Drawing A Blank

SPENT a frustrating time yesterday trying to find blank counters to which I can attach paper counters provided in Mike Lambo's English Civil War book.

Neither Leisure Games in Finchley, north London, nor Orcs (sic) Nest in central London could help, with a man at the former saying the shop had tried to get blank counters but found it very difficult.

Fortunately I have some 15x15mm steel bases left over from my War of the Austrian Succession project.

Squares painted grass green on one side and left blank on the other

My idea is to glue the 'full-strength' counters to the green sides, and the 'demoralised' ones on the reverse.

Not the greatest gluing job, but good enough

Lambo recommends using for his English Civil War games at least eight, "but preferably 10," six-sided dice.

Small ones work best as they need to be placed next to the human player's units - the reason will become clear when I play through the battles.

I was going to try to buy a set of such dice, but luckily remembered I had 10 miniature dice in my Airfix Battles game.

Dice the job

I will need to buy more steel bases, but otherwise I am quite pleased with the progress made.

All Present And Correct

MY small, to-be-expanded, Russian 10mm army for the War of the Austrian Succession is the last to get its officers put on bases.

Russians line up in front of 54mm dragoons

Priming and painting 100+ metal squares before adding already-painted single figures has been one of the easier tasks I have undertaken at my work table.

Prussia's Turn

AM continuing to base the officers of my War of the Austrian Succession 10mm armies even as I work on 54mm figures for my Project Kaiser refight of the Franco-Prussian War.

Prussians being based … behind them are small packs of painted 54mm figures and a box of Napoleonic French dragoons ripe for converting

Dettingen Ready

PUTTING the officers of my War of the Austrian Succession armies onto bases continues apace, with Austria being the latest to receive the treatment.

Austrians waiting for the glue to dry

This means I have completed basing all the forces likely to take part in my long-delayed refight of the Battle of Dettingen.
The good news on that front is that my regular wargaming opponent and I should be able to stage the refight fairly soon ...

Basing Bonus

A BONUS of putting units' officers on steel bases is the handy opportunity it gives me to dole out dabs of glue to those rank-and-file figures who have come unstuck or at least are loose.

My French 10mm War of the Austrian Succession army on my work-table

My French forces are quite extensive but, perhaps surprisingly, only one infantryman and one trooper needed such help.

Back To Base-ics

BEGAN basing the 'officers' (some are musicians) of my 10mm War of the Austrian Succession troops - first up are the British and Hanoverian contingents of the Pragmatic Army.

Basing … a work in progress

Here are two of the completed units, von Zastrow foot and Queen's Own dragoons.

My fear of officers' bases looking obtrusive was greatly exaggerated

Having officers on bases will vastly speed movement as getting individual 10mm figures, especially infantry, to stand upright on a gaming cloth was a fiddly business.

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.