Partizan Wargames Show 2019

Hello Again! With the dust from the Partizan show now settling I feel it may be my turn to add to the glut of photos and videos from the show. It was not possible to get to all of the games during the day as I had to meet Guy Bowers from WSS and visit a few traders stands as well. 

The first demonstration game I found was the offering from the Perry twins.

Details of the Battle can be found here. Whilst the battle appeared very linear on the table the there were a number of personality figures and vignettes with some assorted 'hangers on' all finely arranged.  

Awaiting to enter the table was this lovely arrangement led by a Royal Navy officer. As I am in the process of researching a number of features on amphibious operations of the Peninsular War, the amphibious landing aspect of this table caught my eye. All either figures from the Perrys range or conversions.

Here is a seagulls, (?), eyes view of a jolly boat coming ashore. It is from the Perry range again, (here), but with the addition of a small, scratch built, cannon to the fore. The figures have also been converted and the barrels added. The boat was based on a acetate sheet.

Here are some further photos of the advancing duo adding to the British forces on the shore.

The French forces are arrayed further inland awaiting. In Kleber uniform, brown uniforms make a change to what we normally see on the wargames table.

This is a picture of the game later in the day. By now further British troops had landed and they were advancing to contact. The dry wadi through the centre of the board gave the French a strong defensive position to try and repel the British.

The French commander stood close by overlooking his troops. Some attendant 'helpers' obviously wanted to sell him something! 

To the rear of the French forces supplies were easily available. 

Lastly some bearers of burden carried the commanders ill gotten booty assisted buy two further officers. Overall a lovely game which showed of the sands of the desert very well and brought a lesser gamed part of the Napoleonic Wars to the fore.

Next up an offering from the Old Pikeys. Their Oosterbeek siege, part of the Battle for Arnhem.

Complete with two over flying Dakotas, German forces advancing from either side of the table and a myriad of Parachute forces including more jeeps than I have ever seen in one place before.

The Hartsenstein Hotel was very busy as German forces closed in. Unlike the resin version I once owned the tennis courts were not literally on the door step and even had German prisoners in it.

The building which had been converted to a aid post was very well detailed. The surrounding ailing was nice to see, something which was noticeable in some photographs of the battle.

Stepping back the detail was phenomenal with none of the dead space around drop on items that you normally see.

The advancing German tanks had their fair share of Beute panzers coming in for the kill.

Here are my last three photos of this game. I could have spent most of the show taking photographs of this game. A very good effort from these team.

Next up a recreation of the battle of Vimero. The figures used were 28mm. Overall the display was very eye catching, however I am not a personal fan of such tiny hex terrain. This game did add to the diversity of games and systems which were on display at the show. It also adds to the various rules which gave the individual a very good taster to the wargaming World.

Here is a close up of the high quality of painting. I took this picture as the rear view of French infantry shows the amount of effort has gone into these figures. 

Derby Wargames Society provided a WW II Normandy game using 20mm figures. Although not as grand as the Oosterbeek game from the Old Pikeys it was still a great effort with plenty of AFVs on the table, all well painted. 

The game included a town centre which resembled a more 'realistic' standard of game you may see on a normal club night. By that I mean versatile drop on items. Some gamers feel that new recruits to the 'long sustained poverty' that is wargaming may be daunted by seeing demonstrating games of a very quality rather than being  encouraged to match or better these efforts. One must realise that these efforts are normally the co operative efforts of many gamers over a long period of time, (excepting Malcolm from the New Buckenham club whose solo efforts of D-Day Sword Beach and Pegasus Bridge is really a case of severe megalomania which medical science does not have strong enough medication to effectively treat yet!).

I believe that some of the building used were old Queens Hussar or Sentry Models, (?). I would appreciate if any one else could substantiate this please.

Some of the vehicles which caught me eye were these. It felt nice to see some damaged vehicles, although no use as fighting assets I do like to see some 'fluff' on the table

Another Normandy game was put on by the Paintingshed BlogSpot. These guys used a load of well painted vehicles from a number of manufacturers, some with a few subtle touches. One resin vehicle I asked about had some fine weave cloth glued to the resin canopy to simulate canvas.

I took this photograph and then cropped it further to show the small vignettes on the table. It was nice to see a command group as this area seems to be all too often omitted as it 'gets in the way' of the fighting, although it can affect the fighting so much!

I maybe wrong but this looks like a Piper L 4, find out more about it here. Otherwise known as a 'grasshopper' it was also a surprise to see this over the table than the ubiquitous Auster.

Here is the table over view which does look sparse for bocage but I am sure this is the break out into more open countryside.

Next up the fictitious invasion of the Sugar Islands. Using their figures I was interested in some of the figures who looked more civilian or non uniform for their potential to fit into any future ACW or Napoleonic naval skirmish or amphibious operations. I have these projects in development and will lead to magazine features in the future. 

Here the overview shows a coast and small Island which offers a wealth of ideas for landings, assaults and skirmish scenarios. Not only for the historical periods I have already mentioned but the 'Pirates' games which seem to be getting more popular, (but this maybe because people like to dress up at shows rather that do the game?). 

Other jolly boats approach the shore to disgorge its load of Kings troops.

Here are the figures I mentioned, more likely to be suitable for Napoleonics or AWI than ACW but they do look good! 

Grimsby Wargames Society Provided a scenario from the Great Northern War, an area of history I am not familiar with but the figures looked spectacular. Here are some photos of the game.

Lots of flags and colourful units I can easily see why this was put on at the show!

I particularly liked the wagons.

The Lance and Longbow Society offered this at Partizan. Further details of the battle can be found here.

This game included an eye catching church which was very highly detailed. It also had a few extras in the church yard.

This lovely vignette stood out as well. I have just purchased a calvary from Brigade Games who were at SELWG last year. I am gathering a few various carts and wagons for a number of periods to skirmish game and these provided some nice ideas.

I wonder if this is a delivery or swag?

These individuals were a nice touch but I felt looked a little lonely where their mill had no other scenery around it. It was still a fine looking game though.

Here are some of the troops from the game, again very well painted.

This photograph shows what I meant about appearing a little lonely.

Here is the settlement complete with allotment and barn. Overall a nice appealing game with some good details.

The next game was a 28mm Chinese samurai game. One of the gentlemen at the table was getting worried I was taking some close up photos. Not because I was going to  damage anything but he was concerned about me looking at his painting close up! He had nothing to worry about as the game was different to the other at the show and the pagoda stood out on the table.

The Chinese junk was something I had not seen before and was very impressive.

Here is the pagoda in question and was nearly 3 feet high! Complete with Geishas.

Desmond here was also threatening the junk. Either that or it was just a large garden ornament!

These figures had their own stringed bows which I felt was a nice touch.

I wondered if this group were also running off with ill gotten loot?

This battle also caught my eye. Using 20mm high figures this sculpted terrain looked very appealing to the eye.

Here is the terrain I have mentioned. Sculpted terrain can be rather limiting because if you use fences and walls which show what scale figures you want to use on it that then means you cannot use any other scale. I have some such terrain and have not included any these and my wargames club has used some of my sculpted terrain for 10mm, 15mm, 20mm and 28mm figures. If you only use one scale of figures anyway then this is arbitrary. This offering looks very well done indeed.

I liked the look of this scenery as well. Although 'Teddy Bear Fur' is like marmite to people from a distance is did look impressive. Some of this had been trimmed, (shaved?), and a few extra shades added.

This is similar to something I have been planning for a while. I have some resin cast ship hulls and they will be used for Amphibious Operations in the Peninsular War. However I hope to make the masts and rigging more realistic.

The water effect looked particularly good and the settlement had a lot of detail for the viewer.

Last, a delight for the eyes. The offering from the Chesterfield Old Boys had a wealth of detail and as they were using Impetus rules the bases were large allowing extra detail to be added to the units. From the seagulls on the castle and fishing boat to the people in the building there was never nothing to look at.

I did not get to photograph every game but stuck to the 'aesthetically pleasing' and those games that I have some interest in.

Otherall Partizan has kept up its reputation for providing some of the best looking games with this show. plenty of historical offerings in a light and airey venue with far better lighting than existed in the previous venue.

New Buckenham Refight of Guildford Courthouse

Hello Again. I am catching up on my blog posts in preparation of the photofest that is Partizan tomorrow!

After refighting most of Guildford Courthouse as a weekend game the remaining Continental line was left to stem the British onslaught. This was played out a couple of weeks later on a Friday night.

The last line had the Courthouse on its left flank, represented by these lovely vignettes.

 Various hangers on also complemented the scene and 'assisted' the Continentals in their defence.

The Americans stayed rooted to the spot continuously firing on the approaching British forced as they slogged their way up the hill.

Happily supported from the front by their officers!

While they were backed up by some of their, (stand in), cavalry.

Crown forces continued up the hill, when I unfortunately had to leave, (early start at work next day). The further after battle report can be found at the New Buckenham Historical Wargamers facebook page here

New Buckenham refight of Arroyo dos Molinos

Hello There! Here are some photographs of a recent game from the New Buckenham Historical Wargamers. At relatively short notice a 15mm Napoleonic game was arranged from a club members collection.

Here is the village in question occupied by the French. After a forced march the British forces, led by Lord Hill, were to try and overwhelm the French General Girard, who was retreating to  Merida. To the right are French forces starting to quit the village before the British appear.

Here French commanders appear to be discussing the fact they have been caught unawares by the Allied forces. All figures are AB and some Battle Honours.

Some French forces tried to cover the retreat of their colleagues while the British continued to close in for the kill.

Appearing across the table the first units of Allied troops closed in.

Here is a closer view of one of the previous pictures. AB miniatures do stand up well as over the years they have remained the benchmark for detail in this scale and era.

I do not know for sure the supplier of these building but at a guess I would say Hovels. They set the game off very well.

I was not able to attend all of the game so these pictures are from the first few moves. Further pictures and an after battle report can be found here.

American Civil War Battle

Hello There! I recently played an ACW game using some of the new recruits that I have just painted.

Here is an overall view of the table. A river meandered lengthways along the table. There are two crossing points and these are the only means of crossing the river. The Union are advancing from the left with infantry in the vanguard and further reinforcements crossing to the bridge head. The centre of the table if crossed lengthways by a fenced road and on the right the Confederates occupy the high ground.

The objectives are the Union need to gain the high ground while the Confederates are tasked with winning the crossing points.

The rules used are a modified version of 'Rally Around the Flag' and the figures used are 28mm high.

As the opposing forces started so close together the Union forces needed to advance to allow their reinforcements space for them to advance into. The Confederates were able to deploy their artillery on high ground to fire on the advancing enemy while advancing their troops to within striking distance of the enemy.

Confederate force added their cavalry to the weight of forces that tried to stop the Union advancing. To help they also advanced their infantry, deployed on the far left flank, to assist their mounted troops.

The cavalry slowly took losses but continued to feed in their forces.

The Union continually had the problem of finding the space to move their troops into. However as the bridge head slowly expanded, although they took casualties, they kept their enemy back just enough to blunt any Confederate attacks.

Eventually the Confederate batteries had to advance to get a clear field of fire as their troops were to close to the enemy to fire over them. While the artillery did great damage, it was spread between many units so did not oblige any particular unit to give ground. Eventually the Confederate attacks on both flanks and the centre petered out as they were unable to break the Union line.

This was an exciting game as it was unclear as to the final outcome until the very end. While the Union player had the constant problem of finding the space to deploy his troops the Confederate player had to co ordinate his attacks.

We hope to reverse the sides and play this game again in the near future.

Many of my photographs were over exposed due to the bright sun shine on this day and trying to get a larger depth of field by opening the apeture.

ACW Union Reinforcements

Hello Again! As a follow up to the Confederate post earlier here are some Union reinforcements. Again there are cavalry to fight off those pesky bushwackers. Here is the complete painting group.

These are all Perry figures with a flag from GMB. GMB's website is here. I noticed when posting the picture the trooper behind the officer, pointing a rifle at him. I was going to change it when |I thought 'Well every unit has an unpopular officer somewhere!'

Here is a close up of that officer. You will see in the unit that I have used a number of different shades to the trousers. After reading a number of different painting forums and then photographing some reenactors I came to the conclusion that although a company or even a regiment could be out fitted all at the same time the dyes in clothing during this period could fade at different rates, due to their wearers activities, and the unregulated dyes used. Also I wanted to get away from the 'cloned' look where everyone looked identical, down to their shirt buttons. M Union cavalry have many different shades of trousers and most have a hint of  Vallejo 974 Sky Green. This is because there were two dyes used to make this colour and one faded at a faster rate than the other giving a slight green hue.

Again I painted another casualty marker. This a Redoubt Enterprises Union cavalryman, now available from Grubby Tanks, on a warbases base. 

Here is the bugler and another trooper. The jacket colours are Vallejo colours again: 898 dark sea blue, 899 dark Prussian blue and 965 Prussian blue.

Obviously my Union cavalry shall be desperately short of buglers!

Here the rear view of another group of figures. The basing details are from Great Escape Games and the stones are courtesy of the Local Council after they gritted my road!

Lastly a picture of the Standard Bearer and that popular officer! The flag is flapping in the breeze as per the feature I had published in Wargames, Soldier and Strategy Magazine Issue 101.

More ACW Recruits

Hello there! I have recently completed some further recruits for my ACW project. As all units are on bases of four for infantry and two for cavalry each unit requires a casualty marker.

I make a point of completing one marker for every group of figures I complete. This avoids the chance of me having to paint a lot of markers all at once which I could find boring.

I believe that this marker was a casualty figure from the Perrys range. Over the years I have collected many such markers from different companies and scrap boxes from a number of wargaming shows. This is based on a dial from Warbases. Their website can be accessed  here.

For this figure I decided to use a mixture of browns rather that greys and standard black accoutrements.

Here is the complete line up. On close examination you will see that there are two standard bearers awaiting standards. These figures are from the Redoubt range of figures which are now available from Grubby Tanks. Their website is here.

These are painted in a mix of browns, greys and civilian dress.

Here an officer, who looks like a Mississippi card player and gambler leads the way.

Next a couple of figures in shirts. These seem quite common in Confederate cavalry of the time, especially bushwackers and raiders. All figures have also had an airbrush at the bottom of the trousers to show some wear and dirt.

Lastly the two standard bearers who are awaiting flags. It is difficult to see the figure when there is a standard in the way. There is another Mississippi gambler and further  troopers.

Further recruits are on their way!

  

Desert Game

Hello There!  I have realised that I have not posted my most recent wargame, so before I go on a short holiday. As the weather is so sunny at the moment a desert game would seem appropriate.

Here is the battlefield from the Italian end. A scattering of dunes with an oasis on the centre right. The objective was for the Italians to exit the board at the top with as many forces as possible. The forces from both sides entered the board as per random dice throws which determined when and where they entered.

The Italians led the way with their tanks and the motorised infantry following. The British entered at the top left and their infantry headed for the ring of dunes which provided cover and to leave the open area of desert to the British tanks following them.

The Italian tanks lead the way, hatches open looking for any threats.

A small recon unit pushed past the oasis looking for the enemy.

The British, complete with their recon, debussed from their vehicles and set up their heavy weapons under cover.

The Italians started an attack on the enemy infantry position while using their attached anti tank unit to keep the enemy armour at bay.

Both sides used smoke to try and either delay or cover their advance. With a number of poor dice throws for the British the Italians gradually overwhelmed them.

Meanwhile the armour slogged it out for the Italians to again get the upper hand.

The figures and vehicles were 20mm and were mostly SHQ Miniatures and some Kellys Heroes from Grubby Tanks.

We used Rapid Fire rules but with some personal modifications.

Although it appeared a little one sided this was an exciting game with dice results going too and fro during the game but eventually the Italians out flanked and overawed the British forces.