Adventures on the Wargames Table

As I mentioned in the last post, I wanted to do something slightly different for the bases of my latest batch of BEF. For bases I usually do something like PVA glue, some coarse sand/grit, followed by ordinary beach sand. Then it's base-coated a muddy brown and highlighted with 2 - 3 lighter brown or cream colours. To finish, add a garnish of static grass! So I decided to try doing a little pile of rubble. I also thought about adding some corrugated iron and possibly some barbed wire, but I did not want the bases looking too 'busy'. Here's my first efforts. I think that the addition of some iron and wire would have been Ok. I may do this for my Germans or any further British. Also, the rubble is a little too 'new'. But I'm still quite pleased with the results. Anyway, hope you like them. In answer to Sidney's question ... The two-figure bases are going to form the core of each of my Company Command groups. I've done them like this so as t...

Here's another 14 BEF, including 2 command stands for my Company Command groups and 2 Highlanders. If my calculations are correct this should mean that I now have enough models painted for a 1,000pt battalion. (But I need to check this before popping the champagne!). They're not based yet as (a) I only finished painting them about 15 minutes ago and (b) after seeing the splendid and very inspirational work on blogs such as Sidney's "Roundwood's World" and Keith's "Aircav Saga" I intend to do something a little different for the bases of these fellows. Anyway, here they are - apologies for the less than brilliant photos, I was in a bit of a rush, they look better in real life, honest! All Great War Minatures, apart from one figure. Here's the Highlanders, that gives me a platoon of 12 figures including a Lewis gun. These will form the basis for my Company Command groups. Here's the chap carrying a wounded comrade....

With a couple of days off at half term some games of War & Conquest seemed to be in order. On Wednesday I spent the day as a guest at Scarab Towers, kindly hosted by Rob, along with Scarab chum and all round painting machine, Mr Phil Turner. I must begin by pointing out that Scarab Towers is undergoing a certain amount of renovation so we were limited to the use of the North Wing only. This imposed some restrictions on lighting which will go some way to explaining why my pictures aren't too good - and nothing to do with my ineptitude! ;o) I'm not going to give a turn by turn account of each of the games, (Rob is hopefully writing up the notes he took), but will instead give a few highlights of the action. Game One First up was a classic game of Early Imperial Romans vs British Celts, continuing our theme of the conquest of the west country in the middle of the first century by the Legio II Augusta. We used the 'Autumn' deployment method, with the Celts h...

In War & Conquest formed up units can become disordered; perhaps as a result of being charged in the flank and failing a command test, or crossing difficult terrain for example. You could make a note on your roster or put a piece of paper next to the unit but I prefer to have themed markers for this sort of thing. So here are a couple of pics of my disordered markers for my Romans. Made from leftover bits from the Warlord Early Imperial Roman sprues. and (without flash) They'll also be handy for shaken markers if I ever get around to playing HC. I'll be making some more for the Auxillia, plus a few for my Celts.

After spotting a comment on the Scarab forum about a game of War & Conquest, I realised that the location was near to where I live. After contacting the poster I found that it was going to be played at the gaming club just down road! Chris and Ben are members of the Mid-Somerset Wargamers club and they were kind enough to invite me along. So yesterday evening I braved the cold (-4oC) and headed for the club. It was to be their first game of W&C though they've played lots of other stuff. They even offered to let me command one of the armies but as I had recently played I offered to help Ben run the game using my vast knowledge ( stop laughing, especially you Mr Broom! ) of the rules!!! Both the armies were painted by Ben and they do look rather splendid, especially his Romans! The game was set during the initial stages of the Claudian invasion with the Romans attempting to cross a tributary of the mighty Medway, brush aside a small force of local Celts and march on ...

After the recent game of W&C I decided I really needed a proper Commander or General vignette. They had to be mounted as it significantly improves their mobility. So after checking several different companies I settled on 1st Corps as they had a pack with both the General and accompanying standard mounted. Here they are. It's the LRR05 'Julius Caesar' pack but with the great man swapped for 'Pompey' from LRR06. Cost was £8 for the pack, plus £2 for P&P. When I contacted 1st Corps about the possibility of swapping the figures I received a prompt and helpful reply from Simon Curtis. I placed the order on Sunday and got the figures on Wednesday! They were well packaged too. The figures themselves are detailed and well cast. There are very few mould lines, though the horses do have a little bit of flash. In terms of size and style they are very compatible with Warlord Games, Gripping Beast and Foundry. This does mean I'll have to be a little creative ...