Adventures on the Wargames Table

Quick post! A large, ongoing scenery project requires an extra couple of pantile gates, by Charlie Foxtrot Models , so here they are. Made a nice change from all the recent sci-fi stuff. Painted as per all my other Mediterranean scenery. The gates are primed in black and painted using a range of Americana paints: Bittersweet Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Honey Brown and Bleached Sand. Thanks for looking.

Good chum Colin very kindly gifted me a prototype kit of one of his more recent pantile releases. Being a prototype there was no resin roof section so I made a simple extra storey from foam core and Wills pantile plasticard for the roof.  The door to the balcony is just balsa scribed with a pen to give a wooden planking effect. Some closed shutters give the impression of windows without the faff of cutting holes and fitting window frames, etc. Buildings like this add some extra height to the battlefield and provide ideal look out points. Thanks mate 🙂

The Charlie Foxtrot pantile kits are very versatile, so here I’ve done a very simple adaptation of the stable converted to make a larger store house or perhaps a small dwelling. As you can see, I’ve blocked off one of the stable doors and replaced the other two-part door with a single piece door from my spares box. A while back I asked Colin to cut some extra doors, shutters and window frames, etc as I knew they’d prove useful. The side door remains as is, but on the back I’ve added a pair of closed shutters. Painting is the same as for all of my pantile models, please see the “How to” tab above.

I’ve been intending to add one of these splendid kits to my collection for some time. Good mate Colin and I were watching the Sharpe series after a busy weekend of gaming when he said he fancied making a kit based on the chapel in the little town of Torrecastro where Sharpe and his men raise the gonfalon of Santiago. He began furiously sketching out plans and designs whilst I supplied tea and biscuits and, if I recall correctly, got on with some ironing! Anyway, here it is. My earlier efforts with a CFM church painted for a friend can can be found here , including the painting recipe. Only slight changes were giving the entire church a coat of textured masonry paint (for better texture) and swapping Foundry Boneyard light for Americana Bleached Sand. For extra interest I’ve added a little “shrine” using a small piece of resin from Hovels. I may add some clump foliage to represent a creeper growing up the stonework. One feature of the kit that Colin was keen to include was being able to...

We’re very excited here at the table about these new pantile kits! They’ll be perfect for our games of Sharp Practice in Spain and Portugal, and Chain of Command or Bolt Action in Crete, Sicily and Italy, plus Silver Cutlass in the West Indies. First up is Pantile Carthouse 2 . I plan to build mine as a small roadside or waterfront tavern. A few barrels and a simple sign (and perhaps a figure representing a lady of “negotiable virtue”) will complete the look nicely. Charlie Foxtrot have stock of the splendid Debris of War barrels so that’s that sorted. Next is Pantile House 5 . This will be ideal as a more up-market residence. I can picture Captain Horatio Longshaft RN keeping a careful eye on the harbour from the top balcony. More about him when Silver Cutlass weighs anchor! Here is Pantile House 7 . Another splendid residence. I particularly like the bricked up “folly” doorway. A couple of these, maybe leaving out a storey on one, will be ideal for giving a little town in Italy a mor...

Osprey has released “Silver Bayonet”, but here at the table we’re looking at a pirate themed variant, hence “Silver Cutlass”. Our pirates are still WIP (or even awaiting postage) so I decided to see what kind of table I could create with what I currently have and then what else needs doing. Quite pleased so far. The water is simply some sheets of (very) blue A4 so will look for something less vivid, although this is meant to be the Caribbean after all. The palm trees need some spray and paint to remove the ‘plastic’ look. Some more jungle style scatter would be good too. This is an excellent article on the subject of jungle terrain: http://1000footgeneral.blogspot.com/2017/06/making-jungle-terrain.html along with http://thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2018/09/more-jungle-terrain.html . In the meantime I'll use more lichen. I have more jetty ready (coffee stirrers again!) plus some resin stone quay and harbour walls. We also have some boats although they can wait for later scenar...

I’ve been mulling over some ideas for an introductory Chain of Command scenario and finally got some time to actually play it. Like most wargames CoC is better with a proper scenario and ideal when played as part of a narrative campaign. This scenario is based around the idea that the Germans have lost a truck containing special equipment, secret papers, etc (possibly even a bespectacled boffin in a white coat) all of which are vital to the war effort. Well, the truck has been spotted and both Axis and Allied forces are scrambling to reach it first… yep, you guessed it, they arrive more or less simultaneously! The aim is that this sort of scenario will encourage players to advance and attack rather than just stand back and shoot from afar. Here’s the layout. The truck is blocking the dusty, dirt road between a small church, an olive farm and a vineyard and is approximately in the centre of the table. Allied forces will enter from the East (right) and Axis from the West (left). The Patr...