A "Reiving" We Shall Go! - 28mm Fun and Frolics on the Scottish Border (Cow Snatching) - One Hour Skirmish Rules

Time for a fun game of cattle reiving in the Scottish borders! (see below, some nice 28mm figures come out to play alongside John Lambshead's,One Hour Skirmish Wargame Rules [a very nice set of rules]):  

The stage is set for a raid on the Scott Clan to relieve them of some of their prize cattle. In particular a fine new acquisition, a bullock, covetously spied at the local market.No good will come of this envy from the Natt Clan. Stealing through the night the Natts surprise the sleepy Scott sentries (se below, "Alarm, alarm, Reivers are amongst us!" (see below, a hand to hand tussle but the second Scott shouts an alarm):    

The Natts are fast at work as the Scott bothy empties, each Scot clansman grans the nearest weapon and charges out into the night (see below, one poor quality cow is being pushed away, but the Natts did not do well in their reconnaissance before the alarm went up, so they are simply grabbing what they can): 

Around a firefight, where the advantage of ranged weaponry becomes apparent, the Natts try to make off with a second more highly prized cow, but no sign of the bullock! Fallen bodies of Reivers and law abiding citizens (Reivers themselves but on the receiving end of tonight's fray) litter the farmyard (see below, the Natts decide it is time to make a sharp getaway as too many heavily armed Scotts are now about for their liking - cows are rather slow moving beast when they want to be): 

To quote the outraged Scott, "No' so fast you canny Reiver that ma' prize cow ya' after! Stitch that Jimmy [thwack, biff, pow]!" (see below, the prize cow is returned to its "rightful" owner): 

Proceedings for the night close as the Natt Clan departs. A fun night out, the Scott Clan is now minus a few clan members and are one poor quality cow down, but they have as their prisoner a rival Natt Clan Leader (low level presumably, not the mighty Natt himself) to be ransomed! The Natt Clan are also down a few clan members. All told was quite a bloody night on the borderlands! Break out the whiskey, mead and ale!

The Big (28mm) Napoleonic Build - Attacking The (British) Plastic Kit Pile - The Great Assemble

Recently I spotted a large pile of British Napoleonic 28mm plastic figure boxes in the loft, a "hidden sin" of mine. I must have been collecting these over the last ten years. I decided that the "Great Assemble Project" was about to begin (see below, Victrix Highlanders started the adventure - Centre Company boys): 

One box lead to another, then another (see below, Victrix Highlanders, Flank Company boys):  

In the end there were "legion" (see below, Perry's British Nap Infantry done as British Peninsular Infantry, 40 in total [36 normal and 4 riflemen])

In review, Victrix Highlanders Flank Company (see below, 60 in a box): 

Continuing the review, Victrix Highlanders Centre Company (see below, 60 in a box):

Not forgetting the Wargames Atlantic British Rifles (see below, 32 in a box but I made 24 and donated 8 to a good cause - still you only need a few): 

Assembling is one thing, but painting them is another - hmm, I need to keep the forward momentum going. Undercoating (weather permitting) by mass spray painting (White) was deemed the only sensible way forward (see below, luckily the weather was kind to me, let it snow!): 

Missing from the camera rollcall were yet more Victrix Peninsular British Flank and Centre Companies (104 figures in total, 52 each pack). All told, including a few "gifted" figures I already had assembled, there are just over 300 Napoleonic British Peninsular foot. These form a "future painting project". I plan to do the painting in batches - for Sharp Practice (TFL) and/or One Hour Skirmish Wargame Rules (John Lambshead). Building up and getting games in at the same time. 

Footnote (Confession): Launching into the build (as in Perry's Nap British) I had the funny feeling something was not quite right (see below, in my defense - there were two types of head to choose from and I chose my starting point at random):

So, I had inadvertently started to put the Waterloo heads on. The Shakos are different, no feather. Did I really care? It was one of those wargaming itches. I argued the toss with myself, then as there were only nine made so far, decapitations were made and heads were swapped, we were "all" off the to Peninsular. If they have to appear at a later date at Waterloo, I can also live with that!

Pendrakon Small Games Day - Inviting you to Play Several Small Games

I am fortunate enough to have a local games company that is very proactive in promoting the hobby, in small and large events, Pendrakon Miniatures. One such event being their recent Small Games Day hosted at their HQ. Several gamers (local and not so local) were invited to put n a participation game. Which I think is a fantastic idea. Although stalled from getting over until late in the day by family duties I managed to catch up with a friend demonstrating a Science Fiction game called Möbius Mayhem (see below, the playing surface being a 2D representation of the 1D mobius strip and space critters "trap dooring" around the surface):

There was a furious exchange between lazer armed Space Teddies and Space Pirates - where the more elite Space Teddies tore the Space Pirates apart. I then had the pleasure of being the Hive Bug Mind of Space Spider, who had to close to "fang kill" in close combat, which they managed to do, overcoming a smaller band of Space Troopers. The second game was an interesting spin on the French Indian Wars, in the "feeding of an army department" - or rather feeding the Colonel, who wants to impress his friends with a wild turkey for the dinner table. A detachment of British and French scouts simultaneously despatched with the same mission (because officers are basically pompous officers no matter which army they come from in this period of history). Based on mechanisms from The One Hour Skirmish Wargame Book by John Lambshead, it was an extremely entertaining game to play (see below, to the "lucky" go the spoils - all manner of wildlife was waiting for us in the vegetation, not much of it friendly!): 

Summary: As a plucky canny Brit. I shot the turkey and avoided punishment from my senior officer as the Colonel was well fed at his table. I avoided meeting a bear (thank god), although the run in with a skunk was disturbing. In the distance I heard French screams and a cry of "wolf", followed by several musket shots which didn't seem to hit their mark!

Many points of kudos and thanks to Pendrakon for putting on this very entertaining "Small Game Day" - and even though I was only there for the last hour or so, it did exactly what it said it would do on the tin. If I had managed to come across a little bit earlier I could have caught a game of Blood Red Skies too. In total I think there were about six  or seven games, with a health stream of participants and shoppers browsing. Naturally, I came away with a few goodies purchased from the establishment, just to extend my ranges, it seemed rude not to!