After a number of decades I have almost finished re-basing and touching up the wargaming estate that I purchased off the partner of a horse riding colleague of SWMBO. Fortunately the Prussian part of his collection is larger than most of the others and there is almost enough to make a brigade suitable for gaming more than just a skirmish. The first to be finished are:
The Prussian 2nd Uhlan Regiment was formed from Hellwig’s cavalrymen and Saxon uhlans.
The uhlan was armed with lance and curved saber in steel scabbard. The lance had brown shaft, iron point and (since 1815) white over black pennants. The rank and file were armed with pistols but no carbines.
The Prussian uhlans wore dark blue Kollet with red collars and ‘Polish’ cuffs. The lapels were pipped in red. Their legwears were the usual cavalry overalls. The shako was covered with black waxed cloth. In 1815 the tall black Polish czapka with black chinstraps was introduced. Privates and NCOs wore the dark blue sash, while officers had the silver-and-black sash. The black sheepskin saddle cloth with red “wolf’s teeth” trim was replaced in 1815 with a rounded, dark blue saddle cloth.
This is a rather indulgent post as I needed to get all of the figures together to work out what their tabletop capabilities were. I am still trying to work out which figure is which and have to keep going back to the Corvus Belli website to find out! Out of the twenty figures that make up my Nomad contingent there are only three that are the same. This means I have 17 totally different “units” all with different skills, weapons, capabilities, and battlefield role.
In order to get my head around this I decided to put their pictures and statistics in the one place and this post is the result. All of the pictures you would have seen over the last month or so with the bulk of them in the last few days so I apologise for the repetition.
The statistics are “cut and pasted” from the Corvus Belli Army Builder which I find an excellent resource.
The whole contingent
3 Alguacil with Combi rifles and hacking devices
1 Mobile Brigada with light flamethrower and multi rifle
1 Spektr with combi rifle and hacking device
1 Grenzer with multi sniper rifle
1 Reverend Healer with combi rifle and nano pulser
1 Hellcat with spitfire
1 Intruder with multi sniper rifle
1 Kriza Borac Mk 12
Mary Problems (Character)
Reaktion Zond with heavy machine gun
Vertigo Zond with missile launcher
Zondnautica rapid offensive unit
Iguana squadron and operator
Szalamandra squadron and pilot
The figures give me a lot of choices as the total of all of the units is 546 points and most games (I am told) are based upon 300 point lists.
When we get out of lock-down my mate Blake and I will give them their first real test.
The main thing is that they are now all finished. Way back in November last year I posted that I had hoped to make them my Christmas break project. \Whilst some may say that I am seven months late, I prefer to look at it as five months early as I did not specify which Christmas break! Gurus must have some privileges after all!
Our local library was getting rid of some old books and I rumbled through the table and found this gem.
In 1942 the Japanese invaded the British colony of Burma. thousands of soldiers and civilians were forced to flee, hindered by the bombing of crucial ports. Those left behind traveled on foot through the northern jungles to the safety of Assam in India. Many did not make it. A variety of dangerous routes were attempted , with a small minority braving the most treacherous route, the Chalkan Pass; an insect and leech infested dense forest with sheer drops and torrential rivers.
Step forward Gyles Mackerell. A decorated veteran of the Royal Flying Corps, Mackerell was a tea plantation overseer in his mid-fifties with a taste for adventure.
The ruling British administration did not have the knowledge or resources to help but Mackrell, who had spent most of his life in Assam, had access to elephants and knew local tribes.
Mackrell’s diaries reveal that he received an SOS on June 4, 1942, from refugees who had managed to cross the Dapha by forming a human chain.
Mackrell wrote at the time: “I promised to collect some elephants and move off as quickly as I could as they told me the party behind would be starving, especially if they got held up by the rivers.”
In a series of epic marches, he reached the Dapha on 9 June to discover a group of 68 soldiers who had become trapped on an island when the waters rose rapidly. Footage shot by Mackrell shows his party’s effort to reach the soldiers, with elephants struggling up to their tusks in the tumultuous rapids and barely able to move.
But as the river subsided in the early hours of the morning the elephants were able to reach the island and evacuate the soldiers.
Mackrell and his colleagues then set up camp on the Dapha, helping a stream of refugees to cross the dangerous river to asylum in India. Despite supplies running low and suffering with fever, which forced Mackrell to return briefly to Assam, around 200 people were saved by September 1942.
Mackrell, who eventually died in Suffolk in 1959, received the George Medal for his efforts and was celebrated as “The Elephant Man” – much to his own discomfort.
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A barrister turned freelance writing, author Andrew Martin has captured the drama, heroism and endeavor of the rescue mission in a rollicking “Boys Own Tale”! Still available through Book Depository I cannot recommend this read enough.
These models have been around in the “cave” for well over twenty years and have finally been completed.
The Everqueen is one of the two joint rulers of the High Elves, seen by them as the symbol and incarnation of their mother-goddes Isha.
Unlike the Phoenix King, the Everqueen is always the Queen of Avelorn. She and the Phoenix King are the rulers of Ulthuan. The court of the Everqueen lies deep in the forests of Avelorn although she is ritually crowned at the Shrine of the Earth mother on the Isle of Rebirth to the north of the Isle of the Dead in the Inner Sea.
Alarielle the Radiant, Everqueen of Ulthuan.
Each Everqueen is attended upon and guarded by the Handmaidens of the Everqueen, also known as the Maiden Guard.
The Nomad Action pack is the Corvus Belli starter set for the Nomad faction. I am told, but am not yet familiar with the figures or the system, that it provides a balanced basic starter army.
I guess time will tell.
All I need to work out now is which figure is which and what the hell they do! Even if I don’t the figures look cool.
On 14 May 1940, Britain’s Secretary of State for War Anthony Eden made a broadcast calling for men between the ages of 17 and 65 to enrol in a new force, the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV) to defend the country against the expected German invasion of Britain. By July, nearly 1.5 million men had enrolled – far outreaching the 150,000 the Government expected to volunteer.
Beginning life as a rag-tag militia, the LDV initially had to make do without uniforms, wearing a simple armband bearing the organisations initials. The LDV similarly struggled for modern weaponry – shotguns and improvised weapons such as golf clubs, crowbars and industrial tools were not uncommon. The LDV evolved into the Home Guard, becoming a well-equipped and well-drilled force.
Disparagingly referred to as ‘Look, Duck & Vanish’, the LDV were renamed to the more inspiring Home Guard. Although the German invasion of their country didn’t materialise this proud people’s army – the original ‘Dad’s Army’ continued to stand until it was disbanded in late 1945.
he Home Guard was considered the last line of defense for Britain during WWII. The idea of an armed and organized volunteer army ready to repel an invasion seems sound, but the reality was far from it. Many of the chaotic undertones of the show Dad’s Army had moorings in the real history of the force(Warlord Games “Dad’s Army figures will appear in a few more days”).
While the Home Guard was never expected to beat the German forces, they were meant to hold them off until the actual army arrived.
During the war, the Home Guard would lost 1,206 members while on duty. These members perished during air attacks or passed away from the injuries they sustained.
In 1943, it was becoming evident that a German invasion of Britain was unlikely. The members of the Home Guard started to feel that there was little purpose to their continued service. Absenteeism was becoming more common.
Consequently, in 1944, the Home Guard was stood down. It was officially disbanded at the end of 1945, although its decline had started in the years before.
The figuresare the Warlord Games “British LDV Section”.
The T.A.G.s of Tunguska receive their name of Szalamandra because of their similarity to the mythical salamandra that could live in the midst of fire and who could also spit fire. The heavy armour that they wear allows them to stand the hardest punishment.
The Szalamandra’s thick armor allows it to withstand the toughest of punishments, just as its Hyper-Rapid Magnetic Cannon can neutralize any type of opposition.
The small village of Nokandoo is situated on the Denial river. Many and varied adventures have been had inside its confines (see posts “treasure hunting“, “Which Dr“, and “In the jungle” to name a few.
The tombs which scatter the outskirts of Nokandoo are full of tomb guards which are a group of mysterious ancestor worshipers whose exact nature is unclear. No reliable sightings exist. All that is known is that they leave behind the mutilated corpses of those who disturb the cemetery of Nokandoo.
One of these groups is centered on the great Temple of Bastet, which was a place of worship dedicated to the cat -goddess Bastet located in the Bubastis district of NoKandoo, Egypt, during the 1st century BCE.
The temple of Bastet is one of the main cult temples of the goddess “Bastet” in the Old Kingdom, which was associated with fertility and often acted as a protective deity. Originally, Bastet was depicted as a lioness, and later as a cat.
In recent times, sightings of strange cat like humanoid figures have been seen at night in the ruins of the once great temple. Rumours abound within the superstitious local inhabitants that these are the Goddess’ temple guard come back to claim the temple for their master, and that they are a precursor of her reincarnation (I see another scenario), but of course this is all superstition.
The figures are from Eureka Miniatures. The terrain is either scratch built, or from Aquarium suppliers. The figures used as statues on the top of the scratch built Mastaba are from the old Atlantic Egyptian set.
The Tactical Armored Gear (TAG) of the Iguana squads is not the best or newest that can be found on the market, but it has strong mechanical systems and is easy to repair on campaign. In addition, it has received an optimization package developed in Bakunin.
The Iguana is one of the few TAGs to incorporate a pilot ejection system, a Praxis experimental technology that improves the survival chances of the obsolete Iguana-class TAGs.
The pilot’s ejectable armor provides high anti-ballistic protection and, more importantly, allows him to carry the Iguana’s main weaponry.
Thanks to this system, a pilot can quickly move away from a fallen TAG and remain as an active element in its combat forces.
To take maximum advantage of the possibilities of these armored units, the Iguana squad emphasizes the physical and mental training of their pilots.
The Nomad Military Force is assured that Iguana’s combat success has always been based on its aggressive spirit and its pilot’s technical skills.
Used to facing technologically superior adversaries, their training and tenacity are responsible for leveling the playing field.
I looked outside the window of my games room and initially bemoaned the weather. Then I realised – “Hey I’m in lock -down” – can’t go outside anyway and suddenly I felt much better. I then thought (I know unusual for Guru to have two thoughts in a row) that what great weather to finish off some figures that live in deep mists.
Hero Quest was the catalyst for myself and my two sons to get involved in Warhammer Fantasy Battles. I have to say my all time favourite figures from that game were the Fimir.
The Fimir are a hostile and malicious race of reptilian humanoids with one eye, from the tabletop games Warhammer Fantasy Battles and HeroQuest.
History
The Fimir are cyclopean amphibious humanoid creatures that haunt swamps, fens and desolate moorlands throughout the northern Old World. Their strongholds take the form of forbidding, craggy piles of rock, crudely built in the semblance of the castles of more civilized races. Such dwellings are seldom seen by outsiders, for they are wreathed in thick mist, a miasma which is magically generated by the Fimir to shield their fortresses from prying eyes, and themselves from the harsh glare of the sun.
Long before the rise of Man, possibly while the High Elves and the Dwarves ruled the Old World, the Fimir worshiped the Chaos Gods, and for a time enjoyed their favor. But then, the attention of the gods was swiftly drawn to the more vibrant and amusing race of humans, and the Fimir were abandoned, reduced to seeking boons from bound Daemons where once they had enjoyed the blessings of gods. However, they are still loyal to the Chaos Gods to some degree. They seek to destabilize the barrier between the mortal world and the Realm of Chaos, thus aiding the Chaos Gods to their ultimate victory, and so regaining their favor.
Fimir have thick, protective yellowish-green skin, pointed snouts, jagged fangs, and a single large eye. The Fimm are the strongest of the Fimir, with cruel bony clubs at the tips of their tails. The “Bale fiends”, on the other hand, have “witch sight” in their singular eyes
Long before the rise of Man, possibly while the High Elves ruled the Old World, the Fimir worshiped the Chaos Gods, and for a time enjoyed their favour. Alas, the Eye of the Gods was swiftly drawn to the more vibrant and amusing race of Man, and the Fimir were abandoned, reduced to seeking boons from bound Daemons where once they had enjoyed the blessings of gods. However, they are still loyal to the Chaos Gods. They seek to destabilize the barrier between the mortal world and the Realm of Chaos, thus aiding the Chaos Gods to their ultimate victory, and so regain their favour.
Most Fimir are male. The only female Fimir are the Meargh, powerful spell-casters who rule the Fimir clans. There is only one Meargh per clan, so if she has a daughter, the daughter will leave to form her own clan. The Meargh is aided by a cabal of sorcerers known as Dirach. The Fimm are the warrior caste of Fimir society, but the majority of clan members are the lowly Shearls.
Important possessions to a Fimir clan are crude talismans that can summon a thick cover of mist and fog. Such talismans are carried by Fimir war-bands on raids and expeditions (Fandom with spelling mistakes corrected!).
Now the figures I am talking about are not those puny plastic Hero Quest types, but the “true blue”, “dinky-di”, “original”, “old school”, WFB metal Fimir. These guys are almost worth their own weight in gold these days they are so rare.
Below is the WFB 1988 Games workshop catalogue page for the Fimir. So it looks like I have a Dirach wizard and two warriors.
Not sure if/when they will ever get used, but they will look cool on the shelf and I am pleased that another project, decades in the waiting, is now finally finished even if on a cold and wet Covid-19 lock-down morning.
