The last of the schiltrons (for now)

Hello again.

I have now finished all six of the planned Scottish spear units I envisaged for my Scots army for the Bannockburn-era game set to see the light at this year's Wargamer show. Using the various "dodges" I outlined in the previous post, I managed 120 figures in about seven or eight weeks, including time for a foreign holiday, which is seriously good going for me. That just left the flags, the last six of which you can see here. I have also now based the figures into units, which I will photograph and post soon, but the onerous tasks of varnishing and base texturing await......

I finished Stewart/ Sutherland ages ago, made from a varied selection of Fireforge conversions and Essex Miniatures. I also posted the flags for Moray/ Atholl and Ross/ Caithness last time out. As you may have guessed, each schiltron gets two flags. Each is also 24 figures strong in 3 ranks, as required in the "Hail Caesar" rules I intend to use. All standard bearers in schiltrons 2 to 5 are Old Glory figures, sometimes with the odd shield change from the bits box.

G

Angus, who will pair up with.....

Strathearn.

Lennox, who will gamely accompany.....

Buchan. This is NOT a fore-runner of a well-known Anglo-Dutch oil company. Those are wheat sheaves, not shells.....

Fife, who will fight alongside.....

Mar.

Scots, Damned Scots and yet more Scots...

Hello all!

For the past six weeks or so, I have been "valiantly" painting a planned 120 of Bruce's finest peasants (with a few noble front rankers), a task which somewhat daunted me to start with as there are just soooooooooo many dull infantry types! As I type, I am part way through finishing painting the last batch/ unit, so almost there, but before a few photos, I thought I would educate and elucidate on how I got through this particular chore.

Firstly, anyone who knows me knows I like a bit of variety, and even my regulars have different hair colour, knapsack cloth, sock colour, indeed, anything I consider suitable to add that bit of variety. The figures I used were all Old Glory, which come in four basic spearman poses (good), but you have to drill out the hands (bad). I also have a certain standard to which I like to paint. I am far from being the world's greatest painter, but like to try and do the best I can, but I felt some compromises had to be made to get through this lot.

So here goes...
1) No conversions (OK, just a little bit)
2) Coloured undercoat, as most of each figure is gambeson. I used Army Painter Skeleton Bone, spray and pot.
3) Basic colour then wash with GW Agrax Earthshade.
4) (Gulp. I almost cannot admit it....) Do not bother highlighting back up post wash, but leave them suitably grungy............

Quickly moving on, here come the pics.

I cheated a bit by only showing you the standard bearers finished so far! They are just four of the 99 figures done so far. I still have another six standards to make and paint, namely Strathearn, Angus, Fife, Buchan, Mar and Lennox, so still quite a bit to do.

Overall, I reckon I am still on track to have the Bannockburn-era display game ready for Wargamer, but it will be tight. I still have a unit of Scottish knights, some Highlanders, some Islesmen and 4 command elements to do for Bruce's army, along with 3 units of English foot, plus all the basing and varnishing, after I finish the Scots. This covers the planned initial set up. I also need some buildings and similar terrain bits. I have already written off the idea of casualty markers and other desires for the first outing.

Needless to say, I am thinking up contingencies, just in case!

G

Caithness. All the banners I am doing for my six schiltrons are taken from the spread in the Osprey Bannockburn book. This is a standard figure, in that it is an unaltered pose and carries one of the shields supplied with the Old Glory figures.

Atholl. The same figure as above, but with a Perry plastic buckler from the European Mercs set.

Ross.

Moray. You may have noticed that the figures are rather more HYW than earlier. I have tried to backdate them a little with the non-heater shields and by limiting metal armour. This guy has leather on his legs, the guy above metal.

English command

Hello again.

After a while away from the colourful stuff whilst I trawled my way through sundry peasant types (photos to follow), I finally decided to put some order to the chaos with some command figures. Gloucester arrived and was posted a good while back. I still wanted a C-in-C and another two "brigadiers" however, so here come Edward I/II and his trusty fellows, Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, and Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford.

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Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke. Painting this one tested my sanity even more than Lord Clifford. I found the best way for me was to start at the bottom of the caparison and work up to try and keep each stripe even in width as far as possible. Just thin the paint a little and keep your brush strokes as even and smooth as possible. Don't "dab" at the figure. Aymer is a 1st Corps/ Curtey's command figure (pack MEC1?) with a Fireforge sergeant standard bearer, whose weapon was cut and carved away from his right hand to receive the calico and brass wire standard.

Guess who??? Too easy. Edward I/II, of course. Another 1st Corps/ Curtey's command figure from pack MEC1.

Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford. This figure is a Black Tree 100 Years' War figure, but with a greenstuff surcoat added to backdate him 30 years.

A close up of Pembroke's standard, "Burelly azure and argent arcry orle of martlets gules" (blue and white hoops with a border of small red birds to the rest of us! More hoops would have been better)

Gardening for Wargamers

As I mentioned during my belated first post for June, I went along to the hundredth anniversary Chelsea Flower Show at the end of May. I am not a gardener, but wanted to see the show to see what all the fuss was about. Very pretty and thought provoking at times. I enjoyed my day. Who would have thought there were so many types of cactus!?!?!?!?

Anyway, I took a major shine to one stall and would love to own a bit of this fantasy nonsense in the garden. See what you think.

G

Goblin go-karter. The legend of Gorkamorka lives on!!!

Flying sprite to dig up your plants anyone?

The purveyor of bronze, goblinoid, garden madness.

Something for those with a fondness for elvish foppery. (Shame about the bloke's head getting in the way. He is not one of the exhibits....)

My overall favourite. What could be cooler than a gyrocopter-flying goblin reaching down with a mallet to smack a gnome on the back of the head??? You just know you want one in your patch!!!

The Reason I Went To Partizan (mostly)

Apart from getting the figures I ordered from Old Glory for my Bannockburn-era project, the main reason I went to Partizan was to see the advertised League of Augsburg game.

I missed the Derby show last year, but went to the 2011 show with the express intention of seeing their game there, but missed it, shoe-horned as it was into some side room. I have seen their outings in the flesh only a few times, but have always been impressed with the scenic basing of the figures, the colour and scale of the game, the vignettes, their promotion of their game and the all round look of the things they do. I love the look of the 1690 period, and will one day complete my own offerings, so sit back and (hopefully) enjoy a selection of the photos I took of their game at Partizan.

Note: the quality of the photos is variable and owes a lot to the venue, with its random lighting, milling punters and close confines causing weird shadows in unexpected places. I have tried to select the best.......A better camera might help, as would a modicum of photographic talent. Maybe one day I will have both.

G



 

The Huguenots brigade. I believe the flags are the ones produced by Warfare Miniatures based on Clarence Harrison's work.

Bellew's Regiment, one I wish to add to my own Jacobites.

Massed Catholic horse.

And more still.

Protestant Horse.

I have always had a thing for windmills!

Some Danes.

Somewhere in "sunny" Ireland. Anyone who has ever been there will know it is anything but most of the time!!!

Magpie that I am, I was drawn to the distinctive flags of this regiment. I was informed it was John Lacey's.

I was also told that this was the Earl of Westmeath's.

The same Danes as before from a slightly different angle.



Partizan

It has been two weeks in the making, but I have now decided to write up my thoughts on the Partizan show held at Newark (UK, not New Jersey) on 2nd June.

What has taken so long?

Well, I know these particular shows are very well regarded, but...........

The venue looks superb, being held in an old theological college (I think), but these things were not meant for wargames shows and credit card machines. The very useful map was just that though, very useful, so I do not think I missed much if anything (though I did have to go round twice before I found the League of Augsburg game I wanted to catch).

I felt a little sorry for the likes of Baccus and Caliver Books who were shoe-horned into a couple of rooms away from the main events, but that is one of the "issues" with the venue.

The range of traders was pretty decent, but, alas, it struck a discordant note to find that even some major names would not take cards!!!!! Do they think royalty such as I carry money??????? They were probably onto something, however, as both Old Glory and 1st Corps took an age to take my details due to the serious delays in reception throughout the venue. Business well done in the end though.

Then there were the cramped conditions. I found myself tip-toeing around some of the games for fear of a random nudge depositing half a dozen well-painted, unsuspecting 28mm infantry onto the carpet. Note to self: do NOT wear knitwear to this event and do NOT bend closely over any of the tables.

Then there are the usual bio-hazard wargamers for whom deodorant is the symbol of the Anti-Christ.

Finally, Newark (UK still, I have not gone trans-Atlantic mid-post) is not the easiest of places to access from sunny Staffordshire, at least not after the A38 is left behind in favour of single carriageway slowness.

But that's the "bad".

The games were often good-looking affairs and some people even spoke.
There were some unusual subjects on offer.
The range of traders was decent and encompassed many I had neither seen nor heard of before. (Sorry to Lancer Miniatures - I was looking to get some WW1 armoured cars, but spent out too soon).
The atmosphere was one of fun and fevered activity, with many wargames top brass chatting away with sundry individuals - Henry Hyde, Guy Bowers, James Morris, various GW officionadoes (name dropper, I know).

Will I return? Probably, but I suspect I will not become a regular.
Did I get what I was after? Largely. Old Glory did some business on the Anglo-Scots front, 1st Corps the same, Caliver did not have the latest "Wargaming in History" in stock, but I did get some RCW rules I had my eye on. Last but not least, I got to sample some of the gorgeous flag sheets by Clarence Harrison on sale with Warfare Miniatures. The highlight of the show was obtaining the Nassau-Saarbrucken-Ottweiler flag, or at least a very creditable conjecture on what it may have looked like.

Now for some pics.

The Venue - Kelham Hall

Three shots of the Carlist War game staged by the Lincoln club

Sneaky Japanese hiding an HMG in their dug out. Very naughty.

Top lads from 14th army. Hurrah!

Those dastardly Japanese taking some well-aimed shell fire.

Raphia, 217BC.

More Raphia. Not sure who put some of these games on....

A very tasty Victorian sci-fi affair. League of Gentlemen Anti-Alchemists???

And a detail shot of the same.

Korean War in 28mm - very different.

MASH helicopters!!!

Dastardly and sneaky Chinese.

Very nice looking sci-fi game using Ainsty Casting bits and pieces. I always liked their "pipe farms".

Indian Mutiny skirmish.

 I have loads more photos, but I think you have an idea.

One thing I will do is publish the League of Augsburg ones separately, as I took loads. It might just kick-start my own collection.

G


Welcome back and a new show

Hello again.

Don't you just hate it when you do not have enough time for the things that matter? What with a visit to the Chelsea Flower Show (I thought it would be good as it was the 100th anniversary, and it was too, especially the brass, goblin, garden ornaments!!!), taking youngest daughter to her first ever football tournament (they got thrashed, but I may just have a Roberta Moore [aka "Bobby"] in the making) and masses of work at, hmm, work, there has not been a lot going on.

But:

1. I did get to Partizan for the first time in years - post/ show report/ pics to follow.
2. I have played a couple of very enjoyable games of Dead Man's Hand - see below.
3. I have now done banners for all of my English cavalry for my Bannockburn project.
4. I have added a couple or so more units of infantry to the project.
5. And......I think that is about it.

I will cover off all the above within the next week or so, but I want to take this opportunity to advise all those local to the Midlands of a new show just a week away.

It will be held at the White Eagle Club in Stafford on Sunday, 23rd June, from 10 till 3. It is on Riverway, opposite the cricket ground, about two miles from junction 13 of the M6 and dead easy to get to. I believe it is also free to enter!!! The Wyrley Retinue will be there (as many of us who can shake a leg on a Sunday morning anyway) with a 30 Years' War game (we do have other stuff, but it would be a shame to get all the figures dirty! A chap named Mark, who has organised it and whose surname I do not know, believes there will be 24 traders there (quite likely since he says he is charging just £6 a pitch!!!) and various games. We can only get an 8x4 table, but I will forgive him for that!

Do come along if you can. I gather Mark's effort is largely if not solely a solo one, so he deserves all the credit for such an endeavour and I certainly wish him well.

Look forward to maybe seeing one or two of you there. Come and say "Hello" if you do make it over.

G