Peeler Family Holidays.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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,