Ironclads and a Boot Sale

The box shape caught my eye and word games are popular in Maison Crook so I picked this up for £1. There are 100 hexagonal tiles each measuring 25mm across the flat sides and are 5mm thick. The letters are on one side only. The gaming potential of these very useful tiles is obvious - more so as they also fit one side of my double sided blue hexed cloth as that also has hexes that are 25mm across the flat sides. 

Bit of a quick post this one - mainly because my next post will be a a bigger one!

Laurel and I headed out to our usual Sunday boot sale for the first time since before we went on holiday. With her newly diagnosed gallstones issue it was touch and go if we were going to be out and about at all but she felt comfortable enough to try it out (which is not saying a great deal as she is still suffering from the after effects of her gallstone attack of two weeks ago). It was worth it as some fresh air did us both good, along with a couple of bargains to add the cherry on top.

The game above will provide a change from Scrabble (Laurel and I have the scores kept from over 15 years of play - she is winning by around 6 games overall!) and the components will be useful from a wargames perspective. All in all £1 well invested methinks!

The Really Useful Box full of MDF. As you can see, the hulls are coming along nicely - the layers that are painted brick red will be used for the RN lower hulls at waterline level. The white ‘boot topping’ will be added to the main hull before the final assembly. I find it easier painting layers rather than lines!

For a variety of reasons, most of which will feature in the next post, I have moved the Turkish and Royal Navy ironclads back into the production queue - at the head of the list! I need to have a sort out of the bits and pieces you see in the box and also I need to order some new custom turret assemblies from Warbases as the ones I ordered for HMS Devastation and the two Turkish monitors are two small by a couple of mm. Once I have tidied them up and have the new turrets the first rider f business will be to finish the hulls and then it will be mast building. LOTS of mast building!

El Camisa Llamativa*

The box art featuring a suitably desperate band of Guerillas looking to spoil the patrolling Frenchmen’s day - rather like the World Cup semi-final!

The back of the box showing some quite superbly painted figures - rest assured that mine will not look anything like that!

 *The Loud Shirt or an approximation thereof! Mr Fox suggested something like this as suitable name for the leader of my planned band of Guerillas - for some reason one of my holiday shirts made him think of this although I can’t understand why….

Loud shirt? Moi? I thought it was quite understated in a sartorially elegant kind of way….

I mentioned in a previous post about my return from Andalusia and of my fondness for the place - we have already booked to go back there next year - with its wonderful scenery and history. I also mentioned that, additionally inspired by rereading The Gun and Death to the French by C.S. Forester, I had in mind a 28mm skirmish based set up using Perry Miniatures. 

Well the deed has been done and so now I am the proud owner of not one but two boxes of the Skirmish in a box set, featuring sprues from the Spanish Infantry, Guerillas, French line and Elite box sets. There are 65 figures in all - 38 Spanish and 27 French - but the set is designed to be able kit bash all manner of Napoleonic types from the theatre. The figures are beautifully sculpted and there is a huge amount of potential for fielding all manner of types suitable for the theatre. A very useful extra in the box are three coloured painting guides, one each for the Spanish Infantry, the Guerillas/Militia and the French. 

The three painting guides. I was really pleased with these as my Napoleonic library is bereft of anything related to the uniforms of the Peninsular War.

The rules of choice to accompany this latest bout of insanity are a variant of the popular Rebels and Patriots set by Dan Mersey and Michael Leck and published by Osprey. These are based on the hugely popular ‘Rampant’ series and are aimed at the large skirmish level as opposed to the more usual man to man types. Mr Fox provided me with the Napoleonic variant of Rebels and Patriots which he has used extensively with his own collection. That is all the recommendation I need!

From the pen of the renowned Napoleonic author, Charles Esdaile. If you recall he wrote a book called Wargaming Waterloo in which yours truly featured as a footnote! 

I have a copy of Nick Lipscombe’s Wellington’s Eastern Front which covers the other operations of the War in the Peninsula. I really wanted something that was more specific to Andalusia and so came across the book you see above. A quick trawl of eBay got me a copy and a quick email to the esteemed Mr Esdaile drew my attention to another book of his - Fighting Napoleon: Guerillas, Bandits and Adventurers.  Needless to say, a copy of this is now en route!

The area of Andalusia from roughly Alacaucin to the coast has a long tradition of banditry and smuggling that stretched beyond the Napoleonic Wars and indeed, featured in Washington Irving’s Tales of the Alhambra, written some years after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. There is a huge amount of potential for actions involving bands of Guerillas fighting the invaders or amongst themselves, for raids, ambushes and all manner of small scale mayhem. 

I have hankered after a small scale, off the beaten track kind of 28mm set up for some time now - various ideas have come and gone with monotonous regularity - so reckon that fighting black powder skirmishes in the part of the world that I have come to really enjoy was a no-brainer.

“Meurte a los franceses!” As they said, back in the day!

A Review Reviewed….

Whilst not perfect I still have a soft spot for this, my first book - written in collaboration with Bob Cordery.

On the glorious 1st of June (no, not that one….) I received the following review on Amazon for the Portable Ironclads Wargame from a chap called Adam in the US of A.

“To the writers: Do better! There are plenty of 3D artists make some 3D STL files call me.

The book is okay. They don’t give any blueprints to make those ships that they have there. There are no measurements, and there is no PDF file attached, so it’s a little disappointing. I have a friend who has a 3D printer who has some of those files available, but I thought it would give me the directions to make my own ships, and it does not.”

Now when I read this my first reaction was one of mild amusement. The book was never intended to be a textbook of how to make model ships for wargames, mainly because my models are deliberately simple in construction and are designed as gaming pieces first and foremost. I also thought that the pictures alone, along with the chapter dedicated to modelling hints and tips would give the aspiring ACW naval wargamer enough basic information to enable them to ‘have a go’. Given the basic simplicity of my models it seemed fairly pointless giving detailed construction notes or plans because virtually all of my models are ‘based upon’ rather than museum quality pieces.

Whilst it would be flattering to see someone launch a range of 3D printed versions of my models what would be the point? There are far better models available within the physical and 3D printed space (with a nod to David Manley at this point!) which would cost as much to print as one of my own. Indeed, the closest my models have come to being commercially available was via Warbases and, as yet, this has never come to anything tangible.

I am disappointed with the review, simply because it seems as though ‘Adam’ has rather missed the point of the book - it is an old school ‘here are some ideas that you can go away and experiment with and find your own path’ style of wargames book where the reader is actively encouraged to do their own research and by extension, make up their own mind about the period. Mine is most definitely not the last word on the subject and was never intended to be so. The same applies to the models I built and used.

I am more than happy to read constructive criticism of the content therein but being criticised for something that is not included, was never intended to be, is a little on the irritating side, especially when one is unable to challenge the comment made.

Am I being overly sensitive? Initially I thought that maybe I was but after having considered the comments made I believe that I am right to be, how shall I put it? Vexed. 

I feel better for having gotten that off my chest - probably more than I should!

A Chinese Takeaway

A most timely and useful addition to the library

My old friend, the redoubtable Mr Fox, is an exceedingly fine fellow! At the flea market held at the recent Broadside wargame show he spotted a book that he knew would be of interest to me and so promptly acquired the same! I finally took delivery of it last night at the club - and am hugely grateful that he spotted it for me!

Given that I have changed the pre-dreadnought battle for the book from the Russo Japanese War to that of the earlier Sino Japanese conflict, the acquisition of this book could not have been more timely. The change of conflict has also meant that the manuscript, due for submission by the end of August has now been pushed back until the end of the year.

I need to buy the models for Yalu River and then paint them, along with those for the Falklands. Fortunately I already have those for the latter from the Tumbling Dice Age of Battleships 1:2400th range. Yalu River will be fought using 1:1200th scale models.

I am satisfied that the rules work well enough for the Ironclad and the Pre-Dreadnought periods so it is only the dreadnoughts that need testing. Whilst I currently do not have anything table ready for this period I know that Mr Fox does so I shall broach the subject with him when next we meet (or, as is more likely, over the phone or email!).

Back From the ‘Land of the Vandals’

Your truly, complete with a glass of the local speciality

Virtually the same view but without me in it!

Another view from the dining area terrace….

….and another….

….and another!

A view from the pool area.

In the wee small hours of this morning - around 1:15am -  Laurel and I arrived home from our two week sojourn in the hills and mountains of Andalusia. It was our third visit to the same place and we have already booked to visit again next year. The reasons for this are very simple. 

1. We can fly from out local airport (20 minutes away)

2. The location (near Alcaucin, around fifty minutes from Malaga airport) is ideally suited to explore the area - around 90 minutes from Granada and the Alhambra Palace and two hours from Cordoba with much else besides closer to home.

3. The hotel is specifically designed to cater for guests with health and or mobility issues and only has five rooms, so it is very quiet.

4. The views across the valley where the hotel is located are simply stunning.

5. The owners, Adrian and Hannah, have been running the place for some twenty years and are outstanding hosts. Adrian is a walking ‘Google’ when it comes to local history and Hannah’s culinary expertise makes everyday an edible adventure!

6. Laurel is able to navigate the entire place very easily and is able to make extensive use of the pool!

We spent most of the time by the pool although did venture out on three days. We visited a local market, spent a lovely day wandering about in Malaga itself and wrapped the holiday up with a scenic tour of the immediate area with a stop for a wonderful lunch at a hotel.

Malaga cathedral….

….and again….

….and again….

….and again….

….and again!

The Roman amphitheatre and the Moorish fort above.

I have a feeling this may be the answer but I am still unsure about the question!

As a result of Laurel’s mobility issues following her spinal surgery in 2022, she currently has two hydrotherapy session a week that we pay for. Having access to a pool for two weeks meant that she was able to tackle her aquatic exercises twice a day which, whilst it will not improve her situation, does give her a much needed ‘lift’ as well as maintaining her current level of mobility. 

The pool - note the ‘Roman’ style steps and two handrails.

The old, run down place overlooking the pool area is also owned by Adrian and Hannah and is due to be renovated by their son in due course.

For my own part using the pool was a lot of fun and so our daily routine in the temperatures encountered of two sessions, one in the morning and one late in the afternoon, was hugely refreshing.

I took with me a fully loaded Kindle and a copy of Hugh Thomas’s The Spanish Civil War to read. Sadly the latter, whilst interesting, was not really conducive to reading around the pool in 34 degree plus heat - it does require careful reading to capture the full picture - and so was parked for a more temperate climate! The titles on the Kindle that I did read were as follows:

The Gun and Death to the French! By C.S. Forester and Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving. I thoroughly enjoyed all three, so much so, that I am now looking at Spanish Guerillas during the Peninsular War and am now reading Wellington’s Eastern Front by Nick Lipscombe which covers the campaigns on the East Coast of Spain from 1810 to 1814. 

The whole area from Alcaucin to the coast was a hotbed of banditry and smuggling - Contrabandistas they were known as - and although I am looking into any Napoleonic potential via Lipscombe’s book, Washington Irving, writing around 1832, has lots to tell about gangs of outlaws and smugglers in the region. This is very much in black powder skirmish territory and as luck would have it the Perrys have produced a box of 28mm Guerillas which would very much fit the bill. Something to think about BUT - on with the serious business of the new book and a deadline to meet!

The Jutland Enigma

Something from Google Jutland related!

It just goes to show that you are never too old to learn something new! Way back in 2016, I spent a significant amount of time on planning a refight of the Battle of Jutland using 1:2400th scale models. The plan at the time was to use a version of the Avalon Hill game of the same name and it was there, along with the huge amount of destroyers and cruisers required, that I came to an ignominious grinding halt.

Try as I might, I was unable to unlock how the ship specs from the game were arrived at. I tried all manner of calculations in an attempt to reverse engineer the numbers involved - gunnery and flotation factors being the main offenders - but for some reason was never able to 'crack the code'. 

Until now.

There is a substantial amount of fan made material for the game available from back issues of the Avalon Hill General and the Boardgamer magazine and it was whilst trawling through all this lot that several things just seemed to click into place. 

This is going to sound a little strange but this news will mean that I will need to check over and amend where needed the ships specifications quoted in the original game. Some obvious production errors had already been identified - incorrect counter images, wrong flotation values and similar - but armed with the aforementioned additional fan made stuff I will be able to make the game into the version I really wanted it to be. It will also mean that expanding the system beyond the North Sea - there are already Baltic and Mediterranean variants available - to a common system will be a straightforward process. 

And before anybody asks this ‘mini project of sorts’ does have a degree of relevance for the Great War portion of the new book so it is time well spent but you will have to wait to see why!

In Praise of Joy and Forgetfulness….

An oldie but definitely a goodie!

In many ways I have that well known Bon vivant, wit and raconteur Conrad Kinch of Joy and Forgetfulness fame to thank for the inspiration for this post and so it is in his honour this is dedicated to.

It is June once again, and so inevitably the looming spectre of the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo taps me on the shoulder and reminds me of games and Napoleonic projects of years gone by. I have mentioned ad nauseam of my fondness and long term interest in the 1815 campaign, beginning with my first painted army of Airfix figures and Bruce Quarrie’s rules - the orange Airfix magazine guide version - and followed by a 15mm collection and a set of rules called Le Petit Empereur and more recently the 28mm Del Prado collection. All of these have sadly gone and so my Napoleonic adventures are now limited to boardgames. I flirted with the Command and Colours system but for a variety of reasons it never really pressed all the buttons for me. There is however, one game that most emphatically does - Napoleon by Columbia Games.

The map “Charleroi. By God that man does war Honour!”

The game itself was originally produced by Jedko in the early 1970s and was then picked up by Avalon Hill. From them it went to Columbia Games and was launched in the early 1990s as a 3rd edition. Subsequently to that a 4th edition appeared and currently a 5th edition is under development. 

The game uses blocks for the units and as is customary with Columbia games, the blocks are set up so that your opponent can only see the back and not the side with the current strength or indeed, the types of unit itself, infantry, cavalry or artillery. The units use step reduction to record combat losses and this is shown by rotating the block so that the correct strength point is at the top of the unit. Strengths range from 4 to 2 steps, depending on the formation type. Movement is on a point to point basis - the points being villages - and if both sides descend on the same village the units involved are deployed on a battle board for the tactical phase. I have played this many times and it is a wonderful game with the fog of war and with both sides operating under asymmetric pressure - the French needing to get to Brussels whilst keeping the allies apart, the allies needing to join together to defeat the Corsican ogre.

The tactical battle board

I owned the 3rd edition but disposed of it when the 4th came out. This was a mistake as far as I was concerned as the 4th edition reduced the units in the game by merging some formations so as not to crowd the map. I could never get as enthusiastic with the 4th edition and so when the chance can me up to get a copy of the 3rd I leapt at it! 

The respective orders of battle featuring unit strength points. Note that the units are nominally divisional sized.

Some years ago, before the Portable Napoleonic Wargame came out, I had it in mind to refight the battle using the block armies and based on the order of battle used in the 3rd edition. I drew up the order of battle and recorded the number of hit boxes per division sized unit based on the strength points from the game. The idea was to use the game as the scenario generator and then fight the resulting battles using my block armies on the tabletop. It was with this in mind I commissioned Warbases to make some movement trays for the block armies.

As an aside I fought the battle itself using the long departed Del Prado collection and a square grid based version of Waterloo A La Carte! The original version used an 8 hex by 6 grid whilst my squared version used a chessboard. It was huge fun despite being rather cramped as the figures were a little on the large size for a 60mm square.

Thanks to the reminder about Waterloo from the esteemed Mr Kinch, I have added the whole Waterloo with blocks project back into the pile of things to do at some point. Certainly using the block armies with movement trays (these will have the appropriate formation names on them for identification purposes) and 3D terrain will certainly look rather splendid in a Kriegspiel kind of way.

Yes I know there are far better books on the subject than these venerable stalwarts, but to a callow youth of twelve years old they were the gateway into a lifelong hobby. I would never part with either!

It also means that I will have to watch Waterloo again, as well as rereading a couple of my favourite books on the subject. How we suffer for our hobby eh?

The Waterloo campaign has given me much joy over the years - admittedly probably longer ago than I would like - and so it would be easy to overlook or even forget the fun to be had attempting to outdo Napoleon or Wellington. One thing is certain though, I am grateful to Mr Kinch for putting me back in touch with roots so to speak.

He really is a super fellow.