Painting Takes a Sharp 90 Degree Turn.

Things at work are moving rather slowly at present, due chiefly to a backlog in the delivery of certain essential materials which have been somewhat late in arriving at the work place. Which means I've been able to give myself a couple of (very rare) days off - something of a perk for someone who, like myself, is self-employed - and therefore, as a consequence, I now have the luxury of posting an much belated update here...

Concerning my expedition into Colonial wargaming, well, that is moving ahead slowly. I'm about to order a few more Minifigs - probably enough to fit out a British battalion, a couple of Indian battalions & a battalion of Ghurkas. With an equal number of Pathans and their "hangers on" into the bargain. Of course all these figures will take time to paint, so I can't see me fielding any kind of force before summer next year. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to the first action/s.

On the other hand, I've decided to carry out a overhaul of all my 15mm scale Medieval forces, something I'd planned to do a couple of years back. In their case I already have the replacement figures, and I've begun to weed out the older, less inspiring models and consigned them to the "spares" box (where all my dead & mutilated figures generally end up - usually coming back as corpes for my 'games table, glued to bases and scattered sparingly across the field.)

I also intend to rebase the entire collection, with the liberal use of static grass, scatter material & a little fine birdcage sand. It's not something I've tried before, but I thought my medievals were looking somewhat bare around the base so why not give it a go?

The painting and rebasing is coming on, and after only about 3 hours of work I've managed to finish off 10 new archers (no photos as yet) which is something of a record for me. At present I get only a very limited amount of spare time (between 45mins & 1 hour a day) for painting and all my other wargaming activities so it may take quite sometime to finish everything.

I think my rekindled interest in the Medieval period stems from a couple of books I've recently been reading (and in one case re-reading). These are...

The first is, as is obvious, a biography of Sir John Hawkwood, a notorious adventurer (and unashamed "freebooter") who "swashed his buckle" for a number of employers, chiefly in Italy, during the height of the late medieval period. I've only scratched the surface of this Englishman's life (being only up to page 35) but his adventures immediately caught my interest.

The second book is simply a chronological history of the Wars of the Roses - interesting, but there is a lack of maps (there are no battle plans whatsoever) makes the going rather difficult. This is a re-read for me, however, it is some time since I first opened it's pages, so it's difficult to remember much about the contents.

I'll think I'll be working my way through my medieval history books, and re-reading some of my old favourites - ones I'd even forgotten I had - just to keep the old flame aflickering. I've even got the germ of an idea for a brand new wargames campaign set within the medieval period, which with a little planning could grow very large indeed. However, that's for the future, so let's not put the cart before the horse. For the moment it's 'nose to the grindstone' and all paint brushes to the fore. Only another 250 figures to paint, and around 500 to rebase, that's all.

To Scan or Not To Scan?

Just a quick post today, before I set off for work...

In the Comments section of the last post I left a query about whether I could/should scan some or all the Hyboria articles that appeared in "Battle for Wargamers" magazine 30 years ago. I considered uploading them as individual files to a site such as "Speedyshare" or something similar so that readers of this blog could download the file/s and read them at their leisure.

("Battle for Wargamers" Jan.78 - in which appeared the first part of Tony Bath's Hyborian saga)

However, as I'm unsure about the copyright implications of this, I asked for other people's thoughts & suggestions about the whole idea (see my own comment after the last post).

Unfortunately - and probably because many contibutors don't necessarily return to read ALL the comments left after an individual posting - I haven't actually receive any answers to this question (well, not so far anyway) so I thought I'd bring up the proposal again here, just to test the waters (so to speak).

Any comments you might like to make would definitely be welcomed.

Nostalgia - Where Has It All Gone?

Does anyone out there remember this magazine…?

The late, lamented “Battle for Wargamers”. This is the oldest copy I have in my collection (January ’77) and even with the passage of time, it still reads as well as it did way back then...

Actually, to begin at the beginning, it was Stokes Schwartz who started me off on my recent memory trip, when he published a scan of the front page from one of his “Military Modelling” (US edition) magazines a couple of weeks or so ago on his blog…”The Grand Duchy of Stollen” (see link on the left of this page). I was immediately bitten by the nostalgia bug and, as you can see, began rooting through my own old magazine collections to see what I could come up with.

I remember that I once held a huge collection of Don Featherstone’s “Wargamers Newsletter”, more than 100+ editions published in the 1960's & early 1970's if I remember correctly. Unfortunately (and for some unknown & appalling reason) I took the unbelievable decision to destroy the entire collection on a bonfire back in the 1980’s. Oh, what a stupid thing to do. If only I’d kept hold of them, I could be re-reading them all even now.
On the other hand, I do still have a massive collection of “Lone Warrior” magazines (the journal of the Solo Wargamers Association, with editions 17 – 167). Still, one of my favourite publications, which I came across by accident around about the same time as I found “Battle for Wargamers”.

Unhappily for the “Battle for Wargamers” magazine, it was swallowed up by it’s much larger sister magazine “Military Modelling” in November 1978 because (apparently) it wasn’t selling enough copies as an independent publication. Which was a pity, because the wargaming part of the mag. slowly faded until it virtually disappeared altogether (shame).

I remember that I had originally bought “Battle” because of the articles written by the late Tony Bath regarding his imaginary ancient campaign “Hyboria”, which appeared within it’s page between January 1978 and March 1979. It was all superb stuff, and gave a chronological run down of the entire campaign (up to that date) from it’s earliest beginnings. And for anyone who hasn’t heard of Hyboria (where have you been?) here’s the first page of the very first article…

(click on the graphic below to enlarge)

(I've tried to leave the scan above as large as possible so that you can read some of the article)

Now, although the “Ancients” period has never personally appealed to me, the Hyboria histories (and Tony Bath’s earlier book “Setting Up a Wargames Campaign”) did more to fire my imagination and set me upon the road to my own campaigning obsession than probably anything else. (By the way, I even joined the “Society of Ancients” for a while, just so that I could obtain the subsequent journals concerning Hyboria which they had published over the years).
Thinking about it now, if I hadn’t bought that very first “Battle for Wargamers” magazine all those years ago and been enthralled by Tony Bath’s Hyborian campaign articles I may never have even considered setting up my own 18th C. campaign in “Euratia” later. And, as a consequence, may never have found the “Old School Wargaming” forum, and as a result would never have started blogging. Ah well, where would we all be if the fickle finger of fate didn't point us in the right direction from time to time?

Now, I hope you all please forgive the shortness of this post, but I've got another 14 Hyborian articles to get through before I have to pack up these magazines in their boxes and carry them back up to the attic.

Someone Out There Doesn't Like Me!

Well, because later today I have to toddle off to the local GP’s to get my annual flu jab I’ve decided to give myself the morning off, the first real spare time I’ve had in over two weeks. In which case I’ve also decided to post the first pics of my newly painted 15mm scale Colonial troops. Here they are…

Of no specific regiment (though I thought I might make up a few imaginary regimental names, such as “The South Wessex Regiment” or maybe steal one or two from well known literature, like “The Royal Mallows” from one of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes short stories) but I think these few snaps may give you some idea of my rather limited painting abilities.

As you can see, I have yet to decide exactly how to base the figures. I have a known aversion to thick basing materials, but would like the advantage of employing something like 3mm MDF for use as movement trays, especially when entire battalions need to be transported across the wargames table. In fact, I’d like to base each figure individually (to accommodate skirmishing etc.) and at first considered gluing them all to separate metal washers. However, I recently had a change of heart (because washers are round rather than square or oblong) and may in the end go for a thick card (which I’ve used in the past for 15mm and can be cut easily, and into any regular shape I need) – Any Comments?

As I’ve always thought, someone out there doesn’t like me very much. Well, if not me personally, then certainly my attempt to commence wargaming in the late 19th century Colonial period. What with most of the reference books I’ve been looking for now conveniently out of print (though I have managed to borrow a couple of the Osprey “Men At Arms” series from my local library – for a fee of course)...

...and, after finally deciding to go with 15mm scale “Minifigs” for the figures, which meant having to wait until the figure moulds had been transferred from Southampton to “Caliver Books” in Nottingham before placing my order (I’ve been saving up boys, so “stand by your beds” and get ready for it). Now, it appears the damned UK postal workers are about to go on strike as well, and I’ll probably have wait even longer! And that’s only if the entire order isn’t lost in the post completely. Aaaah!!!

(Calm, calm) Ok, now let’s not get carried away. I can wait (I think). I still have a few Sepoy & Ghurkha figures to paint (see background of the pics above) as well as 3 full packs of Pathans on which to practice my colouring skills (there are 8 figures to a pack). Hopefully, by then I’ll have progressed a little and be more into the swing of things (I’ve been using other manufacture’s figures as guinea-pigs to try out all the colours & paints before setting a bristle on the Minifigs). All I have to do now, is have a touch more patience, and, if I do get a little more spare time, then spend it trying out the ideas I’ve got for building terrain features for the NW frontier.

Ah, I see the clock has at last beaten me, and it's time for the "ol' quack" to stick me with his vicious hypodermic needle. So, if I eventually recover, I'll try and do my best to post something else later this week. I've recently been looking back over my collection of wargaming magazines, so maybe I'll post something (interesting) about them...

Feel free to comment below.

Books Have Arrived.

As it seems an age since last I posted anything here, I thought I'd better post something this Sunday - my only day of rest. So here goes...

The books I ordered over a month ago finally arrived last weekend. All of them deal with the actions and campaigns on the Indian NW Frontier and Afghanistan. I've not had much chance to review them as yet, but a quick scan at their contents has given me a good idea as to what I can expect.

The first book actually arrived a while ago, and deals with the native "Frontier Scouts" ( or "Poachers turned gamekeepers" as it refers to them in the text) and covers their activities from 1874 up to Indian & Pakistani independence after WW2. It looks interesting, but it isn't quite what I was looking for as a large part of it covers the 20th century.

However, there are some great photographs, of the landscapes, people (Pathans) and the troops. It is a little frayed at the edges (and the maps leave something to the imagination) but I think it was just about worth the money I paid for it.

The second book is rather more detailed. It deals primarily with the Campaign in Tirah in 1897-1898 (as is obvious by the title)...

Written by Colonel H.D. Hutchinson, an officer who actually took part in the campaign, it describes the campaign in some detail from the point of view of the men at the front - so to speak - and was originally published in 1898, only shortly after the campaign had been completed. There is a great deal of information contained within it's 200 or so pages, including the names & ranks of all the senior officers (down to Lieutenant) who took part in the campaign, all the regiments & the formations, and even their losses incurred (indeed, all the officer casualties are listed with their names, their regiments and the dates they were killed or wounded). It looks interesting, but the narrative may be rather dry and "starchy" from what I've seen of it so far.

Finally, there is what looks to be a rather more readable offering from the author, T.A. Heathcote. I've seen this book advertised in more than one book catalogue (and I think it may still be available from Caliver Books - the company which has recently taken over the production of "Minifigs" here in the UK).

I haven't read a word of this book yet, but the pictures & photographs certainly set the tone. I can't wait to get into this book as soon as I get some spare time, and I hope it will give me an insight into the way wars were fought on the NW Frontier during the 19th century, because my experience of colonial warfare is definitely lacking in all the important details - including regimental uniforms for sepoy regiments around the 1890's, and also details of the uniforms for all the cavalry (both European & sepoy) and I know almost nothing about the artillery. Books on these subjects appear to be as rare as "hen's teeth" at present - well, they are out there somewhere, but nearly everything appears to be out of print!

(But if you know different, then I'd love to know more so that I can get moving with my painting).

Well that's it for now. It may be a while before I get around to posting something else, so please feel free to add any comments you wish. Cheers, Steve.

Work & Sleep - and maybe a little figure painting.

Well, I finally get a day off, so I thought I'd post a little something just to stop this blog from building up rust and completely grinding to a halt. With my latest work contract I've had very little time to spend doing much else but work and sleep. I have however, been able to try my hand at painting a few more colonial figures to test out the uniform colours which look best on my wargames' table.

I seem to have fallen on my feet here, as I found some useful acrylics which seem to fit the bill, a local source which originate from "Gamecraft" of Liverpool. These, together with the judicial use of some of the Humbrol enamels I already have available, means that painting should go quite smoothly from now on (famous last words?)

I had decided to build my colonial forces from the well stocked "Minifigs" range, but unfortunately I appear to have passed on Old Blind Pugh's "black spot" to that company, as they have recently ceased trading (at least for the moment) from their base in Southampton. Luckily though, they have been bought out by "Caliver Books" of Nottingham (one of my old contacts for 15mm scale Medieval figures) so things aren't quite as bad as it first appeared. I have my cheque ready, burning the proverbial hole in my pocket. And, if only I can wait patiently, I should have a nice clutch of colonial minifigs sitting, just waiting for paint, on my wargames table in perhaps a few weeks time.

Anyway, today is Sunday, my only day off in the last 2 weeks, and tomorrow I return to the unrelenting grindstone of physical labour, so, perhaps I'd better quickly get down to a little figure painting. Looking at my work schedule up to Christmas, it looks like I'll get about one Sunday off every 2 or maybe 3 weeks. I have two (Telecommunications) contracts in the pipeline, one following directly after the other, which leaves me little chance to put my feet up. Nevertheless, I will try to post something here whenever I can, especially photographs of the figures, when, and if, I get some finished.

The "Colonial" Road Goes On & On.

Like an advance into unknown enemy territory my expedition into the "Colonial" period continues very slowly. I still haven't received the books about the period I had ordered some weeks back - I will have to contact the supplier again, to "gee" him up a little - but I have had a chance to test a few paint colours on the 15mm figures that have arrived, and at last I think I've found a combination which I like.

OK, so maybe I was being a bit "fussy" at first about suitable colours for the colonial uniforms - afterall, most British uniforms were an early form of khaki - but after a little experimentation I think I've found a combination which doesn't offend my eye when viewed from my position at the edge of the wargames table. However, I think it must be remembered that I have no books whatsoever about British colonial uniform details, so I have had to search the internet, and visit a number of blogs, to pick up what scraps I have (my thanks go to all those guys who publish photos on their blogs. Without them I wouldn't have known where to start) because virtually ever book I tried to order about the subject was out of print, or simply "not available". By the way, I decided to set my Colonial armies somewhere in the 1890 - 1905 period.

The colours I found that work are: A "Black" undercoat to start, then I cover the entire uniform area (including the equipment) in a "Sand" colour, then add a coat of Games Workshop "Desert Yellow" over the top, this paint is slightly translucent and allows the "sand" colour to faintly show through.

All the above are, of course, acrylics from different manufacturers, however, for the "europen" skin colour I decided to use Humbrol's "Flesh" colour enamel paint (simply because I already had it in the cupboard. Originally, I had thought about using a "Tanned Flesh" colour, but it didn't look quite right, a trifle too dark).

For the Indian troops (and I suppose I'll employ this for the Afghans tribes as well - though perhaps NOT the Gurkhas) I mixed a little acrylic "Chocolate Brown" with the "Tanned Flesh" colour to give a very pleasing skin tone. Their uniforms are undercoated with black (as above) but instead of the "Sand" colour I've used straight forward "Khaki" and again added a coat of Games Workshop "Desert Yellow" over the top. This gives a slightly darker uniform which, to my mind at least, looks pretty good.

I haven't got much further, although I have painted the boots on some of the "european" troops. These, I thought, didn't look quite right when painted a "brown" colour, too "colourful" for worn leather boots, so I decided to swap it for an "Earth Brown" shade which has a greyer (weather-worn) hue about it. I'll be adding in details like the equipment in the next few days, and I'll probably just paint the rifles in a simple chocolate brown colour, however, I have come across a difficulty with my Gurkha troops, in that I don't seem to be able to find the right tone for their uniforms (again, the lack of uniform detail has me boxed in once more). Nevertheless, when I get a few figures finally finished (and I get some spare time) I'll post a couple of photographs here.

Spare time is still at a premium, so I'm taking every opportunity to advance as much as I can along the "Colonial" road, even to the point where I've been collecting materials ready for the production of some 15mm scale pine/fir trees (I don't have any at the moment - only home-made deciduous trees) and, making a special trip to the local "Games Workshop" store to find out how the manager built his "desert scene" table pieces (there are 3 tables set up permanently within the shop - a "woodland" scene, a "space pirates" scene and a "runway in the desert" scene. All very well made).

I intend to try out his techniques, and hopefully I should get something which will work (or at least look right). All it just appears that all I REALLY need is the Time.