Author: lorenzoseventh

Wargaming in an erratic style

Categories
life

COVID-19 ? Will it make me blog more?

It has been a while since I wrote on this blog and in that time the world has literally turned upside down. Back then, actually only February, the Chinese were wrestling with their outbreak while in Italy the first signs of a serious European outbreak were just appearing. Since then it has begun to spread everywhere and most of Europe is locking down to try to avoid following Italy into significant loss of life.

Society is in collective shock and it appears relying heavily on the world wide web to help the isolation and separation that we must now all encounter.

So I hope this will be the last time I write about COVID-19 and that this blog will focus instead on the distraction of the simple hobby of table-top wargaming.

I hope that what I share you will enjoy.

Categories
lance and longbow society

Tannenberg 1410 at Vapnartak

A good visit to Vapnartak which including playing in the participation game laid on by the Lance and Longbow society (LLS). The battle of was fought in 1410 between the teutonic order and the polish lithuanians and is variously now known as Grunwald, 1st Tannenberg or Zalgiris according to the useful LLS table guide provided on the day.

The Teutons mass to attack
Th Lithuanians are up for a fight
More Commonwealth Troops
In the centre the Poles are pressing home their attacks
the beginning of the end as the polish left wing is driven from the field

Many thanks to the guys who ran this participation game which used a house rules version of big battle lion rampant and also their advice on painting plastics. The figures were all 1/72 or 20mm from various manaufacturers medieval ranges. They might be considered small in these 28mm days but they looked good to me.

Categories
battle anniversaries

Two 21st Century decades! Where did they go?

Neil Rennoldson editor successively of Arquesbusier (journal of the pike and shot society) and Hobilar (journal of the lance and longbow society) sometimes used his editorials to review centenaries and anniversaries in a bid to inspire articles written by members.

Looking back through history at the numerous wars and battles fought has two impacts on me. The sheer number of events that occurred and have been recorded and then what a distraction they can be from my current wargame projects.

I will start this post with a reflection. The first two decades of the 21st century have seen multi century anniversaries.

War of the Spanish Succession

Great Northern War

War of the Quadruple Alliance

War of the League of Cambrai

Jacobite Rebellion

The Ottoman Venetian war

Numerous Anglo Norman (1202) Anglo French (1214) wars not to mention Anglo Scottish (1400-1420) Anglo Welsh (1211) wars. Plus the Barons War (1215-1217 – Magna Carta and all that)

Then there have been the Polish Teutonic wars (1409-1411) and the Umayyad wars in Iberia and eastern Mediterranean (700-718).

I should say that my reflections only concern European and Middle Eastern history including those lands bordering the Mediterranean and Black seas during the period 3000BC to the early 1700’s.

Turning to earlier times things seemed a lot quieter although I would single out 400-419 AD as one of immense change for the Western Roman Empire as the Suevi, Alans, Vandals and Visigoths swept across Gaul and Italy sacking Rome in the process and drawing away the last great roman armies of fortress Britain.

I might also mention some of the battles from the medieval and early modern periods like Clontarf 1014, Bouvines 1214, Morgarten 1315, Agincourt 1415, Ravenna 1512, Novara 1513, Flodden 1513, while in the east the Umayyad siege of Constantinople in 717/18.

That’s an impressive list so what do the roaring 20’s promise the historical gamer looking for inspiration, or simply a backdrop to the next wargames project?

War in the “roaring 20’s”

In my preferred periods in question not a lot jumps out prior to 1550BC so here are some that caught my eye since then.

Egyptians conquer the Hyksos 1523-1517

Nubian Campaigns of Thutmose III 1429-1428

First Messenia War with Sparta 740-720BC

Nubian conquest of Egypt 732-721BC

Colchis – Scythian War 725BC

Revolt of Babylon against the Neo Assyrians 626BC

Peloponnesian War 431-404BC

2nd Samian War with Rome 327-304BC

Lamian War with Macedon 323BC

Barcid conquest of Hispania 237-219BC

Greco Bactrian wars of Diodotus II and Euthydemus I 230-220BC

Cloemenean War 229-222BC

Gallic wars with Rome 225- 222BC

Greek Lyttian War 220BC

Rome defeats the pirates of the Balearics 123 – 121BC

Jurgurthen War with Rome 122-105BC

Cantabrian Wars with Rome 29-19BC

Tacfarina Numidia Rebellion from Rome 17-24AD

Constantine versus Licinius 314-324AD

Roman Sassanian Wars 421-422AD

Now for some battle anniversaries coming up this decade

320’s – Chrysopolis

420’s – Aetius and the Visigoths (426) and Franks (428)

520’s – Vezeronce

620’s – Siege of Constantiploe and Nineveh (Byzantine/Sassanid)

720’s – Toulouse and Ravenna

820’s – Ellendun (Mercia/Wessex)

920’s – Battle of the Highlands 926(Bosnia and Bulgaria)

1020’s – Shirimni & Svindux (Byzantine/Georgian) and Lemnos (Byzantine/Rus)

1120’s – Didgori(Tbilisi)(Georgian/SeljukTurks),

1220’s – Lihula, Trebizond, Estonia

1320’s – Boroughbridge, Muldorf, Zuppolino, Cassel

1420’s – Hussite Wars, Arbedo, L’Aquila, Zagonara, Maclodio, Patay, French recovery in the Hundred Years War

1520’s – Belgrade, Bicocca, Frakenhause Peasant War, Pavia, Mohacs, Vienne, Siege of Florence

1620’s – White Mountain and the Thirty Years War, Cossack Raid on Istanbul, Cecora, and Ottoman Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth Wars

1720’s – Russo Swedish Naval War and Russo Persian War

The 1720’s look a bit empty after the numerous wars of the first two decades of the 1700’s. Elsewhere the decisive battles are Pavia, Mohacs, White Mountain and Nineveh.

One stand out battle anniversary for 2020 has to be White Mountain. The 400th anniversary of the battle between the Empire and Bohemia was one of the most significant in the wars that lasted from 1618 until 1648. The only rub is that my pike and shot armies have never got going so I would need a miracle to field the armies by the anniversary day in November.

So plenty to go at if my current interest in Normans and Saxons takes a wrong turn.

Categories
norman conquest

Another Digression

Not content with “off piste” in my last post I am looking at books in this post. The thread of wargaming is still there and my current painting enthusiasm waxes and wains around what I am reading.

To sustain a period of painting I need the books to back it up. Until recently the Normans had been a period admired from a distance but avoided. My interests at best for the years 500-1200AD were mostly Byzantine. One of my favourite authors has been John Julius Norwich. He wrote Normans in Sicily many years ago and it is still recommended reading. This book had always been on the edge of my reading list not least because the Mediterranean Normans appear in other books by John Julius Norwich – notably the Middle Sea.

So my interest kept returning to Southern Italy and this period. It was not a large step to head north to Normandy and then England. I have begun to read more about the Normans in England. Previously I had just given a nod to Hastings.

A visit to Sicily furthered my interests. The multi ethnic multi religious nature of the Normans in Sicily seems unique for the period. Then a speculative purchase found in a discount bookstore got me reading about the Normans in a broader context.

“A brief History of the Normans: The conquest that changed the face of Europe by Francois Neveux caught me eye. Francois being Professor of History at Caen University was well placed to talk about the people of that area.

Published by the Little Brown Book Group in 2005 ISBN10 – 1845295234.

The book starts well before the Normans could even claim Normandy. And in this sense I enjoyed this particular book linking as it did the Carolingian era to that of Normandy and the rise of France.

In fact the chapters before Hastings were a mine of information and written in a way that kept me turning the pages rapidly. Somehow after that the story line lost its edge although it was still an enjoyable read.

My next foray into the period was on the Saxon side. Edward the Exile, son of Edmund II Ironside, the potential heir returning to England in August 1057 was killed within 2 days of his landing. Its author Gabriel Ronay made the pre-Hastings era an interesting and broader story than simply Harold versus William.

Both these books offer a more European perspective of the English problem of succession.

The book finishes with more Saxon aspects of Williams conquest

And then I picked up Marc Morris’s Norman Conquest. I hoped I would enjoy his story and I have not been disappointed. Suitably detailed, the narrative moves along quickly without becoming superficial.

The James Aitcheson Trilogy of historic fiction I found by pure accident. I picked up the second part in a charity shop and then bought the first book on kindle.

Not a great fan of historic fiction stories the trilogy covers a rather overlooked period post invasion. The author reveals his historian first author second character. Some good observation of the period makes the story settings believable and engaging. The whole story line though is incredulous – hang on this is fiction though – and the main characters move around a bit too easily. The very modern conversation style mixed with using old Saxon and Welsh place names did not really work for me.

Given these fiction books are the first ones I have finished in a long time thats a compliment. And at least the cover picture is of the period – too many historical books having sloppy front covers simply then disappoints me on reading as well.

Right now I am reading some modern travelogue – fingers crossed my Norman painting does not dry up.

Categories
board games

Off Piste

So already this item is not about Baroque, let alone Bronze Age, even the Normans of my first post for that matter!

I picked up two excellent buys on ebay over Christmas.

The first was “Snowtails” a boardgame. The second “Memoir 44” again a board game. Yes there was no mention of board games in my blog purpose, but hear me out.

The origin of these purchases is due to my figure painting habits. Having found I paint best while listening to some background sound – I can’t paint to a tv programme/video stream though – I settled on some classical music simply because it really is great “background” music that can be ignored! My painting rates improved no end. And somewhere along the line I discovered podcasts by meeples and miniatures, and after some initial reservations I started using them for background instead and my painting rates improved again. It should be said my painting rates are very slow anyway.

During one meeples show Neil Schuck read out an email from a listener who had gone back through all the old podcasts in the site archive – a few hundred in all!

My interest was fired up as I waited for the latest edition of meeples, switching back to classical music for infill. So I started with episode No.1. And the painting got better again. The early episodes are obviously dated in terms of current news being 2006 era! But the reviews of games and figures are only dated in terms of if their out of production ranges. And I liked the simple early podcasts which were uncomplicated. Later ones actually got harder to paint to as I kept stopping to relisten to something or write a note. The guest sessions being the worst or best depending on which way you look at it.

By the time I got to episode 61 “snowtails and memoir 44” were clear winners for Neil. And on the strength of a 10 year old recommendation I went shopping only to discover that “snowtails” was very expensive even secondhand.

A simple racing game with dangerous trees!

Boardgames I have always enjoyed in a non wargaming setting except for kingmaker which was very playable with people not interested in wargames. I got lucky with a snowtails nearly new copy starting on auction at £1 and a few days later a memoire 44 going at £5 as well. I bid for both and with limited bidders the prices only crept up as Christmas approached. I was determined to have both so put in my top price at the start. Eventually I won both with a few pounds to spare. Snowtails went for £25 and memoire for £32 (ok so brand new memoir 44 was going for £40 elsewhere on ebay) still I thought it was worth the effort.

world war 2 board game basic edition

Both arrived promptly and the contents were fine.

Neither are in my wargaming period but were the result of my painting habits changing. Thanks to meeples and miniatures and Neil Schuck.

Categories
basing

Basing Normans in the South

Having explained my latest approach to basing I should say that my wargaming choices are very modest. In fact the whole plastic figure thing was aimed at “keep it simple”. And that goes for painting and finishing – simple acrylics mainly block painting and gloss varnish. my figures are intended to be handled and mostly viewed at 3 feet or 1 metre away.

Even my Wars of the Roses 28mm figures have received such treatment although I did some flesh/clothing washes here and there. And they felt a bit questionable – “was the effort worth it?” well thats more about my painting skills/impatience I think and not the technique being worthwhile.

And when it comes to plastic I seem to have moved to the point  where a bad Plastic Soldier Review will encourage me to buy – maybe a paint job can rescue a poor figure. The question is can my painting rescue the figure or actually make it worse? Beauty as they say is in the eye of the beholder.

And I have found to my eye that a base I like significantly enhances my figures – when looked at on the table at about 3 feet of course.

So actually close ups on screen are probably not that helpful in some cases. Anyway here goes.

Strelets 1/72 Normans from a mixture of their boxed range at about 12 inches or 300mm

Essentially I based the figures on 80mm x 60mm laser cut MDF from pendraken miniatures, daubed on pva glue, emersed in a tray of budgie grit, shaken and set aside to dry. A day later, inverted to shake off the last loose material, it was out with the paints.

the budgie grit tray – the grain mix works even for 20mm figures

Then base paint. Now this base is the result of several attempts to get the right colour. I could say at this point I spent hours rerunning the La Vuelta vids poring over the helicopter shots for the right ground look but I would of course be fibbing or maybe not………

trials…….

I found I could get some wacky colour outcomes and actually the ones I thought would be too bright I decided would look better for a mediteranean location.

I discovered an old revell acrylic pot of “rust” was the best base colour (need to source an alternative as I don’t know anyone who stocks revell acrylics now given the dominance of vallejo and citadel).

And the ochre and then either ivory or white highlight came from B&Q and Johnstones sample pots. And then some final decoration.

I finished the base off with some greenery taking a cue from La Vuelta again and using bright green foliage. Lots of railway model suppliers provide a range of foliage plants.

And that wraps it up for now. I think the extra steps taken here are worthwhile and enhance the figures. I plan to do all my mediterranean medievals this way. Next problem is getting the table top to match.

Hope to see you soon.

Categories
basing

Do bases matter that much?

Do bases matter that much when it comes to miniatures used in wargaming? By current standards they clearly do with plenty of trade offerings available and a wealth of DIY advice online.


Also the preference for elements without individual figure removal permits more imagination to be applied around a base. Perhaps the exception is skirmish gaming but even here you have the option of sabot bases providing the individual figure movement while retaining the convenience of the larger element base which can still be given varying levels of decoration.


My basing journey has been pretty basic. Back in the dim and distant past I painted desert or green paint onto cardboard bases. I still have them and they work after a fashion. The figures are 25mm. They look a bit tired though.


I think this figure is a citadel adventurer from the 1970’s when my painting hand was patient and my eyes still worked! note the ageing gloss varnish.

Then I started a 15mm phase and actually paid for painting including basing. The quality was good but somehow they did not grow on me. They look accurate but……

15mm Essex Byzantines professionally painted with matt finish and understated basing!

I did some of my own and I was even less happy!

And then I caught the plastic fantastic bug and returned to simple painted bases for some 1/72 scale figures.

Zvezda Russian Cavalry cruise past some positively ancient 20mm minifig french napoleonics and giant 25mm tradition russians

In the middle of this phase I moved into 28mm figures and thought they needed something extra. As it happened despite all the wealth of offerings and advice in all the various magazines and books I had collected, I stumbled across the humble warhammer guide in one of their rulebooks – maybe shieldwall – where they recommended simply gritting the bases, basecoating and drybrushing once. Somewhere I found a suggestion to use budgie grit. I tried it and painted it up, except no dry brush, but added some static grass and…… I was still underwhelmed. There is no pleasing some people.

Perrys 28mm Continental Burgundian Pike on DBA bases

I then had another surge of plain painted bases when I reworked more of my old 25mm metals.

You can see them next to the Zvezda Russians above – Minifigs French circa 1972? and Tradition Russians from the mid 1970’s. The bases they replaced were very dark green painted airfix box card – the figures have been transformed in my view, although unbelievably garish – they cheer me up!


And then I decided to do some mediterranean normans. Coincidentally I had watched both British cycling, Le Tour and La Vuelta races and the penny dropped. All my scenic basing had generally used dark green/dark brown earth (or grey brown for 15mm) colours – and I had not recognised why I liked the bright green bases beyond their simplicity. British cyclists rode through dark earth countryside with bright greens but La Vuelta cyclists went through fantastically bright coloured soils of many hues and even with brighter green shrubs and trees on top. (well except in the picos mountains in the north).

So I got my paints out and started experimenting – and so I have now found what I want for my Normans. Well until the butterfly lands on the next flower…..

In my next post I will share the results.

Categories
basing

Basics ugh I mean start with basings!

Do bases matter?

All History is bunkum, only the future matters

— Henry Ford or something like that

Back to basics or is that basings? Most wargames today have taken from boardgames the token or counter principle and many miniature figures now find themselves stuck to a base with some others of their kind.

Yes there is another strong theme of individually mounted figures although, because of gaming time, this will usually reduce the figure count on the wargames table. So if you want to show lots of figures and still finish a game then multiple figures on one base is the way to go.

First up are some posts on my current struggles with basing style.

Categories
wargames blog

Erratic wargaming

What its all about………

This blog will be erratic simply because when it comes to wargaming I am the proverbial butterfly, the world is full of the next nectar stop. So pop in now and again your always welcome.