Tuesday, 15 March 2022

Lifting Morale

Last weekend I decided to just lay out the WVS (Wars of the Vaubarian Succession, 1704) armies - not to have a game, but just to enjoy the spectacle as a bit of a morale booster.

There is a tendency to think that in order to have a "proper" horse and musket game one needs to amass huge armies. But that's really not the case. A very fine spectacle can be created from just a few battalions per side, and many interesting and tactically challenging games can ensue.

The whole point of this collection from the outset was to produce something modest, for a small-ish table (this table is just 6x5, but I plan to expand to 8x6), with a couple of balanced armies to fight "teaser-style" games.

In this case, the Astrovians are defending with just 4 infantry battalions (and supporting light troops, cavalry and guns) against a combined Vaubarian-Pils Holstein attacking force of 8 battalions, plus horse, light troops and guns.

So, by many standards a very modest affair, particularly as the units are also relatively small (20 figures for infantry battalions).

The photos are not great quality, so apologies for that. But at least you get the idea.

No prizes for spotting which of Charles Grant's teaser games this is based on...







Tuesday, 1 March 2022

Painting a few 'bits n bobs'

Sometimes, our hobby is great for just 'pottering around' painting a few bits n bobs. You know, the sorts of things that you pick up at shows and then leave lying around until you 'get round to them' at some point - a point that often never comes!

I decided that I needed some more vignettes, some casualties, some fencing, and so on.

I also decided that it would be good to have a few more bits of 'place on' terrain items to represent scrub or rough ground... not huge tracts of wasteland, but the sort of little pieces that make our miniature landscapes a little more interesting than just plain flat grass. When out walking, I often pick up pieces of interesting looking twigs or stones that can be useful for such items.

I had built up a stock of all these things and set about the task...

So... here's a few recently created bits n bobs, made in between painting 'proper' units.






Nothing too fancy, nothing too difficult. But, all useful little items.

For the less verbose, the above post could have just read "Here's a few bits n bobs I've created"... So apologies for that! 

Cheers


Saturday, 19 February 2022

Regiment Wittgenstein

I have been painting, I promise, and along with a few vignette pieces, I have added this latest regiment to the 1704 Wars of the Vaubarian Succession (WVS) project.

These are the fictional Astrovian IR4 Wittgenstein... whose colonel is a beery swine who is just as sloshed as Schlegel (for the Monty Python fans - if you know, you know).

Anyway, here they are:


Figures are from Front Rank. Flags are hand painted on foil.

Other news:

I have been enjoying drawing inspiration from others' blogs, and one or two forums, plus engaging in email correspondence and the odd phone call with a few fellows. It all keeps us a little bit more sane than we otherwise might become... I think!

I came across a new blog that I recommend highly. It is worth taking the time to read - it's well written, witty, with some thought-provoking content. It's called My Year With Charles (by the Dog Who Drinks Paint), for reasons that become apparent. I suggest getting a cup of coffee, settling down, and going back to his starting post which makes some interesting points.

My Year With Charles

I have added the blog to my links on the right.

I have also enjoyed Der Alte Fritz's 54mm ancients project beginning to really take off, and Tidders' Sedan chair race was excellent. In addition, it was good to see that Graham C (Crann Tara/ Scotia Albion) will be exhibiting his Culloden game at Partizan. His reminiscences of the many years on the show circuit almost bought a tear to the eye. Well done Graham.

Cheers for now...


Sunday, 2 January 2022

Looking ahead

I trust you had a good Christmas and New Year and are suitably rested and buoyed up for the months ahead with plenty of plans and ideas that make this hobby of ours so rich.

I see a lot of people posting their plans with tongue in cheek, or an air of defeatism, self-deprecation, or self-sabotage before the year starts... 

Come on chaps; stuff upper lip and all that. Defeatism and lack of belief did not defend Rourkes' drift, or charge the guns at Balaclava, or defend Hougoumont, or ... well, you get the idea.

So, for me, looking ahead:

I have decided to focus on getting one project 'finished' in 2022... namely the Wars of the Vaubarian campaign (WVS, c 1704).

My main focus will be the few remaining units, plus vignettes, and other supporting elements, wagons and so on. This amounts to around 180 'painting points' but of course could grow arms and legs!

The figure painting is only a part of what will constitute 'finished' and I plan to finally type up the tabletop rules for this project into a format where they may be made available, if anyone might be interested. Plus I would like to do some games to illustrate the rules.

So, that's my 2022. There is a clear goal for me, plus room for some flexibility to possibly go down some additional avenues as the opportunities arise... not least, maybe a WAB army, or whatever takes my fancy (fairly inevitable I think, and that's what the hobby is about for me).

So, whatever you have planned for the months ahead, I hope you have a prosperous year and enjoy your hobby. Because, in the end, that's all there is to it...

Best wishes for 2022.

Phil


Thursday, 23 December 2021

Merry Christmas, one and all!

Merry Christmas everyone!


Reflecting on the past 12 months, it's been an interesting year from a wargaming point of view.
My output is quite low for the year (320 of my 'painting points' ... ie a point each for foot figure, horse gun, etc). Much of that was painted in the first part of the year. Something happened mid-year that threw me off balance a bit I reckon! 
But at least I managed to have a few games, and in particular it was good to get some WAB games in with new-found pals, The Old Berks (Andy, John, Steve), and also to have the odd game with John Boadle and Garry Broom (our most recent being a Napoleonic bash the other evening).

As every year, I am grateful to all the commenters and visitors to the blog. Thank you. 

I'll post more thoughts on planning for the coming year in due course.

For now, I wish you compliments of the season. May you and your families and loved ones enjoy peace and goodwill at a time when we could all do with a whole load of peace and goodwill.

Merry Christmas!


Sunday, 5 December 2021

Table set-ups

This weekend, I promised myself I  would just lay out a few scenes on the tabletop; not a game, not a 'parade'  as such, but scenes that convey a narrative perhaps. They're not dioramas, they're more like 'set-pieces'. 

Anyway...

I chose to potter around with the Wars of the Vaubarian Succession (WVS, c 1704) collection...

All figures and flags painted by yours truly. Buildings constructed by several very good modelers, as noted.

First up: Astrovian Grenadiers defend a hilltop position against Vaubarian cuirassiers...




Next; Astrovian infantry and artillery on the march.
The building was made, and painted, by John Boadle.


Below: Vaubarians defend a village.
Buildings are by Brian Rigelsford, painted by me.





Finally; Vaubarian Hussars on patrol.
Building is my own simple scratch-built model. 


Is it just me, or does anyone else set up tabletop scenes too?

It allowed my mind to wander off a little. It also made me realise that I need a few more vignettes to add to further scenes. Better get back to the paint desk...


Friday, 26 November 2021

The Croats arrive - at last!

As part of my ongoing 'finishing spree' another unit which has been long in the pipeline is a bunch of Thirty Years War Croats.

Over a decade ago, I did a lot of TYW stuff (some may remember my Breitenfeld Blog which showcased that particular project back then).

Brian Rigelsford had a habit of sending me 'rudimentary sketches' (works of art to us mere mortals, but 'rudimentary sketches' to Brian). He would then describe over the phone how he would do the figure 'master conversions' and then ask if there were any that I didn't want!! A master salesman as well as a terrific artist (a rare combo). 

Of course, I could hardly resist, and lo and behold a few days later a parcel would arrive with the figures inside... a mass of miliput, a few bits of original metal showing, but mostly miliput. Even the horses for these Croats were 'cut and shut' jobs allowing for all sorts of active poses.

For most figures, I painted them myself, but some I sent away to get professionally painted. In the case of these Croats, I sent them to David Jarvis to get his masterful treatment.

They arrived back and I was delighted with them. To my eternal shame, they then sat in a box for a few years and I simply didn't get round to basing them and doing the flag...until last week.

So here they are at last, after about a decade! Good job it was the thirty years war, not the ten years war, or they might never have made it to the battlefield!

Here is the unit with Brian's original concept sketch.












Finally, in addition to the unit itself, as a 'bonus piece', Brian produced a lovely little vignette, hinting at the nature of the TYW where many innocents were caught up in "Europe's Tragedy".



That's all for now...

Until next time, I hope your "Black Friday" is going as well as can be expected.