At the Sharp End

The Too Fat Lardies have released a supplement for their very much flavour of the month Chain of Command rules. Now I didn't enjoy my experience of Dux Britanniarum, and despite Scrivs having played and enjoyed the CoC rules, what I've read elsewhere leads me to believe that some of the same things I found irritating about Dux Brit will again be present here. Besides which 28mm WW2 was only ever supposed to be a minor diversion and I've already got the Bolt Action rules which seem to give me a perfectly adequate game. So despite the high praise from some quarters I've remained resistant.
However the one element of Dux Brit that I did enjoy, and kept me trying to enjoy the game far longer than I should, was the campaign system. So, given that At the Sharp End promises something similar for WW2 games, and that it costs just £6 for the instant gratification of a PDF download I've parted with my cash and got myself a copy.
So far it looks promising. There's clearly some elements that are designed just to work with CoC, but the structure of the campaign seems simple and the background generating parts are all quite jolly. So I think with a little tinkering I should be able to get a workable Americans in Italy campaign sorted out and maybe get a few more games of Bolt Action in.
But all this has to wait until after Sigmar's Blood is out of the way.

Nottingham Young Gamers

Chum James invited me to come along and help at one of his "Nottingham Young Gamers" events on Sunday and I was only to happy to oblige.
I was supposed to help at the inaugural one last year, but something or other prevented me.
These events are essentially the follow on to James' very successful school wargaming club (which featured in one of the wargame magazines (WSS?) last year). James set up and ran the club at his primary school and had a whole bunch of children of both genders playing with toy soldiers. When he changed jobs recently the club was left a bit up in the air, so rather than see it die James has decided to keep it going by staging occasional afternoons at a social club near the school where, for a small fee, the children can come along and play games and paint some figures. On this occasion the models were generously supplied by the top chaps at Warlord Games.
I agreed to run a small game of Bolt Action (which meant frantic re-reading of the rules on Sunday morning). James and Scrivs provided all the models and scenery, all I had to do was point the kids in the right direction and tell them how many dice to roll.

My simple scenario saw a building in the middle of the board, in which fleeing Germans had inadvertently left behind the blueprints to Hitler's toilet. As the plucky Tommies closed in on the plans for the Fuhrer's khazi, beastly Bosch were headed back to reclaim them for the Fatherland. Whoever ended up with troops closest to the building at the end of the game would be the winner.

And so we played through two games over the course of a couple of very pleasant hours. The children were unfailingly polite (even to my terrible jokes) and seemed to enjoy it - though I couldn't persuade any of them to declare "For you Tommy the war is over" before rolling dice.
Bolt Action worked very nicely and the models from Scrivs and Martin all looked very good.

I took a few pictures.

 Beastly huns hug the wall

Both sides close in on the house

 Tommies caught in the low sun

 Teacher James gives his half-time lecture

 Plucky Brits storm forward

 The Germans get to the perimeter

More Germans get to the house

James is intending to run another one later in the year, so hopefully I'll get to do it all over again.

Sherman Tank for Bolt Action

Over Christmas I finally got around to assembling and painting the Hobby Boss Sherman tank I picked up way back at Salute. Despite my fears about the number of parts and complexity it actually went together pretty easily once I'd got over my fear of doing it "wrong" and spent a little time translating the "Chinglish" the instructions are written in.

Once put together I sprayed it with some Airfix green that I had lying around, then gave it a wash of Thrakka Green before drybrushing with Catachan Green. Job done. It's probably not the most authentic green colour and there are some criticisms that the kit itself isn't all that accurate, but it looks like a Sherman to me, is about the right size for my figures and is painted a green enough colour for me, so I'm pleased with the end result. And all for only eight quid.

Best try and actually get another game of Bolt Action in some time

Bolt Action Americans (4)

More Americans for Bolt Action.

A mix of Crusader and Artizan metals, these are the ones I started in Swindon but have only now got round to finishing.

Painting is exactly the same as on the first set of Warlord plastics
The dip ended up a bit thick on these, so I've had to do a few highlights, especially around the faces, which is annoying as it flies in the face of the quick and dirty nature of them.
I still have a mortar team to finish off and then I'll have three ten man squads and a couple of bits of support, which is probably enough.
I keep looking at the Hobby Boss Sherman I picked up at Salute. And the more I look at it the more I think "maybe I'll just buy a resin one..."

Ready for the dip

I finished these off soon after my return from the desolate Chaos wastelands otherwise known as Swindon.
This post was supposed to be a before and and after shot of them getting dipped. However matt varnish problems have put a stop to that, so here they are before being coated in dip.

First the archers. I've just been reading She by H Rider Haggard for my book group, which rather inspired the leopard skin loin cloths.
Very basic paintjob - plastikote chocolate brown undercoat, overbrush with Dark Flesh, Iyanden Darksun loincloth with Scorched Brown blotches and pick out the spear tip in Chainmail and the hair Chaos Black. Leather bits Snakebite Leather and the flights in white.

Spearmen painted exactly as above:

Askaris have Deneb Stone clothing and one has a Blood Red hat, while the rifle stocks are Bestial Brown

Meanwhile here are better pictures of the Americans (who needed a little tidying up once I got them away from the hotel room and back into some decent light)

As I say, they've all now been dipped but until I can get some matt varnish I can't make any progress.

Swindon Sojourn (3)

And so the week draws to a close and I must bid a not so fond farewell to my beige featureless hotel room.

However I do so with a happy heart because I have managed to get some hobby done.

Ten Africans with bows and ten with spears, together with a couple of chiefs and five Askaris have been successfully glued to the face of her maj and equipped with weapons.

Meanwhile I have managed to apply all the base colours to a dozen US infantry models, meaning I should get them dipped next week with a bit of luck and a following wind,

Here they are - poor quality iPhone picture again.

In other news I am being leaned on to play In Her Majesty's Name.

Generally my views on VSF and Steampunk are best summarised by this article.
There's just something about it that seems, well a bit silly really so I can't get too excited*

On the other hand the rules have been well received and are only £6 on the Kindle and I've probably got models that'd be suitable up in the loft somewhere....

*And yes I know I happily play WFB and other equally silly things but this just crosses some sort of line I didn't even know existed

Swindon Sojourn (2)

A bit more progress was made on Tuesday night, but yesterdays sad news delayed this post.

Anyway some more Africans were glued to bases and given nice sharp Northstar spears. Ouch

I think these are Foundry Darkest Africa Tribal Warriors

Then I added some khaki clothing to the US infantry

I also glued these Askaris to pennies on Monday but forgot to post them in that post

Last night I ate and drank and did no hobby.
Tonight I'm back to webbing for the US infantry.
Living. The.Dream.

Swindon Sojourn

I am in sunny (no really) Swindon all week with work.
Unfortunately no-one I work with actually lives in Swindon, so my evenings are spent in solitude in my hotel.
There was a time in my youth when I found this impossibly glamorous.
Now I just find it a drag.
Anyway to stave off boredom I remembered to bring some soldiers with me to help pass the time.
So last night was spent cleaning, glueing and painting to the sounds of 6 music

Here's what my desk looked like when I started. Glue, pennies and Foundry Africans

After an hour or so I had this to show

Ten archers all glued to Brenda's face.
They're these models I think Stealthy Tribal Archers

After that, with the superglue fumes inflaming my brain I started in on painting the Americans I picked up last week

Just base coats on the trousers, faces and helmets so far. I'm doing them the same way I did the last lot - simple base coats and then I'll dip them when I get home.
Apologies for the quality of the pictures - it's just on my i-phone with a hotel light bulb.

Tonight more basecoating and some spearmen I hope.

Booty!

I have returned from meolidiz as we say in Hull.
Had a splendid time in Northumbria and then in East Yorkshire and managed to get a small amount of broadly toy soldier stuff squeezed in which will ideally feature here in the next week or so. I also managed to get sunburned while surfing on Tynemouth beach - in your face Bondi!
I returned to some good news about work with my contract being extended for another year, and so decided to treat myself.

Goodies

I picked this little lot up from the ever helpful Nick at Northstar while on my way to collect the offspring from holiday club.
It's a copy of the new Ronin rules which I've been after for a while (I did call on Nick just before departing on holiday in the hope of it being holiday reading but he was still awaiting delivery). Together with a few Crusader and Artizan blisters.

I've been looking for an excuse to buy some of the Perry Korean range since they first came out and Ronin features a list for Koreans. Add to that the fact that one of my regular opponents has a pile of Samurai he's been looking for an excuse to paint and it was a bit of a no-brainer. And cheap too at £11.99 - buy it at that price from Nick, don't support tax dodging onliners for the sake of a few quid.
A quick look through and it seems to be just what I'm after. I'll only need 10 or so models to get started (ideal, should be ready by Easter*) and the rules seem pretty straightforward and clear- certainly compared with Dux Britaniarum that I've really struggled to get my head around.
Nice pictures of models too (mostly of the new ones from Northstar to support the game but also some of the poor WF plastics - albeit with very good Kev Dallimore paintjobs) and some colour plates from the Ospreys as you might expect.
I even realised last night that my LotR Khand and Easterlings could make some stand in models to practice with - though I'm hoping to pick up the Koreans at Partizan next week!

The blisters were an assortment of US Infantry models to expand my Bolt Action force to three squads. Two of riflemen (one Crusader and one Artizan) and a pack of bazookas (my opponent has acquired a Stug) and a mortar (both Crusader). I really enjoyed quickly dipping some of these earlier in the year and think three squads makes for a decent enough game of BA. I've based and undercoated them already and with the kids away next week hope to make speedy progress.
I've also got a plastic Hobby Boss Sherman that I picked up at Salute awaiting assembly, but as I took it on holiday with me and never even got it out of the box I'm beginning to think it was a false economy and I should just have bought a resin model that I don't have to assemble.

*You'll notice I didn't say Easter of which year

Dipped Bolt Action Americans (3)

Blimey has it been a month since I last posted?!
A combination of crazy homelife, busy worklife and a much needed holiday is my excuse for not posting anything recently.
Anyway here's another bunch of US infantry models for my expanding Bolt Action force.
I actually bought and painted these way back before Salute and they've seen action in my (so far) one and only Bolt Action game
They're all Crusader models supplied by the excellent Mr Nick over at Northstar. They're lovely characterful models, nice and chunky and easy to paint. they fit pretty well with the Warlord plastics (though I much prefer them) and were painted the same way as the others in basecoats and dip.
They really don't look as shiny in real life as the pictures make them appear - though maybe I need to go back over everything with the varnish.

  

I also used some of the Warlord plastics to create a medic model

The remaining Warlord models have also been assembled and painted - pictures later this week if I get chance.
As for the game - well it followed my usual gaming pattern and I came a distant second. Good to see that choice of rules makes no real difference to my playing ability.