The Madaxeman.com Podcast

List Building for Byzantium & The Bulgars in ADLG

The latest in Madaxeman.com's regular L'Art de la Guerre Army List Building Podcast series focuses on another matched pair of historical foes - this time the Bulgars and the Byzantines.

The Bulgars were both enemies and allies of Byzantium in the near-ceaseless wars and feuds which swept across the Balkans in the period from roughly 600-1100AD.  In this Army List Building Podcast we look at both the Bulgar and the Nikeforian Byzantine army lists, and myself, Dave and Richard put forward three very different approaches to constructing, deploying and then using each of these lists to create varied and viable L'Art de La Guerre V3 army lists based on the historical forces of each of these military powers. 

As usual we also cover a brief bit of the history of these two competing empires, and chat about how to go about your figure purchases to help you on your way to successfully adding either (or both) of these two armies to your own collection.

This podcast is also available on YouTube, with loads of pictures of relevant figures.

All of the lists featured in the Podcast are also available on the ADLG Wiki on Madaxeman.com

You can also search for suitable figures on the 15mm Gallery on Madaxeman.com

 

Episode 70 - The Oprah Winfrey of War

In this week's 70th episode (and the 8th week of 2021's Lockdown) the team manages to hang on for almost two very solid hours indeed of chat, banter and lead-based quasi-entertainment without anyone storming off set at all (although to be fair we have no official weatherman on the team).

Making a fast start with an electrifying discussion on how best to wire an shock-giving glow-in-the-dark rat wheel we move seamlessly onto a segment about the fraught subject of mast erection glue strategies in which Warlord Games somewhat unusual Victory at Sea ship-basing conventions are critiqued and compared to wake-less alternatives.

The Biblical era then gets a proper look in as we debate whether there are really only 3 different biblical armies, and how easily can they be morphed into one another - and if it's possible to successfully ship the right lead for any or all of them in from the USA post-Brexit. Inevitably both Vic Reeves and Bob Marley both pop up here, as someone mentions the Uratu and Uvavu Dynasties in a segway to much Biblical Dub Reggae goodness.

Baccus 6mm (is that a scale...? Ed) American Civil War figures are then drooled over, as we all carefully consider whether The Band's Robbie Robertson was actually the prototype for one of the more hirsute Baccus ACW General figures. 

Then things go a little off the rails as we all have a long run up at pronouncing "Tlaxcallan" and consider whether buying an Aztec or Inca army is something any wargamer simply needs to do before they die (and whether it's possible to do so for less than the price of a new car).

With three purchasers around the microphone we also have an initial shufti at the new "O-Group" rules and cough up some first-look feedback on what seems to be (so far) a promising development in WW2 battallion-level gaming.

The episode then moves into full steam ahead mode as Adam yet again returns to the chair in I'm Sorry I Think You're An Arse to put forth his latest theories on why anyone who says "the hobby is greying, we need to do something about it" actually needs to get right back in their box (ideally quite quickly, as otherwise Adam may assist them in an overly proactive manner). 

Finally we of course round things off with a happy ending in Andy's Quiz as, paying tribute to another podcast's frequent and enthusiastic one-handed embrace of a ruleset-specific onanistic double-entendre, Andy treats us all to a trio of questions on the carefully-enunciated subject of "Pulling Rank". 

• Ian Heath's Aztec & Other Armies
• Sat July 31/Aug 1st - ADLG event at Entoyment in Bourneouth/Poole - 15mm & 25mm, more details to come soon!
• Tamsin's Blog - 6mm AWC
• Devon Self Catering Holidays 
• Fighting 15's Meso-American Army Packs

Episode 69 - Honey Badger Nonsense

This week we hit the not-quite-70 mark with a whole slew of actual proper wargaming podcast-type content, including a discussion about how to cheat when painting tartan, Danish infantry coat colours, whether hobbits featured in the ACW, as well as a first look at the new O Group rules, a quick flirt with how to make money selling rats on eBay, what basing might look like in ADLG v4, the merits of waterslide vs LBMS transfers, and a chat about how big Victrix horses (and specifically their arses) actually are.

Normal service is resumed however when we get onto the topic of identifying suspicious badgers when they are in ambush, in a section in which Adam uses his newfound knowledge of honey badgers to make his pitch to replace David Attenborough in the BBC presenter roster. We also discuss gearing up for competitions again, how to buy cycle wheels succesfully, whether "Tirpitzness" is best as an adjective or an adverb, and how to paint eyes on small scale figures. 

In our regular features this week I'm Sorry I Think You're an Arse features a fully motivated Adam as he approaches the delicate subject of "wargames figure scales" with much the same finesse as a WW2-vintage M16 quad 20mm AA half track brings to the art of making an omlette..

The aftermath then leaves Andy's Quiz somewhat floundering as a quivering wreck on the floor, with Andy barely capable of coming up with a subject matter for this week's question. Instead he simply mutters the gnomic phrase "Words" before sloping off back into his techno dungeon in the heart of the French undergound Le Disco scene once again.

• Cheating with painting Tartan
• Kujo's Blog Video - Painting Tartan 
• Honey Badgers - They Don't Care

 

Episode 68 - Is that your Ion powered fully-stabilized Vortex Mixer ?

In this week's episode the full team contemplate the possibility of having to actually meet each other again in the real world as the route out of lockdown is revealed to a skeptical British public. All of the regular features return (or more precisely "both") with Dave this week taking the lead on ISITYAA with his unhinged rant about just how much mispronunciation is wrecking his wargaming life.

We also visit the drive-through and order a skeleton-bone mocha from Starbucks, the American Civil War Painting Catastrophe Waitress flirts with us all, we risk everything by entering into a pretty heavy covenant at a "Shield Reveal" party, reanimate the debate as to whether underfloor heating (rather than roads, or wine) was Rome's greatest legacy to the world, then there is a quite disturbing session in which we all wave our ball bearings at Adam, the recipe of the week this week is that old favourite, Essex Spaghetti, and it's time to saddle up and go all Lock-stock-and-two-smoking-barrels-down crazy as we tune into a new crime series, The Rise of the Sarf London 'Oplite Gang (to you chief) before finally Admiral Disco (or should that be "Le Disco" ?) makes an unwelcome appearance in Andy's Quiz

• Get your own Mega Mega Paint Shaker !
• Dan Beattie's Brandy Station Osprey book

(these are affiliate links - buy stuff through them and I get a teeny little kickback)

 

Episode 67 - Camels, Slippers and Comedy Glue

A dichotomy of a week this time as the by-now standard issue 7-pack of contributors accidentally engage in what in retrospect feels suspiciously like a sensible, nuanced and (sort of) well informed discussion about the merits and drawbacks of properly proportioned wargames figures, most notably 28mm Perry plastics and Mirliton 15mm metals during their reviews of the last weeks paint-table antics. 

That high point is quickly left behind though, with a delve into the prevalence of camels in early medieval England, considerations as to whether glue that doesn't stick is worth buying, a treatise on the economics of rescuing semi-dried paint tins, a tip-toe into unattributed US Paratrooper formations of the Indian Ocean periphery, a heated argument as to whether Skeleton Bone is the best colour for painting skeleton's bones, a chat about self-impaling techniques for both metal and plastic spears gets quickly spiked before we look into the idea of permanent rebasing as a way of life and finally round things off with a slipper-based bout of personal introspection interrupted only by a short diversion in which we bounce some small rocks and stones off of Peter's Gorilla-glued together hair helmet. 

We also have a surprisingly lengthy conversation where we try (with partial success) to tease the meaning out of the last two paragraphs on page 58 of the L'Art de la Guerre rulebook before diving straight into our by-now two regular features, Andy's Quiz and I'm Sorry, I Think You're an Arse

Tamsin's book recommendations:

• The Path of Infinite Sorrow - The Japanese on the Kokoda Trail
• D-Day New Guinea: The Extraordinary Story of the Battle for Lae and the Greatest Combined Airborne and Amphibious Operation of the Pacific War

(both are affilate links, so I get a small kickback from Amazon if you buy anything after clicking them) 

 

  

List Building for The Crusades : Later Crusader & Ayyubid in ADLG

This weeks L'Art de la Guerre List Building Podcast is another episode in our "unloved matched pairs" sequence, featuring the Later Crusaders of Richard the Lionheart, and the Ayyubid army of his erstwhile opponent Saladin.

These two very different lists bring some astoundingly chalk and cheese-like capabillities to the tabletop. The headlong aggression of the Crusading knights in the Later Crusader list is tempered by the solidity of their stoic spear and crossbow-armed infantry, while the forces of Saladin can easily make full use of the entire width (and depth) of the playing surface with clouds of fast moving horse archers which serve to harass the enemy whilst always hiding the potential for a rapier-like counter-thrust from their wild Berber lancers. 

As is now habitual we also trot through the history of these armies, consider what to look for when undertaking a campaign of figure purchasing to assemble them in 15mm, and wrap this all up neatly around a discussion of how to design, deploy and use 6 very different lists (3 Later Crusader, 3 Ayyubid) from this intriguing historical diptych.

All 6 of the lists discussed are available on the Madaxeman ADLG Wiki, and this podcast can also be viewed on YouTube where you will be able to see the lists as we discuss them as well as a carousel of potentially relevant figures too. 

• Later Crusader
• Ayyubid Egyptian

 

 

Episode 65 - Collars & Cuffs

Not one, but two whole brand new features slide onto the wet pallette of natter this week as the team extend their normal discursive discussion of painting and online shopping in a pair of new directions.

Padding out the timeline more than most features is a sometimes insightful but often meandering chat in which we all discuss how the concept of morale has evolved during our wargaming lifetimes from it's literal beginnings to its mostly abstracted present expression.

A whole new theme tune also hits the airwaves and heralds the debut of "I'm Sorry I Think You're an Arse!"

Dubbed "the antidote to informed discussion", this new regular feature will see one of the regular team putting forward a proposal to fix something which has been bugging them in the wargaming ecosystem for ages, after which the other panellists sometimes-brutally pick the theory apart, and decide whether there is indeed a a case that the correct response to the proposal is a polite but firm "I'm Sorry, I Think You're an Arse!" 

Of course there is painting chat-plenty too, with the Osmonds nearly getting a rare namecheck as we talk about Tiny Horses, the Ottomaniazation of artillery carries on apace, Winged Hussars appear in such countless multitudes that a murmuration of Hussars becomes a distinct possibility, a quick spot of "Is that a catcus on your head or are you just the punchline to a joke we haven't worked out yet?" happens, an excitingly erudite internet-fuelled dive into analyzing the difference between frilly epaulettes, piratey parrots and just a bit of flash fills some time, and we chill to the thought of dope smoking musketeers in the Battle of the Boyne, go green at the thought of a load more 10mm WW2 goodness and, of course, there is Andy's Quiz.

This week also features a pretty solid post-credits blooper roll or two, so whether you listen to the end or just skim through it, we will still end on a high note!

• 10mm WW2 British
• Epaulets on Spotify
• Dutch Police 
• Hussar!

"Nice beret sir!"

 

List Building for the armies of Britannia in ADLG

The Ancients Britons together with the Caledonians, Scots, Irish and Picts are armies that many wargamers will keep a special place for close to their hearts, but also which they will keep an equally special place for securely tucked away in the storage drawer as a result of their often underwhelming reputation on the tabletop.

In this Army List Building Podcast the regular team try and pick the juicy bits out of these two L'Art de la Guerre army lists 98 & 99, and in the process manage to come up with surprisingly varied set of approaches to help make viable and interesting lists from these oft-overlooked historical classics. 

We also take a quick jaunt through the history of the period, discuss the merits of the individual troop types which make them up, and speculate on why the lists have been organised as they are in the book. 

The army lists in this Podcast all appear on the Madaxeman website in the ADLG Wiki, and a video version of the podcast is also available on the Madaxeman YouTube channel complete with photos of relevant 15mm figures.

 

Episode 63 - Go 240 volts, or go home.

With all seven particiants now itching to "jab and go" (or, possibly just "itching"), the third Lockdown sees the Lockdown Podcast series lumber into Episode 63 territory as the complete suite of contributors yet again step up to the painting microphones.

This week's range of eclectic topics cover the full gamut of land, sea and air (but without air) as we discuss whether anyone has actually played Cruel Seas more than once, decide if Victrix' Shermans might not actually be "too good", take great care when Googling for "flocking videos", plug ourselves firmly into the debate as to which static grass is best for low voltage application, run out of entirely new ways to spell Landsnechts, try to avoid rejoicing too obviously that Tamsin is getting back on the painting hobby horse, debate whether Baccus 6mm ACW are more detailed than Warlord's 13.5mm troopers, go back in time to an era before spray cans existed, build a fully functioning cowboy village out of purple teddy bear fur, and try to teach a number of relatively small children just how life affirming immersing oneself fully in a bath of pro-Polish Swedish death metal can prove to be in later life.

• Sabaton - Winged Hussars
• Little ships on Madaxeman
• Luke Towan's terrain channel on YouTube
• Geek Gaming Scenics on YouTube

List Building for 100YW French & English

A classic "matched pair" of armies in this week's L'Art de la Guerre List Building Podcast from Madaxeman.com as I'm joined by regular guests Richard & Dave to run the rule over these two famous medieval behemoths. 

Will it be massed longbowmen who come out on top, or will the flower of French Chivalry (and Joan d'Arc) catch the list-makers eye as we delve deep into how to make these armies into not only Crecy-winners but proper world-beaters as well.

There are 7 different lists going under the microsocope this week, all of which as usual can be found in the Madaxeman  ADLG Wiki and also on the accompanying YouTube video which has plenty of pictures of figures as well. 

We also delve into the history around these armies at this pivotal point in the creation of both France and England. 

The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’
(King Henry, Act 3 Scene 1)