Waitrose ale and brown paper

Tonight, with the aid of Waitrose Organic Ale - which I can recommend to all of you, I have taken my 18th century galley forward. I have used brown paper as planking and decking which has saved all the effort of drawing planking myself. The next stage will be to add detail followed by masts and oars. I am tempted to use it as either a Swedish or Prussian Galley. Guenther on Yahoo SYW has provided me with useful info - thanks Guenther. Combined with material from the SYW Association journal and material I have gathered I feel that Pomerania is beckoning....
I will provide pictures as things develop. Oh finally , please support Waitrose in their excellent selections of ale and German wines...

Wolf Pits

Today it was rather rainy so I thought I would have a go at producing some hastily dug field defences for my Croats - called Wolf Pits. Firstly I took a MDF base and stuck a circle or two of twine on to form the holes. The landscape was built up with tetrion and a pebble or two. After drying it was painted and grassed.

A couple of Croat figures from RSM were cut off at the waist and added to the brown painted holes. All was left to finally dry with the figures supported as shown. I will post a finished photo later...

Easy like Sunday morning...

Fysk, the officer in charge on duty today, opened the door of the tower and was met by a slight breeze. Altough he had climbed these stairs daily for over twenty years now he had never quite reconciled himelf to the horrors of the drop. He had struggled his way up the external stairs of the church tower ( a pattern of church with external stairs leading to an observation point which was replicated in every town , village and hamlet in the Duchy) in much worse conditions than today. He thought of the great storm of '38 and the lightening strike five years ago.

Finally reaching the top, Fysk tucked his telescope under his arm and began to munch upon the hard cheese he had bought. His thoughts turned to his wife and sons working and living in the tower room below and to Fr Erlkksson -whose church this was. The bells suddenly broke into life jerking Fysk from his reverie. He watched the tiny figures as they made their way into the church below...

Lhasa ,Tibet...

In a temple , near the very heart of Lhasa , an exhausted member of the Ducal Society of Tradgardland makes his own private devotions in thanksgiving for his safe arrival after months of travelling. He is aware that he has seen much no other Tradgardlander has ever seen. His mind returns to his prayers once more...

A conch shell sounds outside and he makes his way out into the brilliant light of a new dawn.

On the workbench...

Here are two pictures of the ship I reffered to in the last posting- early stages but moving forward. I will post more as progress is made!

Card , P.V.A and paper...

I have put pen to paper and have begun to map the major lake in the border area - it contains a number of island whose ownership is hotly contested by Skogsmork and Tradgardland. Today whilst taking my daughters to the orthodontist's I will photocopy the original and enlarge to A3 - I will work at this size then reduce down to A4 once more. I am tentatively pleased so far...
Last night I got out some card , paper and glue and started to build a boat! it was very absorbing and has started well. The waterline model is surprisingly robust, 8 inches long and has the looks of a fine lake going vessel. I will draw planking onto paper and clad her in that rather than painting. i got up 6.00a.m and got the decks added and some more work done - a satisfying morning's work so far...

Holiday/mapping and a request for help...

Well I am back ! I had a super week in Yorkshire with the family - looked for fossils (and found some ) upon the beach, saw an interesting exhibition of local Roman archaeaology in Malton, bought superb kippers in Whitby and took a copy of Battlegames to further research my campaign map!

A lot seems to be happening in EvE and the Jacobites have done so well! I have posted this picture to give an idea of the lakes and hills on the Skogsmork Tradgardland border - where my mini campaign will be set. I am starting the mapping process which will be at the scale of roughly 2.5 inches to the mile - this will give enough detail to work in well with my skirmish rule idea of small scale combat and maneuver.

The largest lake in the area has the border running through it and is patrolled from both sides by boatmen. They will use boats equipped as follows:

10 metre boat with 16 oars equipped with 2x 3pdr guns , with sail also.

24 metre boat with thirty oars equpiied with 6 x 3pdr , with sails also.

I currently mapping the largest lake in the area and need your help- I am looking for information about German place name endings with topographical meanings to add some flavour to the map - can you help? Well I had better get back to the mapping and gardening while the sun shines...

Kleine Kreig - solo campaign ideas and thoughts...

Some of you may know I am a school teacher to trade. I am on my summer hols at present and my thoughts have turned to Kleine Kreig - the 18th century activity and the super rules written by Jim Purky. For that reason I have posted a picture of the Prussian Frei Korps unit led by Quintius Icilius , who I think started out as a school teacher before taking up his military work under Frederick the great.

My regular opponent is poised to raise his Prussians and I am reorganising Reicsarmee /Austrians in opposition. We will raise 30 fig batts and use BAR. This will be a late summer,autumn and winter project to work towards. I look forward to regular BAR games - it will be excellent fun.

I want a solo imagination project also and for this reason ( and because I really like the idea a great deal) I am looking at the possibility of fighting the struggle betwixt Tradgardland and Skogsmork at a local/lower level - skirmishing in the villages,woods and lakes ( maybe some limited naval stuff with galley borne troops rowed upon the lakes) around the border between the two Duchies.

With this in mind I need to draw a relatively detailed map of the border country, organise populations and troops, etc etc- gosh much to do and much fun to be had! In other words a sort of solo campaign at a skirmish level- company/grand division level rather than Brigade. All this sounds a heady mix of exciting and daunting but I shall give it a whirl - map first!

As ever your ideas and input would be gratefully received and I look forward to hearing your advice. I see,incidentally this is my 200th post - here's to the next!!

Alisona

Of late , Alisona has been in the woods around the border of Skogsmork. She has been watching and waiting for signs that Duke Wolgang's army was on the march. Her patience has been immense and her loneliness too. She has thought long and hard , during the long watches of the night, about her dead husband and the life they might have had together in Ny Tradgardland. She misses him greatly and for that reason has thrown herself into the murky world of espionage. Yet her heart soars that this mission might be at an end soon. She looks forward to returning to her parents and long nights discussing in the observatory. Her reverie is interrupted by a hooting owl 0r was it...

The day thou gavest

After an exhausting day Duke Karl and the Court dine in style. Course after course are laid before them . All are lost in the summer reverie and the evening ends with music upon the terrace as the twilight ends another day in Tradgardland.Across the Duchy the high and low take their evening ease - fine German wine or ale flows until the darkness descends and all wend their weary way into the arms of Morphus...

WRG 1925 - 1975 rules

Well I discovered these rules upon the shelf today. They were a favourite set of mine in the 1970's . Combined with Airfix figures and vehicles fighting upon Bellona vacum form battlefields a good time was had by all.

I had a read over of them today and I am tempted to have a game. Pity I sold/gave away my ww2 stuff including my favourite Italians and British Raventhorpe 20mm from 1940 in East Africa. Gosh I am tempted to buy a couple of Sections, maybe a platoon...

Do any of you remember using these fantastic rules? Come on and share your thoughts with us all...

The rules remind me of the Section Attacks we used to practice when I was in the Army Section of the School C.C.F. All ancient Lee enfields and Bren guns but great fun none the less...

AD 1758 and 2008

The Ducal Court are enjoying the summer sun. All talk is of the recent letter from Skogsmork . Karl Frederick, by public proclamation, shared its contents with the whole Duchy. In essence the new Duke of Skogsmork has declared his friendship for Duke Karl Frederick and a desire that the two Duchies might live in concord and felicity. Duke Wolfgang has pledged, upon the memory of his late father Otto , that he will not make any threatening maneuvers not at the moment or in perpetuity....

The Court cannot decide wether they are upon the verge of a golden age of peace with Skogsmork or not. Hawks and doves within the circle of advisers to Duke Karl Frederick attempt to gain his ear. As ever the Duke listens gracefully but keeps his own council.

My daughter's digital camera broke yesterday and I now lack the means to post photographs of figures painted and in process of being painted. I ask for your patience - normal service will be resumed soonish I hope !

Duchy happenings...

A rainy day in Fife today. Yesterday was Summer here. Coffee am with my wife Jan, collecting the children from their last day at school for the Summer hols, lunch in the garden and then off to the beach! Aberdour is about 15 mins drive away and has lovely beaches - we are indeed blessed! Home to drink German wine in the garden and have our evening meal out there too! Evening with topped off by the arrival of my brother in law on his new bike - kawasaki ninja - quite a warhorse if ever I saw one ! A good day...
Here as promised is my first Duchy of Skogsmork regiment, featuring an invaluable book from my library- one I have consulted often over the years.
We are now all off work and it is good to be less pressured. On Thursday my regular opponent came over and we fought Swiss v Burgundians. The game was a draw - first time the Swiss haven't won in absolute ages. Afterwards as Jan was at a colleagues retrial meal I watched tv and caught "Black hawk down " a film I have never seen . Quite a movie and utterly gripping.
I am deciding what to paint next - perhaps republican Romans having over indulged on " Rome" on dvd of late as well as reading " Ceaser" by Adrian Goldsworthy, perhaps 15th century french or maybe more Skogsmork . You , dear reader, will be kept up to date very soon...
P.S A happy Independence Day to Jim ,Stokes and all our readers!

Anyone for Tennis?

Karl Frederick has recovered sufficently to practice once more upon the tennis court.Watched by Duchess Liv and the Court, he manges a game or two. Midsommer passed quietly with the potentiality of Skogsmork not materialising - in fact it has been rather too quiet on that front of late...

Vonn Bergmann remains fully occupied in Scotland and will be shortly be joined there by the Duc de Padirac. Generaloffizer MacKay is currently giving his knowledge and expertise to the Duchy of Beerstein.

Summer continues in the Duchy in fits and starts - the sun an infrequent ,yet sought visitor. News is expected from Ny Tradgardland and other Duchy outposts any day now as the respective boats are overdue. Meanwhile the tennis comes to an end with the delivery of a sealed letter bearing the Skogsmork seal. Deja Vu observes the Duke as he opens the letter and begins to read its lenghty contents...