News from the front Covid -19 - A wargame club during a quarantine period

In the last weeks my club is closed for the Covid-19 pandemic. 

It is a strange period and very hard for all. During week ends ... the days in which usually I'm with my mates ... we are forced to keep at home ... but my club is not only a group of enthusiastic wargamers ... is bunch of friends and so we are preparing for the future

Some week ago I posted some pics of our painter Aurelian about some knights  ...

... his work it was a kind of inspiration for some of other club members this week end ...
for example this is the Maurizio's version for the Crusades

 ... with his commander Baliano of Ibelin

Aurelian's miniatures inspired also Andrea, one of our latest club member, with a new Teutonic army

But every army must have his enemies and Antonio prepared them

War Wagon and 3rd Crusader Knights - The corner of the painter

Due to coronavirus, last week our club was closed so some of my club mates used these days to paint new miniatures. One of them is Aurelian that prepared a new war wagon and some knights for 3^rd Crusader in these days. He is a professional painter (#aurelianpaintingstudio) and seeing the pics below it is easy to understand his skills

The war wagon was a one of early fighting vehicle that involved a wagon ... like a kind of primitive tank. This kind of military vehicles was developed by the rebelling forces in Bohemia during the Hussite war around 1450
It was a heavy wagon given protective sides with firing slits and heavy firepower from either a cannon or a force of hand-gunners, archers and crossbowmen, supported by infantry using spears, pikes and flails.

My friends decided a crew of an archer and a infantry man with pike

After the Hussite wars, they stayed in usage as the special tactical weapon of Bohemian mercenaries which prevailed against knights or foot soldiers. Its successful history came to an end, at least for large scale engagements, with the development of field-piece artillery.

After preparing the wagon he continued with some knights. The level of details he reached is one of the best I saw in the last times.

The heraldry for each knights is studied and historically accurate. If you someone would interested to try to paint these soldier below there is a very interesting link:  

http://www.earlyblazon.com

Milano wargame 2020 - Feb, 23 2020

This year ... after a lot of editions in which we took part to the exhibition ... my club decided not to present a table but Ezio, Marco, Riccardo and me decided to go in every way.

This time I cannot show pics of a "La Piccola Armata" scenario but I can share some photos of the other tables

Massimo Torriani's ww2 table

Luxlu with his Admiral rule system

Impetus prepared by the club "Circolo di Pietra"

The large table of Napoleonic' wars scenario prepared by the cenomani with their rule system "En avant marche!"

Flames of war - Feb, 8 2020

One of things I appreciate more in my club is that my mates play different games every months ... I'm sure that in every wargames clubs there are some system rules that are most popular than other but to change sometimes is good for me. So this time Ezio and Riccardo decided for a match of Flames of war.

Miniatures are 15mm and they are painted by Riccardo (German forces) and Ezio (English troops and tanks).

As usual my post is not a battle report but only a way to share with other lovers of our hobby some pics

Below a photo of the battlefield …

… and some details of Ezio’s army

A battalion of Sherman and another one of M10 …

… ready to destroy a German tank group

To conclude … a German HQ completely surrounded by English troops

Saracens vs Hungarian Knights - SAGA Jan 18, 2020

Last week my friends decided to play with Studio Tomahawk’s rule sets … I have to admit that after Bolt Action is one of the wargame most played in my club.

This time Antonio and Flavio decided to play a “classical” match: Saracens vs Hungarian Knights

Antonio paints the Arabian miniatures while the European army is prepared by Aurelian. 

Below one of Antonio’s commanders while he is inciting his soldiers

The clash was hard for both the sides …

… and the European knights use their typical formation to break the enemy line

At the end … the game is decided by the “real” fighters … the two heroes ...

"Only one must survive!"

Sd.Kfz.181 (Panther) and Sd.Kfz.171 (Tiger I) in an Ardenne scenario

Our preparations for Bolt tournament we will host on February 29, 2020 are continuing … last week my friends tested an “Ardenne style” scenario with new pines bought by Riccardo and … why not to take some pics of them?

Last month, for Rapid fire and Bolt Action, I ended to paint some Panzer V – Panther (Sd.Kfz.171) and some Panzer VI – Tiger I (Sd.Kfz.181). In this way, I complete my army list in 20mm and my club mates have new tanks if they decide to play a scenario with them

The colour scheme for the tank camouflage I decide to use is based on a light yellow because the effect .... seeing the pics … in my opinion permits to increase the visual result

I have to admit that with Alberto’s houses the result of the “Ardenne style” scenario is very good for me