Thursday 27 October 2016

Logistics: Possible ideas for models

Those of us hobbyists that tend to get very few games in tend to focus on the building and painting of armies, rather than playing grand games. Whilst sitting in front of your models, painting in a concentrated manner, your mind is allowed to roam the universe within. Invariably, I at least, start to think of:

1) How did this guy get this very ornamented plate armour? He is just a lowly warrior.

2) Can this group of dim-wits really feed themselves in times of peace? Fine, now they are living off the land, but in peace time - do they go back to being peasants? Can they even use the soil, or are they living off of fruit in some back-water region?

Dragoons typically didn't look this smart when on a mission.


3) Logistics: How can the bad guy always focus on quantity rather than quality - the bad guys are often  portrayed as instant-gratification-barbarians, but often times they have huuuge numbers for the good guys to kill. The movie 300 springs to mind, not to mention the hordes of Sauron or any video game out there. Heck, even a contemporary example in Somalia springs to mind: Blackhawk Down where the hasch-hisch and kat-chewing youth and men were storming the Americans without any thought of tactic or casaulties...
     So, how is that the bad guys always have grand armies, how do they feed them in peace time - and more importantly: How do they feed them in war-time?!


The Romans used these, accordingly to someone on the internet.


This goes along with J:s baggage train-updates. Since this blog is more focused on warbands, I could go the simple route and just look at how outrider Dragoons of Sweden used to do it: Carry a bunch of provisions on themselves (in horse-pouches), live off the land, rob the enemy rural areas when necessary and go between friendly military stations or postal stations to "recharge" whatever needed be recharged, whether it be horses or gun powder or tobacco (that was later I think).

Despite the above, I would still like to list some interesting things in the baggage-train you could use to form a game around, playing pieces as well as for simple decorative purposes.

Simple reparations are a small warband's smallest problem.


1) Start by looking at the provision-things made by Playmo and Lego: Simple sacks and bags are easy to make in green stuff or in polymer clay.

2) Either buy from a miniature company some crates and loot and chests.

3) Stuff it on pack horses.

4) Stuff it on wagons if you can afford it - even warbands would use these.

Now you have sufficient stuff to simulate a basic baggage train or just some random loot. When dealing with the logistics of a warband, it seems you have to be a bit boring and keep it simple. As the picture above says: No need to carry pemmican or grain-thingies for the horses, no need to have a blacksmith to fix wagons and horse-shoes, and then no need for the blacksmith to have a bunch of stuff with him.
    Which has always been the good thing with raiding parties: You cherry pick stuff from the enemy's lands without the extra trouble of having to really occupy his lands.

But this should not stop you from doing awesome baggage trains, there are numerous reasons why a smallish warband would have that.
     My question to you, however, is: Did warbands bring along civilians and hang-arounds at all? As an example, historically they say that if an army consisted of 5000 fighting men, it was very likely that roughly 5000 women, children, "entertainers", non-fighting staff and looters would accompany the army, wherever it...

Entertainers often followed Swedish armies to 
the joy of all the Svens and Anderses.

... went. A warband I figure operate differently, I mean, a band of 20 men? Just out for an ambush or raid? Would they have any religious leaders, women or retinue with them?

A way to deal with this lack of interesting hobby-options in scenarios where you want to crowbar-in a baggage train is to say that it is either a skeleton crew escorting some loot back or something similar. Or that is plainly an escort for whatever.


I must go, late for something, but I shall end with the king or queen of logistics: The boat. And that comes from someone who has worked most of his professional life with logistics.
    Bye and until later!

Tuesday 18 October 2016

Baggage Train in Action

Hej!

So as promised earlier this week, here is some staged pics of the baggage train in "action" (means under assault).


Lord of the Rings

Here we have a coalition of Gondorians and Northmen of Rhovanion ambushing some Wainriders that have encroaching upon the Northmen's land.



While back in the East Bite of Mirkwood, a small Northmen carvan is about to be surprised by a roving band of Hithaeglir Orcs.





Historical(-ish)

A Gothic warband streams in the province of Pontus intent on loot and plunder!




And the Pontic forces hurry to intercept them.



That's all from me for now, apologies for the lack of text, but I hope you can enjoy the pictures.

Regards,
Joshua

Monday 17 October 2016

Baggage Train

Hej!

So I meant to post this last week or the week before but I just didn't have the time so here it is.

For as long as I've participated in the hobby, I have always loved the idea of "the Baggage Train". It probably stems from when I was around seven or eight when I (through many nefarious connections) was able to come every Thursday evening to a gaming club and "participate". This pretty much meant I could roll the dice and the guys would invent more and more terrible ways to execute me if I rolled a one (the one that comes to mind is being slow roasted on a spit over a fire). I loved it! But anyway, on to the story. So in those days we played a lot of 6mm and I remember that once in my sides deployment zone there where a few modular tents. I would ask what they were for and the guys told me that was where the damsels would "comfort" the wounded soldiers. I didn't really understand, but the idea of a baggage train stuck. So here is the beginning of a baggage train and some civilians that will hopefully expand as my collection grows.



First we have an old man and some pigs. The old man is a Dacian druid model but I mostly just use him as an old man.


Then we have the farmer, horse and cart. The farmer is a GB dark ages warrior conversion. The horse is from gods knows where and the cart is a home brew of pure Llamaresque! You can see the unpainted version here:




Tis a beautiful and well made cart... methinks he should make another and then make a mold!


Here are just some hangers on. You know, local village idots with brass chickens on sticks and such. These were actually part of a dark ages command group that I was working on but they have been demoted to "hangers on". The models are probably Foundry or Black Tree Design, whatever they are called now...


And here are some lovely ladies to "comfort" wounded soldiers. These can represent slaves captured by the goths or part of the Pontic forces as wives or other, less savory characters. I doubt I will use these in any fantasy setting but they should be fine for historical stuff.



I am planning to put together another small update that should be coming out later this week, showing the baggage train in what can be called "action".

Regards,
Joshua

Thursday 13 October 2016

Llama checking in!

Hello one and all! So, I have been invited to join the adventures here on Magus Miniatures. I have been pondering exactly what angle to come from here on the other blog, and J. gave me the advice to just "say hi". Which is good advice. It is "good advice" because it was actually easy to do. Remember: Only dead fish swim with the current. Hr-hrm...

"You know, Bob Dylan got the Nobel prize in literature... "

Sadly, besides saying hi, I can't think of anything else than Bob The Hack-fraud Dylan getting the Nobel Prize in Literature. Remind me, if I am ever awarded the same prize for "outstanding rants and crappily written blogposts" that I need to decline their offer. Even the money, all those sweet SEK... considering the current state of Sweden they will on second thought more likely be dinares or EUR, but hey-ho.

Parts of the Nobel comittée: Hurr-durr Bob Dylan!

I am entirely sure Joshua will be dissatisfied with this update, but that's just how things go. However, to get things back on track: Except for the historical stuff, there might be some LotR-y things being posted here, even some sort of alternative stuff... you'll just have to check in ever so often to get some more info on that. I shall end with this hint-picture:






Cheers, and here's to hoping for a brand new hobby world!