Come into the Garden…

Tags

28mm, Diorama, Fantasy, fantasy miniatures, God of Battles, Greek Mythology, miniatures, painting and modelling, Roleplaying, Tribes of Legend, Wargame, Wargaming

“There lies an island in the midst of the Mediterranean sea, upon which, resides a gardener of much renown. She dwells alone, gliding effortlessly through the labyrinthine topiary borders and flower beds, tending to her beloved flora with the utmost dedication… 

Dotted about, here and there, stand a plethora of stone statues. These masonic effigies are of a startling verisimilitude, with every detail of anatomy and expression superbly rendered, as if by the hand of a master craftsman. But they do not posses the proud bearing of the mighty Olympians nor the mischievous countenance of mythical nymphs or satyrs. In the most part, they are portraits of mighty warriors bedecked in armour and wielding weapons. Their faces, when not clad in ornate helms, are twisted into visages of utter terror and despair…”

“The gardener meanders through her vast grounds and crafts them to perfection, with her scything bow, forged with precious metal filigree and a serpentine, bronze dagger.

Whilst meditating upon the statuary, she feels a deep and cutting sadness as if their faces reflect the horror of her own personal tragedy. You see, that behind the silence and serenity of the place there lies a dark secret. It is a story of lust, jealously and injustice. 

Once, many years before, the gardener was a pure and beautiful devotee of the goddess Athena. but the lustful advances of mighty Poseidon, provoked the ire of Athena and she banished the beautiful young maiden to this place, with a terrible curse. She will forever be cast from society and only encounter the attentions of men intent upon her destruction…

For to gaze upon her, is to take one’s final breath………. “

Medusa the Gorgon in her garden

 

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Trouble in the colonies

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28mm, French & Indian War, painting and modelling, Skirmish, Wargaming

As is my want, I have been seduced by yet another interesting period in military history, that of the French & Indian Wars of the mid 18th century. This era of European colonialism spread to the four corners of the globe and in North America and Southern Canada confrontation between the French and British created sparks that lit the fire which would spread to Europe in the form of the Seven Years War.

What makes this such an interesting subject for me is that few major battles of the ‘European style’ really took place as the terrain made this somewhat impractical and so most encounters were of a skirmish nature with troops fighting in open order instead of the closed formations usually employed during this period. This is the perfect opportunity to do a black powder skirmish game!

A friend of mine furnished me with some second-hand 28mm Galloping Major French & Indian War miniatures, consisting of :

• 16 x  Canadian Militia
•   8 x  Colonial Rangers
• 12 x  Native American Indians

Many were undercoated in black over a previous paint job which lost quite a bit of the detail of the miniatures so I proceeded to strip them down to the metal ready to be based and undercoated for painting. Now I have to admit that painting has always been my least favourite aspect of the hobby, recently however, I am finding it much more cathartic and I have been happily painting a miniature a day.

Canadian Militia
(These were French settlers who make up a fair bulk of the French forces)

The Necrotic Tome pt.3 ‘The Lost Slayer’

Tags

Fantasy, God of Battles, Necromancer, Necrotic Tome, Undead, Wargaming

Earlier this month I attended a ‘God of Battles’ tournament at Foundry Miniatures. Jake ‘Quirkworthy’ Thornton, the designer of this excellent fantasy game, ran the day and although a petite affair it was a most enjoyable time.

My Undead army project had been sitting on the back-burner since my last post in March, buried but not forgotten, and I thought that Jake’s tournament would be a great reason to rustle them up and blow off the cobwebs!

Grande Armée de la Mort

After many, many smashing defeats my first problem was to reform my army into a better fighting force and so after much introspection I decided on a final army list:

• A Necromancer with Sacred Texts
• A Blacksoul
• 3x Formed units of Skeleton Hordes
• 3x Loose units of Ghouls

This force gives me a solid but flexible battle line with formed units in the centre and on both flanks, providing mutual support for each other, whilst my loose units can either bolster the line and or be thrown forward as a skirmish screen.

My new force provided me with a reasonable degree of success at the tournament, as I managed to finish second after winning two out of three battles! Now we’re talking! And with such progress I have been inspired to get my miniatures somewhere towards being fully assembled and painted. I gave a glimpse of one of my part-finished Skeleton Hordes In my ‘Rattling Bones’ post and have now finished them off completely. Within this unit can also be found one of my two main characters.

Kalee

“Ah… Kalee… I picked well in Kalee. She is my strong right-hand, the Lost Slayer. Her beauty and grace are matched only by her base cunning…”

The main theme of my army is the juxtaposition between absolute beauty and abject horror, so both of the main characters are women who’s eternal beauty is fed by dark magic that leaves them forever surrounded by death and decay.

Kalee is my Blacksoul, a powerful undead warrior of yore, raised by the Ghoul Queen to bolster her ever-growing horde. This Hasslefree miniature is one that I bought several years ago simply because I fell in love with her on site! Kev White is an amazing sculptor of the female form who seems to capture that quintessential ‘femininity’ that I find is sadly lacking in many other sculpts.

Going on Campaign

With my first formation finished (and most happy I am with it too!) I will endeavour to press on with the next one and am looking forward to this coming Saturday (5th October) as Jake is intending to run a ‘God of Battles’ Campaign Day. Hopefully another of my formations will earn their paint job!

Clearing House!

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Epic 40k, painting and modelling, Wargaming, Weekend

With the glorious weather during the last couple of weekends, no small novelty on this rainy Isle I call home, I have been engaged with getting things squared away for the summer in the home & garden and this has led to my being silent of late. Indeed there has been little time for the crafting of Hobby Rubble recently, however, I haven’t been completely idle in my hobby machinations…

‘Time spent on reconnaissance is Never wasted’

My most frequent war game opponents and I have an unspoken rule along the lines that If you want to play a particular game, of whichever scale or period (Historic/Fantasy), you will have to build and paint the armies yourself, the result of this understanding is that we all get to enjoy playing different games (some of which I wouldn’t want/get time to do myself) And as each person is interested and passionate about the subject they have the time and motivation to build and paint all the models & terrain and then create interesting scenarios to use them with.

I have many such projects, in varying states of completion, which have been knocking around the dusty corridors of the old homestead for quite some time and one example which I feel is worthy of note is of a distinctly Warhammer 40,000 nature…

Epic Titan Legions : ‘Big Guns Never Tire’

My interest in Epic first manifested itself when a friend gave me a heap of old White Dwarf magazines some years ago, in which were secreted several old Games Workshop rule books including Epic: Titan Legions written by Andy Chambers. I was very impressed with many of the simple & elegant mechanics that I found in these rules and so chose to embark on a quest to build two armies with which to play it.

I decided upon an Imperial force, made up predominantly of Space Marine formations with Imperial Guard armour and Titan support, pitched against a huge Ork Waaaaarrghh!! I now have two creditable sized armies (much of which has been finish-painted) and I have had many enjoyable games with my friends which have provided lots of fuel for my creative nature. The armies have gained their own character and developed a narrative throughout the scenarios that we have played…

Waaaarrghh!!!! Eisengore Unleashed

The great Ork WarLord Eisengore brought together a Waaaarghh!! of immense proportions, though he was by no means the most impressive warrior by Ork standards he had a kind of Orky Charisma and possessed an intuitive ability to get the other Orks organised together, seeming even to be able to plaster over the deepest of rifts & rivalries between the plethora of Ork Clans. With his best ‘Generals’, such as Warboss Ol’Blood ‘N’ Gutz working out the tactics for battle, Eisengore was able to concentrate on the best way to employ his ideas on a more ‘Inter-Galactic’ scale, Even the Orks need to think about logistics!

As soon as he had a well-equipped army and a fleet of space-worthy hulks, he was ready to embark upon his plans to invade the territories at the outer rim of the Imperium of Man. Represented on the battlefield in the form of his ‘Flag Gargant’ BoomBoom Mancini, he commanded mostly from afar, leaving his ‘Frontline Generals’ to do the work on the ground as he directed things in the rear echelon. All seemed to fall beneath his crushing Waaaarghh!! Invasion…

‘Flag Gargant’ BoomBoom Mancini

The Imperium in Peril

One of the many Imperial worlds to fall under a swathe of Ork vessels was the planet of  Arderra V, an ice world which stood as part of the dense web of Global Defense Systems which lie on the outer fringes of the Imperium. The Planetary Defense Force of Arderra V  was easily overwhelmed by the speed and ferocity of the Ork hordes and cries for reinforcement made by the Planetary Governor were answered in the form of their Parent Adeptus Astartas Chapter, the Iron Eagles.

Along with armoured support elements of the Imperial Guard and Titans of the Mechanicus, The Iron Eagles dealt a swift counter-attack in an attempt to sweep the planet clean of the Xenos abomination.

A Hero Enters the Fray

I have been a long time fan of that dashing & dastardly ‘Hero of the Imperium’ Ciaphas Cain. These Black Library novels, written by Sandy Mitchell, are a humorous and rip-roaring take on the world of Warhammer 40.000 and have provided the inspiration for the newest addition to my Epic Imperial force.

In his early career as an Imperial Guard Commissar, Ciaphus is attached to the 12th Valhallan Field Artillery Regiment and first meets the unprepossessing trooper Jurgen, who is assigned to him as his aide-de-camp and becomes his life-long companion in his stories of derring-do.

With the recent purchase of a pack of Epic Griffon mortar tanks, to represent Bombards, I have now collected the necessary models to build these company and detachment cards for Titan Legions and will be cracking on with painting them up ready to do battle sometime soon!..

The long road to Caen

Tags

Crossfire WWII, Wargame

My errant mind has been wandering off again, to the battle of Normandy 1944 and more particularly the Canadian Route of Liberation from Juno beach to Caen and the bitter fighting that the 1st Canadian Corps endured in that eventful summer and beyond. I have been long interested in the Canadian war effort and have done much study in this area. I also find that setting war gaming scenarios from the information that I have gleamed, makes for most interesting rumination.

My pursuit of a rule set to use with my 1/600 Oddzial Osmy WWII miniatures, has led me to purchasing a copy of Arty Conliffe’s CrossFire via eBay and I have had several games of it in the last couple of weeks. Coupled with this I was offered a short while ago by Quirkworthy, some old 6mm buildings which I accepted gratefully. They are slightly too big, being as they are twice the size (1/300), but look very well with my units of 3mm miniatures. I galvanised myself to cleaning them of mould lines and glueing them to card stock bases with promptness and set about painting and flocking them…

Norman village occupied by Canadian infantry and Company Commander

Just the other day a friend of mine came round to play a scenario that I have been devising, providing me with the perfect opportunity to get my new village on the board!..

Bény-sur-Mer, June 6th 1944

Bény-sur-Mer lies 4-5km inland from Juno beach in the rich countryside of Normandy astride, what was at the time, the main road to Caen. At 10:30am ‘A’ company of the Régiment de la Chaudière formed up with Sherman DD (Duplex-Drive) tanks from ‘A’ squadron of the 10th armoured regiment (Fort Garry Horse) and M7 ‘Priest’ self-propelled artillery pieces of the 14th field regiment, to make their way inland towards Bény. They had difficulty in moving forward through the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada due to accurate artillery fire from a hidden 88mm FLAK battery situated somewhere to the south of Bény, three ‘Priests’ were destroyed in less than a minute whilst they were preparing artillery positions. As the Chauds moved forward they came under crossfire from heavy machine guns hidden in the long grass, reconnaissance parties were sent to root them out and fire support brought down on the presumed gun positions. The infantry moved up the road under covering fire from an attached machine gun platoon of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa MG Battalion and along with the supporting ‘DD’s eventually managed to overrun the German positions.

From the Chauds regimental history:

‘A bit further, hidden in a hole, an 88 cannon was still firing on the village exit. Lieutenant W. Moisan attacked on his own initiative. As he advanced in front of his men, a bullet hit a smoke grenade he was carrying. The grenade’s phosphorus caught fire. His battle dress started burning but Lt. Moisan continued the attack. The enemy was annihilated. unfortunately, the phosphorus had burnt Lt. Moisan and he had to be evacuated. This act of heroism earned him the Military Cross.’

Crossfire Scenario

Canadian Forces

Régiment de la Chaudière

‘A’ Company with:

• Company Commander (CC+1)
• 3″ Mortar and Forward Observer

3x Platoons each with:

• Platoon Commander (PC+1)
• 3x Rifle Sections

‘B’ Company with:

• Company Commander (CC+1)
• 3″ Mortar and Forward Observer

3x Platoons each with:

• Platoon Commander (PC+1)
• 3x Rifle Sections

Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa MG Battalion

• 2x HMG Squads
• 4.2″ Mortar with Forward Observer

10th Armoured (Fort Garry Horse)

‘A’ Squadron with:

• 4x Sherman Tanks (DD)

14th Field Regiment CRA

• Off Table M7 Priest Heavy Artillery (4 Fire Missions) with Forward Observer

Canadian Objective:

Take and hold all three buildings of Bény-sur-Mer for 3 consecutive Canadian turns (initiatives) Or find and destroy the 88mm Flak cannon and then take and hold two buildings for 3 consecutive turns.

Canadian Deployment:

The Canadian force must deploy second, within 12″ of the northern edge. The Canadian player takes first initiative.

German Forces

726th Infantry Regiment

1st Company with:

• Company Commander (CC+2)
• 81mm Mortar with Forward Observer
• 120mm with Forward Observer
• HMG
• PAK 40 Anti-tank squad

3x Platoons each with:

• Platoon Commander (PC+1)*
• 3x Rifle Sections (with Panzerfausts)

*First platoons commander is (PC+2)

Attachments:

• 2x Snipers
• 88mm Flak battery
• Off table 150mm Heavy Artillery (4 Fire Missions) Forward Observer

German Objective:

Hold up the Canadian advance to contain the Allied bridgehead. Prevent the Canadian player from achieving their objective.

German Deployment:

The German force is deployed first using Crossfire hidden deployment rules, recording which squads will be deployed in or touching any of the marked terrain pieces. The 88mm Flak is also deployed using hidden deployment but must also have a line of sight to the southern two buildings of Bény-sur-Mer, which must cross the blue edge, from its chosen position (See Map)

The Outcome

Graham took charge of the German forces and I the Canadians. We only had 4 hours to play the game and decided that if I was unable to reach my objectives by then, the Germans would have won. After deployment I used a pre-programmed barrage with my heavy artillery, using my 4 fire missions to attack hidden deployment markers and must have guessed well as after the dust had settled I had managed to kill two units (though I didn’t even know at the time what or where as I had attacked several different pieces of terrain) I then took the first initiative. Thus ensued a hard fight for my Canadians, taking excessively high casualties and only managing to get a toe hold within the village by taking the most northern building. The 88mm was well sighted and only revealed after Graham decided to fire upon a Forward Observer which had stayed too far forward, despatching it with contemptuous ease. It was a cause of consternation all game and forced me to caution, too much caution as it turned out and I was unable to clear the village before our time was up.

It was a very enjoyable game and an interesting challenge for both Graham and myself. I can only have more respect for the brave men who had to do the job for real!!

Thinking warm thoughts

Tags

Arab/Israeli Wars, Wargame

This was the view from my kitchen door here in Nottingham, England on Sunday morning….

So, in an attempt to dispel the frozen temperatures, my hobbying activities have turned to the warmer climes of the desert…. to be a little more specific, the Sinai Desert 1967.

I’ve been very interested in the Arab/Israeli conflicts of both the 21st century and biblical times for some years, the outcomes are always so astounding! I have also been a long time fan of the smaller miniature scales, especially for modern combat, as my 6’x4′ table allows for lots of room to maneuver with tiny tanks. I am also a self-confessed ‘Rules Butcher’ and love following rainbows to find the pot of gold that is, ‘the perfect rule set’!.. Deluded much?.. but at least it passes the time.

Last year I decided to start an Arab/Israeli Wars project and having already bought several packs of Oddzial Ozmy 1/600 scale WWII miniatures in the past, I knew that they were very nice sculpts and so I tarried not in ordering a couple of packs of their modern miniatures and writing a rules set. The miniatures are, for the most part, finished. The rules however, are not. I have made some positive progress over the weekend and hope to post the finished draft up on this blog for anybody who may be interested, sometime in the dim and distant future, I mean, I’ve got to be happy with them at some point surely!? But for now, some ‘eye candy’.

in the red corner we have the Egyptians…

Egyptian T54/55 Main Battle Tanks

and in the Blue we have the Israelis…

Israeli Defence Force Centurion ‘Sho’t Kal’ MBTs in the foreground & M-51 ‘Super’ Shermans behind

and finally, ‘destroyed tank’ markers…

‘Brewed-up’ markers

I use wire wool ‘brewed-up’ and cotton wool ‘movement’ markers during the game to keep up with what’s happening from turn to turn and create a dramatic & cinematic look to the battles. A point that you will be able to judge for yourself as soon as I get around to taking some ‘in game’ pics. I’m also working on some anti-tank guns at the present moment and will post pictures up at the first possible opportunity but for now, I’m going outside, I may be sometime…..

Necrotic Tome pt.2 – ‘Rattling Bones’

Tags

Fantasy, God of Battles, Necromancer, Necrotic Tome, Undead, Wargaming

‘Sticks and stones may break my bones but there are plenty more where they came from. My ‘Grande Armée de la Mort’ is never stronger than when in the presence of death and the heat of battle!…’

Having pitted my wits against the inscrutable Quirkworthy just the other day, I feel that I have finally started to get the hang of  commanding these little boney buggers! I have tried several different formations for a 24 pt army and have finally settled for a solid and flexible force…

‘Grande Armée de la Mort’

Necromancer with Armour of Night, Souldrinker and two Sacred Texts leading two Skeleton Hordes and three Gaggles of Ghouls…

Now for the hard work, building & painting them!?

One unit that is reaching completion is this skeletal horde in the making…

I am most pleased with how the colouring has come out because this is the first time I’ve painted a whole unit using this method. Firstly I undercoated them with GW Skull White and then mixed GW paints and washes to produce custom inks, drybushing highlights as I went. Just the bases to finish now!

There are only twelve models, having started out (un)life as Skeleton Warriors, so I’m going to grab for my spade and go rustle up a fourth rank!

Tales of a Wargaming Womble

Tags

painting and modelling, Wargaming

It is well-known amongst my wargaming friends, that I am an incurable ‘Bitz junkie’ and will take no time in descending upon their ‘Bitz’ boxes like a ravenous swarm of locust, indeed, if they feel that they have too much ‘hobby rubble’ lying around, it’s a sure bet that they will throw it my way. Nothing is too small or obscure for my all-consuming habit. To this end I shall document my humble machinations in this diary…

I have been recently engaged upon several projects which have been lying around on the workbench for some time, the first of which, can only be described as some kind of Chaotic Machine-Priest, it was created from the finest ‘hobby rubble’ from the ‘Bitz’ box, including Games Workshop Chaos marine torso and Tyranid Claws …

I struck out the paint pots and got cracking!…

This little chap will be put aside for the meantime as there is also the God of Battles affair to consider, which I will elucidate a little more on soon…