Highland Minotaur game - some Highlanders?

Flags of war have been posting some photos of their greens from their upcoming Jacobite Rebellion range on facebook, and they look perfect for my game concept.

Image from direct link posted by Flags of War

These character figures, and some of the standard Highlanders would be perfect as part of the Minotaur's warband for taking on the sassenachs.

Image from direct link posted by Flags of War

Now, I know I have a very poor chance of painting Tartan on miniatures, but I hope to attempt a reasonable copy of the Clan Duncan tartan, as I have a healthy bit of Duncan blood in my ancestry:

So if anyone has any tips for painting tartan, please let me know.  And no, I don't want any suggestions on buying a pot of tartan paint.

Highland Minotaur... ordered

The Bears Head Miniatures "Highland Minotaur" has been released for sale, and I eagerly await it's arrival Down Under.

BHM Highland Minotaur - image via direct link to the BHM web site

Now I need to wait for the Jacobite Rebellion miniatures mentioned in my previous post to start the game along.

On the rules side of thing, the Black Powder supplement for Open Combat Skirmish Game are a step closer to being released, which is what I will need to play what I have in mind.

Highland Minotaur

I came across  Bears Head Miniatures (https://www.bearsheadminis.com/) last night whilst looking at twitter, and saw the most amazing Highland Minotaur figure.

image from Bears Head Miniatures url... not my own

The tweet with the minotaur

To say I was caught my the 'oooh, shiny!' syndrome is an understatement.

This figure needs to be brought to life in either a wargame campaign, or a role playing game. 

Not that I need an excuse to buy this miniature, but I want an excuse to buy it.

So, my twisted brain envisages an 18th Century setting, with the Minotaur being a kind of 'Rob Roy' / Myth for the locals. Maybe it could even be a 'werebull'?

I really need a 'punny' (Pun + Funny) name for this character, but my brain isn't working at the moment.

But, I am coming up with some back story.

The area of "Loch Cai" (Cai, it appears, is a Scottish word for Cow) has a legend of a Man-beast that protects the fold* of highland cattle.

* apparently a herd is called a fold when it comes to Highland cattle.

It is rumoured that this beast lives atop a foggy hill called "Tulach Cai" that is dotted with standing stones and cairns.

Inspiration can be drawn for the setting from the following images (all images are URLs and not my own):

So, to the game itself.

As I mentioned, it would be an 18th Century setting. Part of it will involve the Highland Clearances (Highland Clearances) and the Jacobite Rebellion. This will give me the best option for figures.

Flags of War are releasing some Jacobite Rebellion figures (seen here: 28mm 1745 jacobite rebellion miniatures ), which are just brilliant judging by the photos, so I would be keen to get some of those when they are released.

If they go on to also produce English I will be very happy, especially if they make mounted and dismounted dragoons.

And yes, I do know that Rob Roy was a bit earlier than the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, but I can get ideas for the game from his history/myth.

• Rules and Scenarios

I think the rules "Open Combat" would be perfect for this game, as I can play using a small collection of figures in a small area, which will help keep the cost down.

 There is a black powder supplement in the making for  Open Combat, which will be perfect for the time line, but until it is released, I will just have to use the rules as they are.

For scenarios I can play raids and ambush actions, and I might have to watch "Outlander" (I can feel some of you shuddering as you read that) to steal ideas for the game.

• Need a name for the Minotaur

Ok, so I need to come up with a punny, yet cool, name for the main character of my idea, which is of course the Highland minotaur.

Any suggestions are most welcome.

• Notes

This link was helpful with geographical names: gaelic commonly seen hill names

I will just leave this here...

This arrived today! Not bad considering it wasn't due for release until the 22nd.

Australian Red Centre faction for ' Right Bloody Mess'

I have finished my first test paint for one of the 'A Right Bloody Mess' factions.

This one is from the Australian Red Centre faction, one of the few factions from within the book I am using, as opposed to ones I have created myself.

The ARC is kind of a resistance movement against the Westralia (Western Australia ceded from the Federation and took the Northern Territory).

Whilst I don't have any figures to represent Westralia, the ARC are enemies of Victoria, and they even sent troops to the NSW Riverina area, which is where I will be using them.

I used one of Eureka Miniatures 15mm WW1 British in the Sinai range, using the logic that the outback of Australia these blokes would come from would suit the uniform.

The paint was still wet when I took the photos, and I used my dodgy phone camera, thus why the image is a bit blury, but you should be able to get the idea.

I still need to varnish and base the figure.


 I really like these figures, so I am keen to finish them, and as there were some cavalry figures in the same range, I might even add to my ARC forces.

Eight Factions for "A Right Bloody Mess' Australian civil war

I managed to visit Eureka miniatures to day to buy some 15mm figures to make up some different factions for the 'A Right Bloody Mess" Australian civil war set in 1933.

As I am only playing at section/squad level, I don't need a whole lot of figures, and because of this, I was able to afford enough figures for eight factions.

I laid out each faction in rows for the above photo, so from top to bottom you have:

The Murray River League, a faction loyal to the Federation that skirmishes with Victorian troops along the Murray River. (The Figures are WW2 US sailors)

Riverina Troops: troops from the NSW Riverina area that ceded from NSW and are backed by Victoria. (WW2 early USCM)

The Tobacco Growers Federation: a militia group from North Eastern Victoria that were raised to defend their lands from other factions, and to send troops to help the Riverina. They are allied with Victoria. (I am using WW2 Italian Bersaglieri for these troops, as historically a lot of Italians went to grow Tobacco in the region in the early 1930s)

The Wine Growers Association: This is a Communist Union with troops across Australia where ever grapes are grown to make wine. This particular mob is out to take the lands from the Victorian Tobacco Growers Federation as the fertile lands would be perfect to grow more grapes. (WW1 Bulgarians)

Victorian Light Horse: one of the many units that forms part of the Victorian standing army. (WW1 Australian Light Horse)

Australian Red Centre: their main enemy is Westralia, but ARC troops do come in to conflict from time to time with Victorian troops, and can be found meddling in the Riverina conflict. (WW1 British in the Sinai)

An as yet un-named Militia group: but they are most likely to be a workers Union of some kind. As I visited Eureka Miniatures in person I was able to purchase just the figures with caps, giving them a very civilian look.  I thought I actually had a faction named for these figures, but for the life of me can't find where I made the notes. (WW2 Russian partisans)

and the final faction is:

The NSW Communist Party (a sub group of the Communist Part of Australia): This name is probably just a working title until I come up with something better. (Viet Minh from the French-Indo China range)


I am intending to paint up one of each of the figures to see what I come up with for the uniforms, and I intend to post each faction with the uniform once I had done so.

A Right Bloody Mess - Australian Civil War alternative history setting

Back in January 2017 I visited Eureka Miniatures and Nic showed me a draft copy for an Australian Civil War source book called "A Right Bloody Mess".

This source book is designed to initiate the gaming setting and then let it develope as wargamers fight out battles on the table top.  It can be used in conjuntion of any set of rules, and can be played at section level right up to large battles with thousands of troops.

I took a printed flyer home with me that had some basic information printed on both sides, and I began my eager wait for the book to be published.

One year later and I purchased my copy, although the book had been released in late 2017.

As some readers might rember, I love alternative history. What is even better is alternative history involving Australia.

The Australian Civil War is set in 1933 and has Western Australia and Victoria cede from the Federation. This is amid the hotbed that are Unions, Communists, Fascists, and a multitude of factions fighting agaist anyone who opposes their goals. This is actually over simplifying it a bit.

When I first purchased my copy of the book, which Matthew very kindly autographed for me in the Eureka Miniatures shop, I fully intended to post a review on the book.

This is easier said than done. The book if jammed packed full of information that, to be honest, I find it rather difficult to know where to begin, let alone the words needed to fully express how much I like the book!

So, I will cheat.

This is a blog post from the Author listing the full contents of the book. This hopefully will give readers an idea just how much information there is:

ARBM contents

Next, here is a link to the ARBM forum section from the A Very British Civil Forum that has a review:

The War Room: A Right Bloody Mess!

If you are interested and want to start or join in a discussion on ARBM, then please visit the forum: ARBM Forum

I have started a couple of topic in the forum, but will post some of the topics here too.