Summer Lard!

The latest Too Fat Lardies summer special is out.  This season's edition includes:

• Blitz to Boulogne - A complete mini-campaign for Chain of Command
• Action at the Crooked Billet - AWI scenario for Sharp Practice
• Glowaczow - AN IABSM scenario from 1944 with Soviets versus Germans
• Hadgranate! - Tracing the development of hand grenade tactics in the Great War
• At our Convenience - A mini-campaign for Mud & Blood (or Great War Chain of Command) centred on the battle of Loos in 1915
• Fight for Sesna - A Spanish Civil War tank action for CoC Espana!
• Straight out of Central Casting - Adding characters to your Bag the Hun games
• Taking the Biscuit - A complete guide to using Sharp Practice for Garibaldi's 1860 campaign in Sicily. Rule suggestions and five scenarios
• Quadrant 13, A Point System - Robert Avery provides a point system for his popular Sci-Fi rules
• The Roundwood Report - Sidney talks Lardy Games days with three veteran organisers
• Fork-Tailed Lardies - Using the P-38 in Bag the Hun
• Le Hameau - A 200th anniversary Le Feu Sacre scenario
• Hunting Charlie with Captain Jack - A Charlie Don't Surf Scenario for Vietnam
• Arise to Lard - Applying 1940 air tactics with Bag the Hun.
• Scotland Forever - Try to capture the Eagle with the Scots Greys at Waterloo. A complete game to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the great battle.

Weighing in at 133 pages overall this should keep any Lard enthusiast quiet for a while and for £6 its looks pretty good value to me.

Recent Milestones

I've just noticed that The Wargame Shed passed 250,000 page views yesterday and my previous post was number 700.  I know my posting has been a little erratic over the last few months - largely due to "real life" - so many thanks for your continued interest.  I am currently basing up some more additions to my Indian Mutiny collection and have a couple of other posts lined up.

In addition the basing I am currently putting together an Indian Mutiny game for the Maidstone Wargames Society open day at the end of June and then it will be back to sorting out my next 15mm project - Wars of the Roses.  In the meanwhile I have decided to bulk up some of my existing WW2 collection (largely for Chain of Command) and have also started to pick up some figures for Ronin.  I am also thinking of putting together some new units for my American Civil War collection and use that as an impetus to refurbishing it (it was my first major project started over 20 years ago).  So plenty to do and lots of potential diversions on the way I'm sure!

Market Gardening

I have a little remiss in my updates of late - so a little later than planned...

Lenin popped over again recently and we played a couple of tabletop games including a slightly impromptu game of Chain of Command.  We played Scenario Six: Attack on an Objective from the rulebook and set it around Operation Market Garden.

A British Airborne platoon supported by a section and Sherman from XXX Corps are trying to capture a crossroads held by the Germans.  Lenin took the British and I prepped my defensive position (and a little surprise for them).

The Paras advance on the left...

... and the right of the road

Moving through the crops

Rushing across the open field

The Paras advanced rapidly across the whole width of the table and, whilst my troops were in hard cover, they were also lower quality and unable to concentrate their fire.

An overview showing the crossroads

I moved more men up into the upper storeys of the buildings to gain a greater arc of fire and so be able to concentrate it better.  Unfortunately Lenin then deployed his Sherman and took out the upper storey of one of the buildings entirely!

My surprise - a Tiger!

Whilst my Tiger came as an unpleasant surprise the Paras kept the initiative long enough to inflict a large quantity of casualties before I could get the Tiger into position.  When I did it shook of a couple of hits from the Sherman and a PIAT and then took out the Sherman.  But it was really too little too late as more casualties broke my force's morale and we withdrew.

Another enjoyable game of Chain of Command which presented to really interesting challenges.

The Mutiny: 15th Bengal Native Infantry

I finished basing the latest addition to my Indian Mutiny collection a couple of weeks ago but didn't get around to taking any pictures.  But now here they are:

The figures are from Mutineer Miniatures, they were painted by Roger, based by me and the flag is from Grimsby Wargames Society.

Iron Duke Miniatures

For those of you interested in Indian Mutiny you should check out Iron Duke Miniatures, a new venture from Col. Mike Snook (the author of Go Strong into the Desert).  They are releasing a new range using one of my favourite sculptors, Paul Hicks:

IMBC 1 British Inf, shirtsleeves, covered Kilmarnocks & curtain, P1842 percussion muskets, slope arms,

IMBC 2 British Inf, shirtsleeves, covered Kilmarncoks & curtains, P1842 percussion muskets, charge bayonets

IMBC 3 British Inf, shirtsleeves, covered Kilmarnocks & curtains, Enfields, skirmishing

IMBC 4 British Inf, shirtsleeves, command

These are the first of a number of releases which will include Sikh/Punjabi infantry, 1st Madras Fusiliers and 78th Highlanders.  They are being retailed through Empress Miniatures and should also be available at Salute.

As always from Mr Hicks, these are splendid and the range fills some gaps in my existing collection but the open question is how they'll fit with my Mutineer figures.  Given that they are going to be in separate units I think I may well buy some anyway!

WSS: French Officer

Yet another addition to my War of the Spanish Succession collection - this time it's a French officer:

As before the figure is from Black Hat, painted by Roger and based by me.

F&IW: Highlanders

The latest addition to my growing 28mm French & Indian Wars collection are some Highlanders from North Star figures:

Once again these were painted by Roger and based by me.

Posted with Blogsy

F&IW: Compagnies Franches de la Marine

The next addition to my 28mm French and Indian Wars collection are some Compagnies Franche de la Marine from Redoubt Enterprises:

As usual the figures were painted by Roger and based by me.

 

Posted with Blogsy

F&IW: Armed Civilians

Returning to my 28mm French and Indian Wars project I have added from armed civilians from Redoubt To populate my 4Ground buildings:

The figures were painted by Roger and based by me.

 

Posted with Blogsy

WSS: French Command Group

Almost the final figures in the latest phase of this project:

Again the figures are from Black Hat, painted by Roger and based by me.

Pulp: Cultists

And now for something completely different!  I decided for a change to base up some Pulp Figures cultists which had been sitting around in a box for quite a while.  Here they are on my new Deep Cut Studio mat (all the way from Lithuania):

WSS: Schomberg's Regiment of Horse

The regiment was originally raised by William Cavendish, 4th Earl of Devonshire (later Duke of Devonshire) in his home county of Derbyshire and neighbouring Nottinghamshire - they were named Cavendish's Horse or alternatively the Earl of Devonshire's Regiment of Horse.

In gratitude for their loyalty during the Glorious Revolution, by Royal Warrant dated 31st December 1688, the new King William commissioned the Earl of Devonshire's Regiment of Horse to form part of his regular army. In August 1689, the Regiment shipped to Ireland in response to James II landing there with an army. In Ireland, the Earl of Devonshire ceded the Colonelcy of the Regiment to the Count de Schomberg, son of the army's commander the Duke of Schomberg.

Schomberg's Regiment of Horse formed part of the right wing of William's army at the Battle of the Boyne (1690). The Regiment returned to England in 1691. 1692 saw the Regiment shipped to Belgium, where they fought in most major battles including the Battle of d'Otignies (1693) and at the Siege of Namur (1695). In 1697, the Regiment returned to England and their armour was placed in storage.

After ten years of comparative peace in Southern England, the Regiment crossed the Channel once more in 1702 to join Marlborough's army in Belgium for the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14). Marching to Germany, they fought at Schellenberg and Blenheim (1704). At Blenheim, the Regiment fought with distinction and lost a number of officers and men, with 56 horses killed. Fighting minor actions throughout the campaign in Holland, Germany and France, the Regiment fought the Battle of Ramilies in 1706.

The figures are from Black Hat, painted by Roger and based by me.  The flag is from Warflag.

WSS: Wyndham's Regiment of Horse

Originally raised in 1685, Hugh Wyndham became colonel of the regiment in 1692. In 1704 the regiment was at the battle of Blenheim and were present in 1705 when the alliance army broke through the Lines of Brabant. The following year the regiment fought at the battle of Ramillies and participated in the siege of Menin.

The figures are from Black Hat, painted by Roger and based by me.  The flag is from Maverick Models.

WSS: Régiment de Noailles - Cavalerie

The regiment was raised on 20 December 1688 for the duc de Noailles and he appears to have drawn heavily on the nobility of Languedoc in order to fill the officer ranks.

The figures are from Black Hat, painted by Roger and based by me.  The flags are from Maverick Models.

WSS: Régiment d'Orleans - Cavalerie

The regiment was raised in Piémont in 1630 and transferred into the French service on May 16 1635 under Commander de Souvre. On March 20 1647, Anne d'Autriche purchased the regiment for her second son, Philippe d'Anjou. On April 20 1660, at the death of Gaston d'Orléans, he took the name of Orléans and his regiment was renamed accordingly. The regiment was disbanded on April 18 1661 but raised anew on December 7 1665 for the duc d'Orléans.

The figures are from Black Hat, painted by Roger and based by me.  The flags are from Maverick Models.

WSS: Régiment du Mestre de Camp Général des Dragons

I decided to add a second squadron of cavalry to my Régiment du Mestre de Camp Général des Dragons:

As before the figures are from Black Hat and were painted by Roger and based by me.

WSS: Régiment du Roi - Cavalerie

I decided to add a second squadron of cavalry to my Régiment du Roi - Cavalerie:

As before the figures are from Black Hat and were painted by Roger and based by me.

12th SS Panzergrenadiers

I've added a few more figures to my World War 2 collection - this time it's some Artizan late war Germans painted up as a platoon of the 12th SS Panzergrenadiers:

The figures are from Artizan Designs, painted by Roger and based by me.

Chain of Command Jump-Off Markers

I finally got around to painting the resin Jump-Off Markers I bought from the TooFatLardies for their Chain of Command rules: