TSATF North-West Frontier battle report: THE BRIDGE

[Mad Guru]

Greetings!

It's been far too long since the last time I hosted a game on my table.  Recently I was able to remedy that situation, playing scenario #12 from TSATF SCENARIO PORTFOLIO 2000: "The Bridge"

Anglo-Indian forces must secure a bridge in preparation for launching a major punitive operation into Tribal lands.  It features random deployment of every unit on both sides, which is very different from how I usually roll with painstakingly researched historical re-fights, but I had a great time playing  this game with my son and a new gamer friend.  I was the sole British commander, and suffice to say if it had been a historical event the government back home might well have fallen soon after!

If interested in more written and visual details, please click on this link to visit the post I just put up on my blog:

https://maiwandday.blogspot.com/2019/07/tsatf-on-nwf-battle-of-bridge.html

Meanwhile, here are a few teaser pics:

[FifteensAway]

Ah, but a modest effort of no great note.  Well, from your spectacular background I think that is fair. 

Must feel good to get back to hosting a game.  Is that game piece really curved or is it a fish-eye lens effect?

[Mad Guru]

Haha -- thanks, FifteensAway!  Yes, definitely felt great to host and play a game!  The table is as straight as an arrow.  The curve, as you surmise, comes from using the PANO option on my iPhone camera.

[Plynkes]

Fantastic! Always good to see something new from the guru. 

[marianas_gamer]

Really enjoyed the write up and pics! The one officer did his old school proud. I can just hear the story being told up in the dorms ala Stalky and Co. 

[Harry Faversham]

Great stuff, that's just how the Echos of Empire should sound! I've had a unit of Foundry Gurkhas for many moons now, I can't put my finger on why (uncharacteristically poor sculpts?) but I've never took to them?
After seeing your piccys I've re-painted their hats Rifle Green...
now I love 'em!

[OSHIROmodels]

Splendid 

[Keith]

Inspiring stuff - great to see something from you again.

[Malamute]

Always good to see the thin red line form a square in the face of a rampaging mob of angry tribesmen.

[FifteensAway]

Took time for a longer look.  Love that you colored the river green (glacial green?), looks so much more realistic than blue.  And do I spot a few goats capering about beneath a hill (can't quite make out what is on top of same hill to the left in the same photo)?  And speaking of those hills, very nice with a playable surface without staying dead flat - excellent.

[Mad Guru]

Many thanks for the continued positivity, my friends!

Marianas: It's a huge compliment to hear my blog brought to mind Stalky & Co!

Harry Faversham: Happy and proud that seeing those pics helped nudge you towards revitalizing your own old Wargames Foundry Gurkhas!  I hear you loud and clear re: their underwhelming appearance, and I admit, I've been waiting with bated breath for either the Perrys or Artizan to release some new and improved c.1880 Gurkhas for the past few years.  But until then, the Foundry versions will suffice -- especially if their pillbox hats are Rifle Green!

FifteensAway: You are correct sir, those are indeed goats on that one hillside!  And the figure you had trouble discerning atop that same hill is a Vulture -- also made by Foundry.

I'm glad you like the color of my river!  I only wish it was "glacial green" -- or any other single shade from a single bottle!  That would make adding to it much easier!

I mixed a few different acrylic inks to get that color.  I wanted the final effect to have a hint more of a "mud brown" feel, but I was still happy with them.  I have 2 other 2'x2' boards I built and colored at the same time, which match well.  More recently I have prepped 3 more 2'x2' boards -- 2 straight sections and a second 90-degree turn.  But the challenge of mixing the shade of green close enough to closely match has led me to delay.  Hopefully at some point I will get my "river mojo" back and give it a shot.  Actually there is a ton of work I have to do before I even get to tinting and pouring the resin.  The depth of the river requires multiple resin pours.  Hopefully I can get the color to match before the last pour for the surface level.  Actually I need to get moving on this, since part of my original motivation for expanding my river terrain was to have a continuous straight river long enough to line the rear of Ayub Khan's Afghan army at the September 1st 1880 Battle of Kandahar, in time for the 140th anniversary, just over a year from now.  For my "Big Battle" table that means 12' long.  Right now I have 6' + 2' = 8' of straight river boards, so I need to finish those other two 2'x2' river boards in order to set up the Argandab River all along the rear of the Afghan position.  A more reasonable approach would be to simply refer to the Afghan table edge itself as the river's edge... but no one has ever accused me of being reasonable when it comes to tabletop terrain.

[gringo]

Mad Guru

really superb
you sure know how to put on a game
welcome back

best regards
Ged
www.gringo40s.com
www.gringo40s.blogspot.com

[FifteensAway]

With the river conundrum, might I suggest (if a bit of a 'bravery' test) that you try and match the 'old' rivers to the new with that top coating?  Make the new as close as you can to the old and then add the final layer to both.  Likely to work better I suspect.  Also, the whole river doesn't have to match because rivers do change a bit as they flow onwards.  Muddy brown with a tint of green works, too.

[Arundel]

A breathtaking table, Guru! One can almost smell the powder in the air...

[JBaumal]

Great AAR brother, wish I was there with you and Sky. Please send my regards. I'm really glad you got to get in a game with him and host as well. Your terrain and figs are always inspirational my friend! I think I will try those horde bases based on your recommendations.
Cheers, Sgt G