The Old Empty Barn...

 ...was, well, empty. I assembled and painted this 15mm MDF  Empires At War barn last month, but had to wait to get it based as I'd nothing in stock to fit! After I had finished the rebasing of all the cavalry for my Wars of the French Revolution collection this was but a gentle little warm down effort. Not much else I can say about it really ~ 

The firm's kits are new to me and are somewhat different to the ones I'm used to, but after a bit of thought and fiddle I managed without too much cursing. The outer walls are embossed board, cut to fit over an MDF shell, with the exception of the roof . I hope in due course to paint up the livestock I bought from Pendraken at Hammerhead to give some semblance of life to the farms.

My order placed at Hammerhead of three small German buildings from Warbases arrived on Saturday. A big disappointment to me as the kits seemed incomplete and one was missing, the third being a duplicate of the second. Martin got back to me straight away on Saturday, but since then, nowt... Most unlike their usual excellent customer interface. That leaves me at a bit of a loose end as I've no figures in the Lead Pimple cleaned up and prepared for painting...

Ephemera, and other Stuff

“This week I has been mostly thinking about ephemera.” 

You know, those pieces which play no active part in a game but are often the only thing we can recall about the game at a later date. Here are a few I've cobbled together here in GHQ over the years grouped under the general theme of Medical, Spiritual and Material ~

The Perry Miniatures RAMC set from the Sudan War. This kind of vignette treatment helps create interest in the quiet sections of a table as battle rages elsewhere.

A FRW period French band from Trent Miniatures. A splendid sight leading the columns towards the action.

A Warlord Games Puritan Minister exhorts the men to do the Lord's work! The men from Perry Miniatures of course.

An army marches on its stomach! Well, these Casting Rooms miniatures from Foundry will enhance any SYW French camp. The spit is from Irregular Miniatures.

A Warlord Games Chindit medic for WWII in Burma. These kinds of figures I think lend themselves to Morale markers?

A mishmash mule ambulance set for 1920's Rhanslistan. Figures from Redoubt, Pulp Figures and Copplestone Castings. Mules I'm struggling to recall, but from the USA via Dave P I'm sure.

A FRW baggage vignette. Mule from Foundry and spare figure from Eureka Miniatures.

A WWII German Field Hospital. Tent by Ian Weekly, figures from AB Miniatures, Ambulance I'm unsure of I've had it so long.

Eureka Miniatures FRW French cantiniere set painted by Phil for me.

Front Rank civilians gathered round the pump. We neglect civilians mostly in our games but should remember they are the collateral damage in any conflict as well as mysterious 5th Columnists or loyal partisans.

Casting Room Miniatures from Foundry for the early C19th games.

Foundry SYW Civilian figures and a Grand Manner Command Tent make a useful and busy looking HQ.

Finally, it's almost Opening Time. Empress Miniatures VBCW Civilians waiting outside an Oshira public house made from their kit range.

Well, I hope you made it through to the end! Who knows, you may have seen something you can adapt for your own table top battlefields, though I'd expect you'd probably make a better job than me...

The Scots Greys 1793-95

 The latest unit to make it across the painting desk here in GHQ for their moment in the sun are the Scots Greys for the British contingent in my Wars of the French Revolution collection ~

 The figures are from Trent Miniatures and there is a bit of a sad back story to them. When they first appeared I bought two pack from the late Duncan MacFarlane's trade stand at Partizan. As I'd lots in the Lead Pimple at the time I put them aside, thinking I'd wait on the Command set to complete the unit...Time passed, I badgered Duncan every time I saw him about this Command set... Still no Command set. Sadly and unexpectedly Duncan passed away. Well, that's that I thought and hoovered up the two remaining Trooper packs from Arcane together with a mounted officer to proxy a command figure. There were 13 figures now languishing in the LP!

A year almost went by when the Greys unexpectedly arrived at the head of the painting queue; in fact they were right then pretty much the only figures in the ready to paint state in the Lead Pimple! At one a day I've been plodding through them and now they are done! The sad back story? Well, Matt tells me Duncan had decided to produce the said Command pack not long before his demise and was asking for one of 'my heads' Matt had sculpted to use on the Officer figure! I would have been really chuffed by that! Such is life!

Anyway, whatever, no more painting at the mo, I'm putting all my hobby effort into rebasing all my Wars of the French Revolution cavalry! At present all the French and British/Émigre cavalry are done and back on the table in GHQ ready for action. That leaves me the Austrian Heavy and Light Cavalry to tackle next. I'd hope to complete that by next weekend, given a following wind that is...

Some more 15mm CWGH vehicles

 Phil has been breaking out the airbrush and drybrushing kit so we have some further Battlefront 15mm vehicles for the project to show now I've added the transfers and finished off the bases. First up are three Soviet T72's ~

Secondly, there are also additions to the B.A.O.R. in the shape of two Scimitar Light Tanks for a reconnaissance element in the games ~

Lastly, two FV432 Mortar Carriers to support the infantry ~

Last week I took a step I'd not expected and bought two further T72's and two more Chieftain MBTs with Stillbrew armour upgrades. I hadn't planned any additions, honestly, but then I'm a wargamer after all... Phil still has the remaining T72's for the Soviet force together with some FV432 Swingfires and the FV432 Transport for the B.A.O.R. but they are someway down the painting queue now.

Return to the Wars of the French Revolution

 This weeks' game here in GHQ featured an airing for part of my Wars of the French Revolution collection. I'm currently painting the Scots Greys by Trent Miniatures which I bought back before the plague. On a whim I've decided to rebase all the cavalry in the collection having realised I had no room for the new unit if I wanted to utilise the basing system currently in use! Hence this week's game, as it gets the armies out of storage and ready post battle for rebasing! As usual, an annotated photomontage of some significant moments in the battle ~

On their right flank the French Heavy Cavalry and their Horse Artillery supports advance with élan! The British infantry nonchalantly decline to form square, just as well the French fell short! Ominously the British Heavy Cavalry stand ready to enter combat in their turn.

A view from the British lines as a volley pours into the French charge!

Forming square the infantry fire a ragged volley into the French as they charge by to engage the King's Dragoon Guards! The Life Guards in their turn charge the larger French Heavy Cavalry regiment.

Merde! The Ros Biefs thrash the gallant French! Beaten soundly the French fall back in disarray! Meanwhile the Horse Artillery are in confusion, pounded by the British battery (out of frame) and fire from the British square. 

A gallant charge by the 8th Cavalry is repulsed also although the Horse Artillery do manage to deploy and begin to rake the square with cannister shot!

While all the action might seem to be confined to the French right flank, in the centre British infantry deploy to meet the supposed threat from the first French Demi-Brigade.

Back on the French right, the Hompesch Rifles are charged by the rallied French Heavy Cavalry! Surely weight of numbers must carry the day!

In the centre the advance of the Demi-Brigade is halted by rolling volleys from the Redcoated infantry! Although one unit retires, the Foot Guards stand ready to fill their station and hold the line!

Of a sudden the French Horse Artillery are broken and flee! With two other regiments Shaken the French right must retire! In the centre the leading Demi-Brigade has also retired Shaken, leaving the centre exposed. Neither Lord Rawnsley nor De Bykli have the men to force the issue so both sides quit the field not beaten, but not able to press for victory! On the French left? Least said the better as noone advanced with any aggression! Now for some jolly good fun rebasing all my cavalry! Oh Joy! Oh Rapture!

I have been to...

 

Yesterday Phil and I visited the Newark County Showground to attend Hammerhead. As a show it's relatively new to me, having only attended a couple before, most notably the last one before Boristhebarsteward's Lockdown at the onset of the great plague! It was very noisy and crowded the whole time we were there, more normality that I'd expected to be truthful, but at the same time I found myself feeling more at ease than I had at The Other Partizan last year.

Firstly then the Games: all are billed as Participation events, so many tables were crowded with players enjoying a game and not conducive of a good picture with so many intervening arms and suchlike. Having run a couple of such games at Partizan back in the day I'm full of admiration for folk who take on such a thankless task but I have to confess also to some typical English reserve, accentuated by deafness, meaning that I'd sooner walk over hot coals than play a game now with folk I don't know! Two games I did enjoy a good nose at though we're the Boondock Saints Indian game and the VBCW crowds' Bridgehead game. There were some other colourful looking efforts - of course I gave the Gnomes and Space Fairies a wide berth!

Secondly then the Traders: a very full presence of all the usual suspects, stalwart chaps and chapesses one and all, plus numerous of the smaller but no less important folk. I'd wager that if you had a list you'd have been very unlucky not to have got all on it. Speaking of Lists: well, I did have one, honest! It consisted of a pre-order from Warbases and some Gamers' Grass Tufts from Great Escape Games. Last of the big spenders me!

Thirdly then the Loot: besides the afore mentioned MDF and Tufts I did buy something else - four ProArte 40 size O sable brushes for £5 from ABC Brushes; from Pendraken a pack of 15mm cows and 20mm pigs, the 15mm ones being ludicrously far too small; from The Last Valley 7' of stream. In addition I paid for three 15mm rural German buildings from Martin at Warbases which will be posted on to me. (He'd kindly bought the preproduction assembled buildings for me to check out.) So, no figures added to the Lead Pimple this time out!

Lastly, but perhaps the most important aspect of the event for me after the last two years, the chance to meet with friends in the hobby and catch up with their news. In no order then: Colin and Bill from the Gothenburg Gamers, running a Prehistoric game too; Robbie from the Independent Wargames Group blog, always a joy to chew the fat with; Paul an old chum reconnected with and added to our GHQ Irregulars; Dave T, never too busy to chat despite being permanently busy peddling Perry Miniatures; Dan from WI with his usual insights into the joys of magazine ownership and production; Jon, who despite going to remind himself why he doesn't go to shows, was seen clutching a purchase! But, I missed seeing Colin Ashton, again! Phil chatted with him, but our paths never crossed, a sign of how crowded it was perhaps?

So dear reader,  A Grand Day Out and no mistake! I'm already looking forward now to Partizan in May. It will be a welcome distraction from all this royal jubilee nonsense!

A Bit of Nostalgia!

 And why not? Here are some of my favourite pictures from gaming here in GHQ down the years. I hope you enjoy seeing them once more! Or maybe you've not seen them before. Either way, enjoy!

As Cardinal Bicclione might say, never underestimate the power of prayer...

...nor it's morale effect on the troops!

A lone Japanese sniper lies in wait...for Foggy Dewhurst perhaps?

The bad followed by the quite mad?⁹

The colour and spectacle of the Italian Wars of the late C15th

Home Guard, LDV, VBCW? Whatever, it's suitably mad!

"Gawd, the heat, the flies!" The Jewel in the Crown! The Grand Trunk Road to Bhyklabad!

"The Guards Will Advance!" The SYW, perhaps the most colourful of all periods...

D Day, June 6th 1944. 

Up Country! My 20mm Vietnam collection found a new home...gone but not forgotten.

The ACW, the one true period, sees Ol' Useless S Bykleigh ordering an advance! 

The look of the game matters in my opinion. Of course enjoying the use of a dedicated gaming room means such ephemera can be readily utilized with no rush to clear away when the game is concluded. Well, I have enjoyed indulging myself looking over memories of games enjoyed in GHQ. I hope you did too...