Catch up.

Real life took over last week, well that and one of the best days of rugby I've ever witnessed! So I didn't get time to blog.

The last couple of weeks have been utilised tidying up my BUF cavalry squadron and finishing off some terrain pieces, which took a lot longer them I imagined.

Cavalry Squadron

I've not yet named them, although I do have a pennant, which needs to be printed and added. 

Terrain

Where I work requires a thirty-five mile trip through the Cheshire countryside. Since the last thirty years I've spent in an urban environment this has been a pleasant change.What it has done, as well as being able to marvel at beauty of the English countryside, has allowed me to study it in a bit more detail. This is good as a VCBW campaign is fought over it. What struck me most is the vast amount of hedge/field boundaries. Therefore I chose to construct some more. So here they are. 

There are many others and the means of making them can be found on my now silent blog, here: http://lrqan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/building-fences-1-and-weird-year.html and here; http://lrqan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/fences-2-end.html

The only difference is that I used polystyrene 'pizza' bases for these ones.

Now I'm fully prepped my campaign may start. At last!  (38fest15, prep is still ongoing).

Thanks for reading. Have a good time until next time and enjoy the spring.

Rob.

On the 'blackstuff' (not Guiness! Road building).

Firstly, welcome to Stuart. Thanks for following.

I've always struggled with roads and highways on my tables. Consequently I've tried tens of ideas. This is my latest trial, which I particularly like. NB It is a lift from someone else, but I can't find it again. I think it ma be on pintrest (facebook).

Step I

Collecting supplies. A trip to the pound shop and I picked up a pack of self-adhesive floor tiles. All for you guessed it 'a pound'.

Then off to a pet shop to purchase some 'fish tank gravel'. About £5.00. There are plenty of different styles and colours. I just chose this one, there's even some muti-coloured ones for you fantasy players out there ('Follow the yellow brick road!').

Step II

Using a coupe of models I measured what width I wanted. There are two; a wide one allowing for two vehicles; a narrow one, half that size. Which were then cut to size. The nature of the tiles means that you can do it with scissors.

Step III

Pour out the gravel into a suitable container. Top Tip: Get a container big enough to fit the biggest piece. I'm still awaiting the ramifications of the Viscountess when she finds tiny black and grey pebbles in the dining room.

Step IV

Peel off the backing and immerse 'roadway' in gravel. Tip: I found that laying them 'sticky side' up and the covering the strips better then pushing the strips 'sticky side' down onto the gravel.

Step V

Apply some pressure to the newly laid surface, then shake/stroke of excess pebbles. Then viola!

Narrow

Wide

Some WIP BUF cavalry on a narrow strip.

To do:

I think I'll finish them off by by coating them with a solution of PVA glue and water and or a spray of varnish.


Thanks for popping by. (Cheers to whoever out me onto this, also).

Rob.

A bit of something and 38 FEST 2015.

Now usually if I want a piece of terrain I'd scratch build it. However, last year I got a gift card for a local hobby store. Sadly, this place was geared really to trains and RC models. As such I picked up a couple of Dalpol packs (I'm sure they're old Airfix molds so there was a nostalgic element involved). I spent last week sorting them out. I think this little building will appear in many of my scenarios. It has that 'I can be anything quality'; an Inn, a cottage, a farmhouse etc.

I thought I'd have a plunge into PazerKaput's http://panzerkaput.blogspot.co.uk/ ,VCBW 38FEST2015 details below. I have an idea for a scenario, so I'll be building up the terrain and troops for this table and playing the game come May.

When and Where is this Taking Place
38Fest2015: This Spectred Isle is going to take place over the whole month of May, actually the last game need to be finished by 30th May, to enable us to prepare for the Partizan game, and it is open to everyone, no matter how large or small your VBCW forces are and whatever scale you fight in. There are no sets of rules that we are going to say you have to play with, play with what you like. All anyone needs to do is to play the scenario in the month of May and notify me of the result of the game, Red win or Blue Win, Which Farms were control of who and who found some of the Crown Jewels. You can do this by either posting to Very British Civil Forum, http://vbcf.freeforums.org/ or email me personally. Also if you can take photos of the game and post them on the Very British Civil Forum with a bit of a write up of the battle, that would be nice but it is not a requirement to play the game. 

So please pop by again to see how I'm getting on.

TTFN

Rob.

Meet the Platoon.

HQ Platoon

 This is Apple Manipolo (platoon), I Centuria Company), Xth Cohort Battalion, BUF Northern Division.

The Cohort took a bit of a hammering during the battle of the Cheshire Plain and is at two thirds strength.

Rather then work on two full sections OIC 'A' Platoon chose to have three under strength squads and hope for reinforcements at a later date.

                        ORBAT 

A Typical Section (actually I Squadra)

HQ Section
Capomanipolo/Lt.  Buru 'Paddy' Adair (5/1)
Caposquadara/Sgt. Graham Edwards (4/2)
Vicecaposqadara
/Cpl. (Act)(LMG)  Gerard Hall (3/2)
Camicia Nera
Scelta/L.Cpl(No.2)  Bishop White (3/2)
Camicia Nera/Pvt.
Buglar/Runner         639 Henry Taylor (2)
CN  (Runner)           Eric Parker (2)

I Squadra

The Full Manipolo

VS    Matthew Walker (4/2)
CNS  532 Barnabas Thomas (4/2)
CN     Roger Wood (3)
          Oscar Anderson (3)
          652 Garfield Taylor (3)
          Hugh Baker (3)
          Nathaniel Joiner (2)

II Squadra

VS       Terrance Mitchell (3/2)
CNS     Hayward Parker (3)
CN       941 Stephen Thomas (3)
            Harper Allen (3)
            Francis Lee (3)
           494 John Hall (2)
                                                                                          Leonard Davies (2)

III Squadra

VS            753 Jude Thomas (3/2)
A.CNS      Jake Plumber (3/1)
CN            Jason Stockton
                 Michael Page (2)
                 Shaun Mackenzie (2)
                 Malcolm Kennedy (2)


The numbers in the brackets are leadership/movement scores. I'm going to use two sets of rules Corner of a Foreign Field (altered for d6) and World Aflame. I hope background/backstory gets built up during the project.

More to follow. Thanks for popping by.

Rob.

NB. Note to self take an online course in closeup model photographing.