March 2025 - Part Two

4 March 2025

English Civil War

Started detailing the Oxford units. 

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Pulp Fiction

Earlier tonight revised the two gaming sheets for my new scenario - The Vine Street Bank Heist. Happier with the new revised Profiles for the participants after paring down the Special Abilities (had too many for a first game). 

As I go along, I am also developing the scenario. So far I've got the following "facts" down. 

(1) "Boss" Lambert's gang are about to rob the 2nd National Bank on the corner of Main and Vine Street in Biggstown, a large city in the central mid-west. His gang are out-of-towners and have quietly infiltrated the city with many staying at the Cherry Street Hotel, a couple of blocks from the bank. The gang is well known in several districts so laying low is essential.

(2) The downtown district comes largely under the metropolitan jurisdiction of the 27th Precint led by the competent Lieutenant Ed "Bullrush" Zelski. Because of the way I've set this up, both parties has a Grade 3 (the head honcho), two Grade 2s (lieutenants or deputies), and two teams of Grade 1s. For the 27th Precint, patrolling Main Street and the off-streets branching from Main (up to Hopper Street in the south-west) and the Industrial Estate (north-east corner) keeps them busy. 

(3) The Second National Bank handles the financial affairs of the city and is located on the junction ofAt this time of the year, it prepares to remit a large shipment of cash to its corporate headquarters over at Centerville by rail and road. This is the payout Lambert is planning to hijack. 

(4) Conducting the recce of the bank and its environs is Whitey Zoots' crew consisting of himself, Petey the Gat Gowlinsky and Leo "Cracker" McGerkin. Attached and especially brought in for the job is the driver "Wheels" Kross. Meanwhile Boss Lambert's other crew, led by Moray "The Snake" Feisty, is gathering info on the bank personnel. Assisting him are "Bugsy" Sickle and "Sloppy" Wynstein.

(5) New enlisted Patrolman Meyer is familiarising himself with his patrol route. He is accompanied by the veteran Eli "Knocker" Pound. 

More to follow...

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English Civil War

Rupert's "Blew" regiment figures glued to bases. Some detailing done on the headquarter element. Basecoated bases for later flocking and "decorating".

Both units (Oxford army) done and ready to enlist into the Reserve. 

Work on Talbot's and Duke of York's tomorrow - cyclone willing. Cheers.

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6 March 2025

English Civil War

On a slow roll of sorts.

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13 March 2025

Ex Tropical Cyclone Alfred

Power was finally restored after going dead Sunday. Dumb authorities kept telling those affected to go to their effen website. Problem is no one had power nor comms nor internet so couldn't access the effen stupid website. And I hear we're getting billed more with our power. Third-world country.

In the interim, the power outage allowed me to finish off the ECW foot, all seven units. And a couple of commanders. A few minor detailings to go and base flocking. Hand made the 60mm bases for the commanders from MDF. Quality of the material is shite but what do you expect from Bunnings?

Today I began the baggage train. Found one item (water cart) has no wheels so am hand crafting them. Because I had no reference (no internet) when I made my start I soon realised I had made the wheels too large interfering with the water barrel. No problem as no one is really going to pay attention to a high sitting water cart. 

Also one of the horses was so flimsy that it broke as soon as I pushed it to straighten its hind leg. Viewed from the front, the legs of the creature are not properly formed. Poor creature has more in common with those 2D flats than viable 3D. Oh well, it is what it is; too late crying spilt milk. 

There are several ways to dress this farcical attempt up. Lots of dark paint and foliage is one way. Hide it at the back of the baggage train. Or never have it come on; just claim it's refilling at the nearest lake or pond. And so on. Lol.

Reading List

With little to do in the blackout, I took to reading the Medieval Balkans history book. Chapter 2 concerned the Fourth Crusade and its influence on the region in that Byzantine lost Constantinople to the crusaders. The establishment of a Latin Emperor in Constantinople also saw expansion into Greece so much so that little fiefdoms and principalities were established by the crusaders (Franks mostly) throughout. Thessaloniki, Morea, Epirus are some of the more familiar states established by the crusaders and their descendants. 

The amount of treachery by the rulers during this period of upheaval from Latin, Byzantine, Greek, Serbian, Bulgarian, Hungarians - is phenomenal. Here I was thinking the modern Middle East and Near East is the byword for turmoil. Yet it was so common in the 12th and 13th centuries so much so that the only way to know who held what is by historical accounts and records. And even they can be misleading or vacant on information. 

I am so looking forward to the Ottomans finally capturing and establishing their empire. But that's several chapters on. Chapter 3 - The First Half of the Thirteenth Century - was a whirlwind of political intrigue, usurpation, fragile or broken alliances. And forever back-stabbing. Had to pause to absorb much of what was happening in the various regions.

I am now wading through Chapter 4 - The Second Half of the Thirteenth Century. I am chuckling though at how devious some of these players are. For example, the importance of having documentation securely stored away can never be overstated. Which comes handy in disputes such as one town's claim over religious authority were nullified when the claimant failed to produce the authentic documents supporting their case. Of course, during their disputes these were missing, destroyed by the rival side when they captured the town before it was recaptured by the claimants.

Towns would change hands many times over. Much like a merry-go-round. A veritable carousel of "sea changes".  

There are ten chapters in all. So far, six to go after tonight's reading. Of course, I now have a wealth of new wargaming inspiration. Maybe look at familiar rulesets covering the period. Certainly enough new source material to resume Lion Rampant. Or even bigger if I can source suitable minis. 

NOTE: A lot of little wars going on, some documented, others not, is rampant throughout the thirteenth centuries. And quite a few are never even known about except as hearsay or through fireside tales. The amount of interference from Hungary is quite common given it bordered the Danube. And the Venetians are also right in the mix for meddling in the affairs of the region. A real hotbed of intrigue and greed. But then that's much the spice that is history.  

Games

Recent power outage (storm related) has affirmed the need to get games happening on spare tablets and laptops. So am ready for next time because there will be a next time with some sort of natural disaster emergency. Still don't have full comms (mobile phone coverage). 

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March 2025 - Part One

1 March 2025

English Civil War

I much prefer the journey rather than the destination these days. Getting there is so much more fun than seeing the final end result which is cool in itself but doesn't provide the memories whenever viewed as much as the struggles, modifications, adaptations, and so on.

Found some basing material yesterday and thus spent tonight cutting them for my units. Still need to basecoat several units like Hopton's and Bard's. Started detailing Duke of York's and Talbot's. As stated, King's Lifeguards and Prince Rupert's Blew regiments are very much done with only the basing, flocking and some minor final detailing to complete them out. 

Tweaking the numbers, I was able to accommodate adding Talbot's Foote without forsaking the original listings which is a good thing. All that's missing from the above list therefore is Shrewsbury Foote. This would give the Royalist seven complete infantry units (regimental level). Excluded but next on the painting program are the Forlorn Hope, the firelocks, and dismounted dragoons. Cheers.

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2nd March 2025

Some .45 Adventure gaming

Tidying up the studio of late and happened across some old terrain/buildings from my 28mm gangster era. Decided to have a quick game of .45 Adventure to pass the time as the power went out throughout the area for over an hour. Wasn't a real game as such but more a reacquaintance. Didn't go into the details of the ruleset but skimmed over the basics of the game.

Scenario was rivalry between two local gangs - one American-style gangster with the flashy suits and violin cases coming up against an Asian-Triad style criminals - that had finally reached boiling over point with both sides declaring a spontaneous turf war in the industrial area outside of Biggstown. 

Outcome was less important than simply enjoying a simple hour of gaming, as it should. 

Going to continue reviving this fun game into the week. Next scene will be a Main street scenario with cops and hoodlums. Will print out some game sheets as well. And hopefully provide a more detailed batrep rather than the result. Should be interesting. 

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3 March 2025

Studio tidy up

Resumed tidying up the studio. Realised that I have loads of stuff to finish and complete. Will try and take the same approach as I did with the Battle of Borodino project. Which is focus on one element of the project and bring that part to completion.

The list of projects as part of 2025 builds are manifold however.

1. Kelly's Heroes table. Large project. Easily the largest since the Battle of the Borodino in scope and size. Begun long ago (back in the 2010s). Made a passionate start. Interrupted thereafter with half-pie efforts over the decade. At around 30% complete with a fair number of structures mostly completed. Lot of final work needed to bring it to full completion and use. Still on the lookout for a tiger tank (a main character from the movie). Should take the whole year.
2. Generic terrain and structures items. Many started but never finished as something new popped up to distract me (as you do). Low priority but still needing completion.
3. Pulp Fiction. Main Street, USA, from the Prohibition and through to the Great Depression era. More interested in this period from the small scale gaming and narrative one can weave.
4. American Civil War. Final last fling. Red River campaign and rulesets to be finalised. Flitting with several but nothing has firmed. Terrain and buildings are few and will probably require some constructions. Priority is low though so it may never eventuate (the buildings and terrain elements that is).
5. Shelving. Need more shelves for storage. Finding the right shelving is important so I understand.
6. WW2 modular terrain (see further down). An unfinished project. Ran out of steam while putting it together. 

Shown above are a couple of pieces (right) with the train line emerging from the mountain tunnel. Also in storage is the Lizardmen temple display board that I hope to get some usage using the old ruleset. And then there is a French Foreign Legion fort that is something I've always wanted to build but I have no figures. Maybe use it for an updated WW2 desert scenario for Rapid Fire perhaps? Wait and see. At least now I can place stored items once again in this closet space.

Various modular pieces belonging to the Kelly's Heroes table. Eight pieces counted thus far. The table therefore will be large. Already attached polystyrene as basis for landscaping and the overhead railway that is meant to pass through the town. Was able to mark out the locations of the various buildings after designing the layout. 

Part of the town centre. Loads of buildings. Built card buildings. Lots and lots of detailing still remains (inset doorways, balcony, window framing, walls, etc.) to bring it up to scratch for the game so I reckon. A good two months work here (given my snail pace progress). 

There are a number of terrain boards (hills, surrounding landscape) in this project that still need constructing, not just finishing. Various notable structures, such as the ruined castle (above right) on the outskirts of the town, are basically done. Or started. The Sanitorium is not shown but is also almost done.  

Never going to win awards for my construction skills. Or even design work. Doesn't really matter: as I stated so many times before, I enjoy getting to where I'm going. I don't mind reinventing the wheel. Or relearning skills or techniques already learned or known. It's the enjoyment of filling up time doing something I like doing. 

Six modular boards. Originally designed for WW2 Rapid Fire. Setting: Europe. Possibly Normandy bocage region. Includes a small lake/pond, destroyed village, hedgerows, undulating ground, docking area, hamlets, and so on. 

Shown this before. Unopened boxes of minis. Wife really wants me to sell them off. Contemplating it although not this year. Most are 1/72 Napoleonic, a period I'm done with for now. Medieval as well (for Lion Rampant). Forming part of my various piles of shame located throughout the studio.

More Piles of Shame. Many are opened and work begun on them but not finished. Mostly 15mm, 20mm and 28mm. Not shown are two house moving cartons filled with 40K and Warhammer Fantasy (before the renaming due to copyright claims). There are odds and sods from other interested periods, mostly naval and airwargaming. So it's not just land warfare materiel.

Any drawer space is crammed with minis. These are part of my WW2 collection. For Rapid Fire. 

Sometimes I run out of drawer space for my minis. 

Ran out of small storage cells and tubs for my Borodino project. What I could fit, I did. The rest found space on the shelving in the bathroom (see below).

These buildings are from the La Haye Saint set for the Battle of Waterloo. Made a start. Time to finish them off.

Minis stored away that haven't been used in a while. Sitting atop a cabinet with mostly accessories - dice, small terrain items, mats for naval.

About halfway through cleaning up the studio. But already it's yielded much. So much that I really have no excuse not to be doing something hobby-wise. Should be an interesting year therefore. But I've said that before as well. Wish me luck. Cheers.

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Moved lots of modular boards out of the cluttered closet space (previous photo) and restored them in a spot more accessible as this is another major project for this year: (2) WW2 European battle board. Six boards I believe. Without measuring, I'd speculate the boards make for a 6' by 4' table.