Empire of the Dead

Couldn't resist the lure of another skirmish game, this time it's Empire of the Dead by West Wind Productions. This is an old game, I believe it was released in 2012, and continues my habit of being up there with the cool kids and fashionably late to the party. I have been looking for a game to interest my other half and youngest daughter and this seems to fit the bill, especially with the recent offer from West Wind, £75 for 4 starter boxes and a free rule book. The terrain is part of a batch I've bought from TT Combat with the view of WWII games and possibly my 1866 collection. The factions chosen are, Lyaons, Nosferatu and the Gentlemen's club with Victorian Zombies. At first glance the rules seem simple enough for a novice to quickly grasp and the setting will definitely appeal to the intended audience. 

The only issue I have at the moment is storage space for assembled mdf kits with renovations still ongoing, but one more box can't hurt! I'll pick up some more TT combat kits once I see how these fill the table out and I can get a better idea of what I'll need. 

Other projects haven't been abandoned, they will just rotate as the mood takes me. This may have the positive outcome of making me more productive as output has slowed of late.

15mm Ancient Spanish - WIP

 

A few pictures of Work in Progress 15mm Ancient Spanish, figures are from Forged in Battle. Little Big Man Studio transfers were used on the shields, some repainting to get a finish I'm happy with. I'll be starting with a DBA army first, then expanding to a full army. I found these figures really enjoyable to paint; and have gone with a simpler painting style for speed reasons. I've been giving a lot of thought recently to getting figures painted faster and getting some gaming done. The sad news is that my local club has ceased to exist, primarily down to changes in the premisses we were using, and currently at home I'm unable to set up a game due to renovation work. However, the positive side is that I have time and space to paint. 

King Arthur the once and future king

Personal Note - please skip if you just want to get into the wargaming stuff. 

Once more I'm restarting the blog, the last stalled attempt came due to a number of personal factors that left me not feeling like writing. A work place assault, and a decline in my physical health and the subsequent realisation that I cannot continue in my current role long term; I don't bounce as well as I used to! Nothing serious but enough to conspire against me and keep me off work for a period. Rest assured normal service has been resumed. So, without further ado, here's my current thoughts and update of what to expect. 

There appears to be a resurgence of Arthurian wargaming on the horizon with the Warlord Games release of the Hail Caesar Supplement Once & Future King. Needless to say the butterfly in me had emerged, and despite having rules covering Arthurian wargaming I find this is one more addition that I cannot resist so my preorder has gone in. I'm not viewing this a a distraction from ongoing projects but more of a complementary side project for which I already have figures, both painted and unpainted (see what I'm doing there, those who don't know me might accuse me of being a politician and rewriting my own rules for wargames projects!). I also think this will fit in nicely with my Late Roman project, which has recently taken a very distinct 3rd Century Crisis flavour, I've acquired some reading material and a 3rd Century Roman army from Forged in Battle during their recent Summer Sale. More of that in another post.

Progress has been made on 15mm figures, some DBA armies; Frankish, Goth, Hun and Alan contingents for my Late Roman project are well under way. The 3rd Century Romans are calling and might get pushed up the queue before the others are completed. I've also indulged in two armies close to my heart to fight against my Late Republican Romans, Numidian and Slave Rebellions; Jugurtha and Spartacus will be coming to a wargames table and a blog sometime soon. I'm also putting together a small 28mm jousting game, and have just taken delivery of three of the named knight sets from First Corps. All of this alongside the 10mm ACW project. More details of these in future posts.

2024 what's been happening

This year has been very busy on the home front,  resulting in not much hobby time. Book purchases have played a large part, but I have managed to paint a couple of 15mm DBA armies and have finished the 15mm 100 Years War English pacto box from PSC. I hope to get some photos taken and post these on the blog soon. I've settled my mind on some projects that are hopefully manageable this year. 15mm Fall of the Roman Empire, a start has already been made on a Frankish contingent, Huns and some Gothic warriors. The second will be 10mm ACW, hence the photo at the top (a quick and dirty photo of what's to come). All these figures have been sitting patiently in the lead pile for many years and I feel it's now time to liberate them from their cardboard boxes and little plastic bags. 

Regarding the 10mm ACW project the rules of choice will be Fire and Fury second edition. I've previously dabbled in 10mm unsuccessfully, this can be attributed to lacking a firm plan about what I wanted to achieve, an all to familiar theme with my impulse purchases. After much thought and research I came across Jemima Fawr blog and their 10mm ACW project for Fire and Fury. I was suitably impressed and found their logic ticking all the same boxes I've been thinking about. So, I will be unashamedly pinching their ideas. This means base sizes  will be 20mm x 15mm stands for infantry.

Jemima Fawr blog, start of the ACW project can be found here: http://www.jemimafawr.co.uk/2020/02/01/playing-brigade-fire-fury-2nd-edition-in-10mm-i-did-it-my-way/

The unsuccessful 10mm project was Seven Years War, and I have a couple of unpainted armies sitting around. Thoughts have also turned to these little soldiers and these 10mm armies might just be the ideal thing to get me into gaming the Seven Years War while I'm painting up the large pile of 18mm figures I have stockpiled. The rules will be Warfare in the Age of Reason and for these 10mm armies I think the bases will be 20mm x 20mm. 

RWF FEST - Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum Friends

A bit late with this post. On the 7th October I attended the inaugural RWF FEST at the Hightown Barracks in Wrexham. The event was run by the RWF Museum Friends, to raise money for the running of the museum. There were talks, medals, uniforms and artefacts to see up close. Museum staff were on hand and happily answered many queries (more of that in another post). I had a thoroughly enjoyable day, there will be another RWF FEST next year and the Friends are promising lots more events throughout the year. I've included information on the Friends after the photos and if anyone is interested in signing up to be a RWF Museum Friend please follow the link https://www.rwfmuseum.org.uk/friends-of-the-museum.html

One talk was on the newly published book Percy a Story of 1918 by Professor Peter Boyle, a real story of local interest. Recommended for those interested in the social context of the First World War and how it touched young lives. The uniforms were all made by the gentleman in the pictures, ashamedly I can't remember his name; but the items on display were quite spectacular. Also present was Michael Crumplin retired Consultant and General Surgeon who has authored two books wargamers might be familiar with; Waterloo after the Glory, Hospital Sketches and Reports on the Wounded after the Battle; and Guthrie's War, A Surgeon of the Peninsula War and Waterloo. 

Percy a Story of 1918 by Professor Peter Boyle is available from the RWF Museum Shop: https://museumshops.uk/product/percy-a-story-of-1918/

Photos are not mine but are from the Royal Welch Fusiliers Facebook page. I hope they give a flavour of the day and entice others to join the Friends and maybe attend future events.

ABOUT THE FRIENDS

Friends of the RWF Museum support the Museum through volunteering, planning fundraising events, assisting with education and outreach initiatives, and working closely with Staff and Trustees to build a more resilient Museum. This is a newly founded group made up of generous, active, and forward-thinking individuals who will work in tandem with the Staff and Trustees to fulfill our goal of resiliency.

BENEFITS OF JOINING FRIENDS OF THE RWF MUSEUM ARE:

• Exclusive Friends of the RWF Digital Newsletter three times a year

• Discounts on RWF Merchandise

• Invitations to special events, exhibitions, and programs

• Recognition on the RWF Museum website

• Free, discounted, or Friend only educational events (online and in-person)

• Access to the Friends Only portal on the website with archive information, online access to collections database, regimental
  journals, videos, podcasts, and more.

FRIENDS OF THE RWF MUSEUM MEMBERSHIP:

• Individual: £20 per year

• Armed Forces Veteran or Active Service Member: £15 per year

• Lifetime: £300

The Friends of the RWF Museum are instrumental to the vision of the Museum and to the success of our Resiliency Project. The Friends of the RWF Museum meet virtually and in-person. New Friends are always welcome!

Martinstaat 1744 - Henry Hyde

Conscious that I haven't posted anything for a while, I thought a little update on my wargaming life is overdue. The house move is complete, focus now turns towards the first wave of renovations (as long as the money lasts) and beginning to reintegrate wargaming into my life. I've had a butterfly moment, ordered some 10mm ACW as a manageable project to keep me going while I unpack and sort out the other projects. I have a few weeks of upheaval ahead, involving some asbestos removal, new front door, a ceiling to take down and a kitchen to put into working order...yep the ovens packed up, shower just stopped working and that's without the garden! On the bright side I'm fortunate to have couple of weeks off work. Still first unit of 10mm ACW have been painted and I'm happy with the results, so will post in the near future once based.

In the meantime I've acquired a copy of Martinstaat 1744 - a detailed wargame campaign set in a fictitious world by Henry Hyde. Below is a review I've posted on Amazon (I don't normally do this but I feel Henry's work warranted a review). 

I have never been disappointed by previous publications by Henry Hyde and this insight into his ImagiNation campaign does nothing to buck the trend. First off, I like the hardback A4 format as it reminds me of the Christmas annuals, and this seems a very appropriate choice as you can feel the nostalgia and enthusiasm conjured up by the author as you progress through this book. There are detailed maps of the campaign and colour plates depicting the combatants, and more recent photographs of old school style games to add flavour to the story being told. I found the insights shared inspiring, if a little daunting to myself who lacks the discipline to pursue such a detailed undertaking. However, it has led me to think about a smaller version contained within these pages, to permit myself to be immersed a little deeper in my gaming experience...so you never know! All in all this book is an indulgence, one which has given this wargamer immense pleasure. Highly Recommended.

On another note, my Google account appears to be playing up, so I can't seem to comment on blogs that I follow. I will hopefully rectify this sooner than later. It is frustrating.

Pumpkin Patch

I've been thinking about terrain for the Matchlocks and Witches game. I decided that I needed a pumpkin patch, and a google search revealed just the inspiration I was looking for on Dampf's Modelling Page. (http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-pumpkin-patch-part-two-painting.html.) 

I ordered the terrain base from Warbases, and the undergrowth was from a hanging basket liner I picked up in Wilkos. I added a handful of Aquarium gravel, a dried grape stalk and finally the Putka pods for the pumpkins. I found the Putka pods on Esty for under £5, a cheap alternative when looking at scale models of pumpkins. The base was covered in pva glue and sand, then I used a wash of grey GW Contrast paint on the stones and dry brushed the model using greys, various shades of green from Vallejo and the Foundry Sand triad which I use for all my bases. I've had to pack all my models and paints away due to the impending move. The putka pods will be painted with Foundry Orange, static grass will be added to finish the base off. I'll update the blog with the finished model, hopefully in my next post or two (depends how I unpack the boxes!).