Author Archives: kgsmyth55

Lion Rampant Again

English longbowmen confront French mounted troops

English longbowmen confront French mounted troops

402In our neck of the woods (Washington state, Puget Sound region)  many gamers are very interested in Lion Rampant.  For some of us, Lion Rampant is competing with SAGA as a rules set of choice for medieval warfare.

Confession: I am not a fan of competitive, one-on-one rules sets with points-based army lists. I know many of my good friends really do enjoy that gaming environment.  I’m not one of them.  No slam on those who do, but that’s not what it’s about for me.  SAGA is that kind of game.  Lion Rampant could be, with its points-based retinues, but it doesn’t have to be, at least not from my perspective.

I’ve had the good fortune to walk through four games of LR over the past ten days.  I believe the rules can be a very capable vehicle for scenario design.  In each of the games we had multiple players in games-four players, three players, up to eight players.  The games all proceeded fairly quickly through simple scenarios finished in less than two hours, and in some cases even faster.

For those of you just picking up these rules, or trying to decide if this is the rules set for you, there are some important things you should know.

  1. These are skirmish rules.  Though author Daniel Mersey suggests they could be sort of semi-skirmish, they are intended to be 1:1 scale.  Each unit of 6 or 12 figures represents 6 or 12 guys.  They are a collection of dudes, not intending to represent a formation one would find on the battlefield at Agincourt or Tournai.
  2. Mersey uses an interesting device in the rules–a 3″ zone of control around each unit that may not be crossed by friendly or enemy units (unless you are being attacked.)  This keeps the combat unit to unit, and fairly tidy, but it does create some interesting problems. This extra 3″ footprint takes up extra space on the table, likely requiring more room than one would think at this scale. Resist the temptation to toss this requirement.  The 3″ rule is sacrosanct and gives the game real flavor and uniqueness, on the one hand, but it doesn’t complicate the simple, but clear game mechanics
  3. One would think that with such small units on the table it should be easy to throw loads of them out there. Careful. The 3″ footprint does rob lots of valuable space from the tabletop.  I would suggest two 24 point retinues on a 5′ X 4′ table. Four 24 point retinues on an 8′ X 4′ table.  Six 24 point retinues on a table at least 10′ – 12′ long. This is an important  consideration in scenario design.  Most foot units only move 6″ per turn and due to activation rolls may not move much at all in a turn. Mounted Men-at-Arms move 10″ per turn, but are fairly disdainful about moving. Missile fire extends 18″ from the shooter.  So, if you’re counting on your units covering great expanses of the table, think again. And the 3″ zone of control makes it more difficult to throw lots of units into an extended skirmish.
  4. Missile fire can be deadly.  Putting terrain on the table to break up line of sight is critical.

For my purposes, I feel like the rules work well.  In the Hundred Years War there are endless small unit battles in Gascony and Brittany over strong points and market towns. English chevauchees left many small towns in ashes, while local French commanders scratched together troops to drive off the invaders. I have an idea for a raid on town guarded by a derelict castle, though I also fear it may involve too many troops.  We’ll just have to see.

I confess the rules have really captured me. I like it that they are inexpensive.  I like it that the mechanics are easy, though there is some subtlety.  The activation roulette means that no unit alone is queen of the battlefield. Suggested retinues should be considered just that, suggestions subject to contact with history.

And One For All . . . : Eureka’s 40mm Musketeer figures

I’ve painted a lot of figures in my gaming life, but I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed painting a batch of figures like Eureka’s 40mm Musketeer figs.

Just to be clear, these are the first 40’s I’ve ever painted before.  They are modeled on the characters and dress from Richard Lester’s excellent The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers from the early 70’s.  They are beautiful figures, incredibly well cast.  They have lots of nice folds in the clothing, presenting lots of opportunities for shading.

Let’s start with the chief characters (note: I’m referring to the first 11 figures I painted, so the Musketeers, Rochefort and the Cardinals Guard, and a couple of identical tough guys.)

Each of the four musketeer figures bear a resemblance to their character from the movie.  The difficult part is to make them interesting.  For the most part they are clothed in black.  They even lack the slashing, allowing their white shirts to pop through with a bit of contrast as they did in the movies. I did a lot of highlighting with a charcoal gray color.  Wherever possible I used a light gray in shirt creases or in bits of lace, just to break up the monotonous black and white. Athos, Aramis and D’Artagnan are variations of this black and white theme.  However Porthos, vain character that he was, had lots of gold lace and his belt was entirely gilded, except in the back, as you may recall.  It was difficult to create suitable designs in the space available, so I did the best I could. Even so, Porthos was fun to paint.

Christopher Lee’s Count Rochefort is probably the most recognizable of the character figures, with its long hair and eye patch.  I painted the figure with a Ceramcoat dark red figure so old I can no longer read the name on the bottle.  The lace on the figure is well-formed and it’s easy to add a little bit of gray to help it stand out. In the movie Rochefort’s boots are almost exactly the same color as the rest of his red attire, but I decided to do a little something different, mixing the Ceramcoat red with a Ceramcoat Maroon.  That gave me something a little bit different, but still similar. enough to give the sense that they were color coordinated.

The four different figures that are part of the Cardinal’s Guard are all painted a base of Vallejo Vermillion.  These figures were very fun to paint.  I lightened with Vermillion and white and darkened with Vermillion and Carmine Red, and they came out quite nicely.  I also used the Carmine Red to “blackline around the gold edges and the crosses. The Vermillion is a bit bright, but it’s also easy to work with as a base color for shading.

The two “hired blade” figures are pretty straightforward, and I lavished the least attention on them. ‘Nuff said.

I probably have all the 40mm figures I plan to buy for this project.  I did add all the remaining Eureka figures with the exception of Mr. Bonacieux. If I have any criticism of these miniatures it is that there aren’t more figures to flesh out the range.  Some soldiers, a few beggars, a few more civilian types would really be nice additions. However, they are absolutely a hoot to paint, and I honestly believe they are my best efforts in at least a decade.

I’m taking a little break from these guys for now as I wrap the last 18 figures I need to finish up all my Vikings for SAGA, and my first handful of buildings for St. Nazaire.  Then I’ll return and finish up the remaining 15 or so figures for this project.

Lion Rampant at Meeples

As I mentioned in my last post, I picked up a copy of Lion Rampant by Osprey Publishing.  I’m always looking for interesting rules sets for the late middle ages.  I have 500 or so miniatures for the Hundred Years Wars and another 500 or so unpainted figures for the period.  When I heard these were coming out, I pre-ordered them from Amazon for $13.40, knowing they were unlikely to have expensive add-ons and expansions.

The rules are mechanically simple, and easy to follow, but the proof is in the pudding.  Today I met Dave Schueler and David Sullivan at Meeples Games in West Seattle to give them a try.  I put together a simple retinue more or less out of the book for the French and the English and let the two Daves have at it.  I was not disappointed.

Here are some things you should know about Lion Rampant

Scale-small scale.  The rules say 1:1, though I could see them being scaled at 1:5 and still working.

Points based system.  But there are no firm army lists.  There are a number of different unit types for mounted troops, foot melee types, and missile troops.  Units are composed of six or 12 figures.  A retinue or command comprises 24 points which is typically equal to four or five units.

Mechanics are simple, but fun.  There are some required actions that must be taken-wild charges by undisciplined knight types, rallying “battered” units, or challenging enemy leaders to single combat.  The rest of the actions a unit may take-movement, shooting, attacking-all require a die roll against a unit’s ratings. No big charts with long lists of modifiers.  Roll 2 D6 and you’re in or you’re out. Each unit that isn’t rallying is entitled to an action die roll until you miss one and then you’re done. A unit that suffers casualties immediately suffers a “courage” die roll and applies the results.  It’s simple

David ran the French with an abundance of mounted figures, against Daveshoe with the requisite bowmen, some Welsh spearmen and Breton bidowers.  They fought over some hedge lined fields.  The English bowmen shot away the French crossbowmen and foot sergeants, but the English leader lost a single combat, before the mounted English knights were ridden down by their French counterparts.  Both sides were looking beaten up by the end of the game, which lasted no more than an hour.

The three of us expressed considerable delight with the rules.  They have the virtue of being clearly written, mechanically simple, and of course they are very inexpensive.  With an eye toward gaming one of my core periods, these rules nicely allow the game host to recreate actions from the endless campaigns in Gascony throughout the Hundred Years War, or the decades long civil war that was fought in Brittany.  These are intended to fight small actions and not large battles.

But just to show me wrong, Daveshoe suggested we line up some figure a la Agincourt.  So we piled out eight or so units of French foot men-at-arms and a few crossbowmen and had them attacking a mixed force of archers behind stakes and English foot men-at-arms.  It was interesting.  I was very fortunate with activation die rolls for my bow units and shot the snot out of loads of Frenchmen.  But eventually my activation rolls began to fail and the foot knights began to cross my stake lines and slaughter the bowmen.  Again, the rules were easy and fun and I am planning a larger game in a couple of weeks. I could not be more pleased with the rules.

I’d also like to get in a word for Meeples.  Meeples Games is one of growing number of games in the Puget Sound areas that sells mostly board games, a few miniatures for Warhammer 40K and Warmachine, but combines it with a dining experience.  It has excellent table space for board games, and I was able to find a table easily large enough for our Lion Rampant game.  It’s a friendly place.  The food is simple and inexpensive fare.  Probably not the equal of Cafe Mox in Ballard, but much cheaper than AFK Elixers in Renton.  They also have beer and wine on tap.  The only negative I have is that it isn’t in my backyard. If you like supporting local businesses, it’s definitely a place worth a visit.

So Many Projects, So Little Time

lion rampant cover

I feel pulled in at least five  directions as September wraps up.  Usually I’m pretty good at staying focused on one thing at a time but not this time.

  1. So there is a lot of interest in the SAGA rules at the present time.  David Sullivan reminded me the rules have been around for over two years, and I have yet to actually play them.  As I explained in my last post, it looks like I have enough Vikings to put together a four point “faction.”  I’ve agreed to participate in a November 29th tournament, so somehow I’ll have to get a game or two in before then.  I also have a fistful of figures to paint-about 25 or so, but they should go fairly fast. I’ve completed a five figure command set by Gripping Beast and am in the middle of painting ten archers.
  2. I’ve received the first of my pieces for the Raid on St. Nazaire.  These are mostly tiny 2mm buildings by Brigade Games though Pico Armor.  Very nice stuff. I ordered some residential buildings that would appear in St. Nazaire’s Old Town, some railroad buildings that also seem quite nice, along with some trackage.  Finally I got the industrial building set, but likely will need quite a bit more. I’ve also ordered the eight or so vessels I need from PT Dockyard.  I got a note they shipped yesterday, so they should be here soon.
  3. Last week I received the new medieval small action rules, “Lion Rampant.”  These rules are perfect for my singly mounted Hundred Years War figures. I have enough figures to create many “retinues” as both French and English. I’m trying them out on October 11th with Dave Schueler, a simple one off game prior to hosting a larger multi-player game two weeks later.  The rules seem simple and fun with lots of die rolling and death.  They have the virtue of being cheap without a bunch of add-ons a la SAGA, and honestly they just fit my interests a bit better.
  4. I’ve finally dragged out and assembled all my 40mm Three Musketeers figures from the “And One For All” range by Eureka Miniatures.  I’ve primed them and slapped some flesh paint on faces.  I’ve also purchased additional figures for the period from Chris Hughes excellent ECW range at Sash and Saber.  I’m quite thrilled to get them.  This is for a role-playing game I’ve offered to run, and I’m looking forward to painting the magnificent figures and drawing up the scenarios. Will probably use a combination of GDW’s old “En Garde” rules and Ganesha Games’ “Flashing Blades,” with liberal input from Alexandre Dumas (pere), films by Richard Lester, and maybe a little contribution from the “Musketeers” series on BBC America.
  5. I’ve said no new projects for the last couple of years, and I’ve pretty much stuck to that pledge.  But I am looking at something new and that is 28mm Aztecs and Conquistadors.  I actually have boxes and boxes of 1/72 scale Revell plastics, but they are missing a few key items that I can’t seem to duplicate in 20mm.  Eureka has a gorgeous range for both that is quite complete.  I don’t envision anything gargantuan-probably 200-225 miniatures.  There is a Sword and the Flame version for this period, though I can still see some simplifying too. I’ve ordered a sample pack for each side and they are quite nice.

Lots going on, and lots to do, but it all seems pretty fun.

The Fife and Drum Guards

I’ve kept very busy painting in September, and it’s been a very productive month.  I finished fourteen various colonial figures to go with the Butlers Rangers miniatures I painted last month.  I have some other irons in the fire, and I’m painting almost every night, enjoying every minute of it.

However, my big completed project for the month is the 28mm Guards unit from Fife and Drum miniatures.  You might recall I reviewed these figures after I received them last December.  I began painting them at the end of August and finished them earlier this week.

This is a special range of AWI figures, commissioned by Jim Purkey (the Alte Fritz for those who knew him on TMP.)  They were intended to represent the units taking part in the 1777 campaign, including Bennington, Saratoga, Brandywine, Germantown and a host of smaller actions that took place in the Year of the Hangman. We like to think of the Brits in their tricornes and lacy red coats, those were chucked by General Howe as he began his ambitious campaign to win the war.  We find these British in floppy fedoras, long, but largely lace-free coats and overalls rather than breeches.

The miniatures are quite nice.  They have just the right amount of detail and are relatively easy to paint.  They are British AWI figures after all. Loved the lace on the drummer and found the only challenging part was hunting down all the buttons. The muskets are quite long compared to other manufacturers, but also the remember the muskets, together with their bayonets seemed quite long in the movie, “The Crossing.” In my previous post I commented on the figure size and my opinion hasn’t changed.  By height I think they are fine, but they are slender by comparison to other ranges.  Even so, I really enjoyed painting them.  I bought them for a guards unit at Guilford Courthouse, and I’m sure I’ll use the Fife and Drum guys for the second unit.

In what’s been a very good painting month, I also finished six Perry “nervous militia” figures from their AWI range, as well as a package of civilian types.  I want to use them in a raid game featuring Butler’s Rangers and Indians vs frontier settlements.  I think I’ll cobble together my own rules for the game, based on Brother Against Brother and/or Sword and the Flame.  Something one pagey and simple.  The British will have to torch structures, keep casualties low and prevent their Indian allies from killing everything in sight.  The settlers will have to hold on until help arrives. May have to try out a pack of Perry plastic Continentals to make this work.

I’m presently trying to immerse myself in painting my SAGA Vikings before moving on to 40mm Three Musketeers figures.

 

 

The year’s big project

Enfilade made it official last week and announced the theme for the 2015 convention.  It will be Raids.  Not really much of a raids person, though I could imagine a few raids that might be worth gaming.  I’ve painted some figures for raiding the frontier during the American Revolution.  Maybe, we’ll see.

Actually I’m fibbing.  Daveshoe and I have long discussed the possibility of gaming the St. Nazaire Raid of 1942. This raid was carried out against the Normandie docks, the only one on the Atlantic coast capable of hosting the German battleship Tirpitz.  In a daring land/sea expedition elements of the Royal Commandoes and Royal Navy destroyed the docks and important infrastructure in St. Nazaire’s maritime/industrial region. Unlike lots of games, there aren’t a couple hundred 28mm figures that will need to be painted.  Instead, we’ll be modeling the game table for a 1/600 scale coastal action.  I have many of the British gunboats already built and painted, but I have eight more to go.  There will buildings galore to paint, felt game space to construct and etc., etc., I’ll keep you posted on the project as we proceed.

I’m currently painting my Fife and Drum British Guards from the American Revolution.  These are exquisite 28mm figures, with just the right amount of detail.  They were sculpted to model troops for the 1777 campaign.  Though their coats are a bit long, they’ll do for Guilford Courthouse as well.  They are very nice, but a little on the small side. Smaller than Perry’s 28mm AWI, and even a little smaller than Old Glory figures.  I’m working on a 24 figure unit and making steady progress.  I hope to have them finished by the end of the week.

What then?  I have fourteen singly mounted militia and civilians I want to paint for the AWI frontier scenarios I mentioned earlier. These are all Perry figures that I expect to paint up very quickly.  They’re nice figures, a good variety of men, women and children.

I proposed to do some role playing with my son and friend David, and promised to take on the role of game master.  I asked Casey what kind of role playing he would most be interested in, and he thought it would be fun to do some swashbuckling along the lines of the Three Musketeers.  I thought that was a great idea because it gives me an excuse to pull out my Eureka 40mm And All For One figures.  They are unpainted, but I think they’ll take the next place in the painting queue.  I’ve been re-watching my copy of the Richard Lester stories (The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974) are by far the best versions of the Dumas story; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.) I’ve also checked out the BBCAmerica The Musketeers series for story ideas and I’m anxious to get started.  I’m likely to use Fudge as the rules set but am consulting the ancient GDW EnGarde rules as well as Ganesha Games Flashing Blades for ideas as well.  I have the original nine figure set Eureka issued a while back, and I’ve ordered a couple more of the assassin type figures, and I’m looking out for where I might be able to pick up a few more additional figure types for the era.

Finally, there’s been an increasing amount of talk about the SAGA rules for some quickly small action gaming.  I have 25 painted Vikings and was pawing through my piles of unpainted lead hoping to find a few more.  Indeed I discovered another 20+ miniatures which I want to paint.  That way I can join the cool crowd too.  I would guess I’ll work on these while I’m painting my Musketeers.

In any case I’ve got lots on my plate to keep me busy.  I can assure you I’ll do my very best to make it a good time.

August is the best month

I haven’t posted much this summer.  That’s unusual because summer is when I typically get a lot of painting done, projects take shape, and I take lots of time to share.  Not so much this summer.  Though I have painted some, I’ve mostly really relaxed, watched a lot of Mariners baseball, played with the dogs, and now I’m back at school.

I have managed to get in some games.  I played some home brew ancients games.  I participated in an awesome ACW naval game using my Webb model and Sail and Steam Navies.  I ran one of my Louisiana games and was offered some great feedback for a scenario I plan to run at Fix Bayonets in September.  Last, I played in Damond Crump’s excellent L-Z X-Ray scenario, based on the 7th Cavalry’s Ia Drang Valley battle in November 1965.  It was incredibly fun, kind of a like a gigantic problem solving event.  I really enjoyed playing the NVA with Joe Waddington and Al Rivers.

I’ve also played a lot of board games.  Not only that, I’ve acquired a lot of board games.  Mostly the multi-player non serious games, because they are the most fun.  Generally I’ve stayed away from acquiring these games because A) they’re expensive, B) you need a bunch of folks to play them and C) they take up a lot of room.  Unfortunately, I’ve had a little extra money this summer so I’ve indulged my interests.  I bought a new copy of an out of print game (key words meaing lock up your wallet) called The Making of the President: 1960 on the Kennedy/Nixon campaign.  I’ve played it once and would have to say that along with GMT’s Twilight Struggle, using a similar card-driven system, it is my favorite game. I also picked up a used copy of GDW’s Tet Offensive from 1991, and with my birthday cash a copy of GMT’s Dominant Species on the coming of the Ice Age. Maybe I’ll include some reviews as I work through them a bit.

But I do paint as often as possible.  It hasn’t been every night, but I will get back on that track as much as possible.  I will feature pics from a couple of items I’m pretty happy with.  The first is a pair of command figures for my Poitiers game.  I know I haven’t talked much about this the last couple of years, but I will keep picking at it.  they are Arnoul D’Audrehem and Jean Clermont, the Marshal of France.  They each led a column of French mounted knights in the vanguard of the French army and gave the English archers fits trying to penetrate their well armored horses.  Unfortunately, fits or not, Clermont was killed and Audrehem captured.  The figures are from Old Glory, with heraldry matched as well as I could from online and print sources.

The second group of figures are Butler’s Rangers, provincial militia from the American Revolution.  They frequently teamed with Iroquois warriors to challenge American control in the over-the-mountain regions of New York and Pennsylvania, leading to considerable bloodshed among frontier settlers.  I have a mind to do some skirmishy games on the frontier there.  These are Front Rank figures.  I’ve had them for more than twenty years, and in fact I made one of two smallish figure orders to fill them out to their 25 man ranks. Butler’s Rangers provided their own uniforms,  hence the varying shades of green, including a few with traditional red-faced uniforms instead of the more practical hunting shirts.  I used four different shades of Vallejo green to give them variety. As always, Front Rank figures, with their deep creases and defined bulges, are a pleasure to paint.

I also picked up some AWI civilians and “Nervous Militia” figures from Perry Miniatures.  Pics to follow.

 

 

Big Red, Mr. Blue and Miss Teeth and the Smyth pack.

As we were leaving Sand Point with our little bundle of shaking Aussie girl, breeder and friend Marilyn Gadberry reminded us that three dogs equals a pack.  It’s been a week since our Lola girl joined the family and it’s been a mostly fun seven days of getting to know each other.  As the week ends, Marilyn’s words seem prescient as we saw the the first signs of bonding. 

Poor Lo, we’ve exposed her to so much.  This is a busy place sometimes.  Lots going on in the house.  People coming and going.  All the dogs go in their crates when we leave, and though I wasn’t gone long any day, little Miss was a vocal protestor. We’ve learned that Lola likes to put anything into her mouth she can tear apart.  Tennis balls, bits of cellophane, anything plastic that she can crunch is good.  I spend a lot of time with my fingers in her mouth, and all I get from her is a look that says “What? You lookin’ at me?” Her table manners need work, and she’s happy to try and snatch food out of her brothers’ mouths.  They just look at each other and shake their heads in incredulous understanding.  Kids.

Lo’s hung out around through the noise of the lawn mower and edger, the vacuum cleaner and my Dremel tool.  She doesn’t much care for the sprinkler.  But she loves to chase a ball.She rolls on her back in the grass.  Lola’s getting better at walking, though we do have occasional system failures.  Last night she nearly killed me when she ran around me wrapping her leash around my legs.  Walking three dogs can be a challenge, but most of the time she does pretty well.  She can be a little bit barky.  This morning she aired out a neighbor very sleepily walking out to get his newspaper at 5:00. 

Lola’s always happy to see me.  When I walk through the door she runs to me with her whole hind end wiggling and a big clenched smile that makes it look like she’s baring her teeth, but in truth that is her happy face.  I’ve taken to calling her Miss Teeth. She loves to jump up in a lap–for about two minutes, long enough for a quick tummy scratch and a face wash, before running off to chomp a Nyla-bone or forage for real or imaginary food, or maybe a quick lie-down.. She’s such a little person, just like the two boys. 

Rusty has had the hardest time adjusting to new company.  He’s always been the most passively compliant, while having the biggest personality of the two boys.  The first couple of days of being home from boarding he seemed kind of listless and standoffish, seeming to resent all the attention his new little sister received.  On Wednesday I decided to escape with him, leaving the other two guys crated while we drove for a walk down to Bradley Lake Park. While walking him that morning he began to cough a little that only became worse at the park and worse still at the lake.  Bordatella, “kennel cough,” or canine bronchitis.  Though he has been vaccinated and received boosters.  He’s been on anti-biotics since Friday and is feeling a lot better. 

He’s gotten a little more assertive with Miss Teeth.  Big Red swipes her toys after she’s swiped his.  Yesterday they had a couple of epic chasing matches, which was just magnificent to watch.  How they turn like that without blowing out all four knees is beyond me. They get along well, and Lola likes to tag along with him whenever they are together, especially on walks or while outside. Just as important, things are back to normal between Rusty and me.  Don’t know if he was sulking or just not feeling well, but there were a few days when he didn’t want to have much to do with me, and that is unusual.

I know Amos is a red merle, not a blue merle, but I call him Mr. Blue because of his eyes.  I’ve always thought he and Rusty make a good team, like Hellboy and his alien sidekick Abe Sapien (Rusty is our red demonic hero and Amos is his his blue, water-breathing, rotten egg eating, rational friend.) Amos has gotten a been chubby since he’s come to live with us.  We’re really hoping he could get a bit more active and chase Rusty and Lola around a bit.  He is often shy and solitary, which is a bit sad.  I love him so much.  He is the sweetest dog, fiercely protective, sometimes barky.   He loves attention and affection and demands to have his belly rubbed. His fur is the softest and silkiest I’ve ever felt.

He’s come through the introduction of Miss Teeth into the family with flying colors.  It’s not that he’s necessarily embraced Lola, but at least he is relatively unchanged.  Amos is patient with her, even though Lola is often underfoot, anxious to lick is food bowl, even though he isn’t done eating, and a bit of a toy hog.With the weather so nice, we’ve spent a lot of time outside in the backyard.  I take ten minutes or so a few times a day to sit under our big maple tree, which usually brings all three dogs to sit with me. That’s unusual for Amos.  He’s often a bit reticent, likes to hang out in the house or on the deck by himself.  The past week, he’s run out to be with the others, and participates in the big three-in-one rolling in the grass fest that is pretty fun to watch. 

Sunday we were quite thrilled to see Rusty and Lola facing off and playing, Unfortunately Amos didn’t play and instead was the cop, kind of breaking things up and running Rusty off.  Strange stuff.  Still lots of summer left, and we’ll see how this all plays out. But it’s clear that there is some bonding going on here. I’m a little worried about the school year, because I’ve given them all so much time while I’ve been home.  It’s going to be a big adjustment.

I was gone, but now I’m back.

So, it’s been about a month since my last post.  The last time I wrote I was discussing Enfilade.  In that intervening time, I was wrapping up school, finishing the last issue of JagWire and getting ready for my prostate surgery.

Well, all that’s come and gone.  Surgery was last week and pathology report shows I am cancer-free, so that’s good news.  I’m in a recovery mode right now, which means I need lots of rest.  I am physically incapable of playing a game at the moment, though things are in the works to start playing the weekend of  July 19th.

Even so, I’ve been trying to paint a little bit.  Mostly I’m painting for fun.  I’ve got some hydroplanes I’m working  on.  I finished the 1959/60 version of Miss Burien, a local favorite.  It’s denoted by the big swoosh like decor on the tail and the deep red cowing and engine decking.  I also decided to paint myself the Hawaii Kai.  The Kai was one of the very few pink hydroplanes during racing’s Golden Age. I painted one for Dave Demick years ago, but I decided I needed one of my own.  The other boat I have on the painting blocks is the Miss Bardahl from 1968, “The Checkerboard Comet.”  It is in fact painted a creamy yellow with black checks everywhere.  It seems like a really big headache, but I thought I would at least try.  It’s one of Shawn McEvoy’s new hulls.  I think I’m actually going to pencil grid out the design as best I can.  I’ve finished one other boat, a second fantasy hydro, the JagWire, in honor of the school paper and all my students who have worked so hard on it.  It’s in ERHS school colors, with our flag on the hull.  It’s green and black with a jaguar paw on the tail.  I like it.  You may think it’s a bit much.

Hawaii Kai was quite a fast boat in the late 1950's and early 60's. I painted this for my friend David, but noticed I had no pink boats in my inventory

Hawaii Kai was quite a fast boat in the late 1950’s and early 60’s. I painted this for my friend David, but noticed I had no pink boats in my inventory

I painted JagWire for my school and in honor of our paper. I tried to emulate our flag with it's brackets and Helvetica font.

I painted JagWire for my school and in honor of our paper. I tried to emulate our flag with it’s brackets and Helvetica font.

Miss Burien was a local favorite, though I don't remember it having a lot of success. This is the 1959/60 version of the boat.

Miss Burien was a local favorite, though I don’t remember it having a lot of success. This is the 1959/60 version of the boat.

 

I’m also working on some ACW ships I’ve had for a few years, but really need some paint. I finished painting and rigging an armed sailing sloop.  It may be a Bay model, but it looks kind of Thoroughbredish.  I also have a sailing merchantman by Bay as well as the Confederate river ram, Webb.  From Thoroughbred I’ll be working on the river monitor Neosho, as well as Toby’s truly awesome Benton. They’ll be fun and relatively easy to paint thought I’m hoping to put some rigging touches on all of them.

 

Pretty sure this little sloop is a Bay Area Yards miniature. I have another three or four ships I plan to paint and rig this month.

Pretty sure this little sloop is a Bay Area Yards miniature. I have another three or four ships I plan to paint and rig this month.

 

Enfilade: Through a Haze

I’m two days removed from Enfilade 2014, and I must say it is one of the most memorable of our annual conventions. The attendance, a record 370ish, was at least 40 more than last year’s record attendance.  132 games hosted was also a slight uptick over previous years.  Though we could have been victims of our own success, we heard few complaints about attendees unable to get into games, or the hotel facilities being overwhelmed by miniature gamers.

There were some superb games as well, in virtually every game period. Dean Motoyama’s Siege of Haengjung, a medieval Korean battle from the Imjin War won best of show. Doug Hamm hosted two excellent 28mm Napoleonic games, including an especially noteworthy Battle of Ligny from the Waterloo campaign. Neil Marker had two great games, including one from Fallout and an impressive zombie pirate game.  Mark Waddington’s Battle of Sackett’s Harbor won the award for best of the Obscure Campaigns themed games.  Among my favorites, was Damond Crump and Lawrence Bateman’s micro-scale Vietnam L-Z X-ray game from the movie “We Were Soldiers Once.”

Choppers coming in at LZ X-Ray. Photo by Damond Crump

Choppers coming in at LZ X-Ray. Photo by Damond Crump

American Air cav under attack trying to hold the landing zone. Photo by Damond Crump

American Air cav under attack trying to hold the landing zone. Photo by Damond Crump

Bill Vanderpool and Sven Lugar ran games in every period.  We had superb help from volunteers who manned the registration, the highly successful Bring and Buy, judging games. We simply couldn’t do it without them.

My Enfilade was also enjoyable sort of.  I played in a couple of games, notably the Crump/Bateman affair, which I enjoyed immensely. I ran a couple of rounds of Thunderboats, always fun.  More about this later. I also ran my Emperor of Texas game.  This was a Sunday morning event I ran with Daveshoe, and I was really glad he offered to help me.  I had a certain amount of trepidation about it, because I just didn’t know how it would be received. The game was really a combination of role-playing, diplomacy and miniature gaming.  I envisioned a lot of note-passing and espionage, including bribing units and attempts to find incriminating evidence against Burr and Wilkinson.  There was definitely a lot of promises made, some bribery and some efforts to discern intent.  Though there was an assassination attempt and a failed attempt to capture Burr, there wasn’t quite the big time effort to lie, cheat and steal I thought there might be.  There were a couple of desultory battles between factions, but not the big culminating action I anticipated.  Even so, the game was really fun to watch and the players seemed to enjoy it. Worth doing again.

 

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Not a perfect weekend, however. During the week I contracted the “jaguar flu” that seems to be making its way around school. Was incapacitated Tuesday and Wednesday. I didn’t sleep much Thursday night, was up too late with the boys on Friday, and was really dragging by Saturday night and Sunday. Wasn’t even able to attend the “Canadian Social” I’m so fond of on Saturday night.

It was also a bit of a relief and a pleasure to bid farewell to my Enfilade and NHMGS responsibilities. I know I’m passing them off to men of integrity and responsibility. I’ll be available to help if it’s needed, but I’m happy to “retire.”

From here it’s on to painting and playing what is fun. I spent time with Shawn McEvoy from Craftworks. I explained I should be available to race Thunderboats during Seafair week at the hydroplane racing museum. I also picked up some new hulls for the game, so I’m excited. Hydros are definitely on the list for this summer along with some ACW ships and some board gaming after surgery.

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The last two pictures are from the Emperor of Texas game.  The first shows the amazing Conquest Miniatures Comanches.  I can’t recommend these figures highly enough.  They are simply amazing.  They are alongside the Cuera militia horse by Dayton Painting Consortium.  The bottom photos are of Spanish infantry, RSM miniatures also by Dayton.  The red-coated figures are Wild Geese, the Hibernian Regiment of Irish in Spanish service.  David Sullivan is penning another diplomatic note in this amazing write-fest.  I couldn’t have been more pleased with the game.