Adventures on the Wargames Table

As promised here are some photos from the Zero Hour participation game. I’ve added a few notes to some to help make sense of the action, but really I think the pictures speak for themselves! The basic premise of the game is that the French are attacking a section of the line with the aim of capturing the second line of trenches (including a command post) and the nearby ruined village. The French have superior numbers and armour, but the Germans have a Storm Trooper company held off table ready to mount a counter attack if the forward trench line is breached. The French mass in and around the blasted wood on a low hill. And the Germans are waiting in their trenches! On the French left the Senegalese are supported by tanks and big guns. Scarab’s WW1 Rommel figure keeps an eye on things from a ruined building (a Charlie Foxtrot kit). The whistles blow and the attack begins! German artillery begins to hammer the advancing French as they scramble through mud filled craters and along rickety...

Legionary is almost my local show as Exeter is only 60 ish miles away so when Orange Dave floated the idea of us partnering with Rob at Scarab to put on a demo/participation game of Zero Hour my interest was understandably piqued.   The French advance through a shattered wood. Germans man the trenches. More about our Zero Hour game in a later post. Dave has put a huge amount of effort in to this project and I think it shows! The show is hosted in the Matford Centre which is spacious, bright and airy. The people running things were readily available, efficient and very helpful. It’s easy to find too, so we arrived in plenty of time and headed for a McBreakfast (thanks Dave!) before unloading the car. Here’s a few pics of some of the games:   Blood & Plunder from Firelock Games. This game drew quite a bit if attention - just look at the galleon ... Arrrr me hearties! Devon Wargames put on this large game of TFLs "Kiss me, Hardy!". The boats are from Warlord (I think) and ar...

No, not exploding broccoli ... it's one of Orange Dave's new blast markers! Having seen mine, Dave asked if I could make some for him. These will initially be featuring in games of Great War action. Three smoke "blasts". A couple of sprays of grey primer, followed by a couple of pure white. Three explosion "blasts". A couple of sprays of black primer, followed by a light spray of grey. One poison gas "blast". Spray as smoke the hightlight with some green. This pic might show the green-ish hue of the smoke a bit better. Simply a quick drybrush with Foundry Phlegm Green light. These are the armatures on to which I stick the Woodland Scenics foam, using smelly all purpose glue from (UK) Bostik or Uhu. MDF bases with holes drilled for kebab or cocktail sticks. A trick to help make them slight more durable is to prime the foam with very thin PVA before spraying. Make sure you allow plenty of drying time tho. Thanks for looking!

“In a land of myth, and a time of magic…” Yes, good chum Orange Dave has lured me in to trying out Age of Magic. I’ve played a lot of Saga (first edition) over the years mainly with Saxons, Vikings and Normans, so I’m familiar with the basic game mechanics although second edition is obviously going to be a bit different. My plan for this gaming year is to get a few projects finished, so this “new” project might seem at odds with that aim. However, I’ve had most of these figures for ages, only the big fellow was a recent purchase. These are some of my favourite Foundry figures and I’m really looking forward to painting them. Here’s my force primed and ready for painting. A unit of 8 elite warriors (Hearthguard, 2 points) Two units of 12 warriors (3 points) A unit of 12 archers & slingers (Levy, 1 point) The Wicker Man... or 'Alan' is I like to call him. (Monster, Titan, 1 point) He’s from Crooked Dice games ( here ) and is beautifully cast in good quality resi...

As readers will know I occasionally blog about Orange Dave’s modelling exploits, mainly because he’s too busy dealing with groupies, fans and signature-seekers, etc. Here's some of his recent work. It's a faction specific terrain feature for use with Undead in Saga Age of Magic. I think the basic idea is that units within a certain range of this feature get to re-animate fallen warriors? Or perhaps magic is more effective? I'm not really sure, lol! Anyway, I thought Dave was joking when he sent me this picture. But there is a base under those stones. Ah, now with added skellies. Here's a couple more pics. Thanks for looking 😎