Monday 26 September 2016

An old friend

My father has been gone from this Earth for more years than I care to remember. He would have liked to build kits etc ( the sad thing was I found some of his collection in the attic when we were moving just after his death- loads of Airfix kits and figures organised into units methodically)  but such a hobby was frowned upon by my mother as being unsuitable for a solicitor.
 However he encouraged me in my interests especially as a boy. I still recall him bringing this home for me from John Menzies in Edinburgh ( not to mention Military Modelling in his briefcase frequently) when I was eleven or twelve-
I still have it on the shelf to this day and it inspires me to this day.


Sunday 25 September 2016

I blame the telly!

Last night my copy of "Ride with the Devil" on dvd would not load so I popped on an  old favourite "Gettysburg" and that was me for the evening! My mind went back to my acw games in my teens with Wise's "Introduction to Battle Gaming" and Airfix figures- good times.
How available are the Airfix acw figures these days? Have they been re-released at any point?
I found this image on the web- it sure brought back memories-
I look forward to your ideas and help with this piece of nostalgia

Friday 23 September 2016

Maneuvers in the Duchy of Rosti...

I posted the following over at my Army Red/White blog some time ago-
"One of the lesser known outposts of the British Empire is the Duchy of Rosti which lies upon the Swiss border.It's sovereignty was bequeathed to the British Crown by the last Duke. It is a land of mountains and lakes,a miniature version of Switzerland itself. The British garrison is a hotchpotch of troops under the ever watchful eye of Major General Mackay.
A British spy of somewhat dubious provenance has reported that the Swiss intend to invade the Duchy this summer and claim it back for Switzerland..."
Summer has gone by and the alfresco games never happened sadly. I have,however, decided to transfer the idea indoors  using Ross's "The Tin army in the Great Little War" rules.This weekend sees maneuvers taking place in the Duchy  of Rosti in case the Swiss invasion takes place. Major General Mackay ( my on table persona) will take on that plucky fellow General Mayhem commanding his beloved Guards and highlanders.


Saturday 17 September 2016

Update

A busy week in Tradgardland at work and home. At an after-school cpd session the course leader used the word "Journaling" and I continue to wonder what is happening to the English Language.Keeping a journal is fine but why the need for the odd verb?
My middle child was 21 on Holy Cross Day (14/9) and I can't believe it. I went out with the three girls to Byron Burger in Edinburgh for a most yummy meal. Today sees us hosting family for a meal later today -  like the Queen , Anna has an official birthday too and this is it.

On the gaming front I took delivery of a ( add appropriate collective noun for Halflings here- perhaps a sneak or stone's throw ) of medieval halflings from my Westphalia Miniatures Kickstarter. They are exquisite resin figures and I hope to do them justice when painting them.There are loads! Now back to the preparations,have a good Saturday one and all...

Tuesday 13 September 2016

Can you help?

Firstly does anyone have unwanted copies of the model railway magazine  AW Nuts which ceased publishing some years ago?
Suggestions sought for hobbit/halfling figures in 18th/19th century clothing.
Thanks
Alan

Monday 12 September 2016

A flocked of elves etc

After work today got out the flock -
Dragon courtesy of Jim Duncan,thanks Jim. All in all I am quite pleased with the result

Sunday 11 September 2016

Old School Gondor and enemies

Getting round to basing some Mythical Earth figures bought earlier this year...
Ithilien Rangers
And yet more enemies...
This old school ,massed battle ,Mythical Earth gaming will be played with Ross's fantasy rules.
P.S to flock/static grass or not ,that is the question.Any thoughts?

Saturday 10 September 2016

Saturday morning in the KFC or will the Pennsylvanian Regt prevail?

Rules- Close Little Wars- adapted from Close wars
Conditions- Captain Jeremiah Finch to lead the Pennsylvanian Regt across the stream and exit across the enemy baseline. The Chief and his warriors to drive them back across the stream.
The respective start positions of both forces.
 The enemy await ...
A vicious melee ensues and the Captain leads his men onwards...
Outnumbered!
Fight for the hill!
The Pennsylvanians rout off the table!
Verdict- an enjoyable game,simple but effective rules. I will replay same/similar with different sets of rules.

Thursday 1 September 2016

Thanks,a question and the KFC

Thank you all for your kind and thoughtful comments to my last post as well as your thoughts and prayers.They were appreciated by us all . The day passed well all things considered and here we are now in September.
I  want to ask the collective blogdom a question- can you suggest old school rules for the French/Indian wars? I  have "Musket and Tomahawks" but would prefer something more "old school" in order to fight some  battles with around 60/70 figures aside.
I hope to do some gaming set in that corner of Pennsylvania known in the 18th century as the KFC- Karl Frederick County. A small corner of the colonies where people from the Duchy of Tradgardland have gone as colonists to start a new life.