Hwæt

Okay so this post is not intended in anyway as a review of Age of Penda…but it sort of is.

I bought the Age of Penda Rules by Daniel Mersey because they went along with a lovely range of Copplestone sculpted 18mm miniatures (available from Northstar) and the rules didn’t cost a lot extra. In for a penny and all that.

Now I’ve never had a bad set of rules from Mr Mersey but these looked VERY different and the first time I saw the pre plotted actions section I thought oh God no it’s going to be some sort of SAGA knock off. 

Let me assure you the Age of Penda rules are very far from that. 

For average commanders you get to pick 4 actions for your force per turn, each player taking it in turns to choose one from a suite of options. Once chosen you can use them in any order you want and one unit could perform all of the actions you chose in one turn if that’s your fancy. There is a subtle degree of strategy involved since once an action has been marked by a player it is blocked to his opponent. Reckon you’re about to get pelted by skirmishers? Choose the “shoot” action if you can and deny it to the enemy! I would go so far as to say there’s even a faint whiff of chess about it. 

I’m not going to laboriously go through a game turn by turn, but here are a few sample pictures taken from a recent testing sesh which might help illuminate a couple of points. 

Gratuitous eye candy shot of the 18mm lads in action.

The tactics chart. Both commanders were average so get to place 4 counters each, one at a time. Initially the red player rolled highest on a 1D6 so got to choose a tactic first. They chose “seize the initiative” which means they get to choose a tactic first in the next turn with no die roll off  - the down side being that only leaves three actions to use for their force. The “special tactics” box has a suite of associated actions to pick from (the paper on the left), but you don’t have to commit to what the chosen action will be until the moment you play it. 

For his first turn the red player selects “special tactics” and chooses “rush” which allows him to move mounted or skirmish units up to two hexes rather than the usual one. Red’s skirmish units move into the trees.

The green player uses “move” to hustle forward two units of armoured warriors to contest the woods. A chosen tactic is applied to all friendly units in an area, but only three units of any type from either side may occupy an area at one time.

The results of the warrior / skirmishers clash were that the attacking warriors took one hit and the skirmishers two. The dice strengths do not directly relate to the number of men killed but are rather a reflection of the units fighting ability - which can, handily, be rallied back if you’re lucky. 

About a turn or so later the skirmishers have retired and rallied back their strength. The red players three big blocks of armoured warriors advance far enough to potentially move into green’s square so their special tactic was used to form a shieldwall. A shieldwall only lasts for the turn but I made a crappy marker out of unused mdf bases and green stuff as you can see as an aide mémoire.

Ignoring the shieldwall red’s units enter the green leaders square and a huge old bucket of dice is rolled - needing 4, 5 or 6’s for a hit. I won’t bore you with the outcome. 

If you’ve limited space a moderate budget and an interest in gaming this period I would highly recommend these rules. Take it from me as an early medieval / dark age nerd. 

If you want to know how much of a nerd, here are some period related books in my library. 

Proof of nerdiness - should proof be needed.

Two tomes that are highly recommended for anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of fighting in this period.

Lair of the uber nerd. Learning to read and speak olde englisc is not necessary - but I went there anyway. The devil finds work for idle hands to do. lol. 

Till next time gesithas!

Finished!

I’ve been slaving away at the work bench for a couple of weeks now (in between getting my ass handed to me in a couple of remote zoom games) but project Wiglaf is now finally complete. 

Well as finished as any project ever is…

All the miniatures I need for two opposing forces (the curse of the solo gamer) are painted and based…and the unusual off set square playing area has been cobbled together from foam board and off cuts of old battle mat (waste not want not). 

The figures are part of a range created by Daniel Mersey in 18mm and they depict warriors from the warring factions in 7th century Britain. I’ve gone with Christian Northumbrians versus Pagan Mercians. 

The rules that go with them seem like a cross between Dux Belorum and Saga, (but without the quirky special attributes or funky dice of Saga) and they are novel enough to have really caught my interest.

Something that I threw together over the weekend. Like you do. Shame I couldn’t be arsed to move the sea cloth from under it. Lazy is as lazy does.

I suspect that I’ll have a quick go at playing this next week, so a batrep will be forthcoming shortly. Ironically I seem to recall giving up on this project because I felt I wouldn’t have enough room to play it, though it transpires that with 12cm squares it would fit nicely on anyone’s kitchen table. lol. 

« All your base are belong to us » Apologies to readers over 65 or younger than 50 who won’t get the reference, but for those with an inquiring mind it’s an early internet meme. As you can see I might be 61 but I’m still down with the kidz. Apparently the internet is on computers now!

The next post will be the second battle in my naval campaign - but the planning and research for an Indian mutiny collection in 28mm have now begun in earnest - since The Current Mrs Broom claims to have spent a large chunk of my grandchildren’s inheritance on a metric ton of Empress Miniatures as an Xmas prezzie. 

Woo hoo! 

Miles better than some socks and a bottle of Old Spice I reckon. 

I hope Santa doesn’t bend their bayonets coming down the chimney.

Anywhoo…

Tarrarabit arr kid - as they used to say in Brum.

Tools of the trade

I so so wanted to call this post « polishing my helmet » but after the fallout from « check out my junk » (on the old blog) I didn’t dare.

Now then…one of the only downsides to zoom gaming, (of which I have been doing more of my fair share of late) is that people get to see the kind of crack den / sex dungeon / doom preppers bunker that you regularly inhabit. Last night I realised that my regular background view might require a bit of further explanation if I’m ever to get another invite to a game. 

The longest serving of the cognoscenti may recall that I used to style myself a method wargamer, someone who wanted to know what it was like to wear the kit and use the weapons that my miniature chaps are forced to wield. It was this mind set that led me into re enactment and which allowed me to accumulate quite a hoard of medieval and ECW kit - until my first move to France saw the majority of it getting sold off.

On this my second (and final) sojourn to la belle France I’ve been lucky enough to have a dedicated games room, but it was looking a bit devoid of character until a chance encounter with an Adrian helmet at a local brocante got me thinking about tarting my new space up with something other than a bit of emulsion and the odd family photo.

Spurred on by the impulse purchase of this French military icon, the initial concept was just a display of a few more helmets but it soon morphed into helmet types and equipment that I’d worn and used in the past. Since, as I said, most of my original gear is now long gone, I started looking at the websites of people who make museum grade replicas replacements.

And just like that my wallet emptied.

Now I’d be the first to admit that having weapons on the wall is a tad…I dont know…vulgar? But I’m justifying this collection as literally a personal history trail so hopefully folk won’t feel the need be too judgy. Rest assured there will be no machine guns or nazi memorabilia here…no sireee Bob. (Especially after my “tussle” with an SS Feldpolizei reenactor at the Kent military show ground in 2013 - story for another day I’m afraid). ((Mutters under breath..Man I hate wannabe nazi’s…))

My new collection will be small and limited to my main areas of interest, i.e. ECW and early to late medieval and, unlike the blunted weapons I used when teaching people how to kill each other at RegIa Anglorum, this time they can and will be fully functional.

Philosophical question. Is reenacting or war gaming military conflicts from beyond living memory more palatable? Is anyone doing Ukraine / Russia yet? And if they were how would you feel about it?  Discuss. 

Okay back on topic. 

Helmets.

Here’s a piccie of the Adrian helmet that started the whole thing.

The Adrian style helmet is a design classic in my eyes and although they can be quite commonly found in junk shops etc over here they seem to suffer from Volkswagen badge disease. On the front of the helmet is meant to be a device showing the arm of service to which the helmet was issued but almost every time you find an Adrian helmet here the damned badge thingy is missing.

This particular one was issued to the Chasseurs Pied chaps (hence the hunting horn badge) and is an M15 version made from three pieces with a single large vent hole under the crest. There’s still faint traces of blue grey paint in places and given its 1915 production date it most likely saw service in WW1.

So that was the trigger for this particular spending spree, but it was only the inspiration and not actually linked with anything I’ve either gamed or re enacted.

Let’s get on to to my personal history trail.

First up is a Spangenhelm. Worn pretty much across Europe and the British Isles between the eighth and 11th centuries, it’s made up of four metal plates, cross ribs and a brow band with a nasal. It’s pretty much a direct descendant of earlier forms like late Roman cavalry helmets but without the cheek guards. Some examples have an aventail and back in the day I owned several of them, one of which sported said aventail cos it somehow looked more war like. (Yeah. I know, right).

I used to train folks to fight with sword, axe and spear and sure the sword and the axe look more sexy, but, just like the less glamorous artillery of WW1…the spear is definitely the main killer on the early medieval battlefield. 

With that in mind here is a winged spear originally designed for boar hunting (the wings prevent an injured boar from dragging its way up the shaft to get at you and also prevents too deep a penetration (potentially getting the weapon stuck in the target). 

The wings in combat are ideal for hooking over the rim of an enemy shield and dragging it away from the holders body. If you work in two person spear teams in a shield wall your mate on the left can wait for you to hook a shield and pull it away from the opponents body then he can stab his spear into the gap you’ve created and… erm… slot him…as modern soldiers apparently say. * Attacking on the diagonal like this is a common tactic in re enactment and I’ve often wondered if that’s why chess pawns are depicted attacking that way too?

The one below is a 2m long two handed spear and you use it with your shield slung on your back (or on its strap across your left front / shoulder).

Swords. I’m still waiting on the Copper Gate helmet reproduction to go with this magnificent 7th century sword. It’s a copy of the Fetter Lane sword found in London in 1893. It’s posher than the one I used in RegIa but hey it was a 60th birthday treat so what the hell. And yes… it’s sharp. The hilt is really fancy and the blade is a very nice patterned Damascus steel but this isn’t a very good picture unfortunately. Point of balance is around 5 inches along the blade which makes it a pretty hefty piece for chopping with. 

The Current Mrs Broom - who’s ace at needlework etc… hell she’s just ace - did me two faux Bayeux Tapestry pictures for my walls as well. One is taken directly from the tapestry but has Harold holding a spear rather than plucking an arrow from his eye (see the whole « was the tapestry altered » theory) and the other being the work of Stew (sadly not blogging at the mo) which makes me laugh every time I see it.

Here’s a slightly better picture of the sword, (in the wrong place of course thanks to blogger) courtesy of the blokes “what made it”.

Next up, here’s a Sallet helmet circa 1470.  I had two goes with my original of this at the yearly Tewkesbury battle re enactment. I was only a grunt and actually a guest of one of the societies staging the event. (I borrowed most of my kit for this). I wanted to join the group but the cost of yet more equipment, fees, and of course the time meant that I never got fully into it. 

And the item underneath the spear was what I was wielding at Tewkesbury - well a blunt version at any rate. It’s an English Bill, a close cousin of the Halberd if you were wondering. 

I reckon I should be sorted come the zombie apocalypse. Lol. 

Then there’s Meg my matchlock musket - last fired in 2016 and probably never going to be fired again…which is sad. Glad I never sold it cos I think it looks okay up on the wall, instead of locked in a gun safe as it was in the UK. I never used the apostles since my re enactment regiment (Sir William Pennymans Regiment of Foote) was a royalist one that upon re equipping in Oxford was issued paper cartridges in a leather bag (due to equipment shortages) in 1642 / 1643.

Roaring Meg - roars no more.

I think that’s probably enough militaria for one day. Might do another post on new additions as and when they arrive. 

Final thought. We only get to play at war with our toy soldiers. No one gets hurt (unless you mishandle wire spears…lol.) In reality it takes a brave man to stand against maniacs waving real weapons at you, so don’t be too hard on your chaps when they next fail a morale check. How brave would you be?

Toodleooh.

*Remind me to tell you sometime about the day I cut half of a blokes ear off and lost a tooth to a blunted axe in the mouth by way of compensation. True story. 

*Disclaimer* (I am aware that my never ending supply of wild stories can sound a bit like, BS, but honestly when it comes to life I seem to have the reverse Midas touch. Shit just seems to happen to me). The only saving grace is that given the passage of time even the worst happenings can seem quite amusing, and that’s something to cling on to in this crazy upside down world. N’est - ce pas?

Not dead, just resting

Had a few problems with the old noggin of late and gaming interest has been virtually zero. In the space of the last four weeks I’ve only managed to produce the twenty four figures shown below - which is about as many as Lee would do in an afternoon I reckon. Lol. 

Penda, centre of right front stand and Raedwald centre of middle left hand stand. Only another 15 stands to go to complete the two armies. Should be done by mid 2025 at this rate.

Being nuts is not easy but as a musical representation of the condition I’ve gone from this…(don’t click on it, it contains cuss words!)

…to this in just three weeks! 

Apart from being full time bonkers I’ve been dabbling in Victorian submarine warfare a bit, (possibly more on that when I’ve finished the models) and looking to using Norm’s Tigers at Minsk rules for my own VBCW project set in a post general strike Britain, circa 1926. (With Pendraken 10mm forces). It’s been interesting researching the pre Mosley fascist groups from the 20´s and how they managed to infiltrate the governments volunteer strike breaking force. This « lady » and her group were certainly new to me.

Rotha Linton-Orman, leader of the British Fascisti…

…when Oswald was still pretending to be a socialist.

I like the published AVBCW thirties stuff a lot, but I’m not keen on some of the more outlandish factions or its general « war’s a bit of a lark » theme. I’ll be pitching it as a straight up communist / fascist struggle I think. Again more on that when the models arrive.

Since I’ve labelled this post as «blether » it’s probably about time I swerved off on a tangent, so here goes.

On a visit last summer one of my grandchildren remarked that the sign for the nearby Preseli hills actually looked like it said the Presley hills. Naturally I’ve been attempting to exploit their naïveté (I’m a very bad Grampa) and I’ve been trying to convince them since that Elvis (who was actually Welsh and not from Memphis) is still alive and scampering around up on the high moorland as a sort of feral character clad only in a rhinestone encrusted loin cloth. I’ve now got pictorial proof that he’s also been secretly canonised… as per this sign on the Pembrokeshire coastal path.

If you squint a bit at the sign you’ll see it’s not a stairway to heaven but a pathway to St Elvis. The truth is out there! Follow the money…erm…and so on. 

On the old blog I documented my very own « operation dynamo » in which the wife and I packed up and moved back from France - for a more certain post Brexit life. I’ve now given it two years in Wales but there’s not a day goes by that I don’t regret the move and so the initial planning has now begun on our version of « Overlord ». 

Even as I type The Current Mrs Broom is busy crocheting a massive net for us to go house hunting in Finistère, Cote d’Amor or Manche. We’ve booked a ferry etc for mid September so we’ll see what happens. Thank God for her Irish roots (and passport). Hopefully at some point next year, or even the one after, I’ll be wading ashore on Gold beach with all our worldly goods. Lol.

Wales eh?!

I’m not saying it’s backward out here…but we’ve still got a Spud U Like. 

Case closed.

Toodle ooh

An itch I keep on having to scratch

No, no not that itch, I’ve got an ointment for that.

I’m referring of course to my continual Dark Age and ECW fixations. 

I’ve owned and built ECW armies in 2, 6, 15, 18 and 28mm over the years, from bendy 6mm pikes to Wofun flats and everything in between. Despite my general (and perhaps unfair) dislike of Warlord Games I’m pretty sure I’ll be elbowing my way to the front of the queue if they ever do the period in their new Epic range. 

The other genre on which I seem fixated is the dark ages in Britain. The number of armies I’ve owned in  this era is smaller but I think it’s fair to say they’ve seen the most action. Eventually, as part of “operation generate more hobby cash” I flogged the last of them on eBay recently and resolved never to go there again. 

Of course within a week of shipping them off I discovered these...

Age of Penda - Wiglaf Miniatures. 18mm. Get ‘em from Northstar.

...and I came all over weak at the knees. 

I posted about them a while back but Northstar have finally begun stocking them and my initial order arrived on Friday. 

Now I hate painting, but these minis are so lovely that I jumped right in and had a go. They’re not up to Lee’s standard of course but I’m fairly pleased with the outcome. 

Penda and a couple of nobles from the leaders pack

Same lads - from the back

Helping to ease me into a painting vibe was this jolly “anarcho folk” tune favourite which I've decided to share, cos I'm good like that. If your feet don't tap - you might want to check you've still got a pulse.

I’ve spared you my recent discovery of the Cherokee Death Cats (best band name ever) since I think it’ll be too rich for your blood (with the possible exception of nundanket and Elenderil) mayhap.

Toodle ooh.

The devil makes work…

For idle hands to do…

What I really did not need at the moment is another project. I’m currently painting Star Trek figures for my “Trek Hulk” mashup, Neanderthals for my Paleo diet campaign, and another unit of British infantry for the VSF project.

Modiphius 18mm Trek - based on clear acrylic rather than the manhole covers they actually come with.

Unfortunately I recently had time to browse the internet a few extra quid in the bank and the urgent need for some some morale boosting retail therapy.

I was not going to get involved in anything new. As I said above, I really didn’t need another project. 

Absolutely not. 

No way. 

No.

Oh bugger… 

Mr Mersey has a new early dark age set of rules out called “Age of Penda”  (available on wargames vault)

Dammit. 

I’ve been a fan of this particular rules meister since I purchased “glutter of ravens” off him way back when - so I downloaded them quicker than my French PayPal account could say ping. 

There’s a lot of familiar stuff of course - but there’s an interesting blend of other elements in there as well. I spotted a bit of DBA, a bit of Dux Bellorum, a bit of twisted TTS (off set gridded squares…mmm) even a bit of SAGA (sort of) with an unusual tactics battle board affair. He has a nice set of 18mm figures ready to support the rules, (sculpted by Copplestone) and as a dark age rivet counter (if there could possibly be such a thing) I have to say I like them a lot. 

Wiglafminiatures.com - coming to a distributor near you…soon.

There seems to be an issue with distribution at the moment but I don’t think that’ll take long to overcome.

Anywhoo - I’ve got the rules, I’ve got the ability to quickly add squares to an unused battlemat, but I just need to settle on a scale. The 18mm figures look splendid, but then there’s Kalistra 12mm, Baccus 6mm and god help me irregular 2mm. What’s a boy to do?

Also…what’s up with those Citadel contrast paints? I bought the black and the blue for the Trek figures and even got the special undercoat spray to make the paint “work” but all I ended up with was a disconcerting mess and something that seemed neither paint nor ink. Maybe I’m doing something wrong?

Hey ho. 

TTFN