Snippets #16

There are more figure unveilings of a Polish nature planned but life is a little hectic right now. A little is presented right here and right now to keep The dear readers “warm” as the marketers would say …

 

Yet more Brunswickers

Front Rank Figurines have released another tranche of their Napoleonic Brunswickers. This time it’s the turn of the …

• Light Infantry – marching and firing packs and command packs for each
• Avantgarde Light Infantry – a firing pack and a command pack
• Avantgarde Jagers – a skirmishing pack and a command pack.

All packs are £7.80 inclusive of VAT.

Above: Code BWNRPK9 – Brunswick Light Infantry, marching

Above: Code BWNRPK13 – Brunswick Avantgarde Light Infantry, Command standing

Above: Code BWNRPK15 – Brunswick Avantgarde Jagers, skirmishing

And there are apparently more releases for the Brunswickers over the coming weeks.

Pictures borrowed from the Front Rank website.

 

Yet more plastic Napoleonics

Victrix Ltd are working on some more plastic Napoleonics. This time it’s the turn of the Bavarians …

Our sculptors have been working hard to produce this splendid Bavarian line infantry figure.
At present the plan is to create a 36 man march attack set including 4 dynamic command figures. The command element will comprise officer, standard bearer, sergeant and drummer””. There will be a number of options such as extra arms, back packs with cooking pots and even an arm option smoking a large Bavarian pipe. This is very much work in progress and other variations may be added as we develop this set.
The figure represents the Bavarian infantry from 1809, when they adopted more of a French style kit instead of the slung backpack. We went for the gaiters as they look great, although both gaiter and trousers were worn in the field.
There will be head options with plumes and facial hair for Grenadiers and sharp shooters. It will probably take up to a couple of months to get all this sculpted but we will be posting regular progress updates.

Above: a work in progress view of the Bavarian infantry. click for a larger and clearer view

 

Yet more gardening

The latest gardening has resulted in a 4Ground  TSM-101 1 x Mature Willow & Base being available to fight around and over.

Above: some Front Rank Figurines Poles of the 1/2 Line Infantry Regiment are shanghaied into providing a size reference. Notice that the grenadiers are a little fuzzy having found a stash of Russian vodka the previous evening! 🤣 Click for a larger view.

 

Website woes

The website of von Peter himself – as opposed to the blog currently being read – is undergoing some woes which reveal themselves mostly as missing images. When life allows this will be “corrected”. It is also due some updates. D’oh!

 

A new way to fight ancient skirmishers

The TooFatLardies Infamy, Infamy! rules are available for preorder in the form of various bundles.

Infamy, Infamy! is a game that will, ultimately, be divided into three parts. This is the first rule book which covers Rome’s conflicts with the western barbarian between 60 BC and AD 100. Covered in the rules are lists for Late Republican forces that can be used for Caesar and his campaigns in Gaul and Britannia and against the German tribes raiding across the Rhine. The Early Imperial Roman lists are perfect for the conquest of Britannia under Claudius and the continuing campaigns through to Agricola’s conquest of the North and beyond. The British lists cover the period from Caesar’s invasions through to Mons Graupius, including lists for Boudicca’s revolt. Gallic lists cover the classic period of conquest of the Gallic Wars with the Belgea and Aquitani represented and make every effort to reflect the more advanced culture of the Gauls. The Germans, on the other hand, are the ultimate Barbarians, with lists for the tribes of the Rhineland and those of the dark forests of Germania Magna and for the Batavian Revolt.

The rules are scheduled for release on Monday 29th June.

See “Infamy, Infamy! Advanced Order Now Available” for details on the bundles. At the time of “going to press” they can be purchased here.

As is their way TooFatLardies have embraced modern technology with videos of setup and game play …

• Infamy, Infamy! The Movie. Part One
• Infamy, Infamy! The Movie. Part Two
• Infamy, Infamy! The Movie Part Three

By the time The dear readers consume digest this there will probably be more. Perhaps a “Infamy, Infamy! The Movie Part Four”?!

Stop Press 25 June 2020: Infamy, Infamy! The Movie, Part Four has been released.

Enough.

Until we meet again …

Salute
von Peter himself

Snippets #15

A few odds and ends.

Front Rank Brunswickers

Front Rank Figurines have released their first Napoleonic Brunswickers. They come as six mixed figure Reinforcement Packs or as multiple pack Reinforcement Sets of 36 figures.

Above: Code BWNRPK2 – Brunswick Oels Jagers/Leib Battalion, Command advancing

The initial release provides for the Oels Jagers/Leib Battalion and the Line Infantry. Both types get …

• marching other ranks
• marching command
• firing line other ranks
• command standing.

All packs £7.80 (incl. VAT).

Above: Code BWNRPK3 – Brunswick Oels Jagers/Leib Battalion, Firing line

The two images above “borrowed” from Front Rank Figurines.

 

Victrix French Imperial Guard Lancers

Victrix Ltd have released their plastic French Napoleonic Imperial Guard Lancers …

This fabulous set represents Napoleons lancers of the Guard, The Polish (Blue) and Dutch (Red) regiments. They fought in Spain, Europe and Russia and finally at Waterloo with great distinction.

You can also use these for numerous other nations lancers with a little conversion work you can make Prussians, Polish Line Lancers, Lancers De Berg and Russian lancers to name but a few!

We think this is one of our greatest sets to date, the detail is superb and the figures are packed with animation and character.

For your £26.95 you get 12 multipart and possibly multi posable(?) figures which can create some impressively dynamic figures …

Both images above “borrowed” from Victrix Ltd.

These are far from a surprise as their creation has been widely signalled on the web for a while now. von Peter himself has a need for two regiments of Polish lancers which these figures could potentially have provisioned but figures for those regiments have already been secured. And miraculously one of those regiments has even been pigmented. And von Peter himself is quite happy with the metal figures he has.

 

Possibly of some help with figure photography

von Peter himself stumbled across Photography for Wargamers from Henry Hydes publishing arm Gladius Publications …

Photography for Wargamers by Henry Hyde

A compilation of articles on digital photography which, as editor, I originally wrote for Miniature Wargames with Battlegames.

The first article, “Digital Photography for Wargamers”, was published in issue 361 – the very first of the new, combined magazine – in May 2013. The series of three “Wargames Photography” pieces appeared in issues 377, 378 and 379 (October, November and December 2014) after numerous appeals from readers for more in depth information on the subject.

These guides contain a great deal of information that is timeless: the principles of taking a good photograph of any kind, including those of our miniature soldiery arrayed on beautiful terrain, remain exactly the same as they were when my father, as a professional photographer back in the 1960s, pointed his lens at a captivating view or an interesting face. I hope, therefore, that you will find this collection of value for some time to come, regardless of the equipment you use and where and when you use it.

All profits from the sale of this guide will go to the Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal.

And don’t some of us need all the help we can get with our figure photography! For the princely sum of 1.99USD for a pdf with all profits going to the Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal what could go wrong?

Well of course there is always something that could go wrong. When trying to purchase said pdf von Peter himself could not seem do so without the payment system wanting further details so that it could set up a PayPal account. von Peter himself does not want to create a PayPal account. A message has been sent to Henry Hyde asking for directives &/or assistance. Henry is investigating. It seems like a lot effort for a 1.99USD pdf but if all purchases from Henry’s Gladius Publications behave the same way he may be missing out on sales. Or perhaps von Peter himself is just doing something wrong.

STOP PRESS: Henry has sorted von Peters PayPal problem. You can pay either using PayPal or Stripe now. von Peter himself successfully used Stripe to pay.

 

Hobby gardening

A brace of TSM-103 Mature Oak Trees from 4Ground have joined the miniature shrubbery at Neu Schloss von Peter. Their lot will be to be hidden behind, shot at etc etc. Why the little plastic acorns bothered is a moot point!  😃

von Peter himself took the clickable quick photo above of said Oak Trees and though he may complain of the sun not playing the game etc etc it is a fine illustration of why the Photography for Wargamers book may prove to be of considerable benefit!  🤣

 

Enough.

Until we meet again …

Salute
von Peter himself

The woods for the trees

In a fit of enthusiasm some hobby gardening has been undertaken with the results below excluding the middle base which was already in stock. They are all 4Ground Trees and von Peter himself likes them. Unfortunately since their restructuring 4Ground no longer sell them. An email back in August 2019 elicited the response …

Thank you for your enquiry. We are not currently selling the trees, but hope to be selling them again in the near future.

A further enquiring email was sent a couple of days ago and elicited the following response.

Thank you for your enquiry. We are not currently selling the trees, but we have been looking back into getting more we are hoping for mid summer but it depends on the lockdown and supplies.

So there is hope that more will be be available to be procured in the future. Fortunately local distributer MightyApe were able to provide some of the trees below from their ever decreasing stock and there are a couple of Mature Oak Trees making their way to Neu Schloss von Peter at this very moment.

The trees are supplied as simple kits. A set/kit comprises several mdf pieces – a base plate, a plate for gluing on top of the base plate with holes for the tree bases and the round tree bases themselves to which one must glue the one piece tree. Perhaps the following image “borrowed” from 4Ground gives The dear reader some insights …

Ground filling/texturing, painting and flocking completes the deal. The smallest trees come in sets of five, larger in sets of three, larger yet in sets of two and the largest as singles. The trees can be placed individually on the table or in their multi tree base.

From left to right in the image above …

• TSM-107: 5 Young Ash Trees
• TSM-104: 4 Oak/Beech Trees
• TSM-???: 3 Young Chestnut Trees. These were completed September 2017!
• TSM-106: 2 Mature Ash Trees
• TSM-112: 2 Mature Chestnut Trees

All up … very pleasing.

 

 

Another Austrian AD

This poor ADC has been awaiting his horse for a while. One hopes that much wining, dining and general carousing were had while he waited impatiently on the painting desk for his ride to come to fruition. And now it has. And now he can be shown amongst some very topical trees

The man painted by Napoleonic Austrian painter to von Peter himself – Nigel Fun-nell. Horse and basing locally arranged at Neu Schloss von Peter.

 

Bavarian upgrades

Whilst taking photos of trees, an Austrian ADC etc the opportunity to replace a couple of fairly rubbish photos of a couple of Bavarian battalions for vonpeterhimself.com was taken. And here they be to save The dear Readers from having to travel over to that other place to see them.

First up is 2/3rd Prinz Carl Infantry Regiment …

Next up von Peter himself presents the reimaged 2/8th Herzog Pius Infantry Regiment …

All images are clickable for a larger clearer view.

 

Podcast corner

Finally this COVID-19 thing and associated lockdown really is a bit of utter rubbish, albeit necessary rubbish. Amongst the coping strategies of von Peter himself is listening to podcasts. Two new finds that may be of interest …

History From Home Archive

Dan Hill is a military historian who is currently hosting a weekly historical chat – History From Home. Upcoming topics include …

• Dr Phil Weir on The Battle Of The Atlantic
• Alex Owen on The Battle Of Waterloo
• James Holland On Normandy 1944
• Ben Mayne On The Battle Of Bosworth

But you don’t have to listen to them live as there is an Archive of them. von Peter himself has consumed the Kate Jamieson on The Battle of Trafalgar and there are several others on the to-do list.

Note that while von Peter himself happily listened to the Trafalgar episode relevant images are displayed on the screen.

Napoleon: The Man and the Myths

Self explanatory really. Five 15 minute episodes from the BBC on Napoleon: The Man and the Myths. von Peter himself would take exception with some of the statements but isn’t that true for everyone on anything when it comes to Napoleon?!

 

Enough.

Until we meet again …

Salute
von Peter himself

Snippets #14

One day von Peter himself hopes to get back to pigmenting his figures but until then a quick drive by of some items of potential interest …

Aventine Byzantines

Aventine Miniatures have started a 28mm range of early Byzantines. The first unit type out off the gate is the heavy infantry. Lighter armoured infantry are apparently in the works.

 

Skirmishing’ish Ancients rules

The TooFatLardies are working on a skirmish’ish level game set in those ancient times. Think Sharp Practice sized games though it has been stressed that this is a new game and not Sharp Practice with the gun powder removed. See …

• Disciplina et Virtus, a Look at Lardy Ancients for some concepts behind the game. For the confused Disciplina et Virtus was mooted as the games name for a few days
• The Decline of Suetonius Porcinus and Publicus Thermae Goes Forth for some early in the rule writing process game examples.

 

But there’s more …

 

The son & heir raised Clash of Spears into the consciousness of von Peter himself. Victrix has  partnered with the rule writers to provide Punic Wars “warbands” and guess who already has Victrix figures for the Punic Wars. A clue – it’s The son & heir.

More details can be found here including links to further details on the rules themselves.

 

Stalingrad

von Peter himself has seen and heard multiple awestruck reports of a Stalingrad table. And here’s a little video on it …

 

A newly discovered Podcast

For those with an interest in WWII a couple of patriotic Brits host a podcast on that conflict. von Peter himself has listened to around ten episodes as the time of typing and finds the presentation and topics entertaining. The official blurb …

Achtung! Achtung!

Comedian Al Murray and historian James Holland discuss all matters Second World War.

We Have Ways of Making You Talk is a weekly show exploring the war in close up. James and Al have a stunning knowledge of their subject, but don’t expect a linear narrative. The boys love a tangent and a forgotten tale.

We Have Ways of Making You Talk roams down forgotten front lines, casts new villains and makes the case for unlikely heroes.

Send questions to James and Al via Twitter using #WeHaveWays or by email to wehavewayspodcast@gmail.com

Battle stations!

Search for “We Have Ways of Making You Talk” on your favourite podcast provider.

 

Would von Peter himself have been as indomitable?

Very sad and poignant yet also positive and uplifting …

Totally worth it

Some very wise words with the bonus of having a health message built in.

 

Enough.

Until we meet again …

Salute
von Peter himself

Snippets #12

Fathers Day came and went several weeks ago here in Godzone – aka New Zealand. von Peter himself managed to obtain two hobby related items. Undoubtedly The dear readership are desperate to hear what those two hobby related items were so …

Hobby item #1: Murat’s Army. Spotted on an email from Naval & Military Press for the princely sum of £3.99. What could go wrong? Oh yeah …. the £6.35 postage from the UK to New Zealand! Bought as a curiosity really. The official blurb …

Although its crown was initially given to Joseph Bonaparte, the brief history of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples will be forever best associated with the reign of King Joachim Murat, Napoleon`s famous and flamboyant cavalry commander, from 1808 to 1815. Known more for the splendour of its uniforms than the achievements of its troops, Naples under Murat nevertheless became a major, if short-lived, player on the Italian Peninsula.

This book is based around a series of 99 plates from the work of the military illustrator Henri Boisselier covering the army and navy of the Kingdom of Naples, reproduced with the kind permission of the Anne S.K. Brown Collection. Each plate is accompanied by a commentary on the figure, comparing Boisselier’s depiction with the actual state of the army at the date of their portrayal. The accompanying text details the strength of each corps of the army (royal guard, infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineers, command and staff officers, and civilian para-military organizations) including uniform details, badges of rank, inter-company distinctions, flags and standards. The battle history of the units is also recounted, along with a brief history of the kingdom.

 

Hobby item #2: Young Oak/Beech Trees x 4. These are 4Ground Trees that you can’t actually get direct from 4Ground currently. There have been corporate machinations and 4Ground are currently rebuilding themselves and their website. von Peter himself has a taste for the 4Ground trees and not seeing them on the new website he enquired as to their potential future availability and received the polite reply  …

“Thank you for your enquiry. We are not currently selling the trees, but hope to be selling them again in the near future”.

4Ground may not be selling the trees but Mighty Ape here in New Zealand are as they still had some stock. Fortuitously von Peter himself had a discount voucher for the Ape and so the trees were got.

 

A table for Christmas perhaps

For those looking to get organised early for Christmas then perhaps the Hobby/Game Table from Deep-Cut Studio will provide that loving gift.

The blurb explains …

Hobby / game table in a most purified form. It serves as a standard house furniture in a size of a dining table, yet transforms into a functional hobby area in a simplest way possible. You can enjoy your activities, close the lids when you are done without having to tidy up and resume from where you left later on.

– Manufactured from recycled laminated A grade plywood. Weights over 40 kg (80 lbs), which makes it exceptionally sturdy and robust
– Size: 112 x 142 cm ( 44 x 56 inches) surface, 83 cm ( 33 inches) height to upper tabletop and 70 cm ( 28 inches) height to bottom
– Special upper tabletop construction grants stable surface, smooth connection of both halves and does not allow dirt or crumbles fall into the inner area
– Upper tabletop halves easily taken off without excessive use of strength and stored in a specially designed space under the tabletop. These halves can be hidden completely behind the inner surface or serve as extra space for any activity, private area or as shelves for additional or temporary materials, manuals, etc.
– Transforms into a table with 91,5 x 122 cm (36 x 48 inches or 3×4 feet ) inner surface dimensions, 10 cm ( 4 inches) deep
– Sold unassembled and grants the joy of putting it together with all the parts, tools and manual included. Challenge rating: low, fun factor: rewarding
– Available in black or white laminate colours
– Same or next day dispatch, delivery in 4-5 days to EU

Available in white or black and currently priced at 490.00€.

Too small for the games von Peter himself likes to play so he will be passing. Others may find it more to their liking. And thanks to Deep-Cut Studio for unknowingly supplying the photos.

 

What’s happening at Front Rank Figurines?

It seems like aeons since Front Rank Figurine’s last release. That was the latest in their later Napoleonic Prussian range – Generals & Staff. Since then all has been quiet with the News section of the Front Rank site giving no clue as to what the future might hold. Happily the friendly folks over at the Lead Adventure Forum have provided a whiff of what may be in the Front Rank future as collateral damage in this thread. The important wording is …

Hi James,
Hope all is well with you, yes there is truth in the rumour I have been working on Brunswickers however it seems like I get less and less time to do designing so they are taking a while, I may have the first releases available during the Autumn/winter.

 

What’s not happening at Front Rank Figurines?

As an aside please note that von Peter himself does not want to say that the Front Rank Generals & Staff are the last release in their Prussian range. Where are the limbers and caissons that a dedicated collector of Napoleonic Prussians would desire? Of course the same question could be asked of Front Rank regarding their Austrians, Russians etc. Without actually checking – a simple case of idleness – it seems that only the French & British are provided with such luxuries which surely is not fair, right or even equitable. von Peter himself suspects that the problem is that the anticipated sales of Austrian, Russian etc limbers and caissons are not anticipated to reach the level required to make their creation and sale economically viable.

Whatever the reason von Peter himself pines for limbers and caissons for his Napoleonic Russian and Austrian armies both of which are mostly provisioned using Front Rank figures. Perry Miniature’s limbers and caissons are an obvious alternative but are too small and slight in the eyes of von Peter himself to be a suitable match.

Of course for the Prussians Calpe Miniatures can provide limbers and caissons – and obviously the rest of the Prussian Army 😀 – in a similar style and heft to the Front Rankers.

Above: life really is easier with limbers! “Forward By Bricole!” by Keith Rocco

 

Jimbibblieblog Plancenoit

What better way to end but with another miniature architectural marvel from Jimbibblyblog / Oshiro Models. This time it’s a Plancenoit. Check your history of the Battle of Waterloo if this means nothing to The dear reader. What could be more soothing than the wonderful model of a place of mighty endeavour and no little carnage?!

See Plancenoit for many more pictures of the models – there are two pieces that can be arranged together in several ways or individually – as well as some words on the church.

The two photos from the Jimbibblyblog blog.

 

Enough.

Until we meet again …

Salute
von Peter himself

The son & heir – world building

The son & heir has recently – yesterday – vacated Neu Schloss von Peter to return to Dunedin for some work to generate a little of that that all important commodity money in preparation for his 2019 year of study. During the most recent sojourn at Neu Schloss von Peter there was some hobby related activity. Some games were played with friend(s?) and we played a couple of Lord of the Rings games with the spoils spilt with a game apiece.

The son & heir also managed to waft paint brushes and various other modelling implements around while here. The Haradrim Raiders were built and painted as were a few other Haradrim figures which will be unveiled to the world once some photos have been snapped. A box worth of Haradrim warriors were built and the painting started though these are still a work in progress. Yes, fantasy arabs were the theme of the season.

One other hobby undertaking was undertaken. At the commencement of the PRIOR Christmas holiday season a sheet of mdf type board was purchased as The son & heir had urgings to make a terrain board. Over the duration of that holiday season the board was painted top, bottom and sides … and that was it! Apparently the paint needed to be really REALLY dry!

This Christmas holiday season saw further activity. The board was subtly rendered into smaller constituent pieces with the aid of a circular saw! One of these pieces was then plastered, painted, dry brushed with several colours and then static grass applied. The accompanying pictures detail the results.

FYI and FWIW the board is 60cm square. Click the images for larger and clearer views.

 

The logistics of war – Paints

Way back in November 2017 von Peter himself unleashed “WWI exhibition, paints and more“.

The first – and incidental! – update is that the The Great War Exhibition is now sadly permanently closed. von Peter himself had managed to visit the exhibition several times but really should have visited it one more time! A new section was added to the exhibition – The Quinn’s Post Trench Experience. From the official blurb …

Live moment to moment, as the ANZAC troops did in the trenches at Gallipoli, only a bomb’s throw away from the Turks. In this unique re-creation of Quinn’s Post, encounter the noise, the explosions, the stench, the confined environment those men had to deal with during the ferocious struggle between opposing forces. At times confronting, this will be an experience like no other!

von Peter himself has received several reports of the The Quinn’s Post Trench Experience and all were very positive. The son & heir even took a young lady friend along – admittedly a little weird 😀 – and they both enjoyed it. A miss for von Peter himself. Idiot!

The second and primary reason to revisit the old post is to re-examine the economics of New Zealand based von Peter himself sourcing most of paints from Black Hat Miniatures in the UK. To feed the brushes of von Peter himself and The son & heir a delivery of 17 pottles of Coat d’arms paints was received before Christmas. The associated – and inevitable bill 😢 – allowed for a little rudimentary mathematics …

• the landed cost of an 18ml Coat d’arms pottle – NZD 6.16
• when sourced from the local Games Workshop store a cheap 12ml pottle of Citadel paint would cost NZD 7.00 … and I would have to go out of my way to visit the shop to procure it … though if I mail ordered over NZD 100.00 worth from Games Workshop I would not be charged a delivery fee
• when sourced from a local online distributer Mightyape that same 12ml pottle of Citadel paint would cost NZD 6.49 … but then I would need to pay postage on top.

von Peter himself may never get rich on his savings but it appears that a little planning ahead to keep a reserve supply of paints in stock still pays off for the bulk of von Peters paints.

Note that a comparison with Vallejo paints has not been undertaken due to a general idleness and because von Peter himself does not like their eye dropper bottles.

 

Enough.

Until we meet again …

Salute
von Peter himself

Blue Bavarians for Butchery in Bonaparte’s Bloody Battles

Who doesn’t like a little bit of alliteration in a title?

More Bavarians to the front

The final fighting Bavarian unit as per the original plan has made its way to the front and is available for the mayhem that generally ensues up there. The original plan was to recreate Generalmajor Beckers brigade of Generallieutenant Raglovich’s 29th (Bavarian) Division circa 1813 plus a few supporting units. This would have provided five battalions, an artillery battery and a cavalry regiment. These are now all present and ready for action.

Above: the 2nd battalion of the 8th Herzog Pius Infantry Regiment

Four more casualty markers also accompanied the new battalion to the front though only one is specific to that battalion. Those cunning Bavarians have thought of everything!

Thanks to Nigel Fun-nell for painting these chaps and all the other Bavarians. Horses, choreography and basing by von Peter himself. Flags from GMB Designs.

This is probably not the end of the Bavarians however. A few years back The son & heir professed an interest in the Bavarians so several units were purchased. The 2/7th Infantry Regiment was painted – all pretty in their pink facings – and are counted in the available Bavarian order of battle at Neu Schloss von Peter. But there it stopped. The remainder of those purchased Bavarians are lying around in the unpigmented figure pile. To avoid wastage they will probably get pigmented one day so the Bavarian order of battle will likely grow. But first there are some Poles that need some attention! 😃

 

Salute 2018

Yet another Salute has come and gone. Once upon a time von Peter himself would have been referring The dear readers to sites displaying photos of the event but the advancing march of technology means that there are ever more videos of the event to be viewed. Some are linked below if The dear reader has the inclination … and time.

• Salute 2018 | Best games of the show and Interviews with their creators by Wargames Illustrated
• Salute 2018 by Marksman Gaming
• Salute Wargames Show 2018 by The Terrain Tutor
• Salute london 2018 event by lightofhand
• My Salute 2018 by Ralph Astley
• My Favourite Game From Salute 2018 by Ralph Astley

• Salute 2018 by The Battle Hammer

What a Tanker! found in the letter box

How in the world did that happen?!  😇  von Peter himself is hearing good things about these rules from TooFatLardies.

There’s a slight shortage of tanks at Neu Schloss von Peter. In 28mm there are three T34/75s and a KV-1 all ready to game. In 20mm there is a German Stug. IV early version and a Russian SU-85M in a ready to game condition. There are also 3 T34/75s  kits still resting in their boxes.

One option is to get hold of some 28mm German armour. But then von Peter himself sees his long term WWII gaming being in 20mm. Then again there is always the option of a more skirmish level of gaming in 28mm. Decisions decisions.

Of course none of this prevents trials with the game. Maybe those 28mm Russian tanks could take on some of The son & heirs 40k armour!!  😲

Above: A historic view of the available 28mm Russian armour as constructed and pigmented by Greater Queeg

The Lardies have produced an introductory video over in YouTube –  What a Tanker – An Introduction – for the curious …

The Lardies run through a small game of What a Tanker, showing off various aspects of how the rules work. Big Rich has a Stug III and a Panzer IV, whereas Fat Nick has gone unusually lightweight with a Stuart and an M10 Tank Destroyer.

There is also an independent review over on the Skirmish Wargaming site.

And perhaps the clincher – Sparker over in Oz seems to think the game is a little alright. See his What a Tanker! – Down Under… post.  😊

 

BBC sound effects

Should you need some sound effects the BBC have a deal for you at their BBC Sound Effects site. At the time of typing their were 167,016 effects available and some are even of a military bent.

 

Now that’s what I’m talking about!

And to finish with a visual treat. OSHIRO modelterrain make terrain. Surprise!

We produce a large range of Japanese wargaming tarrain as well as expanding ranges incuding; Chinese, Boxer Rebillion, Victorian, Sci-Fi and near future.

Perhaps as a commission they have produced what is a second town creation for the 1809 Napoleonic Aspern Essling campaign. The two photos below have been “borrowed” from OSHIRO modelterrain and show this second model. Stunning covers it. This is the sort of model that makes von Peter himself ache with want!  😃

To see more pictures of this second model and also of the first click here for the relevant post in the Lead Adventure Forum.

There may be a third model. Here’s hoping and that pictures of it will be available in due course.

Enough.

Until we meet again …

Salute
von Peter himself

A belated “hello 2018”

Great galloping warhorses. The month of January of the year 2018 is nearly a done deal and von Peter himself has yet to submit a post to this here blog. The blame is officially being laid at the feet of the holiday season, the continued warmer than normal temperatures here in Godzone – New Zealand to the uneducated, the pixies at the bottom of the garden and any and everything but von Peter himself! Better post something – anything! – to confirm von Peter’s continued presence on planet Earth before the end of January 2018.

 

Notorious French agent Mademoiselle Keela misdeeds undone

In the prior post von Peter himself alerted the world to the ongoing destructive activities of that most notorious & dastardly French sympathising Keela* and her latest act of espionage – a savage unprovoked and wanton attack on a 28mm scale outhouse.

* The local – for now anyway!! – Irish Terrier.

With the pleasure akin to that derived from spitting in your enemies eyes von Peter himself is pleased to report that the outhouse is once more fully functional … to the relief of many a 28mm figurine! The old partially consumed plasticard base has been replaced with one of plywood; the ground work restored; and the paint job touched up. The outhouse is once more open for business.

It must be said that the grass has grown quite luxuriantly about the outhouse. von Peter himself has no idea why!  😃

 

A rather shoddy state of affairs

The latest view of the paint desk. And it presents a fairly shameful visage. The pendulum that produced a surge of activity pre the Wagram games has swung remorselessly back to a subsequent period of umm … errr … “reduced activity”.  Sob!

Click the image for a larger and clearer view of von Peter’s shame!

So let’s examine what is currently in process left to right and row by row.

The back row …

• four Prussian limber horses that are – apart from a layer of dust! – unchanged since the painting desk was last publicly placed on display
• two almost completed horses for two Prussian mounted Feldjaegers
• just in front of the horses are the ever hopeful Feldjaegers
• three white undercoated horses destined to provide the horsey transportation for the 18th Light Cavalry Brigade: General de brigade Krukowiecki Polish command stand

Middle row …

• The commanding colonel and adjoint from the Calpe Miniatures Saxon pack SC3 along with their horsey mode of transportation. Despite an attempted fix the blue is still a little light for von Peter himself so the paint bottle will one day receive a damned good stirring for another attempt or perhaps a remedial dark blue wash applied
• four French infantrymen to complete the 4/132nd Ligne. The three fusiliers have been undercoated black but the standard bearer remains pristine silver. The thought was to create the flag staff and glue it on as a precursor to the painting process but a rummage through the unpigmented French figure box reveals the absence of Calpe’s F48 pack: “3 Battalion standard spear points pre-1812 reforms. These were used almost exclusively until Napoleons abdication in 1814”. As a result the figure will soon get blackened minus a flag staff.

Front row …

• A Prussian casualty figure. The poor chap has been like this for years. Medic!!!
• four Saxon musketeers to complete the 1/Prinz Frederich August Infantry Regiment
• a Saxon musketeer casualty figure destined to be a Saxon musketeer casualty figure/marker. Surprise. 😊

Shelf below …

•  1/Prinz Frederich August Infantry Regiment awaiting the final stand of figures

Shelf below the shelf below …

• the mounted adc from Calpe Miniatures Saxon pack SC3. By way of a repeat explanation von Peter himself provided a small Saxon brigade for the Wagram games. The thought occurred that it would probably be nice to supply a commanding officer of a Saxon disposition for the brigade. This figure on his temporary one man and his horse base is the result of that thinking. If the commanding colonel and adjoint – see the Middle row above – ever get completed all three figures will be grouped together on a single base. No change here either unsurprisingly.

 

From the archives

In a desperate attempt to provide some meaningful content von Peter himself has raided his archives for an image that may be of interest to The dear readers. All the way back to the 30th September 2006 and the Call to Arms convention of that year.

Four of us played a Napoleonic game for a day using the Field of Battle rules from Piquet Inc. The game saw a Prussian-Russian force tangling with a somewhat unusual alliance of French, Spanish & Portuguese. Such are the exigencies of war … and gamers available figure collections. According to a write-up of the game it had suitable highs and lows for both sides but in the end the highs were more with the French and their bed fellows. Darn!

Above: From the safety of the rear areas – is that him doffing his bicorne in the distance upper right – Murray bravely orders some Russian hussars to frontally charge a French ligne / line battalion who are coincidently formed in line! The results of the charge are lost in those mists of time. Click for a larger and improved image.

Above: My co-gamers as they appeared in September 2006. Murray (fellow Allied commander) mingling with Rhys and Roly (French hooligans both). Very deliberately there is no clicking through to a larger image for this picture. von Peter himself has a humanitarian side after all!! Absolutely no one benefits from the inclusion of this image but it tickles von Peter’s fancy to include it   😃

Enough.

Until we meet again …

Salute
von Peter himself

PS. phew … got it posted before the end of January 2018

Snippets #6

The third post in a calendar month. An outstanding effort … even if von Peter says so himself.  😃

 

Trees

von Peter himself has ‘grown’ his first pack of 4Ground trees. For the record the pack was “4 Young Chestnut Trees”. Some lessons were learned along the way. Nothing major and mostly to do with the holes on the optional sabot base and the plastering around them. Hopefully the building of the  next packs will benefit from the  learnings.

The plastic branches are bendable so the shape of the tress can be modified. In this pack there were two larger trees of approximately 11.5cm and two smaller of approximately 9.5cm.

Above: three of the young chestnut trees in their sabot base and one individualist who is not.

 

Wagram II – the game that keeps giving

Archduke Charles – aka Garage Gaming Terry – has posted a couple items regarding the Wagram II game on his a Garage Gaming Terry blog with more planned. To date he has created …

• Wagram 1809 – more than just a refight! Part 1 which explains the set up of the game
• Large scale fixed terrain battlefields – are you CRAZY! by Paul Weakley. Possibly not surprisingly this is written by that same Paul Weakley who created the terrain boards.

There are more articles to come.

And then there were a couple more photographic recreations of the Wagram II game …

Above: This picture shows the extent of GdK von Peter himself Freidrich Hohenzollern’s Austrian II Army Corps. Oh … and the bodies in the background are the Saturday Wagram II crew. Motley covers it!  😃  Photo care of John H.

Above: a shameful scene from the Sunday. Two Saxon battalions in front of Austrian artillery – and the rest of the Austrian army! – being used as some sort of ablative armour for the ‘brave’ French troops wearing bear skins behind them. The 1/Prinz Maximilian Infantry Regiment – white flag with red border – appears to be formed in some sort of square arrangement while the 2/von Rechten Infantry Regiment – yellow flag – is in line. Yet more shoddy treatment of the Saxons by their French allies / overlords!  ⚠️  Photo care of John H.

 

Eagle dice

Yet more dice have arrived at Neu Schloss von Peter from the dice peddlers at Dice of War. The drip feed of national dice continues with eagles being the theme this time around. Austrian dice in yellow and Russian dice in green.

Bavarian and Polish dice are left to collect for the armies with barracks at Neu Schloss von Peter. The completist in von Peter himself is singing a rather fetching and compelling song. The completist is obviously a stark raving mad thing …. but von Peter himself is a grown man who plays with toy soldiers so don’t write off the chances of seeing pictures of Bavarian and Polish dice on this here blog. We loves getting pressies in the mail we do!!  😇

 

If von Peter himself can get the photography sorted there will be a “The Heroes of Wagram” or some such presentation upcoming. This will present the newly formed Austrian troops recruited for the Wagram games and perhaps some of the refurbished troops as well. But hopefully not next time. Next time von Peter himself will be reporting on an event he is very much looking forward to. Hopefully!

 

Enough.

Until we meet again …

Salute
von Peter himself

Snippets #5

It is timely to present a few assorted items. Any one of them may be of interest to The dear readers.  😃

Another e-book from The History Book Man

Another release from the The History Book Man with their latest e-book “Foreign Regiments in French Service 1795-1814 Volume Four: The Portuguese Legion and Iberian Troupes Etrangere 1808-1814″. The official blurb …

This popular title was fIrst published in 1974 but has now been considerably enlarged and includes those troops from Portugal and Spain who served with the Army as Troupes Etrangere during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Now includes all new colour artwork and illustrations by well known authoritive and contemporary artists.

152 pages

As usual the e-book is packed with history, unit organisation and uniform details for a surprisingly large number of units. Hard to beat for and hard to go wrong for £3.99.

 

More national dice

The dice folly continues. More of the products from Dice of War have arrived to provide close dice support to their national army. French dice – of the laurel wreathed “N” type – and Saxon dice have now been safely obtained.

Yet still the dice madness continues. Austrian and Russian dice are now back in stock so the appropriate procurement documents have been despatched. Which only leaves Bavarian and Polish dice to complete the set for the locally raised Napoleonic armies.

The previously acquired Prussian dice got their first run outs with the two Wagram games due to the unavailability of the genuine Austrian articles. They started both games in a less than satisfactory manner but perhaps they should be forgiven as deciding the fate of Austrian troops was not the reason for their creation!  😃

 

The painting(?!) desk

The rush of preparing Austrians and to a much lesser extent Saxons for the Wagram extravaganzas saw an unprecedented level of productivity at New Schloss von Peter. Unfortunately the prodigious efforts have been completely undone ever since with the gifted … what the ??? …. hands of von Peter himself not clasping a paint brush since. Never the less von Peter himself now presents a quick update on the current state of the painting desk. Please ignore any dust that may be seen in the photo!  🙁

Back row:

• four Prussian limber horses
• two Prussian mounted Feldjaegers and their horses. There’s actually a third Feldjaeger deprived of his paint stand (horse) and out of sight.

All work on the above was put on hold with the demands of the pre Wagram work schedule … and sadly has yet to recommence!

Middle row:

• a GW knightly figure in goldenish armour who has never seen any progress since being added to the paint desk with the thought that he’d get a little love every now and then
• four figures for the last stand of the Saxon 1/Prinz Frederich August Infantry Regiment.

Front row:

• The commanding colonel and adjoint from the Calpe Miniatures Saxon pack SC3 along with their trusty steeds. Annoyingly the base blue coat seems to be a little light
• the second to last stand of the Saxon 1/Prinz Frederich August Infantry Regiment.

Shelf below:

• Saxon 1/Prinz Frederich August Infantry Regiment awaiting the reinforcements above.

Next level down:

• the mounted adc from Calpe Miniatures Saxon pack SC3. By way of explanation von Peter himself provided a small Saxon brigade for the Wagram games. The thought occurred that it would probably be nice to supply a commanding officer of a Saxon disposition for the brigade. This figure on his temporary one man and his horse base is the result of that thinking. If the commanding colonel and adjoint – see the Front row above – ever get completed all three figures will be grouped together on a single base.

 

Stop Press: Trees

Four packs of 4Ground trees have just arrived. Ordered on the 5 September from England with delivery on the 11 September in New Zealand. Not a bad turn-a-round. von Peter himself had performed his pre purchase internet snooping on these trees and was pleased enough with what he read to get these trial sets of trees. If they are a success there will be more imports of lumber in the future.

The trees come with sabot style mdf basing which von Peter himself plans to decorate in the same manner that he bases his figures. There is a stirring in von Peter himself to get the trees done. So perhaps these trees are what gets the creative juices churning again and the pigmentation of figures will follow … albeit at the traditional crawl. One can perhaps allow oneself a little optimism.  😃

Enough.

Until we meet again …

Salute
von Peter himself