If anyone ever needed inspiration to game the Sudan, most especially with the Perry’s range of figures then this is it – Frank & Björn have absolutely set an amazing benchmark for figure painting & terrain – the image here is but a low resolution version of just one of the many images. Make sure you check out their stunning (and ongoing) thread at the Lead Adventure Forum – there are images on every page of the thread and new images periodically added… Continue reading “Some Exceptional Sudan Inspiration”
Category: Round The Bazaars
Mystery Colonial Italian Gun?
Can you identify this mysterious Italian Mountain Gun…? Askari Miniatures produce the illustrated Italian Mountain Gun – and while it is modelled on actual photographs of Italian guns it has not been positively identified exactly what model and calibre the weapon is.
Askari describe it thus: “Italian Mountain gun from the 1890s. Used by the Italian Askari camel and mule-mounted gun companies.“
I am attempting to identify exactly what weapon it is, when it entered service with the Italians (and for how long, i.e. was it still in use in WW1 or even WW2) and whether it may have been used by Nations other than the Italians (if it was for example an exported Krupp or DeBange gun or similar).
Order from the Flag Dude Arrives
My order from The Flag Dude has arrived for my Colonial Troops – I’ve been keen to get this as its the first time I’ve ordered from Rick O’Brien and I was looking forward to seeing first hand what his flags are like – now I can push on and complete my units now and give them their nice new flags. I’ve also taken photos of the Flags on arrival to give people an idea of what they look like!
The following is a random selection of flags I have purchased from Rick O’Brien, the Flag Dude, for my 28mm Colonial Forces. I’ve put these up to give anyone interested a good (but quick) view of some of the flags in a higher resolution than is available on Rick’s site.
Continue reading “Order from the Flag Dude Arrives”London War Room Closed
The London War Room has apparently had to close indefinitely. The business has been run by husband & wife team Vince & Sharron for 15 years, however Vince has apparently walked away from the business at short notice. The business is being dissolved and hopefully it (or at least the masters) will get picked up by someone quickly – it includes good ranges of Wild Animals, Colonial Guns, Ships, and various other items not well covered by many other 28mm Manufacturers (although it’s suggested the range of Houston’s Guns may not be available again regardless). The site linked to above is currently offline but Sharron has stated she may get a temporary one back up to list what remaining stock they have left for sale until the business is sold. Sharron has posted a detailed account of what has happened on the Colonial Wars Yahoo Group for those interested – Hopefully things will work out for both the current owners and it will quickly find a new owner, I have purchased many Colonial Guns & Animals, and some long boats from them and they are on the whole a very nice range of castings…
The Russians Are Coming!
Colonial participation game at CanCon (Canberra, Australia) wins ‘best participation game’ of convention. Depicting the feared Russian invasion of Australia, and generously supported by Askari Miniatures who donated figures to promote the game, the guys involved have done a fantastic job! You can see the photos and read more at the Defence of Melbourne blog.
Wargaming Scales
Figure scales are expressed two ways, either as a simple measurement, e.g. 25mm, defining how high a figure of a normal man or woman stands or as a ratio, e.g. 1/48th, defining how big a model vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or construction is in relation to the real thing. The emphasis here is on the former classification with the latter provided where possible as an approximate comparison.
Continue reading “Wargaming Scales”Brief History Of Wargaming
The following is a brief history of modern wargaming told in quotes from various wargaming books & authors:
“It was in Europe that the early forms of wargaming gradually took on a more sophisticated appearance. During the Seventeenth Century several variations on the basic game of chess were introduced. During the Eighteenth Century a number of games were introduced into France which departed from the idea of pieces and which used series of cards designed to impart basic military knowledge to the players. Also, at about this time, silver model soldiers were being used at the French Court to instruct the future king, Louis XIV, in the art of war” – David Nash (Wargames – 1974).
Continue reading “Brief History Of Wargaming”Wargaming Periods
Periods are the “Eras” or “Level of Technology” present for wargaming. Having a Greek Army of 300 BC facing a Russian Army of 1944 AD is obviously quite a mismatch and both armies need quite different sets of rules to control how they perform. Hence we have “Periods” in which armies all operated in similar ways, or with similar weapons, and can be ‘played’ using a common set of rules.
Continue reading “Wargaming Periods”Victory Conditions in Wargames
All to often we play games with little thought about victory conditions, usually just to shoot ’em up and she’ll be right! However with a little effort and time before each game it can be given much greater depth, and consequently be more challenging and interesting to the participants. I would like to suggest some ideas for how this can be done.
Many wargamers play their games in isolation with little “purpose” behind them, the recent suggestion that a gamer’s tactics would change if their opponent got to ‘hit’ each element they lost with a heavy hammer is all too true, and it is this ‘strategic’ purpose that is lacking (we would all be very cautious if playing with the above rule)! The ideal situation to impose this ‘purpose’ is the campaign, this always puts an all new perspective to things, the opponents in a battle may not have the same objective for instance. Unfortunately 99% of the time we do not have the luxury of participating in campaigns (which is a pity) and so we need some way of creating these constraints artificially, one system I have come across is in one of my many rulebooks; “Washington’s Wars”. These rules were designed for French & Indian war action and the American Revolution, disappointingly the rule mechanics and effects on the table did not match the impressive packaging! The rules did however include one good idea about victory conditions and it is a variation of this that I will present below.
Continue reading “Victory Conditions in Wargames”