Back To Boring

Yes folks it's back to good old khaki and grey again. This time in the form of support weapon teams for the British and German 1940 project.

All AB Figures excepting the German 50mm mortar teams which are from Simon's Soldiers.

Fear not folks colour will return to the blog next time when hostilities resume in sixth century Brittania in and around the environs of Soggas Bottom.

Until then.......

TTFN & KBO

New Army Syndrome

Yes it struck my Early Byzantine force the other day although the new unit I had painted dId itself proud. However it was not enough to stem the Ostrogoths attack.

We used Neil Thomas Ancient and Medieval rules as planned but as we had not played for a while we used them straight out of tin without our house rules to keep things simple.

A photo montage to show the course of the engagement follows.

The Byzantines arrayed for battle.

After a cautious start the Ostrogoths cavalry engage their opposite numbers.

The combat continues for several turns neither side giving way.

Over on the flank the opposing light cavalry conduct there almost private contest, the Moors galloping up and back again throwing their javelins while the Huns reply with their bows.

Meanwhile both sides infantry are content to stand by while their archers to exchange missiles

The far right Byzantine cavalry are eventually bested and the victorious Ostrogoths slam into the flank of the other unit.

Although assailed on both the flank and their front the Byzantines bravely fight on but numbers begin to tell and they too are put to flight. The Huns seeing the destruction of the Byzantine cavalry also quit the field leaving the Byzantine infantry at the mercy of the maruading Ostrogoths cavalry.

They too fight on tenaciously but they know it will be to no avail as they are heavily outnumbered now. They put down their swords and surrender to the mercy of the enemy.

It was good to get the army out on the table for the first time, I now need to get on with some more cavalry.

TTFN & KBO

The General

I have painted this Aventine Miniatures figure up for the upcoming game next week, although generals aren't represented on the table in the Neil Thomas rules we like to have them. We have house rules for them which you can find in the side bar.

We will see how he fares next week, until then.

TTFN & KBO

Wow!

Just received my pre ordered copy, the title of the blog says it all. Not cheap (is any printed matter these days?) but worth every penny, apart from Graham's magnificent art work there are supplementary images of manuscripts, artifacts and historical sites and text that outlines the complex course of events and people in this most bloody conflict.

 

TTFN & KBO

Byzantines Are Back!

On the painting desk, another infantry unit this time. To make it easier to paint I put a rank at a time down on the base.

The first as been painted and glued to the base followed by my standard basing material, Javis desert stone mix, this is then painted with Decoart Country Maple and washed with a diluted mix of Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna oil paint. Once dry I dry brush it with Vallejo Model Colour Iraqi Sand before adding Gamers Grass Tufts.

The second rank is then painted and added to the base making sure I can fit the third tank behind them, then the basing material added and finished as above.

I then paint the third tank.

These are then added and the rest of the base is textured and painted as before to complete the unit.

It will be a while before I have enough painted for a Hail Caeser game, however I do now have the required eight units for a game using the Neil Thomas rules. I have therefore scheduled a game here at OHQ on 20th of this month.

Until next time .........

TTFN & KBO

All Quiet........

On The Western Front? Well yes it has been, when deciding what game to put on for the latest game here in OHQ I thought we haven't played a Great War game for a while. When I checked back that was putting it mildly, it was back in early January 2020! My where does the time go? 

We would be using Gajo Games Great War modifications to Bolt Action for the game, the usual annotated photo montage will hopefully guide you through the course of events. The figures are of course the excellent Great War Miniatures, the trenches are from Ironclad Miniatures.

The calm before the storm at Shrapnel Villa.

Raiders back from intelligence gathering.

The field of Mars.

The British advance behind a creeping barrage.

A German sniper lies in wait perhaps!

The Germans brace themselves for what is to come.

The British advance ever onward behind the barrage.

A German Anti-tank rifle team take aim.....and miss!

They quickly reload before the tank can retaliate courtesy of the Order Dice draw. The tank catches fire and abandoned, phew!

The Germans are caught in the barrage but get off lightly.

German minenwerfer, not actually on table but too nice a piece to be left in the box. Firing on a fixed point it was to have little effect on the British advance but gave it's own side a couple of scares😂

The British mortar fire is more deadly thanks to the brave efforts of Speckled Jim, the advancing infantry occupy the first German trench line.

It is at this point when I got wrapped up in the game play and failed to record the following turns on camera.

It was in these last three turns when the British mortar fire was redirected to the German second line trench and failed to inflict any damage! Anything But a One syndrome struck, or was it Speckled Jim who was struck down mid flight?

The Germans consolidate the second line in the last turn of the game, with the British holding the first line we elected for a winning draw for the British. Perhaps a follow on game to decide the outcome, but not with another gap of four years?

Until next time.....

TTFN & KBO