Flanderkin Serjeant

On Holiday until 11th February

2012-01-22T13:04:00.001-08:00

When the legend becomes fact print the legend: Bavarian Blue.

2012-01-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

It has always struck me as a bit odd that people who are very knowledgeable about the uniforms of their period will admit that of course Bavarian Blue in the Seven Years War/ Napoleonic Wars/ Franco Prussian War was much darker during that particular period. Yet somehow the implication is that this was something of a temporary departure from the usual light blue that they wore through the rest of history.

Last year I was commissioned to paint the Spencer Smith 30mm Bavarians for their 1870 range. Wanting to get it right I started looking at some references which provided a surprisingly wide range of hues.

Inevitably the search started with the Osprey volume German Armies 1870-71 vol2, and very good it was too. I have cropped the picture above as I want to use the image for the purpose of fair review not just rip off the illustrators work. Nevertheless I am sure you can see that this comes in at the lighter end of blue shades and is not far removed from the classic idea that we have of traditional Kornflower blue.

Next I had the idea of looking at botanical illustrations of the Kornflower itself but this proved a dead end as they varied just as widely in the shade used.

So next up to the uniform bible itself, the works of Knotel. Surely he would be accurate especially on a German subject.

Now then, this looks pretty good, darker certainly but nevertheless light enough to clearly be a long way from Prussian Blue. I would have been quite happy with that but by that time I had started looking at the work of German war artists and it struck me that they were choosing a colour even darker.

Carl Rochling depicts the colour well here.

Then a bombshell; I had put out some feelers in Europe and out of the blue came this picture from the Bavarian Army museum.

I think you will agree Mr Rochling has it pretty well depicted. And yet this nagging doubt how could Knotel have got it wrong?

Well there is this one small thought. During the victory parade at the end of the war commentators noticed that the dye on the Bavarian uniforms had faded to a dark purplish colour. What if the uniform in the case has also changed over time? And Rochlings picture was painted in 1894, what if it was based on an actual uniform but a faded one? I regard the argument as still unproven though I do personally lean toward the darkest shade of blue.

And finally after all that what did I paint my own Bavarians?

Bavarian Blue of course. Who in their right mind would pass up the chance to have such colourful figures on their table. In any case I could not face a lifetime of having to justify the colour used every time I put them on the Table.

And as John Ford said : "When the legend becomes the truth, paint the legend".

Thank you for your kind comments.

2012-01-11T06:06:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to all of you who have taken time to comment on the return of this Blog.

Conrad asks about the chap with wine bottle, he is 20mm and comes from a set entitled armed Catholic clergy by CP models . I am not enamoured with all of CP models products, I have never felt the need for SS execution squads on my own table. But doubtless they fill a niche and they do make very fine figures. So tucked away amongst their lists are several quite characterful sets.

DaveWargamer wonders whether I should cut the 'spare leg' away from my standard bearers. An interesting idea, but I am left wondering why, having chosen a figure I admire, I would then want to start hacking bits off it? Nevertheless it is heartwarming that people are willing to help with suggestions and advice.

The picture at the top of the blog is taken from the wonderful French Magazine 'Uniformes' and shows french Cuirassiers relaxing sometime at the turn of the 19C. Not least interesting is the padded garment or Gilet they are wearing. This was worn under the Cuirass but is rarely illustrated.

And I leave you with a tantalising taster. What the hobby has lacked for some time is a blog or site dealing with 30mm figures similar to the excellent Lone S Ranger or other 20mm resources. I am awaiting exciting news on this front which I will share with you all as soon as it appears.

Just for Hugh

2012-01-07T13:34:00.001-08:00

To celebrate the return of this blog

The Gentlemen of the Chorus perform the closing number from

'Holger Eriksson: The Musical'

A Happy New Year -- the story so far.

2012-01-06T12:21:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all of you who have taken the trouble to check this blog from time to time, and an apology for my tardiness. Nevertheless I have returned.

It is likely to be a staccato start as I am taking a three week holiday at the end of the month in order to celebrate my 60th birthday. I also anticipate changing my computer and broadband provider. Yet in the face of such overwhelming clamour from my readers what else could I do?

My first task as been to struggle with the blog controls and remove all of the streamlining and visual chrome designed to make the blog eye catching and happening. It took some effort but I am now proud to observe that it has all the style of a 1950s copy of the Times and is just as reader friendly.

It has been an eventful few months since I last posted. Classic Wargaming has gone, Battlegames has gone and come back again and some stuff has happened to countries around the Mediterranean.

I have to say that what I have been painting this month has hardly been exciting. 20mm civilian figures to be exact, I need a couple of hundred for my Spanish Civil War games this year. I had about 40 metal figures from various manufacturers but the gap is being filled up with the old Airfix Platform Figures and Railway Workers sets now marketed by Dapol. Apart from the shock of finding that a two bob kit is now £6.00, I have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of these forty year old little figures. I strongly suspect that they were sculpted by Charles Stadden

So finally, a very happy New Year to you all. Celebrate well and play it safe, just like the chap above.

Sabbatical

2011-04-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

The Serjeant intends to follow the example Miss Emma Watson (a particular role model of his) and take a break until the autumn.

It is his intention to return then, invigorated, with a revamped blog and hopefully something interesting to say.

He wishes to make it clear that any rumours that he was bullied into this are completely unfounded.

Too good too miss

2011-02-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

I normally confine my musings on the history of wargaming to the Christmas period but recently my good friend, (and source for all things German) Martin T, wrote such an interesting addition to my thoughts on wargaming and the occult that I simply had to reproduce it in full here.

A rare shot of the venue for the infamous 1927 National Convention

Over to Martin......

In response to your recent blog entry "The Mystery of the Fourth Wargamer...", after studying the picture I have come to the conclusion that the man in the centre "chanting from a book" is probably intending to make the figures move of their own volition...

This brings me to another matter involving the Forces of Darkness, namely the way in which perfectly normal, rational people become possessed by malignant spirits (lets call them entities) when they go near a wargames table. You have probably seen this yourself- faces contorted with fury over some minor point not dealt with by the rules, etc. Although I have never seen anyone actually throw a table over, I have witnessed people packing up and storming out in the middle of a game... rules which seem to give particular scope for these entities include WRG 6th Edition Ancient Rules, and the Napoleonic rules written by a certain Mr Quarrie...

Further to your comments about Aleister Crowley in the same blog entry, I have come across the following in the book "Collision of Empires. Britain in Three World Wars 1793-1945", by A.D.Harvey (incidentally a great read for anyone interested in the British war effort in these wars; it also has a great deal of comment and detail about Britain`s allies and enemies): In 1907 J.F.C. Fuller, later a military theorist, historian and Major-General, published his first book- "The Star of the West: A Critical Essay on the Works of Aleister Crowley". This was originally the winning entry in a competition for a study of the works of Crowley with a prize of £100, set up by Crowley; it was the only entry, and Crowley never paid the £100.

Fuller later went on to write various pieces for Crowley`s magazine "The Equinox". Harvey then goes on: "Fuller`s instinctive leaning towards hocus-pocus also appears in his writings on military tactics, even a quarter of a century after his final break with Aleister Crowley: "It [the tank] is a two-dimensional weapon when compared to infantry, which is a one-dimensional arm; that is, it moves in lines and fights in lines. Whilst the old tactical form of war was linear, the new is based on plane surfaces (areas) and is developed in cubic spaces - three-dimensional warfare".

"Several questions arise from the above:Did Fuller, who had an interest in the occult, ever wargame with Samuel MacGregor Mathers, a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn? If so, in how many dimensions?If we set up an 18th Century wargame with linear formations and tactics on a plane surface, would it then be three-dimensional? What might this look like?Why are some people more prone than others to possession when near a wargames table?

Martin T.

Unlike Martin I have actually seen a wargames table turned over, and yes it was WRG 6th. Assyrians and Romans if I recall correctly. But you know the funny thing is, now that I think about it I cannot remember anyone actually touching the table?

Addendum : How should I paint this?

2011-02-02T05:23:00.001-08:00

As I stated the Colonel of the Regt is to be the McNab of McNab and modelled upon an old wargaming flatmate.. The figure is a lightly converted Front Rank Bonnie Prince Charlie on a Willie horse. (my flatmate was a bit of a shorta**e. The shock of hair and purple suiting are also historically correct.)

But my question is this: if you look closely at the edge of his jacket and the cuffs you can see that it is edged with a fringe. Rather like Davy Crockett's buckskins. I am leaning toward painting this as white fur but I wonder if anyone is familiar with this figure or the source it was modelled from and can give me any better advice. I am not convinced by the idea of gilt fringe as I have never seen it portrayed in this way and it would surely be horribly uncomfortable as a cuff edging.

A Shiny New Year to you all

2011-01-28T11:37:00.000-08:00

And off the painting table march a unit of well glossed 30mm French infantry from Spencer Smith's excellent Franco Prussian War range. And they keep on marching straight to the storage box, because 2011 has officially been designated Year of the Tricorne here at Martial Villas.

But more of that anon, let me rush straight into one of the questions that will be preoccupying us over the next year or so: Are there any rules which govern the creation of fictitious uniforms?

I know at least one gamer who delights in the creation of violent juxtaposition of colours and takes pleasure in his units looking like a clown convention. But alas not for me, my military milliners agonise long hours over what year light infantry units adopted black belting or when the sword began to be worn under rather than over the coat. And in truth it matters even more to a fictitious country for as Bob Dylan reminds us 'to live outside the law you must be honest'.

So recently when I began to think about a 60 man unit of Highlanders I was drawn to the idea of creating my own regiment. I had the castings from Garrison. These were a metal casting of Barry Minot's 30mm plastic AWI highlander. Originally designed for Spencer Smiths Connoisseur range back in the 70's they are rather nice little chaps that will comfortably fit from the end of the SYW to 1800 at a pinch. In order to boost that flexibility I decided that mine would be one of the numerous short lived units raised from the highlands that never quite got permanently established established on the army list. Montgomery's, Frazer, Keith, McKenzie, Aberdeen all came and went. But mine would be Grant's in memory of a wargamer I once shared a flat with for six months without ever understanding a single word he said.
So Grants it is and the Colonel will be the Mcnab of McNab. But what tartan would they wear? In search of inspiration I looked at the famous 'death of General Wolfe' specifically the group of onlookers. Just the mixed bunch you could see any day slowing down opposite a motorway smash. But look at the highland officer at the back - that's not a government tartan! I spare you the research involved but eventually I was able to try it out as a sandy base with dark green overstripe and quite a lot of orange. It would have been wonderful in 90mm but take my word for it, it looked awful in 30mm.

So the final result used an orange base and much brighter contrast. 60 figures took quite some time but painting is finished now and I am fairly pleased with the result. Overall a lot more work than just copying a plate but it is my own creation and I am happy that it could easily have actually been worn without the rest of the army throwing rocks!

The Mystery of the Fourth Wargamer: or The Devil Throws the Dice

2010-12-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

Gentlemen,

let me invite you to close the curtains on the snow swirling outside. Draw closer to the fire and settle back with a glass of something to fortify the nerves.

I was chatting the other day to my old chum Harry Pearson, you remember he did a lot of research on the origins of Wargaming when he was writing up his Magnum Opus 'Achtung Schweinhund'. One of the fascinating aspects was the close association that developed back between the wars between wargaming and the study of the occult. Harry records how the great beast master Alistair Crowley and Dennis Wheatley, author of the Devil Rides Out were both keen wargamers.

However Harry is a little vague on what role, if any, the wargame played in Black Magic Rituals. Was a unit's reaction, for example, decided by counting factors or reading the entrails of a Black Cock . I decided an outright question was the best approach but all Harry did was turn pale and mutter something about not meddling in affairs best left alone before hastily leaving.

However I could not just leave it and I believe I have discovered evidence that the wargame may have had a more central and sinister place in the occult practices.
Look at the picture above. Published in John Garratts Model Soldiers 1959 it purports to show a wargame in progress. But does it ? Look at the central figure chanting from a book, the two identically posed acolytes surely those grins denote a state of drugged frenzy. And what do you make of the background? Why are they playing in front of a giant and rather ragged paper screen? What horrors do they wish to conceal.

"Oh enough," you scoff, "This is merely fanciful stuff".

So be it, but, look again gentle reader and tell me who is casting the fourth shadow?

Consider, the light is falling from the left and casting a shadow to the right of the figures. Three shadows are clear but who does the central one belong to? He cannot be out of picture since the shadow of the left hand gamer (or should I say worshipper) falls OVER his shadow. He could be behind the paper but look at the top of the wall no gap is apparent and if a door was behind we would see the outline of that as well.

No only one answer fits the facts a fourth gamer is about to materialise in the middle of the group. I would go as far as to be certain that the Prince of Darkness is about to appear to his followers.

In fact,.. Just a moment I can hear a scratching at the window, I must go and make it secure, I will be right back...................

In Wedge we Serve

2010-12-22T13:20:00.000-08:00

Regular readers will be aware that at this contemplative time of year it is my wont to reflect back to an earlier and possibly more agreeable age. Above we see the typical wargamer of the post war years relaxing at his painting table. The gentleman in question is an American and seems to have stepped straight from the pages of a Nero Wolfe mystery. You will no doubt notice the rather natty summer weight double breasted suit, such informal attire for gaming became acceptable much earlier in the States than in stuffy England. I believe his 'fraternity ring' marks him as a Harvard or Yale man as indeed most model soldier collectors were back then. Yet there is a danger in deducing too much from these faded photographs. Wargaming is dreadfully lacking in written evidence for these early years and much like the Archaeologist we find ourselves forming complete systems of gaming from a tiny shard of dice or a crumpled piece of cardboard building. This is at best problematic so often the safest answer is simply to admit that we know very little of how these early gamers actually carried out their wargames.

Take the example above. One of the best known of early images of gaming taken from the great work Charge.
And detailing the battle of Sittangbad, yet look closer. What is that item in the top left corner? Yes the one running alongside the river with a Light Infantryman standing on it. I have tried telling myself variously that it is an improvised breastwork or a wharf of some kind.
But Please lets be honest, it is a Wedge. Pure and simple a Wedge in the middle of the battlefield. Why? I have no idea. Oh well just an isolated anomaly you say, but wait look at this picture of a group of US gamers taken some time in the fifties. Quite a lot to comment on in this picture I think you will agree and will return to it * but just for now concentrate on the far right of the table.

Yes that's right the gamer laying out his figures is clearly using a wedge to assist him. What did it do? and why did such a common and essential piece of equipment simply disappear from the history of the hobby. Perhaps one day we will now but for now we can only speculate.

* shall discuss some of the disturbing aspects of this image on Christmas eve as being a time more suited for the unusual and supernatural but in the meantime may I invite you to study it and decide whether you can discern anything strange.

Good Enough? What does that mean to you?

2010-12-09T03:16:00.000-08:00

For me last years high points, were the works of Messrs Grant and Olley, and the finest of their books has to be Wargaming in History. In my opinion right up there with Charge and The Wargame.

No shortage of inspirational and thought provoking material, but the last week I have been mainly pondering on:

"It will be most unusual for wargamers to collect and paint armies of a particular period without an interest in the history and an understanding of the tactics of the troops and their uniforms."

For myself that is something of an understatement, all too often raising a new wargames army had been akin to taking a tiger by the tail - impossible to let go. Casually picking up a few 20mm figures for the Spanish Civil War because the Civil Guard hats were funny, resulted in a fifteen year study of the war (so far) and a couple of thousand painted figures, vehicles and buildings.

Perhaps that is the reason why I could never really come to grips with the 18C imaginations. I liked the idea well enough but frankly so much of it seemed to lack any substance or, to be honest, relevance to anyone apart from the author. I found myself very much more attracted by Peter Young's distinction between Imaginary armies and Fictional ones. Fictional characters and armies operate within the framework of a real world but one that is slightly skewed. Of course to do this it is necessary to actually know something of the world in which they are set, and I know absolutely nothing about the functioning of the Reichskrieg.

As a result I have spent much of the last month trying to come to terms with the Holy Roman Empire in general and the 18C Reichsarmee in particular. I now know how many Electoral Circles there were and which were ecclesiastic or secular. I can tell you the difference between a Landgraf and a Margraf though my spelling of either is pretty dodgy. I can list the rivals to Prussia as dominant states in the Empire at the end of the 17C. (Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover and Munster, since you ask. ... Munster????).

And how exactly does all of that enhance my wargaming? I don't know to be honest but the truth is that it does. I am looking forward to finally getting to terms with the period as next years big project. I have sorted out the figures that I wish to use and planned a painting style that will be quick and simple. I shall try to raise four small armies for the States of Hanover, Bavaria, The Ecclesiastical Circle of Munster, and Bohemia.

Above can be seen the first rough drafts for Bavaria, Hanover and Bohemia. (spot the fictional one) And below the first finished recruits for the Bohemian Wenceslas Regt of foot. You may notice that one figure is black lined and one is not. I think that I shall not bother black lining this army, to my mind the difference is not worth the time required and when the figures are glossed to a degree that a Guards RSM could see his face in them then it will not be that visible.

In conclusion we are looking at a project which is set up to be rather heavy on research but light on painting. Good enough? Well only time will tell on that but I am interested in how other people arrive at these decision's.

Hopefully more on these armys in the New Year, but next I shall return to my traditonal Christmas posts on Wargaming BF (Before Featherstone)

Whatever happened ...to that Flanderkin bloke?

2010-11-23T13:22:00.000-08:00

Big John Wayne, The Duke himself, was given to saying " Never apologise its a form of weakness" .

Nevertheless, and with due respect, I feel a word of apology is due to the many who have clicked on this site in the vain hope of an update. Lack of Inspiration? Laziness? Aching shoulder? A bit of all those but it suddenly occurred to me that Christmas is almost upon us and I will wish to take another seasonal look at 'Wargaming Before Featherstone'. I had better blow the dust off the keyboard and get in a little practice first.

So let us take a quick canter through the events of the last six months. I have been mainly painting the new 30mm Franco Prussian range from Peter Johnstone at Spencer Smith Miniatures. These are a new 'Classic' range of genuine 30mm figures. The best news is that they match perfectly with the old but incomplete Willie range.
Most of the painting has been done for display models for SSM, though I have managed to put in a few for myself. So I can hardly claim to be a disinterested party, nevertheless I think these are a great range and it is

wonderful to actually be able to buy new 30mm castings. On which point I would also praise the Jacdaw 30mm figures from Old Glory UK, but more on those at a later date.
div> I have also enjoyed painting the 25mm Stadden range of Crimean figures. When you think that these were designed over 50 years ago they are amazing. Above a Guards officer stands next to a Foundry figure.

These figures are great fun to paint in a straightforward toy soldier style and really look the business in a nice coat of gloss varnish.

I also took a giant step forward with a chance buy on ebay which got me all my mini fig S range Heavy Brigade with one click of the button. This is how they arrived and apart from a re varnish I don't think I can improve on the original painting.

Finally just so that not everything is Old School and pre 1970, I have been painting up some of the excellent redoubt French Indian Wars figures. I bought these when they were first released 10? years ago and finally have been painting them this summer. A very welcome contrast to the other figures.

So nothing of any literary merit, just a shopping list really. Still it has actually broken the barrier of the first post again. Who knows perhaps in my next post I may manage something a little more interesting.

Whatever happened to.....

2010-11-23T07:16:00.000-08:00

A Bad, Bad, Man.

2010-07-18T04:49:00.000-07:00

Here we are again, summer break over. In fact I have hurt a nerve in my shoulder which meant I could either paint or type, so I selfishly took the painting option. I have been painting some of the brand new 30mm figures from Spencer Smith more about them shortly. And more about painting and thoughts on the results of our poll.

But first let us start off by returning to the roots of this blog, Flanders and Corporal John. From time to time I have put up notes on various books to do with the War of the Spanish Succession. Last week I was lucky enough to track down two fairly rare memoirs by unabashed rogues. The first one by Peter Drake, I found a relatively cheap copy in California (£12, even after adding postage a once in a lifetime bargain) Inspired by this I started looking for a book often referred to but rarely seen.

The Expert Swordsman's Companion" or "The True Art of Self Defence" by Donald McBane. Glasgow 1728.

This book is that rarest of memoirs, the writings of a genuinely bad man. Those of us who love the writings from the ranks are painfully familiar with soldiers who have got religion and intersperse Methodist tracts with selective memories. Or the illiterate but honest soldier whose book is "as told to the Rev. Blogs." Here across three hundred years a man speaks directly to us who admits to being a brothel keeper, a pimp and a professional duellist.

He sees service at Killicrankie and most of the battles and sieges of the Nine years War and the Wars of the Spanish Succession. His book provides excellent and direct accounts of his experiences in these actions. But although the various Highlanders, French and Bavarians do him great harm it is as nothing compared with the beatings, stabbings and shootings he sustains in fierce turf wars for the control of the army's travelling brothels.

The memoir has escaped uncensored because it is contained bound within the authors guide to sword fighting. Even this is no academic treatise but gives a measure of the man.. It contains advice never to turn your back once a challenge has been given and hints such as butting and carrying a pocket full of sand to hurl in your opponents face.

After a few hours on the Internet I found the whole text was contained within a book on highland swordsmanship. The excellent Caliver books had a copy and what an enthralling read it is, though it sometimes seems more like the script for Deadwood than a military memoir.

At times Mcbane is extremely funny in a black sort of way but just a couple of extracts to convince you that this is not your average lovable rogue we are dealing with here.

After an absence McBane returns to the camp to find that one of his whores has married a soldier. Fair enough, he responds generously, but I expect the usual rate from you every week without fail make it how you will. Unable to protect his wife the soldier has no choice but to desert and they flee together (one hopes they escaped the provosts noose and McBanes murderous henchmen.)

Later in life after leaving the army McBane makes his living by provoking less able swordsmen and then backing himself to win the fight.

One might say this book has the virtue of honesty, but one wonders what he has chosen not to tell us about himself. A fascinating aside from this book is the insight it gives us into the way the British Army controlled the brothel trade through its muscle. Something not prominent in most regimental histories.

Those who want to read more about McBane can buy the book for the complete text.or try this excellent website for a flavour..

http://www.aboutscotland.co.uk/theroyalscots/histmcbane.html

Interlude

2010-05-13T13:34:00.001-07:00

In the best tradition I now bring you a soothing interlude while the votes are counted and our team of pundits synthesise your comments.

This week I have been painting Renegade ECW. After the avaunt gard heresies that we have been wrestling with it was rather calming to go back to a nice bit of highlighting and washing. In truth I was mainly motivated by the price when I bought these figures. However like many modern figures they paint up very easily and come to life in a most pleasing manner. They are destined for Charles Gerrard's regiment of foot in my slowly forming English Civil War armies. I had originally intended to finish these in time for the 350th anniversaries

But who wants to let artificial deadlines spoil their hobby?

feedback and update

2010-05-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

Firstly thank you to everyone who has voted or contributed to the comments. I have added a little more information for the last 48 hours before the poll closes.
First off a quick look at the originals in the Crimea. I think you would be hard pressed to see what colour the turban is from this very early photograph. However I think it is fair to say that it does not stand out from the fez in a particularly striking way.

Taking the widespread advice to lighten the shade of green I took up a fairly bright shade, put it on the turban and to my mind it is an instant improvement. The striking thing is that a shade which is far too bright and sickly shade works in the context of scale and surrounding colours.

I shall say no more until the poll closes, but I do want to thank everyone in the UK who has overcome a certain weariness with polls and raised the energy to vote hre.

What would you do?

2010-05-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

I have been researching the French army a little more and discover that the Zouave regiment I had painted actually had a green turban at this time , not white as I had painted them. No problem, a stroke of paint and they were altered. But then an amazing thing happened. When viewed from four or five feet away the turban which had been clearly visible simply disappeared. Not only that but the fez and face also blurred together into an indistinguishable blob.

It is quite amazing the way that effectively it creates a kind of camouflage effect. But worse than that figures which were obviously zouaves are now pretty indistinct.

Here then, is vital question. Is historical accuracy the overriding factor? The turbans were definitely green. But they look better in white. Not just more attractive but they convey the style of the figure much better.

I know most of you being civilised and worldly wise will say, "My dear chap,they are your figures do them as you wish." Quite so, but what would you do if they were yours. I am genuinely interested in what is a fairly fundamental question but one which is taken for granted and seldom discussed. I have placed a poll on the left column where I should be obliged if you voted, but please feel free to add additional detail in the comments.

A trial game

2010-04-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes one needs to have a game to assess what what work is still needed on a project. When Martyn T. visited last week I put on a Spanish Civil War Game which was really an exercises in identifying the gaps, nevertheless we managed to spend a very pleasant sunny evening playing through a fictitious scenario from Autumn 1936. The Army of Africa is sweeping upwards ever nearer to Madrid, taking one town after another in a premature blitzkrieg.
Here at Ciudad del Juguete two companies of Civil Guard and a handful of the local agricultural labourers are prepared to defend the town anticipating that relief will be arriving from the regional capital.

A regt of Moorish cavalry and an infantry Tabor are the first to arrive supported by an armoured car. The cavalry moved around to the further side of the town while the infantry moved into place for a direct assault.

The supporting unit of motorised Foreign Legion advanced down the road but came under fire from militia who ambushed them from the cover of olive groves. The two leading vehicles were damaged and blocked the road to all further use.

On the far side of the board the Republican column threw a very useful die and began to deploy almost from the start of the game. Advance units of Assault police and an armoured lorry swung straight into the town while buses filled with Anarchists set off down the bypass to take on the moors.

The Assaultos motorcycle combinations are Russian WW2 with a different paint job. The bus is a plastic kit from a railway shop. The Bull came around the neck of a bottle of Torres red wine.

The final picture shows the scene at the end of the afternoon. In the foreground the infantry is about to break through the last resistance on the barricades. The armoured car has been unable to find a way through the defences and has neglected its allocated task of providing fire power to the cavalry who can be seen entering the town on the far side. However it is too little too late. To stand any chance the Nationalists should have been in the town before the column arrived.

Martin had some luck in getting the column so soon and in knocking out two vehicles, however his clever use of ambushes and resistance in depth were the main reasons for a clear cut victory on his part.

And what did I learn. Masses more basing needed especially for the vehicles. I must make divisions in the storage boxes so that each unit can be lifted out easily without having to check every base and I don't like the coloured line around the base it doesn't help that much and is ugly. I have painted far more basic infantry than I need but support weapons are erratic mainly because I have not based them and I need a whole batch full of transport. Apart from that it's looking pretty good.

The rules were a big chunk of Contemptible Little Armies with some homemade bits nailed on. They worked well on the whole but Artillery needs some work and I need to read up on how a spotter works before wireless communication.

The terrain was simple and deliberately toy like (and I do know that hedges are rare in Southern Spain) but it gave a table that was easy to fight over and still had a little character. With Martin's cheerful cooperation we were able to make a lot of progress and still have an enjoyable game.

A sleepy day in Ciudad del Juguete

2010-04-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

coming soon to a Blog near you.

Gallic - c'est tout

2010-04-07T01:59:00.000-07:00

I have had to bring painting to a halt this week and prepare to play a game or two. Martin T is visiting for two days and bringing with him some of his lovely medieval German collection. That will be one game and I am putting out some of the Army of Africa together with mixed bunch of militia, Anarchists and security forces. Autumn 1936 and two columns fight for the possession of a regional capital in dusty Estramadura.

So, conclusions on what I have done so far?

I think it is unarguably true that if you get far enough away from the figures then the simple one looks better than the detailed and shaded style. It follows that there is no such thing as best painting only that that you prefer. That choice may be based on factors such as skill, enjoyment, cost, available time or even whether you prefer to be in the same room as your figures when playing.

For myself I think I am still compromising too much with these figures. On the next regt. that I paint I shall only paint the bayonets in silver. The muskets do not stand out at a distance and can be left unpainted in black. The logic of this style seems to be leading to a basically unpainted figure with a few splashes of flat bright colour, whether I could ever be happy with that I remain unsure.

Ultimately the only worthwhile test will be when I use these figures in a game.

Gallic: comments

2010-04-02T06:23:00.001-07:00

Thank you for the interest in this subject.

Jim makes the excellent suggestion that one can get an idea of the effect by standing well away from the screen. I have experimented and this does work although I found I needed to be about 15 feet away in the next room. In order to prevent you having to stand at the bottom of the garden I have posted a smaller image of the figures. This seems to work from about 6-8 feet away.

I should emphasise that this is an experiment I do not envisage using it on my collection of 30m Willie and Stadden figures. However I am optimistic that it might help me put two plastic 20mm nomad horse armies on the table instead of having them on their original sprues for the next 20 years. I am enjoying doing it and I am learning something though I am not sure what yet.

Charles, vin rouge nights are all to few at present so any excuse is welcome. I suppose that afternoons spent lounging in a crowded bar eating rillettes and crusty bread with red wine that could strip chrome are a thing of the past. Where could you get enough cigarette smoke from these days? Failing the authentic ingredients a couple of slices of mothers pride and a bag of hot pork scratchings should give that proper Tabac feel. But where does one get a simple vin de table these days? Everyone has upgraded so much that the old fashioned red plonk is virtually unobtainable, if anyone has any good ideas I would love to know.

Ross makes the point that there is no standard distance to view a figure from. I suppose if one was painting two armies the one likely to be on the far side of the table is not worth investing so much time in. You will note that I am trying these ideas out on the cheapest figures that I can find and on an army I want quickly. My initial thoughts are that it will work best on a simpler uniform late 19c or Marlburian I am unconvinced on how much could be left off say Napoleonics. However it does raise the prospect of having armies that one might not otherwise get round to. Two hat plastic armies might be affordable in every sense of the word.

I will not bore everyone by going into great detail over the painting on black, I am making the same discoveries that everyone else did years ago. I used black because I wanted to base the figures first and I reasoned if I could not reach all the figure with paint it would not matter with black undercoat. I found difficulty in seeing the detail on the figure and judging where the brush point was. I also had trouble covering black with red and needed three coats. I now understand why Games workshop paints are so popular. Mr Asquith suggested dry brushing with white before starting painting and I am trying this on the next lot. I fear that I may have been a bit more heavy handed than he advised, ah well.

And finally, DC. I am completely in awe of your painting style. It is absolute perfection I should be distraught if I influenced you to change a brush stroke. I rank your work alongside Giles Allison, John Ray and Phil Olley as the very highest standard of figure painting.

A bit Gallic part 2 (pure and applied)

2010-04-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

Hinchliffe artillery painted C1976 by Barry Warner, who painted many regiments of Russians for Peter Gilder's holiday center.

About seven years ago I hosted a large Napoleonic game at my house. Of the 3-4,000 figures in use I painted all but a handful myself. All of my figures were carefully shaded, dry brushed and washed in ink and pretty well what I would regard as the best I could do. But I was short of Russians and I dipped into an army I had acquired twenty years or so ago. All were Hinchliffe figures, many of them early period castings and all were competently painted in Humbrol straight from the pot without shading, lining or any other fancy frills.

To my surprise and dismay when the game was underway it was agreed that the antique Hinchliffe figures were the best looking on the table.

A corps of Russians with some annoying Hinchliffe jager in the centre.

I have reflected on this ever since and the conclusion is inescapable figures that look superb from 18" away do not keep the magic once on the table. Certainly if you are the one that has painted them then memory will supply the missing details to the eye and you will see the subtle beauty, but sadly to others they will be appearing dark and lifeless. Why this is I do not know but I suspect it has something to do with the eye being unable to register the colours and blurring them into a darker whole. I notice at shows that some people attempt to get over this by painting their armies in increasingly bright colours. And good luck to them, it certainly gives some eye catching results. But it never seemed to me to be a complete solution and so I pondered quietly on.

I began to make a little more sense of it when I read an article on the Japanese tradition that by eliminating unnecessary things, more necessary things come to the foreground.

Which brings us neatly to our last post on French artists. You will remember that the things which stood out to the critics of the impressionist movement were that the colours were flat blocks of unshaded colour and that the figures seemed to be unfinished by the standards of the time. However by eliminating all unnecessary detail and shading of colours and conveying only that information that the eye could take in as an impression they were able to create paintings full of light, life and energy.

So what would that look like as a wargames unit? I am not sure but I have had a first stab at applying the principles. Now here we hit the first snag, I cannot show you what the figures look like from five foot away in a good light. I can only show you a scan of them close up. I will try some photos under sunlight if we ever have some but in the meantime..

The figure on the left has what I would regard as the absolute minimum detail to convey the 'feeling' of the uniform. However when put on a table four feet away the red on the jacket has long disappeared and the face is distorted by the presence of a beard. The belt across the sash disappears but has the effect of making the sash itself look darker and duller. The figure on the right conveys just as much 'zoooviness' and looks much more vibrant and distinguishable. And yes the figure on the right does look unfinished to me too. I really want to at least put a beard on but I keep reminding myself its supposed to look like its not finished.
I tried to use a bright palette of colours: Maganese blue Coat, Cadium red trousers, GW vomit brown flesh.
I used yellow ochre for the pack and two shades of sky blue for sash and fez tassel. I wonder whether the figure would be cleaner if I kept to only one shade for both areas. The base is a home mixed green of Chrome oxide (Goblin Green) and flesh to give a neutral background.

Coming over a bit Gallic

2010-03-29T12:20:00.000-07:00

I was thinking the other night about Paris in 1863, specifically about the Salon of the Refusal .

Well I cannot imagine that I was the only one to be spending time reflecting on how the French art establishment had become so stuffy and hide bound that it refused to exhibit the new paintings of Manet and as a result an 'alternative' exhibition created the seeds for Impressionism. Though it is possible that I am the only one thinking of it in terms of wargames figures. A typical Acadamie work. Not the best reproduction I am afraid, but if you look at the gladiators chest you can see the flesh shadowed in a way that might have used the foundry three colour flesh system.

The establishment painters valued by the Académie used carefully blended layers of paint in sombre colours to achieve realistic and natural effects. brushstrokes were blended away and transparent glazes were used over the paint. The Acadamie was actively hostile to other styles of painting.

Manet began to develop a freer manner, creating form not through a gradual blending of tones, but with discrete areas of color side by side.Viewers were not used to flat space and shallow volumes in painting. To many, Manet's "color patches" appeared unfinished. The impressionists took further the laying side by side of
blocks of bright colour to convey light and movement. Impressionist art is a style in which the artist captures the image of an object as someone would see it if they just caught a glimpse of it.

This picture by Manet was painted in 1866 and was refused by the Paris Salon. It only hints at the palette and techniques which the impressionists would develop but already the flatness of the jacket is a world away from shading and highlighting.

I am not suggesting that blended and glazed effects were inherently 'bad'. In fact I feel that many modern figure designers and painters have a good deal in common with the English contemporary Pre Raphaelite painters. They both emphasise detail that would not be visible in real life, ignore the way that colour fades with distance and use a rich palette of vivid colours to get their effects.

A wounded cavalier. W S Burton 1856. Which of us would not be pleased to paint the rich detail on the cavaliers sash crisp and sharply outlined. Or to get the carefully blended 'three greys on the womans dress. And has that skirt been washed with a sepia ink?

to be continued................

Work in progress

2010-03-27T03:14:00.000-07:00

Keeping it simple has been the theme of this weeks work and that has proved much harder than I expected.

Look at these Stadden 25mm Guardsmen, what could be easier just paint them how we used to 40 years ago.Simple block colours in toy soldier style, gloss varnish, lovely job!

And yet, I am wondering, those epaulets; do they really stand out enough or are they just a white blob? I could just run a black line around them to bring them to life. Of course if I do that then I really should black line the cross belts, and suddenly the toy soldier look is starting to disappear. The danger is that 'improvements will make the figures just like all the others that I own.

I have been planning a third Army to go with the British and Russians. French is the obvious choice and I have had the pleasure of reacquainting myself with an old friend:

The very first uniform book I ever bought. This is not my original copy, I sold that many years ago but this new copy has brought the memories flooding back. It is hard to use by the standards of to days books and lacks much detail but it still gives a broad sweep of a fantastic and colourful army.

I have planned to have French and British Armies which will be suitable for re fighting the invasion scares of 1846 and 48. The British are relatively easy as the Crimean army fits the bill perfectly. The French are a little more problematic and I have decided that the best compromise is to use the Strelets Light Infantry box, for line and light troops in the 1845 uniform.

Strelets are unfairly neglected, the plastic people don't like them because they look like like metal castings. The metal fans won't touch them because they are plastic. In fact I quite like them though they are even more infuriating than most plastic manufacturers. Each packet has one or two outstanding poses, real must have stuff such as the vignette below from the ACW commanders set. Then you have a whole bunch of bizarre stuff...

Zouaves playing football and teeing off at golf.

The aim is to knock out an army quickly and cheaply. you will notice that I have put the figures on to their bases before painting them and then sprayed the whole thing with black undercoat! Never let it be said that am unreceptive to new fangled ideas and fashions. Some people speak very highly of this style of painting so I shall give it a go and keep you informed of the results.

And finally.......... ON THIS DAY.....
175 years ago, Professeur Tournesol the noted Belgian inventor approached the British Admiralty with his idea for a self propelled barge. By using a cast sectional iron hull and abandoning paddle wheels for the top secret 'Tournesol propulsion system' he insisted it was possible to build a flat bottomed barge capable of carrying up to 300 men and supplies, that was capable of withstanding the rigour of the open seas and independent of wind power.

He was shown the door with little ceremony and advised that there may well be nations who had so little sailing skill that they would consider an enormous bath tub appropriate to consign their armies to a watery grave ,( the French sprang to mind), but that Britain had no need of a ridiculous foreign death trap.

The past is another country

2010-03-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

Tumbling dice20mm; foundry28mm; minifig S; Emhar plastic; Stadden 25m

While I have been idling the New Year away, I am glad to say that others have been busy. I have particularly enjoyed the number of blogs dealing with two of my favorite nostalgia's 20mm figures and the mid nineteenth century. When the two come together then my cup runneth over.

Hinton Hunt; Minifig S cossack(both Napoleonic) Stadden 25mm

I was blessed last year, while helping sort the coach house at Asquith Towers we moved several boxes of Romanov porcelain and underneath found a long forgotten Crimean army in 20mm. With his customary old world generosity Stuart Asquith airily waved them towards my car boot and I found I was the ownerof a lovely collection of mainly S range minifigs. I knew I would never get a better Christmas present so I saved them till Christmas morning before unpacking.

Kennington 20mm ACW(my Painting) ; Hinton Hunt (I am reliably informed)

I have two small but perfectly usable armies of Russian and British with a few Turkish. But of course we can never just leave it at that can we? So I have a two pronged plan in place. Firstly I shall continue to collect where ever possible the original 20mm ranges. Minifig, Hinton Hunt, Douglas etc. That will be a slow process of picking up a figure or two as and when. But also I shall expand the armies with compatible figures still in production.

Foundry 28mm; Minifig S range ; Stadden 25m

So finally I get to the point of this post and the project, what does compatible mean in this context. Size, sculpting style, painting technique? All three or something less tangible

Minifig S range (2) and a plastic Strelets standard bearer

To start us off I have put up a few scans to show some of the figures and their relative size. I have so far bought about 130 Stadden 25mm metal figures Russian and British. I also have picked up six boxes of French light infantry in plastic by Strelets. And I dropped lucky straight away with minifig S range Zouaves. But I shall say more about all of these in time, for the moment we shall just look at the figures. Unless otherwise stated all painted examples are from the brush of Mr Asquith himself.

Kennington 20mm; Minfig S crimea zouave and FPW zouave.

(none from the Asquith collection!)

New Year Celebrity Quiz

2010-01-11T06:02:00.000-08:00

I am reliably informed by my newspaper that we have just exited the decade of the 'celebrity'. I confess to feeling a little left out; I have never felt quite the same about ballroom since dear Peter West hung up his dancing pumps. Indeed I have only recently discovered what a 'Major Ron' was.

However I must sternly admonish those of my readers who when they read of Jordan think of the Arab Legion. Gentlemen we cannot live in the past! Why wargaming was something of a trendsetter when it came to those who only required one name Don,Tony, Brigadier, then Terry, Bruce and Phil to say nothing of Jack and Duke.

So to usher in the new I present a picture quiz of the type loved by the ladies magazines.

Which famous bearded wargamer is this? And for an additional five points can you name the figure range he is using.

Clue: He used these figures for a series of articles in the late Battle Magazine. And if that doesn't help you date the picture take a look at his pipe! A Bauhaus affair of ceramics and stainless steel it effortlessly emits a cloud of smoke that obscures the windows. We definitely have one of the Young Turks here! why I wouldn't be surprised if he owned those new fangled average dice.

AND THE ANSWER IS:

Yes it is indeed the young master himself, Mr Stuart Asquith. I cannot tell exactly when the picture was taken though I would like to think it was at one of his notorious 'Champagne and Wargaming' breakfasts that were such an important feature of the social calender back in the Seventies.

Blasthof Blog

2010-01-05T06:05:00.000-08:00

Some of you will have searched in vain for the Blasthof Blog this week. I am sorry to have to tell you that it has been decided to wind up the collaboration on the blog in its current form. Rather than leave it simply hanging in space it has been completely removed.

I especially regret that we have lost the contributions from Stephen, Bill and Paul, in addition to many interesting comments, I apologise particularly to those people for the deletion of their work.

A thank you to all those who visited and were kind enough to approve of what was done.

John

A very fine vintage:The Flanderkin Serjeant guide to classic modelling.

2009-12-21T12:24:00.000-08:00

No doubt many of our readers will be taking advantage of the festive season to enjoy a quiet session or two painting and modelling. And what better time to shake off the pressures of our modern age and go back to the time when a gentleman knew how to get the most from his hobby. So Flanderkin Serjeant presents a guide to recreating the Golden Age of military modelling.

Firstly, and I can't stress this enough you will need a good dinner, then while the wife takes care of the washing up you can prepare for your hobby session. In any hobby having the correct gear is important and nowhere more so than painting figures so to the mirror we go. Hair tidily combed, tie straight? Of course if you are undertaking some hot casting or you are an American you may chose to work in your shirtsleeves but Most gentleman will find a tweed sports jacket affords the right combination of informality and comfort. It is rumoured that Ted Suren sculpts in the nude but of course he is Indian Army and we assume you will set your face against such bohemian practices.
Now then we can prepare our work station. Carefully take this mornings Telegraph and spread it out on the polished dining table. Now for the essential tools of the trade, place them so that those you will use most are most conveniently placed. So tobacco at your right hand next a box of matches these will be needed to stir the paint. Don't worry you will have an ample supply of spent ones. Next you require the figure, a brush and a pot of paint. That's all you will need for one session. Don't worry about brush cleaner you won't need it until you pack away.

If you decide to make your own figure range then you will additionally require a small lump of old Plasticine and a packet of plaster of paris, but I would recommend leaving the moulding of figures until after the wife has finished cleaning the kitchen and has comfortably settled with her knitting. You will need at least three of her best saucepans in which to melt the roofing lead

Of course back then molten lead was completely harmless so most people cast armies on their coffee tables without needing even a pair of gloves for protection. Home casting quickly fell out of favour though since it proved impossible to smoke while pouring the metal.
And there it is a miniature masterpiece created in an evening with an old blob of Plasticine and half a pot of Humbrol enamel. Time for a nightcap while the wife cleans her saucepans.

A Merry Christmas to you all.

Conversions

2009-11-10T04:52:00.000-08:00

Now I remember why I never do them!

It all starts well enough. I find the 1mm drill and dremmel, mark where the holes are to go in the head and the shoulders of the mounted officer. Then the hands of the two foot officers who require new swords. Slowly does it, fine that's the hands drilled and quite neat too. The hole in the torso next; skidding around a bit still not too bad. Finally the head - good, good , almost there.

Of course I have not bothered to wrap the head in anything or put it in clamp. OW! suddenly hot! I let go of the red hot head which swings madly round on the drill before snapping the tiny drill bit in half. OK I have more drills carry on. That is a nice fit now. A bright idea why bother to go to the garage to get some soft metal wire the broken drill bit will make a perfect fitting peg for head and torso.Perfect in it goes, press hard. Oh, wait it has slipped entirely into the torso and is sitting there just below the level of the body. Now the swearing starts. Too flush to get out with pliers; it is a perfect fit and cannot be levered out or hammered further in.

Ten minutes of fumbling then OK if it won't come out then I will have to drill holes on each side of it into the soft metal then force a needle pliers in and pull it out. It will ruin the neckline of the figure and need rebuilding with green stuff but that's the best option.I start drilling and drilling and drilling. The wife arrives: "are you using power tools in the bedroom? I thought we agreed you wouldn't do that anymore?"

Finally out comes the rod. Still the up side is that I now have plenty of room to move the head around. In fact I could put a couple more heads in if I wanted to. Glue it up scoop in the araldite and stand back.

Actually that doesn't look too bad at all. Time for a coffee. I don't know why I don't convert more of my figures.

simplicity

2009-11-08T14:22:00.001-08:00

I was painting some English Civil War figures a week or so ago. They had lain unpainted in my box for some years. I can remember when I bought them being really impressed with them.
"Look at the detail on these" I enthused, " Look, Wow! this ones got a cheese sandwich in his pocket!"

I must confess to being less impressed when I came to paint them, and in fact they have gone back in the box half finished. I had done the clothing, equipment boots weapons and still had masses left to do. Frankly enthusiasm just ran out.

I contrast I was reading 'Flashman at the Charge' again last week when I suddenly felt the need for a fictitious 19C German unit. I had some old plastic ACW cavalry to hand and in a spirit of nostalgia got a scalpel and started carving at the hats. Two evenings later I had a unit of eight cavalry and I had really enjoyed myself in the process. To be honest I am not sure what the moral of this story is, I leave you to draw any conclusions you may wish.

May I recommend..

2009-11-03T12:49:00.000-08:00

The Blasthofblog. This is a joint venture by four enthusiasts to celebrate the Wargames Classic, Charge.

http://blasthofblog.blogspot.com/

I have the great privilege to be collaborating with Steve Gill, Phil Olley and Stuart Asquith to produce a blog that will honour this great book. We hope to share, however faintly reflected, the magic that we have enjoyed.

I may add that it will have the bonus that since all posts will have at least some relevance to the book readers will be spared my opinionated rantings.

Please do visit and if you can leave a comment about your own experience of Charge it will be greatly appreciated.

Its been a long time coming

2009-10-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

That's both this post and it's subject. But first off a thank you to all those who responded to my rather lazy invitation to write this blog for me. As always some really thought provoking comments that I will return to in time.

I was quietly sticking bits of lorry together when a lot came up on ebay. Stadden Pavlovski Guard Grenadiers 33 figures! Like all of you when I first bought Charge! for the very expensive sum of 3 Guineas, I drooled over the pictures and loved the light infantry. I am sure we all vowed to have a unit ourselves one day. The seller certainly had because the figures were organised exactly right for Charge.

A few clicks later the figures were mine for the very low price of £6. Of course at that price I am happy with a few blemishes and a few bayonets missing and a slight amount of lead rot are tolerable. So straight off into a bleach soak to stabilise the oxidisation, this also turns it brown so that it can easily be removed with brass wire brush. At the same time I decided to remove all of the bayonets rather than replace a missing few. My excuse is that they are skirmishers and it gives them a reason to Carry the sabre moulded at their side.
With the knife in my hand I got carried away. The officers had all Napoleonic bits such as epaulets removed and while I was at it I sawed away the packs that they were carrying. I quite understand that an officer may wish to have a warm cloak and a cold chicken and bottle of champagne to hand, but in my armies a Gentleman will have a manservant to carry such things. The sword went at the same time, a pin will be required here.

The unit has a mounted officer in the book. Interestingly Stadden never made one so a search brought out a George Washington figure that would do the job. A head donor was selected and the saw was back in action. I do wonder if I could have brought myself to hack away if these had cost £1.20 a figure rather than 20p.
Almost finished and yet... After being involved in the 'WarGamers' refight of Sitangbad I realise that their is always a degree of tension involved when copying these classic units. Does one slavishly copy or adapt as it goes along? In this case I thought I would change the figures a little to personalise them for myself. I was unsure about the tall brass fronted mitre for Light infantry. I think I prefer the idea of a cloth mitre. I have always liked the way that it is illustrated by contemporaries as curved to the front like a 'Noddy' hat. So out with the pliers and file and I change Charles Stadden's perfect rendition of a grenadiers mitre into something much more sloppy.

Since I am having the temerity to meddle with the masters work, I decide to add pigtails. I do like all my 18C to have powder and queues. This is a job for greenstuff. I hate Greenstuff it sticks to everything but the figure and works like a blob of chewing gum. Still I do one, perhaps tomorrow I will go and get some epoxy putty.

Time to start thinking about what colour to paint them. Like an archaeologist studying tomb paintings I start to pore over the illustrations to Charge. And that is where things get interesting. But I will leave that for my next post...

What are the best rules that you never use?

2009-09-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

A quiet month so far, at least as far as wargaming and blogging. I began by having my gall bladder removed (don't worry I am not about to post any pictures). I have not done much since although this week I am starting to catch up on a little light basing. Sticking machine gun crews into tile cement, that sort of thing, nothing too strenuous.

So I thought I would pose a puzzle for my readers. We all have a bundle of rules that we never use. Now I am not asking what you don't like. That would be far too obvious and banal for the razor sharp intellects that gather here. No, what rules do you really like and admire but never, ever actually get around to using and,of course, why is that?

I can start the ball rolling with three sets.

Firstly the WRG set Corps de Armee, remember the blue covered one with an introduction by David Chandler. I poured over these for months studying them and thinking they were everything we could ever need. They were hugely influential on my thinking but I never did get round to playing them and I suspect now that they may well have been unplayable.

The second set is Howard Whitehouses 'Science v Pluck or too much for the Mahdi'. I have both editions and everything about this set screams FUN! I love to read it but never seem to have had the occasion to play it. I suspect the reason is that I play few games nowadays and when I do a more traditional game seems to be demanded by the occasion.

The last rule set I have chosen will no doubt cause some raised eyebrows but have to confess to having never played a game using Charles Grant's 'The Wargame'. Poured over it, loved the book but never played it. Wonderful rules but I have always used Charge by Lawford and Young. This may be because Charge was the second Wargaming book I ever bought, in 1969, but thirty years passed before I finally found a second hand copy of Charles Grant's book. As you can imagine I had become somewhat set in my ways by that time.

Well, as they say Coffee break over. Time to get back to spreading grouting on pennies, surely one of the most boring activities ever devised.

A bit of ephemera

2009-08-31T00:36:00.000-07:00

I have always been very bad at adding the finishing touches to my army. I suppose because I enjoy painting but any attempt at even the most basic modelling ends in a welter of glued fingers crumpled paper and swearing. I have over 5000 Napoleonics but very few of them carry flags yet and I have no command stands.
So having hit this months target for painting, (100 Olley points or 200 20m figures) I decided to use the dog days of the month to do a bit of basing and such.

I had started to convert an old petrol tanker from a cheap metal source. You will all have seen these, a metal lorry with snap on plastic superstructure. May have been originally matchbox but most of them were given away with petrol and I picked up a boxful from a dealer for £1 each. I had decided that I wanted a militia lorry calling up support. Maybe getting workers to defend the barricades or maybe a day trip out from Madrid to the front line. I had a BB miniatures film crew, the cameraman and sound operator were fine for international news but the director was a bit pointless unless I wanted a Soviet film crew, which I don't. So into the back of the truck. I also bought at the same time from BB Heroines of the revolution pack. I was a bit disappointed, having admitted my fantasy senoritas, these looked more like Les Dawson in drag. Most were given away but a couple went into the lorry. Along with a couple of left over Irregulars these were the passengers. I would have liked more but was to mean to take any more from proper units.

The dog and boy chasing along behind were added and then it was painted and based. Photographs gave plenty of examples of commandeered militia vehicles. Basing was a problem, I was tempted to put the whole thing on a sheet of cobblestones but in the end decided to put it on a dusty road as being the most versatile. The groundwork is tiling grout and is that horrible brown colour. Useful for earth but who would want it in their bathroom?

I am playing around with bases at the moment being by nature a contrary old bastard I have decided to dislike the modern fashion for super detailed grit with with a few tufts of state of the art grass on it. I am playing around with minimalist bases. In fact the colour is less intense and much more dusty looking in real life. The flash has saturated the colour image. They are in fact not wading around in a sea of pink dust complete with wave crests. It just looks like that.

I should have taken the pictures outdoors but what are the chances of that on an English Bank Holiday?

And yes the lorry does have a serious use on the table top. I have a coup game planned where seizing vital points in the city releases reinforcements. The lorry will add a number of volunteers each move it drives around the streets.

Progress report.

2009-08-27T23:53:00.001-07:00

Warrior 20mm : two mounted officers.
One of the nice things about picking up an old project is that a lot of spade work is often already done. I have just finished painting Moorish cavalry and artillery. Together with what I already have that gives me two tabors or battalions of infantry, a cavalry regt, a machine gun battalion and a mountain artillery battery. Altogether about 150 figures and I think we can say that it is finished. In fact I am still looking for some pack mules with suitable C20 loads, ie. ammunition boxes machine guns and artillery parts. Not big baskets, mattresses and other crap that looks like Ali Baba is moving house.

Warrior charging line cavalry and moor.

In fact I am finding getting pack animals a pain. They have to be quite small 20mm in order that the mules do not tower over the Irregular horses. They need sensible loads and they ideally should not come with handlers from a completely different army. Any ideas? Oh and cheap would be nice.
Irregular line cavalry and Falangist militia.
I could also do with a couple of mountain guns and handlers to replace the rather large pieces I have at present. This is not such a problem Jaclex hav an excellent set of six mules in their Indian army range. I guess I will have to flatten the turban a bit but they should be OK. Then I am waiting for Hat to release a Skoda 75mm mountain gun that they have promised. The bonus here is that the Italian crew should be very usable for other gun crews on both sides.

Irregular two line cavalry.

Even compared with ten years ago when I stared this project the amount of plastic stuff around is fantastic. I was looking at the late Robin Hunt's article in Military Modeling yesterday. His armies were WW1French and WW2 Russian with a good smattering of ACW confederates converted into whatever was needed. All Airfix of course. We are spoiled for choice. Which reminds me I need a Imex wagon set to provide a supply cart for the cavalry.

Irregular: Moorish cavalry and a slightly converted Generals bodyguard. (the lance has been removed and arm position changed.)

Well as I was saying almost completely finished! Next up are the International Brigade. I have two battalions mainly done so one more and the British Battalion plus various support bits and pieces.

A rather scruffy Irregular officer, which I use as a mounted NCO for the Artillery unit and a splendid senior officer from the same firm.

In the meantime I thought I would put up a few photographs of some of the Cavalry figures that I have used. So far all are either Irregular or Warrior. Unfortunately the Bandera range in the UK does not include cavalry. I hope to get a few of the US additions to the range from Pat Condray in the near future. Irregular are quite nice, very detailed but small 20mm. The Irregular range is over a 100 figures with some variants and I have used a lot. For some reason I have found that the lower code numbers are much better figures that the higher ones.

The Warrior cavalry are quite pleasant figures and very cheap, but as always with Warrior the figures vary enormously in style and detail, some of the infantry are a little, whats the word.. 'strange'?

The Last Great Lies

2009-08-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

Occasionally wargamers will debate the truth of historical events on TMP or similar. I always am reminded of Jack Nicolson, overacting wildly as he declaims, 'The Truth you can't handle The Truth!" You have to hand it to old Jack he does have a point. Not as to the the veracity of Humbrol Authentic Paints but certainly in the wider issues.

I am guilty, I protested as loudly as anyone when Slingshot introduced us to 'Cultural Wargaming' in the 90's. I did not attend the AGM and shout 'get back to Moscow' as many did but I certainly sent in my resignation.

Yet more and more I find myself disliking blatant untruths passing simply because its only entertainment. Mel Gibson vilifies the Brits and it is accepted by millions but hey, its only a film, its only a game,its only a uniform book.

Anthony Bevor pointed out that the Spanish Civil War is unique in that its history has been written by the losers. The trouble is that it is much easier to write a memoir pointing out the brilliant reasons why you won than it is to explain losing. Nevertheless reasons have to be found and since right is on your side and the soldiers were heroic and the leaders talented, it is a tale of betrayal and tragedy. Hardly new, Napoleon whiled away his declining years singing the same song.

But how acceptable is nowadays to spout the same old Communist party myths and simply block out unpleasant truths. Ken Bradley thought it was fine in his Osprey elite on the International Brigades. Now it is a very useful and accurate book for uniforms or organisations and has a lot of good photographs so it will do all that a wargamer needs to organise and paint his figures. Apart from that pretty well everything could be taken from contemporary propaganda such as the booklet on the right reproduces.

Does it matter that political commissars are described as having a role in inspiring loyalty and discipline as well as an educational function but not a word about their part in selecting those who would end up the wrong side of a sham political trial with only one result? Similarly we learn that Andre Marty favoured a black beret and white moustache but not that he admitted to authorising the execution of at least 500 of his own men and was widely considered insane.

Of course you pays your eleven quid or so and makes your own mind up.

Maybe after three terms of this government I have just got sick of being lied to by anyone.

Finally, no wargaming detail whatsoever but I really enjoyed this novel recently. Set in Madrid in 1940 I found it gave a real flavour of Spain in the aftermath of the war and was a good thriller to boot.

My next post will be back to toy soldiers with a look at some cavalry figures available in the UK.

Treading Softly.

2009-08-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

When one considers the venom that I have been provoked in the past by talking about something as innocuous as what colour to undercoat our toys, I tackle the genuinely emotive subject of the Spanish Civil War with some apprehension.

The fascination: is that a Schneider tank at the back of that street? Where could that have come from?

The reality: brutal death in a dusty village.

I have always had deeply ambivalent feelings about wargaming the Spanish Civil War. The attractions of that war as a wargaming period are obvious; colourful armies, new technology, quaint looking vehicles, beautiful scenery. And yet the brutality and tragedy are so immediate, so stark that I feel uncomfortable playing it as a game.

It is undoubtedly sliding into history now and even in Spain where 20 years ago the injuries were too painful to even articulate it is becoming studied, discussed and even gamed. Yet when DC mentions that his father was a member of the international brigade it brings one up short. It was yesterday!

The end of the road for many brigaders. unable to return home they faced years of internment in France and the interest of a Vichy government. Those from Britain and America were luckier in this respect.

Every young man who went to Spain to fight and often die for his beliefs, like DC's father was, simply, a hero. They deserve respect and admiration. Less so in my opinion the party officials and politicians who sent them while maintaining safe sinecures at home, and least of all the thugs who threatened any who tried to tell the truth upon their return. It is possible that as many as 500 were executed by their own side in communist purges.

However on my wargames table the little lead men dance to my tune. All Brigaders are heroes, all Milicianas beautiful, all nationalists motivated by patriotism for the old Spain. Heroism and chivalry go hand in hand and when the commissars and Guardia Civile make an appearance they may be booed like pantomime villains in the assurance that they will come to a bad end before the end of the game. Yes, it's 'Charge' and 'The Wargame' for the 20C. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone except me, however as I intend to make a few posts on the subject of The Spanish Civil both in reality and on the tabletop I hope that readers will take this as a sincere declaration of respect for all those caught up in this tragic conflict.

The young lady is a Spanish re enactor and typical of the milicanas to be found on my table. I trust regular readers will not object to my cropping the scruffy Herbert with her. My guess is he is only pretending to be interested in order to hang out with her.

And now for something completely different...

I spoke of Banderas miniatures, however the figures on my last post were all Irregular. This week I have been painting Moors from the Army of Africa. They were in reality a light infantry force and were used as shock troops by the nationalists. They had a reputation for military efficiency and fearful ferocity.

these are a few that are from Banderas and a rather nice mounted officer from Warrior's 20mm range

No knowledge is ever useless

2009-08-15T02:38:00.000-07:00

At least that's what my history teacher told me, I think he was encouraging me to acquire at least a smattering of the subject. But more of that anon..

I have been continuing unpacking. We moved here about six years ago and all my figures got put out of boxes, but actually sorting out much of what I have has never happened. So the projects that I was halfway through in Bucks have never really taken off up in Wales. So at present I am not too concerned about what I am doing, just as long as I finally get some progress on these armies.

Last month I got a few kilos of 20mm ACW lead organised and a nice batch of painting done. However a visit to hospital intervened and while I spent 36 hours on the ward waiting for an operation that was finally cancelled I had the opportunity for a nice quiet read. No domestic emergencies, no telephone, no wife wanting to chat...perfect! So I managed to read the whole of Anthony Beevor's revised book on the Spanish Civil War; 'The Battle for Spain'.

I enjoyed the book very much, though if you are not familiar with CEDA, POUM, JONS, PSOE , FIA and the rest ; or if you don't know your Miguel Primo de Rivero from your Jose Primo de Rivero then don't expect it to be a light read. It is probably the must have book on the subject but to be honest for the needs of the wargamer his earlier paperback is cheaper more accessible and has just as much military information.

My Spanish Civil War collection began back at Partizan in 1997 when Dave Ryan had the just republished uniform book by Jose Bueno on his stand. Coincidentally (or not) Irregular had just released a nice 20mm range of figures and I had not made a tank for years.So I bought ' a few, just for a skirmish'. Ha!

I might have managed, but a few weeks later at the Reading show I spotted a large Spanish flag draped across a stand, and underneath Rolfe Hedges had Banderas Miniatures. Wonderful character filled figures in every pose and type you could possibility imagine. I was lost. From then on an annual trek was made, in November, to his stand to stock up on Legionaires, Requetes or Dynamitaros.

By and large the Bueno book was first class, though he was a little light on the Republican side, probably because he had no interest in what he saw as a bunch of Communist, Godless, murdering, bastards. Superb on the army of Africa though. One thing that caused me pause was the colour of the uniform of the native troops described as Lentil colour. Now in England a lentil is small and salmon pink but not always so abroad where they eat green and even purple lentils, so I am told.

However being a good Brit I plumped for a nice pinkish hue as figure right (above). Returning last week to the book I noticed that the original Spanish word is Garbanzo which through useless knowledge I know to be a chickpea. Now we are talking, a chickpea is a sandy yellow no doubt about it. So my current unit is being painted as the centre figure.

And the final figure on the left; he is wearing a native coat modelled on a Moroccan blanket that my wife brought back from holiday thirty years ago.

Finally, for those of you who enjoyed the garden photos. A supremely useless piece of knowledge that stuck in my mind was that after the Great Fire of London, Rocket grew so profusely on the derelict ground that it became known as London Lettuce. I have always enjoyed Rocket but never had any success growing it so this year I just scattered it over a bed that had all the last years bonfire ash dug into it. The plants are huge and it has cropped all summer.

Stand by for more top gardening tips coming soon.

Summer’s lease hath all too short a date...

2009-08-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

Which is essentially a miserable excuse for neglecting my blog. Yet suddenly the blackberries are in the hedgerow and evenings are drawing in. The campaigning season will soon be upon us again.

This summer has seen me out and about around the village, pottering in the veg garden and even joining in with the wife's latest enthusiasm Hen Keeping. Coupled with a spell of ill health from my latest old mans illness; Gallstones I have had a complete break from Wargaming, painting and consequently this blog.

Well, almost a complete break in the last month I have managed to paint a reasonable batch of figures for a proposed Fire and Fury ACW army. The figures are Kennington Miniatures 20mm and once more are painted for speed and overall effect not as individual works of art. Still I got through 250 of them in a month so I am well pleased and can consider my painting malaise broken again. I now have about 1400 figures so I think it is time to finish basing them up and try a game.

After that I shall return to the final outstanding painting commissions. Only a very few left from long suffering customers but first I shall enjoy the last few days of summer. As I hope you will, best wishes and good health to you all.

PS. plenty of gaming and painting posts lined up for the next few months so please do call again. Iam off now, I just realized I need a bloody haircut.

In praise of Nicholas Colasanto

2009-05-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

You will have to be a certain age to remember Nicholas Colasanto, or Coach, the character that he played in the comedy Cheers. But then you will have to be a certain age to have nothing better to do with your time than read this blog, so I am reasonably certain that you will remember that having taken 'one to many pitches on the old bean' Coach was a little intellectually challenged and could usually be relied on to agree with the viewpoint of the last speaker.

I felt a little like coach last week. I was completely certain the the one period I could be sure I would never paint again would be Medievals. After all I had fielded a peasant army for Barons Wars and re fought most of the Wars of the Roses battles and now I am securely based in the 18C. NO! one enjoyable game and I have a big box of old lead from the eighties out and am painting away.

Fair enough, but what made me think that a good place to begin to fit in with an 14C German campaign would be to put together a unit of Irish? You know how it is, they just came out of the box and before I knew where I was I had some paint on them. They are useful figures anyway and can be used right through to the English Civil War.

So just to put things right I painted up a group of city militia archers. Just 10 fairly elderly and ill equipped archers who probably are only in the militia for the drinking and weekends away from their families.

Not especially well painted, but then not every figure has to be a masterpiece, they will look good enough from six feet away. Hopefully that has scratched that particular itch and I can now get on with the other six or so major projects that I have on the go.

The Spirit of '76

2009-04-17T02:18:00.000-07:00

Martin T visited this week and arrived carrying a box full of his beautiful medieval figures. They are all painted for the princelings and nobles of The Holy Roman Empire. His research into heraldry is astonishing. Even more enjoyable the figures are all Lamming, Minifig and a few Hinchliffe. Straight away we set up and were into one of those wonderful 'story games' that used to be played on club nights using the Lamming rules or David Cliff's Retinue set.

The lovely Princess Elizabeth is travelling to meet her prospective bridegroom, Prince Paladin*. They are entering into a political marriage, arranged by her father King Frederick which will strengthen the respective families. Aged 18, she is as beautiful as she is kind and wise. The column consists of her household, dowry wagons, a local guide and escort of archers and knights.

*Apologies to Martin who has elaborate genealogies and correct German titles for all models, but they just went in one ear...

At an elaborately decorated camp the Prince waits to begin the wedding feasts. The Bishop of Krautburgh is on hand to perform the ceremonies.

However wicked Count Otto has other plans. In a village he lurks, ready to spring his evil trap and abduct the princess, steal the dowry and slaughter the escort . (yes, 'tis me)

As the train crosses the bridge the trap is sprung. Men at Arms and Archers with 3 mercenary knights attack the rear of the train, disguising themselves as bandits. Count Otto ostensibly rides to the rescue and in the confusion attacks the head of the column . The escort prepare to sell their lives dearly( apart from the guide who hides in the wood.)

Time to leggit, the princess gamely sets off for the ford,with the rest of her household and wicked Otto in pursuit.

Incredibly, two unarmoured archers hold the bridge for three turns seeing off no less than eight assailants. However they are forced to one side and Otto's, equally wicked, knights ride over the bridge. On the far side of the bridge the foot knight in yellow and red bravely intercepts Otto's horsemen allowing the princess time to gallop for her life.

But to no avail, two good dice throws and the leading horseman grabs her bridle just as she reaches the ford.

"Your highness need fear no more, you are under my personal protection now! Heh, Heh, Heh." twirls mustaches; boo! boo ! Boo!

The incredibly dim, Paladin finally realises something is up and sets off to the bridge at the head of a rescue column. The Bishop well to the fore, he is not about to lose a marriage ceremony fee.

Too late - Otto has anticipated this, and the bridge is held by a defending force, who slow the knights down by throwing a peasant under their hooves. They will never be able to fight their way across in time to catch wily Otto.

So time to go home, a dowry, the princess and a nice bargaining chip at the next sit down of the big cheeses in Nuremberg. Not a bad days work.

"Honey I'm home! "possibly the biggest winner of the day. The Guide who not only survived but also captured the loose cow and calve and takes them back to his hovel.

So much more that there is no space to detail, the heroic intervention of the captain of the escort which nearly foiled the plot, the peasant scythe man who ripped two men at arms to pieces, the archer with two leg wounds and an arm wound who wouldn't give up. All the fun of this style of game and a refreshing change from the big battalions.

The first time we had played with these rules, which Martin had adapted from a free Internet download. It took a while to learn the subtleties and work out tactics eg. using a figure close to the enemy to slow down movement or in order to kill someone you need to pile in mob handed and really beat the bejaysus out of them. but overall I liked them and certainly proved their is no need to spend £20 to get a good rule set.

And yes I did get my translating done. I refused to give Martin food or drink until the full 123 pages were finished.

Do you remember when-

2009-04-06T11:33:00.000-07:00

A new Uniform book was a source of excitement and joy? Blandford or Funcken or possibly W A Thorburn, page after page revealed new treasures; Zouaves or is it Zooves? never mind, could those trousers be for real? Papal Guards, Fuzileers, Prince Ruperts Regiment. Bavaria, Wurtenburg and Hesse. Sadly that kind of innocence soon goes. Time takes the wide eyed joy of a small boy and turns it into the crabby nit picking of middle age.

We know what a Sassanid is, we are familiar with the cuff styles and turnback lacing of every kind of Napoleonic artilleryman. We treat our Cavaliers severely, no feather bedecked hats and lace trimmings, they can wear knitted night caps and brown jerkins like everyone else and like it.

Are we better for such hard won knowledge. Yes, certainly, but happier?

And then - in the post last week came a parcel of totally unexpected books. In a conversation with a friend I had wondered what kind of Army could use the Holger Eriksson figures I liked so much. It should really be after the War of the Spanish Succession but before the War of the Austrian Succession. Apart from thinking that I should definitely get out more, I then forgot all about it. Until a parcel of obscure German Uniform books arrived about the Saxon Army!!

No less than four beautiful volumes to study with awe, but the Gem is a book published in the GDR in 1984.
'Die Armee Augustus des Starken' Colour plate after colour plate of every unit of the Saxon Army in 1730. Even the Janissary unit - cant wait to paint that one, but every single unit is just a joy. Exactly what I was looking for and perfect for the figures I want to use.

Absolutely astounding kindness, even in a hobby where most people are generous by nature. As a result I have a magical project to cherish over the next twenty years or so. I am twelve again!!

Highways and byways 1 (Revisited)

2009-04-02T13:45:00.000-07:00

I got a email from a friend of mine who I shall call Martin T since he is careful about his privacy. In addition to being an eminent expert on the German armies of the 18 and 19c he is a very experienced and well read wargamer.

I can do no better than reproduce what he says below:

"I see there is a museum at Lille with some of the Vauban models (your blog). There is a museum in Paris with a large collection of these model;s ("maquettes"), the "Musee des Plans-Reliefs"- the website is at

In French, but a full listing of the models. They have models of fortresses, maps "in relief", models of siege operations etc. I first came across this through a reference in one of the early wargaming books (I think it was Featherstone), apparently at that time you would go up a side street in Paris, and there was a small sign above a doorway, you went up some stairs and there was this wonderful museum- ever since then I have intended to go there, to my shame after all these years I have yet to do so. The author of the book about the models at Lille, Isabelle Warmoes, works in the museum at Paris and has written at least one other book about the models. Other models can be found at various places in France- for example the model of the Vauban fortress of Belfort is at Belfort itself."

I have said that the best part of this blog are the comments and once more that is true. Also it is a splendid excuse to reproduce three more images of the models themselves. Thank you Martin.

Highways and byways: TheSocial Game

2009-03-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

The main clash, Front Rank,and a few Essex
Well, very nice too. But what about the game? We got out a couple of boxes of English Civil War Cavalry. These were to hand as I was halfway through basing them. The plywood base is in place but I have still to add the magnets and terrain A Bellona bridge and some Pegasus river sections and away we go.
The hand of God; or pointing out some Foundry Cavalry?
1642 two Cavalry regiments clash for the control of a river crossing. 30 figures a side and Charge rules.
Move one: I heavily weight one flank and refuse the other, (pretty sophisticated stuff for 1642) Mr Asquith advances with three roughly equal units.

One of the problems with painting ECW cavalry; basically everything is brown.

Move 2: My main Cavalry charge home, Huzzah. Oh he has diverted some to the bridge. Still not to worry they can only deploy two wide so he cant get much advantage. Ah my first misjudgement, if my refused flank stays where it is then any push back will take it off the board. Oh well what the hell, all units charge!

First melee. I outnumber him two to one, no not another one he has won the first round. Throw four or more for a second -- damn a two! I must route. On the bridge I lost two casualties in the first round and anther one in the second which was enough to cause another route. I am not even going to describe what happened on my refused flank.

Move 2: the remnants of my units mill about in chaos.

Ten minutes into the game and every figure I had left was in route. Time to retreat I think.

Not entirely unhappy with the way things are going

The figures used were a mixture of Foundry, Essex, Old Glory and the much lamented Front Rank range. at the time I painted these figure I was keen on getting an 'authentic' look of worn leather and everyday clothing. as a result I now think that they look a little dull, Still with individual basing I can easily slip in a few in brighter clothing and some black or grey horses to break up the wall of brown.

The Victors stream across the bridge

People have asked what rules I am using and to be honest I don't know yet. I have always used George Gush's WRG green set and they have invariably given a good game. But I don't know if I still fancy all that factor counting and splitting up melees into component parts. I am using Charge but it could do with a bit more period flavour. So no decision on that so far. Watch this space

Highways and Byways :Domestic Bliss

2009-03-31T10:36:00.000-07:00

I think it was Henry Harris in one of his toy soldier books who painted an ideal picture of family life. Father at a roll top desk, no doubt with a pipe, and painting his toys. Two children are playing happily on the floor quietly absorbed in their board game. Mother sits quite contentedly in the corner knitting and watching TV.

It is an image I have never felt it necessary to share with my wife, nevertheless I have often reflected on its golden ideal. Well last weekend came near to attaining that perfection. After dinner Mr Stuart Asquith and I played a small cavalry skirmish on the dining table which we shared with the two ladies who were constructing crafts of some kind (who can say they really understand such things?) Nevertheless we had a charming and civilised evening.

Yes, that's right the Asquith of Asquith towers. You can imagine my apprehension at entertaining him in my own hovel. In fact it all went off very smoothly in spite of his repeated attempts to find the door to the billiard room. Well, there was just the one sticky moment when at afternoon tea I suddenly realised that the chocolate cake didn't have those little silver balls on top. Frankly he is such a Gentleman that he pretended not to notice.

Nevertheless the expression on his face when he realised that I wargamed in an OUTHOUSE! reminded me once more of the extraordinary resemblance between himself and the late leader of the Charge of the Light brigade. A family resemblance? Ah my lips are sealed, I have said too much already.

THE 7TH EARL : LORD CARDIGAN

STUART ASQUITH

Highways and Byways 1

2009-03-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

I have been busy the last couple of weeks painting for other people, so it will be a little while before I have anything from my own projects on which I can write. I am reluctant to leave another long gap in my blog so I thought that I would make a series of posts over the next few weeks that reflect the varied and different threads that make our hobby so fascinating.

A couple of years ago Mr Henry Hyde the noted wargames editor and raconteur, returned from a holiday in Lille enthused not only by the cooking but by a strange museum exhibit he had stumbled across. Deep in the bowels of the Palais des Beaux Arts de Lille, were a series of the most incredible models of the towns fortified by the great Vauban. The only disappointment was that his photos had not coped with the poor lighting and museum restrictions.

Then this winter my sister decided to go to Lille for some kind of Shopping Fest, strict instructions led her to the Museum basement where she was able to achieve the rare feat of leaving a French attendant lost for words by brushing off his patronising attempts to redirect her back to the girlie impressionists by sternly decrying 'I have come to study the work of the great Vauban'

The best bit was she was able to get a superbly illustrated catalogue. Most of the models were constructed for Louis XIV and renovated in the late 18C. As the pictures show they are mainly in remarkable condition.

I must say that the overall effect reminds me of the buildings, created by the late Charles Grant, that appear in The Wargame. Not over detailed but creating an effect through consistent simplicity. They are a wonderful source of inspiration for some 18C siege games and one day perhaps I shall get the electric jig saw and finally put together something worth playing over. In the meantime I have the most delightful book to browse and dream the afternoon away.

If anyone else wants a copy, the museum website is not very helpful. The best I can do is this.

I hope your French is better than mine.

Advice Required

2009-03-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

I honestly don't think a photo would help here, but if you are missing one please think of a coil of 20mm rubber magnetic tape about the size of studio reel to reel recorder.

I have decided to tackle basing my Eighteenth Century figures for Charge and my English Civil War collection. All figures are 25 or 30mm and will be individually based. However I cannot face the time involved to move them around the table one at a time. So I will be using movement trays.

The figures will have a strip of magnetic tape glued to the bottom of a 1.5mm plywood rectangular base. So the bases will have square edges and butt against one another. Definitely not circular washers squirming about on the base. Infantry will probably be 20mm by 15mm and cavalry 20m by 50mm. The extra deep cavalry bases are so the tails do not knock up against the next row in storage.

I would welcome any advice from people who already have experience of this system. How thick does the base need to be in order to get a decent grip when picking it up? Is a lip around the tray necessary? What are the biggest trays that anyone has seen? Do the figures lie flat against each other or do the bases slip around or ruck up when the base is moved?

Frankly any information on the best way to use this system would be very welcome. I will keep a record of what I do and share the results on this blog. I have already got a lot from seeing this system in use in the photos on .

http://campaignsingermania.blogspot.com/

Are Ghosts a Primary Source?

2009-02-26T11:23:00.000-08:00

Robert Devereux Earl of Essex, not alas one of my painting clients:

One of the dangers of sharing ones progress is that it can be seen by the wrong people. In this case I refer to those long suffering and patient gentlemen who wait for me to paint up a few castings for them. My recent pictures of Khasi peasants provoked a flurry of emails along the lines;

"If you have time to waste painting that rubbish then you can get on with my Spencer Smith Prussians/ French Voltiguers/ Naval Brigade, you idle waste of space." I spare my readers the attendant physical threats. Most upsetting.

So apart from cutting up a few plywood bases I have done nothing for myself this week. Even I am not so egocentric that I believe I can make cutting plywood into small squares interesting.

Biggs Cottage Newbury.
However I did come across a snippet while reading this week which interested me...

The Young Essex

In his book 'Battles & Generals of the English Civil War' 1968 Colonel H C B Rogers tells of visiting the battlefield of Newbury with his wife. He spent some time in Bigg's cottage the building that The Earl of Essex used as a headquarters. Two old sisters, the Misses Hesketh lived there and his wife asked them jokingly if they ever saw ghosts. The elder sister replied seriously, that in fact she had. Some years ago she had lain in bed when suddenly a short stocky man appeared at the end of the room wearing a maroon coloured coat.

Essex in his mid fifties and looking a bit worse for wear, so unlike ourselves.

Rogers showed them a picture of Essex (and who can honestly say that they travel very far without having one about their person?) and they became quite animated.

'yes, that's him, that is the man. But he was wearing a peaked cap.'

Rogers was puzzled by this and decided that the old girls were getting confused by the classic peaked helmet so commonly associated with the Roundheads.

Of course nowadays thanks to the research of the Partizan Press and others we no longer have to stumble around in the ignorance that was the lot of poor old duffers like Rogers, Young and Haythornthwaite. In the forty years since Rogers wrote his book we have learned that a peaked cap was a perfectly normal thing for a Gentleman to be wearing in the 1640's.

Make of that what you will.

(Thanks to Mike Siggins for the post title. The illustration of the cap is taken from Ospreys ECW Cavalry and is included here to draw attention to the excellence of that work.)

Carry on Blogging

2009-02-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

Warning: this post consists of a large block of turgid prose concerning the philosophy and design of imagi-nations.

I was playing, and playing is the right word, around with ideas for the background for my eastern frontier. I had my WRG book on the dark ages and looked up the Khazars, this seemed just the ticket, a nomadic tribe with a Jewish faith. Lots of opportunity to put in some Rider Haggard details on the lost tribes etc. Googling around suddenly brought me back to a very unpleasant reality. Virulent anti semeticism, hard core Zionism, threats, violence, rabid nonsense. It occurred to me that if I write up my own ramblings then search engines will draw these unpleasant nutters to my site like flies to shit.

I have already alluded to a certain unease caused by having a 'civilised' germanic nation waging war on its slavic neighbours. Like it or not we live in world where an historic 1941 exists no matter how many alternative 1941's we invent. I guess that is why I am not really a Society of Daisy fan, I don't want my wargames to exist in an alternative universe because I am defeated my the moral complexities of this one.

" Give us a break", I hear you cry, " Its only a game of bleeding toy soldiers."

Quite right too!

I am therefore making an addition to the list of cultural icons that influence my imagi- world. Welcome the late Talbot Rothwell, policeman, RAF pilot, POW and most importantly writer of many of the Carry On scripts. Who can forget Sir Roger de Lodger in Carry on Henry.

So away with Khaziristan and all the baggage it carries, welcome instead the Khaganate of Khasistan. The vast area of forest and lakes to the east of Moravia, is collectively known as the Khasi and yes, its capital city is Borat.

(At the risk of stating the obvious, US readers may not know that Khasi was 60's slang for toilet or lavatory.)

What I did on my holiday

2009-02-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

Paul do Mar Madeira

My recent two week absence was due to a holiday on the island of Madeira. The wife persuaded me that we needed a break from living in a small village on the coast and doing nothing all day. So we went to a village of 800 people on the coast and sat around in the sun all day doing nothing. Just what the doctor ordered!

A hotel, three bars a couple of village stores and a splendid cake shop. Together with some very scary cliff walks that was plenty to keep me occupied for two weeks.
I had intended that I would have a complete break including no military history. However one of the books I packed was a rather good novel about Dracula.

Apart from being a very entertaining read, the story moved across Istanbul, Bulgaria, and Romania through several centuries and a beautiful landscape of forests meadows and castles.

As a result, I spent far too long pondering the geography of my imagi-nation.
I am now fairly clear that following the Thirty Years War Bohemia emerged as an independent state of some power. Her Eastern neighbour Moravia is a Bohemian client state, though an independence movement and religious differences cause a state of tension between the two. On Moravias Eastern edge is a mountainous and forested area which will be named shortly but for the moment can be called the wild wood.

The Wild Wood contains a shamanistic branch of ancient steppe dwellers. It also contains Serb Orthodox monasteries and some castles not completely unlike Transylvania. The geography of the wild wood is vague, indeed its almost a magic wood in that exiting it can bring the traveller into unexpected contact with the Russian and Ottoman empires in addition to an uncharted inland sea containing Venetian trading ports, and numerous pirate and other fleets.

I would have got more detail on this but I kept dozing off in the afternoons.

An anthropological detour

2009-02-16T09:06:00.000-08:00

I notice that the excellent Naval and Military Press have begun to republish classic works of Victorian travellers. I have been prompted to revisit one of my favourite travellers tales 'Through Carpathia with a Carpet Bag.' This account of a journey in the 1820's was a pioneering work in the infant study of anthropology written by that formidable female novelist and pipe smoker, Blore Heath.

(please note this post contains images and references that readers may wish their wives and servants to avoid seeing.)

Dame Blore Heath. 1790-1887.

The work contained two remarkable firsts, which have become commonplace nowadays. The identification of the forest dwelling shamanists of Carpathia as a branch of the Khazar kingdom. And the brilliant idea that when lost for evidence a female academic could simply make it up and damn to hell any male colleague with the temerity to contradict her.

Not the least charming part of her book were the woodcuts illustrating the street life of old Carpathia. I am pleased to say that the Old Glory figure makers have faithfully reproduced these in their set 'Cossack Civilians.'

Street sellers and their cries:

'Who will buy my lovely sticks? Freshly picked today boil them or pickle them.'

'Stones, Stones-oh, get them while they're hot.'

'Night Soil, best prices paid.'
It was a very poor society.

and life was hard, as this 25 year old shows.

Ladies of the night: Young aristocrats doing the grand tour would consider a night spent with one of these beauties a highlight of their education.

The nightmarish aspects of Khazarian life did not end with the courtesans. The young urchin on the left appears to have put his head on back to front. Fear not gentle reader, it is only Old Glory's faithful rendering of the period hairstyles.

These merchants show how easily the Victorian image of a Semite could link the legends of the 12th tribe of Israel and Khazaristan.

The sword as held by this village chieftain, had an almost mythical importance. It was handed down within families and the ivory handle was made from the thigh bone of a conquered adversary. In fact modern research has shown them to be mainly cheap Venetian imports with sheep bone handles.

Finally, one of the most intriguing images of the book. Of all the Guilds the 'Allotment Holders' was the most prestigious being open only to the eldest sons of the most noble families. This print traditionally labelled, 'putting in a few early potatoes, Good Friday morning.' is now believed to represent the religious ceremonies connected with blessing the Garlic crop. An important but obscure part of Khazarian life.

Offline for a fortnight.

2009-02-01T09:59:00.000-08:00

Well thats it really. I shall be unable to add anything to the bog for another two weeks or so. Please fell free to browse our extensive range of back posts.

3rd Painting post.

2009-01-30T11:47:00.000-08:00

Peter Gilder was a great innovator in many areas of wargaming. I well remember someone fielding a late roman army after returning from the wargames holiday centre. It had a splendidly dusty and battle worn appearance which was entirely due to the simple trick of lightly dry brushing the final painted figure with white.

I noticed that a splendid blog has started celebrating the works of the master. and not before time.

http://inthegrandmanner.blogspot.com/

The authors other blog on 19c armies is also one of my favourites. And while I am at it here is an outstanding blog on the late 17C, which does not seem as well known as it should be.

http://warsoflouisxiv.blogspot.com/2009_01_01_archive.html

not only fascinating but 59 posts in January alone!!

But I digress.

The simpler the pot the older and better the paint. Just like life really.

Dry brushing. This really depends upon the consistency of the paint for its success or failure. I have dry brushed with everything from watercolour to masonry paint but the only thing that really works on toy soldiers is enamel paint. Ideally Humbrol and from at least before the last two times that they changed the paint. I wondered if it was me being picky but I notice that old tins of Humbrol are changing hands on ebay for more than the price of new paints.

But I digress.

Part2

2009-01-29T11:13:00.001-08:00

I still use enamel paints for areas which are likely to get a good deal of handling while painting. From experience I know that the toe caps and musket ends will have white showing through if I use a water based paint.

Next I add depth and shading with a mixture of washes. I have used Indian Ink, acrylics ink, water based paint and enamel paint here. None of it works as well as the new washes, some of it has puddled or left watermarks. But it does not matter for these figures. All we want are a series of deep but sombre colours.

Sometimes it seems to me that people will agonise for ever over shading and graduated colours without giving a single thought to what colour it is that they are applying. Here the clothes are not necessarily those worn by poor people. They are likely to be made of heavy and well dyed cloth. Nevertheless they are vegetable dyes and almost certainly stained by aging and dirt that cannot be washed out in cold water. Indeed a good coat can well be a family heirloom and on its second or third owner.

If the colours are starting to look OK it is now time to dirty them up with some dry brushing. Come on you're all old enough to remember dry brushing.

Painting with Uncle Igor. part one.

2009-01-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

I never cease to amaze myself, the speed with which I can take a perfectly sensible wargames project and by degrees turn it into something which borders on the surreal - well frankly its a gift.

I was amazed by the comments and really helpful suggestions which flooded in after the last post. (Well 15 is pretty much a flood by my standards.) So what I thought was a mild trespass into the wild woods has become a major part of the fictional nation project.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much junk, sorry wargames treasures, I had stored away against a rainy day which could become useful. Just for one there is the Zvesda log fort that I bought at Abingdon show because it was too cheap to resist and after all it would make a good US Cavalry outpost. Absolutely perfect for a frontier post on the wild edges of Moravia.

But of course first off I had to spend money on more figures. My wife would certainly utter the phrase 'throwing good money after bad', but fortunately she rarely reads this blog.

I mentioned the 'Cossack wars' range from Old Glory, they seemed to have everything I needed to set up the game I was thinking of. I don't know how I resisted a Cossack leader on his throne carried by 8 slaves, but I did. Instead I bought a bag of villagers and a very useful bag of a wagon and four pack riders. Andy Copestake helped me with the catalogue, sent two helpful emails and had my order with me in 24 hours. That is good service in my book.

So I thought I would say something about how I painted up these particular figures. First off its important to decide just what effect is actually wanted. Frankly, these are not exquisitely sculpted works of art. They have an appeal and bags of character but they will not repay hours of detailed work in my opinion. So lots of paint slapped at them not too much worrying about mistakes and get something that will look OK from six feet and will be finished quickly.

A couple of coats of car spray white primer from the local garage at £2 a tin. Next we block in the main colours. These are big figures with a large surface area. So I do not want to use several jars of expensive high pigment model paint on them. I have always found Daler System 3 to cover without brush marks and to be very cheap it dilutes to at least double the volume. A few tubes of slightly better quality paintsfrom eg the Finity range will fill in any gaps.

First off I mix up some pale grey, this is the base for all other colours. It takes off the garishness that will appear if artists colours are used neat. Buff Titanium can do the same with other pastel colours. Next the colour is mixed using water that has about 1:4 flow extender in it. I make up a dropper bottle full regularly for all acrylic thinning. The brush used at this stage was least a three and up to a five depending on the make.

Flesh is painted at this stage and is usually standard flesh heavily lightened with white, though these figures have a lot of yellow ochre in as well. Once the flesh is dry I wash it with a mixture of Winsor and Newtons Indian ink. One part Burnt Sienna,Nut Brown and distilled Water.

That's the end of the first stage I let everything dry thoroughly and reach for my old favourites Humbrol Enamel and spirits of turpentine.

And Now for Something Completely Different

2009-01-19T12:28:00.000-08:00

I can't think of anything more removed from the austere elegance of Holgar Eriksson than the figure above.

Several years ago I was toying with the idea of the Seven Years Wars in the Balkans, (as you do). Well I was at Partizan and after a lunch of several glasses of their sub zero lager, I fell into conversation with that smooth tongued charmer, Andy at Old Glory UK. In a blur money changed hands and I took away several bags of the 'Brand New' Turkish line. With a dreadful hangover I unwrapped my purchases !!!!! Hurriedly I wrapped them up again and put them at the back of the shelf. Of course ideas for them have crossed my mind since then; scaring children, putting one in a sock to deal with intruders that sort of thing but they have stayed firmly packed in their box.

Until last week, I was painting some Charles Stadden Grenadiers and musing upon my fictional nation of Bohemia/ Moravia. I was wondering about the eastern borders surely they would be composed of mountains and impenetrable forests and not a million miles from Transylvania.

I don't suppose anyone remembers the BBC children's series of the sixties, tales from Europe. They were foreign films that depicted fairy tales that took pace in a sinister and incomprehensible landscape of forests and goblins and trolls and ogres.
It occurred to me that if I was to explore this a little I could have a setting in which frontier raids and brush warfare could thrive. All I needed was a generic Balkan style range to depict the barely human inhabitants if the great forest.

To think is to act, out came the neglected figures and a big brush. Crudely and quickly painted and they are exactly right for what want. I put a partially painted Stadden figure from my painting table alongside to give an idea of scale.

Looking around at the blogs and sites of the established Imaginations, it did occur to me that a historian of the modern school might be tempted to describe them as 'Euro centric'. Most of the rulers look to the courts of France and Prussia as models for their civilised and elegant activities. In Bohemia and Moravia we are forced to be much more aware of the Nations beyond the dark forests; Muscovy, Tartary and of course the ever threatening Ottomans.

To be honest I did feel a slight twinge of uneasiness about creating a Germanic state which regards its Eastern neighbours as primitive barbarians. The trouble is that what you want are terrifying shapes moving in the forest. Slaving parties raiding frontier villages to sell the inhabitants to the Turks. Sacred Oaks stained with the blood of human sacrifices and mysterious Shamans.

What you definitely don't want are a gentle pastoral folk famed for their nose flute music and interesting birch bark paintings.

General Steiner: A Nation Mourns

2009-01-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

The court of Bohemia was shocked to hear of the death of General Steiner, in the service of the Vereinigte Freie Stadte. The General was a much regarded visitor at court and held considerable estates and vineyards in the southern mountains of Bohemia.

Rumours persist that before his death, words were uttered by Count von Swartz which should never occur between one gentleman and another. General Steiner felt that the only way he could redeem his honour was to place himself at the head of his regiment and to seek an hero's demise. Sad to say a beneficent fate granted his wish all to easily.

General Swarz is rightly renowned for his martial accomplishments, however many officers are daily leaving the employ of the VFS to seek more relaxed and congenial conditions with the Prussian service.

For a full account of these matters and much else on the late campaigns in Germany our gentle readers are commended peruse the Lorraine Journal; obtainable bound within the 'Raid on St Michel' from the Partizan Press at Baker Road.

****************************************************************************
An anouncement is daily expected of an important appointment to the Army of Bohemia.
****************************************************************************

Pure Inspiration

2009-01-13T10:49:00.000-08:00

I don't imagine that anyone reading this blog will be unaware of the Wargame Companion, indeed most of you will have had a copy for some time. I hoarded mine till Christmas and spent the holiday with it at my elbow.

I have been wargaming for 43 years now so you will not think me blase if I say that I very rarely see or read anything that really stops me in my tracks. However this book did just that. It was the way that the sheer enjoyment of the hobby leapt from every single page. Of course it made me want to jump up and start painting Spencer Smiths like mad, but fortunately my painting table was packed away for Christmas guests so I was forced to just sit and think.

And what I thought was, why am still not doing the things that are most important to me. If I am run over next week I doubt I will lie under the bus wheels regretting that I never got around to finishing that 3rd regt of Napoleonic French Dragoons so that I could field an independent cavalry corps of dragoons in 1813. I might however whisper, (Citizen Kane like) 'Stadden, Royal Welch Fuzileers' when I think of the hopelessly expensive unit I coveted for so many years and never ever got.

Well you get the point anyway! So my New Year resolution is that I will paint and model only those things that I really want to do, and the best structure for this will be 18c fictional armies. Those who read the book will remember that these differ from imaginary armies in that they are a mix of real and imaginary units brought together solely at the whim of their creator. In Brigadier Youngs case he mixed his old regt, the Bedfords, alongside imaginary 18c German states and if he liked the figures then he brought in Napoleonic reinforcements as needed.

Then a few days ago I got a copy of Brigadier Grant's brand new wargames book and what a splendid read it is. It is like a gale of fresh air blowing away the dust and revealing the Grant rules and army in all their shiny splendour. I urge you all to buy this one it is a perfect compliment to the Wargames Companion in that it displays the rules and armies in all their relevance to what we do today.

Raid on St Michel describes a mini campaign fought by the author and Phil Olley is a joy from cover to cover and is just published by Caliver Press. I regret that I cannot tell you the price as my copy was a gift from the author, but it is worth every penny.

(Note to self: must try to avoid this constant and repulsive name dropping in 2009.)

A Happy New Year

2009-01-12T11:30:00.000-08:00

Well like everything else on this blog it's a bit late, but nevertheless I wish a belated happy New year to everyone.

Traditionally this is the time to review progress, cut out the dead wood, and stride forward reinvigorated to a new beginning. Well something like that.

As a record of the creation of a Marlburian army this blog has been a pretty spectacular failure. There is alas, no Marlburian Army to record.

I have simply failed to get it off the ground. In many ways this is hard to understand. I had an interesting project, wonderful figures, a well thought out plan. I think the reason is that I failed one of Phil Olley's rules for a successful project. I didn't get anything completed quickly. For a variety of reasons, I was unable to actually get paint onto units in the first half of the year. Inevitably interest wained and I now regard getting the figures out as a chore.

So pack it up for a year or two, learn the lessons and move on.

On the positive side I bought more than a dozen books on this interesting period and I started this blog, which I have enjoyed doing and has brought an interest and camaraderie in the doings of other 'bloggers'.

Not a tragedy but not a success either so no pictures. just drawing a line

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The painter rose and twitched his mantle blue
tomorrow fresh woods and pastures new.

The Imperial Gendarmes

2008-12-04T15:47:00.000-08:00

The final unit to be shown on this blog was actually the first that I painted. The Imperial Gendarmes were created for the Game of Sittangbad that we put on at Newark almost three years ago. The bright uniform was originally intended to be complimented by black horses, but Phil Olley nipped in first and created a black horse regt so I switched them to bays and chestnuts, ce la guerre.

After the game was completed the regiment transferred from the electoral army to that of Bohemia where it is now the senior line cavalry regiment. 'Imperial Gendarme' conjures up sufficient atmosphere for the unit without needing any further history in my opinion.

So that is all that I have painted so far. The line infantry will eventually have ivory coloured coats. The facings will be taken from the liturgical calender as befits a staunchly catholic country. Dragoon wear vermilion and Heavy Cavalry Turquoise.

But all of that lies in the future, the next goal will be to get a couple of guns and the first line infantry unit completed so that I have a usable force for gaming.

The figures of course are again Holger Eriksson 30mm. To my mind their will never be figures like this around again. Not that the sculptors of today lack talent. I am blown away by some of the work of people like Richard Ansell and the Perry twins. But the way that figures are created has changed. Today people use putty and build up the figure on dolly. they are in effect creating a model. The old masters such as Eriksson carved their figures out of a solid block. In Eriksson's case they were carved from wood.

When I was painting them I was much taken by this passage from John Garratt.

"The models are conceived sculpturally and obviously worked with a chisel emphasising the planes which gives great structural strength and truthfulness...it is this emphasis on planes that gives an Eriksson figure such distinction. He paints his models in oils and leaves the planes and contours to make their own contribution without shading."

I did not want to leave the figures without any shading myself but I did think hard about the way it should be used to keep the integrity of the figure. I decided to use fairly bold strokes of lighter colour and to attempt emphasis the lines and movement of the figure.

To what extent I succeeded you will have to judge for yourselves! The horse were done either with dilute Humbrol enamel or an Acrylic ink wash. Both over white undercoat.

The uniforms were painted with Placka Poster paint. One of the few really nice turquoise blue around and a beautifully deep crimson. Most of the other colours were Vallejo acrylics which I was using a lot at that time for 20mm plastics.

Finally thanks to everyone for the very kind comments. I am course pleased that people like the figures, but I am not preaching to anyone that my way is best. I just love to see what others are doing, and if they are ploughing their own furrow rather than slavishly following White Dwarf so much the better. It is not a question of whose figures are best. The best ones are those that give their owners most pleasure.

Happy Painting!

Teutoburger Wald Jaeger

2008-12-01T05:07:00.000-08:00

This post is by way of being a thank you to all those people who have been, patiently logging on the last couple of months. Also in response to the very kind comments on the last post. So especially for Jean-Louis, here is the unit history.

The Battalion advances in line

In the 17C the Imperial forces of Bohemia suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the lightly armed Hungarian Grenzer of their eastern frontier. In order to counter this the first established unit of Light Infantry was raised from the huntsmen of the extensive Tuetoburger forests of the western mountain ranges. This unit was an immediate success having fought in several campaigns during the first half of the 18C and can claim to be the oldest permanent unit of light infantry by several decades. Nevertheless it is with pride that the regiment claims Varrus AD9 as their first battle honour.

With drums beating and the Colonel at their head

The figures are of course Holger Eriksson 30mm. They have had slight conversion by cutting the musket and bayonet down to rifles. I had better give a formal link for those who want to look at the full range in detail.

Tradition of London:
http://tinyurl.com/5arpaq

Peter Johnstone of Spencer Smith Figures:
http://tinyurl.com/5pst3d

I tend to order from Peter Johnstone who has always been extremely helpful getting figures at short notice for a display game. but I hear good things about Tradition as well.

Skirmish order

The Battalion has deployed into skirmish order. The gentle reader will note that the formations are those advocated by the theorist J Evans Mudd in his famous drill book '38 movements for light infantry by which victory must be assured.' A best seller in 18c Bohemia.

Two infantrymen forget their drill and 'bunch' within 1" of each other. The Sergeant is about to demonstrate how this can be rectified by the use of an halberd.
Finally a word on paint.

I painted the coats with Liquitex Acrylics as I only had camouflage greens in enamel and I wanted a pure colour. Although a nice shade it had problems covering and has a strange translucent quality which with a gloss varnish looks a bit like glass. So its kept now exactly for that. The small clothes were painted with a 20 year old pot of Plaka poster paint and worked fine. However this summer I have been trying a new line of paint recommended by Mr Mike Siggins. Chromacolour, which seem to be a more user friendly substitute for the Plaka having great purity of tone and strong pigments but much more easily worked with. So far I am very impressed and will hopefully describe them in more detail in a later post.

A few extra photos.

2008-11-30T09:16:00.001-08:00

These are for those who were kind enough to say they wanted more photos.

The camera gives a more truthful image of the horse colour than the scanner. The undercoat does not alter the colour as much as one might expect.

I would like to thank Mr Mike Siggins, for generously sharing his experience of working with oils. He is one of the real gentlemen of wargaming today.

So, moving swiftly on!

2008-11-30T06:50:00.000-08:00

Well apologies to all who have dropped in found no one at home, especially Black Bob.

I would love to tell you all what I have been up to this autumn but as Dr Watson might have said, the world is not yet ready to know the full story of the Mongolian mountain of light and Mr Asquith's part in averting the collapse of western capitalism.

Anyway the doctors have saved the leg and I now feel strong enough to return to one of the most contentious issues of our time:

Toy soldiers and how we paint them!!!

I am not a huge fan of imaginary armies but I give myself the treat of designing and painting just one unit a year for my fictional mid 18C army. The last three years have produced units which were copied from Peter Young's 'Charge'. This year I was able to start from scratch and settled on another cavalry regt. This time one of dragoons.

Regular readers, (if any such are left) will know of my enthusiasm for the horse models of Holger Eriksson. The range that are available is really quite wide now and can easily be ordered through Tradition or Spencer Smith miniatures. A word of warning though. The legs are very delicate, don't be tempted to trim any flash from the lower legs of the horse. Just be grateful for the extra strength and paint it as foliage.

My army is loosely based in the mid 18C after an alternative thirty years war in which many states remained independent and Bohemia is a northernmost bastion of Catholicism with its independent army. One of Bohemia's oldest and proudest regts is the Winter Queen Dragons, so called because they provided the escort to the Empress Elizabeth during her campaign to consolidate her reign after the assassination of her husband..

Most of the painting is self evident. However I experimented with the horses. I am always looking to cut down the time and effort involved. I prefer to use a spirit based wash rather than water for large areas as it spreads more easily and runs into the depressions without those nasty bubbles that pop later and leave undercoat showing through. This time I wanted to try and get something of the effect of using oil paint without all the hassles of putting it on and wiping it off.

Cream and orange undercoats the same wash on top

I divided the horses into three and undercoated them with diluted washes of enamel paint in khaki, cream and bright orange. I then made a mix of about one part Vandyke brown oil paint, one part linseed oil and four parts white spirit. put in a Little bottle with a brass screw as an agitator it keeps well. Splash it all over and put aside for at least a week, maybe three. (Next time I will try quick drying linseed oil.) Overall I am pleased though the oil pigment is so strong the undercoat shows through less than I expected. Lastly I finished with several coats of gloss spray varnish to get a real porcelain glaze on the figures.

The Winterqueen Dragoons at exercise. This painting shows them manoeuvring on the harvest stubble fields south of the palace at the end of an Autumn evening. (scenery by merit, harvest field from Mrs Asquith's sewing basket.)

And finally, A Winters Evening... the view from the window by my computer desk, taken while writing this blog entry. I wish you all a peaceful and warm Sunday evening.

Gentlemen, consider Smykes!

2008-08-31T11:50:00.001-07:00

It was my intention to maintain a dignified silence in the face of the salacious speculation regarding the true domicile of Mr Asquith. However yesterday I received a phone call which has changed matters somewhat.

It was from the head gardener Smykes, now this dear old man has never in eight decades mastered the use of telephonic apparatus. However he had walked the twelve miles to the local post office where the post mistress assisted him to contact me.

"Sur, I've 'eard the Young Master baint be liven at the Towers no more. They say it ain't really 'is. What shall 'appen to the missus and I? It's awful hard to lose our cottage at our age, and me as served the family, man and boy these many years."

the estate cottages
Well I must confess a manly tear rose to my eye. It was with shaking voice that I was able to reassure the dear old man.

"Well, bless my soul," he sighed when finally I explained the ways of the modern world to him. " Thank the lord that old Mr Asquith baint be ere to see it. E'd larn they buggers." he added with touch of asperity.

Old Mr Asquith, the family likeness is remarkable.

As a result I have resolved not to use any more of my private photo collection of Asquith Towers. Little did I think when I attempted to raise the tone of this blog of the tragic consequences so narrowly averted. Nevertheless I have added some final photos to this post that should put the issue beyond any shade of doubt!

The family church where Asquiths have found their final resting place since the 14C. The curious may find Mr Asquith reading the lesson the first Sunday of each month.

And to those doubters out there, (some of whom should know well the lavish lifestyle that attends editing a wargames magazine!) I say, please pause to consider the feelings of those whose lives are led within the shadows of Asquith Towers.

The modest contentment of Stuart Asquith

2008-08-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

The 'scullery' at Asquith Towers

One of my favourite blogs
http://frivolousfusiliers.blogspot.com/
recently ended a post with a quotation from Horace, frankly I was impressed.

It strikes me that I learnt something in my youth that would sum up this entry very well. Something about some bod who had conquered the world staring with dissatisfaction at the vasty Afric plain or such. Alexander or maybe Cortez. Anyway it remains firmly not on the tip of my tongue so it will have to be prose once more.

Many of us are now veterans of many a wargames campaign, we have surveyed ranked trestle tables packed with figures, we have slept on the floors of village halls and Scout huts across the land. We have painted, with varying degrees of satisfaction, figures from Alberken to Zvesda. Now as we reach our more mature years how do we maintain our enthusiasm for painting even more units and armies?

Stuart Asquith, smiled and refilled my whisky tumbler as I explained my worries to him. Sinking back in his deep leather chair and surrounded by the accumulated volumes of a lifetime of military reading he explained his philosophy.

There came a point in his life when he got rid of his armies, though not figures and units that had sentimental associations, and for a time was purely a collector. Eventually he came to a realisation that he was not disillusioned with wargaming as such, merely with the way he was embracing it.
Getting suddenly to his feet he strode to the library door and called out. A few minutes later he reappeared with the butler helping him carry several oak boxes.
These were chosen at random he explained. The boxes were similar to those that would have been used to contain formal canteens of cutlery. about 2'x 11/2' they were beautifully stained and gleaned with brass fittings.

"Every time I have a new project I get a local craftsman to knock up a couple of these",he explained. "They form a limit to the project, I work out exactly what I can do within these limits and how to get the most enjoyment from it."

He lifted the lids on a few of the boxes and what treasure nestled in the green baize interiors. A box of exquisitely painted 30mm figures formed a small but perfectly represented 18C army. 54mm britains naval brigade dragged their little lead cannon across the veldt. My favourite though were two boxes that had Russian and Allied 20mm figures from the Crimean. Mini fig S range, Douglas, and Stadden, every piece a collecters item.

Stuart's normal table, complete with dice boxes laid out for play. Note the comfortable chairs and good lighting. Sensible concessions to advancing years.

"At our age size isn't as important any longer." He said picking up a new bottle of Islay malt from the side table. " Look, I'll prove it to you. The butler wants to get away early tonight so rather than have him set up the billiard table for a game we will set out on the scullery table and I bet you we will have just as good a game."

( I must say that is typical of the man, that he not only knows all the staff by name, but insists on them having at least one half day off a week to visit their families.)

So after dinner that evening we made our way down to the old servants hall, where Stuart has set himself up a very comfortable breakfast room. On the table had been laid out that old classic Blasthof bridge.

The story of that game must wait for another post however.

Readers wishing to know more of Stuarts 'game in a box' should read his full account of it in Battlegames magazine.

Summer Reading

2008-08-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

A busy couple of weeks have gone past since the last entry. Initially a rush at the painting table as I painted figures for a manufacturer to display on their new trade stand at the Woolwich show. Barely finished in time and then an email from Battlegames reminding me that the deadline for my column was on hand. Finally I managed to finish a nice sized unit of 32 Les Higgins Civil War Cavalry that had been on order from another customer for some months.

All in all, I felt ready for a little light reading.

I am sure that most UK readers will be familiar with the Naval and Military Press. They have been sending out their newspaper sized catalogues for several years now. Their most recent advertised 20% off all stock including sales items till 26 August.

An hours browsing produced a long list and a further hour managed to reduce it down to five titles. Five books plus postage came to a very reasonable £30. I ordered two days ago and they arrived this morning. I have no connection with the company but I would recommend anyone interested to take a look at the website before the 26th of this month.

http://www.naval-military-press.com/home.php

I picked up a couple of books relating to the BEF,I can see that the reissue of the vickers light tank kit by Airfix will see me covered in polystyrene glue before the years end.

Next a couple for the Victorian shelves in the library. I don't know how I have avoided buying Ian Knights excellent history of the Zulu war for so long but at £3.95 that had to be put right. I also picked up a collection of letters from the Crimean War; even the best history never has the 'feel' of reading a contemporary narrative.

The last book I chose was from Naval and Military's own list of reprints.They really have a wide variety of subjects in paperback and at prices we could only dream of ten years ago.

I bought Walter Money's history of the battle of Newbury. OK I have the excellent
Forlorn Hope guide to the battle and the latest book by Barrett. Nevertheless it has been a very hard to find volume and a splendid example of early military history besides at £8 how far wrong can you go?

Most of these books are paperback, which is fine for the book which is taken down from the shelf and read occasionally. I find that my Napoleonic books really need to hardback to stand up to the useage they recieve.

So its a large mug of Cocoa and an early nights reading for me. Tomorrow I will disclose the secret of Stuart Asquith's box system.

Taking Tea At Asquith Towers

2008-08-02T07:11:00.000-07:00

The murmuring of bees in the lavender hedge, mingled with the gentle chinking of bone china as afternoon tea was cleared from the terrace overlooking the orchard. The ladies removed the last crumbs of honey scones and dregs of Earl Grey and left the garden to Stuart Asquith and myself.

Stuart delved in his waistcoat pocket and emerged with a 25mm cavalry figure.
"This was given me by Peter Gilder, after our game at Northern Militaire back in '79."

With trembling hands I took the Hinchcliffe personality figure of Prince Rupert. I last saw Peter Gilders painting back in the display cases that lined the walls of the Hinchliffe shop. Of course I have seen lots of photos of his figures since then, but photographs do not seem to convey the delicacy of his style.

In the Hinchliffe handbook he advocated using a thinned mix of humbrol enamel leather to stain flesh. What surprised me as I handled the Prince Rupert was the degree to which stains had been used. All of the main areas of the figure had been painted with thin washes and then a little detail had been added and edges defined with a very fine black line.

Most present days wargamers will think of Humbrol enamel as a thick gloop of a paint which is used in a relatively unsophisticated way to block in big areas. In fact it could be used on the palette and doctored with white spirit and oil to achieve some very nice effects. I use the past tense because the last few tins of Humbrol that I have bought have been absolutely dreadful, no use to anyone.

Prince Rupert absolutely glowed as the gloss varnish enhanced the jewel like quality of the painting. Stuart took it back and replaced it carefully in his pocket.

"If you care for such things," he smiled, "perhaps you would stroll back up to my study. Its possible that I have one or two things in the display cabinet you might like to glance at before dinner."

to be continued......

This photo is taken from the wonderful 'Battles of the American Revolution' by Curt Johnstone. It shows the Peter Gilder figures but only hints at the translucent painting style. I spent hours looking at these figures when they adorned the little shop in Meltham that was Hinchliffe's factory outlet. Next door to the Ferguson tractor garage if I recall correctly.

A wargames weekend

2008-07-25T03:34:00.001-07:00

As one grows older the memories of the games and enthusiasms for rules and figures grow steadily fainter. The real riches of the hobby are found in the friendships that one makes over the years. I have been exceptionally fortunate in that despite retirement and geographical isolation the last few years have brought a host of new friends made mainly as a spin off from the Old School Wargames Group and the two show games that were held at Newark.

So I was feeling doubly blessed as the car rolled up the gravel drive at Asquith Towers last Thursday. I had no doubt of the warmth of welcome that the wife and I would recieve from that Grand Old British Wargamer, Mr Stuart Asquith. And sure enough no sooner did our car pull up than the front door was thrown open and the under butler in person rushed out to receive us.

Later I was shown around the wargames room and library and indeed the private study room. The contents of which will provide the inspiration for several more posts here. Suffice it to say for the moment that I had a valuable chance to take a close look at Peter Gilders painting style and it held a few surprises. Also the Tradition 25mm figure range were a revelation not least in that they are completely compatible with Foundry and other smaller '28mm' figures.

Friday was spent on a grand tour of the Cotswolds, and Saturday had a wargame before a splendid wargamers dinner.

The best part of such a weekend however is the charge that it gives to ones own batteries. I came away completely revitalised to resume my own wargaming activities. Which brings us back to the beginning, the most important part of wargaming is the social aspect.

In praise of Bloggers

2008-07-24T10:42:00.000-07:00

This post has been undertaken at the request of Mr Steve Gill. He has communicated to me that the details of his defeat have stood for too long at the head of this blog.

I am not sure I share his viewpoint but nevertheless I shall endeavour to oblige.

I stand lost in admiration for those souls who have managed to find something interesting to write about week in and out over years. Unrewarded and often abused I feel that bloggers embody the real spirit of wargaming. Motivated purely by a wish to share their enthusiasm and ideas for the benefit of the hobby.

I confess myself to be a most imperfect Blogger, but as imperfection is a part of the human condition I shall once more take up the pen and seek to emulate the deeds of others. I fear that my first post must be to deal with the absence of any further news on the Marlburian army.... But first just so that you know it really is me:

AIRMAIL CHARGES

Over the last few months I have been taking advantage of the dollar in order to make a few purchases. Isn't it easy, when you think back to the sixties? Scruby figures could just as well of been produced on the moon for all the chance of buying them in this country. Now you click on a website, key in your credit card and and a few hours later the goods are underway to you. How twenty first century, well except for those bastards who operate the airmail services!

A small parcel of a couple of pounds typically takes about £14 ($28) in postage. What world do they live in? One hands it over at the desk, the assistant whisks it to the back in awed tones, "Certainly sir, we will dispatch a courier to Southampton immediately with a bit of luck it can be on next weeks Imperial Flying Boat. I am sure we can take a little of the emergency fuel out to accommodate the extra weight."

As the young people say "Hello?". The skies are crammed with planes begging for ballast. I can go to the supermarket and buy a couple of pounds of fruit flown here by express refrigerated container for a third of the price that I pay for my figures and I get the fruit thrown in for nothing!

And did I mention the customs?

Edelweiss-conclusion

2008-05-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

THE VILLAGE IS OURS!
For the next two or three moves the game swung backwards and forwards as the French attempted to force their way into the village and the Spanish inflicted heavy casualties on the advancing units. the main French attack was repulsed but a secondary attack by the Nassau finally broke into the village. French skirmishers were albe to bring the spanish guns under close range fire and prevent them from firing. Finally the Spanish cavalry holding the high ground by the wood broke.
Although a reserve unit launched a successful counter attack they did not have the numbers to be decisive.

On the opposite flank the French cavalry had driven the last Spanish units from the field, the sweating Spanish gunners dragged their guns around to try and establish a new defensive line.

The French had suffered heavy casualties in the centre, and would have found another direct assault difficult to achieve, but with both Flanks in the possession of the French the Spanish General decided that the time was opportune for a dignified withdrawal and conceded the game.

The French prepare for a last charge on the Guns. Fortunately the Spanish general conceded before it was attempted. Even when aware of the 30" charge move it can still take you by surprise. These cavalry are within charge range.

The game took about 9 moves from early afternoon to lunchtime the next day. There was not one uneventful move and once more the charge rules proved able to give an exciting and interesting game. The game was almost unique for me for two reasons. I had a plan rather than just winging it and even more unusually the plan worked.

Now to sort that bloody Garage out!

Edelweiss 2

2008-05-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

ELITE FIGURES. GUARD FUSILEERS AND NASSAU.

The very first move had a cavalry melee, however looking through the photographs I find that whenever the game got exciting I forgot to take photos!

You will have to take my word for it that both flanks were heavily engaged throughout the game with whirling squadrons emerging from dust clouds and disappearing again to the flash of steel and the thunder as lines of the giant heavy cavalry collided. In fact in the first two engagements both Steve and I made the novices mistake of allowing lights to mix it with heavy cavalry. The difference was that he threw mediocre dice which allowed me to withdraw my chassuers dented but usable on the wooded side. But on the plain to the east his hussars were almost destroyed by the french cuirassiers.

FRONT RANK

On the west flank the dragoons advanced to fill the gap left by the Chasseurs rout. The infantry trudged forward and a battery deployed to fire at the village of Delft.
In the centre the infantry columns tried to swing away from the Spanish Artillery but the six foot range of the guns left little place to hide and the Marine regt marked its progress across the plain with a trail of crumpled blue overcoats.

On the second move the French artillery deployed within close range of the Spanish line.

The photo shows the guns with a battalion of Nassau deployed as support to replace casualties and help crew the guns. o the right the main french attach develops while the Dragoons move to the front and the Chassuers can be seen in the distance rallying. The counters on the guns denote gun crew casualties, already the Spanish Counter battery fire is weakening one unit.

The Spanish battery in front of the village proved a real nuisance to the French. Figures by Redoubt(early range)

The Spanish light Infantry occupy Delft. (figures by connoisseur)

In fact the luck of the dice throws affected things quite a bit, the French Grand battery consistently threw low and was less effective as a result. This was more than made up for by the cavalry melees where the french consistantly threw better dice. In fact the first melee on the plain was a decisive one for after that the French always had the advantage of a reserve unit which could be used to attack any spanish cavalry while they were rallying.

Here the Spanish dragoons have won a melee but they face fresh units which will attack when rallying.

Meanwhile in the centre the objective of the main french attack was clear.

Battle of Edelweiss

2008-05-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

We had lunch before making a start in the early afternoon. Steve chose the Spanish side which meant he was south on the map and had the village of Delft and the splendid defensive position of Moulder hill in his deployment area.

However Steve had to contend with two major disadvantages. he had a difficult drive of a couple of hundred miles through the heart of the midlands which took him a little while to recover. He also had no previous sight of the table or map. However he was able to use the lethargy and lack of planning to help get into his role as a Spanish General.

THE SPANISH DEPLOYMENT
Both Steve and I felt that the open ground to the east of Sarchen See would be Cavalry ground. He put two heavy and one light regt there. Next to them a battery of six guns deployed on the imposing Moulder hill. These were supported by four infantry units. On the west flank two cavalry regts and one infantry unit held the gap between Delft and the woods. The light infantry garrisoned Delft supported by two more units and a battery. the centre was held by a thick line of infantry of seven units.

This seemed to make a formidable defensive position with both flanks securely anchored and a stable centre commanded by imposing artillery support. Although he used his cavalry in aggressive support Steve maintained defence as the main purpose of his opening moves.

SPANISH THE WEST FLANK AND DELFT:

The previous evening I had spent some time wondering how it was possible for the player on the north (in the book the Prussians) to win. The south having such a strong position and the sides being equal. I decided that the only hope was that the defensive position might tempt the northern player to deploy his guns on the hill and sit back and wait. So reluctantly I attempted to put this theory into practice.

THE FRENCH DEPLOYMENT
Essentially I wanted to refuse the centre and break in both flanks. I could not put all my cavalry on the east as this would have left the attack on Delft vulnerable to counter attack, and I knew that tired or not Steve would not simply sit back and let me waltz up to the village. Aboveall I needed to keep from straying in front of that damned hill.

In the far corner of the picture can be seen three cavalry units 2 Cuirassier and a light. They have no other supporting units

This side of the village of Edelweiss are two battalions of Marines and one of middle Guard. The center is three battalions of Nassau and three of line together with three batteries. All of these units were ordered to swing diagonally toward the village of delft and attack the ground to the immediate centre of the village. The 6 guns were to gallop forward and deploy as a Grand Battery causing disruption to any attempt by the Spanish to transfer units across the center.

On the Western flank three infantry, one heavy and one light cavalry, and one gun were to advance along the line of high ground and seize the village of Delft.

FRENCH CENTRE

The game proceeded at a leisurely pace with a break for refreshments every two moves. and in that spirit I will postpone an account of how these well laid plans actually turned out until my next post.

I feel a post coming on!

2008-05-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

Well here we are once again, its rather like an old house, rather cold and empty with a couple of unanswered posts waiting on the mat. Still not to worry a couple of logs on the wargaming fire and we will be up and running in no time.

I recently had a visit from Mr Steve Gill who came to play a napoleonic game. I wanted to have a thoroughly old fashioned set to. No points or scenarios, just set about beating he hell out of the opposing army. We were playing on the first and second of May so a Dos Mayo commemoration was in order.

I went to Charles Grant's last work, the posthumously published 'Wargames Tactics'. For some reason this has never grabbed the Old School imagination in the same way as some of his earlier books, nevertheless I have always enjoyed its diversity and sure enough I found a Napoleonic battle which fitted the bill perfectly.

Now I am sure that there are those who, when they want a game have no more to do than don the smoking jacket and stroll through to their games room perhaps pausing to pick up a glass of suitably smoky single malt'

In truth this is what I expect in my minds eye, but in reality the garage where the table is sited had become a little cluttered over winter.

Even the table itself needed a bit of work to clear it for action.

Finally the figures had to be taken from the immaculately organised storage system.

Still it was no more than a days work to set up the table and clear a path through the junk that enabled us to edge around it.

Finally I was able to start setting up using the Map of the battle of Edelweiss from the book. The main features were laid out on 13' x 5'8" table. The centre was dominated by a strong natural defensive position of a hill fronted by a marsh. One edge of the table was forested and accessible to light troops only.

The Spanish drew up on the side with the hill. they had 15 x 30 man infantry battalions. The French had 12 x 36 units. Both sides had 3 x 24 Heavy cav and 2 x 24 Lights. Additionally each side had 4 batteries of two guns each. The Spanish had one regt of light infantry while the French had the ability to deploy 6 skirmishers per battalion.

The rules used were the full set from Charge. However we have been incorporating some small amendments to allow us to use them with figures on six figure bases. Generally speaking I disapprove of mucking about with other peoples rules and to alter the great Charge is pure sacrilege, but.. Peter Young eventually gave up wargaming because he couldn't face moving all the singly based figures any more. Using bases makes it possible for two people to play a game of this size in a day.

So with the table set up and ready to go, it is an opportune point to halt and await the arrival of Steve.

nothing new to report

2008-04-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

A rather dull few days as regards wargaming. I have been painting figures but alas for other people, not myself. I have an eclectic mix on the table at present demanding quite a range of painting styles. Front Rank French Line infantry, almost ready to march off to 1809 Spain. Some Seven Years units; French from Front Rank and Austrian from Spencer Smith. (Not destined for the same customer fortunately). Even some dashing hussars from Peter Gilder en route for the Red Sea and service against the Fuzzies. To say nothing of boxes of vintage 20mm from Hinton Hunt, minifig and Les Higgins. But nothing for myself and nothing new to write about as a result. Indeed since, as you might guess, orders are somewhat backed up I cannot envisage much progress with my own figures for a month or two.

The weekend of snow and sleet gave me a chance to finally sort out my library of military books. They were unpacked when we moved house four years ago but have sat just as they came out of the boxes ever since. So I have been agonising; should Fuller's British Light Infantry of the 18C be with Duffy's wonderful volumes or should it go with David Gates light Infantry work and the Napoleonic tactics shelf?
Putting all the Indian army and campaign books together made sense but should I end it at 1914 or continue later indeed should the Burma campaign be included there or with the WW2 books?

Since nobody could possibly care less apart from myself all the dilemmas were resolved with a minimum of tantrums and bad language. How could well under a thousand books take up so much space and effort?

Looking through the old volume made me think back to the first few I read in my early teens. In those days the public library seemed to have much more interesting books and the military history books opened the door on to life long fascination. they also provided a welcome alternative to the corn laws and various education acts. To say nothing of the 'Welsh Renaissance', which seems in memory to have been nothing more than a long list of translations of the Bible.

So just to have something of interest, here are the volumes that set me going.
First up: Battles and Generals of the English Civil War. HCB Rogers. Fantastic stuff he worked out frontages and formations, all the stuff that nobody else bothered with.
In fact I have accepted the line that this is outdated and a nostalgic curiosity for far too long. I lent it to a friend doing a PHD on the months after Edgehill and she found it the most useful single volume she used. It is still a really good book on the war by any standards and better than *******'s latest military history.

Imperial Sunset by RF Delderfield. OK it will never be a substitute for Nafzigers three volume orders of battle but wow does it grab your attention, history as story telling. Twilight of the Gods or what? Not post Marxist social history I grant you, but how many school children have had their interests changed for ever by reading a list of workhouse bills?

Finally one that I had on permanent loan for many months, it legitimised collecting toys, and as result I acquired many Britains plastic figures. I still love Garratt's books, he is opinionated, waspish and snobby. But also honest rigorous and with an incredible breadth of knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject. Modern designers and painters could benefit from reading his views on animation and painting. How much better the hobby would be if we had just one critic of his stature active today.

By the way these are my own copies legitimately paid for, not the originals still on loan from the library.

A Wargaming Weekend

2008-03-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

My old wargames opponent, James Shepherd made a trip to the depths of North Wales for Easter Weekend.
We had planned to spend the time getting to grips once again with WRG 4th edition ancients. We had very fond memories of games long gone in which Greeks and Persians slugged it out through many a Wednesday night at the club. Why not use them again, or would we find that we no longer were charmed by the degree of mental arithmetic required?

In any event we were foiled by my having forgotten that I had banished to the loft all the figures required on the grounds that I would no longer require them!

So ignoring sub arctic temperatures we went out to the garage/wargames room and looked for an alternative. It was too cold to contemplate a full game but we pulled out a copy of Contemptible Little Armies Rules, some Spanish Civil War figures and a bottle of Famous Grouse. Suitably equipped we ran through a series of small scenarios, starting with a straight forward assault on a fortified trench line, then introducing machine guns, motor transport and artillery. We enjoyed the straight forward way the rules played and despite a certain amount of cross referencing were able to work out things as we needed them.

Next day we organised an assault by a Nationalist flying column on a republican held village. Three companies of cavalry, together with a support company and an armoured car attacked a position held by two companies of Assault Guard with a machine gun company and a 75mm field gun.

The cavalry was caught by a machine gun which threw a devastating four sixes and two fives from six dice in one move.

The republican artillery was rubbish, far more casualties were caused by two assault guards with rifles who held out under the bridge.

Finally the armoured car advanced alone and, despite the suicidal bravery of a group of Dynamiteros hidden inside a building, cleared the village single handed.
The commissar fled on the back of a motor cycle just in time for us to return to the dining room and enjoy a pre dinner drink.

Of course we had not been able to leave the rules alone and soon jettisoned the artillery rules replacing them with Charles Grants' burst circles. Overall though we were pleased and may return to the period with them again. Though next time we hope to avoid the freezing winter hills above Madrid and maybe do something in the baking plains of Andalucia.

The figures are20mm metal from Bandera, Warrior and Irregular the armoured car is Ravensthorpe.

The scenery is very basic and just thrown together, the figures were more or less as they came from the box. Yet an ability to improvise and a hefty dose of imagination provided a game in which the suffering of the militia in their frozen trenches and the armoured car skidding along icy cobbles were every bit as vivid as if the game had featured the very best detailed terrain. Still that may simply be the onset of old age, the next logical step is not to play at all but sit in a warm armchair and just imagine it all!

A mortar carrier!!

Happy Birthday Donald F Featherstone.

2008-03-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

The Great Old Man of British Wargaming is Ninety years old.

There are many people who know Mr Featherstone far more personally than I do, but there are also a few to whom he is a shadowy figure, for them I pen a few of my views of his great contribution to wargaming.

Mr Featherstone recounts that his father was absent for much of his childhood, however he compensated for this by sending spectacular presents of toy soldiers and castles at Christmas time. The seed was planted, but life intervened for a number of years firstly a spell in the services took up a good chunk of his twenties. He served in the tank corps becoming a sergeant eventually and seeing action in North Africa and Italy. Although he saw his share of events that nowadays would be trauma inducing he remains unabashed in his huge enjoyment of his time in the army.

After the war he became a physiotherapist and achieved notable success in his profession. Author of six or so books with titles like ; Be fit at forty, and Back injuries for Firemen and of course Ballet Injuries, he also was physio for Southampton Football Club and Hampshire Cricket team, both first class English sporting sides.

In addition to being ninety Don is in his 53rd year of continuous wargaming, he entered the hobby in 1955. He was by no means the first wargamer in the UK but his fair for publicity and his attractive writing style made his book Wargame 1962 a runaway best seller. Well alright not quite that but it remained in print for years and sold many thousands of copies. Several further books followed and then in the early seventies an avalanche of his titles made their appearance on library shelves throughout the UK.

His greatest contribution, though was as editor of the famous Wargamers Newsletter which ran monthly from the mid sixties until 1983(?). This enabled the spread of ideas and reports from even the most isolated of gamers. Never one to shrink an argument Don's editorials were a highlight of each magazine as the Labour government, pacifists, the WRG and especially John Tunstill and the London Wargames Group came in for castigation.

Inevitably as clubs prospered and rules and magazines became more commercial, the Newsletter faded. Don moved to his first love of military history and penned many more books and articles. He remained a keen wargamer meeting with a tiny group of friends at his home in Southampton every week, but increasingly isolated from the British scene.

However our friend in the US came up trumps spectacularly where his own country treated him so shabbily. He became a guest of honour at several US conventions and derived great pleasure from the way he was feted over there. Eventually the pendulum swung and with increasing maturity the British gamers realised the debt they owed to him. He was guest of honour at Salute last year, a welcome though overdue plaudit.

He has suffered losses in his private life recently but I believe remains in good health and still (I hope) is still gaming at 90 and still providing us with an example to try and emulate.

A very Happy Birthday to Mr Featherstone, I shall raise a glass of the good malt tonight in his honour.

Thanks to Patrick of OSW for the prompt.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

2008-03-13T03:03:00.000-07:00

I shall resist the temptation to any false modesty or coyness. I have been a bit busy the last few days because I had Stuart Asquith as a house guest.

The presence of his charming wife (wargames wives are always referred to as charming but his genuinely is) restricted the talk of toys and manufacturers and wargamers to no more than 12 or 15 hours a day, nevertheless we covered quite a bit of ground in that time.

Obviously on such visits quite a bit of time is spent in the garage or loft rooting around through long forgotten boxes as well as showing off treasured units. Among the modern ranges that looked especially nice were the Front Rank Spanish Napoleonic, but inevitably we concentrated on those figures from long ago that have retained their charm.

The Omdurman range from Barry Minot was only available for four or five years but together with his Zulu war ranges they were an unusually comprehensive selection for those days. They never included cavalry, I suspect that he may have been less confident with equine anatomy, especially since his charging camels were some of the strangest beasts one could ever wish to see. I had many in my youth but sold them years ago, but recently through the good offices of a friend I was able to buy back the British Infantry. The sit alone at present without any foe to trouble their slumbers.

My small collection of Holger Eriksson 30mm figures also provoked interest and we soon had them on the dining room table refighting Blasthoff Heath once more with the help of two batteries of Napoleonic Spanish and Austrian artillery. (I lost of course).

Now I sit alone in tranquility ready to get on with my Marlburians, but my resolve is weakened by all the alternatives presented during the weekend. I could easily just go and get that regt of Holger Eriksson Dragoons that only need black lining in order to be finished. Or maybe paint up a few Afghans for my British to skirmish with.

I think I can resist that, but worst of all somehow I have acquired a few reinforcements for my English Civil war armies. Perhaps the best thing would be to simply sit down and paint some for a couple of days and get it out of my system before returning to the Les Higgins refreshed. This is the trouble with combining a hobby of limitless fascination with the concentration span of a chicken.

Chronicles of an Old Campaigner

2008-03-05T05:51:00.000-08:00

Now heres a boring picture, I can't believe that Partizan press couldn't find something a bit more lively for their Jacket illustration. But as they say don't judge a book by its cover.

I bought this for my birthday and I was absorbed within the first few pages. Duels, escaping debtors, beautiful strangers, its straight from the pages of Alexander Dumas. Indeed I did wonder whether I was reading a work of fiction, it read so interestingly. However when the narrative moves on to sieges and battles I found the description to be authentic enough to persuade me the author had been present.

The original was published 1737 and the translation by Colonel Horsley was published in 1904. It would be nice to have an up to date introduction included in modern reprints but realistically I would rather have a lot of cheap books and have to do do my own checking than settle for a few very expensive volumes with academic footnotes.

M. de la Colonie covers his serice from cadet to colonel between 1692 and 1717. He served as an engineer as a dragoon and then in the Bavarian service as an officer of Grenadiers. The wars of Louis XIV are covered and a final chapter recounts his service with Prince Eugene against the Turks.

I read this cover to cover in three days and enjoyed it enormously. It is a paperback at 478pp and available from Partizan for £25.

Its a flat world after all

2008-03-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

Time to move on from painting, I think, before some of my gentle readers do themselves a mischief. But before I do I would like to round up a few of the ideas that have presented over the last week.

First off if anyone thinks the purpose of these posts has been to tell people how they should be doing it, I have missed the mark. I am telling you how I do it, I am quite prepared to believe that you can do it better. All that I really would like to see is a broadening of the discussion, so that the average painter no longer has to feel it necessary to apologise for what they produce. In which spirit thanks to Glynis and Gary who say that are using Red Oxide undercoat from the garage to provide a surface that gives depth and lustre to acrylics. I have a tin somewhere and will definitely try this as an undercoat for horses.

As you can see from the pictures I put up in my last post the effects gained from the different paint and ink finishes varies, some good some, some not so. However what is becoming clear is that there a real variance between what works on the table and what works in a photograph. Murdock gives a good illustration of the way inks can glow in a photo:

http://murdocksmarauders.blogspot.com/2008/02/only-bit-done.html

I found that the Austrians finished in white undercoat and ink wash look very odd on the post but fine in real life, while the rather scruffy Old Glory Prussian looks far better than he does on the table. Black undercoating really is essential for a figure that is to be photographed under bright light.

This got me thinking, the three shade system has been around for many years, it is virtually identical to the way the old masters of the 30mm flat used to paint their figures. Because they were two dimensional all the folds and shadows had to be painted in, and a palette of saturated colour gave life to the little slips of metal. Of course all this ended when the round figure came in, when you handed it around or looked at it on the table you could see the way the light made shadows and highlights, subtle effects and colours could be appreciated by the eye.

But a photo is a flat image, it is dead and cannot show the way light reflects and moves. Is this the driving force that has changed painting styles and altered figure design? Simply the wish to make the figure look good on the printed page. Why not, how many of us see these pieces in the flesh? The image is everything whether advertising a new range of figures or simply making an eye catching illustration.

Has the hobby moved so much that image is more important than the reality of a game in ones back room or the local club?

Sorry about the quality of the illustrations, can you believe I simply couldn't find a really good shot of a single flat?

And now enough of painting, back to Flanders.

Paint and a quiz

2008-02-28T14:37:00.001-08:00

First an apology, my wife dropped a cup of coffee over the keyboard this morning, so I am not sure if all the keys are working at the moment.

The greta thing about blogging is that pictures can be included at very little extra effort. With that in mind I have put together a selection of what I happen to have on my hard drive. They include black, grey and white undercoats and a variety of paints; Placka poster, artsts acrylic, Humbrol enamel, indian ink and acrylic ink. See if you can identify what is what?

First off though, I have put up a shot of a Sash and Sabre unit that has reached a stage in painting that shows what is now my standard way of doing things. They are sprayed white and then a wash of 50/50 flesh and grey is slapped on. Two wet brushes of white bring the uniform and strapping back up to white.

The flesh is painted a very pale shade then black for packs, helmets, shoes gaiters etc. packs are done and then the packs and flesh are washed with dilute indian ink in reddish brown. After that the remaining colours are added and the lightened by dry brushing. Black leather is drybrushed dark earth, black cloth is done with blue grey. The musket is blocked in leaving black showing. Matt varnish and then metallics after.

Some more painting

2008-02-27T13:53:00.000-08:00

I should really be doing some painting this evening, but I find myself absorbed by the comments people have made on my blog and through direct emails. There is quite a volume of comment of which the following may be given as a typical example.

"Sir,

I have been using Black undercoat for over thirty years now and I have NEVER felt any need to use a bright colour. I may add that my collection of Assassins, Zulus, Ninja and Brunswick Napoleonics has attracted comment wherever it has been seen."
Thank you to 'disgusted of Brighton'.

I actually do realise that some people get excellent results using that system, to me its hard work but if it works for you? What I will always applaud is the individual who works out methods that they are happy with rather than just following the latest trend.

I was pleased to see Ron making this very point, especially since I inadvertently deleted a post he commented on before - sorry! I do sometimes feel that if all those people who wanted to make elaborately painted vignettes just cleared off and became proper military modellers the rest of us could get on with making simple, decent sized armies, perfectly happily on our own.

Steve makes an admirable post to reclaim the middle ground, our armies are what they are, not dioramas and not gaming pieces. Though the hobby is broad enough to happily include those who choose to enjoy either approach. Well perhaps not gaming pieces!!

Whilst in an unusually tolerant mood I should say I have absolutely no quarrel with those who choose to buy their armies ready painted. Whether because of lack of time or they want to possess models beyond their ability to produce themselves. After all Pope Julius never felt the need to grab a ladder and a couple of gallons of dulux when the cistine chapel needed a lick of paint. In fact one of the great pioneers had his armies painted for him, Peter Young was one of the greatest collectors but I do not think he ever painted a figure, certainly in his later years.

One of the gems of Brigadier Youngs collection:54mm Prince Rupert by the French maker Madame des Fontaines, a uniquely crafted one off model almost certainly created without the pressure of having to finish another dozen for the game on Fri night.

Talkin Paint

2008-02-26T00:58:00.000-08:00

In simplicity we begin

As promised I return to painting and undercoating.

I must confess that in my time I have used many different colours as undercoat. In the eighties I haunted the racks of car paint in Halfords. Back in those day's British Leyland used to paint their cars in some truly horrible colours,( who really wanted to buy a sh*t coloured car?) but the shades of brown and beige were ideal for undercoats. I painted a whole army of Fuzzy Wuzzies by spraying them Simca Beige and then washing them with Indian Ink.

I am less adventurous these days but still have cans of black, grey and white in my garage. I use Black the least, but still I do use it for dark uniforms such as rifles and Prussians or when I want to increase the bulk of the figure, eg my French Cuirassier. I do not use a technique of leaving a black edge because I find it too slow. I also find black to be harder to see and am often jamming the brush point against the figure.

I use a grey undercoat which I then wet brush heavily with white. This is a quick technique for mainly white clad figures such as Austrians, but I mainly use it when I intend to do a good deal of the rest of the figure with inks or paint washes. It gives a fairly subdued effect when using bright colours that I think works sometimes.

The main reason for using white is that it gives a clean pure palate to work on. I also remember an article on Russian Icon painting which dealt with the physics of light. Building up colours from a white base coat meant that light was reflected back and not absorbed giving greater depth and warmth to the image. Now that may well be nonsense, but I like to think that enables me to use a more subtle palette of colours as a result.

Which raises another objection to black undercoat. In that style contrast is everything, the figures may not necessarily be as brightly coloured as Micky Mouse but the aim is the same as the cartoonist. Bright, rich, heavily pigmented colours with highly contrasting shades and divisions. Muted colours are not possible nor are they wanted. The result is a completely artificial effect, which is the opposite of our daily experience of the way light works.

If we are kind we can say that these painters are following in the steps of the Pre Raphaelite school or the Japanese miniaturists. A less kind view would be that they are completely obsessed with the way the figures look when photographed and are in danger of disappearing up their own 3 colour system.

Take a figure and stand at the window, hold it at arms length and try and find someone in the street who is sufficiently far away to seem the same size as the figure. Now take a good look at them, Interesting isn't it, the way the pupils of the eyes stand out and each knuckle catches the sun?

The fact is that colour fades as distance increases. I would never use black on a figure of 25mm or less. I would either heavily dry brush it with medium grey or dark earth, or simply use a dark grey instead. When using rich and vivid tones I always mix them with a little pale grey first. These effects work best on a white undercoat, simple as that.

Of course the choice is always open to simply paint the figure with no lining, highlighting or shadowing at all. This is a technique which screams out TOY but I will share secret on a big table with lots of units, this looks better than any other type of painting. There I've said it, the fragmentation of light caused by the myriad of different shading and highlighting colours makes the figures look dark and muddy when viewed from six feet or so. The simple figures look clear and attractive, still that's enough of such heresy I don’t want a visit from the painting inquisition.

And finally we return to simplicity

Lessons learned - or not

2008-02-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

Now here's book that's more often quoted than actually read. Major Robin Scouller of the signals corps might have been deliberately trying to exclude wargamers from his readership. He claimed to exclude from his subject matter tactics, regimental organization, battles, drill, and uniforms.

In fact the book was well ahead of its time in that it examined the army in the framework of a state war machine. It is the genius of the author that he manages to make the details of payment recruiting and quartering, and of the doings of the paymaster general and board of ordnance both intelligible and absorbing to the reader.
I must confess it is a book that I dip into a few pages at a time rather than curl up with a mug of cocoa. Nevertheless I always come away with an added insight to the period.

My copy has an inscription from the author, which always makes me smile. I imagine Major Scouller handing the book over after a weekend as a guest. What a surprise for the hostess, who may have been expecting a bunch of daffs or a nice box of Milk Tray, when she opened the wrapping and found a book on 18c logistics! A very tight lipped thank you might have been forthcoming.

I simply have to quote the authors summing up of the condition of the army three hundred years ago:

(Subject to) " the futile meddling of men who knew nothing of the business of fighting; the corruption and inefficiency in every sphere; the penalties inflicted on the honest, efficient, or painstaking; the rewards for the dishonest, the dilettantes, and the inefficient; the irresponsibility of politicians in high places who cast patient officers and humble soldiers on far strands without arms food or medicine or even orders; the miracle of the transformation of the sweepings of the country, recruited hap-hazard and by barely concealed press into an army unsurpassed then or since; the intractability of pettifogging allies; and the resilience of a well-tried enemy. Above, far above it all, however, shines as a glow as of a lighted tower the sheer endurance, patient loyalty and capacity for infinite suffering of the officers and men who stood in the files and squares."

Style versus Function.

2008-02-24T05:55:00.000-08:00

25mm Essex Austrian Cuirassiers, survivors from my last army

I am taken aback at the number of interesting comments made in response to my last entry. The issue of painting styles is a huge and fascinating subject on its own and though I am dying to talk of undercoats and light,pigments and physics, I hope you will forgive me if I leave that aside for a while and pick up on a very interesting question from Jubilo, who asks:

Dear Sarge ,
One has to ask if the figures are to be used for gaming or dioramas ? The overly painted and shaded figures featured in the hobby magazines tend to look rather bizarre and "super-hero "-like . The simpler paint jobs look better from several feet away ( war gamer distance ).
Is a ten musket unit going to look like a period battalion or is the ten musket unit that size for gaming ? No criticism here only curiosity. Carry on .
all for the old flag,

Jubilo cuts through all the waffle and asks "What are they for ? "

What a good question! Luckily I have thought hard enough about this to be able to answer. They are for gaming with. They are not going to sit in a display cabinet, so I do not want people to pick up individual pieces and admire them. I do not want elaborately based vignettes, that are really 54mm display pieces that never grew up. Nothing over detailed, nothing fussy, nothing that detracts from clean lines and the beautiful simplicity of the figures.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Classic Toy Soldier style from the great HE

But like so many of us, this is not my first army. The choices I make will not necessarily be the same as if I didn't already have 10,000 painted figures in the garage. So I am not going to paint these in a simple toy soldier style because I already have a seven year war army in this style and I hope to add a Crimean army in the same vein. I have 20mm ACW armies that are inkwashed and dry brushed to suit the modern eye. So this time somehing in between I hope. Enough shading toset them apart from toys but certainly avoiding the fashionable excesses and cartoon styles.

Rallying around the old tattered pole. 20mm Kennington.

Similarly I have Napoleonic armies at 36 man battalions, SYW at 48 and a Peninsular Napoleonic project planned in which the largest battalion will be highlanders at a massive 96 man battalion all individually based.

I intend that to all intents and purposes each battalion in this current project will be an individual gaming piece. Now I wasted many years in my youth going down the "its the base size that's important, the figures are merely there for decoration" road. I certainly don't want anymore to do with that load of old nonsense. But using gaming elements of a unit on each base has a long ancestry going right back to Joe Morschauser in 1962, so I am ok with giving them a run out again for this project.

Twelve men has been chosen as being the smallest number that doesn't look silly. It is also near the largest that will sit comfortably on a single base. So the driving force there is to construct a workable and pleasing gaming element. However I am hoping that the use of these bases will enhance the linear effect of the battlefield and avoid the giant rugby scrum that often develops with big battalions.

I am hoping that the small units will give an effect similar in style to a contemporary battle print.

Putting on some paint

2008-02-21T14:26:00.000-08:00

So 12 man units it is. That affects the unit composition I don't want 1 in 12 of my army to be drummers I especially don't want to have to paint 60 or so drummers in the complicated French livery coat. But you can't have too many flags can you? Actually you can, flags have never been a priority for me, some of my regiments have been rallying round a flagless stick for many years now. But not this army, each unit will get a Flag, so I think a standard bearer, either an officer or drummer and 10 men will be the norm.

The figures are trimmed and spray undercoated white with a cheap car primer. I am aware that some use black but I am sure you will agree that is really a cheap trick for cads and other lounge lizards. I then stick the figures onto strips of wood with a hot glue gun. I like the hot glue, providing it is used sparingly it will grip the figure until a quick twist with a penknife blade releases it fully painted and varnished. The wood strips can be reused with the glue on them by giviing them 30 seconds in the microwave to remelt the glue then popping the new figure into place. I would recommend doing this when the significant other is out of the house but obviously that's up to you.

Now the big decisions start should they be painted in a vintage fashion with big blocks of plain colour or shaded and highlighted? I think these figures will respond to a bit of highlighting if it is not overdone. They are quality figures and we want to avoid making them look like toys.

So a basecoat for the coats. My friend, Bill Protz has been telling us for years now what the proper colour for French white is, so I mix up a thin wash of humbrol enamels equal parts of pale grey and flesh, this is liberally applied.

After a break to allow it to dry well I drybrush white all over. I find it easier to do this in two light coats rather than one heavy coat, which often comes out unevenly. Yes, I think I like that effect, though I am not going to be sure until the the rest of the figure is completed.

Finally a little bit of colour, we will give them red stockings, I will worry about what regiment this is tomorrow, for now a splash of colour will just set off the work we have done.

Thats it, a final sniff of the turpentine, lids tight on the paints and switch off the desk lamp. Goodnight and sleep well to you all.

Thank you for the comments

2008-02-20T14:38:00.001-08:00

One of the unexpected bonuses from doing this blog has been the pleasure I have gained from the comments people have left after visiting. Some of you I know, others are strangers but every comment has been enjoyed.

Some of the points made demand further discussion so I intend to deal with a few from time to time.

The picture of lord Ligonier, was from Peter Young’s history of the British Army. Ken Trotman has republished Rex Whitworth’s excellent biography should anyone want to know more about this interesting man.

The second volume of CS Grants book is mainly new material especially on Spain Portugal and Italy. The first is essentially an updating of the WRG book. Nevertheless I find it to be a worthwhile purchase.

The excellent advice to go with frontages that look right with the figures has been heeded by me. Much easier to look at the figures in situ and decide.

Finally after much thought I have changed my mind about the battalion size and basing again. As several of you had pointed out I am in danger of loosing the vision I originally had. The main reason not to stick to a 12 man battalion base was difficulty in making a sturdy enough base. All the other reservations are fairly easily over come.
So the answer is make a better base.

I know what will happen if I go with smaller multi bases, no matter what I say people will insist in putting them in columns. Then they will annoy me by asking what percentage of a move it takes to expand their frontage. Far better one big base that they are unable to meddle with.

Oh, and why I am wearing a suit? It’s the only photo I have that looks anything like me.

The best wargames magazine in the world just got better

2008-02-19T10:41:00.000-08:00

I suspect that discerning readers of this site are already aware of the quality and high standards of writing to be found in Battlegames magazine.

The editor, Henry Hyde, has picked up the standard once carried by Practical Wargamer and Wargamers Newsletter. A literate, well produced publication that reflects the sheer enjoyment and enthusiasm of wargaming.

I am very proud to say that I have undertaken to provide a column in each issue from now on. Or at least until I get boring. If you do not recieve this magazine please consider going to the website and taking out a subscription today.

http://www.battlegames.co.uk/

Not only will it be the best value for money you will recieve in a long time, it will also help pay my fees. ( I promise to spend it all on Les Higgins figures).

At last a start is made.

2008-02-18T16:05:00.000-08:00

Finally, I get around to making a start on the figures. I have decided to start with some French. In fact these figures are fairly generic so it’s a matter of choosing a pose I like. But first a bit of DIY.

I remove the cast on pole from the standard bearer and glue in a new one from some 1/32 brass rod. A 30p rod gave me 8 x 35mm lengths. The metal is soft enough to flatten easily in a smooth pliers and a few strokes of a file suggested a spear end. The hand was drilled out with a Dremel bit. Well, I say Dremel but in fact it was a cheap Chinese rip off that I bought for £20. The drill does tend to sit off centre and whirl around erratically chewing up the surface before eventually plunging in some distance from where it was first placed. But apart from that it is every bit as good as the brand name version

Next looking around in the box, I find a surprise. There are two variations on the drummer figure. This was not indicated by the catalogue and is a nice bonus. I shall have to check with the current manufacturers whether they have both types in their range now. I decide the smaller chap without lacing looks more French.

That brings up another point, ordinary line regiments would not have the lace bars that are modelled on these figures. Perfect for Gardes Francaise but really I will have to trim these off this regiment. I suppose while I am doing it the bayonet can go as well. I must get in touch with the manufacturers and check whether there is any chance at all of a version with a belly pouch. Typical, I sought out these figure for their classic uncluttered style and already I am obsessing about details.

I sort out Officer, drummer, standard and 13 men, then do the same again. I prefer to paint in lager batches and sixteen is not really worth mixing paint for. I shall try 2 battalions this time and see how it goes. Enough for one night, not a lot done but finally I am underway,

The mundane and just a little bit of the sublime

2008-02-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

While in York I visited several museums, had some splendid teas at Betty's and attended three evensongs and the Ash Wednesday mass at the cathedral. So with a full range of intellectual,corporeal, and spiritual inspiration I gave full consideration to the question of basing.

I was rather keen on fitting the whole battalion on to a single base. The major drawback would have been the weight involved and the strain inevitably placed on fragile ankles as my banana fingured opponents attempted to lift the whole base by grabbing the end figure. I wandered about making the base thick enough to provide a good grip but this would still not be fool proof, and would probably have involved cutting up planks of wood.

So I have reached that most English of solutions a pragmatic compromise. I shall base 8 figures in two ranks on a 60mm frontage. Two bases will be a 16 man battalion. An identical sized base will hold three cavalry and be a single squadron. Thus the normal formation of a pair of squadrons will be the same frontage as a battalion. A brigade of infantry will have about 8 bases so if I should decide on a Fire and Fury type rule set the systems will fit the basing. If not the worst that can happen is that I have more flexibility in formation than I actually require.

I am still considering the thickness and material for the bases. Some years ago I remember an article in Wargames Illustrated(?) which had a Napoleonic collection of 15mm on black laquer edged bases with name plates for each unit. Very tempting and again keeps nasty fingers away from the figures.

I must just add, that this was the first time I had been inside the Minster after dark. It is so tall that the roof is invisible and the smoke from the candles and incense drifts away into an infinity of pllars and carving. The sheer beauty of the building is remarkably moving.

What I bought on my holiday

2008-02-14T01:52:00.000-08:00

Pegasus: Les Higgins: Irregular: Les Higgins: Strelets

The figures above were picked up during my stay in York. I bought the Irregular Miniatures figure from their stand at the show. I have always liked the uncomplicated approach of Irregular and I think their 20mm figures are quite nice. They would be fine on the same table as Les Higgins though not in the same unit. The range is fairly small though and it may well not be worth the effort of introducing another range just to get a grenadier variation or horse grenadiers. Still nice to know that they are out there.

On the left is a figure from the Pegasus 'Mission Indians' box. Bought for no better reason than that they are the right size and the box title intrigued me, I now have the challenge of how to incorpoate several weaving and sowing Indians, a couple of ox carts and some ethereal looking monks into my armies. Never mind, plastics were made for impulse buyers weren't they?

Finally a potentially much more useful box. From Strelets 'Swedish Artillery' for the Great Northern war. Now this could really be the business since more artillery figures would be very useful. Much cruder in style and a little larger, but the main issue is the somewhat fanciful and energetic posing of the figures. This is more corps de ballet than army corps. Bearing in mind the sensibilities of my readers I have displayed the most sedate pose for their perusal.

Looking at these figures I am reminded of a letter from Brian Marlow of Les Higgins Figures. in Wargamers Newsletter in the early 70's. He responded rather indignantly to an accusation that his figures were to small to mix with Airfix. His figures were PERFECT to mix with airfix, he replied, it was just that Airfix kept making their new packs bigger all the time. Tell us about it, Brian.

A Day at the Racecourse

2008-02-12T14:47:00.000-08:00

I have just had a few days holiday in York. Fortuitously the first day of the break coincided with the York wargames show held at the race track. But fear not gentle reader , I do not intend to inflict a blow by blow account of the show on you. We have all been to such events and this was an enjoyable and fairly typical example. We scrummed at the bring and buy, thrust wads of money at the traders and stood in inscrutable silence, flat faced and impassive in front of the 'demonstration'games. Onething I have learned with age is that no American will ever understand what a British convention is about, explaning the rules of Cricket is a doddle in comparison.

However thanks to the Gentleman from York modelling group who generously initiated me into the secrets of using floor polish and ink mixes ( I would tell you, but I had to swear not to.). Indeed I was especially grateful to him as most of the tables I stopped at ignored me with that uneasy, head down, non eye contact that I thought was a thing of the past. I eventually worked out that I was wearing my country coat and had been travelling since 4am so they probably thought I intended to try and tap them for the price of a cup of tea. Fat chance! a couple of years ago I asked the bar staff at a major convention how much the four of them had got in tips during the day? The answer was less than £2 in total. Even the railway modellers are open handed by comparison.

But I digress. At the show I treated myself to the two volumes by Brigadier Charles S Grant on the Armies and Uniforms of Marlborough's Wars. This enables me to honourably retire my old WRG handbook 'From Pike to Shot'. Hard to believe that this was published 22 years ago. This really was a ground breaking book in its day, back then if you coudn't get hold of Knotel there wasn't much else about.

The new books are just what I wanted for painting reference and have everything for the level of detail I intend to incorporate. I do have a pile of the editions Brokow in a box somewhere but really this is not a period that demands agonising over cuff details or the trim on a pelisse. There are some splendid colour illustrations by Bob Marrion (one of my favourite uniform artists) but I shall resist the temptation, simplicity is the keyword.

And so after two hours I had shopped till I dropped ( I bought two figures from irregular as well) and was content to take my purchases to the bay window of an hotel overlooking the Minster, where I drank Guinness and awaited the return of my wife from some serious shopping. Alas she was some two hours late returning, but that is another story.

The Eagle has Landed

2008-01-30T13:24:00.000-08:00

Revell plastic 26mm: Les Higgins(2) 22mm: Strelets plastic 24mm: MiniFig S range 25mm.

My parcel from America arrived today. 580 finest vintage 20m figures.

This may be a relief to those who feel that I have been treading water lately. Writing a blog about creating an army is always going to be problematic without the Army.

The figures are delightful, slim, elegant and beautifully sculpted. Made of a high tin content so after 40 years and two journeys across the pond only about a dozen bayonets missing.

The first question to answer is what could I mix them with. Probably not much. Plastics have got bigger since the early Airfix sets. The Great Northern War sets are by Zvesda at 25mm and Strelets at 24 and the Strelets are far too chunky. (But as an aside note how well they mix in with the arly minifig S range figures. A real bonus when it comes to playing a game without a lifetimes collecting first.)

So it is quite a relief to note that the present owners of the range have added some much needed varieties especially in the cavalry.

The bases are about 15mm across, but not exactly circular so they will need a little extra space when we come to working out bases.

But for now it is quite enough to sort them into piles of different poses and then line them upon the table and just stare at them.

In praise of the solitary blogger

2008-01-30T10:23:00.000-08:00

My use of scenery has sometimes been commented on as eccentric. I prefer the term expressionist.

Since starting this blog, I must confess that I have looked at other peoples efforts with a new respect and interest. I suppose that the urge to share ones interest is universal and there is only so much toy talk that a long suffering partner or family can take.

Some blogs have the fascination of a good soap, "today I had two sausages for breakfast and then bought a pot of Goblin Green." I find myself returning each day with a guilty fascination as to what has happened next. Others such as the riveting 'making miniatures' have me engrossed as someone makes it all look so achievable. But two are becoming my especial favourites on the web.

The Alte Fritz Journal, has shown big battalion gaming at its grandest for a number of months now. While at the other extreme 'Frivolous Fusiliers is starting out chronicling a small scale project.

What they have in spades though is that they reflect the enthusiasm and individuality of their creators. And here is a secret that I can share with you all, you do this hobby to please yourselves. If there are any wargamers out there thinking, " I shall collect and play with toys because it will impress my employers, and also beautiful women will find me mysterious and attractive." Well, perhaps its kinder not to say anything.

Buy the figures that you like, in a scale you enjoy and paint them, putting in the levels of skill and time that suits your needs. And if the others at your club don't like it then they can just sod off. Face it, do you really need the approval of a bunch of grown men who play with toy soldiers?

Il Penseroso

2008-01-28T14:43:00.000-08:00

So at the end of the day I look back in contemplative meditation.

Reading around a project is one of the great pleasures of the hobby. Indeed over time one can gather a fairly respectable personal library of enjoyable texts. The last time I was building a Marlburian army I was travelling twice a week up to London and the train provided plenty of time for background reading. Since I also had a day a month in Oxford I picked up quite a few classic texts during that year.

Coming back to it after 20 years or so it is interesting to look around and see what has been published in the meantime. Since the begining of the month I have purchased two books by James Falkner and the Osprey on Blenheim. (God bless ebay and the January dip in prices).I hope in time to enjoy reading these and when I do I will write about them here. Hopefully I shall have the energy to revisit the existing library this year, as well.

But I have begun by reading a book for which I had no great expectations.

'Blenheim battle for Europe' Charles Spencer Weidenfeld and Nicholson 2004. 360pp.

In fact it was a gentle easing back into the period and though in no sense ground breaking it covered the period fairly well. It puts Louis 14 at the centre of the book and gives a good overview of his foreign policy. Indeed by the time it has dealt with the early life and marraige of the Duke of Marlborough it has only 60 pages to deal with the battle.

Charles Spencer has read the modern studies of the period and at times these chunks of knowledge are pulled in with the brutality of an undergraduate essay. The style is unremmitingly readable but to be honest I have no problem with popular history, I wish there was more of it. If at times it reads a bit like The Giant of the Grand Siecle meets Blue Peter then so what, at least I finished it.

From that I turned to another work of readable history:

England Under Queen Anne vol 1 Blenheim. G M Trevelyan. 1930 477pp

He states " For my part, I cannot abandon the older ideal of History that was once popular in England, that the same book should make its appeal both to the general reader and the historical student".
Well said, George, I am looking forward to relishing rereading these books a few chapters at a time over the next year, perfect for a deckchair on a summers evening.

"The darkness fell and the scene was blotted out. And with the darkness, sheets of rain descended in pitiless brutality on the maimed and dying men gathered from all the four corners of Europe to perish together on that tragic hill."