tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9918038603720066252024-03-07T18:19:20.919+00:00Joy and Forgetfulness"Children worship their toys. They ask of them what Men have always asked of their Gods: joy and forgetfulness. - Anatole FranceConrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.comBlogger879125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-20572534154921941902024-02-23T12:57:00.008+00:002024-02-23T12:57:57.610+00:00 Battlemasters with Kinchlets<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_efb4_34ed_ba42_3647" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1fNGdyRSI_Rb0gFL_-wNXSip_2WDVYRDp" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Pay attention Sir Harry, the Hun is here, here and here." - LadyBaby</i></div><div><br /><div>Finished up a practice game of the old MB Games/Citadel miniatures game Battlemasters with the Kinchlets (with feline auxiliary). They successfully defended the tower from the baddies. We’re playing a Dads v Kids game on Saturday with their cousins and I'm looking forward to it. </div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_a641_5f4c_4714_ecaa" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/11TC0gL5DWLNAr3MHb7YKgRad5Hqp8149" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>“Imma gonna punch that goblin inna snoot” - Bear</i></div><div><br /></div><div>I had planned on giving the kids special characters, but they asked if they could have “gifts” like the Pevensie children in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. </div><div><br /></div><div>One quick rewrite later and we are sorted. The mechanical affect was exactly the same, but the kids enjoyed being able to pick one over the other. The LadyBaby picked a diamond bottle filled with a healing elixir distilled from flowers grown in the mountains of the Sun (she has always loved Lucy in the Narnia stories) while Bear plumped for a sword and shield like Peter. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>The mechanic effect was that Bear added a die to a units dice when attacking while the LadyBaby could heal a point of damage from a unit each time the Mighty Cannon card was turned. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_368c_a77_28cf_f89f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1KI7S5wjYqfb47RLRfDT8PBaNeZBj4G5i" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>“We should get him, he’s a meanie” - LadyBaby</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Thus the band of Chaos Warriors were doomed. </div><div><br /></div><div>The LadyBaby used her diamond bottle of healing potion successfully. Bears magic sword was less successful - he spent the game with the artillery - but he’ll remember for next time.</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><img alt="" id="id_8125_1d19_d204_4805" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1lDpnkdop9TtSL-TCdx2UOACJPlrwLJSG" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The LadyBaby showing Colonel Sir Harry Flashman VC the next card. </i></div><div><br /></div><div>The card mechanic where turn order and unit activation is randomised definitely keeps the kids engaged. The LadyBaby in particular enjoyed turning over the next card to find out what would happen next. </div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_7435_3485_c88d_8e6a" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1679YpcpDalHEE2FlSeBgymjX3lMtZ93V" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>The LadyBaby took charge of the cavalry at an early juncture. She approves of knights it seems. </div><div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_3586_645c_8d14_e38a" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/13RzO_nIx1om8mwIrwh6ZHzuePejSeiCP" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Slowly tipping one die at a time into the Dice Tower is apparently the secret to Bear's success. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_1a58_5235_22ee_ef79" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/12IjrCf8nkb8D6sOMWfCsw3nubIUofr9b" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><br />The game ended with a resounding Kinchlet victory as they managed to hold off the hordes of Chaos for long enough that a relief force arrived and the tower was saved!</div><div><br /></div><div>Thoroughly enjoyable game. What interested me most about this one was that the Kinchlets took more ownership of what was going on. They talked between themselves to try to formulate a plan and considered different options. The simple mechanics made it possible for them to grasp all of them and not just engage with the rules, but also with what they were actually trying to do. </div><div><br /></div><div>It was wonderful to watch. </div><div><br /><br /></div> </div>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-40234199083314108922024-02-17T16:37:00.012+00:002024-02-17T16:37:59.301+00:00The Art of Coarse Airbrushing<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_4a_167d_23d4_41a8" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/18ICKoJ0rnTsqJ5056VjchGPr5zhiF6iy" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Say 'ello to my leetle tank</i></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I picked up an airbrush last year and to be frank, I've found it quite difficult to get to grips with. I had trouble with keeping it clean, it seemed to be constantly clogging and I was spending quite a lot of time on it to little result. </div><div><br /></div><div>But after several attempts and over the course of a year, I've gotten to a stage where I'm happy with it. </div><div><br /></div><div>The trick appears to be; </div><div><br /></div><div>1. Always put your thinner and flow improver in first</div><div>2. Clear after every colour change</div><div>3. Use Isopropyl alcohol in a solution for cleaning</div><div>4. Use special airbrush paints until you are *very* comfortable with thinning your own </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_6f35_d166_1c2f_a84c" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/17Azl81SiUBu6jCWeXw4th72B6S2moGV0" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div><br /></div><div>The plus side is that when the airbrush runs well, it's an absolute dream. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thin, even coats of colour, applied very quickly. There's a good bit of work in setting the airbrush up to work, but once you get it going, you can get a lot done very wuickly</div><div><br /></div><div>I've a very basic Spamax model which I picked up with a compressor and some other equipment and very good it is too. My pal, Savage, has a compressor which can handle multiple airbrushes at a time, so I went over to his place to do a bit of airbrushing together. It was a very pleasant evening and we're hoping to do it again. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_5132_3358_7e17_43e0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1Ce_DJRrFnficSw4fHysya4cP5N7MtBN4" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div><br /></div><div>The plan is to do a Courland scenario later in the year and that's going to require some suitably snow camouflaged big cats (and which will eventually be deployed to the Bulge), so I tried an old modellers trick with cheap hairspray. </div><div><br /></div><div>I had first painted this panther in the early 2000s and didn't make a particularly good job of it. I gave it a coat of Hairspray and let that dry. I then gave it a coat of Vallejo White German Camo (there's a funny German name for it which escapes me) and then let that dry. Once that was completely dry, I went back with a wet baby bud and reactivated the hairspray around the high traffic areas. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is called "chipping" and gives the impression that the paint has been chipped and worn and adds visual interest to a fairly monochrome vehicle. I'm told chipping fluid from a proper model shop is better, but I was quite pleased with this. I've a few more tanks to do, but this should make it a lot faster and easier. Just add some weathering and a few decals and we'll be done. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_83da_3890_3152_7627" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1TdMNl8f10z61A5E5S9YbV-QsMBc6XK7z" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>The fruit of two hours work and very pleased I am too. A certain amount of that was setting up the airbrush and cleaning it afterward, but once I got into the swing of things, I got paint on tanks very quickly. I think one of the ways to get the best out an airbrush would be to plan to do as much airbrushing as you can in one sitting. This would mean that you'd get the most amount of painting for the least amount of set up time. </div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_7c0e_bd41_75eb_a19a" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1y68380kvJGrgSN5Ztc1CfuU2t3dSvtho" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Location, Location, Location Endor Edition</i></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Of course Savage, turps drinking artistic type that he is, got rather more out of his painting session - it must be the smock, the floppy hat and the red haired ladies in a state of dishabille. It's a testament to just how much work you can do with an airbrush that he covered some very large spaces in jig time with a relatively small amount of masking. </div><div><br /></div><div>And very impressive it is too. <br /><br /><br /> </div>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-426488937853272762024-01-27T05:18:00.001+00:002024-01-27T05:18:18.993+00:00 Everybody's got something to hide 'cept for me and my War Elephant - The Battle of Nowshera 1823<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQhtp7wTVrgNnBwm-CByMFmuMd1mDsOLXE64-wfHhgMxdF3wsFbtgzCs2OMu9tuckjxDWsBvGMKV9yJ37ZMf2FNluFpoqmQ16CfOVVqH3A_BLNfdN7llkaCUy91_dV28KgSninUGaUPkngMmjBh2u1GHOu1dXQLPQHSepSMNiWKBHgjMzvNPNdp7ypXI/s899/Sikh-akalis_0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="561" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQhtp7wTVrgNnBwm-CByMFmuMd1mDsOLXE64-wfHhgMxdF3wsFbtgzCs2OMu9tuckjxDWsBvGMKV9yJ37ZMf2FNluFpoqmQ16CfOVVqH3A_BLNfdN7llkaCUy91_dV28KgSninUGaUPkngMmjBh2u1GHOu1dXQLPQHSepSMNiWKBHgjMzvNPNdp7ypXI/w215-h344/Sikh-akalis_0.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Sikh Akalis (Wikipedia) </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Behold their fancy hats! What kind of battle has Sikh holy warriors (Akali) and a personal War Elephant? Only the best kind of battle. <br /><br />Ever since I read Ian Hernon's "Britain's Forgotten Wars" as a young man, I've been fascinated by the Sikh Wars and by the Sikhs. They're such a contradictory, decent, turbulent and interesting people that they repay study. I've wanted to play out some of their battles on the wargames table for ages and I had the chance to yesterday. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi223mWvaiJKvZWlg8DgT7q1HXY32jI2i1x_9K8Jn8T3ITCOfJSQChxRI2kT4mD7NjqOdOk6ncFn8wILeKFfpZdvm0sY7D7bOIbY3dS-6U1_ORBzNAAiHD_vPUQBuSJ3tZGvRZvpwxPn6qbnW9VxzX_k8-7adPkV16A8WQxRoq7zpfpLeyJWg6b6i_mUb8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="226" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi223mWvaiJKvZWlg8DgT7q1HXY32jI2i1x_9K8Jn8T3ITCOfJSQChxRI2kT4mD7NjqOdOk6ncFn8wILeKFfpZdvm0sY7D7bOIbY3dS-6U1_ORBzNAAiHD_vPUQBuSJ3tZGvRZvpwxPn6qbnW9VxzX_k8-7adPkV16A8WQxRoq7zpfpLeyJWg6b6i_mUb8=w221-h293" width="221" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /> I picked up Tim Tilson's Colonial Campaigns - Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire book years ago and I've had mixed success in getting it to the table. But a hefty Newline Miniatures order and a willing confederate in the person of the Welsh Wizard has presented a golden opportunity to make 2024 the year of the Sikhs. <br /><br /><br />Tilson's Book is a supplement for Larry Brom's classic The Sword and the Flame colonial rules, but rejigged for big battles. It's one of those curious things that shouldn't work, but really does. We're still getting to grips with the rules as neither of us had played them in years, but Tilson's amendments are actually quite small and work well. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyUxUk8qlQPH8yQE-4URiQnIherLYt2q8s_iEiiredqjU_B34h-CYG4HpAlLbzV6keGjWOfpKWMNtgXt0fqs9TIObyFDc6UOs6VxyxXcg2dCsjt7pGSbiXl2Oml9FlDv0zgHeWQ7ITBLjIGBzRAwRFg6uUTU2FxqxZVI6Y8bPoFrNcyznAOp-hDOQ1D8/s498/Maharaj_Ranjit_Singh.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="330" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHyUxUk8qlQPH8yQE-4URiQnIherLYt2q8s_iEiiredqjU_B34h-CYG4HpAlLbzV6keGjWOfpKWMNtgXt0fqs9TIObyFDc6UOs6VxyxXcg2dCsjt7pGSbiXl2Oml9FlDv0zgHeWQ7ITBLjIGBzRAwRFg6uUTU2FxqxZVI6Y8bPoFrNcyznAOp-hDOQ1D8/s320/Maharaj_Ranjit_Singh.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ranjit Singh - a pretty tough customer </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But what of the battle of Nowshera? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was a battle between the nascent Sikh Empire and the Afghans. The Sikh's were led by a chap called Ranjit Sikh, a tough, one eyed general who built an army that married European style infantry to Sikh cavalry and an impressive artillery arm. Eager to expand his territory, he pushed into that part of Afghanistan held by the Durrani Empire and took Peshawar. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">After conquering the territory, he withdrew after leaving a small garrison. The governor of Peshwar, an Afghan fella named Azim Khan (half brother of Dost Muhammed Khan of whom you may have heard), got understandably shirty about this. Khan gathered an army, proclaimed a jihad and made his way to Nowshera where the Singh had built a fort. </div><br style="text-align: left;" /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">Ranjit Singh countered by deploying his own forces to Nowshera and fell upon that part of the Afghan army that had arrived there. Khan had not yet reached Nowshera and his allies had taken up a defensive position there. </div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></blockquote><br style="text-align: left;" /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">Singh attacked this isolated part of the Afghan army and crushed it, storming the Afghan entrenchments after a powerful artillery bombardment. </div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></blockquote><br style="text-align: left;" /><div style="text-align: left;">Khan fell back and Singh retook Peshwar, razed it and broke the Durrani power in the region. Khan withdrew, possibly to see off a leadership challenger, but would soon die of cholera.</div></div><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_f77_c1a2_d9cb_6d50" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/11yQv2E9Utr2tfQKc88gjLAUwUsIRaiYK" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div>The Welsh Wizard contemplates his deployment, I'd sent him pics the day before so that we could get started quickly. </div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_466_801c_7074_8a75" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1ukZM6SqYg-nGQhewAniNafZQSXYbfg8V" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>The Durrani Afghan's put everything in the shop window, lining the walls with their infantry and keeping only their cavalry in reserve. Both sides were awaiting reinforcements, but how long would it take them to arrive? </div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_930c_dddd_8cc6_615f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1ZbObdVNEV2KdVNng1fiF5OYJvDr6rgqI" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><br />I began the game with only my regular European trained infantry present, but I decided to drive on. My plan was to refuse the right flank and press hard on the left, concentrating my best and most disciplined infantry there to crush that part of the line and roll up the position. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_6b1c_89c1_eaef_a86" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1GBEEceJlmdz3lvrxWJtB0IXkXFmz1uRv" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>The Sikh figures are almost all Newline, while the Durrani Afghans are a mix of Hagen Mahrattas, converted Cossacks and later period Afghans. </div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_ee8d_18aa_2c8a_8a35" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1wtLhf-pmwYvYUebfCxs1z6F_kqhbmehl" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>The Durrani position was strong, but I had the qualitive edge in infantry, which I hoped would would prove decisive. One thing about Tilon's rules is that musketry was well modelled. We thought the hit rate was quite low, but it seemed to work well and gave the right feel as units could move, but would be ground down over time. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_ab71_5cdc_62b7_325c" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1xutkEl27iubXBEJbo64ICVOMPWNj2c3c" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">The musketry duel between my lads and the Afghans started to take effect. </div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_5c0c_1ddc_2c4b_c77f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1C1VWtRg5AYRiZyODpnaFtDa0hGftPAQ4" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>I used my Hagen Mahrattas (painted by Krizstian Takacs) as Durrani. The Welsh Wizard used his fire cleverly, inflicting casualties that while they didn't wipe out units, slowed them down and made them linger longer under their guns. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Teddy Bear stuffing marks units that have fired their muskets and therefore need to reload. <br /><br /><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_6528_e891_227_21e2" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1tjZbVAcHwdgNopCG52hYUPVRHVFljVdz" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div><br /></div><div>I concentrated my attack on the angle of the position on the grounds that it would put me in dead ground from the Afghan guns. Attacking a position held by greater numbers even of inferior troops is no joke and my reinforcements were nowhere to be seen...<br /><br /><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_ec7e_8281_e69a_2850" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1Jej1lTerdGr1gqUO6qJKrk1CCTzpmFS8" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></span></div><div><br /></div><div>I spread my fire evenly across the defending troops and managed to bait some of them into charging out of their position (this is reflected in a special rule in the scenario and did actually happen in reality) to attack my troops toiling up the slope. <br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_dcb5_3e1b_993b_db19" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1lduZ4rr8pE1q9V3Qw5GxxQQfJ5LFHWpU" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>This ended predictably as the leading paltan of Sikh troops let the charging Durrani get within pistol shot and then gave them a volley at point blank range. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_3990_a632_9089_fb18" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1fmdRhvMpH19s6YMjpK1zpuUV3AqJxgdH" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>With predictable results. The Durrani were broken and started running. Unfortunately for me, the Welsh Wizard brought his reinforcements in just in the nick of time and before my troops could get themselves organised and push on to solidify their hold on the position, he had managed to bring up several units of Ghazi, ferocious Sons of the Prophet, fired with religious zeal. </div><div><br /></div><div>This was a turning point in the game as we could hold this part of the entrenchments, Ranjit Singh would be well on the way to a victory.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5Nh8YoItCSfD7vSrBcjoVNNV4MiEM7ICwjzgMaWyCg5sseeZ28w9VRoGNaCRSwkci5EqUKikTDNYYF8j3VIZLuXK5-zxZi_sJnPyIqNN1o2Xo3jC1vFIZpefyCbkSlLf4W-JEDr7FxcWJx7L5hFqHVS0j5DT08zIjMUZ0l3n2klKLjb_ycxCMdaiU4g/s330/Battle%20of%20Naushera.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="330" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx5Nh8YoItCSfD7vSrBcjoVNNV4MiEM7ICwjzgMaWyCg5sseeZ28w9VRoGNaCRSwkci5EqUKikTDNYYF8j3VIZLuXK5-zxZi_sJnPyIqNN1o2Xo3jC1vFIZpefyCbkSlLf4W-JEDr7FxcWJx7L5hFqHVS0j5DT08zIjMUZ0l3n2klKLjb_ycxCMdaiU4g/s320/Battle%20of%20Naushera.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Fresco in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammu">Jammu</a> depicting Akali Phula Singh and his Akali-Nihang warriors making a last stand against Afghan Ghazi warriors in the Battle of Nowshera (Wikipedia)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div>This led to a turn where there were good decisions and mistakes on both sides and which was so exciting that I completely forgot to take pictures. In brief; </div><div><br /></div><div>- the Ghazis faced with two disorganised Sikh paltans coming over the wall decided to stand and fire rather than charge in. </div><div><br /></div><div>- my reinforcements finally arrived, two units of Gorachurra (traditional Sikh armoured cavalry) and two mobs of Akali (the Sikh equivalent of Ghazi, religious warriors with giant hats and killer Frisbees) led by Poona Singh on his personal War Elephant. I ran these lads forward as fast as I could, trying to take the weakly held left flank of the Durrani position. </div><div><br /></div><div>- Afghan cavalry made an attempt to flank the advancing Sikh infantry by jumping the entrenchments and swooping into their flank only to get enfiladed by the Sikh artillery who punished them severely and sent them scurrying to the rear. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Afghan fire hurt the Sikh regulars, but not enough. </div><div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_30d2_e10c_4e88_c301" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1lpDxYT7qDg227wZe7CfttOcEi9NmCFbW" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Meanwhile, my Gorachurras decided to chase the fleeing Durrani cavalry, supported by the Akali, who were spoiling for a fight. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_e087_b4e4_79f8_81a1" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1Q-ICX4miivZVSOOs1RxU4kzKrmCrSi8b" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(Angry Punjabi Elephant noises)</i></div><br />The Durrani defenders managed to shoot up the Gorachurras on the way in and broke one unit of them and sent them fleeing to the rear, but the remainder got stuck into the rallying Afghan cavalry who attempted a counter charge, only to be simultaneously hit by Poona Singh and the Akalis. <br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_42f0_6a2a_4ea0_c40b" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1yjdu7-GoBIK7lHT29at0nL--X9NgvtTW" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(Sounds of Punjabi chanting "Na na na na, Na na na na Wahey Goodbye!")</i></div><div><br /></div>Meanwhile on the other flank, the Sikh regulars took a risk and dropped their muskets. Drawing their tulwars they went straight in at the Ghazis. One lot of Ghazis took one look at the line of ferocious looking beards and blades coming towards them at speed and decided that they had urgent business elsewhere. They were chased down and butchered to a man. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_249c_ca55_fad2_6dc8" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1E-UNC3RJnoqX0Eu5enYvH40RILMJD3j-" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And here is where the battle took a fatal turn. My regulars took on the second unit of Ghazis and a fierce battle ensued. Tulwars clashed and bayonets flashed and the screams of the dying rent the air. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Ghazs either fled to the rear or fell wounded, all except their leader. History does not record this doughty warriors name but he ended up fighting on alone. He struck down three Sikh warriors and ended up facing General Hari Singh*. General Singh here being played by an Ottoman mounted leader from Zvesda's Turkish Cavalry set because I haven't painted my Sikh generals yet. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now, I had thrown General Singh into the fray because if I'd managed to destroy this unit of Ghazis it would have meant that I would have secured one third of the trenches (worth victory points), I would have destroyed another Ghazi unit (also worth victory points) and I would have been poised to completely dislocate the entire Afghan position. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_cfac_8055_e687_6fb6" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1lxxEaRGJDBL5nY71jWy38sWBm9L0NLKs" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">We rolled and the result was a draw. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_c54b_4baf_8d03_3120" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1xV56pNFojdeRCnRQJPbyWLy3iyuE0SLB" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">We rolled again and not only did I lose the combat, but I also rolled a one, which meant that General Singh was not only defeated, but he was dead. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_edde_33e6_b19c_8b2f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1nZa1ZlsjWhdEA3_pQoA6hMV93Hydvpvk" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Down he goes. This provoked a round of morale tests throughout the army and badly shaken by the loss of their leader, the Sikhs began to withdraw. With the Sikh position unravelling and the Welsh Wizard needing to return to his Tin Mine, we called the game there. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This was a hard fought game that went all the way to the second last turn and which could have gone either way until the end game. I've always enjoyed The Sword and the Flame because it creates these moments of drama. The heroic last stand of the unnamed Afghan leader shall live on in story and song. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's been a real pleasure to get back to gaming with the Wizard, a reminder of times when we were both teenagers and playing Warhammer Panzer Battles with Airfix figures. It was also good to get my Sikhs on the table, I'm looking forward to maybe getting a few more Sikh games in this year. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Fingers crossed. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">*This leader is listed in Tilson as General Blabharda...which I'm assuming is a joke. I mean really. Blab Harder?</div>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-77944067014531948942022-12-18T23:38:00.001+00:002022-12-18T23:38:04.383+00:00Review: The Wargaming Compendium by Henry Hyde<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NYH2XOM79q0" width="320" youtube-src-id="NYH2XOM79q0"></iframe></div><p>I have started experimenting with YouTube a little, mainly because it offers the chance to record something short and to the point without too much prep. A friend of mine asked my opinion of "The Wargaming Compendium" by Henry Hyde - in short it's rather good, but pricey for the new wargamer who will benefit most from it. </p><p>I might do some more of these. </p> <p></p>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-53619867424539521352022-04-18T00:20:00.002+01:002022-04-18T00:20:30.940+01:00 Just passing by<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_bb2e_c34b_8911_49c" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/j8-ubZM6zaspCVMfiSNekVvr4pxJRtgRmuZdfaKH-WR8X2Pxqj-5ZKq7Z8JONSBOs-Q" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Sir Harry Flashman VC in pensive mood - poor chap clearly hasn't been fed in ages...</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I had to the pleasure of hosting a "proper" (i.e. in person) wargame for the first time in ages a few night ago. I have been more active on Twitter than I have been here over the last two years and it was a delight to get one of my Twitter pals, Molloy the Younger, around the table for a Zulu War game. The rules were "The Men who would be Kings" by Dan Mersey and the scenario was "Just passing by". </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This scenario is played lengthways with each force attempting to get their units across the battlefield. There are points going for inflicting casualties, but the real prize is getting your force, as whole as possible, past the enemy. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_86be_4d24_9391_d5b2" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/3N0Cc9x-aSa3D26mfNdL8LpQwFKsljYkF3jo_LyPnbv86p-zxubRoMQ6ylgRV3kamP0" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Their dressing leaves something to be desired.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This was the most basic of Zulu War games, though we played with slightly truncated forces as I didn't have quite enough Impi painted (something I'm going to have to rectify). We used 18 point forces rather than 24. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Royal Mallows o<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Royal_Mallows" target="_blank">f great and august memory </a>with an attachment from the Rifles, made up the British force. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They were;</div><div style="text-align: left;">First Platoon led by Molloy the Younger, stout fellows all. Molloy was a calm professional who gloried in an an exceptional leadership rating courtesy of the randomly rolled Leadership traits table. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Second Platoon led by "Slasher" Egan, a fire-eating Corkman who was as dangerous with a sabre as he was to the reputations of respectable gentlewomen. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">First Platoon, the Rifles, on attachment, led by "Dead-Eye" Cribb, a nice boy from Kent who was very good at shooting things. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Molloy the Younger took on the mantle of the British commander, while I donned the head dress of the Chief Induna. The objective was that we were each to get as many units as we could lengthways across the table in fifteen turns. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_bac2_e98f_959f_6e5b" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wPtRLV9I4BQR0fHHUL-DPhxbeRWiqB75Xp9s-G4Kag4Dzf0paXVjB5xqQ368V3O3syA" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Sir, I wish to protest the lack of anchovies!"</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Proceedings were occasionally interrupted by Colonel Sir Harry Flashman VC who launched himself on the table to bat the odd die around the table and complain about the messing facilities. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_22ef_4f84_4a30_b14b" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/gAJezjp1sSqQkfxakhEzzGeuGikbwhmVRNA9lFhaiOy5DRcBZZHm_c5WkfBHuOjX7_o" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Molloy took the initiative and hatched a bold scheme in the first few turns. He deployed First Platoon and the Rifles in an abandoned kraal, while sending Second Platoon on a longer loping run up the flank with a view to getting them off the board. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_8e84_d487_9472_7625" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/3zDJXye-jv-oizQCHHpRNH39z7RGXQQ6V503U-lto0xUczqLuswkXA4RIhHvMj1nZHY" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>May the Heavens shake with the thunder of our coming!</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Zulu regiments were much like regiments elsewhere. They have a sense of pride and were distinguished (to an extent) by their shield patterns. Their regimental titles were in Zulu and this may shock you, but I don't speak Zulu, so rather than trying to butcher a number of Zulu names, I decided to use nicknames instead. Nicknames are quite common in Zulu culture. I used some real regimental titles (The Wild Men, Shaka's Own, etc) and some of my own invention (The Dancers and the Bull Killers). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My force was made up of units of Tribal infantry, some of whom were Fierce (i.e. had a bonus in melee) or were Veteran (more likely to follow orders). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I rolled a more mixed bag of leaders than Molloy the Younger did. I had three really good ones, who had great leadership scores, one of whom was a hero of the Kingdom (got an extra activation) and another was a great trainer of troops (+2 inch move). Of the two duffers that I had, the first had very poor eyesight (couldn't shoot at long range targets, not issue for my spear armed infantry) and the other was an idiot who commanded "The Kickers". </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This meant that I had to roll a die each turn and on a roll of 1, Molloy the Younger would get to move him rather than me. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">This came back to haunt me - I certainly felt like kicking them. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_5c66_2dbf_890c_2633" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Tl-FZ3ThIji_k3NyXMOv86fL_k7lCgn3EYxPCQ7lfDlgOOcQZTvWMVHSfNLkkhJPcQI" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Mallows take up residence in the abandoned Kraals, while the Rifles fall into a skirmish line out front. Despite this formidable position, First Platoon were to take remarkably little part in the battle. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_146e_9358_f9e7_abd2" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/734J0MwNiByKfIV49oCeUcvYhWk2FW1eDUgf-lmeMgB9dZI6lnj-3e5Bzxp_D6yxbpY" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Meanwhile, Egan and his troops double time it to the other side of the board. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_3d6e_16ff_a296_1a77" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/fvDmK6OU9LnLGo7DTQRkNd8zkMHNbalv8PsfkaT4t6QD4H1hrVxJYRAJf_QyxtGu7mw" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With Molloy splitting his forces, I thought that I could bring enough force to bear on his isolated platoon to wipe it out. I sent three of my Impi to cut off and surround Egan's platoon, while my other two screened his forces in the Kraals. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_b030_3cae_e9a_229d" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ADS8uED1OnPgtnCB6e3BqwbmkcjNOSRoozMx6dCF441x8h__dC0kuLpo-kLDNHJnVWI" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Disaster struck when my idiotic leader forgot his favourite snuff pouch and had to return to the main body to find it, this left The Wild Men to face Egan's platoon alone. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_68ad_bffb_d994_aab" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/iaQWUACMYjpY7-y6BDD8rx8Ehz9gMz315Pz3CIyT-IM2qv8EeHQhN41XMAg0bf9AT9k" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>They won't be happy in Montenotte. </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My brave lads to close the distance under cover before going at the Mallows in a rush. Despite taking a few casualties on the way in, they managed to make it contact and wipe of Second Platoon to the last Cork man. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_109f_fd6b_aa9f_ef6" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/ZBtn9JcMiGqFwiGpJp670JAMAXSjWNrNLkvyrB_uz_rLI-6jhslI0cTEW-6HMm1JEZc" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Meanwhile Cribb and the Rifles had been doing great execution against my infiltrating Zulus. I hugged the terrain and mounted three separate charges against his line. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Dead Eye Cribb managed to miss with an entire volley on the first round, but the only shot that told struck the Induna of The Bull Killers, who went down like a skittle. This left the Impi milling about and leaderless and they were mown down by Martini fire as they tried to scurry back to cover. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_5fad_8a01_cab7_4260" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/6bsssidxe0pgROXbIHVban8vwVHNQRtTYdQkqUEir5NX3hMjeNNUCUphG25ZQO9jGkw" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Trift Shop!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Flush from their success against Second Platoon, the Wild Men (note Induna at the back wearing a snazzy looted red coat) ran for the board edge. With one British unit in the bag, I knew that if I could get at least two of my units off the board, Molloy didn't have a counter. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_8111_1e5b_a428_ea08" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/g0vUIw1saDHirSEo--v5j5UJC7hwtZJmBbp6r9wQhiyCNBU7P8P39wfON3P1TkN5IxU" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>From a distance you don't look anything like a friend. </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">On the British left, I charged again at the Rifles only to blow the roll to close, which left me stranded two inches away from making contact. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I need anything but a one and rolled with all the grim inevitability of Greek tragedy, a one. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Rifles did not let that piece of bad luck go unpunished and another Impi was sent running to the rear. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_b83c_85a6_c176_9345" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/HZAOosV2tEzhvkU3QtOwo46u6xkNC7lZ9dzVy0nX1l1ca67nKk0ALkNF2nWe9fsupV0" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Meanwhile on the Right the Wild Men, despite one tremendously lucky shot from Molloy at extreme long range that pinned them for a turn, managed to rally and make it off the board. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Kickers -again- fluffed their roll and ended up hanging around scratching their backsides. We were only lucky that while the First Platoon's volley at them downed three warriors, they were able to gather themselves sufficiently to avoid being pinned and were able to keep moving. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_a108_2263_c70c_fdfc" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/DakL0ctps8CUeRo3s-fvAfDOag0Yw_FJIMRaHxGjWLjYH9hslPuyTovu8bjBchW5r4k" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>They don't like it up 'em!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My third charge was launched on the British Left and I finally made it contact with the Rifles. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Sadly, to qoute an unnamed Zulu Induna "There was something wrong with our bloody spears today."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Molloy had managed to whittle me down to equal numbers with Martini fire, so my advantage was reduced, but Cribb's boys set to with swords with a will and actually saw off the Zulu attack. I couldn't roll for toffee and we only killed three of the Green Jackets. Our morale broke and we legged it for the rear. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Thankfully, if my rolling in that combat was poor, someone (I can only hope a grizzled Zulu NCO) had managed to apply the business end of an Iklwa to the backside of the leader of The Kickers and got him moving. He lead his men off the board bypassing the British position and securing victory. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_6a4a_842a_bd34_11a7" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/c9HNNR-fulQNAVsNSIPG01kRe2WFTM-nfSAuTTsI2VkSEGt-S3C6Wh9wG29M5dfHQCg" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Molloy the Younger magnanimous in defeat</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The game ended with the Zulu's victorious seven victory points to five. Molloy had managed to destroy about 50% of my force, while I took a third of his in return, but we accomplished the mission we had been given and that was enough for victory. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This was my first in person game in a while and I can't say how I enjoyed it. Molloy though not a regular wargamer grasped the basics of the game quickly and the battle took about an hour and a half (including smoke breaks) at a leisurely pace. The Men who would be Kings showed itself to be a simple and robust set of rules that gave a game of movement and decision in a satisfactorily short period of time. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I look forward to playing it with Molloy more often, though I think he'd like a shot at some Napoleonics. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Usuthu!</i> </div> </div>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-57694253926994643632021-06-08T21:05:00.000+01:002021-06-08T21:05:19.080+01:00Evil Robots <div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_a5db_d4e5_b31f_4971" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/tG8oDt20bEzrt6x3HMj9MXprlhHnK43HeBIU41nP55rNMiPVTjZqj8R7hDLmfsrVQP8" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A group photo for the album</i></div></i><br />I picked these guys up a few weeks ago for two reasons.<br /><br />Firstly, I thought they looked really creepy. <br /><br />And secondly, because I thought they’d do well as a sort of an undead analogue for games of Stargrave. My take on Stargrave is going to be effectively turning it into the light Warhammer 40K roleplaying game with miniatures that I’ve been scratching around for since the mid-nineties. I really enjoy the setting and while I love Blackstone Fortress, that game is a bit too limited for what I want to mess around with.<br /><br /> <div style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><br /></p></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_1c66_18ad_a283_2e92" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/N8V2HWOJsOegyIVE35GDT5xu30yJvOftVDO6SFJKd115Mtf-c6ZabvyLpmQywEgsg4g" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Us evil? A nasty prejudices caused by hurtful stereotypes about skulls</i></div></i><br />I had thought at first that these were conversions of old Space Crusade Chaos Androids with some Necron parts added, but looking at them more closely they seem to be a mixture of Marine parts and Necron parts with a few other odds and sods thrown in.<br /><br /> <div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_89d9_af31_64da_6d6e" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/y8pJ3Kg36Ne7JVYamnneDonAXA9uQjufXGx67GnsTVwJgJBisiOr_ocicEYcVtTDyLk" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Those really are impressive claws</i></div><br />I’ve been messing around with Stargrave for a bit and it seems to be solid. I’m not completely sure as I haven’t played a face to face game yet and no game really survives until players have been let loose on it.<div style="text-align: center;"><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><u></u> <u></u></p><div><br /></div></div></div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_7356_deea_1f71_cd89" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/1QR9XlmikMoCF35kdzKXik3cFbD-MhdYVIiB7ZXMkEYRd8zL6_xJewYQz1sTXrypCRg" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Dakka dakka dakka</i></div></i><br />I think this particular piece, the gun arm specifically, comes from the old Space Crusade Dreadnaught but I'm not 100% on that. It does occur to me though that a man who was concerned about verisimilitude in his Evil Undead Robots might wonder where exactly the ammunition hopper for those rotary cannon is. <br /><br /><br />But that would the thought of a churl and a nincompomp and therefore is beneath consideration. <div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_cfbc_7f68_6dca_dac8" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/4vHswknjyfbhkanx0B_PtYrHLNByA7NpWUqiGFGRyb3DD-HnSH2i92cBXjkWlemk6Yg" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A skull bathed in eerie orange light? That must be Henry</i></div><br />I suspect these fellas will be appearing on some sort of desolate planet or in a deep dark vault or possibly in a derelict starship stuffed with secrets that man was not meant to know.</div><div><br /></div><div> <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_6dd8_e79a_943e_e9fa" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/UxX-H0BrgC_oXn5LmNhtBi9ayNdFMHd_Ut6w6owLatjI6_gZC5KiFZwlMk7nRS80AX8" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Whirr - clank - evil cackle"</i></div></i><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_d189_bdb2_5972_e13b" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/LWVLV-VsNTHDvbaEwUi8amLhJy5SkEkOtK8xwciIxkSMzmEmPqPWLuSEIRxIjjWWfJQ" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>They really are quite big</i></div></i><br />I could see these working quite well in some sort of solo scenario as they could be pre-programmed to act in a particular way, perhaps with cards or a simple table of instructions that you roll on to select what happens. <div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_3cf6_772c_5883_e0f1" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/SCrzVbIQyP0CR5-kXjORzQZu0t2Ghp1TU1TrDm-YKpl5bSzCO0j84bxQNRGDMnYnF4I" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The elder lemon</i></div></i><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fyJei1lBrVDWjEUDSYxRpfRmqwcDMJw8RwiS481H1-ZiN1sCZEWZnz8YO4CVaJ6Kd0KESgC_iRjtq5kY8AJp8ZYap5hv_9IdQLp07pUkhJ5p_6WImC-eiU9yTJ3BeOYRJyD-dl4YSzA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="879" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fyJei1lBrVDWjEUDSYxRpfRmqwcDMJw8RwiS481H1-ZiN1sCZEWZnz8YO4CVaJ6Kd0KESgC_iRjtq5kY8AJp8ZYap5hv_9IdQLp07pUkhJ5p_6WImC-eiU9yTJ3BeOYRJyD-dl4YSzA/" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>(click to embiggen)</i><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This chap is a Space Crusade Chaos Android. These were in the dim and dark past of Warhammer 40k corrupted robots possessed by demonic intelligences crafted by Squats that had been seduced by Chaos. They never had official figures behind these plastic Space Crusade figures and some Epic figures, but I've always had a weakness for them.</div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> </div></div>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-27700553690733441562021-05-11T22:38:00.002+01:002021-05-11T22:38:33.694+01:00 A Mixed Bag<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_2094_b953_e75_c6d6" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/ikgpRgwN09_U5tOziSO-WTdA_9a3hygBa09bN_SWsEZRBuW8isDx7QHIKP_1JmYFOEw" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Something grey and stoney</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I am blessed with some truly remarkable and extremely generous friends. I'm currently running a game of Rangers of Shadowdeep for some pals at the moment and game requires a few ruins for them to explore. My friend Siskey was kind enough to use his 3D printer to run up a few. The result were very impressive. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_ab7b_c32c_f6ad_b827" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/X93Kp9HvXoGfJrwhMy8CA3St_QgHKd6alE0ynaYfw0uFPVYAyctr4h0D2g24cmpyPAU" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Something a bit more Mediterranean</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I painted these using tan colour as a base and then adding a bit of variety to the stonework with a mixture of brown, greys and other tans. Interestingly though the two buildings look quite different the only actual difference is that I put a black wash on one and a burnt umber wash on the other. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm quite happy with the results, though I think I prefer the more Mediterranean looking burnt umber wash myself. It's such a change from the usual grey fantasy stone. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_46a9_933_5463_c6c3" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/u67WzWOUOtX0mTBOpQ8cJSjo-hZWYkLvOx-ZIR-LnzD1cA6075ivNppUkVjvD2m_SoI" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Another view</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_fa36_beeb_1a2b_c58b" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/kYDlsYV95AOjAJwkJFG4yjqC01l69jmcF0xbYrPvCj5xdgy6tDW2eVZjLVKWXGqebk8" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>The top lifts off</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_d5f1_2e_f814_1e2b" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/vtjgBs-vC3kxltbJWqEHyesSymZHL1qcKen9HfT2TdcB4zc9pLNFvcpPREfuQdFRs2Y" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Positively Maltese</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've always quite fancied going to Malta. It looks beautiful in pictures and there's lots of history to look at it. I'd imagine the food it pretty good too. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Painting these more Mediterranean looking building did put me in mind of Malta. I think these could do with just one more drybrush as a highlight, but I'm really pleased with them. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I tried making a couple of washes up from recipes I found on the internet, but when I tested them out on the building they didn't look quite right. In the end I settled on a mix of Daler Rowney Burnt Umber Ink mixed 50/50 with Matte Medium and the resultant mixture diluted about 50/50 with water. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The result ran into the pointing of the stonework in a very satisfactory manner and I intend to do the rest of the buildings with it. </div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_68b5_9605_b176_63dd" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/uOB88hKm4JQ5DtShUbjxGzaaikKQWqrg5ICpWLom9MiXly-utWVBvbwLd_9HjPMXOlg" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Wargaming with the Kinchlets</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Kinchlets are much taken with space at the moment. We can recite all the planets in the solar system and have just about figured out the concept of the Universe, Galaxy and Solar System and how each fits inside the other. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">They also wanted to play a game with some of Daddy's toys, so I pulled out the mat and ships from Richard Borg's Space Alert. The game was simple. The Kinchlets were given some ships. They were allowed set them up anyway they liked. They were allowed two shots per turn and could flick a counter any of their ship at their opponents. Any ship hit was removed. Each ship could move two hexes before shooting, if they wished. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The result is a fun, bloody little game that at least gets them used to the business of taking turns and winning and losing. It's also less likely to drive Daddy to distraction than Snakes & Ladders. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_6ef4_c9cd_b4c4_d010" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/I4iUDS9zAcmLAEitvzuwem_8rgYhOeZ-UX4hz9ZCdt-MFoC5NNBYyw4mUaVRQ-W6g0I" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Strelets Chasseurs tangle with Zvesda Guard Cossacks</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I wrote a piece on wargaming in 1/72 and why it is a good idea for the most recent issue of Miniature Wargames. While taking some shots for the piece, I had a few left over and I thought you might like to see a few. These are Strelets Chasseurs of the Guard facing off against Zvesda Cossacks of the Guard. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_b512_867a_9a72_2bcf" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/xjVyTPUzc2wpUfHx-1pjuoVYJJhETSc_eOvXiDgtMBY_RshtjZ4MR3pBr9sXPCxqLNM" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A bold officer</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I really love the animation of the Zvesda figures, they have a bounce and lightness to them that is hard to find elsewhere. I really must get some Napoleonics on the table sharpish. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-52410718485475804562021-04-01T01:26:00.000+01:002021-04-01T08:59:34.313+01:00T-62 - Soviet Heavy Metal<div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_c866_ca07_585c_8632" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ML6fjNExPZt8_T45qqsb6bgpa3FYdsNk3-E8JHAE_oByhkLB9P1i-bTo0bFfzaeCrls" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip=""></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Somewhere in Germany circa 1979</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">Courtesy of my pal Tamas, I took delivery the other day of three Grubby Tanks T-62. This brings my count of T-62s to six now, which with three left to go - is almost a full combat. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">The figures themselves are resin and metal and have their problems. There's a bit of bubbling in the resin, which I had to attack with green stuff and I'm not sure the game was worth the candle. Regardless Tamas has done a lovely job on them and hopefully they will be storming across the North German Plain before too long. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">The T-62 equipped units in the 62nd Shock Army, which is the unit I'm sort of modelling. Armed with substantial armour and a powerful 115mm gun, they were a match for the Centurions and M60s they were arrayed against.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_8efa_22f6_fda5_d4f3" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/GVKFOduWRsOkpzzjhnGbZRy2morckHHJSWmErmskTtaEit-3pLHxy8qyalOJoAq9dSo" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip=""></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Steel beasts unleashed</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">I had five minutes and threw a bit of set dressing together to snap some pics. If there is one piece of advice I can give the budding Cold War gamer it is get yourself some toy cars in your preferred scale because they dress a battlefield like nobodies business. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">I had originally collected these with a view to using them with Battlegroup Northag, many many moons ago, but lost interest when they decided to shift to 12mm figures. I've run a fair bit of Cold War skirmish stuff using Savage Worlds, Force on Force and Black Ops. Of those Black Ops is the best wargame, but it is firmly a skirmish wargame and doesn't lend itself to tanks. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">Tom is making noises about Seven Days to the Rhine which is very much a tank heavy game and I do have a copy, so I might have a look at that. Though between COVID and everything else, God knows when these will finally see the field. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_acc0_201c_3ace_bf86" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/2smqUnQl_chT_ecbkMas5iUzujHgxTRq5ZOuDtNO-NdpAbCWsK0mJVq2Q_locVf6hXA" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip=""></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Not the best picture I've ever taken</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">I wasn't going to use this picture, because I'd framed it badly, but it does at least give you a decent view of the tanks. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div> Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-27952584827394267772021-03-18T23:23:00.001+00:002021-03-20T18:46:52.368+00:00Sabre Toothed Lion<img id="id_4dfb_7eb6_daae_6b00" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/2yv7fC6FjAI4qEM9sR3vDQTGrASv7T7SpI60yzcS7cli1A2Q1rdxNV__XI6hQ3HgVyE" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 354px; height: auto;"><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">The new Rangers of Shadowdeep expansion “Menagerie” calls for all sorts of beasts including lions and tigers and bears (oh my!). The scenario actually calls for a tiger, which for some reason doesn’t sit right with my slightly grubby 12th century kind of Fighting Fantasy Allansia vision of the Kingdom of Alladore where the game is set. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">I have no idea why a sabre toothed lion makes more sense to me as an exotic animal to find in the setting, but it does and here we are </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span><img id="id_3d86_e7e7_e2ba_f02f" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/YQC_mII4bDT7Ax3q75ol1XQKfSnpWoIJf7tdjY-2q2tA5ZubiXf6prI4xnsivQTg9xE" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br>The figure itself is from Northstar and is a crisp one piece casting that’s a joy to paint. I had a look at some pictures of real sabre toothed lions and they were quite spotty. I couldn’t make that work - so I started again. </div><div><br></div><div>Base coat is Vallejo Khaki with a drybrush of GW Screaming Skull. Any warm off white will do. </div><div><br></div><div>Then I added a couple of coats of old GW Flesh wash to bring out the colour. I concentrated it on the rougher parts of the fur. </div><div><br><img id="id_6be1_cd82_c38d_54ff" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/lkcTLI924IFI46IaP9eMnRyWcTcJeGfU0F_tdL3-cav-c7wGJkKr8fMURdqby7GNQx8" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><br>That all done I used GW Wyldwood contrast paint to colour the muzzle, add shadows under the tummy and to defund the musculature a bit. I edged the “mane” and used the paint thinned with medium to do a gradually darkening colour going towards the end of the tail. The face and muzzle got some highlights with Screaming skull again. </div><div><br></div><div>I through a mix of red and wyldwood contrast paint into the mouth. Then picked the teeth out with screaming skull. Agrax Earthshade at the base of the teeth and then a highlight with whatever white I had to hand. Much the same story with the claws.</div><div><br></div><div>All in all, a nice model given a quick paint job. Pleasant to do and none too demanding. </div>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-21734794334455013482021-03-09T23:20:00.007+00:002021-03-09T23:20:49.575+00:00A Tower on a distant planet - Cheap Sci Fi Terrain <div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_7554_7a2b_f54a_c583" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/kiLGuJMochuLICPnXZfYZCt91HjDDUmoanFOW9qXzkvjD69Dp681gzpUhcG_V8zRYsk" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A Robot, a squat and a blind psychic walk into a bar. </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Stop me if you’ve heard this one. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Squat is an old Rogue Trader figure, while the psychic is from the Astropolis Kickstarter. The Robot is a privately produced model that I picked up via the Oldhammer Facebook group and he is just lovely. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_c307_4e73_f070_e302" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bBLyKFpXxJV6Un9NsyYygrPzdywdmkyoWNfcitO9lSpYtjmWVwz4FXbvFztLU-_wUXc" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I picked this up in Lidl for about the price of a pint. At the price it seemed foolish not to. I actually picked up two. With Stargrave just around the corner I’m hoping that I’m going to be able to get some science fiction games in. </div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;">Rangers of Shadowdeep has hit just the right kind of role playing game with miniatures feel that I really like. I’m hopeful that Stargrave will scratch that itch. I’m aware it’s more of a competitive skirmish game - but Frostgrave is very easily modded into a semi-RPG, so I’m cautiously optimistic. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_2b74_7ff1_6e31_9348" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vswOlXLm8NhoQKpM-SmUioY87RElh-OUcF4v0o6WNyeY5QKn9W9XL9i2IsN5MSADobg" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;">The kit itself went together in about five minutes and actually scales well with 28mm figures. To be honest, while it's not perfect - it's actually pretty good even without a lick of paint and wouldn't disgrace any tabletop it was on. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_82f7_852d_3db4_9e8e" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WbHhC91SQQeX-vVeNyOFXieNoY8N98AyNSyrB1-ttzFXU0XCl22CbZCyGo0k_SRnQ4I" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">These guys are old Rogue Trader era Space Marine Scouts painted by my pal, Kriztian Takacs. I popped them up here to get a sense of scale and they seem to fit right in. Which reminds me, I must do something to dolly up those bases. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_32dd_6bae_1e5c_2a2b" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/7MCeiPo8BQXF6EgOGJxgYiosbS4_cjMj8siUG63kbycyfKVL8Yc37ovvhV9w1W9ErhQ" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A long shot</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In brief, these were an excellent buy for the money and while I might do something with them in future, they look fine to use as is, for the time being. I might also need to invest in a new backdrop for my figures. I can't imagine whatever God forsaken planet this is having blue skies with fluffy white clouds very often. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-2042582501309698562021-03-04T22:45:00.006+00:002021-03-04T22:45:42.880+00:00Boars & Bears! <div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_d9c_fe2e_e7f3_211f" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/B8Y2M5fdzkRE7mhz_eDRhs3fKzGEws4gP2JSnq81tPpK8PrP0hW0mU7Fn6KjLyZX1qg" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>This bear is partial to bacon sandwiches</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The last few weeks have been packed. Work has been demanding and family life in lockdown is a bit of a juggling process. Add that I'm doing a course at night and the whole thing is getting a little bit overheated. My gaming for the past little while has been devoted to producing articles for Miniature Wargames and while that is fun, it's nice to do something that is just for my own amusement. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rangers of Shadowdeep has been my casual game of choice for a while now. The latest expansion for the game "Menagerie" involves the players taking on a sinister caravan of evil animal tamers. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_9b95_f49f_77e5_c4e7" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bD8wyi3Sxyoax6g6re5KmHIAwGbBglpsa-7dSzmRaDSjDQwzUhbOZjusIfqdZ0cPGq4" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A grumpy bear in pursuit of a boar</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The expansion came with a list of animal figures that were required and I wombled over to <a href="https://www.northstarfigures.com/" target="_blank">Northstar Figures</a> to ordered a few. These bears and the boar are from their Wild West range, but they work perfectly for Rangers of Shadowdeep. They are lovely clean castings and the customer service from Nick at Northstar is top notch as always. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I painted these over a couple of evenings while doing other things and I'm quite happy with them. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The running bear is a big chunk of pewter that has a pleasing heft in the hand. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_b605_b39b_76c3_fcfe" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/VWcUGxcHJgAMn6ser2ffXXsqrhkMAO8YfemcJGQGRHqW8O4ScdXnfhBYedsWmFEOZ1A" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Northstar Bear rearing</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">These required the minimum of prep and were painted using a mixture of Citadel and Vallejo colours. I undercoated the bears in white, then gave the figure an all over coat of Citadel Contrast Wyldwood (a dark brown). They then got a drybrush of Citadel Tallarn Flesh all over concentrating on the top down. I then hit the upper parts with a light drybrush of Vallejo British Uniform Highlight (any cream or off white would do). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The whole thing then got an all over wash of brown wash. I used Citadel Flesh wash because it was what I had to hand and my Agrax Earth shade was in the other room and I am the laziest man that ever stood in shoe leather. I let the wash dry over night, then hit the raised portions again with the Vallejo British Uniform Highlight. Added some Vallejo dark wash to the eyes to darken them up a bit and a dab of Citadel Contrast fleshtearers red to the mouth to lighten it a bit. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Et voila. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_4e94_2e60_3787_90e5" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/rV1QRD3CeVnfviUBvuOyh0xoe8znkeR3Jhdy7QhYLbjFhPrsVe8fIA-Pl3flI5seq50" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Quite happy with the detail on the face</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm quite happy with how this bears face turned out. I wanted to keep the look simple and not too cartoony and I think I succeeded. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_9f3_b17e_d883_913a" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/VLI9XGey-DkhiIQ_QM70HzS1zRIJBbIfle91qwz0ATD07tSn8jIYzjsgmci4X-oshrs" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Rawr!"</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_c32f_58ad_8b33_dcf6" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/BY3oJDl8nWEE-7geksydP4Vq2aIiv5kfl3vNNinl917E9r0PqpA-ZLlWpt-MrNp0n30" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A Boar</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The boar was a puzzlement. I had originally intended to go with something quite close to European boar, but they were quite monotone and also this chap had a much pronounced mohawk than his real world contemporaries. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ultimately I decided I'd try something a bit starker than with the bears. Again working from a white undercoat I gave all his fur a lash with some Citadel Contrast Goregrunta Fur. This did the job like a trooper. I did his snout and other fleshy bits with Citadel Bugman's Glow. His trotters got a quick dab of Citadel Contrast Skeleton Horde and threw some Citadel Flesh Wash over his snout. I then left him to dry overnight. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">He then got a quick drybrush of Vallejo British Uniform Highlight on the top parts, just to add a little tonality and bring out the mohawk. There's probably a name for that part of the boar now that I think of it. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_130b_2847_2f62_469f" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/4pVuxwZ6VPctNM14_g11WU7VHKp_62sleujNeENuTYLiOMFI62XnM841LtiNJRTHZ2c" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Making a quick getaway</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I highlighted the face and snout with Citadel Tanned Flesh and gave his mouth a little Citadel Contrast Fleshtearers Red. I then highlighted the trotters, tusk and teeeth with Vallejo British Uniform Highlight and declared victory. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_6d81_82ca_1ec8_b674" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_P-IlGQdXpL4NrLnQUbtdWPA07sP-yNNsRiB5qlM5DFatTHCCisZ0xBDc9eXvcXZ420" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Prussians</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In one of my madder moments, I decided that in my copious amounts of free time I would contribute to a noble project that is taking place under the umbrella of <a href="https://waterloouncovered.com/" target="_blank">Waterloo Uncovered</a>. This is the building of a massive Waterloo diorama in 1/72. My contribution is a measy fifty Prussian Landwehr, but it's nice to be a part of something like this. So while I was waiting for my bears to dry, I kept knocking off a few Prussian fleshtones and overcoats. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My contribution is a very small one and there will be tens of thousands of figures used in the diorama. If you want to get a proper sense of the scale of this project, uou can see some pictures here at <a href="http://generalpicton.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">General Picton's blog</a>. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-55017369455453622672021-02-22T10:07:00.000+00:002021-02-22T10:07:06.592+00:00Better dead then red<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_94d1_be19_ac37_98c7" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/1UbnZy4XMAxqlRorZiQKRXPY2-oft_ynV88gJAMzIHJ_hR8wiMYlW7C28VJ1Rik" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With lockdown and all the challenges that has brought, the only game I’m managing to play regularly at the moment is Rangers of Shadowdeep. If you’re not familiar with it - it is a co-operative fantasy wargame/role playing game. </div><div><div style="text-align: left;">The specifics aren’t important, but the Kingdom is threatened by the Shadowdeep - a sort of land plague that takes over neighbouring kingdoms. All sorts of gribblies come out from the Shadowdeep, but amongst them are men corrupted by its evil who serve it. Sort of like cultists, but not exactly, there isn’t much in the way of explanation. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_8e3c_33e5_1e50_5a8d" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Ywws9wely9I0fyu_cmmLhRSepS4oXrp5z4iqtRknCGMi2HFOsgCg7ZYFSzOVyBU" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">This chap is their leader. He is one of the official Rangers miniatures from Northstar and he is a lovely sculpt. Very clean casting which painted up quickly. </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_dd6a_da56_f1d2_4daa" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/2lVi29YNwhu75sMbpYP38xR0V3bsIV_FXc3EwpcDNDjkplVUpq9zWCftnWGG7fI" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I was pleased with how he turned out. I primed him, hit him with some red contrast paint from GW and added some highlights. I added green ink as a wash to the brass face mask to suggest verdigris, but I think the effect was too subtle. </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_2a8_14ca_5d44_c828" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/sSwFYrhlKyAZnHtiY9n12v4-T4IjRPbZ98fZVy2_uKQZBv5Fp76wT7AkDEMRpok" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">In retrospect, I have have gone a little overboard with the edge highlighting on this one. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_eb33_906f_2e27_b79e" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Xk4F9BkdtXQ2qItGwbUX9jakhk-976-FvFW3CGegr74eDpgfji2QCjzg1RBtRbc" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">One of the strengths of the Northstar plastics is that there is a fair range of them and thus far I've found them quite interchangeable. This figure is a sort of chief henchman sort of character, so I took the arms from the Northstar Frostgrave Soldiers set with the big montante style blade. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">They fit fine and he doesn't look out of place with his fellows. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_ed9c_bcb1_34ef_d012" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/IF4ESxC7q6TiQqhckZgWcZ-eM2sbQKM7PhfFfXxpJeKAtW6MJe42H_8SEn9iIbo" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">These are Temple Guardians. Metal figures from Northstar's official Rangers of Shadowdeep range. They painted up relatively quickly and I think they look suitably menacing. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_4903_13dc_39fa_acc9" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/xTNBf_BwNMZa4bwZz1nzg8aQ8V3WLo1BE2Cj6iQdrJeiadUJYwWwG7iZJrdQiB8" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I might have gone a little overboard with the edge highlighting again, but I also tried to give their bronze face masks a sort of verdigris look by washing them in green ink. I'm not sure I was bold enough and the effect seems a bit lost. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_604c_d504_cced_6ffd" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/4VIJ5tWHDGx8kIvtu9BK5gX26Sp0XvC_6KuKufYaZonsSrd68avgjuypHH7yt8w" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Notwithstanding my reservations about my paint job, they do the job and most importantly they are finished! I'll be using these for Temple of Madness, one of the later Rangers of Shadowdeep scenarios. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_c710_8146_a4f0_16f7" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LIkZRVAm9I_fLMTY4ewC78YIurdxKXsqCs7KiirKX7AuxLfBqfXUyiLxoBkXGqU" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Sometimes you just need a chap in a red hood with a club. And these are very big and very stompy clubs. The hats reminded me of Trotsky's pointed hatted armoured train guards - who probably have the coolest looking uniform of any military force of the last 100 years. Sort of like a cross between Communist chic and the Wizard of Oz. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_8c42_d2a6_831a_bb00" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/WahDHCYYMrHHvFNp8w0MuUcZ1dAIzadqEmQPOI6oonvwRbvKi_xOf0r5x3oUOOs" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Contrast paints did a lot of heavy lifting and they will work well as faceless mooks. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_5b9_dc8a_12f5_e158" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/WuNRRlzaj14iBAcaxQCJHC2OEDAXznNZCS1Yf-rul8LgZYoAXCPjiNEIruphTLQ" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I did four of them, which is about as many as I'll expect I'll need - given that the players will be attacking them from the get go. In earlier times, I would have painted the maximum possible number required, but these days I try to be a bit more economical with my painting time. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_1d59_68ae_932e_eaf4" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/8wOWwENqwp6QpBGVJt1bjhXuSt3Yw0c6aMbVrtgPHCXAHgzWJ6ETIPY_F59tAUA" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Proof, if proof were needed, that the crossbow is a bad guys weapon. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_c4d8_2e49_a50d_6760" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/D5awF1GmbqsonSCo_6S9PNFAat3GJg9IXKnH89_A-R8ppPb12Dye96tDkUMpexE" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The scenario actually calls for four Temple Guardians archers, but by long standing convention the bad guys always use crossbows in my games. These are again from the Cultist box. I think the crossbow arms might be from something else - but they fit like a glove regardless. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_1471_29ad_e1ab_ea4f" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/IsFlfbRIhZo8EWUvj38J_rSWiytK_5q0DkhPcw1xDaTt2YLX3gMoxdQdboQidb8" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">If you look at the chap on the right, you'll see that one of the crossbowmen has a cloth cover covering part of his bow. Unfortunately due to a mess up while transporting the figures, I managed to break part of his bow and I then, doubly foolishly, lost the piece, so I couldn't reglue it. </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I added a cloth cover with greenstuff as the best way to cover the lack and while it's not the best job, it serves it's purpose. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">These guys will be doing their worst in the Temple of Madness before too long. I hope. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-19837254549769954122021-02-14T11:05:00.001+00:002021-02-14T11:05:19.890+00:00Snowball Fight<img id="id_5c12_531e_bc13_fe83" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/0J8WmAPEUux0AvliNyggKiZAdxGM0kQJtHeOO13G20-6Oq6baDSXYxaajg-CDxA" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"><br><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A snowball fight </i></div><div><br></div><div>This is a much belated Christmas present for Mrs Kinch and her mother. I had hoped to get them finished for Christmas but things got sear with me. </div><div><br></div><div>These figures are from Replica Toy Soldiers who do a special Christmas set every year. They were a joy to paint. There’s something very restful about painting big figures in simple colours and high gloss. </div><div><br></div><div>Using proper oil based varnish made with asbestos, fruit bats and arsenic which takes days to dry is a key part of the process. </div><div><br></div><div>Can you spot the different regiments in the snowball fight? </div>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-41962543491008542562020-12-04T22:53:00.003+00:002020-12-04T22:53:50.129+00:00Four get lost in the Asturias<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdvV2RunWEiF7IcHJOG7h4WKshsp-VZN3Wm9CnxhwrOhmIsfUCD_0p5owZ90A3O21lW3um04gQlXGhlowpRL6CekaMlKqJc88v5BCuG_zYN8M3jZUXy7rY40yxRxgxrUxzpgFdNg9W0BQ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdvV2RunWEiF7IcHJOG7h4WKshsp-VZN3Wm9CnxhwrOhmIsfUCD_0p5owZ90A3O21lW3um04gQlXGhlowpRL6CekaMlKqJc88v5BCuG_zYN8M3jZUXy7rY40yxRxgxrUxzpgFdNg9W0BQ/" width="302" /></span></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Kinch doing some of his best work</span></i></div></i><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I played an RPG last week, which was a surprise. I played with one old pal (<a href="http://madpadrewargames.blogspot.com/">Mad Padre</a>, who joined late, but will no doubt be taking an active part later) and three new friends from Twitter. To be honest, if it wasn't for a campaign of constant harassment on the part of Marcus Cribb - it probably wouldn't have happened. </span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Weirdly, just having some one keep at me helped things immeasurably because it meant that rather than overthinking things and worrying, we just did it. The result was a short, lively game played over Google that was very enjoyable and that whizzed by. We packed a lot of stuff into two hours. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Proof, if proof were needed, that I do my best work under constant supervision and when cornered like a rat. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>Situation</i></b>: </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The players are all subalterns in the British army being shipped to Wellington's army in Portugal in January 1810. They are being transported aboard the HMS Alacrity, a frigate under the command of Captain Stern. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The HMS Alacrity suffered badly in a storm and was blown badly off course. Her her water casks got lose in the hold, being badly damaged in the process. Captain Stern was obliged to put into the nearest land, the French occupied coast of northern Spain. </span></p><p><i><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Dramatis Personae</span></b></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Captain Stern</span></i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDiCU0QCatkPOTVeLDy1QTWG5FW8PK5VGHBeOWrzAzcGp5cj0sTxXQ3wdjVvMWDHldVG6Ys2U_cugNEYFWiijmZ5DVYUW1892V6E_YtmR9vAbP6ovLdEKa12hMYdqZBAoq8BZErQ8hSA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="227" data-original-width="300" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDiCU0QCatkPOTVeLDy1QTWG5FW8PK5VGHBeOWrzAzcGp5cj0sTxXQ3wdjVvMWDHldVG6Ys2U_cugNEYFWiijmZ5DVYUW1892V6E_YtmR9vAbP6ovLdEKa12hMYdqZBAoq8BZErQ8hSA/" width="317" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Captain Stern</span></i></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />A distant authority figure who can never be pleased. Captain Stern is the commander of the HMS Alacrity, a frigate which came to grief in a storm and which had to venture ashore looking for water, somewhere in the Asturias. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Viewing the players are landsmen, soulless creatures little better than the beasts of the field, Stern took the opportunity to put them ashore and send them off to collect some intelligence from the farmhouse overlooking the bay. Meanwhile, his sailors took on the proper jobs of repairing casks, finding fresh water and trying to find supplies. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJnD58L6nH5qpCpDLZChQzpp9Sd64uNUTLwQy7cSRA-ypDcc5W-t-e0FpTpY5XxL4GDuz-5Ya-PueJKOn4jjUsDwL2OVYRcUnF_cvimy5iW5nBgRbTsU3igHvNXYJWifFe-Pc_YbB8DI/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="145" data-original-width="348" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJnD58L6nH5qpCpDLZChQzpp9Sd64uNUTLwQy7cSRA-ypDcc5W-t-e0FpTpY5XxL4GDuz-5Ya-PueJKOn4jjUsDwL2OVYRcUnF_cvimy5iW5nBgRbTsU3igHvNXYJWifFe-Pc_YbB8DI/" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Midshipman Evans</span></i></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Midshipman Evans and his party put the players ashore and then settled down to proper work. He reiterated the Captain's instructions (which the players promptly forgot) that they were to get up to the farmhouse, find out exactly where they were (which they also forgot to do) and find out what the French presence in the area was (if any) and what the state of the country was. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">They were put ashore at 0930 and were to be back by 1230. If they heard three guns fire, they were to hightail it back to the beach as fast as their feet could carry them. Evans was absolutely explicit on this point. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXJHK3Zz7fnlIIYYuVjvNbBx1x9nQ76QBSG7HYHMzFShoJQyQ4fscYv2g3UW4Ri9-1MbYNpMzpo5K6YmgAS0VzXVF8gxrrAkqtraDqPsR0CmOfUzQcVfeEqdTv3KKupiOOAGFGKIAq8Q/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="1300" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXJHK3Zz7fnlIIYYuVjvNbBx1x9nQ76QBSG7HYHMzFShoJQyQ4fscYv2g3UW4Ri9-1MbYNpMzpo5K6YmgAS0VzXVF8gxrrAkqtraDqPsR0CmOfUzQcVfeEqdTv3KKupiOOAGFGKIAq8Q/" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Some farmhouses are further away than they appear. </span></i></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But who were the plucky lads sent up to explore strange new bits of Spain, to seek out new friends and allies against the French and to speak English slowly and loudly where no Briton had spoken it before?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">They were; </span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU5U1-PGCCW93JZdPBJLnRuN3vMv0hM7N0Ydg061qiHDzJ8o8RAZIL-awcENuyxzcw1zVmCaiOEClz6uRnRj_pjazGLDA6i4l8Fzgqo9NkDIdIdoETKaRK2AEcNApG3zvsDu518-HKISg/s640/IMG_4671.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU5U1-PGCCW93JZdPBJLnRuN3vMv0hM7N0Ydg061qiHDzJ8o8RAZIL-awcENuyxzcw1zVmCaiOEClz6uRnRj_pjazGLDA6i4l8Fzgqo9NkDIdIdoETKaRK2AEcNApG3zvsDu518-HKISg/s320/IMG_4671.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Ensign Molloy (Right) & Ensign Peterson (Left)</span></i></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ensign Molloy</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twenty one year old Ensign Molloy of the 86th is the senior man in the party. He was born to rich landed gentry somewhere in South County Dublin. A handsome youth with polished manners and fine command of French, he is a persuasive speaker and is no doubt putting in a few years in uniform before being pack off to parliament. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carrying: Sabre, Pistol & Purse of Gold. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ensign Peterson (played by the <a href="http://madpadrewargames.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mad Padre</a>)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Seventeen year old Ensign Peterson of the 18th Royal Irish The second eldest son of landed (but not titled) gentry somewhere in Britain or Ireland (we haven't worked out where yet). A</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> pimply young creature, he has the benefits of a classical education and also, crucially, speaks Spanish. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Carrying: Sabre, Fancy Pocket Watch, </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Caesars</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> Gallic Wars. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Peterson and Molloy are accompanied by two men of the 18th whose names escape me. </span></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJ-rbmDm-I5DlOIQy2l3uS_g-dMflaicdeXklDT0S1XC_c7ukyzNnUOY7VbJ-BfSyt1h1wpWsJiSZDa-k-vxRbZXf_5OQe_pKnxNcpCnGziLRO65RQHnvYoryvcZ1QoJdu0Vmatq9XW0/s640/IMG_4668.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJ-rbmDm-I5DlOIQy2l3uS_g-dMflaicdeXklDT0S1XC_c7ukyzNnUOY7VbJ-BfSyt1h1wpWsJiSZDa-k-vxRbZXf_5OQe_pKnxNcpCnGziLRO65RQHnvYoryvcZ1QoJdu0Vmatq9XW0/s320/IMG_4668.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Ensign Egan and CSM O'Brien</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ensign Egan (played by Tom) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Twenty year old the Honourable Ensign Egan of the 18th Royal Irish. The youngest son of the Lord Butler, First Marquess of Ormonde - there are some doubts as to his legitimacy, which might explain why he ended up in the line rather than gracing the ranks of a more fashionable regiment. A </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">youth of average mien, he is a g</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">ifted fencer and rather good at sneaking around. </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;">His enthusiasm for cold steel and ruthless streak have yet to find full expression, but he is already being referred to as "Slasher" Egan around the mess. One can only hope that CSM O'Brien can keep him on the straight and narrow. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carrying: Sabre, Spyglass, Compass. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkMvPh1Z3RZdeaYeU6yB3mhzog-eDDL23TQlAXmhly0CMXiS9rnPrpZy6GntA8zAcFULlp-k_DB1kR_0OqGvYs_ZqmoaXZpBAke51ANB8USRuYJD8vVdfDZ56ZseNdMOjskoqbF9vOXno/s640/IMG_4669.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkMvPh1Z3RZdeaYeU6yB3mhzog-eDDL23TQlAXmhly0CMXiS9rnPrpZy6GntA8zAcFULlp-k_DB1kR_0OqGvYs_ZqmoaXZpBAke51ANB8USRuYJD8vVdfDZ56ZseNdMOjskoqbF9vOXno/s320/IMG_4669.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; white-space: pre-wrap;">2LTCribb</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Twenty year old the 2LT Cribb of the 95th Rifles (date of commission equal to your date of birth). You are the middle son of a country clergyman from deepest darkest Kent. A </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">youth of average mien, he is a good shot and scandalises decent opinion by carrying a rifle himself and swanning about in a fancy pelisse. He is a good cross country runner. He is accompanied by his servant and minder, Rifleman Harris, who is not finding this the cushy number he was expecting. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Carrying: Rifle, Sabre, Writing Materials. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">So how did it go? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">There was a quick comparing of commission dates (I used the players birth dates) and it was determined that young Molloy was the senior officer. He led the party ashore, was given a brief lecture by Midshipman Evans, which he promptly ignored, then had a brief break to get their land legs and then set off inland. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Looking at the approach to the farmhouse, the party had two routes - a more direct route which lacked cover, but would be faster and a second more circuitous route which had more cover. Molloy plumped for the second and soon the lads were scrambling up the escarpment. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Once they got to the lip of the cliff, Cribb and Harris slithered forward and had a look. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">They saw a farmhouse complex surrounded by hedges and with a fountain in the middle. They snuck forward and realised that the closest building seemed to be a kitchen and servants quarters. Ensign Egan told off CSM O'Brien and two men to hunker down by the entrance to the court yard and keep sketch. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6rok69IJ4rpXBwSvxn3VhdFm2cyTIX79whvCNKepkTID0XgcaBIxE7Jaq_x3s7XbSkIpeo00rDQoQF_b8m0HspO0QuFxyk4uvKu16WxZwdSGYFHCoCF-nHh4g1_svTZjnDdSRU3qffA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="278" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6rok69IJ4rpXBwSvxn3VhdFm2cyTIX79whvCNKepkTID0XgcaBIxE7Jaq_x3s7XbSkIpeo00rDQoQF_b8m0HspO0QuFxyk4uvKu16WxZwdSGYFHCoCF-nHh4g1_svTZjnDdSRU3qffA/" width="97" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Thankfully this lady was not permanently harmed by her ordeal</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Cribb and Egan dived over the window sill and heroically subdued the cook who was boiling a large cauldron of water. They tied and gagged her, without questioning her, and then everybody hid in the building. A particularly grumpy looking French squaddie appeared outside the second house and started smoking. Meanwhile there were anguished screams coming from the other house. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW3w_TYjtLMaOwL3lfACXfo_OzBoE5F2mg2gheqsqzbtYptlt3S_1P2oxyJpHWxPXFzIM2p8Del9P77mVtTxJ8zlTgfD2HqdAxdTF5avzmd5-shsP5pDlnAqFKJaFwjbirBetXIODs16g/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW3w_TYjtLMaOwL3lfACXfo_OzBoE5F2mg2gheqsqzbtYptlt3S_1P2oxyJpHWxPXFzIM2p8Del9P77mVtTxJ8zlTgfD2HqdAxdTF5avzmd5-shsP5pDlnAqFKJaFwjbirBetXIODs16g/" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Now 15% more dastardly</span></i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There was a quick conference and the boys decided that the dastardly French were clearly torturing someone. This impression was only copper fastened when a second French squaddie appeared and started being heartily sick outside the second building. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI31lgIkhegsYDfUckITBx7pCUtMtBIIFjI9O7zJeEuXp6ud4H9G1qG0Wra39-4Yigcs4Vn7p4fDGUpVq7mLw23hSW__DzCAax1ukuKPHZl_4HB_HWgHj3D0AfZrVo9ctdggIwMoJnA38/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI31lgIkhegsYDfUckITBx7pCUtMtBIIFjI9O7zJeEuXp6ud4H9G1qG0Wra39-4Yigcs4Vn7p4fDGUpVq7mLw23hSW__DzCAax1ukuKPHZl_4HB_HWgHj3D0AfZrVo9ctdggIwMoJnA38/" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Cribb and Harris took up position overlooking the court yard, while Egan and Molloy waited to rush the French sentries. The Riflemen fired and while Harris dropped his man, Cribb's piece flashed in the pan. The surviving French stared agog as Egan and Molloy leaped from cover screaming like maniacs. </div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Of course, CSM O'Brien and the boys had fixed bayonets and were charging across the yard too. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Molloy shot at the sentry with his pistol, winging him, but the man dropped his firelock and managed to run back inside. The lads chased him through the front door, hard on his heels, so that he kept going until he dived out the back. Meanwhile more howls and screams echoed through the farmhouse. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Cribb damning his rifle as he ran, took Harris around the corner to cut the fleeing Frenchman off and ran straight into this. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQExWF21HoQ-6fIPcWjL1dkuTN2ikJooYEmzbfkm-UPPw-vbhd4oomu7HRXSI54M23003gXmI0lD-09lUX3eHQOmRYd3LagBm8AYnBUWKSDbQfBBbMBYAPFgrOODur_yQnVn_eIk1Om1k/s640/IMG_4676.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQExWF21HoQ-6fIPcWjL1dkuTN2ikJooYEmzbfkm-UPPw-vbhd4oomu7HRXSI54M23003gXmI0lD-09lUX3eHQOmRYd3LagBm8AYnBUWKSDbQfBBbMBYAPFgrOODur_yQnVn_eIk1Om1k/s320/IMG_4676.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The paths of glory...</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A Spanish surgeon doing his best to get the ball out of a French Colonel's back. The surgeon was too busy to bother with what was happening, while the orderlies were too shocked. The few French infantrymen got themselves together. Young Cribb pointed his rifle at the closest one, who returned the favour and then both men fired. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Only to roll double ones! Both men flashed in the pan, while Harris sent a ball through the other French sentry that was showing fight. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1J_-wzRQqr80Z8t8KRCthC5Kn5WQTeCGaFapEyUdQiKGwx9gcIOgZTXl8p5BhaGzqroC1ku1pKT75_TlfMy2LYhHrPD0fx7I63RuwZUeQpAw9oXBTFp9U4MI2wXmI1w5Zf4u7pN72qF0/s233/IMG_4678.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1J_-wzRQqr80Z8t8KRCthC5Kn5WQTeCGaFapEyUdQiKGwx9gcIOgZTXl8p5BhaGzqroC1ku1pKT75_TlfMy2LYhHrPD0fx7I63RuwZUeQpAw9oXBTFp9U4MI2wXmI1w5Zf4u7pN72qF0/s0/IMG_4678.jpg" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Do you know who wouldn't have messed up his shot twice in a row? Just saying...</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Cribb charged his man, who promptly surrendered. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Molloy used his excellent French to call on the others to surrender and they soon saw that discretion was the better part of valour. The bag included three French infantrymen, the colonel and a staff lieutenant named Le Marchant. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgE4xxVtmKXP_NP9z7HF3A0QzRusW3inMCora8T9oLuKf_mJ203jFji2P3wR5wrfAwXY7R1J4Zfh2ffAhmewV5BiteVhd1vMDfzBGK6C7aEl6Mad3SwSAIHCxGqEwmOT1A-frDZ8E8i8/s640/IMG_4677.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgE4xxVtmKXP_NP9z7HF3A0QzRusW3inMCora8T9oLuKf_mJ203jFji2P3wR5wrfAwXY7R1J4Zfh2ffAhmewV5BiteVhd1vMDfzBGK6C7aEl6Mad3SwSAIHCxGqEwmOT1A-frDZ8E8i8/s320/IMG_4677.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Don Sanchez and his assistant, Manuel</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A quick conversation with Don Sanchez through an interpreter, confirmed that moving the Colonel would kill him, so they decided to leave him, but they rounded up the rest of the prisoners. Le Marchant offered Ensign Molloy his sword, but it was politely returned in exchange for his parole. It was at this point that CSM O'Brien politely but firmly reminded the young gentlemen, who were a bit giddy with victory, that time was a wasting. </span></div></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOzSdAF_gXyxEbBC5uc9dmBVvq4HCktOCFNrBHr1S5Ks4bf1RlnTaq3J9Rhz4YI7MNw_KC9chabPQU4Qx5dZBNbprTILd_pk0n9WgvR7giGh3WTJTXifsHHL-lXjH1ck8ZrhlZjx5GCjg/s350/IMG_4680.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOzSdAF_gXyxEbBC5uc9dmBVvq4HCktOCFNrBHr1S5Ks4bf1RlnTaq3J9Rhz4YI7MNw_KC9chabPQU4Qx5dZBNbprTILd_pk0n9WgvR7giGh3WTJTXifsHHL-lXjH1ck8ZrhlZjx5GCjg/s320/IMG_4680.PNG" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Ensign Molly is very happy</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The lads decided to head back to the ship as quickly as they could, Ensign Egan was complaining that the prisoners were slowing them down.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They moved down the escarpment and made their way onto the beach only to discover that despite the fact that they were fifteen minutes early...the ship was gone. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And there was no sign of it or any of the rest of the shore party. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I called the game over there as it was a school night. I am cautiously optimistic that we might get another session in before Christmas, but we shall see. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-2086148048830007942020-08-12T22:56:00.002+01:002020-08-12T22:56:34.546+01:00Out for an Ambull<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_422b_7669_3c3_9475" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2bNF5vf-pdqlU55_CupKzsoWUcHR2mc3-2I5PzGwIC9XE2-iB_JW_eujeeUdRPk" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mummy Ambull with two Bore Wyrms</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Not much to say about this one except that I painted this Ambull figure from Blackstone Fortress as set out in the instructions and it worked reasonably well. The monster is an interpretation of an old monster from the Rogue Trader era and I've always had a soft spot for them. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_7b7b_c206_85fd_905c" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Bdeth0iwYngCNKG_XyUK47TEm2IFSQdK-ofsoqh733Og04k4CVfa9bUHmAviKL8" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I worked quite hard on getting the skin tones right</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_87a8_664c_295c_b0f4" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/7OCwe-NFKvoIsn-MOf7Tn5FfmHHsfhA2J04t26z1HnIBefdG7zQsbidW_J94VAw" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The "glowing" hive things were tricky, but I'm really pleased with how they turned out. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_6e2_353a_317f_4c38" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/izS_FdBNRRLHlzxOWC9mGFDJLjQv8rVzVR4loS34BD9_Tx_9Omc1SW7Fv3gcB3E" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The drybrushing on the grey skin worked out well</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_83f5_8b15_ef70_d53d" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/2U4RroBLRmlB2Lfn9CJm6OQw1kPhkNBSnK2Mb9XbwpecFkkfJA0FEbuMLdPplNI" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Cute little clawed horror</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_f889_8f40_8ab7_b003" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Wp68jYNX0FCB9OzT79jpLlDksorZbi2A9e83-MhXpw0RGr7eE3ZqV2HbJqsyeD4" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">They look just like their mummy</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="id_340f_bf58_1d34_6c59" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Gwk5nlwoVCBpqfBVqkNzCVGTVsPDfG8YKUxRORB9HE2PFNFvVgHxXOqo526IwhI" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ready to munch some explorers</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> </div>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-13968306867230677332020-08-02T22:00:00.003+01:002020-08-02T22:00:46.629+01:00Work in Progress<div style="text-align: center;"><i><img alt="" id="id_ebd0_e5f_5206_d10c" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/3rKHGO9hpfbc28uO3C5vvF8L3dBjHz-PmLYYOgkjbixF7UHcQQhI-3KxDnodtbs" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>An altar from Mantic's Terrain Crate</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> I got a bit of painting done during lockdown, mostly aimed at knocking out some stuff for Blackstone Fortress and Rangers of Shadowdeep. This is a Reaper altar. It looks pretty grim. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><img alt="" id="id_a94e_e2dd_2902_2622" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/bOzp0_z3Av9kO55gfjuoHBwFEwoSk5eBXVd-j8VgE-3YDKMv8lTrlahFdUELqZQ" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Another view - needs something I think</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm probably going to add some brass to the handles and some weathering on the top. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><img alt="" id="id_4c2_95a6_b49b_20ca" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/grUYgyaKxlTLJQ-psboFW2kZ7IW6nfJ46Vy-YevpqAz3S1OEk7Os2BzYUtxwPec" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Conquest Plastic Norman Infantry</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've been messing around with some Robin Hood figures for a while now and sometime in the near future I hope to actually get a game on the table. But every good hero needs some baddies, hence the Norman infantry. This chap has ten mates so I decided I would go with a super quick paint scheme of mostly contrast paints. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><img alt="" id="id_eaf6_d111_7817_7e73" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/ymz3CVlVbPQxgEczVZ-ei2L_Xl77H02RNX--eLk0gY7V1SShETyw_dFTW8fH0xo" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Another view - mostly Contrast paints</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Conquest miniatures are plastic and are very affordable. Twenty quid for a box of forty. You get a good mix of axes, spears and swords and lads in different sort of armour. I've messed around with a couple of different setups and the figures go together easily and are clean with out too much detail. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><img alt="" id="id_74b5_a069_b502_bbf2" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/7sKV0uW0XaHxLYjj9hTkzbtyjGwb_VidRfiQjywBIO7UWMIwp1bQzpb-0-aQqnI" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Needs a little detailing, but mostly there</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">I took these pictures a while ago and I've actually finished these figures since then, but given my terrible record of blogging over the last year I thought it was better to post and be damned. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With a bit of luck, there may be more to follow. </div><br /> Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-42889425899901619702020-04-08T13:52:00.001+01:002020-04-08T13:52:19.279+01:00Wargaming Remotely in the Time of Corona Virus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>Remote Wargaming Setup</i></div>
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<i>(Note: the cat is vital to the enterprise and cannot be done without)</i></div>
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A lot of us are cooped up in our homes at the moment - which is a bit of a pain in the neck, but sure beats the alternative. But one of the drawbacks of the lockdown is the fact that a lot of us will not be getting our usual wargaming fix. </div>
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Over the last few years, I have taken to playing games remotely by video conferencing with friends who are far away. There is absolutely no reason we can't try this with our usual opponents or why not try having a go with some our your internet pals. There is no time like the present. </div>
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I have recorded<a href="https://anchor.fm/conrad-kinch/episodes/Remote-Wargaming-in-the-time-of-Corona-Virus-ecg5k9"> a short podcast</a> on the subject, summarising the lessons I've learned from the last few years of remote wargaming. </div>
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But in brief they are; </div>
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1. Preparation - Get everything ready (board, terrain, dice, counters, etc) before the game. </div>
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2. Think about the camera - Remember that your opponent does not have a clear view of the table. </div>
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3. Dice - Use a dice roller or work on trust. </div>
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4. Start small - Double the amount of time you expect the game to take as a good rule of thumb. </div>
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5. Brief your opponent - Send your opponent a written brief before hand. </div>
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6. Be patient - Your opponent may have difficulty working from a small screen, be patient. </div>
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I expand on each of these points in the Podcast and there are a couple more, but these are the basics. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7503vpZXsQnPss-e23J8cY7qt2uj7gxmlBtGHpJNHGtKi5xSltmo36yVyoFdPS3hfwvZ1Q800w2snKtRhZKbwcnQn8RRR7NfVCyDLZKPGSYqpx8pUXaCxWZOe2_6DnG9Lof04OVsRTyU/s1600/IMG_0650.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7503vpZXsQnPss-e23J8cY7qt2uj7gxmlBtGHpJNHGtKi5xSltmo36yVyoFdPS3hfwvZ1Q800w2snKtRhZKbwcnQn8RRR7NfVCyDLZKPGSYqpx8pUXaCxWZOe2_6DnG9Lof04OVsRTyU/s320/IMG_0650.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i>Sir Harry Flashman VC striding across the battlefield like a colossus</i></div>
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Backdrops are extremely useful in a play by video game, because they give your opponent a clear indication of where the edges of the table are, which is not always easy on video. I would also pick a plain backdrop if you can, so that your opponent can see your figures silhouetted against it. It can be tricky trying to make out what's happening against the visual clutter of the room. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj34RM6a4IakcTmU_-bDUU3A6cLTdpny9dSUvtLBs5GLFPhX-7zHWicgbQ8K2FywvGnCM5q8LDj-sFypWqSmU3thfJb11b2z42WZqMYxm201VC43urrIgRejxJG6F4WmddmsDyfbuLgZWY/s1600/IMG_0652.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj34RM6a4IakcTmU_-bDUU3A6cLTdpny9dSUvtLBs5GLFPhX-7zHWicgbQ8K2FywvGnCM5q8LDj-sFypWqSmU3thfJb11b2z42WZqMYxm201VC43urrIgRejxJG6F4WmddmsDyfbuLgZWY/s320/IMG_0652.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i>The British forces close in on the well</i></div>
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I played a game of The Men who would be Kings with my pal Nick last night. I wrote the scenario especially with remote wargaming in mind, so it had a few extra little wrinkles built in. </div>
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The game was set after the battle of Mudki during the first Sikh War in 1845. Lord Gough's army was short of water and Captain Stern was dispatched to find a well in a nearby village. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4q6eLe51JaXeLFN9Az8irIRVnGpr8GTGeuKs3D9eoq0lXlsyP-b5IrnHe1YqGLKuvrcd9YefxfbbSZLW8_CXQ2ZFis69HWmaegedjYnRDyipS52KaxJjiA7j0FKvK1aOXgsWyiLY9ks/s1600/IMG_0653.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4q6eLe51JaXeLFN9Az8irIRVnGpr8GTGeuKs3D9eoq0lXlsyP-b5IrnHe1YqGLKuvrcd9YefxfbbSZLW8_CXQ2ZFis69HWmaegedjYnRDyipS52KaxJjiA7j0FKvK1aOXgsWyiLY9ks/s320/IMG_0653.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i>Brutal charge and counter charge between Sikh Akali and Bengal Irregular Horse</i></div>
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The game took about ninety minutes to play through, with some time after for shooting the breeze. The Sikh Akali's made short work of Bengal Native infantry, the sole survivor of their savage charge you can see fleeing to the rear. They were immediately counter attacked by the Bengal Irregular Horse under Risaldar Mir Afsar Ali, which lead to a brutal hand to hand struggle. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQ8r6LygqHYiCNAR_OqnIyCb1dwvY8BvDXWH6Tf32too3LMK_SR8yR3HnTUtvxmXMd2JA649CUHz-TZ_B4NSXbafp5jl0dsz68l8kJXPCizTkn7MSYnLLhyphenhyphenqDG_zOetMoNC6VKbb653U/s1600/IMG_0654.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQ8r6LygqHYiCNAR_OqnIyCb1dwvY8BvDXWH6Tf32too3LMK_SR8yR3HnTUtvxmXMd2JA649CUHz-TZ_B4NSXbafp5jl0dsz68l8kJXPCizTkn7MSYnLLhyphenhyphenqDG_zOetMoNC6VKbb653U/s320/IMG_0654.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i>"Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!"</i></div>
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The Akali and the Irregular Cavalry charged and counter charged several times during the game and the officers on both sides were killed. In fact, it was a brutal game for officers all round. You test to see if an leader becomes a casualty by rolling 2d6 and they only fall if you roll snake eyes. </div>
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Both Nick and I rolled a lot of snake eyes this game with a statistically improbably number of officers dropping like flies. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUACuC0e_6d1NuGSy431wv_92VdfIrwN5edZGd0C1cc577gkz8sKdC0UQ00B_xr8DmJGUvLgYdF0EHFKyiqg2nCEiNHTX6sLglK3dskC3F3Ew_DXRRLK13YO2bCVBdaF1D9-WVzczvxQ/s1600/Akali+Charge.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUACuC0e_6d1NuGSy431wv_92VdfIrwN5edZGd0C1cc577gkz8sKdC0UQ00B_xr8DmJGUvLgYdF0EHFKyiqg2nCEiNHTX6sLglK3dskC3F3Ew_DXRRLK13YO2bCVBdaF1D9-WVzczvxQ/s320/Akali+Charge.JPG" /></a></div>
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<i>Official War Artist Nick Stern did this sketch of the battle between the Akali and </i></div>
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<i>the Bengal Irregular Cavalry</i></div>
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Nick is an artist and sent me this wonderful sketch of the battle between the Akaki and the Irregulars. It strikes me as something out of Caton Woodville. I will really cherish this and intend to print it out and frame it once this whole sorry business is over. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9sjKyY4-uZVubsX3mC9a6DPoMqWCpdq152j-aRyLRM6wSh5cvV-q1t4uTTp3Wpe1Oi5maMr7cdWKhzquSGYjBJT9XD0joH6Vz8iIfvjw00hxH6SOCX2-Z_UQTASsWrWikbuYqIMpg8E/s1600/IMG_0656.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9sjKyY4-uZVubsX3mC9a6DPoMqWCpdq152j-aRyLRM6wSh5cvV-q1t4uTTp3Wpe1Oi5maMr7cdWKhzquSGYjBJT9XD0joH6Vz8iIfvjw00hxH6SOCX2-Z_UQTASsWrWikbuYqIMpg8E/s320/IMG_0656.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i>British lancers run the gauntlet of the Sikh musketry to spear the gunners and capture the gun</i></div>
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The game ended after a tightly fought engagement with my Fauj-i-Khas penned in some buildings but undaunted. They would have proved a hard nut to crack, but unfortunately they couldn't counter attack without being hammered. Stuck where they were they were unable prevent the British taking the well or our heavy gun, which was being evacuated by a rather splendid elephant from HAT. </div>
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This was a thrilling game that was in the balance right up until the last turn. It was a pleasure to play against Nick and I will treasure his sketch. </div>
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If you would like to know more about setting up your own remote wargaming games, please tune into the <a href="https://anchor.fm/conrad-kinch/episodes/Remote-Wargaming-in-the-time-of-Corona-Virus-ecg5k9" target="_blank">latest episode of Send Three & Fourpence. </a></div>
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Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-47828239191600730802019-04-18T01:35:00.003+01:002019-04-18T01:35:33.060+01:00Mind Bullets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><img alt="" id="id_16c7_e5f4_40d_b746" src="https://alexdenk.eu/blogtouch?id=1VivzzeGceGsRFoVqrazd_wGiOt5whVCh" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip="" /></i></div>
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<i>Being a psychic demands skill, talent and an interest in amateur dramatics</i><i><br /></i></div>
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I've been neglecting proper toy soldiers of late and doing nothing with my Stalingrad project which is pricking my conscience. I had intended to pick up some Winter Russians in the recent Elheim sale, but didn't get around to it. Work and family has just been so busy that I catch myself running both ways. </div>
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<i><img alt="" id="id_a841_b1ed_6671_47a2" src="https://alexdenk.eu/blogtouch?id=1tIb6cGu_2ooJwr9GM5_jP696kW0v_--u" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip="" /></i></div>
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<i>I really must clean up that base</i><br />
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The little bit of painting I have been doing has been for Blackstone Fortress. I've been tipping away at the figures for this, a little bit at a time - I've found that I can get one colour done sometimes in the mornings. The most recent effort have been some rogue Psykers - chaps that we haven't seen much of in the game as of yet, but they have a certain something. </div>
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<i>I was quite pleased with how the glowing eyes turned out</i></div>
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<i>"Dramatic? MOI??!?!?!"</i></div>
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I am quite pleased with how the glowing eyes turned out. I followed a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkLZZbndav8">tutorial from Guy at Midwinter Minis </a> which I heartily recommend. It was a bit tricky at first, but I cracked it in the end. </div>
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<i>Fur accents to ones frock coat are so this season. </i></div>
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<i><img alt="" id="id_adb1_8964_569d_3a10" src="https://alexdenk.eu/blogtouch?id=1tpt1ZEjBPJSfFr5BGg6Bf9J9KLsYyiIA" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip="" /></i></div>
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<i>This picture did not do it justice, but I am pleased with the depth of colour on the coat. </i><br />
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That's it for Joy & Forgetfulness at the moment, though I am looking forward to a game of Napoleonics at the weekend. Probably going to be Waterloo, because well, it's Waterloo and we have the pleasure of a visiting <a href="http://madpadrewargames.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-new-look-and-artist-to-follow.html">Mad Padre</a> to entertain. Mike and Joy visited in what I hope will be the first of many trips. It was a real pleasure to make their acquaintance and they demonstrated admirable fortitude and patience in the face of a disgruntled Kinchlet. </div>
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I did discover, sadly, that our visiting clergyman is a raving Bonapartist. I hope we shall be able to teach him the error of his ways. </div>
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Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-35917626770642934432019-03-21T20:37:00.000+00:002019-03-21T20:37:57.698+00:00Space Germans<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpXlDHn-fAtNDKP-b2eRl7VYniahSe_Rhv9VD42HxM3I6SIZK95eUTMScFkhM5bxFGzVfArHCyiPhgk0vcxzzkrj00S3t9AthhQJfIkZyjzKPszVCV20YHpZoXoL4_u4Bg3bUhuCn8vw/s1600/IMG_5482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1595" data-original-width="1600" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpXlDHn-fAtNDKP-b2eRl7VYniahSe_Rhv9VD42HxM3I6SIZK95eUTMScFkhM5bxFGzVfArHCyiPhgk0vcxzzkrj00S3t9AthhQJfIkZyjzKPszVCV20YHpZoXoL4_u4Bg3bUhuCn8vw/s320/IMG_5482.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I finally got cracking on those Traitor Guard. The grey uniform naturally lent itself to some Second World War style stuff, but I wasn’t quite happy with it exactly. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTGbUvUyVRkVBdt_Z4PuwwtdRjFGOTOjtj7KKEj0nQP7wsr-ifjbWo55da_JSbQWtwVD4in1T3aT3KO7W0IJj0zq6UgKcFFtBpDL8Cw4Wac0zJKVsJmMPFaNtiiGWV-oJvrpAcrFu34E/s1600/IMG_5483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTGbUvUyVRkVBdt_Z4PuwwtdRjFGOTOjtj7KKEj0nQP7wsr-ifjbWo55da_JSbQWtwVD4in1T3aT3KO7W0IJj0zq6UgKcFFtBpDL8Cw4Wac0zJKVsJmMPFaNtiiGWV-oJvrpAcrFu34E/s320/IMG_5483.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As you can tell I didn’t go with grey or dark green in the end. Stormtroopers of the Imperial German army during the Great War uses a sort of geometric camouflage on their helmets and I went with something like that. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwjOvSPutH3DP__kIx9uudNyH_JCv5hQ8Z7Ek_FgW8niqk47D0R-5Da4RFbvNoewrqE_xWOhuBOrR3klk-hAeHtQkV4tMSNIdI6nM02joE3MRo7XQobzTlNsVO0fklEFAw6CYyQJLwKE/s1600/2019-03-12.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwjOvSPutH3DP__kIx9uudNyH_JCv5hQ8Z7Ek_FgW8niqk47D0R-5Da4RFbvNoewrqE_xWOhuBOrR3klk-hAeHtQkV4tMSNIdI6nM02joE3MRo7XQobzTlNsVO0fklEFAw6CYyQJLwKE/s1600/2019-03-12.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m not sure if this is a replica or an original, but I regardless I think we can agree it is “pretty metal”. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">One of the crazy things about this chap is that he’s the squad sniper. He will also stab you with a trench knife! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-XwuxVaiAHZp4DmA4tXhXR-7OtDfB2uQk6UGJCF5AHQeByIXieDNSOcwTAGpYwf5y82-QCP6dz7g3llx_zapM6PdQ9VhlPnMSsJaseTMsWCp1ctJiQdsWpTx-0fnghBbbb2a_8SKgzMA/s1600/2019-03-12.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-XwuxVaiAHZp4DmA4tXhXR-7OtDfB2uQk6UGJCF5AHQeByIXieDNSOcwTAGpYwf5y82-QCP6dz7g3llx_zapM6PdQ9VhlPnMSsJaseTMsWCp1ctJiQdsWpTx-0fnghBbbb2a_8SKgzMA/s320/2019-03-12.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I found various types of painted helmet on line. I can’t remember where exactly I found this one - but it looks postwar rather than Great War. I know the Freikorps used to paint stuff like this on their helmets. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The helmets used during the war itself were a bit more restrained. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the whole, I’m very pleased with it. I had to repaint the brown section as it was a bit too light, but it looks rather well now. There is one squad of seven with black helmets and one squad of seven with the stormtrooper specials. It’s very handy from a gameplay perspective, being able to tell one from the other. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>For me? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life is bit manic at the moment as the Bear is not sleeping and it’s rather wearing. One can economize on food and drink, but sleep is the one necessity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Fortunately, it is a life that has many other advantages. Gentlemen, I don’t know if you’ve ever brought your toddler daughter a flower (tactfully removed from the bunch bought for her mother before I came in the door), but I can assure you that you will feel ten feet tall as a result. She was absolutely delighted. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fatherhood also means you also get invited to a better class </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of tea party.</span></i></div>
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Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-59621460904797588632019-02-25T20:26:00.001+00:002019-03-12T07:47:27.468+00:00The Beastie Boys - #Squaduary2019 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><img alt="" id="id_fdce_84a1_ee3c_6dfa" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHkDnEK2NBQdWzKdWmRYveUr3zYy6lKz3sgXGMrk2syH6yH1TFxW60e3pIFHFwq2CwyeCA2fhNCkUB_hAWzgH6XP890twE1nCVxcX4Eoo6mcJuWX-FmJ59WwW2hNLrg8XGFfWFJjLofzM/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip=""></i></div>
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The Boys are all here</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">So Squaduary is over and I’m half pleased with how I did. I got the Nega Volt Cultists done and the beastmen, but completely failed to tackle the two 1/32 scale dioramas. This was due to a combination of factors - a change at work, some Kinchlet illness and the discovery that both sets had problems that I had completely missed while assembling and undercoating them. They can be fixed with green stuff, but I didn’t take the time. </div>
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<img alt="" id="id_4961_cfb_92d1_519f" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKwYowdVjRytub2pLEfEa0j2O3z5sETpwt8FVT3d0pEkd1xj81qMJgM112QmcAwcnqPfgxieWNrGgOT_PB8xqmxfkgzpjHdbGDC2Ga95b4xWc8id0mcQnBQrFLSVy9sFNZFoRo-Rquhs/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip=""></div>
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Standing on one leg is so on trend </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">These turned out rather well I thought. The only thing that I found a bit peculiar was painting their eyes. Cows, sheep and goats have black eyes which I copied by running some black ink into their eye sockets. That seemed to do the trick, but it looked odd. I may try one with human eyes before I varnish them. </div>
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<img alt="" id="id_b366_8ded_8c0c_c11e" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFM5DeWl8e2xvxRWgW9X9phaEhLK7Zpc_InC8K16YeySAoLInluV3CPw2uAYSVA1v3QLBxBJakJHICbVQ0yNoDzgRQy-SVJNmqIPbxfpIab0iIsairao2c9xrLFnFe2-jiXxAVpTd0ZQ/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip=""></div>
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Quite pleased with how these turned out </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">The chap in the middle is a little unsteady on his base. I’ll have to see if I can fix that. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div>
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<img alt="" id="id_ff3e_fa29_43b7_5973" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBdvMImfKElJvUsxdLAhOU-37xFuePUyYhSXSpVpR-Gkr23oaqWQe8Rvol2J4XAK6OuzJVvo_yHYh0KsmCJcVKvt9k3dwNjP_sWW-zMRoc0fLtUbJHetuG6hPuVKjthvDaVm-VlfdW6TA/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip=""></div>
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My high tech photo studio </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div>
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<img alt="" id="id_1d67_44e8_facb_1d21" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaW189XWXeqcuiiwl1UQiVHrXjYDdVcHHP4bfYdbXqc3azvujPjfdResjiDylcklZr02t9R1wg-4py4RXC4aB1yfX-c8p-Bh8TlgAQ-c9oyNnq4-tNBDF5aegolMuN805GSszAXDAfeWQ/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip=""></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;">I decided to focus on Blackstone Fortress figures because it’s the game we’re actually playing at the moment. </div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vGwsTi01bpI/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vGwsTi01bpI?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" id="id_8423_71fc_92b5_210e"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>Really excellent stuff </i></div>
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<br></div><div style="text-align: left;">I’ve been relying on these videos for painting instructions. This chap is painting all the models in the game with only fourteen paints, two washes and three brushes. It’s an ideal way for a beginner to learn, but myself I just enjoy following along. It’s the very thing to clear the mind after a days work. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div>
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<img alt="" id="id_adb5_8625_eda_d31e" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk914JsO9u7ewEfODjr3miIoljY2bJnD5Ln3bUDZPgS5g4uF11OlH-yXGG5UUte5kGFoxdpTyRLA0JT-gNaLWF_fTJLZwPvmGrS-f4SEwaCPcLXZrIQV94JJPAHP8zEXiQsTFLaKnG8Ks/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip=""></div>
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This is actually really handy</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">While previously I had just chucked all the figures in the box and away we went, I found that things were getting bashed and there were some breakages. This was frustrating as they’re nice figures and I was painting them. I came across this solution on the Blackstone Fortress Facebook group - it’s a custom insert for the game box made by Feldherr. It fits in the box very snuggly and I haven’t had a breakage since. Each figure has its own particular billet cut to size so it keeps everything straight. I’m not sure it’s a great solution for most figure storage problems, but it’s just the ticket for this.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div>
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<img alt="" id="id_adbe_4a18_71ac_1217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1no1GgjvwHmj5y6P8JNDWqHNFmVUi_ZthJ2kxy2aiV6LSNdPLZRjGF9VvD7i9zrqLY4NEmLhWcYSuUdgUNv-uCJRYcuK5DaEJ1Wg5kS53sWMy_5-xjCJ2FtVi7Ck2aRTu5szQYis-qBM/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip=""></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>In the pale floral blue of space no-one can hear you set someone on fire </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div>
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Work continues</i> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">The current output is a collection of fourteen baddies and they are taking a while to be honest. I’m not sure if it’s because painting fourteen figures at the same time is too many or if I just don’t get very much time these days. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div>
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<img alt="" id="id_f06d_7347_586d_ee7e" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YXFwtuCFdm5VFNgBwG9u7-_qUx2kmoPgt9s05FPMHXpyiu4RRg9MWoMyhUyLrNwVPSId1wOKx7QVJJnozLiSa70fphAYZgYdQr9UrLNzlxO6bUi_mQAY-zEHnIUiqhXt7aDAKi0e-fE/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 298px;" title="" tooltip=""></div>
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The latest addition to the War Room</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The latest addition to the War Room is from Mrs Kinchs sister. She was clearing out an old store room and found this chest. It’s surprisingly light and quite strong. I’m not sure what will live in it just yet - terrain perhaps? </div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br></i></div>
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Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-85626494245468379952019-02-20T07:02:00.001+00:002019-02-20T07:02:52.592+00:00Decisions, decisions. <img id="id_38be_eeae_479f_e141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygUCjb4RrLLdoimGZcjkpSHxGp4zfeXpFHweQRU2dVz-CBcM7o0aQzX0cyUfDNMW5KiL8KGCd9nCF8K1zUdK1WHsLuqaTFtNVYsJf7nk2WBVQRDxXefbud-jl5-MbRyw1CkVIRmogrbs/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 298px; height: auto;"><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">I’m torn about these two. I’ve got two sections of seven lads each and I need some way of distinguishing them. I was thinking about helmet colour, but I’ve seen them in white and didn’t care for it. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Red maybe? Any thoughts gentlemen? </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Of course I should be doing something with my #Squaduary2019 pledge and therefore I should be working on my 1/32 scale diorama. However, we’re actually playing this game at the moment and I’d like to be able to play with a fully painted set before we finish. <br></span><br><br> </div>Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-2138206623080931732019-02-10T07:05:00.001+00:002019-02-10T07:05:35.497+00:00Latest update - #Squaduary2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>Games Workshop Negavolt Cultists</i></div>
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I finished these guys on Friday and they were a complete pain in the neck. Awkward, fiddly and completely unsatisfying to paint. However, they are finished and that is the main thing. I really like Blackstone Fortress and I love the idea of being able to play with a complete set of painted figures, so they just had to be done. These were painted as part of #<a href="http://steppingbetweengames.com/squaduary-2019-week1/">Squaduary2019</a>, which is a month long project by some wargamers to get some stuff done. There's actually been quite a bit of work done and you can see the results <a href="http://steppingbetweengames.com/squaduary-2019-week1/">here</a>.<br /><br />I think I might have to paint a proper 1/32 scale toy soldier next though, just to get the taste out of my mouth. <div class="mobile-photo" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Stalingrad</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Savage and I have been discussing what our wargaming project will be this year and we've settled on Stalingrad. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; text-align: start;">Having looked at the available scenarios, it has come to my attention that there are about half a dozen Overlord* </span><span class="il" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; text-align: start;">Stalingrad</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; text-align: start;"> scenarios that are roughly balanced (i.e. have a win/loss ratio of no more than 60/40). </span></div>
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What we’re proposing is an ambitious plan to play the battle of Stalingrad in its entirety, over 5-6 overlord games over two days. This would be two days of three games each, probably two successive Saturdays during the summer. <br /><br />Savage has volunteered to create bespoke terrain covering key Stalingrad landmarks like Pavlov’s house, the Grain Silo and the Tractor Factory. We would build two boards, one for the battles in Autumn and a second one covering Winter battles. Savage hopes to be able to produce specific winter terrain for the later battles, so the whole thing should look pretty impressive. <br /><br />For figures we’ll be using my existing collection of 1/72 figures with some new stuff for the winter battles.<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoHTzHp7GozXIp-0kFQApovhYpqpYwjNNyRI2iktM-wfb_BQbGWd-y3Kn7H_FQtbZgptfFFvg_LZqEay49UQbILJd0Db7oQvdtaioNHIbyFs3j-igAG5qmWNCKm3UToQ6kKdH660AoRg/s1600/Statue+in+the+center+of+Stalingrad+after+Nazi+air+strikes%252C+1942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1002" data-original-width="1400" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoHTzHp7GozXIp-0kFQApovhYpqpYwjNNyRI2iktM-wfb_BQbGWd-y3Kn7H_FQtbZgptfFFvg_LZqEay49UQbILJd0Db7oQvdtaioNHIbyFs3j-igAG5qmWNCKm3UToQ6kKdH660AoRg/s320/Statue+in+the+center+of+Stalingrad+after+Nazi+air+strikes%252C+1942.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Barmaley Fountain</i></div>
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This is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barmaley_Fountain">Barmaley Fountain</a> in Stalingrad and I've been trying to find someone who makes it in something like 15mm or 20mm. Any ideas? It's such an iconic image of the city that it would be odd to leave it out of the game. Also, click on the link above to read the story of Barmaley, which is a bit peculiar. </div>
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Does anyone know of a commercially produced one? </div>
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Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-32093751725553435832019-02-02T23:57:00.005+00:002019-02-02T23:57:47.438+00:00#Squaduary 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I haven't done much painting over the last few months, which is a shame as it is something that I quite enjoy. Having precious little free time that isn't already spoken for these days with work, family and writing commitments is a factor, but also just not making time for things. Mrs Kinch is very much of the opinion that I am nicer to be around when I have a project and something to work towards. I think that's what she said, it was hard to tell through the haze of tobacco smoke and gin. </div>
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My pal Rory over at the <a href="http://steppingbetweengames.com/">Stepping between Games</a> blog has come up with Squaduary. The idea being to build and paint a squad of figures over the month of February. I started late and didn't quite realise that I wasn't meant to have started some of the figures already, but better late than never. We shall see if this keeps me motivated. </div>
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I will be posting updates here when I can and on twitter (@aquestingvole) and facebook (Conrad Kinch). </div>
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<i> 1/32 diorama </i></div>
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These are Prince August casts that I got off a very nice chap on eBay called John Parslow. I had always intended to pick up the moulds, but his prices were so reasonable and the quality of his casts so good that it seemed silly to wait. Unfortunately, while undercoating these, I managed to drop them rather spectacularly, hence the breakage. </div>
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The diorama is of two French cavalryman sharing a cup of wine during a quiet moment. I will do them in shiny toy soldier style and see how we get on. </div>
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<i>Nega-volt Cultists & Beastmen</i></div>
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Black Stone Fortress has been a revelation - quite probably my game of 2018. I started painting the figures for it and most of them are very nice. However, I had intended to get the Nega-volt cultists (pictured at the back) finished in January and they have proven to be nothing but a thorn in my side. They are fiddly and unpleasant and just awful to paint. I just want to see the back of them - hopefully #Squaduary will give me the kick in the pants that I need. The second group are Beastmen which I'm actually looking forward to tackling. They can't possibly be as much of a pain in the neck as the Nega-volt cultists.<br />
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I shall hope to do my next update here on the 9th. Wish me luck!<br />
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Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-67518411081076313932019-01-20T12:20:00.002+00:002019-01-21T07:18:18.707+00:00Replica Metal Soldiers & Models<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>What's that off in the distance? </i></div>
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One of the pleasures of the hobby is in a way it's complete pointlessness. I got these just before Christmas on a whim from Andrew at <a href="https://www.replicametalsoldiers.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR3qEBFz33iG3KeYS-bPHfASLShh0KxQw4yTyXsWsEoZmL8o1DRaGIcm94Y">Replicametalsoldiers.co.uk</a>. Mrs Kinch has a bit of a weakness for a shiny (or as she calls them "proper toy soldiers") toy soldier, so I got her the special Christmas carol singers set that Andrew had produced. I must post some pictures of them in a bit. </div>
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<i>Egad! Prussians!</i></div>
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Regardless, while I was completing the order, I noticed that Andrew had these chaps and before I knew it, I had had a sudden rush of blood to the head and had bought them. The castings are reproductions of a Britains figure of a Prussian line infantryman in parade dress. They took remarkably little work to get ready for painting, the only job was attaching the plug arm that holds the rifle, which was but the work of a minute. </div>
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<i>Look at those moustaches. </i></div>
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Once assembled they were painted with my usual acrylics and given a thick coat of yacht varnish. Proper yacht varnish that requires white spirits and that stinks to high heaven. That's how you know it's good. The result is a thick glossy coat that really brings out the character of these old castings. </div>
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<i>Detail is a bit soft. </i></div>
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One complaint I have heard about these is that the detail is a bit soft. I don't see this as a problem - it's simply the style in which the figures were produced and it lends itself to a very particular painting style. You can add or leave out as much detail as you like and the simple style of figures supports it. I'm not sure that I would paint in quite as much detail (like blacklining the gun barrels for example) next time. </div>
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But having seen both these figures and the special set of Christmas Carol singers, I can unreservedly recommend Replica Metal Soldiers & Models. At £3.75 per casting (with discount for unit packs), they are towards the cheaper end of the scale for traditional toy soldiers and the results speak for themselves. I may not wait so long to dip my toe in the traditional toy soldiers pond again - may the Prussians menace my bookshelves for many years to come. </div>
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<i>Do you know how fast you were going Miss?</i></div>
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The LadyBaby seems to be developing very expensive habits and was recently seen behind the wheel of a sports car. I fear she may pursue a career as a dazzling young socialite with dire results for Daddy's pocket book. </div>
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Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991803860372006625.post-41018035999404774462019-01-12T00:55:00.001+00:002019-01-12T09:45:19.333+00:00Wet Palette <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Like most of the important things in life - I came late to this one. Mrs Kinch very kindly got me a wet palette for Christmas. It’s quite a substantial one about the size of an A4 page. It’s been a revelation. I’ve used a great deal less paint and found it much easier to thin my paints appropriately.</div>
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The only snag was it was rather large and couldn’t be brought anywhere as the lid wasn't watertight. </div>
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The palette I had came with a refill pad of "wet pads" and palette covers. So I set to with the refill pad and some scissors and an old tobacco tin. I cut the pad and paper to size and slipped it into the tin. The result was watertight, light and has proved very useful. Can’t recommend the wet palette enough - if you're doing any amount of painting at all, I would urge you to try one. </div>
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<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">The Kinchlets are continuing to grapple to with the problems of LEGO. </span></div>
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Conrad Kinchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15683395740934527502noreply@blogger.com6