My cars back and my new shower room will be installed soon!

During yesterday morning the surveyor from the shower installation company visited us, and spent nearly two hours measuring up the space and calculating what work need to be done to instal a new accessible shower in the shower room on our house's second floor. Now that has been done, the work can begin in about four weeks time ... and as soon as it has been completed, I'll be able to enjoy having a shower for the first time in well over a year. (I have had showers whilst on cruises, but I've been unable to safely get into and out of our current shower since I developed axonal polyneuropathy.)

I was also able to collect my car from the body shop yesterday afternoon ... and in meant that I was able to go to my local gaming club – Dice on the Hill – that evening.

Whilst waiting for the surveyor to do his work, I managed to re-fight the Battle of Tamai using the DOMINION OF THE SPEAR AND BAYONET rules, and I hope to write a blog post – and possibly create a YouTube video – about it over the coming weekend.

A busy few days ahead

I have a busy few days ahead, and my usual rather relaxed way of life is going to have to be put aside … at least until Wednesday!

Today I had to take my car to Dartford to have some repairs done to its bodywork. Someone drove into the back of my car whilst it was parked in a supermarket car park and put a rather nasty dent into the middle of the rear bumper and valance. Needless to say, they did not leave a note of any kind and there were no witnesses … so I will have to pay for the repairs myself. (I did think of claiming on my car insurance, but by the time I had paid the policy excess and knowing that the premiums would rise if I made a claim, I worked out that it would be cheaper to pay for the repairs myself.)

On Wednesday a surveyor is paying us a visit prior to us having a new walk-in shower fitted in our current shower room. The occupational therapist recommended that we have a wet room installed, but in the end we decided on a walk-in shower with a folding seat and handrails that had a tray that was almost flush with our existing floor. Hopefully that will be fitted within a month, and then I can begin showering as often as I like.

So, for the next few days I will be carless, although I can drive Sue’s car which is also an automatic and will have to stay in on Wednesday until the surveyor has been. With a bit of luck, I might be able to do some work on my floating shelf model railway and fight the battles of Tamai and Omdurman. I’ve been hoping to do the latter for some time, but the opportunity to do so has not presented itself … until now!

Watching YouTube

When I was confined to my bed for several months last year, I became an avid watcher of YouTube ... and I thought that I would share a list of some of the channels I subscribe to with my regular blog readers.

History of Wargaming Project: As a longtime supporter of John Curry's project to publish as many of the 'lost' wargame books as possible and publishing new works about Matrix Games, Cyber warfare, and professional wargaming, it would have been very remiss of me not to subscribe to this channel!

Miniature Adventure: As Big Lee's states on his channel introduction, his videos 'are designed for the busy wargamer who enjoys long-form videos but doesn't always have the time to watch them. So if you want short, interesting battle reports, hobby conversations, rules reviews and show reports, this channel is for you.' They certainly are as described, and I thoroughly recommend that all wargamers should subscribe to his channel!

Phil Sabin: Phil's occasional series of videos include battle reports and explanations of his rules.

Big Wargames: Ken Hanning's channel covers the Rapid Fire wargames he stages in his superb  purpose-build wargame room in Perthshire, Scotland.

Doug C: Doug describes his channel as a 'channel for vintage, Gilderesque wargaming 'In the Grand Manner''. In particular, it is the only place on the internet where I have found videos of the episodes of BATTLEGROUND, the Tyne Tees TV series about wargaming that was hosted by Edward Woodward. These include the battles of Chalons, Edgehill, Waterloo, and Gettysburg.

Budget Model Railways: My 'go to' model railway YouTube channel! Lots of ideas and inspiration, with regular updates.

Michael Chartres: I have only recently discovered this channel, but I find listening to and watching Michael renovate his 00-gauge model railway both interesting and inspiring. Like me, he is no spring chicken, but some of the methods he has used certainly made me sit up and say to myself 'why didn't I think of that!'

Jago Hazzard: Jago specialises in railways-related topics, especially those operated by TfL (Transport for London). He also has several model railway videos on his channel ... and they are well worth watching.

Sam's Trains: Sam's regular reviews of model railway locomotives and rolling stock are a must for anyone with an interest in the hobby.

WW2 Pod: We have ways of Making You Talk: This is Al Murray and James Holland's official YouTube channel about the Second World War. The banter between these two is fun, informative, and thought-provoking. What's not to like?

Lets Tab 59: This channel's owner is an ex-British Army NCO and besides doing lots of 'tabs' (Tactical Advance into Battle ... or countryside walks, during which he talks about all sorts of military topics), he also raises money for charity.

Shrewsbury House: This is a very new channel, but I subscribe because it is our local community centre and its where I go for my weekly gaming session with Dice on the Hill.

The Budget Model Railways Challenge: Inspiration for my choice of layout

As regular blog readers will know, I've always hankered after having some sort of indoor equivalent of John Ruddle's garden wargames setup.

John's setup included a garden railway, and it was looking at several of the photographs that included railway track that inspired me to think about modelling a border fortress that is served by a spur from a major railway line.

The only problem was that I didn't have a model fortress to use on my layout ... and then I remembered that back in 2023 I bought a plywood model castle from the English heritage shop at Deal Castle. Luckily, I had not put it into storage and after a quick search of my toy/wargame room, I found it.

The pieces just push together, and when fully assembled, it looks like this:

I assembled mine ... and realised that it was far too large for the layout BUT that its parts could be adapted so that I could build a small fortress and have plenty of parts over that I could use to build other buildings. For example, the two towers could be used as the basis of a church or cathedral.

My next task is to build my small border fortress ... and I hope to do that over the next week.

Henry Hyde's Battlechat 117 with Professor Gary Sheffield

In his latest podcast on his BATTLECHAT channel, Henry Hyde interviews Professor Gary Sheffield ... who happens to be both an old friend of mine and my occasional online wargaming opponent.

On his website, Henry describes their discussion as follows:

Battlechat 117 with Professor Gary Sheffield ... in which we discuss all things warfighting, and our thoughts about how some aspects of our discussion can be incorporated into our wargames.

Well, what a discussion! This is a real meant-and-potatoes chat about some of the nitty-gritty aspects of warfare, deep diving into some of the visceral aspects of battle, such as SLA Marshall's theories about how many men actually used their weapons and the brutal realities of bayonet fighting. Gary also has a lot to say about the concept of 'Big Men', those individuals who, in a critical moment of battle, can suddenly make all the difference between success and failure.

We also look into some of the psychology around training, battle and loss of key men, and jut what it takes to turn well-mannered civilians into soldiers capable of killing not just at a distance with firearms or artillery, but also quite literally at 'the sharp end'.

In all of this, Gary (who last appeared on the show in Episode 99) references the very latest research he is doing for his next book, and it's a real insight into the kind of background reading that an academic military historian needs to do in creating a piece of work that brings something new to the academic table, sometimes overturning old theories with new evidence, and sometimes being inspired by the latest trends in military history, all of which seem to be paying much more attention to modern work around psychology and sociology as well as classic references about strategy and tactics.

I hope you enjoy this chat – one of the longest battlechats of recent times – as much as I did, and find something of value and thought-provoking enough to make you reconsider some aspects of your own games.

I was able to listen to this discussion before it was released to the general public (I am one of Henry's Patreon supporters), and it was one of the best podcasts that I have heard in a long time.

Nugget 372

I will be collecting the latest issue of THE NUGGET from the printer (Macaulay Scott Printing Company of Welling, Kent) later this morning, and I will posted it out to members as soon as I can.

I will also send the PDF copy to the webmaster as soon as I can so that members can read this issue of THE NUGGET online.

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IMPORTANT: Please note that this is the ninth issue of THE NUGGET to be published for the 2024-2025 subscription year.

If you wish to subscribe for the 2024-2025 subscription year and have not yet done so, please request a PayPal invoice or the bank transfer information from the Treasurer or follow the instructions on the relevant page of the website.

The Budget Model Railways Challenge: A progress report

The first thing that I did was to paint the top of the floating shelf with three coats of Ochre Yellow acrylic paint.

I then placed my railway track onto the floating shelf to ensure that it fitted.

I then marked the places on the floating shelf where I would need to drill holes for the power supply and points wires …

… and then fixed the track to the floating shelf using a combination of white glue and track pins, ensuring that the wires passed through the holes I had drilled.

I then tested that the layout … and discovered that the points wouldn’t work! Despite checking everything I could, it proved impossible to track down the fault and I had to carefully remove the track.

I soon discovered the problem; the spring inside the points had come loose, and despite taking the points apart, it proved impossible for me to repair. As I didn’t have a like-for-like replacement, I had to re-think my layout plan.

In the end, I used a set of smaller radius manual points and adjusted the track accordingly. Once this was pinned and glued to the floating shelf, I tested it …

… and although it worked, I discovered that my 0-6-0 locomotives coped with the points and tighter curve better that my small 0-4-0 and large 0-6-2 locomotives.

I then painted the front edge and both ends of the floating shelf with matt black acrylic paint as I think that this frames the layout.

The next stage in this project is to decide on the theme for the layout.

The 109th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland … and some wonderful wargaming memories

Today marks the 109th anniversary of the initial stages of the biggest naval battle of the Great War, the Battle of Jutland.

Map showing the course of the Battle of Jutland.

Over the years, many naval wargamers have re-fought this crucial battles, and I took part in two such wargames. The first – which was staged the the US Naval War College in the Queen’s House at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich – was in November 2018, and the second staged by the Jockey’s Fields Irregulars in Holborn, London in December 2021.

The former used rules written by the staff of the US Naval War College in 1922 in light of the experience gained and data gathered during the Great War, ...

An example of the individual ship record cards used in the US Naval War College's 1922 Naval War Game.

... and the latter used a simplified, fast-play version of Fletcher Pratt's Naval War Game. Both used 1:1200th-scale model ships ... and the sight of so many model ships was stunning!

The final positions of the British and German fleets at the end of the Jockey's Fields re-fight of the Battle of Jutland..

Now that I can no longer crawl about on the floor, I doubt if I’ll ever be able to take part in such large naval wargames in the future … but I have some wonderful memories of those two wargames!

The guns of the Imperial Brazilian Ironclads

The Imperial Brazilian ironclads were armed with the following guns:

• 120-pounder Whitworth rifled muzzle-loading cannon
• 70-pounder Whitworth rifled muzzle-loading cannon
• 68-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading cannon
• 12-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading cannon

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120-pounder Whitworth rifled muzzle-loading cannon

This was a rifled muzzle-loader that had a Whitworth hexagonal rifled bore.

A drawing of Joseph Whitworth's hexagonal polygonal gun bore and projectile. It was used in weapons ranging from infantry rifles up to 120-pounder cannons.

• Weight: 16,660 pounds (7,556.8 kg)
• Length 144 inches (3.658 m)
• Projectiles: Shell; Solid shot; Explosive shell
• Shell weight: 151 pounds (68.5 kg)
• Calibre: 7-inch (178 mm)
• Maximum range: 5,540 yards (5,070 m)

Research indicates that the Imperial Brazilian Navy was the only purchaser of this cannon.

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70-pounder Whitworth rifled muzzle-loading cannon

This was a rifled muzzle-loader that had a Whitworth hexagonal rifled bore.

• Weight: 8,582 pounds (3,892.7 kg)
• Length 118 inches (2,997 m)
• Projectiles: Shell; Solid shot; Explosive shell
• Shell weight: 81 pounds (36.7 kg)
• Calibre: 5.5-inch (140 mm)
• Maximum range: 5,540 yards (5,070 m)

Four of these cannons were seized by the United States Navy on 29th January 1863 when the blockade-runner Princess Royal was captured by the USS Unadilla and the USS G W Blunt.

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68-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading cannon

A 68-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading cannon. This example used to be on display outside the former Royal Artillery Museum at the Rotunda, Woolwich.

• Weight: 88 cwt/9,856 pounds (4,470.606 kg), 95 cwt/10,640 pounds (4,826.223 kg), 112 cwt/12,544 pounds (5698.863 kg)
• Length: 88 cwt: 9 feet 6 inches (2,896 mm); 95 cwt: 10 feet (3,048 mm); 112 cwt: 10 feet 10 inches (3,302 mm)
• Projectiles: Solid shot; Explosive shell
• Shell weight: 68 pounds (30.84 kg)
• Calibre: 8.12 inches (20.62 cm)
• Maximum range: 3,620 yards (3,310 m)

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12-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading cannon

By 1860, the 12-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading cannon was obsolete.

• Weight: 32 cwt/1,626 pounds (736.541 kg)
• Length: 9 feet (274 mm)
• Projectiles: Solid shot; Explosive shell
• Shell weight: 9 pounds (4.1 kg)
• Calibre: 4.623 inches inches (11.74 cm)
• Maximum range: 1,800 yards (1,610 m)

Narrow Gauge Adventure: The story of The Craig & Mertonford Railway

Thanks to Kev Robertson's recent blog post about NARROW GAUGE ADVENTURE: THE STORY OF THE CRAIG & MERTONFORD RAILWAY by P D Hancock reminded me that I had read this book when it was first published, and that it – and his articles in model railway magazines – was the reason why I became enamoured of narrow gauge model railways.

As a result, I did a search on the internet and found a second-hand copy of the book on sale at a reasonable price ... and bought it! It was delivered last Saturday and I have spend several hours engrossed in reading it ... and getting lots of ideas for my future layouts!

The book is split into eleven chapters and three appendices:

• 1. The idea is born
• 2. An historical digression
• 3. The early years
• 4. The year of the trams
• 5. The middle years
• 6. Putting back the clock
• 7. The second Craigshire
• 8. I like locomotives
• 9. The narrow-gauge locomotives
• 10. The standard-gauge locomotives
• 11. The Craigshire landscape
• Appendix 1: Operating timetable
• Appendix 2: Rolling Stock
• Appendix 3: Things that might have been

The book contains lots of inspiring monochrome photographs and drawings, including several maps that show the various stages of the development of the layout and some intriguing ones that show what the layout might have looked out had circumstance been different.

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NARROW GAUGE ADVENTURE: THE STORY OF THE CRAIG & MERTONFORD RAILWAY was written by P D Hancock and published in 1975 by Peco Publications and Publicity Ltd (SBN 900586 44 4).