Redskins .

The other week my wife who was looking for knitting related items on eBay said - "there's somebody selling toy soldiers here" ! . I had a look at the dealer and as well as the aforesaid knitting items , a collection of old plastic phones (?) and other bric a brac there where 16 Britains 54mm Red Indians !? - going rather cheaply - so I made an offer and duly received them . To boost their number to 20 I bought a few more and dumped the whole lot into bleach to strip the paint off .

This removed the rather grungy paint from the original figures and revealed that their rifles had been repaired using match sticks (?)  . However several of the others where painted in a metallic copper colour for their flesh - this has withstood multiple immersions in bleach/paint stripper - I hate to think of the toxicity of this pain job - they must  have use similar to paint the bottom of warships or the coating of the inside of nuclear plants , so it's going to have to stay and I've decided to paint the flesh of the others in a copper metallic Vallejo acrylic to match . Further updates when the painting starts .

 

A game completed .

I realise I have a bad habit of only posting the initial parts of battles and then attracted by other things go off on a tangent . I posted the start of this battle here Tin Soldiering On: Cleansing the wargaming room . (tonystoysoldiers.blogspot.com) took more photos, then forgot about it as my mind fluttered onto other distractions - however I have retrieved the photos and here's the completion . The 'Red' Army Hussars having been shot to pieces from the redoubt and the artillery but passing all there morale checks charged the 'Blue' Army Hussars 2-6 odds and routed them ! - they failed to rally and fled the table ! .

Worse was to follow for the 'Blue' Army - the Ghurkas stormed the Artillery position slaughtering the gunners .

While this was going on the 'Blue' Army Spy (in the guise of a clergyman) was busy stealing bonus activation cards from the 'Red' Army H.Q. 

Ultimately he was found out and lead away to an uncertain fate .

In the center the Highlanders stormed the redoubt , 'Blue' Army was hampered by a poor run of activation cards which allowed the enemy to move at will .

This allowed the Naval Brigade party to place the 'Infernal Device' 

And scurry away before it explodes ! , at this point 'Blue' Army reinforcements arrived - far to late to do anything though .

It explodes demolishing the fortification ! 

The 'Blue' Army Infantry manage to drive off the Ghurkas and recapture the gun , but after a successful mission the 'Red' Army slips away unhindered . Another great game using 'A Gentleman's War' rules , the 'Blue' Army was unlucky with the activation cards and the tardiness of their reinforcements which gave an easy win to the 'Reds' .

 

17th Century personalities

Got a bit of a bargain off eBay , a dozen Morkarex figures , usually these figures are sold singularly on French eBay , but these where sold as a lot from a dealer in the U.K. at a very reasonable price . Being French I've had to Google to find who half of the people were . Some are more useful than others but all will be appearing on the tabletop in one guise or other.

 

Half way there .

I've just totted up my miles this week and found that me and Charlie have done 500 miles , half way there to our 1000 mile challenge , all down hill from now on ! 

 

Cleansing the wargaming room .

 

In the last post I was musing about down sizing my table , then I thought another way would be freeing up the surrounding area of the table - if I could stack everything under the table ! . This has taken most of the week and still is a work in progress - but I am getting there ! . The wheelie bin is full of disposed junk and wargaming detritus and the paper recycling bin is full ! . In the process I have killed the hoover (began to make strange burning smells) and so have to buy a new one. I then found that the cupboard I use for storage is riddled with wood worm - so that has been hacked up for firewood . 

To celebrate this partial victory I have set up a AGW game using my 54mm figures . A 'Red' Army attack on a 'Blue' Army fortification and outpost .

The rather isolated Rifle unit who man the redoubt .

The rest of the 'Blue' garrison parade outside the Police Station .

'Red' Army has a Foreign observer as a game asset .

Captain Ming of The Imperial Celestial Army ( a purchase off Ebay with the original paint job touched up a bit)

The Highland Brigade and Gurkhas advance from the woods towards the earth works . There is a Naval party with an 'infernal device' to demolish the fortifications on the road .

Alarmed by this 'Blue' Army reinforcements rush forward - scattering the civilian traffic from the road .

Charging ahead down the road 'Red' Armies Hussars come under fire from the entrenched Field Artillery  .  Further reports on the game and the cleansing process to follow .......

A bit of poetry .

Cropped from the interweb .

 

The winds of change ?

I have for a while been thinking about a reorganisation of my wargaming room , this might involve downsizing my 8' X 5 ' table down to a 6' X 4'  this would allow more room for the player to move around the table peripheral and generally tidy up the room .

As a test run I have set up an old favorite on a reduced size table , this being of course the N.W.F. using The Sword And The Flame . A mixed force of Afghan tribesmen , Regulars and a sneaky unit of Russians versus 2 units of Imperial Infantry , Gurkhas and Bengal Lancers . The figures off table have to come on as reinforcements as the game progresses .

Two companies of the Borchesters prepare to advance against the Russian held village , I will report back how the games is going and can I cope with a smaller table .

 

'The Greate Sconce' of Loxley Barrett .

Not resting on his laurels Sir Brianne Alderidge has decided to prevent a flanking attack on Borchester by the Parliamentary forces by having a fortification built at Loxley Barrett , he has engaged a young French nobleman Henri Viscount Turenne* who was studying at the University of Felphersham to build it . Here we see them inspecting the finished work which Sir Brianne refers to as 'The Greate Sconce' in a letter to the King . 

Here we see the approximate location of the fortification , sadly nothing remains of it having been plowed out during the change of farming practices during WW2 .

 

This is thought to be an aerial view of 'The Greate Sconce' taken by the R.A.F.  during the early months of  WW2 before it was ploughed over . The University of Felpersham have plans to do some archeological work on this site but are prevented by the lack of funding . I would like to thank TUOF for their  help and access to the photographic library for the above information .

* Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne Viscount Turenne studied briefly at Felphersham before being forced to flee for his Royalist political views .

 

Wargaming Humour No. 47

An actual pictorial record of me showing my sister in law my 'Toy Soldiers' .