Up a creek with out a........

Continuing the French Indian wars theme, I have pain ted a canoe! So just a simple piece of scenery. The Canoe is part of the Redoubt range and I got this one without any figures as Tim does the resin castings for Redoubt and this one was a miss cast. As a Miss cast he could not sell it to a customer paying the full price, and as once the resin has been cast you cannot (as far as I am aware) reclaim anything from it. So it has taken a fair amount of work filling air bubbles and filing down the sides where the resin had pooled but finally after a few hours (about 3 1/2) the model looked good enough for me to slap some paint on and get it finished.

If the model had not been miss cast I would be full of praise for it. I really do like it and may even get a few more (even if they were miss cast) as I think they would lend a bit of atmosphere to any French Indian war Game. And knowing that if I was to buy one it would not be miss cast but pristine does fill me with confidence about the company not wanting to pass on second best to their buyers. So that's a BIG thumbs up from me.

Empress Maria Theresa

 Well something a little different, not a leather stocking in sight. Nor a gun, sword axe or other weapon of war. Back in 2013 when I entered the Analogue Painting Challenge, Kawe of Westfalia Miniatures offered each participant a limited edition figure. And here is mine painted up. I received it during the Salute show and at the time though "I have no use for this!" But then I got thinking. Yeah I know It's dangerous. Now I don't know who this figure was in real life, I am sure I could do the research but lets be blunt I am just too lazy to do so!

The figure is 25mm and not 28mm but that is not an issue because people all come in different sizes in real life and it is not uncommon to see people of 5 feet tall and those of 6 feet tall stood in close proximity. So undaunted I set about splashing some colour on her! Given that modern dying techniques were not used prior to 1846 I went for a Peach or coral pink for her gown with lighter pink for the lace and trimmings. Simply because I saw this shade of pink on "Poldark TV Series" worn by "Verity" in one episode, and if the colour was acceptable for the BBC I knew it would be OK for me as well. That may sound like a weak solution but it works for me.

So what will I use the figure for? Well I think it will go in my 3 Musketeer collection, but it could equally well go in with Settlers in the Americas used against my French Indian wars Indians. So not of the greatest use to me but another figure done and dusted, varnished and put away.

I did find here hard to paint but that is probably just my ineptitude and a better painter may have no problems at all. I found the face in particular a challenge but I think it came out OK so I am not displeased at all.

And finally my cousin has returned this week from a vacation in Australia. As such I was given a packet od Australian sweets to try. The chocolate outside was nice but I did not like the interior. I thought looking at the packet that it might be soft and chewy, but it was hard instead. And while I am delighted to have tried them I don't think I will ever again.

So that's a late post for me today as to be honest I was not expecting to finish the figure today at all. I am not sure what will be finished just yet but with luck I should have something finished in a couple more days. So until next time., take care, slap some paint on a figure or two or maybe play a game. All the Best from Kent, England>

Cheers Clint

Yet more Woodland Indians!

Well the title gives a very good clue about these figures. Continuing with the Redoubt 28mm French Indian Wars range today another 4 Indians. I am grateful to Simon Jones for leaving a comment on my last lot of Leather stockings. I am sure he may be correct in that they were made of trade blankets by this stage, but I will continue to paint them as leather for three reasons. Firstly because the James Fennimore Cooper books are called the "Leather Stocking Tales". Secondly because most players mine included expect them to be this material in the same way that many people paint Ninja figures dressed in black where there is NO historical evidence of them wearing black. And Thirdly because I like the look and they may not actually be used as historically accurate figures.

So this time they are a musket heavy group. There were 4 muskets in a £7.50 pack but I swapped one out last time and replaced with a war club one. Surprisingly good value I think despite the fact that they are a little chunky in places. Let's put it this way I am happy to have the figures for the Price.

The third Photo shows a little clearer on the Faces. You can all thank or curse Anne for that! For War paint I have stuck to black, white and red just to keep them all looking somewhat regular in setting. I have not looked at any traditional references for the war-paint preferring to just make it up and be happy. You will see that some have it around the jaw and others on the forehead and yet others still across the full face. For Gaming purposes I am happy to mix and match like that and not do any in-depth research! yeah I am a lazy so and so! So If you want to do the research and let me know I will be happy to listen as it will save me a job!

The final picture for today has all the ones painted so far together. Only 11 but they look quite fearsome and imposing, at least to me.

While I have no Donnybrook plans for them they may or may not get used for that. In the back of my head I do have a "Fantasy" use for them (I can imagine Ray shuddering) but one should be careful about putting "Fantasy" and "Leather-stockings" in the same sentence!

Thanks for looking today, have a good weekend and get some painting done!
I have some to do as well..... more mundane than these!

More Leather stockings!

Yes a couple more figures from the redoubt French Indian Wars range. This brings it up to 8, a long way short of an army at present but destined to grow a bit more . I can say that with confidence as I have 4 more started.

I started painting these figures from Redoubt after playing "Muskets and Tomahawks." Yes I like Native American figures I can't help it. Only met one in real life as far as I am aware but they were nice enough. So no complaints there! While some of the proportions on the Redoubt figures may be ever-so slightly off As I already had them I will not complain too much. I knew when I painted the last 4 which were just for fun that I had a couple more tucked away. Well it turns out the 3 or 4 I thought I had were actually 11 or 12 so yes you can expect some more of these to get paint slapped on them before too long.

Price wise they are £7.50 for 4 (+P &P) so I expect that I will get a few more when I next go to a show with Redoubt present. Just to round the collection out, not because I actually have a use for them, although if I try hard I can probably find a use. Yes Ray I know they can be used for Donnybrook! A really enjoyable paint and great fun trying to think up different war paints for each of them.

Thanks for looking today and with luck something else in a day or two. All the best from Kent, England and I hope you had an enjoyable general election if you are in the UK. And if not better luck in 5 (or less) years time.

Cheers Clint

Leather stockings

Well a bit of a change. Only because I needed a break. But I can assure you there are some more 20mm Vietnam figures coming. And a shout out to Peter in the wargames club for giving me two die cast helicopters.

But today something a little different. While at the skirmish show you may remember I was given charge of some woodland Indians in a "Muskets and Tomahawks" game. I would have done well if I had not had quite so many Indians killed by my arch nemesis Graham.

So just for fun I painted up some 28mm "Redoubt" figures. They ready were a nice change of pace from the 20mm Vietnam stuff. AS I was compelled "Last of the Mohicans" By James Fenimore Cooper while at college and it at the time was a heinous chore of the greatest magnitude being as I am dyslexic and the book was not written in modern English. Anyway I was at least able to remember the Last of the Mohicans was not a stand alone book but was part of the "Leather stocking tales" which all tell the story of "Natty Bumppo" (Yes I know it sounds like a Hobbit name but is actually the name of the lead character) commonly caller Hawkeye.

So anyway I painted up 3 Indians just for fun. As you can see they all have warpaint and leather stockings as well! And carry a mixture of traditional native and European weapons. I bought them several years ago (about 12 I think) and they have finally made it as far as the painting table. I will be doing some more in the future and may eventually make an Iroquois or Abanaki war party for "Muskets and Tomahawks" but at this stage I must stress they were only painted for the joy of painting and not part of a plan.

Do not take that to mean I have no long-term plan for them as I do. But do not expect to see too many of these in the near future. (Famous last words).

There are problems with the Redoubt figures. They are slightly taller than most 28mm figures and sometimes they are not amazingly well sculpted, but for the price I think they are pretty hard to beat in that you can get 6 for £7.50 (+P&P). And I have found that they do paint up quite nicely so I may well pick up some more at the Salute show. Just another pack or two, not a whole tribe or force but just to be able to put a few units on the table for any future "Muskets and Tomahawks" Games.

Thanks for looking today. More (Vietnam) again soon, then maybe some more WW1 German Jaegers or Zulus or something completely different.

Enjoy the rest of Easter and take care and paint a few figures. I know I will.

Cheers Clint

Yet More Donnybrook figures

Well this is about the last of them for now. I have a couple more cavalry to do. But they can wait for now. So anyway here are another 16 French War of Spanish Succession, there should be a flag but I don't have one just yet so I will add it later. So we have 12 rank and file soldiers and 3 characters. From left to right; Drummer (Musician), Officer, Flag bearer and Sargent.

The flag at this stage should be the bourbon flag and not the French Tricolour as the revolution has not had not yet happened (French revolution 1789). I could perhaps use a white cross on a blue or red field, but the Bourbon Flag would be better.

Still enough procrastination about getting the right flag I have a show next weekend so maybe I will pick one up then.

Again these are Black Hat Miniatures. 15mm scale and part of the Malbrurian Range. In my mind I will buy a few more, if just to get the 15mm sedan chair they do. I am not sure I have a use for a Sedan Chair but I know I will get one.

That's it for today. Thank you very much for looking and tomorrow I will do the next turn of the PBB game. But the best news is that I think I am coming to the end of my wargames doldrums as I have a few ideas of what to do next now and may even start some terrain next week. But nothing too exciting so anticipation should be at a minimum..... really boring stuff like piles of rocks and the like.

Take care and look after yourself. All the best Clint

Club day on Sunday

Initial game set up.

And I had booked in a game of "Donnybrook" . Having not played it before I was not sure how long a game would take. Yes That caught me out It was far quicker than I thought.
I set the board up thinking initially that we might get two games in. Yeah right! We ended up with 5 games. A big thanks to Matt and Tim for playing and helping me sort out the rules and a game. Tim took the British while Matt was the French.

GAME 1

First turn

The British were pounding the French Fort with artillery so the French had sent a sallying raiding force to drive of the gunners. (The Artillery in this game were only an objective and not a fighting force.)

We were all just finding our feet in the first turn and we learnt very quickly that close order infantry in cover are actually really good even for the infamous dice rolling of Tim!

Dice rolling aside, the rules we found were really bloody. Matt lost 1/2 a unit of infantry in the first round of shooting.  Which meant when they fired back they were only able to take out 1/4 of Tim's closest troops. Which left neither unit on morale checks.





2nd Turn. Where are all the French?

The Turn over card was flipped and lo and behold. Tim's Grenadiers shot again. The Rest on Matts Drilled line infantry were then killed to a man! Matts cavalry got a turn and they charged Tim's Indians. The cavalry do not move as fast as I would hope in a game like this so they only just made it. But only with the first few figures and not the whole line. Melee is fought but the results were inconclusive.












Third Turn and the French Infantry are all gone!

 On the last turn before the Indians and cavalry have the chance to conclude matters, Tim has both his grenadiers and his line infantry units fire which wipe out Matts elite line in a single turn. The turn over card is flipped and as matt is now below 50% of starting figures both units and characters. The game ends and the French fort can continue to be bombarded.








Game 2

The scenario was that the French (Matt) had to raid the town and as such I gave them an extra point in their force compared to Tim. Thus 4 French to 3 British. Matt decided to take a cannon this time to try out the cannon optional rules. (So he claimed)!

Initial set up

First few turns were all about getting into position.
The cannon fired managed to get 8 d8 hits
but only caused 1 casualty, but scared the bejezuss out of all the players.
But the Game ended pretty quickly with Matt's cavalry only getting one move the entire game.
 

 Game 3.

With 1 victory a piece Tim was now the attacker. His mission was to gather livestock. Matt took another cannon (he seems to like them) and a couple of line infantry squads. Tim had only grenadiers and line infantry. (No Indians or cavalry this time on either side)

Matt's cannon has trouble getting in arc of fire. but infantry from both sides open fire.
The random event cards did bring on a brief downpour and musketry was halted for the
next turn!
 

Tim rolls better dice and our first morale check of the day.
Matt's infantry are forced to pull back. Well the Two of them still alive
in that unit!

The British finally are in position to bring fire on the cannon.
The cannon does get to fire back,
but realistically too little and far to late.

Another British victory.

 Game 4.

Matt refereed and I got a game against Tim's British. A straight forward encounter battle. Tim took cavalry for the first time as well as Indians. As it was my first try I kept it simple with just 1 cavalry and the rest line infantry.

Initial sett-up

Tim looses his cavalry to my line infantry on the right. He then sets about
picking off my centre. Only fair as I wipe out his Indians as well.

My cavalry don't get a chance to move so I detach the character. And then my centre infantry
are totally destroyed now leaving my officer exposed!

But with Tim's flanks both gone (the Indians and Cavalry)

I am able to bring my infantry to bear on his centre.

He soon looses sufficient troops to fall below 50% starting figures and therefore looses the game.

 

The Last game (game 5) I forgot to take any pictures as I was up against it from the start. Tim took charge and I lost horribly to Matt. (You rotter Matt!). The game consisted of Matt firing his cannon and wiping out my Grenadiers in two turns before they got in range to shoot back. Drat. So that was my right wing dangling in the wind. An event card stole my left flank unit as it was needed elsewhere. So I only had my centre left and was aware that a single casualty would put me over 50% casualties so I tried t get some cover. It kind of worked as another event banished Matts cavalry from the field of play and I was lucky enough to bring fire unanswered on Matt's centre. But eventually matt killed one of my figures and I was forced to concede.

 

Overall a very good day. 5 games 3 French victories, 2 British victories and on a personal level I won 1 and lost 1 so not too bad. Could be a lot worse.

 

The best part though is it looks like Tim will get a small force as well. Given that it was two army forces it's a little hard to draw definitive conclusions on the rules. Yes we got a few things wrong but when don't we? But I will continue to build these forces up some more and maybe start a town militia or outlaw band.

 

Thanks for reading today maybe another quick post tomorrow as well. All the best Cheers Clint

 

 

 

Donnybrook British.

 Well as I had a game (or 2) on Sunday I had to get some more British figures painted. To that end I managed to get 4 more Grenadiers painted. These were not used! An extra sergeant who was used and my players want even more sergeants now having tried the game!

 I also managed to get 6 cavalry (not shown) and 3 mounted characters. Two officers,shown, as well as a trumpeter. The two officers were not used but the cavalry and trumpeter were used. Generally speaking we found that the move of cavalry was not sufficiently large enough to warrant their use! But perhaps in future games I wonder if that will change.

I will do an after action report of some of the games we played on Sunday in a couple of days time. Generally speaking and allowing for looking things up in the rules we played about 1 game every hour, or 5 games in all. Therefore I will not detail all the games.


The final shows all the British troops I have managed to complete BEFORE we played on Sunday.

Thanks for looking today and I will be getting things ready for a game at the Rejects shed of war this week so I may not get so very much painting done this week as one would like. Paintmonkey has got some figures to paint though so I may get them started.....

Anyway that's it for today. Thanks for looking and I will hope to see you all soon.

Cheers Clint

1 more point. (Yawn)

Yes nothing too inspiring today. Just a single point of British line troops for Donnybrook. * soldiers of drilled quality using a d8. And a Sgt who will also use a d8. Like the others these are Black Hat figures 15mm Malburian range.

 Not so much more I can say about these but I will say I have a British Cavalry unit on the paint table which I am trying to finish before Sunday when I will host a game at my club.

That's it for today. Not so much as last time. I know but we have to be realistic and expect peeks and troughs. I can't always work flat out.

Have a good couple of days and I will see you all soon for the PBB game on Saturday.

All the best Clint.

1 more French Cavalry Point.

Yeah the title pretty much covers it. So here we are another unit of French Cavalry for Donnybrook. It is only an extra point but it is a very important point. Why is it an important point? Simply because I can now build up the British forces. Yes I have two more points prepped and primed, an infantry and a cavalry point. This should help me keep some form of parity between the two forces. Clearly I will need more British Horse so at least this will allow me to get them started. As with the last batch these are 15mm Black Hat figures from their Malburian range.  And while they may not get used having the option to use them is very comforting. Yes it may only be 7 mounted figures, 6 troopers and an officer but I do find it interesting how much longer horsemen take to paint over infantry. The other thing about having 2 units of cavalry is that it will allow me to have a larger (9 troopers and a hero) unit using d6 and not using d8's for shooting and melee.

A bit waffley today but that's it for today. I will post turn 5 on Saturday so make sure I get your orders in if you are playing the Play by Blog game. Anyway that's it for today.  Take car4e and tune in again on Saturday to see how the game is progressing. You might also want a quick look at Alan's blog (http://leofwinewargamerson.blogspot.co.uk/) as he has also done a game, played on Facebook and not on a blog but taken direct inspiration from this blog.

 Anyway all the best and thanks for taking the time to pop by. All the best Clint

2 more points.

Well I played a Napoleonic game at the club it was alright, but I was not really in the mood. No worries I was all set up t play Donnybrook but Tim was double booked so I let it slide. My mistake I should have confirmed with him earlier in the week and I did not so It's as much my fault as anyone's. I also forgot the blessed camera so no AAR either! Struth! Man's a Laggard!

I did manage to get 2 extra points of French line Infantry done for Donnybrook and a mounted officer on the Saturday. So As much as I choose to beat myself up about Sunday at the club I just can't really. So here is a picture of all the French I have finished so far for my "Queen Anne's War" period Donnybrook games. I have another unit of cavalry on the paint table at the moment so expect that pretty soon as well. The Second Picture shows 5 points worth of troops (3 Regular Infantry, 1 Regular cavalry and a cannon with crew). I will continue to build them up so that I have more variety. Don't forget the Native Americans which can go on either side, or even both sides if I choose. Not much of an update but there you have it for today. Expect more of the same on Thursday as I finish another cavalry unit.

Thanks for looking, all the best Clint.

1st Cavalry point for Donnybrook!

As I continue to work through my WSS figures I have finally managed to get a single point of cavalry done. 6 figures in total so I will still need to do a hero to go with them. Again these are 15mm figures by Black Hat and part of their Marlburian range. One of the things that held me up on painting these was quite simply that there are not too many pictures out there to get the right colour schemes from. But I did find one I liked in the end so all's well that ends well. I was not too sure about the yellow on the horse furniture but it has now grown on me and does help the figures stand out. In fact as a colour it pops out! Which I now quite like. (don't send me lots of links to pictures of cavalry I have enough now! But thank you if you thought to do so!)

Once I get a hero done for them, I will be 90% of the way to getting all I need done for a game. Which I hope to have on Sunday. I will not stop at the bare minimum though, as I have another Cavalry unit, and 2 Infantry units, already prepped and undercoated and sitting on the paint table and I will hope to get them done by Sunday as well. Even if I don't get them all done it will all help to build the forces up somewhat.

Looking at what Black Hat do and the prices I will expect me to send of a small order next week now that I have got a very small tax rebate. They do a Sedan chair in 15mm for example, and who could resist one of those on the battle field!

That's it for today. Thanks for looking folks and I will post the next turn of the Play by Blog game on Saturday. So if you are still to do your turns (and you know who you are) please get them back to me as soon as possible.

Cheers Clint

Couple more points.

Well as I am hoping for a game on Sunday using the "Donnybrook" rules I have carried on painting some figures. As last time these are 15mm.

To start with I thought I would paint one of the 3 cannons I have as a French gun. As you can see the carriage is painted red as the French guns were at this time and the crew of four are in grey with blue facings and trousers and red socks! While this may seem strange I have found a French artillery crew of this period dressed in this exact way. I must say that not all Artillery crew were uniformed in the same way so expect some variation in different players troops.

My next point is a group of French regular troops. Again in grey but this time with grey trousers. Collars cuffs and socks are Red this time. Again I would expect some people to quibble about which unit this is, but as they are not in my club generally I don't care. Sad but true. So there are 8 troops in close order with a Sargent carrying a halberd.  These really are the simplest troops I have to paint so I would expect some more of these.

Mostly dressed in buckskin I have 12 native Americans. As the indigenous peoples were used by all sides as allies it makes sense to have some native Americans In fact I should get some more. I think another 2 packets (16 figures) would be a good place to start. These should have less  muskets and more hand weapons but for now as I am using what I have I must say I am pleased with this unit. I have kept the war-paint to red, black and white just for simplicity. I could of added yellow war paint as well but I wanted to keep it straight forward. There are 12 figures here. I am one short of a unit if I want them to be a rabble, as that would be 13 figures. Or I could use 9 of them as more proficient troops.

Lastly I have added 4 extra Grenadiers from last time. This will allow them to be trained and not elite troops should I choose. So these last troops are British. Again I will get some French grenadiers (Fur Mitre) so expect me to get some of those at either the next show or even mail order some.

That's it for today, I have some cavalry on the paint table for this so they will also be coming soon.

That's it for today, thanks for looking and with luck next post on Thursday.

All the best Clint

6mm Soviet Airbourne Desant Vehicles finished.

Well no the not quite! I will explain as I go on. You will kindly note that the picture of the BMD-1 to the Right is a real life one and is included only to show what the camouflage patters should be. I don't think they have come out too much different on the smaller ones or at least they are similar enough to give an idea of what they should be.

The second Photograph shows the whole force except for the infantry all together an below according to "Digest N04 Volume 1" of The Challenger 2 wargames rules. Since they were published the composition and equipment has changed, so please do not accept this as an up to date list.  And bellow is a list of all that I have painted

•  Battlegroup Headquarters 1xBMD-2ksh with security section. comprising 1xBRMD2 and 2XUaz 469's.
•  3BMD Companies comprising 2 BMD Company Headquarters, and 3 Platoons each of 4 BMD's
• 1 Battalion Antitank Platoon comprising 4 UAZ 469s with AT4 "Spigot"
• 1 Battalion Antitank Platoon of 4x UAZ 469s with SPG ( groups
• 1 Battalion Mortar Group comprising 4xUAZ 469's with 3 medium mortars
• 1 Divisional Assault gun Company. Made up of 1 ASU 85 Company Headquarters and 3 Platoons of 3 ASU 85's
• 1 Regimental Antitank Platoon comprised of 3 BRMD2/At-3 "Sagger"
• 2Divisional Close Recce Platoons. Each Platoon comprised of 3 BRMD2 armoured cars.
• 2 Antiaircraft Sections. Each section comprised of 2 SA-9's

 

 For the moment I do not need to get and paint any more. Despite the fact that I could. We all know wargamers and completions so I would imagine when I send for some infantry I will increase this a little bit. If only to get the missing BMD from Platoon 3. (yes There is one missing still after 30 years what can one expect!)

PPB

 For those Playing in the Play by blog game I will need your turn by 9am GMT tomorrow. I have already had 3 orders so thanks to Edwin, Millsy and Lucky Lee. You three at least will be able to move as you desire. Anyone not sending in a move order will be assumed not to be giving any orders and will be assumed to be moving in a straight line with their current sail settings. If this is your intention Please send an order in anyway just so I know you are awake and have not fallen off of the edge of the world.

Don't forget in the early game orders are easy. Just let me know if you want to turn and which way and if it is at the beginning or end of your move. By How much of a turn and if you want to change your sail setting. When you send your order in I will send a confirmation email back. Don't forget folks I can take extra Photos if you require them but allow me 48 Hours to complete this task.

New Project Alerts

Yesterday I took delivery of 480 10mm Zulu's (which I call the 500 for ease) These are going to be prepped for Curt's Analogue painting challenge in December. You are warned!

Second Warning I have been seriously looking at "Queen Anne's War" for Donnybrook in 15mm as I have a number of stalled projects which I can paint figures for and get a couple or three forces finished for. So expect a trial of those being painted in the next week. Once Paint Monkey has finished.


That's it folks. Have a good Day and I will work out and post the PBB results tomorrow for turn 1.

All the best Clint