Battlegames 3

Battlegames magazine is a bi-monthly publication of Battlegames Ltd, 17 Granville Road, Hove BN3 1TG, East Sussex. Company No. 5616568.

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Copy and advertising closing date for next edition: June 1st 2007

It’s four in the morning as I write this, putting the final touches to our

first anniversary issue of the magazine before the disk is whisked away by the printer at 9 a.m. Who would have thought that a magazine like this, focusing on quality writing above all else, could have survived in the 21st century? Well, I did, actually!

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I’ve added four extra pages to the magazine. Lord knows, I’ve got top-quality articles racked up for several issues to come, and I want to thank all our contributors for being so patient. Being bi-monthly means that I am conscious of keeping talented writers waiting who deserve to be seen in print, so every issue that I put together leaves me with a faint sense of guilt about what I had to leave out – but that goes with the territory.

Another slight change is the paper Battlegames is printed on. As a result of yet another recent round of Post Office price hikes, it became imperative that I could increase the page count without increasing the overall weight of the magazine. Fortunately, I discovered the same brand of paper is available in several weights, so I have been able to take down the inside pages a fraction without losing that ‘tactile’ aspect you’ve all raved about and, to compensate, I’ve increased the weight of the covers just a tad. By a small miracle, therefore, in spite of adding more pages, the magazine actually comes in at a few grams less than previously.

Meanwhile, plans are afoot at Battlegames HQ to push inland from the bridgehead we have established in the market. Deals with new distributors are in the offing, and I’m really excited about some that I hope will bear fruit in the near future. Meanwhile, those of our overseas readers who find the postage from the UK rather pricey can now talk to a clutch of reliable sources of the magazine in both the USA and Australia. In the US, we have On Military Matters, based in New Jersey, and Military Miniatures USA, who distribute to shops in various states. In Australia, we have Mainly Medieval in Sydenham, and Essex Miniatures Australia based in Hornsby Heights, both NSW.

Equally exciting are our contacts in Europe. A recent trip to the excellent Action! show in Rheindahlen allowed me to meet the irrepressible Jürgen from Quirxel

Editorial 3

A brush with musketeers 4Dave Robotham, UK

Forward Observer 7Mike Siggins, UK

Competition 8Win something!

The Wars of the Faltenian Succession 9Henry Hyde, UK

Battles for wargamers: Kassassin 1882 10Stuart Asquith, UK

The big push 13John Kersey, UK

Sans peur et sans reproche 19Adrian Hussey, UK

Larry Leadhead 32Eric Hotz and Douglas Hamm, Canada

Table top teaser 33C.S. Grant, UK

To boldly go 37Guy Hancock, UK

Recce 39Mike Siggins, Greg Horne, Alistair Birch with Andy Crofton, Guy Hancock, Richard Baber, Steve Gill, Dan Mersey, Stuart Asquith, Roger Smith & me!

Editorial Contents

Cover: a stunning WWI display game staged by the talented Aly Morrison and Dave Andrews at The Other Partizan in Newark, September 2006. The poor Tommies undergoing the bombardment are from Aly’s Great War Miniatures range. The incredible scenery was made by Dave. Photo by the Editor.

Games, but we also have contacts in Italy (Strategia e Tattica and Camelot Games) and Austria, with Der Buchfreund in Vienna. My thanks to all these companies for the efforts they are making on our behalf.

Back here in the Loftwaffe, I’ve decided to start a blog, which you can find at http://battlegames.wordpress.com. As you know, I’m a chatty type, so the blog gives me the opportunity to tell you about some of my personal wargaming projects as they progress, and the sort of stuff that doesn’t easily fit on the main Battlegames website. I’m following in the footsteps here of our very own Greg Horne, who told us back in issue 1 that a blog is a great way to keep you true to your word when it comes to wargaming output. I hope he’s right – I’ve recently acquired over 2,000 Baccus Greeks and Persians for a Warmaster Ancients project!

My thanks to all of you for your tremendous support and the kind sentiments so many of you have expressed.

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A brush with musketeersPainting infantry for the Great Northern War

by Dave Robotham

Over the last few months I have been looking into the new range of Great Northern War figures produced by Musketeer Miniatures. This is a

relatively new line, but is growing steadily. At the moment the range includes basic infantry for the Swedish and the Russians and command groups, as well as grenadiers and pikemen for the Swedish. For this guide, I am going to tackle a Russian and a Swedish infantryman. I will also detail a couple of different techniques and paint combinations to add variety and speed things up.

FACES AND HANDSI will always try to paint the skin on a figure first for a variety of reasons. I find that if you paint the miniature from the inside layer out (the skin, then the shirt, then the tunic etc.), you will not be painting over previous layers. In effect, you are minimising the chance that you will get paint on already finished areas of the model. But, for me, the biggest reason is that I enjoy painting flesh on a figure and I find it the most interesting part of most miniatures. Painting the face and hands (and other ‘fleshy’ bits) first really does give life to the figure, and can drive me on to complete the rest of it.

Both the Russian and Swedish infantry can be painted with the same style and colours: there is not a huge difference in skin tone between the two nations. But there are literally hundreds of methods of painting skin with an equal number of formulated paints to help you along the way, so you can add variety to your troops with ease. I painted the Russian and Swede in two different styles, both of which start with the same base colour, but build different colours on top of it.

COLOUR PALLETE 1 – THE SWEDEI started with a watered down basecoat of Pelikan Plaka’s Red Brown. This hobby paint dries totally matt and provides a great base colour for Caucasian skin tones.

For the next step, I painted a layer of Games Workshop’s (GW) Bronzed

Flesh over the red brown, making sure to leave the base colour in the deep recesses of the face. You don’t want to leave too much of the red brown showing, but areas to try to define with this highlight are the nose and nostrils, as well as the cheekbones and muscles. If you are feeling brave, you might also like to paint under the arches of the eyebrows and recesses under the eyes. In the next picture, you can see the extent to which I have covered the base colour with this layer. To add more definition, I added white to Bronzed Flesh for the second highlight. Areas to focus on here are

the same as before. Make sure you keep the definition of the nose and nostrils, as well the cheekbones and brow. You can see in third picture how subtle my highlight is, but you can increase the contrast by just adding a touch more white to the Bronzed Flesh.

At this point you could stop, paint the eyes and lips in, and be done. However a final highlight of pure white will make the face stand out on the tabletop, which is what we are looking for here. Even if it does look a little too harsh in the fourth picture, remember that on the tabletop, those sharp highlights will really work to make the features of the face stand out.

Finally, I painted in the eyes and the lower lip. The colour of the lower lip is really up to you. I know many painters prefer a much pinker colour instead of the dark red-brown colour I have used. Highlight the lips with either a single line or, as I have, you can add some more detail by splitting the highlight.

The eyes were painted is as a black stripe painted into the eye socket, then a white stripe painted over that, finished off with a dot of black or dark brown centrally on the white strip. To avoid that wide-eyed stare, make sure the black dot totally divides the white of the eyes, touching the top and the bottom of the eye.

COLOUR PALLETE 2 – THE RUSSIANThe Russian’s skin was painted using the same technique and template as with the Swede, a basecoat with layered colours over the top to define the features. (See photos at top of opposite page.) However, I used a different pallete of colours this time. I started with the same Plaka Red Brown, but this time I used paints from the Foundry and Privateer Press (P3) ranges.

After the basecoat of red-brown, I painted a layer of P3 Khardic Flesh followed by a second highlight of P3 Midland Flesh. Like the Foundry colour triads, these two colours were designed to be painted one after the other, and they form a wonderfully hardy looking reddish skin tone. To add that final definition to the face, I applied a final highlight of Foundry’s Flesh 5C although, as with the Swede, this is not really necessary if you want to save some time.

MUSKETSThere is a very simple and quick way to paint muskets and rifles if you need to get them finished and onto the table in a timely manner. Firstly, I start with a mid-brown colour and paint all the wooden parts of the weapon. Due to the varied manufacturers of muskets from different nations, you can choose almost any brown colour for this basecoat: just make sure it’s not too dark. All the metallic areas were also painted dark silver (such as GW’s Boltgun

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Metal), making sure the colour used was not bright or shiny. You can see the shades I used in this first picture.

The second, and final, stage is to water down some black ink or black paint and wash that over both the wooden areas and the metallic areas. It will shade and stain the colours at the same time, adding definition and that weathered look.

So that is the fast method, but there is also a far more detailed approach you can use to paint up muskets and rifles and other wooden-stocked weapons.

Starting off with a dark brown colour, I basecoated the wooden areas of the musket and used the same silver as I did in the first method detailed previously. GW’s Scorched Brown or Foundry’s Bay Brown 42A are fine for this.

To build up the colours of the wooden areas of the musket I used the Foundry’s Spear Shaft trio of colours. I painted horizontal stripes along the wooden surfaces using Spear Shaft 13A. As you can see in the picture, make sure the lines are quite wide, leaving only a sliver of the dark colour showing below.

Using Spear Shaft 13B I then painted thin lines over the top of the previous layer. This time, try to leave only a sliver of the Spear Shaft 13A showing as you retrace your design with this new colour. At this point, I also used a black ink to wash all the metal areas of the weapon and then used my original silver colour to neaten up the edges.

As a final highlight I used Spear Shaft 13C, again retracing my previous lines to build up the definition of the woodgrain. Using brighter silver (such as GW’s Mithril Silver or Chainmail), I also applied some highlights to the bayonet.

THE UNIFORMS On the next page, you will see a colour guide for a Russian and a Swedish infantryman’s uniform. I have provided a full run-down of the colours I used. I used Foundry colours for the most part, but fell back on the GW paint range for all the metallics, as well as the Russian soldier’s coat and cuffs.

When painting the different uniforms, I used a simple layering technique, starting with a dark basecoat and adding two or three layers of highlights – no blending or washes, just simple layering of paint.

You will notice that the Swedish Infantryman has not shaved for a few days. Adding a 5 o’clock shadow is really

not as hard as it might at first seem. To paint stubble, I use Foundry Granite 31C. This is a grey colour, but with

a hint of brown to it. You could easily mix the shade of colour by taking a mid-grey (just black mixed with white) and adding a touch of brown. Any brown will do, but don’t add too much, just a dot of colour to tint the grey.

I water the paint down until it is incredibly translucent. When you paint the first layer, you should only see a slight

change in colour. I then paint maybe six or seven layers, progressively building up the colour. The more layers you add, the more opaque the colour will become as more pigment is layered onto the surface. Using multiple layers, you

can make sure the pure granite colour is only along the jawbone and chin and fades out as it rises up the face.

The hair on these soldiers can be painted in hundreds of different ways, using a huge variety of colours. I started with a dark base colour and applied a single highlight, painting it on in small lines and dashes following the contours of the sculpted hair.

To finish off the bases, I used PVA to glue down some rough sand and then, when that was dry, I used a brown ink to stain the sand. It is far easier to paint

sand with a fluid ink than with acrylic paint. Then I drybrushed the bases with GW colours starting with Bestial Brown then Snakebite Leather followed up by Bubonic Brown and finally Bleached Bone. Then I added several tufts of static grass in various colours. I used different colours for the rims of the bases. On the

Swede, I used GW’s Bestial Brown and on the Russian, I used GW’s Scorched Brown, a much darker colour.

For protection, I first varnished the model with GW’s Ardcoat spray gloss varnish, and after that had been left to dry for a day, I varnished them again with Testors Dullcote for a wonderfully matt finish.

IN CONCLUSIONThere is a huge variety of different uniform colours you can use for the GNW. Like many armies in the 17th

and 18th centuries, uniforms were often brightly coloured and specific to different formations. I suggest you head over to www.musketeer-miniatures.com for plenty more ideas and information about the troops and battles of the Great Northern War.

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As regular readers know, I like to watch the hobby for trends. Some years ago they

were easy to spot. Cowboys, Pirates, Darkest Africa, Dinosaurs... And then… nothing readily discernible. Perhaps a glimmer for Back of Beyond and Pulp games, a significant (but doomed?) rally for 28mm WWII and WWI, and a definite underground movement forming for 40mm. Nice to see the latter, considering my comments below.

This lack of one driving force is both good and bad. Good because we see a wide range of periods represented, and some innovative games and ranges looking to find something original. I have no problem with such diversity, even if that means 1/500th Napoleonics (due soon from 1st Virtual, and rather nice) or Action Man scale tanks. On the downside, it leaves some manufacturers wondering where to go next. They try new periods, new scales, they come back to a staple like Napoleonics, they go off again on some other venture.

Both manufacturers and traders are looking for next big thing, but the quicker the turnover of these ideas (fads, to be uncharitable) the less chance of a movement taking hold.

However, there are signs that one of the drivers for business and for games, demo and tournament, are the WAB supplements.

For the last few weeks, trader and web activity, and emails, have reflected the release of Age of Arthur. Friends, and I, are choosing our favourites from the armies on offer and mentally building armies. I almost certainly won’t play with them, but it is fun to speculate. All of a sudden, as well as the Gripping Beast stalwarts, there are other tempting Dark Age figures, and flags, competing for our dollar. In the same vein, it is not difficult to spot the approaching ranks of Samurai figures, jostling for position as Divine Wind nears publication. I think the same is probably true of

Flames of War, with flurries of activity when a new supplement appears.

MUSING ON MINIMALISMI have always strived for the maximum possible pleasure from my workbench. Assessing my recent output, this is clearly not measured only by projects completed. It is more a… tool thing. I have always figured that it is best to have all possible tools available at all times. It improves the experience of the hobby, it makes one, well, somehow a better person (!). Inevitably, duplicates appear. At the last count I had five scalpels. I long ago lost count of needle files. Brushes? Pots of ‘em.

I am happy with this approach until I encounter the minimalist. These people are very productive, and seem to turn out their own original sculpts and beautiful armies with little more than a knife and a file. One of my friends works on a small Davenport which has a surface area of about one square foot. I have fifteen square feet, plus storage, yet still manage to produce less, and be forced to work in a six inch square crater. Perhaps that is just untidiness.

More frustrating are the frugal painters. I am quite proud of my hundreds of paint pots. These draw admiring comments such as, “Can you possibly use all this in one lifetime?” and “Are you barmy?” Meanwhile, our under-equipped chums mix all the colours they ever need from six pots of Humbrol. How do they do that? I suspect they listened attentively in art class when primary and secondary colours came up.

40MMI still can’t tell you precisely why, but after a couple of years slowly deliberating, I am now very much a convert to 40mm. While it seems an arbitrary departure for some, and consistently draws negative comment from hardcore 28mm fans on web fora, the scale has probably now reached critical mass. When the likes of Front Rank join the fray, you know there is something to take notice of. And while I know it goes against all the logic of being a long-term 25/28/30mm

gamer, and it means my scenery might need revising (but then again it might not), the simple explanation is this: when I look at a 25mm figure these days, they appear tiny. Unpaintably tiny. This, as discussed before, is a function of declining eyesight, increasing detail and, I’m sure, the comparative presence of said 40mms. I also really like painting the larger figures, and they are obviously a step closer to merging two, or even three, of my interests: gaming, model soldiers and painting.

So, inspired by my mate Rob Santucci’s Vikings, I have been dabbling with Sash & Sabre’s 40mm Saxons. I am very pleased with the results. Twenty or so of these guys grouped in a small unit has a real presence, and the price (£30 for 20) is just about right. When the ranges fill out, show a bit less animation, and if sculpt and pose quality remains consistent, I can see these as a large part of my future plans.

In the background there are other candidates. The Perries are still up there at the top and it is just a matter of time and finances before I get hold of some. I have lost track of the excellent Trident medieval range, but I suspect the same sculptor has recently popped up in the States with an AWI range. Drabant remain highly appealing, but a bit too expensive. Ditto Doug Miller’s figures, but I must have some of these. I got very excited about Front Rank’s new AWI range for a day or two, but sadly they have misjudged the pricing level by a factor of two. Sash & Sabre, who have the pricing right, meanwhile have Landsknecht packs arriving any day, and are threatening Greek Hoplites this summer, which will see me handing over the credit card and throwing caution to the winds. I am trying hard not to look at Graven Image’s Feudals for fear of bankruptcy.

I suppose I could join the internet snipers who bemoan a figure’s scale when I see Fox’s beautiful 1/48th WWII range sculpted by Tom Meier, and the excellent wild west figures from Black Scorpion. These are smaller than 40mm but bigger than 28mm; significantly, in both cases. They don’t,

Forward observerTrends

by Mike Siggins

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like 40mms, ‘fit’ anywhere unless you have a Tamiya fetish (I do, since 1974…). For the manufacturer, it is all about doing whatever they feel will sell and if the Tamiya 1/48th output is a sign, then Fox are onto a winner. For me, I have to work out whether the Black Scorpions justify a stand-alone project that can somehow sit alongside my existing 28mm wild west. You can tell I am wavering.

For those purists who worry about me, never fear: the 20mm passion (WWII and plastics) is still very much there and the workbench has Egyptians and Sherden underway. Plus, I have more 28mm in reserve than I will ever get round to painting, with new temptation coming right along. I am adjusting the portfolio mix a bit, that is all.

28MM For a year or more I have bought very few 28mms. The odd Bolt Action pack, Anglian Miniatures, and Artizan – mainly cowboys, and those lovely

new pirates. I also bought quite a few eBobs, with which I am very pleased indeed. But at the turn of the year it became apparent that I might have a shot at being Lead Neutral in 2007 – for every figure bought, I would sell or paint one, or ideally two or three. That way I felt I could justify continued, relatively guilt-free purchases, because I have surely long since run out of plausible excuses. And then, all of a sudden, along came a whole load of tempting new ranges.

I mentioned a lot of Samurai. Three very nice ranges have caught my eye. Museum Miniatures have an unusual selection, of quite decent figures, if a bit smooth in look. They have a giant war drum, the proper name for which I cannot recall, but which always reminds me of the excellent Kodo drummer ensemble. I shall be adding a couple to the command stand.

Black Hat’s early Samurai releases, set for Salute, also look very tempting, and they are promising a large number of packs. I don’t think I need or want

any more ninjas, and I am doubtful about the unarmoured figures, but there are some tempting poses and I do like the period. More expense! Along with Kingsford’s new releases, which include a rather tasty mounted figure, and the Perries’ steady addition of new poses, I am somewhat spoilt. I will have to get a firm handle on which figures are compatible with which, and try to reconcile the 300 year spread of the figures… I also see more of the excellent John Jenkins buildings (available from TM Terrain in the UK) making an appearance on the credit card statement.

Hard to sniff at that lot, and nor would I, but my highlights this month have been the latest Pulp figures from Artizan, which have pretty much completed all my wants in the era (and continue to show anatomical improvement), and the excellent knights from eBob that land slap bang on my 1250 favourite era.

It is going to be an expensive Spring. I had better sell some more lead.

The judges’ decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into. This prize carries no cash alternative. One entry per household only. Battlegames Ltd takes no responsibility for the safe arrival of entries. Please ensure that your details are legible. The winner will be announced in the next issue of Battlegames.

Our lucky winners of the “Punic Wars” competition in issue 6 were subscribers Moira Rainford of Sleaford in Lincolnshire and Mr O Adamberry of Gibraltar. The answers were: 1) the Carthaginians; 2) Sicily; 3) Hamilcar Barca; 4) Iberia (modern Spain); 5) Lake Trasimene; 6) Cannae; 7) Scipio; 8) Zama; 9) the Numidians; 10) Tunisia.Honourable mentions in dispatches for the runners-up who also sent correct entries: Mr P J Day; Mr A Stephens; Mr J G Taylor; James Hall; and David Logan. Well done!

WIN A BUMPER OSPREY WWI BUNDLE!

Answers must be sent with your name and postal address clearly marked, to: WWI, Battlegames, 17 Granville Road, Hove BN3 1TG, East Sussex, UK. CLOSING DATE FRIDAY 1st JUNE 2007. A photocopy, printout or manual copy is fine – no need to destroy your copy of Battlegames!

How about this for a superb set of source material for wargamers wanting to have a go at Great War gaming? Not one, not two, not three, but four brilliant books to give away to our lucky winner! From the Essential Histories series, the 350+ page special “The First World War: the War to End All Wars” by Peter Simkins, Geoffrey Jukes and Michael Hickey, and three titles from their excellent Elite series: “World War I Trench Warfare (1) 1914-1916” and “World War I Trench Warfare (2) 1916-1918”, both by Dr Stephen Bull, illustrated by Adam Hook; and finally “The Kaiser’s Warlords, German Commanders of World War I” by Ronald Pawly, illustrated by Patrice Courcelle. Just answer the following questions correctly, and they could be yours!

1. What was the name of the German offensive designed to outflank the French and British defences at the outset of the war by sweeping through Belgium?

2. Who directed and produced the 1969 hit movie “Oh! What a Lovely War!”?

3. What was the name given to early British hand grenades?

4. What was the real name and final rank of Lawrence of Arabia?

6. Which type of aircraft was flown by The Red Baron?

7. Which German arms manufacturer was famous for its artillery pieces?

8. In which museum in Dorset, UK, can you find restored examples of WWI tanks?

9. What did Kaiser Wilhelm II, Czar Nicholas II of Russia and King George V of England have in common?

10. Which treaty formally ended hostilities between Great Britain, France and Germany?

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