BigLee's Miniature Adventures

Mobile Painting - The Results

2012-01-28T14:09:00.000Z

As promised here's a few pictures of what I was able to paint using my mobile kit while up in Leicester this week. I only had two nights away from home but I think I got quite a lot done in the few hours I had spare.

Wood & Turf MG Nest

Sandbag and Turf MG Nest

Concrete MG Bunker - Rear View

Concrete MG Bunker - Front View

A simple shack or outbuilding with wooden shingles

Concrete MG bunker - Rear view

Concrete MG Bunker - Front/Side view

I was able to paint all of these and give them a coat of Vallejo satin Varnish to protect them. When I got home all I had left to do was apply a coat of Testors Dullcote and then add static grass, tufts etc. Job done!

I'm really pleased with these models, especially as I haven't been able to get anything else completed in weeks.

Mobile Painting

2012-01-25T05:30:00.000Z

Last year my job changed (a promotion non-the-less!) and my new role involves a reasonable amount of travelling. A couple of times a month I have an overnight stay in Southampton and recently I also had a two day trip up in Manchester and today I'm in Leicester. While I'm enjoying getting out from behind my desk now and again it is playing havoc with my free time and in particular the time I spend painting. Frankly I'm so tired some evenings that I just can't face painting and all I want to do is veg in front of the TV. Consequently I have hardly picked up a brush in over a month. So I decided it was time to get mobile and better utilise some of the time I'm spending in hotel rooms in the name of my hobby.

Back in June last year I posted that I had made up a tool kit so that I could prepare miniatures while at work and I have used this successfully several times. Indeed on my last trip to Manchester I set about cleaning up and assembling a couple of vehicles for my FoW forces. But what I need to do is extend the principle so that I can get some painting done while away from home, or even at work in the few lunch breaks I get now.

The end result of this thought process is that I have put together a small travelling paint kit with the same selection of tools that I had in my tool-roll plus a few essential painting tools and a core selection of paints and inks. I can't bring everything with me but I can selectively pick out the paints I need to get a particular stage of a model completed while I'm away. It will require a little more forethought on my part so that I take just what I need each time I use the kit but its not an impossible choice to make.

Here's what I have included:

A selection of small diamond files
2x Mini Clamps
Brushes for cleaning
Tweezers (Metal and plastic)
Pencil (for marking joints etc)
Craft Knife and Spare Blades
Sculpting Tools
Adhesives : Epoxy Resin Glue, Milliput Putty, Superglue, Bluetac
Rubber Gloves
Wooden Sticks for mixing glue
50x50cm Leather work sheet (Shammy leather)
Small cutting mat
20ml bottle of Distilled Water/Flow Improver (80:20)

I've also selected a core set of paints to keep in the box and have been selected with Flames of War/WWII colours in mind. I use Vallejo paints almost exclusively so the following list of colours are from that range.

882 Middlestone
886 Green Grey
887 Brown Violet
863 Gunmetal
872 Chocolate Brown
890 Reflective Green
830 German Fieldgrey
873 US Field Drab
918 Ivory
982 Cavalry Brown
988 Khaki
995 German Grey
823 Luftwaffe Can Green
826 German Camo Medium Brown
875 Beigh Brown
984 Flat Brown

I've also included bottle of GW Devlan Mud wash and a small bottle of Vallejo Satin varnish as well as the essential bottles of Black and White paint. The final stages of a project - Matt varnish, flock etc - I'll still have to do at home but most of the earlier work can be done regardless of where I am.

First game of the year!

2012-01-23T06:30:00.000Z

The irony of the fact that I'm writing about my first game of 2012 at the end of January hasn't eluded me but needless to say all our group have busy or unusual jobs and getting together is a challenge at the best of times. First let me start by saying that the Dagenham Delvers gathered for a resumption of our D&D campaign after a prolonged Christmas break. Longs gaps between games are very difficult, especially when the games form a sequence and there is a story to follow. Fortunately we keep a detailed campaign Journal and were able to pick up quickly from where we left off.

This game saw our party of adventurers begin by fleeing the scene of our last battle with the Gnolls of the Valric Forest. Heavily outnumbered and seemingly surrounded we ran as fast as we could to reach the nearest Sealy Hill (these are semi mystical hills with links to Fey magic). We managed to stay ahead of our pursuers - just -and made it to the crest of the hill in time to see the Gnolls massing on the treeline surrounding the hill. On top of the hill was a large stone altar stone, but little else by way of defensive terrain. We searched the hilltop in desperation and found a rune or glyph etched into the side of the stone which when pressed opened a secret stairway leading down into the hill.

With little other option we proceeded down and closed the doorway behind us. However we soon found that we were in a small series of chambers, rigged with explosive traps and no exit other than a disabled Portal with the keystone missing. Next to the portal stood twelve chests made from various materials including wood, metal and stone. Each had a lock or mechanism and one possibly held the missing keystone. After tripping one trap we immediately suspected more traps when we found a garbled note next to the Portal. It was a message, clearly in code and maybe it held a clue to the location of the keystone.

The coded message kept us happily occupied trying to decipher it for at least 20 minutes and eventually we were able to locate the keystone just as we heard the Gnolls opening the secret doorway to this underground chamber. We passed quickly through the portal and removed the keystone on that side thereby deactivating it and blocking our pursuers. Of course this also means our route back is blocked so we have little option but to go where the Evil GM directs us!

Our group explored the underground rooms we appear to have entered looking for a route out but eventually could only find a spiral staircase leading down into a series of flooded rooms. With little other option we decided to swim through the flooded section to reach another series of rooms above the water level. However we never expected this short swim to be uneventful and true to our expectations we had to fight some bad tempered Sahuagin before making it to safety.

All in all a pretty good game with an interesting mix of puzzle solving, skill challenges and combat.

WI 292 - First look at FOW 3rd Edition

2012-01-22T14:47:00.001Z

My copy of Wargames Illustrated issue 292 arrived on Friday and the first thing I turned to was the 15 page article about the imminent release of Flames of War 3rd Edition. The first teaser advert for 3rd Edition was in Wargames Illustrated 291 closely followed by a YouTube announcement that Battlefront are giving away the Flames of War 3rd Edition rules to anyone that owns a Hardcover copy of the 2nd Edition rules.

The new hardcover rulebook will be bigger (308 pages) with two separate softback booklets covering army lists and the hobby aspects of the game. Its not clear yet if these will be sold individually as I suspect that most existing FoW players won't need a booklet detailing the basics of how to paint their miniatures. Similarly the Forces book will probably be redundant to most existing players. However the new and updated core rulebook does look really good from the sneak previews shown in here. The article has certainly whetted my appetite and I am looking forward to getting my hands on the new Flames of War rules to see in detail what changes have been made.

Leaving the preview of the new rules aside this is still a great issue, focusing as it does on the increasingly popular Darkest Africa 'period'. This genre covers a wide swathe of history and a diverse selection of minor and major wars from colonial skirmishes, inter-tribal warfare, the campaigns against the Mahdi through to the Zulu War of 1879. The opening article in this themed issue is written by Chris Peers (author of In the Heart of Africa and Death in the Dark Continent) and gives a good overview depth and choices in this period. [If this looks like a period you are interested in check out the excellent Blog Return to Darkest Africa]

There is also an excellent Battle Report by Rick Priestley called The Path of Blood! This focuses on the revolutionary Zulu leader Shaka Zulu and the period that would later be called the Mfecane - The Crushing - when Shaka forged what would become the Zulu empire of southern Africa. In this battle the Zulus face off against the Matabele in an epic inter-tribal battle for domination of the northern portion of the Zulu sphere of influence. The pictures and write up of this game are excellent and very evocative. A few years ago such a battle would have been much harder to stage as there just wasn't a wide enough range of miniatures with which to field two such large armies. However with the recent advent of plastic box sets like those by Warlord games this has now become a much more realistic option.

As well as the themed content there are several other articles covering other periods that are equally interesting such as Hot Time in Ligny and Segemoor and More. There is also a really nice photo report from Fall In 2011 and a report from the Flames of War North American masters tournament.

BLMA Playing Favorites

2012-01-18T17:01:00.000Z

Over the last couple of weeks several Bloggers I follow have been posting a thread called Playing Favourites. Basically is a list of categories and an excuse to show your inner geek, so how could I resit joining in! Check out some of the other posts on the following blogs: Trouble At T'Mill, Mylardiesgames, Too Much Lead and Steve's Random Musings. So here's my humble contribution:

Wargames Period - Easily WWII - no surprise there - closely followed by ACW. I'll happily play any period but I have a particular interest in the history of these two conflicts.

Scale - I'm a recent convert to 15mm for wargaming although I'd prefer 28mm for RPG's and skirmish type games. This is the scale I 'traditionally' painted but as I said I have been doing more and more 15mm in the last few years. Also thanks to Posties Rejects I have had a chance to play a wide range of games in 15mm over the last year and as a scale it is growing on me. I'd like to give smaller scales a try in future (10mm and even Micro Armour 1/200th) but I'm reluctant to branch out onto yet another game and set of models.

Rules - I don't think I'm qualified to answer this, because my experience has been limited to just a handful of game systems. Generally I prefer simpler rules that allow the player to concentrate on strategic thinking rather than maths. I'll be honest, I find it hard to read rulebooks, no matter how many pretty pictures they include. I much prefer to learn at the elbow of an experienced player and as I don't belong to a club the only rules I have read are those I have bought for myself.

Boardgame - I haven't played Risk in years but as a teenager it was by far my favourite. Nowadays I think my favourite is probably the old classic, Chess. I'm useless at it but I regularly play on my Smartphone or PC and the beauty of playing a 'computer' is that I can turn down the IQ of the AI until I win (!!). Actually I win about 50% of the time so I still consider a game challenging enough to be enjoyable but not an exercise in self punishment.

Heresy 'Thrud the Barbarian'

Figure manufacturer -I love the 28mm miniatures of Heresy and Hasslefree. In 15mm I don't really have a favourite as I tend to buy from a wide range of manufacturers based on what I need from wherever it is available.

Metal/Hard Plastic -The quality of resin and plastic has improved hugely in the 30 years I have been collecting miniatures. I prefer Metal but if I need a particular figure, what it is made of is secondary to how it looks, what it costs and how easily available it is.

Club -I've never been a club man myself. Partly because for years there wasn't one local to me and partly because I'm not a naturally gregarious person. However I've now joined Posties Rejects which I suppose is a sort of unofficial club so I'll nominate them in this category.

The Evil GM

Opponent - My mate Peter (aka The Evil GM). We haven't faced off in a wargame battle for over 20 years but one day I'd like to beat him, just once. To my knowledge he has never been defeated in a wargame - the git - so victory against him would have to go down on my personal Bucket List. The chances of it happening though are vanishingly small because I have the tactical ability of a peanut and Pete is simply the luckiest SOB I have ever had the misfortune to meet in combat.

Film - I loved films like Zulu and The Longest day when I was a kid and they still inspire me today. But I have to say I'm excited by the opportunities that CGI have brought to modern war films like Saving Private Ryan, Enemy at the Gates and the HBO Series Band of Brothers and Pacific. Ironically I thought that CGI would also revive Fantasy movies finally bringing them the visuals that often lacked in older films. With the exception of the LoTR trilogy I can honestly say I have largely been disappointed on this front!

Book - I'm going to be boring now and say The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. Closely followed at the opposite end of the literary scale by the Conan stories by Robert E. Howard. However for pure inspiration I'd have to nominate Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee as a history book that literally changed my view of the world.

Art - Considering my book choices it should come as no surprise that I love the artwork of Frank Frazetta. I'm also a fan of the work of my mate Dave Stokes whose artwork has been featured here several times. Also I have to nominate the photographer Robert Capa in this category as well as I consider his pictures not just brilliant but works of art in their own right. His pictures of D-Day send a chill down my spine.

The Interweb - I live my life on the Internet. When I'm not working I spend an inordinate amount of time on social networks, blogging or reading other peoples Blogs and generally surfin' the web. Consequently I honestly can't pick out a single site or blog for highlight because I love it all (ahhhh).

I hope you like some of my choices and I'm sure the moment I publish this post I'll think of several dozen new things I wished I had included. So what about you? Fancy picking up the baton and listing your Favourites?

Miniature Wargames - Issue 346

2012-01-16T17:30:00.000Z

Following on from yesterdays magazine review here's another! The February issue of Miniature Wargames caught my eye because it includes an article about Normandy scenarios. D-Day and the battle for Normandy is my 'Period' and I couldn't walk past this issue without picking it up. Worse still when I saw the cover I squealed "Oooo D-Day!" loudly in the middle of the shop, much to my daughters embarrassment (revenge is mine!!). Moving swiftly on....

The Devils own Breakout by Graham Burke presents a series of small unit scenarios for D-Day wargames. As well as the main scenario the article lists a couple of additional ideas for games as well as notes on figure availability and paint schemes.

This months issue has the usual wide range of articles covering periods as diverse as WWII in 28mm through to Ancient Britons, the Peninsular War, the Crimean War, the First Silesian War in 10mm and even fantasy/sci-fi skirmish games. There is bound to be something of interest to most wargamers in this issue although it does make this issue feel a bit disjointed and random. Having said that the standard of the writing and the excellent illustrations throughout make this an enjoyable read.

It has occurred to me that recently I am living my hobby vicariously through wargaming magazines and I must put this right soon. The Delvers are meeting this Friday and I'm hoping to hear from the Rejects soon (hint hint) for my first Wargame of the year. Plus I'm determined to squeeze in a few FoW games with my brother-in-law pretty soon. To this end I'm determined to try and finish a couple of painting projects that have lingered half done. One idea I'm going to experiment with is taking small bits of projects into work so I can get jobs done during my lunch break (when I get one!).

Wargames Soldiers and Strategy 58

2012-01-15T09:20:00.000Z

Last weekend I picked up Issue 58 of Wargames Soldiers and Strategy and it was so good I've nearly finished reading it already. As usual this issue is dedicated to a theme (this month its Napoleon versus the Austrians) but also contains a range of other excellent articles, news updates and figure reviews to round off the content. Full details can be found here but the following articles in particular caught my eye.

Rick Priestley's excellent feature column This Gaming Life continues with a look at the much maligned mechanic IGOUGO. Once again Rick shows the depth of his knowledge and experience in providing a well rounded article discussing the relative merits of this sometimes controversial rule convention and its alternatives. With each article I read by Rick it becomes clearer and clearer that his understanding of wargaming is not just limited to those games he has had a hand in developing.

Another great article is Mark Blackhouse's You are no good Private Hook! Recreating the battle for Rourke's drift in 1:1 models to participants is clearly not practicable except maybe for large clubs, so Mark instead focused on action inside the hospital. His scratch built building was simple but effective and I could instantly see several applications for the model created.

The article Soldiers of the Imperial Army in the Pacific - Painting WWII Japanese by Helen Bachaus was also very interesting. In it she looks at Japanese uniforms from WWII. I've not seen these focused on for a long time and I thought it was a very interesting and informative article as well as being illustrated with some excellent photo's.

Richard Clark and Nick Skinner (Two Fat Lardies) also gave an interesting interview to the magazine about the latest edition of their WWII Company level wargame I ain't Been Shot Mum. The more I read about this game the more tempted I am to buy a copy just to check out the rules. I'm not the sort of gamer who finds rule-books easy to read - I much prefer to learn by playing the game - but various other reviews I have read say these are an easy and fun set of rules to learn. Obviously I've committed myself pretty heavily to Flames of War but I 'm beginning to think it would be useful to expand my understanding of other rules systems for the same period.

This magazine is definitely growing on me and I am seriously considering taking out a subscription so I don't miss future issues.

Zvezda T34/76

2012-01-12T17:10:00.000Z

Back at SELWG in October I bought a couple of the plastic Zvezda 1/100 vehicles including a German Panzer III and a Russian T34/76. These sets are very cheep and easy to assemble and the quality of the casting is excellent considering the price range. I didn't buy either model for use in an army, I just thought I'd give them a try-out to see what they were like.

To be honest I sort of forgot I had them so when I uncovered the two boxes yesterday I decided I had found something to keep me amused during my lunch break. I've only assembled the T34/76 so far but I have to say I'm impressed both with the detailing on the model and its easy of assembly. I used clippers to remove the model from its sprue but that wasn't really necessary and a quick scrape of a fingernail removed the small amount of tailing where the sprue met the model.

The range is focused on Operation Barbarossa so is firmly an early war collection of vehicles for the game Art of Tactic. Other models in the 1/100 range include:

German

Opelblitz Truck 1937-1944
Sd.Kfz. 251/1 AUSF.B
Pz.Kpfw. 38 (T) Light tank
Pz.Kpfw. II light tank
Pz.Kpfw. III G medium tank
Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf.D medium Tank

Soviet
ZIS-5 Truck
BM-13 "Katyusha"
KV-1 mod. 1941
BT-5 light tank
T-26 M light tank
T-34/76 (mod. 1940)medium tank

I haven't considered whether to paint this model yet, but as a quick diversion it fitted the bill. And at just £2.50 each I can see how they could easily be used to build a cheep force to start off a Tank Company or two. I may buy several of the German Opal Blitz trucks next for use as scenery or objective markers.

Replica Tank from War Horse

2012-01-11T12:00:00.000Z

The Tank Museum has obtained the tank used in Steven Spielberg's new film War Horse (which I'm hoping to see next week). I saw this news reported a couple of days ago but the Museum have now put out this short video explaining why they decided to buy the replica and what they intend to do with it.

This is a fully operational replica of a British Mk IV tank and was based on the Museum's own Mark IV, which was built in 1917. On the inside is a modern excavator vehicle providing the power but the exterior detailing and handling are authentic looking. So much so in fact that the Museum decided it was worth buying to run at events like Tankfest in June.

The replica will go on display this weekend so I'll get to see it when I attend Tiger Day at the end of March. There's no word yet of they will run this vehicle at that event but I have my fingers crossed!

Once more unto the breach...

2012-01-09T17:05:00.001Z

Earlier today I news started to appear announcing that Wizards of the Coast are about to embark on development of a new edition of D&D. As the day has progressed various Blogger's have repeated the story and cited the announcement in the New York Times and this article on the D&D site itself. It seems only a short while ago that 4th Edition was released so will 5th Edition be what is needed to revive the franchise?

Mike Mearls, lead designer for D&D at Wizards has said "Most people will think of this as the fifth edition of D&D. In many ways, though, we want this to be a version of the game that embraces the entirety of D&D's history....One that all D&D fans can turn to and use." It all sounds very laudable and positive, but you know what, I've heard it all before. Several times.

On the plus side Wizards recently rehired Monte Cooke (lead designer of 3rd edition) and have announced he will be the lead designer of the revamped game. I like his work and I'd like to think that with Cooke back at the helm 5th edition could be a positive move for the game. But I guess I'm a cynic at heart and right now I despair at the thought of having to buy the core rulebooks yet again.

Its early days and development has not even got started yet. I guess release will likely be sometime next year but a lot will depend on financial and business pressures to get the new game published.

This Blog wot I wrote

2012-01-09T08:57:00.000Z

Today BLMA celebrates its Third Birthday! Wow... I honestly didn't know when I started this back in 2009 whether I would stick with it or whether this Blog would fade away like so many others. I'm glad its still going strong after three years, nearly 1000 posts and close to half a million pageviews!!

BLMA has gone through some significant changes in the last three years but hopefully nothing detrimental. I still enjoy the regular discipline of putting my thoughts down on paper (or pixels) although this has dropped from a daily activity to three or four times a week. As already mentioned in my review of 2011 work commitments have impacted on my free time and given the choice between sitting down to paint/play or sitting down and typing a post I really should choose the former. But change just brings different opportunities and I hope that 2012 will give me plenty of things to write about and photograph.

Painted in 20 Eleven

2012-01-03T16:59:00.000Z

Following on from my review of the year a few days ago I thought I'd post a collection of pictures of the best stuff I painted last year. This was the year that I focused on my Flames of War collection and the terrain to play it. I want to diversify this year by going back to my painting roots with some 28mm figures. Like most gamers I have a growing lead mountain and I feel an overwhelming urge to dive into it and see what inspires me in 2012.

Figgybloggy Best Blog of the Year Awards

2012-01-02T19:51:00.001Z

The excellent French blog Figoblogotheque is running its third Figgybloggy Best Blog of the Year Awards (FBBYA) which will be awarded on the 1st of february. There are three categories: English language best blog, French language best blog and the other language best blog. Voting cannot be easier, just go to this post and leave a comment explaining which blogs you wish to nominate for each category.

Last year the excellent blog Big Red Bat Cave deservedly won the English Language category and this year other great blogs like The Angry Lurker and Model Dads have already been nominated.

I've cast my vote, now its your turn!

Review of 2011 & some Resolutions

2012-01-01T15:31:00.001Z

Its been a busy and at times strange year both in my hobby and in the rest of my life. At the end of 2010 I made some resolutions and I can confidently say I achieved them all.

Paint more miniatures than 2010 - I've painted a lot of terrain and figures this year and I have a lot more at the half finished stage on my painting desk. Time has increasingly become an issue this year but somehow I have managed to keep the workload up. I'm crossing my fingers that 2012 will be a better year for me (health wise) and I can devote more time to painting.

Continue building my Blog - Although hits (page-views) have remained generally stable over the year they started at a high level so 2011 has been another record breaking year for BLMA. I've had just short of 185,000 hits this year, a 65% increase on last year. I've also increase followers from 141 a year ago to 230. Thanks to everyone who helps make this blog what it is by joining in and contributing to the conversation.

Play More Games - Well its been a bumper year for gaming. Both my groups have been fairly active and I've played more games than any previous year.

I've had more than my fair share of illness this year and this has impacted on my ability to get around and the time I have free. I have missed several key events this year either due to illness or other commitments including Salute, War and Peace, Tankfest and games with The Delvers of The Rejects.

Compounding the problem has been the otherwise positive experience of promotion at work. On the downside I am spending more time working (and travelling) but on the upside the increase in salary is having a significant beneficial impact on the family and my hobby activities. I'm very much aware that I'm lucky to have a job when so many others are loosing theirs and that our household finances are definitely bucking the trend.

The blog has continued to attract new readers which is a very humbling tribute to my work here. I always enjoy talking to new readers and I've made several new friends as a result. Any year when you end with more friends than you started has to be considered a good one, don't you think?

I've done a lot of painting this year but more than anything I have been building and painting terrain pieces. I reckon I have more than enough for a fair sized table but there are always new items that need adding. One thing I need to do for the coming year is make some more Bocage. I'm not sure if I'll follow the same formula I did when I wrote my Tutorial on making Bocage back in May 2010. I'm looking at a whole new method designed to produce some quick terrain in large quantities as I reckon I need at least another 6 meters of Bocage for my table.

So what of 2012? Well I think its a safe bet that the world will not end on 2012. I have some projects that I want to pursue this year but I also plan on getting out and about a lot more. I'm already booked to attend Tiger Day at Bovington in March and I have a full calender of other living history events and game conventions that I want to get to this year. I'm not sure whether I will get as much painting done, mainly because I'm running out of space to store everything! So one of my big resolutions for the year it to get my garden shed repaired and weather proofed. I hate DIY but this is one of those jobs that I have been putting off for years but would benefit my hobby as well as keeping Mrs BigLee happy!

So after all this rambling it just leaves me to say Happy New Year to all BLMA's readers and followers. Thanks for sticking with me and I hope you all have a great year filled with lots of games!

Help me update the events calender

2011-12-30T06:40:00.000Z

Well the title says it all really. Ever since Blogger introduced Pages as a feature I have had one dedicated to listing UK Events. This has included game conventions (both RPG, Wargame and other) and Living History events that may be of interest. Way back when this page was first started it consisted just a simple list of events but this was always getting out of date and needed constant revision. Eventually I removed the list and instead embedded a Google Calender. This means I can update the calender easily from any computer (or even my phone) and the details are automatically visible on the Events Page without having to make any edits in Blogger.

I try to keep this calender updated but it seems that no matter how much I add to it something always gets missed. Which is where you come in. It occurred to me that BLMA now has over 300 followers - a veritable Army of Darkness - and between you I'm sure you'll be able to let me know if anything is missed, wrong or needs to be added. So please take a look at the Events Page and and get in touch if changes need to be made.

One change I will be implementing this year is that I have decided to list some key events from outside the UK. I'm sticking to the larger more important events in the gaming calender for now but if there is something that deserves to be listed let me know and I'll add it.

Back to work

2011-12-29T09:41:00.000Z

Like millions of other people I went back to work yesterday after a food filled four day break. Honestly I reckon I've put on 6lb in the last week and it was almost a relief to get back to my desk and some semblance of normality. Having said that I now have a very busy week and a half before me culminating in a trip up to Manchester for a training course late next week. I guess I'll just have to console myself with all the goodies I got for Christmas....

I love my family. Not only are they kind and generous people they actually buy presents that I'll enjoy. No socks for me! Not a bad haul of loot I think you'll agree.

Now that Christmas is out of the way my self imposed spending embargo is lifted and I can start to think about my next miniatures purchase. Mind you with all these DVD 's and books I'm not sure I'll have time to paint anything until about mid April!

My new Über Kamera

2011-12-26T08:30:00.000Z

I've been a good boy this year and Mrs BigLee treated me to a new camera. The Olympus SZ-30MR replaces my Canon A710-IS as my 'backup' compact (I still have my Canon SLR for best). The only problem is that calling it a compact really only seems to refer to its physical dimensions and the fact that it doesn't have an interchangeable lens. In every other respect the specification of this camera is mind boggling and makes every other compact I have owned in the past look like mere toy's!

With a resolution of 16.8mp and a 24x Optical Zoom this camera rivals my SLR. The zoom in particular is very impressive giving an equivalent focal length of 25-600mm meaning there are few situations where it won't come in handy. And with an equivalent ISO range from 80 to 3200 I can take pictures in very low light without resorting to flash - useful in museums and galleries where flash photography is not allowed. One of the features I'm particularly looking forward to exploring is the ability to shoot HD Video and take still pictures at the same time. This will come into its own at Air-shows where I want to film the action and take pictures but can't physically operate two machines simultaneously.

Over the years I have found that having a compact camera as an alternative to my SLR comes in very useful when I can't carry loads of gear with me. Some conventions for instance are just too crowded to bring a large camera bag plus a bag for shopping. Also there are some 'posh' events where a bulky SLR and associated kit just isn't appropriate. This new compact means I can bring a smaller camera without loosing much of the functionality I enjoy with my SLR.

I've always enjoyed taking pictures and one of my core principles with this Blog is to illustrate it with the best photo's I can take. This new camera will help me achieve that aim.

Happy Christmas Folks!

2011-12-24T12:58:00.000Z

Wishing all my readers a very Happy Christmas.

Thanks to everyone that has followed my blog throughout the year. May Santa bring you lots of toys!

You've gotta love Battlefront

2011-12-22T14:26:00.000Z

I'm sure that for non Flames of War players the title of this post may be a little contentious but right now I want to 'big up' my respect for Battlefront so bare with me. The last issue of Wargames Illustrated contained a rather enigmatic full page advert announcing the release of the 3rd Edition rules for Flames of War. Now there is a video (embeded below) elaborating on this news and announcing a special offer for veteran FoW players. Battlefront are giving away the paperback version of the 3rd edition rules to anyone that owns the hardback 2nd edition book. Now that's what I call customer service!

Awesome! Like most existing FoW players I will probably end up buying the hardback 3rd Edition rules at some point but I do like the handy sized paperback version of the rulebook and would have had to replace it eventually.

Whether your a FoW player or not I think most gamers would agree this is a great way of acknowledging existing players (as well as being a shrewd piece of PR). Nice one Battlefront!

Wargames Illustrated 291

2011-12-21T07:05:00.000Z

Last weekend I had a generally lazy and relaxed couple of days while outside the temperatures plummeted and the tempers rose. Somehow we managed to get pretty much everything - baring a last minute food shop - out of the way. The result was we actually had a weekend where we didn't have to go out shopping or visit anyone or do anything much other than relax and chill out. So when the letterbox flapped on Saturday morning and I found the December issue of Wargames Illustrated sitting on my doormat, I new exactly what I would be reading for the next couple of days.

This months theme is the Road to Revolution and looks at the early battles of the American War of Independence. There are four theme related articles in this issue plus an additional one focused on how to build a New England Farmhouse for your table. As always the building article is very interesting and there are plenty of ways this terrain piece could be adapted for earlier or later periods.

For me one of the best articles linked to the theme is Soldiers of '75 which showcases some of the miniatures ranges available and gives a set of simple painting guides and colour pallets for those looking to wargame the period.

However for me the best articles this month are not related to the theme. The first is a great article called Bank Heist! and presents a series of scenarios based around the classic WWII film Kelly's Heroes. The film and the game are centred on a rouge bunch of Allied veterans set on robbing a bank full of Nazi gold. The scenario is designed to use the rule-set Nuts! from Two Hour Wargames but I reckon it could be adapted to any WWII 28mm skirmish rules.

Another great article is Training your future opponent by Paul O'Grady. The article talks about how he has tutored his son in the fine art of wargaming. I suspect that a good proportion of the readers of BLMA fall into the same age bracket as me and have children (or as I refer them, Padawan learners) of their own. Both my girls are trainee gamers and owned their own set of polyhedral dice from a young age so this article struck a cord with me.

All in all not a bad issue with plenty to keep a broad range of gamers happy.

I didn't even know he was il...

2011-12-19T16:07:00.000Z

Ronery no more

I couldn't let today's sad news pass by without comment. Yes, I view the death of North Korea's crackpot dictator, Kim Jong-Il, as a bad thing. I'll never forget his song in Team America. I laughed so much I nearly had a coronary. He was just so damned funny that I fear we will never see his like again....

Who am I kidding, in world full of shortages the one thing we have an excess of are potential power hungry despots. This year has been a good year for getting rid of dictators and tyrants (one way or another) but there's always another self styled demi-god ready to float to the top of the cesspool.

If history has taught us anything its that there are just not enough bullets to go around.

Don't get me wrong, I am a man of peace. I believe in the power of negotiation, compromise and shared responsibility. But I'm also a pragmatist and there are some world leaders for whom I have not and will not be shedding a tear when they meet whatever sticky end they have in store for them. In Kim Jong-Il's case, probably cholesterol.

An Early Present

2011-12-19T06:35:00.003Z

On Friday the Delvers gathered for our bi-weekly game night. Unfortunately the GM of our DnD 4E game couldn't make it but the rest of us gathered to play a board game instead. We ended up playing Munchkin which I bought a few weeks ago. I think everyone enjoyed it as we all lost track of time, overrunning our normal time slot by an hour until well after midnight!

This will be our last game night before the end of the year and I received a present from my good friend and fellow blogger, Derek (aka DJK). He said the unexpected gift was recognition of all the driving I tend to do for the group. I've never considered it a chore but even so it's nice to be thanked! Black Jackals is a novel set in WWII and is part of an ongoing series of books by Iain Gale. The other book is one I'm particularly looking forward to reading, Churchill's War Lab.

This was a very unexpected gift and definitely worthy of an Honourable Mention. DJK sir, I salute you!

Big Picture : Typhoon

2011-12-18T07:30:00.001Z

Here's another picture from the Newlyn Collection, this time of a Hawker Typhoon Fighter Bomber being rearmed prior to a mission. This looks like an 'official' photo but there is no indication of which body or agency was responsible for taking the picture.

There is a Censors note glued to the back of this image and it reads as follows:

Passed by the Censor - No. 271943

"The Hawker Typhoon - Britain's Latest Fighter-Bomber"
Latest and most deadly fighter-bomber in the armoury of the R.A.F., the Hawker Typhoon is now on full operational duties. Fitted with a Napier Saber engine and armed with four 20mm cannon - two in each wing - it carries two 500lb bombs. Its high speed and great range enable it to penetrate deep into enemy territory on its missions of destruction, while its armament is a match for any Nazi fighters it may meet.

The Typhoon was an invaluable part of Allied air supremacy over Normandy both during and after the landings. The Typhoon was originally intended as the replacement for the Spitfire but eventually settled into the Fighter Bomber role. By October 1943 the Typhoon was being fitted with rockets for its new ground attack role against enemy vehicles of all types.

What's on your list?

2011-12-16T12:35:00.000Z

With just over a week to go before Christmas and I'm reasonable sure that I'm getting a lot of what I wanted. My family all make lists because it means both the giver and receiver are happy on Christmas morning. Its not to everyone's taste, but it works for us. And my wife and I have an understanding at this time of year that helps smooth things along. I promise not to buy anything in the couple of months prior to Christmas (just in case its already bought) and she promises to turn a blind eye when I go on a post x-mas shopping spree. Win Win.

Most of the models and miniatures I want I'll get after New Year and probably most will be bought online. But what about you? Do you have a wish list for Christmas or will you be receiving socks again?

Spirit of resistance

2011-12-14T06:01:00.001Z

A couple of weeks ago I took my youngest daughter to the Natural History Museum in London. We went primarily to see the dinosaur exhibits but while we were there I found this modest but unexpected memorial in one of the corridors.

The inscription below the sculpture reads as follows:

This plaque is dedicated to all the men and women who served with the Special Operations Executive (SOE) at home and overseas during the Secon World War.

The SOE was a British wartime secret service organisation established to conduct irregular warfare. Its mission was to 'aid and encourage all resistance to the enemy in the occupied territories'.From 1942 to 1945, SOE Station XVB, known as Demonstration Room, occupied these sealed galleries in this part of the Natural History Museum.

Here, specialised military equipment was displayed for briefing British and Allied staff and SOE field agents,Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited the galleries on 1 March 1945.

Unveiled by HRH The Princess Royal on 20 April 2004

This was where the hardware and gadgets of wartime spy's and insurgents were displayed. To use the lexicology of James Bond, this was Q's workshop! All manner of weird and wonderful devices were shown here, including exploding rats, petrol can radio sets, folding motorbikes and the other more mundane equipment of irregular warfare. Much of this was designed to be dropped behind enemy lines or with special operatives.

There is more information about the discovery of the Museums wartime role in this article in the Guardian newspaper from 2004.

Another plug for W&N brushes

2011-12-12T10:17:00.000Z

I have reviewed and raved about Winsor and Newton Series 7 Brushes before and its high time I did it again. These Kolinsky Sable brushes really are the best I have ever used and this was brought home to me over the weekend. I realised that I have been using some of these brushes for three years and they are still as good as the day I purchased them.

Series 7 brushes are manufactured using the winter tail hair of the Kolinsky Sable. This hair has excellent 'carrying' capacity due to the minute scales that cover the hairs. This means that you don't have to keep reloading your brush when working on small or intricate details. The hair also has exceptional spring and retains its shape even after long use.

I now have five Series 7 Brushes and although together this represents about £80 worth of investment I don't think that's bad considering the fact that I haven't had to replace any in three years and I can't see me needing to for some time to come. Of course I do my best to look after my precious brushes which has helped prolong their life as highly valued tools. I use the following simple rules to preserve and extend the life of my brushes and these rules can be applied whatever make you use.

When painting work the brush in the direction of the hair not against it. This will stop the hairs from becoming damaged and bent.
Always rinse brushes thoroughly in clean water between colours to stop paint solidifying in the base of the hairs. If you live in a hard water area it may be worth considering distilled water for this task.
Never leave brushes sitting in water. It swells the wooden handle and unseats the hairs by dissolving the glue at their base.
Clean thoroughly with a brush soap at the end of every painting session. I use Masters Brush Cleaner but any PH neutral hand soap will do fine.
Reform the tip of the brush using one of the creases in the palm of your hand.
Let brushes dry horizontally so water does not seep down into the handle.
Once completely dry protect the tip with the plastic cover usually provided.
Never store in an airtight box, this can result in fungal growth which will damage the hairs. Mine are store in a wooden pencil box with ventilation holes in the lid.
Use cheaper 'disposable' brushes for drybrushing and other destructive tasks like applying glue to bases and for undercoating.

Happy painting folks!

The Newlyn Collection : Lancaster Crew

2011-12-11T11:58:00.000Z

My Brother-in-Law is a bit of a collector. Some time ago I posted a few pictures from his man-cave showing just a small part of the huge collection of WWII memorabilia he has amassed. Part of his collection includes old photographs he has picked up at various trade shows and through his many contacts at Veteran associations. I've persuaded Ray to release some of his more interesting images via this blog. Many of them are unique and have been in private hands for many years and consequently have not been available in the public domain until now.

The first picture from the collection is a bit of a mystery. The Image appears to show the crew of an Avro Lancaster Bomber but beyond that we have very little information. There is no date on the reverse of the image and no mention of where it was taken. There are also no distinctive marking on the aircraft which might help identify the subject. All I can say is that this picture was taken sometime after 1942 when the Lanc was introduced. I'm sure an aircraft enthusiast might be able to tell more from the scant information in this image but I've not been able to deduce any more. All the more reason to put the image out on the Web.

Used with permission of the Newlyn Collection

If anyone can enlighten me more about this picture then please leave a comment below and maybe together we can rebuild the story of this photo and its crew.

Big Picture : A39 Tortoise

2011-12-09T06:45:00.003Z

This picture was taken a long long time ago, back when I was just a "wee-nipper". A copy is in the About Me page above but here it is full size. This is the Tank Museum in Bovington about 1977 and the hansom young man standing on the tank by the turret in the red track top and blue shorts is none other than yours truly. Looking out from behind me (in a matching track top non-the-less!) is my little sister and the older gentleman in the blue shirt and dark coat to the left and below us is my Grandfather.

The tank we are climbing all over is the A39 Heavy Assault Tank or Tortoise. The initial designs for the Tortoise project dates back to 1943 but was not ready until 1947 and was never accepted into service. This particular vehicle is still in running order and was given a gallop round the paddock at this years Tankfest.

First game of Munchkin

2011-12-08T07:35:00.070Z

When I went to Dragonmeet a couple of weeks ago I picked up two new boardgames. I specifically chose games that could be played by the whole family and were fun to play. Munchkin by Steve Jackson Games definitely falls into that category. Its also illustrated by John Kovalik (of Dork Tower) who is one of my favourite webcomic artists.

I roped in the kids to help me play this game as it works best with more players (ie more opportunities to back-stab your friends!). The rules are fairly simple and as most of the in-play rules are printed on the cards this is a fairly intuitive and easy game to get into. Its also a real laugh as most of the cards are an in-joke or tongue in cheek dig at the Dungeons and Dragons game and its conventions. Even if you're not an old D&D player like me you'll still find it funny as the artwork and concepts work excellently together.

My daughter Sarah and her boyfriend Perry helped play-test the first game. Being a gamers daughter Sarah got most of the in-jokes but even Perry who has never rolled a polyhedral dice in anger got most of the humour. (Artwork: John Kovalic)

Munchkin combines a board game with a card based game making it easy to learn and fun to play (Artwork: John Kovalic)

The artwork and humour are very well balanced and integral to the enjoyment of the game. (Artwork: John Kovalic)

This first game lasted about an hour and a half but we were working through the rules so I expect future games will be a bit shorter. There are loads of expansion sets for this game and I'm sure I'll be picking up one of these in the not to distant future.

Honorary Member

2011-12-06T13:02:00.000Z

The Dagenham Dungeon Delvers met last Friday for our ongoing DnD 4e Campaign. Usually I host games (centrally located etc) but on this occasion myself and other members of the group travelled to the home of the Evil GM for the game. The Evil GM's son has been joining us for a brief period at the start of each game (before his bedtime) as has the family cat, Fish.

Fish is an old puss now but his curiosity clearly has not abated. Whenever the Delvers gather at the Evil GM's he usually puts in an appearance, if only to meow loudly until someone gives him a stroke. This game however he sat on the end of the sofa watching the action and occasionally meowing advice at us. He's become something of a fixture in our recent games so I think its high time we made him an honorary member of the Delvers.

The game itself adopted the usual pattern of of our group blundering around until we stumble into an uneven combat and nearly get ourselves killed. I'm not sure if this counts as a strategy but it seems to work for us!

Our party interrupts a Gnoll ritual designed to raise a Daemon.

Big Picture : Die-cast Fun

2011-12-04T09:02:00.001Z

A few years ago I and my family took a trip on the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. This is a Narrow Gauge train line that runs from Hythe all the way out to Dungeness and runs a selection of vintage steam locomotives. Along the way there's a small museum featuring a model railway and a selection of old toys. Amongst the latter I saw these two classics, both of which I had as a kid.

The metallic green spaceship at the top is an Interceptor from the TV series UFO. These were made by Dinkey Toys between 1978-80 and featured a front firing black and yellow missile with a loading spring located on the underside. Recently a mint example, in its box, sold for £132 on eBay!

The model at the bottom was one of my absolute favourites. Its an Eagle Transporter from the TV series Space 1999. This was another Dinkey toy in 1/110 scale. The pod (missing in this example) was detachable and there were several different types to collect.

The Player of Games

2011-12-01T17:15:00.000Z

I've been taking a break from history books to re read some of my favourite sci-fi. I needed a break from the relentless march of facts and dates and just read something for relaxation purposes only. I'm a big fan of the fiction of Iain Banks but its his science fiction (published under the name Iain M. Banks) that I think is the most outstanding.

His 'Culture' series of books - loosely set within the pan galactic humanoid society of the same name - are excellent and really stretch the imagination. Each of the Culture stories stand alone so you can read them in any order and without any prior knowledge, which I think makes these stories very accessible.

I'm reading Player of Games at the moment and I've already dug out several other titles and lined them up to read after this. I still have plenty of history books to get through (the pile is always growing), but for now I'm happy to let my mind wander for a few thousand light years.

Legal Eagle

2011-11-29T16:39:00.001Z

Sharp eyed readers (or those with too much time on their hands) may have noticed that I've added an Image Copyright Page at the top of this Blog. I've resisted exercising copyright on my pictures until now, mainly because I still believe in the free and open transmission of information on the web. I'm a bit of a hippy in that respect. However three recent incidents (two good, one bad) have got me thinking about copyright and consequently I have decided to act.

The first incident was the recent discovery that one of my pictures from a museum event a few years ago had been used for commercial purposes without my permission. Had I been asked I would gladly have revoked my copyright and given the picture away, but as it stands I feel as if my picture was stolen. I've no idea if the user (who will remain unnamed before anyone asks) made much money off the pictures used, but that for me isn't the issue. It just would have been nice to be asked.

On a more positive note I've had a several requests to use my images over the last couple of years. The Firepower Museum in Woolwich asked to use one of my photo's in their promotional material and I was more than happy to let them use the image. Similarly I was recently contact by a reenactor with the 44th East Essex Regiment of Foot who saw my pictures from an event at Wat Tyler Park. He wanted to use some of my pictures in their annual fundraising calender. I gladly gave them permission and yesterday I received a copy of the calender in the post (four of my pictures were used and I'm chuffed to bits).

I should state that I don't consider my pictures to be all that great and I certainly have no allusions to making a living out of my photography. I'm not protecting my copyright because I have delusions of grandeur! I'm all in favour of sharing pictures and ideas on the internet and am happy for fellow Bloggers and gamers to use my pictures for non commercial purposes (and even then I'll usually waiver copyright in return for attribution and a link-back).

So I've now added a Creative Commons License to the Blog which covers all my images. It provides basic protection from exploitation of my work while still providing freedom of usage across the web. From my point of view that's a win win scenario, and I need one of those after the weekend I've had!

15mm Ancients Battle

2011-11-28T06:01:00.020Z

The Rejects gathered yesterday for a 15mm Ancients battle using house rules devised by Postie, our host. The battle was Hittites v's Assyrians with Dave, Mark, Fran and Richard commanding the Assyrians and Surjit, Myself and Ray commanding the Hittites.

I'm afraid I didn't make many notes, partly because I forgot my notepad but also because only the victor gets to write history and it was clear from turn 1 that I wouldn't have that privilege! As normal we each drew random lots for which commanders we played and for this game the Hittite King was played by Surjit. I'm afraid there was a clear disagreement between Ray and I and our King right from the planning stage before we had even moved a figure in anger. Ray and I favored a different deployment and a more aggressive strategy than our King but ultimately we were good generals - we never rebelled and did exactly what we were told - and were trounced good and proper as a result.

I can't bring myself to go into the details but rest assured that Ray and I were right all along and had we deployed how we wanted we might have stood a chance of winning. As it was our Chariots and Cavalry were boxed in by our own troops on either side and spent most of the game sitting on the start line because our King was waiting for the right moment to 'unleash hell'. The moment was never going to come. Also the bulk of our infantry spent five whole turns doing nothing, not even moving, and by the time we started to move they were being flanked by overwhelming Assyrian units. We also had some bad luck in the form of Assyrian reinforcements right where we were weakest but by that stage we had made plenty of our own bad luck and had all but given up.

Keep an eye open for BatReps on Rays blog and the Angry Lurkers blog. I'm sure they will have more details, and in the case of the lurker (looking on from the far side of the table) plenty of pictures of our despairing faces!

Big Picture : Tombs of the Kings

2011-11-27T13:13:00.000Z

These stone carved tombs can be found in Cyprus in the Mediterranean. My family have mercilessly ribbed me about my apparent predilection for visiting "holes in the ground" as they call them. Well I consider this particular whole in the ground to be a fascinating example of human burial practices. At the time we visited this site I was in the midst of writing a D&D campaign and some of what I saw that day made it into my games.

Known as the Tombs of the Kings this is part of an early necropolis in Paphos, Cyprus dating from 300 BC. The name of the site is misleading as there is no evidence of any royalty buried here. However the site was the final resting place of about 100 Ptolemaic aristocrats who lived and died in Paphos beginning in the 3rd century BC. The catacombs were later used by early Christians, and one of the tombs was turned into a chapel. The tombs were carved from the bedrock using just bronze tools and cover an extensive area.

Dragonmeet 2011

2011-11-26T18:41:00.000Z

Another year, another Dragonmeet and another excuse for a day out in London to see the Christmas lights. I'm pretty sure the organisers of Dragonmeet don't intend their convention to mark the start of my families Christmas celebrations but that's pretty much the effect it has every year. I usually take my Daughter along for the morning and we move on to see the lights in Oxford Street and Leicester Square before moving on to Trafalgar Square to see the Christmas Tree. This year the whole family came with me and despite the cold (or perhaps because of it) it was a very festive affair.

Dragonmeet 2011

This years event included guests such as Jason Juta (freelance illustrator), C. W. Marshall (writer), Jonathan Green (author), Ian Livingstone (co-author of Fighting Fantasy, co-founder Games Workshop, President of Edios, Living god), James Wallis (games designer, writer, journalist) and Jon Hodgson (artist and designer).

Talisman

There was also the usual small but interesting selection of traders in the main hall. I bought a couple of new boardgames (Munchkin by Steve Jackson Games, and Lord of the Rings Risk) plus some dice. Unfortunately I couldn't get the HEX RPG supplement I wanted but other than that I think it was a good show. I took both kids with me this time and afterwards we went on to visit Covent Garden, Leichester Square and Trafalger Square taking in the first of the Christmas lights. Here are more pictures from Dragonmeet, I hope you like them.

Farewell to the Crystal Singer

2011-11-24T10:45:00.000Z

I was saddened to read on the Blog Grognardia of the death of writer Anne McCaffrey. Her passing at the age of 85 was reported in the New York Times and other respected newspapers.

Anne McCaffrey started writing in the 1950's but it was her Dragonrider of Pern series of books (of which she wrote over 20) that she will probably be best known to gamers. The series is set on the feudal world of Pern whose greatest threat is a deadly spore that rains down from space regularly to kill humans and lay waste to land. The only solution to the Threadfalls are the Dragon's whose fiery breath destroys the spore. Over centuries these creatures have been bread and paired with the Dragonriders who become the Paladins of this detailed and entrancing world mythology. As a Teenager I read several of her earlier Pern books which were a mix of sci-fi and fantasy that was refreshing when juxtaposed against my other reading fare of the time in the form of Howard and Lovecraft.

One book stood out though and it wasn't one set in the Perm Mythology. The Crystal Singer tells the story of Killashandra Ree and her struggle to become a crystal singer on the fictional planet Ballybran. Having trained her whole life to become a vocal soloist her hopes are dashed when a slight imperfection in her voice is found. With her future plans in tatters she learns about the Crystal Singers who use vocally tuned lasers to mine the Crystals essential for interstellar travel and communication. Singers are changed by their exposure to the crystals, and those that survive the change develop a symbiotic relationship that gives them new powers and extended life. Killashandra is determined to become the best Crystal Singer but first she has adapt to her changed state and master the many and varied dangers of her new profession.

I've always enjoyed reading science fiction and this book like the best sci-fi challenged my preconceptions about the future as well as creating a detailed and engaging setting. I remember it best however as a game that I played at a roleplaying convention. The Con was held in Brentwood and I and my friends travelled there by train to take part. This would have been about 1983 or thereabouts. Most of the RPG's being played inside were commercially available games such as D&D but there were also some home-grown games being tested by local game enthusiasts. We joined just such a game set in the world of the Crystal Singers and played a group of new recruits setting out on our first mining missions. The games action revolved around the hazards of the environment and the betrayals and treacheries of our fellow singers. For a group of gamers who had only played D&D it was a refreshing and interesting introduction to a wider world of RPG's and it certainly broadened our horizons.

Heavy Reading

2011-11-24T07:53:00.002Z

In eager anticipation of my trip to the Tank Museum in March for Tiger Day I'm reading as much as I can about the Pzkpfw VI Ausf E, otherwise known as the Tiger I. My aim is to be able to hold an intelligent conversation with my fellow Premium Ticket holder guests at this event without sounding like a complete noob. With this in mind I've just read back to back two excellent books about the Tiger. The two books complement each other perfectly so here's a very brief review.

Tanks in Detail : Tiger I and II by Terry J Gander and published by Ian Allen Publishing is very much in the style of an osprey guide. Its the same size so will fit nicely with your collection on the shelves. This is a 96 page soft-cover book with illustrations and black and white photos throughout. The opening section of the book covers the development of the Tiger in great detail and looks at the various designs by the two main competitors Henschel and Porsche. There are further sections looking at the transmission, suspension, engine, cooling and armament of the winning Henschel design.

This book highlights many of the unique an innovative design features incorporated into the Panzer VI but also discusses the many features based on existing and sometimes outdated ideas from other tanks. The flaws of the Tiger I seem to have been many and varied and it took several years of combat experience driven improvements to rectify them. This book also includes information about some of the Tiger based variants that came into service such as the Sturmtiger and the Bergepanzer Tiger. Overall I thought this was an excellent introduction to the Tiger I and II.

Osprey (New Vanguard) Tiger I Heavy Tank is written by Tom Jentz and Hilary Doyle and although slimmer than the tanks in Detail book (its just 48 Pages) it is beautifully illustrated with a series of full colour drawings. These pictures show not only the many small technical changes and improvements but also some of the wide variety of German camouflage schemes.

This is a much more technical book with a whole section devoted to detailing the many small changes the design went through during its production. But despite this the book is not purely a set of statistics and numbers and dates like so many guides I have read in the past.

I think both these books work very well together and provide the reader with an excellent introductory guide to the Tiger Tank. Both books contained details that would be useful to the wargamer and painter although the colour plates does give the Osprey the edge as you would expect.

Wargames Illustrated 290

2011-11-22T08:01:00.001Z

I received my copy of Wargames Illustrated last week with it typically landing upon my doormat within an hour of my leaving on an overnight business trip. Having said that I find some time to just sit, relax and read over the weekend (and do a little bit of painting too) so I've had a good look through this issue.

The big Flames of War theme this month is the Eastern Front with a look at Tiger ace Otto Carius. The article Tiger in the Mud is named after the book by the same name recounting his experiences of tank warfare against the Russians. I've still not read this book, but hope to get a copy for Christmas (hint hint Mrs BigLee). There is also an interesting battle report for a recreation of Carius' own 'Wittman Moment' when he took two Tigers into Malinava (his own and that commanded by Lt. Albert Kerschers) destroying 17 of the new JS-1 Stalin and 5 T-34's.

There is an excellent eight page article about the Comanche Indians of the Southern Plains of the US. This looks not only at the history development and inevitable decline but at their battle tactics and how they can be represented on the tabletop. History - and Hollywood - has painted the North American Indians as little more than unsophisticated savages barely out of the stone age. The truth as always is more complex and infinitely more interesting. Many years ago I read the excellent history Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. First published in 1970 this history of the West from the Indians perspective has never gone out of print and is a must read if your interested in the period of the Indian Wars.

Another great article was the review of the game Clad in Iron that featured at this years Salute. This is a 'what if' game but has been written from an expert in the period, Dr Howard J.Fuller. Dr Fuller teaches Military studies at Manchester University but is also an avid wargamer and this game derived from a game he wrote, but never published, before he completed his Ph.D.. In fact the story of the development of this game is almost as interesting as the concept of the game itself. This is set around a fictional but plausible conflict in 1864 and pits the growing and powerful navy of the US against the maritime power of Great Britain.

There's plenty more in this issue to interest other readers including an article about the Battle of Marengo in 1800. Illustrated with an excellent series of pictures this Battle Report uses the General de Brigade rules to look at one of Napoleon’s seminal victories. There's also great photo report on the Colours 2011 show held in Newbury in September. Yet again WI has left me drooling and wishing I'd gone to this event...maybe next year!

Big Picture : Ancient Propaganda

2011-11-20T08:20:00.004Z

This mural is a supposedly accurate recreation of a piece of ancient propaganda. It depicts Ramesses II defeating the Hittites and variations on this image can be found in locations all across ancient Egypt.

I took this picture in a tourist attraction called the Pharonic Village in Cairo in 1992.

D&D Night - Walk in the Woods

2011-11-19T09:59:00.000Z

Last night the Delvers met up for our semi-regular D&D night. This will be our third game in a row without cancellation so we are all a little shell shocked! John was able to make it to the game, his latest Play having recently finished. Derek was there as always plus the Evil GM and his mini-me (his Son, Lewis).

Delvers new and old gather for the game

Making camp in a clearing

Trekking through the Forest of Valric

The Wizard lays down a fog back to hide us from a Gnoll patrol

Waiting to see what comes out of the fog

The subsequent battle was fast paced but one sided and ended with dead Gnolls scattered across the forest. This concluded the evening and as usual the GM ended by giving out Experience Points resulting in our characters Leveling up! Its taken a looooong time to reach 9th Level, lets hope it was worth the wait.

I had to include this last picture. This is Fish. He's 20 years old, deaf as a post and only has one eye. His hobbies include sleeping and singing in the middle of the night. He haz the remote.

LOLcat says "I Haz Remote"

Schwere Panzerspahwagen - Sd Kfz 234/2 Puma

2011-11-16T13:01:00.000Z

The Schwere Panzerspahwagen (5cm) - The famous Puma - was supposedly the pinnacle of German Reconnaisance cars. It was fast and well armed with the 5cm KwK 39/1 L/60 gun and could engage light opposition easily. The Puma's main gun and co-axial machine gun were fully enclosed in a turret bringing the weight of the whole vehicle up to 11.74 tons. Production began in September 1943 and was halted in September 1944 with 101 vehicles produced in total.

In Flames of War the Sd Kfz 234/2 has Jeep Mobility with Armour 3 Front, 0 Side and 0 Top. The gun has a Range of 24”/60cm, ROF 2, AT 9 and FP 4+.

This three vehicle platoon was relatively easy to paint and prepare although I have found the Resin cast hull has some serious weakness in design. In particular the front bumper broke off on two models during construction and had to be repaired with the judicial use of Superglue! It remains to be seen if these battlefield repairs survive the sort of handling they will get in play.

Tinkering with the Code

2011-11-15T11:25:00.001Z

I've been making a few small changes to BLMA to tidy it up. Nothing drastic just cosmetic in the form of a couple of new Page options in the header above. These include:

My recent article on Lead Rot. It's a subject that has come up so many times I decided it deserved a page of its own.
There are also two new pages for each of my gaming groups, The Dagenham Dungeon Delvers and Posties Rejects. I'm constantly referring to these so decided they needed a page each.
I have also created a Contact Me page and moved the links to my Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts to here and added a few more options for keeping in touch. This will keep the sidebar uncluttered and hopefully aid navigation to, from and within the site.

I have a couple of ideas for more pages but any ideas or feedback is always useful.

In case you're wondering I've not been completely neglecting my painting projects while working on these changes. In the next day or two I should post some pictures of a newly painted unit for my Flames of War forces which I've been working on in parallel with the US Airborne Company. I have also been working on a scenario for an upcoming HEX game, but more on that when I have something more substantial to report.

Big Picture : Rubber Swords

2011-11-13T10:40:00.000Z

Big Picture has been absent from BLMA for a while, mainly because I was finding it hard to dig out unique pictures that hadn't already had a showing here. This picture was taken at the 2004 Dragonmeet show in London (this years event is on the 26th November). Here you can see three members of the Delvers investigating the LARP weapons stall.

The guy in the center is Andy, an actor and Fight Director. He bought a load of weapons from this stall for use exclusively as training aids for the various stage fighting classes he runs. Needless to say a rubber sword is a much safer option in the hands of a novice so these suited his purposes.

Rememberance

2011-11-11T08:41:00.000Z

For all those who gave their life, we do remember you.

For those still in dangerous places, we are thinking of you.

WSS Issue 57 - Pulp Gaming

2011-11-10T09:43:00.000Z

Issue 57 of the Wargaming Magazine Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy is on newsagent shelves and I snapped up a copy today. This magazine has had a bit of a rocky history when the English language edition ceased publication back in May 2010. However it returned with a new publisher (Karwansaray BV) and a new editor (in the form of Guy Bowers) in May of this year. I wasn't familiar with the magazine in its old guise but I have become a regular reader since its relaunch.

This months issue is themed around Pulp gaming in the 1920's. Although I'm not into playing the period straight (I like my gangsters mixed with secret cults and eldritch monsters) I have enjoyed this issue immensely. Its given me lots of ideas for my next Hollow Earth Expedition adventure which I am preparing at present. HEX is based in or around 1936, so a little after the period covered by this theme, but many of the miniatures and ideas covered could be utilised with minimal conversion.

As always with their themes there are plenty of ideas for models and scenery that I'm sure anyone into the period will find useful. The review of available miniatures was particularly interesting as it highlights manufacturers that carry suitable ranges.

Another good article is by Dr Phil Hendry who it seems has become an advocate of Dip for painting large units of miniatures. In fact he's the guy responsible for painting much of the Early Imperial Romans released by Warlord Games seen on their website. As a recent convert to the wonders of 'dip' I felt a certain kinship with Dr Phil's initially lukewarm feelings towards this technique. But like the good doctor I found that the finished product looks pretty good and its a great way to get lots of miniatures on the games table in a short time.

There is also a regular column by industry veteran Rick Priestly. Part two Of Dice and men - This gaming Life looks at the humble d6 and follows on from an equally interesting article last month about the d100. Both articles looks at the uses and restrictions implied by the choice of dice to the games designer and provide an interesting look inside the head of one of the most influential rules writers in our hobby.

The standard of presentation and range of content in this issue is high and its clean uncluttered design makes this easy to read. The reviews of new miniature releases at the beginning of the magazine are also very useful, not only for finding out about new releases but also for seeing new trends that are emerging (the shift from metal to resin for instance). All in all a very good read.

My Date with a Big Cat

2011-11-08T09:35:00.003Z

Regular readers will know I'm a bit of a treadhead and am a big fan of the Tank Museum at Bovington in Dorset. I've been there several times and was planning on going to Tankfest in June next year. The main reason I wanted to go was the hope that I would get a chance to see the newly refurbished Tiger I tank moving under its own power.

I've had several opportunities to see this unique vehicle up close and personal but I have never yet seen it moving. Well the refurbishment is complete and the Tank Museum have scheduled a display event in March next year themed around the Tiger. Tiger Day will be on Saturday 31st March 2012 and visitors will get to see the Tiger and several other vehicles strutting their stuff in the arena around midday. However the tank Museum are also offering 100 premium tickets for an extra special experience and as its my birthday just two weeks later my lovely wife has ordered a ticket for me.

Tiger Day - Premium Ticket Holder Itinery
Breakfast with an introduction to Tiger Day from Museum Curator, David Willey.
Lecture: Saving The Tiger with Curator David Willey, Workshop Manager Mike Hayton and members of the restoration team.
Up Close with the Panzers a guided tour with the museums in-house experts. This is a chance to get even closer to the Tiger, Panzer III, Panzer IV and Panther.
Lunch with members of the restoration team.
Tiger Tank In Action The highlight of the day. Tiger 131 will make its return into the arena along with its Axis and Allied contemporaries; including Matilda II, Panzer III, T-34 and Sherman. Premium Ticket holders get to view the display in a reserved enclosure in the spectators area.
Lecture: Hitler’s Pet - Development and Capture of Tiger 131 Tank Museum Historian David Fletcher, Assistant Librarian Stuart Wheeler and Curator David Willey, will discuss the development of the Tiger tank, examining the capture and evaluation of Tiger 131.
Afternoon Tea: A final opportunity to meet and put questions to David Willey, David Fletcher and Mike Hayton, the authors of Tiger Tank, Owners Workshop Manual, published by Haynes.
Plus: All participants will be given a special Tiger Day goody bag which will include; a signed copy of the Haynes Tiger Manual, A Tiger Tank Model, A Tiger Tank T-Shirt, and a 1 year pass to The Tank Museum.

Frankly the Premium Tickets are an absolute bargain and I just hope we bought early enough to snap up one of the 100 available. My Brother-in-Law, Ray, will also be coming along so we can nerd-out to our hearts content at one of our favourite museums. To say I'm excited at the prospect is a massive understatement.

15mm Shoulder Patch Decals

2011-11-07T18:05:00.003Z

I had a little envelope in the post today marked as having been sent from Utah in the USA. This raised a few eyebrows at home as nobody could figure out why I was receiving a letter from someone in Utah. Firstly, why shouldn't someone in America write to me (I don't bite) and secondly, it wasn't a letter in the envelope, it was some very very small decals.

These are the US 101st Airborne Shoulder Patches (code MGS-D18(15MM)) made by Mustang Games. I first heard about these on the Model Dads Blog (readers also get a 25% discount!) and so when I bought a box of US paratroopers I knew immediately that these decals were an essential purchase.

I'll be honest though, the prospect of fitting these tiny decals onto the shoulders of over a hundred 15mm figures is daunting. I'm a long way from reaching this stage but when I get there I expect this part of the project will take a very long time. Having said that the decals look excellent and I'm sure they will make all the difference to the finished platoon.

Mind you, when I showed my wife what I had bought she looked at me in a whole new way. You know the look; it's the one that says "you're certifiably insane" without the need for words. I suspect that by the time I've applied these decals to my models I may agree with her.

Underground, overground, wandering free

2011-11-07T12:12:00.000Z

Its been a busy weekend one way or another, but with little to show for it on the painting front. We had a big family bonfire party on Saturday which required a lot of preparation and an equal amount of work on Sunday clearing up. By the time we had finished I was just too tired to contemplate painting so I watched some Star Trek on TV and read my book instead.

The weekend wasn't an entire write-off though as on Friday evening the Dagenham Dungeon Delvers gathered for the second game in a row (not sure how we managed that!) to fight our way northwards through the Forest of Valric. Our D&D 4E campaign is progressing slowly but we are nearing our goal.

Fridays game was interesting in that it consisted almost entirely of a Skill Challenge with combat encounters and Healing Surge reductions as penalties for failed skill tests. The combat encounters featured us clumsily blundering into Gnoll Patrols, although thankfully these were not as large as the group we encountered and battled in the last game. We've not had many skill challenges in this campaign - most of us struggle a little with the concept - but the Evil GM is clearly becoming more adept as this was a good game and an enjoyable encounter to play through.

I keep the group Campaign Journal and record the XP gained, creatures battled, treasure won etc.. According to my notes we are now just 900 points away from reaching 9th level. And its only taken us two years!!

FoW Kit Bag

2011-11-03T13:42:00.000Z

A few weeks ago I finally reached the point where my painted Flames of War figures exceeded the storage space available. I did actually have a couple of alternative storage bags (a GW Case and a Charon Skirmishpack) but the foam inserts were designed for 28mm single figures not for Tanks or Artillery bases. So I sold the two bags I had at SELWG on the Bring and Buy with the intention to buy a suitable alternative for my growing Flames of War forces. What I bought was the Flames of War Army Kit Bag (Prod BAG01).

The bag arrived yesterday and by the end of the evening my models had been transferred to their new home. Now that I have had a chance to look the bag over in detail I thought I'd write down my initial thoughts on this product. I know I'm a bit late posting a review of a product that came out two years ago but I was so pleased with it I had to share my enthusiasm.

The bag material looks and feels tough. Some bags I have seen on sales seem rather flimsy but the outer material of this bag is much sturdier and looks like it will wear very well. All the seams are triple stitched and reinforced and the buckles and strap clips are made of metal not plastic.

The walls of the bag are reinforced, quite rigid and when zipped up the whole bag seems very robust. Other cloth bags I have used over the years have had far too much flexibility in them resulting in figure trays flexing and models dropping out of their foam slots. Another feature which will help prevent this problem is the fact that the trays are stored horizontally even when carrying the bag.

Inside the bag there are six trays each with a different configuration allowing for a selection of different sized bases and vehicles. The foam trays themselves are probably the best I have ever used. They have a high density foam base with the softer more flexible foam inserts glued on top. Other manufacturers I have encountered typically use the same low density foam throughout each layer (whether the inserts are cut from a single sheet or glued onto a base). This means they sag and bend with even a small amount of weight in them. That's fine while they are stacked in a bag or box but murder when you have to lift out trays to get to the models. The trays in the FOW bag are much more rigid and even when filled with tanks the trays hold their shape and are much easier to lift out and move around. This for me is a major benefit over any other bag I have used.

My current forces slipped in nicely and there is still plenty of room for the units I plan on buying in the near future. It is possible to get custom trays made by Battlefoam the manufacturers of this bag. Their custom tray creator allows you to select and position any combination of inserts into a standard tray for about £13.50 each.

Its rare to buy a product and be 100% satisfied with it these days but the Flames of War Kit Bag does hit the spot for me.

Halloween Pumpkin

2011-10-31T19:21:00.000Z

The kids have just returned from Halloween Trick or Treating and they had a great time. There were a lot of kids on the streets this year, more than previously, and it was good to see so many people getting into the spirit of the thing (no pun intended). As usual we had a Pumpkin but this year we didn't buy ours from a store. Last year we saved some seeds and gave them to my uncle as he is a keen gardener. Only one pumpkin survived the year but boy was it a whopper!

This beastie weighed in at 44lb! When I cut it I found it was solid all the way to the core and I actually had to carve out the center in order to cut a face into it from the outside.

Were saving some more seeds for my uncle this year. I dread to think how big next years Pumpkin will be!

Bletchley Code Breakers on TV

2011-10-31T16:05:00.000Z

Last night I finally had the chance to watch a programme about Bletchley Park that was on TV last week. For those that don't know, Bletchley was the home to MI6 and Britain's code breaking HQ throughout WWII. It was here that the Enigma code was cracked by geniuses like Alan Turing.

The new programme Code Breakers: Bletchley Parks Lost Heroes is still available via the BBC iPlayer until Saturday the 5th and is well worth watching. It looks at the largely unrecognised work of a 24-year-old maths student Bill Tutte and a GPO engineer Tommy Flowers, who combined to hack into Hitler's personal super-code machine. This was not Enigma but an even tougher system, which Hitler called his 'secrets writer'.

The breaking of this code helped the Russians turn the Battle of Kursk, it advised and informed the planning for the D-day landings. The work of Tommy Flowers resulted in the creation of the world first practical electronic digital information processing machine - a forerunner of today’s computers. Unfortunately this machine and its successors were used well into the 60's during the Cold War which meant it remained a secret and the achievements of both men were never fully recognised.

Magazine Madness

2011-10-29T09:48:00.000+01:00

I buy several magazines on a semi regular basis throughout the month. But for various reasons I hadn't picked any up in a few weeks so when I went shopping the other day I bought four of them in one (plus I received my subscription WI the same day). I briefly considered doing a review of each one but quickly discarded the idea...this is a gaming/painting Blog not a magazine review site. However I decided all the issues had something of interest to BLMA readers so here's a summary of the best bits.

I've been a subscriber of Wargames Illustrated for three years now and bought it regularly before that. I've rarely been disappointed by an issue and this month is no exception. The Theme is the Peloponnesian War between the Athenians and Spartans and includes some excellent eye-candy articles, such as that on the Naval Battle of Rhium in 429BC.

Also eye catching is the article on The Battle of Kufra in 1941. I'm continually tempted by the North Africa campaign and if I hadn't already chosen to collect and play Late War NW Europe I would have opted for this theatre. But as I'm pretty much painting and collecting my FOW figures solo I think I'd better stick to just one theatre of war at a time.

Another highlight of this issue for me is the photo report on the Battlegroup South show held at the Tank Museum, Bovington. I must try to get to this show one year, combining as it does my love of miniature wargames with probably the best museum in the world.

I really ought to subscribe to the bi-monthly Wargames Soldiers and Strategy but instead rely on being able to buy a copy from the local newsagents. Unfortunately I sometimes miss an issue, but not this time. The theme of this issue is the American Civil War (possibly because this is the first issue to be released in the States) and there are no less than nine great articles to support it. The first looks at the opening moves of the war in what it describes as "a year of optimism". There's a small scenario to re-fight the Battle Bethel in 1861 and a very interesting article about the tactics employed in the conflict. The next sections look at the Battle of Bull Run and describes this aptly as "the end of optimism". The last two articles round the theme off nicely by looking at the various rules and miniatures available to those that want to wargame ACW.

I like the layout and style of this publication, its clean, crisp and uncluttered but still chock full of great articles and interesting advertisements. If your into ACW this issue is an absolute 'must buy'.

Miniature Wargames is another one of those stalwart regulars on my list of monthly purchases. The content is more varied on a month by month basis without a specific theme linking articles. This isn't a bad thing as it means every issue has a range of periods inside and should appeal to most wargamers regardless of which issue they pick up.

One of the best articles this month was the cover story, the Knights of Bushido. This looks at the Battle of Tedorigawa in 1577 between the Samurai of the Uesugi clan and the numerically superior Oda Clan.

The ACW Battle at Big Bethel also gets discussed in is issue of MW and its interesting to see how two different magazines handle the same topic.

The next two magazines are not aimed at the wargamer but I often find they contain interesting articles and photographs. Although I don't buy these every month I do try to pick up a copy when there is an interesting article that catches my eye. In this months Classic Military Vehicle there is a great article about the recent restoration of an original Panzer Kpfw IV for the Jordanian Tank Museum. This vehicle is actually the sum of parts from over 20 Panzer IV's but is now the most fully restored vehicle of its type, and the only running example in the world. It debuted at Tankfest in June and was also seen at War and Peace in August, both of which I missed! Its not been shipped to Jordan yet so maybe there will be other opportunities to see this very rare vehicle before it leaves the country.

In a similar vein Military Machines International also featured pictures of the the Panzer IV at War and Peace. However I bought this issue for its article on the Austin K5 Portee. I've seen these machines mentioned several times but never actually seen any illustrations. There's also a good photo review of this years War and Peace show which, as I've already mentioned, I missed.

I'm sure there are plenty more magazines I could buy and I usually purchase copies of magazines I've not read before just to try them out. But this lot came to over £21 for just one months worth of issues and I think that's more than enough for now.

Playing in the Arcade

2011-10-27T16:47:00.001+01:00

I had a few days of work earlier this week to coincide with the kids Half Term school break. On Tuesday we took them to Southend for a day at the Adventure Island amusement park. Despite being late October the sun shone pretty much all day and the kids had a great time on the rides.

However after 6 hours of this I was starting to get a little bit bored and I cast my eye in the direction of the Video Arcade. I found myself playing a game called Operation Vulcan wielding a monster of a chain gun and blasting aircraft out of the sky while laughing maniacally. I think I may have embarrassed myself a little. OK, more than a little, but that's never stopped me before.

I tried to explain to the kids how the games have moved on a bit since I was a nipper. But I'm not sure they understood what I meant when I described the very basic and jerky graphics I knew as a teenager. It's all a bit incomprehensible to a generation that have grown up on PS2's and X-Boxes. This Star Wars game was utterly awesome in its day and I remember spending a large amount of time - and a significant amount of pocket money - playing it while on holiday one year. Ah, those were the days!

A Bridge Too Far

2011-10-26T12:23:00.000+01:00

A Bridge Too Far, by Cornelius Ryan, is yet another one of those classic history books that I hadn't read. But a few weeks ago I found an old and tattered copy of this book for sale in the Purfleet Heritage Centre and decided to pick it up. I also bought the D-Day classic The Longest Day which I reviewed a few weeks ago. I enjoyed that book so much I immediately started on A Bridge Too Far, and I wasn't disappointed.

One of the first things that strike you about this story is the daring audacity and sheer scale of the operation. Reading the early chapters of the book as the largest airborne invasion in history takes off and heads for Holland its hard not to be awe inspired. I couldn't help thinking to myself "this is bound to succeed" even though I knew the eventual outcome of the operation. And on some level I think Ryan manages to convey the wave of optimism that helped blind allied planners at all levels to the huge gamble they were undertaking. It also blinded them to the small margins for success on which the objectives of the operation depended.

Several times Ryan describes the "creeping paralysis" that seemed to overtake the mission from the very beginning. Small problems became compounded and snowballed into huge, sometime insurmountable, obstacles by the end of the offensive. No military operation ever goes to 100% according to plan, but much of the success of Market Garden seemed to rely on the Germans sitting back and doing nothing to disrupt those plans. This was never going to be the situation. As in Normandy the enemies military capability was vastly underrated and its ability to reorganise, regroup and fight on was underestimated.

As the book progresses the growing desperation of the situation faced by the British 1st Airborne Division in Arnhem is abundantly clear. With terrible inevitability the impossible task before them is revealed in probably the most graphic and eloquent description of a single action that I have ever read. For me this book identified an important tactical dilemma that had never occurred to me before. The accepted wisdom is that one should never reinforce defeat, yet almost to the end that is exactly what the allies were desperately trying to do. But this analysis is a gross oversimplification and undervalues not only the sacrifice of the men who held onto that bridgehead over the Rhine but also the potential strategic significance of that toehold.

One of the elements that I found particularly interesting was the use of anecdotal evidence gathered from the Dutch civilian population caught up in the midst of the battle. The Dutch underground seemed to have been largely disregarded and their contribution to the battle in Arnhem may have proved vital had it been utilised by the Allies. The frustration of local resistance fighters comes across clearly in this book. However it was the fate of ordinary citizens that I found most disturbing. When the Airborne troops first landed most Dutch civilians considered this their moment of liberation. By the end of nine days of fighting in and around Arnhem large parts of the city had been destroyed and over 450 civilians had been killed in the fighting. Their torment did not end there however. After the battle the Germans forcibly evicted the residents of Arnhem and its surrounding towns and systematically looted the houses and businesses of the area with the spoils being sent to bombing victims in Germany.

For me as a wargamer I keep asking myself what would have been the result if 1st Airborne had been able to hold their bridgehead. Could they have been reinforced and would the area they held have been large enough to build up the forces required to push outwards and secure the lodgement north of the Rhine? I doubt it, but its an intriguing "what-if" scenario.

If you are interested in this period of WWII history - or even if you are not - this is a gripping and spellbinding story. It is a tale of heroism, sacrifice, endurance, hubris, arrogance and tragedy that cannot fail to fascinate the reader. I thoroughly recommend it.

I does exactly what it says on the Tin

2011-10-24T09:01:00.001+01:00

I'm rarely seen in or near a DIY or hardware store. I'm not a very practical person and even the thought of papering a wall sends shivers down my spine. Over the years I have turned my hand to many household projects - I've decorated the whole house several times over - but that doesn't mean I enjoy it. So usually when I do wander into a DIY store its not for a home project, but because I'm looking for a product that can be turned to a more productive end; namely modeling.

Some time ago I picked up a great tip from another gamer for basing models. He said he mixed paint with plaster to make a colored basing material that could be built up between the figures on a base. The idea being that if the base were chipped or the paint covering not thorough enough then glaring white plaster would not be seen poking through.

When I got home I immediately replicated his idea using nothing more sophisticated than quick drying plaster and some dark brown paint. The results were OK but not as dark as I would have liked. I couldn't add more paint as the mixture was already getting quite sloppy and I wasn't sure it would dry properly. I've used this homemade basing mix several times and its worked just fine, but I think I've discovered an even better option.

I decided to look in my local DIY store for any colored plaster and came across a product labeled as Wood Filler. It came in three pigments ranging from a light brown to a dark walnut color. I opted for the latter and have been experimenting with it today. And I have to say I'm really surprised and pleased with the results.

The wood filler looks just like regular ready mixed plaster (except for the color of course). It has the same grainy texture and overall consistency as regular plaster. It actually looks like Chocolate Moose and when it dries the plaster retains its dark color. I applied it using a metal sculpting tool and the materials natural tackiness made it easy to apply to the base, especially if its been scored before hand.

Drying time for this product - assuming a maximum thickness of 5mm - is about two hours. The dried plaster can be sanded and painted and retains some flexibility. I found that any additional texture from sand or grit is best applied after the plaster is dry. Although it seems very tacky when wet I found that most of the sand I scattered on the surface of my test base came off once the plaster had dried.

I bought a branded wood filler so my 250g tub cost nearly £5.00 but I'm sure there are cheaper options out there. Having said that my small pot will last me a long time. I used less than a quarter of the tub on 30 flames of war Infantry bases.

I'm sure I'm not the first wargamer to discover this material but being allergic to all things DIY I never knew this particular product even existed until I stumbled upon it. Now that I have I can easily see me using this for some time to come.

The Evil GM tries again

2011-10-22T16:59:00.000+01:00

The Evil GM

Amazingly the Dagenham Dungeon Delvers not only scheduled a game for last night but then didn't cancel at the last minute. Over the last few months our games have been scuppered by a variety of problems ranging from business trips, illness, non existent trains to clashes on our social calenders. I was beginning to think we would never get back into our DnD 4E campaign. After last nights game I think would have been better if we hadn't.

Our GM - the infamous and notorious Evil GM non-the-less - tried to kill us all again. And this time, I really thought the devious bugger was going to succeed. Our Adventuring party had headed into a large and uncharted woodland and almost immediately been attacked by Dryads. We fought off two attacks by nightfall and the following day were ambushed while crossing a deep and fast flowing stream. The battle was brief, one sided and predicable. However the next encounter was not such a pushover.

We entered a clearing which looked like a Charnel house strewn with the gutted and butchered corpses of various forest animals. At first we were ready for action, fully expecting an attack at that moment. But nothing happened initially and we proceeded on further into the forest. We entered another clearing just as a crashing heralded the approach of some unseen creature. A huge Centaur leaped into the clearing and there is a tense moment as both sides size each other up. More crashing and roaring can be heard approaching from the same direction and the Centaur looks back nervously then turns to us and shouts "Run!" before bounding off into the other side of the clearing.

The First Wave of Gnolls

Almost immediately a group of Gnolls burst into the clearing and without hesitation attack us. We are at a disadvantage, strung out and quickly divided we are initially unable to mount an organised defense. The Barbarian in our group is surrounded and soon drops to the ground bloody and unconscious. Then more Gnolls appear and enter the fray. We start hacking our way through the rabid creatures in an attempt to fight our way to our fallen comrade, but more Gnolls pour into the clearing with every turn.

Five waves of Gnoll reinforcements later (five, read em FIVE) and our group is in bad shape. The wizard has been attacked and now lays unconscious on the blood soaked battlefield; the Barbarian has failed one Death Roll and nobody can reach him to confer a healing surge; and the Dragonborn brothers both have Hit Points in single figures. Slowly, very slowly, the battle stabilizes and we begin to pick off the Gnolls. The Barbarian and the Wizard are healed and are able to rejoin the battle and we are finally able to control the battle. Just as victory looks in our grasp the Centaur bursts back into the clearing and shoots dead the last few Gnolls [the "Glory Whore"]. More Gnolls are approaching and we decided discretion is the batter part of valor and retreat from the clearing with theCentaur.

All in all an enjoyable game even if it was a close run thing for us.

That's a lot of Lead

2011-10-20T15:22:00.000+01:00

I had one of those "Gulp! What have I let myself in for?" moments this morning. I've started to assemble the US Parachute Rifle Company that I recently bought on Ebay (absolute bargain at just £17). I started with the usual sorting through the box to make sure everything was in there and then organising the figures into teams. This took an evening just in itself, selecting sets of models that compliment each other or belong as part of a team (the mortar crew for instance).

I glue all my figures to their bases before painting, then build up the plaster basing material around them before priming the figures. I've reached the plastering stage and I looked at all the models this morning - 29 teams in all - and realised what a mammoth task I have before me. Given my notoriously slow painting speed I can see this project taking a long long time.

Having said that I do tend to work on more than one project at a time. I have a set of Sd Kfz 234/2 Puma Armoured Cars that I bought at SELWG on Sunday and these are calling to me... so much lead (and resin), so little time!

Avoiding the 300 Cliché

2011-10-18T16:59:00.000+01:00

At some point yesterday BLMA clocked up its 300th follower, Extraordinarii. Welcome to you and indeed to all the recent new additions to the Blog. As I've said countless times before, it's always good to know I'm not talking to myself and the conversations that spring up here are a constant encouragement to me to "keep buggering on" (as Churchill would have said).

Of course it is de rigure amongst the Blogging community to mark each milestone like this with a suitable post and picture accompaniment. But 300 is a tricky number because everyone (and I mean everyone) has used the title graphics from the film of the same name to illustrate their announcement. It has become something of a cliché and I'm determined not to fall into the trap....

[30 minutes of trawling the internet for a picture to illustrate '300']

...damn it, I give up.

Thanks for following BLMA and I look forward to many more conversations in the months ahead.

SELWG Loot

2011-10-18T10:08:00.000+01:00

Just thought I'd show off some of the stuff I bought at SELWG. Nothing too dramatic as I am saving most of the money I made on the Bring and Buy for a particular purchase online. Having said that coming home with a bag full of goodies is always great.

Shows like SELWG are a chance to stock up on consumables without the added cost of postage. But often a bargain can also be had and these can of Purity Seal at £5 each couldn't be ignored.

I've been wanting to get my hands on some of these Zvezda models for a while and at just £2.50 each they couldn't be ignored. I picked the Panzer II and T34 just because I like these vehicles. Now that I have seen the quality of them I may pick up some others in the range.

This was a last minute purchase just because I like bunkers and because they were 15% off. I'm a sucker for a discount. I was considering scratch building some bunkers but was unsure about the scale. Now that I have this set I have a frame of reference and feel a little happier about making some.

I wanted to buy three of these Puma Armoured Cars but there were only two in stock at the show. I bought them anyway and will try to get the third online or at a later show. I do like these vehicles and look forward to testing out their performance in battle.

After my last FOW game I realised how hard it can be to keep track of the number of hits (vital for determining if a platoon is pinned down or not). These small counters from EM4 were just £1 and I hope will prove to be very useful in the next game.

Another last minute purchase and one of my favourites of the show. There were a whole range of resin buildings in 15mm and this set came in a single pack for just £13. Its meant to be a courtyarded farm, similar to La Haye Sante at Waterloo. However it could easily be painted to look like any similar farm complex in Normandy 1944. Of course I could also use the buildings individually and as such I think these represent excellent value.

OK, this I'll make this the last word on SELWG. One blog I read commented on the limited frontage of some of the trade stands. This make getting to the stock for a close up look quite difficult. I noticed this problem as well, although it has to be said I understand the pressures on traders to balance costs verses sales. I don't know how much SELWG were charging for a plot but clearly some traders could have benefited from larger display space.

SELWG 2011: Pictures

2011-10-17T09:50:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I went to the SELWG show at Crystal Palace. As always I came home with a bag full of Loot and a camera full of pictures. I've worked through these in record time (for me at least) and here they are:

I met up with fellow members of Posties Rejects including The Angry Lurker, One Lover Ray and of course Postie himself. It was only a year ago, at the 2010 SELWG show that I met up with them for the first time and was invited to join their select company of wargamers. The last year has been a blast guys, thanks for bringing me in from the cold!

There was a distinctly ACW feel about this years show with no less than four display games depicting the period. However the standard of the other games on show was very high as well so all round it was an enjoyable visual treat. SELWG remains one of the highlights of my gaming calender and an event I always look forward to attending.

SELWG 2011 - Show Report

2011-10-16T17:04:00.000+01:00

I've just got back from SELWG at Crystal Palace. Its been a very successful and enjoyable day, which is good considering my attendance was in doubt until a few days ago.

I had a load of stuff to sell on the Bring and Buy stall which is the first time I've done this. It was a resounding success with all my items selling by 12:30 meaning I received a welcome cash boost halfway through the show.

I picked up a selection of models including a couple of Sd Kfz 234/2 Puma armoured cars. I also bought a couple of 1/100th plastic tanks by the Russian manufacturer Zvezda. I bought a Russian T34 and a Panzer II not because they fit in any army list but just because I like these vehicles. The quality of the models looks pretty good and I may get more of these online.

Another star purchase was a set of four resin farm buildings for just £13.50. They can be assembled either as a courtyard farmyard or separate buildings.

As well as my bought items I also took a couple hundred pictures! I'll work on these over the next few days and post them here as soon as I can.

The only downside this year was the continued hygiene issues that some gamers seem to struggle with. On more than one occasion I was assailed by the overpowering smell of BO. It was so bad that it felt like I'd been pepper sprayed!

Overall this was a very enjoyable event and remains one of my favourite small shows in the calender.

Illness and other Pastimes

2011-10-14T12:50:00.001+01:00

Things have been a little quite here at BLMA HQ. I've been ill again with my fifth bout of Cellulitis in the past six months. I spent most of last weekend killing brain cells with a high temperature. Needless to say painting, gaming and blogging came to a complete halt for a few days. Fortunately this time the infection hasn't been too bad (I now have antibiotics at home to take immediately a flare up starts) and I'm almost fully recovered after just a week. Previous occurrences have taken up to five weeks to clear and on one occasion put me in hospital for a week and a half.

My swift recovery is very good news because I plan on being at SELWG this Sunday and for a while I wasn't sure I would be able to make it. I'm taking a load of stuff along to sell on the Bring and Buy Stand and hope to make enough money to buy yet more stuff (primarily the Flames of War Kit Bag). This is my first venture into selling via a Bring and Buy and if it works out smoothly I may do it again... I have LOTS of stuff I could sell given a little thought and some organisation on my part.

I desperately need the new storage space as my restless hands are constantly seeking new projects to complete. While I was off sick one such project - a US Parachute Rifle Company - arrived in the post. Unfortunately I had it delivered to my place of work because I don't trust the Royal Mail to deliver it to my house without loosing it or having it stolen (both have happened before). At least with deliveries to my office I know there will always be someone to take receipt of the parcel and it gets delivered via a different sorting office (where the staff are less light fingered).

The downside of course is that when I'm off work, the parcel sits on my desk until I return. Typically in this case it arrived last Friday, about five minutes after I went home feeling ill! This is a crying shame because I could have got started on them while I was off, especially the last couple of days when I started feeling a little more human again.

I'll crack this box open when I get home tonight and get started over the weekend. Not sure how much I'll get done though but at least the project will be under way.

Expanding my Lehr Forces

2011-10-10T18:30:00.000+01:00

I've been scratching my head trying to decide what to do next with my Flames of War Panzer Lehr Army. I'd like to feature more infantry in my army but there are few options in the Panzerkompanie list. Then I had an epiphany. How about creating a second Lehr force which utilises some of the models I have already painted?

I pulled out my copy of the Villers Bocage handbook and looked through the Panzer Lehr army lists looking for a suitable option. After an hour reading the army lists and looking in detail at the various platoons on offer I have decided to build a Gerpanzerte Panzergrenadier Company. All I need to make this work is a Panzergrenadier HQ and another Panzergrenadier Platoon to accompany the one I already have painted. In Support I can utilise one of the Panzer Platoons (Panthers or Panzer IV's) already painted for my Panzerkompanie. I can also use the 8.8cm Flak 36 Platoon and the Nebelwherfer Platoon in this army list.

Looking through the list I can also see several interesting options for additional support platoons so this Army List has plenty of growth potential. Of course that doesn't mean my Panzerkompanie is dead, I can still field this force if I want to. Now all I need to do is rustle-up the money needed to start building my new army. Time to sell a Kidney I think...

Chabra

2011-10-07T08:27:00.000+01:00

These models are conversions I made several years ago to feature in a home grown campaign written and run by the EvilGM. The Chabra as they were called were one of his best creations and his worlds equivalent to Goblinoids. There were various types but these little critters were the most common and proved a real problem in combat.

I made these models from a couple of old Games Workshop plastic goblins. Being plastic it was relatively easy to remove the arms from another goblin model and position them on these figures to give them an extra pair of arms. A little green-stuff and some careful sculpting helped the new appendages blend in and look like they belonged to the figure. A relatively simple conversion job but they looked effective.

These models were found in my old collection of figures along with the Undead Standard Bearers I unveiled yesterday. Like those models they needed a bit of work as these were also gloss varnished and rather poorly based. They were also quite dusty and needed a good clean before re-varnishing with DullCoat and getting an upgrade to the base 'dressing'.

These models have spent most of their life stored in a box and hidden from daylight. Now that I've given them a spruce-up they are going in my display cases to provide a constant and happy reminder of a great DnD campaign.

Temple Nurglings

2011-10-06T15:58:00.000+01:00

Following on from this mornings post about the Warhammer figures I rediscovered and revamped here are some more re-discovered figures that have received a makeover. Once again the original models were gloss varnished and the Nurgling's themselves were not fixed to this base although they were once part of a larger diorama featuring this backdrop. As I recall the model was damaged and eventually broken into its constituent parts with a view to their eventual reuse at a later date. It may have taken a long time but I'm glad I had a chance to bring these models back to life.

Nurglings - also known as the Mites of Nurgle or by their daemonic name "Khan'gurani'i" - are small Daemons that are born in the entrails of the Great Unclean Ones. Just like their parent Daemon, they are shaped after Nurgle himself and are concentrated pus and contagion come to life....nice!

When I played Warhammer I was never drawn towards collecting a Chaos Army. But I think the cheeky nature of this little fella convinced me I could find a use for him. These figures are less than 1cm tall so the viewer has to get up real close to see the detail, then they see this guy giving them the finger and the exclamation of surprise is always fun to hear. I'm glad I bought him because its a joke I never get tired of.

Survivors from an Ancient Army

2011-10-06T09:29:00.000+01:00

I mentioned the other day that I found some old miniatures from waaay back when I played Warhammer Fantasy Battle. These models are all that remain from my Undead and Dark Elf Army, the rest of the models having long since been passed on to other gamers. As I mentioned on Tuesday these figures aren't bad considering I painted them over 20 years ago, but they did need some work.

The models were glossed and definitely benefited from a dullcoat varnish instead. Also the bases were plain and 'undressed'. I didn't have to add much to improve the look of these, just a few leaves and some dried/dead grass tufts. These will now go in my poor excuse for a model cabinet having spent the better part of two decades hidden in a box.

I also found a Necromancer from the same army. I love this model and I'm so glad I kept it, even if it has been "in storage" for all these years. Here are all three models together, last survivors of a lost army.

The Longest Day

2011-10-05T11:50:00.001+01:00

In 1957 Cornelius Ryan began approached magazine editors and publishers with an idea for a book about the events of 6th June 1944. Ryan had been a war correspondent for the Daily Telegraph in 1941 covering the air war in Europe. He accompanied fourteen bombing missions with the Eighth and Ninth United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) before joining General George S. Patton's Third Army until the end of the European war.

It wasn't until 1956 that Ryan started to gather material for his book on D-Day but by the following year, backed by Reader's Digest, he began placing ads in newspapers and trade publications, searching for men and women who had been in Normandy. Research took almost three years and over 700 interviews in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France and Germany. The completed body of work also utilised Allied and German post action reports, War diaries, histories and official records to build up a picture of the events. The book was a huge popular success and spurred on a whole new generation of journalist historians.

Most people will be familiar with the Movie version of the book. One of the things I enjoyed and was surprised about was how closely the film The Longest Day (1962) followed the book. Many of the scenes from the film recreate actual events and aren't just story telling devices or flights of fantasy invented by the script writer. While I appreciated the attention to detail and realism of the D-Day scenes in a film like Saving Private Ryan the fact that the story was on the whole made up (or at best cobbled together) undermined it as a historical drama.

One of the things I found very interesting was that this book, and the authors research, pre-dated the relaxation of secrecy regarding the work of the Bletchley Park decryption establishment. It wasn't until the release of F. W. Winterbotham's book The Ultra Secret in 1974 (and subsequent books by other authors) that the true scale and importance of the decryption capabilities available to allied planners became widely known. Without this the vitally important deception operation Fortitude would have been almost impossible and many more German units may have been in Normandy facing the invasion. In his book Ryan repeatedly refers to German confusion about the true objectives of the allies without realising that this was not mere bungling but the result of a careful manipulation of the enemy that only Ultra could have made possible.

[Incidentally I heard on the news this morning that Bletchley Park is receiving a Heritage Lottery Grant of £4.6 Million to restore the wooden sheds where this decryption work actually took place. Much of the site is accessible to the public but the sheds desperately need repair and protection so that future generations can learn about the war wining work of the men and women at Bletchley. My Pictures of the site can be seen here.]

This was an incredibly easy book to read given its complex subject. I've read lots of other more modern D-Day books but its clear to see their lineal connection to this book and especially it style. This is not a dry historical account and was one of the first books of its type to adopt a narrative style that reads at times more like a novel than a factual work. This style does not undermine its accuracy or ability to convey the scale of events and I think it should be essential reading for anyone interested in this epic and world changing battle.

Re-basing some old classics

2011-10-04T09:53:00.000+01:00

I recently mentioned that I was having a sort through my 'stuff' with a view to thinning the ranks of unused models and scenery and making some space (and money) for yet more 'stuff'. Well I've sorted out a load of models, buildings and model cases for sale and I'm already planning what to spend the money on. In the process I found several old models that I thought I had got rid of years ago.

Once upon a time I owned a huge and fully painted Undead Warhammer army. Most of the army was passed on to friends when I changed to other games but it seems two models survived the cull. Both are standard bearers and I assume I kept them because they were painted to a higher standard (no pun intended) than the rest of the army. Considering I painted them probably 20 years ago I'm rather pleased with the way they look and have decided to revitalise them and put them back on display.

Although I'm happy with the general quality of the painting both models need a bit of work. Firstly they are gloss varnished which is not how I finish off figures now. I assume I did this back then to make them more hard wearing but if I intend on putting these on display I need to give then a liberal coating of Testors Dullcoat. Next the bases are rather plain with just a green painted base rather than static grass and other 'dressing'. Everything I paint now gets a decent base so I'll have to bring these to up to standard before the models go on show.

I'll post some pictures in a day or two when they are finished.

FoW 600pt Skirmish

2011-10-03T14:29:00.001+01:00

I got a Flames of War game in on Saturday, the second of two games over the weekend! These small games were more about learning the rules than anything else but they were fun non-the-less. For both games I used the same forces facing off against each other but with slightly different terrain layout. We didn't use any of the scenarios from the rulebooks though, this was just a plain and simple fight to the death. As I said the real objective of the game was to get stuck into learning and understanding the rules.

US 2nd Armoured
Sherman Platoon (2 x M4A1 (76mm) Shermans) 230pts
Stuart Platoon (4 x M5A1 Stuarts) 250pts
Rifle Platoon (HQ + 3 Squads) 155pts

Panzer Lehr
Panzer IV H Platoon (3 x Panzer IV H) 285pts
Gerpanzerte Panzergrenadiers (HQ+3 Squads) 335pts

The 'table' size was limited by the actual dimensions of the table we were playing on; in this case 4' x 3'6". Not ideal but beggars can't be choosers as the saying goes. I set up the terrain to keep things simple but utilizing enough features to give us a chance to get familiar with different types. Ray - my brother-in-law and opponent for the game - then chose which side to deploy.

One thing you'll see from the pictures is that we both seemed to have a case of mistaken identity. Ray played the US 2nd Armoured but was wearing last years Tankfest T-Shirt with a picture of Tiger 131 on it. Meanwhile I was playing the German Panzer Lehr but wore a T-shirt featuring the us/allied star star emblem.

Ray deployed his rifle platoon over a large area which reduced its effectiveness but also denied me lots of targets to shoot at (because of terrain) . His Stuart platoon was deployed on his right, opposite my Panzergrenadiers, but had to cross several areas of rough terrain to reach me. His two Sherman 76's were on his left flank facing off against my Panzer IV's.

Meanwhile I deployed my Panzergrenadiers and my Panzer IV's to guard the Left and Right bridges respectively. When we had finished deploying I gave Ray a chance to redeploy now that he knew where I was. He made some small adjustments, mostly to move units into better command distance. We then rolled to see who would go first and Ray one the roll.

On mass he began to move all his units forward. One of the Stuarts bogged down in the first movement phase and remained bogged down for most of the battle. We reckon the crew were having a cup of Joe and only rejoined the battle when they had finished! The rest of his forces had no such problem and his infantry made full use of the cover in the centre of the battlefield. I fully expected the first shooting phase to be relatively ineffectual as all his vehicles had moved and their Rate of Fire (ROF) was therefore reduced to 1. But Ray showed his natural luck with the dice and destroyed two of my Panzer IV's with his first round of fire from his Sherman's!

My first turn saw my Panzergrenadiers consolidate their position along the river bank either side of the bridge on my left. My remaining Panzer IV's decided to hold their position and maximise their ROF against the advancing Sherman's. This paid off as one Sherman was left burning by the end of my turn. By this stage I was getting worried, my Panzergrenadiers looked incredibly outnumbered facing most of Rays Rifle Platoon and the Stuarts. But I (and Ray) underestimated the high ROF of my MG Teams when stationary and dug in. By this stage all the Stuarts (baring the one still having breakfast at the rear) were in range of my Panzerfaust teams and a large number of his rifle teams were also within sight of my MG's. Within two rounds all but one Stuart were in flames and four rifle teams had been killed. The American right flank was disintegrating.

The last couple of turns of the game were just a drawn out death rattle for the Americans as the panzer IV's finished off the last Sherman and the Panzergrenadiers began pushing across the bridge and outflanked what was left of the US Rifle Platoon. My troops didn't escape unscathed but by concentrating my forces against rays strung out rifle platoon I was able to gain local superiority and roll up his line.

This game was purely an excuse to learn the rules, especially for my Brother-in-law as he's not played any wargames before. I think we learned a lot with this small game and we certainly felt like we covered a lot of the rules and clarified our understanding of them. I've never been the sort of person that finds it easy to sit down, read rules and absorb them 'dry'. I'm much more of a hands-on kind of person. The Flames of War rulebook is a hefty 258 pages and just looking at it makes me want to go back to firing rubber bands at my figures to determine victory instead of rolling dice. Playing through the rules and taking our time to absorb them has helped us both. Now we need to follow up with a larger battle to ram home what we have learned.

M5A1 Stuart Platoon

2011-09-30T09:55:00.000+01:00

Here's my latest FoW project, an M5A1 Stuart Platoon. The M5 twin Cadillac engine Stuart Light Tank was an ideal recon and infantry tank. It was fast and the engine was relatively quiet compared to the earlier radial engines in the M3 version. It also had an automatic gear shift making it easy to drive and very agile. However its thin armour and high profile made it vulnerable to enemy tanks and AT guns.

Incidentally there's an excellent series of pictures of a restoration project on a M5A1 Stuart on the Fighting Iron website.

Technical data:
Weight: 33500 lb.
Length: 15 ft.11 in.
Width: 7 ft. 6 in.
Height: 8 ft. 5 in.
Ground Clearance: 16.5 in.
Maximum speed: 36 mph
Turning radius: 21 ft.
Maximum grade: 60 %
Crew: 4 (Commander, gunner, driver, co-driver)

Armament:
1 x 37 mm Gun, M6
1 x Hull .30 MG
1 x Co.ax .30 MG
1 x AA .50 MG

FoW Stats:
Front 4; Side 2; Top 1; ROF 2; Anti-tank 7; Firepower 4+

I couldn't resist comparing the dinky Stuart against the behemoth that is the King Tiger. It makes quite a picture, with the barrel of the Tiger equal in length to the whole of the Stuart! I know the Stuart was never designed with tank vs tank combat in mind (it was primarily an infantry support tank) but just the thought of accidentally running into a King Tiger while driving a Stuart makes my blood run cold.

44th East Essex Regiment of Foot

2011-09-28T09:54:00.000+01:00

At the weekend I took a trip to Wat Tyler Country Park in Basildon to see the 44th East Essex Regiment of Foot re-enactment group. Although the event was a relatively small scale affair (compared to big multi-period events like Odyssey) it was all the more interesting as a result. The regimental surgeon talked to the many visitors about the rather rudimentary medicine on offer to soldiers and showed off an impressive collection of period tools. There was also a fascinating review of the changing uniforms of the regiment over the 150 year period of its history, from the Jacobite Rebellion right up to Waterloo.

Lehr Panzer Company

2011-09-27T15:00:00.000+01:00

This is my Panzer Lehr Tank Company. The picture includes a couple of Opel Mautiler Trucks and a platoon of Stug's that don't necessarily fit in my Army List but I had the models so painted them up anyway.

HQ Platoon
2 Panther A   375 Points
Combat Platoons
5 Panther A Platoon   940 Points
5 Panzer IV H Platoon   475 Points
5 Panzer IV H Platoon   475 Points
Supporting Platoons
Heavy AA Gun Platoon (2x8.8cm Flak 36+Extra Crew)   225 Points
Gerpanzerte Panzergrenadiers (HQ+3 Squads)   335 Points
Total 2825

I'm not sure where to go with this unit next, aside from providing some artillery capability. I may just opt to start building another Lehr army to compliment this force - such as a Panzer-grenadier Company - but I haven't made my mind up yet. Before I go rushing off and buying models I need to be absolutely sure what I want to build and pre plan the army list before I start. This Lehr force has come together based on what I wanted to paint rather than according to any pre-conceived plan, which probably isn't the best way to build an army!

2nd Armoured Tank Company

2011-09-27T09:01:00.005+01:00

This is my US 2nd Armoured Tank Company which I have been painting for my brother-in-law to use against me. The picture shows all the units I have painted at present including the rifle platoon I featured yesterday.

The following army list for this force includes a Stuart Platoon which is still a work-in-progress and therefore not included in the picture. This list represents the units available to select from, not a rules legal army (you can only select 1 supporting platoon for each combat platoon fielded for example).

HQ Platoon
M4A1 Sherman (2 M4A1 Shermans) 180 points
Combat Platoons
M4A1 Sherman Platoon (5 M4A1 Shermans) 450 points
M4A1 (76mm) Sherman Platoon (5 M4A1 (76mm) Sherman's) 550 points
Weapon Platoons
M5A1 Stuart Platoon (5 M5A1 Stuarts) 310 Points
Supporting Platoons
Armoured Rifle Platoon (HQ+Lt Machine Gun+60mm Mortar+2 Rifle) 310 Points
Tank Destroyer Platoon (HQ+1 Tank Destroyer Squad) 175 Points
Rifle Platoon (HQ + 3 Squads) 155 Points

Total 2130 Points

I now need to add another Sherman Platoon, Field Artillery and definitely some air support in the form of a flight of P-47 Thunderbolts. This should give my Brother-in-law plenty of options to choose from when selecting a force to battle my Panzer Lehr Tank Company (Pictures of which will be posted this afternoon).

FoW US Rifle Platoon

2011-09-26T13:02:00.003+01:00

I have finally completed a US Rifle Platoon for my Flames of War US 2nd Armoured Division. I would have finished these earlier but I was agonising over which type of wash to apply to them. After several product tests and experimentation I opted for the Games Workshop Devlan Mud and am really pleased with the results.

As mentioned previously I feel like I'm only now - after nearly two years - starting to get to grips with painting 15mm figures. By that I mean I have settled on a routine and ironed out the techniques that I need for painting in a scale which is 'new' to me. I've been painting miniatures since I was about 13 (nearly 30 years ago!!) and during most of that time I have almost exclusively painted 28-32mm figures, so scaling down to 15mm has meant I have had to re-learn my art. I'm not about to enter my figures in any painting competitions but I'm happy I can now field a reasonably painted army for gaming with.

I'm also half way or more through painting some M5A1 Stuarts, again for 2nd Armoured. These will bring my US forces up to about 2400 points, a good solid core on which to build a larger force from which I can select when putting together armies for games. Tomorrow I'll post some updated pictures of all my current US & German forces.

Talking of which my Brother-in-law and I are scheming and planning to get one or other of our houses free of partners and children for a day so we can play with our "toys" in peace. Last time we scheduled a game my house was bedlam, and not a suitable environment for either of us to learn the rules.

Pearl Harbour eHoax

2011-09-24T17:31:00.000+01:00

I was recently sent a set of pictures by a friend that purported to have been taken during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on Sunday December 7th 1941 by a Sailor on the USS Quapaw. The pictures were allegedly taken using a Brownie camera only recently discovered in a foot locker and then developed. Note I use the words 'Purported' and 'Allegedly' in this introduction. I'm a sceptical bloke at the best of times but I was sure something was amis as soon as I scanned through the pictures, some of which are included below.

For a start the picture quality is amazing considering this film was supposed to have remained undeveloped for 68 years. I would have expected to see some damage or blemishes to the emulsion but these pictures are perfect. Secondly the scenes depicted were clearly taken from a wide range of locations. If this were a sailor on a military vessel I doubt if he would have had time to take a tour of the harbour to shoot some pictures! And thirdly the USS Quapaw - the vessel the sailor allegedly served on - wasn't lunched until May 1943!

Sorry folks but this email is an elaborate hoax. The pictures however are real, taken from various open licence sources on the internet such as as the U.S. Naval Historical Center. They represent an amazing visual record of arguably one of the most pivotal events of the 20th century. Why anyone would feel the need to preface these pictures with a fictional story of a lost camera when the real history is so much more interesting is beyond me. What amazes me more however is the fact that this eHoax first did the rounds back in 2008 and its still circulating three years later. It took me just a little bit of scepticism and less than 30 seconds worth of Google search to find the truth.

Warp Speed, or not

2011-09-23T16:14:00.001+01:00

I don't often bring up science stuff on this blog but several articles today have got my juices flowing and I thought it worthy of a mention. News services are abuzz with the story that physicists at CERN have found an anomaly in their data regarding neutrino experiments which suggest those particles travel faster than light. I expect anyone with even a passing interest in science will know that this, if proved correct, could turn physics on its head. The speed of light has been a constant and integral part of Einsteinian relativity for most of the century and is core to our understanding of how the universe works. This data rips that constant up, puts on a jetpack and warps off to Vega for a dirty weekend!

Now before everyone starts planning which star to visit first I should point out that despite the sensationalist media reporting this is not proof of faster than light travel. Indeed even the scientists that found this data have called it 'crazy' and have published it in order for it to be properly scrutinised by peer review. This is how real science is performed and unlike conspiracy theorists and woo-woo purveyors the world over they want to find the truth, even if they are wrong. That's the difference between pseudo-science and real science folks.

Anyway I digress... while I (and the scientific community) remain healthily sceptical, I'm still excited by this data. After all who wouldn't be just a little bit excited about the possibility - albeit remote and likely to be disproved - of faster than light travel. Deep down, we would all like to be able to do the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs!

Wargames Illustrated 228

2011-09-23T14:06:00.000+01:00

I received my copy of Wargames Illustrated (issue 228) a few days ago and now that I've had a chance to scan through it I thought I'd give some of the highlights a quick mention.

This month the theme is Vikings and there are a couple of interesting articles to wet our appetite. In particular the article Oh Lord, Deliver us from the Fury of the Northmen! Rick Priestly plays Darren Harding of Gripping Beast at a game of SAGA, their new Dark Age skirmish game. It looks pretty good.

Another article that caught my attention was Ghost Planes of the Sahara. The film Flight of the Phoenix was based in part on stories of real life crashed aircraft in this vast desert. Unfortunately most of the examples described in this article ended with the loss of the crews. In some cases the aircraft remained missing for decades only to be rediscovered by oil drilling companies exploring the region in the 60's. This article uses the film and these historical accounts to build a series of scenarios for games based on the Flames of War rules. Aside from being an interesting subject ably demonstrated the flexibility of a rules system when a little imagination is thrown in the mix.

There are also some more pictures of this years Salute show back in April. I wasn't able to attend for the first time in years and consequently I take a great interest in pictures of this event. These pictures are part of an article by South London Warlords president Phil Portway about the show and the plans for next year. But what's that I see lurking in the picture at the bottom of page 114? Only my Brother-in-laws face staring back at me! [Third from the right with short ginger hair, wearing a grey sweater]. I've been reading the WI for years and always check out show pictures to see if I've been snapped. Hell, I've been known to throw myself in front of cameras in the hope of making it into their hallowed pages, and here he is just strolling around and BAM! he gets his picture in MY magazine..... Oh the injustice!

Battle of Hammaf : Egyptian vs Hittites

2011-09-21T09:37:00.000+01:00

Posties Rejects got together on Sunday for an ancients battle featuring the Egyptian verses the Hittites. We fought the fictional Battle of Hammaf using a set of house rules devised by our referee and undisputed Godfather of War, Stuart (aka 'Postie'). The battle was fought in 15mm using a variety of figures from different manufacturers and all painted to a very high standard making this a visually enjoyable game. I tried to make some notes as we went along as well as taking plenty of pictures. From these I have recreated the action as follows. Before the game started the seven players had to randomly pick which units they would be playing. The Armies were divided into divisions with three on the Egyptian side and four fighting for the Hittites.

Egyptians - Excellent and numerous archers with Light Chariot mounted archers in support.
1st Division - Centre - Pharaoh Ramesses II (Lee)
2nd Division - Left flank (Fran)
3rd Division - Right flank (Richard)

Hittites - High quality infantry with heavy chariots in support but little ranged capability
1st Division - Centre - King (John)
2nd Division - Left flank (Smithy)
3rd Division - Right flank (Dave)
4th Division - Far Left flank (Surjit)

Turn One: The Hittite General won initiative and elected to move first. Facing an Egyptian army fielding lots of archers the Hittites best option was to close into melee as soon as possible. Meanwhile the Egyptians held their ground and began to unleash a withering hail of arrows on the Hittites with the intention of weakening them before hand to hand fighting could commence. The Hittite King commanding the 1st Division in the centre unwisely put his chariots forward to shield his infantry units from archery fire and failed to push forward his skirmishers. This latter force needed to get very close to use their javelins and consequently started the game out of range while simultaneously being whittled away by archery fire.

Turn Two: The Egyptian 1st and 2nd Divisions on the centre and left of the line hold their position and maintain their missile fire on the approaching Hittites. Meanwhile the Egyptian 3rd Division moves further to the right, occupying a small hill behind the main line and pushing their chariots onto the extreme right flank of the army. This small force of chariots are positioning themselves ready to face off against a similar chariot unit from the Hittite 2nd Division.

Meanwhile the Hittite 4th Division commanded by Surjit is still way off to the right of the Egyptian line, at least three our four more turns of movement away from making contact. They remain a growing threat throughout the game but it is never clear if they will arrive in time to have a decisive outcome on the battle.

Turn Three: Hittite casualties continue to mount as they bring more and more units close to charge range. In particular the chariots in the centre, shielding the infantry, are wiped out by archery fire. Only the close proximity of the army standard and the king stops panic from spreading to nearby units.

However the Egyptians win the initiative and elect to move first giving them time to dress their lines and bring reserve units to the front. Faced with the prospect of moving second the Hittite generals hold back their charge until next turn. Meanwhile advance troops of the Hittite 2nd Division enter a small town which commands the end of the battlefield. Troop discipline however is poor (or the Hittite Kings bribes are not large enough) and the troops begin to loot the town effectively removing them from the battle for one turn.

Turn Four: On the Egyptian right flank the chariots of the 3rd Division clash with the Hittite 2nd Division chariots. However the wily Hittite divisional commander has also moved a unit of spearmen into the flank of the Egyptian chariots and the result looks inevitable. Despite rolling almost twice as a many dice for damage as the Egyptian commander the result is a draw and all the units involved become disordered and retreat a quarter move.

Unfortunately for the Hittites they fail to recover in the moral phase and remain disordered into the next turn. The disordered units cannot move in the following turn but more importantly halve their damage dice in melee. This gives the advantage to the Egyptian chariots who pass their moral test and prepare to charge again in turn five.

Turn Five: At last the Hittites are able to close the gap and charge into melee. On the Hittite right flank units of the 3rd Division fail to contact with the Egyptian units but in the centre the Chariots of the 1st Division thunder towards the chariots of the Egyptian 2nd. The Egyptians counter-charge and by far the bloodiest melee ensues with both players rolling fists full of dice (I lost count how many). The results are indecisive and the combat devolves into the games first ongoing melee eventually resulting in the rout of the surviving Egyptian chariots.

Elsewhere however the Hittites are loosing the initiative. the battering ram of armoured infantry in the centre of the Hittite line held back by archery fire and disorganised by their own troops fleeing and inter-penetrating in a bid to escape the field. On the Hittite left flank the developing battle for the village ebbs and flows but the Egyptian 3rd Division commander holds his line. Meanwhile the advance elements of the Hittite 4th Division finally reach the town and try to get into the battle. The rest of their column however is strung out and looks increasingly unable to get into the battle fast enough.

Turn Six: Now the Egyptians unleash their own charges into the Hittite ranks, hoping they have done enough missile damage to give then the advantage. The Hittite kings own Bodyguard are the target as they remain disordered after being weakened by archery fire and unsettled by fleeing comrades. As the Egyptian chariots charge in they unleash a volley of arrows inflicting yet more casualties before smashing into the ranks of infantry. Despite the advantage the chariots are forced back and regroup for a second charge next turn.

Meanwhile the ranks have opened up allowing Ramesses II's own Chariot guards to charge through their former lines into a Hittite Chariot squadron that was threatening the Egyptian 3rd Division on their left flank. On the right of the 3rd's position the village is starting to fill up with Hittite Infantry but it is clear now that none of their 4th Division chariots will make it into the battle (it being nearly dinner time!). It is agreed to play out one more turn but by this stage the outcome of the battle seems clear to all the players.

Turn Seven: The final turn of the battle saw lots of melee and a general mixing up of the until now neat lines of the opposing armies. A lot of damage was inflicted on both sides but by this stage the Hittite centre was looking decidedly thin. Meanwhile Egyptian reinforcements (Heavy Chariots with javelin runners attached) that arrived during the 5th turn are starting to get into the battle. With the Egyptian line pretty much unmoved throughout the game their reinforcements have been able to get into play quickly while similar Hittite reinforcements are still racing to get to the front line. Similarly the bulk of the Hittite 4th Division remains strung out beyond the village and effectively isolated from the battle.

Analysis: The relative strengths and weaknesses of the two forces were clear from the start of the battle and pretty much dictated the two sides strategies. Having said that it was definitely in the Egyptians hands to loose the battle. For much of the game we had to hold our nerve, stick to the original plan and keep our line intact. The Hittites knew they were going to have a rough time getting into contact but they could have used their skirmishers better to shield their much more formidable infantry from archery fire.

As this was a house set of rules we took this as an opportunity to play-test them, not just have a game. several good suggestions were made about resolving melee's and the effects on archery units that have taken casualties themselves. Under the rules we played close order archery units get +2 damage dice for massed archery fire (skirmish archers don't get that bonus), but it was generally agreed that a weakened unit should loose that bonus.

The Egyptian leader Ramesses II goes on to depict himself charging into battle at the head of his chariots. This image is carved into and painted on every monument he builds - and he builds a lot during his 66 year reign. It helps solidify his reputation as Egypt's greatest ruler. However the reality is that Ramesses the Great actually spent most of this fictional battle with his chariot parked in the shade of a palm tree. Far from being a glorious and epic charge sweeping all before it, this victory was instead a brutal and bloody battle of attrition.

As always, history is written by the victor.

Egyptians - 33 Points
Hittites - 5 Points

Quickstain Alternatives

2011-09-19T15:14:00.000+01:00

Following on from last weeks post about washes and inks here are the results of my testing of various alternatives to Army Painter Quickshade. I should however quantify my findings in that I am comparing them against a product I have never used. So the findings detailed below are really just a list of alternative ways to quickly shade or wash your miniatures. I'm sure there are dozens of other products available and many and varied ways to achieve the effect I have been seeking and if you have any suggestions please let me know in the comments below. I also think the overall effect of the products tested would vary from one scale to another. I've been painting miniatures for nearly 30 years but shifting down from predominantly 28mm to 15mm figures has meant I have head to re-learn many skills. Experiments like this (and the discussions that follow) are all part of that process.

I tested four popular materials for quick-shading or washing miniatures. The first was a 50/50 mix of Wood stain mixed with distilled water. The second was Games Workshop Devlan Mud wash. The third was Winsor and Newton Peat Brown ink and the last was Vallejo Smokey Ink. I started this test by mounting four identical battlefront 15mm infantry figures on a piece of wood for easy of handling. Then each was given a basic paint scheme sticking to the principle of minimizing the number of steps from bare metal to finished figure. The prepped figures looked very rough and basic but hopefully the washes would bring the color schemes together and hide any poor painting!

Wood-stain - This was an old tin of oil based rosewood wood stain that I found in a store cupboard. I'd read that this could be used as a wash and wanted to give it a try, but not on a completed platoon of figures! The liquid is very thick and viscous, is very dark in tone but has a fine almost imperceptible 'grain' to the pigment. I decided to dilute this and after several tests settled on a 50/50 blend with distilled water. This required a shake before use but otherwise didn't seem to separate and cause problems with the finished application. Applied by brush it looks a lot like Quickshade and its quite alarming to see the miniature disappear under the first pass of the brush. However excess liquid can be easily removed with another brush or the corner of a tissue.

Cleaning the brushes is a chore, requiring a little bit of White Spirit or brush cleaner to remove all the fluid. Another thing I found was that the drying time is significantly longer than the other products with the model remaining sticky for a long time after application. By far the biggest disadvantage is the glossy shine this product put on the model (similar I understand to Quickshade). Several coats of Matt varnish were needed to bring the gloss finish down (not shown). Having said that, the shading is deep and bold with solid shadows and subtle shading of larger areas. Not bad for a product found in the back of a cupboard. Overall I give this a 2 out of 5.

Games Workshop Devlan Mud Wash - I bought this product for £2.30 for a 12ml bottle. Its another thick and viscous liquid although not as thick as the Wood-stain. Again it looked very dark in the tub but this time is used it neat, as suggested by the store manager. Again liberally brushed on the initial effect looks like the model is being swamped however like the previous test excess liquid is easily removed with a brush or tissue. This product flows well and feels like its doing what its supposed to do, quickly settling in the recesses and creases of the figure. When it dried it didn't leave a high gloss finished but still required a Matt varnish to complete the model. Overall I give this product a 4 out of 5.

Winsor and Newton Peat Brown Ink - This cost me just 50 pence online.. and £4.35 in postage! This is a much less viscous liquid and was just what I expected for a product sold as a drawing ink. I decided not to dilute the ink after a quick test, as I wanted stronger shading. On a 28mm model or larger I'd imagine the bold shading would not work well but on a 15mm model it looked like it would be OK. Application was quick with very little excess being deposited on the miniature. It quickly settled into the recesses and even when dried the ink did not bleed into the raised areas and therefore did not darken the whole model excessively. It did leave a slight shine to the surface which required a Matt varnish to eliminate.

Overall I think this product gave the deepest and sharpest shading with the least discoloration to the base colors. The deep pigment is very fine grained which meant that even tiny details such as the rifle bolt were crisply outlined by the ink. Overall I give this a 3 out of 5.

Vallejo Smokey Ink - I already had this product and it cost the princely sum of £1.60 for a 17ml bottle. I had high hopes for this product as on the whole I like the Vallejo range (I use the model color paints exclusively). The fluid was actually thicker than the Winsor ink and significantly deeper in tone. After a brief test I decided this would need to be diluted 50/50 with Distilled Water just as I had with the wood-stain. Application once again seemed to swamp the figure but unlike the other products it remained on all the surfaces of the figure not just the recesses. The result was that although it gave deep shaded areas the overall model had a brown/orange tint to it when dry. However this did result in better skin tones than the other tests. Overall I give it a rather disappointing 3 out of 5.

This last picture shows all four test models side by side. Overall I liked the crispness of the Winsor and Newton ink but did think the finished model looked a bit too bright and 'cartoony'. The GW Wash probably game the most naturalistic look but didn't give the deep shadows that ink can achieve. Having said that I think I will use the Devlan Mud on my next infantry platoon (a US Rifle Platoon) which is already base-coated and just waiting for a wash and varnish.

L to R: Vallejo Ink; Winsor and Newton Ink; Games Workshop Wash; and the Wood stain

Having completed this less than scientific test I'd like to throw this subject out to you the readers and ask the all important question: What do you think? Which of these do you prefer and why? I'd be especially interested in any feedback you can give comparing these results verses Quickshade or indeed any other product.

I'm a Geek and I'm proud

2011-09-15T16:31:00.006+01:00

This week is Speak Out with your Geek Out week. It's an online initiative to share our collective enthusiasm and love of our geeky hobbies. It's a chance for us to say we are proud of of our interests and that far from being anti-social or negative our hobby interests are a positive thing.

I've written several times [Here, here and here] about my conscious decision not to hide my hobby interests from friends and colleges. Far from thinking of my hobbies as a stigma I have been able to turn them into an asset and something to be proud of. I have a keen interest in history, science, politics and art and have developed skills in photography, computing, painting and writing; all directly related to my so called 'geeky' hobbies.

As Gaming writer Jess Hartley wrote on her blog...

"...This is about sharing with the world that geekery is awesome, that it transcends the common definition, and that we are not ashamed of who and what we are. Every person who participates is amplifying that message and adding their own unique voice to it."

However for me this campaign has highlighted another very relevant and topical subject; that of internet bullying. Most gamers, painters or hobby enthusiasts will have either accessed or contributed to an online forum or Blog at one time or another and will recognise the sense of 'community' that one feels taking part. But we will also all recognise the 'troll' who's main enjoyment seems to come from ridiculing or insulting other commentators in an apparent quest to start a 'flame war'. Sadly this isn't restricted to the geek-o-sphere and as a recent BBC News article shows it can have distressing consequences.

Even amongst the non-troll gaming community its not uncommon for one sub-group or another to be ridiculed by another group. This is a shameful self inflicted wound in my humble opinion, as if we don't have enough stigma to overturn without fighting amongst ourselves as well. I think we - the nebulous and varied 'gaming community' - should take on board the words of Monica Valentinelli (Author, Game Designer and Founder of Speak Out):

"I feel this is our chance to prove that - once and for all - to each other, that we can inspire and uplift. That tolerance is possible, provided we remember to be tolerant of other people. That our emotions are what bind us together and labels are what keep us apart."

Regardless if you're a roleplayer, a wargamer, a computer gamer, a trekkie, a larper, sci-fi buff, a comic book fan, a reenactor, or anything in between, then its time to stand up and be counted. I don't care if you can speak Klingon or can recite the first edition DnD rules by heart. It doesn't matter if you own a Jeep, collect star wars figures or have every set of Magic the Gathering cards. So-what if you paint miniatures, write a hobby Blog and battle across a tabletop with toy soldiers. It doesn't matter whether you're a geek, a nerd or a dork. You're cool, you're hobbies are awesome and I guarantee that you are a more interesting and rounded individual than you would be without them.

An Experiment with Dip

2011-09-13T06:33:00.000+01:00

Over the last week or so I have been experimenting with Wood-stain as an alternative to Quickshade as a fast shading medium on miniatures. I've never used the Army Painter Quickshade before so I'm really unsure whether to give it a go or not. At nearly £20 a tin I wan't to make the right choice before parting with my cash. The problem is made harder by the fact that there are three shades to choose from; a wrong choice could prove very costly. So while I decide I have been experimenting with some wood stain as an alternative.

I had a half used tin of rosewood stain (a dark shade) in my shed and decided to play around with it to see if it could be used as a shading medium. This is where the original concept came from, before Army Painter developed the idea with their Quickshade range. Although the stain I was using is oil-based it seems to mix OK with water up to about 50% dilution. Beyond that the mix separates very quickly.

I base coated two 15mm infantry figures as my test subjects and applied the wood-stain to each. The first figure got undiluted stain on it and the second had a 50/50 mix with water. The undiluted shade gave excellent detailing and definition but made the resulting figure look very dark indeed. In fact it was so dark it was hard to tell any difference in colour between the Brown Violet (887) helmet, the Khaki (988) shirt and US Field Drab (873) trousers. The 50% mix gave better results but still resulted in a dark figure even after dry-brushing strong highlights on the model prior to shading.

So will I be using the woodstain or splashing out on the expensive Quickshade product? To be honest I'm still not sure. I'm painting the figures in base coats with the intention of using a shading medium of one kind or another, I just can't make up my mind which to use. I'm hunting round the internet for ideas and advice specific to 15mm miniatures but so far I have found relatively little. Any suggestions folks?

Big Picture : Old Boardgames

2011-09-10T18:33:00.001+01:00

This weeks Big Picture is of two games dug out of a cupboard and pressed into service for a weekends entertainment. The Dagenham Dungeon Delvers met on Friday for our 4e DnD game. Unfortunately trouble on the trains meant our GM couldn't get to the venue which put a major spanner in the works. So the remaining Delvers played an impromptu game of Talisman. Its been a long time since any of us have played this game but we enjoyed it (and Tweeted the action).

On Saturday I also dug out an old copy of Dungeonquest and challenged the kids to a game. As usual I lost, but less said about that the better!

Not a bad weekends entertainment from games still going strong 25 years or more since I bought them.

The DDD's Twerible Twittering

2011-09-09T17:30:00.011+01:00

First off let me apologise for the title of this post. I'm the first to moan when someone starts using that unforgivable abuse of the English language that is Twitterspeak. For those that don't know this is the process where you take the first two letters of the microblogging service Twitter and merge them - painfully and often with the aid of a large hammer - to the front of your chosen word. However in this instance I just couldn't help myself and I apologise unreservedly.

The Dagenham Dungeon Delvers are gathering tonight for our semi-regular 4e DnD game night. The campaign is progressing slowly but steadily towards a climax and all our characters are geared up for the inevitable battle to come. But this week we are joined by one of our wayward players, Andrew, who rarely gets to games because of his job - and the fact that he lives in Lincoln, 150 miles away (poor excuse, but we'll let it pass). Andrew is something of an agent provocateur and his presence is almost guaranteed to result in trouble for our characters. With action, conflict and witty banter almost certainly a feature of tonight's game we thought it a good opportunity to report our game live to the twitterverse (there I go again).

Myself @BigLee and fellow Blogger, Derek @djkettlety, will be posting live tweets throughout the evening. I'm not sure if this will become a regular thing (we sort of do it already but not in an organised or coordinated way) but we thought we would give it a try and see if it proved popular.

If you're interested in following the action we will be posting with the hash-tags #DDD and #BLMA from 7pm until about 11pm.

I'll resist the temptation to say "Thank You" in twitterspeak, because that would just be wrong on so many levels. Instead let me say we look forward to you joining us and we hope you enjoy our strange mix of humour and mayhem that make up our game nights.

D-Day Relics at Lepe

2011-09-09T12:31:00.000+01:00

Remains of a Beach Hardening Mat

While I was away on company business at Fawley near Southampton I was able to get over to Lepe Country Park. This stretch of Hampshire coastline faces the Isle of White across the Solent and was one of many D-Day embarkation sites across the south of England. I visited the site a few months ago but didn't get down on the beach to see the slipways and other relics because the weather was awful. Although it was cold and windy this time the lack of horizontal rain made taking decent pictures a more realistic prospect.

The remains at Lepe are very interesting because they represent a snapshot of a particular moment in history. The whole purpose of the remains found here was to enable the building and launching of caissons for the Mulberry Harbours and for the loading and embarkation of men, tanks and other vehicles into landing craft and supply ships. Shoreline structures like these can be found all along the south coast of England although these ones at Lepe are particularly well preserved.

Overlord from Osprey

2011-09-07T21:20:00.000+01:00

I've had a couple of days off work to coincide with the last few days of the kids summer holidays. Yesterday was our final opportunity to get the remaining items the children needed for their return to school so we went shopping in Lakeside Thurrock. Normally any trip here is undertaken reluctantly as I usually find the whole experience to be monotonous and generally soul destroying. Model Zone is usually the only shop I enjoy going into with any prospect of exiting with a bag of Loot ('loot' means "Goodies", not "stuff I grabbed while rioting"). On his occasion I restocked my supplies of Clump Foliage and static grass and bought a new pair of clippers to replace an old and blunt set. However this trip I also picked up one other item that made the whole shopping trip worthwhile.

My star purchase of the day was an excellent book from Osprey Publishing on the D-Day operation. Overlord: The D-Day Landings by Ken Ford and Steven J. Zaloga. It seems to be an amalgamation of several earlier osprey books (from the Campaign Series - volumes 1, 100, 104, 105 and 112) into a single volume, and all for just £12.99. I think that constitutes a bargain in anyone's language. This was first published as a hardcover book in 2009 but a new paperback version was updated and released in April this year. Like the original Campaign series it looks at the background to the invasion, the major players in the campaign, the opposing armies, the equipment used and how well both performed in battle. There is also the usual excellent post battle analysis and review.

This volume is divided into four sections: Omaha Beach; Utah Beach and the US Airborne Landings; Sword Beach and the British Airborne Landings; and Gold and Juno Beaches. As with all Osprey works this book includes an excellent collection of period photographs, unit tables, maps, charts and detailed artwork. I bought this in Waterstones and at first I was considering some of the individual Osprey titles when I came across this book.

Needless to say I consider this an absolute bargain and on first inspection it looks very comprehensive. Most of the history books I have read tend to work in chronological order and move from one part of the landings to another. While this is great for getting an overall feeling of the whole action it does make understanding the individual battles for each beach harder to analyse. I'm really looking forward to reading it and getting a beach by beach look at the action.

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Osprey (April 2011)
Language: English
Authors: Ken Ford and Steven J. Zaloga
RRP: £12.99 ($24.95)

Big Picture: Mythos Explorers!

2011-09-04T17:30:00.000+01:00

I've been going through a load of old pictures recently and, where necessary, scanning them onto my computer. There was a time when I used a camera with something called 'film' in it. I'm not sure how I managed to cope in the days before Mega-pixels and SD cards. Back in 1992 when I took this photo I brought 15 rolls of film with me to Egypt- enough to shoot a mere 540 pictures. These days I carry enough memory capacity to comfortably shoot a four or five thousand pictures.

With a little bit of computer manipulation I've aged the picture to make us look like a couple of plucky European explorers from the 1920's! All I need is a pith helmet.

I'm a Winner!

2011-09-03T18:20:00.000+01:00

A few weeks ago the excellent blog Model Dads announced that they were working on putting together a Normandy: Mines, Signs and Maps decal set. They asked for suggestions on what to include and I submitted an idea. Now Model Dads have announced that the set is complete and that I and two other readers have won ourselves a set each!

I've never won anything like this and I have to say I'm really quite excited about it. I'm not sure yet how I'll use the decals but rest assured I'll be posting details here as soon as I do.

Pictures from Military Odyssey 2011

2011-09-02T17:00:00.002+01:00

As previously mentioned I was at Military Odyssey in Kent last Saturday. I shot a lot of pictures despite of the changeable (often wet) weather. This show continues to attract a wide variety of reenactors and traders although I did think numbers were down a bit this year. There seems to be an inexhaustible supply of WWII memorabilia on sale and new stuff is constantly coming into circulation. One of the things I like most about these shows is that its like wandering through a museum where you get to handle the artefacts and examine them up close!

Anyway I hope you enjoy the pictures and as usual if you see any that I have captioned incorrectly please let me know and I will make the necessary correction.

Fort Pictures

2011-09-01T17:01:00.000+01:00

Here are my pictures taken at Tilbury Fort on Monday. They include an interesting series of pictures of a British Spigot Mortar. The mounts were large reinforced concrete blocks with a metal pin in the top. These were so massive and robust that many remain in position to this day, although I expect most people don't realise what they are. The example at Tilbury Fort actually has a rare mounted example of the mortar, also known as a Blacker Bombard.

The first Bombards appeared in late 1941 and were positioned around airfields, important road junctions and in coastal positions and were predominantly manned by the Home Guard although they were issued to regular units as well. By mid 1942 over 22,000 had been produced and issued to forces throughout the country. However they were never a popular weapon, possibly because they were only effective at close range leaving crews vulnerable both to counter-attack and shrapnel from their own projectiles!

Reprise: Lead Rot, Myth or Reality

2011-08-31T09:11:00.031+01:00

A couple of years ago I write a post about the dreaded phenomenon known as Lead Rot . This supposed disease can eat its way through lead miniatures leaving nothing but dust in its wake. The subject has repeatedly come up for discussion on various Miniatures and Gaming forums so I thought it worth revisiting this post and updating it where appropriate. I hope you find it useful.

Source: Toy Soldier Museum

In the twenty odd years I've been collecting and painting miniatures I've heard lots of horror stories about Lead Rot. This 'disease' can allegedly eat its way through a whole collection like some ravenous B-Movie monster. As a painter I want my models to have the best surface possible on which to work. I certainly don’t want to see a well painted model disintegrate before my eyes. So, is Lead Rot a real problem or a mini painter’s old wives tale?

The first step is to try to understand what Rot looks like. Some painters describe powdery discolouration ranging from green through brown and grey. However the most common description is of in a whitish grey surface ‘bloom’. In severe cases the surface of a miniature can actually be pitted and rough to the touch. The picture above shows a catastrophic case of rot in three models (not my own, thankfully). As a collector this picture makes my toes curl but is this actually a disease or merely some form of corrosion? And once ‘infected’ can a model be saved?

1984 Games Workshop Lizardman

One explanation I read suggested that this was Lead rust. Iron rusts red and lead white. However this isn’t the case. Neither is it a disease or a fungus as has also been suggested. The white powdery bloom is actually Lead Carbonate and is in fact a chemical reaction, a form of corrosion that requires lead to be in contact with acid and carbon dioxide to act as a catalyst.

"The chemical process is: Acetic and some other acids, in the presence of carbon dioxide, catalyze with lead to produce lead acetate and lead hydroxide. Lead acetate and lead hydroxide together react with carbon dioxide and form lead carbonate. Lead carbonate then releases acetic acid and the process becomes self-sustaining. It is important to recognize that the formed lead carbonate is not just a substance clinging to the surface of a casting, it is the surface of the casting transformed to powder. For practical purposes, a portion of the lead is gone and lead carbonate is left in its place. The lead carbonate releases acetic acid which can continue the process until the lead part is progressively consumed from the outside, inward." (Source: Curator of Navy Ship Models)

(Source)

Sources of acid include PVA glue, enamel or oil based paints, and even some varnishes (if applied directly to unpainted metal). Carbon dioxide is everywhere of course but storing miniatures in well ventilated locations does seem to help retard the chemical reaction. Its worth adding at this point that most (but not all) modern miniatures have a relatively low lead content, being a pewter mix of one type or another. As such they are much less prone to this reaction than older models which were often cast from 100% lead. If, like me, you have a large unpainted mountain of models, it’s likely that some of them will be older types and therefore at risk.

So what can you do to prevent the ‘rot’ setting in? Get painting! Once a model has been sealed properly with an undercoat (don’t forget the underside of the base) then no CO² can get to the surface and the chemical process cannot begin.

Electron Microscope image of corroded lead (Source)

For display models try to use plastic or glass shelves rather than wooden ones. Wooden display cases with relatively stagnant atmospheres will create an acetic acid-laden micro-environment where lead artefact's will corrode even without being in physical contact with the wood. Hardwood's in particular emit more acetic acid than soft woods with Spruce, Pine or Elm being the 'safest' options. But even these can result in corrosion, especially if the wood is varnished or polished. Whatever display case you use maintaining good ventilation is essential to mitigating the conditions that can cause lead rot. (Source: Realm of Lead Addiction)

If you have a model that is showing signs of lead rot its not too late to salvage the situation. Clean the surface of the model but avoid anything acidic as a cleaning agent (one source I read suggested using vinegar!!!). Any areas that have pitting can be cleaned up with a needle file or for more severe damage removed with a craft drill. Once all sign of rot has been removed seal the surface with an undercoat of acrylic paint and then store in a dry environment until ready to paint. Then sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor happy in the knowledge that your new ‘little friend’ will be around for some time to come.

Making Trees for 15mm Wargaming

2011-08-30T15:02:00.000+01:00

One thing that I have been lacking in my collection of 15mm wargame terrain are trees and woods. This has partly been due to lack of storage space and partly because I couldn't make my mind up whether to make my own trees or buy some pre-built. However having finally turned my mind to the project I was a little dismayed at the prices I came across and decided the most economical solution would be to make some myself. I decided to go down the Woodland Scenics route, mainly because I have easy access to most of the materials needed from my local branch of Model Zone. Also this very simple instructional video helped sway my decision-making...

First off let me say that the techniques and ideas listed here are not entirely my own. I searched various tutorials online when considering this project and plundered them for information. If you are considering making your own trees then I would definitely recommend looking at this post by Model Dads. It includes several videos and lots of great advice on how to get the best from your Woodland Scenics materials. Probably the best advice I took from this tutorial was to buy the WS Hob-e-tac glue. It truly is amazing stuff and makes building trees very easy. I also thought the idea of sealing the finished trees using a Matt spray varnish was excellent. Good advice, presented in an accessible format.

I started by collecting together all the materials I needed, primarily different coloured clump foliage and turf. I couldn't purchase the Woodland Scenics tree armatures I wanted from Model Zone so I bought them online from Antenocitis Workshop which were delivered the next day. I opted for the 3-5inch armatures (77-127mm) which roughly equates to trees about 27-44 feet in height. This a little smaller than the average heights for deciduous trees (which range from about 40-60 ft depending on species) but I think they look better proportioned when placed next to 15mm figures. The armatures twist easily to shape and come with separate bases so they can be removed during play while maintaining the 'footprint' of the tree.

One thing I wanted to do was clearly define the edges of woodland with a nice solid base that would not be prone to being knocked out of place during play. Some months ago I was doing a bit of DIY on my daughters bedroom and needed a sheet of 4mm MDF to repair a cupboard. I ended up with a larg'ish off-cut and thought to myself "that'll come in handy" so put it aside with no clear plan for it. Now I had a use for it so I cut out several woodland bases of different shapes. These were then quickly painted with a mixture of GW Black undercoat and Flames of War/Army Painter US Armour Green.

The next step was to put aside the bases and start building the trees. The tree armatures as already mentioned come with separate plastic roots/bases which I would later fix to the wooden base boards. For now though I kept them with the trunks as I wanted to see how big the tree's looked before positioning them. They are easily twisted and arranged into shape onto which the foliage can be glued using WS's Hob-e-tac glue. This stuff looks, feels and smells like Copydex (its even applied by a built in brush) but it dries clear after about 15-20 minutes and remains incredibly tacky for hours. Be patient at this stage, if you try to stick the foliage to the glue before it has dried clear it will just fall off.

With the foliage on the armatures I then tidied them up using a small pair of plastic tweezers to pluck out any loose material and tighten up the clumps. Then I took them all outside and gave them a liberal coating of Matt spray varnish. I then left these overnight to dry thoroughly. This varnish helps hold all the clumps together and makes the finished tress a little more resilient to in-game handling.

With the trees finished I removed the bases and glued them to my wooden base boards. I kept a couple of bases back for free standing trees but most were fixed to the bases. The next step was to cover the green boards with PVA glue and cover with a mixture of Woodland Scenic's Turf and Underbrush scatter material. The turf is very fine grained while the underbrush consists of 1-2mm foliage material. I like the look this gives and it helps clearly define the limits of the woods and the rough scrubby ground beneath the trees.

The whole project took me about four evenings to complete and cost about £30 in materials which worked out significantly cheaper than buying them pre made. I also think they look a lot better than many of the trees I could have bought online. Another advantage is that I still have enough material to make half a dozen more trees if needed.

Tilbury Fort

2011-08-29T16:42:00.000+01:00

Sharp eyed readers will notice that I promised to post pictures and a write up of my Woodland building project. However my Internet connection is down (I think my modem has died). So although I have all the pictures ready, and I have written the text, I am unable to combine the two and post them here on BLMA. Such are the plans of mice and men and I'll have to post it tomorrow - assuming my ISP can fix or replace my modem when they come.

So instead of my prepared post here's a filler post. Today we went to the English Heritage property at Tilbury Fort. I've been here many times before but not recently. I shot some interesting pictures which I'll post when I get a chance later in the week.

0ne, Two, Tree...

2011-08-28T22:58:00.001+01:00

I've nearly finished making a load of trees using the Woodland Scenic method and materials. I thought I would post a sneak peak of the first small wood off the production line. I should have a full write up and better pictures later tomorrow (time permitting).

Military Odyssey

2011-08-27T11:55:00.001+01:00

Today I'm braving the rain to attend Military Odyssey at the Kent Showground, Deitling. The show combines a mix of militaria, reenactments and scale modelling. Theses model tanks are radio controlled motorised and trundle around with authentic sounds, moving crew and even smoke from the exhausts! I want one!!!

Something has got to go

2011-08-26T09:01:00.144+01:00

Its finally happened, the space has run out. I'm probably not as bad a hoarder as most wargamers having spent many years just playing RPG's and therefore not collecting much in the way of scenery or models. But about 6 years ago I started writing my own D&D campaign setting with the clear intention of running my own game. That's when the collecting started in earnest.

When I decided to give this GM lark a whirl for myself I decided I would do things a little differently. Firstly I wanted it to be miniatures based with an emphasis on visual impact as much as story. I have always enjoyed seeing wargame tables at conventions and wanted to recreate some of that visual impact in my D&D campaign. So from the start I used every resource at my disposal including purpose bought miniatures, printed floor plans, 3d scenery and even buildings. These were the sort of items more accustomed to being seen on the wargames table, not in a RPG game. I also collected and used lots of other props from maps, parchments, fake jewellery, bags of coins and even a load of fish heads!

The only problem with all this collecting is much of what I bought has only seen the light of day once or twice and then been boxed up and stored. Now I'm repeating the process this time with 15mm wargame figures and lots and lots of terrain. The space is definitely running out, as is my wife patience (I can't blame her really).

So I have decided to have a clear out and maybe make some money in the process. I have my eye firmly set on attending SELWG in October and hopefully I'll come loaded down with plenty of loot to sell on the Bring and Buy stall. Its going to be a wrench to sell some items but I have to be honest with myself, much of this stuff will likely never be played with again. Better to pass it on to a new home, give another gamer a bargain they will remember and use the money I raise to buy yet more stuff to fill the house with!

I've never sold anything on a Bring and Buy before so this is new territory for me. Which leads me to the point of this post. Can BLMA readers offer me any advice or tips on how to proceed? I'm not looking to make a huge profit, I just want to make enough money to sweeten the pill of having to sell some stuff.

Encumbered with Rules?

2011-08-25T17:54:00.000+01:00

I stumbled upon this cartoons earlier and it tickled my funny bone enough that I decided to reproduce it here. If you have ever played D&D you'll know where this joke is coming from. Lets face it we have all bent the rules on encumbrance at some time.

I once played a halfling rogue that bought a 20' ladder as part of his equipment, then conveniently let everyone forget he was still carrying it. When I was eventually challenged by the GM I pointed out that I had never said I was leaving it behind "...and besides, we've never bothered with the encumbrance rule before".

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