Busy times

The year started with a steady production of blog posts but things have become much busier and I now surprisingly find myself writing my first entry in 6 weeks. As always, the hobby hasn't stopped, but blogging has had to be sidelined in favour of more productive pursuits. So this is a catch up, really, to see where things are at.

First of all, I've had the chance to get into some Infamy Infamy solo games. I have played three now, and the basics are beginning to stick. The core rules for fighting, shooting moving etc are pretty straight forward - it is remembering all the other details, like rallying points, and which points of drill are available and best to use in what situation, that I am learning to come to grips with now.

Here are the armies at the moment:

The British

British Leaders

British Light Cavalry

Chariots for one unit of Noble Warriors

And the other set of chariots

And here starts a series of photos of the ambush points/deployment markers that I've put together for the British/Gauls.

The British command including the mounted leader.

Another deployment marker

The warriors

I couldn't resist painting this figure which I'm assuming is meant to be Boudicca, but looks like some Fantasy character in a bronze bra.

And, of course, the Romans

Roman command with musician option.

Balaeric slingers

Iberian cavalry

Numidians

Negotiations with the locals in this deployment marker

And much less civil negotiations

The Scorpio is going to need some extra crew. I'm sure I can rustle some up.

Here's a random selection of images from the games so far, no captions as they don't tell a story, just a showcase of what the games look like:

It makes a lot of difference to the enjoyment factor for me when you've invested time in the terrain and supporting figures. Of course, that means others will take the time to be involved as well, as you can see from the cat's convenient presence in the photo above. I was so impressed with these Too Fat Lardies rules that I bought Sharpe Practice 2, and a read through tells me that I will like them better than the first version, as they have many similarities with Infamy Infamy. It wasn't a massive step from there to purchasing Dux Britaniarum and Chain of Command. I truly have the bug now.

The only downside is that my Napoleonics order from the Perrys still hasn't showed up, and it has been 6 weeks. I'll hold out until the weekend before I e-mail just in case it is Covid's fault, but to be fair the Sharpe Practice rules were ordered at the same time and showed up 3 weeks ago. I really hope they aren't lost in the post, but I have my fears.

In terms of other painting, plenty has been done. All of the Marvel Crisis Protocol figures are now painted, and this Christmas break I aim to get all of the terrain painted for them and have my first few games.

Marvel heroes Iron Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Black Widow and Thor

Ant-Man and Wasp

Spiderman and Valkyrie

Baron Zemo, Ultron, Red Skull and Crossbones

Doctor Octopus, Hela and Loki

Some Heroclix civilians on MCP bases for by-standers

And lastly, the Star Wars collection has been completed, and Adam and I have made plans to get some games in over the Christmas holidays seeing as we both have armies that need to stretch their legs.

Boba Fett and Bossk

The Rebel Landspeeder

It's taken a bit of damage in its time

At present I'm painting some Wild West Exodus figures for Craig, but it is getting to exam season, and I'm about to get extremely busy. Hopefully I'll have half of them complete before things close in. It's also likely that I'll only get one or two more posts in this year, but hopefully they won't be quite so long.

Nate

Some more participants for the Ancient Battle of Britain

 This week I managed to finish another few units for Infamy, Infamy. A horse unit being only 6 figures makes them a lot easier to get completed, and the Iberian infantry with only 8 figures was also a bonus. 

Spanish Caetrati are the original Auxilia for the Late Republican Romans.

And a view from behind, just because.

I've chosen to use the Roman list for the rules that is based on having Spanish auxiliaries supporting the legionaries. I had originally thought to use the Numidian list and add in my German Cavalry as support, but I already have Numidian Light Horse, and felt I needed something a bit more solid, so I have ordered some Victrix Iberian Cavalry.

The British Light Cavalry

The British cavalry are old Wargames Factory figures that I've had lying around for years. They're certainly part of the 'first generation' of plastic figures. Detail is shallow and design is rather basic. The horses are quite small, which is great, because they are meant to be ponies. 

Numidian Light Cavalry shivering in the British summer

No Roman army is complete without some Numidians.

If I want to, I now have all the figures necessary for an army list based on the Numidians as the main auxiliaries. 

On the tray now are the British chariots and some Balaeric slingers, so hopefully I can get them completed by next weekend, The chariots are also Wargames Factory aside from one Warlord Games metal chariot, so it will be interesting to see what they look like when they are all completed.

The table was set up for a game last weekend, but I still haven't deployed any troops, and it may be another week before I actually throw some dice and push some figures around. It has been a while since I did a battle report.

I acquired a second hand copy of the Condottiere rules from Foundry yesterday. In my quick read through so far, I'm quite intrigued by them. The Italian Wars era is also a period I have a real aesthetic interest in, what with Landsknechts and heavy knights mixing it up with artillery and stradiots. I won't be diving in, there are too many other things to finish for that, but don't be surprised if something new and Italian shows up on this blog in the near future.

Nate

Those Crazy Brits

The Infamy, Infamy preparation continues, with 2 units of Britons and one of Numidians. Fanatics aren't in my basic army list, but they are the first cab off the rank for any extra choices my army gets. There's something very admirable about charging at your enemy with only some blue paint between your privates and their armour.

Not someone I'd like to tackle...

Another unit of Gallic Warriors - that is enough mobs for my core British Force.

The Gauls were painted with Contrast paints - particularly the flesh. By the time that you add the shield decals and basing, and a couple of little touch ups here and there, it becomes an extremely fast process with good results.

Numidian skirmishers to support the Roman legionaries

And without the shields in the way

The Numidians were painted in the old fashioned way over a black basecoat, but were again very quick to paint due to their simple schemes.

I also painted a couple more Marvel Crisis Protocol figures. This time a couple of villains to offset the two heroes already completed.

Ultron. I tried to do non-metallic metals, but I just don't think I have the patience. A couple of bits were painted with metal as a result - the wires in the legs etc.

Maybe when the bases are completed he will look a bit better?

Much happier with my Red Skull holding the Cosmic Cube.

Now getting back to the theme of this post, my first foray into comics came via British comics like the New Eagle and 2000AD. As such, I've always had a soft spot for Judge Dredd, and when Warlord released their Dredd game, I was planning to get it eventually. However, I just couldn't justify it as a priority with so many other projects. Luckily, last week the starter set was put up for sale second hand - and painted for just over half the price of a brand new boxed set. So here they are:

The figures are really nicely painted

The base black scheme on the block gang really works.

So here I have another rabbit hole to go down. But one made much easier by not having to paint them myself.

I already have Dredd and Anderson figures from Heroclix, as well as the four Dark Judges. I'll give them a repaint so that they match the new figures and introduce them into the games when I get the hang of them. 

Dredd and Anderson

I had originally intended to build the Roman force that was supported by Numidians from Infamy Infamy, but decided instead to do the Iberian backed option. I've just ordered some Iberian cavalry, and at the moment the Caetrati and British Light cavalry are on the painting tray.

Nate

Making the August Deadline

Over a month since the last blog post! Not that nothing has been happening. NZ went into Level 2 (Level 3 in Auckland) and shit just all got very weird again. Honestly, I can imagine that the see-sawing of alert levels is playing serious games with everyone's mental health, not just mine, but I found I went into survival mode where I've worked my arse off and then crashed. Having been feeling very on top of things I'm now struggling for the energy to concentrate. Surprisingly, in the last week I seem to have regained my painting mojo while my energy levels sagged, and I think it is because painting is my zen release. Now I have prelim exams to mark and that is seriously impinging on my desire to paint. Therefore, in a way to avoid the guilt of painting when I should be marking, I've decided to do neither and write a long overdue blogpost.

So here is the painting I haven't displayed so far, starting with my work for Infamy Infamy.

4 groups of British warriors for Infamy Infamy. Nobles to the fore.

Skirmishers, painted using the magic of contrast paint, and my Barbarian leader and a musician.

The British army so far. I have another couple of infantry groups, another skirmishers, cavalry, chariots and naked crazies to go.

The Romans so far. Three groups of legionaries, Centurion, Optio and musician, as well as a scorpio. Numidians, slingers and Caetrati still to come.

Alongside my Infamy Infamy I have been steadily painting for Craig as well. Here are Taun Tauns and Rebel Veterans:

Close up of these guys.

And Craig's Wookies, painted the same way as my own using Sorastro's wet-blending advice

My birthday came and went, and with it some inevitable toy soldier acquisitions. There has been a small amount of painting on these new additions to the collection. 

The first of 5 French squads for Trench Hammer in my 54mm WWI project:

A VB rifle grenade team.

The other present was my long overdue descent into the world of Marvel Crisis Protocol. 

Iron Man 

Spiderman

The bases will all be painted when I've finished everyone so that they all match perfectly. I also plan to make sure that my city terrain matches as well. 

The aim for the near future is to get all of the Infamy Infamy figures painted and to get a few games under my belt. Simultaneously I want to finish Craig's Star Wars which is a single unit of rebel pathfinders before moving o nto painting his Wild West Exodus figures. By next weekend hopefully I'll have a some breathing room to play a game of something.

Nate

Terrain and stuff

It's over a month since my last post, and a busy month it has been. The family took advantage of cheap camper vans and we went to Northland for the school holidays. More on that later.

Wargaming wise, I've done a little bit of painting, but not as much as I would have liked. I've done quite a bit of terrain stuff though, so here comes the catch up.

 Terrain:

I bought Infamy Infamy for the Gallic Wars, and although the figures aren't painted, I've prioritised terrain. So you can see below my hayfields, roads, marshes and Gallic homesteads. Also, half of the river - I've run out of Woodland Scenics 'realistic' water for the second half at the moment.

The new terrain collected together

Closer look at the Gallic homesteads with Renedra wattle fencing and resin buildings from Caliver Books' battlefield buildings range.

Change of period - we'll put a stone bridge over the river and march some Marlburians over it. 

The view from this direction gives a better of the effect of the realistic water. I feel it could do with being deeper...

Figures:

C3P-0 and R2-D2

Death Troopers. An experiment of putting black contrast paint over a blue undercoat. It needed two coats, but pretty much worked.

General Veers

Taun Tauns for Craig.

I also painted a platoon of Goums for Chris and some villains and gangs for the Superheroes, but haven't taken any photos of them.

Travels

Northland is one of the more historic places one could choose to go in New Zealand, and our trip started with a detour to Ruapekapeka pa, the last battle of the Northern War in 1845-6. The rangatira Kawiti and 4-500 Nga Puhi warriors faced off against about 1300 British troops in a fortified position. It would have to be one of the best preserved of the battle pa left in New Zealand, which isn't saying much unfortunately. The gun pits and bunkers are still in place, although weather has taken its toll. I took photos of my daughter next to the 'holes in the ground' as a reference for how impressive the earthworks are.

Information board at the entrance  next to the car park.

Campaign map information board

Plan of attack information board

Looking toward the pa from the forward British position. It is the flat green area just behind the treeline.

The family at the gate after going down and then up a hill

At the pa - a carronade.

Number 1 daughter next to a bunker

Standing next to some of the entrenchments

Hopefully this gives an idea of their depth.

The Pou Whenua at the pa. A modern construction.

Walking back down the hill of the pa you can see the British forward and main positions in the centre of the photo.

Ruapekapeka is about 5 minutes off the main road between Whangarei and Paihia, and well worth a visit.

Flagstaff hill

The above is the flag pole that Hone Heke cut down multiple times - thus starting the Northern War (OK, there may be a bit more to it than that, and this is the replacement, not the original, but you get the idea).

We went to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but my phone was out of battery, so no photos sorry. I highly recommend a visit though.

Hongi Hika's pa in modern Keri Keri

If you don't know anything about Hongi Hika, let's just say he made a name for himself throughout the North Island, becoming famous or infamous depending on where you live. Here is Rotorua I have seen him compared to Hitler (then again, what is an article without a sensational headline)! 

The Keri Keri Mission station and then general store - the oldest stone building in New Zealand. They had some Regal Enterprises 54mm New Zealand Wars toy soldiers for sale. I didn't buy any. Very restrained.

The lighthouse at Cape Reinga. The top of the North Island. 

Cape Reinga is quite a spiritual place (and that doesn't mean I'm about to open an aromatherapy shop). The legends say that the spirits of deceased Maori dive off the cliff here before heading to Hawaikii. But even without that, there is something about standing at the tip of your country that makes the hairs stand on end just a little bit.

Tane Mahuta - a 2000 year old monstrous Kauri tree.

So there we have the whirlwind sightseeing tour. One of the things about Covid 19 stopping international tourism is that Kiwis were out seeing their country in droves. It was fantastic, and we hope to use the next two sets of holidays to explore more with the kids. The only part of the country I haven't been to are the Wairarapa, Otago and Fiordland, so they are on the target list.

As to inspiration, the trip may have seen me commit to purchasing some Empress Miniatures figures, but more on that later.

Plans:

I have some Star Wars Legion Wookies and rebel Pathfinders to paint for Craig. Then I aim to paint my armies for Infamy Infamy. Then Wild West Exodus figures for Craig. After that... well, there are plenty of options.

Nate