No Conventions? No Con-Problem!

I can't remember the last time I enjoyed the hallowed halls of a game convention.  The musk of happy gamers.  The "nuked" restrooms - gamers bathroom habits are scorched earth for sure.  The end is nigh in my neck of the woods.  With California achieving very high vaccine rates and with very low daily cases we'll we in the "yellow" tier here very soon.  

The good news is much has been completed during the lockdowns and general "inside-i-ness" of the past year+ - even if my motivation to post to the blog has been low.

PacifiCon - held on the first weekend in September looks to be the first full convention we'll see back on the local schedule here.  The good news is pent up gamers just can't wait to get out of the house - so what would normally be the smallest/least attended convention in the local area is looking to be overrun with excited gamers.  This guy and our merry group of gamers are so on top of it we booked the hotel before the convention block even opened up.

But ... on to things that are happening sooner ...

CabinCon.  Something that we started a few years ago ... is back and alive!  While not as "broad" at the moment as it could be --- the good news is the gaming group is all fully vaccinated at this point.  I've reserved an event room at the DoubleTree here in Newark, California for May 28-30, and we are going to game our little asses off for three days (Friday through Sunday).  

We have a plan to do the following:

• Friday afternoon:  WW1 Dogfighting
• Friday evening:  LOTR - Battle at the Fords of the Isen (using Middle Earth Battles)
• Saturday Morning:  Napoleonic's - Battle of Corunna (using Empires at War)
• Saturday Afternoon: WW2 Eastern Front (using What a Tanker)
• Saturday Evening:  Board Games, Drinking, General Shenanigans
• Sunday Morning:  Napoleonic Naval (using Beat to Quarters)
• Sunday Afternoon: SAGA Crescent and the Cross Mega Battle

It's possible we may have WW2 Winter (Dan Kerrick) and/or Sudan colonial (from Matt Hilzendrager) if they can pull the games together in time.

Oh ... I can't wait!  Many pictures will be taken and shared.

Now I need to buckle down and finally get all the LOTR basing done!

Wargames for 2021

I've spent some time recently planning out the games I'll run this year -- with a target of getting these games to the tabletop all before the summer.  All of these games are well within my power and capability to deliver before then.

In no particular order ...

Austerlitz, 1805

Not too long ago I posted the scenario for Austerlitz.  I have 80% of the miniatures done for this scenario and the main focus on my painting efforts now fall to completing the remaining 20% - all Russians.  The great news is all the Russians I need to finish are all needed for Borodino as well.

I've compressed the map into a 6 foot by 16 foot table (was 20 foot wide).  The gap down the middle was too large for any of the allied forces to have any chance of attempting to reinforce Pratzen.  This will greatly improve playability of the scenario.  Very much looking forward to finally getting this scenario on the tabletop and putting myself into a realistic position to get Borodino on the tabletop perhaps by late this year (if not late this year, very early next year).  Borodino is a *massive* battle that will be taking almost my entire French and Russian Napoleonic collection - including Dutchy of Warsaw units, Wurttemberg units, and other key units like the Zastrow Cuirassiers and Saxon Guarde du Corps (using the beautiful Eureka models for those two units).  There is light at the end of this tunnel.

War in Rohan

With the final batch of Rohan, Dunland and Isengard forces in hand the basing/rebasing will commence immediately.  A large number of War in Rohan scenarios are unlocked by this milestone.  First and foremost though will be the battle of the Fords of the Isen.

Rather than creating a one off river, I'd invested in a great modular river from Tabletop Modellbau.  I've really impressed with the different sections in this range (I'm having him make many of the straight sections more plain).  The waterfall section, various turns and the end piece are excellent sections to really make this set stand above others I looked at.

I'll use the Y section to create the small eyot (little island in the middle of the river where Théodred makes his stand).  This should work out well.  I figure it will be about a month though before I have the river in hand as he is still working on the order and it needs to ship from Europe.

I'll also be doing a smaller engagement I'm calling Defence of the Westfold.  This will be a more plain battle with very few (if any) characters and will be centered around Dunland forces looking to burn the buildings of a Rohan village.  I already have the buildings done/painted for this.  I can also upgrade this to an attack on a fortified village/town if I want as I have all the fortification sections complete as well.

Last but very much far from least is Helm's Deep.  My 3D printer is already hard at work on printing off the Helm's Deep files (these are sadly no longer available).  This will be the pinnacle battle for my War in Rohan series.

Battle of Brandywine Creek

The very last two AWI units I'll get completed for my collection is a unit of British 16th Light Dragoons and a unit of Queen's American Rangers.  Both of these units round out the forces I need to run a game for the battle of Brandywine Creek.

I'll be using the same river mentioned above to create this tabletop.

Battle of Freeman's Farm (Saratoga)

I have everything I need already done to run the battle of Freeman's Farm from the Saratoga campaign.  The only thing I need is the same modular river (man, that river is going to get a lot of use!).  This should be a lot of fun as there is a hefty bunch of Hessians in this battle and even some native Indian units I'll be using for the British side.

Casey's Redoubt (Battle of Seven Pines)

The only thing outstanding for me to run this scenario is to finish painting the two white buildings that are the landmarks of this battle (well, outside of the redoubt).  I'll be using the same earthworks I used for Vicksburg and Breed's Hill to create the redoubt for this battle.  All troops are done and ready to go.

Wrapping Up ...

Looking at all this now that I've written it down seems like an impossible amount of gaming to bring to the tabletop - but to be perfectly honest - outside of Austerlitz (~80% done) I'm like 95-99% done on every other scenario I've listed here.  All of this is VERY honestly and realistically achievable in the first half of this year.

So stay tuned to the blog as there is much to come over the next few months.

General Update: More LOTR Models

A quick post today.

While I've been hard at work on finishing my AWI stuff (very close now), the glorious Steve Dake finished up the last of my Rohan, Isengard and Dunland forces.

They arrived in todays post and I promptly unpacked the models.  Christmas again already?  I snapped a few pictures.

As you can see above this batch is large, clocking in at around 270 miniatures, all stunningly painted by master Dake.

I've decided to abandon the clear basing as it is just too brittle for regular handling of the miniatures.  Also, I'll be able to add secondary pins for those ever fragile plastic GW horses once I get them on mdf bases (with glue, sand, static grass and tufts).

So once I finish up the AWI basing I'll have more basing to do.  I shant complain though as having a backlog of painted miniatures to put on bases is better than a backlog of unpainted miniatures (ha, I have that problem as well, but one thing at a time).

Some Changes Around Here

Inspired by my long lost brother Ivor Evans I've decided to breath a little new life into the blog with a new look and logo.

I was messing around and came up with the following new logo.

I'm not 100% sold on it but figured I would give it a spin for a little bit.  It looks a little Wargames Illustrated'ish ... but hey ... I like the WI logo so cool.  I can easily restore the old look.

In other news, I've finished all my Hessian units for AWI ... now just working on the last big batch of basing for my Continental units that are done.

So, the new look/logo ... crap?  Good?  Don't give a hoot?  Let me know.

To 2021, And Beyond!

Happy new year!  I'm a little late with this post, but better late than never.

I finally took a moment to reflect on the last year and I must admit, while I made a lot of progress on finishing projects, such as starting and completing AWI, from a gaming perspective I'm a little underwhelmed.  On the bright side ... the Mandalorian is F'ing awesome.

With all the conventions cancelled and it generally being hard to get anyone together, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's be stuck inside most of this past year. Oh, and kids home schooling ... yeah.

Ok ok ... enough ... on to some reflection here.

The highlight of this year - which was done just before COVID wrecked everything, was CabinCon.  We didn't know it at the time but this would be the last time we all gathered together for some big games and some concentrated gaming time.

That being said, CabinCon was a hoot and was the first running of my Siege of Vicksburg game for ACW.  I did run this scenario again outside on my patio with just the main part of the group.

At least I got some great pictures of the Vicksburg game.  I do enjoy going back to see the pictures and remember the fun that was had playing the game.

I also finally got a game of Blood and Plunder in, which of course is a really fun game.  I have some more I'd like to do on this front but alas it will be a little bit before I get back around to it.

Roy Scaife brought his 1:1200 scale WW2 naval game to the tabletop.  Solid rules and fun with ships that are a good size so as to not feel "dinky" like the normal 1:2400 scale.  Roy continues to fill out the ships (getting a lot done now) and has added observation planes and various fighter/bomber squadrons since we played a couple of games a little while ago.  Looking forward to more naval action this year with Roy.

Despite getting a very large number of Russian and Austrian Napoleonic completed this year, I've not really played that many Napoleonic games (which is one of my favorite periods!).  Again, I blame COVID.  However, all my progress with the Austrians and Russians have put me in a great place to be able to get Austerlitz on the table this year.  Borodino is still very much on my main list and I continue to get units done for that game.  I sorta shot myself in the foot there when I expanded the scenario to include the Poles and additional Russians.  As a result I have to get some Duchy of Warsaw units done now :-)

Getting my Middle Earth Battles rules and troops on the table was a big accomplishment.  I'm weeks away from having my Fords of Isen scenario done and ready to play --- but of course, can't play with anyone at the moment so I don't know when I'll actually get to play it.

Steve just finished up the last of my Dunland force and Rohan expansion (primarily foot troops).  With that I'll be able to base/complete the rest of my Rohan and Isengard forces.

Last but certainly not least is AWI.  This one the period that came out of left field for me.  That mis-shipment from Perry earned them lots of additional revenue ;-)  lol  I was happy to throw more money at the Perry's though.  

Getting Guilford Courthouse on the table and playing through it was really great.  I'm really happy with how everything turned out for this period.

Right before the end of the year I was also able to run my Breed's Hill (aka Bunker Hill) scenario which also was a grand time.  I'm looking at running two additional scenarios this year for AWI, the battle of Freeman's Farm (from the Saratoga campaign) and Brandywine.  There are of course many more I can run.  The last units for AWI I'll get done are some American Rangers, British 16th Light Dragoons, and another unit of Hessian Grenadiers.  After that I can't think of anything else I would need.

Admittedly I've found myself with plans for this year but currently a serious lack of motivation to get cracking on them.  There are AWI, ACW, Middle Earth and Napoleonic games I'm going to finish and run this year - I know it for sure (you know, if society doesn't collapse this year).  

Hopefully my motivation will come back soon.  Right now when I sit down at my paint table I feel like a storm trooper taking a leak - stay on target!  I guess the real question I have is what will be this year's squirrel project?  I actually hope it doesn't happen ... but I don't have a good track record on squirrels :-)

Well, that's enough for now.  It looks like there is finally a light at the end of this COVID tunnel ... and I can't wait until we can all get back to some real gaming.

Epic History TV - Napoleonic Wars

Sharing this as an excellent resource that is free on YouTube.  Looking for some great wargaming related things to watch while we are all hunkered down?

Epic History TV has an very well produced series of videos covering key battles throughout the Napoleonic Wars.

You can access the full set of videos here.

Some of the key videos I recommend:

• Austerlitz 1805 (18 minutes)
• Jena 1806 (16 minutes)
• Friedland 1807 (20 minutes)
• Spain 1808 (19 minutes)
• Aspern-Essling 1809 (19 minutes)
• Wagram 1809 (14 minutes)
• Spain 1809-1811 (20 minutes)
• Salamanca 1812 (17 minutes)
• Borodino 1812 (18 minutes)
• Leipzig 1813 (33 minutes)
• Waterloo 1815 (14 minutes)

These are very "digestible" documentaries, not running on and on for hours.  Most are roughly 20 minutes or less.  The maps displayed are beautifully detailed and more importantly are animated to show troops/formation movements and key events!

Even if you are not all the interested in Napoleonic's, the channel covers many other periods with the same format.  Highly recommended!

I also highly recommend watching the War and Peace (2016) mini-series by BBC that is available on Amazon here.  Excellent actors and a telling of the classic story that I very much enjoy.  Of course the original movie is also still excellent to watch as well!

General Update - The Summer of Basing

I've been busy this summer.  I have a backlog of painted figures that need basing so I've hunkered down and started "The Summer of Basing" --- although hopefully it doesn't take me that long ...

I'm currently basing ~1,750 figures spanning AWI British and Americans, and Napoleonic's spanning French, Russians, and Austrians.

I have most of the units on bases at this point ... still finishing up a few for this "wave" of basing (2 x French Line infantry at 36 figures each, and a Russian Grenadier unit at 36 figures).

You can see most of them arrayed together on my bar top below.

From closest in the picture to farthest - the first 3 "rows" are AWI --- which represents about 1/3rd of my AWI collection --- 2/3rds needs basing straight after this batch.

Next is French Napoleonic - 4 units of light infantry and 4 units of line infantry.  I have 2 more line infantry to base.  Behind the infantry (for the French row, and behind the Austrian row) is French cavalry, a unit of Lancers, 2 units of Dragoons, Hussars and Carabiniers.

The Austrian row has 5 new "large" (48 figure) German line units, with 1 regular (36 figure) German line unit and 1 Grenz unit.  I have 8 more Austrian infantry units to base at 36 figures each.

The last two rows are my Russians.  12 x Musketeer units (36 each), generals, 2 artillery batteries (6 guns each), Dragoons and Cuirassiers.  Basing a Grenadier unit currently to add to this pile.

Above you can see a closer look at the AWI units ...

Above you can see a closer look at the French Napoleonic units ...

Above you can see a closer look at the Austrian Napoleonic units ...

Above you can see a closer look at the 1st part of the Russian Napoleonic units ...

Above you can see a closer look at the 2nd part of the Russian Napoleonic units ...

Above you can see a closer look at the Russian High Command ... excellent set by Perry Miniatures.

Very soon I move on to getting sand on the bases, static grass, tufts, etc.

I'll have both AWI Breeds Hill (Bunker Hill) and Guilford Courthouse on the game table in September - looking forward to those games.  My Wagram scenario is hot on the heels of that, with Borodino being ready in the new year if all goes to plan.  Borodino is a very large game ... will need ~8 players per side ... so hoping that can be run at a convention after COVID finally passes ... but we'll see ...

With that I'll wish you all health and happiness during these troubled times.

General Update - End of June

Summer is here!  I hope you are all staying safe and healthy - not only physically healthy, but mentally healthy!  As usual, I have several projects underway, but admittedly my progress has slowed with the arrival of summer.  I have had a number of things around the house to get done that has detracted from my hobby time.

The largest hit to that time has been my water heater.  It finally died after springing a leak.  It destroyed part of my garage floor.  I had the water heater replaced with a tank-less option (highly recommended!) and now I need to replace the floor in the garage (overdue as well, so no big deal --- will knock that out this weekend).

My AWI project moves along nicely.  I'll have Breed's (Bunker) Hill ready for September gaming, and Guilford Courthouse before the end of the year.  I had some existing units already and have finally got those based up (pictures below).  8 units below, but I actually have 12 American units completed painting.  The first wave of British are also due by the end of this week.

You can see some hulls for my 1:600 scale Napoleonic ships in the back left of the picture above --- more of those coming as well.  The British ships (~26) for Trafalgar are all completed.

I continue to love GMB flags - they are top notch and I use them whenever I can - the golden standard!

Roy Scaife has taken on WW2 naval for our group - doing this at 1:1200 scale (normally this is 1:2400 scale, so this large size) ... ships are all painted and just in need of basing.

I did finish up my Uruk-hai painting for that large pike block ...

Diverting from miniatures ...

The other detractor from hobby time - but at least related - has been my family diving head first into what I would call "more advanced" boardgames.  Two boardgames that have been at the top of the popularity list for the family is Root (just an AWESOME game) and Everdell.  We've played all of the expansions for both games, even doing the "massive" Everdell game, playing with all expansions at once.

I even hosted a couple of "casino nights" which the family/kids loved (yes, a small amount of money was involved) ...

Diverting massively from miniatures ...

I'm fortunate to have a nice backyard (at least for California standards).  I decided to host some outdoor movie nights for the family - which is actually fairly easy to accomplish.  I purchased a large outdoor screen from Amazon along with an HD projector --- all this for <$400 which is not bad at all considering the screen is 14 feet wide and the movie is in HD quality at that size!

I watched LOTR: Return of the King --- which was EPIC on such a large screen!  This is a great activity to do with the family.

I even built a raised garden and planted some vegetables ... picture below is older, the veggies are coming in nicely now.

I also managed to refinish my dinning room table which came out really nice.

Ok, enough of the non-gaming/non-miniatures stuff ... just sharing to show some things I've been doing to keep myself busy in these crazy times.  I hope you are all finding ways to make yourself happy/keep sane in what seems like a never ends cycle of bad global events.  I'm also working on some major updates to my ACW and Napoleonic rules based on many games/play testing and results --- finally homing in on what can be a "finally done" set of rules.  With that also comes my AWI rules.

Onward and upward folks!  Stay tuned for more!