Natholeon
eldannardoFiled under: Wargaming, Wargaming works in progress, Warhammer Ancient Battles
To say I was obssessed with having this army finished before 2008 is an understatement. Well, the Christmas period has seen me achieve my goal, and I couldn’t wait to get it on the Blog. So here it is – the complete 1500 point British Kingdoms army!
The final unit of Combrogi is pictured here:
And Dan’s been busy too! Aside from undercoating his entire army with the base colours, he has built the first section of a Dark Age fort, seen here:
Finally, to celebrate the final few figures, I painted one of my Trojan Wars figures (from the Black Tree range). This is Achilles. I know he looks more like Homer’s description of him as a dark man-killer than the historical version which looked like Brad Pitt, but I still quite like him!
Now onto new pastures. We are supposed to be concentrating on DBA next, but it might be WWII. I have a feeling the next project will come out of left field – Flames of War! Dan actually has a painted British army, and it looks like we are about to acquire a painted German Army! All for Mid or Late War. We’ll have to see what happens.
Nate
In my initial post on the site I mentioned that Dan and I really became friends through a mutual love of comics. Mostly the X-titles of the late 1980s, but also the Avengers and Fantastic Four. I even read a few DC titles, although they were never Dan’s cup of tea. Well, we would have given anything to be able to collect figures to game our heroes in those days, but there just wasn’t anything around. Dan remained an avid comics buyer, but myself, well I just picked up the odd thing here and there, and tried to keep up with what Claremont and others were doing to the X-men (which was pretty much wrecking them…). I have to say that my interest was rekindled when Joss Whedon started Astonishing X-men. It was so good to see the team well written for the first time since Louise Simonson’s run on X-Factor.
Anyway, the point of this post is not to provide an in-depth critique of comic books, but to show how they link to wargaming. This came about when I stumbled across Battleground Weird War in my surfing, and was pleasantly surprised to see figures of the Invaders (Captain America, Sub-Mariner, Human Torch) fighting the Nazis. After some research I found that these figures were from the Heroclix range. This is one of those collectible games with booster packs i.e. you have to buy heaps to get the figures that you’re after. So I sourced a company, Strikezone, who provided the figures individually. I worked out how much the Invaders would be, and added the X-men in just for old times sake, and contacted Dan to let him know. Well, he wanted them all! So in nio time flat he had ordered 76 assorted goodies and baddies. Unfortunately the postage from the US is a killer – it makes up a third of the total cost of anything you buy, and the initial plan was for about 100 figs, but that made the postage even worse – about 1/2 the total! The good thing was that the figures had arrived within a week – very speedy.
On Saturday we pulled them all off their Heroclix bases and remounted them. The painting is often very basic and quite shabby in places, so we’re going to touch them up. Alongside the Pagenses this weekend, I touched up the Fantastic Four. The figure that I painted least was the Thing, as I felt he looked OK. The other three members got the full treatment, particularly the Human Torch.
So what to do with them. Well, Dan and I are looking at adapting WAB for superheroes. Certainly it will take a lot of role play, and we think that a lot of the Pulp atmosphere needs to be added – eg. scenario driven games where players are awarded points for clever traps, boasting, using cliched lines (‘I’ll be back’, ‘you haven’t heard the last of me’ etc). But in the meantime- my Arthurian Combrogi are awaiting!
Nate
Filed under: Wargaming, Wargaming works in progress, Warhammer Ancient Battles
Finished these on Sunday, keeping with the finished in a week theme! Unfortunately got a virus and have been sick as a dog (a very unwell one) for the past 2 days, so haven’t begun the last unit of Combrogi yet – but it IS the last unit! Finished army before Christmas looking more and more likely!
Nate
Just a quick update here. The Pagenses finished, within a week of the cavalry! I feel that patting myself on the back is obligatory, as I have amazed myself at getting these guys done so fast! Good old blog. Let’s just hope the second unit happens as fast.
Nate
Filed under: Wargaming
Well, I hope it is eye candy. The problem with blogs is that using high definition photos chew up memory space. So I hope these pics are good.
I also hope that my painting is worth looking at. I definitely shade my figs, and always paint eyes, but that perfect ‘Dallimore’ finish is a very elusive beast!
First up we have three Pirates. I bought the Pirate pack from Eureka, and was quite impressed with the figures. My only gripe is that the weapons were interchangeable, and in order to get any longevity, pinning is necessary. I love painting, but I hate modelling figs. I’d rather just pull them straight out of the pack, clean the flash and paint. WWII tanks make me near apoplectic (this would be why there are 5 tanks still awaiting my building efforts)! This summer Dan and I plan to finish painting our Sea Dogs in order to be ready for the February release of Legends of the High Seas by Warhammer Historical.
Next up, some skirmishing figs for Napoleonics. These are Redoubt, and I’m not wild about them to tell the truth. I purchased the Peninsular skirmish pack which contained British Rifles, French Voltigeurs and Foot Dragoons and some Spanish Guerillas. Seemed like a nice one-off purchase. But I find the heads are overlarge and the rifles far too short. Never mind, I’ll use them anyway!
Following on from there, my gang of lawmen for Warhammer Historical Legends of the Old West. Dan and I played a fantastic camnpaign for LotOW, fantastic mainly because I won! The figs are Old Glory i think – Dan bought them. They are the Earps and some everyday Cowpokes. So here is the Sheriff, Deputy and their posse. I also added a couple of Bounty Hunters, wit ha Euro feel. Otto von Schnitzelhausen and Mad Jock, both of which are Crusader minis. I can’t recommend this system enough. Games are short and fun and you really get into the characterisation! I have an Outlaw gang from Black Scorpion to put together. My only gripe is that they are significantly bigger than my Lawmen, and Dan’s Artizan Outlaws and Mexicans. But the figures are simply fantastic. Black Scorpion also have some Pirate figures, so when Legends of the High Seas is released, I’m going to purchase their Royal Marines to battle my Pirates.
Sometimes you see some figures and you know you just have to have them. I get that feeling whenever I see Mark Copplestone’s work, but manage to resist. There was no resisting his Future Wars Corporate Babes though. I have both packs, but still have another 6 to paint. These four were a lot of fun to splash paint on though.
I haven’t got far with my WWII Germans, but I do have a section finished. Only 2 sections and command figures and support left to go. And tanks. And terrain. These are Artizan figs. Very nice to paint up.
I’ve still got some more photos to go, but they represent bits and pieces of distant projects – Necromunda and Border Reivers. But here’s a parting shot of the Emperor himself. A Front rank figure bought about 7 years ago. One of my very first 28mm historicals. I have Marlborough and Frederick the Great waiting in the wings, might get them done straight after the Arthurians.
Nate
Filed under: Wargaming
Really this is just a musing, but it was sparked when I had a look at the Liberators miniatures for the Spanish American Wars of Independence today. Ive got both of John Fletcher’s books, and have a real interest in this period. In fact, it may end up being the ‘Napoleonic’ front that I wargame at battalion level, but more of that later. For those that are unaware of this site, it can be found at:
http://www.grenadierproductions.com
John’s work is exceptionally well researched, and the books are great value for money. In short, I recommend them!
But this got me to thinking. There are a number of eras that I find fascinating, that I would like to game, but which have not translated into wargames armies yet. Possibly through a lack of available figures, available books as a resource etc. But also because they seem so secondary to the mainstream gaming areas, and this is where money and time should go first.
I guess for some, World War One and Marlburians would be considered esoteric. They fall outside the standard Ancients, WWII, and Napoleonics that make up the bulk of historical gaming. But for me, they represent substantial conflicts with quite active global gaming communities. WWI is my WWII, Marlburians are my Napoleonics. And yet, I still feel it necessary to have WWII and Napoleonic armies of some sort as well. Admittedly, my Napoleonic armies are at two different ends of the spectrum – skirmish and DBN big battles rules, but for some reason I still see it as very important to have figures to game these conflicts. With Ancients, I dabble in DBA, Warmaster and WAB. But again, I don’t game anything too obscure (except the New Zealand Wars, but even this is colonial gaming, which is alive and thriving at the moment).
No, what I don’t game is interesting because these are conflicts that pique my curiosity, I want to game them, but probably never will. Amongst these conflicts are: the Russian Civil War – particularly the Polish-Soviet conflict; the Russo-Japanese War (I’ve actually got some Old Glory 15s for this war); the Russo-Turkish War; the Indo-Pakistan conflicts of 1965 and 1971; The War of the Triple Alliance (Paraguay vs. Everyone); the Spanish-American Wars of Independence; The Schleswig Wars; The Balkan Wars 1912-13; The Greco-Turkish Conflist 1918-22; The Taiping Rebellion. I guess in the end, there is so much that I am doing anyway, that getting around to these is a very distant possibility. But I always find that if I am interested in a period I am very motivated to game it. And I could say without a doubt that I find the War of the Triple Alliance more interesting than World War Two, but here I am with WWII armies and no Paraguayans.
I guess a lot of it depends on what your opponents are prepared to game, that is if you aren’t a die-hard solo wargamer. Dan and I have certainly branched into more periods than we can reasoanbly hope to finish in the next 5 or 6 years, and it makes no sense for me to embark on several massive solo projects when we can combine our efforts on things we both enjoy. At present, the Marlburians are my baby, and I want to get them completed, but I’m aware that Dan and I have combined goals as well, so they get put off, and painted in between other projects.
At any rate, the Liberators miniatures look extremely attractive, and it wouldn’t surprise me if a few don’t end up in the mail to me. Whether it becomes a full project, only time will tell.
Nate
While I go about organising my Age of Arthur army, I figure I may as well post a few pics of completed projects. There aren’t too many of these really, but we will start off with my figs for the Great War 1914-1918. These represent forces from 1916-18, particularly the latter part, where a more mobile form of warfare began to appear. I have a platoon each of British, Germans and French, plus tanks, heavy machine guns mortars and aircraft for their support. To me, the interesting part of World War One tactics was the evolution at platoon and company level, so I’ve gone with a 1:1 figure scale. This allows me to have the proper make-up of a British platoon for instance – 1 rifle grenade section, a bombing section, a rifle section and a Lewis gun section. At the moment I’m looking at using the Rules of Engagement rules for World War Two, which are based at platoon level. I’ve played one test game with them, and they seem to work Ok. According to Rob Broom on the WAB yahoo group, next year will see the release of Warhammer Great War. I’ll probably get these, as I’m a fan of Warhammer Historical rules, and they are meant to be 1:1 scale, which will suit me. These rules will apparently be aimed at Company level, so they may not suit or I may have to add a couple of more platoons to each army, but we’ll cross that hurdle when we get to it.
So why the Great War? It is without a doubt my favourite era in military history, and has been since I was a very young boy. Growing up, World War Two may have been ‘the war’, and the one in all of the Commando comics and the one toy soldiers were easily available for, but Dad had some old magazines in the top of the wardrobe which gave me a different perspective. No, not those types of magazines, these were copies of Purnell’s History of the Twentieth Century. He’d only collected them up to the 1920s, but that meant I had all the First World War issues. One cover in particular struck me. It was the issue for Verdun and the Somme, and featured Henri Leroux’s painting, L’Enfer – Hell. It was evocative, and drew me in. As I looked at the photos inside, and gazed at the graphics for casualty rates, I became entranced. I was a Great War buff.
Left: the French
As I grew up, I watched the Australian miniseries ANZACs on tape over and over. I also watched All Quiet on the Western Front (the original) again and again. I read about WWI but couldn’t game it properly as there were no figures (although I still used WWII figs to populate the trench systems I dug into the back lawn). I played Napoleonics and WWI remained an interest, but not my gaming passion. In 1992 Revell released Germans and French for WWI. I bought a couple of packets of each, but there were no supporting figs or vehicles, and, worse, no Brits. When Emhar released figs in 2000, I immediately bought up large 1/72 armies for WWI (since sold to finance 28mm). By this stage I had completed my Master’s Thesis, and a detailed study of operations in WWI had led me to read the new scholarship on the war, particularly Paddy Griffith and Tim Travers. So at the very time that figures became available my deep interest in the war had been renewed at a scholarly level. WWI became my passion once more, and hence it is the first large scale 28mm project that I have finished. I began buying these armies in 2006, and finished them at the beginning of 2007.
Left: the Germans
My figures are mostly Renegade, but I have a few Great War Miniatures, and will probably get more of these. The French are Old Glory, because their range was so complete, and on a trip to Sydney, the Tin Soldier was having a sale on Old Glory figs! The terrain is the one modular board that Dan and I have finished. WWI terrain is a time consuming business if you want to do it well, and not particulalry easy to store. And, of course, there isn’t a huge amount of variety in your trench system! But I am also planning on creating some ‘free-standing’ slit trenches for 1918 games, and to play more ‘open’ warfare.
The future of my WWI hobby holds the prospect of a platoon each of Austrians, Italians and Russians. Maybe even Serbs.
Next, I’ll put up some photos of my Wild West figs, Peninsular War Brits and French, and WWII Germans.
Nate
I put everything school related on hold last weekend as Dan was able to come down. We did what we usually do – plenty of work on terrain and basing figures up - and played a game. It is a compulsory agenda item for us to have a game of something when Dan is down, usually involving our current project. We are still coming to grips with the rules of WAB, so that is our aim for gaming at the moment. Things ran much more smoothly than normal – ie not so much referring back to the rules, but we did forget one major rule - fall back in good order. This turned the game really, as Dan’s big unit of Gedricht should not have been run down by my Teulu – they should simply have fbigo. Earlier, a similar situation had occured on my flank in turn two. I was the victim that time, so I guess things evened out (that’s my excuse, ’cause I won…).
We played 75% breakpoint, which brought us right down to the wire – it was basically a case of whoever could kill one figure from the opposing side would win. My Combrogi aren’t armed with javelins for nothing! Lots of fun, but the rematch will definitely see us with a much firmer grasp of all the necessary rules.
Above are the armies at deployment. Note the beautiful terrain, and the half (or less) painted armies.
A full size picture to show the fruits of Dan’s efforts so far. These are Duguth with some archers. Dan complains about how long it takes to paint anything, but his efforts are definitely worthwhile! In the background are a house and church that I scratch built. The thatched roof is made from teddy bear fur.
Above you can see the armies coming together. The river is made from plasticard, with Silicon filler, model raiway ballast and static grass to add to the effect. The road is MDF covered in railway ballast and finished off with static grass.
Next game will be after Christmas I think. In meantime, I have skirmishers to paint…
Nate
Well, I finally got there! I can’t be too hard on myself, though. School has been hectic, and always will be a month before the end of the year. I finished my Arthurian cav off in a weekend. They aren’t as good as the first batch, but this is the rear rank, so I am not overly concerned. Now I only have 17 skirmishers (pagenses) and 28 more Combrogi to go, and the Arthurians are finished altogether. Voila, my first WAB army completed!
So the next mission is to paint 9 pagenses. They are currently sitting on the table staring at me, and the plan is to do an hour a night over the next week. We’ll see if I can manage it!
Nate
