Plans for new table

Just back from a fun weekend in Cardiff which hosted the British Speedway Grand Prix again. A great event in a lovely city. Great fun with speedway fans from all over the world, but can those Polish lads drink!

So not had time to take advantage of the new battlefield in the shed. Just 6 feet by four feet of mdf it takes up half the avaiable space but leaves plenty of room for a comfy chair and a shelf on which currently sits a large glass of merlot. Figures and terrain sit underneath.  I no longer have to clear the dining table and I'll be able to leave a part completed game on table. It's also painted a nice desert sand colour on the reverse side should the need arise.

The short term plan is to revisit Scenarios for Wargamers by CS Grant. The book suggests a table size of 7' by 5' but my units of thirty infantrymen have a frontage of about eight inches, less than two thirds that of Brigadier Grant's fifty four man battalions so there should be no problem there.

I have chosen a dozen suitable scenarios from the book and rather than have campaign tree each scenario will be randomly chosen with the throw of a D12. The army that wins three games in a row wins the "campaign" and will no doubt erect a suitable monument and produce an ostentatious medal.

I think the loser of a game will become the defender or the side with fewer units in the following game but I may have to think about this.

Rules will be my one brain cell old school rules based on The Wargame and Charge!

Spring Projects

... any way HOTE was great fun and will be returned to. However DBA for the seven years war proved to be less successful. Too much back and forth to my eyes so it will be be a return to square one, which was a pretty fun square as I recall.

Enough of things square: the past few weeks have been a bit hectic at work, as well the Old Duchess turning 50, but I have squeezed in a couple of little projects a la wargame.

I have found that the only way to get painting is to decide to play a game for which I do not possess the figures. So in the four weeks between discussing to revisit Crossfire, the WW2 game guaranteed to give a headache, I had to get a battalion of French painted up to repel the damned Bosch.

Mostly Forged in Battle with Peter Pig I sloshed on the washes and good old Vallejo sepia shade.

At arms length, and with my myopic vision, they'll do a job, and of course won't be on table too long.

These guys show off their "suppressed" marker of which the French require an awful lot.

Needless to say the French did not do particularly well against their grey coated foe and were, in fact, well hammered. And yes the rules gave me a headache. Not because of their complexity for they are quite simple but, as it was for sergeant le Blanc in 1940, every decision is important and mistakes can mean disaster for one's platoon. Oh the stress of throwing a dice!

Secondly I have put away the squared board for the moment as the spring sunshine (ironic smile) has led me to clear out the old shed and I have erected a small but perfectly formed wargames table on which I can return to Fromagere in the not too distant future. A blast of trumpets and 21 gun salute!!!!!!!!!! Hurrah!!!

A range stick awaits the arrival of the Duc de Fromage.

Winter plans

It's been a productive few months and I've started and completed the British Empire half of the  KISS Rommel project in about eight weeks. (As expected Richard completed his half too). We had our first game at the weekend and it was excellent. Seven of us played using rules none of us had played before and five hadn't even read. We fought a fun and tense game to it's conclusion in about three and a half hours. A minor British victory too.

I have been reading with great interest Mr Cordery's Portable Wargame project. 

http://wargamingmiscellany.blogspot.co.uk/

 My games at home are dependent upon the dining table, not the most practical solution when it also needs to be used for homework, sewing, drawing and even dining.

I have had a quick go at the portable wargame using a chess board and had a bit of fun with it but felt constrained. The idea is intriguing and no doubt the shed will offer up a larger piece of mdf I can draw a few more squares on.  A two foot square "table" would give 15 by 15 squares of 40mm. This would fit nicely on the coffee table in front of my comfy chair or even on my lap. This could keep me going through the long winter nights.

A few other things..

Only just noticed the time lag between the last two posts  - well over two months! 

Sadly nothing has happened in the Wine and Cheese campaign but I have been busy with other projects.

I have painted a division of 10mm Turks for the Crimea (I have no idea how I fell for that one). We had a cracking game on Sunday, but sadly no pictures. We used Black Powder but may try a Fire & Fury variant next time

Also I have furtled up a Nine Years War army that has been languishing in the attic for years.

A long time ago we bought quite a few painted Dixons from a bring and buy. I tried to touch up the poor old veterans but when I sprayed them with matt varnish I got the dreaded white powder finish. Probably due to atmospheric conditions. Into the attic they went. However when I was browsing TMP I came across a potential solution. Simple paint them with gloss varnish. And it only worked. 

I quite like the shiny look

I have based them up intending to use Baroque Impetus rules.

Finally I am working on a 6mm desert war British army c1941. I am not a great fan of WW2 due mostly to the complex nature of the rules, and lack of tricorns, but Richard has discovered KISS Rommel. A relatively old set resurrected by freewargamesrules. They look very simple and include a nice campaign system as well.

So that's what's on the bench in castle vallejo for October.

These Honeys will instil fear into the D.A.K., possibly.

Mmm: and the months go by. Not sure where. Ageing parents, teenage kids and lots of work all get in the way of toy soldiers. Once the first half of the year has passed work load tends to lessen so hopefully I can get back on track with Wine and Cheese. 

Having a day off for the Queen's Jubilee, (God bless her) I have spent most of the day rebasing the Zvezda's. For the third time. 

This time putting six infantry onto 4cm square bases.

I had previously based them singly and then basing eight on 6 by 4 cm bases. Using Charge the intention was to have the same frontage for foot as horse, as recommended in Mr Asquith's Charge "pamphlet". However this really made the the infantry look a bit too far apart. Given that space on the table is at premium I decided to reduce the frontage of an infantryman a little. Having tinkered with Charge's melee rules the same frontage was no longer relevant.


Basing in sixes no doubt influenced by purchasing The Wargame.

 A nice publication with some lovely piccies.


It was also my birthday recently and my clever other half managed to find a copy of another of Brigadier Grants works of note - Scenarios for Wargames. As suggested by Bluebear Jeff a few months ago I intend to reboot my campaign with a "tree" of games derived the old book. More of which anon.

 

Ears are ringing

... after seeing Thin Lizzy last night (or what's left of them).

Surely "Whiskey in the Jar" must be the rock anthem for E.V.E.?

"As I was goin' over the Cork and Kerry mountains.
I saw Captain Farrell and his money he was counting.
I first produced my pistol and then produced my rapier.
I said: "Stand or deliver or the devil he may take ya".

Surely a scenario for "Gloire lies within" the lyrics.

I believe it was a late C17th song. It inspired "The Beggars Opera" (1728) and became popular with Irish-American soldiers during the American Revolution for it's anti British officer sentiments.

So that was Christmas

...and as usual entailed lots of running about for teenage kids and aged relatives with not much chance of painting or gaming, Ho Hum.

Santa was very kind however with volumes III and IV of Wargaming in History. I'm not much of an ACW buff but I couldn't bear to see I, II, IV on the bookshelves. Touch of OCD probably. Also the man in red provided Osprey's "Battle of Zorndorf". Nasty. The battle not the book. And a couple of nice CDs to paint by: C18 naturally - Haydn and Bach concertoes.

I didn't get nearly enough painted in 2011 nor enough games played so, hopefully, 2012 will be better on those fronts. Mental note not to buy any more figures until etc etc. We all know that mantra.

Although Hat may finally get those marching Prussians into production and 20mm Nostalgic Revival have some very nice new metal to match the Zvezda.

Finally I must get the Wars of Wine and Cheese back on track so a visit to the archives and diaries of Prince Lupus is pressing.

One of the highlights of 2011 was the discovery of "History of Rome dot com". An excellent podcast about - you guessed it - which has kept me informed and amused with 2,000 year old news. As we are now well into the C5th I shall soon need a new diversion - any suggestions?

Merry Christmas

From Dave Beagle

Winter ends (official)

On the medieval bridge of Clun the Green Man defeats the Winter Queen.




With his new bride, The May Queen, the Green Man and his Champion herald the arrival of summer.

A E Housman fans please note that Clun wasn't the quietest place today.

WMMS Alumwell 2011

A quick trip to Wolverhampton today for the Alumwell show where I managed to restrain my spending to a few paints and a box of Zvezda Black Hussars. And some grassy tufts, And a box of Perry ACW infantry. And some matt varnish. Mmmmm not as restrained as I ought to have been.
Shows ain't what they used to be but still nice to go and see a few games and perhaps get some new ideas and spend some dough without p&p. A few piccies below of the very nice AWI game that fellow Birmingham wargamers Jim and Tony put on.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

A whole week off work to come so hopefully I can get back up to speed with the vallejo.

All work and no play...

Brandwine



Work has interfered with play this month.

Just a couple of piccies from Birmingham Wargames Society games I've missed.





Normans overrun Saxons

Wine and Cheese

I hope noone has been offended by the Wars of Wine and Cheese. The use of cheesy and winey names for my imagiNation regiments are a result of gaming with the cheese loving and freely drinking Birmingham Wargames Society and not intended as an "Allo Allo" type slight on our continental friends. Wine is not aften an accompaniment to our afternoon games (usually an ale or two) but is not unknown. The last wine I recall being an indifferent red called "Rorkes Drift" bought specially to accompany the game. Cheese and biccies have however been mandatory for a number of years now - cheers Richard!

I was pleased to see the first entry on the new BWS forum was not game of the month but Cheese of the Week. Which was, unfortunately, Stinking Bishop - not recommended!

http://hubpages.com/hub/Stinking-Bishop

Odd time of year

...between Christmas and New Year is always an odd time of year. I usually go into work but the past few months have been so busy I thought "*** it," I'll have the week off.

Naturally I was hoping to paint for the December unit is way behind schedule Of course Christmas has got in the way, visiting, eating, visiting, drinking, visiting, eating etc etc. Also new books in one's stocking. I received "Slaughterhouse Five" which I hadn't read since a student - so that was Christmas evening sorted (with a nice Stilton and glass of port). Even better than I remembered.

Today however I was rebasing Napoleonics and 6mm to boot. I think the fourth rebasing that these guys have been on. Now on regimental bases of two inches square, quite a change from Charge!. A couple of corps in an A4 lever arch box file! Piccies will follow once complete.

Even worse I was perusing Plastic Soldier Review and the Impetus site whilst digesting another ample lunch. Mmmm interesting; now what period/continent have we not tried? And there was a review of Zvezda Samurai. Very pretty too and a 9/10 review from PSR. Perhaps a little look at ebay wouldn't hurt, Aaaaaaarggggghhh caught again. Now I wonder if Amazon has an Osprey on XVI century Japan, 'cos I don't have a clue.

Christmas begins

The family tradition, when I was a child, was that the Christmas tree and decorations would only begin to appear after December 13 - dad's birthday. This year was the old man's eightieth so the great day has taken up even more of our thoughts than usual. And began with a game of golf on a frosty Saturday morning!

Today we made our way to Birmingham to visit the Frankfurt market! Odd but true.

Gluhwein and pretzels in the English Midlands.

.

Remembrance Sunday

A drizzly grey morning for the annual procession up the High Street to our local cenotaph. Led by a bagpiper and a couple of drummers the procession was the largest I can remember. While the ranks of veterans from WW2 and Korea progressively thin the general populace feel the need to pay their tribute to the fallen of more recent wars as well as the C20th conflicts.