Target Locked On!

A while back I started to plan out a modern air campaign based on a fictitious but potential conflict in the Baltic States, with the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission clashing against the Russian Federation over some sort of incident. This Flashpoint Baltic concept got to the drawing board stage but I then stumbled over the rules to use, with Airwar:C21 and Typhoon as the  front runners. These ticked all the boxes on my checklist but, in the end, I moved on to other things.

Now, there is a new set of modern air combat rules about to be published by Rory Crabb, which look like they might be ideal for the Flashpoint Baltic project. I really like the style and pitch of the two naval rules that he's written, although I've yet to try them out, so I'll be interested to see what these air rules will be like. If they turn out to be what I'm looking for (fast play, easy to use and good for 1/600 scale) I may well dig this project out of storage and give it another go.

https://rorycrabb.wordpress.com/2016/09/16/target-locked-on/

Congo Scouts and Warriors

I have a handful of extra figures to prepare for the Forest Tribe column that I'm putting together for Congo. Today, I based a unit of three scouts and a unit of five young warriors, the general theme being an absence of clothing and a more youthful selection of figures compared to the bog standard warriors in the tribe.

The scouts also have some rather natty feather headgear, which picks them out from the crowd, although it might be a bit of a giveaway when they are in ambush. The javelins were a good way to distinguish them from the spear armed warrior figures, for which I used some metal pins that I bought in the DIY bit of a supermarket when on holiday in France.

The packet label said they were Pointe a placage acier trompe, which even my French wife couldn't translate into English, but whatever they are they make excellent 28mm javelins or 15mm spears. I'll get the rest of the extra figures based up tomorrow so that I can start painting them at some point over the next couple of weeks, if all goes according to my best laid plans?

Indo Pak Tracks

This is a bit of a unexpected diversion but I thought it would be an interesting read, as it's something I know very little about and may well give me some ideas. I haven't been able to get to the Oxfam bookshop this afternoon so had to rely of a digital download for the Kindle for my weekly book acquisition and literary fix. I spotted this Osprey Duel and decided to take a punt on something a bit different, so will be dipping into it over the weekend. There is an underlying logic behind this, however, although it's all a bit tentative at the moment and does involve a bit of 'imagi-nation'. All will be revealed.....?

Umbongo Umbongo...

...all together now.

Yes, I have succumbed to the lure of Darkest Africa once again and have bought myself a copy of Congo, the colonial exploration and skirmish game by Studio Tomahawk. This wasn't cheap but is a lovely book and what looks like a really original and exciting set of rules for exploration in the deepest, darkest bits of the African hinterland. The eye candy production values are right up there too but this doesn't detract from what seems to be a very well thought out and imaginative set of rules.

The big persuader for me was that I already had a load of figures, both still in their packs and in a ready-based format, which I originally gathered together for In the Heart of Africa literally years ago. The core of these formed a tribal villagers army based upon the Nkonde of what is now Tanzania and Malawi, with several large units of spearmen, archers and muskets. However, to re-purpose this force for Congo required some lateral thinking, as it didn't really fit any of the two indigenous forces in the rules.

In the end, after a bit of head scratching and some rummaging, I've put together what I think is a pretty good Forest Tribes column for Congo, using many of my pre-based figures and a few extras. This consists of some characters including a chief, witchdoctor, healer and drummer, a unit of five cannibals, two units of five warriors, one unit of five young warriors, two units of six archers, one of five 'bundukis' and three scouts. This is a bit excessive but, as I had most the figures all ready to paint, I thought I'd bring the kitchen sink.

This lot will be kitted out with some really nice wickerwork shields, of which I have enough for four or five units. I think they'll look pretty good and I'm hoping will be relatively quick to paint, even for me with my sloth like speed and ever diminishing eyesight. I have plenty of figures left over too, so another force is a distinct possibility based around the African Kingdom army list in the rule book. It also means I can denude the garage of my stash of plastic aquarium jungle plants, which has been festering away in a corner for ages waiting for an opportunity to be released into the wild.

Now all I need is the time to sit down and get some painting done!?

Shellhole Scenics Plastic Cactus

This was one of those unexpected but fortuitous finds at Colours yesterday, although I had thought about getting some of these 20mm resin cactus a while back, when I was thinking about the Mexican Revolution. I saw them in action, so to speak, in the Crush the Kaiser: Achtung Gringo! game that Shellhole Scenics laid on at the show. This reminded me to take a closer look to see if they could be used for 28mm and 20mm terrain, with Fistful of Lead: Reloaded in mind.

The cactus themselves come in a mixed pack of a dozen or so plants, which costs a very reasonable nine quid, not bad compared to other offerings on the market. The resin is moulded in an appropriate shade of green and the cactus are pre-based, so all you need to do is add a bit of texturing then give them a wash and a brush up. The resin is a bit like plastic and is quite flexible but very strong, so ideal for a bit of rough handling in a game situation.

I think these are a great product and have splashed out on two packs to populate my desert terrain with for Fistful of Lead: Reloaded and, perhaps, for Achtung Gringo! in due course. The Shellhole Scenics Mexican Revolution game did look really cool, so I'm still keeping it open as a possible future project. The figures aren't the best sculpts on the market but they look like they paint up really well and have bags of character. I have other things to do at the moment, however, with Congo now about to bump things off the workbench for a couple of weeks at least.

Colours 2016

I had a very enjoyable time at Colours today, especially as only one of the sprogs was in tow. There were some very impressive games on show with a particular highlight being the 28mm WW1 Mespot game, which featured some lovely terrain and figures. I also really liked the 28mm Winter War game, which looked splendid, the 20mm Mexican Revolution game and the RCW riverine game, all of which caught my eye as they are things I'm interested in to start with. These were all very well presented and active, with lots of players getting really stuck in rather than just standing about. In fact the vast majority of games were actually being played which is a really good thing to see.

The 2mm ECW Siege of Portsmouth game has to have a special mention, as it was devised by Mark Backhouse and included some brilliant 2mm flocks of sheep that he had sculpted himself, along with some excellent terrain and figures. I enjoyed having a chat with him about his future plans for this terrain set up, which sound really interesting and will be one to watch I think. I also forgot to take any photos! I liked the 54mm skirmish game set in post-colonial Africa, although I forgot to ask exactly where, assuming it was Kenya or Mozambique and there was a very attractive Pacific island hopping game tucked away in a corner too...nice waves.

I failed to find anything that I set out to get today, which is unusual as I'm usually pretty well focussed and tend to avoid impulse buys. Although some Tumbling Dice pre-dreadnoughts were on my shopping list, I decided to hold off getting some as I'm still unsure about the best scale to use, preferring something a bit less tiddly. Instead, I picked up some great plastic cacti from Shellhole Scenics for the Old West and Mexican Revolution, together with some blue and green three stage paint sets from Foundry. I also bought some new X Wing models for the boys including a B Wing, which I haven't got, and an Imperial Aces duo of a TIE Bomber and TIE Defender.

The biggest divergence from the plan was, however, a copy of the Congo rules by Studio Tomahawk, which I had originally decided to pass by as yet another diversion. The one thing that finally persuaded me was that I have all of the figures and terrain ingredients that I need for colonial darkest Africa games, having stockpiled loads of lead for In the Heart of Africa over many years. I even have an entire African tribal village worth of figures based and ready to paint. This means that the £30 outlay, while not exactly cheap, is all that I will need to splash out to make this project viable. That's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it!

Off to Colours

I've been allowed to go to Colours tomorrow and so will be driving up the A34 to Newbury in the morning after dropping off my daughter at gymnastics. The down side is that I have to take the rest of the offspring with me, so that the other half gets a few hours of peace and quiet. I apologize in advance for this and advise you to avoid these two at all costs. I'll be shoving a tenner into their sweaty palms then running off in the opposite direction, which will hopefully take me to the Tumbling Dice stand to get some 1/2400th scale pre-dreadnoughts, amongst other things. See you there!

Gunboat Diplomacy 1864

I assembled some Tumbling Dice 1/2400th scale British and French ironclads a few years ago for a 'what if?' war in the 1860's but didn't get past the black undercoat stage before wandering off to other things. I found the models over the weekend, so decided to use the appropriate ones as the basis of a Royal Navy punitive force that just might have been dispatched to the Baltic in 1864, in order to deter the dastardly Prussians and support the plucky Danes.

I could add some more to this flotilla but I think HMS Warrior, let alone HMS Royal Oak, would have been more than sufficient as a deterent message. I have also included a screw sloop, HMS Greyhound, to act as a patrol and dispatch vessel or even as a potential trigger for an incident. I quite like this 'What if?' addition to the project, although I really should start painting the ships that I already have assembled!

Dannebrog 1864

I had some time over the weekend to finish off some of the last few Tumbling Dice 1/2400th scale ships for my Second Schleswig War 1864 project. The most important of these is the Danish ironclad Dannebrog, which was involved in some of the naval skirmishes in the Baltic against the Prussian gunboat flotilla. I used a substitute model for this, the French ironclad Armide (ASV45), which isn't quite right but is close enough to be passable.

I may well replace it, if I can find a model that looks more like the Dannebrog from the TD range, or try to convert one to match instead. If that doesn't work I might also go for the Hallmark 1/2400th scale model, although it might not match well with the other ships in the fleet. Other than that I only have a couple of screw frigates to do then the Danish fleet will be complete, give or take those warships that did not take part in any significant or game worthy actions.

Ironclads Schleswig War 1864

I discovered this really terrible real time naval computer game the other day, which features the nautical side of the Second Schleswig War. I say terrible, although I've never played it and have no intention to do so, based on the large number of scathing reviews it received. It does look nice, however, although the Baltic does look a bit too much like the proverbial millpond. I've been busy unpacking today but did find time to dig out the 1/2400th scale Danish and Prussian warships that I have assembled and based for the 1864 war. I have a handful of models to add to these but have enough prepared to equip both sides for the Battle of Rugen, which I hope to wargame at some point in the not too distant future using both Broadside and Ram and Iron and Fire.