Welcome Additions to the Library

An eclectic mix, as befits the range of projects I have on the go or in mind!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable day yesterday with friends, family, food and drink! I certainly did and once again my two grown up children really rose to the challenge of what to get Dad. It was definitely an Osprey kind of Christmas in that three of the books I received were published by them - no matter though, the content is the thing.

Starting from top left, there is a copy of the Atlas of the Eastern Front 1941 to 1945 by Robert Kirchubel. I  like a good atlas and this one is really good - just the thing to go with any strategic boardgame of the WW2 Russian Campaign to really ‘get under the skin’ of what was happening where and when. I have another volume in this series covering the Blitzkrieg era - 39 to 41 - which also explores the naval and aerial campaigns. Again, invaluable for understanding the bigger picture.

The Victorian gunboat title is very useful - Angus does a tidy job within the space confines of the Vanguard series - and whilst I have the remaining two titles (China and the Nile) in digital form I am still looking to get them physically at some point.

The Midway title is most welcome and will help to add context to the board games I have covering the operation - CV, Flat Top and the Smithsonian edition Midway

Finally, the Ancient Greeks. I still have plans for something Persian Wars based at some point and this volume has some very good re-enactor based colour plates featuring all manner of troops from the period. I also have the Crusades title and the Vikings from the same series and all are well worth a look.

Next Steps….

Simple really, and it does not feature any of the above! Ships - building painting and using, all 24 of them!

I am planning one more post before the new year - hopefully with some progress to report on the ships.

We shall see!

DTPIW Shipbuilding’s Back on the Menu Boys!

Nothing says British Battleships like this gigantic doorstop of a tome1

Huzzah! My order from Warbases arrived this morning with the final additional bits and pieces needed for the RN and Turkish ironclads. For the most part this order consisted of the following:

1. Bits I had forgotten in the first place

2. Bits I had changed the spec of (usually the wrong thickness of MDF!)

3. Bits that were wrongly cut.

By far and away the biggest culprit in all this has been yours truly, but occasionally Martin’s attempts at translating my crude scrawls goes awry (not surprising given the plans he has to work from!) and in this case it happened with a deck level template - the one with the holes for the masts and bowsprit. 

Martin is a good sport and a top bloke and so despite Warbases being insanely busy at the year end he was able to get the pieces I needed sent out.

After a swift session with the superglue all the 23 models are now at the same stage in their construction - this is a very important part of the production line approach I am taking - and so I am in a good position to crack on with the ships. I am now on the lookout for another RN turret ship for around 1880 (not HMS Monarch - she is already under construction) and so my companion for the next few days will be the glorious tome you see at the top of this post - a magnificent gift from the esteemed Mr Manley awhile back and a volume worth its (considerable) weight in Gold. 

Or Frankincense. 

Or Myrrh.

Once again, have a cool Yule!

‘Twas the (Four) Night(s) before Christmas…..

Definitely looks better at night!

A little earlier than usual but I have a busy few days coming up before ‘Der Tag’! I will post a review of the year later but for now would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the very best for a peaceful and healthy new year!

For our part it will be the four of us for the Christmas break - both my son and daughter have finished work for the holidays - and so far we have everything in place and on schedule for the 25th. I have been reading a couple of books about card games for our holiday gaming sessions - usually we play Sevens - so we may try something new. Failing that we have our old standbys of Buccaneer, Monopoly and Escape from Atlantis - not sure if there would be any appetite for Battle of the Little Big Horn or Campaign!

On the more familiar gaming front the only piece of news I have to report is that Warbases have posted out my order so as soon as it arrives I can get to work once again on the ships for Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame.

I may get some painting in if I can but it does not matter if this does not come to pass - family time is the thing and we also have a couple of films lined up. Oh, and plenty of edibles and drinkables!

So once again, have a great time however you do what you do and I will catch up before the new year!

Feliz Navidad and all that and god bless us, everyone!

Assaulting a Cannon

Enough to strike fear into the Emperor’s enemies!

WARNING….INCOMING GW POST….WARNING….INCOMING GW POST….

For the sheer joy of blasting assorted gribblies to atoms the venerable Games Workship board and miniatures game Space Hulk has a lot to commend it. It is one of my favourite games and as you might expect, I have a long and rather convoluted history with it - but I will save you from the tawdry details!

Anyways, I have a copy of the 1st edition of Space Hulk (released in 1989) along with Death Wing and Genestealer - the two expansions - and a copy of the campaigns book (courtesy of the esteemed Mr Fox). The figures are a mixture of assembled and unpainted, partially assembled, partially painted and unassembled and none of the above. The base game include the Terminator marines with the option to make a flamer (two figures out of the ten) but it was not until the expansions came out (as well as articles in White Dwarf) that other weaponry became available, sadly not in plastic for this version of the game. 

Purely for the sheer mayhem they can cause - think ‘Ol Painless’ from the film Predator - I wanted some assault cannons and badly!

In my previous set up I converted a few using weaponry from the original version of Adeptus Titanicus which sufficed but I now wanted something a little more aesthetically pleasing. The problem was that the original model did not lend itself to heavy duty conversion, simply because the pose was quite ‘compact’ - no limbs to easily reposition or amputate. I decided that this was not going too stop me, especially as I had seen the latest version of a terminator assault cannon on eBay and reckoned that with some careful pruning I could just about get it to work. I will let the pictures do the talking….

The base model and the soon to be added assault cannon

The finished model

The view from the front….

….and from the side

I was quite pleased with how he turned out so now only have to think about painting him and the fifteen others I have, a further two of which (possibly three) will be similarly attired. Painting troops in power armour is well within my modest artistic ability so I will enjoy tackling these in due course. I realise that the weapon is suitably oversized, as befits a GW miniature, but it does mean that there will be no confusion over what he is carrying!

Space Hulk is great fun to play in an ‘Aliens’ kind of way - the game can be played using any suitable figures if GW are not to one’s taste - and over the years I have had some truly memorable sessions. It has a good balance of tension and suspense, especially if using the first edition and a timer. It really puts the pressure on the Marine player in respect of their decision making in the face of an alien onslaught!

More on the Battle of the Little Big Horn

Just the one this time - note the green trousers of the US Cavalry….

For a game that is fifty years old, the mechanics of this Waddington’s classic are actually rather good! In fact I reckon that it would not be too much of a difficulty to adapt them for use in other settings as a simple set of skirmish style rules.

You can guess where this may well be going….

I had a good look at the figures and whilst they are pretty basic I reckon that it would not take too much work to restore them to their former glory. I would probably base them, simply because it would be easier to move them around. At this stage I am not looking at upscaling the gaming mat to a 6ft by 4ft or using 54mm Deetail figures but I can certainly see the attraction of doing so as at least two gamers have done so to my knowledge!

The Rules

Movement

Each player rolls a D6 with the high score moving first each turn.

Each player may move one or all their troops per turn. Foot figures move one space and mounted three. Foot can move anywhere on the map except for the river (they can use the fords) and mounted may not enter areas with trees or boulders. Each area may be occupied by three foot figures, two mounted or one foot and one mounted and figures from either side may not occupy the same area. The flag can be moved by any US player by placing a figure in the same area.

Combat

Firing weapons have a range of three areas. Mounted tribesman armed with a Tomahawk have to be in an area adjacent to an opponent for combat. With ranged combat (two or three areas) the defender can fire back if not eliminated but in hand to hand combat (if the figures are in an adjacent area) they must fight back. The attacking player rolls a D6 followed by the defender. If each player rolls a 1, 2 or 3 then it is no effect. If one player rolls a 4 or 5 and the other rolls lower then the low scoring figure must retreat one area if able to do so - if they cannot (due to impassable terrain or enemy figures) they are eliminated and removed from the board. If both players roll a 4 or a 5 then this is no effect. If either player rolls a 6 then the opponent is eliminated.

There are some modifiers to the above - all are plus 1 to the player’s D6 roll. These are Mounted troops fighting a figure in an adjacent area, foot figures among trees or among improvised barricades. Note that the plus 1 feeds into the dice score effects so if a figure was in a plus 1 situation and rolled a 5 this would count as a 6 and therefore eliminate the opponent.

Note that adjacent had-to-hand combats are adjudicated before ranged combats - the winner of a hand-to-hand combat may then occupy the vacated area. Also, each figure may only take part in one round of combat per game turn so if a figure is engaged by several enemies it may only ‘defend’ itself against a single attack - hand-to-hand attacks taking priority.

Winning the Game

The battle is won by the tribesmen if Custer and his men are eliminated or if one of them is able to enter the area occupied by the flag as long as no US figure is there as well. Custer wins if the three Chieftains (the mounted tribesmen wearing a feathered headdress) are eliminated or if the flag can be moved to one of the blue arrow areas on the map board. 

Further Thoughts

I genuinely believe that there is a lot of potential with these rules for a simple, almost ‘Portable Wargame-ish’ style skirmish game. It is certainly something I shall explore further as and when time permits but for now the main priority will be getting the figures repainted.

Meanwhile, back to the ships….

The Battle of the Greasy Grass - Waddingtons Style

You are not seeing double - there is two copies of the above!

The blurb on the underside of the box

Way back in the very early 1970s, when I was taking my first tentative steps into the world of wargames, I used to play a board game produced by Waddingtons called ‘The Battle of the Little Big Horn’. It was an attractive looking game with a stylised board and containing real, painted figures. For some reason I never got a copy myself - presumably as I had discovered ‘Campaign’ by the same company and was far more interested in Napoleonics anyway. I was of the ‘Waterloo Airfix generation’ and proud of it!

The map board. One of the victory conditions requires the US exiting the board in the top left corner - good luck with that methinks!

Fast forward some forty odd years and with a fortuitous trawl through eBay (note to self: try to cut down on the idle browsing….) netted me two copies of the above game being sold as a job lot by a local seller for a price that was hard to turn down (£30 if you are interested).

The US Cavalry - the figures are a shade over 40mm or so

The opposition - a combination of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. The chaps with feathered headdresses are the tribal chieftains.

The games are in pretty good order and more importantly are complete in terms of the figures included. Quite what I will do with two Custer figures is anyone’s guess but hey ho! Between the two I now have a dozen mounted braves, a dozen foot braves, a dozen dismounted US cavalry, four US foot officers and a pair of Custers. As you can see from the pictures, time has not been kind to the paint job but I reckon that even I could rework them into something more respectable. They certainly could not any worse!

The rules are quite simple, as are the victory conditions. One curiosity is that one edition of the game the rules are printed as part of the game storage section whilst in the other it is on a separate sheet of paper.

Version one of the rules - this is how I remember them from ‘back in the day’

The ‘newer’ version - if you enlarge this note the final paragraph

All joking aside I plan to repaint the figures - it will make a nice mini-project - and will use the game as is. Having said that there is also the possibility of using the figures for skirmish games in some fashion. It would also be remiss of me not to mention that I also acquired a copy of the book you see below - purely for research purposes naturally….

I may well have to watch Mr Flynn in ‘They Died with their Boots on’, again, purely in the interests of research. You will have probably guessed that my tongue is firmly in cheek with this latest bout of madness….

The Portable Son of the Morning Star anyone?

A Personal Crusade

Using a modern definition of Medieval - starting with the Late Roman/Early Byzantine wars against the Sassanid Persians

The back of the box for the base game.

For as far back as I can remember I have been interested in the period of the Crusades. In terms of the Medieval period I would go so far as to say that it is probably the only Medieval period I have ever really seriously considered, alongside the Mongol conquests and perhaps the fall of Granada. Despite my best intentions The Hundred Years War or the War of the Roses has never really done to for me so I had resigned myself to parking those areas that are of interest very much on the back burner.

A few years back I picked up a copy of Command and Colours: Medieval, mainly because the scheduled first expansion was going to be devoted to the Crusades. In truth I only purchased the base game with this expansion in mind although the original version and a charm all of its own, featuring as it did Late Roman/Early Byzantine, Sassanids Persians and various tribal types. 

The Crusades expansion was a long time coming - long, as in years - and I was quite close to giving up on it but, at long last, it has arrived!

Slightly different from the original box design when first mooted by GMT

The back of the box - call me old fashioned but this feels more ‘Medieval’ than the original base game

The scenarios. The expansion is now marketed as the Crusades part 1 so we will have to wait for Richard the Lionheart

I am in two minds about this - on the one hand I am delighted that this has finally been released but on the other I would have preferred it to have been a one off expansion rather than the two. As to when this will be available - who knows?

I will have a lot of label sticking to do to get the game table ready but that will not be a problem once I can  get to it - possibly over the Christmas break.

On a Seperate Note(s)….

My copy of Battle Cry is now table ready - the counters and terrain tiles have been punched, the flags have been added to the figures and the command cards have been sleeved. I am hoping to get a game in over the weekend.

The final piece of news is that I have been able to pick up two intact copies of a game that featured in my youth and they will form the basis of my next post.

Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame - A Sitrep

Not a new picture but one I enjoy - The Confederate squadron at Mobile Bay: CSS Tennessee leading followed by the CSS Selma, both flanked by the steamers CSS Morgan (top) and CSS Gaines (bottom)

Progress has made with much of the text for Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame and has been passed over to the editor in chief for initial formatting etc. A selection of the chapter headings are below which will give a little taste of what is to come.

Revisiting the Rules.
Thoughts on Initiative and Movement
More Thoughts on Movement
Thoughts on Firing
More Thoughts on Firing
The Use of a Square Grid
Expanded ACW Ship Specifications
Bibliography

There are other chapters to be added, including two or three devoted to the background of the Anglo-Turkish War of 1880 with the battle report - aside from these and the usual acknowledgments, introduction and an expanded Designers Notes, will be just about it. 

In the meantime though, work on the models has stalled somewhat, simply because I am waiting on some bits from Warbases to continue. I have more than enough for some of the models but I am looking at a production line approach for the build so prefer to wait until all the pieces of the puzzle are in place.

It is all coming together nicely!

Iron and Oak and Battle Cry

 This one nearly passed me by! I remember seeing this game when it first came out but never got around to getting a copy. This has been duly rectified and with an additional surprise in the box! The game is a ship to ship tactical combat game that uses a square grid, order cards and wait for it - opposing dice rolls for movement and firing. Needless to say, it would be very simple to use models rather than counters although in my case I would need a larger playing surface to accommodate my models.

The box lid....

....and the back.

The playing surface - note the square grid (actually rectangular).

The game components. Lots of damage counters and the all important ship cards and counters

Some additional scenarios and rules found in the C3i magazine

There are some unusual mechanics in this game - opposed dice rolls for movement and firing would certainly raise a few naval wargaming eyebrows for a start - but the rationale behind the various systemic decisions seem sound enough, certainly for the gamer that wants a 'game that has the flavour, rather than a 'flavour that has a game'. 

On a different tack....

I have been looking long and hard at the scenarios in Battle Cry and indeed, also reacquainting myself with the rules. The former was a pleasurable experience, the latter less so, mainly because I am averse to using them as written! A quick visit to the files section of Boardgamegeek soon rectified this and so I was able to download an advanced set which looks far more appealing. I also used the opportunity to download a variant for the Zulu War.

If time permits I am looking to run a Battle Cry over the weekend using the advanced rules so watch this space as I shall certainly be posting the after action report on the blog.

Revisiting the ACW Via Battle Cry

Nice and compact and with plenty of scenarios….

….as you can see on the right hand page

For a variety of reasons my time over the next few months is going to be busy. Aside from the 24 models I need to build for Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame, there is the small matter of fighting the battle with the said models when completed and then writing it up for the book. I am quite happy with all this activity and it all fits in with my current domestic situation nicely. However, I am conscious that I have not been getting any gaming in other than naval - again, this is not a problem but I do fancy revisiting some ground based action.

It has to be something that is quick and easy to set up and play - something for which the Portable Wargame series is eminently suitable for - and not requiring a ton to table top models and terrain. From my collection there are a number of options that tick the convenience factor, especially the Command and Colours series, of which I have a reasonable selection. 

I had a look through and settled on Battle Cry - the 150th Anniversary edition - as this ties in nicely with the Portable Ironclads Wargame, at least from the history perspective anyway.

I plan to work my way through the scenarios, in no particular order, with the occasional write up for the blog. I may even badger some of the denizens of SEEMS (the South East Essex Military Society) to take up the flag of either side as the new venue is far more amenable than the previous one IMHO. 

At least you can hear yourself think which is a decided advantage in my experience!