Saturday 30 April 2011

April Painting



April's always a busy month. Working in finance it usually means year end processes so I wasn't able to take advantage of the long Easter weekend. Having a garden and an allotment I have been a bit busy outside too.

I have tried to set aside half an hour a day to sit in the shed and do some painting. Personally I think I get more done in seven half hour stints a week than in one long sitting at the weekend.

So attached are piccies of the new Weinpfalz regiment.




Being of a lazy disposition I tried to speed up the processes even more than usual and tried a grey undercoat/primer courtesy of Halfords ie for car repairs, which I had seen recommended for 1/72 plastics elsewhere.

It looked excellent but started to flake off from the bayonets as soon as began to add a second coat. I continued with care with a heavy drybrush of light grey and then white. I'm hoping that the Klear overcoat will hold it all together.

The figures are Zvezda GNW Russians - I'm always surprised at how good Zvezda figures are






No more painting this weekend we're off to Clun for the Greenman Festival. Maypole, morris dancing and much beer no doubt.

Monday 4 April 2011

Hohenlinden(ish)


French troops tuck themselves up in little village.

This week's game seemed to creep up on us from behind. So we went with easily organised 6mm Napoleonics because we have lots of the stuff tucked away in boxes we can just pick and run with.

A quick browse on the jolly old interweb thing provided "Hohenlinden", Austrians attacking French makes a nice change. However it did seem a bit too difficult for the poor old whitecoats so I made it little bit easier for them, principally by ignoring the nasty weather but also giving them a little bit more oomph.


The French set up between villages and woods.

This was our first game at our new venue after being run out of our previous abode. The Social club we now call home is cheaper, larger, has a bar and the best cheese and onion sandwiches! Silver linings etc etc.


The Austrians advanced at various speeds along the woodland paths. Our Black Powder based command rules can make for a frustrating afternoon. But all is going well. In fact the only blunder leads to a Charge at full speed result speeding up an assault on an outlying village. It did, however, expose a heavy battery that was subsequently lost.

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Speedy Grenze appear out of woods to outflank the French and walk into an undefended churchyard.

Despite large amounts of Austrian horse being held up on forest paths the infantry march on regardless and on both left and right wings wear down the French; enough to break two divisions - which must withdraw.



Austrian infantry throw excellent dice and push the French back along the line.

After four hours play we called it a day with Hohenlinden still in French hands but with both flanks broken. The position would be untenable.

Good dice and a lenient scenario gave the Austrian too much of an easy time, particularly re assaults on villages but..

an enjoyable game that gave a good run out to our simplified BP rules. A couple more tweaks and they should be okay.