More of ‘A Driving Charge’ campaign for Chain of Command. The Japanese now face a newly recruited Gurkhas defending a bridge at Assun. They may be inexperienced, but can they hold up the fine traditions of their regiment? thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2026/05/a-dr...

The Japanese continue their relentless advance down the trunk road towards the defensive line at Jitra. Speed is the key and the initial defenders are only green recruits from the Indian Army. Can they continue to delay the more experienced Japanese? thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2026/05/a-dr...

Set up for a Sharp Practice game using the Magistrate’s Daughter scenario from one of the Lard Magazines. First game against a new opponent who I met in the Lard Zone at CanCon. He lives close to our holiday house, which is in a quiet spot with a dearth of gamers. No longer it seems. Yippee.

This is the opening game in ‘A Driving Charge’ a campaign for Chain of Command, set in Malaya. The initial scenarios find inexperienced units from the Indian Army trying to hold back battle hardened Japanese units - an interesting tactical challenge. thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2026/04/a-dr...

Need an earthwork for a forthcoming Sharp Practice AWI game and finally made some use of a set of Renedra gabions that have been lying around waiting for a moment like this. Gun and crew from Foundry. #sreadthelard

It seems like an age since our last Chain of Command campaign, so it was great to kick start a new one today. We’re in the Far East, Malaya to be exact, playing ‘A Driving Charge’, the Japanese breakthrough of the Jitra Line. I’ll be writing these up in full for the blog.

I think my workbench is trying to tell me something….too many periods? I’m a wargaming butterfly? I’m arguing back that this is just reflective of an active and vibrant hobby. Not sure who’s winning this….

Finished off the first batch of Romans to oppose my Germanic tribes using the Infamy, Infamy rules. All the figures for both projects are from Victrix Miniatures. thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2026/04/roma...

Finished off 8 plastic Perry figures as 72nd Regiment of Foot for the Second Anglo Afghan War. A first attempt at painting tartan at this scale, fortunately a fairly simple pattern. Pleased with the result.

Lovely to see my scenario getting a run out and happy to see that once again it gives a good, close run game.

Chain of Command 2 with @stormofsteel.bsky.social at the Outpost tonight. Playing @tacticalpainter.bsky.social 's Tank Banzai scenario from WSS magazine 138. Will it play different in 15mm? #15mm #wargaming #spreadthelard

Not looking to stir up controversy, it’s only click bait, honest guv! More added to the AWI collection. thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2026/02/filt...

Post something from the 80s

This way madness lies. Painting tartan trousers on 28mm Perry plastic figures. They’re intended to be 72nd Seaforth Highlanders for the 2nd Afghan War. Now if someone would only come up with a tartan speed paint…..

Love the versatility of the 28mm Perry plastic sets. All of these were made using the AWI Continentals (except the mounted figure, he’s from their metal range).

A new Jagdpanther to join the German tank park. This is a Revell 1/72 plastic kit and a nice little model. Moulded in black plastic for some reason, not the easiest colour to work with, but happy with the end result. The crew is from AB Figures.

Toy for the new puppy. I think the appendage is supposed to be a tail, but it defaults to the front instead of the back. The unfortunate choice of colouring doesn’t help. I doubt the dog gets the joke….

Here's a look back at the four participation games of a Konigsberg 1945 scenaro that I ran at Cancon in January. The game was in 20mm using Chain of Command. I've finally put together a blog post about how it all played out with plenty of pictures. thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2026/02/twil...

I’ve had these 28mm Foundry late Victorian figures in the pile for a while. Purchased with Sudan games in mind, as leaders or characters but also perhaps as something like a survey party or government officials in need of rescue. Lovely figures, many uses.

While I've never thought it worthy of a blog post, I've had a few people enquire about how I do the basing for my figures. A couple of people on the Lead Adventure Forum suggested it would be something of interest to them and so, here it is. thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2026/01/how-...

A year since our dog of 14 years passed away and Mrs TP has decided it’s time for a new dog. Much enthusiasm and a search and now we have a 6 week old rescue puppy. Lovely little dog, but clearly Mrs TP has forgotten how much work a puppy can be. Regrets? Perhaps not, but maybe second thoughts LOL.

Second day of running my CoC participation games at Cancon ended with a very tense struggle that finally went the way of the Russians. A plucky SU-76 found itself in a duel with a StuGIII and refused to go down easily. Until it did. Very entertaining and cinematic. Great stuff.

Two good participation games of my CoC scenario in the Lard Zone at Cancon. Excellent games between like minded players in the spirit of Lardy games. Good to showcase 20mm, a scale that gets very little love at an event like this. Lots of nice compliments on the terrain too.

Pie and a pint dice towers for Cancon Lard Zone game organisers, courtesy of Battlefield Accessories. Very nice indeed, big thanks to @toofatlardies.bsky.social

Table all set up and ready to go for Cancon. A Chain of Command seven to set in 1945 Konigsberg, twilight of the Reich. Running four games over two days. No voice by Sunday!

Always good to have @toofatlardies.bsky.social in town and a good chance for a final playtest of my Chain of Command participation game for Cancon. Rich played Dave as I watched on. Dave proved a poor host, driving off Rich’s Russian in a hail of StG44 fire. A good game that just needs a few tweaks.

I didn't think 2025 had been a particularly productive year, but that's because I don't keep a log of what I've painted or played. So looking back to compile a retrospective ended up revealing I've done a lot more than I thought. thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2026/01/2025...

They don’t make war movies like they used to. Circa 1971 we made two. Shot on Super 8 by one of our friends. Sadly, the films haven’t survived, but a friend sent me this still yesterday, perhaps the last surviving element. That’s 12 year old me jumping down to knife the German sentry. What a hero!

It's that time of year again and a look back at 2025. This time, rather than a review of everything, this is a focus just on Chain of Command. #spreadthelard #chainofcommand #wargaming thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2025/12/chai...

This is a story about a trip down memory lane that was less about nostalgia and more about testing my current modelling skills. My childhood love affair with @Airfix never ended it appears. thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2025/12/airf...

Far too hectic festive period to have any hobby time, so won’t be able to take part in this year’s #FestiveTankChallenge2025 despite having a Sherman awaiting construction in the stash. However, 2025 didn’t pass without a Sherman being made….three in fact. All for Indian tank brigades in Burma.

Looking back over the year’s new additions for my Second World War 20mm collection and I think this is my favourite. A Lanchester armoured car for the Far East, a 3D print.

Nick’s recent video on the TFL Patreon site reminded me that I still have the first hex and counter wargame I ever owned - Avalon Hill’s Afrika Korps. Bought for me by my dad, so we could play together. The start of many years of happy gaming. Still has the £4.60 price tag, a princely sum in 1973.

Lard Magazine 2025 is now out. Pleased to say it includes a mini campaign - ‘On Nunshigum Ridge’ that I wrote for Chain of Command, set in Imphal in 1944. As always the Lard Magazine is packed full of stuff for a host of TFL rule sets and is excellent value for the price.

We reach a key game in the Scottish Corridor campaign. If the Germans can win this one, then they've won the campaign. Failure and there's a chance the British can earn a victory themselves. Much to play for then as we come down to the wire! thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...

Used some figures left over from one of the Victrix 12mm sets to make up a few stands to represent dug-in squads for my O Group games. Simple enough to make - Milliput for the base and figures cut in half. Good way to use up the additional figures.

Adding a few support options to my US Marines. The bulk of figures are from Eureka but the range lacks most support options so I’ve filled gaps with Kelly’s Heroes and Britannia. A decent fit in terms of size and sculpting style. Although not sure why all the Britannia have a full backpack load.

Hearing new players wondering how to deal with double phases in Chain of Command, so thought I'd put together a blog post with a few tips and thoughts. thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2025/12/deal...

A few years ago, before I got back into miniatures, I was doing a lot of model making in 1/35. On a whim, I decided to see what I could do with the 1/76 Airfix models of my youth using my current modelling skills. This led to moments of sheer madness. Like rebuilding the engine deck of the JSIII….

Lovely table for a big four player Sharp Practice game set during the Peninsular War. French gendarmerie chasing down Spanish guerrillas on a magnificent 18’x5’ table.

Good to get my 10/12mm kit on the table for some O Group action at the club last night. Been playing a lot in 15mm with my opponent‘s former FoW collection, so a nice change to use my stuff. Several comments about how great this scale is for playing WW2 at company level.

A batch of German snipers from AB Figures. I've mixed it up with uniforms to give me choices for which units I can use them with. Nice to have a WW2 painting project that's not repeating the same drab colours repeatedly over and over.

Looking forward to getting these bad boys out for a game of Infamy, Infamy at the club tonight. A bit of interest in the rules at the moment, after a good game a couple of weeks ago. Hope it continues, because this mob doesn't see enough action.

The British attempt to buy time as we near the end of The Scottish Corridor campaign and launch the 'Skirl of the Pipes' counterattack. There's an opportunity to cause delay and even push the Germans back. But it's no easy task. thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...

I asked Chat GPT to create an image of British soldiers in Normandy 1944 in the style of an IWM photograph. One should have a Bren gun and they should be in action. WTF is this…

We are drawing close to the end game in our Scottish Corridor campaign for Chain of Command. It's coming down to the wire, with victory within grasp of either side. First, the Germans must try to take Colleville....can they do it as the first attempt? thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...

I ran four participation games of a Chain of Command scenario set on Saipan in 1944 back in January in the Lard Zone at CanCon in Canberra. Pleased to say, it's now available as an article in the most recent issue of Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy #138.

We are back to The Scottish Corridor campaign. This is the eighth game of a possible twelve, so we are coming down to the end game. Much hangs in the balance, but the Germans must make progress in this game to keep up a hope they can stay on schedule. thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...

Been a bit quiet lately, with my regular opponent travelling overseas, but it doesn't mean I haven't been beavering away on a few projects. thetacticalpainter.blogspot.com/2025/10/proj...

I’ll be running four Chain of Command games in the Lard Zone at CanCon in Canberra in January. If you fancy some gritty, late-war urban combat on a 20mm table, this might be of interest.