Scots Awa'!

Progress here in GHQ came to a sudden halt last weekend when I succumbed to the Novovirus, not a particularly pleasant experience! Slow recovery though has allowed me to show you more Scots completed prior to the unpleasantness. They will offer their services in the cause of my Lancastrians, mercenaries under the command of "Black George", a  fearsome warrior of reknown. Perry Miniatures' Irish Kerns of course repurposed as Scottish mercenary infantry armed with a variety of two handed weapons. They fight as you might expect under the 'Blue Blanket' provided by Flags of War ~

They should be joined in due course by a second such base giving me the option of combining the two or using each independently as scenarios require. They were pretty straightforward to paint really, not overburdened with much in the way of kit as you can see. After those I've four Command bases I've been toying with adding to the look of the game after my recent TOP haul - see an earlier entry if you missed them. Then in due course it might be back to adding a couple of Retinues to each side. More archers! Oh Joy, Oh Rapture!

"Because, forsooth, the king of Scots is crown'd."

It's taken me a while to recover both from The Other Partizan and the drubbing Phil handed out on Tuesday but I've finally finished my unit of Scottish spearmen.  Now they are done the will join the Lancastrian army as Mercenary Allies. At some future date they will be bolstered by two bases of infantry with two handed weapons. They are made up from the Halberdiers/Pikemen Attacking packs in Perry Miniatures' European Armies range together with two standard bearers from their Wars of the Roses range and two figures from their Kern Command. The Scottish flavour is added to by two banners from Flags of War ~

I've also cleaned up some of the Perry Miniatures figures I purchased at TOP from Dave Thomas - sound chap remember - to make the previously mentioned second base of Scots with two handed weapons. Alongside these I've also cleaned up more figures which I plan to use to make more Command bases. No project is ever finished is it? Finally then, the lads join the battle lines on the tabletop battlefield here in GHQ ready for the next run out of the Armies ~

Next up here on the blog is hopefully a further base of Scots now I've sourced a new supplier of Hycote Double Acrylic White Primer, my spray undercoat of choice. 

"A dice, a dice! My kingdom for a dice!"

Phil and I played a small game on Tuesday with my steadily growing Wars of the Roses collection. As the Lancastrian faction is still incomplete we made them defend their camp against a surprise Yorkist foray overseen by Sir Philip, Lord of Rawnsley. Oversight of the befuddled Lancastrians fell to Lord Wulfrun, a stout supporter of Henry VI and other lost causes. We used Hail Caesar for this game with the two armies' fighting stats from the Wars of the Roses supplement.  Now then, the usual annotated photomontage to hopefully carry you down into the action and a share in the anguish of defeat ~

The Bishop of Lichfield leads the congregation in praying for a victorious deliverance from the traitorous hosts arrayed against them.

At the conclusion of Turn 1 the table showed very little martial fervour displayed by either army!

While the Lancastrian centre has shuffled forward towards the enemy the Duke of Buckingham cannot get Lord Wenlock's Retinue to move at all!

The Yorkists are having similar difficulties, with Warwick's Vanward showing little enthusiasm to get into the fight!

Wenlock still does not want to advance. Perhaps the sight of Warwick's artillery is dampening his ardour! More likely though its my run of dreadful Command rolls.

At last in Turn 4 Wenlock condescends to advance, slowly. The plan to fall on the flank of Warwick's assault is already unravelling. 

In desperation Buckingham sends his mercenary crossbowmen forward hoping their fire will disrupt Warwick's artillery. In the centre both sides have been exchanging archery fire. It's safe to say any passing barn door would be safe from the Lancastrian fire!

Already Lancastrian casuslties are mounting and Disorder is spreading.  Some longbowmen have already had enough and retire!

At last in Turn 6 the Yorkists have got themselves organised and are determined to close with their foe!

Lancastrian archery has had almost no effect on the Yorkist centre. The opposite is true of Yorkist fire on the Lancastrians. 

The Yorkist main Ward has surged forward across the gap separating the two sides, Fauconberg's Retinue overwhelming the Lancastrian artillery supporting their lines. The dice fail me once again when the longbowmen are caught by the MAA!

The longbowmen will buckle and retire Disordered,  the beginning of the collapse for the Lancastrian army.

The Lancastrian artillery collapse too under the weight of Fauconberg's assault, despite their stout defence in the previous turn. The end is in sight now it seems?

Giffard's Retinue are roughly handled in the melee and loose cohesion due to mounting losses, becoming Shaken.

The continuing melee is too much for them and they break and flee to the rear fearing for their lives!

On the right Buckingham cannot only look on impotently as Wenlock's Retinue throws in the towel and joins in the flight, the Yorkist artillery doing terrible slaughter at close range!

With Wenlock's collapse Buckingham can do no more as his Ward disintegrates before his eyes! "Wenlock will loose his head for this!" he exclaimed.

Savage and Clifford see their Households loose heart and join in the general fight! It's a crushing defeat for the Lancastrians!

Henry joins the general flight leaving the camp defenseless and letting the looting begin! A quite remarkable first game for the collection. Utter defeat for the Lancastrians, the Yorkists suffering very few losses overall. In 12 Turns I failed 10 Command rolls, most of them on my Right with Buckingham's Ward. My men were consistently out shot, then out fought, and finally just melted away like snow in the thaw... Great fun though! Now I really must get more figures into the fray for the follow up game next time.

Too much of a good thing?

I went to The Other Partizan held at The Newark Showground yesterday. I have always enjoyed both annual iterations of what has surely become the premier wargames show for the historical wargaming hobby. As the old body has aged I've found problems in coping adequately with its demands, mainly being on my feet for a few hours with no where really to sit and chat with friends while we take five! I've spoken about this before, I know, and have raised it several times with Laurence and/or Tricks, but to no avail as yet. Yesterday's experience really pushed me over the edge. How, you may ask? Well, bluntly there are simply too many games to take it all in ~ you'll see where I'm going with this when it comes to pictures later. Firstly, and this is a purely personal position, there are too many Participation games. Cutting them by half would free up some space for seating. Secondly, and this will rile even more folk I'd think, there are too many Demonstration Games crowded in, leaving little space for moving between them and appreciating the marvellous examples on show. If culling is too painful then perhaps a size limit might work better? Thirdly, the 'Catering' needs some attention in choice on offer and more importantly seating in the Bistro area. As I said, purely personal opinions which you are all free to disagree with to your heart's content.  I still enjoyed my day out, but it could be so much more comfortable.

The games then: very high quality as you'd expect really but too many, too big, too crowded to properly appreciate. I gave up taking pictures for those reasons. Those I did take ~

Three pictures of a very large WWII game featuring four separate encounters from the Arnhem Campaign presented by The Old Pikeys.

Two shots of The Bodkins' 100 Years War game, one showing the effect of masses of figures, the other the small details creating the scene. Worthy trophy winners once again.

The Black Ship, a small but beautifully formed Samurai game staged by the Iron Brigade. The first showing the effective backboard to frame the game, the second the small details which create the feel of a period.

Two late C17th games featuring the North Star range for the period in the first, and The League of Augsberg's Warfare range in the second. I always enjoy seeing historical games showcasing periods outside the mainstream.

Lastly, a big medieval game by James Morris and chums showcasing his Midgard rules. I thought the ploughed fields made an interestingly different tabletop battlefield, and I also liked the tents and vignettes dotted about. But pretty much I gave up after these, simply not an enjoyable exercise in my view...

Now, turning to Retail Therapy, probably the main reason many of us visit shows if we are honest. Sue kindly gave me her blessing to buy some figures. Only quietly urging me not to spend too much as I left for Phil’s! Too much? We laughed; no such thing! Here's my Loot to bear that out ~

'Six packs for five' of Gamers' Grass Tufts from Great Escape Games. A box of Perry Miniatures plaaaaastic Wars of the Roses figures from Dave Thomas - sound chap!

Two sheets of flags from Freezy Water. Are you seeing a theme in these purchases yet?

A few packs of Perry Miniatures metals figures for the Wars of the Roses again, in case you think I've gone over wholly to the Dark Side. Again from Dave Thomas - good discount too, sound chap as I said! Also two packs of mantlets from Wargames Foundry, no discount sadly...

From Andy at The Last Valley three rather splendid Banjan trees to grace our games set in the sub-continent theatre. At £10 a pop they represent really good value for money.

Now though for context, in total time spent: nearly three hours to get there, thanks to  a diversion, three hours in the show, two and a half hours home. Did the pain outweigh the joy? I am getting too old for this Lark? I do really wonder if it is when I wake with aches and pains all over, but especially in the old legs, but then I recollect the sheer joy of total immersion in our wonderful hobby. I will be back, as Arnold might say...

"Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood!" #2

Things have mostly dropped back into their usual place now we have been back home for a week or so. I collected the 9 finished horses from Phil on Tuesday when we met up for our usual game. They have therefore been the focus of my efforts with the old Brush of Doom in in the intervening days, meaning that I can share with my loyal reader the finished results of our joint efforts ~

The nine figures comprise seven metals and two plaaaaastics. They are based up in threes as were their earlier companions. One base is painted and flagged to portray Sir John Neville, Marquis of Montagu, and joins the Yorkist cause; the second and third bases shows no aaffiliation for either faction and so can be deployed for either in a game as the scenario demands.

Two plaaaaastic figures flank a metal figure on the Third base. The metal knight was originally Richard III but I filed off the crown from his helm as I already had decided on Edward IV as my Yorkist leader. It will surprise my loyal reader, as it has yours truly, but I preferred painting the plastic MAA here, so much clearer details than the metal figures for my old eyes. 

I've not been as productive as I'd hoped though this week, having a bit of a reaction to my joint Flu & Covid boosters which left me tired and listless for a couple of days. I've not felt able to tackle either of the bases of 'Scots' figures which plopped on the mat from Perry Miniatures earlier in the week. Hopefully The Other Partizan will give me a welcome boost in motivation!

"Come hither, you that would be combatants."

 As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, next up on the painting desk to suffer under the ministrations of the Brush of Doom are a base of MAA on foot. The base represents the Household of Sir John Neville, Marquis of Montagu, with his heraldic banner provided by Pete's Flags via Ebay.  The base consists of six Perry Miniatures from the MAA Attacking set, one from their set of Standard Bearers, and one which was a Partizan Freebie back in the mists of time. ☆See if you can spot him and say who he represents!

Phil has finished painting the remaining nine horse for me and so the next target for me will be to paint the mounted MAA to finish that aspect of the project. There will remain then a base of Scottish spearmen and another of Scottish rabble with big choppers and such, the latter using the Kern figures. I do have enough figures remaining for a further base of Billmen and for a Retinue Command stand, so just a base of Archers would be needed to complete yet another Retinue!!!!!! I may just bite the bullet and pick some up at The Other Partizan on Sunday.

☆Oh, just in case you didn't recognise the Freebie I included on the base it was representing Lambert Simnell of course, sporting a cooking pot helmet from his days in the Royal kitchens as a scullion!

Once more unto the breech?

We are back home from our sojourn 'Oop North with Phil and Di, so I'm once more back in action wielding the Brush of Doom over some new figures for the Wars of the Roses project. In this instance its my fourth light artillery gun and crew, from Perry Miniatures this time. Not a great deal to say about the set really, other than it depicts a breech loading piece being readied to fire ~

Next up will be a base of MAA on foot, but boasting an unusual figure amongst the more expected offerings. I'll leave that there for now until they are finished off...

I put in a small order to Perry Miniatures while we were away to bring the project to its planned conclusion, and to avoid the unwelcome declared price rise! I expect that I was not alone in putting in an order so unsurprisingly they were not delivered until this morning! Unusually for me I do think that will be that when the new figures are processed to completion...unless I see something that takes my fancy at The Other Partizan on Sunday that is!