(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Warlord Games” September 2023

“War means fighting, and fighting means killing.”

Having thoroughly enjoyed my first few games of ACW Epic Battles Black Powder over at the Solent Wargamers Club in Portsmouth, I thought that this month I'd once again focus upon my 15mm Confederate Army for Rick Priestly and Jarvis Johnson's rule-set. I'm probably a little over a third of the way through the "Warlord Games" miniatures I need to paint for a small scale game, and therefore hope to 'lick' at least another three twenty-figure stands into shape over the next four weeks.

However, whether all of these soldiers will be Johnny Rebs is debatable, as I'd quite like to start building a similarly-sized Union force up to act as opposition for a dedicated campaign or two. To that end I have purchased and started work on a battalion of Iron Brigade - something I ultimately envision consisting of an impressive fifteen infantry stands spread across three "regular" regiments.

"Wargames Foundry" WIPs - Four primed Napoleonic Russian infantrymen

In addition to these rather optimistic goals, I am hoping to start a somewhat more manageable Napoleonic project using various 28mm metal figures by "Wargames Foundry" - after discovering an absolute ton of the Nottingham-based manufacturer's old blisters in my loft. I have previously attempted a few similar enterprises in the past, most notably using "Victrix" plastics way back in 2011 and then again in 2017-2018. But the sheer scale of pigmenting such a colossally colourful endeavour has always sapped my enthusiasm quite quickly.

This time round though, I intend to begin with just a handful of miniatures aside, and rather controversially use/adapt "Xenos Rampant" by "Osprey Publishing" for some skirmishes. This should allow me to pick and choose particular sculpts which catch my eye (or rather have few white straps) and perhaps over time help me build towards a large enough collection where I can potentially consider Black Powder. or General d'Armee/Sharp Practice by "Two Fat Lardies", Furthermore, I aim to 'field' a mixture of different Allies against the French Empire, so will initially be adding some more Russian infantrymen to my already finished British Riflemen for a tenuous Third Coalition force.

August 2023 - "Pendraken Miniatures" & "Warlord Games" trump the resin-based "Big Mr Tong"

Astoundingly, my productivity currently appears to be at an all-time high for this point in the year, with last month proving my busiest August since 'records began'. Indeed, my obsession with "Pendraken Miniatures" 10mm metal WW2 range and "Warlord Games" array of 15mm plastic ACW models, has remarkably proved my belief that 3D printed figures would dominate my hobby-time this year as being completely wrong.

It would also seem that my interest in 28mm scale wargaming is on a surprising decline, probably thanks to my developing love of large-scale rule-sets which allow me to provide 'flanking sweeps' with regiments/armoured units. My intention to play some small-level Napoleonic encounters may well slightly address this imbalance over the next four weeks. But with most of my focus settling upon the American Civil War, I don't see me presently having the time to apply a few coats to many more larger-sized miniatures...