Thoughts on Ambushes

My default ruleset for 20th century, company level wargaming is Nordic Weasel's Five Core Company Command (that's quite the mouthful). Company Command has undergone some revisions over the years but it's still a very simple, quick play game with very interesting and innovative mechanics (check out this incredibly helpful YouTube short by "Skirmishin" for brief explanation. 

With most quick-play, simple games there will be certain little bits streamlined or not addressed. Earlier versions didn't really address disparities in troop/command quality however the most iteration uses the ability to add or subtract order results though the use of chits (allowing or forcing a reroll). I think this is brilliant in its simplicity. 

I plan to use the rules for asymmetrical conflicts where ambushes were common like the French Indo China War. I want to add a simple mechanic into the game to allow for such instances. My initial thought is to provide a limited number of chits or cards that can be played to set an ambush. During their activation turn, the ambusher will spend the chit/card and be allowed to deploy one unit/base within a certain amount of inches of an enemy unit. The ambusher is allowed one initial chance to shoot at a target and then the opponent can immediately conduct reactive fire. 

I think it is a simple approach to solve a potentially complex instance. Any thoughts? 

Pendraken Painting Competition 2026

 Around this time of the year, I am hurriedly painting up 10mm Pendraken figures to enter into their annual competition. Recently, I have in fact been painting Pendraken figures however there was no intention of entering the competition. I was really just trying to get projects to completion. After talking with Leon from Pendraken at Cold Wars 2026, I decided to enter my International Brigade into a few categories.

I will toss my hat in the ring for the 20th Century Foot, Vehicle and Army categories. I told Leon that I don't have high hopes of recapturing past glories...the competition has really stiffened and my eyes are slowly starting to lose the battle to age.

I'm currently painting up some Moroccan Regulares for the SCW...I don't think they will be ready for the competition. If they are then perhaps they get entered as well. Anyway, wish me luck!

UPDATE: I managed to paint up an entire company of Moroccans. I pushed the proverbial hobby pedal to the metal and painted up the company in the span of 4-5 days (it took about three years for me to complete the CTV!). 

Unfortunately, I think I pushed things too hard...in addition to a stiff back and tired eyes, I had a mishap during the inking phase. Usually after I finish painting, I apply a gloss varnish to the figures. This provides a protective veneer over the paint and a smooth surface so the ink doesn't "stain" the paint and just slips into recesses allowing for definition of depth. I usually let this varnish cure for about 24 hours. In this case, it was about 5-6 hours. To make matters worse, I had recently made a new batch of my magic wash. The wash is ideally 8 parts medium, 4 parts AP Strong, 4 parts AP Dark and one part AP Blue Ink. I think I made this particular batch too strong.

Whatever the cause, the end result was that the figures ended up with a dirty appearance after inking. I attempted to clean up some of this grimy look with touch up paint. At this point, I have only based up one platoon with an officer base, bomber base and an HMG support base.

And here they are, in their flawed glory. I selected sculpts in various parts of the Regulare uniform: tunics, djellabas, turbans, tarbouches, etc. Perhaps I made them a bit too rag-tag. 

I entered these little buggers in the "20th Century Foot" category. The competition this year is pretty stiff (almost as stiff as my aching back). I don't expect to place but we will see....

Azincourt Initial Review

 As previously mentioned, I had been eagerly anticipating the release of Wargames Atlantic's Azincourt sets. They were delivered as detailed here and my initial plan was to delay painting them. The first moment of weakness in my resolve was when a break in the nasty weather motivated me to prime them with a rattle can of black primer. 

After watching the painting tutorials on YouTube by Peachy, I couldn't resist giving a go at the sprues. First up was a smaller sprue of English dismounted knights. I drybrushed these fellas with Army Painter Plate Armor silver. In hindsight, I should have applied a much heavier drybrush application on these guys but this is something I learned for future sprues. I followed Peachy's method fairly closely although I added highlights to the base colors prior to an ink wash. 

The figures are really nice, they are small but have some nice detail and poses. Future attempts at the sprues will include heavy drybrushing. 

Next up, I decided to try my hand at some of the French crossbowmen since they were also on a smaller sprue. I drybrushed them with Vallejo Turkey Brown followed up with a drybrush of Vallejo Cork Brown. This was a heavier treatment than the dismounted knights received but perhaps not heavy enough yet. I also added a more focused drybrush of off-white to some of the gambesons. The crossbowmen were a bit fiddly more fiddly and complicated to paint because of more bits than just armor and also because of the attached pavise. I let the color palette on the figures fairly minimal: neutral grey, Prussian blue, a dark red and Russian green (all Vallejo). 

For both the dismounted knights and crossbowmen, I gloss varnished them and then applied a mixed wash of AP Dark Tone, Strong To me, blue ink and GW Lahmian Medium. 

I'm not sure if painting them while attached to the sprue is easier or not. I will continue to paint them on the sprues until I get basing sorted out. I'm thinking perhaps 60x30mm bases or even 80x40mm. I think something larger will be aesthetically pleasing. 

Polska Power

While I've been working on my 10mm Spanish Civil War, there has been quiet progress on other projects. After completing my 6mm Russians for the 17th century, I began work on some Polish forces to oppose them (and the Swedes). I had painted some pancerni cavalry but languished on the command. My attentions took me elsewhere and they were neglected. 

Here are the completed pancerni. I am pleased with the result. Red is the dominant color but there is also some blue and green pops of color. The banners also reinforce that red theme. 

The fortification in the background is a resin model of  Krzyztopr Castle from Brigade Models. I painted it like the example on their website and am pleased with it. The castle is located in southern Poland and was constructed in the first half of the 17th century The fortification can play a factor in various scenarios of Tercios taking place in the late 17th century. 

Next up for this project will be some more pancerni, a unit of winged hussars and some infantry to support them. I think this project will be something I work on in between other projects like the SCW Moroccans and the Wargames Atlantic Azincourt plastics. 

Spanish Passion: A Review

Recently I have rediscovered my interest on the Spanish Civil War. Much to my surprise, Helion's wargaming guide to the Spanish Civil War, "Spanish Passion" was released. I ordered and the parcel from Helion arrived at my door about a week later.

The guide is 156 pages and comprises of six major sections. Section 1 gives a timeline and historical overview of the war with copious amounts of photographs. Various campaigns and events are explained as are different personalities from the war. 

Section 2 provides lists of equipment are provided for the National and Republican sides for their armies, navies and air forces.

Section 3 explains army organization and different factions involved and assessments of them (morale, equipment, etc.).

Section 4 comprises a series of scenarios. These include background to the scenarios, force composition and deployment, objectives and maps. 

What good is a wargaming guide without color plates for uniforms? This guide has some really nice color plates (example above). I was hoping to see a color plate with an Italian CTV soldier but this was not the case. There are too many factions and uniform types to show examples of all of them. 

The penultimate section is a painting guide. It was a pleasant surprise to see that the author provided a painting guide for 10mm figures for the Spanish Civil War (Pendraken of course). Moroccan Regulares and International Brigade infantry and heavy machine guns are showcased in step by step guides with photos. Additionally, recommended paint colors (Vallejo) are provided for the different bits of uniform and gear for the various factions (quite valuable info). 

The final section is a list of different manufacturers who provide wargaming items for the SCW.

All in all, I highly recommend this wargaming guide for anyone interested in starting off on a Spanish Civil War project.

As a side note, while I am providing a review for this guide, I also want to recommend the  PaintingWAR: Spanish Civil War painting guide by Ruben Torregrosa aka "HeresyBrush". Though all the figures displayed are 28mm, the guide covers multiple examples of the various factions. Another valuable resource for painting your SCW miniatures.

Corpo Truppe Volontarie Completare!

My Italian CTV force, initially started in early 2023, is now complete...three years isn't the longest gap between the start of a project and the conclusion but it isn't exactly the shortest either. 

Here we have the entire reinforced company: three infantry platoons, three platoon commanders, three light machine gun attachments, a company of three heavy machine guns, two 45mm mortars and four tankettes.

The backbone of the force, three platoons of infantry. You can probably spot the three bases initially painted three years ago, they have slightly more yellow grass and some larger shrubs. The infantry uniforms were painted with Vallejo Russian Uniform and the helmets and coat rolls were painted with the slightly darker Vallejo Refractive Green.

A single CTV platoon advancing (likely unsuccessfully) forward.

Here we have three platoon commanders to spur on the reluctant infantry. In Company Command rules, these guys can be spent on an extra order. The officer on the far right is actually a WW1 French officer.

Providing some extra firepower to the infantry sections are the notorious Breda 30 LMGs. Beautifully machined and poorly designed, these LMGs used 20 round strips that were delicate and prone to jamming. In Company Command rules, an LMG attached to an infantry section (i.e. base) provides one extra "shock" die when shooting.

Next up are some heavy support weapons in the form of three water cooled Fiat–Revelli Modello 1914/35 HMGs and two Brixia Model 35 (45mm) mortars. The HMG used a fiddly multi-column strip-feed box magazine that was fed from the left of the gun. The Brixia mortars, while lacking punch, were good weapons that could drop rounds on targets quicky.

Adding some extra "punch", the armored fist of the CTV, four L3/35 tankettes. These little tracked tin cans were already obsolete but will add some firepower and armor. 

As you can see, two are painted with a reddish brown base and green splotches while two are painted with a green/grey base and reddish brown splotches. The Osprey on Tanks of the SCW notes that some of the early tankettes shipped to Spain had the former reddish brown color but later shipments were painted green. So I painted two of each.

And with that, the project is essentially finished. There are extra figures if I wish to add to my force. I also attempted to assemble a Lanzia armored car but that was quite fiddly with the railings and front axle. I may try to give it another go but am still traumatized after gluing my fingers together and various bits to my fingers during the first attempt.

I will try to get these little fellas in to a battle against the International Brigade. Finishing this SCW project reminds me that several other Five Core Company Command projects have been started but not completed: Yom Kippur War, French Indo China and Korean War...one day I will complete them as well. 

Not sure what will be tackled next in the painting queue. Perhaps scenery, perhaps, 6mm stuff, maybe the Moroccan Regulares or even the Wargames Atlantic Azincourt figures...we will see!

Culling of the Lead Herd or Cold Wars 2026

This weekend marked the 2026 edition of HMGS' Cold Wars convention. I was in attendance but you won't see any commentary on games or pictures of games. Nor will you see any pictures of the items I bought (although there were a few). 

Cold Wars 2026 (and boy was it cold!) was about me reducing the lead (and plastic) pile, making space on my bookshelves and streamlining my hobby ventures. I started off with a flea market table overflowing with wares, 4 large boxes worth of rules, books, painted and unpainted miniatures and other random unwanted items. 

Attendance seemed light, which is understandable considering the snow, ice, wind and arctic-level cold that is occurring right now. Even the vendor hall seemed to be missing some of the usual sellers. Despite the light attendance, I priced my stuff to sell and it did. I brought home less than half a box of remaining items.

To those who took home my Blitz Bowl, Star Wars Legion, 10mm Pendraken late medieval, 20mm WW2 Japanese and 15mm Hundred Years War....I hope you enjoy them and paint them. For purchases, I picked up about 80 small trees and shrubs that will be used for various 6mm and 10mm scenery on the tabletop. 

The other highlight of the convention was being able to sit down with Leon from Pendraken and catching up since the last time we saw each other in Edinburgh at the 2024 Claymore convention. I promised Leon I would be submitting an entry or two into his painting competition this year. 

Looking forward to getting back to painting, perhaps some gaming and maybe even spending some of the extra money in my pocket from my flea market sales.