I really must get out more.

Since my last tirade Ive concentrated on more important issues ie wargaming and painting. I cannot think of a greater pleasure than sitting down listening to Spotify and daubing paint on figures. It is for me a therapy which I probably need.

Battles wise Im pleased to say Ive had a few. John and I staged two humdinger  SPQR battles which were tense but great fun. Sadly his Romans managed to desecrate the druids ring [painful that] but they did get their revenge in the second battle. I also fought a brilliant [game not me] battle against Paul Stevenson using his yet to be published ACW rules. For Paul, these rules and scenarios are developing into his retirement 'project.'

Paul has expended a lot of effort in the research of the American Civil War and it shows in the rules we were play testing. The scenario was a toughie for the Union ie me but produced a cracking battle that showed the brittle nature of the Union regiments when faced by the smaller but better motivated rebels. You guessed it, I lost.
 I really hope he finds a publisher because they are very good rules and Paul's hard work has paid off and the research gives the rules a great period feel without bogging down the game in excessive detail.

I then fought another ACW game but this time against John using the venerable Volley and Bayonet rules. We love these rules and return to them time and again. Easy to learn, quick to play and brutal they are very subtle and allow you to think about your tactics without worrying too much about the rules. Leading the Union again I nearly pulled off a surprise victory only to see a rebel off table division and some horrible rebel cavalry turn a victory into a ruinous defeat. It was a great game and I had to lie down for a nap after the exertion and I was only throwing the dice! Maybe next time. 

The images is of my first Victrix chariot. What a bugger to construct but now I have worked out what to paint before gluing it together Im pleased with the result. I know plastic has its detractors and I 'get' the point but Victrix have made some lovely stuff and these chariots are a great example of what you get in plastic. There is one drawback and that has nothing to do with Victrix and everything to do with one of the immutable laws of wargaming, ie. when something pings off the painting desk it disappears into another dimension where all the other important bits go. This time it was a small rein. I felt it fall, I thought I knew where it had fallen but could I hell find the piece. It shows how daft you become when you retire because I had a sleepless night [honestly] thinking how and where the rein had disappeared. Early next morning I was back on my knees searching for the piece. I found some plastic heads, muskets, kepis [ you would think I never hoovered the carpet] a whole bag of Crann Tara French Garde that I 'forgot' I owned behind some boxes of other stuff I 'forgot' I had before yes I found the offending rein. Talk about relief. I really really need to get out more.
 Here endeth the lesson.