Plan Zachód - Polish 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade

 As one of the iconic units in the defence of Poland in 1939 the "Black Brigade" was an essential addition to my Poland 1939 project.  Here is a sample from the platoon I have nearly completed for Chain of Command - they are a mix of Warlord Games' Bolt Action range and Gorgon Studios figures:

 Once again, these were painted by my friend Roger and just based by me.

Plan Zachód - Polish Infantry

 When I looked at the correct organisation for a Polish platoon in 1939 I realised I was going to need quite a few more figures.  So here is a selection of the full platoon I now have for Chain of Command.  The figures are all from Warlord Games' Bolt Action range.

As always, there were painted by my friend Roger and just based by me.

Operation Weserübung - British Infantry

Here are some figures from the actual final platoon for my Operation Weserübung project - some British infantry in greatcoats and jerkins (I based these so they could also be used in other theatres) - these are from Gorgon Studios:

As usual these were painted for me by my friend Roger.

Kickstarter

Back in 2018 a friend of mine introduced me to Kickstarter.  To be honest I wasn't really sure it was something I was going to be interested in but fast forward to today and I have been involved in crowdfunding over 100 projects and so I thought I would share my experience and what I have learned.

So firstly, what is Kickstarter and why should you care?  Kickstarter is a crowd funding platform - what's that I hear you ask!  Crowd funding is where a project is funded by members of the public rather than by the more traditional funding routes.  Something that is really made practical by the internet.  This usually takes the form of someone outlining a product they would like to produce, seeking a total sum to make it happen and asking people to contribute money in the expectation that they will receive the product.  Kickstarter is a platform for crowd funding (other crowd funding platforms are available!).  The projects seeking crowd funding are many and varied; and the people launching these project range from individuals with new inventions to companies trying to assess customer interest before manufacturing.  My particular interest has been in the area of wargames figures and board games.  Making miniatures and board games is expensive and traditionally the upfront costs and uncertainty of demand has constrained the production of new and less mainstream products.

My first Kickstarter which funded at the end of 2018 was UBOOT: The Board Game a co-operative four player simulation of a U-boat which combined a board, a 3D cardboard submarine and an app.

I have always had an interest in submarine warfare and so this grabbed my attention straight away but I vacillated a lot before risking backing it.  Which leads me onto a key thing about crowd funding.

Whilst Kickstarter and the other crowd funding platforms may look like a shop front and a way of pre-ordering products - they aren't.  Your pledge (the money you contribute to back the project) is wholly at risk - you may not receive anything and you will have little recourse, if any.  But if you are prepared to accept that risk and do a little due diligence there are some really interesting opportunities to help bring new projects into being.

The other key thing, along with an appetite for risk, that you will need is patience.  Many projects are delayed in the process and you may have to wait a lot longer than the estimated delivery date before you see whatever it is you backed.

As to due diligence, I would always suggest checking a creator's track record - have they delivered previous projects successfully and what was the feedback from previous backers.  Will the product be coming to retail and once you factor in VAT, shipping etc. will it be available cheaper.  Are the kickstarter exclusive elements or general bling worth it?  There's no one right answer and crowd funding is certainly not for everyone but I have added several figures and board games to my collections that wouldn't have existed without it.

I plan to share some of my specific projects in separate blog posts assuming anyone is interested!

All Quiet on the Blogging Front

It will not have escaped your notice that my posts have been somewhat sporadic of late.  I must admit that I have found the lockdown somewhat challenging.  I have been able to continue my day job working from home but all my main gaming opportunities have been absent.  This has had two real effects, firstly, the absence of actual gaming has removed the impetus for me to progress and complete projects; and secondly, the lack of buzz and banter the accompanies playing face to face has sapped my motivation.  But with the vaccine roll-out and the potential for the restrictions to be lifted to allow some gaming in the summer, I am feeling somewhat more positive and trying to plan out what games I would like to be able to put on (plus what work I need to do to enable that to happen!).

Things on the agenda include:

• 28mm WW2 - Poland 1939, Norway 1940 and Operation Sealion - all using Chain of Command
• 15mm WW2 - a trial of the new O Group rules using my early war figures
• 3mm WW2 - a trial of the Rommel rules
• 28mm Sudan - the siege of Khartoum (not quite sure which rules I will be using for this one)
• 15mm Mexican Adventure - a trial of the Zouave II rules
• 28mm Old West - a trial of A Fistful of Lead
• 28mm Vikings - a trial of the Blood Eagle rules
• 28mm Pulp - the China Station campaign using Pulp Alley
• 28mm WW1 - a late war scenario to trial of the Blood & Valor (sic) rules
• 15mm WW1 - further Eastern Front scenarios using Battles with Brusilov

As you may have guessed these need some painting and basing work to be done to make them happen so I just need to keep the focus and motivation up to get them ready.

I have no doubt I will get distracted before I get all of these to the table but I think it gives me plenty to be getting on with (and hopefully some material for some more blog posts!)