The Other Side of the Hill

Capitain Willem Potgeiter of the Société belge de commerce africaine military force sat on his mule and surveyed the terrain ahead with mixed feelings. The savannah had felt endless as he and his little column trekked across it for days, but now it appeared to have finite limits after all. The ground ahead trended to low hills and increasing scrub, with stands of taller trees here and there. A perfect place for an ambush. He gestured to the guide, standing patiently beside him. "Thomas, are you sure we have to pass through that?"

Thomas, whose real name the Belgian couldn't pronounce, screwed up his eyes as he peered in the direction Potgeiter pointed. "Yass, bass, we do. The lake lies three days beyond." He hesitated. "We close to G'Wunda lands, bass."

Potgeiter rubbed his beard and frowned. "Uh."

The lake. Or inland sea. Rumour of which had reached the Société's headquarters at Leopoldport on the Atlantic coast. Orders from the Director arrived by telegraph at the outpost Willem commanded. He and his men had been dispatched to discover the lake, estimate how big it was, and gain an idea of resources - including natives - in the locality that could be exploited in the Société's usual ruthless fashion. The Director had also mentioned growing British influence in the area, so the race was on to reach the lake and claim the region before the mighty Queen-Empress did so.

All very nice in theory, but Potgeiter believed the warriors of the G'Wunda tribe would have something to say about that. Their reputation for ferocity had spread far and wide. So far the military arm of the Société had not encountered them, as the G'Wunda territory lay well to the east of the company's current border. After the relative peacefulness of the march, Potgeiter thought that was about to change. He glanced back at the platoon, felt annoyed at how it straggled through the trackless  brush. Thirty or so men, not including bearers, native askari with white NCOs. "Too small to attract a hostile response, too big to be overwhelmed by mere natives." Potgeiter knew the argument, promulgated in breezy fashion by the Director. Yes. He sensed Thomas' growing nervousness, looked again to the east. The afternoon sun cast deepening shadows in the folds of land. We'll see... 

Some progress

Clearing the decks of my last project means I can finally line up a game or two! To that end I took my gaming cloth, a few yards of calico, and added some mid green areas with a rattle can. It now looks more suitable for African and even European games. I really need more scenery but will get there in the end.

Hopefully I'll get time tomorrow to run a Darkest African scenario. I'm also setting up leagues for Pulp Alley games.

A few buildings

My 10mm VBCW set-up is somewhat lacking in buildings, so I rectified the situation by making a few out of foamcore and card. 

They're quick to make and look reasonably good from a distance. The one at the back is a work in progress which I'll finish as flint-walled twin cottages in the style of my home county of Norfolk. 

With luck and a following wind I'll get the Chain of Command rules soon. Other gamers have already done a lot of work creating tables for AVBCW and I'll use the rules for that and also WW2, by the by.

  
 

Beginning the BUF

Summer has been a bit busy, what with writing, gardening and prepping for art shows, but I've begun putting together a BUF force for AVBCW. 

Most of the figures are Pendraken Miniatures drawn from my Socialist militia platoon (which had over-strength sections anyway), given a new paint job and Bob's your uncle. I had enough spare figures to create a command group including standard bearer. I chose to represent the platoon wearing army surplus jackets and forage caps died black, with army equipment and RAF uniform trousers. I reason that supplies are limited and every unit has to make do with what's available. The 18 pdr and Vickers MMG crews were already painted as BUF with khaki jackets and black trousers. 

This will be a platoon from the BUF Suffolk Legion based around Bury St. Edmunds, out to help impose the government's will on the East of England. They will clash with the Socialist forces operating out of Great Yarmouth and the LDV of the area. A nice chap on the VBCW forum by the name of Leics_Gamer makes excellent standards for the various factions around the UK. He produced an array for County of Suffolk forces, including the East Suffolk BUF, which I will print off when I can persuade our cranky colour printer to work. 

To the right of the picture is a section of Police auxiliary, reluctant associates dragged in to support the supposedly legitimate government. The police box is a home made resin casting.

In time I'll add a couple more sections and a Boyes AT rifle team or two to the force, and probably a pair of Italian L3/33 tankettes for armoured support. I'm tempted to increase the armour my VBCW forces have by getting a Vickers E type A or B or Vickers Medium Mk II for the BUF, and a T26 for the Socialists. Not quite sure what kind of tank a LDV force would have. Suggestions welcome! 

Doctor Doctor..!

With my wife resting after an operation last week I suppose it's not surprising I have doctors on my mind. Since she's a big fan of Doctor Who I thought I'd press on with painting up the figures I bought from Heresy Miniatures and Black Tree Designs.

The Ninth Doctor (front right) and Tenth (right column, 3rd from front) need just a coat of varnish. The Third Doctor (front row, second from right) is almost finished. I'll deepen the colour of his cloak using inks. The pterodactyl in front was coloured using brown acrylic pain for an undercoat and green and yellow acrylic inks, tips I picked up from Colonel O'Truth's blog. I'm debating whether or not to add a red stripe down the spine from the head to the tip of the tail.

 

G'Wundaland Volunteer Force

Here we have the G'Wundaland Volunteer Force, composed of would-be settlers fighting for the Crown in exchange for land and gold. Armed with US Army surplus Sharps carbines they will serve as a civilian auxiliary to the regular army.

The figures are from Dixon's Miniature Pony Wars range, painted to look more like a civilian body with a few elements of military uniform here and there. I believe the figure at the far right is supposed to be Custer, so I made him the commender of this band. 

The base-work is in progress. The first layer is liquid nails, which adheres well to the metal washers. Next layer will be a spackle/PVA mix with sand and coffee grounds for effect.

(The tentacles in the background are a work in progress Peril for Pulp Alley).
 

An Afternoon in 1863

My wife and I have a great time at a local re-enactment event today at Green Springs, Ohio. The 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry were among participants for a small action based on the ACW Battle of Gray Goose Creek, June 21 1863, itself a prelude to bigger events at Gettysburg. Although space precluded anything larger it was a fun demonstration, and the 3-inch rifled cannon got to fire.

Among the re-enactors were President Abraham Lincoln and local hero General James McPherson. It was fun to chat with these chaps, as they knew a wealth of details about the era.

On the gaming side, I've nearly finished the irregular force for Darkest Africa. Hopefully I'll get time to finish them and see them in action.

Fresh off Lead Mountain

I spent a little free time this week painting up some fantasy figures which languished on Lead Mountain, some for the better part of 25 years. A slightly blurry photo above shows the more-or-less finished results. The only new figure is that of the Reaper Miniatures elven mage on the left, by talented figure sculptor Sandra Garrity. The others are a mix of Citadel and Ral Partha. 

Some time next week I hope to get the auxiliaries-to-be on the painting block, so they can contribute to the British strength on the Barsetshire's next excursion into Darkest Africa.   

New recruits?

Having a dig around in the lead pile can pay off. I found these chaps from a large batch of Plains Wars figures. 

They're Dixons Miniatures dismounted US cavalry, but with a suitable paint job I think they can represent a militia made up of white settlers in Colonial lands. Armed with near-obsolete weapons they can defend their settlement until the army arrives, or serve as a useful adjunct to the regular force in the field. 

There's probably three times as many figures again in the collection they came from, but ten or so seems enough.

Doctor Doctor!

Milder weather is here and I will be able to reclaim my table for gaming again soon. At the moment it's still playing host to trays of seedlings ready for transplanting once the frost risk is over, which should be around May 15th. My next planned game is from my Darkest Africa campaign.

In the meantime I have a batch of Doctor Who figures ready for the painting block...

The figures are mostly Heresy Miniatures from a recent special offer, with the Third Doctor and Sarah-Jane (plus pterodactyl!) from Black Tree Designs (North America). Thanks to Shadowking's blog I was led to a wonderful source of cult TV figures at Crooked Dice. This company produces a treasure-trove of figures suitable for skirmish gaming and Pulp games. They even have stone angels - Don't blink!