Talavera game report

[Peter]

I know this isn't really where game reports are supposed to go, but as some had asked to see how it played out I thought I would post it here. Thanks for all of your support and enthusiasm around this - it has been fun to share the whole process!
We played for ten hours and barely got half way through. But I had enough good photos (30 +) I thought I would split the report in two.
So here is the link to Part 1, with Part 2 to happen when we can find the time over the next couple of weeks.
https://tinywarsplayedindoors.blogspot.com/2023/04/dawn-attack-battle-of-talavera-28-july.html

I will tack on a few pictures here and will add to this post when we conclude.

[C M Dodson]

Excellent stuff Bill.

The ‘Grand Manner’ in action.

Impressive visuals, great modelling and a real ‘ feel’ of the event .

You really have manufactured the Iberian experience for us all to enjoy.

Watch out for the light at the rear of your room bleaching out your pictures.

Best wishes,

Chris

[Minuteman]

This looks really very impressive indeed, Bill. The massed cavalry pictures are particularly fine, and I also like the carts and French artillery gun and limber very much. The lighting gives the whole thing a definite atmosphere. I look forward to part 2 of your game report.

[Ochoin]

Bill, obviously a wonderful spectacle, great figures, amazing terrain etc.

But can I also congratulate you on your masterful photography?
As a doofus with the camera, I stand in awe of what you did with lighting & picture composition.

Looking forward to Part 2.

donald

[Bill Slavin]

Thanks, all.

Chris, I am a rank amateur compared to you! The light bleaching out the photos is caused by a standing photographer's studio lamp with a 250w bulb! Alan's carriage house (read "garage") is woefully under lit, so we need to use the lamp which has the advantage of putting out enough heat that it can make a chilly unheated Canadian garage in April a bit warmer if you stand directly in front of it! Alan, being the perfectionist, positioned it to the east so that it would be the proper lighting for a dawn attack!

Donald, thank you for the kind words about my photography, but it really is super basic. I am using an old digital camera that reads incandescent light in a very yellowy hue which works well for the Iberian Peninsula (iPhones take beautiful crisp photos, but are calibrated to give natural lighting, which I don't like for battle reports!) Other than that, lots of ground level shots, all hand held but with the camera set on Manual so I can set the ISO at 800 to let in as much light as possible at the cost of crispness. They still end up having to be a very low aperture setting which puts a lot of stuff out of focus, but I keep it simple as I am snapping a few photos while my opponents maneuver their forces.

[C M Dodson]

Hi Bill.

Try defusing the light with a sheet or sheets of paper but if it’s really hot shine the light at the ceiling to get a reflected light.

It will not bleach and you will reduce shadowing.

Best wishes ,

Chris

[Bill Slavin]

Thank you! I will try that - a simple fix.

[Konrad]

Great report!
Great Scenes!
Great figs!
Amazing pictures!
Impressive!

[Peter]

That is a massive battle! Wow! Thanks for sharing!

[MABO]

It is so great to see all these figures together! Amazing stuff.

[Rich W]

Super stuff Bill. The lines of infantry and cavalry really do look epic!

[PaulRPetri]

Bill that is one of the best wargames in progress I have ever seen... And I have seen a lot!!

[Santi Pérez]

Great report!
Great Scenes!
Great figs!
Amazing pictures!
Impressive!

In short, everything is great in this Talavera game report, Bill.

Santi.

[k.b.]

Magical game report Bill. Beautiful figures over beautiful terrain and gloriously captured with beautiful photography. It must be like being in a dream having all these figures of both sides assembled in one’s own home and being able to play until your heart’s content.

[Bill Slavin]

K.B. It is very satisfying to see all the figures on the table and get down at eye level and take it all in like you did as a child. And you are right, I am very fortunate that I have a good friend with the time, commitment and space (it is his coach house for our warmer weather games!) to play this out at leisure, as an afternoon and evening just wasn’t enough time!

[PatrickJ71]

It's amazing to see all those magnificent troops you showed us the last couple of months all displayed together on a battlefield.
The yellowish pictures perfectly capture the atmosphere of the peninsular landscape.
Now that they are all put together on a battlefield, it must be a satisfying result of all that great painting and converting work you did.
Thanks for sharing.
Patrick

[Bill Slavin]

For those of you who are following this, here is the link to Part 2 (and the conclusion after 20 hours of gaming!) It was pretty dramatic.
https://tinywarsplayedindoors.blogspot.com/2023/05/dawn-attack-battle-of-talavera-28-july.html
And here are a few more pics from the second part of the fight...

[C M Dodson]

Very nice work Bill with your pictures capturing the ‘ flavour’ of the period.

The grandeur of the overview shots really does credit to your hard work .

Best wishes,

Chris

[Konrad]

A big movie theater!
Really impressive.

[Minuteman]

Part 2, and another fine snap-shot in time, reeling back the years to the Peninsular War. I like these photos very much, in particular the shot taken from the allied artillery position with cavalry charging in the middle ground. All very atmospheric.