WAB GT AAR

Well my buddy Pat L. (aka Socal Warhammer) and I just returned from England where we not only participated in the WAB GT, but also managed to see a lot of fine historical sites - and great pubs too.
Suffice to say it was an impressively run tournament by Andy Pickering and Phil Vernon. There were 32 players, including Phil, and chock full off experienced players with great armies. The period was all the way from Chariot Wars through 31 B.C. Pat placed a very respectable 7th with his three-elephant strong Seleucid army. I was lucky to end up at 24 (no doubt my early list entry with attendant gimme-points helped toward this). I made several critical (read, stupid) tactical errors in several of my games, but managed to finish with a clear win in game 5.

All of my opponents, as well as all entrants as far as I could tell, were very courteous and friendly throughout the tournament - and also after hours at the bar downstairs of the tournament area. Most of the players also went to a fine dinner at a curry house on Saturday night.

Anyway, here are photos of my five games from the tournament with my Myceanaean Trojan War army -

vs. David Pearson's Sumerians - a tie (my only actual Chariot Wars army opponent). The river was fordable at both flanks, and there was a bridge in the middle.

vs. Michael Curtis' (of 1st Corps/Curteys) Warring States Chinese - my loss (his crossbowmen on the hill - taking pot shots at one of my chariot squadrons while his heavy chariots crash into my spearmen).

vs. Dave Johnson's Classical Indians - another loss for me (he had troops armed with longbows, as well as elephants and heavy and light chariots - with bows also). My initial deployment of troops didn't help, but Dave did mention he plays WAB twice a week! Thanks for the schooling Dave.

vs. Grahame Middleton's Syracusans - the worst defeat for my army; I did some seriously dumb things which I don't even want to recall. Grahame placed 3rd overall by the way - my crushing defeat likely assisting in this. That all said, Grahame is a first class player and gentleman. I really should've done a lot better in this game - maybe I was still feeling the effects of jet lag (yeah, that's what it was).

vs. Kerry Rayner's Armenians - my only victory! Kerry played her army very well - which by the way was composed heavily of Nomadic cavalry with all the bells and whistles of the "Expert Cavalry" rule. The terrain probably hindered her a bit with her heavy cavalry, but a bad leadership roll had her allied heavy cavalry flee off the table. I had also managed to chase most of her light cavalry off with my chariots. Kerry was quite the sport as all the rest of the players. This game brightened my day though.

1st Place for the tournament went to one Martin Gibbins with his Seleucid army; Seleucid armies, by the way, were heavily represented at the event. Which reminds me that the Best Painted army went to Mario Kkonnous' splendidly painted one-off Seleucid army. His painting style made me think of fine Renaissance artwork. What is even more amazing is that he sculpted his whole army! I believe the figures will be going into production some time in the near future - keep an eye out for them.

A hearty congrats to all the winners, as well as to Andy and Phil for hosting such a great event. The Mansfield Games venue was also first class - plenty of table space upstairs and a built-in pub below with a friendly serving lass. Something missing from this side of the pond, I think.

I would also like to thank fellow blogger Paul (aka Scrivsland) for his hospitality at the tournament and also a couple of nights afterward when he hosted a fantastic Bolt Action game for Pat, me and Stuart of Great Escape Games. Please visit Scrivs' blog for a great AAR and photos of this fun game.

Exhausting as it was, our visit to England was rewarding. We saw many interesting sites like Old Sarum, Stonehenge and several castles.We also visited the Royal Armouries at Leeds and the Bovington Tank Museum. We even managed to pay a visit to The Foundry - and when I say pay, I mean Pat bought another 3K WAB army to paint. Pat had to redistribute his haul of lead so he didn't exceed the weight limitations for his checked luggage. Thanks again to Neil at The Foundry for taking the time to show us around and also giving us some great deals.

Stadden 54mm Baden Hussar 1812

Well, no sooner did I post the previous WIP shots, that I decided to push through and finish the model. Actually only the red trousers and green dolman and pelisse were needed - as well as the basing.

I think this Stadden is the last of the 54mm metal figures that I had from days gone by - I've kept them with me since childhood (well more like my early teens).

He's on a 40mm Warmachine base; which is cool as it makes him look like a gaming figure.

He comes with a carbine, which I still have, but since he's supposed to be an officer, it's left off.

The Baden Hussars were renowned cavalry, and participated in the "Charge of Death" at Studianka against a much larger Russian force. Only about fifty hussars survived the charge.

Maranatha!

Stadden 54mm Hussar - WIP

Yet another old 54mm figure in the process of being re-painted. So far, just the gold (which there is a lot of) and scarlet facings - as well as straps and belts.

He'll be painted up as an officer of the Baden Hussar Regiment in full-dress. I just love the green and red combination; not to mention the green Hessian boots.

The sabretache design is supposed to be the monogram of the Grand Duke of Baden, "C F", with a crown above.

I've had this model for over 35 years and he was previously painted up as an officer of the French 9th Hussars. He'd been banged around and dropped during the numerous moves while I was in the service. Being an older sculpt, he is a bit stiff looking, but the quality of manufacture is impressive. For instance, real wire is used for the pelisse lanyard, and the straps for the sabretache and sword scabbard have been soldered on.

Maranatha!

Imrie/Risley 54mm Assyrian Archer

"Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!" - Isaiah 10:5.  Another old 54mm figure that has been repainted - this one an Imrie/Risley Assyrian archer. The figure was repainted, but the horse was left with most of its original paint and only given highlights. The horse's mane and tail weren't even highlighted with dry-brushing - guess I've learned a bit with 28mm figures.

The figure was modified a bit by having the original scale armor cut with a knife to look more like lamellar armor.

The pteruges were made from putty, as the original figure lacked these.

The helmet has had the bare metal polished and coated with a protective finish.

I'm glad I kept this figure for all these years. Maranatha!

54mm Polish Winged Hussar

Thanks to a free download from Wargames Designs of a very nice lance pennant, the Winged Hussar is completed.

The lance is a brass rod with a plastic bead for the hand guard. The lance head was fashioned from plastic sprue.

Polish Hussar lances (kopia) were very long - about 4.5 to 5.5 meters which tended to outdistance their enemies lances. This site contains some interesting information on the weapon.

Here are some close ups of the figure.

Painting him was sort of cathartic - I don't feel I "have" to get a box of those Warlord Games Winged Hussars - at least for the time being.

Maranatha!

54mm Polish Winged Hussar - WIP

Here's another old 54mm figure I decided to re-paint. Not sure of the maker, but I've had him for over 35 years or so.

Part of the reason I decided to re-paint him was due the two wings being broken apart. They were fixed with some pinning and Green Stuff. The metal turned black after soaking in Simple Green to remove the old enamel and oil-bassed paint.

After I finish this guy, and possibly a couple more old 54mm models in various stages of disrepair, I will get back to 28mm figures. I just don't want these guys sitting around collecting dust - or worse, thrown out in momentary lapse of judgement.

Maranatha!

Imrie-Risley 54mm F&IW Royal Roussillon Fusilier

Here he is - based on a Warmachine 40mm round base I just picked up from The Game Matrix today.

Highlighting has been added after the Minwax stain. The face was given a little detail work too, but otherwise, this 54mm figure was painted and based pretty much the way I do 28mm figures.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I've had this figure for many years and recently stripped the original paint work (done when I was a kid) and repainted it using the methods I use for 28mm figures now.

The Royal Roussillon Regiment's second battalion participated in most of the major engagements in the French and Indian War. Several other regiments sent their respective second battalions to "New France" for the service during the war.

As you can see the basic load for infantrymen hasn't changed much over the centuries.

Maranatha!

Imrie-Risley 54mm F&IW Royal Roussillon Fusilier - WIP

Here's another old figure that I've had for decades that is in the process of being re-painted. It is a 54mm metal figure that I originally painted back in the 1970's as a youngster. Here it is with a wash of Minwax Tudor Satin stain.

He's a fusilier from the Royal Roussillon Regiment that was heavily involved in the French and Indian War, including the Siege of Fort Ticonderoga in 1758. The unit won honors at this battle; which the French call the Battle of Carillon.

Here's the figure with a block paint job prior to the wash.

I'm now thinking of getting some excellently sculpted figures from 28mm Conquest Miniatures.

Maranatha!

Tamiya 1/25 German Squad Leader

Here's another figure dug out from a box from the past. It's a 1/25th scale metal figure from Tamiya released in 1974; and apparently discontinued. My mom bought me the kit when I was kid back in Hawaii, so its about 40 years old! I had painted it, but stripped it with Simple Green and just re-painted it.

The magazine for the MP40 was broken off and lost decades ago; a new one was fashioned from plasticard. The front sight is also fabricated from plastic. Binoculars also come with the kit, which still exists, but I decided to leave it off. It would've hung around his neck. Too much clutter in that small area already, I think.

The helmet emblems are hand-painted, and the eagle on the left side is more representational if anything.

I believe the kit came with a canteen, but it must've been lost too. It would've gone on top of the bread bag. It might still be somewhere in another hidden box of junk.

He's painted in early-war uniform - with closed dark green collar and grey trousers. A little bit of green was added to the Vallejo Field Grey for the tunic. The figure was painted pretty much like how I now paint 28mm figures. In fact, after a basic block paint job, he was given a Minwax Tudor Satin stain, followed by highlighting. The photo below shows the figure prior to the staining.

Maranatha!

Warlord Prussian Landwehr - Completed

Here they are painted up as a unit of 2nd Silesians. I liked the combination of their yellow facings and red shoulder straps. Some Silesian Landwehr units are recorded to have worn the "Stovepipe" shako with a large cross - which would make them look pretty unique, I think.

The colours chosen are noted as "conjectural" - in fact, Landwehr units weren't officially authorized colours, but were known to have carried them in battle; at least by some.

I think this set by Warlord is a pretty good choice for building a Prussian army as almost half the Prussian army was made up by Landwehr units after 1813. As I use 24-man battalions for regular sized units with Black Powder, there are 6 left over marching figures from the 30-figure box.

The box contents are 27 plastic marching figures in three different poses, along with three metal command figures. It also contains several unit colours on the information sheet. I've based them on 40mm square (3mm thick) plywood bases from Litko. Actually, these 6 bases are the last I had remaining from a pack of 100 bases.

Maranatha!

Warlord Games Prussian Landwehr WIP +1

Well, here they are after a stain/wash of Minwax Tudor Satin.

Their coats were highlighted prior to the staining process. After the stain is thoroughly dry they'll be sprayed with Testors Dullcote.

Shot of the rear of the figures - some of the details aren't really defined, especially at the sides, but are good enough for close ordered troops.

Maranatha.

Warlord Games Prussian Landwehr WIP

These are from the box that Pat L. (aka Socal Warhammer) was kind enough to award me at Enfilade! last year. Pat had stepped up for the annual historical convention here in WA State and hosted a WAB tournament - actually really low-key and practically all of the 12 or so participants knew each other from past games and got along very well. Pat arranged to have Brookhurst Hobbies sponsor the event and provided a bunch of great prizes - enough for all participants. In fact, my prize was for coming in last place and being a good sport about it. Anyway, I've just now managed to have the motivation to start on them. Here they are with just the flesh, yellow facing/piping and white equipment belts block painted over a black undercoat.

I know folks have disparaged this set for their large hands, but they don't bother me. In fact, I find them quite charming and so far enjoyable to paint. Besides the large right fists on some - which there are only three marching poses besides the three metal command figures - some of the details aren't very defined. For instance, the continuation of belts and such are missing or very vaguely sculpted on the sides of the figures. I don't find this much of a problem as they'll be ranked up and the overall effect should be fine.

When I first received the box, I had intended to paint them up as Russian militia, or Opolchenie, but recently decided to go with Prussian Landwehr - the 2nd Silesian Regiment. Here is an image of them below:

Someday they'll be fielded in a Black Powder game - probably along with the Russians I already have as a polyglot unit to beef up the British.