Royal Mail Gone to Pot

My good friend Leon at Pendraken brought this to my attention.

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/royal-mail-lift-the-restrictions-on-shipping-water-based-paints?utm_source=supporter_message&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=petition_message_notice

Ridiculous if you are a wargamer or a modeller and buy pots of paint over the internet.

I've signed up, can you?




Iain Holt RIP 1955-2013

Apologies to anyone expecting a post about Crisis and whatever else.

My wargaming life has been brought to a sudden halt by the death of my best friend Iain Holt, my wargaming partner and lifelong buddy. I am deeply saddened at his passing and my priorities for the time being are to pay the appropriate level of respect to a favourite fellow of mine.

Wargaming, like football, can be more important than life or death but in this case it will take a back seat while I ensure that my best friend sets off on the next part of his journey through time and space in the best manner because that is exactly what he deserves.

RIP Iain Holt 1955-2013

Absence (Crisis)

I've been away at Crisis.

Here's the proof.

I hope to post a fuller report once I have recovered. (Yes I am wearing a kilt).

Dux Britanniarum - Britons - Finished

Despite a number of distractions I have finally completed the painting and basing of my British force to use with Dux Britanniarum.

I will let the figures speak for themselves in a series of pictures.

The Leadership

The Elites

The Warriors

The Levy

A selection of skirmishers

Light Cavalry

Shock Cavalry

And a peasant with his cart, cost me a fiver at a bring&buy, make and painter unknown.

Now all I need to do is to find some Saxons to battle against.

Previous chapters of this story are at:

http://jim-duncan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/dux-britanniarum-plastic-cavalry-build.html

http://jim-duncan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/dux-britanniarum-britons-work-in.html

http://jim-duncan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/my-day-at-claymore-2013.html

http://jim-duncan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/all-quiet-on-saxon-shore.html

SKELP - For Those Who Missed it

SKELP is a small but perfectly formed wargames show held in Forfar every autumn by the Angus Wargames Club.

http://www.anguswargamesclub.co.uk/

I travelled up with a couple of wargaming chums through an increasingly damp patch of weather which culminated in a heavy shower just as we parked the car across the road from the Reid Hall. A brief sprint through gaps in the traffic led us to the admission desk 15 minutes before the scheduled opening time but we were let in regardless.

The small hall was already filled with traders and demonstration games.

My short shopping list was quickly exhausted with visits to:

http://www.warbases.co.uk/

and

http://www.figuresincomfort.net/

I got some more round MDF bases from Martin to make more smoke markers and patrol markers for Chain of Command and some PINNED markers from Eric. (name dropping completed)

I was disappointed in that no-one was selling lots of rules sets and subsequently I couldn't browse through a copy of Dead Man's Hand which I was hoping to buy to make use of the extensive collection of gunfighters and cowboys I have stashed away in the hut. Still, there is CRISIS in a couple of weeks.

http://www.greatescapegames.co.uk/dead-mans-hand

My club chums were demonstrating the Chaco War 1928-35, yes I had heard of it!

The game itself is best described by my old chum Bill.

http://blenheimtoberlin.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/skelp-2013-forfar-19th-october.html

Most of the rest of the time was spent chatting to a good few friends who I normally only meet at shows and patrolling the bring&buy for any bargains. Nothing caught my eye although one of my chums seemed pleased with himself after bagging a boxed game full of plastic sci-fi figures for £20. These go for £80-£100 on eBay he boasted.

Here's a couple of my chums discussing the next move in their game while another chum gives Dave of Pendraken fame a not-so-hard time discussing flock no doubt.

Finally our journey home was as non-descript as the weather, however it brightened up considerably as we approached home.

A pleasant day out.

SKELP - Forfar 19th October

Weather permitting I hope to travel a bit further north than most UK wargamers normally manage.

SKELP is a nice little show and well inside a 2 hour drive for me. I would hope to travel up with a few wargaming chums.

http://www.anguswargamesclub.co.uk/#!page4/cfvg

Since I already have a substantial lead, plastic and resin mountain I am not in need of anything in particular but you never know what will catch my eye on the day.

For me this is a show to catch up on a few friends and also see what my club are up to.

Anyone else planning to go?

Chain of Command - Jump Off Points

In preparation for playing Chain of Command by Two Fat Lardies I have built a small collection of terrain items to use as Jump Off Points which these rules require.

http://toofatlardies.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=25&zenid=9efeaab95da663d2976a26f146810de1

I had already purchased 60mm MDF circles from Martin at Warbases in anticipation of this little diversion from re-organising the hut and painting my Britons for Dux Britanniarum.

http://www.warbases.co.uk/

I used a few plastic oil drums I had rummaged for in the bits box.

This one used a stack of oil drums cast in resin I picked up at a railway modelling show and a couple of pebbles from my garden.

This is also resin, a one piece casting. I cannot remember where I got it!

A minimalist form of plastic oil drums. I'm hoping to find a nice small bush or tree to add to this one.

This is the First Aid shelter from the Italeri Battlefield Buildings box although I have not used the red cross decal. I don't think the medics would operate this close to the front line so they have scuttled away taking their flag with them.

The chair is from the Perry North American Building kit and the barrel is by Renedra.

Plastic sand bags and ammo boxes from the Italeri Battlefield Buildings set.

An angular pebble from my garden picketed by a bit of plastic fence.

Yes, I had two of the one piece resin castings.

The terrain is household wall filler and the static grass is Noch Flock (Spring Meadow) purchased from Kallistra.

http://www.kallistra.co.uk/index.php