A Western Adventure

 I have been lazier than usual and have neglected the blog.

I went on a small trip to visit my brother and his family in Perth.

While there I also visited my brother's wargame club.

First up a photo of the Indian Ocean

Unlike Sydney where all the houses are built right to the ocean, in Perth they leave a lot of space which makes it a lot more natural. Perth is a lovely city, really well planned and easy to get around. Just a long way away. 5 hours from Sydney by plane.. only 4 hours going back because of tail winds.

Off to the wargames club Napoleonic Wargaming Society

It is run in the rooms of a lawn bowling club and has lots of tables and a very welcoming group of gamers.

My brother and his friend were playing a game of König's Krieg to refresh their memory of how it works. Hence the rather bare table. 

I got the usual little brother job of rolling his dice. 😂😂I did alright until an important morale roll where he said "Anything but a 6 Ben"... you can guess what I rolled 🤣 Scratch one infantry battalion and one artillery unit.

Now something never before seen on my blog. Eye Candy.

One of the other things I discussed with my brother is Vauban Fortresses. I have always wanted to have one in my collection but have held off as they are difficult to game with as they will occupy the bulk of any table making it impossible to properly attack them. 

He has resolved this issue by proposing to build one that is on a river or sea. This means the fortress is on the side of the table and you can effectively use all of it. There were many actual forts like this. 

An example.

Anyway, back to normal programming soon.

French Napoleonic 3rd Line Infantry

 

The French 3rd Line Regiment leaves the painting desk.

Another unit painted in what feels to be an endless march towards completing this project.

3rd Line Regiment in column

Painted with a mix of contrast and normal acrylic paints.

Bases still need to be flocked.

10mm Figures and flags from Pendraken.

Painting Progress

150 of        300 Line Infantry        10 units of 30        Completed 50%

55 of        55 Skirmishers              5 units of 11        Completed 100%  YAY!

60 of      60 Cavalry                    4 units of 15        Completed 100%   YAY

9/36 of   9 Guns with 36 crew.                                Completed 100%    YAY

5 of        5 Command stands.                                    Completed 100% YAY

Fast Terrain

 Sometimes things appear that just amuse me and I am afraid they will disappear if I don't act immediately.

Such was a McDonalds' toy my grand daughter brought home.... a small McDonalds building just about right for 10mm.

Being a good grandfather I decided that I shouldn't steal hers and went online to see if I could buy one. Luckily there are numerous vendors catering to odd souls like me who want a McDonalds toy without the trouble of eating any hamburgers.

So for the princely sum of $12 delivered I received it through the mail a week later.

I also decided that it would need a carpark and driveway for the drive through orders. So a quick sketch on some paper combined with some 1mm thick plastic sheet, a random piece out of the bits box for the ordering machine, some arrow decals from 40k space marines, some flock and I was ready.

The final result. It fits in OK with the buildings on the right that are two stories.

Being defended by the US Army against any commies, zombies, aliens or mutants.

For 10mm a flat roof is ideal as it gives the TOW missile somewhere to hide as well as making it easy to show which troops are in the building. As you can see it is a little small but still looks OK.

It packs away easy, the cars are separate too so we can show it busy or closed and the building can be used by itself.

It even comes ready for skirmish wargames 🤣

I had thought about giving it a new coat of paint but have left it as is for now. Expect to see it on any modern battlefield I make in the future.

Anyway, a very silly thing and a quick project (less than two weeks from thought to completion!) that leaves me more satisfied than a few of their hamburgers 😂

Back to more Napoleonic's soon (sorry Stew)