The Pewter-Pixel Wars

I am trying to get my wargaming 'sea legs' back!



A new arrival has piqued my interest:






These are 1/1200 ship models from Spithead Miniatures for the Haitian Revolution (Salnave's War) of 1867.  Also pictured above is an ACW 90-day gunboat and USS Benton.



To accompany these wonderful models, I picked up a copy of this:






This slender book is a concise source of information for the vessels and battles at sea during the revolution, including maps and drawings of all the ships present.

Not much is happening here on the hobby table as far as naval projects go, but hopefully that will end soon enough.



I have purchased a few books to help stoke the boilers a bit:








Many directions these tomes lead!

As part of the build-up to my Anglo-Dutch naval project, I purchased a copy of this:








This volume is part of the 'New Vanguard' series from Osprey, number 183.  A slender volume at 48 pages, it is nonetheless a useful introduction to the period.  Design, construction, and operation of the two different navies are covered, and there are many period paintings reproduced within, along with  color plates commissioned for the book.  The most interesting part is a series of tables listing the names, rates, and fates of individual ships from the two sides.

Sure has been a while since posting.  It has, sadly, been quite an eventful time.  For the major items, please go to my other blog and read this.  For the minor stuff, read on.



Simply put, I made a mistake that I do not think that I have ever done before.  While in a scramble to reorganize the place, boxes were shifted around and things thrown to the bin that should have not been.  Namely, the boxes with most of the ship miniatures went out - 1/1800, 1/2400, 1/3000, 1/6000 all gone.  Now, I did not have a large collection, but it was a shock to say the least and with the other issues going on it pained me to no end.



I did find a few ships that were stuffed into a different storage system.  What survived?  My Langton 1/1200 ancients ships, Figurehead 1/2400 Armada, and a few odd selections of Navwar 1/1200 ACW naval.  None of the figures are painted, and with the exception of the Armada collection nowhere near complete or even playable.



But, I think that I have a plan.  An order or two were made, some rules purchased from a well-known naval gamer's stand at Wargame Vault, and another attempt to get games going will be made.  No pics of the ships yet, as I am awaiting the last order to come in from Brookhurst Hobbies.



I found a couple of books also:






They look very interesting and I need to start in on them soon.

After quite some time, I have found myself a copy of this:



This is the fourth (or maybe fifth) book set in the Monster Blood Tattoo setting.  Not easily available in the US, I found one for a reasonable price on Abebooks.

Perhaps this will be a catalyst for this old project!

Just a few more additions to the reading stack:


Osprey's New Vanguard series, # 170.  It is a good overview of the tanks - and just tanks - used in the Spanish Civil War.  It is a slim volume at 48 pages, but it has some good photos and color plates.



And, another one:


Also by Osprey, this is Aircraft of the Aces # 106.  96 pages, with more photos, many more color plates, and more information than their more slim cousins.  The historical information about the aces covered by each volume gives a lot of potential scenario fodder...


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In my previous post, I started to do the planning for yet another project, this time around it is the Thirty Years War.  I have a few books that are about the subject already on my bookshelves:


These two volumes were found at a local bookshop - Merryweather Books - some time ago.  Parker's work on the Spanish aspect of the period has a very good reputation, and Alatriste is Alatriste!




This edition of the popular Osprey MAA series also covers the Spanish aspect.  Seems like a pattern?

And that is where the book buying is, sadly, going to stop for now at least.  The overreaching theme that I am getting in my web searches is that the TYW is a very complicated subject, with very distinct periods within the framework.  More reading of basic materials is needed first before I set off to do some serious work.  At the moment, I am leaning towards either the earliest phase - the campaigns in Bohemia - or the last phase - France and Spain in the Low Countries.


In other news, the tester order has been placed with Khurasan for the first 15mm figures, just a few packs to start off, and should arrive by the end of April.  This is an important phase as well, as I have not painted 15mm figures for a long time, and my ability to get a decent (to my very self-critical eye) paint job on them is really going to help determine the potential for this project.  The choice of miniatures is important as well, as the Khurasan figure line is based largely on the early part of the conflict, while the Testudo figures seem to be later.


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Herein is my review of the recently published book, Painting War #5 - Spanish Civil War by Rubén Torregrosa.








This volume is, depending on the source, 88 or 92 pages in length (curiously, the covers seem to be counted in the pagination), perfect-bound, and A4 in size.  It is printed in full color throughout.  Six of the pages are advertisements.  A few pages are given to basic painting explanations, but this is completely outshone by the specific painting guides.  

There are two, multi-page and fully photographed, step-by-step guides for painting miniatures, one a 1/72 scale militiawoman from Minairons, and the other an Empress Miniatures Carlist requete in 28mm.  Below is part of one of the guides:



I am not including many pics of the specific pages; just enough to illustrate my points hopefully.

And the bulk of the book, 39 pages, is used for painting details for different units of the Spanish Civil War, with one faction being used for each page.  From Andalusian militia to Condor Legion flak crews, the unit is very likely to be here.  Each unit has a listing of the specific Vallejo paints used for the miniature, and each page has a historical factoid and painting tips.

I have only a few issues with this volume.  One, scattered throughout are minor typesetting errors and misspellings.  Most are minor, but one stands out - 'let it fry' instead of 'let it dry.'  That one is a bit humorous!  Also, there are no hints to painting tanks - towed weapons, yes - but not for tanks.  It is my understanding that the author has a separate volume on painting vehicles.  The only issue that might be serious is a repetition of paragraphs.  The two paragraphs at the bottom of page 13 are repeated verbatim at the top of page 14.  It might not be a problem, but it is noticeable.  


Overall, this is an outstanding guide to the painting of miniatures for the Spanish Civil War, and I consider it to be $30 well spent!


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The book buying continues...


Lovely, used but in almost perfect condition hardbacks, at a price that was almost impossible to ignore.  A brief glance through both of these tomes shows a lot of good information.  War Is Beautiful has an odd title, but it seems to be a great source of little details and background for the Spanish Civil War.


And:


Hot off of the presses, this perfect-bound softcover is a magnificent source of painting information, right down to the specific paint used by the artist for the uniforms of dozens of different units, from militia to Foreign Legion. 


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Searching for and acquiring books for a potential gaming project is one of the easiest parts of the gaming process.  I can find it difficult to keep to a budget!  But, one has to start somewhere, and here is what I have found so far with regards to my 20th century project:


These are my most recent acquisitions, and should be a hint as to what direction I am heading.  With the very recent work on a fictional Abyssinian Crisis and the earlier material for the Spanish Civil War, my desire to get back into 20th century gaming has been stirred.  WW2 was the period that I first started organized gaming in, back a long time ago, but had largely been given up until just recently.  Part of this might be because of the TooFatLardies rules, Chain of Command, but part of it is my desire to play with tanks again!  

I have had this book for some time now:


Joining the above books is this one:



This book was found, quite unexpectedly, at one of the local used bookstores, Pegasus.



So, right now the tally is two books and a wealth of gaming-related material for each conflict.

I am leaning towards the SCW for a couple of reasons.  One, there is a considerable amount of gaming materials available for the period, in many scales, including the one that I would use - 1/72 or 20mm (which is a scale, along with 1/285, used by my old group in Spokane).  The vehicles of the SCW period are interesting but not overpowering, and many of them are unique to this conflict.  I also believe that it will be easier to manage 'project creep' while pursuing the SCW, where the Abyssinian Crisis could be a stepping stone towards more WW2 gaming, which I am trying to avoid.

There is much to think about yet, but the process is slowly grinding along!


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New to me at least:



Found these at one of our local bookstores - Pegasus - and walked out with them for less than $10 total.  I have heard that Glen Cook is a good writer, and now (well, eventually!) I have a chance to find out for myself.


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It has arrived!


Above is a pic of the book that I won as part of the huge celebratory giveaway that Jon of Palouse Wargaming Journal used to mark the passing of some major blog mileposts.  The win was a big surprise to me, and I am hugely grateful for the gift - thanks again Jon!

As there are some very big changes going on here, I have yet to pop the tome open except briefly.  Hopefully, once the dust settles somewhat, I will give the book - a surprisingly hefty one - a thorough review as I have been wanting the book for some time.


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It has been a slow week for my hobbies, but I did manage to grab these:


These are the new bases for my Reptus troops, after I had to cut up the bases from some of the miniatures prior to stripping the paint.  I prefer round bases for skirmish types personally, so losing the square bases used previously is just fine.

And the big news of the week:  Over at the Palouse Wargaming Journal, Jon celebrated the crossing of some important milestones for his blog with a magnificent giveaway, and I won a copy of a book that I have desired for a long time, Neil Thomas' Ancient & Medieval Wargaming!  Pics will be posted upon arrival of course...


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While engaging on my usual 'Net rounds, I came across    this post at LeadAdventure     forums and I was intrigued enough to get the book:


It is a thin volume for the price, but it hits several targets for me.  One, it is an odd enough venue, perfect for games.  Second, Homeric fable?  Nice.  Third, it is illustrated by Fred Gwynne, better remembered as Herman Munster, who was a skilled illustrator, a fact that I did not know until I read about him.

Now, there is a small company that is starting a line of miniatures based on the book, Grimm Miniatures, also with a Facebook page.  

No new projects though, right!?!


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To start off, here is a pic of the table's current state:


It is a bit of a mess at the moment.  That will be corrected, maybe even this week-end!


I have been going through the various bits of printed source and gaming material that I possess with regards to the Mesoamerican project.  Some of them are listed amongst my books here.  After some digging, and one new purchase, I have some more:


This is my most recent purchase.  I have yet to dig into it, but the theme is intriguing, as it was the use of allied natives that was the key to the success of the conquistadors in their battles against the Aztecs and other peoples.


And now, for some older material:


One of the handful of issues of Wargames Illustrated that I have kept around, this has the first part of a campaign for conquistadors in the New World.


The big problem is that I do not have a copy of the issue that contains the 2nd part of the series...  Still, it will be very handy as the miniatures finally get painted.


And another:


WI 170 has this article:


More gaming goodness, and I think that at least one of my WI back issues has the old Wargames Foundry catalog pages with pics of all of their Aztec line, with most if not all of them painted.


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As per this note from The Tékumel Foundation, M.A.R. Barker's first novel, The Man of Gold, has been re-released in electronic formats:

 - Kindle, 

 - Nook, 

 - Kobo.


Base retail price is US$5.99.  Although I do not usually buy e-books, this will be a very definite exception!  (I use the free Kindle reader for PC)


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Sometimes, web surfing can result in completely unexpected goodies.  While bouncing through the 'Trending' topics on The Old Reader, I found a link to a very interesting PDF on ancient Egyptian maritime activities:  Foundations of International Thinking on Sea Power



I have only just started to dig through the Egyptian pdf, but there is a section on maritime activities as based on archaeological findings that could be very useful. 



The link above also lists a history of Japanese naval matters that could be of use.



These documents are part of a larger collection:  RAN Publications.  There is a large collection of documents there, with topics ranging from WW1 to the present.  Most of them are concerning the operations of the Royal Australian Navy, including ASW reports and merchant ship movements in WW2.  Go take a look!

Well, now that 2015 is rolling along, how about another one of those posts about what might get accomplished in it???

First off, 2015 has been declared the unofficial 'Year of Tékumel', as it was 40 years ago that the RPG Empire of the Petal Throne, by MAR Barker, was printed by TSR.  In honor of that, I am going to continue to work on my Tékumel miniatures, always with an eye to completing the goal of finishing my Ruins of Thámerü scenario, someday.  I have a fair number of Tsolyáni forces waiting for the production of the bulk of their opposition, the Yán Kór, to resume.  In addition to the Thámerü forces (an element-based force), I would like to get some skirmish forces together for Tékumel as well.

Alongside these troops, the Tékumel naval project waits patiently in the background.  

Not to be forgotten is my Mesoamerican project.  This one is going to be a bit slower of a wick to burn, but there are many miniatures to choose from.  Hopefully the budget will hold up to the task.  Some progress has been made, including this:


This is the 2nd edition of Irregular Wars, a rules set based on small unit forces during the Renaissance, including army lists for European, Mesoamerican, Middle Eastern, and Asian armies.  It has only just arrived, so a more detailed review will be forthcoming.

The medieval project, based around the fine miniatures from Claymore Castings, is being put on hold for the time being.  Just too much on my plate right now.  Besides, my lovely wife is more interested in the Mesoamerican stuff...

Speaking of a plate full, I also received this recently:


The latest book from Neil Thomas.  I will flip through the pages with starry eyes, and dream of one day having yet another project to accompany the many fine scenarios listed in it!  I can almost see starting up a 10mm project for the Seven Year's War...



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Nothing much going on here hobby-wise, especially as work has been a bit crazy.  I did take the time to clear off the table:







Cleared off and re-organized a bit.  I am wanting to start up another 'build' round, where I clean, assemble, and prime miniatures, as I have the Huaxtecs and Islemen patiently waiting.  Nothing is going to happen with those two groups until my recent base order comes in, however!  I was experimenting briefly with some trays I received from Warbases, hoping that my steel washers would fit into them, but the washers are just too large and I have little inclination to modify either the trays or the washers to suit.  So, a small order of bases, and a couple of trays, has been made and they will appear soon.


Now, if that was not enough, this appears:


Over at Grimsby Wargaming, Paul posted a brief review of this book.  I was intrigued, but it was the finding of the above-pictured book at a local used bookstore (a hardback 1st ed for only $6.50) that has set some more gears grinding - another project, yes quite probably!  But, most likely it will take the place of my Scots project - I might be able to morph both of them together, if I am careful, and maybe I am just more comfortable with a fantasy setting than a historical setting where I might be put under a microscope for 'accuracy'.  My lovely wife - the one that found the book at the store - is comfortable with either route which is always a good thing!


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For some time, I have been wanting a copy of the above-pictured novel, and for various reasons, from complacency to downright laziness, I have never succeeded.  Until yesterday, when my copy of Prince of Skulls by MAR Barker arrived.

Now, I have a complete set of the five published novels on the Tékumel genre!


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