Painting figures? Moi? How very dare you.....

After a busy weekend due to an overnight stop in Ipswich with SWMBO for a very enjoyable music event I was this afternoon able to make a start on painting the first of the 40mm plastic figures for the 1930s Fezia and Rusland project.

I managed to find a box of assorted acrylic paints lurking in deep storage in the man cave - some GW and some from the Orcs Nest in London - which will be sufficient for my immediate needs although I will need to add a couple of shades to the selection.

The first batch of figures - 24 in all - are for the Ruslanders and the base coat for them in Khaki. The base uniform coat has been applied so next will be the details - equipment and flesh etc. It is funny though how the application of paint really emphasises just how bad these figures are in terms of details. To anybody that can remember the old Spencer Smith plastics you will know what I mean! I am enjoying the process though and will hope to get these finished in a couple of weeks or so.

It has been a long time since I painted plastic figures but I am keen to push on with these and get them into action. I have some terrain for use with the models and have also settled on how the tanks will take shape. They are going to look suitably 1930s but I will not be doing anything with them until the infantry for both sides is ready.

Fezia and Rusland....1935 style

It has been a pretty productive weekend both on the domestic and gaming front. This afternoon I was able to get the 50 x 40mm plastic figures for the 1935 Fezian and Rusland undercoated so the next step will be to tackle the painting in earnest. I have the colour schemes worked out and am already thinking about further additions - primarily support weapons and crews and any 'specials' I may want to add. Machine guns and mortars are the obvious first port of call but I will of course be looking at artillery crews - especially now as I have a good source of wheels.

The figures are going to be gloss varnished but I will be adding to the bases. My standard method is to add coarse sand to PVA and then paint and highlight the same and so I shall be doing this in due course. As befits armies operating in what is effect a desert environment the bases will be sand/brown/rocky/dusty and whilst deciding this I rediscovered a couple of bages of palm trees which will be ideal for what I am planning.

I have also been thinking about the whole tank thing. The 1930s was a great period of experimentation in respect of what tanks should look like and how they developed tactically. I want mine to reflect this and so will producing both anti tank and infantry support version - possibly even some machine guns armed types. I rather fancy cobbling together some armoured cars as well.

Lots to play around with then but the infantry must come first of course.

Tanks for the memory....

The 40mm Fezia and Rusland 1930s collection has just gained some armour! I have been pondering about how best to model some tanks for both sides in 40mm and was more or less resigned to scratch building some suitably generic looking vehicles. The main problem I was trying to avoid was one of table footprint. Any vehicles for this project need to fit on a Hexon tile which is 4" across the flat sides. Any vehicles would also need to be proportionally taller so that the figures looked right alongside. Bob Cordery mentioned a while ago that he had seen some tanks in a local pound shop so I made a mental note to scour these at the earliest opportunity. Up until now I had been unsuccessful but today that all changed.

Rather futuristic looking plastic tanks that look as though they would be home in Warhammer 40K

By no stretch of the imagination would I use these as they are but as the raw material to create something unique and more in keeping with how I visualise the tanks of the period looking they are ideal. You get two of the above for 99p and despite the almost Games Workshop Warhammer 40K look they are rather cleverly put together. the track sections detach and the white knob you can see protruding from the side is to wind up the motor. Needles to say that will be removed and so I took one to pieces. The engine has two rather nice wheels that are ideal for use on artillery gun carriages which is an added bonus (and saves me having to buy them!). The turrets are fixed and the strange radar dish at the rear comes off, as does the muzzle brake. I will certainly lose the gun barrel and will replaced it with something a little more reasonable in terms of calibre. The two figures are alongside so you can get an idea of the scale. All in all not bad for 99p - so I purchased four packs and immediately wished I had gotten six instead!

The Wilko pick and mix deal - with thanks to Chris Hardman for drawing my attention to the same

The next purchase was a little beauty! Wilkinsons are now operating a 'pick and mix' in their hardware section for nuts, bolts, screws, nails and washers. A small bag is £1.99 and the large is £2.99. In the past I have never used washers for figures - usually because the washers tended to be dearer than the equivalent use of a 1p or a 2p coin. In the above deal I was able to fill a large £2.99 bag with 166 30mm washers and 147 25mm washers which works out at less than a penny a go. They are also magnetic. The larger of the two sizes were used this afternoon to rebase the 50 odd 40mm figures I am working on - it was a darned sight easier than clipping and filing the 30mm plastic square bases they were originally mounted on I can tell you!

I am now back on course to get he 50 figures undercoated this weekend so that the painting can begin in earnest. I shall also spend some time looking at tanks - which is never a great hardship!

I am Wargamer and I fight Battles with....

I think I know the reason for my recent lethargy.

Over the past couple of years I have fought many games using my block armies and a smattering of terrain to create the look of the 'three dimensional battle map'. I have always supported this by making sure that the action has been photographed and described I have tried to describe the events unfolding as though it were a real action taking place. In truth I have really enjoyed this part of the process as I enjoy writing and although the resultant prose may be purple and sometimes cringe-inducing, I like to think that it has always been enjoyable in a small way. In many ways, the game acts as a support to the story.

I really enjoy this but to do it properly takes time and time is the one commodity I now lack.

My battle accounts have become briefer and long gone is the purple prose and this gives rise to another problem. Using the blocks to illustrate a story - in the same way as a battle map in a book does - is fine if the story is the main resource being used. If it is not then all you are seeing is a collection of blocks being moved around - there is a lack of 'connection' between the two. At least that is how I see it and the number page views on my battle reports would tend to support this - they have been on a gradual decline.

The visual element of our hobby is very important but without a good scenario or back story quickly becomes valueless other than to show off the models. My approach relies heavily on the background story to make the table top action come to life so if this is lacking I do not the consolation of seeing some splendid looking models on the table.

I need to rectify this and there are two ways I can do this. I can revert back to my previous long and occasionally rambling battle reports or I can grasp the nettle and seriously think about painting some models instead. The latter would have the advantage of meaning that my battle reports can be shorter and therefore quicker.

This is not a new thought for me and if I am honest it has always been there. I think I have been guilty of kidding myself if I thought I could satisfy my gaming needs without models - it is just that it has taken me a while to realise it.

The Second Battle of Planeka Pass, 1878....Game Number 49

By the time the Rusland commander realised what had happened the battered columns of green-coated infantry were back behind their starting positions and with the light fading were in no position to attack again. An attack against prepared positions at night was not something he relished and so he resolved to settle the issue once and for all the next day. Whilst many of his troops were able to enjoy a brief respite much of the infantry spent a tiring and irritating night moving, under cover of darkness, to their new positions prior to the new day.

The plan was simple, brutally so. The bulk of the remaining infantry would rush the left flank Fezian position whilst the artillery would silence their artillery. A small force would anchor the Rusland left flank, keeping the opposing Fezians under observation and, crucially, away from the main attack. the Rusland commander was confident that his men, despite the punishing losses of the previous day, would prevail.

For the Fezian commander the new day would come far too quickly. Despite the inexplicable retirement of the Rusland infantry at what would have the moment of success he was well aware that the next day would be a different story entirely. The infantry was woefully insufficient to hold the area required and the losses in artillery were particularly serious. The right hand artillery redoubt was abandoned and occupied instead by infantry - which in turn would have been invaluable if deployed on the left.

The initial dispositions. Both sides have prepared as best they can and have, with one accord, identified the area where the main attack will fall.

Turn 1. The Rusland infantry advance and immediately attract the attention of the Fezian gunners.

Turn 2. The Rusland infantry shake themselves out into attack formation whilst the Fezian gunners continue to batter their ranks.

Turn 3. As the Rusland infantry advance at last their artillery succeeds in destroying the Fezian guns. Their infantry though, continue to suffer.

Turn 4. The Rusland infantry, wary of the Fezian position, seem to be content trading long range rifle fire - for which their superior numbers are used to telling effect.

Turn 5. Endgame. The last of the Fezian infantry is defeated and the way is now open for the Rusland columns. Despite their heavy casualties the Rusland assault has prevailed and the remaining Fezian troops, in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, lay down their arms. The road to the Fezian capital is open and her fate has been sealed.

To be continued.... 

The First Battle of Planeka Pass, 1878....Game Number 48

The Planeka Pass. Note the Fezian fortifications on the right - the artist has wrongly depicted the artillery redoubt as being on the floor of the valley.

Following the declaration of war against Fezia the Rusland army launched an invasion on Fezian held Remania. The topography of the northern provinces of the country was less than ideal for an invading army unless a measure of strategic surprise could be gained. The terrain on the border was very mountainous with three main passes leading to the rolling countryside beyond and the capital of the region, the city of Karelevna. The Fezians were well aware of the threat the border passes posed to the city and had for centuries maintained a border defence force. Each of the passes had a system of artillery redoubts backed by infantry occupied field fortifications. When fully manned these were formidable defences. The Fezian policy on the frontier was to substitute manpower for firepower and defences and so these were routinely relatively lightly held due to the strength of the position. In the event of an invasion reinforcements could be readily be sent to the front from Karelevna so the frontier forces were initially designed to check any invasion and then to overwhelm it.

Rusland were able to achieve a degree of strategic surprise - rather surprisingly as the prospect of war and been a major topic of conversation on the international stage for some months - and so two army groups had been able to burst through the border defences and had invested Karelevna on both the west and the southern approaches. Rusland only needed to break through the remaining pass - at Planeka, in the north - to be able to fully invest the Fezian regional capital. Although it was not realised at the time the Rusland invasion had already compromised the Fezian border defence plan as the troops ordinarily earmarked for the Planeka Pass were now having to shore up the defences  of Karelevna. The Fezian force in the pass would have to fight with what it had.

Rusland

1 x 2 Commander
10 x 4 Infantry
3 x 2 Artillery

Strength Points 48 - Exhaustion Level 24

Fezia

1 x 2 Commander
6 x 4 Infantry
3 x 2 Artillery

Strength Points 32 - Exhaustion Level 16

The following action was fought using same variant of Memoir of Battle by Bob Cordery as I used for my last game. As there was no cavalry present I allowed the Cavalry dice icon to be used as an infantry activation. I abandoned the use of the doubles exchange (see the last battle for details) and both sides were able to roll 6 activation dice to determine how many units they could activate per turn.

The Planeka Pass, Northern Remania, 1878....

The initial dispositions. The Fezians are deployed with their artillery in hilltop redoubts whilst the infantry are in field fortifications. Although undermanned compared to the invading Ruslanders they are able to make a bold front.

Turn 1. The Ruslanders commence their attack on their left but with their artillery still moving up into position. Meanwhile the Fezian artillery has no such difficulties and opens fire with effect almost instantly as shell after shell rakes the approaching green coated columns. 

Turn 2. At last the leading Rusland artillery battery comes into action and sores a direct hit on their Fezian opposite number! the respite is brief though as the Fezians continue to bombard the Rusland infantry.

Turn 3. As a furious long range firefight develops the Rusland infantry succeed in destroying the remaining Fezian gun in the central redoubt. Taking advantage of this gap in  the Fezian defences the green coated infantry surge forward to the edge of the redoubt. Meanwhile the other Fezian artillery continues to batter the advancing columns.

Turn 4. The crisis in the centre is averted as the Fezian commander swiftly moves to reinforce the central redoubt as the advancing Ruslanders are caught in a murderous crossfire from rifles and artillery. The attack wavers and then grinds to a halt.

Turn 5. Despite a Fezian infantry unit being temporarily driven back at bayonet point the attackers are now too few in number to have an impact and the remainder is swiftly dealt with. The centre is stabilised although the loss of the central Fezian artillery unit is major blow.

Turn 6. Whilst the Rusland attack on their left had been repulsed with losses on the right events were taking a very different turn. The combined weight of Rusland artillery (the two batteries on the hill) had succeeded in silencing the facing Fezian artillery and so their infantry were able to form up to launch their assault relatively undisturbed. The Fezian infantry was outnumbered and was now being raked with Rusland artillery fire.

Turn 7. The Rusland columns press their assault and the numbers begin to have a telling effect. Meanwhile their artillery fire blazes overhead, smothering the Fezian defences with shot and shell.

Turn 8. At last the breakthrough is in sight as the last of the Fezians defenders succumb to the weight of the Rusland assault. The Fezian reinforcements are now too far away to prevent the Rusland advance from taking the forward positions and so a foot is being readied to boot open the door.

Turn 9. Disaster! As the last Fezian defender is overwhelmed by fire and with their reserves struggling to get into position, the only remaining obstacle impeding the Rusland infantry has been removed. However, due to a command mix up, the green coated columns inexplicably break off the attack and fall back towards their starting positions - presumably to reorganise prior to the assault on the Fezian position being launched. As the Rusland troops fell back so the Fezian infantry, somewhat incredulously, breathed a collective sigh of relief and blazed away at the departing enemy. The Rusland assault, poised on the verge of victory, had been called off!

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! The faux pas on the final turn was entirely my own fault - I had miscounted the number of strength points the Fezians had lost and so pulled the Ruslanders back so they could avoid any further casualties. This failed as the Fezian infantry scored a single hit at long range which took the Ruslanders to their exhaustion level of 24. The Fezians were on 15 out of 16!

The rules worked out really well and the final mistake was the only blot on the landscape - however, not to be put off by my own shortcomings I have resolved to to rectify this unsatisfactory outcome in the only way I can think of - the old wargaming standby of "Night has fallen...."

To be continued....

Old enemies and new friends....

Fezian battleships circa 1905. Nusretieh served as the fleet flagship during the pre-dreadnought era.

The man cave is in dire need of a tidy up or, to be more specific, a reorganisation. It is not that it is a mess as such - more like I have another idea to make it more space efficient. All will be revealed in due course but the upshot of my 'moving-things-around-to-see-where-they might-best-fit-allowing-for-the-temporary-placement-of-the-Christmas-decorations-boxes-by-my-gaming-table' is that have made the acquaintance once again with the pre-dreadnought fleets of both Fezia and Rusland aka inspired by Turkey and Russia. Though I say so myself I was rather pleased with the way these turned out - so much so that I have revisited the partially painted battle cruisers for both the British and German fleets for WW1.

Enter stage, third left - cue change of plan....

The Rusland fleet - Admiral class battleships.

The models that I have currently awaiting the brush are not going to be completed as they were intended i.e. for the Royal Navy and the High Seas fleet. I have opted instead to go completely imagi-naval and complete the fleets of both Fezia and Rusland. Furthermore, I do not intend adding anything further to either fleet so they can make do with the models I have available. I have abandoned my plans to incorporate any Panzerschiffe models although I may possibly add a couple of C in C 1/2400th models in due course - just to add a little variety. I have a number of ideas around the composition of the fleets that have been described previously so I won't repeat them here but suffice it to say one side will be primarily British ships and the other will be German. Or possibly a mix of the two.

I have not played a naval game of any sort for some time and seeing numerous blog posts on the subject has got me hankering for the tang of salt in the air; the icy dagger-like sting of the spray at 30 knots and the boom of rolling salvoes of heavy ordnance with the acrid smell of cordite....

Well, in the mind's eye anyway!

I always find naval games to be a worthwhile diversion - a soothing balm to an overheated imagination - whilst I am beavering away on other projects - the only problem is that they then tend to take over what I was originally working on....Hmmm.

The Battle of Kara Deniz, January 1913....An Apology

Ok then, I will have to admit defeat with this one! The game was too large and extended over too many different actions to be easily condensed into anything less than five or even six posts. I have spent a lot of time trying to edit it down into something meaningful but every time I think I have it nailed something I have forgotten re emerges from from the pad of scribbled notes that has to be added back in.

It was too ambitious to fight as a single game as it was in effect almost a mini campaign - more accurately, a mini-Jutland.

My plan then, is to write the full thing up in its entirety, turn it into a PDF and make it available via Google docs or similar for those that want to read the whole thing.

I shall be retiring game number 39 from the list and will also take down the two posts drafted thus far as they will now feature in the file when ready.

Apologies to all for this and I am feeling rather foolish about the whole affair - next time it will be far more focused on a tactical battle rather than trying to fit a campaign in a few posts!

The Painter's Progress....Part 8

I put this picture up on its own simply because I rather liked it! You have got to love those French inspired Russian built battleships!

I have managed to finish the eight pre dreadnoughts for Fezia and Rusland so all I have for the current batch of models are the coastal defence warships which are already on the painting tray. I have two squadrons of four ships for each side and the plans are already in hand for the inaugural fleet action - coming to a blog near you soon....;-)

The Fezian battle squadron comprising the aforementioned Nusretieh and the three ex Teutonian Pommern type battleships.

The Rusland opposition - a pair of Fujis and a pair of Shikishimas (they are the ships with three funnels).

All of the above models are from Viking Forge and although they are quite detailed the castings suffered from mould lines and a fair amount of flash. For the record the military masts were a pain - as was cleaning up the turrets!

I have now painted 70 ships so far this year and have decided that my goal will be to paint at least 365 in total. I have more than enough ideas to fill this total and that does not include the previously mentioned Pacific set up. All will be revealed in due course.

Finally, I was unsuccessful in my recent second interview - because the person that I was being employed to replace changed their mind and decided to stay put.

Disappointed and annoyed does not even begin to scratch the surface!

The Painter's Progress....Part 7

For the record, I only intend running this series of posts until the current batch of models is complete - this of course being the pre dreadnoughts for Fezia and Rusland.

At the time of writing, the first eight of these are now at the 'ship's boats and funnel tops' stage which I am hoping to complete today with the basing etc tomorrow. The knock on effect is that my planned game will now take place later in the week but that should not be a problem. In any event I will need to get the fleet ship charts readied.

Mention of the ship's boats has reminded me of two points - firstly, on the models I am painting their is a prodigious quantity of them and secondly, I am never sure what colour to paint these. I tend to go for lifeboat white but that assumes they are upside down when of course for the most part they would either have covers on or be open to the elements. If they have covers then what colour should they be?

A tricky one to be sure but at the scale I am painting I will probably stick with the white versions as they add to the look in my opinion.

The Painter's Progress....Part 6

I spent some time this afternoon having a bit of a tidy up of the painting tray. to begin with, I gave eight of the pre dreadnoughts some work with the decking and so should be able to finish them off tomorrow all being well and with the basing tackled on Monday. They should be in action on Tuesday, again, assuming nothing untoward gets in the way.

I also took the opportunity to clean up sixteen Stonewall WW1 German dreadnoughts and seven for the Royal Navy. I am awaiting a couple of replacements for the Royal Navy but made a start on the models in any event. For the Germans there is four of each of their main classes - Nassau, Helgoland, Kaiser and Konig (I know I need another Kaiser!) and for the RN the King Georges and a trio of Bellerophons received similar treatment. All very constructive I must say and very satisfying to complete.

I know you have seen it but I could not resist showing it off again!

The models that I was being very coy about in the previous post in this series are of course, Bismarck and H.M.S. Renown and they both featured in the recent Battle of the Norwegian Bend (as opposed to the Denmark Strait....). These were a pair of samples Mark at Stonewall kindly sent me wit my recent order. Bismarck was a delight to paint, Renown less so as the casting was a little soft around the edges. I shall be acquiring more to go with these in due course!

The 'not-quite-as-good-a-casting-as-Bismarck' model of H.M.S. Renown

I also had a moment of sheer whimsy as I rediscovered a box of goodies I acquired from Tim Gow some while ago. I won't give anything away (and I doubt if Tim will remember what it is) but it has just gone to the top of the painting pile after the pre dreadnoughts have been finished. It is self contained - meaning I won't have to add anything to it - and will provide something a little different for me to game with and an excuse to paint something a little more colourful....;-)

Still no word on the result of my second interview either....

The Painter's Progress....Part 5

Today I managed to apply the first dry brush to the 16 pre dreadnoughts and then had a slight change of plan. I am now going to tackle these in two batches of 8. The split is between the coastal defence battleships and the front line versions. I am doing this solely because it will be quicker and it also will mean I can get them into action much sooner. For the record, I am tackling the bigger ships of the two types so the small coastal defence battleships will have to wait until next week.

The small 'pure pleasure of painting' project is at the varnishing stage and the basing will be tackled tomorrow. I am rather pleased with the way it has turned out although half of it has suffered from being a fairly poor casting. All being well I will have them up on the blog tomorrow.

Still no word re my second interview of yesterday - hopefully I will have some news tomorrow but I suspect it will now be next week.

I am not keeping my fingers crossed simply because it makes holding a paint brush rather awkward....;-)

"The Sultan took Tea as usual"....Game Number 37

The small Fezian port of Rize was the principle centre for the processing of the tea crop, for which the region was renowned. Enormous quantities of tea were shipped throughout the length and breadth of the Fezian empire via this small coastal town and from the earliest times, the small port was a constant target for raiders and pirates. After the recent action in the western Fezian Sea, Rusland decided that it would, for the time being, confine its raiding activities to the eastern end of the sea and so naturally, Rize suddenly found itself in the firing line once again.

The Rusland raiding force of torpedo boat destroyers.

Admiral Saltykov decided that a quick raid by destroyers to bombard the harbour would be sufficient cause for the Fezians to redeploy their naval forces in order to counter the Rusland threat. His cruiser strength was currently down to a single vessel as although the turrets on the Muravev Amurtski had finally been completed, the damage sustained by the Amiral Kornilov and Admiral Nevelskoi was still under repair. Rather than risk an untried ship Saltykov decided that blooding his destroyers would be a less risky option.

The Fezian patrol centred around the light cruiser Midilli.

Unknown to Saltykov was the fact that Fezia had already taken steps to extend her patrol lines to cover the approaches to Rize. Due to the shortage of gun destroyers (due in part to the torpedo based tactical methods championed by the Teutonian naval mission)  Fezia had taken to supporting her torpedo armed types with a light cruiser. At this paticular juncture, the cruiser Midilli, accompanied by two torpedo boats, had been detailed to patrol the approaches to Rize. The four destroyers that made up the Rusland raiding force was not expecting any enemy activity this far out and so the stage was set for an affair of light forces.

Fezia

Midilli - Light Cruiser, Light Armour, Speed 4, Flotation Points 6 (Critical 2), 6 x Light-1 Gun Dice (4 on a broadside) and two fixed torpedo tubes (one on either beam).

Bodrum and Marmaris - Torpedo Boat, Unarmoured, Speed 4, Flotation Points 4 (Critical 1), 1 x Light-1 Gun Dice and four trainable torpedo tubes (two forward and two along the centreline).

Rusland

Loknya, Levintsy, Ladushkin and Lyskovo - Torpedo Boat Destroyer, Unarmoured, Speed 4, Flotation Points 4 (Critical 1), 2 x Light-1 Gun Dice and two trainable torpedo tubes along the centreline).

The Game

I will be using my usual rule set for this action and guess what? I have already seen a couple of very minor points that will need to be, ahem, adjusted. The main one concerns unarmoured vessels such as destroyers. The Light-1 gun dice discards the -1 when shooting at these vessels so the usual two point heavy hit for a 6 applies as normal. Further along from this, I am considering rules for the use of destroyer divisions of four ships as complete units - this will be really handy when fighting large actions (which will follow in due course).

Somewhere to the north of Rize, in the Eastern Fezian Sea....

The Fezian patrol - the light cruiser Midilli flanked by two torpedo boats.

The Rusland raiders shake out into attack formation - the central pair will concentrate on the Fezin cruiser.

The Rusland destroyers complete their deployment with the central pair heading for the Fezian cruiser whilst the other two move out to either flank.

Meanwhile, true to their training, the Fezian torpedo boats form up on the unengaged flank of their supporting cruiser.

As the two forces close in the Fezian cruiser reverses course in order to engage the central Rusland destroyers as she passes them with her torpedo boats following in her wake. Shots were exchanged from both sides with the Levintsy taking minor damage.

At full speed the two sides manouevre for an advantage with the Ruland destroyers closing on the rear of the Fezian line as their cruiser attempts to open the range. The cruiser opens fire and slightly damages the leading Rusland destroyer. Despite several near misses, the Fezians escape unscathed.

The Fezian torpedo boat Bodrum snap fires a torpedo at the pursuing Rusland destroyers and succeeds in sinking the Levintsy - her hull simply split in two under the impact!

With one accord the two sides draw apart to reform and consider their next moves.

The Rusland ships form into line to renew the attack and to avenge the loss of one of their number whilst the Fezian torpedo boats again fall in with the cruiser.

In a seemingly desperate gamble the Rusland destroyer Ladushkin fires off a single torpedo, more in hope than expectation, and scores a telling hit on the Fezian cruiser.

Despite her damage, the Fezian cruiser fights back hard and manages to cripple the Lyskovo with salvoes of 4.1" gunfire

Disaster can be a fickle mistress - the torpedo boat Bodrum scores again with a torpedo and manages to send the crippled Lyskovo to the bottom. With a cruel twist of fate though, the Rusland destroyer Loknya manages to  torpedo the Fezian cruiser squarely amidships and she quickly sinks!

The final reckoning. The Fezians lost the cruiser Midilli in exchange for a pair of destroyers - all of which were sunk by torpedoes.

When the news of the loss of the Midilli reached the Sultan he was apoplectic with anger. His temper was legendary and his rage was only mollified by the Teutonian naval attache immediately offereing a replacement ship of the same class. His pride appeased the Sultan decreed that a press blackout would be imposed with the loss of the two Rusland destroyers being emphasised and with no mention of the Fezian cruiser. As ever the daily news would appear to the population as being calm, tranquil and with nothing out of the ordinary to report. "The Sultan took tea as usual" would be the official line but the glibness of the comment fooled nobody - possibly not even the Sultan himself.

Aftermath

It was fast, up close and personal. It was also the first time that torpedoes were used in an offensive capacity. The rules for these worked pretty well and to be honest, the Fezian cruiser was quite unlucky to be torpedoed twice at maximum distance - needing a 6 to do so at that range. I used the two Rusland destroyers that operated in the same hex (at least until one of them was sunk) as a single unit for damage meaning that any hits from gunfire must be alternated between the ships. In effect destroyers operating in such a fashion receive fire on an area basis.

So far then, my actions with this latest round of models have been limited to cruisers and destroyers. I am thinking that perhaps it might be an idea to get out the big guns and start wielding some battleships.

This will be the next action then - so I had better get the models painted!

The Painter's Progress....Part 4

Phew! I am glad that's over with - both the interview (and many thanks for all the good wishes - please feel free to uncross any extremities you may have crossed on my behalf!) and the small matter of the final assembly of the remaining eight pre dreadnoughts and the undercoating of the same.

Well I had to do something to steady my nerves....;-)

Seriously though, now it is the inevitable waiting game to see if I have landed the job - possibly I will know this week but more likely next.

All sixteen pre dreadnoughts are now undercoated - which is just as well as it hides the lake of super glue I had to use when fixing the thrice cursed military masts in place. I shall be starting the painting of these tomorrow (I am at the club this evening) so the plan is to try and get the lot finished by the close of play on Sunday. I need to come up with around eight fictional names for the base labels so a trawl through Jane's and Conway's will feature at some point.

Oh, and I also managed to fit in another naval action which will appear on a blog near you soon....;-)

The Painter's Progress....Part 3

In a surge of enthusiasm I managed to assemble eight out of sixteen pre dreadnought battleships destined for the fleets of Fezia and Rusland so am confident that the brushwork will begin in earnest (actually it will begin in my loft if I were to split hairs....) by the weekend. The two items I am painting for the sheer delight of it are also moving along quite nicely so I expect them to be ready before then all being well.

Meanwhile, this evening's entertainment beckons as once again at the club we will be taking to the air in the skies over France in 1940 - with the French providing the opponents for the Luftwaffe for a change.

In the interim though (and this is partially why this post is a short one), I have a second interview for a permanent job this afternoon, so much collective crossing of extremities from each and everyone of you would be much appreciated!

Rolling up the sleeves once again

I kind of hit a bit of a wall with the pre dreadnought part of the Feziana nd Rusland fleets. So far I have managed to paint sixty models (Ok, thirty two of them were destroyers) and painting the pre dreadnoughts will be very easy when I get to them but the problem I have is that the models have to be assembled first. They are quite fiddly with separate turrets and numerous military masts and to be honest, I have found this part to be both tedious and irritating!

It put me off.

It put me off and I was more than a little peeved at the ease with which I 'rolled over'.

In the meantime though, I applied myself to the aerial rules amendments and these are now very close to being finished and so, with the rush of enthusiasm that follows the completion of 'x' (not to mention the realisation that if I don't do it no-one else will!), I am now back in the naval groove - complete with the obligatory super glued fingers!

The models will be assembled, based and undercoated by the weekend with the main paint job to be tackled then. However, and this is something I have NEVER done, I am also working on a little painting task for something that I have no immediate use for. This will be appearing on the blog in due course - hopefully in a few days. What this means of course is that I am painting something for the sheer pleasure of painting it. This is something very new for me, in no uncertain terms! I would never have thought this possible as my loathing of painting is legendary but I guess it just goes to show that you are never too old to change.

Something about old dogs and new tricks springs to mind!

The Sultan's Hubris....Game Number 36

With the battered Abdul Aziz currently under repair the entire northern coast of Fezia was open to attack by Rusland naval forces. The coastal coal trade had virtually ceased as the threat of enemy action served to deter many of the privately owned steamers from putting to sea. Something had to be done in order to restore the vital shipping lanes to their peak capacity - the Fezian war effort relied heavily on the flow of coal and other supplies from along the coastal areas.

The Sultan discussed the situation with his naval advisors and so it was decided, under extreme secrecy (and also very reluctantly), to recall from the Eastern Middle Sea the two armoured cruisers Abdul Hamid and Abdul Mejid; together with the two protected cruisers, Assar-i-Shevket and Nijim-i-Shevket in order to cover the coastal area previously assigned to the Abdul Aziz.

The Sultan's reinforcements - fresh from the Eastern Middle Sea

This was a bold stroke, especially as the Epirian raiders had yet to be apprehended, but the Sultan was counting on the element of surprise. Rusland would not be expecting to encounter these ships and whilst the Abdul Hamid and Mejid were not as powerful as the Abdul Aziz they were still far better than any of the cruisers that the enemy possessed.

The large armoured cruisers Abdul Hamid and Abdul Mejid.

The four ships of the Fezian squadron entered the area of the Zonguldak Bight during the hours of darkness so as to be on station when the Rusland cruisers arrived. The plan was a simple one. The two protected cruisers were to be the bait and as the Rusland ships moved in to tackle their hapless opponents the Abdul Hamid and Abdul Mejid would appear from their stern. It was a gamble and although the Sultan's naval advisors were not entirely convinced it was a good idea, bowed to the inevitable pressure from above (the Sultan could be very persuasive when he had to be - especially when supported by the Teutonian naval attache whose opinion he valued highly) and so the orders were given.

The Rusland raiding squadron again under the command of Admiral Saltykov

Meanwhile, Admiral Saltykov aboard his flagship, the Admiral Kornilov, was completely unaware of this latest Fezian development. The three ships under his command (the turrets on the fourth ship of the squadron, the Muravev Amurski, were still giving trouble and so she remained in port - much to the barely concealed annoyance of her captain) had been at sea for three days this time out and thus far had not encountered so much as a fishing boat. He had decided that he would push on for one more day and would then head for home. This would be as far as he dare go as this would take him a lot closer to the main Fezian submarine base at Bartin.

Baiting the trap - the two Fezian protected cruisers: Assar-i-Shevket and her sistership, Nijim-i-Shevket

The two small Fezian cruisers, Assar-i-Shevket and Nijim-i-Shevket spent an uneasy night preparing for the day ahead. Their role as bait was not an enviable one and none of the officers or men were under any illusions about their fate should the two supporting armoured cruisers fail to make their rendezvous. Their ships were both lightly armed and armoured and they could match the Rusland cruisers in but one respect - their speed was the same. Their combined total of twenty 4.1" guns would be of little use against the armoured Rusland cruisers and so any thoughts of a holding firefight would be doomed to failure. The only hope they had for delaying the inevitable was to attempt to disperse the Rusland formation, causing them to split their fire between the two targets. Trading broadsides would not be an option and so both captains resolved to manouvere aggressively and try and buy time for the heavy support to arrive.

On a day of gambles this would be the biggest gamble of all.

The Game

The only change to the rules from the previous action is that I have reverted to Bob Cordery's original Portable Naval Wargame system whereby turning a hexside costs a movement point. The arrival of the two Fezian armoured cuisers was determined by a dice roll. Starting on game turn 2 the Fezian commander needed to roll under the number of the current turn in order for the two ships to appear so that on turn 2 a 1 was needed, turn 3 a 1 or 2 etc.

Fezia

Abdul Hamid and Abdul Mejid - Armoued cruiser, Medium Armour, Speed 3, Flotation Points 13 (Critical 4), 4 x Medium Gun Dice (3 on a Broadside), 3 x Light Gun Dice (2 on a Broadside), 9 x Light-1 Gun Dice (5 on a Broadside).

Assar-i-Shevket and Nijim-i-Shevket - Protected cruiser, Light Armour, Speed 3, Flotation Points 6 (Critical 2), 5 x Light-1 Gun Dice (3 on a Broadside).

Rusland

Admiral Kornilov, Admiral Nevelskoi and Admiral Butakov - Armoured cruiser, Medium Armour, Speed 3, Flotation Points 10 (Critical 3), 2 x Medium Gun Dice, 7 x Light Gun Dice (4 on a Broadside), 5 x Light-1 Gun Dice (3 on a Broadside).

Somewhere in the Fezian Sea, off the coast nearing Bartin....

Upon sighting the two Fezian protected cruisers, Admiral Saltykov orders full speed ahead as the Admiral Kornilov breaks formation to engage

With the Rusland warships in sight the two Fezian ships split up with the Nijim-i-Shevket heading to the north and the Assar-i-Shevket to the south - straight into the path of two oncoming enemy cruisers!

The Admiral Nevelskoi and the Admiral Butakov (centre foreground) head towards the Assar-i-Shevket whilst the Admiral Kornilov chases down the Nijim-i-Shevket (at the top of the picture).

The Sultan's retribution was not long in arriving - but would it be too late for the gallant Assar-i-Shevket?

The run to the south. The Assar-i-Shevket about to be engaged by two of the Rusland cruisers. Her fight was one-sided and despite gallant resistance the end was inevitable.

Riven by assorted calibre shells, the battered and sinking Assar-i-Shevket attempts to limp away from her assailants.

The Rusland cruisers though, continue to batter her mercilessly.....

....until the brave cruiser slips beneath the waves! The survivors clinging to the wreckage of their ship know that they have done all that the can and so now it up to the armoured cruisers to avenge them.

Meanwhile, the two heavy Fezian cruisers make their prescence felt as the Rusland ships attempt to reform to face this new threat.

The Admiral Kornilov comes under heavy fire and takes some minor damage.

The Fezians do not escape scot-free though, as the leading ship receives return fire from the Admiral Kornilov.

It is now the Fezian turn to break formation as the Abdul Mejid attempts to head off the Admiral Kornilov.

A ferocious gunnery duel ensues with the Admiral Kornilov fghting back hard against the two Fezian ships as the Abdul Mejid closes on the Admiral Nevelskoi

The ships draw apart with the Admiral Konilov finally in touch with the Admiral Nevelskoi. Ominously for the Ruslanders the Admiral Butakov is some way away from the rest of the squadron and with the two Fezian cruisers barring her route to safety! Meanwhile the battered Nijim-i-Shevket appears back on the scene after her recent brush with the Admiral Kornilov.

The Admiral Butakov comes under heavy fire from the two Fezian cruisers but with little effect. Her captain decides to run the gauntlet between the two enemy ships at full speed in order to rejoin the squadron.

Reacting quickly to this Rusland move, the two Fezian cruisers place themselves alongside the enemy cruiser (shades of Nelson perhaps?) and batter it remorselessly! The Nijim-i-Shevket enters the fray and attempts a torpedo attack which just misses the beleagured cruiser.

A veritable blizzard of shellfire erupts around the Admiral Butakov but she fights back hard against her three attackers. Hit after hit shakes the hull relentlessly.

Meanwhile, the other two Rusland cruisers can only watch the unfolding drama as they are too far distant to easily assist their hapless squadron mate.

At full speed, and despite her recent mauling, the Admiral Butakov attempts to escape from the unwanted Fezian attention....

....but to no avail as a further succession of assorted calibre shell hits leave her a battered and smoking ruin!

Crippled, with water pouring into her hull and fires raging from stem to stern, the Admiral Butakov staggers under the continual rain of shellfire....

.

....until finally, she loses her unequal fight and slips beneath the waves!

At this point Admiral Saltykov decided to break off the action as there would be little to be gained by engaging the two more powerful Fezian cruisers on an equal basis. With a heavy heart he ordered the remains of his command to turn around and to head at best speed for home.

The Nijim-i-Shevket headed over to where her sister ship, the Assar-i-Shevket, went down to pick up survivors whilst the Abdul Hamid did the same for the crew of the sunken Admiral Butakov. As a gesture to the crew of the Rusland ship in honour of their bravery, an honour guard was formed up and was ordered to present arms to the survivors as they were helped aboard. Across the havoc of war, a shred of humanity and respect was the least the bloodied but proud survivors of the Rusland cruiser should expect.

Aftermath

The game went really well and I am now absolutely delighted with the rules! There was a lot of shooting (meaning lots of dice rolling - always good fun in a rule set in my opinion!) but the level of damage felt about right. The change to the movement rules made quite a difference and really made you think about whether to turn or not. One final change I want to employ is to allow the plus one bonus to firing dice for engaging the same target on successive turns to only a single calibre rather than across the whole battery of a ship. Historically mixed caibre batteries had problems differentiating fall of shot so it seems better to apply this to a single calibre only.

The action demonstrated the hazards associated with breaking up a formation in the face of an ordered enemy. The Rusland formation was broken up early on in order to satisfy the need to engage an enemy that was in turn operating independently. Unluckily for them the two supporting Fezian cruisers arrived (on turn 4)  before they could reform and so were able to engage the Rusland cruisers in two sections - with the Fezians operating from the central position. This in turn enabled one of the Rusland cruisers - Admiral Butakov - to become isolated with ultimately tragic results. Although the two Fezian cruisers were operating in a dispersed fashion for much of the action they were still close enough for mutual support and this proved to be decisive.

At the time of writing I have the next batch of models under way for both Fezia and Rusland and these are of course, the pre-dreadnoughts. Once I have the last couple of bits and pieces from the dreadnought ranges that I need I will then also be able to tackle both the Royal Navy and the High Seas Fleet.

It was also great fun to fight!