Tuesday, 2 January 2024

All the kings horses…

Greetings pop pickers. I hope you are all recovering well from your various winterfests. Apart from resolving to never eat another mince pie as long as I live - my other two (actually serious) resolutions for the coming year are to finally stop biting my nails and to grow a handlebar moustache. Yes really. That’s it. I think it’s important not to overreach, don’t you? Achievable goals and low expectations (the story of my life). Lol.

Anywhoo…as usual this post title is a little disingenuous, for the parade laid out below is definitely not ALL of the kings horses. Unless Robert La Poste takes a fancy to them mid delivery there’s a shit ton (a technical term we use in accountancy) more on the way.

So get yer specs on…cos it’s 2 mill time…

A regiment of horse facing away from the camera, in case you were wondering, lol. The dice is a 10mm one for size comparison.

Three battalia of foote showing how they can be positioned on the board to reflect line, column and braced to receive a charge by horse. 

Talking of which…I wanted a counter to make it more obvious that a unit had become immobile and was braced to receive a charge so I did a little furtling and created these on an mdf base. Note that in 2mm, subtle colours are not your friend.

And once I got the order counter making bug there was no stopping me.  Here are hold, attack, seize and a new one « flank ». Special thanks are due to KK for giving me cause to alter the wording of the seize order. Constructive criticism is never a bad thing. Again these are on MDF bases.

My 2mm hexed terrain homebrew ECW rules, entitled « Noe Quarter », give each player two single use burn cards each battle. Here’s a couple for your inspection. I factored commanded shot, light battalia guns and forlorn hopes into the deck because at 2mm the mini artillery is way too fiddly for a guy like me with clumsy hands of death.

Terrain choices and placement are informed by yet more laminated cards. 

Back to the models. A small part of the essential baggage train. There’s no excuse to avoid this kind of unit in 2mm. In the game they frequently get in the way and require constant annoying protection. Lol. These few are a mixture of covered / open wagons, limbers, and even a cart carrying boats for bridging. You’ll hopefully excuse the fact that I didn’t manage to paint the spokes on the cart wheels. Very remiss of me. 

Command groups. The General (left) with a couple of flunkies and a « troop of shew ». The round base contains two senior colonels and a couple of donkey wallopers. I term these colonels brigadiers since they are responsible for 2 - 6 battalia / regiments that have been brigaded together. 

The start of 2 mill ville (part two - see previous historic posts). There’s a load more in the painting queue, plus a lovely castle and some vauban style horn works etc coming up. These will be organised into villages and based on a single hexon hex topper. They’ll look pretty cool en masse I think.

The campaign rules have been sorted out and the main map simplified a tad. We should be good to go with that end of Jan or first week of Feb based on current progress I reckon. 

Toodleooh.

33 comments:

  1. Looking good young sir! I like the new dea of having a troop of shew on the big yins base.
    As for a handlebar moustache…..that’ll have the ladies aquiver.
    Chris/Nundanket.

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    1. Thanks Chris, the female attention will no doubt be a problem (as if… Lol) however I plan to counter this by ostentatiously waving my tungsten / antler / oak barrel wedding ring in their faces. Thankfully a man with a handlebar moustache, though desperately attractive to the fairer sex is also a man of faithfulness and incorruptible steely resolve.

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  2. Excellent work, Mark! You have an artist's hand with your troops, markers, and cards. I await the handlebar mustache. You can become the Dali of wargamers.

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    1. Tee hee Jon. I should be a shoo in for playing Prussians.

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  3. If you grow the mustache you for SURE have to twist up the ends in curly cue.
    Great work on the counters / markers and cards. You did need to tell me which way the horses were facing cause I can't. I'd play the whole game with them facing the wrong way.
    and in 2mm shouldn't you have like 30 horse per regiment? LOL
    But as tiny bots of color on a good looking base, they nailed it.

    I'm glad to see that you're still posting away and are as funny as I am. 😁

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    1. Hey Stew, great to hear from you matey. Regrettably my blog is now actually funnier than yours…BECAUSE YOU AIN’T BLOODY POSTING…ARE YOU! Get your arse in gear… it’s time for a come back mate. Pronto. By the way the wife did an embroidery of your brilliant Bayeux Tapestry piss take (piccie is a couple of posts back). Hope you don’t mind.

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    2. And then you make an arse of me, by reactivating your blog. Nice one. Lol.

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    3. All part of the plan? Surely part of the plan.
      LOL, not intentional, my comment was just to let you know I was back, not to set you up for a fall. Though it kinda works out EITHER way.

      Well, I don't mind and I'm sure whomever made that meme would be flattered; but I didn't make it, I stole it off the internet. if you search bayeux tapestry memes you will find the rest I used as well as others. I don't make many of the memes I use on the blog, most are stolen. 😁

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    4. No harm done Stew, I’m just glad you’ve resurfaced mate. I always look forward to reading your posts.

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  4. Really excellent work there Mark, both the troops and the cards. I think it would be nice if you could find images for the 'Hold', 'Seize' etc cards in line with the 'Terrain' cards etc, as the latter look sooo cool! Fingers crossed on the moustache front, something I could definitely not grow, even if SWMBO would tolerate it! Happy New Year to you and yours:).

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    1. Hi Steve, I did look for comparable images but couldn’t find anything that really worked. I’ll keep looking mind you cos nothings set in stone just yet. On the tache front, it was the current Mrs Broom who suggested that I grow it - (I know right). I think she wants rid of me. Lol.

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  5. Hi JB, great job on the cards …. Aligning fronts and backs has always been a nightmare for me. Look forward to seeing this story unfold.

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    1. It is a bit fiddly - but I always end up doing things the hard way. Happy new year Norm.

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  6. Hello there old chap,

    Happy New Year to you! Loving how this is coming together and the counters are really useful. No spokes on the cartwheels? As everything else looks so tickety boo I am sure we can let this oversight pass.

    Just for now mind you….

    Seriously old chap, they look lovely.

    All the best,

    DC

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    1. Hi DC, thanks for the positive vibes. Happy new year to you and yours too.

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  7. All looking very good JBM - I would expect nothing less, of course.

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    1. Thank you monsieur, I’ve been messing about with this stuff for weeks. Needs a bit more testing and tweaking but the models themselves are turning out okay - though I do get that they’re not everyone’s cup of tea. If anyone suggests they’re just game counters I’ll set Norm on them.

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    2. I'm really very positive about the possibilities offered by small figures. In any event, I'd be very hesitant to offer any criticism - some years ago on my own blog I was seriously taken to task for not being sufficiently respectful about 5mm. In fact I hadn't said anything negative at all, but the guy who was upset was too dim to spot this. Maybe there are people always looking for offence? You'll maybe have to tense up a little - this is all very relaxed.

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    3. I shall sharpen my halberd (not a metaphor) and remain vigilant.

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  8. Happy New Year JBM - I am with Stew - the 2mm figures are just a bit TOO tiny for me - I could probably manager6mm if I was going for micro, but not this small - I cant tell which way round the horses are, which are pikes and which musketeers etc. Thats not to say I don't see the advantage of this scale for large battles - and the buildings look really nice, so I will follow your progress with interest -as with the moustache.
    As to nail biting, its one sin in which I have never indulged, but my wife did, and she only managed to cure herself about ten years back by going to a manicurist and having false nails fitted to allow her own a break to grow to a decent length - perhaps that's an option you could consider in a quiet, rural French backwater - what could possibly go wrong? (could be an idea for a 90-minute comedy film?)

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  9. Hi Keith, happy new year to you too. The wonderful thing about this hobby is that it’s such a broad church, I’m often boggled by the guys who’ve built up enormous 54mm armies. Awesome but man what a time sink painting wise. The moustache is a childish fancy. We’ll see how I get on with it. There’s already a bit more primping and tweaking than I’m used to. Lol. The nail biting has been ridiculously easy to stop - which makes me wonder why I’ve continued to do it this past umptytump years. I might not have to nip into the pharmacy to ask for a set of false nails as it stands at the moment. Round here the word would be out before I’d made it home and the neighbours would be waiting with pitchforks and burning brands.

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  10. Lovely stuff JBM…
    You manage to get a lot of style into these tiny little fellows.
    If the Tash doesn’t work out at least you will have some natural thatch for your tiny cottages 😁

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Nice one Aly ! Actually it’s getting a bit thin on top these days so I’ll probably copydex it across my balding pate before the cottages see any of it.

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  11. Coming along a treat this project JBM and the tiny chaps look superb, that's what the scale is all about big formations. Horse look great, I can even see the tails of the buff coats! Handlebar moustache - perfect, and would suit a Victorian smoking cap and inside out dressing gown well. I'm going to model myself on this guy, Professor Tim Wilson, I do enjoy a good old English eccentric :) https://youtu.be/LvX3eOUT1ew?si=em2Plpmdu-1f4f0X

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    1. Cheers Lee, glad you like them. Praise from you is praise indeed. I’m glad I revisited the scale it’s good value for money and when you paint as slowly as me you can actually get units done without it feeling like a constant uphill battle.

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  12. Looking Good JBM. I need to up my 2mm game in response. Would it be helpful if I returned the 2mm buildings you sent to me when you thought you were over the 2mm bug?

    Elenderil - Small but Perfectly formed blog

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    1. Hey matey, no need to up your game, your stuff looks mighty fine - and was my original inspiration for going 2mm as a matter of fact. If you are still doing or going to do 2mm please keep the buildings. If you are about to chuck them in the skip I’ll have them back. :-). I’ll pay the postage, natch.

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  13. Great looking figures and cards JBM.
    I always like the idea of 2mm as something that you can create a full battlefield, or even a small campaign on a large table.

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    1. Hey Ben, yeah I really wanted to do proper big battles this time around. 6mm would have done no doubt but they’re not as cheap as they used to be and those terribly bendy pikes would still be an issue for me.

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  14. Nice cards, tokens and troops I especially like the baggage train! Good luck with the facial hair, I guess it will make you fit in, with your stripy top and onions no doubt? Happy New year!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain, your positive vibes are very welcome. The facial hair has proved to be « interesting » - I’m now aiming for a general Haig rather than a Dali. I suspect it may be too late for a man bun, lol.

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  15. Somehow this post flew beneath my radar! Great to see the 2mm growing and especially the return to ECW. I used to love the ECW campaign and rules etc you did on your olde blog

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    1. Hi Graham, yeah I’m returning to something that provided me with a lot of entertainment at the time. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out this time around.

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