900th Post -THANK YOU ALL

That's right, this is the 900th published post and I have all you followers new and old to thank for keeping me blogging away. It's a great opportunity to look back at the blog and into the future.

It all started on the 8th of September 2011 so it's going on 4 years old, not bad for something that was set up to record my unsteady steps back into wargaming after about 20 or so years rest. So much had changed in those years. Techniques had improved and of course the internet had allowed these new ideas to spread around the wargaming and painting world to the benefit of all.

I also needed the help though my basic skills were surprisingly quick to come back I found that such as the army painter dip made my work so much better. Indeed I was to dip so many old figures making them look much better when I came to rebase them that it felt almost like new armies!

Whilst I was happy to jazz up old figures I had no wish to go back to old rules and found Fields of Glory for Ancients more to my liking. More recently I have moved on again to Hail Caesar which gives a faster game and whilst it has less historical feel I much prefer the faster looser game and expect it to remain my staple for Ancients for years to come.

I flirted with Imputus but disliked some of the rule systems and the one army I painted up for it was sold when my opponent when off in a huff over something (never did find out why, or being honest care).

I also made a move that in the end was the biggest change to my future wargameing choices and that was the finishing off of the 6mm Irregular French army and playing it against my Irregular Prussians. However buying the Baccus figures to add to my French saw me sell off the two armies and replace with a mix of Adler and Baccus and of course cross pollinate over a number of other periods in 6mm.

The crowning glory of 6mm for me was Dr Mikes painting clinic that Ian showed me how to paint 6mm faster and with more impact. So a big thanks to both of them. This has lead to me being able to paint up my half of Project Waterloo and beyond. When I started back into 6mm I had almost no experience painting buildings and through Total Battle Miniatures and Timecast started to learn how to paint up buildings and of course since have moved onto Leven Miniatures where I have had such a concentrated experience and have much improved in style and finish.

Two other new area's of interest have both been 28mm. Western gunfights and Saga are both fairly low figure count interests but they have caught my children's interest and have allowed me the opportunity to share this wonderful hobby with them, such a very valuable and precious time.

Not that it stops there, two good old mates who stayed with the games have again crossed swords with me and much fun and blood has been shred over our figures.

A rather unexpected but VERY welcome effect of starting the blog has been the making of lots of new friends and new wargaming buddies. I really could not put a price on that, especially the support I received whilst ill and trying to get my self back on track and the main success was hobby related.

As for the future, I think as work settles down and I get used to the new pace I will again post almost as regular as I ever have. With Project Waterloo almost complete (less than three weeks to the Joy of Six) more time will be available for doing many other projects that have taken a back seat. Although Lee wanting to send Napoleon into Russia will see yet more Napoleonic legions marching off my desk, other periods and scales will still get plenty of opportunities, well at least till I am given my list of figures and date to get them done :-)

Whilst blogging seems to be a tad less fashionable than Facebook groups I think it will far out last these once the full realisation of how temporary your offerings tend to be compared with a living blog like I write and follow.

So again to all you lot, thanks for coming round and here's to the next 900 posts!

Friday Quiz 3

Another Friday another three questions, lets see what you make of these

1. What was a brigandine?

2. Which general fought for both American and Polish independence?

3. In which war did the Commonwealth Division fight?

Answers will be posted at some point over the weekend. If you use a reference to help answer a question please mention it and good luck.

Answers.

1. A jacket lined with iron scales.

2. Tadeusz Kosciuszko: his services in the American War of Independence included building the fortress of West Point and he was made a Brigadier-General in 1783. In Poland he led the unsuccessful rising of 1794.

3. The Korean War.

Building of the Week, European Tavern by Leven Minatures

This is a yet to be released Tavern that Leven Miniatures will be releasing at some point. Not sure if it will be released with the sign frame and barrel or if these will be add on items or only available as the building without the extras.

As you can see it's a timber and plastered building that would suit many periods right up to modern day. I can't guess at when it will be released or what the price will be. What I can say is that it's a really nice model and I am really looking forward to having a go at my model. This one as three other recently finished models are for Mick for his display stand.

It's another of the seemingly basic buildings that Leven produce, that is till you look closely and as many of the other basic buildings see that Mike has not done anything of the sort. The side and rear walls all have a slight undulating finish that gives the impression that the walls are not totally flat that makes the building look that bit more real than the block of wood with windows and frame added appearance. Indeed it's really subtle and that's the magic ingredient. It would be easy enough to go in too heavy handed and spoil the effect. This is what makes Mikes work step up to another level.

Here you can see the effect I am talking about, add the now signature tiling and you have yet another must have building from the Leven Stable. 

I went bright for the rear door as all but the front of the building is rather plain so wanted something extra to make it pop. My version though will have a more neutral colour to fit in with the ECW/Napoleonic feel.

As I mentioned above I have three more buildings I have painted this week to add to the blog, all new to be released models though two of them are new versions of current buildings that will sit well alongside the original designs. I hope to still get a few other buildings painted up but that may be tough as I have a lot of other bits to get done before Joy of Six.

However I can report that I have nearly seventy trees based up just needing the highlighting and static grass adding to the bases for Project Waterloo.

Keeping with PW I have the last of the Prussians needing the finishing touches as well as three battalions of French (new animated) from Baccus and one last cavalry regiment all needing the final basing doing.

Next week I will also be showing off what has arrived in the post recently, that will tie in with the shame of the poorest painting output in four years! 

Oh well, at least we will be ready for the Joy of Six, though I am starting to get prepared for a flagging marathon starting next week.

British Artillery by Baccus

These have been painted since last month but I never quite got round to getting them on the blog. These are part of a commission for a mate for his Waterloo game at the Worlds. I still have a few Battalions to do but they are next up on the desk as soon as I have finished a few units I have awaiting the basing, so not much longer to wait.

As it is part of the reserve corp he does not need much in the way of artillery. In his games one gun is a battery so he has more than enough with four guns. The rest of the batteries had their gunners removed from the corp and used for the delivery of powder to the other guns that were in action.

He also has two batteries of rockets, though these were neither part of the reserve or used in the battle. They will still of course be useful for other games.

They also came with the limbers though one was missing the carriage for the rockets. Baccus supply two rocket stands and two limbers in a pack which I think is as many as you would need.

Plenty of character though their use on the battlefield can be more pain than gain. Would be interesting to see how other rules make use of them as we don't have rules for them for our games and I know Lee has a set.

Fathers Day and Shield of Cholm

I had a nice bunch of presents today for Fathers day and then we went out to spend the day out and about. The original idea was to go to the park but that was hit on the head as it's closed due to a rock slide! 

Instead we went for an ice cream and a walk along the shops and the kids wanted to go into a shop selling various collectables and well junk. 

I was looking in the military memorabilia with a mix of British WWII Medals and cap badges etc when I spotted what I assumed was a replica of the Cholm Shield. Especially so as it was listed at £10. I actually left the store but decided that it would look cool attached to my dice tower and went back to buy it.

My interest was stirred because I have the excellent ASL module on Cholm by Le Franc Tireur (LFT) and I though this would be an excellent prop to have lying around when I play some of the scenarios or campaign.

Imagine my surprise when I took a much closer look and found it to be the real deal. Two variants of the badge exist, one with three pins holding the back plate in place and another with four pins (mine). Also note the H has the line across the uprights is lower than the middle, this is also a variant as it's available as both on specialist auction sites. The four pin, lower bar version seems to go for about $1500 in the States. 

The cloth background is available if Field Grey (Army and SS), Black (Panzer) and Blue (Airforce). Mine looks really fresh from the front but if taken off the badge shows some staining under the rear plate so I think it's been turned round to show it's best side.

So a really good find that added to what was already a great day.

Friday Quiz 2

Thanks for all the answers last week, here is this weeks questions

1. Which siege finally ended the resistance of the Gauls to Roman rule?

2. When was the battle of Sedgemoor?

3. Which British naval officer commanded a squadron of armoured cars in Russian Galicia during the War on Intervention of 1917-19?

Again, if you use sources to answer can you mention which, lets see if we can have another clean sweep.

Answers
1. Alesia

2. 6th July 1685

3. Lieutenant-Commander Oliver Locker-Lampson

200 Years Ago Today and Project Waterloo

18th June 1815 saw the last major battle of the Napoleonic era and was to lead to Napoleon's second abdication. It's also possibly the most wargamed battle in the history of wargaming and can be claimed to be the most iconic land battle featuring the British. 

Today I won't get home much before midnight so will miss anything on TV or the internet regarding this anniversary but I did get to go over to Lee's for more work on our game. The last two boards now have the base green colour on them and I would bet as I type this Lee is working on the next colour!

We got to chat a fair bit as we worked, I brought up the idea Lee had last time regarding doubling up the cavalry in the future to 18-20 figures on 60x60 bases which we will start to do post game. 9-10 figures has always been a make do as when we started this project I was long term sick and had little spare cash. It will be nice to double up and finally get a the full effect.

We also discussed what next? Lee will soon have all the major powers except the Prussians and many of the smaller so we are in a good place for the Nap's. Borodino is a few years off as more French and Poles are needed whilst Lee would have to add about twenty Russian Battalions and some Cossack regiments and I need to get my Poles painted and yet more bought and painted. Something Spanish is much closer to being ready.

Outside the realms of Napoleonic's Lee is keen to get back into Colonial and fortunately not Zulu but Sudan. Personally I blame  Dave D for this. We also have the ancient thing going, Lee has bought more Roman's and I plan to make another move on my Macedonian's and get all I have painted up before then buying into the Persians. Seems on this project me and Lee have swapped identities as I am going large to Lee's keep it tight attitude, can't see that lasting though.

Building of the Week - Hedged Fence

Not quite a building but it's another to be released item from Leven Miniatures. Mike asked me to paint these way back when but for some reason I always found another item to paint up. I finally got round to them and like almost everything else I leave off it was painted up quickly and left me wishing I had done it sooner.

Unlike some of the hedge sections I have painted in the past (from other forgotten suppliers) these came up looking more like what they are supposed to rather than resin painted green. This is probably a mix of more experience and the lack of flat bits within the hedges build. Of course the fence sections help distract your eye and the hedge feel is helped through Mikes sculpting of bits of the hedge covering parts of the woodwork, mostly only partially.

The set comes in eight parts, four straights and four corners the same as the dry stone wall set. I have based this set as it will be part of Mikes display stand. I imagine the set will be the same cost as the two wall sets at £3.00 and whilst I see the use for them being more limited than the other two sets it's another great addition to the range because you can bet no one else will be doing anything similar. 

The Friday Quiz - Restart

After over two years of rest I bring back the Friday Quiz. Same rules as before, it's OK to use the internet to get the answers but if you do just state in your comment.

No prizes, it's all just for fun, feel free to answer any you wish to do or can, stupidly wrong answers are especially welcome :-)

1. Name the rival commanders at the 1453 siege of Constantinople?

2.Name the position at First Bull Run/Mannasas where Stonewall Jackson earned his nickname?

3. Who commanded the British 79th Armoured Division of Funnies in North-West Europe, 1944-45?

OK lets see how you do with these.

Sir Henry Bards and Sir John Boyes Regiments of Foote

Whilst painting up Lee's foot regiments I also painted up a couple of my own for my Oxford army, all figures are Baccus. The first being Sir Henry Bards who were originally a northern regiment under the command of Colonel Thomas Pinchbeck. The regiment was large enough that half the regiment was detached became Lord Percy's regiment after it arrived in Oxford in 1643. Pinchbeck was then killed at First Newbury at which point the regiment was given to Sir Henry Bard. 

The first engagement for the renamed regiment was Cheriton Woods which was a disaster and a week later it numbered but 176 mem. It has to be assumed that fresh recruitment was done in the south as it featured in the battle of Cropredy Bridge, the Lostwithiel campaign and again at the 2nd Battle of Newbury.

Losses again forced further recruitment and the melding of the Queens Lifeguard into the ranks but it obviously was still under strength as it formed the garrison of Campden House. Also you can only contemplate the morale and make up of the regiment that had started as a northern regiment and had spent so long away from home and had a large percentage of southern troops added to it's strength. 

Whilst on garrison duty the regiment was issued firelocks and it's possible it became musket only though that is not known. Originally dressed in grey coats it has been recorded as wearing red coats though it's also possible it wore both at the same time as the Queens Lifeguard wore red and in the later years supply became a greater problem and replacement coats would have been low on the list of priorities if their red coats were still serviceable.

Like many other Royalist foot regiments it was destroyed at Naseby where it's thought all it's standards were captured.

Sir John Boyes Regiment of foot was raised in time to fight at the battle of Edgehill and was brought to Oxford and became part of the standing army. They were unusual in that they wore black coats which only a few regiments on either side wore. It's doubtful they remained so clad beyond mid to late 1643 and a mix of coats fading in colour, being replaced with easier to source grey or red coats and even the mixed colours of replacement troops recruited from the area having to wear their own coats whatever the colour.

We now have enough infantry for a minor battle, though Lee still needs some cavalry and guns at the least and a few dragoons would not kill him. Next up then will be said guns and cavalry with a few command bases just to keep things sweet.

May Day May Day, The Lead Pile Is Calling

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, I started a new job on Monday and it's eating up a ton of time at the moment, though I get Wednesdays off so will be doing some catching up today.

Keeping with the theme of busy through work excuse I slink into my work progress and what with interviews kids being off school and all the prep to start work I have rather let it slide on the painting desk. Not good news given I attended Triples and bought some stash, so it does not look that good when viewed from the point of reduction. 

6mm

Baccus have a lot to answer for, with their release of the last new French Napoleonic codes and my buying a big bunch of Ancient Phalanx figures has seen the pile grow by he equivalent of twenty battalions set against the painting of just ten so a PLUS 10 for the infantry.

Cavalry has been my bane in 6mm and I again added to the pile with another ten regiments worth BUT have exchanged or painted enough to keep the same number of excess, that being ten more than when I started keeping count!

Again for command I was hit by the release of My Little Ogre Play Set (Napoleon and friends) has pushed up my command figures by Twenty one, not great news as it was already PLUS eight. The good news is that I will be painting up the little man for Project Waterloo as well as others so I hope to get this back to zero within the nest two months and have no reason to buy any more for some time.

The only other change has been the painting of four buildings leaving me on an eye watering PLUS Twenty Eight!!!

15mm

15mm has only gone down each month since December last year with purchases far outweighed by painting well this month saw an increase in cavalry by sixteen figures, 12 for an extra Companion unit and I plan at least one more and figures to add a fourth command stand for my Persians. Hopefully these will be painted up in the next month or two.

28mm

28mm is the only other scale to have seen any changes, I have bought another ten figures for roleplaying with the kids (D&D) but did paint up twenty five though this still leaves me on PLUS seventy one.

I would say May has been the worst month for painting in the last 14 or so months. Fortunately my spending has been quite restrained meaning little damage done. However between now and Joy of Six will see me working hard on getting the last bits finished such as the few units I need that were missed on the original OOB and of course the buildings for Leven to go on his trade stand as he will be attending it as his first wargames show. I am also basing up a bunch of trees for our game.

I have twenty regiments of Baccus ACW infantry close to being finished but have put them on hold till I have some of this work done. June will not be a very productive month but it will be a focused one.