Goodbye 2023 - Hello 2024

 It’s that time of the year for the round up. 

highlights :-

The proper return for social gaming has been great for morale.

Big Napoleonics in Vienna twice this year .

The huge Vietnam game in the summer .

Meeting up with friends at Historicon and gaming then touring ACW battlefields .

Ace photographer Bob Falcetti .

Jim Perky - AKA Der Alte Fritz 

Dennis Matt Varnish 

Touring Gettysburg, Antietam , Harpers Ferry ,Bull Run and then the USMC museum .

Antietam 

Bull Run / Manasses

Marine Corp museum - just brilliant 

Finishing my Necromunda Van Saar stuff and campaign started by JamesM

Getting the 7 Days to the Rhine collection fit to game with. 

Running a double blind ACW Vicksburg campaign - this will move onto the 1863 Gettysburg early in 2024 .

Getting to “We Have Ways Fest” for the weekend 

Starting an AWI 10mm collection

Collecting the stash for 15mm Battle of the Bulge

7 Days , up and running.

The 2024 plans are :-

Regular gaming at NRWC - last Sunday of the month all booked in .

Monday gaming sessions all booked in .

Gaming at Pendraken HQ

Gaming with the guys at Hammerhead , Partizan and The Other Partizan

Top up the 10mm ACW to play Antietam .

Run the double  blind ACW Gettysburg campaign .

7 Days to the Rhine campaign completed.

A return to the Sudan - big game now booked in for August . A few new units in the wings .

AWI forces raised to do Bunker Hill with MartinC and IanS.

A visit to the NWF with some new collection stuff .

Build some more aircraft for Nam .

All in all a great 2023 and 2024 with great potential 

Best wishes to you all for 2024 ..Happy New Year .

Merry Christmas one and all

 Christmas 2023 is upon us . I wish you and yours all the very best of it . 

Thanks for your continued support and interest in my little corner of the interweb 

Cheers 

D

Sudan - new command Sir Garnet Wolsley & Sidney Ruff Diamond

 It’s a return to dusty trails time . I have a few things to add to the Sudan collection over the winter so here are the first of them .

I was reminded I had a couple of figures in the lead pile after a FB forum post , so I went delving into lead pile . 

These are the WI Heroes in miniature limited editions , first up Sir Garnet Wolsley, ideal for leading your Victorian adventures . Sir Sidney Ruff Diamond from Carry on up the Khyber has also made an appearance 

 

Other plans for the Sudan are Egyptian limber set and Ghurka rifles battalion - in my mind the could have deployed as part of the Indian Army - plus they can be used of course for some North West Frontier action inn due course .

Necromunda - Market and M1’s for 7 DTTR

 I have been clearing out more bits from the seemingly never ending part done pile of paint table lurkers . 

Previously having completed the Necromunda market place terrain set I had picked up some 3d printed figures from ETSY that will be set dressing , or gang hangers on etc . 

 

 

Checking through the lead pile I had some original old school Van Saar figures so I thought I would crack these off too. The are smaller in stature than the newer plastics of course , but they can be used as Juves and Van Saar are supposed to be a bit weedy anyway. 

That gives me enough to do different gangs with lots of weapon options too . I might just pick up another box of Grav Cutter riders as a whole game with them might be fun! 

Having completed the A10s for 7 Days I went looking for some other American kit I had picked up in a swap a while back . Mostly it’s just built plastic, but there were a few nearly finished MERDC paint jobs on some  M1 Abram’s so I have completed these - well until I get some stowage etc sorted for them 

4 is certainly enough for a 7 Days force , so perhaps a few APCs and infantry units might get added . Though I now find myself looking at a little project for Blackhorse Cavalry (11th Cav ) for the Fulda Gap . I have some more built M1’s that I fancy doing in the green /black paint scheme sometime. 

Next thing to think about is what to start painting for the challenge . 

Cold War Gone Hot - A10’s and Hinds

 I am lucky enough to have a couple of local stores , Pendraken run by Leon , (who are also a manufacturers)  and Gaming Figures run by Gav . I make a point of trying to spend some cash there as often as I can . Well if you want to keep them I think it’s important to support them. 

Gav had seen my latest Battlefront Hinds done for my 7 Days collection and asked if I would do  some for his Team Yankee set up - he is as mad a box of frogs of course .. so 12 Hinds later he is a happy boy . I also found a couple of “spare” A10s in the stash so tempted him with these while I painted my own . 

The A10 is just such an iconic warplane 

 

Simple stripe camo pattern done with the airbrush 

Quantity had a quality all of its own - as they say 

The painting challenge start is in sight - I have plenty lined up .

AWI - new little project time

 This one has been on the back burner for a while. After playing the  Little Wars TV rules for ACW (Alter of Freedom) and enjoying them I decided to pick up the AWI set “Live free or die” . I also picked up an army pack from Pendraken which I have finally started some work on. Of course me being me I want to do some larger units - the 10mm allows for  that nicely . Altogether I think it’s only about 600 figures or so a side - and I have roped in a few if the club guys who jumped in also buying some ready painted at the latest show bring and buy.

I have worked out a simple paint method over a white base with some speed paints and thin washes . This cut down the time to do the first British battalion . This was a 7 base unit - the 43rd Foot - chosen just as it had white facings which cut down paining time.

Bases are 40x20 with 10 figures per base. Most orbats have 4-5 bases per unit but there are some that are 7-8 . It may be a case of making up a few extra command bases for flexibility and to save overpainting infantry , 

I have the remainder of the army pack ready to complete which will be another 4-5 base unit plus some cav and guns . In the meantime I have ordered up another few battalions of Brits - in particular enough for a large highland unit. 

Aim is to build for Bunker Hill sometime next year. 

While sorting out the stash I also came across the ACW reinforcements so these have been cleaned and prepared - enough artillery to boost my existing forces to around 24 guns per side - will limbers etc . Also found a lot more cavalry than expected so I will double my existing forces there . 

The artillery stash is ready to go!.

Gaming - Battleground show

 This weekend saw our group meet up for our regular contribution at the Battleground show in Stockton on Tees. This show is well run and organised by guys at Pendraken and it continues to increase in numbers attending . 

We were putting on a fictional game from the War of the Spanish Succession using one of our guys collection of “paper boys” from the Peter Dennis/Andy Callan books published by Helion. 

Initial set up in the morning mists around the village of Papier Mache . 

We had some good chats with people who were surprised by how effective the figures were especially “en masse”.

We also encouraged some youngsters to throw some dice across the day too - they seemed to enjoy it . 

The French took the town and the supplies held there 

Stash for the days was limited as I hadn’t really gone with a shopping list and I have plenty of stuff in the to do pile - but when does that stop us usually.  . Some paints , some bases , and I picked up a few painted 15mm buildings for the WW2 collection from the bring and buy.