New books and Royalist recruits...

Some new books arrived recently in the Duchy-

Incidentally I bought a copy of the Wisden magazine uptown today and can thoroughly recommend it.

 Now for the Royalist recruits- at the rear of the photo a unit recruited from farmers and agricultural workers- those scythes look nasty, two units of pike and shot ( I have packed in more pikes on the bases as the look appeals to me and it is possible with the older figures giving a pleasing dense feel to the base) units. At the front of the photo are the estate gardeners with their pruning hooks and hedge knives.

Naming the army

After some long needed tidying of the shed I decided to give an identity to some of my ECW units. Firstly I am a great believer that troops fight better on the tabletop with a name (and back story?) and secondly it is a fun thing to do. Out came the old school pencils.paper and pins and flags were produced.

Firstly some Horse for Parliament- To the right of the picture Sir Thomas Filofax's regiment of horse, followed by Hazeltwig's Lobsters.

In the foreground are Col John Hampton's regiment of foot and at the back are Colonel Leonard Rossiter's Dragoons of  the Eastern Association.

Flats

When I first saw these for sale online I was impressed by their animation, it was almost as if they were running before my eyes. They arrived today. I had thought they would work well for a portable wargame set up. They are so thin and detailed that I am at a loss as how to paint them, or at least attempt to. All suggestions welcome! P.S Enjoy Salute if you are going,I might have a go at getting there next year.

Quick Play Pike and Shot

Unseasonably cold and wet weather yesterday led to me stopping gardening and outdoor tidying.Instead I was inspired by this post from Ross-
http://gameofmonth.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/by-sea-we-will-gather-for-fight.html
and his one page set of rules-
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JUdxZVkrUL6Yd1vsOJOfeK7lCqWKknlHrM7gldCn8gM/edit
I got some old school  ECW Minifigs and had a go-

Great fun and I will certainly give them a go again!

p.s still cold and wet here again but off for a game of Late Romans v Germans  which brighten the day considerably!

The little remembered Danish invasion of 1898...

The invaders have been sighted!

Defence is organised  at Hook's Farm.

Here come the Danish Lifeguard...

Plucky resistance sees the Danes defeated!

An enjoyable skirmish using both lead and plastic 54mm figures.

85 minutes later...

I reduced this-

to this

fiddly indeed but progress made.

Albionoria in trouble- a game

The forces of the Great Queen across the Water are patrolling led by Scouts and Mounted Police.The Militia follow behind. They are to investigate a gathering of Originals supposedly gathered to make war on a local fort.

 The Originals lay in wait to ambush the Column...  

Canada etc

My Grandma's sister emigrated to Canada in the 1920s and settled in Prince George. They then moved to Victoria. Their surname was Wieland. My grandma visited them in the 1960s and came back with souvenirs such as a Mountie figure for me. I guess my interest in Canada grew from there. We were sent a subscription for the British Columbia magazine and that continued til my mother died.
Jan and I nearly went to British Columbia with my mother in the early days of marriage but the trip fell through. We never made another  trip together to Canada what with growing kids etc.
Through Ross's blog I discovered the Rebellion of 1885 and am moving towards gaming it in toy soldier style. As the sleat lashes the garden here are some figures from my painting desk-

Hopefully have enough for a wee skirmish in the coming days...

semi flats

I picked these up recently to add some reference to my 40mm semi flat toy soldier project.They will help me paint some of the cavalry in the lead pile.

I also got some sailors which I will use as a sort of naval brigade/ landing party.Judging by the uniforms depicted I will use them as German,Austro-Hungarian or Danish sailors.
As I type snow is lying on the grass and sleat falling...

Trouble in the Umstrittental or The Disputed Valley...

Tradgardland forces march into the Disputed Valley again. They are marching against an alliance of towns intent on threatening the Duchy itself.

Alliance forces leave their camp in a ruined castle.

Meanwhile other alliance forces fortify a local village.

Let battle commence using Charge Rules...