Welcome to my blog. Here you will find an irregular record of my haphazard progress through an eclectic mix of projects, games and other assorted wargames-related nonsense.


You came here looking for toast and tea? Pop in a couple of slices and put a brew on. This blog is best enjoyed with hot buttered toast and a mug of strong, hot tea*.


*Warning - may contain puns.


Monday, 16 July 2018

White Metal - Red Lead

Welcome to Mother Russia. In this episode, tea will be served from a samovar and caviar will replace butter on our toast...

Stop! Enough of this bourgeoise nonsense comrade! Tea? Caviar? Don't you know there's a civil war on?


My inspiration for a new gaming period can come from many sources. Sometimes its a film, a book, or a new range of figures. In the case of the Russian Civil War it was a set of rules; Red Actions! by The Perfect Captain. That was in 2006. At the time, I knew very little about the RCW, but soon found it has plenty to recommend itself to the wargamer. This is a conflict with WWI era weapons but with none of the trench-bound immobility of the Western Front. Here are troops of frankly dubious quality and even more dubious ideology engaged in sweeping actions from snow-bound Siberia to the Steppes of Central Asia. Here are units of every stripe from Reds and Whites, Nationalists, Makhnovist anarchists, Cossacks, Partisans, Interventionists and Czech legionaries; uniforms from the drab to the colourful; flags and slogans; armoured cars, biplanes, river gunboats, tanks and armoured trains. What's not to like!

When I started collecting miniatures suitable for the RCW the choice in 28mm was fairly limited, Copplestone Castings Back of Beyond range being the obvious choice. I amassed a nice little pile of lead that I have added to occasionally over the years. 


I hesitate to call this lead pile a project, since that would imply a degree of planning and forethought. I'm a bit more organised nowadays,  but back then my collection grew in quite a haphazard way. Some of it even got painted, but never sufficient to complete a single unit. That's something I aim to rectify now. 




My first step is to review and rationalise my collection of miniatures - and to get sufficient miniatures painted to fill the gaps in my part-completed units. That should give me some incentive to move things along. The longer-term aim is to complete sufficient figures to field around four infantry units, MG support, a unit of cavalry and a unit of artillery per side; around 150 figures. 

Okay, comrades. Forward!

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