The League of Augsburg
Dutch Fleet update and Medway 1667 mini campaign
To say I have been totally absorbed by my new obsession for 1/2400 scale 1650-1720 period ships would be the understatement of my hobby life time. Not since my Ost Front Microtanks phase of the late 1990s have I been this driven to finding information and being productive on an industrial scale.
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| 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th rates plus Fireship and Heoker - a cross section of my growing Dutch Fleet for the... |
Various WiP shots
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| two bases from a three base Cossack infantry unit |
I have too many projects going at the same time. Purely a function of bringing out new figures for Warfare Miniatures. Painting samples for the website means that lots of things get started but very often wait for a long time to get finished.
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| Command and three models to be added to this Russian unit in kartuz |
Every base on this post is part of a unit...
Sink the Dreadnought, June 1667
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| Captain Bogaert's 4th Rate Delft with 40 guns sails south into the Medway |
Inspired by discussions with fellow enthusiast Peter A of this parish, my general love of the period and of naval warfare, I took the plunge at Partizan buying two starter fleets in 1/2400 from Tumbling Dice. So far have completed 24 vessels large and small for my Dutch/English/French fleets 1660 - 1700.
Thanks to wonderful...
The War Wagon
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| The finished War wagon in profile |
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| The original wagon from which the war wagon is constructed. All that was used was the flat bed and wheels. |
I had this idea in my head to build a centre piece for the Ottoman wagonburg. I wanted a something practical but distinctive and I gained a lot of valuable experience arsing around with the twelve defensive pieces built for the wagonburg circumference.
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| The... |
Let's make a wagon fort
Well, it was a thought that had been floating around my head for a while. I had some vague ideas about how I might scratch build a defend-able 'wagon barrier' but had never gone practical with it.
No time like the present - about a month or so till Partizan so nothing like a little pressure to focus the mind.
How many? (it was a question to self).. four? six?... how about twelve? OK. That's settled,...
Another amazing diorama from TACTICA 2018
These pictures actually look like photographs of real life. The are from one of two dioramas on display at Tactica 2018 by a German team who create sensational work.
The scene is an Italian town in the later war period with a German Panzer unit moving up to the front. I will let the pictures do the talking.
Swedish Force from the new BLB3 GNW supplement
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| Onwards to Vlasivka 1709 |
The Swedes are...
As it should be. Swedish GNW Cavalry
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| Charge! The Swedish Liv Dragoon Regiment thunders down upon its quaking enemies |
It's a legitimate question. Why has it taken you so long to produce a unit of your own cavalry, based in your own 'chevron' style?
Time and conflicting priorities is the answer. I don't have enough of the former and an abundance of the latter.
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| Squadron 1 full charge in chevron |
I did paint about eighteen riders but only...
Focusing on Sedgemoor Part 3: The Rebel Army
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| A few militia style clothes may have been the most uniformed anyone got in Monmouth's Army |
To describe the rebel forces as an army is probably being somewhat overgenerous. Several of the officer cadre including the Duke himself were soldiers, brave, proven and with battle experience gained in formal, continental wars. There were undoubtedly ex soldiers, deserters from the army, militiamen and...
One to One wargaming - table top reality
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| A real life soldier! Musketeer Sean of a Jacobite regiment in Ireland circa 1689. Copyright B Hilton. |
Figure gaming usually falls into some broad categories in terms of scale. Firstly there is the model scale and secondly, the model to man ratio.
Typically 40mm, 28/25mm, 20mm, 15mm, 10mm, 6mm are the most common categories for the former. Of course there are several intermediate scales and some...
One to one wargaming: expanding the idea
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| Three 48 man companies of musketeers from the garrison of Derry. A company of Mountjoy's Regt at the centre. |
I was very pleased that the first post on this subject was popular and that visitors were stimulated to consider the implications of frontages, deployment, fire methodologies and movement around the battlefield and its table top imitation.
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| A battalion of Jacobite Foot based for Beneath the... |
One to one wargaming: A visual study in British company deployment 1685-1698
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| Company six deep |
I have been planning this particular post for about three years. Why has it taken so long? I needed to get a run at it. I am fascinated by the compromises necessary in wargaming particularly in relation to scales. Vertical scale distortion, ground scale distortion and finally the challenges in representing the depth of formations relative to their width. This last one has always...