Command Stand added

After a mad 30 days or more of SYW figure painting I’ve veered back into the Italian Wars briefly, with firstly the addition of the camp scene or two, previously featured here on my Blog, and secondly an additional Command Stand for when we use Pike & Shotte for games ~

The two figures are from Bicorne Miniatures, the first I’ve bought from them for this project. They appear to me to be the former Connoisseur range sculpted back in the day by Peter Gilder I presume. By contemporary standards they would have been fine figures but frankly by today’s standards of figure design and sculpting they appear primitive. Never the less they will do the job just fine for me and I would add that the mail order service was nothing short of fantastic, turning round in three days from order to receipt just after Christmas. Other firms might take note of this!

In the Lead Pimple now I have two additional Italian Wars units, both early Landsknecht pike blocks from TAG. I hope to add these to the project during the Spring. For the interested they were partly the reason I bought the two figures from Bicorne, as I ordered three packs of steel pikes from them, the North Star ones having changed to what seems to me an inferior product.

Bits and Pieces...

...added to GHQ and to my SYW armies. First up, for the latter project, two spare figures I had in the Lead Pimple painted and based now to act as ADCs, since Black Powder2 has changed the role of the Commanding General. Although you don’t strictly need an ADC figure, I had these in stock and they are a quick addition, so here they are, a French and British ADC. Both are from the Foundry SYW ranges, though for some reason the French appear under the Casting Room Miniatures label ~

As some of my loyal readers know I have from time to time over the last 20 years contributed articles on various themes to Wargames Illustrated. I was pleased to receive a mystery present from Dan for Christmas last year, and even more pleased when I opened it to see it was a canvas print of the first two pages of my recent Wargamers’ Spaces article. Where better to hang it than in GHQ?

And whilst on the theme of decoration I finally got around, with Sue’s invaluable assistance, to mounting my small collection of ACW bullets garnered over the many visits to battlefields and museums in the 90’s. Some may recognise the backing picture too I think ~

Camp Italians!

As my regular reader will recall, I lighted on several old Battleground hard foam tents and marquees at the recent Penkridge Table Top Sale. These are part of the late Ian Weekley’s catalogue and I’ve been hoping to find some ever since the Italian Wars project got underway. I’ve repainted and based three of them now, adding some figures and scenic scatter items to give a bit of life. I hope you like them ~

The three figures are from TAG and I’m sure you can work out who they are based on. If not, well, “I have a cunning plan, my Lord.” The Other scenic additions came from my boxes of individually based items: the cooking fire from Irregular Miniatures, but I’ve no idea where the other items originated! A close look at Baldricco hard at work ~

I’ll probably add other free standing items in due course, but I’ve other things on the go for this project which I need to finish this month, including a piece for Wargames Illustrated on how it all evolved.

Back to work then! No slacking, as Jon tells me!

Some SYW Additions

I’ve recently completed the first of my additional infantry units for our SYW games here in GHQ, in the shape of the 23rd Foot, the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. As with all the collection to date the figures are from Foundry, a range which embodies the phrase ‘Marmite for Wargamers’ probably more than any other I’ve come across. I used the Grenadier figures to proxy Fusileers and the British Infantry Command set to make up the unit, together with a mounted Officer from the Generals set as the Colonel ~

This is a considerable compromise in terms of accuracy, but that doesn’t worry me overmuch, these being toys in a game after all! With hindsight for the mitres I might have been better to fill in the Royal cypher rather than simply overpaint the Prince of Wales feathers, but on the table I’d be surprised if anyone noticed. Alternatively I might have used the Crusader Grenadiers as I’ve seen elsewhere on the net, but I stuck with Foundry for the sake of the look of the game ~

Clearly the decorative embellishments on the mitres are beyond my skills and patience, so they are best viewed from the usual gaming distance, for instance I omitted the greenery flanking the central motif as well as just suggesting the white horse at the mitre’s base. Not for purists and lace counters, but they will do for me, and I hope for my chums who command them.
I’ve also added a cavalry regiment to the British in the shape of the 6th or Inniskilling Dragoons ~

For the French part of the project I’ve added a second Irish Regiment in the shape of regiment 93, Clare. Again these are Foundry figures with flags by GMB and MDF bases from Warbases, who else ~

I use the same red foundation and old Games Workshop red ink wash as for all the other red coated units, though in this case Foundry Bright Red mid tone rather than their British Redcoat mid tone for my British figures, then highlighted with the same colour. My Wild Goose element is now Wild Geese! I’m planning to add a command base for the Wild Geese next, but I’m short of some undercoated  Officers on foot, so that awaits completion in due course ~

Originally I aimed at 12 figure cavalry regiments, but found things a bit crowded on our table here in GHQ at times, so in the expansion phase I’ve reduced this to 8 figures in a Regiment. There will be another British regiment in the form of the 2nd Horse, despite them serving in Ireland for the duration, and a further French regiment, Orleans, merely because I liked the white faced red uniform coats! I should probably stop there before I upset SYW enthusiasts further...

Visit Rhanzlistan!

Just a brief advert for a new post on the parallel blog, Tales from Rhanzlistan, with an account of the latest exploits of Colonel Corbinski and Captain Hardly-Standin ~

A full photomontage account of their epic struggle can be found at ~

www.talesfromrhanzlistan.blogspot.co.uk

So pop on over for another ripping yarn and tales of daring-do...

“I likes a bargain, I does!”

On the ‘first Sunday after soap and backa’ issue I found myself in the company of Phil and Jon at the biannual Penkridge Table Top Sale. Penkridge, a village in South Staffordshire, is about 8 miles north of Wolverhampton where I live so it’s a very short journey up the A449 to the venue in the Peace Memorial Hall. Admission is free and there’s usually ample parking on a Sunday, except around the immediate area. It’s a real scrum inside and superficially looks full of Games Workshop plastic tatt, but saying that I’ve never failed to get a bargain or three. Mind you, you have to be prepared to hunt around a bit! Past scores have included Redoubt F&IW painted figures at metal prices, obscure early Napoleonic medical figures, the GW Historical Waterloo and most recently four Ian Weekly Battleground hard foam Medieval/Renaissance tents and marquees for £10. I’ve already repainted two and glued them to a Warbases Terrain base I had left over ~

I need to assemble suitable detritus and figures next, a b*gger of a task since Irregular no longer do shows and their website is Steam Powered! I shall gird up my loins and manfully struggle through to get the bits and pieces I want for the task, though it may take a while...

The two remaining tents I’ve put on individual MDF bases, which size I had already in stock, so that the whole becomes more versatile on the tabletop. I need to process this in the next few weeks as Dan is coming over next month to take photos to accompany a piece I’m working on about our Italian Wars project, which may appear sometime in the late Spring I’d guess given lead in times at Wargames Illustrated ~

For those interested, the next Table Top Sale is usually in June, just before Barrage in Stafford last year for example. In truth, would I travel any distance to it? Well, no if I’m honest with you. But at a few miles up the road it’s doable in a couple of hours on a Sunday morning. If you are one of the saddos though who does fantasy games and likes GW plastic tatt it’s probably an excellent event.

By Air to...bottle it!

As promised for the start of the new campaigning year a second WWII Rapid Fire2 set too. I kept the table layout largely the same, but switched the forces around. This scenario saw a British glider borne assault holding Le Grand Bains against a German counter attack from Kampfgruppe Whytt. The Airborne had no armour support but did have a battery of howitzers, another of 17lbers and a 6lb antitank gun. They also enjoyed air support after Turn 3 in the form of a Typhoon with 2 Medium Bombs and one straffing run. As usual now a days, a series of captioned pictures to give a sense of the unfolding action ~

A game changing error: deploying my 17lb anti tank battery in

the only position the German spotter could see it!

Amongst the ruins Brigadier General Bykleigh considers his

options.

Artillery fire was to be the Airborne's only hope against the

German armour. The 6lb antitank gun is already retiring!

The Stugs are out of sight of the Airborne's spotter and the

infantry dug in around Rumfordeville.

Herr Whytt considers his next move while anti aircraft gunners

nervously scan the skies!

Airborne hopes are raised when one Panzer IV is knocked out

and a second heavily damaged by HE. A false dawn sadly as

it turned out!

A cautious advance by Infantry supported by Stugs on the

Airborne's extreme left flank is worrying!

In the German centre infantry go into action supported by their

battalion artillery.

Jabo! No cause for alarm though...

The bombing run fails to destroy the advancing Stugs!

As the Typhoon readies itself for its second straffing attack it

proves too little too late and its all up for the Airborne, failing

their second consecutive Morale Test at the start of Turn 6!

"For you, Herr Bykleigh, the war IS over!"

 I can’t really claim it was a ‘game’ in the sense of an event in which each did their very best to win though. I made a fundamental error in my first two turns from which I miserably failed to recover, though Jon’s subtle play kept me on the ropes I have to say and I was thrashed in six turns! On reflection I think that ‘Personal Morale’ as out lined by Robbie Roddis on his Blog last year played a big part in my defeat ~
https://independentwargamesgroup.blogspot.com/2018/12/on-personal-morale.html
I realised my error but was paralysed by what I could do in response and bottled it frankly! Not my finest hour!

The Allied version of the Field Hospital as the German one in

the last post proved popular! Once more though, the busiest

chaps on the Airborne side!

Next up in GHQ will see a long overdue return to Rhanzlistan where another scion of the military incompetents who are the Bykleighs will pit his wits against Robinski and his S.P.I.F.F. Meanwhile, its back to painting SYW figures!