A Scene of Untimely Demise

Just a very quick post this time, to showcase a rather macabre little casualty stand that has been quietly waiting in the wings.  When I was looking to produce the devastated camp for my Silver Bayonet project, I spent some time trawling the infoweb in search of suitable casualty markers.  Amongst the various possibilities I came across were a couple of stands of Napoleonic French artillery from 'Offensive Miniatures'.  They looked rather useful and, for a while, I had visions of creating some sort of devastated artillery position around them, complete with exploded barrel and splintered limber.

The Spectre of Summer

The start of any new academic year is always a busy and exciting time.  New names to learn, departmental development plans that need revising and the obligatory safeguarding refresher courses all leave remarkably little time for hobby related fluff.  That said, I was so buoyed by the enthusiasm generated through the summer's series of posts that I am keen to keep a little momentum going if I can.

The difficulty, of course, is finding the balance.  One of the great pleasures of the last couple of months has been reconnecting with friends across the blogging community, and I would very much like to maintain those connections.  However, I am also conscious that once the school year is in full swing, finding time for the hobby desk becomes rather more challenging.  There are only so many hours in the day and the Charcoal Avalanche, that heavy, dark and slightly messy physical weight of sketchbooks requiring marking, remains stubbornly indifferent to my own artistic ambitions.

Into the Woods...

...A Silver Bayonet Solo Scenario.

As the long summer holiday comes crashing to an end I decided to spend the last couple of days working through the first solo mission for The Silver Bayonet, the Wolf Pack. Now from the outset I should stress that I find playing any new game initially overwhelming. I seem to struggle with the amount of numbers be they modifiers or character stats and can often feel myself becoming incredibly agitated when constantly having to stop and check something in the rules. Given that I have spent an inordinate amount of time painting miniatures and creating terrain I do find this hard to come to terms with. Then there is the nagging thought in the back of my mind that I should be somehow documenting this encounter, perhaps to share on this most humblest of weblogs. However taking photographs only adds to the stop, start nature that I am desperately trying to avoid. Anyway, I stuck with it and played the scenario twice, slowly learning from my mistakes and becoming more familiar with the rules. I can see why they are so popular as they naturally build in intensity and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters that I have invested time in creating. As the Saintly Mrs. Awdry was out playing golf, I took the opportunity to dictate each turn into my phone and as I become more confident in what I was doing I started to notice that the narrative was becoming more involved. I have now spent some time tidying up the commentary, making sure that the odd misheard phrase is corrected and sprinkled in some stardust to help enhance the atmosphere. The result is, I hope, a more enjoyable retelling, more as a story as opposed to a roll by roll account. There is nothing new in this, but it was something that I was keen to try for myself. I should stress that I went back and set up the photographs at a later date, taking a little more time with their composition to serve as illustrations for the piece rather than documentary evidence that would only have continued to slow the pace of the adventure. So presented below is the first scenario, the introduction to which owes more than an nod to the original author, Joseph A. McCullough...

A Circle of Stone, A Circle of Ideas

With the inevitable return to work now looming on the horizon, A-Level results due to be published this week and all the various preparations for the new academic year beginning to make their presence felt, I was keen to squeeze in one more post before the balance of time inevitably shifts back towards work.  For this offering in the 'Season of Scenery', I thought I would share one of the more unusual pieces of terrain I have built for The Silver Bayonet; unusual not so much because of what it is, but because of how it came about.

Show Boat

One of the unexpected pleasures of Dave Stone's ‘Season of Scenery’ has been rediscovering all those curious little projects that have been quietly gathering dust whilst patiently waiting for their turn upon the painting table. Some are sensible, some are practical, but this, I'm afraid, is neither.  Indeed, for my next contribution I present what can only be described as a complete show boat in every sense of the phrase.

French Leave

Today's contribution to Dave's ‘Season of Scenery’ is a modest affair, though perhaps no less useful for that; this time a wrecked French baggage wagon. Before building this little wagon I confess I knew remarkably little about French military transport. Like so many things connected with Napoleon's armies, however, it turns out there was rather more thought behind it than first appears. The Gribeauval system is usually remembered for revolutionising French artillery, introducing standardised guns, limbers and equipment that were lighter, more mobile and considerably easier to maintain in the field. Less celebrated, though no less important, was the influence this standardisation had upon the army's wagons and logistics. Uniform dimensions, interchangeable parts and carefully organised transport meant Napoleon's armies could often march further and faster than their opponents; a rather useful quality when one has ambitions of conquering Europe!

A Scene of Utter Carnage

Having finally reached that most anticipated juncture in the academic year, the long summer holiday, my thoughts naturally turn to slowing the pace a little. There are, of course, the inevitable jobs left upon one's bureau by the Saintly Mrs. Awdry, friends and family to catch up with, and, if fortune smiles kindly, the occasional pint of properly cloudy English cider to enjoy in a shady corner of the garden. For me though, the summer has always meant something else; it is a chance to disappear into my lair for a few uninterrupted hours and indulge in this most wholesome of hobbies.