Gets left for months then a load of pictures....

Well, so far this year the blogging has been a complete washout.  I could go into the reasons for this but they would just sound like excuses…which they are.

I have however been a busy chap painting figures and doing some wargaming.

The first bunch of figures for everyone to look at are revolutionary war Austrians, these are AB and painted as part of a commission.  The Sessener (or just red caps) were the most fun to paint, I do not think I have ever seen Napoleonic figures with quite so many weapons. 

The Dragoons are the 14^th, the customer want these green and they are the only Austrian Dragoon regiment to wear green at this point. 

The following is just a selection of the pictures I took for the chap once they were finished. 

I will be posting some pictures of some Russians soon, honest.

It has been too long

The truth is on the list of things to do the blog just kept slipping to the bottom, which I never seemed to get to the bottom off. So sorry for those who come a visit for my general slackness.

But I have been painting slowly but surely over this time, both my own stuff and commissions.  So for the really lovely stuff first, early AB Napoleonic Russians for a chap in Scotland:

Early Ulans:

Early Cuirassier:

And some lovely artillery

And for my own collection, this bundle of Prussians I got in exchange for some painting (4 units of 16 Old Guard, AB minis as well) they are all old glory and minifigs.  Now as we all know compared to AB's most of these look a bit naff, so I took a three feet approach with them, if it looked ok when there were the full 24 figures together and painted, it was just left.  Now the speed I could go through this lot was amazing, the cavalry take longer but not much.  I will be sorting out the reserve infantry next. 

The box itself, 9 units of landwher on the right hand side, 24 figures each.  Two units of 12 cavalry on the right and assorted bits to finish in the middle.

   A little closer: 

Now that is a good start to blogging in 2013.  And a little late but I hope everyone has a good new year. 

A bit of 1806 Prussian goodness

These are part of a commission for a French chap, bloody nice figures.  Ab's are just great to paint and I have a love of big silly hats, and Prussian cavarly have them in abundance.

The 8th hussar regiment, Bluechers own would you believe:

And for anyone in the know, are the shabreque and holster covers the cloth the right colour?  Osprey does not actually tell what the colour should be, just that they are the same.

Thanks for looking.  And two posts in one day, I am almost breaking into a sweat.

Early WW2 Russia

At the club it was just the one game, early WW2 Russia.  We were using the Blitzkrieg Commander rules, we were playing a breakthrough scenario with the outnumbered (but not out classed) Germans trying to manoeuvre through a Russian position.  It is all 15mm, I have no idea makes were used.

The Russian infantry guns, these managed to shoot nothing the entire game.  I love all the horse drawn equipment, it was just for show but that is why we use figures and not pieces of card. 

In game this is a single German infantry battalion, only the transports were on board at this point. 

The left flank of the German advance, Where they should be going is to the right of the picture, but one of the Russian commanders had a novel idea of defending, he swept down one side of the board and the infantry are facing off against him pointing to the river at the top of the picture.

And this is the attacking/defending Russian players battalion, he managed to wether a lot of artillery and stuka fire pretty much the entire game.  The dice are the number of hits and the white cotton suppression markers.  This chap bagged more of the Hun and caused more trouble for them than anyone else.  His  Mg's and mortar really disrupted the German advance (trucks do not like Mg's and mortars....). 

This was the end game just as the Germans were about to breakthrough, just off picture eight or so trucks had zipped behind the Stugs and were en route to the Russian table edge (the player rolled double one twice, in Blitzkrieg commander this meant four actions.....in this case 80cm of movement).  The destroyed Stug was due to a blunder, this was the most effective tank fire the entire game.  The T26's are hiding just behind the crest and  knew what was coming after this.  And they were indeed blown to bits in the next German turn.

All in all this game showed all the reasons I love the blitzkrieg commander system, the German better and more flexible command allowed them to keep moving forward despite some early set backs.  The Russian command works out how I think it should, clunky and unwieldy but when they hit they hit hard because there tends to be lots of them.  If you want rules for brigade command and up, I recommend this rule set to anyone, they are infuriating, but for all the right reasons. 

And my own personal highlight was shooting down the damn stuka just as it was about to but the beat down on the T26's.  You have to love that.

1813 Prussian Reserve Infantry

A small selection of the 144 figure commission I have just completed.  For uniforms that are really simple I had a right mare of a time getting the officers uniforms correct.  Again they are all ABs and they are a dream these are the 7th and 11th reserve, 12 figures per battalion.

The chaps with a white ring on the shakos are the 3rd battalion the 7th infantry.

As always ABs are really lovely to paint, they just need varnishing.  1806 Prussian Cavalry up next. 

A Bit More Club

The Friends of General Haig (or FOGH for short) met up for the fortnightly bash at the local venue we use.  When ever I take my camera it is one chaps English civil war in Scotland all in 28mm.  There were only 5 of us in the end but as ever with Worcester Wargames club the number of figures on the table was huge (There were 14 units of 12 cavalry just for the new model army!!!).  


I took just  few photos with my rubbish camera

The initial Scottish deployment, the river on the right had the most annoying unit of dismounted dragoons on the planet, 

The poor Scots cavalry that actually did OK against the cream of the New model army horse, in the one moment of total glory they managed to defeat a unit that had Oliver Cromwell in who were defeated and routed never to be seen again.  

Just three, yes just three, units of the new model army, all of those pikes were steel, and drew blood on at least three occasions.  

One brigade of New Model army horse.........

The New Model army horse, in the game and historically they pretty much crushed the Scots horse then fell on the flank of the Scots foot who under my inspired leadership were starting to give the English foot a beating.  

This is the vast number of boxes for this part of his collection (and not the biggest part).  He has enough for  Naseby at 1 to 30......

They are all power mad I tell you. 

My own figures at last

I have squeezed in some of my own figures, hurrah!  My first 15mm napoleonic army were Minifig saxons, I loved them but got them back off a friend a while ago (I had not seen them for 10 years at least) and realised they just did not look very good.  So sold them and will now replace with AB's, here are the first two battalions.  All AB's, the standards are free on the internet but printed on a bloody good printer.

I love these guys, only 7 more to go.