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FrogParticipant998 now!
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantTomorrow could be the day!
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantI may even send a cake to a random member once we hit 1000…
I may have to change my screen name to “a random member.”
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantFrog – PM sent to you just now. Henry
Email reply sent to you, good Sir!
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantThree stories that I hope will show a bit of what was underneath Allen’s sometimes-gruff online exterior (Henry, if you think these worthy for inclusion in your magazine feel free; please contact me if you want my name, city, etc.):
Late ’06/Early ’07: Having only recently purchased my first computer and joined the online world, I was beginning to think that the internet was full of nothing but self-centered jerks. I posted something pertaining to the state of Maine on a forum and to my surprise I got a message from someone I’d never met and with whom I’d never even had any interaction. It was Allen. Turns out he’d been born and raised in Maine, and he was as friendly as the day is long. We knew a lot of the same places and a few of the same people in Maine; we shared a love for the state’s beauty and it’s lobsters. We had some other things in common as well, including a concern for the less-fortunate, and a particular concern for the less-fortunate of the furry, four-legged variety. Allen’s outgoing friendliness made me realize that there are some total strangers on the internet who are actually very good people.
August ’09: What became known as the Station Fire was burning way too close to where I live near Los Angeles, with burning embers falling around and an evacuation order. Realizing there was zero chance of getting all of my pets out, I resolved to stay, using garden hoses to turn my home into a 1:1 scale replica of a wet sponge. Stupid, I know, but I was too much of a coward to face the prospect of trying to live with myself if I left some of my pets to burn. Allen was one of the extremely small number of people who commended my decision; he checked up on me constantly, by phone and email, for the next few days to make sure my “furry children” (they’re all rescues) and I were o.k., offering his prayers and every support he had to give for our safety. I am at a loss for words to describe how much this meant to me at the time.
June ’11: Allen and I both attended a small, local convention during an intense early summer heat wave. Shortly after he left, I discovered an eight-week old kitten trapped in a locked outdoor storage closet. Telling him about it the next day, Allen offered to pay the vet bills and if necessary make the 240-mile round trip to my house to pick up the kitten and give it a home if I couldn’t keep her, this during a period when Allen was undergoing emotional and extreme financial hardship of his own. (I kept the kitten and named her Fortuna, a name Allen agreed was quite appropriate. She is healthy to this day; Allen regularly checked to see how his “furry god-daughter” was doing.)
Allen was a Good Man. As many will attest he was a tremendous asset to our hobby. He had the personal strength of character to stand by and act upon his convictions to make the world a better place. We are poorer for his absence.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantI have Flint & Steel somewhere – never actually played them as I wasn’t “wowed” on the first read-through, but may give them another go on the basis of your comments (I have always heard that the orbat information was worth the entrance money on its own, although having a rather large AWI library anyway, this did not cut much ice with me). Did you use an historical orbat with all of the British units represented? I’ve fought the Bunker Hill scenario from the British Grenadier rules twice. The first time, the British did not do very well; however, the second time we tweaked the orbat to give them the right number of units historically and, although they were individually small (all but the two elite units were at the 12-figure minimum the rules suggest for a battalion) it gave the British much more flexibility in terms of “pinning” and flanking the American defences. I think it would be interesting to refight the battle using historical orbats with several rulesets to compare what sort of game each produces. It’s funny how many rulesets cause the British to struggle – as they (kind of) did historically – yet in reality, the Americans should have been beaten quite quickly by Howe’s original plan (and would have been if three or four unrelated, and unlikely events had not occurred simultaneously).
The scenario is in the Compendium that comes with the rules. Here’s the British orbat as given, with number of figures per battalion (3 figures = 100 men):
Clark’s Light Infantry Battalion – 10
Abercrombie’s Grenadier Battalion – 10
5th Foot – 7
52nd Foot – 7
47th Foot – 7
1st Battalion, Royal Marines – 7
63rd Foot – 6
2nd Battalion, Royal Marines – 6
Grenadier Detachment – 4
Light Infantry Detachment – 4
38th Foot – 7
43rd Foot – 7
6 pounder battery – 4 guns
12 pounder battery – 4 guns
Howitzer battery – 4 guns
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantHaving lived through my parents’ divorce when I was 11 and my own divorce at 36 I can’t see anything light-hearted or fun about divorce.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipant<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Guy Barlow wrote:</div>
I finished reading my copy of Raising the Clans last night. I thought it was well worth the read and I quite liked the authors writing style with lots of personal opinions and comments and he clearly has bags of enthusiasm for the subject. It is not just a rehash book. The only slight quibble is that there are a number of typo errors in the book which really should have been picked up by the editor and surprisingly in the bibliography he does not mention the books by Duffy eg the ’45. The rules seemed fairly straight forward and I did like the emphasis he placed on the weather as this seemed to be a crucial factor. On figures Crann Tara all the way. Strangely the range is not mentioned in the book. Regards, GuyMy copy arrived today. Haven’t had chance to take a look at it yet. Duffy’s ’45 is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the last Rebellion.
Yup, gotta start with Duffy. After that I’d recommend Stuart Reid’s 1745: A Military History, though I do find Reid’s bias a bit, um, off-putting (yeah, off-putting, that’s a polite way to say it).
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantFor Frog. Royal Ecossais Crann Tara Miniatures
Very nice!!!
Mine should arrive Friday, I’m hoping to be able to start painting them early next week.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipant<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Frog wrote:</div>
Just ordered my first Crann Tara figures (via Loyalhanna) about 45 minutes ago.Thank you Sir, Keith will be pleased
Any questions etc. don’t hesitate to contact me. Graham Actually, Graham, you’ve already been helpful – quick response to my email question yesterday. Cheers!
Now that the Royal Ecossais are ordered, I’ve got most of the figures I need for multiple figures per base “big” battles. Still need a bunch to base singly for skirmish games though, and I’ve a feeling these will all end up being Crann Tara.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantWhat a pity you’re not tempted by my Crann Tara 28mm range!! However Im just reading through the Raise the Clans and the look quite promising, then there’s always Black Powder which can be suitably tweaked. Graham
Just ordered my first Crann Tara figures (via Loyalhanna) about 45 minutes ago.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantHi. It is possible but ideally just as a one off. I have to make a manual note to remove permissions when a date hits based on when you paid, AKA too much book keeping. NCS is one of 2 people to pay a year upfront, so it is easy to manage manually. However there is a way to do it so that the subscription runs out automatically. BUT the only way to do that is that when the specified date is reached, the account is locked. I think. It maybe that the account is downgraded, but it could be that is is locked when the payment time ends. I will do some digging.
Let me know when you’re done digging. Pretty sure I can turn off the automatic monthly thing on my end; more than happy to put my money where my mouth is for a year up front if it’s worth the trouble to you.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantOne of the nice things about the book is it has basic maps for all of the battles. Maybe not the best (I’ve got better maps of Culloden, for example, in other books) but it’s helpful to have maps of both Killiecrankie and Clifton Moor (to give two examples) in the same book.
The bad part is that I had intended to do only The ’45, but now I’m also seriously tempted to do The ’15, and etc., etc.
Oh, and there’s a few nice pictures of Essex 15 mm Jacobites and my beloved Front Rank 28 mm ones.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantI’ve heard of Volley and Bayonet being used, though I am unfamiliar with those rules.
I’ve used Flint and Steel.
A recently published book by Martin Hackett: Raise the Clans: The Wargamer’s Guide To Jacobite Britain contains a set of rules specifically for (as you may have guessed) gaming the Jacobite Rebellions. I’ve read, though not played them yet but they seem fairly simple and straightforward.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantIt could be useful, provided that it’s better policed than the one on the Site That Shall Not Be Named. In addition to the very valid points raised by Henry above, the other one suffers from a multitude of “I ordered something and received it” twaddle, meaningless except in the context of the poster’s “Look at me!” campaign.
Maybe the way to implement it would be to allow only Editor Mike and Editor Sam to post to it; anything someone wants to put there would have to be sent to them first for vetting, to weed out the spurious and unhelpful. This of course would make more work for Mike and Sam, and I certainly don’t wish that upon them.
Doctor, my brain hurts!
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantDo you typically utilise an umpire/games master?
Very occasionally, but not typically.
Do you tend to play games with one regular opponent regularly?
2 regular opponents who can always be counted upon to show up, another 3 that are usually around.
How long do your games typically last or want them to last?
1-4 hours, depending on the type of game and number of players. Perfect length for us, as it allows for more than one game per session.
Do you utilise a campaign system and generate battles in that way?
Sometimes.
Do you design scenarios regularly?
Yes, absolutely. That is our “normal” way of doing things.
Do you pick armies from an army list up an agreed point maximum for an ensuing battle and then pick or dice for terrain just before playing?
Never. No points battles. Never, never, never! Scenarios only.
Do you typically utilise free rules, scenarios and, army lists?
Rules no, army lists no, scenarios yes, providing that it seems to be well-researched.
Are you willing to try anything at least once even if their is a cost associated?
Definitely not. There’s a finite amount of time available for gaming; my regular opponents and myself feel it’s best not to waste any of that finite amount of time on periods/genres which are of no interest. We play games in which we have an interest in the subject matter, not to simply play a game.
Or regardless of cost, do you read blurbs, reviews and other info first before making a decision as to whether or not to give them a try?
Absolutely! There’s nothing worse that buying a new set of rules and spending the time to read them only to discover that (for whatever reason) they’re not your cup of tea. It’s better to do a bit of research first to see if the rules seem to be what you’re looking for prior to making a larger investment in time in reading and trying them out after purchase.
Hope my 2 cents helps!
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantGood choice!
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantNot Connard Sage speaks sooth.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantFingers, toes, and eyes crossed that you get the car repaired quickly, competently, and inexpensively.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantVictory shall be mine!
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantThanks again guys. Having been paid, and overcoming my natural inclination to laziness, I’ve just sent a message to Frontline to order theirs.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantConfirming: I saw Iannick’s post a few minutes after he made it; it’s still showing that it is the most recent under “Freshness;” but it’s not there any more when you go to the thread.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantHave you received it yet?
(And I agree with you on the cover art.)
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantJacobites: Front Rank. I plan to pick up the Crann Tara Royal Ecossais in the next month or two so we’ll see if my opinion changes.
15mm AWI: Essex, followed by Musket.
28mm AWI: Perry, Foundry, Wargames Factory.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantAnother option for 1/2400 ships is Panzerschiffe: http://www.panzerschiffe.com
Very inexpensive, they’re made of some sort of epoxy resin. Not nearly as detailed as GHQ, but no assembly required and no tiny bits to break off/lose.
For rules, my preferred set is General Quarters 3 from ODGW. Middle of the road as far as complexity, with enough detail to keep me happy.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantEditor Mike: You and Editor Sam are doing a great job, and I thank you for it!
There seems to be new people joining every day and the discussions grow every day. The atmosphere here is friendly, helpful, and fun. It’s a breath of fresh air; banishment from elsewhere on the internet and then coming here feels like release from a toxic dungeon into the sunlight of the first day of Spring. Unlike A. N. other site that’s on the decline, this one is on the rise. WELL DONE!
Soon as I get a paycheck (sometime in the next 7-10 days) I’ll put my money where my mouth is become a paying supporter. Thanks again!
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantMy cat Lucky (my avatar) likes to chew the bristles off of paint brushes.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantGood one, Patrice!
I can’t even begin to count the number of miniatures I have with a cat hair permanently varnished onto them.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantIIRC:
83 Group (Spitfires & Typhoons) supported XXX Corps (“Garden”) whilst IXth AF (P-47s & P-51s) supported the airborne forces (“Market”), with 2nd TAF initially just tasked with road and rail interdiction well behind the German lines. Sometime around 21 September 2nd TAF was brought in for more direct support with B-25s, Mosquitos, Bostons, & Mustangs in addition to the other types mentioned.
This being said, much of the “ground support” was really just flak suppression to protect IX Carrier Command, and I’m sure you’re aware of the problems the Paras at Arnhem had with trying to get real air to ground support.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantActually, the most fun I had in the Cowpens refights was #3, where I, as the Americans, got my entire army routed off the table without inflicting even a single casualty!
<Enter waiter, carrying silver platter. “Your posterior, sir.”>
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantNice looking figures!
Does the Crann Tara Royal Ecossais command pack consist of two standard bearers, one drummer, and one officer or is it only one standard bearer per?
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantGo for one of the types used by 2nd TAF – Spitfire, Mustang, Mosquito, Tempest, Typhoon, etc. Can’t go wrong with any of them.
If you need any more info on specific type (Spitfire Vc vs. Spitfire IXc, etc.), camo scheme, markings, etc. just ask and I’ll dig out my books. Happy to help.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantDon’t know whether it’s the list (I don’t have it) or your reading of it, but no P-40s in NWE post-Overlord. Italy yes, the Pacific yes, the CBI yes, but NWE is a no.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantWe use the Flint & Steel rules. I’ve played them 12-13 years, a couple of the guys have for a bit longer. To us they feel “right” for the AWI.
Command/control and morale are paramount in Flint & Steel. Each command receives orders from it’s General; depending upon what orders are given the units “must” do some things, “can” do other things, and “can not” do other things. Occasionally, if the Dice Gods have it out for you, the orders actually received will not be what was desired, sometimes resulting in Very Bad Things happening to your plan and your army. This occurred in a game a month ago – on the verge of an overwhelming victory, one Patriot Brigade rolled spectacularly poorly for their orders and instead of advancing they fell back. With shouts of “Treason!” and “A Benedict!” the rest of the Patriot army then fell back, so the British ended up holding the field, though at an absolutely prohibitive cost. (It helps that I game with a great bunch of guys who would rather play the period (whatever the period might be) than look for loopholes to allow “cheese.”)
The morale rules in Flint & Steel are such that militia will sometimes skedaddle the first time they’re shot at but on very rare occasions they’ll stand like veterans. Artillery isn’t too deadly; it’s chief use is to cause morale checks. Once in a very great while something truly unusual can happen if the Dice Gods smile upon you – twice this year in 4 refights of Cowpens I’ve managed (on a 3% chance with percentile dice) to shoot Banastre Tarleton out of the saddle!
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantFor me it’s the AWI and The ’45.
My lifelong interest in the AWI started at the age of 7 or 8 the first time I was taken to see Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, and the USS Constitution, courtesy of my grandfather. Having a family connection (i.e. ancestors that fought in it) helps as well.
For The ’45 it’s all about family. If my great, great, etc., etc. grandfather hadn’t been standing on the wrong side of the field at Culloden he wouldn’t have been sentenced to that most horrible of fates – transportation to the colonies!
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantNice photos and a good write-up on the blog! Well done and inspirational!
I’m currently working on finishing up the last couple of pieces needed to do Bunker Hill later this year, though it’ll be in 15 mm and with a different set of rules. I’m terrible at photography but I’ll try to post a report after we play it.
Cheers!
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantHi kbb! Nice to see you over here!
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantI’m wondering about it as well. If the OOBs have unit strengths I’ll be all over it.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantNo gaming in my home due to the presence of too many curious furry critters (including the one used for my avatar) that want to “help.”
First weekend of every month I drive 35 miles to the FLGS, where table space is limited to 4′ x 6′.
Second weekend of the month it’s an @50 mile drive to a community hall-type building where table space up to 8′ x 20′ can be had by prior arrangement.
Also get in the occasional games in a friend’s garage plus 2-6 (depending on how many I attend) local cons per year.
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
FrogParticipantThanks, Paul!
Bunch of monkeys on your ceiling, sir!
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