Hobby Update 04 Aug 26

Progress has been a little slower over the last week or so, but prior to that I had made a couple more dints into the lead mountain First, I completed a few Vietnam War-era figures from The Assault Group: there are some VC with a mixture of weapons, some ANZACs and some US Special Forces: 

Then I did a small batch of 95th Rifles from Perry Miniatures. 

The current strategy is to get the uniformed and historical 28mm figures from the lead pile done first, and then will move onto the miscellaneous and fantasy stuff and dig out the partially painted figures to get some quick wins. Then I will switch back to 15mm and 6mm uniformed and historical stuff, and then go back to the 28mm odds-and-ends to finish off. That effectively means prioritizing the remaining 28mm Napoleonics mainly. Wish me luck!

I have also found time to get one game in - of which more anon - and have also done some more messing around with scenario designs to try and get some more easy games onto the table.
 

Hobby Update 14 Jul 26...and a game!

The push to get through the lead mountain continues. Next up were a bunch of Fireforge Templars, plus some unknown - maybe GW? - late medieval style cavalry? The former are new, the latter second-hand and in need of some restoration...

There area still a few bits to touch up (and a missing arm!) on the cavalry, but they are looking a bit better than they were.

(a Viking that had been missing from the previous batch also sneaked in)

I based the Templars for the desert. Not sure if that was the best choice, we shall see!

And on Sunday, I actually got around to playing a game. I ACTUALLY GOT AROUND TO PLAYING A GAME! I was sitting in the garden doing some reading, then I was doing a few things with original D&D (playing out a few example combats to remind myself of the mechanics) and then the urge really struck me to just play a game, so I set up an old favourite: Scenario 1 from the One Hour Wargames book, with my Baccus WSS figures and the Polemos: Ruse de Guerre rules.

 

 

The Set-Up: 

The 'Anglo-Dutch' at the bottom, facing the 'French' at the top.

I rolled for forces from the book (slightly modified to allow for 9 units instead of 6) and generated the following armies:

 

The Anglo-Dutch Army:

Duc de Aunis

1st Brigade: 3 bases of Infantry (Murray, Colyear, Portmore)

2nd Brigade: 3 bases of Infantry (Ferguson's, Lord North's, Leven's)

3rd Brigade: 2 bases of Dragoons (Lord John Hays', Ross'), 1 base of 6pdr Foot Artillery  

 

The French Army:

Lord Lancaster 

1st Brigade: 3 bases of Infantry (Berwick, Galmoy, Dorrington)

2nd Brigade: 3 bases of Infantry (Dauphine, Sault, du Roi), 1 base of 6pdr Foot Artillery

3rd Brigade: 2 bases of Horse (FitzJames, Sheldon)*

Slightly on the exaggerated side, but all real units - all Scots in the Anglo-Dutch army, apart from Ross' Dragoons (Irish) and the artillery; whilst the Horse and the 1st Brigade in the French Army are all Irish.

(*okay purists, I know that these are really the same regiment at different times...)

The Dutch Scottish Brigade (1st) on the Anglo-Dutch Left.

The Dragoon Brigade and artillery in the centre.

And the 2nd Brigade (Scots' Brigade) on the right.

The Irish Brigade on the French Left.

The 2nd Brigade in the French Centre.

And the Cavalry on the French Right.

The Battle:

The French Army takes the initiative in a shallow echelon, leading by its left (top-right), with its right slightly refused; the Anglo-Dutch have slightly advanced and pivoted their left-hand brigade (Dutch Scots' Brigade) to counter this.

Things get serious. The Dutch-Scots' Brigade has advanced to check the advance; the French 2nd Brigade has pivoted to engage them, although this has slightly disordered the advance; note that some of the British Dragoons have fallen back to avoid French artillery fire. The Franco-Jacobite cavalry has trotted forwards (top-left), threatening to charge

A wider shot

The Irish infantry move forward to engage their Scots' counterparts...

The Dutch-Scots' traded a volley with the French and then charged forward. The Franco-Jacobite cavalry then charged the left-hand battalion of the Dutch-Scots' (Murray's Regiment)

The result: Murray's Regiment (left) ingloriously collapsed and ran; most of the French infantry was pushed back (Dauphine and Sault, centre)

But Dauphine's Regiment subsequently broke when the Dutch-Scots' resumed their firing! (top)

The action then switched to the Anglo-Dutch Right: the Irish and Scots regiments traded close-range musketry volleys...with the most devastating results! Fergusson's Regiment was routed (bottom-right), but all three of the Irish regiments were broken!!

After a few more moments, the French position becomes untenable - the two remaining regiments of Dutch-Scots' (Colyear & Portmore) stop any further French cavalry attack, and also break another French regiment (Sault) by fire. The remaining unbroken French infantry and artillery are unable to do too much to stem the rout.

The position at the end, when the French Army gives way.

Game Notes:

A very crushing Anglo-Dutch victory - but the real victory was getting an actual game on the table; or in this case, the garden grass. It was great fun, although it was over a little quickly (not perhaps as quickly as the photos imply, the game was slightly more involved in that, I skipped over some bits). The rules were fine, remembered them all straight off, except whether units which support to a flank recoil when the base they are supporting does (they definitely do so when supporting from the rear). The musketry looks highly decisive, but this is deceptive - the firefight between the Dutch-Scots and the French was pretty ineffective and it needed a further combination of bayonet and a second firefight to produce a decisive result. On the other hand, the musketry exchange between the Scots and the Irish witnessed 4 '10's being rolled out of 6 dice, which accounts for the sudden destruction of the French left. The Franco-Jacobites did have their share of luck - the successful cavalry charge on the Dutch Left was a low-odds (but high pay-off) tactic. It was just that the Anglo-Dutch (ok, Scots) were luckier all in one go...

 The scenario is the first one (Pitched Battle One) from the OHW book - based on Ceresole, apparently. 

 Game on a 2'x2' board, using Baccus 6mm figures, with the Polemos Ruse de Guerre ruleset. 

07 Jul 26 - Hobby Update

Still not much to report on the gaming front, but I have been continuing to chip away at the lead mountain...

The next batch was a group of (refurbished) old 40K Orks and a group of much newer Warhammer Beastmen.

The Beastmen are very nice figures! They can go into my 28mm fantasy box.

The Orks are definitely from a simpler - and smaller! - time, and they weren't in a great state (I cannot remember for the life of me where I picked them up) but they seem to have repaired and repainted ok. Good enough for the bairn to have fun with in any case.

After that, I tackled some plastic Vikings (Vixtrix possibly?). I thought these painted up quite well, I was pleased.

 I have a bunch of Dark Age warriors already (from Gripping Beast), which these will work fine with. 

Hobby Update - 30 Jun 26

 I have made a little bit more progress on the painting (and repair) pile over the last week or so. I am still prioritizing stuff for the little one, either stuff that is his or stuff that is going to him. That means a lot of 28mm stuff, which although it isn't expanding my collection too much, it is at least saving some space as they leave my pile and enter his room!

 

First up is a bunch of Soviets: some Bad Squiddo Soviets (Platoon command, plus a sniper pair) and a Warlord Games sprue, kindly donated by a member of TWW! Also, the Russian from Hour of Glory and a few repaired Romans.

 

 

Some repaired Zulus, Mahdists and a 24th Foot Ensign.

Some repaired and some fresh-built British Paras, including a couple of women to use as SOE operatives and suchlike!

A couple of free gift sprues of Germans: one sprue of Panzer Lehr and another of winter German paratroopers. Anyway, they are really nice figures, both types. I will keep these ones I think, no doubt I will find a use for them at some point!

Okay, back to stuff for the bairn: US infantry and paratroopers spares and repairs:

And a USMC platoon command pack for the Pacific:

 So definitely maintaining a bit of forward momentum now. I am looking for some proverbial easy wins next, so will prioritize stuff going to the bairn (plus he has NO issues getting stuff to the table. and under the bed. and on the stairs. etc...)

 

Joy of Six 2026

I managed to get myself to the annual Joy of Six show in Sheffield yesterday. You know what you are going to get: lots of very nice 6mm games and a bunch of 6mm traders, plus a couple of more general hobby traders (books, modelling stuff, lighting). There is also the chance to quiz Baccus' owner Peter Berry, and a chance to discuss a few issues of the day with a small panel of luminaries. The venue is really nice (Sheffield Hallam university), with a very decent cafe right next to the floor space. It also seems to have a high proportion of visitors who stay to the end, when the raffle is drawn. 

The Games:

 The first games were the demo layouts by Commission Figurines with their wood 6mm figures: set-ups from the Napoleonic, Ancients and ACW periods:

 

The next game was a Greek City states game by 'The Wargame Shop'. It was a participation game, and seemed to be well-attended throughout the day!

Next up, the Luton Lancers used Midgard for the Battle of Lewes. Simple, but very effective, and seemed very busy through the day:

Then there was a bigger Cold War battle - another very popular participation game. Lots going on with the terrain on this one!

Then the Baccus 6mm demo game: Lens from the Thirty Years' War. This has been their game for this show season, but apparently it is being retired soon.

Another very popular demo game next: the Ilkley Irregulars doing Borodino on a small board using Bloody Big Battles. BBB continues to be leader of the pack in terms of big battles in the C19, as judged by the number of games using them over the years at this show! 

Then there was a very neat and nice Battle of the Five Armies - I really liked the centrepiece (obviously) but also the mat and terrain was beautifully effective, yet very simple.

WW1 Next, presented by the South London Warlords, featuring the Marne 1914. I think I had seen this or something similar before, perhaps at Partizan or Hammerhead, but not an issue - it was nice then and was still very nice.

Next up was a battle from the 1991 Gulf War (Op Daguet); essentially an assault on an airfield. It was quite a big set-up, which definitely gave an impression of range and space. My photos don't quite do the mat justice, for some reason, it was nice with a definite desert feel.

Another very busy participation game next: a naval encounter set in the Spanish-American War of 1898. Everyone seemed to be having fun! And I genuinely don't think I have ever seen a naval game set in this conflict before. Done by Three Decks Dockyard and Sheffield WGS. I noticed that Three Decks Dockyard seem to have moved into 1/144 WW1 Aircraft too, which was a little tempting.

Next was a set of 3 urban warfare participation games, one seemingly set in Afghanistan, another one in a Western City and the third in the future. I think it was to showcase the (very nice) 3D-printed buildings 

Next was a C18 imaginations' battle, using Honours of War IIRC by 'The Loft of War'. Had quite a long chat with one of the guys here on the theory and practice of imaginations! He explained how inspired he had been by Henry Hyde, which makes sense (although The Loft of War was apparently not a tribute to 'The Loftwaffe'). Looked very pretty and seemed to be a vigorously contested action. 

The Grantham Gaming Club put on Undaunted, this time set in the Pacific. I really should get around to playing this!

Another big WW1 game next: Charles Rowntree putting on a 2nd Ypres game, covering the period just after the first big German gas attack of the war.

The view is from behind the German lines - they are in a 'big L', with the Allies in a 'small L' above them - the actual main gas attack is just above the 'point' of the 'L', where the red explosions stop.

Next up, James Morris and friends' 6mm Glorantha set-up. A very pretty, strongly-themed Midgard game, as is his signature!

Next was another small, pretty and very busy game - Gaines' Mill from the ACW. I had trouble getting close enough to get a really good shot!

Perhaps my favourite game of the show next - Civitate 1053, put on by Total Battle Miniatures. I have been fascinated by this battle ever since reading Normans in the Sun when I was a bairn! Anyway, the ground and walled town looked amazing, with the figures (mainly from the 1066-types from Baccus' range) complementing the look perfectly.

Just superb!! I want one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A big SF game next, put on by the Sheffield & Rotherham club. Lots going on in this one!

 A Franco-Prussian game next - looked very neat, with a good explanation of what was going on on the sheet! Was showcasing a set of rules I had never heard of before, Field Marshall Lieutenant.

I apologise that I didn't get the details of this next game: it was very busy when I was around! On the programme it was Operation Gotterdammerung by the Peterborough club, but I can't confirm that. Looked like an SF stompy robots / Battletech-y tupe game, but I am honestly not sure. The set-up looked good, mind:

Another game that looked a little familiar, Elefant Hunting by the Doncaster club. Simple looking but effective!

A battle that really piqued my interest next - 3RTR (I think) just outside Calais. Put on by the Cold War Commanders, I think they were using an old ruleset called Tac WW2 - seemed a very interesting encounter, looked roughly on an equivalent scale to Spearhead. Another simple but effective set-up.

And last game that I got a picture of was another FPW games using BBB. Another very busy game, so I didn't get full details (updated: thanks to the helpful comment, it was the battle of Coulmiers)

The game I didn't get a picture of was one I actually played: Wargames Developments did a game of 633 Sqn (the game of the film). It was good fun, using a card mechanic from 'Play Your Cards Right', which I assume was a subtle homage to Clausewitz... anyway, it was good stuff, and my squadron did manage to blow up the target, and a bunch of them survived (as prisoners), although not the Squadron Commander, who did at least get a posthumous VC for his efforts! The post-mission survival chances did seem to be slightly bear-ish on the chances of an unloaded, half-fuelled Mosquito being able to outrun German interceptors in 1943. And my slightly alternative take on the meaning and morality of the film did at least raise a smile from the staff too...

A Few Thoughts

It is a good show and the one show I often stay until the end for. The demo games and the participation games (the great majority) maintain their high standard, although I did miss a few people who regularly put on games here: Nick Dorrell, Per Broden, Robert Dunlop, James Mitchell, the MAD Gamers... The show did seem a bit quieter (as last year had been) in comparison with former years, which seems a pity. And the number of traders does seem to have gone down a little over the years - some from going out of business I guess, but not all. It is a shame for me, since I often look at shows and buy later online: I don't necessarily like going through individual model codes with a trader at a show, it takes ages and it feels slightly odd now, since that is not typically how shopping in general works now.

The Q&A was interesting, the panel had some different insights - as a mainly solo player, it can be quite good to hear some people talking about aspects of the hobby in person. It is a little bit of a shame there aren't some microphones though, the area where it is done isn't the best for hearing, especially with the hubbub of games only a few metres away. 

I had meant to buy some stuff, but got into a bit of analysis paralysis and couldn't decide what I really felt like! So them I rationalized this by saying to myself that I have lots to paint, coming away with nothing form this show show would be okay, good even... then I won a Rapier Mongol Army in the raffle! So I will add that to the painting pile...