Little Marienburg – The German Defence II
February 26th, 2010 panzerschreckdesign Posted in 15mm, Battlefront, Diary of An Army II (1944 Fallschirmjäger), Diary of an Army IV (1943-44 Soviet), Flames of War, Gaming, Modelling and Painting, Rules, Soviets, Terrain, Wargaming Comments Off
And so we continue the pre-game deployment walk-around:
Unfortunately after setting up the terrain, taking photos, setting up the figures, taking more photos, handling the club finances and general admin stuff, there wasn’t enough time to play a game if I wanted to get it all packed up and catch a train home at a reasonable [...]
Little Marienburg – The German Defences I
February 26th, 2010 panzerschreckdesign Posted in 15mm, Battlefront, Diary of An Army II (1944 Fallschirmjäger), Diary of an Army IV (1943-44 Soviet), Flames of War, Gaming, Modelling and Painting, Soviets, Terrain, Wargaming Comments Off
And now for the German response, a few Fallschirmjäger platoons, a couple of lightweight Anti-tank guns and a Jagdpanther. Maybe the last is overkill, but there are two Svierbois and three KV-1Es to contend with, and the FJs are pretty lightweight in the handheld AT department. I was going to add a few tigers but [...]
Little Marienburg – The Soviet Initial Wave
February 26th, 2010 panzerschreckdesign Posted in 15mm, Battlefront, Diary of An Army II (1944 Fallschirmjäger), Diary of an Army IV (1943-44 Soviet), Flames of War, Gaming, Modelling and Painting, Rules, Soviets, Terrain, Wargaming Comments Off
It would have seemed a waste of time to set up all this terrain without putting the models on it. Unfortunately no Brits were available so I had tro make do with my winter Soviets – a different look but rationalised by substituting East Prussia for Normandy in the description
Filed under: Diary of [...]
More pics from the club
February 26th, 2010 panzerschreckdesign Posted in 15mm, Flames of War, Gaming, Miniature World maker, Modelling and Painting, Peter Pig, Terrain, Wargaming Comments Off
Just a few more pics from the club – still without the figures on the table. Apart from more trees, I definitely need a few more packs of roads and especially fields – thankfully coles have a couple more plain mats I can cut up and the haystacks are kinder surprise shells with loose mat [...]
Completed Qin Dynasty army
December 1st, 2008 wahj Posted in 15mm, Qin, warmaster Comments Off
Well, with the delivery of the miniatures I sent off to DJD for painting, my Qin Dynasty army is complete.
It took me a long time to reconcile myself to the fact that I no longer had the time to paint large armies: I still feel a bit bad about out-sourcing the painting, but I really have no time to engage in major painting projects anymore. I did have to do the basing though, to make sure it concords with the existing bases.
I already had a core army which I painted myself (here), about 12 elements strong, for DBA, but the additional bases bring the total up to a good size for Warmaster and DBM.
In the photo above, I've lined them up according to the Terracotta Army in Pit 1, with Halberdiers in columns surrounded by unarmoured archers to each flank, and armoured crossbowmen to the front as a vanguard. The chariots are up in front, and other diverse elements (light horse, swordsmen) are arranged off to one side.
Field of Glory - 15mm Ancients in D/FW
June 22nd, 2008 Grumbling Grognard Posted in , 15mm, Ancient, Ancients, Articles, Battle Reports, DFW, Dallas, Dallas/Ft. Worth, FOG, Field of Glory, Fort Worth, General, Historical, Lonestar Comics, Photos Comments Off
We played a game of Field of Glory at the new Lonestar Comics location in Arlington. Nice building if they could just get the AC to work (what is it with game stores and AC that does not work worth a crap?)
Jeff fielded Republican Romans against my Late Achemenid Persians. My list was [...]
Work in progress: Sarmatians
March 26th, 2008 wahj Posted in 15mm, sarmatian Comments Off
I painted up 2 bases of the Sarmatians as a test batch. The paint scheme of the barding is meant to replicate the armour made of split hooves/animal horn that is reported by ancient writers. I've assumed that the common Sarmatian warrior would be able to afford metal armour for himself, but would opt for the cheaper - and lighter - armour for his horse.
Paint Scheme for Warring States Army
March 16th, 2008 wahj Posted in 15mm, Painting Comments Off
Here's a reference photograph showing the current paint scheme of my Warring States army. Click on it for a larger view.
Warring States: the Core Army
March 13th, 2008 wahj Posted in 15mm, Painting, Qin Comments Off
I've reached a point where I more money than time to paint - which is not to say I'm fabulously rich, but rather to note that the amount of time it takes me to paint an army is prohibitively expensive - in time lost with family, friends, time lost at work, and time lost in sleep. Certainly, DBM-sized armies are no longer a reasonable proposition. I'll soon be sending off a bunch of unpainted Warring States figures to a painting service, to swell the ranks of this core DBA army. It's a surprisingly hard decision.
I know they'll not turn out exactly the way I want them to, or the way I would have done them. I know I'll feel less of a connection with figures I didn't sweat over to paint. But I also know that I'll appreciate the time I didn't lose painting them.
I'm not giving up painting altogether, just to be clear - I am starting on a DBA Sarmatian army soon, after all - but the day of the large project is over. It's small little cohorts of armies for me now, or the painting service.
The above figures are the DBA Warring States army that I completed recently. This is an all options army for any of the 7 Warring States.
Ilkhanid Mongols Versus Late Byzantines
March 9th, 2008 wahj Posted in 15mm, byzantine, mongol, wargame, warmaster Comments Off
Something a little different for this week's battle report: presented in comic book style =)
Click on each picture for a larger image.
Click on each picture for a larger image.
In the saddle again: The Mongol Horde
March 7th, 2008 wahj Posted in 15mm, horde, wargame Comments Off
This is my Mongol horde, ready for their coming battle with the Mamluks this Sunday. Slightly more than half are figures I painted, and the rest (the greener looking bases) were bought off eBay. A Mongol army from Tabletop Games was the first set of lead miniatures I had, though I've since thrown that first lot away: it was atrocious. (it was a DBA army, and Cpt Arjun got the Alexandrian Macedonian, while another friend got an Early Imperial Roman and a Tang Dynasty army. Ah, the old days ...) This current horde is all Essex, and contains almost every type of light horse figure - you'll find Cumans and Sung mixed in with the Mongols.All in all, this army comprises 38 Light Horse bases (inclusive of 4 Camel bases I just painted up) and 16 Cavalry bases. There are 5 General bases that are also Cavalry, making a total of 21 Cavalry. After painting an all infantry army (Sea Peoples) and playing an infantry heavy army (Polybian Romans), I've decided to go all Cavalry for a change. My next target is a DBA Sarmatian army: 12 bases of Knights and nothing else ...
In the saddle again: The Mongol Horde
March 7th, 2008 wahj Posted in 15mm, horde, wargame Comments Off
This is my Mongol horde, ready for their coming battle with the Mamluks this Sunday. Slightly more than half are figures I painted, and the rest (the greener looking bases) were bought off eBay. A Mongol army from Tabletop Games was the first set of lead miniatures I had, though I've since thrown that first lot away: it was atrocious. (it was a DBA army, and Cpt Arjun got the Alexandrian Macedonian, while another friend got an Early Imperial Roman and a Tang Dynasty army. Ah, the old days ...) This current horde is all Essex, and contains almost every type of light horse figure - you'll find Cumans and Sung mixed in with the Mongols.All in all, this army comprises 38 Light Horse bases (inclusive of 4 Camel bases I just painted up) and 16 Cavalry bases. There are 5 General bases that are also Cavalry, making a total of 21 Cavalry. After painting an all infantry army (Sea Peoples) and playing an infantry heavy army (Polybian Romans), I've decided to go all Cavalry for a change. My next target is a DBA Sarmatian army: 12 bases of Knights and nothing else ...
Sea Peoples Campaign: The Finale
February 10th, 2008 wahj Posted in 15mm, Sea Peoples, warmaster Comments Off
The Sea Peoples Invasion campaign came to a spectacular end this Sunday, with the last two battles fought back to back.
The Sea Peoples started game 3 with their largest army to date - 3 full brigades of the dreaded warbands were in evidence (well, nearly 3: one was missing a base, and so could not benefit from the warband rule in Warmaster Ancients).
The defenders had the usual line up, with their heavy chariots forming the core of their army. A thin line, but a powerful one.
By the mid-game, a clear fracture was developing in the Sea Peoples' line: the middle brigade of warband, and the two units of elite troops, had failed all their command rolls and were not making it into the fight: the clash between the slow moving warbands and the Hittite chariots (capable of archery, skirmishing, and evading) was played out after the Sea Peoples' screen of chariots and skirmishers were swept away, and the warbands could not close in with the evasive chariots. Both wings were crushed under the weight of the Hittite attack, and the Hittites won a famous victory, turning the tide of the Sea Peoples' advance. The only minor consolation for the Sea Peoples was the elimination of one general on the opposing side, but they would now go into the fourth and final game will a much reduced force.
With no chariots or skirmishers, the last battle was a complete rout for the Sea Peoples: their reduced force could not make it back to the coast for a retreat, so there was no Dunkirk for them.
All in all, the Sea Peoples campaign has been a zippy and fast-paced one, which let the Napnuts re-acquaint themselves with the Warmaster rules.
The Sea Peoples started game 3 with their largest army to date - 3 full brigades of the dreaded warbands were in evidence (well, nearly 3: one was missing a base, and so could not benefit from the warband rule in Warmaster Ancients).
The defenders had the usual line up, with their heavy chariots forming the core of their army. A thin line, but a powerful one.
By the mid-game, a clear fracture was developing in the Sea Peoples' line: the middle brigade of warband, and the two units of elite troops, had failed all their command rolls and were not making it into the fight: the clash between the slow moving warbands and the Hittite chariots (capable of archery, skirmishing, and evading) was played out after the Sea Peoples' screen of chariots and skirmishers were swept away, and the warbands could not close in with the evasive chariots. Both wings were crushed under the weight of the Hittite attack, and the Hittites won a famous victory, turning the tide of the Sea Peoples' advance. The only minor consolation for the Sea Peoples was the elimination of one general on the opposing side, but they would now go into the fourth and final game will a much reduced force.
With no chariots or skirmishers, the last battle was a complete rout for the Sea Peoples: their reduced force could not make it back to the coast for a retreat, so there was no Dunkirk for them.
All in all, the Sea Peoples campaign has been a zippy and fast-paced one, which let the Napnuts re-acquaint themselves with the Warmaster rules.
Invasion of the Sea Peoples: Our New Campaign
January 20th, 2008 wahj Posted in 15mm, Sea Peoples, wargame, warmaster Comments Off
Cpt Arjun and I kicked off our new campaign with a low-key game today.
The opening skirmish represented the first contact between the vanguard of the Sea Peoples' migration and the local Syro-Canaanite defenders. Warmaster Ancients was the ruleset used, and the game was a straightforward encounter battle.
The invading Sea Peoples out-pointed the defenders 3 to 2, and were all infantry, while the defenders had equal numbers of chariots, infantry and skirmishers
The initial advance of the Sea Peoples was halted by skirmish fire from the chariots and skirmishers, driving the Sea Peoples' skirmishers back through the mass of their troops ande confusing some of them. A failed charge from the Sea Peoples' left their infantry hanging in front of the chariots, and was a followed by a general charge from the defenders, enveloping the mass of the infantry block on 3 sides. The melee that followed saw each side losing one entire unit, but the weight of numbers on the Sea Peoples' side overwhelmed the Syro-Canaanites, who broke when their general was killed. The campaign is off to a suitably bloody start, and the next game will see the defenders rallying more troops to stem the tide of the Sea Peoples' advance.
tags:gaming,wargames