1848 Hungarians

Hungarian Honved

Regular readers no doubt remember Carlo's Conversions from last November.  Carlo is a chap based in the UK who divides his time between playing wargames and coming up with some of the most imaginative conversions of 1/72 figures you could possibly think of. I traded some ACW plastics with him over the last few months and got these fine fellows in return. Aren't they fine? 

These are Hungarian Honved suitable for facing the Austrians and the Russians in 1848, converted from American Civil War figures. You can see them here, where their bases are getting a quick coat of the house brown, before a dash of Constables snow and static grass and then they will be off to fight the Germans. 

Romanian Legion 

These fellows are Romanian volunteers in Hungarian service, again converted from American Civil War figures. With this and some figures from Krisztian, the Hungarian forces are looking pretty healthy.  I'll have to invest in some cavalry and start hashing out some scenarios.  That and sort out some flags of course. 

I'm really very pleased with these and I think Carlo has done a cracking job. Don't they look well? 

The Monday Papers: Part Ten

This is as is traditional, being posted a day late and I couldn't find an appropriate picture of an amusing animal, so you will have to forgive me.  We all have our off days. I rarely watch television this days, it's mainly a bonding experience with Mrs. Kinch. This isn't strictly true, I rarely watch television *as it is broadcast* on an actual television. I browse YouTube and I often come across things of interest there.

One of my recent discoveries is Forgotten Weapons, an occasional Youtube channel devoted to odd and unusual firearms, voiced by a curiously Canadian sounding chap.  I sort of assumed he was American, but they more I think about it, the more he sounds like he is from the Great White North.

The above video is one of the rare ones that doesn't feature that particular presenter, but it does feature a rather magnificent Girandoni Air Rifle.  This weapon produced in 1780 for the ReichesArmee in the Austro Hungarian Empire. It was an extraordinary weapon in .46 calibre, equipped with a 20 round tubular magazine and was capable of firing thirty rounds from one compressed air reservoir.   Too delicate and complicated for military service, it was used by the Lewis & Clarke expedition during their trek across North America.

A bit of a set to in the Sikh Golden Temple

You can read more the context of this particular scrap here, but bear in mind twelve people were injured.  It seems an extraordinarily low number considering the amount of chaps running around with swords, but given rapid access to modern medical care perhaps it isn't so extraordinary.   I can only hope that if the Mothers Union ever kick off in Saint Patrick's that we will be able to keep the casualty roll so low. 

I've only witnessed one sword fight that was actually in earnest and curiously enough this has a lot in common with it. 

- There was lots of running about before either side actually came to blows. 

- Strikes when they were made were extremely fast.

- Little attempt was made to maintain a guard of any sort. 

Another thing that struck me about the swordsmen in this video is that most of them carried their weapon on their shoulder, loaded to deliver a strike like a club rather than maintaining a guard. I have seen that posture in Sikh swordplay before, but that mainly where the fighter was carrying a shield in his off hand. 

A somewhat more staid affair was the last duel in France, which occurred in 1967.  The combatants were two French politicians, one of whom had insulted their other. The duel was fought to second blood only, as one of the combatants was getting married the following day. It seems a rather more studied matter than the melee above.

I must admit I have always been fascinated by duelling and would have rather liked to have partaken, should circumstances allow.  Thus far unfortunately, my reconcontres have been rather more extemporised affairs and have little of the Code Duello in them. The code proposed by the Clonmel Assizes of 1777 is I think one of Ireland's greatest contributions to world culture - with the possible exception of triple distilling in whiskey.

A relatively recent calling out in Drogheda came to nothing sadly, which would seem to suggest that its time has passed, but one can still hope.

Liebsters

Ok - I'll admit, it's an old photo. 

I may have put on a few pounds here and there. 

The Liebsters are doing the rounds again and though I was pretty sure I'm inelligible, I was nominated by Polemarch and Alaistar, so thank you very much gentlemen.  I regret it has taken me so long to get around to responding - I can only plead the exigencies of the service. 

Polemarch is a rum character, who has to the best of my knowledge never posted a single picture of a toy soldier on his blog - which begs the question is he even a blogger at all?. He has won the Monthly "Wargames blog most likely to send me scurrying towards a dictionary" Award for the last twelve months running.  He also has me reading Kant, which made my Daddy very happy, so thanks again there. 

Alaistar is a self described "Guardian reading lefty" and he is very fond of Joy & Forgetfulness, so I'm going to have to have a sit down and a long hard think about where it's all gone wrong. But in the mean time, you could do a lot worse than comb through "A Wargaming Gallimaufry" where Alaistar cracks out a truly respectable number of games, including some with his son, which is no mean feat.  One additional kudo is awarded for enjoying Donogh's "Classified" Force on Force scenarios.   In fact the thing that strikes me about the blog is the sheer variety of stuff on there. 

Each nominator had their own list of questions, so I just answered both. 

Why did you start blogging?

To be honest, I started blogging because I liked reading blogs. That and I was having difficulty with a novel (finished, but still unpublished) that I was trying to write.  I tend to keep blogging to keep my hand in and it's sort of grown from that.  That said, I've had more paid writing work as a result of the blog then I've ever had before, so it's been a success in that respect. 

Though, I think we can all agree - I would rock this look. 

If you could change one thing about the wargaming hobby, what would it be?

There is a streak of Puritanism that runs through the hobby that deeply irritates me. I like historical games, I like games with cards, I like in the words of a very fine blog, the things I like.  I'm not a fan of steampunk or weird World War Two, though I quite like 40K, which I will accept contains a considerable dollop of both. What I find baffling is chaps who spend their hobby time running down that part of the hobby that they don't like, rather than extolling the virtues of the bits that they do like. 

My good chum The Unlikely Douglas McKenzie once coined the phrase, "Stop, stop, you're enjoying it wrong!" to describe this particular approach.  

What is best in life? 

 God's love, books, cats, Mrs. Kinch (the pearl of all her sex), friends, proper work, music.

Major Tom choose incorrectly 

(picture stolen from I'm not sure where exactly) 

Fame or fortune? 

Difficult one. Mrs. Kinch and I once sat down and wrote down all the things we wanted in life. It's a very useful exercise and one I go back to every so often. The thing that struck me was how little of what we wanted to do revolved around money.  Both of us would like to make a little more certainly, but it wasn't really a goal that we wanted to achieve. Some of our goals would certainly be easier to achieve if we had plenty of money, but it's no substitute for talent, character or determination. 

Fame would of course, be nice, but it is dependent on having done something noteworthy and the result is that suddenly your very trivial doing become matters of public interest.  As Major Tom found out, the papers want to know whose shirts you wear. 

I think on the whole, I'd take fortune, our local children's hospital could do with another wing. 

(click to embiggen)

What miniatures are you most proud of having painted? 

Probably this one and I will likely never do another. 

How do you deal with burn out?

I generally play a few games and spend time with my pals. Read books and lounge about with Mrs. Kinch. Go for a long walk.


Why is a raven like a writing desk? 

Because both are rarely used to write on anymore. 

Star Wars or Star Trek?

Star Wars definitely - it feels real to me in a way that Star Trek never does. There never seems to be any greed or laziness or Original Sin in the Star Trek universe, which is why I find it so unconvincing.  I used to put it down to a liking for the work of Leigh Brackett and CL Moore, but I think my father summed perfectly why I dislike Star Trek. "It's seems very silly to believe that everyone in the future will be rich, Western and secular."

If you could only buy from one miniature company from now on, which one would it be? 

Urgh. That is a toughie. You see, there are manufacturers that I like and manufacturers that make the figures I need to complete armies and often they don't correspond. Zvesda maybe or possibly John Cunningham. He's never left me short of a few lads. 

What is your favourite takeaway?

Well it definitely comes in a brown paper bag and involves tonic.  Not a massive fan of takeaway food. 

1.      How would you describe your blog?

A sort of open plan notebook of plans, jokes and other bits and pieces.  Certainly poorly edited. 

2.      How did you pick your blog’s name?

I was reading a book called "Achtung Swchinehundt!" by Harry Pearson which included a quotation from Anatole France.  It seemed to encapsulate everything that I want from wargaming. I read some Anatole France after, but sadly the experience did not live up to the quotation. 

I discovered from Mr. Pearson several years later that he has never read Anatole France and that he found the quotation in an old French book about toy soldiers. Never meet your heroes. 

I proclaim him to be a dastard and a vile Grauniad writing swine and I suggest going here to study his perfidy in greater detail. 

3.      Why did you start blogging?

See above. 

4.      How do you relax (if it's not blogging)?

Spending time with Mrs. Kinch. Writing. Reading. Wargaming. Playing with the cat. Eating out. Drinking. 

5.      Is figure painting a chore or pleasure?

A chore and a pleasure. I enjoy painting, but I do tend to sub contract quite a bit these days. 

6.      How do you deal with burn out?

See above.  

Terribly fond of her really. 

7.      What are the three things you cannot live without?

Mrs. Kinch. Faith. Books. Work.

8.      What was the last book you read and the last you bought?

Read: Last Argument of Kings (Black Powder 18th Century Supplement)

Bought: The Big Short by Michael Lewis 

Not this fellow. 

9.      Who is your favourite fictional character?

Sherlock Holmes in his literary incarnation. Mrs. Kinch is very fond the Cumberbatch Holmes, but I find him impossible to like - though I think Messrs Moffat and Gatiss have done an exceptional job of re-imaging . The Robert Downey Junior Holmes is rather good though. 

I really enjoyed the first season of Sherlock, but to be fair Cumberbatch's portrayal is very different to Conan Doyle's character. Sherlock is a man who is utterly cut off from every finer feeling except the need to know things.

Conan Doyle's character was a bohemian genius. Difficult and often prickly, he maintained relationships, cared about society, his country and the wider world in a way that Cumberbatch's Sherlock would be completely incapable of. I know which I would prefer as a friend.

10.   Ball point, rollerball or fountain pen?

For preference fountain pen, but in work ball point as fountain pens rarely thrive in rain. 

Now for nominations -

Honourable mentions to Tim Gow (for infinite invention and an admirable sense of humour), Bob Cordery (for sheer variety), Lee (for his tenacity and beautiful paintwork) and Ben (for his singular devotion to the Napoleonic period - would that I could be as faithful to a single period).


MC Monkey Dews Miniature Games - Mr. Monkey Dew is a distinctly odd fish. I'm the sort of fellow that doesn't like Shakespeare when he's been messed with (like for example when they make Hamlet a girl or decide to set the Tempest in a super market) and MC MDs blog is a cavalcade of Napoleonic battles fought by orks, talking dogs and other strange creatures. This is the sort of stuff calculated to leave me cold - but the thought he puts into it, the careful presentation, the charm with which MC MD writes will win you over, even if you've never fancied a French elf.  Read some of his battle reports deeply and you'll find a greater commitment to trying to understand black powder battle than many blogs that obsess over hats and gaiter buttons. You should also have a look at some of his rules writing efforts. Recommended. 

Obscure Battles - I only recently discovered this blog and it is very fine. I imagine Jeff Berry, who works in advertising, as one of those impeccably turned out Don Draper sorts, who takes time out from drinking martini's and selling washing powder to pen detailed, idiosyncratic and beautifully illustrated articles on battles that take his fancy.  Updated once a month or so, Jeff substitutes signal for noise and is always worth reading. Run, do not walk and address yourself to this blog. 

Lead Plague - Jean Baptiste's Lead Plague blog is full of beautifully painted miniatures and interesting stuff. There are lots of blogs like this, what makes JBs blog so different is his transparent love of the hobby and his wonderful sense of humour and whimsy.  Show me a Frenchman who sculpts a knight riding a giant chicken into battle and I will show you living, breathing proof why the French are the finest of fellows and the best of foes. JB will just make you happy. 

British Audio Books - This blog differs from all the others in that it is a commercial venture, albeit in a cottage industry sort of way.  The owner, the magnificently named Mr. Felbrigg Napoleon Herriot, records, producing and sells audiobooks, the sort of audiobooks that no one else is doing - like the memoirs of Wellingtons Judge Advocate General, Oman's History of the Peninsular War as well as 1930s science fiction. He is also a wargamer and has produced a number of board wargames. Check him out. 

Cold War Gamer - If you are interested in Cold War wargaming, there are lots of excellent websites, like Cold War Hot Hot Hot and Winter of '79 that I've written about before, but I think Cold War Gamer is special even in that field. Andy's specialty is a hypothetical World War Three scenario in Central Europe in the 80s. His blog is updated about once a month or so, but the sheer quality of what Andy produces make it always worth waiting for. His standard of modelling is very high, though I think I prefer his pithy essays on Soviet operational art and how the British army (the author is a former serviceman) did it's business in the 1980s. A class act all around.

So, having picked my nominees, there has been some headscratching to settle on questions.

1. You have a particular style of wargaming, how did you fix on it and why does it appeal to you? 
2. A lot of blogs tend to peter out after a dozen posts or so.  Your endurance stands out. What has kept you in the game? 
3. Time and money no object. What is your dream wargames project?

4. What was the last book you read and would you recommend it?
5. Smoker or non smoker?
6. Our shared hobby is full of some pretty odd characters. Whose the strangest chap you've ever come across through wargaming?

7. Figure painting. Pleasure or chore?
8. What is your preferred tipple?
9. Do you have a prefered ruleset or did you write your own? How did you settle on it?

10. Would you say you are a club wargamer or a loose association of friends sort of operation?
11. Are you "out" at work - would your non wargaming friends know about your hobby?

Kursk - Part Five - Moving Picture Show

Tigers burning in the fields outside Ponyri

I'm working all the hours that God sends at the moment and frankly I've been neglecting the blog.  In the vain hope that I can distract the public with gimcrack gimmicks and moving picture shows, I offer this footage. 

Michael Bay better watch out, I think you'll agree. 

An overview of Prokorhovka - the final game in the campaign. 

And for those of you that made it this far - Kittens!

Advances in framing...

...though as Doctor O'Connor pointed out, 

that's hopefully personally rather than professionally. 

I've been meaning to get motoring on framing for quite a while now and to be honest, I faffed around for far too long because I was afraid to make any mistakes. This is not the first frame I have put together and it's certainly not perfect, but it is getting there. My cuts are good, but my mitre box is a little loose and that's making it difficult to make a completely flat surface.  

I'm going to try again with a chop saw and see if that works. But once again, it's been proven that the best way to learn how to do something is to do it. 

What's in the box? 

Also a very pleasant surprise arrived yesterday, the result of a trade with David Crook. 

Trucks

These are Lledo "Days gone by" brand trucks which will be useful for my Very British Civil War and Operation Sea Lion games.  There's a very interesting assortment, though the scale seemed to wander a bit.  Most of the vehicles seem to match up with 1/72 figures or at least don't look unreasonable.  The largest appear to be about 1/50, so I could use them for 40K Rogue Trader games. I envision my version of 40K being a TV series shot by Granada in the 1970s, which is why all the battles take place near a ruined Gothic abbey and the bad guy always has his base in a country house or an industrial estate.  The extras always wear the same uniforms too. Makes perfect sense to me. 

Kursk - Part Four - The Battle of Ponyri

German infantry moving past a knocked out KV 

The battle of Ponyri was our second game of the day.  It was different from the Assault of Cherasskoye in that the deployment was set from the beginning.  The players got to determine where their reinforcements went, but beyond that they were pretty much stuck with the scenario as written. 

But, to go back to Ponyri for a moment.  This battle was like the first taking place in the northern axis of attack, the Germans had advanced deep into the Soviet positions, but kept running into yet more lines of defences. Ponyri or more particularly Ponyri station was a vital rail link between Kursk and Orel. The XLI Panzer Corps was tasked with taking the town, while the Soviet 307th Infantry Division heavily supported with artillery and other assets, had to hold it.  The fighting was fierce and the town changed hands over a dozen times.  The fighting was compared to Stalingrad in intensity. 

Combat Pioneers advance

The German advance in the centre was spearheaded by four units of Combat Pioneers armed with flamethrowers, demolition charges and harsh language. The seven hexes of the town were a majority medal objective for the Germans, if they could control more of the town than the Soviets they would gain two medals.

Meanwhile on the right...

...the Panzers are revving their engines. This was a different kettle of fish from the last game.  While the attackers would have to advance into the teeth of the Soviet defences hidden in the fields and woods around the town, this time the Soviets would have a mobile reserve of armour to counter any breakthroughs.

On the German left, the advance was led by two units of Tigers.

I was not looking forward to this one little bit as unlike Sydney on our left, I didn't have an armoured reserve.  All I could do was hang tough and try and outlast the Germans, doing as much damage as I could before they ground me into powder. As it happened, I managed to nail one of the big cats with a lucky shot in the first turn, much to Krisztians dismay.

But his retaliation was savage and emptied some of my forward defences.

The Red Air Force gets it's act together

After it's poor showing in the first scenario, the Red Air Force pulled its collective socks up and set to laying about the German armoured reserves in fine style, hitting them before they could get into the fight. This weakened the German armoured thrust on the German right and made it difficult to convert their superiority in armour into a decisive advantage.

Dakka dakka dakka 

Not to be outdone, the Luftwaffe attempted to return the favour, but poor dice rolling and a canny Soviet dispersal of their armoured reserves prevented the Germans from causing too much damage. 

General Von Kerrigan moves forward in the centre

The Germans pushed hard in the centre, while the Soviets held back, letting the Germans spend their momentum while they shelled them with mortars and artillery. The Germans bought ground, but at terrible cost and the casualty list was rising in the Soviets favour.

General Von Kerrigan pushes forward, just before the Germans make a fatal mistake

General Von Kerrigan took the town of Ponyri, albeit at great cost. Unfortunately, his success was undone by a breach in operational security.  General Von Kerrigan had quite rightly divined that the Soviet players had no idea that the German objective was the town and had been remaining very tight lipped about it.  While the Soviet players had some inkling, one of the German generals who shall remain nameless, blurted out the German objective.  This led to an immediate and concentrated Soviet counterattack, which not only cost the Germans badly in casualties, but also lost them their extra victory points.

The German advance stalls

On the Soviet right, with no reserves and a seemingly unstoppable tidal wave of German armour coming at me, I had battened down the hatches and determined that my lads would sell their lives as dearly as possible.  Curiously enough, with some luck as the Panzers tried to penetrate my minefields, I was able to hold them at bay.

Here comes the Red Army

With the German advance on the Soviet right stalled - the Soviet counter punch on the left started. It had just started going wrong for the Germans at this point - but this was really where the wheels began to come off the wagon. Comrade Sydney, never the most offensively minded of generals, confounded expectations, by just putting his head down and going bald headed for the enemy. 

General Von Kerrigan views the ruins of his plans and his panzers

In the fields the Panzers are burning. 

The battle on the Soviet left raged for several turns, but the Germans were unable to recapture their previous momentum and were reduced to tried to contain the Soviet counter attack.  Even though the Soviet infantry wasn't able to get into the fight, they prevented the German armour outflanking the main position. Meanwhile the artillery kept firing and that made all the difference. 

The final German push

In the centre, General Von Kerrigan attempted to wrest possession of the town from the Soviets in a last gasp attempt to wrestle victory from the jaws of defeat.  Von Kerrigan pushed his Ferdinands forward supported by the remainder of his infantry, but it was too little too late.  The defenders concentrated their fire on the infantry, stripping the armour of its support, and then a swift counter attack did the rest. 

This was a tough game and hard fought. The Germans did so much lose as the Soviets won it.  We improved our play, bringing combined arms to bear, relying more on our artillery and making much more inteligent use of our airpower. The tighter Soviet play meant that the Germans had far fewer weaknesses to exploit and that and a little bad luck ultimately cost them the game.  

Modified Overlord Rules

A Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles, 

inland from Queen Red, Sword Beach, Normandy 1944. 

(image nicked from royalulsterrifles.com) 

As I mentioned over on Bob Cordery's blog the other day, we play Memoir '44 Overlord often and greatly enjoy it. However, after ten years of play, we have taken to using a slightly modified version of the rules that we think works a bit better than the Overlord rules as written.  They certainly suit our group better. The tweaks are small, but significant. 

Capability Savage on his holidays

Capability Savage ran us up a playsheet while he was in Parkhurst for Sodomy, Fraud, Impersonating a Clergyman of the Church of England and Misprision of a Felony, though I'm told it was reduced on appeal to Community Service and a Ten Shilling fine. 

OverlordPlaySheet.pdf


I hope you find this useful.  We've found this playsheet invaluable for keeping new players onboard. Most can abandon it after a game or two, but it certainly helps at conventions.