steve wood – Page 21 – Steve’s Hobby Blog

Researching the Research – Batch painting the 28th Regt.

I mentioned in last weeks blog that as well as deciding on a rules set to work to, it helps to have a theme running through your figure collection. In my case the theme is the British Army at Waterloo. I do not intend to paint every Battalion that was present but I am working towards a decent representation of the units that took part. This means that I have some discipline when it comes to buying and painting units and ensures that I do not go off at a tangent. Well not much…

One of the interesting body of troops that were present at the Battle is the 8th British Brigade of Infantry led by Sir James Kempt. It was part of Pictons 5th Infantry Division and was not only in the thick of the fighting at Waterloo but was heavily engaged at Quatre Bras, two days earlier.

Lady Butlers painting of the 28th at Quatre Bras.

The Brigade is interesting to me because of the mix and variety of troops. It consisted of:

The 28th North Gloucestershire’s; a standard infantry battalion but equipped with stovepipe shakos and with yellow facings.

The 32nd Cornwall Regiment; a standard infantry battalion, Belgic shakos and white facings.

The 79th Cameron Highlanders; a Scottish regiment, green facings and of course, tartan kilts.

Six company’s of the 95th Rifles, the famous Light infantry regiment.

They were supported by the Divisional artillery, including Major Roberts Foot artillery battery of six guns.

I don’t think that you could do much better when choosing a ‘starter’ force for a Black powder army. I have already painted the 32nd Cornwalls – you can read how in these blog entries:

The 32nd ( Cornwall) Regiment of Foot

Soap Opera Painting

The 32nd Foot ready for action

So the next task was to batch paint the 28th North Gloucestershires. As usual, I consulted my favourite research sources, The Waterloo Companion by Mark Adkin, British Napoleonic Uniforms by C.E. Franklin, Ospreys Wellingtons Infantry by Brian Fosten and the most useful Mont St Jeans Website.

The Pictures on the Mont St Jean site are simply excellent to use as a painting guide:

28th North Gloucestershire Regiment Centre Companys

Now the sharp eyed amongst you will have already spotted a discrepancy. Lady Butler has the 28th in Belgiac Shakos, whereas Mont St Jean shows them in Stovepipes – they both couldn’t be correct, could they? My first thought was that perhaps they were light infantry but I was further puzzled by the red and white standard plumes ( I thought that ‘lights’ had all had green plumes) and Shako plates – no bugle to indicate that they were light infantry. That said, the Shako plates were different to most regiments standard one piece large plate. The plot thickened….

It was time to consult the internet once again and to risk diving into the murky world of forums and social media. Those dangerous habitats of armchair painters and armchair generals, button counters and lace pendants, crusty old buggers of immoveable opinions – you get the picture. In fact even as I typed this blog, I thought that I could hear the sound of caps locks on keyboards clicking on like a chorus of safety catches on AK47s….

They were wearing STOVEPIPES!!!!!

Of course I jest… just a bit. I am actually in awe of the expertise found on the forums and generally this expertise is passed on with good grace and even better, with links back to the primary references. My usual port of call is the TMP, The Miniatures page, and the search facility can reveal some fascinating information from some very knowledgeable people. So what did I find out? Well, it seems as though the 28th had a number of differences from the ‘standard’ infantry battalion. The Shako plate was indeed as shown above and not a one piece item. In addition, there was a small plate on the rear of the Shako, awarded after the battle of Alexandria in Egypt 1801, when the front and rear ranks of the 28th were simultaneously engaged, whereby the soldiers received the order “Front rank stay as you are, rear rank about turn”. The conduct of the regiment won for it the distinction of wearing badges both at the front and at the back of their head-dress.

Bottom picture shows rear cap badge and French style Knapsack

And so to the head dress. It seems that the 28th were still in possession of their Stovepipe shakos at Waterloo, although this is by no means a sure thing. Lady Butler seems to think that they wore belgiac shakos and there is at least one contemporary account that confirms this. However, there are other accounts and sketches that indicate that they definitely had stovepipes and that these were also worn by the Officers. Who knows what is really correct? I tend to go with the idea that the shakos were stovepipes based on what I have read but I am acutely aware that what I am reading is someone else’s edited research. After all said and done though, I am painting a unit to be used on the wargames table not an exhibit in a museum, so I am happy to go with the more interesting option.

28th with Trotter Knapsack….

The other piece of information that I turned up was that the 28th used French Knapsacks rather than the standard British Trotter knapsack. Once again, I have read conflicting evidence. One account claimed that all men in the Battalion had the French version. Another, claimed that it was just the Grenadier company. Both stories seem to come from an account stemming yet again from the Egyptian Campaign. It is said that the 28th ‘liberated’ a French supply depot containing the superior French Knapsacks which they then adopted as their own. It strikes me that the chances of these knapsacks lasting for nearly 15 years in service, with men coming and going, are remote but I have no knowledge of how long a knapsack would last… Finally, just to add to the controversy, I have read that the whole ‘knapsack story’ was made up by a Victorian writer.

What is for sure is that the Battalion is an interesting subject with some good opportunities for some artistic licence in both modelling and painting. I’m happy to incorporate some of these idiosyncrasies into my battalion and I’ll show you my interpretation in my next blog.

Why are you still playing Black Powder?

Redcoats!

I had intended to write an updated guide to batch painting British Napoleonic figures based around my latest project, the 28th North Gloucestershire Regiment. I’ve even gone so far as to make some step by step videos that I hope to post. However, rather than jump right in to the painting, I thought that I would first give some context and background to my project. I’ve been prompted by the number of questions that constantly appear on the social media feeds and forums that I subscribe to, as much as anything else and I hope that the series of posts will be useful to newcomers to the hobby.

I think that veterans in the hobby forget just how difficult and daunting it is for newcomers to get into this strange hobby of collecting and painting Napoleonic figures, or for that matter, any period of history. There is so much material out there and whilst the internet makes it easier to access this material, there is a lot of conflicting advice and some very forthright views that can be counter productive. I hope that the following helps although I am conscious that I am just adding my own forthright views to the mix!

To be clear, I have decided that I am painting and collecting 28mm war games figures to be used primarily to ‘play’ wargames with my friends using Black Powder rules. So before you even buy a pack of figures you need to decide what scale figures you are going to use and what rules set you will use. A good place to start would be to talk to the people that you intend to wargame with and see what rules sets they are using.

Why Black Powder?

When I first came back to the historical side of the hobby, following a long period spent playing Sci Fi games, I was looking for a rules set that I could easily learn and play. I actually started with Sharp Practice version one. This had two attractions. First of all you don’t need that many figures to start gaming. Indeed, I started with just 24 Victrix figures. Most importantly, there were a couple of guys at the local club who were playing Sharp practice and they helped to explain the rules and provide some extra figures when I needed them. Additionally, the rules had a certain charm, humour and playability about them that resulted in a great game, time after time.

Stand fast the 27th

However, as my army grew, I was looking for something that would allow me to field a brigade or division. Black powder happened to be published at that time. It was and still is, one of the best looking rules sets out there. It was also easily readable and obviously designed for the joy of playing rather than simply trying to recreate every drill tactic and nuance of the Napoleonic era. In fact, it’s not even a rule set specifically set in the Napoleonic era, more of a general guide to playing war games in the whole of the ‘Black powder’ era. Brilliant! I would only need to learn one basic set of rules and I could be gaming the AWI or fighting Zulus a hundred or so years later. Even better, it was co written by Rick Priestly and Jervis Johnson and those two know more than a thing or two about not only how to write a rules set but also how to set the right tone.

We are playing a game!

In a recent blog I mentioned that I was part of a demonstration game at a Napoleonic Day in, of all places, Bingham. Most of the people that visited were ‘non wargamers’ and were fascinated by the spectacle of so many model soldiers on the table. The game was very loosely based on the Battle of Quatre Bras and most of the figures were representative of the combatants present during the battle. That is about as close as I have come to refighting a historical battle. Most of the games that I play are at the White Hart pub on a reasonably sized table, covered in a battlemat with a few bits of scenery placed around. Occasionally, we set up a scenario, a river crossing or delayed deployment of troops being the two easiest but rarely is the game based on a real battle.

The Quatre Bras Demo game

Back to the Demo game. The visitors were intrigued to know just what we were doing. We replied ‘we’re playing a game with Napoleonic soldiers representing the playing pieces’. I don’t think that they believed us. They wanted it to be more serious than that. Some of them eventually got it. This was a group of friends enjoying each others company whilst playing with toy soldiers set in an historical context. That’s all it needs to be. If you want a competitive tournament game, there are much better rules sets out there. If you are looking to recreate the minutiae of detail of what may have actually happened in a battle, you may be better off joining a re enactment group. That way you get to trudge around the fields & mud for real. The good news is that you wont get shot…

However, the Black Powder rules provide you with a great introduction to Historical wargaming with simple rules to learn and an emphasis on enjoying the game.

Table top General directs his troops!

Next Question…

Once you have decided on a rules set, some of the decisions are then made for you. What scale of figures do I use? Black powder is designed for 28mm but will work with most scales including 1/72nd scale or 15mm. I like 28mm scale. There’s a fantastic range and choice of figures out there in 28mm, both in plastic and metal. If you prefer something else, go for it. Again, I suspect that you will need to consult with your existing or prospective gaming buddies. If they are already using 20mm figures it makes sense to join them. But, I don’t think that you will go far wrong with 28mm.

Basing is a thorny subject – but guidance appears in the rules and I’ll pass on my advice in this series of articles later.

So, how many figures do you need in a unit? Again, the answer is in the rules set. A normal unit is 24 figures but this isn’t as rigid as you may think. We often use half sized units to play big games on smaller tables. The only important issue is that there should be some parity with your opponent. I’ll pass on my thoughts on this in a later blog when I cover basing.

Load Canister!

The really BIG question!

What army are you going to build? To a certain extent this is the most difficult decision that you may have to make. Are you going to be collecting British, French, Austrian, Russian, Prussian, or one of the myriad of other Napoleonic states that were involved in the conflict. This decision is further complicated by having then to choose a campaign period. In my opinion, as far as the wargaming goes, it doesn’t matter. We happily play games where Pennisular British fight Waterloo Prussians. We have even had a Mexican unit on the table!

It’s a difficult decision, because once you have committed, you will be painting an army and that will be a long term project. To be fair, there’s no reason why you cant have a pick & mix army with a unit from every nation. However, when it comes to research and collecting an army, I think that it will help if you have a common thread running through it. You don’t have to pick the ‘best’ army either. For many years of the Napoleonic period, the French were in the ascendancy and could beat all comers. At the other end of the scale, the Spanish Army, although potent on their day, don’t enjoy the same reputation in battle – they do have some lovely uniforms though! The beauty of Black powder is that the rules aren’t precious about this. There are some optional rules that you can give certain qualities one to army over another but there is nothing to stop you playing a ‘vanilla’ rules game where Spanish troops happily face, say, Russians on equal terms. Not realistic? It doesn’t bother me. As I keep repeating, the wargame is the social side of the hobby. It’s the chance to get those lovingly painted troops onto the table and see if the dice are kind enough to let you win a battle.

Charge!

In conclusion

If you are looking to start collecting and painting troops to wargame in the Napoleonic period, my advice is to start with the Black powder rules set. That is what my wargaming army is based on and whenever I start to paint a new unit, it is with these rules in mind. It means that I am clear about how many figures I need to make a unit, how to base them and what they will do in the game. Next week, I’ll explain how I research how to paint my figures. Regardless of which rules set that you do choose, I hope that you enjoy your gaming with your buddies as much as I do!

Incidentally, the pictures used in this blog were supplied by Wargames Illustrated. The figures are from my own collection and they will feature in issue 345, the theme being Wellington and the Napoleonic period. Which leads me to an after thought. I’m a great fan of Wargames Illustrated (and was long before they accepted my article) – if you are thinking of entering the hobby, go and get yourself a copy of the magazine! it’s a great way to get an overview of what is happening in the hobby and I still think that the physical magazine is better than flicking through the interweb!

You can get your copy of Black Powder Here:

BLACK POWDER

You can get the Waterloo starter set here:

Waterloo Starter Set

You can get Wargames Illustrated magazine here:

War Games Illustrated

Hammerhead 2017

Just a brief report on the latest Hammerhead show held at the Newark showground on Saturday 4th of March. Hammerhead is just one of three shows that are held in Newark, the other two being Partizan 1 and 2. So why a third show? Originally, I think that the idea was to have a show that was dedicated to the Fantasy and Sci-Fi elements of the hobby. Over the years, this emphasis has diminished and as you will see, there is plenty to occupy war gamers what ever their taste. What distinguishes Hammerhead from other shows is the games are all participation games so if you so wish you can join in with the fun and try out some of the superb games on offer.

The event has expanded this year and now occupied both the large George Stephenson exhibition hall as well as the Cedric Ford Pavilion. The two locations are just a short walk away from each other and this was certainly no hardship on the day. The weather was kind and it was nice to grab a breath of fresh air and take a break from looking at all the goodies on offer. Both locations had catering facilities, which meant that queuing for refreshments was in my experience, non existent. Even better, the food on offer was better than many shows that I’ve attended and not too expensive.

The Bunker game close up.

I wont cover the traders that were at the show – the usual suspects were in attendance, so there was plenty to tempt you to part with your money! I gamely resisted opening my wallet but eventually was tempted into buying some flags and a set of ladders – they will appear in a future blog project no doubt. The real stars of the show were the games on offer and here are just some that caught my eye. Perhaps the biggest, with the most figures on a table was the display from Shaun and Terry of the Bunker fame. Shaun is a master at creating scenery and always manages to pack the table with figures so there was plenty to look at!

Just one of the castles on the table!

Just as impressive, was the game by Reveille, the battle of Pellenor Fields. How many Oliphaunts were there?

Attack of the Oliphaunts

Another ‘wow!’ moment for me was the Bolt Action game. I’m afraid that I would fail as a reporter. I was too busy admiring the 1/56th (?) scale U boat that formed just part of the action to write down who was running the game…

Plenty going on here! Look at that U Boat!

I also liked the V1 that was incidental to the game.

It’s a V1!

And so, senses overloaded with the gaming goodness on display, I ventured across to the other pavilion where I joined Andy Callan, Ian Callan and Peter Dennis to play the latest ‘Paper Soldiers’ game ‘The Spanish Armada’. Ian and I were the British. Peter Dennis the dastardly Spanish. As with all Andy Callans rules, they are straight forward and simple to pick up, so within a turn I was immersed in the Game. Although Andy was giving his brother Ian a bit of stick for losing the Admiral and his flag ship, Ian and I continued to chip away at the Armada, reducing many of the Spanish transports to drifting hulks. It was all part of a cunning plan, as with the Admiral out of the way, the British would have more prize money!

As you can see, the game looks great and the book, which contains all you need, other than a pair of scissors, some PVA and access to a photocopier, retails at just £12.50 – amazing value and great fun. Having seen off the Spanish, it was back to the main hall for another look at the games.

Sands of the Sudan

Sands of the Sudan caught my eye, again, plenty of figures on the table and great scenery. Perhaps I will have a go at this period.

Beautifully painted Naval detachment.

By now, it was a case of sensory overload and constantly being distracted. Ooh look Daleks!!

and then Wow! Tripods!! With A10’s!!!

You get the idea, there was plenty to admire and my short blog post has barely scratched the surface. In fact I have missed many of the super games that were on offer. I’ll leave you with a look at another very well designed game. Who built it escapes me (bad reporter!) but what a temptation to start gaming this period.

Aces High!

So, plenty to see. Plenty to inspire. Plenty to motivate. All in all, a very good show , very well executed. I look forward to next years show. In the meantime, if you do fancy going to Partizan in May, I will be there with Arcane Scenery, so come along and say hello.

Belgium 1815: The Battle for the Crossroads

British Napoleonic uniform on display at the show.

I’ve mentioned before that I believe that some of the smaller shows for wargamers can be more enjoyable than some of the traditional war games shows that we all know. The latest example being the Napoleonic Day held in my home town of Bingham in Nottinghamshire. It was organised by the writer, Peter Youlds, and was focused on the Napoleonic period. To be fair, it wasn’t the usual wargames show, packed full of demonstration games and Traders but a small scale celebration of the Napoleonic period by like minded individuals. In fact, the only real pressure to buy anything was from the ‘Corsican Cafe’ that had been set up for the day. The home cooked bacon cobs and homemade cakes were just too tempting to avoid.

Belgic and Stovepipe shakos

The other goodies on offer were a selection of books (most of them signed copies) from the attending authors, Peter Youlds, Andrew Bamford, Carole Divall, and Micheal Kirby and some very nice original prints and paintings from the Napoleonic artist Chris Draper. In addition, a contingent from the 21st Regiment de Ligne re-enactors were on duty, as well as regency dress expert Laura Short. To round things off, Myself, Andy Callan ( of Paper Soldiers fame) and Pete Harris were running a demonstration war game, using Black powder Rules, loosely based on the Battle of Quatre Bras. There was also a series of talks throughout the day, from the various experts and authors, focusing on the Napoleonic era. The cost of entrance to this event – nothing! Yes, the whole day, including attendance of any of the lectures and access to all of that expertise was free.

A fine example of Regency costume

Belgium 1815: The Battle for the Crossroads

The demonstration game was based loosely on the battle of Quatre Bras. The scenario involved a combined force of Dutch -Belgian and Brunswick troops holding a crossroads against a French advance force. The French and Allied forces would both receive reinforcements as the battle progressed. The game spanned most of the day but the slow pace was mainly due to the number of questions that we were answering from the public, many of whom had never seen a wargame before. I’ll perhaps revisit some of the comments and reflect on the nature of our hobby in another blog, as it was fascinating to hear how the ‘public’ perceived this strange past time of ours. In the meantime, here is a brief account of the battle. The report is somewhat picture heavy. As usual, as I was playing, it was difficult to make notes and take pictures at the key times. You should get a general idea of the battle though.

The deployment before the battle

The initial turns saw a French steady advance towards the centre, held by the Brunswickers and Dutch brigades. A French Cavalry probe on the left was easily seen off by the Brunswick Lancers, although in truth, both sides were somewhat mauled. On the right, the French advanced cautiously along the main Brussels – Charleroi road between the farm house and the woods. They were harassed by the fire from a small contingent of Jager who had taken cover in the farm house.

The Brunswick Brigade prepare for battle

The British encampment at the edge of the Bossu wood

Initially, it was the French reinforcements that arrived on the Battlefield, adding to the pressure in the Centre and again threatening the Left with their Calvary. Perhaps somewhat disheartened by the previous skirmish, the French cavalry refused to move and any threat to the Brunswick infantry was averted for the time being. More of a puzzle was the French cavalry’s’ reluctance to cross the stream and try to take the longer route around the pond… They clearly didn’t want to get their boots wet! On the right, The Belgians were more than holding their position and actually saw off a Battalion of French infantry with superior musketry. The Allies were gaining the upper hand.

Belgians Advance!

Brunswickers hold steady, whilst the French Cavalry are waiting to pounce!

French pressure in the centre continued to grow as more reinforcements made their way to the front. Despite this, the Allied line appeared to be holding well and the first British reinforcements were appearing from Brussels along the main road. Even better, the French on the right crumbled under fire and the whole brigade broke, leaving the right wing free for an Allied advance. The battle was going well for the Allies, victory was in sight!

The Belgians clash with the French!

British Reinforcements are arriving from Brussels.

Th French are pushed back on the Charloi road but the first hint of trouble - the farm house has fallen!

The French are pushed back on the Charloi road but the first hint of trouble – the farm house has fallen!

Now at this point, The Allied General (me) appeared to have lost the plot. Somewhat distracted by questions from the public and the thought of what cake to eat next, I failed to exploit the advantage gained on the right flank and actually helped to shore up the French position by forcing the retreating infantry into square, thereby anchoring them on the battlefield. At the same time, the French Generals’ (Pete Harris) persistence and greater tactical awareness paid off. Spotting a weakness in the Allied line, the French bravely charged a Brunswick Artillery battery, routing it from the table and breaking the Allied line.

French pressure has forced the Dutch & brunswickers back from the stream.

Congestion on the Brussels – Charleroi road as more British reinforcements arrive.

Continued French pressure forces the Allies back.

As if this wasn’t enough, The French Cavalry on the left charged en mass, breaking the allied cavalry and pushing them off of the battlefield. The Allied advantage on the right was further diminished as the French had forced the Jagers out of the farm house and had occupied it themselves with a full battalion! Suddenly the Allies were on the back foot. The saving grace was that a steady stream of British reinforcements were now arriving from Brussels. There was now a major traffic jam at the crossroads as the British tried to deploy. Fortunately, the remains of the Brunswick and Dutch contingent, bolstered by a Hanoverian Brigade were able to delay the French long enough for the British Infantry to begin to get into position along the road and form a new defensive line.

The Hanoverians halt the French advance on the crossroads buying time for the Allies.

French Cavalry now dominate the left wing!

The British form a new defensive line along the Nivelles-Namur Road

As nightfall approached, the British had managed to secure the crossroads and despite being pushed back they had inflicted sufficient casualties on the French to stem their advance. However, it was the French that had had the better day. They had severely mauled the Allied army and pushed them back to the crossroads. They now held the majority of the field and could further harass the Allies withdrawal to Waterloo!

The French hold the battlefield but are exhausted after beating back the Allies.

All in all, thoroughly enjoyable battle where the French gained boasting rights and Pete Harris proved to be a better General than Ney. Unfortunateky, I didn’t quite manage to live up to Wellingtons standards! Of course, the unsung hero of the day was Andy Callan, who put so much into organising and running the battle whilst keeping our visitors so well informed. I hope that the guests had as much fun as we did.

Once again, our thanks to Peter Youlds who organised the day and I look forward to the next one.

A Test of Will Power…

I believe the technical term in wargames circles for unbridled enthusiasm on the release of a new game or product is ‘frothing’. With all the product that crosses my desk, you would think that I am immune from such a condition but I’m afraid I am just as likely to get excited about new releases as ever. Of course, we are entering the peak ‘New Release Season’ as manufacturers and designers get ready to launch their new products at Salute down in London, so there is plenty to froth about.

Three forthcoming releases have caught my attention. Unfortunately for me, none of them are from periods that I already have troops for and so whether I actually get to play the games will be another matter. That said, for now I’m happy to dream about painting the miniatures that I may never actually own…

New from Warlord Games, Test of Honour

First up is the new game from Warlord, Test of Honour, a skirmish game involving Samurai Warriors and their retinue. Warlord have been very clever in marketing this game in that it involves repackaging the Wargames Factory plastics that they have recently acquired. If you would just like to have a look at the rules, they are available as a free, yes, free download from the warlord games web store. Just click this link to go there:

TEST OF HONOUR RULES

The game isn’t actually released until late March and of course, Arcane Scenery will be stocking it – watch out for our special offers around launch time! Having the rules will give you some idea of whether the game is for you.

I mentioned that the miniatures are the repackaged Wargames Factory figures but it being a Warlord release they have supplemented the plastics with some very nice metal sculpts, an example of which is shown above. I know that plastics in general and the Wargames Factory figures in particular are not to everyone’s cup of (green) tea but once assembled and painted, the models do look very nice. I am particularly taken by the Archers and the Cavalry.

Test Of Honour Mounted Samurai

Of course, Samurai are a bit of a speciality subject and not everyone is going to want to refight the sort of skirmishes that you see on the big screen where the Samurai warrior can take out a group of enemy in three moves whilst barely twitching an eyebrow. You either like this stylised ritual approach to combat or not. I suspect it is a bit of a marmite subject for wargamers. That said, I find myself drawn in two directions. I really admire the discipline, tradition and self sacrifice shown by the Samurai whilst acknowledging that such a regime would drive me mad! I reckon that a group of English Longbow men would have sorted out the Samurai as effectively as they dealt with the French without all that messing around – now there’s a sentence to start an argument…

Samurai Armour is just beautiful!

Of course, the other attraction is the beautiful arms and armour of the figures and the colours and designs used on the armour and clothing. I suspect that in attempting to paint these figures I will be stretching both my eyesight and painting skills but the thought of having a small Samurai band in my show case is too much of a temptation. Just to prove the point, once I had seen the release details of Test of Honour, I was inspired to dig out the only Japanese figures in my lead mountain and get painting! I have three ninja figures that I acquired sometime ago from Northstar games and so I thought that I would give these a lick of paint.

Northstar Ninja!

Ninja aren’t exactly representative of the Samurai that I have been frothing over but they are close enough. I decided to paint one in traditional blacks and greys, the other in Reds. The third I am still thinking about! It’s got me in the mood to paint more Japanese warriors, whether Samurai, ninja or the humble foot soldiers of various types. It will be a nice change from my Napoleonics for sure! The fact that I need only paint 6 to 20 models to be playing Test Of Honour is a big draw. If it grabs me the way that I think it might I can gradually add to my Samurai entourage!

Now what colour should I paint the third one?

There are of course other Japanese rules sets out there if you fancy a change yourself, and of course plenty of figures for sale. Two recent releases spring to mind,

DAISHO

Written by Craig Cartmell and Charles Murton, this is also a skirmish rules set for mythical Japan.

RONIN

Is part of the Osprey series of Skirmish rules and is supported by some beautifully sculpted figures produced by Northstar.

Of course, if you are going to jump into this period, you will need some scenery and I would suggest you look no further than the Sarissa Precision range of

JAPANESE BUILDINGS

and also very useful, the

FAR EAST RANGE

I think though ,the attraction of getting everything in a box, rules, dice, figures, cards, scenarios is too attractive a proposition to miss out on so I will be adding Test of Honour to my repertoire of games – I’ve just got to persuade a couple of my gaming buddies to join in!

I did mention three games that had caught my eye. The other two? Well I’ll cover those in a future blog but here’s a clue, one involves Africa and the other, some spooky goings on out West…

Cazadores follow up.

The finished set of cazadores.

After completing my first ‘test shot’ with the cazadores, I have now finished the pack of 8 metal Cazadores figures from Warlord games. I decided to keep to my original plan of block paint and quick shade rather than painting in the 3 colour shade, midtone and highlight that is often used. In the main, I am painting for the wargames table and I am attempting to build units rather than finish individual figures to a high standard. So the quick shade method for my rank and file troops works very well both in terms of time spent and results.

These kneeling Cazadores are my favourites from the pack!

I am very impressed with the sculpts of the figures in the warlord set. The troops in the kneeling poses are particularly good and I could see them forming a nice little vignette if painted and based nicely. It also became apparent to me that a lot of thought had gone into making these figures. It hadn’t been immediately clear that in fact warlord had supplied four figures with muskets and four with baker rifles in the pack. It was only when I came to paint them that I realised the differences in the figures. The models with Baker rifles have the powder flask and the additional cartridge pouch on their belts. They also are carrying the sword bayonet and the strap work is slightly different. Of course the real give away was the Baker rifle itself. Very nicely modelled with the brass plate in the stock and slightly shorter than the muskets.

Skirmishing in cover.

And so after praising just how good these models are, a bit of a moan. Why don’t Warlord explain exactly what is in the blister? Now I know that it is impractical to include painting instructions and detail regarding the equipment within the blister itself but why not have the information on the web site. Somebody in Warlord has gone to a great deal of trouble to research these models before they were sculpted. Furthermore, the figures have been superbly painted for the web site – the painter has obviously done his research. Could that not be added either to the pack description on the website or in the form of a short article linked to the web page? To be fair, Warlord are no worse in this respect and better than most other manufacturers when it comes to packaging and selling their metal figures but I hope it is something that perhaps they could look at.

Cazadore skirmish line

I followed up on some of the improvements that I noted in my last article and I am a bit happier with the results. Of course, the figures always look better when based properly. I have filed off the number on the shako and replaced the sculpted five with a painted seven as my ‘men’ are from the 7th battalion. As I thought, the shoulder straps should be brown with black piping. I have also painted the black piping around the cuffs to make this stand out. The yellow cuffs have been a problem. Yellow is a very difficult colour as the paint tends to be under pigmented. I used a sand undercoat and then painted the yellow over. To be fair, although it isn’t as bright as I would like for the wargames table, it is probably accurate on a soldiers uniform that has seen a bit of service!

Cazadores advance!

I have also painted the plumes of the figures with muskets in green and the ones carrying the Baker rifles, the elite Tiradores, in black. There is some confusion on my part as to what colour the epaulette’s should be. Certainly before 1810 they would match the plumes and so in the main be green. However, the Osprey book has put doubt in my mind as to whether that was true after 1810 for the new battalions. So after painting some green I just reverted to all black and repainted them. I’m not sure that it shows…

They’ve all got black epaulettes!

I also painted the cord for the powder horn in white. I dont think that this is accurate but it helps to define the riflemen from the musketeers and adds a bit of detail to the figures. I know, after all the research to get things right why deliberately be inaccurate. I like to think of it as artistic licence but I know that it will annoy the purists!

With the first 8 figures complete, there is an Officer and Bugler still on the work bench to add to the unit. That will give me in wargaming terms a ‘small unit’, ideal for skirmishing and harrying the enemy. I think that I will build the full battalion of 24 figures in time. I will need another baker rifle armed Tiradore and the rest will need to be musketeers or command to get the ratios approximately right. That said, I’m in no rush and if something catches my eye, I can always expand the unit in the future. For all of my initial misgivings about the drab uniform, I actually quite enjoyed painting them.

To see my previous article with details of the paints used, click here:

Cazadores Test Shot

If you would like to buy some of your own Cazadores, they are only available direct from the warlord site here:

Portuguese Cacadores

Bits and Pieces.

No, the title is not referring to the famous Dave Clark Five hit, although that comment dates me and helps to establish the reason for my slower progress this week. Yes, it was my sixtieth birthday this weekend and so I spent a long weekend away with the family at Centre Parcs to celebrate. This meant that much of my hobby time was otherwise used and so very little has moved across the work bench to the completion stage.

Trent Miniatures Sherry Casks

I have been tinkering with some other little projects in what spare time that I have had. One of these was to paint a set of the Trent Miniatures Sherry casks. Don’t ask me why, although they sort of fit into the Portuguese/Peninsular theme that has been running through my hobby recently. Trent used to produce these in metal but have moved to resin. The detail on the barrels is much sharper and I just fancied painting these. No doubt they will find a home in a future diorama or even in Little Bingham, my fictional town on my wargames table.

Little Bingham

Talking of which, I have also been working on a couple of new citizens for the town. They are not quite finished and need basing and a final highlight but they should be ready this weekend.

Little Bingham towns folk.

Yet more unfinished work is the Standard bearer for the Footsore Pict chief that I have already completed. The standard bearer is waiting for his standard and then I can get them both based ready for a future Saga battle!

Pict Standard bearer.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, Danny, Editor of Wargames Illustrated, had asked me to paint a Front Rank British Napoleonic figure for comparison purposes in a forthcoming article. As usual, he is needed urgently for the magazine deadline so everything else was pushed back. Again, he is not quite finished but needs a final highlight and basing to be ready for Monday.

Front Rank British Napoleonic Infantry

I hope to have a bit of spare time this coming weekend and at least finish off these side projects. Then it will be back to the Cazadores. As for my Birthday, well I have been spoilt rotten and the family have given me some superb presents…you will hear more in my coming articles!

If you would like to purchase the Trent Miniatures Barrels, or indeed, any of the range, click here:

TRENT MINIATURES

If you would like to buy the Footsore Pict Chief and standard bearer, you can find the Footsore range here:

FOOTSORE MINIATURES

I paint all my miniatures with Vallejo paints:

VALLEJO PAINTS

The Front Rank figure is only available direct from them here:

FRONTRANK FIGURES

The civilians are available from:

REBOUBT ENTERPRISES

Cazadores Test Shot

Having now finished my Portuguese Line Infantry Brigade, I thought that I would add some Cazadores to act as skirmishers. Warlord games make quite a nice pack with a separate officer and bugler also available. My Line infantry regiments were the 11th and 23rd, so a quick check showed that it was the 7th Regiment of Cazadores that were often brigaded with them in battle and they certainly fought together at Salamanca. So painting a few Cazadores shouldn’t take too long.

Before, I go any further, I apologise for the incorrect spelling of Cazadores. I can’t get my computer keyboard to produce the Spanish soft ‘C’ symbol!

Osprey Portuguese Army part 2

Some quick research using my Osprey ‘Portuguese Army of the Napoleonic Wars part 2’ confirmed that the 7th regiment was formed after July 1811, when the number of Cazadore regiments was doubled. The uniforms were dark brown jacket and trousers with black cords and black buttons. Equipment was as the usual infantry kit except that the belts were black rather than white. Facings varied by regiment. The 7th is shown as having black collars with yellow cuffs. The Picture on the cover of the book is close enough – the 6th regiment shown, having a yellow collar rather than black.

Wargames_Illustrated_277

There is also a very good article in WI issue 277 from November 2010. If you haven’t got this back copy, it is now OOP. However, if you do subscribe to WI, the content is available in the ‘vault’. This article was helpful with the history and structure of the Cazadores Battalions. Of interest to me was that 4 companies in a battalion were armed with Brown Bess Muskets, only one with the deadlier Baker rifle. Furthermore, it was this elite company that had black epaulets and plume as opposed to the other 4 companies that were green.

In truth, I really need to do some more research, and think about how I would depict the troops on the wargames table. The problem was I was itching to get on and paint the figures that I had on the workbench. I decided to clean them up and undercoat them and then paint just one as a test figure. I was also undecided whether to go for a quick paint and dip job or to put some extra work in.

first cazadore painted as a test.

As it was, the quick paint and dip job won for now! I sprayed the unit in Army Painter Leather Brown. I decided to use Vallejo dark flesh for the skin – it’s hot in Portugal! Then it was simply black for the straps etc, Iraqi sand for the food bag, pastel blue for the water bottle and Flat Yellow for the cuffs. I didn’t even bother to repaint the brown undercoat, just retouched it with Flat Earth where I had been careless. The final touches included, brass for the belt plates & other detail, steel for the musket and I used Leather Brown for the water bottle strap and Chocolate Brown for the Musket woodwork.

The model was then painted with Army painter Dark tone quick shade and when dry, sprayed with the Army Painter anti shine. To be honest, I’m not sure whether I’m happy with the finish or not. It all looks… well… a bit drab and brown! The picture of the figure in a more scenic setting helps.

Cazadore advances through cover.

There’s a couple of things that I think that I need to look at though. First of all, as the uniform is so drab that the face needs to be painted properly with a bit more attention to bringing out the detail. I also think that the black needs a gentle highlight on the edges of the equipment. The figure also needs another coat of matt spray – I tend to be careful and under use the matt spray as it can be so temperamental. Oh! and another thing – the plate on the front of the helmet should show the Regiment number. It’s been sculpted as a bit of a squiggle. I might just file this off and repaint a 7 in the correct place. The cuffs could do with a clearer black line to represent the piping and the yellow could be brighter. Finally, I think that I have painted the shoulder straps incorrectly in black when they should have been left as brown with black piping…

Perhaps, this wont be a quick job after all.

Napoleonic Saga?

The joy of wargaming with friends is that every now and then, someone comes up with an idea that you, yourself would have just dismissed as crazy. So when Duncan said that he wanted to do a Napoleonic version of Saga, I was a bit sceptical that it would work. There are already enough Napoleonic Skirmish games out there, why do another?

But before we get to that, perhaps a bit of back ground. I’m lucky enough to be wargaming each week with a group of great group of friends at a local pub. I suppose that we are a club, there’s no subs or secretary or chairman or anything like that. We just meet at the pub for a meal and then get on with the gaming. The pub, the White Hart, very kindly allows us to use their function room for free, so long as we have a meal & a couple of drinks. A great arrangement for both parties!

The nearest thing to formality is the gathering at the end of the evening when we have a brief discussion about who’s playing what next week. This spirit of informality also extends to the way that we play our games. We are happy to tinker with rules sets so that they play to our liking and are more interested in enjoying the game than worrying too much about the rules. ( we have our moments though…)

An Intro game of Black Powder for a new member at the club

We tend to play a lot of Black powder, all of us having large Napoleonic armies built over the last few years. However, we also alternate with other rules sets and tend to use skirmish rules sets to explore new periods or perhaps give us an excuse to paint yet more models! At the moment, one of the rules sets that we are trying out is ‘The Men Who Would be Kings’. Its’s written by Dan Mersey and based on the ‘Lion Rampant’ rules engine. So far we have had a good deal of fun with these rules – here’s the latest game at the club.

This weeks set up for the Men Who Would be Kings

And so back to Napoleonic Saga. I asked Duncan why go down this route when there were already so many good skirmish games out there, Sharpe Practice and Muskets and Tomahawks to name but two. The answer was that he wanted to create some rules for the ‘small revolutionary wars’ that took place as part of the wider Napoleonic conflict but give them their own flavour. A skirmish type game would give people the chance to build smaller armies but the Saga boards idea would be a way of introducing unique qualities or ‘flavour’ to the particular protagonists.

A British force observes the Itish Rebels as they advance!

A British force observes the Irish Rebels as they advance!

The Irish uprising of 1798 being a case in point. Not everyone would want to build a huge Irish Army or British Militia and refight the Battle of Castle Bar or even the Battle of Arklow , as featured in Wargames Illustrated issue 319, now sadly out of print. However, a smaller game would allow scope to build and paint a few typical units and refight some of the smaller skirmishes or simply enjoy gaming with the particular units of that conflict.

With this in mind Duncan put together a set of embryonic rules. Now these rules will possibly feature in a future Wargames Illustrated release, so I can only give you a flavour of the game here. As with Saga, you will use your points to purchase a small mixed force of Regulars (Hearth guard) Militia (warriors) or ‘Local rebels’ and support units (Levy) and these in turn will generate the Saga dice for your army. The Commanders (warlords) have a slightly different function as they will not get so involved in the actual fighting as a Viking warlord might! They are key to keeping your force moving, rallying, if fatigued and of course encouraging them in battle!

Contact! The Irish Pikes Block charges the British line.

As usual with Saga, the limited number of Saga dice mean that you have to decide which units that you will activate and whether you will use any special abilities on the Saga board. The Saga boards for our game were still not quite complete but I can tell you that the abilities are fairly straight forward and down to earth, giving your units an edge in a particular aspect of combat. What is clever is that they are based on specific quotes or events from the Irish uprising.

Dragoons impetously charge a Pike block!

Dragoons impetuously charge a Pike block!

Movement and shooting is very similar to the original Saga rules set, with fixed Long, Medium, Short and Very Short distances being used for both movement and to modify firing effectiveness. Fatigue also played it’s part as a measure of a units morale. The game played surprisingly well for a first outing and copious notes were made for the next play test. It was the Irish rebels that won the day – their more numerous pikemen overrunning the Government troops. Duncan has much work to do before bringing a full set to publication but the good news is that if it works with the Irish, the game can be adapted to other areas with new battle boards for say, the Chouans and Vendee rebellion or may be at last I will get my Caribbean game…

If you are interested in purchasing any of the rules sets mentioned above, Arcane Scenery has a comprehensive selection in our shop here:

Rules for Wargaming

We currently post free to most worldwide locations.

Take your Pict!

Yes, I know that I am supposed to be finishing those last 12 Portuguese on the work bench but distractions abound. None more so than the new Picts that Footsore will be releasing later this month. In preparation for the launch, they have been busy casting stock this week and as the casting room is practically in the same building as Arcane, it’s pretty difficult to resist being nosey and having a look at the figures as they are cast. I really liked the look of the new Pict Warlord. I had seen the first pictures on the Footsore web store and he was just as good in the flesh, or more accurately , metal.

Great excitement as the Footsore Picts molds arrive on site!

You can imagine the conversation…

Me , drooling, ‘Ooh, he looks really nice!’

That nice Mr Hobday, ‘Would you like one to paint?’

Me, ‘yes please!’ Snatching it out of Andy’s hand and galloping back to my unit with the treasure!

Well, that was this Monday and as I am not a hoarder when it comes to figures, I accepted Andy’s generosity as I wanted to paint the figure and not just to add it to a lead mountain in my garage. To be fair, as hinted at in my last blog article, I am happy to be distracted from churning out units for my Napoleonic Black powder army and the Pict Warlord was something different.

Move over you Portuguese, a new kid is in town!

I’m afraid I didn’t do too much in the way of research when it came to deciding on the colour scheme. I had been planning a fairly basic tartan and was thinking along the lines of a green/blue scheme but Bill Thornhill, the talented sculptor behind Footsore, had already used these colours, so I looked for something different. I used the easy way to get some ideas – a quick search on Google images gave me some inspiration. An increasingly useful tool for me is the Pinterest Site. A quick search on here also revealed some interesting subjects. The beauty of Pinterest is that you can create your own set of reference pictures – I don’t yet have a board for Picts but my Dark Age Irish and Celts has a few useful pictures. In the end I decided to go for something a bit different and perhaps not entirely realistic but I wanted my warlord to stand out on the battlefield.

So in Monday nights session, I cleaned up the model and primed him with Army Painter Matt Black spray.

Tuesday evening, I block painted the model. I use Vallejo model colour paints .

Dark Flesh 927, Face & hands; Steel 864 Chain mail, sword & helmet; 871, Leather Brown & 940 Saddle brown for the belts & accessories; 981 Orange brown for the hair; 801 Brass for buckles etc; 814 burnt red for the cloak. The Warlords tunic was painted in Vallejo beige 70917. I like this colour as it has quite a bit of yellow in it but is about right for dark age cloth. Once the figure was block painted, I used army painter ink to shade the colours. I used the Black or strong tone over the chain mail & Steel. Everything else got a wash of dark tone, or brown.

Last night I set too and tried to get the model finished. This involves re painting over the inked bits using the original colours to set the mid tone and I used the following paints as highlights, sometimes in combination: 819 Iraqi sand; 820 Off white; 877 Gold Brown; 996 gold; 997 Silver; 955 flesh; 947 Red. It’s pretty straight forward what was used over what colour but I do tend to improvise…

Footsore Pict warlord with shield – still on painting base!

To get the tartan effect on the cloak it was just a matter of painting a chequer board pattern using first of all 899 dark Prussian blue and then painting inside the lines with 961 Sky blue. From a distance it all looks nice – close up you can see my hand isn’t quite as steady as it could be and perhaps my eyes aren’t as sharp as they were but it will do for me. I should also admit to being slightly red/green colour blind so what may look garish to you looks beautifully blended to me! I was a bit lazy when it came to shading and highlighting the tartan design – I didn’t do it! It does look a bit unnatural but at least it stands out! I should perhaps give it a light ink wash but for now I’ll leave it be.

For the shield, I went for a simple design. I wanted to finish the figure in time for today’s blog. So I used a black red 70859 background and painted a simple pattern on it – dots and lines. So that is my Pict warlord finished for now. I say for now, as I need to base him and to do that I will need to finish the banner man that comes with him. The other issue is that when I see the close up pictures, there are clearly some errors that could do with tidying up… I think that I’ll go back to the Portuguese first!

Footsore Pict Warlord temporarily at home in a DeeZee stone circle.

So one warlord awaits his retinue – it will follow, I quite fancy some cavalry and I might just borrow some of my Irish warband to make up the numbers whilst I think about it.

If you are interested in building your own Pict war band, as soon as they are released we will be stocking them here:

Footsore Miniatures

If you would like to get some more ideas and hints on how to build and paint your models, please visit:

Footsore face book page

Bill has put up some really useful videos full of hints and tips on how to get the best out of your figures.

So, Where was I…?

Christmas and the New Year Holidays have come and gone and despite succumbing to the current version of ‘Man Flu’ that is doing the rounds, I have made some progess with my various projects. This blog entry is really a round up of some of these, with a few photographs to show the state of play and to clear my mind for the next round of painting and gaming.

My Portuguese Brigade is taking shape.

First up those pesky Portuguese! Well not really pesky but in committing to paint a full brigade of these troops, they have dominated my painting desk for the last couple of months. I am now at the stage where I have completed 72 figures, or three battalions with a further 12 just needing to be based and the final 12 halfway through painting.

The final 12 figures are on the painting desk.

I shouldn’t really be too hard on myself in terms of progress. I am about a week away from completing 96 figures. In addition to that I have painted two mounted officers, giving me a total of 98 new figures for my collection. On reflection, not a bad achievement as I now have a core for a future Peninsular Army.

Officer commanding the 11th Line Regiment

If you have missed previous blog articles on how and why I have chosen this Brigade please follow this link back to the last article, which does explain how I decided to construct the units in the brigade.

Officer commanding the 23rd Line Regiment

You will notice that I have added some British Officers as they were often attached to the Portuguese Battalions. There is also a couple of Sappers. I have used a bit of licence when it comes to the two Sappers in the Brigade. The only reference that I could find for these came from a picture that I found on Pinterest. To visit my Portuguese pinterest board, click on this link.

Command section, 11th Penamacor Regiment.

I have already prepared the next part of the Portuguese project, another 10 Cacadores to use as Skirmishers. The good news is that they have brown uniforms, so I can take a break from painting blue for a while.

Cacadores ready for priming

All the figures are from Warlord games with the exception of a few of the Portuguese line infantry & command , which are Victrix metals, now available I think, from Brigade games in the States.

28th North Gloucestershires ready for painting!

Also lurking in the back ground is a prepared and primed Battalion of British infantry for the Waterloo period – they will be the next in the queue after the Cacadores but I am going to try a slightly different approach to painting this unit. I will still complete them as a batch paint job but rather than get bogged down with another long project, I intend to ‘dip in and out’ of painting these whilst getting on with some other less time consuming subjects.

Saga Bases textured

My other project that is now complete is my Irish Saga war band. I had been playing with using some simple Saga movement trays and finally got to texturing these to help them blend in with the figure bases. It was one of those small jobs that kept getting put to one side but well worth the 10 minutes or so that it took. I think that I may well gradually move all of my Saga Warbands into these, if nothing else than to make transporting them easier. The texturing was simply done using my favourite Vallejo Dark Earth Paste, painted & dry brushed with a chocolate brown/Iraqi Sand mix and some green scatter added on top.

Sarissa Precision Grain Store

I’ve also finished another Sarissa Precision Dark Age Building – the grain store. I’ve added some extra details using match sticks and the Vallejo dark earth paste as ‘daube’. I have covered how I detailed the Sarissa buildings in a previous post and to read more, click here. I now have four buildings for my Saga settlement.

Trent Miniatures Sherry Casks

And so that pretty much brings me up to date. The only other small project on the go is to finish painting a set of Sherry casks from Trent Miniatures. To be honest, I’m not sure what I intend to do with these. I just thought that they were nice replicas and I fancied having a go at trying some new techniques in painting wood, so they are a bit of an experiment. It is this sort of project that I hope to shoe-horn in between painting some of the larger units that I would like to complete my Napoleonic collection.

I am off to play my first Black powder game of the year tonight, so I am now fully back into the swing of my hobby. If the coming year is as productive as last year, it will be a fun year!

Whoops! Santa got it wrong again…

If December is a busy month in the wargames industry, January and February out shines it every year. People are often puzzled by this and would have guessed that December and in particular, the Christmas Shopping rush would be the time of peak trading. There’s a number of good reasons why it is not the case. In a business governed to some extent by the Post office, Christmas provides an artificial barrier to overseas customers who are put off by the Last Day of Posting advice and the chance that their parcel will be delayed in the Christmas peak posting period. The result is that trading is slightly down for our overseas customers. Also, as we go into the Christmas gift buying period, our largely Male dominated customer base, leaving things to the last week or so, realise that they better sort out the Christmas gifts that they need to purchase and so are distracted by other issues. Suddenly, the Marks And Spencers underwear department is no longer off limits or they get trapped in the everlasting queue in the Pandora Bracelet shop. I’m sure that it takes three days to get anything in the Victoria Centre branch – there’s even a queue to get into the flipping shop.

This clip from Father Ted could easily be a group of wargamers rather than priests….

The real issue though, is the lack of present buying by our non wargaming friends, relatives, partners and wives when it comes to our hobby. Now I know that I am in danger of being consigned to the Donald Trump Feminist Appreciation Society with my comments above but there is a certain truth to the following. In the run up to Christmas, it’s not unusual for wargamers to be asked what they would like for Christmas. The reply goes something like this: ‘Well I would like a Panzer III Ausf. J with a long barrelled 75mm gun and if you can get it with side skirts, even better… Or… I could do with a new shirt for work’. My bet is that it’s the work shirt that gets wrapped up nine times out of ten. However, the aforesaid non wargaming present givers usually redeem themselves by tucking a tenner or two in your card ‘ to treat yourself to that tank thingy….’ So a slight famine in December turns into a feast in January as wargamers search out that elusive model that will complete their army.

So if you find yourself with a pile of nice new socks, pants and a new work shirt at Christmas but you do have some Christmas cash to spend, please visit us at Arcane Scenery and Models , we may have just what you are looking for. And to make your cash go a bit further, we offer free postage worldwide on most of our lines. Even better, if you enter blog2016 as you go through checkout, we”ll knock 10% off of the bill. The code is valid until 20th January 2017.

Happy New Year!

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Author Archives: steve wood

Researching the Research – Batch painting the 28th Regt.

The 32nd ( Cornwall) Regiment of Foot

Soap Opera Painting

The 32nd Foot ready for action

Why are you still playing Black Powder?

BLACK POWDER

Waterloo Starter Set

War Games Illustrated

Hammerhead 2017

Belgium 1815: The Battle for the Crossroads

Belgium 1815: The Battle for the Crossroads

A Test of Will Power…

Cazadores follow up.

Cazadores Test Shot

Portuguese Cacadores

Bits and Pieces.

Cazadores Test Shot

Napoleonic Saga?

Rules for Wargaming

Take your Pict!

Footsore Miniatures

Footsore face book page

So, Where was I…?

Whoops! Santa got it wrong again…

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