All posts by Dana

I was born in East Orange, raised in Bloomfield, and went to school somewhere around Newark until my parents launched an exodus across NJ. I have been lucky enough to travel abroad. I read, play a couple of musical instruments, like movies, and do what I can to improve a rapidly aging body and mind. I currently work in Texas and live in Florida. I have moved over two dozen times in my life. My tiny armies and navies have followed me on my march across the US. Eventually we hope to end our nomadic existence and settle in one place.
General

Lost in Boxlandia

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I have been in Utah now for 8 months and am amazed at how little I have accomplished and how much work has been involved. I found the last set of missing figures the other day, a group of Essex Assyrian 15mm figures. They had been packed neatly in a cardboard box which the moving men inexplicably decided to pack sideways. Repairs are ongoing.

Everything is now in one place and all that is necessary is to find a better way to store than as an enormous stack of boxes in the closet. No surprise those boxes i had the foresight to keep in the bathroom back in Florida along with all the musical instruments came through unmarred. I discovered to my chagrin that hamsters are not allowed to fly on most commercial airlines so brought her and everything else left in the house to Utah in mid autumn.

There is still a lot of work to do to straighten out the house but I hope to find the time to revisit and start painting the unpainted.

General

Unpacking

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i am slowly unpacking, slowly because the local carpet installers are the worst on the planet and have yet to put in the new carpet, and sadly, nothing can really be unpacked till the carpet is down.

The plastic figures seem to have taken the most hits. I find little plastic bases with nothing but feet and later footless infantry scattered through boxes. Some of the bigger sets i drove back but I am not sure everything made it. It is good to leave Florida as it falls apart but it is cold here and getting colder.

i received 2 expansion sets for Hero Quest from the ever dependable Hasbro people. I also purchased a few figures as well just to convince myself I have not fallen off the edge of the world. I hope to be back up and running though the carpet installers are threatening more delays. We will see. At least i have my books.

General

SLC

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i am now in Salt Lake City. A trip to Japan and Taiwan kept me busy this summer but the move to Salt Lake City flattened me. On the positive side, the packers found things I had not been able to find like a range of 6mm artillery for the War of the Spanish Succession that had become buried in small unlabeled boxes.

Even now, I remain subterranean in the basement level of a house and wish for better. The painfs and brushes have yet to emerge. I have little to show for the last half year. I did finally make some modest purchases but I expect it to be a couple of months before I am back on my feet.

Board Games, Wargames

Soldier King

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Frank Chadwick continues his exploration of the then relatively unique point to point mapboard first used in A House Divided. Here, it takes the form of a multi-player game untethered to history with 4 asymmetric kingdoms competing for control of an island.

The counters as with many GDW games are thin, glossy, and serviceable with the usual simple palette of blue, red, green, and yellow. Little information is presented beyond symbols for infantry and light or heavy cavalry and a title indicating levy, veteran, or guard.

The overall situation coupled with the simplicity of the playing pieces makes this a nice choice for a campaign for musket era figures. Chadwick’s followup miniatures game for the Civil War follows a similar approach. The Civil War expansion for his Volley & Bayonet rules offer details on transferring the bard game battles to miniatures.

Figures, Maker

Khurasan Miniatures

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15mm Tigrid aliens from Khurasan Miniatures
15mm Tigrid aliens

15mm Ursid Bearmen from Khurasan Miniatures.

Khurasan Miniatures produces historical and non-historical ranges, some in 28mm, most in 15mm, and a range of 6mm SF stuff. It is a pretty rich variety though some figures seem more inspired than others. Good detail, the figures are easy to paint. I have yet to do a size comparison since I only have some threatening looking aliens. The figures do seem to tend a little large. Another American company, this one in NY.

just a note, the ursids wear sunglasses and smoke cigars.

Figures, Maker

Splintered Light Miniatures

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A contingent of mice from the 28mm Hedgerows and Heroes collection from Splintered Light Miniatures.

A manufacturer in Georgia of all places. Mostly fantasy figures and those primarily in 15mm/18mm. There is also a range of 15mm figures from the Dark Ages and a couple of fantasy rule sets.

the figures are easy to paint with detail at a reasonable level and well set off. If you are looking for the elusive army of squirrels or ducks, they have it.

Administrative, General

Tales from the Crypt

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Retirement has turned me into a bearded recluse rifling through closets and the garage to see what is there. I find I am busier than I was when I was employed as an IT expert. I wake up in the morning, prepare and drive the child to school, do morning errands and shopping, pick up the child, babysit, cook dinner, get the child ready for bed, and finally, go to sleep. All this is pretty routine and surprisingly time consuming.

I thought I might start posting images of stuff in process. A lot of miniatures get little notice as they go from bag to fully painted storage. I have returned to the task of learning defensive fire procedures for ASL. But most of the good stuff gets done on Sunday when i get some time off.

Retirement is more wearing than I hoped with no real moments of sitting around drinking and eating and watching foreign movies. Too much to do. At least, I found Kate’s home.

Rules

Et Sans Resultat

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A thick heavily illustrated and very colorful rulebook. Ground scale varies with base size varying. Bases represent battalions. There is no figure scale I can find. The rule book seems split fairly evenly between the rules and organization and leader rankings for the nationalities involved. There is also a brief section on scenario and a short sample scenario.

A sample page showing the colorful style and heavy use of illustrations.
Rules

In the Grand Manner

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A later edition of the rules published in 1994.

A set of rules for Napoleonic land combat written by Peter Gilder and first published in 1970.

Designed with 25mm figures in mind, the figure scale is 1 to 20, 1 gun to 2, 6” to 100 yards, with a game turn representing about 30 minutes. The game uses 15 phases with order writing and simultaneous movement.

Rules

The Age of Eagles

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An adaptation of the American Civil War rules Fire & Fury the rules are nicely presented with a chatty presentation covering all aspects of the game in a style tailored to beginners especially in the opening chapter and introduction.

Graphics are very good, evocative of AH’s Napoleon’s Battles. Finer points of the rules are well illustrated. A single tear-out page containing critical charts and tables can be found at the end of the book. Several scenarios are included containing graphic representation of each army’s organization.

Figures are mounted in a manner similar to Napoleon’s Battles with 1 figure equaling 90 actual soldiers. one inch equals 120 yards. A game turn represents 30 minutes. The rules require 10-sided dice. Optional rules are few and scattered through the text for example, a rule limiting Austrian commanders from leading from the front.

There is also an attractive website associated withe the rules and an expansion for 18th century conflict. In addition to an online store. there are downloadable player aids and scenarios. One useful aspect is the inclusion of moderate sized battles in the scenarios. not everyone is ready to game Leipzig or Waterloo.

A game turn consists of a roll for initiative followed by alternating player turns composed of 3 phases, movement, fire, and melee. Leaders impact die rolls that allow the brigade size units to act. Casualties are indicated by removal of multi-man stands. Stands are grouped into formations though brigades themselves are also considered at a lower level based on the nationality of the army and the year of the scenario.

A glimpse of the attractive illustrated examples used throughout the book. The graphics should be instantly familiar to readers of Napoleon’s Battles.