Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day here are some of my Irish troops:

 Manus O'Cahan's Regiment of Foot - English Civil War (28mm Warlord)

Colonel Alexander MacDonnell's Regiment of Foot - English Civil War (28mm Warlord)

Army of the Potomac Irish Brigade - American Civil War (15mm Old Glory)

164th New York Volunteer Infantry - American Civil War (15mm Essex Miniatures)

1st Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers - WW II (15mm Battlefront)

Dillon's Regiment of Foot in French Service - War of Spanish Succession (15mm Dixon) 

FitzJames Regiment Regiment of Horse in French Service - War of Spanish Succession                  (15 mm Dixon Miniatures) 

18th Royal Irish in the 2nd Afghan War.

88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) - Napoleonic Wars (28mm Wargames Foundry and Front Rank) 

Favorite Games: Fire and Fury

Fire and Fury remains one of the most popular historical military miniatures wargames in the hobby to play the American Civil War. The basic unit is the brigade of infantry or cavalry. The larger scale allows each player to take command of a division or an entire corps and refight the major battles of the war.

Here are just a few pictures of the units I have used in the games.

The Deep Ones

 “Certainly, the terror of a deserted house swells in geometrical rather than arithmetical progression as houses multiply to form a city of stark desolation. The sight of such endless avenues of fishy-eyed vacancy and death, and the thought of such linked infinities of black, brooding compartments given over to cob-webs and memories and the conqueror worm, start up vestigial fears and aversions that not even the stoutest philosophy can disperse.” 

The academics at Miskatonic Univeristy have discovered that there is a bargain between the town of Innsmouth and the Deep Ones and humans, in which the aquatic species provides plentiful fishing and gold in the form of strangely formed jewelry. In return, the land-dwellers give human sacrifices and a promise of "mixing"—the mating of humans with Deep Ones. Although the Deep One hybrid offspring are born with the appearance of a normal human being, the individual will eventually transform into a Deep One, gaining immortality—by default—only when the transformation is complete. 

This abomination must stop and the men and women of Miskatonic University are just the ones to do it!

The "Deep Ones" are primed resin figures from Dungeon & Dragons Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures line of unpainted primed resin figures from WizKids. They are the Gray Slaad & Death Slaad and come 2 to a pack and I plan on getting a few others. What is also great, the same line has a Chulthu that looks just great and it is only a matter of time that I pick it up - and its only a little more than $12 US. The entire range has useful figures and accessories for Victorian Sci Fi, Steampunk and Pulp games.

"Let's see if you'll eat hot lead!"

EEEKKK!!! Underground Worm Monsters or Something like that!

 "Ten thousand thundering typhoons! Addle-pated lumps of anthracite! They are now definitely lily-livered landlubber miserable earth worm wood lice of some type of Miserable molecule of mildew underground empire! Miserable earth worms!"

The Worm King.

These are some more resin figures that I have discovered from WizKids D&D range. They are actually various air elementals that I thought would look good as some sort of strange underground monsters.

Worm Soldiers.

How about some creepy crawlers from under the ground?

I have not done any stats yet for In Her Majesty's Name or some of the Pulp games I am experimenting with - but they will come soon.

Has it been 10 Years?

Huzzah!

I can't believe that I just noticed that this blog had its first posting on January 1st, 2010. Ten years and 243 followers (love you!) later, I am still going strong. In celebration of the fellowship of fellow gamers and lovers of the toy soldier hobby, I dedicate some of my favorite pictures of my figures to you!

 German Afrika Korps 88mm gun from Battlefront Miniatures in 15mm scale. This picture was featured in A Wargamer's Guide to The Desert War 1940 - 1943 by Daniel Mersey.

 Panzer III

The Desert Fox

More WW II in 15mm:

Aussie Infantry.

 Bren carrier and Desert Rat Tank.

 17lb AT Guns.

German Tiger.

 German Infantry.

German 10.5 cm Battery

 Bagpipes!

 Late British Infantry of WW II.

 Soviet Guard Tanks and Soviet Naval Infantry breaching barb wire.

"For Mother Russia!"

Warlord Games Highlanders. I have I think about 48 of these beauties. The great thing about the Warlord clansmen is how many individual sculpts they have that can give your clan quite the unique look.

 The Battle of Fuentes de Onoro. A big Napoleonic Peninsular battle using the rule set Volley and Bayonet. Figures are Foundry, Dixon and Perry's. The French army "technically" won the game but were too exhausted to prevent the Allied army from withdrawing in good order.

4th Swiss and 13 Light.

More Highanders!

 Arthur, Dux Bellorum. Figures from Foundry and Old Glory. The Dark Ages are a fascinating period to game and are not just shield walls.

I love the English Civil War Period. Figures by Warlord Games and Foundry. In my opinion the best set of rules is Victory Without Quarter - and they are free!

Speaking of Civil Wars, the American Civil War is a great period to start due to the ease of painting the figures. My favorite rules are Fire and Fury. Most of the figures in the picture are 15mm figures from Old Glory.

Another of my favorite periods, thanks to the author Elizabeth Sutcliff, is the Late Roman Period. Figures by Wargames Foundry. 

 I love the British Colonial period too and use The Men Who Would be Kings as my rules of choice. Figures from Artizan and the machine gun is from Copplestone.

Plus it gives me an excuse to paint more Highlanders!

 Vikings are cool. Hard plastic miniatures from Gripping Beast.

And who doesn't like flying their own X-Wing?

Or be a knight of the air?

 Fantasy anyone? Dragon Rampant - any world of fantasy you want with any figures you have!

Meanwhile back in the 1940's:

 28 mm World War II: Late German Infantry.

 British Paratroopers.

Bagpipes!

German Paratroopers.

And now my latest obsession: In Her Majesty's Name. Skirmish gaming in a Victorian Sci Fi Universe of 1895.

German Marines fighting off Troglodytes!

 The French Foreign Legion.

Tarzan of the Apes.

Fu Manchu and his Mechanical Man!

 . . . and everyone was Kung Fu fighting.

Scotland Yard and a certain famous consulting detective.

 Dorothy Gale and her Untouchables

The Wicked Witch of the West.

 United States Marshals.

 The Pinkerton Detective Agency.

 Department "H" (there is no Department "H").

Lately I have also moved into the Pulp era:

 Tintin and Company.

 Seeking Adventure!

 Where ever the river takes us.

"I like punching Nazis. I really like punching Nazis."

 The men and women of Miskatonic University.

Masked Vigilantes.

Barsoom.

 Tharks . . . and they look angry . . .

Thanks again to all who make this hobby great!