenery to help with cover but also hinder when it came to the tanks.<br />
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Martin and Chris clash somewhere in Burma</div>
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Simon and Colin in North Africa<br />
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Playtesting Pirates at PPHQ! The off table ship cards have tokens representing a ships relative crew, gun and sail strength. Wind direction plays a really important part. Cant wait to get my ships built and painted.</div>
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I'm churning out a load of AWI at the moment. British line, light, American rifles and Indians. It's a long time since I've painted up so much. Enjoying it at the moment. Just wish I could keep up this level of prodution for 6 months or so....my back log would be sorted in no time at all!<br />
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<br />Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-53921470701765137192018-09-25T00:44:00.002+01:002018-09-25T00:44:41.392+01:00100,000 viewsI've just realised this rather haphazard blog which has seen little activity for a couple of years or so has racked up over 100,000 views. Amazing considering I've let it lie dormant for so long.<br />
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This has given me a real spur to make mire of an effort. I've also racked up 200 posts (only 178 published though). Anyway I'm still amazed that after 10 years people still come here so thank you. I can't promise to keep this current run of posts going but I'm going to give it a damn good try.<br />
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More soon....Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-36669308442703405542018-09-24T17:06:00.000+01:002018-09-24T17:06:19.614+01:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The two pictures above are from Peter Pig demo games using the SHQ Mediterranean buildings. Martin has done a lovely job on both painting and customising them. I think there are 7 buildings in the range but Martin has added some lovely touches using bits from his scenery range. Things like a bicycle leaning against the wall or sawing one of the models in half and butting it up to another model making one larger building.<br />
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I'm very tempted to copy my mate Ades efforts at scratch building one or two pieces but think as I have so many of these same SHQ ones that Martin has, I'll use them. I think I have around 12 or 13 so only need 7 or 8 more for a good game. Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-62037962535473645312018-09-22T20:43:00.000+01:002018-09-22T20:43:18.667+01:00Mediterranean Buildings for the Spanish Civil War<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I've been looking for suitable buildings for a while for my SCW project. I do have some resin cast ones from SHQ I think, but they are pricey and for the new version of Bayonets and Ideology you need ideally around 20. So I'm going to experiment with these rather nice card buildings I have found on eBay. They are marketed as Mediterranean, but one pan tiles roof looks much like any other in my eyes! I shall report back on the results.</div>
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<br />Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-188732652261360632018-09-22T11:14:00.000+01:002018-09-22T11:14:51.590+01:00I give up.......accounting for why I am so sporadic on updating this blog. But i can say I am glad that I have resisted the temptation to delete it.<br />
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It's now 10 years ago that I started this blog and looking back over posts from back then, I had a huge smile on my face remembering games, shows and friends.<br />
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I may or may not continue with content but suffice to say I am still painting Peter Pig figures, planning future purchases and looking forward to more games. Next weekend sees me back in Weymouth for Miles' annual PBI day. I may not be able to make the Weymouth weekend this year due to work but if there is anyway of getting there I will do.<br />
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Current priorities are buildings for the SCW, finishing off my AWI, getting the new Montagnards, and knocking out the Western figures for my first faction for the new rules.<br />
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I doubt there will be anymore shows this year. Warfare and Wargamer are the two remaining that I consider. Not sure I'll get to either of these due to work. I really would like to get to SELWG one year but travel time and cost make it a no go really. It would necessitate an overnight stay and cost around £120 which would buy me quite a few new figures. So not just yet...one day though!<br />
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Having said that Salute is still on the agenda having missed this year. It is a great day out with the lads from the club and a show unlike any other so plans are in place to make the 2019 version.<br />
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Ok hopefully more soon....or maybe not!Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-55303275912613049002017-11-29T23:20:00.000+00:002017-11-29T23:20:57.893+00:00Well well well!Yes, once again, I have resurrected this blog from the dead. And it has been dead for some time now. My gaming has continued though and I have been frequenting the RFCM forum <a href="http://rulesforcommonman.uk/smf/" target="_blank">here</a> (link over to the side too...)<br />
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Once again I find myself up to my neck in Peter Pig figures so not much has changed over the life of this blog which next year hits 10 years of age. Crikey. It is a fact that time does tick along at an ever increasing pace the older you get.<br />
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I'll add more later but for now I'll put up a few pictures of my recent gaming.<br />
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A Square Bashing game recreating part of Messines Ridge played last week at the Stoke club.<br />
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My Viking ships now with added sails downloaded from the Peter Pig website <a href="http://www.peterpig.co.uk/darkages.html" target="_blank">here</a><br />
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An image from a playtest session for the new version of Hey You in the Jail, Peter Pig's Western rules.<br />
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My latest Vietnam set up for the new version of Men of company B.<br />
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Lots going on. More to report on but for now, suffice to say, I am enjoying my gaming more than ever and am on a roll painting stuff up on a far more regular basis than I have for some time.<br />
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More soon...<br />
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<br />Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-83640605951410270482017-06-01T22:10:00.001+01:002017-06-01T22:13:26.366+01:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-11673326036357098572016-12-02T22:58:00.000+00:002016-12-02T23:09:36.502+00:00The Somme in Weymouth.Last weekend I made my now annual trip down to Weymouth for the Peter Pig Weekend put on by Stewart M. Over the cause of the weekend I played 3 games of the new version of Men of Company B, 1 game of AK47, 1 game of Civil War Battles, 1 game of PBI, 2 games of Pieces of Eight and then put on my 1st Day of the Somme game. <br />
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Literally everything on the table had been bought and painted for this one game. A bit mad but I thoroughly enjoyed my time. <br />
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The trenches and some of the shellholes were all from the excellent Ironclad Miniatures. The cloth and other shellholes were from Magnetic Displays. I painted the cloth in various craft acrylics to resemble the battlefield on the first day. From relatively untouched at the British lines to greatly disturbed ground after the 7 days of bombardment around the German lines and the three villages. The trees were from Tablescape. The Hawthorne mine crater was an old GW crater with added bits of rubbish. The towns were a mix of some MDF ruins from an ebay seller. Other bits were from Ironclad. There is a ruined Peter Pig house just the other side of Thiepval wood.<br />
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Of course, all figures are from Peter Pig painted by myself. Most of the paint work was done in the last 4 weeks. Some of the Germans has been started over a year ago but never finished.<br />
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As I have said previously the game is heavily influenced by the scenario found at the excellent <a href="http://stormofsteelwargaming.blogspot.co.uk/2016_06_01_archive.html" target="_blank">Storm of Steel blog</a> . I extended it out to a 6' wide table and increased the sizes of the forces by roughly 50% of those used on the Storm of Steel blog. Mike H, Mike C and Mark took on the unenviable role of the British whilst Rob and Paul sat pretty in their trenches as the Germans. The forces were divided up amongst the players and before you knew it, it was 7.30am on that bright sunny morning on 1st July 1916.<br />
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The British were given the freedom to play the game out however they wanted. Their objectives were the 3 fortified villages of Serre, Beaumont Hamel and Thiepval as well as the Hawthorne mine crater. After an initial advance all along the line and suffering not inconsiderable losses from German guns and machine guns, the british line began to constrict on itself and probes continued on a narrower front. Beaumont Hamel and the Hawthorne crater became the focus of attention.<br />
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This shows the view from behind the British lines as an assault heads towards the Hawthorne crater.<br />
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Here is a view down the German frontline trenches from Serre. As can be seen, the German wire was intact. The first British troops have reached the wire but are subjected to artillery barrages and suffer heavy casualties.<br />
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A photograph from Serre across to the British lines. The devastation on the village is evident.<br />
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An aerial view of a British bombardment off the Hawthorne ridge. Although it looks impressive, few casualties were caused once the smoke had cleared. The Germans were clearly safe in their bunkers 40' underground!<br />
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A view back down the line from in front of Thiepval.<br />
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Another view from Thiepval towards the main area of fighting.<br />
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Several assaults had been beaten back by the Germans, but here we can see one of the few times the German trenches were overrun.<br />
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Although not really clear, the British attack has reached Beaumont Hamel. This was the high tide of the British advance. Bapaume was some way off.<br />
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Beaumont Hamel is at the centre of the picture and British units can be seen in front of it. Unfortunately the British just couldn't consolidate their gains and had the game continued they would have been froced back towards their starting positions.<br />
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The players.<br />
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It was a great game and well worth the effort. Les made the comment that the table demonstrated that you could make a good looking game that used squares for movement. I never doubted it to be honest. I do think its a bit of smoke and mirrors. Using the same paint to paint the trenches and the cloth helped to blend the trench pieces in. The same paint was used to base the figures. I did agonise for a day or so over whether to add flock to the figures bases and gave in in the end. The green certainly brightens up the base.<br />
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The game play itself was pretty smooth and I have to thank Rob Roriston for keeping things moving down his end of the table. Rob had a stinking cold but soldiered on regardless. Thanks Rob! All the players entered into the spirit of the game and there was no moaning at poor dice or bad luck. The British were always in for a tough game. Abwehrslacht, who runs the Storm of Steel blog, had a similar experience. And lets face it, it wouldn't have been much of a recreation if the British just steamrollered across the German lines.<br />
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I'll no doubt trot the game out down at the Stoke club in due course and maybe take it to a show. Here is a quick little video of some the gameplay towards the end of the game.<br />
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More soon...<br />
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<br />Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-87297645315998200722016-08-20T00:40:00.000+01:002016-08-20T00:40:56.216+01:00RamblingSo a testing time recently with a bout of viral meningitis for me a few weeks ago and now Ava has a displaced fracture of her ulna and radius following a gymnastics accident at Lilleshall.<br />
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In between the two above events, I have been away to France, Belgium and Germany taking in Ypres and Thiepval which was great. Its a few years since I've been to either place and it was inspiring.<br />
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Ava's injury threatens my attendance at Partizan, so any planned purchases will have to be mail order. Other than the Piggie weekender at the end of November that looks like it for wargames events for me for this year. Colours falls on the day of Ava's birthday party, SELWG falls when Lisa is working and Derby is too close to a work related exam. Warfare maybe a possibility but seeing as Peter Pig no longer attend I may not bother.<br />
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Rebasing of my Vietnam continues ready for the new version of Men of Company B. I have painted a load of AWI up and am at the stage of needing to place the next order. Spanish Civil War looks like getting some attention towards the end of the year as Martin is looking at revamping the rules around then.<br />
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And finally, my Somme project will need some more attention soon as the weekender creeps up on me. I'm having a bit of a crisis of confidence on the British as I have gone for a light khaki colour for their uniforms which is probably too light compared to the darker colour tending towards a light brown in real life. Not sure what I'm going to do about this...<br />
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The Somme boards are in a 'wait' phase at the moment as I do other bits but they will get done. I'm also looking at expanding my trenches from Ironclad Miniatures to cover a 6' table for the large games of Squarebashing. I'll also get enough for communication and support trenches and maybe a frontline trench for the opposition just so that they dont appear out of no where.<br />
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No pictures I'm afraid but just a quick update.<br />
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More soon....Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-15419310578757108912016-07-28T16:24:00.001+01:002016-07-28T16:33:27.372+01:00<br /><br />Bit of a monster post to start...apologies!<br /><br /> Yesterday I thought I need to crack on with my Somme project and so finished painting the Germans. They are all done apart from basing and varnish. I could do with 2 more packs of dead and I need to do a HQ piece, but the rest are done.<img alt="" class="bbc_img" src="http://i68.tinypic.com/20r3ba.jpg" height="180" style="background-color: #e7eaef; border: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.48px; line-height: 17.472px;" width="320" /><br />
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Here is a unit using 16/149 - German Friekorps. Lovely figures!<br /><br />The British were based and primed a few days ago. I've gone for a light brown/khaki colour (actually the Italian armour spray from Battelfront) which may not be quite right historically but I feel you always need to go a couple of shades brighter with 15mm or else you lose any detail.<br /><br /><img alt="" class="bbc_img" src="http://i64.tinypic.com/2rpbtxw.jpg" height="180" style="background-color: #e7eaef; border: 0px; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.48px; line-height: 17.472px;" width="320" /><br />
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<b><u>Current Projects</u></b><br /><br />Men of Company B Also on the go is the rebasing of my Vietnam for the new Men of Company B. They are all now on 2p's and need basing. The k9 unit, extra leader base for the US are painted and await a new can of varnish from Partizan.<br style="background-color: #e7eaef; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.48px; line-height: 17.472px;" />
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<b><u>Washingtons Army</u></b><div>
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I have 2 units of Continentals for Washingtons Army done and awaiting basing and varnish. That project is now probably 75% done. The British are the sticking point. A good friend actually has a couple of units to paint up for me but I need to place an order when I return from my holidays mid August.<br style="background-color: #e7eaef; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.48px; line-height: 17.472px;" />
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<b><u>Civil War Battles </u></b></div>
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The ACW is done but for the cavalry. Just some tidying up to do with flags, basing and varnishing. Can you see a theme emerging!<br /><br /><b><u>Bloody Barons </u></b></div>
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My rebooted Wars of the Roses project now has 3 units of Retinue foot done. Most of the figures are purchased.<br style="background-color: #e7eaef; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.48px; line-height: 17.472px;" />
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<b><u>Battles in the Age of War</u></b></div>
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My rebooted Samurai project has 1 unit of Levy Ashigaru painted and the figures for one army purchased.</div>
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<b><u>PBI</u></b> </div>
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My WW2 armies have had no love for some time. I have late war US infantry and late war German. They are both based around the old black boxes Martin used to produce. I REALLY need to give the US a 3rd platoon of infantry, or otherwise increase them from having just 4 units.<br /><br /><b><u>Longships</u></b> </div>
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My Vikings are done but need their flags adding. Ideally I need to add some skirmish bases and would like to do 3 units of cavalry for the Carolingian army option.<br /><br /><b><u>Hammerin Iron</u></b> </div>
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Other than completing my collection by adding the few missing ships this is done!<br style="background-color: #e7eaef; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.48px; line-height: 17.472px;" />
<b><u>AK47 </u></b><br />
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Another reboot. Figures await attention. Once the Somme is done, I foresee me doing a ''paint an army in a weekend' type of project. This will be a really fast build!<br />
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Done! apart form a Scottish army...and some of the new Irish troops....<br style="background-color: #e7eaef; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.48px; line-height: 17.472px;" />
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These are the priest and dog figures. The dog was painted by my daughter Ava, aged 5 and a half.<br style="background-color: #e7eaef; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.48px; line-height: 17.472px;" />
<b><u>Bayonets and Ideology</u></b> </div>
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Ready for the new version due to start playtesting at the end of the year I have 1 unit of Nationalists painted and the figures for two forces awaiting attention.<br style="background-color: #e7eaef; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.48px; line-height: 17.472px;" />
<b><u>Conquerors and Kings </u></b></div>
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Figures for Romans and Germans sit unloved beneath my table screaming for some attention. Not on the radar at the moment though!<br /><br /><b><u>Pieces of Eight </u></b></div>
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Again, I have a few ships still in their packet awaiting some love. Not yet though.<br /><br />So. A lot on the go. Variety is the spice of life as they say. Its only when you write these things down you realise just how much stuff I have. Accumulated over the last 10-15 years it soon builds up.<br /><br />Anyway, I'll aim for a monthly update as a minimum but will add bits in between as time and effort allows.</div>
Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-21943525244185433702016-07-05T22:25:00.001+01:002016-07-05T22:26:35.403+01:00<br />
I like to trawl the internet for images of Peter Pig figures in action. I hope to do this a bit more and add the images here. I'm a bit lazy and don't make notes of who the figures belong to but I figure that if the images are freely available then I'll imply permission to use here. I am only looking to admire their work and share it to a wider audience after all. Apologies if any one takes offence. I will remove any images that offend.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQz4q5wm4Q-x5BvHEF2Ol6K5Y1imR2HxQCY8mcFBhuIY2l5x2QAjTk7ks74CuYpnSZjA-JCwSHNCXcFYEhT_PgqWmwrhyWTRcTyD03ECD4TlDr4MWRr7GAEx4HrERBb1RU1d8hk6ahOD4/s1600/pp5.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnrXFx1y5GQDC3REy3_G6siYZhZQjxpTT8NK04IAMGwnZnJcSKwmHlS-Woc-eQa0tsICPECdF4uC5JV26OC6AwZdoyG48UP_nM0zULBneLkfBRrc6NzqGSoEWoyr4SwNk7WD_9WtkrxOc/s1600/pp4.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnrXFx1y5GQDC3REy3_G6siYZhZQjxpTT8NK04IAMGwnZnJcSKwmHlS-Woc-eQa0tsICPECdF4uC5JV26OC6AwZdoyG48UP_nM0zULBneLkfBRrc6NzqGSoEWoyr4SwNk7WD_9WtkrxOc/s400/pp4.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ms5s1EBZGjQvKb5eBvm8O0DpeHkI2BtShjBKKBTtQ7v5Koj976LSQw-oBw6fkeLGhDBKjM26yAo19FwIGdbaRZb72CFAR8VhNh-PKPdJ17y4lQvu-bfqIQQzzNcAjiWnNO2Fq8tPGl0/s1600/pp3.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ms5s1EBZGjQvKb5eBvm8O0DpeHkI2BtShjBKKBTtQ7v5Koj976LSQw-oBw6fkeLGhDBKjM26yAo19FwIGdbaRZb72CFAR8VhNh-PKPdJ17y4lQvu-bfqIQQzzNcAjiWnNO2Fq8tPGl0/s400/pp3.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn23etGbKR32dIlrXJ_lPe7zHuqqzBsqbvibvWFCV53eFsREPQ5QoXWumeiE2tvTib7aDkCD_ac0b1ElE63vTSyQT6xAfeWcwgriLCJXGylnqBq0XILsedsEzHiSW-Eyzm5zKtOSJDbZE/s1600/pp2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn23etGbKR32dIlrXJ_lPe7zHuqqzBsqbvibvWFCV53eFsREPQ5QoXWumeiE2tvTib7aDkCD_ac0b1ElE63vTSyQT6xAfeWcwgriLCJXGylnqBq0XILsedsEzHiSW-Eyzm5zKtOSJDbZE/s400/pp2.jpg" width="400" /></a><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQz4q5wm4Q-x5BvHEF2Ol6K5Y1imR2HxQCY8mcFBhuIY2l5x2QAjTk7ks74CuYpnSZjA-JCwSHNCXcFYEhT_PgqWmwrhyWTRcTyD03ECD4TlDr4MWRr7GAEx4HrERBb1RU1d8hk6ahOD4/s640/pp5.jpg" width="640" />Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-50240834056614880242016-07-05T22:06:00.002+01:002016-07-05T22:08:09.045+01:00Tempus FugitCountless blog authors start a new post with an explanation of why they haven't blogged recently. I'm not one of them.<br />
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My enthusiasm continues to wax and wane and I have stopped wondering why, It is what it is and my life is different now to when I started this blog. One thing that hasn't changed is my enjoyment of Peter Pig games so it was with pleasure that I discovered a forum had been created to discuss all things Pig which can be found here: <a href="http://rulesforcommonman.uk/smf/index.php" target="_blank">Rules for the Common Man forum</a><br />
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This is intended to replace the old yahoo group that provided sterling service over the years but has fallen by the wayside somewhat over the last couple of years. At its peak it would receive hundreds of messages a month but its now down to just a handful. The forum has started very strongly and I hope it continues to grow and create debate.<br />
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Project wise I have began to model terrain boards for a Somme Square bashing game. This is using old TSS tiles left over from the Stoke club. I have dug down into them to create the trenches and I am now in the process of adding the details to the trench. Then just the figures to paint. Hopefully all in time for the Peter Pig weekend at the end of November.<br />
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Jeff D has kindle offered his services to paint some AWI for me. He is an excellent painter and I'm really looking forward to seeing what he has done with my figures. My ACW and AWI collections are both now close to completion (as if you ever complete a collection!). Once they are done, my attention will turn to my Samurai and Wars of the Roses stuff which will be rebuilt in due course. The figures have been mostly purchased. I'm not in any particular rush but would like them all done by this time next year.<br />
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Peter Pig are currently redoing their Vietnam rules, Men of Company B. They are being re imagined along the lines of the 'Wrath of Vikings' rules so square based. I'm hoping to get my first look at them on a trip down to Weymouth this weekend. It's Miles M's annual PBI shindig in Bournemouth but I'm travelling to Weymouth as per usual on Friday and staying with Martin G. Looking forward to it!<br />
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No promises on my next post. Hopefully not another 9 months :-)<br />
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More soon....<br />
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<br />Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-86633811219202293902015-09-10T21:35:00.000+01:002015-09-10T21:35:15.348+01:00ColoursSo its Colours on Saturday. The return of a show that was previously two days long but has dropped the Sunday. I suspect that this is the way to go having experienced the grave yard atmosphere of Triples earlier in the year.<br />
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Not much done over the last week due to work and family commitments. We did get a game of PBI in at the club on Friday. No pictures, but Dave N and Dr Fear playing PzGrens took on myself and Jase H playing the U.S. Apart from myself no one had played it before but being veteran gamers all three players got into the spirit of the thing. Unfortunately for Jase and I, it was a disaster as the Germans strolled on table and steamrollered the US defending a small town somewhere in Northern France. We were all but wiped out with very few German losses. Really enjoyed it though despite being somewhat rusty with the rules.<br />
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Our club is a smorgasbord of genres, scales, periods and rules sets. Epic 40k is big at the moment. Battleground WW2 is popular. To Defy a King is being played by Dave S and the crew in one room to refight Edgehill in glorious 28mm. A home grown set of rules for Sengoku era Japan is being used in another room. We have Flames of War going on downstairs. Role playing going on in the room next to ours. Our room has played probably over a dozen sets of rules this year alone. Hence when I come to put on a Peter Pig game, I tend to be a bit rusty on the rules. Not sure what I'm putting on next, but whatever it is I'm sure I'll be scratching my head to remember how things work.<br />
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Its a funny old hobby in that way. Golf or chess are the same (pretty much) the world over. But wargaming has never reached a point where there is one set of rules to rule them all. I guess WRG came closest but that was really only for ancients with the various editions of culminating in the DB'x' series. With wargaming you can go from a game with virtually no written rules at all as in 'Kriegspiel' style games, to the ironically titled 'Newbury Fast Play Napoleonics' with pages of factors and modifiers for every aspect of the game. We have had a trend for 'back of a postcard' rule sets. Irregular Miniatures still produce their rules boxes on this theme. We have coffee table style books that look great but for some have questionable content ala Black Powder. We have sets of rules produced on a dining room table, photocopied and then stapled together. And of course my own favourite, the RFCM stable of rules which evolve and grow over the years. In between there are dozens of other styles and formats. There is even a website chock full of free wargames rules <a href="http://freewargamesrules.wikia.com/wiki/Rule_Categories" target="_blank">seen here</a><br />
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Long may it continue. I think its great that there is so much variety out there. One things for sure, theres something for everybody if you look hard enough.Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-27677402827897269632015-08-28T13:33:00.001+01:002015-08-28T13:36:44.016+01:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here is a picture of Peter Pig's Polish lancers from the First World War.<br />
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It's rather nice.Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1453765163239638388.post-63006381210430554022015-08-27T18:19:00.000+01:002015-08-27T18:19:04.374+01:00Dice Trays and Dakotas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A quick trip to Hobbycraft last week saw me pick up two plastic trays that I used my years of modelling and hobby experience to turn into two handy dice trays. A very useful little item to prevent your best figures being bombed by dice. Warning though, don't try to copy these unless you're an experienced modeller.</div>
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We are just back from a few days camping with friends, one of whom is an ex British Airways pilot who back in the day worked for Air Atlantique. They had in their small fleet Dakota DC3's in which he would transport rare items around Europe or do a bit of environmental work spraying oil slicks at a height of 20'.<br />
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Our campsite was close to RAF Cosford Museum and so on the way home we paid a visit. It was fascinating listening to him talk about flying and aircraft in general. He was extremely pleased to see this Dakota on display. Nostalgia hit home and he regaled me with many stories of his time flying one.<br />
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Cosford is well worth a visit if you're in the area, details <a href="http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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I have had a day at home alone today and so I have knuckled down and painted a load of ECW. Counting cavalry as two pieces, I have painted 102 figures to be exact whilst listening to the excellent Dan Carlin's 'Blueprint for Armageddon' series which can be found on his Hardcore History podcast. If you're interested take a look <a href="http://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/" target="_blank">here</a>. It is a series of 6 podcasts covering the entire First World War and clocks in at what must be over 18 hours of listening. I finished it off todasy and it is well worth a listen.<br />
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Off to play tennis now, but more soon...<br />
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<br />Sean Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05512954863906252133noreply@blogger.com0