Meanwhile, Back In the West Indies....

"Major!  Move those riflemen forward, further away from the convoy!  There's a plantation ahead, just over that pathetic excuse for a bridge and this area is full of rebel slaves, not to mention the French!

To be continued......

NEXT!!!!

This weekend is looking to be a bit nasty weather wise, with rain and snow. A quick look over my active collections indicated that its time for a return to the West Indies. Good timing!

See : Caribbean Posts

Now to come up with a scenario.......

Sail In Sight! To Arms!

 At last the training was over and the crew of the Albion set sail in search of Saxon raiders.

Straight at those Saxons Captain! Lets see what your ship can do.

As the ships closed, the winds shifted slightly and the Saxon ship had to tack but the wind then shifted back and the Britons were able to come along side, grapples in hand.

As the ships closed, arrows and battlecries began to fly, soon to followed by the clash of steel. 

The British took advantage of their initial shock and several warriors jumped down onto the Saxon deck and tried to push forward with little success. Prince Micheal dared not lose the initiative so he jumped on the railing and challenged King Helgin to a duel.

The lesser warriors fell back and watched the two leaders go at each other, hammer and tong, youthful exuberance against an old warrior's cunning.

Suddenly it was over. Exalting over his victory, Michael bid the Saxons to take their chieftain home to be tended and to stay out of his uncle's territories whether they came by land or sea,  

____

The rules, esp on the sailing side, are still new and need work but they're promising for a quick play game.
For the curious, the one page rules draft can be found here (click): 

I Can Sea Clearly Now

 This solution seems better, if somewhat dangerous.

I might get in a little trouble if a certain someone discovers that her camping tarpaulin is suddenly involved in a fierce sea battle, or worse, is damaged during said battle but "faint heart never played a wargame".

Battle Stations!

There's just too much work to be done before Winter sets in to allow more than a bit of hobby time so I decided to just focus on two opposing ships.   I had a wee bit of trouble getting the paint to stick to some of the plastic despite my bag of tricks but I got there eventually (so far at least).

(ps: The dark ship is actually dark brown, not black.)

I started in on a set of rules for  maneuvering the ships etc and soon finding myself getting too focused on the weather, winds, and seamanship when all I really want is an action packed game which can be turned into a blog story. So the sailing bits are now minimized and my current Prince Valiant rules will do the rest.

Oh yes, there is one more obstacle, I used to have a blue cloth big enough to cover my table. I wonder where the rest of it is? 

 

 

Cog Inspiration

 Here's a few of the online Cog photos that I selected as inspiration. They were taken from www.tallship-fan.de.  Since my ships, like my Elastolin figures, are meant to be toys rather than accurate models, any resemblance to the real thing is vague at best.

_______

A few details to be added, as well as 4 more ships to be finished.

You Call That A Cog? Try Again!

I confess, I was getting lazy. It didn't taking much looking and poking to come to the conclusion that early cogs usually had 1 mast........in the middle of the ship.  I thought, well ok so just 1 sail not 2 but I could keep the front mast and add it for 18thC ships. ....mhmmm...  well..... oh damn it!  Get out the Dremel and various other tools and lets fix it, I'll sleep better. (OK not really, I wasn't that bothered.)  

So, here we are:

NOW Can I finish painting them? I think so.

Meanwhile, Back At The Shipyard......

 Life begins to return to normal and work has resumed.

When I started out, I was thinking of Viking ships but it was soon clear that turning 17/18thC pirate ships into long ships was not going to happen. It also didn't take long to figure out that my Elastolins on washers, and the ships as cast, were an awkward mix. There just wasn't enough room for the Elastolins to take up fighting positions. 

A bit of digging around on the Web, and in my Prince Valiant reprint illustrated tales, soon decided me to work towards early medieval sailing ships or Cogs. 1st hurtle crossed. 

I decided to remove the foremast of the new, not yet painted, ships to make room for a few more warriors. Then I turned to the stern and decided that I needed a poop deck since the raised stern had a very narrow walk way around it that just too narrow for the washer based Elastolins. After a bit more searching for pictures, drawings, and some pondering, I decided to add a poop deck.  

,

Then I thought, maybe I should have at least one ship with the capacity to mount a catapult. Since the Britons have more ships, I reluctantly decided  to give the Saxons the catapult capacity.......for now......

Now, back to painting!  

Auld Lang Syne (pictures added)

**Now with more pictures!

Yesterday was most enjoyable day with 5 old...long time... friends. Four of us played with our host's 25mm Minifig ECW figures painted in the 70's by himself, along with some of my old Highlanders added to his a few years ago. After a good close game, (ok maybe not that close), our host provided an excellent feast with plenty of conversation and perhaps a few reminisces.    

Not my best shot but I couldn't back up any farther or avoid the lamp, our host was preparing lunch, and I was behind the cellphone.
(Not quite sure why the photos make it look like all of us have white hair..........😉.)

It doesn't happen often but Rob caught a picture of me as well.

Highlanders fighting for the Royalists.

The last stand of the Irish mercenaries under my command.
(The little dice are marking hits.) 

All over now as the Royalist infantry chase the last Covenanters out of the town.

Sadly, it turned out to be a farewell event as well. Our hosts are moving away to be closer to their grandchildren, and who could blame them? 

The memories will remain. One of my favorites was in my early days in Halifax (1979) when I had been recently posted from the West Coast. Phil & Sue Barker were over to a US Convention, probably Historicon, and the club had invited them to Halifax. They were a bit surprised to get off the plane to be greeted by a uniformed Police Officer. (Fresh off duty without time to change!) But he wasn't arresting them, just driving them to my apartment where I hosted them. 

Here's good fortune to my friends and their children and grandchildren.

Almost There

The terrain bin is loaded, we'll be using Paul's figures and he has designed a scenario. 

A shot from a 2018 club game.

Now, come morning,. I just have to hop in my car and drive across Nova Scotia  to the South (or Atlantic) Shore. (OK, ok, that might be misleading, it's a drive across the thinnest part of the peninsula, only an hour's drive.) This will be a gathering of 4 of us, 3 friends I met nearly 1/2 a century ago, when HM ordered me to Halifax. (Not personally of course).

Some kind of battle report to follow.

Annnnnddd I'm Back

Just back from visiting family across the ocean, well across the Bay of Fundy anyway. A short, 5-6 hour, drive  (about 500k) but I decided to get lazy, relax and try the bus. I must be getting older because I enjoyed just sitting back with headphones 

Bits and pieces to go.

While away, I got an invite to a 25mm ECW game and oh, can I bring the terrain again? Yup. So, I spent much of this afternoon gathering 20mm and 40mm bits that more or less work for 25mm.

10 Yrs Ago

 Gone but not forgotten.

https://gameofmonth.blogspot.com/2014/11/lap-loving-hector-taker-of-naps.html

There Are Days ....

 ....when I suspect that I am creeping towards old age, forgetting things and being tardy (mind you, I  have been forgetful and tardy since I was 5 yrs old, so its hard to tell).  Anyway, I usually post a Remembrance Day blog post but this year I only posted on FB. 

I did watch the ceremony broadcast from Ottawa, standing to attention when the last post was sounded as usual. To my surprise though, I found myself think not of previous generations, but of my own friends who have seen active duty in the years after my 9 years were up, and then remembering 50 years ago when several times I was one of the red coated officer cadets, marching through the streets to do honour those who had risked their lives and paid the price, whether it was their life, a limb, or less visible suffering.   

Thank you to CTV for this 2024 photo. The redcoats with pillbox caps will be from 1 of the 2 military colleges (we used to alternate).

Lest we forget.

A Little Isn't A Lot

 But it's better than nothing.

To be honest, getting the right size and shape for the Poop decks, and fitting them with the details on the hull, was harder than I anticipated. A bit of filler and paint etc will cover the clumsy bits 

Visit To the Shipyard

This is going to take a teeny bit more time and effort than I would have thought, if I had taken time to consider the matter, but they are coming along nicely. 

"Is that your whole work team??" 

One of the interesting and useful qualities of the original Prince Valiant series is that it mixes a wide variety of settings and time, mixing late Romans and Huns with Vikings, Arabs, North American "Indians" etc.,  up to 12thC or even 13thC knights.  When I went looking for references of the sort of ships that might fit in, I initially thought of Viking long ships, but the variety of ship styles in the strips gave me wide options, but, various cogs not only appeared most often in the strips but it was the easiest option for modifying my toy pirate ships into ships for Prince Michael and his foes to sail across the tabletop. 

Modern replicas.
(see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cog_%28ship%29

Without having thought about it, I was kinda expecting all sorts of 'flash' paint jobs, like the Greek triremes with the big eyes etc but nope, most of the replicas are just plain wood like an everyday working ship with only a few having some  spiffy trim. Which is good for me, much simpler for ships that will probably have to serve from the Dark Ages to the 16thC to the mid 19th Century on Lake Champlain or the Great Lakes or some fictional setting. After all, they will be toy ships for toy soldiers, not historical models.

There Is Work To Be Done!

 "G'day Mi'lady, have you come to see how your new ships are coming along?"

 "Yes you little Imp! But I ordered 2 new ships, and some refurbishing of the old one, but this looks
   like 5 ships in all. One of which looks very much like my arch-enemy Earl Elgin's black ship!
  Do you care to explain?"  

"Hmm...ahm...errgh...ahh...well, Mi'lady....we needed money to furnish your new ships so we did accept the Earl's contract to add 1 more and refurbish another, prepaid, in gold and silver, Mi'lady " 

"Earl Helgin's ships??"  "hmmmarrgh_ahm.....yes...Milady"

 "Gawain, you scamp! You and Prince Micheal must have known of this!"

 "Well, we will not break a contact but once the ships are finished, dragged down to the water and
   handed over, go find that young scamp of a prince and I expect the two of you to go win them
   in battle and bring them back or sink them!" 

Winter Is Coming!

Its been a busy couple of weeks, just not much hobby time but its time I wake up my table, roust a bunch of figures, and get a game set up. The question is: "What period and scenario?".

My ACW lads are near the top of the list but I just can't seem to come up with a fresh scenario for them and anyway, while watching our next door neighbors getting all worked up, I wouldn't want to give them any ideas. That leaves me my Prince Valiant collection and my 16thC lads, both last played several months ago. 

 

I just need to come up with a scenario but while I'm pondering that question, I'm wide open to suggestions and requests. 

Of course, I'ts also time to work on some figures but that also means making a decision.......

I Went Down To The Crossroad, Again!

At last there was a cold, windy day, not at all appropriate for my outdoor 'Toodoo' list, just right to finally try the new, improved, quicker, less tedious, rules, using the same scenario and armies.
(Note: several units were swapped to make it easier to figure out which game a photo showed. )

The two armies rushed forward and a long and bloody close quarters fight ensued.

For a while, the Republic's army (Blue) seemed to be well on their way to victory.

It wasn't as easy as it had looked though. At the crossroad itself, the elite Royal Fusiliers, supported by riflemen, faced the veteran Republican Regulars, supported by a battery whose only target was the enemy riflemen. The fighting here was fierce with heavy casualties on both sides, and no advantage to either as was the case of the house to house fighting in the town.  An attempt by Republican Volunteers on the right to flank the Red line was quickly brought up by the threat of a flanking cavalry charge if they advanced farther, and by the fire of the Queen's artillery supported by riflemen. 
At last, after a heavy firefight, the Queen's Fencibles fixed bayonets and drove the enemy riflemen from their cover. With only one infantry battalion in good shape (and having reached a 1/3 losses=no  attack point), the Blue General ordered a retreat before it became a rout. The Queen's troops had also suffered heavy losses and  and General Turner was content to let the Republicans go, leaving his troops to secure the village at the crossroad.  

_____________________

Well, its time to get back to some of my "before winter gets here" chores, so just a quick word on the latest version of the rules. There is nothing revolutionary or original but it was less detailed which helped get the playing time for a small solo game to a finish in 13 out of 15 turns, in something like 1.5-2 hours. (That wasn't in 1 session though, but broken into about 4 sessions over 2 days due to other, non-wargaming, duties and distractions. However, the Winter Wargames Season is coming!) 

There was nothing this time that 'felt wrong' to me though lots of details were left to the little metal officers, and there was a very reasonable mix between a player's choices and actions,  and the effect of the dice. 

I'm looking forward to trying them again, but its time to give these lads a break and get someone else on the table. 

I just need to decide what!  Requests will be considered.

And We Are Back!

 At last the refight has begun.

(I swapped out a few units to make matching photo to game easier.)

To be continued....

A Good Day

It was a very good day with a number of long time friends. 

I don't often appear in my own blog but that handsome young fellow with white hair and beard is me.

We played a few turns then broke for lunch, joined by another of our old group and never got around to going back to the game 

I have to confess that at least 3 of us were not exactly enthusiastic about B____ P_____, which was my opinion when they first came out and a number of us tried them, several times.

As old Doc Ruddy used to say: "You pays your money and takes your pick."

Week? What Week?

 Friday already?!?

Well, it seemed like a good plan. There were few projects and chores on my list, none of them urgent really (I earned 5 stars for procrastination) and I had reset the table, fiddled the rules again, should be easy enough to replay...ENNGGGHHH!  "Wrong!".......

Sunday I'll play, I thought, but an old err longtime friend is back in town for a visit. Oh well, toy soldiers are patient so last Sunday I drove the 45 minutes into the city to play in a 25mm Dragon Rampant game with 3 long time friends. 

Monday came.....oh, ok, OK this needs doing, and maybe a Nor-easter blowing in? Maybe,. Well, better get around to this and that first, after all "Winter is Coming!" .......... I'll play Saturday........ then I got another invite with the old gang (dating back to the late 70's for me) for 10mm Black Powder on Saturday.....let me see........ 

A 12mm game from last year, probably 4 of us. There was hard fighting and one side or other probably won. Those closest to the camera were under my command.

So....maybe Sunday for the chores then.......

Lost Dispatches

I'm starting to almost look forward to the Winter Campaign season when I can usually get a whole game in on a single day. Sighhhhh....... Anyway, one must work with what is and this small, basic 12 turn scenario was played over a week, 1 or 2 turns at a time, with 3 extra turns added. The details are already getting blurred in my mind but the pictures will tell the important bits.

The scenario was a simple encounter at a strategically important crossroad with the 40mm 1840's fictional armies of Oberhilse (Blue) and Faraway (Red). 

Faraway's cavalry and riflemen reached the town first and occupied three of the four houses while one of Oberhilse's volunteer battalions seized the farthest house.  

(** Note: As usual. clicking on the pictures will give you a closer/larger view )

The fighting in the village was fierce and prolonged. Oberhilse's dragoons were sent forward to drive off the skirmishers who were starting to target the gunners but with 6 dice vs 1, the republic's dragoons who had driven off the Queen's dragoons, took 1 hit from the rifles, whiffed their roll and came tumbling back blaming their repulse on their tired horses.

The fighting was prolonged and bloody. As the sun started to sink towards the horizon, the commanders held a quick truce and agreed on 3 extra turns.

When the last turn was done,  both sides had suffered heavy casualties and while the Queen's troops still held onto 3/4 of the town, the Republic's troops held a section on the edge of town which gave them control over the eastern road. After a short parley, the Commanders agreed to both pull back, rest &, reorganize their forces, clean up the rules, bring the start lines forward, and start again at a day and time agreeable to both sides.   

Never Depend On Dice

 

Back On Track!

 HUZZAH!  Life is returning to normal and I had time to finish the game on table. 

But not time enough to write up a proper report. Some sort of report should come on Friday.

One Of Those Weeks

 Domestic duties and weather  have been encroaching on hobby time but hasn't stopped it all together.

To be continued.....

Its Not Over Yet!

After some "poking about" and consideration, I decided that I didn't need to do anything drastic. I just needed to go back to the rules I used in the June game and the August game, tweak them, and test them again! 

Battle for the Crossroad. 

Just a simple fight for the Crossroad on a Sunday morning. 

Yes, yes, yes.....NO!

 Ah well, it felt promising when it started.  

The armies deploy and the gunners on both sides prepare to open fire. 

To be fair,  it worked "ok", but there were too many little things nagging at me, and the game was taking longer to play than I wanted but ended only a little over 1/2 way through the maximum number of turns. Considering that the rules were well based on various rules that I've written over the last 20 years, initially, (loosely) inspired by Joe Morschauser's rules crossed with 50 years of miniature wargames, I had hoped for better. On the bright side, I'm now free to try something "completely different".  This coming weekend is the last dog show of the season and its an 'away' one so I'll be home alone to try the scenario again with the brand new rules which will miraculously appear by then.  

Anyway, here's a brief, illustrated battle report. The Queen of Faraway's force (Red) were under orders to seize the bridge and march off the far end of the road. Oddly enough, the Republic of Oberhilse's force (Blue) had the same orders but going the other direction. There were two spots where men and horses could ford the river but the artillery and ensuing supply train could only cross by the bridge. The game was set at a maximum of 15 turns, and an aim of around 2 hours playing time. It lasted 8 turns and about 4 hours.
(It was also played over 5 days but that was mostly due to outside duties, and a little bit to periodic vain attempts to fix various rules issues from a largely game quality viewpoint.)

Each side's HQ had discussed 3 possible plans and finally selected one plan. (rattle, rattle, roll)

I wasn't really expecting the Light Dragoons to overrun the gun, then chase off the enemy cavalry but they were inspired.  
(Umpires were called in to inspect the dice and certified them.)

Apart from the cavalry charges, the fighting stalled into a prolonged and bloody firefight.

The fighting went on for a few more turns until Blue had lost enough stands to reduce their army morale to the point where they could no longer attack. They might have been able to hang in for a draw but their Commander valued his troops over a draw with a strong chance of a rout before then. 

Stay tuned........