Update...Final words on theatre selectors (for the moment) and how to point out the woods to your future self

Intro; In Addition

    So the other night I wrote a whole heap of stuff about why I like Bolt Action Theatre Selectors and all of it was very jolly but looking back at the post I realised I had missed out the main reasons why I really like theatre selectors. What I had really meant to say was.....

Historically Based Forces: Okay, I did mention that but to be more precise I like the fact that, contrary to how a lot of people play Bolt Action, which is competitively, theatre selectors from campaign books draw upon actual historical forces and places them in their historical setting and face them against their contemporary foes. They limit your choice of force, sometimes extremely, but with the intention of offering the player a different type of gaming experience with different mission objectives. 

Historically Based Clashes: The campaign scenarios are based on actual clashes many of which can be (fairly) accurately replicated on the tabletop. And the campaigns scenarios have quite detailed terrain layouts for the mission (though I think these maps don't really scale well they are useful guides, shall we say, to the terrain layout). And it's the simplest thing to go onto Google Earth, in many cases, and look at satellite images of where these battles took place. Blimey, in many cases you can visit these battlefields and survey the ground. As you may have gathered from our batreps we really like a table top full of scenery and we often aim to make the tables look "rule book worthy" i.e. photos of the game wouldn't look out of place in the Bolt Action rule book. All of which adds to the campaign games but more importantly, from my point of view, look like the actual battlefield albeit in miniature.

Hysterically Biased Blogger: Okay, I am going to sound grumpy here...I am grumpy here and it's only because I get really annoyed when folk on social media knock Bolt Action as a purely competitive game. I get where they are coming from, I have been to tournaments though I do not really enjoy them as it's not how I like to play Bolt Action. It was in a very good cause though and I am not going to knock people who play competitively; they are a very big part of the game and vital to keeping it going. Because of them Warlord Game keep churning out kits, figures etc (hopefully they'll produce new plastic British and Commonwealth infantry soon...but I digress...) However, they are not the be all and end all of Bolt Action; there are plenty of people who enjoy it as a narrative game and the current crop of campaign books are proof positive of that as that is where the big appeal is (I would argue...grumpy git that I am). No, what really get's my goat is non BA players or those that have the slightest acquaintance with it who then tar all Bolt Action games and gamers with the same brush....Bah!! Look deeper, I say, open your eyes!! :oD

Chain Of Command: I had meant to draw a comparison, flimsy though it is, with Chain of Command's Pint Size Campaigns, which I also really like. Within their extensively researched, very well written and extremely good quality pint sized campaigns are force lists that are similar in some respects to Bolt Action theatre selectors (they do predate Bolt Action's campaign theatre selectors; they was the firstest with the mostest). Even if you don't play Chain of Command the Pint Sized Campaigns are great for historical background, maps, terrain layouts etc and very inexpensive. 

Updates; Back to catching up on what I have been doing, hobby-wise, over the last wee while. 

Completed stuff: Okay, this bit is mainly directed towards my future self and not because I am egotist (and if I am an egotist it's only because I am fab :oD ). With all this Corona Virus malarky going on and actual gaming being very sparse of late ( I am sure there are more than a few of you who had less chance than me to game but it's my blog and my chin I am trying to heft off the floor so you'll excuse me, I am sure, if I appear like a selfish, ungrateful twat) I have been plugging away at various projects and parts thereof and whilst I have been productive a lot of it seems to get put away till later once it's done. So this bit of the blog, the update, is to remind myself what I have done over the last while and to remind myself not to be such a mumchance, down in the mouth.....berk! 

Well, now that's off my chest, what have I done...let's see

Off The Bench;  

US Infantry. As I mentioned in the last post ( I hope someone is still reading this or it's going to sound like I am talking to myself which in a way I guess I am :oD ) I have added to my US infantry platoon. I had a few of the older sprues kicking about and bought a couple of the newer ones which are absolutely fantastic; dynamically posed and nicely detailed. As you can see I have added two bazooka teams, two snipers and not a few BAR gunners. There's also two chaps carrying Bangalore torpedoes. Again, these are very nicely sculpted models and painted up really nicely.

I have plenty of vehicles to add to this force; M3 half tracks and jeeps, as I am toying with the idea of running a cavalry force in a mini campaign (mini campaign being three linked games using the same units...roughly, and set in a historical context) set during Operation Cobra. We'll see how that pans out (my head's full of ideas for mini campaigns...well them and lots of other nonsense :oD )

Warlords Of Erehwon Knights. Dipping my toe into the Warlords of Erewhwon I have taken the notion to field a Knights force inspired by GW Warhammer Fantasy Battles Bretonnians, (possibly Bretnonnians?) I have never, ever played WHFB but I really do like the old armies supplements; the figures and terrain are lovely and inspiring. So far I have painted up three of the plastic Bretonnian knights that I have. I picked these up at the bring and buy at Albanich wargames show a good while back, purely on a whim. I have added some Front Rank men at arms from their Hundred Years War collection as they look damn tasty.

German Volksgrenadiers. Another force which I am drawn to within WW2 especially after listening to Prit Buttar's Battleground Prussia on Audible, is the late war Volksgrenadiers. This is in part because I have the urge to paint up German Army camouflage uniformed figures (see the illustration below for one of my insiprations). That and the fact that there are lots of very nice models available from both Warlord Games, Artizan Designs and Empress Miniatures. This force will be mainly Warlord Games and Artizan Designs as I think the Empress Miniatures figures are a wee bit slimmer than the other two brands. They are arguably more accurate being sculpted by the fiendishly talented Paul Hicks but I just prefer to use the other two types, especially as I have lots of them awaiting some wargamer TLC. Likewise, this force will expand with additional vehicles and support units.

Inspirational artwork from the brush of Ron Volstad

A leggy red headed model flashing her stockings and
suspenders; a reward for those of you who have read
this far..well done..

Volksgrenadiers..a mixed bunch

Finally, off the bench and into the display cabinet is this 90mm English Halberdier from the now defunct Real Models. I like painting the occasional display figure and this one scratched an itch. Very pleased with this though it's not the prettiest kit but good enough for the 1980s when it was originally produced.

On The Bench:

Bretnonnians. These chaps are from Front Rank's War of the Roses collection. As you can see I have made an initial start with their faces and one fellow's breeks but I am now waiting for inspiration to take me by the ear and lead me back to them to complete their painting.

US Infantry: To complete my forces for the Overlord campaign's Get Off The Beach scenario are a medium mortar and a Roman Catholic chaplain. Like the Bretnonnians they are awaiting the arrival of some inspiration to gain them some attention....soon, lads, soon.... 

Volksgrenadiers: These chaps have gotten to the near top of the painting pile. Can't think what has gotten them there ahead of the stuff that I really should be doing but be that as it may I have these on the workbench at the moment, a 251/9 Stummel, a schwimmwagen, a Horch heavy field car (3D printed...not great) and an RSP PaK 40 from Anyscale Models and my second squad for my Volksgrenadiers. The SS chaps will get green stuff hoods attached to their smocks before I paint them as Heer Volksgrenadiers.

Terrain: With the current Covid 19 restrictions affecting our gaming yet again I am determined to to play at least one solo game from the Stalingrad campaign book and Scenario 6; Rail Station No.1 looks like just the ticket....just need a tad more appropriate terrain to fill out the table top..

The campaign scenario layout "guidelines"

My take. I am putting together some more terrain pieces
for it; 1 will be a small patch of fenced allotments, 2 a
coal yard, 3 a destroyed railway office and 4 platforms
and wreckage

Railway tracks and locomotive with Sarissa Precision
signal box and TT Combat wrecked office block. One
disappointing feature of the SP Signal Box is the narrow
balcony running around part of the building; it's not wide
enough to accommodate figures on 20mm bases. 

How I get my painting Mojo restarted. Lots still to do 

Lastly, back to display figures, I have stalled on this 75mm Seven Years War Prussian Dragoon. I'll get back to him soon as he's a corker and comes with various parts with which to make a nice, wee vignette. The crucial thing is that I have done, I think, a decent job of painting his face so the pressure is off.

Red Cross Parcels: I got caught up in all the froth around Infamy, Infamy and bought one of the pre order sets as I have plenty of Early Imperial Romans with which to create a force and in addition I bought a bag full of Britons to use them against...just need to build and paint them

Also looking at playing some of the Stalingrad scenarios but set in and around Kharkov so bought some inspiration......

Finally, scale model aeroplanes. I find myself drawn back to building and painting model aircraft and tanks. These two in particular I have bought for the wargaming and as a way of getting back into painting aircraft....but when I will start never mind finish is anyone's guess but here they are...

Lovely Mustang...for those of you who got this far;
you deserve it 

So that's me sort of up to date and you, dear reader, definitely up to date. Hopefully...definitely I will be updating this blog soon with reports on some (but not all, let's be honest :oD ) of my above projects.

Pip pip for now,

GJ