Miniature Adventures

Thanks to your incredible support, 1812: The Retreat from Moscow, the first Battle Chronicle co-created with Pazoot, is off to a flying start!

To help international players bypass high shipping fees, Paul has teamed up with global distributors. You can now buy the rulebook directly from local shops in the UK, US, and Australia.

Check the retailer list below. If your favorite local gaming store doesn't stock it yet, ask them to order it through their distributor. You can still order straight from Pazoot to directly fund future solo and co-op Battle Chronicles.

Thank you for playing, sharing your games, and making this launch a success. Work on the next book is already underway!

Here are our current stockists:

UK
Caliver Books
www.caliverbooks.com/

Great Escape Games
www.greatescapegames.co.uk/

Entyoyment
www.greatescapegames.co.uk/

North Star Military Figures
www.northstarfigures.com/

USA
On Military Matters
www.onmilitarymatters.com/

Noble Night Games
www.nobleknight.com/

Australia
Khaki & Green Books
khaki-green.com.au/

6 days ago | [YT] | 31

Miniature Adventures

Passing the Brush: Recruiting a Two-Year-Old to the Hobby

My "Operations Room" recently welcomed a brand-new recruit. My grandson is only two and a half, but after months of excitedly looking at my minatures, he’s officially taken a keen interest in painting. I decided tt was time for his first active-duty assignment: modeling and painting.

We started with logistics, magnetizing the bases of my latest unit of 1812 Russian Grenadiers. He was very careful to place the adhesive discs in the centre of each base. With the Tsar’s infantry secured, we moved to the main event. I wasn’t about to hand a toddler a delicate historical sculpt, so I dug out some plastic Gnolls from the pile-o-shame, handed him an old brush, and opened up the Contrast paints.

If you haven't tried Contrast paints with kids, they are pure magic. They flow naturally into recesses, making them incredibly forgiving. My grandson was remarkably focused, determined to cover every grey patch of plastic rather than leaving gaps. Naturally, "thorough" is a relative term at his age. By the end of the session, there was arguably more paint on me than on the miniature.

Once dry, however, his first-ever model looked genuinely cool. The unevenly slapped-on tones gave the Gnoll a perfectly grimy, swamp-dwelling beast vibe. We will definitely be doing more painting from now on. Although next time, I’m wearing an apron.

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1 week ago | [YT] | 46

Miniature Adventures

Yesterday, five of the Rejects gathered in the Shed-o-War for another day of tabletop campaigning. Despite the sweltering heat, we managed a seven-hour game using Richard's own early Napoleonic rules and his impressive miniature collection. Our battle was the Battle of Caldiero, fought on 12 November 1796 during Napoleon's first Italian campaign.

By the autumn of 1796, Napoleon had driven the Piedmontese out of the war, forced the Austrians back across northern Italy and trapped a large Austrian garrison inside Mantua. Determined to relieve the fortress, the Austrians launched another offensive under Feldzeugmeister József Alvinczy. His army advanced in two columns, with Alvinczy approaching Verona from the east while General Davidovich advanced from the north through the Tyrol. Their intention was to unite before marching on Mantua.

Unable to confront both columns at once, Napoleon divided his own forces. General Vaubois was ordered to delay Davidovich while Napoleon concentrated against Alvinczy. The Austrian advance guard occupied the villages of Caldiero and Colognola, separated from the main Austrian army around Villanuova. Sensing an opportunity, Napoleon planned to destroy this isolated force before reinforcements could arrive. General Augereau would attack Caldiero frontally while Masséna attempted to turn the Austrian right through Colognola.

The scenario reflected this historical situation. The French needed to force at least half of the Austrian advance guard to retreat, rout or be destroyed, or inflict heavier casualties than they suffered. The Austrians simply had to hold Caldiero and Colognola until the battle ended. Snow, sleet and mud hampered movement, artillery and cavalry, while vineyards, woods and fortified villages made the defence even stronger.

Historically, Napoleon achieved only partial success. After heavy fighting, the French captured Caldiero, but Masséna failed to break through at Colognola. As dreadful weather disrupted operations and Austrian reinforcements arrived, Napoleon realised he could no longer win a decisive victory. He ordered a withdrawal, allowing the Austrians to reoccupy Caldiero while retaining Colognola throughout the battle. Although Caldiero was an Austrian tactical victory, it proved short-lived, as Napoleon regrouped and defeated Alvinczy at Arcole only days later, restoring the French strategic advantage.

Our own game produced a remarkably similar outcome.

Stuart and I commanded the French and followed Napoleon's aggressive plan. After some hard fighting, we managed to capture both Caldiero and Colognola, actually exceeding the historical French achievement. Unfortunately, success came at a heavy cost. Our centre had suffered severe casualties and, although Austrian reinforcements had not yet reached the battlefield when the game ended, they were close enough that we could never have held our gains.

Like Napoleon before us, we had won ground but lacked the strength to exploit it. Remaining in place would almost certainly have resulted in our battered army being driven back once fresh Austrian troops arrived. With that in mind, the game was declared a narrow Austrian victory.

It was an excellent day's gaming. Richard's rules captured the challenges of early Napoleonic warfare perfectly, rewarding careful planning while demonstrating just how difficult offensive operations could be against a determined defence. Best of all, without trying to do so, we found ourselves facing almost exactly the same decisions that confronted Napoleon in November 1796. Those are often the most satisfying historical games of all.

For a full write up of the game (and lots more photo's) check out my blog post here: www.blmablog.com/2026/07/the-battle-of-caldiero.ht…

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 156

Miniature Adventures

I finally stepped away from the heat of the Operations Room today for some much-needed fresh air. The destination? The beach. The company? My grandson—the nominal heir to my Lead Fortune.

We all took turns keeping him happy and occupied, so after building sandcastles and a lovely lunch, I found time to do some digging of my own. I finally cracked open a new book that I received for my birthday all the way back in April. It’s taken me a couple of months to find the time to actually start it, but I’m already one chapter in and completely gripped. The clarity of the writing is phenomenal.

Ray and I have already painted up our respective armies for the Winter War. Now that the history is coming alive on the page, we just need to finally face off and come to blows across the games table.

Back to the grind tomorrow, but today was the perfect blend of family, sunshine, and military history.

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3 weeks ago | [YT] | 114

Miniature Adventures

Ray and I won Best in Show at Broadside today with our big battle Sharp Practice version of The Battle of Berezina. 😃 Utterly exhausted now, but Ill do a full write up on my blog in a day or two. (Here it is: www.blmablog.com/2026/06/armies-first-or-rules-fir… )

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1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 126

Miniature Adventures

So much for getting a load of video editing done this weekend. I had no commitments this weekend so I thought I would get ahead of my schedule for the first time in weeks... and my computer just laughed and said "not today matey"!!

Thankfully my son-in-law is a technowizard, so I'm hoping he can figure out why I cant open my files because i'm one more error message away from throwing the laptop out the window!!

1 month ago | [YT] | 96

Miniature Adventures

The Wait is Over: Our Rulebook is LIVE!

After months of writing, endless playtesting, and meticulous rewriting, our rulebook is officially launching TODAY!

This project has been a fantastic collaboration between Paul Brooks (the man behind the Pazoot Wargaming channel), me, and my long-suffering mate, Ray. But we couldn't have done it without the support and feedback of this amazing community.

To say a huge thank you for all your incredible support (and your legendary patience!), we’re throwing in a launch discount!

👉 Use code BIGLEE10 at checkout to get 10% OFF the cover price!

🛒 Scan the QR code or head straight over to pazoot.com to secure your copy today.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 63

Miniature Adventures

The march begins.

Step into the drama of Battle Chronicle: 1812 – The Retreat from Moscow. The books are officially fresh off the presses and rushing toward our June 1st launch!

This is a fast-paced, immersive narrative skirmish campaign where every decision matters and every battle carves your name into history. Can you survive one of the most brutal retreats the world has ever seen?

The countdown is on. Prepare your troops.

🔥 ON SALE 1ST JUNE! 🔥

Grab your copy from 🌐 www.pazoot.com

💥 Use code BIGLEE10 at checkout for 10% OFF 💥

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1 month ago | [YT] | 101

Miniature Adventures

Ray and I hosted a huge game of Sharp Practice in the Shed-o-War for the Rejects on Sunday, and considering we completely pushed the game beyond its intended scale, it went remarkably well. We definitely made a few mistakes along the way, but that was really the whole point of the exercise — testing the limits of the system, learning what worked, and spotting the areas we need to tighten up for next time.

By the end of the day, both of us felt we’d learned a tremendous amount from the experience, and we’re already making plans for an even bigger and better game in a couple of weeks. The rules survived the stress test… although a few units were not so fortunate.

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2 months ago | [YT] | 114