All set up with somewhere to play ...

They (whoever 'they' are) reckon that shifting house is one of the most stressful things you can do in life, ranking it along side loss of a spouse of close family member, divorce/separation and redundancy.

Fortunately we've only had one of those this week - shifting house, into our temporary accommodation while we await the rebuild of our 'quake damaged house (demolition is due to start next week). She's a grand old lady, but with age comes a certain dereliction when it comes to dressing warmly. That is, she doesn't and we have to because she's a wee bit cold. However she is situated in the middle of what is left of our central business district, and she does have 4 bedrooms. All of which means that I have an indoor games room which with judicious use of heaters will be a most comfortable place in which to fight a few battles.

This is the games room, with most things in place.

And here ready for action.

The shelving seems to have been ready made for storage of armies and scenery, although this might just remind me a little too often how much 'stuff' I've accumulated...

So here's to what is meant to be 30 weeks of new habitat, and new games venue. The latter (the new habitat etc) is guaranteed, I wish I could say the same for the former, the '30 weeks' part.

Thinking time ... the games we play

With the pack-out gathering momentum and moving day approaching, there are no opportunities for 'gaming. However I am finding some time for thinking (usually at the end of the day when I collapse exhausted in a chair with a glass of wine in hand, and laptop on... well.. the lap, of course).

The first confession is that I 'game far too many periods/genres of 'gaming for my own good. Well, who doesn't., eh? Oh, not that many??

Let's do a stock take. There's ancients in DBA and Armati, with old DBM sized armies sitting unused (and sadly not quite large enough for Armati). There's Napoleonic in 25mm and ACW in 15mm, using Volley and Bayonet. Then an ECW Royalist army that has seen recent action with DBR rules, although it suits Armati as well. Then.. da daaaah ... WW1, WW2 and Moderns played using Spearhead rules. There are WW1 and WW2 armies extant in both 6mm and 20mm, and the Moderns armies are all 6mm.

Enough? Not quite. There are Dwarves in 28mm (built for GW's Warhammer, but used for Mantic's 'Kings of War'), and Imperial Guard, Space Marine and Orks in 28mm for GW's Warhammer 40k (although I might instead use them for Mantic's 'Warpath'). And finally about 7 different armies for HotT, all in 20mm. And on top of all of this there is the High Seas Fleet circa 1916, constructed for Jutland. I should admit that mentioning a rules set and a period doesn't mean there is only one army. The 20mm WW2 Spearhead collection for example encompasses four different armies, and the Moderns covers three. The WW1 SH collection encompasses four nationalities as well.

That's quite a list, and maybe just a tad too much. But I've always agreed that I'm something of  a wargames harlot, a veritable  tart, a sucker for shiny new toys (at this stage cue second glass of wine).

Here's the thing. I've just watched a video battle report of a Warhammer 40K battle, and I really want to play this stuff. The 'GW 'Universe' just appeals to my imagination. However it's not going to happen. Why not? I can't abide the constant profit driven drive for change. New codices, new models, new rules. I am shell shocked. Weary. That's no criticism of the profit motive. Shareholders invest for profit, and good on them. That investment has given us some of the best miniatures in the hobby.

I am simply worn out by change. I enjoy the other rules sets because they are much more stable. However even then I play too many rules sets. As I change from one to another I confuse things between sets. Now how does this rules set treat hill contours? What are the factors again? Is this age, or the result of good friend Andrew's 'aspirational purchase' phenomenon and simple overload?

Either way, I have a problem. I have given away a few bits and pieces as I have cleared out the house/workshop/games room ready for the shift. Maybe I need to rationalise what I play. Which in itself begs the question of why we play. I enjoy the games I play, although more importantly the games I play mean that I meet up with very cool friends, enjoying their company, their wit, and their talent.

But I am just over the constant change.  I don't need the new rules sets, the new models, the latest fads and fancies. Rationalising? Maybe not. Repurposing old collections of figures and models? Always. Enjoying? Yep. I may just be at the point in life where I want to lock myself the existing paradigm. I like it there.

Weird World War 2

Thoughts of a weird world war 2 HotT army (or two) have been running around in my mind for a while.

Source: http://studioblinktwice.deviantart.com/art/World-War-Weird-1-260471986

That's how my Soviet HotT army started.

However the biggest inspiration comes from the WWW2 armies of 'KaptainKobold' Alan Saunders on 'The Stronghold'.

Try these -  seriously good WWW2 armies.

"Passchendaele: The anatomy of a tragedy"

I recently finished reading "Passchendaele: The anatomy of a tragedy" by Andrew MacDonald (HarperCollinsPublishers, 2013, ISBN: 978 1 77554 030 4). In this year of increased interest in the Great War driven by the anniversaries, this is a timely title for those with an interest in the Great War, and New Zealanders more generally.

Having finished the book I can't help thinking that a more appropriate sub title might have been "Being an attack on Lieutenant General Alexander Godley".

MacDonald's basic thesis seems to be that the tragedy that was the II ANZAC Corps attack towards the Passchendaele Ridge on 10 and 12 October 1917 was a consequence of poor leadership by Godley.

His analysis is interesting (and for me) convincing (in the absence of wider reading). MacDonald's argument follows these stages:

1. Godley was a man of few private means for whom success in the army was essential to his financial success.
2. The troops engaged in the attack had developed the platoon, company and battalion tactical expertise to break through the German lines, as evidenced by the success of the earlier attack at Broodseinde on 4 October. He cites ample evidence of the successful use of platoon fire and manouvre tactics, used alongside good artillery support and good logistics in the 4 October operation.
3. Godley pushed ahead with the 10 and 12 October attacks, accelerating the 'operational tempo' of the offensive at the very time that the deterioration in the either meant that the tempo needed to be slowed in order to allow for the appropriate concentrations of artillery and general logistical support.
4. The consequence was that much of the artillery support was either not in the correct position or not able to fire at all, resulting in a much diminished creeping barrage. The pace of advance of the creeping barrage was not adjusted to allow for the slower rate of advance that the infantry were capable of in the poor ground conditions.
5. Currie's consequent success in capturing Passchendaele with the Canadian Corps was the result of Currie insisting on a slowing of the operational tempo to allow preparations to be completed before the attack.

This is a good read whether you accept MacDonald's thesis or not. In the absence of more convincing argument, MacDonald convinced me.

Nice GWSH AAR on Herkybirds Nest

A very nice Great War Spearhead after action report from Richard Bradley.

1915 Russians vs Central Powers

Worth the time to read.

More post earthquake reconstruction

We've set shifting day, and most probably the likely demolition date, and the pace of packing has accelerated. In the process I rediscovered this little beauty, an Airfix Fokker Dr1 Triplane.

In those days, when Errol Hooker had us playing WW1 air wargames, this was my 'mount', my 'stead', my 'arme blanche', my famous Triplane. We used to use some rules written by Gerard Davey if I remember correctly. The model had however suffered some serious damage during the February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes, and has sat on a shelf in pieces ever since.

So I set to and did a repair job. Wings reassembled and attached, undercarriage partly rebuilt, although there's still an unde carriage strut to be replaced.

It was always a wargaming model, and so lacked a lot of detail. It will continue to be a wargames model providing air support for 20mm Great War Spearhead games.

Ah, those were the days, those car aerials mounted on various blocks and other contrivances, sliding up and down as our models swooped, slipped and stalled. My aerial was mounted on a gear cog to which my ever patient Father had braised three steel legs, the flashest of the many variants we used.

Righto, back in its box for now, and on with the packing.

Usurpers to His Majefty'f Crown ...

T'was bright early morning sun that caste itself down upon His Majesty's glorious host, standing firm to defend His Honour against the rebel insurgents of that damnable devil Oliver Cromwell. And t'was a dark day as God Himself deserted His Majesty's glorious forces on that day. Many would know that field as Widowmaker's Lea.

Cromwell's dupe Magnus McNelly sent this despatch to the very devil himself:

"Sir,

By Gods blessing I can inform tell you I am alive. Yesterday hence he shewed us the fury of our enemies, performed upon a field with much resolution and audacity, noyse and terrour, that you could not but have thought they now at last had moved Hell gates. God be thanked for our writ wing did stand against the enemy left. Strengthened in resolve our main bodies stand brave also upon the field, giving fire upon the enemy foote who did protest to our front, until such time as they fled for shelter found not upon the heth but in divers castles some distnce hence, now we possest our selves of all their Cannon, match, Powder and Carriages, being many.

If you should expect the condemnatioms or valour of any particular man your firend or mine, by displaying of that I should seem to take from others, who did so gallantly this day hence. Though perhaps an exception being Collonel Crumwell who did provide greater resolve, though be glorified God in this above all else.

Our Generalls speek now of marching forthwith against places in revolt agaist lawful rule and betwixt this day and some in not distant future shall be well able to take the filed of battlee against the forces that should stande against Gods rulee in this our lande."

The glorious forces of His Majesty stand firm on the right.

Rupert leads his gentlemen onto the field.

More of the Prince's Gentlemen on the right.

Forces of the dupe himself...

The sad ending to the grand sally of the King's finest horse.

The text of a note sent to Magnus McNelly by a loyal servant of the King:

I"n fhis fhe year of our Lorde one fhousand six hundred and forfy four fhou didst in fhine wisdom opan a canne of Royales asse fore whipping, and verily fhou didst whippe fhat asse.

Buf in his wisdom His Royale Majesfy shall wiifh bared or covered buffocks refurn thine favour in mosf usurous form."

Ahem .... a great DBR game, played in 15mm using the DBR rules.. these continue to grab my imagination, and feed the appetite for more substantial figure based games. The photos were just the few I managed to grab on my phone so apologies for the poorer quality. The attention grabbing nature of the game meant that I missed key parts of the action, but essentially as the Royalist commander I was handed my *** on a plate. Keith dismembered almost the entire Royalist force. 

However it was another immensely satisfying game. Planning now for the next one, in which I'll experiment with a more infantry heavy army (that means more pike and shot). The Royalist army in this game fielded enough Pi(F) for two reasonably mobile wings manoeuvring around a solid pike and shot centre command.