pendant ce temps dans la cuisine

These chaps are all metal figures from the Paris show. In the back row we have from left a bloke with a big soup ladle, his oppo who has probably just been outside peeling spuds and a guy in working fatigues wielding a sledgehammer - perhaps for breaking up particularly stale baguettes?  Out front is a nice aluminium rifleman - quite a good match for Armies in Plastic.  

Saturday Knight Fever - part 1

This game followed on from this earlier outing to the Middle Ages.  Everyone was sent a general briefing:

SATURDAY KNIGHT FEVER

The Kickyerhead Inn

 

Having had his rather fetching daughter snatched away by outlaws, an enraged Lord John has raised his surviving retainers to recover her and capture the Outlaw Robin Banks.  The pair have been traced to an inn on the edge of the forest.  In the later afternoon of a summer Saturday the Lord and his retainers approach the inn.

The lady – a blushing virgin (with, if the rumours are to be believed, much to blush about) - does not appear to have shown reluctance to run off. 

The knights at least 12 inches from each other and from the inn.

Figures may not leave the playing area!

 

Ye Code of Chivalrie.  The lord will look unfavourably upon knights who break the code of chivalry.

Only a knight may retrieve the lady.  No knight may attack a woman.

A knight may not engage a non-knight in combat if another knight is closer.

A knight will not engage another knight who is currently in combat with another.  He won’t ‘gang up.’

Knights.  Knights have trained their entire lives for combat.  A knight cannot be put out of action until he receives three Wounds.  Treat any Out Of Action result on the Wound chart as a Wound instead.  Once he has sustained three Wounds, he’s Out Of Action.

If a knight is put out of action, his retainers will leave the field and take no further part in the action.

Lord John and his posse

Ye Cast Liste

Lord John of Westbourne       a God-fearing gentleman, lord of Broomhall, Endcliffe and all ye lands as far East as ye inner ring road

Friar Paul of Wigan                a devout monk. Lord John’s confessor, so a busy man

Peter of Almondbury              the county executioner

Mark of Great Ayton              a bold, if somewhat battered warrior

Martin of Nether Edge           a bald warrior

Robin’ Banks                          Ye Notorious Outlaw

Russell of Hebden Bridge       A notorious outlaw from ye neighbouring county

The Lady Ermentrude             a tidy piece

Ye Jolly Innkeeper                  proprietor of the Kickyerhead Inn

Ye Buxon Serving Wench      makes up for the flat beer

Others:

Yonder peasant, also Ye Umpire and Ye Narrator

Sundry scurvy knaves

Players were also sent individual objectives:

John                Lord John of Westbourne

Ensure the Lady Ermentrude is recovered. Kill Robin’ Banks.  Stay out of danger.

Leader.  Sword, spear, heavy armour, shield

Martin                       Martin of Nether Edge

Recover The Lady Ermentrude.  Kill someone.  Get Lord John drunk

Sword, heavy armour, shield

Pete                 Peter of Almondbury

Project an air of menace.  Suck up to Lord John.  Get knighted.

Two handed axe, dagger

Mark              Mark of Great Ayton

Impress Lord John with a daring exploit.  Kill someone.  Pull the barmaid.

Sword, heavy armour, shield

Jerry               Ye Notorious Outlaw Robin Banks

Keep The Lady Ermentrude in your er, ‘protection.’ Kill someone.  Do something daring and reckless.

Leader.  Sword, bow

Simon             Ye Jolly Inkeeper

Ply Lord John’s party with strong drink.  Make sure someone pays.  Defend the dubious virtue of the barmaid (or at least get paid!)

Dagger, club

Tim C             Friar Paul of Wigan

Pray several times during the game.  Get roaring drunk.  Seduce the barmaid.

mace

Russell           Russell of Hebden Bridge

Do something dramatic (so you get a role in the film), Kill someone.  Pull the barmaid.

Sword, bow

A Knight to remember - part 3. The lady vanishes

 As we return to the action swords are still clashing in the chapel...

...where Sir Mark has craftily swapped places with Sir Martin and now stands between him and the Lord's tent

Meanwhile a non-wounded Sir Thomas has dispatched Sir Simon!

Sir Jerry has sent his retainer to duff up Martin's archer while his own archer gives covering fire, but the retainer is soon down and bristling with arrows.

Sir Jerry heads off to the wounded and distracted Sir Thomas.

The fight in the chapel continues - will it ever end?

Sir Thomas spotted Jerry and he was dealt with accordingly - the second knightly death, and both at the hands of Sir Thomas.

Having finally wounded Sir Mark, Sir Martin makes a dash for it while their archers face off.

And enraged and frustrated Sir Thomas pursues the now distant Martin...

...but there's no chance of catching him.

And exhausted Sir Martin reaches Lord John and claims his prize....

...the key to the lady's chastity belt!  

Sir Martin then strode manfully into the tent to claim his reward....only to find the lady gone!  Apparently spirited away by the local forest-dwelling outlaw Robbin' Banks!

I gather that an enraged Lord John has raised a force, including the surviving knights, to retrieve her.  After all, did you really think I'd leave us without the makings of  a sequel?

A Knight to remember - part 2. Swords of Honour?

 

Predictably the action commenced with a mad dash for the chapel.  Above we see Sir Thomas accompanied by his long pole-wielding retainer while ahead of them are Sir Simon (aka the mad axeman) and his sword waving sidekick.  Both left their archers to snipe at targets of opportunity.

At the other end of the chapel we can see Sir Mark and his spearman while closer to the camera are Sir Martin and his axe-wielding underling.

Simon and Tom soon got stuck in and not only did Simon seem to be getting the better of the close combat...

...but he also had Tom's archer on the ground and bleeding profusely!

In the ruins Mark (with white shield) and Martin set to.  The lady's scarf can be seen at the shrine - tantalizingly close!

Mark's archer had meanwhile wounded Martin's arrow twanger and the axeman was sent to deal with the trouble.  He failed and Mark's archer ran off.

Jerry's chaps were late to the fray - he sadly couldn't join us and I kept forgetting to activate them!

Tom and Simon continue to slug it out.

By now Martin has grabbed the scarf and Mark's spearman lies dead.

This ended the Tuesday session - here is an overview.  

A knight to remember - part 1. Setting ye scene

This week's game featured some good old-fashioned brutality with a thin veneer of chivalry.  I used the A Fistful Of Lead rules with each of the players having their own deck of cards and dice.  I modified the scenario from one in the rulebook - adapted to the personalities involved.  And so, without further ado I give you (and you can keep it):

 A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER

“The greatest story ever embroidered” – Cross Stich World Magazine*

An ageing lord has been left without an heir.  He has decided to offer to the knight he deems most worthy all his lands and the hand of his daughter.  And the key to her chastity belt.

The lady – a blushing virgin (with, if the rumours are to be believed, much to blush about) has placed her favour (an embroidered scarf) in the ruins of a local chapel – notable as the home of a shrine to Our Lady Of Perpetual Bewilderment.  Whichever knight can retrieve the favour and present it to her is the winner.  (But see also the Code of chivalry).

The lord and his daughter are waiting at his tent.  They will take no part in the battle except to judge any conduct they consider “unbecoming to a knight.”

The knights at least 12 inches from each other and from the centre of the ruins.

The Favour.  The lady’s favour is a scarf tied to a pole in the centre of the ruins.  A knight must spend an action to grab it.  Only a knight can do so.

The favour can only be taken away by putting the bearer out of action.  Only a knight may present it to the lady by moving to contact her.

Ye Code of Chivalrie.  The lord will look unfavourably upon knights who break the code of chivalry.

Only a knight may take the favour to present it to the lady.  No knight would send a lowly peasant to fetch the favour.

A knight may not engage a non-knight in combat if another knight is closer.

A knight will not engage another knight who is currently in combat with another.  He won’t ‘gang up.’

Knights.  Knights have trained their entire lives for combat.  A knight cannot be put out of action until he receives three Wounds.  Treat any Out Of Action result on the Wound chart as a Wound instead.  Once he has sustained three Wounds, he’s Out Of Action.

If a knight is put out of action, his retainers will leave the field and take no further part in the action.

Map

It’s the Middle Ages and you want a map?  Get real.

  

Ye Cast Liste

Lord John of Westbourne       a God-fearing gentleman, lord of Broomhall, Endcliffe and all ye lands as far East as ye inner ring road.

The Lady Ermentrude             a tidy piece.

Friar Paul of Wigan                a devout monk. Lord John’s confessor, so a busy man.

Peter of Almondbury              the county executioner.

 

Mark of Great Ayton              sword, heavy armour, shield

                        Retainer 1        spear, light armour

                        Archer 2          bow, dagger

Simon of Youlgrave                sword, two-handed axe, heavy armour

                        Retainer 3        sword, light armour

                        Archer 4          bow, dagger

Martin of Nether Edge           sword, heavy armour, shield

                        Retainer 5        two-handed axe, light armour

                        Archer 6          bow, dagger

Thomas of Crookes                 sword, heavy armour, shield

                        Retainer 7        spear, light armour

                        Archer 8          bow, dagger

Jeremy of Burngreave             spear, heavy armour, shield                         

                        Retainer 9        sword, light armour, shield

                        Archer 10        bow, dagger

Others:

Yonder peasant, also Ye Umpire and Ye Narrator

Sundry scurvy knaves

Lord John kneels in prayer, accompanied by his personal confessor Paul of Wigan, county executioner Peter of Almondbury and the inevitable lute player.

The gallant knights.  From left to right: Jeremy of Burngreave, Simon of Youlgrave, Thomas of Crookes, Mark of Great Ayton and Martin of Nether Edge. 

Figures were from my accumulation of 54mm plastic toys.  I can see at least half a dozen manufacturers represented in the photos.  Having set the scene we'll get to the action in the next post.  Place your bets now....

    * fake news, obviously.

Republican Asalto Company

 According to the UK Government's COVID 'road map', we can get back to outdoor wargaming from the end of this month.  With this hope in mind I'm planning a Spanish Civil War game and after a review of the available forces I decided to recruit a small unit of Assault Guards - the paramilitary police force which largely sided with the Republican government.  

Rather than do anything rash like spending money on expensive but possibly accurate figures, I decided to bodge some from old figures I already had in stock.  The key characteristics of the uniform I wanted to replicate were trousers with no puttees or gaiters and the 'Gorillo' or 'cheesecutter' side cap.  Or a round-topped peaked cap.  

A rummage through a big box of plastic tat yielded Airfix Afrika Korps and Mountain troops who had the correct trouserage.  Some knife work carved the caps into more or less the right shape and removed most of the webbing, water bottles, gas mask canisters etc.  Blanket/greatcoat rolls and satchels were added to some figures using Milliput.  The machine gunner is an old hollowcast metal figure wearing a peaked cap.  The uniforms were painted in dark blue and white piping added to the caps using a paint pen.  As usual, a finishing coat of Ronseal satin light oak varnish was applied.

Austro-Hungarian preparations for the 32nd Battle of the Isonzo - part 2

It’s always interesting to compare national priorities. While the Italians closely guard the Minestrone pot this Austrian sentry has been assigned to secure the officers’ latrine. 

Rumours abound of the luxuries therein - neatly cut squares of the Arbeiter Zeitung, a mahogany seat - even a cocktail cabinet!

The chap guarding the cludgie* came in a set of WW2 Russians bought some years ago in a Belgian supermarket. He ‘volunteered’ for the KUK last month. 

    * for the benefit of foreign readers, this is a Scottish expression.  Who says you don't learn stuff here?

Austro-Hungarian preparations for the 32nd Battle of the Isonzo

Not to be outdone the Austrians prepare their own artillery. Both guns are very old (pre-WW2?) tinplate models with rather rusty spring mechanisms. And both are far too fragile to fire!  

Italian preparations for the 32nd Battle of the Isonzo - part 2

The Italians sought help for their French and British allies in their campaigns against the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Heavy artillery units were made particularly welcome. Here we see a British heavy howitzer preparing to support the coming assault. Rather ominously the crew are wearing gas masks.....

The gun is an old Britains diecast, the officer a hollow cast and the loader a Del Prado or similar metal figure. 

Italian Alpini

I have a battalion-worth of these old but very charismatic Dulcop figures and recently managed to coax a few in front of the camera.  Some might find fault with the rather flamboyant poses but I rather like them.  And they are, when all is said and done, toy soldiers.

And I'm not the only fan of these chaps - see also here.