Well it has taken a couple of weeks but I have now finished painting the colonial Indian troops for Matt for the Northwest Frontier. He'll see me Sunday and collect them and most likely give me some more to do, but for now I am finished and here are the latest Batch.  |
| Flag bearers from behind. |
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| Rank and File |
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| Rank and File from behind |
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| All together now, |
Three posts in three days. Good grief what's come over me!  |
| Rifle armed rank and file. |
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| Command Figures |
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| All together |
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| About Face. |
AS yesterdays post was not wargames related I thought I would show you may latest 2 figures. 
As mentioned these are for Matt and there are more to come. With luck I should Have 10 more infantry finished by late tomorrow so I will put them on as quickly as I am able. As I am on the bases highlight and finishing touches now (Yes the best bits). 
Let me take you back to Friday. Friday morning 10am to be precise. At that time and on that day the official opening of the extension to our new wargames hall was carried out. The original hall is the taller section of the building on the right. Many of the locals thought it was either an electricity sub station or derelict building as it had a neglected and at times vandalised feel t it. Anyway it was originally built by the Royal Engineers (REME) back in the early 60's. It consists of loos, a kitchen and a main hall with a stage. All pretty basic but all still very functional.
That being the case the local council paid for an extension. Not for us wargamers I hasten to add but for the football teams the use the attached fiend, Not that I mind another group benefitting by a new building. WE have not done badly out of it though the council have refitted our kitchen and have promised to update our loos. In addition the car park has been expanded, not enough I hasten to add for one football team let alone 2 and refs and linesman, but even so it will be a help. 
Talking to the Project manager (a nice chap as it happens) he made the comment that due to the less than salubrious local youths that they wanted to make the building "Bullet proof"!. The Local Councilman who officially cut the ribbon to open the building, mentioned in his speech that the new extension fitted in well with the existing structure. Given what the locals think of the original building, I for one am not sure that is a good thing.
For the long standing members of this blog you may remember this post LINK about plans for 2013. Well one of them is now on the top of my to do list so I will be starting a new project this week. Gasp shock horror! No it is not chariot racing (maybe by this time next year! Maybe!) 
This is as much a return to my roots as it is a new project. As I used to play this kind of game a fair amount in the 80's I have found my two armies from this time and will start to re-paint and re-base them over the coming months. I will also build terrain, in fact you may say I have started already as I have three boards carcassed-out and ready to start work on. Don't hold your breath though they are a very long way from finished yet. Merely boards and Battening at this stage, nothing more.
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| The French line with my troops in the foreground. The battle was an Encounter battle. |
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| The Russians had a double line. It turn out 3/4 of the way through the battle that Tim had short changed the French in numbers of troops we were allowed. Ah well! |
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| The French plan was simple. I was to hold the Right flank seen as vulnerable while Tim advanced on the left and would thus roll up the Russian Line. |
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| My troops move up to the town and then go on defend orders. |
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| My troops hold the town and Tim sends his cavalry forward and pivots his infantry. Taking the battle to the Russians. |
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| Tims Cavalry charge. The Russians form (for the most part) squares. I think you can guess the result. |
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| The dice were rolled and the result was just as you expected |
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| Yes you were right! The infantry on in square were trounced and the follow up charge destroyed another unit. The Other cavalry died heroically and futility. Lots and Lots of dead horse so we all knew what was on the menu that night! |
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| Tim wanted a picture of the Russian troops he'd destroyed. |
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| Tim's troops follow up but have to clamber over piles of dead horses. They too get repulsed for the most part. |
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| So as the French Attack had been repulsed. The Russians went on the offensive. Firstly with their Cavalry against our reserve cavalry. |
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| The Russians started to advance on the town so I brought up my reserve. Yes I was still playing you cheeky so and so! |
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| Tim brings on some more troops as we had forgotten to include them in the army at the beginning of the game. I have one more unit to fill the gap and crest the hill. |
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| From the other side/end of the table. The Russians having taken the hill close on Tims Fresh Bavarian troops. |
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| The Russians (under Colin) attack my troops and the town. The troops on my far right were driven back. But all others held. Despite 2 or three columns attacking each of my Line troops. Yes I got luck with some dice rolls. |
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| Eventually the Russians push through the French line. |
The answer is probably clear by now but for those still in the dark it is 35 of scale 10-15mm dry stone walling. What cha mean it don't look like that? Well it is now close enough for the wargames table. (Yes Jo you guessed it was walls give yourself a smug point and well done!) 
Ok so what did I do? starting from the hardboard bases I cut chip board into thin strips. Without a guard or a guide it was all done by eye and some are noticeably thicker than others. That's not the point, it's not even the issue! Then as the chip board was about 12mm thick I was able to break them with my hands to give an un even top and a ragged edge. 
As you can see it is all very straight forward but I did need to do it as otherwise my 10mm SCW battle field will look very barren indeed. So these added to my hedges and buildings should give enough cover so the machine guns do not decimate the other troops. This method will work for 10mm troops and 15 mm figures and 20mm figures should you wish to try making cheap simple and effective dry stone walls. 
So I had two spare bases and two spare trucks so I thought I would expand my SCW forces yet again. (Sorry if this is getting boring by now). They are both Skytrex "Action 200" Range. (LINK ). While I have not found any detail of command vehicles in the SCW that has not stopped me painting one. After all if they were used in WW2 it can't be too much of a leap forward. And an open top 6 wheel truck with a left hand driver. ( By which a driver seated on the left and not one who only uses his left hand.) I think this was originally part of the American forces for WW2 but without rivet counters commenting who really cares. 
Yeah we all know how that line goes and it is very common for wargamers to utter the immortal lines. They did have great script writer back then but that is really no excuse! These figures were hidden from me last time I painted my 10mm Sudan figures up, they have since re-emerged from the "put somewhere safe" place and now had some paint slapped on them. 
I could not leave it alone! "Leave it! Leave It!" Yes I know but I was like a terrier. Consequently I have painted a few scenery/terrain bits for my Spanish Civil war game. While at Salute this year I came across The Square a wargames company I at the time had not heard of and miracle of all miracles they had some 10 mm Spanish terrain. So of course I bought it. So today here are three of their rural Spain buildings. I seem to remember they cost about £6.75 for all three. Resin cast one piece castings and they have a real rustic appeal. They are not perfectly cast, but for the price I am very happy with them. 
All three of them were good fun to paint and that's from a person who does not like painting terrain or indeed resin. Still never mind that. I did find a couple of air bubbles and some bits of miss cast detail but I would get some more of these if I was able. So from my point of view I now have three 10mm Spanish Farm houses. I would like some out buildings as well, but I am sure I can find something for that. You just never know. This has even made me think very briefly about getting some 10mm Peninsular war Napoleonic's- I quickly sought medication and am recovering now. So no Minnie Sharpe antics planned! 
As you can see I have painted some different coloured doors and window shutters. This will allow me to quickly identify buildings and maybe even have them as objectives. For example if you say the blue house it does become very clear which one it is.