White-out at Aspern-Essling - reflections on Claymore

When I faltered, members of the gaming public were there to remind me of what I'd written in the rules - nice!

We do other stuff... a lot of people know that (in my best Maurice Micklewhite parody).

Toggy's nice pontoon bridge is underneath the French transport!

Toggy keeps a painter chained to a radiator somewhere in order to achieve the volumes of Austrians he has amassed over the passed three or four years.

Many admired these wonderful Uhlan and rightly so.

He also frequently visits his 'dealer', a shady character from the dark suburbs of Middlesbrough who has a long line of lead addicts hanging on his every word and ready to part with hard earned coinage.

No one left on Vienna - everyone in the whole Empire is here on the table at Claymore.

In addition, magpie like, Toggy is unhealthily attracted to shiny generals dressed in the worst line of French Napoleonic bling... you know the types - rough boys made good who, in the absence of Subaru Imprezas, Burberry and gold sovereign rings got their tailors to design pantomime uniforms - Lasalle, Murat etc - 'Les Geezers' may be the mot juste.

Toggy has created many wonderful touches like this casualty station - is this the wurst wagon or the worse for wear wagon?

As a refreshing change we decided to get out masses and masses of Napoleonics and do a bit of 1809 gaming at Claymore. The plan fell apart before the doors opened at 1000. Non-stop talking was the order of the day although we did manage some set pieces for visitors who wanted to play Republic to Empire:

-A French Chasseur regiment charging and destroying an Austrian battery.

Don;t know who the chap was, hailing from Dunfermline and used to 40K - not much difference really.

- A massed assault on the legendary Granary by more Austrians than the rules permit in a close       assault.

I cheated. I threw in 40 dice worth of Austrians to get a foothold in the Granary. Not allowed but fun.

- Lots of shooting from the garrison on the massed columns.

Seven French battalions doing a bit of a Thermopylae

Being many months since my last game with Republic to Empire I was gratified if not a touch disconcerted when a punter came along and helped me through my own rules! He knew them very well and where my stuttering brain faltered, he was able to escort me through factor, clause and chapter like a veteran. Republic to Empire is, despite my own neglect in supporting the set, still very much alive and being used. Oh happy day!

KC's wonderful Prussians - Front Rank models expertly finished.

The show was enjoyable but few games really caught my eye. The most attractive was Kev and Peter's Napoleonic Zorndorff reboot with Russians and Prussians of the 1815 era assuming the roles. Some beautiful painting by Kev as always and plenty of troops.

Durham goes to the Ukraine

The most eye-catching was a white bed sheet hosted Ukrainian Cossacks versus Ottomans in 40mm by the Durham chaps. Unashamedly toy-soldieresque but lovely. I am not an Old School fan but this was indeed interesting both from the aesthetic and subject matter dimensions.

I flagged by 1400. Toggy kept himself going by buying lead from his dealer and anyone else who was prepared to sell him it.

Revived by coffee and cake in Morrisons at 1700 we were able to hit the road with new projects already in the pipe.