Retreat from Moscow - Wrecked French Baggage Wagon

 

Just a small post from me today, I'm still painting up figures for my and Lee's Retreat from Moscow  armies.

Reject Colin gave me this Wrabses wagon, which was painted a month or so ago, it had been chipped in a few places so with a quick overpaint, it was ready to base up. Originally I was going to have it as a pulled load, but then thought, I need some terrain. So I pulled off a wheel and voila, another wagon for the French to hide behind. I can't seem to find t on Warbases site though??

So a big thank you to Colin for the wagon!

In other news, I'm in the wars again, I've pulled my back out, so, I've been off work for 2 days already, 

and will probably miss the first few of next week. I'm rattling from all the medication I'm taking 

and I've got tonsilitis too.

Happy Days!!

Lee and myself were supposed to be interviewed by none other than Ken Reilly on his Podcast Yarkshire Gamer, click here, last Tuesday. But fate meant we had to abandon the show, due to the fact that for some reason, Lee couldn't log onto Ken's page. We think its all sorted now, so will be doing the interview this coming Tuesday.

Fingers crossed!

Retreat from Moscow - The Old Guard

I had no plans to add anymore Guard units to my Retreat from Moscow project, but, you may remember I posted about the loot I picked up at Cavalier in Tonbridge, in late January. I couldn't say no see these all painted up for the measly sum of £25?

I left them to after the Challenge, because I wanted to concentrate on getting figures painted for that. So now it's finished I found the time to tart them up.

Apart from the snowy bases, and a little touch up here and there the major change was inking them. I use a 50% mix of Warlord Strong and Soft tone. Which normally gives an even, quick drying stain in all the nicks and crannies. I'm getting g to the bottom of my pot and didn't realise, there was quite a lot of sludge built up at the bottom of the pot.  So the ink settled a lot heavier than normal. Giving a darker and dirtier look to the figures. I wasn't best pleased at first, but the more I look at the figures the better I feel about them. Just lucky that the original blue colour of the coats was so light, I guess!

Long kept in reserve, the four Old Guard regiments were required to hold together the survivors during the later stages of the retreat, which they accomplished with great distinction but horrific loses. By 1st February 1813 only 408 Grenadiers and 415 Chasseurs were fit to take to the field again, out of the 5291

Salute 2025 - Blogger Meet up & Salute Loot!

 

There was a great turn out at the Bloggers Meet up, from L to R

Matt - Wargames in the Dungeon

Tamsin - Wargaming Girl

Chris - Horse & Musket Gaming

Stuart AKA Postie

Carl - Hitting on a Double 1

Lee - BigLee's Miniature Adventures

Reject Steve

Mike - The Words of Subedai

Me!

Andy - Major Ballsup's Hobby Shed

Steve - General Reeve

David - The Ragged Soldier

I usually get loads of pics of fellow Bloggers and friends of the Rejects, but sadly failed in most part in my duties this time round, but I did remember to take a few...

Lee, Alex Sotheran and me.
We did make it to Alex's talk at 2.45, but I think his mike was broke as we could hardly hear him, we certainly heard the other guests though, in fact they hurt my ears with all their screeching. Oh well....

Carl, Lee and me

Matt 

Lee stopping for snacks and being caught!

I think I had a rather subdued Loot haul this time round

Plenty of freebies including the Salute figures a Dwarf smoking a pipe and an 1918 German. Some sabot bases from Products of Wargaming, some free Salute dice.

Four packs of Perry Minis, the 2 missing Sledges I needed, a Pontoon and a Donkey Cart with French wounded or exhausted, a few paints from Warlord. I couldn't find anyone selling Vallejo paints???

Lastly on the right just one of many sabot bases for trees for the Retreat from Moscow, especially made by our chums at Warbases, for both Lee and myself. Neither of us has much storage space, so we thought using these sabot bases should save a little space. All the holes are 70mm so we can also use them as terrain pieces, not just woods. Add a wrecked wagon, some large stones or something similar, to fill the table out.

And that belive it or not is it!

Salute 2025 Long post.......

Its Sunday, the day after Salute 2025, and I'm still knackered from the Mt Everest of a show that is Salute.

Lee's first post can be found here, if you haven't seen it already. And his second post can be found here.

The Rejects arrived nice and early and gained entrance at around 8.15 thanks to our Press Passes, apart from poor Dave, who had to go join the queue! Previous to that we had a little trouble parking, and I guess most visitors had the same problem?

We were greeted at a roundabout by a rather rude and jobsworth Excel employee, telling us and everyone else that we couldn't park in the Excel centre carpark because we hadn't prebooked a spot. Nowhere on the Excel webpage or Salute page was this mentioned?? So we had to park 15 minutes away in a rowing club carpark. So it was them who received our £25 fee rather than excel. I was threatened with being banned from the site for trying to argue my point, which left me extremely pi$$ed off! So 15 minutes later we arrived at the show none of us were looking forward to the walk back, laden down with goodies, which we'd usually drop back to the car in the excel carpark, but what can you do?

We spoke to Peter the logistics head of the Warlords who wasn't aware of any of this going on, so it was as much of a shock to them as it was to the paying customers. 

But we wasn't going to let Mr Jobsworth and Co spoil our fun! Was we!!!

And we're in!

We bought a few things, walked around had several chats with various blog and You tube glitterati, before the main visitors enetred.

At 10 o'clock the waiting horde was set free.

Now onto the games!!

Central London Wargames Club - Emperor of the Battlefield

Goblin King Games - Moonstone Fantasy Skirmish

GCT Studios - Bushido

Retired Wargames Reloaded - Gotterdammerung Berlin 1945 

This was a monster of a game, which took 2 years to complete!! Said Larry.

A truly impressive looking game.

Another impressive looking WWII game, this time from
Loughton Strike Force - Warsaw 1944

Uhrwerk Verlag - Chronopia

 - Marquee Models - Star Wars Legion

Halo

Crow Industries - Starship Troopers

Oshiro Model Terrain - Sengoku period Japan Skirmish

Ashford Gaming Club - Crypt Hulk and Tarati's Castle

Rifleman Harris

Warlord Games - Bolt Action

BattleTech UK South East - BattleTech

Skirmish Wargames - Shootout at Excel City

1/72 Wargames - Dargai Heights 1897

Gentlemen's Wargame Parlour- Like Cricket - But with guns

A Very British Civil War

Simon Miller - Louis Quatorze's Warses

Dibble Dribble......

Lee joining the ranks of the mighty 79th Highlanders!

Deepcut Studios - Colouring in figures

And painting

Anchuluss Publishing Limited - The Defence of Tobruk 1941

Bad Squiddo Games - Colouring zone.

WarFulcrum Games - 1918 Battle of Belleau Wood and the Battle of Villers Brentnneux

Essex Warriors - Mario Cart

Weymouth Levellers Wargames Club/ Peter Pig - AK47

Abingdon Wargames Club - Asteroids

ROK Minis - Small scale demo

Spectre Miniatures Ltd - Spectre Operations

Soldiers of Napoleons......

Matt Crump & me

Brecon Wragames Club - DAK Attack

Parabellum Miniatures

Battleground Bobmack 3d & Flank Miniatures - BattlegroundHD Cold War Skirmish

Cornwall Wargames Association - Port Royal 1692

Lee lookin all grand in his uniform

Brandy for the Pason

Society of Ancients - Battle of Gaugamela 331BC

Reverence Games - Last Living Soul

South London Warlords Hall of Fame Game

Club Space

Grond! At the Gates of Pelennor

Friends of General Haig - Breaking the Stalemate, Iran/Iraq War

Pendraken - Future War

Photo bombed by Tamsin!

Mike Hutchinson's - Hobgoblin

Titan Owners Club - Titan Walk

Veteran's Wargame Association - Digital Racing

Whitehall Warlords - The Ballard of Kinmont Willie 

Wars of Gelderland Succession - Vauban's War

Beowulf Miniatures

Wandsworth Gaming

Olmec Games Ltd - The Drowned Earth

Yorkshire Renegades - Starship Troopers - Bourbon Outpost

Hugo's Heroes - Battle of Trangen 1808

Swedish v Norwegians Napoleonic!!!!

Never heard of it, I here you say??? Me neither

I had a chat with Jan, in the blue top, who during his army service served in one of the Swedish regiments that fought in this battle.

Ilford Wargames Club - Rocketeers Guide to Rocketships

Flash Gordon ships from the 1936 Buster Crabbe series

Burrows and Badgers

Magrathea Builder of Worlds - What lies beneath

Night Terrors

Painting Challenge

Haverhill Wargames - Twilight Chronicles of Anyaral

Free League Publishing - Zone Wars

Peterborough Wargames Club - Alpha Strike Introduction

Garry David Wills - The Best Army in Europe

The Battle of Pirmasens 1793

Maidstone Wargames Society - Atari Tank Warfare 1980

Continual Wars Society - The Battle of Gurguljat

Serbo-Bulgarian War 1885

Hornchurch Wargames Club - Zeppelin

Footsore Miniatures - Baron's Wars

Ooooo me knees....

Gordon's Regiment Scot's Brigade 

Highlander Reenactors

The Shed Gamers Club - Battle of Westeros

Pandyman Entertainment - Trench Offensive

Santa Maura & Capri Boardgames

Yarkshire Gamer, Ken Reilly

with his Best Historical Game Award

The Battle of  Mentana 1867

Rome or Death

Per Broden & the Wyre Forest Wargamers - The Crossing of the Duna 1701

Great Northern War

Per with his Award, Best Small Scale game

Lasting Games - Butcher & Bolt

WWII Daring Raids and Covert Operations

All hell let loose - Bloody Omaha

Bunny Badger Games/Frothers Mars Defends

Elon

Mr Orange

Realtime Wargames - The White Cockade, Pretender, Prince, King 

Belloludi - Oosterbeck 1944

Oakbound Studio - The Woods: Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Peter's Paper Boys - Wofun 10mm Napoleonics

Mark Backhouse - The Battle of Beneventum 275BC

TooFatLardies - Chain of Command v2

Joe Bilton (TFL/Reisswitz) - What a Tanker

Operation Charnwood - Caan July 1944

Dave Brown (TFL/Reisswitx) - Austerlitz 1805

General D'Armee 2

Lastly Team Warbases!!!

I had to pick my package up at the end of the day.

Well that's it from me and Salute 2025

What a great show, I took 638 photos on the day and cut it down to this one mega post. I hope you all enjoy the ride.