Marking Progress

Or should that be marking time?

In another, probably vain, attempt to encourage more brush on figure action and reduce my internet procrastination, I've introduced a small counter on the right hand side of the page. This simply records how many miniatures I've managed to daub this year and how many I've bought. The hope is to outstrip purchases with completed figures and thus transmutate that mountain of fresh lead in the garage to something useful (in as useful as painted toy soldiers can be).

January saw a whole six figures completed - they'll appear on the blog soon! A quick calculation tells me at this rate I'll complete a whole  seventy two figures this year, which means I can buy seventy one figures this year...

So that resolution will last until Falkirk then.

Deathwing Terminator

The last completed figure of 2016. A test piece for the Dark Angels' Deathwing terminator squad that has been hibernating in the garage for a few years.

Happy New Year to everybody when it comes.

Hougoumont

Another 6mm gem from Total Battle Miniatures, hopefully not too marred by my brushstrokes. A delight to paint and I may even get to game with it soon!

Time for a Little Chaos...

Every army in Warhammer 40K needs a little cannon fodder; the Imperium has their guard, the Taut, Kroots and the Eldar... well maybe they're too posh to deal with the sacrificial classes.

Chaos has cultists to fulfil the role of pointless gestures and these chaps are taken from the Dark Vengeance box set I bought about four years ago (which gives some unwelcome insight to my painting lead time).

Twenty five of these charming, slightly mutated, homicidal maniacs are heading to downtown Morgoth XIII for a relaxing evening of murder and pillage.

The posse includes two heroes.

The group were painted using three pallets, one dark red, one brown and the third sandy.

This is based on the colours used to paint the sector boards last year so should hopefully blend in.

All are of course GW's finest.

Mont Saint Jean

Another building for the 6 mm Waterloo set up, this time Mont Saint Jean farm.

Once again from the Total Battle Miniatures Hundred Days range.

Dumfries 2016 - Opening Skirmish

Dumfries 2016 saw some major updates to the Beneath the Lily Banners rules set. In order to get all participants into the swing of these the first engagements were a set of small encounters (small for a League of Augsburg weekend that is, still big to me).



A regiment of Highlanders advances

The battle I participated in was set on the Scottish border (appropriately given the hotel location) where a contingent of Scottish Jacobites led by that bonniest of Bonnie Dundees (newly resurrected from Killikrankie) Jim Wallace, aided by French units led by Les Rumble playing the part of the Marquis de St Ruhe, another 'newly raised' member of the aristocracy.

The Jacobites and French prepare to advance

If this hadn't been an historical game I might have accused the Jacobites of employing some dark magicks.

The WIlliamites were led by General MacKay in the form of his alter ego Bill Robertson. Bill was to prove over the course of the weekender to be (to quote Blackadder), "more cunning than a fox who has just been made Professor of Cunning at Oxford University".

More of which in a later post.

I was in the role of the Marquis de Ruvigny who had assumed command of the Huguenot regiments.

Huguenot cavalry ready for the fight - they didn't get one!

The scenario was simple; the Williamite forces held two redoubts and a star fort, the Jacobites had to get past them.

The fort blocking the Jacobite advance

For my Huguenots it would very much prove to be a game of two halves.

The highlanders rapidly advanced on the redoubt on the Williamite right flank held by Belcastel's regiment under the personal command of their Brigadier. Sportingly the umpire allowed two Jacobite units to charge poor Belcastel's regiment. Highlanders against All Musket foot, it got messy very quickly if you were a Huguenot.

The moment before the Highland tsunami smashed into the left redoubt

Naturally, me being me, my first test for a Brigadier casualty of the weekend resulted in another one being entered in the roll of honour. His regiment was subsequently chopped into fine haggis by the claymores' of the clansmen. There were no survivors.

Buoyed by their overwhelming success at the redoubt, Bonnie Dundee's troops swarmed forward but were held by other elements of MacKay's division.

The Williamite right flank was a more salubrious affair mostly due to Les' die rolling for orders; I'd advise against that visit to Vegas anytime soon.

A Williamite cannon patiently waits for a French target to meander by

When the French finally reached the second redoubt it became obvious where the dice luck had gone. Needing 6+ on D10s Du Cambons regiment managed an 80% strike rate on their first volley putting one regiment to flight in a single round.

The Huguenot version of Rorke's Drift

They then proceeded to wipe out some pesky dragons whilst the French musketry and artillery pinged away with little or no effect under the new hard cover rules (aided once more by Les' die rolling).

Lunchtime approached, the smoke cleared and the umpires declared a draw.

Dumfries 2016

A few shots from the League of Augsburg weekender held 11th to 13th November 2016. I'll post more shots over the coming days. There's a lot more on the League of Augsburg Blog.