Thursday 14 April 2016

Royal Armouries Beta Test Catalogue

So, if you're interested in the plethora arms and armour held by the Royal Armouries from throughout most of history then you should look HERE!

Needless to say that the collection is substantial and a must see for any wargamer interested in arms and armour. I've been a few times to the RA in Leeds and never tired of looking at the collection.


Bye for now.



Thursday 7 April 2016

New Perry Miniatures Cape Wars!!

Ordered!

I've been looking forward to this range and Mike Snook, doyen of all thinks Victorian Warfare, being released since someone who will remain nameless gave me the news at a certain UK show. I was asked to keep quiet which of course I did.









Bye for now.

Tuesday 29 March 2016

North West Frontier Perry Joy!!

Look what's just around the corner! Salute hopefully!

Plastic Perry Brits:






The Three Boxes Full Freebie:


Afghans:



Bye for now.


Friday 18 March 2016

WorLard Sharp Practice Practice II

Tonight we played the second test of our Beau Geste based game, which as it turned out was ore akin to Beau Jest if my dice rolling was anything to go by! The game is set up for the WorLard Day at the Durham club and we'll be using Sharp Practice by the Lardies. It will be interesting to see what we can glean in terms of how Sharp Practice has been streamlined by their play testers as it's a system that, along with The Men Who Would Be King, I predict will be used a lot at the club.

The following pics were taken throughout the second test game.....

Lonely Sentry On the Lookout:


Caravan Train protected by a platoon of Legionnaires enters the table and starts making it's way towards the fort:


What's this? Tuaregs suddenly adorn the ridge line! And there's loads of 'em heading for the camel train!


Platoon of Legionaires stand their ground and let off two volleys that see one one the leading groups of Tuaregs off nicely.



The Legionaires protecting the Caravan are getting overwhelmed so out come the Chasseurs d'Afrique to offer much needed support!


My poor Legionaires about to be overwhelmed:


Yep, that's what you call "overwhelmed"!!


Chasseurs d'Afrique fan out and charge the Tuaregs carrying two groups away as they hit them in perfect order.



The 'Donkey Brigade' (TM) are also ordered out in support of the Chasseurs d'Afrique!


Ouch!


Chasseurs d'Afrique re-group:


The Fort, too ice not to have another piccie!


Stoic (ie well protected!) Legionaires!


To be continued.....

Monday 14 March 2016

Speed Painted African Flesh (with Beja in mind)!

OK, I've got loads and loads of Beja to paint. I haven't dared count but there are at least four boxes of plastics, 20 camels and about 20 packs of metals! A while back I put together two bases of Beja using my usual (quite meticulous) layering method. It took while and although I'm more than happy with the results I need a quicker way of getting them on the table top! Otherwise I'm probably looking at years in terms of getting them painted up! A discomforting thought!

I bought some Foundry African Tribesmen with Braided Hair a while back and seeing these as an ideal opportunity to give a quick fire painting method a try I bit the bullet and went for it. Now, there are some notable differences between the Foundry mini's and that of the Perry Miniatures range; namely size but also the density of the limbs, torso and heads. This will undoubtedly result in some differences if the same method I have used on these Foundry mini's is used on the Perry lovelies.I'll have to wait and see!

So, a brief description of the method I chose to try out on these mini's would do something like this:

i/ Spray with Halfords Black Primer
ii/ Undercoat with Andrea Black- this is a very flat matte.
iii/ Mix 35%-65% Vallejo model Colour Black (70950) and German Cam. Medium Brown (70826) and paint making sure you get good coverage. If another coat is needed them apply.
iv/ Straight from the pot wash of Citadel Agrax Earthshade Wash.
v/ Highlight with Foundry Dark African Flesh (121B)
vi/ Mix in a small amount of Vallejo Model Colour Ivory with the Foundry Dark African Flesh and highlight the bits of the model that would catch the sun from above.

Variations on this basic theme could be achieved by using a more red base colour and going from there. This I'll almost certainly be trying out as there was quite a lot of variation in skin tone of the various tribes who supported the Mahdi.

For now, here are the pictures of the Speed Painted Wargames Foundry Africans:

Group Shot Showing Various Angles of the Finished Miniatures:





Close Ups of the Single Mini's:











Bye for now.

Friday 11 March 2016

WorLard, Sharp Practice, Practice!

Well, if title that doesn't have you befuddled then I don't know what will! Perhaps a short explanation. Those from the North East of England will be familiar with the term "wor" meaning "our". Thus the WorLard is a pun- very clever, not dreamed up by yours Truly but by fellow club member Jim. I like it!

WorLard being one of the TooFatLardies travelling games, which I can tell you after attending last years are great fun as well as a great insight into how Richard writes his rules.

There really isn't much to say about the game other than it was based on Beau Geste, the movie of which there are three versions and involves a raid by the Tuaregs in French colonial territory using Sharp Practice.

It was a complete dry run for the game and there will be more terrain and alterations to the game plan etc so to comment on it now would be a bit of a stab in the dark as the game may develop into something else altogether.

The miniatures and terrain were part of Sweary Nige's collection with some of the Camelry belonging to Conrad Cairns.

I can leave you with the snaps I took of the game:
















 Bye for now.