So I will kick off the painting pedestal slot in 2024 with some more pickelhaubes.
In this case it is some Oldenburgers. These chaps are again a straightforward repaint of Hat ww1 german infantry. The pickelhaube sculpting works to my advantage having a higher crown. This gives a nod to the the Pickelhaube design prior to 1870.
And 1848 was still a time for Shakoes. Another contribution to the German Confederates is this unit of Saxons. They are SHQ Napoleonic Hanoverian’s. I have not been able to track down a suitable officer/musician/flagbearer set as it appears the SHQ ranges are incomplete.
I really like the facial sculpting on these SHQ metal figures. This is notable because with 1/72 plastics the mould line/flash and sculpting often all come up short at the face.
Of course at 3 feet – my normal viewing – this is all academic.
Once again I have belatedly found a painting challenge. This one by Dave Stone started at Christmas and is about getting stuck into your figures backlog – assuming you have one?
This is my first contribution.
15th regiment
These figures were prepped and on painting sticks on the 10th January 2023 according to my painting journal. A year in production is not uncommon in the Erratics world. I had made more progress by November with the main colours done when I stopped all existing production to do some new acquisitions!!!!!
Finally I have finished them complete with gaming bases.
For many years I did not record my painting activity or maybe kept random notes until with lockdown I decided to consolidate my notes and eventually opted for a handwritten journal. It has stood the test of time and has repaid the effort as I have added duplicate figures and simply dug out the recorded paint guide.
These figures are Hat 1/72 World War One German Infantry who have simply been given a paint job. I decided the boot detail was fine at even close distance. This then magically turned them into the 7th and 15th Landwehr Regiments of 1848 who marched into the First Schlieswig Holstein War.
7th regiment
The bases use my standard technique taken from Warhammer Ancient Battles – birdcage grit on PVA followed by Burnt Sienna, an Ochre dry brush and a yellow white highlighter. I then use a Javis mid green turf to finish. Bases are from pendraken.
Cockades were popular
The figures are based on 4 No. 40mm square bases which allow me to use a variety of wargame rules.
In line for a variety of rules
The flag is from Warflag (They are certainly worth a donation or a few) and I have opted for plain flower arranging wire flagpoles with the paper flags glued to recycled covid testing sticks – the hollow sticks fit the wire just right. I am still deciding on how to arrange them – whether to give them caps to set them at the height I want. Right now they just drop onto the figure.
Ok so pistols were only just arriving in 1848 but I like the figure as is…
The only difference between regiments is in the shoulder strap colours. The 7th are yellow while the 15th are light blue.
My reference book is Ralph weavers armies of the first Schleswig Holstein war 1848-1851 published by partizan.
Brilliant guide by Ralph weaver
You can also see a glaring mistake – one base incomplete with only two figures. Quite simply back in 2023 I managed to miscount the figures being put on sticks and never checked again until basing them! This was a puzzle as I used all 48 figures from one box to paint 4No. 12 man units……
Oops one of my men went missing
So that journal will repay itself again as I paint that missing figure – when I find it!
I was back at Recon in Pudsey for what is the year end show for me.
First a massive hats off to the Pit Gaming Shop who stepped in after last years event proved to be the last that Wakefield Gamers were able to host. https://thepitgamingshop.co.uk/
I like Recon – it is a good regional show and has that blend of traders, games to see, games to play and a bring and buy. The venue – Pudsey Civic Hall is equipped for such events so you get a nice bar and seating area and plenty of space to circulate.
Wintry but bright and sunny – the civic hall has good lighting unlike Fiasco venue in Leeds
I was late arriving this year and then played a game straight away, then discovered the bring and buy had been huge but also plundered very very quickly.
The Ottoman Turks defend a hill against impetuous Crusaders
I played two games at the Lance and Longbow Society participation table. First up I took the Crusader Centre for a Nicopolis 1396 era encounter. I quickly advanced and was promptly decimated by the defending turks led by Bob.
The crusader centre looked suitably heavy
In the second game I took a flank of the turkish army and got badly beaten up by the crusaders led by Andy.
Second game flank force – mainly bow although they did okSecond games ends abruptly when the Porte is killed! on first contact! The dreaded dice throw check for leaders in melees…….
Rules were home adapted Lion Rampant and they are fun to play.
The first floor this year contained the very much enlarged bring and buy plus a HOTT competition.
In the main hall were the traders and games. Pit Gaming were located on the large stage – but I failed to snap their offering!
1941 – Mussolini launches his Greek adventure
Attack on Height 518 from the 1941 Italian invasion of Greece caught my eye. Ironically they were using Rapid Fire Rules which I had recently started to look at – I had got a free copy of the “reloaded” booklet somewhere last year and became interested in the original ruleset. Then I passed up a secondhand copy at battleground https://wordpress.com/post/thewargamingerratic.home.blog/7155
Anyway the guy hosting gave me a lot of his time to chat about the game which I appreciated, and is one of the benefits of a demonstration game – although this was actually a game being fought by him and two other gamers. So hats off to him.
tankettes are a feature of early war combat as well as towed artillery/anti tank guns. scale was 1/72.
Hill 518 was a few metres lower after this battle simply because the Italians deluged the location with so much bombardment – neatly illustrated in the game by the shellholes and destroyed trees
Immaculate model aircraft – 1/72 does give you unlimited airpower of course
Blotz is a trader, they had some very interesting buildings on show. I liked their offerings.
Actual Size Miniatures had some interesting boats and just in the distance an impressive range of 28mm mid 19th century guns
This Sci Fi dropship I also liked along with a nicely detailed RPG gaming set up for a control centre building
Another Sci Fi game attracted me. This time the precise and colourful hexes drew you in.
What a pirate also looked engaging.
What a tanker in 15mm? was on offer
In 15mm? again were two Napoleonic games by Central London Wargames Club.
Undaunted – another grid game looked intriguing
Blucher Rules in 6mm was being fought on stage!
Archduke John and eugene peruse their options from the erie ………
All in all I had a very enjoyable day.
Once again thanks to Pit Gaming, I hope Recon is back in 2024.
Top Director, A Giant of History, Unbelievable choice of scope, Big Budget – what could possibly go wrong?
Cinema backers expect a financial return – its a money business. They do not actively back failure. So empty auditoriums are not in the plan.
This summer by most measures Oppenheimer was a surprise hit with live audiences. And Barbie packed the cinemas as well – I think most people would have said beforehand “that will not fly”.
I enjoyed both films and was entertained.
I enjoyed Asteroid City, Mission Impossible was an easy watch, while Indiana Jones was what I expected – tired out series ending – mind you the battle scenes at the end were unexpectedly impressive, if seemingly out of context, to my mind, with the two leads comedy show. Then again up to that point the film had no obvious series ending climax.
I went to see Napoleon with foreboding – history films generally fail me – as opposed to war films which sometimes succeed. The critical reception had already put me on edge. Would I be looking for failure?
No – I hoped I would at the least be entertained.
The film failed me on most counts.
I then started to think of everything I could say about Napoleon – a film, I even started to write lots sentences and paragraphs and then I stopped. I felt I needed to explain why a film subject right up my street left me tempted to give up and walk out.
Napoleon was poor entertainment for me so it failed the basic cinema test.
I did not feel entertained – and neither emotionally moved
It had no purpose for me – presumably this was deliberate
It was miserably coloured – presumably this was intended
Many scenes made no sense or did little to build a useful storyline or made no sense in the context of other scenes – the cannon balls, dying soldiers and the icy waters – simply reminded me of the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan.
On the plus side the film seemed well made to me (well funded?), special effects blended with real life material showed technical quality (VFX Team was sizeable – yes I stayed for the credits!). Historical accuracy is always an issue – overall the uniforms and dress seemed ok and individual actions felt plausible. The real problems were the ideas/settings/battles/focus – I will leave it to others to point out all the glaring errors.
Except – the production team will have “deliberately chosen all of these” which is far more fascinating – why? One example will suffice.
Henry Ford was apparently quoted – “All history is bunkum”. And history is deliberately not archeaology – one is subjective the other tries for objectivity.
I don’t tend to go to the cinema in pursuit of History – I find it far better in a book.
As for the Napoleonic theme you could try Horseman on the Roof or Time Bandits or even the Scarlet Pimpernel (in Black and White!) or give up on the silver screen and watch an episode of Sharp or Hornblower.
Great war history on the silver screen remains more often than not illusive.
Napoleon – a film – best forgotten
A more satisfying illustration of napoleonic troops in action? CLWC at Recon in Pudsey – definitely a lot more fun!
Stockton on Tees and nearby Thornaby played host to a very friendly and inviting show I had never previously attended.
Located in a Sports Hall on the University site I was a bit late arriving so only just got a parking space in the adjacent carpark, although in fact there is plenty of parking around the site generally. The Railway Station at Thornaby is 800 yards away plus there are bus services to be had according to the well detailed Pendraken Show website. It even has pictures of the road junctions you will encounter on the way in.
And I have not even talked about the event itself!
I found the venue bright (something I struggle with at the Fiasco black hole in Leeds). There was less catering than many shows but enough – coffee/tea and snacks plus an outdoor food wagon. With a big shopping centre nearby you were not going to starve.
But it was the wargaming we had all come for in terms of food for the brain.
This is not a big show in the sense of a Salute or a Newark. However it has some particular aspects which make it a rich experience. Quite a few reenactors, living history groups were dotted across the show – I guess the point here being a lot more than you might normally see.
Then there were two talks in a dedicated room – one about the spanish civil war and one about anglo-scottish border warfare. I failed to get to either simply because there was so much I wanted to see elsewhere in the show.
The Sponsor is Pendraken and entry was not only free, you also got entry into a prize draw – some 20 odd prizes being offered.
So what about the show – traders, games etc.?
In that respect you would be right to say it has the same sort of mix as many other shows.
Here are some selected photos
The Schlieswig Holstein War (the first one!) Demonstration caught my eye and I will post again about that encounter.This RPG horror in Venice had some impressive paper buildingsThe theme of paper was to the fore with these “flats” – a massive Spanish Succession WargamePaper Buildings plus some humour all made for an engaging demonstrationNaval interests were also to the fore with this galley action being hard to missAnd this medieval naval battle was equally vibrant and a participation game into the bargain of which there were I guess 50% at the showNo daylight but a well lit arena and the viewing area allowed people to easily sit out for a while The usual traders plus some local and regional companies were present. Irregular Miniatures have a stand which itself is veteran class yet I still love to examine figures in the flesh like these 20mm metals which have character. Sorry despite the infinite ranges of newly printed 3D they seem to be too accurate for my liking when compared to say Irregular’s metal sculptures.Irregular do lots of basic ranges in lots of scales complete with guns and wagons. Late on I found this participation game I had missed several timesI have only ever dipped a toe in the 6mm water below 15mm scale but these League of Augsburg 10mm figures were quite enticingThe show was celebrating 10 years in its various formsNeedless to say no564 did not win any prizes
All in all a very enjoyable day out (that was prize enough) and a show that will be on my list for 2024.
Next week if all goes ok I plan to go to Recon 2023.
I did not go to Battleground with a shopping list and as it happens none of my usual interests drew my wallet out. However I did pick this book up at the bring and buy – yep I don’t do desert war in any scale!
Down the proverbial leafy Suffolk lane this mild autumn there appeared a classic on the verge. I could not see the doctor anywhere so just took a snap. Glad to see the recycling bin to rear not sure about the bird box though?
Looks the McCoy. Or is that too much Doctoring!
Dr Who gave me the pleasure and enjoyment of things done with minimum resources. Even while you could go to multi million dollar movies somehow programmes like dr who, dare I say Blake’s seven and later red dwarf allowed you to suspend disbelief on a massive scale in a great fun way.
Through modern eyes the old programmes seem archaic but they retain a certain innocence of production now mostly lost to tv and film, but not quite perhaps.
These figures are by Warrior Miniatures and John@just needs varnish https://justneedsvarnish.wordpress.com/ prompted me to dig them out. They date from the mid 1970’s and they are one of a kind because I had already switched my interests to WRG Ancients plus D&D and then left the hobby altogether for a couple of decades.
I kept some of my old collection including these fine chaps. They had the weight (heft) and style I have always liked. Probably more so as 28mm ranges tend to be well overfed.
During lockdown I even managed to paint some of my Warrior figures!
The Wargaming Erratic 