The Big Reveal Starts Here…..

A Borodino class Russian battleship, Wofun style.

To be honest this post is not going to come as much of a surprise but I wanted to ‘put it out there’, thereby putting a ‘line in the sand’ so to speak!

I am writing a naval wargames book for Pen and Sword which will cover the period from the start of the American Civil War and ending in 1918. The rules - currently under development - are grid based and the plan is to include battle reports from the ACW, the Russo Japanese War and finally WW1. The core rules will cover the entire timeframe with some period specific adjustments as required.

I am hugely excited about this so keep an eye out for the end of 2027 which is when it will hopefully be published!

So, lifting the bonnet of this undertaking what will be appearing? Aside from the usual ‘flam and paradiddle’ normally associated with a wargames book - the why’s, wherefore’s, how’s and assorted other bits and pieces - I am planning on including three battle reports, one from each, dare I say it? Sub-period.

For the American Civil War game I shall of course be using my scratch builds - scaled at around 1:600th - with some Tumbling Dice 1:2400th models for the Great War. For the ‘middle’ period I am planning to use my newly acquired WoFun Battle of Tsushima pack, scaled at 1:1200th and more of which later.

The rules in the book are designed with a 6ft by 4ft playing area in mind although this is my own preference and determined by my available playing space and using a hex grid measuring 4” across the flat sides. You can see from the choice of model scales that as gun ranges and speeds increase so the models get progressively smaller so as to ensure the ‘look’ is maintained within the confines of a tabletop.

It is very early on in the writing process but I am relatively advanced in terms of developing the rules. Indeed, I hope to begin testing as early as October all being well.

We shall see.

Wofun and Games

The Tsushima battle pack contains both the Russian and Japanese fleets that took part in the battle although as far as I can tell the order of battle in not quite complete but more than sufficient for my needs. The models are based using Wofun’s own bases which has given me a few things to think about. To begin with, the bases are only 15mm deep - I would have preferred 20mm - and in many cases are the same length as the model. The destroyer and some of the Japanese cruiser bases are smaller than the ship sprue which is less than ideal. I raised the issue with WoFun and to their credit they are rectifying this for me. Essentially the bases that are 60mm x 15mm were too small for all but the Japanese torpedo boats so by using a new size of 75mm x 15mm all should be well. WoFun’s customer service is excellent and so a new set of bases for the ships I mentioned to them will be on its way next week.

The bases have the ship name printed on and are painted in what I would call a tropical sea colour. This is different to the sea colour that that the ships have along the waterline (you can see what I mean in the close up of the Borodino at the head of this post) which, to be frank, is a little vexing. I am still debating whether or not to paint the bases to match my Hexon blue tiles and prepare my own ship labels or to just edge the MDF in a suitable colour. I will give it some thought.

I realise this all sounds a little ‘picky’ but in spite of the challenges presented by the bases I am really pleased with the collection. There is more than sufficient variety of ships included from battleships down to transport types so I could fight a whole range of differing naval actions. I will post a detailed review of the collection but for now here are a few pictures.

Russian Borodino class battleships - well four of them!

Japanese destroyers and a cruiser - note the infamous overhang on the bases

Three sets of smoke, explosions, fires and shell splashes

A top down view so you can see the width

A trio of Japanese battleships along with the ex Chinese Chin Yen

All being well this little lot will be seeing action very soon along with the after action report.

Let the games begin!

More for the Zulu War (and a belated Thank You!)

The very nice chap that I acquired the horde of Mike’s Models Zulus and assorted other Colonial goodies from has continued with his sorting out and so discovered some other figures that he reckoned I would also be interested in. 

He was certainly right about that!

The following will be winging there way to Maison Crook in the next few days.

Painted British infantry - really pleased with these as it means that I should be able to flesh out the existing units. They will need rebasing and careful removal of the texturing. I will also need to harmonise the painting standard between the two - aka repainting the helmets into cinematic white!

Mounted Boers and a British cavalryman

Mahdists

British gun crews and a pair of drivers

Limbers, a brace of guns and a Rocket Launcher

I am really pleased with these and reckon that I now have everything I need for the Zulu War - which usually means that something else will be added….

The belated thank you goes to that all round good chap Mr David Barnes of The Ragged Soldier blog. He very kindly emailed me to let me know that the book The Zulu War: Then and Now, had been republished and was available from Naval and Military Press. Sadly I missed out on it but I really appreciated the gesture so thank you Mr Barnes for thinking of me!

Meanwhile, something quite extraordinary is currently en route and will form a later post once it has arrived….

Of Blocks and Boats….and Boot Sales!

 Ten ships - one of the galleys needed a repair - and all the associated paraphernalia along with two boxes of blocks.

Another Sunday and another visit to our local(ish) boot sale. Scored some useful bits and pieces in the shape of two complete boxes of the ‘not quite Jenga’ Jenga blocks that were available from the Works a few years ago. Regular readers of the this blog will doubtless remember that this particular version of Jenga formed the basis for my block armies and yes, I still have all seven sets of these along with a substantial amount of leftovers. I wanted to get a couple of new sets of this for a ‘Dominion of’ set up using a whole block per unit. I think I still have the digital files for these from my early Block army experiments so in theory it should be easy enough to cobble something up. Ignore the price labels - these cost me 50p a box, each of 48 blocks.

The Wiz Kids Pirates of the Caribbean game contained a number of completed ships, all the cards the pieces were pressed out from, the coins, crew and character cards/tokens, the rules, the minute d6 and a Kraken monster for good measure!

I picked these up simple because the price was way too good to turn them down - £2 for the lot! Having said that the selection of models lends itself nicely to some Ganesha Games Galleys and Galleons games - there you go 5Gs even!

On a different tack altogether I managed to get the Mike’s Models 15mm British infantry jigged up for their refurbishment along with sorting out the recent haul of Space Hulk/Advanced Space Crusade bits and pieces. As mentioned, there are a few bits and pieces to attend to, primarily applying decals and touching in some dings etc.

All in all then, a productive couple of hours - the first for what seems like and age due to the decorating etc.

Something Old, Something New and Something Blue and Green (Mostly!)…..

Something New - I can safely say that I have never owned a board game with only five unit counters - until now that is!

Designed as an introductory level training tool - solo and two player - the premise is that the blue platoon has to take the hill. Over open ground. It is fiendishly challenging, fast playing and a lot of fun.

Last Wednesday afternoon I headed to London for meet up with the esteemed David Manley for dinner, beers and discussions about all manner of stuff along with gaming. As ever, it was a terrific evening and I came away full of ideas and Naga Chilli Chicken! We exchanged a few items with some books heading his way and the rather intriguing game you see above heading my way.

The conversation covered many topics and for me the biggest takeaway is that Mr Manley, has been graced with god-given patience as he answered my numerous questions and partially formed observations with tact, diplomacy and insight. I consider myself to be both fortunate and privileged to be counted as a friend. It was a really pleasant evening which has cemented a couple of ideas I have been juggling around with as well as being a much needed mojo boost.

Many thanks Mr Manley and for sure we will meet up again before the turn of the year.

Something Old - “Row well and live number 41!” A game that had its origins in 1971 and was originally designed by Ed Smith. This is the Avalon Hill version which was essentially that published by Battleline and rebadged.

I had been after a copy of the above for ages but the prices it was going for were a little on the high side. This copy was partially punched and had some age related wear on the box but was competitively priced at £20. It has two rules sets therein - a fleet based set and a ‘ship’ set - with the more complex ‘ship’ variant requiring a detailed log sheet and written orders - how very 1980s! It forms a nice counterpoint to the copy of Wargalley I own which is far more, dare I say it? Modern, in its game mechanics. As an aside I took the time out to punch out the remaining counters and had forgotten just how tedious trimming 1980 vintage Avalon Hill counters could be! It is done now and everything is safely in the appropriate grip top polythene bag.

Sometime ago, arguably in a galaxy far, far away, a mutual arrangement was made between myself and that all round good guy and painter extraordinaire Lee Gramson of A Figure Painting Therapy Project blog fame whereby in exchange for a copy of the ACW board game Battle Cry he agreed to paint around 60 odd plastic vintage GW Space Hulk and Advanced Space Crusade figures. Well, they have arrived and boy oh boy are they GOOD! Lee has done an outstanding job with these and all I now need to do is to add the transfers and they are “Ready to get it on!” 

Lee liaised closely with me during the painting process and was really helpful with colour suggestions etc. Full details of his commission service are available on his blog but be warned - he is pretty tied up for a few months!

Take a look at these bad boys - complete with a few of my Terminator conversions.

Terminators. The bae game of Space Hulk contained 10 of these, basically the figures in the back row. Three have the original flamer attachment and I have converted two to carry assault cannons, two with chain fists (these are sergeants) and a captain with a power sword. There are also a pair of Librarians - the figures armed with power axes. Librarians and assault cannons appeared in the Death Wing expansion.

Genestealers aka aliens. The base game of Space Hulk contained 20 of these but there are 24 above.

Advanced Space Crusade Tyrannids - three armed with bone swords and three with ‘death spitter’ bio cannons. There were 6 of these in the game.

Fifteen scout marines in squads of five, each with a sergeant, a bolt cannon and three troopers. Each squad has hair highlighted with the squad colour - red, yellow or green.

The plan is now to add the transfers to the models and to tidy a few things up - absolutely minor stuff, a few base dings etc - and they will then be ready to rock and roll. In truth they are good to go as is but I want to get the transfers on to finish them off.

Lee has done a fantastic job on these and I can’t wait to get them in action - the Portable Space Hulk Wargame anyone?

Hmmm…. ;-)

It’s Game Time….

Instant Zulu War in a box! 12 scenarios, including all the usual suspects.

The back of the box

The simple and effective counters

British units - including a Gatling and a rocket battery

Zulus! Thirty of em!

The Lulu versions of a selection of ‘Dominion’ titles - I have a feeling that others will follow….

Finally, the bout of decorating and renovation that has impacted the whole house for a month, has ended!

It has been an exhausting undertaking and so the benefits of rest and recuperation accrued whilst on holiday have long since disappeared. Just as well we have already booked for next year!

Along with the domestic disruption I have been feeling rather flat and lacking in any form of focussed motivation. For sure I have meandered around a few gaming ideas but not with any real conviction. However, a few things have ‘stuck’ and as luck would have it are relatively achievable in the short to mid term.

This week saw the arrival of some bits and pieces that are sure to drag me out of my rampant lethargy! 

Horns of the Buffalo is a simple tactical boardgame that covers a dozen of the main actions from the war of 1879. The rule book is a welcome eight pages - including the cover - and uses the following sequence of play.

Deploy Reinforcements

First Player movement

Second Player defensive combat

First Player offensive combat

Second Player movement

First Player defensive combat

Second Player offensive combat

Victory Determination

Combat uses a D10 and players are required to roll equal to or under their chosen combat factor (after any situational modifiers) to score a hit. Most units are destroyed on their second hit.

The game comes with six double sided maps, each depicting the battlefield for the individual scenarios. These are roughly 13 by 10 hexes. 

With the Mike’s Models 15mm collection roughly half complete (aside from rebasing and touching up of paintwork) the counters make for a good alternative until the figures are ready to replace them. Of course i will need to watch Zulu again for research purposes….

The four ‘Dominion’ titles are most welcome and I shall have some fun with these in conjunction with my block armies. I am sure that others in the series will follow but this will suffice for the time being.

I do feel that I have ‘come out the other side’ to a degree and so some fast and furious 3 x 3/Dominion games whilst help to reignite the creative fires.

The recent Russo Japanese naval game also certainly helped to break the dark cloud down into smaller bite sized chunks - and has proven to be a catalyst of sorts but more of which later.

Decorating, Dining and New Additions

This is a large, A4 sized softback chock full of maps, plans of fortifications and camps and accounts of the key actions

I learned recently that J.P.C. Laband passed away suddenly. R.I.P.

A real ‘boom from the tomb’ - a set I remember from the days of New Model Army Limited and Saturday afternoons gaming in the cellar - nigh on 45 plus years ago!

The whole house continues to be in a state of upheaval due to the ongoing decorating. At long last though, the end is in sight and so normal service can resume shortly!

No Wednesday club this week as Mr Huband and I met up for a bite to eat, a couple of beers and discussion about gaming projects many and varied. There was also the small matter of an exchange of items - both of which you see above and are most welcome additions to the collection!

The Field Guide to the War in Zulu land and the Defence of Natal 1879 is a really useful large format guide to the war in terms of the geography and ‘what went on where and when’. There are also lots of plans of fortifications and camps etc - all of which is useful material for mini campaigns etc, especially now that I have the Zulu component for the Mike’s Models 15mm collection. I shall have a lot of fun with this and using any of the Portable Colonial Wargame/3 x 3/ Dominion of the Spear and Bayonet/Hordes of the Natives etc alongside the excellent maps is a great idea.

The ironclad rules, written by the esteemed John Wallis, are a great set of rules and gave many good games ‘back in the day’ - along with ‘Devil at the Helm’ - although nowadays I prefer rules that are a little simpler to run with.

One of the two projects that Mr Huband and I discussed over some rather tasty gourmet-style burgers and fine beer was our collective nod to the film ‘The Last Samurai’. Yup, the Boshin War, at least primarily the naval side although the action on land will also feature. I will be making the ships and The Portable Ironclads Wargame will be the rules of choice.

Mr Huband also informed me that we have a Japanese restaurant nearby so some method eating will be in order in due course. Needless to say I am ridiculously overexcited about this……

Some Age of Sail Experimentation

Side by side - the base model is at the rear with the filed, single decker in the foreground

A better view of the lower profile of the single decker

Viewed from the stern - the reduction in height is more noticeable

Aside from the whole decorating thing, I have been thinking about what to do with the recently acquired Risk style age of sail ships. The base model is a stylised two decker so adding a deck to make a first rate or trimming it down to make a single deck frigate type should be OK. They will all be the same length but given that I would only use these on a gridded playing surface, the sizes are not that crucial.

A fairly substantial amount of filing was needed - the plastic is pretty hard which makes for a durable model - but since I will only need around eight frigates it would not be too onerous an undertaking. Now to take a look at three deckers!

Wargaming Largesse and a Delicious Dilemma

A profile shot - ‘purely representational’ and sadly lacking a spanker on the mizzenmast. Two decks worth of gunports which will cover most of what I will need.

The view forward….

….and aft.

The selection of colours available.

The overall size.

The hexed board is from the board game ‘Fighters of the Pacific’ and is a perfect match for the size for the model.

OK, in the interests of full disclosure I have been thinking long and hard about age of sail gaming using, shock horror, models - although I have several really good board game solutions if necessary.

A chance email exchange with all round good guy, prolific painter and champion of all things Portable, Mark Cordone, touched on a potential idea that was struggling to be realised thanks to geography and the price of overcoming it! Let me explain. I had seen a whole pile of plastic ‘Risk’ style gaming pieces that seem to be readily available in the good ol’ US of A but would cost a King’s ransom to ship to the UK. In this case I am talking about fully rigged men of war from the halcyon days of Nelson, Suffren, John Paul Jones and others - add in Hornblower and Aubrey and you will get the general idea.

Anyways, to cut a long story short (as Spandau Ballet once said), Mark very kindly sent me a package of 50 of the models you see above.

Are they perfect? No. Are they accurate? Again, no. BUT - they are (very) hard plastic and are designed as playing pieces with a modest footprint. 

Looking long and hard at these my first thought is that a spanker on the mizzenmast would prove the look immeasurably. This would be east enough to organise. Being a two deck ship is handy but I am already thinking about how to cut the hull down so that a single deck frigate would be an option - also increasing the height of the hull so that three decked first rate ships can be represented.

Chopping these about will be a lot easier than building them from scratch and as the models are very basic I reckon that a paint job would cover a multitude of sins.

There is a huge amount of potential with these models which I hope to fully explore - Mark mentioned that he had experimented with some steamship versions, removing a mast and adding a funnel -  so lets see where this idea can go.

I have a couple of ideas to play around with but for now let me once again extend my grateful thanks to Mark Cordone - I hope he will appreciate what he has unleashed!