Stuck at Home; Keeping myself sane

I haven’t been that productive since the festive break, though I did manage to start a new project for 2022. I’d decided to build a Late Roman warband for Saga, Age of Invasions. So far, I’ve managed to finish my first unit of Hearth Guard and made a start on a unit of warriors.

In order to build a Late Roman warband I decided to pick up a box of plastic Late Roman infantry.

The box will allow you to build 44 soldiers (4 command miniatures and 40 soldiers). They can be used as legionary or auxiliary infantry of the 4th / 5th centuries, for either Eastern or Western Roman Empire. They can also be used beyond that, for early 6th century armies, like Roman Britain or Gaul, as well as early Byzantine armies.

I decided to build two units of archers, two levy units and a unit of hearth guard and a command unit. I plan to add a cavalry unit to the warband along with a Scorpion ballista for added fire power.

I’ve also managed to get some orcs from the Lord of the Ring range painted as well, these were done with a minimal paint palette, and I decided to make the armor look rusty and dirty as possible.

I’ve also painted a few odds and ends for generic fantasy gaming, but as I’ve said before I’ve not been very productive in the last couple of months. I’ve found that I haven’t had the motivation coming into the New Year like I had for the last 18 months. I’m guessing I’ve hit a bit of a hobby burnout. So now I’m looking for things to motivate myself again such as new project ideas, trying to find a spark to revamp or kickstart myself on old projects that have been forgotten and left to the wayside.

One plan I’m considering is picking up a small starter set of the new Army Painter Speed Paints and hopefully this will rejuvenate me into painting some miniatures for the numerous board games I have. Looking at the many reviews online they seem to work better than GW’s contrast paints so one plan is to give these ago over the next few months.

I need to finish the Asian Town Project this year, and so I’m going to concentrate on getting as much of this done as possible going forward. My aim is to make a start on the river sections and make use of the water effect resin I have. I’ll probably write up a small tutorial for the next issue. As I have plans to play a few different games with the project everything from Samurai skirmish, WW2 and Korea battles, Asian Zombies, Silver Bayonet and Wild West games set in 1920-30’s Manchuria.

I also need to get my ECW project started so I can get some games this year, along with a wide number of games and projects that includes Silver Bayonet in Europe, Stargrave, modern conflicts and more WW2 action.

Lord of the Rings

Welcome back dear readers as we publish our Autumn edition of Irregular Magazine for 2021!

We start in this issue with our customary dive into the News that has been happening in our great gaming hobby, and our beloved Editor takes an introspective look at how many projects he has on the go, and why, in the course of his ongoing battle with the Grey Horde.

As ever, we have a great selection of book reviews, starting with ancient history, with a look at the Spartans in The Bronze Lie and the Romans in Military History of Late Rome, Roman Conquest of Britain, Roman Conquests: Mesopotamia and Rome and Parthia: Empire at War. We also have a look at an intreguing title from Pen & Sword, Thracian & Dacian Armies, which take a look at two of Rome’s lesser known adversaries.

We also have reviews of two books looking at key historical figures, starting with The Last Viking from Osprey Publishing, a narrative tale of King Harald Hardrada, as well as a review Egypt 1801 from Frontline Books, which tells the tale of the end of Napolean’s Eastern Empire

As ever, there are many great WW2 titles available for wargamers interested in this period and we look at three of these, The Reckoning, which looks at the defeat of the Russian Army Group South in 1944, US and Germans at Bastogne which gives us firsthand accounts of commanders from this famous battle, and Desert Raids of the SAS, which specifically looks at the experiences of Major Tony Hough in WW2.

Finally for the book reviews, we examine two more titles – Valley of Death, an account of the LIght Cavalry at Balaclava and Towers of Strength, which looks at the fascinating role that Martello Towers have been put to use for, across the world.

But it is not all book reviews, we also have a look a the Trent Miniatures Napoleonic Range of figures, which are manufactured by Skytrex, as well as reviewing the new plastic British Riflemen for the Napoleonic period from Wargames Atlantic.

Allied to these minature reviews, our Editor has also had a look into the different rules sets that can be used to wage smaller scale or skirmish battles in the Napoleonic period on our tabletops, and has also had a dive into looking at the roles played by skirmishers in these wars.

In addition to all this, we also look at some new games that are out there, including the new card game Mobsitters, we look at the fantasy RPG Symbaroum, there is an overview of the much anticipated zombie-focused expansion to Stargrave – Quarantine 37, and finally we have a dive into what some of the alternatives are to gaming that doesn’t involve Games Workshop games, if that is something you’re looking to do!

Time to get reading – go on, download a copy now!

I have several projects on the go currently and a couple that have stagnated whilst I try and finish up some of the smaller ones.

I’m one of those people that can’t have just one project running, I prefer to have several on the go at any one time. This is because I can get bored easily, so have the ability to switch it up every now and again is beneficial. This does mean that projects take longer to complete than they should do. The man benefit to this is I don’t generally get hobby burn out or hobby block, as soon as I feel a project is becoming a chore I’ll switch to another. In the last 18 months this has been really helpful with being stuck at home in lockdown. So what projects do I currently have on the go?

Lord of the Rings

LotR has always been one of my favorite Games Workshop rules systems, and I really like the miniatures as well. A couple of years back a friend decided to sell his collection and he offered it all to me for £40. There was far more than £40 worth of items. In fact there were several duplicates of miniatures in the collection, which I sold and recouped my money back. Since then I’ve been slowly painting up the collection of plastic, metal and Finecast minis. I’ve managed to paint a good chunk of the collection but I still have a sizeable amount unpainted to get through, so this is one of those on going projects.

Bolt Action

I started Bolt Action a couple of years ago, firstly with a small German force and slowly over the years this has grown from one tank to 4, plus now I’ve started a British 8th Army force which mainly consists of infantry, SAS and a Bren Gun Carrier. I still have infantry to finish for both, and I need a couple more vehicles for the British to purchase, but the Germans are pretty much nearly finished. My next plan for Bolt Action is a Chinese force which will be a mixture of Communist and Nationalist forces. I’ve started this already with a unit of Communists and a T-26 tank. Moving forward I’ll need to convert Wargames Atlantic WW1 Germans in to Chinese Nationalists

Asian Town

Last year I decided to create a modular gaming board using Sarissa tiles. The aim is to make it quite generic so that it could double as pretty much anywhere in China, Korea or Japan. The reason for this is because I plan to play WW2 and Korean War alongside Edo period Samurai and maybe Interwar China. So far to date I’ve completed two tiles, and have nearly finished 3 more which contain buildings.

SPQR & Mortal Gods

I received these as Xmas presents in 2019, and I’m embarrassed to say they’re pretty much still unpainted. I think the reason why both of these ended up on the back burner was because of 2020 and the pandemic. The plan with both of these was to start playing them at the club in 2020. So I did start painting units prior to the first lockdown, but due to the fact we couldn’t meet up to play then it was placed on the back burn and I decided to finish other projects. I’ve even purchased some elements to make terrain as well. This is going to be one of the projects placed back onto the paint desk.

Test of Honor

I managed to grab a load of the Test of Honor miniatures just before Warlord handed it back to Grey for Now. I’ve been slowly painting this up, and building the Asian gaming board was partly for this project. To date I’ve painted up several samurai and some old Citadel Ninjas I had in a box gathering dust for years. My aim is to continue painting up the miniatures on a regular basis. I’ve been focusing on the metal miniatures that I have, and only painted a few of the plastics from the original starter box that Warlord produced. The reason for this is because I really dislike the plastics, they’re fiddly and frustrating to build

Autumn Cicada (Viki)

The year is 1941 and East Asia is being torn apart by war – on land, at sea, and in the air. Imperial Japanese forces have occupied Hong Kong and work with native collaborators in a bid to impose strict Japanese martial law. Into this lethal fray steps, a young man named Ye Chong a fierce patriot and a devoted communist. Recruited by Chinese communist forces, he agrees to go undercover as a double agent. His role will be to infiltrate the collaborators who are helping Japan tighten its grip on Hong Kong. The role involves becoming the “Autumn Cicada,” a spy who will relay information back to his communist comrades who are still plotting to throw off the Japanese yoke. The role is perilous and beset with danger at every turn. When Japanese intelligence officers learn that a mole has infiltrated the military ranks, a deadly hunt begins – in an effort to expose, capture, and torture the Autumn Cicada. Fortunately, a handful of sympathetic freedom fighters is ready to help Ye Chong complete his mission – including the beautiful He Ying.

This is a period spy drama set in worn torn Hong Kong, this type of wartime drama is a genre that the mainland China excels at. Asa period drama it’s well produced, great scenic set pieces, costume with a well written plotline that has plenty of action and suspense. My issue with this show is the fact that the CCP are over played, in reality they probably didn’t have a spy ring in Hong Kong, it’s more likely to have been Nationalists spies operating in the colony rather than CCP. Apart from that it’s an enjoyable spy drama. If you like spy dramas then I’d also recommend the Disguiser and Sparrow both set during WW2.

The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty (Viki)

The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty is a 2020 Chinese television series based on the novel of the same name by Xi Mengshi. The series was produced by Jackie Chan, it stars Darren Chen, Fu Mengpo and Liu Yaoyuan in the lead roles.   Set during the 14th year of Chenghua Emperor’s reign, Tang Fan, a sixth rank official and Sui Zhou, an imperial uniform guard, join hands to crush a conspiracy to maintain peace and order for the people.

After working together to solve the case involving the Marquis’ son, Tang Fan and Sui Zhou gain widespread fame and form a lasting friendship with each other. Although his reputation precedes him, Tang Fan remains honest and upright in his duty as a public servant and continues to rent a humble home. His landlord is found dead in her quarters presumably from suicide, but clues lead to suspicions of foul play. After the case is resolved, Tang Fan travels to Henan to investigate the sudden disappearances of people near the tomb site of the late Northern Song Emperor. When the culprit is revealed, it seems that he is but a pawn in a much grander conspiracy. As major cases continue to plague the capital and the local offices, Tang Fan and Sui Zhou work hard to unmask the mastermind who is pulling the strings in the background.

This is a great mystery drama, with plenty of twists and turns. The characters go through some interesting development as the series progresses. There are some really good fight sequences in this show, and plenty of action throughout. The villains aren’t one-dimensional caricatures like in so many shows. They have some depth and are actually really interesting individuals. If you like detective shows, then this is definitely one to watch.

I have some Asian TV shows to binge watch whilst stuck at home, some of which might provide some future gaming inspiration for you. I’ve selected some shows that are currently available to watch on the apps Netflix and Viki. Most are either Chinese or Korean, though there is one from Japan and another from Taiwan.

Nokdu Flower (Netflix)

Set during the Donghak Peasant Revolution which took place from 1894-1895. Two half-brothers fight on opposite sides of this rebellion. Baek Yi Kang is the first son of an important family. His father is wealthy, and he is notorious as a local government officer. But Yi Kang’s mother is from the the lowest class. Due to his mother’s low social class, people look down on Baek Yi Kang. Song Ja In is the only daughter for the head of a large peddlers group. She is the owner of Jeonjoo Yeokak, which sells merchandise and is also an inn. She has courage, stays calm under pressure and has charisma. Song Ja in dreams of becoming the best merchant in Joseon.

The show follows the lives of two brothers during the Donghak Revolt, who end up on opposite sides to each other. Though fictional the background of the revolution is based in fact, all the key members of the Donghak leadership were real individuals. The revolution is used to drive along the story of these two brothers, whose destiny seems ill fated. The show is well produced and gives an insight to the plight of Korea just as the 19^th Century is slowly coming to an end and the inevitable take over of the country by Japan.  The series highlights the struggle of old Korea against the influence of the modern West along with the growing conflict with Japan.

I enjoyed this show, and I could see potential gaming ideas springing from the series, especially skirmish games between Korean factions and the Japanese. It’s a definite show to watch for those interested in historical gaming.

Alice in Borderland (Netflix)

Alice is a Japanese science fiction suspense-thriller drama streaming television series based on the manga of the same name by Haro Aso. The series stars Kento Yamazaki as Arisu, a young man who finds himself lost in an abandoned Tokyo alongside his best friends, Chōta (Yûki Morinaga) and Karube (Keita Machida). As they begin their search for civilization, the trio quickly finds out that they are trapped in a city in which they are forced to participate in risky, violent, and dangerous games in order to survive.

The show follows Arisu trying to survive in this surreal gaming environment, every time a player survives a game his/her visa gets extended. If they fail to extend the visa, they are killed by the mysterious game controllers. This means in order to survive the players are forced into potentially life-threatening games where they could be killed.

At times this show moves into the dark side, but dosen’t stay there, which I found interesting. It makes the series much more interesting to watch. There are also plenty of humorous moments in the show which pulls it away from the darker side and thus makes it a far less depressing dystopian TV show compared to others. It’s a very slick, well-choreographed action show and the games they’re forced to play are unpredictable and dangerous, but the fact that the players are under resourced going into them makes it much more enjoyable to watch when the over come the odds to win.

The Uncanny Counter (Netflix)

Uncanny is a South Korean television series starring Jo Byung-gyu, Yoo Jun-sang, Kim Se-jeong and Yeom Hye-ran. Based on the Daum webtoon Amazing Rumor by Jang Yi, it centers on the titular character So Mun, a crippled high school boy who is enlisted to be part of the Counters, a group of demon-hunters who search for and fight against evil spirits that escape from the afterlife to prey on humans.

The counters are effectively Grim Reapers trying to catch evil spirits who have entered the bodies of individuals who have committed violent acts of crime. This is an action sci-fi adventure show in a similar vein to Heroes, where the main characters have superhuman powers, and which the main character So Mun struggles to harness his. It’s a light-hearted show with some great action sequences, and plenty of martial arts fight scenes.  There are plenty of light-hearted moments in the show that adds some comedic elements, though I wouldn’t say this was a comedy, it’s action-based drama that tries to be humorous in places. Though its well worth a watch.

Futmalls (Netflix)

Investigation into a series of strange cases leads police Zhao Xu Zhen to a mysterious website called “Futmalls.com,” which claims to be from the future. Customers can buy anything from the site, including future love, fame, or beauty. The product is non-refundable. And the price is unimaginable.

This was one of the more intriguing shows I watched recently, it’s a Sci-Fi crime horror TV series set-in modern-day Taiwan, where people can unknowingly purchase items from the future, though there may be consequences in doing so. It’s an interesting concept where vulnerable individuals are targeted to purchase items from the website, which end up with extreme consequences. This is one of the first Taiwanese shows I’ve watched and was really pleased with the result. It’s well written, edited and produced. It’s one of the more thought-provoking Sci-Fi’s I’ve seen in a while. It’s a definite one to watch, though I was disappointed it was only 8 episodes.

Sweet Home (Netflix)

This is an apocalyptic horror South Korean television series starring Song Kang, Lee Jin-wook and Lee Si-young. Based on the Line Webtoon of the same name by Kim Kan-bi and Hwang Young-chan, which recorded over 1.2 billion net views. Following the death of his family in an accident, loner Cha Hyun-soo moves to a new apartment. His quiet life is soon disrupted by strange incidents that start occurring in his new building. As people turn into monsters which take the form of their hidden desires, Hyun-soo and other residents try to survive.

Most of the action takes place in and around the apartment block that our band of survivors are trapped in. Unlike recent shows like the Walking Dead the villains aren’t zombies but a wide variety of monsters, which makes a nice change. This isn’t a gritty post apocalypse horror fest like walking Dead, but a more tongue in cheek monster horror. There are some gritty moments but overall, it didn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a fun watch, with plenty of action, twists and turns stuffed with monster mayhem at every turn.

Join Alex and Jason for the latest episode of the Irregular Podcast.

In this episode they discuss TableTop skirmish, its recent history, the games and how it has affected current trends.

https://anchor.fm/irregular-magazine/episodes/Episode-4—Skirmish-Gaming-e11aeaj

What is Irregular Magazine

Irregular Magazine is an online table top gaming magazine, which has been going since 2009. This is the new podcast to accompany the magazine. We plan to cover numerous topics related to the tale top gaming hobby that will include television, film, RPGs, Board games and war gaming.

http://www.irregular-magazine.com/

In this episode we discuss all things Kickstarter, our thoughts regarding it’s influence on the hobby, as well as our own experiences buying into various KS’s over the last few years.

Episode 3 

There was no ‘special friendship’ between the US and the UK before WW2. In fact, war between the two was not such a far-fetched idea – the US had its own empire ambitions, the problem was the UK ruled the world. The US decided that if they were to build an empire, they would have to remove the Royal Navy from the equation as they were deemed an obstacle to any future expansion plans. So, a conflict between the two was considered a possibility by those in the US government.

The most obvious way this would happen was the US coming up against Japan, who were expanding their empire in Asia, as Japan also had ambitions of further expansion. The US at the time were very anti-Japanese and it was likely that the US would come into conflict with Japan in Asia as both interests in the region were likely to clash. If this were to occur it would also in all probability bring to the US into conflict with Britain because at the time Britain in an alliance with Japan (Anglo-Japanese Alliance).

So, the likelihood was that the US would come into to conflict with both Japan and the British Empire at the same time. So, the US government decided they needed a plan for this very outcome. War Plan Red was developed by the War Department after the 1927 Geneva Naval Conference and approved in May 1930 by Secretary of War Patrick J. Hurley and Secretary of the Navy Charles Francis Adams III and updated in 1934–35. It was a routine hypothetical exercise and did not require presidential or congressional approval. Only the Congress has the power to declare war.

The war plan outlined actions that would be necessary if, for any reason, the US and Britain went to war with each other. The plan assumed that the British would initially have the upper hand by virtue of the strength of the Royal Navy. The plan further assumed that Britain would probably use its base in Canada as a springboard from which to initiate an invasion of the United States. The assumption was taken that at first, the US would fight a defensive battle against invading British forces, but the US would eventually defeat the British by blockading Canada’s ports and cutting off its food supplies. It is debated whether this would have been successful however and if the plan would have ultimately resulted in a stalemate.  That was the strategy employed by Britain against the US in the War of 1812.

The British military never prepared a formal plan for war with the United States during the first half of the 20th century. For instance, the government of David Lloyd George in 1919 restricted the Royal Navy from building more ships to compete with American naval growth and thereby preventing the plan’s development.

The British military generally believed that if war did occur, they could transport troops to Canada if asked, but nonetheless saw it as impossible to defend Canada against the much larger United States, so did not plan to render aid, as Canada’s loss would not be fatal to Britain. They believed that once the US blockaded the Canadian ports then Canada would be lost.

British military officers planned to, instead, attack the American fleet from a Western Hemisphere base, likely Bermuda, while other ships based in Canada and the West Indies would attack American shipping and protect Imperial trade. The British would also bombard coastal bases and make small amphibious assaults. India and Australia would help capture Manila to prevent American attacks on British trade in Asia and perhaps a conquest of Hong Kong. The officers hoped that such acts would result in a stalemate making continued war unpopular in the United States, followed by a negotiated peace.

Canadian Director of Military Operations and Intelligence Lieutenant Colonel James “Buster” Sutherland Brown planned for a Canadian pre-emptive attack against the United States in the event of an imminent conflict between the United States and the British Empire. The purpose of invading the US was to allow time for Canada to prepare its war effort and to receive aid from Britain.

Sutherland Brown along with other officers carried out reconnaissance for the plan, in civilian clothes during 1921-26. Some military officers thought the plan was so crazy that it might just work whilst others considered it suicidal.

This could make an interesting alternative history campaign using early WW2 miniatures, basing in either the North American theatre of war or a conflict based in Asia against both the British and Japanese, or fighting them separately. A couple of ideas could include an invasion of Japan or trying to capture Hong Kong from the British. At this time Japan was engaged in Korea and China, so one idea for the US could be to land troops in China and aid the Chinese against the Japanese. China would be one of the main targets for expansion by the US in Asia, simply because of the resources that would be available. If the US captures China, you could have an uprising by Chinese factions, or skirmishes along the border with Russia. Once the US ventures into Asia a conflict with Britain would be inevitable because of British interests in the region.

We now have a podcast up and running, yes we’ve joined the modern age here at Irregular Magazine.

www.anchor.fm/irregular-magazine