2015 projects and options

Portuguese/Dutch for Irregular Wars

Enumerating last year's wargame-related achievements reminded me that retirement has not provided the expected increase in spare time, but, rather, the opposite. Accordingly, and contrary to every wargamer's natural instincts, I really must learn to maximise the time I do get by concentrating on completing current projects and making use of existing armies before moving on to anything new, especially if that carries a significant painting burden. I may have said that before, but it's a mantra I need to repeat. My main immediate priorities are thus to finish at least the first batch of ships for Galleys & Galleons and the Portuguese and Dutch armies for Irregular Wars.

Rifle and Kepi: Solferino Batrep

I recruited a couple of friends at my local wargaming club to try out my Solferino scenario for Martin Rapier's Rifle and Kepi rules while I umpired. Since my previous post I've added in the French I Corps. The map and OOBs are below.

The first lesson was how not to set up Hexon II. I put it together upside-down with just a few clips and then tried to turn it over. There was a resounding crash as the pieces came apart and clattered down on the table (without mishap). I should have used more clips, but in order to speed things up we placed the Hexon on a blanket which held it together well enough.

Plans for 1940 high level game in 3mm

A Belgian civilian and a German soldier look
at an abandoned French Char B1 in the village 
of Ermeton-sur-Biert near Namur sometime 
after 14 May 1940.

Doing a high-level early WW2 game in 3mm has been on my hit list for a long time, and I've recently been researching the Battle of Hannut where the French 2e and 3e DLM met the 3. and 4. Panzer Divisions in May 1940.

The forces will essentially be organised on the 1 base = 1 battalion scale used in Tim Gow's Megablitz, but following my career towards grids and hexes I will probably be using Bob Cordery's Hexblitz variant or something similar. Bob has recently been working on Hexblitz II. I have also been looking at his even higher-level game, Operational Art. If none of these are to my liking I can do some sort of mash-up. Doing something original is also a possibility, but I feel I need greatly to improve my understanding of game mechanics not to mention my military education.

I intend to stick with the 4cm wide bases which Megablitz/Hexblitz players use for 1/72 models, but I'll be decorating them with multiple 3mm models. I may make company-size units (e.g. Recce) smaller, and transport units narrower and longer, but 4cms x 4cms will be the standard. (If I progress to doing later war Eastern Front, it seems I should be doing Russian Regiments on larger bases.)

I will be using felt for roads and rivers but may make up some hex-shaped woods and BUAs for placing over the Hexon hexes. Woods and BUAs will need to have a fairly even surface as the unit bases will sit on top of them.

Thoughts on grids and hexes

I'm increasingly drawn to grids and hexes as opposed to 'free form' measurement, a split in approach that goes back to Joseph Morschauser and Donald Featherstone. The only grid/hex game I play at the moment is Square Bashing, but I have plans to extend this both for post-WW1 tactical games and pre-WW1 grand-tactical games.