AAR: Battleground Wargames Show - "Battle of Stones River, Dec 31st, 1862" - RF&F

Hi folks,

This week, I've been working on a bit of prep for the AHPC VIII challenge, which will be starting in December. I've been putting together some 'big boys' to support my 3mm 'not-ultramarines' and due to a last minute change of plans was available to got to the Battleground Wargames show in Stockton, where the chaps from the club were putting on a 10mm ACW Regimental Fire and Fury game. So limbers and other odds and ends also got added to the painting pile.

The scenario is from the RF&F rule book, I believe, and has the Rebs attacking a Union position. As a club project this year we'd all painted up some 10mm Pendraken ACW figures, and Dave D very kindly sorted out terrain for us. Hopefully you'll agree it's a cracking looking table!

The show itself was busy, with free entry this year apparently making a big difference to the number through the doors. The bring and buy, which we were near, certainly saw a lot of trade. Myself and Martin went halfers on a 6mm Cold War British army, and I picked up some West Germans as well.

The table got a lot of interested - especially Dave's LED smoke markers, which drew a lot of comments and questions. A lot of people also stopped to check out the table mat. The scale of the figures got a lot of comments as well, I think people were impressed by the mass effect of the 10mm.

Angus got stuck in from the get go, storming into the Union positions. I tried to re-deploy to support and to secure our flank. Pete and John's chaps moved up as quick as they could. 

Not a lot of confederates holding this flank...

Overall, the Rebs hit the Union hard on our left flank, taking two of the objectives. Meanwhile I tried to hold of Martin on our right flank while we got more forces forward. My guys were pretty much out on a limb. A mix of experience levels and weapon quality didn't help... and two of my regiments were off trying to help Angus!

 

My forces on the right flank kept getting pushed back due to poor command rolls and disorders being put on. I took a few stands from Martin, but generally wasn't going to be able to stop him with gunfire. In the final Union turn, he charged my weakened line.

One unit's charge faltered due to my gunfire while the other got in but was beaten off by a narrow margin. In the centre a charge by one of the Unions green units was also beaten off by some of my chaps. I think in the last turn some Union charges against Angus' troops made some headway, but did not get close to retaken the lost objectives. Maybe with more time the Union would have had more luck against the exhausted Rebel troops!

Great day out, lovely table and good fun. I picked up a few bits, bumped into Rubbsalot and Matt Crump (briefly). More will no doubt follow on Dave's blog and on Martins!

Oh, and here are the 'big boys' for my 3mm stuff:

3mm Vanguard Sci-Fi figures

Hi folks,

Something a bit different has been the focus of attention for me over the last few weeks. Having got a little sick of painting Germans... I moved on to getting some test painting done on a bit of a side project I've taken up. Specifically some 3mm Sci Fi stuff from Vanguard Miniatures, part of their new 3mm 'Defeat in Detail' range for a free rules set they have released (Dominion; The Wars of Tusculum Nova).

I've always been a huge fan of the 40k Ultramarines chapter/legion. These nice little sci fi figures proved to be excellent proxies for 40k vehicles, so I decided to paint up my force as Horus Heresy Ultramarines (although it doesn't fit with the game background... but they are my figures!).

So far, I've managed to get a few different types of vehicle done, and one unit of infantry. Just to figure out how I want to paint them and what the units look like.

The Trojans (rhino proxies) are based on the British 432 APC. At the back I've got Scorpions (432 hulls with sponsons and turrets) and Hailstorm Rocket Tanks. The infantry are backed up by some Gladiator robots.

The models are super detailed - I'd go as far as to say they are on par with GHQ. My Scorpions (the tanks) are the older style sculpts with fixed turrets. The newer style ones have loose turrets. The infantry are stunning!

I need to tidy a few bits up on them and sort the edging on the bases. But other than that I'm pretty happy. I've tried to keep a very Ultramarine feel to the force. The large bases are 60mm by 40mm, while the smaller ones will be 40mm by 40mm. The idea is to play really big massed battles, with lots of units on each side. As an example of scale of force, these models are worth 39 points... with the concept being that most games being 150 to 300... I've more in the painting queue, including more infantry, APC's and Heavy Tanks.

I've got lots more planned for these, and will hopefully be doing some during the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge which I've entered again this year. More details on that as we get closer to the start date!

11/11/17

Hi folks,

Lots of these posts around, but just wanted to pop some words of my own down.

Remembrance is something that a lot of people do once a year, and something that most wargamers probably do a little more frequently.

My own efforts in the hobby have always focused on remembering and honouring my Grandfather, Trooper Percy Hurst, 144th Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps. But also the men he served with - those in the British, Polish, Canadian and other allied forces - both those that got home and those that did not. If the extend I go to with my collection seems a little extreme, it tends to be because I want to get things right. Because that's my way of paying tribute, and 'one Sherman is the same as another' is an insult to the men who died in those vehicles.

Every year that passes, I read more material, or re-read material I read when I was younger. My realisation (I don't think anyone who had not been there could truly understand) as to the depth of the hardship those men and women endured both in the war zones and at home for years later grows with each remembrance day. While those that were present get fewer and fewer.

But today I also spare a thought for those from other conflicts, ones which are perhaps not always at the forefront of our minds.

So I continue to remember them all, in my own way.

Finished - German 5cm Pak38's and 7.5cm IG 18 guns

Hi folks,

I had hoped to get this posted over the weekend, but only managed to finish the models last night.

I've a whole host of German artillery in the painting queue currently - a load of AA to help fend off the Tiffies I painted a few weeks ago. But at the moment I've focused on the infantry guns and lighter A/T guns.

A small amount of foliage added to the guns - these are Battlefront plastic Pak38's from their mid war plastic boxed set. I've only used a couple of the new plastic figures, and replaced most of the crew with spare metal ones I picked up. That new plastic holds detail OK and were fine to paint, but the facial details were terrible and getting the mould lines off them was a real nuisance.

I applied the camo with  a sponge, but ended up toning it all down with the highlights. Again, this is a technique that looks much better in person at a bit of a distance. The camo does come through...

The infantry guns are much more likely to be used in more of a support role, so I've not added foliage. I did complete the spotter team for these, but no command teams for either (yet). I might paint some, I might not. I'm pretty sold on 4th Ed at this point, and I'm unlikely to be playing 3rd any time soon. If I did, I'm sure I can steal a command squad from somewhere!

Again, a mix of crew figures, but mainly those that came with the pack. The 89. Infanterie Division apparently had Russian infantry guns in Normandy, so these are not quite correct. But as I've already got a load of spare French gun crew due to this project, I didn't want to add random Russians as well!

I've got a lot on with work currently, having started a new job and doing training. I had planned to get my ACW Limbers done before the show on the 25th, but can't make that now so the motivation has fled. I've also got a book to edit for my sister, which I've not looked at in months. So not sure what I'll move on to next!