Risk Europe Game

         Since coming back from vacation, I have had little time for gaming. In fact,, I  just haven't been interested in gaming in the last few weeks. I also have been working overtime to make up some of money spent on vacation.

        For some reason Saturday I woke up and started thinking of RISK EUROPE. This newest version has 4 different Medieval armies. What's different from other Risk games in that instead of having the same figures in different colors, this game actually have four armies, each with different figures. I went out and bought a copy of the game.

        Of course I bought the game for the figures.  Each army comes with 25 infantrymen, 12 archers, 12 cavalry and 4 siege engines. There are enough figures in each army to make up 4 BATTLELORE armies consisting of 6 infantry units, with one spare figure, 3 archer units, and 4 cavalry units.

The Red Army, which looks like the are based on the Russian  army.  They are armed with catapults. The siege weapons are  used in the game to capture castles

The green army looks like they're French. Their siege engine is a ballista.

The blue army is based on Scandinavian warriors. The best siege weapon of all; the battering ram. The cavalry man has horns on their helmets and capes that look like furs.

My personal favorites; the purple army that looks like Ottoman Turks. Their siege weapon is a trebuchet.

The RISK figure compare to a Peter Laing figure on the left, and an Airfix figure on the right.

These figures would be perfect for someone who wants to get into Medieval wargaming cheaply.  These figures might be used in a future Hyborian campaign.

More Airfix ACW Infantry and New Books

     My wife and I are leaving for one final camping trip this week. Since returning from New York last week,  I have little to report on my gaming. Try as I may, I just haven't got a game in. I did manage to start repainting my Peter Laing WW2 British infantry.
   On Ebay I found a collection of 56  Airfix Confederates in the marching pose; my personal favorite. As a bonus, they were in an original box.  I also bought 9 books  from the series "The Uniforms of the British Yeomanry Force 1794-1914.  If only I had these books before painting so many of my Peter Laing cavalry!
    Finally, I broke down and ordered fromOn Military Matters a copy of Miniature Wargames with Battlegames #402. As I just bought #400, I figure it would be around December before I could buy 402 in the local bookstore. The reason for wanting this particular issue is the "1643 Memoir" rules,  based on Bob Cordery's Memoir of Battle rules, which are among my favorite rules. It will make coming home from camping a little less painful. And hopefully will kickstart my  Peter Laing ECW project.

This collection will give me 4 more regiments of "Little Wars" infantry.

Historic Eastfield Foundation & the Eastfield Militia

      My wife and I just got back from a three day weekend from camping in New York.  The purpose of the trip wast to visit Historic Eastfield Foundation, which was the brainchild of Don Carpentier. HEF is a collection of 30 building, which Mr. Carpentier relocated to 14 acres of land his parents gave him when he was still in his teens. Most of the building were to be demolished to make way for progress. He started building on the property when he was still in high school. His first structure was to house a growing collection of antiques. As his collection of building grew,  to help offset the cost of the building, classes in traditional skills were offered. Among the classes are tinsmithing, fireplace building, fireplace cooking, and other similar skills that would be of use from the period of early America.  Students who take these three to five day courses are allowed to stay at Eastfield for free (except they must bring 10 white candles to use during their visit) in one of the inns on the property, for free. They prepare meals in the fireplace and and must make due without electricity for the time there.
     Historic Eastfield Foundation is not a museum. It is privately owned. In the past besides the classes offered, it has been used in films for sets.  With the passing of Mr. Carpentier in 2014,  Eastfield has been open to the general public for one day in 2015 and this past weekend was open again for one day, for the second annual Founders Day, a tribute to Mr. Carpentier.
    I first learned of Historic Eastfield Foundation from a magazine back in 1994. I often wanted to see Eastfield since that article; with this opportunity I decided to make the trip. To find Eastfield was an adventure in itself. To find Eastfield is difficult; the fact that they never gave directions on how to find it complicated the matter. Perhaps it was to make sure only the truly devoted would make the journey.   They did give the location using GPS. I still use roadmaps; my limited use of GPS has been a disappointment. Also, up the the hills of Eastern New York cell phone reception is spotty, to say the least.
   Eastfield had reenactors on hand to tell of the different buildings and trades. They also had the "Eastfield Miliita", a representation of an 1830's militia company. They performed the drills of the day and marched around the village. At the end of the day they had target practice; unfortunately we left before then. With my previous posts about militia, I took plenty of photographs to illustrate the militia of the period.

Hot off the press!

The Eastfield militia muster. They are representing a militia company from the 1830's.

A wife brings her husband refreshments during a break in the drill.

The militia marching trough the village to the tune of "Yankee Doodle".