French Napoleonic 1st Legere

Hello there! I have still been writing and painting during this fine weather and here is my latest completed unit.

They are front rank figures  and a GMB flag. These are intended as part of a number of units to refight the battle of Maida. However before you all start writing in I do know they would have been uniformed in the side rise and fall plume. I have one of these figures to act as a casualty marker but these will also be making an appearance in the Peninsular and against 1809 Austrians. Also the company organisation would be different.

I have taken the opportunity to use the pictures for this post as a chance to experiment with my none existent camera skills and feel I have made some little progress, This Colonel makes a fine figure indeed.

I am pleased how the blue finally came out and being a bit patient paid off in the long run, (see my previous post).

Here the grenadier group, in full dress, has come out well too. I am planning to use Shako II rules with some amendments organised between Adrian, my gaming friend.

The command group, with GMB flag and Eagle from Front Rank too retains its folds as I have sandwiched foil between the sides as I folded. I explained how to do this in Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy magazine, issue 101.

Finally the last base. I added the bugler, (cornet?), player as a change. The dead grass tufts came from Great Escape Games, here.

Next up will be a race between an Austrian unit or a British one. Each will contribute to a new feature for WSS about painting Red, Yellow and White. 

Peninsular War Spanish Monks

Hello There! I have recently completed some more reinforcements for the Spanish Guerrillas that will be used for the Skirmish rules I am working on.

These are all religious types from a couple of different suppliers. Some are Perrys from their Carlist range and a couple of others from the unknown supplier I mentioned in a previous post.

This guy up close does look like a Star Trek creature! This does appear to be a trade mark of the other supplier I mentioned. The faces have very pronounced features. However he does fit in well heightwise with the Perrys he accompanies.

This is one of the first chaps  from the Perrys Carlist Wars armed clergy set. I found these after looking through their catalogue. As the Carlist was soon after the end of the Napoleonic Wars I believed there may be some figures in the range I could use for the Napoleonic wars. I soon found the armed clergy and some civilians as well. These will be coming along 'soon'

Here are the final figures in a variety of poses which will be taking up arms against the French invader. According to the Osprey Elite book 'Spanish Guerrillas in the Peninsular War 1808-1814' one Spanish Guerrilla band was led by a clergyman!

I have found this book particularly helpful while painting these figures. I do now have to start painting some opposition to them!

World War Two Desert

Hello There. I have started to make some plans to return, eventually, to the desert theatre of operations. I have seen the 'Images of War' books at a number of wargaming shows but have either never had the spare money or have had other plans.

While sending an order to Paul Meekins I saw these being sold at a discount and added them to my order.

These had many photographs I had not seen before and gave me many new ideas for more recruits for the 20mm DAK in my collection.

New Purchases

Hello there! Due to the lockdown I have started to gather information and figure for an extension to the ACW skirmish projects. This is in the form of Napoleonic Marines and sailors.

This left me with a problem in having no uniform information for these figures. The Naval side of Napoleonic wargaming is something that never interested me before but with  the search for different scenarios to play I drifted, (!), into this direction.

I contacted Paul Meekins Books, here, and he recommended a few items.

I had no idea that these Osprey books existed, except for the 'Nelson's Navy' which I had looked through a friends copy and decided it would be useful. The others were a complete surprise to me.

They have proved a good read and very useful for what I was after.

'Watching War Films with my Dad'

Hello There! With the 'Lock down' continuing I have had time to take some photographs and here is a book I have completed recently.

Something a little different from the normal 'wargaming' book but I did promise a somewhat eclectic mix of posts on this blog. Al Murray has an interest in military history and as well as introducing the programme 'D Day to Berlin' he is also co presenter on the podcast 'WE have Ways of Making you Talk', here.

This memoir struck a chord with me as I remember clearly watching a black and white film on a Sunday afternoon with my Dad, who was in the Second World War, albeit under age, caught and sent home.

He said to me once, when I asked him his first job, he said 'shooting', I asked him if  he was a game keeper and he said, 'No son, Japanese' 

Having seen 'A Bridge too Far' yesterday I recorded it to stop my wife listening to me going through all the corrections and addendum from the Issue of the 'After the Battle' details. This made me think of this book again. Reading the inner leaf it says 'Have you ever watched a film with someone who, at the most dramatic scene, argues that the plane on screen hasn't been invented yet? Or that the tank rumbling towards the hero is the wrong tank altogether?' Yeah, that's me.

If you grew up with Airfix, Action Man, Where Eagles dare and The Battle of Britain then read this book!

'No Surrender' Coltishall Cowards Club Magazine

Hello There. In the 1990's I was a member of the Coltishall Cowards Wargames Club. They had a bi monthly club magazine which was very popular and was edited for a while by Nigel H. I found this copy in the loft while searching for some other wargames paraphernalia.

This was from January 95 and had 48 A5 pages and showed that it was a very vibrant club at the time. Full of campaign information and games held at the club. I noticed this issue was the one where I advertised a visit to Ian Weekleys house to view his latest projects and buildings he was making. Ian, now sadly departed, was a great supporter of the club.

Here is an American War of Independence campaign and battle report. Illustrated by John P, an accomplished artist, who was also taking part in the campaign. One episode I remember was after John read about an AWI battle where the commander of a British unit ordered his troops to remove their flint from their muskets to encourage them to close with the enemy more quickly he then did this with every attack he made from then on! 'No Flints Parke' became a common sobriquet for him from then on!

Here is on of my first attempts of writing features! I had been in the Falkland Islands for 4 months and had visited all the battlefield sites. I wonder if anyone has any more issues of this magazine as I would like to see the other features in this series.

Wargames , Soldiers and Startegy Feature Issue 108

Hello There! Yesterday I received my complementary copy of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy. I have had another feature published, this time in the 'Irregular Column'

As usual there is a number of diverse features that will interest wargamers who follow many periods of history. I am finding the features by Henry Hyde helpful for wargaming scenarios now as he goes into details about something different that the 'normal' two line of troops and start firing. Something I find particularly refreshing.

In this issue there is some information on painting Spanish Tercios in 28mm. Although I do not game this period there are many tips for any figure painter.

The worst thing about this feature, unlike the others is that this one comes complete with a line drawing of the author. Unfortunately Guy, the editor, rejected the first pictures I sent in which coincidentally looked very much like Brad Pitt. I then had to submit  pictures that were actually of myself. Fortunately the picture has been more complimentary than I had expected.

You can purchase the magazine here