Running the Guns - 54mm Participation game

                     

                      

Those of you who remember watching on TV, or going to see The Royal Tournament held at Earls Court until 1999, will recall the highlight of the programme, the running of the field guns. A race between three commands of the Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm, Portsmouth and Davenport (my father, an ex-Chief Petty Officer, cheered on Portsmouth, having been based there during the war and later when he became a Royal Naval Reservist). So it came to be that my four brothers and I would cheer on Portsmouth. It was a very noisy time in our house, as for once in our life, the brothers and our Dad would all be enthralled and rooting for the same team. 

In 1999, I went to the last Royal Tournament with my father and my son and together we lost our voices cheering Portsmouth for one last time. Sadly, they lost to Fleet Air Arm by about a second or so. It was only the second time I saw my father cry! 

The origins of the Gun Run competition dates back to 1899 and the Second Boer War in South Africa. The British garrison in Ladysmith had been under siege by the Boers from 2nd November 1899 until it was relieved on 28th February 1900, a total of 120 days. The British sent a relief force made up of British soldiers and Royal Navy personnel and guns from HMS Terrible and Powerful to help in the relief of the siege. The Naval Brigade transported guns over difficult terrain to bring them into action against the Boers. The Royal Navy guns were two 4.7-inch (120mm) guns and four 12-pounder naval cannon barrels, creating improvised field guns using makeshift gun carriages. The guns were transported inland by rail and then drawn on makeshift carriages by oxen. For the final part of the journey, sailors from the Naval Brigade manhandled the guns over very challenging country. One story tells of sailors carrying one of the 12-pounder guns for approximately two miles (3.2km) after one of the wheels collapsed. When they returned home, the Naval Brigade paraded the guns through London and appeared at the Royal Naval and Military Tournament at the Agricultural Hall, Islington. Displays of field gun drill continued in the years following. The Field Gun Tournament as we came to know it, was established in 1907, until it had its last run at the Royal Tournament in 1999. It has still continued as an event within naval circles and is now part of the Birmingham Tattoo. 

Our game is based on this event and you become the team leader, in which you race against another team for the honour of the arm of service you are representing. It is a dice-driven game where you have to make decisions about which dice to roll to move your team down the ‘run’ and fire off the gun and race back to the finish line as quickly as possible. 

The rules are homespun and the ‘team’ puts its collective heads together, running through the mechanics until we are happy they are as close to perfect as we can get them.

Here are a few pictures of the game which won Most Innovative Game at Crisis 2016

 Running the Guns 

Willie & Johan of the Tin Soldiers of Antwerp had a game. Although not looking to happy!










All the figures are 54mm and one of our crew had found them at a little country show. They are all supposed to be little dioramas. we had to convert a couple, but most are available.

Brian Bromfield

Hand Painted Military Figures

Kosie Nook

Passfield

Hants

GU30 7RU

Tel 01428 751415

B.Bromfield415@btinternet.com

Here are some of my WIP I did for the game. We varnished them gloss to give them that toy soldier look.

  

   

  

Making Flags for you figures

 

 

Wargaming flags for you armies are readily available, whether it is for you unit of Hebrews in the Army of Moses or your Angel Guardian Marines of the 50K millennium. You just need to search them out on the www. 

I do the same as most and have various websites saved for this purpose, but occasionally I make my own. Here's how.

I use tomato puree type tubes. making sure they are thoroughly clean and dry.  

I then cut to shape and try for size.

Any off cuts, like where the "tails" are cut out are saved to be used as lance/ spear fanions

   

The examples I will be showing are broken figures,where the weapons have broken off. I have used and off cut of steel from a lance that was much too long.

I then curl the flag so that it fits around the pole.   

I then put some super glue on the central area of where the flag will sit on the pole. Once you start the next phase the glue will spread up and down the pole.

wrap the flag around the pole, with the "join" on the inside (ie: nearest the figures head), and push the end into the pole with snips, back of a stanley, etc.

   

I also cut the tassels into the top of the flag at this point. You can feather the tassels now, if required. you could also campaign them up be running the stanley knife off the edges, which will cut the flag to leave a Dishevelled look.

 

Two coats of thinned primer, dependant  on your pallette. Any block painting you do, make sure you thin the paint other wise it will crack when you shape it. Paint on your design. Once dry shape it carefully into whatever shape you want, then two coats of varnish and you are done.

 

I use the three foot rule for flags, if you can see it and it looks OK on the table, then it's done. Some of the close up aren't the greatest, but they do for me!

15mm Napoleonic Guards

   

28mm Crusades

 

28mm French Agincourt

 

Lord of the Rings 

 

Ogre Battle Standard

 

Paper Standards: downloaded and glued with PVA glue diluted 50/50 with water and shaped whilst wet. once dried, paint the edge of the flag to match the edge colour and to hide any white paper.  

Paper ones in use : 

 

   

Club Painting Challenge

     At Christmas 2020, those ominous dreaded words "lock down" were uttered by the First Minister and the planned day of gaming between Christmas and the New Year was cancelled, one of our club members (may have been me!) suggested a Club painting challenge to start from 23rd December and run until 30th January 2021. 

    Being a relatively fast painter, I got my figures based, rattle cans of primer and began the challenge. I probably have two advantages over most and they are an understanding wife and not working (I know, understanding wife). 

 

    The challenge would be all Napoleonic from the Stash of doom. The grey cabinet in the center is full of unpainted figures, but only my 15mm and 28mm, 6mm and 20mm are in another cabinet. And a few of the draw contents

  15mm ACW 

15mm Napoleonic   15mm Ancients 

  28mm Medieval and these

   

    In December, I had just finish seventy plus 25mm Rohan Lord of the Ring figures, horses were not painted with Oils, but not part of the challenge.

        

    The Russians are an army I would like to finish, so, that's where I would start, lots of cavalry, I would also do some infantry that I had already primed some years ago, along with some Spanish Hussars, Guerillas  and some Old and Young Guard.

    

Never doing anything in a small way, I glued ninety 15mm horses to the painting stick and primed away. These were going to be painted in oil paints. Quite a challenge in itself.

 

At the end of each finished mini project, I would put the prepped figure of the next project, so I was seen not to be cheating. 

Through the days whilst painting the horses and waiting for them to dry, I was painting the riders and some other figures. 

26th Dec 2020. First batch of horses dried and figures. All Fantassin, except French Officers (unknown): 16 foot, 10 mounted. All 15mm,

30th Dec: 54 foot, 35 mounted All 15mm Fantassin, except French (Unknown).                     RUNNING TOTAL: 15mm - 69 foot, 45 mounted.

  

3rd Jan: 16 x 28mm Turks, 31 x 15mm mounted. All 15mm Fantassin,                                         RUNNING TOTAL:15mm - 69 foot, 76 mounted. 16 28mm

 

7th Jan:12 Foot, 35 x 15mm mounted. All 15mm Fantassin,                                                       RUNNING TOTAL:15mm - 81 foot, 111 mounted. 16 28mm   

  

12th Jan:32 x 15mm mounted. All Spanish 15mm Fantassin, Russians are Essex (I think).     RUNNING TOTAL:15mm- 81 foot, 143 mounted. 16 x 28mm

 

16th Jan:27 x foot, 6 x mounted. All 15mm Minifigs.                                                                    RUNNING TOTAL:15mm - 108 foot, 149 mounted. 16 x 28mm  

23rd Jan: 36 x foot. 15mm Fantassin. 11 x 28mm Rohan the foot and riders Horses were done already).  RUNNING TOTAL:15mm -144 foot, 149 mounted. 28mm 27 x foot

      

26th Jan:23 x foot. 15mm Fantassin, Old Glory and Minifigs.                                                    RUNNING TOTAL:15mm -167 foot, 149 mounted. 28mm 27 x foot

  

28th Jan:3 x Artillery. 12 x Cavalry (all 15mm), and 3 x 28mm LotR Royal Guard.                      RUNNING TOTAL:15mm -170 foot, 161 mounted. 28mm 30 x foot

  

30th Jan:12 x Artillery. 11 x Cavalry (all 15mm), and 9 x Infantry.                                                   

  

FINAL TOTAL:15mm -191 foot, 172 mounted. 28mm 30 x foot.

I failed on one of my personal goals of 200 Cavalry, but onward and upward, February, sees me heading for the land of Tolkien, Middle Earth and paint about 100 Men of Gondor, Rohan and Numenor. 

No doubt there will be some 15mm Napoleonics in the mix, as I rebase my 45 year Minifig Russian army.