IABSM AAR: Pegasus Re-Visited

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Regular visitors to the Vis Lardica site will know that one of my favourite builds this year was the Warbases' Pegasus Bridge model. This enormous piece of scenery took me some time to put together and paint, including a short hiatus whilst Warbases, showing their usual high levels of customer service, replaced a part that I had superglued into the wrong position and then destroyed as I tried to re-position! Now that the thing was built, it was time to get it onto the tabletop and into action.

I did think about replaying the actual Pegasus Bridge action itself but, at a loose end one day, I put together a rather nice set-up on the wargames table featuring the bridge as part of a small town. As I didn't want to take it all apart again and re-build to the correct landscape, I decided to just write a quick scenario featuring the bridge where it was.

Click on the pic below to read all...

TFL Painting Challenge: Post Hols Update

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Lots of activity in the painting challenge whilst I've been away.

So, in no particular order, we have:

  • Carole Flint with some buildings for her Imagi-nations project
  • Keith Davies with an assortment of figures and buildings
  • Mr Helliwell with some more 15mm ACW figures and, controversially, some 28mm Late Romans
  • Mervyn pops in some more buildings
  • Mr Slade re-bases in a Sir Pelanor-like quest to find the perfect rules. 
  • Andy Duffell sends in some rather nice buildings
  • Mr Hooge has gone all Mexican on us: andale, andale!
  • Thomas makes his mark with some, er, markers
  • Kev has been at the ECW figures again.

Today's pictures:

I am loving Andy's pigsty!

15mm Mexicans from Mr Hooge

Late Romans from Mr Helliwell

A pike block from kev

With almost 2/3rds of the year now gone, there's still plenty of time to get your entries in.

Don't worry if you're sitting on a huge pile of entries to send in: just get e-mailing!

I Am Back

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Just in case any of you have been wondering why there have been no posts for the past week or so, it's because I have been away on hols.

Rumours that I'm modelling for the new Apocalypse Now range of Vietnam-era surfers are obviously untrue!

Lots to update now that I'm back, including at least one AAR and a Painting Challenge update. I'd do one now, but I'm off to see Suicide Squad at the cinema! Laters...

IABSM AAR: Find the Front by Mark Luther

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A very colourful game of I Ain't Been Shot, Mum! in 6mm from Mark Luther.

The scenario involves one of my favourite situations: a clash of late war reconnaissance units. Forget the big cats and the swarms of Shermans: let's let the armoured cars and half-tracks out to play!

Click on the pic to see all:

IABSM: 1939 Polish Lists Updated

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I have slightly updated the IABSM v3 lists for the 1939 Polish Army, available by clicking the picture or from the Poland 1939 page under the IABSM heading.

Whilst working on the German lists for the same period, I realised that the IABSM v3 convention is to give medium mortars a crew of five rather than the v1 or v2 crew of three.

Small thing, especially as they will be off-table in most games, but now corrected.

German lists are coming along nicely: should be done by the end of the month. Wish my Polish cavalry painting was doing as well!

TFL Painting Challenge: Ashley's Return

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Hi All

Enough entries to justify another quick update, including another first-time-this-year returnee.

So, in no particular order, we have:

  • Ashley Pollard making a welcome return with a couple of 15mm buildings
  • Mr Helliwell sends in more ACW 15s
  • Richard Naylor has T-55s on offer: lot's of little T-55s
  • Steve Burt resurrects a 1/72 scale shop
  • Mr Hodge sends in some nice Napoleonics and a single wight
  • Mr Luther fills in one of his gaps with some shots of his weekend game
  • and last but by no mens least, Andy Duffell sends in some transport from across a couple of periods

Lots to choose from pics-wise today:

Ashley's buildings

Derek's rather nice band of guerillos

28mm jeep from Andy Duffell

Another great table-scape from Mark Luther

Scorecard will be updated tonight.

TFL Painting Challenge: Cheeky Weekend Update

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Enough entries to sneak another update through only five days or so after the last one.

So, in no particular order, we have:

  • Matt Slade with some lovely 28mm Crusade figures
  • Geoff Bond sends in his first entry of the year: some Germans
  • Mr Plowman has been re-basing
  • Chris Stoesen pops in some 15mm Continentals and engineer-types
  • Steve Burt sends in a barn
  • And last, but by no means least, Mr Luther has completed a vast amount of figures for Sharp Practice 2.

Today's pictures? Well it's got to be Geoff's Germans...and we'll add an extra photo from Mr Luther of some of his 6mm 'planes:

You'll also be pleased to hear that the Scorecard is now fully up to date!

TFL Painting Challenge: Large Update

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Another big update for the painting challenge:  your brushes have been busy! So, in no particular order, we have:

  • Richard Naylor has been painting 1/600 'planes: twelve of them, to be exact
  • Stumpy has been doing some more re-basing
  • Egg has been painting some more Cold War Soviets...and Lidl!
  • Andrew Helliwell has also been painting Soviets, WW2 Soviets reclaimed from a jumble sale
  • Jon Yuengling sends in an assortment of WW2 15s
  • Matt Slade makes up for a short absence with three entries: 7YW 28s and a host of barbarian and dwarf 15s
  • And last, but by no means least, Mr Plowman has built a couple of hills

Today's pictures are below...

I am loving Egg's Cold War Soviets and the Lidl!

Stumpy's re-based Frenchies

Matt Slade's 15mm Barbarian Hero

IABSM AAR: Polish River Crossing

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Considering the work I'm currently doing on the Panzerspah list for the German army in 1939, it's a somewhat marvellous coincidence that the next battle report from the archive of Mark Luther is set in Poland in 1939 and features a German reconnaissance force attempting a river crossing in the face of Polish resistance.

Click on the image below to see all:

what an incredible table!

IABSM: First German Army Lists for Poland 1939

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I've now started work on the German army lists to accompany the "First to Fight" pdf containing all the Polish lists.

The first two, the Light Tank Company and Light Tank Company A, are now available either by clicking on the images, below, or by visiting the Poland 1939 page of the website.

Note that I will post new lists as they are complete but, after they are all done, compile them into one booklet in the same way As I have done with "First to Fight".

Any comments or critiques welcome!

TFL Painting Challenge: Huge Update

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Huge update today:  loads of entries from people who haven't been active for a bit.

So, in no particular order, we have:

  • Keith Davies with Viking-types in two different scales
  • Egg makes a welcome return, with enough 15mm figures painted in modern woodland camouflage to send any normal man insane
  • Mervyn has been housebuilding: four houses to be exact
  • Mr Naylor pops in a few Austrians
  • Owen is also back with a bang: over 500 points-worth of 28s in one go
  • Andrew Helliwell has a few spearmen and a regiment of ACW Unionists for us to see
  • Sapper is another of the returnees: eighty-five 28s and a house for them all to live in
  • The Hat is back: Lloyd Bowler succumbed to temptation, bought a big box of figures, and has only just now returned to the surface...
  • Steve Bowler submits some more Egyptians, and is now sure that he's painted all of them...
  • And last, but by no means least, Koen sends in a mix of Paras, fantasy and sci-fi figures

So many entries to choose between for the pics. Let's see now...

The reason for Egg's insanity

Sapper's Napoleonics

Zouaves from Lloyd Bowler

The Last of the Egyptians!

Scoreboard will be updated tonight.

Ironclad Miniatures: Both Factories Now Finished

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A bit of spare time this weekend gave me the opportunity to finish the Ironclad Miniatures factories I've been working on.

First up were the second and third sections of the large factory:

These two bits then combined with the first section, finished last week, to give a very nice looking and impressively large ruined factory. Here is the whole thing with a motorcycle combo to give you an idea of size:

Then I discovered that those nice people at Ironclad had also sent me a bag full of true ruins: cornerpieces and wall sections etc. These ended up painted in the same way as the main factories:

Finally I realised that I hadn't painted all of the small factory: it has a loading bay that comes separately. So here's another view of the small factory (see previous post) but with the loading bay tacked on:

All in all, some excellent terrain from Ironclad.

Now to start the Poles...

TFL Summer Special 2016 Now Available!

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Great news: the TFL Summer Special 2016 has landed and is now available.

Click here to buy it.

Contents and blurb from Rich:

Packed with the usual mix of Lard related articles, scenarios and campaigns.  This is a bumper edition weighing in at a collosal 136 pages

Introduction
The usual waffle from the less-than-dynamic duo. 

Death Road to Corunna
Alfredo Vitaller & chums from Club Dragon in Madrid present a chilly Napoleonic campaign for Sharp Practice  

A Fast & Dirty Guide to Tactics
Playing Sharp Practice and looking for top tactical tips?  Look no further.

Let’s All Get Equally Confused
Two Operation Torch scenarios for I Ain’t Been Shot Mum from Charles Eckart in the USA

Team Desobry
Men of the midlands, Ade and Al, head for the Ardennes as Team Desobry defend Noville in December 1944 with Chain of Command

109 Beat It
Jim Jackaman takes on the Hun over northern France with Bag the Hun

George Washington’s Indian War
Simon Walker applied his war-paint and looks at this little known but rather spiffing war for Sharp Practice.

On the Trail of Fort Jefferson  
A scenario for the above conflict.

Our Moccasins Trickled Blood.
Another Indian War scenario.  You know that they say, red moccasins…

At the Sharp End…of the Runway
Some campaign ideas for Bag the Hun from James Crate in the US of A.

Binky Faversham’s Guide to Banter
Tally Ho chaps, Caribou nibbling on the croquet hoops, Scramble!  Binky makes sense of banter from his high security psychiatric institution

The Company Commander in Big Chain of Command
Len Tracey suggests uses for the main man in large games of CoC. 

Matching Scale and Wargames
La Roundwood introduces us to fine art and even finer figures for the Thirty Years War

The Japanese Army 1936-42
A guide to Japanese tactics from Len Tracey in Australia.              

George of the Jungle
An IABSM scenario set in Burma in 1945 and starring George Macdonald Fraser.

A Fighting Withdrawal
A Dunkirk perimeter campaign for Chain of Command.  Can you save the BEF? 

Itching to Mix It
The Hun are raiding Swanage.  It was the last time anyone went there out of choice. 

America’s First D-Day
Charles Eckart presents a US-Mexican War amphibious landing. 

Kernow’s Corner
A last-ditch fight for the DCLI as they stand up to the German Spring Offensive of 1918.  A Muddy CoC scenario. 

Tanks in the Wire
The NVA attack a US Special Forces camp in 1968A scenario for Charlie Don’t Surf from Ross Bowrage.

It was just my Imagi-Nation…
An introduction to Big Rich’s Seven Years War project.

The Khazi is Revolting
An Indian Mutiny Scenario from the Deep Fried Lard Games Day.  Can you get the Major Piles Relief Column through in time?

Saving the Honourable “Tootles” Ash
A cinematic adventure into WWII with arescue mission for Chain of Command.

The Roundwood Report
Sidney discusses firing mechanisms and much else with Big Rich.

Creating Facts on the Ground
Fighting the Six Day War Lardy Style with Robert Avery