Oh dear!

I'm not a picky sort of person. Not generally.
But I've just watched an episode of Endeavour on the ITV hub. The episode was set around a murder committed on MoD property in the mid 1960's. For those not familiar with the show, it is spin off of the Inspector Morse TV series (originally just Morse) which was very successful in the 1990's.
One of the characters was a professor of history who was writing a history of the regiment. The regiment was going to be amalgamated with another unknown regiment and was being posted to Germany.
This character was also a wargamer. In one scene he was asked about playing with toy soldiers and claimed the battle on the table was Cannae. It had Napoleonic figures to my eye.
Now, I know we sometimes use different figures from the period we are playing. I don't but I know some do. But this just seemed off to me. Of course, he turned out to be the murderer.
Also, this is the second episode in this current series, the second in a row, where the murderer has been a hobbyist. The previous one was a train spotter and model railway enthusiast.
Is the writer against hobbies? Was he made to play wargames against his will? Go train spotting and play with a train set when he was younger? Who knows.

Ready to paint

The following are on the paint table ready for painting:-
25 mm
21 x Persian horses
20 Persian riders (Achaemenid and Sassanian)
1 Daylami javelinman
1 Female in Burqa
4 What look like Russian/Cossack peasants.


6 mm
1 Pack Austrian gun team
1 Pack Prussian gun team
1 Pack Prussian Hussars

Not sure where the Cossack and female came from but I'll paint them to clear the pile.
That is about 4 to 8 weeks worth of painting I think. It all depends on the time available. Unlike many I have grown to like painting horses. with Achaemenid and Sassanian armies I'm sure that is a good thing. It wasn't like that in the beginning though. I think that change to water based paints and inks, washes and the likes have made painting easier and faster. No more waiting 24 hours for the paint to dry.

I couldn't resist the arms race. But I will do it piecemeal. Likely I will build the infantry up a little more next, perhaps to at least 18 units each. But it will not be until these are painted at least.

Test battle of Blucher rules

I decided to take the plunge with the Austrian and Prussians and engage in a test of the Blucher rules.
Using all the figures on a fairly spartan board it still gave the game I expected.
One town on each side of the board, joined by a road.
Three woods and a marsh.
All units except the Currasiers and Grenadiers were average on a elan of 6.
The strategy for each army was diced for from a range of options.
The Prussians chose to attack down the centre with most of their line infantry (5 units) with light infantry (1) and cavalry wings (1). They had an infantry unit in the town with artillery support.
The Austrians chose to refuse the left flank of light infantry (2) and cavalry (1). An infantry unit held the town with artillery support and attack on the right with their infantry (4) and majority of their cavalry (3).
Crucially, the Austrian left wing was in close support of the town. This enabled the light infantry to enfilade the Prussian infantry attacking the town. Also, with the Prussians attacking it gave the artillery a good target. On the other hand, the Prussian artillery was facing the Austrian Jagers at a distance.
The Austrians routed the Prussian left wing and held up part of their central attack which allowed the artillery to concentrate on the infantry attacking the town. Along with the defending unit they saw off two battalions before the rest of the Prussians withdrew under extreme pressure.
Attacking towns can be a very expensive business in Blucher.
What I thought after the battle was I needed horse artillery for both armies, and more cavalry for the Prussians. Also, more infantry units. This then becomes an arms race! Which means more figures required. Which means more painting and a bigger lead pile!
Until next time