Ironclads Wrapped Up

USS Powhatan, HMS Monarch, HMS Agincourt

The three Minotaurs

HMS Captain and HMS Monarch

USS Powhatan Cut and Shut Conversion

I finished off the last of the 1/2400th scale ironclads today, with the bases painted and two coats of varnish applied to seal them, before adding the base labels. I have now completed the 1870's Royal Navy ironclad fleet, give or take a few coastal monitors and turret ships, but will no doubt add some more French and American warships at some point in the future. I also have some later stuff for the 1880's and 1890's that would be an excellent extension to the Broadside and Ram ironclad naval project, but that will have to wait as I'm now off to do something less fiddly for a change!

Ironclad Stragglers

I had a good session at the workbench today, thanks to the inclement weather which put a dampener on any DIY, so spent the time finishing off three of the last 1/2400th ironclads. These are HMS Agincourt, HMS Monarch and USS Powhatan, the last two being needed for my Battle of Sable Island scenario. I still need to finish the bases, matt varnish and add labels to the three models but I should get that done tomorrow, ready for a game on the last day of the month. I now have no more space in my Victorian ironclad storage box, so my 1864 Danish, Prussian and Austrian ships will have to be given their own storage solution!

Peter Pig 15mm Mexican Revolution?

This new book from Caliver has stirred up some interest in the Mexican Revolution on the Rules For the Common Man forum and over on TMP. So much so that Martin Goddard, the Peter Pig head honcho, has suggested that he might be interested in producing a 15mm range of figures for the conflict including at least two of the factions involved. This is great news if it actually happens, as 15mm is an ideal scale for larger battles rather than skirmishes, for which I already have some 20mm Shellhole Scenics figures. I'd use an AK47 adaptation or one of the Nordic Weasel company level rules for this, as it's clearly a multiple figure base, company or battalion level thing. Excellente!

A New Naval Project?

What have we got here then?

Soviet? Egyptian? Chinese? Who knows?

A few extra bits...but what for?

I've been struggling to stick to my plan recently, the one in which I only finish off things that I've started or add small bits to existing projects, so much so that I haven't painted anything for over a week. Perhaps it's the weird times we're living in but, after a very productive start to the year, I'm fizzling out a bit. I do have some 1/2400th scale ironclads to finish for Broadside and Ram but after that I'm thinking of breaking out a new project for next month.

This is one of the things on my 'Give Us The Ships' naval wargaming list for the year, albeit as an adjunct to a second 1/3000th scale WW2 fleet, so I reckon it's justifiable in the big scheme of things. It's something I've wanted to do for a while, so all the models have already been gathered together and just need basing before I can get painting. I'll leave you with some pictures and let you guess what it's all about, bearing in mind it's only half of the project on display.

Answers on a metaphorical postcard....

Fistful of Lead - Dead or Alive!

This is the last of the Fistful of Lead games that I'll be playing for a while, as the DIY list of 'things to be done' kicks in and the kids get back to their online school lessons. In this game, the Marshall and his Deputies took on the Fajita brothers banditos at their hideout at the old silver mine, with orders to take them in Dead or Alive. The scenario had a time limit of five turns and it was all going very well for the lawmen until the last turn, when two of them were brutally gunned down. Typical. It was good fun, as always, so I don't mind if I lost again. Much.

Fistful of Lead - Run the Gauntlet

I played another al-fresco game of Fistful of Lead with my daughter this afternoon and I didn't lose for a change! It was in fact a draw, as the scenario objective was for her banditos to exit the table via the stables, where their horses were saddled and waiting, while my lawmen had to stop them escaping. I shot and killed two of her banditos, losing three lawmen in the gunfuight, while she managed to get two of the bad guys off the board. It was a lot of fun and I'll be re-running the same game for my son later on, as he really wanted to have a go.

The Royal Navy's Revenge

I'm reading this collection of articles at the moment. It's pretty eclectic but has some really interesting examples of obscure and otherwise overlooked naval actions, most of which are small scale. There's a good chapter on coastal forces operations around the Channel Islands after D-Day, for example, which would be great for Cruel Seas scenario ideas. The first article on the Franco Thai War is particularly interesting, with potential for some 1/3000th scale wargaming using a small fraction of my French fleet. Excellent!

Fistful of Lead - Pirates!

As I'm enjoying the games of Fistful of Lead I've been running for my kids, I thought I'd have a go at setting up a pirate scenario or two, using the Horse and Musket version of the rules. The kids are pretty clued up now, so I won't have to explain the rules beyond a few minor changes, so it's an easy crossover, especially as I have some painted 28mm pirates that I haven't used for years. I haven't got as much terrain for a desert island setting but I have enough to get by, including a scratch built pirate sloop and some nice jungle ruins from the local pet shop. I just need to roll up a couple of scurvy pirate crews and work out a scenario, which I can probably adapt from the rulebook or pinch from the old Legends of the High Seas rules. Aaargh Matey!

Apache Scout

I have had another rummage in the spares box in search of figures to add to my 28mm Old West posses for Fistful of Lead. This one is one of the Perry Twins sculpted figures from the Wargames Foundry Old West range, so is old fashioned 28mm rather than the larger figures that I already have in my gangs. To bump him up a bit, I added a washer on top of the 2p coin that is used as a base on all the other figures, then smothered the whole lot in a PVA and filler mix, sprinkled with a bit of grit to add some surface texture. I think he looks good in height ratio terms alongside the other figures that I've prepared, so I may well go back up the loft to find some more 'injuns' to add to the project.  

A Fistful of Lead - Ambush

I umpired another outdoor game of Fistful of Lead:Reloaded for the kids today, using the Ambush scenario from the rulebook and two rival gangs of banditos - the Fajitas and the Chimichangas. The game was really quick and my daughter thrashed her big brother in short order, with all of his gang skedaddling off the table by turn six, due to some terrible card draws and equally terrible die rolls. It was good fun, as always, so we'll be running another game tomorrow. I am really enjoying getting back into Fistful of Lead and I'm also looking forward to painting some new figures or even making some more terrain.