Library -Part Two- Dark Ages and Medieval

DARK AGES

Almedingen, E M., Charlemagne a Study, The Bodley Head, 1968.
Anon. (trans. Sayers, D L), The Song of Roland, Penguin Classics, 1965.
Green, C., Sutton Hoo The Excavation of a Royal Ship Burial, Merlin Press, 1963.
Haldon J., The Byzantine Wars, Tempus, 2001.
Heath, I., Armies of the Dark Ages, WRG, 1980.
Various, (edit. Ashe, G), The Quest for Arthur’s Britain, Paladin, 1977.
Wood, M., In Search of the Dark Ages, Ariel Books, 1985.

**********

MIDDLE AGES (MEDIEVAL)
• EUROPE
Allday, H., Insurrection in Wales, Terence Dalton, 1981
Barker, J., Agincourt, Little, Brown, 2005
Fabre, L., Joan of Arc, ???, 19??.
Heath, I., Armies and Enemies of the Middle Ages, (Vol. 1), WRG, 1982.
Heath, I., Armies and Enemies of the Middle Ages, (Vol. 2), WRG, 1984.
Hibbert, C., Agincourt, Pan Books, 1971.
Lindholm, D., Nicolle, D. & McBride, A., Medieval Scandinavian Armies (1) 1100-1300, Osprey, 2003
Nicolle, D., & McBride, A., Lake Peipus Battle of the Ice, Osprey, 2003
Rowse, A. L., Bosworth Field and the Wars of the Roses, Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1998
Unstead, R J., The Medieval Scene, A & C Black, 1972.
Volborth, C –A von, Heraldry: Customs, Rules and Styles, New Orchard Edns., 1981.
Wise, T, Hook, R & Walker, W., Medieval Heraldry, OB, 1984.

• THE NEAR EAST
Foss, M., People of the First Crusade, Michael O’Mara, 1997.
Gabrieli, F., Arab Histories of the Crusades, Routledge, 1989.
Heath, I., Armies and Enemies of the Crusades, 1096- 1291, Wargames Research Group, 1978.
Jones, T & Ereira, A., Crusades, BBC, 1994
Nicolle, D., & Hook, C., Knight Hospitaller (1) 1109-1306), Osprey, 2004.
Nicholson, H., & Reynolds, W., Knight Templar (1) 1120-1312, Osprey, 2004

• THE FAR EAST
D’Ancona, J., (trans. Selbourne, D., The City of Light, Little, Brown and Co., 1997.
Belloni M, (trans. Waugh), The Travels of Marco Polo, Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 1984.
Brent, P., The Mongol Empire, BCA, 1976.
Chambers, J., The Devils Horsemen, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1979.
-Genghis Khan, Sutton Publishing Ltd., 1999.
Curtin, J., The Mongols-A History, Combined Books, 1996.
Gabriel, R. A., Genghis Khan’s Greatest General: Subotai the Valiant, University of Oklahoma Press, 2004.
Hildinger, E., Warriors of the Steppes, Spellmount, 1997.
Hoang, M., (trans. I. Cranfield), Genghis Khan, Saqi Books,1990.
Howarth, Sir H. H., History of the Mongols, Burt Franklin New York,1888.
Hsiao, Ch’i-ch-ing, The Military Establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, Harvard University Press, London and Mass., 1978.
Humble R., Marco Polo, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1975.
Juvaini, (trans. Boyle J A), The History of the World Conqueror, (2 Volumes), Manchester University Press, 1958.
Manz B F., The rise and rule of Tamerlane, University Press Cambridge, 1989.
Martin, H D., The Rise of Chingis Khan and his Conquest of Northern China, John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1950.
Nicolle D & McBride A., The Age of Tamerlane, OB, 1990.
Nicolle, D., & Shpakovsky V., Kalka River 1223, Osprey Publishing, 2001
Onon, U,. The Secret History of the Mongols, The Life and Times of Chinggis Khan, Curzon, 2001.
Orlandi E., (ed.), The Life and Times of Genghis Khan, Hamlyn, 1970.
Peers, C & Sque, D., Medieval Chinese Armies 1260-1520, OB, 1992.
Phillips, E D., The Mongols, Thames Hudson, 1969.
Ratchnevsky, P., (trans and ed Haining T N), Genghis Khan and his Legacy, Blackwell, 1991
Rashid al-Din, (trans. Boyle J A), Successors of Genghis Khan, Columbia University Press, NY, 1971.
Ronay, G.,The Tartar Khan’s Englishman, Phoenix Press, 2000
Turnbull, S & McBride, A., The Mongols, Osprey Publishing, 1980.
Turnbull, S., Samurai Warfare, Arms & Armour, 1999.
Turnbull, S., Genghis Khan & the Mongol Conquests, Osprey Publishing, 2003
Turnbull, S., Mongol Warrior 1200-1350, Osprey Publishing, 003
Waley, A., The Secret History of the Mongols, George Allen & Unwin, 1963.

• MIDDLE AGES –GENERAL
Bennett, M., Bradbury, J., DeVries, K., Dickie,I. & Jestice, P. G., Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World, Spellmount, 2005.
Norman, V., The Medieval Soldier, Arthur Baker, 1971.
Oman, Sir C., The Art of War in the Middle Ages, (Vol. 1), Greenhill, 1998.
Oman, Sir C., The Art of War in the Middle Ages, (Vol. 2), Greenhill, 1998.

My persoanl library -Part One- Ancient

Others have done it, so I'm not averse to a bit of band-waggoning. Here it is, the first part of my collection, only military volumes are included.

ANCIENT
• PRE-GREECE AND ROME
Healy, M & McBride A., The Ancient Assyrians, OB, 1991.
Stillman, N & Tallis, N., Armies of the Ancient Near East, WRG, 1984.

• ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND GREECE
Barker, P., Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars, WRG, 1971.
Connelly, P., The Greek Armies, Macdonald, 1977.
Fox, R L., Alexander the Great, Omega Books, 1973.
Fuller, J F C., The Generalship of Alexander the Great, Wordsworth, 1998
Head, D., Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars. WRG, 1982.
Lonsdale, D. J., Alexander Killer of Men, Constable, 2004.
Plutarch, (trans. I Scott-Kilvert), The Age of Alexander, Penguin Classics, 1982.
Plutarch, Lives, (Vol. 2), Dryden, 19??.
Sekunda, A & McBride, A., The Ancient Greeks, OB, 1989.
Thucydides, (trans. R. Warner), The Peloponnesian War, Penguin Classics, 1979.
Warry, J., Alexander 334 -323 BC, Osprey Publishing, 1991
Xenophon, (trans. W H D Rouse), The March up Country, Mentor, 1964.
Xenophon, (trans. R Warner), The Persian Expedition, Penguin Classics, 1979.

• ROME AND ITS ENEMIES
Barker, P., The Armies and Enemies of Ancient Rome, WRG, 1972.
Barrow, R H., The Romans, Pelican, 1967.
Caesar, J., The Conquest of Gaul, Penguin Classics, 1976.
Caesar, J., (trans. J F Mitchell), The Civil War, Penguin Classics, 1967.
Chadwick, N., The Celts, Pelican, 1972.
Connolly, P., The Roman Army, Macdonald Educational, 1976.
Connolly P., Hannibal and the enemies of Rome, Macdonald Educational, 1978.
Cottrell, L., Enemy of Rome, Pan Books, 1962.
Dobson, B & Breeze, D., The Army of Hadrians Wall, Frank Graham, 1981.
Gibbon, E., (abridgement by D M Low), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, BCA, 1974.
Grant, M., Julius Caesar, BCA, 1974.
Josephus, (trans. G A Williamson), The Jewish War, Penguin Classics, 1967.
Livy, (trans. A de Selincourt), The War with Hannibal, Penguin Classics, 1968.
Mannix, D P., Those About to Die, Mayflower Books, 1976.
Massie, A., The Caesars, Secker and Warburg, London,1983.
Peddie, J., The Roman War Machine, Alan Sutton, 1988.
Plutarch, The Rise and Fall of Athens, Penguin Classics, 1967.
Robinson, H R & Embleton, R., The Armour of the Roman Legions, F Graham, 19??.
Sallust, (trans. S A Handford), Jugurthine War, Conspiracy of Cataline, Penguin Classics, 1977.
Tacitus, The Agricola and the Germania, Penguin Classics, 1976.
Webster, G., The Roman Army, Grosvenor Museum, 1973.

• THE FAR EAST
Greer, J P., The Armies and Enemies of Ancient China, WRG, 1975.
Cotterel, M., The Terracotta Warriors- the Secret Codes of the Emperor’s Army, Headline, 2003

• OTHERS
Anglim, S., Jestice, P. G., Rice, R. S., Rusch, S. M. and Serrati, J., Fighting Techniques of the Ancient Wordl, Spellmount, 2005.
Anon. (trans. M. Magnusson), Njals Saga, Penguin Classics, 1967.
Lehmann J., The Hittites, Collins, 1977.
Stillman, N & Tallis, N., Armies of the Ancient Near East 3,000 BC to 539 BC, WRG, 1984.
Warry, J., Warfare in the Classical World, Salamander Books, 1980.

It's back!!

Yahoo! My figure painting mojo has returned from wherever it disappeared off to for the last couple of months!
Today, being off work with a ear infection that affects my sense of vertical balance and makes me feel a tad Uncle Dick unless I am sitting down, I finished off the first 18 of the 3rd Sassy Levy unit and undercoated the remaining 12. Still got to work out what standard I am going to give them yet.

I also finished off the second hill. A few passes with a can of extra strong hair spray keeps the flock on. Pics soon.

Next project update: Still haven't found the box of 15mm ACW figures yet.

More armies

First up we have Imperial Romans on the left and Carthaginians on the right. In the centre of the box are some Carthaginian elephants and near them are the Roman onager and ballistae. 6mm Irregular.




ACW Union in a bit of a mess. 6mm Irregular.



WW I 1914 Germans. Loads of infantry, a few cavalry and a shedload of artillery. 6mm Irregular.



In the middle is the artillery while above them are 1914 French and below are 1916 French. Some Renault tanks in the bottom right. The reason for the different types is because the French changed uniform colour from dark blue coats and red trousers to horizon blue in about 1915. Even in 6mm this change is noticeable.



British 1914. I decided to use them all through the war because in that scale the difference between a cap and a helmet is not that noticeable especially if the uniform colour is the same. A shot down aircraft of indeterminate pedigree and some male tanks complete the force. 6mm Irregular.



Modern Polish Army from a variety of manufacturers. Not painted by yours truly.



WW II Japanese. This army includes some home made Landing Craft at the top left. Lots of not very good tanks and loads of infantry.Most if not all Irregular. tried some small conversions in this army and made a few destroyed tanks; one losing a track and another 'brewing up' with its turret on the ground next to it.



One of my earliest and biggest 15mm armies, that of ECW Parliamentarian. Began painting in 1981 and finished in 1983. thorough mix of manufacturers including Mini Figs, Mikes Models, Warrior and others. The command figures in the lower centre are Naismith.



Han Chinese 15mm mostly Essex. The majority painted by me including the chariots. this army was painted in 1984-5. The dirty brown colour on the bases is proper dried dirt -I was in my 'keep it natural' phase of wargaming at the time. Never used it before or since.



Still not dry I trust?

Mick

Old Figures - new pictures.

The other day as I was having a rummage, trying to find those errant ACW 15mm figures I was speaking about earlier when I had a thought. This is a golden opportunity to get some pictures of other armies. Now bearing in mind that time was a bit limited in that I had to go to work later so I only managed to get some of them done.

All pics are of course clickable.

First off is my 6mm ECW Royalist army with Rupert's infantry 3rd up on the left. all are Irregular. Not painted by me, all other armies in this post are.



Sassanid Persians. From top left to bottom right: Light cavalry, Levy infantry, clibs and catties mix then half a dozen pachyderms. General is on a base at the front. 6mm by Irregular.



Next up, Renaissance Turks with Spahi's of the Porte and other spahi's on the top left. Janissaries bottom left, next to them is the artillery contingent made up of 4 big bu**ers and then some generic light cavalry. On the right of the Spahi's are some mad light cavalry in tigerskin cloaks. Top right is a collection of levies/ basic fighting troops. General out front. 6mm Irregular.



Confederate ACW army. Loads of infantry, cavalry and a few guns. Even got some wounded markers for these. Organised a la Fly and Furry Ruleset. Again 6mm Irreglar.



Mongols. Light cavalry on left, heavies on the right. This may seem a tad small against other armies but don't forget I can cull quite a few of the others to make up numbers if I so wish. Guess what...6mm Irregular.



That's it for this time.

The Irons - Half the job done.

Good result for the Hammers last night. First half was all WH with only the Blues keeper managing to limit the score to 1-0 to the Irons; the rest of the team just couldn't cope. McLeish must have put a rocket up their collective ar**s in the interval coz they came out like a different team. Good header but cr*p defending by the Hammers led to the equaliser. Then Obinna, in a fit of stupidity kicked back at Larsson who like most players nowadays went down as if he'd been wellied in the nads by a baseball bat. (Strange though, less than a minute later he was taking a free kick on the other side of the pitch. What do they put in that spray, eh?) Straight red, off he went, no argument from anybody. Grant brought on Cole who scored probably one of the softest goals of his career. It was going so slowly that when it hit the net there was only a slight bulge. That doyen of football punditry Alan Hanson -a man I have disliked as a player ever since 1976-7 when Southend hosted Liverpool in the FA Cup and Hanson pulled the Southend striker down when he was clear through- reckoned the ball was traveling at no miles per hour as it crossed the line?? The one moment when Foster got it wrong. I felt for the bloke; made some cracking saves in the first half and it looked as though he was a bit unsighted as the ball trickled under his trailing leg. So it ended 2-1 to the Hammers.

MO said he had to take deep, calming breaths when Blues scored otherwise it could have been lampshade time for the poor so-and-so. I will probably have to do the same on the 26th.

Everything still to play for. Should be good as long as WH don't come up here to defend a tenuous one goal lead.

Bring it on! Can't wait!

PS Roots Hall, Southend's home ground usually had anywhere between 4-6,000 supporters at a match. On that particular cold night during the worst snow for donkey's years there were over 30,000 crammed into the place -at that time probably most of the local population of the town! I'm telling you, sardines in a tin have more breathing space. 0-0 it finished but the Shrimpers got bladdered in the replay.

A woodland pond

This is really a WIP just to show the stages of construction.
The first picture has already got all of the basic elements in place. The observant reader will have noticed that the tops of two stones have been left uncovered.





The reason for the lack of wood glue and sand is because I have a weighty piece of steel that I lay across things to stop them warping.



The water is now done and varnished with a single coat of Ronseal Gloss varnish, the base colour is on and the reeds have been a coat of ochre. This was a learning exercise for me in that I have not made such a large area of water before.
HINT. If possible paint and varnish the water BEFORE you wood glue and sand the thing because the sand gets everywhere, even when you thought it was all stuck down!

Who's been a busy little chappie, then?

Recently, I have been mostly making terrain. So far I have several single trees, two pieces of broken ground using old cd's as the base, two small woods/copses/spinney's on card bases and a woodland pond (currently unfinished but just needing a bit of drybrushing and some foliage glued on).

I thought I would share my method of construction. The basic construction is the same for everything, it's just the materials and the application that occasionally differ.

1. First off there is the broken ground on a cd base as mentioned on the post before last.



Simply done.
A) Scratch a cd base with some glass paper to increase the adhesion.
B) Using some propriety adhesive such as Hard as Nails or Sticks like S**T, glue various sized stones on the base.
C) Fill in the gaps around the bottoms of the stones with filler.
D) At this point you can stick down some home made tufty things (as outlined earlier in the blog).
E) Cover with wood glue and sand, then paint.

2. Next the small wood. For this I used twigs cut from the last of the seasons hedge trimmings as the trunks.

A) Glue some random stones down as outlined above and, using a contact adhesive such as Evostick or UHU, stick down the trunks in a previously arranged dry run. Put glue on both surfaces and leave it to go tacky before pushing the two together otherwise you will have to prop up the trunks so that they don't fall over.



B) Once the glue has dried thoroughly slop some Hard as Nails all around the bottom of the trunks as another layer of adhesion. Once this is solid then add the filler; a further covering around the trunk bases, gap filling on the stones and some random lumps to break up the flatness of the base.



C) Once that has dried cover with wood glue and sand.



D) I now paint all my bases in exactly the same way with the same colours. First off is a coat of a mid earth brown -mixed at Homebase- followed by areas of a wash of burnt umber.



E) This is followed with dry brushed Antique Gold and then Cream, both acrylics from Anita paints. Attach some patches of flock and shrubs and the base is finished.



F) In the summer I saw some dyed sisal used by people who make their own hanging baskets and thought it may work for tree canopy. If it worked then at £4.99 for a big bag it should make about 20-30 trees -cheap as chips. The 'branches' of the twigs are now coated in contact adhesive and clumps of the stuff are glued on. Trim off any errant string and that's it.



The figures have been included for scale. They are the small diorama of some 15mm Sassanid levy preparing to defend themselves against an enemy threat.



There are four layers of gunk around each of the trre trunks so that should hold them securely in place. The only thing with these is that you have to wait for each layer of gunk to dry before you can slap on the next. But I think it's worth it.


Another method I thought of was using pipe cleaners for tree trunks. This method involved twisting three or four together, leaving about an inch at the bottom to splay out for the 'roots' and make them as tall as you like. Glue the roots using a hot glue gun to a piece of thick card or one of those custom made circular bases. I have added a couple of small stones for a bit of added weight.
(In the background you can see the next unit of levy half done as well as some more undercoated Hunnic Mongols.)



Paint the trunk with a reasonably thin mix of wood glue, filler and water and when dry paint and add the foliage.




Keep yer bristles moist.

Mick

Only about football, this one.

MO came up from the smoke for the festivities, got turfed off the train at Coventry with no explanation only that trains weren't going any further, (found out later power lines were down between Coventry and Brummagem International), on the day before all the white stuff fell from the sky. While he has been up here he has already bought my birthday present, wait for it, wait for it...a ticket to see the Blues v the Hammers in the second leg, Carling Cup semi-final. So on 26th January, MO, my Bluenose mate across the road and myself will be going to St Andrews for the match. Outnumbered again, and I will have to sit with the Blues fans but I'm going, that's the main thing. Can't wait. Meanwhile MO, the lucky so-snd-so, has a mate darn sarth who is also a Hammers fan and the git is also going to the first leg at Upton Park on 11th January.

Swining weather!

Well, since the last a fair bit has happened -some of it may even be interesting.

You know how sometimes you don't fancy painting but want to watch the telly even less? I had one of those evenings a few weeks ago, so just for the craic I typed my name into Google to see what I had been up to on the tinterweb. I found an item that said some bloke had got a set of WWI Rules from me some 30 years ago. I traced the link and found him on the WD3 Wargaming Community. Sent a message via the forum and found out that we went to the same wargames club in Southend decades ago. Still chatting every so often. How small the electronic world can be.

The most amazing thing happened to me at work the other week. I was talking to a colleague about nothing much when he said he noticed that I was always reading in the canteen and that he had a book I might be interested in. I thought nothing more of it until a week later when he gave me a carrier bag. I opened it to find a hand written diary from his missus' grandfather who was in the RGA in WWI and it was an account from early 1917 to mid 1918 when he was sent back to Blighty. Hand drawn maps and all. Court martial offence if discovered of course, but what a read. What I have is actually a copy made by him immediately on his return to England while the original, apparently covered in muck and who knows what else, currently resides in the Imperial War Museum.A contemporary account that is over 90 years old. Fantastic stuff!

Made some trees using twisted pipe-cleaners for the trunks and some hanging-basket-filler-stuff I bought from Homebase (a DIY chain here in the Old Country). Took some each-stage pictures then, by accident, promptly deleted them all- Muppet. I'm quite impressed by them. Got some dried privet twigs left over from the last hedge trim of the year on the worktop so I'm going to try them out next. Probably not as versatile as the pipe-cleaners for bendiness but will be finished a lot faster. I also tried out the method of using old CD's as terrain bases and made a couple of rocky outcrops which look pretty good as well. Once again, due to my mechanical ineptitude I lost those pics as well. Sphericals!

I've made a decision to integrate the two blogs into this one, so all further writeups about the Sassy's and the Byz Boys will be on this one along with everything else.

The weather here -either rain, cold, overcast, wind, snow or a combination of all of them-hasn't really been conducive to external photography which is all well and good because I haven't really got anything new to show you. The 3rd unit of Sassy Levy, (Donnington Figures), is more than half finished but I had a minor Sabbatical on them while terrain building. Not much left for them now, then I might make a more serious start on the Byz Boys.
or
I might just start a new project.
Bit of historical background here. Years ago that nice Mr Macfarlane run a show at Birmingham Uni in Edgbaston. I was in a club that offered to help the traders to move their wares in and out of the venue and as a thank you we were given chits that were redeemable at various manufacturers. Now with my chits and some judicial swapping I managed to acquire enough credit wonga to purchase a whole mess of figures. To date those figures have sat in a box somewhere in the manse. When I can find the little monkeys they will be the start of my new period...15mm ACW. Now this is different because all I need to buy is the Rebs because I believe I already have all the Bluebellies in the shape of inf. cav. and art. I will need. I also have a copy of Fly & Furry Rules so I might use them although I'm unconvinced of 20 x 20 bases with 3-5 figs on each. Yes, alright, thats the ruleset standard but I don't want RSI from shifting all the bl**dy bases around. At the other end of the scale my usual 60 x 40's are just too big -an 8 base brigade comes in at a huge 480mm or over 18" frontage; far too much for my board. Hmmmmm, needs a bit of thought.
The other thing that has stopped me in the past is that, years ago, there was a book-shop in Brum from a nationwide chain called County Books. From the Military Section I purchased a bout 15 imported books on the ACW -the usual fare, battles, biographies etc- including books II, III and IV from the definitive Battles and Leaders of the Civil War for about £7.99 apiece. I obviously asked about the first book and was told that it would be in at some time. Well, that was about 10 years ago, the Bull Ring has been pulled down and rebuilt and you guessed it, the shop went with it. No bl**dy book. Then, last month on whim, I checked Amazon. It was there, Book I of the Battles and Leaders. So that is my Crimble pressie from YO this year. Now all things considered, in early 2011 I will finally get round to reading the whole set.

News

Last Sunday, YO and I were having a chat and she said that she wanted to get rid of some of her old stuff down at the local Tip/Recycling Centre. Ha, thinks I as a brilliant opportunity presented itself. The local Wickes' DIY Superstore is near the Tip sooo, if I went with her -coz I don't drive and she does- I could pop in and check out the prices of the nice insulation boards that everybody in wargaming circles has been raving about. Using proper English measurements, not the imported stuff, it worked out at £4.99 for a 4' x 1' 6" board. After a niggle with a rather monosyllabic staff-person over an advertising display that said, plain as day, Buy 3 or more and get them at £3.99 each we walked out with three. (Never did get to the Tip by the way, YO changed her mind.)

Now, up until a few days ago I was prepared, even though my sawing is not the best, to cut them into 6 x 2' squares. Then I had a St. Paul's moment. Leave them alone with the nice and, most importantly, accurate straight edges and work on them as they are. Brilliant...apart from one thing -I only bought 3 of them! So now I can have a brick pattern of boards or a long, thin one. I know, the answer is simple, buy another one, but seeing as YO lives over the other side of the city, I don't know when she will be coming over again to get it. Anyway, there really isn't any rush, all 3 are sitting up here in the tower still in their virginal pinkness waiting for yours truly to extricate his digit and clear out some of the accumulated tat. Then I will be able to set up an 8' x 3' 6" table. Don't worry too much about the width, after all, nearly all my wargaming figures are 15mm or smaller so there will be nice open flanks for my cavalry armies.

Had a good old think about this and have decided to have the boards basically flat with some low bits of lumpiness glued on to break up the playing field look. All other terrain pieces like roads, rivers and marshes etc, will be freestanding.

Once I get going on the project I will try to post some pics but don't hold your breath, the house lights up here are good but possibly not quite good enough for photography. We will see when the time comes.

Keep yer bristles straight.

Mick

Derby purchases

Just thought I would share with you my purchases this year at the show.

Figures
5 x 6mm Irregular WWII German nebewerfer plus tows for Das Reich
5 x 6mm Irregular WW II Russian 76.2 field guns plus tows
1 x 10mm battlepack of Irregular Ancient Gauls/British (100 pieces)plus 3 extra chariots, (making 12 in total), and some more warband to make up the numbers.
3 x 10mm cohortes of Romans (1 regular, 2 auxiliary) (90 figures)
3 x 15mm Irregular Sassanid Persian bolt throwers
30 x 15mm Donnington Sassanid Levy infantry
5 x 15mm Donnington Sassanid cavalry (general, standard bearer and 3 guards)
9 x 15mm Museum Miniatures Mongol LC. (I do like these figures, one piece castings, good variety of positions, full of animation and movement -hmmm, might even end up with a whole tumen of them later.)
6 x 10mm Pendrakan Roman bolt throwers

Bases and Terrain
Proper green paint by Vallejo for WWII Russians
3 x bags of different coloured thick flock powder and a set of 7 brightly coloured tiny bits to make flower heads from. Looked good on the Sheffield Irregulars stand. I admit it, I had a go and it seems to work okay.
6 x Timecast 6mm Russian Front buildings (for a bit of variety).
2 x packs of 14 pre-cut MDF bases
2 x pack of round bases for generals (got 2 because it was a BOGOF deal).
The last two items are from a company called Warbases, nice blokes, good deal. Unfortunately, you'll have to Google it coz I can't get the linky thingy to work.

Books
Plus what I considered to be a real steal from one of the bookshops there, a mint copy of Great Battles of the Civil War by J. Macdonald for £5 ( do your own conversion if reqd.)

Derby report

As I mentioned previously, I went to Derby today. Boy do I like that show, none of the hugeness and impersonality of Salute-in-the-aircraft-hanger that is Excel, but a nice sized friendly show. I even said as much to one of the organizers whom I got chatting to. A good day was had by all. YO dropped me at the uni campus then went off in a cloud of dust to go shopping in Derby with the missus -result. And guess what, I remembered the camera, in fact I took two just to be sure. 107 photos all found, some not bad, others okay and some a bit blurred but I know what they are so I'll keep them anyway.
Some really good games this year. A 40mm ACW with about 1200 figures and some outstanding and eye catching flags. A large 'L' shaped version of Waterloo and a game with a very impressive model of the granary at Apern-Essling, both in 25mm. And then I came across a game after a my own heart, a refight of Liegnitz (Mongols v Polish in 1241) by the Curteys lads, a nice 15mm version of Fontenoy and a visually impressive 25mm WWII involving a fight over two railway bridges. Got everything I wanted -and some stuff I didn't but couldn't resist, you know how it is. Also spoke to some people who gave me a tutorial on how to make some nice, flowery bases. More on this when I try it myself. Unfortunately, it was a bit uncomfortable sitting on a hard chair coz I have a mahoosive abscess on my posterior which is giving me some stick at the mo.

Pics and yet more pics

To back up the story reported earlier about re-doing the bases of my W W II Das Reich and the Russians, here is the proof. First off, the Germans. As per, all are clickable for hugeness.






Now here are the Russians, which incidentally, I didn't paint. I inherited them from a mate who gave up wargaming after a few tries in different periods. His loss, my gain. Hey, ho, such is the way the wheel of fortune turns.



I think I'm finally getting a bit of a handle on this posting malarkey; now I can move pictures around within the post for effect. (How long has it taken me? No, don't answer that, I get upset easily.)

Problems and solutions.

The problem is -as you can read in my other blog- techno-lology based; the solution...go out and have a shopping figurefest! So I will follow my own advice and go to Derby armed with a camera and some cash. This year I want to get some more b and p's for the Sassys; a few more Mongols, but the big(ish) spend this year is going to be getting more 10mm Romans and Brits. Currently standing at Romans 4 infantry cohorts (1 auxiliary) and 2 cavalry units, all painted, to Brits...nothing, not a sausage, bugger all. However, I intend to rectify that next weekend. The Romans will be increased by 2 more cohorts (1 auxiliary) and the Gauls by getting another Irregular Battlepack plus b and p's giving me a total of nearly 300 infantry (10 units), 2 cavalry units and 4 chariot units.