Bolt Action

 

German forces from the left

German forces centre and right

View of the British forces right and centre

British forces on the right

Germans

On the German left:-

NCO with smg

7 men including 1 LMG and ammo carrier

In the centre on the road:-

Lt with 1 man

Medic and 1 man

Mortar spotter

To the right of the centre:-

1 medium mortar and 3 crew

On the German right:-

NC O with smg

7 men including 1 LMG and ammo carrier

British

On the right of the British line is:-

 NCO with smg, 7 men and 1LMG

In the centre:-

Lt with 1 man

Medic with 1 man

Light Mortar, 2 crew

On the left for the British:-

NCO with smg, and 7 men with 1 LMG

First moves

Fired at British right wing section missed

Moved around the building

Run order on the right

Run order on the left

Advance order on the left

Run orders for the 3 British commands in the centre

On the paint table

 Hi!

Back from Florida and looking forward to some painting and gaming.

I had a few days for sorting things out and got down to painting.

Instead of starting with the figures I took to the US I chose the new figures. As you do!

Blue Moon Miniatures which I got from Noble Knight Games (nobleknight.com) 15mm US Cavalry for the Little Fox Ford old west town and environs.

I must do a map for the area.

Some 28 kickstarter figures from Bad Squiddo, the ladies back left as you look (badsquiddogames) and Crooked Dice (crooked-dice) the folk for the inn (coming soon as I'm picking it and a manor house up at Salute).

Almost 2 weeks to Salute so I hop to finish these and set about those doughty 16thc witch hunters.

Until next time

Little Fox Ford has visitors coming

Hi! 

Some visitors will be arriving in Little Fox Ford in the near future.

They just need dressing in appropriate clothing.

Those US cavalry have arrived. 

There are foot and mounted, one foot for one mounted.

All told they may outnumber the figures I already have for Dead Man's Hand.

Remember though, that these were bought with the campaign I'm engaging in on the leadadventureforum. in mind. 

I'm likely to get some Indians when I get back to the UK.

The campaign has just started but I'm unlikely to get them painted before the end of March. But good for an ongoing campaign of my own.

I'd like more housing and the odd outside of town objectives:- mine, ranch, Indian village?

I'll look for scenarios for these also. Look out Wargames Vault!

Salute 53

Just purchased my ticket for Salute 2026.

I hope to meet the bloggers there this year.

I've put my name forward to game the Pony Wars on Lead Adventure Forum. I'm commanding the US cavalry, rather a First Sergeant called 'Chinny' O'Riordan. My old staff sarge from 3 RRF.

To this end I've ordered two packs of Blue Moon US calvary. One mounted and one on foot. Each pack has 30 figures. Works out around a troop. 'F' troop.

I ordered from Old Glory US and they will be delivered to me in Florida.

At some stagelater this year I'd like a 25mm fort and, maybe, some Plains Indians.

I took advantage of Sarissa Precision £5 discount and ordered the Market Hall and two two-story buildings to enlarge the village for Witchin' Hour.

Rubs hands in glee!!  

Adhoc Five Leagues from the Borderland game

Rohland's band had done minor jobs to fund themselves as Rohland had taken time to heal.

Still too weak to to wear the new armour they set out to investigate a strange fire seen in a ruined temple in the forest.

They encountered deserters

They defeated the deserters but lost Will

They encountered a Werewolf 

They defeated the Werewolf losing Njal and Jack

They encountered a Wight

As Rohland crossed the threshold of the temple a Wight appeared.

After a skirmish between Rohland and the Wight ended to no success for either Gnar joined Rohland

Then Rohland falls

Gnar summoned a mystical creature

After all this time Gnar manages to summoning only for it to fall to the Wight

Gnar doing Gnar things

Gnar thought it was time to vacate the temple to save as many as his friends as he could. At least that was his story.

Rohland and his band had trouble killing the deserters. The Werewolf was VERY hard to kill and the Wight too much for two even if they were the best of the five. Njal might have had better luck if he had not fallen earlier

It might even have been better if Gnar had managed a spell before the last encounter.

First look at Seven Days to the River Rhine

 A couple of Fridays ago I had an opportunity to paint or try out the rules for 7dttrr.

I chose to game.

I only had two to three hours from set-up to pack-away.

The game was a first attempt so was a rough set up.

German forces on the lower edge

Germans 17 and British 13 dice

The British forces consisted of:-

Command vehicle with senior officer

1 platoon of infantry with 3 Bedford trucks

2 sections of infantry

2 PIATs

2 scout cars

3 Tanks (Grants)

Grants and scout car

Section on hill with scout car

  

platoon in houses and wood with trucks command vehicle and senior officer

The German forces:-

1 Commander with truck

One platoon of infantry with 3 Maultiers

2 sections of infantry with Sdz

1 Puma scout car

1 scout car

4 Pnz 4s

1 flak wagon

1 anti-tank

The British defended the town with one platoon with 3 trucks, the commander and his command vehicle.

The other two sections were posted on the other other road close to a farm, hill and the main road. They had one PIAT.

The other PIAT was central behind a hedge

The general idea was for the Germans to capture the town, and commander of the British forces if possible. and push on to reach the main road above.

German right wing 

Three sdz's with mounted infantry sections preceded by the Puma scout vehicle.

Next to them is the reserve of 4 Panzer 4s the command vehicle and a flak wagon.

German left wing

German left wing with scout car and 2 sdz's with mounted infantry sections.

Both the left and right wings advanced.

The British moved the infantry section off the hill into the nearby building and bringing the PIAT slightly forward.

The German right wing advanced and the British infantry section chanced a shot and brewed-up the Puma.

The right wing Germans advanced and, likewise, had their scout car destroyed by a lucky shot.

Both shots were at the extreme of their range

Right wing scout car destroyed

left wing scout car destroyed

That was a bit rough!

Should I deploy the infantry and go on foot?

I decided that the panzers would advance.

On the second advance they were skirting the wood when partisans made a successful attack!

That was a turning point and I ended the game mainly due to the time.

There was plenty to like even though it seemed a quick kill game.

I played the rules as written and chose to have the armour as light which hastened the demise of the scout cars and panzer. The other reason was the rules give each section the ability to use whatever equipment was deemed appropriate to engage the enemy. That in cold war terms means carl gustav anti-tank and similar.

I should have discounted this and only allowed the supporting PIATS to have the armour penetrating ability. I intend to restrict infantry to their usual weaponry in future games.

Why 7DTTRR instead of Bolt Action? I didn't want to get bogged down with individual armour ratings and weapon capabilities and such.

I am going to be using Bolt Action with the 28mm forces I've built.

I was pleased but wanted twice as long to game.

Next time hopefully

 

It feels like a £500 lottery win!

 Hi! I was lucky enough to get one hour of painting in the other day as the little one had one and a half hours sleep just after his lunch. 

It was bliss!

I used what paints I had. The flesh colour was very light, not my usual Ungor flesh. All the figures got face and the exposed parts of their bodies done.

I also did the clothes on three figures of the soldiers in blue.

One or two of the Japanese civillians had white parts painted as did the priest.

Whwn the little one woke I showed him the figures and he watched a while. Then the fingure wandering and lizard tongue fastness if the hand snatch started.

End of painting sessession.

But it felt marvellous, even the initial minutes if showing him.

I didn't promise endless war in his future but you never know.....

The plan has gone awry

 I came to the States with a plan and successfully undercoated most of the figures I brought with me. I also used different colours on some figures, greys, green, white, brown. Just to see what difference it makes.

Why didn't I finish undercoating all? Grandson!

Have you ever tried doing something with a two year old in proximity? They love to 'HELP'. All those little nudges and those very fast grabbing fingers!

I'm still going to paint them come what may though my sanity might suffer.

Full circle

 A few days ago I joined the ranks of the septuagenarians. Yes, I'm now 70 years old.

And now I've gone full circle from playing with toy soldiers aged 7, Airfix and Timpo, to playing with toy soldiers aged 70 (too many manufacturers to mention!).

But now I play in a more structed way and at a more comfortable height than on the floor.

I still recall that day in the Library when I came across Charge! or how to play wargames. It was meant to be.

Wargaming can, and for me has mostly been, be a hobby for a lifetime. From those first days and then two decades of life to coming back and gaming for 40+ years

I should be culling my games and figures but it seems I'm gaining more each year.

I got a  couple of wargaming presents from my boys. It was after a lovely meal with all three on my birthday. One good thing about more figures is the painting. I enjoy it more than when I first started out.

Wargames Foundry ECW Sergeants with a freebie Roman

You can never have to much scenic pieces

The ECW figures will be ideal for the Witchin' Hour and the scenics for any game. They can be used for ceremonial occasions in later periods. A bit like the Swiss Guard or similar ceremonial units.

They are packed away for taking with me.

Off once again to Florida to meet up with my fantasy and sci-fi material. Let's see where that takes us.

Ronin

 In my search for suitable figures for the theatre I came across these figures from Woo Foo on etsy (samurai-villagers-28mm):-

They are lovely looking figures with nice detail. 

I especially like the two men bearing loads and the woman grinding/ making pottery?

Obviously the musician and dancer with the fans are the primary focus but the other figures will add interest to any town/village setting.

To be honest. I was somewhat worried about the fact the feet are so small on some figures, the musician, dancer and woman with the parasol. We will see of robust they are over time.

Don't expect them to be painted too soon. I will likely take them to the US and paint them there when I get some time.

I don't have many figures to paint. The Austrians are nearly finished as are the cultists from crooked dice.

I won't likely see the Kickstarter figures from Crooked Dice (crooked-dice.co.uk) or Bad Squiddo (badsquiddogames.com) until I'm back in March 2026.

Let us see. I have a little under 2 weeks to complete things before flying.

Thanks for dropping by.