Time Away

I've been out and about for the last few weeks, hence no posts. Work trips took me to Den Haag and Washington, and for the last 2 weeks we've been on holiday in Whitby and then in bamburgh (where we got in some sea time with a trip around the Farne Islands).

Anyway, I'm back and trying to get some wargaming kick started. That said, we took "Wings of War" away on holiday with us to paly during the rainy days and the kids (as usual) kicked parent butt and shot us down a few times.

In amongst the pile of post waiting for us was the latest issue of the SOTCW journal. The "theme" of this issue was the british campaigns in Somaliland against the "Mad Mullah". fascinating stuff, and by the time I reached the end I realised that my 15mm Sudan collection makes an ideal basis for playing out these battles. Some 1/100 biplanes (esp. a few DH.9s) are needed, but apart from that most of what I'd need already resides on my collection. A good start :)

Today, Laura and I visited the "Attack" wargames show at Devizes. We had planned to play a few games there, but Laura had the attention span of a gnat and we were soon on our way home (via the locks at Caen Hill, to see the canal boats negotiating the lock system). Anyway, in the time we were there I picked up a couple of boxes of the new PSC 15mm Shermans (one of each type), some 20mm WW1 MkIV tanks from the bring and buy (we are working on a WW1 tank collection), and a 1/72 Spad XIII for Laura's "air museum" collection. I also caught up with a good number of old wargaming friends, but the "Laura Effect" precluded extensive discussion :)

Anyway, á good day out, and now I have a table full of Sherman bits and pieces. annoying really as I ought to be concentrating on naval stuff in preparation for the NWS games weekend at Gosport next month!

Oh, and I almost forgot. I have, at long last, finished the two Sopwith Triplanes from Shapeways that Steve Blease ordered for me :)

Fun for all the Family

Its Laura’s birthday weekend this weekend, I can’t believe she’s ten already. Anyway, after  a swimming party yesterday, a sleepover for her best friends and then bowling this morning, followed by a short Spanish Civil War game with her bestest friend Harry (vs. Dear daddy), Laura decided it would be good to wind down with a family game of WoW.

I broke out the Deluxe boxed set and Laura allocated the planes. I had the Dr1. She took the Spad, Philip flew the Camel and mum got the Albatros. A good spread – kids vs.  parents. The first few turns showed the effects of very little sleep, as we all made ludicrous “left/fight turn” errors and ended up all over the table. We loosed off furious snapshots as targets came into view, i for one was amazed how many “0” cards I drew (my Dr. 1 was rather lucky). But after a hard turning battle at the top of the table Philip and I found ourselves head to head at short range. I drew 0-0. Philip drew 5-BANG! “Foul” cries Laura, and subverted mummy into turning on me (girls vs. Daddy seemed quite attractive). Unfortunately mummy was in my 12 o’clock at the time and a short burst blew her out of the air as well.

Laura and I headed to the centre of the table for the final showdown, both of our planes staggering under heavy damage from previous encounters. I was perhaps inevitable that as we loosed off head-on shots at close range that both of us would succumb to our wounds at the same time. Laura of course claimed that her damage took out my poor Dr.1 a split second before her Spad went down J

All in all a jolly afternoon, and the kids are keen to get their revenge on Baron von Vater at the earliest opportunity. Now down to a quiet evening writing up Laura’s new SCW rules :D

Time Out, Time In

One could be excused for thinking that I've been sloping off on the wargames front recently. In fact, things have been quite busy. Laura and I did quite well at the Lincombe Barn tabletop sale, where my 9-year-old's sales and marketing skills helped me bring back about £300 (not for nothing is "The Apprentice" one of her favourite TV shows!). She also secured some amazing bargains, probably by virtue of being cute - or perhaps just by talking to people a lot so they gave her stuff to go away! Anyway, a good day out, my wargames room significantly decluttered as a result, and we picked up a few useful bits and pieces.

Since then I've managed to finish painting up all of my extant Peter Pig Spanish Civil War collection. Only 15-odd years since buying most of it. Of course, having done so I've found that a few of the units need some minor additions, and I've foud the Zvezda 1/100 BT-5 and T-26 models look a lot nicer than the lead examples that currently grace my collection, so an order for some replacement armour has gone to Hannants.

I'm having to refocus now, back to naval for a while. The NWS is holding a naval wargames event at the Explosion! museum in Gosport on the August bank holiday and I'm taking some games along. At present I'm not sure exactly what, but I'm sure some painting or at least some "sprucing up" of the model collection will be needed in advance. If you are at a loose end over the bank holiday and fancy a bash at some informal naval gaming why not come along to see us?

A Nice Big Dollop of Enthusiasm

I took the plunge last weekend and decided to see if I could cure my lack of figure painting enthusiasm. The target was my pile of 15mm Peter Pig SCW (prompted by having sorted out a few odd vehicles). Lo and behold the pile of lead Piggy goodness (plus some admittedly easy painting schemes) seems to have had the desired effect. As a reult there is a unit of finished Nationalist infantry, a small "Italian Legion" and some high command stands awaiting varnishing, and a unit of Moroccan troops well on the way. I had hoped to sort out all the SCW stuff over the next week but a work trip and a naval wargaming weekend in deepest Devon mean it'll be next week now before I get to do any more. Anyway, once the Moroccans are done there's only one more unit of nationalist regulars to do and a few "odds and sods". No pics just now as I'm rushing to pack before "wheels up" for the trip to Spadeadam, but hopefully next week. Oh, and a battle report on my escapades as commander of the German naval forces in the Philippines in 1898 as part of Stuart Barnes Watson's naval campaign! 

Mojo Working - NOT

Something bizarre has happened. My figure painting mojo seems to have deserted me! Painting ships? Fine. Painting forts? No problem. Tanks, aircraft? Bring 'em on.

But can I get ANY motivation together to paint a pile of 15mm figures? No.

Today, in between rebuilding the dishwasher, fixing Philip's Game Boy, taking the kids out for lunch and doing the washing, I've happily worked on a couple of 1/600 ironclads and an armoured bus and WW1 Belgian armoured car that are going into my alt-SCW collection. I also have 24 Peter Pig Nationalist infantry figures, all stuck on coffe stirrers and primed, ready to go. But every time I've tried to get them started I've found an excuse, got side-tracked or (in the end) painted a few webbing straps before thinking "meh" and stopping.

Hopefully this malaise will pass soon. As it is though, my ACW naval collection is coming on in spades. Silver lining, eh?

Fort L'Escroc

A little while back that awfully nice chap, David Crook, very kindly sent me an old Airfix Fort Sahara that eh had discovered at a car boot sale. I'd been after one of these quite liteally for years (after missing out on a mint one at The Keep many years ago I'd never seen one since).

Being second hand it was obviously "pre-loved" but some judicious application of plastic card, cardboard and chopped up coffee stirrers, along with a paint job combined with a sprinkling of sand to give a suitably rough surface to the inner walls has led to what i think is a pretty satisfying conclusion.

I'll probably make a few "lean-to" buildings and a well to go in the courtyard, but for now its finished.

I have  a whole raft of uses for this now. It can just about do for a fort in the Sudan, and fits nicely with my plans for a hypothetical SCW-based campaign setting (not to mention working nicely with my AK-47 armies).

A French Foreign legion setting would be good too, wouldn't it? Well, up until a few days back that was an aspiration but wasn't likely to come to anything. However, whilst trawling through te "lead pile" and sorting out the stuff that is going to the Lincombe Barn tabletop sale I found a box of unpainted Irregular FFL and Tuaregs that I bought many, many years back. So maybe more a "project for later" than an aspiration :)

Stocktake

Time once again to see how we are doing with "the plan"

1) 15mm ECW - the scots army has been started, but stalled

2) 28mm Napoleonic skirmish - I've decided to can this one. The 28mm stuff will be going to the Lincombe Barn tabletop sale next month.

3) 15mm SCW - some small progress here, as I've painted up a few odd vehicles. I'm also looking at something based on AK-47 (along the lines of the Mexikanski 36 variant) as far as rules are concerned.

4) Coastal - no, still nothing going on here.

5) The Room - This will be an ongoing mission. For a few weeks it was clear and gameable. Now it is cluttered with stuff going to Lincombe Barn.

6) ACW Naval - Doing really well here, as all my outstanding 1/1200 and all but 2 of my outstanding 1/600 models are finished!

The new "Number 2" is "Wings of War", where I aim to have all outstanding models painted and complete, aircraft cards printed and laminated, and some bomber stands sorted out.

I also have a "standby" - which is 15mm modern / Vietnam skirmish, which is really about sprucing up the Peter Pig african and Vietnam armies that I made up soe years ago.

Oh, and of course, the Sudan, to which we will be returning after Lincombe Barn..........