Pre Challenge Warm Up

 The 13th Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge starts in 6 days and i've not painted anything for 3 months due to my shoulder injury. So I thought I'd have a practice, I was very rusty.

1st up 2 battalions of Royal Ecossais. These will form the superior troops in my imagiNation Scots 7YW army and 1 battalion can be added to French army if needed (there was only 1 in French army formed by exile Scots)

Unlike the rest of my Scots, these have European dress

I have bought a copy of 02hundred and as it takes place at night I thought I'd paint them in grey scale. These are the 2 simplest sentries (Wargames Foundry make nice sentry types)

The only colour is the helmet badge

Overall quite pleased, although the bases need more work

Also had a delivery of toys today, I really don't need anymore toys but Northstar were running a mystery box and mine had £82 worth of figs and paint for £45. There was only 1 pack I couldn't use, ironically 7YW Austrians. Otherwise loads of pulp, colonial and WW2 figs. Bargain

It's Alive

 

It's been a while. I've been out of action for a couple of months with a trapped nerve in my shoulder, 2 weeks of agony, 4 weeks of pain and now it's just sore. I'm still having problems sitting in office chairs for more than an hour. So no painting has been done, no games have been played and although I'm working from home, I'm bored.

This weekend was my longest journey in 2 months. I persuaded Tom to go to his 1st wargaming show and give me a lift. So we went down to Battleground at Stockton and spent a couple of hours meeting friends and doing a little shopping. I didn't buy much, my lead mountain has reached Himalayan proportions and is some what overwhelming. So it was flock, paints etc. I picked up a couple of 15mm ballistae for my 15mm Roman legion. But that was about it. Was great to meet up with everyone but I could only stop for a couple of hours as mu shoulder was starting to ache.

I have recently managed to do a little painting and some prep for the challenge that starts on the 20th.

I built this trench system years ago and have tarted it up to become part of a Vietnam firebase

Considering it was an early attempt at building from me i think it's come out OK

Plenty of room for infantry and artillery

As this was so big, I managed to repaint it standing up, which is easier.

I also ordered some palm trees from Amazon, one of those "loads of trees for not much money orders. I've based these up individually and given them a bit of dry brush

There are about 40 trees and will add to the Nam jungle or become a plantation

Overall a slow return but a return

Things to Buy when you can't go to Partizan

 So this weekend was The Other Partizan and Dave and I we due represent the Old Guard to put on a large Vietnam table with all our collections out and loads of action. We had been frantically finishing off bits. A review of the show layout put us near to the front door and quite close to another Old Guard club. I didn't know there was another Old Guard and they have been running for 40 years. A breif geography and history explanation later and we have done the honourable thing and changed the club name to the North Riding Wargames Club. I'm not from Yorkshire, thankfully for all concerned, and don't really understand what a Riding is or was.

So we are ready to go and I trap a nerve in my shoulder a couple of days before. If you have done it yourself, you have my understanding, if you haven't well it hurts like a Melon Farmer. I have effectively been bedridden for over a week now. I can walk about but after 10 minutes it hurts and I can't sit down. So no going to Partizan for me. I was gutted.

Ian from the NRWC stepped in to take my hotel room and Dave and he went down with 1/2 the collection. Dave kept sending me photos of the night before and I was both annoyed and pleased.

Speaking Dave with week he said he was amazingly busy and didn't have time to go shopping. Everyone loved the game. his report is here  and the "official" video is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHitwGWuemc (we are at 21 mins in).

So what do you do when you are stuck at home with loads of unspent money. I went online shopping for all the things I wanted to buy there

So this is the stash. Starting at top middle and working clockwise we have

1. 02hundred rules. There is a loophole in the purchasing of these. You can buy the rules as a pdf but can't get the cards or markers. This is an error. I wrote to Grey for Game and they gave me a discount of the cost of the pdf from the hard copy.

2.  3 figures from MrLees. Kyle has closed down the store so I picked up a couple of figs from the sale and 1 i'd wanted to buy since they opened. Time for some posh painting

3. Atrizan design commandos for 02 hundred

4. Tiger miniatures WW1 Turkish Cavalry. Cos my Turkish army isn't big enough - well it is but you know.

5. Foundry German Sentries for 02hundred.

6.Warbases buildings and bases for 02hundred. Plus their cool pre-printed ponds

Dave also dropped off my small ColBill order that he picked up from Partizan. WW1 Turkish Officers, Australian Light Horse officer, couple of boars and some African warriors. All to complete some armies.

Hope you are all well and see you at Battleground next month

Vietnam Transport

 When we think of transport in the Vietnam war we think helicopters. However you can't actually get a lot of stuff in a helicopter. Most of the supplies were moved in trucks. Huge great 300 truck convoys. 

In wargaming terms this is 300 trucks. They are Solido die cast a plastic trucks of various types but will all pass as 5 ton trucks. They obviously are US trucks as they are green and have a star.

The convoys were prone to being ambushed on the road and so the Americans developed ad hoc support vehicles called gun trucks.

Basically up-armoured trucks with lots of machine guns

This is Puff the Tragic Wagon (real name of a gun truck that looked a bit like this). It has a .50 cal and 3 M60s from Gringo40s. I love the Gingos figures but they are well fed. The .50 cal gunner is a converted Empress figure. I love Empress figures, almost all my collection is Empress but they are slight compared to Gringos farm boys. Dave's collection is almost entirely Gringos. Between us we have 2 marine platoons, an armoured platoon and a comedy amount of support.

THe mud is a blend of filler, Foundry red shade and Vallehjo Flat earth. It was a bit matt so I gave it an ochre wash. 

They probably won't get a run out at Partizan but if you are coming along pop over and say hello, if only to look at the massive chopper

Scottish Seven Years War Army - What!!!

 The thing I like best about wargaming, apart form the other things, is letting my imagination run wild. I don't mind recreating old battles, esp ones I don't know the outcome of, but I really like what ifs and they would never had fought in real life scenarios (e.g.T'ang Chinese vs Saxons). This does explain my liking of Back of Beyond gaming, the world went a bit batty after WW1, so I can have battles between Turks, Brits, Russians (white and red), Chinese and Afghans.

So back to the point. I have decided to build a Scottish army to fight in the 7YW. Imagine that the Jacobites had won at Derby instead of just going home. They would have sued for peace and got their independance back. With the support of the French they could have flourished and at the start of the 7YW could have launched a 2nd front against Prussian by attacking England, or they could have sailed to Europe and joined the French against Hanover.

A trip to Pendraken and an order to Leon for 10mm Jacobite figures and some research based on the units who fought in the rebellion and I'm ready to go.

Highland Brigade. Standard 1 battalion = 1 base of 15 figures

Atholl Battalion. Painting tartan in 10mm is easy, you can't see it any way, so work out the base colour and then add a few flecks and lines to give the impression. Sometimes in works, sometimes it's hard to tell - blue with light green doesn't really work. All units have a blue bonnet and a white cockade.

MacDonald of Keppoch - red and black works well. Loving the heather flock.

Cameron of Lochiel - red and blue also good

Appin - more blue and green

This is the Border Reivers light brigade. The only completely invented units. They are a Rogers Rangers pack and will provide fast moving infantry over difficult terrain.

Artillery and officers, repainted Austrians and Prussians. I have far too much artillery.

I have 3-4 more brigades to paint and a plan to make them unique in 7YW, but more of that next time

One of the advantages / disadvantages of playing at Pendraken's shop in the uncontrolled desire to buy stuff

Pack horses, for use by any army

Cows and sheep, or eating and worrying.

Right back to work.

In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle - Sorry

 I've finished the next batch of jungle and river sections. I bought some 2mm mdf rectangles from Amazon, they were cheap and infinitely better than using card, which is a pity as I have loads of card.

The river layout on a 6x4 table with approx 50% of my jungle

There are 2 types of river, 4" and 2" wide. I have approx 7 foot of each. Really impressed with how they have come out.

The last of the Poundland plants on the last of the mdf. Really happy with these.

This is just a quick post but there will be another one later today, on omething completely different

The Next Project

 So in light of the truly epic time in Scarborough, Dave and I were discussing going back next year to put on another massive game. So if you are playing a massive game what do you go for. Obviously 28mm Vietnam. No really. Helicopters, lost patrols, fire bases, tunnels and all kinds of bloody mayhem.

So with that in mind and already having 4 other armies ready to paint (28mm Dwarfs, 10mm Renaissance Poles and Turks and 7YW Scots - really, and i know they didn't exist but isn't that the best bit) I have been bulking out the Vietnam collection. I needed some more buildings for a firebase - in the post and loads of terrain

A trip to Poundland and I picked up loads of plastic plants for £2. This will do for a start.

I've also started a jungle river. This is a 4" wide river and a simple straight section to practice on. Plan to do 6" and about the same at 2". Insignificant on 48" of table but a sensible length for normal humans.

I also needed a few more USMC

2 x .50 cal heavy machine guns. The guns are frm TAG and the crew simple converts or Empress minis, I cut the gun of the gunners.

I've also bought some LAW operators and medics from Empress, 1 more pack to arrive. I've also put my section leader and radio man on the same base for ease of movement.

and finally I have bought my 1st games mat from tiny wargames. A bit of furniature movement and I have a 6x4 table set up in the spare room.

Right I've got more river to build

The Whopper, or How I Played an Epic Wargame

Last weekend Dave and I wandered down to Scarborough to play Sands of the Sudan on Gerry's ridiculously large wargames tables. We were playing Friday, Saturday and Sunday and were recreating the Relief of Khartoum, using Dave's glorious Sudan collection (as seen in "Exterminate all the Brutes" on HBO)

If you want to know how big watch this

The table was 24ft by 6ft. And there were 2 of them.

The plan was to have 2 columns advancing against an infinite number of Mahdists who would arrive on random event cards every turn. Gerry and Graham took the table run by me, see above. They were advancing the Suakin railway and relieving the Egyptian Garrison of a forward post about 20 ft away and then onto Omdurman 24ft away. Steve and Bob had a similar column on the other table. They were advancing along the Nile with support from 2 gunboats and 4 smaller troop carriers (my only contribution to the figures). The 1st 2 days were columns advancing and the 3rd day would be the battle of Khartoum.

Right then, time for loads of photos, mainly from my table

The British advance, facing only light resistance at the moment

Event cards placed a large force of Mahdist camelry to the front.

The next 3 event cards did the same and there were 1000 camels charging the British

The British formed a line

Shot a lot of camels, twice before the Bengal lancers charged in and routed the camelry. This was very cool.

On the other table Bob and Steve had to take a well defended town with gunboat support. THis would have been tight and they took a lot of casualties before the Mahdi called the forces back to Omdurman. But their fight was not over yet

THe Egyptian garrison of the forward base with Omdurman in the distance. The Mahdists as gathering

Camels destroyed the Brits start to advance again

The Train is harried

While the Egyptians face another assault, they faced 3 major attacks

This is the last one

Can the train column get there to relieve them

The Egyptians try to bug out, surely it's too late

Meanwhile a massive Mahdist force has appeared to the rear and slowed down the column again

But in the nick of time the Guards Regiment arrives to save the Egyptians. They got out with 50% casualties, but they did get out. And there ended the column advancing. 

THe next day we rotated the battle 90 degrees. the Brits on one table with Gerry and Graham at this end and Steve and Bob at the other.

All the Mahdists are out and they can be recycled. Steve and Bob look on as Dave stands over Khartoum and tells them all the ways it will be impossible to win

The Hussars sneak into the nearby fort.

Gerry and Graham have a tough time and a large camel force hits the Guards and a Beja force hits the artillery. THe Beja's blood was up, they'd just wiped out an entire Bengal Lancer Regiment! Losts of casualties but the Brits held

In the centre a large force is threatening the flank of the Brits but they are seen off and the way to Khartoum is clear. At British victory, Gordon is saved.

This was a properly brilliant weekend. Gerry and Anne were perfect hosts. Graham, Bob and Steve were great to play with. I had a fab time.

We intend to go back and play a Vietnam game, hence my painting room is covered in foliage, when I'm supposed to be painting 10mm Scots.