A few new things

 Hi!

Over the last two months I've been to Salute 2025, Campaign 2025 and UK Games Expo 2025. Needless to say I picked up a few items. Not as many as I used to because I'm trying to pace myself better than I used to and keep the unpainted figures down.

As I said previously, with more 28mm terrain pieces I thought I'd buy some W2 figures for that scale and got the German Blitzkrieg platoon box. Warlord tried to tempt me to get the army, about £70 difference, but I held my ground. Platoon first, everything else later.

Currently on the paint table

Weeks later I was a bit annoyed that the early British didn't have a similar set. I was told on reddit that Wargames Atlantic had what I was looking for. So I bought a box from Amazon.

As with my 6mm WW2 British and German armies I'm starting with basic building block of the infantry platoon. At some stage, I will likely get support units, mortars and medium/heavy machineguns. And officers.

At Salute I also bought some tokens form Warbases; shaken, rout and disordered.

I've finished those and also done some blanks (25mm mdf bases I didn't use for other figures as I generally use Renedra flat bases) ready for pin markers.

At Games Expo I succumbed to buying the Bolt Action 3rd ed. I really wasn't going to buy it, but the 1st ed. is in the US. It came with a free figure of which I have zero use for, it being a an American.

and some civilians for Five Parsecs from Home

Well, you can't have too many civilians can you.

I'm actually a bit slow painting the Germans. I'd be finished by now if they were for any other game. I blame the plastic.

Until the next time

MKWS Campaign 2025

 I attended Campaign 2025 at Milton Keynes.

The show is held in the CMK shopping centre in front of John Lewis every year.

A few pictures to show event.

competition games

DBMM competition games

DBMM again

Lunchtime view from John Lewis café

as above

The hall emptied as lunchtime came around.

The new medieval game I played with the author.

I enjoyed it.

In the light game you dice for a pre-made retinue.

Each one has a leader of level 1,2 or 3. Three being the highest.

The board

You dice for who has initiative. Each unit dices for activation alternating between opposing forces. You dice for movement which can disrupt formations, if you have one.

Units can be varying sizes but it is 3 in the front rank, 3 in the second and whatever is left, 8 being the largest unit I saw. This means when shooting or attacking you get 6 dice for the front rank, 3 for the second and 1 for the third. A simple system and easily remembered.

Charging is fun if, unlike me, you roll the required number to reach the enemy! I charged twice and came up short, twice. This means your men become 'dispirited' and has negative consequences.

Rolling doubles on the initiative roll creates an 'event'. This can be good or bad. I was lucky in getting a field promotion for a unit with no leader. Jim, the author, got enhanced morale for all his units.

Needless to say I lost, but only because of my choices in charging and not reaching the target, 14 inches being to far for my 4 die to amount to.

The game we played was the skirmish sized game but the full rules are for larger battles.

Sunday morning action.

On the paint table and recently finished

 Hi!

I've been busy since I got back from Florida. A game or two and a visit to Salute 52, which was a nice day out, but tiring.

I saw some lovely games and enjoyed a little shopping, though the big item was already paid for and was to be collected there. Namely, the Austrian Napoleonics and some WW2 British.

The Austrians on the paint table:-

Two packs of cuirassiers, five of line infantry in helmets and one of grenadiers. I had a few of each type left over from my last big purchase, not enough of each to base, so they will come useful.

There should be enough for two elements of cuirassiers and 5 of infantry. 

I still have hussars, artillery, jaegers and light infantry to paint. I was going to make two more elements of avant-guard brigades but we will see. I wanted to reach near parity with the French, which I will be close if adding the Prussians. Next purchase will bring them above the French in infantry for sure.

I will likely finish these within the next two weeks (well, the weather is looking too good to be indoors next week it seems!).

The WW2 British:-

Not quite finished these Heroic & Ros figures but I based them anyway.

Three Daimler scout cars.

Three Daimler armoured cars.

Two Bofors on Ford 4x4 truck

Three Churchill 3's

Three Challenger tanks.

Just a little boost to the small British force.

Now, some VBCW figures.

The Supreme Leader of the socialists and his bodyguards. 

He goes by the name of Citizen Smith. His two bodyguards Fidel and Ernesto are emigres for Latin America, whose sons of the same name went on to cause a stir in the Caribbean some years later.

Smith is from MiniFigs and the other two are Giants in Miniature from Wargames Illustrated.

The socialist Polikarpov (1/48 scale), donated from Russia. The pilot (Bad Squiddo) Clara Zetkin, a German socialist.

And what's not to like about a bit of armour?

The Austin AC, British version (there is a Soviet one)

From Empress Miniatures. Yes. They are both a bit red.

Further re-enforcements for the SRA:-

Some good old MiniFigs I found whilst browsing for Citizen Smith. Just right, I feel, for this army.

And some more Bad Squiddo figures. The two pilots came in one blister and the three others in another. 

I still have to make the Hurricane for this SRA figure. 

And I bought a Stuka because, well, it's a Stuka! You never know, I may start a BUF army or use it for a scenario.

And more armour from Empress Miniatures.

The Rolls Royce Admiralty 1920 pattern armoured car. Not finished yet as I'm unsure what colour I want the running boards.

And lastly, the Salute 52 figure

That's all for now. Thanks for dropping by.

County Road Z

Gathering materials pt2

Taylor's diary

Harmony doesn't miss often , but when she does we end up in some sticky situations. Alex attacked and got injured. I attacked and the Shell blocked me.

 Another Shell came wandering in.

Ashton took another injury and I ended the Shell.

Harmony took out the wanderer.

The horde, meanwhile, was milling about. Reacting to unknown stimuli.

On the other side of the play area a gathering of Shells who were wandering into the area. (Dice rolling for where they entered each turn one at a time. It was pretty consistent on three areas. This being the most favoured.)

We crossed the road and edged towards Hodge's

Things looked good. Harmony took another Shell down.

Ashton found two stashes of resources in Hodge's

For three food. I put them in my backpack.

Things looing quiet we headed over to the corner terrace

One stash into my back pack. I had a full load

Ashton went upstairs and found one stash and he collected it.

While he was upstairs Harmony decided to take out the Shell by shooting out of the window. She missed. The Shell became alert, sensing for whatever disturbed it.

It moved off toward another Shell close by

They see a horde coming

After it passed we exited the building and were going to cross the road to the white house. That was until we saw the horde coming down towards us.

Not wanting to get trapped we left the area. 

They collected 5 resources of food for two injuries to Alex.

 

County Road Z

 Gathering Materials pt1

Taylor's Diary

Having looked at the options we formed a plan that, hopefully, would keep us away from as many Shells as possible. There were a lot on the top road. More than a few in between the terraced housing and the play area.

We decided that keeping close to the end terrace near where we were and scooting around the middle terrace we might not get mixed up too much with the Shells.

I started off skirting the shrubs and keeping low behind the wall. Harmony followed and took a shot at the nearest Shell. It skimmed by it and we saw it jerk to alert.

Ashton came over and joined us.

The Shell came on as fast as it could directly toward us.

Harmony took another shot and aimed good. Thankfully.

She moved to the terrace houses and we followed. 

All was quite.

Taking a shot at the 'sisters', she missed again! 

"Damn! I'm sorry!" she said.

The two hulks had their beady senses on her.

Ashton and I moved to intercept as they came forward.

Harmony took a shot and brought one down. 

"This one's mine" said Ashton

He moved in and crowned the other with his crowbar. 

Relief flooded over me.

We had been lucky so far in that the other Shells were too far away to hear the squelch of crushing bone. Long may that continue!

I said "Let's keep cool"

We moved along until we were at the corner of the next terrace.

They weren't to know at that stage that the Shells were stirring in the area creating hordes! They thought it was quiet!

The black beads denote aggressive Shells.

Harmony edged around a bush and took down one aggressive Shell.

A greater threat was brewing around the far corner.

Something was working them into a frenzy

Luckily they moved away from Hodges.

They are unpredictable at the best of times. 

I've been lucky in not using my shotgun so far. That would draw them faster than anything else with the noise.

tbc