Welcome

Welcome to my wargaming blog,
I'm Dave and live in Morpeth, Northumberland in the UK.
This may or may not be a regular thing, we'll just have to see how it goes.

I am a painter/collector of figures first and a wargamer second. My thrill in this great hobby of ours is to place that final well researched & painted unit into the cabinet. The actual gaming with the figures is an important but secondary experience, we all like to win, but it isn't the be all and end all of it, being with good friends and having fun is.
Hope you will enjoy reading this blog as much as I will writing in it.
Just to remind the visitor to scroll down the various pages and click on 'older posts' to see more.
Dave.

Monday 27 February 2012

15mm ACW

About once every 2-3 months I am fortunate to be invited up into the English Scottish border to play various games on a huge hex based permanent table in Mick's garage. Beer is consumed, sheep are chased and armies are manoeuvred usually over a weekend and good time is had by all.
Many periods are covered during these excursions, the next will be ancient Greeks/Persians (hence the Persians in the last post) but last time I went we re-fought Gettysburg using Fire and Fury, a rule set I particularly like. As everyone contributed a Corps of either one side or another I thought it only fair that I should do one as well. Most of the better known formations had been taken but Hancocks 2nd Corps was still to do, so with the Peter Pig figures duly bought (and any others who were lying around chucked in) here are the results.
Three Divisions plus Corps artillery:


Caldwell's 1st Division, note the Irish Brigade to the left:
Hancock's command stand with Gibbons 2nd Division behind:
Hays 3rd Division:
Corps artillery, five batteries:


Finally a couple of marker stands:
There are still plenty of unpainted figures to do however many of them are in the earlier style i.e. broad hat kepis with Havelocks and dress uniforms.
(So they're finally done Scotty!)
Dave.

Saturday 25 February 2012

Archaemenid Persians

On this blog I keep saying many years ago when I started collecting this period and that period of figures, but like many of us that is usually the case. Some lucky few can afford to purchase a full army of figures for the 'new' period that takes their fancy, and good luck to them (the bastards!!) however I am not nor very likely to be one of them. As Groucho Marx said 'I've raised myself up from nothing to a sate of extreme poverty'.
So I have become resigned to the same situation that many of us are in, i.e. adding to collections now and then and slowly building them up. Now this of course can be taken to extremes, in the case of the Persians they've been going for about ten years when Rob gave me a whack of Outpost 15mm figures he didn't want any more.

As can be seen, these are the said Persian Immortals from Outpost. Now don't be too harsh, these chaps are wargames standard figures from an older range but for 15mm they'll do for me. Wait till I post pictures of my 15mm Minifigs Hoplites that I've gamed with since I was about sixteen, rough ain't the word but they've seen me through a few scraps!




The next couple of pics are some scummy looking rabble for the rear of the Persian line followed by Assyrian's used as heavy infantry:






These Meade infantry were painted recently and are I think Essex :





Skythian light cavalry again Essex:




Medium and heavy cavalry by Lancashire Games:






Libyan slingers:



Finally Darius, I know it should be Xerxes but he must have used one at some point. Anyway the model was too nice to turn down, so:




Well, that's the Persians' next time I'll post pictures of the Greeks I mentioned.
Dave.

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Zee Germans!!!

About two years ago my mate Rob and I picked up a large box (200ish infantry and 80 cavalry) of Foundry 1813 Prussian figures from a local game shop for around £80, not a bad price for that many figures. Foundry are nice enough figures but I do find them rather small in size compared to other ranges and of course usually pretty expensive, the 'deals' seem a bit of a rip off to be honest. As I eventually ended up with them I thought I'd better get started painting them!
First off these are a Battalion of Prussian Reservist infantry:
Some regular infantry (I'll have to get the command stand bought and painted up):

Sunday 5 February 2012

A fantasy fill in!

As usual I've been rather short of time lately, I have been adding to my 15mm Classical Greek/Persian/Macedonian collection of figures of which more anon as well as re-furbishing the clubs collection of League of Augsburg 25mm figures. There are allot of these guys which were painted by different lads in the club for a re fight of  Aughrim at one of the Derby shows many moons ago and which have languished in various boxes ever since. This seemed to be such a wast of painted figures that I foolishly volunteered the 'tart them up' and it's been even more work than at first thought! Never mind, I'm winning and beginning to see the light at the tunnels end, I'll get them on here eventually as well.
Fantasy stuff. Not something I do for myself to be honest, I've painted loads for other people but it doesn't rock my particular boat but here's a few pictures of two models that I painted a good few years ago which will do as a fill in till I get back on here more regularly.

Firstly this is (so I'm told) an Ork Boss riding a Wyrvern, looks like a Dragon to me but maybe the more educated could tell me the difference.






This chap is a Giant, not an Ogre or Troll, but a Giant. Note the Mackam (Sunderland supporter) getting stomped on near the feat of the big guy. I add this so that Sheffield United, Stoke and Southampton supporters won't get upset, not bothered about Sunderland!!!!





Looking at him now I think the shading is a bit heavy and could have been toned down, but as I said he was painted a few years ago and I think the reader will agree that we never stop learning and developing our painting technique.

Snot Goblins apparently.





Normal Goblins, nothing snotty about them!





All the best,
Dave.