DBA 3.0...Very Nice! MrF's Impressions....

I've had a read through the book & I'm very happy with it.  First of all it's a proper hardback book, with nice & glossy pages.  I can imagine that it will be a 'constant companion' & 'Tome of Knowledge' much like The Dungeon Masters Guide was from AD&D 1st Edition (the only true version of AD&D), during the 80's, the one with the Efreeti on the cover......  If you know what I'm talking about, then your an old fart, if not.....

Any way, a big well done to the authors & people behind DBA 3.0.  Some new troop types, new modifiers, new terrain, extra army lists, new diagrams for those 'thorny' moments. I know there has been some 'discussions' over DBA 3.0 & that some people have broke away from the main stream with DBA 2.2+

I shall now however call for a 'Crusade', though it will only be my good self & some of the hounds that take part in Fazzy Mansions.  Having looked at some of the lists, then compared them to our existing DBA 2.2 Armies, it is apparent that were going to need some extra elements.  For example, the 100 Years English in DBA. 3.0 now has 4 entries compared to the DBA 2.2 version with just 1 entry.   For the latter I reckon 18 elements would cover all options, now in DBA 3.0 it will take a whopping 32 Elements.  It looks like a lot of the listings have been expanded in this way.   Another nice touch is that a little bit of information is given about 'what' troops the element now represents, '3 Irish Spear' or '3 Welsh Pike' for example.  I can imagine a lot of people are now going to become screaming fanatics, complaining about this fact & having to add to their existing armies.  Last night I had a look at our existing 2.2 armies, we have about 50 of them, gathering dust in A4 File boxes located in the 'War Bunker'.  There will be a lot of work involved in 'upgrading' them to DBA 3.0, however I will enjoy this process.  Another thing that struck me, was that my painting style has GREATLY improved over 6 years.  Some of our older armies look very poor to what is being created at the moment.  Some figures boasting dark shade MinWax coats look awful, It looks like the varnish hasn't aged very well.  Any way enough, I will look forward to the creation of DBA 3.0 Armies.  All I need now is to have a game, good news on this front, I've met up with a couple of mates from the 80's & they have expressed an interest in having a game.....stay tuned.

Oh just remembered, there are some crackers as well, Marian Romans now can have an Elephant!

The good 'Old Days'........ before careers, taxes, insurance, jobs, young kids, partners, mobile phones, reality tv, grown up kids, fitness tests, injuries, young trendy people, austerity, Sky Tv, have I missed anything?  

  

DBA 3.0 It's Coming.......OOOOhhhhh it's arrived.....

DBA 3.0 ordered from Amazon UK... Should be here soon...

UPDATE = October 23rd, it's arrived.  First impressions, very nice, large format, easy to read, lots of diagrams.  The Army lists, there are a few changes to existing armies we have created, the odd extra element here & there.  Plus there is a lot more information for the armies in the lists.

DBA IV/57 Low Countries 1297-1478AD

Here is our all bases covered Low Countries 'Extreme' Pike Army.  An absolute joy to build & paint up. Again the vast majority of figures came from various sources, different manufacturers.  The flags came from the versatile Warflag, lots of choice for the Guildsman.

1x3Kn or 4Pk - General,

1x3Kn  - Knights,

9x4Pk  - Guild Pikes,

1x4Xb  - Guild Crossbow,

1x5Wb  - White Hoods of Ghent,

2x4Bd  - Blades,

1xArt  - Artillery

1x2Ps – Flemish handgunners

DBA 2.2 Medieval French IV/64

Here's our Medieval French army, with all options covering the four lists in the DBA 2.2 rule book.
What a monster indeed.  I took a liberty with some of the units, the Scottish Pike & the mighty hordes, but in the end I think it came out well.  The General element was based on Joan of Arc complete with her banners.  The majority of the flags came from the Fantastic WarFLAG website.

TYW French Inspiration

A few piccies showing uniforms for the French Thirty Years War Army.  These were sent to me a while ago by fellow DBA'er Terry Webb from the USA.  I love the Cardinal Richelieu picture.

DBR TYW French Army

A 200 Point Army with a touch of flair regarding the dastardly Cardinal Richelieu.  Like I mentioned in the previous Post. two armies have been built one I'll keep one & sell the other.  The vast bulk of the army were poorly painted job lots picked up off EBay or from Bring n Buys at game shows.  A new lick of paint, varnish, based, a pinch of MrF 'pixiedust' & then ready to go.

Cardinal Richelieu himself was some ECW 'dandy' in 3/4 army & a big floppy hat.  A run out with the Dremel Power tool & he now has a cap.  A slick of paint, some 'green stuff' putty for a cloak, a he's a close run for Tim Curry or Charlton Heston take your pick.....

The Army took form based on a 1640 time frame, some 'stretches of the imagination' & there were a few changes according to the DBR lists.  Mainly the introduction of 'Fast' Pistols (3 figure)  for 'Superior' Pistols (4 figure Gendarmes).  I had 8 mounted French Musketeers sitting around, these I based as 4 figure 'Superior' Pistols.  In the FANTASTIC  Renaissance Armies by George Gush, it mentions that the 'Grey Musketeers' were mounted based Pistols, these are painted in the uniform to represent them.  (If you get a chance, buy a copy of the book).

The other liberty was using the Richelieu Coat of Arms in a Banner, looks alright.

1x4Pistols(S) Cardinal Richelieu,

1x4Pistols(S) Grey Musketeers,

3x3Pistols(F) Cavalry,

2x2Light Horse(I) Carabins,

1x3Dragoons (O) French Dragoons,

6x4Sh(F)+3x4Pk(F) – French Regiments,

2x3Sh(O)+1x4Pk(O) – Cardinals Guard

2xArt(S) - Artillery

1 Camp

 

Painting Log 4th October 2014

On the paint table at the moment are a large amount of TYW/ECW figures.  A lot of Artillery from the Freikorps 15mm range by QRF Models http://www.quickreactionforce.co.uk/ & various bits n bobs.  Over the past few months I've completed a Scots Covenanter Army & a French TYW Army, the French Army has a Cardinal Richelieu theme.  Using the DBR Army lists both of them weighed in at about 400 points.  I split them in half & they were then sold on EBAY.

In order to raise cash for new projects & other things (..my fantastic Carbon  Road Bike from Ribble Cycles...ooooo), I've started building & selling armies on EBAY.  It's my 2nd time around on EBAY, I sold a few about 4 years ago & to be fair, didn't get the money I was looking for.  I've now got a better idea on what I'm doing & have over the last few months sold about 20+ Armies.  HOWEVER I can't believe the FEES that EBAY & PAYPAL now charge, shocking really.  There doesn't appear to be any 'rival' sites on the net for selling Wargames stuff, if anyone has any ideas, please leave a comment.

My painting style has improved over the past 8 years (Yes it's been EIGHT years since we started gaming.... wow I feel old) & the newly painted armies are 'in the main' better than what we have. Hence the double size armies that are now built & painted.  At the end of the day painting is a nice stress buster.

I bought some nice figures from Donnington http://www.donnington-mins.co.uk/, especially from their older range.  Some little gems include camp fixtures, 'Crucified' & 'Impaled' victims, plus some nice extras for Artillery pieces.  Though I have discovered the 'cannonballs' can be created from that metal chain made from circular balls, usually found on the chain in sinks.  Guess what's happened to the kitchen/bathroom chains in the MrF household...... sad oh so sad.

I now add those snazzy Static grass tufts to the figure bases.  These were purchased from the great Warpainter on Ebay.  He also sells the 'FlockBox', it's a device that helps to make yours owns tufts (check out the web site for the science bit http://www.warpainter.net/Flockboxpages/Flockbox.html)

One now resides in the humble abode, anyway my first attempts were ok, improvements needed MrF...lol