A wet holiday week away from home led to an improvised gameboard in a tray, some found ‘logs’ and stones, a few dice and a handful of vintage OO/HO Airfix packed away in a tiny fishing tackle box or my “just in case” ….
My “Just In Case” survival box of vintage Airfix, ready for a solo game on wet holidays.
A raid on family holiday art materials turned up watercolour paints, A3 watercolour sketch book paper and other scraps (cereal box cardboard, glue, coffee stirrers) to make an improvised hex game board.
The scenario was based around Brutish Redcoats versus Generican settlers …
This was a good chance over several evenings of “pick up and put away”, the joy of a portable game board.
It was a good chance to try out a hexed up version of Donald Featherstone’s two page “Close Wars” rules as an appendix to his 1962 book War Games.
Flimsy cardboard game tiles warped a bit when painted with watercolour … different card needed next time. I was very happy with my coffee stirrer bridge , the key point through impassable swamp and rocky terrain.
It had a good miniature Little Wars / Battle of Hooks Farm feel to it, using the lovely Airfix Guards.
I haven’t written up the game report and probably never will now understand my end of turn notes (written to help me pick up the game the next evening).
Mostly I wanted to clear away this unposted draft of 2016, ready for a new blogging year in 2017.
Happy gaming in 2017!
Posted on the final afternoon of 2016 by Mark, Man of TIN blog.
Hello I'm Mark Mr MIN, Man of TIN. Based in S.W. Britain, I'm a lifelong collector of "tiny men" and old toy soldiers, whether tin, lead or childhood vintage 1960s and 1970s plastic figures.
I randomly collect all scales and periods and "imagi-nations" as well as lead civilians, farm and zoo animals. I enjoy the paint possibilities of cheap poundstore plastic figures as much as the patina of vintage metal figures.
Befuddled by the maths of complex boardgames and wargames, I prefer the small scale skirmish simplicity of very early Donald Featherstone rules.
To relax, I usually play solo games, often using hex boards. Gaming takes second place to making or convert my own gaming figures from polymer clay (Fimo), home-cast metal figures of many scales or plastic paint conversions. I also collect and game with vintage Peter Laing 15mm metal figures, wishing like many others that I had bought more in the 1980s ...
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8 thoughts on “Close Little Wars away game”
Great post to end 2016 and I look forrward to lots more.
Alan
Doug
Happy New Year – hexes are so difficult to get right, I ‘cheated’ slightly by taking one Heroscape hex tile with me and drawing round this to get the pattern started and established. Then stencil onto card etc. Worked well in a rough manner … glad you enjoyed it.
Mark, Man of TIN blog
Another lovely post. Thanks very much for blogging. This year has been enriched by your posts and your toys. Many thanks and a happy new year to you and yours.
Man of Tin blog 
Great post to end 2016 and I look forrward to lots more.
Alan
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Alan
Wishing you and yours and all Tradgardland a very happy New Year.
Mark, Man of TIN blog
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Happy New Year!
Great post!
I like your hexes.
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Doug
Happy New Year – hexes are so difficult to get right, I ‘cheated’ slightly by taking one Heroscape hex tile with me and drawing round this to get the pattern started and established. Then stencil onto card etc. Worked well in a rough manner … glad you enjoyed it.
Mark, Man of TIN blog
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Another lovely post. Thanks very much for blogging. This year has been enriched by your posts and your toys. Many thanks and a happy new year to you and yours.
Sent from Samsung Mobile on O2
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Chris
A happy new year to you and yours …
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A lovely post. This year had been enriched by the men of tin. Many thanks. Happy new year to you and yours.
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… And thanks for following throughout the year.
Many thanks
Mark, Man of TIN blog
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