The Spreadsheet

Been very quiet around here and I'm not going to nauseate you with the details; suffice to say I've had a viral infection and that floored me for two months.

Still my indolence gave that ill-used, oft abused, organ casually referred to as my brain some time to fester on the odd idea; most are best left in a forgotten recess of one lobe or another but some will be dragged blinking into the sunlight for playful examination and violent dismemberment (this is the interweb after all).

One of my many inconsequential personal issues with wargaming is the sheer amount of unused stuff I have accrued since I got back into the past time eight years ago. Speaking to other gamers I know I am not alone, most of us find following that sage advice of picking a period and scale and sticking to it impossible. For example, until six months ago I didn't know I needed GNW Russians or Swedes until they started turning up in all their sparkly goodness on the League of Augsburg site - actually I hardly knew what the GNW was, but enough on the deficiencies of history teaching in British schools and my own ignorance.

I'm finding this constant accumulation depressing!

Of course I haven't helped myself by utilising some questionable work skills and visualising the issue through that wonder of the digital age, the Excel spreadsheet. This combined with the devilishly distracting internet and the cloud means that I can now analyse my failure to complete wargames projects on any number of handheld and desktop devices with a 4G connection (not always possible in the wilds of Bathgate but in these parts it's probably safer not having the final option in the fight/flight/surf instinct).

To be clear I am not recommending fellow wargamers follow this approach unless of course you are suffering from some legal high and need a big downer or have found your recent alcohol consumption lacking conviction. Certainly, under no circumstances should any results be extrapolated out into how much has been spent on unused plastic, pewter and resin, particularly if you are still trying to keep the kids in roofs, tuition fees and toy rabbits. My figures (no pun intended but since it's out there let's leave it in - I don't often hit the humour node intentionally or not) came out at 48% undercoated and 22.91% based; believe me that 0.91% is really important and has gone up by exactly three hundredths in the last two months according to the graphs on worksheet 6.

Obsessive, compulsive... what?

Taking this to even more refined levels of self-inflicted mental torture, the spreadsheet tells me that at my current sloth like rate I should finish painting and basing my purchases sometime around Autumn 2067.

Even my limited project manager powers can see a problem with that and I doubt the twins are going to want forty year old Perry plastics on the sprue or even painted ones as an inheritance; though I would love to see the dimension where they go to court over who gets the 15mm XXX Corps tanks.

"But you got the Jagdpanthers and the half painted Space Orks, all I've got are his early Napoleonics before he'd bothered to research the uniforms properly - I mean yellowy riflemen?!"

Is there a solution? I'm considering temperance, at least I've admitted I have a problem, isn't that half way to a cure?

My name is Colin and I am a wargamer, it's been one day since I bought my last miniature.

(Yeah I was going to type 'had my last miniature' but I am a wargamer, I know how our minds work and we really don't need the encouragement!) 

Something a little different...

It's not all alloy and plastic men at chez Napier occasionally other toys are purchased.

This is Lego's Sopwith Camel model which the better half bought me as a birthday present a couple of years ago.

Regular readers of this blog will note that I put little plastic bricks together no faster than little plastic men.

Currently it is the centre piece on the dining room table, at least it has the right colours for Christmas. Maybe a little sprig of holly will make it look more festive!

WH 40K Sector Part 2

One of the advantages of the new(ish) house is that the garage does allow large projects to be set up and painted; in this case some sector tiles from Games Workshop.

The palette is reddish brown to give the effect of a Mars type planet. I thought I had a lot of appropriate scenery but then added it to the tiles and found it a bit sparse.

Guess I know what to ask for this Christmas!

Still I was pleased enough to dig out a few old Tau miniatures to see how they looked in the new cityscape.

 

 

Naturally, they needed a bit of opposition... which came in the form of some Dark Angel Space Marine scouts.

A proper battle is surely only a free evening away.

Fallschirmjager - Finished Unit

Some of Warlord's finest 'Green Devils' all set to face the US 101 Airborne and of course those pesky resistance types that have been pottering around these pages.

 

Eighteen in all with some lmg and mortar teams to come.

 



Waterloo - League of Augsburg Weekender Part 3

Last few shots of the Waterloo relight in Derby in October.

 

 

The French pressed the Allied centre and right flank hard.

 

 

 

A view of the Allied side of the table - Mr Hilton in the distance. Unfortunately the photograph fails to demonstrate the depth of so many figures in such a small space.

 

 

Parts of the Allied centre begin to crack.

 

 

 

At Hougoumont a congenial stand off ensues.

 

 

 

The Prussian were played off table and Napoleon (played by Paul Patrick) even led some cavalry charges which broke the Prussian ranks.

 

In the end the umpires adjudicated and declared a French victory. Les Bleus were still on the Allies ridge as dusk fell with a fair amount in reserve.

 

To the victor the spoils...









Waterloo - League of Augsburg Weekend Part 2

The French plan was to ignore the big potential meat grinder on the left flank; Hougoumont chewed up so many battalions on the day of battle and for no discernible gain.

Instead a diversionary attack on the ridge of the Allied right would pin troops in place whilst the weightiest assaults would fall on the Allied centre and left.

Hougoumont... so tempting...

French skirmishers circle the chateaux.

French columns advance on the Allied ridge.

 

 

A Dutch/Belgian brigade stands ready.

 

 

French cavalry wait to exploit any opening

 

 



Waterloo - League of Augsburg Weekend Part 1

It's October and that means time for the Derby weekender run by Barry, Adrian, Bob and Gerry of the League of Augsburg.

The board was approximately 28 feet by 12 feet with the tiles custom made by Adrian to mirror the valley.

Initially the British side felt a little deserted...

 

 

 The French commanders certainly seemed to have more to do.

 

 

 Wellington stood by his elm tree ready for the off.

 

 

 



 And Napoleon felt well enough to at least stand around with his staff.

 

 

 

So it was just a case of both sides waiting for the first shots to be fired.