Sunday 30 April 2017

Hastings 1066: Norman Army - Strelets

The New mounted bods  from the Strelets "Big box, "Hastings 1066: Norman Army"
14 bod poses and the all too familiar Nags. Not too much wrong with the nags, they have thier faults but seeing as they Feature in nearly all the Strelets Norman Range and a few other medieval /Dark Age cavalry sets, tis bout time some new nags twere sculpted methinks.

As with my previous efforts at Normans, I´ve stuck with the red/White shield Patterns..I know, not historically correct but I like it  and anyways,  I can use them in a Fantasy role alongside the Dwarves and elves in keeping those pesky orcs in check.

A couple of the nags got swopped for ones from other makes, the standard (originally a moulded flag) got removed and replaced with a paper one, one or two weapons got swopped, Lances and an axe or two
A couple of Close ups
Odo of Bayeux, half-brother of William
William the Conqueror . I´m not sure why he´s brought his Teddy along to the fight

Massed Norman cavalry.
46 in total, mainly Strelets but with additions of 4  from HäT´s  El Cid Spanish Heavy Cavalry and 4 metal ones (I´ve forgotton which make)

Tuesday 18 April 2017

War Trolls - Olog-hai (Set 1)

The First Batch of Trolls from RedBox´s Alliance Fantasy range.
8 Trolls in 4 poses. Minimal Flash which is a doddle to remove due to them being made of fairly hard plastic.
My choice of Skin colours? As These are supposed to be Olog -hai, a new type of troll bred so they are faster, more intelligent and less vulnerable to sunlight, they were probably cross bred. To reflect that (theory) mine  Show animal characteristics, the pinkish Skin and troll ones , the Grey cracked Stone like Skin.
There have been scans of other trolls being made by RedBox (Catapult Crew etc) so  Hopefully they will appear soon.

You´re soldiers of Gondor, no matter what Comes through that gate, you will....
......oh sh.....!!
Close ups. Timmy and Terence....
 ...Trevor* and Troy.
My favourite, Timmy The Troll
Size comparisons.
Considering they are created specifically for 1/72nd, and even after taking the added height of the basing into consideration, these beasts are still  BIG!
Poor Legless faces up to Timmy...He´s got no hope I´m Afraid.

The 28mm Bod may think he has some sort of Chance.. my bet is on Timmy

 *Trevor Looks very much like the Troll at the battle of the black gate in the third LotR film.
My Money would, if the fight between him and Aragorn had been for real, been on Trevor.


In the book, Peregrin Took actually Kills one at the Battle of the Black gate! Considering the size Ratio, the only way he could have possibly have done that is to jump into it´s mouth and use his Body to block it´s throat and  thus choke  it to death, very much like What Alfred ends up doing (against his will) in the Battle of the Five Armies

Saturday 15 April 2017

Medieval Camp followers - Finished

Finally the planned two stands of Camp followers are finished.
I went for a  miserable woe is me  look, a huddle of miserables trudging along at the back of an army, too lowly and unimportant  to have any sort of armed escort.
New additions
The man with a child on his shoulders and the pair pushing the wheelbarrow are from the Strelets Crusader Transport 2. 
Would have been pushed or pulled ? ..Logic seems (to me anyway) that , like a horse powered one, pulling it would make more sense.
The bod sticking his finger up his beak is from the same set but has become a pedestrian after a lower Body swop.
The cart came with a single box as the load  which is small and doesn´t really seem to Warrant the use of a  wheeled platform. It would make more sense to load the Contents of the box into two sacks. Also it was meant to have  spoked wheels. Seeing that These are peasants,  I reckon it´s slightly unrealistic. The load I replaced with some toilet roll soaked in  PVA, The wheels are  from the Airfix Ancient Britons set.

Sunday 9 April 2017

Airfix ACW - Battle of Cannon Farm - Pt 2

Using the Airfix ACW rules with slight adjustments to move and range differences. All troops have been graded the same, ie; no Advantage as veterans or disadvantage as raw recruits and the Addition of a "funny coloured stick"
 
The Confederate cav form column and move against the Union right flank. The Confederate artillery open fire on the single Union gun on the opposing hill but all shots fail thier target or cause no damage as one of the gunners throws a save.
Three regiments of Confederate inf advance against the Union left flank and come under fire from the single Union gun. The Union aim goes of to the left and hits (on a bounce) the 28th NC, who loose a man. The 3rd South Virginians break free of the Woods and make a dash, hoping to beat the 84th New York and the 7th Winsconsin infantry to the fences.

"The funny coloured stick? " you ask *See below
The Union cavaly and inf on the right flank move into the Woods to oppose the advancing Confederate cavaly. The Union inf fire upon McNiells Rangers taking out 2. The Union cav swerve to the left to avoid the larger confederate cavalry force. The Union guns fire on them  but miss.
The 22nd USCT has now reached a cornfield and Comes under fire from the confederate guns and looses two bods.
The 3rd South Virginians reach the relative cover of the fence before the Union bods but as the Union has moved it´s gun down from the hill, they come under a withering fire.
The conferate artillery try thier best to hit the 84th New York and the 7th Winsconsin but both shots go wide, a third bounces over the Zouaves line.
The  Fire fight intensifies with the 84th New York and the 7th Winsconsin moving slowly Forward with their supporting gun moving into cannister range. The 3rd South Virginians , despite the soft cover, loose another bod to the combined rifle fire and Grape shot, thier own return fire missing it´s mark or causing no damage due to saving throws. ...maybe they can´t see anything due to the Cotton wool?
Grapeshot /Cannister marker made as per the Airfix rules
The Union cavalry, just manages to avoid a clash with the numericaly superior Confedrate cavalry.  McNiells Rangers, who are in hot pursuit come under fire from the 22nd USCT and loose a further two bods..they throw for morale, fail and head for home, running into thier own cavalry causing a bit of a jam.
On the Union´s right flank, "Jennison's Jayhawkers" sieze thier Chance and swiftly ride around the confederates left flank....to attack the confederate guns maybe?
The Confederate guns? What have they been up to? During all this they´ve had only one target, the 22nd USCT but seeing as they are now behind hard cover thier fire has had no effect. Firing on anything else would mean the possibility of hitting thier own so they Choose not to.
 
The Union Cavalry engage the 3rd Texans, each side recieving one casualty
Both the 84th New York and the 7th Winsconsin Charge the 3rd South Virginians, who by now have lost 8 bods, throw for Moral, loose and run. This has a ripple effect along the conferate infantry line, with the 3rd Texans and the   28th Regiment, North Carolina both throwing loosing Moral scores. The Union cav now cut across to the left and slam into the fleeing 3rd.
The single Union gun fires at the advancing Confederate cavalry but misses.
The Conferate artillery continues it´s futile attacks on the 22nd USCT.
On the Union  right  "Jennison's Jayhawkers" are still advancing and the Union artillery has hitched up. The only Confederate inf still active, the 3rd Texas Infantry are undecided as to form up to oppose the Jayhawkers or the approaching 51st Pennsylvania  and 22nd USCT. With the Union artillery on the move, they settle for the luxury of hard cover and ignore the cavalry.
The conferate cavalry hoping to catch the Union cavalry napping, Comes under cannister and rifle fire, 4 bods go down..and now more Union cavalry is approaching.
The  28th  North Carolina rallies but for how Long ?
Finally, the Confederate guns have a score!!! One shot bounces into the Union artillery taking down 2 bods on a single bounce!!
The Confederate cav run into the 7th Winsconsin, the Union Cavalry that was persuing the  3rd South Virginians has lost them into the Woods so turns to take on the Confederate cavalry. The already weakened 28th  North Carolina is just about to recieve another cavalry attack.
At this Point,  it ´s all Happening at once.
The fight on the road intensifies. The  7th Winsconsin loose 2 bods, the Confederate cav 1, the Union Cav loose 4, the Confederates, 2, the Union throw for Moral, loose and run for it.
The 14th new York fire into the Conferate cav but take None due to misses or saves
The 28th NC fire on the Union cav taking 2 but loose 4 on contact
The  3rd Texans and the 3rd South Virginians have again failed to Rally and leave the field.
 
 
The conferate guns turn to face "Jennison's Jayhawkers" who have now rounded the hill and formed a line. One " Jayhawker" is taken, the other confederate gun yet again misses the 22nd USCT.
The "Jayhawkers" wheel into the 3rd Texas Infantry , who seeing the possibility of being surrounded have moved onto higher ground
The confederate guns fire again on the 22nd USCT...and the USCT´s luck holds..misses or saves.
The fight on the road reaches it´s conclusion. The conferate cav, now surrounded, loose another 2 bods but take another 2 Union cav. Both throw for Moral and both run. The remaining Conderate cav takes 4 7th Winsconsin for no losses but being entirely surrounded loose the Moral throw and leave.
On the hill, the 3rd Texas Infantry get mauled, loosing 6 and  taking only one Jayhawker in return.
At this Point, with virtually all his infantry and all his cavalry either in retreat or having left the field, General S. Tore, throws in the towel...hitches up the guns and leaves.
The 3rd Texas Infantry down Tools and surrender.
John & Victoria come out of thier hiding place under the bed to find a couple of dislodged Roof tiles.
Posties rejects dice?

Conclusion?
The Airfix rules are a bit "stumpy" , the firing tables for a start are a bit odd, but they appear to work fair enough. I set up the field "blind"..first randomly Setting up the Terrain then putting troops as the ground allowed. When I´d finished,  I thought "the Union is going to get a kicking" but they won Hands down...possibly too well.?
Anyways, the next battle I´ll test the  rule set   "Charge Boys Charge !" by Andy Copestake with my daughter taking Charge of one of the sides.



*The funny coloured stick? " It´s my idea for an artillery measuring stick. It aint in the Airfix rules, there it´s suggested that Players "judge" the distance to the target, then measure it out...and bla bla.
I thought to add two firework rocket sticks (saved for constructing a 1/32nd scale Trebuchet) together and use that for measuring the range ..but then I thought "but cannon balls bounce" so I added the Loop bits (coloured blue..blue? sky..blue? Artistic licence? )  to represent a ball  loosing power and bouncing less and less higher and further.
Then I thought "as they bounce, sometimes they are Close to the ground, then up in the air, then Close to the ground before they bounce again etc..and as they are Close to the ground they would hit things, men horses etc"  So I marked those zones before and after Impact as,
Red for anything up to 2 cm´s tall (infantry) and ...
Yellow for 2 to 2.5cm´s tall (cavalry)
The green bits are where the ball would be too high.
At the Business end I added a movable square . This was to replace the suggested marker that would indicate wether a shot had gone off target.
Lay the stick onto the centre of the target. Throw a one, the shot goes to the right, a 6 it goes to the left red marker.(the bold red marks..not the faint ones..they were a mistake)

Obviously, I never thought about the "danger zones" before adding the "hoops" and I could remove them but ...what the heck? ...and obviously the hoops are  a Basic representation, as  a cannon ball wouldn´t bounce as far in muddy ground or it would bounce further on rocky ground or it would hit a rock and alter course but ...!!!!...??! ARGH!!! Although that might be fun for someone to come up with a realistic calculus for such stuff..and then do it for 12 and whatever pounder guns...I just think, In trying to Keep within the Spirit of "old School" wargaming, I´ve already gone too far with the funny coloured stick......and had to remind myself..."it´s  just a bleedin` game!!!"

Saturday 8 April 2017

Airfix ACW - Battle of Cannon Farm - Pt 1

The Battlefield.
..oops!!, sorry!!, that´s one of the photos taken using the Tardis wayback in 1977....:-P

The Battlefield.

Union Forces to the right, Confederate to the left, The Cannon´s Farm just left of centre.
Both sides  deploy 20 cm´s from the start line (end of the carpet Field)
The Confederate deployment.
General S. Tore, has deployed the entire Cavalry and one Regiment of infantry to the left flank....
 ...his entire Artillery and the remaining Infantry on the right.
The Union Deployment.
General Payne has deployed two regiments of infantry,  one  cavalry and one Gun to his left flank...
 ...and the rest of the infantry, 2 cavalry and two guns to the right.
Imagine John and Victoria´s suprise to wake up only to find two armies facing each other across thier farm!!
Anyway. The room I´d set up in had good light but along with Setting up,  the backdrops took forever, there was a shortage of road pieces (Thick Card was rushed into Service) and the light got too bad to carry on ...so the rest tomorrow. ...or, depending on the Doctor........... 40 years ago :-)

Thursday 6 April 2017

Dwarf Shield wall

The previous Bods for the Dwarf battle line have been re-based and another 8 added to boost up the numbers.
Shields added and a couple have had head conversions
Good mornin'! How are we all? I have a wee proposition, if ye wouldn't mind giving me a few moments of yer time. Would you consider...JUST SODDING OFF?!
Ya hear that, lads? We're on! Let's give these bastards a good hammering!
The set only has 10 poses and to get the shield wall with 22 individuals in it some conversions had to be made.
Helmet added to the one on the Left
Shields added. From the Emhar Saxon Warriors set for the one on the left, from the Zvezda Vikings for the one on the right
Helmet added to the one on the right
Shields added from the Emhar Saxons, mace from a Valdemar weapons set.
Valdemar mace added
I suppose I´ll have to get hold of some of the RedBox Alliance Dwarves now .