I've been away on business on France recently so progress has rather slowed. However, I have managed to get another small batch of dipped Celts complete - bar the basing. That gives me a nice little unit of 9 skirmishers to help support the heavy infantry of my Legions. I experimented with a few new colours from Foundry's range of light blues and reds. The results are a bit mixed, hence no piccies!!! The basic check/weave pattern I added to one figure (dark green lattice on top of light green cloth) looks OK but I'll need to have a bit more practice before I tackle anything more tricky. As for tattoos ... hmmm ... they'll take more practice too. Initial results are not that bad to be honest. I thought that it would be quite easy!? My choice of brush probably did not help. The bristles were a bit stiff which made painting smooth, even lines quite hard. A softer brush with a slightly finer point will help.
I've also been spending a bit of time getting my second unit of 15 Legionaries off the ground, along with the crew for my artillery. They're based, undercoated and most have the armour done. For the rest I'll work on batches of 4-5 figures as this seems to be the optimum number when painting in my 3-colour layered style.
Good to see that a number of fellow gamers on the WAB forum share my view that the Chrimbo hols are the ideal time to get some more painting done... link I'm hoping to get another unit of Legion completed which will bring my EIR force nicely up to 1,000pts. Then I can get cracking on the Warlord Ancient Britons. The delay in shipping until the 3rd week of January is actually quite handy.
We're off to the in-laws for a week or so and I've packed a box of paints, models, brushes, etc to keep me busy. Really looking forward to a week with all the family around. Having recently lost a stone (14lbs) in weight I need to try to avoid piling it all back on again, so more painting and less feasting is the plan ... !?
Looking at my viewing figures for this blog I can see that quite a few people take the time to read my rhubarb/waffle/etc. I hope that you enjoy what you see and read. Knowing that people do look at my blog gives a boost for my gaming energy, so Thank You! And feel free to leave any comments and suggestions :-)
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a joyous and peaceful New Year.
Monday, 22 December 2008
Saturday, 6 December 2008
Napoleonics ... ?
Thanks to my friend Jimbo, here's a picture of some Napoleonic figures that viewers might find interesting for comparison purposes. L to R are Front Rank, Victrix, Companion and Foundry.
(click for a larger image)
The Foundry figure appears a little small in comparison to the Victrix figure, but the rest would probably mix ok, even FR's more portly chaps.
Cheers!
(click for a larger image)
The Foundry figure appears a little small in comparison to the Victrix figure, but the rest would probably mix ok, even FR's more portly chaps.
Cheers!
Saturday, 29 November 2008
A Mixed Bag
This past week or so has been a real mixture of gaming stuff ... I've mostly been doing boring prep work for my EIR and Celts. I wanted to paint some Legionaries but found that I had none ready - not even trimmed up! So I set to and had a couple of big sessions of cleaning, trimming, etc. By the way - does anyone else wash their metal minis after trimming them? The Black Tree figures I have definitely benefit from a good wash and scrub with an old toothbrush.
I've also been basing up some figures and just generally having a bit of sort out of my gaming 'stuff'. Living in a very small 3 bed rental means I have to be much tidier with my toys than I would usually be - oh well. Only this morning I was looking longingly at the pics in the WAB rulebook of the Perry's gaming room. It's been many years since I had my own games room.
Warlord Games
Really impressed with these splendid fellows! I took advantage of their recent special offer to get some freebies by ordering a Celt army ... 3 boxes of Britons, a box of cavalry, a box of chariots, some characters, etc, plus a free box of Romans. The order arrived in less than a week! Opened the box only to find that my free box of Romans was missing, so I got straight on the 'old dog and bone'. They were jolly helpful and a few days later the missing Romans arrived. However, some days later I checked order more thoroughly and found some bits missing from the chariot set. Again I phoned and again the bits were sent promptly - this time with a few extra bits. Brilliant!
I've also been basing up some figures and just generally having a bit of sort out of my gaming 'stuff'. Living in a very small 3 bed rental means I have to be much tidier with my toys than I would usually be - oh well. Only this morning I was looking longingly at the pics in the WAB rulebook of the Perry's gaming room. It's been many years since I had my own games room.
Warlord Games
Really impressed with these splendid fellows! I took advantage of their recent special offer to get some freebies by ordering a Celt army ... 3 boxes of Britons, a box of cavalry, a box of chariots, some characters, etc, plus a free box of Romans. The order arrived in less than a week! Opened the box only to find that my free box of Romans was missing, so I got straight on the 'old dog and bone'. They were jolly helpful and a few days later the missing Romans arrived. However, some days later I checked order more thoroughly and found some bits missing from the chariot set. Again I phoned and again the bits were sent promptly - this time with a few extra bits. Brilliant!
Friday, 21 November 2008
More Dipping
My daughters, aged 6 and nearly 8, were keen to try painting some models. So here's a Roman and a Celt painted by them - all their own work too. Although I applied the dip. Good aren't they!?
(click for a larger image)
The shield is a bit dull because I forgot that LBMS transfers need a white undercoat. However, I'm delighted with the results and, more importantly, so are they. The concentration as they painted was intense. What's even better is that they're keen to paint some more! Maybe I will get my army painted after all ;o)
Cheerio
(click for a larger image)
The shield is a bit dull because I forgot that LBMS transfers need a white undercoat. However, I'm delighted with the results and, more importantly, so are they. The concentration as they painted was intense. What's even better is that they're keen to paint some more! Maybe I will get my army painted after all ;o)
Cheerio
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Oh Warlord!
Warlord have just released news of their next big plastic range for next year ... English Civil War ... oh dear. They look fabulous too. Then I watched a spiffing drama on C4 last night set during the civil war ... "The Devil's Whore". Lots of action both on and off the field ... more oh dear!
ECW has always intrigued me, both from a historical and wargaming perspective, but never quite enough to get me buying rules or miniatures. I've heard that a lot of gamers think Warhammer ECW is less than ideal, so perhaps Rick Priestley's 1644 might prove more suitable. I don't know really.
Of course, all this is getting rather ahead of myself isn't it? I've already got a very full wargaming agenda. So much so, in fact, that I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll probably never get around to gaming WW1. I have just 4 painted and 12 unpainted figures, no suitable scenery and - er - no opponents. The investment in funds, figures, scenery and time just make it a non-starter. Also, I have a veritable mountain of ancients figures to get painted - that will keep me painting for ages. Not to mention the eagerly awaited arrival of Victrix's placky Naps ... ! Don't mention Warlord's forthcoming "Blackpowder" rules either - or I'll burst!!!
Yet ... I still can't quite dismiss the idea that one day I'll start collecting ECW. Perhaps I should get around to joining the Mid-Somerset Wargaming Club and see what they like. Maybe that would give me a better sense of direction? Or maybe I'd just end up being more distracted.
One thing I'm determined to do (now that I'm a 'proper' historical wargamer) is to avoid the mistake I made when first getting in Warhammer Fantasy back in the 80's. That is, collecting a unit or two of one army, then a unit or two of another, and thus ending up with a rather motley collection of mostly unpainted figures that were rather less than an army. Don't laugh! Battles back in those days often had more scenic items on the table than painted figures.
So my motto has become ... Must Stay Focused!
ECW has always intrigued me, both from a historical and wargaming perspective, but never quite enough to get me buying rules or miniatures. I've heard that a lot of gamers think Warhammer ECW is less than ideal, so perhaps Rick Priestley's 1644 might prove more suitable. I don't know really.
Of course, all this is getting rather ahead of myself isn't it? I've already got a very full wargaming agenda. So much so, in fact, that I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll probably never get around to gaming WW1. I have just 4 painted and 12 unpainted figures, no suitable scenery and - er - no opponents. The investment in funds, figures, scenery and time just make it a non-starter. Also, I have a veritable mountain of ancients figures to get painted - that will keep me painting for ages. Not to mention the eagerly awaited arrival of Victrix's placky Naps ... ! Don't mention Warlord's forthcoming "Blackpowder" rules either - or I'll burst!!!
Yet ... I still can't quite dismiss the idea that one day I'll start collecting ECW. Perhaps I should get around to joining the Mid-Somerset Wargaming Club and see what they like. Maybe that would give me a better sense of direction? Or maybe I'd just end up being more distracted.
One thing I'm determined to do (now that I'm a 'proper' historical wargamer) is to avoid the mistake I made when first getting in Warhammer Fantasy back in the 80's. That is, collecting a unit or two of one army, then a unit or two of another, and thus ending up with a rather motley collection of mostly unpainted figures that were rather less than an army. Don't laugh! Battles back in those days often had more scenic items on the table than painted figures.
So my motto has become ... Must Stay Focused!
Saturday, 8 November 2008
The BEF are here!
Here's a few pics of my recently completed Late War British. All figures are Great War Miniatures painted in my 3-colour Foundry style paint scheme.
(click for a larger image)
An NCO and 3 privates
(click for a larger image)
NCO and private.
(click for a larger image)
Rear view
(click for a larger image)
Steady lads!
(click for a larger image)
Wait for it!
I've really enjoyed painting these fellows! It has made a nice change from Romans and Celts plus I've been able to use a rather different colour palette which proved quite a challenge at first.
All of the figures were painted from a black undercoat. For the uniforms two had a base coat of Foundry Drab Shade, the other two had GW Charadon Granite, highlighted with Drab Mid and Khemri brown respectively. The webbing is GW Kommando Kahki with GW Bleached Bone highlights. One of the figures has a leather 'surcoat' which I painted GW Vermin Brown, with GW Vermin Brown and Desert Yellow mix highlights. The puttees were the same as the uniform colour with a little extra mid-shade to give better highlights.
My recent visit to the battle fields of the Somme (full report to follow soon) has given these figures a particularly special meaning. So on the 90th anniversary of the guns falling silent ... please wear your poppy with pride.
Lest we forget.
(click for a larger image)
An NCO and 3 privates
(click for a larger image)
NCO and private.
(click for a larger image)
Rear view
(click for a larger image)
Steady lads!
(click for a larger image)
Wait for it!
I've really enjoyed painting these fellows! It has made a nice change from Romans and Celts plus I've been able to use a rather different colour palette which proved quite a challenge at first.
All of the figures were painted from a black undercoat. For the uniforms two had a base coat of Foundry Drab Shade, the other two had GW Charadon Granite, highlighted with Drab Mid and Khemri brown respectively. The webbing is GW Kommando Kahki with GW Bleached Bone highlights. One of the figures has a leather 'surcoat' which I painted GW Vermin Brown, with GW Vermin Brown and Desert Yellow mix highlights. The puttees were the same as the uniform colour with a little extra mid-shade to give better highlights.
My recent visit to the battle fields of the Somme (full report to follow soon) has given these figures a particularly special meaning. So on the 90th anniversary of the guns falling silent ... please wear your poppy with pride.
Lest we forget.
Warlord Celts
I've been thinking about dipping figures for ages, so I thought that I really ought to purchase a tin of the stuff and give it a whirl ... here's the results ... hope you like 'em ... 'cause I do!
(click for a larger image)
Four Warlord Games Celts, replete with LBMS shield transfers, based in my usual style.
(click for a larger image)
From the right.
(click for a larger image)
Another view.
These chaps have been something of an experiment to say the least. This is my first attempt at 'dipping' and the results are quite satisfying. Here's the recipe ...
White undercoat. Then, base coat of colours - for the green and the red/brown I diluted the paint quite a bit to see if I could achieve some extra shading for free - it's worked well with the green (GW Camo Green), but less so for the red/brown. All of the colours are single coats, even the GW Chainmail for the weapons and armour. I decided that since 'dipping' is meant to be the quick way to paint figures then I should aim for optimum speed. Each figure took about 20 mins at most. Then the dip was brushed on - since this is supposed to be more economical. The dip made them look awful and far too shiny - but I had read that this would be the case and waited until applying the matt varnish before deciding whether to throw away the fiures!?
The varnish (Testors Dulcote - banned in the EU? - but other similar products are available) works wonders and I was really pleased with my efforts - especially since they were painted so quickly.
The addition of the shield transfers, plus basing them properly, made a tremendous difference. However, I have already thought of a few ways to improve things, without too much effort.
First, armour and weapons should be painted black and dry-drushed with chainmail. This will give a much better result. Second - the skin (Foundry Base Sand Highlight for these figures) would look even better with a simple highlight. I had to use the Foundry Sand colour as I have no GW flesh tones, only Foundry paints. Finally - other colours might also benefit from some very quick highlighting.
I avoided any Celtic woven patterns or tatoos as I wanted to see what the basic dipping effect would look like. Clearly, it's not as good as applying the full 3-colour technique but it's so much faster! The en-masse effect of 100-200 Celts painted in this style will outweigh the individual painting style and give a great looking army.
If you've never tried dipping then I'd heartily reccomend giving it a whirl ... you won't win any prizes but you will almost certainly end up with a decent looking army. If you love painting figures then it will be great for those groups of figures that you just want to get painted up quickly so you can play, whilst if you'd prefer to avoid painting (and do not wish to sell organs to pay for a painting service) and get on with gaming then dipping is the way to go.
Enjoy.
(click for a larger image)
Four Warlord Games Celts, replete with LBMS shield transfers, based in my usual style.
(click for a larger image)
From the right.
(click for a larger image)
Another view.
These chaps have been something of an experiment to say the least. This is my first attempt at 'dipping' and the results are quite satisfying. Here's the recipe ...
White undercoat. Then, base coat of colours - for the green and the red/brown I diluted the paint quite a bit to see if I could achieve some extra shading for free - it's worked well with the green (GW Camo Green), but less so for the red/brown. All of the colours are single coats, even the GW Chainmail for the weapons and armour. I decided that since 'dipping' is meant to be the quick way to paint figures then I should aim for optimum speed. Each figure took about 20 mins at most. Then the dip was brushed on - since this is supposed to be more economical. The dip made them look awful and far too shiny - but I had read that this would be the case and waited until applying the matt varnish before deciding whether to throw away the fiures!?
The varnish (Testors Dulcote - banned in the EU? - but other similar products are available) works wonders and I was really pleased with my efforts - especially since they were painted so quickly.
The addition of the shield transfers, plus basing them properly, made a tremendous difference. However, I have already thought of a few ways to improve things, without too much effort.
First, armour and weapons should be painted black and dry-drushed with chainmail. This will give a much better result. Second - the skin (Foundry Base Sand Highlight for these figures) would look even better with a simple highlight. I had to use the Foundry Sand colour as I have no GW flesh tones, only Foundry paints. Finally - other colours might also benefit from some very quick highlighting.
I avoided any Celtic woven patterns or tatoos as I wanted to see what the basic dipping effect would look like. Clearly, it's not as good as applying the full 3-colour technique but it's so much faster! The en-masse effect of 100-200 Celts painted in this style will outweigh the individual painting style and give a great looking army.
If you've never tried dipping then I'd heartily reccomend giving it a whirl ... you won't win any prizes but you will almost certainly end up with a decent looking army. If you love painting figures then it will be great for those groups of figures that you just want to get painted up quickly so you can play, whilst if you'd prefer to avoid painting (and do not wish to sell organs to pay for a painting service) and get on with gaming then dipping is the way to go.
Enjoy.
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Pictures at last!
Thought it was about time I posted a few photos of the models I've been painting as part of The Big Push. Some of them are still work in progress photos but with the nights drawing in I probably will not get a chance to take pictures until next weekend.
Here's the Late War BEF that I'm currently working on. An NCO and 3 Privates.
(click for a larger image)
A close up of the NCO and a Private. I'll post up more pics of them when they're completed along with some notes of the paints used, etc.
(click for a larger image)
Here's some of the EIR, still awaiting bases and shields :-)
(click for a larger image)
A British Celt warhound packmaster and his four legged friends.
(click for a larger image)
The WW1 figures are Great War Miniatures. The Romans and Celt are Black Tree Designs. The warhounds are from Gripping Beast.
Here's the Late War BEF that I'm currently working on. An NCO and 3 Privates.
(click for a larger image)
A close up of the NCO and a Private. I'll post up more pics of them when they're completed along with some notes of the paints used, etc.
(click for a larger image)
Here's some of the EIR, still awaiting bases and shields :-)
(click for a larger image)
A British Celt warhound packmaster and his four legged friends.
(click for a larger image)
The WW1 figures are Great War Miniatures. The Romans and Celt are Black Tree Designs. The warhounds are from Gripping Beast.
Friday, 17 October 2008
Day 17
Well, it might be "day 17" but there's been a good bit of progress. Finished 7 EIR and a Celt last night! When I say finished they still need basing, plus shields, but the painting is done. The shield transfers are on their way from LBMS.
The other good thing is that I really seem to have got back in to painting models again. I've really enjoyed this recent batch of figures and am quite pleased with the results. Once the shields and bases are done that will give me about 800pts of EIR and Auxiliaries. I really must try to get some pictures posted!
Not sure what I'll paint next ... might get a few BEF done, but then again I'm quite keen to push on to complete 1,000pts of EIR.
Happy Painting.
The other good thing is that I really seem to have got back in to painting models again. I've really enjoyed this recent batch of figures and am quite pleased with the results. Once the shields and bases are done that will give me about 800pts of EIR and Auxiliaries. I really must try to get some pictures posted!
Not sure what I'll paint next ... might get a few BEF done, but then again I'm quite keen to push on to complete 1,000pts of EIR.
Happy Painting.
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Wargaming in 2009?
Ok ... the Big Push has stumbled a bit in the last few days but this has mainly been due to the fact that our local library finally got hold of the BBC's Spooks series 6. We missed this series as we were living in NZ when it was screened in the UK. Library rules only allow you to hire DVDs for a week, so 10 episodes in 7 nights ... no problem ... and next to no painting either. To be fair the shows were absolutely excellent, top notch entertainment, so the lack of painting is no problem for me. Can't wait for series 7, which is due to be screened in Oct/Nov. Brilliant!!!
Anyway, from looking at other blogs it seems the vogue now to consider what's on the wargaming agenda for 2009, even though it's only mid-October, so here's my current thoughts...
Romans
Aim to get a 1,500pt army completed as soon as possible. If Wargames Factory bring out their EIR range, and if they are good, then the target may become 2000pts.
Celts
A 1,000pt starter army would be fine. A mix of Warlord and Wargames Factory models, with a few BTD thrown in for good measure. Also, I’ll probably dip these figures since I just want a reasonable looking army to play smaller games of WAB with.
The Great War
I’m really hooked on these rules even though I’ve never played a game. The figures are brilliant, either from Great War Miniatures or Renegade. The history is truly fascinating too, and quite moving at times. The wealth of information available about World War One makes the history quite accessible. Additionally, we’re planning a visit to the Somme later this month so that’s bound to boost my enthusiasm further. This conflict absolutely changed the face of warfare. It brought about a truly staggering amount of technological innovation, along with strategic and tactical progress. It's definitely not just about the trenches of the Western Front. Well worth reading about.
Napoleonics
I’ve been interested in Naps since the mid 90’s and even purchased a army deal (from Foundry – ouch!), only to sell it a year later because nothing had been painted. My friend Jimbo is a very keen Naps enthusiast too. So we’re both quite interested in the forthcoming Victrix range which would make big battalion games quite affordable. The real bug bear here is the painting … both Jimbo and I struggle with Napoleonic figures so our ‘new’ plan is to try out dipping. We realize that the individual figure quality will not be great but it’s the only way we’ll get 100’s of very similarly uniformed troops on the table before we reach retirement. Hopefully the dipping process will give the troops a good ‘campaign’ look rather than a bunch of parade ground dandies.
Scenery
Naturally, all these games, figures, etc will inspire me to produce more scenery. The EIR and Celts will require Roman style buildings and fortifications, along with thatched roundhouse farmsteads, etc. The Great War will need quite a bit of specialist scenery which I’m really looking forward to building. As for the Napoleonics, I will no doubt require a few more Peninsular style buildings. Add to all this things like scenic movement trays, counters for things like ‘stubborn’, etc. I know that many companies make good scenery but the cost (and my limited budget) mean that I'll have to make most things from scratch using cheap materials.
Should keep me busy eh?
Cheerio!
Anyway, from looking at other blogs it seems the vogue now to consider what's on the wargaming agenda for 2009, even though it's only mid-October, so here's my current thoughts...
Romans
Aim to get a 1,500pt army completed as soon as possible. If Wargames Factory bring out their EIR range, and if they are good, then the target may become 2000pts.
Celts
A 1,000pt starter army would be fine. A mix of Warlord and Wargames Factory models, with a few BTD thrown in for good measure. Also, I’ll probably dip these figures since I just want a reasonable looking army to play smaller games of WAB with.
The Great War
I’m really hooked on these rules even though I’ve never played a game. The figures are brilliant, either from Great War Miniatures or Renegade. The history is truly fascinating too, and quite moving at times. The wealth of information available about World War One makes the history quite accessible. Additionally, we’re planning a visit to the Somme later this month so that’s bound to boost my enthusiasm further. This conflict absolutely changed the face of warfare. It brought about a truly staggering amount of technological innovation, along with strategic and tactical progress. It's definitely not just about the trenches of the Western Front. Well worth reading about.
Napoleonics
I’ve been interested in Naps since the mid 90’s and even purchased a army deal (from Foundry – ouch!), only to sell it a year later because nothing had been painted. My friend Jimbo is a very keen Naps enthusiast too. So we’re both quite interested in the forthcoming Victrix range which would make big battalion games quite affordable. The real bug bear here is the painting … both Jimbo and I struggle with Napoleonic figures so our ‘new’ plan is to try out dipping. We realize that the individual figure quality will not be great but it’s the only way we’ll get 100’s of very similarly uniformed troops on the table before we reach retirement. Hopefully the dipping process will give the troops a good ‘campaign’ look rather than a bunch of parade ground dandies.
Scenery
Naturally, all these games, figures, etc will inspire me to produce more scenery. The EIR and Celts will require Roman style buildings and fortifications, along with thatched roundhouse farmsteads, etc. The Great War will need quite a bit of specialist scenery which I’m really looking forward to building. As for the Napoleonics, I will no doubt require a few more Peninsular style buildings. Add to all this things like scenic movement trays, counters for things like ‘stubborn’, etc. I know that many companies make good scenery but the cost (and my limited budget) mean that I'll have to make most things from scratch using cheap materials.
Should keep me busy eh?
Cheerio!
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Retreat!
Let's call it a tactical withdrawal eh?
The attack began well with some good initial gains, mainly with black paint for tidying edges, etc. But then the economic crisis took priority and the finance committee called an impromptu meeting to discuss important real-world things like investments, pensions, etc. We usually do this sort of thing every few months but the current situation demands closer attention I'm told, hence we've been checking things weekly. I suggested opening an account with www.mattress-bank.com but that was outvoted.
So I'm afraid very little painting ensued.
On a brighter note - those splendid chaps on the WAB forum have got some good suggestions for those struggling to find the motivation to paint. Have a look here. (That means you too Jimbo!?)
Sound the rally and let's give the Hun a jolly good thrashing eh what!?
The attack began well with some good initial gains, mainly with black paint for tidying edges, etc. But then the economic crisis took priority and the finance committee called an impromptu meeting to discuss important real-world things like investments, pensions, etc. We usually do this sort of thing every few months but the current situation demands closer attention I'm told, hence we've been checking things weekly. I suggested opening an account with www.mattress-bank.com but that was outvoted.
So I'm afraid very little painting ensued.
On a brighter note - those splendid chaps on the WAB forum have got some good suggestions for those struggling to find the motivation to paint. Have a look here. (That means you too Jimbo!?)
Sound the rally and let's give the Hun a jolly good thrashing eh what!?
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Stalled!
Alas, days 5 and 6 of the campaign (Sunday and Monday) have seen very little progress. The reasons are many and varied and if listed will probably look like a list of excuses. To be fair Mondays are not a good day for painting toys due to other more important committments.
Day 7 has started with dreadful weather but that's hardly dampened the morale of the men. Plan for tonight is to get the EIR tunics done and tidy the edges with a bit of black. I try to paint as neatly as possible but inevitably I have to do some tidying. I think it makes quite a difference and helps to properly delineate the areas of the model. I'm having second thoughts about trying to paint 8 models at once. I normally only work on 4 at a time.
My new PC will not prove to be a distraction for a while as the first one is going back to Mr Dell as the case is cracked. A new one will be delivered in about 2 weeks - plenty of time to get the latest batch of figures complete. Their customer service has been excellent so far.
Tally-ho!
Day 7 has started with dreadful weather but that's hardly dampened the morale of the men. Plan for tonight is to get the EIR tunics done and tidy the edges with a bit of black. I try to paint as neatly as possible but inevitably I have to do some tidying. I think it makes quite a difference and helps to properly delineate the areas of the model. I'm having second thoughts about trying to paint 8 models at once. I normally only work on 4 at a time.
My new PC will not prove to be a distraction for a while as the first one is going back to Mr Dell as the case is cracked. A new one will be delivered in about 2 weeks - plenty of time to get the latest batch of figures complete. Their customer service has been excellent so far.
Tally-ho!
Saturday, 4 October 2008
The Advance Slows
Decidedly slower progress in the last day or two I'm afraid ...
Day 3 saw the troops discover an enemy supply dump stocked with large quantities of Cider. Whilst much fun was had by all it certainly slowed things up a bit
Day 4 started with some small gains but during the evening the troops were distracted by a troupe of exotic dancers (BBC1's "Strictly Come Dancing" to be precise) so things ground to halt.
New orders from HQ should see the advance back on track for day 5.
Bravo!
Day 3 saw the troops discover an enemy supply dump stocked with large quantities of Cider. Whilst much fun was had by all it certainly slowed things up a bit
Day 4 started with some small gains but during the evening the troops were distracted by a troupe of exotic dancers (BBC1's "Strictly Come Dancing" to be precise) so things ground to halt.
New orders from HQ should see the advance back on track for day 5.
Bravo!
Thursday, 2 October 2008
The Opening Round
The Big Push has got off to a good start. At 7:30pm on Oct 1st the Royal Artillery ceased fire, trench ladders were readied and the whistle was blown. Our brave hero scrambled over the top and immediately engaged ... a small group of Romans and a Celt.
Had a good session last night. I'm working on 7 Early Imperial Romans (EIR) and a Celt. The EIR will finish off my first cohort of 15 figures, whilst the Celt will become the second pack master leading a group of warhounds. The armour is complete, the caligae (sandals) painted and the base coat of the skin colour is finished.
No pics though as indoor lighting is not suited to miniature photography. If the weather if fine at the weekend (forecast is heavy rain) then I'll try to take a few pics.
Just need to sustain the momentum now!
Had a good session last night. I'm working on 7 Early Imperial Romans (EIR) and a Celt. The EIR will finish off my first cohort of 15 figures, whilst the Celt will become the second pack master leading a group of warhounds. The armour is complete, the caligae (sandals) painted and the base coat of the skin colour is finished.
No pics though as indoor lighting is not suited to miniature photography. If the weather if fine at the weekend (forecast is heavy rain) then I'll try to take a few pics.
Just need to sustain the momentum now!
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
The Big Push
It's been quite a while since my last post and the reason is that it's been ages since I did anything interesting in terms of gaming. Moving house, new job, etc does rather get in the way of gaming!
However, my brushes have been idle too long! I have decided to start October with "The Big Push" to get some models painted. Why call it the big push? Well, we have a 3 day visit to the Somme planned for the end of the month so somehow the name seemed appropriate. This doesn't mean I'll be painting some of my very modest collection of WW1 models. Instead, I plan to make some good progress with my EIR and Celts. I only need to complete a handful of figures (mainly Legion) to get 500pts ready and only a few more Legionaries and Celts to have nearer 1,000pts completed.
I aim to report progress here every few days. Wish me luck!
Cheers
Matt
However, my brushes have been idle too long! I have decided to start October with "The Big Push" to get some models painted. Why call it the big push? Well, we have a 3 day visit to the Somme planned for the end of the month so somehow the name seemed appropriate. This doesn't mean I'll be painting some of my very modest collection of WW1 models. Instead, I plan to make some good progress with my EIR and Celts. I only need to complete a handful of figures (mainly Legion) to get 500pts ready and only a few more Legionaries and Celts to have nearer 1,000pts completed.
I aim to report progress here every few days. Wish me luck!
Cheers
Matt
Friday, 1 August 2008
New WAB Books
With painting being a slightly awkward activity here at the in-laws (it makes for too much clutter!) I decided that I needed something else to do in the evenings so I've purchased a few new WAB books. I've only had a quick browse through each but first impressions are very good.
First up is Fall of the West (or FotW as they say on the WAB forum). Given my interest in all things Roman, this purchase was a must. It covers the last 150 years or so of the Western Roman Empire, approx 325AD to 476AD. I'm really impressed with it - especially as it was one of the earlier WAB supplements. It's already got me thinking about a Late Roman Army... and Goths, Vandals, Saxons, etc!
(click the image to link to Warhammer Historical)
Next we have Siege & Conquest. This is a brilliant supplement since it doesn't just focus on sieges but on games that might lead up to sieges along with rules for fighting battles in and around towns/villages. Plenty of scenarios and game ideas here. It covers ancient through to late medieval siege warfare.
(click the image to link to Warhammer Historical)
Last, but most certainly not least, is Age of Arthur. This supplement, covering 5th - 8th century Britain is probably one of the best around. Lots of background info to go with the army lists, inspirational photos and lots of interesting scenarios. The feedback on the WAB forum about AoA has been great so I'm really looking forward to finding out more about this exciting and turbulent period of British history.
(click the image to link to Warhammer Historical)
First up is Fall of the West (or FotW as they say on the WAB forum). Given my interest in all things Roman, this purchase was a must. It covers the last 150 years or so of the Western Roman Empire, approx 325AD to 476AD. I'm really impressed with it - especially as it was one of the earlier WAB supplements. It's already got me thinking about a Late Roman Army... and Goths, Vandals, Saxons, etc!
(click the image to link to Warhammer Historical)
Next we have Siege & Conquest. This is a brilliant supplement since it doesn't just focus on sieges but on games that might lead up to sieges along with rules for fighting battles in and around towns/villages. Plenty of scenarios and game ideas here. It covers ancient through to late medieval siege warfare.
(click the image to link to Warhammer Historical)
Last, but most certainly not least, is Age of Arthur. This supplement, covering 5th - 8th century Britain is probably one of the best around. Lots of background info to go with the army lists, inspirational photos and lots of interesting scenarios. The feedback on the WAB forum about AoA has been great so I'm really looking forward to finding out more about this exciting and turbulent period of British history.
(click the image to link to Warhammer Historical)
Monday, 21 July 2008
Painted EIR ... almost
Just like buses isn't it? You wait for weeks the two posts come along one after the other!
Apologies once again for the lack of recent posting. Real world activities like job hunting, finding a house, living with the in laws, etc, have rather got in the way of gaming and painting. Still, things slowly seem to be working out ... I hope.
Anyway, here's my latest efforts with some Early Imperial Roman legionaries, figures from Black Tree Design. Given that I've not painted much recently and that any painting takes place in an air of polite disapproval (from the mother-in-law, bless her), I don't think they're too bad.
(click for a larger image)
Typically they have yet to pick up their shields from the quartermaster. ;-) I really must get some done.
Starting from a GW Black undercoat the paint scheme is as follows.
Armour - GW Chainmail, GW Black Ink wash, GW Chainmail highlight, GW Mithril Silver on the edges.
Flesh - Foundry Flesh Shade/Mid/Light
Tunic - Foundry Madder Red Shade/Mid/Light
The tunics caused me some angst as I felt the red I had used for Auxilia was a bit too red for the Legion. Initially I used only Madder Red but found this a little too flat (see figure on the left) so I tried adding yet another highlight with Foundry Bright Red Mid. Yes, a four colour scheme, madness I know!
Sandals - GW Vermin Brown, GW Brown Ink wash, GW Vermin Brown
Leather Straps - mostly Foundry Deep Brown Leather Shade/Mid/Light
Pila shaft - Foundry Spearshaft Shade with highlights in Spearshaft Light (thanks to GuitarHeroAndy for that tip)
Bronze - GW Tin Bitz, GW Shining Gold - not ideal but fine for small areas.
Happy Gaming!
Apologies once again for the lack of recent posting. Real world activities like job hunting, finding a house, living with the in laws, etc, have rather got in the way of gaming and painting. Still, things slowly seem to be working out ... I hope.
Anyway, here's my latest efforts with some Early Imperial Roman legionaries, figures from Black Tree Design. Given that I've not painted much recently and that any painting takes place in an air of polite disapproval (from the mother-in-law, bless her), I don't think they're too bad.
(click for a larger image)
Typically they have yet to pick up their shields from the quartermaster. ;-) I really must get some done.
Starting from a GW Black undercoat the paint scheme is as follows.
Armour - GW Chainmail, GW Black Ink wash, GW Chainmail highlight, GW Mithril Silver on the edges.
Flesh - Foundry Flesh Shade/Mid/Light
Tunic - Foundry Madder Red Shade/Mid/Light
The tunics caused me some angst as I felt the red I had used for Auxilia was a bit too red for the Legion. Initially I used only Madder Red but found this a little too flat (see figure on the left) so I tried adding yet another highlight with Foundry Bright Red Mid. Yes, a four colour scheme, madness I know!
Sandals - GW Vermin Brown, GW Brown Ink wash, GW Vermin Brown
Leather Straps - mostly Foundry Deep Brown Leather Shade/Mid/Light
Pila shaft - Foundry Spearshaft Shade with highlights in Spearshaft Light (thanks to GuitarHeroAndy for that tip)
Bronze - GW Tin Bitz, GW Shining Gold - not ideal but fine for small areas.
Happy Gaming!
Figure Comparison for some EIR & Celts
Here's a picture of various EIR and Celt figures compared side by side. Thought some of you might find it useful, or even just interesting.
(click for a larger image)
From left to right the EIR designed by, Imago Militis (North Star Figures), Warlord Games, Gripping Beast, Black Tree Design. The sword waving Celt is BTD and on the far right is a GB Celt.
Measuring from foot to eye gives
Imago Militis 25mm
Warlord Games 25mm
Gripping Beast 27mm
Black Tree Design 28mm.
BTD Celt 28mm
GB Celt 26mm
The Warlord Games Celts (not pictured) are a fraction taller than the Romans and great fun to build.
Better post this on the WAB forum too eh?
(click for a larger image)
From left to right the EIR designed by, Imago Militis (North Star Figures), Warlord Games, Gripping Beast, Black Tree Design. The sword waving Celt is BTD and on the far right is a GB Celt.
Measuring from foot to eye gives
Imago Militis 25mm
Warlord Games 25mm
Gripping Beast 27mm
Black Tree Design 28mm.
BTD Celt 28mm
GB Celt 26mm
The Warlord Games Celts (not pictured) are a fraction taller than the Romans and great fun to build.
Better post this on the WAB forum too eh?
Saturday, 7 June 2008
First WW1 Miniatures
Hello!
Apologies for the lack of posting activity recently. We've just moved around the world back to Blighty and I'm rather busy looking for a new job.
Anyway, ordered a few figures from the excellent Great War Miniatures range, available through North Star Figures (click the pictures below for a link to their site). Just 2 packs of British to begin with, first is a group of Officers and NCO's.
The other pack is a group of British soldiers skirmishing.
Opted for the late war era as this will allow for a wider range of troops and equipment, e.g. tanks and planes, in addition to the infantry. Ordered some Boch too but they're out of stock for the moment.
The figures are very crisply cast with excellent detail. The poses are great too; very characterful. I'm really looking forward to painting a few very soon. I'll post pics - if they come out ok.
Found some useful reference sites/blogs too.
http://www.1914-1918.net/index.htm
http://www.sutlers.co.uk/acatalog/WORLD_WAR_1.html
Cheerio
Apologies for the lack of posting activity recently. We've just moved around the world back to Blighty and I'm rather busy looking for a new job.
Anyway, ordered a few figures from the excellent Great War Miniatures range, available through North Star Figures (click the pictures below for a link to their site). Just 2 packs of British to begin with, first is a group of Officers and NCO's.
The other pack is a group of British soldiers skirmishing.
Opted for the late war era as this will allow for a wider range of troops and equipment, e.g. tanks and planes, in addition to the infantry. Ordered some Boch too but they're out of stock for the moment.
The figures are very crisply cast with excellent detail. The poses are great too; very characterful. I'm really looking forward to painting a few very soon. I'll post pics - if they come out ok.
Found some useful reference sites/blogs too.
http://www.1914-1918.net/index.htm
http://www.sutlers.co.uk/acatalog/WORLD_WAR_1.html
Cheerio
Monday, 26 May 2008
World War One
Now look what Warhammer Historical have produced!
(click on the image for more information)
For suitable models have a look at the new venture from GW-ers, Aly Morrison and Dave Andrews, Great War Miniatures. This site is worth a look just for the amazing scenery and gallery!
greatwarminiatures.com
Nice models can also be sourced from Renegade Miniatures.
www.renegademiniatures.com/
I've been interested in World War One since the mid 90's but had never given much thought to gaming it. Initially this was because we mostly played WFB, but in more recent (and more historically aligned) years I've been busy with other things. This new book from Warhammer Historical has really inspired me to collect some figures and may be play the occasional game. This will of course be allied with a whole lot more research in to the events of 1914-1918.
I have ordered the book (post free) from Wargames Foundry, along with some more of their excellent paints that will allow me to paint up some British and Germans. Haven't ordered any figures yet though. This is because I haven't quite decided whether to play 'early war' i.e. the so called war of movement in August and September 1914, principally the battles of Mons and the Marne; or to go for 'late war' and play some of the more dynamic breakthroughs of 1917-18.
Does this mean that my Roman and Celt aspirations have been shelved? No not at all. I intend to work on both. The Great War can be played with as few as 20 or so figures per side, so I do not need to paint many to get playing. Then I'll add models just for the enjoyment of painting something other than ancients.
(click on the image for more information)
For suitable models have a look at the new venture from GW-ers, Aly Morrison and Dave Andrews, Great War Miniatures. This site is worth a look just for the amazing scenery and gallery!
greatwarminiatures.com
Nice models can also be sourced from Renegade Miniatures.
www.renegademiniatures.com/
I've been interested in World War One since the mid 90's but had never given much thought to gaming it. Initially this was because we mostly played WFB, but in more recent (and more historically aligned) years I've been busy with other things. This new book from Warhammer Historical has really inspired me to collect some figures and may be play the occasional game. This will of course be allied with a whole lot more research in to the events of 1914-1918.
I have ordered the book (post free) from Wargames Foundry, along with some more of their excellent paints that will allow me to paint up some British and Germans. Haven't ordered any figures yet though. This is because I haven't quite decided whether to play 'early war' i.e. the so called war of movement in August and September 1914, principally the battles of Mons and the Marne; or to go for 'late war' and play some of the more dynamic breakthroughs of 1917-18.
Does this mean that my Roman and Celt aspirations have been shelved? No not at all. I intend to work on both. The Great War can be played with as few as 20 or so figures per side, so I do not need to paint many to get playing. Then I'll add models just for the enjoyment of painting something other than ancients.
More 1/72nd Plastic Napoleonics
I'm pleased to say that Rich and James have been jolly busy with their new hobby.
Here's the army so far.
(click for larger image)
Coming along really well aren't they!? Just need a few British and they'll be able to play their first skirmish.
Here's the army so far.
(click for larger image)
Coming along really well aren't they!? Just need a few British and they'll be able to play their first skirmish.
Monday, 19 May 2008
Teaching friends to paint Napoleonic plastics
My good friend Rich and his son James were interested in learning to paint toy soldiers and I was only only too happy to help out. James got a box of Italieri 1/72nd scale French Napoleonic Infantry for his birthday. These soft plastic figures are surprisingly detailed and generally very well moulded. Only a small amount of flash had to be removed before they were washed in warm soapy water, thoroughly dried and then undercoated using GW white spray.
Now, bear in mind that neither Rich nor James have ever painted model soldiers before, so I think you'll be very impressed with their efforts, I certainly am!
I decided that painting an example figure for them would be good way to start, rather than trying to describe "this bit is blue" and "that bit is red", etc. For the example I kept the scheme simple and neat, using only base colours. At 1/72nd scale this would look fine. All paints were GW as these are readily available here in NZ. It took me about 30 mins to paint the first figure and I must say that it was quite enjoyable. These figures paint up well and en-masse would look ace.
Anyway, enough waffle... Here's Rich's model. First ever painted model. Told you you'd be impressed.
Here's James' first model. Good or what! Especially when you consider that he's only 9.
They both took great care with their painting; their faces were a picture too, both pulling the same expression ... no doubting they are father and son. Brilliant.
Here's the group, with my example in the centre.
They both really enjoyed the painting so I've given them a bunch of paints, brushes, etc so as to get them off to a flyer. I certainly enjoyed passing on a few of my painting tips. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of their efforts.
Welcome to the absolutely brilliant world of model soldiers!
Now, bear in mind that neither Rich nor James have ever painted model soldiers before, so I think you'll be very impressed with their efforts, I certainly am!
I decided that painting an example figure for them would be good way to start, rather than trying to describe "this bit is blue" and "that bit is red", etc. For the example I kept the scheme simple and neat, using only base colours. At 1/72nd scale this would look fine. All paints were GW as these are readily available here in NZ. It took me about 30 mins to paint the first figure and I must say that it was quite enjoyable. These figures paint up well and en-masse would look ace.
Anyway, enough waffle... Here's Rich's model. First ever painted model. Told you you'd be impressed.
Here's James' first model. Good or what! Especially when you consider that he's only 9.
They both took great care with their painting; their faces were a picture too, both pulling the same expression ... no doubting they are father and son. Brilliant.
Here's the group, with my example in the centre.
They both really enjoyed the painting so I've given them a bunch of paints, brushes, etc so as to get them off to a flyer. I certainly enjoyed passing on a few of my painting tips. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of their efforts.
Welcome to the absolutely brilliant world of model soldiers!
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
New EIR range from North Star
Have a look at these.
(picture from the North Star website - no infringement of copyright intended)
More at
http://www.northstarfigures.com/shop/imagomilitis/index.html
Looks promising eh!? All this fuss about Warlord and WGF plastics, but I can't help but like metal dollies. Plus, having looked at the pics posted on the WAB forum comparing Warlord with Foundry and GB, the Warlord EIR will be too small to stand alongside my BTD figures. Hopefully these fellows will be 28mm foot to eye.
Why would I not buy more BTD Legion ... ? Well, the BTD Aux figures are great with crisp detail and good pose, etc. But the Legion are just not quite as good. Maybe the moulds need updating but the detail is not as ... detailed! On the table they'll look ok but up close (i.e. when painting) it's noticeable.
Anyway, take a look at North Star's range and see what you think. They also go very nicely with the excellent LBM transfers. I'll be (politely) asking for a sample once I'm back in the UK.
Strength & Honour.
(picture from the North Star website - no infringement of copyright intended)
More at
http://www.northstarfigures.com/shop/imagomilitis/index.html
Looks promising eh!? All this fuss about Warlord and WGF plastics, but I can't help but like metal dollies. Plus, having looked at the pics posted on the WAB forum comparing Warlord with Foundry and GB, the Warlord EIR will be too small to stand alongside my BTD figures. Hopefully these fellows will be 28mm foot to eye.
Why would I not buy more BTD Legion ... ? Well, the BTD Aux figures are great with crisp detail and good pose, etc. But the Legion are just not quite as good. Maybe the moulds need updating but the detail is not as ... detailed! On the table they'll look ok but up close (i.e. when painting) it's noticeable.
Anyway, take a look at North Star's range and see what you think. They also go very nicely with the excellent LBM transfers. I'll be (politely) asking for a sample once I'm back in the UK.
Strength & Honour.
Monday, 5 May 2008
WAB - EIR vs AoA Romano-British
My last game of toy soldiers at the Christchurch Wargaming Club was to be a game of WAB, pitting my Early Imperial Romans against Dave's Age of Arthur Romano-British, organised and GM-ed by Darren.
My army was pretty much everything I had plus some barbarian cavalry and skirmishers using figures loaned from Darren's AoA Early Saxon army. Dave's army was huge and included several large units of skirmishers. I wasn't too bothered by the numbers since I assumed that with the exception of the Mounted Commanipulares, the rest would be mostly poor quality troops. Hmmmm?
Clinton supplied some of his excellent terrain so the table looked great. Dave's army was painted by a painting service, so it looked great too. My army is only half painted but the painted bits looked ace.
The bulk of my army was deployed towards my right flank, as was Dave's army. He made it very clear that only his horde of skirmishers would go anywhere near my heavy infantry so I began to advance, wheeling the line as I went. I planned to use a combination of terrain, skirmishers and cavalry to guard the end of the wheeling flank.
Dave manoeuvred his skirmishing light cav (mounted Milites I think?) just a little too close to my skirmishers so in charged my 2 units of warhounds. Alas, I managed to roll a cluster of 1's and 2's, in return the cavalry slaughtered the dogs and the remaining few fled. The Milites huge pursuit roll positioned them nicely behind the wheeling line of legionary units whereupon the Milites proceeded to hurl lots of sharp pointy sticks with surprising accuracy.
Dave's big cavalry unit declared an optimistic charge against my own Auxiliary cavalry. However, the distance was too far and the charge faltered. Now, I had planned to use my Aux to delay and restrict his cavalry's movement rather than confront them directly, but this was too good an opportunity to miss! So I duly charged in with the cavalry. Oh dear, yet another bunch of 1's and 2's. So Dave's Romano-Brit Knight Commander General bod and his mounted Commanipulares chums made very short work of the Auxiliary Cavalry. The remaining five fled only to rally and be charged again. This time the Commanipulares left no survivors, in fact they didn't even get a chance to fight.
The very numerous skirmishing Romano-Brits (70-80 in total) proved to be deadly accurate with their javelins and slings, exacting an extraordinary toll on my heavy infantry. My own small units of skirmishers were soon brushed aside by their enemy counterparts.
When my infantry finally got to grips with Dave's units of Milites I (not unreasonably) expected my brave Legionaries to slaughter them. But no ... I proved yet again that just when you think you can't roll any more 1's and 2's ... you can ... lots of them. For example ... 2 units of 18 legion faced 1 unit of 25 Milites with thrusting spears. The first round score was Legion 1, Milites 5. Luckily the Roman's stubborn-ness kept them in the fight. I kept thinking "next turn". But when the next turn came the story was much the same. One unit of Legion fled (and was subsequently chased down by other milites, no they didn't manage to rally) the other unit stayed for one more turn before it lost another round of combat, fled and was trampled by some very surprised Milites.
The two units of Legion Light infantry did no better. One being massacred by skirmishing cavalry. The other (badly mauled by javelins) was slaughtered by another unit of Milites. Both combats saw even more 1's and 2's from the Romans.
In summary, I'm not sure I won a single round of combat. The only significant casualties for the Romano-Brits were a large unit (32 figures) of skirmishers and a few other figures from the main infantry units. The result was off the VP scale really. A total massacre. There's really not much you can do if the dice persistently roll against you.
Looking back at the game my initial thought was that I hadn't done too much wrong, apart from wasting the cavalry units - one by foolishly charging the Commanipulares, the other, a unit of allied Barbarian cav, by having it march from one flank to the other, then back again. But thinking more I realise that marching to attack en-masse was foolish. I should have sent the cav along one flank to attack just a part of his line, or to clear away the skirmishers at least. Then I should have manoeuvred my heavy infantry to engage his infantry on favourable terms, defeating his more numerous force a bit at a time.
However, it was an entertaining game, played with a strong sense of gentlemanly sportsmanship on both sides. That's what counts. It certainly raised gales of laughter at several points!
Lessons learned
- Make sure you can win the "skirmisher war" otherwise even well armoured units will suffer if subjected to sustained javelin/sling attack.
- Try to have a back-up plan for vital combats, even the best infantry can falter against poorly trained troops.
- Don't hurry to engage the enemy, if they won't advance then manoeuvre your forces to attack only a part of the enemy force.
- Include some long range firepower to force an opponent to move, rather than wait for you. (My bolt shooters are not built so I did not include them.)
- Use cavalry effectively rather than wasting them in futile combats or by marching them back and forth.
Happy WAB-ing.
My army was pretty much everything I had plus some barbarian cavalry and skirmishers using figures loaned from Darren's AoA Early Saxon army. Dave's army was huge and included several large units of skirmishers. I wasn't too bothered by the numbers since I assumed that with the exception of the Mounted Commanipulares, the rest would be mostly poor quality troops. Hmmmm?
Clinton supplied some of his excellent terrain so the table looked great. Dave's army was painted by a painting service, so it looked great too. My army is only half painted but the painted bits looked ace.
The bulk of my army was deployed towards my right flank, as was Dave's army. He made it very clear that only his horde of skirmishers would go anywhere near my heavy infantry so I began to advance, wheeling the line as I went. I planned to use a combination of terrain, skirmishers and cavalry to guard the end of the wheeling flank.
Dave manoeuvred his skirmishing light cav (mounted Milites I think?) just a little too close to my skirmishers so in charged my 2 units of warhounds. Alas, I managed to roll a cluster of 1's and 2's, in return the cavalry slaughtered the dogs and the remaining few fled. The Milites huge pursuit roll positioned them nicely behind the wheeling line of legionary units whereupon the Milites proceeded to hurl lots of sharp pointy sticks with surprising accuracy.
Dave's big cavalry unit declared an optimistic charge against my own Auxiliary cavalry. However, the distance was too far and the charge faltered. Now, I had planned to use my Aux to delay and restrict his cavalry's movement rather than confront them directly, but this was too good an opportunity to miss! So I duly charged in with the cavalry. Oh dear, yet another bunch of 1's and 2's. So Dave's Romano-Brit Knight Commander General bod and his mounted Commanipulares chums made very short work of the Auxiliary Cavalry. The remaining five fled only to rally and be charged again. This time the Commanipulares left no survivors, in fact they didn't even get a chance to fight.
The very numerous skirmishing Romano-Brits (70-80 in total) proved to be deadly accurate with their javelins and slings, exacting an extraordinary toll on my heavy infantry. My own small units of skirmishers were soon brushed aside by their enemy counterparts.
When my infantry finally got to grips with Dave's units of Milites I (not unreasonably) expected my brave Legionaries to slaughter them. But no ... I proved yet again that just when you think you can't roll any more 1's and 2's ... you can ... lots of them. For example ... 2 units of 18 legion faced 1 unit of 25 Milites with thrusting spears. The first round score was Legion 1, Milites 5. Luckily the Roman's stubborn-ness kept them in the fight. I kept thinking "next turn". But when the next turn came the story was much the same. One unit of Legion fled (and was subsequently chased down by other milites, no they didn't manage to rally) the other unit stayed for one more turn before it lost another round of combat, fled and was trampled by some very surprised Milites.
The two units of Legion Light infantry did no better. One being massacred by skirmishing cavalry. The other (badly mauled by javelins) was slaughtered by another unit of Milites. Both combats saw even more 1's and 2's from the Romans.
In summary, I'm not sure I won a single round of combat. The only significant casualties for the Romano-Brits were a large unit (32 figures) of skirmishers and a few other figures from the main infantry units. The result was off the VP scale really. A total massacre. There's really not much you can do if the dice persistently roll against you.
Looking back at the game my initial thought was that I hadn't done too much wrong, apart from wasting the cavalry units - one by foolishly charging the Commanipulares, the other, a unit of allied Barbarian cav, by having it march from one flank to the other, then back again. But thinking more I realise that marching to attack en-masse was foolish. I should have sent the cav along one flank to attack just a part of his line, or to clear away the skirmishers at least. Then I should have manoeuvred my heavy infantry to engage his infantry on favourable terms, defeating his more numerous force a bit at a time.
However, it was an entertaining game, played with a strong sense of gentlemanly sportsmanship on both sides. That's what counts. It certainly raised gales of laughter at several points!
Lessons learned
- Make sure you can win the "skirmisher war" otherwise even well armoured units will suffer if subjected to sustained javelin/sling attack.
- Try to have a back-up plan for vital combats, even the best infantry can falter against poorly trained troops.
- Don't hurry to engage the enemy, if they won't advance then manoeuvre your forces to attack only a part of the enemy force.
- Include some long range firepower to force an opponent to move, rather than wait for you. (My bolt shooters are not built so I did not include them.)
- Use cavalry effectively rather than wasting them in futile combats or by marching them back and forth.
Happy WAB-ing.
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
A Nice Surprise
Crumbs! I've won a box of miniatures playing the "Win the Field of Glory" game.
http://www.winthefieldofglory.com/
So here's what I chose
According to the boss at WGF they are 28mm foot to eye. Brilliant!
I suggest everyone gives the game a whirl.
Cheers!
http://www.winthefieldofglory.com/
So here's what I chose
According to the boss at WGF they are 28mm foot to eye. Brilliant!
I suggest everyone gives the game a whirl.
Cheers!
Sunday, 27 April 2008
Last of the Auxiliaries now painted!
The last unit of Auxiliaries are now painted, hurrah! Just for a change I painted most of the tunics in a white linen colour rather than the red of the other spear & shield armed unit. It's Wargames Foundry Boneyard shade/mid/light. The rest of the figures are painted as described earlier on this blog.
Here's a couple of shots.
(click for a larger picture)
(click for a larger picture)
As with the other unit they are shield-less. The shields are painted and ready for the LBM transfers - I'll have a big shield making session at some point.
All BTD figures, their 35% sale is about to end and if you sign up as a customer before the 30th then you get an extra £5 discount, good eh!? I've just ordered a few Celt villagers for use in skirmish games, a few more legionaries to top up the units and a Legate/Tribune/Aquilifer command pack. Anyway, the unit leader here is in fact a figure from the Legionary command group, but I wanted each unit to have a different leader.
Work has already started on the Legionaries!
Happy painting.
Here's a couple of shots.
(click for a larger picture)
(click for a larger picture)
As with the other unit they are shield-less. The shields are painted and ready for the LBM transfers - I'll have a big shield making session at some point.
All BTD figures, their 35% sale is about to end and if you sign up as a customer before the 30th then you get an extra £5 discount, good eh!? I've just ordered a few Celt villagers for use in skirmish games, a few more legionaries to top up the units and a Legate/Tribune/Aquilifer command pack. Anyway, the unit leader here is in fact a figure from the Legionary command group, but I wanted each unit to have a different leader.
Work has already started on the Legionaries!
Happy painting.
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Thoughts on "Blackpowder" from Warlord
Warlord games have released some notes about their forthcoming 1700-1900 era rules "Blackpowder".
Have a look at http://www.warlordgames.co.uk/?p=136
My initial reaction (before reading the article) was "Hooray!" since I'm planning to slowly build a decent Napoleonic French force to fight against Jimbo's redcoats. He's looked at number of rulesets but has not been inspired. To keep things simple we discussed the idea of using the Napoleonic variant of those well known Warhammer rules. Whilst I think that it would give a perfectly playable game, I'm not sure it would truly capture the 'feel' of the horse & musket era. In particular, the difficulties encountered by commanders trying to direct troops on a confusing, smoke shrouded battlefield, i.e. the fog of war. So ... seeing these rules advertised as being written for the horse & musket era and by such respected persona as Rick Priestley and Jervis Johnson, I was jolly excited!
However, my excitement was soon tempered by the article stating that the rules were tailored for their gaming environment, namely a large collection of figures and large tables. Units of 30 for infantry and 15 for cavalry. Hmmm? Our initial forces will be modest at best and the table will probably be the average 6'x4'.
Continued reading revealed that the rules (in part at least) owe something to the Warmaster set, particularly the movement rules. I've never played Warmaster but having read the rules I was impressed with them, e.g. the command and control aspect for moving units and/or brigades of units. This I felt was encouraging news!
Further on I note that casualties are not removed, instead units accrue markers to reflect their battle-worthiness. This idea I like because it means that all your hard work (painting and modelling) stays on the table for much of the game. Markers needn't be bits of paper, they can easily be nicely modelled mini-vignettes. Fun to paint and look great on the table.
Not much information about how shooting and combat work, but the morale system allows for units that have taken a pounding to become 'shaken' whereupon their fighting and shooting ability is reduced and their likelihood of running is increased. Additionally they cannot engage the enemy in combat. This all seems fairly sensible.
So my earlier worries about the possible necessary size of the game and units have been somewhat assuaged. Move distances can be scaled for all troops easily enough, as can unit sizes.
Additionally, the rules are not aimed at highly competitive play. Good I say! I prefer to play toy soldiers in a spirit of gentlemanly co-operation. Of course the rules still need to be worded well to avoid in-game confusion. But my view is that if people like Rick, Jervis, Dave Andrews, the Perry's play this game regularly and enjoy it then it has to be worth trying out.
So, will I buy the rules? Probably!? ;-)
Have a look at http://www.warlordgames.co.uk/?p=136
My initial reaction (before reading the article) was "Hooray!" since I'm planning to slowly build a decent Napoleonic French force to fight against Jimbo's redcoats. He's looked at number of rulesets but has not been inspired. To keep things simple we discussed the idea of using the Napoleonic variant of those well known Warhammer rules. Whilst I think that it would give a perfectly playable game, I'm not sure it would truly capture the 'feel' of the horse & musket era. In particular, the difficulties encountered by commanders trying to direct troops on a confusing, smoke shrouded battlefield, i.e. the fog of war. So ... seeing these rules advertised as being written for the horse & musket era and by such respected persona as Rick Priestley and Jervis Johnson, I was jolly excited!
However, my excitement was soon tempered by the article stating that the rules were tailored for their gaming environment, namely a large collection of figures and large tables. Units of 30 for infantry and 15 for cavalry. Hmmm? Our initial forces will be modest at best and the table will probably be the average 6'x4'.
Continued reading revealed that the rules (in part at least) owe something to the Warmaster set, particularly the movement rules. I've never played Warmaster but having read the rules I was impressed with them, e.g. the command and control aspect for moving units and/or brigades of units. This I felt was encouraging news!
Further on I note that casualties are not removed, instead units accrue markers to reflect their battle-worthiness. This idea I like because it means that all your hard work (painting and modelling) stays on the table for much of the game. Markers needn't be bits of paper, they can easily be nicely modelled mini-vignettes. Fun to paint and look great on the table.
Not much information about how shooting and combat work, but the morale system allows for units that have taken a pounding to become 'shaken' whereupon their fighting and shooting ability is reduced and their likelihood of running is increased. Additionally they cannot engage the enemy in combat. This all seems fairly sensible.
So my earlier worries about the possible necessary size of the game and units have been somewhat assuaged. Move distances can be scaled for all troops easily enough, as can unit sizes.
Additionally, the rules are not aimed at highly competitive play. Good I say! I prefer to play toy soldiers in a spirit of gentlemanly co-operation. Of course the rules still need to be worded well to avoid in-game confusion. But my view is that if people like Rick, Jervis, Dave Andrews, the Perry's play this game regularly and enjoy it then it has to be worth trying out.
So, will I buy the rules? Probably!? ;-)
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Wargame Factory Celts Preview
Here's a shot of the new Wargames Foundry Celts, the original may be found on their web site!
http://www.wargamesfactory.com/Workbench.htm
These are so good! Cannot wait until I can start building and painting some of these.
http://www.wargamesfactory.com/Workbench.htm
These are so good! Cannot wait until I can start building and painting some of these.
Monday, 7 April 2008
A Skirmish from the Peninsular War
I've been meaning to arrange a game of Napoleonic Skirmish with my good friend Rich for some time. Now that my peninsular style buildings are finally ready it was time to grab a musket and give the French a good thrashing.
The rules are based on the excellent GW Strategy Battle Game rules, which provide an exciting and dynamic skirmish game without the need for too many extraneous details or continuous reference to the rules. We played 3 games during the day, with Rich (the 'Colonel' as he's known) taking command of the British in all of the games.
The first was simply a clash of patrols with a small group of French stumbling upon some of the men of the South Essex light company resting in an abandoned farm house. This gave Rich a good introduction to the rules, which he picked up very quickly. The result was a decisive victory for Wellington's men.
The second game was more elaborate...
Major Ross is keen to establish cordial relations with the new local guerilla commander, known as 'El Carnichero' or 'The Butcher'. In order to gain their trust, Ross has ordered Sharpe to arrange a meeting to deliver valuable supplies and a generous payment in gold sovereigns. The guerillas have agreed to meet with the British at a remote farm 20 miles north of the fortress town of Badajoz. Sharpe and a few chosen men wait with El Carnichero whilst one of his men, Luis, goes with Lt Price to fetch the supplies. However, the French have their own spies in the hills too. They seize the opportunity to capture a prestigious British officer and a notorious guerilla leader before the rest of the small British force returns.
The French attacked directly towards the farm where Sharpe, his rifles and El Carnichero were waiting. Initially the advance went well as the farm's outbuildings and the light woods afforded the French excellent cover. However, as they reached the open courtyard the rifles proved deadly. As the French reached the farm Lt Price and Sgt Harper arrived with the reinforcements and wasted no time in getting stuck in. The battle became very close and was decided only after a one-on-one combat between Major Sharpe and Capitaine Dubreton of the 27th's Voltigeur Company. Sharpe's heavy cavalry sword proved no match for Dubreton's sabre and with their officer defeated the remaining French surrendered.
The third game was a rather impromptu affair using all the painted models on both sides. We agreed to fight to the last man. The British formed a barricade across the table using hedges, barrels, crates, etc. The French dshed across open ground to get to grips with their foe. Amazingly the rifles hardly hit anything until the French line reached the barricades when the green jackets spectacularly made up for several turns of dreadful shooting by cutting down a swathe through the French. Undeterred, the Emperor's finest carried on the attack and began to slaughter the British. The fighting was bloody and came down to two riflemen facing one voltigeur on the balcony of a small building. The voltigeur fought bravely but two determined riflemen were to have the best of it and quickly despatched the Frenchman.
So, three wins to the British and what fantastic games they were too. I thoroughly enjoyed myself as did Rich (along with his son James). I hope it inspires them to organise some games with their 20mm plastic figures. Speaking of which I really need to sort out some painting sessions to show them both how wield a brush.
Anyway, enough waffle. Here's a few pics from the day.
The British take up good firing positions as the French are sighted.
A close up.
Another view of the Spanish style buildings.
Note the ladder, it was used during the game to allow the riflemen to escape when the French took the downstairs area.
A shot of the whole table. The French begin their advance on the farm.
What splendid fun!
The figures are mostly Front Rank with a few Wargames Foundry. All painted using GW acrylics.
The rules are based on the excellent GW Strategy Battle Game rules, which provide an exciting and dynamic skirmish game without the need for too many extraneous details or continuous reference to the rules. We played 3 games during the day, with Rich (the 'Colonel' as he's known) taking command of the British in all of the games.
The first was simply a clash of patrols with a small group of French stumbling upon some of the men of the South Essex light company resting in an abandoned farm house. This gave Rich a good introduction to the rules, which he picked up very quickly. The result was a decisive victory for Wellington's men.
The second game was more elaborate...
Major Ross is keen to establish cordial relations with the new local guerilla commander, known as 'El Carnichero' or 'The Butcher'. In order to gain their trust, Ross has ordered Sharpe to arrange a meeting to deliver valuable supplies and a generous payment in gold sovereigns. The guerillas have agreed to meet with the British at a remote farm 20 miles north of the fortress town of Badajoz. Sharpe and a few chosen men wait with El Carnichero whilst one of his men, Luis, goes with Lt Price to fetch the supplies. However, the French have their own spies in the hills too. They seize the opportunity to capture a prestigious British officer and a notorious guerilla leader before the rest of the small British force returns.
The French attacked directly towards the farm where Sharpe, his rifles and El Carnichero were waiting. Initially the advance went well as the farm's outbuildings and the light woods afforded the French excellent cover. However, as they reached the open courtyard the rifles proved deadly. As the French reached the farm Lt Price and Sgt Harper arrived with the reinforcements and wasted no time in getting stuck in. The battle became very close and was decided only after a one-on-one combat between Major Sharpe and Capitaine Dubreton of the 27th's Voltigeur Company. Sharpe's heavy cavalry sword proved no match for Dubreton's sabre and with their officer defeated the remaining French surrendered.
The third game was a rather impromptu affair using all the painted models on both sides. We agreed to fight to the last man. The British formed a barricade across the table using hedges, barrels, crates, etc. The French dshed across open ground to get to grips with their foe. Amazingly the rifles hardly hit anything until the French line reached the barricades when the green jackets spectacularly made up for several turns of dreadful shooting by cutting down a swathe through the French. Undeterred, the Emperor's finest carried on the attack and began to slaughter the British. The fighting was bloody and came down to two riflemen facing one voltigeur on the balcony of a small building. The voltigeur fought bravely but two determined riflemen were to have the best of it and quickly despatched the Frenchman.
So, three wins to the British and what fantastic games they were too. I thoroughly enjoyed myself as did Rich (along with his son James). I hope it inspires them to organise some games with their 20mm plastic figures. Speaking of which I really need to sort out some painting sessions to show them both how wield a brush.
Anyway, enough waffle. Here's a few pics from the day.
The British take up good firing positions as the French are sighted.
A close up.
Another view of the Spanish style buildings.
Note the ladder, it was used during the game to allow the riflemen to escape when the French took the downstairs area.
A shot of the whole table. The French begin their advance on the farm.
What splendid fun!
The figures are mostly Front Rank with a few Wargames Foundry. All painted using GW acrylics.
Thursday, 27 March 2008
More Surgery ... Less Painting
One problem with all this NZ sunshine is that it's not always good for you.
I had an area of sun damage in my right eye and the eye specialist finally decided it should be removed for analysis.
Crumbs is my eye sore now! Feels about the size of an orange and like it's full of grit, very sore indeed. Having eye surgery really is rather 'orrible. I'm sure you're probably thinking I'm a big girls' blouse - and may be you're right! Having an injection in your eye ball - yuk! Needed two stitches and as he tightened the thread you feel it pulling your eye around - extra yuk! All whilst having to keep your eye focused on a fixed spot.
It was at a private clinic so all very swish I must say. After surgery I returned to the main waiting area wearing a pirate eye-patch complete with skull & crossbones, as I thought it would amuse my kids. But they were waiting outside ... how to feel like a total twit!? Glad it's done now.
Here's a pic - the swelling means it's hard to see the stitiches.
(click for larger picture - if you really want to!)
Anyway, it's meant a delay in painting recently.
I had an area of sun damage in my right eye and the eye specialist finally decided it should be removed for analysis.
Crumbs is my eye sore now! Feels about the size of an orange and like it's full of grit, very sore indeed. Having eye surgery really is rather 'orrible. I'm sure you're probably thinking I'm a big girls' blouse - and may be you're right! Having an injection in your eye ball - yuk! Needed two stitches and as he tightened the thread you feel it pulling your eye around - extra yuk! All whilst having to keep your eye focused on a fixed spot.
It was at a private clinic so all very swish I must say. After surgery I returned to the main waiting area wearing a pirate eye-patch complete with skull & crossbones, as I thought it would amuse my kids. But they were waiting outside ... how to feel like a total twit!? Glad it's done now.
Here's a pic - the swelling means it's hard to see the stitiches.
(click for larger picture - if you really want to!)
Anyway, it's meant a delay in painting recently.
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Now for something completely different
As some readers may know I'm very interested in the Napoleonic era. I even started to collect a 28mm army back in about 2001. However, like many gaming projects of the time, it faltered and was abandoned. Most of the figures were sold on Ebay, but I did keep a few with the intention of doing something along the lines of a Sharpe-esque skirmish game.
The figures were gradually painted and I wrote a few sets of rules but nothing quite took off until GW brought out the 3rd version of their excellent LOTR skirmish system for Return of the King. We wrote some extra rules and played some really fun games. Have a look at
http://www.spiritofthegame.org.uk/voltigeur/index.htm
Then the figures went in to storage again.
Now, some years later, I've added a few extra figures and spruced up the rules I drafted. The aim is to have a few games of Sharpe-skirmish with my chum Rich. He's very in to military history but has done little war gaming ... no problem I said!
If you're interested, then my current (and rather incomplete) rule set may be found at
http://www.mediafire.com/?blddg49ylde
Forward the 95th!
PS - I'm also thinking of expanding the collection in order to play proper 28mm Napoleonics with another friend, but more on that at a later date.
The figures were gradually painted and I wrote a few sets of rules but nothing quite took off until GW brought out the 3rd version of their excellent LOTR skirmish system for Return of the King. We wrote some extra rules and played some really fun games. Have a look at
http://www.spiritofthegame.org.uk/voltigeur/index.htm
Then the figures went in to storage again.
Now, some years later, I've added a few extra figures and spruced up the rules I drafted. The aim is to have a few games of Sharpe-skirmish with my chum Rich. He's very in to military history but has done little war gaming ... no problem I said!
If you're interested, then my current (and rather incomplete) rule set may be found at
http://www.mediafire.com/?blddg49ylde
Forward the 95th!
PS - I'm also thinking of expanding the collection in order to play proper 28mm Napoleonics with another friend, but more on that at a later date.
Saturday, 15 March 2008
More Plastic Figures!
Just like buses ... you wait for ages then two come along. First I heard about Wargames Factory, now it's Warlord Games. Check out this link.
http://www.warlordgames.co.uk/index.php
It's former GW-ers John Stallard and Paul Sawyer starting up their own games outfit. Well at least I assume they're not still working full time for GW. Perhaps this is their 'hobby' company.
The advance picture of the plastic EIR legionnaire is fabulous. Really looking forward to seeing more of their range. No news on pricing but it's sure to make WAB (or other inferior systems) more affordable.
Whilst I still prefer metal man-dollies, all this new plastic can only be a good thing. I'm sure metal figure sales will hold up well as gamers buy a mix of figures.
Brilliant!
http://www.warlordgames.co.uk/index.php
It's former GW-ers John Stallard and Paul Sawyer starting up their own games outfit. Well at least I assume they're not still working full time for GW. Perhaps this is their 'hobby' company.
The advance picture of the plastic EIR legionnaire is fabulous. Really looking forward to seeing more of their range. No news on pricing but it's sure to make WAB (or other inferior systems) more affordable.
Whilst I still prefer metal man-dollies, all this new plastic can only be a good thing. I'm sure metal figure sales will hold up well as gamers buy a mix of figures.
Brilliant!
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
EIR Auxiliaries & Celt with hounds
Here's some pics of my most recent efforts. The Auxiliaries are Black Tree Design figures painted with mostly Foundry paints with a bit of GW. The scuta (shields) are awaiting some splendid LBM transfers. The bases will be flocked after I've varnished them.
15 Auxiliaries
(click for larger picture)
Another view of the same unit
(click for larger picture)
Allied Celt packmaster with 5 hounds. The Celt is an old Foundry figure I found in my bits box, hence his slightly well equipped nature - it's more of a Celt Noble really - but it will do for now. The hounds are from Gripping Beast.
(click for larger picture)
Hope you like them! I've made a good start on the next unit of 15 Auxiliaries. After that I'll probably paint a few Celt slingers or skirmishers before starting on the Legions.
15 Auxiliaries
(click for larger picture)
Another view of the same unit
(click for larger picture)
Allied Celt packmaster with 5 hounds. The Celt is an old Foundry figure I found in my bits box, hence his slightly well equipped nature - it's more of a Celt Noble really - but it will do for now. The hounds are from Gripping Beast.
(click for larger picture)
Hope you like them! I've made a good start on the next unit of 15 Auxiliaries. After that I'll probably paint a few Celt slingers or skirmishers before starting on the Legions.
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Yet More Romans Arrive
At last my latest order from BTD has arrived! I expect that they've been snowed under with orders as a result of their splendid "35% off" sale - which is still going on.
New figures are another unit of 18 legionnaires, 9 Aux Cavalry and 2 Scorpios. I'm particularly pleased with the cavalry. The casting is crisp, the figures correctly proportioned, etc. Really looking forward to getting my army painted. I do need to get hold of some Foundry metal spears. Scrounged a few off Darren for my first figures, better see if I can get official approval for a purchase ... ? Then of course there's the shield transfers that I'll need from LBM. In order to avoid the need for another Litko order for wooden bases I'll be mounting my skirmishers on 1" circular GW LotR bases. The little extra real estate of the round bases will give me a chance to add some scenic features to make them look rather more "skirmishy"
Haven't done much painting recently as there's been so much other "real world stuff" going on in my life. Ho hum. Really need to get back to it if I'm to have a 1,500pt army painted by the middle of the year. Depends on a lot of other factors really.
Can't wait for Wargames Factory to release pictures of the plastic Celts range they're planning. It's due to include cavalry and chariots as well as hordes of hairy infantry, hurrah! I've been reading quite a bit about Celts recently. The typical image of crude hairy barbarians is, at best, rather misleading. The Celts developed a sophisticated calendar centuries before we adopted the Gregorian calendar we have now. They were masters of metal work both for arms and armour and for works of art too. Well worth finding out a little more about.
New figures are another unit of 18 legionnaires, 9 Aux Cavalry and 2 Scorpios. I'm particularly pleased with the cavalry. The casting is crisp, the figures correctly proportioned, etc. Really looking forward to getting my army painted. I do need to get hold of some Foundry metal spears. Scrounged a few off Darren for my first figures, better see if I can get official approval for a purchase ... ? Then of course there's the shield transfers that I'll need from LBM. In order to avoid the need for another Litko order for wooden bases I'll be mounting my skirmishers on 1" circular GW LotR bases. The little extra real estate of the round bases will give me a chance to add some scenic features to make them look rather more "skirmishy"
Haven't done much painting recently as there's been so much other "real world stuff" going on in my life. Ho hum. Really need to get back to it if I'm to have a 1,500pt army painted by the middle of the year. Depends on a lot of other factors really.
Can't wait for Wargames Factory to release pictures of the plastic Celts range they're planning. It's due to include cavalry and chariots as well as hordes of hairy infantry, hurrah! I've been reading quite a bit about Celts recently. The typical image of crude hairy barbarians is, at best, rather misleading. The Celts developed a sophisticated calendar centuries before we adopted the Gregorian calendar we have now. They were masters of metal work both for arms and armour and for works of art too. Well worth finding out a little more about.
Thursday, 28 February 2008
Pegasus Bridge
I've been reading this book recently and it's absolutely gripping stuff!!!
The men who took part in this most daring of airborne raids seem almost super-human. Their courage, determination and resourcefulness is simply awe inspiring. Certainly a stirling example to the rest of us.
The book describes the training of the men, the build up to D-Day, the details of the attack on the bridges and the subsequent German counter-attacks. For those not familiar with the events see this link. However, it gives only the barest facts and conveys little of the extraordinary nature of the events. So read the book if you're interested! I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone.
As they say in memorial services to this day "we will remember them". And rightly so.
The men who took part in this most daring of airborne raids seem almost super-human. Their courage, determination and resourcefulness is simply awe inspiring. Certainly a stirling example to the rest of us.
The book describes the training of the men, the build up to D-Day, the details of the attack on the bridges and the subsequent German counter-attacks. For those not familiar with the events see this link. However, it gives only the barest facts and conveys little of the extraordinary nature of the events. So read the book if you're interested! I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone.
As they say in memorial services to this day "we will remember them". And rightly so.
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Forward the 32nd
Just got these splendid pictures of British infantry from my friend Jim and had to post them!
I'm really pleased with the results of his hard work. The first shot shows nicely how the Foundry paints allow you to achieve a good depth of colour, e.g. the red jacket. The more pronounced method of highlighting will really pay dividends when they're assembled in a unit.
Here's a comparison with a figure (Belgique shako) Jim painted 2 years ago using only GW paints. Good, but not as good as the fellow on the left, as the Foundry paints give a much richer result.
Look forward to seeing many more. Well done mate!
I'm really pleased with the results of his hard work. The first shot shows nicely how the Foundry paints allow you to achieve a good depth of colour, e.g. the red jacket. The more pronounced method of highlighting will really pay dividends when they're assembled in a unit.
Here's a comparison with a figure (Belgique shako) Jim painted 2 years ago using only GW paints. Good, but not as good as the fellow on the left, as the Foundry paints give a much richer result.
Look forward to seeing many more. Well done mate!
Thursday, 31 January 2008
Another Unit of EIR Auxiliary Infantry Painted
Completed painting another unit of 15 Auxiliary Infantry last night! (except for shields - which are ready to be LBM-ed). Really pleased with the results. Will take some pics at the weekend if I have time to finish basing them properly. This brings the total to 41 figures.
Plus, I've already made a good start on the second unit of 15. Got up early this morning in the hope that the weather would be still (it's often quite windy here in NZ) so that I could do some undercoating on the next batch. The lack of a garage is bl**dy annoying! The weather was perfect so there I was at 7am on the patio spraying the next lot of Romans with GW Chaos Black before heading off to work.
Bonkers eh?
Plus, I've already made a good start on the second unit of 15. Got up early this morning in the hope that the weather would be still (it's often quite windy here in NZ) so that I could do some undercoating on the next batch. The lack of a garage is bl**dy annoying! The weather was perfect so there I was at 7am on the patio spraying the next lot of Romans with GW Chaos Black before heading off to work.
Bonkers eh?
Thursday, 24 January 2008
Roman Reinforcements
To ensure the Pax Romana, Rome is sending reinforcements!
Actually the troops are being sent by Black Tree Design. Yes - I got official permission to expand my army with the addition of:-
18 Legionaries (incl. Centurion, Aquila & Cornicern)
9 Auxiliary Cavalry (incl command group)
2 Scorpio bolt shooters incl crew (to replace the ballista)
This will bring my forces up to a nice 1,500pts. Just right for dealing with all those hairy barbarian types.
Hurrah!
Actually the troops are being sent by Black Tree Design. Yes - I got official permission to expand my army with the addition of:-
18 Legionaries (incl. Centurion, Aquila & Cornicern)
9 Auxiliary Cavalry (incl command group)
2 Scorpio bolt shooters incl crew (to replace the ballista)
This will bring my forces up to a nice 1,500pts. Just right for dealing with all those hairy barbarian types.
Hurrah!
Friday, 18 January 2008
The Romans are Advancing!
The Romans are coming along quite nicely now with the second unit of Auxiliary infantry nearing completion - apart from needing to order some shield transfers from LBM. I now have the rest of the figures (thanks to Grandma for bringing them from the UK) for my basic 1,000pt starter army. The army list should look something like this
18 Legionaries CSM
15 Auxiliaries LSM
15 Auxiliaries LSM
12 Auxiliary Archers
1 Ballista
10 Mountain Tribesmen LSM
9 Barbarian Skirmishers
2 x 1 Packmaster with 5 Warhounds
Fairly light in terms of Legionaries at this stage but having done a certain amount of research into the subject I see that the Roman army that conquered Britannia used a lot Auxiliaries for the more routine patrolling and (Roman) law enforcement, backed up by a smaller contingents of regular Legionaries to ensure proper discipline was maintained. That's how I understand things at the moment anyway!
The army I'm building reflects this, with only a single unit of Legionaries. The plan is to expand the force to around 1,500pts later this year with the addition of another unit of Legionaries and a unit of Auxiliary cavalry. After that I may add a third unit of Legionaries and reduce the proportion of Auxiliaries in the force, but that can wait.
I really seem to have got in to a good routine for painting and feel quite confident that I can achieve my aim of having this army complete by the end of April. It's likely that the next 2-3 weeks will see less painting as we have family visitng from the UK, however I'll keep things ticking along.
All this painting confidence has naturally led me to start thinking about what I'd like to do next. I'm pleased to say that WAB seems to be (slowly) gaining interest at the club. A couple of guys at the club have AoA armies so that might be a good idea. I'm quite inspired by guitarheroandy and his beautiful Welsh army (http://www.guitarheroandy.blogspot.com/ see 2007 posts). Those GB and WW figures look very good indeed. However, I'm also quite inspired to build a Saxon or Viking or Norman army from the Shieldwall supplement. Then of course there's El Cid .... Gah!?
Sunday, 13 January 2008
Barbarian Packmaster & Warhounds
I've been very busy painting up a unit of Auxiliaries (cohortes pedites) for my Early Imperial Roman army, however I decided to take a rest and paint these fellows. The packmaster is a very old Foundry figure I think. I found it in my bits box - handy indeed! The hounds are, of course, from Gripping Beast.
(click for larger picture)
Apologies for the (slightly) dreadful photo quality. I was experimenting with non-scenic backgrounds but realised that my little'uns had made off with all the light blue paper so I had to resort to a not-so-light green ... hmmm? I'll take some better pics (with scenery) another time.
Haven't completed the packmaster's base yet as I intend to varnish him first, then complete the basing, as I understand that static grass does not handle varnish too well. Varnishing will (thanks to advice from those splendid chaps on the WAB forum) be GW 'Ardcoat followed by Testors Dullcote.
The plan is to have 2 units of these chaps in my army. The WS 4 hounds can make short work of enemy skirmishers who are often only WS 2 with very little in the way of armour. Having units of 7 can make them rather fragile if confronted with determined enemy missile fire given the packmaster's Ld of 6 (the hounds are only Ld 3) but these units cost few points and will definitely give your opponent pause for thought.
Anyway, better get on with the rest of the Auxiliaries. The unit will be 15 in total, and 9 are complete so far with the rest well on the way. Need to order some Little Big Men (LBM) studios transfers for the shields too.
Happy gaming (& painting)!
(click for larger picture)
Apologies for the (slightly) dreadful photo quality. I was experimenting with non-scenic backgrounds but realised that my little'uns had made off with all the light blue paper so I had to resort to a not-so-light green ... hmmm? I'll take some better pics (with scenery) another time.
Haven't completed the packmaster's base yet as I intend to varnish him first, then complete the basing, as I understand that static grass does not handle varnish too well. Varnishing will (thanks to advice from those splendid chaps on the WAB forum) be GW 'Ardcoat followed by Testors Dullcote.
The plan is to have 2 units of these chaps in my army. The WS 4 hounds can make short work of enemy skirmishers who are often only WS 2 with very little in the way of armour. Having units of 7 can make them rather fragile if confronted with determined enemy missile fire given the packmaster's Ld of 6 (the hounds are only Ld 3) but these units cost few points and will definitely give your opponent pause for thought.
Anyway, better get on with the rest of the Auxiliaries. The unit will be 15 in total, and 9 are complete so far with the rest well on the way. Need to order some Little Big Men (LBM) studios transfers for the shields too.
Happy gaming (& painting)!
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
WAB - 30th Dec 2007 - Early Saxons vs EIR
Always keen for a game of WAB I arranged another game against Darren's early Saxon Horde. Rather than use my HYW English (Bretonnian) figures I asked Darren if I could use his Roman-style Dwarf army as stand in figures. I cannot remember which company makes the figures but they are wearing lorica style armour and carrying scutum-like shields. I managed to field a few of my archers and used some Bretonnian light cavalry as stand in figures for Auxiliary Cavalry. In fact the slightly odd nature and appearance of the army rather reminded me of the first few games of WFB I played way back in about '87. The "armies" were a mix of role-playing figures, borrowed bits and newly acquired GW Orcs & Goblins. Ah - nothing to match a bit of misty-eyed nostalgia is there?
Anyway, my EIR was
3 x 15 Legionaries CSM
1 x 15 Auxiliary Infantry LSM
1 x 12 Auxiliary Archers
1 x 9 Auxiliary Cavalry LSM
2 x Ballista
2 x 9 Barbarian Skirmishers
2 x Packmaster & 5 Warhounds
CSM = Centurion, Standard and Musician.
LSM = Leader, Standard and Musician.
Darren's Saxons was something like (approx anyway - must remember to make a note on the day)
1 x 24 Gedricht LSM
1 x 12 Mounted Duguth LSM
1 x 28 Duguth LSM incl General, ASB
1 x 28 Geoguth LSM
3 x Unit of 9 skirmishers (short bows and/or javelins)
The game was a 1,500pt Pitched Battle lasting 6 turns.
Deployment
For a change I think I deployed quite well. The Legionaries were centrally placed with the Auxiliary Infantry on their right flank. The skirmishers were in front, with a pack of hounds on each flank. The Ballista were sited one on each flank. The Archers protected the right-hand ballista. The cavalry were placed on the right flank too.
Darren placed his Saxons with the three big infantry units in the centre, the cavalry on his left flank (facing my cavalry). His skirmishers were placed in front of his infantry units.
The Battle
First turn went to the EIR and they advanced across the board. In reply only the Saxons skirmishers and Mounted Duguth advanced. Turns 2-3 saw a fierce battle develop in the centre of the field as the skirmish lines clashed. Suprisingly, neitehr side would give and this caused some hold up for the Legionaries keen to get to grips with the waiting Saxons. On the Roman left flank the warhounds did well against bow armed skirmishers, tearing them to shreds and then pursuing into a formed unit of Saxons who promptly beat them, causing the hounds to flee the field. On the right flank the disciplined Roman cavalry beat, routed and destroyed their Saxon counterparts, though the fight was close.
Eventually in turn 4 the greater number of barbarian skirmishers prevailed against the Saxons. However, the barbarians pursued in to the waiting Saxon Duguth and Gedricht and so were torn to shreds. But at last the legions had a clear view of the Saxon infantry and wasted no time in bringing them to battle.
However, this is were my plans went slightly awry. Having won the fight against the cavalry and the skirmishers I was perhaps feeling a little too confident. One Legionary unit attacked each of the Geoguth and Duguth but the Gedricht got the charge on the other Legionary unit supported by the formed Auxiliary Infantry. The Gedricht chose to charge the Auxiliaries who were simply no match for the fearsome Saxon killers. The few survivors fleds. The pursuit of the Gedricht took them away from the waiting Legionaries. The combats against the Duguth and Geoguth did not go too well either with the Roman armour seemingly made of paper.
At this point I think I must have had a brain-fart because I forgot the fantastic rule that Romans are stubborn (ignore first break test) so the Legionaries made a run for it and were wiped out ... both units! Ho hum - certainly the best way to learn eh?
The remaining unit of Legionaries and the few Auxiliary cavalry were no match for the massed Saxons and the game finished as a massive victory for the dreaded 'Sais'.
Conclusion
Another very enjoyable game! I'm really beginning to like the WAB rules and armies. The result is a much better wargame, in my opinion, than WFB. I really must prepare for battles more thoroughly and make sure I remember any important special rules.
Anyway, my EIR was
3 x 15 Legionaries CSM
1 x 15 Auxiliary Infantry LSM
1 x 12 Auxiliary Archers
1 x 9 Auxiliary Cavalry LSM
2 x Ballista
2 x 9 Barbarian Skirmishers
2 x Packmaster & 5 Warhounds
CSM = Centurion, Standard and Musician.
LSM = Leader, Standard and Musician.
Darren's Saxons was something like (approx anyway - must remember to make a note on the day)
1 x 24 Gedricht LSM
1 x 12 Mounted Duguth LSM
1 x 28 Duguth LSM incl General, ASB
1 x 28 Geoguth LSM
3 x Unit of 9 skirmishers (short bows and/or javelins)
The game was a 1,500pt Pitched Battle lasting 6 turns.
Deployment
For a change I think I deployed quite well. The Legionaries were centrally placed with the Auxiliary Infantry on their right flank. The skirmishers were in front, with a pack of hounds on each flank. The Ballista were sited one on each flank. The Archers protected the right-hand ballista. The cavalry were placed on the right flank too.
Darren placed his Saxons with the three big infantry units in the centre, the cavalry on his left flank (facing my cavalry). His skirmishers were placed in front of his infantry units.
The Battle
First turn went to the EIR and they advanced across the board. In reply only the Saxons skirmishers and Mounted Duguth advanced. Turns 2-3 saw a fierce battle develop in the centre of the field as the skirmish lines clashed. Suprisingly, neitehr side would give and this caused some hold up for the Legionaries keen to get to grips with the waiting Saxons. On the Roman left flank the warhounds did well against bow armed skirmishers, tearing them to shreds and then pursuing into a formed unit of Saxons who promptly beat them, causing the hounds to flee the field. On the right flank the disciplined Roman cavalry beat, routed and destroyed their Saxon counterparts, though the fight was close.
Eventually in turn 4 the greater number of barbarian skirmishers prevailed against the Saxons. However, the barbarians pursued in to the waiting Saxon Duguth and Gedricht and so were torn to shreds. But at last the legions had a clear view of the Saxon infantry and wasted no time in bringing them to battle.
However, this is were my plans went slightly awry. Having won the fight against the cavalry and the skirmishers I was perhaps feeling a little too confident. One Legionary unit attacked each of the Geoguth and Duguth but the Gedricht got the charge on the other Legionary unit supported by the formed Auxiliary Infantry. The Gedricht chose to charge the Auxiliaries who were simply no match for the fearsome Saxon killers. The few survivors fleds. The pursuit of the Gedricht took them away from the waiting Legionaries. The combats against the Duguth and Geoguth did not go too well either with the Roman armour seemingly made of paper.
At this point I think I must have had a brain-fart because I forgot the fantastic rule that Romans are stubborn (ignore first break test) so the Legionaries made a run for it and were wiped out ... both units! Ho hum - certainly the best way to learn eh?
The remaining unit of Legionaries and the few Auxiliary cavalry were no match for the massed Saxons and the game finished as a massive victory for the dreaded 'Sais'.
Conclusion
Another very enjoyable game! I'm really beginning to like the WAB rules and armies. The result is a much better wargame, in my opinion, than WFB. I really must prepare for battles more thoroughly and make sure I remember any important special rules.
Tuesday, 1 January 2008
Early Imperial Roman Auxiliary Archers
Hooray! At last I have completed my first proper unit for my WAB EIR army ... a unit of 12 Auxiliary Archers. I'm really pleased with the results. Here are a few pics.
(click for larger picture)
Here's a closer shot.
(click for larger picture)
Being Light Infantry they can either be formed up in ranks, handy for the 'massed archery' rule, or become skirmishers.
(click for larger picture)
The figures are from Black Tree Design. They have been painted with Foundry and some GW paints as follows.
Black GW undercoat spray.
Armour - GW Bolt Gun Metal, wash with GW Black Ink, then GW Chainmail and GW Mithril Silver.
Skin - Foundry Flesh Shade/Mid/Light.
Tunic - Foundry Boneyard Mid/Light, mix of Boneyard Light and GW Skull White.
Red Pterges - GW Mechrite Red, Foundry Bright Red Shade/Mid.
Blue Pterges - Foundry Deep Blue Mid/Light.
Green Pterges - Foundry Phlegm Green Mid/Light
Sandals - GW Vermin Fur, GW Brown Ink, GW Vermin Fur if necessary.
Quiver - Foundry Spearshaft Shade/Mid/Light
Bow - Foundry Buff Leather Shade/Mid
The bases are sand washed with thinned GW Bestial Brown, then highlighted with GW Vomit Brown and GW Bleached Bone. Add some static grass and scenic scatter material.
Hope you like them because there's more Romans on the way!
(click for larger picture)
Here's a closer shot.
(click for larger picture)
Being Light Infantry they can either be formed up in ranks, handy for the 'massed archery' rule, or become skirmishers.
(click for larger picture)
The figures are from Black Tree Design. They have been painted with Foundry and some GW paints as follows.
Black GW undercoat spray.
Armour - GW Bolt Gun Metal, wash with GW Black Ink, then GW Chainmail and GW Mithril Silver.
Skin - Foundry Flesh Shade/Mid/Light.
Tunic - Foundry Boneyard Mid/Light, mix of Boneyard Light and GW Skull White.
Red Pterges - GW Mechrite Red, Foundry Bright Red Shade/Mid.
Blue Pterges - Foundry Deep Blue Mid/Light.
Green Pterges - Foundry Phlegm Green Mid/Light
Sandals - GW Vermin Fur, GW Brown Ink, GW Vermin Fur if necessary.
Quiver - Foundry Spearshaft Shade/Mid/Light
Bow - Foundry Buff Leather Shade/Mid
The bases are sand washed with thinned GW Bestial Brown, then highlighted with GW Vomit Brown and GW Bleached Bone. Add some static grass and scenic scatter material.
Hope you like them because there's more Romans on the way!
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