First, the migration of posts and media from my other blogs continues with a good portion of the content now here. Everything (text, tags, categories, media) automatically gets sorted by date so if a post was dated as March 1, 2016 it came here as the same date and inserted as such. Very convenient. I do need to check each imported post for broken links, however. I am also struggling with this new WordPress editor, mainly because I don’t want to take the time to learn it. This has always been the way of the world I suppose, old folks damning modernity.
It was a hard Winter. I got behind in posting on this blog and now need to do some Spring cleaning. Thus follows a litany of all the various projects I am (or have been) engaged with.
Blocks for Troops
Inspired by one of Steve’s posts at Wargaming Addict, I decided to make a set of blocks to represent units to help scenario planning. Too much time is often spent assemblying figure units to just try out an idea. The set of blocks should remedy that.
One mat to rule them all
How many times, O Lord, how many times? I am too old to deal with this any more. I would like to make wonderful looking table tops and have experimented with dozens of ways, each one seemingly the answer. Now I just want simple.
Flodden
I have already produced a Scots army for Flodden (1513) and need to get cracking on the English Army. Both have their basis in the armies I bought on eBay but both required a lot of reworking.
Harlaw
While lookin at eBay a month or so again I saw a set of fifty-three, expertly painted medieval 28mm figures. They caught my eye because they were largely of the Gallowglass type but then I saw the flags. One was clearly recognizable as that of Donald, Lord of the Isles and the other, among the small contingent of English or Lowland soldiers, was the flag of the Earl of Mar! Dang! The principles in the Battle of Harlaw (1411) which decided who would take the Earldom of Ross. I had to have them!
I hadn’t planned to delve back to the Fifteenth century in Scottish history, but I have all these different sets of skirmish rules and 28mm is pretty nice for individual figure type battles. Besides Harlaw, the Highlands of the Fifteenth century are rife with clan warfare, so lots of opportunity for skirmish gaming.
I confess, however, the Gallowglass/Bonnacht/Kern 10mm figures that I recently commissioned for Ireland would make a very nice large Highland army for a full battle of Harlaw (I can add in the Flodden highlanders as well). Of course this would mean I would need a Lowland army as well (lots of Agincourt figures). This process never ends.
I scratch painted the MacKenzie Caber Feidh banner (although not up to the standards of the other two).
Elizabethan Ireland
Work on the 10mm armies for Ireland (Desmond’s and Tyrone’s Rebellions) slowly continues.
FK&P Scenarios
The maps for all six Montrose scenarios are completed and OoBs, deployments and objectives being knocked into place. The four Irish scenarios also have very rough maps. For blogging purposes I am going to do some different battles (which will include both Flodden and Harlaw periods).
Did I mention I don’t like this new editor? I suppose it will grow on me in time and it does have a number of likeable features. The post preview isn’t one of them.
Well I’m glad my wooden blocks have inspired you to make your own Bill:). As you’ve found out, they are so useful for quick games or just to try stuff out. They won’t replace figures of course, but they do have a Kriegspiel charm about them.
Nice to see your other projects and your comments about a game mat ring very true. I toyed with getting a fancy one last year but soon came to relaise that my old GW mat works perfectly well as is.
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Thanks, Steve, and for your idea. In retrospect I probably should not have put the huge block on top to represent pikes as it locks them into a specific period.
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Again it is obvious that your passion has indeed become an obsession. You’ve been very busy over the winter and your blog gives others some really good tips. Let me know if you ever need an intervention. (I guess I should tell your patient wife to let me know, as you’d not be likely to decide you need an intervention. We’re here for you.)
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