Skuttlebut

Hi Guys
Well I've returned from my trip to Belgium and did the whole visit Waterloo thing.
Some good news first from Mike Parker at BATTLEFIELD ACCESSORIES who has produced MDF roofs for his outstanding La Haye Sainte Farm Set.
you can see  my review of the Original Farm set here:
LA HAYE SAINTE

Here are some photos of the new roof sets
Much easier to construct and sturdier.

 BELOW: The original 'Sheds' with card roofs in brown and the replacement set with MDF roofs. Also the replacement roof for the farm's main gate.

 BELOW: The MDF Roof kits.

 BELOW: The new MDF Sheds

I also popped into EUREKA MINIATURES and these chaps caught my eye.

I have no idea what they are, but who doesn't want a trumpet being played by a portly chap using his arse and a horse being ridden by a giant rat bursting out of a corpse?

Finally, Eureka are also producing these awesome WINGED and 'Mechanically Enhanced' GORILLAS!

A Tale of Two Farms. Part Three

ABOVE: The Duke inspects the BA farm house (left) and the WLG farm house on the right

Hi Guys

Well we're finally here. Part 3 of my review of the WARLORD GAMES (WLG) and BATTLEFIELD ACCESSORIES (BA) La Haye Sainte Waterloo (LHS) farm set.

A reminder I'm just reviewing the actual MODEL that comes in the Box Set, which also includes plastic and metal miniatures (see PART ONE).

The first thing I noticed when I commenced construction of the WLG kit was the poorer quality of the material compared to (BA) kit (see PART TWO).

This kit from WLG is made from a much thinner and flimsier material. It's more like really thick cardboard rather than the thicker MDF(?) type material in the BA kit.  

BELOW: Compare the pair. BA material on the left and the thinner WLG material on the right

The instructions however are a different story. They are very professionally produced and assembly is simply as long as you follow the instructions. You could probably get the job done without the instructions but hey, they are provided, they are clear and easy to follow. 

BELOW: BA farm house on the left and WLG on the right. 

The level of interior details on the WLG version is very light on in comparison to the BA version.

Actually, apart from some interior walls within the Stable there is no interior details at all.

No second floor in the Farm House. No loft in the barn.

All of the various buildings are set upon 'bases' that interlock with the other bases upon which the other buildings are built.

This makes for a sturdy base however it does limit the versatility of the set. I want to be able to use the various buildings as stand alone buildings for other games like CHAIN OF COMMAND, FORCE ON FORCE or BOLT ACTION for example.

 ABOVE and BELOW: The WLG Farm House. No steps leading into the house, no interior details / walls and no second story. Just a big empty shell.

 ABOVE and BELOW: The Main Gate / Gate house. 
Best bit? The gates are hinged and freely swing open and shut. Cool!
Worst bit? Its affixed to this big arse base!

Construction was knocked over pretty quickly and took about two thirds of the time it took to assemble the BA version.

The roof construction was particularly easy.

If I could have the same system of roofing for the BA model I'd be beside myself. WLG version is much simpler and more robust I think.

BELOW: The WLG Barn and the BA Barn. Notice the loft in the BA version on the right.

 All in all however the BA Model is much more impressive and more robust due to the higher quality of the materials used in construction. Only the roofing is superior in the WLG version.
Furthermore the level of detail is superior in the BA kit.
Also the 'Online' support from Mike Parker is great, what with the Video Tutorials on YouTube and his own Facebook Page (search 'Battlefield Accessories').
You do however get an additional wall and small building (cook house maybe?) with the WLG version.
I'd be very keen to see which is the more historically correct kit.
The WLG LHS does come with a few extra pieces worth mentioning.
Two wagons, a small plough, three tables and six chairs, (for barricades or dinner), and some branches for barricades.
Also, you get some cardboard 'detailing' items for creating open shutters near windows and framing for windows and gates etc. (See Below)

 ABOVE and BELOW: Details of the WLG LHS farm yard and 'extra' bits.

 IN CONCLUSION

I think that the BA set is of better quality, more versatile, more detailed and excellent value for money.
The WLG offering is slightly easier to assemble (particularly the roofs) but isn't as flexible due to the individual buildings being affixed to some rather large bases.
Furthermore the BA set is the Farm Set and the Farm Set alone.
The WLG set comes with a swag of miniatures that you may not need or like.
The wagons and furniture are nice, but I can always purchase those things if I want them.
For me it's the QUALITY of the buildings / models that clinches the deal and why I give a nod in the direction of the BA version.
If however you do like the Warlord Games Miniatures and you're not too fussed on the detail of the actual farm itself the the WLG set is certainly worth considering.
As they say,...
"Ya pays ya money and ya makes ya choice".

 ABOVE and BELOW: The complete WLG LHS Farm set with roofs ON (above) and OFF (below). Notice the extra length of wall and small building in the bottom right corner

BELOW: The complete BA LHS set. Roofing removed. Noticed the second story in the farm house, and loft in the barn and small room in the stables.

 BELOW: Both the WLG (left) and BA (right) complete LHS Farm sets

I hope you find this review useful.

If so feel free to make comment.

UBIQUE!

A Tale of Two Farms. PART 2

ABOVE: Two Perry Miniature 28mm French Infantry scope out the barn. How much blood will be spilt capturing the place?

Hi Team
Well, its been some time coming but finally I've arrived at PART TWO of my review of both BATTLEFIELD ACCESSORIES (BA) and WARLORD GAMES models of La Haye Sainte farm sets.
After comparing contents of the two sets in PART 1 in this and following posts we'll look at construction and the level of detail in the respective models.
Let's start with the Aussie offering from BA.

One of the things I really like with BA's models is the VIDEO tutorials on construction you can access via YouTube.
These are a real God send!
As you can see I watched the videos on my IPad as I constructed the kit and the little tips on construction are simply excellent.
Construction proved to be pretty simple. Honestly there wasn't anything tricky here. Anyone with even the slightest experience in model construction would find assembly pretty straight forward.
Assembly was rather intuitive for the most part.
I was impressed with the details included in the models including interior walls and staircases and lofts in barns.

Ensure you have a good PVA / White Glue, (I like Selleys), an old paint brush for cleaning up any access glue, and PEGS,... lots of pegs!!!
I also found rubber bands to be useful tools as you can see.

I found the model to be simple to construct (did I mention that).
I assembled the ENTIRE farm set including sheds, walls, main gate house, farm house, Coach house, barns etc in a single day. I started at 9 am and was finished by 5pm including a hour long lunch and a couple of brews.

It's fortunate that assembly is so simple and that the videos on YouTube are available because there are no written assembly instructions to speak of, just photocopy images.
The detail available in the photocopies is rather poor but ultimately it wasn't an issue so "Meh".

ABOVE and BELOW: Probably the trickiest part of the assembly, the roof and second story windows.

BELOW: I did say LOTS of pegs.

BELOW: The second story of the Main farm House.

TIP: For ensuring you get walls squared to the floor I use a laser cut 60mm square base and use it as seen below. By butting it up agains the wall as it sets you get a perfect Right Angle / 90 degrees.

TIP: Use some of the 'Punched Out' off cuts as braces for internal walls. Not really required but it cant hurt IMHO. 

BELOW: A nice view of the interior of one of the barns

BELOW: Two of the nifty little shed that but up against the farms walls.
I believe these might eventually be available as separate items to add to 'other' BA models.

The overall quality of the entire set is EXCELLENT and is well worth the asking price.

ABOVE: The COMPLETE FARM SET

Part Three will cover the WARLORD GAMES La Haye Sainte model and a direct comparison of the two farms side by side

A Tale of Two Farms

A Tale of Two (or is it three) farms

If there is one area of tabletop war gaming that is usually and painfully underdone it the area of nice, quality terrain.
How often have we seen nicely painted miniatures manoeuvring across a table top covered in terrain that quite frankly is an eyesore?
For most of us building nice terrain is a real challenge.
It's one thing to paint a beautifully sculpted miniature but it's another to creat a realistic model of contemporary buildings.
As a child I loved the old Airfix buildings. Remember the Roman Fort and US Cavalry fort? The D-Day gun emplacement sets, the Jungle HQ, the Arabian / French Foreign Legion Fort and of course the Pontoon Bridge set were 'must have' items. 
Alas they are not available in either 15mm or 28mm.
So it was a case of either scratch building or buying 'ready made' resin models.
And then came the MDF kits!
There has been a lot of buzz about these kits, particularly the very nice 4Ground kits.
They are however rather pricey.
Today I'm going to explore two or three recent kits that have become available. Kits that allow we budding architects to build that most desired of buildings, La Haye Sainte of Waterloo fame!
You've all probably heard of Warlord Games La Haye Sainte (LHS) box sets. There are two. The 'Battle Set'
http://us-store.warlordgames.com/collections/napoleonic-wars-1789-1816/products/la-haye-sainte-battle-set

and the 'Collectors Set'
http://us-store.warlordgames.com/collections/napoleonic-wars-1789-1816/products/farmhouse-assault-la-haye-sainte-collectors-edition

There is however another set.
Battlefield Accessories (Mike Parker) has produced his own version. This is available through Eureka Miniatures.
The Battlefield Accessories (BA) version of LHS was released almost on the same day as the Warlord Games (WLG) version so I suspect not many people will be aware of its existence.

There is a third manufacturer.
4Ground has made a version of LHS, but unfortunately I want be reviewing that kit, just the Warlord Games and BA versions.
Given the 4Ground version is selling for a not inconsiderable £275 (about $500 something) I can just continue to dream.
No, I'll be looking at the 'less expensive' versions.
I'll do the review over a couple of posts.
First I'll share my thoughts on the pros and cons of the two sets I'm reviewing, (the WLG 'Battle Set' and the BA LHS set).
Once discussing the content and first impressions are dealt with ill discussing building the kits, which was easier to do, and which is more detailed and practical for gaming with.

Ok. First impressions?
The WLG battle set come in a rather nice box with artwork depicting the famous farm house on that fateful June day in 1815.
Opening up the box we find all the contents listed
La Haye Sainte contains:

Laser-cut wooden farmhouse, out-buildings, walls and pond including construction guides and acetate windows
Laser-cut wooden tables and chairs – use as firing steps
Two laser-cut wooden carts and plough (barricade)
Six metal branches to form an abatis
Major Von Baring, King’s German Legion 2nd Light Battalion (exclusive metal figure)
15 metal King’s German Legion 2nd Light Battalion with rifles and muskets
5 King’s German Legion light infantry
36 French Light Infantry (30 plastic and 6 metal) including full-colour flag sheet and waterslide decals
Lieutenant Vieux (exclusive metal figure) and five metal French Engineers with muskets or tools
12-page scenario booklet

The first thing I noticed was the very professional packaging.
There is a interesting 'Scenario' booklet aimed at the gamer using the Black Powder rules.
As you can see you receive 62 miniatures, about half are plastics. Let's say you get $160 of miniatures to go with the farmhouse. So for $385 AUD you can say that that the farmhouse costs you $225 give or take.
This observation is important to consider.

By contrast you will notice the BA version of LHS comes in a plain white box. Within you you will find the lazier cut 'bits and pieces' necessary to construct the farmhouse of LHS.
There are also photo copy standard pictures of all the various buildings and walls that are required to be assembled to build the farmhouse complex.
There are no miniatures to speak of. There are also assembly instructions / construction guide as such, just the photocopy pictures.
However I've found the photocopy pictures are all I really needed. That said Mike has posted a very very handy uTube video that shows you how to construct a building and Mike promises that more instructional videos will follow shortly.
You can see the first video here:
http://youtu.be/Wk3q0k8q1UY

What's really cool about the video guide is not only are you shown how to construct one of the buildings from the BA LHS set but Mike provides heaps of nifty little tips.
Even if you don't buy his LHS set or any of the other BA offerings it's worth watching if you intend to build any lazercut MDF buildings

Let's now talk value for money.
I've seen both models constructed.
To be honest there is really nothing in real 'model quality' to split them. Both are nice models. Both appear relatively easy to construct.
Both are made from quality materials.
Looking at the building instructions shows that the BA version is a more detailed model in regards to building interiors, with interior walls, lofts and staircases in some buildings.
The WLGs model has several carts and pieces of furniture which are nice.
Both models are very suitable to skirmish style games.
But what leaves me feeling that the BA model is better value for my money is the bottom line price.
The BA version retails for $175 AUD plus a flat $15 postage domestic or $25 international.
The WLG version costs $385 AUD plus postage. I've no idea on what postage to us here in Australia will be. I'd buy it directly from WAR AND PEACE GAMES here in Australia and save on postage. Besides, WAR AND PEACE are great to deal with.

Yes,.. WLG gives you 62 miniatures and YES you get a plough, two nifty carts and some furniture but I personally don't need 41 extra French infantry and 21 KGL riflemen.
Even if I did I'd rather purchase my miniatures from Perry to match the rest of my Napoleonic collection. I'm not saying the Warlord games miniatures are not nice, but what if my collection is Perry, or Victrix, or Front Rank?

And what if I want the farmhouse for playing WW2 games exclusively because Napoleonic's just ain't my thing.
Well, you get the idea.
The other issue for me is also the fact that the BA version is Aussie made!
That's right! Home grown Aussie made terrain!
For me supporting the domestic manufacturers such as Eureka Miniatures, Adventure Miniatures and Battlefield Accessories is important.

All that said, IF I was recently getting into Napoleonic gaming AND I was a fan of Warlord Games miniatures (and they are fine miniatures just not to my taste) then the WLGs battle set is a good starting point. Even more so if your rules of choice are BLACK POWDER.
Also consider looking at the WLGs COLLECTOR Edition of LHS.
In that set you get even more miniatures and some nice additional terrain pieces including the famous 'Sand pit' that riflemen from the 95th fought.
Plus:
Resin pile of dead Frenchmen (used by the King’s German Legion to block the gateway after they burnt the gates for warmth the night before!)
6 French Voltigeurs skirmishing
Marshall Ney (Bravest of the Brave)
4 French casualties
Mounted French Officer
36 plastic French Line Infantry (6 metal command and 30 plastic infantry)
6 Luneberg Light Infantry
6 British 95th Rifles
1 British Rocketeer and a horse.
1 Nassau officer using cooking pot to extinguish the barn fire (exclusive metal model)
6  Nassau infantry
36 plastic Hanoverian Infantry (6 metal command, 30 plastic infantry)
Farmer’s wife tending young calf (exclusive metal model – she refused to leave the poor newborn and stayed with it during the battle…)
Abatis branches
Cost? $478 USD. I suspect it would sell here in Australia for around the vicinity of $525-550 AUD, but I must stress I'm just speculating on the Aussie $ cost.

Now, as we progress with the review I will look closer at the miniatures that come in the Warlord Games sets but for now let's just focus on the Farm Buildings because let's face it, this isn't a figure review.
So that's all for now.
In my next post we'll look at both construction and a side by side comparison of the two sets.