My Metal Meneken

Friday, 7 March 2025

989 AD - when the Vikings weren't paid...

it was Dark Age again, 28mm, Hail Caesar, me and Bart's Norman and Viking collection,

Mike (as the Vikings) and Tim (as a Norman Duke) and myself as his Norman Baron, were trying to get past the castle in the dunes and unite with our fellow mercenaries from the north. Bart and David (as theother Norman Duke and Retinue) tried to prevent that.

Well ... they had a little bit more units than we did, but who cares, it's a dark age, who actually counts the troops before battle.

The second massive handicap was that somehow our wild ancestores from the north, didn't really made it out of their beautiful (and newly painted) Viking ships, for 3 turns!! By the 4th the battle was effectively over already.

The third and last reson we lost was, that Duke Tim, our overall leader, decided to go in historically appropriate, and let cavalry fight against the weaker infantry. Unfortunately Barts cavalry was nearer to my infantry than Tims knights were away from Davids infantry on the hill. The fact that he didn't roll so good as a commander and consecutively his knights slugged forward, while Barts knights zoomed in like lightning, highlightedonly the fact that we had also the wrong tactic.

Two blunder later (on each side), my flank was gone, while Tims knights were still miles away from the enemy and the Vikings just did not move - we surrendered! Game over! Congratulations to Bart and David! After the second turn it was looking not so good, after the third it was looking very bad, after the 4th it was impossible - very well executed victory!

We will do this again...

Initial set up

My infantry line... in shield wall

Barts cavalry attacks ...

from the castle ...

While David holds the other dune ...

And the Vikings landing ...

First I repelled some of the cavalry ...

still the vikings did not move ...

The tower was firm in Barts and Davids hands...

then Bart blundered and I had to move fwd ...

Out of my shiled wall ...

it split our line and made me vulnerable ...

While the Vikings ....

Then the cavalry attack came ...

My foot knights counter attacked ...

and thus were counter attacked ...

Slowly lost and encicled ...

was a lasts stand of my left over division ... we gave up!

Sunday, 23 February 2025

Somewhere on the English coast on the channel at the battle of Britain right after tea time...

Blood Red Skies it was after a long time, with mine and Tims collection, we decided to just play a pick up game with the aircraft cards and two theatre/doctrine cards each. Tim and Alisdair were defending the white cliffs with 3 Spitfires, 3 Hurricanes and and 2 mosquito against me and Peter with 6 Messerschmidt 109s and 3 Junkers Ju 88.

The setup / and planning was easy, kill for a thrill. I was so mean and diverted only one Ju 88 to Peter and head on attacked Tim with a mighty force of evil. I got shot OK but after we came to dogfight distance it was clear that Tim's squadron would bleed badly. After Tim discovered how bad his dice rolling was today, it was a nearly clear sky over that part of Britain. His remaining squadron (1 Hurricane) had to retreat. You couldn't time it better, overpowering plus very bad (abysmally bad) dice rolling of the defender equals disaster. At least for a while it looked like a victory.

Not until Alisdair the sneaky pincer mover came to harass Peter in his, even though he had the better ME109s, and Peter insisted on say Napoleonic tactics, the victory was snatched from us and turned into a draw.

We had a lot of fun, and I can only recommend this ruleset.

P.S. Apologies on behalf of Tim, he still didn't came around to apply his British national decals ... ;)

Initial set up ... ze Germans

Initial set up ... ze Tommys

My squardons clash with Tims ...

Peter tried to fight ...

My Ju88 kill Hurricanes ...

While Peter ...

The Ju88 were more sturdy than ever ...

At the end only one mosquito could "help" Alisdair ...

But Peters Squadron had to leave too...

Tuesday, 18 February 2025

BIG SUNDAY GAME - Warsaw 1764 - an obsession ...

28mm - BIG SUNDAY GAME!! - this time Seven Years War or better the Second Polish War of Succession - Me (Prussians, Russians and Austrians) and Bart (Saxoniand and Poles) with our respective collections.

The Russian- Prussian forces were positioning on a hill to hold onto, while the Poles, Saxonians and Austrians would make their day count.

It was magnificent! The onslaught on the Russo- Prussian lines was relentless, Bart opted for a pincer attack and nearly succeeded! his Tartars were bheind my lines harrassing the Prussian defenseless guns.

But his Saxon army had bled to death while attacking the centre village and the fortified hill. Also the Austrian cavalry was beaten, a little too late but nevertheless!

The Russian cavalry was able to secure the flank (wow!) after it looked most of the battle like a clear breakthrough.

Bart fought hard, but my guns were devastating and too much for the few Saxons. I agree that the next storming of a artillery fortified position needs double if not triple the amount of battalions. Not Everybody can be as good as the Prussians ... ;)