Grimsby Wargaming

Playing Favourites

2012-01-11T12:40:00.003Z

Dean over at "Too Much Lead" started it and Steve at "Steve the Wargamer" carried it on, but it seemed such a good idea I thought I'd pitch in too.

Period
By genre it is "Horse & Musket". If the musket uses black powder and there are men on horses then I'm generally fine with it. Specifically though I would narrow it down to either the early 18th century or the Napoleonic period. But my heart is always going to go back to the War of the Spanish Succession because it has the colour, pomp and splendour of the 7YW without having to worry about that all light skirmisher malarkey. (The Great Northern War runs it a very close second for the reasons below).

Scale
28mm. Is there any other really? Big battalions with figures of a size that have presence on the table top.

Rules
None. I have no favourite commercial rules. I am of the opinion that after thirty (ahem!) years of gaming the rules I use are the ones that I'm comfortable with but am willing to try new ones as they come about.

Manufacturer
Musketeer (now through Gripping Beast). Bill has produced a range for the Great northern War that I just love. They have a character, presence and style that makes me just want to paint & play with them. His figures are the reason that the Great Northern war is my second favourite period (and the margin between the WSS & GNW is cartridge paper thin because of Bill).

Boardgame
Scrabble. I'm not a great one for military boardgames & I've always disliked games where the outcome involves calculators and complex mathematics (Avalon Hill & SPI for example). But Scrabble is a game where the family can play and expand their word base. (My kids would say that I like any game where I win but that's not true - entirely!).

Club
There is and always will be only one. The Grimsby Wargames Society. I know that we are blessed with a multitude of benefits (premises, tables, scenery par excellence from Messrs Taylor & Hamilton, periods galore) but the real secret of the club is the membership. Friendly and welcoming and always willing to let others join in.

Inspiration
This is the first of the "Desert Island" options. Which movie would I watch over and over again? A question and one that has proven to be difficult to answer. There are several movies that I would watch every time they are on TV (Dean chose "Zulu" and Steve "Last of the Mohicans" both of which I would agree with). For me though it is probably "The Longest Day". Will any other war movie have a cast list like that?

Book

Another hard question. I read a lot of books and probably average one every ten days or so (I've read three since Christmas!) but rarely do I go back and reread one despite me having shelves groaning under the weight of paperbacks. But one that I have kept since my early teens and have read more than once is Terry Brooks "The Sword of Shannara" - the first in the quite epic Shannara series. Yes it's formulaic and yes it's a little predictable but I like the way it flows, the character descriptions and the way that is set in our future (okay you don't find this out until much later in the series).

Art

Richard Caton Woodville. When I was young one of my happiest memories was spending time with my maternal grandfather looking at the book "Deeds That Thrilled the Empire". It is a volume dedicated to the stories behind the medals won for valour and gallantry by the British & Commonwealth forces during the Great War and it is richly illustrated. But is Woodvilles illustrations that drew me - wild eyed horses and men in action that cannot but fail to impress. Add in that he is also responsible for many of our more magnificent war memorials how can you not like them?

This weeks Painting is....

2012-01-08T10:13:00.005Z

...an eclectic mix of a multitude of genres.
First is a Persian commander. A unique figure only available for the first 1,000 purchased copies of the "Rise & Fall of Persia" supplement for Clash of Empires (http://www.clashofempires.co.uk/). An excellent sculpt that will make a fitting commander for the elite troops I have planned. Size wise he is taller than all the other ranges I've figures from apart from Wargames Factory.

Next is another command group, this time from First Corps. The general in white should have a shield attached to his left arm but I removed the cast on locating lug just to give me some variety in the various command bases I'm creating. It's not quite clear from the photograph but I am really pleased with the faces for these figures. All done using a three tone system and no washes.

The command figures were followed by ten Old Glory Persian light cavalry. For these I used a wash only technique. Block painting and then Army Painter dips (strong for the horse & mid tone for the rider). With Old Glory choosing not to give the horses the top knot and some extra harnessing I've decided to make this satrapal cavalry from the western part of the empire. Not much difference in ability but it will distinguish them from the cavalry brought by the King of Kings to face Alexander.

Of course having started one regiment of Swedes I've carried on. Another twenty four man unit of Swedes has been rebased.

Okay there are only actually twenty figures in the unit but they are based to represent twenty four. I did this for two reasons - one it allows me to create more units from the figures I've already bought (does this mean I've got more to buy?) and I thin they look better for allowing some space on the bases. What do you think?

I said the painting mix was eclectic. I've also painted a pirate figure from Hasslefree Miniatures. As with all of Kev's figures the sculpting is exquisite and of such fine proportions it is hard not to like it. I gave him a Royal Navy coat no doubt thieved from one of his victims. Liberal use of washes and dips to finish this figure. He's of the right stature to fit in with the Black Scorpion range very nicely.

Finally there is a Predator figure from Heresy Miniatures. I have no idea why I bought this nor what I'm going to use it for, except to say it did take my fancy at the Derby Show two years ago (yes he's sat on the workbench for that long!). He came with several options of hands and weapons, including having the shoulder mounted weapon in a firing position (but with giving him the open spear and wrist blades this seemed inappropriate).

Right now on the workbench are ten more Old Glory light horse and twenty 40mm French Colonial troops for the French Indian War project.

And the first figures for 2012 are?

2012-01-01T10:48:00.003Z

A battalion of rebased Swedes for the Great Northern War.
I also took the opportunity to reduce the length of the pikes. The Swedes had, on the books at least, pikes that were 8m in length and quite frankly they looked ridiculous. So taking that the pikemen in the English Civil War were not adverse to loping off a few feet from their pikes, I reduced them by a quarter.

Sounds drastic but I think the end effect is far better and more balanced.

For the bases I wanted a cooler look. Cooler as in temperature at least. So white polyfilla and once dried topped with pva and dried sand in patches. Burnt Umber wash, Vallejo Green Olive dry brush then sand (masonry paint from B&Q) and finally a dry brush of white to try and show a little frost. Finished off with winter tufts of grass. I kept some of the old green static grass and foliage in places to try and simulate an early spring or late autumn feel.

Hope you like them. More to come soon.

The Last Figures for 2011

2011-12-30T10:13:00.002Z

The final figures to be completed for 2011 are more recruits to venture up the Ohio valley to take on the French & their Indian allies.
All are Sash & Sabre 40mm figures.

Painted with block and wash with a few highlights.

Mounted on mdf bases from Warbases and using flock to represent summer flowers.

The figures are dressed in a variety of coats, hunting shirts and buckskin as befitting the militia troops raised ad hoc by the local government in the absence of regular English troops (most of whom were further north on the shores of Lake Champlain).

Overall theses were hard work. Easy to paint but take an awful lot of preparation with flash & bad casting causing some of the figures to be slightly out of alignment where the mould has slipped. Only thirty more to do!

That concludes the painting for 2011. Early in 2012 will see more Persian cavalry completed along with the last of the American militia (as above) and the first of the rebased & reorganised Swedeborg troops for the GNW. Watch this space.

It only remains for me to wish each and everyone one of my readers a very Happy New Year!

A Face to the Future and the Past

2011-12-28T09:01:00.002Z

Like so many others in the hobby, the time between Christmas and New Year is a time for reflection and to consider what the future may have in store.
2011 was in so many ways both a disappointment and a surprise.

Disappointing because for a whole variety of reasons my participation in the hobby was curtailed to almost nill. I've only blogged about two games that I organised at the club. I think I may have been involved in a couple more but overall it was a very poor year for me to get figures on the tabletop. Report card D-

On the reverse of that of course was the success of our club outing to Sheffield Triples. I may not have played many games but that one game had the Wow! factor in bundles.

Surprisingly the lack of gaming time did mean that I had excess time in the painting room. Not only did I get the entire WSS project rebased in time for Sheffield I also revamped the Wars of the Roses collection as well. Add in the completion of the Scottish Civil War army and a hefty chunk of the new Persian army, it was probably the best year I've ever had for painting. I think that I've painted or rebased something like a 1,000 figures this year (400 in the Persian army alone to date). Report Card A+.

So what about the resolutions I made for 2011?

First was to rebase the Great Northern War project. Not even started that. A whole year with hardly any activity on that score. Report card F.

And I say hardly any activity because I did break the second resolution I made. that was not to spend any money on new figures. Not only did I buy some more shiny from Musketeer but I bought an entire Persian army! Report card F.

Overall score for the year has to be a C-. Improvement needed on the gaming front and the Great Northern War project.

For 2012 I can see the completion of the Persian army. I have sixty horse figures to complete and that will be that. The GNW may get a figure purchase boost with Bill bringing out those excellent command figures and artillery crew and I'd like to think that with the Persians being finished I can concentrate on actually painting them!
What I don't see is the purchase of whole projects for the next year. The odd few (hundreds?) of figures but not the numbers that I bought this year. There are no plans for another large army in the pipelines. Yes I know I've said it in the past but it's true. If it hadn't been for Hail Ceasar and the plastic ranges available for the Persians that wouldn't have happened this year either. (No one is planning a revolutionary new set of rules that will tempt me are they?).

I also want to complete some of the other projects that have been hanging around for a long time now. 15mm Austrian Napoleonics being the prime candidate. Half of them are based and painted, of those that are painted only half of those are on bases I like. There is still an entire division of foot to paint and a Kuirassier brigade to complete.
The 40mm FIW set up will probably amble along for a while too. I've got thirty figures in the box to paint but in no real rush to do so. A few purchases at shows next year if nothing else takes my fancy is all I'll commit to right now.
With Victrix bringing out some early war French Napoleonics I am considering revamping the French Napoleonic army. Another couple of battalions would balance it out nicely. Most of it is from Elite and whilst they look okay I know I can achieve a much better finish now then I could when I painted them twenty years ago.

So I think 2012 will be a year for repair and renovation rather than new arrivals.

Whatever it may bring I can only hope that it will be better than last year for gaming.

The Last Post (before Christmas)

2011-12-22T18:56:00.003Z

Laid up with not a lot to do except get a bit of painting when the wife isn't looking (she doesn't like me trying to get into the loft with only half a leg working).
And that bit of painting was to get 12 Persian light cavalry from Immortal Miniatures completed.
This time, and for speed, I used an entirely dip based methodology. White or grey undercoat for the horses with various shades of brown on top. Then Army Painter Strong dip.
The riders were black undercoated, block painted and then dipped with the mid shade dip before highlighting. The only exception being the white armour which was painted on top of a grey undercoat after the dip (only because I don't like the way the white shades to brown if done before).

The figures themselves are one piece castings and are just lovely.

And that my friends is that.

Time now for one more day at work, cook the turkey, open that bottle of Glenlivet 12 year old malt and give a toast to you all.

Merry Christmas.

To the Forks of the Ohio

2011-12-09T11:49:00.002Z

Several years ago I posted some photographs of 40mm Indians that I bought on a whim. The intention then was to start a French Indian War project but I had really no direction or aim with it.
So I purchased some more of the Sash & Sabre range - provincials and Canadians - to go with the Indians. Bought a while and left in the big blue box.

Forgotten until I read Harold Coyle's "Savage Wilderness" recently. Coyle sets his story against four characters from the colonists, English regulars, French regulars and the native Indians. These four characters interact with each other during the struggles from Washington's first attack along the Ohio, to Braddock and ultimately Quebec.

Having read the book I think I'll base the skirmish to start with Braddock because the provincials here have begun to adopt the more informal dress rather then the uniform of the Virginia regiment and to devolve into ranger companies.

Starting with Braddock also lets me have English regulars in full European dress or to move into the later attack on fort Carillion where the dress was adapted for the continental style of warfare.

These are the first six figures of the 20 bought but fun to paint.

I've tried to use a variety of figures in hunting frocks and semi uniform. The last figure wears the full tunic at least with tricorne edged in black silk (using Mollo's "Uniforms of the Seven Years War" from Blandford as a guide.

The figures have suffered from being in storage. The muskets are badly bent and have proved just about impossible to straighten properly. Quite a bit of flash as well and in some cases hard to remove. Overall though I really enjoyed painting them.

Persian Reinforcements

2011-12-08T10:28:00.002Z

The first metal cavalry to be added to the list - Saka horse archers from Immortal Miniatures (see previous post for news of this company).
Twelve delightful figures.

The command pack has a leader in a distinctive pointed hat, musician with horn and standard bearer (my only disappointment was that the banner for the standard was broken and beyond my skill to repair it).

I intend to use these in two small units so there are subtle variations in the painting. No two figures are the same but they do have commonality - six shades of green, six of blue for the saddle blankets for example.

Bases are MDF from the ever reliable Warbases, grass & flowers from Antentoceti.

Once I've recovered tomorrow from the surgery I'll post some pics of the 18th century diversion I've been talking about.

New Shiny Coming Soon!

2011-12-07T12:16:00.003Z

There won't be many excuses left for me not to complete the Great Northern War project once Gripping Beast get these new boys from Bill cast. Moving to the other side of the pond hasn't prevented Bill from turning in some excellent looking figures. I can hardly wait to see them in the metal.

Swedish cavalry command. Super, smashing, lovely as some would say.

Russian artillery crews. Awesome.

I've still got loads of the last releases to get underway and a wad of cash ready for these new ones. Early resolution for 2012 - go back and rework the Great Northern War!

In other news....

Stephen May has sold Immortal Miniatures to Warlord Games. Stephen started Immortal and managed everything himself, then when he found that difficult he moved the casting to Northstar (in both cases I found the service and response excellent). Earlier this year Stephen found himself able to manage it all again and took the whole company under his own management. Now he's sold it lock stock and barrel I gather to Warlord. My hopes are that he continues, as promised in the newsletter, to create more figures (my wife probably hopes he won't!) and that warlord maintain the excellent work they've done so far with this new range of figures.

Quick Update

2011-12-04T13:41:00.002Z

Things may slow down on here for a while (okay I know it's slow right now but ....).

I'm due to go in for another operation next week. The other knee this time for a matching pair. The consultant is telling me that the internal damage is worse in this case but hopefully the arthritis isn't (if it is I'm looking at new knee caps in the next few years and I'm not even fifty yet!).
Whatever the outcome my ability to get into the loft will be curtailed for a few weeks and so I will not be able to get to the painting desk for that time. That means he Persians will have to wait (I've just started on the first of the light cavalry) as well as a slight diversion into the eighteenth century - more on that later.

It's All Greek to me

2011-11-26T15:36:00.002Z

I'd always planned to have a substantial greek contingent in my Persian army, afterall (depending on which source you read) there were only Greek infantry at the Granicus on either side.
I was lucky enough to grab several boxes of the Immortal Greek Hoplites on Ebay. Pictured above is the completed phalanx of four units.
Most of them were given shields with the transfers supplied by Immortal. However, the last twenty four were given transfers that I bought from Little Big Men Studios. Excellent quality and fantastic when applied. For me they really make the figures special largely because they have texture and depth that you don't get from the waterslide transfers. And they're really easy to use to boot.

Of course theses units need a leader and so I used three spare figures to create a command stand. Again using the LBM shield transfers.

So that makes a third two thirds of the army complete. All the Persian foot (bar a unit of Satrapal guards) and the Greek mercenary contingent plus a third of the horse.

I feel a bit spent now and think I'll return, briefly at least, to the eighteenth century for a break.

Battlegames to go on!

2011-11-16T13:00:00.002Z

From the amount of traffic that the recent announcement has generated I guess I'm a little behind the times.
Henry has announced that the magazine created and nurtured by him is to continue as is, the only change I can see is the publisher.
All I can say is HUZZAH!
The amount of work and effort that Henry has out into the magazine deserved more than for it to implode. The news on his website (see link on the left) is justification that many people felt the same. So my only request now is for Henry to somehow manage to wangle it such that the magazine is available for me to read with a glass of port after the Christmas dinner!

Battle of Kolin

2011-11-14T12:23:00.005Z

A club game held this weekend, Saturday 12th November, and my first game for weeks (nay months).
I took the Zeitens' command and tasked with holding off the Austrians opposite whilst simultaneously supporting the infantry attacks to my right.

The command consisted of 10 regiments of hussars, 2 each of cuirassiers and dragoons, 3 battalions of grenadiers, 2 battalions of line infantry and four batteries of field guns. The hussars we (my son James was ADC for the day) deployed on our extreme right and used them to hold back the ever increasing numbers of Austrian horse that kept appearing across from us. The cuirassiers and dragoons were on their right and we used them as battering rams to hurl back the immediate threat. The infantry were to storm the hills opposite and prevent any of the Austrian horse on from interfering with the Prussian assaults on the hills to my right.

Above, the first waves of horse have been held and the Prussians regroup. The dice are intended to show losses before whole bases are removed.

Below the Prussian grenadiers have reached the hills and begin their assault.

As the grenadiers climb the hills the Prussian cuirassiers attack the enemy horse on the summit. Several melees later these cuirassiers will have chased off three regiments of the enemy unfortunately the Prussians chased them from the field and decided to head for the enemy baggage train and did not return to the tabletop).

As it should be i have little detailed information on what was happening to my right. The above photograph is the assault to my immediate right. This was a hard fought contest and remained undecided until the very end when the Austrian center collapsed.

In the center the Austrians came down from the ridge line and took the Prussian assault on the flat. It was here that the battle was lost for the Austrians when this corps was routed from the field.

But for the Prussians the battle was won on the right. The above photograph shows the massed Austrian infantry (a third of their army) being held up by the massed Prussian cavalry reserve (some fifteen regiments of curassiers and dragoons). This delaying action allowed the Prussians to apply their central two corps against the enemy and ultimately defeat them.

The last photograph is the point where the Prussian grenadiers under my command were about to throw the Austrian grenzers out of the woods that protected the Austrian right.

It was a good game and my thanks to the other eight players who made the day so enjoyable.

Special thanks must go to Tony for organising the day and his attention to detail that made it such a good game. Tony also provided a lot of the figures so thanks again as there must also be to the other figure provider - Steve.

All the figures are 15mm and from a host of makers but all beautifully painted. Rules are our own inhouse rules which are almost the same as the WSS rules but taking into account such riffraff as skirmishers, hussars and the like.

Rememberance Day

2011-11-11T09:04:00.001Z

Let us not forget the human tragedy that comes with our hobby.

More Plastic Persians

2011-11-06T08:38:00.005Z

I have now finally finished all of the plastic Wargames Factory Persians that I intend to buy.
This last lot gives me four units each of 24 sparabara (8 spear with 16 bow) and five units of 12 horse.
The latest unit of foot I've named "Fruits of the Desert" mainly because the colour scheme has a passing resemblance to the old fruit salad sweets we used to have as a kid. Peach tunic with coral trim (both paints from Miniature Paints (purchased through Coritanni).
I gave the tunics a wash with GW Devlan Mud to tone down the colour and to give some definition. A final dry brush with bleached bone doesn't seem to have made much difference.

The last of the plastic horse have been painted in a mix of blues and greys. This unit has also been given shields and is predominantly armed with short spears as described in the WRG Book "Armies of the Macedonian & Punic Wars.

I have to say that I am would not recommend this range to any future prospective purchasers. I've bought four boxes of the infantry and five of the horse and not a single one had the same contents as any other. It was only in the last box of infantry that I managed to be able to field a unit of 24 standing figures rather than having to make up the ranks with kneeling poses (which are awful). The mix of shields in each is completely random as are the spara. The randomisation is equally as bad in the horse boxes.

This is I think due to the design of the sprues. There are several main sprues in each box but to these is added an apparently random mix of sprues containing torso, legs, weapons and shields.

On a brighter note I have also finished the Immortal Figures mounted Persian commander.

This is the figure that I'll probably use to represent the Satrap for the army.
As ever with Immortal the figure is well cast with little flash and fits together very well. My only criticism is the fragility of the axe. Achieving the most accurate figures, as is Stephens stated intent, does not mean that they are going to last on the tabletop & my fear is that I will lose the axe during the gaming life (I have given it several coats of superglue to help it but even so I'm worried).

So that leaves me with the last of the hoplites which are about half finished, some more skirmishers (slingers this time) and seven more regiments of horse.

Battlegames

2011-11-05T16:05:00.002Z

It is with a deep level of sadness that I read the news that Henry is looking to discontinue publication.
Having read his email and the statement on his website I can appreciate his position. Business is tough and the marketplace keen no matter what industry we are in.
Personally I wish Henry all the very best. I have found his enthusiasm and dedication for the hobby uplifting. His magazine was a bright spot and was always eagerly anticipated and remains the only magazine that I can honestly say I read cover to cover every issue. The magazine was well produced with a good range of articles.
In response to his email I have asked for a quartley magazine but would take a digital issue if the only other choice was to see the publication disappear.
Whatever the outcome I wish Henry all the very best for the future. It's always a shame to see the good guys suffer.

New WSS Plastic Range?

2011-11-04T12:49:00.002Z

Now there was an exciting snippet in the most recent WS&S magazine (issue 57 - which arrived on my doorstep yesterday) where they said they had heard of a new plastic range for the WSS but had no further details.

Right now I can only think this either refers to the Wargames Factory release (hardly a new range but still with items being added at irregular intervals) or is it possibly the suggested line from Lancer Miniatures?

This later line is in it's very early stages and there are no details as yet other than the company is proposing to make it a 20mm range. This means it would only be compatible with the Zvezda plastics and the very old (but quite delightful) Les Higgins range. If it is 20mm I for one think that it will not be a great success - Front Rank has the market corned and most of us who play the period doing it in 28mm.

Unless of course you know different?

The Three Musketeers

2011-10-29T13:52:00.002Z

The latest screen version of the Dumas story is, for me, one of the most enjoyable. Everyone seems to be having a good time and whilst not of the highest quality acting it is a real romp from start to finish.
Action abounds with lots of swash & buckle. Explosions, sword fights and a real sense of the "Age of Reason" and the advent of war machines extraordinaire enhance a movie that seems to fly past. We forgive the dialogue and the accents, we forgive the need to be politically correct and all because it is such darned good fun.
Go see it and enjoy it.

Al Davis

2011-10-08T17:29:00.004Z

The sport that I love will be a sadder place today for the passing of the man that made it the sport that it is.
Al Davis was largely responsible for the NFL coming into being with the merger of his American Football League with the National. As owner/coach/manager/offensive coordinator (okay let's face it he ran the team no matter what the title on the door - as many head coaches found out) of the Raiders he created a team that dominated before falling into mediocrity.
At the same time as being a hard business man he was a warm and compassionate friend to many.
Whatever your view of him the sport would not be the game it is without him and will miss him.

Persian Reinforcement

2011-10-03T12:22:00.004Z

I know it's been rather quiet on here, at least in wargaming terms, but hopefully this will go some way towards restoring normal service.

My focus in recent months has been almost exclusively on the Persians with the aim to use them for the revitalised Ancient period thanks to "Hail Ceaser".
This has meant expanding the Greek hoplite contingent. I now have three of the planned four units completed. Each of twenty four figures and all from the excellent Immortal Miniatures plastic (I've actually mixed three boxes of the Greek Hoplites with one of the Spartans to get a little more variety - although not really necessary because there is just so much choice in the box already).

My only criticism would be the fragility of some of the helmet crests. High thin stalks will not last long I fear.

At the same time I've now managed to complete three of the four Sparabara units. The most recent two are featured below.

Again they are from Wargames Factory. My opinion of these hasn't changed and my experience of them is very different from the review in the last issue of Wargames Soldiers & Strategy (so much so that I wrote to Guy expressing my concerns that the review was, in my opinion, misleading). However, with too many cheap options I persevere. (In this case cheap meant getting eight boxes of Wargames Factory figures for the price of five from Dave Thomas at Partizan, unfortunately that was before I saw the advert at Northstar where they were offering eighty figures for £25!).

The Persian army now also has its first units of skirmishers. Three units of javelins from Old Glory UK.

For these skirmishers, which I see as being in distinct units like all the other Persian troops, I've kept to a simple colour scheme. Each of the three units has a grey coat (GW Fortress Grey, GW Shadow Grey & Miniature Paints Blue Grey), although the all sport a yellow headband to show that they are Persian and not a subject nation.

I picked these up second hand at Partizan and quite like them. Clean and without much flash they paint up very nicely. They could have benefited from more detail in the sculpting, the belt gets lost in places and the daggers are sometime ill defined. But the biggest criticism would be the orientation of the hands which are throwing javelins at some odd angles (having had experience of Old Glory in the past I was not about to attempt bending them into another position.

I've ordered some more Old Glory to swell the ranks of both foot and horse.

There are more Persian horse as well.

Now up to three units. The last unit has a large proportion armed with the long spear, extra spears being saved from the previous box (as posted previously there are only three spears in a box).

Two more of these plastic Wargames Factory units to go before I get back to the metals.

Finally there is a command stand for the horse.

These figures are from First Corps and are part of the Persian Command pack (PER19 I think on their list).

Command figures are important in Hail Ceaser and I need one per "brigade" of four units or something like that. My problem is that there just doesn't appear to be the variety of figures out there to make them unique. As such I can see the mounted figure appearing several times but with different foot figures associated with it.

For the first one, as overall general of horse, I used the standard bearer that came with the pack.

I really liked the two foot figures (more of the second in a later post) and the horse was very nice too. The mounted figure was a little more vague in some of the sculpting, especially with the folds of the cloak, but was still a good little piece.

So I make it that I'm about a third of the way through the planned army with lots more horse to do but only a few units of foot.

Who's a Happy (teddy) Bear Then?

2011-09-24T12:05:00.002Z

I am!!
My tickets for the Wembley game arrived this morning alleviating the worry that they may not arrive in time given some of the comments on various forums.
So now my condundrum is which shirt to wear? Walter Payton retro? Neal Anderson white away shirt? Urlacher? Cutler?

Sorry for the lack of wargaming posts this will be rectified shortly I promise!

Come On England

2011-09-10T08:20:00.001Z

Opening game against the Pumas only minutes away. So which will it be? 2003 winners or 2007 runners up?

War of the Spanish Succession News

2011-08-30T11:30:00.003Z

When I started with this period many years ago there was a limited choice of figure ranges.

There is now news for a further three ranges to add to those in existence.

Ebor miniatures are to release a new line of WSS figures from the talented hands of Mr. Paul Hicks. (http://www.eborminiatures.com/ go to the blog entries). These apparently are being designed to fit in with the Front Rank range.

At the same time Foundry are creating a new line as well. Jiggered if I can find the link on their site but it is out there somewhere.

And then there is the new plastic WSS horse from Wargames Factory. Having bought their plastic infantry I'm not in a rush to get some of these but still it is nice to see a cheaper option out there. (www.wargamesfactory.com follow the link on the RHS).

War of the Spanish Succession Game

2011-08-23T18:32:00.002Z

My first game for what seems like, and probably is, months. For a change I brought the Danes along with some German support. Their opponents were, unhistorically, Andys superb Imperialists. No particular reason for using the Danes (apart from I like them) other than with only an eight by five table to play on I could use all the figures with no hard choices to make.

I also brought along some field works to protect my artillery.

With the horse largely massed on the right the night was spent in a series of intense and finely balanced cavalry melees. Neither side seemed to get the upper hand immediately and it was only the sheer weight of numbers on the Imperialist side that tipped the balance in their favour. Even having a quarter of their horse pursue the poor Fynske horse off the table meant that the Austrians still had a two to one advantage.

On the Danish left I advanced the Dansk Garden til Fot with a German battalion in support. The guards bravely took on two Austrian battalions. To show how long it since I played I miscalculated one move and advanced too far, receiving a hail of shot whilst not being to reply. However, being the elite troops that they are the subsequent return they gave made up for it. Ultimately of course being outnumbered told and the guard was forced from the field.

It might have been a while since I played but some things never change.

A combination of poor musketry rolls and some truly awful morale rolls meant that the Danes were not destined to prevail. Whilst they applied pressure at several points in the line the Austrians were always able to hold their own and, like the Welsh rugby team the other week, weather the storm.

Hopefully, Neil, the unfortunate player teamed with me, didn't feel as though his long trip from Gloucester was spoilt by the defeat. If not I look forward to the pleasure of his company at the club again.

Decision Time

2011-08-12T07:50:00.002Z

One of the things I like to try and do is mix my painting projects by interspersing units from another collection between the units of the main task. It keeps things fresh for me and also means that I seem to get things done twice as fast. Up to last weekend that meant painting ECW units between the Persians. But as advertised in the previous post the Scots are finished.

So what next?

Well I bought a copy of "Beneath the Lily Banners" 2nd edition last week (if you thought that "Last Argument of Kings" was a lovely publication then you'll be very pleased with this - worth it for the pictures alone).

I've not played the rules but they have a lot of excellent reviews and I like the look of them after reading through. I'll publish a review later once I've chance to thoroughly digest them.

The eye candy photographs in the rules does mean that I'm now leaning towards getting around to re-basing and reorganising my Great Northern War project. All the infantry were done and I've got a lot of horse and some artillery in the barracks waiting for uniform distribution. BLB offers me a chance to remodel the battalions in smaller units and have fun making bases with features (just go and have a look at Barry website "League of Augsberg" and you'll see what I mean).

I need a little time to get my head around the concepts and to play with numbers and base sizes before committing myself, because this is the last time (how many times do we tell ourselves that?) I'm doing this. My original concept of 48 figure battalions was good but hard to realise and make playable on a normal game night. I think BLB might offer an alternative, Black Powder does but I'm not sure I want that style of play for this. Either way the unit size would be the same for both rule sets.

Another Project Finished

2011-08-07T14:09:00.003Z

With this, the fourth regiment of Scottish foot, my ECW project is complete. For the first time I can remember this is a project that is no bigger and no smaller than originally planned and conceived. I've not bought any figures extra to the plan and I've no intention of doing so in the near future.

All the figures for the project, apart from twelve mounted figures and a couple of officers, are from Warlord Games (the rest are Perry).

For this last reigment I wanted something a little different. So I've given them a variety of muskets - both firelock and matchlock - along with an assortment of headgear in the attmept to show them as a veteran unit.

The firelocks were left over from the firelock party I did last year.

That's one of the great advantages of plastic figures - the ease with which they can be adapted and altered from the original intent.

The total for the project is three hundred pieces, just shy of two hundred foot and artillery pieces and the rest as mounted.

The Last Argument of Kings

2011-08-04T07:26:00.004Z

I've only played a few games of Black Powder and I have to admit I enjoyed them. Having said that I won't be replacing the current house rules for the WSS with them but I am considering them for the Great Northern War (yes it is still a live project and there are in fact a hundred or so figures in the box to be painted).
I bought this supplement because it has sections on the Great Northern War and the War of the Spanish Succession, as well as the War of the Austrian succession & Seven years War (along with the French Indian War, Ottoman Turks and a trip to the Indian subcontinent to boot). Sounds good.
The book is stacked full of photographs that make me want to revert to the Age of Reason and get the brush out. Wall to wall full colour shots of well painted figures for all the periods discussed.
As for the rules well they take up very little space in the book, single pages mostly, being interspersed with broad brush outlines for the various conflicts. I suppose this may be because the rules are actually quite simple and the only refinement needed was to give some unique ratings and characteristics to the various combatants. Nothing much else changes.
As ever there are little bits in here which I feel we can include in the house rules for the WSS without changing the feel of our rules too much and making life somewhat easier (interpenetration and change of formation mostly, with some adjustments to dragoons).
At £18 from Warlord Games it is a very good publication (despite it being softback) and one I'd recommend if BP is your thing.

PS - the free figure of Wee Wullie, as on the front cover, is also an excellent piece of sculpting.

Sparabara - another unit

2011-07-31T11:51:00.003Z

Hot on the heels of the second unit of cavalry are these sparabara. It's one of the nice things about having time off work - painting during the day with no consideration of time.

Once again these are from Wargames Factory. Another twenty figures masquerading as twenty four. Two ranks of archers behind that thin line of wicker shields.

Practice makes perfect and this time the posing of the figures was far better. Still not overly happy with the contents of the box - I'd like to see more right arms with closed fists which look better holding a shield than an open hand.

Also why have twelve spara but only only four spears? I am not convinced that the make up of the box is right, too few spears, excess slings, not enough shields to have a uniform facing and not enough torsos to have all the archers with a slung bowcase.

I also don't understand why the sculptor decided to make a kneeling figure as tall as one stood up. The kneeling pose takes a lot of space up on the base and is awkward to position in a mulit-figure space (it also won't fit nicely on 20mm slotta base as per WAB).

Still overall I quite like the look of the unit en mass.

Second Regiment of Persian Cavalry

2011-07-27T13:24:00.003Z

Right let's get back to the reason why we're all here after all the frivolity of the last few posts.

I've not just been head banging for the last few weeks I have managed to get some painting done too.
Most recently that has meant another twelve Persian cavalry from Wargames Factory. This time I decide to give them spears and bows and not use the long spears supplied.

In keeping with the theme I'm running through the army the trim of the coat is copied by the main body of the saddle cloth (in the same way that the trim of the infantry coat is shown in the main body colour of the sparabara).

I suppose like so many things, having had trouble the first time in constructing the figures this regiment was far easier. I also think that the poses this time are better.

That's My Boy!

2011-07-22T11:02:00.003Z

How do you make a proud dad?
Have your son get the highest award that the school presents.
The Headteachers award is a discretionary award, decided by the headteacher (hence the name - duh!), to the pupil(s) who has shown the greatest commitment to the school and their education above and beyond the normal strictures of the curriculum over their time at the school. This year it was presented to James & Beth.

How proud am I?

Full story on www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk (follow the news link for education).

Epitaph

2011-07-18T11:12:00.003Z

From the moment that the curtain dropped and the pounding opening track "Rapid Fire" blew the eardrums, we knew we were in for a show.
A smaller stage and a smaller venue did not stop the Priest from putting on a large show. I don't think I've ever heard them louder (Priest don't do ballads unless "Diamonds and Rust counts). Front row pressed against the barrier I was thirty years younger for two and a half hours last night.

Richie Faulkner, standing in for the now departed K K Downing, was brilliant. Glen Tipton sublime. The nice thing was that they didn't try and replace like for like. The new twin guitar attack had a harder more determined edge to it which worked a treat.

Rob was more mobile then I've seen him since the Painkiller tour twenty years ago. Moving around the stage more freely then on the last two tours he put on a great show with multiple costume changes and theatrics (including an exploding staff for "I Am Nostrodamus").

Of course no Priest show is a true show without the bike and this was no exception. Flamethrowers and smoke saw the bike wheel on to stage (some problems getting it up the ramp I think) but straight into "Hell Bent for Leather". Followed by the now routine show ender "You've Got Another Thing Coming". The audience belting it out and drowning out the mike in Robs hands.

Only it wasn't the end. A brief pause with Rob thanking the audience for all the support over the years and then we were launched into an awesome rendition of "Living After Midnight".

Mixed feelings now. So pleased I was that close to the stage. So happy that the band put on a great performance. So sad that this was the last time I'll probably see them live. After more than thirty years of banging my head at the shows I'm going to have to be content with the memories. And last night was a night I'll not forget.

New Addition

2011-07-16T15:22:00.002Z

A new puppy for the family. Two years after losing our last dog we've decided to have another. Meet Arthur an eight week old lemon roan Cocker Spaniel. (the Xbox controller is ther purely to give an idea of how little this chap is).

And yes he really is that cute!

Hoplites

2011-07-16T15:10:00.003Z

As I said in the last post the next unit would be some Hoplites. Plastic Immortal Hoplites purchased en masse from the great money saver that is Ebay (three boxes for the price of one). The downside to the purchase was that they were mostly assembled and that means that there are some weird poses amongst them (mind you I can't say much about that if you look at the Sparabara!).
I used the decals that came with the original boxes for this unit. I thought that the varnish would cover the edging of the transfers but it looks as though I'm going to have to go over them again with paint - all part of the learning curve.

I'm also trying to keep the back ranks of the Hoplites unarmoured to give some variety in the units.

I intend to have four units of hoplites. In each unit their will be a dominant but not uniform shield colour.

Sparabara

2011-07-10T13:55:00.002Z

The first unit of Persian foot have been completed.
Twenty two figures based as though they were actually twenty four. Two reasons for this - one is that the box was missing a couple of sprues and I was only able to make twenty two figures (and given my recent experience with Wargames Factory I was not overly optimistic about getting them replaced), and the other is that with the kneeling figures there is not enough room for all twenty four when using 20x20mm bases.

I wanted the unit to look like a thin line of shields backed up by ranks of archers. So I went with two bases 80x60mm. Three ranks - the first of spears and sparabara, the other two with bows.

Unit command recognised by the change in protection. Disappointingly the box has no musicians or standards (although it does come with slings as an option!).

The bases were covered with black tiling grout, chinchilla sand and then painted. Several layers used - mocha and then chocolate brown (both artist craft paints), highlighted with sand and pale sand finally washed over with dilute chocolate brown to dull down the highlights. Finishing touches are with silflor and mininature tufts and blossom.

Next on the blocks is aunit of Immortal figures hoplites.

Persian Cavalry

2011-07-02T15:12:00.002Z

Enough of the test painting, let's get on with the real thing.
I've completed my first unit of Persian cavalry, all Wargames Factory plastic figures. As I said in a previous post there are not enough weapons to equip the unit uniformly. Even when mixing the weapons as here I still had to supplement them with wire spears.

They look a lot better as a unit then they did as individuals.

For the bases I decided on a change to my usual style. Taking inspiration from this site www.flamesofwar.com I chose a more arid theme for these figures. My intention was to try and represent the Anatolian plains, which from what I've seen are arid but covered in grass and flowering scrub.

The grass is MiniNature late summer and the flowers from the summer collection, both purchased through the excellent Antenociti's Workshop (www.antenocitiesworkshop.com) - ordered on Friday arrived on Saturday.

Overall I'm more than leased with the way these have ended up.

Persians and other Projects

2011-06-24T21:15:00.003Z

First some more figures as I test my skills against my newest project.

This shot is of the Immortal heavy cavalry. Like all the other Immortal figures so far I am enjoying painting these. Chain and scale armour on the upper body, including an excellent representation of the high necked shoulder protection, and quilted trousers. There is some armour on the horse chest which is also very well done. Funnily enough one of the things I especially like is the way Steve has sculpted the ears. Little details make big impressions.

Next is a plastic archer from the Wargames Factory Persian infantry box.

I think I did a better job with this one than the Sparabara. Most annoying thing? Learning that Immortal are to release some plastic Persians! If I'd known that a few weeks ago my money would have stayed in my pocket for longer.

I haven't just been painting the odd Persian figure.

I'm also trying to finish off my Scots ECW army. With just 80 figures to go I thought it was about time to clear the backlog and move on.

So I've just finished a unit of Scots horse. All Perry figures, a bit of an extravaganze I know compared to the Warlord figures but they are lovely. I chose not to go with the lance but went with swors and pistols, lots of pistols.

They are a little smaller than Warlord but really nice.

So with those twelve that leaves 68.

Not quite.

I've also completed three Scots commanders. Perry figures again. Having these means that the Scots now have options in either being led by Scots or more European styled generals.

So just a couple more units of horse and one foot then it will be one less project on the go.

Persians - more test figures

2011-06-19T18:27:00.004Z

It's all a bit academic now I suppose, because I've bought just about everything I intend to have for this project. Still I'm as interested as you in just how the various figures and ranges go together.
First my initial attempt at the Wargames Factory plastic Persian infantry.
I gave this one a spear and the large shield. The pack gives you a choice from a variety of shields. At the same time there are multiple choices of sword and scabbard along with quivers and other weapons. The torso and head options are numerous and as varied as the other options in the box.

In terms of size they are larger than the Immortal figure I painted last week. However, I think in their own units they will be fine.

Next is one of the Wargames Factory Persian cavalry.

I made several errors with this figure. I thought that with the multitude of sprues and options that there were enough to make different types of horse. Wrong.

I gave the figure two javelins, but it is only after I finished that I realised there are not enough to equip all twelve figures in the box with one weapon type. First mistake.

Second mistake was not to trim the mane back so that the saddle cloth and rider sat plum on the horse. Third mistake was to glue the front harness on before the saddle cloth, the reason why it isn't flush.

Having said all that I like the figure a lot and rather more than the foot figures.

Like the foot they are larger than the Immortal horse but not as significant. I think with a shim under the metal base of the Immortal figure the difference would not be so significant.

Franco Prussian War

2011-06-16T06:31:00.002Z

Not a new project for me but a note to let you know that there is a great spread of photographs on our club website of Malc Johnstones labour of love.
The gallery shows the inaugral game of his collection. Having taken well over a year to paint the spectacle on display justifys the time and effort spent. The figures are a mixture of Renegade, Helion, Perry conversions and a host of others converted by Malc. Great stuff.
Go to "galleries" to see for yourself (and try and avoid the temptation to start another project).

Wars of the Roses Completed

2011-06-14T19:41:00.003Z

As I said in the previous post, my Wars of the Roses project is complete.
Some 500 figures in three battles, two English & one Irish and with the option of having an extra mounted wing.
The figures are mostly Foundry & Citadel, with the remainder split between Perry and Old Glory. Happily the difference in sizes is not that noticeable where the figures are mixed in units rather than in their own groups.

For every melee unit there is a missile unit. Mostly longbows but with a couple of artillery pieces.

It is the Irish that I am probably most pleased with. Eight units of Kerns all from Old Glory (old and new).

I decided to have the figures randomly based so that the units look a little rough and ready rather than neat lines. So each unit is two bases with 7-8 figures per base.

Why Irish? Well living where I do The Battle of Stoke Field is the nearest large battle of the wars and is so very different to the other battles of the period.

All we need to do now is get the revamp of the rules completed and that will be that.

The End and the Beginning

2011-06-12T17:52:00.003Z

The end is actually the completion of another project. This weekend I've managed to finish my Wars of the Roses array, albeit a few banners short essentially that is it.
I needed to paint the last of my archers and get 50 figures based ready for a game on Monday. I'll take some pictures of them all then - I don't want to give too much information to my opponent before then!

The start is some test figures for my newest project. Remember me wondering what I was going to do? Well I've decided to go for an army in the "ancient" period. Persians to tackle the Macedonians and Greeks in other club members collections.

The first figures are from Immortal Miniatures (www.immortalminiatures.com) which are available through North Star Military Figures (www.northstarfigures.com).

I've painted a Persian light cavalry figure. This is a single piece casting and is one of three different poses in the pack. Very little flash and cleanly cast it is a lovely little figure. Immortal market their ranges as being the most historically accurate figures on the market. I can't comment on that but they are excellent with a level of detail that is very pleasing. Little things like having the scale armour crisply sculpted even though it is hard to see and difficult to get to. The faces are not as crisp as other makers but given the rest of the figure I'll let that one go (I just need to find a way to paint them because it doesn't suit my current style).

The other figure is a Saka horse archer also from Immortal.

Now I really like these figures. Depicted as riding on Przewalski's horse they are excellent. The horse is deep chested and looks just like photographs of them. The riders are dressed in simple clothing but with the elaborately decorated bow cases and quivers. A little more flash on these but like the Persians the mould lines are well thought out and can be difficult to remove as a result.

Lacking stirrups they guide the horse by pressure of the knee which explains the odd pose.

I've also just assembled some Wargames Factory plastic figures so I'll post some comparison shots when they're finished.

Triples

2011-06-08T08:34:00.003Z

Just a quick post to let you know that there are even more mouthwatering pics of the game now on the Grimsby Wargames Website. Just click the link to the right.

Thanks to Steve for taking the pics and Mal for the presentation. I have to admire people who can make my figures look that good!

Paint

2011-06-02T06:05:00.002Z

It's no secret that I have been a long time admirer of GW paints. I like them for several reasons; they're of good quality with the majority of them having high levels of pigment and thus good coverage, they are acrylic which means fast drying and thinned with water (or even better with floor polish) and, I can be sure that when I buy the next pot of a colour it will be the same as the previous.
But recently I've also been looking for alternatives because of the price - £2.30 a pot!
And now I have two strong contenders as replacements.

Firstly, as posted recently, a local department store is now stocking the full range of Vallejo paints. I bought some to try and am impressed so far with the quality. Boyes have them in stock at £1.75.

Then there are the Miniature Paints from Coritani (www.magneticdisplays.co.uk) which are just lovely. Good pigment levels easily mixed and with excellent coverage (at least the ones I bought and tried anyway). £1.30 a pot. The really nice thing with these is the satisfying clunk of the heavy glass jar they come in.

So goodbye GW & hello their replacements.

Partizan May 2011

2011-05-29T14:07:00.002Z

Arrived at 10:15 and no queue to get in. Entering the hall I was struck by just how quiet it was. Several empty tables and quite a few gaps where traders hadn't turned up. Probably not surprising given that last weekend was Triples.
Still I was able to get to all the stands without having to shoulder your way to the front.
There were several games that took my eye, one being the ECW game (I think it was ECW could have been thirty years war) that was at Triples. For good photographs go to Steve Wargamer for his Salute review. The two photos here are from the League of Augsberg game. I just really like the way that they've modelled the artillery and the cuirassier standing over his dead horse was a lovely detail.
I had a long chat with Barry over the "Under the Lilly Banner" rules since he had proof pages on the table. Even if you don't ,like the rules they seem to be a must buy for the photographs alone.

So what about purchases?

Plastic Persians - I told you I was looking for something new.

Wars of the Roses command figures.

Some paints from Coritani to go with the Persians.

That's it. I told you it was quiet.

On the way home we decided to stop off at the Newark Air Museum. Some really nice exhibits and aircraft on display.

The photo shows James in the pilots seat of a truly unique aircraft. He's sat in a Canberra and this particular aircraft is the only aircraft in the world that can claim to have bombed Concorde.

Apparently it was converted to drop water bombs on to Concorde in flight to test the icing of the airframe at altitude and speed during the test flights of Concorde.

Triples - the Big Game

2011-05-22T18:55:00.003Z

So that was an exciting weekend. The Grimsby Wargames Society put on the large WSS game we've been working on over the last few months.
The playing surface was, as has been previously been posted, twenty feet long. What I've deliberately not advertised is tat four feet of this was showing the starting stages of a siege complete with the outer works of some Vauban fortifications.

The scenario was that the French had marched to besiege the town of Hoy and commenced their saps. The Allied army has now arrived and is endeavouring to lift the siege of the town. Based on what should have happened if Louis had not changed the plans and surprised Ghent instead (a decision that ultimately led to the French defeat at Oudenaarde).

The guns inside the fortification. Based on naval guns these were roped into place to minimise recoil.

A view of the problem facing any troops able to get over the escarpment. Ladders anyone?

The French heavy siege mortars begin to lob shells into the fort to stop the enemy guns from firing.

Lookouts behind the escarpment aren't safe from enemy fire though.

A closer view of the forts guns.

Eugen talks to his subordinate with plans to relieve the siege.

Prussians in Austrian service advance to close with the French.

Close range musketry duels start along the forward lines.

French sappers dig further towards the fort, whilst the French Regiment Artillerie protect them from sallies from the fort.

Smaller mortars in the forward sap try and pin down any of the garrison in the escarpment defences.

The French wagon park at the rear.

So how did we do?

Well we were given a prime spot in the show fortunately. We were the largest game there and the first thing that most of the public saw. I think the sound of jaws hitting the floor was to be heard quite often over the weekend.

Everyone who saw it was most complimentary. Everyone liked the fortifications and the sheer magnitude of the game. When it was explained that this size game was not unusual for us the jaws hit the floor again.

So how did we do?

Best in show. First prize.

My thanks to Mal & Andy for their hard work with the scenery. My thanks also to James, Jason, Wilf, Mark & John for their attendance at the game. More photos will be appearing soon on our website courtesy of Steve.

Time for a stiff whiskey I think.

Hobby News

2011-05-17T06:02:00.002Z

I am reliably informed that BOYES chain of stores here in the UK have begun to stock Vallejo model & hobby paints and are well priced in not downright cheap. It also seems as though they have expanded their hobby range to include a variety of modelling tools at knock down prices.

Wars of the Roses Artillery

2011-05-13T18:07:00.003Z

At Derby last year I bought a couple of packs from the Perry "Wars of the Roses" range to enhance my Yorkist array.

One pack was for the small mobile light artillery. Nice little model and well designed. Breech loading artillery was far more effective at this time then is popularly believed.

The other pack was for a more substantial bombard. The pack comes complete with the wheeled mantlet seen above. I really like this pack and thought it would be hard to put together but was please to find it was actually quite easy.

The bombard is braced by a series of heavy wooden pilings.

Firing out of the raised mantlet.

I kept the wooden pilings quite light in colour to try and show that they would have been less seasoned than the wooden base for the monster gun itself.

I was going to sell the bombard because I wasn't sure f I wanted it i my array since I'm trying to keep it fairly mobile. Having assembled and painted it I think it'll be a permanent feature.

A Week to go

2011-05-11T11:31:00.002Z

Just ten more days before we put the big game on at Triples.

Any worries that we (strike that and read I) may have had about not being booked in have been removed. The Sheffield team have kindly put me out of my misery (thanks Tony) and confirmed that no matter what you might read on the Sheffield Triples 2011 Facebook page, the Grimsby boys are booked in. No floor plan yet but then I'm happy to just wait until we get there if need be. Point me in the direction of where you want the half ton of lead putting!

The Wars of the Roses revamp continues albeit slightly slowed by the lack of bases. I have a box full of precut bases from Warbases (see link on left) but not enough of the right size. Still, that hasn't stopped me from getting as many figures painted as I can. I'll post some pics later of the new artillery of which I am particularly proud.

I also have to recommend most highly the new revamped and very good WSS magazine. It was always good magazine but the new version is excellent. Issue 54 is themed around the 1688 "Glorious Revolution" but has other good articles in there as well. I especially liked the review section which is well laid out and presented. If other issues are as good I will probably subscribe to this magazine as well as Battlegames.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit Caliver Books in Nottingham. If you ever get a chance to visit then do so. The problem will be in trying to decide what not to buy and how to increase your budget for the visit. I took £100 and had to leave several books behind. The staff are warm and friendly, the coffee hot and the shelves packed. Thanks Dave.
My purchases were a couple of soft back publications of now out of print translated French manuscripts for the War of the Spanish Succession and copies of Wargames in History vol2 along with the new "Hail Cesar" rules.

Ten days to go - wish it was less!

All Done

2011-05-01T12:06:00.004Z

I can hardly believe that I've reached this point. Indeed it seems to have arrived without any fanfare or ceremony. For the first time that I can remember I have no work to be done on the War of the Spanish Succession project.
I've completed the last two staff officers for the project. Both are actually Foundry staff from their SYW range but I like them and they have so much character. I especially like the heavy jowls on the figure above who, for me at least, has a look of Charles Laughton about him

My very last French unit is the now completed Regiment Royale Artillerie. Resplendent in their pearl grey coats with blue facings, red waist coat, red breeches and stockings. Uniquely in the French army they also have a red ribbon on the hat.

The figures are all from Front Rank and I decided to go with the grenadier figure purely because I wanted them posed in action as though defending the artillery pieces, which was their reason for being there after all.

And finally I've also created the casualty figures I've promised myself. These will complement the casualty markers I've already done. The colour scheme is grey coat with grey facings, red waistcoat & breeches with white stockings. I chose this scheme largely because, with some alterations, it essentially matches the majority of the premier regiments in the French army at this time.

Now I need to find a suitable manner of celebrating this landmark. Of course they will all be on the table at Sheffield in a few weeks.

Wars of the Roses Revamp Begins

2011-05-01T12:00:00.002Z

I bit the bullet (is that an appropriate expression for the Wars of the Roses?) as it were and started with the revamp of the project.
First up and I've completed the foot knights. Just two units is all I'm going to have, each of two bases of nine figures.
My rationale here is that I don't believe that there were numerous men in full, expensive, plate armour. Those nobles that could afford it would tend to be around the main commanders. In my project I have two - Richard Duke of York & Edmund Earl of Rutland.

Professor Richard Holmes

2011-05-01T11:49:00.002Z

Very sad news that Professor Richard Holmes passed away after battling cancer.
I found his enthusiasm for his subject infectious and enthralling. He never failed to impress with his depth of knowledge and exceedingly well put together work.
He will be sadly missed and my condolences go to his family

What Next?

2011-04-29T08:31:00.002Z

As I close on the finishing line for the Triples game, which co-incidentally will also mark the very end of the War of the Spanish Succession project (how many times have I said that now?), I'm beginning to ask myself "what next?".
To finish the figures I have the following list to complete:
Casualty figures (20 required 10 complete)
Regiment Artillerie (30 figures to do just need basing)
Staff (2 figures to base)
French Flags (check all flags have been black lined and given ribbons)
Guarde Francais (remove white colonels colour - apparently only carried when the king was present - and replace with second regimental)
Danish flags (check all black lined and been given tassels)

With that lot checked off there is nothing more to add to the project. I have collected a box of odd figures over the years but have no intention right now of doing anything with them.

So what next?

Wars of the Roses? This project falls into the category "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
Why do I say that?
Well it's all about the basing. I thought at the time that individually based figures on movement trays were the answer. After playing a few games I'm not convinced I was right. The reason at the time was because I planned to have units of three ranks and didn't want to have nine figures to a base. Now I think I do.
I have over a hundred figures to add into the current array, enough for 5-6 more units depending on the format. I just need to figure out what I really want.

English civil War? Falls into the "I've started so I'll finish" category.
There is a box full of sprues to be completed, enough for two more foot and two more horse I think and that will be all. As yet though the completed figures have yet to see the tabletop which is not enticing me to get more finished.

Great Northern War? With bill getting his mojo back and producing more figures to complete the range I'm inclined to get this moving again.
Right now I'm considering re-organising the whole thing into either smaller units and use "Under the Lilly Banners" or rebasing them onto multiple bases 3x3 to make life easier on the tabletop. Again individual figures seemed like the answer for me with big battalions arrayed on the tabletop. But the movement trays never really looked right to me and the thought of moving 100+ figures every move during the evening was daunting.
Bill should be happy - if I do rebase and re-organise then I'll be needing more figures!

And sitting alongside all this are the Dwarves. With a horde completed (photos appearing on the other blog soon) they are taking shape slooowly.

Triples Teaser

2011-04-24T14:58:00.003Z

I'm not sure how much time we have left before everything is done only that in five weeks time the game has to go on.
Anyway as a teaser and as part of the process in making sure that the game in my head works on the tabletop we set up the Allied side of the field.
A view down the allied lines looking towards the river. Massed Austrian horse to the fore and then the Austrian infantry, English foot, Dutch foot, Danish foot, and finally the massed Allied horse.

The Imperial forces en masse.

Massed Allied horse, English to the right, dutch to the right and Danes to the rear.

Closer view of the Austrian Imperial foot.

Dutch & Danish foot.

All in all there are twenty six battalions of foot and fifty two squadrons of horse with six field guns present on the Allied side.

Right now we're thinking of moving things around a bit and swapping forces around to balance the field a little. The trees are for effect only and there to give some height to the tabletop so when you visit the game in Sheffield don't be surprised to see things have moved from the photos here.

What I'm not going to show is the remaining four feet of the tabletop. These boards have been created by Andy Hamilton (who also owns the Austrians) and will be a point of focus for the entire game. Teasing I know but that's the point of this post.

Want more then come and visit us at Triples. We'll be happy to chat and hand out copies of the rules we use (which to answer a question on the last post are our own in house rules - fun and easy to play).

War of the Spanish Succession Game

2011-04-21T06:57:00.005Z

Th French took to the field again last Monday to face the English who also had some dutch support. Advance guard action with only 24 battalions on the tabletop and about thirty squadrons of horse.
The French pinned their left flank on a hedged farm a little south of the ford across the river and massed most of their horse on the right.

The English were more evenly spaced and balanced across their front.

The French immediately launched their horse against the smaller number of enemy horse on the right. Several long and exhausting melees later saw the massed French carabiniers pursue the Dutch from the tabletop, whilst the two French horse regiments were chased off by the Dutch elite.

On the French left the Swiss advanced to keep pace with the lone French regiment tasked with preventing the enemy using the ford by lining the hedgerows along the rod.

Unfortunately they were less than successful in this endeavour as a regiment of English dragoons rode past them unscathed. They then dismounted and caused some discomfort to the French by firing into them across the river.
This in turn allowed the English lines to advance and engage the Swiss on equal numbers. After a long and hotly contested firefight the honours were even.. Half of the first English line retired whilst the other half pushed the Swiss back onto their reserves.
Unfortunately the same could not be same for the German regiments leading the French advance on the right.

Advancing to meet the Dutch regiments facing them the Germans were soon engaged in a firefight that turned in favour of the Dutch quite quickly. The only saving grace was that if the German musketry was less than effective their resolve to stay in the front line was high. Only when they were reduced to half their effective strength were the Germans forced from the field.

By this time the enemy horse had managed to rally themselves on the extreme right flank of the French and the second English line steadied and reformed to tackle the French. Looking across the field the French commander realised that he did not have the numbers to force the enemy from the field and whilst the farmhouse was under his command little else was.

My thanks to Mark for what are always good games.

We tried the casualty markers for the first time and whilst a little fiddly to keep moving them around I thought they worked well and certainly looked very neat behind the battalions. I've made sixty of these now and that seemed to be far more than needed for a game of this size.

The table was only ten feet in length and we used approximately half of the figures we intend to display at Triples in five weeks time. The actual table there will be twenty feet long and with over 2,500 figures on it (if it can support the weight!). Figures used for the night were a mix of Stratagem (Marks English), Front Rank (Dutch and some of the French), Old Glory (all the French horse and some of the Swiss), Reiver (German infantry) and Wargames Factory (Swiss).

Odd thought

2011-04-10T12:53:00.002Z

So here I am trying to get rid of as much crap (sorry wargaming pieces that are excess to requirements) on Ebay as I can. So far the sales have raised in excess of £250. Some of that has gone on a few more Dwarves and a couple of T shirts. The rest is up for discussion - well apart from the fairly substantial proportion that will be spent on the new GNW Swedish horse from the talented Bill Thornhill at Musketeer which are due for release any day now. Now you'd have thought that after living with a wargamer for over twenty years my good lady would have learnt a thing or two about wargamers and the similarity they have to dragons regarding treasure hordes wouldn't you? Well so would I. But it appears that we're mistaken. Wife: "So are you thinking of something special to spend the money on because you surely can't need any more figures do you?" Me: (need to adopt your best gobsmacked face) "What planet do you live on? There will never be anything such as enough figures, it's a question of which new period to start!" Right now I'm orking on some odds and sods for the big game at Triples. These include some artillery guards for the sige mortars, some more casualty figures and a couple of staff figures. At the same time my dwarven army is expanding (I was gig to say growing but that doesn't seem quie right when talking about dwarves) and I've now got 50 figures completed.

Casualty Markers

2011-04-03T18:19:00.004Z

You may have noticed in some of the games in progress shots that we, at the Grimsby Wargame Society believe in the main in whole figure casualties. None of the heavy duty book keeping for us - keep it simple & take the figure off. In order to identify "dead" figures we use curtain rings. Easy & simple. The draw back is that they are not particularly attractive and do detract from the visual appeal of our games. This is certainly something we want to avoid for the big display game. We don't want the use of rings to detract from the massed battalions and squadrons of the game. So I've been working on alternative system. Using spare bits and pieces from my bits box and plastic counters I've created the first ten markers. The idea is that we put a marker down behind each unit for every casualty until we can remove a full base of figures. The idea was inspired by the Warlord Games who have something very similar in their ECW casualty pack. I'm also working on developing larger bases, probably using actual casualty figures, to represent "5" dead, purely in an attempt to reduce the number of counters I'm going to need. PS - I've put a "how to" on the Dwarf blog discussing how to make snow.

Wagon Train

2011-03-31T13:05:00.002Z

I feel as though I should be hitting myself over the head with a tin tray right now.* Four wagons all from Front Rank rebased and touched up ready for the Triples game.

I've had these for a number of years but I guess they've only been on the tabletop a couple of times. After all there aren't many games where wagons are required and even thought they add a nice touch to the tabletop they are not really required for a nights gaming.

(For those of you with an aversion to shiny figures - the shine will disappear once the spray varnish has dried).

*of course that was a reference to "Mule Train" by Bob Blackman.

Dwarves

2011-03-26T09:54:00.003Z

The new blog has been started with the first figures completed. Actually done last week before the op but with no opportunity until now of getting posted.

More Artillery

2011-03-20T15:22:00.004Z

Okay yesterdays post wasn't the last one before the doctor wields the knife.
I've had these figures for a while but have never really got full use out of them.
Originally I bought these six small field mortars and crew to compete with the English battalion guns. Probably the only "beardy" thing I've done for this period.
The rationale was simple (to me anyway). The English, Dutch, Danes, Imperialists (anyone other than the French it seems) all had small calibre artillery pieces attached to their infantry regiments. Under our rules these gain an extra volley at long range and two extra volleys at short range for the battalion they are attached to and have often proved a worthwhile points investment for their owner. The French have none of this but were known for the number and variety of their artillery.
So I thought I'd buy some small mortars and mix them in. Strangely it never really worked for me and they've stayed in their box for a long long time.

The Triples game has provided incentive to rebase and repaint them for the tabletop. So repainting them from their original (and incorrect) artillery blue uniforms to the bomadiers in red, basing them on new bases and adding in a few more crew figures I am now the owner of some mortars that might actually make it on to the tabletop.

The majority of the crew are Irregular figures. Very simple, no detail and cheap. Other figures are Old Glory & Reiver. The mortars are also Irregular and are lovely little models, much better than the crew and well worth purchasing.

And before anyone asks - yes those are dwarves you can see in the first photograph.

I've decided to turn to the dark side and venture into fantasy gaming (again - this will be my third dwarf army that I've built).
Not sure I can tell you why but I think it has something to do with wanting a complete change after painting all these WSS figures.
New blog for these coming soon so don't worry you won't have to put up with fantasy chaff here!

Artillery Train

2011-03-19T14:31:00.003Z

Almost the last stage. The arrival of the artillery limbers marks the end of the true project and only leaves the baggage train and other bits and pieces.
So here then is the massed Franco-Bavarian artillery and their associated limbers. The limbers are from a variety of manufacturers.

There are six of these from "Under the Bed". The limbers are simple and uncomplicated being a T shape with metal supporting struts. The horses are ungainly, typical of the sculpting style from this company but all the more endearing for that. I used some simple painting (red or grey undercoat with white or brown dry brush) and the army painter dip. Net result is a very pleasing shading and definition of the harness.

Above are some of the light limbers from a manufacturer I can't remember. The horses are Hinchliffe and are very old (very very old I think). Still they look good and whilst smaller than others I've done they fit in with the overall scheme quite nicely.

At the far end of the above shot is one of the Front Rank limbers. A single horse and light limber. Front Rank are always good quality and this is no less true of there support figures. I've also made two of their heavy limbers which can just about be made out in the first photograph (the two on the right of the front row).

This may well be the last post of new stuff for a while since next week I go into hospital for an operation and then will be unable to access the painting room for a week or two afterwards.

French Artillery

2011-03-06T16:56:00.003Z

Nearly there now.

I've just finished revamping the original Old Glory artillery in my collection. There were four pieces but right now I've trimmed that back to three with the option of a fourth later and all down to losing two crew figures during the rebasing process (very weak ankles on the old glory figures).

The figures are better than I remember them being and the gun models are lovely. In fact I would go as far as saying that the guns are probably the best models I've seen for the period.

The barrels are well cast and adorned with terrific reliefs just like the pieces in the Royal Artillery museum.

In addition to the field guns I've also added some heavier pieces.

These I've mounted on planked bases which can be emplaced for siege works.

Two bases but several options and variety. Above is a howitzer. Okay I'm not sure that these were used but the model is a lovely piece*.

Then there is the option of a 12" mortar.

Or a smaller 10" piece. In all cases the the crews are from the recently launched French WSS range from Reiver availble through "Under the Bed Enterprises" (http://www.underbed.co.uk/) and I wish they had been available ten years ago because they are very very good.

Probably not to everyones taste, the anatomy can be a bit off and the detail lacking in relief in places, but for me they are excellent. I love the faces and the expressions as well as the simplicity of the figure. Great work.

So now I've got the limbers to complete (half way through those so hopefully pics next week) and then the baggage train. That just leaves all the little items to do - some odd single figures for the game (you'll understand in a few weeks) and some casualty markers to create (when I say some I actually mean forty or so).

* the howitzer and the smaller mortar are actually Games workshop Empire pieces. the howitzer is the new plastic Empire mortar and the other is the original now oop metal variant. Shhhh - I won't tell if you won't.

Triples Game - Preliminary run through

2011-02-22T17:38:00.004Z

Last night we played over the proposed tabletop but only using about a third of the figures we intend to take.

Austrians on the hill and the French facing. It has to be this way round because of some of the scenery (yet to be revealed) that Andy is building.

So a view down the table from the extreme left of the French side - not in shot is the superb Austrian horse that Andy has put together. So to make up for it.....
All the figures are Front rank although some are mounted on Connoisseur horses I believe.

And should you want more inspiration, or even the reason to visit us at Triples, here's Andy's latest unit - Prussians in Imperial service.

As for the game.

The massed horse of both sides clashed on the left and after a vigorous series of melees the winner was....neither.

The Royal Carabinier regiment of the French ended the game threatening the flank of the Austrian line, whilst the Kuirassiers of the Austrians were threatening to do the same to the them.
Both sides advanced their lines of foot and engaged in a deadly firefight. At times both sides appeared to be gaining an advantage only to see the chance slip from their grasp. The French forced back the Austrian first line and thought they had the field only to see the retiring Austrians rally and reform. In turn the French were forced back but were unable to rally behind their already depleted reserves and the victory that looked imminent just a few turns earlier failed to materialise.
In the end the Austrians were able to hang on whilst, as has been the case so often in the past, the French failed a series of morale tests and were forced to retire.

The final version will have over twice as many horse and foot present. Enough to form three if not four lines of infantry interspersed with ten field pieces.

I'm looking forward to getting the whole thing together now and to seeing the massed troops presented in all their glory.

And as a parting shot - the plastic Swiss made their debut and acquitted themselves quite well under the command of my son James.

Painting Guide

2011-02-20T19:19:00.003Z

I saw this item on Ebay recently and was surprised that someone was prepared to pay so much for a second hand item.
Why was I surprised?
Because for the same price I bought it new from Amazon (£17.28 inc. postage I think).
As for the book itself it is a wealth of information and help. I particulalry like the step by step guides. Of course the whole book is based on the Foundry Paint system but there is help in converting to the GW system (see below).

www.paintingclinic.com/clinic/guestarticles/citfoundrypaintchart.htm

Movie sought

2011-02-16T12:28:00.003Z

I was in Blockbuster a few months back and whilst rimmaging through their pre-owned bin I saw a movie about the American Marines in the Great War. At the time I couldn't fit it into the deal bundle and had spent enough.
Of course I now regret that decision but for the life of me cannot remember the name of the movie. I do know that it was not a documentary or any such but a fictionalised version of the US Marines expereince.
Any ideas anyone?

Triples Game - Whetting the Appetite

2011-02-15T06:14:00.002Z

The game intended for Triples begins to take shape.
Below is part of the table we are going to be playing over.
The game will, when complete, be 20 feet by 6 feet but last night we laid out the boards for the first fourteen feet of the length.

The idea being to get a handle on the playing surface, make the layout look as natural as possible using our existing terrain boards and, to identify the remedial work and repairs required for the boards.

The remaining parts of the display boards have yet to be finished.

The above boards will get some TLC over the next few weeks repairing cracks, damaged edges and corners etc. Then repainted in the new colour scheme to tie in with the other club scenery that Mal & Andy have worked hard on over the last few weeks.

And as a teasing hint about what is to come...........

I've got to create some siege artillery models to go with the ideas being developed by Andy.

Next week we will be playing a small game (about a quarter the size of the real thing) over the table above to see whether the boards allow the units to be shown in their best light.

Surbeck

2011-02-13T21:34:00.003Z

The first of the plastic figures are finished. Regiment Surbeck is ready to take to the field.
Thirty two figures with a slightly different base format to the other regiments I've done. Two ensigns, two officers, two drummers, two NCO's but this time only two grenadiers to add to the twenty two foot figures.
Keeping to the dark red theme I've adopted the regiment is seen with blue waistcoat and breeches with white stockings.

I've also used the Army Painter dip for the first time in this project. I have used the dip on other projects but not for the WSS. somehow though I thought the plastic figures would benefit from this process.

Two thoughts here - first the plastic figures lack some of the finer details and definition of their metal counterparts. Nothing wrong with that but it does make it more difficult to do a three stage paint job, for me at least.

Secondly using the dip actually enhances the definition that can be hard to paint in. I like the way it shows up the belting without having to black line or paint more shade around the belt. Although I don't like the way it accumulates along the edge of the coat.

So there they are. Just two more foot regiments to do (those would be the sixty four in the background of the last photograph).

Empty Rooms

2011-02-06T18:15:00.002Z

The world of music is quieter tonight with the sad news that Gary Moore died in his sleep last night.
I saw Gary play several times over the years although I was never fortunate enough to see him in the band that made him famous - Thin Lizzy. The first time was 1985 at Sheffield City Hall where I was lucky enough to shake his hand as he went along the front row of the stage.
I have all his albums in my collection and I can't place a bad one among them. No matter who he played with his playing is unmistakable and always impressive.

I even cycled to see him get married at North Thoresby where Phil Lynott was among the guests sporting striped trousers and a straw boater.

I'm going to miss him.

Stuppa

2011-02-06T16:45:00.004Z

The next Swiss regiment in French service is finished as promised.

Thirty two figures from Old Glory.

Apart from the two grenadier figures these are all brand new metal. I bought extra figures at the Derby show in anticipation of having some of the old figures fall by the wayside since I had expected the weak ankles of the Old Glory range to not withstand the rebasing process. Happily I was proved wrong and ended up with enough figures to create the above.

I've decided to paint the plastic figures from Wargames Factory (see earlier post) as more Swiss. Partly because I like the flags for the Swiss, partly because there were a lot of Swiss regiments in French service and, partly because I'm struggling to find information on the flags for the Cologne regiments.

Right now I've blocked in the first thirty two figures who will become Surbeck once completed.

Just twelve weeks now to Triples and I reckon I have twelve units to get done (three Swiss infantry, six French guns, limbers and wagons).

15mm Napoleonic Austrians v French

2011-02-04T07:24:00.003Z

First game of the year and, predictably, it didn't go well.

I brought my 15mm Austrians onto to the table to take on Marks French. nothing too big just a division of infantry with an attached division of cavalry. So twelve battalions of foot with three batteries (two support and one position) and five regiments of horse, two Hussars and three dragoons.
The French had sixteen battalions and four regiments of horse facing me.
Both of us deployed according to the terrain with me pinning my left on the large wood on my left flank and then attempting to attack and overwhelm the French on my right. The idea being to send the Hussars on a sweeping outflanking manoeuvre whilst the Dragoons pinned the enemy horse and the first foot division held the enemy brigade facing them.
Simple.
So the Austrian right advance into a withering storm of artillery fire from the French whilst the supporting fire from the Austrians was less effective.

The enemy horse didn't respond either. It failed to be impressed by the overwhelming numbers of Austrians and stubbornly held on. The Austrian Hussars failed to make any impression on the enemy inflicting little loss and suffering worse.

In the end the French had the advantage. Repulsing the Austrian infantry attack with ease and them managing to rout three battalions with concentrated musketry as the Austrian battalions became isolated and exposed when their friends retired past them.

It was all over very quickly. In a couple of hours the French had managed to destroy an Austrian infantry brigade and never even bothered with the other as the Austrian right flank crumpled under the pressure.

The rules used are our own and have been written to use brigade structures and thus try to recreate the higher level of command and control then is possible in 28mm games where the focus tends to be at the battalion level.

My Austrians are all from Chariot Miniatures and represent the early period of the wars.

Plastic Fantastic

2011-01-30T18:56:00.002Z

Well I've finally managed to get my hands on some of the Wargames Factory WSS generic infantry. Unfortunately not through the rapidly imploding unit that is Wargames Factory (does anyone outside of the Company actually know the truth about what is going on with them?) but from a vendor in the UK - Caliver Books.

So first - what do you get in the box?

Twelve sprues all the same. Each has two generic infantry figures which only need one of the eight heads provided to be attached. The heads have a variety of head wear with upturned fronts, full tricorn, soft turnups, feathers, feather edging and periwigs.

Additionally each sprue has the legs for another figure. Here you have a choice of four torsos for drummers, officers, nco's or grenadiers. Each has their own arms (including the option of having a grenadier with grenade if desired - very nice touch), heads (again if you want grenadiers you have a variety of headwear to cover all the different options from the period) and sashes swords and other paraphernalia.
The drum comes in two halves which looks like it's going to need some filling. But there is only one arm with a drumstick so more of a beat than a drum roll.

As for size - well the above shot gives a good idea of how they match in with my other primary range choices.

From left to right - Front Rank - Wargames Factory - Old Glory.

A good fit with Front Rank even if they are slimmer and a lot more slender. Right now they look a bit awkward - gangly and with uneven proportions for the arms and legs.

As I put then together this afternoon I did think that the heads don't quite meet the neck of the torso cleanly and on some of the head options look as though they have chicken necks. Also there is no halbard for the NCO since they have to have a half pike.

But so far I'm happy with them and am looking forward to painting them.

And as for painting .................

Well I've just based the last of the Old Glory figures. These will appear later this week once the base texturing is done.

This last unit marks a milestone. It is the last of the old infantry figures that I want to revamp. I do have another battalion of figures from Lamming but when I came to repainting them I fond that I really don't like them much. Whilst I can understand the appeal of them for me they are ungainly, chunky, poorly defined and no matter how much I tried to give the faces some definition they still ended up looking like General Urko from "Planet of the Apes".

So for now they're all going into a storage box whilst I concentrate on other figures.

Bears Knocked Out

2011-01-24T07:07:00.004Z

The better team won. Although in the end I don't think there was that much to chose between them. Apart from that first twenty minutes when the damage was done and the Bears offence couldn't respond.
The real surprise last night was our special teams. Or rather the ability of Green Bay to nullify them with some excellent punt and return work.
Still the better team won by not giving up some huge penalties at key times (and especially not three first down in one dive because of penalties). One wonders if the man on the left will survive the cull that has to come. The Offense needs a good overhaul on the line because we've been outplayed for much of the season and the offensive scheme needs to be altered to suit Cutler and get rid of the seven step drop which is giving defenses way too much time. The skill positions look to be okay with young talent in all areas. Personally I'd look for a new OC first and a better backup QB (promote Hanie after a superb showing last night).
The defense has to alter in the secondary. Jennings and Tillman were made to look pedestrian at times on a pitch that should have catered for the Bears. The line looks good and the linebackers too although age is a concern here.

Another Week

2011-01-23T15:43:00.003Z

....and another unit finished.
Now it's time for the Swiss to make their first appearance in my WSS French collection - Regiment Manuel.
I decided early on in this revamp to reduce the number of French in grey/white uniform and increase the diversity of colour. So now along with the dark blue of the Germans and the cornflower blue of the Bavarians are the red of the Swiss.

I chose to make the Swiss appear in a darker red than the English and so used GW Scab Red & GW Red Gore with the officers receiving a further highlight of GW Blood Red. As an additional incentive the Swiss seem to have had their NCO's in reversed colours so these appear in dark blue with red facings.

I like the Swiss colours too. Lots of colour and dramatic presentation rather than the usual French quartered colours.

I intend ultimately to produce three battalions of Swiss.

As yet I have not received my Wargames Factory figures although I notice that there were sets for sale on Ebay last week.

Bring on the Pack

2011-01-16T21:48:00.003Z

The Bears will host the Packers for just their second post season meeting - can't quite believe that stat but there we are.
We got there by routing the Seahawks in the first half of the game with Cutler picking the Seahawks apart. The passing game was enhanced by some determined running from the backs and Cutler.

So what odds on a 25th anniversary rematch of Bears & Patriots? If is to be then can we have the same scoreline please?

German Brigade Finished

2011-01-16T14:25:00.003Z

Painting continues in, what is now becoming a bit of a rush, to revamp the WSS collection before Triples.
This latest stage for completion is the German brigade. Three battalions representing Alsace, Greder & Sparre (the last being the latest as it were).

The figures are all from Reiver available through Under the Bed Enterprises (http://www.underbed.co.uk/) and are actually from their Great Northern War collection. I wanted something different because n the uniform descriptions they are referred to as having turnbacks which is unusual for the French army at this time.

They have been a feature of my army for a while now but have laboured under the wrong colours and with the wrong waistcoat colours for far too long. So revamped and on slightly bigger bases I'm hoping that they take to the field with renewed vigour and aggression.

This going to be a rush because I've been told that I have to go into hospital for surgery on my knee at the end of March, and the subsequent enforced recuperation will prevent me getting into the painting room for several weeks.

The Spring Project

2011-01-05T07:05:00.002Z

I've mentioned it and hinted at it several times. Indeed it is the very reason for the revamping of all the older figures in my WSS collection.

So what is it?

Well it is the intention of the Grimsby Wargames Society to go on the road and have a demonstration game at Triples this year on May 21st & 22nd.

Our intention is to showcase a regular night game from the club as it were. Standard terrain boards, the figures we use week in and week out, the rules we use for the period. All with the aim of showing that large (in this case some 2000+ 28mm figures) games can be played quickly and with fun.

And the fun part is if you want to join in we are happy to oblige, just let me know.

Steve Walker

2011-01-04T12:20:00.002Z

Sadly Steve passed away last night after losing his fight against cancer. He was a long time member of the Grimsby Wargames Society and, although not a regular atendee, his enthusiasm for the hobby was undiminished to the end.

Steve was still painting figures upto Christmas although sadly he never got to use them in anger. Particular favourite periods were the Second World War and latterly the Spanish Civil War but his interests expanded beyond these and encompassed many periods and topics.

For more on his painting and thoughts go to www.panzerfaustepainting.blogspot.com

Steve will be missed and my sympathies got to his family on this sad occasion.

Defence

2011-01-03T10:10:00.003Z

I couldn't work out what the game plan was last night. It seemed as though Cutler must have upset the coaches in the week and as a punishment they had a plan to get him sacked, knocked and hit as often as possible in a game that would not affect the Bears position.
No offence from either side although the Packers had the better of it in the last quarter when the Bears looked to have said that was enough. The last drive looked good until the interception though and Cutler was throwing well in that last drive.

I just hope that we don't see a repeat of this picture in three weeks time.

A Junk post

2010-12-31T15:39:00.002Z

My pirates have languished on dry land for far too long. This Junk was purchased at Derby in October but has only left dry dock today.
Cast in resin from Minimi models (www.minimi.co.uk) with wooden masts it is a lovely piece of work.

Crisply cast with no obvious flaws and pieces that fit together well it is just about perfect. The fact that I also bought two resin dragon canon with it makes it even better.

I haven't yet decided whether to mount the masts permanently or to leave them loose for easier storage. I have decided though no bother with sails as these make it far too cumbersome.

Soi what could be better for a female pirate crew then something a little exotic?

Last Units to be Finished in 2010

2010-12-31T10:07:00.003Z

Whilst it hasn't been a complete break from work the reduced hours have meant that I have had more time to devote to trying to get the WSS revamp moving again.
Above is the revamped German regiment La Marck (or Mark or Marcke depending on your reading material). Not much to do to them apart from repainting the waistcoat from yellow to the more correct blue, providing them with a new flag and finials and, rebasing them on a 20mm frontage along with the rest of the units.

Alsace got similar treatment with new colours and finials to their standards.

Finally Regiment Bourbonnais - the last French battalion that I intend to raise.

I might have said this before but it is strange that as I've being revamping these units I've wondered where I got my original source information. Either there is more out there now then there was 15 years ago or I've lost some vital pieces of paper and had to go back to scratch. Uniforms colours are not as I remember them or the information I used related to either pre 170 or post 1720. Either way many units have benefited from a new uniform being issued to them.

Now all that is left are the last regiment of horse, three Swiss battalions and the artillery and train.

As yet I'm still waiting for the plastic WSS figures to arrive from Wargames Factory. Not heard a word since they took my money in October for the pre-order. This despite several emails and attempts to find out what is going on.

Has anyone on this side of the pond received these yet? Indeed has anyone on either side of the pond got any and made them?

In the meantime let me wish all my readers a Very Happy New Year!

Christmas Cheers

2010-12-27T07:24:00.002Z

Especially when Harris intercepted Sanchez with less then a minute to go to seal the win over the Jets.
What a weird weekend of football.
A defensive face off was predicted between the Jets & Bears and it turned into a QB contest.
The Giants were stunned by the Packers, San Diego, the seasons sure thing for the playoffs prior to week one, are out and, it's possible that a team with losing record will be in the playoffs.
Still, for me what matters is that the Bears offense looks good and a maligned bunch of receivers are showing their potential.

That's that then for Another Year

2010-12-26T10:40:00.003Z

Slight hangover this morning but then I suspect that I'm not the only one. A very nice bottle of Glenmorangie was among the presents and gifts and of course there can be no better reason not to try it then to toast the wishes of Goodwill that go with the season.

As for wargame related items I received three books - The Battle of Barnet by David Clark and published by Pen & Sword, Stoke Field by David Baldwin also from Pen & Sword, and finally A Histroy of Charles XII of Sweden by Voltaire (a lovely bound volume in box sleeve).

The day was more about being with family and friends though. Good food all day long, plenty to drink whether you wanted something hot or cold, long or short, flat or fizzy. Fun and games as well.

So I trust that you had as much enjoyment of the day as I did and let's hope that 2011 is better and brighter than 2010.

Christmas Cheer

2010-12-23T07:10:00.003Z

To you all.
May the man in the red suit provide you with all you asked for and maybe a little bit more.

Champions

2010-12-21T07:20:00.002Z

The Bears are division champions for the first time since 2006 with a rout of the Vikings.
Add in that the NFL has a new record holder in Devin Hester with his 14th return for a TD breaking Mitchells previous record (Hester has taken 74 games to reach this mark - Mitchell took 223).
So now two weeks to take on the Jets & Packers for home field advantage.

Time to Think

2010-12-15T12:41:00.002Z

With the enforced closure of the loft and thereby preventing access to the painting table, there has been time to think about the hobby and what the future holds.

Most of these thoughts have been along the lines of "what next?" since I can see the end of the WSS project approaching. And this time it really is the end (gosh how many times have I said that?). I have some infantry to rebase, one more regiment of horse, the artillery and then the baggage train. Of course there are the plastic figures to arrive but after that - no more (well perhaps a few limbers and such but no more fighting troops).

Bill should have the GNW horse soon. With their purchase that will be that aside from the artillery of course.
Talking of the GNW, I have been thinking about this a lot recently. I made the decision to put all the figures on single bases and then into movement trays. Done all that but I'm not happy with the end look. The recent revamp of the WSS range has caused me to question whether to adopt a similar approach to the GNW.
Replace the single basing with multiple figure bases and to reduce the size of the battalions to get bigger games. Bigger in the sense of units not numbers of figures that is. My thoughts so far are to reduce the battalions from 48 men to 27 men equivalent without buying any extras. The difference being achieved by improving the scenic quality of the bases and judicious placement of the figures. Indeed I could even adapt the terrain to have a winter feel since the fighting carried on in the snow.
The other benefit that I can see is that the smaller units would probably work better with the Black Powder rule set then a few large units.

Lastly I'm seriously considering a spending freeze on new figures, the above excepted, for 2011 and to concentrate on reducing the contents of the big blue box and to getting all those half finished projects completed. How many of us have said that in the past and then failed to deliver?

Not just me then.

Aren't Bears Supposed to do the Mauling?

2010-12-13T07:16:00.003Z

First the good news - Packers lose and Bears remain on top of the division.
Other good news - Bears beat the Patriots 7-3 in the second half. Of course this is said tongue firmly in cheek because the game was over at the end of the first half with the Bears down 33-0.

There was far too much of the above photograph. No pressure on Brady and plenty of time for him to pick us apart. Cutler never had that luxury.

This game wasn't lost by Cutler who at times showed what he can do. this game was lost by the entire team in all three phases. The secondary was awful and I'm afraid Tillman will be hearing a lot of that for his performance last night.

If this was a Superbowl preview, as some in the media had touted, then I don't want to go to the Big Show and be embarrassed again.

Grinding to a halt

2010-12-12T18:27:00.003Z

Not much has been over the last week or two with the revamp of my WSS project. Several reasons not least being the weather. Far too cold after walking home to get much done other than a hot bubble bath, hot chocolate and a good book before falling asleep in the armchair.

Of course a "good book" isn't necessarily an easy read. Right now I'm reading "A Great & Terrible King - a biography of Edward I" by Marc Morris.

Well written and full of information it is, like many medieval biographies, not a smooth flowing book. Numerous gaps in the chronicles means some inevitable filling and padding. which makes the book hard to read in places.

Add in the need to move piles of books from the bedroom onto the landing in anticipation of the new bed arriving (last one collapsed - no jokes please believe me I've heard them all!!), has meant that access to the loft is restricted. Hopefully back up there on Tuesday.

On the painting desk are the second half of the Royal Carabiniers who only need the bases texturing and painting. As well as those is the last French battalion I'm going to do - Tallard. That makes fourteen French battalions out of the thirty in my collection. Five are Bavarian, two Spanish and three German. That leaves four battalions - all Old Glory figures. These were French but are going to become Swiss in French service.

I've also received news that the plastic WSS figures pre-ordered from Wargames Factory are being shipped. So that leaves the question who will they become?

Spanish? German? Cologne? Italian? Irish (Wild Geese)? All possibilities and I like all their uniform variations but which is best (in your best Harry Hill voice do I hear "FIGHT!"

Bears Sweep Lions - just

2010-12-06T07:24:00.002Z

A TD reversed in the first game and now a penalty call that probably shouldn't have been called (and would have been challenged if that was allowed), the umpires at Lions games seem to be Chicago fans.
Neither team showed much defence and of the two QB's it was Stanford that came away looking the better I thought. Still it's a win that keeps us top of the NFC North but on this showing and with our remaining schedule I don't expect to stay there.

WSS Game Monday 29th November

2010-12-02T19:32:00.004Z

The rejuvenated French army took to the field on Monday to tackle the English again. A river protected the French right wing of nine squadrons of horse and three line battalions, the left faced some woods and was twelve squadrons and four battalions, whilst the centre had five battalions supported by a battalion of guards.
The English brought ten battalions to the field and twelve squadrons but five field guns.
The French horse moved forward quickly to tackle the enemy horse. At the same time the French foot advanced into some fearsome artillery fire from Captain Blood.

The horse quickly engaged on both flanks and the French had mixed success. On the left they lost one regiment very quickly but held on and frustrated the English with the other regiments. On the right the French overwhelmed their opponents and routed the enemy. Unfortunately the French flushed with success pursued the enemy beyond the point of reason and lost one unit in pursuit whilst the other tow rallied in full view of the enemy and promptly paid for their enthusiasm.

In the center the French had some problems deploying in face of the superior musketry from the English. The consequence of this being that the French attacks went in piecemeal and failed to make any impact on the enemy first line.

A close up of Normandie in their new (white) livery as they advance in the first line. The new uniforms must have been worth it because despite being severely shot over they performed stirringly and led the advance for most of the day only retiring once below half strength but not routing from the field.

A view from the enemy side of the field as the French lines advance.

The disorganised manner of the French lines is seen here with no continuous front line to defeat the enemy.

The French had some success but overall failed to create any significant pressure on the enemy lines when it mattered and did not generate any gaps in the lines to exploit. The enemy guns performed well and allowed the English infantry to gain the upper hand quickly.

My thanks to Mark for fielding the English and to Step & Will for joining in. The latter being two new members who have recently discovered the joys of historical wargaming rather than the GW versions. Hopefully the colour and ease of play made it as much of an enjoyable game for them as it was for me.

Bears down Eagles

2010-11-29T10:11:00.002Z

It was good to see Cutler lose his temper at the officials over the non-flagging of what should have been a clear penalty (of course he should have kept his mouth shut and the subsequent 15 yard penalty for the second outburst hurt).
Cutler showed the passion that exuded from the entire team last night. The scoreline didn't reflect the dominance shown by the Bears but did reflect the frailty of the cover two against quick offenses. All three parts of the team turned up and played hard.
Go Bears!

Recent Reading

2010-11-26T08:55:00.003Z

I won't bother visitors with details of the book that I read preceding this (Dan Browns "The Lost Symbol" - a book to be read and then given to a charity shop).
I'd been looking forward to reading this book and it took me a while to appreciate it. I found it hard work initially and only became absorbed by it about half way through.
The lack of a central character and having the story revolve around five main figures instead is the cause I think. As a consequence of this it seems a little disjointed in places and not the smooth flowing style of his other books.
Having said that it is a fascinating story and one full of little episodes ideal for the tabletop.
Would I recommend it? All things considered - yes.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T12:06:00.003Z

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers (and a belated one to the Canucks who celebrated last month).

WSS REvamp Part 4

2010-11-20T10:27:00.002Z

More units finished.
First is Chevalier de Rosen. I find French horse regiments a little dull after the infantry. Foot have a wide combination of coat, waistcoat, cuff, breeches and stocking colours. The horse by comparison are nearly all grey with red facings and the only colour differentiation is in the shabraque. This time round I didn't change the shabraque colour from the original painting I just touched it up. For the life of me though I can't find the reference work that inspired the yellow with white.

And then there is Souvre. One of my favourite foot regiments but that has more to do with the flag than the uniform. Historically on the tabletop they have also been one of the better performing units in the army - let's hope they continue in their new look and organisation.

700 club

2010-11-19T07:21:00.002Z

An NFL membership of - ONE.
With the shutout last night in Miami, the first home shutout in forty years for the Dolphins, the Chicago Bears are the only team in the NFL to reach 700 regular season wins.
Okay the Dolphins may have been banged up on offense but the Bears controlled the ball (38 minutes of possession on offense) and dominated on defense holding Miami to just 187 yards total. With two minutes to go it was like a home game for the bears with only "Go Bears" echoing around the emptying stadium.
I may not have had much sleep last night but I don't feel tired. At 7-3 and with three wins in twelve days I fell great.

Advice Sought

2010-11-17T12:32:00.002Z

Hmm....... I've got myself a bit of a dilemma.

As you know I'm revamping my older WSS French and have now got to the Regiment Normandie. As part of the revamp I'm checking the uniforms and retouching them.

Now here's the dilemma - Funcken (Lace Wars vol1) shows Normanide with red waistcoats, red breeches & red stockings BUT Grant ("Armies of the Malburian Wars"vol1) states white waistcoats, stockings and breeches with officers & nco's having black cuffs.
I used Funcken when painting them originally but that was before Grant was published (indeed before his "Armies of the Pike & Shot era" - which is the same information). So who do I go with now?

My instinct is to stick with Funcken but my heart says repaint them to give them a unique appearance (several French regiments wore a similar uniform to that shown by Funcken and makes them hard to distinguish on the tabletop).

Bears beat Vikings

2010-11-14T21:18:00.004Z

If (and with Favre it's always if) this was Favre's last visit to Soldier Field it will not be one he remembers with fondness. The Bears defense played well all day and despite giving up a few big plays had the measure of the Vikings.
In fact I thought the Bears played well on defence, offence and special teams. The only blot on the playbook being the number of penalties and the hugh amount of yards that they cost us.

Great game.

Short week with Miami on Thursday.

WSS Revamp Part 3

2010-11-14T10:45:00.003Z

Cold crisp mornings are made for a brisk walk and steaming hot strong coffee - both designed to help stimulate me to sit at the painting desk.
Yesterday saw me finish the first of the Old Glory horse regiments. Of course I forgot to take a "before" shot so below are some of the Royal Carabineers showing the quality of the figures before I got to work on them.

The finished Cuirassiers du Roi. Again I have a deeper appreciation of the figures now then I probably did twenty years ago. I still don't really like the horses, some are more like greyhounds and some appear to be in pain from the way they contort themselves in movement.

However, en masse they have a pleasing aspect that matches well with the rest of the horse.

I chose this time to mount them in pairs for no other reason than the bases I had originally bought for three figures were far too large for the Old Glory figure size and instead replaced them with 50mm square pieces. All bases from Warbases (I can't recommend this company highly enough for quality and service).

WSS REvamp Part 2

2010-11-13T09:21:00.003Z

To show that there are wargaming related items going on here I present the next stage of the WSS revamp project.
To more battalions of foot completed - to the fore Picardie & supporting them Auvergne.

I tried something different with the colour for Picardie. A Warflag production but this time I gave the flag some highlights with GW Scab Red & GW Red Gore. Pretty pleased with the result.
A close up of Auvergne. Redoing these figures has made me re-evaluate these pieces. Having bought nothing but Front Rank for a number of years I had looked down on the older Old Glory figures and tended to see them as second rate. I now realise that has more to do with my ability to paint figures twenty years ago compared to today. There are some lovely figures in the Old Glory Range and the shot above shows my favourite of them all.
So before the spring project I now have just seven more battalions plus fifteen squadrons to get done.

Paramore

2010-11-12T07:07:00.003Z

Last night at the Sheffield Arena I saw proof that there are some extremely good bands out there putting on some terrific shows.
Paramore are not my normal fare of musical diet but are very popular with the younger members of the house. However, I enjoyed myself and had a great time.
The show kicked off with some good solid rock played loud and fast and continued with the entire audience bouncing around for a good half hour. Midway through their show they broke it down to a terrific performance of "Let This Go" with just Haley & Josh playing and singing acoustics at the very edge of the stage under a spot. From there they turn to a transformed stage and run through several more slow songs with the rest of the band, before turning the amps back on and really letting go.
The energy and enthusiasm from band and audience was something else.
Great night.

May we never forget

2010-11-11T09:38:00.000Z

Chicago beat Buffalo in Toronto

2010-11-08T07:24:00.003Z

Lovie said it was a more balanced offense this week. Not sure I agree with that. When your best running back is your QB (Forte gained more yards - 40) with a 7.8 average and you complete less than 60% of your passes balance isn't the first word that springs to mind. Still ranked last in third down completions and red zone offense.

The defense wasn't much better. Sure it generated turnovers but then we were playing the worst team in pro-football right now.

Next week we have to go to a resurgent Minnesota team.

Wisdom

2010-11-03T12:23:00.000Z