Spring Skirmish Report

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.

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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

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

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....

After Show report (WMMMS)

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....

West Midlands Militairy Modelling Show

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...

York Show

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.

Wargamer

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.

The end is nigh

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...

Shows

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.