Birthday,Accident and Viking Battle.

It was my Birthday last week,and my "One-in-a-million" wife thought she wouldn't buy me the "usual" things like socks,wine etc. instead she got me-5 Gripping Beast Viking Command Groups,AND a Revell Viking Ship kit,AND Viking Oarsmen to go with it,AND aViking Settlement!!-worth her weight in Gold!!!

Cracking Stuff!!!
But what of the Accident?-well,on Wednesday I fell(actually tripped) and hurt my knee,hip,ribs and shoulder,and broke my toe.............................

Citadel will probably bring out a new colour called "broken toe purple" now!!!!
On with the "blog"...............................

This is the scenario for the first battle involving my newly painted Viking army.

This is the table before any movement,Graham was in charge of the Vikings on the left(attacking Jarrow) and I commanded them on the right attacking the hill.Paul commanded the Huscarls on the hill,whilst Brian defended Jarrow with the Saxon Fyrd-all was set for an exciting and colourful game!

Paul's Huscarls await the Viking assault-or did he?-No he didn't,he attacked the "Horde" as they were forming up-the swine!!!

The Vikings are heading towards Jarrow,defended by the Fyrd,and a hidden Viking Mercenary band(which Brian forgot about until move 5!!-the language was terrible!!!)

As was expected,the Vikings cut through the Fyrd like the proverbial knife through butter!-however the Huscarls stopped the Viking charge in it's tracks,and a great tussle ensued on my flank!!

Hell's Teeth!!-the Saxons won most of the first round melees,then the Vikings started to take command,then the Saxons gained supremacy,then the Vikings-I was worn out!!-eventually the Saxon Huscarls won the flank,and drove the Vikings back to their ships!!

With Jarrow about to go up in flames,but my flank lost,we decided to call the game an honorable draw!!
With my research into Weapons,tactics etc,we will "evolve" our rules to cover this very entertaining period-with the Vikings taking on the Moors,and Spanish,as well as Saxons,Normans and other Vikings,there will be scope for some great battles in the future.
All of the figures used in tonight's game are from Warrior Miniatures,although the Gripping Beast Command Groups will be on the table for the next game.
Roll on Sunday,probably a 7YW battle,but who knows????

Muster on the Parade Ground.show report.

Brian and I represented our group at Stockton on Saturday,and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves,even though the "Footfall" was poor.
There was a good scattering of trade stands,selling everything a Wargamer could need,the Participation games ranged from Sci-fi through to WW2,with a bit of Colonial,Gangsters,Wild West and even Zombies thrown in for good measure.
In total we had eleven participants trying out our game-the most of all the games I think! and everyone seemed to enjoy the challenge,with "whoops" every time they shot down an American plane,with an even bigger "whoop" when they sank the Carrier!!!!
We didn't know who would turn up for the event,except that we knew Robbie Roddis would show his face,due to the advanced,pre-game advertising that he dreamed up...........................

Max Clifford,eat your heart out!!!!!

You just can't take him anywhere!!-The table behind us was staging a Sudanese Colonial game,where participants could wear either a "Fez" or a Pith(Sun) helmet,and,of course,Brian couldn't resist the temptation to do his Tommy Cooper impression!!!!

A look around the very spacious hall showing some of the traders=this was before the doors were open to the public(our game in the foreground)

Another view before "opening time" showing the opposite side of the hall,and Brian guarding the table(without the "Fez")

Our first "punters",a father and son team,who proceeded to knock the hell out of the Americans,and sank the Carrier!!-well done!!-The Kamikaze headbands were there for all participants to keep.The doors are obviously open now,but not many members of the public are on show-this was a great pity,as a lot of hard work and organising went into the event,with even a visit from the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress(who stopped and chatted for quite a while with Brian and I)
Then,without a word of warning,it happened............................................

Robbie arrived!!!-in this shot he has just dropped a penny out of his pocket,and in his haste to get to it before it touched the ground,his hand moved so fast that it "blurred!!"

Even the arrival of Charlie Wesencraft couldn't persuade Robbie not to take part,and he teamed up with this young man,and again proceeded to knock the hell out of the American planes and sank the Carrier!!

This could be taken as an act of "gloating" which is frowned upon in our club!
Robbie,as usual threw himself into the game and the show-his enthusiasm is great to see(in a man of his age!!)
Throughout the day Brian and I inter-acted with as many traders,gamers and members of the public as we could,which left us exhausted.
It was great pity that this show wasn't supported better,and it will also be a great pity if Dave and Tom don't put it on again next year.

Kamikaze trial run

Good luck tomorrow guys

If everything goes as well as the trial run the participants will be creased up in laughter and tears
Fantastic scenario and one that you want to try again... especially as I have to explain to the president where his shines new carrier was lost
" it ain't lost ... I know exactly where it is..just not how far down!... oops"

If you are visiting beware of fanatical zero pilots ... be afraid

Kamikaze Paricipation Game for 9.7.2016,and "sticky tip"

Last night we had a full turn-out for a "run-through" of the participation game Brian and I are putting on at Stockton tomorrow.
We played a full game,using Graham and Dave as the Kamikaze pilots and Paul as the American pilots and Carrier commander,whilst Brian and I kept scores and timed the whole game. Everything went well and we are looking forward to letting the wargaming public try our game.

The top photo shows the scenario,and the bottom one shows the simplified rules and "instruments" we will be using.

This is how the table will look before the game starts-we have opted for a 6foot by 4foot table.

The Japanese "Zero Fighters" about to take off from the ,correct in every detail, airfield!!!

2 Corsairs and 2 P40's about to take off from the American Aircraft Carrier (USS Titanic?)-the objective of the game is for the Zero's to sink the Carrier-easy!!!!!
Now for the "sticky tip"........................

If you have any figures with thin and easily snapped parts,simply put a couple of coats of Nail hardening varnish onto the parts,followed by a drop of Super Glue,and they will become as hard as the rest of the figure in just a few minutes.The figure shown is a "Peasant" from Warrior Miniatures,using a "flail"-I applied the varnish and glue,and now they are almost "Paul-proof" and that's saying something!!!!!
Roll on tomorrow!

The Vikings have definitely landed!

It has taken me just over 6 weeks to paint my Viking army(Warrior Miniatures) consisting of 200 figures,and here they are.....................

All 200 of them in this shot-don't get your feet wet lads!!

Crikey,I wouldn't like this lot charging up the beach towards me!-one ship's company fronted by some "Beserkers"-one ship's company consists of 48 figures plus Beserkers,and I have 4 ships,making a total of 192 warriors plus 8 beserkers=200 figures!!(all that schooling paid off after all!!)

I would like to see Border Force UK stop this lot!!

Another couple of shots to give the scale of the "Invasions" that will be taking place over the next few weeks(months,years?)

Close-up time(although I wouldn't like to get too close to these Beserkers!!)

Goodness!!!!-mean looking or what?

24 previously painted archers,so that now brings the total to 224,plus I've also painted the original "samples" from Warrior,ie another 16,so that's 240 figures!!!!!!

As the Monks on Lindisfarne said "I'm glad to see the back of them!!!"
I have really enjoyed painting these figures and doing research on the "antics" of the Vikings-and now for some awesome games!!

Pila vs Pike.170BC

Last night saw a very interesting game,throwing up challenges to both sides and testing our knowledge and rules-great stuff!

Top photo shows scenario and bottom shows the table layout before any movement.Paul and Brian were the Macedonians and Graham and I were the Romans.

Graham's Hastati and Brian's Illyrians started the contest,with Javelins and Pila filling the air,and then the melee began!!
Charlie Wesencraft paid us a visit just before the game started,mainly to return a book he had borrowed last week,but stayed for about an hour,cheering us on from the sidelines,and enjoying,in his words,the spectacle of the game-praise indeed!!

I have marched half of the Triarii over to the right to form a flanking force to prevent Paul from attacking my cavalry-fat chance!!!

This looks serious!!-no laughs here,but lots of action,as Brian and Graham are still locked in melee with their front line troops.In the foreground you can see that Paul and I are getting ready for a glorious cavalry battle.

Both Paul and I are ready to do battle-on the far right flank,horse archers and light infantry are skirmishing,each trying to gain the flank.

The cavalry clash begins-Paul's dice throwing was "uncanny" and smacked of "Witchcraft"-Brian is holding his head in his hands because Paul has sent his Commander into the fray to gain an advantage in one of the melees-and,of course,he got killed,resulting in his whole cavalry contingent leaving the field-hurrah!!!

With cavalry superiority,the flank should have been mine,but Paul,being Paul, attacked with his heavy infantry-the swine!!! But what of the other flank?-with both first line troops exhausted,they decided to pull back and let the "big boys" have a go!!!

Graham's Princepes and Brian's Phalanx move towards each other,both have the same points but are armed with different weapons-this is going to be tight!!

The "grind" begins-the Roman pila did some damage,but the pikes did as much!!-the melee went on for three rounds,with the Romans eventually winning,due to gaps appearing in the phalanx-wargaming at its best!!
Because we had a couple of more units left on the board than the Macedonians,we declared the winners,in this very hard fought and tight battle-well done lads!!
Roll on Thursday,we will be running through the Participation game we will be putting on at Stockton next Saturday (9th July)

Battle of Craig-Annan Castle 1715.

Last night myself,Graham,Paul and Brian donned our kilts,stocked up with porridge and deep fried Mars Bars,and set off for the Highlands of Scotland for a small,short,but very exciting game involving "English" troops against Scottish Clans and some allied Swiss infantry.

The scenario and table before any movement-Paul and I were in joint command of the "English" whilst Brian was in charge of the Swiss,and Graham controlled(?) the Scots.

Paul is deploying his troops as the Scots start their very fast advance-our cavalry decided, very early on, that they could not withstand the Highland charge,and retired!!

On my flank,Brian is moving his Swiss in an attempt to keep me occupied whilst Graham and the Clans sorted Paul out!!!

This is taken from the Swiss side of the table,I have just managed to get into a line,and deploy my gun-the Swiss had very high morale and firing points,but were classed as "un-tested" in battle,so Brian had to throw an even dice score,the first time they were hit,to hold them-an odd score would result in a quick "running away" manoeuvre!!!!

Our Fire-Fight begins!!-two of the Swiss held on,and only one ran away-however one of my regiments broke,and ran away too!!! But what of Paul's troops facing the Clans,who were rushing towards him with terrifying speed!!!

In a brave,but futile attempt to stop the Clans,Paul unleashed a terrible volley-would that stop the wild Scots-of course not!!!-HELP!!

As the Scots get closer,a strange sound was heard from the "English" side of the table, a sort of "knocking" noise.......Yes, you've guessed it-our knees!!!!!-even firing volley after volley and cannister from the gun,we were doomed,laddie,doomed I say!!!

With a triumphant yell,Graham launched his clans at Paul's troops-they were no match and went down in a welter of blood,knees still knocking!!-with Graham winning all the melees,and my flank still holding on against Brian's Swiss,a draw looked likely, but wargaming is a funny old hobby,and then Swiss decided to go home!!-hurrah!

Paul is just about over-run,time to head back to the Fort!!

One last shot(excuse the pun!) showing the Swiss about to depart!-Brian had shot my troops to hell,so I really couldn't do anything to help the situation on Paul's flank,so we had to admit defeat-never mind,we can wait another 30 years!!!
This was a good game,much smaller and lasting only a couple of hours,but very tense and exciting-well done lads,roll on Sunday,probably ancients,Macedonians against Republican Romans.