The Battle of Nyezane 1879 - Men who would be King.

Nothing like a large club game to get the gaming juices flowing... we last played this encounter over the the Wyvern Club perhaps 8 years ago..... where does the time go... it's a great scenario lifted from the Colonial Skirmish books.

The British briefing.... with a little help from Co-pilot

Gentlemen,

We stand on the threshold of our advance toward Eshowe. The Tugela is behind us, and the Nyezane River lies ahead. Intelligence suggests that Zulu forces are operating in this region in considerable strength. Their movements are swift, their discipline admirable, and their intent unmistakable. We must therefore proceed with vigilance and cohesion. 

Our task is to escort the supply convoy and secure the road to Eshowe. 

Your objective in this exercise is simple:

 • Protect the convoy

• Maintain formation under sudden attack

• Repel Zulu forces and secure the high ground 

Zulu strength in this sector is estimated at 4,000–6,000 warriors, likely from the iNgobamakhosi and uMbonambi regiments.

Thanks to Andy who carved us plenty of high ground for the Zulu's to watch the river. The British started with a number of units on the left bank of the river, with no Zulu's in the near vicinity a few scouts were seen far off in the distance but nothing to worry about.

The remaining British forces queued at the crossing, with only one wagon and one foot unit allowed to cross each turn, it would be a while before the full column was across. 

The Zulu's had there own challenges, they started with a few units on the table but then had the choice to either bring on 2 units a turn or wait until they rolled under the turn number to bring on 10 units in one go.... we opted to wait.....

The plan was a simple one use one of the horns to draw in the British slowing their push for the high ground whilst we wait for the main chest to appear on the table. Experienced warriors with their white shields headed into the donga and the benefit of hard cover.

Turn after turn we failed to roll low and the clock was ticking, the British had set up a firing line and with their free fire action were slowly chipping away at the Zulu's who had gone to ground, their mounted infantry were pushing forwards..

Seeing that the right flank of the Imperial forces was being weakened and still no main body we pushed forwards a little to pull the defenders back in to the fight.

The main body appears... each unit was 16 strength points but we had them on the table in 24 man units to give that sense of mass.

Counting rifles.... it turned out sending a single unit forwards into a massed rank of regular line and artillery does not work.... 1 point to the British for wiping out a Zulu unit, they also had 3 wagons across the river also worth 3 points - if they could get to 12 it would be a British victory.

As the British pushed forwards the main Zulu force was moving quickly through the tall grass that restricted visibility and long range fire.

The lead British unit were caught too far out in front and they were wiped out by the advancing horn 1st point back for the Zulu...

As the British shifted position the left horn saw an opportunity to punish the invading column catching the irregular horse and driving them backwards. The Artillery would need to work over time to keep the Zulu at bay.

Lots of finger pointing and not so much laughter from the Crown players as the seriousness of the situation started to dawn on them. The main body of Zulu's was closing fast but the let horn was not being slowed by the artillery or rocket troops and the NNC were no use with outdated rifles.

The main line ripped into the advancing Zulu pinning the first free units but the remaining Zulu pushed on...

The last Pic of the day before the journalist and his sketch booked headed to the drift... the left flank saw the gun and a whole company overrun and with the main body now in hand to hand with the Zulu chest - the 8 points amassed for the British started to be eroded.... Talk about being saved by the bell...

As the Zulu player we had taken a battering but had pushed the British aback and broken their line... it very much had a Zulu Dawn feel to it :-)

To watch the confidence of the British player erode and bemoan the need for that last company held up and the drift to plug the flank was very satisfying. But to be fair they had the same when our probing unit was destroyed in the early rounds.. we did not make that mistake again..... 

Great fun 'The Men Who Would be King' Rules easily handled the large number of units on the table and whilst the rules were new to a couple of players they were quickly into the mechanism after 2 turns. Great to get so many toys on the table and get to a reasonable result in an afternoon.

An early contender for game of the year......

Charge !!!! - Back to the Crusades...

The Chinese have taken a bit of a back seat lots of prep done and the foundations to make them ready for the finer detail in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile as we turn into February and prompted by, one of my gaming group launching a monthly painting challenge with the theme for the month of Charge!!!!

Yet another unit of cavalry for the Outremer project....

Rather worryingly these fine fellows were first under coated in last January. So the perfect excuse to get them table ready....

Great castings from Footsore and some extra Arab Heavy Cavalry for Saladin's army.

As with pervious units shield decals from Little Big Man Studio's so much easier and look so much better than had painted.

One more cavalry unit to go... before all of the Arab forces are finally complete....

Tactics II Campaign - Xenos Rampant - Go big or go home.

Campaigns.... I can't be the only one to run into the continuous problem, people lose interest or the games gravitate to huge battles beyond the scope of single evenings.

The Tactics II campaign has resulted in some great games mostly one formation a side, In the centre of the map the battlefield has been in deadlock as multiple units formed up to block one another...

Until now, with the Allies launching a push across the river.

Over the months we have tried Chain of Command, great for smaller games, Bolt Action for the scale up Company games, we have been playing a lot of 'rampant' games recently and a conversation turned to see if they would be suitable for fast play WW2... Let's see.

Taking the point values of a Bolt Action platoon V2 and comparing to Xenos Rampant gives a point value of 25 BA to 1 point in XR.

On with the game.

A combined Allied Armour and Veteran Infantry force attempt to breakthrough the German defences. Using the Platoon Forward for the terrain layout and scenario the already battle ravaged Germans need to defend the listening post.

The Germans had a platoon of Infantry and an 88mm AT gun against a range of Allied armour.

The Germans classed as heavy infantry opened up on the advancing British forces, inflicting casualties on the advancing infantry who were pinned and damage to the Matilda.

Looking to swamp the German lines a squadron of Vickers rushed forwards providing them with multiple targets.

The Allies cleared the wadi advancing on the entrenchments slowly chipping away at the defenders who put up a solid defence with the heavy weapon bonus representing the increased rate of fire for the MG34.

To the front of the village a section of Bren Carriers broke cover and headed for the village only to be countered by off table artillery that pinned the infantry rushing forwards in the open.

On the left flank the Axis AT rifle that had been chipping away at the slow moving armour finally ran out of luck showered with HE and then assaulted by charging infantry.

The Infantry screen was broken, a Bren fell victim to the 88.

However multiple MMG's from the Vickers and remaining Bren's caused the crew to abandon the gun. The German's remaining forces fall back.

A cracking game, Xenos Rampant played really well in WW2 setting, a couple of tweaks are needed to some units to make them better reflect their natural style of play on the tabletop. Game play was slick and we had a proper result in 3 hours... 

On the campaign map the Germans are pushed back from the river line with the shattered defenders down to 345 BA points or 14 XR points.

The allies lost a similar number of points but they had out numbered the Germans by around 3:1

A hole had started to open up in the German lines which would be need to be plugged but where from as they where under pressure across the line.

Looking forward to the next game and more rampant.

Dragon Rampant 2 - Homage to Blood Bath at Orc's Drift.

Every so often you stumble across something that takes you straight back to the hobby tables of the 80’s was gaming better then or did we simply have less gaming choice. I was never much of a Warhammer player but Bloodbath at Orc’s Drift was exactly that sort of thing that got the creative juices flowing.

Released back in 1985 for Warhammer 2nd Edition, the boxed set was the work of Gary Chalk, Joe Dever and Ian Page, with its roots firmly planted in the film Zulu — just swap the redcoats for Elves, Dwarves and villagers, and let the Orcs do their worst.

The box contained the scenario book, command sheets, a poster map, and those wonderful Dave Andrews cardstock buildings, which for many of us were the first “terrain” we ever owned.

The campaign itself unfolded over four linked scenarios — Kachas Pass, Ashak Rise, Linden Way, and finally Orc’s Drift — each loss or victory feeding into the next. Whilst I never played them they have always been on my long list of games I need to play.

Inspiration for tonight's game and the first outing for Dragon Rampant 2.

My good friend Paul had brought his Goblin horde out to play the savage band of green skins were laying waste to Albion. King Arthur summoned the Knights of the Round table to turn them back.

The Knights readied themselves as Goblin riders rushed forwards supported by Ogre's - nasty looking things.

The Goblin horde were many in number but King Arthur and Sir Lancelot stood firm - truly the stuff of legend.

The curse of newly painted figures plagued both sides - The Ogres fell back under the blows of Excalibur. Goblins jumped the mercenary band as they neared the wood. 

In the end the Knights beat the Goblins sending them scuttling back to their dark lands.

A cracking game of 30 points aside, Dragon Rampant really has that feel of the original Warhammer games now the conversation turns to returning to Orc’s Drift proper and converting the original game and points to Dragon Rampant. What have we done....

The buildings and the PVA glue that held them together may be long gone, but the thought of playing the linked scenario's scratches an itch that has been there for 40 years..... :-)

Happy gaming.

Sino-Japanese War 1937 - 1945 - Chinese Infantry WW2

Something a little different for 2026 and the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War Project.

Lots more to come but I thought I would start with a small section in a bluish-grey uniform, this was common in northern China with Khaki dominating in the South. The Nationalists appeared to have a patch work of uniforms due to the lack of centralised manufacturing so the plan will be to paint up a number of sections each in a different uniform shade. This will tie in with the mix of kit ranging from British, French, Russian & even German kit in the early years of the war.

These are all 3D prints from Kyoushuneko Miniatures and my first large collection of prints instead of metals or plastics, they have a reasonable range of sculpts but with a choice of 4 different heads in some of the packs and with a snip or too on the others you get quite a range to put on the table.

The greatest challenge is sticking them to the circular base as they don't print with a moulded base- Super glue is your friend here. They can be a little brittle in some areas but they represent great value for money when being printed locally.

They take the paint really well and have just the right level of detail without to many buckles, smaller elements that are missed when on the table.

For this cohort these were the colours used.

Uniform - GW Russ Grey 

Helmet - Foundry STorm Green Shade 27A

Blanket Roll - GW Eshin Grey /GW Straken Green

Boots - Black.

Sword Sheath = GW Catachan Flesh

Flesh - GW Kislev Flesh

Rifle/chin strap - Foundry Chestnut Shade 53A

Nap sack - Foundry - Rawhide Light 11C

Webbing Foundry - African Flesh Light 126 C

Wash - Warpaint Fanatic - Soft Tone.

Sened Station, Feb 1943 - Bolt Action

Sunday at the Wyre Forest Club and a Bolt Action outing..... Limited pic's I am afraid juggling seven players and umpiring.

The Italian Briefing.

Comandante,
Here is your operational overview for the current situation at Sened Station.

Comandante, we are positioned at Sened Station, a minor rail stop in southern Tunisia—minor in size, but not in importance. Though Allied air superiority prevents regular use of the railway, German High Command, under General von Arnim, has insisted that we maintain a forward presence here. His rationale is clear: if the Allies advance east from Gafsa, this station becomes a potential corridor to deeper Axis supply routes. Holding it signals that the Axis line in central Tunisia remains unbroken.

Your garrison consists primarily of troops from the Centauro Division, we do not have immediate armoured reinforcement—German panzers are reserved further north and will not respond quickly unless a major assault develops.

Recent intelligence indicates that the Americans are reorganizing after their earlier setbacks in Tunisia. Among them is a new formation—the 1st Ranger Battalion, commanded by Major William Darby. These Rangers are not conventional infantry. They are trained specifically for deep‑penetration raids.

We believe the enemy has begun employing these forces to test our defensive lines and to probe for weaknesses. The rugged terrain around this station—broken rock, ravines, and low ridges—offers ideal cover for infiltrators.

In summary, Comandante: our position is significant, our troops are capable, but our defences are thin for any raid and the enemy has exactly the kind of force designed to strike an isolated outpost like Sened Station.

The approach road to Sened Station, Italian trenches can be seen outside of the town and on the high ground on the right.

Bad luck strikes for the Rangers a ranging shot from the Italian defenders hits a lorry full of troops, 6 men were killed without firing a shot.

Revenge is sweet, on the left flank the Rangers debus and set about clearing the German defenders from the slit trench.

Allied armour rolls forward as the Italian defenders were proving tough to shift despite Artillery battering their lines.

As the allies pushed forward, the German Panzers appeared on the base line. Sened Station would be staying in Axis hands for now.

Great fun and a couple of new recruits getting bloodied at the club, now firmly thinking about painting up forces. It feels like mission accomplished on a several fronts.

First post of the year - Desert defences.

First post of the year and as the news tells me we can expect a weather bomb due to Storm Goretti and with snow outside.... the perfect time to throw up some trenches for the Western Desert.

Having been gaming for over 35 years, it's inevitable that as some point long and trusted traders would likely be looking to get out and retire. December saw John over at Ironclad Miniatures decide to call it a day.

Great news they have been saved and sold on to Leon over at Pendraken.. John held a retirement sale - just the excuse I needed to grab a few more trenches to help bolster the Vichy defences for Operation Exporter or perhaps Torch?

Great castings and the prefect balance between playability and sculpts.

Not a bad start for 2026.