Galatians on parade

Galatian starter army for Field Of Glory competition at Ulster Wargames Society this coming Saturday (using Rise Of Rome book lists and compatible enemies). Bit of a diversion for a died in the wool DBMM player but if needs must. Only 8 battlegroups and with all lacking armour I suspect they will struggle greatly against Romans but at least they are Heavy Impact Foot and Superior and Chariots are quite effective in FOG (as dont count armour POAs). We shall see...................................

Conflict Of Heroes: Awakening The Bear

Conflict Of Heroes: Awakening The Bear arrived today. Another high quality product, I got it second hand but it is in mint condition and includes the extra Marsh board.

Storm Of Steel gameplay first impressions

Played first two scenarios (again oops I mean Firefights) tonight with my Dad having read through first two rule sections. Rather impressed that we managed to play (the albeit small and managable) first couple of firefights. The rules are fairly straightforward especially the mechanisms of Actions, Firing, Moving with the counters and QRS containing all relevant info. Several checks in rules that we were doing this correctly but nothing drastically wrong. The straightforward mechanics are somewhat deceiving though as regards playing the game well and effectively. The interaction of Action Points, Command Action Points and Card Play combined with the myriad added interactions of Multiple Activations, Group Actions, Group Opportunity Fire leads to a deeper set of tactical possibilities than first meets the eye. Not that our tactics were in any way stunning as we tried out a few things just to see how they went. One big lesson was that stacking units in a single hex (no limit in game) is potentially very dangerous !! In Firefight 2 my Dad had a stack of 2 PzGrenadier squads which he group activated and moved into a wood hex out of enemy LOS but which were then Spent, however an Ivan Inf squad activated and with a nice 'Move 2 hexes Free' card was able to sneak into the woods behind and adjacent to the Hun stack and then proceed to decimate them with a +3 firepower bonus (for adjacent) and the fact that each unit in a stack is attacked with separate rolls. My Dad had no Action Cards or Cmd Action Points left to thwart this (we were unaware of the presence or effect of the +2 extra hex move card). We both felt this was a very nice game system that was easy to learn but would take a bit of mastering. Of course lots of options and kit still to learn and experience but initial impression very favourable.

Original game 'Awakening The Bear' purchased via Board Game Geek marketplace on foot of this (HMV will kill me if ie when she finds out !!)  

A thing of rare beauty

Conflict Of Heroes: Storm Of Steel arrived today and after opening the weighty package I was very pleasantly surprised by the sheer quality of the game components they are simply beautiful (especially for a WWII game) in particular the boards and counters (if only Squad Leader looked like this !!). The counters in particular have a lovely heft with excellent tactile feel and are about 1" square and nice and thick (bit like myself). Brief read of slim and colourful rule booklet and it seems an elegant and playable system and nice to see some solo play rules included for several scenarios (sorry firefights). I think I am going to enjoy this. So impressed I am for ordering its pre-cursor Awakening The Bear

Couple pics of game on my table.

Firefight booklet and an Action Card

Initial firefight set-up

Close up of a Panzer Grenadier Squad counter

Some Ivan counters

The colourful rule booklet

Field Of Glory

Played a small game (using starter armies on smaller board) of Field Of Glory Ancients last night with old mate Keith at his friend Roberts' abode. Preparation for a small competition on Saturday 25th (I am free for once) at local club. I used Galatians versus Keith's Seleucids and actually managed to win !! maybe I have been playing with wrong rule set !!

Was surprised how much of the rules I recalled although of course greatly helped by having two blokes who play every week using FOG. I did however manage to point out a mistake they were making with stepping forward into contact.

Second game between Keith and Robert was different affair as Seleucids faced off against Parthians with lots of horse archers units. I still dislike how light horse/steppe armies are treated in FOG (an exercise in frustration in many ways) but its a design choice of course.

Overall I found FOG to be enjoyable my only real problems being understanding how to conform in certain circumstances and oddities of some charge/evade interactions.

I still prefer DBMM as a fuller more exciting game but I think I am less adverse to FOG than I was before and good pre-cursor to using FOG Renaissance I hope.

No pictures as I forget camera/phone......d'oh.

Conflict Of Heroes: Storms of Steel! - Kursk 1943

Just ordered this online after being reccomended and reading several rather favourable reviews !! Expensive but looks good. When I will get to play it is another question !!

More painting

Twenty Tibetan Cataphracts (for DBMM as ally of 1 Ally General and 5 KnX) painted and new Basetex type stuff used (obtained from local model shop) a brownish colour as one uses what one has and it will need some 'dolling up' with greens etc but it seems fine and was easy to apply.

Ordered several (!!) Rennaisance packs from Essex to beef up my current stuff for FOGR which will hopefully arrive this week to give me a further painting challenge

Newly painted figures (its been a while..........)

After a long hiatus (close to a year) I have gotten the painting bug again and have over last couple of weeks painted up a few figures. Strictly wargaming 'standard' as my skills are not that great but the wee blokes look great en mass rather than in posing mode.
Hoping to get through a ton of unpainted lead I have accumulated in last two visits to Warfare show (planning another jaunt this November) not to mention the further tonnage hidden away for years (I have some 6mm ACW I bought for 1st edition Johnny Reb some 20 years ago still languishing in a box !!). 15-20 figures at a time of varied types seems to be keeping me interested. Gone I think are the days of painting a whole army in one long batch. As can be seen in photo below I still use Humbrol enamels primarily but do have a few acrylics. Purchased my first Vallejo acrylics and these I really like. I don't, and never have, used any sort of primer/undercoat (burn the heretic) and find the Vallejo are mostly capable of covering bare metal.

Dismounted Knights

Foot knights again

Eight bases of Dailami for my Sassanids (iAxS or rBdF)

Dailami again

Two extra cannon for FOGRen 30 Years War German Catholic

Two extra bases of Dragoons

Four bases of Commanded Shot (4 to a base rather than my normal 3)

Currently in production Tibetan cataphracts

I have way too many projects ongoing !! if only in my head

FogR or God bless Royal Mail

Door bell just rang to reveal postie at door with........................

He nearly got a hug

Time for these blokes to see light of day again...........

Dbmm League game Avar vs Khazar

Played (last ?) league game with Seamus using my dolled up Avars against his Khazars (versione Regular). Essentially open steppe (4 GHs and 1 BF) and two Regular armies would one thinks lead to a game of high manvouvre but basically we simply had at one another. Down to dice rolls in the end (for once the combats ones were fairly even) but at critical time I managed a mere 6 Pips on 3 dice (Seamus was only rolling 2 Cmd dice at this stage !!) and could not shore up a creaky flank. Avars succumbed 8-17 after breaking 2 smallest enemy commands but losing their two biggest commands. Good stuff. Pics not great as I seemed to be suffering from shaky hand syndrome !

Initial deployments

Avar right flank

Slav subjects in rough ground

Khazar Turk ally (initially unreliable)

Avars on parade

Dbmm league game scheduled for tomorrow night with my Avars to get another outing, as I do like them despite being a tad blunted in Dbmm V2, all these figures are some 20+ years old and have seen a lot of action in their day ! (rulesets come and go but they keep on keeping on).
Slight change to OOB with 18 AxI instead of 12 AxO to boost a command by couple of ME.
No idea what army Seamus is fielding (am sure there is somewhere I could check !).
Put some extra flock on bases (not visible in poor iPhone pics) and hopefully tomorrow morning I may get to re-do spears/lances/bows and suchlike in paler/brighter colour to pretty them up a bit.

The huge and mighty 'host'..................

Regular skirmishers

The Slavs subjects with some '7th Edition' axemen pressed back into service

Sub-general and Nobles

DBMM Hsiung Nu vs Han

Dbmm game trying out a LhF version of Hsiung Nu (I like this army list) versus Stephen's Han again. My Army had 38 LhF 12 CvO 3 CvO Generals 12 PsO 6 BgF (divided into 3 virtually identical Cmds of 26/24/24 ME) with Kang-Chu ally of CvO Gen and 12 more LhF. Han had usual mix of Bow Aux Cav and those sodding ArtO with Hunnic ally. Han invaded (in Spring meaning my horses were due to feel hungry) which left very little terrain choice (a nice aspect of Hsiung Nu). I placed a 2FE GH on his right (giving away a readily defensible posistion but thwarting his placement of 2 SF areas somewhat as these ended on my side (one turned out to be a pest) and a further GH on my side along with a BUA to protect my Army Baggage.
Han deployed first on the hill. I sent my Kang-Chu ally on outflank on my left (having suffered from unreliable ally last game I was wary of keeping on table). I then deployed mainly to my right hoping to envelope Han left.
A cunning plan indeed but not so easy to implement with Irr Pip dicing.
My Ally arrived turn 2 facing the enemy ally. This developed into a stand alone battle (some Han LhF joined in) seeing me rather luckily break the Hunnic Cmd but become disordered then broken myself shortly after.
Meanwhile the Han advanced off their hill against my screen central Cmd whilst my envelopment was attempted. As usual the ArtO managed a couple of kills and more importantly forced a couple of columns of LhF to Flee (I had not realised a whole column would flee with front rank element). Annoying as I neeeded to get into posistion and deploy quickly.
My large envelopment never fully materialsed before time was called (and once my LhF became hungry) with my central Cmd close to breaking trying to hold up the Han.
Charging uphill into Han foot and Cavalry was not going to be easy anyhow with LhF/CvO and I was unable to get fully around behind with anything but 1 Lh element.
A very absorbing game this one. Hsiung Nu were interesting to use although the do lack punch but you do get loads of the buggers ! Might try the LhS version next.
Han as pretty as ever and the ArtO truly hateful.
I do think ArtO are a tad too good in Dbmm as they manouvre too easily in Reg set-up (essentially they can hunt you down) and shoot constantly (only losing shot in their own bound after moving) maybe 3 pips to move rather than 2 and 1 full turn without shooting after moving......aah but its all wishful thinking.........................

Pics taken with iPhone again

Han first turn moving from hill (note Huns on left deploying to meet incoming Kang-Chu flank march)

Hsiung Nu central screening command around BUA and awkward SF

The envelopers (too ambitious for Irregulars ?)

Trying to deploy but too slowly..................

Allies slug it out in their own private war

Hsiung Nu screening Cmd under pressure