Sunday 21 March 2021

50 Up , and a heads-up

 


"..And that's his 50 up, a good solid start"... The opener raises his bat in casual salute to the gentle applause rippling around the ground, adjusts the visor  of his cap against the afternoon sun, dabs at some imagined bump on the ‘track’ at his feet  and prepares to face the next  delivery with the confidence of having got his eye in...

Not sure why I went with that image, as  I was hopeless at cricket at school, couldn't catch, couldn't bowl, rubbish batting! Same with all sports, to be honest - much happier with my nose in a book, and so I have remained.  But anyway, here we are at post number 50, which I am pleasantly surprised to have reached.  This blog started in early February 2020, a  bit more than a year ago , and therefore not quite the  one post a week which I'd like to aim for, but still quite a satisfying strike rate given 'time and space' constraints.   A great big thank-you to all of you who have dropped by, the 28 of excellent taste who have opted to 'Follow',  and especially those who have left so many friendly and supportive comments - you have been a great inspiration to me to keep posting!   

It seems a good time to pause and reflect on hobby activities, and think a bit about what might come next. I wouldn't go as far as saying I have an actual plan,  but  I do have a few  ideas I'd like to pursue. 

In the Seven Years War period, the purchase of some of the late Eric Knowles' figures via David Crook , and the arrival of Bob Cordery's 'Portable Napoleonic Wargame'   was the stimulus that go the whole thing started - instant armies, and simple but elegant rules, and we were off! It has proved eminently 'do-able' to stage interesting and fun games in a space of no more than 3 feet square, with brigade-size forces, and the aim is to continue, and  gradually add to the forces  as spare (painting) time permits.  Using the 'Soldier King' boardgame as a fairly loosely-defined  basis for a fictional  campaign  has worked well, and I will try to keep it going. 

There are still plenty of Eric's figures awaiting painting  - some interesting Austrian border troops, for example, which should fit in nicely to the slightly 'backwater' nature of the campaign. The Prussians will be reinforced  by  own vintage Minifigs  Line Musketeers, and  the fantastic recent  gift  of Spencer-Smith figures from Neil Patterson has set me thinking of a 'third force'  representing Saxony - for which the recently acquired  books 'Between Scylla and Charybdis' ( vols 1 and 2 ) by Marco Pagan should be a great help.  I envisage the Saxons as somewhat fickle and  unreliable allies/opponents  for either of my  Austrians or Prussians..

Inspiration for the 'Third Force'
And who wouldn't want to field a unit of these colourful  Saxon Chevauxlegers / Dragoons, as illustrated in the first volume? 


 

For the 'D-Day Dodgers'  WW2 in Italy,  there has only been one game so far, but I am aiming to bring them forward again soon.  I've been doing a bit of reading around, and forming some ideas of how I'd like things to develop. Having started from rescuing childhood Airfix 20mm figures, I was happy with a general 'British vs. German' theme, but  I wanted to do something different to the Normandy 1944 scenarios that seem to dominate.  


'Really Useful' WW2 forces
 

The Italian campaign has certain advantages, to my mind:  (i) 'mid-war' setting of 1943 onward, allowing a spread of equipment and not just the late-war classics;   (ii)  much more varied terrain, from scorched summer Sicily, to coastal plains, to maybe even snowy mountains;   (iv) many and various nationalities, especially in the Allied forces, and perhaps even  Italians on both sides! (v) not dominated by armour,  more of an infantryman's war - I rather recoil from some WW2 games where the tanks are seemingly wheel-to-wheel.  

 A post in the near future will look at the recent reading which has got me thinking, and perhaps put forward some sort of plan, however vague..

Last but not least, especially given the title and sub-heading of the blog, I think it's about time for  my Pike and Shot forces to step up.   When I first thought of returning to wargaming, these were going to be my way in, but the Eric Knowles Seven Years War stuff rather overtook them - they need a bit more effort ( in the way of bases, flags, organisation and some painting )  to bring into fighting trim.  I am determined to try, though, even if this turns out to be a bit further in the future. Meanwhile I had a quick review of forces, and can show the current state of the army of   By the Grace of God, Most Christian King of France and Navarre, Louis XIII: 

Coming soon.. 1636 and all that
 

Appropriately enough for an army of the Thirty Years War,  most of these are at least thirty years old; 15mm scale, Mikes Models/Essex,  a few Minifigs, and if you  look carefully you may see there are even some Peter Laings in there.  Painted very badly by my younger self and determinedly gloss-varnished, but part of my memories of younger days, and as such  I will keep them just as they are.  With perhaps typical avoidance of the mainstream, I resisted the ECW or the salvee-firing superheroes of Gustavus Adolphus' Swedes, and opted for a French vs. Imperialist/Bavarian scenario - though with maybe  a few too many 3/4 armoured cuirassiers! Some of these  probably first took the field under the George Gush WRG Renaissance Rules, and Terry Wise's  ECW/30YW set, back in the 1980s.    

In recent years  reinforcements have been acquired ( and some even painted )  from Essex Miniatures and Peter Pig, such as the 'Chevauleger' style cavalry at the front.  The flags were done with coloured pencils, I think, and sorely  need upgrading, and a bit more consistency in base colour wouldn't go amiss, but I think it's time they saw some action, and there is an Imperialist host of similar size being made ready to meet them..

I think that's plenty to be going on with; let's hope I can follow up on some of these ideas. I think that this blog is probably the best motivational tool in that respect - having promised here to post about an upcoming battle is a powerful incentive to actually play out the game on the table, and trying to post regularly encourages regular hobby time, in order to have something to post!  I don't think I would have done half as much painting/gaming etc without the blog to spur me on. And of course ( and by  pure coincidence of timing) in this strangest of strange years, it has been a lovely way of reaching out to the world beyond the locked-down home, giving and receiving encouragment to and from far and wide, and having something to think about besides the wretched news.  I hope for  and expect the news to improve eventually,  but in the meantime  this has been a great morale-booster! 

I think we'd better see how things have panned out at Rahden in the next post: meanwhile, keep safe and well, everyone.      

 

24 comments:

  1. Congratulations , here's to the next 50 !

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    1. thank you very much! I'm aiming for the 100 and beyond..

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  2. Plenty of projects there to keep you going.

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    1. Thanks, it's nice to have a few different things on the go, and be able to switch between as the fancy takes you. I think three should be OK for now!

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  3. Polite applause from the members, raucous cheers from the Barmy Army.

    Congratulations on your first 50 David. Looking forward to hearing more on your SYW ventures and a welcome return to Italy. And your venture into the Flashing Blade/Capitan Alatriste territory is a very interesting departure.

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    1. Thank you very much! Ah yes, The Flashing Blade, that really stuck with me from childhood. A few years ago a colleague lent me the series on DVD - I think it was still pretty good! I wonder if it didn't have some influence on my choice of the French for a 30YW army..

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  4. Well done matey, I’ve really enjoyed the blog so far. Looking forward to the 30yrs war stuff when you get around to it.

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    1. Thank you very much, glad you've enjoyed the blog! The 30YW was supposed to be my main period and I am keen to get back into it, so watch this space..

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  5. Congratulations on reaching the 50 post mark, David!

    You have a lot of interesting projects on the go and I look forward to each one of them. The line green with red dragoon uniform is an eye-catcher. Let's see how it looks en masse.

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    1. Thank you very much, Jon!
      Looking through the books I mentioned, the Saxons did seem to have rather colourful uniforms, I think they will make an attractive army. And they have a sort of 'sympathy for the underdog' appeal too.

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  6. Congrats, young General Blakey - the blog has been great fun so far - how time flies, etc. Coloured pencils? - oooh - luxury.

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    1. Thanks so much, Tony! Your fantastic blog was, of course, one of the biggest influences on me deciding to have a go.
      I think the coloured pencils may have been a bit of an experiment, or perhaps I meant to paint over them later? It was all a very long time ago..

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  7. Well done on the first 50, a pleasure to read and a few ideas to ponder.

    Here's to the next 50 and beyond!

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    1. Thank you very much Ross, high praise indeed, your blog being another inspiration! Yes indeed, aiming for the 100 now..

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  8. Ps, if you're interested, I believe there are some 15mm 17thc Highland mercenaries lurking in my cupboard. Old strip minifigs painted in my cabin on HMCS Ottawa in 1977 and a few of their friends that haven't seen action in ..maybe 40 yrs? I think they would be happy to cross the ocean to see action, checkout the local damsels and whiskey etc.

    Let me know and I'll send the provosts to round them up.

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    1. Thank you Ross, that is very interesting! I think those 'strip' Minifigs were the first 15mms I got, there are some cavalry in the picture from that range, also some of their rather more sophisticated successors.
      I think I'd be happy to offer them a position, and I think I can maybe return the compliment, too. I'll have my people talk to your people!

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  9. Well played! A splendid debut score!
    I do like the look of the Saxon lime green fellow, should look stunning. I am always a sucker for the wilder reaches of the Austrian border so look forward to seeing what is going on there. Pike and Shot too, where does the excitement end? Very much looking forward to seeing where this project goes too. A splendid cricket tea of ideas to celebrate your 50 topped of with an Italian Airfix desert, splendid.

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    1. Thanks very much Alan, you are another of my inspirations!
      I think three main 'projects' seems just about right, plenty of variety but hopefully no overstretch! Slow and steady does it, is probably the watchword.

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  10. Happy 50th post. Good to see the classic Airfix figures and a few Peter Laings battling on. I have a few such odds in 15mm as I was trying to find the right figures for ECW in the early 80s. There is a Laing collectors circle on MeWe.

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    1. Thank you very much! I confess there are probably only a couple of Peter Laings in the picture, I had thought the cavalry unit at the back on the right was all PL, but realised actually they are early Minifigs. But the 'command' figures ( standard bearer, maybe a trumpeter ) are Peter's. I have some more, as yet unpainted - I think probably a foot regiment's worth, and I am going to try to get them done, for old time's sake!

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    2. I am slowly doing this with unfinished or unbased units of Peter Laings which survived stored away in my 1980s bits and bobs Blue Box of drawers - so last March a unit of pikemen and musketeers were finished and based around 35 years after starting. Pictures here: https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2020/04/13/unboxing-the-blue-box-of-1980s-gaming-figures-time-capsule-parts-1-to-3/

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    3. Thanks Mark, that's great, they look lovely, and those ECW standard-bearers are especially evocative for me, glad you got them done in the end! And never forget 'the detail one sees on a 15mm figure viewed at 2 and 1/2 feet is what one sees in real life at a range of 100 yards'...

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  11. Another boundary, old bean. Yeah, I should probably lay off the cricket analogy too, the only sport I played worse than cricket at school was rugby, and I just don't want to go there!

    Well done on the half-century though, and good to see you have a number of interesting projects on the go. The Saxon chevauleger looks super, a squadron or two of those will brighten your battlefield up a treat.

    You can make an Italian WWII battle very exotic-looking I think - Poles, Algerians, Gurkhas and Indians alongside the usual suspects, and maybe you can throw in one or two Italian tanks too, I imagine most wargamers of that period would eschew those in favour of the usual Tigers and Shermans.

    Yeah, following the blogs (and latterly having a crack at my own) has indeed been valuable in keeping sane and feeling connected during these benighted times. Keep up the good work!

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    1. cheers Dave, yes, lots of ideas to play with, which is the whole point I suppose! I really need to get one or two Semoventes.
      And indeed, this blogging lark may be a bit mad, but it's helping keep us all sane..

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