Hobby Bits'n'Pieces

Whilst our weather has not been as bad as that that has hit Central Europe recently, it has been pretty grim, especially today. As every cloud has a silver lining and all that, I've been able to catch up on a few hobby related things...

Chariots of Phyre

As part of my gaining knowledge for a completely new period, the following book arrived a few days ago.

I've only glanced at it so far, as I don't want to be distracted from the main project at hand, but it does look good and compliments nicely the other reference books I already have. What I do know is that I need to find that visual 'je ne sais quoi' to draw me. So far plenty to choose from, but must resist the urge to explore further...

1945

I saw this book a few weeks ago and so when in Waterstones recently, I picked up a copy as the final purchase from a book voucher I received last year.

Now normally my interest in the NWE theatre finishes with Market-Garden, but looking at the reviews of this, I thought I'd take the plunge and am happy that I did. As the author notes, 1945 onwards in NWE is often given but a cursory coverage in most books, which tend to focus on the events on the Eastern Front. Like the above, I've only glanced at this but reading the notes, I know I'm really going to enjoy reading this and hopefully this will inspire some future games and/or mini-campaigns.

19thC ImagiNations 

My painting mojo has returned due to a combination of the current wet weather and the forthcoming Cotswold Wargames Day. Below are some photos of recent work.

A 'German' Brigade for the mid-19thC in Europe.

Jaegers to go with the above, who have yet to have the flag finished and flock added.

The 'German' infantry I've had painted for ages, but finally got my butt into gear and added the flags. These I painted whilst flat, which made to job a hell of a lot easier, combined with using my newish ABC Brushes which worked a treat. The Jaegers I started this morning and again said brushes made the job a lot easier and quicker to do compared to my old ones I used to use.

I know I prevaricate a lot when it comes to painting, but I have to keep reminding myself of the 3' rule, and focus on the unit and not too much on each individual figure. When viewed close up they look pretty crude, but are neat and tidy, yet look fine once on the table. I just need to keep reminding myself of that!

Next up is the commander and artillery, ideally some cavalry, time and motivation dependent...

Cotswold Wargames Day

The above units are for the show and should, when combined with other units I have, give me about 4 Brigades to play with, along with some cavalry. Exact details of the game and scale of action are up in the air, but I have a few back up plans if need be...

TTFN.

Somewhere in Russia, 1941

As part of learning to play Startline and playtesting at the same time, I set up a simple game located in Russia during the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa. After the previous game's mix of bocage and open fields, this time I wanted a pretty open board to see how both infantry and tank faired in the wide open terrain. 

Using the BKCII scenarios as a guide, I have the Attackers about 50% more points than the Defenders. The Latter did have the advantage of one platoon dug-in as well as some houses. To keep things simple, I left out artillery and air support, to focus on the core mechanics.

An overview of the board with the Germans nearest the camera.

Russian infantry defend the farmhouse and orchard.

Dug-in infantry supported by a T-35 defend in front of the village.

T-28's extend protection out towards the right flank.

Two German platoons supported by light tanks.

Pz I' & II's.

A mortar and IG deployed on the hill to support the attack.

Pz III's  and a single Pz IV with infantry and Pak35/36 ATG support.

The end of Turn 1. The Germans made a steady advance but came under immediate fire from the Russian tanks.

The T-35 makes its first kill.

A T-28 brews up a Pz III.

The end of Turn 2. The German right flank advances towards the village whilst both sides tanks inflict losses upon one another.

German light tanks close in on the farm, supported by infantry.

Another Pz II succumbs to the T-35.

The Pak 35/36 deploys ready to shoot at the T-35 as the infantry advance into the wood.

The Pz III's knock out a T-28 but the Pz IV is knocked out too as it advances forward.

The T-28's are making light work of the Panzers.

The end of Turn 3. The Germans knock out the remaining Russian tanks and clear the farm of its infantry.

Deadly MG and cannon fire make light work of defeating the Russian infantry in the farmhouse.

The remnants of the Russian platoon pass their morale test but are down to one squad now.

Burning tanks litter the battlefield.

End of the Game

The Russians having lost all of their AT capability, I called the game at this point. As this was a test game, it had achieved its aims, so I was happy with that.

Post Game Thoughts

Well that was quick, brutal and bloody, compared to the BKCII games I'm used too! But still a great learning game and I know I made mistakes (don't play when your tired!), but this helps when reading the rules again post match to help clarify those queries you have during the game. I've made a few notes that I will pass onto Keith for his thoughts and feedback.

I've left the board set up and might give it a replay in light of this game or have a bit of a compare and contrast by playing it using BKCII. I will see how I feel as I have another busy week ahead on the parent/carer front. 

In Other News

My painting mojo has been severely lacking, in large part due to the week being busy on the parent/carer front, leaving me emotionally and mental exhausted. Also I have not heard back from my gaming chum re: the CWD, so am not sure if he can make it. At least I have some back up plans I can put in place, so not all bad.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the mini-battle report and as always it would be lovely to have a comment or two.

TTFN.

Somewhere in Normandy, 1944

As planned, my good friend Keith Flint came over to have a run out of his Startline WWII rules that he is developing. All the previous games I've played have been set in Poland 1939, so Keith naturally wanted to try a different theatre and period of the war. We settled on Normandy 1944 as a rough guide for the game and tried to get as much different kit onto the table as we could. To keep things simple we had no air aupport, nor anti-tank guns, going for infantry supported by a variety of tanks. This was very much a trial game to test the rules, so we weren't too worried about points etc, but more on that later. First off, eye candy:

An overview of the table, with the British arriving from the far end. Left of the road was broadly open, to the right Bocage, to compare what effect it might have on the game.

Shermans and Stuarts deployed.

Churchills supported by infantry.

Stug III's in position by the crossroad.

The German infantry amongst the Baocage, where they could get the most cover.

Shermans begin to brew up in the distance, all too rather historical...

Churchills move off the road, unaware of the German infantry lurking nearby.

The Shermans taking a pasting.

Pz IV's arrive along the road.

The British move to contact as the Germans get ready to meet them.

The end of the Shermans.

The German armour dominate the crossroads.

The Churchills try to move round the German flank, unaware of German infantry in the wood (extreme left of the photo).

German armour moves forward and a Pz IV brews up.

A Jadgpanther faces off with a Churchill down the road.

The 'Big Cat'.

The Stuarts wisely seek cover from the Jagdpanther.

End of the Game

Not that it mattered much, but by the end of Turn 5, the British had lost too much armour to be able to realistically contest control of the objectives. The Germans had too much armour left and so would have been able to roll up the British from their right flank over a couple of Turns.

Post Game Thoughts

Well that was a good game and did exactly what Keith wanted, in giving the rules a good run out, but in a 'new' setting. Some points that came up during the game:

• We went for roughly that same number of troops per side, but it quickly became obvious that the German Stug III's in cover had a big advantage over the Shermans in the open. Obviously historical, but in game terms too much of an advantage to the Germans.
• In the scenario as written, both sides would have equal points, which didn't work in this case. We thought a 50% advantage (or more) to the Attacker would be required to make this a more even and interesting contest.
• Currently the Defender has 50% of his force off table, which can come on after Turn 3 on a die roll. This felt too random and could negatively impact the Defender, so rather like BKCII, the Defender would be better off having all of his force on the table, with the Attacker having more points as outlined above.
• Having played a few games of these rules now, I felt more comfortable with them and started to understand the thinking behind them, of course in large part due to chatting with Keith during the game.
• We had to use some blank markers as I do not have 2" mortars or PIAT's for my BKCII forces, ditto Panzerfausts or Panzershrecks. So I'm sure I have some figures in a box somewhere, so will probably get these based and painted up at somepoint for use in future games.

A busy week or two beckons, but I hope and need to crunch on with getting figures painted for the CWD show which is about 5 weeks away. I managed to add flags and flock to three Battalions of infantry last night, so have Jaegers, Command and Artillery to start to complete this Brigade. Then there is some Cavalry to paint, not something I really enjoy!

TTFN.

Colours 2024 - A Show Report

I was feeling somewhat jaded this morning after a lack of sleep, but with a glorious day beckoning and some chocolate (the choice of champions😉) to kick start my old body, I headed off to Newbury racecourse for this years Colours wargames show. I met my good friend Keith Flint at the entrance and we were soon inside, ready for what the show had to offer.

I must admit I was filled with some trepidation after last years poor showing games wise, but had high hopes as the games on offer looked to be pretty good. In the end I need not have worried😊. So without further ado, let's start with the photos which frankly is what most people want to see!

Just for you Chris😉.

A lovely game in 28mm using Chain of Command rules.

Lots of nice details all over the board.

Excellent reference books.

Postcards for the 'discerning gentleman wargamer'.

Simon Millar & Co putting on a lovely game as always.

The Battle of Ilipa 206BC. You can tell from the faces what it's like to play DBM...

War of the Roses is certainly the flavour of the month at present.

Really nicely painted figures.

This was a very popular game, with a slice of the action from Borodino, namely the Raevsky Redoubt.

Some excellent scenery on display along with lovely figures.

A lovely Operation Sealion game, which had lots of admirers.

Another General d'Armee game, but using the original rules. This was listed as Anglo-Ottoman War 1809...

The guys playing were having fun and things seemed to moving along at a fair old lick.

Salamanca 1812.

Loads of 54mm (?) figures on display.

A Burrows & Badgers game. Very impressive.

A medieval skirmish game. 

I loved these chaps that looked like Wombles to me, given their 'girth'!

Abbevilla France 1940. A Bruce Weigle game that was originally going to be Belgium 1940 I believe.

Nice scratch built buildings, but the 3mm figures etc were hard to make out.

The Liverpool chaps always seem to put on a great Samurai game.

Oxford Wargames Club and Borodino 1812, from the Napoleonic BBB book.

Well done to Chris Pringle & Co who even managed to get a Warhammer 40K player playing this and having fun too!

Anschluss Games, Italy 1944.

The Battle for Downham Marker 1870. An Invasion scare type setting, of particular interest as my Dad now lives there. 

An 0200 Hours game, with the objective to capture Rommel.

The only two books I bought, but very happy with these.

My only purchase aside from books, a 6mm Battlescale ACW church from Pendraken.

Post Show Thoughts

In the end we spent just shy if 4 hours at the show, which I think is a record for me! So as always some musings on the day out:

• Well the show was certainly a vast improvement upon last year, certainly on the games front, which was great to see. For me it was in the 'last chance saloon', but this is no longer the case, which I'm thankful for, as I do like the show on many levels. Colours certainly came back with a bang!
• I don't think I've bumped into so many gamers I know and I reckon Keith and I spent well over and hour just chatting with friends, which was a real pleasure. That social aspect was something we all commented upon and agreed was one of the reasons for attending.
• The quality of games this year was pretty damned good right across the board, from those small games we could all put on at home to those inspirational ones we all like to see at a show. In fact Keith and I did ponder on whether we might put on a game ourselves next year. Too early to tell but you never know...
• It was good to see most of the games had a info sheet of sign next to the table, which was so helpful when trying to figure out what was going on, and as an aide memoire from the photos when writing this post up.
• The show seemed less busy than last year, so I hope the traders did some decent business. It was certainly easier to move around on the ground floor where most of them are and to actually see their wares, which is often not always possible. Certianly no rucksack incidents this year!
• Once again the pricing of books on offer was bizarre, depending upon who you went to. So wise to have a good wander round before parting with your hard earned cash. The two Rapid Fire scenario books cost me about the same price as buying one from the Rapid Fire chaps themselves! Some of the prices being charged was mind boggling, knowing full well that with a bit of patience and shopping around online, you can get them much cheaper. I know they have to cover their costs, but there is a limit!
• Chatting away we talked a lot about what scale of actions we like and why, plus how much detail and granularity we want to go into. Ditto what size games we can play at home and how much time we have to do so. Alongside this was talk of how many more figures or armies do we need at our ages (60's) and how long we can continue to paint the smaller scale figures. I think it seems we are all pondering significant downsizing in the next few years or so. 

I'm sure there's more I might remember later to past about, but that'll do for now. I hope you enjoyed my selective view of the show and games and if so, it would be lovely for you to leave a comment.

Keith is coming over for a WWII game on Monday, so plenty to get ready for that. I've also started painting again with the CWD some 5 weeks away now, so need to knuckle down. Hopefully some photos to show on that front in the next few days...

TTFN.