Sons of the Desert....Part 1

In my previous post I touched upon the latest bout of wargames insanity I have embarked upon, namely the French Foreign Legion circa 1900 and their Tuareg/Berber opposition. I also mentioned that the figures I am using are from Armies in Plastic in 54mm. With this in mind I thought it would be a good idea to show you what he figures look like.

The Foreign Legion

Of the 10 poses you get in a box of 20 figures here are 9 of them. The missing pose is laying down firing - a position I will not be using. The selection of poses in quite sensible and I have sufficient figures to be able make some uniform units.

The 'Arabs'



Again, there are 10 poses in a box of 20 and here are 8 of them. I miscounted when I sorted the figures out so there will be a single usable pose as yet unseen (I will post him when I have found him!)- the other is of course the laying down firing position. Berber tribesmen typically wore a full face wraparound veil unlike the headdress usually associated with Arabs so this set is a little bit of a mixture as the rather natty looking command type (bottom row on the right) is wearing a more usual 'Arab' dress. I will make use of him though as he is rather a splendid fellow. The rest have a selection of firearms and hand weapons - enough to satisfy the most belligerent tribesman. I also have 10 mounted Arabs which I will unveil in due course - they also have the mixed headdress issue.

As far as painting is concerned these will be getting a flat finish and will also be gloss varnished. I need to organise some bases for them which is complicated slightly by the variety of base depths. Infantry will have a 3cm frontage with depths to suit. The mounted figures are on uniform bases so will be easier to tackle. As they will be based individually I fully intend using the figures with The Men Who would be King as well the Portable Wargame.

As far as unit sizes are concerned I am considering wither 12 or 16 figures for infantry and 6 or 8 for the cavalry. Artillery will be a gun and three crew.

Methinks it will be a busy autumn/winter....



"March or Die" or yet another remake of Beau Geste....

Taken from Google Images but originally from an Osprey MAA title - classic images of the Legion



I offer no apologies for what you are about to read and I suspect that most people that know me well will not be in the least bit surprised. Following on from a very enjoyable and inspirational Funny Little Wars game - the famous Leipzig on the Lawn - I have had occasion to think long and hard about my gaming (or rather lack of) and how I am going to tackle it. I have settled on the rule systems I shall be using - primarily a Portable Wargame/Command and Colours/Morshauser based hybrid of sorts - and also the scale for what will be larger actions - namely 1/600th or 3mm. Now lets be honest, as a scale 1/600th is hugely practical but for me is very much an extension of my block armies as the size makes for very easy painting and works well with Heroscape tiles. In effect I shall be using these models instead of the blocks for the look of the thing - as is only right and proper.


That is all well and good and eminently sensible but hardly a visual treat. Other scales, which in this context means for me 15mm through to 28mm, I seem to have real problems with - usually because of the number of figures I would need to make it look right. I like units to look like units which means in the earlier periods tends to mean using a lot of figures - which in turn means more painting etc, etc, etc...It is very much a personal conundrum. I read somewhere that a lot of the games you see in the magazines these days (I cannot claim to know for sure as I no longer buy any) tend to use a small number of figures - almost skirmish level in fact.


I have said in the past that I am happy using a gridded playing area and so using the above rule systems or variants thereof is quite a natural thing and I am well satisfied. However, using figures is the ultimate aim and so using models that will give the visual appeal I want with the limited numbers I want to paint means that a smaller number of larger figures is in order.


I suspect you can see where this may be heading.


Using a 6ft by 4ft playing area with 6" squares will comfortably accommodate larger scale figures on the 4 infantry, 3 cavalry or two gunners and gun basis. By larger figures in this case I mean of course 54mm.


So here is how it goes. Inspired by the aforementioned Funny Little Wars Leipzig battle - especially the use of 54mm plastic figures painted in an old school fashion - I started to think about using such figures on a 6ft by 4ft table. Initially my thoughts headed to the North West Frontier circa 1890 and the range of figures produced by Armies in Plastic. You may recall the Roghan Valley (there is a folder with the posts associated with it) so revisiting seemed like a good idea. After all, there would be plenty of colour and flavour. I even have a modest library covering the period from 1878 to 1935 so there was little excuse not to think seriously about it.


However, I was thrown a fairly substantial curve ball in the shape of rather a lot of plastic 54mm French Foreign Legion and Berber Tribesmen - not to mention a fort - for a very attractive price and so I took advantage of the same and am now the proud owner of some 200 plastic 54mm figures from Armies in Plastic plus their rather splendid Fort.


After some experimentation on my 6ft by 4ft table one is easily able to deploy two reasonable looking forces without the table looking too cramped. On a non grid based basis and assuming a 12 figures infantry unit deployed in two ranks (covering an area of, for example, 18cm by8cm) one can happily use around half a dozen or more units at side - which is not only suitable for the Portable Wargame but also things like The Men Who Would be King. There is s a lot of potential for sure.


As it stands then the plan is to raise a couple of Portable Wargame sized forces circa. 1900 for both the Legion and their erstwhile opponents, the Tuareg or Berber tribesmen. Although the latter are described as Arabs they are dressed in North African garb rather than Arabian but would also be suitable for use as Sanussi tribesmen for the Great War or even for use against the 1930s Italians. The Legion infantry can be supported by the use of the Colonial pith helmet wearing British with a suitable paint job - which would also apply to the artillery and gatling gun available from the same source. In fact the only real shortage are camels and mules but I plan to source some of these as dismounted markers of some kind.


It will also come as no surprise to learn that I have even thought beyond the immediate use of the figures and what else can be added to the collection. I have even considered inventing a large island off the coast of North Africa inhabited by Berber tribesman but with British and French enclaves at either end. Add in the Turks as supporters of the Berbers (as they did historically during the Sanussi revolt of 1915) and possibly Germans supporting the Turks and you have the makings of something rather special. Dare I say it? Almost Madasahatta like....


Certainly something else to think about in any event....particularly as it would open up the naval dimension which is ordinarily not what one thinks off when discussing the Foreign Legion.

Leipzig on the Lawn - A personal review

On Saturday 23/09 I was fortunate enough to take part in a refight of The Battle of Leipzig, 1813 at a secret central London location. There was in excess of 2,000 54mm figures and the rules in use were Funny Little Wars - an updated version of H.G. Wells original Little Wars with a Napoleonic twist. The action was fought on the lawn and together with the two umpires there was around a dozen of us with yours truly taking the part of Napoleon. the full list of dramatic personae looked something like this :

Umpires - PW and Tim Gow
Combat photographer - Bob Cordery

The French
The Corsican Ogre - Yours Truly
Murat - Eric Kemp 
Ney - Mike Lewis



The Allies
Schwarzenberg - Brian Carrick
Blucher - Russell King
Bernadotte - Conrad Kinch
Barclay de Tolly - Mike Snape
Wittgenstein - Jack Wright

Leipzig city centre - complete with the Imperial Household and the baggage train in the distance

There will be other blog posts about this epic encounter together with some rather better quality photographs of the fun but I wanted to write about the game from a rather more personal perspective.

French Cavalry under the command of Murat (Eric Kemp) - the figures were generally accepted to be the nicest painted models in the game

I was supposed to attend a similar event at the same location and dramatis personae back in 2015 when a refight of Waterloo to coincide with the bicentenary was undertaken but sadly had to pull out at a late stage. I was taking no chances on missing out this time though and so it was I took part in a game that has made me look long and hard at pretty much everything I thought I knew about wargaming and how to fight battles with model soldiers.

Allied cavalry supporting the Swedes under Bernadotte (Conrad Kinch) prepare to administer the coup de grace to the remnants of the Imperial Guard - but at a heavy cost.

The battle itself took place over some 5 hours of game time and started on the second day of the actual battle. This meant that the allies were in contact with the far flung French outlying forces almost from the outset. The French plan was simple - wait until they were rolled over and then retreat with what was left. It succeeded rather too well and at the conclusion the baggage train and the imperial staff were last seen heading towards Dresden and a single unit of cavalry and perhaps some of the guard possibly following.

In truth the French lost faster than the Allies won and at times one was almost reminded of the old arcade game Space Invaders.

The game had everything - high drama, massed cavalry battles, furious melees and some very random shooting. Normal artillery was handled using the time honoured matchstick firing model - in this case a 25pdr - whilst for canister rounds good use was made of party poppers - which was enormous fun for all concerned!

My own role as the Emperor during the early stages of the battle was merely to sit on my hands in Leipzig brooding magnificently, ideally with a Rod Steiger like vacant scowl. I also make a point of quoting every line I could remember from the film Waterloo or attributed to Boney himself - sometimes the comments were even appropriate. For example, in response to a written message from Ney asking whether or not he could engage the approaching Austrians  was responded to with the following missive "Engage. The salvation of France is at stake". I like to think of it as method wargaming....

Special mention should be made of the tussle between the Guard and the Swedes. Despite being outnumbered the Guard fully lived up to their reputation and significantly out shot their doughty opponents. Perhaps mindful of his political position Bernadotte (Conrad Kinch) tried not to cause too much damage to the French although the Guard had no such qualms when firing back....

The sole British unit - the Rocket Troop, assembled by Tim Gow - fell victim to an overshot French artillery barrage - the round in question completely missed the intended targets but such is the way of Little Wars errant artillery....

Camaraderie, good natured banter, lots of figures, good weather, great umpiring, beers, sandwiches, tea and scones and the chance to recreate in some small way a piece of history - what is not to like? Indeed, plans are afoot to conduct another game at some point next year and I only hope that I will be able to participate.

For my own part one of things that came out of the affair was they 54mm figures - even with a simple, flat paint job (old school style) - look quite splendid when deployed for action. Now I am not saying that I will be going full on Little Wars but using a modest number of figures on a 6ft by 4ft table, probably gridded a la Cordery/Morschauser, would certainly look the part.

Much to think about I assure but in the meantime a big thank you to Tim and PW for making it possible and all of the cast and crew - especially my two long suffering subordinates - for making the whole day a memorable adventure.

Indian Takeaway

A little diversion

Something completely out of the blue I know but I could not resist it! I have an occasional interest in the 18th century - mainly due to Charge! if I am honest - and this has tended in the past to be mainly Seven Years War in Europe based with the occasional foray into the American Revolution. However, I have recently been revisiting the campaigns on the 'fringes of Empire' if you like, namely the French and Indian War and also the wars in India.

As a perennial 'small war' enthusiast neither of the above should come as any surprise...

I am very fond of Stuart Reid's titles and so when the above was advertised I was always going to buy the same. The Battle of Plassey was the battle that cemented Great Britain's place as the upcoming premier power on the subcontinent and made the fortune of Robert Clive, one of my historical interests alongside T.E. Lawrence and others.

The book follows the usual Reid template with notes etc at the end of each chapter and an easy, readable writing style. I am going to savour this and will probably revisit Robert Harvey's excellent biography of Clive as a result.

Would I ever game the period? I doubt it as to do it just would require far more time and effort to produce armies for this than I would be prepared to devote but I would certainly consider a board game on the period if such existed.

As an aside it has also reminded me that there is one other book on the period I need to acquire. Just one, maybe two....

Rommel by Sam Mustapha

Glossy, hard-backed and with an impressive pedigree....

It has been an insanely busy few weeks with both the new job, the new kitchen and assorted other DIY and domestic issues. The former is going well and I am particularly pleased with the sensible and grown up approach to the job and the hours. The kitchen is, at last, coming to an end and so would have only taken around nine months....


From the gaming perspective the man cave will be changing slightly as due to the new kitchen I now have a new table measuring 5ft by 3ft with a leg at each corner rather than the old drop leaf version currently in use. As anyone with a drop leaf table will know you are a little restricted for storage underneath so the new single piece table is most welcome. It does mean I will have a 5 ft by 3ft piece of MDF spare should anyone want the same. I am planning to make the change over this weekend.


I took delivery of a copy of the operational scale WW2 rules by Sam Mustapha and whilst I have not had the chance to read them in great detail seem to have ticked an awful lot of my personal gaming boxes. They are square grid based which will suit me down to the ground especially for the scale I will be using - 1/600th or 3mm if you prefer.


The game uses a 6ft by 4ft table divided into 6" squares meaning a grid of 8 x 12. Now I own (and both have featured on the blog in use) a couple of 3ft by 2ft game boards gridded with 3" squares - exactly the same as the bigger version described in the rules. A 3" square looks fine with the 3mm models deployed therein especially as my plan is to base the models for use with Command and Colours as well. This means a typical tank unit will have 3 bases whilst infantry have 4 and artillery 2. Using these bases will enable the models to deployed far more aesthetically within a square than using a single large base.


Am I excited about this set of rules? Absolutely! I have been waiting for something like this for a while and although I have seen and experimented with a couple of other similarly scaled sets I have yet to find the right fit. I am hoping this will be the one.

Kitchens, Work and Boot Sales

It has been a busy three months since the 'compromise agreement' with my former employers meant that I was out of work. The time has certainly not been idle as not only did we have our holiday but we also had the small matter of project managing a new kitchen - and that has been a trial and a half! We are close to finishing this but suffice it to say it has been a stressful and frustrating experience with yours truly tackling some extensive painting - two ceilings, four walls, three doors and frames not to mention the front door and the garage. That is the only painting I have undertaken....

I start my new job this coming Thursday and although I was trying to secure something local it did not work out as I had hoped. This means I shall once again be on the commute but luckily the hours are a little kinder so at least I will have some extra time during the week. If I am honest I will be glad to get back to work for a rest!

On the gaming front I finally managed to tidy and rearrange the man cave - this was long overdue - so I am hoping to get some games in once again. These will be using the block armies initially and I suspect that the Portable Wargame will feature in some fashion. There are a few other things on the go that may appear but not for a while yet.

On the boot sale front I managed to score a large bag of balsa wood for £1.50 with some very useful pieces. I am looking at knocking up a selection of generic warship types for the Red Sea/Indian Ocean during the Great War. This will mean older, second line cruisers, gunboats, AMCs and Dhows. Lots of Dhows. I already have a set of rules in mind for the naval aspect of the project and hope to flesh this out further once I am closer to gaming it.

The models will be made on a 'cartoon' basis with the largest type coming in at around 8 cms long - large enough to fit on a couple of Heroscape tiles.

A Blast from the Past....Part 2

Magnificent figures from a bygone age....

As mentioned in my previous blog post I visited the house of the couple I acquired the three volumes of Miniature Warfare from. Alas the the other bound volumes are not of this magazine - they are instead of Military Modelling. The volumes (again, in binders) are for 1971 and then 1973 to 1985. I shall have a look around to see if anyone would be interested in the same. There is also a large selection of bound copies of the Bulletin - the journal, I believe, of the British Model Soldier Society. Once I have fuller details I will let you all know.

The big news though, is that there is a large number of unpainted plastic Spencer Smith Miniatures - the 18th century types. Of those figures that featured in the War Game by Charles Grant there is roughly some 50 or so of the tricorn wearing cavalry and an indeterminate number of the marching grenadier and centre company types. There is also around a hundred of each of the figures pictured above. I will be getting an exact count soon.

All of the Spencer Smith figures are now available in metal and in my ignorance I thought that only the cruder versions appeared in plastic - certainly not the handsome looking fellows above.

There are also books and Hinchliffe figures to be disposed of and as soon as I have details I will be sure to post them.