Sunday, December 7, 2014

First Unit of Hoplites done now to do More!





 I was able to finish the second stand of Hoplites today and I am very happy with the result, they look great!  I really feel I have improved the application of the LBM transfer on the curved shields and I have to say I like how all the colors have worked together.

More on the way as well as more dark ages stuff! 





Bit of an overhead shot showing how they have lined up with the Ranks and also kept most of the spears length sitting over the base to try and prevent them being damaged.

Have a great week!

Cheers

JP

Monday, November 17, 2014

Its all Greek to me !

There has been some discussion of late about the plan for 2016 for Cancon...... yep we are already talking about 2016 and we haven't even got past 2015.... the sadness is strong in this group!


Saturday, November 8, 2014

Secret Weapon- Tablescapes




Way back in the mists of the early part of 2013 I signed up for the Tablescapes Kickstarter by Secret Weapon Miniatures.

After a massive campaign on their behalf and then all the challenges of production a few weeks ago the box's arrived.  I was in the middle of uni so I only really opened a box, had a look inside and then put them away and got back to the business end of uni. 

Well as I mentioned in my last post Uni is over now, and the opportunity for some hobby is upon me!

While the bride was out with the family today I cleared the dining table and laid out a 6x4 table to get a sense of the production values as well as some of the opportunities and things I need to think on.


Monday, November 3, 2014

A return to the desk and slow progress ...........









It has been four months since my last post on the blog. To be honest I had thought that maybe I would not return to blog anymore.  There were conflicting challenges of the Family, Study and work. The Bride and I have begun the seemingly Everest size task of buying a property in the Melbourne property market. If this blog was political I would have allot of things to say about what I have found over the last few months, suffice to say I will not bore you the reader with such details. Suffice to say we are still looking.  My study has progressed well but this was in essence what has taken up my spare time.  Studying at masters level in a subject I love still means I needed to dedicate allot of time to reading and truly learning my subject matter.

Friday, July 4, 2014

Some stuff for sale- Making way for Romans ....... yeah Im doing romans now :)

I have the following Items for sale

For Sale

Perry British Line x 2 $70
Perry British Hussars x 2 $70
Perry British Foot Artillery Firing 9pdr x 3 (Metal) $50
Perry British Colonels (Mounted) x2 $35
Victrix British Peninsular Infantry Flank Companies $30

Whole lot for $220 plus P&P to Australia


Please send me pm on the page or via pm on the The 5th Column Wargaming Blog

Cheers

JP

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Looking for Article Contributions




So I have been thinking about this for a while.  In the past there were two of us posting on the 5th Column.  Over time due to study it has come down to me and me alone.  No issue there, stuff happens and life has a way of creeping up on you.  I'm sure Harley when he can, will still post from time to time, but I want to continue to grow the blog and take it further and I feel this can be done only with other like minded people.

So I am putting it out there to see if there are people who would like to contribute to the 5th column with gaming articles.

 I am open to pretty much any form of article, but will reserve the right to review and assess articles as required. If there is enough interest I am also thinking about setting up a new Blog with a proper 5th column URL rather than Wolf Templars which was a throw back to an earlier blog.

If you are interested in providing articles for 5th column please send me a private message on the 5th Column Facebook Page 

If you could note down the following:

What type of articles you would like to provide,
What game systems you play,
What frequency you can do it at.

Cheers

Jon-Paul  

Absense makes the heart....something something something .... yeah I have been away for a bit!

Its been a while since last drinks and the reality is that with work study hobby and family..... and no those are not the order they operate in, I have had to cut back on blog posts.  Its been annoying as I was on a role there for a few months.  However life is what it is and I'm back for a bit to keep up the posting duties!

That being said, it does not mean that I have not been working away on models. This has mainly been to keep my sanity as I tackled study and work.  Lets just say that was a wake up call.  What I remembered to be the even and measured balance that was kept back in the day, well lets just say I remembered it differently. Either way I have come out the back end of first semester alive and my faculties  are intact.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

The King is Dead long live the King !!!! War of the Roses Campaign Game 1

 
So the next series of games Berwick war-games club began this past Saturday. As mentioned earlier  War and the Roses was the theme of this next campaign, so we gathered to decided the fate of the Crown of England.  

The starting point of the campaign was first to decide which sides people would be on.  Ian, Peter and I declared for Lancaster, while Niel, Steve and Darren declared for York.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

War of the Roses Pracitce Battle

 Some shots from the practice game we had before the War of the Roses Campaign starts - no commentary this time - Enjoy the pictures !

Sunday, April 27, 2014

The final stand ! Final battle of our 1088 Campaign

 And so It came down to the final confrontation.  The North had risen up and was now marching south to expel the Normans from the land -  The Vikings had been given a deal - side with us and be paid gold for securing the Saxon crown so they had tuned mercenary and now march with the Anglo Saxons, and finally a Norman lord and his men had seen an opportunity to gain more land.

Confronting this was the strongest contingent of Normans yet and surprisingly also two southern  Saxon lords who had benefited from Norman rule (basically really bad blokes who where in on the gang of crooks running the country!)

5 commands a side this was the largest battle of the campaign and would settle who was victors!.... well till the War of the Roses where all the dodgy stuff would be bound to come up again :P


Thursday, April 24, 2014

Slight Absence and the final battle report is on the way !

Ive been a little quiet on the blog of late - two things where looming, a  due date for an assignment and my Birthday that just past. Yep another year older ! not any wiser though :P

Monday, March 31, 2014

A Saga Worth Telling ! The final stand of the Danes

So it came down to this - The Danes had fallen back to their ships and on a cold morning on the coast of England either way a great tale would be told and great deeds would be achieved.

The Vikings having lost men on the retreat formed up on the hill - depleted but not at this stage undefeated - Greg the Mad, Peter Ironside and Jon The Devil stood together watching as the Saxons and Normans moved onto the field.

This battle would be hard to win but there was still honor to be had and legends to be made.

Across from the assembled Danes , Wal the Silent, Jon the Avenger ( Son of Ian the Bold) and Niel Righteous, had formed up and where deep in council as Jon the Avenger laid out the plan of attack.

Spears and Shield would be shattered this day and blood spilled and the ravens will have allot to feast on this day!


The Viking Camp - Having wintered it has been set up as an established point.

The Armies deploy the Vikings taking the hill and preparing for a hard fight.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

The Battle for the Gates - Rebellion in 1088

So this past Saturday saw the third battle in our series of linked games, the Danes seeing the mess the kingdom had fallen into and with the Anglo-Saxon's rising up and the Normans in all sorts of trouble, decided to prosecute their claims to the crown.

The Vikings then brought their full force to the fore in attempt to prosecute their claims and where confronted with the Anglo-Norman army before the gates of a local Burgh seeking to achieve a quick victory the Danes launched into attack - but it was not to be and the Saxon shield-wall and Norman cavalry reversed the drama of the previous battles- with some very smug Saxon Lords grinning as the Vikings fell short...... (only battle they have won so far so I think they are a bit too optimistic:P )

I have decided to add a little bit more character to this unfolding saga as well :)

Dramatis Personae: 
 I used the random system in Dux Britanniarum to come up with the reputations and simple backgrounds.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Some times you are the Insect and then other times you are the Magnifying Glass...... A Hail Ceaser AAR

This Saturday past was the rematch on last weekends dark ages game and what now looks like expanding out to a few more linked games depending on the groups views.

In the time between the last game and this one I had also begun the work to improve the movement trays my lads are on and I will look to have a post about that up in the coming days.  I've slowed down the work a bit as I start to really dive into the study and keep the balance between that and work and a happy wife and hobby.

That being said I continue to move closer to completion to the viking project with two commands of 6 units each done, and planning for the final command in place (ie sourcing of figures and styles etc)

So Saturdays game saw me again face Wal with his Norman cavalry but this time I was on the left of our line and Peter was C-in-C again holding the right and Niel was in the center.  As it would have it we faced off against our usual suspects, Wal vs me, Greg vs Niel, and Ian vs Peter.

And lets just say Wal had another bad day of it with the cavalry facing the vikings with thier heat seeking axe's.

Anyway here are the pictures and comments from this last battle.

Monday, March 10, 2014

The Raid - A Dux Brittaniarum AAR

On Saturday Darren invited me over to his new home for a game of Dux and as we are about to embark on a campaign down at Berwick over the coming Wednesdays we thought we should get another practice game in before the kick off.

We played a raid on a settlement and used played saxon's v saxons as a test for some of the potential battles that may come up - in this case one side was activiating on the british cards (of course) and then bonuses where only applied when Boar Sutied cards where played etc.

I have designs to build a Late Roman -Romano British Army for Dux and Beyond but for now ill use my vikings as stand in raiders - because I can.

I really really like the Musketeer Miniatures range so watch this space when it comes to late romans! 

The quiet Village that has recently been taken over by a Saxon lord and his men.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

1088 and all that


So after much work and waiting and work and waiting I finally got to deploy my Vikings and boy was it fun!  

Peter had set up a simple scenario of the basis of the rebellion in 1088 and a battle actually happening with some Anglo-saxons rising up and some danish forces coming along to help.

So it came down to Greg, Ian, Peter, Wal, Niel and Myself to duke it out,  Niel, Peter and Myself took to role of the rebels with me proudly deploying my vikings and Greg, Wal and Ian taking on the role of the Normans and the loyal Saxons.

The Forces Muster for the field of Slaughter - Anlgo-Saxon and Danish Allies on the left and the Normans and Anglo Saxon on the right

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Arcadia Quest Kickstarter

 


So this is the second Kickstarter I've supported and the 1st game I've considered backing - Coolmini or not have form on delivering if a bit late and the production qualities look fantastic-  This one looks and feels like a simpler version of decent that would be appeal to all types of players - simple rule mechanisims but allot of the fun with really great looking models.

There are a few days to go and the backer rewards are all ready huge so I strongly recommend you check it out and if so inclined get in on the action!




Monday, March 3, 2014

Resources for Understanding the Vikings and the Anglo Saxons and maybe even gaming the period !


One day Ill have room like this for war-gaming in just you watch !


I had allot of great feedback from the blog post I put up about English civil war resources so  I have sat down and put together a list of books that I have read so far on the topic as well as few documentaries I would suggest you watch.

As in all of these things when you put a list together you may find that not everyone agrees with the books your choose and since history can and has been influenced by the socioeconomic and political climate in which the author wrote the book, it is always worthwhile cultivating a range of sources.

Also this is no means an exhaustive list and I find myself always finding new books to look over and read and I find myself extending the library - even now I'm looking at two new books to get and read through......

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Conquest in April and Bolt Action event

Right as a change up from the Dark Ages stuff..... well for a little more to come for sure :P ....... I'm thinking about attending the Bolt Action event at conquest and finishing off my Fallschrimjager Platoon. 

So I have a few to go.... well about 30 models and might be stretching the expectations a little and I need to finish one last unit of Vikings I have on the table before I launch into it.

That being said with a challenge it might not get done at all so I think it is a worthwhile endeavor so I will give it a go for sure.

The Horde of Models Minus 6 that I need larger bases for
 So look out for some WW2 stuff over the next month and half and then on the flip side of that the last of the vikings i have in the lead pile and then....... we are into Anglo Saxons and maybe if I'm good and Secret Weapon Miniatures are on track my terrain boards !




Saturday, March 1, 2014

Dux Britanniarum conversion to larger battles ...... well my attempt anyway



So an I mentioned a few posts back I have been thinking about how I would like to change some of the elements of Dux and working in the elements of Chain of Command I really like to make a game that is allot more interesting than Warhammer Historical but also has allot of tactical challenges.

I admit from the beginning there is not real originality here - I am just taking elements from two games I like to make a game I would like to play -  I like Hail Ceaser still but this is also about having a game that does not require allot of space - Ive been playing this on the dining table so far but that also has a little more texture to the game.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Some Darks Action on the table and some playtesting of Dux

I got home this evening from work and put some models on the table and worked through a game of Dux and then a game with Dux and some amendments im working on for a larger battle.


Monday, February 24, 2014

Vikings Part 7 - WIP units, Tree's and Dux Britannium thoughts

This update we have some more Vikings painted as starter. 

Bondi which means I continue to move closer to completing the viking army - which in a way is good as I begin my masters degree next week and thus painting will slow down as it begins to compete with work family and study.  It also means that the Saxon army is looming in the distance and I have begun to think about the approach I will take but I now envisage that by the end of the year I will have something tangible to fight the vikings.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Hail Caeser - 1st Game two games




The Last Two weekends at the Berwick Wargames Club I was able to get in my 1st games of Hail Caesar after having the rules for over 2 years, slowly building up the vikings and generally patiently waiting for the opportunity.


The two games were Greeks vs Persians the 1st being a do over of Marathon and then a general Persian V Persian with Greek allies.

I have to say I loved it- having played Black Powder and Pike and Shotte  of course the systems are similar but I really like the stamina of the units and that they are not as brittle as units in black powder or pike and shotte.

Monday, February 17, 2014

A Hut to call my own !

So as a small break for the focus on painting up the hordes of models for my Dark Ages project I wanted to make a start on my terrain for the period.

The kickstater I signed up for all the way back in may last year is nearing delivery in april and so I want to be able to add the bling and build up the relevant items such as field enclosures, houses, roads, trees and scrub.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

A really late Cancon wrap up

Cancon has come and gone and Im back at work......






So having to insert oneself back into the rhythm of things after 7 weeks off, I really haven't looked to do a blog post, but we are now back on track.

First off Cancon was a blast, this year as i mentioned the plan was to participate not in tournament but in a participation game for Moderns, and I had the best time ever with a great bunch of gamers who appreciate the hobby and have lots of fun doing it!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Vikings WIP and Painting models in smaller batch's ! And Cancon test Game

Recently rather than batch painting and destroying my soul in the process by painting 100 bits of leather etc- Ive taken to working on two models at a time and found I get them done in an evening or two at a stretch.

I have to say its been allot more enjoyable and I feel a greater sense of accomplishment as I look at the completed models as i paint the next two lad.

In  nights Ive got 6 figures done and defiantly feel baring to many interruptions could punch out 24 figures each 2-3 weeks.

There are times when painting feels like this.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Hail Caesar Basing and how awesome Warbases is :)




Today the postman dropped off a package from Warbases- about a fortnight ago I had placed this order so a 10 day turnaround is awesome from the UK!

Anyway I had recently been thinking about some comments people had made about the need for allot of figure for Hail Caesar.  Talking with a few mates it was made clear to me that in essence it is the frontage of the unit not so much the number of figures that is principally important in the game.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Cancon and 28mm Moderns

So I have been on leave for a few weeks and I am not into the final two weeks.

I have had an awesome time off and the cap it all off I have Cancon this coming weekend and then my Little sister is getting married the following weekend.

Thoughts on Fallchrimjager for Bolt Action and Chain of Command - How do you attempt to reflect squad and team tactics in Bolt Action?

In the last update I mentioned that I felt Bolt action didn't really look to reflect the way teams operated in squads and that I had a few ideas on how to overcome that.  What I want to achieve is a semblance of team tactics within the squad in the same way as you would experience in Chain of Command.

The important thing for me was that during this and post WW2 squad and team tactics are important to how an infantry platoon operates.  German training worked on the basis of the squad operating as one large MG team but when the need for suppression fire was called on the squad would break down into the composite roles of MG team and Rifle team to achieve the result. Especially in assaults.  MG team acting as the suppression element and the rifle team as the assault element. 

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Garman Fallschrimjager and my 1st game of Bolt Action

So here are my 1st 9 figures for 2014.

That's right German Fallchrimjager  by warlord games!  Early last year I bought these with the intention of painting them up and then put it off in favor of other projects.  Well after playing Chain of Command by TFL and also starting to get some interest in Bolt action I thought it was time.

Friday, January 3, 2014

2014- The new years Hobby commitments and hopes :)

Well another year has passed and we are now 3 days into 2014.

Every year I like to try and set myself some goals for the coming year ahead- though its also worth reflecting on what got painted last year.

In no specific order last year saw a viking army rise, the beginnings of ECW force as well some moderns for Chain of Command for Cancon.

 Viking Horde