Painted 2024 - to be updated

500+ miniatures got painted again!

It's 2024

Don't ask me how many other miniatures I started, but did not finish...

Combined Arms Campaign

 Winter War

Bought Warlord Games Combined Arms -campaign system / game already last June and eventually last fall we kicked off a campaign with three mates from Nopat & Taktiikka club. Martin joined me as a brother in arms fielding Finnish forces fighting off the onslaught of Soviets steered with iron fist(s) byt Marko and Johannes. We chose to play Winter War (1939-40) themed campaign. Read on to learn about ou experience.

We chose this map to present the border areas of Finland and Soviet Union, including lake Laatokka (Ladoga) and the Gulf of Finland. Grey for Finland and green for CCCP.

Introduction video to Bolt Action

In a starring role!

Our Nopat Taktiikka Club's awesome video team has made an another great video: 

I'm the dude with the machine gun!

Battle of Oravais - Part 1.- blast from the past

First go with Black Powder 2nd Edition

Two brave volunteers joined in to give the 2nd edition a go.

See the pictures of the game in this blog post.

This is another un-finished battle report, that I'm now putting out, because why not. 

Celebrating the launch of Rebels and Patriots by Osprley Wargames

AWI AND BATTLE OF VAASA 1808

Several of us had had the opportunity to do play testing for this new set of rules coming from Osprey Wargames tomorrow! So we clearly had invented a way to travel to future!
Besides us play testers three more mates from club joined in to learn about the game.
Juha and Kalle hosted an AWI battle with and The Lament Ridge scenario from the book.
Me and Marko hosted a Russo-Swedish War 1808-1809 battle of Vaasa, that took place 25th of June 1808. This was also the next battle in our related campaign, which has been on hold for a while.

We started the event by distributing recently arrived rulebooks for play testers and then having a video call with Michael Leck (aka Dalauppror), co-author of the rules. He was at their club in Stockholm. We showed our tables and club and expressed our congrats on the publishing of the game.

Armies on Parade: Swedes and Finns of Napoleonic Wars

Army that lost Finland

Armies on Parade: Swedes and Finns for the Great Northern War

Charles XII and his brave "Karoliner"

Finland's 100th Independence Day - Bolt Action!

Battle of Raatteen Tie

I had promised to "re-enact" history in a party organized for celebrating our 100th Independence Day yesterday. So I did...

GNW: Battle of Napue (Storkyro) 1714 @ Ropecon (Report is WIP)

Nopat -club proudly presented at Ropecon: Finland at War

Earlier in the spring I got an idea for celebrating Finland's 100th anniversary in Ropecon2017 by running (demo) games from the Finnish war history. We planned this and ended up by staging battles from four different centuries: 1600-1700-1800-1900. See the blog post for further info on this.

I chose to stage the Battle of Napue (or Storkyro) 1714, which was last battle of the Great Northen War (1700-1721) fought in Finland. The era called "Great wrath" in Finland - occupation and terror by Russians.
Game system: Black Powder by Warlord Games.
History of the this battle here

See the blog post for further info on how the battle went and plenty of pictures.

Bolt Action: Testing the Scenario for Ropecon 2017

Battle of Kuuterselkä - Report is ready

On June 13th 1944 , the Soviet 21st Army's offensive reached the partially completed VT-line.^[9] The defensive position was breached at Kuuterselkä already on June 15. Though the line was breached the Finnish resistance managed to delay further Soviet advances. - WIkipedia

More info in Finnish here.

We ran a play test game with Kalle and Juha for the scenario planned for Ropecon. Pictures are now online, text will follow.

Battle of Nykarleby 24.6.1808 - Report completed!

The Finnish (Swedish) push continues!

Finally the snow has melted in northern Finland and the Finns are encouraged after the victory in Revonlahti. Now Adlercreutz, Von Öttern and Von Döbeln were marching and circling the small town of Nykarleby in order to take out the Russian forces there...

Read on to find out if the Russian managed to escape from the clutches of the attacking Finnish forces... 

Battle of Revonlahti 27.4.1808 - Report ready

Finnish attack continues

First, of course, in the words of Johan Ludvig Runeberg:

(for Gregori Tigerstedtille on the 50th anniversary of the Revonlahti  battle )

"Tunsitko joskus, joukoss' ihmisten

kulkeissas täällä elon tanterella,

kuink' outo voima, pakko sisäinen

toist' ihmistä voi toiseen taivutella?

Näet muodon, äänen kuulet, riemastut,

vaan et voit virkkaa, miks niin ihastut.

Mies oli Cronstedtilla väessään,

ilolla häntä vielä muistelenki;

ma vanhus olin, nuorukainen hän,

mut kummassakin meiss' ol' yksi henki.

Ma helposti ja paljon unhoitan,

mut Tigerstedtin muistan ainian.

Four warriors gathered again to pay our respects for the old glory of those soldiers and heroes, who fought to keep the archenemy at bay... Some of the pics are courtesy from Juha, thanks!

REPORT IS COMPLETED

Battle of Siikajoki 16.4.1808

Finns to the offensive!

All set for the next episode in our "Finnish War 1808-09" or Suomen  Sota -Campaign...

Ken joen rannall' on tuo miesi ylhäinen,

jok' yli vetten, maiden katsahtaapi?

Jo ryhti, huulten uhka, säihke silmien,

kädessä miehekkäässä miekka tulinen

urosta, sotilasta muistuttaapi.

Hän yksinään on, ilman seuraajaa,

mies nuori tullen mennen herrallensa

vain aika ajoin sanaa kuljettaa;

mut takan ja eessä kaksi armeijaa

veristä surmaa uhkaa toisillensa.

Hän tuosa näkee Siikajoen maiseman

niin kolkkona kuin ruumiin laudoillansa,

hän Suomen sodan muistaa vielä kolkomman,

häpeän, paon, hylyks jääneen kunnian

ja ryssäin pilkkanaurun takanansa.

Se syynä, miks niin synkkä otsa on,

miks varjo musta huolihunnun vetää

peitteeksi urhon jaloon muotohon;

hän näkee, kuinka Suomi, äiti turvaton,

nyt alttiiks jää, kun poikain miehuus pettää.

- Part of the poem "Adlercreutz" by Johan Ludvig Runeberg,

WIP: pictures added, report will follow...

Re-run: 16.4.1808 Battle of Yppäri

A Fighting Retreat

Super Gaming Week: Game 3.

FINALLY
The long waited
LAUNCH OF THE 

"Finnish War 1808-09" (Suomen Sota) 

CAMPAIGN!

It was in last September, when this fire was really ignited. I had been slowly collecting some minis for the Russo-Swedish War 1808-09 (where Finland was torn away from being part of Sweden and annexed to the Russian Tzardom), but visiting The Little Wars Club in Stockholm really kicked this project on. They introduced us to  the Pikeman's Lament rules system based on the successful Lion Rampant -system. Miniature painting (and buying more) started after the trip and then we just had to wait for the Pikeman's Lament ruleset to be published...

Now were finally all set and played the first battle as presented in the excellent gaming resource by Sword and Sabre -publishing : 16.4.1808 Battle of Yppäri (Pyhäjoki).

Bolt Action: Assault on the Mannerheim -defensive line

On 30th of November was the 77th anniversary of start of the Winter War, where Soviet Union started bombing targets in Finland and assaulted the Finnish soil - all without a declaration of war or other warning. This nasty habbit they still seem to have...

It has now become a tradition to play a Winter War battle on this date. This time it was me playing the Finns, defending the Mannerheim-line and Martti and Jussi attacking with a division of Russians each! Kalle acted as the umpire (and as an advisor for trhe Russians), Juha played the role of a war reporter. Pictures from all involved are included in this AAR.

Eagle Rampant: Battle of Virta bridges 27.10.1808

Babtism of fire for my Finns

Battle of Koljonvirta

For the last 6 weeks I've mainly been painting miniatures for the Russo-Swedish war 1808-1809 (after it Finland was ceded to Russia). So it was high time to get them onto battlefield, even if their painting is still mostly WIP. We played the so called "Koljonvirta battle", which is epitomized in Finnish national history as part of Ensign Ståls (Steel) poems by our national poet  Johan Ludvig Runeberg. 

Some info in English on the battle here

Warning: this AAR includes poetry in Finnish. You have been warned!

Mut toista tuli, törmältä kun täyttä vauhtia

riens' adjutantti Sandelsin, hevonen vaahdossa:

"Jumalan tähden, portaallen, aseihin", huusi hän,

"vihollisjoukon tiedetään täst' yli pyrkivän."

Päämiehelle hän lisäsi: "Te silta purkakaa,

jos voitte, muuten viimeiseen verehen taistelkaa!

Hukassa kaikk' on, taaksemme jo ryssät ennättää;

apua saatte, kenraali jo tulla lennättää."

Sven Tuuva

Bolt Action 2. First go!

Top Secret! Finns vs. Soviets 1000p.

Got to have a first go with BA 2. with my friend Kalle. I was playing my battle hardened Finns against Kalle's Russians, so this was a pretty historical set up - Continuation war 1941-1944.

Russo-Swedish War 1808-1809 - first Finns WIP

These Savolax Jägers are made from French Dragoons on foot (Perry). Heads are from some other plastic napoleonic set. I had them in my bitsbox. See the others and learn how they were made.

Bolt Action Tournament

The Final Campaign of Bolt Action 1.0

A detachment of heroes from Nopat Club took on to a Bolt Action Crusade and headed to far away place called Lahti on an September Sunday. The day would not be peaceful...