The Knights of the Sky WW1 game at the club this evening was good fun and ended in a draw, with two Rolands being shot down but two escaping to deny a victory to the RFC. The added bonus points for each side almost balanced too, with 24 to 26 in the Germans favour, so I decided to call it an even result. I've now definitely scratched my air wargaming itch for a while, so it's on to the naval and land based projects for the next month or two.
I did some number crunching with the Pygmy Wars army lists to devise a White army for Red Actions! based on the Volunteer Army Infantry Division late 1919-20 list, selecting the later time period of late 1919 and late 1920.
One Battalion of three companies each of five bases (Conscript + Officer)
Two machine gun bases.*1
Two field gun bases with limbers.*2
One squadron of four bases (Regular Cavalry)
One armoured car, tank or aircraft.*3
One squadron of four bases (Cossack cavalry)
One armoured train.
(*1 I will paint up four MG bases)
(*2 I rolled up a half battery of one gun but for flexibility I will paint up two)
(*3 I rolled up an aircraft but will paint up the other options as well)
This is a nicely balanced army with lots of interesting units and the potential to be expanded with colour infantry and additional cavalry, so a great place to start. I may also paint up a single officer company of five bases, as an extra unit or one that I can mix in with the conscripts on a single base per company ratio. This will also allow me to use the same mix of units for an army from the Kolchak Infantry Division list, which is a bonus. Huzzah!
I have four of these Garibaldi class armoured cruisers on the painting table at the moment and I'm trying to think of ways in which to differentiate them, the basic white and buff scheme being pretty much identical. Answers on a postcard?
I've had a rethink about the up and coming Red Actions! project and will now be building a White Volunteer Infantry army for the AFSR instead of the Freikorps. The thinking behind this is that the Freikorps would be quite limited in scope and flexibility, while a White army would be more useful, especially as my opponent is probably going to be painting a Konarmy force. I will get round to the Freikorps at some point, as I have all the figures and equipment, but the Whites will come first once I've hammered out an army list.
I'm coming towards the end of the Knights of the Sky 1917 model building project, with the two Esci Nieuport 17s I was building now scrapped as surplus to requirements and the Airfix Roland CIIs just needing decals to be finished. I'll be glad to see the back of these, to be honest, as it was only supposed to be a January project and it's run over time.
I'm now a bit adrift, in terms of my next project and in danger of the dreaded doldrums if I'm not careful. The 15mm Picts rebasing and painting would pass the time but it's not inspiring me that much, while the Red Actions Freikorps would be quite a lot to bite off and chew in the time I've got up to Easter.
One thing I could do is have a go at some 1/2400th Tumbling Dice ships for Mad for War, which I could nibble away at over the next four weeks or so. I've been reading the 'how to' on the League of Augsburg blog and quite fancy having a go at a French privateer squadron, as described in the Mad for War rule book.
http://leagueofaugsburg.blogspot.com/2020/02/painting-12400-scale-ship-model-for.html?m=1
This would also give me time to finish off some things that have been hanging about, including the 1/2400th Argentinian pre-dreadnoughts and the 1/600th Battle of Britain RAF and Luftwaffe fighter squadrons. I could even paint a couple of 28mm figures for A Fistful of Lead, who knows?
I think a mix and match of things is the way to go to avoid getting bogged down in another big project, with the inevitable over runs and log jams. I've got the weekend to mull it over but I think I'll just pick up something to do that won't take too long to complete and will tick off some things on my 'to do' list at the same time.
With What a Cowboy riding over the horizon soon, I've been adding some extra figures to my old west lead pile, with a view to painting at least one and hopefully two new gangs. The first of these will be bank robbers, using both Artizan and Foundry figures, while the second will be ranch hands, again using the same sources.
I've also added some of the relatively new Artizan mounted and dismounted character packs to give me the option of using horse riders in my games, something I haven't done before even though my lawmen have mounts. I'll fit this project in somehow, as I do like a bit of western action and enjoy a decent gunfight game of Fistful of Lead, even if the What a Cowboy rules turn out to be wonky?
I've been doing my best today to sort out the Knights of the Sky game at the club next week, which is now looking a bit like an aerial pile up, with lots of people piling on and others pulling out, making it really difficult to get all my ducks in a line. I'm sure it will be fine but it now looks like I'll have a game with lots of novice players and only a small handful of veterans to help run things, so not ideal even if the numbers are easier to manage. Oh well, my fault for trying to organise something to please everyone, so I'm just going to turn up and sort it out on the night. I'm sure it will be worth all the effort either way.
We're in South Wales for a few days, visiting the Gower with all it's beaches, hills and pubs. This also means I've been dragging the ever patient other half round some rather splendid medieval castles, including Weobley Castle and Pennard Castle today. There's not much to see at the latter, apart from the spectacular view, but Weobley is well worth a visit.
It would be a fantastic subject for a Gary Chalk style scratch built piece of terrain for the Hundred Years War or War of the Roses. It's more of a fortified manor house but no less impressive. I referenced the in situ fourteenth century limekiln in my MA dissertation, so it was great to actually see it in person. The other half really enjoyed her Valentine's Day trip out, needless to say...
