Yet another Liebster nominee

 

Introduction

Sören, over at Black Powder Games, very kindly nominated this blog for the Liebster Award. Admittedly I'm quite hesitant when it comes to these chain letter kind of things. But considering that there are many noteworthy blogs out there that deserves some attention I'll bite. This time. :-)

As Sören stated "the idea of the Liebster Award is to raise awareness of new or smaller blogs with fewer than 200 followers, using the link between bloggers and readers alike. As a nominee, you’re expected to answer a few questions about yourself, your blog and hobby, and naturally give credit to the blog nominating you as well as putting forward your own candidates of good blogs for nomination, offering thus a chance for readers to discover new blogs."

The "rules" are as follows
1) Copy paste the award on your blog linking to the blogger who has given it to you.

2) Pass the award to your top 11 blogs with less than 200 followers by leaving a comment in one of their posts to notify them that they are nominated.

3) List the nominees on your own blog as well.
4) Sit back and bask in the warm fuzzy feelingthat comes with knowing that you’ve made someone’s day!

      5) There is no obligation to pass this onto someone else, but it’s good old Gandhi karma if you do so.

About this blog

1: Why did you start blogging?

After many (many!) years of GW gaming our group of gamers got in to historical wargaming and this seemed like a good way of recording our progress (or lack there of). It is me, Mattias, who run and write this blog but it is really a collaborative effort as my friends - Jocke being a usual suspect - contribute from time to time. Also, we still play Warhammer, some of us very much so, but that is really not a part of this blog more than sporadically. 

2: If you could change one thing about the wargaming hobby, what would it be?

More time for more projects? :-) To be honest I'm quite content. With real life commitments of family, work, friends etc wargaming will always come second (at best) and that is fine. One thing though - I wish it was easier to find rubberized horsehair in Sweden. An odd request I know.

3: Do you read Battle Reports and what makes them inviting to read?

I do! I enjoy them very much as they are where all wargaming efforts come together with miniatures, terrain and rules together with friends. For me personally when reading them it is mostly about the visual impact. A good historical background is nice and an entertaining and inspiring write up is always a bonus.

4: Is figure painting a chore or pleasure?

Both. It is quite a relaxing pleasure but at times it is a chore to get a particular project done. Still, if its not fun than it is hardly worth doing as this is a voluntary hobby that is competing with everything else for your time. Also, I've recently discovered that I prefer building terrain to paint miniatures. A bit of a problem really as you can play with miniatures on a piece of cloth on a table but with no miniatures you can't play no matter how beautiful and extensive terrain collection you've got. :-)

5: Napoleon once was quoted as saying he preferred a general who was lucky over skilled. In gaming, are you lucky or skilled?

Most of us find it difficult to find alot of time for historical wargaming so when we play it is more down to luck than skill I guess.

6: Could you limit your gaming and collection to one period and one size? If so, what?

To go with 28mm is easier than picking the one period. We've played mostly medieval and Napoleonic and both have their merits.

7: How do you deal with burn out?

I don't. :-) If not inspired I leave it be. Inspiration will always return sooner or later and then it's back into the saddle. I guess that is why I'm a somewhat sporadic gamer.

8: If you could only buy from one miniature company from now on,
which one would it be?
Perry Miniatures. Fantastic sculptors and many really good ranges to pick from.

The nominated blogs

There are many really nice blogs out there and it is quite impossible to select the "best". Here are, however, some of the ones that I find very worth a visit, in no particular order.

War in Black and White
http://warpanda.blogspot.ca/
A blog focused on the second world war with simply wonderful terrain for skirmishing. What every wargamer dreams of. Entertaining AARs as well.

Blenheim to Berlin
http://blenheimtoberlin.blogspot.se/
A blog of wargaming the period from 1704 to 1945 featuring some very impressive set ups and  AARs of various periods. A great blog!

Tactical Miniatures Gaming
http://tacticalminiaturesgaming.blogspot.se/search/label/Sharp Practice
A blog of many things and quiet of late. It has, however, some very good and entertaining AARs of the Napoleonic skirmish gaming including TFLs' Sharp Practice and Ganesha's Song of Drums and Shakos.

Fantasy-Gelände-Modelle
http://fantasy-gelaende.blogspot.se/
A blog of mainly 20mm WW2 gaming. In German but with pictures that speaks for themselves. Beautiful painting and fantastic terrain. And there is a "Translate" button. :-)

"Serres les Rangs!"
http://serreslesrangs.blogspot.se/
A blog of big table 28mm Napoleonic gaming. Some really nice AARs.

Last Stand Dan
http://laststanddan.blogspot.se/
A blog of some really good skirmish action in 28mm. Both Napoleonic and Colonial. All very well presented and entertaining AARs.

Situation Room
http://gerryjelliottsituation.blogspot.se/
A blog of "using 10mm figs in huge units on a huge table". And he is not kidding. Simply epic AARs!

Jay's Wargaming Madness
http://jayswargamingmadness.blogspot.se/
Mostly 28mm French and Indian and WW2 skirmish gaming om beautiful tables. Great AARs.

A Conflict of Interests
http://conflictofinterests.blogspot.se/
A blog from Sweden with some very beautiful painting and great AARs. Of late a very nice Dark Ages project in 28mm. I'm also very much looking forward to follow his Italian Wars project that are just about to take off.

Geschichte in Miniaturen
http://www.geschichte-in-miniaturen.de/EN/index.html
Lastly not a blog per see but a project that I followed the updates of for some time. A diorama project on the Leipzig campaign in 1813 in 20mm focusing on three battles Cröbern ‒ Möckern ‒ Auenhain. Have a look in the galleries under each Battle and be ready to be blown away by the sheer scale of it all. A fantastic way of getting an idea what Napoleonic formations really looked like on the field of battle. Try here for instance.




End note

It also seems like a good opportunity to thank all fellow bloggers, readers and followers out there. It is really inspiring to get your comments and to follow your own projects. That has given an extra dimension to the wargaming hobby. Thank you!

More Timber Framed Building WIPs - and a mini-review of Najewitz Modellbau

Various WIP timbered buildings.

 
More timber framed buidlings being build

The building of timber framed buildings in 28mm for mainly Napoleonics and WW2 continues.

After finishing some Perry Miniature buildings it is now time for some other manufacturers: Grand Manner's Napoleonic Europe Range, Najewitz Modellbau's range "1813" and yet another Perry Miniature medieveal cottage but this time with a roof made of tiling sheets from Warbases.

Grand Manner's Gatehouse WIP.

Grand Manner's Pigsty WIP.

Perry Medieval Cottage WIP with added window, roof tile stripes from Warbases
and a scratch build chimney.

Najewitz Modellbau's Timbered House WIP with modified chimney
and added boards on the roof's edges.

Najewitz Modellbau

Najewitz Modellbau was a new acquaintance. It is a rather small company from Germany. They produce resin buildings for mainly 28mm and 1/72 scale. In 28mm they have four ranges: WW2 ("Normandy"), Napoleonics ("1813"), Middle Eastern/Northern Africa and the Ancient World.

Having seen pictures online they appeared to have nice detail and also be rather large, the latter not that common on the wargaming market. We were not disapointed!

Having ordered some "1813" and "Normandy" buildings they arrived speedily and in good condition. A resin door for one of the houses had a chipped corner but nothing that could't easily be fixed. The first build was the Timbered House 28mm from the 1813 range.

The quality and depth of the resin casting is excellent. Only some small airbubbles on the roof tiles and a wall section that needed some minor hot water treatment to be perfectly straight. The walls have nice texture that surely will be a joy to paint.

Each building is build by putting wall and roof sections together with the insides being "blank" as per usual with resin buildings. You can assemble the buildings with lift off roofs. They come without interior floors but those are added easily enough. Best of all - appart from the mentioned quality and depth of the casting - is the sheer size of the buidlings. These buildings really have a presense on the gaming table. In that regard they compare with some of the large houses from Grand Manner but to a lower cost (around 30 Euros i.e. 25 GBP a piece). Granted, the Grand Manner buildings come asembled and with loads of extra detail - including interior detail - and with even better texture on the walls but the Najewitz Modellbau buildings do offer a laudable alternative. 

All in all we are very pleased with them and would happily recommend them.

The Najewitz building's sections.

Nice detail and depth.

Interior showing added floors and the lift off roof.

More to come eventually...

Timber Framed Houses in 28mm Scale - Painted

As posted earlier here we've build some timber framed houses using the Perry Medieval Cottage set as a starting point. They are now painted. Eventually some interior walls etc might be added but they are done for now.

The buildings are typical for the southern part of Sweden: Skåne or Scania. As you might have seen over at Dalauppror's blog they've already had their baptism of fire in a Scanian War skirmish of the late 17th century. They will however work just fine for many other regions and periods as well.

Scanian Timber Framed Buildings

The dwelling house

The barn

Detail

One of many windows - very fiddly to build!

Very basic interiors.

The Medieval Cottage from Perry Miniatures. Great kit!
Three of them were used to make our two buildings
- with added and removed windows, chimney etc.

The Hundred Years' War - a New 28mm Project

Graham Turner's beautiful painting of the Battle of Castillon 1453.
You can see more of his fantastic work here.

As so often a new year inspires new projects.

With our singelbased skirmish medieval wargaming - in a Swedish setting - now being reasonable sized (at least for now!) the time is right for trying something else for awhile.

Not wanting to travel too far in time from that project however the choice fell on the final stages of the Hundred Years' War (i e around 1450), with among other things the battles of Formigny and Castillon.

The period and choice of theatre is due to many reasons. One being the aesthetics of the red cross of the English vs the white cross of the French. Another being the use of the longbow - a weapon not used in significant numbers in many other theaters of conflict (the War of the Roses being an obvious exception). Playing the late Hundred Years' Wars also enables us to use the fantastic plastic sets from the Perry brothers.

Also, this will be our first multi based endeavour. At least initially we plan to use the Hail Caesar rule set but others rules will probably be tried out as well along the way.

Early stages yet but hopefully we will soon be able to show you more.

First batch WIP.

More to come.

Building Timber Framed Houses in 28mm Scale - WIP

The dwelling house.

The barn.

When Perry Miniatures released their Medieval cottages some time ago the plan was to build them as "Skånelängor", a timber framed house typical of southern Sweden to be used in a Scanian War (1675-1679) project. Since then focus shifted to, among other things Napoleonics and the second world war.

A "Skånelänga" of present day Skåne/Scania.

With Micke at Dalauppror and Sören at Black Powder Games recently starting a Scanian War project it was enough inspiration for the Perry boxes to be taken from the shelves.

The Perry Medieval Cottage is a great kit. Using three Perry cottages to build two houses the proportions became more suitable for our projects. The aim is to have them quite generic to work both for the Leipzig campaign of 1813 aswell as the NWE theatre of 1944. And maybe even some Scanian War gaming.

One of the buildings is a dwelling house, with a chimney and a couple of windows added, the other is a barn, with a roof that has seen better days.

Hopefully they will get some paint soon.

After some spray paint, with a Perry 28mm miniature for scale.

Lift off roofs and doors that can open.

AAR: If you go down to the woods today - Napoleonics of 1813 in 28mm

A Song of Drums and Shakos battle report depicting an ambush in the forests of Saxony 1813

Introduction

Quite some time ago we played some more Song of Drums and Shakos (SDS) and now, finaly we hade time to do a write up. SDS is a Napoleonic skirmish game from Ganesha Games by Sergio Laliscia. An introduction to the game can be found in our first AAR, found here.

For this game we didn't use any specific scenario but rather played a standard game with ordinary victory conditions of trying to break the opposing force.

Our game featured a small Swedish patrol marching down a forest road somewhere in Saxony 1813 as a group of French soldiers lies in wait. This time we gave the Swedes a tough nut to crack as the French were skilled veterans of many campaigns (we used the stats of Young Guard for the French). The Swedes had to count on their larger numbers and the use of their cavalry to prevail. 

As usual we played the game with 28mm miniatures on a 120x120cm (48x48”) board using the measurements intended for 40mm miniatures.

The opposing forces

The Swedish Patrol

1 Senior NCO (aka Officer)

6 Line Infantrymen

1 Hussar NCO

2 Hussars 

The Swedish Patrol

The French in Ambush

1 Veteran Officer

1 Veteran NCO

5 Veteran Infantrymen

The French Veterans

The initial set up

The deployment

The game

It started with the Swedish patrol coming marching down the road, spotting French shakos amongs the trees. The Swedish Senior NCO called for his men to move forward as the French took up positions, one group entering a small grove. 

The Swedish patrol advance down the road.

As the Swedes advanced their Senior NCO failed to keep up, apparently to busy urging the others on. The smaller of the two French groups advanced within short range of their muskets firing at the Mörner's hussars galloping towards them. The first shots caused two of the hussar horses to bolt, losing some momentum. However, no serious wounds were inflicted. The third and last Frenchman on that side of the road, Soldat Petit, fired his rifle but his shot ricocheted of a tree and piered his own Officers hat across the road, momentarily distracting the rest of the French.

The French brace for the Swedish charge.

Getting close the Swedes launched their attack. All across the line however they failed to get stuck in properly as they lost their footing, got out of breath or any other excuse for a bad performance. The first to reach the French lines were the Hussar NCO who only just made contact but then didn't have it in him to land a single blow. In return the French veterans followed their drill from countless battles and one Frenchman lunged his bayonet into the side of the Hussar NCO's horse as the other impaled the hapless hussar with his bayonette, killing him. Over at the grove the French officer easily killed the first Swede to reach him as one of his soldiers fired from amongst the trees knocking an advancing Swedish soldier to the ground. 

The Swedish attack fails to make true impact.

The close combat got underway for real as the two remaining hussars got their horses under control and charged. The momentum was already lost however and only one of the Frenchmen were knocked to the ground, getting on his feet again only moments later. In the grove the Officer was attacked again, this time by two Swedes. As an seasoned swordsman he parried the attacks and killed a Swedish soldier in return. 

Mörners' hussars attack the French.

In a swirling melee of cavalry and infantry the hussars got the upper hand as one hussar knocked a Frenchman down and the other trampled him to death beneath the hooves of his horse. In the grove things where not going the Swedes way as they stumbled trying to attack the French Officer, giving the initiative to the French. The French immediately returned the favor however as Soldat Petit again failed to attack properly and only moved up to the hussars, causing his countryman to doubt his true allegiance.

With combat all across the line and more Swedes arriving the Swedes doubled their efforts and managed to strike the French officer to the ground. Before the Swedes could capitalize on the situation the French carabinier attacked killing a Swede giving the officer just enough time to get on his feet. Back on his feet the French officer continued his excellent swordsmanship cutting down yet another (his third!) bayonet wielding Swede. No doubt inspired by his leader yet another French soldier killed his Swedish adversary.

Swedes bite the dust. (Out of focus to save us the gory details, surely...)

With their numbers low the Swedes morale faltered. Two of the Swedish infantry broke away from the French and of of the Hussars surrendered, presenting his sabre to the French.

The Swedish Senior NCO realised all was lost and called for his men to retreat, leaving the field to the French.

"Rädde sig den som kan!" The Swedes flee from the victorious French.

The French had won!

Conclusion

A quite straight forward game but great fun none the less. The better quality and combat skill of the French really paid off. As the initial Swedish attack faultered in an uncordinated manner they failed to get their numbers to bear at the critical moment. Only some bad luck on the French side then kept the French from having a walk in the park victory (as oppostite to a real fight in the woods).

More Tournament Gaming

Last weekend some of us attended a Warhammer tournament, Quest for Atlantis XI in the city of Uppsala, with some seventy participants.

Our guys did very well, with Robert winning yet another major tournament. Congratulations!

Here are a few pictures from the weekends gaming.

Robert's Orc and Goblins taking on Daemons of Chaos in
the final round, winning the game and the tournament.

Remember what they say about cornered animals (or beastmen)?
Rickard's Beastmen went on to win this game with 17-3.

 

Brave Sir Goblin?

Checking line of sight.