Thin Blue Line

Well two days ago I had a thin red line of British colonial troops in Red tunics on foot. And now some cavalry to make a very thin blue line. Again 10mm Pendraken figures from the Zulu wars range. Yet again I will use these as both Zulu wars and Sudan figures. Indeed they should get an outing tomorrow at the club where they will be acting as scouts for the British and not as cavalry.


They were not an easy paint but very rewarding. As before 2 figures were pre-painted by the guy I bought them from on eBay so I have tried to colour match them. It has been tricky to colour match them, but in the end I am happy with them.  

Not really too much to say about these as there were only 10 of them. It is worth noting that while they are all armed with swords and carbines there are two different posses one carrying a carbine and one carrying a sword. Pendraken packs should be 15 figures for mounted troops and yet there are only 10. I guess the guy has a few dotted around his home. No worries from my point of view. As I got them all as a job lot and still came out ahead.









Additionally to the Cavalry there were also 5 mounted officers. As before one was painted and only needed touching up where it had been rubbed and scratched in Transit. I will say that the figures I received from the guy were all very well painted in the first place so that has made it easy to just touch them up and then re-varnish so as to make them table ready.

That's it for today. I should be at the club tomorrow despite the fact that it's Easter Sunday. So happy Easter and talk again soon. All the best Clint

The Thin Red Line

Well this is my first lot of painting after Salute. I am happy to confirm that this is my latest batch of 10mm Pendraken figures. They were part of the lot I bought on eBay but they were unpainted when I got them. There were a few painted and based already but those have been re-painted and re-based as I want them to fit in with what I have got already. My painting style did in fact change on these and I think for the better as I was less reliant on a heavy dark wash to finish them off. Which has lead to a slightly brighter more vibrant finish.

Purists will note that they are still in the Red Jacket and not in Khaki which the majority were by the time of the Sudan campaign.  But for me The Red coated British soldier is synonymous with the colonial period. Additionally I may well use them in a Zulu war game so rather than the dull desert colours I am sticking with the red. Sorry if this gets up anyone's nose but They are my figures and I wargame for myself and not for anyone else.

They have been specifically painted for Peter Pigs "Patrols in the Sudan" Rules and should be a good opposing force to my Mahdists. Contrasting strongly with their more rag tag look. Can we all say "Spanking in red!"

I have to say I am pleased with how these have come out. I have even put chevrons on a few of the figures (not many though) to represent non commissioned officers. I did find it a struggle at this scale but I think it's worth the extra effort. I normally would not have but the guy I bought them from had on some of his and I was not going to be beaten once I knew it could be done. Don't strain your eyes looking for them, just know that they are there!

That's it for today I hope to have a thin Blue line to show next time. Thanks for looking and hope to see you in a couple of days.

All the Best Clint

Salute 14. (My personmal Highlights)

There is much to moan about with regards to Salute but there are a number of advantages as well. What follows is a few games which caught my eye for different reasons.

To me the best game of the show. The guys from Jersey put on a very nice Flames of war game. The board really did look spectacular.

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Fenris Games

Oshiro Models



French in Indo China.

Dishdash Publishing. All Terrain bought from B+Q

10mm WWi Bloody Picnic Rules
. I Do like 10mm figures
But found the terrain to be very club level.



The spice must flow.



SCW GAme I had high hopes for it from the pre show list,
 but It fails to deliver to the same standard of many other games there.

Martian 28mm VSF
What's not to like.

So there it is a very personal view of the games of Salute this year. I hope a little for everyone. Generally speaking very little there that cannot be seen on others blogs.

The two games I had the highest hopes for and the other games that caught my eye.

 

And Finally The real high light of the show for me getting to meet the other bloggers.

 

A More handsome and Erudite bunch one could not hope to meet. When I talk about Handsome I of course mean Inner beauty. From the outside we look like a scruffy bunch!

And Relax!

Got home from Salute last night at about 7:20pm Trains were a nightmare! And thank goodness The "Rejects" gave me a lift half way or it might well have been longer. I won't go into details. Just Nightmare!!!

Still home now and the obligatory shot of my Salute '14 Swag. Not all of this is for me...... but most of it is. So what's in the Box? I know I know its actually a simple pre-show order from Kerr and King and yes I got a deal on it, simply a 10mm Arab Village.  Some more 10mm terrain from the Square, a company I don't know a lot about but I think I now have enough buildings.
Talking of 10mm I had a pre-show order with Pendraken... More SCW, More Samurai and More British Sudan figures. 2 blisters of Dixon miniatures (ok I'll put my hands up and say impulse buy), I box of 20mm Boxers (From Harfields) another pre-order. Although soft plastic I got them as a trial following Loki's blog. And lets be honest Boxer Rebellion may well become a new project only time will tell. Two Resin Crystals for some Science fiction gaming, Nice that these are cast in clear coloured resin at the same price as normal resin. This gives me the option of either paining them or not! Salute Dice and Salute figure, I got more dice than I needed as I have promised to send some to Slovenia. (Yes Mathyoo I did get them for you). I also managed to pick up the "Donnybrook rules" yes another impulse buy, But that's what happens when you watch "New Worlds" on the telly! And finally chatting to a guy in the Cue before Salute I was given a SAGA Key-ring. There are a few Saga players at the club so I'll pass it to one of them!

Talking about the cue before Salute, I was also told that the old Tabletop games rules are going to be re-released, mostly as PDF formats and updated for a modern audience. But given that several players at club level have bemoaned the current trend of glossy wargames porn type wargames rules which emphasis style over substance. This may be a welcome return  to a simpler more credible form of rules.  Which is not to say that all Tabletop Games Rules were of the highest standard, but they were affordable and if they did not suit you easy to buy another set. The first releases will be from the Tabletop Micro Games range as this does not infringe copywrites or so I am told.

Thanks for looking Next post Tuesday and with luck another Salute report! All the Best from Clint.

Post Script: I would like to say what a joy it was to meet all the other bloggers.