My Stagonian Wars Plan --  

As most of you know I have just begun a six-month chemotherapy regimen following my cancer surgery.  Between the two I have very little stamina, which means that any face-to-face gaming is essentially out of the question.

So I am planning to try some solo gaming.  Fortunately I do have a game table that I can leave up as long as I want . . . and I have a pair of armies, Saxe-Bearstein and Stagonia, that can be used as natural opponents.

As for rules, I've been following Ross Macfarlane's constantly evolving "Hearts of Tin" rules.  And while these were primarily written for the 19th century, I can trim out a lot of things that didn't apply a century earlier.  I will also change some things to add my preferences to the rules.

These "Stagonian Wars" will be set a bit earlier than you might expect since the bulk of my painted troops are actually WSS and GNW figures from Bloodaxe Miniatures . . . so I'm figuring that I will set it sometime betseen the War of Spanish Succession and the War of Austrian Succession due to the hair style.

I have Grant's book of Programmed Scenarios and a Mini-Campaign which Dr. Vesuvius of The Axis of Naughtiness  has written which will serve me.

This mini-campaign will result in 5 battles. If I can get the rules and figures ready in this first month, I should be able to fight one battle a month (albeit in very small chunks) as I continue my chemotherapy.

I have been slowly working on rebasing figures.  All of the cavalry for both sides is done although I still need to flock the bases.

As with some of the cavalry units, I have had to repaint parts of much of my infantry.  So there will be some rebasing there too.  I won't have as many foot units as I'd like but might be able to get some more figures from Historifigs if Mike Tabor can find the right molds (Lance's WSS/GNW molds have not yet been sorted).  Of course this would mean that I'd have to paint more figures.

Well that's the plan . . . of course I don't really know how badly the chemotherapy is going to effect me . . . it is a very long haul . . . and I'm pretty well "wiped out" already.

-- Jeff

Rivers and Roads --  

Previously I have been using masking tape and painting tape for my roads and rivers respectively . . . which worked but wasn't very appealing

So earlier this year I purchased some of Eric Hotz's "River System" sections for my rivers . . . and I'm quite happy with them.  But he hasn't got any roads into production yet; and I was tired of waiting.

Therefor a couple of days before I was scheduled to start my chemotherapy I went to our local fabric store which was having a sale and got a chunk of dirt-colored vinyl (I would have preferred felt for its "stickiness" with my table cloth but they didn't have any good colors for it).

True, I have yet to cut any road shapes out of it yet . . . I don't have a lot of energy . . . but it should work okay.  I also have to decide just how wide I want to make my roads.  I'm thinking of perhaps something in the 55 mm to 60 mm range because I'd like a bit of road to show on either side of my bases (47 mm cavalry & 40 mm infantry) so that it is obvious that they are on the road . . . but not too much more than that.

So I will soon have some better-looking terrain than in the past.

-- Jeff

Early Chemo Report --  

First let me thank all of you who have been wishing me well.  I do appreciate it very much.

I started my first chemotherapy regimen about 12 hours ago by taking the "pre-chemo" anti-nausea drugs I'd been prescribed.  And part of the good news is that they worked . . . no nausea!

An hour later I was at the hospital for my first round of the IV chemo drug . . . although they first ran a "cocktail" of various other things through for about a half an hour to "prep" me for the main drug, which takes about two hours if there are none of the common complications (in which case it changes to a six-hour infusion).  More good news, I did not have any of these side effects.

Then they gave me the oral chemo drugs, which come in a fancy blister pack and showed me how to take them without there ever touching my skin.  I need to continue taking these every 12 hours for two weeks . . . then I get a week's rest until 21 days from now when the whole regimen repeats (on through 8 repetitions; a six-month course of treatment).

Now the "bad news".  One of the side effects of the IV drug is an adverse reaction to cool or cold temperatures.  I can't have cold beverages (I love iced tea . . . *sigh*. . .), nor even get anything out of the refrigerator.  I made the mistake of washing my hands is cool water and my hands went all tingly. While not really a "bad" thing, this is quite annoying . . . but supposedly this only lasts a few days.

What has knocked the stuffing out of me (so far) is the fatigue.  Even just standing up and walking a few steps has me huffing and puffing like crazy.  Again, not "threatening", it is extremely inconvenient.

I've just taken more of my anti-nausea medications, one of which has the side effect of a headache.  Not a terrible headache, just a mildly annoying one (and again this disappears after a few days for most people).  However it does get considerably more noticeable as I exert myself by walking more than a couple of steps . . . *sigh*.

I should point out that all chemotherapy regimens are designed depending upon where the cancer was located and the medical history of the patient.  For example the "cold effects" of the IV medication I got today is NOT a common response for most chemotherapy drugs.

Anyway, all-in-all not a bad first day, I think.

-- Jeff

Chemotherapy & Re-Basing --  

My chemotherapy starts this coming Wednesday.  Fortunately they tell me that the nausea that used to plague chemo patients is pretty much a thing of the past thanks to very effective nausea medications.

Unfortunately because of the nature of chemotherapy I am likely to be extremely fatigued (and I already have to take numerous naps during the day).  Also I will be very susceptible to infections . . . so I will have to avoid going out as much as possible.  So for the next six months I will pretty much be a stay-at-home invalid . . . *sigh*.

On a happier note, I have now re-based (but not yet flocked) 192 cavalry for my Saxe-Bearstein and vile Stagonian armies.

Each of the above will now have four regiments of Horse, three regiments of Dragoons and a single regiment of Hussars.  All units are twelve figures strong and mounted on six two-figure 47mm square stands.  (The square 47mm  stands allow the units to fit comfortable in my display cabinet.

I do need to paint up some more infantry.  Unfortunately the Blood-Ax figures that I have for the rest of my army aren't available any more as far as I know.  So I will be having to use some plastic WSS from Warlord Games that I picked up a while ago . . . but the thought of having to cut all of the parts from the sprues and piecing the figures together is a bit daunting to me the way I'm feeling since my cancer surgery.

Don't get me wrong.  I DO feel much stronger than I did after the surgery . . . just nowhere close to how I felt before it.  I have also regained some weight.  I had lost 60 lbs, but have regained about 15.  However I've been warned that I'm likely to lose more during the chemotherapy.

Hopefully I will be able to play some solo games (albeit over several sessions) during the next six-months . . . which is why I've been refurbishing my 18th century troops.

-- Jeff

New Bases Cut --    

Today I got a whole bunch of new bases cut for my Saxe-Bearstein and my vile Stagonian 18th century armies.  Mind you I didn't cut them myself; but thanks to a friend with a bandsaw who cut them for me, I now have over a hundred bases each for both infantry and cavalry.

For those who don't know, I live about a third of the way up the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.  (Note that Vancouver Island and the city of Vancouver, which is on the mainland, are quite different places).  This is hardly a hot bed of miniature gaming, so I don't have to worry about matching my basing to anyone else's.

I have found that I really like square bases.  And I like thick bases (blocks of troops can be moved more easily).  So I purchased a quarter sheet of 1/4" MDF (medium density fiberboard) and my friend Stuart cut a lot of it into 40mm squares for foot and 47mm squares for cavalry.

"Why 47mm squares?", you ask . . .  I mean 50mm squares are more common, right?  Well, yes, but those would make my units a bit too large for my display cabinet . . . and the horses DO fit on the 47mm squares.

So that, of course, was the easy part.  Now I have to remove all the figures from their current bases before I can place them on their new bases.  But first I will paint the sides of the bases (which is much easier to do en mass before they're attached to figures).

This rebasing is something that I decided I'd do back when I was flat on my back in the hospital.  Now all I have to do is get it done . . . which won't happen quickly I'm afraid since I still do need to take lots of naps during the day . . . nevertheless, a start on the project has been made.

-- Jeff

World's Greatest Athlete --    

While the above title is usually given to the Olympic Decathlon winner, I do not believe that it is correct.  I believe that the winner of the Modern Pentathlon is more deserving of the title.

The decathlete competes in ten various Track & Field events.  The pentathlete competes in five totally different sports.

• a Swimming event -- 200 meter freestyle
• a Fencing event -- epee
• a Track event -- 3000 meter cross-country run
• a Marksmanship event -- pistol shooting
• an Equestrian event -- show jumping on an unfamiliar horse

The obvious wargaming connection is that the event was designed to test the skills that an Aide-de-Camp  might have to use in the course of his duties.  This echoed the Ancient Greek pentathlon which tested the skills of the ancient soldier (actual events unknown to us).

Unfortunately the Modern Pentathlon does not get much "Western" notice because it has been dominated by Eastern European nations . . . and some want to see it dropped from the Olympics.

I, as a Wargamer, say that an emphatic "NO" to that.  Don't you?

-- Jeff

Suddenly Useful Book --   

On March 28, 1990 I purchased a copy of Charles Stewart Grant's "Programmed Wargames Scenarios.   I know this because it still has the receipt in it . . . probably because prior to today I had not really looked at it because it was basically for "solo wargaming" and I play with other people.

Well, while I dohave some available opponents, I'm still tire very quickly because of my cancer surgery . . . and will probably continue to do so once the chemotherapy begins.

So, since I don't have the stamina to face a live opponent for very long (I keep having to take naps); today I started to take a good look at Grant's book.

And it looks like it will work very well.  I can see using it to play some "mini-campaigns" (two have been created using these scenarios):

• "Continuing Diplomacy" by Dr. Vesuvius of "Axis of Naughtiness"
• "Campaign of Positions" by Ross Macfarlane of "Battle Game of the Month"

 Mind you, taking over 22 years to look at this volume wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done . . . but it looks like I will finally be getting it right.

-- Jeff