Wednesday 7 November 2012

Return of 'Am I a proper wargamer'

* You have reference books on each period / army you play

Yes. Lots. All over thye house. And garage. 1pt

* Having played so many different games you confidently quote rules for a totally different period, scale or ruleset to the one you're playing at that moment

I play almost exclusively Peter Pig rules which while many have common mechanics also have their differences. Which does lead to some confusion when I'm umpiring. 1pt


* You have lied to your partner / spouse about how much you've spent on the hobby

Lyin is a bit strong. Not really discussed is more accurate. 0pts.

* You get genuinely excited when a package arrives in the post - then hide it upstairs quickly before your partner sees it. If your partner finds it first, you lie about the contents.

Yes, hide it upstairs. No, if she finds it I own up. 1/2pt

* You have joined a re-enactment society (5 points for this one!)

No.

* You have played in an unsuitable venue

If you count very cold garages, yes. 1pt

* You continue to search for the perfect Napoleonic / WW2 / Ancients / ACW etc. rule set (knowing that it doesn't actually exist).

Not really. Happy with my RFCM rules. 0pts.

* For that reason you have developed your own house rules for certain periods. And think them far superior to the original author's efforts.

No.

* You have returned from a wargames show and sneaked upstairs to hide the stash.

Yes. 1pt.

* You have an irrational aversion to some genres and vow never to play them regardless of how much fun they look. Like Dystopian Wars, 6mm Napoleonics, Warhammer 40k, Malifaux etc.

No, I'll play anything.

* You have made your own wargames scenery.

Yes, lots. 1pt


* You have reached a painting 'wall' ("If I have to paint another f________ Gaul, I'm going to scream")

Many times, most recently my AWI collection. Love the figures but for some reason struggled to get over the finish line with them. 1pt.

* You have lost - and regained - your wargaming mojo.

Several times. Always comes back with a bang though! 1pt.

* You have the occasional (and short lived) sense of guilt with your wife/children when complaining to them about the money spent in clothes, shoes or toys/Xbox games when you have £200 of unpainted metal stuffed in an upstairs drawer.

Occasionally. But, its my only vice. I just never ask how much the latest pair of shoes/dress/handbag cost. 1pt.

* You have done armies in different scales for the same period (e.g. ACW in 28mm, 15mm and 6mm).

ACW from 2mm to 25mm. 1pt.

* You have jealously coveted someone else's troops (if Ian pops his clogs, I'll be round his house with a Transit van before he hits the ground).

Yes, of course. 1pt

* You have laughed (secretly or otherwise) as someone else's paint job (Marks' purple camels come to mind)

I would like to say no but in all honesty, yes. Yes I have. 1pt.

* You have provided a piece of useless trivia relating to the troops on the table to show off your wargaming knowledge.

Probably but dont recall.

* You have contradicted someone elses' trivia - demonstrating your superior knowledge and giving you a warm glow inside.

Almost certainly not.

* You have caused a major disaster on a wargames table (spilling a pint, collapsing the table, dropped someone else's figures on the floor). Mark has flattened two tables in the past year - and he was losing both battles....

Yes. Toms dwarves years ago. Picture a boxfile, partly overhanging the table edge. And me removing figures from the half of the box actually on the table. 1pt.

* You have cheered when an opponent's dice lets them down at a critical point (I have literally danced in front of someone when he failed a morale roll)

Yes, but only in good humoured jest. 1pt.

* You have lied to your partner about going gaming. "Mothers' not very well - just popping around to see her. I'll be back in about - oh - seven hours".

No.

* You have lied to an attractive woman (man) about your hobby.

Yes, my wife when I first met her. Always a tricky point in a fledgling relationship to own up to this hobby. 1pt.

* You have made an opponent cry. It doesn't count if they are under 8 years old though.

What? No.

* You have painted the same army in the same scale more than once (Monty, you dawg!)

Yes. ACW. 1pt.

* You have reference books on armies you haven't even got (I have books on ECW, ACW, SYW, 30YW yet not one solitary figure for any of these periods).

Yes. I dont game every period  I'm interested in, just dont have the time. 1pt.

* You have bought figures for a period you have never and will never play - because they were cheap. 

Cant think I have.

* You have inflicted grevious bodily harm on a dice that has let you down. This includes the guy who used to drill holes in them and impale the offenders on cocktail-stick stakes and Big Lee taking an axe to one offender.

No but I love the cocktail stick idea!

* You blog or have a web-page about your Wargaming activities

Hello? 1pt


* Your book collection is almost all war and wargames related


Yes. I'm sure my wifes family think I am some right wing war monger. 1pt

* You critique 'war' movies (especially Hollywood war movies) for historical accuracy (like the use of American tanks - Pershings I think - to represent German Panzers in the 'Battle of the Bulge'.)


Yes. The Battle of the Bulge. Also the use of carbines by the British Infantry in Zulu Dawn. 1pt.

* You spend car / train journeys checking out the lie of the land - considering which way you would attack from and whether it would make good wargaming terrain.

Frequentley! 1pt.

 So, 20 1/2 pts to add to my previous total giving me 36pts out of a possible 57 or in other words I am 63% wargamer.

Still not sure what that means but interesting all the same. I have seen some people hit the 70% mark and more. Wow!

Larry Leadhead


Two Larry Leadhead strips that amused me.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Am I a proper wargamer?

The latest viral for blos are these questions to prove your worth as a wargamer.

Well, lets see. 1 point per positive response.


* Spent at least £500 on figures / tanks - and you get extra kudos for every £500 you've spent

Er...yep. Many times over I suspect. 1pt

* Pricked your finger or thumb on a pike block - several times

Actually no. Lots of scalpel reltaed incidents. 0pts

* Tried at least 10 different rule sets and vowed never to play half of them ever again

Definately. 1pt

* Bought an army off EBay

Yes. A Space Marine army. To see what happened to it, see the next point. 1pt

* Sold an army on EBay

Lots, including a nice 25mm Dixon ACW collection that went to the States which I regret. Also the Space Marines from above. Plus many others. 1pt

* spent months painting an army - then used it in anger once

Yes. Two DBA armies many years ago. 1 game, next stop the bring and buy. 1pt

* tried several different periods and genres

Oh yes. As evidenced on this very blog. 1pt

* dropped a box of figures on the floor from a great height

Yes. Tom's Dwarves? 1pt

* lost a battle on the last throw of the dice

Mmmm. 1st Day Gettysburg at Johns. Did we win or lose? It was down to the last throw of the dice though! Lets say 1/2pt

* made at least one enemy for life

No. This is a hobby right? 0pts

* had a proper, stand up argument over a wargamers table

Seen a few but never sank to been involved in one. 0pts

* thrown a dice across a room

Oh dear. The points are drying up. 0pts.

* rebased an army for a different rule set

Yes. Napoleonic 15mm from Grand Manner to Principles of War. 1pt.

* inflicted a whopping defeat on an opponent

Yes, but probably only once! 1pt.

* suffered an embarrassing defeat due to a stupid tactical decision

Almost certainly. Several times. I didnt take the hint when moving a unit down the side of a wood when the umpire began singing "If you go down to the woods today...". Enemy forces burst out of the wood and sweep my army away in a mass flank attack. 1pt.

* joined a wargamers club

Yes. Proud to be a member of Stoke Wargames Club. Occassional member of the Weymouth Levellers! 1pt.

* bought a ton of lead that remains unpainted

Yes, but now somewhat reduced. 1pt.

* been to a wargamers show

Er...yes. At least half a dozen, often more, every year for 20 plus years. 1pt.

* have more dice than is logical or necessary to own - and have used most of them

Doesn't everyone? 1pt.

* have taken boxes of troops down to a club just to show them off to your mates

Yes. 1pt.

So 15 1/2. No idea what that means!

Sunday 4 November 2012

Heart of Saturday Night

The 1914 French are nearly at the stage where I can unleash them on the world. The bases have been Basetexed and now need drybrushing and static grass applying. Looking forward to getting these into a game. I currently have the Dragoons half done but I can certainly play a game without cavalry support for now. I have also just finished a unit of Queens Rangers for the AWI.

 As a little experiment I used Army Painter Strong tone ink instead of the dip. Results were a little disappointing in that the ink tended to stain the colours rather than flow into the creases as the dip does. Hence for the first time in I dont know when I had to go back and add highlighting to brighten the colours back up. The new inks do have their uses, but they are not a replacement in my eyes for the dip.

With the year fast drawing to an end I look back on a pretty dismal year for my hobby. It started really well and is finishing with a flourish but they bookend a barren six months where virtually nothing was done apart from trawling the usual websites. One thing I can take away from the period is that I am less inclined to contribute to the various forums. Apart from The Gentlemans Wargame Parlour and WD3, none seem to have content that appeals. To be honest I am an inveterate lurker anyway so now take or leave the forums nowadays anyway.

Warfare at Reading is only a couple of weeks away. I'll be there hopefully mid afternoon on the Saturday and all day Sunday. I may treat myself to some more Peter Pig goodness. I am thinking along the lines of either Spanish Civil War or Pieces of Eight. These are the two ranges they do that I cant put a game on for. I have been promising for years to do either or both of these. Not sure which way I am leaning at the moment but I'll keep you updated.

Other purchases that are on the radar are some of the new AWI marching figures, Ikko Ikki for my Samurai collection or the Sudan Gunboat. Away from Peter Pig I love the idea of copying Mr Farrow (link to the right) and doing Indian Mutiney using a DBA variant and Irregular Miniatures figures. And....I still haven't got my ancients done. Now that should be a priority to be honest as I have ready made opponents in Keith and Ade at the club but I just seem to always find something else to do when the inspiration stikes.

In the lead pile remain my Old West Peter Pig figures for a project where I hope to write my own rules. My late war WW1 stuff is no where near finished but the Germans are at least underway. So despite the doldrums of the mid part of the year you can see that there is plenty to go at and inspiration is not lacking!

Now for a musical interlude! Tom Waits singing '(Looking for the) Heart of Saturday Night'. 1975 vintage. Enjoy!



Saturday 3 November 2012

This is the PiTS

Had a great night at the club last night. Everyone seemed on top form with lots of good conversation and banter (thanks Kev and Jase!). I took Patrols in the Sudan (PiTS) the "Gordons Alive" edition. This is essentialy the 2nd edition of the rules which cleans up a few bits and pieces. Barry was the guinea pig and took the roll of the plucky British patrol sent out to find the enemy in hostile territory. As per usual all figures are Peter Pig. An overview of the table.
Some sneaky Fuzzies in an area of scrub. Or are they? In the game, units of Fuzzies pop up all over the place in various bits of scenery and can disappear from sight only to appear elsewhere.
Those plucky British. What is nicely reflected in the game is the awesome firepower of the disciplined British using volley fire which is deadly for the Fuzzy caught out in the open. However if those fuzzies manage to charge home then it will be a desperate fiht for the British.
In our game, this unit of Fuzzies were classed as veteran and proved deadly on the charge.
Barry got the hang of the rules quickly and we had a cracking game albiet we didnt manage to finish it due to chatting and me looking up rules. I promise next week when we play again to have a better grip of whats going on! It was nice to get some complementary comments from other club members who seemed genuinely interested in the game. At Partizan I picked up some extra bits and pieces including Dervish troops and scenery bits. I hope to get some of these done for a rerun next Friday. Its a few years since these figures were out. In fact if you flick back to around 2008 you will see these figures on there first outing with the late great Martyn 'Six' Smith taking the part of the British. Playing with them last night brouht some nostalgia for the old lad back. Its coming up on two years since Martyn left us and he is still fondly remembered and missed by all who had the pleasure to have met him A couple of old pictures from back in the day. First a photo from the Crewe show, sometime around the mid 90's. Martyn is the quizzical looking one with the moustache. A young John and Tom are in action too. This was Guildford Courthouse using Mark Whites beautiful Front Rank figures.
This is a massive game of Warhammer from the 'Sentry' show. Possibly late 90's?. Martin is givin the cheesy grin to camera with a young Matt, Jamie and Mark in the background.
Keep rolling them 6's old lad! More soon.