Dip/Single Highlight Welsh cavalry

Here, in response to Matt, are some pics of my dipped models. The method is white undercoat, then bright flat basecoat colours (except armour/helmets, which is painted black before drybrushing with GW Boltgun Metal & Chainmail for mail. Helmets have Boltgun Metal painted onto the black.) Black areas, e.g horse manes, are highlighted in layers before applying dip.
The dip is lightly brushed on and left to dry at least 24 hours. Once dry, I use the original basecoat colours to add highlights, except helmets which are layered as normal. I then brush on GW gloss varnish followed by either Humbrol matt clear if working indoors in winter or I will use Dullcote brush on (cos I have loads to use up) in summer when working in the fresh air.

As you can see, some models work better than others. The following are Foundry Normans "11th Century Welsh-i-fied" for Saga. They work really well with this technique!

The following are Musketeer Goths. These are superb and suit this method brilliantly, as do the new GB horses! Bill from Musketeer is my fave sculptor now...he's gonna do early Byzantine cavalry soon and I won't be able to resist!!!

This is a West Wind Pict. He looks better in the flesh, actually...

This is Foundry Frankish/Goth cavalryman. He works ok with this method...

This is a GB Welshman on a Foundry horse. I don't like this model...It doesn't suit this method at all. Soapy definitely didn't get the Welsh as consistently brilliant as the Saxons, IMHO...

This is my favourite GB model...sadly, the mould must have been getting a bit shagged when I bought this one, as the detail is very shallow, so this method works less than brilliantly. Still a great model soldier though!

Here's one of Soapy's superb mtd combrogi from GB. This one works really well in this style...and yes, that's a Foundry horse he's on...I like to mix n match a bit!!!

All shields by LBM for quickness...

Let me know what you think. In ranked up units, the Musketeer models are brilliant done like this, some others less so. The method is about 33% of my normal painting time so that's 3 models finished in the time it'd normally take to do 1 and given the lack of painting time I get these days, that's a bonus!

Cheers

Andy

An ENORMOUS Dark Age game of Hail Caesar

Yeah...I know...It's been too long since I last blogged. Truth to tell, I have had neither time nor inclination, nor real reason, as I have had nowt to say... However, today is different!!

Last weekend I was one of the 'Dark-Ages A-listers' (quote James Morris) who were invited by Mr Morris to Nottingham to play a giganto-normous Hail Caesar game for an article to be published in Wargames Illustrated 300th issue bumper special for Sept 2012. We were to re-fight part of Y-Gododdin for this mammoth undertaking and so pitted 200 mounted Welsh plus various foot troops against the best part of 700+ Saxons. The pic above was taken by WI UK head honcho Dan and shows just how much better the pics in the mag will be compared to mine below come September!!!

Anyway, I had never played HC before but it wasn't gonna stop me! I painted a handful of additional Welsh cavalry (dipped and single highlight...!!) to give me a full HC division and I was off! I am not allowed to say too much about the game to avoid detracting from James' article and I have stuck to pics of the whole table to give you an idae of scale, plus a few pics of my division in action. Hopefully this is ok! If not, I'm sure James or Dan will chastise me and I'll then edit this post somewhat!!

Below, the set up...that's a lot of toys!!!

Here's the Saxon lines...

Here's one of my fellow Welsh commanders, Steve Jones (he of WAB Age of Arthur fame) looking somehat bemused by the enormity of his task on the Welsh right flank.

Here is my division on the Welsh left, simply charged with slaughtering as many of the foe as gloriously as possible... Tom W D (http://tomstoysoldiers.blogspot.com/) was our supreme leader and held the centre.

Here's my own models. Note my Welsh infantry banners temporarily transplanted to cavalrymen as I didn't have time to paint 3 new Welsh standards prior to the battle!!

Here's a great example of how HC can b*gger up your plans good and proper (below). You have to roll less than or equal to your command value to get orders through to your troops...clearly Tom ahs managed this, whereas me and Steve haven't!!!!!! Refused flanks anyone??!!

Here's my glorious charge about to go gloriously wrong (yes, it isn't just in WAB where it all goes t*ts up for me!!!)

Battle lines clash across the board...Mr Morris (our esteemed umpire) is just deciding whether it's me or Tom who gets the dubious honour of being first to charge that wall of Saxon death!!!! This is because, in HC, units within 12" of the enemy can move without a leadership test. Me and Tom both had units with 9" (cavalry charge distance) so both potentially could claim that honour. I won't spoil the article and tell you who got it...

This is me about to launch a second charge into what is now looking like a FLOOD of Saxons...

Well, stone the crows (or should that be "stone the ravens???" Sorry...in joke for the Arthurian fans amongst you...) look at this!! In HC, if you obliterate the enemy in combat, you can make a sweeping advance...especially handy when his supporting units roll shite panic dice and get obliterated also!! So, yes...my cavalry have actually broken through, slaughtering 2 Saxon units and seeing daylight!!! Can you spot the two dipped figs in this unit???

My other cavalry didn't fare quite as well...too many of the heathen b*ggers!!!!

And that's all I can show you, as I don't wish to give any more away!!

It was a fabulous day out. HC is a great rule set for this size game. We played 7 turns in approx 6 hours, including breaks. The Saxons were led by Dan 'Dux Bellorum/Glutter of Ravens' Mersey (http://boardgamegeek.com/blog/444/dux-blogorum) and were ably assited by Paul 'Scrivs' Smith (HC expert) and Andy Mactaggart. Some of us had never played HC before, which shows you how easy it was to pick up.

And, more to the point, I am re-invigorated and ready to rock again with my gaming and painting! I have a new Welsh mounted Teulu unit ready to go on the painting table and I have been sorting all my Dark Age models for dual roles in WAB and Hail Caesar. This has meant a few alterations here and there to get the right size units and some banners have had to be replaced anyway due to transportation accidents (dontcha hate it when a banner cross-pole bends and the flag rips???!! That's happened twice with Romano-Brit cavalry banners recently!)

Then there are the new rules! Dan's "Dux Bellorum" is out in August (pics of my models in the rule book, we hope!!) and the "Too Fat Lardies" have a STUNNING looking Arthurian set in the works (http://toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/?p=730 http://toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/?p-745 http://toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/?p-755 http://toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/?p-766 http://sidneyroundwood.blogspot.com/) This latter set look like they could be the mutt's nutz of Arthurian wargaming for me (although Dan's set sounds interesting too...) Wargaming the Dark Ages has not been as exciting since WAB Age of Arthur came out!!!

I hope that you enjoyed the above!! I hope to be back soon... :-)

Clickable pic of the WW1 Brits from the last post

Hopefully!!! :-)

I'm Back! Raiding Season Campaign Game 1

Well, yes...I'm still here! Having been forced by a number of circumstances, including total painting burnout, to back off from painting and gaming in general, I have, at last, been tempted back!

So, to get me back in the mood for some serious Dark Age gaming action for 2012 (can't say anything official yet, but it's gonna be HUGE), I persuaded my mate Carl to play the WAB Age of Arthur Raiding Season campaign with me.

I have taken Northern Welsh against his early Saxon kingdoms, so, in game 1, Urien of Rheged (me!!) won the dice-off and became the attacker, launching a massive raid South into Mercia against Carl's pagan horde!

The first game in the campaign is 'Bassas Ford'. No pics, as Carl's whole army is unpainted and anyway, I rushed out and forgot my camera!! Sorry!! Next time!!

Carl deployed his whole army, (1 unit of Gedriht + General, 2 x Duguth, one lead by his ASB, the other by a Wiglera, 1 unit of Geoguth and 2 of skirmishers) while I deployed a unit of javelinmen, a unit of mounted combogi with theri character (Owein, a Tiern). He then fought a prolonged challenge against an Atheling (who I presume led Carl's Geoguth...) For each turn the challenge lasted, I was able to deploy a further unit plus accompaying characters and luckily, our challengers were so shite at fighting that I was able to deploy all my units before my Tiern finally hacked his opponent to the ground and, having removed his head and waved it at the growling Saxons, made his way back to his mounted combrogi!!

The scenario is all about the attacker getting his general and lots of units over a river running diagonally across the whole length of table, with a central ford and flanking (very narrow) bridge! I therefore weighted my mounted Teulu (+ Urien and his ASB) and my mounted combrogi led by my Tiern onto the flank and decided to sacrifice the poor bloody infantry (2 x 23 combrogi led by Uchelwyrs) and 1 x 15 combrogi. As our troops are all light open order, we decide that the river rules in the supplement superceded all WAB 2.0 difficult ground rules otherwise the river was no real barrier.

The game went well! Predictably, my combrogi facing the Gedriht were annihilated, as were the 15 facing off against the Geoguth. The unit facing the Duguth lasted most of the game before eventually being run down. However, my mounted combrogi forced a flank crossing in the face of Saxon javelinmen and my Teulu ground the Wiglera's Duguth into the dust, the Rex challenging and slaughtering the Wiglera into the bargain. This meant that I had the general and 2 units across the river, fulfilling the 'close-run victory' conditions I'd aimed for with nothing Carl could do about it!! Huzzah!!!

In the post-game character dice rolling, the Saxon Wiglera escaped lasting injury, as did one of my Uchelwyrs. The Saxon Atheling and the other Welsh Uchelwyr both suffered wounds, the Saxon being reduced to WS 3 and the Uchelwyr reduced to 1 wound!!

So, one up to the Welsh and in a couple of weeks, we will play game 2, which, as I won a close-run victory, is the 'Roman Road', where Carl's 1000pts wil try to ambush my 1500pt column and prevent me exiting the board!!!

Watch out for a report on that around 5th Sept ish.

And keep popping back, cos I have Welsh cavalry on the painting table, testing a new 'speed painting' technique using army painter dip and 1 highlight - here's a picture of some WW1 Brits I painted a couple of months ago using the technique... Twice as quick as my layering, although how it'll work with Dark Age troops, especially the horses, who knows??!!! In the next week or so, hopefully, we'll find out!

The Pine Wood Of Tevar in Wargames Illustrated!! (plus other news)

Hi All
Just a quick 'heads up' that a mahoosive (14 page!!!!) article of the Pine Wood of Tevar game, written by James Morris and featuring gazillions of lovely pics of our armies, should be appearing in the May issue of Wargames Illustrated. I have seen the proofs of the article...it's really rather mega!!!!

In other news, painting has stopped in the Guitarheroandy household. I just can't get up any enthusiasm for it. This is largely due to work pressures, family stuff, band stuff and the fact that I am regularly attending wargames club for the first time in over a year. We are mostly playing the dark Age skirmish rule set called 'Pig Wars', which is fast, frantic, bloody and great fun - about as far removed from WAB as one can get in mechanics, but just as much fun. However, contrary to many of the WABbers out there, I am not stopping playing WAB in the light of all the new ancient sets coming out, or as a result of ForgeWorld's apparent lack of desire to bring out new supplements. In fact, I am attending an event in April (Fall of the West/Age of Arthur) and my wargames club is about to start a Late Roman Republic/early Empire campaign, so all is well and WABbing here in Peterborough at any rate!

I do hope to pick up a paintbrush again soon, but need some inspiration! I keep looking at my colonials, but it feels like a mountain to climb...and I still have more Arthurians I want to do, but somehow...well...can't be bothered!! At least my repetitive strain injury has massively improved, which means that I am physically able to paint should the muse decide to return!!

I hope to post some pics from the WAB Spring Open (if I remember to take a camera!) and will keep you posted on developments with painting should any occur!!

Thank you all for your patience and for continuing to look me up on here occasionally...

Cheers

Andy

Gary Moore - R.I.P.

Another of my guitar heroes from my teenage years bites the dust...

R.I.P Gary...

Happy New Year!

Well, hello one and all. Happy New Year! Sorry it's taken me nearly a fortnight to get around to that!!

So...2011...b*gger me, how did that one sneak up on us, eh? And, more to the point, what is going to happen on this blog in 2011??

Well, the repetitive strain injury is no worse, although I haven't painted in weeks and haven't had a proper session on the guitar in a while either. Now Crimble is out of the way, I can at least get the painting kit back in the lounge so I can try a bit now and then when I get a mo in the evenings, not that I seem to have much time spare these days...

So, what's the 2011 plan? Well, changes are afoot from what I thought I'd do in my last message: My wargames club is going to run a WAB 2.0 Late Republican/Early Imperial Roman campaign around Easter and I do want to paint a new unit of Auxiliaries to go with my Sulla Romans. I have a load of Foundry Greek peltasts and will be using them (to fit in with my 'Sulla in the East' theme). Ideally, I need to layer paint them to match my Caesarian legionaries, but I may do them in the style of my (on hold) repo Romans, so basecoat, dip, one highlight...depends how the arm holds out and how lazy I get/how little time I end up with!! Once they are done I will have 3500pts of Romans which is cool. I did field them all in a game against my mate Grahame's EIR last week and won a close-run victory in a 5 and a half hour epic encounter!!

I have also been on the hunt for alternatives to WAB for Age of Arthur. I have found two great little sets for skirmish type games (Brytenwalda - http://brytenwalda.blogspot.com) and Tod Kershner's 'Pig Wars'. Both are light years away from WAB's systems and need far less models. Pig Wars is especially good for multi-player games. If you want a copy of Pig Wars, join the Pig Warriors Yahoo group where you can contact the author and receive a download of the rules for $10, plus access to various additioanl files in the Yahoo group's file section. Well worth a look!

Anyway, along with these, I have been writing my own rules for the period - sort of GW Lord of the Rings in scale (30-60 models per side, large scale skirmish). I now have almost enough to playtest, I just need to type up a couple of playtest scenarios. Some of you already know about this and have offered to read/playtest, which is kind! Expect to receive an email shortly! If any others fancy a look, let me know. I am not claiming that they are great...they may not well even be reasonable, or even remotely playable, but it has been a fun and very interesting experience writing them! If you do have a read/play, you'll see bits of Triumph& Tragedy, bits of LOTR, bits of WAB...all given my unique 'twist'. Am hoping to start my own playtesting shortly as well, so watch this space for further info...

Talking of Arthurians, I do have a hankering to paint some more Age of Arthur stuff and willbe doing a few more Franks/Saxons this year, enough to do a warband for each of the rulesets mentioned above, but not a full WAB army yet. I also want to do a unit of Wolftail warriors and Arthur's cavalry based on Cornwell's books. They'll be useable in the skirmish rules and might see light of day in aWAB army at some point. It may take me months to do them, but I intend to have a go!!

I also intend to do a bit more with my colonials. I intend to get 2 or 3 squads of Brits and another mass of Pathans done in 'dipping' mode this year. I have half a Sikh unit basecoated already and intend to finish those this month.

Finally, on the back-burner are the Repo Romans, as I'll not have time to do them this year and gaming the era isn't high on my priority list this year. Also, I do intend to paint 2 more El Cid units: Knights Hospitaller and spearmen in the livery of the Hospital to join my 'Alfonso the Battler' El Cid force. These will wait til late in the year if I do them at all this year...

So that's me so far. Hopefully I wil get my a*se in gear and post more this year. Thanks to those who still follow this blog. I appreciate it.

Cheers
Andy