Monday 6 October 2014

Kicking the doldrums

Well it's a "Ronseal" title in that it does what it says on the tin. No I Have not quite kicked the arse out of the Doldrums and I am still in a wargames rut. But at least I am coming out the other side. So here is what I am doing!
An existing Afghanistan board
The answer is simple, I have taken one of my old DBA boards (I have two others so don't panic or at least don't panic for now, panic later in your own time.) I have filled the holes where some trees went, you will note the darker green patched around the whit blobs which identifies how far the canopies spread! Additionally I have added a road. The Road is a thin coating of ready mixed plaster that I can slightly smoother than the rough ground.

This board will become another Afghanistan/Arabia board (the other two will as well). By doing this I will have a total of 9 interchangeable boards, each 2 foot square. All the hard work is already done so this will be a repaint and a slight re-build. SO I am expecting some rapid results. When I have the boards complete I will have a 6 foot square area ready to fight over.

But fight what I hear you ask? Well more Afghanistan and Arabia in a nut-shell so when I go to SELWG Show I now have a focus for my Squandering carefully thought out expenditure. So I will be looking for more 20mm Modern British and Russian stuff to fight against the Taliban. (I also need a better set of skirmish rules for this). As the Terrain and architecture has hardly changed for a millennia I may also be looking for Earlier (Colonial Period and Napoleonic Period) Afghans. So I anticipate some Colonial skirmish games next year.
When I use the boards for North Africa/Arabia I will also be looking for some 20mm WW2 Italians and some 8th Army (although the 8th Army is less needed as I already have some British to paint in 20mm). In addition to 20mm WW2 and WW1 (Laurence of Arabia) games Newline Design also make some 20mm Mahdist figures so that's another colonial option. Newline also make some 20mm Metal Ancient ranges so maybe some ancient skirmish as well. So maybe some 20mm Romans vs Lybians or Numibians Skirmish. Maybe even earlier.... New Kingdom Egyptians, Assyrians or even Summarians.  Oh so many options shame there are only a couple of companies making 20mm other then WW2.

WW2 will be the main focus though, unless I get sidetracked into Arab Israeli wars

Thanks for reading my waffle today. With luck I will hope to have something new to show soon.

All the best Clint

19 comments:

  1. I always enjoy reading your "waffle" Clint, although I'd never call it that. I prefer the word "musings."

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    1. Well thanks for that. It is waffle but I am happy to call it musings if you prefer. Thank you Bryan.

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  2. I prefer my waffles with golden syrup, but to add to ideas, this type of building would also suit some western games "south of the border" with maybe a couple of small, purpose built extra building to set the scene, a cantina for example.
    There may also be some scope in using them for a Spanish game - El Cid perhaps ?
    I'm all for the multiuse of whatever is on hand and suing it across many periods.

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    1. Thank you Joe. I can only find soft plastic figures for El Cid type games I had already looked as I share that thought about multi use terrain. In Metal 20mm I am pretty much limited to WW2 WW1 Colonial (Limited but possible) or Ancient (very limited choice of ranges though. )

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  3. Sometimes slapping filler around the place is just what is required to lift one's spirits.

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    1. Yeah mud pies for adults (Not grown ups) Thank you Michael

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  4. Interesting. Does it have to be 20mm? You'll get a much bigger choice for anything other than WWII <-> modern in 15mm or 28mm, I think.

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    1. The simple answer is yes it does have to be 20mm because of the buildings. And you are right there is much more choice in other scales. But then that would just look wrong on the boards. But the positive is that I want to do some 20mm skirmish. Thank you C6

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  5. Hope to see some of your squandering at SELWG!

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    1. Hi Fran I can guarantee postie will squander more than me. I look forward to seeing you there

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  6. Although you are not completely out of the doldrums, you've got things done and plenty planned. Also there seems to be a hint of excitement coming from you. Certainly SELWG, will provide a shot in the arm.

    I've just entered the doldrums myself, but I know it will pass.

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    1. Yes Anne I am excited about SELWG It's the last show of the year for me.

      I do know that we all have peaks and troughs in our hobby life.
      Cheers Mate

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  7. There's nothing better than making a thing that fits so many different periods!

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    1. Thank you Mathyoo.. Yes so many more periods it will fit IF I went soft plastic.

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  8. Although you're in the doldrums, there's plenty still going on in the planning dept, by the look and sound of things!!! I'd like to suggest the First Anglo-Afghan War, for you're old/new boards. You could even include Private Widdle and the rest of the 3rd Foot and Mouth Regiment??

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    1. Thank you Ray. You will note I did mention Napoleonic Afghans (At least I meant to if I did not). So some John Company skirmish has already been considered to the point that I have identified a figure manufacture. I also Think the Donnybrook rule would work well for it!

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  9. It's always good to breath some new life into older resources, if it's not being used as it is, turn it into something that will get used!

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