tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58980497909576450492024-02-18T20:37:26.306-08:00Gods Own Scale 2Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-56542003587002218352020-12-28T16:17:00.002-08:002020-12-28T16:18:20.971-08:00The Analogue Hobby Painting Challenge XI<p> The below is my first entry in the Analogue Hobby Painting Challenge. I've copied the post from that blog here for your conviniance.</p><p><br /></p><p>Hi, this is Sean from the God's Own Scale Podcast.</p><p>Below is my first entry in to the Analogue Hobby Painting Challenge run by Curt Campbell. This coming year I intend to blog a bit more, mainly to catalogue all of my painting for 2021. The AHPC is a great place to start that, even though I wont count <i>these</i> figures as they were painted this year! To save my typing out the whole thing again I've copied most of my post here.</p><p><br /></p><p>'Tis is my first year on the AHPC. I have followed it for many years but for some reason or other not got involved. Probably because I procrastinate far more than I paint. But also because my painting ability is fairly basic. Don't get me wrong - I'm happy with it but it's never going to win any prizes.</p><p>It will be no suprise that as the host of the third most popular historical wargaming podcast dedicated to 6mm miniatures, my first entry is...6mm miniatures. I am nearing the end of my Antietam project using the Altar of Freedom rules and the scenario therein. For the most part I have used Baccus Miniatures, though there are a few Rapier in there plus some Adler, mainly for the generals.</p><p>My plan for the next 3 months is to finish the Antietam project then look at my Charlie Don't Surf project using 10mm Pendraken figures. They remain in the cupboard, untouched since purchase over the summer. I have a company of U.S. grunts plus a company of VC for them to go up against.</p><p>I also have a couple of other projects in 6mm. Actually several. First of all are my First World War projects. I am using Great War Spearhead for these. Mons is up first. This is nearly done. Just buildings and scenery to finalise. Then it's onto my demonstration game for the Joy of Six 2021 show, on 4th July. I'm crossing everything that this show will go ahead. The game will be the GWSH scenario for the Thiepval sector of the first day of the Somme. I have nearly all of the figures purchased. I have several feet of latex trench from Timecast. And I have several ideas about how to build the table. </p><p>Ontop of that I have plans for the beginnings of my foray into 6mm AWI. I have the Continental army for Guildford Court House using Rus de Guerre. Also I have figures for a planned 6mm Rorkes Drift.</p><p>...and I have a metric ton of 28mm Mantic Games figures. For the purposes of the challenge I have the figures for the Hellboy boardgame plus some for the Walking Dead. So lots to go at.</p><p>Anyway, here is my first entry into the #AHPCXI. The first picture is of the last untis for the Army of Northern Virginia for Antietam. I now have 36 Confederate brigades and 12 batteries plus 3 brigades of cavalry done. These figures were painted between 25/12/20 and 28/12/20.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-GUJUC19pf3FjJKZ2uSk50nu4DCO_paO45jkYuNq6Aa1NjwEk-gjcGIFIsxSNioADP4D4maTgTxhu5Cj75A0Q_-ZYyDo9uf1iUOYqQBMHv9X56JEsXwTq_8ba5quYQQp-_k8kxji0UDcv/s2048/IMG_20201228_220853.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-GUJUC19pf3FjJKZ2uSk50nu4DCO_paO45jkYuNq6Aa1NjwEk-gjcGIFIsxSNioADP4D4maTgTxhu5Cj75A0Q_-ZYyDo9uf1iUOYqQBMHv9X56JEsXwTq_8ba5quYQQp-_k8kxji0UDcv/s320/IMG_20201228_220853.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The totals are:<div> 224 x 6mm infantry</div><div> 21 x 6mm cavalry</div><div><br /></div><div>Total Points: 133 (300 target)</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is my General Thomas Jackson command stand. Mounted figures are from Adler. The standard bearer is from Rapier Minioatures.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5zvRjGJL5aX-g7VI1pkN6Jv1B3E3_U9f84oCHe9qPHP5yt_MjyonDQ4Cuapmf_N_eygZy5yv172CjnBVER82yPAZyZz7jTKe9-A1DU2datrjXHnuhlDXhy-UUIutz3fbHm3gdkbKAIS53/s2048/IMG_20201228_221112.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5zvRjGJL5aX-g7VI1pkN6Jv1B3E3_U9f84oCHe9qPHP5yt_MjyonDQ4Cuapmf_N_eygZy5yv172CjnBVER82yPAZyZz7jTKe9-A1DU2datrjXHnuhlDXhy-UUIutz3fbHm3gdkbKAIS53/s320/IMG_20201228_221112.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">An example of one of the infantry brigades. They are Law's brigade from Hood's division. They were made up of 2nd and 11th Mississippi, 4th Alabama and 6th North Carolina. It suffered over 50% casualties at Antietam in fighting Hood's I Corps on the morning of 17th September. The unit here carries the Confederate battle flag. They are Baccus Miniatures. The fence is a resin print, kindly given to me by Aaron from Project Wargaming.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9hTTMHgfmFMUp6UA2DKBOJ5DkNiZwzfPZCk0g3j-zu4uYz1VhOePJGoXBbx3xPA_-fiHJGYE5dy9oyep2DuQEnC8vha0jSiErtpVKZBaHfvhEuwMi6ZnkFi21XsrX58SnjEURm0_hzmw/s2048/IMG_20201228_221507.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9hTTMHgfmFMUp6UA2DKBOJ5DkNiZwzfPZCk0g3j-zu4uYz1VhOePJGoXBbx3xPA_-fiHJGYE5dy9oyep2DuQEnC8vha0jSiErtpVKZBaHfvhEuwMi6ZnkFi21XsrX58SnjEURm0_hzmw/s320/IMG_20201228_221507.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Another example pf one of my brigades. These are Hood's brigade, commanded by William Tatum Wofford from Hood's Divison. They carry the Texas flag as befitting a unit bearing Hood's name.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLZANrPPzlNm_Jw48S5RDR_ErAsK-6tgxl6gnvPboN3ppedrMb1XY1Tm3wg_B-biM2E2EShfk9BShj3n8XQaMiYJ7ELqHihGhjDO_etV1-tPGIa8SNc2AFID9F-od1mJDGtaj5RmtpaPn/s2048/IMG_20201228_221601.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLZANrPPzlNm_Jw48S5RDR_ErAsK-6tgxl6gnvPboN3ppedrMb1XY1Tm3wg_B-biM2E2EShfk9BShj3n8XQaMiYJ7ELqHihGhjDO_etV1-tPGIa8SNc2AFID9F-od1mJDGtaj5RmtpaPn/s320/IMG_20201228_221601.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Okay, that's enough for now More soon. Play nice and keep talking about six!</p></div>Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-52611910648975685802020-11-29T14:51:00.001-08:002020-11-29T14:53:16.553-08:00It's Probably Time...<p> ...for another blog entry.</p><p><br /></p><p>Since the podcast launched again, I've taken my eye off the ball with regards to blogging. I use Twitter, Facebook and my podcast to discuss my hobby updates and feel like I may be repeating myself here. But, I am aware that not everyone uses all of those mediums and so may be wondering what on earth is going on in the world of God's Own Scale.</p><p>Well, a lot actually. Since April and First Lockdown (FL), I have had a large commission for 15mm Austrian Napoleonics which I made a sprint start on at the time. But with FL, and no club or face to face contact with gaming friends they wnet onto the back burner. But I did manage to crack on with them last week and finished them to the satisfaction of all concerned. 270 Lanchashire Games figures, now safely in the hnads of their proud owner. Both are doing fine.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpVBivY89ji_XQF6Y1ElhjNviWu6cghbL9QL6XeE8AkzhShgjkmvKkG5SiXfOwZfzEZz0Vcen871c049pDA6w6Agnetzd0H0GPhDKuQ_ydYhBRQdWLjq5WtoiwhoKVSpQ6zsuHluEM99L/s3264/TimePhoto_20201117_133440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpVBivY89ji_XQF6Y1ElhjNviWu6cghbL9QL6XeE8AkzhShgjkmvKkG5SiXfOwZfzEZz0Vcen871c049pDA6w6Agnetzd0H0GPhDKuQ_ydYhBRQdWLjq5WtoiwhoKVSpQ6zsuHluEM99L/s320/TimePhoto_20201117_133440.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, with them out of the way it was time to get stuck into 'The Antietam Project' (TAP). Now this officially launched on 17th October 2020, although the figures were bought last year at Partizan. Ahhh. Shows. Remember them? Around 2.5kgs of 6mm goodness. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was another sprint start and to be honest it hasn't stopped! In a rather grown up fashion I sat in a coffee shop with notebook and pen and plotted out how to tackle around 2,500 figures. To allow myself some leeway I estimated I can paint for 2 sessions of 1 hour each per week. Any more than that would be seen as a bonus. I can paint a Union or Confederate infantry brigade in around 25-30 minutes so I was looking at getting around 112 figures done per week (28 figures to a brigade x 4).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With taking my shoes and socks off I was able to count high enough to suggest that I could be finished around early April. That seemed achievable with the added incentive that I could play some of the smaller battles along the way as the armies grew.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I may or may not have previousley mentioned that I am using Altar of Freedom by the most excellent Greg Wagman of Little Wars TV fame. The Antietam scenario in that rule book is what I am building towards. But First Bull Run, Shiloh and a couple of others would be wonderful waypoints for me to stop at and actually play some games.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">However, Second Lockdown (SL) hit in early November meaning that face to face gaming in the UK is some way off. And now with the announcement of stricter Tiers once SL finishes, then it will remain thus in all likelihood until at least early February when Boris Johnson thinks we may be able to lift some restrictions.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When all is said and done, with COVID19 still here into early next year, there's no rush says I. Here is the remainder of the figures all blu tac'ed to lollipop sticks ready for spray undercoating.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpIL-qs1_hBVwzGd9Sof_z6jDiM-WDSZ1jBctk0zWrGNLYHKhLeLlABDAXQMx20ufmklDbZtJkfr3XFXeXcoz0BrfYJofdTA1565Ken9Q0_KPT6U0xxSCj23WR919lLh-uQbUFGFjIQOX/s4608/IMG_20201117_224117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpIL-qs1_hBVwzGd9Sof_z6jDiM-WDSZ1jBctk0zWrGNLYHKhLeLlABDAXQMx20ufmklDbZtJkfr3XFXeXcoz0BrfYJofdTA1565Ken9Q0_KPT6U0xxSCj23WR919lLh-uQbUFGFjIQOX/s320/IMG_20201117_224117.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>So here we are, at the end of November. And I seem to have cranked through 1,644 figures leaving me to paint around 950. Not sure how it happened. I seemed to get on a role and just not stopped. There's an outside chance I may get all of the painting done by Christmas. Basing and flags will probably be left until the end and done in a couple of long sessions. The first tray is the Union and Confederate beneath that. <div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsldXElCUcbwCwWn-Pxl7zKj6XRFFl6lPse2ydvbkIjwlEMU8wX3Pq4cF8sT2sdFA1a66DNLSYbQp8u1pESz4ZG0jSSbjsjhXvRNGTu2X4JJlshgyrqJPc92kpX1-5732h1DFMy6z5Cb4p/s3264/TimePhoto_20201128_124129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsldXElCUcbwCwWn-Pxl7zKj6XRFFl6lPse2ydvbkIjwlEMU8wX3Pq4cF8sT2sdFA1a66DNLSYbQp8u1pESz4ZG0jSSbjsjhXvRNGTu2X4JJlshgyrqJPc92kpX1-5732h1DFMy6z5Cb4p/s320/TimePhoto_20201128_124129.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtyurtBfCdFByR2c71KRcg3AuwfIOxpyuCXT6Sfu0F2zzCfvo0tBG0k363HOURPF3QYd47cNpnfj8qrlbqhyphenhyphen6ZShjMg-StdQu1M4p6lDzV47xtycsNMErCdIMZh1hqFamIH9tMTrtY219/s3264/TimePhoto_20201128_124143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtyurtBfCdFByR2c71KRcg3AuwfIOxpyuCXT6Sfu0F2zzCfvo0tBG0k363HOURPF3QYd47cNpnfj8qrlbqhyphenhyphen6ZShjMg-StdQu1M4p6lDzV47xtycsNMErCdIMZh1hqFamIH9tMTrtY219/s320/TimePhoto_20201128_124143.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I may change my mind on this. I'm not sure yet. I want the basing to be as cohesive as possible. I'm just not that organised to make recipe notes of which paint, sand or flock I use normally and end up with bases that come out in all shades. Not a bad thing. Not all fields look alike, but I do want some kind of resemblance to each other for that consistent look that we see with the likes of Per Broden from Roll a One.<p></p></div><div>Whilst painting these ACW figures it has really rejuvenated my interest in the period. In particularly I'm fascinated by the Reconstruction period after the was and the rise of the 'Lost Cause' mentality. Neither of these subjects have been on my radar previousley and in fact in an early podcast I made reference to the 'Lost Cause' as an almost glamourous, melancholic concept. How foolish was I! </div><div><br /></div><div>Having read more around the subject, the 'Lost Cause' appears to be a far more sinister concept created by white supremacists to excuse and deny the principle aims of the Confederate government. One only has to read Vice President Alexander Stevens 'Cornerstone' speech to understand the slavery/states rights argument of the cuases of the war. Fascinating stuff.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have a healthy list of podcast guests lined up, probably enough for the next 3-4 months worth of podcasts. I'm really enjoying the podcast at the moment. Time is the main limiting factor plus my internet connection isn't great. Hopefully this will improve at Christmas as we are treating oursleves to one of those WiFi signal boosters which I have seen good reports on.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ok thats enough wittering on for now. Hopefully I can get to a more frequent posting schedule on here in the next few weeks.</div><div><br /></div><div>As ever, keep safe, play nice and keep talking about six.</div>Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-21289345136128058512020-10-05T13:41:00.003-07:002020-10-05T13:48:37.460-07:00Play Nice!<p> In these troubled times of pandemics, political upheaval and social unrest, I think it's even more improtant that when we talk, play or communicate over social media, we try to be nice.</p><p>All of us can get caught up in the moment. If we see something we think is unjust, it can be a natural reaction to push back. But especially over the internet, meaning and intent can be lost. I've taken a step back from tweeting so much other than expressly on hobby matters. My ongoing motto, for my gaming and my podcast is simple, 'play nice'.</p><p>There was a recent thread where a complaint was made about the endless commercialisation of the hobby. So, a company that sells a basing kit comprising of 3 paints, a large bottle of wash, sand, static grass, PVA glue and instructions for just over £20, recieved criticism (and some support...) for over pricing the materials.</p><p>Now, my initial reaction was anger. The premise was that such a product would put someone off the hobby. My retort was that we don't point fingers at Mercedes for selling a car that is expensive because a new driver can't afford it. Also, any quick Google search will thow up loads of basing ideas for beginners through to hobby veterans. I choose to use the basing system because it gives quick, but more importantly excellent results.</p><p>Now I've had a love hate relationship with basing for as long as I can remember. But this basing system has given me a way of basing that I am very happy with. But why people feel the need to criticise a company for producing this product is beyond me. However, I have now said my piece. I am going to abide by the mantra of 'play nice' from now on. </p><p>Hobby wise, our household is at the end of a period of decorating and shifting around. My hobby bunker has become the place to store anything that needs keeping out of the way, from wardrobes to boxes to bedding to curtains. So hobby time is limited, as is space. My hobby area has shrunk down to about a 2 foot square area on my table.</p><p>Still, I have now finished my Irregular Miniatures 6mm Crimean project for the Battle of the Alma. I say finished. I still need to build the battlefield, but more of that in another post. And, a project is of course never finished. After the Alma, it's onto Balaclava...and we all know what that means!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzxK7A9i7_FqXxSy6Qd8JTkN0rNiabx_jO_R-mXkpbpsnVaeWX5Bb3C5iqstkeDpNgXspml9gTsF3lG6gzf2FCMGeyF69AkJ4t8qJn4-wIeC21Ay92L_dL25ZQYOvYJxgaMCRR11lOQMn/s5312/20201005_174216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzxK7A9i7_FqXxSy6Qd8JTkN0rNiabx_jO_R-mXkpbpsnVaeWX5Bb3C5iqstkeDpNgXspml9gTsF3lG6gzf2FCMGeyF69AkJ4t8qJn4-wIeC21Ay92L_dL25ZQYOvYJxgaMCRR11lOQMn/s320/20201005_174216.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And here they are. Irregular Miniatures paint up lovely and more importantly for me quickly. Highly recommended.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">More soon...</div>Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-15558663488935645562020-08-22T14:12:00.002-07:002020-08-22T14:12:44.535-07:00Catch Up<p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/Godsownscale">Gods Own Scale Patreon</a> </p><p>Well, things are ticking along quite nicely since the relaunch of the podcast. I'm over two months back in, I've doubled the number of episodes and now launched a Patreon to help keep the lights on!</p><p>I've stressed elsewhere that the existence of the podcast does not depend on Patreon , but every little bit helps!</p><p>My wargaming butterfly is in full flight at the moment. Having listed everything I own on Twitter, I'm rather embarrassed by the mass of 'stuff' I own. I'm constantly in a battle as to whether to sell off unused collections to help fund new projects, or just to let them lie and maybe give them the chance to shine once again at some point in the future. I've never been one to have any sentimental attachment to figures, but having sold collections previously, I do suffer with regret almost the moment they are out of my hands. </p><p><br /></p><p>I'll try and post some pictures up over the next few days of where I am with the 9 (NINE!) projects on the go. Some are close to done, some are yet to start. But they are my focus for the rest of this year. </p><p>9 is really too many. Ideally I'd have 2 or 3 projects running alongside each other to maintain interest. Having 9 on the go runs the risk of burnout or just being overwhelmed. I'm going to try and be sensible and maybe look at dedicating a week to one thing at a time and seeing where that gets me.</p><p>Frustratingly, Blenhiem Blitz is nowhere on the horizon and not one of the 9. But, it will happen. Next year now. A long time ago on this blog I stated an interest in fighting some of the iconic battles of history. Blenhiem falls into this category. But first...Antietam, Mons, Thiepval, Guildford Courthouse, Rorkes Drift, Sacile, the Alma and Austerlitz!</p><p><br /></p><p>More soon...</p><p><br /></p>Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-4130603307881682392020-06-01T14:04:00.001-07:002020-06-01T14:04:18.533-07:00Rumours of my demise....have been greatly exaggerated.<br />
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I could write about where I've been and what I've been doing. But, that would take too long, and not make happy reading.<br />
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Instead, I wanted to inform you that there are not one, but two new episodes incoming for God's Own Scale.<br />
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Firstly, an interview recorded with Robert Fellows of 2D6 Wargaming. This was recorded in November of last year and for a myriad of reasons I never got around to releasing it. My humble apologies to Robert. He gave up his time to speak to me and I repaid him with silence. Hopefully, finally releasing the cast will be good news for him.<br />
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The second podcast is being recorded on Sunday...and is the first episode with not one, but two guests. You'll know both of them, but I won't spoil who it is just yet. It's going to be great though!<br />
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I anticipate that I will aim for a slightly more leisurely release schedule for a while as I find my feet again. So bear with me. I still want this to be the best 6mm podcast out there. Ok...maybe the only one. But still.<br />
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More soon...Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-440804146177349322019-09-11T02:27:00.000-07:002019-09-11T02:27:06.296-07:00Project Updates - Mons, Napoleonic Austrians and AntietamI've been busy with podcast and painting activities, meaning little time for blogging. But, this blog is intended as a long term diary of thoughts and hobby progress so fear not dear readers!<br />
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Firstly, the podcast is going great guns. I am really pleased with how things are going and the amount of downloads suggests that there is a market for it! The next episode should be out tonight with an interview with Greg Wagman from <a href="http://www.littlewarstv.com/">Little Wars TV</a> Suffice to say I really hope Greg returns to the podcast at some point - maybe with another member of the team who can extol the virtues of 6mm :-)<br />
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Hobby wise, I have now completed a division of British and a division of Germans for my Mons game using Great War Spearhead.<br />
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The first picture is before the 'Magic' is added. The 'Magic' is Windsor and Newton Nut Brown ink. It really is magic as you'll see. I am very much of the minimalist school of painting. Especially with 6mm, for me it's about getting enough done to let the viewer know what they are looking at, without fussing over every last belt and strap. These Germans have been sprayed with Halfords Grey primer then 5 colours added. Army Painter Leather Brown for the boots, pouches ans hair, Army Painter Fur Brown for the rifle, Army Painter Plate Mail for the rifle barrels, Army Painter Barbarian Flesh for the er....flesh and Army Painter Skeleton Bone for the helmets.<br />
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This picture shows the before and after the 'Magic' . Up close and personal it may look a bit rough, but at gaming distance (the 3 foot rule...) they look excellent!<br />
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The next three pictures are the whole division minus two infantry units I'd already done as a test for the scheme. Always useful to paint a unit or two up two nail down what colours go where. In 6mm, this can be literally half an hour or even less and is time well spent. I painted the rest of the divison in a long afternoon.<br />
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And for those who haven't seen it in the flesh, this is the wash (actually an ink) that I use. Per Broden from <a href="https://rollaone.com/">Roll a One</a> and Dr Mike Salwey who runs the painting clinics at Joy of 6 and the Partizan shows were the original proponents of this ink. The magic refers to the way the ink runs into the creases and crevices of the 6mm figure leaving the principle colour practically unchanged. There is a slight darkening of the main colour, which is why you should always use a colour a shade lighter than you would for larger figures.<br />
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I'm not sure it works so well on larger figures and would sticj to Agrax or the Army Painter shades for anything larger. But this little jar really is 'Talent in a Jar' and is highly recommended. There are other shades such as Peat Brown which works but I would expoeriment and see what works for you.<br />
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In other news, I have painted up the first two regiments of Confederates for the Antietam game. I have painted Rebs in every scale going and for some reason love it! I think it's the freedom to use so many different uniform combinations, getting away from a 'uniform' look! The plan is to get them done by Christmas. This might be a bit optimistic. I am confident I'll get a game on before Christmas playing the Bull Run Altar of Freedom scenario as it's quite small in Altar of Freedom terms with only around a dozen bases per side. I'll update with progress as I go.<br />
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The Napoleonic Austrians are going well. No pictures yet, but I'm well on the way to having the Baccus army pack done, and have ordered extras to bolster them out to complete the order of battle for the Sacile scenario using Blucher. So, Grenzers, Jaegers, Grenadiers plus some infantry in helmets are on their way to me.<br />
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That'll do for now. Hopefully time for some more painting later. I'm also awaiting bases from Warbases for the Germans so I'm hoping the postman has a small package for me later.<br />
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As ever, play nice and keep talking about six.Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-29296775312453361712019-08-14T15:12:00.002-07:002019-08-14T15:13:31.805-07:00Robert DunlopHugely interesting chat with Robert Dunlop tonight for the podcast.<br />
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Robert has done an awful lot to bring the Great War to life on the tabletop. His mega games at the Joy of Six are hugely inspirational. I heartily recommend that you head over without delay to his <a href="http://www.greatwarspearhead.com/">Great War Spearhead website</a> to check out the fantastic pictures of his games over the years.<br />
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As a taster check out this image of his recreation of the battle of the Somme from 2016.<br />
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Robert gives an insight in his inspiration, how he buids the games and how he paints and collects the thousands of figures he uses in his games.<br />
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The podcast episode should be up early next week.Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-70328719661741629362019-08-13T03:28:00.000-07:002019-08-13T03:31:05.394-07:00Just Do It!How many times do you have a fit of enthusiasm for some hobby time, only to it down and suddenly all of your mojo flitters away leaving you sat slumped shouldered and fed up?<br />
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What about when the 'new shiny' syndrome hits and figures are bought at a show. You rush home full of expectation, sit at your hobby desk, only to find yesterdays project sitting in the way. So you clear that away to make room, promising to yourself that you'll get back to it later. Several years later you find that long forgotten project in the dark recesses of your cupboard, unloved and unwanted.<br />
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Or, you sit down wanting to crack on with a new painting technique you've just read about on the internet only to find either you have no figures prepped for painting, or that they are undercoated in white and the new technique calls for zenithal highlighting over a black undercoat.<br />
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Then there's that time when your enthusiasm is positively spilling over. You've got a clean jar of water. Paper towel to the side. A new fangled wet palette to try out. Your figures primed 'on trend'. Your brushes have a perfect tip that will be perfect for the smallest detail. This is it! Your ready to crack on with your British for your long dreamt of Napoleonic project.<br />
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Now, where's that bottle of Scarlet from Vallejo. A rummage through your paints finds Pure Red. No. Not right at all. Carmine Red? Too light. Cavalry Brown? No, that's from when you were painting in the Dallimore way. You're a basecoat and wash man now. Blood Angels Red? Don't be daft, you're a serious historical gamer. Ah, there it is. Scarlet Red. You give it a shake. Mmmm. Doesn't seem like there's much in the bottle. You squirt out a mixture of air bubbles and that creamy medium with a spot of red in it. Never mind, you know you bought a new bottle at the last show. But where is it?<br />
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3 hours later, you've given up and gone back downstairs in a huff to read the latest polemic on TMP.<br />
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My advice? Just get on with it. Those figures aren't going to paint themselves. 10 minutes a day yields suprising results. And if you cant find your Scarlet Red, well, Blood Angels Red is pretty close and you're going to splash Nut Brown all over it anyway - so Just Do It!<br />
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More soon...and remember, keep talking about six.Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-15792040009619506442019-08-09T10:45:00.000-07:002019-08-09T10:46:00.975-07:00Episode 2 with Peter Riley, talking the Little Bighorn.<br />
<a href="https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-tugje-baf6eb">God's Own Scale Episode 2</a> is now out and available on all good podcast apps. It should appear over to the right hand side very soon.<br />
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A nice chat with Peter Riley (rules writer extrordinaire) about his award winning Battle of the Little Bighorn game.<br />
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Enjoy!Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-10158785037497123802019-08-05T15:40:00.001-07:002019-08-05T15:45:45.640-07:00Project Updates.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A quick post to update on my 6mm porjects for the rest of this year (subject to change at a moments notice of course!)</div>
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1. Thiepval</div>
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This remains in the purchasing, research and ideas phase. I don't anticipate the actual painting or construction phase to start until the autumn. I have plenty of thoughts around how to represent the wire, woods, the elevations and the trenches. I'm actually picking up the trenches this week from Timecast having had the email that they were ready whilst I was away on holiday.</div>
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2. Antietam</div>
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The figures will be collected at The Other Partizan. Painting for this project will start failry soon towards the end of August and I anticipate that they will be done fairly quickly once I get going. Given the opportunity of a couple of full days, I think I could make sterling progress. To actually get the game on the table, I am aiming for the end of the year. However, I do intend to play a couple of the smaller battles as I go. Certainly 1st Bull Run should be playable pretty quickly.</div>
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3. The Alma</div>
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Using War Against Russia, and Irregular Miniatures, this is nearly ready!. Just artillery and officers to be painted. Interestingly, the board for the scenarios in the rules covering all of the major actions, is 22" x 16". This is roughly the same size as a cork notice board, which I shall be using to construct a dedicated board for the game. Apologies for the rather poor picture of the painted foot figures.</div>
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4. 1809 Austrian Napoleonics.</div>
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This is my joint project with Ade. I've painted one unit as a test and intend to crack on with the rest over the next few weeks. At The Other Partizan I'll probably pick up some Austrian infantry in helmets which were still in use in 1809 as well as a bit more cavalry. More on this very soon.</div>
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And that's it....<br />
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Actually no. No, it's not.<br />
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5. Whilst in Ypres, I was inspired to look at the Mons scenario from the Great War Spearhead 2 rulebook. Okay, Ypres, isn't close to Mons, but Mons is the first major enagagment for the B.E.F. With the figures for this battle, I'll be able to do the retreat to the Marne, 1st Ypres and maybe even into early 1915, with Loos. So, on impulse, whilst away enjoying the lovely wines and food of the Rhineland Palatinate, I ordered the figures for the the Mons scenario which will also be collected at the Other Partizan.<br />
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So that really is it. A major problem in the past has been overwhelming myself with too many projects and amassing a lead pile of shame. I think what I have in the list above is manageable, with short term and long term projects that I hope to progress to a conclusion within the time periods specified. That's not to say there aren't other projects that are on my mind. ECW, Punic Wars, WW2, Spanish Succssion, WotR and Zulu Wars are all on the agenda. But, I'll resist any purchase or serious thought until major progres is made on the above 5 projects.<br />
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Yeah, right....!<br />
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More soon...Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-38017896557199384302019-08-05T15:00:00.001-07:002019-08-05T15:11:12.715-07:00 I can't possibly paint anything so BIG!The common refrain often heard about 6mm, and often repeated by Peter Berry is the comment "I can't possibly paint anything so small". It might be felt that at times this attitude is at times somewhat apocryphal, if it wasn't for it being repeated across social media, forums and in conversation with the unenlightened.<br />
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Only yesterday I read a post on Twitter about somebody complaining about failing eyesight and the impossibility of painting anything smaller than 28mm. To this, I would say 'Hogwash, poppycock and buncum'. I'll reverse the phrase and suggest 'I can't possibly paint anything so BIG!'. Stick with me for a moment.<br />
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Unless your primary enjoyment is painting buttons, lapels and cross belts, this hobby is about playing with toy soldiers. Wargaming encompasses many disciplines whether that be painting, research, making scenery or rolling dice. But to my mind, the principle goal is to actually play with your toy soldiers, either recreating historical battles or playing plausible games in your chosen period in a fictional setting.<br />
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I went to a show in Reading 10 years or so ago. There was a magnificent display game refighting the Battle of Blenhiem in 28mm. Thousands of figures from flank to flank on a table at least 16 foot long. Really very nice. But it wasn't a game, more of a static display. And how long must it have taken the players to paint it all up - never mind the scenery. I was led to believe that the figures were painted by just one or two of the players at the table. As a veteran gamer, the very thought of the effort to put on such a mammoth game made my head hurt. But what about the newcomer to the hobby? I imagine, that although aspirational, the newcomer would think 'blimey, I couldn't paint all that...and how much to buy all of the figures?"<br />
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I'm not bashing the larger scales here. There are some fantastic displays at shows up and down the country and the magazines are full of them. But, goodness me. The larger scales aren't the be all and end all of the hobby, despite what the hobby press and most shows might seem to suggest.<br />
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Lets take a pretty standard unit of 24 British figures for the War of Spanish Succession. In 28mm, to paint them to a tabletop standard - ignoring buttons, but getting the colour where it needs to go might take at least 3 painting sessions of maybe 2-3 hours. I haven't hard evidence of this but I reckon I could paint 8 figures in a session. That may be optimistic, and they certainly wouldn't be figures that would withstand close scrutiny. But I think I could do it. This works out at least 15 minutes per figure, but in reality would be closer to 20 minutes with no highlighting; at most a basecoat and a wash. So lets settle on 3 hours per night totalling 9 hours to paint 1 unit of 24 figures.<br />
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Compare and contrast, dear reader, with the same unit in 6mm. Arguably painted to the same level - basecoat and wash. There are two or three methods for painting 6mm to a good standard. Peter Berry published a guide on the Baccus website <a href="https://baccus6mm.com/howtoguides/HOWTOPaint6mmfigures/">link here</a> using a black undercoat. He estimates that his method works out at 2 minutes per figure using a production line method. Another method is to spray the figure the principle colour - red, blue, grey or whatever, block in the detail and then wash with a dark brown ink whether that be the Army Painter range, those GW washes or even artists inks from Windsor and Newton. I have used this method previously and would estimate a similar amount of time per figure as the black undercoat method.<br />
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So, at 2 minutes per figure, my maths works that out at 48 minutes per unit. In the time it takes to paint your 28mm unit, you can paint at least 11 units of 6mm figures. And I have to say to paint your 28mm unit in that time, you're <i>probably </i>not going to be running around showing them off as your best painted figures ever. <i>Probably.</i> Of course someone may prove me wrong on this and knock out an award winning unit in an hour. But I doubt it!<br />
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Over the course of a month of painting your 6mm figures, I'd hazard a guess that you could paint the best part of an army for a small to medium game. In 28mm, you might manage 3 units. Not quite enough to play with. Maybe 6 months later, you might get those figures on the table. Returning to an earlier point, if painting the buttons, lapels and crossbelts in 3 shades, I doubt you'd get that far.<br />
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Now, if painting is your main pleasure with a game once in a blue moon, then that's fine. As I've said before, and I say again, this hobby is a broad church with room for us all. However, if you've just come into the hobby looking to fight your first battle on the dining room table, then 6mm is an excellent choice. If you're an Ancients gamer there are many great ranges, but the handily produced boxed armies available from Rapier <a href="http://www.rapierminiatures.co.uk/page/Range/500pt_Warmaster_Armies.html">here</a> make getting a game on your table quickly very easy.<br />
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Take for example their Republican Romans which for £14.50 you get:<br />
<ul style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
<li><span style="background-color: black;">1 Mounted General</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;">3 x 54 Hastati / Princeps</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;">1 x 54 Triarri</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;">1 x 24 Velites</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;">1 x 18 Heavy Cavalry</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">240 foot figures and 19 mounted. At 2 minutes per figure that works out at around 9 hours painting, allowing more for the mounted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How about some Carthaginians to oppose them: </span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: black;">Mounted Command</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;">2 x 54 Infantry (African & Spanish)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;">1 x 36 Gallic Infantry</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;">2 x 24 Skirmishers</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;">1 x 18 Punic Heavy Cavalry</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;">1 x 15 Spanish Light Cavalry</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: black;">1 x 12 Numidian Cavalry</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">192 foot figures and 46 mounted figures. Again I would think 9 hours would get these done. So 18 hours work and you have two small armies within a months work at most to play a game. Try that in 28mm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, I ask you, how can you possibly paint anything so BIG!</span></div>
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Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-52707846733234650822019-07-18T11:22:00.002-07:002019-07-18T11:22:59.226-07:00Somme 4 I have now had word from Timecast that my trenches and other bits are done for my Somme game, I shall collect them on my return from holiday in early August.<br />
<br />
I spent sometime yesterday furthering my research into the Thiepval sector, during which I came across this letter, written by the Rev. Major R. H. Royle, M.C,, 11th Manchesters at Stuff Redoubt.<br />
<br />
"<i>And what of Thiepval today? A few scarred lumps., a score or more smashed up stones, one solitairy civilian grave (alas, how many more graves of our brave laddies?) mark the site of what was once a flourishing and contented village.</i><i>Yet, the scene is not without a brighter side. Within a mile of poor devastated Thiepval, shell holes have been filled in, barbed wire removed and trenches blocked up. Already the French peasants are reaping their harvest, back once more in their own part of their beloved France, living like foxes in holes in the ground, old Nissen Huts, trench shlketers - anywhere, but full of joy at being home again after nearly five years in exile. At Pozieres, a little child was playing on a swing on the top of our old battalion HQ..."</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>published in the Salford City Reporter, 1919, after Major Royle had returned to the battlefield that year.,</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
What a moving piece of writing, telling of the continuation of things following the devastation of the previous few years. It can often be forgotten that the battlefields we study and walk were the homes, back yards and work places of the civilians who inhabited the lands before war visited them. And what of them once the fighting had stopped. what was left for them to rebuild those shattered lives?Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-69569129801789195012019-07-18T08:54:00.003-07:002019-07-18T11:06:42.512-07:00Spending Money and Antietam 1One of the favourite pastimes for any wargamer worth his or her salt, is spending money. It must be so, judging by the amount of posts you see across social media discussing 'lead mountains'.<br />
<br />
For the uninitiated, a lead mountain is the pile of unpainted figures gamers accrue over a period of time. Presumably with the intention of painting and playing with it at some point. Though judging by some accounts, there are people with unpainted figures that they purchased years ago.<br />
<br />
I am no different. Having said that, this year has seen an unprecedented purge in my collection, to the point where 'nearly' everything that hasn't seen the light of day for a few years, painted or not, has been sold on. Which is both cathartic and a little bit scary!<br />
<br />
With my recent commitment into 6mm, I already have several projects, both large and small on the go. From a small Crimean collection from Irregular Miniatures which will cover all of the major battles, to my Somme project for the Joy of Six 2020, and now...the American Civil War.<br />
<br />
I have talked about my own interest in this period elsewhere. It is an enduring passion of mine that is difficult to explain. I have always loved the old black and white cowboy films and played with the Airfix ACW figures as a child. My introduction to the Stoke club was playing large scale American Civil War battles in 25/28mm. This inspired my first forays into historical research reading the likes of Bruce Catton and James McPherson.<br />
<br />
This coincided with the first airing on TV of the Ken Burns documentary. Since then I have lost count of the number of times I have watched/listened to that series whilst painting. Films like Glory and Gettysburg also had a significant impact on me. So, having found myself recently sans an ACW collection, it was only a matter of time before I dove back into the period.<br />
<br />
I have been hugely taken by the Little Wars TV series on YouTube. In the last post I linked to their recreation of Antietam using their own Altar of Freedom wargames rules. I have had these for some time and although I'm yet to play them, they read very well and having a couple of battle reports on YouTube helps with understanding how they work.<br />
<br />
Having talked about the relative costs of fighting a battle like Antietam on a grand tactical scale, I have taken the plunge and ordered enough figures for the scenario in the Altar of Freedom supplement, All Quiet on the Potomac. I'm picking them up at Partizan on 18th August.<br />
<br />
I can't wait to get going.<br />
<br />
P.S.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEuP6-aMbgi6-yEHIE-5TucKgSMOS0a-7zcoQV9STJWc9KBI0kYgzFSrHqKXi_IiPNOsUBEDrBB6cpOpna23y7dXxSGb-P5xpD4w3VQAGBd0bLD4InE3P_jXidvuUVNywCtYYtfBPRNR6/s1600/antietam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="526" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEuP6-aMbgi6-yEHIE-5TucKgSMOS0a-7zcoQV9STJWc9KBI0kYgzFSrHqKXi_IiPNOsUBEDrBB6cpOpna23y7dXxSGb-P5xpD4w3VQAGBd0bLD4InE3P_jXidvuUVNywCtYYtfBPRNR6/s320/antietam.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
Anyone looking for a good one volume account of the Battle of Antietam should get this book. Written by Stephen Seers, it is a very readable account that covers all of the bases. It's also available on Audible for those that use that service. He has written other books on specific battle of war including Gettysburg and Chancellorsville.Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-4677403633729717452019-07-17T11:55:00.001-07:002019-07-18T08:55:03.913-07:00PricePrice, and perceived value of what you get for your money can be touchy subjects in our hobby.<br />
<br />
When I first started at the Stoke club back in 1989/90, Dixon 25mm American Civil War figures were all the rage. We gamed with them almost exclusively playing large ACW battles out over a period of 4 or 5 weeks. Nearly everybody in our room at the club (10-12 of us) bought and collected some Dixon's to contribute. At the time they were 50p a figure. We would play usually a 1:40 scale and so a unit of 10 figures would represent a regiment of 400 on the table. We occasionally doubled up the units to 20 figures if we were playing a particularly small battle. The discussion around the club, as prices started to rise would be that if ever figures even approached the £1 mark, it would be the end for us.<br />
<br />
Well, we are still here. Dixon figures (still my favourite 25/28mm figures ever!) are now £1.50 each. Most metal figures in the scale are over £1. With plastics such as Perry, the cost of a figure has actually come down to just over 55p each which is amazing if you can be bothered to glue hundreds of the buggers together!<br />
<br />
For me, gaming in God's Own Scale has numerous advantages, not least of which is cost. As I start to work out what periods I want to do in the coming months (...most of them!), I thought I'd take a look at comparative costs between the various scales. To put it into some context, I have chosen to look at the Antietam scenario for Altar of Freedom. You can see a video AAR from the Little Wars team <a href="https://youtu.be/pi9yM4oPFc0">here</a> Antietam is always a battle I have wanted to game at a Grand Tactical level but never gotten around to it.<br />
<br />
Working from the OOB in the Altar of Freedom scenario book, the requirements are:<br />
<br />
Infantry - 1920<br />
Cavalry - 72<br />
Guns - 28<br />
Generals - 10<br />
<br />
This works on the assumption of 24 infantry to a regiment, 9 cavalry to a regiment and 1 gun to a battery. To purchase this complete from Baccus would be somewhere, around £178.70, opting for the cheapest options available (i.e. unit or booster packs). Rapier would I think come out a bit cheaper and when I do come to ordering the figures, I will be getting some Rapier for variety.<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 537px;">
<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 3211; mso-width-source: userset; width: 69pt;" width="92"></col>
<col span="2" style="mso-width-alt: 2629; mso-width-source: userset; width: 57pt;" width="75"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2932; mso-width-source: userset; width: 63pt;" width="84"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3397; mso-width-source: userset; width: 73pt;" width="97"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 3979; mso-width-source: userset; width: 86pt;" width="114"></col>
</colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="27" style="height: 20.0pt;">
<td height="27" style="background: #4472C4; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; height: 20.0pt; mso-pattern: #4472C4 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none; width: 69pt;" width="92">TYPE</td>
<td style="background: #4472C4; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #4472C4 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none; width: 57pt;" width="75">TOTALS</td>
<td style="background: #4472C4; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #4472C4 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none; width: 57pt;" width="75">PERRY</td>
<td style="background: #4472C4; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #4472C4 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none; width: 63pt;" width="84">DIXON</td>
<td style="background: #4472C4; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #4472C4 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none; width: 73pt;" width="97">PETER PIG</td>
<td style="background: #4472C4; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #4472C4 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none; width: 86pt;" width="114">PENDRAKEN</td>
</tr>
<tr height="27" style="height: 20.5pt;">
<td height="27" style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; height: 20.5pt; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">INFANTRY</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: red; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">1920</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">1066</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">2316</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">816</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">336</td>
</tr>
<tr height="27" style="height: 20.5pt;">
<td height="27" style="border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; height: 20.5pt; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">CAVALRY</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: red; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">72</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">120</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">288</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">61.2</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">26.25</td>
</tr>
<tr height="27" style="height: 20.5pt;">
<td height="27" style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; height: 20.5pt; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">GUNS</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: red; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">28</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">200</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">245</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">95.2</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">49</td>
</tr>
<tr height="27" style="height: 20.5pt;">
<td height="27" style="border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; height: 20.5pt; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">GENERALS</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: red; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">10</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">30</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">40</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">14</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">3.5</td>
</tr>
<tr height="27" style="height: 20.5pt;">
<td height="27" style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; height: 20.5pt; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;"></td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">£</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">1416</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">2889</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">986.4</td>
<td style="background: #D9E1F2; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid #4472C4; border-left: none; border-right: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; border-top: .5pt solid #8EA9DB; color: #44546a; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15.0pt; font-weight: 700; mso-pattern: #D9E1F2 none; text-decoration: none; text-line-through: none; text-underline-style: none;">414.75</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
To explain my choices. Perry Miniatures are by far the cheapest way to game in 28mm, using all plastics. They do have a significant range of metal figures to supplement their ACW range, but the above numbers are based on plastics, apart from the Generals.<br />
<br />
Dixon, as stated are my favourite figures and so it was interesting to see just how much it would cost me to do a large ACW battle in metal.<br />
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Peter Pig have, in my opinion the best 15mm ACW range around, as do Pendraken in 10mm. If I was to choose to do this battle in any of the scales mentioned, these manufacturers would be my choice - in 28mm, Dixon if I had the cash, Perry if I didn't.<br />
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It's no surprise that 6mm comes out significantly cheaper. You get less metal for a start. But also remember the space saving. To play the Antietam scenario as written in 28mm probably needs a 12'x6' table and in 10/15mm, probably a 8'x6' table to fit in all of the features required to make it a decent representation of the field of battle.<br />
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If you haven't clicked the Little Wars link, go and do it now and just have a look at how the table looks that the guys play the battle on. It's pretty amazing, including Burnside's Bridge, the Sunken Road and the Dunker Church. It's all there. If you walked up to that table at a wargames convention with no figures on it and no other material to give it away, I'm pretty sure any Civil War enthusiast would be able to work out which battlefield they were looking at.<br />
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This isn't to denigrate the larger scales. If you have the space, the money and the time to paint over 2000 figures to do this project from scratch, then I congratulate you. I'm sure it would look awesome and be a hell of a thing to see. But, again referring back to the Little Wars re-fight, to my eyes, that looks equally awesome and it is what I intend to do. So for the last 6 months of the year, alongside my Somme game and other gaming commitments, I'll be blogging my own interpretation of the Antietam scenario for Altar of Freedom.<br />
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I'm on holiday for a couple of weeks. WiFi permitting, I'll write a couple of further posts, but until then - play nice!Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-61516684890436295932019-07-11T10:19:00.001-07:002019-07-11T10:31:09.547-07:00Joy of Six 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A truly wonderful visit to Sheffield for the Joy of Six 2019 last Sunday. I can't put my finger on why this show felt so different, but it did! Maybe because everyone there was of a similar mindset. Our hobby is in a real golden age where we have never had so much choice, but with that comes more and more dilution and diversity as gamers choose their own preferred version of what this hobby is. </div>
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Years ago, if you played Ancients, you most likely played WRG. If you played WW2, maybe WRG 1925-50 or latterly Rapid Fire. ACW? Probably Fire and Fury from the mid 90's onwards.</div>
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Now though there are dozens of rules sets, in every period imaginable, with figures ranges from 2mm and up for your chosen period. So, the coming together of people with a love of one scale in particular for me is the primary factor. Yes, the games ran from Biblical to Modern, from rioting Brexiteers to the snow covered planet of Hoth, but the one linking factor for all of the games was 6mm. </div>
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I took quite a few pictures, but not as mnay as I'd like, and not in any sort of order. Must try better next time.</div>
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This was an excellent Vimeiro game from Kevan Baker and chums. He took the time to explain the scenario, lay out and aims of the refight, for which I was most appreciative. </div>
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Didn't get details of this one, I'm afraid, but it was a Great Northern War set up and looked splendid.</div>
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A XXX corps dash up Hells Highway towards Son bridge. South London Warlords put this on using mainly GHQ kit. Looked amazing and I think really highlights the problems XXX corps had trying to charge up a single highway</div>
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I was sad not to get more details of this game or who ran it because it looked wonderful. From a glance it was Pirates and a small seaside community about to be paid a visit.</div>
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Qadesh using Big Battle DBA. Again, I didn't get back to this game to discuss progress or the incentive behind the game. Lovely though!</div>
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Award for most bonkers game of the show (...and quite possibly the most bonkers game I have ever seen) was this. Brexit, the Riot years. The aim for one side was to escort the PM from Westminster to Buckingham Palace to hand in her resignation and then to No' 10 to collect her things and fly off into the sunset. Unfortunately there mobs of looters and rioters in her way, and the tabloid press were present to record it all. The 3 gents playing the game were well into it and it looked great fun. Used the old Riot! rules from Matthew Hartley and available from Irregualr Miniatures.</div>
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A new manufacturer of 6mm scenery whom I forgot to take the name of...zoom in on the picture and you will make it out. Absolutely gorgeous stuff here. I nearly went back and got the church which was only £8! Great value.</div>
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Nick Overland playing Target Saigon, 1975 and the last days of the Vietnam War. I tihnk they were using something like Sabre Squadron for rules. This was in the early stages as the White Star forces made their way from the jungle towards what looked to be a heavily defended village with lots of NVA in attendance.</div>
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This game intrigued me, put on as it was by Gripping Beast. Not sure on the forces, but Martin and Andy were explainign that it is the big battle variant on Swordpoint. Looked very nice and engaging.</div>
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I'd like to award this game the Gods Own Scale Silver. James billed this game as Jaco (Bite) sized Culloden. I was very taken with the game, the presentation and the overall feel for the whole thing. The mat was custom made by Tiny Wargames, I believe at a cost that made my eyes water! But, lovely and again, I was sorry that I didn't get back to take a closer look.</div>
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A new company to me from Poland, GM Boardgames. They are producing 3D printed figures and were ahowing off Franco Prussian and ACW. I think that the cloth is from Cigar Box. Their figures looked excellent and whoever painted moustaches on the Franco Prussian War cavalry needs to be applauded.</div>
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A very nice Normandy breakout game from the Mailed Fist using Iron Cross rules. A lot of the scenery came from GS Miniature Workshop. They produce those woods with a lift off canopy, allowing troops to be hidden inside them. Very nice!</div>
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For many, the piece de resistance. Per Broden's Poltava. a 16' x 5' extravaganza. There are plenty of pictures across the webs of this. Check it out.</div>
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6mm RCW from MAD gamers. I had a nice chat with Trevor at the end showing me how they had sourced all of the figures required for this project. Jolly good!</div>
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Walt at Commission Figurines produced a spectacular Volley and Bayonet game set in 1813 and using his own MDF figures. These have to be seen so be believed. Incredible work from Walt.</div>
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I didn't take as many pictures of this as I'd have liked. Robert Dunlop put on the Eastern front WW1 battle of Gnila Lipa (silent G!). Had a lovely chat with Robert. He and his games have been a huge influence on my own desire to put on Thiepval at the Joy of Six next year.</div>
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More of Per's wonderful game, hopefully showing the detail he put into the presentation of the game.</div>
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Time ran away with me on the day. I can't remember the last time I stayed until the very end of a show. I attended both seminars which were great, but occupied 2 hours of the 6 hours of the show, so next year may give one of them a miss. I particulary enjoyed bumping into Neil Shuck and Mike Hobbs from the Meeples and Miniatures podcast and having a chat which led to an invite on their show. We recorded last night and the show should be out sometime next week. Purchases amounted to another British Divsion for the Thiepval game plus...an Austrian Napoleonic division to join my co-conspirator in gaming on his plans to refight the 1809 campaign. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFU48vjjgyZZrcf2RDhU275aweObwTTfLdrivIGve3SPoydvcMNWw7CGBDCzzhY8PzNI5mQTcLf-32RyzSxWKkjtDYmaXNT2myk2O9cbuEwH31XgqrQVB18tJ0EyahWAR4dABlkPwC6IQb/s1600/20190708_171714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="1600" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFU48vjjgyZZrcf2RDhU275aweObwTTfLdrivIGve3SPoydvcMNWw7CGBDCzzhY8PzNI5mQTcLf-32RyzSxWKkjtDYmaXNT2myk2O9cbuEwH31XgqrQVB18tJ0EyahWAR4dABlkPwC6IQb/s320/20190708_171714.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I've painted the first unit up in double quick time. Not too bad I think using the Windsor and Newton Nut Brown as my magic wash.<br />
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No pictures, but Dr Mike Salwey was in attendance as usual with his painting clinic. Fascinating to hear his thoughts on Contrast. I think the browns will work wonders on ACW Rebs!</div>
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So, Joy of Six recieves a 10/10 (or 6/6 as someone mentioned on Twitter!) and also a Gods Own Scale Special Award for Best Show of the year so far. Well done to Peter and his army of yellow shirt helpers for putting it all together to allow the customer to have such a great day.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvSwSlRIuyHh0Byj9OiB9_nofb6CtwlYTZqabj3uDq7phUKNIhADbJBXnq_74yq8ys7cMOzs6KfIUHqCePDPwLc9Iy0Z9WAhzIeug9NQt2chBgsp7yN4CfUIDl6Qar1T6OxUHDEJuUHpvf/s1600/20190708_212338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvSwSlRIuyHh0Byj9OiB9_nofb6CtwlYTZqabj3uDq7phUKNIhADbJBXnq_74yq8ys7cMOzs6KfIUHqCePDPwLc9Iy0Z9WAhzIeug9NQt2chBgsp7yN4CfUIDl6Qar1T6OxUHDEJuUHpvf/s320/20190708_212338.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I've also dug out some Heroics and Ros ACW gifted to me by Jeff Davis a good few yeras ago. Can't decide whether to rebase these for Altar of Freedom or just keep them as a nostalgia collection. The figures whilst beautifully painted in the main are tiny dating back to the early 1980's when Jeff painted them. On thge one hand there is enough here to refight most of the major engagements of the<br />
ACW, on the other the sculpts don't really stand up to the modern likes of Rapier and Baccus.</div>
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I'll decide shortly!</div>
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<br />Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-53196201652737443722019-07-07T16:34:00.000-07:002019-07-07T16:37:42.926-07:00Sunday LoomsAs I type, the Joy of Six show is now only 3 days away. Ade is joining me on the adventure, eyeing up some Napoleonics for a Blucher project. I'm honestly not sure what I'm looking for, but will endeavour to share the spoils around as many of the traders as possible. They have shown willing to attend what is a niche market within a niche hobby. Okay, the attendees will all have a penchant for 6mm products anyway, but even so they deserve some support!<br />
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There has been an interesting debate on Twitter around the lack of 6mm articles in the mainstream wargames press. I bought my first magazine of the year this week which was Wargames Illustrated. The production quality is excellent and more colour photographs of toy soldiers than you can shake a stick at - but all of them 28mm models. In fact a couple of articles, w3hich were interesting reads in themselves, had the opportunity to highlight the availability of a relevant 6mm range of figures but it seems that 10mm was as low as the author would go.<br />
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There is the age old adage that an editor can only publish the articles he is provided with. Having highlighted the paucity of 6mm content in Wargames Illustrated, I took to Twitter and generated some discussion. It turns out John Treadaway, editor of Miniature Wargames had spoken at a seminar at the Joy of Six 2018 asking for more 6mm related articles. Guy Bowers of Wargames Soldier and Strategy has made similar pleas. It seems the biggest perceived obstacle is the difficulty of photographing 6mm so that it competes at an aesthetic level with 28mm (or even 15mm I suppose). I have to challenge this with the following gallery. Each of these pictures, to my eyes shows that not only can 6mm be photographed, 6mm games can look every bit as good as any other scale.<br />
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Each of these have been grabbed from a quick Google Image search.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-6gtF_zYL2V1ZmC3lEiYvonJUEqczc-gjq9ojfYFSt9we715kS4cuDB1DYgwpVcGZ1680PwrYegYxjPDIpRLGk9JeTA7XS_TXjaa8K8vwXQN4WajakqE1Jk3gFlEBonXvA38y8DG14U-F/s1600/horse+squadrons+by+church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="700" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-6gtF_zYL2V1ZmC3lEiYvonJUEqczc-gjq9ojfYFSt9we715kS4cuDB1DYgwpVcGZ1680PwrYegYxjPDIpRLGk9JeTA7XS_TXjaa8K8vwXQN4WajakqE1Jk3gFlEBonXvA38y8DG14U-F/s320/horse+squadrons+by+church.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This first picture is an old stock photo from Baccus, judging by the green base edging. The English Civil War horse have also been rescultped. But what a lovely little scene. Simple, but a sense of movement to these troops of horse as they make their way through a village.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrPT6ZepyRDfQTh101lcok5RMDB67rXpTlQxtqiz9nqBxctX0H5IQnoYu52a_kMwKN07B490Xi4Ytrd5h-vZLXGY4yL2nCnQXruEWAaSdNEAdSYhoFdbk052Hr9Vtxme6VrjMDArj8OcK/s1600/bigscots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="1440" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrPT6ZepyRDfQTh101lcok5RMDB67rXpTlQxtqiz9nqBxctX0H5IQnoYu52a_kMwKN07B490Xi4Ytrd5h-vZLXGY4yL2nCnQXruEWAaSdNEAdSYhoFdbk052Hr9Vtxme6VrjMDArj8OcK/s320/bigscots.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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With the fairly recent re-sculpting of the English Civil War range, Peter Berry has shown off here with the new Scots. For element based games such as Polemos ECW, a 60mm x 30mm base is standard. And mighty fine do the bases look. But, if funds allow why not double or treble that size and play with blocks like this?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuUirnuge4Ai-mNu-8RZc6XcHPZtXLdT_y90cKmpQJqsiDCUjh1ZwZiaxdg6yUuUfUFuzscSLeTVo8sQLqzoxNypK9PnDlDr_waP85zoAKflhUwZeK24mg9TLnrErKFT-SVQb5AkPbiRl/s1600/per+gnw2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="640" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuUirnuge4Ai-mNu-8RZc6XcHPZtXLdT_y90cKmpQJqsiDCUjh1ZwZiaxdg6yUuUfUFuzscSLeTVo8sQLqzoxNypK9PnDlDr_waP85zoAKflhUwZeK24mg9TLnrErKFT-SVQb5AkPbiRl/s320/per+gnw2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here we have one of the God Father of 6mm, Per Brodens many display games from the Great Northern War. A conflict about which I know absolutely nothing. But how can one say that 6mm figures don't photograph well when you see an image like this. Reminiscent of one of those old paintings depicting a battle scene. Marvellous!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVeASwHEaQpupoZYHu95IxS6NumTjJLqonV-EgUaYNem4vKX_JR4_DtZiCEplt-TdaMnIwb4w6bDhdmL2ifh7x3vP5IrpFw46cybG13OmHI6_WNwvFmFryqkhKuUy24nPb3CGcjGIKiLb/s1600/pers+GNW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="1024" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVeASwHEaQpupoZYHu95IxS6NumTjJLqonV-EgUaYNem4vKX_JR4_DtZiCEplt-TdaMnIwb4w6bDhdmL2ifh7x3vP5IrpFw46cybG13OmHI6_WNwvFmFryqkhKuUy24nPb3CGcjGIKiLb/s320/pers+GNW.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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So, 6mm only looks good on mass eh? Another image from Per's collection. I don't need to say any more.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTz_ezLTh5CGcnrcnpxrhYS9rIFRFBXKC5uwBBufhEZtsyl9jKsDVg2PBd7wQzfoRGKjmYeyOgiTFXZdNY4i6mbpjHHX-X8xionV84LemWPjySW4y7B3o14L17JnX4UAbeVpB7JjDU5Vcc/s1600/pike+block+scene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="144" data-original-width="351" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTz_ezLTh5CGcnrcnpxrhYS9rIFRFBXKC5uwBBufhEZtsyl9jKsDVg2PBd7wQzfoRGKjmYeyOgiTFXZdNY4i6mbpjHHX-X8xionV84LemWPjySW4y7B3o14L17JnX4UAbeVpB7JjDU5Vcc/s320/pike+block+scene.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Possibly one of my favourite images of 6mm figures ever. Peter produced this little scene to show off the figures, and he did a mighty fine job of it. I think this was in response to a similar argument that 6mm figures have no detail and are too small to look good.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRKZvzM4kom1WyxO150foKmdE9a0KIoLh_1Fg20xgFW0RUfrrRH638FbJiiCV_IQyltH3zkEpG8UFpWMQ2nxc3TG3BQe6x_vb6Hrls9fx1ZKBMKxdhyphenhyphenpncszbKWznJf3S2ONTkmnoze4G/s1600/seige+of+manchester.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRKZvzM4kom1WyxO150foKmdE9a0KIoLh_1Fg20xgFW0RUfrrRH638FbJiiCV_IQyltH3zkEpG8UFpWMQ2nxc3TG3BQe6x_vb6Hrls9fx1ZKBMKxdhyphenhyphenpncszbKWznJf3S2ONTkmnoze4G/s1600/seige+of+manchester.jpg" /></a></div>
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The Siege of Manchester from Derek, who has produced other such excellent games as Leipzig Lite and Gettysburg at the Gallop which have inspired me to do Blenhiem Blitz (eventually).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NtDgjmIJbtRhBrL-I5Zq7JTQcf0AjySAisNMP0bYCpZ3rFSa0EOwiP7lHRRX0pYK-7mcxJ-9O-2qUjCDJMnYsC_8TPsfW5L32pyUyVTnKwK6UuCvdzmK8x5gIA0RQoHwEn1kNUqr_irE/s1600/smallest+wargame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NtDgjmIJbtRhBrL-I5Zq7JTQcf0AjySAisNMP0bYCpZ3rFSa0EOwiP7lHRRX0pYK-7mcxJ-9O-2qUjCDJMnYsC_8TPsfW5L32pyUyVTnKwK6UuCvdzmK8x5gIA0RQoHwEn1kNUqr_irE/s1600/smallest+wargame.jpg" /></a></div>
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This model was a limited edition given to visitors to the Baccus Open Day a few years ago. Title the worlds smallest wargame. I think this picture belongs to one of the guys involved in the Rather Large Towton project. If you know who owns it, I'll give due credit. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoCu6VVAwvbrgrPxQDr03lzEycPyFXZ4AbrySK2TS_gZtdd69M7hdlBEtRwHYDRORIpxp99Db07puK-ya3MMPL-E3v5RcxN7b5zpfLQu92vnnLVWhI-1fxJx2msZt9l6EqtwP-IMIR9ljn/s1600/sulby+hedges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="700" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoCu6VVAwvbrgrPxQDr03lzEycPyFXZ4AbrySK2TS_gZtdd69M7hdlBEtRwHYDRORIpxp99Db07puK-ya3MMPL-E3v5RcxN7b5zpfLQu92vnnLVWhI-1fxJx2msZt9l6EqtwP-IMIR9ljn/s320/sulby+hedges.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another favourite image from the Baccus studio. A simple scene of Dragoons lining a hedge. Undoubtedly, this is Oakey's Dragoons within the Sulby Enclosures. But once again, it demonstrates that 6mm can be photographed and still show individual character on these miniature masterpieces.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQJsNvHDo1gKPRu1vygStpSadK_sJbnadhD4l6NTtqIxZis1e1VY6qBnEIOoEq-0PyCnp5bHmo9m9lvchwBHelOl14N7ioo1euY0YxlghPMmuH0aVFyuWNAgkrIiA63MLFWpf8RM5Bys5/s1600/stoke+field.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQJsNvHDo1gKPRu1vygStpSadK_sJbnadhD4l6NTtqIxZis1e1VY6qBnEIOoEq-0PyCnp5bHmo9m9lvchwBHelOl14N7ioo1euY0YxlghPMmuH0aVFyuWNAgkrIiA63MLFWpf8RM5Bys5/s320/stoke+field.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another inspirational picture from an inspirational blog. The owner posts as 'Whirlwind' on the Heretical Gamer blog (link to the right). This is a recreation of the Battle of Stoke Field. A small table with small figures, but showing the weaving battle lines in a lovely little set up with rolling hills and a small hamlet in the background. </div>
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Each of these images are shown without express permission, but I hope the owners will approve of their use as each one shows how great 6mm figures and games can look, and how well they can be photographed.</div>
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On another note, please check out this very interesting piece written by Mr Per Broden. Quite thought provoking. </div>
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<a href="https://rollaone.com/2018/07/06/engagement-at-wargames-shows-and-a-final-call-for-joy-of-six-2018/">Pers thoughts on engagment at shows</a><br />
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More soon...Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-26710453504035543302019-07-01T12:27:00.000-07:002019-07-01T12:27:09.714-07:00Peter Berry's 'The Myth of the 28mm Vision'<div style="background-color: #8cbd84; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">
<b><span style="color: #223300;">THE MYTH OF THE 28MM VISION</span></b><br />Or<br /><i>I've just got fed up with yet another snide comment on the internet! </i><br /><br />As a designer, manufacturer and salesmen of 6mm scale miniatures I have been peddling my wares since the mid-1990s. Right from the start I found that my little pride and joys were the targets of a lot of sniping and ridicule from those who chose to use the traditional 15mm and 25/28mm figures. It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I didn't take such comments lying down and, and gave as good as, (and often far, far better), than I got.<br /><br />The internet and its various bulletin boards and newsgroups has been a major forum in what has turned out to a continuing debate, and many of you reading this may have seen various skirmishes and continuing threads with me defending the status and the use of God's Own Wargaming Scale.<br /><br />My proactive approach to promoting the scale and pointing out its many positive features has often drawn ‘disagreement’ from those taking the misguidedly opposite view. No problems there – I enjoy a good debate, and there have been some classic exchanges to enjoy.<br />However, a few people have contacted me directly suggesting that my approach is just too strident. All that I am doing is winding up and alienating those who have already made the financial and emotional step of building up large 28mm and 15mm armies. The approach suggested is that I only emphasise all the good things about 6mm scale and leave out unravelling the 28mm myth. A softly spoken, reasoned and non-threatening strategy, they say, will yield better results. In other words all my arguments should emphasise the positive features of 6mm and not actually give any grief to the more widely used alternatives. Well, I have done just this right up until now.<br />Mmmm….<br />Let me demonstrate exactly what this sort of approach leads to. All the following quotes have been gleaned from postings to the internet in the course of the last few months<br /><br /><i>- '6mm stuff, it's like a degenerative disease disfiguring the tabletop.'<br />- 'Most people can find more entertaining ways of going blind.'<br />- 'I have no doubt that 6mm, as untraditional as they are, would attract people to their qualities. ...<br /><span style="color: #8cbd84;">-</span> They will be emigres from boardgaming.'<br />- 'The desire to accurately portray historical uniforms ends at 15mm.'<br />- 'To say that a 6mm. is more than a marker, a minimalist representation is pushing it.'</i><br /><br />So taking this lot at its face value, if you are a user of 6mm figures, you are:<br /><i><br />- Not at all interested in the aesthetics of miniature gaming.<br />- Going blind through painting impossible detail.<br />- An ex-boardgamer with an interest only in gaming with cardboard counters.<br />- Completely uninterested in uniforms or the appearance of your miniature armies.<br />- Using crude and functional game counters, rather than models and miniatures.</i><br /><br />Recognise yourself? No, neither do I, but unless these snobbish ramblings and utterings are challenged and this rubbish given short shrift then THAT is the image that will hold sway. What makes it all worse it that such opinions are invariably offered by people who have never painted, used or even looked at a 6mm figure!<br /><br />All of these seem to be severe attacks of ‘28mm it-is’ (biggus figurus pompus gittus). A fairly common condition in which the sufferers feel the that they have a Deity-given right to criticise and belittle because they are the followers of the One True Vision. A major problem with this affliction is that said Deity often omits to give them the wit, wisdom or brain cells with which to discharge their duty.<br /><br />So..<br />I feel that it is time to set the record straight. Unlike those who set out to give me a hard time, I actually know quite a deal about the pros and cons of the scale that I set out to critique. I painted, collected and played with 15mm and 25mm figures for nearly two decades before moving to 6mm, and as a trader I see the new stuff and talk to the people involved. Now it is time to show that a little such knowledge can be a dangerous thing.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #003300;">'28mm' - WHAT IS IT, AND HOW COME PEOPLE USE IT?</span></b><br />I shall start by providing my own personal, (and therefore completely truthful and unbiased), account of the rise and rule of the cult of the 28mm figure...<br /><br />Back in the 1970's, the 25mm Wargaming figure reigned supreme and unchallenged. As this was the time when many of the hobby’s stalwarts got involved it became ingrained in their very souls that this was how ‘proper’ Wargaming was done. By the mid-1970's 15mms began to make their mark and by the 1980’s the two scales co-existed nicely. The balance began to shift on the 1990’s with the rise of DBX family of rules, all of which favoured 15mm in their approach. With 25mms being squeezed out of the huge Ancients market, some began to predict the ultimate demise of the 25mm army.<br /><br />Meanwhile, a company who I shall call by the initials ‘GW’, had moved from its original base of selling imported fantasy RPG games towards producing and distributing their own brand of products.. An important part of GW was a division that manufactured 25mm fantasy figures. The problem that they faced was that RPGs were very undemanding in terms of figures. The makers of miniatures needed to sell whole armies, not little dungeon exploration parties. As a result a mass fantasy set of rules were produced by GW, figures designed to match them, and rest is well known.<br /><br />The important points to pick from this section is that the emphasis on small numbers of ‘individual’ figures that was the RPG heritage spilled over into this new form of fantasy wargaming. They represented the very best on design quality and great care was to be spent in painting each and every one of them. On the down side they also carried forward the price premium traditionally associated with fantasy figures. However, there was relatively little interaction between this form of the hobby and the historical version that we all know and love.<br />At which stage we arrive at the mid 1990’s and the emergence on to the historical wargames scene of a new company destined to have a huge impact on the hobby.<br /><br />Wargames Foundry had come to the party. Originally founded as an outlet for the GW designers to have a break from sculpting goblins and dwarves, this company set out to change the face of the historical gaming scene. It began to offer figures that were far superior to anything else available on the historical market and used the pages of the glossy magazines, especially Wargames Illustrated to promote their product and Their Vision.<br /><br />And a Vision it was! There was to be a new standard and a new culture. We were all to aspire to be able to amass collections such as those featured in the colour photos in the magazine. People talked less of wargames figures and more of ‘miniature works of art’. Figures could no longer be painted, they must be shaded, highlighted, inked, washed, terrained, varnished and flocked to precision. We were to look on the games depicted not as, well, 'games', but as 'Inspirational' and even 'Aspirational' examples of what could be done by all of us IF we just tried hard enough and bought the right kind of miniatures.<br /><br />The 28mm Renaissance was in full spate and the Colossus trampled all before it! The Gods of the Foundry looked on all Their Works and saw that they were Good!<br /><br />Anything, and I mean Anything, that did not fit into The Vision was to be regarded as 'inferior'.<br />And yes, there have been positive results resulting from The Vision. However, army sizes have fallen, completed projects have diminished, intolerance has increased, and breadth of thinking, creativity and originality across the hobby have all been stifled. These failings have been ignored and hidden but the followers of the The Vision and treated as if they do not exist.<br />In short, we have a real case of the 'Emperor’s New Clothes' in the 28mm Wargaming Order of today.<br /><br />Okay. At this point, the thousands of you subscribers to the WF Vision are pushing their mouse pointer towards that little red box with the X in it at the top right, certain of the fact that I have lost my marbles. Let’s face it, the hobby has never had it so good.<br /><i><br />- The range of figures is huge and new suppliers are cropping up all over the place.<br />- The modern quality of design is unsurpassed.<br />- Painting and modelling standards are increasingly high.<br />- The photographs, in magazines, especially in WI point the way to us all.<br />- Let's face it, we are in a Golden Age! </i><br /><br />However…however…there is inevitably an however….<br />I beg to differ with all of this and would suggest that it might be a time to take off the rose-tinted glasses for a while.<br /><br /><span style="color: #003300;"><b>28mm CULTURE– J’ACCUSE!</b></span><br />So how is it possible for me to even begin attacking Perfection? Well, let's just have a go and see where it leads...<br /><br /><i>RANGE & QUALITY</i><br />Okay, you have got lots and lots of sculptors and figures all doing superb work. But at what cost?<br />Well, there is the Cost for a start. ‘I don’t mind paying for quality’, has become the mantra that I hear so, so often. Now to me it sounds awfully like the sound of someone’s self-justification for having just paid out an awful lot of money for a very small number of figures. If he can convince others to imitate him then he gets allies all with a self-interest to maintain the myth. As someone said to me, 'Misery loves company!'. It also appears to me as being the noise that a person makes when he can publicly show off that he has got the wherewithal for conspicuous consumption.<br /><br />Then there is the ever-expanding-figure. To those have not realised it yet, the term ‘28mm’ has as much relationship to the size of a figure as the epithet ‘Unsinkable’ had to the Titanic. It sounds good, but when put to the test it is meaningless. '28mm' was originally invented by GW to describe their oversize 30mm miniatures. When WF started their expansion, they adopted both the figure scale and the description. Others then just followed suit.<br /><br />One thing that WF did start was an increasing demand for high quality of design standards. The only way to achieve much of this has been to increase the size of the figure thereby giving the sculptor more surface area on which to work. This has meant a steady increase in dimensions of some ranges, to the point that the term ‘28mm’ can only be a vague concept and not an accurate description.</div>
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This process has knock-on effects. Some new generation ‘28mms’ are so large that they can longer fit on base sizes defined by wargames rules. DBA and its progeny gets criticised for allowing ‘only’ 15mm per close order infantryman, yet when they were written, there was no problem with achieving this. It is interesting that very rarely is the criticism aimed back at the miniatures for being too designed too big for the bases!<br /><br />As an example, in the recent flurry of activity surrounding the release of Forlorn Hope and WECW a number of new ECW 28mm figures ranges appeared. Now both sets use 20mm square base for 28mm Foot troops. As this is a GW standard, this should surely be large enough to hold a 28mm figure. Er…not really…there are new ECW figures out there that are so overblown they can only be accommodated on 25mm square bases!<br /><br />The end logic of this process will see the dominance of 28mm figures all standing 40mm tall…</div>
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...and since I first penned this last line in 2003, lo and behold we have seen the rise of the 40mm figure as the next 'big thing'. As wargames scale it really is a non-starter for anything by skirmish games. What we are seeing here is the aspiration of many people to become 'Miltary Modellers' and figures painters rather then producers of wargames armies. If anyone can remember that far back, in the 1970s the letters pages of 'Military Modelling' magazine regularly carried letters from the modellers regularly condemning wargamers and those who painted wargames armies. I wonder if history will repeat itself...<br /><br /><br /><i>PAINTING</i><br />The widespread use of 28mm figures has resulted in a huge increase in painting standards…<br /><br />Well…yes...maybe..<br /><br />Remember that the pictures in WI do not show ‘real’ wargames. The display games at wargames shows do not show ‘real’ wargames. I’m sorry, but you can have as many nicely sculpted models as you like, the world’s cheesiest ‘Painting Systems’ and glossy pictures galore, but there is a natural distribution of painting talent and there can only be a top few percent who can achieve the very highest standards. Most of us, (myself included), will never get better than competent, and in The Vision, mere competence is never good enough....<br /><br />But the human soul is nothing but full of hope. We are persuaded to think that by practice we can get to the Right Standard. We spend more and more time on each figure chasing that elusive effect of shade and light. We try the latest tip to get the highlight in the pupil that will make the eyes on our figures look like 'windows on the souls', not blue-yoked fried eggs. (And people tell me that you go blind trying to paint detail on 6mms! )<br /><br />Net result? Unfinished projects by the bucket load. It takes weeks to finish one unit never mind an army. So you move on to another project that just might offer the right combination of model and colour to let you move up a notch.<br /><br /><br /><i>VISUAL IMPACT</i><br />What am I talking about! If you want visual impact you use Big, Man-sized, Impressive and Macho 28mms. These give you visual impact. 6mm just look like a spiky fungal infection by comparison!<br /><br />The problem with this logic is that the comparison drawn by those who believe this is that they can only ever think in their own terms, and they find it impossible to consider alternatives. 28mm usage stunts the imagination....<br /><br />The example that I would like to use for this is a rerun of a little exchange that I had on the internet a while ago. The chap on 'the other side', is intelligent, articulate and a perfect champion for the supremacy of the 28mms. Unfortunately it was also obvious that he had never looked at 6mm figures or talked to those who used them. I got drawn into the debate by a typically off-hand comment from him. He stated that a 28mm unit looks more impressive than its 6mm equivalent because the individual figures are, well, bigger. In his terms, 'smaller' means,' inferior'. The visual impact of any given number of 28mms is far superior to the same given number of 6mms. As he put it;<br />‘One measure is to present a well painted 25mm unit of twelve figures to a person new to the hobby, or especially an outsider, and place it alongside a clump of 6s-No contest! One impresses the other merely leads to squinty-eyed quizzical looks.’<br />Putting that the test with some Macedonian Pikemen, we get this result...<br /><br /><img src="https://www.baccus6mm.com/includes/news/images/compare.jpg" /><br /><br />Yup. Round one to Powers of Smugness! My little men are definitely outgunned. No argument from me on this one.<br />But of course that is the playing the game to his rules. Single figure vs. single figure comparison is not and never was my argument. Wargamers use UNITS consisting of a number of models. Let’s take the same pikemen and put them into some sort of context.<br />In a standard DBA army there are 6 elements of pikemen. In 28mm this translates to 24 figures.<br />Now, using the same Ground Scale and therefore base sizes with 6mm, each element contains 48 figures and the six elements muster 288 miniatures!<br /><br /><img height="334" src="https://www.baccus6mm.com/includes/news/images/pikeboth.jpg" width="432" /><br /><br />Now we are viewing the two versions of the Might of Macedon in a the way you would see them on the wargames table. One looks like a couple of rows of men waving sticks, and the other actually looks like it may do some damage. One tries to represent an historically deep formation by doubling to a whole two ranks, while the other is actually an historically accurate eight ranks deep!<br /><br />At this stage the usual feeble criticisms get rolled out;<br /><i>- 'I can't paint anything so small!'</i><br />Pathetic excuse! This usually masks the fact that they have never actually tried to paint 6mms so it’s easier to hide behind an untested theory. If you can paint a 28mm then you have the basic competences to paint 6mm.<br /><i><br />- 'Think how long it would take to paint that lot!'</i><br />A non-starter. One of those pike elements takes me 50 minutes to complete, a total of five hours in all. I painted the 28mm equivalents and these took me 20 minutes per figure – 1 hour and 20 minutes per element, and I know that many would regard this is as speed painting! So the six elements in 6mm took me two and a half hours to paint. The six elements of 28mms took me over eight hours.<br /><i><br />- 'By the time you've put THAT many 6mms on a base they cost more than 28mms'</i><br />Well, not at all.. One element of 48 6mm figures will cost you £2.40. A total of £14.40 for the lot. Costing one 28mm at a conservative £0.80 per figure works out at a total of £3.20 per element, a total of £19.20<br />Mmmm…<br /><br />Okay, I’ve played the mass-effect card for the 6mms. You could rightly argue that the 'true majesty' of 28mm would come not from a weedy 6 elements, but a trebling of that number – 72 pikemen stretched across the board!<br /><br /><img height="72" src="https://www.baccus6mm.com/includes/news/images/pike25.jpg" width="500" /><br /><br />Looks good eh!<br />But what is sauce for the goose….<br /><br /><img height="191" src="https://www.baccus6mm.com/includes/news/images/pikeall.jpg" width="500" /><br /><br />...is sauce for the gander!<br />And let’s just look at the numbers:<br />- 28mm = 72 figures = £57.60 and 24 hours painting time<br />- 6mm =864 figures = £43.20 and 15 hours painting time.<br /><br />So in a head to head, 6mm are cheaper, quicker to paint and have ‘Visual Impact’ in spades looking like an army and not a skirmish line.<br />Convinced?<br />No?<br />Let’s move the debate on.<br /><br /><i>WHAT ARE MINIATURES ACTUALLY MEANT TO REPRESENT?</i><br />Wargames figures, no matter what their scale, are really just nicely-coloured counters. What is important is the base to which they are affixed as this represents the scale ground area occupied by the miniatures.<br /><br />An important move in recent years has been the shift to ‘element’ based games. The DBA units pictured above are examples of this. The problem with this for 28mm figures is that they were originally designed for an earlier generation of wargames rules that concentrated on the individual figures themselves rather than what they actually represented.<br /><br />In those days, units consisted of 16, 24, 36 or 48 models. Elements today tend to consist of 2, 3 or 4 figures.<br /><br />The end result of this is laughable! To take on example, a French Line Brigade under Polemos, Grande Armee or Volley and Bayonet rules occupies a base measuring three inches square. This will comfortably hold a 12 man unit in 28mm.<br /><br /><img height="440" src="https://www.baccus6mm.com/includes/news/images/25batt.jpg" width="432" /><br /><br />And here we see one of the most uncomfortable series of compromises possible made manifest on one group of miniatures. Remember that this base is supposed to represent a formation of 1500 to 2000 men.<br /><i>- Of the 12 figures, fully one third are taken up with the command group of officer, drummer and eagle bearer.<br />- The proud owner has now decided to represent the grenadier and voltigeur companies by using two figures for each.<br />- The remaining five figures have different coloured pompoms painted on their shakos in a vain attempt to reflect the company organisation.<br />- The whole grouping looks like a square formation when an original divisional column should be rectangular .</i><br /><br />Let's have a look at something like the 'real thing' to see what I mean....<br /><br /><img height="324" src="https://www.baccus6mm.com/includes/news/images/fre600.jpg" width="432" /><br /><br />Those poor, lonely 28mms are patently attempting to do a job that they are just not equipped to do. They deserve your pity not your contempt. (Just joking! Contempt is a permissible reaction.)<br /><br />Now here is how it is done in 6mm.<br /><br /><img height="258" src="https://www.baccus6mm.com/includes/news/images/6batt.jpg" width="432" /><br /><br />I am able to show two deployed battalions in formations that reflect the originals. The command elements are reduced to a manageable level. Skirmishers can be shown as deployed and the appearance of the base can create a willing suspension of belief so as to call it a ‘brigade’ without smirking.<br /><br />And for the statistically minded amongst you. The 28mm figures will cost you £9.60 and take you at least 4 hours to paint. The 6mm base contains 100 figures took 1 hour 40 minutes to paint and costs just £5.00<br /><br /><i>AN INTELLECTUAL DEAD END?</i><br />And if I wasn't being controversial enough, I would put to you that the dominance of 28mm is leading to a lack of creativity in the hobby.<br />Why?<br /><br />The fact that small units of 28mms look quite ridiculous means that they are deployed in large formations. I have seen games with 60- strong infantry regiments. The sheer size of 28mm units means that they take up a lot of room on an average wargames table. The quality and success of a game becomes measured by the sheer volume of figures deployed. The end results of this are:<br /><br /><i>- Fewer but larger units used.<br />- A very large percentage of the available ground area of the table covered by figures.<br />- Armies being deployed edge to edge across the table, with no flanks, no reserves and no room for manoeuvre.<br />- A tendency for games to look the same no matter what period or armies used.</i><br /><br />The trend over the last couple of years at wargames conventions seems to be that participation games are giving way to demonstration games. Demonstration games themselves are increasingly being done in 28mm. At a recent major UK show that I attended, I counted eight demo games done in 28mm from various historical periods. There was one very large game played on a 24 foot long table, the rest being on 8 foot widths - and EVERY one looked the same! Wall to wall 28mm figures in two lines, no flanks, no reserves and no interest. With every best intention all of the people involved had spent a lot of time, money and effort had acted on the logic that Better=Bigger=More Figures in a small area. But, what made the Thirty Years War battles different from the Napoleonics from the Ancients? Nothing at all it would seem.<br /><br />There were a couple of honourable exceptions, and I must mention a FIW spectacular that was a effectively a large skirmish and showed the use of the 28mm scale off to best advantage. A game and a demo that married the scale and concept perfectly. Unfortunately they were the exception.<br /><br />The problem is that The Vision has blinded people to other options. The use of 6mm could offer the demo games all sorts of possibilities:<br /><br /><i>- Siege games conducted at proper scale distances<br />- Very large scale battles with thousands of figures but still allowing large scale manoeuvre<br />- Company sized actions conducted at 1 figure = 1 man<br />- Spectacular Chariot Wars games</i><br /><br />and the list could go on. But while ever 6mm is viewed as the poor cousin that we don't like to think about, we are faced with the fact that the art of demonstration games is heading for stagnation very quickly indeed.<br /><br />So where does this leave us?<br />Well, I suspect that if you're already a 6mm gamer then I have reinforced what you already knew and practiced. Those fanatical followers of The Vision who have found their way to this page will even now be cursing me and my logic and getting back to spending a few more hours on completing the figure that they are working on.<br /><br />I hope however that those of you who are in the middle of these viewpoints may at least have enjoyed having an alternative point of view put to you. I trust that much of what I have said will also ring true.<br />If you want to take me to task, agree with me, start a conversation with, 'Yes, but...' or just engage in friendly debate, please email me on <a href="mailto:baccus6@aol.com" style="color: red;">baccus6@aol.com</a> If you want to drag the argument out into the public, I am quite prepared to debate on any of the fora out there on the web, but if you do, just remember that YOU started it!<br /><br />I really do look forward to hearing from you.<br /><br /><br /><br /><i>Peter Berry</i></div>
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Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-54844456709322015932019-07-01T12:01:00.000-07:002019-07-01T12:35:29.404-07:00Plans that survive contactOne of the issues I have often had with wargaming projects is that I have fallen foul of the 'magpie syndrome' so often. I have had a real sense of excitement for one project, bought figures and scenery as well as rules, made a start on painting them and then been distracted by the next new things that has grabbed my attention.<br />
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This has led to countless unfinished and unloved projects that have then migrated from my painting table to the cupboard and then after a while to the loft, never to be seen again. I am sure that I am not alone in this and I suspect figure manufacturers thrive on our addiction for new lead.<br />
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Having just cleared out nearly every figure I own in 15mm and 28mm (I have retained some 15mm Peter Pig to play Chain of Command with...), for the first time in many years, I have a relatively clean slate. I love and play games by Mantic Games and am heavily involved with them including being a Pathfinder (i.e. I attend shows and demonstrate their games to anyone who will sit still for 5 minutes). But for the historical side of my hobby, I am in virgin territory.<br />
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Okay, not quite. I have the WW1 figures that I purchased at Phalanx and from a few years ago I have some Crimean figures by Irregular Miniatures for use with their War Against Russia rules which have always intrigued me. I also have some Heroics and Ros figures that were gifted to me a few years ago and have sat unloved in the loft ever since. Quite a few of them are painted and I am tempted to use them for Altar of Freedom. Oh, and I have a blister each of Spanish Succession and Wars of the Roses.<br />
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The danger is going to the Joy of Six show at the weekend where if I am not careful I could easily walk out with figures for 3 or 4 other periods. English Civil War is an almost certain purchase at some point. As is Sengoku era Japanese. A wargaming buddy (Hi Ade!) has long had a hankering to play the 1809 campaign between Austria and France. We are trying Blucher out tomorrow night. Ade would like to do it in 10mm. I may be on the way to persuading him to do ti in Gods Own Scale but I would then feel impelled to contribute. And then there is WW2. Oh yes, just remembered I have some Russians bought for Blitzkrieg Commander over 10 years! And having been to the Penkridge table top sale on Sunday, I bought a couple of lovely books from Andrew Rolph for re-fighting the Barbarossa campaign using Spearhead.<br />
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So, as you can see, I'm already in danger of being swallowed by my desire to game in multiple periods and the magpie syndrome could see me carrying my own weight in 6mm lead from the show. And that is a lot of 6mm lead.<br />
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One tactic I shall employ is my speed painting techniques where I will be far less fussy about highlights and shades. But also about belts and equipment. You can barely see these details on 15mm figures when they are on the table, never mind with figures half their size. So to start I will dig out the Crimean troops, base them for the rules, undercoat and see how quickly I can knock them out to a standard that I can game with them.<br />
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The War Against Russia rules are no longer available from Irregular but they have intrigued me for a long time. They have scenarios for all of the major engagements played out on small tables of around 4'x3' at most. They are full of period flavour with the commanders being rated on incompetence as opposed to competence. And they are one of those rule sets that look like they were produced at home on a PC, printed out and stapled together which holds a charm and sense of nostalgia for me that I can't quite explain.<br />
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So, I shall try and get some picture up this week of how the Crimean figures are going. If I can somehow get them to the stage where I can play a game with them, I may allow myself to indulge a little at the Joy of Six. In any case I am looking for scenic bits like buildings and the like plus there is a bring and buy which I hope will have a good selection of 6mm goodies to choose from. Of course, it may well be full of larger scale stuff that people are looking to shift to reinvest in Gods Own Scale. And who can blame them?<br />
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More soon...Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-26010623020495965022019-06-28T17:49:00.000-07:002019-06-28T17:49:13.447-07:00Tidy UpI've added a couple of blogs and a few more links over to the side.<br />
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Some of the links are fairly old content but still relevant for the 6mm hobby, especially with some very nice pictures and battle reports for you to enjoy.Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-26578764632708365592019-06-26T11:44:00.001-07:002019-06-26T12:04:32.167-07:00Somme 3 - Timecast order for trenches, redoubts and ruined villages and farms. At the request of Nick, here is the list of items I have ordered from Timecast<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">13/GW1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">WW1 Trench Line (2 x 12")
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">WW1 Trench Line (2 x 6")
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">WW1 Trench Line (2 x 3")
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">13/GW4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">WW1 Trench Line Inside Curve (2)
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">WW1 Trench Line Outside Curve (2)
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">WW1 Comunication Trench (2 x
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The WW2 Soviet fortifications are to actually represent the Schwaben Redoubt. I'm fairly sure that was a tip from Robert Dunlop who puts on the excellent huge GWSH games at Joy of Six.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji76d4uHEfmac9Joy7KDhSw7R-LjoHpheg-z6T8oa40rIxonYRocKTy5UX-Jzcv5hYqiUWHKcraDP1P0x48DWY5CnM5H1K3dVqpbzJE60z-eZVu7dBrF-ZZqvIqWT8VpWoYpe3lq66aSt5/s1600/13_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="323" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji76d4uHEfmac9Joy7KDhSw7R-LjoHpheg-z6T8oa40rIxonYRocKTy5UX-Jzcv5hYqiUWHKcraDP1P0x48DWY5CnM5H1K3dVqpbzJE60z-eZVu7dBrF-ZZqvIqWT8VpWoYpe3lq66aSt5/s320/13_001.jpg" width="315" /></a></div>
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From what I have read, the Schwaben Redoubt had a frontage of around 500 yards so two sections of this should be a decent representation.</div>
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As previousley stated, I have a pack of the shelled ground with me to test out my painting on them. I'll get some pictures up as soon as possible. And once the order arrives, I'll lay it all out on my table to see what is what.</div>
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Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-39234570969788753802019-06-26T04:01:00.001-07:002019-06-26T12:03:34.231-07:00Somme 2 - Quick update<br />
I had a nice drive over to <a href="http://www.timecastmodels.co.uk/range_13/range_13.html#greatwartrenchsystem">Timecast</a> today. It's only half an hour away in Shrewsbury and I wanted to see their trenches before buying. More importantly, I wanted to get the right number of curves and straights to cover essentially 16 feet of table.<br />
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I met Mark in the workshop who kindly took me through my requirements and discussed things like what bits I need for the redoubts, Mouquet Farm and Thiepval itself. I was also given some tips on how to paint the latex pieces which will come in very handy when it comes time paint them up.<br />
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I came away with a sample of their shelled ground along qwith some the Coat D'Arms super wash and one of the brushes that Timecast sell. I placed my order which will take 2-3 weeks to sort out. I suppose there is a chance it may be ready for Joy of Six, but not an issue if it isn't.<br />
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Once I have it, I intend to lay it out on my table to bet some idea of how the table will set up. Research is ongoing into the battle. It is amazing that no matter how much you read around a subject, there is always more to learn.<br />
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For instance, I have never really looked at local connections to the battle. I am currently researching family on my mum's side who lived in Salford at the time, with at least 3 brothers (my mum's uncle's) who were of an age to serve. Salford sent several Pals battalions to France and at least 2 of them served in the Thiepval sector. Something to look into further I think.<br />
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Also the town in the Staffordshire Moorlands where I went to high school has an interesting connection to the battle. The 46th North Midland Division <span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 1); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.3125; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: inherit; word-spacing: 0px;">were close to Fonquevillers on 26th June 1916 and targeted Gommecourt. Attached to the division was the Old Leek Battery who had orders for the 26th as follows: </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 1); color: #00e000; display: inline; float: none; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "ubuntu" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.3125; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: inherit; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 1); color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "ubuntu" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.3125; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: inherit; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>"V Day – Wire cutting and Registration
Under orders to cut a lane 60 yards wide between enemy 1st and 2nd trenches. 700 rounds per gun allocated"</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JokZHjWKYblDfkgCMwTZN1JGfIokvm1OcKSzCM46Tgyho3es68E0aIzQYMoxlw41f115_PS_grH_wGtwwyF8G8erRYfhVp025YBVcv-SH3HshC8pB6Tg5VwlmPU8CGkiN9wXlVMxCfdk/s1600/picture+of+the+Old+Leek+Battery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="564" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JokZHjWKYblDfkgCMwTZN1JGfIokvm1OcKSzCM46Tgyho3es68E0aIzQYMoxlw41f115_PS_grH_wGtwwyF8G8erRYfhVp025YBVcv-SH3HshC8pB6Tg5VwlmPU8CGkiN9wXlVMxCfdk/s320/picture+of+the+Old+Leek+Battery.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This is a picture of the battery. I'm unsure of the location, whether it's in France or at home in Leek.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5HGIWeUQFtM1dfogx-B4d6g6CyMGFUZM7FL0vRONeJbwDQNTIvFhm2hEZfjusBHVclL2sHTrWQgXJIJ64w8mkAV0AJ-Hk_UCE124p0-gMkFMvmRi9kNo_NGmfQZ1DFtaeGRU2UDKdrZV/s1600/picture+2+of+the+Old+Leek+Battery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="400" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5HGIWeUQFtM1dfogx-B4d6g6CyMGFUZM7FL0vRONeJbwDQNTIvFhm2hEZfjusBHVclL2sHTrWQgXJIJ64w8mkAV0AJ-Hk_UCE124p0-gMkFMvmRi9kNo_NGmfQZ1DFtaeGRU2UDKdrZV/s320/picture+2+of+the+Old+Leek+Battery.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This is an interesting picture, as men from the battery source horses from the locals in the nearby village of Endon.I know this place very well as the building in the background is the Plough public house which still stands today on the A53 between Stoke on Trent and Leek.<br />
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These images and the information I have gleaned so far are from <a href="http://www.nicholsonmemorial.org.uk/">here</a> which is the website of the Nicholson Memorial which still stands proudly in Leek town centre over looking the main street through the town. Well worth a check and although the battery served to the north of Thiepval, they shall form part of my ongoing research.<br />
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More soon...Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-81600545437213797342019-06-23T12:06:00.001-07:002019-06-26T12:01:38.231-07:0010 Interesting facts about the fighting around Thiepval that you didn't know you didn't know.<br />
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<li>Thiepval was the 6th largest village in the Somme region, consisting of 93 houses pre-1914.</li>
<li>The 7 day bombardment leading up to the 1st July destroyed the village, but created a perfect defensible position for the Germans who were able to create excellent machine gun positions from which they were able to enfilade the advancing 36th Ulster Division. One of these posts was named 'Thiepval Fort'.</li>
<li>The Ulster Division named other German strong points 'Lurgan', 'Strabane', 'Duncannon' and 'Lisnakith'.</li>
<li>The area around the Thiepval Chateau (site of the Thiepval Memorial) was tunred into a mound of reddish brick rubble and the gardens were turned into shell holes.</li>
<li>It was the task of the 32nd Division to take Thiepval. But as soon as they rose from their trenches at 07:30hrs they were hit by machine gun fire. The 16th Northumberland Fusiliers followed a football kicked by a famous footballer.</li>
<li>The Ulster Division advanced under cover of smoke fired by 4" Stokes Mortars, as well as the intensity of the allied bombardment. They reached the first line of German trenches with little problems, but on attempting to move towards the Schwaben Redoubt they took fire from German artillery as well as flanking fire from Thiepval cemetary. and then the rear as Germans rose from the cellars from within Thiepval itself.</li>
<li>The failure of 32nd Division to push on towards Thiepval, left the right flank of the Ulster Division vulnerable.</li>
<li>In the afternoon of the attack, 11th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers reached the crucifix to the north east of Thiepval cemetery and the 9th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers reached the Schwaben Redoubt but struggled to maintain their hold with Thiepval still in German hands.</li>
<li>The Ulster Division were awarded two V.C.'s for their part in the attack. Private W F McFadzean (14th Royal Irish Rifles) was awarded the V.C. for throwing himself on a box of bombs that had been dropped dislodging the pins from two of them. He saved the lives of several men from his unit in doing so. Temp. Captain E N F Bell (9th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers) was in command of a trench mortar battery, but advanced with the infantry in the attack. On four occassions he took it upon himself to single handedly attack German positions with his pistol and grenades and clear the way for the Regiment to advance. When out of bombs he stood tall shooting his rifle at the advancing enemy. He was killed rallying infantry parties which had lost officers.</li>
<li>On 2nd July 1916, the Ulster Division was taken out of the line having suffered 5,500 casualties.</li>
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Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-30132325245678870402019-06-21T09:03:00.000-07:002019-06-26T12:00:12.359-07:00This is what it's all about.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2T5iZYJiSax4lb5TUp0pNxYw1ihrsTHnCz1SjhuMzntYEdzBTA-CLuXeCGZcZOTA5PdvOC-RchmotpRLwUSO82Ca4ScfLu_FoMeAuO6ThlNyifnPtYWfCNFzAH7pMrBk45nIueyLNGa6F/s1600/Spottsylvania.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="371" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2T5iZYJiSax4lb5TUp0pNxYw1ihrsTHnCz1SjhuMzntYEdzBTA-CLuXeCGZcZOTA5PdvOC-RchmotpRLwUSO82Ca4ScfLu_FoMeAuO6ThlNyifnPtYWfCNFzAH7pMrBk45nIueyLNGa6F/s320/Spottsylvania.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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When I first started to become interested in the American Civil War back in the late 80's, I picked up the Golden Book of the American Civil War, published I think by American Heritage.<br />
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Inside, as well as a great narrative of the events leading up to the war and throughout it's course, there were several pictures like the one above. I studied these intently, not only for the story it was telling of the particular battle it represented, but also for the look of the ground the little men were fighting over. To my eyes, it was basically a painting of what a wargame could look like.<br />
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I think it looks to me like a 6mm game in action, with the rolling terrain and the movement of troops depicted just as if they were on 60mmx30mm bases! Maybe it's just me, but I have always wanted to use these as an inspiration to recreate an American Civil War battle that had the look and feel of these pictures.Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-52403684552051410882019-06-18T09:18:00.002-07:002019-06-26T11:59:31.021-07:00The Somme 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8H_IvrAzX8XP4HPMh5DidtbG9wBYIaEw-dppQ_63LaQrHyoAB8BQuIq3P2KW-yqJOwkczHMJG3xfo4fai8R3plkVzMzMbZKNs1maM_9zD79Z-tREL6PB6COs3Lh201HCAW_KWVANfjekk/s1600/2019-06-18+%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="985" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8H_IvrAzX8XP4HPMh5DidtbG9wBYIaEw-dppQ_63LaQrHyoAB8BQuIq3P2KW-yqJOwkczHMJG3xfo4fai8R3plkVzMzMbZKNs1maM_9zD79Z-tREL6PB6COs3Lh201HCAW_KWVANfjekk/s400/2019-06-18+%25282%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here we have both the scenario map from the Great War Spearhead (GWSH) 2 rule book depicting the Thiepval area, and the modern day Google map covering roughly the same area.</div>
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It's always interesting to me how many people throw down a mat, cloth or terrain boards that are predominately green. Of course I have no idea just how field boundaries altered post war, or for that matter what crops were grown at the time.</div>
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I'd wager that the crops haven't altered much. What ever grew here pre-war <i>probably</i> was similar to what is grown on those same fields today. </div>
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The area around Thiepval wood, west of the modern day hamlet of Thiepval would appear to have been renewed and replanted with obvious pathways. The map from the GWSH book certainly appears to show a much smaller area of woodland. How accurate this is only further research will tell. </div>
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What would appear to be accurate is that as you move east from Hamel, the ground falls away to a valley where the River Ancre flows before rising again as you move further east through Thiepval towards Mouquet Farm.</div>
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I have found a great online resource for trench maps that cover this area, going as far to have the names of the trench lines and where the communication lines ran. </div>
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Saint Pierre Divion, to the very northern edge of the GWSH map isn't clearly evident on the Google map but is there. It is a very small hamlet of just a few buildings. Again, evident on the drawn map but not the Google map is the Schwaben Feste, or Schwaben Redoubt. It is properly located along a lane running north west from the Route de Grandcourt, further on past the copse of trees at that junction.</div>
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I have yet to locate the Zollern or Stuff Redoubts sitting on the German third line of trenches that run north from Mouquet Farm.</div>
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My intention for the game next year is to have the table be as accurate as I possibly can get it whilst remaining playable as a wargame. A considerable order for trenches is being prepared for submission to <a href="http://www.timecastmodels.co.uk/range_13/range_13.html">Timecast</a> along with some of their other useful latex scenery pieces.</div>
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I have some time on Thursday and Friday to at last take a look at the figures I purchased at Phalanx from Baccus. I may even put some paint on them. I stocked up on some Nut Brown and Peat Brown inks from Hobbycraft. This stuff is often called magic in a jar for 6mm painters. I have used it before and it certainly works!</div>
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Okay, hopefully more updates later in the week.</div>
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More soon...</div>
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Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5898049790957645049.post-53917962543997937932019-06-15T20:06:00.001-07:002019-06-15T20:06:30.163-07:00Interest from RussiaIt seems this blog has been viewed more in Russia than in the UK.<br />
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Hello to my Russian readers!Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13326904214624189171noreply@blogger.com0