I guess the Bavarians are historically often allied to the French against their northern or eastern neighbours.
These figures date from the early 1970’s and are by Hinchcliffe
Tag: miniature figures
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.
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.
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.
In the second game I took a flank of the turkish army and got badly beaten up by the crusaders led by Andy.
Rules were home adapted Lion Rampant and they are fun to play.
Always an enjoyable game with Steve, Bob, Will, Andy and the Wargaming Amateur! https://wargameamateur.blogspot.com/
I did have a good look round the show.
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!
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.
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
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!
All in all I had a very enjoyable day.
Once again thanks to Pit Gaming, I hope Recon is back in 2024.
Categories
Battleground -on -Tees
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
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!
Happy Wargaming……
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!
https://wordpress.com/post/thewargamingerratic.home.blog/3582
Next up are some more Napoleonics of yesteryear.
It’s not often you get a major historical movie these days and even less by a mainstream producer. So Ridley Scotts “Napoleon” is a good excuse to get some figures on the pedestal.
First up is the man himself – Napoleon – as imagined back in the early 1970’s by Miniature Figurines (the Warlord of their day).
Next up is one of a kind for me…..
*the painting of the same name by edouard detaille hangs in the New South Wales art gallery showing the charge of the 4th hussars at Friedland 1807.
With the Painting Pedestal hiatus showing no sign of being over its back to some promised 19th century troops for some light relief.
Here are some new figures I painted up to be part of my German Confederation force of 1848/49. They represent the Lippe contingent. I used Hat ww1 infantry and just tried a paint job alteration – clearly the short rifle is an obvious period error while the pickelhaube is the later squashed variety.
I am quite pleased with the paint job especially how the pickelhaube does not appear so squashed when highlighted with the brass finish spike and reinforcing strips.
Right now Hat seem to have ceased/reduced production and whether these figures will reappear is anyones guess
Next on the Painting Pedestal statistically should be more mid 19th century figures but right now it’s back to the future as they say – hang on to your hats 23x part 2 beckons.
What are 28mm figures good for? Well if your a 1/72 figure follower then they are fantastic to paint!
Or rather in my case to experiment with. Recently Wargames Illustrated ran a contrast paints article while Wargames Soldiers and Strategy dealt with slap chop.
I have been edging towards these products simply because I bought a load on impulse. This is normal behaviour for an Erratic: A solution looking for a problem.
The problem has been I could not bring myself to use them in anger on my 1/72, 20-25mm figures without knowing their possibilities for me including my failures. Clearly they have been a great success for others.
And then there was the Wargames Illustrated article on “what a cowboy”, next minute I dug out some Dixon and Blue Moon figures from the dim and distant past, gathering dust in the great figure vault.
And then “ping” what if I experimented with these new paints and methods (new for me) on these figures?
They were definitely bought at Triples in Sheffield but around 2011!!! I think that means they were on the back burner……..
Anyway this is as far as I got and maybe I might not get much further – back on the painting table……
Well this Tangent may develop or simply become another Icarus episode in the world of the wargaming erratic.
Ok Cavalry has not been my top list item for mid 19th century forces. They don’t figure much in the record and are derided for ineffective battle action as well as being the scout forces that seemed to be missing in action as armies stumbled into each other.
Having said all that they still had colourful uniforms! At the end is an item about the obvious error…….
These figures date to my try a “few of many” period so no vast regiments but squadrons and patrols.
And of course composite cavalry units did seem the order of the day at times.
In this case I have opposing forces on show as well!
- Central Italian League 1860 – Cavalry Regiment “Guide”*
- Piedmont Cavalry 1848 – Genova Cavalleria
- Austrian Uhlans 1860 – Freiwilligen Uhlaren Regiment
- Austrian Dragoons 1848 – Baron Boyneburg
*I have previously posted about the Warrior Napoleonic Hussars posing as Guides for the Central Italian League.
- The Piedmont Cavalry are Waterloo1815 French Line Lancers.
- The Uhlans are by Lucky Toys
- The Austrian Dragoons are Hat Austrian Napoleonic Dragoons
I have used a range of grasses here over my standard 3 colour (burnt sienna base + ochre dry brush+ yellow/white highlights) painted budgie grit.
- The Piedmont Cavalry are flocked with Woodland Scenics fine turf
- The Austrian Dragoons are flocked with Woodland Scenics fine turf with Gamers Grass Dense Beige 6mm wild tufts
- The Austrian Uhlans are flocked with Woodland Scenics fine turf with Gamers Grass Beige 2mm tufts
- The Guides also sport Gamers Grass Dense Beige 6mm wild tufts
Which do you prefer?
A – Hussars in the brushwood?
B – Piedmontese on the thin turf?
C – The Uhlans in the small tufts?
D – The Dragoons in turf and brushwood?
Out of interest the painted base looks right when viewed on the games table but not in close up.
Flock references above and Grasses below
This ends a small flurry of completions for my mid 19th century armies.
The Error
My Piedmontese Cavalry have a helmet “comb” where there should not be one. “No comb” was the mid century fashion for Dragoons and Cuirassiers. Yet I could not bring myself to cut them off as they make this figure…………………..
I bought some Austrian WW1 infantry from Irregular Miniatures – I thought they might work for mid 19th century forces. The peaked cap was my interest. The lower leg bindings were not desired and the baggy trousers equally did not look promising. Also the front peaks were a bit obvious.
I put them aside way back in 2020.
And then just before Xmas 2022 I had another look and decided they might work as fill in for my mid 19th century Danish tests.
In this case I had a go at painting away the errors. The only mods were to slice off the hat top and add a sliver of tapered plastic. One original test with a tall “wood” mod cap can also be seen!
Here are some 1850 infantry fresh from defeating their German adversaries.
At the start of the war the Infantry sported Red tunics and Bell Shakoes. My previous post for such a unit is here.
Categories
What a mess!
2023 has proven to be one of thin pickings wargame wise when it comes to painting.
I managed a few games and I have started on some permanent grid boards – now half abandoned!
Yet Painting which has been a mainstay over the last few years has dried up.
Well until yesterday when ignoring the paint queue I started some new figures…..madness this way lies…….
In the queue are mid 19th century Dane’s, French, hannovarians, Austrians, Piedmontese, with some zorn painted ecw figures from 2021 plus 1970’s Vikings to add flavour!
So now I have added more – Prussians, Bavarians, Danes and wagons.
This latest madness stems from the battle of standard and me looking for a medieval cart – queue I find my half prepped danish and Prussian horse plus some newline Prussians earmarked as 1848 Bavarians.
No medieval cart but more painting log jams
Hey ho.
The Wargaming Erratic 