Sean's Wargaming Blog

Recent Painting

2012-02-14T22:37:00.002Z

Painting for 2012 has got under way with quite a push. 53 horse including generals and three units plus the first half of my 1914 French for the new Square Bashing. First picture though is of my new table. Previousley I have made do with two paste tables with MDF board laid on top. Easy to take up and put down but a bit wobbly. Now I have 'The Office, my mate Keith came over a couple of months ago and built me a permanent table which has the opposite issues of the paste tables. And since its being up its become a large workstation come dumping ground. So I thought better have a look at what it looks like with an actual game set up on it. This is a game of AK47 Reloaded as a bit of a change from Square Bashing. The nice trees are some made by Simon at the club. Possibly slightly tall for Acacias, but more Africa looking than my aquarium plants I have used in the past.

The problem with clearing the table is the effect on my painting station! A tad cluttered now. But, as they say, this is where the magic happens!

Here is an example of one of the General bases for my Wars of the Roses. This is acutally the King pack from Peter Pigs 'Bloody Barons' range.

1914 French officers base for my latest project.

The whole unit. 4 bases of 3 figures. Around 10-12 infantry units, 6 mgs and 5-6 guns plus maybe a cavalry unit make a decent army for the new version of Square Bashing. I am just back from Yeovil where we had a weekend of playtesting. Pictures will follow. Suffice to say that I am really enjoying the rules and have 5 armies in various stages of completion. The early war French add a dash of colour to otherwise drab uniforms. I am going to mix painting up by giving some units the lighter blue kepi cover and some others in blue trousers.

This is the cavalry plus some French from the last post. Now all based up and varnished ready for action.

A closer look at a unit of Retinue cavalry. I am totally sold on basetex from Colour Party for my bases. Previousley I used flock for quick and easy basing but now prefer the look at the cost of slightly more work. I think its worth the effort.

More 1914 French on the blocks followed by 1918 Germans. Looking foward to Alumwell on March 11th but not sure of any purchases as yet.

More soon...

Evidence of madness

2012-02-02T20:21:00.000Z

These are my Wars of the Roses cavalry painted over the last week or so. They are all Peter Pig figures from their Bloody Barons range. 2 units of retinue horse, 1 unit of men at arms and around 6 or 7 mounted generals with companions. They are pre dip so look a tad bland here. They are now dipped and look rather nice.

The men at arms are actually made up of the mounted bodyguard figures and have alot more colour to them than other men at arms I have painted and probably more colour than is historically accurate. But they are my figures and the splash of colour looks nice! I'll try to add some close ups when they are based and varnished.

I have enough cavalry for all the scenarios in the Bloody Barons rule book now. I am just short of a few crew for the heavy guns and I will have all the figures I will ever need. My plan then will be to refight each of the battles in chronological order, starting with 1st St Albans.

More soon...

Isn't it frustrating?

2012-02-02T13:11:00.003Z

I've been painting ALOT of Wars of the Roses cavalry the last couple of weeks. Over 50. All at once. Which I dont really recommend but they were all ready and primed and have been waiting patiently for some love with all the WW1 action going on in the Office lately.

So, finished them a couple of days ago. The painting that is. Because when I came to base them up I couldn't for the life of me remember where I had put the 3cmx4cm bases made by Peter Pig I needed. Now any sort of modeller/wargamer worth his onions would improvise and use card or similar to make do. But my entire collection is based on the plasticard bases Peter Pig produce so I am afraid the patient horse men will have to await me collecting my order from the York show on Sunday.

And I am fairly sure, just as the last drybrush is applied to the new bases up will pop a whole stack of the missing bases I know I have SOMEWHERE.

Whilst under the weather with man flu I have enjoyed trawling the web and various hobby blogs. A most enjoyable blog with inspirational pictures is that of Phil Steele. Links are over to the right. His work on Peter Pig figures is excellent and has spurred me on to try my first 'head swap' conversions with some tam'o'shanter heads to replace the glengarrys on one of my two First World War Scots units from Peter Pig.

A preorder is in for collection from York consisting of mainly bits to finish my 1918 Germans. Who knows what impulse buys I will come away with. Hopefully not much as I have more than enough going on. But if i see a reasonably priced ancients army I might be tempted.

Anyway I'm off for a lemsip.

more soon....

2012-01-15T21:38:00.000Z

Apologies for the poor formatting of the last post. It was actually written on a private forum and copy and paste obviousley messed it up a tad.

Currently painting up a variety of bits including:

1) Retinue cavalry for my Wars of the Roses
2) Tanks for Vietnam
3) Scots for WW1
4) Queens Rangers for AWI

Also starting to get excited about the upcoming show season. Starting with York on 5/2/12 which is followed the week after by a day in Yeovil with the playtest team for Square Bashing. Contemplating some puchases for Yeork. Probably the last few bits for late WW1.

The trailer for 'Birdsong' on the BBC looks good. Apparently the battle scenes are rather good. I've been put off 'Warhorse' at the cinema by reviews calling it 'Black Beauty' during the First World War. Opportunities to go to the cinema are few and far between at the moment so we tend to go for films we are pretty certain we'll both enjoy so this may have to wait until DVD release.

More soon...

Square Bashing 2 Playtest

2012-01-14T11:45:00.001Z

The new version of Square Bashing are well into playtest. Sorry if the below report seems vague but I dont want to 'leak' mechanisms for a game not yet released and without permission from Martin. hopefully it is a flavour of what is to come and will wet the appetite enough to give the game a go when they are released later in the year.

3 new players were taken through a game last night. 2 had in their words
'pigged' before, 1 had not.

Early war British taken by Ade and Jim. Early war German by myself and Keith.
Keith did most of our rolling in the countdown to war doing very well with two
top of the three results causing Ade and Jim to put two units back into the
toy box and alot into reserve. We ended up 'attacking along the sector' and
things were looking dodgy before the game even started through depletions with
the Brits having just two professional infantry units, 2 field guns and 4 mgs on
table.

The Brits army had from memory

7 Professional units
1 Regular (actually a French unit just painted up!)
2 Prof Cavalry
5 Mgs
5 Guns (these may be slightly out...)

The Germans

1 Professional unit
8 Regular units
2 Reserves
1 Regular cav
1 Reserve cav
6 mgs
5 guns

A 640pt game but with the new artillery costing of 15pts.

The Germans pushed on from the start and in turn threw a point barrage centred
on some British mgs but deviated and fell on the head of unsuspecting General
Melchett supping Early Grey in a town on the British board edge.

The British never managed to get their Higher command back on the table. They
did make very good use of the suppression barrage and halted the Germans in
their tracks.

On Keiths flank he bravely charged both cavalry units at a British unit and mg
behind hasty works in a wood. Despite me getting the factors wrong for the
cavalry (I gave them 3 dice per unit instead of the 1 they should have had for
attacking troops in a wood/behind works) they bounced off mainly thanks to the
mg.

Reinforcements were slow to arrive for the British intially until they opted for
option C (1 auto, roll for two more, all arrive on the road). The crossroads
objective was in row two and by game end was defended by 3 British Prof units
behind works which saw off assaults from front and flank.

Both sides managed to bring on an aeroplane which was put to good use strafing
ground troops.

The game lasted 5 turns with some high rolls for countdown. The Germans managed
to break through in two squares. Both sides held two objectives. The British
still had inf artillery and cavalry in reinforcements by game end. The Germans
lost 20 odd bases, the Brits only 4!! Professionals saving on 3's was a big
help.

Points tally was British 48 Germans 49.

All three new players thoroughly enjoyed the game. None had played the old
square bashing and Jim being a complete newcomer to Peter Pig games soon got the
hang of how things worked. With lots of chatting and visits into the room from
other club members I would say the game lasted 2 hours start to finish. There
will be a couple of pictures on the blog later and I'll put them on the group
here too shortly.

We used the original depletions system as I had forgotten to take the new one
with me to club. I did use the deduction for units on an objective. Professional
Brits were rolling 3 dice instead of 4 and the two units on the objective rolled
2.

Oh and my new Tablescape trees looked lovely. 4 per wood!!!!

Now some pictures from our official photographer...

The British army (with a newly painted French battalion acting as regular troops) lined up ready for a stout defence.

The view along the British line at game start. The rules create an attack defence game as per usual with RFCM rules. The British were just about in the worst situation they could be.

The Germans lined up ready for the big push. Actually an attack all along the sector.

The unfinished crossroads objective rather sticks out like a sore thumb. Must get some greenery on it.

This is the first barrage of the game from the Germans. Unfortunately it deviated onto the town square hitting the British high command (christened General Melchett...Bah!!!)

Sean

For you, John!

2012-01-06T22:24:00.000Z

A short trip to the club to wish a happy new year to friends.

I have been painting but nothing finished yet. 1914 French for Square Bashing 2. Looking rather spiffing in their red trousers. I may try a small tutorial tomorrow night as Lisa has a friend over from work enabling me to ensconce myself in the office.

I've been following some interesting threads on forums over the festive period. It does amaze me how heated some of these discussions get. A favourite is the message boards on The Miniatures Page (link over to the right). A couple of posters on there have quite a reputation for argumentative posts and downright rudeness at times. Of course the phenomena of the 'internet warrior' is something that has risen noticeably over the years. But why people get so heated over what amounts to armchair history and toy soldiers is baffling.

One particular annoyance for me is the 'opinion stated as fact' posts by these internet warriors. This usually looks something like this....

1. "The figures made by XXXX are rubbish."

2. "The rules written by XXXX are stupid. They dont work and are not realistic."

and such like.

No opinions are like backsides. We all have one. But I do feel some people forget that opinions are just that. A subjective point of view if you will. I have opinions on figure ranges and rulesets. They are mine and mine alone. If someone likes another set of rules or figures and not the ones I like, thats fine. Neither of us is wrong in our opinion. In fact the above two examples would be much more palatable if they read like this....

1. "The figures made by XXXX are rubbish in my opinion because....." or

2. "The rules written by XXXX are stupid in my opinion because...."

My mantra of wargaming being a broad church doesn't seem to be a widely held view as people seem to be happy to entrench themselves in their own little world where only their opinion is valid. And in the case of two contributors to The Miniatures Page, if you happen to disagree with their point of view, you are liable to derision, abuse and ridicule. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth so it does.

In brighter news, Peter Pig have resculpted their AK47 Professionals.

And very nice they look too. I may have to look at a tidy up of my AK47 armies. As ever so much to do and so little time.

Christmas

2011-12-20T18:19:00.001Z

.....is nearly here.

Looking forward to time with family and friends. A tough year and make no mistake with losing my mum in May and coping with the trials and tribulations that come with fatherhood at 40.

Hobby time has been at an all time low with no real content on the blog. So much so I have given real thought to abandoning the blog altogether with the possibility of restarting when inspiration strikes. But I am now thinking that this has been a diary of my hobby life for a few years now and it would be a shame to lose that history.

So I am now looking at a tidy up of links and things to better reflect my interests at this time. Also I intend that come 2012 I will restart my painting log to motivate me to get things done again. We also purchased a new camera last month and so I really do mean to get some photos up of things I'm working on.

Peter Pig remain my main focus with Square Bashing 2 well underway in the playtesting and consuming all my painting and reading time at the moment. 1914 British and German done. French 1914 built and awaiting the brush. Late War British and Germans next.

With World War 1 grabbing me so much I have also branched out with purchases of the Wings of War game with a total of 8 planes so far and also now Victory at Sea: Age of Dreadnoughts for some naval action. I am also determined to get in some Fields of Glory action with Keith and Ade at the club next year with my Peter Pig Romans and Germans. Ontop of that is a side project with Ade to play some Mexican American Wars using Friekorps figures. Not a big project but one I am looking forward to quite a bit.

I have recentley had a huge change in attitude towards basing. Previousley all my armies are based with speed in mind. Consequently I have used various flocks and static grasses to obtain an adequate finish. However I have made the move over to more attractive basing using 'Basetex' from Colour Party and purchased from Irregular Miniatures. All of my World War 1 is based using the dried earth colour, dry brushed with a near white cream and then patches of static grass to finish. Much more pleasing to my eye and better setting off the figures. As some hobby luminary once said figure painting and army presentation is all about 'faces and bases'. Well in 15mm, faces dont have the same impact as in larger scales but bases definately do.

After long contemplation I have finally succumbed to the trees from Tablescape as used by several members of the Weymouth club. They are essentially resin cast trees that come ready painted. They look good and come in various shades. No more worrying about my flocked trees losing their foliage or getting crushed in the box. Pictures to come but I will put the link up for those interested.

So to end, I would say that I am as enthusiastic as ever about my hobby and hoping to squeeze more time for it come the new year. This year was to be the year of mid week gaming at each others houses to compensate for my lack of attendance at the club. Well that didn't work out. So, a public pledge to get more games in for 2012. What do you think Ade, Keith, John?!?

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all

Sean

Ahem...

2011-11-21T23:05:00.002Z

Mmmm.

So, here I am again 5 months later and with not alot to report.

Life continues of course with work and family. But wargaming has become a hobby I follow rather than do. Up until a couple of weeks ago I had done very little painting or gaming over the intervening time. I missed a couple of Peter Pig events due to breakdown of car and babysitting duties at various points. Club attendance has been sporadic with more visits for social purposes than gaming. And show attendance has been non existant.

However a couple of weeks ago I did get fired up again, by what I'm not sure. But my WW1 Squarebashing project is coming on great leaps all of a sudden. I have scenary started for the game. I have purchased the excellent Wings of War game and a few of the ready painted planes to go with it. I am reading Richard Holmes' "Tommy". and at the weekend I am in Weymouth for some Squarebashing playtesting.

So, who knows, maybe i'll start to post a few pictures and get blogging a bit more again.

More soon...

News

2011-06-19T22:02:00.001+01:00

Life is returning to normal around here and I am just back from Weymouth where I played in the Peter Pig Battle day playing Washingtons Army.

As usual Martin Goddard put me up for the night and took me along to the Levellers club night for a warm up game. Myself and Michael took on Stewart and Alex. We suffered a heavy defeat which set the tone for the weekend.

There was 10 of us on the day and everyone had a great time with lots of banter and a nice fish and chip dinner. We played two games, morning and afternoon. I suspect if the location was more central then more players would turn up but to be honest it doesnt really matter as everyone knows each other and the games are played in a relaxed atmosphere.

I took late war Americans with the plan to be the atatcker in both games. Unfortunately I ended up defending. First game was against Paul Coker. This turned into a real blood bath and although Paul desptroyed more of my units and did eventually get his flank march onto the table in the last turn, I managed to claw alot of points back just by virtue of the amount of bases I managed to kill. Paul came out with a small win 68pts to 62. A great game that saw lots of action.

The afternoon game was against Ralph Ashdown. We have played before at the AK day last year where he beat me soundly. Same result I'm afraid. Again I ended up defending but in a postion where I had opportunity to attack in places. An early clash between one of my continentals and one of Ralphs line should have gone my way but the dice deserted me and my troops were sent packing. I never recovered from that point. Ralphs army was quite small with only six units, three of which were in his flank attack. Although only starting with three units on table seemed like a bad idea, Ralph won the flank march in the second turn and with lots of veterans and light troops my poor Americans were simply out classed and out played.

Attention is now turning to the revision of Squarebashing covering from around 1900 to 1925 or so. I have now dug out my old western front British and Germans for both the early and late war. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into this project especially after the game we had at Martins the night before Fisticuffs.

I've now done a boat load of mdf templates for my Peter Pig games. I've been experimenting with adding texture to felt and the like without much success. I nearly cracked at Partizan and bought some from S&A scenics. For the price of two templates I bought a 4'x2' piece of mdf and have made 24 templates. Basically cut out an oval shape roughly 8"x5" and texutre with texutred paint mixed from borwn paint and sand with a little pva. drybrush, add static grass and done.

As usual no pictures as Lisa dropped the camera last week and we will have to shop around for a new one. Whichever camera we get wil definately have a good macro setting.

Life, the Universe.

2011-05-29T21:01:00.004+01:00

Sad news to report that after a 9 month battle with cancer my mum died on Wednesday. Difficult to describe how much this has affected me but true to say life just doesn't seem the same once your mum has gone.

Last weekend saw me spend a couple of hours at Triples. I did take some picture s of the excellent Englsih Civil War game put on by the Mosborough boys, Mick, Danny and Trevor. They were using the excellent Regiment of Foote by Peter Pig and playing out a game from their campaign that has been going for 12 months. Find details of the Regiment of Foote range at

http://www.peterpig.co.uk/range_20.htm

For some reason I cant upload the photos I took to blogger so have put them into my Flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/8447622@N02/

A lovely game and a group of very friendly blokes who clearly know one end of a paint brush from the other. I hope to catch up with them at 2nd Partizan in September.

Speaking of which I went to 1st Partizan today at Kelham Hall. I have been going to this show for more years than I care to remember and I can never recall it seeming so quiet. Possibly a result of Triples moving to the weekend before, but also several traders spots were empty and at least two games were missing. Odd really as Partizan has always been a 'showcase' event, with some of the finest demos from the circuit on display. One trader made mention that mid morning felt more like 3pm when they would normally be looking to pack up. Another large trader looked around and commented that there wasn't a single customer in the room (although I was there hiding behind a rack of figures!).

Hopefully this will be a blip and come September normal service will be resumed. I spent a pleasant day forgetting the outside world and enjoying not being bumped by backpacks and struggling to get to the stands to see what I wanted. I played in Graham Evans' "The Elephant in the Room" , the development of which can be seen on his blog Wargaming for Grown-ups (link off to the side). Basically you play a group of Roman Velites trying to bring down an elephant before it hits the Roman battle line. A clever game using dominos which has made me think about how to use dominos as a random number generator in future games.

I enjoyed it so much I took advantage of my new Society of Ancients membership and bought it for £5.00 from the SoA stand. Included is Phil Steeles 'Greyhound in the Slips' game recreating the Shakespearian account of Henry V's assault on the walls of Harfluer. Really looking forward to giving these a go.

A book on the Balkan Wars, a book on the War of 1812, plus some markers for Hammerin Iron, a few trees from S&A and one pot of paint was the sum of my spending.

So a nice day getting away from it all. Mums funeral is next Friday and lots to sort out in the mean time.

More whenever....

Salute and Fisticuffs

2011-05-06T22:21:00.015+01:00

Two shows to report on. I was due to go on my good mate John B's stag do to Ypres but due to being unable to get leave and family issues I was unable to get four days free. I did manage two though and myself Lisa and Ava drove down to my sister in laws place in Balham on the Friday prior to Salute.

As usaul it was held at Excell in Docklands and is a wargame show on a different scale to any other. I suspect Games Day has more attendees and has a larger floor space, but that is for dedicated Gw fans and not really a wargames show as such. I am told by those in the know that Salute is the largest historical wargames event in the world. I can believe it. This is my third time at Excel and again I have come away thinking I wont bother again. It was really only due to the fact I got my hands on a badge for early (and free) entry combined with seeing my sister in law that swung it for me this time.

The above photo doesn't really do justice to the size of this event, but safe to say no other shoe comes anywhere near. But thar doesn't mean it is any better. Several traders had stands that covered a large floor area. One in fact, Wayland Games if I remember correctly was virtually a wargames shop transported and dumped in the middle of the venue.

Some very nice games and some not so nice. It was at times difficult to find a trader or game due to the layout and the crowds but on the whole most games seemed to have plenty of space for bystanders to hang around and chat. The one above was interesting. English Civil War with nice 28mm figures on an oval table. Not seen this before but makes sense in a way as the far corners of most wargames is wasted space used for casualties or cups of tea.

This was my favourite display game. Again English Civil War in 28mm with lovely figures but it was the terrain that blew me away. All purpose built by Dave Marshall from TM Terrain. Including the buildings some of which had small lights in them! He told me that if I wanted to comission him to do one for me it would be around £2,000. Alot of money to be sure but somehow I thought not a bad price for all the work. There were rolling hills, streams, delicate fences and beautiful hedges, all integral to the boards. The guy who it belonged to had bespoke boxes made ot cart it all around in.

Just the one photo of a Towton game. You may know I have a thing about this battle. Well this is a demo of the battle on a scale unlikely to be repeated. 6mm Baccus figures. Around 17,000 of them! Incredible effort by the guys who did this. The table was around 14-16 feet long and was an impressive sight. Not only that but they played a few moves too! I think Poleaxed from the Lance and Longbow society is their chosen ruleset.

One of the draws to the show for me was the launch of the reworked Hammerin Iron from Peter Pig. I have been involved in the playtest group and again get a name check, but in truth due to real life concerns I had minimal input. I was somewhat sceptic when the idea of playing on a printed hex sheet was first discussed. I enjoyed the original game with ships moving on the table by laying hexes down to represent movement. However I was converted with some playtesting and now own one of the Peter Pig produced hex sheets which can be seen in the above picture. The yellow hexes are sandpaper cutout to represent sandbars. There are a couple of islands too, one with a fort on it.

Here is a closer picture of the new mat with a game in progress. Leslie Beilby Tipping and Rob Roriston are taking some newcomers through a game. For the demo purposes, several pre planned scenarios were used so players could play one game and return later in the day to have another go with a different scenario.

Martin is shown here explaining the finer details (and possibly encouraging somebody into a suicidal attack!!). The rules work brilliantly and improve on the original by bringing more structure to the game. All the ships have been reworked and there are now no invincible ships. Forts work really well and opportunity fire has been introduced. With the rules comes a playsheet and a couple of sheets of very nicley laminated order cards. I really think this is a winner for fans of Hammerin Iron.

Minimal purchases on the day as I was travelling light. I picked up my shanty town from Wilson Miniatures but left them with Martin to pick up from him down in Weymouth. A nice day then but again left with the feeling I may not return.

Two weeks later saw me travel down to Weymouth for Fisticuffs, the local show hosted by the Levellers Wargames club.

There aren't too many shows with this view outside of the front door! I again travelled down on the Friday and stayed over at Martins. Got to see the new PP HQ building. Very impressive indeed. We played a game of the new Squarebashing currently in playtest. I won using late war Germans which was nice. I'll discuss this more once playtesting is a bit further on, but suffice to say that the Peter Pig classic is having a radical makeover. Still using squares though!

Here we have Les B-T again demonstrating Hammerin Iron. I think i played in 4 games and had a great time.

I have been down to Fisticuffs before but a long time ago back when it was a two day show at a local college. This year it was held in Weymouth Pavilion right on the sea front. A good venue with plenty of space. There was a good mix of traders and some really nice demo games on display. A very friendly atmosphere and it was nice to catch up with Miles Milton from the STaB club as well as Stewart Meecham and Chris Cunningham of the Levellers.

This was a large Indian Mutiny game in 28mm. Some really nice figures and the guys seemed to be enjoying themselves.

This was a 28mm Samurai game using Killer Katanas on some lovely terrain. The figures were very nice and the action was bloody!

This was 30 Years War as previousley seen at the Yeovil bash. This time loosley based on Lutzen using Fields of Glory Rennaisance. Very friendly chap running it but again I forgot to get his name! next time maybe. I did take more pictures of this one but for some reason they came out blurred.

Finally a couple of pictures of Stewart and Chris's excellent Square Bashing game using the playtest version. Over a 1000pts aside on a 6'x4'. Lots of nicely painted Peter Pig figures with a smattering of Minifigs.. Terrain was well done with trenches from Ironclad Miniatures and most of the template type scenary from S&A scenics. I think Chris as the attacker with Germans won this one.

A few bits from Hammerin Iron purchased on the day along with a couple of books. I am in no doubt that I will reutrn to this show!

Back home I have started to tart up my Hammerin Iron ships and have a few other bits and bobs ready to paint. I have also at last finished a unit of Loyalists for Washingtons Army which I have been struggling with for a few weeks. Not sure why but I just couldn't get the motivatiob to get them done. Now they are done i am pleased with them and feel rejuvenated to paint a bit more now. Typically though we are way in the morning for a few days so no painting until I return. If i can get a signal I may post a blog entry or two with some thoughts I have been having regarding my hobby.

Despite one or two temptations leading me astray I am now more than ever committed to my Peter Pig style of gaming. This year is promising to be a good one for events with the STaB PBI day coming up followed by a Washingtons Army day in June, AK47 competition day in September and a RFCM weekender in Novemebr. And who knows what else?

Finally I collected 'Traitors Blood' by Michael Arnold from the library for some holiday reading. Described as Sharpe during the English Civil War I have heard some suprisingly good things about this. I shall report back.

More soon...

On that note...

2011-03-22T22:39:00.001Z

Havoing played on this set up, this is my idea of how a good fun club night can look!

Terrain

2011-03-22T21:47:00.010Z

I think I worry too much about how my games look. On the one hand I want simple functional terrain. On the other I want a master piece that looks like those in the magazines and at the top shows. I think I will always end up tinkering and seeking the ideal, yet always falling short of what I am aiming for.

Currently I use a Games Workshop grass mat with Terra Firma Studios roads, felt templates for towns woods and fields and trees from various sources. The grass mat is nice but is to my eye just too 'green', if you know what I mean. The uniformity of the green isn't very realistic, but short of a custom made set up, you have to put up with it.

Differnent people have different needs from scenary. With the resurgence in 'Old School' wargaming this set up from Phil Olley reflects a bygone era with boards painted green and not much more effort.
And then there is the other extreme, with this custom built set up for a 'Tet Offensive' Vietnam game. Beautiful but beyond most people for a club night game and not much use for fighting Napoleonics on.
So I have set out to tart up my scenary whilst keeping it functional. Now Peter Pig rules use a template system to represent dense terrain that causes problems for troops entering. Woods, buildings, marsh and the like are represented by either felt or wooden shapes around 8"x5" onto which trees and houses are placed which can be moved aside when troops enter them. Felt and the like are ok but thrown onto the table as they are they can be a tad plain. My templates are a combination of felt and pieces of the GW grass mat left over from cutting it down to 6'x3' which is the table size for most RFCM games. This afternoon I tried out a test piece by adding dabs of brown and green paint, sand and various flocks and foliage. This example is a bit over done as I was experimenting with various techniques but I think it looks rather good. The reds and yellows are from a pack I bought from Timecast scenary and are intended to represent wild flowers. I hope to use it to brighten up my Samurai army bases. This could be a wood template or an area of rough ground.

Encouraged I moved onto the mat itself. Although not the best angle, I have added areas of darker static grass, brown paint and flock and sand in places to break up the uniform look to the mat. I am really pleased with how it has turned out and intend to do some hills in a similar style, along with a load more templates.

I also have a GW mat cut down to 4'x4' for PBI which will be tarted up in due course. At some point I intend to build a custom board for a Marston Moor game, but for now for club night games these fit the bill nicely!

More soon....

Cleaning Up

2011-03-21T10:14:00.003Z

Just going through old posts and adding labels and improving the spelling here and there. I can spell, honest, its just my typing isn't great!

Feeling somewhat rejuvenated on the blog front, I shall look to improve the post and photo count. But then again I've said that before!

I now have nearly enough figures for a proper game of Washingtons Army so watch out for a report soon.

Wilson Miniatures

2011-03-20T21:09:00.003Z

Just to highlight the new link to Wilson Miniatures. I have seen there stuff before but at the Alumwell show I ordered some shanty buildings for my AK47 collection.

They are really great buildings for a very reasonable price. They also provide a painting service which I may get around to using sometime. Anyway check out their stuff in the link section, you wont be disappointed!

A bit of Kipling.....

2011-03-20T20:42:00.004Z

George Hughes, an ex member of Stoke Wargames Club used to liven up the evening with a bit of Kipling. He was a great raconteur and could have the group in stitches. On numerous trips to Ypres he would set the scene standing in a wet field bringing history alive with his descriptions.

I doubt we'll see him down the club again, that era seems to have passed now and a new generations of gamers are leading the club forward. For me he was a member from the halcyon days, fighting the great battles of the Civil War. I've spoken about this before, but occasionally nostalgia strikes me and I yearn for those days with Jeff, George, Geoff, Mark, Tim, Tom, Barry, Colin, John and of course Martyn who died last year.

Life back then seemed less complicated. I was a student and had little money but managed to buy my first few figures and start painting. I bought and read every book on the ACW I could get my hands on. Wargames magazines were read cover to cover within hours of purchase. This was of course pre-internet days when you only found out about new releases once a month in the mags and at shows you got to.

Anyway, a bit of Kipling in honour of George...

'Fuzzy Wuzzy'

We've fought with many men acrost the seas,
An' some of 'em was brave an' some was not:
The Paythan an' the Zulu an' Burmese;
But the Fuzzy was the finest o' the lot.
We never got a ha'porth's change of 'im:
'E squatted in the scrub an' 'ocked our 'orses,
'E cut our sentries up at Sua~kim~,
An' 'e played the cat an' banjo with our forces.
So 'ere's ~to~ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan;
You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man;
We gives you your certificate, an' if you want it signed
We'll come an' 'ave a romp with you whenever you're inclined.

We took our chanst among the Khyber 'ills,
The Boers knocked us silly at a mile,
The Burman give us Irriwaddy chills,
An' a Zulu ~impi~ dished us up in style:
But all we ever got from such as they
Was pop to what the Fuzzy made us swaller;
We 'eld our bloomin' own, the papers say,
But man for man the Fuzzy knocked us 'oller.
Then 'ere's ~to~ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, an' the missis and the kid;
Our orders was to break you, an' of course we went an' did.
We sloshed you with Martinis, an' it wasn't 'ardly fair;
But for all the odds agin' you, Fuzzy-Wuz, you broke the square.

'E 'asn't got no papers of 'is own,
'E 'asn't got no medals nor rewards,
So we must certify the skill 'e's shown
In usin' of 'is long two-'anded swords:
When 'e's 'oppin' in an' out among the bush
With 'is coffin-'eaded shield an' shovel-spear,
An 'appy day with Fuzzy on the rush
Will last an 'ealthy Tommy for a year.
So 'ere's ~to~ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, an' your friends which are no more,
If we 'adn't lost some messmates we would 'elp you to deplore;
But give an' take's the gospel, an' we'll call the bargain fair,
For if you 'ave lost more than us, you crumpled up the square!

'E rushes at the smoke when we let drive,
An', before we know, 'e's 'ackin' at our 'ead;
'E's all 'ot sand an' ginger when alive,
An' 'e's generally shammin' when 'e's dead.
'E's a daisy, 'e's a ducky, 'e's a lamb!
'E's a injia-rubber idiot on the spree,
'E's the on'y thing that doesn't give a damn
For a Regiment o' British Infantree!
So 'ere's to you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your 'ome in the Soudan;
You're a pore benighted 'eathen but a first-class fightin' man;
An' 'ere's to you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with your 'ayrick 'ead of 'air --
You big black boundin' beggar -- for you broke a British square!

Spring Skirmish Report

2011-03-19T20:50:00.010Z

I drove down to sunny Yeovil today as Lisa had taken Ava out with her mum leaving me at a lose end. 3 1/2 hours later I arrived and found the hall buzzing with activity.

Although there were only 4 traders (including Peter Pig), their was a couple of decent demo games plus a Flames of War competition.

.

This is Gustaphus Adolfus (sp?) himself. Very nicely painted. He was part of a large Thirty Years War game using Fields of Glory Renaissance.

This was the table. I'm sorry to say I didn't get the chaps name who spoke to me so enthusiastically about it, but hopefully I will catch up with him at Fisticuffs. I did recognise Paul from the Weymouth club. The battle was a ficitonal encounter with lots of action on the flanks between the cavalry.

Nice scenary too.

Here is a 'Very British Civil War' game. The premise if you dont know is base on Edward not abdicating in the 30's and a rise in support for the fascist movement throughout the country who are the opposed by various socialist factions.

Again lovely figures, vehicles and nice terrain, including a senotaph with poppy wreaths and a messenger on roller skates.

Washingtons Army being played out with me and Stewart taking on Martin and Nigel. We played three games over the day. This was the last one and Nigel aand Martin had no luck at all in forcing away the American defenders.

This gamette is a great introduction to the rules. With experienced players this small action can be played out in less than half an hour with frantic action and spur of the moment decisions.

This was an earlier game where Martin teamed up with Ralph Ashdown, ome of the organisers of the day. I think Stewart and myself won this one too!

So a nice day. I picked up a couple of ships for Hammerin Iron plus some more green dice from Peter Pig as I am told there aren't many left and as soon as they are gone Julie will get some red ones in! Lee from STaB was there too with his trade stand so I picked up an Army Painter spray in Greenskin Green, hopefully to be used for a revitalised AK47 Reloaded army using the spray, detail, dip method.

I headed off at around 2.30pm having had a look at the competition tables. Flames of War clearly has its fans but wall to wall tanks on a 6'x4' just isn't my thing. Still some nice models on display and everyone seemed to be enjoying the cut and thrust of battle.

Got home at around 6.15pm after a quick stop at Bristol. Thoroughly enjoyed myself, but possibly a bit too far to travel in one day when driving myself there and back. With a passenger or two it wouldn't be so bad, or else arranging a stop over for the night.

Roll on Salute!

Spring Skirmish

2011-03-18T11:55:00.007Z

All being well I will head down to Yeovil for the day to Spring Skirmish held in Yeovil, details at

http://sswg.synthasite.com/spring-skirmish.php

A handful of traders, but to be honest I will go just to socialise with some of the guys down there. Better than working I suppose. I will probably purchase a couple of bits. Possibly a 3rd platoon for my late war US PBI army as recommended by Kevan Gunn some time ago.

Getting quite fired up by thoughts of future projects and continuation of some old ones. I am really looking forward to getting Square Bashing going in readiness for the new rules. The early war French were redone a short time ago and look lovely...

Full squarebashing range can be found here: http://www.peterpig.co.uk/range16.htm

I will endeavour to remember my camera tomorrow and will try to post a proper show report. Being a small one it will be a good place to start! Salute is next and I will hopsefully be helping out on the Peter Pig game so some good pictures coming from that.

Currently I am involved in a North Africa 1942 game at the club, somewhere near Gazzala. I am playing the Hun with some light armour. There are 7 or 8 players involved and has lasted for two weeks. All 15mm stuff played using the Battlefront rules which are based on the old Fire and Fury system. Enjoying it alot but due to shifts will be missing tonight. This is a good example of why I prefer RFCM games which are over in an evening, leaving plenty of time for hobby chat.

If its still on next week I shall resume my command but who knows what situation my stuff will be in for me to extricate them from!

Finally another picture of the AK47 Reloaded participation game at Salute a couple of years ago. Nice stuff!

More soon.....

WMMMS 2011

2011-03-15T20:12:00.004Z

Had a great day down at Alumwell. Lots of Stoke Wargames Group there to chat with and share the day. Of course Peter Pig were there with Martin, Nigel and Stewart in attendance. I took part in two Washingtons Army games winning both. Possibly a record!

At last years show I put on Towton but was somewhat put down by a couple of guys telling me how great their version of Towton would be this year. Well there are several pictures around the web and as you can see it is impressive indeed. Very nice scenary, lots of 28mm figures and a good depiction of snow (although my picture is before the snow was added!).

Now this indeed was a lovely display to look at and drew a large crowd all day. But, similar to the Blenhiem game at Warfare a couple of years ago, it wasn't a wargame. Troops were only moved occasionaly throughout the day to show the course of the battle. No dice were rolled and everyone looked very serious. Compared to my version the visual impact of the 28mm game left my efforts in the shade. But at least people watching last year saw dice being rolled figures being moved and the players enjoying themselves. Far more representative of my idea of what can be achieved at a club level.

It was suggested I say to the members of the club presenting their display that it needed more snow and would look even better in 15mm but I resisted the temptation!

My purchases were Hessians for AWI, cowboys for Hey You in the Jail plus a couple of books - The Road to Marston Moor, Birdsong and the 13th Valley, a Vietnam novel.

In other news, I am gutted to be missing John B's stag do in Ypres in April due to being unable to get the leave. I will console myself with a visit to Salute. After that is Fisticuffs followed by the annual PBI bash in Bournemouth on 21st May and a possible Battle Day in June down in Weymouth. So a busy few months.

More soon....

Painting

2011-03-09T14:00:00.004Z

Well I am painting. Halfway through some AWI Indians, militia and also a limber for my CWB Rebs.

I am at Alumwell on Sunday and have an order for Hessians and cowboys placed and have vowed I must paint some figures by the end of the week to at least make a dent in the pile beofre I collect my new order.

Excited that there is an AK47 Reloaded event planned for September as well as STaB's annual PBI and CWB days listed for May and September respectfully. Hope to get to at least two of these.

I've added the picture of Martin demoing Washingtons Army just for the sake of adding a picture as I cant seem to get into gear to take pictures of my own stuff.

I am seriousley thinking of doing some ebaying in the next few weeks, mainly my Games Workshop stuff for which any sort of passion has drained away altogether. It will add some serious funds for hobby purchases, but not sure what I want to spend it on. The next two releases from Peter Pig are Hammerin Iron and Squarebashing. They are two classic games from the RFCM stable, both of which I have figures for. There maybe the odd purchase here and there to fill gaps, but nothing too onerous on the finances. Cowboys is a small expenditure project as will be pirates when I eventually get around to them.

So what period will be on the cards for next year? I suspect Peter Pig will have a complete new range on the cards for 2012, but I have no idea what. If I was asked to speculate how about the following half dozen periods:

1. US Mexican War

2. Further Colonial (maybe big battle Sudan)

3. Ancients (doubtful)

4. Crimean (also doubtful)

5. Maximillian Adventure

6. Sci Fi (possibility as Martin said he wanted to have another go at this following the sale of the old range)

7. Revisit of Hey you in the Jail?

Ok thats seven. I'll check back in 12 months time on this post to see if my powers of foresight are anywhere near the mark!

more soon...

Projects

2011-02-05T22:12:00.002Z

Isn't it funny how ideas for projects creep up and grab you when your not looking. For some reason I cant get the thought of Crimean and Malburian projects out of my head. No idea why, other than a bit of reading here and there.

Quite often an idea for a project can come and go within a day. One day I want to do French Indian Wars as seen in Wargames Illustrated years ago using the old WRG rules. The next I dont.

But an idea can grow some impetus as I think of suitable figure ranges and peruse websites for suitable candidates. As a pretty much confirmed 15mm gamer, there are the staple manufacturers - Peter Pig of course, but also Essex, Friekorps, Lancashire, Minifigs and Old Glory. The project can die a death here if no figure ranges take my fancy. Or, I may go as far as getting a few samples to look at.

Then of course one has to consider rules. If no commercial rules are available or else free on the web, again a project idea can fade away. I am no rules writer so with no commercial set to my liking there is no hope.

However even if I find figures and rules, a project can be many months from hitting the wargames table. This can be a dangerous time for any wargames project as the 'ooh shiny' complex can kick in distracting you away to begin the process all over again.

Over the last few years I have concentrated on Peter Pig rules and figures and this wont change any time soon. But it does not protect me from a wandering eye every now and then when inspiration hits in a period not covered by Peter Pig. I was chatting to Ade at the club last night and he mentione about allowing himself one historical period to collect in 28mm (he has lots of GW fantasy and 15mm historicals). It got me wandering what periods I would like to collect or game in 28mm. Now with unlimited resources, I would opt for ACW using Dixon figures, painted by Bob Kiff on bespoke terrain. Probably the OOB for Gettysburg at brigade level. But that aint ever going to happen. And to be honest I am quite content playing with and painting my Peter Pig figures. Of course if Martin ever produced a Crimean or Malburian range I could be sorely tempted!

More soon!

Plans

2011-01-13T10:58:00.003Z

Well, I've decided not to plan much of my gaming this year. No point as lifde is too hectic and in fact I am enjoying sitting in my room and thinking 'Right, what next' rather than thinking 'I must get those done.'

My AWI project grinds on. Although I have played it using counters, the figures have yet to hit the table. I just keep finding more figures to paint and I am currentley dreaming up an order for either the York or Alumwell shows which are creeping up fast. I am also thinknig of finally adding limbers to my ACW armies along with a couple of new units now I have completed the count of just what stuff I have got.

I am staging a Bloody Barons game at the club tomorrow for 3-4 members who have never played before. On sorting through the figures I have one or two gaps there two, mainly cavalry but also some European types with handgunners, crossbowmen and pike needed in small quantities. By the same token, my Sudan collection has some obvious gaps such as Ansar and Naval troops. I do intend getting the Paddle boat, which I may treat myself to later in the year.

WW1 for the Squarebashing also sits waiting for serious attention rather than the odd bit here or there. This would be a 'quick' paint, the uniforms being pretty straight forward and screaming for dip. Two projects I would love to crack this year are Wild West using 'Hey You in the Jail' and Pirates in the form of 'Pieces of Eight'. I have bits of these but nothing to speak of.

I do intend to post more pictures but for some reason its like pulling teeth adding pictures ot the blog. And I just cant seem to get the format right. I shall perserve.

I 'think' I have staved off the temptation of TSS scenary boards. I was happy with how my table looked using the GW battle mat and S&A scenary bits. The only issue is the hills I have from them are sloped which look good, but troops do slide about on them and you cant have a house on a hill for instance. So I may look at more traditional 'flat' hills.

I'll take some pictures of tomorrows game and post them.

more soon....

YouTube Video

2011-01-06T23:29:00.003Z

Short video experiment summarising the Wilsons Creek game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXDSC9xqJSE

More soon.....

Wilsons Creek

2011-01-06T21:57:00.006Z

As I was home alone for a few hours, I did something I haven't done before and had a solo game. As its the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War, I played the Wilsons Creek battle from the Civil War Battles rule book. Of course all figures, buildings, dice and most of the fence from Peter Pig.

For those interested here is the WkikLink

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wilson%27s_Creek

The battlefield. The Union have one brigade in the farm halfway up on the left and 3 brigades on 'Bloody Hill' halfway up on the right. The Rebs have 4 brigades inbetween the two (in the teddy bear fur in the centre), and 2 brigades below the stream (Wilsons Creek). The objectives are the farm and the hill. The rebs are hampered as the stream is not fordable and the only crossing is via the road. Its a tough scenario for the rebs who although have superiority in numbers are under fire from front and rear.

The Rebs massed for assault on Bloody Hill. Only the right hand unit survived the game and they retired into woodland to their rear. In fact the rebs lost 5 of their 6 brigades with the Union not losing any.

Here the Union charged the rear of a Reb brigade who showed great elan and saw them off. Weight of numbers told in the end though and things ended badly for the rebs.

Game end with the rebs massacred!

Scenary is S&A, Terrafirma and GW plus some teddy fur and other bits of felt template.

My conclusion of solo play is its better than not playing and a break from painting. I may do it again with another period next week. At the club tomorrow night. No game planned, but I may take something down in case anyones up for it.

Wilsons Creek

2011-01-06T20:10:00.007Z

Something different now. A solo game, if for now other reason than to get some toys out. I had a free afternoon with an empty house and so seen as its the year of the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War i chose the first scenario from Civil War Battles, Wilson Creek whihc took place during August 1861. Rather than bore you with an account for those interested heres the WikiLink

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wilson%27s_Creek

As per usual the game was played using Peter Pig figures. I have never played solo, and wouldn't like to make a habit of it, but for an occasional one of it was alright. It was suprising how rules slip your mind despite being very familiar with the rules. Anyway some pictures are in order.

The battlefield. Union positions are a brigade in the farm halfway up on the left and 3 birgades on the hilss halfway up onthe right. These two features are the objectives. The Rebs are in the middle of the two in the teddy bear fur (no in game significance just for show.) The Rebs also have two brigades below the river which is unfordable so can only be crossed by the road ford.

Mid game action with the Rebs being attacked from fromt and rear. It is a tough game for the Rebs and I tohught it was over after the first turn when they lost two brigades trying to take the hills.

This shows the Reb brigades. They were unable to make any headway on the attack for the hills. The right hand brigade is the only one that survived.

This is at game end with a Reb brigade massacred from all sides.

The Last Post

2010-12-24T08:56:00.005Z

Likely for this year...

Well a bit of an up and down year personally and wargaming wise. Not near as much wargaming but understandable in the circunmstances. Via the joy that is the Smart Phone, I have managed to keep abreast of what has been going on in the industry and on the various forums across the net. But actual painting and gaming has been what might be termed as a 'fail'.

January and February and this past month have seen some productivity with AWI being the main theme. Peter Pig have now around 65 packs in the range and now includes Hessians. Somewhat impatiently, unable to resist some Friekorps 15 Dragoons, I have now painted a unit of 17th Dragoons for my British and the 3rd Conitnental Dragoons for the Yankees. Should Peter Pig release some then they will be replaced. I do have the Peter Pig Dragoons in Tarleton helmet which will be painted as British Legion and 4th Continental in due course.

Recentley released are Continental Line wearing hats. These will be painted as 2nd New Hampshire for the Yankees but I will also paint a unit of Loyalists, probably in a green coat. I'll probably end up with more units than fought in the real thing, but at least I'll have plenty of choice.

I'll end now. If chance I'll put up a full review of 2010 and list some hopeful plans for 2011.

More soon...

Painting

2010-12-09T14:00:00.003Z

Yes I am painting again. Sorted out the painting station. I have made the ground breaking decision that all the paints I use most frequesntley will be stored together in a small box so I dont have to scrabble around each session and waste valuable time.

I must have around 200 pots of paint, maybe more. But of those, I use half a dozen on most figures I paint. Black, white, leather brown (Cote d' Arms colour)almost all browns, chainmail, flesh and buff. At the moment I am painting AWI, so reds and blues are also in the mix. The blue is GW's Ultramarine blue which I am using for Continental's. I use the same blue for my ACW Union, which when coated with Army Painter Dark Shade, comes out just right. Years ago I would agonise over getting the right shade of blues or reds or similar. Now, so long as it comes somewhere close I really dont mind. The red I use is I think called scarlet red from Vallejo. Using the Army Painter means I need a bright red otherwise it gets lost under the dark shade.

My mojo is definately returning. I am currently crossing my fingers that a new project may be coming my way at the end of the week. I wont say anymore until the deal is done. I am also thinking of getting the table set up and playing a few solo games just to keep me ticking over until the new year when I may get to the club or play some mid week games.

The AWI range at Peter Pig has grown nicely over the last few months with more Militia types as well as ragged continentals and now the Hessians! Trenton anyone?

Peter Pig are currently in the midst of playtesting a new version of Squarebashing which Martin has graciousley involved me in despite my lack of time to contribute to. Intriguingly listed as the game for Salute is Hammerin' Iron. At Warfare speaking to Nigel he let slip that a revision of Hammerin' Iron was in the works. So, its looking promising for the new year. I've also been having hankerings for Pieces of Eight action.

Went to see the new Harry Potter the other day. Very good, but quite dark and gritty in places. And, as I am only on book 4, the story is a bit lost on me. But recommended nonetheless.

Next some pictures coming as once again I promise to increase the photographic content of the blog.

More soon...........

News

2010-11-27T20:02:00.003Z

Well with one thing and another, wargaming has taken a back seat. Ava is now 11 weeks old and doing well, though full of cold at the moment. Sleep deprivation hit a few weeks ago now and myself and Lisa seem to run on one notch above exhausted most of the time.

With the news of Martyns death on Monday, coming on top of other bad news in the family and work being more hectic than ever I have struggled to find the time or motivation for anything other than the occasional browse on the internet. I did get down to Warfare last weekend and had a short chat with Nigel and Julie on the Peter Pig stand. I picked up a couple of packs of the Tatty Continentals and some of the Rebs in Civilian hats. Not sure when they'll see a paint brush though. It was a very enjoyable day, with John B drinving us down giving us chance to catch up on each others news and discuss wargaming ad infinitum. Once there we met up with Keith and Ade. It was great being with good friends for a few hours sharing each others company.

I was VERY close to cracking and investing in TSS terrain tiles for my home set up. I resisted mainly due to the fact in 5 months at the new house I have played 1 game (**cough** warhammer **cough**). But I am still considering it. Storage is an issue but with a dedicated room it is less of a problem.

Some light at the end of the tunnel though. We are getting into the semblance of a routine with Ava in bed from 8pm and typically waking around midnight. Lisa is usually too pooped to stay awake past 9pm. So I am looking at 9pm-11pm as a window of opportunity for some 'hobby' time.

I did manage half an hour or so this afternoon but I am just not organised in my new painting space. I am in the middle of painting markers for Washingtons Army and was looking at adding white straps/ haversacks to the figures. Unfortunatley it took 10 minutes to find my white paint and then a few more to find a decent brush which dampened my enthusiasm some what!

I was due down in Weymouth this weekend but with Martyns death and other matters on my mind I couldn't face the 4 hour drive. A real shame as I love the battle days Stewart Meecham puts on and Martin is always happy to accomadate me for the night. Hopefully come the first one next year I will be raring to go and in a better frame of mind.

The Stoke Wargames group held its AGM a couple of weeks ago. To be honest with the policy of paying a yearly sub of £150 with no weekly payment option I was seriousley considering leaving. The amount was really the issue (though it is a lot of money). It is the fact that with my shifts and now Ava in our lives, 1 or 2 visits a month would be the norm. With an absolute maximum of 24 visits costing me £150.00, I feel the money could be better spent elsewhere.

So, when it was agreed to up the cost to £160.00 due to falling membership I was even more doubtful I would be renewing. Then the option of £5.00 a week was mooted for occasional visitors, which i would class myself as. John B later suggested £40 up front for 12 visits which appeals even more. So I will remian a member of the club and feel I am getting some value for my money.

Hopefully I may be able to post up some more content on here over the coming months now I feel some of my mojo returning. Fingers crossed.

More soon...

Martyn Smith RIP

2010-11-23T20:04:00.004Z

A really difficult post for me to type. Martyn Smith shown above on the right shaking hnads with Keith, passed away last night after a long battle with cancer.

I know that all Stoke Wargames Club members both past and present are tonight thinking of Martyn and the good times they shared with him. I have mentioned him before in this blog. Martyn was a constant friend and wargaming companion over the last 20 years. We travelled the length and breadth of the country with him visiting shows (often getting lost along the way). The games at his house either in his garage or dining room were legendary. He had a propensity for buying and painting armies and then selling them to fund a new period. His knowledge of militairy history was vast and you could always rely on him having the answer for some obscure fact whether it be on Ancient campaigns or German tanks. And everything inbetween.

To my knoweldge he never spoke badly of anyone and I know for a fact everyone who met him found him to be a genuine, friendly, funny character and a pleasure to be around. Countless are the times when standing around a table we have been doubled up with laughter, unable to speak with tears running down our faces. He was a genuinely nice bloke.

He wasn't bad at wargaming either. He earned the nickname 'Six Smith' for his uncanny ability with a D6. He won the inaugural club Warhammer tournament in splendid style using a Vampire Counts army to thrash the previousley all conquering Lizardmen army in the final. We always knew things were going well when he would gaze at the table, rubbing his his hands together so fast he could make fire. Personally I lost far more games against him than I won, but each one was memorable and I shall always cherish my memories of each encounter.

We last gamed together at Mark Whites house on 4th August 2010, playing on the same side in a 15mm Napoleonic thrash (Martyns favourite word for a good game) up against Tim and Baz. It was like rolling back the years to my first time at the club.

Martyn can be seen below in the middle, on form as usual.

Well, I've so much to say, but I am unable to do justice to it at the moment.

Rest in peace old lad.

Sculpting miniatures

2010-09-20T20:31:00.004+01:00

My first attempt at sculpting is a bit bigger than 15mm. This is Ava Georgia Grace Clark was born by elective cesarian section on 7th September 2010 at 11:09. She weighed in at 7lb 9oz. Mother and baby doing well, dad is knackered.

Wargaming is taking a bit of a back seat understandably for a bit. I'm still snatching the odd painting session but actual gaming will be limited.

On 5th September I helped run the Washingtons Army participation game at Partizan with Martin Goddard. I had a great day introducing the game to new players including 3 from my neck of the woods, Rod Paul and Dave, who seemed to enjoy their game. I also picked up a load more AWI figures from Peter Pig which should keep me going until Christmas. Of course any new releases that arrvive will be snapped up in due course.

This year has been a bust one with a house move, change in role at work and now baby. All ontop of turning 40. The blog has suffered as a result. I will try and update periodically but I dont expect much content to be added for the foreseable future.

More at a later date!

Baby on board

2010-08-20T11:59:00.002+01:00

Around three weeks until D-Day. Unfortunately at a scan yesterday we discovered baby is breech. We go into hospital on Monday to see if it can be turned using a technique called 'External Cephalic Version'. If it works Lisa can go through natural childbirth, if not she will have an elective caesarian, probably on 6th September.

Exciting times. And I turn 40 on Wednesday. Mmmmm.

Take a deep breath and ......... relax.

Martin Goddard - You Tube star

2010-08-20T11:56:00.004+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KrPOMNoXCM&feature=channel

Martin talks about Washingtons Army rules.

Battles in the Age of Weymouth

2010-08-20T11:20:00.011+01:00

In late July a merry band of wargamers met in a church hall in Weymouth to recreate battles from the Sengoku period.

For once I wasn't the furthest travelled. That went to Kevan Gunn seen here in the yellow.

This is a picture of my attack on Chris Cunninghams Daimyo sitting pretty in his Maku. Chris cleverly put his large mounted Hatomoto unit in front of me which was akin to a brick wall.

Not sure whose playing here but it looks like a good game!

An overview of the hall.

A nice picture of a game in progress on Peter Pigs lovely scenary board. This gives you a good idea of how a game looks.

Stewart in the red 'Levellers' shirt organised the day. For the second year running, he won. It's all down to the Ikko Ikki. Stewart is trying to look humble. Martin is still in shock from my diabolical tactics when he partnered me in the last game.

The Band of Brothers

A great days gaming which Lisa and myself turned into a weekend staying in a picturesque village of Piddletrenthide.

Stewart organised a great day with no hitches and lots of smiles and laughs. Looking forward to the next one.

Still Here

2010-07-29T21:25:00.003+01:00

House move done.

Wargames room, known locally as 'The Office', sorted.

Episode of food poisoning now recovered from.

Nursery nearing completion.

Baby only a few weeks away.

Just back from a round country trip. Weymouth for Samurai battle day. Bristol for a night out. Luckington to see Lisa's cousin Martin and his wife Vicks. Barmouth Wales for a few days with my family. Home.

I think that covers the last few months since the last post. Not much wargaming, either painting or playing. But with everything else going on no surprise there. No presssure this year to hit targets or beat last years total. Get some in as and when and relax.

Missed C.O.W. due to aforementioned food poisoning. Cross fingers for next year now. But with bambino that may need adding to the agenda for the next round of negotiations with Lisa.

Plodding on with AWI painting having picked up some of the new figures from Peter Pig whilst down in Weymouth. Also spurred on to paint figures for Squarebashing for which playtesting is about to start in earnest. Whilst in Barmouth soaking up the grey skies I read Norman Stones 'Workd War One, a short history'. Very digestable account of the war in its entirety with some interesting points on the eastern front.

Thats all for now, but a full report of the Samuria day will follow.

More soon...

Ups and downs

2010-04-20T20:05:00.006+01:00

Living as we do in a small terraced cottage has its advantages. In the morning we open the curtains and look out across fields, in which as I sit and type are half a dozen horses grazing away. We are in an ideal location, with a village cricket ground next door to us and woods behind. But it does come with its downside.

If I want to spray paint or varnish my figures it usually takes some planning as I have to wait for warmish weather and then dash out to my garage which is behind our house or else do it in the rear yard as I have just done. I normally wait until I have a tray full of figures to do rather than on a unit by unit basis. Unfortunately whilst doing so this evening I left the back door open and the resultant odour drifted into the house. Much to the dismay of Lisa who is now nearly 19 weeks gone with our first child. Fortunately she has gone out for a 'horsey meeting' at the local, leaving me with the windows open hoping the smell will be gone by the time she returns.

We are on the verge of a house move to a considerably larger property with attached double garage. Negotiations are at a critical phase over which bedroom in the house will be the study (read wargames room) and which will be bambinos nursery. Unfortunately the fields woods and cricket club will be replaced by other similar properties on what the estate agents choose to call an 'executive development'. Exciting times but it does mean that I need to take advantage of what time I have free as it will be in short supply come late summer/early autumn.

I am continuing to add to the AWI collection with a unit of American Light Infantry on the block next whilst tidying up a few bits a pieces across my other collections. The Sudan is calling to me at the moment for some attention.

More soon...

Imaginations and AK47

2010-04-14T14:19:00.004+01:00

There is a current trend across the internet to create 'Imagi-nations' based typically around fictional 18th century nations as a basis for table top battles. These harken back to the like of Charles Grant and Peter Young and encouraged building units of 40 or 50 individually based figures almost in a toy soldier style. Of course back in the mid 90's when the first version of AK47 came out you were encouraged to create your own country, giving it a name, a flag and a name for the army such as the Freedom Party for Democracy and Truth. Very much in the 'Imagi-nation' theme. In fact there were tables on which you rolled dice to come up with original names and flag designs, going as far as to encourage you to get your crayons out to draw your new flag. This theme continue in AK47 Reloaded.

Spurred on by the excellent AK Day last weekend, I feel like creating my own Modern Africa 'Imagi-Nation'. I know of only one dedicated blog on a similar theme, set in the ficitional country of Bongolesia. I may create a seperate blog, or just put the occasional post on here. I'll use it to link some games of AK and explore my creative side, whilst hopefully not crossing any boundaries of taste and decency.

More soon...

Weymouth Battle Day

2010-04-11T10:37:00.024+01:00

Ralph Ashdown with his trophy. Well done Ralph!

Friday saw me travelling down to the south coast for the Peter Pig Battle Day in Weymouth. AK47 Reloaded was the order of the day. Martin at Peter Pig had kindly agreed to put me up for the night and take me down to the 'Levellers' club night for a warm up game.

On arrival Martin greeted me and we settled down to some wargames chat, before the arrival of Rob Roriston for some tea with the rest of the Goddard family, Julie, Rachel and Grace. Following this we took the short drive to the club where two games of Reloaded were played to blow away any cobwebs. Myself and Martin took on Paul and Lee. Having performed poorly in the pregame we found ourselves with very few on table forces, but managed to hold on to the objectives somehow and won the game despite Lee's attack helicopters causing havoc for Martins armour.

We left our stuff at the club ready for the following day where battle would commence in the Church next door. It was again back to Martins for more shooting the breeze over a cup of tea. I also got to look at a pre-release copy of Washingtons Army. Unlike recent RFCM rules they will be spiral bound which I think is a good idea for the longevity of the book. It was then bed with a 7.30 alarm call, breakfast and then back down the road to the Church.

The Peter Pig Battle Days are organised by Stewart Meecham in Weymouth or Miles Milton in Bournemouth. Both have a similar passion to me for friendly games where there is no emphasis on crushing your opponent , just a fun few hours rolling dice and pushing around toy soldiers.

Although only a handful of us were there, it didn't matter a jot. For me so long as I play a couple or three games, preferably against different opponents in the right spirit, it doesn't matter whether 6 or 60 turn up. In fact the more people that turn up, the more stress for the organiser!

Anyway some pretty pictures of the games.

A nice day had by all. I came 6th which is some kind of record for me. I think my first top ten finish in one of these things!

Ralph was a deserved winner even if he did shoot my militia in the back as they were running away! We had a great game in the true spirit of RFCM games. My game against Miles was much closer and could of gone either way. Miles will tell you he won 39 points to 35, but the book say it was a stalemate and I'm sticking with that! Again played in a spirit, just how it should be.

We had a lovely dinner too, fish and chips for me. I think with less chatting and more urgency we could have fitted three games in but, in hindsight, two was enough and allowed me to get on the road early enough to get home around 8pm. So well done to Ralph for winning and Stewart for organising and the Goddard family for putting me up. Certainly as long as these events are run I will support them.

Easter Sunday

2010-04-04T16:37:00.003+01:00

Having considered the comments about my Towton game from Alumwell, I may just run participation games in the future. I feel the demands of a demo game maybe beyond the time and efforts I am able to put into them. I stand by the game I put on, and feel it looked good as a club style game (ie a game you might expect to see on any given club night). It was a solo effort with all figures and terrain by me. I admire clubs that can put on demos with 1000+ 28mm figures on beautifully sculpted terrain. But such efforts are beyond most and for newcomers at their first show these games must seem baffling much like the Blenheim game at Warfare back in November.

Next Saturday sees me in Weymouth for the AK47 day run by Stuart Meecham. As I am travelling down on the Friday I am also booked in for a game at the Levellers club in Weymouth. I am busily preparing a few bits and pieces to take with me.

This site http://www.warflag.com has been around for a while but Warflag really is very good. I have used it for my burgeoning AWI armies, and intend to make it my first stop from now on.

So many plans at the moment with little time. We have sold our house but the house we were buying has fell through so we may be facing a short time with Lisa's parents. With impending fatherhood too, I can see my work/life balance changing somewhat! Still, upwards and onwards.

2010-03-24T10:48:00.003Z

Out in October and set during the American War of Independance. Cornwell has clearly jumped onto the bandwagon with the forthcoming release of of Peter Pigs Washingtons Army rules and the anticipated upsurge in interest in the period!

After Show report (WMMMS)

2010-03-21T23:35:00.003Z

Had a great day down at the West Midlands Militairy Modelling Show in Wolverhampton today. I took my 'Towton' game down which uses the Bloody Barons scenario. Drew some nice comments from Martin and Stewart at Peter Pig and some kind members of the public. However my first effort at engaging someone who appeared to be interested fell flat. When asked if he played Bloody Barons, his reply of 'Hate them' caught me off guard. He was clearly unimpressed with my 600 odd 15mm figures on a 5x3 table. At next years show he is putting on Towton with 1400 28mm figures on a 12x6 table, using Poleaxed by the Lance and Longbow society. Clearly a superior form of wargaming!

John B, Tom B, Ben and Jon fought out my version of the battle and a good time with many laughs was had by all. Some very poor dice rolling led to John swapping to the brand new green Peter Pig dice which saw a change in fortunes for the Yorkists as they did very well with Edward and Norfolks command against the Lancastrians, but less well with Fauconberg. Tom B did well with the Lancastrians in the centre under Somerset and pushed onto the hill held by York (helped by Ben charging off the hill into him!). Young Jon showed excellent dice rolling skills in making numerous saves agaisnt the odds using Nevilles command.

Running a demo game does help stop the spending, as I had little time to trawl the stands. The Osprey on Philadelphia 1777 was a good buy at £5. A few of the new American Light infantry from Peter Pig to add to my preorder plus the new green dice meant I spent less than £30. Not too bad I think!

In the rush to get to the show I forgot the camera but will trawl the web as I know several picutres were taken and I will be playing the game out at home at some point so will put some pictures up then.

More soon....

American War of Independance range

2010-03-16T22:20:00.003Z

The Peter Pig AWI range continues to grow.

www.peterpig.co.uk/range5-awi.htm

Pictures up of the American Light Infantry, dismounted Dragoons and the Hunting shirt firing. All lovely figures. AND Militia command and advancing! Maybe I wont need too much from Freikorps afterall! Hopefully Tricorne British wont be far away, for those early northern battles. Having said that, I have enough to paint as it is!

West Midlands Militairy Modelling Show

2010-03-16T21:53:00.003Z

WMMMS is this weekend. I am putting on Towton using Bloody Barons. My reading on the battle has opened my eyes somewhat. Why is it no one knows about Towton?

The following was written a few years ago by Martin Kettle of the Guardian.

For some years, until it grew too yellow and curled, I had a New Yorker cartoon taped to my fridge door. In the cartoon, a middle-aged man and a middle-aged woman are conversing at a cocktail party. The woman is asking: "One question. If this is the information age, how come nobody knows anything?"

In Britain, people of that generation make remarks of that kind quite a lot in August. While the school system belches forth the latest A-Level and GCSE results, the usual suspects queue up to say the usual things from their respective viewpoints. The pupils say they are thrilled, the teachers that they are vindicated, education ministers that the system works, and the Daily Telegraph that civilisation is at an end. Amid this annual ritual you can be sure that someone will also say that, while kids today are schooled to pass exams, they lack the broad education and general knowledge that we, their parents, once enjoyed.

My instinct is that a bit of caution is in order before we regurgitate too readily the idea that we of the older generation know so much and our children know so little. I say this partly because I'm often struck by the amount my children know that I don't - and partly because, with the obvious exception of Nicole Kidman, we're none of us perfect anyway.

A group of us, all intelligent, well-educated and middle-aged, were sitting around the table just the other day when I mentioned a fact I am always surprised is so little-known. And guess what? None of the rest of the group knew anything about it either. This week I asked a few colleagues at random what this thing meant to them. Once again, I drew a blank.

So here is my question. What does the word Towton mean to you? If you have the answer, as lots of you will, I'm glad, because you should. Yet if you don't, you are in very good company. It nevertheless says something about us as a nation that you are far more likely not to know anything about Towton than to know instantly what it is.

And here is the answer. Towton is a village about 10 miles south-west of York. It owes what fame it has to the fact that it was once the scene of a battle. But this was not just any battle. At the battle of Towton, more English people were killed than on any other day ever. And by ever I mean - ever.

It is often said that the bloodiest day in our history was July 1 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, when 19,200 soldiers went over the top and were mown down by German guns. As a result, the Somme has become synonymous with the frightful, mindless slaughter of a whole generation of young British men. It traumatised the survivors so much that they barely spoke of it. But it hangs over our country still, nearly a century later. Merely to think of it can make one weep.

Yet Towton was bloodier than the Somme. When night fell on March 29 1461 - it was Palm Sunday, and much of the battle took place in a snowstorm - the Yorkist and Lancastrian dead numbered more than 20,000. It should be said that the figures are much disputed and rise to as many as 28,000 in some accounts, and there were countless wounded besides.

Now remember two other things while you absorb that. First, that while the population of Britain in 1916 was more than 40 million, that of England in 1461 was considerably less than 4 million, so the proportionate impact on the country must have been seismic. One in every hundred Englishmen died at Towton. Its impact must have been a bit like an English Hiroshima.

And, second, that, this being 1461, not a shot was fired. This was not industrial killing from a distance. Every Englishman who died at Towton was pierced by arrows, stabbed, bludgeoned or crushed by another Englishman. As a scene of hand-to-hand human brutality on a mass scale, Towton has absolutely no equal in our history. It was our very own day of wrath.

Towton is not a secret. It is in the books and on the maps. If you visit, there is a memorial. The same river which was so packed with corpses that men fled across them from one bank to the other still runs through it. If you study the Wars of the Roses, you learn it was a decisive Yorkist victory. If you go online you can discover some of the detective work done by the University of Bradford on mutilated skeletons exhumed from some of Towton's mass graves. And if you go to a performance of Henry VI Part 3, you will see that the national poet himself set potent scenes at Towton, where, in the thick of battle, a father finds he has killed his son and a son that he has killed his father, and where the watching and hapless Lancastrian king wishes himself among the dead - "For what is in this world but grief and woe?"

Yet, though not a secret, Towton is largely now forgotten. It carries none of the civic weight that Gettysburg does in America. Of course, Towton was all much longer ago, though more distant Hastings is still recalled well enough. Perhaps the dynastic cause in which Towton was fought is simply too obscure, though plenty of people today can recall roughly what the much later internecine battle at nearby Marston Moor was about.

Towton undoubtedly meant something to Shakespeare and his audiences. He uses it to warn against the great fear of all Tudors, the catastrophe of civil strife. We have no fear of civil war today. Such things belong to the past, where they did things differently. And yet ... Might something other than the fact that it all happened a long time ago partly explain our sustained expunging of Towton from the national memory?

Perhaps Towton is simply too brutal, too senseless and thus too traumatic to acknowledge today. I wonder whether Towton denial is even something we inherit in our DNA, an experience we do not want to confront because its intensity and slaughter do not fit with our island story, our national self-esteem and our enduring need for meaning and optimism. Yet when I think about the mindless killings of our own times, whether at home in the streets of Liverpool or abroad in the bombing of distant cities and villages, it seems clear that something of the savage spirit of Towton still lives on within us, even today - and that we should know about it.

Which sums things up nicely!

All figures for the game are Peter Pig of course, on a nice snowy sheet. Hopefully get a few turns in on the day and still have time for a bit of shopping. Following Sunday its full steam ahead on American War of Independance. Playtesting on Washingtons Army is all but finished and I await the final product with anticipation .There are some great scenarios in the book too. I am supplementing Peter Pig figures with Friekorps pending the release of the PP's full range. They will likely be replaced in time.

More soon...

Hedgeley Moor

2010-02-27T10:08:00.011Z

The Battle of Hedgeley Moor took place in April 1464 and was one of the smaller battles of the Wars of the Roses, with just over 6000 men slugging it out. It followed a long period of peace following the Towton campaign. Lord Montagu was sent north by Edward IV to make contact with Scottish supporters at Newcastle. At Hedgeley Moor he met a rebel force under the Duke of Somerset. Morale was low in the Lancastrian camp. It was an untried force that had only just come togethr from stragglers and those recentley pardoned by the King. As Montagu advanced, Lord Roos withdrew from the field with his men. The rest of the Lancastrians stood for a while but as contact was made, their cnetre also buckled and ran leaving Sir Ralph Percy standing. He was on home soil and saw a heroic last stand with Percy being cut down. The Yorkists continued on their way unopposed until a firther clash less than a month later at Hexham.

John B came over to Chez Sean for a game on Wednesday. It was our first game of Bloody Barons together. Having played other RFCM games, the mechanisms soon became familiar and we had a right Royal ding dong. John in the guise of Montague really played a blinder and true to history swept away the Lancastrian forces under Roos and Somerset. Although Percy survived by the end of the battle he was cut off from any line of retreat and in reality would in all probablitiy have been captured.

Montagu behind his command at the sentre of the Yorkist line.

The Yorkists prepare for slaughter on the moor.

Facing the rather nervous Lancastrians with Roos closest to the camera.

Percy's command facing Lord Scrope on the Yorkist right.

John chose the yellow dice this time after having bad memories of the orange dice during a game of CWB. Not sure how this happened after one particular roll of about 10 dice. Had to take a picture though. Its evil magic I tell you. We need to find a witch to burn!

A shaky picture of Montagus command looking pretty confident.

The end. Percy is to the right of the wood with Monatgu about to fall on his rear. It looks bad for old Percy. Bottom right shows the Yorkist command under the Bishop of Exeter who swept Roos and most of Somersets command from the field.

We had a good game and a good laugh with some nice digestives to accompany the tea.

Last night we replayed the battle with young Jon, young Ben and Matt from the club with John B swapping sides. John played a blinder again and reversed history attacking forcefully with Percy and holding the line with Roos (commanded by Ben). Roos' command did eventually succumb but the rest of the Yorkist forces took a real battering.

We did find one frustrating aspect of the rules. Matt had a unit of Household fighting one of Johns retinue. John had the better of it after a couple of drawn combats, eventually whittling the Household down to 1 base which happened to be the Captain, which always saves on a 2+. Johns unit had 7 bases left, but the lone captain fought on for 3 turns, which seemed a little unrealistic. In this battle the figure scale was roughly 1:15, with one base of figures representing 40-45 men. So in effect we had 40-45 men holding off around 300. The rules say nothing about such situations and indeed there are factors for 1-2 base units. Admittedly saving rolls were passed, but with luck (ie not failing the 2+ save) this could have gone on for some time. We felt that after a turn of fighting, weight of numbers would crush the few men left in this situation.

There are two remedies as I see. When it comes to morale tests for 2 bases, you could increase the morale factor to 3D6 instead of the 1D6 it is now. The justification is that things are really bas at this point! At one base, morale is immaterial as if they pass their save they cant lose the combat which is then classed as draw.

Secondly (which I think we shall implement), if a a unit is reduced to one base, it is removed, being classed as having being swept away. A captain base is allowed one turn of fighting, so may take an enemy base with him, but at the conclusion he is also cut down. Justification for this can be found elsewhere in the rules where gun crew are destroyed on being contacted. Also a single base unit is not allowed to start a fight. I think this makes alot of sense as it seemed a tad silly having a lone base holding up a massive horde on is own.

As a counter point a bit further over a levy unit despite losing a combat three turns in succesion and having to roll 7-8 dice each time, managed to survive its morale tests very much against the odds. I have no problem with this, as the unit was being whittled down, but was clearly made of stern stuff and was determined to see the thing through! Of course on getting down to 1 base, we advocate removing.

Lisa is now away skiing for a week, and though I am at work all week, I shall be making use of the free time to paint lots of AWI.

More soon!

Terrain company

2010-02-17T17:02:00.004Z

Interesting that I consider myself well up on all things wargames product related, mainly thanks to the Miniatures Page. Came across this today which I have never seen before and I am particularly impressed by the flexible roads. If budgeting allows an order maybe forthcoming. Check them out at:

http://terrafirmastudios.co.uk/default.aspx

Peter Pigs new American War of Independance

2010-02-17T16:55:00.003Z

Linky to the Peter Pig AWI range:-

http://www.peterpig.co.uk/range5-awi.htm

This range is coming along nicely with new British Line firing, Generals and Artillery crew along with Dragoons.

An order will be placed for collection at Alumwell. I would order now but I am putting the final touches to the Towton game and I have the Indians and some British Line in hats picked up at York ready to be painted. This is signs of a more reserved purchasing structure for me. No point adding to the upainted pile until I am at least some way down those already bought.

The rules are coming along nicely, titles 'Washingtons Army'. They are very good!

Militairy Prints

2010-02-17T16:24:00.011Z

With an interest in American Militiary history, Don Troiani has always held an appeal with myself. His pictures full of vitality, action and colour putting you at the heart of the action. His uniform depictions are also spot on and a great source of inspiration.

Here is 'Barksdales Charge, always one of my favourites.

'Bunker Hill'. A spirit of defiance in the eyes of the Patriots. One wonders what they are looking at?

Dale Gallons work is also up there but not quite as good as Troiani in my eyes.

Mark Churms' Bosworth

Samurai by Brian Palmer.

Often these prints offer painting inspiration and I would encourage those in a painting rut to use Google Images to stir them out of the doldrums and get a brush in their hand.

Update

2010-02-12T10:04:00.004Z

Well the York show has come and gone. I shouldn't have gone really as I was still suffering from 'man flu' and felt thoroughly miserable all day and ended up leaving just before 2pm. If it wasn't for my preorder with Peter Pig I think I may have stayed in bed.

I also picked up a few bits from Irregular Miniatures, including a peasant on a mule! From the Lance and Longbow Society I got the Towton booklet which is a nice little red and from S&A scenics I got a white felt cloth for my Towton game.

I have now painted up all but the last few stands for Towton and plan on some trial runs for the guys who may be playing on the day. I have ummed and aaahed over how to represent snow on the bases of the figures. I didn't want a permanent snow effect as only Towton was fought during a raging snow storm. Salt is the answer as it gives a nice light covering of the base but comes off with a gentle shake.

The S&A cloth will have some areas of exposed earth/meadow sprayed on and the roads will be painted on. The opposing ridges will be represented by polystyrene beneath the cloth. The woods will be the plastic armatures from Woodlands scenics to represent leafless trees. Should all look very chilly. Pictures of a test run will be forthcoming.

More soon...

York Show

2010-02-06T12:58:00.004Z

Tomorrow sees my annual trip across country to York. This is one of the best shows in the year. It certainly has come a long way since its days in the Merchant Guild Hall in the city centre which was always a bit dark and cramped.

A small preorder is in with my favourite 'porcine' figure manufacturer for the last few bits for Bloody Barons (for now!) and also a few more bits to keep the AWI collection ticking over. The Washingtons Ware rules are really getting me going. As you can see to the right handside of this page, I am reading 'Patriot Battles' at the moment which was recommended last weekend. It was written in 2007 by Michael Stephenson, an American hisotrian so I am expecting some bias, but so far it is a great read.

I didn't know for instance that Washington thought so little of his militia troops, whom history and the media have 'romanticised' as seen in 'The Patriot.' Also the reluctance of the population to take up arms and the spiralling bounties that various states were willing to pay to encourage the men away from their farms ($10 in 1776, upto $800 in 1778 in one example).

The numbers of troops Washington had available fluctuated wildly from campaign to campaign, falling s low as 6-7,000 and rising to no more than 35,000 at any one time. Stephenson claims numbers have in the past being greatly inflated, 95,000 in some sources, but his research seems plausible.

He also says that the British army was not the battle hardened force sometimes claimed, with most veterans of the French Indian War out of service by the time hositlities got under way in 1775.

Some interesting and challenging points of view. I am awaiting 'Almost a Miracle' which was recommended by Kevin Fischer last weekend too. The order is with Amazon as we speak.

I am suffering with a stinking head cold at the time of writing, but I am finding some solace in painting a few buildings picked up last year. Old English and Japanese mainly plus some walls and other bits. Nothing too taxing as concentration is lacking. Missed club last night more to save others from my germs than anything else.

Hopefully fell better comethe morning.

Washngtons Army

2010-01-30T21:27:00.006Z

Washingtons Army is the new American War of Independance rules from Peter Pig, currently in the latter stages of playtest. I have just returned from a great day down in Yeovil where we played a couple of games, chatted about the games and period and had a good time generally.

It helps that everyone was fairly familiar with the RFCM (Rules for the Common Man) ethos of gaming, putting the emphasis on the game and not the war. Once again I forgot my camera but with permission of those concerned I shall scavenge a couple of pictures where I can.

On the drive home I had plenty of time to contemplate the RFCM style of wargaming compared to others that I have experienced and seen. Now, wargaming is a broad church and in my eyes there is no right or wrong. What I enjoy from a game may not be the same as the next man. Even within those who enjoy RFCM games, we all get something different out of the experience.

I now that 'Trebbian' wrote an article some time ago in the wargames press describing the different sort of gamer you might meet down at your local club, from the rules lawyer to the historian to the uber geek. The type of gamer is directly related to the style of gaming you see. My club for instance, which is in reality a collection of rooms in which no two games are similar is a perfect example.

There is a strong Games Workshop element of players (amongst which I have and do participate). The style of game in their room is invariably 2000-2250pts of Warhammer 7th edition, or 1500pts or so of Warhammer 40K . Blood Bowl is the current flavour with a thriving league running. Nice tables and scenary contemplate some very nicely painted armies. On the whole everyone has a good laugh and playes in the right spirit, but there has been the odd outburst or tantrum thrown due to bad luck/bad dice/powerful army lists that conquer all. Thats no criticism, its just how the playing style has evolved with a competitive edge adopted from the odd tournament the players have entered over the years. Occasionally there has the truly spectacular large game put on (thanks to the efforts of Keith and Ade) which are a real break from the norm.

A big game of Warhammer a couple of years ago.

But move down the corridor and you will find Charles, Pete and the gang playing various games but with a strong leaning towards 'Wargods of Aegyptus', another fantasy game with an ancient Eygptian flavour. Now Charles in one of the most enthusiastic gamers at the club and puts on a good game, but he will be the first to admit the aesthetic appeal is occasionally lacking. But this is more than made up for in the amount of fun they all seem to have and they are always willing to shoot the breeze about what they are upto.

Charles Wargods game at a show a while back

In Johns room, you will at the moment find them playing mostly boardgames, but when he gets time, John will put on a massive Napoleonic thrash. 12x6 table, lovely terrain, professionally painted figures of which there are usually several thousand, played out using computer moderated rules. Great games and great spectacle but they do take some commitment from the players to attend week in week out as the games can last 3 or so months.

Dave and Jason in the next room over play a variety of periods in a variety of scales ranging from ancients through to ACW. Good standard club games, as are Phil, Alan et al in the last room, playing in their favourite periods.

It is unusal for any members to move rooms apart from the occasional game here and there and I guess that is due to the members enjoying what they do with similar minded members. Each to their own.

If you spend any time on forums or at wargames shows, it is a similar story. For some it is the beauty of the game with nothing but 28mm figures painted with several layers of highlight and shading. Others enjoy the WRG/FOG style competitions with felt on painted tabletops

FOG in action, I think at Britcon.

The Perry Miniatures Sudan game from 4 or 5 years ago.

For some wargaming is a more intellectual hobby, with the Wargames Development types dedicating themselves to rules writing and innovative mechanics or styles of game somewhat out of left field. Occasionally using figures too!

Some people call themselves wargamers but are in fact miliairy modellers who paint figures to an incredible level of detail.

Some people spend their hobby time of wargaming forums, either in discussion over apsects of the hobby, or else lurking to see what everyone else is talking about!.

My thoughts are there is room for us all. Forums do annoy me sometimes when people post things like " 'xxx' rules for 'yyy' period are rubbish because I think they do this wrong" or whatever. They rarley qualify this with "In my opinion", but state it as fact. Mmmm.

OK if you dont agree a particular mechanic, or approach, fine. Dont play them, or else write some ammendment to make them how you think they should be. Or, write your own. But to dismiss a rules set out of hand is bad manners. In my opinion.

But I guess its a free world and we have freedom of expression so who am I to dictate?

Whatever your flavour of this great hobby, enjoy!

Not much

2010-01-16T22:10:00.002Z

happening wargames wise. Post Christmas lull, with a spot of house hunting. Which if it comes off will see me the proud owner of a dedicated wargames room.

Again.

Lost the last one with 12x6 table, patio doors and double radiator. Which was rather careless. But, I wouldn't take it back now for all the tea in China. I live now in a small cottage in the countryside with fields all around. Idyllic, but only two bedrooms, so the dining room table is my current warzone. If it happens, it happens. If not...meh. Nothing lost.

I have beeen tidying up my Samurai and Wars of the Roses stuff and prepping a few more bits and pieces here and there, including finishing the Maku screens which are nice. Just wondering what if anything I need from Vapnartak which has crept up rather swiftly. Probably a few scenic items from Hovels for the Samurai. Maybe the last two foot units for Wars of the Roses and maybe some horse.

There is alot of discussion going on over at the RFCM Yahoogroup and not all Char B chat. Some of it gets a bit too serious with the occasional post making me think 'what am I doing wasting my time here when I could be painting figures'. I may just go back to the occasional lurk now and then.

Went to the club last night and played some boardgames with John B, Stefan P and young Jon and Ben. A good time had by all. We played a Formula ? racing game, which i won, Risk, which I did terribly at and Lawless which I did pretty poorly in too. I am not much of a boardgamer to be honest, but it is a nice diversion now and then.

New Year

2010-01-03T14:58:00.004Z

First post of 2010.

Hope you all had a great time over the holiday period. Personally it was very busy with work followed by catching up with family and friends, so not much time for wargaming or blogging. However my 2010 painting points are under way with a few Samurai Generals and a unit of AWI Yankees in Hunting shirts.

Wargaming plans for the new year are manifold. Possibly most looking forward to C.O.W. in July, but also the Towton game I will be putting on at the WMMMS show in Wolverhampton in March. AWI will feature heavily come April with Peter Pig releasing their Washingtons Arny rules and figure range. I have made a start with a couple of American units done and a British battalion on the stocks.

With 2155 painting points for the year, I have to say it has been the most productive year ever for me. That includes a lenghty hiatus over the summer during which I scratchbuilt an Imperial City for the clubs 40K players. I have doubts that I will hit that points total again, purely because I completed two large projects that had been sitting around for a while. Both the Wars of the Roses and the Samurai collections were figure intensive, and though I plan to add to them they are both at a point where I can play most of the scenarios in the Bloody Barons and Battles in the Age of War rule books.

ECW, AK47 and Sudan collections will be getting some attention with additions here and there.I didnt play as many games I would have liked but I hope to improve on that this year with more games at home and hopefully at the club too. I do hope to get at least one game in for each of the periods I play. Not too ambitious I think.

As well as the AWI, I will look to complete one other new project, either WW1 for which I have most of the figures (both early and late war) or else Wild West. Cowboys would only be a small project so I may be able to do both but wont punish myself if I dont!

Show wise I intend to get to the usual suspects. York in February, WMMMS in March, Triples in April, Partizan in May and September and Phalanx in June. COWS fills the gap in July. I most likely will miss Salute this year and may replace it with Fisticuffs in Weymouth. I also would like to get to a couple of Stuart Meechams RFCM days and Miles Miltons PBI. I need to be careful with my planning and hope some of these days fall on rest days otherwise I will be using a lot of annual leave up!

The big change for the blog will hopefully be more photographic content. I hope to photograph most of my collection over the year.

More soon!

New Peter Pig ACW cavalry

2009-12-14T18:46:00.002Z

http://www.peterpig.co.uk/Range2.htm

Linky to the new ACW cavalry which are jolly nice. Single piece sculpts with real dash and elan! Now should I be Buford or Forrest?

Wargamer

2009-12-13T17:43:00.005Z

Not sure why the layout is so bad on the Rome post but despite editing it several times it still comes out looking crap. Sorry about that.

Today I went down to the 'Wargamer' show in Great Barr. This use to be held in Aston a few years ago, in September if I recall. Back then it rivalled Alumwell for number of traders and demo games. Now though it is showing its age. The number of traders is reduced with no big figure manufacturers there. The games ranged from quite nice to pretty poor efforts.

Nicest game was by the 'Cobridge Old Contemptibles', playing out a Penninsular encounter in 28mm using 'Carnage and Glory' computer moderated rules. A handful of units a side with lots of character and Spanish.

Really nice to catch up with Jon Murphy and Jeff Davies. Jeff was playing for a change as he normally organises and umpires ACW games. I hadn't seen Jeff for some time and it was nice to see him. He continues his enthusiasm for the hobby and he is probably the major reason I am a wargamer and ACW nut to this day. We had a good chat about all things wargaming and beyond.

I also spoke to Jon Murphy about

http://www.stoke-challenge.co.uk/

which is a small event run in Stoke on Trent every year involving numerous wargames competitions. Along with Keith, we may look at expandingay into the an 'open day' with some participation games and demos. I also discussed the possibility of putting on a Peter Pig competition, probably PBI but maybe AK47 as well, with upto 16 or so players. I'll keep you posted.

Keith was there wih Ade and Martin. Especially good to see Martyn for reasons I wont go into, but if by any chance your reading this mate, Lisa and me are thinking of you. Keep rolling those 6's old lad.

Rome

2009-12-13T16:34:00.008Z

Pictures from Rome. My prediciton of good food, wine, ruins and churches came good. We walked our legs off for four days making sure we saw all we wanted to see. The crowds were somewhat off putting as were the prices but all in all a good time.

St Peters Bascillica and St Peters Square. No Pope though.

Service inside St Peters. Felt like you were on the set of 'Angels and Demons'.

The obligatory photo of the Popes body guard.

I'm fairly sure the Pope isn't a wargamer, but this table in the Vatican Museum struck me as a great example of what a wargames table ought to be.

Leonardo de Vinci's 'Last Supper'. (Vatican Museum).

A sneeky photo in the Sisitine Chapel (cameras weren't allowed).

The Colloseum.

Inside the Colloseum showing the reconstructed arena (arena being the latin for sand) floor which was wooden which was covered in sand to soak up the blood. You can also see the below ground structures. A tunnel led away from the Colloseum to the Gladiatorial training camp down which the Galdiators were taken to access the arena.

Myself with Linda and Adrian (parents in law) on the road down to the Colloseum

The Forum. A pile of rubble to Lisa, a piece of magical ancient history for me!

Piazza Campidiglio

Trevi Fountain

The Pantheon. The most intact building from Ancient Rome.

All in all a great trip with some nice memories. Plus we saw some great paintings by Caravaggio and sculptures by Bennini.

Holidays

2009-12-06T10:54:00.003Z

Well Christmas is a comin and I'm sure everyone is looking forward to a nice couple of days off with family and friends in front of the box with turkey and mince pies a plenty. Unfortunately, not for me as I am working nights Christmas Eve and Christmas night, which for anyone who has ever had to work Christmas is about the worst shift you can pull.

I have worked in 'public service' for 18 odd years now and worked on Christmas day probably for half of those(*). I didn't used to mind much. Its usually not too busy and the money is nice. However as I have grown older and climbed the ranks, I like the idea less and less. So this will be my last I think, requests for alternative duties next year!

Off to Rome for a few days tomorrow. I have never been to Italy so really looking forward to it. Lots of good food, churches and ruins. Pictures WILL follow!

A pertinent comment by Bob Cordery on his blog 'Wargming Miscellany' (link to the right)about the theraputic nature of blogging made me think about blogging in general. This blog has only ever been intended as a public method of motivating me to paint figures and game more. Whether or not my ramblings are of interest is a side issue. In fact I am now looking on this as a diary, much like people used to right pre microchip. Back then someone might make an entry in a journal and put it way in a drawer somewhere, never to be seen by anyone, until maybe they died and their children find it on clearing out their things. Blogging is really a public diary and if anyone finds something of interest all the better.

More soon..........

'Off to War'

2009-12-05T21:59:00.003Z

Portbury Knights held their annual PBI competition at Portbury Village Hall today. A couple of hours drive found me playing three games over the day. Great amosphere with a group of people of a similar bent. Unfortunately I only realisec I had forgotten my camera once past Birmingham so again no pictures. My New Years resolution will be to put far more pictures up as pages of just text is a bit dry.

It was great to meet up with Kevan Gunn again. A gentleman and a scholar if ever there was one. He must surely be the most travelled PBI player out there, hailing from north of the border as he does. He really taught me the game at Bournemouth earlier in the year despite him being somewhat under the weather. So he is the one to blame from me now having a PBI competitive record of 0-6! Still, winnings not everything.

And so it proved as I lost all three games today using my late war US troops. First game against Mark Robinson who was a real gent throughout whilst still kicking me all over the place. Final score 135 -3 to Mark.

Next up was David Ley who attacked and my troops held onto two objectives despite heavy losses, although he did take the primary objective. A big win to David, but I did manage 30 odd points.

Finally Peter Sides with his late war Germans. I was attacking again and the dice deserted me towards the end, leaving me with 3 bases on the table, the rest having buggered off on break tests. Over 100 points to Peter, -6 to me. Mmmmm. maybe Kevan is right about a third platoon!

Now I have played in several Brixcon AK47 events, two PBI competitions as well as numerous Warhammer Fantasy tournaments. My win ratio is pretty embarassing. Not that I mind, winning has never been the be all and end all to me on the wargames table. Consequently the only prize I have ever won was at Brixcon when I took the prize for 'the Greatest Hurt' (ie I came last). Which was ok in my eyes as Peter Pig awarded a £20 voucher for doing so.

So, much to my suprise, today I won the Best Painted Army award for my US troops. Not bad for an army painted with a base colour and Army painter dip! I was dead chuffed, especially when Martin Goddard handed to me my prize which was the Farm house and barn from the Peter Pig scenary range which I had been eyeing up as a Christmas present to me from Lisa!. Not only that but there was also some high walls and other odds and ends in the box which will be put to good use for my PBI set up.

I was also really pleased when Kevan took Most Sporting opponent which in my eyes is a real compliment to any gamer, win lose or draw. Well done Kev!

Had a nice chat with Kevan and Martin about the upcoming American War of Independance rules too which we are playtesting at the moment. Although we communicate via the YahooGroup with thoughts and ideas, it was good to talk face to face about a few things. Really liking how these are shaping up and Martin is clearly brimming with ideas.

More soon, a bit tired now after 5 hours of driving,...

Deleted scenes from 'Gettysburg'

2009-12-05T21:55:00.003Z

As somewhat of an American Civil War nut, the film 'Gettysburg' is pure wargaming nirvana. So on hearing YouTube had some deleted scenes, I thought I would post them here. Hope you don't mind!
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=gettysburg+deleted+scenes&aq=0&oq=gettysburg+de

Thoughts

2009-12-03T21:00:00.003Z

I have been painting more Wars of the Roses this afternoon. I have now painted over 1,500 15mm Peter Pig figures this year. Not sure I'll ever paint so much again as I did have a large back log. I have now virtually completed two projects, with them both stretching their neck for finishing line. The Samurai have the generals, 2 maku and some casualties left to do (all basecoated). The WotR have three units of retinue and 1 unit of horse to do, of which I have still to buy the last two retinue units. These are part of Norfolks command on the Yorkist right at Towton. In the scenario from Bloody Barons Norfolk comes on as reinforcements and in fact is not guaranteed to come on at all. I just now the first time I run the scenario Norfolk will be no where to be seen but it wont do to NOT have the figures just in case.

My painting was accompanied by the 'View from the Veranda' podcast which is part of Meeples and Miniatures. With the host Neil Schuck and Battlegames editor Henry Hyde discussing a hobby centric topic, I can highly recommend it to pass the time between coats of paint. This afternoon it was episode 2 discussing the morality of wargaming. Not something I have ever struggled with personally but an interesting debate all the same. There is a link in the sidebar to Neils podcasts which are informative and an excellent break from Radio 5 Live, particularly if Victoria Derbyshire is on!

So, Zombies. It seems you cant move on the Miniature Page for a new company releasing a range of Zombies. Now, I have played my fair share of Warhammer fantasy, owned a large Vampire Counts army and played Zombies!! which IS a great game. But, similar to the Cowboy fad, the Darkest Africa fad and the Pirate fad, zombies seem to be big at the minute, mixed in with the Pulp genre and Wierd War 2 type games. Never say never. Wargames Factory have some very nice zombies but they are not in my scale. I imagine in 15mm any civilian type figure could be painted as a zombie. a 'Shaun of the Dead' style game would be fun, maybe with old AK47 style mechanics or using some of Matthew Hartleys 'Riot' rules. With a wait between now and Peter Pig releasing their AWI rules and figures, maybe I could make my first foray into rules writing. Others seem to enjoy it, but most of them seem to be

a) More intelligent than me

and

b) More knowledgable on militairy matters than me

However, who can say they know more about fighting zombies than I do? mmmmmm........

Zombies

2009-12-02T21:10:00.000Z

What is it with zombie games?

The end is nigh

2009-12-01T11:23:00.003Z

End of the year that is. Time soon to take stock of my year in wargaming, and look to the future to make plans for the coming year.

In the last month or so I have really kicked on helped by my 'Big Push'. I have nearly hit 2000 painting points, of interest to no one but me I know but it has been a very useful exercise to see how much I could paint when I put my mind to it. The target of 2000 points is just over 5 foot figures per day. With my painting style I can the paint 20 in an hour, excluding basing. But when embroiled in the day to day hassle of real life finding an hour can be tricky. Then of course you need the discipline and motivation to actually sit down and crack out the paint. So its not as easy as it sounds. But this year, despite a long hiatus over the summer months, I will hit my target easily.

I have now completed two 800 point Samurai armies, less 4 generals, 2 makus and some casualties. They will be done in the next few days after which I plan a grand review which I will photograph. The Samurai has somewhat taken over the Wars of the Roses project for which I have 5 units of Retinue troops undercoated and sitting patiently waiting for their time in the spot light. They SHOULD be done before years end, but I am in no rush.

I have a table booked for the WMMMS show in March to play Towton. I am still undecided on what to do for the scenary. I am currently leaning towards mdf/chipboard with sculpted hills all covered in snow. The other, cheaper and more practical option is a white sheet which I think I could get to look very nice with some work. I will blog my decision and run a short tutorial on which ever route I go.

I am off now to make a start on my Makus.

More soon...

Desert Island Books

2009-11-25T14:15:00.024Z

I saw this idea some time ago on another site, and never one to shy away from nicking ideas I thought I would list the ten books I would like to think I had packed in my suitcase should I ever be marooned. It is a bit like picking which of your children you like the best. There are so many that could have made the list but for one reason or another these are the ones I chose

Iain Banks is an author who isn't afraid to challenge his readers and push the limits of acceptability, whilst still telling a ripping yarn. This was (I think) his first book
and possibly his most disturbing. Banks also writes some great sci fi under the name Iain M Banks. First person narratives often struggle to grip me but this is done very well, letting you see the world through the eyes of a teenage anti hero with some odd habits.

Bond has held a facination with me from the first time I saw Goldfinger as a child on the TV. It wasn't until I was in college that I began to read the books. Other than the latest version of Casion Royale, the books are as far away from the films as it is possible to get. They are very much of their time with frightening attitudes towards women and non middle class white people. Despite this, the stories hold up today with some great fights chase sequences and cliff hanger moments . There is s definate chronology in the books which pays reading them in order. Goldfinger the film does follow the plot of the book to some extent although the laser was a Cubby Broccoli embellishment on Flemings circular saw. Not credited as Flemings best book (From Russia With Love holds that distinction), Goldfinger would be the one I would want with me.

My first historical book by a great TV historian with an eloquence and ability to narrate a story possibly unlike any other in my eyes. Several of Woods books could have made the list but Conquistadores won out purely on its story, about which I knew absolutely nothing prior to this book (and television series). A fascinating tale of greed ambition and exploration with colourful characters such as Pizarro and Cortes. Not a subject I would ever have thought would grip me, but Woods' telling of the story is first class.

Dungeons and Dragons played a big part in my teenage years to the point of obsession that could easily have seen me flunk my exams. As well as playing with

my mates during every spare moment I consumed vast quantities of fantasy literature, most rubbish by some of those books have been life long friends. Magician is one of them which I reread recently and still delivered the goods, 20 years after reading it for the first time. The tale of poor boy turned good, and by that I mean turning into the most powerful magician across not one but two worlds is maybe a common, even cliched theme, but Fiest is a true master of his genre. If anyone was asking what to read as a first taste of good fantasy literature I wouldn't hesitate in pointing them to Magician.

Up there with Michael Wood is Simon Schama. Although primarily an art historian, his tellin of the History of Britian is nothing short of exemplary. Covering all aspects of the development of the nation his writing is very accesible and if you have heard him speak on television, you hear his voice in your head when reading.

My dad read this when it first came out. I must have been around 5 or 6 and I can well remember thinknig how on earth anyone ever managed to read such a thick book. I am sure there are more acclaimed accounts of the Market Garden campaign, but this one, written by a journalist, in an almostconversational style hit the spot with me when I first read it some years ago. Market Garden has always held a fascination for me despite WW2 not being a favourite period to wargame. I think it stems from when my dad took me to see the film and just as the lights went out him leaning over to me and whispering "Now rememebr, the British lose so dont get upset". Of course my enjoyment of the book carries over to the film version too. I have lost count of teh amount of times I have seen the film but it never fails to stir the emotions.

On joing Stoke Wargames Group in 1990 as a student, I became friends with a group of people with a passion fro militairy history that went beyond the massive ACW games we played. George Hughes, ex Governor of HMP Nottingham was one. His ability to tell a joke, quote some Kipling or relate some anecdote about a VC winner from the Great War was legendary. From him came my interest in the First World War and along with others I walked the Ypres Salient and the Somme with him, recounting the events that happened on the those fields so many years ago. This book is my favourite of those in my collection, mainly due to the first hand accounts of the soldiers who were there. 1914 tells of a time before the War and the loss of innocence that came with those first months.

Prior to finding role playing games and Raymond Feist I remember sitting in an English class in primary school, messing around with a friend. When challenged over what I was upto I said something like "Just getting a book, Miss". I grabbed the nearest book to hand which was this one. It is the second book in a set of five, but this one is by far the best and was my first real foray into fantasy. It tells of one little boys adventures on finding he has an ancient power and some of the strange characters he meets along the way. Not the greatest piece of literature and a bit disappointing on a recent reread but it would still have to come with for the memories it holds.

Another easy read (sensing a theme?) piece of history that I took away on holiday recently. Like World War 2, ancients has only ever been on the fringes of my wargaming interests. However Tom Hollands book, and subsequent follow up (Persian Fire?) is a great single volume account of the Roman Republic. I had never heard of Sulla prior to reading this! So, like any book, this one broadened my knowledge of a period I was some what ignorant about, which is about all you can ask of any book.

Although the first of a trilogy, a bit like picking your favourite Star Wars film (got to be the first one right?), I have to go with this book from Shelby Foote in my imaginary suitcase of doom. The American Civil War was my first wargaming love thanks to Jeff Davies and his beautiful Dixon figures on hand made terrain covering a 10x6 table at our club. The first book on the subject I read I think was the Penguin History by Bruce Caton, but Shelby Footes 'Civil War narravitve' is about the most definative coverage of the war there is, just pipping Caton himself. If you have any interest in this turbulent period of American History, get this book. Now. Go on. You'll find it on Amazon for a good price I am sure.

So what does this list say about me? Not sure really other than I like a bit of fantasy and easy reading history. Hopefully nothing that could be considered pretentious, just an honest list of books that sit on my book shelf now. Of course this list could see a few changes next month or next year, but these are the ones for now!

More soon.....

Sorting out

2009-11-24T23:35:00.003Z

I spent tonight sorting out my Peter Pig purchases, Wars of the Roses and Samurai, prepping them to go under the brush tomorrow. The Wars of the Roses will get a spray of bleached bone whilst the Samurai will be base coated in black (using black emulsion paint as per Graham Evans tip). Lisa is on nights tonight and will be in bed all day leaving me free most of the day to crack on.

Other purchases were several buildings from Terrain Warehouse including several English type structures for ECW/WotR and some Japanese dwellings for BAW. You can never have too many buildings! I like the idea of a town covering an area around 12"x8" with a few peasants and the odd wagon to populate it.

I also picked up some bits from QRF for my AK47 collection which will be getting some attention soon. A couple of T62's some trucks and a couple of Landrovers.

I also put the finishing touches to a load of rocky ground bits I have had on the go along with hills and rocky outcrops for my desert scenary. All done and looking rather nice if I do say so myself.

I was back at the Doctors yesterday and he still isn't happy with me despite some improvement. Looks like I am off for a bit longer, which helps with the lead pile but is very frustrating otherwise. I feel pretty good and despite over doing it at the weekend haven't had too much of a headache since. The tablets do knock me out somewhat though so I am still not driving any distance.

More soon...........

Shows

2009-11-23T08:54:00.006Z

I think I have spoken about this before but having spent the weekend in Reading for the Warfare show I thought I would add some comment.

Reading is a two and a half hour drive away, but distance has never stopped me attending a show in the past. I have yet to attend any shows in Scotland, but I have probably visited every major show in England over the last twenty years or so. Some good, some very bad, alot no longer in existence, the odd one rebranded or else moved venue. It used to be that half a dozen of us from my club would have a day out, particulalry at the old WMMMS at Alumwell (now in Wolverhampton) or Triples in Sheffield.

Now more often than not I go alone, either because I get leave at short notice or else no one else feels like going. If Peter Pig aren't in attendance my spending is greatly reduced, not because of financial constraint but more out of prudence.

Shows dont hold the same magic they used to and I dont see that changing. Take Warfare. Yes, the usual traders were there. Yes, its better known for its competition gaming. But, other than a museum piece Battle of Blenhiem (more in a moment) and the Lance and Longbows Bloody Barons game, there wasn't one other game that made me think 'ooooh thats nice'. Either I had seen it before or else it looked like a club game taken out for the day.

Don't get me wrong, everyone seemed to be having a good time but a couple of the games really weren't any better than any Friday night game down at my club. Now that comment is open for dissection and yes beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But if I think of shows like Partizan and York which have numerous games of interest and aesthetic appeal, I just think the efforts at Warfare were in the main sub par.

The one stand out game was Blenhiem. 28 feet by 6 feet with several thousand nicely painted 28mm figures on decent terrain with a display board discussing the battle. But was it a WARGAME? Hmmmm. I think one or two players did move some of the units around and there was the obligatory kapok to indicate musketry along the line. But a a wargame? Dont think so. One of the players told a passer by that there was £20,000 worth of figures on the table. Out of reach of most of the punters on the day I suspect.

Now Warfare is a Wargames show. For wargames, by wargamers to show off wargaming in its best light, hopefully recruiting the odd new wargamer who on seeing something that peeks his or her interest goes on to spend a few quid with a trader.

There are two thoughts on this. I have seen numerous large scale games at shows over the years. I think its the Mosborough and District club that often put on a large Seven Years War or ACW game at Sheffield and Partizan. Unattainable for the individual but as a club project not so. And they play out the game. You know, rolling dice, waving tape measures around and move troops over the table. The Perry twins often put on big games at Partizan and Salute and play out their games with gusto, still leaving time to chat and shoot the breeze. Again the sheer volume of figures may be unattainable (at least in the short term) for the individual, but as a group project not so.

On the other hand I have seen numerous displays at shows where the players set up and then sit back to admire their work. Undoubtedly beautifully painted figures with the obligatory number of vignettes (camp fires, soldiers at ease, wounded and inevitably an execution scene) on superb terrain that wouldn't look out of place on a model railway. But are they WARGAMING or creating a display that would be more suited to a museum?

I would argue that although they use WARGAMES figures, the display they create has little to do with wargaming. I would even go onto say that using card counters cut from a cereal packet that has dots painted on them that I use for playtesting rules is far closer to wargaming than setting up thousands of ponds worth of figures. What are the people who do these displays trying to achieve? Is it a bit like a peacock showing its plume, telling passers by just how much money they have spent? What has it got to do with WARGAMING? Sorry to bang on and yes its their money, their time and this hobby is a broad church. If I had seen any dice rolling with the odd cavalry melee going on it would have grabbed my attention more. But despite my interest in Blenhiem, it left me underwhelmed and disinterested. I doubt any newcomer, at his or her first show looked at the display and thought, I'll have a go at that. £20,000? Blimey.

Sorry, rant over.

Game with John B

2009-11-22T18:34:00.011Z

John came over for a game on Thursday night. Its a good while since we have played and it was great to get back going again. Hopefully the first of many encounters in the near future.

We have a long history of gaming together. Napoleonics would probably Johns first period but I would guess ACW comes a close second. He has a collection of figures that defies belief. Alot of his collection came from me when I would spend months painting figures, game a couple of times with them before my 'butterfly' tendency took over and I needed to fund the next project. His largest collection is 28mm Napoleonics, of which he has thousands, all of which are professionally painted.

Anyway when John said he was free for a game there was only one period I could chose and so somewhere in Northern Virginia my Rebs prepared to defend their homes from the Yankee invaders. This farm was one of Johns objectives, here defended by a much depleted unit of Lousiana Zouaves and two batterys of artillery. Unfortunately for John he struggled to get anywhere near it.

Here we see what we christened the 'Bloody Angle' (clever eh?). My veteran boys held this position, very nearly to the last man. Just in the background can be seen the 'rocky little round hill' that was Johns main objective.
On my right flank this unit of raw Rebs held this wood against repeated attack, despite the odds stacked against them. I promoted the officer in the field and this particular unit, depicted as a unit that has just taken some hard pounding will now be classed as trained/average troops from now on!

Here John contemplates his next move, eyes fixed on the farm that may as well of been on the moon!

A dramatic shot of Johns Zouaves (veterans) in a protracted firefight with my veteran Rebs lining the fence. John was unlucky with his rolls for Action Points for 3 successive turns and just couldn't get enough points to push home the attack. If he had, he may have gone onto take the rocky little hill.

Here we have the rocky little hill, lined with Reb guns that for the majority of the game were low on ammunition. I just couldn't afford a turn of not shooting to replenish the caissons. In Civil War Battles, artillery can seem quite ineffective at long range, but any hits take their toll when it comes to the morale effects.

This is Johns flank division tasked with taking the hill. His artillery, shooting at long range throughout the game struggled to make any impact.

It all ended with a good win for the Rebs, which meant a win for me! How unusual! I like to think I was gracious in victory.

John, on the other hand blamed the orange Peter Pig dice. But then who care what a loser thinks! Only joking John.

A good game that was accompanied by some period music throughout (Glory and Ken Burns Civil War soundtrack in the main). John was gracious in defeat and took his poor dice rolling very well. It was nice to see someone else roll so many ones.

I'm just back from Warfare in Reading where I played in Peter Pigs demo WW1 game using PBI and true to form I lost. Picked up lots of bits as well as my preorder from PP. Some lovely 'vignette' pieces from Donnington Miniatures medieval range, actually designed for their beautiful Hundred Years war range but eminently suitable for WotR. It was nice to see Bloody Barons being played on the Lance and Longbow stand. I didn't get the name of the chap running it but we had a nice chat about the game and proposed ammendments. He was fighting out the Battle of Barnet which looked lovely and has spurred me on to get my Towton game up and running.

More soon.......

Back from the wilderness

2009-11-18T16:06:00.003Z

Well the computer is fixed. I'm now wireless so can go anywhere with my computer, even upstairs!

Its amazing how much time you can find when The Miniatures Page isn't calling you or you can't check Amazon for books on Samurai Heraldry. Its sort of liberating in a way and sort of like you feel your missing out on something in another.

Although I am proud to tell people I dont play computer games and hence haven't been caught up in the Call of Duty furore, I can and do spend several hours a week surfing around t'internet, often at nothing of any special interest. It beats Eastenders but takes up valuable painting time.

Its not often I find anything new but there are certain sites I will check out almost daily. The Miniatures Page is one. It seems to be THE place to catch up on whats going on in the hobby. The TMP forum is interesting at times but can turn into a bit of a witch hunt at times. Various Yahoo Groups are also a regular destination followed by the (relatively) new trend of blogs.

On the subject of computer games, I gave up playing them aorund the time of the Sega Megadrive, in the early nineties I think. They have just never held my attention for long. I do like the look of some of the trailers you see for these games, with almost Hollywood style production but they just aren't my bag.

I spoke to a work colleague the other day about computer gaming. He had jut got hold of Call of Duty and admitted to playing it into the early hours which accounted for the bags under his eyes and constant yawning. Best game ever in his opinion. He plays computer games for hours on end much to the chagrin of his long suffering wife and he feels more than comfortable discussing his latest game down the pub or at the dinner table. People listen and take in what he says and show some degree of interest. There is no questioning of this mans decision to sit in front of a computer screen for hours on end. It is an acceptable way of a grown man passing his time in most peoples eyes. It takes no great effort on the players part other than to develop the necessary skills to co-ordinate his fingers and hands to hit the right buttons at the right time.

Now, although I am not embarrassed in any way about my chosen hobby and most if not all of my family and friends know about it, I never feel right talking about it in the pub or as an after dinner topic of conversation. On the od occasion I have done so the reaction is typically one of mirth at besr and ridicule at worst.

Toy soldiers, little men, do you go 'bang bang', do you dress up and 'oh I used to play with toy soldiers as a kid' are all phrases and comments I am sure any wargamer of any standing in the hobby has encountered many times. Nobody seems to take the hobby seriously or gives the wargamer any credit above the fact you aren't at least spending your money on booze and loose women. Not that I mind. I dont give two hoots to be honest. My line of defence was that the hobby is so much more than playing with toy soldiers. In fact that is only a small part of the hobby. I talked about the research and interest in militairy history with a collection of relevant books that shames the local library. I talked about the creative side, learning how to paint the figures and make the scenary and the time and effort these things take. I talked about the rules writing process and the analytical skills used in the design and interpretation of ideas and mechanics. I talked about the social interaction with others with a similar interest, friends you make the length and breadth of the country and further afield that you actually meet face to face. I talked about the industry and how the people who make the figures and the skills they have and how they very often interact with their consumers, not just on a retail basis but a social basis too, afterall most of them are wargamers as well.

But alas my diatribe would fall on deaf ears. People it seems are far more interested in the bloke who sits on his own in a dark room bashing hell out of his computer killing computer zombies or whatever. Each to their own I guess.

Off line

2009-11-11T22:42:00.001Z

Due to some cumputer problems that need sorting I will be off line for around a week.

Back soon!

Painting points

2009-11-10T17:34:00.006Z

Church from Peter Pig. Based on 6" square of cork tile for PBI

Pair of Normandy houses with rear yards again on 6" square of cork.

Pair of Normandy shops.

Of interest only to myself is the fact that I passed points total for last year a couple of days ago. Not bad considering i had fallen so far behind schedule. I guess a knock on the head has its benefits after all! Can I push onto 2000 points by years end? No reason why not. I have on the go at the moment 5 large buildings from Peter Pigs Normandy range. I painted some of these a couple of years ago and sold them for a very good price on Ebay. I may base them up on the cork tiles again but undecided as yet. Each of these will earn me 10 painting points. Possibly under selling myself as I would say they take longer to paint than 10 figures but I'll stick to my system of 5 points per building. Each of the Peter Pig models is actually two buildings joined together.

I finished my early war Russians for PBI too, but still undecided whether to go with snowy bases on them. I have 4 T34's and 2 self propelled guns (possibly SU100's but I'm not much of a tanky) on the go. Again I'm undecided whether to do them in a white wash scheme or not. There was a nice article in Wargames Illustrated a couple of months ago where you paint the tanks green then put toothpaste onto areas of the tank where paint would wear off through general use. Then spray the tank white, let it dry before rubbing off the toothpaste creating an effect of paint chipping. Sounds a bit too much like Military Modelling to me and I'm a wargamer so I may just go down the 'paint it green and weather it with some brown paint' route.

I'll let you know and put up some pictures.

I am now going to Warfare (http://www.readingwargames.co.uk/warfare.asp) as Lisa is visiting friends just outside Reading. Due to doctors orders I can't drive any distance at the moment hence missing Stewart Meechams Bloody Barons day in a couple of weeks. So an order will be going into Peter Pig later tonight or tomorrow to replenish the reduced lead pile.

Looking forward to it as although I went to September Partizan I went from a night shift and was knackered and at Derby I only went for a couple of hours due to work in the afternoon. Its a good show that I went to a couple of years ago (maybe 5?) at which I bought Patrols in the Sudan. I'll also be looking for an impulse buy or two!

Oh, and following advice from the great and the good at Wargames Developments (see link), I have decided to go to the Conference of Wargamers next year. More on this soon.

Random musings

2009-11-08T14:47:00.004Z

I think I have mentioned before that my first book on wargaming was from the old 'Know the Game' series, with input from WRG. I must have been around 10-11 years when my dad bought it for me and one section in particular fascinated me endlessly. Half way through the book is a battle report between Sassanids and Romans I think. All black and white and the pictures are quite small. There is only the briefest of summaries of what was going on with no real mention of rules mechanics but I studied those pictures over and over again to imagine what it was like to play a real wargame.

Having picked it up again at Alumwell back in March, it was definitely a case of 'rose tinted spectacles' as the book now is obviously dated and I doubt would be of much help to anyone looking at getting into the hobby. But I'm glad its back in my collection

I have a small collection of 'classic' wargaming books, including Featherstone, Wesencraft, Sanders and Quarrie titles. My absolute favourite though is 'Wargames Tactics' by Charles Grant. I first came across this book at the local library in my early teens and picked it up at a show several years ago. Unlike the 'Know the Game' book, this one does stand the test of time. Despite a lack of photographs the book conveys a great sense of what the hobby is all about. It describes battle reports from various periods of history beginning with an early Ancients clash upto the American Civil War with the fictional battle of Seminole Ridge. The Napoleonic report of French versus Prussians at the (ficitonal) Battle of Edelweiss was a firm favourite as was the Seven Years Wars clash with I think Croats carrying out a flanking manoeuvre to fall upon the Prussian guns. Amongst the 'Old School' types this title is considered a classic and is a constant bedside companion for me.

Which brings me to Neil Thomas' Ancient an Medieval Wargaming. Now I haven't had a chance to play using the rules therein as yet, but I did spend last night reading through it and taking a look at the battle reports. I have to say I am a tad disappointed with what I have seen so far. The rules themselves seem only a small step away from those Featherstone wrote 40 years ago. Nothing particularly innovative or exciting. Figure recommendations for the army lists seem to fall into two camps either 'no plastics yet but some ranges in metal' or else 'plastics available as well as metal'. Some pointers to manufacturers (other than the odd one or two you get) would have been nice.

Also, as a book seemingly intended to be available in the high street for casual browsers to have their attention grabbed, the book assumes some prior knowledge of the hobby and in a couple of cases refers back to Neils first book on the hobby 'Wargaming an Introduction' again seeming to assume some familiarity with that title. Not at all a particularly bad thing, but if it is intended to grab newcomers and show them the joys of this hobby I feel too many assumptions are made.

I am not condemning the book just yet and will certainly give the rules a go (particularly if I can find that article in Slingshot by Graham Evans). The battle reports are ok, but in todays day and age, photographic representations of the battles at various stages would have been nice rather than the maps provided. Cost of course may have been a factor, but I could certainly have done without so many pictures of ancient figures that are in the main old ones from Miniature Wargaming magazine.

6/10 from me.

Oh my..........

2009-11-07T11:36:00.001Z

1 minute ago there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find a lady thrusting into my hand a box.....inside which was Neil Thomas' Ancient and Medieval Wargaming. Guess I know what I am doing for the next hour or so!

Best game in ages!

2009-11-07T10:59:00.002Z

Last night Keith and I had a great game of Civil War Battles. It was an unusal club night in that we were the only attendees from our room which is unusual as we normally turn out 5 or 6 regulars. The rest of the club was well attended and throughout the evening several popped in to have a look at what was going on.

This was the first time Keith had played CWB using the pre-game sequence and we had a real blast with it. We rolled off for who played Union or Reb with Keith taking the blue bellies. It was also the first time either of us had used cavalry (rude not too having painted them up this week). Keith had two units of raw cavalry and I had 1 unit of veteran.

Despite me putting more dice into being the attacker, Keith won out beating me by 1. I coped well with the lates/lost sequence only losing half a dozen bases and two units out aside as reinforcements. On the events section there were a few swings in fortune. Most interesting was Keith winning the cavalry event meaning he could put one of his cavalry units in any scenary piece of the table. Which he promptly did, placing one of his units in a wood behind my lines and very close to the farm objective. This had dire consequences for my Corps general who was now the closest target. First turn of the game the dismounted cavalry opened up and popped my general between the eyes.

The performance of the dismounted cavalry was a theme as both sides units performed very well. Maybe too well, with them being able to ignore the first hits against them and moving through scenary without penalty.

The game swung backwards and forwards with Keiths inital attack against the farm objective being beaten back and then coming on again to take the farm by games end. The 'far' objective was the rocky hill which I managed to hold up until the game end when a brave veteran brigade finally succumbed to concentrated artillery fire and the Union infantry advance that ground onwards.

We played from around 8pm finishing at about 12.30am, mainly due to chatting and shooting the breeze. The game countdown after 8 turns was still on 7 which was a result of me rolling lots of 1's and 2's, meaning that my boys were always going to struggle to hold the objectives. The final result was 120 points to Keith 25 points to me. Which is a 'War won' result for Keith.

So a sound thrashing for the rebs and a defeat that would take some time to recover from. Fortunatley the Union are reknowned for tardiness in following up success so the Confederacy will live to fight another day!

John B came into to watch the final turns and was unsuprised to see my lack of battlefield success. I think he was intrigued enough to want a game so I will sort one out as soon as possible. I had to leave my stuff at the club due to the late hour though so it wont be this week.

No photos as I forgot to take the box brownie. I used a new cloth that I painted on roads and sprayed in various greens and browns. Looked very nice. The cloth itself was the green felt sold buy S&A Scenics

www.scenics.co.uk

with templates for the woods made out of the left overs from cutting the cloth down to 6'x3'.

No painting yesterday. I may try and get some done today but in all likelihood tomorrow will be the next brush time as Lisa is out at a health spa.

More soon....

Day 7

2009-11-05T16:15:00.002Z

This is my last post for the big push. Seven days of intense painting have seen me score a grand total of 309 points. Today I got through the unfinished Ashigaru plus a unit of 18 Samurai and 18 Ronin. I have painted 6 units for Battles in the Age of War which considering I had been worrying about isn't too bad in my book. If I had another week like this one I could be playing a 500 point game the week after!

The Samurai by Peter Pig really are very nice and for a novice painter of Sengoku period miniatures they have proven remarkably easy with one or too bits of artistic licence here and there. From three feet away they really do look the business. I may do a group shot of all of the figures painted in the last seven days tomorrow or else over the weekend.

Still waiting on Neil Thomas' Ancient and Medieval Wargaming which is no bad thing as it will surely distract me somewhat when it does come. Should find out tonight whether or not I can make Warfare at the end of the month to place my pre Christmas Peter Pig order.

Today: 60 Total for the Week: 309

Day 6

2009-11-04T21:18:00.002Z

Nearly finished another unit of Armoured Ashigaru today but spent some time organising the figures into units ot see what I had. I have prepped a unit of Samurai and a unit of Ronin. I am missing a couple of bits but basically have everything I need for the moment. I would really like an Ikko Ikki army but that may be a new year purchase possibly at Vapnartak in York.

I have been web trawling for some info on Samurai. I am unsure how uniform armys and clans were. Was there massed uniformity throughout an army or just within a clan? I said before that I am aiming for historically inspired as opposed to historically accurate so I guess in the end it doesn't really matter but I would like to know for my own peace of mind. I have drawn a blank so far.

So nothing added to the total today, but I anticipated a good 40-50 points tomorrow!

More soon....

Plastics

2009-11-04T11:23:00.003Z

Something has been gnawing away at me for some time and that is plastic figures. I am not talking about the super dooper, new fangled, latest wargames craze totake over the known world releases by the Perry twins or Warlord. I am on about Airfix, Hat and the like.

A mate of mine has been collecting plastic armies (filled out with the very occasional metal 20mm figure) for years. Thats Martyn by the way who you can see in previous posts. He gave up on mainstream metal years ago when a 25mm figure reached 80p. Then there was a very nice website years ago by I think a bloke called Steve Burt. Lots of interesting content on ACW, WW2 and other bits all played out using vast hordes of plastic. Thats not to mention

http://www.willwarweb.blogspot.com/

which if ever anyone needed inspiration to have a go at plastic then this is it.

Oh and an article in a Slingshot last year (maybe the year before) by Graham Evans on trying out the rules in Neil Thomas' Ancient and Medeival Wargaming book using 20mm plastic figures.

Now I have played and painted with 15mm Peter Pig for several years almost exclusively. Call me a fanboy but the RFCM rules and PP figures have covered everything I have needed or wanted for some time. But I have had a festering thought that a bit of diversity keeps the mind and soul fresh. So I have ordered Neils book. I have had a look for Grahams article but I think it may have been thrown out (heresy I know). I have perused

http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/

I will speak to Martyn to see if he has any spares. I seem to remember on the Society of Ancients website something about a show demo using plastics letting you have a go at being Alexander or Hannibal. More investigation required there. Maybe Graham will help me?

To be honest I have always been put off by Ancients. Full of literate bookish gaming snobs. Not my words but I partially agree. DBM and the like have always seemed like too much hard work. So this maybe the thing I am looking for to break me in gently.

Then maybe, just maybe I will by a couple of boxes and have at it. Probably go for Macedonians or some such. I have a large unpainted mound of Peter Pig Romans and Germans that I got very cheap off Ebay last year. Maybe Punic Wars. I wil have to see once I've got the book. From research it looks a bit like DBA where there are near set army lists of a certain number of units so hopefully if I do dive in it wont be much of an outlay. Plus there is a greta model shop close by in Stoke on Trent that sell lots of figures.

No promises or deadlines. But it may be a nice little sideline.

Anyway back to the big push!

Pictures

2009-11-04T11:21:00.002Z

Can anyone help? Why is it that some pictures I upload can be clicked on to enlarge whilst others can't.? Very frustrating because some of the pictures aren't too clear unless blown up.

Answers on a postcard please.

And another thing...COW

2009-11-03T22:02:00.004Z

I am a member of Wargames Developments and thoroughly enjoy The Nuggett detailing their activities particularly at COW (Conference of Wargamers for those in hte know). I am seriousley contemplating going to COW next year. Been meaning to for some time to be honest. Expensive at over £200 but it does sound the place to be if you want cutting edge gaming and thought provoking discussion. As a somewhat shy type though, I am told all of the single rooms are already allocated and I would have to share with a stranger. Now I've got nothing to hide you understand but not since my backpacking trips as a teenager have I shared a room with a complete stranger and I have some reservations about inflicitng my ablutions with anyone but my wife and closest of muckers.

Pretty sure I will bite the bullet. I could always take a tent I suppose!

Forgot to do my running total. I have not included the fencing I made in my weekly total but have added it onto my yearly figure.

Today: 24 Total for the Week: 249

Day 5

2009-11-03T21:24:00.008Z

Day 5 and a bit of a slow down on figure output. Only 24 Armoured Ashigaru today, but htey do have considerably more detail on them and I think I went a bit around the houses to get them done. I decided to spray them white to start as I wanted as bright a red on them as possible. I then painted the whole figure red before blacking in the armour and scabbards and the like. By the time I had done it did dawn on me that black would have been a good starting point as there was very little red left .

My Samurai armies are intended to be generic representative of the period as opposed to historically tied to any particular faction. As a result I will have an army with a red theme and an army with a blue theme. A bit simplistic but hey its my ball and I'll play how want ok? My initial aim is to have two 500 point armies as per the Battles in the Age of War Rulebook. Then I will look to build these up to 800 point armies and eventually finishing by having enough figures to play all of the scenarios in the book.

Here is todays effort. Still on the sticks and waiting for the dip.

The unit based but still awaiting dip. That will have to be tomorrow now. I think they look rather nice.

Some shots of the Confederate cavakry now in various stages. Here we see them on their bases with either a light grey or kommando khaki painted straight onto metal.

A bit of detailing follows with some given light blue trousers, various shades of brown for hats belts and the like and some metal for the carbines or swords.

Finally they get some Army Painter Strong tone painted on. This is a dark brown varnish as opposed to my normal dark tone which is very dark brown, nearly black. I think it gives the Rebs more of a subtle look. Nice!

A random picture of my favourite colour paint at the moment. Coat d'Arms can be a bit hit and miss with some of the colours somewhat weak in their coverage. This Barbarian leather however is fantastic, particularly when washed with army painter. Get some...you wont regret it! On another related point I have lost count of the number of different shades of brown I have in my considerable paint collection.

Here are the Bloody Barons markers that I finished the basing on today. I think there is a unit of Household troops in there as well. On the shelf in the background are the AWI troops I posted a couple of days ago and behind them some of the 17 feet of snake fencing I have been building over the last few days. Matchsticks glued on top of one another ad infinitum. Been meaning to do some for ages with a bag of a thousand matchsticks I bought years ago. Sorted out now for CWB and Washingtons Army games.

The above picture shows my Bloody Barons basing which is just a mixture of various shades of green and brown flock with some budgie grit for good measure sprinkled over PVA glue. No messing around with polyfilla or the like. Looks very nice for very little effort. Samurai, Civil War Battles and Washington army are getting my usual brown flock followed by patches of static grass. Simples.

More soon!

Day 4

2009-11-02T17:06:00.003Z

As stated yesterday, the Confederate cavalry were under the brush today. I took a few 'in progress' photos which will be up tomorrow or the day after.

Ironic that I bought these figures at Salute and then forgot about them until the grand tidy up the other day. 6 months later I paint them up and what do you know? Peter Pig release new sculpts! So the troopers painted today will have some reinforcements coming sonn, possibly from Warfare if I cna get down there.

I have so far painted 225 pts in 4 days which is alot in anyones book. My painting method is quick and dirty, getting alot of figrues onto the table in as short a space of time as possible.

A quick 101 on my method (I've stated this before but sometime ago)

1. Stick your unpaiinted figures to something to hold whilst under the brush. This can be the whatever you will be basing them on such as the plasticard bases I use from Peter Pig or else lollipop sticks or even bits of cardboard, old paint pots or corks from wine bottles. Anything so that you dont have to get your greasy fingers on the paint job before varnishing the figure.

2. Basecoat your figure in the predominant colour. Thats right no black or white undercoat. So Union troops get something similar to Ultramarine blue painted directly onto the bare metal.Get into all the nooks and crannys. Leave to dry or if in a hurry use a hairdryer on cool setting to speed up the drying process.

3. Detail next. The Confederate cavalry I have painted today had various bits picked out in browns and greys. I'm talking about belts ammo pouches and straps. Also because I like my rebs looking 'reb like' I give them different coloured hats and trousers. In fact I base coated half in a light grey and the other half in 'Kommando Khaki'. The trick is to use colours lighter than you might otherwise using more traditional painting methods. Also one of the advantages of my style is that you dont have to be too precise. The odd slip when painting straps or belts will be covered up in the next stage.

4. Dip! I use Army Painter strong or dark tone which I paint on using an old brush. Others advocate various woodstains like Ronseal or else 'Future' or 'Kleer' acrylic floor varnish with ink or paint mixed into it. The GW washes such as Devlan Mud and Ogryn Flesh also have a similar effect. Black Hat Miniatures have a product called 'Super Shader' which I think is acrylic based although I have not had good results using it so far. Which ever suits your eye or your pocket cover the figure and leave to dry.

5. Varnish using a spray sealant such as GW's Purity seal or a polyurethene varnish that you paint on.

Prior to discovering this method of painting I would undercoat black and then build up each colour in a couple of layers highlighting as I went. Yes the figures looked nice when held close up but boy was slow! I might paint one unit of 20 odd figures in a week. And the benefits of those highlights that were evident when held under your nose were somewhat lost when seen from gaming distance of 3 feet or more once on the tabletop.

I am a gamer very much first. If I could afford to have the amount of figures I want painted done by a professional I wouldn't hesitate in getting them done. I often wonder what I would have done first should my numbers ever come up on a Satruday night! Painting and modelling come a distant second in my hobby priority and yet its what I seem to do more than anything else. At least with my quick and dirty painting style I get through hundreds of figures rather than tens. Since starting painting like this last year I have painted more than ever before (despite a couple of long periods of absence for one reason or another.)

So I am a happy bunny. My figures will never win any competitions or plaudits for style but they are a good wargaming standard and beats having them sitting in a dark drawer never ot see the light of day.

Total today: 56 Total for the Week: 225

More soon.............

Day 3

2009-11-01T22:38:00.002Z

Things continue a pace. I will do a photographic post at the end of the week to show you what I have managed to get done, but judging by the first three days I am going to smash my target.

Today I have been painting all of the various markers for Bloody Barons as well as the Generals. That is a total of 76 foot figures and 4 cavalry for a total of 80 points! That was in two sessions today morning and afternoon. I prepped the Confederate cavalry so they are ready to go tomorrow. That will be another 50-60 points.

To pass the time I listened to a couple of podcasts. Firstly 'D6 Generation' which is a real hoot run by Russ Wakelin, Craig Gallant and Ray 'Hollywood Grainger. Russ used to run the 'Dakka Dakka' website dealing with mainly 40K. The podcasts deals with a whole host of gaming subjects from GW games to board games and everything in between. Although the subject matter isn't always relevant to my interests I find their discussions very entertaining and almost want me to take a look at board gaming a bit more closely.

The other podcast was Worlds End Radio, an Australian GW centric podcast covering all aspects of the GW hobby in a freindly and informative style. Not everyones cup of cha but it certianly helps to fill in the gaps when Radio 5 is slacking.

Music or else background noise has always been important to me when painting. Generally soundtracks like 'Civil War' from the Ken Burns documentary, 'Glory' or 'Cold Mountain' for Civil War inspiration, 'Gladiator' for pretty much anything, 'Saving Privat Ryan' always hits the spot as does 'Platoon'. If not one of these, then Radio 5, 4 or 7 are good for topical discussion, sports commentary or comedy. I rarely paint in silence and when something grabs your attention it does seem to make the painting fly by.

Total today: 80 Total for the Week: 169

Day 2

2009-10-31T17:20:00.002Z

Good day today. 24 Armoured Ashigaru in light blue and black, 24 Household foot for the Bloody Barons and 16 Union Dismounted cavalry for CWB making 64 figures. Not bad for a few hours whilst listening to Radio 5. Fortunately Keith rang giving me a break as my eyes were ready to go!

Organised a game of CWB at the club with Keith for next Friday which I am looking forawrd to. We will use the pre game sequence and have at it! Some new scenary in the shape of a load of snake fencing which I started yesterday. I may have some cavalry on the table if I can paint the Reb cavalry I prepped yesterday. The Union cavalry is now done, just in time for Peter Pigs resculpts.

I need to finish the bits and bobs for Bloody Barons so they will be first under the brush tomorrow. I may try and prep some more Samurai tonight but I seem to be missing command packs. Either I forgot to order them or else I already have them but don't know where they are! I will have a scrounge around tonight but after my clean up a couple of days ago I am not hopefull.

More soon.........

Total for day: 64 Total for the week: 89

Day 1

2009-10-30T22:32:00.008Z

Day 1 of the big push. I painted my first unit of Levy Ashigaru. 24 figures in browns and creams. They look quite nice for my first effort. For some reason I photographed other bits but not them! They only took an hour to do but I was short of time due to other bits and pieces.

The following pictures were all done over the last couple of days and all have been basecoated and then army painter brushed on. All require a coat of matt varnish hence the shine.

A unit of American troops for Washingtons army. These are all from pack 26 'Militia firing'. Need the command figures which I will order shortly.

Not the greatest photo as still getting used to the camera. Lovely figures though with lots of character and variation of kit within the pack.

They are actually paintd as 6th Maryland with grey coats with green trim. They have blue stockings and trousers in a variety of colours.

A bit shiny that will be sorted with a coat of purity seal.

These are the Essex minis in cloak coats. Again a bit shiny and the base needs static grass applying. Nominally they will represent Irish troops hence the green flag.

A regt of Union cavalry actually painted a few months ago but only based today. Again they will be matt varnished with the other bits sometime tomorrow. Peter Pig are redoing their ACW cavalry so a few additions coming soon.

Hopefully a lot more painting tomorrow.

Total Day 1 - 24pts

Painting Challenge.

2009-10-29T21:06:00.003Z

I am 507 points short of last years total . I had thought I was going to smash last years total but I may struggle. I will endeavour to push on and get past the 1500 mark at least but the early year prediction of 2000 seems a long way off. I am off work at the moment until a week on Tuesday so plan a real push.

I am going to set myself a challenge of 200 points before Tuesday 10th November. I will blog a daily report of how I am doing. I have ACW cavalry, WotR and Samurai to the fore but may dabble all over. Maybe some AK47, WW2, WW1, even SCW. Of course vehicles, cavalry, and buildings and the like earn me more points so by hook or by crook I pledge to get there!

I have an order prepared for Peter Pig for more Bloody Barons stuff plus some odds like the ACW civilians, some AK47 and a bit of PiTS stuff. However due to the postal strike I may look to get them at Warfare if I can get the time off work and therefore take advantage of the 10% show discount. No worries at the moment as i have plenty to be getting on with.

More soon...............

Update

2009-10-29T20:45:00.002Z

Well blow me down. I'll go to the foot of my stairs. Would you adam and eve it. I've actually being painting figures! No pictures (suprise suprise). But I have actually but paint of lead followed by Army Painter. And there is more on the way. 15 Peter Pig AWI (pack 26) which are actually militia but I have done them as 6th Maryland, grey coat with green trim. Look the business, just need a command pack to finish them off (why didn't I get one at partizan?).

Also 18 Union troops for CWB. Dont tell anyone but they are some Essex minis but I wanted a unit in cloak coats which Peter Pig don't do. They aren't anywhere near as nice as PP but I have always liked the look of troops in overcoats bring back images from Gods and Generals and the Fredricksburg scenes. I will put some piccies up over the next couple of days using my new camera.

Also I had a long overdue clean up of my painting area. Now, we live in a lovely little two bed cottage in the middel of no where. Its quaint, quiet and cosy, but there isn't an awful lot of room so I make do with a table in our spare room that doubles as dressing room, ironing room and general dumping room. It is the only room we have yet to decorate since moving in a few years ago, having done the rest of the house bit by bit. As a consequence the room is often crammed with washing, ironing boards and the other detritus of modern living. And it does from time to time put me off sitting in there to do 'hobby'. Or as Lisa calls it 'Cutting and sticking'. At such times I have a nice padded tray that I use to paint on whilst watching tv.

After around 4 hours of sorting, sifting and shifting, it alls looks much better and inviting for me to sit in and work. It always amazes me that when I do one of these 'spring cleans' I generally come across something I have purchased at a show and then forgotten about or lost. Today I found the Reb cavalry I bought at Salute in April, put in a little bag and some how stuffed it in a box with a load of flock and lichen under my table. I had been wondering where they had got to!

I base coated a unti of levy and a unit of ashigaru for BAW yesterday. Feelign nervous about tackling them but they wont paint themselves. I did email Jase at the Bunker to see if he had room in his schedule but he is busy until after Christmas and I really want to crack on and get some bits done.

Right I am off to have a quick game of Washingtons Army using my home made counters.

More soon............

Tempus Fugit

2009-10-27T10:16:00.002Z

....or something like that!

Ironically these last few months of inactivity have coincided with a more regular return to my club which I have been enjoying. No piggie activity I am afraid, but plenty of gaming (well for me anyway!)

I am very excited about the new set of rules curently in playtest from Peter Pig, Washingtons Army covering the AWI. I have long thought that the AWI would be a good subject for Mr Pig to tackle. Small battles, tatty uniforms that for some troop types that could be used for either side and in keeping with the whole Pig philosophy in my eyes. They are very much based around Battles in the Age of War/Civil War Battles/Bloody Barons and seem to take the best bits of each set. This 'model' that Mr Pig first really used in Regiments of Foote has developed and evolved with each set. They dont bog down in detail, aiming for a strict balance between giving a good game and arriving at a plausible result.

Of course Martin has promised an entire range of figures to complement the rules, the first of which are out now, with the major release anticipated around spring next year. Which means I must kick on and finish a couple of projects before diving in to the AWI when the rules and figures come out.

The Wars of the Roses is close to first stage completion. I have always planned to put on 'Towton' at Alumwell next year. I would say I am 75% done on figures. I still have 5 more units of retinue to buy/paint plus the paraphenalia of dead markers and the like. They are all primed and ready for the brush. As Towton was characterised by a snow covered landscape, the old fall back of a white sheet sprayed with patches of brown and green will represent that small corner of Yorkshire with sculpted hills underneath and leafless trees in the wooded area. Should look nice. It certainly does in my minds eye!

Samurai have been waiting patiently for the brush treatment since Salute (how long ago??!!) I am determined to make a start on these before Christmas, even if its only 1 or 2 units I will pluck up the courage to get them under way. The Perry Miniatures website is great for painting ideas for Samurai which I will peruse and digest.

The Samurai will be similar to my experience with the Wars of the Roses in that I am sure it will take a short while to get used to the figures in my hands before I get into top gear with the brush. I often find myself wondering what different bits are on a figure and what colour they should be painted. I found on the Wars of the Roses that the first few units were a bit of a hodge podge whilst I got used to what different bits were before reaching some consistency. Later units I have found myself putting less colour on, using a Coat 'd Arms Brown (leather I think) for all boots, bows, shafts, straps and the like. Once Army Painter dip goes on it all comes together nicely. At least when viewed from arms length!

So as we head towards winter I need to take stock of what I have achieved and where i have fallen down. I will do a more complete retrospective closer ot years end but for now....

1) More gaming at the club in the second half of the year with less gaming at home.
2) Failure to keep up my painting output from the first quarter of the year.
3) Still several projects that haven't hit the radar (ie still in the loft/under the painting table) inclduing Ancient Germans and Romans/Spanish Civil War/WW1/Cowboys/early WW2/Pirates
4) Built alot of scenary for my club, WFB WH40K mostly.
5) Failed to attend some Piggie events that I wanted to get to
6) Made it down to STABs PBI day (possibly my highlight of the year!)

Work wise I managed to transfer to a place of work much closer to home with a 20 minute drive to work rather than over an hour. Shifts still interfere with my face to face gaming more than I would like but thats out of my control for the time being.

Since early September I have had one illness and one injury at work both of which hospitalised me for a short time, the second of which is still affecting me somewhat but thats the nature of my work! Getting through it now though so no excuses.

I have professional work related exams in around 10 months time which I need ot knuckle down and study for (should have done these last month but pulled out). I am convinced this should not hit my hobby time too much. It's all about time management which I have never been great at. I will moan at my lack of time to get stuff down but then end up reading blogs like this for several hours whilst Lisa watches whatever she has Sky+'ed. I need to cut back on my time on-line and actually get more stuff done with my lead pile. An hour here or there can be very productive as I found out earlier in the year. Also I think I am going to aim for at least 1 game a month at home, in addition to 2-3 nights at the club. Not too much to ask, and certainly room for more gaming where possible.

I will in all liklihood cut back on the shows I attend (not that I have over done it this year!). My main deciding factor will be Peter Pig attendance to take advantage of the 10% off for preorders. I will be less inclined to take leave to attend though, saving some leave for RFCM games days organised by Stewart or Miles down south. York, Alumwell, Partizan and possibly Warfare and Derby will be my target shows, nicely spread over the year. No Sheffield unless i am off and at a loose end. No Salute either, possibly to make way for a trip to Fisticuffs, we'll see.

So plans, ideas and thoughts. Who said no plan survives contact with the enemy? What do they know!!!!

More soon....................

News

2009-09-15T19:46:00.002+01:00

Apparentley there has been suspicious actitvity on my google account meaning this blog has been dead for a while. This has conicided with a reduction in my wargaming due to work, ill health and lethargy.

Hopefully I am back in the saddle now and went to Partizan last Sunday where I picked up a couple of samples of the new AWI range from Peter Pig as well as a set each of the new ivory and purple Piggy dice just to complete my set.

I have painted another two units for my WotR project and have a real urge to paint my Samurai stuff up now.

I am just back from a holiday in Eygpt, Jordan and Israel which has also spurred me onto get out my PiTS stuff again.

And....drum roll......we bought a new camera for the holiday which I will put to good use in the next few weeks.

More soon!

STaB PBI Day

2009-05-17T10:15:00.010+01:00

On Friday I finished work at 3pm and headed south, arriving in Yeovil around 7pm at a rather run down Travel Lodge. I was going to stay with friends but they were away so £50 a night Travel lodge was the order of the day. A quiet night refreshing myself on the rules of PBI and then early to bed for a 6.30am start on Saturday.

I arrived in Bournemouth for around 8.30am to find things well under way setting up tables and the like. I was greeted by Miles and Les from STab and Martin and Nigel from Peter Pig. I was also introduced to Kevan Gunn whom I have never met before but was aware of through the RFCM group. Kevan had driven for 9 hours on Friday and stayed over in Bournemouth. By his own admission it is a 'bit mad' travelling so far for a one day event. Having now experienced the day, I can see why he does it!

PBI is Peter Pigs WW2 company based rule set. It requires 60 to 80 figures and a few vehicles which act as support to the infantry who as the title suggests are the focus of the game. It is a square based game which means that no measuring is required and works on the basis of platoon commanders motivating their troops by way of a dice roll, who once motivated roll for action points allowing them to perform various actions such as move, shoot and assault. Tanks are used but are not (from what I see) game winners. Although I have two armies for PBI (late war US and Germans) and have read the rules through many times I had only played them at shows where Martin demo'd them. I have played many other WW2 sets such as Rapid Fire and Blitzkreig Commander and Peter Pigs Abteilung many years ago, but WW2 has never been a major period for me. PBI appeals to my requirements of small forces without the need to represent every halftrack or jeep.

There have been a few PBI days, not only in Bournemouth, but also in Portbury Bristol. and elsewhere. I have been meaning to get to one for some time. Everyone was very friendly and helpful to a complete newcomer. I think there were at least a couple of other newbies there too so I wasn't alone. I highly recommend it to anyone contemplating attending either a PBI day or the Civil War Battles day run by Miles at STaB. He really knows what he's doing! Plus there is probably the best chip shop I have been to across the road from the hall where the event was held.

Anyway some photos!

Here Martin is showing Colin how its done. This was a really nice 'Russian front' table. PBI is palyed on a 4'x4' table so doesn't take up much room!

This is an 'action' shot of my game with Nigel. He was playing late war Germans with a load of panzerfausts. His aim for the day was to get the most tankk kills by foot troops, which he managed! I was using my late war Yanks. Here we are fighting over a nice desert table.

Although not my game, I did fight on this table with Kevan. Kevan was suffering with a bad head, the after effects of his 9 hour drive the previous day. To add to his problems he played me in our first game and had to talk me through step by step. Much kudos to him for his patience in the face of adversity. Kevan is a really nice chap and I look forward to seeing him again in December at the Portbury PBI day. This table represents somewhere in Northern Europe. Very nice scenary again.

A general shot of the hall with games in full swing.

Presentations. I think this was the overall winner (Chris...? from SELWG). Martin and Miles look on.

Amazingly, Lee Burton did worse than me and ended up on a negative score! Well done Lee! Damn nice chap too. But then every one was nice.

Nigel was suprised to have won 'Most tank kills with infantry'. He was gracious in victory! Miles says this award will be ranmes the 'Nigel Heals trophy' next year.

Another general view of the hall.

To cap the day off, pre-release copies of 'AK47 Republic - Reloaded' were for sale. Whoopee!

Great games, great people, great day.

Badminton

2009-05-12T21:26:00.002+01:00

Just back from a weekend at Badminton Horse Trails. Not my thing really, but it is Lisa's passion and I did drag her around two battlefields a couple of weeks ago so no complaints and we did have a geat time with Martin and Vicks, Lisa's cousin and wife. Martin was a Major in the Light Infantry so I do enjoy discussing his experiences and training at Sandhurst. We has two excellent meals in Bath which I was visiting for the first time. A beautiful city well worth investigating.

I am on a real hiatus from painting. Nothing done for a month now, but it wont be long before I'm back at it. I still think I will surpass last years total easily. Partizan at the end of the month. Probably not much on the purchase front but hopefully inspiration to get cracking!

This weekend sees me at the STAB wargames club PBI day. Very excited but fully anticipate a sound thrashing. I have very little experience of PBI other than a couple of gamettes at shows. A full report will be forthcoming.

The new AK47 should be out in a couple of weeks so I anticipate several game of this to come along with some additions as they get released.

Also new on the horizon is 'Washingtons Wars', the next RFCM set covering the American War of Independance. I am on the playtest list for this and am looking forward to how these progress.

Sorry for lack of wargaming or photo content but hopefully this will change soon.

York

2009-04-26T10:46:00.002+01:00

Returned from York on Wednesday. Had a great time. Photos will follow. As well as the usual site around the city I managed to pusuade Lisa to join me at Marston Moor and later Towton. Fortunately the weather was glorious meaning Lisa could top up her tan. Towton in particular was excellent with lots of information available and a battlefield walk well marked out.

The new car is chosen and ordered, but a 4 to 6 week wait, so end of May beginning of June should see its arrival.

Upheaval at work due to essential maintanence in my building has meant I have had to move twice in the last week. Such excitement has curtailed my painting time meaing I haven't lifted a brush for nearly two weeks. Not good! Hopefully back to it in the next few days.

More soon!

Thoughts on WW2 Highlanders in Kilts

2009-04-26T10:43:00.000+01:00

It always amazes me the capacity for we wargamers to moan at our lot in life. Whether its WW2 Highlanders in Kilts or skiing Illyrians or whatever, any one would think we have it bad.
This is surely a golden age for wargaming with more choice of figure ranges across just about every period of history in every scale and size of figure imaginable. We have, for better or worse, more Wargames magazines than ever before. There is far more access to uniform information, campaign histories and the like. And then there is the t'internet.

Figure manufacturers seem to be constantly bombarded with requests for new ranges, new periods, new poses etc. And what happens the moment said ranges are done and available for sale? I guarantee someone, somewhere will post on a forum or ask at a show "Those xxx figures that I badgered you for are very nice. I'll buy 2. Now, if only you did yyy wearing zzz, I would be really happy. I would buy a lot of those."

To some extent I imagine we are all guilty from time to time. But it is useful occasionally to sit back and consider why the figures you wont are sometimes not available or are on a 'to do' list. Certain codes within figure ranges must be constant sellers whereas others sit unloved and unwanted apart from one or two sold here or there. I imagine whole ranges of figures can see fluctuations in sales as periods come in and out of favour due to a new set of rules, a good film or book or hype in the wargames press. Darkest Africa, Pirates, Pulp Action and Cowboys are recent fads. 1938 British Civil War seems to be the flavour at the moment (for which, interestingly, Peter Pig may see some benefit with the WW1 and SCW ranges being very suitable for such a project).

I often come to periods that I game from two angles. Firstly the love of a period, generated through films books and the like. American Civil War was, is and always will be my favourite period for a variety of reasons. Hence I have gamed and collected with figures from 2mm to 28mm and used coutless sets of rules. In 15mm alone I have collected 3 generations of Peter Pig ACW armies as the range has been redesigned over the years.

Secondly, a range of figures or rules has inspired me. The best example being Peter Pigs Samurai range which I had never previousley considered as a period. Most importantly for me, I trust the designers of the figures I buy in whatever scale or range I choose to buy, to deliver the goods. Yes, there are certain figures I would like to see, just like veryone else, but you wont see any teddys flying out of my pram should they not appear! I have more than enough unpainted figures that at the time I just had to have that have sat unloved in a dark drawer and forgotten about to keep me going for some time.

My message? Lets not get upset over toy soldiers. Have a nice cup of tea and a biscuit and enjoy this broad church called wargaming we all love.

Sean

2009-04-16T12:58:00.002+01:00

Exciting times in the Clark house as we are test driving some new cars over the next couple of days and then on Monday going upto York for a few days, hopefully taking in Marston Moor and if Lisa can stand it, Towton too.

The new car thing is exciting because I change cars very infrequently, prefering to spen money on other things, but the time has come. I'll let you know which we go for. Which ever it is, I'll still be taking the 5 year old 1 litre Corsa to work due to the travelling I have to do and keeping cost of petrol down.

Not much time for painting this week or next. I will sneak in an hour or so here or there, but no paint fests for a week or two.

Reading 'Dissolution' by CJ Sansom at the moment about a young lawyer in the early 16th century trying to solve a murder at a monastery. Going well so far.

Just ordered study books for Part 1 exams coming up in Spetember which is a necessary evil and will likely take up alot of free time, particulary end of July and August, but once done, followed by Part 2 in February March, I wont have to do any more.

Work beckons so more soon!

Club Night

2009-04-13T10:06:00.009+01:00

Some pictures from Fridays club night. I hosted a game of Civil War Battles for Ade and Keith. They played out Salem Church from the scenarios in the rulebook. Remarkably the game only lasted 4 turns, Ade as the Rebs who were defending rolled 5, 6, 4 and 3 on the game countdown. This saved him from defeat, as Keith just didnt have the time to get across the table, though he made a good fist of it. Couple of interesting events were Keith charging into the church yard and beating Ade by 11 on the falter test, kicking out Ades brigade and also a devastating volley of musketry killing 1 and a 1/2 bases of Rebs. Poor motivation rolls by Ade hampered his defence.

A good game. Next time I will use the pregame sequence.

All figures and buildngs are Peter Pig. The green mat is the Games Workshop Battle mat, cut to 6'x3', with the remainder used for wood templates. Dead teddy bears, astroturf and carpet tiles used for fields.

Here we see Keiths Bluebellys in the church yard.

Keiths boys on the advance.

Ade put his unit of Lousiana boys behind this wall.

Reb guns lined up to deliver shot and shell.

Somoe more Rebs looking towards Salem church.

Union troops making steady progress.

Had a good night at the club chatting to mates. A couple of pictures from other rooms. First is the large Napoleonics room ith a battle that started before Christmas. This picture shows the 12'x6' table crammed with probably over a thousand beautifully painted 28mm Napoleonics (mainly Front Rank) owned in the main by John Barlow..
Rules used are a very old computer moderated set by a company called SoftwareTactics (SoTa) that were written for the Spectrum 128k. Stefan (pictures to the right recently used an emulator programme to run them on an old PC. These rules have been played at our club for 20 years and are great for big multi player games. Sat at the computer is 'young' John, a relatively new member. Also playing are Tom Barlow, Matt Barlow (not related) and 'young' Ben. Great fun. This is a ficitonal enounter sometime in 1813 with French and Bavarians fighting Russians and Prussians for control of a village and surrounding hills. Very tactical play with fortunes swinging back and forth. This is the table that the Hammerin Iron photos from a few months ago was played on.

The shelving behind John hold thousands of 28mm and 15mm figures and boardgames and scenary. Lots of scenary stored below the table too.

This picture shows the start of a recreation of the Battle of Issus, played in what is known as the Renaisannce room!

Mal, Keith, Dave, Dave and Jase (of the Bunker) are playing using the 'Crusader' rules. this game will last for a couple of weeks or so. These guys play a wide variety of periods. Mal used to game with Peter Gilder! Some of the figures in use here are 40 years old! This table is 10'x6'. Off screen to the right is another room with an 8'x4' table. Mal has a large Samurai castle in 28mm scratch built by Jase. Very nice.

Painting continues with more Wars of the Roses!

More soon!

Points and thoughts

2009-04-08T09:56:00.006+01:00

Closing in on 1000 points for the year. Another unit of 24 done yesterday, looking at doing another or maybe 2 today. I have some Union dismounted staring at me on the painting table too but cant get round to them at the minute.

The early war Russian army arrived from ebay. As well as lots of troops there are 4 T34's and a couple of SPG's though I will have to check what they are (I have never been much of a tanky!) the painting on the figures is ok but I cant find any reference that says they wore dark green overcoats so I have resprayed them white and will be repainting them This would have been a mammoth task a couple of years ago but not now! I have already put Vallejo 'Khaki Grey' all over them. I have put this on slightly thinned. Detailing next and I may expeiment with Army Painter Strong tone. They are all going to have snowy bases too. Should be done by next week. I reckon there is over a 100 points just in the figures. The tanks will follow.

Back to my Bloody Barons project, I miscalculated how many packs I have. I am 15 packs short (all retinue types). Not sure when to get these. I think I may paint everything I have which amounts to 5 more units prepped and ready to go, plus markers and a couple of general bases and then pick up the balance when I go down to the STAB PBI day on 16th May. I am looking at completing then by the end of May. Of course I may change my mind and order the extra bits later today but I miss out on the 10% discount then.

Having finished 'Azincourt' I have dug out 'Rebel', the first Starbuck novel by Cornwell set in the American Civil War. I read this when it first came out in 1993 when I was in the early stages of my love for the period. Blimey thats 16 years ago. I am fairly certain it was around this time that I bought my first Peter Pig figures too. Tempus fugit or something, my Latin teacher would have said.

I am always interested in peoples wargaming history, as in how they got into playing with toy soldiers in the first place what attracts them to certain periods or methods of playing. My story is probably typical in that I collected Airfix plastics by the box load as a child, but never did much more than line them up and knock them down. I never painted them (didn't see the point) and none of my friends saw the fascination. I remember my dad taking me into a little toy and model shop in Burslem (one of the five towns that make up Stoke on Trent) and seeing a glass cabinet with rows and rows of exquisitely painted Romans and Greeks. They were Hinchcliffe models and my dad bought my 3 or 4 of each. I took them home in a little blue box and marvelled at them, as my dad tried to tell me about Hannibal, elephants and the Alps. I just wanted to line them up and knock them over of course.

It was around this time that my dad bought me a little book called 'Know the Game - Wargaming'. This was a series of books generally on sporting subjects but also pastimes like chess and bridge. I gazed at the black and white pictures of wargaming figures in various scales and actual battles being fought with them using proper rules and dice. How exciting! That book held fond memories for me and was chuffed to pick it up again at Alumwell back in March. Of course my memories of it were some what rose tinted as it really isn't that good but back then it was my bible.

Trips to the library in later years led to the discovery of Donald Featherstone titles such as 'Battles with Model Soldiers' and 'Advanced Wargaming'. Charles Grants 'Wargames Tactics' was (and still is) a favourite. But the wargaming they described was a distant dream for me as I didn't know of any clubs local to me and had no idea of where to get the rules and figures from described in the books.

Around about the time I moved to high school I discovered role playing with Dungeons and Dragons and Runequest. Throughout high school and college this took over my life. I became a bit of a nerd, reading DC comics, drawing and writing about fantasy worlds and DMing for a group of mates numbering between 4 and 12 at any one time. I always DM'd the games and this has carried over into adult life as I like nothing better than setting up a game and running it for others to play. We played AD&D, DC Heroes, Gangbusters, Shadowrun, Cyberpunk, James Bond, Traveller, Judge Dredd, Star Trek, Boot Hill, in fact anything we could get our hands on. Strangely when I moved away to university my role playing dried up for one reason or another. I still had an interes in it, reading mostly fantasy novels but by then (late 1980's) I was picking up the various wargames magazines and even sending off for a few figures here and there to start painting. Obviousley I use enamels and had no idea about undercoats or highlighting but I enjoyed having a go.

In 1990 I remember looking through the local newspaper and reading that the local wargames club in Stoke on Trent were having an open day at the town hall. Up until then I had no idea there was a club in Stoke. Intrigued I went along and suspect the moment I walked through the door I was hooked. For the first time in my life I saw real wargames with hundreds of figures in action. And the figures were painted! I remember two games in particular. One was by the Burton Wargames club, a large 15mm Napoleonic 'Albuera' with British, Spanish, Portugese and French swarming over a table with hills, trees and buildings on it. It looked fantastic back then and I am sure would still hold up today to the standard of demo game at modern shows.

The other was a 25mm ACW game recreating 'Chickamauga'. This had lots of Dixon figures painting to a stunning standard on sculpted scenary and played using a set of computer rules running on a Spectrum 128K. The lads running this game were from Stoke and all remain friends to this day. I spent most of the day chatting to them about the game and the period and can trace my interest in the ACW back to this moment. From there I went to a trader selling books and bought Bruce Cattons 'Penguin History of the American Civil War' and read it cover to cover several times. I then started to attend the Stoke Club (Friday nights from 7pm).

Stoke Wargames club has been around for nearly 40 years and have their own premises above a row of shops just of Longton (another of the 5 towns) town centre. The club is divided up into rooms that each have their own period of interest with fantasy having a strong hold at the present time but back in 1990 there were more historical games being played alongside some rolw playing. I joined in the room with the lads I had met at the show who at that time played exclusively ACW. Usually there was between 8 and 12 of us playing out historical battles that would last several weeks. We had great fun. Most of the kit was owned by Jeff Davis, a real civil war nut to this day like me. He painted the figures, scratch built the scenary and umpired the games, setting up campaigns and generally ensuring everyone had a good time. I have fond memories of these games and even began collecting a few Dixon figures myself.

I also wanted to game at home and decided on 15mm figures buying a mix of Essex, Warrior and Peter Pig. I gamed mainly with Martyn but also Barry, Mark White and the Barlows, John and Tom. All are still active gamers and whom I see and game with as often as I can. I built up collections of figures but around this time i discovered bring and buys. Martyn and I began to travel to wargames shows up and down the country (mid 1990's now). We went as far as York and Leeds in the North and down to London for Salute at the Kensington town hall. Martyn had at the time the largest collection of figures i knew of, in numerous periods. On getting to a show he would disappear off with a list in his hands only to reappear with a carrier bag full of lead. Within a week he would have most of it painted! We had great fun at the shows, getting lost on the way to them, talking about things most wargamers talk about like the next big project or the facing colours of some regiment or other. Occasionally this chat led to wrong roads being taken like when driving back from Salute we found ourselves instead of heading north back to Stoke, after an hour or so we approaching Reading.!

We games at Martyns house quite alot back then playing ACW, AWI, Napoleonics, Ancients and WW2. In the summer it was in his garage, in the winter in his dining room. The games could last all day sometimes with a break for a chip shop run. Martyn is now a grandad and his gaming has tailed off. He no longer comes to the club but we games occasionally at my house. Most of his figures have been sold off too and he collects plastics. At shows Martyn would often sell off figures on the bring and buys to fund other projects and this is a habit I got into which has now led to ebay trading. I have over the years collected 1)15 ACW 2) 25mm ACW 3) 25mm Naps 4)15mm Naps 5) 15mm Ancients 6)15mm WW2. All have been collected, painted, played with and sold off. I think I have collected 15mm ACW 3 or 4 times now. Currently I am contemplating selling most of my fantasy and scfi stuff.

Along with Keith, Ade and the others at the club, I have a wide circle of friends locally and look back on those first days with great fondness. Wargaming is a sociable hobby that stimulates creativity and thinking unlike most other hobbies (such as playing computer games for instance).
Long may it continue.

More soon.

Painting

2009-04-05T21:58:00.008+01:00

I have really cracked on with the Bloody Barons project. As of today I have painted 12 units of 24 figures. Thats 288 figures in all. Not painted anything other than these for a couple of weeks now. May break it up a bit with something, perhaps the Confederate cavalry next week. Having said that the order of battle for Towton calls for 23 units so I may just crack on with them. I have 6 more units prepped and ready to go. Also I have the Generals bases and all the necessary markers to get done. I can knock out a unit in just over an hour. I was right in that I have speeded up with getting to know the figures. My simplified basing helps too and I am getting to like it. I picked up some 'spring meadow' flock from Coriatani (sp?) at Triples yesterday and mixed in some of their basing sand and it looks very nice. You can see the mix below

Next is a tray of painted Peter Pig Wars of the Roses. Prior to putting the flock on I paint the base green then PVA it and dunk it in the flock. Really simple but nice effect.

As I have gone on about before I swear by the Army Painter painting method. This base of Billmen was sprayed with Army painter bone colour and then basic colours painted on top with no highlighting or shading. The padded jackets and some clothing bits are left in the bone colour.

Here is another base after painting on 'Strong tone' Army Painter Dip. I then give them a coat of spray varnish (GW 'Ardcoat I think). This is done after the base is flocked which helps to seal rthe flock as well as getting rid of the gloss finish of the dip.

This is a shot of a unit of Retinue prior to the dip being applied. As per the Bloody Barons rules this is a unit of 8 bases of 3 figures, made up of 4 Bow bases, 3 Fighting (Bill) bases and a Captain base.

For my Towton game I am thinking of using a white sheet with some embelishments (bits of green and brown sprayed on). I may even look at taking it to some shows if it works out. The set up will include trees and buildings with snow on them and some hills either underneath the sheet or placed on top.

Triples, the Sheffield show was good, but I was a bit worn out to be honest and left around 2.30pm. Other than a few bits of flock as described, a couple of books and some freezywater banners I managed to avoid buying ANY figures. Good news for the pledge. Had a nice talk with Dace Lanchester on the Lance and Longbow society stand about Towton. I also bought a nice book on Richard III to add to my library. Lisa will be pleased!

Nearly finished 'Azincourt' by Bernard Cornwell. People seem divided by Cornwells output. My stance is you get what you pay for. Dont expect any Booker short list title. Yes some plots tend to be repetitive and you may even accuse Cornwell of bieng formulaic. But they are rip roaring reads that demand nothing from the reader. Other than having a nice cup of tea and a dark chocolate kitkat to accompany you on the ride. Having done all the original Sharpe (not got around to the new ones yet though my grandad has them all) and the Starbuck chronicles which I love, I yet to read any of the Arthur or Alfred books. Azincourt tells the story of Nicholas Hook an archer in Henry V army and centres around the siege of Harfluer and (suprisingly) the Battle of Agincourt. Ok we all know how it ends, but the little subplots, the attention to detail and the battl scenes are great. Well worth a go!

More soon.

Update

2009-03-30T16:30:00.002+01:00

Just a quick word to update on progress and thoughts.

Due to working nights last night and tonight I have had no time to sort out my purchases to add to the pledge. Dont think it will tip me over into negative equity! Might be close though.

I have now painted 7 units for Bloody Barons so cracking along nicely. Thats just 8 days from project start. If i can complete by end of June I will be very pleased. Then onto Samurai. I do have a head start on this with the stuff done by Jase at the Bunker.

I won an early war Russian PBI army on Ebay at the weekend. Great timing as I was planning some Russians to fight my early war Germans bought at Alumwell. They are on snow bases too which I had i mind for when I get the Germans done.

Triples at the weekend. No major purchases planned but I am sure something will catch my eye. After tonight I am off until next Monday. I plan to try and paint another 4 units ( 96 figures) for Bloody Barons. We'll see.

On the book front I have ordered the Osprey Campaign books on Bosworth and Towton and have also succumbed to the Militairy Book Club again to take advantage of their offer on the 'Gettysburg Companion.' Also getting a couple of good books on WW2 and the 'Trafalger Companion'. Looking forward to those. I generally only join for the 12 months and then leave and always rnd up having saved a great deal of money on books I would probably have bought anyway.

More soon.

Salute

2009-03-28T21:27:00.007Z

So this morning at 0630hrs I left home for my journey down to the big smoke. Everything went to plan, the train picking me up from Stafford at 0740hrs and arriving on time at London Euston at 0900hrs. After a few minutes orientating myself I found the Euston Underground and the Northern Line, then onto the DLR and eventually joined the que outside Excel at 1000hrs.

Whilst in the line some pretty girls were selling the relaunched 'Miniature Wargames' which I have to say looks very promising. It is now unrecognizable from its previous incarnation and I am looking foward to how it progresses.

One amusing aside was a Spanish gent standing behind me who periodically looked down the rather long line winding its way towards the Salute entrance and repeatedly smacked his forehead!

The que reduced remarkably quickly and I was at the entrance by 1015hrs. Reassuringly the first thing I saw past the crowds was a flying pink pig! I tried to photograph this strange phenomenon but with now luck (still no new camera you see!).

So once inside I headed straight to Peter Pig new AK47 Gamette. Me and Martin taking on Rob Roriston who was defending. I have to say Martin and the team have put some real effort into the look of the on table game and the off table display material, which you
can see below. I love the line 'Dont worry if you get slaughtered'!.

As you can see an authentic fake animal skin is the backdrop for the game! This picture shows the set up for the gamette, Rob is to the left. At the far end of the table just to the right of the road is a lovely little 'police station' with a couple of Mercedes police cars. Unofrtunately in our game my militia failed to storm the village to my front and my armoured column consisting of two T55's a Panhard AC with tank gun and jeep technical suffered at the hands of Robs RPG troops. Martin did even worse on his flank with his unit of regulars routing in turn 2. Oh well!

Here is a picture of Martin demonstrating the finer points of war in Watumba. Rob and Julie look on.

The gamette was busy all day. Having played the playtest and now actually played the game with Martin and Rob, I have to say I am loving the new version of AK. Some real improvements on the original. I'm very tempted to steal the idea of the khaki coloured cloth with painted on patches. It looked really effective. I am also going to build myself a local police station (obvious really). Martin anticipated these will be out by June, so not long now! I may look at sprucing up some of the paint jobs on my AK stuff too.

Some nice games on show but not as many as I expected. There wer probably 4 or 5 that I would say werev of a 'Partizan' standard. However all the games seemed interesting with a lot of participation games. Stand out 'showcase' games were the Perry twins Napoleonic bash with their plastics to the fore. A large ECW game using Warlord plastics was nice too. Pictured below is the Loughton Strike Forces 'Attack on the Reichstag'. Lovely 15mm WW2 action in Berlin. some nice touches like the statues made out of Airfix '100 Years War' figures, some Greatcoated Peter Pig Germans and the Reichstag itself. Lovely model this but at £80 a pop a bit pricey! This picture shows Russians in the ruins of Berlin about to press on to the Reichstag. This was probably my favourite demo at the show.

Excel is a huge venue and to be honest in places looked empty. There were several games with large empty spaces around them. This I feel detracted somewhat from the atmosphere of the show which is a shame really. Olympia seemed to have far more of a buzz to it.

My main motivation for going today was to get to play in the AK game. I doubt I will make the trip next year. With Triples (Sheffield) next weekend it was a bit of an extravagance to make the trip but I am glad I did. Picked up the Samurai I preordered plus the obligatory extra few bits including 3 ships for Pieces of Eight. This will be a side project most likely not seeing the light of day until next year now, but I have a hankering to paint up a couple. Unlike Alumwell I have no energy to paint tonight but I may try to fit a bit in tomorrow. Lisa is back from France in the afternoon so I will have to try and squeeze it in in the morning.

Thats all for now....more soon!

The Pledge

2009-03-24T14:59:00.003Z

As of today I am on 693 points, closing in on the half way point of last years total. Of course last year I did not include any scenary and I also painted 2,500 points of Empire troops for Warhammer Fantasy Battles (which I am contemplating selling) and also a 6mm WW2 Russian army for Blitzkrieg Commander. I used these once and didn't particulalry enjoy the game so these may go to.

I am thinking of selling all of my GW stuff which includes the Empire, an Orc and Goblin army (both painted) and a Skaven army (unpainted) as well as a whole load of Lord of the Rings stuff and 40K. No passion for it any more although I do enjoy some of the ficiton particularly the 40K Heresy stuff. I will keep a small Wood Elf army so I have something to play with at the club. This isn't painted yet but it can wait until inspiration hits me.

I took collection of another Kaiser Rushworth case and some trays to fill a case I got last year designed to hold GW stuff. Now at last my PITS stuff has a home!

I really must get the WW1 stuff on the painting table soon. With my order from Salute I may try and kerb spending until September Partizan. I have more than enough to keep me going, and it would be good to see my lead pile reducing considerably this year.

Some discussion on the RFCM YahooGroup about Hammerin Iron hex sizes got me thinking of getting the ships out again. Maybe a couple more ships to add to the collection wouldn't hurt!

More soon

While the cats away...

2009-03-24T14:39:00.002Z

I waved Lisa away on her hols on Sunday and no sooner had the door shut on her than I got out the brushes and kicked my Bloody Barons painting into gear.

As of today I have 4 units done with some household troops nearly finished. I have been slower than I thought, mainly due to unfamiliarity with the figures, but I think I will soon pick up to my usual speed. This afternoon I have prepared 4 more units which I aim to have done by the weekend. I am pinching the basing for these figures from Stewart Meecham. My usual basing is brown flock followed by a light drybrush with a creamy colour followed by patches of static grass. However following a conversation at my club on Friday I have had a rethink about how I do things. A valid point was made that the trend of an earthy coloured base with patches of grass is all well and good if your base boards are in the same style. The idea of nice bases is to blend them into their surroundings. Yet most games are played on green mats or sheets of one kind or another save for perhaps a lucky few with purpose built scenary. As Mal at the club pointed out, the earth/grass mix can look a bit odd marching across a pure green mat, reducing the aesthetic somewhat.

Hence I have nicked Stewarts basing method of mixing green flock with a bit of brown and a little bit of gravel and clump foliage. Then PVA the base, dip in your mix, use a spray varnish to fix and your done. Like most gamers I am always tinkering with how I do things. The Bloody Barons collection is now commited to this style of base. Not saying I wont change my mind for the next collection but I am happy with the result so far.

Watched 'Gods and Generals' this afternoon. Now I know this was slated by critics and the gaming population at large, but I love it. The character scenes are slightly 'twee', particulalry between Jackson and his servant but on the whole I would give this film 4/5. The battle scenes are inspirational. Trouble is it makes me want to paint some Union troops in greatcoats which of course Peter Pig dont do. I may have to look to Essex at Salute on Saturday for a unit to model with an Irish flag.

Also took myself to see 'Watchmen' yesterday. Having read the graphic novel in the late 80's and hearing some of the less than complimentary reviews I was cautious but in the end needn't have worried. It really was excellent, but feel Lisa would have struggled with it. Knowledge of the plot cerainly helped me and I feel a novice might struggle with the plot. This really is a dark film with some graphic violence. Rating 4/5.

Some pictures will be coming of the basing I talked about as well as a planned step by step of my painting technique for those interested.

More soon.

Update

2009-03-20T14:44:00.002Z

Looking foward to Salute on 28th March.

www.salute.co.uk

I have placed my preorder with Peter Pig, mainly for Samurai for Battles in the Age of War. Stewart Meecham of the Levellers Wargames group in Weymouth has arranged a games day on 15th August 2009. I have a couple units painted by Jase Hurst of the Bunker and should be picking some more up tonight. With the order from Salute I will have enough for two 800 point armies.

Other exciting news is that Miles Milton of STAB in Bournemouth has announced dates for a PBI day on 16th May and a CWB day on 26th September, and Ivan Angel on the RFCM YahooGroup is organising a RFCM day in June. Typically I am due to work all of the above dates but have managed to arrange leave for all of them. Whether I make all i dont know but I intend to. With the aid of SatNav, that makes several 4 1/2 hour trips to the south coast but what the heck!

Details of the events can be found at

http://www.sttab.co.uk/

Painting wise a bit of a slow down this week. 20 Naval infantry for PITS done, just because they have been around for a while. A lot of work on scenary, sprucing up my S&A scenics hills and templates. I also bought a GW battle mat. This is the static grass mat on a material backing meaning it can be folded up and wont tear.

More soon.

Painting Desk

2009-03-13T07:51:00.002Z

I have been meaning to post this for a while. It seems the 'in thing' to post a picture of you your work area so here is mine. Quite tidy at the minute! If you look closely you can see a Vietnam theme with a Peter Pig Vietnam hut and some M113s to the left. Also there is a Regiment of Foote unit waiting for the base to be finished and a Mercedes from the AK47 range. Interesting eh?

Edgehill

2009-03-13T06:55:00.008Z

Martyn and Keith came ove last night for a game of Regiment of Foote. They played out my 'Edgehill' scenario, It was Keiths first time with the rules but he picked them up really quickly.

The battle was historically a stalemate, althought it did mean the war continued whereas if the King had lost badly it could of all been over by Christmas.

The terrain was very open, with a slight rise in the ground towards the Parliament positions and some enclosures on each flank.

The armies used are pretty much those contained in the Peter Pig 'Black Box' range of ready made armies. I bought one each of the early war Royalist and Parliament armies. I have added to them since.

Again we used the proposed modifications fight sheet with an amendment for charger cavalry, giving them +2D6 on the turn they charge in. We thought they worked really well.

We played until 11pm and with the turn count down to 2, we called it a day. Keith who took the part of the King won the day with a narrow victory despite being outnumbered slghtly and asked to attack. After the first turn in which he suffered a couple of reverses, I think Keith thought he had his work cut out and was blaming the scenario designer for stacking the odds against him, however things came good with the Royalist horse outclassing their Roundhead counterparts on both wings.

Here we see Keith in the role of King Charles I, dunking a digestive.

Martyn, playing the Roundheads thought it a good idea to hide some musketeers in the enclosures on Keiths right wing. Sneaky!

Here we see first clash of ruperts horse (on the left) against the puritanical Parliamentarians. Trained horse verses Conscript. Although the Roundheads held their own initially Ruperts boys took the day and true to form rode off to loot the baggage train.

Push of pike with the Kings foote to the left, outnumbered but giving it their all.

Martyn, in the guise of the Earl of Essex indicates to the camera that he has just lost two units in two succesive fights. A bit careless, but there you go!

The end is nigh. Martyn had some bad luck. He rolled snakeeyes for succesive motivation rolls and Keith in one exchange of musketry in the centre delivered the most devastating volley I have seen causing the loss of two whole bases. Combined with some damage from artillery in the same turn, Martyn had to put alot of soldiers back into their box. Keith won the day on the wings. Although he had the upper hand in the centre, neither side could get their troops to engage.

Friends again! It was hard fought and Martyn bore his bad luck well. It was tea,biscuits and chat afterwards. A good game with a lot of laughs.

I am pleased with the scenario, which I think is ready to go.

During the day yesterday I painted 62 more figures. 24 were some 'boy soldiers' for my AK47 collection and 38 Scots Lowland foote for my Marston Moore scenario. All had the Army Painter 'Strong' dip applied which looks nice.

More painting today, probably 10th New York for CWB. They are a Zouave unit with brown jackets and turbans. Finished up my templates yesterday and started to paint the S&A scenics bits to fit in more with my figure basing.

Things are moving along well. I am preparing my order for Salute which will consist of mainly 15mm Samurai. I was planning on getting these at Newark but I hope to play in Stewart Meechams 'Battles in the Age of War' day on 15th August 2009 so I need to get going as soon as possible on these. I am pseaking to Jase Hurst of the 'Bunker' painting service later to see if he can squeeze in a few units for me. He is a member of my club so hopefully see him tonight. I am planning a test of my 'Naseby' scenario at the club tonight so I'll let you know how that goes.

I am travelling to Salute by train which is a first for me. Should be quite exciting. I should get into London at 9am which gives me an hour to get to Excell. According to various public transport websites for London, it is an hour from Euston to Excell, so pending any disaster I should be there at opening time or just after. I imagine there will be a sizeable que anyway so no big deal if I am half an hour late or so. Really looking forward to having a go at Peter Pigs AK47 gamette, demoing the new rules. Other bits I would like are a few 'bits' terrain wise, a Louisana flag for my Tigers in 15mm, maybe some more Army Painter and the 15mm ACW bands from Essex! Oh and some standing generals as well for a couple of dioramas I have planned. These may well be the only none Peter Pig figures I buy this year and thats only because they dont do a 15mm band!

More soon.

Meeples and Miniatures

2009-03-08T22:12:00.002Z

One last thing for the day. A shout out for Meeples and Miniatures podcast. Probably the best wargaming fun you can have with an iPod. Check it out at

www.meeplesandminiatures.libsyn.com

Especially good for long drives to wargames shows!