Brigadier 'Tubby' Bykleigh & Pte Robinson PJ

Three shots of the new foot figures for Brigadier 'Tubby' Bykleigh and his batman, Private Robinson PJ. They are Pulp Miniatures figures from the set of British Officers & NCOs in Wolsey helmets ~

For the Pte Robinson figure the colour scheme for the uniform and equipment matches that of the South Staffs figures, which are Copplestone Castings, to distinguish the figure from one who already exists in the colour scheme for the Royal Surreys, which are Pulp Miniatures. Its actually less complicated than it sounds, honest!

For the Brigadier 'Tubby' Bykleigh figure again I needed a colour scheme to readily differentiate him from the same figure found in the Royal Surreys' command base. As he's undoubtedly the 'Hero' of our story I chose an off white over light grey scheme. He's a good guy after all!

I'm quite pleased with how they turned out, especially the Brigadier's face which I feel has captured the spirit of the figure. Now we need a scenario for his rescue, as the Reds captured him in the last game...

Returns From Rhanzlistan?

As any of you who visit my main hobby blog, Tales from GHQ, will no doubt know, real life issues have been somewhat disruptive of our little group's gaming in recent weeks. This means of course that I don't have any new games to highlight in our Rhanzlistan Campaign, but I do have a considerable number of mini projects reaching the top of the Lead Pimple's painting queue, so I thought my occasional visitors here might like to see what will be added to the Rhanzlistan games over the winter months.

Awaiting deployment to the Rhanzlistan Frontier

Two new figures for Brigadier Tubby Bykleigh & his Batman, Robinson.

Pulp Miniatures by Bob Murch of course,

Three recruits for the Shropshire Yeomanry. Brigade Games figures of course.

An 18lb gun and crew from Woodbine at Gripping Beast.

3 new officers, 2 Copplestone Castings & 1 Pulp Miniatures.

Recruited from the Highlands and Islands? Probably the Gordon Highlanders I expect they'll be in the end.

Pulp Miniatures with steel helmeted heads removed and replaced by Woodbine heads in Wolseys.

A closer look ~ the heads look quite OK I think on the bodies.

Medical Transport team ~ mules from Askari, Pulp figures, Redoubt casualty.

Mule born radio communications ~ Tiger Minis mules, Pulp Miniatures figures.

Phil is making a radio and battery set for me when he gets a moment.

And finally, though perhaps somewhat inappropriate for Rhanzlistan service ~

Royal Navy deck crew from Pulp Miniatures




 

 

Royal Navy Shore Party

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An 'oddity' for the Bhurpas from Wargames Foundry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I have to say that I'm not sure when these will be painted if I'm honest, but I hope they will all be completed by the middle of next year (DV). This is just a section of the 'Lead Pimple' of course, you will be able to see the full extent over on the main blog later. Thanks for dropping by!

The Dawn Came Up Like Thunder...

Phil bought his Back of Beyond Russian force over to GHQ recently for a further episode in our ongoing Rhanzlistan Campaign, pitting Brigadier 'Tubby' Bykleigh {of doubtful military fame} against the forces of SPIFF under the command of the Renegade Red, General 'Red' Robinski. The table laid out for the game ~

Of the RFF there is no sign. No activity of the SPIFF has been reported in the past weeks, so Bykleigh has sent out patrols to ascertain the whereabouts of the foe. Meanwhile, things are looking decidedly grim for Robinski and his men. Unable to pay his troops and beset by Bhurpa harassment he has received intelligence that the fabled Golden God of Gheekistan, a life sized solid gold effigy, has been found hidden in Shuzzanabad. If he can reach the village before the RFF he may yet be able to bribe his men to continue with their mission ~

The Golden God of Gheekistan hidden in Shuzzanabad

In order to simulate the ad hoc arrival of patrols, the individual units from the RFF dice each turn when their Action Card is drawn, with a 5% extra chance of arriving in each subsequent turn. Their point of entry is measured by a throw of 4 x D6 in a random direction from the centre of the ford across the river ~

The Ford across the river

First into action for the SPIFF were a unit of wild Bolshevik cavalry! They struck out from the table edge and gained the high ground to better observe the lay of the land ~

There is still no sign of any patrols from the RFF, while hordes of men from the SPIFF hurry down the road making for Shuzzanabad ~

To simulate the difficulty of locating the enemy in the early dawn light {the first 10 turns of the game} any successful RFF units entering the table are marked with a blue counter and always move at 4 x D6. They can be spotted by the men of SPIFF on an even throw of a D x 6, although half their move distance must be forfeited to accomplish this. The Royal Surreys are discovered encamped in the ruins of Old Shuzzanabad by a unit of SPIFF cavalry backed up by Elite Bolshevik infantry and veteran Siberian Rifles ~

The Surrey move to engage the SPIFF cavalry, unaware of the masses of enemy infantry flanking their position ~

The Surrey's fire is ineffective and despite suffering two casualties the Bolshevik cavalry rush towards the ford while their supporting infantry gather in numbers to attack the Surreys' position. In the distance the Shropshire Yeomanry can be seen heading towards the ford to cut off the SPIFF attack ~

While the Yeomanry ready themselves to confront the enemy's attempt to cross the river at the ford, they are encouraged by the arrival of a troop of the Bhyklabad Horse to the enemy's left flank ~

The Yeomanry and the Bolshevik cavalry clash in the main street running through Shuzzanabad ~

The Bhyklabad Horse surge across the ford to attempt to relieve the pressure on the Surreys who are coming under very heavy attack from SPIFF infantry and a supporting armoured car. Worryingly there is no sign yet of the RFF's own artillery ~

Things are looking very grim for the hard pressed RFF, the Yeomanry are being hard pressed, when relief seems to arrive in the form of the Loyal Tandoori Rifles  just to the east of Shuzzanabad~

And at last the No1 Baalti Battery is seen exiting a pass through the hills and hurrying to deploy in a vain attempt to bolster the dwindling force of the Yeomanry ~

But disaster seems to have overtaken the RFF and their rotund ccommander, they see their inspiration being lead away as a prisoner under escort { Overtaken by the second Bolshevik cavalry unit in difficult terrain owing to yet another awful throw of the dice while attempting to join the Tandooris} ~

Before they can recover from the shock, the No1 Baalti Battery is overrun and the gunners cut down by the victorious Bolshevik cavalry after they rout the remnants of the Yeomanry ~

The remnants of the Shropshire Yeomanry in full rout leave for the safety of the table edge ~

Its all up for the RFF as the Tandooris are forced to flee for their lives in the face of overwhelming odds ~

Robinski's men pour across the river at the ford, eager to taste the spoils of victory and make off with the Golden God of Gheekistan ~

The game ended in Turn 15 as the whole of the RFF was either in full flight, destroyed to a man or in captivity! On reflection I probably made it too hard for the disparate forces of the RFF  to come together in time to make the forces of the SPIFF face a more serious tussle to gain control of the ford and the village. Of course, a series of awful throws of the dice both for arrival of units and for their subsequent movements did n't help (See the capture of Brig Bykleigh for one). Where the RFF did get into action they acquitted themselves well. Though often out numbered, the Surreys and the Yeomanry fought valiantly in a lost cause. The late arrival of the supporting artillery and the Tandooris seriously weakened the RFF's ability to contain and then repulse the SPIFF attacks, meaning that the usual attrition of war left them in an increasingly exposed position. The rules were as ever 'Setting the East Ablaze' from Caliver Books. A little blood at times perhaps, but they do the job mostly for us. The next adventure in our ongoing Tales from Rhanzlistan will be a Pulp game featuring the daring rescue of Brig 'Tubby' Bykleigh...

The Bhyklabad Horse II

I've painted the remainder of the figures from the Brigade Games Indian Cavalry, from their WWI ranges, which I have deployed into the Rhanzlistan Field Force. They are known locally as  "Aston's Scouts", but more properly as 'The Bhyklabad Horse'. Here is the full strength unit, commanded by their newly promoted Major, John Roberts ~

A close up of some of the figures, always a risky choice given my standard of painting, but there you go ~

In addition to the 13 figures of the Scouts, I painted an extra two up to represent Brigadier 'Tubby' Bykleigh and his personal escort ~

Of course, its compulsory for our hero to be mounted on a white horse! I'll probably replace the lance pennon with a Union flag, when I can find out where I put the sheet for safe keeping! I hope that they'll soon be in action to help expel the S.P.I.F.F. from Rhanzlistan, or at least give those darned cossacks a run for their money!

The Bhyklabad Horse {Aston's Scouts}

In most games we've played so far in our 'Tales From Rhanzlistan' campaign I've found myself seriously outnumbered in respect to the cavalry arm of the Rhanzlistan Field Force. Phil's Bolsheviks have always been able to use their cavalry superiority to cause me real problems. The sole unit of cavalry, the Shropshire Yeomanry, were made up of Brigade Games figures from their WWI ranges, some of which I got as a gift from friends in the USA and some I picked up off Colonel Bill 's webshop. I had thought to add some mounted Bhurpas from the excellent Empress Miniatures Jazz Age Hill Tribes, but browsing the net one morning I lighted on the Brigade Games Indian Cavalry from the same WWI range to supplement those Dave Paddock had sent me recently and on the same Colonel Bill 's webshop of course. I now have 14 of these stout fellows to paint, so I made a start this week after a week's holiday in Cornwall. Here are the first of the Bhyklabad Horse, known locally as Aston's Scouts, under the command of Major John Roberts ~

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I was inspired to attempt the coloured turbans, even though they would not have been worn on campaign against either the Bhurpas or the Soviets of the S.P.I.F.F, by seeing a wonderfully painted Indian cricket team on the VBCW game at Partizan in the Tent! Sadly, my efforts are very second rate by comparison...

The yellow central stripe does n't show up too well in either picture I've found, but I hope you get the idea at least from one or other of the pictures. I suppose its the limitations of my iphone camera, but I have tried to edit the pictures without being able to bring up the yellow any more clearly. Whatever, I have another trooper well underway to add to the unit, leaving just ten more to work through, hopefully by the end of the next week. In the meantime though, I'm off to a matinee performance of The Pirates of Penzance, very apt really after last week's sojourn!

Out on manoeuvers {or outmanoeuvered} at Pendawar

A recent game played out here in GHQ between Phil ~ Comrade General 'Red' Robinski and the S.P.I.F.F. ~ and yours truly ~ Brigadier 'Tubby' Bykleigh and the Rhanzlistan Field Force  ~ over twelve game turns and using the current rules of choice for these games, 'Setting the East Ablaze' produced a classic which went right to the wire. Before the start of the game each of us chose five units to make up our initial force. The ten cards comprised the initial deck for activation, together with the 'Event' card and a card for the Bhurpa warriors. In each turn from Turn 5 onwards each of us could choose one extra unit, which units' cards were always added to the bottom of the deck after they had been shuffled for the following turn. The first three photos show, in turn, the general layout of the table and the composition and entry points of each of the opposing forces in Turn 1.

Table layout and dispositions at Turn 1

Initial S.P.I.F.F. force

The Rhanzlistan Field Force's initial units

The sharper of you will notice that we did n't start on opposite edges of the table. Not our way in these games. After we'd both chosen our initial forces we then diced to see where they would enter along our respective 'edges of the world' using a D x 6 to determine the location. Phil had three possible entry points: 1 - 4 the road in the foreground of picture 1; 5 the central road; and. lastly, 6 the road at the top of the picture. As you can see he threw 5! My choices were : 1 - 4 the pass in the top left of Picture 1; 5 the central road on my 'world edge'; and, lastly, 6 the near left corner in picture 1. As you can see, I threw a 1 ~ an all to ominous indication of what the dice gods had in store for me later!!!
Movement in the rules, if you don't know them, is distinguished between good and difficult terrain, each type determining the number of D x 6 to be used for differing units. We decided that the base terrain tiles were good, while all features were difficult. Arbitrary, but it worked well in the game.
In the early turns, the RFF got rather stuck in the pass due to very low dice scores for movement and the difficult nature of the going, whereas the SPIFF really got a move on from the off!

SPIFF enter Pendawar

A bottleneck in The Pass

Pendawar falls to the SPIFF

Finally managing to organise my forces, by dint of some decent dice throws, the RFF moved beyond The Pass only to find Pendawar firmly in the possession of the SPIFF and, ominously, their right flank threatened by enemy cavalry and none of their own to be seen anywhere! Taking stock of the situation, Brigadier 'Tubby' Bykleigh decided he must let the terrain guard his flank while he thrust straight for the village to oust the enemy.

The Loyal Tandooris on the RFF right flank

Brigadier Bykleigh oversees the attack from a paddy field!

The RFF moves in to the attack!

In the meantime, new units were added for the first time. Bykleigh needed cavalry, so the Shropshire Yeomanry were added to his force. They were badly needed to protect the right flank of the RFF's attack. So, where did they come on? You guessed, from the road in the top right of picture 1; as far away as possible from where they were needed! And confronted by extra Soviet cavalry and an armoured car!

Remnants of the Yeomanry bravely press on!

The Yeomanry met their inevitable fate, let down by the run of the cards, the roll of the dice and being placed in an impossible position by their inept commander. Never the less, the Rolls Royce Armoured Car was on hand ~ unfortunately the recipient of an 'Ammo Low' chance card played by Phil. The two mechanical marvels faced each other in the streets of Pendawar.

Out gunned, but not daunted, the RR armoured car attacks to no avail

Bhurpas, who had stayed loyal to the Crown, despite the bribes and threats of Robinski, now rose up and attacked the enemy in their midst. One Abdul Boombah bravely rushing forward to bomb the accursed infidel's infernal machine!

Abdul's hour of glory!

Meanwhile, in the outskirts of Pendawar, the RFF's attack was faltering.

Chance does not always favour the brave!

Despite all the difficulties, the steadfast men of the RFF were pressing the enemy hard and threatening to turn them out of the village. Suddenly, in Turn 10, the SPIFF cavalry rushed into the right flank of their attack, smashing into the Loyal Tandooris.

In the fading light the Tandooris suddenly feel the harsh
edge of the enemy's might.

Fighting on two fronts proved too much to ask of the gallant Tandoori Rifles and they were cut down mercilessly by their foe, while on their left the Gurkhas were making no progress against the enemy well dug into the buildings on the village's outskirts.

Captain O'Brien gives his all for King and Country!

Its all up for the RFF's brave lads and their stout commander. Reinforcements have not made it beyond The Pass and the infantry have been badly mauled in the attack. Little effective fighting capability remains and so they quit the field, leaving the SPIFF to plunder and pillage the honest and courageous Bhurpas of Pendawar!

The Remnants

Despite the trouncing I suffered here, it was a splendid game full of incident, excitement and action. Both of us had our highs and lows, though not in equal measure it needs to be said. While dice did not favour me on the whole, I made two serious errors in the game which led to the overwhelming defeat I suffered in the end. Next time we enter Rhanzlistan we thought we might give Bolt Action a go, although retaining the activation cards to determine which units come into play and then assigning an order dice to them. I'll keep you posted on developments as they happen.