Partizan - Thank you.

 A quick post - just to say thank you to the organisers, attendees and traders at Partizan today. I had a fantastic time and I can honestly say it was the best show I've been to. Everyone was very friendly and it was great to catch up with so many people and to chat to many many more. 

As the Friends of Am Military Gentleman, Graham Hilditch and I put on a demo game of a "Descent on the French Coast" featuring Graham's rather excellent 40mm figures and buildings and of course his wonderful ships. Thanks to all of these the game won Best of Show. 

Watch the wargames press for more on this game, meantime there are a few pictures below. 

Hello to Colin and Katherine, Roddy, Peter, Graham, Steve, Stuart, Mark, Dave, Phil, Martin, Dave, Henry and everyone else I talked to!

Quick update - https://www.facebook.com/427825860606117/posts/4301381749917156/

To Partizan!

Tomorrow I shall be kicking off a long weekend trip to Newark to visit Partizan for the first time. I won't be sneaking under the wire incognito though - far from from it! 

Graham H and myself shall be putting on a display as The Friends of a Military Gentleman. This promises to be quite a fame with two great 18th century ships of the line firing in support of a descent on the French coast. Without giving more away let me remind you that Mr H games in 40MM and so this will be a BIG game in every sense of the word!

If you are at the show please come and say hello - we will be DG13 right next to Warlord and the Writers Corner.

Off to Partizan......Figure by Graham

Against Spain - Sepoys, Lascars and Havana Morenos and something for the Sea too.

 I have been quite busy over the last few weeks, both at the painting bench and off it.

However it hasn't been quiet on the painting bench either. I have managed to paint a frigate to use as a support vessel for the landings on Cuba. 

Blood and Plunder Frigate 

I've sent figures away to be painted by Stuart Foley, who's done a lot of figures for me before

Havana Moreno Militia by Crann Tara

British Sepoys by Crann Tara

I've painted some Sepoy deserters and some Indian sailors, labourers and camp followers for the siege of Manila.

Labourers by Crann Tara

Early Sepoys by CrannTara

Added some irregulars to the Havana Blanco militia unit.

Militia marching and Spanish Infantry by Crann Tara

And painted another couple of longboats for the landing on Cuba. These and the frigate bought from Gaming Figures. 

Finally I've finished the guns for the fort and the for the frigate. That's almost everything I need in terms of figures and accompanying bits. There are some crates and other stores which are needed for one scenario in the the Philippines but otherwise that is it. Once these figures are all based I plan on taking pictures of each scenario in play for the blog and finishing checking the text and references for Against Spain and then it's off to the printers. 

Sugar Islands on the Interwebs

 I'm on the Lead Adventure Forum, an excellent, inspiring and very friendly forum, and was sitting having my morning cuppa when I came across this rather lovely game based on the Madam Ducharmey scenario from the Wargaming the Sugar Islands book, played at the recent SYW convention in the US.

The scenery is particularly splendid I think you'll find. 

Juergen C. Olk does Guadeloupe 

A Catch Up.

It's been quite a while since Graham H and I have been able to have a game. The real world got in the way for a while but with the lifting of restrictions that changed at the weekend. 

Looking back through my photos it was August....2019!

We tested a set of rules which I have worked up for playing multi divisional sized 19th century games and especially the Franco Prussian War. This is a favourite period of mine, along with the 18th, (more on that in a minute). With the announcement of the Perry FPW range last year both Graham and I decided this was something we wanted to tackle, on a grand scale. 

The rules work on a scale of 1"to 50yds with large bases of figures as a battalion of infantry, each with varying strengths, Prussians more than French for example and Austrian regiments being 4 stands while Prussians are 3. They are a home cooked set, with activations a la Rebels and Patriots, etc and other bits borrowed from Volley and Bayonet and other rules. 

The game was an encounter battled with a French division bumping into a Prussian Corps with opportunity for the French to take and defend some high ground but not enough to cover the approaches effectively. 

Graham took the Prussians, 28's from Eagles of Empire with some of the new Perry cavalry providing divisional cavalry support. I had the French, Ironclad minis with some supporting EofE, Foundry and Gt War to flesh them out. 

Graham decided to get up the table as soon as possible, but I had time to take the hill and dig in around the farm, losing my screening Chasseurs in the process. On my left a line regiment and a battalion of Turcos held of Graham's cavalry and a Bavarian unit but were too few in numbers to threaten the centre. There Graham tried to assault the hill but was driven back by Chassepot fire at least twice before deciding that his artillery could do the job cheaper then his infantry. Three turns were needed to rout the defenders of the farm and that gave me just enough time to pull back my battered regiments and we called it quits. 

Chasseurs screen the french deployment

The Flank

Perry Drgaoons

The Hill

The rules still need a lot of work to bring them up to a full set, but the flavour is right, at least for the sort of games we play. More will follow.

We also had a chance to discuss a 40mm SYW display game of somewhat epic proportions which Graham is planning for Partizan. This will be something special. 

Finally Ive spent some time this week tweaking editing and finalising Against Spain. Being on Holiday has given me a bit of space and time. I promised a sneaky peek so....

More next time, as I test the scenarios.