Kingmaker on Kickstarter

Kingmaker has come to Kickstarter! I have to confess that I have a soft spot for this game, it was one of a set that included Escape from Colditz, Diplomacy, and Samurai Blades that my gaming group played regularly when I was  teenager....a long time ago! So for me to see this veritable classic remade and with four options of play ranging from Kingmaker 2, Classic Kingmaker, Kingmaker Extended Classic with an optional battle system, and SOLO, it was something that I had no hesitation backing. I never owned a personal copy of this game, and it was my favourite out of the suite of games we regularly played; I cannot wait to get my hands on this upgraded version....the added bonus of Solo rules makes for one happy gamer. Just has to get funded now!

Link to Kickstarter below if you are feeling nostalgic.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kingmaker-rerelease/the-royal-rerelease-of-kingmaker?ref=discovery&term=kingmaker

Queen Elizabeth II - 21st April 1926 - 8th September 2022

 

This is a difficult post to write as I have not so long ago lost my Mum, and I am first and foremost reminded that a family have lost their Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother. Like many, Queen Elizabeth II was the only monarch I have known, and takes her place as possibly the greatest monarch this country has ever known, I doubt we will ever see her like again. Condolences and thoughts go out to her family, especially the Great Grand children in this difficult time.

As a mark of respect there will be no further posts on this blog during the period of National Mourning. 

Newcastle Rifles and Buffalo Guard - Anglo-Zulu War

28mm Anglo-Zulu War cavalry representing Newcastles Rifles and the Buffalo Guard. The figures are from Empress Miniatures. Observant readers may notice a stray mounted and dismounted Natal Mounted Police figure, I'm unsure where his fellow officer is, likely misplaced in a box during packing for a move, this particular chap has also seen action, having lost his helmet spike. Just like the Mounted Infantry set there is a horse holder set included. The intention was to combine these with the Mounted infantry to form a cavalry detachment for a small game. I also have in the lead pile some Mounted Natal Native Horse to paint. The Anglo-Zulu War project has very much been a slow burner, with small additions being infrequently made, in fact I've only managed to paint one of the Rorkes Drift Buildings and the Zulu huts have remained untouched!

 

Anglo-Zulu War Correspondent

 

War Correspondents were important in informing the public of the trials and tribulations of the ordinary soldier, failings of command as well the battles the occurred in the far distant parts of the empire. I've included this 28mm miniature set from Colonel Bills to represent a war correspondent in the Anglo-Zulu War, the intention is to provide a nice bit of table dressing or an objective. War photography was very much in its infancy during the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879,  most pictures are portraits of leaders and groups of soldiers pre and post conflict. Battlefield photography was rare and would have consisted of post battle shots of  the dead prior to burial, despite this I decided on including a cameraman to represent an Anglo-Zulu War correspondent for easy distinction on the table top, and because I liked the model. During the Anglo-Zulu War the war correspondent Archibald Forbes famously reported on the death of Louis Napoleon Prince Imperial of France, a story which reportedly caused more distress than the defeat at Isandlwana!

Source: Best, B. Archibald Forbes - War Correspondent https://www.anglozuluwar.com/images/Journal_6/J6f_Archibald_Forbes.pdf

Hobby News

I'm often late to the party and this can be illustrated by my finally getting my hands on a copy of Commands and Colours as a present for my Birthday. I've always wanted to play this system, so it was a very welcome present. I'm contemplating adding 6mm figures instead of the blocks. 

Also arrived yesterday hot off the press is Lion Rampant version 2, I'm also looking forward to giving this a got one of my friends is a keen fan of these rules. Arriving at the same time was a set of wargaming rules for knights at tournament, Steel and Steed, which I picked up for the princely sum of £1 from the Northstar bargain basement. I'm planning on doing this in 15mm as I have some figures in the lead pile I can use, it also fits into my club portable game remit and should fit on a 2ft x 2ft board; ideal for those winter nights when I don't want to carry much. 

I've also included a shot of painted figures being based, these include the Mycenaean spearmen and archers, some 15mm Italian Wars and some skeletons for Mortal Gods Mythic.

Mounted Infantry Anglo-Zulu War

28mm Mounted Infantry for the Anglo-Zulu War. Figures are from Empress Miniatures, and include mounted, dismounted and horse holder with horses. I have a number of small detachments of mounted in my collection, the idea was to build various scenarios with each player commanding a detachment. I've been very fortunate over the years to have played a number of excellent Anglo-Zulu war games, and always thought that they worked particularly well for multiplayer games with the Zulus being managed by an Umpire. 

Hoping by the next post to return to the Bronze Age. 

The Gorgons - Euryale

 

First addition to the Cursed Host of Hera is the Gorgon Euryale, a 28mm model from Footsore Miniatures for Mortal Gods Mythic. The Gorgons were Theno (Stheno), Euryale and Medusa and were reportedly the offspring of the mother and father of all monsters in Greek Mythology, Echidna and Typhon. Interestingly Theno and Euryale were immortal and Medusa was mortal. The reason for this might be that Medusa had different parents and was considered to be the offspring of Phorkys and Keto and not Echidna and Typhon; more on Medusa in another post. The Gorgons are part snake, ugly with snakes for hair and anyone foolish enough to  gaze into their eyes would turn into stone. I will be looking at modelling some hapless victims for scenery from spare Greek miniatures I have in the lead pile. Another famous offspring of Echidna and Typhon was Cerberus the guardian of the gate to the Underworld. Sadly, Cerberus is currently not included in the Mortal Gods Mythic game, but I do have a rather lovely resin model to paint that I picked up from Bad Squidoo Games, and I'm hoping that a card and rules for Cerberus will be added at some point.  The remaining Gorgons are on the painting table. 

The Bronze Age project has suffered some delays due to work and the weather, but I managed to finish a large batch of figures this afternoon. I'm hoping to start basing them up tomorrow, so it shouldn't be too long before they make an appearance on the blog.

Source: https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Creatures/Gorgons/gorgons.html