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.........