My first entry into the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge No15 were figures left over from last years challenge. They were primed but that was it.
So having a LIMBO section in this years theme of the Divine Comedy by Dante was most helpful.
The figures were Hat 1806 Prussian Hussars repurposed as 1848 Prussian Hussars. Fortunately the Prussians in 1848 were going going all new with frock coats and pickelhaubes but also retro with flugelmutzes!
Having missed the spring partizan show I did not want to miss the autumn offering.
The crowd descended on Newark in a leisurely fashion arriving half an hour after the gates opened. We expected a shorter queue but no it was still the length of the building and some.
Once inside (fairly quickly as it happens) the place was heaving.
So my first comment is it was too crowded to take in all the excellent displays. I am not sure what you do – if the show is less congested people will feel it’s not thriving etc. I don’t think we will see a return to the two venue set up that saw competition games plus more traders in another hall?
In short maybe it’s me but it felt busier than ever?
So overall a busy, popular and I expect successful show.
The congestion also deterred me from taking as many pictures.
Turning to the retail side – all the usual suspects were there but just maybe a few less new offerings and less 3d print offerings visible?
There were no showstoppers in retail as far as I noticed.
I did throw some dice at Chris Kemp’s NQM game – I failed to drive away the Germans from longstop hill…..Chris uses on board indicators to avoid lots of rule checking and I think the scenes are intended to look congested so it’s abstraction might not suit everyone. The important elements are the variety of components that work together to enable the fighting elements to launch and sustain an attack or defence…….a neat grid game which is now a published ruleset.
Brits under the kosh Bring up the artillery – that was only partially successful Excellent table set up for participation with simple visuals.
So what about the table glamour…….
Omaha was excellent giving some true perspective Not your regular ww2 tank fastOk there were some behind that building I can never resist the kriegspiel style Quirky but popular participation gameOmaha again An engaging gameUnusual subject The game presenters included bramley barn wargamersSome interesting background Some excellent aircraft Early tech on show as well Despite two giant tanks of coffee the allies seemed to make little headwayPaper soldiers-fantastic Best show backdropHobbit warsAnd behind the backdrop useful vertical display space. Popular with Railway Modellers yet not popular with wargamers but here it works a treatYarkshire wargamer with serious amounts of plate on showThose planes again! Kept coming back to this gameMore paper armies ACW this time A traditional? 28mm game seven years war? With some great sceneryThe castle was a gemYep 1-72 Greeks 1941The Greeks holding off the Italian assault Italians make a bad job of itItalian armour about to get pummelled Wonderful aircraft again Plenty of source material on show for a rarely gamed front in ww2?Another excellent aircraft to give period flavour Soon the big guns will open up
That’s it except to say a well organised and enjoyable show means I plan to return.
That however, seemed to reinforce summer as a break.
So if this is now to be the start of my wargames season what’s on the cards for the next twelve months?
Well firstly probably the plan will fail! With that out of the way what might be done if it succeeds?
Painting wise I feel it will be more mid 19th century forces.
Some more obscure units are likely – Jutland sharpshooters 1848
Also nearly mechanised feels like it will get an outing.
My pontoon bridge but John at just needs varnish provided the armour!
Brief summer spells of interest in ancient and renaissance plus Wild West periods have fizzled out in 2024 and I can’t see that changing into 2025.
I guess one wild card could be sci fi which has gained some traction in recent years.
The painting table is more likely to see guns rather than spears it would seem.
Gaming wise I think it will revolve around campaigns and again currently mid 19th century wins out along with nearly mechanised.
Nothing like a map to get the campaign spirit moving
I hope to go to the Other Partizan which I missed last year especially as I missed Partizan this year. Oh and I should manage two out of Battleground, Fiasco and Recon.
One more year…..
Recon will be the last at Pudsey civic hall as the property is being sold off.
And just maybe online painting/modelling challenges will figure given both AHPC14 and season of scenery have seen my output of painting and making increase and diversify.
The 2023/24 ahpc14 haul Testing out a quick build Italian hilltop town for grid gaming during season of scenery challenge
Purchases wise the war chest has been thin of late more because I have what I need so it follows the figure mountain and scenery pit are full.
Books wise purchases have trailed off since 2023. Although 2034 gave me a surprise. But that’s another post.
If I do buy it is more likely targeted. For example I would like some more Irregular Miniatures bell shako infantry as well as some garibaldi men.
Well that seems like the bones of a plan. We will see……
Well having reached a dead stop on the Italian hill town I have progressed some other items.
Renedra gabions have been sat in a box for years probably since 2017!Likewise the Renedra pontoon bridges – two packs. However the earthwork to the right dates to the 1970’s !!!!!!Two bellona injection moulded artillery positions I bought back in the 1970’s and somehow could never part with. They’re still not done either…….Two resin artillery positions date from the late 1970’s with the medieval bombard marked MJB1976?Primer was brush applied Vallejo white, I don’t spray – hate the activity High street sample pot by johnstones gave me an ideal base coat to test out contrast paints. The bombard is hiding just behind the pot. At least I have not lost it. I have quite a few of the browns in the citadel contrast range.Skeleton horde worked just right for my timber pontoon bridgeFireslayer flesh worked a treat over an orangey brown for woodwork on artillery positionWarp lightning gave a vibrant cover to some plain green undercoat on the artillery positionGore grunta fur gave a darker result over the coffee undercoat for these gabions The finished items
Well its proved to be a good investment in the scenery season so far.
The Football season properly got underway this weekend (although the hard workers were already on their second weekend) after the summer break and it kind of gels with my view of the wargaming calendar year.
My off season is spring and summer. Well yes I know there are lots of wargamers who are of the 24/7 variety and make up the engine room of this fine hobby.
I am much more the peripheral player – wargaming fits in with lots of other activities. In summer I like to get out in the daylight and enjoy the warm rays of sunshine – not too warm though!
So it occurred to me the other day that it was odd that I might post a plan for the year at the turn of the year. Yes thats when many other things get planned and reflected upon – makes sense to do the wargame planning stuff at the same time in those dark months.
The reality is that my transfer season (= all those painting plans or rules/gaming period changes) and this disruption really happens between May and August. And thats because as my painting tails of in Spring my mind starts wandering.
Looking back I have noticed Summer has been quite fruitful for projects going awry and new ideas popping up.
I mentioned earlier those 24/7 wargamers. Well even if I dont paint much in Spring and Summer I do tend to read and that is the devil in my wargaming. Or rather it is the seed point for another idea or ideas.
What has seeded this summer?
Back in early spring I was on a roll (no pun intended!) painting, well inspired by the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XIV.
Trojan horse…..
My main project – Schleswig Holstein Wars were well served yet also some new material like a kit airplane – first in decades, retro citadel fantasy figures, gameshow freebies and even a magazine WW2 freebie figure Sci Fi carve up.
And then the finale posting by Karl at AHPCXIV featured a trojan horse. How apt, as it drove the Bronze Age front and square into my wargames thinking.
Soon I had the books out, which rules, which figures to paint, heck which scale? I am the sad possessor of 15mm and 1/72 chariot armies none of which are complete – in the case of 15mm not even started……
Scale – not a chariot in sight….25mm subs for those non existent 15mm chariots – in dba cavalry or chariots it matters not!High water mark of this summers Bronze Age push!
In the end I managed a strip or two of Assyrians undercoated and then opted for my version of 2mm armies. A successful campaign with DBA using a previous mapped world followed and then nothing.
Back to reading again. Suddenly William the chivalrous knight sprung upon me – I got all medieval and then it passed: And so did the book.
A great period for heraldic colour
The same happened to my wild west thoughts.
The cowboys got as far as the rockery before getting shot to pieces…..
The season of scenery challenge popped up. and I briefly made progress on a long overdue Italian hilltop town.
And then the Pike and Shot 16th century erupted with books on history, rules and uniforms spilling out of cupboards. A whole set of stockpiled figures got cleaned, reading progressed and rules were contemplated. Taking a lead from my Bronze Age moment I created some 0mm, yes 0mm armies for the Italian Wars – France versus Spain. I had intended them for testing rules including Pike and Shot by Warlord but bailed out using Neil Thomas Wargaming an Introduction instead – Pike and Shot Rules. These are easy and simple to use.
A promising start with 0mm scale armies to test a myriad of pike and shot era wargames rules including warlords pike and shot soon petered out….
One wargame later and dust started to gather on the abandoned field – no second game.
The pike and shot did get washed and desprued but alas that was it…..
So you see spring and summer has been properly, my fragmented wargames season. Its not an “off season” or indeed a “low season” but its definitely a season of sorts.
And its still going on………….pretty much what you would expect from a wargaming erratic I guess.
Corrugated cardboard was the trigger material for my solution
Just like John at just add varnish I have joined the season of scenery community challenge and started with an Italian theme.
This piece is still unfinished but has made it from idea to concept in only about five years – so that’s about four and half years procrastination plus various false starts in materials and a bit of design. And finally some tv viewing and Dave Stone’s scenery season challenge.
Eventually the material choice helped drive the form
Grid gaming by Mike Smith is a great rule set and early on in my Italian independence wars project I thought a couple of hilltop towns would be ideal for the grid.
Then the procrastination started – which materials and what style?
I use a 50mm grid with 40mm based units all square. The toy soldier abstract had resulted in these block buildings a couple of years ago.
Initially I was absolutely into the idea of wood and it would be modular and come apart. Then when I started to think about details wood felt wrong. The framing of the town was to be the city walls and slim, this was leading to fret saw country and simplicity of the idea was waning.
A long delay ensued.
Style wise I was looking for the abstract and Joe morschauser scenery pictures – more grid games – drew me towards something that could still accommodate units as a garrison.
I came up with the cruciform of two bisecting streets with four quarters to the town – in Mike smiths grid game the towns are 3×3 grids
In the end watching the giro this year suddenly prompted a “just do it moment” and as it happened cardboard kept coming into my head as a possible material and multiple postal deliveries reminded me of this free material.
But it needed to have some structure. What to do?
Then I remembered the flat scenery that are found in paper boys armies booklets. These have interconnecting cutouts that give strength to the arrangement.
These interconnecting card pieces now became walls and the corrugations gave me another idea.
Plus other things on this long journey fell into place.
The whole idea of abstracted block buildings came in part from kids toys like this one – just add imagination….In another direction this flat pack helped the idea that 3d solids is not the only way to create a 3d effect.
Maybe I could use these simple cut outs approach?
I did and I quickly developed some solutions to get the elevations I wanted to see.
The buildings had been done a few years ago during the wood era.
I added the church in card with a removable front. The tower is a work in progress.The corrugations prompted cypress trees again in corrugated cardboard and cocktail sticks In the end even the wall overlaps suggest buttressing
Well that’s it and it remains a work in progress but I think I have found my modular abstract Italian hill town.
The Royal Danish Army of 1848 was characteristically mid 19th century in dress. It still had a napoleonic uniform as such, yet things like the peaked cap and Hungarian kepi had begun to change the look. Pantaloons were noticeably full length and trouser like.
1848 line infantry in bell shakoes
At the start of the war infantry uniforms were red tunics and bright blue trousers. Uniform regulations for 1848 planned a change to essentially all dark blue clothing complete with a bright blue kepi.
1849 line infantry in Hungarian kepi’s, new tunic but old knapsacks
The regulations crept in although the kepi was so popular – soldiers often threw away their bell shaped shakoes in the field.
Light infantry in the flat cap
Other elements of the army – Artillery and Engineers kept the older kit for longer.
Danish field artillery in 1848 uniform
The Cavalry had largely reduced to the Dragoon in combless metal crested helmet (a fashionable trend) while the Hussars wore a small tapered shako. Dragoons wore red tunics and bright blue trousers, the Hussars wore all pale blue.
The Rebel forces in the Schlieswig Holstein War comprised local pro german forces including those who had served in the Royal Danish Army. To these were added many volunteers alongside their numerous allies.
Saxon allies to the rebellion
The rebel cause had wide spread support from states within greater germany at this time “the Confederation – in its post Napoleonic form”. Notable were Prussia but also Saxony and Hanover. Austria was a significant objector and refused to become involved. Although they did apparently send rocket troop batteries.
Initially Rebel uniforms were a mix of Danish, improvised and various state uniforms. Later the Schleswig Holstein regular Rebel forces obtained a more distinct uniform for themselves.
Prussia was a stout ally to the rebels initially before signing the first peace treaty, the federation itself refused to sign it – you get fascinating politics during this war
This makes the war fascinating in terms of uniform, lots of german states still preserved a distinct character in their uniforms while fashions were still a mix of the Napoleonic coupled with more recent french led fashions such as the kepi. The Pickelhaube (invented in Russia and made a success by Prussia) and the Frockcoat (from the dresscoat of Napoleonic times) were now noticeably popular in german states. The classic mid to late century Prussian uniform dates from the 1840’s.
Another Prussian line battalion
The smaller flat top tapered shako was in wide use long before it identified again with this time British Crimean troops or indeed the Rifleman of Prussia who kept it till world war one.
Oldenburg line infantry sent by the federation
Therefore Armies comprised troops still wearing napoleonic uniform alongside others who would not look out of place in the American Civil War 13 years later and even subsequent conflicts.
Winter 2023/2024 proved to be quite productive painting wise. I don’t keep stats on numbers painted although I do record my painting colours and techniques in case I wish to replicate a figure/unit.
“Paint What You Got” by Dave Stone and “Analogue Hobbies Painting Competition” (AHPC) by Curtis Campbell and Co. both provided a big push to my painting in a very positive way.
In both cases I had planned a limited involvment to secure yet more mid 19th century completed units for my Danish and Germanic forces of the 1st Schleswig Holstein War.
Initially all went well and the fruits of my work can be seen on the AHPC14 site and in previous posts on this blog.
Then I fully succumbed to the “Library Challenge” on offer with the AHPC event.
So out went the 19th century and in came whatever thematic library section I found myself in next.
The result?
One 1/72 Reconnaisance Spitfire – now gifted to a lover of all things aerial.
One 28mm Noggin the Nog super hero from the 1960’s childrens black and white TV. Bought from the Little Toy Soldier online shop.
One 28mm General Siskorski hero of the free Polish during World War 2: A Partizan Newark freebie.
One 25mm veteran (1980’s) games workshop fantasy Cyclops: found at Doncaster Toy Fair.
One 28mm Empress Matilda (12th century): A Partizan Newark freebie
One home built “button monster” (DeathZap Pastor created these inspiring SciFi/Fantasy creatures)
One home built “Nissen Hut” left behind in some village in the East of England after world war 2 “upcycled” – before the term was invented – to a village library.
Quite a haul and it was a very satisfying period of painting and making. The AHPC served up some great contact with the other painters as well.
After what was in effect for me a serious 12 week painting/creating blast – I literally hung up my paint brushes. March has rapidly become April and I have been drifting: I cannot blame outdoor activities like gardening as spring has been one soggy wet mess and still is.
So much for getting on with the 1st Schleswig Holstein War forces. That project has been a case of two or three steps forward yet now stopped.
Maybe that stop was coming anyway. My Wargame projects have that way of shuddering to a halt for no good reason.
1940 France – mk1 spitfire in camomint camouflage1980’s games workshop fantasy cyclops rescued from Doncaster toy fair!12th century Empress Matilda – a freebie from Newark partizan showJust squeezing onto the painting pedestal is a scratch built ww2 Nissen hut library from the post warPolish General Siskorski again a Newark Partizan freebie and the link is double in that Newark was home to polish air squadrons during ww2 and after General Siskorski and his family died in an unexpected plane crash over Gibraltar in 1943 the general was buried in Newark until repatriated in the 1990’sNoggin the nogA German ww2 magazine freebie with mods to make a sci fi character of sortsA button monster made from a 54mm ww2 soldier.AHPC 14 proved to be very productive!
Pauls Bods is a blog that celebrates 1/72 plastic wargames figures. Yet it is so much more because Paul as an ace modeller who can turn even unpromising sculpts into fantastic pieces of the wargamers art.
His head, body and everything else swops are inspiring.
He also has a great sense of humour which appears often in his creations.
The headline image is of my own work prompted by Paul’s bods. Taking a leaf from his book I painted some mini art medieval cavalry that were given a searingly negative plastic soldier review.
Here are some posts highlighting the range of his work.
The Wargaming Erratic 