This last week or so...

 Two Fridays splotched due to weather.  A big box o'stuff arrives.  A new game system tried. Some painting done...on the stairs to the second floor.

February is quite often the month of 'where did the time go?'  Sure is starting that way. 

(The month) Did start out ok.  Got this in the mail:

My wife brought this in one morning.  Oops,  heavy she says.

After two layers of packing, first look at a joint order with my friend Roger.  Yes, WoR and 1812-1815 Bavarians.

 

 

Way more Bavarians than you would think you need.

My part of the order, some carlists, a cavalry unit and a pack of priests and 'command in other hats.'

These are part of a cunning plan, actually two cunning plans.  The command pack and the clergy each provided one casting to the Silver Bayonets team I am forming. 

Also, a single pack from the British Intervention range, to be used as an add to the IHMN British Army company being developed under the new rules.  Oh, and some packs of skirmishing Danish Napoleonic figures. Oh, and a couple of books, more on them in another post.

Then a snow storm one Friday and an ice/sleet/freezing rain the next blew out our regularly scheduled games.  Bother, that.

But I should not complain. Really, I should not. Sandwiched in between the two storms were two days of glorious (ok, the first day was rainy) 41 degree F weather.  That meant spray  priming for all the brand new from England castings!

Then I got my daughter's gift to me of the AWI light company packs I had hinted about needing.   Yes!

I also got several hours in painting the steps up to the second floor. Almost finished, that!

Then Greg, the third of us Friday old guys, said Saturday was open!  My wife had some paperwork to tackle, so I loaded up for Tabletop Games and got in my first game of Silver Bayonet.

Greg had the Spanish,and read the rules! The first scenario, noted as an introductory scenario was called The Investigation

There were five areas to investigate, here above my leader and two others attend to the nearest suspicious pile of rubble. Imagine the cap'ns face as he discovers a severed limb amongst the ruins. Blech!

On the other side of Easy Street, the second in command makes a similar discovery. What is wrong with people!

On the other end of the hamlet, Greg's leader finds a corpse. What gives with all the dead bodies?

There are two clues left, one dead center in the crossroads where Easy Street meets Hard Going. The other just inside the woods. The marker is just above the giant red playing cards. Greg's force can be seen skulking just above Hard Going.

Great, the second to last clue is a monster. Couldn't be resting under a sweet tree north of Hard Going, had to be in our way even!

Taking offense at being denied an easy token like the officers (even though both were unpleasantly surprised) the intrepid dragoon of our band shoots, and hits the creature but evidently the ball did only enough damage to enrage the beast. (three of 14 'wounds' gone.)  The light infantryman across Easy Street also shot, and did better but the monster was only at 8 of 14 wounds.

 It's not visible but the claymore is so impressive on the model,

 I was sure this would work!

"This won't dew at' tall" cried Scotty, who came in at a rush swinging his claymore, bringing the monster to 13 wounds...but suffering 5 wounds hi'self.  Scotty wisely backed up, thinking the Veteran Monster Hunter would finish off the foul smelling beast with edged weapons especially made .....

He was wrong, the second in command leveled his pistol, delivering enough lead into the creature to end its sojourn. The Spanish ( Greg's warband) were astonished at the ferocity of the British attack. (during all the shooting and slicing, the Spaniard in the woods got the fourth clue, another disgusting pile of remains) Since all the points for investigating the clues  and monster killing were taken, both sides glared at each other for awhile and then returned to camp.

So, our first run through of the rules...very vanilla lists, no fancy equipage nor skills.  We played for the basic mechanics, which were simple yet probably more subtle than we noticed.  Verdict? I for one will finish my band, procure a copy of the rules and likely find much more to get intrigued by in the book.  The  scenarios have one calling for a bridge and a troll. Gotta lov it.

Thanks to Greg for the terrain, set up, rules look up, explaining the basic mechanics to a very basic player,  and having a fully painted band.  Good fun.

And last, and probably least for all of you except micro armor fans...my very first ever in seventy years painted micro armor.  the BAOR in the first color of a MERDC scheme, the Warsaw Pact Shilkas and BRDM mounted SA7's in a dark green. 

 

More later, tomorrow I finish the stairs. (no photos, sorry.)