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!

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!

The Pain in Painting

Something I enjoyed painting from way back in 2016. The model is from Panzerschiffe - 1:2400th scale cast in resin - and the splash markers are from Litko. The ‘sea’ is of course Hexon. I have a soft spot for S.M.S. Seydlitz and the paint technique employed was ahem, borrowed from Tim Gow. Basically a black undercoat with the grey dry brushed on and highlighted. The decks and ship’s boats were then blocked in. The base is card with the name label prepared in Word and the ensign courtesy of Brigade Models. 

I have mentioned on numerous occasions that I am a reluctant painter. More specifically, I am a reluctant figure painter. I am quite happy applying the brushwork to anything that is non-organic so ships, tanks, spaceships, aircraft, power armoured infantry and mechs are all fair game but I really struggle with figures. In fact, the last complete army I painted was a DBA Numidian force made from Essex 15mm figures and sporting all the options. I was quite pleased with how it turned out and the army saw a modest amount of action when the club was going through a DBA phase some years and several locations ago.

Recently I have been thinking long and hard about painting and of figures in general. I doubt very much if I shall ever paint armies again, at least in the traditional ‘24 figure infantry units, 12 figure cavalry and guns with 4 crew’ sense, mainly because I would definitely lack the staying power to see it through. I am at a loss to explain why this is and the only thing I can think of is the idea of painting umpteen similarly posed and uniformed figures requires a level of discipline and commitment that frankly, I am not sure if I could be bothered with. DBA/HOTT or the various Portable Wargame versions would probably be about my limit. Having said that, I rather like the idea of skirmish level set ups because the variety would be there and the numbers involved would be modest. 

My figure painting technique has not evolved greatly since the 1970s - white undercoat, enamel topcoat and a varnish with a small drop of black in it is about as artistically sophisticated as I can get. I have used acrylics but never speed or contrast paints. Shading and highlighting I have never really bothered with overmuch - the black in the varnish helps with that although care should be taken as to the amount of black involved. Whilst thinking about this post I tried to recall the last figures I painted and it actually was the 15mm DBA Numidians and near as I can recall that would have been at least twenty years ago! The funny thing is it has not stopped me from buying figures with the best of intentions about painting them - except I never seem to do so. I could not bring myself to use unpainted figures though - Memoir ‘44 and Battle Cry excepted but even then I have occasional bouts of wanting to paint them!

One of the best things I ever achieved in my wargaming journey was producing the copious amount of block armies from the ‘not Jenga, Jenga blocks’. Using these gave me the opportunity to fight battles from many periods without the need to paint umpteen figure based armies. They are an excellent substitute and as I have shown time and time again, work very nicely with 3D terrain for a real Kriegspiel type feel. The block armies themselves could use a modest revamp - I was never completely satisfied with the mechanised version - and I also have in mind a naval version, prompted in part, by the recent flirtation with the Jutland blocks.

Whilst my planned figure painting is currently limited to the 15mm Mike’s Models Colonial collection I would not be averse to tackling something in a larger scale and skirmish based but as yet I have nothing definite in mind. That is David Crook speak for ‘that is a rabbit hole I am trying desperately to avoid as I have far more pressing things to tackle!’ 

To those that collect armies of figures and enjoy the artistic aspect of producing wonderfully painted forces from whatever period of history takes their fancy I have every admiration for. It is just not for me though but having said that, it does not make me any less of a wargamer!

On Repeat - Bot’s Goin’ On?

4,000,000? Really? I would be delighted if that was the case but suspect that something else has a Bot to do with it…..;-)

So the page views for the blog have busted the four million mark! It cannot possibly be real - bots gotta bot and all that - but I will extend a qualified thank you to all those that continue to read my posts and comment as the mood takes. 

I will also extend a thank you to the Bots - wherever they are coming from…..

As a thought it would good to be able to isolate Bot views in some way so you actually see what is real but such a thing would be beyond my technical ability!

Boot Sale Bargains - For a Change!

A couple of useful paperbacks for the collection - £1 each - and I may look to acquire hardback versions in due course. 

Yesterday, Laurel and I braved the cold wind and threat of rain to visit our local boot sale. We were both shivering in fairly short order and it appeared that a number of sellers were looking to head home for the same reason. Before Laurel had her surgery we usually did I one boot sale a year as sellers and one of worst Robles you can have in expect of weather (except for rain) is the wind as it can wreak havoc with any clothes rails or rickety table displays of one’s wares. Yesterdays we saw a couple of stalls were this has happened with the result that the sellers either gainfully put everything back as it was and soldiered on or decided that enough was enough and started to refill the car, van or whatever!

Anyways, we had a pretty good day acquiring bits and pieces - Laurel did especially well - and so the picture at the head of this post shows part of my haul, at least the part of the haul of interest that is!

Operation Market Garden is an old favourite of mine and I have gamed it many times over the years. It has never failed to disappoint in terms of dramatic actions and nail-biting finishes. Can the British hang on to Arnhem for long enough? Can the 82nd and 101st ‘grab the bridges with thunderclap surprise’? Are 30 Corps able to make the long drive in time? “What about the Germans!?” As a wise Polish commander once said. Somewhere on the project list is the intention to tackle the Memoir ‘44 scenario that covers the campaign again at some point. I may even moot it as a club game perhaps. 

Arnhem Black Tuesday (19th September 1944, two days after the start of Operation Market Garden) has been described as the day it all went wrong for the British Airborne. Al ‘The Pub Landlord’ Murray’s book traces the events of that critical day from the perspectives of the Bridge itself, Arnhem, Oosterbeek and the surrounding woods. I shall certainly enjoy reading this.

The second book by Nick Lloyd covers the Great War on the Eastern Front, a theatre of that global conflict I know little about so it will be a useful introduction. 

Both of these books cost me £1 each and whilst they are paperbacks they are in ‘only read the once’ condition. The Arnhem book I may try to source a hardback version in due course.

My pickings at boot sales this year have been rather slim so I am pleased to have at las bucked the trend of coming home empty handed!

A Lightbulb Moment and the Importance of a Well Placed Comma….

Rough and ready looking I know but this is the final version of the firing arcs. There are port and starboard shown in the left hand diagram whilst forward and aft wide are centre and right respectively. Forward and aft wide overlap with port and starboard and they can be further divided into forward and aft - straight off the bow or stern - and with the option for forward or aft wide solely on the port or starboard beam.

I am often guilty of over-thinking a given situation. This is especially true when it comes to writing wargame rules! A case in point has been the eternal soul-searching, hand-wringing and quite frankly torturous evolution of the firing arcs for the new book. I think I finally have it dialled in though, and, thanks to a valuable brainstorming session at the club last night with Messrs. Fox and Huband, I am even more certain!

I have been looking at this all wrong. I should have learned from the Portable Ironclads Wargame (more accurately Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame) but unfortunately I repeated the same mistake. I will not bore you with the tedious details but suffice it to say, there are four main firing arcs - port, starboard, forward wide and aft wide. The latter overlap the port and starboard arcs and both can, if required, be further subdivided into forward or aft - the row of hexes directly off the bow or stern respectively - or with port or starboard option. This equates to ten arcs if all were used. Where a gun or guns can bear in multiple arcs this is noted on the ship record chart and guess what? This is where the comma comes in. For example, a forward turret that can cover the forward wide arc (which includes the forward and the port and starboard parts) could also cover the port and starboard arcs. Previously this would have had its own diagram and would use the notation FWPS. No longer, as this is now described as FW, P, S. It is the same as FWPS but it better reflects the simpler arc convention and more importantly, can be seen in one of three diagrams rather than twenty! The eagle eyed will also note that I have made the overall Forward or Aft Wide arcs rather more generous in their coverage than previously - this was the mistake I made previously with the Portable Ironclads Wargame. Again, this can be seen in the series of diagrams above.

The plan is to test this at the club in a couple of weeks but in the meantime I will need to tweak the ship specs and change a fair amount of text to reflect the new system. Mea Culpa and all that.

Aside from the brainstorm session there was the small matter of presenting both Messrs Fox and Huband with some Axis and Allies goodies, acquisitions due to some eBay stalking and a bespoke solution now in the collection of Mr Huband. I have added to my own collection by virtue of some boardgame disposals so the Imperial coffers have not taken a hit - just as well as the car has cost a total of just under £600 for a variety of reasons - a new battery, a full service and a replacement pressure sensor!

An interesting set for use with a hypothetical war involving Sweden, Norway and Denmark. I will take a look at the rules and have a look at the ships - maybe a scratchbuilding project?

1:900th scale counters for use until the models are available, along with the turning circle.

Mr Fox presented me with a copy of the rules you see above. I had never seen these although the name Phil Dunn is well known to naval gamers. The rules look to be very much of their time - not that that is a bad thing - but by jingo there is a whole heap of potential! This is something I will take a good look at and then add it to the project list. Probably….

Another set of rules for WW2 naval. Heard good things about this set so will have a look and see what all the fuss is about!

The final piece of naval related news is that I was able to score a copy of Nimitz, the WW2 naval rules by Sam Mustafa from Mr Roche at the club. I have had my eye on these for a while but had not gotten around to getting a copy. More naval related reading material is never a bad thing in my experience!

New Additions to the Library

Another uniform book - I own two others from the series - and something for the naval part of the library (which is probably the largest part!).

Following on from the book element of my Cavalier haul - three titles devoted to the late republican era of Ancient Rome - I have added two further titles to the library. One of these will come as no surprise but the other will need a little explanation.

I have absolutely no knowledge of the Sino French naval war other than a cursory look at the Wikipedia page! I was really pleased to add this to the collection because the others by the same author are outstanding! The only niggle is that the series are large sized softbacks - I would have happily paid extra for a hardback version - but I can certainly live with that as the detail contained therein is outstanding! Am I going to start building ships for this conflict? The answer is a no, simply because even if I wanted to such an undertaking would so far down the list it would have kangaroos bouncing over it….

The uniform book I have owned before but for the life of me I cannot recall what happened to it. I have a vague notion it may have disappeared around the same time as several other titles whilst we were having some work done on the house. A box of books went missing from the man cave and I have a feeling this may have been among them. At the time I was looking at various 19th century options and that was the part of the library that took the biggest hit. 

The book is a lovely, colour-plate filled large format book featuring loads of uniform details for the conflicts covered. I should point out the mention of Boer Wars also includes the Zulu war although I have plenty of material for that particular campaign.I also own the American War of Independence and the Napoleonic Wars titles from the same series. I am no expert on the accuracy of the military uniforms depicted but the details contained therein certainly look the part and will be sufficient for my needs. 

As a reluctant figure painter you could be forgiven for wondering why I have bothered adding this to the library. Well, to begin with I have the Mike’s Models Colonial collection to do something with - a lot of the British stuff for the Zulu War is painted but needs touching up here and there along with rebasing - as well as some possible 1880s Madasahatta style action. Both of these are a fair way down the batting order though as the book will be the main focus for the rest of the year in all probability.

Great to have a copy of the book back in the collection though.

Block, Paper, Scissors….

I made these in two sizes with the smaller being for a single block whilst the larger can carry two. Warbases once again had worked their laser-cutting magic to produce the required pieces.

The space next to the dice frame is designed to have a magnetic strip fixed to it so that I can produce unit id labels as required. I have not got as far with that part of the project though!

I was having a bit of a tidy in the man cave when I came across the tin I used for storing my custom made movement trays for the block armies. The original idea was to be able to use the block armies on a free table rather than a grid but these actually fit on a Hexon tile quite readily. I had also planned to produce a desert coloured base and a verdant version but again, have to get around to it. Though I say so myself, it was a rather spiffing idea, and one that I certainly need to revisit.

The labels are of course paper and then cut out with scissors, hence the title of this post…. ;-)

Cavalier: Part the first…..

Today saw me taking the easy hour long drive to Tonbridge in Kent to visit Cavalier - the wargames show organised by the Tonbridge Wells Wargames Society. It was a big deal for me in that it is the first show I have been to since 2024, hence this being over two posts.

This post is devoted to the ‘haul’ - in other words what I came away with and why. The second part will be the inevitable photo dump of the games, of which I was delighted to see not one but two naval games, both of which are of direct interest!

There were a a couple of bits I was after specifically but for the most part I planned to see what inspired me enough to part with any cash but certainly before I did so.

These were very much a ‘backfill’ for the library. I have always enjoyed gaming the wars of the late Roman Republic, mainly for the diversity of opponents, and so securing these three titles from the esteemed Dave Lanchester was a great way to start the show!

I have been an occasional member of the Society of Ancients over the years and seeing this hex based game devised by Prof. Phil Sabin was more than my wallet could endure…. His book Lost Battles is an excellent read and has some really good ideas for gaming the great battles of the ancient world. I caught up with Tony from Brigade Models and again, Imperial Skies had been on the radar from a while so I had to, finally, get a copy. Gotta love some VSF aerial action!

Now these two were definitely impulse purchases! Reaction Games are a new firm and the two offerings are a tank based game - for which they have a range of resin tanks available - and a WW2 coastal warfare game, again with resin 3D printed models. The starter set comes with a pair of S boats, a Vosper and a Fairmile B. I purchased some additional ships to round out the set and will certainly be adding some more when I can. These are scaled at 1:500th and I will post a review in due course. 

Finally, I picked up a couple of sprues of the Mantic Epic Sci fi ‘Enforcers’ for a project that has been several years in the planning!

The haul then, was varied but with nothing too outlandish. The Traverse rules are rather like a ‘World of Tanks’ style game which is fine for a quick armoured bash. I have a whole pile of 15mm tanks etc that would be ideal to use with these rules (they are scaled at 15mm) but seeing their resin offerings is certainly very tempting as an alternative.

It was great to indulge in some retail therapy and the mix between what I wanted to get and what I actually got was about even!

Win, win I reckon!

Bots Going On?

Way back in September last year I wrote the following blog post:

Bots the matter? 2,000,000 plus or is it?

Well, it looks like they are at it again as my page views have gone bonkers and I reckon I will be at the 3,000,000 by the end of the month!

It really makes a nonsense of having page views as there is no way I have that level of engagement within the blog-o-sphere.

In other news….

ACW specs for the new book are very close to completion and the plan is to run a few games using my collection to give them a run out. I am also looking (again) long and hard at some gunboat actions using the hexed version of David Manley’s excellent Steamer Wars rules. 

Oh, and something Conan related, by way of a complete change…. ;-)

“Crom!”

Seven Days In….

Between these two (along with Conways and Janes) I reckon that I will have more than enough technical detail for the ships of the Kaiser. As well as the ships that served with the High Seas Fleet there are also details of projected types as well as those that were German built and served in other navies.

At long last my annual throaty, chesty thing seems to be petering out and as a result I am feeling rather more with it! A start has been made of the reorganisation/tidy up of the man cave and as expected, this has nudged my brain cell in various unexpected directions. The biggest single thing thus far is that I now have my boardgames in some kind of order, at least more so than previously. Amongst the collection by far the largest ‘space taker’ is Memoir ‘44. I own a lot of what was published (except for the Air Packs, some of the scenario packs and the books) but in truth most of it has languished on the shelf for sometime - at least until the new, refreshed version appeared. That served to reignite my interest in the period (not that it ever disappeared) and as it makes for an easy WW2 fix I fully intend to get some mileage out of it this year - possibly using the Axis and Allies miniatures along with the Tanks collection recently acquired (and added to!). 

Needless to say there are a few disposals arising from reorganisation including some that may be rather surprising. I have decided to let my Air Force collection, along with Wings and Spitfire, head off into the sunset. I never thought I would ever do this but game mechanics and rules have moved on from their heyday (late 70s to mid 80s) and the chances of me getting any of them to the table top, let alone against a live opponent, are slim to zero. I could say the same about Flat Top but I am to emotionally invested in the game to part with it - especially as I have an unpunched copy signed by S Craig Taylor.

There are many more ‘modern’ aerial rules I can play around with that do not require copious amounts of record keeping and so for me that is where I shall be looking.

The New Book

Work has continued on the new book, despite a couple of self-inflicted speed bumps, and so I am now tackling the ship specifications for the American Civil War. I have nearly finished the Union ships - much of the data I already had available from the Portable Ironclads Wargame - and then it will be the Confederates. I will also tackle the ships for the War in the Pacific so the adventures of the Huascar. The Great War will then follow - at least a certain portion of it.

I am hoping to get another Russo Japanese test game in this month which should, all being well, ‘wrap’ this part of the book. Fingers crossed!

 

End of the Year and All That….

Not gonna lie - seeing these two on the shelf and available to purchase is a real pleasure! I have said before that the whole writing process and all the associated model making, testing and research I really enjoyed!

First of all a very Happy New Year to one and all - let us hope that it will be a peaceful one. When I say ‘peaceful’ I am using this to cover a personally stress-free 2026 along with a wider no global escalations or newsworthy unpleasantness!

From my perspective the current year has been mixed. The serious stuff concerned Laurel’s health - not her ongoing disability (wearing though that is) - as she managed to swerve not one but two cancer scares. Both of these involved numerous hospital visits - 21 appointments in all - and nervously waiting on phone calls. Both situations ended on a positive note for which we are all eternally grateful. I had my own run in with a hospital when I managed to half fall out of the loft. My right arm (which was by far the most painful) is now fully recovered but my left elbow is still niggling - nothing serious though, for which I am heartily relieved. The year ended with my seasonal chesty/throaty thing which is still lingering but nowhere near as wearing as previously. Not to be outdone our daughter Holly managed to suffer a small break in her ankle the day before her birthday (15/12) meaning the use of crutches and a boot. She is mobile now though. 

Looking forward to giving this a spin - the production standard is very high and the artwork is gorgeous!

It also uses a combination of blocks and cards….

The library of the Reconquista!

A view from the Alhambra

One of the many buildings - this was the palace of a lesser member of the nobility

Looking up!

A typical Moorish style gate and tower

On a more upbeat note Laurel and I had a two week break in Andalusia way back in June. We stayed at the same place as we did last year - near Alcaucin, about fifty minutes from Malaga. It was wonderful with the highlight being a visit to the famous Alhambra Palace. This was a long term wish of mine and it certainly did not disappoint! It was hugely inspiring and the period of the Reconquista is certainly one that appeals from a gaming perspective - not sure in what way yet though. We are going back for another visit in June next year as the hotel is fully set up for people with mobility challenges and we can fly from our local airport so the journey is relatively stress free.

Anyways, enough of the day-to-date stuff!

This year I have not been able to attend a single wargames show! For a variety of reasons - usually calendar clashes - this has been quite a disappointing turn of events but I aim to rectify this sorry state of affairs in 2026! 

The biggest gaming news of the year for me was the publication of Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame: The American Civil War in June. A lot of work went into this - Bob Cordery did his writing and editorial stuff and both Messrs Fox and Huband, along with Messrs Slater and Kightly, combined to contribute to an epic battle for the grand finale of the book. It was a tremendous effort and I am truly grateful to them all for their help and assistance.

Captain Nathan Hubbard USN, officer commanding, U.S.S. Manhattan aka Nick Huband

Captain Noah “Redeye” Fox, officer commanding, C.S.S. Atlanta aka Neil Fox

Work on the new book is progressing well. For the most part the rules are ready and have been tested a couple of times with a third game to take place in the next couple of weeks. The ship specs and charts for the Russo Japanese War (specifically the Tsushima WoFun collection) are complete and so I am now turning my attention to the American Civil War for the Ironclads portion of the book. The biggest challenge with this is pinning down firing arcs but I have this ‘dialled in’ for the rules - it is just for the ships I need to worry.

There have been a fair number of acquisitions this year - gifted and otherwise. For the former I (re)took delivery of the Axis and Allies WW2 collection - much of this originally came from Bob Cordery and Archduke Piccolo with a small dollop of stuff from yours truly. I have a full set of the hexed gaming mats that came with the starter sets which I had laminated and these have been used many times with my block armies. I had an idea about using the A and A kit with Memoir ‘44 - certainly there is enough of it. The Redoubtable Mr Fox added to my 15mm pile (the Axis and Allies kit being the same scale) when he offered me his bits and pieces from the Tanks game from GF9 Games. These will also be destined for some kind of Memoir ‘44/Portable Wargame ‘mash up’ in due course

Basing experiments with Zulu Wars British infantry

The 15mm Mike’s Models Colonial collection was the big acquisition of the year and so I now have everything I need to tackle the Zulu War and much else besides. I am still planning what to do with this collection in terms of painting/organising/basing etc so it is a bit of a slow burner. In the short term though, I have been thinking about a pair of Portable Wargame forces to go with the Royal Navy and Turkish ironclads I have under construction. This would have the advantage of being relatively easy to organise as many of the figures for this are already painted. Something to think about.

Fighters of the Pacific

Fighters of Europe 

Fighters of the Pacific and of Europe I am really looking forward to gaming with - there is a huge amount of potential with this system and as per usual I have already been thinking ‘outside the box’ at looking at other rules etc. Having both the full kickstarter sets with the stretch goal add-one makes a huge difference and as I have mentioned previously, the accompanying neoprene gaming mats will be very useful indeed!

Boardgames and books have been added to the collection with a good number heading out in the opposite

direction. The library is due an extensive cull - mainly because there are books contained therein that are unlikely to lead into any serious gaming and I am mindful of the need to keep the collection on a tight rein. The following are a random selection of some of the books and games that have found their way into my collection this year. I should also mention the refreshed version of Memoir ‘44 which will certainly be getting some use in the new year!

I am hoping that next year that I can get more games in, more shows in and to actually get some projects off the ground and to a gaming state. We shall see.

In the meantime though, a Happy New Year and here’s hoping that 2026 is a better one.

Belated Seasons Greetings!

What a haul! Certainly enough to provide me with plenty of inspiration!

Well Christmas Day came and went with a rush - so much so that by the time I had thought about writing a blog post the food induced coma had set in, aided by some very nice I.P.A and a lovely Rioja with dinner….

So a belated merry Christmas one and all! On the plus side though, I am now able to post about the Christmas haul and boy oh boy, I did really well!

The Battle of Tsushima needs no introduction - this is a relatively compact account but a welcome addition to my Russo Japanese war collection. The Kaiser’s Cruisers is a comprehensive overview of the development of German cruisers up to the end of the Great War and will be useful for the final phase of my new book.

The Persian book goes with the Greek volume I acquired last year. I am rather fond of this series as I like the way the troops are depicted by re-enactors rather than traditional artwork. I have a soft spot for the Greek and Persian wars - Hoplites, Immortals and of course, galleys - although this is a long term project for sure, at least the land side is anyway.

Assassins and Templars tackles the activities of both these famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view!) protagonist during the period of the Crusades. Again, this is another period I have aspirations about gaming at some point. A recent edition of the magazine Wargames Illustrated contained a derivative set of rules from the ‘Never Mind the Ruckus’ stable covering the skirmish level combat of the Crusades between the Assassins and the Templars. The big advantage is that only a few figures are needed which should suit a notoriously reluctant painter such as myself….

The final book is the latest Portable Wargame compendium and it is a real treat - especially with the high naval content! The four compendiums are fast becoming constant sources of inspiration and so Bob deserves a big thank you for compiling these - as does everyone else for contributing and to my eternal shame I have yet to do so!

Perhaps next year!

The Rules of the Game and 15….

 The Rules of the Game is a truly wonderful book about how the Royal Navy arrived at where it did in order to fight at Jutland. I have owned a paperback version of this but really wanted a reasonably priced hardback version - 700 pages is a lot to ask of a paperback! For the other title in the picture, read on….

I am feeling particularly unwell as the seasonal chesty cough/sore throat/head full of cotton wool thing has kicked in with a vengeance! However, trooper that I am, I have managed to get a substantial amount of work done on the book and have rested the creative genes to tackle a little, shall we say, side hustle…

The big news though, is that I have been able to secure copies of not one, but two ‘grail books’ - and with a bonus!

So what does the mysteriously enigmatic ‘15’ mean then? Take a look at the picture below then, and all will be revealed….

Small War and Skirmishes 1902 to 1918 by Edwin Herbert - the first of two volumes with the second covering the period 1919 to 1935. Aside from the ‘Colonial’ style conflicts the book also looks at the sideshows of the Great War. I am really pleased to have this in my collection - especially as it is signed by the author and the late Ian Heath and is listed as copy number 15 from when it was published!

The Rules of the Game is a superb book and in my opinion essential reading if one wants to understand the how and why the Royal Navy ‘did what it did’ during the Great War. 

This is a brief post as the need for a hot lemon and honey has assumed greater importance - I will also throw in some paracetamol for good measure!

A Week of Varying Fortunes

A welcome addition to the 1815 section of the man cave library - £2 compared to the published price of £45!

 It has been a miserable week. On Tuesday I managed to stumble whilst exiting the man cave and whilst I did not fall down the whole length of the ladder I did manage to ‘pinball’ between both sides of the hatch opening. The result of this was a badly bruised left elbow and a rather battered right wrist - the latter was not broken but I managed to, to quote the doctor at A and E, “Push some bones in the wrong way.” My planned meeting with Mr Manley was duly postponed and so I spent some time working on the rules for the new book.

That was a bit of a mixed blessing.

It was uncomfortable typing to start with, and to make matters worse, I decided that a chink of it needed changing. The change was relatively minor - mainly the gunnery range tables - but of course there is the inevitable knock on effect, changing the sections that reference back to the tables in question. This in turn meant that the ship specification tables needed changing (again!) so all in all, it meant a week of reinventing the wheel, so to speak, with a large degree of rather clumsy typing!

It is all taken care of now though, and I am far happier with the direction the rules are taking so I should be able to run the first test next week.

Boot Sale Bargains

Laurel and I visited our local boot sale on Sunday - the drive was not too taxing on the arms as the route consists largely of straight roads - and quite surprisingly I was able to pick up a few bits and pieces that certainly lifted my spirits somewhat. Aside from the book above - I am a sucker for anything that has Waterloo on the cover and whilst this is not the most detailed account I have read it is certainly worth having, I also scored the following:

A pair of very slightly used A4 cutting mats and a couple of unused A4 display folders - £1 for the four items

One for Christmas methinks - I am a sucker for old games and this one dates back centuries! 50p and worth it for the 30 D6 alone!

So after a miserable start to the week and a few days of considerable pain and discomfort, the heavens decided that I needed something to cheer me up and guess what? These modest acquisitions did just that!

 

 

Hoth, Lissa and Lake Ontario

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….

Oh yes indeedy! This is a whole lot of thematic fun with plenty of replay value

I had my first game of Star Wars: Battle of Hoth at the club last night - it was enormous fun! It has been described as ‘Memoir ‘44 lite’ in terms of how it plays and that is a pretty fair assessment. It uses the familiar card based activation system with the usual section and tactic cards with the added chrome of leader card. These are optional but certainly add to the Star Wars ‘feel’ of the game.

Scenario 1. The Empire had five infantry units and two of probe droids whilst the Rebels had seven infantry units. 

Paul, my opponent, took command of the Imperial forces whilst yours truly was the Rebel Alliance. Paul has never played a Command and Colours game so it was a good opportunity for him to try it out. We opted to fight scenario number one of the eighteen included in the game and also to take a leader each - these are represented by three cards that are shuffled into each player’s deck - so Paul took General Veers whilst I opted for Han Solo. The winner was the first player to collect four medals with the probe droids being worth two a unit (normally these are not worth any medals).

The Rebels began well enough on their left flank and quickly despatched two Imperial infantry units. The probe droids lurked in the rear of the Imperial position - only one of these was fired on in the entire game -  whilst the Imperial left flank advanced and dealt with the rebels accordingly. They also managed to take a left flank Rebel unit out as well and so reached four medals and victory.

It was only when I got home that I realised we had been playing with wrong number of command cards for the Empire - they should have had three and not the four they used - it was my fault for sure but I am not convinced t would have a difference to the outcome. 

Paul really enjoyed the game, as did I, and we have decided to work through the scenarios including the final epic scale assault on Hoth requiring two copies of the game - which I have.

The next release in the series is rumoured to be the Battle for Endor so expect to see Ewoks, speeder bikes and perhaps AT STs.

Lissa

I have certain degree of history with the Battle of Lissa in that I actually owned both fleets in 1:2400th many years ago. I cannot remember the manufacturer of the models but for some reason or another I parted with the whole lot during one of my periodic project churning exercises. As I recall it was a rules based decision as why they were disposed of - basically there was not a set around at the time that I wanted to use.

Anyway, I digress. 

As well as Lissa it also includes the actions on the Italian Lakes. Needless to say the indefatigable David Manley has covered this period - Broadside and Ram for the Lissa campaign and Krieg Am Gardasee for the lakes (a supplement for Steamer Wars). Both of these are available on Wargames Vault under his Long Face Games label

When I first heard that this book was going to be published I knew that it would inevitably find its way into my collection - and it has! I had considered using Lissa as the battle in Developing the Portable Ironclads Wargame (before the ACW part was added to the title) but making the models in the time available would not have been achievable. I may yet get around to it though and this book will be invaluable when I do! 

Lake Ontario

Looking forward to reading this - nice small scale actions, easily manageable and with me looking at the smaller end of the Tumbling Dice age of sail range!

A welcome change of pace has been revisiting the age of sail. Again, I have a long history with this period although have not really done very much with it. I have a few things to look at - more at the lower level rather than fleet sized - with the war in 1812 featuring and possibly the war against the Barbary Pirates. Part of the naval activity in this war took place on the Great Lakes with Lake Ontario seeing some eminently gameable actions. The book above covers not only the naval side but also some of the land actions - again, these are of a size that easily translates onto the table top. 

As ever, plenty of things to keep me ticking over - along with new book, and my next post will provide a bit of an update on progress with this.