Saturday, April 30, 2016

German Officers Liege





I picked up these chaps the other day. They are old and quite nice.  They are Strombecker 1/32 scale figures made of zinc. I had thought they were hollow - but it turns out that they not.  

My protestations that I'm not collecting a 1/32 scale army don't seem to be up to much. 

Quick blast of white spray and a lick of gloss paint should do nicely. 

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Command & Colours: Tricorne



I came across this floating around in the blogosphere, hat tip to Old Trousers from Numbers, Wargames & Arsing About.  This is Tricorne, Richard Borg's take on the American Rebellion. Contrary to early reports, this game will be shipping with blocks rather than plastic figures or at least that's what it says on the manufacturers website. I'm not awfully keen on blocks, but to be honest I will probably play it with figures anyway. 


I have no great enthusiasm for the American War of Independence, but I am very interested to learn how Richard Borg tackles linear warfare.  There are suggestions that a Seven Years War version will be forthcoming if this is successful and that I would be very interested in. 


The game will cover the following battles. None of these involve the French unless I'm very much mistaken - though Du Gourmand is already laying in supplies of 1/72 figures in anticipation.



Bunker Hill -17 June 1775
Long Island (Grant's Attack) - 27 August 1776

Long Island (British Flank March) - 27 August 1776

Freeman's Farm - 19 September 1777

Bemis Heights - 7 October 1777

Bemis Heights (British Redoubts) - 7 October 1777

Monmouth - 28 June 1778

Camden - 16 August 1780

Cowpens - 17 January 1781

Guilford Courthouse - 15 March 1781

Hobkirk's Hill - 25 April 1781

Eutaw Springs - 8 September 1781

The game is not available yet, but can be pre-ordered here with a hefty $20 discount.  Unfortunately, the shipping from the US is equally hefty, so I'm in two minds at present. That said, Richard Borg has never written a game I didn't enjoy.






Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Refugees


This poor soul pushing his earthly possessions in a cart

I got these figures nearly fifteen years ago, painted them a little after and only finished basing them recently.  At the time they were used to represent Dutch and Belgian civilians fleeing in 1940. I have always felt the need to include civilians in my games, not out of any misplaced sense of guilt, but because it forces one to think about the reality one is recreating on the table.



Closeup

When I was a small boy, I saw a documentary called "The World at War" which was voiced by Sir Laurence Olivier. I remember it being very good, but otherwise little more about it, but one line in particular stayed with me. The episode concerned the end of the war and the vast dislocation and hunger that covered most of Europe at the time. There was footage, I think of German prisoners of war, and food was being thrown at them. Olivier was talking about how those born after the war will not really understand what they were seeing and said "Remember that is a real man scrabbling for a potato."




An elderly couple helping each other & a lone woman

I don't agonise over the conflicts I represent on the tabletop.  It is after all a form of entertainment, of vicarious living, albeit quite a staid one. I doubt Mrs Kinch worries about the victims poisoned, stabbed and shot in her Midsomer Murders.  I rarely people the empty villages and towns my troops fight over, but it would seem unjust not to give their inhabitants some scrap of the stage from time to time.

Thankfully this is not a real man scrabbling for a potato. 






Monday, April 11, 2016

Better late than never

A rather fetching landrover

I have not been my own master of late, shackled to books and earning a crust, rather more than I would like at present. This coupled with a shoulder impingement has made me crankier than usual. Trip to the physio is in order I think.

However, the arrival of this rather fetching landrover from the Depressive Diplomatist provided a sharp reminder that the Joy & Forgetfulness "Eight years a blog giveaway" was shamefully behind schedule. The Landrover (and accompanying snazzy card) was my booty from Edwin's blog giveaway and should be joining by BAOR forces before too long.

As for my own giveaway, I popped all the names into a hat this afternoon and drew out, Sergeant Guinness!

Gentlemen, thank you all for taking part. If the good sergeant could leave a comment below with his address, I shall pop the tower in the post shortly.