Missions to be embarked upon

Very important - getting tarted up

Command & Colours: Napoleonics - Dollying up - MISSION COMMENCED

With much of my efforts revolving around Command & Colours Napoleonics, this is sort of a general project to improve the look and feel of the Grande Bataille version which I take to conventions.  None of this is exactly critical, but I hope that it will make the game more of a spectacle and aid gameplay.

Things to do:

- Improved playsheets. I'm considering bespoke playsheets for the individual battles and ones summarising the Grande Bataille rules we've been using. Also maybe a little sign explaining what we're doing.

- Some diorama elements. One of things that really blow my socks off about the Wild Geese games are the little diorama elements that they add to their games. I have some bits and pieces, but I'm thinking of adding a few more. This has the added value of drawing people in to look at the pretty toys. Johnny keeps wittering on about more flags.

Ideas as present -

British soldier peeing against a tree.
Two French officers (with seconds) having a duel ideally looking a bit like David Carradine and Harvey Keitel.
A flogging.
A soldier fleeing the scene of the crime with chicken.
Cats asleep on roofs, ducks on the river, that sort of thing.

Finding the right figures for the flying cossacks is proving a bit of a poser

Command & Colours: Napoleonics - The Russians - MISSION COMMENCED

As regular readers will be aware - the Russian expansion is due in the first quarter of 2012. I'm not to flustered about this as there are a lot of Spanish games to be played before we can really get stuck into the Russians. That said, there is a lot ground is covered comparatively speaking, most of the figures have been got and the infantry will be heading out to Mark as soon as bases arrive. I have after long cutting my own front plasti-card become a convert to the MDF bases available from Products for Wargamers. Jim is a gentleman and I can't recommend him highly enough.

With at least another three or four months before we see the game, I'm happy that I'll be close to completion relatively soon after it arrives. That is probably terribly optimistic.

Things to do: Get the infantry to Mark.

The Tyrolean campaign appears to have been sadly neglected...

Command & Colours: Napoleonics - The Austrians - MISSION CONTEMPLATED

I have all my infantry bought and most of them based for this particular project. HAT do a very comprehensive range of Austrians and they've filled almost all the slots. Cavalry are the only arm I see presenting a problem, but to be honest - I'll have so much Napoleonic goodness to wade through before then it hardly matters. There are any amount of good hussars to be had and a unit or two of Austrian heavies in metal will hardly break the bank.

Unfortunately, my HAT chaps are all in those dull shakos, rather than the more elegant helmet.

As hard as Krupp steel!*

Command & Colours: Napoleonics - The Prussians - MISSION PIPEDREAM

We have been promised the Prussians before the end of 2013, but I think 2014 is more likely. The HAT infantry are excellent, though they belong very much to the latter period. The HAT chaps in bicornes are awful.

Our commitment to gritty realism here at Joy & Forgetfulness is second to none...

London Calling/The War that never was - MISSION COMMENCED

This is a bit of an odd project - and the only one on the list for which I'm doing all the painting, barring some work by Mr E on the figures that are just too good to be left to my panicked daubs. The idea behind it is to play some Cold War games with Force on Force. The other idea is to try
an England Invaded game set in the 1970s - a mixture of "Went the Day Well" and Invasion 1999 using Savage Worlds, though I think we've a while to go yet. 

Things to do: Urban guerillas and some appropriate terrain.

In Sharpe Practice, careful use of one's assets is key

SHARPE PRACTICE - MISSION COMMENCED

Sharpe Practice has been an on and off idea for the last few years.  The miniatures pose no problem, my existing Napoleonic collection is all single based. I have the rules and "The Complete Fondler" scenario collection. Looking through the scenarios listed there are some pretty big ones, doable but I think they will require a certain rethinking of how I use my terrain.

To be honest, beyond some paper work - this one is almost done,

Things to do: Prepare blinds and a card deck and play some games.

CONCLUSIONS

All of this is of course, predicated on my getting better and getting the war room floor fixed and getting that done before Christmas is looking increasingly unlikely.

Looking over at the list of projects - they can be broken into three main groups.

Group One: Command & Colours Napoleonics in a variety of flavours

- Spanish Expansion
- Russian Expansion
- The Rajah of Kaala-Akaata
- Austrian Expansion
- Prussian Expansion
- General tarting up of the game

Group Two: Memoir '44 in a variety of flavours

- German army (completed)
- Soviet army (complete barring guns)
- British army (lacking guns and tanks)
- American army (lacking everything)
- Memoir '36 (not that bothered)

Group Three: Everything else

- Sharpe Practice
- London Calling/Cold War

It's plenty of stuff to be getting on with, but I don't think it's likely to break the bank or leave me frustrated with lack of progress. I think the key here will be "little and often" and to play lots of games.  It will be six months at least to play the Hundred Days and finish the pith of the Spanish scenarios. There are a lot of good things head.


*Do not, my friends type Prussian girl into google image search, you will find some pretty odd stuff.