maîtres de bataille or Late 17th Century Battle Masters

 At Woking l was most taken with Battle Masters. I wasn’t really interested in the figures but wanted the mat and cards, dice and bits n bobs. I ordered them from eBay and they arrived-

I wanted to use the rules in a late 17th century context and with larger figures. Here is a scale comparison between a 28mm figure and a 60mm -

So I set up a game primarily to see the look of the thing and to have a wee play around with the rules-

A work in progress…

Yesterday

 Yesterday saw a visit from my regular opponents. G arrived early with these-

He brought his latest board game purchase, two games on the Winter War , one at a strategic level one at battalion level plus an Ardennes game. We decided to start with the strategic Finnish game soon.

P arrived at noon. We then, post lunch, set up a roadblock scenario from the Bolt Action Seelowe sourcebook. I defended , P was the German attacker and G umpired.

Getting the troops out on the table in preparation.

The Homeguard hold the roadblock with cyclists on the right flank and a section in woods on the left .

The view , with order dice, from behind the road block.

German invaders come across a small section in a wood, hidden there, subsequently supported by the cyclists. A fight ensues.

Red dice show number of pins btw.

The umpire points out something to us which l can’t recall.

Things not looking good for the Homeguard. They have been worn down by weight of numbers…

The end sees the Homeguard commander meeting his demise. Defeat but an enjoyable game.

Afterwards l was sorting out some recycling, took a chance to look for something in the lead pile ( which I failed to locate ) but found some British infantry Fromm an old , stalled VBCW project. Here they are being removed by boiling water from their old bases-

Enough for a section or two, they were started to be repainted yesterday and I will continue to do so today…

Off the painting desk

 

Downed German aircrew for use in Homeguard scenarios.

The ragged Soldier’s gift painted up and battle ready.

Homeguard snipers in Ghillie suits .

School’s out for…

 Yesterday saw me in Glasgow for the final class of my weekly Seventeenth Century Dutch Art course.

Glasgow was bathed in sunshine, albeit cold, and looked at her best.

We were having a visit to the Kelvingrove as a field trip and l arrived in time for part of the daily organ recital. Sweet Caroline blared out in a wonderfully uplifting way.

Popped by to see one of my favourite paintings…

We had a most interesting time looking at the paintings with our lecturer and chatting amongst ourselves.

This charming town lacks urban planning and seems to have organically grown up around the church.

Interesting pistols on display and in the painting below.

Couldn’t resist taking a photo of this striking picture. A grand day out indeed.

P.s On Sunday I accompanied my middle daughter to Aberdour where she swam in the see. We were fascinated by watching a seal who kept appearing and disappearing off shore during her time in the water and after.

In defence of sprues

 

I like free figure sprues. Perhaps they subconsciously remind me of free gifts in comics as a child. I like the way they function as a taster for a period or scale you have never tried or perhaps they function as chance to try new painting techniques . They are fun , said the big kid at heart.

So what to do with them? Use them, horde them or give them to a good home . I have done all three. Ok the magazines would be cheaper without but as well as the above free sprues could be just the right thing , at the right price , at the right place and at the right time to bring someone to take their first faltering steps in a hobby that will last a lifetime .

Sprues for free are fun. They gave just enough werewolves for a project, just enough German paratroopers in winter gear to start a new project and get into Bolt Action  and now just enough Caesarean Legionnaires for a wee skirmish. Viva free sprues!

Foreign intervention in the Very British Civil War

 Yesterday we had another VBCW game using Bolt Action 2nd edition. Again it was a big table game to allow us to try out vehicles and tanks. The table was more rural than in the last game. The forces were the Leverpool Free State against German paratroopers and mountain troops with a panzer one for support. A most enjoyable game was had but I forgot to take photos as I got absorbed in the tabletop situation. Here are a few l took-

German mountain troops have acquired transport in the form of a steam lorry. They are supported by German paratroopers on foot. This was near the start of the game.

Again early in the game. The German tank advances supported by infantry. German infantry and support weapons advanced through and round a field of crops.

The LFS improvised armoured car has just destroyed a German mortar team. The LFS are defending doggedly a field surrounded by a stone wall. Meanwhile a German flamethrower sneaks forward…

The LFS brought into action a T26 ( a gift from their friends in the Soviet Union) which fired on the panzer  one ( who had advanced to command the crossroads, leaving its supporting infantry behind) and missed!

In the end I conceded as most of my units had taken heavy casualties. An enjoyable game. Next game will be a 1940 Homeguard one…

Away and Home

 Whilst away I listened to this completely this time-

A most enjoyable and informative radio programme on the Homeguard recommended to me by Mark,Mof T. It helped pass the journey northwards on Monday. Well worth a listen.

Two parcels awaited me on my return and were opened on yesterday finally.

Firstly one from 1stCorps contiaining a few choice items to enhance my Homeguard games. A Beaverette Armoured Car and crew, some Homeguard snipers in Ghillie Suits ( could be used as auxiliary unit in scenarios) and some downed German aircrew. 

Secondly two copies of a home produced magazine and resin miniatures from an artist l support via Patreon. It has a Mordheim vibe.

Regarding the Ghillie suited figures-

Here are the figures straight from the bag.

Illustration of such a figure found on the internet 

Illustration from a Homeguard publication with a how to do it vibe.

The downed aircrew will provide my Homeguard and accompanying Boy Scouts something to interact with, look for and eventually find and capture. This could be in bigger games and skirmish ones too. The armoured car gives options too as do the snipers. Lots of gaming potential for a relatively small investment. As l write this on Wednesday morning the downed aircrew are almost finished and awaiting static grass on their bases…