The end of week one, 2014

I have spent an enjoyable week, pondering over the possible DBA armies, which I could take with me to Cancon in two weeks.

On Day One, I have decided to run a Bosporan contingent, circa 100AD (DBA II/25).  The army's home topography is classed as arable and the army list assigns it an aggression factor of zero.  On this basis, I should have a better than average opportunity to defend and have the capacity to deploy the terrain.

The army list details the Bosporians' composition as four elements of three knights each, including the general, representing lancers from the nobility of the kingdom, located in the Crimea.

The Bosporans were a Hellenised Skythian race, heavily influenced by the Sarmatians until the kingdom was absorbed into the Roman regime.  In support of the cavalry, there are four stands of four auxilia each.  This infantry represent the city militia, who, at the time, are no longer equipped as thureophoroi, having adopted '... the Roman style...'.  The remaining four elements of the army are made up of a combination of psiloi, bow, and an element of artillery.  The artillery element, if deployed, will be depicted by a bolt shooter mounted on a light cart (Source: 'DBM Army Lists, Book 2').

I have cleaned and mounted the lancers and the psiloi on bases ready for priming.  The remainder of the army is already painted.

The army I will field on Day Two is a representation of a force mobilised by King Georg Podiebrad of Bohemia, often referred to as the Hussite King, in 1464AD (DBA IV/80).  I have had this army since 2006, having bought it from a talented Australian painter, Chris Jones.  I have not previously used it in a competition.  I'm looking forward to its unique challenges.

The army's home topography is arable and the army list provides for an aggression factor of one.  Again, this should see me as the defender in the majority of my games.

The Hussite general element can either be represented as three knights or four blades.  It has five war wagons (therefore no camp is required to be fielded), an element of light horse, another four elements of blades and an artillery piece make up the rest of the army.

I will upload some photographs of each of these armies prior to leaving for Canberra.      

I also constructed three 4ground manufactured MDF 28mm buildings for skirmish gaming using Saga.

These kits were the first I had made and I really enjoyed both the ease of construction and the look of the final product.  The use of faux Teddy Bear fur for the thatching is excellent.  The wattle and daub constructed house in the foreground of the picture above was a Christmas present from my wife.  She has also contributed a resin flint church to the village.

Towards 2014!

The commencement of this blog reflects my new approach to wargaming.

Over the years, I have accumulated more unpainted lead than anyone else I know.  This virtual lead mountain has gone unchecked until this time last year, when, over a week, I sorted through it, bagged the figures and created an inventory for ease of retrieval with the help of my wife.

Following the sale of my apartment in Brisbane's West End, we moved into a house where I am fortunate enough to be able to allocate a room to my hobby.

I now have no further excuses, 2014 needs to be the year that the lead mountain is mined and useable, painted wargaming figures produced whilst I still am able to do so! Along the way, I will record my progress using this blog to ensure I remain on track.

Secondarily, I want to game more regularly.  I have committed to attend both Cancon (held in Canberra in January) and MOAB (held in Sydney in October) to play DBA in 2014.  I need to get some practice games in before each event for the sake of my ego!  This is something I haven't done previously and suffered the consequences.

Whilst in the UK in 2012, I got hooked on Saga, a rule set for dark age skirmish encounters and have over the ensuing year, acquired two rival factions of 28mm Normans and Anglo Saxons.  I have shied away from using plastic figures, instead I have sourced both factions from 'Gripping Beast' and 'Crusader'.  I have used 'War and Peace Games', located on the Central Coast of NSW, in this endeavour and recommend them!

These 28mm figures are on the painting bench awaiting cleaning prior to priming.

Last month, we visited Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.  This experience rekindled my interest in the American Civil War.  I meet John Zabawa, who operates 'Gettysburg Miniature Soldiers'.  John is a re-enactor and he put me on to some of the most accurate 10mm resin buildings I have ever seen.  These buildings depict the farms surrounding Gettysburg and are sold under the business name of 'Buildings in Turmoil'.

Whilst at Gettysburg, we visited the 'Victorian Photo Studio' operated by Patricia and Del.  Patricia took our photo using 1860s era wet plate photography.  It was a great experience!