Wings of Glory and Blood on the Sands Games

 

Wings of Glory WWI game with
three mats and two planes a side

Opposite end

Planes circle over No Man's land

On Sunday Rick, Gary, Rob and I met down at the Vikings Club in Lanyon for the Canberra Regional Wargame Group's monthly meeting. Rick brought along his Wings of Glory WWI planes and gaming mats. We played a basic game of that with two planes a side with Gary and Rick playing with a Fokker Dr I and an Albatross D.Va and Rob and I had a Spad XIII and a Sopwith Camel. Gary and I had never played it before and really enjoyed it. It's card driven where you plan your moves, three cards a time, which can lead to some interesting situations, such as the near mid-air collision we had at one stage. We also got in a game of the gladiator rules Blood on the Sands. A free plastic Wargames Atlantic gladiator sprue and quick start version of the rules is available in Wargames Illustrated Issue 462 June 2026.

There's nearly a mid-air collision

Fokker Dr I is shot down by a Sopwith Camel

Blood on the Sands game, a Murmillo
and Thracian fight it out

Thracians versus Scythians Midgard Game

 

Scythians deployed

Thracians on the left, Scythians on the right

Thracian attackers advance

Scythians advance in the centre

Shooting commences

Last Sunday afternoon Craig came over and we played a Thracians versus Scythians Midgard game out in the shed. I added a Parthian shot trait for the Scythian and Getic horse archers, so they could shoot when they evaded. The Scythians advanced in the centre and charged a Thracian peltast unit. Single combat between the two attached heroes resulted in the death of the Thracian hero but the horse archers were destroyed themselves. The Thracian noble cavalry on the left flank charged the Scythian noble cavalry. The Scythians countercharged but were destroyed outright in the combat while only inflicting a single hit on the Thracians.

Back on the Thracian right flank the other Scythian noble cavalry unit charged the Thracian noble cavalry. The Thracians countercharged and were once again extremely lucky with their dice destroying the Scythians while suffering only a single hit. The Scythians were down to their last two reputation tokens by this stage and the Getic horse archers were able to destroy a half strength Scythian horse archer with shooting to finish them off. This was a rather unsatisfactory game as two combats with exceptional dice rolls for the Thracians really decided the result. Horse archer armies never seem to fair well under most rules that I've played.

A Thracian hero is killed but
the Scythian horse archers are destroyed 

Thracian noble cavalry and Scythian
noble cavalry line up a charge 

Thracian noble cavalry destroy Scythian
noble cavalry on the Thracian left flank

Same story on the Thracian right flank

The Didadochi

 

Mounted Pyrrhus of Epirus

Foot Pyrrhus

Here are some Successor command figures that I’ve just finished painting. The figures are by Warlord Games, part of the range they released for their Hail Caesar supplement, The Pyrrhic Wars. Above are mounted and foot figures of Pyrrhus of Epirus. The foot figure is the freebie you get when you order a hard copy of the supplement. Below is Antigonus Monopthalmus (the One-Eyed) and his son Demetrius Poliorcetes (the Besieger) with an attendant. The next figure is Lysimachus with his faithful hound Hyrcanus. According to Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, ' a dog, the name of which Duris gives as Hyrcanus when King Lysimachus' pyre was set alight threw itself into the flame' https://www.attalus.org/pliny/hn8b.html The final figure is Ptolemy I Soter (Saviour).

Antigonus Monopthalmus

Demetrius Poliorcetes with an attendant

Lysimachus with his
faithful hound Hyrcanus

Ptolemy I Soter (Saviour)

Samnites versus Etruscans Midgard Game

 

Deployment from the Etruscan side

From the Samnite side

Etruscan right flank and centre

Etruscan left flank and centre

Samnite left flank and centre

Samnite right flank and centre

Etruscan cavalry charge on their left flank,
Samnite cavalry countercharge

Same thing on the Etruscan right flank

On Monday afternoon I played a solo Samnites versus Etruscans Midgard game out in the shed. The two sides were very similar, the Samnites were the attackers and the Etruscans the defenders. The Etruscan cavalry charged on both flanks and the Samnites countercharged. The Samnite cavalry eventually destroyed both Etruscan cavalry units but one of the remaining Samnite cavalry units at half strength was then destroyed by missile fire from Etruscan slingers. Once the infantry closed in combat the game became even more hard fought with no clear advantage to either side. In the end I called time as a draw with the Samnites on three remaining reputation tokens and the Etruscans four.

Samnite cavalry are victorious on their right flank

Combat continues on the Etruscan right flank

Etruscan slingers destroy the Samnite cavalry

Etruscan cavalry are at half strength

Samnite and Etruscan infantry slog it out

Game ends as a hard fought draw

Late Etruscan Infantry Command

 

Here are two late Etruscan infantry command stands that I've just finished painting. The figures are by Aventine Miniatures with LBM shield transfers. I hope to play a solo Etruscans versus Samnites Midgard game out in the shed soon, but have been sick with Covid recently and have just been taking it easy.