TFL Painting Challenge: Post-Colours Update

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A good selection of entries this week. Almost makes up for what was quite a weird Colours. Can't decide if it was good or bad.

The good was that there was plenty of room, a nice selection of traders, and a few demo games to observe.

The bad was mainly the extraordinary lack of atmosphere...and the fact that I could find nothing I wanted to buy. Oh, and the bar had problems with their taps, so it was literally half an hour to get a drink. 

Anyway, today's entries are:

  • Matt Slade with a cornucopia of 28mm goodness. Lovely work as always, and love the Flash Gordon figures.
  • Jason Ralls with a mostly 15mm submission, including that factory from Sarissa I keep promising myself I must get
  • Mr Naylor finishes his Russian infantry
  • Paul Baldwin is another cornucopia type: zombies, skeletons, animals, dungeon dressing etc
  • Mr Plowman has built a huge 15mm sci-fi fort
  • Mr Luther has made some more scenery
  • and Topi pops in a mix of 15mm and 20mm WW2 stuff

Pictures, pictures, pictures...it's got to be Matt's Hawkmen, Jason's factory, and Ralph's fort:

Off to Colours

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Sorry about the lack of recent posts (nothing since Monday) but I have been very busy with work and, quite frankly, have done nothing in the evenings except slump in front of the goggle-box!

Well that's not quite true. Given that this new version of the Vis Lardica website is now about a year old (assume the fanfares, wild claims of page views etc) I have been making a bit more of an effort to finish re-uploading the Vis Bellica and Vis Magica content from the old site. All the VB battle reports are now uploaded (see that section of the VB area) and I know what more I have to do.

Meanwhile, I'm off to Colours, back after its enforced absence last year. I'll be updating the Painting Challenge this weekend, so get your entries in, and have a host of content to put up when I can summon the energy to do so!

Meanwhile, here's a pick from the Society of Ancients Battle Day, 2004, where the VB team re-fought Gaugamela.

Greek Mercenary Hoplites from my collection advance towards the waiting Persian hordes.

TFL: The Chain of Command Challenge

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I don't often post about the TFL WW2 platoon-level game Chain of Command as this site is really reserved for TFL's company-level games.

I do, however. enjoy a nice game of CoC every now and again, so am happy to help Rich promote the "Chain of Command Challenge": a 20%-off offer on the rules, whatever the format.

Here's what Rich said on Lard Island News:

The Chain of Command Challenge

It’s not often we’ll be so direct as to ask “Do you prefer CoC, or the alternative?” but a very comprehensive review of Chain of Command and one of the alternative rule sets out there aimed at platoon level actions has certainly got people talking.  You can read Trailape’s comments on his blog here: http://trailape.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/so-youre-platoon-commander-comparing.html

Now, we’re not making any claim for Chain of Command to be the biggest, best or anything else, but we do know that we all have a huge range of rule sets to choose between and often it takes a bit of a poke with a sharp stick to get us to jump in and try something new.  So, we thought that now would be a great time for us to launch the Chain of Command Challenge to encourage those gamers who’d been thinking about giving Chain of Command a try but who hadn’t quite got round to it yet.  For the remainder of September we are slashing 20% off the price of the rules in hard copy, PDF or tablet-friendly format making Chain of Command fantastic value and this the ideal time to make that jump and give them a whirl.

Of course, as Hans is telling us, we mustn’t forget that Chain of Command benefits from all sorts of nice free to download support products like the notes of bigger battles which can be found here: Big Chain of Command

But there’s much, much more than that.  We are rolling out free Army lists which will eventually cover the whole of WWII as well as producing a range of scenario and campaign supplements to make your gaming even more fun.  Why not check out Lard Island News and search for  Chain of Command Free Downloads to see the whole range of what is already available, or even try one of our Pint-Sized Campaigns, a whole campaign for the price of a pint of beer!

To take part in the Chain of Command Challenge you can find the rules at this great introductory price on our web site here:  Chain of Command Products. And just to make things a bit more fun, we’d love to see your reports on your blogs, Facebook or Twitter feeds (hashtag #spreadthelard ), on the TooFatLardies Forum or Yahoo Group, or simply post your comments in a reply to this post.  Why not take the Chain of Command Challenge today?

TFL Painting Challenge: Today's Update

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Lots of entries again today: this is becoming a very busy event!

In no particular order we have:

  • Doug Melville and some very lovely Milanese banners for download
  • Andrew Helliwell with his usual crowd of 15mm figures
  • Leif pops in a handful of Mars Attacks! figures
  • Owen enters some more naval crew and guns
  • Mr "Hat" Bowler returns after a short absence with some more WOTR figures, the first of many Caesarian chaps, and a triplet of ships
  • Mark Luther provides some of the missing pics in his gallery
  • Keith Davies sends in some 6mm WW2 figures
  • Mr Plowman has two entries, both 15mm sci-fi, both fantastic
  • and finally Kev has a couple of very gorgeous bombards for us to admire

Today's pictures are from Kev and Ralph, with Doug's banner's thrown in for good measure!

SciFi civilians from Ralph Plowman

SciFi civilians from Ralph Plowman

One of Kev's rather lovely bombards. You can see a side elevation in his gallery.

One of Kev's rather lovely bombards. You can see a side elevation in his gallery.

Doug's Milanese banners, available to download from his blog (see his gallery for details)

Doug's Milanese banners, available to download from his blog (see his gallery for details)

Oh and here's another, as an extra bonus: some of Mark Luther's Japanese in action:

20949520552_2584554db3_o.1.jpg

Q13: Chuhuac Army List Updated

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Here's a recent post about the Ikwen figures from Loud Ninja Games:

Some of you may already have seen my Chuhuac: 15mm velociraptor-like aliens from Loud Ninja Games. They are a great set of figures, full of life and animation, that are a real pleasure to paint up and play. I usually use them as mercenaries: a rapidly-moving, light infantry force designed to hit hard and fast and then disappear again.

So when Loud Ninja Games announced their second release, the Ikwen, I was at the front of the queue to buy a set. These are salamander-like aliens, also in 15mm, whom Eli has conceived as a sort of low-tech planetary militia. 

I loved the figures, but didn't really like the idea of fielding them as envisioned...so I've come up with an alternative use for them: they are paid by the Chuhuac as their logistics tail. The little dinos are the teeth, the Ikwen the tail...and just as the various cooks and bottle-washers in other armies have sometimes had to pick up their rifles and fight (Hurtgen Forest, Battle of the Bulge etc) so the Ikwen occasionally go into battle as well.

I've now had time to update the Chuhuac Army List to include the Ikwen engineers and taken the opportunity to make a couple of other tweaks as well. You can access it from this page here.

Potential IABSM Market Garden Game in Sweden

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Long time Lardy Thomas Nissvik (you can see his gallery in the 2015 Painting Challenge, and several AARs in the appropriate sections) has posted this piece of news on the TFL Forum:

My buddy Daniel asked me to post this. I will be participating as an Umpire, but Daniel is running the event.

"I plan to hold a big game event next year. The event will be a four day event, probably a Thursday to Sunday thing. It will be based on the 101. Airborne sector during Market Garden and the fighting around Hell's Highway. Rules will be IABSM (I Ain't Been Shot Mum) with a good amount of some local "house rules". Knowing the rules is not necessary as all tables will have umpires. It will be for friends so it is not some commercial event or open to the public.

A pic from the Lardy D-Day Games Day showing British Paras in action around Ranville

My thought is to do this some time in August (when most people have vacation) in the a place which is only ten minutes by car from Arlanda airport and about forty minutes from Stockholm central by train. The idea is to rent a community house. It has a pentry so it will be possible to make food. I am still inquiring with the people responsible and will visit the house in September. I will ask all participants for a modest entry fee to cover the rental expense for the house (which will be fairly low).

It will be played over several large tables with the Son bridge in the south and Uden in the north. Each player will command a force or battle group either consisting of elements of the 101. Airborne, XXX Corps or the German forces. Each force might be equalling a reinforced company or so. I also have plans of having people being commanders of the whole Airborne force, XXX Corps and so on, responsible for coordination, allocating resources, reserves and supplies and communication as well as some higher level support units (especially when it comes to the XXX Corps).

The idea is not to cover the whole Market Garden operation so the Nijmegen, Arnhem, Eelst/Driel sector will not be covered. Some tables will be connected to each other making it possible to send troops directly over to the next while others while require some "extra move points" or "deductions".

I plan to use my friends Koen, Jocke, Laffe and Thomas as umpires. Myself also being one but more on a coordination level. Perhaps they will also have some force responsibility depending on how many will join. All of us will obviously do our best to bring forth the necessary terrain and so on.

I would like to ask you if you would be interested in joining this. Perhaps you also know some people who would be interested in joining as player participants or as umpires, full or part time?"

So, anyone interested?

Cheers/Thomas

Those of you who haven't been to a Lardy games day before should visit the AAR section of this website and see the reports from previous events. They are at the bottom of the right-hand column of AARs.

It would be great if this happened, so if you do fancy a trip to Sweden next year for a big game of IABSM, let Thomas know by replying to his post on the forum here or by e-mailing him at thomas.nissvik@gmail.com.

Sampans from Battlefront

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For Christmas last year I bought the "Local Resistance" set from Battlefront's Brown River range.

This is a set comprising six sampans (three motorised, three not) and twelve suspicious looking Vietnamese peasant-types.

The sampans looked really good out of the box, and have painted up very nicely indeed. For those interested, the boats were undercoated in black, then dry-brushed with a dark brown and then a light, drab brown. The awnings were dry-brushed in a drab yellow colour, and then very lightly dry-brushed in sand yellow. I then painted the 'drivers' in nice, bright colours (I checked via Google that Vietnamese people wear these colours!) as a contrast.

I'll do the villagers next, but they look good with their undercoats on, so high hopes for them as well.

Here's a close-up of one of the sampans, and then a group shot of all six:

TFL Painting Challenge: Another Big Update

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Apologies for the lack of posts this week: been very busy with real-world work.

As an example, I had a big battle this morning (Scenario #3B from Vyazma or Bust!) and was too tired to set it up last night: had just put the final figure down on the deployment table when the doorbell rang and the first of my four guests-players arrived. Great game:  AAR follows within a day or two.

In the meantime, here's another update for the Painting Challenge. Today we have entries from:

  • Andrew Helliwell with lots of 15mm foot
  • Matt Slade with more DC Comics figures and some nice ACW Confederates
  • Steve Burt with some more Napoleonics
  • Dave Humm submits his first entry for the year: a mixed bag of ancients, WW2, moderns and ACW figures in two different scales
  • Mr Naylor pops in another Soviet WW2 platoon
  • Andy Duffell is big into his 28mm WW2 vehicles at the moment. Here's another five.
  • Andrew McCarthy also sends in a bit of a mass entry: ancients figures and some scratchbuilt buildings
  • Mr Bairos is another lurker who emerges from the deep: lots of 28mm Napoleonics but no pics
  • And Mr Douglas sends another four-score or so of US troops to the front

Today's picture is from Mr Helliwell: some nice ACW figures from Peter Pig:

TFL Painting Challenge: Colossal Update!

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Well that's taken me a bit longer than I expected!

Loads of entries today: people must be taking advantage of their summer holidays! Making me feel like I should paint something today, but I'll have to fit that in around chores and preparing for tonight's game.

In no particular order, we have:

  • Treadhead with some rather nice 6mm Mechs
  • Mr Luther with some entrenchments
  • Matt Slade with three sets of entries: Arthurians, Crusaders, and some chaps from the LOTRs
  • Mr Hodge with plenty of 6mm figures. He's preparing to play the Blenneville or Bust! campaign. Very sensible.
  • Steve Burt with some horse artillery
  • Mervyn pops in loads of 28mm US types for Chain of Command
  • Ralph Plowman showcases the latest Armies Army 15mm sci-fi release. Very nice they are too.
  • Owen sends in his usual cornucopia of figures: Nappy's, pirates and loot!
  • Mr Naylor has finished his first 15mm WW2 Soviet platoon. Must be preparing for Vyazma or Bashnya or Bust!
  • Keith Davies sends in some 6mm WW2 tanks and tank destroyers
  • Egg increases the size of his fleet
  • And Leif adds three Germans to his collection

In honour of the effort demonstrated by the above, four pictures today. Those of you who know what I like will know what's coming!

First up: Lief's three Germans

First up: Lief's three Germans

A Life On the Ocean's Wave: Egg's latest additions

A Life On the Ocean's Wave: Egg's latest additions

Latest releases from Armies Army beautifully painted by Ralph Plowman

Latest releases from Armies Army beautifully painted by Ralph Plowman

Some of Matt Slade's Arthurians

Some of Matt Slade's Arthurians

Vis Imperica Army Galleries: the Imperial Chinese

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Another army that I really like: the Imperial Chinese with a few Boxers added in for good measure. This is another army made up of figures from a painting service and, again, I can't remember which service it was or even who the figure manufacturer is...I think it's Irregular, and I think that it was their in-house painting service, but I'm not sure.

 The great thing about the Imperial Chinese is how unrelentingly rubbish they are! A loss can be greeted with a shrug of the shoulders and no shame, a victory can be celebrated as an incredibly impressive achievement, especially as they are usually fighting much smaller but much better armies from France or Britain. I think the trick is not actually to engage the enemy at all ("the art of fighting without fighting") at least until you can get close enough to overwhelm them through sheer numbers. Oh, and don't tell the Boxers that their lucky amulets don't work very well!

Click on the picture below to see the whole collection:

Boxers

Boxers

TFL Painting Challenge: Loads of Entries Were Waiting For Me!

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I see that everyone has been very busy painting whilst I've been away.

In no particular order we have:

  • Mr Ralls still alive and kicking, and painting like crazy: 28mm WW2 Germans and 1/48 modern Brits for Fighting Season
  • Stephen Miller adds some lovely horse in 28mm and 54mm: not bad for a man with only one arm working!
  • Mark Luther pops in some 20mm ATGs and sends in some pics for previous entries
  • Mervyn with some ancient horse and WW2 foot
  • Andrew "the other" Miller with an imagi-nation piece
  • Richard Naylor reminds himself how to paint 15mm figures
  • Mr Hodge adds loads of 6mm tanks
  • Thomas sends in some Viet Minh
  • Mr Davies enters some...well the photos aren't very good, so I've guessed at what some of them are!
  • And finally Mr Helliwell sends in loads of lovely 15mm figures from a variety of figures.

Today's pictures are from Mr Miller, of the Stephen variety; Mr Ralls; and Mr Helliwell. Keep them coming!

Stephen Miller's 54mm French Carabiniers

Stephen Miller's 54mm French Carabiniers

Jason Ralls' "Fighting Season" Brits in 1/48th scale

Jason Ralls' "Fighting Season" Brits in 1/48th scale

Mr Helliwell's Pike and Shot

Mr Helliwell's Pike and Shot

Back From Holiday!

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The perceptive amongst you may have noticed a distinct lack of posts recently. That's because I've been on holiday for a week or so.

A lovely holiday, in fact, down in Cornwall, staying in a little cottage just on the beach in Polzeath. Only one small problem: no wi-fi, no 'phone signal: pretty much cut off from anything wargaming related!

So what was I doing to fill this major gap in my life?

Well, to prove that you can teach an old dog new tricks:

An update to the painting challenge follows shortly...well, after I've summoned up the energy to do so!

TFL Painting Challenge: Thursday night

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Lots of entries again today, including two (from Topi and Sapper) that seemed to have been lost in the ether for a couple of weeks. Just arrived in my Inbox today despite having been sent some time ago: weird!

Righty ho...in no particular order we have:

  • Topi with a plethora of German WW2 vehicles
  • Sapper with some lovely mounted samurai
  • Keith Davies with some WW2 20mm kit
  • AJH returns with a bang...and an eclectic mix of figures
  • Andrew Helliwell with some AWI Brits and WW2 Germans
  • Treadhead returns with some cracking-looking Taliban
  • Thomas pops in some palm trees and a cheeky half-track
  • Mr Burt submits some more great looking Napoleonics: British this time
  • Mr Miller, of the Andrew variety, returns to the challenge for the first time in 2015, almost equaling his 2014 total in one go.
  • and Egg adds some more to his collection of Italian ships

Today's pictures are from Egg, his ships; and from Treadhead, his Taliban:

IABSM Basing: Problem Solved!

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Those of you who have gamed with me or seen my AAR will know that most of my infantry figures are based individually: a typical eight-man squad being made up of six figures on 5p pieces and the LSW team of two figures on a 2p piece.

This means that I can remove casualties without the dread "rings of death" ruining the look of the tabletop, and also position them along uneven terrain features as well.

Those are the positives.

The main negative, however, is that it takes an awful lot of time to move individual figures around the tabletop.

I have got around that in the past by using rectangular movement trays as shown in the picture below:

Functional...but not pretty!

These are fine: very functional...but they are not at all pretty.

Now, however, I have the solution, thanks to Warbases.

I contacted them a couple of weeks ago asking if they would do some custom bases for me: movement trays that would take my unique squad basing regimen both for 8-man squads and for 10-man squads. Needless to say, they came up trumps.

Here, for the first time, are my patent Avery-bases for IABSM:

Well, this is one of them after I've painted it a simple green and then flocked its upper surface. 

You can immediately see that in addition to the holes for the figures, there's even a hole for a mini-dice which, in IABSM, I'll use to note Shock. Other systems could use mini-dice of different colours to differentiate units.

Here's how they look full of figures:

The new bases allow me to move figures around the tabletop quickly and easily, to remove casualties, and to make sure I don't get Shock dice lost or mixed up as well.

Well done, Warbases. I am one very happy customer!

Vis Imperica Army Gallery: the Crimean British

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I do love my early war British army! They've fought in India and in the Crimea, and have always given their all!

Embarrassingly, I can't remember what make of figures they are, but they are a real mixture. Even more embarrassingly, I do know that I didn't paint all of them (I used a painting service) but I can't remember, or even tell, exactly which ones I painted and which ones I didn't! I'm pretty certain that the two command figures, the Grenadier Guards, 66th Infantry, 11th Hussars, and the Rockets are my work; which means that the 57th Infantry, Rifles, Lancers and both Light and Heavy Dragoons aren't. I'm certainly claiming the 11th Hussars and Lord Cardigan, as I'm quite pleased with them.

Click on the picture below to see the whole gallery: