The World Turned Upside Down

Well, there I was contemplating table size and room layout again and being particularly unhappy that something in the current layout was making it hard to get around the room and even harder to keep it tidy and organized and that my current painting set up was so uncomfortable that I have been sort of avoiding it. Then some domestic requirements dragged me off elsewhere only to return with my old roll top desk following behind me. It not a big antique only a small, cheap, finish it yourself one bought when I got my first apartment back in '77 but still not what I would have selected to make my room less cluttered. Now, 1/2 way through the process, my table is in pieces and the room a shambles as virtually every piece of furniture in it is juggled and adapted. However, there has at least been some more planning progress.

Firstly while the idea of 6" squares subdivided into 3" ones appears to offer the possibility of gridded games using conventional 40 mm units as well the possibility of a quadruple sized gridded game, in reality the grid added little to nothing to the conventional units and there is a lot to be said for using a 4" grid so as to maintain compatibility of basing with the only friend I regularly game with using a grid, albeit a hex one. So 4" squares it will be and I can proceed with measuring and cutting hills and painting the whole lot to match. That by itself will make life easier. Pity about the nice 3" board I made, I'll leave it for now but its going to have to conform so that I can double use terrain pieces. Hopefully I can swing that without ruining it.

Secondly, I've been rereading old blog posts looking for 40mm battle reports but getting side tracked into thoughts on game theory and what worked or didn't with various rule experiments. 2010 seems like it was a good year for posts if I do say so

 (For any new readers please feel free to use the chronological menu at the left to go back and browse old posts.)

Anway, having looked at lots of past games, I have accepted that my 1812 stuff is the way I want it and that it still has room to grow and that the 1830's/40's stuff including skirmishes with rebels,  pirates and indians, is what it is. I still have a craving to do something different and to paint more glossy toy soldiers and some in more of a classic toy soldier uniform (for me that's Guards in bearskins, Highlanders in bonnets and Fort Henry Guard). The revelation is that since I'm already filling the table with a mix of 1812 and 1840 troops, I don't really need to combine the new figures with the 1840's guys or even be compatible. So the late 1860's are back on the menu. Will it be 12 man battalions and conventional rules? 4 man units on a grid? Who knows?! It'll be red vs blue battles and snider-enfield breechloaders though. I wonder if Oberhilse adopted red trousers in the 1860's or raised any zouave units?

OK back to work for me, There are book cases to be moved. A potentially lengthy task if the books keep opening up. I'll leave you with this video clip of 1870 Faraway forces playing the part of the Fort Henry Guard. My apology if this is a rerun which I suspect it is..