The Madaxeman.com Podcast

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)

 

Episode 61 - So you think you're Brad Pitt?

In this weeks snow-tinged smorgasbord of wargaming and painting chitchat the team wrap up warm in their eskimo boots to cover topics as diverse as painting horses, working out the best rules mechanics for simulating uncontested airport construction on Indian Ocean Islands, toss out a rare wargaming-related namecheck for Canadian songstress Shania Twain, take in some single file wargaming with Osprey's latest title "Deep Jungle B-Road Warfare 1939-45", stage a vaguely useful segment on painting WW2 German tank cammo in 10mm scale, look far too deeply into Zvezda Zwiehander flag painting and how best to combine it with undercoating strategies for the undead, argue fiercely over the best paint to use for tank track colours of the Wermacht, witness a fleeting return of the gold undercoating strategy, untether the MicroSol / Microset debate from reality, decide to let Adam's wife resolve the timeless Hobgoblin or Spitfire debate and chunter on for far to long as to whether weather rules are worth bothering with in wargames rules.

There is of course also Andy's Quiz, and, more importantly, Andy's Quiz Music as well 

• German Cammo Painting
• Cyrus Mobile Towers 
• Dave's Instagram 
• Leave feedback for us on iTunes
• Shop for Microsol & Microset on Amazon UK
• Shop for Hobgoblin beers on Amazon UK  
• Shop for Spitfire beers on Amazon UK
  • (these three are affiliate links)-

Episode 60 - Goes Well with Yorkshires

With UK Lockdown III in full effect, and seemingly due to continue well into March (at best), the Lockdown Podcast team are reassembled in a sequel that no-one was clamouring for.

Fear not however - in the 6 weeks since December 11th (when the last Lockdown Pod was published) the intrepid 7 have gained absolutely nothing in terms of insight, polish, erudition or knowledge worth sharing, and so this landmark 60th episode of the Madaxeman Podcast carries on pretty much exactly where the last one left off.

In this week's new year smorgasbord of wargaming irrelevance we share the shocking truth about Lord Cadbury's little-known role as Charlton Heston's stunt double during the Spanish Reconquista, speculate on how much more popular chess might be if only someone would increase the "luck" element of the game, reveal the surprisingly shallow depths of knowledge we all possess in relation to South American riverine warfare in the 19th Century, debate whether the Landesnechts dressmaker used an Excel spreadsheet, and - most importantly - talk at quite some length indeed about Yorkshire Puddings.

There is also the return of Andy's Quiz, including some month-old answers and some fresh new questions, the regular painting and gaming chit-chat, and a well-worth-waiting-for "out-take" to listen to after the credits roll. 

We're here every week - until someone lets us out. 

• Dredd vs Death on Wargaming Girl 
• 15mm Hoplites and stuff on Madaxeman

 

List Building for Justinian Byzantines in ADLG

The first Byzantine (or perhaps the last "Roman") list in ADLG's roster of armies is one which covers some of the Empires greatest victories, and which spans the career of one of their greatest generals, Belisarius. 

But despite that historic success the Justinians are often overlooked, especially when set against other, later Byzantine lists which can be stuffed with many more interesting wargamer-friendly exotic troop types! This video podcast seeks to redress that balance a little, digging into what on the surface can look like the slim pickings of choice in the Justinian list. 

As usual I'm joined by Richard and Dave as we look at 4 separate Justinian lists, all quite different in their utilization and design, as well as delving into the military history of this "last of the Romans" army before finally taking a quick trot through the many different options for buying the right figures to build your own army on the tabletop. 

This podcast is also available as a video podcast with images of Byzantine figures on the Madaxeman YouTube Channel, and there is also a pre-set battle featuring two of the lists available on Tabletop Simulator that you and a friend can play them against each other and compare them in action yourself! 

 

The lists featured in this video can be found on the Madaxeman ADLG Wiki.

List Building for Camillan & Republican Romans in ADLG

Featuring highly on anyone's "first army to collect" shopping list, the Camillan and Republican Roman armies always seem to flatter to deceive.

The legendary Legions provide a powerful core to the army, but the relative paucity of support troops and the seemingly unavoidable need to go infantry-first in any design can make these challenging lists to construct and play with succesfully.

This ADLG listbuilding podcast helps you face that challenge head-on as I'm joined again by Dave Saunders & Richard Case to look at 3 different ways of constructing, deploying and playing each of these two lists, as well as having a quick canter through a bit of their history as well.

All 6 lists are posted on the ADLG Wiki on Madaxeman.com, and the video version on YouTube also features loads of photos of Roman figures in 15mm from the Madaxeman Photo Gallery.

 

List Building for Hoplite Armies in ADLG

Despite being very much the textbook Classical era warrior, Hoplites often suffer from being the baseline 'man with sharp stick' troop-type who's battlefield capabilities underpin a vast array of far more interestingly-armed and equipped infantrymen in the troop-type taxonomy of ADLG, and indeed in many other previous rulesets as well. 

This ADLG Listbuilding Podcast seeks to pan for gold amongst the broken pottery shards of Greek military history, and in so doing possibly tease out a few different ways of cooking up interesting and viable Hoplite-led army lists to use when playing ADLG in the Classical era.

Regular contributors Dave & Richard are here to take up the challenge as we set ourselves the task of building an array of different lists, all featuring a minimum of 12 Classical-era Hoplites, as well as discussing a bit of the history (real and "ancients-gaming") of the archetypal Hellenistic warrior.

This video is also available as a Video podcast (with pictures of figures) on the Madaxeman YouTube Channel.

 

(Museum Miniatures 15mm Hoplites from the Madaxeman Photo Gallery)

List Building for Classical Indians in ADLG

Pulling together a Classical Indian army list for L'Art de la Guerre is often seen as a rather formulaic exercise, with a widely held view that there is only one real way of cobbling together, deploying and using the army.

This Madaxeman List Building Podcast, with regular contributors Dave & Richard, looks into whether it is possible to blow that set of cliches wide open, helping you pull together a number of different, interesting Indian lists, and discussing how to use them to play proactively on the tabletop under ADLG rules.

The team also discuss a bit of history behind these lists, and talk about some of the places you can buy relevant figures in 15mm

This Podcast also exists as YouTube video with loads of photos of Indian figures.