Last Posting This Year.

 OKAY. Thats it for 2024 the last post is in the bag for me to take to my Post Office.

 That is the lot.

 Carole and I are haveing a fortnight off. We will get back to work on or around January 4th  2025

 Now aside from a bit of downtime I want to get some writing done-  got a book to finish and 2024 was a bit of a bugger in parts what with one thing and another so here's hoping for a better 2025.

Frederick the Great- The Short Version.

 Battleground 2024.

Through Rain and Snow and Gloom of Night ......

Well perhaps not gloom of night but plenty of the white stuff then rain . The first part of the  trip to Battleground at the Middlesborough Sports Village on November 23rd was - shall we say - interesting. The whole journey under normal circumstance should have taken about an hour from my house. So 2 Hours 20 minutes later we finally get into the carpark. The weather had turned from snow to rain and sleet but we made it.

So now to the game.

 Jim the Builder was in the chair and plumped for a 10mm Seven Years War game with his rather spiffing collection of little fellas- about 2000 or more on the table as it turned out. Prussians against Austrians and Russians. Models mostly Old Glory  Grandscale 10 as you would expect. All painted by Jim.

Early in the game- Russian on their ridge looking at the Prussian masses adancing against them. 

Initially we had expecte four members of the Tantobie Warfare and Tactical Society to be present - but only 3 made it . A power cut in his area because of the snowfall meant Andrew the Tekkie had to bail at the last minute.

This meant that Shaun took the Prussians and I the allied forces. I slightly outnumbered the Prussians but they had superior artillery. As it happened I had an advantage of terrain thought that was not apparent at first perhaps.

The Austrians start their long march. 

 I place the Russians on the ridge with their cavalry on their left then the Austrians continuing the line with the mass of  Austrian cavalry on the left flank . My 'tactial plan'  was to do a sort of reverse Leuthen- or was it a reverse Rossbach? sending the bulk of my cavalry aroud the lake and hopefully into the Prussian flank. The Prussian plan seemed to be to beat the artilleryless Russians off their ridge then fall on the out of position Austrians.

The Austrian cavalrygoing round the lake.

Rules used were Warfare in the Age of Reason with a ferw local amendments to suit the smaller scale.

In the event it was a right ding-dong affair. The Russians took something of a pounding but gritted their teeth and hung on by the skin of same  mixing my metaphor as I write ! All hung on them being able to hold out until the Austrian main assualt went in which because of the distance it had to cover- and some sterling resistance by one Prussian cavalry brigade took a mite longet than I'd hoped but in the end all went well (sort of) and the last untouched Prussian brigade was thinking darkly about how it had become the rearguard. The remaing Russians were in no fit state to pursue though the Austrian cavalry could have made life hard for the Prussians to get clear. However  night had fallen- as in the show was closing-  and it was time to pack up all those little fellas and get back home in the rain- which did take only a little over an hour.

Hard pounding  The Russian in trouble hanging on- but only just.

The Austrians finally mange to get to their objective /

Battleground is afince local show and enjoyable and well run by Leon of Pendraken. I hope we will be doing another demo there next year.  Mind you I hope the weather is better nd the cafe is a bit more efficient. 

Retro English Civil War.

  A recent FB post on that  splendid  'Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Group' group  once again mentioned the almost legendary TV series 'Battleground ' of the late 1970s.So far the only TV series featuring  Historical MINIATURES Wargaming. There have been others doing it with computers and one rather poor effort with maps , sandtables and coloured counters but this is still the only show with toy soldiers at its heart. It is ublikely that we will ever see its like again. For the record there were 6 episodes made by Tyne-Tees TV four of these can be found on YouTube. Take a look.

Mixed unit of Hichliffe and Garrison. The Garrison Pikemen have had the cast pikes replaced. 

However this post is a bit more personal. Some years ago now  my wife Carole bought an ECW collection  for me one Christmas. This collection contained some of the units which had featured in the 'Edgehill' episode of that series  and further in the Ospey 'Naseby' book by Peter Gilder and Stuart Asquith.

A couple of the guns hiding behind some more modern gabions. 

Prince Ruperts Charge- some later additions here by my hand. 

 

A Green Regiment - again Hinchliffe and some Garrison. I think these were originally Duncan Macfarlane's 

Recently changing my computer to a much needed newer model I fear I have lost some of the pictures I took of the collection . However here are  some I found. More will appear  even if I have to take new ones . 

Some of the cavalry- Hichliffe Foremost 'Prince Ruperts Charge' 

 A few more of the cavalry - placed upon the issue of battle wherethey form part of the front cover

I do have more to take picture of. A unit of Cuirassiers - all on rather small identical horses- as well as more infantry.

And Finally... The photo in the Naseby book with the Kings Lifeguard of Foot and the actual models .

Shinyloo- Cavalry

  I thought I'd take a few pics of some of the still growing 'Shinyloo' collection. Since I had recently restored a couple of rather battered Minot 30mm French Cuirassiers as well as a couple more Stadden Scots Greys, then some pics of those two units having a bit of a barney seemed apparopriate. 

Frecnh Cuirassiers .Minot with the extravagant movements Stadden next to them and 3 Willies on Stadden horses behing. The Trumpeter is also a Willie. 

A'Helicopter' shot with a few Hincliffe /Foremost Carabinieirs added. 

Now  Napoleonic purists might wail and gnash their teeth and I would not blame them but this will not be as bad as  Ridlyscottaloo after all this is not Waterloo but Shinyloo- like Waterloo only shinier!

Enter the Scots Greys !

 For those unfamiliar with my 'Shinyloo' project it is rather more a pastiche of how my wargaming might have been in the 1970s if I could have afforded it back then. So now it is pure self indulgeance. 

 Scotland Forever perhaps? 

The vast majority of the models are 30mm Stadden ,Willie, Minot or Minifigs with a few Hincliffe and Connoiseur becasue they look good.  Almost all bought second hand and some in shocking condition so the poor chaps often need more than a little TLC. Shiny because back in the 1970s a decent properly matt varnish was almost unobtainable and shiny gloss varish protected the models much better than dodgy matt and gave them a rather nice porcelain look and feel.

Also somehow these older models with their distinctive individual styles look better shiny. 

Catching up on my Reading no 23

 The Battle of Fribourg. 

Fast on the heels of his fine volumes on the French Army of the 30 Years War comes another from Stephane Thion, this time on the Battle of Fribourg in 1644. This action of which I previously knew little more than its bare existance pitted a French army commanded by  arguably two of the best generals of the period  Conde, thogh he was actually the Duc' D'Enghein at this time, and Turenne against Bavarian army commanded by a general often overlooked by modern historians  Feldmarschall Frantz Von Mercy who was to say the least no mean soldier in his own right.

 In eight chapters a conclusion  and four appendices M. Thion takes us through the stategic situation leading up to the  battle- (or actually battles- there were two actions 3rd and 5th August 1644 seeming separated by a day 'to catch their breath' as Thion puts it.), the organisation of the armies French and Bavarian and of course the action itself. No spoiers here if you want to know what happened buy the book.

Further there are tables with regimental strengths for both sides- the Bavarian being particularly detailed. In addition notes on battlfield tactics and formations are also included.

Thion's text is succinct and aurthoritive and well interspered with cogent  sections from contemporary sources. I'm enjoying this as I read it. It is after all increasing my knowledge of the 'French' period of the 30 Years War.

For such a comparatievly slim volume- a mere 120 pages it is crammed with maps and illustrations. 14 pages of colour plus an additional 7 colour maps these being extremely useful in following both the strategic and battlefield movement of the armies. Most of the 'uniform' illustations are reproductions of watercolours by K.A. Wilke- not an artist I am familiar with- they have the  illustrative style of the 1940s-50s but are none the worse for that. Indeed I rather like the panache they exhibit. Other pieces by this artist appear in Thion earlier work and more amongst the black and white illustrations in this volume. All are worth their space in either book. Three of the colour pages are of flags of some of the regiments who fought in the battle 2 pages of Bavarian flags being especially unusual and useful.

As for other illustrations - some have appeared in the French Army volume- and this is really my only niggle- but other have not but even if you have seen a particular picture in another work this does not really detract from what I have found to be a very useful work.

Recommend to all those whose area of interest is the 30 years War. 

Catching Up on My Reading no 22 - A Bundle from Helion.

 It is not often that I buy more than 1 book at a time since I can only actually read one book at a time. Well that is almost true even if I have one book in the lounge, one book in the bedroom and possibly another in the kitchen- though this last is unlikely.

 This 'rule' does not of course include the piles of books around the computer  that I use to refer to when I am writing.

 So most often it is sually 1 book at a time.

However rules are made to be broken escially when Helion have a sale on!

 So all three of these Helion books were bought in 2 different Helion sales. one in  late june and then 2 more in late July.

 So to deal with them in order of arrival.

French Armies of the Thirty Years War 1618-48 

The French army of the 30 Years War has interested me for some years and as I have said before that is the fault of Oliver Reed and Gerard Depadieau between them. Oh and just possibly Alexandre Dumas.

Stephane Thion has written on the French army of this period  previously for LRT Editions in 2008 and in many ways this new Helion book is an updated and improved  edition of that previous work.

 If you do not have the LRT version then get this one.... if you DO have the LRT edition as I have - then get this one too, not only is it somewhat better it is much more convenient to handle.

So what do you get for your money-  I  plumped for the hardback simply because at the then sale price the difference between the two was minimal- a couple of quid- so no worries there.

 In 213 pages- including an exstensive bibliography, M Thion takes us through the developement of the French army from its poor start at the beginning of the 30 Years War (when it was not technically involved)through rebellion and civilwar in France to the victories of the 1640s of Conde and Turenne. Organisation is discussed in detail as is equipment. The sometimes confusing changes inboth of these areas is also covered in some detail. This is interesting stuff. The French army has its own foibles and distinctions which make it subtly different from others involved in the Thirty Years War.

 For me though the core of the book is in the last 2 chapters which cover the main operations and orders of battle in  Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 has  a selection of contemporary accounts of various battles involving the French forces which are most useful for getting the 'feel' of the period and the army.

The book is , as you would expect well illustrated with both contemporary and non- contemporary illistrations  in black and white some of which appeared in the 2008 work - but many which did not. There is also a 14 page colur section  of which 6 pages are flags of fFrench army Infantry units - a total of 24 different flags- engough to keep most wargamers busy building units  (I'd have 23 more units to build if I was to make a unit using each of these flags as a source !) The other colour illustrations show assorted troop types and are by Giorgio Albertini one of my favourite Helion artistsand are of excellent quality.

This book  will give any English language reader a decent grounding in the French armies of the first half of the 17th century.

 Recoomended. 

The Battle of Castillon 1453.

Now there was a time , when I was much younger that I was of the opinion that nothing much of interest had happened in Europe after 1485. I had gone all medieval- seeling off my ECW armies and buying a bundle of assorted Hundred Years War. These kept me amused for a few years and even now when I don't have much of an HYW collection the period still holds some interest. So this book by Peter Hoskins was added to the purchase..

Castillion was the death knell of the once substabtial English possessions in France.. This book is quite slim compared to some other recent Helion publications being a mere 125 pages but that does not mean that it is in any way a 'lighteight' volume. The book begins with a swift gallop through the  Hundred Years War up to the Treaty of Tours in 1444. This is simply scene setting for those whose first foray into  the 15th century this may be.

 The next two chapters deal with the changes and reforms to the French forces who would fight in these final campagns. These reforms - especially in the use of gunpowder weapons were fundamental to the French victory. Gone were the days of the hapless French nobility being mown down by English Longbowmen as they struggled through the mud to reach the English line! These reforms are put into a wider European context. The details of Fifteenth century artillery are particularly fascinating along with the photographs of modern reproductions of the medieval weapons. There are some meaty beast of war here !

The following chapters deal with the campaigns that lost the English their possessions in Normandy and the two campaigns in Gascony plus a chapter on John Talbot - Earl of Shrewsbury - the English commander at Castillon which ive a view of the man and his experience before the fatal campaign.

The battle itself is covered - as one would expect - in some detail and is not a run of the mill HYW battle at all. The role of the French artillery was crucial and while you may know how the story ends if you don't buy the book - or even if you do, but that does not detract ffromm its usefulness as a source for the last stages of the Hundred Years War. 

The maps by George Anderson are clear and to the point and the colour plates by Girogio Albertin once again are fine and include four pages of heralry and banners...there is a little niggle here, the plates though fine in themselves are perhaps poorly chosen. One each of Talbot himself, his standard bearer, a French crossbowman and Jean Bureau- the commander ofv the French artillery, the other four pages of colour being heraldry and flags- 2 images per page. The plate descriptions are also quite brief though mostly to the point. This is not a problem for those  of us who have a bit of medieval military knowledge but  for the newcomer to the period perhaps a little more might have been helpful.

A useful book which works on two levels - as aprimer on the HYW and more to the point as a text on the final campaign of that long series of wars. Reccommended. 

 Now I wonder if I could find the time to do some 40mm Late HYW French ..... 

Now for the third and final book in this review.

 

 Atlas of the Battles and Campaigns of the American Revolution 1775-1783.

 By David C.Bonk and George Anderson.

 

A long winded title for a largeer than average tome.

 George Anderson doing an atlas  well that needed looking into. I'd had my eye on this one since its first publication , intending to pick it up at a show if it was up to the mark. However I bought this during the sale and aside from a certainty about the quality othe maps I wasn't sure what I was getting.

  I need  not have stressed- not even a litttl bit.

This is a serious book 241 pages with an excelent collection of coloured maps of all the major and many of the smaller battles of the American War of Independence or Revolution as the Americans seem to prefer.

The ladscape format is a bit of a pain but once you open the book it becomes obvious why this format was used .

 Each engagement battle or campaign is treated , in chronological order, to a double page spread, usually one page of text and one a colur map. Though there are exceptions to this as some pages have less text or perhaps a smaller map. There may also be  a contemporary illistrtion or painting  to illustrate some of the sections . There are 119 of thhese sections showing battles from Concord to Trincomalee. As you would expect the bulk of the actions are in the continental USA but the West Indies is not neglected nor are naval actions.. The siege of Gibraltar is also covered - though  while Suffren's naval campaign  in Indian waters  is covered  the land fighting in India is not- this being the only gap in an otherwise superlative book  The usual price tag of around £60.00 is not out of court for a hardback quality volume such as this. Frankly I was much more impressed than I expected to be.

Highly Recommended. 

Just a Quick One!

 The photos in this short post are of a 15mm Samaurai game that the Tantobie Warfare and Tactical Society fought at the end of June. 

The models are all  from Steve Whites excellent collection and he ran the game. Sorry it has take so long to get these out there but ratther overwhelmed with assorted work recently so time has been a bit short.

Rules were 'Pike and Shotte' which I have but had not then playeda and I have to say that whatever their possible  shortcomings as a 17th century European set , they worked very well for this more esoteric version of pike and shot warfare.

 So  here are the pictures- don't ask me who was who or what they are as I can't remember for all I know it was Honda vs Mitsubushi 

Whatever it was a very enjoyable game in a period and location I was- and still am- unfamiliar with. Nice one Steve !

Catching Up on My Reading no 21

Operation Biting by Max Hastings. 

Sometimes you just bet a bit lucky. I actually picked this book up in my local Tesco's for half price- not as a remainder of anything but simply as a 'club card offer.  Could not turn it down. 

Was I disappointed?  No not a bit. 

There is no doubt that Max Hastings does his research and knows his stuff.

For the uninitiated 'Operation Biting' was Britain's first combat parachute drop into occupied France during WW2/ The objective being twofold first and foremost to acquire information and technology concerning the German radar system and second- should the raid be successful to give the public a much needed victory when in early 1942 the war was going badly.

  

 I first learned of operation Biting from that doyen of 1960s sources' The Victor Book for Boys' which back in those far off days saw nothing wrong in telling young boys about WW2- without all the blood and nastiness of course- The Raid on Bruneval  ie Operation Biting appears in the 1969 Annual.

The reality was of course a bit different- though I was quite surprised how much of the basic operation did appear in the comic.

 However Max Hasting sticks firmly to the reality. The lead up, the planning and the actual raid are all covered in often minute detail. None of which is the slightest bit tedious but rather the opposite.. Essentially Biting was a 'smash and grab' raid against the German 'Wurzburg' type radar station on the French coast  . The actual raid being carries out by C Company of 2nd Parachute Battalion led by Major John Frost. The book contains in its appendices a complete order of battle for the company in its rather peculiar 'Operation Biting ' organisation right down to who was in each of the aircraft detailed for the actual drop.

The narrative is detailed yet pacey- the German defenders are shown in as much detail as the British as are the French resistants who provided much of the detailed intelligence need for the operation. 

 Hasting does not shy away from British blunders either which came close to ending the  raid in failure. 

 For those who don't know the operation - except perhaps from the Victor - no spoilers here.

 For weargsamers this will give you the detail to refight the raid almost blow by blow if such is your wont. 

 The narrative is backed up by a  bundle of photographs of the participants and maps of the battle area.

 If WW2 special operations are your thing then this book will be a valuable addition to that subject.

 Recommended. 

 

TLC for old lead Dudes. The Scots Greys.

In the 'Shinyloo' world the Scots Greys are- as yet the only near completed British Cavalry regiment. There are bits of other units as the old models get restored and  painted up. Some Hussars and some Heavy Dragoons  are finished and more Hussars and a few Light Dragoons and Horse Guards are in the 'to do someday' box.

The Scots Greys as they currently stand as one large squadron.

 Most of the ongoing 'Shinyloo'  retro project has been achieved using 'pre-owned' models  acquired from ebay . Sometimes in a pretty poor condition. Often needing new sword blades  and always needing a repaint though not always back to the metal.. There is, without doubt, a certain satisfaction in returning these old models to something close to their 'former glory' . Making the British fit to face the might of Napoleon Shinyparte's army- or indeed the Gloss coated glory of Shinyfarnce to face the perfidious Albion of the Duke of Wellyboot has indeed taken on something of a life of its own over the years.

Closer 

 The units are large by today's standards- or at least that is the plan though they grow quite slowly as regular readers will know this is far from my only project. The Greys can therefore form two Squadrons or one large one as needed. Models are for the uninitiated 30mm either Stadden or Minifigs both from the 1960s or early 70s- the Minifigs being unavailable in the UK since then and  the present whereabouts of most of themoulds unknown.  Stadden are still available from Tradition of London.  

And as 2 squadrons.

And a few Hussars by way of difference- still a bundle of these to paint. 

Traffic Chaos on the Autobahn.

A collection of no less that 5 of the Tantobie Warfare and Tactical Society met last Saturday at our new venue of Stanley Masonic hall. (Does the change of venue now make us the SWATS instead of the TWATS? I suspect either would fit depending upon the time and place!)

Steve was in the chair and elected for a 20mm Cold War Goes Hot game using his impressive 20mm collection. Not sure who made the excellent tanks and APC' but the infantry were by Elhiem and they are really very good indeed..

The only slight jarring not was the table size- the main hall was in use so we were restricted to the bar - which had its compensations so the table was only a tad over 6 feet by 4 .

 Still no worries overall 

 Forces

 Paul and I took the British with a platoon of Infantry  in FV432 and a platoon of 3 Chieftain mk9 . We also had an 81mm Mortar a couple of Milan posts and off table artillery controlled by an on table observer.

 Andrew and Shaun took the East Germans and all I can say is that there seemed to be a lot of them T-72 all over the place and all sorts of other vehicles with all sorts of guns hanging off them !

Rules were Steve's own derived from I believe the WW2 set Spearhead or some such. I didn't take much notices as in umpire controlled games such as ours you get to concentrate on decision making rather than rules mongering.

The system was basically IGOUGO but with tweaks  and only a certain number of orders per turn depending upon a dice roll and your troop capability most actions taking 1 order but others taking 2 or even 3 orders. So you needed your wits about you..

Britsh infantry await the onslaught. 

 The British were tasked with defending the rather shattered village  from a reconnaissance in force by WARPACT forces so we dug in and awaited the assault.

Early on we realised that this was not going to be an easy gig. There seemed no end to the East German forces as they came on to the table. Fortunately our artillery was up to the job and while we did not actually kill too many  'pinned' vehicles caused and awful traffic jam which upset the WARPACT timetable.

 However their own artillery was not idle and it was this that gave the plucky Brits the most grief killing dug in infantry and a Milan post and if memory serves  our right flank Chieftain - though that may have been a T-72.

It often seemed to us- Paul and I- that the more we smashed them with artillery and mortars the more of them that needed smashing. Our Milan and Chieftains did their share- taking out BRDMs and T-72s amongst other things I can't recall but the WARPACT artillery was slowly wearing us down- we'd lost a third of our  morale.( This was a neat mechanism- when suffering casualties you drew a chit from 'the bag of doom'  which usually had a number between 1 and 5 on it- though there were other results which never came up. This number was subtracted from your 'Army Break Point' number once you reached Zero you were done. Our Break point was 31 the WARPACT 26. We had our fair share of luck here never drawing more than a 3 while the opposition drew at least one 5 ).

A Milan post. We began the game with two covering this road 

For most of the game we kept pounding  at the WARPACT traffic jam not always with massive success but enough to keep them hung up  while we picked off around the fringes.

The Warpact traffic jam part one. 

As it happened we had decided to bug out in the  near futures as their artillery continued to pound us but some of our own shooting finished the issue taking out a Shilka and another T-72 which after firtling in the bag of Doom took the WARPACT  total over their break point just before we decided to scarper. 

 So a narrow victory for the plucky Brits.

Personally I was seriously impressed with the rules. They flowed well and forced you to think but also had that taste of 'realism' which we enjoy. Nice One Steve.

As always our thanks go to Norman Oyston for the use of the venue and to Ros for the splendid beef butties without which no meeting would be complete. 

The WARPACT traffic jam part tow- well done the Royal Artillery. .

The Tedium of 'perfection'.

 One of the reason that, at least for some of my collections, I prefer older models is simply that they are more distinctive than many of todays products.

 This is not a matter of 'better' or 'worse' and will doubtless leave some of you a bit confused  but I do find that some of the fine detailed plastic and resin offerings  lack that indefinable 'something'  that sets them apart. Also I find that- unless you have the box, telling one '28mm hard plastic' from another in the same period is middling tough. I have two sets of plastic Pathans by different makers- they may as well be identical- the parts are virtually interchangeable. Now in itself this is no bad thing as it makes simple conversions  easy enough if you are that way inclined - and of course have the time  to actually make them. But somehow the lack of distinction between them makes them both slightly bland. They paint up well enough and the assorted parts are really useful- though  both sets make the identical mistake with the Pathan Jezzail  using the less common curly 'Arab' style butt rather than the plainer straight 'Indian' style, though doubtless few have noticed.

Blandness extends to many of the renditions of 3D printed figures I see on the internet mostly varying shades of grey  staring out of the stygian gloom of a black background looking strangely alien  somehow. Many of them look soooooo similar to each other that you can't tell one from another. I do make an exception with some of the armoured figures I have seen- they tend to have more 'life' in them paradoxically, than the repetitive WW2 Germans that one sees do not. Now doubtless the painters and modellers who use these can  put a bit of life into them by the exercise of their craft but with the possible exception of some medieval models I have seen I don't think I'll bother. Especially since I also see that some fellas are having trouble with fragility and indeed brittleness- though this may be because they are using the wrong type of resin. 

 Now 3D printed vehicles are another matter. Those I have are fine- detail is good and aside from losing the will to live while picking off all of the 'runs'  and 'sprues' on them prior to painting I'm pleased with the results  but then their prototypes are  steel and have no human element in them. Of those assorted vehicles I have - some are 1 piece models and others are in kit form some with a good few bits. The only problem as ever with these is cleaning up before assembly..

3 of the 3D vehicle prints I have actually painted. These are for my 15mm 'Moderns' collection.

I'm told there are more companies producing stuff in all materials now than there were last century which is very probably true. But if it all looks very similar how can you tell, once you have binned the packaging.

 Back in the day- I'm talking 1970s-80s here up to about 1990- you could tell a 25mm Minifig (sturdy as possibly a bit boring but dependable) from a Lamming(chunky lots of separate heads and weapons. Superb Medievals) from a Garrison (good sculpting but some odd horses) from a Les Higgins( crisp castings good design but a bit small unless you could afford the 30mm) from a Stadden (good anatomy superb horses)  from QT( lots of separate heads and weapons lots of variety clean castings but some odd horses) from Hinchliffe- (large range occasional anatomical quirks but good  overall quality Excellent equipment).. Form Corvus-a bit stiff but good detail- horses a bit small. You could even tell a Hinchliffe from a Hinchliffe Foremost- the latter being a bit bigger and with round bases for the infantry.. Or Dixon-  very clean castings solid models. or Front Rank- chunky chaps but clean castings good detail somewhat static horses.

Some of my 30mm Stadden AWI. You cn tell a Stadden model from most others of the time. 

 All this being before we get to outfits such as Warrior or Vulcan or Viking or Feudal Castings or Asgard (yes they did a few historicals) or Ral Partha or Britannia or even Foundry who were about in the 1980s doing 25mm which like most others they now call 28mm (yes chaps Guilty as charged ) . Doubtless there are companies I have missed perhaps because I never owned any of their models. I think at one time or another I owned models from all of the above. They were not sold in blister packs back then, so despite a lack of distinctive packaging on many I could tell one from another ! 

A3 Battalion brigade from my 'other' AWI collection- recently rebased on 15mm Frontage per figure.
 Two battalions are Old Glory the third - with Blue Colour- are Old Glory Second Edition. Each range has its distinctions .

There are now doubtless some chaps out there whose '28mm' armies are all plastic. It can be done for WW2 and some Napoleonic and Ancients armies and some Medieval and Renaissance but not for the majority of periods that really interest me and anyhow why would I want an army that looks and feels the same as all the others. As an aside that is why for example, I'm rebseing some of my smaller collections so that they don't look the same as 'standard' units as I have seen 24 figure horse and musket units often called.  The urge some seem to have to be the same as everyone else is not mine  neither in wargaming nor in other walks of life- Not Me - The Resistance Lives On......

Now to finish some Pathans- both metal and plastic. 

Catching Up On My Reading- no 20

 Those of you who read my ramblings more or less regularly will know of my interest in the military history of the Indian sub-continent. So it will come as no surprise to you that  news of Rene Chartrand's latest work sparked considerable interest and caused me to lay out some cash.

I was not to be disappointed.

 

This one really was worth the wait.

 It is a fairly meaty tome at around 320 page and barely one of them is wasted.

 The activities of the various permutations of the French East India company are covered in some detail for the first time in English and most importantly all in one place. This obviously covers the Indian sub-continent but less obviously Africa, China Thailand Madagascar and Louisiana.

In 21 chapters and 3 appendices M. Chartrand takes us through the wars  and armies of the Compagnie-des Indes. Not only the obvious conflicts against the British in the 18th century but less obvious conflicts against Spain in what is now the US state of Florida and their battles with the First Nations in other parts of what would become the USA. The scholarship in impressive and the emphasis is of course of French sources which is as it should be.

For me however the meat of this fascinating book were those chapters concerned with India. Here the success of the book is to bring all of the disparate information under one set of covers. Speaking for myself I had around half- or a bit more of the information on uniforms in assorted other sources- some in M. Chartrand's other works  but this volume both brings all of that into one convenient place and corrects some misconceptions. For example more than one source refers to French Company troops dressed in the usual Grey white coats- in fact this was the exception rather than the rule- when fighting the British the French Company troops in India would more often be dressed in Blue uniforms.

As well as campaign narratives chapters on weapons and organisation - both of the European and local troops are covered in some detail. I will have no trouble organising my French forces for Indian wargames with this book to hand. 

Physically the book is well up to the usual Helion standard. Indeed rather more sumptuously illustrated than some. There are 12 colour plates by Patrice Courcelle as well as 18 other pages of colour illustrations.  some contemporary and some not. All are to the point. Add to this a large number of black and white illustrations- of which only a minority were familiar to me and this is another winner from Helion and from M. Chartrand. 

There were only a couple of jarring notes. Both linguistic and very minor first the various French trading posts which English sources would refer to as 'Factories' are referred to as 'lodges' . Slightly more jarring is the reference to Indian matchlock musketeers- who would be 'peons' or 'barkanzys' or 'buxerries'  depending upon where they were from and in whose service they were- as 'fusiliers'  which is a bit confusing until you get the context. But that is merely nit-picking and does not in the least detract from and excellent book.

 Very Highly Recommended.

Rules Rules and more bloody Rules.

 There are times when bits of this mostly fascinating hobby of ours bores me witless. The obsession with rules is one of my personal bugbears. Rule books become ever thicker and denser and often more expensive and equally often moving further and further from the historical prototype. I suspect that this is inevitable as each rule writer/ game designer has his own hobby horse to ride.

Could I really use these 40mm TYW with Renatio et Gloriam- somehow I doubt it .

This does not mean that new rules are all dross, but you do have to be more careful  these days than formerly when trying to pick the chocolate bar out of the cess pit.

Now one of the possible gems out there may well be the new Renatio et Gloriam set. Now I don't own these yet  but on the back of a few games of the ancient version -Mortam et Gloriam they do interest me. At least as much as any set of rules ever can. Being card driven they allow a bit of thought about how to play the hand you have been dealt and was it not Clauswitz or one of those 19th century thinking dudes who opined that war was more like a game of cards than of chess? So something a little more intriguing than the usual picture book with a few rules in I hope.

 The trouble is  when I get a copy I'll have to puzzle them out and not having a massive amount of time for such it may take me a while.

Moving swiftly on our groups next game will be a new period for us. I finally have enough Indian Mutiny stuff table ready. Not a huge amount but enough for a club game. So there is another problem- which rules?

The 'regular' part of the current Mutineers collection. I can add almost the same again in assorted 'irregulars' .

  I have several possibilities.

 1/. John Company- a phonebook thick American set of some age. I have tried to read these but gave up. Anyway my collection is not even remotely similar in basing.

2/. Black Powder- either version. Yes I could use these if I could actually read them. 2nd Edition is printed in brown on cream paper so is difficult to read in anything less than perfect light. There is some good stuff hidden in there but can I deal with the eyestrain?

3/. The Men Who Would be Kings.  Easy enough but small units and  some odd organisational quirks (no General Officers). Feels very dice heavy. Set unit sizes - which I have never been a fan of and rather a lot of 'abstracting out'. Tied to a silly points system which should not be hard to get round . Need a bit of setting up with unit stats and suchlike.  Artillery rules are not much use.

4/. Charge !  with  period amendments .  I know and like Charge- I use it for the 'Shinyloo' games and it has hidden depths not apparent in simple reading. Unlike more modern rules you can actually read the book. Playing  does not bore the arse off you  but I'm not sure I can make them fit the period. Hmmm.

5/. The Sword and the Flame. Pretty simple but possibly a bit long winded with card driven movement. Not sure they really fit the Mutiny but are rather for later 19th century.

So a bit of a quandary which I have to solve before next Saturday.