Spring Cleaning April 2026

 

I'll be selling a few surplus things- here I have 26 Avanpost Thirty Years War cavalry, and two spare horses. They are beautiful, crips resin models, currently OOP in the UK. I'm looking for £95 including UK postage- or I can deliver at Partizan. If you are interested please email me at the address to the left.

"Lust for Glory" at Colours

 

Here are a few shots of the first test game of the "horse and musket" rules I've been working on, tentatively named "Lust for Glory."

This was the first outing for my new WSS collection, which so far has 16 battalions and 20 squadrons (including dragoons). This turned out to be quite sufficient for an enjoyable four player game- I'll bring more-or-less the same forces to Partizan. My short term plan is to expand the army to 20 Bn/28 Sqn, though, just because I'm enjoying assembling the collection. Also, I need to work on the terrain and snagging. A later phase III will add another 8 Bn and 12 or more Sqns.

Above is Sid who led the Allied army into battle. He liked the cavalry squadron tactics, which are rather  different to the way we handled cavalry in "For King and Parliament."

Finally, here's the battlefield at the end of the game, those are casualties in the foreground. WSS ca. 1710 is a convenient period to test the rules, since there are no pikes or matchlocks.

I'm greatly encouraged by the first outing of the rules and plan to edit in all the notes we made, this week, and start to fill in the various gaps next week, with material clipped from FK&P and TtS! Huge thanks to all who helped or played particularly Ian, Sid and Colin.

The next outing will be at T'other Partizan. If you fancy having a go, please email me, I'll run sessions in the AM and PM and currently have six spaces available.

PS I picked up a restock of gaming mats on Saturday, and have largely restocked the BigRedBatShop, which was looking very bare!

Zurlauben II

Here's another WIP of Zurlauben, now with the new minis integrated and with the colours fitted. grouting tonight and off for flocking on Friday. Zurlauben was destroyed at Blenheim, where the Comte himself died, leading a cavalry command.

At a rough count I have 40 more mostly-painted battalions to finish and base, around six months work on the infantry, alone. Gulp.

Zurlauben

Sorry for the recent lack of posts; I've been frantically basing and re-basing units for my War of the Spanish Succession, which has really cut into my time for posting. Here's a unit I'm currently working on, it's a mix of a small unit I bought and Shaun McTague's painting.  I still need to do the highlights and varnish. Front Rank 28mm.

Strategic Reserve

It's been so long since my last post! Here I've been really busy, tidying up Partizan purchases, restocking stock and publishing a bunch of TtS! Medieval Army lists (which are currently on sale for a few days more).

My current obsession is the War of the Spanish Succession, and I'm putting an army together for a game at Colours in September. Below are one of three armies I'm trying to reorganise into a single collection. I bought the below minis six or more years ago, from a chap in Spain, and is the least painted of the three armies; I call it my strategic reserve. It has remained untouched in the loft since I bought it.

This weekend I opened them up and sorted them out into 5 RUBs.

There are roughly 100 painted infantry minis, really well painted, although more than half of these are grenadiers, so I might struggle to use them all, except in an imaginations setting. The one below, for example I need 2 minis, for a Foot Guards grenadier company, but I seem to have 21. :-0

In total there are getting on for 300 foot and 72 horse, dragoons and mounted generals, and quite a lot of artillery. I'll see what I can do with it.

The Relief of Norchester at Partizan - all the Gabions in the World!

Here is Norchester- a town well fortified, now, with its new line of modern defences. The medieval walls are now partially protected by trenches, two horn works and the famous Bishop's Bastion.

The siege lines have expanded, too. Next outing I hope to have a tented camp to stand alongside the baggage train.

Above and below, the battle from behind the Parliamentarian lines; left and centre.

... and the right. Here, the Parliamentarian cavalry triumphed- Prince Rupert had to leap a hedge to seek the somewhat illusory protection of a unit of Royalist forlorn hope!

Above, the normally sleepy village of Soggy Bottom. The impious crophead dragoons have stabled their horses in the churchyard! And finally, below, a short video of the battlefield.

Partizan was a fine event, as ever- very well organised, indeed, a well-oiled machine. There were some super games of which my favourite was Aughrim, which I'd have watched all day, if I'd not been a tad busy. That Omaha Beach game looked most impressive, and the Bodkin's Roman vs. Sassanid game, and others. It was super chatting with so many people, at least five re-enactors pointed out their regiments on the table. A terrific show!

The Relief of Norchester at Salute 51

Here are some super photos of the Relief of Norchester game that my friends helped me take to Salute last weekend. The photos were taken by chum Ian Notter. Above is a shot of the parliamentarian Great Battery, which had just commenced its bombardment of the eponymous city.

...and here is the city Norchester, itself. You will be able to make out the tall buildings of the Flemish merchants' quarter (Norchester exports wool to the Low Countries), and the bombardment has already damaged the ancient bell tower of St. Andrew's church. Beyond the city is Norchester Great Wood.

The other end of the battlefield is defined by the Bishop's Wood. Above and below, there was a massive cavalry clash on this wing, with over 300 horse in 15 regiments fighting to more or less mutual destruction. We used the For King and Parlaiment rules to fight the battle, everyone picked them up and it ran smoothly.

On the other wing, above, Hesilrige's heavily-armoured lobsters (right foreground) held the Parliamentarian left flank throughout the day, resisting numerous charges!

And finally here is a view down the battlefield showing many of the 27 foot battalia that were engaged. The battle was extremely close- the Royalists were behind most of the day, and down to four medals just after lunch, but managed to squeak a narrow victory an hour later, forcing the parliamentarians to lift the siege!

Above is a brief video that I shot before the event.

...and I was delighted to win an award for the game- best 25/28mm game, second year in a row!

I'd like to thank everyone who helped m to deliver the project, particularly Ian Notter who helped a great deal with the modelling and advice, as well as the photography. Huge thanks to those who played on the day and helped me to engage with the public- especially FK&P stealth co-author Andrew Brentnall. Also thanks to everyone who dropped by for a chat, and apologies to anyone I didn't manage to talk to- it was insanely busy. And finally a big thank you to the South London Warlords who, as ever, did a fantastic job running the event.

I will be taking the game to Partizan next month. If you'd like to play, please drop me a line. In the meanwhile, the brave citizens intend to bolster the defences of Norchester with some state-of-the-art renaissance fortifications, to be erected in front of the medieval walls.

All the New Horse

I've recently, with the big Salute game in mind, added just over 100 new 28mm cavalry to my ECW armies. Around half the minis are from eBay purchases, retouched, and the remainder were painted by the hard-working Shaun McTague. I finished and based all the minis, and chum Ian Notter flocked them all. They still need tufts and flags. Around a half are Renegades, the rest are Bicornes.

Above and below, there are 54 "Dutch" horse in six 3-deep troops, some of these are cuirassiers, acting as lifeguards for the generals.

...and above and below, there are another 54 minis in three Swedish regiments of 18. These will all be Royalists.

This will give me just over 500 beautifully painted cavalry in the Salute game- around twelve regiments a side, plus three lifeguard troops. I am striving to achieve a historical ECW ratio of horse to foot-  I should have 1:2.5 or so on the day.  

...in other news I added some more items, including magnetic basing materials, to the flash sale in the BigRedBatShop. 

New Regiments of Foote

I'm running a big ECW game at Salute, and intend to add six or so new foote battalias to my armies. Above are the first two, painted and part based, and below is a third. By chance, these three are almost entirely Renegades, with a few Bicornes added. Shaun McTague painted around half of them, and the remainder are from judicious eBay purchases. I've highlighted and am basing them. Two of the units will be Royalists from the Oxford Army, clad in cloth recently looted from the warehouses of Bristol, and natty montero caps.

If you'd like to play in the big Salute game for an hour or so, please drop me an email.

In other news, I've added a few more items to my BigRedBatShop flash sale of battle mats, bases and chits.  The cloths are reduced by 10% or more, and the bases and chits by up to 50%.

Saint Hunna's chapel

 

The chapel from the previous post is now mostly restored- I just need to highlight the roof tiles, lichen on the tiles and the lead-clad spire. It scrubbed up really well! I sculpted a door and step to make it appear convincingly 28mm. I think it might well be the oldest model in my collection. There's a "before" photo, below.

The chapel is now named St. Hunna's, after the patroness of laundry workers and laundresses, reflecting it's origin in the Middleton Road, Bounds Green laundry!

In other news, I have just put a load of mats, chits and bases on sale, just for a few days. You can find them here.

Operation Silk Purse

This is a very battered model that was, rather randomly, kindly given to me in a launderette in Bounds Green circa 1984, by a chap who spotted me reading a wargames book. After 40 years, it's finally made it to the head of the painting queue! It's an OO/HO railway model that I've upscaled to 28mm, by making it slightly taller and crafting a 28mm door and step. It also needed a new steeple and quite a bit of filling. My plan is to tidy it up a bit but not change much of the original paintwork, which I have grown quite attached to; restoration rather than repainting.

Sorry for the recent lack of posts- I've been frantically posting out copies of the new FK&P Montrose scenario book. I'm down to my last 10 copies now, but have just ordered a second print run and should have more in a few days. I've also been very busy with basing for Salute- I'll take some pics next week!

Montrose- To Win or Lose it All

Hi all, today I'm launching a new scenario book and also an accompanying "extra rules" book, for use with the TtS! For King and Parliament English Civil War rules. The 90-page Montrose- To Win or Lose it All scenario book contains nine free-standing scenarios covering the Marquis of Montrose's battles in Scotland in 1644-45. Eight are historical and one, a "what if". Each scenario contains a background briefing, separate briefings for each of the players, a deployment plan and an order of battle. The scenarios can be played individually or in sequence, as a campaign. The book also includes a background to the campaign and descriptions of the principle personalities involved, including Montrose, Alastair MacColla and Archibald Campbell. It could be adapted for use with other rule systems.

The 26-page Celtic Fringe Extra Rules book is intended for use alongside the TtS! For King and Parliament English Civil War rules and the Montrose "To Win or Lose it All" scenario book. By Celtic Fringe, we refer to the land and people west and north of the "Highland Line" in Scotland, and their Gaelic-speaking cousins across the Irish Sea. The book contains extra rules that build on the For King and Parliament mechanisms, modelling the traditional styles of fighting that still survived in these areas. As well as the Montrose scenario book, it will also support two planned future scenario books in the same series, concerned with the Insurgency and the Catholic Confederation in Ireland, and with Cromwell's campaigns in Ireland and Scotland.

These are available both as print books, in the usual-for-TtS! wire O bound format, and as digital downloads. If you live within the European Union, please purchase the digital downloads from here on Wargames Vault.

There is a modest discount if you buy both books together, and postage will also be somewhat  cheaper, especially if you are outside the UK. Enjopy!

Mea Culpa

...it has been two months since my last post! A mix of real life stuff- and the BigRedBatShop has been insanely busy (thanks!). I've also been getting ready for publishing the ECW Montrose book towards the month end, and an updated Medieval Army List Book.

I've been trying to sort out some additional ECW cavalry for the big Salute game. So far, I have three squadrons of Dutch ready for flocking, two Swedish regiments half finished, a Dutch regiment needing snagging and basing. One more Swedish regiment is unseen, since it is still mustering. By Salute I hope to have 27 regiments of 18 men plus some separate squadrons.

In other news, I've just added some new bases in the BigRedBatShop- new command base sizes and a variant on the popular FK&P13b.

Siege Mound

Here is a WIP shot of my new ECW siege artillery battery on a mound. Last night I added a few more Debris gabions, build the earth around them up and cut the base. Tonight, I need to model the approach ramp at the rear. I have an idea that I could build a gunpowder magazine into the side of this.

It will be an earthen mound, roughly 5cm tall, with storming poles and possibly an abattis.

I'm building the piece to accommodate some Bicorne siege guns painted by chum David Imrie. It feels strange that it is so much quicker to build huge bits of terrain than it is to paint a few tiny 28mm figures!

Battery and Battlechat 105

Over the weekend, I've been working on my first ever siege artillery battery, for the Salute '24 game. My plan is to make it useable for both the ECW and 1672, by having interchangeable siege guns and crews. It will sit on top of a raised artificial mount with a ramp up to it, and store away in a RUB. The gabions are all from Debris of War, and very nice they are, too. I'll show some more images later this week; right now, it reminds me of back when I had braces, back in the '70's. ;-)

In other news, I did an interview with Henry Hyde last week which is up on his Battle Games site. Henry was a lovely host, asked lots of interesting questions and we chatted for longer than we should have but then, I could have talked all day! The interview can be found here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/battlechat-105-92383129

To access it you'll need to join Henry's Patreon (which I've just done, I'm very keen to support him and  hear some of his other interviews) or wait for a week or so. I shall try to prevail on him to chat with me next year about my new enthusiasm for gunpowder...

1672 work in progesss

As is so often the case, when I should be painting one thing, I find myself painting three other things. My excuse to myself is that I'm finishing them to make room. These are above, Walloon Regiment Vierzet, and below the Listenois Dragoons and some Royal Dragoons which I decided to give ECW flags to.  All for my 1672 project. Proper photos later, when flocked.

Royal Regiment of Dragoons mustering

 

This is a unit for my 1670's project. They are British dragoons, probably most useful in 1678, by which time the British had allied with the Dutch and there were nine squadrons of dragoons in the field. I plan to depict them both on foot (with horse holders) and mounted. All North Star 1672 minis, mostly painted by Shaun McT. and finished by me. I still need to finish basing them.

Since the 1672 rules aren't yet written, I'm keeping my options open so that they can either be fielded as dismounted units of squadron size, whilst retaining the option of grouping two or three of these together to form a larger unit of up to battalion-size. In battle they will most likely be found out on the flank, somewhere, lining a hedge or guarding a supply column.

Ancient Ruins

No, this is not about me and my grognard chums, but rather this printed scenery which I bought on eBay for around £50. I'm gobsmacked about the value- it's almost a foot high (28mm figure for scale) and there must be weeks of work in the design of it, and a ton of filament within it. O brave new world that has such buildings in it! How long would it have taken to build a model like this from scratch? I plan to customise it and use it in my Salute '24 game.

In other news I had an absolutely super chat with Henry Hyde of Battlegames this morning, which he'll be posting as a Podcast in the next few days, I'll talk about it more when I know the release date, soon, I think.