First taste of Bolt Action

First Bolt Action Action

Scott Bowman comes around for a demo game of Bolt Action. Have been watching from the side-lines with some interest, but resisting the urge. World war 2 gaming has always been my thing. I do enjoy FoW; but find the rules excessively fiddly, and they tend to get into the way of the flow of play. In my opinion anyway.

Having recently had a flood in my mancave following a burst water heating cylinder upstairs, it was a delight to get some gaming action in at long last. Started out with a number of games of fantasy Ninth Age with Macrae Louden, and then Scott came around with some late war Normandy action.

Bolt action can be played with a relatively small outlay by the looks of things, and not requiring a huge amount of space like massed army games do, as it appears to be a squad or company sized game, with some armour support.

Anyhow a simple game of king of the hill or find and retrieve ensued.

I enjoyed the randomness of the turns, drawing from a pool of activation dice rather than the usual You-go-I-go. Totally hooked. What can I say? Just take my money!
 This game really offers a lot of what I enjoy in wargaming.

Quick, fast-paced, fun, egalitarian, not too many fiddly rules, WYSWYG. Great for a few hours of gaming fun. Serious or not so serious.

Being a greenhorn at this I am not going to do a batrep, just share a few snaps of Scott's beautifully painted models

 

Puma brews up

So off we go, and back we come with the starter set under the arm. Enough for a small skirmish.

Abbreviated rules for quick reference

Easy to assemble models, in a variety of poses and choice of weapons

Now available from Paraparaumu Beach Pharmacy 

the ONLY hobby outlet on the Kapiti Coast

(I went back for the Panzer IV F/G/H model yesterday)

Scott can also source many other figures and stock an extensive range of modelling tools and paint for us enthusiasts. He was able to get me these British Colonial troops (Perry Miniatures) for the Sudan and Afghan campaigns of the late 18th century.

 If you don't look too close, and paint them with red jackets they will probably do for the Boer and Zulu wars, and Indian campaigns too. 

Likewise the Mahdist Ansar, who will double as Muslim warriors for my Saga Crusades

In case you were wondering what the unusual looking squat figures were, they are fantasy brock-riders. Dwarfs who ride badgers, from the Mantic range.

Working for the Man: In the Weta Workshop with Sir Peter Jackson and the Perry Brothers

Working for the Man. Working with the Man.

 On dioramas and purpose of life.

Wellington Artists: Modellers, painters, wargamers in the Weta Workshop. 

Oh yes, and Sir Peter Jackson, and the Perry brothers. 

(Photo credits: First 3 photos :Roly Hermans. Official project blog: Mustering the Troops. The rest are from my camera. Very strict on what photos may be taken. Roly as official photographer/blogger and a brief photo session)

On dioramas and life:

I am 5 years old.

I am standing in front of a diorama in the tower of Fort Namutoni, in the Etosha Park, in what is now Namibia. I ask my father to lift me up, so that I can see the scene better. I am content: 

A  6 foot x 6 foot square diorama: Hundreds of Ovambo warriors assailing the German defenders of the Fort. 

I stand transfixed. I can't stop looking.  My father becomes tired and puts me down. I return several times during our stay, to marvel at the figures, the miniature landscape and the miniature replica of the building that I was standing in.

I am 10 years old. I see a diorama of Rome in a book. My friend Jan and I decide that we would build Rome. We start, but lack any idea of how to go about it. We buy figures and start making walls. The grandiosity of the project overcomes us.

I am 15 years old. I build a diorama in our garage with my friend Barry: A 12 x 12 foot diorama for wargaming. Another depicting a WW2 Airfield during the Blitz. The size is impractical. But it serves its purpose. We game. I am content.

I am 25 years old. I stand in Fort Namutoni with Jeanine, the love of my life. I brought her to Namibia to meet my parents. The African sun is setting, a truly beautiful sight.  I look at the diorama again. A little dusty now, but still there.  I am content.

I am 35 years old. I now stand in New Zealand, with my young family in tow. Somehow a trunk with miniatures make it across the waves. " Daddy, can I play with them? " 

"When you're a bit older, Luc" 

He revisits the trunk over the years, I think as transfixed as I was with the diorama at Namutoni, until the day that we take them out and start to play. I am content.

I am 40 years old. My son and I start building, painting and wargaming together. My wife tolerates and encourages it. I am content.

I am 45 years old. My son and I play in the New Zealand Warhammer Team Championships together. I am content.

I am 50 years old. 

I stand on top of what may be one of the largest dioramas in the world, in the Weta Workshop with my son, Luc. 

We are working on the WW100 Project, depicting the battle of Chunuk Bair during the Gallipoli campaign of WW1. Beside me are my son, my friends and fellow artists and gamers, a retired Chief of the NZ Defence force, the Perry brothers, (makers of some of the best military miniatures in the world), and Sir Peter Jackson. I am not content. 

I AM OVER THE MOON !

Sir Peter and the Perrys discussing some of the finer detail of the diorama over a few thousand Turks

Selfie with you-know-who

Sam, Fern and Morty being photo-bombed by the same guy.

Horsing around with the Perry brothers

Chunuk Bair: My Turks go over the Top and the ANZACs arrive

WW100: My Turks go off to war, and the first ANZAC troops line up on my workbench

Sam rings me today: "Are you ready for some more Gallipoli models? 

A few guys have pulled out, and we have a deadline looming"

 "How many have you done ?"

" Ten."

"How many more can you do ?"

" Another Ten."

 Silence,

 "...or twenty."

More silence

" Maybe thirty... "

Bewildered Turks fleeing a spectre of an ANZAC soldier

"I'll bring them to you tonight..."

 So a few quick snaps before these Turks that have been languishing on my workbench go off to Gallipoli and the tender ministrations of Mustapha Khamal.

"How many has Scott done?"

"Fifty ! "

"Fifty ? "

Gotta get me one of those drinking rigs...

Ok, some ANZACs this time. 

Sam realises I am pushed for time, with a friends wedding and stag do to organise (best man at my ripe old age) , family birthdays and on call commitments. 

So: Wounded and kneeling ANZACs, and sundry lost or discarded equipment now on my workbench. 

Quick flash removal job. Yay! Slice my finger with a scalpel blade. 

...That's when you get for being lazy. Get out the dremel. 

... Buzzz...flash begone!

Mix Araldite (Yeugh!) 

Heads on, leave overnight to cure.

Arrange in sorry looking pile of wounded and kneeling soldiers.

Paint case happens to have bright red splatters of ink from a previous job on it, 

Or was it my blood? 

Or was it theirs?

Lead soldiers tumbling off balsa blocks...

I think back to this afternoon:  

Saw an 88 year old lady in my surgery. Have known her for 15 years. Used to be a keen painter, but she no longer has the energy. Buys the paint and the canvas, but just can't get started. 

We always end up talking art or painting. Told her about the WW100 project, showed her a few bits from blogs on my desktop PC. 

She gets all choked up. "Such waste, such waste. Thousands of them... Such waste..."

So raw is the wounds of Gallipoli still in the psyche of New Zealanders. 

This event has defined our lives, her life, 

Such waste. Such waste.