The Secret Project Revealed!

Several months ago, I was planning to paint three armies for 1066. I'd purchased all the miniatures, started working on the army lists and basing options, and found a set of rules that I was excited to try. Then I had a call from Ray. "Fancy working on a collaborative project?" he asked. "What about the 1812 Retreat from Moscow?". Before the phone call had finished, I had already made my first online purchase. 

This is a period that I have wanted to do for a long time, but the idea of taking on the whole thing single-handed was daunting. I've never painted any Napoleonic figures before, and aside from fantasy figures for D&D or Frostgrave, I rarely paint anything in 28mm. So from the beginning, this was going to be a huge but exciting challenge. And of course, the best forum for a challenge of this nature is the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge which starts in a little under two weeks. 

I have taken on painting the Russians for this project, and so far I have purchased a mixture of North Star figures (from their Muskets & Tomahawks range) and of course from Perry Miniatures. Both Ray and I want to use Sharp Practice II for this project so unit sizes are small (8 figures per unit in most cases). That suits me just fine because I am moving outside my comfort zone where I normally paint 6mm or 15mm figures. 

Although we have not yet been able to get started on these armies, we have been able to get a lot of prep done before the Painting Challenge starts on the 21st of December. However, a significant portion of my army is currently in the hands of my wife, who is giving me the gift of Cossacks and Russian artillery this Christmas. 

And what has happened to my 1066 project? Well, the tree armies are mounted on sticks ready to be primed, but will now be completed after the Retreat from Moscow. I will complete them in time, but I can feel the chill wind of the Russian Steppe calling to me. I have to say, buying 28mm in large quantities for the first time in over thirty years has been quite a shock to the wallet! Three 6mm armies for 1066 have cost half what I have already spent on this new project, and there are still a couple of extra units like the Opolchenie Militia and Hussars that I haven't purchased yet. 

Hopefully, I can get the first figures for this completed quickly (I have some time off over Christmas, so I can get more painting time!) and of course, I will post updates here and on the Channel as the project comes together. 

No Video Today 😔

No video today I'm afraid. The gastrointestinal bug that I have had for the last three weeks has not gone away and if anything is making me feel even worse. I've managed to crawl into work this week because I had some training I couldn't get out of, but the end result has been crawling right into bed as soon as I got home.  So no painting, and certainly no writing or filming. I'm hoping I'll be back to normal soon (the Painting Challenge starts in just a couple of weeks) but I've been thinking that for a while. 

Instead, I have pulled this one from the back catalogue. I know some of you enjoy my videos on a Sunday (thank you) so hopefully this can fill the gap.

Keep an eye open on Wednesday for a special announcement. I'll be revealing the 'secret project' that I have been collaborating on with a friend of mine for a few months. No painting has happened yet, thats for the Painting Challenge, but a lot of technical details have been worked out between us. I'm itching to get started as this will be my first collab project and I'll be stepping outside of my comfort zone as you will see when all is revealed on Wednesday. 

Skirmish Wargaming vs Roleplaying Games

Are Skirmish Wargames and Roleplaying games with an element of combat just the same thing? Or are they two sides of a different coin?

 

Star Wars...in the shed-o-war!!

Wonders will never cease, and this weekend, the rejects witnessed the arrival of sci-fi in Stuart's Shed-o-War for the first time. Steve has been painting models from Star Wars Legion for quite a while now and kept threatening to bring a game to the shed for the Rejects. After joining our ranks a few years ago, this was his first outing as an umpire for the Rejects. And he did pretty well for his first rodeo! 

Storm Troopers moving into position. Amazingly they were not as bad a shot as they are in the films! 

Indeed this squad's shooting was incredible, giving the Imperial forces their first kills of the battle. 

Although outnumbered, there was a huge cast of characters on the Rebel side. Now if they can just get them into range we'll have something to shoot at! 

Our AT-ST stands very imposing in the centre of the table, ready to dish out some suppression fire.

This squad had a rocket launcher so would attempt (poorly) to keep the Rebel snow speeder from causing too much damage. 

Steve explains that Surjit has positioned his AT-ST in exactly the wrong position because it cannot step over obstacles. Sujits pain was palpable. 

These little rebel walkers were a real pain and their armour
made hitting them very difficult. 

Steve did an excellent job of navigating a bunch of Star Wars Legion newbies through the rules. The first turn was a bit slow but we soon picked things up. 

Some of Surjits Storm Troopers. We had a lot of troopers.

My Imperial Bodyguard. Tough, and deadly, they made short work of an enemy scout squad from their elevated position. 

Meanwhile, the Speeder swung around the flank to try and destroy the AT-ST. Thankfully the pilot needed to go to Specsavers and didn't hit a thing. 

However, with a rear canon, the speeder can shoot in two directions at once! How unsporting!!

I had two Speeder Bike units on the table. I really liked their speed and firepower but got too close to an imperial robot which attacked them as they tried to fly past. 

Meanwhile, Vader gives an inspiring speech... that was about it for his involvement I the game. 

Rebel Scum hiding behind a barricade. 

Han and Chewie likewise took cover and hunkered down for most of the game. 

Surjit moved the AT-ST but now he's pointing in the wrong direction, with his rear to the rebel speeder and to make matters worse the pilot can't hit a thing with the Las-Cannons. 

Not only Sci-Fi in the shed, but we even got Stuart to take some pictures on a mobile phone. Somehow he managed to click away and didn't take a single picture. He really is the man the 21st Century forgot,  bless him. 

We only managed to get three turns completed, partly because we were new to the rules and partly because the game was very large and there was a lot to activate. Steve did an admiral job of keeping us on track, without looking his mind in the process. Even died-in-the-wool historical player Stuart enjoyed himself so I think we can call this experiment with sci-fi a success. Steve has promised us a follow-up game in the new year and we're going to hold him to it.