I Should Open A Library!

 3 publications arrived on my 'to read' shelf this week - 2 from Osprey and one from WI.

MAA180 - Published 1986 - Martinez & McBride

I wanted some better illustrations of the ancient Spanish so I risked getting this, somewhat, venerable booklet.  The colour plates look like someone threw sand over them - a heavy greenish-yellow dusting.  Plate G shows a dead elephant - was this just a baby?  Cannot believe that African bush elephants were so small!

 

MAA475 - Published 2011 - Chartrand & Rickman

This fills out my knowledge of the Spanish forces in America during the Revolution.  Always fancied building a 20mm army for this period.  Most soldiers can be formed by re-painting existing Airfix (and other) figures.  

The only exception are the Cuera cavalry. Given the low numbers required I may end up doing some conversions.

I happened to be in Pontefract on Wednesday and thought to go look in W.H.Smiths.  The latest edition of Wargames Illustrated had a 'free' gift in the pouch entitled 'Never Mind the Matchlocks'.  Obviously related to the popular 'Never Mind the Billhooks' rules by Andy Callan.  Matchlocks concentrates on the ECW rather than the Wars of the Roses (see 'Billhooks).

I had been avoided building any DBA-RRR armies based on the ECW but many of them have figures that could be seconded.  Perhaps Jim will put on a battle at the WDW club!  

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Meanwhile back on the DBA front:

Saturday 23rd November - Gt.Houghton

2.80b   Hunnic      v  2.83b   Later Visigothic    5:0 loss
2.53      Ancient Brits    v  2.54a   Scots-Irish        5:1 loss
2.40      Numidian    v  2.32a   Later Carthaginian    5:2 win
2.39b   Ancient Spanish v  2.47a   Early German        4:1 loss

I was expecting game three to be a 5:2 result but a loss.  Still...can't complain I broke my losing streak.  Just remains to see how Sat 30th goes!

Out with the Old, In with the New

 

                                                Jewish Revolt Aux - painted by Paul Johnston

Looking into my Carthaginians box I realised that most of the painted figures are (very) old Minifigs whereas the bare metal is mainly Magister Militum.  So, if I painted up the new recruits I should be able to retire the 'veterans'.   

Firstly I will concentrate on the Spanish.  I have plenty of new foot (helped by some donations from Ian) but little in the way of mounted.  Secondly my attention will go to the Numidians/Moorish.

So what to do with all those old Spanish LMI! Well....oval shield, bare heads, cloak & spear.  I consulted the Armies & Enemies books.  What popped out at me were the 3 'Jewish' armies.

2.43       Maccabean Jewish   168-104 bc
2.50       Hasmonean Jewish   103-63 bc
2.51       Late Judaean             63 bc – 6 ad

SUMMARY (maxima)

3Kn(g)        1            3Cv         1        
2Lh(g)        1            2Lh          3    
4Pk             4            4Bd          2    
4Ax             6            3Ax          2    
5Hd             2            7Hd          2            
2Ps (bow)    3            2Ps (jav)    2
2Ps (sling)    3                
    
32 elements

Most of these can come out  of my 'Hellenistic' tins but I could also re-paint some of the old LMI as genuine Jews. The tunic needs work including some stripes.  I should be able to manage that (weather permitting of course).  

Not a killer army amongst them but a chance to mark off 3 more from the book 2 spreadsheet.

So what to do with the rest!  Maybe later!

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On a losing streak - two recent DBA sessions have been an unmitigated disaster - 7 games, 7 losses:

Saturday 2nd November - Gt.Houghton

2.3b   Classical Indian    v 2.46b    Kushan             4:1 loss
3.10c  Hindu Indian        v 2.80c    Chionite Huns  5:4 loss  (The last time I tried to win)
3.23a  Khmer                  v 3.23b    Cham               4:0 loss
2.36a  Graeco-Bactrian   v 2.37     Parthian            4:0 loss

Saturday 9th November - Gt.Houghton

3.78  Scots Isles           v 4.58  Medieval Irish    8.3 loss [Double DBA]
2.11  Gallic                   v 2.13  Samnite             4:2 loss (lots of terrain in the centre)
4.47  Golden Horde      v 4.65  Wallachian         4:0 loss (tried out the Italian 1 4Xb)

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Nothing on my paint table - too cold.  Of course I had a hospital appointment yesterday - so it snowed!

Awaiting 2 books from Osprey (still on the 'Spanish' theme).  More news next time - I hope!

It's Been A Long Time

 ...getting from there to here!

Finally managed to extract a couple of boxes from my loft (thanks to someone else climbing the ladder).

 

The first ones out of the gates are the 'Gauls'.  As far as I'm concerned this means fast warband rather than solid - like the Germans (whose box I cannot find).

So the relevant DBA army lists are:

1.14 a-c    Early Northern Barbarians
2.11          Gallic
2.53          Ancient British


The first list has 9 x 4Bw so I'm swerving that one.  

The other lists give a more standard mix of Wb(F) plus LCh. The Gallics can substitute Cv for Lh and solid Wb for fast.  

I am puzzled by one aspect of the 1.14b army that allows for 2 x 4Bd. Cannot find any reference to such figures. The blurb says some nobles wore bronze armour but of what sort there is no indication.  

Nevertheless I will be transporting this box to Gt. Houghton tomorrow  all things being equal.  Might take another small box or two.

Next on my list is a huge mess of two tins labelled 'Indians' and 'Elephants Plus' but more on that next posting.

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For those who wonder where I have been - I have been wearing a path to various local medical facilities. Had a bad reaction to my Covid jab.  It's not good getting old.  

No DBA gaming to report on but I did manage to visit the club on Monday night and watched a DBMM game. 

A few figures have received a lick of paint as well- mainly Russian Napoleonics and some additional Isles & Highlanders.

Hopefully my health will improve so that normal service can resume asap.

 

 

 

Scots Wha Hae

 

 These are Gripping Beast 25mm SCOTS07 - 

My camera is playing up again now that Fuji have decided to cease supporting FinePix.  I can see my pictures on the viewer but they stubbornly refuse to import.  Will have to buy an external card reader.

 I wouldn't normally consider building 3.78 Scots Isles & Highlanders as I already have Vikings.  Another DBA army with an excess of 4Bd was, therefore, not on the cards.  So how come I have 18 elements waiting to be flocked and photographed?  

It's a question of accumulation.  Ian gave me a load of suitable axemen, Ben supplied some 'Viking' types and my own spares box ran to a few more elements.  What I didn't have I purchased from QRF - Bw & Pk (it took 23 days but at least they are still functioning).

Now I'm thinking about a double DBA army.  For that I need an additional 3 x 4Bd; 2 x 3Bw & 1 x 3Ax (Irish).  The WotR box can supply the last element.  What I am short of is 40mm x 15mm mdf bases (incidentally I highly recommend sandpapering the mdf to improve adhesion).

It is not necessary to differentiate between the 2 commands in DDBA but I'm going to do it anyway.  The painted soldiers are on wider (20mm) bases whereas the new ones will be shallower.  Doubt that it will make any practical difference but time, and experimentation, will tell.

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No wargames for me recently as I have been quite unwell - balance failures.  Discovered that part of the problem was using Cymex (for a cold sore).  Seems that when you are over 65 the medicine is not recommended (contra-indications include dizzyness).  Who would have thought?

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On the painting tray:  (a)  Napoleonic Russian horse and artillery
                                   (b)  Anglo-Saxons
                                   (c)  Oddments - 4 x Italian Xb, 8 x generic medieval Sp,  6 x Celtiberian Bd(F) &                                                             10 x Elvish HotT elements.                    

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Stray Thoughts & Scattered Dreams

 

 Atlas of the Battles of the American Revolution 1775-83 by Bonk & Anderson

 This solid tome was recently on special offer at £20 from Helion.  At that price I could not resist.  Looks like a well crafted book with plenty of maps.

Thought it might be time to get all those 20mm Americans & Brits out of loft!  Then reality stepped in and reminded me of the current ban on climbing chairs & ladders.  Unfortunately (or fortunately) until my balance improves those Airfix armies can slumber on.  

Also occurred to me that I may have some British up there as well!  15mm figures purchased decades ago from a shop in Doncaster.  Of course the model shop no longer exists (now an 'adult' premises).  

Sadly yet another wargames establishment has shut down - Janco Toys at Worsborough.  The owner needs to devote his time to looking after his sick partner.

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Something Dropped Into My Lap

I had run out of ideas for blog posts.  Inspiration was sleeping late (or later than me anyway). Maybe a look through some old box files would help!  Of course the lid of one gave way and spilled its contents all over the place.

Amongst the papers were a few things that had been 'put away for later' ...and later never came.  3 items needed further investigation:

1)  "Suggestions for HotT Naval Elements" [author unknown].  Only 2 pages - eminently sensible and easy to incorporate into HotT.

2)  D3H2 v2.0.  There were obviously pages missing - no idea where the disc is.  I contacted Thomas J Thomas (one of the authors) who kindly sent me a copy of the latest version (2.1).  This will probably be the last pro tem as he is helping to develop DBA Fantasy.  Have played D3H2 a few times in the past and found them OK.

3)  Hott With A Difference by G.Branco.  Posted to 'theminiaturespage' a few years ago (email address is no longer valid).

An attempt to add some colour/individuality to 'vanilla' HotT.  New army lists have restrictions and troop abilities.  Of course only play-testing will tell.
Now, if my camera & computer will talk to each other I could set up a trial game.......Hmm!

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On the Paint Tray:

Nap Russians - 15mm cavalry & artillery
Ancients - 15mm Anglo-Saxons - slow going and dull,
Fantasy - 20mm Elves - need some extras (about 6 points short) - time to research Elven mythology.

 

 

New Purchases - Pt.2 Light Box

 

 

Emart Foldable LED Light Box - taken using natural light (very sunny).

A pure indulgence.  The assembly instructions were/are not super clear.  After studying the diagrams I made my first attempt.  Two more tries later I got it right (or close enough).  There's still one piece of net that I don't know what to do with.

For the first set of pictures taken with this box see the previous posts (Bedouin & Sea Peoples).  The backdrop colour selected was of a sandy hue (to match the figures) but it turned out pink.  Maybe I had the wrong light setting (3 available). Pleased with how much shadow elimination there is.  Obviously more practice is required. 

For the pic above I used 100% light and a red background.  Have to admit it makes the figures look like something out of a video game.  

     Huns - 1 x Cv(g); 2 x 2Lh; 2 x 4Bw  [When I find my 'Germans' they can share a box/tin]
     Knights - 1 x Serbian (white - for Ottoman army); 1 x Welsh (mixed - manufacturer unknown);          1 x Mixed (for general use)
     Artillery - general piece (stone-thrower)

It was only when I tried to import the pics that I ran into trouble.  Support for 'MyFinePix' has been withdrawn.  Shotwell was not happy on my system either but the 'native' Windows program worked (sort of). Cleared all traces of Shotwell and MyFinePix.  Re-installed Shotwell.  Worked well enough to get the last photo.  What a pallava!

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On order (Essex) - 12 Medieval Polish Knights (for 4.66 Later Polish); 8 Italian Xb (for Golden Horde);
                   8 Generic DA/Early Med Spearmen (always seem to be short of these).
         (Helion) - book on AWI battles.

Still on the painting tray: Russian Napoleonics & Anglo-Saxons.

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DBA @ Gt.Houghton - Saturday 3rd August 2024

1.11a  Akkadian             v 1.10 Melukhkhan    8:3 win   Double DBA - I steamrollered my Pike forward.
1.25b  Early Neo-Assyrian   v 1.23b  Later Vedic Indian   4:1 win   Collision Course - Ian struggled to get his troops on the board.
1.9  Early Syrian           v 1.1b Early Sumerian   6:0 win     standard DBA - this was 'hairy' to start with but then the terrain effects took over.

The last time we played I was wiped out - loosing all 4 battles.  Just goes to show what a game of skill DBA is!

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Still frustrated by the appalling formatting on this blog.  Cannot cleanly exit from the program either.  Seems that I need to look for another host!

New Purchases & Other Miscellany - Pt.1

 

 (A) Purelite LED Desk Magnifying Lamp

This first purchase was a necessity.  My previous, Anglepoise, lamp had served me well for over a decade but the main plastic housing was gradually melting.  The heat shield was inadequate and I felt that a fire was inevitable.  In addition the peg from the main arm was too long for the anchoring base so it scratched my table top.  A replacement was well overdue.

The Purelite has 4 settings providing 10%, 30%, 60% & 100% illumination.  Haven't seriously tried it out yet but it seems robust enough.  Only time will tell.

 (B) Minifigs Z340 - Polish/Russian infantry.  Settings - Full light on light box (see Pt.2) with green background.  Much clearer than last time.

The originals (in various states) were posted on 16.5.22 - halfway down.

This means that I can now field 3.63a and 3.63b Early Polish DBA armies in 15mm.  Later Polish (4.66) requires 4 x 3Kn to complete (have to order some figures).

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On the Paint Tray:

1)  Huns - Cv gen, 2 x Lh, 2 x 4Bw

2)  Celtibereans - kindly given 24 soldiers in a raw state.  After cleaning up I realised that only 7 had swords plus 1 that could become  a Celt.  The other 16 javelin-armed infantry can be returned.

3) Russians (Nap) -  starting on the horsemen.

4) Artillery piece - thought this was for the Hun army but DBA 2.80 says not.  Never mind it is a pretty generic stone thrower so it can be co-opted when and where required.

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This posting is 2 days late - my camera had been playing me up.  Could find the relevant pictures on the camera memory but importation was impossible.  The battery warning light was on so I high-tailed it to the nearest Argos (Pontefract).  Once charged I tried again to import the pics - nope!  Much fiddling around later I succeeded.  The morale of this story is do not let your batteries get low on your digital camera.

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Next time:  more experiments with the Light Box.