French and Indian War in 28mm

So January was a busy month preparing for the A Most Despicable Place event, run by Dave Hunter (of Sharp Practice Open Event fame), and hosted at Bristol Independent Gaming.

I knuckled down and completed painting the figures you see in the gallery below.  I’m reasonably pleased with the result, I always come away thinking I could do better or different…I guess I need to apply these lessons to the next in the painting queue!

I’m not going to write a lot as I’ve already attempted to make this post (unsuccessfully) once, and you’d rather see the photos (N.B. I may attempt to add a gallery at a time to this plog).  Special mention to Dave Hunter for masterminding the event, Lance from Galloping Major who attended with his lovely figures (most of my figures are from GM, and it was really interesting learning more about the production of them, and future lines), the Lardies themselves who popped in on the Sunday (listen to the latest Oddcast), Jim and Ellen for running BIG, and all the gamers at the event.  The array of figures and scenery was truly impressive, and I was particularly taken by Jenny’s stunning tables of terrain.

Below are a whole host of phots my brother Ju, mate Ben and I took over the course of the weekend.  The bulk of the early photos focus on the modest success my Provincial force had in completing its missions:

• Defend the settlement at Big Bottom with Jenny’s Rangers (one of her fantastic tables).
• Assault the Heights of Gideon with Dee’s 60th Foot.
• Cross a river within the wilderness, again with Jenny’s Rangers.
• Rescue the Colonel’s daughter from Huron village, with Ben’s 44th Foot.

These were all good game, and the diversity of terrain and tasks just emphasises what a fantastic period the French and Indian War is to play.  We were fighting over settlements and in the wilderness, as well as a small number of European style engagements.

The remaining photos are an assortment of other tables and battles fought over the two days.  These give you a flavour of the forces being fielded, the range of terrain, and an appreciation of some of the (generally better) paint jobs on display.

So whats next?

Well the date is in the diary for Dave’s next event, Where the Leaf Falls, back at BIG (see the Sharp Practice Open Event group for details).  I’m really looking forward to it, and hope to improve on the terrain I was able to loan.  The painting queue is as large as ever, with a host of different systems and periods all vying for attention, but I’m just starting on the next force for FIW, some Milice Canadienne from Galloping Major…