Grand Scale Wargaming.

A closer look for Mr Rousell :-)

2012-01-16T10:59:00.001-08:00

Ive cropped some of my latest photos for a closer look if you click em they should go bigger as well.

First ECW Troops.

2012-01-15T12:04:00.000-08:00

My Parliamentarians arrived this week, so first to be painted and based is of course the General,Ive decided to go with little scenic bases for all three of my commands, in Warmaster you measure from the centre of the base so it allows for some little dioramas. Ive probably taken too many photos of this one as I'm trying to get to grips with the settings on my new camera.

"Where the devil are we?..."
"Edge Hill, m'lord."

First set of Village Buildings complete.

2012-01-07T09:02:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the comments on the previous WIP photos of my buildings for ECW.To answer a few questions, the roads are from The Baggage Train, and Hi Steve, yep they are just printed on thin card. So the first sets of theVillage Buildings are now complete. As you will notice they are mounted and positioned differently than the previous photos this was due to me dropping something on two of the buildings (not a good idea when they are made from thin card). Im quite happy with how they've turned out, one of the sets was made some time ago but I thought Id post it with the new ones. The hedges on the new ones are the standard Woodland scenics bush pack, and on the older set of buildings these are from Irregular miniatures.

Grand scale now on the Warmaster site :-)

2012-01-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to say Rick P's Warmaster site has now had a makeover by Jim and the chaps on the Yahoo site and its early days yet but its looking very good for the future...Oh and they've put up a link to here which I thinks great :-) :-) I Will update the link I have on the links list. But its here as well so give the chaps a click and show some 10mm support!! :-)

http://www.ricks-warmaster.com/index.html

Setting the scene.WIP

2011-12-29T04:53:00.000-08:00

Well I'm still waiting for my ECW miniatures to arrive :-( the joy of ordering the week before Christmas. So while I'm waiting I thought Id best get some 10mm Scenery for the field of battle. First off I'm going to put together a small village, as this is my first foray into the period I think its best not to buy resin buildings just yet, so I'm going to use the printable card buildings from Steven Hess (Brumbaers) web page (the link is on my list for those who need it) whilst they aren't strictly ECW they are Half timbered so will fit in okay for now.Here's some photos of WIP still lots of work to do.

A christmas gift opened early, yuletide Interview with the man behind Magister Militum.

2011-12-23T07:23:00.000-08:00

In my continuing quest to get the people who make the wonderful miniatures we game with in the world of 10mm to give us their views on the hobby, here's the next instalment and just in time for Christmas it's a present worth opening, as Richard the man who is Magister Militum gives us his take on all things 10mm. So the snows falling outside you've just had your Yuletide feast and your sat in front of an open fire with a glass of port and some fine cheese, the chap sat at the other side of the fire is Mr Magister Militum so lets hear what he has to say.........

Okay first things first, why, when and where was Magister Militum born?
The idea behind the 10mm side of Magister Militum comes from when I was still at school. We did a lot of gaming in 6mm but I always wanted to use 10mm, very little of which was available at the time. I think 10mm gives a great look to a wargames table with enough figures to give units a feeling of real size but small enough figures to allow for space on the table and the feel of a real battle. 28mm figures can be lovely but a large battle with them gets extreemely claustrophobic. Chariot came out with its 10mm ACW line and I was hooked, you could say I like the range so much I bought the company (a few years later though). It was logical for me that we would focus our own efforts on 10mm figures when we looked at getting new ranges made and it has been most of our focus for the past 7 years.

What do think makes a good 10mm miniature?
To answer what makes a good 10mm figure is difficult. I think it is more a case of what makes a good 10mm unit and that varies by period. For gallic warband you need a lot of variety and a wildness to the posing. For Romans you need uniformity. For Napoleonics you need to be able to see the uniform differences (I get a bit carried away on those at times) and that means you need the detail to be 'raised' so it is easier to paint. I think most of all a figure needs to be as accurate as possible, whether that is getting the right horse size (Cossaks rode ponies so should be on small horses while Heavy Cavalry should be on much larger horses unless you are looking at the Crimean War where all units very quickly found themselves using locally sourced cossack style ponies).

How do you decide what range will be next?
In terms of deciding which range to do next, that can be tricky as there is so much we want to do. What ever is selling well is a pretty good guide for us. Napleonics are going very well at the moment so we have focused on completing those ranges for example. I try not to get too sidetracked as that leaves lots of ranges in development at once which means some don't get finished or worked on as well as they should. I started the WW1 range because of my own interest in the subject. It was the focus of much of my degree and I started a doctorate looking at it (sadly the lure of money got in the way of that although it will be something to come back to when I retire). The range however has ended up playing second fiddle to the Napoleonics and is way behind on the release schedule (the artillery are comming, honestly).

I know that your ranges are very large but for those that don't know, what ranges of miniatures are currently available from yoursleves?
Our 10mm ranges are pretty large now. We cover Biblical (although we are missing Assyrians, Babylonians and Mitanni at the moment, hopefully something to finish off next year), Ancients up to the fall of Rome, Dark Ages mostly focused on Western Europe, Medieval, Napoleonic, Crimean War, ACW, Franco Prussian War, Zulu War, WW1 and WW2. Also we have a pretty comprehensive range of 10mm Dinosaurs which is growing all the time and the beginnings of a fantasy range (Orcs and Elves so far).
For other small scale ranges, we sell the GHQ ranges of 10mm figures (Napoleonic and ACW) 6mm vehicles/infantry (WW2 and Modern) and 1:1200 (Napoleonic ships) and 1:2400 (WW1, WW2 and Modern ships). We also stock the Mainforce 6mm infantry (WW2 and Modern). We stock the Hallmark 1:6000 naval range and the Cap Aero 1:1250 aircraft along with our own 617sq 1:1250. Finally we have the Hallmark 1:1250 naval range (WW2) and lots of 6mm buildings (GHQ, JR Miniatures and Battleground) and 10mm buildings (our own range).

Can you say what ranges and products are next and what's the future for Magister Militum?
We are finishing off the Napoleonic ranges at the moment, something I was not sure we would ever get to a year ago, with the Spanish and Portuguese just being released. Next year we will fill in some gaps with French Guard Cavalry, some missing minor nations, Wurtemburg for example, Staff/Battalion/Brigade commanders and personalities. We may do the Turks as well although good research on that is hard to come by. We have another 20 plus dinosaurs being sculpted at the moment. After that we will look at the Assyrians/Babylonians and some more WW1. We have plans around a large fantasy/sci fi project which I hope to start on next year as well. I would like to get an English Civil War range done and more WW2 infantry but that will probably depend on sculpting and mould making time. It will be a busy year for new releases.

With rules solely for 10mm gaming a little thin on the ground is this something you may look at in the future?
Rules are an interesting and frustrating area. We have a set of rules for dinosuars (including humans and other extinct creatures) Dinomight. We have plans for rules sets in Napoleonic, ACW and fantasy/scifi and were talking about a possible ancients set earlier this week. It is something we need to crack in 2012 probably with the Napoleonic set comming first. We also have a set of WW1 and 2 naval rules which needs a lot of work on ship information to finish off but one day we will get it released.

The Magister Militum trade stand is a familiar sight at most of the wargames shows across the UK , so how have you found the shows so far in 2011 and for you which is the most enjoyable.
The UK and European show scene is pretty vibrant at the moment despite the economic woes of the world. I don't think I could pick a favourite show, different ones are fun for different reasons (apart from Salute which is such hard work there is no time for me to enjoy it), the kids like Bovington most of all as they get to camp.

With a lot of your time spent running Magister Militum do you have any of have time to play war games?
I have almost no time for wargaming now, we get in some board games (something else we stock) though. I am also a Wiltshire Councillor which takes up pretty much any spare time I get. My wargaming tends to be limited to small bursts on the computer.

For anybody who hasn't seen your miniatures or products can you give us the web details and links where these could be found?
Our website is http://www.magstermilitum.com/

Once again thank you Richard for taking time out and answering my questions for Grade Scale wargaming.And Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas and some seasonal witterings.

2011-12-22T04:03:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to say Merry Christmas! and a Happy New Year! to all the followers and tooters of 'Grand Scale war gaming' and thank you for being bothered to read my posts, musings and witterings about war gaming using the 6mm and 10 mm scales.

Its great to see soooo many good wargaming Blogs out there and to read something fresh every few days about this wonderful past time in its various scales.Ive really enjoyed the past few years being part of the Wargaming Blogging community,so thank you to all fellow bloggers for re sparking interest when it some times wanes. Heres to many more years :-)

Jason.

ECW inspiration.

2011-12-17T02:43:00.000-08:00

While I wait for my first 10mm ECW army to arrive from Pendraken,Ive been looking around for some initial inspiration and I thought Id share some of my findings. First off trying to get exact colours for uniforms, clothing arms and armour used is a minefield, everyone and every book has a different opinion.The best piece of advise was given to me at a show a few years back by Peter at Baccus...." if you put a line down the middle of this room (the hall at Fiasco show) and one side became Royalists and the other side Parliamentarians there you have it, both sides look the same, same colour and style of clothing same arms and armour". So I'm not going to get too hung up on uniform colours but I will try and be as accurate as poss using the books Ive got and some articles and pictures off the Internet.here are the covers of the first books I will use: -

Also found some Chris Collingwood sample pictures:-

Here are some small articles from Renegade the pictures are 28mm but the articles and ideas behind them for any scale:- http://www.renegademiniatures.com/article8.htm http://www.renegademiniatures.com/article5.htm

Also Nik Harwood over on the Pendraken posted up this Battle rep/AAR well worth a look:- http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,389.0.html

And lastly:- Some Parliamentary (probably?)rallying and marching tunes courtesy of YouTube and the ,Watersons. Not sure about the validity of these tunes to be from the period but certainty give the feel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdEtOF80sXU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdEtOF80sXU

And of course there's the Film 'Cromwell' not very accurate but looks great and full of classic battle scenes and oneliners... "GOD dam this king!". "MANCHESTER do you not know we are at WAR!,I will fight this king then if need be I will fight Manchester as well!" etc etc :-)

Another project added!!

2011-12-15T09:39:00.000-08:00

All additional Saracens/Mamluks for my fall of Acre games are now finished,so let the gaming begin!!So now I'm wondering what new army to build next? I fancy doing another Pendraken army and after some thought as to what Pendraken army is next? Shall I stay in my comfort zone and go for another Medieval army, French HYW or Italian Condotta both armies Id like to have but Ive loads of Medieval armies I fancy something different. Do I go for another Dark age hmm? Ive not finished my Saxons (ended up putting them with the Normans to make an Anglo Norman army,and I'm more than happy with the results) so dark Ages not a good idea. Ancients? all my ancients are 6mm so no point going ancients. So without further ado Ive just ordered some ECW, way out of my comfort zone Ive had a small ECW 28mm in the past but I'm going to go big with this one!(hopefully). Ive got some reading on the subject,and I believe Father Christmas is bringing 'Massacre, the storming of Bolton' book,I live on the edge of Bolton and the local pub has the skull of the chap who removed the Earl of Derby's head from the rest of him, behind the bar.And there's lots of ECW sites close by for inspiration so should prove interesting.I'm also going to post up progress on the Blog.Any advise from you good men would be appreciated.The starter army has been ordered should give me 1000pt Warmaster ECW army,a chap at my local club has devised some additions for the WM rules,I will also be looking at Warlords 'Pike and Shotte' rules when they come out.Heres the starter list:-1 x General4 x Pike/Shotte1 x Gallopers or Trotters(not sure which yet)1 x Cuirassiers2 x Cannon

Anglo Normans

2011-12-11T05:25:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post Ive put together an Anglo-Norman army here are some photos taken quickly and in poor light but you get the general idea.All miniatures are Pendraken.from their Norman and Saxon ranges.The army composition shown is a 1250pt Warmaster army

Command stand for Warmaster or Hail Caesar

2011-12-09T05:27:00.000-08:00

Here's a few photos of my latest command stand for use with Hail Caesar or Warmaster,the miniatures are TB Line and the banner is Little Big Men. He will be one of the Mamluk commanders besieging Acre in the upcoming games project. As always click to enlarge.

A hidden gem

2011-12-09T04:30:00.000-08:00

Whilst searching the WWW for illustrations to use in the 'Fall of Acre' project I came across this treasure chest,if your a war gamer or painter its a wonderful little resource.Just thought id share it so you can give it your support. Enjoy :-)

http://thelosttreasurechest.wordpress.com/

The devils in the detail or am I playing devils advocate?

2011-12-08T05:57:00.000-08:00

Just noticed that Warlord have bought out Immortal Miniatures. So what I hear you say and you be right in saying that, its 28mm of no real interest here but reading through what the chap from Immortal has to say there is this statement...'I have no plans to leave the industry altogether, I have a few small scale miniature projects on the go which will be announced in time'.. Now then does he mean his going to be making the odd 28mm figure or he's going small scale? I suspect he means the odd 28mm figure. But you never know :-) :-) Heres the link if you want a full read through:-

http://www.warlordgames.com/14871/warlord-games-purchases-immortal-miniatures-ltd/

10mm Tournaments.

2011-12-02T06:12:00.000-08:00

For those of you who haven't seen how the stylish Italians war game and hold tournaments check out the Anticamente Blog here's the link and some sample photos of why wargaming may be better in the Italian sunshine as opposed to the grey wet Lancashire:-).There some very good armies and terrain on show on the Blog

http://www.tridentebologna.it/blog-english/

More Saracens Started

2011-12-02T05:54:00.000-08:00

At last I was able this week to get the latest Saracens started so here's pictorial proof :-)
These are mainly from those nice chaps in Italy TB Line but I also thought id see how they blend in with some Pendraken so I put a command figure and standard bearer in a unit of Pendraken spear and even though there is a slight difference in size I don't think its overly noticeable I will see how they look together when painted.

6mm and 10mm in WI,a refreshing change.

2011-12-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

Just seen this link on the Wargames Illerstrated web page about s show for 10mm and under :-)

Heres the link:-
http://www.wargamesillustrated.net/Default.aspx?tabid=221&art_id=2984

Enjoy.

10mm Projects for the remainder of 2011 and the start of 2012

2011-11-26T04:55:00.000-08:00

With 2012 fast approaching over the head land,Ive decided to finish 2011 with hopefully a flurry of 10mm loveliness.First off (for the time being) Ive decided after painting some more Pendraken Saxons to add them as Fyrd to my Norman Army giving me a 2000pt Warmaster Anglo-Norman army (photos to follow).Secondly a return to the Outremer and TB Line Ive decided to put together some Very nice Islamic horse archers for my Saracen army(this is the Magister Militum army from two years ago which I painted based and then SOLD! the chap who bought it has used it once and decided 10mm is not for him so I bought it back :-)Its a lovely army (if I do say so myself) and I'm looking forward to adding some more units.Thirdly and staying in the Outremer using the Saga rules and Warmaster rules I will be gaming the Fall of Acre in 1291,I will use the Saga rules to game the initial encounter with the Saracen/Mamluks bringing their siege towers and battering rams into position and the Crusaders sallying out to try and slow them down or stop them, thus giving the civilians of Acre time to leave by the city ports. Then I will use Warmaster to re-fight the siege itself.Also the annual Poll for best 10mm will be posted up so decide who you think deserves this years award. And finally Ive e.mailed (2 months ago)the chaps at Magister Militum to see if they would follow in the foot steps of TB Line and Pendraken and give us and interviews they have agreed to this Ive sent the questions to them but they have yet to send them back.I will post if and when they return the answered questions.

Cheerio.

Take a look here

2011-11-18T06:29:00.000-08:00

Whilst Ive not had anything new to post myself of late,Ive been checking out some other 10mm Blogs around the WWW, Ive been a follower of this Blog for some time and there's some good articles and posts but this latest one is very good so why not have a look. If you're not already of course :-)

http://warmasterdk.blogspot.com/

Poppy field... no more words needed.

2011-11-11T00:23:00.000-08:00

Its been a while.

2011-10-26T03:23:00.000-07:00

Ive not posted for a while so here's two pieces you may have already seen else where on the WWW.First off here a link to a great 10mm Dark Age battle report I spotted played use Hail Caesar:-

http://nosherswargames.blogspot.com/2011/09/hail-caesar-scenario-hastings-1066.html

Secondly here's the latest release from those chaps in Italy the magnificent TB Line another TOP job I think you'll agree:-

Late Anglo-Saxons to do battle with the Dark Age Welsh.

2011-09-10T01:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of my finished DBA Late Anglo-Saxon army to pair against the Welsh(next on the painting table). As mentioned in earlier posts these will expand to Warmaster and Hail Caesar as shown in the photo set ups.As with all 10mm armies best viewed on mass at a distance but if your feeling brave give em a click for that close up look ???!!!As always sorry about the photo quality it really is time for a new camera:-)

Another unit for the Anglo Saxons or is it Anglo Danes?

2011-09-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

Heres some photos of another unit for my Late Anglo Saxon army but looking at the DBA list its listed as an Anglo Dane (hey ho?).Any way the full army(12 elements) is more or less finished so I will post full army photos, when fully based.As always click to enlarge.

Skirmish bow for Welsh and Anglo Danes

2011-08-26T05:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of photos of skirmish bow for Welsh and Anglo Danish armies.The Welsh take two and Anglo Danes take one in the DBA list or three stands (one unit) for WMA dark age army.Miniatures are Pendraken.

10mm and 6mm Articles in the wargames press.

2011-08-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

After posting links to the interviews with the chaps from Pendraken and TB Line on TMP forum with the little comment "the fact that the wargames press give 6mm and 10mm wargaming little…neh! NO! coverage" Henry from Battlegames posted this:-

"However, a perusal of Battlegames back issues will show that I do, in fact, cover smaller scale stuff on a regular basis:

Issue 26 – Warmaster hidden deployment
Issue 25 – GHQ micro-armour teaser
Issue 24 – Manzikert 1071 10mm Warmaster Ancients
Issue 23 – 6mm ancients painting article
Issue 22 – 6mm ancients basing article
Issue 19 – Solferino 1859 featuring pics of 6mm set-up
Issue 17 – Arsuf 1191 10mm Warmaster Ancients
Issue 15 – interview with Peter Berry and 6mm ACW scenario
Issue 11 – 10mm ancients display game article
Issue 10 – 10mm ancients featured in photos
Issue 8 – Nano-scale (2mm) armies
Issue 7 – Sans peur et sans reproche: 10mm hex-based renaissance rules (lots of pics)
Issue 6 – Warmaster: rules for all seasons? (with 10mm pics)
Issue 5 – modelling 10mm WW2 paras part 2 (painting piece)
Issue 5 – Operation Sealion (6mm BKC)
Issue 4 – modelling WW2 10mm paras part 1
Issue 2 – wargaming difficult historical battles (6mm)

Well, how about that?

Henry
Battlegames
battlegames.co.uk"

And this was also posted by (Architectus Militaria)
Paul Davies:-

"But by way of a response to the suggestion that W.I. doesn't allegedly feature photographs of, or articles on, smaller scale figures and miniatures, I'll just mention the following for starters as these are copies that I happen to have readily to hand:

Issue 239
2 page article on Shiloh supported by 5 photographs of 6mm Baccus figures.
3 photographs of 1/285th Modern game.

Issue 248
4 page article on Lakka River featuring 6 photos of 10mm Magister Militum figures

Issue 250
Review of 10mm Magister Militum Mongols with photographs

Issue 254
2 pages on the Great Baccus 6mm Painting Challenge with 6 photographs.
How to make a 1/300th scale Nile gunboat.
Review of Magister Militum 10mm Napoleonics.
6 page Vietnam air war article featuring 1/600th aircraft.

And I can remember reviewing some of Adler's beautiful 6mm Napoleonic figures a while back.

And a bit more recently:

Issue 261
Battle of Pydna 168BC. 8 page article including 7 photographs of Magister Militum 10mm figures, most of them considerably larger than life!
Gettysburg. 9 page article including 6 photographs of 6mm Baccus figures.

Issue 267
Review of Baccus 6mm Napoleonic British .

And as you read through articles, such as those in Issues 280 and 281, you'll notice that quite often a few photographs of 6mm figures are dropped in to illustrate a particular point"

Thank you for the reference's chaps,I for one will be looking up these past issues
.....That's told me :-)

Musings on 'SAGA'

2011-08-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Just back from a week on the Isle of Man, and now I'm really up for some Dark Age gaming. As mentioned previously this will take me from DBA through Warmaster and hopefully on to Hail Caesar. But also after reading some web articles on 'Saga' from Gripping Beast (aimed at the 28mm gamers) I'm musing if it could be used with stands of 10mm rather than a single 28mm figure.I wounder if any of you chaps have any thoughts on this?

There's plenty info out there about Saga but if you've not seen any here's a few links.

http://www.mikehobbs.co.uk/?p=2339
http://boardgamegeek.com/blog/444/dux-blogorum
http://mousquetstomahawks.blogspot.com

Interview with the Chaps who are PENDRAKEN a big name in a world of little men.

2011-07-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

Following the success of my interview with Fabio at TB Line, and the fact that the wargames press give 6mm and 10mm wargaming little...neh! NO! coverage so we wont see our questions answered any time soon in WI or WSS to name but two.I e.mailed Leon at Pendraken to see if he and Dave would like to give an interview,and they kindly said yes. So I sent the questions via e.mail over to Pendraken HQ and here is the finished article in all its glory....Enjoy.

Jason-Hello Leon and Dave, first of all thank you for taking some time out to answer some questions for Grandscale wargaming...

Leon-No worries!

Jason-Okay first things first, why, when and where was Pendraken born?

Leon-Dave started off by building a casting machine, and then contract casting for Wild Geese Miniatures. After 6 months or so, he decided to start our own company, with our first range being a load of Fantasy we got from Iron Brigade. Over the years the whole family has become involved in some way, shape or form! It was 1992 when it all started, so 2012 will be our 20th Birthday!

Jason-Why did you decide on the 10mm scale for the miniatures you wanted to produce?

Leon-Dave wanted to do mass games, but with some personality to the figures, as opposed to figure blocks. The first armies he had were for the FPW, with a couple of thousand on the table. The other benefits were of course helpful, with the figures being more detailed than 6mm’s, and much cheaper than 15’s. Add to that the amount of N-scale railway stuff about, which also fits in quite easily, and it was the ideal scale.

Jason-I know that your ranges are very large but for those that don't know, what ranges of miniatures
are currently available from Pendraken?

Leon-As the moment, we have over 3000 products in 10mm scale. We cover everything from Ancients right through to Vietnam, with almost everything in between. Some of the ranges, like our SYW, AWI and FPW are some of the most comprehensive available in any scale I think.

Jason-Can you say what ranges and products are next and what's the future for Pendraken?

Leon-Our two big ranges this year are the new Napoleonics, and the League of Augburg range. The Naps are being done to cover 1809 (Wagram to be specific) but will expand out from there eventually. The League of Augsburg range is being done by the extremely talented Clibinarium, of Late Roman and AWI fame. Other ranges currently in the works include the 1st Schleswig-Holstein War of 1848-51, a revamp of our Republican Romans, and all kinds of other bits and bobs!
We released 327 new products in 2010, so we’re aiming to beat that this year! We’ve managed 250 so far, so we’re well on the way!

Jason- As I’ve already mentioned Pendraken have some of the most varied ranges available to the 10mm wargamer, what do think makes a good 10mm miniature and how do you decide what range will be next?

Leon-There are a lot of things which make a good figure, proportion, detail, accuracy, etc. but it’s a hard question to answer. Really it just has to ‘look’ right, and be up to the standard we’ve set ourselves in recent years.
The design schedule has in recently been put over to the fantastic members of our Forum. They make the suggestions, other members add their votes, and then the most popular items get priority in the designing queue! Over the past year or so, our Forum has been responsible for dozens of new items being added to our ranges, and the system has proved effective.

Jason-The Pendraken trade stand is a familiar sight at most of the wargames shows across the UK and the show reports that you post on your forum have some renown, so how have you found the shows so far in 2011 and for you which is the most enjoyable.

Leon – It’s hard to pick just one out of the calendar! I like all the Scotland shows, as it’s always a friendly atmosphere north of the border. Derby is cool as a weekend away, and a bit of socialising; Salute is madness, but has a ‘big time’ feel to it; York is a great start to the year. And of course our local pair of Smoggycon and Durham are great events too!
Dave – I like Triples, as it’s not too far to go, we can stay overnight and spend a bit of time with other traders/friends. And this year we had a good curry!

Jason-TB Line have started to produce a set of war games rules 'Anticamente', and Ive heard a whisper Magister Militum may be looking at starting a set. So with rules solely for 10mm gaming a little thin on the ground is this something Pendraken may look at in the future?

Leon-Definitely, this is one of our main aims over the next 12 months or so. We’ve got a rough idea of what we’d like to do, but it’s finding the time to get something into motion.

Jason- With a lot of your time spent running Pendraken do any of you have time to play war games?

Leon-Not so much anymore. Dave does try and visit a friend a couple of times a year for a game, but the business takes up all of our free time!

Jason- For anybody who hasn't seen your miniatures or products can you give us the web details and links where these could be found?
Leon-Our website can be found at www.pendraken.co.uk, where you can see some of our latest news and of course buy all of our shiny goodies! But for all the latest updates, pics of the latest masters, etc. you can head over to our Forum: www.pendrakenforum.co.uk. We’ve got a great bunch of friendly and knowledgeable members who are always willing to help other folk, so I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who is into, or thinking of getting into, 10mm gaming.

Jason-Once again thank you Leon and Dave for taking time out and answering my questions for Grade Scale wargaming.

Leon-No worries, thank you for promoting the 10mm scale through your blog, and for running the ‘Best 10mm Manufacturer’ poll each year. We’re going for the hat-trick next year!

A Dark Age Journey from DBA to Hail Caesar via Warmaster.

2011-07-27T07:45:00.000-07:00

I'm not getting a great deal of gaming in at the moment so with the 10mm ECW project still in the thinking process. My thoughts have turned to what Ive got left in 10mm to paint.Ive had a big bag of Pendraken Dark age chaps the 'Anglo Saxons' for ages with some units painted and based and others not seeing the light of day Ive just lost the motivation to paint vast amounts of Warband.So Ive decided to spur me on that I can make two DBA armies out of some of the figures then hopefully this will motivate me into painting more for a Warmaster army then on to an Hail Caesar army, that's the plan.So first off will be the Anglo Saxon and a Dark Age Welsh armies for DBA.

More photos of La Navas de Tolosa 1212, Hail Caesar Battle report.

2011-07-16T04:42:00.000-07:00

Heres some more photos of La Navas de Tolosa 1212, Hail Caesar Battle report.These were taken by Steve(Yorkie) so they show the game from the other side.Thanks for the photos Steve.

La Navas de Tolosa 1212, Hail Caesar Battle report.

2011-07-15T02:05:00.000-07:00

Last night I had my first game of Hail Caesar, as mentioned in earlier posts it was to be a recreation of La Navas de Tolosa(more or less) fought on 16th July 1212 so we weren't far off date wise.So off I went to my local club Coppull and Chorley Knights,CACK for short :-). Even though the club has loads of great scenery I took my own boards, scenery and both armies for that dusty Spanish plains look. The army lists used, again are the ones posted in an earlier post (for those that want to know the lists used),the only changes we made were we dropped the turcopole from the Spanish/crusader western Europe alliance army and added another unit of Berber Spear to the Almohades,we also took the 'Drilled' option off the Mercenary spear.My opponent for this one was to be Steve(Yorkie)of 'Little Legions' Blog fame( for those that haven't seen his Blog here's the link http://yorkie.6sided.net/, give it a look its one of the best Blogs about)
So in the company of a gamer like Steve and a rules set like Hail Ceasar I knew I was in for a great game and I wasn't disappointed.The victory conditions for this one where for the Christians to take and hold the hill in the centre of the Almohade line and for the Almohades to take the Christian camp/baggage within six turns.What follows is a brief report, sorry for the vagueness but it was our first game and we where taking photos,so details taken down were a little non existence.(click the photos for a close up of the action :-)Sorry for the quality of some of the photos,I will be getting some better ones posted shortly)
So on a HOT and dusty Iberian plain both armies lined up and with the shouts and cries of "for god, Alfonso and Spain!!" the Christian army advanced,apart from the left flank which stubbornly held its ground.

With the shouts and cries of "Allah the one true god!! may god be with us!!"
the Almohade left and right flanks advanced whilst the centre stood firm.

The Spanish centre advanced,its left flank still refused to move and the knights on the right flank moved only once,crossbows in the Spanish centre shot and hit a unit of Berber spear at the foot of the hill causing a hit.The Almohade right flank moved to hold the Spanish left at bay and hoped to take advantage of the open Spanish center the light cav moved but the heavy cav failed its command roll to take the center. The mercenary crossbow shot at a unit of Hospitaller knights and sent them back disordered,the Spanish advanced in the center but failed to make it to the Almohade line, the knights on the Spanish right flank charged the Mercenary left flank of the Almohades, this left flank was hard fought for a few turns until the Spanish knights finally broke through.In the centre the Spanish faltered resulting in the Almohades Breaking through and on the right the Almohade cav eventually crushed the Spanish left,so with the Spanish camp/baggage in sight and one combat and move away. Then the Christian knights smashed the Almohade left flank and took the hill and pushed the Almohades off the far side. With this final move the game was over.Here are some photos taken during the battle showing the action described above.Steve also took some photos which I will post as soon as i have them.

Here's a picture of the Knights diving the Almohades off the hill top you'll notice that the thundering hooves made the camera shake:-)

Hail Caesar is a great game I would recommend to anyone, give it a go you will not be disappointed,Warmaster has always been my game of choice,but the king is dead long live the king.

Hmm? Help needed from fellow Bloggers.

2011-07-14T05:14:00.000-07:00

Recently for some reason Ive not been able to post comments on blogs that I'm following(sorry chaps),it doesn't happen all of the time and sometimes it posts my comments as anonymous? Has anyone any ideas what the problem may be?

Jason.

Hail Caesar,La Navas de Tolosa 1212

2011-07-04T04:59:00.000-07:00

After further reading,research and the painting of some more units of Berbers, my Andalusian army has become Almohades with some units Andalusian mercenaries.For my first game of Hail Caesar I will be using the army list as posted previously with a few more Berbers and I'm going to re fight the battle of La Navas de Tolosa fought on 16th July 1212 as best as possible.This will fit in very nicely with the armies Ive got, as the Christian army comprised of various Spanish contingents and also non Spanish which included Templars, Hospitallers and western European knights.

Here's a few pictures I found to whet the appetite.

10mm Hail Caesar Armies.

2011-06-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

Here's some photos of the two armies that will be being used for the first game of Hail Caesar as mentioned in my last post these are Feudal/Crusaders vs Andalusian.The Crusaders/Feudal are from Magister Militum and TB Line and the Andalusians are from Pendraken.These armies are my Warmaster armies and as such have probably been seen previously but I just thought i would post these to show the look of 10mm armies based for Hail Caesar.(as I always say click on photo to enlarge)

And so it begins.

2011-06-27T00:57:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned previously I'm looking to play Hail Caesar with my Warmaster armies.So after a few read throughs of the HC rules I made some magnetic sabot bases to mount the WM units on.The frontage of HC standard Inf units (120mm) is the same as a WM units,depth isn't really an issue but for the look of it I decided to go 40mm depth,so two WM Inf make one HC unit.Cavalry in HC is also 120mm frontage for standard units, so as with the Inf two WM Cavalry make one HC Cavalry.For my Skirmish Inf and Light Horse I will be taking them in small units so Ive gone for a frontage of 40mm so two WM bases frontage and again two deep(4 WM stands). So my next decision has been which armies to try it out with? Romans vs Seleucids, Wars of the roses or my Feudal Europe and Crusader armies? Ive gone for a Feudal/Crusader vs Andalusian both of which are big armies and getting bigger :-) so plenty troops to muster on a dusty field of battle beneath the HOT Iberian sun. So with the Concierto de Aranjuez, Adagio playing in the background Ive put the lists together and here's what you get in HC with around 2250pts of WM.

Feudal Europe/Crusaders, 14 Units in 3 Divisions(commands):-
1st Division:-
4 X knights (heavy cav)Eager, Tough Fighters.
1 X Turcopole (light Cav) Feigned Flight, small unit.

2nd Division:-
2 X spearmen(Heavy Inf)
2 X Crossbow (Heavy Inf)
1 X Skirmisher. Small unit

3rd Division:-
2 X Spearmen (Heavy Inf)
1 X Crossbow/Archer (Heavy Inf)
1 X Peasant/Pilgrims (Medium Inf) Freshly raised.

Andalusian,14 Units in 3 Divisions(commands):-
1st Division:-
3 X Andalusian Nobles and Mercenary Knights (Heavy Cav).
3 X Jinets (Light Cav).Feigned Flight, small unit.

2nd Division:-
3 X Berber Spear (Medium Inf).Fanatic,Wild Fighters.
1 X Berber Archers.

3rd Division:-
2 X Andalusian/Mercenary Spear (Heavy Inf)Drilled.
1 X Archer/Crossbow (Medium Inf)
1 x Skirmish Bow.Small Unit.

I have some more Berber spearmen on the painting table that may be finished before battle commences, if they are I will let them swell the ranks of the Andalusians.
Hopefully I will post some photos of the armies arrayed in the next day or so, and then after that once the battle has been fought I will post an AAR with photos.

The Phalanx Wargames Show, my tale.

2011-06-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the Phalanx show and thought Id tell you a tale I'm sure you already know, we've all been there. At the moment as mentioned in a previous post all projects finished(so I thought) or going along very nicely,looking at moving into ECW 10mm for a change from Medieval(Favorite)and WWII and various other bits.
Woke up this morning not sure if I should go to the show,there nothing I need at the moment maybe a few paints and I could have a look at Pendraken ECW army packs,what the hell I may as well go and have a look, took some cash just in case but I should be bringing most of it back. Got to the show just as doors opened at 10 o'clock Bring and Buy looking very busy I thought I will have a look later and into the main hall we go as always plenty of Traders. First stop for me Dave Lancesters' (of Lance and Longbow fame), book stall, and there it is the book I NEED 'Armies of Feudal Europe 1066-1300' its a book Ive needed for many a year(ask my good friend Tony)but on this day of not NEEDING I NEEDED this book,Dave very kindly gave me a small discount so I bought it :-).First purchase (but I thought I didn't NEED anything?).Next Stop Caliver books to see when the Medieval Warfare magazine is out I know its not out(HMM?)so I will just get a release date and be on my way no need to spend money here "its over there, just in" says the man, Bugger! thinks I, had a look at it Vol 1 Issue 1 and what a great looking thing it is ...How Much!!? but its worth it and I NEED it, I pay for it and I'm on my way to look for more things I don't NEED.call in to say hello to Magister Militum and buy some of their Warmaster bases and I'm off again.Next I stop in at Pendraken to give Leon and Dave the Trophy they won for Best 10mm earlier this year(better late than never) had a nice chat with Leon and Dave then I have a quick look at the ECW army packs I like em but do I NEED them? yes,so I put them back (!?) and have a look at their Arab army packs nice, a pack of these will fill out my Andalusians (which is all Pendraken) :-) next thing Ive bought the Arabs and the paints I needed with a quick cheerio to Leon and Dave I'm on my way again.I had a look on the Bring and Buy, thank god nothing I need from there and so one last look around the show lots of people about, lots of good traders and as always some great looking demo games,though none in 6mm or 10mm that I could see which wasn't good,Had a chat with friends old and new from the various local clubs Ive played at, and was one my way out,one last look at the Kallistra stall next thing I know Ive bought a round tower,connecting walls and another wall section from their resin fortifications range to add to my castle, I didn't NEED it, the castle did. So away went I:-) Phalanx 2011 for me a show not NEEDING anything and came away with a bag full of things I didn't NEED, don't you just love this hobby :-)

Warmaster English Civil War,some quick musings.

2011-06-17T05:48:00.000-07:00

With all recent gaming and painting projects coming along nicely or finished and in need of a change and with the soon to be sold 28mm ECW going,thoughts have returned to ECW but this time in 10mm. Not wanting yet another rules system to use I was thinking of putting together two armies for Warmaster one of the chaps at my local club has come up with two army lists and a few special rules for the period. So after some debate with fellow gamers as to scale, 10mm appears to be most popular.With me putting together both armies it didn't really matter for me but if others are to join in at some point best to go with the general consensus.Looking to try the Pendraken range for this project Ive not used any Pendraken for a while my
10mm Wars of the Roses and El Cid armies are from Pendraken, so it will be a change to revisit an old favorite manufacturer and a new period of history to paint and game with in 10mm.

Templar and Teutonic Orders.

2011-06-16T04:50:00.000-07:00

Here's two units of the knightly Orders one dismounted Knights Templar I painted a while ago and never took photos of to post and the other Teutonic spear that I started a few weeks back. Each unit only took a few hours to paint and base. Primed brown or black,quick base coat each colour then black ink wash or Devlan mud wash and picked out colours again.Certainly not great painting but a good way of getting them on the war games table quick. Photo's not great (as always click to enlarge).I will try and take some better photos next time they are out.

Interview with the man behind TB Line, Fabio Farneti.

2011-06-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months I been thinking about getting the views of some of the people who bring us what we need to wargame in the Grandscale with this in mind I got in touch with Fabio G Farneti the man behind TB Line and he kindly said he'd be happy to do a interview.Now I would have loved to have flown to Italy for the weekend and carry out the interview in person but alas this was not possible,so we carried out the interview via e.mail.What we have here are the transactions of those e.mails.So imagine you are sat at a street side cafe or outside a bar on one of the squares in Bologna with a cappuccino or a glass of wine in hand.Here are some photos to set the scene.

Jason-Hello Fabio, first of all thank you for taking some time out to answer some questions for Grandscale wargaming...
Okay first things first, why, when and where was TB Line born?

Fabio-TB Line was founded in 2007. Why? Well, I would say to unconsciousness and out of necessity. If I had been fully aware of the difficulties that such an adventure would bring with it probably I would not have even begun. I'm not penitent, indeed slowly it is making satisfactions, but our hobby is too niche to be able to dedicate completely to it and also make enough to live on. Fortunately, I possessed and still possess a job that allows me to live peacefully and to achieve some dreams including TB Line. Sometimes I feel a bit limited I'd like to devote more time and energy to the wargame, doing it this way also allows me to be more free in my choices and not necessarily have to follow "the wave" and gives me the time and money to live in the real world beyond wargaming with my family.
I also spoke about the necessity, first of all because I am a three-dimensional wargames player and too often I saw wargames promise sensations, without keeping them. So I decided to see if we could do something about it.

Jason-Why did you decide on the 10mm scale for the miniatures you wanted to produce?

Fabio-I am always been a big fan of small scales. With the small scale can be obtained remarkable mass effects in relatively small spaces. Then the small scales are faster and easier to paint, of course, may not have the details of the 28mm, but the miniatures for the wargame are to be assessed on the battlefield and not in hand. Also in Italy there are few clubs and even fewer who can afford large tables. Often we find ourselves playing on the kitchen table, and if one does not want to give up making sense of what he sees, the small scales are an excellent solution. When I say 4 figures must represent an entire Legion, well then ... make me sad.
I was working on my project and I was quite undecided between the 10 and 6mm, then for the period I wanted to play I thought that the 10mm is better suited than 6mm.

Jason-For those that don't know, what are the ranges of miniatures are currently available from TB Line?

Fabio-At the moment we cover Central Europe, Eastern Europe, the Arabs and the Mongols of the thirteenth century AD then we have the Republican Romans, Carthaginians and Gauls for the Punic Wars.

Jason-Can you say what ranges are next and what's the future for TB Line figures?

Fabio-The next range that will come out soon are Hispanics, Socii Italici and then the Epirotes to try to complete the range on the Punic Wars. These new ranges will add a few outlets for swelling the ranks of the old range.

Jason- Your figures are some of the most detailed available to the 10mm wargamer, what do think makes a good 10mm miniature?

Well I am very pleased of this opinion, although I think there are other manufacturers who do good work. Let's say we focus on quality rather than quantity, so we are not very fast but we do everything to make our miniatures unique. Sometimes we say they are too much for a 10mm, however, a 10mm is always a 10mm, so no one forces you to paint it as a 28mm and in the mass the result will always be still more than acceptable, but if you have time, will and ability with a good 10mm you can still have fun and get great results. If you do not believe look at the images from our site.

Jason-TB Line also produce a set of war games rules 'Anticamente', when and why did you decide on creating a set of rules?

Fabio-Well I could say that was the reason why the TB Line was born. As I said above I have always felt the need to play a true wargame where the three-dimensional field remained three-dimensional from the beginning of the game until the end. Alas, all that I felt in the end was a big disappointment. If you open any rules, there are beautiful photos, with battlefields filled with scenic elements that make you dream and invite you to try it. Then when you move from words to facts, you realize that those photos are artfully made to foist a fake. It is often impossible to play certain rules with real three-dimensional fields and will normally be used by the player who wants to win not the one who likes see his miniatures that are losing ground because they slip on a cliff or because there is doubt about the line of sight because there is an invasive tree. Even the units formation in the field often take the forms unreal, forcibly geometric and regular. Who has ever seen a cavalry charge in which horses can be so aligned as to overcome the performance of a dressage competition. Or have you ever seen a manipulate Roman Legion disposition on a wargame battlefield? I guess the answer is No, because doing so would compromise the game. In reality the fault is not the player that fits what the rules allows him to do, but just the rules. For this reason I began looking for an alternative idea that could reconcile the aesthetics of the three-dimensional wargame with functionality of the game. After several attempts I have come to Anticamente that brings with it the idea of this type of play. Obviously these are only my words but if you want you can check with the images of the Italian Championship Tournament, Go and look so you can judge for yourself.

Jason- With the likes of Pendraken,Magister Militum and Kallistra regular traders at the wargames shows in Europe and the UK will TB Line been seen at any shows in the future?

Fabio-Well it is an idea we have in mind. We want to show our products, but even more the type of game that we propose. We wanted to this year, but I do not know if we can. But certainly is something that will happen

Jason- With a lot of your time spent running Tb Line do you still have time to play war games?

Fabio-Eh, this is a good question. Let's say that my way to live the wargame has changed. Once the pleasure was mainly in the playing of the game, now it is to allow others to play it.

Jason- For anybody who hasn't seen your miniatures or rules can you give us the web details and links where these could be found?

Fabio-Sure, our web site is
www.tridentebologna.it
You will find all our miniatures, all the material necessary to realize a three-dimensional hexagons battlefield and the Anticamente rules, free to download.

We also recommend you to view our blog on Anticamente. Alas, my English is not great but if you settle this is the address:

http://www.tridentebologna.it/blog-english/

Jason-Once again thank you for taking time out and answering my questions for Grand Scale wargaming.

Fabio-Thank you to Jason, and since no dream can be realized alone, I would like to thank my collaborators, counselors and friends Bizzio, Alessandro and Cosimo Marcoe
I recommend you, continue to follow Grande Scale wargaming ;- )

English Civil War.

2011-06-02T05:15:00.001-07:00

Had camera out taking photos of my ECW Army (not all painted) for sale on e.bay so thought I'd post the painted units on here.Its an Parliamentarian army (all Warlord)Ive enjoyed collecting and painting (60% painted) Its great to game with but it just not getting the use it should and there are other projects(10mm), to be buying and getting on with that will get more use. All painted using Army Painter dip.

Feudal spearmen.

2011-05-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

Here's the start of yet another unit for what is becoming a one vast Feudal Europe/Crusader army or I'm looking at making it into two big armies:-).The miniatures are some more from the talented Italian chaps TB Line. Ciao :-)

Another unit of Feudal Europe Knights completed.

2011-05-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

Here's some photos of the completed knights. Miniatures are TB Line,Transfers(used on all but two) are from Veni Vidi Veci 10mm and 15mm ranges and the banner is by Freezywater from the Holy Roman Empire sheet,the heraldry is a little late for these knights, more 14th/15th Cent than 12th/13th Cent but using artistic licence I think it fits in rather well.I started out out wanting to put together a Medieval Scandinavian army,but over the last few units painted they've ended up being Holy Roman Empire on campaign with my other Crusading army or more crusaders. This said the whole army could cover most Feudal/medieval armies of the time.As always click em to make em bigger, but they do look better smaller, not really for up close viewing :-)

A rules set for 10mm?

2011-05-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

Finally got myself a copy of Hail Ceasar,going to give it a go with some 10mm armies to see how it compares with Warmaster, its looking good.Will post up some AAR when battle is complete.

Primed and ready to go.

2011-05-07T11:41:00.000-07:00

Well the knights are now on the horses and shields attached to the knights(TB Line Cav comprise of 3 piece figures).Primed and now the fun starts. Here's a quick (but naff quality) photo of the chaps primed and ready.

Getting back to the 10mm :-)

2011-05-07T06:25:00.000-07:00

Wanting to get back to some 10mm painting and not sure what to paint(Ive a large pile of unpainted 10mm just staring at me every time I go in the cupboard). Ive got a Anglo-Saxon army from Pendraken to finish but just got to be in the right frame of mined to paint all that Warband. So I've decided to add some more TB Line to the Feudal Armies, Here's a couple of photos of the start, IE in the box :-)

'O miserable and luckless race!' or whats been on the painting table lately

2011-05-04T11:33:00.000-07:00

So not posted for a while, heres some photos of whats been happening on the painting and gaming table. At the moment Grand scale painting and gaming is non existent???(why?), as is only fair I will also play others in their chosen scale of 28mm so with the arrival of the 'Clash of Empires' rules I thought I'd best finish off my latest 28mm project.So here is my Wars of the Roses Lancastrian army,apart from the hobilars,(not finished yet or even bought for that matter)I went for a winter basing because I wanted it to represent the winter 1460/61 Wakefield to Towton campaign.I replaced the weapons on the French troops(from the previous photos)from pikes to DHW type, the French Banner is the later French banner not quite sure what it should be I was thinking of using the banner for de Brézé who fought for the Lancs in 1462 but a bit late and I couldn't find a picture depicting what his standard was.I used Perrys mercenaries pike to represent the Scots spear,using muted paint scheme to make them look a little drab,Again the only info for a banner was the arms for Douglas the 5th earl of Angus but he didn't fight for the Lancs until 1462 also I tried to hand paint his banner (couldn't find one ready made) I found this TOOO difficult so decided to use the Scots nation banner which was used in the middle ages, so will do.Coat of arms on the Crossbowman's Pavise is Margaret of Anjou's.The only other banner painted free hand was Henry VI's which I used as the ASB.The Hobliars will take Clifford's banner when they are done.All other banners are Perrys. Just painted for the wargames table and wanted quick so all painted using Army Painter on some fig's or Devlen Mud wash on others to speed things up.Just the Hobilars and some command bases for CoE to finish them off.(Sorry for the photo quality, give em a click for a bit more detail).Hopefully getting back to painting some 10mm soooon.

Anticamente 2011 Milan Tournament.

2011-03-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

Heres some photos I got from the Anticamente Forum of the 2011 Tournament.Theres more photos and a write up on there.Well worth a look.

Pendraken Anglo Saxons.

2011-02-27T03:18:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple of quick photos of some Pendraken Anglo Saxons,Its an army I started ages ago and then put to one side and have now started to paint more units for it.As always click to enlarge.

Battle of Towton 550th Anniversary.

2011-02-16T02:05:00.000-08:00

This year See's the 550th Anniversary of the Battle of Towton England's bloodiest battle even if the numbers of men present and casualties past down where overestimated.If your ever in the area of Towton give the site a visit,not much has changed since 1461(the road is now has tarmac on it) I went a few years ago, went midweek and apart from me and a mate there where only two other people about and managed to get to see every thing we wanted.Here's the link and poster for The Towton Battle field Society.

http://www.towton.org.uk/

Next big rules set for the Grand scale?

2011-02-09T02:19:00.000-08:00

With the departure of Rick Priestly from Warhammer Historical in the last few months it now seems likely that Warmaster will see very little support from them.Warmaster was the rules set that in my opinion brought gaming in the grand scale into the light(so to speak)So what does the future hold for rules sets that put 6mm and 10mm war gaming as a standard? At the moment we've got 'Warmaster' a very good set, the books that are out cover enough periods and I think it will be the main stay for some time to come,but what of the future?
T B Lines 'Anticamente' has just been released a very nice set for Hex gaming if that's your thing (and its free to download)Baccus are releasing 'Polemos'for Ancient to Medieval so this also would be a strong contender.'Impetus' is another rules set that looks and plays very well in 6mm and 10mm.
As always you got the likes of the 'DBX' type games with a new DBA in the process,not strictly a grand scale game but again looks and plays great when played so. And of course there's Mr P's new game 'Hail Caesar' that looks like it may get a 6mm/10mm conversion( thanks to Beccas for the heads up on that) So how will you be playing your Granscale games in 2011?

TB Line launch new Blog for Anticamente.

2011-02-09T02:01:00.000-08:00

The nice Italian chaps over at TB Line have just launched a Blog devoted to their rules set Anticamente,well worth a look if that's your hex game of choice. This Blog even gets a mention so must be worth a look :-)

Here's the link
http://www.tridentebologna.it/blog-english/

And now a word from the winner, Leon from Pendraken....

2011-01-27T09:19:00.000-08:00

Now a few words from Leon of Pendraken,Ladies and gentlemen your winner!!!!....

'Woo hoo! Good to see, I know it was getting very close towards the end there!

I must say well done to TB Line though, for a relatively new company with only a few ranges under their belt, they've done fantastically well. Congrats to Fabio and the team over there.
'Excellent news! I was a bit worried for a while at the end, as TB Line were ahead of us at one point I think? As I've said in the thread, they've done a fantastic job, to beat a company with the size of ranges of MM is no mean feat.

So we'll be going for the hat-trick next year then! '

A few words from the runner up T B Lines Fabio G. Farneti.

2011-01-27T03:36:00.000-08:00

Just recived an e.mail from this years runner up T B Lines Fabio G. Farneti.
Thought id pass them on.Over to you Fabio.....

'For us it was an honor to participate in your poll for the second time.

The second place to a single vote from the first ... a tremendous accomplishment and never expected!

I would thank everyone who voted for us, because doing so encourages us to continue and improve.

I would like to make our congratulations to Pendraken for the good work done in 2010
And finally, thanks to Jason for his wonderful blog and the attention he has towards the 10mm

Fabio G. Farneti'

POLL RESULT TAKEN EARLY!!

2011-01-27T01:57:00.000-08:00

Hello Chaps,
For some unknown reason the poll table for the best 10mm has re-set its self??(how can this be??) to a very odd number saying only 88 votes, when at the final count last night there where nearly 200. Luckily I make a note of the votes each day. So the final result will be taken from last nights vote count.

So the top three best 10mm voted by you are:-

1st Pendraken Miniatures
2nd T B Line
3rd Magister Militum

WELL DONE!!! to Pendraken, with only one vote between first and second it was a close thing.Congrats also to TB Line for picking up a place on last years result and giving Pendraken some good competition.

Normans from Baccus.

2011-01-26T06:59:00.001-08:00

Saw these on the Baccus news page last week so I'm a bit late posting these,but better late than never Normans from Baccus for those that haven't seen them (photo from the Baccus web site). Very nice :-)

Anticamente army lists out now.

2011-01-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

For those who like their war gaming Hex style give Anticamente a go. The first set of army list are now available for free (as is the rule book!) on the TB Line web page.There's also talk that T B Line may be coming to the UK with a tournment or at one of our wargames shows which would be nice to see them along side Pendraken, Magister Militum and Kallistra giving 10mm a good showing :-)

Jason.

Hail Caesar! with the Grandscale?

2011-01-15T01:48:00.000-08:00

Rick Priestley has given lots of details about Warlords new rules set Hail Caesar (on the Warlord web site) and I noticed he mentioned playing the rules with
6/10mm,Hmm? is Mr Priestley looking to bring players over from Warmaster? I think it may well be worth a look.

2011 Projects.

2011-01-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

Well the new year is under way and thoughts turn to projects new.10mm Feudals hopefully Scandinavian and Holy Roman Empire,this may take the form of one army for Warmaster with different command stands and banner equipped bases(with a few different troop types) for use depending on the game being fought.

Also with many thanks to Fabio at TB Line another project is to be started Anticamente and Hex gaming!!!This is something completely new for me a totally different type of rules than I'm used to playing on a completely new field of battle, modular hexes

I thinking of doing a historically accurate(as close as possible)battlefield not sure which to do maybe something from the wars between the Feudal English and the Welsh or Lewes or Maybe the battle beyond the walls of Acre.I will be posting regular updates on the progress of the battlefield, the armies and how the rules play etc.

Jason

6mm BKC Battle Report.

2011-01-05T12:27:00.001-08:00

Not a game I was involved in but it was played at my Local club Copple and Chorley Knights (CACK)and posted on the clubs web site so here it is in all its short 6mm glory.Thanks go to Justin as always for the battle report.

Learning from previous defeats I went for a tank heavy force in fact practically every tank I had in my Italian force and pushing the limit of 18 tanks in a battle group. But I decided to use M13/40's to capture the spirit of using Italians, with a couple of SP A/T guns to help out.
2000 points against Simon P's Hungarians.
I took 5 command groups, a CinC and 4 commanders (2 CV8, 2 CV7) and some infantry - in case the scenario meant that something had to be held or captured. The CV7 commanders controlled the infantry - who cares if they got a poor roll - and the CV8s to the tanks.

Two Italian tank groups and one of the two infantry groups

The terrain was fairly simple, some hedged fields, woods and hills.

Simons plan was simple - same as mine - use the far side of the hill as protection, then come up to the crest and start shooting. But it all went wrong for him, OK the Hungarians got to the crest of the hill but then fluffed their command rolls (CV) and kept on fluffing them, so they were just targets.
On the the other hand the Italians just kept on passing their CV. Need a 5 or a 4, no problem and in fact got 4 double one rolls (do two actions instead of one) in 4 turns. Result a very one-sided game.

Burning Hungarian tanks on that hill!

Italian infantry, waste of time as expected

German artillery was fearsome however, one to watch for.

Best 10mm 2010? As always you decide.

2011-01-03T06:08:00.000-08:00

Well another new year ahead and who knows what the 10mm market will give us? But looking back to last year who do you think gave you the best 10mm quality. Have your vote on the best 10mm poll on the right had column of this page.In last years poll you voted Pendraken the best, will they come top again? You decide.

Jason

Seasons Greetings!!

2010-12-23T11:25:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to wish all the followers and the tooters (for those of you that dont know what a 'toot' is. Its a quick look) a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Jason :-)

Anticamente.

2010-12-21T02:05:00.000-08:00

Here's some news of a new rules set that has been on release in Italian for some time but as from today is available in English. Anticamente is made by and available from TB Line.Its a hex based rules set that lends itself very well to the 10mm and 6mm figure scale.Ive been lucky enough to see a pre-release copy and have to say it looks really well,lots of nice eye candy photos and diagrams to help explain the various mechanics of the game etc.I think it will be a good addition to the market for people who like their games in the Grand scale.Its a release that other 10mm manufactures will like also as it does encourage the use of 10mm etc,(which apart from Warmaster I don't think any other rules set does) so more people buy more armies in this scale. Also the rules as the TB line web site say can be downloaded for free!!:-) or you can purchase a printed copy from them. The TB Line link is on my links list if you need to see more info from them. I think they are and will be one of the bigger players and advocates in the 10mm market in the future,which can only be a good thing.

Trebuchet!!

2010-12-14T11:41:00.000-08:00

I Put this together and painted a few years ago now, a 28mm Trebuchet (Gripping Beast).I know it not in the grandscale but I like it.I really must get back to some 10mm soon!!

With winter here.

2010-12-13T12:32:00.000-08:00

With winter here thought Id post some photos (staying with the Italian theme) of a tournament in Rome that I saw first posted on the Impetus Forum sometime back ...Maybe we should all war game in Italy? Summers just around the corner:-) If you are in the photos and want it removing let me know and I will remove.

10mm Wargaming in Italy.

2010-12-13T11:44:00.000-08:00

For those of you who haven't seen Wargaming in Italy take a look.Here's a link to an Italian Blog In this post the author Massimo Moscarelli becomes the Italian champion of Anticamente ( an Italian rules set by TB Line) Its well worth a look for some of the 10mm battles on show. Look out for the photo of the not very happy looking chap with the beard(Very funny). I was unable to hyper link so youll have to copy/paste,Sorry.

http://www.massimomoscarelli.it/leadaddicted/?p=412

Vikings in 6mm

2010-12-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

A while ago I posted some photos of Baccus(6mm) Vikings in the green stage. Well now the goodly fellow (Peter) at Baccus has posted up some painted up and based.And very nice they are too. Here's a photo from the Baccus Web site.

Who will you vote for?

2010-12-13T06:21:00.000-08:00

With the end of another year in Grandscale Wargaming drawing near I will looking to post the poll for who was best in 2010 so get your thinking caps on and be ready to vote.

Another unit of the BIG chaps.

2010-11-21T04:52:00.001-08:00

Ive been adding to a Lancastrian War of the Roses army in 28mm(BOO HISS!!??)project that's been on going for longer than I care to mention,heres the Continental Pikemen allies from France to fight for Margret of Anjou.

T B Line Republican Romans

2010-11-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

Here's the first veiw of the Republican Romans from T B Line(Yep they are 10mm!!!)
Very Nice :-) Enjoy.

Thanks to Fabio at T B Line for sending me the photo.

Jason

6mm Vikings from Baccus.

2010-10-22T03:07:00.000-07:00

For those who haven't already seen these, here's the greens of Baccus Vikings

Gauls from TB Line.

2010-10-20T01:24:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest offering from TB Line The Gauls, as always very nice. TB Line fast becoming a force to be reckoned with in the 10mm arena. I think a UK supplier would help their cause.

Links updated

2010-10-02T01:20:00.000-07:00

Ive just added two new links for 6mm these are Rapier Miniatures, nice miniatures they remind me of early Baccus.And Irregular great for equipment and scenery.also updated the link for H&R as the old one wasn't working.

A VERY brief battle report.

2010-10-01T05:39:00.000-07:00

Last night we ran a 1250pt Warmaster Ancients game for some new chaps using 6mm Baccus (apart from the camels which are H and R) Armies. Heres Justins take on the game,the photos where taken around the last turn and only on one half of the table there where more units on the table(honest).By the way this is the second time in two weeks he's lead Rome to defeat :-)

OK we ran the WMA intro game last night.

Jason provided both 6mm armies. Imperial Romans vs Seleucids, 1250 points a side.

The Romans were mostly legionaries with some artillery, archers, auxila and a bit of cavalry to back them up.

The Seleucids were a real mix of; pikes, cataphracts (heavily armoured lance armed cavalry), elephants, camels, foot and cavalry skirmishers.

As well as Jason and myself, John, Shaun and Colin were also participating.

Sorry there are not loads of pictures but I was rather busy - as well as having my supper at the same time.

After smashing through on the right - destroying some Seleucid light cavalry, camels and 3 units of pikes - the Romans advance and subsequently destroy a unit of skirmishers, using a unit of legionaries, heavy cavalry and auxila. Confident of victory, Jason can be seen saying 'bring it on!"
The Seleucids counter-attack and it is a disaster for the Romans. A unit of pikes and cataphract cavalry charge into a unit of legionaries but the most significant event was the Seleucid elephants charging the Roman heavy cavalry (circled in red), led by the Roman CinC. As was almost certain, the elephants slaughtered the cavalry and killed the Roman commander. Victory to the Seleucids.

Good game, a lot of aspects of the game covered and at least another 2 players joining Jason in the march towards 6mm armies.

6mm Dark age coming soon from Baccus

2010-09-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

Just read the news section on the Baccus site and looks like they will be producing some Viking, Saxons and Normans soon Hmm? I Must say I normally wouldn't look at doing any of those in the grand scale but with further consideration 6mm Normans could be being ordered.

Total battle Miniatures.

2010-09-22T03:03:00.000-07:00

I saw a 15mm scale display by these chaps a few years ago and to be honest Ive not seen better since. Now they've started producing for the 6mm and 10mm market so I'm sure they will be worth a look.Ive added the link to the list.

Diorama. Siege of Jerusalem

2010-09-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

Put this together and painted about two years ago,but as Gripping Beast and Musketeer are now together I thought Id post these. Crusaders and Siege Tower are from the Beasties and the Arab type chaps are from Musketeer.

Another Command Stand.

2010-09-12T03:00:00.000-07:00

Here the latest command stand for my Feudal German army as before figures TB Line, the helms are different on these chaps and banner Freezywater painted over.

Medieval German Command Stand..

2010-09-09T01:56:00.000-07:00

Here's the start of a new 10mm Warmaster project.I'm going to put together a Medieval German Army.I will use the Barbarossa list from the book,its a little early for what I want but its usable. I'm going to use the Medieval range from TB Line, this will be the first time Ive used their Figs. I must admit these seem to be the best on the market at the moment a little fiddly to put together as the Cavalry come in three parts(Rider,Shield and Horse)but they are a fantastic figure to look at and paint. Ive not yet bought the remainder of the army (I got these Figs from VVV) so I'm not sure what the service from Italy will be but will let you know when I do.Well Ive gone on enough so here's the latest..Figures are TB LINE, Transfers are VVV, Banner is FREEZYWATER(painted over). Sorry about the quality of the photos,a new camera needed, so as always click to enlarge.

DBA...As good as its always been.

2010-09-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

Many years ago my Historical gaming started with DBA which I played none stop for at least two years, then off I went to discover all the other various rules sets and there(as you know) lots of good rules out there,Recently seeing Yorkies (steves) blog reports using DBA I thought hmm? I Could use my Impetus and warmaster armies for some quick war gaming. And you know...Its still a great game and as the introduction says ..."a tonic for the jaded..." And with possibly a new addition on the horizon things are looking up.. so hopefully there will be some DBA reports coming up in the next few weeks :-)

More Pendraken Tents.

2010-09-05T02:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a few more photos of the progress my Medieval camp using Pendraken 10mm tents,as before transfers are from VVV.Next I will add some wagons and some sort of field defence.

New Bridges from Kallistra

2010-09-02T08:57:00.001-07:00

Heres the new 10mm scale bridges from Kallistra would cover any period from Medieval onwards.

10mm Pendraken Medieval Camps.

2010-09-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

I bought some Pendraken Medieval tents a while ago and with the thought of using camps in Warmaster Medieval (using house rules).This week I decided to put some paint on them, here's the first two.The heraldry isn't from any retinue or knight.I hand painted the Ermine on the smaller tent and the Fleur de lis are transfers from VVV medieval ranges.Trees and tree stumps are from Wood land scenics. (as always with the 10mm scale photos click to enlarge)

10mm In the Wargames press get it wrong...Agian.

2010-08-30T03:26:00.000-07:00

Just reading through this months Wargames Illustrated, as always very a good wargames mag :-)....But as always showing photos of 10mm armies they got it wrong under a photo of a HYW era army they put ' archers at Bannockburn..'!!??(there's even knights on foot in full plate and a French banner and knight wearing Hounds Hood or Dogs Face Bascinet) when will the war games press do a good article on 10mm war gaming and show the right figure with the right caption. If it had been in 28mm and they have used HYW figures to show the battle of Bannockburn I'm sure the letters and e.mails would nave poured in.The miniatures are available for the Bannockburn era so why not use them?

This weeks game.(BKC2)

2010-08-13T01:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a AAR of this weeks game of BKC2.The report and photos are by Justin (thanks Justin).I think Ive put the photos in the right order. (as always click on photos for a larger view)Enjoy:-)

OK so we had planned a big 6 player game but it got mucked up because we thought that Simon P and Oliver were coming down but they are due next week instead. So OK only 4 of us (Jason, James, Rob and me) a combined British/Russian force vs a German holdout force (based near a Tiger factory it seems). Scenario 6 Exploitation. In this game the table is divided into 3 bands; front, central and rear. If the attackers (the allied force) can capture the middle band they gain a minor victory and if they can capture the rear zone they get a major victory. Oh yes and they have 8 turns to do it in.
Forces; 4400 to the allies (they rolled +10%) and 2400 to the Germans (we rolled -10%). The German forces where mainly spent on Tigers (2 Tiger I and 3 Tiger II) with just enough infantry to claim the sectors. We were using 6mm models, basically to try the rules out but no reason not to use a larger scale - say 15mm - for better visual effect. Our 6mm armies work out about £40 a head (with a lot more tanks than we were using in this game.
The battlefield, with the Germans deployed in the central and rear zones, The allies use mobile deployment and move on from the table edge. German defences are based on a wood on the left (held by 2 Tiger I's) a wood in the centre bristling with German infantry (with panzershrecks) and hill on the right, dominated by a Tiger 2.

That heavily defended wood in the centre

Hill on the right with the Tiger II. More German infantry are manning the nearby hedges to protect the Tiger from close assault.

And on the left the wood held by Tiger I's supported by an infantry team.

The British arrive on the table, one tank brewed up by long range fire from the Tigers and 3 infantry groups suppressed.

The British artillery lays down a smoke screen to protect them from German fire but it drifts off target still allowing the Germans some targets.

British tanks taking fire but no tanks destroyed, just suppressed.

On the right the Soviets advance, T34s with infantry following on foot behind.

After overrunning the German infantry (who had no anti-tank weapons) the T34s advance and destroy the Tiger 2's. One was destroyed by an air strike and the other by massed fire from the advancing T34's.

Close up on the T34s

With the German right flank crushed, the Soviet infantry claimed the rear zone and contested the central zone. A major victory for the allies. We the Germans felt as the actual Germans must have felt in WW2. The allies dominating the skies and our superb tanks grossly out numbered by the attackers. I must buy some anti-tank guns.

VVV Release new 10mm Transfers.

2010-08-05T06:03:00.000-07:00

VVV have just released their new sets of 10mm medieval transfers great for putting on barding,banners or shields. Ive got mine(THANKS JUSTIN) and will be painting up some medievals to put them on, here's some photos from the VVV web site.

Every now and then.

2010-08-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

As much as I enjoy painting any gaming in the Grandscale,every now and then I like to paint and game some 28mm. NO NEVER? BOO! HISS! I hear you say.But its true and heres my latest.

Blitzkrieg intro game.

2010-07-16T02:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick AAR of this weeks game.It was an intro game to Blitzkrieg Commander v2for my opponent Robb.Played with 2 British armies (a very British Civil War). Photos and report by Justin.

Now we have been playing a few games of Blitzkrieg Commander 2 over the last weeks and I think that finally everything came together last night. Commanders were being used correctly and with opportunity fire, which can blunt if not stop an attack.

The battlefield set up, objective the farm house (circled in red). Both sides using 2000 point forces of late war British, with Jason favouring Shermans and Rob using Cromwells.

Robs forces capture the objective and start setting up a defensive position occupying the nearby fields and creating areas of crossfire.

Robs forces are in place, just as Jason is approaching the area.

At the road junction a firefight breaks out with no particualr advantage to either side except that Robs Cromwells had the cover of the hedge. In the end all the Shermans were destroyed for no loss to the Cromwells.

Jason tries to cross the open fields to the objective but gets caught in the crossfire and wiped out. Even jammy die rolls, like the 4 saves (5+ needed) out of 4 hits (pictured) could not save him. A successful artillery strike disrupted the defenders (especially the infantry) but after huge losses, the attack ended there.

There was much debate during the game about what things would be like if we were using air power!

6mm Mid/Late War British for Blitzkrieg Commander.

2010-07-15T05:40:00.000-07:00

Just one quick photo of my 6mm Mid/Late War British for Blitzkrieg Commander.6mm is a good scale to game in but unless on mass Ancient,Dark age or Medieval its not a good scale to view photos of.

Crusaders.

2010-07-15T05:23:00.000-07:00

Now that my 2000pt Warmaster Crusader army is finished here's some photos.Ive gone for Later Crusaders around 1291.This is the army that was defeated last week.(see battle report below)

Warmaster battle Report.

2010-07-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a report on this weeks game.the report was done by my opponent Justin.

Looking to try something different, Jason suggested a Warmaster Siege set in the Holy Land. Two equal point forces with the Crusaders defending a walled city with a cavalry relief force and the besieging Arabs equipped with 2 trebuchets (class as heavy artillery), two siege towers, 2 sets of ladders and a battering ram.
A wacky game, where the dice rolled high and low - mostly favouring the Arabs I have to say. Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures, I had forgotten my normal camera and instead relied on my phone camera.
The setup with my forces having to get over the wall, past the defenders and capture the church within a time limit of 8 turns.

My plan was to weaken the walls with shooting then storm the walls using the two siege towers supported by the ladder equipped units. The siege towers once in place would allow other units to follow behind, so each unit of 'pushers' was supported by another unit of spearmen, ready to follow in support. I used my best spearmen to lead the attack. My cavalry and some ordinary spearmen were kept in reserve to deal with the Crusader relief force.
The Crusader knights arrived on-table and promptly threw a blunder command roll (double 6), If it my forces had been any closer, then the Crusaders would have retreated off the table away from my forces. As it was they stayed where they were debating to advance or not.

My cavalry await their enemies, light horse to the front.

As my forces approach the walls, the Crusaders sally out with a unit of knights.

Close up on the attacking infantry

The sally is highly effective, wiping out a unit of my archers and the ladder carrying infantry and forcing the infantry pushing a siege tower back, At one stroke, half my attacking forces have been neutralised.

But I counter-attack and eliminate the attacking cavalry. Typically (according to Jason) attacking the one stand they have remaining from both front and side.

The advance continues

And lo the walls come tumbling down. A very (very) lucky shot destroyed a section of the wall and all the defenders manning it. The way is open!

And just make matters worse for the defenders, one of the siege towers hits the adjacent wall section and overpowers the Cruaders.

But the Crusader relief force is making progress although disrupted by having to force their way past the Arab light cavalry

And then they fluff it. A charge by the Crusader knights goes horribly wrong. They lose the first round melee (shown in picture) and then the Arab cavalry pursue and annihilate them.
Breaking through the open section of the walls (with an insanely good command roll of double 1) my spearmen are advancing on the church (as per objective) when the Crusader army breaks and flees. With the loss of the entire relief force, many of the walls defenders and the units that sallied out of the city, the pressure was just to much and they fled in terror.

What won the game for me was the sudden and unexpected collapse of that section of wall. It was the weakest section of wall (defence value 3) but the trebuchets had been hitting it on a nice average basis (6 attack dice and one point of damage a turn) but then a rolled a 6, immediately the defence value fell to zero and I could pour troops in. Much easier than attacking over an intact wall - although siege towers are winners for this. I did not place much faith in the ladder equipped units, so was timing their attacks to support the siege towers. In the end they were not used, as one unit was wiped out in the sally and the other dropped their ladders when they saw the collapsed wall and went through the gap instead.

Horrible dice for Jason, although you could say that he won because they were all his figures!

Take a look here.

2010-07-07T01:09:00.000-07:00

I've just recently found this Blog and very good it is too.Highly recommended for those of us who prefer the Grand Scale.. Take a look :-)

http://warmasterdk.blogspot.com/

10mm Demo Game?

2010-07-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

I found this photo on a site linked to the TB Line website,I think its from a war games show in Italy.Just thought id post.Click to enlarge. Not sure of rules being used possibly Basic Impetus or just set up to show TB Line Miniatures and Hex board system. Looks like Teutonics against Polish.

10mm Transfers from VVV.

2010-07-02T01:16:00.001-07:00

Heres some of the 10mm transfers (on Kallistra minitures from the VVV web site) from VVV Medieval range,there are more due out soon I hear.For full selection etc click on vvv on links list.

New from TB Line..Islam..Very Nice.

2010-06-03T05:01:00.000-07:00

T B Line have just released Islamic figures so just thought Id post a few. I like them but are they as good as Magister Militum?

Photos of this weeks battle.

2010-04-10T02:37:00.000-07:00

Played a game of Warmaster this week at my local club (Copple and Chorley Knights, otherwise known as CACK). I took my Lancastrians and my opponent Justin took his Holy Roman Empire as Yorkist. Here are some photos taken by Justin during the game (a full report can be found on the WAB forum as posted by Justin),here's the link

http://wabforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=7370

The armies are from Pendraken(Lancs)and Kallistra(York) the transfers on the Kallistra miniatures are from Veni Vedi Veci Justin's transfer company and very nice they are too, well worth a look. As always click to enlarge

The best 10mm as voted by you is.........

2010-04-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

Well all the votes are in (a BIG thanks to all for voting, there were nearly 200 votes).
As I type I'm opening the golden envelope and the winner is....... with 49% of the votes PENDRAKEN!!!Congratulations to them. Here are the final results:-

1st Pendraken.
2nd Magister Militum.
3rd TB Line.
4th Kallistra and Steve Barber Models( Joint 4th).
5th Old Glory.

Thanks again to all that voted lets see what 2010 will bring for next years poll.

Jason.

T B Line (quick reveiw).

2010-03-17T03:57:00.000-07:00

Just had a look at some of the TB Line miniatures, and I have to say they are very nice. In size they are somewhere between Magister Militum and Pendraken. But as with a lot of 10mm at the moment I'm not sure if you could mix them with any of the above in the same army,that said I'm going to get some and try and mix them into my Magister Militum Crusaders.The mounted figures I looked at came in 3 pieces(rider, shield and horse)and the packs contain 24 foot and 12 Mounted.In style they reminded me very much of Vexillia but in 10mm (must be the Italian styling)
I believe it took some time to get them from Italy (Italian post apparently). But they appear to be well worth the wait. My rating would be 9 out of 10 as the 3 piece riders may prove a little tiresome if putting a large mounted force together.

Thanks to Justin @ VVV for letting me borrow new figs for above review.

First Mamluks.

2010-02-14T09:03:00.001-08:00

Here's some photos (sorry about the quality) of the first units of The Mamluks. The miniatures are from the Saracen and Islam during the Crusades ranges from Magister Militum. As you will have noticed no banners yet, I think I will be using LBM 15mm Islam banners.

Magister Militum latest Medievals.

2010-02-09T02:15:00.000-08:00

As I posted in December Magister Militum have added some later Medievals to their ranges so here's some photos from their web site.

Who's the best?...you decide.

2010-01-29T04:18:00.000-08:00

Its time to register your vote who's your favorite 10mm manufacturer? Just a bit of fun I might even e.mail a certificate to the company that wins!! So put your vote on the pole chart.If your not sure what each one looks like click on the links and have a look:-)

Navwa sell Heroics and Ros.

2010-01-29T02:14:00.000-08:00

Navwar have sold off the Heroics and Ros 6mm, The range has gone back to being Heroics and Ros. The link has been amended on the links list.

T B Line Miniatures.

2010-01-28T02:08:00.000-08:00

Here's some Photos of T B Line 10 mm Medieval, I don't have any of their Figs but thought Id post these along with a link to the web site(link is on links list). The Medieval figs seem to be their own but the Ancient and Dark ages are Pendraken. Top paint job who ever painted them:-)