Adventures on the Wargames Table

Last show of the year! (For me at least) On Sunday I joined Scarab Miniatures and chum Steve to help out with a War & Conquest demo game set in Samurai-era Japan. The scenario was that described in Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy Issue 67 “The Battle of Domyoji, 1615”. Both Steve and Rob have colourful Samurai armies and Rob also has some wonderful buildings. Here are the two armies deployed ready for battle. First Rob’s army (the army of Toyotomi Hideyori) and And Steve’s army (led by Tokugawa Ieyasu) and plus a close up of Steve's troops I must admit to knowing very little about the Samurai era so I was looking forward to learning about the period plus enjoying a good game of toy soldiers with friends. However ... things didn’t quite work out as intended. At about the same time as doors were opening to the public, I received a message from HQ that the kitchen was flooding! Cue a quick dash to the car and a 45 minute journey back home. The...

For a long time I've rather liked the look of Scarab Miniatures Austro-Hungarian range. A while back I bought a few packs to use as Stormtroops in my 1918 German army. However, after reading more widely about the Great War I've decided to collect an army that did not regularly appear on the Western Front (although I believe some AH troops were stationed around Verdun near the end of the war). These figures are wonderfully dynamic, detailed and full of character. They've been a joy to paint, especially as I decided to try out the 'dip/wash' technique I used on my Dark ages armies. Here's an officer with trusty walking stick, bristling moustache and pistol, accompanied by two Austro-Hungarian Storm-troopers. (Please note my lighting/camera/inability-to-take-decent-photos have resulted in some shine on the figures, but they actually have a nice matt finish) The officer and NCO. Officer and Private. An angle that hopefully the enemy will not see too...

This rather splendid vignette of Foundry's King Harold was painted up for me as a gift from all-round jolly good chap and Wargames Table chum Phil. Naturally I was delighted with such a lovely present. I think the pictures speak for themselves. A rich, red, fur-trimmed cloak, only the best for the King! The shields and the banner pole are both striking and very pleasing. The palette used ties all the figures together very well. Plus the basing is superb. Another aspect that I really like is the subdued chain mail colour. Seems to give the armour real depth. Thank you Phil! :o) Of course, in his first battle he was slain by a horde of Danish warriors, but isn't that always the way with newly painted figures?

Here is a pic of a Rememberance Service held in Essex yesterday. It was good to see so many people turning up to pay their respects. As a painter, modeller, gamer and blogger with a keen interest in military history, especially the Great War, I believe that remembering the fallen and the wounded from past and current conflicts is particularly important. They went with songs to the battle, they were young. Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted, They fell with their faces to the foe. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; They sit no more at familiar tables of home; They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; They sleep beyond England's foam From "For the Fallen" by Laurence Binyon, 1914.

About 10 years ago I built a modular battlefield. Then a few years back, after getting interested in gaming The Great War, I started converting it in to a small section of the Western Front. However, following the conversion of the garage (in our old house) into a spare room I no longer had anywhere to do all the messy work so the project rather stalled. Anyway, we now have a proper garage so I've been making some space to re-start this project. Here it is. I'd like to be able to do a some in a "little and often" fashion as it's going to be quite a lot of work! A couple of hours per week should keep it ticking along nicely plus allow some time for other projects. This is one of the 4' x 2' (approx 1220mm x 610mm) sections. In background of the first picture you can see the other section that I've started - that will be the cratered ground in front of the trench section, i.e. placed to the left of the board in the picture below. The boards...

OK, it's not exactly a direct mention but I can say that some of my figures have appeared in the latest ' Miniature Wargames / Battlegames ', specifically some of my Great War British. Scarab Miniatures supremo Rob Broom has written a rather good article for the 'Command Challenge' topic, all about the battle for Papadopoli Island on the River Piave; part of the war on the Italian front in 1918. This lesser known theatre of the Great War has some very interesting history and is often overlooked in favour of the western front. A great article and a thought provoking scenario - definitely worth reading! As you can see from the photo I also picked up the latest ' Medieval Warfare ' and ' Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy '. The former because it has several good articles on the Danish conquest of England; the latter because it's still my favourite all-round wargaming magazine. Happy reading!