Classic wargaming

Introducing Prinz Albrecht

2012-01-21T10:44:00.002Z

Thanks to all who commented on the previous post. And no one attempted to guess where the head came from. Well, I can tell you. A Front Rank French infantryman, bandaged head (obviously), from their old Jacobite Rebellion range (circa mid-late 1980s).I had kept the figure as a "one day I'm sure I'll use him" long after the rest of the figures were gone from the collection.

This time...

...a command vignette - Prinz Albrecht of Pils Holstein.
He is a Suren conversion (a British officer 1750 body, sporting a King George III head, with tricorne rebuilt and white feathering added).
The flag bearer is a Suren Cuirassier officer with a John Ray head. He is in the Prussian uniform of an officer of Seydlitz Cuirassiers. The figure is a rather slight casting, so to disguise his emaciated look, I added the cloak from aluminium sheet.

The flag is the Royal Arms of Pils Holstein, hand painted on linen as usual.

Horses are from the Gilder-esque "stable". Prinz Albrecht is on a Connoisseur mount, the standard bearer on a Foremost.

I have to say I am enjoying this pottering around making the odd conversion, and given the time I'm currently able to devote to painting, it's good to achieve a finished product relatively painlessly.

And all the time, in the background there's the sound of other hooves, as some Hussars are on the way...

An Old Head...

2012-01-08T11:18:00.001Z

Progress on some vignettes I have been making.
Here is a conversion of a John Ray hussar figure (a left over from the Edelweiss Hussars unit I painted some years ago, and who will appear in the new project).
This fellow has an old head added. The head is from... well, let's see if you can guess. I've had the figure the head came off probably around 25 years!! So, get to your lists and catalogues and see if you can spot it where it's from...

He is returning from the skirmishes and minor actions in the border woods and forests (The Foret des Galles and Sachsenwald) between the easternmost reaches of French territory and the South western environs of Pils Holstein (I've done a map, and will post soon).

Meanwhile, project progress took a fantastic turn when I received photos from the sculptor of the first stage in producing the master figure for the infantry in march attack pose. The key was getting the pose just right; and I'm delighted, because it's bang on! Now I can't wait to get them finished, cast, and painted. But patience is a virtue... I'm told!

January Sales update

2012-01-04T14:16:00.001Z

Happy New Year!
...and just a quick update to draw attention to the updates on the For Sale pages (see navigation bar above).
Thanks to those who have bought units and vignettes, and in some cases several units!

More news on the new project over the next few days...
Phil

First of the new project

2011-12-29T11:42:00.001Z

But first: sales news
Following my previous post about figures for sale, the 40mm collection (Prinz August homecasts) have gone west, across the pond, and I hope they are enjoying a new lease of life in "the new world".
Thanks to all who got in touch and asked for details... some sold, some are under consideration.
I have added some "For Sale" pages for you to click on and have a browse through what's available in the other periods, including unit listings. See navigation bar above.

Project news:
thanks also to all who emailed and commented with good wishes for the new project.
The term "magnum opus" may be a little far-fetched, and certainly is not devised to claim any greatness, but standing at the foot of this particular mountain and looking upwards, it does seem a big project!

In short, it's big battalion (infantry in 54 figure battalions, cavalry in 18-36s), French v Germanic allies (mainly Prussian). It will primarily be my own range of figures, which are currently being created.The setting is "Pils Holstein", maintaining that fictional element (I like devising maps, characters, and a few fictitious units to boot).

Once in full swing, I may set up a separate blog to chart progress, but it's a long term affair, and there will not be much to show for a while.

However, we are making progress: I met with the talented figure designer for lunch a couple of weeks ago, laid out my ideas and some sketches, since when scans of uniform details have been passing between us.
The pose for the standard march-attack infantry figures is key, and that's what's being worked on now.

In the meantime, I've been dabbling with some command figures, many of which will come from the Suren stable, converted where necessary. Here's a taster:
Maurice de Saxe:

The flag is hand-painted on linen (a style I have decided to keep for this new project). Flag design is conjectural (although the arms of Saxony would seem appropriate given the fellow's lineage).
Figures are Suren, with a John Ray head added to the pennant bearer. I have been so fortunate that over the past few years, John has provided me with a number of his superb figures and a few units in the new collection will be from John's masterpieces.

I've also been experimenting with horse painting techniques (the horses in the new collection will be from commercially available ranges).

Finally:
To all readers of the blog, and especially to all those who subscribed to "The Classic Wargamer's Journal" earlier in the year, a belated Merry Christmas; and here's to a prosperous 2012.

Been a while!

2011-11-30T19:12:00.000Z

I know, it's been quiet far too long around here.
But there has been a lot happening "behind the scenes" in wargaming terms. Lots. And I even have a 5 year plan (well, it might take 8 years, but...).

Seriously. As I've been travelling around on business this has given me time to think, plan, and commit to the biggest wargame project I have ever undertaken.
Because it's a biggy, it will take time, so don't expect to pop back on here by the weekend and see the massed ranks arrayed for action.

You see, with less time to devote to the hobby for the foreseeable future (out of choice I might add), I wanted to focus my attention on what I am calling my wargaming "magnum opus" - you know, the Desert Island collection we all have in our mind's eye.

A while ago I came to the conclusion that each of us has a unique "hobby-print" - our very own personal take on what the hobby is about. For some people, the wargaming itself is the key, for others it's figure painting, or campaigns, or simply collecting, or sculpting, modelling, or terrain making. For some it's coming up with a whole miniature world, with maps, fictional countries, and ruling houses. And there are many other facets to the whole. Which is what makes the hobby so special, and the spectrum so wide.

This past few months I have taken the opportunity to have a serious hobby chat with myself.
The result: I am commissioning a small number of unique figures that will form the backbone of the rank and file of the collection. Needless to say it's horse & musket, more precisely mid 18th century, and big battalions.

This is all in the very embryonic stages, but I'll keep you posted.

Meantime, with every change comes an opportunity...
and here's the thing - I am now in a position to be able to offer many of my existing figures for sale:
1. the 40mm Prinz August collection
2. the Polish Winged Hussars and Cossacks (Eastern Renaissance) collection (as shown at Partizan a few years back, and seen in magazines at the time)
3. the Mongol army (again seen in magazines)
4.the Pils Holstein mid 18th century collection (featured on the old warcabinet website, and in the Wargaming in History series of books, as well as in magazines etc).

Here are just a few pictures, and over the coming weeks I'll be putting more pictures up on this blog. If, in the meantime, you want to steal a march and get more details of what's available, and seriously consider making an offer, email me Phil.Olley"at"blueyonder.co.uk

Below: part of the 40mm collection... now For Sale.

Below: Eastern Renaissance collection - there's lots more than in this picture - all now For Sale

Below: Mongols - For Sale. There are approx 50 cavalry, plus Sung Chinese allies in this army.

Below: Pils Holstein -mid 18th century collection - French, Prussians, Hessians, Austrians, and Fictitious units For Sale

There are many battalions of these. And for those who like smaller units, I do in some cases have spare officers etc to allow you to break the large units into many more smaller ones (eg 16 -24 figure battalions)

In the case of the Austrians shown above as 2 x 54 figure battalions, there are officers to allow 8 battalions of 16 figures to be organised, with a little rebasing.

As I said, if you want to steal a march and get in quick (perhaps to get a nice Christmas present for yourself) email me Phil.Olley"at"blueyonder.co.uk

That's all for now.

Update and Guest Gallery

2011-09-12T19:27:00.000+01:00

Just a quick update, and to draw your attention to the Guest Gallery (click on navigation bar link above).
Andrew Parr of Sydney Australia sent some pictures of a recent game using his 40mm semi-flats, and they were just too good not to be seen by a worldwide audience... well those who visit this blog at least.

here's a taster... more on the Gallery page.

Meanwhile I also had a very charming email from a well-known name in wargames circles, Andy Callan, whose writings will be familiar to many of you I'm sure, especially when I say "Loose Files and American Scramble", and The Dark Age Infantry Slog (DAIS) system. Andy was about to refight Sittangbad with his Spencer Smiths and had used this blog as a reference for all the characters required (well, that was a mistake!). Andy discovered I had missed one out of my cast of characters on the right. But, I'm not going to tell you which... yet. See if you can spot it (an excuse to pick up your copy of "Charge" and study the text intently again - as if you needed an excuse!)

That's all for now.

Montrose ECW figures

2011-08-11T20:33:00.003+01:00

Well, Claymore was a blast... or at least what I saw of it. A fairly packed day of selling (I felt like Dell-boy for much of the day), and thanks to those who stopped by to chat, and to buy some of the items for sale.
I have updated the previous post to show what is left of the SYW Austrians and Napoleonics.

And now, as part of the ongoing rationalisation, here's another mini army which is looking for a good home:

Montrose ECW Scots - 3 units: Now SOLD
Manus O'Cahan's (Irish) Regiment of Foote (32 figures)
The Strathbogie Regiment (32 figures)
Gordon of Minimore's Commanded Shotte (12 figures)

You may recognise these figures which were used in The Wargamers' Annual to illustrate the article on The Battle of Tippermuir, and have been seen previously on my old Warcabinet website, and blog.

Manus O'Cahan's

The Strathbogie Regt

The Commanded shot unit is not shown, but they are rather like themusketeers in the Strathbogie regt - so you get the idea.

Prices:
including the flags, which are hand-painted on linen:
Manus O'Cahan's Regt : £280
The Strathbogie Regt: £280
Commanded Shot unit: £100

I will consider offers for the whole lot, or individual units.

email Phil"dot"Olley"at"blueyonder.co.uk

Also available, Mongol army with Sung Chinese allied contingent... photos available on request.

Cheers for now...

Claymore and stuff for sale

2011-08-04T08:58:00.001+01:00

With the Edinburgh Claymore show approaching (this coming Saturday), it has been time to clear out a few items for the bring and buy.
And I've got carried away, so the fine fellows at the SESWC have allowed me to take a full table to myself to sell loads of books (Ospreys and all); many items of terrain, hedges, rivers and the like, and a whole bunch of figures... some unpainted, many painted.

Initially, in terms of painted figures, the following are available (and if you aren't going to the show, but would like these, I'll take pre-emptive strikes via email: phil "dot" olley "at" blueyonder.co.uk)!

SYW Austrians for sale (these figures have featured in the Wargaming in History series of books which I was involved in with Charles Grant): These are also named "Astrovians in my fictitious world, hence the fictitious flags).
Flags are linen, and bayonets have been replaced with pins.

This represents an instant 18th century mini army, and I have had many enjoyable games fielding them. For those who wish, there is no reason why the units cannot be re-organied to suit whichever is your prefered set of rules - even broken down into smaller units (some people don't like big battalions).

Here's the whole lot laid out:

included are: (updated 11 August)

2 Regiments of infantry (54 figures each, 2 flags- hand painted on linen).

1 unit of Grenzers (24 figures + casualty figure).

2 Guns (+ crews, and supply base to rear, with limber)

1 squadron of Cuirassiers (11 mounted figures + flag) sold

1 unit of Hussars (14 figures, + casualty vignette, + flag) sold

Commander in chief vignette (2 mounted senior officers)

Infantry command vignette (mounted officer, and casualty figure)

Cavalry command vignette (mounted Cuirassier officer) sold

wagon and driver. sold

TOTAL:
Approx 130 infantry; 29 mounted figures; 2 guns + 8 crew; wagon, casualties, flags:
At £4 per infantryman and £8 for mounted, that comes out to around £800, not including the flags.

However, as a single "lot" I am willing to consider offers in the region of £650.

Remainding at 11 August:
Approx 130 inf; Command vignette (2 mtd officers); infantry command vignette; 2 guns and crews, available at £500

I am also willing to price individual units/ elements separately.

Here are the individual elements, close up:

Napoleonic Austrians for sale Now sold
And now more Austrians... this time, Napoleonics:
based for all popular rulesets, in 48-figure regiments... suitable for General de Brigade, for example.

There are just 3 infantry regiments (IR 1, IR 14, IR 27)

view from the rear to show detail on packs and equipment:

Flags are GMB.
Bayonets replaced with pins.

Offers in the region of £250 per unit
or £700 for the 3 units.

Again, if you are not going to be at Claymore, I'll take email offers:
phil "dot" olley "at" blueyonder.co.uk.

Payment by paypal, postage to be paid by the buyer.

Other armies and units for sale:
I will also be selling the following shortly, so if these periods are on your project list, email me for details:

Mongols + Sung Chinese
Landsknechts
ECW Montrose Scots
Colonial (NW Frontier) - not much of this left, but a few units
Great Northern War - again just a few units left

These figures have over the years featured in magazines such as Wargames Illustrated, Battlegames, and books such as The Wargamers' Annuals written in collaboration with Charles Grant. So they do have some pedigree (but they still roll 1s on the dice of course!!)

again email me for details: phil"dot"olley"at"blueyonder.co.uk

That's all for now folks!

CWJ Vol I issue 4

2011-07-24T20:12:00.000+01:00

At last... it's ready, and will be posted out over the next few days. The PDF version will be sent Tuesday.

What's included?

Tales from the Frontline with readers' letters, project updates, and battle reports.
Bob Varga's WW2 take on the Vanguards Collide scenario from way back in the pilot issue.
"Floor Wars" by Paul Cutting
Trouble in Tranjapore - the Indian Mutiny project continues... by Daryl Haselton
Peter Verduyn continues in Search of Hyboria
Desert Isalnd Wargaming... another well-known wargamer is marooned.
The Shootists - Western Gunfighting with Phil Dutre
Arnold Stockade - Terry Preen describes an "old school" get together and fights an 18th century action.
Gary Phillips offers a WSS scenario
and Ian Allen regales us with another of his Tales of the Golden Head
Ian also provides templates for a Flatpack Bomber to accompany the fighter versions included in the previous issue.
There's also Conrad Kinch's twisted (!) look at the hobby in Conrad's Corner.
and of course sketches by Chris Gregg

Once again, apologies to those who have submitted articles yet to appear. There really is only so much room available!
Also, there's a small surprise in store - The Editorial explains all...

Quick update

2011-07-17T17:25:00.002+01:00

Working on CWJ issue 4 right now, so should be finished in next couple of days, and out asap.

Meantime, between travelling afar this past couple of weeks, I have managed to finish another 40mm infantry battalion: The Kronprinz Grenadiers.

The full infantry Brigade laid out, with light gun, all under the command of Maximillian Bruch:

And just for the fun of it, I thought it time to set a table scene up just for a photo call. The forces of The Electorate of Teutonburg-Fredonia, with British infantry coming up in support, contest a town with their foes of The Baltic League.

Right, back to being an editor (stop laughing at the back there Henry!). Look out for announcements on issue 4 of CWJ here over the next few days...

Thanks and Homages

2011-07-05T18:14:00.000+01:00

First a thank you to Jason Williams...
I returned from a few days away to find a parcel awaiting me. Now, I like parcels... and imagine my delight when inside was a box with a picture of a Nokkia mobile phone on the front. Nice one too. Had I ordered it? No. Was it therefore a prize in some competition or others? No. Or a scam? No.
So, why am I getting sundry gadgets sent to me in the post? Oh well... not complaining - must be a gift, and a nice one too. And then imagine my surprise when on opening the box, I found inside, not a phone/ gadget/ i-wotnot/ blue-blackberry thingy. Oh no! Better than that... deep joy! A pile of figures. Lots of them. And Jason explained in his note to the effect that they were merely the visible part of a lead iceberg, the summit of a mountain of metal, and as part of his clear-out he thought they would come in handy for my home-casting project. And, yes they definitely will!!! So thank you Jason! Much appreciated.

And now to an email received a while ago following CWJ issue 3 which you will remember included the first part of Daryl Haselton's series about building his Indian Mutiny project using the Irregular Miniatures Deutsche Homage 42mm range. This article actually has had quite a lot of feedback and seems to have stirred the butterflies amongst a number of readers (the prolific Ian Allen included), and this email from Stephen Cullen was typical of the enthusiasm uncovered... as well as a couple of nice photos:

"Dear Phil,

Many thanks for the latest CWJ, which continues to delight. It is a happy counterbalance to 'normal' daily, electronic, life. And this issue has solved a small puzzle for me. Daryl Haselton's 'The Trouble in Tanjapore', his highlighting of Irregular Miniatures' Deutsche Homage range, and the photographs illustrating the article, means that I am now pretty sure of the origin of some 42mm (foot to eye) figures I received from a friend in Denmark a few years ago. The figures came from a 90 year old Danish lady, and had belonged to her late husband who had played with them as a boy in the 1920s and early 1930s. Interestingly, although the figures are almost all British (with a few Frenchies) Imperial, the late owner had gone on to be a noted figure in the Danish Communist Party, and had been involved in the Danish resistance late in the war - perhaps the Imperial troops always came off worst in his boyhood battles. I had no idea of the source of the figures, and had wondered if they were of Danish manufacture, but it does look as if they were German - the Heyde and Haffner connection that Daryl highlights. I've attached a couple of photos of some of the figures that I have restored, and I'm now enthused enough to finish restoring the rest of the little hoard. In fact, I might even visit the Irregular Miniatiatures site...
All the best,
Stephen."

Thanks Stephen. And thank you for the photos.

All of which leads nicely into the announcement that CWJ is taking shape, and you can look forward to part 2 of Daryl's series, amongst other articles in the next couple of weeks.

Perfidious Albion

2011-06-27T09:35:00.000+01:00

The 40mm homecasting project continues apace:
Here is the first of the British contingent... painted by Phil Williams, based and flagged by Yours Truly.
Wolfe's regiment (8th Foot).

But whose side will the British contingent favour?

Aesthetic Strategic Decisions

2011-06-21T22:21:00.002+01:00

... now that's not easy to write, or to say after a couple of glasses of Transvladachian Vodka.
But it's a fair summary of what has been happening on the 40mm homecasting project front.
I decided to get motoring on this, and with the help of more ebay purchses and more casting and painting of my own, managed to get two sides onto the tabletop, that would be able to do a trial run of the rules along the lines of the Action scenario from The War Game. So, as a minimum, 2 infantry battalions, light infantry unit, cavalry regt, and gun per side (in this case, I opted to field 2 light guns with 2 crew each, per side).

Somehow, the units, previously based simply on card, didn't look quite right... You know, when you get that itch that needs to be scratched. They didn't seem quite "finished".
So, aesthetic strategic decision was made to base them in a slightly different way, maintaining something of the "old school" as it were... in a Gilder-esque style, using sand and glue, suitably painted and dry-brushed.

I had intended trialing this on one of the new units I had painted only. But got carried away, and before I knew it I was up to my elbows in sand and glue, and knee deep in units queuing up to be rebased thus.

Taking a look at the two sides:
First,The Electorate of Teutonburg Fredonia:

Below: the recently painted Transvladachian Uhlanen. Emigres from the eastern reaches of Europe, these are fearsome lancers in the service of anyone who will pay. Fortunately the Elector of Teutonburg-Fredonia has deep enough pockets to tempt them.

Below: Infantry Battalion Alt-Kanitz supported by Oldenburg

Below: The Dvorak Dragoons

Below: Electorate Light guns

And so onto their foe, a cobbled together alliance of ebay renegades, reflagged and based, along with some additional units of my own, which I simply called The Baltic League (this is pending the arrival of real foes for the project from Tradgardland, of course).

Below: Baltic League Infantry Brigade, under the command of The Duke of Pomerania; The Mecklenburg-Schwerin Regt (red coats); Pomeranian Grenadiers (Blue coats); Danish Prinz Karl regt (grey)

Below: Courland Cuirassiers. Like The Pomeranian Grenadiers above, these have switched sides since my previous post, as I decided all ebay-packers would be in The Baltic League, rather than have them sully the ranks of the Army of Teutonburg-Fredonia.

Below: to add to the abayers, I painted the Jagerkorps zu Fus:

Also by yours truly, Baltic League gunners, here shown first with light guns, and then with heavy mortar:

That's about all for now. Other than to say, work has begun on the next issue of CWJ... and I'm getting the 22 magnificent articles received (plus contributions for Tales from the Frontline section) into what resembles a journal. In short, that's a way of saying not all the articles will appear this time, but thanks to all who have sent material in.

More news on what will be included over the next couple of weeks, and I'll have the next issue out mid July (probably around 19th).

The Forces are Gathering

2011-05-25T20:39:00.000+01:00

Thought it about time to update on progress with the 40mm Prince August homecasting, and the gathering of forces.

Well, so far pretty good. Boosted by another ebay purchase of Grenadiers, the units are starting to take shape.

I added some Light Infantry (The Dvorak Dragoons - grey coats, green facings) and another Line Infantry battalion (The Oldenburg Regt - Dk Blue coats, Green facings, white/green colonel's flag, and black/green regimental flag). The Brigadier "vignette" was also completed (Brigadier Maximillian Bruch, and his standard bearer).

Above: Nearest camera: Alt Kanitz Regt supported by Oldenburg Regt. Centre: Kronprinz Grenadiers, supported by Danish Prinz Karl Regt. Background: Dvorak Dragoons (dismounted) with Brandenburg Kuirassieres coming up in support.

The Kronprinz Grenadiers (bought off ebay, rebased and with new flags added) is a 28 figures strong battalion, but will only field 20 on the tabletop, the other 8 figures always being detached for palace ceremonial duties.

The Danes will oppose the army of Electorate of Teutonburg Fredonia, as allies of the arch enemy, Tradgardland.

Above: The Oldenburg Regt. Designtaed IR3 in the numerical order of regiments in The Electorate.

Below: The Dvorak Dragoons. This unit was raised by the renowned Czech military theorist, Dvorak, who having seen the nature of warfare on his travels to The New World (see what I did there... high- brow Classical music refernece) decided that European warfare needed some light infantry. He convinced the Elector of his idea too, and the Elector being a far-sighted fellow decided to redesignate dragoons from their dual cavalry/ infantry role at the turn of the centruy to a light infantry role by our period, other monarchs having taken the opposite route.

In addition, Phil Williams has painted two British battalions which I am making flags for (next on the task list).

More to come soon.

News ref my other blogs

2011-05-03T18:27:00.000+01:00

Sadly, due to an increasing array of personal and business commitments, I have decided to drop both my Warcabinet Blog (surely the shortest "comeback" in history - sorry), and The Breitenfeld Blog (the TYW one).
The fact is that my hobby time is severely limited, and will be for some time (out of choice I might add), and for now in wargaming terms I am focusing purely on this Classic Wargaming Blog, not least because it hosts the journal.

I trust followers and supporters of the other blogs will understand and I really do appreciate the warm reception both of these ventures had enjoyed.
Wishing you very happy wargaming!
Phil

CWJ Vol I issue 3 - It's ready!

2011-04-18T20:14:00.000+01:00

Volume I issue 3 is now ready, and will be posted out tomorrow. So you should be receiving it before Easter (overseas subscribers may have to wait till just after Easter for it to reach you). If it doesn't arrive as you hope, let me know.

PDF subscribers will be receiving theirs by email tomorrow.

Contents include:

Tales from the Frontline -including a number of refights by Ian Allen set in the 1920s; a Napoleonic foragers encounter by Robert Arcangeli; an update on Chris Bowley's Franco Prussian project; plus lots more... and a letter of complaint from The Blasthof Parish Council!
A Napoleonic scenario by Bob Varga
40mm GNW by Alasdair Jamison
Viva Catalonia - Spain in early 18th century- Part 2 by Ray Caddy
Indian Mutiny in 42mm by Daryl Haselton
Desert Island Wargaming with ... Aly Morrison!
Hyboria Part 3 of Peter Verduyn's Ancients campaign
French & Indian Wars scenario by Terry Preen
A 19th Century imagi-nations game by Stephen Caddy
Tales of the Golden Head continue with Ian Allen
One from the Archives - this time it's Tony Bath's NAXOS Campaign from 1957
and rounding off, Conrad Kinch gives us his usual wry slant on the hobby.

Add to that, a few colour plates, and some more exquisite sketches by Chris Gregg, and a plethora of contributors' sketch maps.

plus the special pull-out by Ian Allen - think Ikea meets Airfix, and you get the templates to produce The Flatpack Fighter:

All in all, I hope there's enough for everyone.

Thanks to all the contributors as always.

All the very best

Phil

New photos

2011-04-04T19:13:00.000+01:00

OK, you lot!
Well-spotted. I was in a rush yesterday and hadn't had time to play around with the brightness on the photos...
so, by popular demand:

You see... I do listen... "Your call is important to us!" Service with a smile! The Blog viewer is always right. Now, get back to some painting!!!!

Rumours of War

2011-04-03T19:36:00.001+01:00

For those who are prone to gleaning snippets of intelligence from the Elector v Emperor blog (the 18 C Imagi-Nations equivalent of a rolling 24 hour news channel), and its associated blogs, some of you may have spotted action brewing between the Duchy of Tradgardland (owner’s name not disclose-able... but goes under the title Duke Georg) and The Electorate of Teutonburg-Fredonia (yours truly), set sometime around the 1730s.

Now, I can report from the Electorate that the Arms Race... is definitely on.

The Elector of Teutonburg-Fredonia, his most gracious Prinz Ferdinand Augustus has this day inspected the newly raised Alt Kanitz Regiment (IR2), and in a rousing ceremony standards of silk have been issued, and Lt Col Maximillian Bruch has assumed field command.

Now, this all came about when I came into possession of some Prince August moulds... for that is what these figures are... homecast 40mm semi-flats.

I’ve had such fun with them, and indeed recently entertained the Duke Georg’s real world persona and an ally to the warcabinet where we brewed away merrily and created the first few battalions.

This weekend also saw the incorporation of the Brandenburg Kurassier regt into the army. Previously in the service of a far off land (ebay) and for a cause not important, they too have now received a flag bearing the arms of the Electorate, a standard befitting their status as some of the Electorate’s finest heavy horsemen.

It looks like War cannot be far off...

Already, Tradgardland's Danish Allies have been seen mustering and marching to the aid of the Duchy- I produced these a few weeks ago... The Danish Prinz Karl Regt. (as one observer commented, there ain't nothing like a Dane... oh, come on; I'm doing my best here!)

On a practical note, for those interested, we are going to use a tidied up version of the old Wargames Holiday Centre Marlburian rules, from way back, with 20 figure battalions (as you can see) instead of the WHC 16s, and with a more 1730s/middle of the century feel than the original set.

More on this home-casting lark in the next CWJ which is also on the stocks for some serious attention in order to be published by middle of the month.

That's all for now folks...

CWJ next issue

2011-03-10T17:13:00.001Z

Next issue of The Classic Wargamer's Journal is due out in April, and it's all coming together nicely. Already I have loads of material. In fact, all I'm waiting for is the Desert Island Wargaming piece (you know who you are!!!!!) and I can start editing (ok, don't laugh - I know it's not proper editing... more just cutting and pasting really!)
Don't let the fact that I've got lots of articles put you off writing though as I do want to keep the stockpile up, and create as much variety as possible to ensure maximum period coverage for future issues too. And who knows, for balance, anything submitted in the next few days could also find it's way into this issue... the "editor" may on a whim replace one of his own pieces with something far more valuable from a contributor.

Anyway, a huge thank you to all who have once again made life so easy for me in producing such a wealth of material. Full details of all contents will be released in the next couple of weeks.

I'm also delighted to report that Chris Gregg has more wonderful sketches in this issue.
And, to show how grateful I am to Chris, I want to promote the work he is doing for a special exhibition in Gloucester in May. He has just completed a beautiful oil painting (22 inches x 16inches) of Gloucester during the ECW, and I simply felt I must share it here. So, with Chris's permission:

It is for sale, and you can contact Chris via his website:
http://cheltenham-art.com/chrisgregg.htm

By the way, I'm not involved at all, but such a fantastic work deserves as much publicity as possible.
All the best for now... and I promise, at some point I'll update on my own wargaming activity!

Latest Issue of CWJ

2011-01-13T21:06:00.000Z

Just what you need to warm the heart, and to welcome in the New Year.
Volume I issue 2 is complete, and we are posting them out over the next 2 days.
PDF will be sent out Sunday/ Monday.

So, what's in store:
Well first thing to notice is the widening variety of periods covered in this latest issue, with Ancients to Modern, and all stations in between, and even some naval stuff.
There's a letter from Don Featherstone (amongst other correspondence and "Tales from the Frontline"), Greg Horne's Blasthof refight, Ray Caddy takes us to Spain 1713-14, Ian Allen is in the ACW, and the next episode unfolds in his Darkest Africa 1920s adventures. Peter Verduyn continues his Hyboria ancient campaign series, Capt Bill's Reich Duchy of Beerstein is featured, Stuart Asquith is at Hook's Farm, Allan Tidmarsh plays out a Viking Raid, and Chris Stringer is in AWI with Freeman's Farm. Stokes Schwartz provides advice on blogging and getting your armies onto the table, and we draw another action from the archives (this time it's from Sept 1957: the Battle of Lapin's Farm).

All embellished with Chris Gregg's sketches (a new feature which really does add something to the look of the journal I have to say), plus a few colour plates, and a proliferation of maps from the authors of individual articles (the guys have really gone to town on this!)

Should be plenty there to keep you going.
Thanks again to the contributors, and to you, the many subscribers.

And a Happy New Year... may 2011 be prosperous, and filled with wargaming happiness.

Season's Greetings

2010-12-23T10:34:00.000Z

Looking back over 2010 with some satisfaction (somesay smugness, I guess). It's been a good year, with the following "Classic Wargaming" highlights:

painting the Saxe Coburg regiment - this keeps up the pledge of doing at least one "Classic Wargaming" unit per year, amongst all the other wargames activity on other projects. John Preece once said about his own collection building, that his goal was to simply add a fresh unit each year, of whatever he fancied doing, the idea being that over time a very satisfying collection can be created without too much fuss. Very much in the spirit of things in the CW genre methinks.
the Spurlash Down game at Claymore in August - a chance to play with the troops in good company (thanks Alan, Phil and Tony), and meet some fellow wargamers who have a similar approach and appreciate this style of wargame.
Publications such as Wargaming in History vol 2, and The Wargames Annual. Whilst not specifically "classic" in style, I include them here simply to bring them to your attention, and to say I am proud to have been involved.
The Classic Wargamer's Journal - I never realised that dipping my toe into the water would reveal such a fantastic level of support. We have sold 273 Pilot Issues so far, and have 178 subscribers, which is way beyond what I had imagined. I'm delighted, and thanks must go to you all for supporting the venture, and not least to those who have contributed articles and have made the whole thing a joy. The many emails and letters expressing really heartfelt thanks are very much appreciated, and gave me a genuine boost to launch the project proper after the Pilot Issue.
receiving a letter from Don Featherstone- more on this in the next issue of CWJ.

Talking of CWJ ... I am starting to collate the many articles received for the next issue. As you can probably imagine, I am enjoying this immensely as my "business pen" has been put down for the year and I am now able to relax in an armchair with a glass of something seasonal. I can promise an issue that is definitely something to look forward to bouncing onto your door-mat in mid-January.

So, here's to you all... CWJ contributors, subscribers, and all visitors to the blog. Wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas, and a prosperous 2011. I trust you will have some exciting items under the tree, and maybe a game or two over the holidays.
Best wishes
Phil

Wargame Carols!

2010-12-20T14:14:00.000Z

On one wargame forum, there's been a bit of mickey taking of what we might term "Old school Wargaming".
So, in the spirit of the season, here's a Carol (to the tune of Good King Wenceslas) about the old wargamer setting out his traditional boxing day game...

Old School Wargame, all set out, on the Feast of Stephen.

Contoured Hills lay all about, simply stacked and even.

Brightly shone his troops in gloss; others mocked him cru-el

This old gamer soldiered on, not trying to be kew-l

Ok, ok,....

More of these on my warcabinet blog.
Pop on over and add yours to the growing list of seasonal wargames tune-smithery.

A Proper Artist

2010-12-16T15:20:00.000Z

When I put out a plea for a proper artist to help with some sketches for The Classic Wargamer's Journal, I was contacted in a matter of hours by one subscriber, Chris Gregg of Cheltenham, UK.
Now, this is one talented fellow... on the wargaming front, where his well-painted armies do battle on exceptional terrain adorned with wonderful scratch-built edifices (I know this, because I've seen the pdf he produces for his club... and more of that anon); and also on the artistic front. Well, he's a proper artist you see, so as you can imagine I snapped up the chance to have Chris produce some sketches for CWJ (next issue is already looking good- but I would say that, wouldn't I?!).

In addition, having perused Chris's online gallery, I also commisioned a painting for my Christmas present. Now, the picture arrived - a wonderfully composed and executed piece showing a vedette of Bercheny Hussars on patrol.I only got a sneak preview before Liz whisked it away to be framed, but Chris also sent me a black and white scan of the piece, which is reproduced here, simply to show you what Chris can do, and as an insight into some of the artistry that will enhance CWJ in future issues.

You can view Chris' online gallery (see links). But be aware... he's a busy fellow, with a number of exhibitions coming up in 2011 for which he is producing some exquisite work. So, if you want to avail yourself of his services, you'll have to join the queue! If you are serious about getting some beautiful, original art, from someone who knows how to paint both landscapes and military subjects, I can certainly recommend Chris.

The Return of The Warcabinet

2010-11-18T15:25:00.002Z

All revealed on
http://warcabinet.blogspot.com

Don't worry. This blog will remain as the home of CWJ, and all things to do with my Classic wargamign collection. I just felt it was time warcabinet made a return (for those who remember the old website).

Thanks for visiting...
Phil

Otterlitz game

2010-11-02T14:45:00.007Z

Just to show I haven't disappeared, buried under a deluge of submissions and subscriptions for CWJ (keep em coming...!), here are a few pictures taken at the home of Alasdair Jamison during a game last weekend. The game was a SYW version of the Otterlitz scenario recently featured in CWJ (and originally in War Gamer's Digest in 1957).

above: the town of Otterlitz, on the Rusian right flank, is about to have it's peace disturbed.

Above: Alasdair (on the left) seems confident about the Russian dispositions.

Below: the Prussians cross the stream

Above: The Prussian cavalry second wave charges the Russian right-centre.

Below: And now the chink in the armour of the Russian defence becomes a hole and the Prussian Dragoons prepare to exploit their breakthrough.

All figures from the collection of Alasdair Jamison.

I played the part of commander of the Russians (General Ivan Awfulitch), defending the ridgeline, ably asisted by Alasdair, with David Shuttleworth (see Wargames Amateur blog link) and Steve Ayers being the Prussian attackers. A full report is on David's blog... and in truth he has been kind to us Ruskis in his account. The reality is that whilst the game did hang in the balance till mid afternoon, in the end we were well beaten.

It is done!

2010-10-13T20:12:00.003+01:00

Tomorrow will be posting day... with all copies having now been printed, stapled, and enveloped, CWJ volume I, Issue 1 will be posted out to subscribers.

PDFs will also be sent out to those who have subscribed to that format.
If you haven't received your PDF by tomorrow evening (Thursday 14 October, say 8pm UK time), let me know (but check your spam filter/ junk email first!).

Similarly, I can see no reason why UK hard-copy subscribers won't have theirs by this weekend. Certainly, let me know if not received by end of Monday 18th.

And for overseas subscribers, last time it seemed to take around 5-7 days to reach the various corners of the globe. Let's say anyone who hasn't received by 28th October, let me know.

Similarly, I'll be glad to hear from the first to receive theirs (from the overseas folk in particular) - let us know on the comments here. That way we can see if anything has gone awry. Let's see who is the first Canadian/ US/ Australian/ New Zealander, and European recipient).

Cheers for now...

CWJ October issue

2010-10-06T20:32:00.004+01:00

Coming soon...

Classic Wargamer’s Journal, Volume I, issue 1... Autumn 2010.

I am really enjoying putting together this issue, which will be out next week... and includes such articles as:

Spurlash Down – the second part, with a full battle report on the action as fought recently. Stephen Caddy has written part 2 of his FireRaisers piece which began in the Pilot Issue, and Chris Stringer has provided a battle report titled, Advance Guard.
Greg Horne’s ACW project also features, and Peter Verduyn begins a series on his own Hyboria campaign. Stuart Asquith is marooned, and also goes in search of Hook’s Farm. David Shuttleworth offers ideas for scenarios set in the dark, and Stokes Schwartz sets out the case for Imagi-Nations. There’s also a skirmish scenario set in Darkest Africa by Ian Allen, along with a number of other battle reports (the regular feature Tales from the Frontline is up and running). We draw another “one from the archives” (this time a tabletop action from June 1957), and Conrad Kinch makes a first appearance, with a wry look at the hobby.

All in all, something for many different tastes. Thanks to the contributors, and to those who have already submitted material which will have to appear in the January issue! We’re on a roll!!!! Having a good stock of articles allows me to create a better balance covering many periods in each issue... and as always I’m keen to include battle reports and scenarios that, with a little imagination, can be easily adapted for many periods, any rules, and any number of figures.

And finally, thanks to all who have subscribed. As ever, I am very grateful for your support.

Copies will be sent out middle of next week.

Sittangbad Day and other news

2010-09-13T22:18:00.001+01:00

Happy Sittangbad Day! 13th September is mentioned as the day the action was fought in Charge, and Blasthof Bridge is 26th September. Presumably the games took place on these dates (I've no reason to make that assertion, or to doubt it, it just seems reasonable to assume!)

above: Blasthof Bridge, my layout.

So, in the spirit of Classic Wargaming, here's a little competition (no prizes, just for fun). How about sending a battle report on one of these two actions for the next issue of CWJ, and I'll print the best. Max 300 words (yep, just a short one). Any period, any scale... just the original essence of one of the scenarios.
Not that I'm stuck for content. In fact, far from it... I have lots and lots, and so much variety too. Thanks to all the writers of articles, and in particular those who have submitted battle reports on the actions contained in the Pilot Issue. It seems the journal has had the desired effect in some quarters of folks actually dusting down the figures and having a few games. The "Tales from the Frontline" section is building nicely.

I'm delighted with progress on the journal in terms of "sales" aswell. Thanks to all who have supported. We have sent out well over 200 pilot issues, and subscriptions are continually flooding in.
Just a small note: when you do subscribe, please note, the Pilot Issue is not included in the sub... it's a different payment. The subscription kicks in with Vol I issue1, in October. And also, please if you are placing an overseas order, do take care to order the overseas versions, not the UK version.

Finally, I've added a testimonial/ feedback page (see navigation bar above) simply because of all the kind letters and emails received. I felt it was important to share this as it's for the benefit of so many who have helped get the venture off the ground. I just do the stapling! I have replied personally to every letter and email received, and will continue to do so... it just takes a little time that's all and if I don't come back to you immediately, don't despair.

Right, back to editing the next issue, which will be out mid October (I'm aiming at around 15th).
Oh, and don't worry, there's some wargaming and painting going on at this end too. More of which soon.
Phil

Unbasing

2010-08-19T14:34:00.000+01:00

Had the Grand Old Duke of York been a wargamer, he would not only have marched his men to the top of a hill before marching them down again, but he would have also paused at the top, and re-based them before making the futile descent, and then no doubt re-based them again (possibly back to their previous basing arrangement) before making them plod back up the incline, ad infinitum.

When it comes to basing, one of the joys of this Classic Collection project is that such decisions don't have to be made. That is, with the exception of the Pils Holstein regiment who originally were in their unbased form, then got based (twice if I remember correctly) in order to function alongside other armies, but have recently returned to their raw state so as join the other Stadden infantry in this army.

The Grenadier company has always remained unbased, and performed magnificently at Spurlash Down as an independent company. They have now been joined by the other companies, to form a 4-company regiment (Grenadier company, 2 Line companies, Light Company) following the Charge "mixed regiment" organisation structure.

And as a pure indulgence, this has allowed me to set up a long desired shot of "infantry advancing on a broad front", similar to that iconic image of the Electoral infantry at Sittangbad in "Charge".

Left to right: Erbprinz Regiment, Saxe Coburg Regiment, and Pils Holstein regiment, with Garde Jaeger Light Infantry company skirmishing to the fore.

Claymore Report - The Action at Spurlash Down

2010-08-11T18:56:00.001+01:00

For those not familiar with the scenario as outlined in the Pilot Issue of CWJ, the action at Spurlash Down is the first in a series of battles in The Blast Valley – a sort of expansion on Blasthof Bridge, that hardy annual of the Classic Wargame.

Under the banner of “The Forth Coalition” (us all being within striking distance of the River Forth in SE Scotland), Alan Gruber (perhaps better known as Tradgardmaster in blog land), Phil Williams, Tony Barratt (a visiting pal) and myself, played out the game at the Claymore show last Saturday. A full report will be in the next issue of the journal, but herewith some photos taken by Phil Williams of the action unfolding.

above: A company of The Erbprinz Regt gets its feet wet.

below: an overview of the table as the game progresses

The game seemed very well received, with people recognising the retro nature, and saying things like “it’s straight out of the pages of Charge”, which was most gratifying, for that’s exactly what we wanted to portray. We managed to play the game right through, and with all 4 of us busily nattering to visitors to the table throughout I hope we were able to answer all questions and simply engage with all-comers.

A fun day. And we picked up a little prize for the display, which was very heartening given the number of high quality, “realistic”, diorama style tables on show. It’s good to know that people “got” what we were doing.

Thanks to all who visited the table, stopped by to chat, and buoyed us up!

And thanks for the continuous support of Classic Wargamer's Journal, both in terms of buying the pilot, and subscribing. And for the number of articles and contributions being sent in. All very welcome indeed.

CWJ Subscription

2010-07-30T10:08:00.002+01:00

Well, thanks to all who supported the Pilot Issue (which will continue to be available for those who want to sample the journal before subscribing).
Within the first 4 days we reached more than a hundred, and the steady pace has continued this week. So, along with the great many personal messages by email and letter which I received, as well as the positive comments posted here, this gives me every confidence that we can produce a regular quarterly journal.

Here’s how it will work:

Future issues of Classic Wargamer’s Journal will be available by annual subscription only.

Subscriptions are for one Volume of four issues, each issue being produced quarterly.
Your subscription entitles you to the current four issues, at whatever stage you subscribe during that 12 month period. So, for example, if you subscribe just as issue 3 is published, you will receive issues 1 and 2 immediately, as well as the current issue 3, and subsequently issue 4, before your subscription is then due for renewal for the next Volume.

Subscription for Volume I includes:
• Issue 1 - Autumn 2010 (October 2010)
• Issue 2 - New Year 2011 (January 2011)
• Issue 3 - Spring 2011 (April 2011)
• Issue 4 - Summer 2011 (July 2011)

and is £18 for UK subscribers, £24 for overseas subscribers; including postage.
The electronic (pdf ) version is also available online at £12 for the 4 issues.

Subscribing online - you may subscribe to both hard-copy and electronic versions using the paypal button

Subscribing by post and paying by cheque (available only to UK subscribers I’m afraid):
Please send your full name and address details (include postcode), plus a contact phone number or email address with your cheque for £18 payable to “Phil Olley” to:
Phil Olley, Classic Wargamer’s Journal, Phoenix House, 12 Houston Avenue, Glenrothes, Fife, KY7 6FL

It’s great to have you onboard. With your support, I know we can make this something really special, something to “put the joy back into my hobby of wargaming”, as one of the first subscribers wrote in a letter last week.
Thank you to those who do support the journal, and click on the button...

Button Removed 30 July 2011. No longer taking Volume I subscriptions

CWJ - Pilot Issue is here!

2010-07-20T17:01:00.001+01:00

The Classic Wargamer's Journal - Pilot Issue now available.

includes: 4 tyabletop scenarios (Spurlash Down and vanguards Collide, by me; Fire Raisers by Stephen Caddy; and a battle report from the very first issue of WGD back in 1957); plus articles on Tabletop generals' characterisation by Jeff Hudelson, and a guide to painting big units by Stokes Schwartz; an ACW riverboat project by Alasdair Jamison, and Bill Protz gets marooned!

Hardcopy and PDF versions are available via the paypal button below. Pricing includes postage.

For the PDF version, you will receive this as an attachment to an email from me within 48 hours of your order. Please ensure your spam filter is set to receive ok from phil "dot" olley "at" blueyonder.co.uk

For those who wish to purchase by cheque (UK only I'm afraid), send £4.50 payable to "Phil Olley" to:
Phil Olley, Phoenix House, 12 Houston Avenue, Glenrothes, Fife. KY7 6FL.

I am massively indebted to everyone who has helped put this pilot issue together, and has been good enough to offer encouragement, sage words of advice, as well as a fine batch of articles. Let me just say a public "thank you" to all of them.

And finally, thanks in advance to those who support this little venture, click the button and buy the Pilot Issue...

BUTTON REMOVED 30 JULY 2011. No further orders being taken for Pilot Issue

Not long now!

2010-07-19T21:06:00.001+01:00

Thanks for your patience. I know many are eager to get hold of the Pilot Issue of CWJ.
I'll be putting the paypal button up tomorrow, and also details of how to acquire a copy by post.
Phil

CWj- answering some queries

2010-07-18T19:39:00.002+01:00

As I suggested last time, things have been progressing at some considerable pace, and we’re on track to have the pilot issue of The Classic Wargamer’s Journal (CWJ) available in the next few days.

It’s been encouraging to see the comments, and I hope in this post I’ll be able to answer some of the queries raised.

The aim is to recapture some of the “raw” nature of the hobby, before the glossy veneer took over. There will be scenarios and battle reports a plenty and some “how to” articles… eg scratch building etc. Simple stuff that anyone can do, plus game/ campaign mechanics articles.

Each article being no longer than about 4 pages, and some just a single page, all in, it should run to around 30 pages per issue. That will be pure content. Nothing fancy, but good old “war-gamers’ brain food”.

Periods covered:
efore I forget to mention it, this is not just for Horse & Musket folk. In fact, the Tony Bath ancients flats (as used in the Hyborea Campaign) which sit in my cabinets, are warming up for future issues, and there are a number of different periods catered for in the pilot issue. Many of the scenarios are generic, not period specific.

PDFs:
well, I thought long and hard about this… and for no reason other than gut-feeling and the overall ethos of the thing, I originally decided to simply take the hard-copy route.
However, in the biggest U-turn since Bonnie Prince Charlie reached Derby, I have now decided to offer a pdf issue aswell. So you’ll have the choice. Well, it would be silly not to use the technology we have in the interests of allowing as many people as possible to access CWJ. For that reason, I think the early pioneers of War Gamer’s Digest (Scruby, Featherstone and Bath) would approve.
For those dyed in the wool hard-copy only types, just ignore the pdf option!

Subscribing:
by paypal online. Yes. I’ll be sticking a button on here so you can buy it directly, from anywhere in the world.
I’ll also have the facility to take cheques by post from UK subscribers.

The Pilot issue will be a one-off single payment – a chance for you to “suck it and see,” before committing to 4 issues, and we won’t be getting into subscriptions until the next issue.

To cover the cost of production (it would be a very short print run - in fact I’ll be doing it in-house myself) and the cost of postage, I anticipate each issue will be approx £4.50 for the hard copy UK version, £6 for overseas (including postage). PDF will be less expensive of course.

More news in the next few days…

…Get ready for the launch!
Or should that be the “Blast off” or even “Blasthof”!!!

Introducing the Classic Wargamer's Journal

2010-07-14T14:36:00.001+01:00

Having recently been fortunate to have the loan of Charles Grant’s collection of War Game Digest journals, starting from issue 1, March 1957, I’ve been absolutely enthralled by them. The whole tenor and style of articles has me captivated. They contain a real sense of wargaming community. Of course, that was way back then, when the pioneering spirit amongst the 40 or so initial subscribers was just that – pioneering.

But… now…

Well all of this got me thinking…

So, if a very amateurish publication was produced (no gloss, no adverts), just a sort of “club newsletter” style magazine or journal, perhaps on a quarterly basis, in the Classic Wargaming style, focusing purely on game reports, scenarios, the odd “how-to” piece, with contributions from many people, would others be interested? It would be something to look forward to clunking through the mailbox once a quarter!

And let me also say at this point, I view this very much as an “amateur” in-house publication, like one of the many wargames society newsletters/ journals. And even less “polished” than many of them - I’m talking staple-bound plain paper here guys!!

So
The big question is how do I find out if it would be worth doing?

The Classic Wargamer's Journal (CWJ)- Pilot Issue
Well, I have decided to put together a “pilot” issue.

And with a number of collaborators (some of whose names you will instantly recognise!) we’re working on getting it out at the end of July.

More news in the next day or so…

General chit-chat

2010-07-12T21:43:00.003+01:00

Well it looks as if the overwhelming vote on the mascot name went to "Blatter", so "Blatter" it is. Thanks for your input!

Meanwhile, I had meant to post replies to questions made in the comments earlier, but decided to post the answers here:
The base boards are painted with a Dulux emulsion paint (Soft Moss 2). It's actually a little more subtle than it appears in the pictures.
As for the crimson coat colour on the saxe Coburg regt; just plain Games Workshop Foundation Paint - mechrite red. It's more a claret colour really.

Finally, a table is booked at the Claymore show (Edinburgh, 7 August) for a small Classic Wargaming demo game. This is along with a couple of pals, under the banner of convenience of "The Forth Coalition" (us being based around the River Forth). So far, I've got the scenario drawn up, and all the figures are ready. Just some finishing touches and a handout to do. More news as the preparations continue over the next couple of weeks.

Promised Pics

2010-07-08T13:22:00.004+01:00

As promised a couple more pics of the Saxe Coburg regiment.
Here in line formation, standing before the buildings that made up Eisenberg Village for the refight of Sittangbad we did at Partizan way back (2006... really, that long ago?).

These buildings (4 in total) are now for sale, and if you would like to make an offer, drop me an email: phil.olley at blueonder.co.uk

And here the Saxe Coburg Regiment join fellows of The Erbprinz Regiment and the Pils Holstein Grenadier company, "advancing on a broad front".

Links
Meanwhile, the other evening I spent a merry couple of hours surfing (something I very rarely get chance to do) and as a result I've been catching up with "blog husbandry" by adding links that I had neglected to include. If your blog or website doesn't appear, it may be an oversight on my part, so please do give me a nudge (in fact, why not just put the word "nudge" in a comment), particularly for those who have been kind enough to link to this blog. I do like to reciprocate where possible, and feel it's only right. So belated apologies to anyone who I hadn't previously linked to... hope that's now rectified.

Right, just a few hours to go in the big vote for the Saxe Coburg mascot name... Blatter is in pole position, just now. Is there time for a big turnaround?

The Hyndford Plaque

2010-07-06T13:30:00.003+01:00

Thought this photo would be of interest to readers. This is a photo in the collection of Charles S Grant reproduced here with Charles’ kind permission.

The photo was taken by David Chandler, who later owned Peter Young’s house “Hyndford Yately” and had the plaque put up:

On the reverse of the photograph David Chandler has written
“Put up at Hyndford on 13 October last: the 10th death of PY and the 30th (not at all death) of the SK.”
Which would make it 1998.

Of course, the name Hyndford appears in Charge… remember? Lord Hyndford, the gallant British officer who was charged with the Imperial rearguard defence as Lentulus made good his escape at Sittangbad. And a quick google search will reveal something of the historical figure, Lord Hyndford, which I’ll leave to you…

Saxe Coburg Regt completed

2010-07-02T18:02:00.003+01:00

Saxe Coburg Regiment is complete as you can see.

It is evident that the football theme got to me from the outset (I designed the uniform based on the Aston Villa kit of course!). And with an earlier comment/pun (thank you Donogh) about them forming up in 3 lines, I had to include the 3 Lions Passant on the flag.

There's also the mascot. Every regiment should have one! And in the case of The Saxe Colburg regiment I decided to use one of the Vendel mastiffs.

Now, as to his name... well, I'll leave that to you, dear readers, as the latest poll shows a number of options...
Place your vote!

click on picture to enlarge.

And thanks all for following progress.

Not even close

2010-06-27T22:10:00.003+01:00

... or should that be Klose?

In the end I failed my challenge to get the Saxe Coburg Regt complete before England's exit from the World Cup.
It was a tall order, but with limited painting time over the past week, it was always a tough one. As the photo shows, I have managed to complete the main colours on all three companies, so with just the details (hat lace and buttons) and muskets to do, and the command figures, I fell short.

But, and it's a big "but", I can't help feeling I kept my side of the bargain, and that somehow the challenge was really failed by the bunch of prima donnas sent out to South Africa.

Let's hope the Saxe-Coburg Regiment perform rather better when they get to the table. Sigh...

Need to paint faster?

2010-06-17T13:38:00.003+01:00

Following England's opening game there were some unkind suggestions that if the Saxe Coburg Regt was to be completed before the team were packing for home I had best get painting faster!!!
Here is the latest state of play: 2 companies with main colours blocked in.

Thanks to all those who voted in the poll. Most thought this regiment would lose the race to be finished in time, but it was close (20 : 17).
The third company is up next, but over the next 10 days there will be only sporadic painting due to a number of commitments that take me away from home. So I'll have to get my skates on when I return.

And thanks to those who continue to leave comments. Always appreciated. To the chap who asked about Old School ACW rules/ War Games Digest; can you let me know your email address and I'll contact you direct.

Have a great weekend from wherever in the world you are watching the football!

Painting Challenge update

2010-06-11T08:55:00.002+01:00

Thought a "Work in Progress" shot would serve here before I settle down for the big kick-off, and start studying the Wallcharts and sticker albums! Come on, admit it, we all do it!

Anyway, here’s the latest on Saxe Coburg regt. Main colours are done on first company, so going along steadily.

Next will be to take second company to the same stage, then the third, before finishing off all the detail, buttons, sword hilts, muskets, hat lace, etc, on the whole regiment. I have a few commitments over the next couple of weeks that will erode painting time, so don’t think it will be plain sailing. Thanks to those who’ve voted so far … a close run thing!

Tomorrow sees me settling pre-match nerves with a visit to the Durham Wargames Show. A longish trip for me for just an hour or so at the show, but I have other business to attend to in Durham so it coincides nicely. So I may see a few of you there.

Whatever you are doing this weekend, have a good one!

Rekindling the Flame

2010-06-07T09:59:00.003+01:00

So what got the Classic War-Gaming flame re-lit this past couple of weeks?

Well, in fairness the pilot light is always aglow, and it only takes a small spark to ignite a bushfire of enthusiasm (are you liking these “inflammatory remarks”?!).

Now, recently there have been two contributory factors:
1. Reading through old copies of War Games Digest on loan from Charles Grant. I’m up to 1960 (from 1957) and loving them.
2. A throw-away remark (always be wary of these) at the recent Falkirk show by the man better known as Tradgardmastere in the blogging world. “Why not display some of your Classic war-games collection at a show… just a small table?” he suggested, helpfully (cheers Alan!) Well, I’m not sure whether I will do that yet, but it did get me thinking about the project again.

So, as I say, the Staddens got dusted down (fortunately I had an unpainted unit in stock ready for such an eventuality) and this will become The Saxe-Coburg Regiment, so far just undercoated and the faces started:

Seeing a unit laid out at the start like this always makes the painting task seem a little daunting, so I needed some motivation….

So,
The big question is, what will be finished first… The Saxe-Coburg Regiment, or England’s World Cup “dream”?!

The regiment will comprise 3 companies (each of Officer, Sgt, drummer, and 16 infantrymen) plus regimental command (CO, Std bearer, RSM) , as per one of the organisation options offered in Charge - actually, I’ll be a drummer short as the flash on one of the castings was just too much to remove and he had to step out of the squad at the last minute. Perhaps the Rio Ferdinand of the regiment!

Will England be on the plane home before The Saxe-Coburg Regt is on the tabletop?
Place your bets (just for fun) in the latest poll, and wish me, and England, the very best of luck! Viewers in Scotland have their own programmes (alright, alright...sorry, couldn’t resist).

Back in from the cold!

2010-06-04T08:47:00.005+01:00

Seems a while since The Classic Wargaming part of my overall collection was centre stage, and yet it’s the one part I do return to as a sort of relaxation from more earnest efforts with display projects like the Thirty Years War and so on.

Joe Morschauser once wrote:
“You say you have been war-gaming for years and you are bored! You say you may give it all up because you have tried everything! ... What you need is some fresh air to clear your head, some sunshine and a return to fundamentals –of war gaming that is.”
The War Game Digest, March 1961.

There’s certainly something in that…
And the sun is shining here. So, I’ve been getting the Staddens dusted off again, and a new battalion is on the painting stocks.

I’ve also done some minor tidying up on the blog appearance, and added a Followers gadget for those who like such things (it has taken a while for the penny to drop - with apologies to all you experienced bloggers who must have been rolling your eyes!!!).

Anyway, suffice to say there’ll be more developments on this blog over the coming weeks. Meantime, here’s just a quick photo from my archives …

The Pils Holstein regiment. My first full regiment of Staddens painted for the Sittangbad demo game 4 years ago! What? Four years? Really...

Tempus Fugit, as they say...

Items for sale

2010-04-27T14:57:00.017+01:00

Last summer's clearance sale of many items gave me lots of cabinet space. The trouble is, I keep painting figures, and so a further sale is required!
In addition to clearing some space, I am adopting a whole new appraoch to my collection... they call it rationalising I think. So any items on the periphery just have to enjoy a new lease of life with a good home elsewhere...
Many of these figures have appeared in wargames magazines over the years, and do hold some nostalgic value.

So offers for the following, by email to
phil.olley at blueyonder.co.uk

click on pictures for larger image.

First up: SYW Prussian Dragoons (with GMB flags) - 12 figures.

SYW Prussian Hussars: von Reusch regt and Zeiten command figure

Bosniak Lancers:

Next up, some Huns (Foundry figures);

Picts (again Foundry): 23 figures in all.

Dark Age spearmen (12 figures; including 10 from the old Citadel Dark Ages range... circa early 1980s)

and Old Glory Jannissaries (24 figures)

And now, a small skirmish collection for the North West Frontier:

starting with Gordon Highlanders

20 Pathans:

10 Sikh infantry:

and a scratch built Afghan village:

In all cases, sensible offers will be considered. Just drop me an email for more information or to make an offer.

Virtual Tumbleweed

2010-03-17T15:15:00.003Z

Don't you just hate those blogs which are left with virtual tumbleweed blowing through them, are never updated, etc etc. So dilatory!

So... Sorry!

The Thirty Years War project, as some of you will know, is uppermost in that small segment reserved for the hobby in what passes for my mind!

However, even though the Classic wargaming part of my wargaming life is currently "off radar" I thought I should just pop a post up to assure you I'm still here!

So, with regard to Classic Wargaming, what to say, what to show?

Well, a while ago Bill Protz (known to many I'm sure as the man behind the BAR rules, amongst other fine contributions to the hobby), sent me some photos that I have held in archive for occasions such as this. And I am therefore able to present Brigadier Peter Young's Victory Column (remember the quote from Charge: "Celebrate your victories, and disguise your drawn battles").

Thank you to Bill for this.

Tempted to make one myself, and I'm sure many of you already do this for your campaigns.

Thank you all for continuing to visit (I suspect more in hope than expectation these days), and I promise I'll be back with more goodies sometime soon. As always, I have a plan...

The Force so far

2010-01-22T15:28:00.005Z

Been a busy week or so here, so not too much time left for blogging. But just so you know I'm still around here's a picture of the force so far, built over the past couple of months:

Artillery Battery, Erbprinz Regt, Marchmont Dragoons, and Garde Jaeger.

Just now I have a painting lull as regards the "Classic Collection", with some Thirty Years War items taking priority, but there's another consignment of Staddens on the way, so I should be catching up with the Swedish Ice Hockey results any day soon (for those not aware, when ordering the Stadden figures from Peter Johnstone at Spencer Smith Miniatures, they come from Sweden well-packaged, including some newspaper wrapped around for extra protection!).

Meanwhile, have a great weekend.

Phil

Building your forces - Part Three

2010-01-13T13:19:00.008Z

Cavalry were the most problematic arm to decide on as the figures photographed in Charge do not appear to be available any longer. So I had to make some compromises here, still capturing the essential Classic look. I confess to feeling that the Stadden horses are rather large for my tastes (albeit they are actually properly proportioned). And in Charge, other than some of the Staff Officers, I’m not sure any of the Cavalry are Stadden figures. In fact I’m pretty sure they're not, and the cavalry depicted look rather smaller than the Stadden infantry, so I decided to begin with a regiment of Holger Erikkson figures.

So, first up… The Marchmont Dragoons, which are as close in terms of pose as I can get to the cavalry regiment shown in the book.

above: The Marchmont Dragoons
Note: extra officer included to bring the organisation up to 30 all ranks. It seems far neater to have each squadron having an individual officer, and the Regimental standard accompanying the CO and Trumpeter.

and below, in Black and White for those who prefer.

A word of warning, however; these figure castings are no longer in the best state, and in reality do not represent value for money. They are very fragile at the legs, and require a lot of cleaning up. The detail is not very clear, making painting less than enjoyable, so I resolved to apply a very basic style to simply enjoy the finished spectacle.
For variety, my next cavalry regiment will be something different, and will be shown here in due course.

And, onto Light Infantry, The Garde Jaeger:

Above: The Garde Jaeger, Light Infantry company.

These are a copy of the figures used in Charge for the unit of the same name, being of course Napoleonic Russian Pavlov Grenadiers! Again, if this seems anomalous to you, and you wish to create light infantry more consistent with a specific army or time period, for example by creating some genuine Grenzers or Jagers for the mid 18th century, there is no shortage of such figures. You may even wish to incorporate a company of The Black Watch, or The Arquebusiers de Grassin. The choice is yours.

As I indicated previously, I felt that in Charge the Light Infantry were too powerful for my tastes (my preference being more 18th century than Napoleonic), and particularly when operating 4 company mixed regiments of the Line, where one of the companies is a Light Company. This would put too many light infantry on the table for me, and probably prevent players adopting linear tactics, and edging more towards a Napoleonic style game. I therefore decided to field my Light Infantry in individual companies, rather than as the 2-company battalions shown in the book (although I may also use the full 2-company regiments when suited to a specific scenario). To further diminish the impact of the Light Infantry, I may also limit their operations and firepower within the rules, but this is again a purely personal preference reflecting my desire to have my Light Infantry as a “nuisance arm” rather than “battle winners!”.

and for comparison, here are the relevant plates from "Charge!"

Note the plate showing a “regiment of light infantry” appears actually to be two separate companies of Light Infantry (note one half have dark gaiters- these I believe to be one company of the Garde Jaeger LI regt- and one half have white gaiters, and I suspect the latter is the Light Company of the Erbprinz Regt as it comprises 16 privates, reflecting the organisation of Light companies of Line regts in the book).

More next time.

Clearing up confusion... I hope

2010-01-11T20:44:00.000Z

Following the discussion in the comments section after my last post (by the way, thank you to all who left many kind words), I thought it would be appropriate to clear up a little of the confusion around things like basing, rules and the like.

OK.

This Classic Wargaming collection is a project I am doing which is very different from my other wargaming armies. The "basing" (or lack of) is a direct result of the desire to recreate the units shown in Charge, unbased.

For my other armies, as used in some of the books with Charles, I have used multiple bases, and am quite happy with the way the rules worked. We used rules from The War Game, with some slight alterations to accomodate multiple bases, but really it was very straightforward.

For the Classic collection, I am creating rules based around those in Charge.

To give a simple visual reference as to the difference between this Classic collection, and my "normal" 18th century wargames collection, I hope the follwing picture will help:

This is my "normal" 18th century collection, with multi-basing.

Compare this with the photos of the classic units seen on the rest of this blog.

Now, I'm not saying one is better than the other. But only one is what I would call "Classic Wargaming"... and I am approaching it in the same way that someone reconstructing a Classic Car would be reproducing it as faithfully as possible to the original.

One of the most liberating factors with reproducing units as seen in Charge is that no decisions need to be made about basing at all.

Cavalry that tend to topple over if left are being glued onto thin pieces of metal, purely for stability. Apart from that, it's very straight-forward.

I think...

Building your forces - Part Two

2010-01-10T19:28:00.001Z

Taking the organisation of a simplified force laid down previously, now to choose the actual regiments.

Remember first, I am not being straight-jacketed by a specific period or theatre of war, and am happy to mix my units from any in the Horse & Musket era. And, as in Charge, that means being comfortable with the anomaly of Napoleonic RHA taking the field flanked by SYW Grenadiers, and supported by AWI Light Dragoons if need be.

Now, for some, such anomalies may be too much to bear, and in particular for those people not “au fait” with the book, and whose experience of wargaming is confined to the past few years where period accuracy and faithfulness are taken as a given. If you object to such a cavalier approach for your own Classic collection, then feel free to indulge in your own way, and to stick to a specified time-frame, or even to go as far as replicating only Prussians from the years 1757-59 or whatever your chosen personal preference.

Not to labour the point, but for me, it was very much a conscious decision to go with the essence of Charge, and the mildly eccentric approach of having anything I fancied from the “Horse & Musket” period.

So, first, I wanted to replicate certain units from the book, and in particular:
The Erbprinz infantry battalion
RHA batteries (for both sides)
a company of Garde Jaeger Light Infantry

pictures of the Jaegers coming soon... when I've finished painting them!

That left me with a few units to invent and name, all of which will be revealed in due course. Somehow it’s a good feeling to have given your army some sort of character from the unit names even at this early stage.

We’ll come onto replicating the cavalry and my first regiment of horse next time.

Meantime, do continue sharing your army building activities ...

Building up your forces

2010-01-07T18:44:00.000Z

Most recently completed unit is a battery of artillery, seen here during a Sunday afternoon drill session outside "The Fox and Hounds" obviously!

One of the questions people seem to like to ask is how to build an army. Now I’m not going to go into chapter and verse on this, and everyone will have their own way, their own approach, but I thought I would just share some ideas over the next few posts, and include some of the jottings from my wargaming journal where I tend to plan such things.

In the case of this Classic wargaming collection, I already had a few Spencer Smith battalions, as you’ve seen previously, but to recreate the essence of Charge in particular, I want to have plenty of Tradition/ Stadden figures and others to give that certain “look”.

The sensible (?!) approach seemed to me to simply build a small Stadden force, and use the SSMs to add to this as the collection grows.

So, what would a small force consist of?
Remember, we aren’t talking thousands of figures here. If your table is as big as 8' x 6' you can still fill it with just a few battalions. A 6' x 4' table means even fewer are required.
Given that I’m intent on the large battalion unit organisation, the following sketch scanned in from my Wargaming Journal seems a good target to aim at…

scanned in from my journal : click to enlarge:

Meantime, I would be interested to know whether anyone is currently starting from scratch to build an army of this style, inspired perhaps by what they have read here, or elsewhere, and simply following the journey. So feel free to comment. Your story may help other readers too. As always all comments are welcome, even if I do not get chance to answer specific queries in too much detail.

Right, back to the painting desk for an hour...

Infantry unit organisation

2010-01-03T20:10:00.000Z

Unit Organisation - Infantry

Whilst I appreciate that not everyone has the space devoted to wargaming to allow them to deploy such large formations on the tabletop, on a personal note, I felt it essential to create large wargames units, akin to those in the original books in terms of number of figures. This is for me what classic wargaming is about. I also wanted to be able to identify with individual companies, as well as their parent battalions, allowing me to detach sub units to perform specific tabletop functions, thus aiding flexibility.

Of course, the lack of basing (ie with each figure left as a single, rather than having them based as multiples) is not only in-keeping with the essence of Charge/ The Wargame and in the spirit of Classic Wargaming, it is also a huge aid to flexibility. The decision not to base figures is purely one of personal taste, as I believe they retain a “classic model soldier look” when left on their metal stands.

With Churchill’s quote about “compromises usually offering the worst of both worlds rather than the best” echoing in my mind, I have created a structure for my own collection reflecting, I hope, the best of both “Charge” and “The Wargame”, and ironed out some wrinkles without losing the spirit of classic wargaming.

The most important point is that as near as possible, all units on the table, on both sides, should have the same complement of officers, slight variations being attributable to the vagaries of campaigning, of course, but taking care not to allow one side or the other to be disadvantaged by any major discrepancies.

Whereas in Charge there seems little reflection of the role of officers in the rules, in The Wargame the rules do reflect officer casualties and these have an impact on morale. For my own rules, losing officers does have an impact on the combat effectiveness of units in action (at both the individual independent company level, and on full-blown regiments). More of which anon.

Meantime, let’s just have a look at the organisation of units, focusing on the infantry for now:

Charge “mixed” 4 company infantry battalion
(The Innsbruchen Infantrie shown here comprising a Grenadier company, 2 line companies and a Light company; with full officer complement)

The Wargame infantry - 3 battalions advancing in attack columns
(Teutonburg-Fredonia Leibgarde, Innsbruchen Infantrie regt, Battenburg regt)
All have 48 rank and file, + 5 officers

The Charge 3-company battalion structure is shown in the blog header and in my previous post.
This will be my preferred organisation option.

Welcome

2009-12-30T13:09:00.000Z

Walking home from the library, aged 13 or 14, I had never been so excited. I was supposed to be getting books for a school project, and had stumbled across "Charge! or How to play war games" by Brigadier Peter Young and Lt Col James Lawford. Flicking through the intriguing pages, I spotted the first pictures of the armies laid out below their start lines for the action at Blasthof Heath. I was hooked.

It would be my “Desert Island book”. And with two small armies of Staddens, Surens and Spencer Smiths (balanced forces of horse, foot and guns) as my “Desert Island luxury”, I would hope never to be rescued!

In my early wargaming years, I dreamed of being able to faithfully replicate the units and actions fought out in Charge. And, for some time now I have been building up my "Classic Wargaming" collection, and so thought this blog would be a useful way of charting progress.

Now, some might say, "but Phil, why not just include this on The Blasthof Blog?" (a group blog, set up recently, and familiar to most readers I should imagine). Well, in short, I feel it would be inappropriate for me to hog team "air time" or monopolise space there.

So this blog will simply chart the development of my collection, and include pictures of units as I finish them, and games as I play them.

First up is the Erbprinz regiment, included previously elsewhere, but posted here for a good start to what I hope will be a fun journey, recreating what I call "Classic Wargaming".

In the upcoming posts, as well as showing the development of the collection, I will also be looking at the unit organisation laid down in Charge, outlining a few minor changes I have made, and also documenting the development of my own set of rules, very much in the flavour of the original, but rationalised for my own use, including an answer to the question, "what are all those officers, drummers, and sergeants for?"

Meantime...

Best wishes