Festung Europa

With less than a week to go before the planned D-Day game with my fictional Canadian Brigade, I thought I'd post a few photos of progress I've made with regard to the German defences. 

Widerstandsnest 33a. The view of the seaborne side. I went with the 'rule of cool' and added some foliage and earth etc to the roof, which was probably there, before being blown off during the pre-invasion bombardment. I could have added some camo patterns, but like the plain weathered concrete look.

The landward view, which would cover both Juno and Gold beaches. I could easily use this as an artillery emplacement, facing the sea or in other defensive positions. 

The Pak 38 in position, by the entrance to the casement.

An MG 42 Tobruk. 

The concrete 'ring' was from a bike brake block assembly and makes for a perfect Tobruk type position.

A Panzerturm, using a Matidla II turret, one that was spare form an order years ago and I happened to have lying around.

In games terms this will be a Panzer IV short or French FT-17 turret with appropriate stats.

What's Next?

I have to decide whether to paint some more British infantry to bulk out the invasion force, or some German ATG teams. The latter are favourite at present, as they will be needed for the 2nd scenario and for wider games in general.

At least I have all the core mechanisms sorted, so I just need to finalise some Regimental names for the Canadians, as write up my notes into a cohsive whole, rather than being spread over several books and pieces of paper.

I hope you enjoyed this little update and as always, any comments greatly appreciated!

TTFN.

Whilst The Iron Is Hot

Post Partizan I've certainly been in a more wargaming frame of mind, as it is hard not to be inspired by all that you see at the show. Also you can have too much of a good thing, so the recent break in the weather has come as a welcome change, giving me a good excuse to get indoors and do something different. As mentioned in the last post, I did consider trying to get something organised for D-Day 6th June, possibly resurrecting my fictional Canadians in Normandy mini-campaign. 

Well that has indeed happened and for the past few days, I have been jotting ideas down, lists of things to do and check my resource material for details etc to incorporate in the campaign. So as a bit of an update, see below to get an idea of where I am and what I've been up to.

My main reference material, all of which are excellent books, but the John Keegan one is particularly useful to get a good overview of the Canadian landings, without going into much detail. All will provide a good framewok upon which to build the initial landings and follow up actions. More to follow in due course.

Of course if you are going to game the landings, then you need some beach defences for the Germans. I've had this book for years and as with Zaloga, an excellent one too. This along with some of the other books above, has given me an idea of what defences I need to make, which can be seen below.

The start of a German gun emplacement, with this side facing the sea. It is made from 4mm foamboard, which sort of gives that look of layered concrete you see on some of the bunkers etc. It is 80mm wide x 40mm deep x 20mm high.

The side facing inland and where the ATG gun will go (Pak 38), open on both sides so that it can shoot down either side of the beach. This is based upon the Vf600-SK 50mm gun emplacement that was on the far left of Juno beach. It was knocked out my naval gun fire, but could shoot down Gold beach as well.

Some other defences, from L-R: Goliath and control team; Tobruk MG; Panzerstellung Tobruk and Pak 38 to go in the gun emplacement. 

A LCT and LCA bought at Partizan last year. Whilst a nice think to have for the visuals of the game, I'm concentrating on painting stuff I need first and foremost. They need a bit of a clean up first to get rid of mould lines etc. They should look good when finished though.

And In Other News

Just a couple of things that are not related to the current focus of my gaming.

Doh! I bought this one church at Partizan this year and I think the other at Colours last year. What a muppet! Leon at Pendraken might be kind and let me swap for something else, or I can give it away or do some converting.

This is my current book I'm reading and what a cracker it is. Keegan is such a wonderful historian and story teller, it is not only a pleasure to read, but chock full of bits of info I had not heard before. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the ACW.

What Next?

Well the focus will of course be on getting stuff painted and ready for the first game, alongside all the OOB, maps, objectives etc. I have most of it already, it just needs bringing together all in one place. At least the weather for the next week is in my favour as it is looking wet. Not often I would say this but I'm quite happy with that, as long as I can get some priming in!

Right, off to more research! As always thanks for reading and any comments greatly appreciated:).

TTFN.

A Bit Of An Update

Aside from the recent Partizan show report, I've not done anything vaguely game related for well over a month now, other than reading books, which is always going on in the background. A couple of reasons for this, namely our daughter and son-in-law came to stay, so the games room became an office and the fact that we've had stunning weather for about 6 weeks now, breaking records left, right and centre. With the latter I'm like a moth to a flame, so I've barely been indoors for the duration! 

Despite all of the above, the old grey cells have been whirring away, pondering all things gaming related, so I thought I'd do a bit of a catch up on some of the main points. So in no particular order:

Campaigns

These past few years I've really found so much pleasure in small, manageable sized campaigns, compared to one off games. That's not to say they don't have their place, such as going through the OHW scenarios, but it's just not the same. Despite having many books on campaigns, I've found the easiest for me a simple narrative driven one. I suppose I get a rough outline in my head, flesh out the objectives, come up with the starting scenario and work from there. Depending upon the period, this is easier to do than others, with WWII and BKCII now almost second nature. A SYW one might be another matter, but a nice challenge and fun researching it.

Too Much Stuff?

A bit of a heretical statement I know, but bear with me. Over a month ago I started planning an AVBCW Campaign and wanted to paint some pieces up for it as part of the narrative-cum-objectives. But I simply couldn't find the piece in question (a WWI mortar), despite searching high and low for it. So ann hour or so later I finally found in literally the last place I looked. But alongside it I found other items I forgot I had bought, as well as in the search realising just how much unpainted lead I had stored in bags and boxes. With my glacial painting pace and my painting arm slowly getting worse each year, it did make me stop and think what do I really enjoy playing, and as a result what should I put my focus on over the next few years in terms of painting? I've got an idea but I do need to have a good old sort out and in the hard, cold light of day, make some decisions about what to keep and what to part with. Challenging but cathartic at the same time.

Vlogs vs Blogs

Whilst I do watch and enjoy a few Vlogs (Little Wars TV, Mark's Games Room for example), by and large I do wonder why people watch them, when you could easily scan and read the content in a fraction of the time taken to watch the video on Youtube? Ditto for the content creator, based upon comments over the years about the time taken to do the script, record, edit and upload. Personally Blogs are just so much better 99% of the time.

Rules

A comment on a Blog a month or so ago, where the group had played a game using the 'Hail Caesar' rules, but in a different period from their norm. At the end they felt that in essence they were playing the same game, but just with different figures, army names etc. So this got me wondering how common this might be, and whether this applies to all rules and periods. Thinking about my BKCII games, if I was playing Poland 1939, France 1940 or Barbarossa 1941, then I do think that essentially the games would be incredibly similar, given the materiel used, German 'superiority' in C&C in general. Ditto Italy 1943 or Normandy 1944. But the difference for me is the narrative to the game, even though it might be yet another flank attack, seaborne landing etc. So would different rules for each period make any difference or not? I don't think so, but then I do tend to use the same core rules and mechanics for all my games.

Magazines & Books

I keep thinking it would be nice to buy a wargames magazine now and then, but if I'm brutally honest, I can't find anything that really interests me in them, whether it be WSS or WI. Not being a 28mm gamer is probably part of the reason and, as we all know, the content is largely aimed at this 'scale', as that's what keeps the magazines going. So I much prefer to buy a 2nd hand book in a period that interests and follow Blogs that align with my interests.

Random Stuff

I thought I'd take some photos of some stuff that I've painted, made and bought over the past couple of months:

The 'Maltese Falcon'. An old Revell snap together kit (or something like that) of a Fokker DR1, that I probably made and primed some 15 years or so ago! With my planned AVBCW campaign, I finally added a Peter Pig pilot, and chose a colour scheme to go with my Police Force. I used some very old GW transfers and was lazy in not painting gloss lacquer first on the fuselage, so that transfer backing shows up horribly, but you don't notice it during the game.

My sole purchases from Partizan, a water mill and church, both 6mm Battlesclae from Pendraken.

One of my other hobbies is woodworking, and despite having a lathe for 5 years now, I finally got around to having a play. I've wanted a dice tray for some time, so decided to quickly turn one to get my hand back in, as it's been 30 years since I last turned anything! Made from a piece of scaffold board, it serves its purpose and I want to make some more with nice wood.

After seeing this reviewed by Norm Smith, I just had to buy it and it does look very good.

As with the above, when Keith in NZ mentioned this on his Blog, I managed to track down a very cheap copy. Sadly it was in pretty poor condition, but my old modelling making skills resurrected it somewhat. A great read for sure.

With the WotR be rather en vogue, this was bought to try and improve my knowledge of the military side of the Wars, which this does a great job of doing. Highly recommended, even if some of the information is dated, specifically about Bosworth. 

Getting Back On The Wargaming Bike

Having been away from the painting and gaming table for so long, I'm honestly finding it hard to get back into the frame of mind. Of course the glorious weather hasn't helped, but now it has turned, I'm seeing how I can slowlly inch back into things.

A bit of bed time reading and inspiration.

I always love browsing through these old Airfix magazines, which takes me right back to when I still in single figures age wise! The Rapid Fire booklet has sparked that old WWII flame, so I'm hoping to add some more support bases for my BKCII British and German forces and then finally paint them up, as they've lain far too long just primed and waiting to go. A bit of focus is nice, especially with 6th June fast approaching. Time to dust off my ideas for a fictional Canadian landing? It would be nice...

Thanks for getting this far and reading my waffle, which just might have been of marginal interest!  As always, any comments greatly appreciated:).

TTFN.

Partizan 2025 - A Show Report

It was only a week ago that I knew I would be able to attend this years Partizan wargames show, as there were many things in the offing that might have put a spanner in the works. So with the 'all clear' as it were, I got my act together and somewhat bleary eyed, hit the road at 6.00am yesterday to travel up to Newark, arriving at 9.00am. I was certainly tired by that time and it took me a while to fully wake up, helped no end by the rather cold wind and 10/10 cloud cover, a marked change from what we've been used to in Bristol this past month or so.

I joined the queue and had a pleasant chat with Ian, from the Shrewsbury Wargames Club, whilst we semi-froze awaiting for the doors to open. The queue stretched back out of sight, but once inside it was relatively quiet for the first 30 minutes or so, then it got very busy from then on.

So enough waffle from me, so sit back, grab a drink as there are an awful lot of photos to get through, before I give some thoughts on the show etc.

Boondock Sayntes - The Battle of Aliwal, 1846
A modest offering from these chaps compared to previous years, but one still full of detail and delight.

Kallistra/Forest Outlaws - The Battle of Forum Gallorum, 43BC

Like A Stone Wall - Back of Beyond
Using the 'Setting The East Ablaze' rules?

League of Extraordinary Kreigspielers - Wake Island 192?
One of my favourite games in the show, with just so much to see, and plenty of vignettes dotted around the table. As always, I just love the Inter-War aircraft etc!

Mr Steve Jones - 6mm. No prizes for guessing the battle!
Nice to see smaller figures in action, which really gives the look and feel of the large battle it is depicting.

Ken Riley - Again no prizes and using 'British Grenadier' rules?
Hard to get photos of this game (and others) due to its location and the fact it was popular.

Westbury Wargames - The Battle of Sagrajas, 1086

Derby Wargames Society - Eastern Front 1941

Who doesn't love a Stuka shot?!

Burton & District Wargamers - Zulu Wars, Skirmish at Intombe

Iron Brigade - ACW
A game in honour of a member who had sadly passed away.

Chesterfield Old Boys - Case Blue, the Georgian Highway
Another favourite game, with lots of great Soviet toys on display.

I want a big, tracked gun like this for my games!

League of Augsburg - Dutch Raid on Hispaniola, circa 1675
As always Barry Hilton puts on a superb game, as can be seen here.

Perry Miniatures - Peninsular War.
Jervis Johnson desperate for his 15 minutes of fame!

The Bodkins - A Fictional WotR Battle
A nice 'fact sheet' was being given out, putting the game in context and very friendly gamers ready to chat with you, which was nice.

Percy as yet undecided whom to support...

Glasgow Tradestone WGC - The Battle of Rocroi, 1643
Good to see a simple layout compared to many, to give 'new' gamers an idea about how they can start easily and cheaply.

Mr Bill Haskin - SYW?
I've chatted with Bill at several shows over the years, but I think this is the first time I've seen a game put on by his goodself. And what a cracker! Hard to do justice to his painting, conversions and terrain to be honest.

The Ruckusteers - Never Mind the Ruckus

Barely Legal Wargamers - The Battle of Honey Hill, 1864
Paper figures and terrain, which looked pretty effective.

Gordon's Gophers - Rapid Fire Reloaded
Another good club game type of terrain and the sort of thing you could easily achieve at home.

Bramley Wargames Club - Sassanids vs Romans, Syria circa 295BC
Another club giving out info on the game and very happy to chat to all and sundry.

1st Corps - ACW

No Prizes For Guessing This Game!
Plenty of inspiration and ideas for my AVBCW games.

Mr Simon Miller - Lust For Glory - Marlburian Period

Several games had these end pieces to the tables, which were very effective and certainly gave a great feeling of depth to the game.

Ardhammer Group - Franco-Dutch War, 1672-1678

South London Warlords - Crisis on the Marne, September 1914
A nice game giving the feeling of a massive field of battle. I'm not sure at what level each base represented?

Caseshot Publishing - The Battle of Pirmasens, 1793?

DAK Attack

LetsXcape - 15mm Dragon Rampant

Sails of Glory

Great Escape Games - Dead Man's Hand Redux

KB Club - Manouevre Group

Cowards Wargames Club - Landed Has the Eagle

Too Fat Lardies - Baltic Balcony 1945?

That's All Folks!

Well I hope you enjoyed that, as as mentioned above, it was very hard to find space to take photos, so i did my level best. There more more games, but not all of them took my fancy or were very much Fantasy & Sci-Fi, again none of them piqued my interest.

Thoughts On The Show

I'll try and give my impressions below and in no particular order, so without further ado:

• I did find the show a bit of a struggle this year, as I felt pretty tired on the day, due to the early start and lack of sleep caused by badgers making a Hell of a racket as 2.50am that morning! I could set off an hour later, but would most likely hit more traffic, so always a trade off. The earlier start means I can get a good 3 hours or so in at the show, before I need to head back to try and beat the traffic, which fortunately I managed.
• The show felt more cramped than last year and I felt it was harder to get a good view of the tables and the games on display. I did a whizz round first thing, so got a good view on what was on offer, but by the time I went round to take photos, it was a bit of a scrum at times to say the least. They seemed to have added more tables, which to my mind didn't work. Less is more!
• It was nice to bump into Matt Crump and have a chat with him. We hoped to meet up later but I never caught a glimpse of him after that! I did see a few other gamers I knew, but didn't manage to have a chat with them. 
• I thought the quality of the games was still pretty high, but not quite to last years levels. The participation games were a very mixed bunch and somewhat sparsely attended. I would much rather we had fewer of those and more space for the demo games, which by looking where the crowds were, was what most gamers had come to see.
• I find it always a balancing act in what I can achieve in 3 hours at the show. If I stop to take in the games and chat, then I miss out on taking photos etc. Vice versa if I focus on that, then I miss out on the chats etc. This year due to the cramped conditions, I felt I was trying to make sure I hadn't missed anything, rather getting a good balance between chatting and taking photos. Maybe next time I'll get it right.
• For the first time that I can remember, I didn't have any pre-orders to collect from Pendraken! More on that in another post, but shopping was and normally is not high on my list at this show. I did pick up a couple of 6mm Battlescale buildings though, so at least I came away with something! I missed some traders who I would have liked to have a look at some products, others didn't have a catalogue to browse or didn't seem interested in engaging with the punters. 
• I think for future shows a different layout might work better, with say the traders at one end of the hall, then the games taking up the rest. It was hard or nigh on impossible to see some games, due to being cheek by jowl with the main thoroughfares, so not ideal for either party. Being able to go and shop and then take in the games in a 'quieter' area would be ideal.
• Seating. There wasn't any in the hall, other than the cafe, or by one of the fire exits. With the new 'entrance', it made it hard just to wander outside and have a break. By the end of it my legs, feet and hips were hurting and I'm pretty fit, or like to think I am!
• Books. Some of the prices being charged were crazy! Needless to say I didn't dip into my wallet.
• 28mm as always dominated the show, with a few other sizes and scales on show. I can see why that is on many levels, certainly visually you can't beat it with all the vignettes on show, which are hard if not impossible to achieve in other scales. A bit more variety would be nice though.
• 3D Printing. Certainly there were many, many lovely buildings and terrain pieces on show this year, with less MDf ones, or so it seemed to me. It certainly is a Golden Age for terrain at present and I can only see it getting better year on year.
• Will I go next year? To be honest I'm not sure. As mentioned already, this year it felt a real struggle and by the time I got home, I was shattered. 6 hours of driving and 3 hours at the show took its toll for sure. I certainly felt my age!!! I think if they go back to a less crowded offering in line with last year and have a good mix of games (no fantasy or sci-fi please) then possibly. Of course it would be nice to attend with friends or share the driving, but that is not always possible.

So there we have it. I hope to put up another post soon, giving an idea of what's been going on, or not, this past month or so. Thanks for reading and as always, any comments greatly appreciated!

TTFN.