Spartans, Spitfires and the Spirit of Noel Coward et al

Not the box lid to the expansion but I think you get the general idea....

After the 'surprise' of yesterday morning I figured that it would probably be a good idea to maintain my reputation for 'rushing at it bald-headed' with a small update as to what the proceeds of my latest folly will be turned into. To begin with, I have ordered a copy of the Spartans expansion for Command and Colours Ancients. Aside from the inevitable round of '300' based quotes and comments the expansion set contains, in addition to the Spartans themselves, some 'proper' hoplite units which will round off the Greece expansion nicely and will also give me the types I need for the Salamis campaign. Having some dedicated Spartan blocks will be no bad thing either as it means that the possibility of gaming the Peloponnesian War may feature at some point. I have on the disc of Avalon Hill Naval Games I acquired some time ago complete scans of the board game on the war which should prove to be a useful source of information and inspiration for any such undertaking.

"The engine's overheating  and so am I. Either we stand down  or blow  up. Now which do you want?"

 

I have also ordered the final starter set for Axis and Allies: Angels 20 (final as in the fourth copy I own - primarily so I can field four Bf 110s in a proper defensive circle!) which will mean that I will have absolutely no excuse for not cracking on with the Battle of Britain kit sooner rather than later. I am actually quite looking forward to this and as the numbers involved are quite small (and thanks to Mr Fox I have a stack of aircraft eye candy to use as reference) it should be relatively straightforward to complete.

 

I have ordered some extra blue Hexon tiles in order that I might cover the entire 6 x 4ft table I have. This will give me sufficient 'sea room' to manouvere in as the playing area will now be 12 by 18 hexes. I must confess to wavering slightly with this as I was concerned about the size of the hexes for use with small models - after giving it some thought though I reasoned that this would not be insurmountable so I just went for it.

This is on my 'to watch' list - along with revisiting The Cruel Sea

 

Finally, and pausing for a deep breath, I have at last taken the plunge to address a particular shortfall in my collection. The shortfall is that of WW2 naval and I have approached this, as befits my somewhat 'flying in the face of convention' persona, in a rather different way than you might expect - at least in respect of the choice of models anyway.

 

All will be revealed in due course - at least once the package arrives that is.