Full Thrust for the Weekend, Sir?

I unpacked the GZG Neu Swabian League starter pack that I bought at Colours last Saturday. It's a jolly good selection of models including two battleships, two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, four destroyers, four frigates and three corvettes. Not bad for £25 and perfect as opposition for my son's Federal Stats Europa armada.

However, I felt there was something missing, so I've ordered a light carrier, four flights of fighters and a couple of fleet supply tenders, just to add a bit of tactical depth to the assmbled fleet. As expected, the nice people at GZG have bunged them in the post already, so I should have them on the doorstep by Saturday at the latest.

This weekend will, therefore, be a Full Thrust fast painting marathon, using a simple spray, wash and drybrush approach to get the whole lot done in one go. The plan is to undercoat them in matt black, then overbrush in either Foundry Phlegm Green or Arctic Grey, but the exact details are a bit fuzzy at the moment and I could do something completely different.

Nice and easy!

Mikonos Mayhem

The BKC campaign game this evening turned out to be very much not what I expected. The British did bring along the kitchen sink including several tanks, loads of infantry and even a last minute Greek resistance paratroop drop, but the Italians fought them to a standstill nonetheless. The Italians landed first and had the support of the local Organisation X partisans, who proved to be a valuable asset right through the game.

General Gorgonzola will be dishing out shiny medals to the support company and the mechanised squadron commanders, whose units performed very well in the defence of the bridgehead. The mortar, AT gun and mountain gun were particularly effective, as were the flamethrower tankettes once they closed with the enemy and unleashed their nastiness.

The infantry were less impressive, however, at one point retreating all the way back to the beach in an attempt to bug out back to the landing craft. They rallied later on but still failed to achieve very much in game terms, although this was mainly due to a nasty case of tank fright than any real threat from the opposition. I'm sure they'll do better next time.

I'll be writing a suitably bombastic dispatch to headquarters as soon as I get may act together. I also need to decide what to do next, as the game ended in a bit of stalemate, despite twice as many units being knocked out by the Italians that the British. At the end of the day, the Italians had achieved their objective of capturing the airfield and port but it'll be interesting to see what happens next.

The campaign umpire and my excellent opponent were very tolerant and helpful in steering me through the rules, which I've never quite got a grip on and which still strike me as more of a competition type system than a quick, off the wall game for a bit of fun. The terrain was a bit 'ad hoc' as well but, with a bit more time to set up would have looked a lot better.

My real interest lies in the political side of the campaign, so the games are a bit of a added bonus after all the propaganda and subterfuge, but I'm definately looking forward to the second day of the assault on Mikonos. I may have to paint up some extra units for the next installment, especially if I decide to turn my limited offensive into a full on airborne invasion next turn?

Madness in Mikonos

It's D-Day for the Italian army of General Robusto Gorgonzola, with an amphibious landing on the island of Mikonos in the face of a counter invasion by the perfidious British. The Italians have organised a small but potent force for the landings, with two companies of regular infantry, a support company and an attached mechanised squadron of L3/35 tankettes. They're expecting some fierce oppositon going into the assault, so have also brought along a couple of L3/35 flamethrower tankettes for bunker busting.

I don't fancy my chances, however, as I'm sure the British will have brought everything plus the kitchen sink. I've also neglected to provide any naval gunfire support, having dispatched my destoyers to bombard another island, not expecting any opposition to the Mikonos operation. If it all goes pear shaped I'll get the propaganda unit to give it a spin. I'm sure I can claim it as a successful probe in strength to cleverly test the enemies defences, or something along those lines?

Backlog Busting

We went to the Paralympics today which was really great but entailed a 5am start and a 6pm return, so nothing has been achieved in wargaming terms this weekend apart from the Colours trip. However, I have had some time to mull over what I'm doing this Autumn and have decided that I will be virtuous and clear at least some of the backlog of stuff that is hanging around in the garage, rather than splashing paint onto more bare metal.

This means that only undercoated and/or semi-painted things will be allowed between now and the end of the year, so that I finally shift the stalled projects that have been nagging at my conscience for far too long. On the plus side, this means that I have plenty of things to choose from including the Bag The Hun planes, the SAGA Vikings, the VBCW Reds, the PITS Dervish, the Victorian Ironclads, the Back of Beyond Japanese, the BKC Italians ....

:O)

Colours 2012

We had a good couple of hours at Colours today but, as I forgot to take the camera with me, I'm afraid that there are no photographs this time round. The show didn't seem too busy this year but it was very hot, which isn't surprising given the weather but less than pleasant given the preponderance of overweight, sweaty middle aged blokes in attendance.  

The boys were very happy to get a game in a re-match of Tusk, thanks to the chaps from the most excellent Lincombe Barn Wargames club. They wheeled out the 28mm mammoths and cavemen for a second year, much to the delight of the offspring who ended up in a draw, having dispatched two mammoths each by the end of the hunting expedition.

A very good participation game indeed!

I managed to chat to various people and enjoyed watching the Toofatlardies and Peter Pig demo games, although I didn't get the chance to take part, having the two sprogs in tow. I did, however, pick up a few of the things I set out to acquire on the shopping list and a couple of extra items to back up my existing projects.

It was a relatively restrained outlay this year but I did get:

1. A GZG Neu Swabian starter fleet for Full Thrust (the boys got some nice FSE spaceships too)

2. A pack of Copplestone Zanzibaris.

3. A cool Viper Scout Car from Antenocitis Workshop for the 28mm Future FFL project.

4. A shiny new copy of the revised and updated Patrols in the Sudan rules!

All in all, a very enjoyable day despite the heat and my inability to find everything that I was looking for. I'm particularly pleased with the PITS rules and the Viper kit, all of which fit in with my existing list of thing to do and should make for some interesting projects in the not too immediate future.

Good day!

Colours Tomorrow

I got the green light for Colours from the MOTI* this afternoon, which means that I'll be tanking up the A34 tomorrow morning with two sub-teenage loonies, for a bit of a boys day out. I suspect that the MOTI has ulterior motives, as she'll be having a really quiet girly day off with my daughter.

Either way, the boys and I will be FREE for a couple of hours to wander about the various floors and traders, with a view to playing some participation games and picking up some nice shiny toys.

The seven year old really likes playing games, so he'll be happy if there's something that he can try out. The superb Tusk game last year was a definite favourite, so I'm hoping that something similar will be on offer this time round.

I feel a bit guilty inflicting my kids on unsuspecting victims, which is why I always stick around to make sure they don't break bits off or chew the scenery. I asked him about a potential pet today and he decided that a Zombie Dog would be his ideal companion.

I rest my case.

On the other hand, the ten year old is far more trustworthy and has been promised a fist full of Full Thrust goodies if he goes off on his tod and leaves me to contain the his brother for an hour or so. He's very sensible and reliable, so I'm sure he'll be fine. He really wants some more GZG Full Thrust stuff, so we've agreed to meet up at the stand and pick out what he wants from the catalogue.

I have a few things on my modest shopping list too...

1. A small Neu Swabian fleet for Full Thrust.

2. Some Westwind Saxon and Romano-British shield transfers.

3. Some Copplestone Zanzibaris

4. Some extra Foundry shields for the Darkest Africa Nkonde.

...I probably won't find any of these and end up with something (or things) completely different but at least I'll get to have a chat with some fellow gamers and take some inspirational photos of the various games on display.

If you're there I'll be the irate bearded bloke with this particularly dangerous sprog in tow...

You have been warned.

* Ministry of the Interior

 

Colours 2012

I'm hoping to attend Colours on Saturday, although the weekend will be a bit squeezed as we're off to see the seven a side football at the Paralympics on Sunday. It's a good show and very close to home, so the Ministry of the Interior is happy for me to go as long as I take the two tear-aways with me.

The boys are also really keen to go. They enjoyed the show last year and are looking forward to some more GZG Full Thrust bits and bobs, as a reward for doing their homework over the holidays. I don't have any particular purchases in mind, so will have plenty of time to focus on the demo and participation games, although I may well be tempted by something or other that I really, really don't need.

:O)

VBCW Red Militia Extras

To make up up the numbers for the VBCW Red Militia company, I had a rummage in the spares box and dug out a sniper, a couple of molotov armed tank hunters, an extra tommy gunner and an officer for the HQ section. The figure are a mixture from the Musketeer VBCW and SCW packs, the Westwind French Resistance and the Artizan Thrilling Tales range.

The A World Aflame rules suggest that snipers and two man tank hunter teams are available through the turn of the Chance Cards, making them a bit random but potentially quite deadly, as they can pop out to ambush the attacker when he least expects it. I already have two dynamite / grenade / molotov equipped tank hunter teams painted up but a third is, I think, a good addition to the Red Militia defensive barricades.

Dux Brittaniarum Romano British

To soften the culture shock of having to return to work today, I decided to treat myself to the other half of the Dux Brittaniarum set up, making use of the last day of the Westwind 30% off sale. I ummed and arrhed a bit about this but, in the end, decided to save a lot of expenditure now for a project that I can tackle later, even if the figures end up in storage for six months or more.

I ordered a warband of the Welsh spearmen as my levy, a warband of Romano British spearmen as my warriors, a single pack of armoured figures plus a pack of armoured command as my elite, with a single pack of archers for my missile troops. I also included the rather splendid Arthur character pack to add to the existing spare figures that I already have from the Mordred set.

I haven't decided yet if this force will be based in my local area of Venta Belgarum or Caer Gynntguic, in which case they'll be a bit more Sub Roman, or if it will be based further west in Dumnonia, in which case it'll have more of a British flavour. I quite fancy the first option, as it allows me to include more late Roman style units but, for the moment, I've been re-reading the rules and the WAB Age of Arthur book for ideas.

It's all a long way down the road but the excellent figures, the neat rules and the really cool campaign system make this a definate front runner for 2013.

VBCW Re-ignited!

I've been reading through my new copy of A World Aflame that I pre-ordered from Amazon a couple of months ago and which arrived over the holidays on the doorstep. The rules are very well presented, clearly written and nicely illustrated, as you'd expect from Osprey, but are also built on what look like solid mechanics, with a definate 'old school' approach to things like initiative, movement, direct and indirect fire and morale.

It's all very re-assuring but at the same time, the system offers some neat Too Fat Lardies style twists, through the use of things like Chance Cards, which add a very welcome element of randomness to the proceedings. I'm actually quite impressed and pleasantly surprised by the author's straightforward and common sense approach, which results in a system that is flexible enough to cater very well for my prefered 'semi-skirmish' level of gaming.

So much so, in fact, that I've decided to dig out my old but virtually complete VBCW Red Workers Militia figures to finish off this month, before I crack on with the other projects I have lined up on the workbench. I have the figures I need for a full company of Political Militia, give or take a few extra figures to add cater for the unexpected, including an anti-tank section, a sniper and a medic for the HQ. 

A good set of rules at a pretty good price, if you shop around a bit or get the .pdf...well worth getting a copy, even if there's no QRS!