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Monday 15 July 2013

Wintercon 2013 - Day 2

So Day 2 dawned, raining and overcast. Canberra not at its wintry best.

With two clear wins on day one, I was waiting for a good spanking to bring me back to earth. Game 3  - vs Lawrence Greaves, with Sung Chinese.


Seen from my left, the Sung Bow (X) with supporting Cavalry (S) are holding out handily vs the Sui Catapahracts, the Sui LH are coming round in support - but that's not a good match-up. The situation is very confused on my right, but numbers and quality favour the Sui. Good early manouevre let me fall on the flank of his bowmen & cavalry there, and destroy them.   



The Sui burst though on my right, and the writing is on the wall for the Sung in the longer term, although still very tight at this stage, with his 'Dare to Die' troops getting into my bowmen and artillery. My cataphract command was finally to be broken after it took out the opposing general. Final result, the centre held out long enough for me to pick up the couple I need to break his army. 19-6 to the Sui.



Game 4 - vs Karl Hamlyn, Later Muslim Indian. Karl is an excellent player, being top ranked going into this competition.

To be honest this was a game where the number of extreme dice splits was ludicrous. Karl was the first victim, as some Bw(O) worked their way round to the pink bit (rough hill) in the foreground, and after a couple of test shots managed to 6-1 his Cv(S) general,  further fighting managing to finally break this command.

Meanwhile in the centre, my Cataphracts danced in front of his elephants and Bd(F), while the artillery manouvered to try and get a shot.. never happened. Second ridiculous dice split, My cataphract general is killed one on one vs an Indian Blade, (factors 5(G) - 4, dice split...   1-6, the cataphracts count inferior versus Blades, so adjusted dice score 5-10). The remaining cataphracts are trying to kill Cv(S) to get the last element required for game, and lose another to a 1-5 result, my cataphract command is gone, but I am still otherwise looking good.

I have enveloped his left, and need to destroy one more Cv(S) to break his army, my first shot - at 3 to -1 (unable to recoil) fails with a 1-6 roll. He makes a charge into my bow on my left and kills one.. now it is starting to get very tense. I charge back into the rear, front and both flanks of his surrounded Cavalryman - the odds are again 3 to -1, and with a 1-5 - we stick. (I also had two 4-1 shots as well in this time with my Cv General vs double overlapped Indian cavalry, and failed both). Now Karl makes the Hail Mary charge again, against the Bw(O) at the end of the line…  at 4-4 I roll a 5, and Karl rolls a 6.. my army is broken. I can still break him back if I win the combat against the surrounded Cavalry…  another 1-6 Karl’s way and the game is over…  16-9 to Karl.   



Dave Turner (Tibetan) vs Anton Verster (Mongol)


Dave Quilty's Mongols vs Karl


Fortress Greaves - vs Michael Stone's Hsiung-Nu


Lawrence didn't hide in his fortress, pressing Michael back and eventually winning 25-0


John Garvey's very pretty Moluccan Malay vs Anton Verster's Mongols.


And again - this time Round 3 vs Michael Stone's Hsiung-Nu.

The final count is below, and John Garvey won the door prize draw of a DBA Mirliton Communal Italian army.



Saturday 13 July 2013

Wintercon 2013 - Day 1

So the final numbers for DBMM 2 at Wintercon were 10, and then one withdrew, so we had 9, so a bye...  which was disappointing.

Two games each day, and I took some pictures.

This is Lawrence Greaves Sung Chinese on the left..  loads of Bw(X) - some Hordes and a little bit of cavalry.  Vs Anton Verster's Mongols.

Game 1. Dave Turner's Tibetan 'Wall of Steel' advances, only to find my Sui aren't there..  note the far left where the Sui actually are...

 Dave's blocking force, (in the shadow of the Yak) - runs into trouble...

 And on the left where my cavalry are.. and so are not quite enough of his light horse.

Game 2 vs John Garvey -
How much water is there on this table? Waterway plus navigable river..


Notice the large part of his army on his right swinging at thin air as I try and concentrate all my army on his left.

My guys ride past his left (foreground), the artillery shoot down some stuff, and I have the right mix to stand up to his assault.


 Close combat Sui Bw and Kn vs Malay Warband etc..

 Jon Willacy vs Karl Hamlyn.. two Later Muslim Indian armies have at each other.

No idea what's going on here..  what is that pink bit?

And here- Michael Stone (Hsiung-Nu) vs Dave Quilty (Mongol)


 
Looks to me like Dave (left) is doing all the back-pedalling...




Tuesday 9 July 2013

Last of the Sui

So the Sui showed up to Cancon last year.. 

But for some reason, I had never finished the baggage or the artillery. So I cobbled together some figures from the spares box, Chinese artillerymen, peasant horde, and leavened them with some mules and a couple of Roman engineers. I had intended to show 'Great Wall' repairs, but this didn't work out so well. Oh, and I had gone and bought an acrylic 'turquoise' colour, which I rather like.

Anyway, here they are:



Friday 5 July 2013

Teeny Tiny Choppers

No, not this Chopper..  but teeny tiny 1/1200 British Lynx and Wasp helicopters available through TSS (QRF)

I didn't even bother with a photograph, as they are much too small to see properly.. And I think I am going to be very challenged as to how to base them.

I think I am back to my basic problem of finding aircraft for the various modern fleets. The GHQ packs are starting to look like the only option, but they have only a limited range. I can get Soviet naval aircraft, but no Soviet helicopters...

Unfortunately, the 1/2400 static stuff from Navwar isn't suitable for sticking onto decks and so on as they are on quite chunky bases. .. 

Hmmmm - a puzzle. What is everyone else doing I wonder?