Derby World Wargames Show, Saturday 3rd October 2015.

 Well I decided to make the long drive down to the Derby show after a lay off of two years. I wanted to see a couple of the games on show at the event just to get some inspiration [ copy any ideas ]
One was the Battle of Marignano and the other was the Battle of Kunersdorf.

I have always admired the way James Roach aka Olicana painted his figures and always try to check out his games. I certainly wasnt disappointed with his figures which were pretty damned good as usual. The most annoying thing Ive found about James is the fact he paints so damned quick, and the paint effect he uses is so very effective. 

 I was to be disappointed about Kunersdorf, because the game wasnt there, Celle a vie. The venue for the championships is very good in one sense as it is easy to find as it is just off the M1, the problem is that the cavernous plane hangar is so dark inside, and well pretty bleak. I am not going to slag off the organisers [honest] but the venue is pretty shitty really. But then a lot of wargames shows seem to end up in crap venues. Probably due to cost. [Or is it? Maybe its to keep the public away from the events?]

 Games wise, there were some decent games, but none that really stood out.  The Lance and Longbow had a decent 28mm game on show, in fact it might have been Bosworth but I never did find out. It was okay.

  The Derby club had a nice War in Ireland game on show, with some well painted figures. I only wish the lighting had been better to show off the colours of the figures.

 The Burton club put on a decent ancient battle staged in Germany, with some nice terrain.

 I paid particular attention to the 6mm Napoleonic wargames, due to my renewed interest in the scale and period. The Redditch club staged Waterloo in 6mm which looked fairly decent to me. Im sorry Im being a bit non enthusiastic but the game was okay, but for a bit more effort it could have been so much better.

 Unfortunately I didnt find out which group staged this 6mm Napoleonic game, but I did like the way they had based their figures, and recorded their casualities on the bases. Neat and effective.

 The Boondock Sayntes? staged a 28mm Zulu game, or actually a static display, which was very effective. Clearly the gents had made the effort to locate some mess uniforms which did actually add to the display, so well done in that respect.

 The Westbury group staged a game of the Battle of Poltova, which was nicely done, with some good painted units on show.I can only apologise again for the poor photographs, I blame the lighting, bearing in mind I actually bring along extra lighting myself.

               The struggle for Hougemont displayed by L'Ordre Mixte club. A decent model of the buildings, and well presented. I think any readers can sense my lack of enthusiasm for the day. Most of the games were fine, there certainly was a lot of trade on show, and there appeared to be a steady footfall through the doors, but somehow for me the event didnt have that extra something. Its probably me [ not you] On a positive note they did do a good fry up which I checked out. On a rating out of ten, I would award the show a six, could do better, but not too bad.

Leven Miniatures.

I tend to feel like I've somehow done something wrong if I dont post something on my blogs regularly. I think things have been pretty quiet on the general wargaming front, although I have played a wargame at least once per week since my last post.  I do feel that in general wargaming has been quiet, with few pieces of news, and little on the magazine front to float my boat. This may change this weekend, when I take the long journey down to Derby. I dont have a large shopping list, but I bet I end up spending all my hard earned cash on something I dont really need. A common problem for wargamers. Also on the show front, I will e at the Middlesbrough show, where we
 [ Colin and I ] are going to refight Rossbach in 30mm. This was an interesting battle, with some interesting tactical problems for both sides.
 Anyway just to show that I have actually been doing something I thought I would show images of my newly painted 6mm buildings bought from Leven Miniatures.

Obviously this is La Haye Sainte, which I have based on three Blucher sized bases. This is a really first class model, and well worth the £12.00 price tag. The Hougemont model, is a very fine looking set up and weighs in at £35.00, which is a hefty price tag, but does look really good.

This building is also from their Waterloo range, but I have forgotten which building it is, It is also a great model, and very easy to paint. I would recommend anyone looking for 6mm buildings to check out the ranges as they do have a wide range of stuff. The site is WWW.levenminiatures.co.uk 

 Below is Poniatowski's fifth corps for the 1812 campaign. Unfortunately the rebasing has severely disrupted my painting, so I am going to have to sort out a schedule of priorities. I also think I better do some Austrians to fight the French I already have based. The Polish figures are in the main Heroics and Ros,.

                                                     An Adler command group for my Poles.

And the re basing goes on, and on.............

 Well I am still beavering away re basing my 6mm Napoleonic armies, well actually the French army for the Blucher rules. Unfortunately it has stopped my painting in its tracks, which has been a tad frustrating, however I am determined to at least finish my French.

 The first couple of images are of the Imperial Garde. Well actually elements of the Garde of 1812. These are units of the Young and Middle Garde, and also the vaunted Vistula Legion which was attached throughout the campaign.

 These chaps are the 2nd Corps in 1809, led by Lannes, and after Aspern Essling by Oudinot. Lannes is one of my favourite Marshals, and it was very unfortunate for Napoleon that he was killed in 1809, as I think if he had survived until 1815, he would have had a great impact upon the campaign.

 The images below are of Massena's 4th Corps in 1809, which was a bit of a hodge podge of units. The best being the Baden contingent and the Hesse Darmstadt units, both of which I have represented.

                                                          The Baden units.

                                                 The Hesse Darmstadt Lieb Garde.

  I have also managed to re base the old Garde cavalry with Bessieres in command.

 All of my commanders are bigger 6mm figures, ie Adler, just to make them stand out more.

  Some eagle person may notice that I have attached the Tartars of the Garde to the brigade of the Chasseurs.I know they didnt hang around too long, but I thought it was a nice addition.

 And then we have the first of four cavalry corps, circa 1812. This is the First, led by Nansouty. This packs quite a punch. [I hope] The second corps which is nearly re based contains the Carabineers brigade, in the beautiful white uniform.

 I am looking forward? to rebasing the 11th Corps which has some serious dross in the corps, including the Penal regiments, and the Neapolitans, for which I have a soft spot for some reason.

Border Reivers Show 2015

Well I attended the Gateshead show yesterday, which I was really looking forward to. I don't know if its me, but I've felt there wasn't as many shows around as usual. Its probably me.John and I shared a bring and buy table early in the show, just to get rid of some stuff. I think it is the best way to sell wargaming ephemera, certainly its a very effective way to have a bring and buy without the organisers having to find some staff to run it.
 Anyway, we got rid of quite a bit of stuff, although for some reason 15mm painted figures, at knock down prices weren't selling?
 I always get a buzz attending wargames shows, I know I should be used to them after all these years, but somehow I still cant wait to stroll around a show.
 On the AMG forum, there is currently a discussion about the announcement that Front Rank will no longer attend any shows, and whether this is a good or bad thing, some posters agree, some dont. Personally I think its a mistake by the company, but what do I know, but what better way than to keep your company in the public's eye, and please dont give me the guff about the internet.
  Physically seeing the products, talking to the dealer, and then comparing opinions with other wargamers must promote the range you are trying to sell. I always think of Hinchliffe, and Essex who dont seem to attend any shows now, some wargamers aren't aware that Hinchliffe still produce their ranges, and pay inflated prices for secondhand metal due to this.As for Essex, 20 years ago, their 25mm ranges were the figures to buy, now one rarely sees them on a table.The figure ranges are still out there. Wargaming is about inter action between like minded people, and that includes solo wargamers. What can be better than to chat about some figure, rulebook or paint technique to another wargamer. Who wants to be a miserable sod.
 Leading on from that, I do know that there are a lot of wargamers that never attend shows and rarely buy magazines. The great Donald Featherstone would always bemoan the wargamer that didnt buy his magazine, and I always thought he had a point. Wargames magazines, love them or hate them, are a showcase for the hobby, again the internet has its place, but magazines still have an important role in the hobby. So if you can afford it, buy them, even if its to cut out the pretty pictures.
 Anyway, back to the Border Reivers show.
 I thought the show was pretty busy, most of the day, and certainly up to 1.00pm. The venue has plenty of parking, a decent canteen, and I understand is reasonable to hire. The only downside is the crap lighting, but that is a common complaint across the country.
 I seemed to spend more time chatting to other wargamers, so much so that I didnt take any photographs! A first for me. Game wise, the stand outs for me, were the cheeky chappies from the Westerhope club, with a Zulu  game, and what appeared to be an Oldhammer game with some nice figures and terrain. Sorry again that I didn't take any images.
 As regards the traders, of which there were many, Leven Miniatures www.levenminiatures.co.uk had some beautiful 6mm buildings at very reasonable prices. I had to buy some of their Napoleonic ranges for the Blucher games.
 Due to gabbing on, I missed out on buying the new Ottoman turks from Warlord games, although I managed to buy one commander, and very nice they are to.I still managed to end up buying quite a bit of stuff, including more paint, and bases.
 So Border Reivers as a show was for me a success, great crack, something to look at, and a nice buzz at the show. Support your local wargames show.
  The poster at the top is for my next local show, where I promised I would put on a game.A nice venue, full of trains, free to enter, free car parking, and now wargamers. What more could you want?

Davout's Third Corps 1809.

Re basing as most experienced wargamers know, is a pain in the bum. So when I decided to re base ALL my 6mm Napoleonic armies for the new Blucher rules, I forgot to factor in the sheer tedium that re basing is.
 As I have started re basing, I realised that some of my armies are now being re based for the third time. Initially they were based as battalions for a set of rules that John had put together which worked really well. Then came Volley and Bayonet which were brigade based, and were an excellent set of rules, and now of course the Blucher rules. Still that's only three sets in well over 25 years, so I don't think I can be accused of jumping on the latest trend.
 I've started with Davout's Third Corps for 1809, which is probably my favourite. Certainly it was the best trained and led.

 In the original armies, Volley and Bayonet needed a lot of Divisional Commanders, which I represented by using the larger 6mm? Adler figures on separate bases. Adler are beautiful figures, but too detailed and large for my taste, however I thought that placing the original commanders in the brigades was a nice piece of artistic licence. The corps weighs in at 180 points for a Blucher game. But that includes Davout who is given a Vigourous classification. Most Blucher games are 300 points per side by the way.

 Because I am a bit anal, I also painted up the First Corps led by Davout in the 1812 campaign. Now this was an army in itself as Napoleon rightly recognised that Davout was his most able commander. I wouldn't like to think how many points that would total for Blucher.