wargaming

Here's some pics that have been sitting on my pc for ages. I took the last 2 on my phone. A British patrol gets ambushed. Figures by Revell and Ceaser miniatures. An "In-Game" shot, showing my hidden units. Their locations were noted on a secret map and they were only revealed when they opened fire or when a British unit passed close enough by them. It was a good game with the British wiping out 75% of the insurgents but also losing 2 landrovers a few men and the town minaret got destroyed. Some JB models m113acav's. Lightly converted to be used as multi-purpose APCs.

Waterloo 1815 Egyptian Army Infantry with a Hat Anzac officer. A little larger than most 1/72 but nice figures. Strelets Cossack infantry and some Grenadiers. These figures are actually from their Crimean war range, so they're a little too early really but they look the part and are great figures. They'd also be good for any "Great Game" scenarios across central Asia or maybe a Russian invasion of India (Flashman and the charge scenario?).

Waterloo 1815 Dervish infantry, mix nicely with some of the figs from the old ESCI set, now renamed Arab Infantry from Italeri. A Ghazi cavalry rider from Jacklex. Hat Bedouin and Italeri Arab warrior with a French ww1 infantry rifle. Redbox Afghans and ESCI Muslim Warriors. Some more Redbox Afghans.

My Indian Army pics. Made up of very old Esci Indian figures with an Injured strellets British Infantryman painted up as an Indian soldier. The NCO is by Jacklex reproduced by Spencer Smith Miniatures. Strelets Bengal Lancers, come with too few actual lances for my liking but still very good figures full of character. My Naval (or American) artillery unit, armed with an Airfix RHA quickfirer. The figures are converted from an Atlantic Goldrush set.

The German Army of East Africa, as seen gracing western Libatia in our campaigns. The privates are HAT Anzacs and the officer is the esci British standard bearer minus flag.

Finally getting round to taking some pics of my colonial Armies. Heres a sample of some of my British. These are made up of old esci (now reissued by Italeri) Strellets and a Waterloo 1815 Egyptian army officer. This is a commander from the Anglo-Egyptian Army set from Waterloo 1815, painted up after I watched the Four Feathers (2003) starring an excellent Heath Ledger.

Just uploaded some pice from my phone so thought I'd better put them up here. The first is a Colonial heliograph team made fron strelets colonial british infantry and the heliograph is made from a ww2 german morter stand. The other is of the Italian CVT drafted in to help the nationalists in spain.

Republican regular cavalry charge the Falangists Civil Guard search the farmhouse communist militia and Guardia civil man the barracades protecting the entrance to the town half completed Requettes infantry (converted from strelets ww1 russians) lead a Nationalist column Asaltos defend a cottage

the initial line up a close u p these are the first of my colonial marines on the production line so to speak. Not complete yet, this is just  taster. More to follow...

The Nationalists flee leaving the Republic in control of the field and thus a small victory. But what was the cost... Nearly an entire squad of militia dead or injured and those who survived aren't nearly enough to make up a fresh squad. Most of those who died did so without even firing a shot. And on the Nationalist side only 3 Legionnaires, though 1 of those was the squad leader, along with 3/4 of the Nationalist cavalry who fell in the first charge. I'm sure things would have turned out differently had they not taken the full brunt of the Republicans volley in their first turn. Perhaps if they'd charged the Republican Regulars themselves thing might have been very different, tied them up while the Legionnaires took the militia in hand to hand?

The Militia holding the objective take significant casualties and fail their guts test, but not before causing the Nationalists force moral to drop a bit too.  The Asaltos' gun takes aim over the now deserted objective and lets another shell fly into the Legionnaires below.  The shell crashes through the trees and comes to land right in the middle of the squad. This time it's a little more effective killing 2 men one of who is the squad leader. This causes another drop on the force morale and also forces the Legionnaires to take a guts test, which they pass thanks in part to their commander's close proximity... ...only to come under heavy fire from the Rep.Infantry unit which has emerged from cover having seen off the cavalry threat.  The Republicans let off a massed, though in retrospect highly ineffective volley, which takes down another Legionnaire, but that is just enough to cause them to fail their guts test. The Nationalist infantry squad breaks and flees off toward t...

Again the Militia force moved first running round the cover of the hill to take the objective, however in doing so they take heavy fire from the Legionnaires and lose a couple of their number. In response the Asalto gun up on the hill opens fire into the woods landing on target but only wounding 1 Legionnaire.  The shell explodes among their ranks, causing the Legionnaire to take a guts test which they easily pass. The remainder of the Nationalist Cav. retreats at full pelt from the fighting while the Rep.Inf slowly creeps toward the action.

The Republican Militia got to move first setting up the mountain gun on the hill overlooking the objective, while moving the infantry around through the cover of the orchard to close in on the bunker.  This was followed by the Legionnaires taking up position in the cover of the central woods. Meanwhile the Republican Regulars remained in position and went into overwatch in order to protect the flank against attack from the Nationalist cavalry. The Cavalry moved last skirting around the woods and past the RepInf in an attempt to take the Mountain gun being set up on the hillside. They caught the Republicans rifle fire head-on however and all but 1 fell in the volley.

Here I played out a skirmish to try out the rules I'm designing. I used some of my newly painted 1/72 Spanish Civil War figures I got on holiday.  Here's an overview of the battle with the Nationalist Legionaries setting up in the North and the Republicans from the South. The objective is the small bunker in the middle, each turn you hold this the opponent loses 1 force moral point.

Afghan Police man a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kabul