MEDIEVAL WARGAME set in Spain (and more)

                                                            MEDIEVAL WARGAME

When you choose to wargame in 54mm some leeway in building scales is a necessity. If you decide to use toy soldiers, and hark back to the look and style of early wargaming, this leeway becomes a feature. As a child, I loved looking at books on medieval history, particularly if they included plates from original manuscripts. The latter were not just colourful and exciting, they were distinctive in having little or no recognition for scale or distance.

SCENARIO

I was in the mood for a medieval wargame, nothing too large, but something strategic to try and capture.  This game is set in Spain c.1400. A Moorish controlled town becomes the target for a band of Castilian adventurers. Dice will determine the numbers involved.

Both the Moors and the Castilians were allowed to throw two dice (multiply by five). Half of the defending Moors would be civic militia, while all of the Castilians would be retinue. Each side was to be also granted three warrior/knight commanders. This system furnished 48 Moors, and 38 Castilians. Seems good enough!

The Moorish Vizier (local governor) chose 3 artillerists with a light cannon, 6 blades, 9 archers, 4 javelin men. The town furnished another 16 civic blades, and 7 archers. The Castilians brought a medium catapult with 3 crew, 16 sword and shield, 8 crossbowmen, and 8 archers. (A D6 confirmed someone had the foresight to bring some ladders and pavises..... now that could have been embarrassing.)

THE GAME (JAN.31)

MOVE ONE. The Castilian commander was polite enough to invite the town to surrender. The Vizier politely declined, but I still threw a dice to determine the resolve of the civic levy to actually fight. A D5 indicated they were willing. MOVE TWO. The Castilians advanced with pavises from two directions, while the catapult let loose, but fell short of the wall (D2). MOVE THREE. The Castilians advanced. The catapult let loose again but fell to the right of a corner tower. The Arab cannon replied, the shot landed to the right of the catapult. MOVE FOUR. The Castilians advanced. Archers and crossbowmen let loose. The Castilians suffered four, inflicting only one in return. Not a good start. The pavises did help, but not against an enemy throwing D6's at medium range. 

MOVE FIVE. The Castilians advanced. Moorish javelins and arrows brought down three, but the Castilians also took down three, two of which were civic archers. The latter had to test their moral, D1, they abandoned the wall, and the panic spread to half of the civic spearmen guarding the gate! MOVE SIX. The Castilians advanced. A Castilian artillerist had his head taken off by the Moorish cannon.

MOVE SEVEN. The Castilians advanced. A slight liberty here.... my ladders are large, and they reached the wall..... and why not? Brilliant... the Black Lion knight led the ladder assault and made short work of his javelin armed opponent. His Castilian archers also took down two nearby Mamluk guards. But on the left wall, disaster, the White Lion knight was the first on the ladder, survived an arrow hit, only to be slain by a Moorish warrior. If that wasn't bad enough, his followers were forced to test their morale, they held, but refused to advance (climb up the ladder). 

MOVE EIGHT. With sword and shield, the Black Lion knight slew a Mamluk spearman, which obliged a half strength morale check on the remainder, they broke, and so followed the javelin men, and the artillerists. The remaining civic spearmen by the gate witnessed three of their superior allies routing, not surprisingly, they now followed suit. MOVE NINE. A lone Moorish warrior now faced the Black Lion knight and his retinue. Draw! While on the left wall, crossbow and archer exchanged shots. The Castilian crossbowmen fell under half strength, and scarpered. The Vizier tried to rally his men in the city, but to no avail. MOVE TEN. The Black Lion knight invited the brave Moorish warrior to surrender, D6, he declined. In the following melee the Moor threw a D5, against a D6 with a plus one for outnumbering..... the right wall was theirs! MOVE ELEVEN. The Moors were now down to just two warriors and five archers still obeying orders. Outnumbered, by three to one, they decided to seek and were granted favourable terms to depart.  GAME OVER. 

Here is the hero of the day, by right of conquest he is now the lord of the town. His heraldry, a sinister lion, might imply he is illegitimate? Perhaps his surname starts with 'Fitz'?

A very enjoyable game, lasting about two hours. I think it is time I painted those toy ladders.

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                                         BRITISH RACING GREEN and my Dinky Racing Car

The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum is based in Philadelphia, USA. In 2022 they staged an event celebrating British Racing Green, and from their website I quote.....

"British Racing Green is one of the most iconic colors in the world. It’s synonymous with British culture, heritage, and style. British Racing Green is considered the national color, representing Britain’s past successes at racing. It signifies power, aggression, and strength, but also stands for endurance and resilience. This exhibition takes a closer look at this special hue and examines its place as a symbol for British culture, heritage, and style."

Featured exhibition cars included a 1934 MG PA, 1938 Jaguar SS100, 1950 HRG 1500, 1950 MG-TD, 1961 Triumph TR4, 1965 Morgan + 4, 1966 Austin Healey 3000 Mark III, 1966 Lotus Elan Coupe S3, 1966 Sunbeam Tiger, 1967 Jaguar E-Type. 1968 Triumph TR 250, 1993 Bentley 

Here is their link... https://simeonemuseum.org/photos/2022-a-study-of-british-racing-green-best-of-britain-exhibition/ This photo was taken by Andrew Taylor, many more on their website.

MY RESTORED DINKY COOPER BRISTOL 1950s. Completed JAN.31

I used miliput to restore the chipped hubcaps. And straightened the axles.

I used grass green, dark blue, and black acrylics to create the British racing green, and then sprayed three coats of varnish.

Original condition.

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                                                            LIMBER HORSES (JAN.26)

Have finally sorted out the draught horse issue. Have also mixed and matched the new horses with others in the collection. For example, here are three of the sorted pairs. A vast improvement, and they don't take up too much space on my small gaming table.

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EXPLODING BATTLESHIPS

Well it does appear, the idea of having toy ships that sort of explode has been around for some time. I spotted this on Sally Antiques (website) some time ago, and it definitely caught my attention. These are thought to date to c.1900.

I'll place a bet there are no vermin onboard these ships. I shall never look at a mousetrap again without contemplating an alternative purpose, lol. 

MGB

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REPLYING TO FRIENDS COMMENTING BELOW

Thank you, Donnie. The game really did play very well, and a joy, not least because it was fairly quick to set up, with only about eighty figures on the table. I'm still slightly at a loss as to how and when do the ships explode. I'm assuming, just like a mousetrap, a slight touch and they are set off. So I imagine you could try to hit them with matchstick firing cannon, or just rolling marbles at them? Must admit, it is a fun idea.