tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22461815822670487182024-02-19T23:04:51.024-08:00Oblask of Oobleckistandavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-49942537954207794142015-01-19T12:04:00.001-08:002015-01-19T12:04:16.028-08:00So I took a little vacation...Four years maybe isn't even a little vacation. In that time I have done very little wargaming. My heart just wasn't in it.
I am back now, tidying up the last details on those Austrians. Now I have finally ordered some French to go with them. Russians and Ottomans will likely follow in due course. I have a feeling that the Oblask is going to settle in the Napoleonic period for a while. This being primarily due to the fun I had playing Lasalle at the local club. It is a set of rules that make playing fun for me. None of the 18th Century rules I tried quite clicked for me in the same way.
Being now in the era of the Corsican Ogre, my Austrians will stand in very nicely for the Oblask, sandwiched between the Russians and the Ottomans, with France eyeing the rich cucumber fields as well. After all, if France can venture as far afield as Egypt why not Oobleckistan? The other reason for using Austrians, besides already having them, is that I quite like the look of the army.
On the painting front I nearly panicked when I saw what the "Dip" did to my figures! Blotchy, dark, and shiny. This despite getting satin finish. Luckily after matte varnish and flocking they look much better. Now grimy, worn, smoke besmirched, in the midst of battle instead of parade ground fresh and eager.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-63334150591074453992011-01-31T10:46:00.000-08:002011-01-31T11:00:26.364-08:00I'm not going to make it...So, it has become quite clear to me that there is no way I am going to get the whole lot painted by Sunday. I now have basic uniform colours roughly blocked in, but that is as far as it is going to get.<br /><br />Painting an entire army at once can lead to burn out very quickly. Even with 6 different cavalry and 4 different infantry uniforms to paint.<br /><br />I am definitely looking forward to getting back to the 18th Century. My soon to be 11 year old daughter has expressed an interest in playing, so it's back to the age old question of scale and rules again. Who knows I might even skip the GNW and advance to the SYW. Either that or the various Russo-Turkic wars or the lovely new 15mm Caucasian range coming out in support of FoGR, a rule set I have no strong interest in, but oh those lovely figures.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-43518451181005078962011-01-19T15:34:00.000-08:002011-01-19T15:52:17.391-08:00Panic! in Detroit?Now the icy fingers of fear begin to clutch. The only thing worse than not getting my figures has happened. I got my figures. A not insubstantial package loaded with troops.<br /><br />6 units of cavalry, two of them large, and 6 units of infantry, 5 of them large as well.<br /><br />12 cavalry to a regular unit, 18 to a large. I hate painting horses, but this is almost bearable, only 84 flea bitten nags to do.<br /><br />It's the bleeding infantry that scares me. Almost 200 of them to deal with. 192 plus the casualties I neglected to order before.<br /><br />At least my bases have shipped, so after prep, prime and paint, I can face the joy of 66 bases to do before game time.<br /><br />Who needs to eat, or sleep, or breathe? Not me. I have troops to paint, and base and...davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-20439127291463673712011-01-14T14:11:00.001-08:002011-01-14T14:17:26.357-08:00Making Progress, but am I on Schedule?As of tonight I have two batteries of atillery painted and ready for base flocking. Jager and Grenzer skirmishers are base coated and will recieve detailing and hopefully flocking tomorrow. 2 our of 4 sets of command figures are on their bases and all are base coated.<br /><br />Waiting on bases from Litko to finish the limbers for the artillery and to base the other 2 subcommanders. My line infantry and cavalry are still listed as "pending" and I realize I forgot to order casualty figures.<br /><br />No panic yet. Infantry and cavalry don't begin to appear on the schedule until Monday and I have almost a week's cusion at the end.<br /><br />Since I have to order some casualties anyway I am going to plump for some GNW Russians or Ottomans along with them.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-86938951771721948572011-01-11T07:59:00.000-08:002011-01-11T08:13:24.758-08:00Now Istanbul, not ConstantinopleWell, it's nobody's business but the Turks!<br /><br />Just like a typical wargamer, one project is barely begun and I am thinking about the next one. In this case it is the next combatant in Oobleckistan. Looking to stay with Horse&Musket this year, there is some nice modern kit out there, but H&M first, I have decided that Ottomans make a good choice.<br /><br />The Oblask has always set on the frontiers of the Ottoman Empire and Ottomans look very similar over a time period stretching from the late renessance to the early 19th Century. Kurushan Miniatures has announced Eastern Ren figures in 15mm (drool), Baccus 6mm are promising us at long last 6mm Ottomans and I have a Napoleonic Austrian army in progress in need of opponents. It all points to my need for Ottomans. Besides I have a bunch of GNW Russians waiting to be based.<br /><br />I figure if I base to a 40mm frontage I will be good for most rulesets, and will have a multi-period army to boot.<br /><br />I am still debating starting 28mm armies for the C18. They would look smashing, it's just that I really prefer painting the smaller figures. Time will tell on that.<br /><br />As for the buildings I wrote about a post or two ago, I have a couple built up now, and they don't look as bad as I had feared next to the figures. I'll grant that 18mm figures are pretty close to looking in the second story windows, but if a base represents a large group of men, the effect is livable. They would look quite out of place in a skirmish game though.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-50796281430588332572011-01-10T10:06:00.000-08:002011-01-10T10:25:10.443-08:00Pioneers!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1NvMxrUDbp9sgAU69FjJL5hQxMIrCyuCvl0Dw_PtnR55QiPgJHtlv6Ewut2m_XaHAp_HcpABPG1yAWVtuSPhz-2IkxHAbkY0rsDz1cAhxvzpOEWuhOoqARxDdlTkc6lWrjvhPt1EWx41p/s1600/Pioneers.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1NvMxrUDbp9sgAU69FjJL5hQxMIrCyuCvl0Dw_PtnR55QiPgJHtlv6Ewut2m_XaHAp_HcpABPG1yAWVtuSPhz-2IkxHAbkY0rsDz1cAhxvzpOEWuhOoqARxDdlTkc6lWrjvhPt1EWx41p/s320/Pioneers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560624948721931106" /></a><br />Today my order from Scale Creep arrived with Pioneers. Lots of them, and Dick Turpin at the Crossroads. This latter is not really for the Oobleckistan project, at least so far as I know, but it sounded cool. When I get him painted a picture will of course appear.<br /><br />Allong with Pioneers I recieved the Fantassin Austrian General and ADC. These complete my command roster. 1 CinC and 3 subcommanders.<br /><br />On to the subject at hand. The pioneers I was for the most part ordering blind. The Fantassin ones are huge! 4 big hulking lads with axes are in the pack. One or two of them on a base and I have a very good marker. ( Pack KN-28)<br /><br />The others I ordered from Hallmark, (Packs MC-1 and AE25) and despite searching could find no pictures to guide me. These are an entirely different order of men. Compared to the Fantassin they are tiny! Not on the same base, not in the same unit, probably not in the same army, maybe not even on the same table tiny! The sculpting is well up to Hallmark's usual fanastic standard. These men are individuals, some are balding, some thin, some stocky, great stuff. The men are all in shirtsleeves as befits labourers at work, save for one armoured "supervisor". There is a nicely done coat on a post piece included in the pack, a fun touch. The men are equiped with a variety of shoves and rakes and implements of destruction. One man is driving his shovel into the ground, another has a spadefull of earth he is about to fling. There is a wheel barrow loaded with earth, and two more of the same empty. The shirts have lace collars and look like the (in)famous "poofy shirt" of Seinfeld fame. So I judge the men to be late 17th or early 18th Century, but could pass for earlier or later with a bit of file and putty work, or just appropriate painting.<br /><br />I am quite pleased with the lot and what doesn't get used for Napoleonics in the Thirty Days Project, sold or traded to other members of my club, will be painted and used for 18th Century gaming. Indeed I will probably order more of these so as to do a large scale seige game with proper sappers.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-54594051696559949932011-01-09T05:04:00.000-08:002011-01-09T05:19:23.080-08:00Brown and Grey, and Blue - Besides...No I have not suddenly turned into Peter Frampton. ;-)<br /><br />Rather I have begun painting. The artillery park and the skirmishers arrived yesterday, along with Marshall Ney.<br /><br />Napoleonic Austrians are definitely not all white. There's all those colourful unit facings ;-)<br /><br />Actually Grenzers and Jagers are not white at all, but brown and grey, and blue besides. So for that matter are the artillery crew, they do have white paints though.<br /><br />I have discovered a couple of new bits of knowledge concerning Napoleonic Austrians. The first is they had a terrible record. Could this be due to wearing high visibility white uniforms? Second the artillery included a large proportion of Handlangers whose job it was to manhandle the guns. They wore the same uniform as the gunners, but with light blue instead of red facings. Get how I am painting all those guys with trail spikes? The third thing I have learned about austrian artillery concerns painting them. My ochre paint stinks! Really. It is an old bottle Polly-Scale model railroad colour and it has a distinct aroma.<br /><br />I also realized I forgot to order extra guns to place behind the limbers. Not a big problem, a 4-horse limber eats up enough base size as is, I can always place a gun base turned backwards behind the limber base. Much though I love impedimentia I am not ordering amunition wagons, etc - yet.<br /><br />Still looking forward in anticipation to the arival of infantry and cavalry....davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-15298091385124426332011-01-07T09:40:00.000-08:002011-01-07T09:50:30.515-08:00Buiding a Remedy....The waiting is the hardest part of starting a new project. My artillery park has shipped, which means I should be able to start on it Monday.<br /><br />In the mean time, I realize I have very few suitable buildings for Europe. A google search for cardstock model buildings brought me to a delightful Swiss site. At least I think it's Swiss, I don't read German and the google translation is spotty. The point being that it has over 40 historical buildings free for download as card models.<br /><br />The buildings represent many of the buildings from a village or town, as well as some farms. Perfect for C18 and 19 Oobleckistan. I am not sure exactly what scale they are. The site mentions using them with N and Z scale model trains, and I am printing them at 89% to fit US letter paper. The result looks to be somewhere between 6mm and 10mm scale judging by the size of doors etc. I plan to use them with 15mm figures, and hope that they look ok. I base my 15s on Litko 3mm bases, so I will probably need to invest in some MDF to base my town sections on, just so it doesn't look too much like Gulliver's Travels. Buildings and scenery to scale with either figures or ground scale never look exactly accurate anyway, so...<br /><br />Here is the link to the buildings: http://www.grundschule-pretzschendorf.de/Werken/Weihnachtsberg/weihnachtsberg.html<br /><br />I'll post photos as soon as there is something to show.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-60266954356611934782011-01-06T07:15:00.000-08:002011-01-06T07:36:49.279-08:00The Thirty Days begin...One month from today on 6 February our club will be having a Lasalle Tournament. Nothing like an actual scheduled game to get the fires moving.<br /><br />So begins the "Thirty Days" project, Napoleon had One Hundred and look where it got him ;-) Surely I can do better than exile?<br /><br />The first step is of course army selection. After a brief bit of scouring for recomendations I have determined the following: 1: The army will be 15mm (my favourite gaming scale). 2: The army will be Austrians as that and Prussians are what is lacking at the club. (Prusia just doesn't grab me.) 3: I will be using the "Avant Garde" list with a cavalry support option.<br /><br />I still need to decide which cavalry support option will be using so I can order figures. Then the waiting begins... In the mean time I can happily research Napeonic Wargaming Tactics, learn the rules using proxy bases, etc.<br /><br />My Austrians will feature a large number of Hungarian rather than German troops, and definitely will include the fashionable helmets. These two features will lend them well to Imagi-Nation play as well as saving me from an all white army. <br /><br />I will prime in white and paint the hands, faces and guns first, just in case....<br /><br />This is not cheating. I once played most of an F&I game at the club before I noticed that the Indians had simply been primed white and given a wash of brown ink. No actual painting at all...davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-89026801036951820272011-01-04T07:48:00.000-08:002011-01-04T08:26:03.100-08:00I'm Back!Well it's been a few months since I posted here. I wish I could report on all sorts of juicy gaming activity, but that's just not the case.<br /><br />I've accomplished very little gaming or painting during the past year, but this year I hope to change that.<br /><br />My semi-local wargames club has gotten me interested in Napoleonics. They have been playing Lasalle in bothe 15mm and 28mm so I now have the possibility of regular opponents and the motivation to actually paint stuff that comes with that.<br /><br />I have been given to know that Austrians and Prussians are the most under represented in teh club. So I will be doing Autrians. 15mm is my scale of choice between the two in play. (I would actually prefer 6mm, but takes what I can gets.) <br /><br />When the promised Victrix plastic Austrians are released I will do a small 28mm force of those, before then it will be 15s.<br /><br />Yes, I know, neither Austria nor Prussia has much of an interest in Oobleckistan. So I will also be doing forces for the Russo-Turkish war of the period. A perfect match for our long suffering Oblask, and the Russians can certainly be used for more mainstream Napoleonic games. <br /><br />The way I figure it, if I relocate the 19th Century version of Oobleckistan from the shores of teh Caspian sea to the shores of the Black Sea, near Moldavia, thus putting it at the confluence of three empires, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and the Ottoman Turks, I should be able to do semi-plausable "what if?" games involving all three powers. Thus enabling me to play Napoleonics, avoid the ubiquitous French, collect my main interest the Russians and secondarilly the Ottomans, while still having reason to field my Austrians for more than just club games.<br /><br />And with the fairly static appearance of Ottoman troops (at least as far as my local opponents know)I can field them for both 18th and 19th century games.<br /><br />At last a wargames project to really sink my teeth into....davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-24807486391415505762010-04-06T08:14:00.000-07:002010-04-06T08:20:25.167-07:00Plastics!It seems that at long last we may have the option of doing WSS (and GNW) in 28mm plastics. Wargames factory have been posting lovelly WIP shots of a generic WSS infantryman, and hinting at such extras on the sprue as Pikes, krapus, and command bits. The figure is a steady workman like chap, clean and easy to paint.<br /><br />Hopefully cavalry and artillery will follow the success of the infantry.<br /><br />In other new figure news, Eureka have put into production 15mm miquelets. This allows for the war in Catalonia to be done with proper figures. Granted they are only in 15mm, so 6mm, 28mm, 20mm and 40mm gamers will still have to convert. But what fun to see a new subject for this period in any scale.<br /><br />The Oblask will likely be recruiting some of both these lines and I hope to have some painted examples up soon-ish.<br /><br />Meanwhile as tsar Peter is fond of naval and maratime affairs, I think I shall have to draft a ship or two.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-82393538581513884142010-02-03T07:34:00.000-08:002010-02-03T07:41:30.730-08:00Mujahideen!OK, it has been forever since I updated this. Real life has overtaken fictional for a while.<br /><br />Currently being possesed of a bit of an enthusiasm for Moderns (Ambush Alley and Force on Force in particular) I have been working on painting up Insurgent forces for the Oobleckistan breakaway from the crumbling USSR. To that end I am currently working up a number of Afghan figures. I have discovered through the joys of image search that Mujahideen from Chechnya look almost exactly like those from Afghanistan. As I have not been able to find 15mm Chechens per se, and nobody is ever going to make Ooblecks, I am using Afghans which are widely available. The key is to paint them in a mix of traditional garb and Soviet kit. I have yet to decide on teh final mix but they will be sprinkled amongst my Rebel Minis "Masked Gunmen" and perhaps the odd Russian to provide the Oobleck forces. Oobleck uniforms are a brown-green tannish colour giving a nice contrast to Soviet green. Tanks, vehicles etc are primarilly Russian although I may add some bits of foriegn kit.<br /><br />Watch for photos and battle reports soon. I also hope to be able to add some C18 forces soon.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-53748510731949377272009-08-23T11:41:00.000-07:002009-08-23T11:54:02.693-07:00Breakaway!Mean while in the late 20th or early 21st Century...<br /><br />Oobleckistan has joined the breakaway republics from the former Soviet Union. I am using Oobleckistan as backstory for games of Amush Alley and Force on Force.<br /><br />Currently painted 15mm forces include 32 Ooblecki "freedom fighters" these appear as both insurgents and regulars depending on the scenario. They are Rebel Miniatures Armed Gunmen and Fedayeen Warriors and Modern Insurgents. The latter two are actually the same pack with two different names, but the same stock number.<br /><br />15 Dark Water Security Contractors, Rebel Minis Civilian Contractors.<br /><br />A Soviet Motorized Rifle Platoon, troops from QRF and BMPs from Old Glory<br /><br />And assorted civilians, embeded news crew for WNN-World News Network, rioters, zombies, and zombie hunters from all sorts of sources.<br /><br />For civillian vehicles I use Matchbox, Hot Wheels and similar. They are slightly large, closer to 20mm scale, but widely available and cheap!<br /><br />More vehicles, buildings and battle reports to come. And for the 18th century work procedes on amassing enough toys to actually do something with. Perhaps a Gloire scenario with 28mm figures would be the ticket?davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-56464409862521077862009-07-17T06:58:00.000-07:002009-07-17T07:01:03.032-07:00More RecruitsI have recieved my sample packs from GFI/Minfigs and they are great. I see now why this range is so popular. Photos to follow as soon as I get a chance to slap some paint on them.<br /><br />Also I ordered the Giullotine set. A very nice multi piece casting.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-21772620269588019442009-06-29T14:23:00.000-07:002009-06-29T15:39:35.613-07:00Concerning RulesLike many wargamers I am a rules junky. Hardly a new set comes out but I look at it an ponder starting a new period, a new scale, or a new campaign. It doesn't matter that up until that moment I had no interest in gaming the War of Jenkins' Ear, nor indeed knew who Jenkins was, much less why a war should be fought over his ear. No, I must have the new rules. And when I begin a new miniatures project it is no different. None of the old rules will serve. I must go forth and quest for the One True Rule Set that will bring glory an perfection to my wargames table.<br /><br />This brings us in a round about way to the early 18th Century and the GNW and WSS. Over the years I have come to realize a few things about my tastes in gaming.<br /><br />First, I like simple fast play rules. With two small children and a wife I do not have 8 hours to devote to gaming out a simple skirmish. I ned rules that will allow me to set up, play, and take down inside of 4 hours. The rules also need to be fairly simple as long periods of time may elapse between games. Realizing after set up that you cannot remember how to play is not fun.<br /><br />Second, I like rules that play well solitaire. I am primarilly a solo gamer so rules that rely on secret informaion do not work well.<br /><br />Third, I like rules to capture the essential "feel" of the period. For me 18th Century warfare is characterized by long lines of troops, slow stately manuver, and an emphasis on morale over casualties.<br /><br />For this period I want the look of massed linear formations. Wanting also to be able to hook some friends into the period I want figures that are large enough to see, but cheap enough to afford in bulk. This led to my choice of 15mm.<br /><br />I would like rules that also reflect linear warfare, both in basing and play. Currently two sets of rules are looking very promising.<br /><br />The first is the venerable Volley&Bayonet. Although these rules focus more on the later Horse&Musket period they should work well for this project. Tey are straightforward grand tactical rules, with 3 inch frontage by 1 1/2 inch depth standard bases.<br /><br />The second set is Fields of Battle a streamlined version of Piquet. These feature card driven turn sequences which keep even solo games exciting and unpredictable.<br /><br />I am not yet certain that I have it upon a basing scheme that will work for both rules sets and satisfy my asthetics. Part of the issue is the pike men in GNW units. Without the pike a simple double line of musketeers would be all that was required. The pike need to ba at least three figures wide, but no more than 1/3 of the total unit. This is a tall order in a unit of 16 figures, including command.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-54959221141572274262009-06-29T12:20:00.000-07:002009-06-29T12:38:57.909-07:00The First RecruitThis mornig I recieved my sample packs of Black Hat WSS miniatures from Mark at Scale Creep. They are every bit as nice in the metal as they appear on his website.<br /><br />My impression is that they are "small" 15s and so will mix well with other "small" makes. The detail is well carved, with the exceptio of the muskets which seem a bit off. I have painted my first test figure up as a generc post-1720 musketeer. The dark green with red facings is less Christmas looking than I had feared.<br /><br />One error for Russians of this period is that the cartridge box is placed on the figure's hip rather than the belly. Also worth noting, the figure is wearing gaiters and has three buttons on his coat sleaves. Yes, they are well sculpted and cast enough to see the butons.<br /><br />I ordered the "Musketeer Marching" code, thee are also French Musketers although the only difference I can see o the website is the right hand possition.<br /><br />I also ordered the infantry command and French infantry command packs. Again the most striking diferences are in pose rather than equipment.<br /><br />Sadly at this time artillery and cavalry are not available. Pike men are not included nor are ensigns to carry the colours. The omission of the first I can undertsand as pike had mostly fallen out of use, but the lack of colur bearers is very striking.<br /><br />I think this is a new range and it seems to have great potential.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-27813416827973826012009-06-26T18:12:00.000-07:002009-06-26T18:24:29.514-07:00Hitting the BooksToday I got down to the nitty gritty of serious research. Well, actally it is more accurate to say that today my oder from OMM came in.<br /><br />I got Pete Condray's Edition's Brokaw booklets on WSS and Swedish and Russian armies of the GNW, the Wargamers introduction to Marlborough and the Osprey on Poltava.<br /><br />The EB booklets are serious Old School wargaming. Tiny print, line drawings, saddle stapled, and information dense. Orders of battle, uniforms, colours (flags) and more. Well worth the price of admission. One very nice feature of the Wargame's Introduction is the formation diagrams. These are done top down showing arrangement of miniatures on bases. Very nice for seeing how the armies were actually organized, and could serve as the basis for gaming counters. (If I can obtain permision to do so, I may paint some and post them for others to use)<br /><br />The Osprey is one of the nicer ones. It has some very nice illustrations and is writen in a very readable style. A pity that the vollumes on Peter the Great and Charles XII are out of print. Time for some used book searching.<br /><br />After a brief skim it appears that even sticking close to histry I shall e able to have some variety in my figures. Swedes mostly in blue and yellow and Russians mostly in green, but plenty of units that diverged from this. Also Cossacks, Ottomans, and Bashi Bazooks (the last perhaps a bit anachronistic, but certainly characteristic of the locals).<br /><br />Now if I can just find 15mm Russian Bombardier and Streltsi figures. I knw the latter had pretty much been disbanded, but as a ceremonial uard they would look the business. The Bombardiers wold just make an interesting addition to my artillery. Like all wargamers I have a fondnes for things that go "Boom!"<br /><br />Sample figures have been ordered, I hope to have the first few painted early in the next week.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-71057535476376464432009-06-21T09:58:00.000-07:002009-06-21T10:10:50.760-07:00Recruiting Officer NeededNow I turn my attention to recruiting some soldiers for this project.<br /><br />It has been suggested that I use 20mm plastics, and there are some lovely figures for the Great Northern War out, but there is a lack of Ottomans. As the Turks are a fairly important player in this game I am not sure plastics will work.<br /><br />The next option is 15mm metals. I know I can get anything I need in this scale, even though I may have to pick through the Renaissance and Napoleonic ranges for Ottomans. 15mm is my prefered scale for gaming and painting.<br /><br />6mm is an option with Baccus 6mm doing lovely WSS and GNW ranges. But again no Ottomans in sight.<br /><br />10mm is a scale I am not overly fond of. I am not sure why, but I have never really taken to it. If Otomans, GNW Russians and Swedes and some WSS troops are available, I might be persuaded to give it a try.<br /><br />28mm and up are really too large for my available table space and I prefer panting the smaller figures anyway.<br /><br />Cost of figures is probably a wash, I did some calculations a while ago and fond that I spend abou the same figure cost no matter which scale I'm gaming in. I just buy more of the little guys.<br /><br />Any thoughts on scale or recomendations of figure lines are most welcome. Especially pictures of the OG15 lines as I cannot seem to find any. I have found OG15mm Ancients to b too finely detailed to respond well to my painting style.<br /><br />I paint in not quite a clasic toy soldier style, but definitely prefer a good block base coat and minimal shading and highlighting. As such I like smothly sculpted figures such as Minifigs or Musket Miniature which I use for AWI. Curiously I have found myself enjoying my Peter Pig Sudan figures and they are on the smaller and finer detailed side of things from my usual.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-83508155638312938922009-06-20T13:10:00.000-07:002009-06-20T13:13:26.078-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjggJZAdFDGlTTQIwB_ezHaF1XEKlT4keI7hqcxAmSESt2SEhrKOZ5FhY6HzqwCwDkssl9Q7BzybFNXAYRsjYz85uYDAlvxWLG5Flrp7SDZOzREpGqS0IiLLks2mMHx8bv-5jenMUBV42Gp/s1600-h/cucumber.gif"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 241px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349505089812145138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjggJZAdFDGlTTQIwB_ezHaF1XEKlT4keI7hqcxAmSESt2SEhrKOZ5FhY6HzqwCwDkssl9Q7BzybFNXAYRsjYz85uYDAlvxWLG5Flrp7SDZOzREpGqS0IiLLks2mMHx8bv-5jenMUBV42Gp/s320/cucumber.gif" /></a> Here is a drawing of the national plant, the humble cucumber. It is eaten with every meal, prepared in countless ways.<br /><br />To say the least I have become heartily sick of them.davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2246181582267048718.post-66868111708764168192009-06-20T11:16:00.001-07:002009-06-20T11:50:40.453-07:00Welcome to my new posting...Oobleckistan, August 17**<br /><br />My Dear ---,<br /><br />No one ever warned me life in his Majesty's Diplomatic Service would be dull. They never warned me of the dangers inherent in cucumber brandy either. Sadly I have become all too familar with the hazards presented by this libation for it is muchly esteemed by the locals.<br /><br />I find my self posted to this remote backwater for reasons well beyond my fathom. The akim, or so the local lord is termed, greated me warmly enough and saw to it that I was given suitable quarters. Since that time I have little enough to do beyond swimming in the sea, working on developing a knowledge of three languages, Russian, Turkish, and the local tongue, and cultivating a taste for cucumbers and melons.<br /><br />The climate is warm and the people friendly. If I can find a cook who knows how to prepare a dish that does not contain cucumbers I think I should have quite a pleasant and quiet stay.<br /><br />As for the curiousnameof this place, I am toldon good authority that it is actually in the way of a nickname that has passed into so general a use that the truenameof the country has been quite forgotten. This name as well as the peculiar custom of greeting others with the phrase "I'm sorry" seem to both come down froma peculiar meteorilogical occurence some generations past, the particular nature of which no one seems disposed to relate.<br /><br />Yrs w Rspct,<br />--Ddavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04703834579658394588noreply@blogger.com2