Tuesday 13 April 2010

FIGURES ARRIVE AND FAREWELL TO OLD FRIENDS - I HOPE!




My Renegade order arived today. I was a little surprised as for some reason it had not clicked that 7 regimental packs of late war Germans and Brits for RCW era Freikorps and VBCW respectively is one helluvalot of metal! Undaunted I am sure I will get through them quite quickly as they are quite simple compared to my SYW armies. Indeed I completed almost all of my RCW (nearly 300 figures) over the course of about 3 months. OK you say, that explains why they look so average on this blog, but they are fine and using the dipping method certainly speeded things up considerably.




Put my Austrian Succession Piedmontese on ebay this evening :o( - big decision but no matter how gorgeous they are I have never used them and need the space and money if they sell. Yet another example of impulse buying that I am sure we are all equally guilty of!






Monday 12 April 2010

figures arrive, well some anyway

spoke to Renegade last week. They are swamped which is understandable given their current brilliant offer, hence the delay in me getting my stuff. I don't mind though as Mr Postman delivered some Artizan figures to use as VBCW militia or LDV and two Warbases terraced houses. All very nice. I also picked up a dozen figures off ebay. Allegedly 28mm they are much smaller 25mm max so not v happy. Anyeway, decided i have a use for them as a School Cadet Force. In my case thy could be from Durham, Barnard Castle or Wolsingham Grammar schools all of which had cadet foreces in the '30's. Add a 28mm officer and NCO and away we go. but what side? Durham would have to be the Anglican League whilst Barney most likely to be be Royalist. Wolsingham? I am going to have them as Royalists. Will post pics when done.

Wednesday 7 April 2010

CLEARING THE DECKS


Still waiting for my figures from Renegade. I am also waiting for small orders from Musketeer and Artizan but I hope they will come this week so I can make a start on my VBCW project. What did arrive was a pair of terraced houses from Warbases. Very nice.


At least the Easter weekend has allowed me to finish off the last of my RCW units. A Bolshevik Tchanka (Eureka), another 8 Red cavalry (Copplestone), and 10 White cossacks (Old Glory). I have a few odds and ends left to do but they will be done in the fullness of time although am on with the gun crew for my Red Navy torpedo boat. I also finished my Pulp film crew from SMN News (Silent Movie Network News of course).
Easter also gave me the time (apart from 'practical parenting') to go through the old lead mountain. I delved into the bottom draw of the cabinet in my games room and found boxes that had remained closed for many years containing a vast array of unpainted 6mm figures and dead spiders. Most are ECW from Irregular and Heroics and Ros that I bought at least 10 years ago with a 30 Years War project in mind. There were also a couple of Irregular ready made armies for the Mexican Adventure. These are now all on ebay. I also came across a large pile of 6mm French WW1, Irregular again. I know I had these at least 20 years ago but having finished the Germans and BEF lost interest. At the very bottom of the draw (deep draw) was a load of 6mm Great Northern War - some Russians but mainly Poles and Saxons. These I must get done to add to and complete my armies for this conflict as its one of my favorite. All this was just the stuff I had forgotten about! I know I have about 100 unpainted Darkest Africa 28mm in another draw but as I already have about 300+ more already painted I doubt these will ever get done so they are no doubt destined to appear on ebay. Same goes for the 28mm Abysinian army. why did I buy them? Other stuff likely to have a future on ebay when I can summon up the courage to do so is my War of Austrian Succession Piedmonteste army that has never seen the light of day.
We shall see......

Saturday 3 April 2010

MY NEXT PROJECT

Well I have recently taken advantage of Renegade's current offer of 5 for the price of 4 regimental packs to finish off one project (post WW1 Freikorps and RCW) and start another one (VBCW). I have had all the source books for VBCW for ages but I have now decided on the wider scenario in which i shall set my games. The source books make a passing reference to the Chopwell Communists' sphere of influence extending as far as Wolsingham and Hexham, and there is also a mention of arms etc from the Liverpool Free State coming through Alston. I live in upper Weardale between Wolsingham and Alston and it seemed like a good idea to set my games literally in my own back yard! The terrain is very tough going, roads are minimal although there is a railway from Darlington through Bishop Auckland and all the way up the Dale and another from Alston to Hexham and further east. I think there was also a mineral railway that went to Consett. East-west travel not generally an issue but north-south or indeed travel between other points of the compass is another matter altogether!So what am I planning? Faction 1 is straightforward - I thought a small Royalist force tasked with intercepting the arms trade through Alston and upper Weardale, based in Alston but with posts further down the valley as far as Stanhope. They are also required to keep the lead and mineral mines in production, or at least ensure that the produce finds its way into Royalist hands. Some of the stuff mined in the Dale like Fluorspar is quite rare and is used in iron and steel making (I think). Maybe a company of regular infantry (DLI) and maybe a troop or squadron of cavalry (some horsed given the terrain). Not sure if these should be Yeomanry or regular. Quite fancy some Northumberland Hussars if only 'cos I served with them years ago when i was much younger, and fitter! I guess I would beed to throw some LDV into the pot as well. Airpower will also play a part as a plane is the best way of reconoitering the bleak high moors that make up most of the terrain. I will keep the BUF out of it for now.I think the main oppossition will come from the Anglican League, with forces of the Bishop of Durham based in West Auckland (where he has his now heavily fortified palace - will there ever be a garden centre there as there is now?). Interestingly, the villages of Eastgate and Westgate used to form the boundaries of the Bishop of Durham's deer park in medieval times so i might try and weave that in somehow.I will need a left wing element seeing as they are the ones transporting equipment through the area, so communist forces from Chopwell and Liverpool will find their way into the area. The lead miners might also rebel at some point.Finally, there might also be the chance of raids from over the Scottish border.We shall see how this develops. I have a week off work so hope to get some painting started once the figures arrive. Just waiting for Mr Postman!

WHEN I WERE A LAD......

Actually, I am wrong when I say that my first wargames club was Durham. Before moving there in 1971 I had been part of a small group of lads who met in the rooms above a wargames shop in Lytham St Annes - yes a real shop selling proper wargames figures! Can't remember exactly where it was but it was on a road with lots of shops on it running parallel to the sea front between the prom and Clifton Drive. The guy who owned the shop had hundreds of Hinton Hunt Napoleonics all beautifully painted that he let us use, and I remember enjoying some enormous day-long games. I also remember that his wife was a bit of a stunner, oh yes! Hinton Hunts were way out of my budget but the memory of playing with them is still with me after all these years. If my memory is correct we used quite an unsophisticated set of rules that wouldn't look out of place today. I wonder where everyone who took part in those games is now?

Friday 2 April 2010

HERE WE GO......











Well, as the old song says, "everybody's doin' it, doin' it doin' it" so after much thought and the arrival of a brand new laptop for my birthday here is my rambling attempt to share my wargames experiences, interests, whats on the paintstation and so forth.

My current project is the Russian Civil War (with a bit of Back of Beyond thrown in when I get my Chinese done). As usual (for those who know me) I have gone a little o.t.t. in terms of troop numbers; well over 150 Bolsheviks and at least 100 Whites. Lots of cavalry and too many vehicles and aircraft, but hey! What the hell! The figures are a mixture of Copplestone, Old Glory (they are very nicely animated Andy), Musketeer and a smattering of odd Pulp and Artizan figures thrown in. As for vehicles, apart from an assortment of tanks and stuff I went equally mad on ebay and acquired several Matchbox Bulldog Mack trucks for about £2.99 each that paint up well as a generic WW1/interwar lorry. I have a few armoured cars, a Sloppy Jalopy Austin, Copplestone Garford and Mbregev-Renault. I have some Hat, Emhar and Modelkrak 1/72 armoured vehicles that I will probably get rid of now I have some in the correct scale. My pride and joy is an armoured train! All 3 feet of it! In armoured train terms it IS the size that matters! The train is a Company B monster that I purchased from Wargames Command Post with my Christmas money (thanks Santa - er, Uncle T!). It goes together quite easily and I decided to paint it in a neutral scheme so it can in theory represent either side (the flags come off and can be replaced with White Russian ones). My People's and Workers' Red Air Fleet is represented by a weird assortment - a Spad 4,a Spad XIII and a Nieuport 17. The Whites have a Nieuport 11 and a massive Ilya Mouremets heavy bomber that is not yet finished. It is a brute with a wingspan of almost a foot!!!


Have only had one proper game so far as work has got in the way. Tried out the TFL Triumph of the Will. They worked quite well for the size of game played - I had EVERYTHING on the table, less the train, which was delayed (in the post not by leaves on the track). The Whites under Admiral Reidechak (John) won and dismantled essential equipment for the war effort (a borschspigot) from the 97th People's and Workers' Beetroot Factory before evading the pursuing Reds of Comrade Robbiroddisovich (Rob). More on that another time....