Project and Painting Table Review:

"Who am I?", "what an I?" and "Where am I?" are my most confusing questions. As of January 1st 2014 I certainly did not think I would be donning a "Napoleonic Naval" cap in March/April, but as the old adage goes "variety is the spice of life!")

Active Projects:

• Playing and Making: Napoleonic Naval (1/1200)
• Playing and Making: (1/72:20mm) WWII 'Chain of Command' Skirmish (Normandy + others?)
• Currently Reading: Ancients Marathon/Xenophon/Sparta and Thebes

Projects "To Pick back up": 

• Ready and Waiting: WWII (1/200) Battalion Attack (Phil Sabin) v Miniature Rules (time to test some miniature rules [Spearhead, BGC, CDIII] against the same scenario)
• Ready and Waiting: WWII "Plastic Kit" construction Backlog aka "The Plastic and Metal;  Mountain" - paused for respite and ready for second wind
• Ready and Waiting: Ancients: Peloponnesian War (15mm) "The First Battle of Mantinea"  418BC using BBDBA (Big Battle DBA)

Future (and de-hibernated) Projects - "The Shape of Things to Come"(?): 

• More Preparation Required: Circus Maximus (6mm) Avalon Hill Board (Ancient Race Horse in Chariots) Game
• Undercoated and Ready to Start Painting: Impetus Army Unit Expansion: (25mm/28mm) Mounted Harquebusier Unit for Renaissance Period "Maximilian-Landschneckts" 
• Army in Early Stages of Collection: (25mm/28mm) ECW Covenanter/Montrose Armies
• Naval Musings (1) Ships Acquired but Intellectual Thoughts (Aka Rules)/Historical Reading Required : WWI/WW2 [Jutland/Bismarck Chase/Early Pacific War] 
• Naval Musings (2) In Minds Eye Only: A strange attraction with sailing ships seems to be developing [Napoleonic has started it up (see above)] but then there is the Spanish Armada, Dutch Wars and Salamis to contend with (the latter been a "project" I know I must do)

"That's all for now folks" ... but like every other wargamer I can think of I would be very disappointed if I could not find even more material in the "loft" that I had totally forgotten about that goes "active" (did I mention my crazy 2mm Napoleonics or more traditional 15mm Franco-Prussians?)

;)

The Circus Maximus Project: A game or more of a "Frame of Mind?"

Do you covert the laurel wreath? Will you risk all in search of glory at the games? Not even put off by those horrific crash scenes in Ben Hurr .. OK then Avalon Hill's Circus Maximus is for you. It's time to take a the chariot of your choice for a trial race. He drives like a pro ... (see below):

Looking good, then ... Oh dear what could possibly have happened here then? Medic! (see below):

The course will be cruel and unforgiving (see above and below, just look at the number of charts):

Nevertheless a new batch of Colosseum hopefuls (fresh farm boys from the country) arrive (see below):

So I will probably need these extra crash markers painted then (see below):

But will it be ready in time for Xms? All I need do is get twelve 6mm chariot pieces painted, doesn't sound hard does it?

(Ahem, I suppose there is the small matter of reading the rules too)

A "hand delivered" Parcel of Ancients

I didn't "go to the show" (Sheffield Triples) but I did manage to get some toys courtesy of a 'personal courier' who was attending the event for the Impetus games, so ...

In preparation for the forth coming staging of Peloponnesian War battle [418 BC] 'The First Battle of Mantinea' (scheduled for this autumn [2013]- where the Athenians have a last chance to pick up a long sought after victory, 2-0 against them in the 'Greek' campaign) I have acquired some more Irregular Miniatures 15mm hoplites - 32 figures all told. As well as being needed to flesh out the hoplite count for Mantinea it also nicely finishes of a DBA/DBM/FoD/Impetus 'Greek hoplite army' contingent (well the metal is amassed it is only a matter of painting and basing them now, see below):

Plenty of filing of "flash2 to be done here! In addition to these lead warriors my long running Circus Maximus project (to add miniature figures to the classic Avalon game) got a surge of six extra chariot combinations [running/wrecked]. Here stand another six 'running' chariots next to the original fifteen year old painted Ben Hurr lookalike (see below): 

Naturally those six magnificent chariots and charioteers plus their steeds (the most important, nay intelligent, part of the team IMHO) could be reduced to mere Colosseum 'churn' (see below, again alongside a fifteen year old seventh "wreck" counter)

These "ancients" are rather a stark contrast to my current WWII 20mm projects, but it always good to have a "Plan B" to keep things ticking over.

Note: Seeing that this is !post number 617" to this blog I have to make some passing reference to 617 Squadron "The Dambusters" especially since it is the '70th Anniversary' of the raid. Lest we forget!

The Smoggycon 2012 Haul (Part II): "The Pile of Lead"

There are always odds and ends to pick up at "Irregular Miniatures".

:)

For some time I have been needing to get some "Camp" bases, other than my current 'brown pieces of card', for my Impetus Renaissance armies. The assorted jumble below (coming to a tidy £18, gulp) is enough I reckon to make three 25/28mm camps (and also an excuse to base the Wargames Illustrated Lady G in a diorama for respectability). Cows, pigs, peasants, an old style Knights tent, an 'innocent' man in the stocks, a roasting pig, a boiling cauldron and several rickety wooden fences, all good stuff and what you would expect from Irregular (see below): 

In addition I was milling around their 15mm ancients and decided to expand my Alexandrian Macedonian/Successor DBA army (I like to style a DBA grouping under one manufacturer if possible) and managed to pick out sixteen figures for two extra Pike Blocks (see below, costing £4.80). I know they are 'roughly hewn' but they still have a fighting character. Somebody had already beaten me to the Early Hoplites (my favorites from Irregular) as there was only three left in the box, never mind I still have a good block of them to paint.   

Then there is the "one that got away" (as in I forgot to get), I meant to acquire some 6mm "Roman/Greek Racing Chariots" like the pair I already possess (see below). These are fourteen year old (plus) markers (in the normal "Ben Hurr" racing state and the inevitable "crashed wreckage") for the infamous FoG (Friends of Grouchy Wargames Club) Avalon Hill "Circus Maximus" Xmas drunken Game from my 'London era'. Originally I was going to donate them back to the club buy nobody came forth to claim them (was it the paint job or the "dodgy past" of poor race results that put people off, methinks it was the jinx of the latter as I don't know of true wargamer who refuses a 'free' figure because of the paint job)

Seeing as I recently purchased  an electronic version of Circus Maximus I now need to expand my racing chariot stables. A 'doable' project now for next year in 2013 even within a paupers school boy budget (ah, nostalgia)!