The Midnight Mutineers

The Taverns, Townhouses, Farms, and Wharfsides of Pils-Holstein are awash with rumour, gossip and tittle-tattle over the latest royal debacle.

Reports and papers from well-respected sources (and some less well-respected ones too!) are being gathered and pieced together to shed light on the mysterious fall out between sweet King Ferdinand Adolphus and his "belle" Tessa Pepisa, and her subsequent disappearance from the Palace of Altgard on that fateful night (see post of 29 September).

It seems that Tessa (aka Tipsi Pipsi) had over the previous weeks been receiving messages of some considerable urgency from the Astrovian capital (Astrovilla), from no less than Emperor Arnold himself. But why should she be receiving such urgent correspondence? She had had little to do with the Astrovian court for some years. What could possibly have changed?

Certainly the content of the letters had been very confidential indeed, and Tessa's refusal to let even Ferdinand Adolphus know the precise nature of the news contained therein had been the spark that led to their fall out.

His protestations has fallen upon deaf ears, and so Tessa had stormed out and made her way towards Astrovia earlier than she had intended, though it is certain that it was her intention to go to Astrovia anyway.

What was most surprising was that, as she flounced out of Altdorf Palace, the midnight mutiny was completed by her escort... the entire contingent of Pils-Holstein's light horse - The Transvladak Uhlans, and The Holstein Hussars (pictured below)....

The Holstein Hussars. If you are a long time visitor to this blog, you will have seen these before, I'm sure. Painted by me some time ago, these are John Ray sculpted riders on a variety of horses.

The now notorious midnight mutiny had these fine horsemen clattering through the narrow cobbled streets of Pilsner, below the Palace, and out into the night, disappearing at a steady canter towards the south east. Within a few hours, Tessa barely looked back as her steed carried her towards the snow capped mountains lining the borderlands. Now, for her, if what was written in the letters was true, she would need all her wits about her to carry out her true purpose.

Meanwhile, back in Altgard Palace, perched above the town of Pilsner, seat of the Kings of Pils-Holstein since the 9th century, poor Ferdinand Adolphus was trying to piece things together.
Here's what he could deduce...

Tessa was daughter of the wealthy Italian financier, Allesandro Pepisa, and his wife, Isabella. However, it now transpires that his wealth was largely derived from one source -The Astrovian Emperor himself!
Now why would the Astrovian Emperor give so much financial support to this man?
And why, right now, would the elderly Emperor Arnold, in his dotage, so soon after the death of his poor wife Olivia, suddenly want to see Tessa?
And what was in those letters that had made Tessa decide to give up her position next to him, Ferdinand Adolphus, in their kingdom together, and head for Astrovia instead?

Through the anger in his heart, "sweet FA" was starting to piece together a bigger picture.
And his sad thoughts at the loss of his loved one now turned to deep concern at the way he had treated her of late over this whole affair. For he knew that his former flame-haired beauty would be a challenging adversary, and he could ill-afford to incur the wrath of Astrovia.

Next time... all will be revealed, as Tipsi Pipsi arrives in Astrovia and takes counsel with the Emperor.

In the meantime, those of you with a nose for such intrigue might like to offer(in the comments box below) suggestions as to exactly what is behind Tipsi Pipsi's defection! Or you might want to keep your counsel, lest it be a potential "spoiler" for others (or more likely, a better idea than my plotline, in which case I'll have my finger hovering over the "delete comment" button anyway!!)

All of the above is a way of me saying, The Astrovian army is starting to build.

Cheers for now...

Dangerous Territory..?

... I think not...
However, a weaker soul, with less focus and resolve, might crack!

For tonight, I head the short distance to Stratford to see the RSC production of Henry V.
And, if, like me, you were bowled over by the spectacle in this month's WI magazine of the Perry/ Dave Marshall (of TM Terrain) Agincourt diorama, then resolve might indeed be tested.

But, here's the thing...
I'm not into Medievals. Period. (Or the medieval period, period.)
Yet, what I can still marvel at, and enjoy immensely, about the Agincourt diorama is what I learn from it for my own projects.

Inspiring. Yes.
And also well-planned, wonderfully creative, and beautifully executed.
I was particularly struck by how they produced the densely-packed blocks of French infantry that actually make it look like a proper battle rather than any other diorama (or for that matter, wargame) that I've ever seen.
Brilliant!
So hats off to Dave Marshall and the Perries for project managing this. And to their cadre of helpers and painters.

And the next time I see people on the internet bemoaning display games at shows being too static ("like a diorama"), as if that in some way is out of bounds for a wargame show, I'll just smile and move on. Because for me, the modern wargaming scene has moved too far away from such magnificent set-pieces, the likes of which used to be seen far more often at shows, and adorning the pages of the hobby press. In fact, starting with the glossy pictures of Peter Gilder's layouts in the very first MinWarg magazines under Duncan McFarlane's editorship, and then onto the very early WI's, that's what inspired so many people like you and I, I'm sure, to "seriously" continue in the hobby.

But now?
Well now I see lots of boxy wargames.
Lots of sameness of presentation, with everything "off-the-shelf ", from the terrain, MDF buildings, bases, grassy tufts, figures, flags, to the rule-sets and "systems" in use. In of themselves, there is nothing wrong with each of these elements, and hats off to the people who make a commercial go of it in this hobby.  But the contrast with the presentation of the Agincourt diorama cannot, should not, must not, be ignored.

And I know we're not all The Perries, and nor do we have a gang of painters willing to help with our projects. But the joy of producing something inspiring and significant, over a 2-year, 3-year, 5-year timescale, has got to be better than the endless purgatory of relentless period hopping, from one "system" to the next. Chain store, fast-food wargaming is highly addictive and bloats the lead / plastic pile. I would much rather the fine dining of an Agincourt diorama.

But then, each to their own...

And, relax...

Just thought I would get on my soap box for a moment there.
We'll be back to the goings on in Pils-Holstein shortly. I promise...

Meantime, I'm off to the theatre tonight (and no doubt a funny thing will happen on the way!).
Cheers
Phil

A Very Public Falling Out

King Ferdinand Adolphus (you'll remember he has become known as "Sweet FA" to the subjects of Pils-Holstein) has made no secret of his affections for Teresa (Tessa) Pepisa, most notably having given her an honorary command of the Pils-Holstein light horse as well as considerable estates in Lower Holstein.

Her attendance at the court of Pils-Holstein had originally come about after her father (a wealthy Italian financier) presented her to the Astrovian Imperial court some years earlier, and the visiting King of Pils-Holstein, struck up a "strong friendship" with the beautiful debutante. Following the Queen's sad passing, Tipsi Pipsi became a regular visitor to the widowed King Ferdinand Adolphus, and soon their friendship blossomed into something more - Well, that's the official version anyway. Some say the timeline for this sequence of events is somewhat mirky, and there were even suggestions that the Queen's passing was hastened by her broken heart ... but, I couldn't possibly comment.

Regardless of the exact details of the whole episode, Tessa Pepisa, who is nothing if not absolutely charming and delightful, subsequently became a favourite with the people of Pils-Holstein too. Their nickname, "Tipsi Pipsi", showed their growing affection for this flame-haired femme who was popularly regarded as "a good thing" for the King.

Now, it turns out, Tipsi Pipsi is in fact not all she seems...

And, as a result of certain rumours (rumours I might add that are as yet unsubstantiated), things have gone awry between Tipsi Pipsi and Ferdinand Adolphus.
A series of public "sulks", raised voices when in private, and on at least one occasion door slammings, have not gone unnoticed.

Now, at last, with the King's angry words "Once a Hapsburg, always a damned Hapsburg!" ringing in her ears, Tipsi Pipsi has headed South-East once more, bound for Astrovia. 



(above: Tipsi Pipsi, with her ADC, Major Ligue).

However, what is more surprising is the level of loyalty and affection that her light cavalry troopers have now invested in their honorary commander. For, cantering over the rolling hills, in Tipsi's wake, a column of cavalry can be seen. Many of the Holstein Hussars, and all of the Transvladak Uhlanen have followed her into the moonlight (though the defection of the latter is presumably linked not only to their native heritage within The Astrovian Empire, being from the mountainous regions of Transvladakia, but also down to the promise of some form of booty and wealth from forthcoming campaigns). 


(above: Transvladak Uhlanen)

But, what can have precipitated such a defection?
And just who, really, is Teresa Pepisa?
And what does this all mean for the state of Pils Holstein, and poor "Sweet FA"?

Time will tell...

 

Prussian Brigade

With the basing of the combined Grenadier Battalion, Weddell (Gren 1/23), the rank and file for the first Prussian Bde is complete...

 Figure painting by Dave Jarvis, basing by me.

 

This Brigade, therefore, includes:
IR 1 Winterfeldt
IR 7 Bevern
IR 23 Forcade
Gren 1/23 Weddell
+ a Light Gun




All that is required now is the Brigade Commander (probably von Winterfeldt), and the brigade supply wagon; plus I may add a couple of additional vignettes.

Again, as I have mentioned before, note the absence of drummers within the units themselves. This was a conscious decision and whilst some have criticised this approach, it serves my purpose, and the "look" of the thing seems right to me. Having too many command figures within units breaks them up to my eye, and I specifically want the predominant impression to be an "unbroken" line of bayonets on the marching rank and file. Drummers therefore appear only as super-numeries as part of vignettes dotted around between the lines.

So, this will be the formula for all my Prussian Brigades. Essentially three line battalions, plus one combined Grenadier battalion, plus a light gun, supply wagon, and commander.
This might appear to be a "fudge" in terms of representing units historically, as I have only single Battalion regiments, but it allows me to field a greater variety of units, and the proportion of Grenadiers throughout the army appears about right. Most importantly, I'm happy with it.

Partizan and Farewell to Kelham

On a complete whim, I headed up to Newark last Sunday for the final Partizan to be held at Kelham Hall.
It's only an hour away in the car for me now (gone are the days of the long trek south from Fife for these shows), the fact that it was to be the final Kelham Hall event, and these considerations, coupled with there being couple of games I particularly wanted to see, meant that when I awoke to a bright sunny Sunday morning, I thought "Well, why not!" And I'm glad I did.

The day was punctuated by regular "bump into's", and a host of opportunities to chat with so many people, such as Howard Simmons, Tricks himself (who told me of the plans for future Partizans), as well as David Imrie (good to get a chance to have a proper chat about painting and such like, after a few years out of touch), Dave Andrews, and Darrell Hindley who (along with Simon Chick) had a wonderful Swiss- Burgundian game on (apologies for the quality of some of the pics... just iPhone snaps, with no editing, I'm afraid).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Derby club were out in force with a Grand Alliance affair, and chewing the fat with Stuart Parkin took me back to the good old days of early Partizans.

There's no show without a windmill, of course!

Also great to meet Andy (a fellow SK re-enactor) who had transferred his ECW passion onto the tabletop with a lovely little skirmish game.

Other games that impressed were a 20mm Culloden table,

plus the huge Dark Ages / Arthurian game.

The Nostalgic Bit...

I first went to Kelham in 1996, in the early days of The League of Augsburg, when we regularly put demo games on at shows throughout the country.

Here are just a few pics from Wargames Illustrated's, that feature games we put on back then... my tribute to Kelham.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farewell to Kelham Hall...

And so, I'm inspired...

Yes, I came away feeling like I really want to do something fresh. Particularly as next year at the new venue, Tricks needs some more games to fill the large space available... so I said I "might" be able to drag something out for one or other of the Partizan 2016s.

But what to do?
My Pils-Holstein collection is growing as the main focus, but I don't want to bring that out until it has reached the right level - probably a few years yet.
My TYW collection?... that's a possibility.
Something new?... well, I have made up a shortlist of mini / set-piece projects involving just a few units per side. After all, I'm planning to have some painting time myself this winter, so who knows...

Workbench

It's unusual for me to have a lot of items on the workbench. I prefer to work on something to a finish before moving to the next unit.
However, there are several items at various stages of "finished" at the moment, as you can see.
The latest unit arrived yesterday, hot off the brush of David Jarvis. And mighty pleased I am with them. This is Prussian grenadier battalion Wedell (1/23).

In the background are some Austrians (aka "Astrovians" in the world of Pils Holstein) which I painted recently, and which are also in the process of basing, and flagging. More about these figures anon.

Swedish TYW Yellow regiment is also on the bench (back left)... just some work to finish on the flags and they are done.

More pictures to come once these are complete, but just wanted you gentle reader, a patient audience, to know I hadn't disappeared!!

Cheers for now
Phil

Down Time

Past couple of weeks have been a joy. I decided on some genuine down-time, to just relax, and including a week at Tai Chi summer school at Harlaxton Manor. This annual course involves a daily regime starting at 7am and finishing at 9pm, with a healthy mix of Tai Chi, Feng Shou (Kung Fu), and weapons training - this year, learning the Lee Style Tai Chi Sword form!
To many this will not sound like down time at all, but I always return totally energised and refreshed....and the venue certainly helps to create the sense of being on "retreat."
The picture of Harlaxton is inspiration for modellers everywhere, I'm sure. And what a lovely venue to host the week.

I've also had chance during the down time at home to paint a little too... and perhaps a picture of the results will follow in the next post. Just some basing to finish before pointing my iPad at them!.

Oh, and for those blog visitors from the other side of the world, who used to be keen on cricket, all I can say is that it really is a funny old game.
Whilst thrilled at being able to listen to Test Match Special on the radio to a rampant England bowling attack, I am, however, rather embarrassed by the level of gloating in the press, and on social media. Very unseemly. And anyone who follows sport of any kind knows that the tables will turn, whether next series, or the one after that.
Yes, celebrate the victories, and disguise the losses as tactical withdrawals, but do it with grace. Just like wargaming really..

Back soon.
Phil