'Le Terible'

2nd battalion, 57th Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne "le Terible"

All metal Perry miniatures, a joy to paint!

Ebay clearout

I'm having a bit of trouble keeping my focus these days(nothing new really ;0), so I am having a bit of a clearout. mostly unpainted but a few pieces of art in there to including these below.

heres a link

Cheers for looking

WAR AND CONQUEST REVIEW

sorry for the blurred pic

I had the pleasure to meet up with Rob Broom at the Phalanx show in St Helens last Saturday to play through a game of War and conquest. I was a little later than I expected as I bumped into good friend John for a quick but extremely expensive coffee (when you go to a wargames show it is a bit like going to a gig, where they know you are going to be thirsty so charge accordingly).
 So the game had started and I joined in just as the phalanxes were about to meet. David had command of the Spartans who were attempting to block a retreating Athenian raiding party returning to their boat. The Athenians were commanded by Sean, (who disappeared rather quickly when it looked like oracles had decided our fate.) Whilst John took us through the rules and very patiently put up with my questions. I like most wargamers buy the rules to read them but usually get side tracked by all the pretty pictures. The game was good fun and our general bravely became one of the first casualties leading from the front trying to punch his way through the rival phalanx. I spent a few turns trying to outflank the veteran Spartan phalanx on my right, whilst the grinding melee in the centre swung both ways (ooh err mrs) with neither side gaining any ascendancy. When it was obvious that David was to canny to allow me to outflank him I decided to charge headlong into his hard core veterans. This I know was almost certain suicide, but I was their to play through the rules and have fun. My brave/desperate warriors held their own for a turn or 2 dreaming of home, but once the Spartans had the momentum it was all over for them and those that could, fled! The melee in the centre had definitely taken a turn for the worse especially when my phalanx was flanked by thracians, now my warriors were dropping like flies and then running, but not far enough. At that point I decided I was in a hopeless position and conceded.

 The Review

I have had the rules for a while now, whilst reading them is obviously good as it gives you a general idea of how they work and the ideas behind them. There is nothing like playing through the rules. The book is well written and concise in full colour with lots of lovely pictures (including some Teutonics painted by me for Gripping beast ;0) All in all the book is rteally well produced and actually opens out flat on the table without closing itself, which is unusual for a wargames set.
 
On reading a few reviews on W&C myself and deciding it is just another successor of WAB, I was pleasantly surprised that it is no WAB 3 but something much much more. True it has the same basing, is designed for 28mm figures. The size and look of the armies is the same and it is fun with the need for social interaction with your fellow gamers. Especially at the start of the turn when you roll off for initiative. People who play WAB will be comfortable playing W&C and will enjoy it. From reading and playing the rules you can see that Rob has had a good long think about what he wanted from a game and I believe he has got it sussed.   
    The game turn starts with each side rolling for initiative, you can use a Strategic intervention point (if you have any) to add extra dice to your fist. Whoever rolls highest gets to choose whether to go first or second. This of course could be very important so adds tension nicely to the game.   
   Movement is pretty simple, if you want to do complicated manoeuvres in the face of the enemy you will have to take a command test, if failed your unit will just stand there, so the consequences could be dire.
   Shooting is also simple with lots of dice to throw, if a unit takes 20% or more casualties it will need to pass a morale test.     
   Combat is a major move away from WAB where units could be shattered and running from a charge of a few Normans. I'm sure this could still happen in W&C as we are after all still rolling dice. But on the whole the feeling I get is the melees are all about the grind. All combat is simultaneous with the charging unit getting to add to his combat resolution at the end. If neither side breaks, next combat phase the winning side gets a shove bonus, both sides usually then get to fight with an extra rank as more bodies join the fray. Shove bonuses can be negated by fresh enemies joining the fight. Which gives another good reason to get stuck in if you need one. Flank attacks are deadly as you basically lose most of your benefits and you will be hard pressed to stand. With the idea your combat will become protracted, You could use a tough large unit to hold your centre giving you good time to try and manoeuvre the rest of your force to your advantage.
  Generals are used to add morale and for subtle use of Strategic intervention points. SIPs can be used to add to your chances of gaining initiative at the vital moment or to up the chances of a unit holding.
  To conclude whilst I (hopefully) still have your attention. War and Conquest is a well thought out, colourful game with nice simple mechanics keeping it fun. With some very clever ideas to make the game tense and keep you thinking from turn to turn. I have only played the one game but it has got me wanting to play more. Now all I have to do is convince my wargaming buddies, which with this set of rules shouldn't be hard, but I may still have to let them win the first game to make sure.      

Roses it is then!

 The people have spoken and the War of the Roses came out on top!
So i have bought the above pictured plastic box set and a few personalities from Perry miniatures and what great figures they are to.
 After having a chin wag with good friend Pat BLOG . we have decided to do a retinue each and play skirmish level game using the lord of the rings variant on the LOTR variant yahoo group called trebuchet.
He is up at mine on August so that gives me plenty of time to finish the this small project. I say small but these things have a habit of growing! I also need to build a gaming table....

Some pics to follow as soon as i top and tailed some commissions!

RIP WAB

NEWS

Well you didnt really need to consult with the oracles to see this one coming, but a sad day just the same.
Still it wont stop me playing WAB or any of the legends series. All great games which my friends and I have many great hours playing.

So to the contenders to the throne

War and Conquest WAC by Rob Broom, formerly of warhammer historical and the main driving force behind it in the early days.
A ver nicely laid out book, with lots of novel ideas, i have not personally played a game yet but I am keen to try!

Clash of Empires CofE Another well thought out set of rules for all those who like WAB but are looking for my CnC action and down graded heroics. A little bit to close to WAB for me to warrant switching to.

Hail Caesar! HC Those guys at Warlord games sure can make pretty books. This is the ancients version of black powder. Not yet had the chance to play but will definitely be giving it a go with my Punic wars collection when it finally grows large enough to warrant. Designed for larger feeling games to WAB worth buying if just for the pretty pictures.

I'm sure there are a few more I haven't mentioned such as

but I have not invested the time and money into buying it yet, but it does look pretty cool.

moving on

Evening chap, this maybe my last post for a few weeks as I am moving home and country. My previous experience with BT i guess it may take them awhile to sort out broadband, but who knows maybe they'll get their finger out this time. 
Anyways we are off to sunny Welsh Marches, about a mile west of the river Dee. An area that was hotly disputed for many years. I hope to get the chance to research some local history and to come up with a cool new future project.
Talking of projects, i don't know if its my age (see earlier post) but it is now April and I still havnt decided what this years large project will be.
At the moment I seem to be flitting form one thing to the next, buying figures, prepping them up then thinking of something else shiny...
So I thought I would offer it out to you guys my followers and friends. What would you like to see me sink my teeth into an why?
here are the options.

my local castle (or whats left of it) in Holt

1. War of the Roses, particularly Bosworth campaign. Great period lots of herioism and sculduggery.
For this I would use Perry miniatures and chipcos "days of knights" rules. I already have a few command sets which I am slowly working through.

2. First Crusades, I have started my muslim army and have most of the figures I need for Crusaders. I have also worked out two further 2000 point WAB army lists Byzantine and Armenians. So this would be a large project with me working on four different armies each with their own flavour. rules wise it will be WAB using mainly Perry miniatures for the crusaders and Armenians, perrys, musketeers minis for Arabs. Crusader minis for the Byzantines.

3. Thirty Years War. I started reading about the Thirty years war this year and it sounds like a great period to game. Huge units of cuirassiers, massive blocks of pike accompanied by their sleeves of musketeers would make for a great looking game. Rules wise I would go with Steve Danes AB1 "Father Tilly" rules which I have played a few games of and like. Or possibly the forthcoming pike and shot blackpowder rules if it is any good when it is released next week.

4. English Civil War. I would do this as a large skirmish game using either WAB or a variation on the lord of the rings game. Lots of great figures from some great companies out their, to much to pick from!

5. Eastern Renaissance. Galloping Polish lancers Vs Russian Boyars Vs early Swedish. Could make for a great looking collection. The Assault Group do a wonderful range and I have been buying lots of little bits for a few months now. Rules would be "Father Tilly" again.

6. Last but not least
1066!! my 1066 campaign which is why I started this whole blog thing for in the first place! I have a small slowly growing Viking army (if i dont keep selling bits of it), my lead mountain has a whole face of Normans just dying to be painted and take their rightful place in their Motte and Bailey castle I have here nesting quietly on my shelf. Then all I will need is the ill fated Saxons. For this I would use WAB shieldwall, I also have a draught set of campaign rules which I wrote about three years ago, waiting to see the light of day.

So guys what should it be?

ECW/TYW officer

Clearing my painting desk at the mo and this dapper chap has been sitting in the corner for far to long waiting for his horse to be painted. 
I am toying with the idea of doing an early Swedish Thirty years war army. This army will fight against the Polish and Russians I am thinking of getting.
To many ideas to little time i hear myself cry.