Wargaming Ennui

I have struggled over the past couple of weeks to find the motivation to get back to the games table, despite an AVBCW campaign all ready to go and some Rebels & Patriots games sketched out. A combination of factors are to blame I'm sure, but aside from the obvious Covid-19 lockdown impact on life, nothing really springs to mind as to why. So in an attempt to get my butt into gear again, I thought I'd take some pics of what I have been up to see if that will get things moving. So in no particular order:

Aircraft Hangar

I added the foliage and flock last week, as this will form the part of the final scenario for my planned AVBCW campaign. I'm really happy with how it had turned out. As with all things I could have spent a lot longer on adding details and painting, but for the amount it will get used, it is just what I wanted.

 

A Wings of War 1/144th plane and Pendraken 10mm figures to give you an idea of scale. I was unsure about the concrete stand, but with the plane on it I'm happy I included it.

The windows could have been better, but don't like this 'comic book' in real life.

 

Flags

I've put of making proper flags for my units for far too many years, thinking that they would be difficult to do. Given my previous career I don't know why I worried so much, maybe it was seeing so many nice examples in magazines, on Blogs etc. Anyway, I finally got my act together and the results can be seen below. I used the excellent Warflag website and downloaded and rescaled the flags to fit the banner poles. As they are slightly different lengths you have to tweak the images to suit. I glued these to the banner poles with pva glue and then left them to set before painting in situ. I want to try painting some flat as it is easier doing the details and then gluing them to the poles, but want to make sure the paint doesn't crack or cause problems animating the flags.

An AVBCW command stand with a simple Communist style flag.

An Infantry base with the flags representing units that have ATRs in BKCII.

Some of the units from my 18thC Imagi-Nations army, using Pendraken's superb AWI range.

The flags are French Colonel flags, with the coulrs based upon the uniforms and facings of each units to give a cohesive look. I'm really happy with how these have turned out.

 

Paints

As my painting mojo is slowly returning, I needed to top up my paints as some of my most used colours were getting rather low. Years ago I bought the GW boxed paint set and it has stood me in very good stead ever since, so it was simply a case of finding out what the new colours were called and making sure they were as close as possible to the originals. Fortunately there are plenty of website that can give you that information. So after a bit of faffing on the GW website, my order was placed and arrived in less than a week.

Not the best paints in the World, but they work really well for me for most of my painting, with Vallejo being used for my WWII figures and vehicles. The big advantage of the GW paints is that they drybrush well.

 

Books

Well my intention of limiting the rules I play and/or buy failed somewhat, as I bought two within a few weeks of each other! As mentioned before, I'm looking at rules for the Pike & Shot era and have been considering 'Beneath the Lily Banners' by Barry Hilton on and off for some time. Some excellent AARs and posts on various Blogs finally tipped me over the edge, ditto on the Neil Thomas' rules.

I've only just received this book, but it's coffee table appearance is deceptive, as this is obviously a labour of love. It is well laid out and the period detail is excellent, which is perfect for a newbie like myself. I'm about half-way through the book and will do a more in depth review when I've finished, but so far I'm very impressed and am happy to have bought it.

Only flicked through so far but some nice ideas in there and look forward to getting to know the rules in more detail at some point soon.

I always like to have a book or two on the go to read, as and when the mood takes me. I've always been a bed time reader and enjoy a page or two before I nod off. Max Hastings is one of my favourite authors and this book so far is a superb read and one reason that I've not got a game on the table!

 

Painting

With my painting mojo returning, albeit slowly, I've set myself the goal of trying to paint an 19thC Imagi-Nations Brigade to fight against the ones earlier in this post. Again they are from Pendraken's AWI range, but this time British and German allies. With Pendraken having their painting competition this month, it might inspire me to finish them sooner rather than later.

The Brigade will give me 3 Infantry units, 2 Skirmish units, 1 unit of Dragoons with a dismounted option and 1 Artilery unit. A nice rounded force for some small games and of a size that is not too daunting and feels that it can be finished in a reasonable amount of time.

 

General Wargaming

Despite my lack of gaming activity, I have continued to enjoy reading various Blogs and the posts contained therein. It has given me that wargaming fix that has been lacking of late, which is nice and good for morale. Things are looking up and even writing this post has bouyed my spirits somewhat! So with luck I might have some AARs etc to post in the next week or so, fingers crossed. Until next time stay safeand keep Blogging!