More Archery

 

Look at the concentration, but my elbow is only just high enough and fingers are not under my jaw line.  So much to have to remember.

Back here I first talked about starting archery.  Having now finished my beginners course, I have advanced to the intermediate course, which is far more informal but still involves my coach Sailesh coming around and making comments about my form: as in my posture as I pull and release the bow.

Still, I know I've improved because I this week I was able to consistently hit the target at 40 yards.

We've also signed up for the May second St.Georges day shoot, so I need to practice my form and work towards upping my poundage.  When I started in November I was pulling 14 pounds.  I went up to 16 just after Xmas and this week I was pulling 18 pounds.  All done by adjusting the limbs on my bow by a process called tillering.

NB: You can see one end of six arrows I shot here.
  

Camera Upgrade

My new Olympus OMD EM5 Mk2 Titanium.

After nearly five years of using my Panasonic Lumix DMC GF1 I'm upgrading my camera system.  I got this as a present from my partner for my birthday, which is today, and is a significant double-digit number. I've been spoilt rotten and I love her for it.

The last time I talked about upgrading my camera system was here. This is a big deal, because photography is a thing for me, like breathing is a thing – can't live without it.

Anyway, my new micro four thirds camera normal resolution is 16 megapixels. Lots of reviews on the web. But, what attracted me to it was the fact that it can take 40 megapixel still life pictures through a clever multiple exposure trick that moves the sensor between shots.  

It's a good thing. Especially good if one wants to take high resolution pictures of small toy soldiers.

The difference between my new Olympus OMD and my old Panasonic Lumix is that the latter was a digital camera, while the former is a computer that takes pictures. Colour me over excited.  

Fortunately, I have an after market manual to help me learn all the functions, and I can't wait to take some pictures with it and post them here.

So far, I managed to set the time and date. As the saying goes, I may be some time.

Jovian Chronicles

 

Over on Fire Broadside! there's an interview with Robert Dubois from Dream Pod 9 about new their exo armor miniatures for the Jovian Chronicles game.  

Colour me excited, because Gundam space battle games are few and far between, and Jovian Chronicles is meant to be rather good. So I'm keeping an eye on the new releases and given that I now have a part time job I may be int he position to buy some in the future.

North American Combine 2nd Heavy Armour Brigade Combat Team

In the process of answering my friend Clive's question of why I brought so many miniatures to Blast-Tastic, the answer here, inspired me to finally got me working on naming my North American Combine force.  I finally decided that they will be called the 2nd Heavy Armour Brigade Combat Team.  In my mind they will be from the 7th Army's, 3rd Division.

Got have a name for ones armies, it makes them feel more connected to history.  The heavy description appended is made up to to account for the presence of Ogres.  The 2nd HABCT will consist of the following elements:
  
  
10th Battalion, 77th Ogre Brigade "The Red Eyes"

4 x Mark 1 Ogres (I still have to get around to painting the other three Mark 1s that I have).

3rd Battalion, 35th Armour Regiment "Conquerors"

2 x Company's each consisting of 4 x Light tanks, 8 x Heavy tanks, and 2 x Super Heavy tanks.

3rd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment "The Old Guard"

4 x Company's each consisting of 4 x GEV-PCs, 4 infantry platoons & 3 x Light GEVs.


1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment "Fighting Sixth"

3 x Troops each consisting of 8 x GEVs and 4 x Light GEVs.


2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment "Proud Americans"

4 x Battery's with 4 x Missile tanks in each (showing three of the four batteries I have painted).

In the US Army each brigade also has a small support formation, but as in most games of Ogre/GEV these will only need to be represented for specific scenarios.

Though I won't be fielding models of all the HQ elements,  I do have four models, one for each of the non-Ogre Battalions.  I will also have some models to represent logistics support and air defense assets in the form of hover trucks and laser turret/towers that the Ogre/GEV rule set supports.  In addition I plan to make some recovery vehicles, also  if I ever get a model of a Vulcan Ogre it will be assigned here.  So nominally attached to the 2nd HABCT will be the following:

555th Engineer Brigade

74th Brigade Support Battalion

In addition, I will have models to represent the 3rd Division's artillery brigade, usually abbreviated as DvArty.  As an aside the troops on the ground often refer to DVArty as DimArty, which is no doubt coloured by their experience of calling in artillery support:
   
  
C Battery, 1st Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment "Tiger Brigade"

1 x Battery of 4 x Mobile Howitzers.


B Battery, 3d Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment "United We Stand"

1 x Battery of 4 x Howitzers.

C Battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment "Viking"

1 x Battery of 4 x Cruise Missiles).

When deployed on the offensive the brigade combat team will be allocated a Slice of the divisions support assets.  This will be more Ogres as follows:
   
  
1st Battalion, 77th Ogre Brigade "The Red Eyes"

1 x Mark 6, 1 x Mark 2S Ogres.

3rd Battalion, 77th Ogre Brigade "The Red Eyes"

1 x Mark 5, 1 x Mark 4 Ogres.

5th Battalion, 77th Ogre Brigade "The Red Eyes"

1 x Mark 3b, 2 x Mark 3 Ogres.

Finally, to round out my force, I will have one Ogre Ninja, which I'm going to assume is an asset attached to the 7th Army's, 3rd Division:


2nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 66th Military Intelligence Brigade "The Eyes of Intelligence"

1 x Ogre Ninja.

Many thanks to Owen for helping me understand modern US Army formations.
  

Odds & Sods

Magnets strong enough to hold even the heaviest figure.

I've been painting, but I don't have a lot to show, as in progress is being made that probably can't be seen from one photograph.  In short, more colours on the models but I still have a way to go to finish them.

However, I did some necessary upgrading on the magnets that I use on my corks to hold said models.  I know it isn't much, but it was still work to get them done, driven by the fact that one of the heavier models fell off and got damaged.  That sucked.

I've also run up a chassis for my future M2184 HUHMMT truck, but stopped working on it for the time being, because I want to finish painting some mecha.  See, a circular process of not getting much done by not completing any one project in a timely manner.  Ha!
   

Archery

I'm shooting 16lbs, which is way low, but I'm a beginner, hence the angle to reach the butt that was set at 40 yards.  I had to contend with resetting the sight twice, which changes the angle of the bow, and having to cope with four arrows with bad fletchings (including two where the fletches fell off as I fired), but my new GapFit wicking top kept me warm on the field (11 degrees C).  My hand needs to be under my chin, which is why I was having difficulty making the range.

No this is not me doing a new period as such, though I suppose at a stretch it could be considered 1:1 scale live action, but me noodling on about my archery lessons.

I've just completed week four, though I've been five times one of the classes was cancelled due to high winds, and I have another two training sessions to finish before I can become a member of the Greenwood Osterley Archers Club.  I still have a long way to go before I'm anything like competent, but hopefully, I will be classified as safe to practice when I finish my course, which will happen as long as I don't do anything egregious.

So, my observations on shooting arrows.

Wind is a thing.  Movement of the target would be even more of a thing, and if I ever do a wargame with archers I shall be taking a long, hard look at the assumptions of the rules, because while historical records are a great resources there's a practical difference between maximum range and maximum effective range.  In short archery is either mass fire for area effect or close in (under a hundred yards) direct fire shooting, and the two are not the same.