Matchlocks and Witchcraft - A game of witch hunting in Colonial America

 

I stumbled across this little game Matchlocks & Witchcraft by Samuel S. Drucker purely by chance on a Facebook post. It immediately caught my attention as I'm always on the look out for small games that I can put together quickly while I'm painting up a bigger project. It's available as a PDF from Wargames Vault for the princely sum of $5. This little project gives me another use for my French and Indian Wars terrain, and some of the figures I purchased from the Flint and Feather Contact Kickstarter by Crucible Crush. These are also available from Northstar Miniatures.

In order to play the game I needed to source suitable witches, rabbits (yes, rabbits, they represent the witches familiars), and a goat to represent the Devil. I wanted these figures to reflect my view of the Seventeenth Century Colonial American mindset.

Following an internet search one illustration in particular leapt out at me, this shows a witch in a pointy hat and the image of the Devil as a black horned creature. The images in the rule set already show a black goat representing the Devil, so that was an easy choice. The next step was to find suitable figures of the rest of the game. 

I first turned my attention to figures for witches and rabbits. I recalled that Bad Squid Games has a selection of witches in their horror section, and chose these Angry Witches in pointy hats. 

I also found the rabbits that I was looking for at Bad Squidoo Games. I always marvel at the wonderful figures they produce, but all too often wonder how I would use them. Little did I know that I needed these little bunnies all along! (I do have the amazing Bad Squidoo Games War Peegs and Chums, more of them in a later project for Xenos Rampant). After finding the figures I panicked a bit because they were Out of Stock! Then I remembered Northstar Miniatures are a stockist and the day was saved.

Next, my attention turned to the Devil and a suitable goat figure. Fortunately, the pictures in the rules has an excellent goat model and credit has been given to StoneAxe Miniatures. These are lovely resin models, and I ordered them from Iron Gate Scenery (who do an array of useful models). The castings were crisp and clean, the Devil is in the detail as they say!

I already own some lovely Ristuls sculpts now sold under the Bad Squidoo Games banner that will add atmosphere to table. I'll have a dig through my boxes to see what else I have that might be suitable, but I've currently got a Scarecrow on the painting table. Next, I'm looking for some pumpkins to make a pumpkin patch, will update with progress.

So, after a long absence from the blog, I've bombarded everyone with a big post for a little project. Posts will unfortunately continue to be sparse for a while, as work is extremely busy and I'm in the process of buying a house (one that needs considerable work, another project!). However, rest assured the blog is here to stay and I'll post as often as I can.

English Knights of Agincourt

Some 15mm English Knights of Agincourt, the miniatures are from Plastic Soldier Company and are Corvus Belli sculpts. I'll be finishing basing once I've painted up some more men at arms. The coats of arms aren't perfect, but I'm happy with the results, and I've deliberately picked out some of the simpler heraldries to make life easier. 

In other news my copy of Kingmaker has arrived. Well, sort of, due to uncertainty over my tenancy I had it delivered to my Dad. Then due to covid I've not been able to collect...I'm looking forward to getting my hands on this classic game once I'm safe to collect. 

Kingmaker has also turned my thoughts towards my Wars of the Roses Yorkist army and how to split and convert to provide a Lancastrian foe. This will involve some repainting and probably involve some rebasing, and maybe some addition purchase, not a small commitment. I've also just learnt that sadly CitadelSix Custom Design are no longer trading, fortunately it appears that their excellent catalogue of products will be taken over by Four Ways Designs.

1                        2                           3

1. Sir Roger Aston

2. Richard Lord Scrope

3. Sir John Assheton

4               5             6            7

4. Richard de Vere Earl of Oxford

   5. Sir John Fortescue

   6. Roger Corbet Esq.

   7. Sir John Croker

8               9              10

8. Sir Thomas Hawley

9. Sir Ralph Bostock

10. Sir Richard Waldegrave

Tabletop Battle Tactics

Just a quick post to remind everyone that I'm still here, and projects are still in progress! Currently on annual leave, which has been sabotaged by covid once again...so I was cheered this morning when my copy of Tabletop Battle Tactics by Henry Hyde arrived. This is a lovely hardback full colour edition reminiscent of Christmas annuals of yesteryear. What I've read so far is excellent, as is the overall quality of the book. With this beside me all my foes will tremble...unless they too have a copy of course! 

Medjay Nubians patrolling the border

New additions to my Bronze Age collection, this time reinforcements for the New Kingdom Egyptians in the form of Medjay Nubian archers. 28mm miniatures from Wargames Foundry, buildings are an eBay find. 

There is some good news on the development of this army, as I've found lurking in a box of unpainted 15mm Italian Wars figures the Wargames Foundry Pharaoh set and a pack of New Kingdom Egyptian Axemen that I was beginning to question whether I had actually purchased! All this despite having organised my unpainted figures into labelled boxes, it seems my best attempts to be organised suffered a minor set back. At least I didn't purchase the miniatures again. I'm still painting the rest of the Mycenaeans, so expect more updates as these two armies progress.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

New Worlds, Old Wars The Anglo-American Indian Wars 1607-1678

 

I'm quite a fan of Helion books and the latest title to join my shelves is from their Century of the Soldier (1618-1721) series and is titled New Worlds, Old Wars, The Anglo-American Indian Wars 1607-1678 by David Childs. The book covers the wars that blighted the early relationships between settlers and Amerindians.

One thing that struck me when reading this book is that this subject matter is one which is very close to the heart of the author. If you have an interest in the early Anglo settlements in America and their clashes with the indigenous peoples, termed Amerindians by the author then I would suggest that this book is essential reading. 

I found the book insightful into the relationships between the English settlers and the native Amerindians. The contents providing plenty of inspiration for wargames scenarios, ranging from native ambuscades to settler treachery, something I kept in mind while reading as I'm due to receive the Kickstarter rulebook Flint and Feather Contact this year. If you have an interest in colonial warfare and history you can clearly see the attitudes of the early English settlers towards indigenous people, attitudes which were carried forward into future generations as the British Empire was established. There are some particularly unpleasant individuals on the settler side, and it is worth mentioning that settler brutality was not isolated to the indigenous people alone, but was meted out to their own, this is after all within the timeframe of the Salem witch trials. 

New Kingdom Egyptian Archers

First post of the New Year, time has caught me out and appears to be going fast. The Bronze Age project continues with the addition of 28mm Wargames Foundry New Kingdom Egyptian archers. The buildings are an eBay purchase. 

In other painting news, I'm making slow but steady progress on the15mm Hundred Years War English army. I've even found some very old figures in the lead pile that will had some reinforcements, unsure of the manufacturer though. 

I've mostly been reading in my time when not working and looking for new accommodation, so painting time has been limited. I'm hoping February will give me more time to pick my brushes up.

Mycenaean Spearmen 2

Finally, the promised 28mm Newline Miniatures Mycenaean Spearmen. The larger bases will be for Impetus and Hail Caesar games. I'm quite pleased with how the Newline figures have painted up, though would have preferred larger shields. The buildings in the background are from a recent eBay purchase and will be used in Biblical and Crusades games, and might even be used for Sci-Fi. The Crusades is another project I have in the pipeline, there'll be two armies for SAGA and Lion Rampant appearing sometime in 2023 if everything goes to plan.

All that's left is for me to wish everyone 

NADOLIG LLAWEN

HAPPY CHRISTMAS