A Tangled Mass Redux. . .

For our upcoming tabletop game, the Young Master and I will use the latest version of our own home-cooked and half-baked rules that we call A Tangled Mass: Comfortable Rules for Games of Glossy Toy Soldiers in the Old Style.

Without doubt, you'll recognize that we have borrowed from and been inspired by many of the hobby greats past and present in our approach. We claim neither originality, nor innovation.

While our rules -- suggestions really -- are very gamey in approach and style, our aim has nevertheless been to reflect some of the confusion and frustration of trying to get our troops to comply with and accomplish orders issued to them at the start of the game. Or subsequently once we realize that some hotheaded one and a quarter inch dolt in command of X regiment, battalion, squadron, or battery of guns has misinterpreted (or flat out ignored) our instructions.

Imagine the consternation!

In any case, the summer campaigning season is afoot. Will my son continue to roll high and sweep my colorful lead and plastic men from the field in short order as has happened so often in the past? Or have I somehow magically acquired a wee bit of tactical skill since last we faced each other across the table?

Stay tuned for further developments.

-- Stokes and Young Master Paul von Stollen

Comments

Rob said…

My money's on the Young Master.

7:20 AM

WSTKS-FM Worldwide said…

Sadly, Rob, I too fear you are correct! Young Paul just has a way with the dice. Stay tuned for further developments.

Kind Regards,

Stokes

10:51 AM

tradgardmastare said…

I hope you both have a splendid time together, one that is a mixture of excitement, fun and bonding over lovely lead.

12:57 AM

WSTKS-FM Worldwide said…

Thank you! We still have a few details to work out, but we're excited by the prospect of, as they say, gettin' the lead out.

Kind Regards,

Stokes

7:52 AM

A Little More Brushwork. . .

A little more brushwork on the first batch of (my version of) the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment yesterday (Saturday). Taking a different tack this time and addressing many of the details first before the white coats and other larger areas of uniform. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that I've painted the (dark) red stocks of the enlisted men. Always a difficult and frustrating item to paint, it made sense to paint from the inside out as it were and get that particular detail out of the way first rather than try to paint it in later after much other painting has been accomplished. Trying to reduce the need for later retouching of other items on the figures you understand. Hopefully, I will be able to get back to these later today after a second trip back to the Apple Store for help with a couple of new iPad issues and, following the return home, some revision of Google Slides for tomorrow's meetings with my students. -- Stokes P.S. And according t...

Basic Reds Done at Last. . .

S till quite a way to go with the current batch of 20 human figures and a horse (of course), but they're actually starting to look like something after all of the red distinctions. Quite a bit of painting in hour-long sessions the last week as and when time has allowed. Mostly applying the basic dark red to facing areas and turnbacks followed by the inevitable touch-ups to clean up wobbly edges and those misplaced, minute splotches of Citadel Khorne Red. They're looking like so many Austrian infantry regiments of the era at this point, but the eventual flags will turn them magically into the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment, more or less, of the AWI period. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. One frustrating point (ahem) of sad discovery. I've started trying to use those Winsor & Newton 'Series Seven' brushes (#1 rounds) purchased last spring, and the blasted things simply will not keep a point. Very frustrating since I have heard over the y...

It's Early Days Yet. . .

M aking some early progress with Batch A of the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment over the last several days/evenings. Nothing terribly exciting just yet, but the basic black, brown, and flesh areas are done as are the green bases, and gray undercoat. The latter two areas needed some careful retouching early in the week. Next up, the neck stocks. I might just do these in red for the enlisted men although some of my source material suggest they were black, but I always look for an excuse to shake things up a bit. Any errant splotches of red (or black) can be covered with another application of light gray before I move onto the next step. "Giddy up!" as one Cosmo Kramer might have said. -- Stokes

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

Search This Blog