Christmas: Friends, Family and the Force Awakens

Friends

For a variety of reasons this post has taken a while to get to and as a result is in fact a combination of three. Christmas has been and gone but Maison Crook has been busy with all the usual pleasantries - Christmas Eve at the local church for their Christingle concert, family visits and the sheer joy of having our 5 year old grandson to stay. Needless to say industrial sized quantities of Lego have been built and repaired as well as umpteen readings of the assorted Marvel Heroes adventures (note to self - I must make a concerted effort to acquaint myself further with the adventures of Iron Man and Captain America). We have certainly eaten too much and and have (probably) drank too much as well but it is only once a year after all.

The three stooges meeting on a rather wet Monday in the heart of the West End of London. Yours truly on the right, Paul in the centre and Reilly doing the honours in respect of the 'Selfie'

At a personal level the holiday season really started on Monday 21/12 when I had the pleasure of meeting my long time partner in VSF crime - the redoubtable Paul O'Grady and his son 'Right Stuff' Reilly. For a short while before the day we may have also had the company of Bob Cordery but sadly he had to pass due to unforeseen circumstances. Nevertheless we hoisted a cold one in his honour.

The last time I met up with Paul was around 6 years ago so it was a real delight when he mentioned that he and his family were passing through London en route down under (via Norway for Christmas) and that a meeting could be slotted in. We spent a very pleasant Monday afternoon including a very good lunch, numerous examples of the Brewers art (ahem...) and a flying visit to both the Orc's Nest and Forbidden Planet. We talked gaming, life, the universe and everything in it - and also swapped a couple of purchases to avoid ruinous shipping charges. I will describe mine a little later but will refrain from mentioning my side of the arrangement as I am sure that Paul will prefer that pleasure in due course! Reilly is a delight to talk to and I have seldom met a more grounded and mature 14 year old - you do not get to be an Eagle Scout for nothing - and it was a privilege to meet him. I would certainly not want to play Bloodbowl with him though - he sounds far too good for my modest abilities!

The title on the left I have coveted for some years now - I did not paying some £40 for the UK paperback version though! The title on the right came as a very unexpected surprise - and one that I am truly grateful for!

My half of our mutual purchase arrangement was a hardback copy of a book I have been after for some time but was reluctant to order from the US as the shipping would have been expensive and the value of the item would be sure to incur customs charges. Taking both of these factors into consideration it would mean that the price would have been effectively double - and certainly not financially viable for my budget. A paperback version is available in the UK but this is in fact dearer than the hardback version from the US and if I am honest, I really begrudge paying out more than the cost of an Osprey campaign title in softback. An exchange of emails with Paul whilst he was in the US meant that he acquired this for me and carried to the UK whilst I got some goodies for him (top secret at the moment!) - with the exchange taking place over a couple of very nice beers. What I was not expecting though is that Paul had also acquired the Russian Campaign title by way of a surprise for little old me! I can't thank him enough for this gesture and it is a very welcome addition to the Russo-Turkish section of the library. The Allan and Muratoff title covers everything you wanted to know about the campaigns in the Caucasus between 1828 and 1921 between the Russians and the Turks - maps, orders of battle, campaign details - everything the aspiring war-games campaigner could need! I will review both of these titles in more detail once I have had the chance to read them.

So to sum up this part of the post I had a really good afternoon with an old friend and his son which really set the tone for Christmas. I should also point out that whilst the new Star Wars film was discussed at length Paul was diplomatic enough NOT to tell me what happened other than that they both really enjoyed it!

Christmas loot - and it rather reflects my somewhat eclectic tastes! The Serbian title further complements my growing Balkan collection.

Family

As far as the Christmas present haul was concerned I was a very lucky chap indeed! My fondness for anything Balkans related was acknowledged by SWMBO who also knows that I am a sucker for anything to do with spying, secret agents and special operations (I have bored her incessantly over the years - especially as I recall when we went to Crete for a holiday - the scene of the operation described by Patrick Leigh Fermor) hence the new Max Hastings title and Patrick Leigh Fermor's account of the kidnap of General Kriepe. SWMBO also surprised me with the copy of Frostgrave - rather she surprised me when I said I was going to get it so she could wrap it up for me for Christmas - she readily agreed which in itself was rather unusual! I enjoyed Master and Commander on DVD so the Blu-Ray was a welcome surprise from Holly who is currently home from University. Finally my son, Reece, surprised his old man with a very welcome £50 Waterstone's voucher which I am sure to put to good use.

The Force Awakens

Holly, the redoubtable Mr Fox and myself are going to see the new Star Wars film tomorrow and needless to say I am really looking forward to this. I would ask respectfully that any readers refrain from posting any spoilers by way of comments although I have a pretty good idea of what happens and I also have a theory about what will happen in Episode 8 and 9....:-)

So in closing I hope that you all had a very pleasant Christmas and in case I do not get the chance to post again before 2016 have a healthy and safe new year!

Return of the Mac

At last! After 11 phone calls, 5 emails and 14 text messages the broadband service to Maison Crook has been returned to full power. In fact it is now faster than previously so I can at last get down to some serious work on the new family PC. Attempting to commission a new computer without the net has been a frustrating experience to say the least....

Our new PC is an IMac so for home use it is goodbye to Windows and hello Apple - and I am really excited about the potential of this brave new world.

In the meantime though, I have a number of posts to complete and publish and these will include a battle report, a couple of reviews and most importantly of all - a meeting with a fellow blogger that took place in the rather wet West End of London on Monday afternoon just gone....

More to follow - and it is good to be back!

Internet Issues

Aside from the usual work related dramas I have also been struggling with a very poor internet service from our friends at BT. After some nine phonecalls to the wilds of Bangalore or wherever else in India the Broadband technical support team are located they have finally discovered that the problem is in fact a line fault that an engineer will be fixing next Tuesday. At least I think is what he meant when he said he would 'see you next Tuesday'....

It has been really frustrating but to be fair we have never really had any problems with BT over the years. It does make it doubly frustrating when you are also trying to set up a new PC as well!

I hope to be posting on a more regular basis after Tuesday with not only a battle report, details of a couple of new additions to the collection but also a very important meeting tomorrow taking place between yours truly and a well known member of the blogosphere.

I will say no more at this point so as not to spoil the surprise....;-)

Command and Colours: Weird War 2

The Heroscape US Airborne figures in their original finish

It has been a busy couple of weeks so the blog has dried up slightly. Work has been frantic and I have also been suffering from a chesty cough which has been particularly tenacious. The net result of this is that little has been done in a practical sense. I have managed to get some planning done and the reading has caught up - I am a fanatical user of my commuting time on the train - but nothing tangible on the gaming front. I have set up and action to fight and this is what forms the subject for this post. The battle has yet to be fought as I need to finalise the rules I have been working on - a Sci-Fi version of Command and Colours or, more specifically, Bob Cordery's MOMBAT or Memoir of Modern Battle.

The game has been set up using some of the recently acquired collection of Heroscape figures and a standard Command and Colours playing area of 13 x 9 Hexon tiles. The figures in use are the WW2 US Paratroopers and the alien Marro. The terrain consists of a number of trees from my collection (and I need to base them on something smaller than present), a scattering of hills including a small plateau, a ruined research centre, the magnificent Marro Hive and a number of rough hexes designated by the liberal use of an old aquarium plant broken up into segments. They are a little rough looking at the moment but will have some work in due course to make them a little more alien looking.

The Back Story

 

A selection of the Alien Marro figures. The chap on the right is a conversion - although not one of mine, the picture is courtesy of Google Images.

I set great store by having a background to whatever wargame I play and Sci-Fi and Fantasy games are no exception. What I have decided on for this little mini project falls very much into the Weird War 2/Secrets of the Third Reich category - although with a little twist as it features Imperial Japan.

When U234 arrived in Tokyo Bay and mid 1945 few could have foreseen the impact its small cargo would have. Aside from quantities of Uranium Oxide and a crated Me 262 jet fighter there was also a a small number of V 4 containers. It was the V 4 chemical that the Nazis used to such devastating effect in the creation of the dreaded Sturm and Bomber Zombies used in their top secret underground Gibraltar base. The V 4 containers were sent under heavy escort to the secret laboratory used by unit 731 for their chemical and biological weapon development  - with volunteers selected from the Kami Kaze corps and also from a local Sumo wrestling academy.

Marro support troops

Following the application of the chemical it was quickly realised that something had gone. During transit from Germany on board  U234 the V 4 had been stored next to the Uranium Oxide. Unfortunately the Uranium Oxide was not sealed correctly and was therefore able to contaminate the V 4 chemical. This contamination caused the V 4 to completely reorganise the victims body chemistry to make them very different from what was intended. Essentially the victims body chemistry was completely reordered and gave rise to a very different life form - a life form that was ferocious, cunning and above all, sentient.

Initially the Japanese scientists opted to keep the Kaiju or 'monster' in a secure holding area in the laboratory complex as the initial batch had already killed a number of investigating scientists and armed guards. As well as being ferocious close combat specialists the Kaiju possessed the ability to convert certain mechanical items into biological versions of the same by coating the said object in a secreted bodily fluid - as a result of this they were soon able to arm themselves with 'living guns'.

The Kaiju were 'asexual' and were able to lay eggs to produce their offspring so in a fairly short space of time they quickly increased their numbers. The Japanese scientists, realising that this experiment had gone very wrong were going to blow the entire complex up to eradicate the menace within.

The Marro Hive - note the 'eggs'. Early indications are that it is made from some kind of secreted resin - but secreted from what?

They were too late - the USAAF did this for them in the shape of a vast B29 raid that destroyed the laboratory, the out buildings and everything in it.


Or had they?

The Americans were aware that the Japanese had been experimenting with the German V 4 chemical and so assumed that by way of survivors from the bombing raid (assuming there were any) all they would encounter would some of the Zombie types. A special Airborne unit was hurriedly assembled with the intention of dropping on the site, collecting any data that may still be found and getting the results back to the US Intelligence service in advance of the landing being planned.

It would be quick 'smash and grab' raid and as the troop transports headed off into the Japanese night sky the paratroopers confidence was high.

To be continued....

Salamis....Part 2

Refighting an Ancient Naval Battle

Okay then. I have most of the models and terrain, the rules I plan to use and sufficient research material upon which to base the project - so I am in pretty good shape, right?

Wrong!

All of the four areas mentioned need work - and lots of it. Taking each area individually makes the whole look a little less daunting and so this is the plan of sorts.

The terrain is relatively straightforward and is merely a case of, in effect, replicating the hexed playing area from Richard Nelson's book. there are a number of photographs of the game in progress so this should be easy enough to do. Nelson used a smaller hex size than I am and also a larger playing area but I am thinking having the reduced size would be no great loss as pretty much all of the conflict was in a confined space. The land will be represented by use of the appropriate Heroscape tiles and, I will crave a certain degree of artistic licence here, a couple of 1/1200th buildings from Rod Langton's range. I rather fancy the notion of a Greek temple or two dotted about....;-)

The models are of primary consideration and the last of these I plan to acquire this weekend from Navwar. That will leave me with some 54 triremes to paint. The models will be based on 40 by 30mm bases - I shall be using those available from Essex Miniatures for this - and I will be naming the models by contingent for example Sparta 1 or Ionia 4. Each contingent will have a designated flagship which will also be marked. I will be producing the models with the mast deployed rather than left off (which would be more historically accurate) as it will mean that I will not have to fill the large hole in the middle of the main deck! I also plan to use 15mm ancient greek shield decals (available from Essex Miniatures and produced by Veni, Vidi, Vici) on the sails for a further piece of artistic indulgence. The first step with this part of the project remains the trip to Navwar and then the grand assembly and undercoat.

The rules are taken straight from Nelson's book but I will need to type these up and produce a quick reference sheet and the fleet lists. This should not be too difficult and has the advantage of being something I can do on the train. The rules need to be extracted from the text as they contain a number of examples of play and what could be considered designer's notes which means that they occupy a chapter rather than a couple of sides of A4. For clarity I can reference his fleet action rules from which the book set were derived if required.

The research aspect will of course mean reading, reading and more reading. I have a modest section in my library devoted to ancient naval warfare and a couple of titles specifically on Salamis. These will be revisited as will some of the histories that cover the period - Herodotus being the main one for the present. I will also take a look at a couple of rule sets that have Salamis as a scenario as this can be useful as well.

I am rather excited about undertaking this project at last and hope that the techniques employed will serve me well for some similar ideas I have in mind. I have some later ancient galleys from the Punic and Civil Wars period so the potential is there for some more refights - Actium springs to mind. I would also certainly envisage using Heroscape for some river based naval action from the ACW in 1/2400th but I also have a couple of 'wind and water' ideas as well - and probably not what you would expect!

Salamis....Part One

A map of the battle of Salamis 480 B.C.

One of the particularly helpful benefits of my recent Heroscape acquisitions has been the greatly increased number of blue 'water' tiles I have accrued. I now posses over 250 and this will give my small scale model naval games a major boost as these can look a little lost in a standard Hexon tile. Going forward the plan is to use the Heroscape water tiles in conjunction with the normal land based version to be able to models river banks, coastal areas and such like. My interest initially centred on the ancient period and the use of 1/1200th galleys but I am already thinking about 1/2400th for the Armada, the Anglo Dutch Wars (I bet you did not see that one coming!) and possibly the ACW/Victorian naval. Taking it further forward in time possibly even WW1 and WW2 using 1/4800th or 1/6000th but that is a long way off.






I guess it may have been easier just to get a plain blue hexed mat for naval games but for me that misses the point. I like the idea of having some land as terrain - either riverbanks or coastline - especially as many of my gaming ideas involve combined operations and similar. Heroscape lends itself very well to this approach and for me offers a lot of potential.



The Persian King of Kings, Xerxes, looks on at the unfolding catastrophe

I have acquired a modest collection of Navwar 1/1200th ancient galleys - including some later types for the Punic Wars - and am looking to use these for a refight of the battle of Salamis. This was one of the most significant naval battles in history and my inspiration for this project has come from various sources. Many years ago I used to play the Avalon Hill game Trireme which was huge fun. I never used models but always planned to do so at some point. Fast forward a few years and I had the good fortune to pick up a copy of Richard Nelson's book on the subject published in the Battles for Wargamers series. A copy of his fleet action rules published by WRG appeared courtesy of EBay and a copy of Warfleets of Antiquity from my good friend Chris Hardman.


The rules from book by Richard Nelson are in effect a cut down version of the WRG set. they feature enough detail to cover the refight of the actual battle and in terms of the number of ships involved he uses a scale of 1 model equalling 12 actual ships. Based on the sources he has used this translates into 54 models - which is eminently achievable. I only need a further 16 triremes from Navwar (not as detailed as Rod Langton but a lot cheaper!) and I will be good to go.


I will have to make some important decisions about the models. They are all going to based on a 40mm by 30mm base with the nationality and number as a label. That much I have decided upon but the main area of contention concerns sails. Do I have them mounted on the ship or do I leave them off? The former would look better but the latter is more historically accurate. I did toy with having them detachable but in 1/1200th they are a little on the fiddly side. An associated problem is there is a huge hole in the deck where the mast is stepped which is quite an eyesore without the mast in place. Of all the options I am leaning towards having the masts in place - simply because the models look nicer.


Ah but what of Jutland? I can almost hear a collective sigh as yet another project is launched. I shall be tackling something Jutland based to commemorate the anniversary next year but it is unlikely that models will feature. Salamis however is a lot more achievable and so my naval efforts will be focusing on this for the next few months. the final models will be acquired at the weekend.

Putting the Hero in Heroscape

                                      
                                         

The first Starter set....

You may recall my earlier posts on the subject of Heroscape - the fantasy miniatures board game formerly produced by Hasbro. Many war games players have acquired this game primarily for the hexed terrain tiles that came with it and there are many blogs that feature games taking place on this terrain - with your truly also having done so. I now own the tiles from three copies of the first starter set as well as whole pile of flocked and painted tiles courtesy of Bob Cordery. From a land perspective I have more than enough for my needs and if I am honest the only disadvantage of using these is their size as the hexes are only some 45 mm across the flats - less than half the size of the Hexon version. In the game as played a single model occupies a hex (in some cases two hexes for the larger types) and this is fine. In fact if you check out Google and look at the images under Heroscape you can see some quite superb set ups. For my own use though these tiles will be used for games involving small scale models - I am thinking about the 3mm troop blocks from Peter Pig or those from Tumbling Dice - and will be suitably painted in due course.

 ....And the second - which I had not seen

What of the figures though?

The figures thet come with the game are, in my opinion, not bad. They are prepainted and fairly basic in terms of detail BUT are very usable en masse. I had mentioned previously about using some of them as the basis for games of either HOTTs, the forthcoming Dragon Rampant or any other skirmish level fantasy/sci-fi rules that came to hand. I also have a downloaded set of Command and Colours Fantasy rules produced by a chap from Belgium called Te Wapen - needless to say given my fondness for this system this is very much in the forefront of my planning.

 

A Heroscape map of Africa - now that is a clever idea and one that would lend itself to many other settings

I had even mentioned about repainting the figures as they are very basic in that regard. The ideas I am considering will certainly need some painting in due course and whilst I have no objection to basic painted figures - flat colours and no shading/highlighting - I do get very upset at sloppy painting though - you know the kind of thing, where the paint has gone over the edges and has slopped onto something it should not have. Heroscape figures are ideal for the gamer that is either unable or unwilling to opt for something more aesthetically pleasing - and up to a point I am guilty on both counts.

I now have a very large collection of the figures from the original starter set and also from the second version courtesy of Jim Duncan and I cannot begin to tell you how pleased and inspired I am to be in this position!

Jim came to my rescue in the biggest possible way. Like many gamers he has a lot of Heroscape terrain and has also purchased sets specifically for that reason. It has also meant that he has a huge selection of the figures being unused and unloved. Several emails and a phone call later the entire box full figures, rules, markers, dice and even some terrain was winging its way to Chez Crook. The plan is that I will cherry pick the pieces I want and then put what is excess up for sale to raise funds for th charity that Jim is supporting - so everyone wins. I get some figures that have given me a major boost in the inspiration department, Jim gets a whole lot of extra room in his den and the charity will hopefully benefit from the sale of some of the rarer items.

Some of the Marro figures. I will probably leave these as they are but I will do something with the bases.

To say that I am pleased with this little lot is an understatement and I am truly overwhelmed by the generosity of Jim in passing this lot on. To give you an example (and I will be posting lots of pictures over the next week or so to give you an idea of the scale of the windfall) I now have some 80 Marro figures. The Marro in Heroscape are a race of aliens similar to the GW Tyranids in concept. The plan is to use them against the US Paratroopers supported by the robot types - the paratroopers will need repainting into something a little more near future/sci-fi ish - for some Aliens type games. The Vikings and the Samurai may turn into some HOTTs or Dragon Rampant armies and there is even some figures that would be usable for Frostgard.

The Heroscape Vikings - complete with horned and winged helmets and therefore eminently suitable for some heroic fantasy action. I will need to do something about the spears though!

I was also delighted to get a great pile of the blue tiles as well so I now have some 250 plus of these so the seascape for the Salamis project will have a playing area in conjunction with the land tiles and the 1/1200th scale models I have been stockpiling.

So all in all my mojo has been given a fairly substantial kick up the derriere with this little lot and I cannot thank Jim enough for this - even more so given that he is still recovering from surgery and various assorted health issues. I titled this post specifically with him in mind....;-)