I just finished read the first three Adrian Goldsworthy's Napoleonic Wars series. Not another Sharpe series at all, although it does start in Spain 1808. The characters have depth, the writing is very good, and I enjoyed reading these. Retirement allowed me to read these three in five days while still painting figures, I even staarted thinking of painting some more Napy era figs, oh my!
I just started on Joshua Mowll's three book series "The Guild of Specialists" number one is "Operation Red Jericho". This is a series set in 1920 China and South China Sea; I wouldn't relate the story yet, except that I think it is for 7th grade and higher readers, but if you like pulp and are looking for scenarios this is one for you, halfway through the book and there have been three scenarios for a campaign. The book is full of drawing, photos and foldout pages - these include maps, plans for a research/merchant raider ship, submarine lots of great stuff. I got the hard cover edition (from Amazon) so I do not know if the paperback version has the pullouts. Definitely if you are a pulp gamer this is a must have if not to read then for the drawings.
By the way I am still working through the booklist for the Balkan Wars, more soon, sooner if the Ynakees don't start playing better.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Balkan Wars 1912-1913 figure list, 10mm
Lately, I have become interested in the Balkan Wars 1912-13 and have purchased and/or downloaded a number of books on the subject that I thought would be worth reading to create a major wargame campaign for the war, possibly using the Tony Bath method. Also I have made up a list of figures to use in the campaign. I will break this down into two sections as the lists are longish.
At first I considered untertaking the campaign with 28mm figures from Tiger Miniatures. But the more I read the further I became convinced that 28mm was way to big for what I envisioned. I wanted to loosely follow the war and the smallest unit actions I could find were really division and regimental all the real action was by corps and division. To work this into the operational aspects I want I would need thousands of 28mm figs, so I decided to scale down 15mm is fairly well represented but then I looked at 10mm and found just what I wanted. Figures small enough to represent large units and still look great on the battlefield.
Below is a list of 10mm figure manufacturers and 6mm buildings that are either directly applicable to the combatants or useful substitutes.
Pendraken
Serbian - Infantry, cavalry/rifles, Machineguns, 75mm gun/crew
Turkish - Infantry, Cavalry machineguns, 77mmgun/crew, limber (these figures are probably in later war helmets but at this scale can be painted also as fez's, most photos indicate that a variety of headgear was worn mostly the later helmets and fez's but also a few turbans). From the Egyptian war 1882 range the Egyptians in Fez will work well especially SC4 Egyptian infantry, SC10 Artillery, and SC12 Cavalry.
Bulgarians - Russo-Japanese war - Russian infantry, artillery? (the Bulgarians wore Russian style uniforms so early on the Russian infantry would work well, later the uniforms would be for the militia units). Also useful are the Russian uniforms for WWI figures in caps - RP1, 2, and 3. Further there should be at least one regiment uniformed from the Russo-Turkish war RT1 they are in kepi but a dab of white glue should make it into a cap, the Bulgarians had at least one unit with Berdan rifles. Also useful could be RT9 Turkish foot command, RT4 Russian foot command, RT2 Russians in caps.
Irregular
WWI German useful for Bulgarians or Germans with the Turkish high Command
TW15 German O in flat cap advancing
TW16 German Staff O standing
TW17 German Staff O w/map, pointing
TW18 German Staff O binoculars
TW20 German O mounted
TWM2 Wagon with Driver
TWM3 Ammo crates
TWM4 Artillery shells
TMS4 Oxen
Timecast
6mm scale buildings - I don't think that buildings really play a large part in the battles so that smaller buildings are useful to represent towns and villages. I am not sure yet what type churches I could use 03/04 and 03/23 could be used but I would prefer an orthodox church in a Byzantine style
Christian villages
8/001 to 008, and 010 - buildings with tile roofs
Muslim villages
17/003 to 007 North African buildings flat roofed although tile roof would also work
Tile roofed multi storey buildings, for use in larger towns
3/015, 020, 021, 022
Needs:
a. oxen drawn four wheel wagons
b. mule drawn two wheel wagons
c. a large scale contour maps of the area
d. civilians
At first I considered untertaking the campaign with 28mm figures from Tiger Miniatures. But the more I read the further I became convinced that 28mm was way to big for what I envisioned. I wanted to loosely follow the war and the smallest unit actions I could find were really division and regimental all the real action was by corps and division. To work this into the operational aspects I want I would need thousands of 28mm figs, so I decided to scale down 15mm is fairly well represented but then I looked at 10mm and found just what I wanted. Figures small enough to represent large units and still look great on the battlefield.
Below is a list of 10mm figure manufacturers and 6mm buildings that are either directly applicable to the combatants or useful substitutes.
Pendraken
Serbian - Infantry, cavalry/rifles, Machineguns, 75mm gun/crew
Turkish - Infantry, Cavalry machineguns, 77mmgun/crew, limber (these figures are probably in later war helmets but at this scale can be painted also as fez's, most photos indicate that a variety of headgear was worn mostly the later helmets and fez's but also a few turbans). From the Egyptian war 1882 range the Egyptians in Fez will work well especially SC4 Egyptian infantry, SC10 Artillery, and SC12 Cavalry.
Bulgarians - Russo-Japanese war - Russian infantry, artillery? (the Bulgarians wore Russian style uniforms so early on the Russian infantry would work well, later the uniforms would be for the militia units). Also useful are the Russian uniforms for WWI figures in caps - RP1, 2, and 3. Further there should be at least one regiment uniformed from the Russo-Turkish war RT1 they are in kepi but a dab of white glue should make it into a cap, the Bulgarians had at least one unit with Berdan rifles. Also useful could be RT9 Turkish foot command, RT4 Russian foot command, RT2 Russians in caps.
Irregular
WWI German useful for Bulgarians or Germans with the Turkish high Command
TW15 German O in flat cap advancing
TW16 German Staff O standing
TW17 German Staff O w/map, pointing
TW18 German Staff O binoculars
TW20 German O mounted
TWM2 Wagon with Driver
TWM3 Ammo crates
TWM4 Artillery shells
TMS4 Oxen
Timecast
6mm scale buildings - I don't think that buildings really play a large part in the battles so that smaller buildings are useful to represent towns and villages. I am not sure yet what type churches I could use 03/04 and 03/23 could be used but I would prefer an orthodox church in a Byzantine style
Christian villages
8/001 to 008, and 010 - buildings with tile roofs
Muslim villages
17/003 to 007 North African buildings flat roofed although tile roof would also work
Tile roofed multi storey buildings, for use in larger towns
3/015, 020, 021, 022
Needs:
a. oxen drawn four wheel wagons
b. mule drawn two wheel wagons
c. a large scale contour maps of the area
d. civilians
Monday, August 27, 2012
Books, magazines, and figures
Not finding much new to read at the local Books-a-Million, except for some new to us magazines (Ancient Warfare and Medivael Warfare, as well as their Wargames Soldiers and Strategy) some great new mags well worth reading; I have reverted to rereading several series: SM Stirling's Pesawar Lancers and then his changed lands; Gary Kilworth's series starting with the Crimean War and ending with the Moari War; now I'm working on John Wilcox's Fonthill series. All of these are great series with loads of action and scenario ideas for the colonial era.
Figure wise, since we now have a store front I have a great excuse to paint figures for sale as well as for myself. I finished an Afghan army, well two cavalry units of 12 each, two infantry units totaling about 40 figures and general staff of eight figures. I also finished off eight resin Old Glory buildings, a 12 woman Hinterland Naval unit, working now on 12 Hinterland lancers, finished 18 Brigade Games female soldiers in kepi as Jaegers, a bunch of Miners from Pontoonier miniatures and a bunch of Reviresco native sailors for my new colonial steamers from Richard Houston.
Figure wise, since we now have a store front I have a great excuse to paint figures for sale as well as for myself. I finished an Afghan army, well two cavalry units of 12 each, two infantry units totaling about 40 figures and general staff of eight figures. I also finished off eight resin Old Glory buildings, a 12 woman Hinterland Naval unit, working now on 12 Hinterland lancers, finished 18 Brigade Games female soldiers in kepi as Jaegers, a bunch of Miners from Pontoonier miniatures and a bunch of Reviresco native sailors for my new colonial steamers from Richard Houston.
ATZ breakout / ATZ survivor seach
After setting out a big table for a campaign beginning, things went south. As you will see below in the photos, I only took two, that the town was ready and I had buildings ready to with civilians to turn into Zombie when they got there. That didn't work. The game went thus:
The two ride into town drawing Zs to them, they manage to kill three and climb atop a truck into the second storey of a building containing three Zs, the remaining Zs converge on the police car. The police then climbed to the roof moving and checking several buildings for survivors then crossing the street without attracting more Zs.
Once across the street the cops found survivors and Zs but were able to dispose of the Zs and, of course, attracting more Zs. One of the survivors had a chain saw which he used to charge several Zs but attracting more Zs. The groupd got to a building right across from the police car where the Zs were finally moving away attracted by the chain saw but away from the survivors. The cop with the pistol had lost a fight and was unconscious and being carried by the guy with a chain saw who had saved him from an attacking Z. They all ran for the cop car putting the unconscious cop in the trunk to have room for the four survivors, shotgun cop misses all six shots but gets in the car just ahead of the now activated Zs and it starts, he backs up quickly and they make their get-away having killed five Zs and rescuing four.
This game was much more fun than the first and fit better with the rules than my first scenario. There probably will not be another ATZ game for a couple of months as I need to get back to my Mafrica Campaign on the other blog.
Most business stuff will now show up on our facebook page as well as Ben's Lead Bones blog.
This photo shows the initial attack, you can see the note pad on the side ready to write down the story, I got four more line before it was over.
A germ warfare lab has a containment breach turning the researchers into Zombies. they break out of the lab and immediately face a rent-a-cop, federal agent and a civilian. The cop and agent both fire killing four Zs out of 9. The civilian is attacked and knocked down for a feast. The cop and agent witness this and the cop runs and hunkers down, the agent kills another Z and real police show up and the Zs are all dead by the end of turn 6.
I was disappointed at how fast it went, but it was fun. Ben then suggested a different tack; so removing all the civilians in sight he created a road block to shorten the table. I chose two police, one with a shotgun rep 4 and the other a rep 3, their orders were to find survivors and bring them back. 
This photo shows more of the table, the police car in the center is where the beginning action of the second game started. The two white trucks just beyond the police car is where the road block was constructed. We really need to find an inexpensive roadway to better define the towns we use.
Once across the street the cops found survivors and Zs but were able to dispose of the Zs and, of course, attracting more Zs. One of the survivors had a chain saw which he used to charge several Zs but attracting more Zs. The groupd got to a building right across from the police car where the Zs were finally moving away attracted by the chain saw but away from the survivors. The cop with the pistol had lost a fight and was unconscious and being carried by the guy with a chain saw who had saved him from an attacking Z. They all ran for the cop car putting the unconscious cop in the trunk to have room for the four survivors, shotgun cop misses all six shots but gets in the car just ahead of the now activated Zs and it starts, he backs up quickly and they make their get-away having killed five Zs and rescuing four.
This game was much more fun than the first and fit better with the rules than my first scenario. There probably will not be another ATZ game for a couple of months as I need to get back to my Mafrica Campaign on the other blog.
Most business stuff will now show up on our facebook page as well as Ben's Lead Bones blog.
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