End of the Year Report

 

I have done my best to survive another 'festive season'.  Not buying overpriced tat or larding myself with sugary goodies has helped. Ignoring blatant christian propaganda has been harder this year - I'm looking at you BBC. 

Of course most of us know that back in the day the 'powers that be' shifted xmas into December so that it would coincide with an existing pagan festival. An early example of how slimy politicians manipulate the truth to suit their own ends.

Speaking of ends - I am really hoping that the Tories get the whipping they so richly deserve in 2024.  Trouble is the dog's breakfast that they will have left behind for anyone else to follow.  Maybe some enterprising journalist could do a virtual audit so that we can see the real state of the UK at changeover!

On another matter - my health has been deteriorating over the past few years.  So much so that I cannot now risk climbing the loft ladder to access all my wargaming figures, models, etc.  There is also the small matter of finding enough space on the lower levels in order to sort out what has come down.  There will be a follow-up posting on this subject.

In the meantime - I wish you all a Happy New Year and for better times in 2024.

DBA Clustering - the 'Germans'

 

                                                             GC9 Goth EHC Command

Unable to photograph my new recruits as Storm Babet requires house lights to be on.  Maybe at sometime in the future?

One of the main reasons that Ian and I have accumulated so many DBA armies over the past few years is the phenomenum I shall call 'clustering'.  My first German army was the 2.47e Marcomanni - so a solid base of 4Wb plus Cv.

Even more Wb were sitting on my painting tray so expanding into the rest of 2.47 seemed possible (even likely).  Given that 6 elements of the Wb are actually Visigoths I looked at possible morphs.  

For the later armies I needed Knights rather than Cv. So I put in an order with Alternative Armies (ex-TTG figures).

So that was that huh!  Well....not quite.  I realised that my top-up order wasn't very big so the p&p would be a disproportinate element [another slippery slope].  Then I thought about a Hun army.

List 2.80 (a-d): my stocks can provide the Lh (from my Tatars/Tartars) and the 4Bw. Somehow I added in a Hun command element and an artillery piece to my order. (I severely lack non-Chinese artillery).

Nevertheless I can now field the following (later) DBA forces:

2.65a - Gothic Army at Adrianople 378
2.65b - Tervingi or Early Visigothic 200-407
2.65c - Alaric & successors 408-419
2.66 -  Early Vandal
2.67a - Radagaisus 401-406
2.67b - Other Steppe armies
2.70a - Burgundi 250-534
2.70b - Limigantes 334-359
2.71  - Gepid
2.72a - Quadi 250-406
2.72b - Alamanni 250-506
2.72c - Suevi 250-584
2.72d - Other Early Framkish, Rugian or Turcillingi
2.80a - Attila 433-453
2.80b - Sabir Hunnic 515-558
2.80c - Chionite or Hepthalite Hunnic in Bactria & India [can find a suitable 'eastern' Kn but not the El]
2.80d - Other Hunnic 374-558

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DBA @ Gt.Houghton - Sat 14th October 2023

(a) 2.65c Alaric          v 2.81c British                 4:2 win
(b) 2.80b Sabir Hunnic    v 2.83b Later Visigothic        4:3 win
(c) 2.47e Marcomanni      v 2.64a Western Roman           0:5 loss
(d) 1.24b Later Hittite   v 1.22a New Kingdom Egyptian    4:6 loss*

* using my 20mm plastics v 25mm metals.  A crazy game with a whole picnic of sandwiches.
  On 3:3 for ages then a sudden and spectacular failure on my part.

Chariots - Progress Report 1

 

The 4h, 2c Roman chariot found in the Airfix box has the smallest wheels of any set.  My usual method is to substitute 25mm Egyptian wheels courtesy of Irregular Miniatures but when I did so it didn't look right.  I scouted around in my spares box and found the Atlantic Egyptian chariot wheels that I removed when making that particular army.  This time it looked OK.

So with the chariots painted I had to find some crew.  That was not as straightforward as it should have been.  The infantry had to be shifted around - some re-based as closer or looser order; some moved to grant greater uniformity and yet more decisions to be made.  After doing that I had a rump of figures that included far too many archers.  Luckily my research suggested that the closely allied Syrian chariots may have had bowmen.  Given that I also needed to differentiate between 2c (Lch) & 3c (Hch) I made the 3 crew non-archers.

Once photographed I realised that 'Honest Al' had sold one vehicle with a very dodgy axle (must repair and/or replace) plus the chariot bases are far too thin and need MDF support.  Oh well!  Have to wait for my warbases order to do that.

Next on my list - Early Libyans. The pair of 2h chariots can be made in the same fashion as for the Hittites.  The 4h are a different matter entirely.  Above is the (cropped) PSR pic of the ridiculously Hollywood 'Roman' chariot from Atlantic.  This will need some work.

 

Honest Al's Chariot Emporium (Pt.1)

 

"What can I do for you squire?", asked Honest Al
"I am in need of some replacement chariots.", replied Raschid
"I offer the best prices in all the city."quoth Al,"but there is a small problem when supplying to our neighbours".  
"There is a supplement?", enquired Raschid, already knowing the answer.
"Well...we are not supposed to sell to non-residents", stated Al, "It's the inspectors you see. The odd one can escape their attention but...".  
"And I want more like six", sighed Raschid.
Al just rubbed his hands.

I have plenty of pieces lying about in my 20mm spares box and a need to give most of my 'biblical' armies a mounted arm.  The supply of chariots is pretty limited if you consult the PSR site (when it's active of course.

(a)  Dedicated
     (expensive - 2 to a box on average)

     Caesar (CAEH011) - Assyrian 4h
     Caesar (CAEH012) - Hittite 2h
     Caesar (CAEH015) - Mitanni 2h
     Caesar (CAEH021) - Mycenaean 2h
     Caesar (CAEH024) - Egyptian 2h
     Caesar (CAEH042) - Egyptian Pharoah 2h
     HaT    (HAT8124) - Assyrian 4h
     HaT    (HAT8130) - Sumerian 4h
     

(b)  Incidental  (normally only 1 to a box)

     Airfix   (AIR01734) - Ancient British
     Airfix   (AIR01730) - Roman 2h
     Atlantic (ATL1503)  - Egyptian
     Atlantic (ATL15120) - Greek 4h
     Atlantic (ATL1516)  - Roman 4h
     Zvezda   (ZVE8008)  - Persian 4h

My Egyptian and Trojan armies already have a full mounted army - all converted from Atlantic figures.

No other army could be put into use without raising a new chariot squad. So I have Hittites, Early Libyans, etc languishing in their storage boxes.

I found 8 x Hittite (painted) foot elements plus a lot of loose (unpainted) ones.  This seemed like a good starting point so I checked the DBA army lists.   To do all options would mean 29 elements but I could exclude the 1 x 3h, 3c chariot (as I cannot find any information on it).

Coming Soon - Pt.2 Convertion of 6 x 2h chariots

Juggling Too Many Balls

 

 

Once you learn how to keep 3 balls in the air your brain says, "how hard can a 4th be?"  It's a trap that almost all wargamers fall into.

In my case I was making slow and steady progress on the 15mm (ancients) metal mountain.  New DBA armies have been coming out of the sausage machine all year. So that's well and good?

Then I suddenly thought about all those ex-Armati 20mm 'biblicals' sitting in the (Really Useful) plastic boxes. Turning them into DBA armies should be a piece of cake!  Unfortunately life is not like that.

The first step was to examine the current stock.

(1) New Kingdom Egyptian - separate out the core army from the allies.  The NKE force is complete with chariots.

(2) NKE Allies - Libyans, Nubians, Sea Peoples, etc.  No chariots.

(3) Trojans - need to be split into Achaians and Trojans.  Plenty of chariots.

(4) Sea Peoples / Philistines - no chariots (again).

(5) Medes - cannot find the cavalry (could use some of the Lydians I suppose).  Infantry only partly painted.

There is a theme here - a lack of chariots.  Best to consult PSR and raid my spares box.  No doubt there will be a lot of conversions to be done (more of that later dear reader).

Of course my painting area has even more models requiring attention - notably Russian Napoleonics and the ex-Risk ships.  

So 5 balls in the air at the same time.  I dare not look in the loft.

Tartar For Now

 

Quite some time ago I was gifted some Tatars/Tartars by Chris.  Half I set aside to be painted up and the rest traded for some 'German' foot.

Tatars feature prominently in the Golden Horde of book 4.  I finally got around to painting them.  From my spares box came 6 suitable bowmen who have been converted into 2 x 3Bw (Bessermeni).  In addition some eskimos will be serving the army as 1 x 3Wb.

 

As it happened the Germans were leap-frog experts and passed their mounted colleagues to the head of the painting queue. They are now masquerading as Marcomanni.  Others are still waiting to be finished off.  Incidentally the axe throwers are re-purposed Polish/Russian peasant infantry as shown in a previous post.

Still in the lead pile are more Germans, Poles, Russians & Islamic Persians plus various Lh. 

So why 'Tatar For Now'?  It's about time to pass on the 15mm metals and concentrate on the mountain of unpainted 20mm plastics.  A quick inspection reveals just how much repair work needs to be done.  I also need to convert/build a slew of chariots.  And...if I ever find all those part-painted Medes.......Oh Well!

A Wargamer's Life

Here I am sitting at my computer when I should be DBA wargaming.  That was my plan but my BP had other ideas - 183/141.  Radio 4 has been silenced. It's usually pretty poor at the weekends anyway but today the sycophantic BBC is fawning over Charles the Adulterer.  It also diverts attention from the bad local election results - how convenient!  OK...Rant Over.

1)  Romans

                               https://www.ancientpages.com/2023/03/29/celtiberians-culture/

I mentioned previously taking Romans to the club to re-introduce Joel to DBA.  What I didn't talk about was the state of the troops I found...so here goes.

Joel wanted to face Romans.  Easy I thought.  Just dig out the appropriate box and take along some Carthaginian opposition. When I went into the attic I discovered a collection of very old 15mm Minifigs (Romans & Carthaginians). They clearly needed an update. Replacing these venerable fighters is a must but how to justify such an expense!  

That's when serendipity played a card. On the bottom of the box was not just packaging (as I thought) but quite a number of bagged 'new' figures (mostly Magister Militum).

A quick look through suggests that I can make up DBA Roman armies from Polybian to Mid-Imperial.  What I lack is psiloi and spear - both can be 'borrowed' from my Latins. Don't know about the 3Ax or even what they should be - research needed here.

Worst of all many of the infantry were only partly painted so the brushes had to fly to make them presentable.  One army needed a Kn element.  Luckily the new influx had some.  So now I have a real mixture of new and old, some painted, some not.  Where do I go from here?

A new request to field enemies of the Early Imperial Romans has been received.  The Carthaginian box is in the same state as the Romans.  It has enough Spanish (but no Celtibereans) plus Numidians so that's a start. Need to look at what else I can put together - maybe Arabs!  Watch this space.

2)  Slingshot

Once in a while I have a hankering to look at this publication so, on a whim, I paid out £27 for a 6 issue subscription.

Issue 344 - only 2 articles that, initially, took my interest - "Philistine Chariots" and "A Dying Light in Britannia".  Full review later.

3)  Live Free or Die

American Revolution rules based on Andy Callan's "Loose Files & American Scramble."  After play-testing LFAS in Southampton (a few decades ago) my opponent and I fealt that there was 'something missing'.  LFoD has added some command & control elements which may be what was required.  A future play test seems likely.  Might even give WTF a whirl for comparison.

Incidentally I spent about 2 weeks trying to get the Pdf from Little Wars TV.  Each time I laboriously filled in all the forms and logged into Paypal.  That's when I was informed that there was nothing in my basket.  

After seeking help from the Facebook group it was suggested that I change browser.  How is that going to help I thought!  Actually it did.  Switching from Firefox to Vivaldi provided the golden ticket.  Wierd or what?

 

 

Wargaming Shows & Interim Progress Report

Wargaming Shows:

Sadly the first to fall by the wayside is RECON (Pudsey) run by my club (WDW).  With nobody prepared to act as show runner this year (2023) it was offered to local wargames clubs but interest was there none.  Flyers had been designed and samples printed.  After 11 years of stewardship that's it!

Progress Report (sort of):

I was contacted by Joel a few weeks ago who wanted to get back into wargaming - specifically DBA.  We arranged to meet yesterday and played 3 (maybe 4) games.  It was Romans v Carthaginians - a 'classical' match-up.  My opponent had read the rules but some of the subtleties eluded him.  It also occurred to me that my regular DBA opponent (Ian) and I tend to ignore certain rules (like camps).  Must correct that oversight.

In preparation I had found my old R & C boxes containing a load of partly-painted old 15mm Minifigs.  In a secondary box were much newer figures (mainly Magister Militum).  Obviously, at some time,  I had planned to re-vamp these armies but not got around to it (a very worn record).  Nevertheless with some swift painting I managed to turn out 2 respectable armies.  The only shortages I noticed were a lack of Roman Psiloi and 'Fast' auxilia.  

On the previous Saturday I had used Romans against Ian's armies (not brilliantly):

3.60 v 3.9b        5:3 loss

3.23a v 3.23b     4:3 loss

2.63 v 2.75         4:2 win

2.19a v 2.16c      4:1 win 

As you can see more games of skill.  My movement dice were pretty good in all 4 but the fighting dice (well...some troops obviously hadn't brought any along)!

Ian reminded me that in all our games he had not seen my Romans.  They had been languishing in the loft, undisturbed for years.  So on the positive side a lick of paint and some re-basing had come out of this exercise.  It's an ill wind...and all that!   

Wargaming Shows - Do They Have A Future (Pt.2)

Why does an ordinary hobbyist go to a wargaming show?  I don't know so maybe we should carry out a survey!  I can only speak for myself.

In days of yore I would drag myself off to a show for the following reasons:

(a)  to view the latest 15mm figures and buy 'shortfall items'

I can still do this but the numbers of traders, and the breadth of stock, is slowly diminishing.

(b)  to 'mung around' the 'Bring & Buy' in the hope of a bargain or two.

Sometimes I get lucky but my first resource is Ebay these days.

(c)  to meet up with old friends and acquaintences

This still happens but people don't, generally, travel as far anymore.

(d)  to purchase 'ancilliary items' e.g. paints, tools, bases, etc

(e)  to pick up some rules and books

These traders are shrinking in number.  They also carry a much more limited stock than before.

Cost-Benefit analysis - let's take a few examples:  (Mileage calculated from Hemsworth)

(i)  Newark (Hammerhead et al) - 160 miles (round trip); public transport impractical
(ii)  York (Vapnartak) - 72 miles; public transport does not link up; winter driving (usually with snow on the ground)
(iii)  Fiasco (Leeds Armouries) - 40 miles; quite a way from the train station;  very difficult parking with rip-off prices.
(iv)  Recon (Pudsey) - 52 miles; good train links - no need to drive; limited goods; winter show
(v)  Chilcon (Sheffield) - 70 miles; public transport impractical; very limited parking; another winter show
(vi)  Phalanx (Lee Green) - 151 miles; 3 train changes; a weary journey by car

I used to attend all of these but now only go to York (when well enough).  There is now no longer any need to wait for the next event when buying goods on-line is so easy and means quicker deliveries.   So is the 'general purpose' wargaming show going to follow the dinosaur?  

IMHO there will be a great winnowing with many smaller shows disappearing.  Maybe more specialisation is the way forward!  The 'Joys of 6' (emphasis on 6mm) is one such event. 

Wargaming Shows - do they have a future?

 I have been visiting such shows since the mid seventies.  Depending upon where I was living at the time I have been to London, Glasgow, Devizes, Leeds, Wrexham, Leiden, Paris, Sheffield, Newark, York, Manchester & Penarth (plus a few more that I have probably forgotten about).  So I have seen the changes and the deterioration.

Take one example - Octogon @ Sheffield.  This show was on multiple levels with dozens of traders.  Tons to see and buy.  It moved to the National Sports Centre and is now extinct.  

Clustering - Newark has 3 shows a year at the same venue.  Leeds has 2 in close temporal and physical proximity.

Only 2 big shows survive - Salute (London) and Vapnartak (York). [Don't know about the continental ones].

(1)  What can you buy?
 
(a) Figures (esp 15mm) - we have lost so many manufacturers and some of those that do survive no longer tour the shows (e.g. Essex).  IMHO only the bigger shows are worth looking at.

(b)  Rule books - a recent trend is the difficulty in finding mainstream rules (e.g DBA).  

(c)  Non-rule books - tend to be old Ospreys or an eclectic mix of other titles.

(d) Bring & Buy stalls seem to be dominated by WW2 and Fantasy.  [Maybe I'm biased because neither interest me].

(2)  So why else would you go to a show?  

(e)  Demonstration/Participation games - always great to see well painted figures in serried ranks.  Getting the public involved is essential to the survival of our hobby.

(f)  Meeting like-minded enthusiasts.  A chance to catch up with old friends maybe.

(3)  What has brought us to this point?

(a) Commuting - Brits spend more unproductive time travelling (often in slow-moving traffic) than any other European nation.  More cars means more worker flexibility and unsocial hours.  

(b)  Covid epidemic - broke routines and turned us all into (hopefully temporary) couch potatoes.  More time is now spent watching on-demand tv than on traditional hobbies. Many clubs have shrunk or closed down.

(c)  Cost of living - people are looking at everything they spend (including hobbies).  When your mind, and finances, are concentrated on heating, housing & eating there isn't much to spare for anything non-essential.

(4)  What can be done?  - See Part II

Trials & Tribulations

 

When Black Friday was on I looked at "The Little Corporal" website.  It was applying a 20% discount to their Lurkio South American range.  Being fairly well aware of which armies I lack I thought to persuaded Ian to play some trial DBA games with 'approximated' figures.

DBA v3.0 on Saturday (26th Dec):

(1)  4.71a Chimu Imperial v 2.81 Inca Imperial   4:0 win
       Dice rolls ruled this game (especially movement).

(2)  4.84a Araucanians v 4.84b Other Mapuche    7:1 win
     The (b) option is a pretty lousy army - Ax supported by fast Bw.  The terrain channelled my   opponent allowing me to double up my fast Pk.

My previous experience with the Incas showed me that 2 x Hd(F) were more effective than 2 x Pk(F) so I didn't even bother to try out 4.70  Chanca or Canari.  Maybe I should have!

Will my wallet moths be disturbed?  It seems that the Lurkio 'pack-breakers' are no longer available. This means that I have to buy full packs which will give me far too many surplus figures. Although the Chimu with copper armour are great figures I am not tempted to buy.

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 Pict Command

Scouting around further in the LC site I discovered Splintered Light figures.  Although mostly fantasy there are some historicals.  Further trials were required.  This time Ian had most of the required elements.

(3)  2.54a Scots-Irish  v  2.81a Dux Brit      4:3 loss
      A tight game that went down to the wire.

(4)  2.60 Caledonian v 2.56 Early Imperial Roman   4:1 win
     Terrain and dice rolls decided this game as well.  I could double up my Wb without being  overlapped.

(5)  2.68a Pictish v 2.73 Old Saxon          5:0 loss
      Just shows how capricious the dice gods are.  My Pk(F) were no match for massed Wb.

None of these armies seem particularly strong and my existing stocks would cover most of this group.  The exception being 6 x Pk(F) for the Picts.  Am I tempted?  Cannot remember ever buying Splintered Light figures but they look alright. Maybe purchase a few!

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Terrible Regiments of Women - unicorn riders

(6) I still need an enemy for my HotT Garden Gnomes.  Further delving into SL I noticed some female  figures.  Most 25mm sculpts that I have seen have obviously been derived from adolescent boys fantasies  These 15mm figures are much more sensible. (Seem to remember seeing a stall at shows offering realistic 25/28mm models).

Wood Elves of Wyldewood:

Wood Elf Sorceress / Wood Elf Unicorn Riders /                                                                                  Wood Elf Female / Wood Elf Maiden Guard                          

So we have some useful foot and mounted.  There are certainly other suitable creatures to be found in the other fantasy ranges!                          

HOWEVER - a recent notice says that no new orders are being taken until 3rd April 2023 so
                        I will just have to shelve yet another purchase.

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Closing Note:  On the 7th attempt I managed to introduce printer to network.  Don't know how but I'm not risking any changes.  Have printed out a copy of the naval rules and given them the once over.

Naval Gazing

 

Link to Inspiration (blog) - http://soundofficerscall.blogspot.com/2022/08/frigate-action-off-hispaniola-it-is.html

It was this blog post that attracted my attention.  I purchased 72 basic two-deckers (Risk ships) that are a lot better than anticipated.  Given 28 more by Andrew on the following Monday. Some conversions should be possible to create single and tri-deckers.  Oh Well, yet more painting!  

The only other problem is printing out the rules as I haven't had a computer printer for years.  Used to take the pdfs to a local firm but they closed during the covid epidemic. I have no intention of buying ink cartridges (that cost more than their weight in gold) ever again. 

I considered an Eco-Tank printer.  So, dear reader, I duly paid for an Epson ET-1810 from Argos on Thursday 19th January.  The local stores (Barnsley, Wakefield & Pontefract) had no stock.  I was offered a collection the following day at Shafton (a Sainsburys Local).  Confirmation came through with a receipt that I was required to print out and take to the shop)!  Foolishly I tried the Argos online help and chat bot.  A chocolate fire-guard.

At the store I collared an assistant who was doubtful that she could help as I didn't have the barcode for her to scan.  She called the manager who asked if I had a smart phone (answer - No). He played about with his smart phone which soon settled the matter and I was allowed to walk off with my purchase.  Three cheers for human intervention and common sense.

Since then I have filled the 4 chambers with ink and installed the software  So I'm up and running then?  No such luck - my Wi-Fi network is stubbornly refusing to recognise the printer.  

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Kits in the Attic -  7 x Airfix Victory models (one cut down to waterline)
                               1 x Airfix Golden Hind model
                               4 x Heller 1/600 scale Royal Louis
                               1 x Heller 1/180 Osberg Drakkar
                               1 x Heller 1/225 Bireme

I hate to think how old these models are but one of the price labels says 99p.  The brown paper bags (remember them!) came from Gamages (the only model shop  in the centre of Croydon at that time).  Supply was very erratic in that era so you grabbed what you could and stored it away for later. It has only taken 50 years to surface.  Now passed on to a keen modeller.  I wonder what else will be coming out of the attic?

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Yes, I know that I have not blogged in a while (months actually).  Many factors apply including - poor health (crazy BP), my regular DBA opponent going back into full-time employment (after 18 years of domestic duties) and the DBM group sliding over into 7YW territory. Tony Aguilar is no longer supporting DBA v3 but is into tanks.  The old order changeth!