A month of new rules.

 September proved to be a month of acquiring more new rules. Last month I took the plunge and got the second edition of Saga, this month I added to this with 'Never Mind the Billhooks' a set of rules for the Wars of the Roses that came free with Wargames Illustrated magazine, 'Impetus 2nd Edition' and 'Rapid 'Fire Reloaded'. All games that I am keen to play. 

Of course Corona Virus restrictions will severely affect my chances of getting a game in with any of them but of all of the above sets of rules, the 'Never Mind the Billhooks' really caught my interest. So a variety of Perry Miniatures plastic and metal figures have been purchased and the first two units painted. I have gone for the Lancastrian Earl of Northumberland and his retinue of bill and also a unit of archers. 'Billhooks' look like they will capture the flavour of the period and remind me a little of the old Bill Lamming 'Rules for Medieval Warfare' I played back in the late 70's, so they have a touch of nostalgia for me too!

I had originally based the billmen individually but decided to rebase them on 2of 6x4cm mdf bases; this ties in with and makes the figures useable with other rules such as 'Impetus' and 'To the Strongest'.

I also made some simple arrow counters using the spare groups/sheafs of arrows from the Perry sprues. Archer units get to fire 6 times before running out of arrows. I used 12mm dice and frames as they are easier to handle and see. 

Rapid Fire Re-loaded may have to wait for a while but I did manage one game of Second Edition Impetus with my Gauls taking on Pete's Carthaginians. Play was a little slow at first as we got used to the new rules (there are a lot of pages on just moving your troops) but we did speed up a little towards the end. The dice gods favoured my Gauls as I broke though on my left flank and was managing to hold the centre whilst seeming to gain the upper hand on the right flank. A rare victory for my Gauls. 

It was great to play Impetus again and both Pete and I finished wanting to play more games. I really need to paint more Gauls some time soon and perhaps read the rules again!. 

Some games of Saga and stuff.

 My good friend Chris and I have been planning some games for when we can get together which will hopefully be soon? One of those games could be the 'Horror' version of the skirmish game 'a Fistful of Lead'. We talked about some adventures searching for vampire graves as a possible scenario so I made some gravestones, a few with a spooky, ghostly theme. These are Renedra plastic graves with ghosts from some free GW figures I had in the spares box. 

Next off the painting table were some 15mm Horse Archers for my 15mm Saracens. These were a bit of a chore, not sure why, but they took some effort to get completed. I am actually quite pleased with the finished unit which is good as I need a few more of these. 

 Finally thanks to Pete who drove up for a game today. He has been encouraging me to play second edition Saga for a while so today we gave it a go. We played two 6 point games with me playing Anglo Danes against Pete's Vikings. Happily in the first game I was able to disrupt the Viking advance and pick them off almost unit by unit including, eventually his leader for very little loss myself. However in game 2 Pete advanced his Vikings much more rapidly not allowing me time to slow his advance down. It was a close scrap but the Vikings won that game. 

These were some of my most enjoyable games of Saga, I may even be a convert? I still find the battleboards a little strange in the weighting of the powers they grant. The game seems balanced/geared towards favouring Vikings with all their attack benefits. Still I sense more games being played in the future. Thankyou Pete for a fun day of gaming. 

Moving House and first post Lockdown game.

 Moving house is a hectic and time absorbing job. Over the last 4 weeks I have had very little time to paint anything but doors and walls but I did manage to complete a couple of 15mm resin houses from 'Hovels' for my 'Soldiers of God' Crusades project. These are super buildings and great value. I have a tower to do at some point too. 

Before we moved I had completed a unit of dismounted knights which I have just managed to get based. Painting the heraldry was fun, but I got a bit fed up with blue and white stripes. 

 I also realised that the way my Crusades figures are based I would be able to use them for games of both 'Lion Rampant' and 'Dragon Rampant' if I use counters to keep score of hits. This led to me painting up some desert themed 15mm fantasy for Crusader themed games with a fantasy twist. 

So the Draconians will be a 'reduced model unit' and the goblins will be 'light foot' and I have started to write a series of 3 linked scenarios to use these figures in. 

This week I finally got my first 'post lockdown' game in, travelling back up across the Dales to Steve's house where he had set up a gaming table in his garage. We were both keen to try the 'Soldiers of God' rules so with me leading the Crusaders and Steve the Saracens we set up two small 150 point armies.

 The first couple of moves were quite slow as we got a handle on the rules. The game then advanced quite quickly. By the end of turn 5 we were both down to about half our morale total. Turn 6 saw units and leaders tumbling on both sides leaving my Crusaders with just 1 point of Morale left but the Saracens were down to 0 points so routed. 

 So a very, very narrow victory for the Crusaders. We both really enjoyed the rules and loved how the special pack of cards added random but very period specific flavour to the game. We are both keen to try another, bigger game soon. We got a few things wrong probably, but another read through of the book should see us get it right next game. Now, what would I be best to paint next, the bathroom door or more Crusaders? 

Richard 1st and a few more new units.

Life had been a bit busy recently as we are moving house next week. Thus I have been packing figures in boxes rather than painting them. However, I am looking forward to the move as I will have a room to have a wargames table set up 99% of the time. So, looking forward to having more gaming space I have managed to complete more Third Crusade figures in 15mm. Most of these are 'Gladiator Games' Crusades figures from the excellent 'Fighting 15's' company. First up is a Richard 1st command stand having a chat with a Saracen commander. I also finished re-painting and basing a few more palm trees. 

I also got a few more units finished, including the first unit of Saracen spearmen. 

Add to that some Crusader archers and a unit of dismounted knights. The knights were completed just this morning and have not had their bases textured yet as my basing stuff is all packed away. 

This means I only need paint a unit of Crusader spearmen and I will have completed the basic army for the suggested scenario in the Soldiers of God rulebook. I need to send off for these which I will do so soon adding lots of Saracen troops to the order to complete their basic army for the starter scenario too. 

I recently bought a few 'Hovels' 15mm desert dwellings, excellent resin models and these will be painted up once we are settled in the new house. I also need to make an orchard and a few pieces of rough ground and even a marsh for the desert!

A painting crusade.

I have been really enjoying painting 15mm figures for the Crusades for use with the excellent 'Soldiers of God' rules. Having only started the project mid-may I have been making good progress with 6 units, a command base and a base of baggage now complete plus a few palm trees. Here is a photo of the collection as of today...

I have painted figures for the Crusaders army so far but do intend to collect armies for both sides. There is a small, sample battle in the book and my aim is to collect all the figures needed for that game first and then build from there. 

You can also see I have been busy re-painting some of the cheap plastic palm trees and basing them up. I also daubed a few sand and earth colours onto a fleece throw I got cheaply from Boyes a few years ago. Gaming buddy Stig found these, I think is was £3.99 for a cloth over 5x3 foot, just large enough for a decent game in 15mm.

Robert De Sable leading his Templar Knights

My most recently completed units are the Museum Miniatures Templar Knights and some pilgrims (Essex, Outpost Wargames and Gladiator Games figures) plus the base of baggage.  All other projects seem side-lined for the moment as I concentrate on these. The big question is, how long will my butterfly mind be able to stay on task before I am off painting other stuff? 

 

Soldiers of God.

So every now and then something will come along and throw a real spanner in your painting plans. There I was happily completing my 15mm Persian army upto 130+ points for 'To the Strongest', painting more Oathmark 28mm fantasy figures and looking forward to starting on my 15mm Macedonian army. There is also the 10mm Lord of the Rings project I am doing with pal Chris and... and...

I had intended to paint up two bases of these rather nice 'Z' range hoplites from Museum Miniatures to fight as mercenaries for my Persians but then distraction happened...

A chance, cheap purchase from ebay of an 'illustrated history of the Crusades' sparked an interest. This really took off when gaming mate Stig mentioned he had been looking at the 'Soldiers of God' rules which I too had been reading about, so we both decided to go for it. Stig already has quite large 15mm painted armies for both sides but they need rebasing for the new rules. However, suitably enthused we both sent off for quite large orders of 15mm figures. Stig uses the excellent Legio Heroica figures whilst I managed to get some second hand Crusaders from 'Colonel Bill (a mix of Outpost Wargames and Museum  Miniatures ) and a couple of orders from Fighting 15's, the old Gladiator Games figures. These are super little figures with quite deeply etched detail which seems to suit my painting style. 

 So I had to get a few more books to help with research. Plus I liked the look of the rules so much I also bought 'Soldiers of Rome' too. I can't wait to get some games in with both sets of rules, they are full of period specific flavour.

Happily I already have armies in 10mm painted up to use with these. 

Here is what I have painted for the Crusades so far...

Just in time for the end of May, my second order of 'Fighting 15's' arrived today so plenty to do but I do also want to finish the Oathmark units of Dwarf Spearmen and Goblin Wolf-riders. Let's see how I get on in June.  

Xerxes, King of Kings: 15mm Persians

Just completed Xerxes, King of Kings in his chariot with his Guard Cavalry so I thought it was time for some whole army shots. This is a 15mm army, Early Achaemenid Persians, representing the army that Xerxes led into Greece in 480BC and painted up mainly to take on my 15mm Spartans. Here is the great man himself in his chariot, ready to run away if need be! 

Most of this army are Forged in battle 15mm Miniatures with a few Xyston, which tend to be a little larger. They are both excellent figure ranges and here is a view of the Persian army so far, all 19 units (with some Indian Longbowmen on the painting table almost finished). 

This army is now over 130 points for use with 'To the Strongest' rules (including 3x command bases and 4x heroes) although they could also be used with 'Sword and Spear' and 'Hail Caesar' just as easily. 

Here are a few closer photo's of some of the units in the army.

I also have some of the new Museum Miniatures computer designed Hoplites undercoated ready on the painting table (these will be some Mercenary Greek Hoplites for the Persians). These figures look superb in the computer images yet in your hand, the detail is softer and not as deeply etched so I am wondering how they will suit my painting style of black lining and washes? Time to find out really as Museum Miniatures are now designing their new Macedonian range, which is my next 15mm ancients army.