Peeler's Wargaming & Wittering Page

A Pie Post.

2012-01-29T18:25:00.001Z

As you may be aware, a lot of our group's general wargaming hobby enjoyment comes from food - and in particular, from the joy of pies. We went along to The SmoggyCon show last November and put on a DBZulu/Brit game, the pictures & quality write up of which can be seen on Andy's 'Slight Diversion' Blog,

On the way home of course, our journey took us near to the seaside town of Whitby, which had long been rumoured to boast a pie shop of distinction. As we had time to do so, we made a short detour, and were overjoyed to find said pie shop, on the southern part of the town, just over the swing bridge and on the right, next to a useful & spacious car park.

Outside, it looks the very picture of one of those 'happy places' that you come across from time to time, whilst inside, though small, it has bags of local & nostalgic character, helped along by the pleasantness of the staff, who clearly enjoy their work.

And here it is - the steak pie version, with lashings of mashed potatoe, peas, and a goodly ladle of gravy, supported by a decent mug of tea. It was, I have to say, a sheer delight, and if you're ever in the area, make sure you call in. You won't be disappointed. If you like pie, that is.

Regards, Peeler

2012 &DBN Armies ...

2012-01-10T15:43:00.001Z

Well here we are in 2012 then eh! Where on earth did the last year go? So I thought, it's about time I got back onto my Blog, so I log on & find that it's all gone Fubar. Apparently my computer no longer supports the browser. Or the other way round maybe ... so I had to book into Google Chrome? Did that, eventually, and here it is .. I'm not quite sure what it will look like, and I have to say - I don't like change! Though to be fair, the photo upload was very quick. I suppose it's progress then. And maybe I'm just being a grumpy (getting) old technophobe, but I do wish 'they' would just stop changing things when what we had worked perfectly well. Phew, there, rant over. I shall have to persevere.

So, a belated Happy New Year to you all, I hope it's a good one for you. The Peeler family had a quiet stopping in sort of Christmas/New Year this time, following the previous two years Yuletide events of myself & Mrs P losing our respective Fathers, and I'm happy to say that this year passed without anything major happening. I worked Nights in between, and that was fairly quiet too, with only the odd stabbing here & a slashing there, but overall, fairly quiet.

So, on to the wargaming wittering! As with some other gamers, I've decided - nay, decreed - that this year I must & will get my wargaming house in order. I have too many part started nearly finished not quite done or yet to start projects sat in boxes, and so I have, at last, got my butt into gear with my 15mm DBNapoleonics, and finally got them all based up. (All the painted ones that is, there are still several hundred unpainted to sort yet.) They are a mixture of figures, MiniFigs bought from BobofBrompton,Grubby Tanks Figures, and AB, some of which I have even painted myself!

Here's some random photos of them anyway -

a Brigade of French Light cavalry..

and a Brigade of French Allies Heavy cavalry ..

A unit of elite British Riflemen ..

A unit of French Light Infantry..

and a Brigade of close order muskets, these ones are French Allies also.

You'll get the picture then, that for DBN, you don't need many figures, and each base represents an awful lot of troops, about 2500 for foot & 1250 for mounted. So here's the Brits ..

The Prussians ..

The French ..

French Allies ..

More French Allies ..

Spanish ..

Altogether, around 1400 foot, 200 mounted & 20 guns so far. This may not sound like an awful lot, but then 8 foot figures represents a Brigade - so in fact me armies are rather large, and in the case of the Spanish, perhaps even larger than the historical army was - so I may even end up selling some bits. And thus funding some others. Or funding the painting of some of my unpainted piles. Next to do is to paint, basetex & flock the bases up & then .. get them on the table, which I'm sure will impress Mr Testo.

When that's done,I'll need to sideline onto my 25mm SYW so as to be ready for the Ayton bash in May, then I think back to the Naps again. Then onto 15m Marlburians, and to get all my unpainted stuff painted, based & playable with by the end of 2012!!

Well, that's the plan anyway .... I'll let you know how I get on.

Regards,

Peeler

Merry Christmas.

2011-12-24T19:25:00.002Z

Well it's been one of those busy times again lately for me & mine, and I haven't had time for much Blogging at all really, which is a great shame. I have managed to fit in some rather good DBNapoleonic and DBColonial games, as well as a really good weekend game at Chez Alex, and a day at Chez Tim's too, as well as Smoggy & Recon, so it hasn't all been bad, and ... and ... I have also finished decorating the two boys rooms, so after a quick paint the wall job in the spare room, I reckon that the new year will usher in some serious spare time to enable me to paint & base a lot of stuff. And I have lots of it to catch up on.

I wish a Merry Christmas to you all, I hope it's a good one for you, and a Happy New Year too.
Best Wishes,
Peeler

In Remembrance.

2011-11-11T10:15:00.001Z

This photo was recently taken on a wander nearby to Ayton, by David Wright, one of our gaming chums.

When you see a field like this, it does make you stop & think for a moment or two, in remembrance of those who have gone before, and for those who are still serving. God bless them all.

Pickering War Weekend, October 2011

2011-11-02T12:00:00.017Z

It was the annual War Weekend at nearby Pickering a few weeks ago, so here's a few pictures of the event. We've been away to Spain since then, hence the delay!
As usual, the day started well enough, with a rather large breakfast..

Pickering itself was well busy, and you could hardly get a look in, so we turned our attention to the village of "Le Visham", as usual done out as a German occupied area. Sentries were posted to ensure the locals good behaviour.

Germans looked on, as an Englishman abroad took in the sights & sounds of how things may have been.

I wanted to take this toy home .. there was one for sale in a militaria shop in Pickering, at around £1500 ... nice to have, but I don't see how I could have sneaked it past Mrs P. And then there'd be the credit card bill too. So I wimped out.

Peeler Jnr, by the newly Frenchiefied village sign.

This one was a jaw dropper .. we waited in vain for it to be launched, though it was pointed towards the distant moors.

German reenactors were generally chatty & helpful, and there wasn't too much strutting about.

This French patriot wasn't allowed into the occupied area, and had to make do with vocal resistance from the sidelines.

Onto to nearby Goathland, where the Allies were holding out. I have always thought that a .30 cal MG was pretty impressive ..

.. until I compared it with a .50 cal MG,, which was just mahussive. Difficult to jog around whilst shooting that one from the hip Rambo style I reckon!

The LDV were on guard near the train station, with some nice weaponry on display.

Bren gun on a tripod, not something I've seen before.

On the way home, across the moors, there was a road block .. deep undercover resistance fighters perhaps, or SOE reenactors? Whatever they were, the one in the middle was as hard as nails and refused to shift until I got out and gave it the word. It wandered off slowly, giving a look back that said,"Yeah, whatever".

An extra one from a recent boat trip on the Coronia, from Scarborough Harbour. I knew that the boat had been at Dunkirk, as had it's sister boat The Regal Lady, but hadn't realised the original name of it until I saw this plaque.

So there we are, a good day out was had, and we were lucky with the weather. Unlike whilst in Spain!

Regards,

Peeler

A damp week in Scotland.

2011-10-10T12:10:00.008+01:00

Hi up there. Needless to say, but it's been a while .. again. Been busy, computer was very ill & then I couldn't get onto my own Blog. FGS! Well, now I'm on but the posting side seems to have changed - I really must try to keep up. What with extra shifts at work over the summer months, I've missed out on Newcastle & Derby shows sadly. My thanks to those new Followers who've registered despite my lack of posting recently, it's much appreciated.
As is usual in the summer months, my gaming has been a tad slow, (people are busy, on holiday, or working long hours), though a few of us have been able to work on a set of DBx rules for our Kallistra 10mm figures, which are coming on nicely & with a few more playtests & input from our other gaming chums, should be finished soon.
I thought I'd post about our damp week in Scotland - we had a pleasant enough time, staying near Dunbar, just south of Edinburgh, the only downside was that it rained. Pretty much all the time! Though it could have been worse, as there was flooding the week after we left. And it was that week in which those riots were on in London & other places too. Disgraceful behaviour I thought, which deserved a much more harsh response from the police & others, but hey - lets not get into that on here eh!
So, Scotland - a pleasant place to go, friendly people all round, and the food & beer was good & not too expensive either overall, which is worth noting in these difficult economic times. Which, however difficult things are, does not excuse rioting!! There, I've gone there again, I must stop that. Worth noting too that there was no such trouble in Scotland, as far as I know.
Here's a picture of a 25pdr, which for some reason was overlooking the bay at Dunbar. I don't know why it was there, but it was in good condition and my boys wondered if we could take it home on our tow bar. It would look good in our front garden I think.
An older artillery piece in a rare dry time at Edinburgh Castle, a marvelous place to visit. Whilst Mrs Peeler plans where to go next, Peeler Jnr keeps an eye on the nearby cafe ... as always, thinking of his next meal. Or snack. Or in between snacks snack. There are some good Regimental Museums here, which are well worth a look.

Good old General Haig, a much maligned fellow these days, looking very up for it.

There was a pretty good waxworks display of various events, this one caught our attention -

.. as Mrs P's late Father was called Alexander Stewart! It did make us chuckle as he'd probably quite like to wear that get up himself. And he'd probably claim some sort of ancestorship too, knowing him!

I can't quite recall if this next one was in the Castle or the nearby 'Edinburgh Dungeons', which were really good, but Peeler Jnr, being dressed in black, curled up in a dark corner & pretty much nearly killed me off as I turned the corner whereupon he unravelled himself and gave out a scary zombie like screech. It was a good job I wasn't armed, or he'd have been history on a reflex, I can tell you.

As you do, we went for a drive out over the countryside, and came across this - which looks like an entrance to an underground area. I presume it was something to do with drainage or perhaps an underground reservoir, or maybe a basement as in a recent dire Danny Dyer film I've seen.

Whichever it was, it was locked, and as we pondered it, the mist began to roll on in. We made our excuses & left swiftly, before anything bad could happen.

So there it is, not too many photos taken really, due to the poor weather. Did I mention it rained all damned week? I think I did. It's raining as I post this up, hopefully the weather will improve for this coming weekend, as it's the nearby Pickering War Weekend - large hurrahs, it's always a good do & seems to kickstart our autumnal wargaming period.

Regards,

Peeler

Armed Forces & Scarborogh WarTorn Show.

2011-06-27T16:38:00.023+01:00

Well it was Armed Forces Weekend again in sunny Scarborough, this last weekend 25th-26th June, and as you can see, it was a good weekend to have it, indeed the Peeler family suffered from sun burn bordering on sun stroke just from the Saturday afternoon. Here's a view from The Spa, over the seafront toward the castle and harbour, it's a good view even on a damp squib of a day.

The Main Events were on the Saturday afternoon, and after a look round the various stalls & shows, it was parade time, led by a very smart Army band ..

.. followed by more serving soldiers ..

.. followed by retired soldiers. Needless to say, everything else came to a halt at this time, and people flocked to line the roadside and applauded as they passed.

Now I appreciate that this is a mere training aid for the sea cadets, but frankly, I want one. Preferably in my front garden.

Peeler Jnr spotted some of those sandal wearing smelly hippy anti-armed forces types in the near distance, and swiftly took positive action ..

.. actually I'm joking, there weren't any protesters this year, thankfully. They got short shrift the last time they bothered. All in all, it was good weather, a good event, and was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. It also reminded the Armed Forces that we do actually care, and that we do support them.

Onto the WarTorn Show, organised by Scarborough Wargames Club & Richard Jackson of the Loughton Club, both of whom I've known for some years, on and off. I have been a member of both, and originally got into the Loughton Club, in my 'down south' years, by meeting up with Kevin Brazier, which led to a renewed interest in Napoleonics & the rather good GdB rules written by fellow member Dave Brown (yes yes, I know, I'm name dropping ..). They were attending & putting on a very nice looking 28mm game, and also, a fair amount of beer & curry was to be had ... oddly, we met up each evening in The Cask, a pub I haven't frequented since my youth, so it was quite a nostalgic weekend really. I think the curry house was The Eastern Promise, opposite the Market Place, and a fine meal was had. With beer, obviously. Then more beer, back at the Cask again. Myself & Norman managed to fit in a visit to the Forge on the Friday too, just for good measure. I did forewarn them, and the cat was ready for him. Thinking on it, beer seemed to be quite prominent over this weekend.
Now, a couple of years ago, for various reasons, some of us local gamers departed after some years, from the Scarborough club, and have 'done our own thing' since then as the 'Yorkshire Coast Wargamers', and a happy time we've had of it too. We did wonder, in that soft fluffy concerned sort of way, if we should go to this show or not, as in would there be tears & tantrums, faceslapping at the door, harsh stares , giving of the evil eye and so on .. and we decided that we'd be daft not to go, as it's on our doorstep and heck anyway, like we're all grown ups aren't we? (Well, some of the time at least!). I'm happy to say that there was no daftness. Or if there was, then I missed it...
So several of us went along, merely as punters, and I have to say I'm glad that we did - it was a well planned, decent quality show, with a number of decent games on, and enough traders to fill the two halls. There was also a bar - which served a very decent Wolds beer - and we had two good lunchtime nattering sessions with Andy of Old Glory, Brown, Richard, Norman, Kevin, Alex et al, during which I think we almost put the world to rights. I don't know what the door numbers were, it's maybe fair to say that it wasn't exactly heaving (not a bad thing though), but these things can take a while to really take off, and given the right support we're hoping that it becomes an annual event. For a first show, I'd say they did well enough. If you can get to next years show, as a gamer, trader or punter, then I'd suggest you make the effort - it's a right good weekend, though I can't say that we can grantee the same decent weather!
An early port of call for me was to have my 'Complete Victoria Cross' Book signed - in person - by the Author himself, the good Mr Kevin Brazier. I have to say Kev, it was an honour!

Meanwhile, poor Gary showed the effects, to put it politely, of a Southern chap overindulging in far too much Northern Ale. And other alcoholic beverage besides, I reckon. This was several hours after his recovery began, and he still wasn't his usual ambient self. He did, to be fair to him, recover during the Saturday evening curry, during which he drank some milk.

The Loughton game, Basauco, in 28mm. The boards were put together by Richard Jackson, and here we can see Mr Brown affecting to be not at all bothered whilst Derek does his best to blow his columns away. The table was really effective & made to a modelling standard, rather than just the usual boards that we all generally use. The photos don't do it justice.

A general shot of the lower hall. As said, it wasn't really busy, but I think there was enough at a first show to say that it was worthwhile and bodes well for the future. In some areas, the lighting could have been better, but hey, you can't have everything eh.

An interesting Roman Warlord figures game, lots of beastly Britons erupting from the woods on the unsuspecting columns.

One shot of a small part of the spectacular game put on by Mr Rob Ringrose, this was an absolute joy to see.

Scarborough Wargames own game, stacks of 28mm Naps on there.

And last but not least, Kev Braziers Alamo game, a marvelous model, stacks of Mexicans, and individual defenders too. It looked & played well, and had clearly been well researched.

Purchase wise, I only really wanted a few more of those Blue Moon 15mm Marlburians from Old Glory, but, whilst naturally I would hesitate to label Andy 'a temptress', he did in fact push a box of AWI under my nose - so I had to have some of them too. Just enough for a DBx type game you understand .. and I hear that Blue Moon are soon to release Napoleonics too. So many figures, so little time ..

Overall, a right good weekend was had, it was good to meet up with my local chums, me old Loughton bunch, Norman, Andy and others besides. Oh, and Gary & Glynis! And the beer intake was pretty darned good & manly too. Now, I really need to get painting. Marlburians first I think.

Regards,

Peeler

The Ayton WD3 Weekend

2011-05-17T16:19:00.034+01:00

Well, it was a good two weeks ago now, the last weekend in April, and this is me finally getting around to posting about it. Starting off late last year with an off the cuff comment, then a solid suggestion, which swiftly led into a full blown rather well planned plan on the WD3 Forum, around twenty gamers, both local & from far away, met up at our own local Ayton Hall for a weekend of gaming, socialising and partaking of food & beer. The weather was unseasonably warm and dry, and the chaps were in good heart I'd say.
The 'main game' was an 18thCentury fictional, led & well umpired by the good Mr Hyde of BattleGames fame. He supplied the rules and his own splendid collection of Spencer Smith figures, and around a dozen players also added their own smaller collections, painted for the event, to the fray. I have to say, it was a joy to see those historic S/Smiths in the flesh, and also to see some newly painted figures - Ian from Essex, if you're reading, that WH Btn was just wonderful.
As well as the 18thC game, we had Bob with the VBCW game, Norman's Viking game, and Tim's Toy Soldier game, which all added to the general pleasant gamey atmosphere of the weekend. We met up around 5pm on the Friday, and the tables were swiftly set up and terrain laid out ready for an easy start the next day...

The Hall has been recently refurbished, and naturally HM still has pride of place on the main wall.

Norman, Tim & Richard decide which game to try first..

... whilst the VBCW game gets going at a cracking pace.

Not all of those attending had met before, and it was good to see how quickly we all gelled into an easy-going group, which made the setting up quick & easy, and we then retired to the Dennison for some rather large meals, thence to The Forge for copious amounts of beer and a right good natter.
The 18thC games started off as three separate tables on the Saturday, following on from the campaign run by Henry. All three games would then lead into one large game on the Sunday. Here we have Lord Peeler's forces dutifully marching out to take on Tim Hall's advance guard.

Which, as they quickly foundd out, was mostly mounted and fairly dangerous too. A long & drawn out cavalry melee ensued, during which Tim's superior cavalry did rather well.

After dispersing Peeler's mounted forces, Tim's cavalry took on the Light infantry, and gave them what can only be described as a good slapping.

After clearing them out of the way, the mounted horde was only stopped by some well aimed volleys from the regular line, waved on by Lord Peeler himself. It was with a sigh of relief that this initial encounter came to an end, with the ominous warning from Mr Hall that, "You do realise that was ONLY my advanced guard don't you". Hmm, it was worrying.

The three 8x6 tables were reorganised and pushed together to form one 24x6, and the terrain & figures set up so as to be ready for the next days main battle. We then retired to the Dennison for some rather large meals, thence to The Forge for copious amounts of beer. No doubt an awful lot of waffle was talked, but frankly, I can't remember much, except that we all had a very nice time and lost the power of speech in the early hours of Sunday.
The setup on the Sunday, with all players present if not feeling quite correct.

My own forces were arrayed opposite Tim's again, and I realised how much he had. Also, they were from John Ray's rather fine collection, and the standard of painting simply dazzled my own troops. Yes, that is my excuse for what happened, and I'm sticking to it.

My line advanced forward to exchange musketry with their opponents, which soon led to high losses on my side.

Both dazzled and outflanked .. what chance did they have, eh!

To my immediate right, a large skirmish firefight went on inconclusively for most of the game.

Several players had a go at Tim's & Norman's games, and had jolly time of it.

A general view of the table. My own forces are arrayed in front of the central town.

Whilst to my left, my allies were busy getting a sound thrashing themselves.

Back to mine, and whilst the Foot slogged it out, a Cuirassier charge made utter mincemeat out of one of my Btns, and was so successful that it carried on into another, breaking that one too, as can be seen. Things were not going well!

When most of my forces had finished dying, there was only one thing for it - to send in The Nuns of the Ditch, an elite unit of tooled up Nuns with attitude & faith, armed with fearsome close quarter weapons. It made no difference as they too got blown away, and even had the indignity of losing their cassocks, as well as some other garments, which we will not talk about on here.

Toward the end of the day, with a clear winner, Mr Hall was good enough to offer terms, and our side was withdrawn back into the town, there to recover and mull on their rather harsh defeat. The Nuns had to be fed & watered with mead and steak & mead pie, such was their upset at being so easily defeated. Lord Peeler was left alone, in a darkened room, there to contemplate his future.

The games & tables etc were cleared away with great speed, and after a general witter, most players left for home, happy with having had a most pleasant weekend of gaming and meeting up with fellow posters from the WD3 Forum. Here's a picture of most, a happy looking bunch if you ask me..

And just when I thought, well that's that then, and was beginning to get that usual 'coming down' feeling after such a good weekend, those of us that were left, about a half dozen, went .. that's right, to the Dennison for some rather large meals, and thence to The Forge for copious amounts of beer. I think we'd all weigh a bit more by the Monday, certainly my work clothes seemed unnaturally tight by the time I got back... Words fail me to describe what a good weekend we had of it. It was good to meet up & game again with Tim Hall & Norman, meet up with Henry again, and to just be part of such an august gathering of gentlemen gamers. As Tim said, "Twenty odd gamers meeting up, some for the first time, and not a single figure dropped or terrain piece broken, and not a single harsh word." It was indeed, as Henry said, all done in the true "spirit of wargaming".

Regards,

Peeler.

PS - and plans are already afoot for another bash next year!

PPS! - And a LARGE thankyou to Mrs Peeler & Mrs Wright for the large amount of sandwiches & cakes throughout the long days. We'd have passed out through hunger without you.

St George's Day.

2011-04-23T13:57:00.004+01:00

God Bless Elizabeth, England & St George!!

It's St Georges Day, and at Peeler Mansions we have a new & well proper looking flag pole up & running. After a fair bit of drilling, brick dust tasting and scuffing of knuckles, we were sorted and happily flying a large 5x3 foot St George Cross again. This particular pole is made for easy change of flags, so we're also prepared with a new Union flag for the wedding this coming week.

The same weekend also has our WD3 game at Ayton Village hall, and here's a preview of the not quite finished Lord Peelers forces..

I'm hoping that they perform quite well on the day, as this will be their very first outing. The campaign moves, and preview of the coming 18thC game can be found on the good & very well organised Mr Henry Hydes Blog, here .. http://battlegames.wordpress.com/ and also on the WD3 Forum itself on various posts .. http://wdlovesme.19.forumer.com/index.php. There's also other games on, including Norman's Viking, Tim's Toy Soldier & Bob's VBCW, to name but three. I think it's going to be a cracking weekend ...!

Regards,

A General Witter.

2011-04-08T15:42:00.005+01:00

Well doesn't time fly by. November since my last post here. Without wishing to dwell or delve too deeply, I've had a death in the family, (my Father, New Years eve), and it has taken some time to deal with that and the resulting formalities that need to be done. It takes a while to recover, and oddly, I have no idea where February went. Into a deep black depressive hole I think, from which I am recently emerging. It's odd how it can affect you, other things, most things maybe, no matter what they are, take a far away back seat, and simply get forgotten. Then you emerge again, remember where you were, and slowly fall back into it. Family life, work, friends, pub, gaming and so on. You realise that, pretty much, other parts of your life have simply continued along, it's just that you've been missing for a while. So, gaming wise - I'm very grateful to my local chums - Alex, Rich, Tim & others - for putting on various games at mine and theirs, without asking for any effort from myself, it has made a difference. And, I will put more effort in myself in the near future! I'm currently on with basing up a stack of 15mm Naps for DBN, and more immediately, finishing the basing of some 25mm Tricorne era figures for a rather splendid bash at the end of April, in our very own Ayton Village Hall. This has come about following an idea & discussion on the WD3 Site, and has been effectively 'made to happen' by the efforts of Mr Henry Hyde of BattleGames fame & Mr Tim Hall, a long standing gamer & friend. Apart from the main 18thC game, which promises to be rather large, we also have around another six smaller games on, varying from Viking skirmish through to WW2, VBCW and others. I think there will be around 20 gamers meeting up, from various parts of the UK & oversea territories. With two local pubs offering good food & ample beverage (and a mini beer festival), and most of the players taking local accommodation, it has all the hallmarks of a really cracking & enjoyable weekend. I just hope our hearts & livers survive. I will post up some links, and photos, in my next - soonish - post. Regards to all,

GdB Leipzig Game, London.

2010-11-30T11:10:00.001Z

On the weekend of November the 5th, the good people of the GdB Forum put on a rather large & hugely enjoyed Leipzig game, held in the Officer's Mess, Wellington Barracks, London. Myself & Hairy Dave had booked up early, and took the train down to the Metropolis on the Thursday, thence to take in the sights, visit both the Imperial War & the National Army Museums, and also to visit as many central London pubs as we could manage. We did rather well I think, and I would so like to take you on a verbal walk through the many pubs we attended in, but frankly, my memory is rather hazy. So, that must mean that we had a good time, drank lots, and as neither of us recall , didn't get arrested or do anything bad. I do recall that we met some really pleasant people, and had a good talk with some members of the Armed Forces too.
Oh, and if that rather unpleasant chap who was abusing that young lady in Trafalgar Square is reading (which I very much doubt!), then just think on - if you behave in such a manner, then you can't complain when passers by intervene and make you stop.
So, we stayed at the St Ermins, Caxton Street, which is a wonderful hotel near to St James' and just round the corner from the Barracks. Luckily, it also has a bar which serves Guinness & Boddingtons, stays open til late, and has a pleasant and chatty group of 'locals' who drink there too.

And it's only 25 yards from here ..

And about 150 yards from here ..

Naturally, we wandered by both places and paid our due respects. Here's The Albert Pub, on Victoria Road, a great little place squashed in between two modern monstrosities. Good beer and food, good company too. This was our first pint of the day on Thursday lunchtime..

.. and we then trawled our way across to and up & down and around the Whitehall area, visiting every pub at least once. We went to the one opposite Big Ben three times I think, as I remember being in it in daylight, presumably at 5pm ish, and also at last orders too ..

Being able to have a beer & fag outside whilst also hearing Big Ben chime away was, being from Yorkshire, rather great. Other drinkers, obviously seeing it every day, plainly thought we were just a pair of daft yokels who'd wandered in off some desolate Northern Moor. Naturally, we ended the day in the hotel bar, chatting with people who we saw this time last year, which was nice.
After doing the museums & sights on the Friday, we met up with Brown, Gary, RJ and others, and got ourselves talked into having some strange meal called 'Tappas'. It took a while for the 'share the bowls' theory to sink in, but when it did, it was ok really. This was followed by a pub visit, where oddly it ran out of beer. The Lithuanian lager wasn't too bad though, and again we repaired to the hotel bar till the early hours.
So to the game, on Saturday morning, by which time myself & Dave were feeling a tad tired if not quite emotional. We were cheered by the sight of the large table of around 30ft by 6ft deep, stacked with around 6,500 AB figures, all well painted & supplied by members & chums of The Loughton Club. They don't do things by half, and it was a great layout. Here's the setting up..

We played on the Allied side, and for our own specific part in the game, we were to assault & take this hill & area, hold it, draw off some French Reserves, and not take too many casualties whilst doing it. This all proved rather difficult, but was good to play. Here's my attempt at a swift cavalry charge, supported by infantry, to clear the hill top.

I realised, rather too late, that I was facing elements of the Imperial Guard. And they weren't in a mood to let us off lightly.

My cavalry attack faltered in the face of some rather furious canister fire.
Though they did their best, and hung around long enough to reform and try again, though without any more success.

At one point in the morning, a despicable event occured .. someone had left a cup & saucer atop a Gents GdB edition. We were preparing to lynch the culprit, until it transpired that both cup & book belonged to the same player.

After three courageous attempts at closing with the massed guns, my original cavalry Brigade finally gave up, and decided to Retreat rather than get wiped out. Can't say I blame them really.

So I had no choice but to continue with the infantry attack, supported by my one remaining cavalry Regiment. Those French guns were still blazing away happily.

Saturday evening beckoned, with a good feed at The Albert, and then, that's right, loadsa beer followed by more beer at the hotel bar.

Sunday morning, and things were looking up as to my left on the hill, Gary got some units into the French lines.

The French artillery began to wobble - I think they'd actually run out ammunition, they'd fired that much - and one of them routed away.

A general exchange of musketry began, with casualties on each side. As seen, the French had rather a lot of reserves here, but at least we were keeping them occupied!

My remaining cavalry unit did a marvelous charge & breakthrough, making three units retreat & rout, though without causing a single casualty. It did buy us some time & space however.

The high point of our attack, over the hill and very nearly far away..

But then, Mr Jackson swept into our rear with a Guard Light Regt, riding down three - yes, three - batteries, one after the other. Whilst he was evidently happy with this, we affected not to be bothered too much. Though we were actually very bothered, and there was much gnashing of teeth.

On the hill, things went a bit to & fro, as we were gradually worn down.

Mr RJ again, gaily charging about, taking out guns as if he was a collector of them. I have to say, I threw some pretty awful dice around this time, even worse than during the rest of the game, and it was never good really.

At the same time, we got well and truly bounced off the hill and sent packing for a while.

Though we did reform a semblance of a defence line, which held on for a bit, and for my saving grace, my last Btn's last volley of the day resulted in Faltering two attack columns. Honour was thus duly saved before we left the table!

Following such a good volley, I then attempted a Charge, to top things off and to go out in style. It didn't work, and I ended up in Retreat. Hey ho, I then had to leave to catch the train.

It was decided that overall the game was a draw, and there is a write up & photos of the entire game over on the GdB forum, here..

http://generaldebrigade.greatboard.com/viewtopic.php?t=4646

Whilst on the balcony, having a fag, we saw part of The Changing of the Guard. Smart chaps all, and brought home what our hobby represents.

Overall, a right good weekend was had, though it has taken a while for my liver to recover, and Hairy Dave has not been seen out in daylight since. It was good to meet up with old gaming chums, and my thanks to Dave Brown & the GdB group for having us take part in an absolutely wonderful game.

Regards,

A Room & a Change of Scale.

2010-11-01T12:55:00.008Z

Well, once again it's been a while, made so because of working shifts, changing shifts, doing extra shifts, home life and a rather good week in Sunny Majorca! I think that should be our last foreign holiday for a couple of years as the old bank account is starting to complain. And as the Euro seems a tad strong at the moment, it's home country holidays for the foreseeable I reckon, and perhaps rightly so too, considering the country's current financial problems.
So, I've been getting my spare room sorted out to be .. A Wargaming Room. At long last, as was the original plan when we bought this house ten years ago, after being used as the boys playroom and then the Father in Laws room, I'm finally getting on with it. The room has been cleared, the walls are freshly repainted and the wood flooring is down. A new table has been delivered c/o Ikea, and I just need to decide on the table top board size to buy from the local MKM. That's proving a bit difficult for me to decide on, but will probably be an 8ftx4ft playing surface, to allow a comfortable amount of room around it for the gamers, the room being a good 15ftx10ft size. I may of course buy more than just the one board, to allow various widths & depths for different games. And of course, we'll need space for pie plates, ashtrays and suchlike. Shelves are now going up, books are being gathered up and placed on said shelves, and my gaming stuff has been piled together, from storage in the spare bedroom upstairs, under the bed, the understairs cupboard, the farthest recesses of the garage, and oddly I found yet more in a kitchen drawer.
Probably like yourselves, I didn't realise I had quite so much of it. Some of it I don't even recall buying. Some of it, I wondered just why on earth I had it. So I've had a bit of a clear out, sold a few bits and so on, but the main change is that I've disposed of my 10mm Napoleonics. I looked at what I had painted up, and what I still had unpainted, and thought, "I just don't want to paint that scale anymore". It's an odd feeling, but once you've had it, and it's persisted for a while, then you know it's time to move on to something else. And, I realised, I'd hardly painted any of them for the last two years.
So, wanting to keep it all easy and stress free, I contacted that pleasant Mr Hinds by email, we agreed a price and proportions for swaps and so on, and a few weeks ago I trotted off to Derby to see him. What a treasure trove of figures he has in his house! I was rather taken aback at just how much there was. But, over a cup of tea and a natter, we had a pleasant exchange of figures and cash, all done without fuss and with fairness on both sides. I know these things can be difficult, maybe it depends on who you deal with, but I can certainly recommend Mr H for openness, honesty, and reasonableness. I'd certainly trade with him again. So I came away happy, with a large quantity of painted 15mm Napoleonic Prussians, Spanish, a few French, along with a fair number of painted SYW figures, for use in my newly remembered Village Wars project.
The next weekend it was Derby Show, and along I went with cash in hand. I was delighted to see Mr Grubby Tanks, he of the stacked green boxes full of painted 15mm Napoleonics! The figures are his own production, have a certain style & character that I like, and were a mere 80p each. Painted. Well, I thought, I can't be turning that down really, so I duly bought 8x36 figure Btns, of French Allies, Saxons, Westphalians and the like. Being mostly white uniforms, that will save me a lot of painting pain, as I just don't like painting white. I'll definitely be seeing him again, and buying similar. Whilst there, I had a nice chat with Andy of Old Glory, and could not resist his new 15mm Marlburians, so had to buy just a few, to do a DBMarlburian type game. Nice figures, quite large, easy to paint, and, the same Blue Moon range is rumored to be bringing out Napoleonics in the same style next year. Nice one. This also led to a couple of books on the period being obtained from Caliver books, which seem to have all the info I'll need to get going.
So, with bases purchased from ERM, I've started the task of rebasing all these Napoleonic figures. Now, I want to do GdB, but also in our local group, we do DBN, so there's a bit of a problem as the basing is different. I don't want to be having separate armies for each set of rules, that would just be plain silly. So I came up with the easy and rather obvious solution, which is to base them on 40mm frontage bases to fit in with the DBN, and use 4 bases to a normal GdB Btn, 2 bases for a GdB Squadron, and so on. Sorted. Or it will be, when I've got them all done.
Talking of GdB, I recently ordered & received The Gent's Edition of the updated rules.
To say they are rather nice, just does not do this set justice. Apart from the very playable updated rules, there are pictures galore in this book, mainly of 15mm. That may have been a final deciding factor in my change of scale I think. I really can't praise it enough, it does, to me, set a new and high standard for a set of rules, hardback, neatly laid out & explained, wonderfully presented and with enough eye candy to make your retina's ache. If you haven't yet got one, be quick and speak to Caliver Books to obtain your copy, before they sell out.
So then, gaming wise, our group is getting it together again after the usual summer break, and we were recently treated to a very tightly played Waterloo DBN game put on by Alex at his hotel, along with some rather fine culinary delights. The game went to the wire, and was thoroughly enjoyed. Also, Richard put on a rather fun & quick moving Zombie board game, along with a delightful home made steak pie lunch by Mrs Richard Snr. Frankly, if Mrs R ever opens a pie shop, I'll be in there daily.
A swift welcome to Fran & Angry Lurker, latest Followers, thanks for joining, appreciated, and I hope you both enjoy the Blog.
In the near future, our group has games on at the SmoggyCon & Recon Shows, which are both really good show days out to be looked forward to, and worth attending if you can. Also, a couple of us are lucky enough to be at the large GdB game, Wellington Barracks, this coming weekend. Organised by the good Mr Brown & Co, having been to previous games, I know that we have a quality game & weekend coming up, along with perhaps more than a few beers with some old chums. I'll be reading those GdB rules on the train as we travel down on the Thursday, to take in some sights & museums, and to sample a pot or three of London Pride before the game starts....
Regards,
Peeler

Peeler Family Holidays.

2010-09-18T14:30:00.001+01:00

The Peeler Family enjoyed a couple of weeks away this summer, firstly in not so sunny Scotland, near to Dunoon on the Clyde. Twas a generally rainy place, but the pleasantness of the people there more than made up for that.
The view as we crossed by ferry, which was pretty good fun really. There was an awful lot of low cloud around at the time.

We cycled .. yes, me too .. around Holy Loch, for around 14 miles. Although enjoyable, it also hurt, and I decided to take the car next time.

I can't remember the name of this Church, but we made a point of climbing the slight hill to have a look at it.

I think this was Largs, wonderful Memorial, and a really nice place, with a great ice cream shop too.

This ship was on the Clyde, Mrs Peeler reckoned it was French.

The Peeler Family at War .. laser guns in the woods sort of game, right good fun with around twenty people involved. We came out tops, the organiser was impressed with our game plans and flanking movements, but was less impressed with myself for having a fag whilst hiding in a bush during the Evasion game. They still didn't find me though. The way the games went to close quarters, I was just relieved that Mini-Peeler didn't have a bayonet attachment.

The week in London had better weather, and having gone there most years recently, I have to say it somehow just seemed a happier more contented city this time. People were more at ease and less rushed. We did the usual sites, Horseguards & St James etc. The Household museum was a useful place to see, and the Household Division "Mission Statement" was a joy to read .."To protect the Sovereign from all enemies foreign and domestic" .. none of that modern pc rubbish there!

This Monument always gets to me, I don't know why.

And this lot get to me too, I do know why, but I'd best not say so here. I'm all for democracy and free speech and so on, but right opposite Parliament for goodness sake .. Clear off you scruffy looking lot! Get a job! And so on..

I did notice that there were a lot more Union flags around, perhaps due to the new Coalition Government we have now. It certainly made the place look better, and I for one applaud it. I can't even estimate the size of the flag flying over Parliament, except to say that It Was Big, and was probably a hazard to low flying helicopters and suchlike.

I won't bore you with all the other photos, suffice to say that we had a jolly nice time each week, which was especially good as with Junior being 17 now, it could be the last of such holidays that he comes with us on, as he hopes to join the Navy next year.
So, we're all home again, had a few weeks back at work, and these two weeks are already becoming distant memories. Still, I am on with sorting my gaming room out, so normal gaming type posts should resume shortly.
A welcome to Sean, latest Follower, thanks for joining, hope you enjoy the Blog.
Regards,

A General Witter.

2010-09-03T17:05:00.005+01:00

3rd September. Mr Chamberlain said, on the radio, ""I am speaking to you from the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street. This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note stating that, unless we heard from them by eleven o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received and that consequently this country is at war with Germany. Now may God bless you all. May He defend the right. It is the evil things that we shall be fighting against, brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression and persecution and against them I am certain that the right will prevail".
Thank goodness that right did indeed prevail, God Bless those who did their part.

Well the summer holidays are nearly over, and the weather seems to be improving! Odd how often that happens. The family Peeler has had a pleasant week away in Scotland, and another in London, and a good time was had by all. Even Junior Peeler was fairly happy, despite being a tennager. Scotland was laid back, and London seemed a lot happier than in previous years.
As the summer ends, our gaming will soon resume, and hopefully some of my chums will have some new stuff painted up & ready to use, as I have just got nothing done gaming wise these past couple of months. I'll have to be content with dusting off some my old stuff for now...
Amongst the various rulesets we use is of course General De Brigade, written by that erstwhile gamer and all round good chap Mr D. Brown Esq. Well, here's a little plug, in case you haven't heard, there are soon two Hardback editions coming out, available c/o Caliver Books - http://www.caliverbooks.com/Partizan%20Press/partizan_GDB.shtml
H19792 GENERAL DE BRIGADE NAPOLEONIC RULES - DELUXE HARDBACK EDITION, A seriously upgunned and updated edition, 184 page Full colour Hardback, £27.50,
... and ...
H19793 GENERAL DE BRIGADE DELUXE - GENTLEMAN'S EDITION - Gold embossed Very limited edition Hardback for discerning wargamers & gentlemen of quality £39.50.
Well, when I heard the news, I just had to order one, and after not too much thought I went for the Gents Edition. I appreciate that owning one doesn't automatically make me "a gentleman of quality", but at least I can pretend to be one!
Regards,

Sheffield Toy Soldier Show

2010-08-11T21:59:00.000+01:00

We trotted along to The Sheffield Toy Soldier Show, way back on 18th July - I did actually start this post on the 19th, so thought I'd better get on and finish it, but things like work, holidays etc just got in the way, as they do. Four of us from the YCW went along, myself, Rich, Tim & Jordan, and after meeting up at Tim Norton's gaffe, we loaded the car up with his Toy Soldier game, an apt display for this Show we reckoned. After a shortish drive, we had a stop off at The Highwayman Cafe for a Fat Boys Breakfast, and after only the one minor error by the SatNav, we were there and setting up.
Tim had painted up some British Paras & Waffen SS for this one, Airfix 1/32 scale, and as always a nice paint job was done.

The show itself was like a, well, like a big toy soldier shop really. Wonderful stalls to browse around, and lots of toys that I'm sure we all had when we were children. Made me feel quite nostalgic to be fair, looking at stuff thinking, "I had that, and that, and two of them, and always wanted that but never had one, and so on." It was indeed a happy place!
Some close ups of the game, Paras against also newly painted Waffen SS types.
I always liked this chap with the Sten. Has the look of Richard Todd in The Longest day I think.
Some hard-bitten Germans, snipers & SMG's to the fore.

Brits gather for a chat whilst lobbing a few grenades at the opposition.

And get told to "Get on in there" by that chap with the Sten.
These model tanks caught my eye, at 1/32 scale, and the price.. not half bad really. I was sorely tempted for a 1/32 WW1 bash...

Several people joined in the game (we were the only one) throughout the day, and we sold a few rulesets too. Tim displayed a high level of tolerance and understanding with some very enthusiastic younger gamers, whilst the rest of us did a runner. It's always good to see the younger generation getting into the hobby, though Tim did age a few years by late afternoon.
All of a sudden it was feeding time again, and I must admit I did struggle to do my pie justice. Perhaps it was having had too much breakfast, or maybe it was the Tetleys & pie I'd had the night before, but I'm grateful to Richie for his help with it. It was good quality though.

Tim had a sandwhich, the sensible fellow, but was horrified to see that there was a salad type foodstuff on the plate as well. He managed to avoid it, in a manly sort of way, without tears, fuss or mess.

A Sherman made it's way to the table, at a mere £12 cost..

.. and a museum piece too, just for fun.

In another game, we did have a few over the day, the now Mechanized Germans took on some Russians.

Those pesky cows were hanging around again, getting in the way, making methane toward the invaders in a display of Soviet bovine patriotism.
The Soviet defenders gathered, and banged away with an artillery piece. The rules really do play well, and are a lot of fun to use.

Despite the best supporting efforts of the gassy bovines, the Germans cracked on and pushed the Russians back. In fact, it would be fair to say that the Reds had a bit of a slapping.

Onto the question of purchases made on the day .. well, there was so much to choose from, there really was. It was quite different to a wargames show, and here pretty much everything I saw just begged to be bought. I restrained myself to the following-

I saw a selction of these photos, all of a decent size, on a stall, and I thought "Now that's just the dogs bo....", but also thought, well they'll be a fair bit though .. but I asked, and was told "£5 each Guvnor." So I asked again, and was told "£5, deaf lugs." So I duly bought one, it's a print copy of the original signed by the gent himself. For me, this must be My Buy of the Year thus far. Clearly, the photo was taken before all those bloody spears started to fly about.

A couple of books, a mere £1 each..

.. and then I succumbed to the Toy Soldier style. It must be 35 years since I bought figures this size, but I just couldn't help it. Around £10 a box I think, 20 figures, or gun & crew, for a Napoleonic skirmish game. The figures, although having a pleasant toy soldier style, are fairly well detailed, and should paint up well.

And then, I was taken in by Steve Weston's South of the Border range .. Mexicans, Peasants and The Magnificent Seven. I had to buy some, well, a fair lot really, for a Western Game. Here's a few of the Mexican Bandits, a shady looking bunch, not to be trusted at all.

A grand day was had, and now all I need to do is buy a copy of Donald Featherstone's Skirmsh Book, and er, oh yes, paint all those figures too. I think I'll keep the paint job fairly simple, to speed the process up, that should help. And then make a few buildings too I suppose. And some terrain. Soon! A quick spin back toward home, broken by tea, buns and a witter at Tim's, which ended the trip very nicely. If you can, I'd recommend that you have a look at any similar show, it is well worth it, if even just for the associated Happiness Factor.

A belated Hello & Welcome to Eaman, Yorkie, Ken, Ben & Goose, you have a good selection of Blogs between you, thanks for joining, it is appreciated.

Regards all,

Table making & a Heroclix Game.

2010-07-06T16:37:00.000+01:00

It's been a busy time for most of our gang of late, what with a few getting new jobs or moving house, in some cases both, and extra shifts for some football tournament or other, but we've still fitted a bit of gaming time in, and had a really pleasant get together recently down at the local Forge with steak, pies and beer. I think we should be doing that again fairly soonish, it's not often most of us can get somewhere at the same time.
Anyway, we made a table top a short while ago, for Dave's son's railway setup, which was good fun to do. Naturally, we used the most modern of machinery, a large cutting thing, glue and a hammer. Oh, and some screws too. We didn't even get to bleed too much either, which is pretty good going for us, not really being used to wood & sharp dangerous tools.
The table was @6'x4', using a plywood top with supporting pine strips, shown here being accurately & expertly placed by Dave.

Wanting folding legs on it, we recycled an old card tables legs. How modern & green is that? Gave me thoughts of making a future gaming table of course. Though it would have to be bigger, more sturdy, and have spaces for tea cups, pie plates and large ashtrays. But this was a good learning experience, and we had a right good time.

Lacking the specific tool, we used a bayonet to spread the glue. Seemed to work allright, and no one messed with us during the time that we were tooled up.

We stood it up, and although it only took an hour or two, we thought it looked quite proper really. It's good to do something practical, and 'hand made' now and again. Naturally, we needed beer afterwards, and so retired early to the Forge.

We've had a few games of 'Heroclix' recently, c/o Richie & Eddie, and though I was a tad sceptical, I have to say it does play well as a sort of DBx skirmish game in a way. Each piece is a super hero, with movement, range, fighting ability & damage points shown on the base. These scores diminish as the piece takes hits during the game. It did give me some ideas for future skirmish games, in particular our not-quite-yet-done Zombie bash game. Quick and easy to set up, and good fun to play.

Now some gamers, having played this before, chose their pieces on a combat value basis,(each side is allowed so many points). I chose mine on a different basis, as can be seen...

By the end of one game, my three well upholstered ladies easily beat off a savage attack by some chap wearing only hot pants, leather jacket and an odd yellow cap set at a jaunty angle. I have no idea who he was, and I'm not sure that I would want to, but he stood no chance against "Peeler's babes". He got well mullered, and rightly so in my opinion, for coming to a fight dressed like that.

As said, gaming has been a bit light of late, but that's life, it gets in the way of the hobby on occasion and can't be helped, I'm sure we'll be back to our regular gaming times soonish.

A swift witter, and a couple of links.. a new (to me) site, by Pendraken.. http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php

.. a rather nice & pleasant Forum, mainly for the 10mm set obviously, but there is a lot of interesting stuff on there for all.

Another Site I've recently rejoined is WD3.. http://wdlovesme.19.forumer.com/ .. a more general gaming site, again with a lot of interesting stuff on there. Both are well worth a look at, and joining up to.

Regards,

Durham Show, 12th June 2010

2010-06-14T13:17:00.014+01:00

A good day out all round was had, five of us trooped out from the Yorkshire Coasters, and a pleasant drive over the moors past Whitby took us on toward Durham. (Title Post is linked). We had a later start than usual, as we weren't putting a game on, and altogether had a pleasant & steady sort of day. This is always a decent friendly show, and though it seemed a tad smaller than last time I was there, there were some decent looking games on, worthwhile traders and the B&B had some quality stuff on it. The B&B staff were very helpful too with booking stuff in, and had a common sense system going.
It was good to meet up with Norman, Andy & Tim and have tea & scones, which were well nice and creamy, and a good natter was had. Spent @£60 on books and some painted pirates with cannons, just had to have them, a couple of Irregular Miniatures dogs, and some 1/72 Crimean War British Hussars .. so there's new game afoot there. There was a lot more I could have spent on, but in these days of financial constraint...
A tea & bun stop was had on the way up, just in time too before we collapsed from hunger. This photo is a bit shaky, I obviously had low blood sugar due to lack of bacon.. we were all a lot happier after a good chew, Dave even managed the "all you can eat in one bun" deal. It was huge.

My camera failed me after the tea shop, so my thanks to Tim for the following show photos.

There was a large quality ACW game..

And a cracking Wild West type game, which seemed to have everything in it, from US army, Indians, bank robbers, and so on. There was lots going on in this game, including an accidental shed fire.. of which Richie denied all knowledge, even though he was gaming right next to it.This Fort was a wonderful model...

The Indians on the warpath, now these were a quality paint job.

Buying wise, as said I did have to restrain myself, there was such a lot of decent stuff on offer. For a mere £25, I collected this little lot from the B&B. Anything with Mr Featherstone's name on it seems to need buying up I reckon.

I also bought two sets of these, pirates with guns, thinking "They're different, and will do in my 18thC 25mm games". I could see there was something different about them, but put it down to the good paint job. Imagine my chuckles when I got home and realised they were 40mm, not 25mm. Oh yes, how I laughed to myself at having spent £20 on the wrong sized figures. But still, they're nice enough, and I'll make them into some sort of diorama thing to put on the shelf. Or maybe just buy a few more 40mm pirates ... just a few...

A swift tea & bun stop on the way back kept us going, and we winded our weary way home. I had to get back for a pub steak dinner with an old chum, for 7pm, which turned into a marathon pub session till @2am, hence my memory is a tad hazy I must say, though it was as usual a grand day all round, well done Durham and hope to make it again next year.

A swift witter, here's a link kindly provided by a Wd3 chum, for all you pie-lovers.. http://farmparkwild.co.uk/mr-kews-pies/mr-kews-pies/

and a welcome to Surfus & Beccas, thanks for joining, hope you enjoy the Blog.

Regards,

Peeler

DbF, The Battle of the Broken Rule.

2010-06-04T15:08:00.001+01:00

We had a swiftly put together game of DBFantasy a while ago, using our own DBx rules. It was such a bright day, which made a change, that a lot of the photos didn't come out, so these are the better ones, honestly!
We had the usual +1 for elite, pikes etc, -1 for Peasants and also bonus for the Good side being within 6" of The Good Church, and for the Evil side being within 6" of The Bad Rocks & The Flaming Tower of Evil. Keeps it simple eh! TSS boards & terrain, Kallistra 10mm figures were used.
My dog was not at all interested..

The table, showing the Tower, Church etc, and also the now obligatory refreshments taken whilst gaming. Meat & potato I think they were. Note the two Rulers on the table, one metal and one merely plastic.

The Evil types advance, given Bonus by the well painted Tower, which started life as a mere candlestick holder, bought for 50p at a BB sale.

The Chaps of Haligor advanced to the fray also, with a shout of,"Bring it on if you think you're bad enough".

Some Barbarian Rhino Chariots, which were on neither side, but just picked on the nearest unit, looting as they went. That nearby shed got emptied by them.

The two sides mix it in the centre, near The Good Church, giving the Good side the edge to win after a time.

Those Chariots piled into the flank, and did a fair bit of riding down, hacking & slashing, pulling wheelies and such like. Note The Broken Ruler. Done in by an over enthusiastic gamer. It was at least 15 years old, and was considered a family heirloom. Now, just another gaming casualty. So very sad.

In the centre, the melee grew, and lots of casualties were caused on each side.

The flanking chariots had a disastrous effect on the Evil side, as did the continuous rain of arrows from the "keeping well out the way" Elven archers.

After a long struggle, both sides were forced to retire, and reform their lines, with not as many chaps as there was before. The Evils tried a mounted attack, which the Spearmen just about held off, awaiting reinforcements...

... from a large column of Elf Pikes, solidly stomping it's way toward them.

Unable to wait for the solidly stomping but slow moving Pikes, our brave spearmen flanked and attacked the Mounted Evils, selling their lives dearly, in a desperate effort to hold their ground. It all got very mixed up & messy, blood & guts all over the table.

But they caused enough casualties to halt the Evil attack, and the stomping Elves finally arrived, and thoroughly trashed the remnants right off the table.

A good game was had, despite the much loved rulers sad demise, and we were able to add to our DBF rules, resulting in a half decent play sheet.

Regards,

HM The Queen visit to Scarborough.

2010-05-20T21:10:00.007+01:00

Just a few photos of todays Royal visit to the nearby town of Scarborough, which naturally was well attended and a cause of great happiness.
Some loyal subjects, including Mrs Peeler.

HM The Queen, leaving Scarborough train station.

God Bless The Queen!
Regards,

Elvington Show, 8-9th May 2010.

2010-05-10T19:14:00.048+01:00

Last weekend, we jogged along to the Elvington WW2 two day event, a wonderful display of re-enactors & military vehicles set in the Air Museum, with a wargames show attached, and a very good time was had by all. It really is well worth a visit.
Saturday began fairly early, around 7.30, and a full fat boys breakfast was had at the Naffi, which went down very well. That day ended with a large portion of fish & chips at Thompson's on the way back, naturally followed by lots of beer at the Forge. Well, probably too much beer really, but it was a good brew!
Sunday, needless to say, had a slightly later and more gentle start, which was just as well really, given the quantities happily consumed the night before. Another fat boys was had, to set us up for the day, and to end the weekend on a high note, we revisited the Forge, just to check that the beer was still as good. It was.
But to the point of this post, as regards the Show, we put on two tables and various games, under our name of The Yorkshire Coast Wargamers, with Tims new 1/32 WW2 Toy Soldier game using Airfix figures, 15mm DBNapoleonics, 1/72 DBACW, 1/72 DBColonial, and 10mm DBFantasy using Kallistra figures. TSS boards and a good old green cloth made the tables up. Several games were had over the weekend, and we had a lot of passing participants too, particularly at Tim's game, which pleasantly takes you back to "playing with toy soldiers" before you realised you were really wargaming. Reminds me of the childhood time when you got bored with rolling marbles at them, so used the family farm play set as terrain, borrowed the dice from the Monopoly box, and made up the rules as you went along. Or was that just me? Was it?
There was about a dozen of us there over the two days, which meant that we could "mix & match" with gaming and wandering the show between us. The wargames show took place in a hangar in the shadow of a Halifax bomber. Quality! The Toy Soldier game is here in the foreground whilst the other table has two DBx games ongoing.

Tim's new rule set, very well produced, and probably on sale soon after a tweaking or two.
As said, with a fair few of you, a game can continue along whilst others wander, feed and so on, making for an easier going and happier time I reckon.
Peeler carefully places his Zulus..

..whilst Norman politely asks him to "Bring it on". I may have mentioned more than once that I won this particular game, the only one of a few over the weekend that I did win though, which is why I had to mention it so often, to anyone who was passing nearby. I also phoned home to tell the Wife, who agreed that "Yes, that makes a change doesn't it".

A few close ups of Tim's game, there are more to see on his Blog. Apart from the well painted figures, the vehicles in that scale are something to behold. One of the younger gamers gets involved..

The 15mm DBNapoleonic game, using Alex's figures.

And some of the DBColonial game, using my 1/72's.

Things got a bit up close and tasty at times.

Onto the vehicle displays, and a few photos..

This one was a family affair, though naturally Dad got to drive.

Back to the and other games, and by heck there was some quality there. This was a D-day game, really excellent modelling and terrain.

Out on the stalls, there was plenty to look at and buy. Though I have to say that this helmet display, some only rusted, but others with obvious battle damage to them, made me feel a bit uneasy, at the thought of the wearer having been killed or injured.

A T shirt that is definitely not in good taste, but did make us chuckle. We declined to buy a set at a discount!

German re-enactors, Paratroopers, having a march about.

Whilst the Home Guard just seemed a lot more homely and friendly.

Dave decided to have a Tiananman Square moment, I'm not sure why, but at least the tank wasn't moving.

Now this piece was just huge! My lad stood there is 6/02, so you get the scale of it. Thunderbirds came to mind.

The chap driving this Merlin drove in, jumped out, popped on his RAF cap and declared that he was off to bag a few Huns.

ARP Warden, who gave out advice on fires, bombs etc, he really did know his stuff, as did all the re-enactors that we spoke to.

A few more games, this was on a very large scale, put on by the Gent who organises the Recon Show at Pudsey (another quality event!).

I think there was just the one Fantasy game on, but it did have some great large models on it, and looked like it was well enjoyed.

This was a 15mm ACW game, which was huge, the one photo does not do it justice really. It had two towns, an earthen fort, and a train! (See previous post!).

Just outside the hangar we were in, was this - a right good piece of kit. Sadly, it wouldn't fit my tow bar, I fancied one in my front garden.

The only Frenchman I saw, early WW2, obviously, and looking quite old fashioned already by then. Good kit though.

A British Para, stood next to a Dakota, which you could have a wander into.

Tim's Game won a Trophy for Runner Up Participation Game! Well done Tim, this topped the weekend off nicely, and we were rather well chuffed with it.

The end of the Sunday, as we finished a game prior to packing up and heading off home. Always a sad time I feel, after such a good do. Luckily we still had the pub to go to afterwards.

I think we all bought various bits and pieces, there was a lot of varied gaming gear for sale, in particular for me, two boxes of WarHammer Brettonian & Lizardmen starter packs at a mere £15, though all the writing is in Japanese - thankfully we already have the books in English.

We had a really great weekend, our thanks to the Organisers, we hope to be back next year, and my own thanks to the YCW chums, for making it happen.

Regards,

York Model Railway Show.

2010-04-28T11:47:00.019+01:00

Well it's not wargaming, and yet I do think there are some similarities betwixt the two hobbies, along the lines of terrain, modelling and so on. Trains can play a part in certain wargames, and on some of the model train layouts, you could certainly have a wargame. I wonder how many people do both hobbies?
We went along to this show (Title post is linked) over the weekend of 3rd April 2010, and had a jolly good day out. We got there around midday, as I was suffering from a beer overdose from the night before, and had to park on the muddy field which wasn't great, especially for one of our chums, (lots of mud splatter, revving of engine and spinning of wheels), so lesson learnt to get to these events earlier to be able to park on a good solid tarmac surface instead. Tickets were about £8 each, rather more than a wargames show, and the place seemed busy and happy enough. The food wasn't cheap either, but you get what you pay for, and the steak pie was a big improvement on the usual fayre at these sort of shows.
On walking in, this was the first layout I saw .. see, I do say there is some overlap between the hobbies!

A fine array of 20mm scale tanks and so on, on a WW2 English setting, which made me wonder if this fellow was a gamer too.

This was a huge layout, and the range and skill of the modelling was exceptional. This sort of layout would lend itself to a good skirmish game I thought.

Hobby in a suitcase? A nice touch, the case itself looked old and used, and I could just imagine it being used on an old train journey. Indeed, was a similar one used by Trevor Howard in a Brief Encounter?

This was a wonderful one, very localised in part, whilst giving a larger countryside view also. It must have took an awful lot of time and effort to get it just right.

No, not a model layout, but the actual racecourse itself..

The scale varied from around 25mm, down to this, I think around 2mm, so they could pack in a large area display on a smallish board.

Another picture of that first display, you really had to see this to appreciate it, it was that impressive. All it needed was an opposing army, some rules and dice.

A good day was had, the stalls were busy, and I was amazed at the amount of modelling array there was to buy. Picked up a fair few tips on flocking and blending different ideas into each other, and on general modelling too. I resisted the urge to dip into the model train hobby itself, and restricted my purchases to some paints and a few terrain bits.

Afterwards, we spent an hour or two in nearby York, and I saw this .. a Maybach, so my children told me (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maybach). Now, my green Rover 75, parked behind, is a largeish car I thought, but this Maybach thing just dwarfed it. It was huge and massive. And I had to put this picture up, only because I hadn't seen one before. Not that I'd want one of course. Much.

A sift witter, and a welcome to Geordie, Grekwood, Fraxinus, Ubique, Michael, Sgt Steiner, Erwin, Joao, and Prufrock, thankyou all for joining and I hope you enjoy the Blog, apologies for a bit of a lack of posting lately as time has been tight but will improve soon, and I now have a nice backlog of various games to post up, which I will as soon as I can. Thanks for viewing, I do appreciate it.

Regards to all,

St George's Day.

2010-04-23T12:13:00.003+01:00

Once again, the Flag of England was raised above Peeler Mansions, in celebration of Englands Day. Seems a shame to me that whilst other parts of the UK can have their own day, England seems to get left behind, and that some political types have hijacked both this flag and the Union flag for their own ends, particularly as it's election time at the moment. All that shouting and yarping and arguing on, there's just no need for it really, it's all just hot air, like you get from a volcanic eruption... a nice pleasant gentle discussion is all thats needed, in a good old genteel English way.

Here's a Link to The Royal Society of St George, an admirable and pleasant Society to be a member of.. http://www.royalsocietyofstgeorge.com/index2.htm

A Happy St George's Day to you all, and God Bless England, Harry and St George!

Regards,

DBACW Game.

2010-03-24T20:59:00.001Z

Well it's been a while (again), but it can't be helped really. The usual work, shifts, family, etc etc, though to be fair we have done quite a lot of gaming too, it's just getting the time to post it up. And really I suppose, it's the gaming that's the more important part of the hobby, along with pies and beer and so on.
So, a while ago we gathered at Peeler Mansions for an ACW bash, using 1/72 plastic figures and the DBACW rules, available from the DBN Site (Post Title is Linked). These play well and easily, with each base representing a Regt, so four or five give you a Brigade, two or three Brigades give you a Division, and so on. Each base of troops can be Raw, Average or Veteran, Musket/Rifle armed, Artillery can be Smoothbore/Breechloading. These rules are, to be fair, a simple but effective representation of the ACW. I'm sure you get the gist.
On with the game .. The Rebels, under General E. Cautious were defending, and had kept a lot of their forces off table. The Union, under General D. Zaster (son of an Italian immigrant), formed up and went for a swift attack, hoping to overthrow the meagre enemy that they could see.

The Union had the advantage with Artillery, and here you can also see their Baggage, safely tucked away in the rear, out of harms way.

Some of the Confederates, Regular Infantry and Skirmishers, eagerly awaiting their chance for glory.

One Union column approaches the walled field upon the hill (Remember the Don Featherstone books? There was always a walled field in the ACW game).

Whilst the other column takes on the Rebel artillery, and promptly pops it off with a few well aimed shots.

All's looking good for the Union, as the Left flank takes the walled area, the Centre advances toward the defile, and the Right advances toward the town.

But then! A volley of shots from the previously hidden Rebels throws a few bases back in confusion, leaving the Zouaves (a colourful bunch) a tad isolated.

The Brigade General joins in, gives a few encouraging words ("Git forward you pansies!") and reforms his troops for another try.

On the Union Right, they settle down for a long range bombardment, whilst advancing through the town.

The Rebels advance to the wall, and mix it with a fire fight, taking and causing casualties.

Union troops advance toward that single base on the hill, with the knocked out Artillery, expecting an easy victory.

The Rebel General sends a Veteran Regt into the Centre town, hoping to slow the advance, to give time for reinforcements to arrive.

The Union artillery pops away at this Regt, who must have had a reflective shield, as all the shots missed. Damp powder maybe! On the Union left, equally poor dice resulted in both guns being lost to counter battery fire. Very poor. (For me and Rich anyway).

The Union column forced the Rebels back on the hill, and advanced cautiously.

The firefight on the Right continued..

.. with the Union getting the upper hand, but only after adding their Reserves. Those Rebel Sharpshooters were a real pain!

In the centre, the town was hotly contested. (Towns/BUA in these rules only give a small advantage, as the buildings were mostly just wooden types, thus giving less cover than solid European stone built ones).

What!! Just as the Union was looking to gain ground, (and about time, given the circumstances), a Rebel flank attack comes in on the Right. "Aw shucks" said Rich.

This was a most depressing event, as on the Right we'd forced them from the town and were looking to flank them,

and on the Left, we were finally getting in amongst them, giving them cold steel and a bit of a toeing.

Typically, some Reb cavalry went straight for the undefended Baggage, (lesson learnt!), and did an awful lot of ransacking, whooping about and whatnot. Damned Southerners!

The Reb reinforcements stormed through the town, and attacked the rear of the Union forces. Bar the shouting and caterwauling, it was all over. The Union had already suffered surprisingly heavy casualties in the initial fighting, due to poor dice from me & Rich, and decent dice from Alex & Dave, and so the remnants retired from the field. Well, that's putting it politely. "Running like lily livered chickens" was how the Reb players described it.

General E. Cautious retired, tired, to his encampment, full of tales of how he'd whupped those Dastardly Northerners.

So there we have it. It was a well played, hard fought game, and thoroughly enjoyed by all. My thanks to Rich, Alex and Dave.

A swift witter, we have a table booked at the Battle Group North show at Elvington Airfield in May, if anyone else is going, feel free to say hello, and a warm welcome to Tim, Wargamer1972 & Velarde, latest Followers, who have a fine selection of Blogs between them. Thanks for joining and hope you enjoy the Blog.

Regards,

Peeler

WW2 Airborne Drop at Ayton Bridge.

2010-02-23T16:11:00.019Z

We gathered at Hairy Dave's Musical Mansion for a WW2 game, ably planned and put on by Alex, using his Rommel's Battles Rules (Plug-Available from the DBN Site!) and 6mm H&R figures and vehicles. The game was played over three sessions, and was both a learning and enjoyable experience.
The basics were that there was a weak German Brigade billeted around the local town and area, enjoying the easy life in Occupied Ayton, with a pillbox on the bridge. Reinforcements were available but a distance off, and had to be diced for. They varied between militia Naval Btns, and Tiger tank Btns. The main battle front was miles away, and the Germans thought that they were going to have a quiet time of it.
The British Airborne had a plan though ... to land by Parachute and Glider, take the bridge, storm the town, eject the defenders and then await the relief column coming up the main road. The necessary supplies were brought in from all four corners of the nearby shops, and the game was afoot.

The British at the planning & briefing stage.. including a lesson in how to land Paras and Gliders (with the use of rulers and small pieces of paper- may sound odd, but it worked really well). They had to decide on flight path, height, and where to drop their various units. This all makes a realistic difference, as to casualties incurred and the "drop spread" of the units. Basically, the higher you drop, the less casualties you have, but they end up more spread out and more unformed.

The Germans, having already placed their initial meagre forces by map, went off to eat pizza and drink beer.

The initial set up, from the road to be used by the British relief column. Looks really peaceful doesn't it.

But all of a sudden, to the Germans surprise, whilst halfway through a crate of beer and with all the pizza eaten, the Brits landed, almost silently. The smaller paper represents Para Co's, and the larger represents the Gliders. All this happened without too much crashing into each other, but did cause a few casualties.

The paper drop comes off, to be replaced with the Glider models, which were pretty nice I have to say.

The Brits had decided on one massed Glider landing, which is initially dangerous due to overcrowding, but then good to have the troops all gathered together, and three separate Para drops. The drop nearest to the camera just happened to be in front of German MG's and a Tank Co, so got massacred, but the others did ok. The pillbox was taken out by a so very lucky shot from a 17pdr, and the Paras stormed over the Bridge, into the town from two directions, and quickly overwhelmed the over fed and half drunk German defenders.

The Brits were joined by young Jordan, who has an unnatural ability to throw 5's and 6's, (and is ALWAYS on the opposite side to myself). In my gaming frustration, at one stage I enquired of him," And just who invited you then eh!" To which, he replied," My Dad did." Well, you can't argue with that can you. Swapping his dice around made no difference either.
However, in the general chatter and and laughter we were able to sneak in a German spy, cunningly dressed in red, to listen over the British midway planning briefing, which was," Hold the Town and Bridge until relieved." So we didn't actually learn anything new there, and Doug got his butt verbally kicked for listening in. There was, at this stage, the chance of the Brits having a further drop of the Polish Brigade, but that would have meant they could only claim a draw for the game, so they decided to try and hold out without them.
For the Germans, the game was lost unless some decent Reinforcements appeared, the Naval infantry Btns etc having already appeared and been demolished by the Hard-As-Nails Paras.

Here was a funny-at one point, Alex the Umpire cried out,"Dave, throw one dice for your Artillery Comms" .... having two Dave's on the British side, they both duly obliged simultaneously and without conferring ... and both threw a One. It was the beginning of the turning of the tide..

The Germans finally got some decent stuff on the table, and after a prolonged bombardment of the Para Occupied Town, stormed in at close range with Tanks and Grenadiers. The Para Piat teams tried their best, but were overwhelmed. (They even had names, like Fearless Fred, Courageous Colin, and Runover Ryan). This was a game with a lot of humor and laughter in it. A serious game, seriously played, but as usual without the gamers taking themselves seriously.

The Paras had no choice but to leave the Town and retire over the Bridge, perhaps wishing they had called upon the Poles for assistance. Note the Casualty Station in the background, a nice touch which enabled the Brits to claim back some casualties overnight. The German one was miles away, so didn't count.

The German Armour had a right rampage through the town, flushing out any pockets of resistance from the brave Paras, but neatly avoided mixing it with that Gun on the Bridge. Well there's no point chucking in a winning hand is there, despite the Brit players taunts, cajoling and cries of "Bring it on then, take the Bridge if you're Tanks are good enough."

As the third session ended, it was a narrow win for the Germans, as the Brits had failed to hold the Bridge and Town for the required number of turns. They did still have the Bridge though, and had that relief column arrived..or the Poles..or had one Drop not been massacred at the beginning, it could all have been so different.

A valiant effort by the British Airborne, a decisive counter-attack by the Germans, and a damned good game all round. Well done Alex for the planning and putting it on, and thanks to the gamers Dave, Dave, Richie, Doug & Jordan.

Naturally, we were all a tad whacked after some prolonged and intense gaming, and so retired to the local Forge for refreshment and a good old witter.

Regards,

DBColonial Game at The Recon Show.

2010-02-11T15:36:00.004Z

Well it is a tad late, but you know how things can be....
Our YCW gamers went along to The Recon Show at Pudsey, (Post Title is linked), on Dec 6th, and we put on a DBColonial game, being a British/Zulu bash. Recon is a smallish but really decent friendly show, free easy parking and the foods not bad either (pie & mushy peas, Heaven!). If you can, it's well worth a visit. It's good that we have enough gamers now so that whilst some do the game, others can wander, and then swap over. Best of both worlds really.
So, we used the newly released DBC rules, from our Alex's KISR Publications (shameless plug here, see the DBN Site in Links for info & to order), and our newly based and flocked up 1/72 plastics.

We used our newish TSS terrain boards and hills , quick and easy to lay out, and the game was on, with the British advancing in a large central column with flank supports. Part of the Zulu force awaited in front of their Kraal, whilst others were hidden, secretly and worryingly, off table, awaiting the War Chant and the best time to strike.

Regular British Infantry advanced in Line, supported by Artillery and Naval Division, with Natal levy at the rear. Most of these figures are Esci/Revell, some are Hat which IMO are really really good, all based on ERM bases. The mounted Officer was my first plastic conversion (an easy one) for about 25 years.

The Zulu, working themselves into a bit of a frenzy, get ready to take on the invading Brits. Note the "Hero" figure, individually mounted on a coin, mingling on the second from right base, waiting for a chance to spring out and do some hacking and stabbing.

The Artillery piece, (4 in a box for £6, can't complain at that), takes careful aim.

The Zulu Chief testoUmboogwah, directs his warriors.

The British left flank force forms Square, with Regular Line, Highlanders and Skirmishers, and their Hero figure, The Honourable Arbuthnot Pickwick-Jones, in the middle, malingering, by all accounts...

... and they formed Square because this lot suddenly appeared, which was quite worrying really. The Artillery turned to offer support. In the Centre, the Brits had the better of a brief skirmish with the Zulu.

A move later, and the British main force formed Square also, as the Zulu made to attack it on three sides. The General R.Frostington-Brahms and Baggage elements are inside the Square, and the Naval Gatling gun has been posted out, in an attempt to disperse a smaller Zulu threat.

In a classic move, the Zulu Chest and Horns closed in on the main force, having a serious poke & jab with their Assagis, which were well sharp, whilst the Brits replied with steady volley fire.

Oh Dear!! In the distance, the Gatling gun jammed and got into a melee, whilst at the main Square, the volleys weren't that steady after all, and the Zulu closed to melee, killing one base, flanking others, and causing general death destruction and confusion.

A British rally caused the Zulu to fall back momentarily, and the Gatling gun was unjammed and began pumping the bullets out again. Things were looking better..

Even the Artillery mixed it, and won.

But then, calamity! The Zulu got a hit, and rampaged on in there, attacking the rather weak Baggage base, consisting only of orderlies and wounded chaps. They fought well, but what can you do eh.

The Gatling went under, as did the Artillery, freeing up yet more Zulu to massacre the remnants of the main force, which in proper Victorian fashion, stood back to back and died to the last man.

Remember the flanking square? The Zulu bypassed them initially, but after the main massacre returned to them, as they bravely formed Line and attempted a fighting withdrawal. It was a courageous but doomed effort. That 'Hero' chap, Pickwick-Jones, was rather less than Honourable, and merely trotted about for a bit, then did a runner, galloping off as fast as he could, the utter Bounder. He has since been banned from all the best clubs in England, and was last heard of scraping a living somewhere in the Belgian Congo. Victoria herself was heard to say of him, "Good riddance too, what a tosser."

So it was a Zulu victory, and quite a comprehensive one too. The words Massacre and Slaughter come to mind! With these rules, if the British fail to stop them with Firing then the Zulu can get into close quarters where they have a definite advantage. Good game though, and much enjoyed by all. I went off for a wander (No, I was not sulking!), whilst others had the second game of the day.
A few pictures of the other games on, all of which were good to see and well played out.

This was a nice one, wonderful castle there, using 10mm Kallistra figures.

The BIGGEST model ship I've seen, in a VBCW game, (put on by GWP I think), which was on a huge table..

.. it had so much on it, it was almost like several games in one.

Next to us, was a tank game, I'm not sure now who it was, but the German tank is 15mm, just to show the size of the Russian one.

All in all, a grand day was had, some decent purchases made, and we all went away happy and contented. What more can you ask for eh!

Regards,

Blog Birthday!

2010-02-06T00:13:00.001Z

Well by gum, it's one year old today, so Happy Birthday to me Blog! When I started this up, I wasn't at all sure how it would go, it all being new territory to me, but I have to say that I've thoroughly enjoyed it. It's been stress, hassle and pressure free, I've met up with some old friends, made some new chums along the way and found a whole new world of Wargame blogs, with all the quality and interesting posts on them, so Thanks to all you Bloggers, Followers and Posters alike for the extra interest, enjoyment and inspiration you've given me.

Gaming for me this year has been much more frequent, varied and enjoyable than in previous years, for which I'm grateful to my chums in our Yorkshire Coast Wargames group. We've gamed at least once most weeks, and sometimes more. Heck, we've done Napoleonics, ACW, Zulu, WW2, Medieval Fantasy, Futuristic, Ancients, Zombies, Space Marines, board games, computer games, attended several shows, putting games on at some and 'just visiting' others, both equally enjoyed, as well as had a few weekends away for specific large games. Our games are played in a pleasant amiable way, and have a good social side to them too, usually revolving around food, beer and gaming for the simple enjoyment of it. The next year should see some new games & periods added to our mixed inventory, as well as some new rules and terrain pieces.

So, it's been a thoroughly good gaming year, thanks to all, and I look forward to more of the same over the coming year. To finish, here's the cake that Junior & MiniPeeler made, as it's also my birthday too. Sorted!

Regards,
Peeler

One's Painting Table..

2010-01-28T13:37:00.011Z

Well it's been a while since I've posted up, I got waylaid over Christmas & New Year, and what with one thing and another, I just haven't been able to get Blogging, but here we are. Thought I'd begin with an easy one, and a belated but well meant Best Wishes to you all for 2010.
We had a gathering at Peeler mansions a while ago, (quite a while ago!) to prepare for our Colonial game at the Recon Show, here's the benefit of having a large-ish table, you can fit flocking, ash trays, tea & biscuits and a board game on it. A pleasant gaming & general wittering afternoon was had.

We were putting the finishing touches to our 1/72 Zulu War collection, these being a mix of Esci, Revell and Hatt. The newer Hatt figures are quite the business I think, chunky and solid looking, with a good selection including Naval Division, Highlanders and Artillery. Washed, undercoated with black primer, painted with Vallejo acrylics then a good coating of Humbrol gloss varnish to finish ... they end up looking deep, solid and semi gloss, without too much of a shine on them. The gloss helps to harden off the figures too.
The bases are MDF, (from East Riding Miniatures, who give a wonderfully friendly and quick service), painted earth brown then with a watery PVA glue, covered in a variety of flock, static grass and small rocks. They'll look better in the pictures of the game, which I will post up soonest. Having based all this lot in one go, I thought to myself, "Must flock as I go along next time and not leave them all to the end." Then again, it's satisfying to see them all basic and undone, and then a couple of hours later, transformed into something better, like a bit of an achievement really. I must remember not to breath in as much flock and static though, it does you no good really.
The board game was Richie's Zombie game, which plays really well and has a lot of fun elements to it. I don't think I did too well at it, my only excuse is that I was busy having a good flock..

A warm welcome to Davy Nicholl and Ryulin, two of our local gaming chums. Davy has a music site, and Ryulin has just started a Fantasy Blog, both of which are looking good, and a welcome also to Andy from Old Glory, who has also just started a Blog, (Glorious Little Soldiers), which no doubt will be a belter! All three are in the Links, and are well worth a visit.
Regards,

Merry Christmas to All..

2009-12-23T14:37:00.003Z

Well it soon comes up doesn't it eh! We only have all year, every year, to get organised and then all of a sudden it's here. Well, thanks to MrsP we are almost sorted, I've been on nights lately so haven't been much use really, and the MiniP's just haven't quite got round to sorting their music out for the Church Carol do... which is tomorrow. That's teenagers for you. Grump Grump from a Grumpy Father of two of them.
Anyway, I just wanted to say a Large Thank you to you dear gamers, posters, readers, followers, Blog writers and such like, for the gaming, advice and enjoyment you've given me through this and other Blogs. It's much appreciated, and has enhanced my enjoyment of our hobby. Thank you.
Here's a shameless plug .. one of our local gamers, Davey Nicoll, through the extensive studio facilities of Hairy Dave & Chums, has recorded a Christmas Song, festively entitled "Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!" When you have a few minutes spare, have a click on here.. www.myspace.com/davynicoll .. click on the song list on the right, sit back and have a listen.
A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all,
Regards,
Peeler

SmoggyCon Show.

2009-12-14T14:56:00.016Z

A bit late I know, but we've done two shows and a few games recently, painted and based lots, and what with work, home, pub etc, it just ain't left much time really. Hey ho.
Here's some really good news though.. my local has started serving hot pies at the bar, all day long, and half price after midnight...just goes to show, as you start getting the winter blues, something wholesome comes along to cheer you up.
So, Nov 28th we went along to SmoggyCon in Middlesborough, (Post Title is Linked), I think this show has replaced the now sadly defunct Stockton Show, and I have to say it's made a good start, and I for one hope it goes from strength to strength. I'm sure it will, as a good and pleasant day was had.
On the way up there, we stopped off to dine.. there really is nothing better than a bacon bun and tea feeding frenzy.

Here's some of the games, there was a nice variation and spread of periods.

A Fantasy Hott game, very nicely done, good to look at, and great fun.

And onto our Naval game that we played, under the banner of "Yorkshire Coast Wargames", (all put together very well by Richie), being the Battle of Trafalgar, the game went well once we got into it, the "Grand Fleet Action in the Age of Sail" rules were easy to apply, it flowed well and it made a pleasant change to play a Naval game.

Oh, and the Brits won, rightly so!

The Royal Navy sails forth, in two lines, full of hearty cheers..

Boo! The enemy approaches and our chaps head them off, giving them a swift broadside for good measure.

Both sides start to mix it, with close range gunnery and boarding parties too.

The British Fleet pretty much out gunned and out shot the French & Spaniards, and blew large holes in their ships, until they started to sink beneath the waves.

Gotcha!

And so thankfully, Britannia rules the waves again. Large Hurrah's all round!

The rest of the Show was good, and well worth another visit next year. It was good to meet up with ANDY McMASTER finally and have a natter, as well as others too. Purchases!.. two boxes of "Blue Moon" Zombies from Old Glory, a box of 1/72 Colonials, some 1/72 thatched huts and a couple of books. Nice.

A stop off at Whitby for fodder on the way back rounded the day off nicely, we found my absolute hearts desire of a place... The Pie Shop.... everything you could want, in a pie... unfortunately one of our chaps has an aversion to pie, and so we went to a fish & chip cafe instead, where, luckily, they did serve pie too. I will not name said chap on here publicly, suffice to say I have bought him a ticket for remedial pie therapy. (It's in the post, you know who you are!).

Thankyou to Richie, Doug, Alex, Jordan, Jonathon and David for an enjoyable day.

A quick Witter, just to say Hello and Welcome to Mad Carew, Maximilian and Young Stan, thankyou for joining, hope you enjoy the Blog and look forward to any Comments you wish to post.

Regards to all,

Airfix/Matchbox...?

2009-11-25T02:56:00.003Z

A short post, with reference to my photo in the previous post, about the "Airfix Cromwell tank on the bridge"... I did chuckle at the different thoughts & comments on it.. was it Airfix or Matchbox, was it a Cromwell, Comet or even a Sherman... do any of us have a decent memory these days? Well, clearly, I haven't..
I would agree that it was actually a Matchbox rather than an Airfix kit, on thinking of it after reading the Comments, which were much appreciated! .. BUT I would be sure that it was NOT a Sherman tank.. No, I definitely remember it being a Cromwell..er.. or maybe a Comet...and then a chap, Richard, posted this Link to me at TMP..
http://modelshelves.free.fr/dossiers/MB_GB/index.html
Just shows you eh! But at least we now know.. :-)
Regards and smiles all round,
Peeler

Duxford Imperial War Museum.

2009-11-20T20:45:00.023Z

Back in the summer, after our visit to London, we stopped off at Duxford Imperial War Museum, just off the M11. Here's just a few pictures of what was on display, as there really was an awful lot of it, and I have to say, it is well worth a visit if you're ever down that way. The Title of this post is Linked to the Duxford Site.

Remember the Airfix Cromwell tank on a damaged bridge set? Well here it was on a 1:1 scale..

As said, this is only a very small proportion of the exhibits... but then, I don't want to be spoiling your visit...

Regards,

Battle of Gazala, 1942

2009-11-15T21:29:00.000Z

We had a Western Desert WW2 game a short time ago, at Chez Alex, with myself and Hairy Dave as the gamers. I was Gen von Peeler, with German and Italian troops, whilst Dave was Lt Gen The Honourable Lord of Hairytown, with the British side. This Post Title is linked to the rule set we used, Rommel's Battles, written by our Mr Alex Testo, (rules writer and hotelier extraordinaire), and all round good egg. He also supplied the playing pieces, being mostly 6mm H&R, which were a joy to see. Whatever happened to Heroics and Ros, anyone know? I miss them, I used to have loads of them, goodness knows where they went. Anyway, all we had to do was to turn up and play, with Alex as Umpire.
There were four Btns of armour per side, with additional artillery, anti tank guns, recce units and air support. For a Napoleonic gamer such as myself, it all sounded rather complicated, what with OP's, Recce units, C&C by radio and so on.... and to be fair, WW2 was rather more complex than horse & musket.. but these rules do make it easy to play, whilst maintaining the difficulties and extra dimensions relevant to the era.
So, the main part of this particular battle was to exit the opponents side with at least three non-shaken units, whilst stopping the other side from doing the same. We placed our units onto a map, and only put them on the table when the enemy actually saw them, hence the importance of recce units and Op's. One doesn't want to blunder blindly into a 25pdr's shooting gallery with one's armour. Like I did at one point...
The cotton wool clouds each represent a hit, each base can take three.

Each side has a FAC..a Forward Air Controller, to call in air strikes. If you get through, and if it's on target, it can be devastating. I think this British bomber was using large 'wallop bombs', judging by the number of hits it achieved.

Some British Valentine tanks take refuge in a dip in the ground, going hull down. Although small, this little models are really well made. The numbers on the base represent the attack/defence factor, and ranges for firing, which again makes playing this game easy to do.

A Regt of British Grant tanks scoots across a depression, going for the Italian flank.

Whilst a Recce unit calls in a Stuka strike..

..on some Honey's, and scores a few hits. I think the Luftwaffe only put in one appearance during the whole game, but it did a good job when it appeared.

After some close quarter tank on tank action, and after some hits from that 25pdr, some German units decide to race for the breakthrough to the table edge.

Whilst the other attack got bogged down slugging it out with Matilda's and artillery.

And, just at the point at which my units won the game, by exiting the table with no less than five unshaken units, my camera gave up. I could blame the fine desert sand getting into the camera's working parts, but it was probably just down to using cheap pound shop batteries. Here's a thought, cheapies just aren't worth the money, I'll stick to Duracell in future.

The game played really well, and had a lot of interesting ups and downs for both sides, such as the accurate 25pdr, and the German '88, which totally mullered an armoured car unit that nearly broke through. The way the air strikes and off table artillery was effective when used, did show the need to keep your own forces out of sight for as long as possible, and also to get your own OP's into a good position, whilst not putting them in harms way. Also, don't rely on an air strike coming just when you want & need one, because they sometimes don't.

Lots to think about, and it made a pleasant change to play a WW2 game, I haven't done one for a long time, I reckon we'll have to have some more soon.

Thanks to Alex and Dave for an enjoyable and pleasantly played game.

Oh, and I won! ( Which makes a change).

Wagram, GdB Game, London

2009-11-06T21:27:00.006Z

This game was organised by the GdB Site chaps, (Post Title is Linked) and was held over the 31 Oct-1st Nov 09 weekend, at the Officer's Mess, Wellington barracks, London. A fine venue for a game, and myself & Hairy Dave trotted down there for it. At a conservative guess, there were 10,000 15mm figures on the table, which was around 30ft by 6ft (I think), and around 20 players. It was good to meet up with some old friends, as well as make new ones, and a happy time was had by all. We drove down South on the Friday, and after experiencing Southern traffic on the M11, we parked the car at Mr Brown's Woodford residence, had coffee, and were grateful for a lift to the Station from Gary. We tubed it into London, and were happy to find that our Hotel, St Ermin's, was literally 2 minutes walk from St James Tube Stn, what a bonus!
After booking in, a bit of dinner was had, and very nice it was too, but I hadn't realised that it was a "Nouvelle Cuisine" place.. so whilst it was good, there weren't much of it! Try as we might, we were unable to locate a pie shop.. so a few pubs followed, and the Hotel Bar was open till late... and after that, I don't remember..
Saturday morning, and we were up and at 'em, a good breakfast was had, and Wellington Barracks was only a 5 minute walk from the Hotel. Couldn't have been better placed really. This is what we saw in those 5 minutes..perhaps they knew we were coming..

We were shown upstairs to the Mess, and what a place it was. It had an uncompromisingly Military, Patriotic, Royalist, Traditionalist, and strictly no nonsense accepted, tolerated or displayed, sort of atmosphere to it. Wonderful!

God Bless Her!

Old relics, pictures and history filled nearly every space.
To the game...We had the Austrian Reserve Cavalry, four Regts of Kuirassier, two of Chevuleger, one of Dragoons and three Batteries. This made for a relatively easy but enjoyable game for us... shoot with the guns and charge with the cavalry, in between smoke breaks, and not too much of the mechanics and chart gazing that goes with having a Corps command. We did our best to wiggle whilst throwing our dice, hoping it would help. I don't think it did, but at least it gave other players a chuckle, as did our "Dance of The Utmost Happiness", conducted upon good dice rolling. Some general shots of the table...

Most of the figures were AB, and I have to say, of a high painting standard. These were part of our Command.

After a bit of mooching about, we deployed a close order battery to our left, and sent the chaps in for a ruck. There was a fair bit of hacking and slashing, and toing and froing, but eventually we routed off a couple of Saxon Cavalry Regts, and retired another, along with a battery. We realised that we were facing the Saxon Guard units.. and they hurt a fair bit, causing a number of casualties that we could not replace, whereas the French simply replaced theirs from this Reserve table.

Gaming finished about 6pm, and then we were off for pub grub, pies and liquid refreshments. It was really good to have a beer with decent folk, put faces to names, and generally yabber on about gaming, blogging, life in general and so on...our last pub was directly opposite Big Ben, which had a lot of Wow! factor for us Northerners, being more used to quieter places.
(Bryce, Martin & Mathew..good to meet up! Hope your livers have recovered..especially that Bryce bloke...)
Here's one of our best behaved moments, in front of Buckingham Palace..I'm glad to see that these photos prove that it was in fact a blurry night, and that it wasn't just my eyesight being wonky at the time.

The other gent there is Bryce, by the way, pleasant gamer, good painter and all round decent chap. Our worst behaved moments were not recorded. :-) When the pubs shut, the Hotel Bar was open till late, and my memory is again a bit hazy.. I do remember there being a Boddington's pump on the bar..
Sunday, and (amazingly) we were still able to get up, and after another fine breakfast, we packed our bags, and made our way to the Mess. The streets were strangely quiet, the silence broken only by our own personal breaking of wind and whimpering. Well, we aren't getting any younger, and the beer seems to be getting stronger. The game was afoot again, and one of our three Brigades had to be sent to our right flank, to offer support against masses of Cuirassier Regts. This was our Light Brigade, but with artillery support, managed to break a French square.

Our two Kuirassier Brigades were slowly whittled down, by superior numbers, and after putting up a really good show, decided to leave the table, following Brigade Morale check failures. Hey ho, we did our job of holding up that part of the French attack, and drew some of their reserves our way, thus allowing the main Austrian effort an easier ride. In all, it was a marvelous game, the terrain was good but practical, and it was a joy just to be part of it.
Around 4pm, it was all over, and it was decided to be a draw, which was far better than the historical result of an overwhelming French victory, so well done to us Austrians I say!After a swift pie munching session, it was onto the tube, coffee with the Browns, and a drive back up North, getting back just in time for beer at The Forge. Larverly stuff.
My thanks to the GdB team for the game, and to the Browns for the parking and facilities. There will be a fair few more pictures, over the next few days, on the GdB site Gallery page (see Wargames Links).

Pickering WW2 WeekEnd.

2009-10-29T19:41:00.000Z

We went along to this re-enactment weekend on October 17th, (the title above links into a short You-tube video), a really good friendly and interesting time it was too, and only a short bus ride away on't Moor Bus Services, which makes a pleasant start to the day, it makes a change not to be driving.
The main event is at Pickering itself, but other nearby villages put on events too, so there is a lot to get around, as well as taking in some wonderful Moors views. After a large fat boys breakfast at a local cafe, we bought some pies to munch as we stood to watch the main parade through the town, made up of British and American military vehicles and such like. Germans are not allowed into Pickering itself, unless under armed guard, and so their display is at nearby Levisham. Mr Churchill, with large cigar and v-sign, naturally got the most applause and cheers. God Bless the fellow, and all of those involved, for saving us from European domination.
Unfortunately, I'd forgotten my camera.. (d'oh).. and for that, I blame my local landlord for selling me far too much Tetleys the night before. Thankfully, after a walk through the 1940's market, Mrs Peeler joined us, with car and camera, and we made our way on to Levisham.
Re-named "Le Visham" for the weekend, the village and station was "German Occupied", good to see, but also a warning perhaps of how things may have been, had we lost.
Anyway, here's some pictures of a German camp just outside the Station, I think these gents were actually from West Yorks. They certainly looked the part, and the equipment looked very realistic.

The Station itself was regulated by German Military Police types, who played the part very well, anyone dressed in 1940's Allied uniform was arrested, and 1940's civilians were questioned closely. Enjoyable, but also worrying, at the same time.

This flag was flying on the Station itself, I presume it was some sort of German Rail flag, but I'm not at all sure.

As we drove out of the village, some Americans turned up and had a mooch about.

Onto Goathland, and a rather nice display of elderly motor bikes.

And the Home Guard on display, watching out for any typical dirty Nazi tricks and suchlike.

This was different, a Bren gun fitted with a cylinder magazine, holding 100 rounds, for A/A use.

Were horses bigger in the '40's? I only ask because the bloke stood next to it was a good 6'2, and that horse isn't standing up straight..

Last, but not least, Le Resistance, cunningly disguised, and keeping a watchful eye on the Germans, just waiting for the moment to strike, cause chaos to the invader, then melt away into

the countryside again..

A quick Witter, both Gaming and Blogging are going well, I have a weekend in London coming up for a GdB Wagram game, at which I have the Austrian Reserve Cavalry, so hopefully that will mean a gentle start for me on the Saturday morning, and we have Smoggycon and Recon shows coming up soon, which we are gaming at, so some good days to look forward to.

I'd like to pass a welcome to the latest "Followers", being Tim from Norton, CJP, Pat, Mike Siggins and Billy, welcome to all, and a good selection of Blogs they have between them.

Regards to all,

British have another go at the Zulu..

2009-10-24T19:47:00.017+01:00

We gathered for a rematch a few days ago, following the tragic slaughter of the British some time ago (see previous DBC game). The British came back to Zululand determined to avenge the defeat, this time bringing along a Gatling gun. (Yes, and an unpainted wagon..from the Airfix Wagon Train set).
The Zulu, buoyed up by their earlier victory, were equally determined to defend their Kraal (yes, represented by a filter box.. I know, I must get painting soon..).. against the invader.
We used the same DBC rules, which will be available from Alex's DBN site sometime soon after a final tweak or two.
Doug and Alex played the Brits, Peeler and Richie had the Zulus. Brits had 12 points, with two Elite Regular bases, the Zulu only got one extra point, so had a total of 16 points, including two Elite and two shooters.
The British started off forward in one large formation, Gatling to the fore, skirmishers on the flanks, the General some way to the rear, and the Hero (single figure) Mr Flashman (seventh son a a village Vicar), riding around just behind the line, waiting for his chance of glory.

The Zulu put on a show of force with two Shooters and three Native bases, along with the Chief in support. The rest of the Zulu loitered off table, awaiting their chance, and hoping for a war cry.

The British formed a line on the plateau, and the Gatling quickly dispatched a Shooter base. Not liking the hail of lead, the Zulu edged over to the right, hoping to avoid the Gatling and close in on the infantry.

On the British right, a swarm of Zulu suddenly appeared, moving swiftly in, hoping for an easy flank attack. If the Chief and his small force were the chest, then this was one of the horns of the traditional Zulu attack.

On seeing this threat, the British divided their force, (always risky!) leaving the line on the plateau to take care of the Zulus to its front, whilst the rest formed a large square.

As the Zulu chest was recoiled by steady fire, the left horn edged closer, threatening both formations, whilst... shock and horror... more Zulu appeared on the right, going for both the flank and rear of the British line. The Zulu chest began to think about attacking the Square, as it inched toward the Kraal.

From this angle, the Kraal is to the left, and I reckon the Zulu are looking good.. At this point, the British General trotted out from the Square, calmly gave his orders to his troops on the plateau, and then trotted back to the square, riding down the odd wandering Zulu as he did so. Top bloke!!

The right Horn gets on in there, and takes out a Regular base, flanking the skirmishers. They aren't too good at close combat, so it's looking like a roll over here..

But you know, sometimes those Skirmish chaps are just too damned hard for their own good, and frankly, they battered the jubilant Zulus. Badly.

Meanwhile, the Square had been busy bumping off and recoiling the left horn, and, having done so, broke formation and resumed its advance. Mr Flashman , having had a boring but safe time in the confines of the Square, began to ride out..

.. and had a right good go, popping off a few rounds from his privately purchased hunting rifle, unloading both revolvers and having a bit of a chopping session with his finely made sabre, gaining a couple of Victory points before riding back to loud Hurrahs and Cheers.

The Zulu didn't really get any closer to the main British formation, being held off by the firepower, and a swift jog forward by some Skirmishers quickly secured the Kraal, much to the Zulus annoyance. They were so angry in fact, that they had another go at the Gatling gun before exiting the table. That too ended in tears, so actually a few less Zulu made the exit.

The British were left on the field, having strongly avenged the previous defeat. British colonial honour had been restored. The surviving Zulu ran off, to spread the story, and perhaps do a bit of recruiting too.
So, in spite of my lack of painting recently, a darned good game was had. And lessons were learned too. For the British, not to split their force too early, as it did get a bit close on the plateau, especially when the Gatling jammed at one point, though they did hold off that side whilst the main force advanced on the Kraal. For the Zulu, the need to put in a larger holding force, and to get the Horns moving earlier. Mind you, poor Zulu dice did hamper them, and there wasn't enough left over to have a warcry. For which, by the way, I firmly blame that bloke Richie and his dice throwing, which was even worse than mine, and mine was bad enough. Also, the basic Zulu plan was down to me. And I lost. (Again!)
Good company, good rules, good game, and yes I will get painting again soon.
Regards,

Derby Show,3rd-4th October.

2009-10-06T17:12:00.000+01:00

We went along to Derby last Saturday, and a good day was had by all. Derby really is up there with the top shows I think, it has a pleasant open layout, plenty of room, and a good atmosphere too. Lotsa decent traders, and numerous quality games going on. It was good to meet up with a few people not seen for a while, and to put some faces to those known only by name.
So what did we buy...well, for our colonial games, I got a box of Hat 1/72, Gardiner gun with Naval crew...this is a smashing set, with 4 guns and crew as well as 16 foot figures armed with rifles. Basically, it's the Naval Division in a box, well made and proportioned figures, and well worth £6 I reckon. There is also a Gatling gun and Artillery set out, which I have yet to find.
I found a lovely 25/28mm range at HassleFree Miniatures, and just couldn't resist them, being the chaps out of Hot Fuzz, and also a fine model of Madge..as in, Her Majesty (God Bless Her), tooled up with a large shotgun. Not cheap, but they are definite quality figures to have. Pleasant people to chat to, HassleFree, and a pleasure to meet up with. From IronClad Miniatures, I bought a few character figures, Holmes & Watson, and Quatermain, which will do nicely for our coming Zombie game. A few other bits and bats bought, a chat with TSS & Old Glory, and onto the games..
Raid on St Nazairre, by the Leeds Club, Very Impressive!

Some other games..

Iraq game by the Border Reivers.

Nice boat model in this one..

A WW1 game, using Kallistra terrain and trenches.

This one was really colourful to see.

A couple of others..

I don't know, but I hope the wine got drunk throughout the day.

Now this one caught my eye, but it didn't immediately occur why...then I realised it was a 40mm game..didn't seem to take up much more space than 25's to be honest, and looked really big and bold. Had a good chat with Ian at this table, most of the figures are Sash & Sabre. I have to say, it did look really good, the figure painting and terrain were excellent.

A few other games..

Baccus 6mm Leipzig game..

And another 6mm game, Borodino by Lead Commanders. Big game, with oodles of small figures.

I think each base represented a Division. Although small figures, the painting and basing were good.

No idea who this was, but it looked pretty Old School style.

As said, the games put on were impressive, and a joy to see. It made a pleasant change not putting a game on ourselves to be honest, more time to see what others are doing. All in all, a good day out, and the food wasn't bad either.

Regards,

Northumbria, Alnwick Castle.

2009-09-30T12:53:00.000+01:00

Alnwick Castle, the second largest inhabited castle in England, has been the home of the Percys, Earls and Dukes of Northumberland since 1309.The earliest mention of Alnwick Castle in the history books appears soon after 1096 when Yves de Vescy became baron of Alnwick and erected the earliest parts of the Castle.The Castle was first restored, primarily as a fortress, by the 1st Lord Percy of Alnwick in the early 1300's and portions of this restoration remain today, including the Abbot's Tower, the Middle Gateway and the Constable's Tower. During the late 17th century the Castle fell into decay until Elizabeth Seymour and her husband Hugh Smithson, later to become the first Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, took up the challenge and turned it into a family residence of "gothic" style with the help of architects such as Robert Adam and the landscape designer, Capability Brown.
Algernon, Fourth Duke later replaced the 18th century "gothick", employing the architect Anthony Salvin. Since then modern comforts have been added, and Alnwick Castle was one of the first homes in the North East to have electricity. Run by a recently restored hydro electric system installed in 1889, there was enough power produced to run 100 electric lamps.
So says the linked advert, and here's some pictures..
The Castle itself is nicely complete.

Inside, there is a museum to the local Yeomanry.. now here's an interesting artillery piece I thought.. any idea what it would be called? Sadly there wasn't an explanation of it, but it looks pretty good.

A fine collection of Peeler work tools..

A cuirass, clearly not quite bullet proof, I think this was from the ECW period.

Another artillery piece, not sure how long this frame would last if it were actually fired though. Looks remarkably like the English Heritage Keyring gun though.

The local Yoemanry uniform, remarkably like the 95th Rifles really. The mounted uniform was similar.

A couple of general shots. This castle was used in the Harry Potter films, I think for the broomstick flying scene.

A good display of various cannonry, you wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of this one.

Also on site was a really good Regt museum, unfortunately no photos, but well worth a look.

And a rather impressive statue of one of the Percy's from way back. All in all, it's an impressive place and well worth a visit.

A friend of mine recommended that whilst in Alnwick, I should visit a little second hand bookshop called Barter Books. I duly did so.... it's absolutely the dogs parts. 350,000 books, in a railway station building, buffet, parking, pleasant staff....it's a day out on it's own. I managed to restrain myself to spending only £60, and that was an effort. They are on the Internet too, well worth a visit.

Time for a General Witter, I recently received some multi-part plastic Zombies from 'Wargames Factory', a nice set, which I am part way through gluing together. I have also glued my fingers, which was fairly painful, and not recommended at all. Beware the cheap and runny Superglue type tubes. From 'Gripping Beast', some packs of Chaps on the Hunt and civilians, and from North Star Miniatures some packs of Peelers. When put together, these will make up a 'Zombies in the Countryside' game, which should be a bit different, and good fun to play.

Blogging has been particularly good recently, with some interesting and quality posts to read on the linked Blogs and Sites. I'd like to welcome some new 'Followers', being Conrad Hawkwood who runs the Ne Plus Ultra Site, El Grego who amongst others does an interesting Mini Ships Blog, Axebreaker of the Bunker Hill Blog, and Dan who has the Gunners Wargaming Blog. All interesting stuff, and it all makes for a pleasant stress free wargaming read.

I took my eldest to the Forces Career office in Hull yesterday, and remembered The Model Shop, opposite the railway station. Not having been there for years, we had a look in. Just for a look, there was nothing I needed. I came out with two bags of GaugeMaster Noch trees, £36 for 50 trees, bargain I thought, and a box each of the Airfix Robin Hood set and Sheriff of Nottingham set...well, I saw them and regressed straight back to my childhood when I last had them. So there's another game to get painted up, based and played at. Right after the Zombies are finished....

Regards,

GdB Game, Medina De Rio Seco, 14th July 1808, at the Newcastle Show

2009-09-21T15:30:00.002+01:00

As said, we put on a GdB game at the Border Reiver Show, the battle of Medina De Rio Seco, 14th July 1808, and here's the write up and pictures.
The opposing forces were as follows..Spanish-18 Btns (one Line & the rest Militia), 2 Regts Cavalry (Militia Light), and 2 Batteries (both Line). To reflect poor C&C, the CinC was poor, the infantry were split into just two Brigades both with poor GdB's, and the Cavalry had a poor GdB too. Fairly Poor then.
For the French, 12 Btns, a mixture of line, veteran and elite, in four Brigades with additional skirmishers, 4 Regts of light veteran cavalry in two Brigades and 3 Batteries, attached to infantry Brigades. All Generals were average.
The game objectives were simple enough, the French to take the Valdecuevas Plateau and the town of Medina De Rio Seco, and the Spanish to stop them.
We used some new TSS boards and hills, TimeCast buildings, S&A roads and trees, and around 2,800 Old Glory 10mm figures.
Here's the initial set up, French to the Left, Spanish to the right. The French deployed two Brigades to assault the plateau, and two to force the town, with cavalry in the centre. The Spanish deployed one Brigade well back on the plateau, and one Brigade in front of the town, again with cavalry in the centre.

The town itself, TimeCast models, really rather neat I think, with the Spanish forming line in front of it.

The Plateau, with the Spanish deployed in depth.
The French kicked off, with a general advance and sent the Cavalry forward to take care of their Spanish adversaries. The French Horse expected an easy victory over the poorly mounted, outnumbered and outclassed Spanish horse.
Spanish started to tremble on the plateau, which nicely explains this slightly blurred picture.
The French Brigade on the Right went onto Engage orders, hoping to weaken the Spanish with Artillery and Skirmish fire prior to the main assault.
In the Centre, both French Cavalry Brigades went for the outnumbered Spanish, who had difficulties getting an Order change from Hold to Assault. A worrying time for them really.
But when the order finally got through, in went the Dragoons, forcing the French Chasseurs into a retreat. Viva La Spania!! Sadly it didn't last, and two moves later the Chasseurs recovered and trounced them.

The French fronted and flanked the other Spanish Regt, causing severe casualties and Routing it off the table. Viva La France!

French Skirmishers take on a Spanish Battery,

..whilst others advance ahead of the columns to weaken the line.

On the plateau, the French met only weak resistance, and at one point caused a Brigade morale failure on the Spanish, forcing them to retire. The Spanish General on the hill suddenly felt a bit in the open.

In front of the town of Medina, the French cavalry forced the Spanish into square, making them easy targets for Artillery and Columns, though one Spanish militia Btn did falter a Lancer charge with well aimed musketry. Feeling that they had done their bit for the day, the militia then promptly legged it into the nearest taverna to celebrate.

And were quickly followed by the rest of that Brigade.

And on the plateau the French closed with the remaining Spanish forces, who did pretty well all things considered, but still suffered yet another Rout.

By this time, the Order of the day for Espania was as shown here..Having lost the Cavalry and with both Infantry Brigades routing, all they could do was to run away to fight another day.

French casualties were fairly light, although the Spanish artillery did perform rather well with canister blasts at short range. Spanish casualties weren't too bad really, until you added all the routed units, and then the list was extensive. I think only five or six Btns made it off the table in reasonable order.

It was an interesting enough game, with a larger but poorly led and trained Spanish army defending against a smaller but better led and trained French one. Shows what you can do with a bit of quality (and lucky dice too, to be fair). Not being one of our biggest games, the setting up was fairly quick, and using TSS boards made it easy enough. Those new boards by the way, are flocked in the new 'Biblical' style, a nice subtle mix of greens and browns, which I think transforms them from the original pure green ones. However, it is so subtle that you could easily use both together, as we did on the plateau, and it fits in fine. These particular boards are 20mm thick, to make for easier storage and transportation. We were set up within an hour (including chomping bacon rolls), and played the game to a conclusion just before packing up time, even with a good look round the show and a fair bit of pleasant yabbering to various gamers, which just makes the day really. Packing up was even quicker, and after a brief lemonade for medicinal reasons we set off for home.

Having enough gamers there to put on a game and see the rest of the show makes a real difference, and my thanks to Doug, Richie, Ben and Norman for an enjoyable game and a good day out.

Border Reiver Show, Newcastle, 5th Sep 09.

2009-09-09T15:57:00.017+01:00

We trotted up to this show, and needless to say, a really good day was had by all. This show has run for around 15 years I think, and it just gets bigger and better each time that I've been. The venue itself and parking are good, (the Metro Radio Arena),though to be fair the lighting does leave something to be desired in places!

We gathered in the early morning gloom at Peeler Mansions, loaded the car with the gear needed for our Napoleonic 10mm game, and set off, nice and early so as not to have to rush. Realising that we needed to save some space for two TSS boxes from the show, we had to pass on the Naval game, so we'll do that one another time. Soon, the only sound in the car was that of gentle snoring. Using the satnav, it was an easy enough journey, though oddly as we turned off the bridge, it directed us to a dead end under another bridge by the arena, where we joined other gamers engaged in doing u-turns. Still, we got parked soon after, and got unloaded.

As it happened, our game table was betwixt TSS and Caliver-can't complain with that eh! After picking up a pre-order of 2ft square 20mm tiles and hills from TSS, in the new varied grass colours, we set up our game in about a half hour..2ft tiles certainly are easy to use.

There were a lot of quality games on, all of them interesting, here's some pictures of them. Like I say, the lighting wasn't too good in places..

Here's our game..

Durham Wargames Club 1837 Spanish Game..

Tyneside Wargames Club Napoleonic 10mm Game..

Dumfries Wargames Very British Civil War 1938 Game, colourful and imaginative stuff, more pictures and a write up here at GWP.. http://gwargamesp.18.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=1259

I didn't get all the club names, but here's a selection of the others, all impressive stuff..

This photo does not do the model justice..

A colourful and varied selection, I'm sure you'll agree. There was a fair amount of goodies for sale, I meant to get some Warlord plastic Zombies, but missed out, so I'll order them soonest (oh no, another period..). Packing up time was around half three, after a good natter with TSS and paying for the new boards. We had considered making a run for it with the boards, but were assured by the TSS crew that we wouldn't get out alive. So we paid up. Better skint then dead I reckon.

All in all, a good day was had, nice to see various chums, Norman, TSS, Andy, and to meet up with some bods from GWP.

Northumbria, Bamburgh Castle

2009-09-03T19:02:00.019+01:00

Now I don't want you to think that a Peeler's life is all holidays, but we also had a week in Northumbria this summer, since which I have been back to work, so life's not all fun and holidays! If you haven't been to this north of England county, I strongly suggest you pay a visit, it's a wonderful place. Peaceful, polite, pleasant, the word "nice" does not do it justice really.
The beer's good too, as Norman and I found out on the Saturday night. Me.." What time does the bar shut?"..Barman.."When you want to go home." Can't argue with that, and it would be rude to leave before you really had to. Northumbrian Ale, 80 Shilling, and Coggie Roggie (or similar!), it was all good. We ended up leaving only when we really had to go and have a lie down.
I have to say, Norman cycled there from Newcastle..and back again..now, I won't mention the lycra, as that would just be crass, but I was impressed at his commitment to both excercise and the beer trade, and it was good to see him. Cheers Norman!
As one does when in Northumbria, we visited a fair few castles and historic sites, so I thought I'd post up a few pictures now and again, in between wargames posts.
Bamburgh Castle, home to the Kings of Northumbria, was completely restored in 1900. It has some outstanding collections of china, porcelain, furniture, paintings, arms and armour, and is the home of the Armstrong family. The rocky outcrop has been occupied since the prehistoric period, and the present fortress is the result of restoration and expansion over the centuries, a building of historic and general interest with the public tour passing through the museum room, grand kings hall, cross hall, armoury and the Victorian scullery. So says the linked advert, and it is an outstanding place to see. Sadly, it doesn't allow photography inside. Understandable, I suppose..
It does house some very nice artillery pieces..

Inside the walls, the buildings are impressive, and well kept.

The castle also houses an interesting Armstrong-Vickers museum, with a shedload of aircraft parts and stuff, and this..

..a very nice ships gun..sadly it didn't have a tow point on it.

By night, it was well lit up, and stood out for literally miles.

And this is a kiln, on nearby Beadnell beach. Looks fairly castle like though..

I'll post up pictures of the other castles at intervals, I don't want to overdo it, and become a "Castles & Wittering Site"..though that may not be too bad a thing really.
It's the 3rd September today, and on this day 70 years ago....our thoughts and thanks go to those who served, in whatever role. God Bless them all.
This Saturday, the 5th, is the Newcastle Border Reiver Show, we're putting on a 10mm Naps game and a Naps Naval game too, so if you're there, feel free to say Hello and partake of some gaming, wittering, tea and buns.
Regards, Peeler

Holiday in London..

2009-09-01T17:19:00.018+01:00

We had a week in the capital recently, and had a pleasant if busy time. London seemed quieter than in recent years, less people about and a lot less crush and rush going on. We did the usual tourist stuff, but unfortunately didn't manage to have tea with Elizabeth and Philip, and we didn't get even a glimpse of that Gordon chap either, but I did get some photos of various places of interest.
Here's the home of Parliamentary democracy. Looking good, on the outside at least.

Tower Bridge looked really good from the river boat.

Boris's office, all very modern and glassey. Impressive and interesting to see, but not sure I like the modern style of it over much.

HMS Belfast, still looking good. I sometimes wonder, if we brought these old ships out of retirement, refitted them, slapped modern missile systems on them, could we rule the waves again? Or at least our own waters?

The Tower of London, this entrance hasn't been used for a while.

The Greatest Briton Ever.

Some scruffy types exercising their democratic rights.

That chap Oliver Cromwell, creator of the New Model Army, General, Parliamentarian, Lord Protector and so on. Being a bit of a Loyalist Royalist myself, I do wonder if he could have tried just a bit harder to sort things out with Charles, maybe over a beer or two, and all that nasty beheading business may have been avoided.

The Cenotaph. God Bless them all, past, present and future.

Lord Nelson, keeping a watchful eye over England.

The RAF Memorial, near Windsor. This is a large, wonderful peaceful building, it really pulls at you, with all the names and ages on the walls, of people from all parts of the Commonwealth and beyond, who lost their lives.

An enjoyable time was had, seeing the above and other places besides. A trip to Duxford Imperial War Museum on the way up was a good way to finish the week, I'll post up those pictures later.

British/Zulu DBC game..

2009-08-19T12:42:00.012+01:00

Remember those painted 20mm plastic Brits and Zulus we bought at the St Helen's Show? Well here they are, based but unflocked as yet,( I can't yet decide on what flock to use), and playing on what could be the most green and lush part of Southern Africa (soon to sorted c/o TSS).
We used Mr Testo's new DBColonial Rules, still in the play testing stage, but they go pretty well I'd say. There are no casualty markers, bases are either ok, recoiled or dead. The Brits shoot the bits out of the Zulu's, usually recoiling them at long range, slaughtering them at close range, but if/when the Zulus make contact, if the Brits don't win, then they're dead. I think this is historically accurate in a good simple way, and it leads to waves of Zulus advancing and recoiling, to-ing and fro-ing, but wiping the floor with the Brits once they get into contact, if indeed they do. We've had a few games so far, and it plays really well.
Here's a few pictures of one game, the scenario being that the Brits are peacefully escorting a wagon supply across the table, in Zulu Land. The Brits win by getting off the other side of the table, the Zulus win by stopping them marching arrogantly across their land. (Hey, keep it simple eh!) One change we did do, was that the Zulus had their normal 15 point army, +a die roll more, kept secret from the Brit player, to make it variable. This made a difference when part of the Zulu force is kept off table, then gets moved on, so the Brits don't yet know if they are all on or not. Its quite worrying really. If you're the British.
So here they are, (using a mere base as the wagon, I haven't painted it yet)..the Zulu appeared and the British decided after a couple of moves to form square against the pesky natives. The Sk bases were originally sent out as the oncoming Zulu can't deploy within 500 paces of them, thus cutting down their choice of entry onto the table.

As more Zulu appeared, hooping and awailing, the Sk desperately tried to rejoin the Square, stopping to pop off a few caps to discourage the advancing hordes.

The firepower of the steady British line kept most of the Zulu at bay. It's a funny thing, but those in firing poses seemed to score better than those in running poses. Just coincidence, obviously, but I feel I may have to replace those running figures!

Whoa! Zulus are in and jabbing with their spears, wacking away with their knobkerries too. This is not supposed to happen too often!

They also caught up with those Sk bases, and took a heavy revenge on them. Sk and Brit Natives don't do melee too well.

The square is broken and disorganised. With die rolls like that it's not surprising really.

The Brits did a quick reorganising, and tried to hold their own. Surrender is not an option for these Soldiers of the Queen.

Some more British casualties, and the end is in sight, poor fellows. More Zulu came on, and finished them off. Hmm. I feel the need for an invasion to avenge this outrage.

Although we've just got going with this period and the rules, the game played really well and easily and flowed along well. It also made sense and felt historically accurate. We'll revisit this period soon, and hope for a British victory! My thanks to the other players for a pleasant and enjoyable game. Even though I lost. Again.

A Game of Risk.

2009-08-16T21:45:00.005+01:00

Remember this board game? Hadn't played it for ages until last week, and it was a joy to game. Simple, easy, fun, and even a little bit strategic at times too. Six of us managed to play it, and had a right good hoot. Tantrums, swearing and throwing of Teddy's into the corner were kept to a minimum.

A couple of moves in, and Doug held most of Nth America, Ben had Sth America, Peeler had Europe, Mathew most of Asia, Richie had Africa and Tim hung around in the Northern Wastes. Over a few further moves, Doug took over Sth America, Peeler took the Northern Wastes, and Mathew took Africa. Only three remained..soon down to two when Peeler in Europe got squished betwixt Doug in the West and Mathew in the East...how apt eh. Naturally, England was the last to fall, and went down fighting bravely. After tea and buns, there was a mammoth clash between West and East, with Doug ending triumphant, and so he had to wear the Winners Crown. Except we didn't have one, so he had to make do with a Tiara instead. I still have the photo, and am awaiting due payment for the negative.

DBA Roman/Carthaginian Game

2009-07-30T17:29:00.017+01:00

Remember those Roman/Carthage 6mm armies we bought at St Helen's? Well here they are, or part of them at least, I think there's about three times the figures shown here. We thought we'd keep it simple, and have an easy 12 point DBA game. We haven't got any Baggage, we realised, so that's going to be a small order to Irregular Minis I think. These figures are Baccus, on a TSS tile, tea and buns supplied by Peeler, fresh from the packet, and the game was played a week or two ago.
The Carthage Army deploys, with two Pisoli in front, and Cavalry on the flanks. Spears formed the main block, along with a base of Auxilia. (In DBA, the General is meant to be in with an element, but we used these as they came based up, and it worked ok).

The Roman Army, deployed with Spears in the centre, Cavalry to the flanks and just the one base of Pisoli to the front. Those shields stand out well I reckon.

The two sides go to it, with the main bodies moving toward each other, and each side attempting flank movements.

Out of focus, or is that a touch of mist over the distant Carthage horde? (Yeah, ok, it's my photography skills, or lack of..)

Then again...

On the Carthage right, the Cavalry are confronted by two bases of Spears and one of Cavalry. This was a learning game, both for the rules and tactics, and I think we picked it up pretty quickly.

Whilst on the Left, the two flanking forces met, and had a long set to, with neither side having much advantage for a while.

The Romans having lost their Pisoli in a slinging contest, the two main bodies met in a crunch of shields, spears and tears. Especially for the poor Carthage Pisoli, being stuck in the middle. They didn't last long either, poor fellows.

On the Right, the Romans pushed forward, continually outflanking their opponents, forcing them to retire slowly.

Bit of a lull in the Centre as both sides took stock of the situation..
..and the players enjoyed tea, buns and a yabber. The lines reformed.

And the Right flank continued to retire, perilously close to the main melee. The Roman Cavalry had trotted off to out-flank the flanking Carthaginians flanking force. A right bunch of flankers they were.

The Spears went to it again, and both sides suffered Recoils, while Carthage suffered another loss in the Centre as well as on the Left.

On the Right, the out-flanking Roman flankers charged in, and minced the Carthage Cavalry, effectively winning the game due to Elements destroyed. The remaining Carthaginians would certainly have been in a bit of a pickle had the battle continued, being held in front and with Romans on both flanks.

So a small but enjoyable game was had, and we got to know the rules. Although DBA has been around for years, I haven't played it for at least ten years I reckon, and it was good to have a simple easy game, without record keeping or casualty markers being needed. The 'recoiling' bits do seem a bit tedious at times, but then suddenly an element or two gets destroyed, and from then on it's mostly downhill for the loser. In short, these rules make sense, and give an easy flowing and enjoyable game. Bearing in mind the figures are 'only' 6mm, I think the photos came up pretty well too.

Thanks to Richie, Gareth and Doug for a pleasant and entertaining game.

(Note to self...next time I'm playing Carthaginian, I should use some of those big stomping elephant things...).

Treasure Island Board

2009-07-28T14:00:00.005+01:00

Here'a few photos of the Treasure Island Board, it's a simple layout, so that at the school fete the kids can stick pins in the islands, in a bid to pinpoint where the treasure is hidden. I've no idea what the prize will be, but no doubt it wil be something to do with chocolate and eating. The water parts do actually look better in reality, a bit more sea-like and covered with a gloss paint with glitter in it. I didn't think this would work, but on seeing it dry, it does look pretty good and sparkly. (Honest!)

Together with a few pirate ships, it should be ok. And it made me think of a naval game we could play, so I may have to ask to borrow it back sometime..

As said below, islands were supplied by TSS, and they donated the volcano, so thanks again to them.

General Wittering..

2009-07-27T14:09:00.003+01:00

In Praise of Traders..
I read a post on a Wargames Site a while ago, complaining (rightly or wrongly, I don't know) about some Company or other. And I thought to myself, we can all be quick to complain, but slow to praise, so here's some praise and thanks to some Traders I've had dealings with lately..

East Riding Miniatures-I ordered, by phone, some pre-cut bases, and recieved them in two days-before I'd even paid for them. I ordered somemore, by email, and the second order and the cheque crossed in the post, again received within a few days. The bases have a very clean and accurate cut, and that is a swift and trusting delivery each time.

Old Glory-many moons ago I ordered a Prison Wagon, for use with my Village Wars project. After a fair bit of effort, OG managed to obtain one from the US supplier, and also took the time to find another wagon which fits my project perfectly. Once obtained, they were swiftly delivered. Good memory, effort, and thoughtful too.

S&A Scenics-I phoned them, discussed their various road systems, and after ordering, mentioned that I needed them quickly for the Elvington game. I received the set within three days. Helpful, and a swift delivery too.

TSS Terrain-I'd been talked into making a 'Treasure Island' board for a local school fair, so I turned to TSS, and after a pleasant chat (as always), I'd ordered various hills (to use as Islands), and they offered to 'chuck in' a volcano too..free of charge, and in what was a busy week for them personally, I received said parcel within a week.

I'd like to thank and recommend the above firms, for the quality of their products, their helpfulness and swift deliveries. Their efforts make the hobby all the more pleasant and enjoyable.

Cheers one and all!

Phalanx Show & General Wittering.

2009-07-14T18:10:00.018+01:00

A month..that's far too long! But these things happen...too busy at work, too busy at home, too busy helping out with a mates gardening business (he's had a stroke & thankfully he's getting better slowly), and just not enough hours in the week really. I haven't even been to the pub as much...yep, I've had so little time!!
Mind you, we have had a fair bit of hobby time over the last month as well. A few of us went to Phalanx on 20th June..(http://www.phalanxshow.co.uk/). It's a smallish show, but what a friendly place!!There were some lovely games on, and the B&B...well, I just wish we'd had more cash on us. We did buy a couple of Roman/Carthage 6mm armies, and although "too small & I can't see them" as some say, having used them, they're more than ok! Good to play a different period too, using DBA rules..easy to use and fun to play. Also, I found my particular 'Find of the Month'...saw an A4 box on the B&B, I opened it, my wallet opened, and there they were...painted 20mm plastic Zulu's and Brits....with a Donald Featherstone book, (At them with the Bayonet), and rules and sandbags, all for a mere £30ish. Well, you can't just leave that can you, so they were bought too, and I've based them up for DBColonial rules, which again having had a couple of games, are nice and easy to use. The sight of these plastic figures, (not everyone's cup of tea I know, but heck, cheap and available, and have a certain childhood happiness about them), sent me searching through my garage, where I found some long forgotton plastic ACW...not so forgotton now, and soon to be used I'd say, with DBACW rules..! It was good to meet up with some people I haven't seen for a while, and naturally a good day was had by all. Here's few pictures of the show games..

As you can see, there was some quality there! There's some more pictures up on DarkLord's Site that are worth a look at too (http://dlwarspace.blogspot.com/).

June 27th was Armed Forces Day as you'll know, and happily in nearby Scarborough there was a fine display on. Among the display of Machine Guns, I saw the usual, and then saw one that was just a lot bigger..I enquired, and it was a GMG...a Grenade Machine Gun...fires 40mm grenades up to two miles, at @30 a minute. Have that, Mr Taliban. It was good to see such a large turnout by the public, and such a show of support for the Forces. There was a small and largely ignored 'Peace Table' nearby, and only one loutish abuser who shouted out as the parade marched past...he didn't get to say too much before he was swifted away by the local Peeler's, hopefully to recieve some strong advice on his future behaviour toward people who deserve our respect and support. The two minute silence was well observed, and it was good just to be there and show support for our Armed Forces. Young Jordan and chums looked the part in their CCF uniform too, very smart, they showed that not all today's 'youth' are a feckless listless bunch. There is in fact hope for the future with people like that growing up so well. (And that's from a cynic such as me).

On the gaming side, we've had Napoleonic, Ancient and Colonial games this last month, mostly at my place, with myself, Alex, Richie, Doug and Gareth and Ben. I'll post some pictures up soonest. I have to say, the variety of games and periods we can do now does make a difference, and the ease and good nature of my fellow gamers makes these games all the more enjoyable.

For the near future, I need just a few more plastic Zulu war boxes...wagons and cavalry and suchlike...just a few more boxes...and I need to base up my Village War stuff..and..!

A warm welcome to Jake Bullet, who's just started a Blog with lots of potential on his D&D Adventures (http://jbdandd.blogspot.com/2009/07/our-first-adventure-a1.html) and to GreyStreak, who I've known for a while and finally met up with at the South Mimms Waterloo game. Good to see you both on here, you're more than welcome.

Heck, is that the time? It's time for the pub, first time in far too long!

Fantasy Game, Defence of the Bell..

2009-06-16T11:54:00.026+01:00

We got our Kallistra figures out and gave them a dusting off, for a general bash about, Humans and Elves defending (or trying to!) The Bell Ale House, The Windmill, Manor House and The Church. (Oh, and The Woodshed..) Capturing these would gain points for the Forces of Evil, made up of Orcs and Undead, who needed to also retain 'The Awful Ruins'.
For the buildings, we used our collection of 'Lilliput Lane' type models...not historically accurate, but well..when your using Elves and Orcs and Skeletons....
We used our house rules version of the DBn system, giving bonus to Spears, Zombies, and Elves.
The Bell Ale House, with the local peasantry hanging around it..

..whilst the disciplined Elven Spears form up to fight off the Orc hordes..

Over on the Right, having retired beforehand and given up the Windmill, the Humans make a stand against the Undead, inspired by supporting calls from the Ladies of the Woodshed, seen here nestling under the trees.

In front of the Bell, battle is joined with Horse and Chariots against Wolves and supporting Orcs.

Whilst on the Right, the brave Human Chariots give it a go against the Undead...bad move really, and they were just showing off to those aforementioned Ladies..

The melee on the Left continued, with lots of hacking and slashing from both sides, the Evils opening out to Flank the Elven Horse..

As the rigid Evlen Spears looked on unfazed, the Peasants began to realize that their Ale House was under threat, and moved up in boisterous mood..

On the Right, the Human Chariots held their own for a while, before being overwhelmed by Rhino Chariots joining in...(chariots pulled by Rhinos eh...you couldn't make it up could you)..

The Evils did get a bonus in this melee, as they had Wolves with teeth and Rhino's with horns against mere softy Horses..

Buoyed up by the success of their chariots, the Skeletons piled into the Humans, who resolutely defended The Ladies Woodshed...apart from one or two who couldn't resist the Ladies Wail, and left the ranks to enter the shed, fearing it may be their last opportunity for a while..

Whilst back at The Bell, the Elves more than held their own against the Orcs.

Bit of a disaster on the Right, as the Evil Chariots pile into the Human Spears, causing mass trampling and carnage.

The Elves began to get the upper hand, and flanked the Orcs, pushing then back.

And on the Right, the Evils massacred the remaining Humans, securing both the Windmill and Manor House, as well as the Ladies Woodshed..what happened in there is not really printable here..

Following the desecration of the Shed...which is now known as 'The Shed of Dread', the Evils quickly made their way across the field toward The Bell and The Church. Luckily, the Elves had just about stomped the Orcs into the ground, and seeing that the Ale House was about to be Rhino'd, the Peasants, fuelled up on the local brew, formed up for a ruck..

and actually took the charge! Must have been a good brew that they had..

As they fought it out, the Elves returned, and joining the fray, flanked the Rhino's...

..and fought off a flanking Skeleton Chariot too..

The Peasants lost heavily but fended off the attack, inspiring the Bell Landlord to declare 'drinks all round'..

It was an enjoyable fun game, with several 'special rules' put in, like some Humans being unable resist the Woodshed Ladies wailing and so leaving the ranks, whilst the Humans got a Bonus for defending near to The Church and Pub, thus being inspired by 'Belief and Brew'.

Overall, it was an Evil win, having taken the Windmill, Manor House and Woodshed, as well as retaining the 'Awful Ruins', which the Humans never even got near to.
Congratulations to the Evil Duo, Richie and Tod, and thanks to Alex for some inspired thoughts on the Woodshed.

Sewerby Hall Napoleonic Reenactment.

2009-05-31T20:47:00.004+01:00

Last weekend, after a grand day at Scarborough Castle on the Saturday, on the Sunday we went to Sewerby Hall near Bridlington...not a bad sort of pad to be at...

It has an animal collection, the cutest of which were these penguins, which were surprisingly vocal.

But the main event was that it was a Napoleonic Reenactment day, put on by the 68th Durham Light Infantry, and the 21st Regiment de Ligne. They had camped over, with followers, baggage and so on, and really looked the part. The red jackets are actually (so I was told) still made by the same firm which made the originals..and contrary to what I've read somewhere, they weren't waterproof.

A chap of the 95th..

And a French Howitzer, surprising how large it was really. To say nothing of this Gunners hat..

Sadly they didn't fire it., but did give an interesting talk on the practicalities of firing it. In the French camp it was muster time.

And then time for a parade and a swift march about.

Whilst in the British camp, as befits our character, things were a lot more casual and laid back.

The conversation went along the lines of,"Eee, tha' sees them Frenchies are getting all worked up"..."Ah, damn their eyes"..

Battle was soon joined, and even with only twenty muskets firing, it soon created a fair old smoke cloud. With a few thousand going at it, I'd imagine you'd soon be in darkness. Makes you wonder about musketry ranges after a few rounds had been fired.

When the Brits got sorted after their initial surprise, they threw out a skirmish screen whilst the line reformed.

The French came on in column, with lots of "Allez" and "Vive la France" and suchlike. The audience got involved, and gave them a bit of verbal, "Oi Frenchie, get off our land"..as the lady was about 85, they politely ignored her, and she thoroughly enjoyed herself. I'm sure there's few AB poses in this picture..

After a bit of tooing and froing, lots of bangs and smoke, it was decided that the French had won the day...which brought on more verbal from the aforementioned lady, until she wore herself out. A march past followed..

By the French, then some 'baggage', then the Brits.

The French being the victors, did a circuit of the grounds. And they certainly weren't stopping for anyone who got in the way. Arrogant bunch of cheese eating surrender monkeys! (They were actually very pleasant and happy to take time to talk whilst in camp).

By happy coincidence, the coastguard came out to play too.

It was a nice sunny day, and it's always good to see the uniforms, equipment, and to chat away with people who really know their stuff and so on.

Wartime Weekend at Scarborough Castle and a Pencil Sharpner.

2009-05-24T19:40:00.008+01:00

This weekend has been a bonus..as well as having sunshine, it's been WW2 weekend at Scarborough Castle and Napoleonic Weekend at nearby Sewerby Hall! Total joy. WW2 at the Castle was a nice friendly affair and I just wish I'd remembered to change the batteries on my camera. (Duffush!!). Never mind, it was enjoyable anyway, and we got to handle the weaponry-it's surprising how heavy some of it is. I wouldn't like to run very far with an MG34 in my mitts. There was the usual 'battle display', and that showed just how loud guns are..which scared a fair few people present. Top of the day was a fly by of a Dakota...which was very quiet as it came up. One thing I noticed, was that some of the 'Germans' seemed to have Sten SMG's, but with the magazine underneath..I asked, and apparently it was an MP3/008 (?)...German made in 1944/5, as a copy of the basic Sten. Never seen one of them before, you learn something every day eh. All in all, a pleasant day was had.
Whilst in the Castle shop, I found this pencil sharpener, for a mere £2..I thought, hmm, painted up, that could be used in a future game..maybe with those Crusader 20mm plastics eh..
Oh, and a late welcome to Giles Allison and Astri, who've recently signed up as 'Followers'..Giles runs an excellent Blog called Tarleton's Quarter which is well worth a look at, and Astri seems to have a fair selection of Blogs too..welcome to both, hope you enjoy and look forward to seeing more of your wonderful AWI games Giles.

GdB Game, and Elvington Wargames Show .

2009-05-14T12:41:00.034+01:00

We put on a GdB game at the Elvington Show, on the Sunday, under the banner name of "Yorkshire Coast Wargamers", which is our newish name for our own loose association of wargamers who game together at each others houses and at shows. Things change and time moves on, so we thought a new name was in order. (Don't worry Norman and Leo, it does stretch as far North as Newcastle and as far West as Wales!) As said, we are a loose association, and so there is no official type club structure and whatnot, we're just into wargaming. If you're on or around the Yorkshire Coast and want to broaden your gaming contacts, feel free to get in touch.. mphillips611@aol.com ..and we'll arrange a game or three, at yours or ours, or at a show- Willing to travel, must have good sense of humor, pints and pies a possibility, no long term commitment required....
Back to the game though! A good day was had by all I reckon. We put out a flyer explaining that the game was 'The Defence of La Haye Saint, Waterloo 18/06/1815' and so on, using TSS terrain, Old Glory 10mm figures, and GdB rules. There were seven of us altogether, Mrs P and MiniP, Richie, Alex and Jordan, and Norman, who came all the way from Newcastle-and much appreciated too. Setting up was swift and easy, and parking was nearby too, all well organised by the chaps who run the event. To the pictures..
Richie commanded the French, and painted & based his own Napoleon just the night before..The French columns lined up ready to advance..

As the Allies, commanded by Norman, casually awaited the onslaught.

The French quickly overran the LHS orchard,and prepared to attack the main farmhouse, defended by the KGL.

As another Brigade, supported by Cavalry, piled into Bylandts DutchBelgic troops.

On their right flank, the Allies launched the Household Brigade at the supporting Cuirassiers and a fierce melee followed.

Now I'd just gone off for a pie when this happened...The French took LHS at the first assault! Maybe the KGL had burned too many doors the night before.

Meanwhile, Bylandts Brigade was getting a proper thumping, and Farmer de'Palmer decided it was time to move out for a while.

The French pretty much made mincemeat of the Dutch, before reorganising for an assault on the ridgeline itself, defended by staunch British troops behind hedges.

At this critical point, Alex decided to yabber to a pleasant chap from America,

and in the face of adversity, Norman maintained his rakish, swashbuckling and Devil-may-care composure..

So, the French had taken LHS, and duly evicted the remaining KGL troops from the garden. 'Ass kickin' was how Jordan described it.

The Dutch, having cleared off into the woods for tea and scones, had (thankfully) left a gap for the Union Brigade to pile on through, just as the French Btns were reforming..and in they went, scattering the skirmishers and heading for the columns..

The HouseHold Cavalry, having sent the Cuirassiers on their way, returned to trample on a French Btn..

..as the Union Brigade did pretty much the same on the other side of LHS too.

In the centre, despite having taken LHS early on, the French attack faltered in the face of musketry and cannister fire, and didn't get beyond the farmhouse itself.

The British line held the high ground still. Hurrah!

However, the scenario was that the French needed to take LHS and weaken the British centre if possible, in order to allow for the upcoming mass Guard and Cavalry advance..(must get painting for that one)..so in that respect, it was decided that it was a French victory. Without smugness from Richie or tears from Norman, we packed up and headed into York, and had an Italian before heading for home. All in all, a really good weekend was had. I was so pooped I couldn't even make it to the pub on Sunday.
Here's some pictures of the rest of the show, there were some class games on, and some nice and varied trader stands. I picked up two cheap 10mmECW armies, Richie picked up a large amount of plastic figures, and more besides.
Here's me Dad..

An excellent backdrop!

A really good looking game by the TotalBattleMiniatures chaps..they make and sell the terrain and buildings too. And for what they are, they aren't expensive either.

A large raid on St Naizzare game, this was spectacular to see.

A WW2 bash..

And a beach landing...how many LC's!

They were all of a good high quality, and clearly a lot of effort had gone into putting them on.

So there we are. As usual, there was a fair bit of yabbering done, and it was good to chat on with some gents from Redcar and Northallerton in particular. Our thanks to the Show organisers, for a smashing weekend of gaming and enjoyment.