My Blog
Partizan MMX
It was my favourite wargames show, Partizan, at Kelham near Newark yesterday. A good time was had by all, even if it was a long day. Plenty of good games to look at and people to chat to. I bumped into Mark, one of my oldest wargaming buddies - and we realised that this summer brings up thirty years since we left school and therefore since we last wargamed together. …
Rules
Hello everyone. Sorry I've been quiet for a few days - it's been a fairly busy week. Coupled with that, I have got fed up with having the basic mechanics of my/our ancients rules rattling around the inside of my skull, so I decided to commit them to (virtual) paper. There's a long, long, way to go - a lot of play-testing by Col and I (solo, and separate - well, he's in Glasgow and I'm in Lancaster) to thrash out the numbers a bit - at the moment I'm sure they'll be very, very, badly balanced in play. …
Unleash Hell!
Warlord Games have just released a new figure (and his dog!) - clearly based on the hero from a certain film. I was fortunate in being asked to paint one for display, and Paul has kindly allowed me to show off the painted version whilst they're still showing the 'grey' on the Warlord site. Obviously, this guy was intended for use with a Roman army fighting the Germans, but he'll do nicely as a 'Big Man' (to use TooFatLardies parlance) for any Roman army from the first couple of centuries AD. I'm hoping that they're going to do a mounted version as well.
I've painted something else for Warlord, but I'm not allowed to show it to you until they announce it in their newsletter - probably in two weeks time. I've also got a little stack of other Warlord lead to paint, but again, I'd have to kill you if I told you what it was.
I'm going to take a break from painting for a couple of days now, in order to scribble down some more ideas for my ancients rules. They're evolving and becoming more 'Lardy-esque' - using cards to control what might loosely be called the turn sequence.
Anthony Riches and Help for Heroes
Beginning on May 31st, Bank Holiday Monday, the author Anthony Riches and his literary agent, Robin Wade are walking the length of Hadrian's Wall in aid of 'Help for Heroes' wearing reproductions of gear that may well have been worn by auxiliary soldiers serving on Hadrian's Wall. Help for Heroes is a charity set up to aid our service personnel in ways that our government seems unable or unwilling. Our brave service men and women 'go the extra mile' for all of us, so it seemed a good idea to Tony and Robin to do the same for them. Please visit Tony's charity page, click on the link, and give generously to a most worthy cause.
"Empire: Arrows of Fury"
You may remember me being a little less than complimentary about some aspects of Tony Riches' first book "Empire: Wounds of Honour". Well, now I've read his second, and am happy to report that nothing annoyed me much at all this time! It was, in fact 'un-put-downable' - I read it in two sittings, broken only by a meal. …
Rock and Roll!
A few days ago, my daughter wanted to help me with something to do with my current wargaming project. I've been meaning to make some patches of 'rough ground' for the table, so I decided that we could make some tiny 'blobs', as I hadn't got any MDF to make bigger ones. These were made from some laser-cut MDF 60 mm round bases from Warbases. Fine little bases, at a good price, and the service is speedy. The stones are limestone chippings off my drive and the rest is just my usual desert basing method.
Allsorts!
No, not Liquorice Allsorts - horrid things! All sorts of figures. I have, over the past few weeks, painted all sorts of stuff.
Some have been for my 'Fire in the East' Project. The way my/our new rules are shaping up, there may well be a need for some 'subordinate commanders' - hereafter known as 'Big Men', so I had a dig around in my spares boxes and came up with five unemployed Roman officers and two Sassanid 'Savaran' -who, being noble cavalry, will do for officers in the absence of any more suitable, specific models. …
The Lusitania
Today, the 7th of May, is the 95th anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania, which presaged the USA's entry into the war. Why that date, and that event should stick in my mind I have no idea. And I wonder why that particular war, out of all the wars of the past century or so, is the one which looms largest, like some dread malignancy, on the edge of our collective consciousness? …
Purchasing Shields from Me
Just a quick update - I have put up a page here where you can contact me to buy shields. Please note that there is a problem with the contact form - despite me receiving your message, the chances are that you will get also message telling you that I haven't received it. I don't know why this is happening and I'm looking into it. …
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