Home To Treats

GOT back from Bavaria earlier this evening to find, as is often the case when I have been away, exciting wargaming things waiting for me.
First up were the April/May 2019 edition of Toy Soldier Collector and the March/April 2019 edition of Slingshot.

Double delight

I have not had time to go through either magazine yet, but promising articles in TSC include Gallant Little Belgium (a Canadian collecting the Belgian army of WW1), Fantastic Plastics (more than the usual number of reviews of new plastic figures) and Rescuing A Dying Hobby (a brigadier-general's views on toy-soldier collecting).
The arrival of the Society of Ancients' Slingshot rarely fails to please. The latest edition includes The Battle Of Thapsus (refought under the Lost Battles system), 6mm Accessories With 3D Printing (using 3D printing to customise model soldiers) and so much more - a quick flick-through of the magazine makes me think I will be avidly reading it cover-to-cover.
My other wargaming acquisition may seem a great deal less exciting, consisting as it does of 120 15mm-square pieces of steel from Products For Wargamers.

This photo, thanks to my smartphone's flash, makes the steel squares look more exciting than is justified - in reality they are of uniform colouring

I had the squares made to order - they are not of a size stocked by Products For Wargamers - to solve a problem with my 10mm mid-18th century armies.

As can be seen in this picture of Austrian infantry assaulting a Prussian-held town, I affix rank-and-file soldiers to (steel) bases but leave officers unbased

I love 10mm for making it possible for me to get the visual appeal of a large battle even though I live in a small flat in central London.
But individual figures, especially infantry, do not take kindly to being asked to stand upright on a gaming cloth.
I ordered 120 15mm-sqaure steel bases for £15.50 from Products For Wargamers so I can give my officers stability. I do not think the bases will be too obtrusive, but time will tell.

Adding Stability

ONE of the (many) things I am old-school about in wargaming is bases.
I want mine to be as unobtrusive as possible, so as not to detract from the figures on them.
What I particularly dislike are thick bases with so much flocking that it looks like the troops are standing on plinths.
That is why I buy 1mm-high galvanised-steel bases from Products For Wargamers.
My War Of The Austrian Succession foot, horse and guns are fixed on bases 40mm x 20mm, with generals on bases 20mm x 20mm.
I recently ordered extra 20mm x 20mm bases and have used them to add stability to my trees, which proved tricky to keep upright, especially on a slope.

Not much danger of these trees toppling before their time

The picture shows a pine forest with, in the foreground, an oak wood.
Between them is my newest cavalry squadron, Saxony's Königlicher Prinz Kürassiere, followed by their fellow-Saxon Leibgrenadiergarde.