Just Add Water Miniature Painting and Wargaming Blog- 500000 Views! Many, Many Thanks, Part 1!

First of all, many, many thanks to everyone who has visited my blog over the years. Having started Just Add Water in the early 2000's, deleted the blog, started again in 2012, I never dreamed that that my "content" (awful word really) would be of interest to so many of you out there. I am humbled.

To celebrate I thought I would do it post up a few pictures from projects along with some of the best games I have experienced at the many shows I have attended over the years. After all, wargaming is essentially visual and analogue (if I may be so bold as to borrow the word from Curt who must have earned a trademark on the word!).

Most (not all) of the images are reasonably large files and should be "clickable".

Gripping Beast, Age of Arthur WAB Campaign Day Display Game, Warhammer World (I don't Remember the year but I think 2007/8?):

David Imrie and Andrew Taylor, The Eagle Game, Claymore 2013

League of Augsburg/Warfare Miniatures, The Other Partizan 2013

Simon Chick/The Lance and Longbow Society, Battle of Cravant 1424

Leicester Fat Cats, "Booster Ridge" The Last Defence in the Valley of Tears
October 16th, Yom Kippor War, The Other Partizan 2014

James Morris and the Newark Irregulars, Battle of Keren 1941

Grimsby Gamers, Indian Mutiny, Durham Wargames Show/Open Day, 2014

Francesco Gonzaga's Doomed Charge Across the River Taro at Fornovo 1495

Anglo Mahdist War, the Sudan, Perry Miniatures Ansar

Battle of Verneuil 1424 , Bedford's Battle

Battle of Verneuil 1424, Talbot's Battle

Battle of Verneuil 1424, Men at Arms Base III

League of Extraordinary Kriegspielers, Assault Across the Suez Canal, 1915

WorLard Day 2015, Through the Mud and the Blood/CoC

Simon Miller, To the Strongest,
Battle of Watling Street, Boudica's Last Stand

List of Perry Sudan Miniatures that can be used for the Second Anglo Afghan War?

First off, a picture of Drummer James Roddick of the 92nd Highlanders defending Lieutenant Menzies at Kandahar, 1880, National Army Museum

I popped the question on the Lead Adventure Forum; which codes from the Perry Miniatures Sudan range can be used for the Second Anglo Afghan War?

It didn't take long before Mad Guru of the famously brilliant Maiwand Day Blog popped in and gave me the lowdown.

As this information is no longer available on the new Perry Miniatures site I thought I would print his reply below:

"I believe that would be the various packs of Infantry, Indian service dress (SB21-SB25);

The 10th Hussars command (SB33) and swords drawn (SB34);

The Sikh Infantry packs (SB68-SB70);

And the various Bengal Cavalry command & with lances packs (SB74-SB76).

NOTE: I did not include the 3 x "Bengal/Bombay infantry" packs (SB71-SB73), because these all wear smooth khaki covers over their turbans which post-date the Second Afghan War, and as there now are some perfectly accurate Second Afghan War Perry Indian Infantry figures in their "Victoria's Little Wars" range, there's no need to do turban conversions on the Sudan range Bombay/Bengal infantry figures to make them fit the Afghan War, the way I did more than a decade ago.

You could also use the Royal Artillery 7 pounder Screw-gun and crew (SB45) -- though if you're picky you may want to remove the desert goggles from the officer's foreign service helmet, and possibly remove the puggarees from all the crew's helmets, as in Afghanistan they would probably have been wearing khaki cloth helmet-covers.  But if you leave all their helmets as-is and just paint them in khaki uniforms with blue puttees, I will in no way hold it against you!"

More Anglo Danes- Fyrd Second Rank

It took more time than I would have liked to complete this batch (the old Black Dog persisting) but here's the second rank of the Select Fyrd to go with fifth Anglo Danish unit. The first two ranks of Huscarls can be seen HERE and HERE.

This army has been a bit of a labour of love. It must be way over a year, perhaps two since I started to put the thing together! Anglo Danes are an army that I have always wanted to put together with the requisite attention they deserves. It took more time than I would have liked but here's the second rank of the Select Fyrd to go with fifth Anglo Danish unit- the first two ranks of Huscarls can be seen HERE and HERE

Anglo Danes are an army I have long wanted to put on the table going back to when I first faced off against John Glass's (RIP) Anglo Saxons in the heady days of Warhammer Ancient Battles at the Edinburgh club SESWC. Also many a game played at Warhammer World in the 1066 and All That Warhammer Ancient Battles campaign weekend, in particular Big Jim's Mercians, an army that gobbled up my Normans in short shrift! Great days that will always be remembered.

I have six more Select Fyrd mini's to finish n from the six miniatures here before I can start messing around with the composition of the unit. I have tried to make it so that my Anglo Danish units in particular look like they are fighting in a Shieldwall with a nod to some of much of the battle the imagery on the Bayeux Tapestry. 

The keen eyed among you you will notice that there is a right old mix of manufacturers. Some very out of production Gripping Beast models going back to when Duncan and Colin were sculpting in Milliput, Gripping Beast models from the early 2000's, and more recent Soapy sculpts also from Gripping Beast. Added to these are Matthew Bickley and Bill Thornhill sculpts from Footsore Miniatures, Colin Patten sculpts from Saxon Miniatures (now sold by Warlord for £18 a pack I have been told!!). There is also a solid nod to Dave Andrews Anglo Danes as featured in the Warhammer Ancient Battles supplement, Shieldwall seen below.

More on the rules I'm planning on using and why the miniatures are based the way they are when the unit had been put together. For no, here are the pics of the last six models completed. They are yet to be glossed and matted back down.