AHOY! new pics

Ahoy! is my oldest running wargaming project and is in its tenth year, the website was looking very out of date with news from 2005 (which is the kind of thing that bugs me, don't mention my PatrolClash site:0( ) and I am now working on a new version.

So I finally had some time to start taking photos for my rebbuild of the Warhammer Ahoy! website and thought while I am working on the site I would post some here.




The first ship here is a Chaos Longship, Blooddrinker, she is a Small ship, with a crew of maruaders. She is dedicated to Khorne. Ship by me, crew painted by Dan Tunbridge.



The second ship to be featured is my Dark Elf skiff. I made this model some time ago and aim to make bigger ones too. The ship is based on a Gripping Beast Viking Fishing boat, heavily converted with Dark Eldar pieces. The crew are all V.old Maruader Dark Elves. The new models will get crews of the newest plastic Dark Elves as they are awesome.



In the new edition of AHOY! I have produced rules for the Lore of the Waves and the spells include ones to raise creatures from the deep. The tentacles come from the Honourable Lead Bolier Suit Company and no prizes for guessing what the Leviathan is made from. Sadly the kid at a show I told many years ago that I had made it from Greenstuff was mislead a tad! Plenty more to come and new models (hopefully) in the summer break.

End Of Empire scenery

Some gaming stuff at last! This is a very busy time of year for me, re-enactments galore and a tonne of stuff to do in work. Anyone looking at my Facebook status recently will have noticed the odd rant about having to write school reports *!?**!!&%^ Gaming often comes a poor third in the early summer months. So I recently decided to have a look at what stuff needs finishing… answer… MOST OF IT!

Most wargamers I know usually have more than one project on the go, some big ones, some side ones and often piles of unpainted lead and plastic. Now in recent years I have got better at avoiding piles of unpainted toys, and I get far more finished all round. But again like most gamers I am usually thinking about the next projects before I have finished all the current ones.

So with the summer ahead of me and more potential Wargames Illustrated articles to write I thought I would go back to some of my End Of Empire models. End Of Empire is five years old now and I don’t think I will ever think it’s finished, there will always be a new model to make or new campaign to write, but many of the models have been made for shows and this has often meant they have not been quite finished off, especially the interiors. All EOE buildings come apart to allow access, the problem with this is it drastically increases the amount of painting. A couple of years ago I discovered FRONTLINE WARGAMING a splendid company (well one man band named Tim, all the best people are, really) who make resin furniture in 28mm and they just hit the spot. I bought loads of bits and immediately built an unpainted resin mountain. Tim was a great bloke to chat with and always open to ideas. He designed his library set at my bequest cos I wanted one for the home of Colonel Sir Henry Templeton Smyth.

Last week I decided to do something about the unpainted resin pile and chose to get on with some interiors. First problem: To stick in or not to stick in? If you stick in then it’s permanent, if you don’t they all fall over. Blu-tac leaves residue or damages walls. Solution Make false floors for the rooms. This means that I can strip out a house if I want but have stable furniture for regular layouts. Smaller models won’t get this treatment I am not going to buy furniture for every two up two down. I started with the Town house of Sir Edward Grey. When I first built this model it was a bigger house. No it’s a bit on the small side, but I like it never the less. I think I might add some more floors during the summer holidays.

All furniture FRONTLINE WARGAMING Building by me:0)
The Green Dragon Public House next and the newspaper offices. Plus some F&IW figs this time from the Honourable LEad Boiler Suit Company. And don't get me started on Warhammer Ancient Battles 2nd edition which needs buying or the fantastic looking new WFB rulebook. Too much hobby not enough time. Right i'm off to the 16th century, ANON!

Suffolk Free Company Training

So now it's June and the nights are lighter we have taken our bi-weekliy training session outdoors. Last Tuesday saw six of us get kitted up and hitting people. Bendy and Dangerous Pete couldn't make it. We did some sword work, bill drill and Ant and Jon T went at it with glaives too. I grabbed a camera and took some pics and video. Here are some of the results.









Right and after the sillyness of Pingu, here is a quick vid just to show that we don't just fool around at these gatherings


Toy soldiers coming soon I promise:0)

Suffolks at the Colchester Oyster Fayre

Last weekend was one of our favourite events of the year, the Colchester Oyster Fayre. Set in the Lower Castle Park in the middle of Colchester, Essex. This is one of the largest medieval fairs in the country and in all a very relaxed experience.



This year a small group of my medieval household decided not to join the rest of the MSS at the bash at the other end of the A12, at South Weald, instead we took our encampent to the Oyster Fayre as a favour to the organiser Ted (A long time friend from Kentwell Hall) We had a great pitch with plenty of space. As it was the half term holidays we were able to get there early and for once get set up with plenty of time to spare.

This event had other groups laying on scheduled displays, some of which were, questionable in authenticity, but entertaining nonetheless. So we were able just to do our thing. Saturday was damn hot, too hot for donning combat kit so we just went about our usual camp life. Bess (my goodwife) spent all day felting and drew huge crowds. It never ceases to amaze me that so many people are fascinated by the felting process. Lorna dyed (that's changed the colour of wool not expired at regular intervals, Lord Francis cooked and I wrote and talked medieval toss to all and any who showed an interest.








I had a great discussion with a young man who is in the cavalry and recently returned from Afghanistan, he was fascinated (as were his wife and two small children most of the time)by the weaponry, armour and the logistics of medieval warfare. He said to me he had respect for what we were doing! Blimey this was a guy who spent several months with a hidden enemy taking potshots at him and he respected us. I just get to interpret history and talk about what it must have been like wearing all this gear and having arrows raining down, and this guy, several years my junior, had really been there, made me feel quite humble.


So apart from the Living History what else made it a good weekend? Meeting loads of friends, most getting geared up for Kentwell; Some good medieval shopping. Great company around campfires in the evening; James from Fairbow and his late night fire poi; Having the opportunity to fight with Bendy,Francis and Dangerous Pete; People watching; there are loads of goths in Colchester, most amusing these days; A great German guy selling fab fruit wines and meads.


All in all a fantastic weekend, and not even the over night thunderstorm, which had me up at 04:00 rescuing our dining shelter or the pouring rain when we broke the camp down on Sunday could spoil it. Roll on next year we will definitely return.



Right at this point I ought to thank Bendy for his photos again and I might get round to writing about some toy soldier bits soon. I might get a game in this coming weekend as it is the only weekend in June/July where I am not at a reenactment. But between then and now I have combat training and a new tattoo to get through.

Windy Welwyn

Well last weekend just goes to show that it is possible to have a good time despite 'orrible conditions. I was at a 15th Century re-enactment with my Household the Suffolk Free Company, part of the Medieval Siege Society, in Windy Welwyn Garden City. The weather was to say the least, shocking! Saturday constant rain miserable, really didn't inspire us to do much that wasn't undercover. Did get a Skirmish in in the morning, which we (Yorkists) won. We (the Suffolks) fought in the colours of the Duke of Worcester for this event. You can spot suffolks fighting in the yellow and white of Worcester as they are often wearing blue and yellow items too.




Skirmish and Battle won one lost one. Monday only one large battle, which we lost:0(
So we'll call it a score draw then.



Of course the battles follow a script so we know who is supposed to win, but all the fighting is unrehearsed so it's pretty real.



The saving grace for the event was that it is always great to get away with the people you like and get out of the Rat Race for a while. Getting to lay into someone with a metre long sword is a great way to relieve stress. So thanks to all those who played, even the Lancastrians, we have to have someone to kill afterall.