Games

 Yesterday Ronnie and I played our first game of Rapid Fire Reloaded. We had both independently played Rapid Fire back in the day. However I had forgotten the system but RFR is very newbie friendly.

My Brumbar smokes after being destroyed.

The enemy Sherman shares a similar fate after being hit by a panzerscherck.

My troops lose a melee in the woods , take casualties and have run off.

The table quietly waiting at the beginning for troops to arrive.

Paratroopers advance towards a field 

The advance along the line.

My starting position. The photo order has gone haywire!

General German advance and below the paratroopers occupying a field after crossing the wall.

It was an enjoyable introduction to the rules and great fun . We have decided to have another game very soon.

Later on I really enjoyed a game put on by Jon from the War of the Austrian Succession .

Terrible dice throwing by me as the Spanish commander helped the French/Spanish  armies towards defeat. Excellent company and a meticulously managed gaming experience by Jon led to a most enjoyable evening.

A photo of the dice or a bad workman blames his tools!

Game on!

 Trying these rules for the first time today…

Old school terrain and the obligatory Airfix cottage!

What are these?

 Been to the shed to find some German armour for a game tomorrow. Found these . Can anyone identify them? 

Btw l am interested in what tank they represent not the kit maker so l can find the appropriate stats…

Thanks in anticipation.

Brief encounter or a customer lost

 This morning en route to my art history course l popped into the Games Workshop! My mission was threefold- firstly to pick up the free “Miniature of the Month” as he had a late medieval look, secondly to buy some paint and thirdly to buy White Dwarf 500  ( for nostalgic reasons) as I had bought White Dwarf 1 many moons ago!

I entered the shop with some trepidation as it isn’t my natural habitat. It had just opened and I was the only customer. I asked for the M of the M and was shown to work bench to glue it together! I said that I didn’t have time and could I please take it home to make. I was emphatically told I could not. I asked why and was told that you have to make it there so that you “ Engage with the shop.”

At this point I said thank you and left. I was a tad embarrassed and confused by the brief encounter. I was not really welcomed as a potential customer and I doubt if I will ever go back.

Thoughts?

Old school

 I’m indebted to Rob for casting these for me . They arrived yesterday.

They are Admin Celts. I love their quirky charm and cartoon like appearance. I already had some but needed more to complete a project. Not to everyone’s taste I’m sure but I really like these wild wacky warriors.

Last week I put some of my older Amin celt  figures in Dettol . I had painted them ages ago and covered them in a heavy coat of Army Painter wash. At the time I quite liked the look of dark brooding warriors but now I think I want to go for something brighter.

Finally been getting the celts research, in terms of colours, going with an old school favourite-

Still regularly consulted in in use here.

Garden

 I am battling to bring order to the garden. However the joy of the greening hedge and the plant in the photos below spur me on my way-

In other news l am pleased that Bodkin ( created by Jez, my niece’s husband)  is getting good reviews and proving popular-

In hobby news l have got little actually done, thought a lot about what l would like to do, vacillated, planned, read rules and watched videos regarding them, looked at the lead mountain and put a few figures into Dettol .

1688 in 54/60 mm

 Having painted up the Del Prado figures the other week l took some photos of them in action against my Alexander’s Toy Soldiers-

Dutch infantry defend against cavalry.

And now for a few Flashing Blade opening credits style photos-

I am pleased how well the two types work together in size and animation. Must set up a skirmish game very soon…

Ancients

 I’m all over the place over ancients! I really enjoy dbm but am getting sick of arguing about the minutiae of the rules and the legal language they are written in .Don’t get me wrong they have served me well for the past 24 years and given some memorable games. I am fond of them in a strange way. As the song goes I have  become accustomed to their face.

A friend in England has just started going to his local club , he has been a wargamer for years and years. He is trying all sorts of rules , some to his taste some less so. Recently he had a go at Hail Caesar v2. The jury is still out as far as the rules. He is going to give them another go in coming meetings. I watched a few videos about H C on you tube and found them interesting. My friend has just bought HC v2 and kindly sent these which arrived today-

I wil give them a go after having a read. I just want to push some Early Imperial Romans around on the table in some solo games. Preferably in units as opposed to elements, possibly with morale tables. Not as simple as Neil Thomas, not as legalistic as Dbm . Just fun. Thoughts, suggestions welcome as usual.

Further Fornovo fun

 Jon hosted another fun Fornovo game-

As one of the Italian commanders l fought bravely against the French but was thwarted by unbelievably bad dice throwing.  The dice were an enemy l just couldn’t vanquish.

Thanks to Jon, my fellow Italians and French opponents for a super evening.

Archers in the ECW

 Came across these links very recently-

https://www.devereuxs.org.uk/archery-in-the-english-civil-war

http://foxhp.blogspot.com/2015/10/archery-in-english-civil-war.html

Very interesting read .

Finally my “Double armed man” unit for ECW gaming. Minifigs pikemen with added bows and quivers.

What make are these ?

 Anyone recognise these splendid knights I got on Saturday? What manufacturer?

They are 25/28mm , thanks in anticipation.

Yesterday

 It was dreich as l got the bus over to the Carronade Wargames show-

There are no photos of the show as near the entrance Warbases were selling off made mdf buildings for a fiver each. They had loads ! These are the ones l got-

This meant l had a carrier full as I walked around the show and no hands free to take photos!

These were my only purchase. However Jim D ( veteran wargamer and fellow Blogger) had brought me a gift. It was good to see him ( and others l caught up with who said hello) and I was surprised and delighted with the figures he gave me. They had been part of the collection of one of his now deceased friends.

Lovely fine castings of mounted knights, some painted that will get a chance to fight on.

Back in the Duchy later in the day the weather allowed us to use the pizza oven-

A good day indeed.

The Dell

 After meeting at Happy Valley we walked along the canal to the Dell.

Incidentally I found online this picture of Happy Valley pond in the 1960s

Walking along the canal.

Walking along the Water of Leith. Note heron who was later dive bombed by a crow until he flew off.

We walked along the former railway line to Balerno and came to the tunnel at Colinton.

A lovely way to spend a morning. We stopped in Colinton village for coffee and then walked back retracing our steps.