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?

Hurried Hasegawa Heinkel - part 1

 

I’ve had this ancient kit for a while and dug it out to build a few weeks ago. It’s moment finally arrived yesterday.  

Being a kit of a certain vintage the parts are reassuringly few in number.  Aside from a few issues with flash the parts fit was really pretty good. The decal sheet is rather past it’s best but I don’t need the Luftwaffe markings anyway. Regular readers will have already guessed why.  

After allowing the sub-assemblys to dry overnight, I glued it all together.  It certainly looks like an He.51 to me!  

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.

USAF F-4 Phantom

The latest escapee from the now notorious Partizan Plane Purchase Pile is this rather nice F-4.  It was in good shape and aside from some minor repairs all I've done is slap on a top coat of varnish.  I particularly like the USAF Vietnam-era 3-colour camouflage - I'm just glad I didn't have to paint it myself!

I'm not sure what make the kit is - moulded in white plastic so Airfix or Revell perhaps?

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.

CONFERENCE OF WARGAMERS 2021 - IMPORTANT UPDATE

 

COW2021 2^nd to 4^th July 2021

In anticipation that Stage 3 of the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions will come into operation on 17^th May, we have begun the process of planning for COW2021.

At present, the situation regarding what restrictions might be in place when Knuston Hall reopens is unclear, but rather than wait until 17^th May to begin preparations for the conference, we are starting now. With this in mind, we would like to make the parameters we are working to as clear as possible.

·         All those who paid in full for COW2020 have had their bookings carried forward to COW2021. If you fall into this category, you do not need to book a place at COW2021 but it would be helpful if you could confirm that you still wish to attend by emailing Bob Cordery (using the email address on the back page of Nugget). If you wish to cancel your booking, please do so as soon as possible, again by emailing Bob and any money you have paid will be refunded to you.

·         It is not possible at present to take any further bookings for COW2021.

·         If you wish to offer a session for inclusion in the COW2021 programme, please could you contact Tim Gow (again, contact details are in Nugget) as soon as possible? He can then begin to plan the conference programme in anticipation that COW2021 will take place.

·         Any arrangements that we make will need to be flexible and may be subject to change at short notice. We have no control over the restrictions that Knuston Hall may need to operate under when they reopen, but rest assured that we will do our utmost to regularly update attendees.

Bob Cordery and Tim Gow

COW Co-ordinators