The Fulchester Fusiliers

Introducing The Fulchester Fusiliers, A company, 1st Platoon, under the command of Captain Terence Flickwitt.

also shown formed up in sabot bases...

Based in the southern part of Ghabazaar (an important British colony), they have been tasked with entering the area around Wadi Malakh, and will march tomorrow.

Their task is to root out and crush any riotous rebellion. Rumours are that local tribes are being stirred up by the notorious Emir Khat.

The platoon of Fusiliers, begin their first mission tomorrow...

Rules will be TSATF. Our reporter, Ernest Pickling of The Ghabazaar Gazette, embedded at the front line, will report on developments ...

Colonial Watery Capers

Latest off the workbench for my Colonial project is this steam launch which I have slightly modified from a kit by Sarissa.
I'm calling her "Sandpiper"  (some readers may get the significance of the name!). I might replace the forward mast with a gun of some sort...

In the background, the 18th century Prussian infantry regiment (IR5 - Alt Braunschweig), newly arrived from Dave Jarvis, awaits basing...

A trip down memory lane...

Forgive me for going "off topic" for this post...

Last week saw me in Devon, for a number of reasons.

It also gave me chance to visit some of my favourite places.

Below: with Dianne, atop Hay Tor on a cold, but sunny, day...

 

 

Below: the inevitable "selfie"! Or is it a "Dual-ie" if there's 2 of you in it?

 

 

 
And, for the first time in 31 years, I returned to Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), Dartmouth, and enjoyed lunch in The Wardroom, followed by a meander down memory lane. It was great to be able to wander round the college (a treat afforded by prior arrangement to all Alumni) without being shouted at!

Below: The impressive College frontage. I never took much notice of the architecture all those ago!!

 
The highlight was in finding our "class" photo in one of the corridors off the quarterdeck.

That's a 21 year-old me, front row, second from right (with cap at a jaunty angle!). Slightly slimmer, fitter, and more officer-like than today!

Remember it like yesterday...
Also remember the other guys in the photo as if we chatted only yesterday. It's amazing the comraderie that gets built up during the hardships of military training. These guys know me better than most in the world.
Great days...

York weekend

Before I get into the York show, just a word of thanks to all who commented on my previous post, with such a varied and interesting set of views on the subject of blogs, social media, facebook, and so on. I haven't replied to each comment, but left them as is, for each person's opinion is valid as it stands... and there were some very erudite points made. So, again, thank you.

Now, onto the York weekend.

What a great place to visit  -I've been many times, both as a visitor to the wargaming show, and as a tourist on other occasions, but it's always nice to be reminded what a lovely city York is. Even though Saturday was rainy, and a little chilly, a visit to The Minster and a browse around the shops was very pleasant (Dianne was recce'ing the shops for her Sunday expedition, having decided that I could be unleashed to Vapnartak on my own).

Our hotel was very good (The Royal York... which has had a major overhaul and facelift since I stayed there last) which made the stay a very relaxing weekend ... view from our room is below:

So, to the show...

On arrival, I immediately bumped into Kevin Calder and Peter Nicholson with whom I haven't had a good natter for a few years.
Shortly afterwards, Dave Marshall (he of Agincourt diorama celebrity status) hove into view and we chewed the wargaming fat for a while.
Then it was time for some serious shopping.
Dave Thomas was, as always, in good form (and seem to be taking people's money off them with gay abandon!). Following this, I met up with David Shuttleworth ("wargames amateur" blogger) and Steve Ayers at Lance and Longbow stand, then Harry Pearson and Clive Norman (with whom I talked about football as much as wargaming!).

Shopping all done by 1pm, and next stop was the bar.
Graham Cummings, Mark Dudley, Stephen Caddy were all in attendance, followed by some of the lads from the Loose Association of Wargamers (LAW) Forum (Tim W, Count Belisarius, Essex Boy and Goat Major, to use their "noms de keyboard").
It's a wonder I did any shopping or even got chance to glance at the games with all the socialising. Yet, I came away wishing I'd had much more time to chat to all these people...

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the show...

First up, Prestonpans.

Next, a Back of Beyond spectacular...

Below, The Alamo...

 

This nicely done fantasy siege also caught my eye...

 

 

And finally, I liked the simple and effective terrain on this Crusades game ...

 

These are just a few pictures of just some of the games.

The number of games seemed fewer than in previous years, but the quality of those on show was excellent. Well done to all.
A cursory glance indicated that the competitions seemed to be thriving on the upper floors, though I didn't venture near to have a closer look.

Overall, attendance seemed to be very high, traders seemed happy, and there was a buoyant atmosphere around the show. Well done to the organisers, traders, gamers, and to all the pals who I bumped into during the day, for making it a memorable one.

Finally, my shopping haul...

Better get started working on it all!

Migration to Facebook?

I only "do" Facebook in a limited way, occasionally posting check-ins from decent restaurants, or good theatre visits or whatever (the awful restaurants and naff theatre visits I keep to myself!!).
But, although I have a number of wargaming friends on Facebook, I don't do "wargaming stuff" on Facebook (I have my own reasons).

And yet, it seems to me that to a large extent, the online wargaming community has migrated to facebook significantly of late, and that blogs, forums and so on are receiving less attention than previously.
I notice that the number of hits on this blog, for example, has gone up markedly, but the number of comments has reduced (I'm not complaining one iota, and I'm always delighted that anyone comments at all!).
And I notice this trend everywhere.
The thing is, it's easier to press the FB "like" button than it is to express any approval through a comment on a blog.
It's easier to just post a picture on FB than it is to post a blog update, where the unspoken convention is that some amount of text seems more appropriate than just a picture.

Is this the way things will continue to move?
Probably, as manufacturers and retailers of all things wargaming make FB updates to promote upcoming ranges, W-I-P/ workbench photos, and teasers and trailers; and convention organisers update lists of traders, games and other information on upcoming shows.

It's an interesting development.
What is noticeable is that fewer engaged readers means that the incentive for bloggers to post blog updates is reduced, and so on... It's only natural. And it's a vicious (circle)/ catch 22.

And here's a further consequence...
as the level of FB engagement rises, and perhaps the level of Blog and Forum engagement/ activity decreases, will there be a longing for more text content elsewhere... for example, a return to the popularity of monthly magazines for articles and actual reading material (as opposed to looking material).
Just a thought.

I considered this trend long and hard after my previous post which had the lowest number of comments (and lost 4 followers) in the first 48 hours! Perhaps the Gatling gun had shot them! Perhaps these are the most unpopular figures in my collection? Who knows...

Will the blogosphere continue a downward trend until it starts to resemble a bit of a ghost town?

... and that's an excuse for me to post a couple of pictures of the latest developments in my Colonial project. Scratch-built basic adobe buildings. The first of a few...

 

Time will tell. Whatever happens, I will continue to post here (and not FB) ... whether anyone's looking or not! Well, for a while, anyway.

Meantime, preparations for York are ongoing...
A sample of dialogue from the lounge the other evening:
Me, idly doodling on my York Purchase List, "I'm looking forward to York. I've got a few figures to buy."
Her, with no hint of irony, and only a mild passing interest, "Oh. I thought you would finish painting the ones you've got before buying anymore."

Laughed? I nearly... (add your own phrase of choice here).
She's clearly got a lot to learn.

But then so have I, as my attempt at explanation led to the next 2 hours conversation about her wardrobe and shoes collection! The fact that this backfired somewhat just goes to show exactly how much I still have to learn!!

For those who are going, see you at York!!

Naval Brigade Gatling Gun

The answer to The Ansar...?

Just time to pop in and post a few pics of the latest addition to the Colonial project...

 

 

There are some British infantry on the painting stocks too, but I just fancied finishing these for a "quick win"! 

 

More anon...

 

 

 

The First Ansar

The Perry box of plastic Ansar has yielded the following two units for TSATF (The Sword and the Flame).
These are the first figures for my new Colonial project, and I'm working on the principle that I'll need quite a few of these chaps, so knocking them out at a speedy rate.

(Flags hand-painted).

I think there's a tendency (or is it just me?) to think that, because it's a skirmish project, the standard of painting has to creep up on the grounds that fewer figures are required. But I'm determined not to fall into that trap, particularly with the natives/ tribesmen (as you can clearly see from the photos shown - quick snaps as I finished up at the workbench today). The aim is to get a couple of small representative forces onto the tabletop as early as possible.
British are next...