Like A Cur Returning To It's Own Vomit... Or, How I Rediscovered My Love Of Pike & Shot... Or, Oh My God, I Can't Stop Whistling That Theme Tune

 

 

It's been a while, but I finally think I'm coming out of a fog of indifference if not denial regarding pike & shot gaming.

It's old news about the causes of my decision to turn my back on the first period I ever really got my teeth into, so I'll not belabour you with a recap, but I really, really never thought I'd rediscover that love.

So, now I find myself like a dog returning to it's own vomit (a wise action in my opinion - always check what's come up or gone down) throwing myself ever more enthusiastically into the pike and shot era. But why? I hear you say...

Well, there we were schlepping and schmoozing around The Other Partizan the other week, I being focussed on looking at AWI stuff and the Memsahib collecting the usual tariff of cuddles from old friends.

But then, disaster struck...

Firstly, I ambled over to my fellow countryman and wargaming standard bearer, Ken Reilly, A.K.A 'The Yarkshire Gamer' who had his Great Italian Wars stuff out on display and getting an airing in all it's parti-coloured glory. I felt a stirring in my loins - not for Ken, although he is a handsome bastard and what I believe women of Barnsley would refer to as 'summat t' drop thi' chips fooer' - but the heady combination of men with wood and the whiff of gunpowder. Dammit, stop sniggering, you know exactly what I mean.

After a chat with Ken we moved along and then the second shot whistled betwixt my luxurious silvering locks, when I beheld the magnificence that was the League Of Extraordinary Kreigspielers 'Lutzen' game.

Oh dear... All bets were off and I went into that state of mind which I know so well, that state which I know will lead to me guying books and planning something with surgical proficiency and accuracy.

I had spent literally days, trying to plan Jacobite and AWI projects, but they just weren't hooking me in the same way that 17th century topics always have.

So, I mulled things for a week, and then yesterday, in the two hours between waking and dragging myself to my desk, I put together an order for 1898 Miniatureas and Empress Miniatures for forces for the Thirty Years War, which I had basically ignored for 46 years in favour of the ECW - more fool me - but now which I find myself pulled towards after a few recent conversations with Roger and of course initiated by the trip to The Other Partizan.

Now, I like a ragged look to my armies - I don't mean drab - so uniforms are varied in cut, morions on all types of troops as with soft hats and in general, I take the approach of 'What would I do in this situation?' with regards to to the overall look of the thing. 

So, the 1898 Miniaturas range provides a nice 'middle ground' for units. Getting too anal about 'national dress' during something which took place over several years or indeed decades always seems pointless, so I am mixing stuff up to make my armies look suitably battle weary.

In the end, following the maxim of 'Go big or Gi'o'er' I have gone for two forces representative of the tercio and battalion systems.

7 x 60 model tercios 

7 x 12 model cuirassier units

4 x 12 model cavalry units

1 x 24 model commanded shot

1 x 8 model dragoon unit

4 x heavy guns

 

And :

 

15 x 28 figure battalions

1 x 12 model cuirassier unit

9 x 12 model cavalry units 

1 x 8 model dragoon unit

1 x 24 model commanded shot

3 x battalion guns

3 Heavy guns

 

I think this is a pretty good start and I've secured the services of a respected and popular painter to get these done and will lock myself into a contract for this, later in the week.

Now, I'd planned to look at other periods to give variety, but let me be frank here, I'm 56 and I think the time has come to settle down a little, so I'll probably simply add in large formations for other nations involved in the 30YW, choosing as my friend Roger put it to, 'Go deeper rather than wider'. 

After all, if you enjoy the 'feel' of a period and have a varied collection, you shouldn't get bored. Besides, I do of course also have a stupidly large fantasy collection and will probably collect a few periods more suitable to small action rules, such as the French Indian War.

And so, my decision to shun my most beloved period has gone out of the window like a Hapsburg nobleman.

Now, all I have to do is stop whistliung that theme tune to 'The Flashing Blade'...