Tuesday 1 May 2012

SITREP


 Hope you watched The 70's on BB2 this evening..... Britain going to the dogs, SURVIVORS on TV, football violence, the birth of Punk, private armies in the shires. Pure Winter of '79 fare.

Several streams of wargaming consciousness are coming together right now. In no small part due to the new MJ Figures Falklands 1982 figures, which have helped put me into an inspirational place.

We will return to Abergavenny in 1979 next week, with an operational level game using bespoke home brewed rules, seeing the Government forces trying to break into the city and wrest it from the control of the Free Taffs and armed populace. I'm hoping the operational level game will spark a couple of lower level skirmishes in the streets, alleys and churchyards of the city, which I think are best run with the original Ambush Alley rules.

Speaking of Ambush Alley, I'm contemplating using them to refight Goose Green towards the end of May. I think their enemy generation and friction rules are perfect for recreating the elements of unknown that 2 Para found themselves facing. Suspected or potential Argie positions being treated as 'hot spots' in this case. Whilst Im sure it would be lovely to have an eight/nine foot long table with the isthmus and Goose Green settlement laid out and 2 Para attacking from one end - that game would probably have more in common with playing out the Inkerman or the Alma using Black Powder than the type of wargame I'm actually looking for to represent the essential elements of the battle. 

Here's another MJ Figures British Para from their Falklands 1982 range. Nicely executed netting on the helmet btw. I'm going to scrim in like crazy, though a few pieces of the appropriate Woodland Scenics scatter material may work equally as well.

Stopped by Games Workshop in Aberdeen today. Regardless of the critiscm that GW employees seem to garner in the forums, the guys in Aberdeen are good blokes and always really helpful. My mission today was to seek out the GW Modular Hill and gauge it's suitability for a quick and easy fix for our forthcoming hill battles. I took in a 20mm figure to get an idea of size and consequently am left thinking that I'd need two Modular Hill sections to make into one bigger hill on the tabletop which will be spruced up with additional rock outcrops to make it more characteristic of the defensive ring of hills outside Port Stanely.

Jury is still out as I have some pink insulating foamboards in the garage and they give me another option if required. To be honest the old fashioned wargaming felt draped over books, with stands of rocks deliniating crest lines and rock gullies or other major features may just be the right K.I.S.S. principle to adopt.

Cheers
Mark  

9 comments:

  1. I love survivors too but those accents really grate after a while.That reminds me I must finish watching the last series.

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  2. Not surprisingly I loved the original SURVIVORS too. Quite a good website dedicated to the series here:

    http://www.survivorstvseries.com/What_Is_Survivors.htm

    Cheers
    Mark

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  3. Timecast have recently released a series of Rocky outcrops for the Falklands campaign for 15mm-20mm.

    But then again, I have the habit of using 15mm terrain for 20mm to save space and stop the table from getting too cluttered and overwhelmed by giant buildings.

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  4. I've been sizing them up Frankie but it's difficult without seeing them in the flesh to gauge if they are what I want for 20mm.

    I had thought of using the Timecast rocks to deliniate contour changes and represent rock fields/gullies but they still don't capture the geology of the main rock formations of the prinicpal hills such as Mount Longdon and at seven quid a pop when I have some resin rocks from PMC Games and The Scene, plus a Woodland Scenics rock mould. I dunno.

    Cheers
    Mark

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  5. When the MJ 15s were out first time round I had a load and tried some extreme wargaming. Took a load of figures up to Eshaness and tried them out.Using 15mm figs on the ground really brings the effects of terrain into perspective. Distances are much more realistic ans it was interesting to have the figures looking down from hillocks on helicopters flying in the " valley ". Got some funny looks from the birdwatchers though.

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  6. Really looking forward to seeing the return to '79

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    Replies
    1. Your wish is my command. A new piece of the historical drama is up today.

      Cheers
      Mark

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  7. I popped by ModelZone on Thursday and bought some casting plaster to make use of that Woodland Scenics mould. £8.99 and enough perhaps for 20'ish rock formations.

    Cheers
    Mark

    ReplyDelete