Madaxeman's Wargames Blog

Alicante & Cartagena - the Podcast, and The Videos

The first Madaxeman podcast of the year hits the pod-shelves in both audio and video formats as the team discuss the recent expedition to Cartagena and Alicante.

To mark the new year and new start for what is hopefully some more regular podding, this episode is tentatively titled "Episode 1, Series 5" and sees 4 brave podcasting gamers hit the airwaves and chat about their trip to the South of Spain in mid January to take in the Akra Leuka tournament at the upmarket Benidorm that is Alicante.

We also take in the Worlds Largest Collection of Model Tanks, the current state of play with which 15mm metal casting companies are currently closing down, whether "Paella" is actually just "Rice" with a different postcode, if a War Wagon collapses in the forest can a Swiss Pikeman hear it fall, if anyone has ever seen a bigger chorizo nugget, whether we are all now far too old to understand this 3D printing malarkey, and if double-carbs is the missing link between Glasgow and the entire Iberian peninsula.

The guests on this podcast are Dave "From The Podcast", Dave "Ming the Marxist" and Mark "The FWC Man", all of whom you can actually see on this YouTube version of the Podcast.

The lists we all used in Alicante can be found on the Madaxeman ADLG Wiki.

Marks Hungarians
Tim & Daves Swiss
Daves French Ordonnance
My video of the Cartagena Military Museum

First posted on 29 January 2025 | 11:39 am

Grab a Toblerone and head to Farnborough!

Yes, after a somewhat lengthy delay the 5 battle reports from the L'Art de la Guerre competition at Warfare 2024 have finally made it to these pages, allowing you to see the Swiss army in all its glory!

In a series of 5 consecutive High Medieval battles the Gnome of Zurich leads his cheese-eating, cowbell-donging merry band of men with (long pointy) sticks into action against the Scottish Schiltrons, the Reconquering Medieval Spanish, the pecunious mercenary Free Companies, the even more monetarily-focused Condottieri, and finally the highly efficient Medieval Germans.

In each battle the highly complex and over-engineered Swiss plan unfolds in full Alpine Cinemascope, accompanied by ferocious yodelling and a faint whiff of burnt fondue

All battles come complete with speech bubbles, bizarre captions, and a series of FACTS to educate you about the lesser-known aspects of the Swiss Pikemen of the Medieval era!

Pull up a Toblerone, log out of your secret bank account and take aim at the apple-on-the-head delights of these 5 full Madaxeman battle reports featuring a 15mm medieval Swiss army in all its technicolour glory!

First posted on 24 January 2025 | 1:14 pm

A New Year Bonus - a video of a lot of tanks!

As a pre-New year treat, I've uploaded to YouTube a rolling montage of photos taken during my visit to the Kubinka Tank Museum outside of Moscow all the way back in September 2006, long before the museum became part of the Patriot military theme park (around 2014) - meaning at the time getting access was a bit of a challenge to say the least!

The photos in this video have already been on the Madaxeman website for quite some time, so much so that they may have been overlooked - hence dropping them all into a video that you can play through in the background when you are doing something far more interesting.

If you do see any pictures that are worth a second look then at least you can go to the website and check them out again at your leisure, without my occasional bursts of ill-informed commentary interrupting your tank-based visual enjoyment.

The Kubinka museum hosts a wide variety of tanks and armoured vehicles developed and used throughout the 20th century by the Soviets, Germans, Allies, Japanese, Hungarians and other nations.

The star of the show is of course the only actual example of the WW2 German Super Tank, the Maus, with the example on display being assembled from the bits of the only two two prototypes ever made, both of which the Russians captured at the end of WW2.

Around 60% of the exhibits are Soviet-era vehicles, with lots of experimetal prototypes, the most recent display being the Object 172, the prototype of the T-72 MBT. Most Cold War-era Western tanks (from the US or Western Europe) were war trophies from the Middle East, Africa, Vietnam and Latin America, which were all sent to the armour testing facility at Kubinka to study and focus on any strengths and weaknesses.

Segments & Timings: 3:27 - WW1, Early war/light tanks, British tanks 6:36 - US post-war & WW2 tanks 9:31 - German WW2 tanks (the full set!) Including... 13:30 The Maus 17:35 - Other WW2 German AFVs & transport 19:39 - French, Italian & other minor nation tanks and tankettes 20:57 - Hungarian WW2 Tanks 22:18 - Japanese WW2 Tanks 23:15 - An armoured train 23:35 - WW2 Russian tanks & tank destroyers 25:22 - Post War Russian tanks, prototypes & experimental vehicles 28:45 - BMPs and other wheeled and tracked APCs 30:11 - More WW2 Russian armour, & more BMPs 35:37 - Random shots that seem to have gotten out of sequence (possibly taken on a different camera?)

Happy New Year and enjoy the video!

First posted on 31 December 2024 | 12:00 pm

A Festive Bonus - a dozen Gladiators!

Yes, the interminable ADLG 28mm Republican Roman army project has now hit a Christmas milestone, with one of the novelty items in the army list hitting the interweb in the shape of these dozen Gladiators.

They are all from the Crusader Minis range, which I think do a very good job of staying stylistically in keeping with the mostly-Foundry Legionaries I've posted previously, but at a much lower price point of £7 for 4 instead of £14 for 6!

They were done surprisingly quickly, with the non-metallics being mostly Contrast paints - however on these figures the non-metallic parts are rather smaller than the metal-clad bits!

I also did almost all of the shield patterns myself, the exception being the chap at the back who uses a spare Crusader Roman Cavalry transfer from LBMS - unsurprisingly the shield was an exact size match for the CRusader cavalry shields !

The flesh is my now-standard layering of white base, Darkoath Flesh contrast then Vallejo Dark Flesh real paint, whereas all the matallics are black undeercoat and a drybrush of metallic.

I was particularly pleased with how this laurel wreath shield came out - it's a white base coat, GW Contrast Blood Angels Red (which does leave a bit more texture on the shield than a straight normal paint coat woudl do), then the laurel was initially picked out as a series of white blob over which I then painted GW Contrast Mantis Warrior Green.

Very chuffed with the musculature of the guy front left as you look at this base of figures. The casting really helped show where to paint, and the Darkoath Flesh layer then gives you even clearer guidance as well.

The yellow on their loincloths is Yanden Yellow Contrast.

The blue shield pattern is hand painted too (OK, this is a bit half-hearted compared to transfers, but...), but the notable thing about this is that the yellow bits are painted in a single layer straight onto (wider) black lines, using the new Warlord Games Fanatic paints - Demonic Yellow in this case.

This is the first yellow paint I think I've ever owned that had enough coverage to give this density of colour on top of black, straight out of the dropper bottle - highly recommended.

The same technique and paint was used on this red shield too.

Talassar Blue is the loincloth colour here.

And, here are the set, ready to accompany the Roman army into battle, and you to the dinner table for some turkey and stuffing!

And here's an AI-generated video of the guys being animated and aggressive!

First posted on 25 December 2024 | 11:00 am

The Legions are here!

The almost-final element of my 28mm L'Art de la Guerre Republican/Triumverate Roman project is the biggest and most meaty - 100 Legionaries (or Hastati and Principes in old money I guess?).

The figures are almost all from the classic Foundry ranges, mainly as they are just such great figures that still stand the test of time even when when put up against all of the newer plastic ranges out there.

They do however also stand the test of being expensive, and even though I do keep reminding myself that there is no point in saving a few quid buying sub-par figures it was still a challenge to click "buy" on the Foundry shopping cart after stacking up more than a dozen or so packs of Foundry infantry!

Luckily though, Mark Fry was selling a huge unpainted set of Foundry Roman figures at the end of last year, so that's how I convinced myself to bite the bullet and pick up enough infantry figures (as well as a set of mounted Great Commanders) to make up the meat (and two veg) of a Roman army.

Painting up 100 figures is quite a challenge, and even more so once you add in the LBMS shield transfer application process x 100 ... so I've documented it all here with LOTS of photos of the finished and WiP figures along the way.

There are lots more photos now on the website, along with some details of the painting process, links to the figures used and also to the LBMS shields on their site too.

First posted on 18 December 2024 | 1:00 pm

The German Road Trip - in video!

A special bonus feature now for those of you with too much time on your hands and a deep and enduring curiosity to learn more about our recent Team CLWC German Road Trip - a Madaxeman Video Podcast in which we talk through our trip and share our photos with you "on the telly"!

We recorded this on Zoom, which also has a rather disturbing AI summarising function allowing me, through the power of AI and a bit of cutting and pasting, to tell you that the video contains chat and photos on the topics of ;

Belgium Motorway Stop and Museum Visit

The group stopped at a motorway service station in Belgium on their way to Germany. Gordon shared a photo showing that the service station had displays of Einstein and other scientists, which is unusual for a British motorway stop. They then visited the Mons Museum in Belgium, which was closed on their previous trip. The group seemed to enjoy the gastronomy and drinking aspects of their trips as much as the historical sightseeing.

Exploring Military History and Equipment

The team discussed various aspects of military history, particularly focusing on the 1st World War. They examined a Pickle Haubert helmet, discussing its design and potential functions. They also discussed the fashion of having spikes on helmets, attributing it to the influence of Napoleonic and Alexandrian styles. The team also shared images of British and German uniforms, and a German stormtrooper's machine gun. They noted the evolution of military equipment, such as the transition from duck shooting guns to sniper rifles, and the development of tank driver's face masks. The team agreed that the museum they visited was exemplary and superb.

Belgium Trip and Local Experiences

In the meeting, Tim, Gordon, and David discussed their recent trip to Belgium, focusing on their visit to Mons and Bastogne. They shared their experiences, including visiting a museum in Mons where a Canadian gun fired the last shell of the 1st World War, and a railway carriage restaurant in Bastogne. They also talked about their stay in an Airbnb, which was missing a bed and bedding, and the local Belgians they met. The conversation also included a discussion about unusual products they found in service stations and their experiences with local food and drinks. The conversation ended with a visit to the Bastogne Barracks, a tank museum, where they encountered a bored little girl sitting in a porter cabin.

WWII Tank and Artillery Discussion

Tim, David, and Gordon discuss various World War II tanks, vehicles, and artillery pieces they saw at a museum exhibit. They identify and provide details about specific models like the Hetzer, Panther, Panzer IV, and anti-aircraft guns. Tim points out interesting features like camouflage patterns, welding techniques, and armament calibers. David notes that many of the German tanks on display were upside down or damaged, especially Panthers. The conversation focuses on recognizing the different vehicles and sharing knowledge about their specifications and histories.

Exploring Military Vehicles at the Museum

The transcript discusses a visit to a museum with various tanks and military vehicles on display. Tim, Gordon, and David examine and comment on the different exhibits, including Shermans, a Renault tankette, Matildas, a Valentine tank, armored cars, and large tow trucks. They remark on the size, features, and historical context of many of the vehicles. Tim notes the lack of security or fencing around the exhibits, joking about the possibility of stealing one. The group seems impressed by the collection and engages in lighthearted banter throughout their exploration of the museum.

Exploring Trier's Historical Sites and Architecture

Tim, Gordon, and David discussed their recent trip to Trier, a city in Germany. They visited various historical sites, including the Roman Basilica, the Trier Cathedral, and the Trier History Museum. They also explored the town's architecture, including the Electors Palace and the Black Gate. The group expressed their admiration for the well-preserved Roman structures and the impressive mosaics they saw in the museum. They also shared their experiences of visiting the town during the Christmas market season. The conversation ended with a discussion about a model of the city, which they found impressive.

Germany Trip and Competition Experiences

Tim, Gordon, and David Saunders discussed their recent trip to Germany, where they attended a competition. They shared their experiences, including the challenges they faced with the local train services and the food they enjoyed. They also discussed their performances in the competition, with Tim and Gordon sharing their losses and David Saunders recounting his wins and losses. The group concluded that they had a mixed performance, with some enjoyable games and others that didn't go as well as expected.

Cologne Carnival and Cathedral Visit

Tim, Gordon, and David Saunders discussed their recent trip to Cologne, Germany. They shared their experiences of the city's carnival, which started the next day, and how they encountered people already in party mode. They also talked about their visit to the Cologne Cathedral, which was closed due to the festivities. The group also shared pictures and stories of the various costumes they saw during the carnival, including cows, pirates, and other themed outfits. They ended the conversation with a humorous anecdote about "freezing cows" in German.

Exploring Charlemagne Land and Leuven

Tim, Gordon, and David Saunders discussed their recent trip to Charlemagne Land, which included visits to the King's Cathedral, Arkham (note: this is actually "Aachen") , and Leuven. They marveled at the stunning architecture of the King's Cathedral, with its intricate mosaics and casket containing Charlemagne's relics. They also visited Arkham, known for its chocolate shops, and Leuven, home to the Stella Artois brewery. The group expressed disappointment at the closures of the Stella Artois Museum and a local beer house due to it being a Monday. They also discovered a heavy metal album by Christopher Lee about Charlemagne, which they listened to on their way to Cologne. The trip ended with a visit to the town square in Leuven, where they saw a symbol of the town, a dead insect on a stick.

Germany Trip and Toy Soldier Games

In the meeting, Tim, Gordon, and David discussed their recent trip to Germany, focusing on the cities they visited and the experiences they had. They also talked about potential future trips, including a planned visit to Alicante. The conversation then shifted to their hobby of playing with toy soldiers, with Tim and Gordon sharing their experiences and strategies in various games. They also discussed the challenges of playing against certain armies, particularly the Swiss, and considered different army compositions for future games. The conversation ended with plans to reconvene and continue discussing their hobby.

The summary ends with the warning that ...

AI-generated content may be inaccurate or misleading. Always check for accuracy.

..something which I think could apply equally well to all of the Madaxeman Podcasts, be they audio or video format!!

You can see the video here

First posted on 13 December 2024 | 11:22 am

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Madaxeman's Wargames Blog

Alicante & Cartagena - the Podcast, and The Videos

Grab a Toblerone and head to Farnborough!

A New Year Bonus - a video of a lot of tanks!

A Festive Bonus - a dozen Gladiators!

The Legions are here!

The German Road Trip - in video!

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