15mm Gallic Cavalry

In between painting and making stuff for Bolt Action I was also working on some 15mm Gallic Cavalry for my Carthaginian army. These are Westwind/Forged in Battle miniatures and have been loitering on my painting table for a couple of years now. I also added a couple of infantry heroes, a mounted hero and a Carthaginian General/Command base. 

I am so pleased and enthused with these that I have now started work on some more 15mm Greeks and Persians, I am quite surprised at how many unpainted ones I have!

Minefields for Bolt Action

These minefields were quite an easy bit of terrain to make, especially as I already had some pieces of wood cut to the right size. I wasn't quite sure how much fencing to put up but felt that a warning sign and a bit of barbed wire helped 'theme' it. I also thought about having a few mines scattered about on the ground but couldn't think what to use to represent the mines so passed on that idea-they could always be added later. 

I also finished off a regiment of 15mm goblin archers  These little guys should take that army to over a 1,000 points now.

28mm barbed wire for Bolt Action.

A quick and easy bit of terrain for our Bolt Action games. Constructed from large lolly sticks as a base, matchsticks for the posts and some ready made barbed wire off ebay (this needed re-winding to a more suitable size and staining to look less brand new). Gravel and the odd tuft on the base a bit of painting and done. 

Bolt Action Game 3 and a Panzer 111

Steve and I managed to squeeze in our third game of Bolt Action last night. My Panzer 111, a 3D printed model from Butlers had arrived the day before so a speedy bit of painting saw it table ready.

I am strangely pleased with this model which arrived as just a 2 piece kit; hull and turret!  It is not quite as detailed as say a resin or a plastic model and you can certainly see some of the 'print lines'. There was also some flash and wispy bits of plastic to cut and scrape away. I added an arial by heating up a piece of wire over a match and 'melting' it into place as the plastic material the tank is made from proved to be a bit crumbly when I tried to drill it.  Would I buy more of these 3d printed models? Yes I would as on the table they look fine , are easy to assemble and are a bit cheaper. 

As for the game, we played scenario 3 from the main rulebook. A quick dice throw decided that we had to place 3 objectives on the table which we had to try and capture and control. It proved to be a very frustrating game for my DAK forces as I think it was turn 4 before I was even able to shoot anything yet I had lost a few units already by then. The Pz 111 did reasonably well on it's debut managing to damage Steve's Valentine tank and immobilize it. In retaliation it then jammed my turret but as I was pointing straight at him I could carry on shooting at him. Despite my best efforts and with some truly awful dice throwing from me,  Steve soon controlled all 3 objectives and by the end of the game he claimed an easy win. 

Steve had built another house and I am currently on with some desert themed lengths of barbed wire and a couple of minefields so the scenery is looking good.  

We are really enjoying Bolt Action and are learning the rules quite quickly. Simple and fast playing fun, it takes me back to the happy days of playing with my 35mm Airfix DAK in the back garden when I was about 12.  

Bolt Action: a second game.

A few weeks ago Steve suggested we collect figures for desert warfare Bolt Action, we are now at over 800 points each. In preparation for our second game Steve had also been busy building some excellent terrain, hills, road, rough ground, a house etc... to which I could add another house and some palm trees. 

Being game 2 we played the second scenario from the rulebook where it was basically a shoot-out with each side scoring 1 point for each enemy unit they could destroy within the game length of 6 or 7 turns. 

The game got off to a poor start for my Afrika Korps with Steve taking out the crew of my pak 38 on the first turn and causing quite a few pins on many of my units.

Steve's armoured car with it's two machine guns was a real thorn in my side, especially as I no longer had the pak 38, my best chance of taking it out. (Note the cup of tea by the crewmans hand.) I had several shots at this armoured car with my anti-tank rifle, finally hitting it on the last turn only to fluff the damage roll and thus only pinning it!

The photos show various shots of both my Afrika Korps and Steve's very nicely painted 8th Army. By the last turn Steve had destroyed 4 of my units whilst I only had destroyed 2 of his, handing him a clear victory. We no doubt played a few rules incorrectly but were certainly getting the hang of this by the end of the game. Next we shall play scenario 3 and bring on some tanks. 

Final photo is some 15mm Goblin Horde for my Goblin Kings of War army, hot off the painting table. 

Some scenery for Bolt Action.

With a second game of Bolt Action coming up soon I thought I would get some scenery together. The palm trees I have had for some time and I also repainted some old hills I had, one of which is on view in the photos. The adobe house is an mdf kit from HokaHey gaming, a very friendly and efficient company to deal with. The house was quick and easy to assemble and I added a quick coat of filler and painted it to suit. The roof comes off so your little men can hide inside.

  

The Battle of Chaeronea in 15mm

Today, John invited Steve and I over for a game of 15mm To the Strongest. Pete was also supposed to be coming over but he had a sick dog so couldn't make it! 
John had worked out a scenario based upon the Battle Chaeronea, which was Alexander the Great's first ever battle taking charge of the Macedonian Cavalry for his father King Philip. Steve and I asked to be in charge of the Greeks leaving John to command the Macedonians. Figures were supplied by all 3 of us. 

Deployment proved to be a key factor with the Greeks having quite a deep centre leaving them weak on the flanks where John was able to use his cavalry to quickly outflank us on both sides, capture our camp and cause us all sorts of havoc.  It was also interesting (almost said fun?) to see how effective pike units are in these rules. I had been thinking about getting a Macedonian army, now I think I certainly will, just need to decide on either 15mm or 28mm

To the victor the spoils...All hail John the Great! 

The Herd v The League of Rhordia, 15mm Kings of War.

The Herd v The League of Rhordia, 15mm Kings of War.

Today I drove down to my very good friend Chris's house for a game of 15mm Kings of War. We have been playing a whole series of loosely linked games themed around our Herd (Beastmen) and League of Rhordia armies (think knights with halfling allies). Today's battle was the largest yet at 2,000 points per side. The story behind this battle was that after a few smaller clashes the two armies were now meeting in force along the border between their two lands. I had to try and capture a League Chapel whilst Chris had to try and capture a Herd statue on my side of their table.

Victory points could also be scored for how many units we each had in the opposing players half come the end of the battle. 

The picture above is the armies deployed ready for battle. Below some pics of the first few rounds of action. 

This proved to be a very bloody battle as I rushed my Herd troops forward to try and minimise the effect of all the League missile fire. By the end of turn two both sides had already lost a few units. The battle continued in that manner with some really exciting swings in fortune on both sides. 

By turn 5 things were slowly turning in the Leagues favour despite my best efforts. Turn 6 also went the Leagues way and then a throw of a dice resulted in a 7^th and final turn. By the time we completed the final turn there were not many figures left on the table. Adding up the various victory point conditions saw a League victory but only by 2vp to 1vp.This was one of our closest and most exciting games yet. My thanks to Chris for hosting.

10mm Imperial Romans

I first bought these 10mm Imperial Romans well over 10 years ago from the Vapnartak show in York. They are a mix of Pendraken and Magister Militum figures with a few Irregular Miniatures figures in there too. Initially based for Warmaster Ancients they have been recently rebased for games such as To the Strongest, Impetus and Sword and Spear. I have also added a few new units and a camp to complete enough figures for a decent sized game.  I am also currently working on the Ancient British army to bring them up to a comparable sized force.