A Great Day at OML 6

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Yesterday I made my annual pilgrimage to the bustling market town of Evesham (don't ask: about an hour away into tractor country) for the sixth Operation Market Larden Lardy Day.

Everything was organised, as per usual, to perfection by Ade Deacon and the other Evesham wargamers and, as I wasn't running a game this year, all I had to do was turn up and play.

In the morning, I played I Ain't Been Shot, Mum!, with Noddy umpiring a game set in the Ardennes during the Bulge campaign. Dave and I played the Germans and, in the morning game, drove onto to the table and set things up nicely for whoever would take over for the afternoon's game.

In the afternoon, I played in Stumpy's Zulu Wars game of Sharp Practice 2.  Here, again playing with Dave, we attempted to protect a supply column as it made its way to a trading outpost deep in the heart of Zululand. Dave ran the convoy guards, and I ran the defenders of the outpost.

Another great game, full of action and derring do. Dave's supply column and its Zulu attackers fought themselves to a standstill: I think there was only one unit left "alive" on each side at the end of the game. Meanwhile, my chaps rather sensibly stayed behind the walls of the outpost, happily blasting away at anything Zulu with their elephant guns. Not a Zulu penetrated into the compound, so all was good: we just won't mention what happened to the Boers caught outside!

There were loads of other great games also being run. I didn't take a comprehensive log of what they were, but here are pictures of three of them just to show you what an amazing set up we had: 

And, to top it all off, a lovely curry in the evening. Sometimes I really do pity the other people in the restaurant: "Fancy a nice, quiet, romantic curry tonight, dear?" 

Another great Larday Day. Highly recommended for those that have one in your area.

Great Movie Scenes #003

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"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time...like tears in rain. Time to die."

No list of great movie scenes could ignore Roy Batty's final soliloquy in 1982's Blade Runner. The final version of the speech was apparently written by Rutger Hauer (who played Batty) himself.

For those of you who don't know the context, Batty is a replicant, an artificial human with a limited life span used for jobs deemed too dangerous or unpleasant for people to do, who has escaped his bonds and fled to Earth to find his maker and ask for more life. Deckard, played by Harrison Ford, is a Blade Runner, a sort of policeman who specialises in hunting replicants. In this final sequence, the hunter becomes the hunted as Batty chases an unarmed Deckard across the rooftops. Deckard attempts to jump to another building, but misses the jump, and is about to fall to his death when Batty saves him. As Deckard lies on the roof gasping for breath, Batty feels his death upon him...

TFL Painting Challenge: Quick Update

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Must be time to do a quick Painting Challenge update. So, in no particular order, this time we have:

  • Mark Luther makes a welcome return with many, many little ships
  • It's "The Dark Ages": a big entry from Jason Ralls
  • Joe McGin is still in the Congo
  • Carole has some more later Romans
  • A return of his mojo gives Sapper enough of a boost to send in some SYW and Napoleonics
  • There's more lovely Frenchmen from Travis
  • And more lovely eastern front buildings from Chris Cornwell
  • Last, but not least, Mr Helliwell is painting up his winter Germans on the hottest day of the year so far!

As usual, clicking on the name of the person in the list above will take you straight to their gallery (opens in a new window).

Here are today's pictures:

IABSM AAR: Piotrkow Trybunalski

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Just written up an AAR from the game we played yesterday using scenario #45 from the second September War scenario pack: the battle of Piotrkow Trybunalski.

A big game covering the actions of 5th September 1939 as the Germans drive down from the Borowska Heights.

Each side fielded a company of infantry and tanks, with the game taking about 3½ hours.

Click on the pic below for more:

More Astagar

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More from my latest project: a company of Astagar, the 15mm sci-fi snakemen originally from Critical Mass Games but now part of Ral Partha Europe's offering.

Here is the first of the two infantry platoons that I am painting: 

Really nice models that paint up well. I like the variety in poses and tail positions.

If I have one gripe, it's their size. I know they are designed this way, but the models are mostly easily 20mm tall, which makes them very large when compared to a standard 15mm human. Either humans are the shortest race in the universe, or the world of 15mm sci-fi wargaming is suffering from extreme scale creep!

It also means that they are quite difficult to base. I had to use the Warbases equivalent of a small FOW base for each model, which means that they will take up an awful lot of room on the tabletop. I shall just have to see how that turns out.

Anyway, I like them...and would repeat my request that if anyone has any of the Astagar MBT or SP Artillery models that they don't need, I'll happily come to some arrangement to take them off your hands. They're not yet available from Ral Partha. Admin@vislardica.com please.

First of the Astagar "Foot"

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As, of course, they have no feet!

Anyhoo, here are the first of the Astagar foot (sci-fi snakemen originally from CMG and now available from Ral Partha Europe): the mortar support weapons.

Nice figures that paint up well: I only wish my painting skills/patience were good enough to do them justice.

And, as a reminder, if anyone has any of the Astagar MBTs or SP Artillery that they don't want, do please get in contact (admin@vislardica.com) and I'll happily come to some arrangement to take them off your hands.

TFL Painting Challenge: Sunday Morning Update

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A lovely day outside after last night's thunder and lightning (very, very frightening, oh, Galileo...).

What better time, therefore, to do a quick Painting Challenge update.

So, today, in no particular order, with some shameless advertising, we have:

  • Mr Helliwell with some WW2 stuff in 15mm
  • Lloyd "The Hat" Bowler with some rather tasty Numidians and some 1940s British tanks.  I do hope he's bought my Blitzkrieg in the West: The BEF handbook!
  • More barbarians in 15mm from Carole, plus some 28mm later Roman cavlry
  • Mervyn pops in his second entry in as many weeks: Irish javelinmen
  • Ed Bowen returns to the fold with his first entry of the year: lots of AWI goodness
  • And last, but by no means least, Mr Hiett starts a new project: 1940s French this time. I do hope he's bought my Blitzkrieg in the West: France handbook!

As per usual, clicking on the name of the person in the list above will take you straight to their gallery, which will open in a new window.

Today's pictures are below:

Q13: Astagar Army List Now Loaded

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As I'm busy painting up our viperous friends, I thought it about time I produced a Q13 army list for them.

That's now available on the Army Lists page of the Q13 section of this website, or by clicking on the picture below.

An interesting "light" army, better suited to raids and quick assaults than to a stand-up, toe-to-toe sustained fight. I wish now that I'd got the MBTs and SP Artillery models when the Kickstarter finished, as I can see me sorely needing these in the tabletop clashes to come.

So, if you have any Astagar MBTs and/or SP Artillery models that you don't want, preferably unpainted, but I don't really mind, then please contact me at admin@vislardica.com and I'm sure we can sort something out.

Incidentally, the Astagar list is the twenty-fourth now available for free for Q13. Plenty of AARs to read as well, and plenty of room for more AARs if you want to send them in...

Great Movie Scenes #002

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Just to show that the last one wasn't a one off, and to commemorate the sad death of Lois Lane actress Margot Kidder last week, here's Great Movie Scenes #002.

It's 1978, I was twelve year's old, and one of THE film's to see that year was Superman, with Christopher Reeve in the leading role.

So far you've seen Superman as a child, as a young man and, very briefly and unspectacularly, as adult Superman in costume. Clark Kent has come to New York, awkwardly met Lois Lane...who now climbs into a helicopter to take her to a news event somewhere.

Excuse the 70's fashions, but you will believe a man can fly:

TFL Painting Challenge: Royal Wedding Weekend Update

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No, I didn't watch it!

I spent the day hitting people with big sticks: much more satisfying.

Some of you, however, were more productive, and sent in entries to the Painting Challenge. In no particular order, we have:

  • Stumpy with a tank and some dead Napoleonics
  • There's a few WW2 15mm odds and ends from Chris Stoesen
  • Mr Duffell has got his lazy ass in gear (if he'll excuse the expression) and painted some Soviets
  • Blue Moose Ken has lots for us to look at
  • Some scenery and some tanks from Mervyn
  • and last, but by no means least, Travis finishes off his early war German platoon

As usual, clicking on the name of the person above will send you through to their gallery (opens in a new window) and, shock - horror, I've updated the Scorecard too.

Here are today's pictures:

Q13: More Astagar: Very Snakey

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Those who follow this blog regularly will know that I am currently building a 15mm Astagar army for Quadrant 13, the company-sized sci-fi wargame published by the TooFatLardies. The Astagar are a range of man-sized snakes originally from Critical Mass Games and now held by Ral Partha Europe.

Last time's post featured the six APCs needed to transport my two platoons of armoured infantry. Lovely models, but not very snake-y: they could have been from any vaguely humanoid race.

This post features the two types of, well, walker is the equivalent, although I'm not sure that "walker" is an appropriate term to use where the Astagar are concerned! These are most certainly snake-y enough to do the term justice.

First up is the Viperia Powered Armour i.e. battlesuits for our serpenty friends:

These are lovely models that paint up really well. They were painted the same way as the APCs: an undercoat of green, a bit of brown sprayed in random patterns, then a heavy drybrush to bring out all the detail. Finally, a nice gloss green for the visor/windshield.

The only pain is actually building the things. They come in five parts:  tail/base; torso; two arms and the shoulder-mount. The arms and shoulder-mount go on okay (a mixture of superglue and PVA glue does the trick...although it can sometimes take a few goes to really get that concrete fix) but getting the torso to stick to the tail/base can be a little annoying. The torso isn't stand-alone (i.e. it doesn't balance upright) so you really do need to pin or support the join whilst the glue dries. 

I say a pain, but it wasn't that difficult really.

Anyhow...how big are these, I hear you cry? Here's a quick comparison shot with a 15mm H-35 tank from Battlefront:

Next up are the Volos Assault Mecha: either a bigger battlesuit, or some kind of robot/android:

Exactly the same comments apply as for the Viperia, except magnified by the fact that these are bigger and heavier! Here's a size comparison with the same Battlefront tank:

Loving these two!

And, before I forget, there's several variants to all these: including this version pf the Viperia which I will use as an electronic warfare or communications Specialist.

So that's the support arm of the army done. Highly recommended, although the Volos aren't available from Ral Partha at the moment. I can't wait to get them onto the tabletop!

Great Movie Scenes #001

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At lunch today a friend and I were discussing not our favourite movies of all time but our favourite movie scenes of all time.

So, as I've got nothing particularly Lardy or wargame-y to post today, I thought I'd start an occasional series of my favourite movie clips of all time.

These won't be in order (i.e. today's isn't my number one movie scene of all time) but numbered just so I can keep track of them.

Today's clip, number one, is from the classic film Casablanca. If you haven't seen it, see it. It is a timeless masterpiece of a film with so many quotable lines that to list them all would almost be to list the dialogue as a whole.

In keeping with a military theme, the film is set in Casablanca some time after the fall of France. The Germans have occupied the territory, and some of them are in Rick's, a nightclub...

IABSM AAR: Eastern Front

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Another great battle report from Burt Minorrot's excellent Spanish-language blog Las Partidas de Burt. As I have said before, I hope he doesn't mind me reproducing it here.

Here, in a game dating back to 2014, Burt and friends fight a battle on the eastern front: a Soviet column advances against hidden German opposition.

Click on the pic for more:

First of the Astagar

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Critical Mass Games are, unfortunately, no more: their ranges having been absorbed into Ral Partha's offering. This has meant that whilst many of their infantry codes are still available, their vehicles are not...or at least not yet, Ral Partha assure us. At least their ranges are still available, even in part, as it would be a real shame for such an innovative series of ranges to die out completely.

One of the last things that CMG did before their demise was to run a Kickstarter campaign for their Astagar range: a range of sci-fi Snakemen-with-guns originally found as only a pack or two within their Mercenaries range but, such was their popularity, eventually promoted into a full Kickstarter project.

I backed the project to the tune of £173 and, in due course, received most of my order plus reward. Not all, which was annoying but, as I didn't immediately open the box and check everything, was as much my fault as anyone else's!

What I did receive, however, was excellent: six squads (eight each) of snake-y infantry; a couple of command figures; two support weapons; six snake-y battlesuits; one snake-y comms battlesuit; two huge snake-y walker-equivalents; and six APCs. Oh, and if you're interested, what I didn't receive were any AFVs or SP artillery, but...no matter.

These, as I said, have been sitting in an unopened box under the painting table until, bereft of anything to do now that the four Blitzkrieg in the West books are published, I decide to hack into the lead mountain and paint up an Astagar army.

I'm painting everything at the same time, so all units are on the way at once, but here's the first off the production line: the APCs.

Very nice, but not very snake-y!

Very nice, but not particularly snake-y, I hear you cry. Well, you're right, but the rest of the range more than makes up for that.

For those interested, I painted these very quickly:  base coat green, then another base coat in brown in strips, wash, drybrush, done. They have, I think, come out pleasingly battered.

The original version

Some of you will note that these don't look exactly like the APCs featured in the original Kickstarter. You are correct: I tried the engines on the way they were designed, but they looked odd: a downwards-facing vent at the front. To my mind, the engines look better the wrong way round. That way you have a vertical vent at the front to take in the air, with a downwards-blower to pump it out as a jet at the back.

As they looked a bit plain, I've added a few spare decals, including some human-script numbers. Not right for Snakemen? Well, yes...but I'm claiming the numbers are superimposed by your targeting scanner! They also make the models look better and mean I can use them for more general purpose APCs rather than just Astagar-specific ones.

More Snakey-ness next time...

 

Blitzkrieg in the West: The Germans: comments so far...

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A bit of a shameless plug, but here are some of the comments made around the web about my latest work: the Blitzkrieg in the West: Germany handbook for IABSM, published Thursday 10th May:

John Ewing:

"An awesome piece of work. The level of detail is incredible."

Charles Eckart:

"Turned on computer a couple of hours ago. Went to TFL website immediately looking for Blitz-Germany. Only time for a quick scan through: outstanding!

"IABSM was my first Lard rules (still a favorite) and all four Blitz books provide the best single sources of information for 1940 I know of. Useful in many ways, thanks for your work."

Benito Marisa:

"I have bought the four books and they [are] the best thing since sliced bread. Not a player of IABSM myself but the detail and depth of the information is so good that can be used for any other set of rules or just for reference. Excellent job, congratulations."

Desmondo Darkin:

"Looks superb"

Derek Hodge (chief proof-reader of the handbook):

"I've had a head start on the reading this as I helped Robert with the proofreading and I can say that he's put a huge amount of work into it. I had no idea that German OOBs in 1940 were so varied. 

"The whole Blitzkreig in the West series is an absolutely fantastic resource for any wargamer interested in the 1940 campaign. You can use the lists in the pdfs to build OOBs at any level from company to division. 

"And the lists are also useful if you're playing a platoon level game such as Chain of Command as they enable you to see exactly where all the various support options come from. This is invaluable if you're trying to build support lists limited to what was historically available to any specific infantry platoon."

Nick Skinner (co-author of IABSM):

"More superb work from Mr Avery. Can't recommend it highly enough. Even if you do not game IABSM the unit information is astounding."