'And now for something entirely different'

 

So I and 'A' decided we wanted a joint project to provide some 'head to head' wargaming , and hit on the idea of using the new 2nd edition 'By Fire and Sword' , a set of rules produced in Poland covering the wars of the 17th century. 

The starter set has two skirmish sized forces , rules, dice and tokens to set us playing . The problem is they are 15mm - it's a LONG time since I painted any 15mm figures and this was going to be a test of my patience - and eyes ! . First up Polish Dragoon unit - an easy paint as they are uniformed and simple.

These were not as easy - all different and a bit complecated . Each unit comes with a card that has all it's stats on it - the symbols are taking time to get our heads around !

The Polish Commander , who issues orders and helps rally troops .

The opponent - the Turkish Bey who is in charge of the Ottomans .

The skirmish level battles are fought on a 4x4 table and have a selection of scenarios . Here these Turkish light cavalry have been given a 'move' order . Interestingly the Polish company uses inches for the measurement in the rules !? 

Mid battle clash ! - I have based them all up , undercoated them and are SLOWLY painting them up . The Ottomans are a challenge with ornate clothing and no uniformity , also both armies are ALL cavalry ! - very different to what we are both used too .

My opponent 'A' studying the rules to find how we play them , it is a learning experience and we are slowly getting our heads around the rules , the mechanisms are fairly simple - using D10 dice , but the difficult part is deploying and using the different units properly ! . More updates and more painted units soon . (click on photos to enlarge them)

 

A bit of nostalgia

 

Been awash with nostagia this week and been sorting out some of the photos from my blog from the distant past (well 15 years ago) and found copies of these from my 40mm Imaginations project . This is one of my favorite photos , from H.G. Wells and the El-Gin Marbles showing some of the participants .

Another photo of the Dramatis Personae , stood in front of a revolutionary Steam Carriage .

This is a bit of an oddity from the vaults of the Felpersham University Photographic Collection (FUPC)*, I have been able to identify some of the people in the photo . from the left - Mr Oscar Wilde , Mr Armitage Shanks (?) , A Lady who is Not Mrs Wells and finally H.G.Wells . Hopefull some of these will be returning to the tabletop soon. 

* the advantage of having a Borsetshire Library/ University readers card.

Real Life halts Gaming.

 

Sorry for my absence from the Blogosphere but I've been busy with real life - namely the repurposing of the back-bedroom, this room just gathered junk - things got put there for "storage" and were forgotten - it also housed my library .So that room is being decluttered and I thought it best to resite my bookshelves into the 'wargaming' room . I also took the oppertunity to thin it out and reorganise the shelves. Still a work in progress ! 

I also sorted out the 54mm figures I have on display , years ago I decided I would collect figures that had to do with World War One pilots and aircrew - okay these three aren't piots etc BUT they are looking for aircraft - 54mm hollowcast probably Johillco or Britains , the one on the right is quite unusual leaning back on a chair ! 

These are larger, over 2 inches and are I think Manoil hollowcasts from the USA , I especially like the chap with the bomb . Hopefully thinks are now back to normal and I can get back to gaming and painting once more- watch this space ! 

PS Blogger seems to be acting strange once more and my 'Reading List' of blogs I follow doesn't seem to be updating properly ! Grr ! 

A VERY odd game indeed !

 

The scene of the engagement, the village of Pequena and the mountain resort overlooking it, held by the local worker forces .

The brave Republican Workers ! 

The Neuvo Rico High Command plan their battle - spoiler alert - it DIDN'T go as planned .

The first thing that went wrong was the Republican forces got their reinforcements early - two units of Militia -La Cigarros ('the cigarettes' because of the colour of their uniforms) who moved very quickly forward.

The Neuvo Ricans deploy their HMG - to far away to be effective .

The Militia seize the heights - thus controling the right flank ! 

The Neuvo Ricans deploy their infantry and make a series of uncoordinated attacks (a bad run of cards and poor movement dice didn't help)

The American actor Armatage Shanks and his lady friend (?) decide it's time to leave !

The ill advised attacks are shot down by the Workers , to make matters worse their supporting Artillery failed to turn up - again bad dice rolls !

To crown it all the Republicans recieved a further reinforcement card , which was an Armoured car ! The Neuvo Rician General knew when he was beaten and withdrew in disgrace - although to be fair they had appaling luck - a run of bad cards made it difficult to get their troops moving , their reinforcements didn't arrive and the troops that did attack couldn't hit a barn door ! . A very odd game but enjoyable all the same and it was nice to get the figures onto the table again. 

Nacho Wars meets Ai

 

It is ages since I had a game using my 25mm Copplestone Nacho Wars collection 

These two posters are from the Felpersham Fine Arts gallery (permission has been granted for publicatiion) 

The Tabletop of Mars has been set up and the games afoot , a report will be posted soon .....

Prussian Army reinforcements.

 

Got the recently cast up figures painted and based . These are the Prussian Landwehr Cavalry . They are a Pomeranian Regiment and wearing a grey uniform rather the more usual blue.

Adding 'green stuff' to alter the shako has worked well and was easier than a head swap.

Here is the Infantry , I haven't designated them a regiment yet .

The Prussian army is much more easy to paint up than the French with a plainer uniform . Having said that my next on the painting list are a couple Battalions of French Line Infantry and some more     Cavalry .

D6 Die-cast Racing Car Rules.

 

So here are the Mark 1 version of my car racing rules , writtern with the help of AI .

I'm busy testing them out so they are a work in progress at the moment . 

Open Cockpits & Straw Bales

 

My wife helps at a charity shop and I called in to see her to go for lunch and was perusing the bookshelves and wandered into the Sports section (an area I do not tend to view) and came across this book ! . The chap that wrote it was a vicar and as we know vicars write a cracking book ! , very interesting and just the era I was aiming for . It is illustrated by the authors paintings of racing cars - what a find ! 

I have also purchased the other cars I needed from the eBay , here a Talbot Lago , the card is going to be part of my racing car game , in black and white cos this is the 50s !

A Cooper Bristol , the driver is Reg Parnell - you don't get people called 'Reg Parnell' nowadays - and thats what's wrong with the modern world !

And finally a HWM (Hersham and Walton Motors) piloted by Stirling Moss - there's a name to conjure with ! - I remember Stirling Moss from my youth . I've made cards for ever car and for some strange reason my printer is leaving a white line through them (Grrr!)

The prototype track - a piece of MDF rescued from my neighbours skip , the rules are being worked on at the moment - keeping them simple and having no paperwork to record speed etc - hence the dice behind the cars .The rules are up next .

Friends bearing gifts .

 

My wargaming colleague 'A' called around as he had been doing some clearing out and brought me a large bag of old figures he had no use for , some of which are here .

The were of course for me to melt down and recast !

Some of the results of the mornings casting .

This weeks projects , another Battalion of Prussian Infantry and a converted unit of Prussian Landwehr Cavalry . Many thanks to 'A' for his kind gift which is being put to good use.

Finally the Horse Artillery makes an appearance.

 

I've finally finished off my Horse Artillery conversions , here is the Prussian one , I've added short tails to the coats and the heads are from the Prussian Infantry moulds . The cross belt should perhaps be black but white stands out better and adds a splash of colour to a somewhat boring uniform . The guns are French bodies with the smaller British cannon barrel used to look lighter.

The French ones next , again I added short tails to the coats and used the French Infantry heads . I have been a bit fanciful with the uniforms - the plumes add a bit of colour and they probably shouldn't have lacing across their jacket fronts but I wanted them to stand out on the tabletop . The guns are the same as the Prussians, French carraiages with the smaller British barrels to make them look lighter for Horse Artillery. 

Another of my childhood model cars.

 

Another of my old model cars has been returned to me , I must admit I don't remember owning this one .

It's a Maserati and I think rather cute .

I did a bit more investigating and found this from a old Dinky catalogue , there where six original models so I need to track down the other three .

Going with this vibe I think - not sure about "Chicago's 5 ACRES OF SIN" or the "SECRET SEX SOCIETIES" 

Perhaps this is more wholesome - gallant chaps pushing their cars to victory !