Making 6mm Flags: Size is not an issue

Several people have asked for a video on how I have made the flags for my 6mm Wars of the Roses project, so here is a step-by-step tutorial on how I make flags for 6mm miniatures.  Making flags for 6mm miniatures is no different from making much larger ones. A bit more fiddly to be sure, but the process is essentially the same. 

As always I would love to hear from you. Do you make flags the same way? Or do you have any tips and suggestions that other viewers would find helpful? 

Printed Sources Wars of the Roses Flags (mentioned in this video):

'Wars of the Roses Heraldry' 

by Dr Mike Ryan Jones & Bob Prichard BSc (Hons), BA (Hons) 

Instaprint (Rugeley) Nov 2018

ISBN 978-1-911645-01-6

Battle of Bosworth Nobles and Knights Profiles

by Bob Prichard BSc (Hons), BA (Hons) 

Instaprint (Rugeley) Nov 2018

ISBN 978-1-911645-00-9

Standards, Badges & Livery Colours of the Wars of the Roses

By Pat McGill & Jonathan Jones 

Freezywater Publications 1992

The Lance & Longbow Society http://lanceandlongbow.com/

Heraldic Banners of the Wars of the Roses (in 3 Volumes)

By Thomas Coveney

Freezywater Publications 1996-7 

The Lance & Longbow Society http://lanceandlongbow.com/

In defence of BIG Battles

I play plenty of Skirmish games with my friends, but as a group, we also enjoy big battle games. Look in any wargames magazine and you could be forgiven for thinking that every new set of rules is for skirmish wargaming. Certainly, there are plenty of excellent skirmish rules out there but I think it would be a sad day indeed if BIG battles were to fall from our repertoire.

Double Dial Counters from Foxtrot Charlie Miniatures

Today's post is a quickie, to show off a recent purchase from Foxtrot Charlie Models. I have been looking for a way to keep track of Battle Moral in my Wars of the Roses games using Test of Resolve. I recently did a review video of these rules and in it, I explained that each company has a number of resolve points that are lost during the melee or firing phases of the game. Armies are typically divided into three Battles (sometimes more) and each Battle has a morale value based on the number and type of units within it. As Resolve is lost from its constituent companies so Moral Points are removed from the Battle. When the Battle reaches zero morale points it has to test to see if it continues fighting or withdraws. 

My order of battle stretches the size of the Battles way beyond the rules authors' design parameters, meaning my Battles will start the game with quite large Moral Values. I couldn't figure out the most elegant way of keeping track of Morale...until now. 

These MDF Double Dial Counters from Foxtrot Charlie Models are exactly what I needed. There are  8 dials in a pack for just £10.75 so they were also a very economical solution to my requirements. The Dials come unassembled but were really easy to put together and can then be decorated as required. I decided to replicate the groundwork of my bases so they match my Wars of the Roses armies and blend in with the game mat I am using. 

That's one more task off my to-do list and at a very reasonable price too. 👍👍👍

Partizan Video Report

Yesterday three members of Posties Rejects traveled up the A1 to Newark and the Partizan show. As usual, I shot a load of pictures but this time I also took a bit of video and decided to combine them into a visual show report. 

Test of Resolve: First Impressions

I recently decided I would have a proper playthrough with the Test of Resolve rules using some of my Wars of the Roses miniatures from Baccus. I only used about a third of my collection to keep the game small and manageable so I could focus on the rules. The main purpose of this test was to identify any areas that I needed to work on and in that regard, this was very successful (more on that in the video). I kept both sides roughly equal but their composition was different with a little variation in terms of quality and troop types. The aim was to see 'regular' combat between similar units but also see how asymmetric melee worked out. In this regard, I think it worked really well because there was a range of different fights taking place, each with different circumstances and factors to take into account. The result was a very interesting and hard-fought little battle.

Test of Resolve is a ruleset specifically designed for the Wars of the Roses and is well supported with scenario books and free downloads on their webpage. They also have a Test of Resolve Facebook Group that is worth a look around. I bought these rules last year, but I have been so busy painting my 6mm armies for the Battle of Bosworth that this is the first chance I have had to playtest the rules. 

Battle of Sodbury Hill 1471 - A War of the Roses 'What-If' game

Over the weekend the Rejects assembled in the Shed-o-War for an excellent and very exciting Wars of the Roses game using Stuart's 28mm collection of figures. Ray and Steve were the Yorkst commanders and faced off against Richard, myself, and Surjit as the Lancastrian commanders. This time, rather than posting lots of pictures I thought I would try making a short video of the game. It's not by any means a full report of the action, but will hopefully convey the excitement of the action. 

The Order of Battle

Lancastrians (Richard, Surjit & Lee)

C/O Duke of Somerset 

   Men-At-Arms, Retinue Bill, Retinue Archers x2, Shire Bill & Light Gun

2iC Prince Edward 

   Men-at-Arms, Retinue Bill, Retinue Archers, Irish Bonnachts, Shire Archers & French Crossbowmen

3iC Earl of Devon 

   Men-At-Arms, Retinue Bill, Retinue Archers, Shire Bill, Shire Archers & Light Organ Gun

Yorkists (Steve & Ray)

C/O King Edward IV 

   Men-at-Arms, Retinue Bill, Retinue Archers x2, Shire Billmen, Light Gun

2ic Duke of Gloucester 

   Men-at-Arms, Retinue Bill, Retinue Archers, Shire Bill, Shire Archers & German Handgunners

3ic Lord Hastings

   Men-at-Arms, Retinue Bill, Retinue Archers, German Pikemen, Shire Archers & Light Gun