Simple conversions

One of the problems with gaming in 40mm is the lack of civilian and personality figures . To help solve this problem I have been scouring Ebay for any figures that might be usable . Above is a selection I have repainted and converted . L to R:-  English tourist -an old Britains hollow cast figure . Politician - strange solid figure , may be O gauge railway figure ?. Ferraro Roccaian Staff officer- old O gauge railway stationmaster .Politician/Statesman- Plastic Scalectrix figure(added beard and coat). Priest - an O gauge railway re-cast model I think (beard and hat added - and a change of religion - originally was R.C.). Richard Hanney British spy- Plastic Scaletrix newspaper seller. Hopefully these figures will be making an apperance in future blogs .

Battle of Hook's Farm (3)

Move 5 saw the Ferraro Roccain infantry attacking the farm, after 2 rounds of combat they were thrown back with heavy casualties, the Treborian Reservist infantry were aided by the cover the walls and buildings gave them.

The FR infantry rallied and renewed the attack , they scored a 6 and rallied and were able to move the next turn .

On the other flank the FR Hariboan lancers charged and defeated the Treborian Elite cavalry .

In the centre the Treborian infantry took heavy casualties from the FR artillery and the Reservists by the church . Unfortunately there was a 'frendlyfire' incident as the FR  gun fired prematurely as I was loading it and landed in the infantry on the left of the farm causing casualties.

I have a strict rule that where a matchstick lands that is where the damage occurs! - MUST be more careful when handling loaded weapons !. this is the situation at the end of the move , with the Treborian gun having to withdraw to a safer position.

The successful Hariboan lancers were charged as they reorganised by the Treborian Dragoons and were routed off the field this left the flank of the Farraro Rccain army open .

By move 7 casualties were mounting on both side as the FR  general launched further attacks on Hook's Farm

The FR gun limbered and repositioned to counter the enemy flank attack , the FR  Reservists pushed forward driving the opposing infantry back.

However the renewed attacks on the farm ran into trouble and casualties mounted from rifle fire and close range artillery fire.

The Ferraro Roccain attacks failed and the survives fled back towards their baselines . The Ferraro Roccains having lost half their army points, the game was stopped after move 8 and the Treborians were declared winners .

The Ferraro Roccaians had lost the battle although they had given the Treborians a bloody nose .Their failure to support the attacks on the farm with artillery fire was probably their main fault , although the Treborians were rather passive in defence .

The battle was a close one and hung in the balance till the last move . Having used the random move rules this game I think they work well and give that bit of uncertainty to the game .Once more  I found this another enjoyable game and am a firm fan of the 'Funny Little Wars' rules.

Battle of Hook's Farm (2)

This is the situation on move 2 . I am trying out one or two adaptions to 'Funny Little Wars' to alter it for tabletop use ( the original being designed for outdoors) . I have started using random movement distances - Infantry in line = 2xD6 , in column or skirmish = 3xD6 , half the distance for rough terrain , Militia/Reserve infantry re roll the highest dice (represents their lack of enthusiasm). Cavalry roll 3xD6 - better horsemen (ie Hariboan lt cavalry) re roll the lowest dice (better horses) , Both troop types add 1xD6 on roads and charging . Artillery move 3xD6 .

By move 3, both sides moved troops to control Hook's Farm and the Treborian Cavalry made a right flank march to attack the Ferraro Roccaian left around Firefly Church . No firing took place .

The Treborian Reservists moved up hill to the farm and the Treborian gun hurriedly unlimbered as the FR  infantry column came over the hill crest. The Ferraro Roccain gun and infantry deployed next to the church and the Hariboan Lancer moved to counter the Treborian cavalry flank move .

The Teborian CinC rushed a infantry column up through the wood to support the artillery .

On move 4 the FR column charged its opposing enemy column , but failed to reach it - the Treborians counter charged but after 2 moves of melee were beaten back .

The Treborian gun dare not fire in fear of hitting friendly troops , things are not looking good for the Treborian Reservists as they are being out flanked on both sides .

This is the situation on the Treborian left at the end of move 4 , over on  the othr flank , troops deploy and the Lancer prepare to charge the advancing Treborian cavalry.

Apart from a little skirmishing  in the centre there had been no firing , but with the troops deployed I expect it to  change in the next move ...

The Battle of Hook's Farm (1)

A old time classic battle-first fought by HG Wells in "Little Wars", I was given the idea for  re fighting this battle when rereading a copy of Classic Wargames Journal and thought I  would let the armies of Treboria and Ferraro Rocca battle it out .

The forces per side were equal - 2 Infantry units ,1 Militia unit , 2 Cavalry units and 1 gun . The positions of the units were diced for , with Treboria taking the nearest table edge .

2 views of the battlefield with the initial troop dispositions , each gun has 10 rounds of ammunition (in the matchboxes) and the infantry has 10 rounds of ammo as well , cavalry have 8. The object of the game is to drive the enemy off the battlefield and hold the high ground around Hook's Farm. To be continued....

Holiday snaps

Been away camping in Northumberland , near Seahouses to be precise , the weather forecast was lousy but it turned out not to bad at all - blustery but sunny . We took a rather bouncy boat trip to the Farne Islands ( we began to think it was a Grace Darling theme boat ride ) , loads of Grey seals and sea birds. Went on lots of invigorating walks , called in at Chillingham Castle and had a very nice Afternoon Tea (how civilised) and I  came across these two cannons dated 1844 - not on their original carriages

Don't know were they came from originally , would think they are either Naval or Fortress . On a beach near Bamburgh I found the worlds largest dice ! ( well they probably have bigger in the USA )

Okay I'm not tall but I thought they where impressive . In the dunes further on found a WW2  gun emplacement , had heard about it before but could not find it last year , it must have mounted a gun of some
sort as it had a substantial  base mount .

It overlooks a bay just south of Holy Island , its interesting that it has lots of 6" pipes set into the rear walls - to allow the smoke/fumes to escape ?

Remarkably clean inside ! these buildings usually turn into toilets  , it has a impressive Field of fire !

Whilst on this WW2 theme ,the coast near by is dotted with pillboxes - in various stages of repair , this one is near Dunstanburgh Castle .

It unfortunately is NOT as clean inside , but has a magnificent field of fire and a very secure entrance.

It is very roughly finished , they seem to have used corrugated iron sheeting to shutter the concrete . It would be nice to see these historic buildings kept in repair - they are just as worthy of preservation as the stately homes and castles , unfortunately they are not as potentially lucrative as some of the surrounding British Heritage/ National Trust sites. All this has of course has got me thinking WW2 gaming ! Oh dear !.

Some more new figures and thoughts...

Been touching up and  rebasing some Irregular 42mm British Colonials I got off Ebay at a reasonable price . Overwhelmed by actually seeing some painted figures that I was interested in , I went ahead and bought them and then thought - 'what am I going to use them for?'. They didn't fit in with my other 'Balkan' figures and the idea of starting another period in 42mm didn't make sense . When I first bought the Irregular 42mm figures I was not sure where I was heading , I liked the figures for their 'toy soldier' looks and the period of history in the Balkans is interesting , the only problem was that everybody was starting to wear khaki uniforms ! - boring ! . I looked further into it and found that in the 1890s-1900s armies for these nations where still using the older brighter uniforms - if only the Balkans War  had happened 10 to 15 years earlier !. The rot had set in - I decided to use the earlier uniforms and when I miss-ordered some cavalry and got the wrong figures (Greek cavalry -should be in Khaki) I decided to make up a Hussar type uniform -'The Hussars of Excellance' were born (see earlier posts) . By now the madness had set in , I have always admired other bloggers who have their own'Imaginations', so I decided to do my own, set in the  1890s Balkans area . Having spent about 40 years painting 'proper' wargame armies this was refreshingly different and the figures painted in a 'toy soldier' style are soon done . I was mulling over what rules to use when a wargaming colleague 'A' introduced me to 'Funny Little Wars' - "have a look at these - they are weird - you will like them !"  he said  . So here we are about 6 months into the project several £s poorer ( Irregular are several £s richer !) and quite a lot of figures painted , lots of games played and fun for all the family - well me anyway . I'm busy tweaking the rules a bit - the originals were to be played in the garden ( the weather ,hens , cats and not wanting to alarm the neighbours prevent this) - more of this in the future. Oh and the British colonial troops are the first unit of the British Intervention Field Force (Overseas). BIFFO ! Oh dear think I need to lie down!.

Oh Dear !

Been messing around with my new camera and took this photo of my painting tray -

Oh my lord ! - I knew it was a bit messy - but - when I  saw this photo I was shocked ! . It looks like an air crash ! . It's an old Games Workshop painting tray and I have had it about 6+ years now , it's been well used - as you can tell , but it is a disgrace so I must clear it up a bit . Getting rid of all those sample figures which have taken up residence would be a start and all those bits of paper with scribbled notes on them .  Did think of getting a new one, but GW don't do the wooden ones now, having replaced them with a plastic one which don't look as good . So I must Spring Clean , by the way on the table  are the first of a new 42mm Balkans war type army based on Greece , more later .

New Blog

Several people have mentioned they are having problems getting onto my other blog - The Steadfast Tin Soldier , think there may be a Spanish set of the same name(?) , if you click on the link on the side bar on this site it should take you straight through to it .

Dawn Raid (2)

The Treborian forces push through the village driving the militia before them . A Treboian secret agent sneaks up on the FR militia .

He hurls an 'infernal device' , causing devastation in the militia ranks . Major Velkro confronts the Treborian agent -

and is gunned down (both needed 6's to hit - Velkro threw 342 Agent 166- Velkro did not make the required saving throws !) .

The last of the Ferraro Roccain Household Guard is shot down , The Treborian Staff Officer races up the winding steps to the tower door - shoots the lock off and releases the Envoy and his manservant.

The battle rages below the tower , as the FR  reserves march onto the table, with only limited forces left the Treborians will not be able to make it back to the docks and are forced to spirit Sir Morris into the woods, their flight covered by the few remaining British Legione and the Hussars of Excellance .

Sir Morris Oxford is free ! - BUT  for how long !? . Interestingly this is the second time I have played this game , the first time with my gaming colleague 'S' (I forgot to take any photos - due to the excitement ) and both games turned out with the same end . A Treborian victory but with horrendous casualties.