Do you still exist?

One might well ask me that question when my last blog post was in November 2020! Did I contract some mystery illness? Did I give up wargaming for scrabble? Did I drop my phone in the toilet and never replace it?  

None of the above occurred. In fact, life has continued just as it had when I was blogging regularly. The truth is that I just kind of stopped posting. The blog wasn't fulfilling any particular need beyond recording my latest painting and playing and I felt time was better spent doing these latter and less time writing about it.

I have been into the site a couple of times a week to check out my blog list and see what people are up to, but I've severely limited my time on perusing blogs with just so much else going on in life. I've popped up to comment here and there, but have been pretty slack in general.

That being said, my friend Adam and I discussed the idea of making a Youtube channel. Why not, I thought. Another outlet for creativity, and something quite different to blog ramblings. Well, we've gone and done it now, and the first few videos are up already. They have been a lot of work - way more than blogging ever was, but for now I am enjoying being part of it all. You can see them here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEbrYYdaRLuSi2RGbfO1TKQ (make sure to like and subscribe 😆).

The plan for the channel is to do terrain tutorials, painting tutorials and battle reports, and so far there is a bit of a mix. Adam and I play mostly Lord of the Rings (Middle Earth Strategy battles) and Star Wars Legion, and the two battle reports so far are for the former, with the first of the latter undergoing editing at present. Adam is very into his terrain building, and I want to try and fill some niches for painting videos. I'm nowhere near as tech savvy as Adam, so it really is mostly him doing the donkey work at the moment.

Now what have I been up to on the wargaming front?

Above: Lando, a Landspeeder and operative Luke from Star Wars Legion

Above: Darth Maul, Count Dooku and B1 battle droids also for Star Wars Legion.

The last two years have been heavily invested in Star Wars Legion. I am very much enjoying the game which represents the conflicts of the cinematic universe authentically with well written (and well supported) rules. It is definitely my main game at the moment - the one I think about and prioritise painting for the most.

The beginnings of my Rohan force

I've made a couple of attempts to get into Lord of the Rings as a game over the years, but I think the problem is that I've always tried to go too big too fast. This time, I'm gradually being introduced to the rules through the Battle Companies campaign in Adam's and my video battle reports, and this is building my enthusiasm for painting and playing. I have a small Rohan force and a small Orc force that I plan to nibble away at, expanding gradually into armies for the game.

X-Men and the Brotherhood battle in Main Street

Another view from a different angle

Not on the channel as I haven't introduced Adam to the rules yet, is Marvel Crisis Protocol. I've played two solo games of this and have to say that I really like the mechanics. More importantly I love the feel of the game. Like with Star Wars, Marvel comic characters were a huge part of my childhood, and so these rules not only provide an interesting game to play, but the chance to reinforce that second childhood that toy soldiers is really about for me!

Kings of War Kingdoms of Men

Kings of War Orcs

I got hold of some more old Games Workshop Orcs and Empire figures in 2020 and began to move beyond the Dragon Rampant armies that I had initially put together. Hence, two Kings of War armies were born! Again, I've only played a couple of solo games with these guys, but I'm hopeful I can convince some of the other guys (like Adam) to build armies of their own.

Did someone mention nostalgia?

So that is all of the fantasy and sci-fi stuff covered - have I given up on historicals? Well, no. What I have done is gone up - in scale! More and more lately I have been wanting to play with 1/32 figures for my historics. Before the blog hiatus I had reported about my WWI project and the beginnings of a colonial Afghan project. I then put them on the backburner for a while, but recently the re-release of the 1/32 Airfix WW2 figures got me thinking about the big scale again. It is probably the reason for deciding to post again, as I feel this is a more appropriate place to chart the 54mm journey than on Youtube, where hours of editing would probably end up with few views. There is a much more appreciative community for this kind of thing in the blogosphere.

So I have acquired some Armies in Plastic 1914 Germans and Russians, have done my first test figures for my British and German WW2 paratroops (as you can see above), and ordered some A Call to Arms English Civil War figures from Arcane Scenery. 

The French are being painted at the moment.

All WWI figures will be in toy soldier style and support weapons will come from Irregular Miniatures. I'm still not sure about a French HMG - I can't find any available that aren't expensive collector's items, and it may be that I'll have to bite the bullet and pay the $125 for a Regal Enterprises one.

I'm thinking about using Chain of Command for World War Two. I'm not sure how well that will cater for 54mm figures. It is a little bit down the road as the figures take a bit of painting with their camo patterns. I was considering using Germans and US instead, as the painting will be more straight forward and support weapons are more available from Tamiya etc.

The ECW will be for use with Pikeman's Lament. My idea is to play out a fictional campaign in an imagined county during the ECW. The thing about 54mm is that it really brings to life the characters that you invent in these kinds of campaigns.

My final quandary is how I will paint the ECW. There are three options:

1. Toy soldier style in gloss varnish (Like the French above)
2. Realistic shading in gloss varnish
3. Realistic shading in matt varnish (like the WW2 above)

2 is probably my least favourite option - the gloss shine detracts from the time spent in shading. So I'll open it up to you, dear reader. What do you think would look best?

 

Anyway, that is me, I am still very much around, and maybe I might even start posting a bit more regularly too.

Nate

Terrain and stuff

It's over a month since my last post, and a busy month it has been. The family took advantage of cheap camper vans and we went to Northland for the school holidays. More on that later.

Wargaming wise, I've done a little bit of painting, but not as much as I would have liked. I've done quite a bit of terrain stuff though, so here comes the catch up.

 Terrain:

I bought Infamy Infamy for the Gallic Wars, and although the figures aren't painted, I've prioritised terrain. So you can see below my hayfields, roads, marshes and Gallic homesteads. Also, half of the river - I've run out of Woodland Scenics 'realistic' water for the second half at the moment.

The new terrain collected together

Closer look at the Gallic homesteads with Renedra wattle fencing and resin buildings from Caliver Books' battlefield buildings range.

Change of period - we'll put a stone bridge over the river and march some Marlburians over it. 

The view from this direction gives a better of the effect of the realistic water. I feel it could do with being deeper...

Figures:

C3P-0 and R2-D2

Death Troopers. An experiment of putting black contrast paint over a blue undercoat. It needed two coats, but pretty much worked.

General Veers

Taun Tauns for Craig.

I also painted a platoon of Goums for Chris and some villains and gangs for the Superheroes, but haven't taken any photos of them.

Travels

Northland is one of the more historic places one could choose to go in New Zealand, and our trip started with a detour to Ruapekapeka pa, the last battle of the Northern War in 1845-6. The rangatira Kawiti and 4-500 Nga Puhi warriors faced off against about 1300 British troops in a fortified position. It would have to be one of the best preserved of the battle pa left in New Zealand, which isn't saying much unfortunately. The gun pits and bunkers are still in place, although weather has taken its toll. I took photos of my daughter next to the 'holes in the ground' as a reference for how impressive the earthworks are.

Information board at the entrance  next to the car park.

Campaign map information board

Plan of attack information board

Looking toward the pa from the forward British position. It is the flat green area just behind the treeline.

The family at the gate after going down and then up a hill

At the pa - a carronade.

Number 1 daughter next to a bunker

Standing next to some of the entrenchments

Hopefully this gives an idea of their depth.

The Pou Whenua at the pa. A modern construction.

Walking back down the hill of the pa you can see the British forward and main positions in the centre of the photo.

Ruapekapeka is about 5 minutes off the main road between Whangarei and Paihia, and well worth a visit.

Flagstaff hill

The above is the flag pole that Hone Heke cut down multiple times - thus starting the Northern War (OK, there may be a bit more to it than that, and this is the replacement, not the original, but you get the idea).

We went to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but my phone was out of battery, so no photos sorry. I highly recommend a visit though.

Hongi Hika's pa in modern Keri Keri

If you don't know anything about Hongi Hika, let's just say he made a name for himself throughout the North Island, becoming famous or infamous depending on where you live. Here is Rotorua I have seen him compared to Hitler (then again, what is an article without a sensational headline)! 

The Keri Keri Mission station and then general store - the oldest stone building in New Zealand. They had some Regal Enterprises 54mm New Zealand Wars toy soldiers for sale. I didn't buy any. Very restrained.

The lighthouse at Cape Reinga. The top of the North Island. 

Cape Reinga is quite a spiritual place (and that doesn't mean I'm about to open an aromatherapy shop). The legends say that the spirits of deceased Maori dive off the cliff here before heading to Hawaikii. But even without that, there is something about standing at the tip of your country that makes the hairs stand on end just a little bit.

Tane Mahuta - a 2000 year old monstrous Kauri tree.

So there we have the whirlwind sightseeing tour. One of the things about Covid 19 stopping international tourism is that Kiwis were out seeing their country in droves. It was fantastic, and we hope to use the next two sets of holidays to explore more with the kids. The only part of the country I haven't been to are the Wairarapa, Otago and Fiordland, so they are on the target list.

As to inspiration, the trip may have seen me commit to purchasing some Empress Miniatures figures, but more on that later.

Plans:

I have some Star Wars Legion Wookies and rebel Pathfinders to paint for Craig. Then I aim to paint my armies for Infamy Infamy. Then Wild West Exodus figures for Craig. After that... well, there are plenty of options.

Nate

Doings

Firstly, a big sorry to the online community for not replying to comments and making comments on other people's blogs. Life has been exceptionally busy recently. Today I am off work with a sore throat (If you are sick, stay at home) and in half an hour I'm off for the joy of a Covid test, which I have confidence will come back negative. New Zealand has done a great job with the pandemic, and aside from those returning home overseas (who are quarantined), we have no new cases being spread within the community. I'm proud of the way we've accomplished what we have, although it has come at an economic cost to our Tourism and Hospitality sectors. 

At any rate, that does give me half an hour to just capture some of the stuff that has been going on in my little hobby world.

First up, I played my first game of Star Wars Legion last Friday night. It went really well, and I have learned plenty. I lost, of course, but I've got a good idea now of how I could improve in the future and a lot of it comes down to simply knowing what different units can actually accomplish on the table.

The TTCombat buildings were built in the weekend. I'm still thinking about how to paint them.

I purchased the Battlekiwi boards for my Superhero gaming, and I am really pleased with them. Here they are above with their base coats sprayed on and the buildings I have in various states of getting ready. Throw in some cars and civilians, and imagine the park with greenery in it, and it will be a nice space to game on.

Painting has slowed right down. I finished the Shore-troopers and the Occupier tank for my Imperials, but nothing since. I can't see it getting any better over the next fortnight, although I hope I can fit in Craig's Tauntauns.

The Shoretroopers were painted with Sorastro's instructions

A mix of traditional techniques and contrast paints.

The Occupier tank is a beast on the table.

My most successful unit last Friday

I've been watching videos about Infamy, Infamy, the new Ancients ruleset by TooFatLardies, and I think I'm a convert from what I've seen of Rich's battle reports. I've always been a fan of the Lardies approach to history, but the games themselves have left me a little cold. A lot of that has been in the number of things I need to remember that leaders of different status can do. It's not a major obstacle, but one that has been counter-intuitive to a lot of the games I've played. I'm determined to stick it out this time, though, and I've preordered the rules and begun reorganising my Romans and Gauls. Who knows, maybe I'll pick up Dux Brittaniarum and Sharpe Practice too?

OK, better go and have my brains poked out.

Nate

Keeping busy

I'm back at work, but confess that working from home offers many distractions. Most notably the accessibility of my garage, where a bunch of toys in painted and unpainted states constantly call to me. I have avoided being sucked in to the vortex entirely, but yesterday could not prevent myself from playing another fantasy game, just to try out the rules and refine them a bit. And there is definitely some refining needed. Orcs for instance, were ripped apart by the Dwarf army before getting into contact. This tended to happen in Dragon Rampant too, so maybe my Orcs just need to be sneakier, but I suspect what I really need are some faster units, like Boar boyz. Add that to the shopping list.

Aerial view of the Battle of the Two Fords

 I didn't do a full battle report for this game, just taking a few photos of the set up, as I new time was precious, but the idea was that the Orcs were advancing from one direction, and Chaos from another. Opposing them were an Imperial-Dwarf alliance, defending the two fords that cross the river.

The Imperial set-up. No knights, just foot troops.

Opposing them a matching force in terms of points, but light in numbers.

The Orc force, ready to strike

And the brave Dwarven defenders

In the centre sat a woods which was unpassable.

In the first clashes the Orc Warlord was seen off by a combination of the handgunners and the gyrocopter. After that, things just got worse for the Orcs. Only at the end did the Shaman use his magic to literally squish the Dwarf King.

 Overall the Dwarfs were too strong, but I put this down to the activation system. The Orcs' lower Discipline rating meant that they failed their command tests often, and this allowed the Dwarfs to activate their units. As such, the cannon and handgunners were shooting just about every turn. So I think that I might abandon that mechanism, and just try the rules with IGo-UGo.

AT the end the Chaos knights are sweeping through the Imperial flank, while the Giant turns around and walks away - he did this for most of the game.

In the evenings I've continued to paint, mostly Star Wars Legion.

The dark lord of the Sith

I tried very hard to follow the guide by Sorastro

But gave up in the end and used gloss varnish

My third squad of stormtroopers

And two units of speeder bikes

The second squad of Stormtroopers, and the last dozen 54mm Great War figures

The Chaos Sorcerer can summon a demon, so this Reaper miniature that I bought years ago has been painted and drafted into use.

Currently painting Macedonian pikemen for Craig.

Nate