More thoughts about the size of it....

Panthers on the prowl - PicoArmour 3 mm models painted by Scott MacPhee

A very impressive 3 mm Napoleonic French battalion - again from the brush of Scott MacPhee

Another 3 mm French Napoleonic infantry battalion (based with a 60 mm frontage) and some rather dashing Hussars. Scott MacPhee once again!

As part of my 1/600th project I reasoned it would be a good idea to have a look around at basing and painting techniques for these diminutive figures and so a trawl of the internet was instigated. I came across the above on the blog of Scott MacPhee and was frankly gobsmacked! The Napoleonics are exquisite and with the number of figures he uses for his units one really gets the impression of a 'proper' looking formation on the tabletop.

It also reminded me of the old chestnut about using more smaller figures for a unit to give a better visual impression offset by the need to paint more of them!  

One of the key things I have learned about painting such small figures is that the aim is to give a good impression of the formation you are representing. this means that much in the way of detail can be safely ignored as it is the 'en masse' look one is trying to achieve. So picking out key colours is important for the overall look. For 20th century troops this is probably less important given the duller palette required.

Seeing the above has given me plenty of inspiration and much to consider. I think the main point I have stumbled across is the realisation that in this scale one can field units on the tabletop that look like units on a battlefield.

That is an exciting prospect for sure!

About the size of it....

From the Tumbling Dice Website - a selection from their WW1 range - and I have seen these 'in the flesh' so to speak when they have appeared at various shows

Not sure if this is 2mm or 3mm but you can see the potential with these diminutive models.

Now the real work begins and so I have taken my first steps into a wider universe. I have prepared an order for some 7mm dice frames as well as the bases I need for the 1/600^th scale ACW ships. In the  meantime I shall look to assemble the ships and ready the infantry – which at this stage will also include support weapons (machine guns and mortars) and the artillery for WW1. I have a selection of tanks for the period as well which will probably feature and I will also look to add some aircraft at some point.

For the actual painting I shall experiment with a variety of techniques but at this stage I am thinking a black undercoat with the uniform colour dry brushed and then pick out some details – flesh, weapons and packs etc – where I can.

In respect of the infantry I will need to clean up the strips and cut them in two – as there are no gun crew figures available from Tumbling Dice I shall use a pair of infantry from the loose order strip (therefore a single strip will provide the crew for four pieces) and possibly something left over from the support weapon pack as there are some useful types contained therein. Mention of support weapons – in this case machine guns and infantry mortars – has reminded me of the question of how I should be representing them. I am thinking of using a 20mm square base for machine guns and a 20mm round base for mortars as this will enable easy recognition on the table top although I have yet to finalise this. The key decision I have taken though is that they will not be on a full sized base.

Following on from my post of yesterday I have spent some more time considering the whole ‘hexed playing area’ scenario. I have nothing against Hexon and indeed, have previously owned the same. For my needs it is a little on the large side given that the figures I am using for this project are so small. Heroscape would work well although the hexes are a little on the tight side for my planned 40mm bases. In retrospect using bases with a 30mm frontage  may be better but even using 1/600^th models these will look a little crowded. I have a number of ideas that my Heroscape will be useful for but I am conscious of the fact that if you fill a hex with terrain then adding a large base of models  will look a little untidy to say the least.

If I am honest the thought of using 1/600^th scale armies is very appealing and certainly there is a large selection available. Most of my gaming these days is solo and so setting up a large table with hundreds of larger figures and terrain to match has certainly lost its appeal up to a point. Having said that I am not so lacking in soul that I am entirely abandoning larger figures as I have in mind a 30mm old toy soldier style set up (more of which later) and will get some models together for What a Tanker or similar but overall smaller is definitely the way forward for me.

My planned hypothetical Balkan set up will see the light of day but probably not in the format originally mooted and certainly earlier that the 1870s. I have found myself drawn to the period of Russian and Turkish cooperation over the Ionian Islands with a dash of Great Britain and of course the French. This is very much set in the 1800s so at his stage I am unsure how best to tackle it and in any event will need to do some further research on the period in due course.

As ever, much to ponder methinks....

"The time has come...."

"The time has come,' the Walrus said,

     To talk of many things:

     Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax —

     Of cabbages — and kings —

And why the sea is boiling hot —

     And whether pigs have wings."

Whilst I am not comparing myself to a Walrus and my wood working skills would never qualify me as a carpenter, I am becoming increasingly conscious of the fact that I need to start walking the walk rather than just talking the talk in respect of my wargames project list. I have wittered on about various ideas and schemes for months now and in truth for the most part progress has been minimal.

This in itself is not unusual for me as my enthusiasm and attention span can be notoriously short-winded. I need an injection of inspiration to push on with something, anything even and so I shall be attacking a project that has been mentioned before albeit slightly out of sequence with my long term plan.

I am of course referring to the 20^th century 1/600^th collection. There, I have said it.

There are a number of reasons for this with the main one being that I reckon I can turn this around relatively quickly. I have a rather cunning plan I want to try in that the infantry component will be used initially for the Great War – the Tumbling Dice artillery are WW1 vintage in any event – with WW2 featuring later with the addition of period and nationality specific equipment - tanks etc. The infantry will look fine for either war in this scale. Ironically I have some WW1 vehicles that will feature for the 1918 period but obviously not as significantly as for WW2.

I have more or less settled on the basing I shall be using for these models and so either a 40mm square or a 40 x 30mm base with a dice frame for recording hits is currently the preferred choice. As I intend making use of Heroscape tiles (which are around 45mm across the flats) I will need to think carefully about terrain as the model base will in effect take up more or less the whole hex. I have seen some great examples of Memoir 44 hexed terrain tiles on the net where the terrain is confined to the edges of two or three sides and so leaving enough room to place a base of models on it. This is a neat idea and I have seen similar for use with Hexon. An alternative will be to use the Memoir ’44 board with hexes being 54mm across the flats. I am rather taken with this idea – perhaps getting the map boards copied and mounted flat and into something more of a permanent fixture rather than folding away. One could even make a home grown hex board if required and again, this is an option I am considering simply because I can get the hexes the size I want.

Bases will be made up as follows. I will be using four pairs, each of two figures on the infantry base – this is a single strip of Tumbling Dice loose order infantry cut in half -, three vehicles on the armour base and two guns and crews on the artillery base. This follows the 4, 3, 2 Command and Colours/Portable Wargame standard and I see little reason to do anything different. The dice frame will be used to indicate the current strength of the unit using a small d6 or similar.

For rules I fully intend using Bob Cordery’s Portable Wargame or possibly even his Memoir of Modern Battle (MoMBAT) which are an older set he drew up. It would not be beyond the realms of possibility that using these models for a conventional Memoir ’44 game will feature as well. There is also Rommel – a set that I am really excited about.

I have plenty of bases to start this project with and an order for the 7mm dice frames (they are pretty cheap) is being put together. I have sufficient hexed playing surfaces to use initially so this will not be a priority just yet as the models must come first - and will be dealt with in tandem with the WW2 warships..

A Thirst for Glory: Sir Sidney Smith

Tom Pocock's biography of Sir Sidney Smith or the Swedish Knight as he was known following his service in the Swedish navy in their war against Russia.

The latest addition to the bookshelves helps to round out the Mediterranean section of my library and is by one of my favourite authors. Sir Sidney Smith was never accorded the celebrity status and reverence enjoyed by Nelson and indeed, always seemed to be in his shadow but his contribution to Great Britain's war against Napoleon was invaluable. In later years Napoleon himself said that Smith "made him miss his destiny" following the unsuccessful siege of Acre at which Smith commanded. 

Smith had the uncanny knack of offending his superiors and of 'rocking the establishment boat' so to speak  and so was only reluctantly given credit and recognition for his efforts. This was a continual distraction for him and unfortunately he was not afraid to voice his opinions and feelings on the matter - which further alienated his superiors and the government.

There is a lot of scope for smaller actions in the Mediterranean during the Napoleonic Wars - both from the naval and land side and so this book will be very useful as Sidney Smith certainly had a very varied career in the area.

A Thirst For Glory complements Pocock's Stopping Napoleon: War and Intrigue in the Mediterranean as well as Remember Nelson, his biography of Captain Sir William Hoste. I should also include his biography of nelson as well and I am happy to say I have all of these in the library! 





Using 1:600th scale figures

 

Apologies for the repeat picture as this has also appeared in an earlier post. What you see are some Tumbling Dice cavalry and close order infantry alongside some Perry Travel Battle buildings and some Renedra plastic bases.



With the increase in temperature over the weekend (not to mention a few other domestic issues) I was not able to get any painting done in the man cave. This has put my WW2 ship painting schedule a little behind and this will not be helped by the new bathroom that is being installed this week.

As is my usual modus operandi when there is 'stuff' going on of a domestic nature I tend to take what time I can when I can to consider matters hobby related - yesterday was a good example of this - so I found myself with a couple of spare hours in the evening. In truth I was not especially motivated but I made myself get on with something, the results of which are in this post.

I have an interesting selection of 1:600th scale figures, vehicles and terrain pieces. Initially the collection consisted of Peter Pig blocks supporting their ACW naval range. The infantry and cavalry are in blocks, skirmishers are on a strip in a variety of poses and the artillery is deployed to fire with a limber on the same base. The artillery piece is of a block trail type as befits the ACW.  There is also a rather nice mounted command base. the infantry are some four deep with a pair of standards cast into the block. The accompanying terrain includes a resin farm and some metal buildings - designed for harbour use - together with some wagons. There are also some resin fieldworks and a couple of forts again, designed with their naval range in mind.

Given the generic nature of these models my initial thoughts about using these was not for the ACW. The infantry blocks look too deep for my taste for the period and are better suited to something earlier in my opinion. I am seriously thinking about the Napoleonic Wars with these although it will be a while before this is realised.

The Tumbling Dice models have the advantage of being individual figures rather than blocks. They are cast on strips and whilst being more detailed are still suitably generic enough to be useful for pretty much anything. the loose order strip has 8 figures grouped in pairs which could easily be cut into half for such things as 4 figure fire teams in the 20th century or earlier skirmisher types. the close order strip I would use for the later half of the 19th century, in conjunction with the Peter Pig command base and artillery. The artillery available is of WW1 vintage and not only are the guns separate but also the limbers and wagons. there are no gunners as such but the loose order strip, cut down would furnish usable crew figures.

My WW2 vehicles are from Tumbling Dice and at present consist solely of tanks. The range includes a few variants of specific types and some assault guns but is short of transport and nationality specific artillery and anti tank weapons. The 3mm models produced by Oddzial Osmy and Pico Armour are a little on the small side compare to the Tumbling Dice kit but that is not a problem for the numbers I would need to use.

As it stands at present I am looking to produce three or four generic looking 20th century forces with nationality specific vehicles and kit dropped in as required. In a way this will be a step up from the block armies as, for example, a Khaki brown figure in this scale could be used for a number of armies from the Balkan wars onwards.

I rather fancy something from the latter 19th century using the Tumbling Dice range but am undecided as to what. I shall give this some thought.

In the short term though I need to get the WW2 ships finished just as soon as the temperature is a little less lethargy inducing!

A Matter of Life and Death

It has been quite a week. It has been a week of loss and the inevitable reflection about the nature of life and death and one’s place in it.

On Thursday I attended the funeral of an old gaming friend from back in the old Newham Wargames club days. I first met Pete in the very late 1970s and was in his orbit up until around 1998 - when we moved away from London. I should point out that some of the ex Newham crowd live quite close by to where I am now living and so perhaps, it was not surprising that my gaming tended to be more locally based. For sure I bumped into some of the former Newham based gamers that were more London facing - usually at shows and such like.

Pete was one the crowd that I did not stay in close contact with - not from any intent you understand; merely that life, children, house moves, deaths and job changes meant that before I knew it twenty years had gone by. Ironically when another member of the former Newham crowd moved to my neck of the woods the plan was meet up with Pete at one of our old stamping grounds from back in the day. Sadly I was unable to make this but I was looking forward to the next meet up that I would be attending.With Pete’s untimely passing this will not now take place.

Pete was a larger than life character in every way. He was funny, very well read and with a hugely diverse range of interests of which Wargaming was just one. I recall many games of Magic: The Gathering with him and we also avidly gamed the Battletech Collectible Card Game. He was fascinated with old musical instruments and was also a former Viking reenactor. I used to meet him for lunch when he was working in the city and we always had a good laugh about something or other.

When I heard about his passing my first reaction was one of guilt. Guilt for not having stayed in touch with him and guilt for not meeting up with him when I had the chance to do so.

I carried this feeling with me when I attended his funeral and so felt awkward being in the presence of those that had much closer and more recent acquaintance with him. I needn’t have worried. I cannot say that I was welcomed home like the prodigal son - it was rather more muted, as befitted the occasion - but I was welcomed within the spirit of old comradeship and shared grief which made me feel a whole lot better. During the wake I discussed, almost sheepishly, how I felt with a couple of people and was reassured by all that life, in all its complexity, can play havoc with our best intentions and that merely being there, at the end, was sufficient. It meant a lot to me.

If I have learned one thing from this it is the value of true friendships - of friendships that last the passage of years and circumstance. 

Of my old friend Pete I can say only this. He was a good friend at an important and formative time in my life and so I hope his journey to Valhalla is a safe one.

Whilst coming to terms with Pete’s passing we have also had to deal with the march of time with the eldest of out three cats. Earlier today we had to say good bye to her - she was 18 and a half - as she had recently lost a lot of weight and was clearly not in the best of health. She was a very affectionate cat and was always parked on someone’s lap so her loss will be felt keenly.

I have had better weeks for sure.

Waddington's Campaign Revisited

 

The original box art from 1971

 

The stylised map of Europe, divided into squares, that served as the battleground



Way back in the early days of this blog I wrote a series of posts about the Waddington's board game of Campaign. I mentioned that I first acquired a copy of this game for my twelfth birthday in 1972 - and I still have the same edition!

Basically Campaign is an abstract strategic level game based on the Napoleonic wars. I have played this game hundreds of times over the years and have, at various times, flirted with making an advanced version but, like so many of my good ideas, it withered on the vine so to speak.

I was recently approached by a gamer that had a copy of the game but not the rules and was keen to find out if I had a spare set. Well, I thought I had but after a lengthy search remembered that I had passed these on as the result of a similar request back in 2014. What I did have though, was a copy of the rules that I found on the net - I have been unable to find where though.

It occurred to me though that perhaps I should make these available because after all, two such requests in the last nine years would certainly warrant this....

So for those that are interested in the rules of this piece of board gaming history please see the below and enjoy. Or not.


WADDINGTON'S CAMPAIGN©: COPYRIGHT 1971

"An exciting strategy game in which each player can become a Napoleon or a Wellington leading his army across Europe. Famous battles can be refought and alliances can be made and broken with this compelling game of military and political strategy." Stock No.417 Game suitable for older children (say 10 upwards) and adults. Two to four players.

Contents: Playing board made up of three sections of thick card joined together, each leaf 9.5"X19.25" (24.5X49 cm). Four sets of army pieces in red, white, blue and light green, comprising 1 General, 9 infantry and 9 cavalry units. 6 sets of 4 town cards of different colours, 4 alliance cards, 2 dice, 6 page rule book and a 4 page "The Years of Napoleon" guide. Still on sale in 1977 cost £5.50.

The game does not correspond with a particular battle but is inspired by the Napoleonic wars and the game can be won either by the outright defeat of your opponent or (more likely) by acquiring towns controlling large areas of territory. The board is a representation of Europe and western Russia and is divided into six areas of roughly equal size representing France, Prussia, Russia, Austria, Italy and Spain. Each country has four provincial towns and five of the countries used as starting countries also have a capital city. Parts of the board, particularly the central area have areas of impenetrable mountains, forests and sea which restricts the movement of the troops. The game can be played in an introductory version and then with additional rules as a standard game. Depending on the number of players each player selects a county or if two players two countries but France and Prussia cannot be used at the same time. The two dice are always thrown together and are only used to move the pieces and are never used to determine the outcome of the attack. The throw can be used all on one piece or many pieces. The full throw does not have to be used. The pieces are placed in a set format on the country selected with the General on the capital square and four infantry and four cavalry. Each player has the five town cards of his own country.

The pieces move in set ways. The General moves one square in any direction. When it attacks it has a value of one and when defending a value of two. The General is the only piece that can capture a town by simply moving onto it. Cavalry has to move two squares at a time and must move horizontally or vertically never diagonally. Infantry move one square and only diagonally. Pieces cannot pass through opposing lines unless there is a clear gap of at least one square. Infantry and Generals can pass between adjacent units of their own side. A piece is attacked and taken and removed from the board when superior pieces (two for Infantry and Cavalry and three for a General) are positioned on adjacent squares (not moved to the opponents position). Also pieces can only attack along a line in which they are allowed to move. Only one piece can be attacked in a turn and the player has to say which piece he is attacking before the move is made. You have to think carefully about which pieces you are using with each other. You will find that it is important to bear in mind that infantry pieces start on adjacent squares and can never move to a adjacent horizontal square and can only move diagonally. The same applies to cavalry it cannot move to an adjacent horizontal square. Therefore to be able to attack an opponent you either need two cavalry pieces that can move to the same square, two infantry pieces that can move to the same square or an infantry piece and a cavalry that can move to adjacent squares. The General can move to any square and can therefore be used to attack with any other piece. If you have just infantry and cavalry you can find out frustratingly that you have two pieces that cannot be used together. It is also good strategy to try to capture pieces that can attack together. If a General is captured he has to move back to his starting position and has to miss a turn but he may not be attacked again until after this second turn. Consequently you try to avoid having your General captured at all costs.

When a General captures a town the corresponding town card is claimed from the other player. A capital can only be captured after the provincial towns have been captured. Where more than two players are playing you can agree to ally with another player and exchange alliance cards. An ally cannot cross into his ally's territory without his consent. Alliances can though be broken simply by breaking the alliance during one turn and then attacking the next turn giving the former ally one turn to re-deploy. The game is won if the player captures all his opponents capitals or captures 8 towns of any colour but not including the 4 in his own country. You also win if your opponents General is left with no troops.

The rules for the standard game have additional rules as follows: Towns are red towns or yellow towns, when a player captures a red town at the end of the turn he claims the town card and the piece shown on the town and places this piece adjacent to the town. The player who lost the town also has to remove the piece of the same type that is closest to that town. In the standard game a piece being attacked is supported by any other pieces adjacent to it. Therefore a closely grouped force can be very difficult to attack as you need to attack a piece with two other pieces and have one piece able to attack and neutralise any adjacent pieces. The standard game also makes it even move important not to let your General be captured as it has to return to an enlistment area with all his troops. He can though recruit some additional troops depending on the number of red town cards he holds to compensate for the fact that all his red towns will be venerable. The player then has to mobilise his troops by using the next few turns to move on to the capital city area.

Campaign is basically a pure strategy game. It you are in a position to attack a piece you will take it. However, there is some luck depending on how high a movement throw you have. Sonia and I have enjoyed many games of Campaign but have not played it with more that two players. It does though work well with two. It can though be frustrating if your attack force becomes incompatible but you really need to use the General in attacks for the maximum effect. However, it is quite a disaster if you let your General be captured. The game can take a couple of hours to play and is usually resolved by a player obtaining the required number of towns. Sometimes the game can also be frustrating as it is difficult to retain towns and you can have the situation of a General taking a chance and moving quickly from red town to red town with another piece retaking towns. The box, cards and board are very colourful the pieces fairly abstract."

It is safe to say that the game itself is not a detailed simulation of warfare in the age of Napoleon but it does feature some subtle concepts. Using the dice for movement means that moves have to carefully considered as large forces will move slowly but are harder to defeat whilst small, fast-hitting groups are vulnerable to counter attack.

It is one of my favourite games and certainly had an influential part in my wargames career and for the choice of period I was first going to fight - the Napoleonic Wars.