DBColonial Game at The Recon Show.

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,

One's Painting Table..

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,

British have another go at the Zulu..

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,

British/Zulu DBC game..

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.