Category: Plans and Thoughts

One Year On

Today is the 1st anniversary of launching this blog, so happy birthday to The Medetian Wars. It’s been fun for me so far and I’ve really appreciated everyone who’s popped in to have a look and I’ve been especially grateful for all the positive, supportive comments. There have been over 6,000 page hits, which I think isn’t too bad for a new blog in a quiet corner of the hobby.

Although there has been the odd dip where real life has left little time for painting, playing or blogging, I’ve generally kept up a reasonable momentum of posts; about 6 a month. I think the blog has helped me keep projects moving to some extent so it’s been positive from that point of view too. Army of the Month petered out but shouldn’t have done really. I’ll resurrect it soon – once I can get some terrain out for a photoshoot!

On to year 2 then, and hopefully I’ll get some more gaming in to post about soon (doesn’t everyone say that?)…Anyway, it’s an opportunity for a few celebratory pics I haven’t posted before:

 

 

 

 

Time For a Game

I have an evening to myself coming up this Friday and rather than waste it watching TV or an old film, I reckon it’s too good an opportunity to miss to have a solo game. Now I just need to decide what to play..

Without giving it much thought yet, my initial ideas include:

Something in 15mm (which I’ve not trotted out for a while), maybe one of:

  • Caesar at the Battle of the Sambre, for which I’ve got a scenario written up and ready to go
  • A 2nd Punic War clash
  • Rampaging Goths and Huns against the late Roman Empire
  • Or, a fantasy game – Dwarves vs Orcs as I haven’t really given the Dwarves a proper run out since painting enough for a decent game
Alternatively I could stick with 28s, and perhaps give the 18th century another go. I fancy re-fighting John Ray’s scenario ‘Attack on the Garrison at Tilsit’ which looks like a very interesting, compact encounter.
I’ll mull things over for a couple of days and probably decide on Friday. It’s too easy to view getting all the terrain, scenery and figures out just for a solo game as too much bother, but if I don’t make the effort from time to time, what’s the point? It’s always rewarding and I always feel it’s time well spent – so roll on Friday!
I’ll be sure to post, whatever the game ends up being.

Once you have rivers, you need boats

I have plans for lots of Sharp Practice games set in the post-Napoleonic period, with Medetia and Fleurie again going at each other, and I fancy having the option for some riverine and amphibious actions. Now that the river bank sections are done, which can also serve as coastline or lake shores, I need a few boats for the men to use to get themselves into all sorts of trouble dealing with currents, contrary winds and the like.

I have scratch-built one in the past as a test piece, and was reasonably happy with it. However, boat building is time-consuming and I decided I’d rather see what was on offer to buy. So far I have liked the look of the Small Row Boat that Ainsty produce, and also fancy two that are available from Games of War.

I decided to order a sample of each, and the Games of War ones have arrived first (very speedy service). These are the Jolly Boat and Tender from their pirate equipment range, and lovely models they are too. They are very detailed and produced in a very light resin-type material, to a high quality. I’m very pleased with them and may order a few more. The added bonus is their price: £5 each, with free postage. The £2.80 postage the package was marked with therefore brings these excellent models down to the equivalent of £3.60 each. That’s a bargain in my book.

Each will hokd about half a dozen 28mm figures on 1 inch bases (such as those below), or a couple more of the 19mm round bases I use for my 19th century forces. That’s fine for my purposes and will pretty much allow a Sharp Practice ‘group’ of about 8-10 figures to be carried in each boat. Handy.

Once the Ainsty order arrives I’ll post a picture of their boat, and the other related item I bought..

Triples

It must be 10 years or more since my only previous visit to the Triples show, but yesterday the weather was fantastic enough to demand a drive in the countryside to Sheffield, only 45 minutes away for me.

As a show, it was OK, much as any other I guess. I arrived in the afternoon and it was fairly quiet although there did still seem to be quite a few people around. The lighting was better than that at Salute (not saying much) but not great. Still, I was able to see what I wanted to see and the lack of crowds made it that bit easier.

Two priorities for me to see were Bruce Weigle’s St Quentin FPW game in 6mm and The Ilkely Lads’ Zorndorf. Both were superb and worth the trip alone. The scenery and sense of accuracy/reality of the St Quentin table were among the best I’ve seen, and it was nice to see some Heroics & Ros figures in use rather than the inevitable Baccus you tend to see these days. The battle had been played through earlier in the day so all was quiet by the time I was there. There was to be a re-play on Sunday.

I specifically sought out James Roach (Olicanalad) at the Zorndorf game as he’d recently painted a commission for me (the Saxon Rutowski Dragoons posted previously) and I hadn’t met him before to say hello. James was very welcoming and we chatted for a few minutes before confirming some further commissions that he’s going to fit into his busy schedule. The game itself was very impressive and it was great to see close up the large table covered in James’ work. The cavalry especially, and the hussars in particular, were awesome, as were all the hand-painted flags. Definitely eye candy!

Shopping wise I did pretty well. Some bargain old Ospreys (The Black Watch, Sudan armies and Ottoman armies), a handful of paints and some brushes, as well as a few figures – not something I generally buy at shows actually. I picked up a couple of packs of Perry’s from Dave Thomas, and a pack of Copplestone 15mm fantasy (bears and shape changers) for something completely different. Best of all was a good chat with Graham at Crann Tara (and Bob who was there at the same time), who in between discussion on future release plans, future games and flag commissions, did me a very generous deal on some superb Royal Ecossais who will be accompanying my Legion de Fleurie when they are done. Graham is a real enthusiast for the hobby and always a pleasure to spend time with. His corner of one of the halls was fairly warm, so he would definitely have earned the beer he was promising himself when he got back to his hotel!

A good trip out then, a bit of spending, and some familiar faces.

A couple of pics of the St Quentin game (I forgot to take any of Zorndorf, but James will have better on his blog anyway):

 

 

The Army Prepares to March

.. well, be carried more like.

As my figures almost always fight at home I’ve not had much need to prepare proper transport facilities for them. However, with the increased size of the force I’m taking to Ayton this year I needed something a bit better than just the usual boxfiles, bubblewrap and prayer – especially for individually based figures which will be vulnerable to falling over if not packed properly. Advice from other gamers (in particular Goat Major) led me to KR Multicases, who have a vast range of storage and transport packaging for wargame armies. Their stand at Salute was suitably grand but it was a bit crowded so I didn’t queue up for advice (also, I had no intention of buying anything there as I’d have had to lug it around for the rest of the day).

I did pick up a catalogue though and had a good look at the options before ringing the company last week. I spoke to a very helpful young lady who talked me through the different options and helped me come up with a useful mix of foam trays, all fitting inside a single touch cardboard case. Everything arrived a few days later and I’m very pleased with the quality and practicality of the KR stuff. I’ve gone for half-sized trays, in 2 different compartment sizes. This gives me plenty of flexibility for skirmishers, artillery crew, artillery pieces, scenery, dice and even cavalry. I easily managed to fill all the trays, which makes me think I might need to buy another case before too long!

All in all I’m impressed with KR’s products and service, and I think £25 is decent for something like this that’s going to last a long time.

Here’s a quick pic of some of the packed trays in situ.

FPW Expansion Plans

Following the very enjoyable Battle of Wingen with Simon a couple of weeks ago, there are plans for a bigger game some time in the future, involving 4 players. This appeals a lot, and I think the rules will easily support a multi-player set up and allow each player to command a full corps or so without getting bogged down in complexity or slow play.

I have most of the figures I’d need for this game, but it’s an opportunity to return to some ideas I’d previously had for increasing the forces on both sides – something every wargamer’s inner megalomaniac loves!

My existing Prussian/German and French forces are based on infantry corps of 2 and 3 divisions respectively. I have a full Prussian corps of 2 divisions plus corps assets, and 1 Bavarian division. I intend to expand the latter into a composite German allied corps by adding a 2nd division made up of various contingents, namely some Wurttemburgers, Brunswickers and possibly some Hessians. In addition there will be a couple of reserve cavalry divisions, which are largely done already.

The French have 4 divisions already, plus the Guard Grenadier division (well, you have to don’t you?) and a reserve cavalry division. I would aim to add 1-2 more infantry divisions and a 2nd corps command to roughly match the Germans.

This will give me overall forces representing almost 60,000 men per side – enough to give a decent impression of a good-sized battle of the period.

I need to have a look through my remaining stocks of unpainted Heroics & Ros to work out what I’ll need to order to complete this project, and then I’ll need to set some painting time aside over the summer to get them all done!

Maybe next year for the 1859 Austrians and Italians then.

In the meantime a quick pic of the other type of thing I’ll be doing a bit more of – army baggage and equipment. These are Line of Communication markers for the French and Prussians (with a French general in the background enjoying some shade while he reads his map) I use for certain scenarios, but can otherwise be used as general scenery in quiet corners of the table to add a bit of atmosphere. Baccus wagons with H&R figures.

Planning a Legion

I’ve decided that one thing I’d like to include as part of my growing 18th century collection is some sort of all-arms legion, as was pretty common in a number of armies around the time of the Seven Years War. My preference would be to add one to the Fleurian army, it being inspired by the French, who had a good number of this sort of privately-raised, flexibly organised force. Getting a nice cheap copy of this recently has provided further inspiration:

So, the Legion de Fleurie then.

I’ve got the figures, just need to paint most of them. My head-start is that I’ve done the cavalry contingent already – 2 squadrons of hussars (Minden Miniatures, below), and the legion commander (the Nadasty command figure from yesterday’s post). I’ll extend the blue-red-white colour scheme to the rest of the legion which will eventually include a full battalion with battalion gun, plus a light infantry company. Theyll all be in bearskins – using RSM Austrian Grenadiers and Minden Legion d’Hainaut respectively, and head swap conversions for the gunners.

This is something I’d like to finish by the end of the year, so I need to make sure I find some time to get them done!

A good haul

As well as my self-indulgent Minden order, I was also very fortunate in having a generous and thoughtful family which furnished me with some great hobby-related presents. First up, new and old books from my wife and mother in law respectively. The new ones add to my collections of the Wargaming in History and Wargamers’ Annual series respectively and both look like excellent editions. The Great Regiments book seems to have been printed the year I was born (so it’s a vintage publication obviously!) and contains an interesting mix of armies, units, battle histories and uniform information. Together these will keep me going for a while!

Then there is my academic artist sister who has come to my rescue as I could never find any Gesso when I’ve visited art supply shops. Now I can finally get to try it as an undercoating medium. Thanks sis!

Finally, there is my sister’s clearly bonkers partner, who decided he’d found the perfect present for someone into toy soldiers.

 

This door stop, clearly Airfix-inspired(!), weighs a ton, stands a foot high and comes from a company called Suck UK Ltd. Magic. Well we all like gag gifts from time to time don’t we?! 🙂

Now, I know someone into 54mm WW2 and that’s pretty big stuff, but I’m thinking I’d quite like to see a game using a bunch of these!

 

A pre-Christmas present

Well, a present to myself anyway!

I was very pleased to get a knock on the door on Christmas Eve, and open it to find the postman with a substantial parcel from the States. This was my Minden Miniatures order that Jim Purky kindly despatched very quickly, and which was very well packed, so that everything arrived in perfect order and sooner than I had expected. Jim’s generous offer to provide worldwide shipping for only $10 in the post-Minden takeover period was even more appreciated when I saw what the postage actually cost him. Thanks Jim!

Now I’m back from a very pleasant few days with family I have been able to look over the figures properly and, as with everything else I’ve had from this range, they are all superb. The high command packs are particularly good, although it’s the additional gunners for my artillery and battalion guns that I’ll be getting on with first.

The General Knyphasuen figure from Jim’s Fife & Drum range (see earlier post) is also a delight, and I was pleased to see a handwritten note on the pack telling me that the only other person in the UK to have this figure so far is the great Charles Grant himself, so I’m in exalted company for a change 😉

 

Helping the economy recover – the American one!

As per my last post, I have plunged ahead and placed an order for some more of the excellent Minden Miniatures, now in the care of Jim Purky alongside his Fife and Drum collection in the States. Jim was very helpful in explaining the new pricing model, and generous in providing not only the current offer of $10 worldwide shipping, but also a nice discount in the form of a free Baron von Knyphausen figure (the F&D item I was after amongst the Mindens). See the link below.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cKEjXFVZ_aw/Um8GOVv2TkI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/hG91g-pEJ64/s1600/Knyphausen.jpg

On the way then are the mounted Prussian and Austrian command packs, more Prussian artillery crew for battalion guns etc, some standard bearers which I prefer to use in units otherwise made up of RSM figures, and a small unit of Dragoons. With the high proportion of mounted figures the order value made me wince a bit – especially considering Christmas is never a cheap time of year, but I need the figures and getting them in one go made sense.

Using that logic I then ordered a handful of Huzzah! Miniatures from Fighting 15s, who always provide a super-fast service. These will make up the second command/flag base for the 2 battalions of these figures that I’ve already painted. Finally, I also need just a few from RSM – another company in the US, so I’m having a final ponder about what to get before I commit.

Overall this lot will keep me busy for the lead-up to the big 18th century imagi-nation game at Ayton at the start of May. I just hope I don’t leave the last of them until the morning of departure, as I have for the last 2 years!!