First of 2025.

 So I did manage to get a few things completed over what might be loosely termmed the holidays.  There are some additions to 'Shinyloo' which need to be photographed but here are some 40mm Thirty Years War French cavalry with a matt finish - to prove that I have more than one bottle of varnish! 

 The models are a mixture of Sash and Saber and my own Romanoff models and one of the troopers is a Drabant model on a Sash and Saber horse.  There is a fair amount of bits swapping here too, pistol holsters are my own and the cornet finial is a 28mm Front Rank item. The actual cornet is a slight repaint of an oversized 28mm paper item .

These represent the Queens Cavalry regiment in about 1643- though the cornet may be a little later.still more of these to do though including a trumpeter.

Next up for this slowly growing collection will be some artillery I think. But then again I might do some more cavalry as I like painting horses. 

Getting organised... Finally

I've had a small collection of 40mm models for the later 30 Years War for some time but I could never quite decide what to od with them.  The problems were all of my own making. 

I used my own Romanoff miniatures casting together with some Sash and Saber and Drabant pieces  but was never consistent in what I actually built or painted. There were bits of all sorts. Bavarian French Scots Danes and the odd Spaniard, as well as models that were really ECW. Also I could not make my mind up about basing. The earlier models were on 25mm square for foot , the newer on 25mm round for use with sabots. Rules had not been thoght about except for a vague idea to use a variant of Young and Lawford's Charge! from the 1960s as an antidote to the  points based faff and organisational twaddle that is Pikemans Lament. A variant on Forlorn Hope was also a possibility but I wanted to game smaller actions  rather than full dress battles and I was daft enough to think PL would do the deed.  Well I got that wrong so the project went to the back of the shelf for a while even though I liked painting the models and completed to odd few here and there as the mood took me.

40mm Thirty Years War French.  Castings are from my own Romanoff Miniatures range all painted- slowly- by me. Flags are hand painted paper.

 I will probably still have to repaint a few Officers Sashes but finally I begin to have some actual units. What I actually fancy are the early campaigns of Marshall Turenne against the Spanish and Bavarians  and possibly the War of the Fronde in the early 1650s.  Lots of scope for small actions around sieges  and suchlike.  Also quite a few of the troops are pretty interchangeable.

 As for rules well - still a bit of a problem but nothing that can't be solved. Using Featherstone ECW rules as basis  but adding some command rules  might serve but I will need to test the theory as is using a Charge variant . What I don't want is the same old same old just because it is popular - indeed rather the opposite.

Close up of the pikes and colours in the centre. 

So here are pictures of a reinforced rebased and revamped Regiment Champagne chosen because my wife and I like Champagne and always have a bottle or three about the place. Next regiment for the French will be Picardy - with  some of the Queens Cavalry on the go as well. 

 The first officer for Picardy. He is a Sash and Saber figure converted by adding the half Pike the Sword and his hat from Romanoff parts.

The Battle of Tinyhampton 1461

So once again the 3 stalwart T.W.A.T.S.   gathered at our watering hole for the November game.. Various work and family pressures seem to have kept our numbers down for a couple of months but nevertheless we remainers soldier on !
 Once again I was in the Umpires chair and  decided to run a 40mm Wars of the Roses game .The scenario was based vaguely on the battle of Northampton mainly because I have not run a game based on an assault of a fortified position for simply ages but did have some rather tasty earthworks I made almost 30 years ago but also because Northampton is one WOTR battle I have never before attempted.
 Now this was not to be a full refight. I simply don't have enough 40mm models finished yet- a mere 130 figures would take the field here. I simply lifted the basic scenario from Paul Haighs book "The Military Campaigns of the Wars of the Roses " and organised the "armies" to suit what I actually had to hand.
 As for rules- Once again Lion Rampant was briefly considered and rejected- too structured, but with silly set  unit sizes , too points system orientated- with much of the game actually slaved to the points system and very very un medieval in feel so no. I really really can't see why people like this and they don't seem to be capable of telling me.
 I was - once again going to use Clipsom's set Foray as I like them but in the end for a change I went for Tactica Medieval- but the siege rules as this was an attack on a fortification.
 In the end - despite a few bumps in the road it was the right choice. for this game.

Early in the action as the Yorkists start their advance.

So to the action. Andrew the tekkie took the Lancastrian defenders with all of the artillery but only  a third of the actual figures and Shaun took the assaulting Yorkists with the rest.. I allowed Shaun a free deployment but he elected- after a quick squint at Haigh to follow the Yorkist plan of a column assault on  one flank of the Lancastrian Works.

View of the Lancastrian  camp and defences - from the Yorkist perspective. 

  There was to be no tactical finesse here  this was to be mere brutality and force of arms. However to begin with Shauns shift to his left  did unsight two of the three Lancastrian guns causing no little consternation and running about in the defending camp. The death of a couple of unfortunate gunners caused a little more swearing and gunners from the unsighted guns rushed to re-crew the still  serviceable bombard.

Low sun slanting through the windows of the pub gives this shot a bit of atmosphere.

Arrows flew thick and fast and casualties occurred on both sides, the Lancastrian earthworks not always being the protection they hoped- some jammy dice from Shaun and dark muttering from Andrew! The Bombard continued to pop away at irregular intervals but the crewmen were less that  happy about coming under arrow shot. Meanwhile the Lancastrian archers had halted one of the Yorkist assaulting units and the advance for a time looked in danger- bum dice Shaun. The final shot of the Lancastrian bombard turning more than 1 Yorkist man at arms into tinned offal! However Girding up his loins, Shaun took the bit between his teeth and put in his first wave of assaulting troops. The melee was long and brutal - bodies falling on both sides. Percy's banner was taken and the Lancastrians looked very woeful but a body of Oxford's men at arms  rushed in to stem the Yorkist tide and pinch out their lodgement in the Lancastrian position.

Some of the fierce fighting across the works. Percy's banner- red and black would fall here and only Oxfords men- under the Orange banner would protect the valuble supplies of Consett Brewery's White Hot .

 Nothing loth Shaun re-ordered his men to try again. The Lancastrian archers fired again and faild dismally 13 men finding only 1 kill whilst Shaun remaining archers- with only 2 dice because of target type and the earthworks scored 2 hits. Lancastrian wrath and bad language was the correct and predictable result!

more of the desperate and bloody fighting across the Lancastrian works as the Yorkist strive to enter.

 The Lancastrian defenders were looking decidedly thin on the ground as Shaun's next assault came in  This time despite previous muttering to the contrary what ever luck was left fell on Andrew's side. The final Yorkist throw failed dismally  and the last assault was broken. However the Lancastrian could do little but guzzle thankfully on their beer and get their breath back. A Lancastrian victory certainly but a costly one  they having lost almost half of their men.

Technical points. The figures were all 40mm from my own collection. Mostly  from my own Romanoff Miniatures range
http://www.oldgloryuk.com/wars-of-the-roses-and-late-medieval/43/178/443/455  but with some conversiions.
 The few cavalry are from Irregular- and mix in well and the waggon was by Doug Miller.
 Beer and Beef Butties with excellent chips by The Commercial Inn Tantobie and as always out thanks go the Landlady Jean for her hospitality.
 The game took about four hours- including set up and pull down and, importantly including a break for lunch and the odd few minutes here and there to get the beers in. Not for us the sweaty browed  hurried panic of come gamers. We play at a leisurely pace that suits us.

When the Overflow Gets To Your Bottom Lip .

On my Farcebook page recently I posted that I was finally putting many of my 40mm figure up for sale as I simply don't use them anymore. The Napoleonic and ACW forces have not rolled a dice in anger for at least 4 years. It may be even longer the Napoleonic have not been out in force sine the Derby show at the University- even if I have added a few models since then with the intention of fighting small action or affairs of about a brigade a size - like Cacabellos  for instance. However in the intervening time my tastes have changed   I'm back into pike and shot in a big way- especially the ECW -with a side order of TYW and Ottoman Turks. My Napoleonic urge has found its home in  "shinyloo"  and I'm afraid I've lost interest in the ACW almost completely. But I want to increase my Indian Muting and other Colonial era forces.
 So in order to create space for more toys that I will actually use (more ECW cavalry for a start- see the post on Winceby Fight) then stuff I don't use will have to be moved on.
 Now I mentioned this on my Facebook page and a couple of chaps said- via messenger- how sad it was that I was selling stuff- well Hey Dude its my Job!  (Though that is not quite what they meant) Also in the next sentence one of 'em then tried to sell ME some of HIS that he no longer required ... Still trying to work that one out ...

 So currently the 40mm ACW and 40mm Napoleonics are up for Sale - though I do have to actually count all the Napoleonics to arrive at a price the numbers are similar to the ACW- though with more mounted figures and including a Spanish Ox drawn gun and limber .  I also have a smaller collection of 40mm Dark Ages- mostly Vikings with some Normans which look more than likely to be added to the mix. All are painted to a pretty high standard and some have appeared in the pages of WI- some years back and more recently MW. The ACW collection includes buildings and fences- 2 of the building being hand built by me. As it says on the Facebook page offers in the region of £1600.00 for

Confederate 93 foot 4 mounted Officers 1 gun 6 crew 6 casualty markers- stiffs  total 110 pieces

 Infantry in 3 units

Union

104  infantry in  sort  of 6 units of which 3 are less than a dozen men each including a 10 fig Drabant unit and 6 Berdan’s sharpshooters . Otherwise all figures in both forces are Sash and Saber.

4 mounted officers 1 gun 6 crew 6 stiffs total 121 pieces

Buildings

1 clapboard house 1 barn – both scratch built by me and 1 resin cabin  from Sash and Saber and around 5 feet of Sash and Saber fencing.

 All in 40mm .

Interested chaps can contact me via messenger on Facebook or by email on info@oldgloryuk.com 

 One of the slight downsides of running a toy soldier business is that you do end up with a number of ex-display units and small forces- not really large enough for armies on their own so for instance I have about 30 or so 40mm Zulu War British and Zulus  A fair bundle of 28mm  French in Egypt including some Corps Dromedaire- as well as about 50 assorted Mamelukes and Cairo Janissaries- all well painted and all in 28mm  I also have about 20 or so painted Pirates- never going to use them as the period does not interest me. There are doubtless other odd units here and there. I'm sure I have 3 WW2 Japanese tanks somewhere and a load of 10mm Saracens for the crusades. Oh and a 10mm Swiss pike block  most of these are on here somewhere or on the OGUK website and the likelehood of 'em ever being used is pretty small .

 All these in addition to the "official company collection" which you see in the display case at shows. 

 What is a chap to do ?

Answes on a neatly folded £50.00 note ..... 

The Battle of Brassicthorpe 10 June 1467- the Durham show.

So yes it was all done and dusted and all went well. No more Wars of the Roses for a while.
 What AM I moaning on about?
 The Durham Wargames Group Open Day of course.
 We had a full turnout of T.W.A.T.S for the game a total of 7 members and a couple of visitors..
 The table provided by the DWG was splendid giving us 10 feet by 6 of playing space plus a 2 feet by 6 space at one end for all the bits and pieces that accrue on a game  that must not be on the playing space.

General view of the table early in the day- Yorkists at the top  behind the hedge line

Despite the fact that the game was to use 40mm figures the actual building were all "28mm"- though technically those I had scratch built- around half of those on the table -were to 1/50th scale. Tobe honest this was a bit of a stopgap as I'd simply not had the time to built a medieval town in 1/43rd scale which would have been accurate as to scaling but , very possibly, would not have looked half as good as the result we had on the day. The rest of the buildings were old Hudson and Allen foam models- almost unobtainable today but still looking miles better than many of those lazer cut flatpack things that you see about the place.
Models were mostly my own- the ex Brook Miniatures 40mm range now available from Old Glory UK
http://www.oldgloryuk.com/wars-of-the-roses-and-late-medieval/43/178/443/455

Others were by Irregular Miniatures and the wagon by Doug Miller.
 Painting was either by me or James Main.

The Earl of Oxford's Lancastrian - arrive late but begin their advance. 

Rules were a slightly adapted  version of Tony Clipsom's set "Foray"  which gave us far more flexibility that Lion Rampant- which it was suggested on another blog  was what we were using..

The game itself was a close affair with the advantage swinging first one way then the other. First the Lancastirans- defending the town had a hard time for Yorkist archery. Then as more Lancatrian troops arrived the balance swung a little. Lancastrian artillery then broke a Yorkist unit- which refused to rally for some time- some truly Bum dice there Jim. It was so rough for the Yorkists that they had no choice but to charge the Lancastrian battle line but in the ensuing melee they were vindicated - 2 Lancastian banners falling and the units breaking immediately. Some Truly Bum dice there too Liam.
 At this point with their battle line in tatters the Lancastrians conceded.

The Lancastrian artillery lie in wait. 

 There were just over 170 40mm figures on the table so it was not huge. Nevertheless there was enough interest for a total of 8 players of and on throughout the day- which of course was the point.

Yorkist Men -at Arms failing to rally. Fuzzy hand of God possibly swearing !! 

As for the show itself it was as you would expect for a small event. Friendly - sometimes a little crowded and good fun.
 I actually spent some cash! I bought some more 40mm Medivals from Irregular which will go to add to the Wars of the Roses forces Pavisiers and cavalry which my range does not have. They blend in pretty well in terms of size.
 And Guess what? I bought a book !  An account of Benedict Arnold's invasion of Canada at the beginning of the AWI. Published in 1901 and only a tenner- why would I not.

So as always a good day had by all. Assuming we are invited we will be back to the Durham show next year- and yes it does very much look as if it will be the only event in the North-East I attend- of which more in a later post- but nevertheless I do enjoy this event. We will have to start thinking about next year's game.

Well done Durham Wargames Group.

Now a break form painting Wars of the Roses.........

In the home stretch.

Well here we are in the last few days before the Durham Wargames Group Open Day  next Saturday. The last few figures need to be finished but all the clever stuff has been done and the scenario is almost devised. Needless to say silly phrases(in the context of a show demo game) like "quick and easy" and "fun to play(especially if you have the mental capacity of a backward haddock)" are not a major part of the lexicon here. Having said that however Tony Clipsom's set Foray are not exactly mentally stretching either, they are simple  enough but do have a good bit of flavour, repay period tactics and yet despite all of that should qualify to be "fun"  without that dreaded epithet meaning  "intellectually vacant" as so often seems to be the case these days.
 Now some of you may feel that I'm attaching and unwonted importance to the Durham Wargames Group Open Day . After all it is a pretty small show as shows go and I'm not even *officially" trading there.

Banners and Standards. All of these will appear in the game. Most are hand painted except the 2 superb cloth printed one by John Hutchinson.  Standard bearers are mostly conversions  from basic figures requiring head and arm swaps.

 There are two sets of reasons for this
 Group  1/.
 It is a fun  show which I and the rest of the T.W.A,T.S enjoy.
We have been invited to do games there for around 10 years or a bit less now so always try to  put on a decent effort. See previous post. The D.W.G. always make us feel welcome.
 It is the only show we do as a group.
 (Though we did once put on a Naval game at the Border Reivers  show at very short notice. I'm still unsure if any of the current "committee" noticed)
 For those of our group who work the Old Glory stand it is a sort of pressure off "busmans holiday" where we can wear our punters hats for a day.

The wagon is a Doug Miller piece and is a bugger to put together. The 3 Courrour cavalry are by Irregular and are rather nice. 

Group 2/.
It is quite possible that Durham Wargames Group Open Day will be the ONLY event  I do in the North-East this year.
I am no longer the sponsor of the Border Reivers event.  Earlier this year I received a somewhat brusque letter from the new committee telling me they had "terminated the relationship".This has been on the cards for a while but the letter was still an unpleasant surprise as my efforts to talk to them(at the Derby show and others) had met with stonewalling despite their accusation that I no longer gave  any input .... Hmmm still trying to work that one out. .
 However I don't mind the fact of no longer being the sponsor  that is their decision,though the matter could have been handled better
 So far this year I have not received an invitation to the event and I have NEVER in 26 years gone to any show I don't receive and invitation to- in other words I don't ask to be invited , never have never will. It is not  appropriate.
Now if they choose not to invite me fine- they tell me in said letter I can have a free stand- if the show goes ahead- for "past services"  However last year was hardly worth getting a van for even as sponsor so if I am invited I will have to take a view on it but if I'm not well that's £250.00  Van Hire Diesel and crew wages I don't have to shell out. So either way I shan't lose any sleep.

Close up of one of the Irregular cavalry figures. Whilst a bit rough in the casting they do repay careful painting . This particular figure comes with some head variation and is very useful indeed. So much so I've ordered some more to be collected at the show. 

Now none of this matters in the bigger picture of our hobby except to say that I'll continue to go to the Durham Wagames Group Open Day as long as the continue to invite us.
 If it is the only show we do in the North East that's fine too. We will still enjoy it.
 Maybe the rest are not worth the effort.

Blue Pigs on my Fingers !!

 Having to put the various badges on the liveried retainers has made me realise why I hate decals!
 Now of the contingents I've chosen for this game 4 of the 6 I happen to have decals for which I aquired when I  bought up the Brooks Miniatures 40mm Wars of the Roses range so I have
 Ragged staffs for Warwick
 Red Griffins for Clifford
 White Lions for Mowbray
 and
 Blue Boars for Oxford-
 What a bloody fiddle and faff to get them in the right place in the right order. The dammed things stick to everything - especially fingers-  but the place you want 'em. But it is done- all but 4 blue pigs for Oxford- how many of them will end up on my fingers.....again.
 Still it will be worth it. Looking forward to seeing this lot all laid out  on the 10 feet by 6 table on Saturday.
 Come along and see us- and the other games etc at the Durham Wargames Group Open day Vane tempest Gilesgate Durham.
 It will be a good day.

Contingent upon being finished in time

My next gig so to speak is the Durham show on June 10th. Now Old Glory UK don't trade there as there simply isn't any space and frankly the show - whilst very enjoyable is just too small. So as we have done for the past several years we- that is the Tantobie Warfare and Tactical Society- will be running a demo game.
 Unlike many other demo crews around the country we will be running a different game from last year. if you recall last year Jim the Builder ran a 10mm Seven years War battle with over 2000 little 10mm dudes on the table.
 Indeed as I try to recall the games we have run at this show in the past I get quite a list of different periods and sixes.
 Off the top of my head I recall
 40mm American Civil War-possibly twice 2 different games including one where I deliberately changed the rules every few moves and made the players change sides.
28mm English Civil War
10mm Seven Years War- twice 2 different games
1/600th Russo- Japanese War naval.
28mm War of Austrian Succession.
15mm Modern- "not the Gulf War at all".
 and this year
40mm Wars of the Roses
Many but possibly not all of the games are recorded somewhere on this blog - which is now longer than Ben Hur and War and Peace put together- now THAT is a truly scary thought!

The Earl of Oxford's standard and badge banner.

Not bad for a group that currently only has half-a dozen members and has never reached double figures-well not for very long . If pressed we could probably add 15mm WW2- in at least 2 different theatres and maybe 20mm Cold War goes hot and 15mm Ancients- though this last might take more work just sorting out how many Greeks Shaun and Jim have between them!
 Now no mention is made of rules or "games" here as we would tend to tailor the rules we used to the period and scenario- especially if we are doing a public demo. At least one of the crew would be a dedicated talking head- usually me but all of the crew are capable of, and will talk to interested parties - unlike so many demos I see at shows where you are often ignored and- extremely -shouldered out of the way (that would be a pillock in a flying helmet at Derby a year or so back- tosser... I let him live.)

The Liveried contingent of the Earl of Oxford.

Equally there will always be someone at the table unlike more than one game I saw at Partizan last weekend, though to be fair most of the games were manned all the time and of course, being Partixan I saw none of those "introverts R us " board/card/boutique/skirmish/usually sci-fant games that are sometimes a feature of smaller show(not so far at Durham though) seemingly put on by clubs who just want to play the same game in a different room from their usual club night. Not really appropriate for a show that punters- however few or many- pay to get into. If that kind of crap gets to be the majority game type at shows, then goodbye shows. I don't care if they are "fun to play" ,  A bunch of mumbling unwashed around a 2 foot square board littered with cards is hardly impressive or inspiring and maybe a little hard on the olfactory organs as at York. So we don't do that because it is self centred and pathetic  and if that is being judgemental then I am JUDGE DREDD! .
(I was going to say Judge Jeffries but you have to have read a book or two to know who he was)

Oxford and Northumberland with artillery support

 Nevertheless I am quite proud of our little group and what we can do with just a little effort. So as always I am quite looking forward to the Durham show.
 As for the game my personal target was 120 finished singly  based 40mm figures plus a couple of guns. I have exceeded that by a little with a fortnight to go and some blokes still on the painting table. Jim the Builder will add around 30-40 more figures. Rules will be deliberately simple - but hopefully not simplistic and the table action should actually resemble a 15th century encounter. (so not rampant then) Basically the rules will be an altered version of Tony Clipsom's set Foray but with Imperial measurement instead of metric- somehow it does not seem right for medieval England to be in Millimetres !
Now as inn previous years you can order stuff for me to bring to the show- pay on the day or previously  your choice- though I won't have card facilities on the day as I'm not trading.
 Contact me on info@oldgloryuk.com

See you at the show.

The Next few weeks ......

After a pretty successful Carronade in Falkirk last weekend (I do like that show) you might think I'd be due a bit of time off. No chance We are at Partizan in Newark- that's Notts in the UK  in case Transatlantic readers were wondering if they had missed something in New Jersey !
After that, a bare 2 weeks later comes the Durham Wargames Group Open Day on June 10th.
 I'm not really trading there -though anyone who wants stuff bringing can email me on info@oldgloryuk.com - save yourself a bit of postage and possibly take advantage of the "6 for5" deal.

Troops from the retinue of John Mowbray Duke of Norfolk. Mostly a Yorkist.

 The main thrust of the day for me will however, be the 40mm Wars of the Roses game Jim the Builder and I are putting together  It will be in the smaller of the 2 min rooms at the show and is growing nicely. The photos show the latest figures I've painted and Jim reckons to have around 40 figures finished by the time of the show which should bring the forces (they are not large enough to be "armies")  to a little under a hundred a side ... maybe.

A couple of individual armigerious gentlemen wearing their coats of arms. Just because I fancied painting them.

Of course one of the madder asides with the Wars of the Roses in that splendid baordgame Kingmaker which manages to capture the feel of the period without being too pedantic. It is the only boardgame I own and is a speldid basis for a campaign. However you can bet that during a wargame of the WOTR someone will begin to utter phrases such as "Mowbray to Framlingham" or Percy to Alnwick" in the same way that some chaps utter lines from Zulu during a Zulu war game.... sad isn't it?

So the plan is for a colourful game at the show- come along it is a small show but worth a look. Details in the picture above.

Why waste time and money on this dross?

Now on to an entirely different matter. I have read the various reviews of the Perry's Travel Battle on TMP and on a couple of the blogs I follow and I still can't see the point other than to make God's Anointed Perry's  some more shekels.  The whole thing is so insipid and brain free. It might be great if you are eight- I recall having a game  called Battle of the Little Big Horn or something that was on a squared board with roughly 40mm plastic US cavalry and Indians. As I recall the figures were even coloured in so already it looked better than this latest effort. I doubt the box it came in was much bigger either but I might be wrong there. The Perry thing look a dammed sight more unattractive with it little Monopoly houses and 2 legged horses.  If you want easy to move about and ready to play there are shedloads of more attractive boardgames out there- and I speak as a non- boardgamer, I've seen interesting looking games with very very pretty counters and maps that beat the shyte out of a couple of gridded plastic squares with a few monopoly houses on - sometimes for  far less money and with more options too.
 If you like  model soldiers in your wargames then TB is pretty much the antithesis of what you are about. for rules dudes the rules seem simplistic to the point of childishness- again great if your are eight(or perhaps if you are 38 and missing being 8) but not really for grown ups.
All this nonsense about  being able to travel with it- see the raised eyebrows of those pert and efficient   girls behind reception in hotels I use as you grasp your Travel Battle box with your luggage (Too mean to watch the porn channel like everyone else is what she is thinking !!!!)  Nah leave me with some shreds of credibility......

But joking apart I really can't see the point. There are far better ways of  having a travelling wargame-though why you need to I still can't fathom-  than this collection of plastikrap.. I wonder which bunch of fanboys will be the first to try to pass it off as a demo at a show- that will be yet another nadir

Villainous Saltpetre

So the 40mm Wars of the Roses project marches on.  Figures are actually coming off the painting table at a pace slightly faster than glacial. Not only that but a second "comedy bombard"  and crew are now finished so there will be one for each side and perhaps, if time permits, more than one as I have parts for 2 more including a double barrelled "cart of war" which should be amusing ...assuming I get it finished.

The first "comedy bombard"  made from an Old Glory OXTG1  Super-heavy gun- with scratch built  carriage and mantlet.

 2 of the guns are identical- being the Hincliffe 25mm  Landsknecht Siege gun- in the foremost range. Now frankly nice model though it is it is not what it says on the tin- being on a 15th century "burgundian" type carriage which had largely been superseded  by guns with trunnions by the 1520's  or so . Nevertheless it makes a cracking 15th century "medium" gun for 40mm,
 The crew- like the Bombard are all minor conversions from  my 40mm Wars of the Roses range- the ex- Brooks Miniatures range which I now own and have added to. There are now roughly 30 different figures in the range.

The other completed gun. That Hinchliffe piece looks just right for 40mm

Now if I'd been a boring "samey-gamey" type I could have done Wars of the Roses in 25/28mm just the same old same old, after all it is easy there are plenty of good ranges about including the Old
Glory one and I used to have some 15mm Essex WOTR  but then doing things the expected way has never had any appeal for me - at least not since I packed in competitive gaming in the early 80s.
 No the point here is to present something a little differently. After all boredom is an ever present threat when all you do is play  pillock Rampant or whatever skirmish game is flavour ofthe week this week.

More Roses- More Thorns.

Since the last post in the "Battles" department I've been  bashing out more 40mm Wars of the Roses gear and will be doing so for at least another month.
 So it seemed appropriate that our April game should be another go at this period to get our heads round it for the Durham Show at the beginning of June.
 Thus it was that 4 T.W.A.T.S. gathered at our usual pub  for the game last Saturday..
 We toyed with the idea of Lion Rampant- but you know my views on that and after looking through the book Andrew the Tekkiie joined in my disdain as did Shaun and Jeff - the others present.
 So it was back to Tony Clipsom's set Foray which we had used last time and quite liked- though it had the odd problem- this time we'd test a little more deeply.

I thought I'd do an atmospheric black and white shot of the table laid out before the action began. Very featherstone . Actually the only shaft of sunlight that day caught me at the wrong moment. Yorkists at the far end. 

So , after a bit of dice rolling Floating Jeff and Mechanical Shaun took the Yorkist forces and decided to defend. They were outnumbered but did have the advantage of villainous saltpetre in the form of my almost scratch built  comedy bombard and converted crew. Andrew the Tekkie took the more numerous  Lancastrians.
 He had to attack  over the town ditch which would impede progress and was declared to be "verie muche filled with  the noisome shytte and rubbishe of ye towne" . Or he could take the bridge and keep out of the poo!.
 Longbowmen immediately searched for targets- at a range of a meter in these rules and arrows flew tick and fast.

The Yorkist position showing the come dy bombard and rubber rivers that don't lie down! 

 The "comedy Bombard" ended up being pretty effective - despite all the obstacles I could put in its way. Shaun deftly avoided throwing any doubles so did not explode and managed to actually fire two rather effective shots removing a total of 4 casualties from the Earl of Oxfords retinue which halted their advance for some time. In the Lancastrian centre Lord Clifford company continued its advance and on the left The earl of Northumberland showered Warwick with arrows and caused him to retire into the town- the way was clear to cross. Would Northumerland's men deliberately put feet into the  unwholesome semi- solids of the town ditch?

Yorkist archers on the brigde- not getting their boots covered in poo!
Warwick's company on the far side.

 As it happened they never got the chance Warwick rallied his men with much shouting began to return to the ditch. However that was not the worst for the House of Lancaster. Clifford's company in the centre came under fire again and this time it was too much after a truly bum die roll-  yes a 1- they broke and with his centre gone Andrew conceded.

Warwick.s men rallying in the town.

Archery  became the dominant feature of the game very quickly. Longbows are deadly . Too deadly we felt, so after a bit of discussion we changed firing from D6 base to D10 and Longbows immediately became useless ! . On a D6 base shooting was, or at least seemed, for more effective than in the previous game- even at long range with only a 6 needed for a hit- and plate armoured men needing 2 hits.
 After more discussion we decided to put armour based saving throws into the next game- though not for hits caused by gunpowder weapons. Ranges seem about right though somehow the metric distances don't "feel" right. This is daft I know but a medieval game should have medieval measurement so I'm going to convert the rules to inches. I'll also make a few other modifications but I don't want to change the basic simplicity of the system.. In many ways I'd rather roll more D6 so it should average out rather than fewer but different dice at the behest  of a more complex set of mechanisms..
 Any how that is the theory.......

Clifford's company moves up with Northumberland in support.

The same place in the following turn - BUMMER shouts Andrew as Cliffords men break and  he has nothing left but empty space.

The next outing for these lads will be the Durham Wargames Group open day on June 10th. The game will be bigger with roughly half as many troops again as were on this table and also more villainous saltpetre- yes I have more  comedy bombards .
 Old Glory don't have a trade stand there but as always anybody who wants to avoid paying postage - and collect gear at the show should contact me  at info@oldgloryuk.com.
 Mind you I've gt 2 shows I'm trading at in the coming month Carronade -Falkirk on May 13th and Partizan on May 21st - so a crowded month with no time for any games .
C'est la guerre!

Roses with Thorns.

Well that is  the hundred up. One hundred finished 40mm Wars of the Roses figure  finished and based. I've organised these in 6 "retinues" to wit Edward IV Warwick the Kingmaker, The Earl of Suffolk for the Yorkists and The Earl of Northumberland, Lord Clifford and the Earl of Oxford for the Lancastrians. Each retinue has a core of men in livery coats to which armoured men -at -arms and unliveried billmen and archers can be added as the scenario dictates.
 More are of course on the painting table- including conversion for a couple of gun crews.
 I'm enjoying this little aside- which by June and the Durham show will be a good bit larger. I quite like producing unique models- even though I'm no sculptor.

The Earl of Oxford's "Star with Streams"- though the precise appearance is somewhat conjectural.

There are now a fair number of conversions and chop jobs within the collection..

The first few of Suffolk's liveried men. Archer on the painting table.

Being in metal the parts are a good bit less fragile that plastic- larger too being 40mm . Makes life easier- very little hunting about on the floor for bits you have pinged off when cutting them from the sprue.

A small skirmish over a palisade with a mantlet. I built the latter for a still under construction gun. The palisades are by Irregular-supposedly for 40mm but a bit small. I may have to make some taller ones. 

So the project marches on. I've a 40mm waggon to build. That promises to be a challenge.

Small action between York and Lancaster

Yesyerday saw the gathering of the T.W.A.T.S. for the March meeting at our usual haunt and watering hole. As I mentioned in the previous post the game was to be a 40mm Wars of the Roses encounter.
 I decided to use Tony Clipsom's "Foray" ruleset for the reasons outlined in the previous post.
 I've concluded that  my biggest bitch with the whole rampant system - the 2 versions I have being Lion Rampant and Pikmans Lament- is organisational  rather than the actual "game mechanisms". But having said that I realise as I type that in those 2 sets the silly non-historical  organisations are PART of the game mechanism  which for me makes a total non- starter when those organisations are as ridiculous (in historical terms) as the "Rampant" ones are. Obviously medieval small unit organisation - laregly decimal . The English for example had under officers called Vintenars (leader of 20) and cantanars (leaders of 100) and of course there were companies of 20 or 50 in other armies as well as the smaller "organisations" of lower retinues- so the base everything around 6 and 12 whilst saying almost in the same breath that one  model soldier is one man is of course total cobblers. The same basic premise holds for lament and no 17th century organisations were NOT based on 6 and 12  though it holds slightly better here than in the medieval period since quite often  in the ECW a "file" was actually 6 men- though sometimes it was 8 or 10 men to the file. Of course that did not always obtain in other armies.

Shaun site behind his Yorkist forces drawn up on their hill. 

So putting away various forms of Rampant we move on to Foray which  is far more flexible organisationally speaking and yet overall is about the same complexity level  having quite a retro feel to it.
 Present for the game were 4 members Myself, as Umpire. Theatrical Steve , Mechanical Shaun and Andrew the Tekkie. Table set up was two roughly parallel ridges running more or less diagonally across the table separated by a valley with a road running through it down to a river which as it happened never featured in the game.  The Yorkists under Shaun drew up in one body on the larger and higher of the two ridges.. The Lancastrians were in 2 bodies of roughly equal size one commanded by Steve and the other by Andrew- Andrews force was drawn up on the smaller ridge and Steve's in the grounds of the small manor house.

Part of the Lancastrian array under Steve. 

Along Archery dual  ensued after it bacame clear that Shaun was nailed to his ridge. He concentrated on Steve's troops . This allowed Anrew to shoot him up a bit without relpy and in the end some truly bum dice meant that he lost about half of his archers with comparatively small loss to the Lnacastrians.

The other Lancastrian wing under Andrew.

The Hand of Shaun - descends from the Heavens to advance for the crunch. 

Now the Lancastrians advanced and having little choice the Yorkists moved towards  Steve's contingent.. A fierce melee in the centre resulted in Shaun's leader taking a hit but refusing to yeild. However morale results fored a halt on the Lancastrians so Shaun broke contact as  his right retreted andAndrew came up to outflank him. With only his left wing more or less intact - but a little outflanked Shaun conceded the game.

Headless theatrical Steve ponders as the Yorkists advance. 

 The outflanking move goes in - Job done for the Lancastrians. 

Now this was a pretty short game by our standards lasting a little over 2 hours of actual play- with breaks for hot Pork Butties and chips- and beer and an overlong set up time simply because I was winging it and had prepared nothing as I expected to be playing in an AWI game. However Jim had been called to work at the last minute I was suddenly in the chair.
 Despite this all want well and with a bit of tweaking these rules could be really tasty. Indeed there may be other versions about by now as I got these from a  Yahoo group some few years ago and the file says "test version 1.1 "
 Nevertheless I'm much encouraged by this game and want another bash with more troops.
 This will happen at the Durham show on June 11th this year for certain- but maybe we'll get another game in before then.

Rampant Foray?

 I've been dropped in it at very close to the last minute so instead of being 15mm AWI the next T.W.A.T.S  game will be 40mm Wars of the Roses  That will be tomorrow. First time out for my 40mm collection in this period and a good chance to test 2 alternative sets of rules. Even if I do have to wing it a bit.
 Tony Clipsom's "Foray" and- though I hate to say it "Lion Rampant."
 Now on reading my preference is for Foray as it actually assumes you are an adult and has at least some flavour of small scale medieval warfare. They are simple but not simplistic and very open ended. Unit sizes are elastic and there is no straitjacket of a points system. Almost the very opposite of Rampant. They may actually take some thought.

The first of Lord Clifford's retinue.

 I've been adding figures to this collection on and off for a while so that now I'm just a few short of 100 finished models with more on the painting table.

Edward IV retinue- well the first batch anyway. More to do of these.

I'm pretty chuffed with how they are coming out. iI have the Earl of Suffolk's men on the go too. Not having to stick to a hidebound set of rules means I can do whatever size units and groups I like rather than the 6 or 12 of Lion Rampant. Flexibility is the key.

These chaps will of course be added to each retinue as needed as leaders or characters.

So we will see what tomorrow brings.  I'll let you know of course.

Close up of the various Knights and Men-At Arms.