Preparation for Salute.....

So, I've been up most of the night trying to put the finishing touches to a unit that's due to be done for Salute on Saturday. I'm sitting watching the varnish matte go off, very slowly it seems(!) and getting slightly anxious that it won't be off and therefore I won't be able to pack it up for today when my train leaves!

Those that know me will be used to me doing this and think it quite typical of me to be doing things at the last minute but as long as they get done and I manage to sleep on the train things should be OK.

Fingers crossed!

Bye for now.

Gringos 40's Gendarmes de Elite in 28mm

Hi,

These 28mm Gringos 40's Gendarmes de Elite are hot off the painting table. They were a lot of fun to paint up as the sculpts are very finely detailed with bags of character with horses sharing this characteristic with the troopers. I have to say that I've never painted any Gringos Miniatures up before and I am very impressed with the overall quality. They are cast in nice hard white metal too and they require next to no cleaning up which is always a bonus. I would certainly recommend these mini's to anyone interested in the 'period' (that word again!).

I think I'll let the pictures do the talking from now on:

Gendarmes de Elite Trumpeter:

Gendarmes de Elite Eagle Bearer:

Gendarmes de Elite Officer:

Some things are too beautiful to miss!

Oh yeah, and these:

If you've already guessed that I'll be buying gazzoodles of Indian Mutiny mini's from the Empress stall at Salute in six days then you would of course be correct!

Bye for now.

Salute Bloggers Meet Up!

Darrell Hindley (moi) is posting this pic..... care should be taken when approaching this individual..... he has a dark sense of humour!

I hope to see you all there. apparently my services are not needed by the Lance and Longbow soc so I'll be free all day. We need to arrange a time and a place me thinks......

To The Strongest!

I don't think I have to say anything more other then if you like dynamic, inventive rule sets then this is for you:

The rules have been painstakingly written by Simon miller aka Big Red Bat  and require no dice and no measuring! What? I hear you clamour!? sounds like it may not work? Well, I've been privy to the last few editions and although I haven't actually played it as of yet i can confidently say that the mechanisms are new, dynamic and make for a flowing game that requires very little book keeping.

As Simon has very kindly offered to send me a copy I'll be writing a full review in the fullness of time. But for now I heartily recommend these rules not just to players of Ancients but to Early and Late Medieval players as they will work for all periods above.

you can pick up a copy here:

To The Strongest! 

Enjoy!

Richie Benaud Dies, RIP Richie.

What the heck has this got to do with wargaming I hear you say? Well in my case a lot. I started watching Test Cricket when I was six years old, watching the likes of Michael Holding rip into the England line up with his constant 90mph plus bombardment of the batsmen. his natural length always seemed to threaten the both the batsmen's wicket and indeed their personal well being!

Cricket over the years has helped form a real sense of fair play in my gaming. It has taught me that losing is no bad thing and I have learned to enjoy the experience of losing ('tis a good job too!). No one, possibly in world media, could have communicated this lesson more so than the Late Richie Benaud, who over the years provided a less is more type of commentary to Test cricket. He was the common man's commentator, famously refusing to take up the mantle of Sky commentator as he strongly believed that a country's national sport should be free and not help in the avaricious corporations only interested in making money and not the promotion of a national past time. Indeed, this is a particular view that I share. Test cricket has slumped in recent years, since the ashes triumph for England in 2005 and I put this down largely to the fact that it is no longer on TV. Richie championed this ideal and was probably one of the key factors leading to Test Cricket remaining free in his homeland of Australia.

His commentary, often tinged with ironic humour was a real joy to listen to, Richie only adding to what we saw on our screens with his typical less is more touch, his silence building up tension allowing one to formulate one's owns thoughts before he interjected with his own- always more insightful than that of the viewer. Famously he once said, whilst admiring Ian Botham's brilliant stand against Australia that turned the Ashes series in 1985, "I've been messing around with this for a while now and I've never seen anything like it!".

This could apply in equal measure to my antics on the wargames table! 

So, us Cricket fans bid a fond farewell to one of the true giants of the game, a great player and perhaps an even better commentator.

RIP old chum.

ClubbingIt!!! Long Day and a Sails of Glory Scenario.

Today we were visited by my sister who had jumped on a train and travelled up from Bromley early in the morning! We hit the Church Mouse, had a lovely slap up meal before heading home to my parents house for a long awaited catch up. My sister is a trouble shooter for failing schools in London (no shortage of work!) and has not failed in her twenty year career to turn a school around! An honourable profession, I'm more than a little proud of her, I certainly wouldn't have the commitment and patience required.y, It really was lovely to seer her. You well might ask what the hell has this got to do with painting and wargaming? Well, I'm staying at her house for a short holiday for a few days when Salute is on so that's my tenuous link :>)

Conrad Cairns, author of The First Carlist War, A military History and Uniform Guide published by Perry Miniatures, wrote up a scenario and instead of using the plastic ships that come with the Sails of Glory box as well as being available individually, with some of his metal ships, more historically accurate and better looking too IMHO.

The scenario was a meeting engagement between the British and the Spanish in the Caribbean, As it was not Hurricane Season the winds were flat so that didn't come into the game! Luckily!! The Brits started badly with some uncoordinated manoeuvres (mainly due to my incompetence is has to be said) whilst the Spanish managed to get into position easily and quickly. 

It wasn't long before the ships were engaging one another, the Brits perhaps not making the most of their firepower, one again, down to me for insisting I use one ship and that turned out to be the admiral's Flagship! It being only my second game this was to prove to be folly! Somehow, more by pure luck then stealth and tactical nous I managed to strip one of the enemy's ships of most of it's crew leaving it a floating hulk in the water, a fine prize for a newly promoted admiral! Conrad, who was also playing the Brits put up a good fight both sides doing damage to one another to the point that it seemed necessary for us all to retire, lick our wounds and (hopefully!) return to fight another day.

I'm still unsure about the rules, there seems to be an excessive amount of book keeping although this is off table and presented in a neat manner with some decent graphics. After just two games I don't know if the rules are overly complicated or they just haven't sunk into my head as of yet!  I suppose I'll have a much better idea after playing a few more games. Again, like my last Sails of Glory Post, I must emphasise that the rules are geared much more towards a game as opposed to simulating naval warfare of the time.

Bye for now.

Optivisor Advice Please?

Hi guys and gals,

I've been looking at the 'Optivisors' on amazon and i'm a bit befuddled as to what is good quality and what is not!

Can anyone recommend any of the following:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=optivisor

Any help in this matter would be appreciated :)

Darrell.