Landy's Wishlist Wednesday
Tally ho fellow basecoat blaggards! Our quarry is in sight at last! We’ve just crested the hump of the week and that means it’s time for another Wishlist Wednesday! Hold on to your shakos because this week, I’ve got historical gaming on my mind (of the Napoleonic variety especially!) So without further ado, let’s get down to business!
As I mentioned, I’ve had historical gaming on the brain lately. I own British Airborne and Australian armies for Bolt Action, and have had Afrika Korps in the past. I’ve also got various other models for different periods—Spartans and Teutonic Knights just to name a few. In the latest issue of Wargames Illustrated, however, Warlord Games included a printed copy of their Black Powder catalogue, resplendent with pages chock full of gorgeous minis all lined up in their rank and file formations and squares.
I’ve always had an interest afar with Napoleonic gaming, largely because I felt I didn’t know enough about the period or the different armies involved in the conflict. But still, the interest was there. The spectacle of massed ranks of soldiers lined up, ready to launch volleys of fire at one another and the thunderous charges of cavalry into unsuspecting enemy troops, all of it still stirred something in my chest.
As if on cue, Warlord recently released the second edition of the Black Powder rules complete with an updated Waterloo starter set that includes French and British armies for players to begin their first steps into the world of Napoleonics. And we’re not talking about just a handful of miniatures in a starter set. We’re talking 122 models, including some metal models in the form of a Royal artillery cannon, and a pair of commanders for the respective armies. In short, there’s enough in this starter set to give players a taste of that massed rank and file combat that appeals to me so much!
To go with the theme of my previous wishlist on terrain, I’ve also found some suitable buildings for use with Black Powder, or just about any other game with a European/medieval fantasy look to the setting. Endertoys is a company that 3D prints mainly Minecraft related items, but have recently expanded into tabletop terrain for a variety of settings—sci-fi, fantasy, historical, and steampunk to name a few.
Between those and the terrain included in the Kings of War Vanguard set, I should have enough basic terrain to get some games in!
Maybe it’s partly because I didn’t feel confident enough to paint so many troops in their proper uniform colours and be judged harshly if there was something wrong with my paint scheme before, or that I might not find an opponent, but now I feel as though the time is right for me to finally take the plunge and endeavor to create something as close to those awe-inspiring scenes that have hung around in the back of my mind for so long! Especially with a community of wonderfully supportive people as we have, I’m sure that this will be a worthwhile endeavor! So while this wishlist focused primarly on one single game, my biggest wish with this one is to really begin my journey into the real of historical gaming in earnest! If anyone knows of some great starting points for me and others like me taking their first steps, please share them below! And I know there are more than just Warlord producing minis for the period, so if you know of any worth checking out share them below; especially if you’ve painted any yourself! Let’s see those Scots Greys, those Chasseurs, or Landwehr!