WAB Corner

Something Like Salamanca Black Powder Playtest

2012-01-28T20:19:00.000-08:00

Pulled off a nice Black Powder game today with the assistance of a few of the local Black Powder enthusiasts (okay Pat L. likes Waterloo better). The set up was loosely based on the Battle of Salamanca; instead of divisions, we had three brigades per side. It was basically a linear battlefield, with the British having the advantage of having all of their units on the table at the start, as well as having several already in line formation. The French, to simulate their blundering into the British, had to wait until the second turn to bring on their cavalry and one of their artillery batteries. Here is the British center in good position after their first turn:

On the eastern side of the battlefield, the 71st Highland LI occupied the village, while the remaining units of their brigade moved up in line to face the French right.

I failed to take a photo of the combat between a Small unit of French Dragoons and 1st KGL Hussars on the western side of the battlefield. The Dragoons lost their round of combat and had to retire to their rear - unfortunately off the board and out of the game.

The 1st KGL Hussars' victory was short-lived though; soon after the French 9th Hussars managed to move through the woods, reform and charge into the 1st KGL Hussars' flank. Needless to say, the 9th Hussars exacted revenge by destroying the 1st KGL Hussars in combat.

After silencing a British RHA battery with fire, the French commander on the right opted to use the Follow Me command to skillfully get his units into hand to hand combat. The results were the Coldstream Guards being destroyed. By the way, both French and British had Staff Ratings of 8.

With the loss of the Coldstream Guards, coupled with the earlier loss of the 1st KGL Hussars, it was declared a French victory. This is the opposite of what happened at Salamanca, but again, the scenario was not an exact duplicate of the battle. My fellow gamers said they had a great time and felt the game was set up pretty fairly. One suggestion was to have the French units coming on in the second turn not being able to automatically come on, but had to pass a Command roll first. This is a great idea, but I may leave it the way it is as I like to have the game move fast - especially since this will be run at Enfilade! with players who may not have prior experience with the rules.

Narrow Escape Before the Battle

2012-01-27T15:59:00.000-08:00

A French Vivandiere who was foraging in town narrowly escapes detection by the British right before the battle. She must've pretended she was with the British; or the Spaniards would've surely captured her, or worse.

Looks like she may have to leave ol' Jenny loaded up with hard earned supplies. Stay tuned for what happens next.

ADDENDUM - initial battle dispositions:

General Rowland Hill - Commanding

2012-01-26T22:49:00.000-08:00

He's now ready to command the brigades that will take on the French this Saturday. I have couple of spare Perry figures that I may swap out with the Victrix foot guys here.

Front Rank General Rowland Hill - WIP

2012-01-25T22:27:00.000-08:00

This is the third Front Rank character I recently ordered. Another fine figure with cleanly sculpted details. General Hill was one of the best commanders that served under Wellington. In fact, he was one of the few commanders that Wellington could rely on for independent operations. Besides distinguished service in the Peninsular, he led a charge against the Imperial Guard at Waterloo. He survived the war and went on to become CINC of the Forces from 1828-39.

He will be the overall British commander for Black Powder games.

Terrain Cloth - or JoAnn's Revisted

2012-01-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

As the greenish cloth I have is only 8 X 5', and the material was catching the wooden stands, I figured I'd take a look at what JoAnn's had to offer (again). I picked up a nice mottled fleece for only about $6.00 a yard. I now have a 12 X 5' terrain cloth. It's light, yet has enough depth to it for a nice feel. Being 100% polyester, the wooden stands now can be slid without catching (or worse, breaking off bayonets).

I can add some green patches here and there, but I'll wait for a warm, sunny day to do this. I went ahead and placed the figures back on for the Black Powder game. EDIT: I've decided against doing this and will add patches of fur here and there for grass - my next terrain project - stay tuned ;)!

I'll add some terrain in the center areas to block LOS.

Black Powder Playtest Set-up

2012-01-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

I'm calling this one "Something like Salamanca" as it's based very loosely on that battle, on a much smaller scale of course. Instead of divisions, there will only be several brigades per side and concentrating on the western and center portion of the battle. I ended up using a smaller table at one end (the western side) to increase the length of the battlefield. As Gunny Highway would whisper in a scratchy voice, "You improvise, adapt and overcome." This playtest is for a game at Enfilade! in May - which will have a 12 X 5' table. The playtest is scheduled for next Saturday with a few of the Puyallup Wargamers.

Here is the French brigade that is duplicating Thomieres' doomed division moving in column to the west, oblivious to the British infantry already formed in line to shoot them to pieces; with a light cavalry unit to swoop in on any survivors. Or maybe the French player can pull off a good defense - we shall see.

British center - also with infantry in line formation with a Horse Artillery and a Small unit of Rifles.

French brigade in the center consisting of two infantry battalions and a unit of light cavalry which will come on the second turn. Note that one of the infantry battalions is in mixed formation with skirmishing Voltigeurs out front (see pages 78-89 of the Advanced Rules LOL!).

Here we find another British brigade coming out of the village of Los Arapiles; the overall British commander is also nearby.

The easternmost French brigade which will have its unit of heavy cavalry and artillery battery move on in the second turn. The overall French commander is also on this end of the battlefield.

Another view of the battlefield; this time from the west.

I may put some blocking-LOS terrain in the center of the battlefield. We'll see what my fellow gamers say next weekend. Looking at the cloth, it appears pretty sorry. I am currently researching for a good (price/looks) replacement. I like the stuff Terrain Guy has, but not sure if I want to spend that much. On the other hand, I've probably already spent half the price of a good mat on several not so great (for gaming) fabric from JoAnn's. Maybe I should cut my losses and just spend the money on something decent.

Late-Japanese (Samurai) WAB Army

2012-01-21T11:19:00.000-08:00

Here it is with all options; actually the new Armies of Antiquity list stops at 1500 AD, conveniently leaving out firearms. Too bad, as I'd already painted up a Dixon canon as well as OG teppo ashigaru. They'll just wait in the wings until a supplement comes out for them.

Anyway, I was supposed to play this army (at 2K less the teppo and cannon) today, but most of the other WAB players wanted to cancel due to weather conditions. The weather conditions aren't bad today, but they may need to clean up their property. Since my army was already prepped for travel, I figured I'd at least take group photo. I do want to add sashimono to the rest of the cavalry; also plan to add some army banners for looks as the new AoA doesn't include them in the list.

ADDENDUM - a comparison pic per a TMP request:

Perry Mounted Samurai Completed

2012-01-20T16:38:00.000-08:00

In spite of a power outage for over 30 hours, I managed to finish up these guys. Heck, I needed something to do.

I painted up the two remaining horses by battery operated lighting. Not as bright as I'd wanted, but it worked. I had to hold the figures up next to the light to get them done. That little transistor radio was all the entertainment we had while the power was out - actually listened to a news broadcast to hear what was going on.

Power went about 7:00am yesterday due to our winter weather - probably trees falling on power lines. It only just came back on about an hour or so ago - 4:00pm the next day. I wasn't alone, about 300,000 paying customers were out of power for most of this period. That's just the households, so I'm sure you can double that number easily. Anyway, only minor damage to our property - a shade tree our front yard couldn't take the prolonged period ice remained on its limbs. Here are my two boys cleaning up the damage.

The backyard looks okay - the bamboo and pine didn't appear broken, and hopefully should straighten up after all the ice comes off.

Perry Mounted Samurai - WIP +1

2012-01-18T17:07:00.000-08:00

Samurai are done - just need to paint their horses. Two of these guys will be lords and one, probably the guy with the skull sashimono, will be the army general.

Due to heavy snow, work was cancelled so I got to stay at home today. In between shoveling snow out of the driveway, I managed to paint up these nice Perry figures. Oh, and I even got to do some winter warfare training with the indigenous population in my back yard.

They're pretty fit and have keen sense of smell, but they have a limited attention span.

Addendum: General's horse painted:

Perry Mounted Samurai - WIP

2012-01-16T20:34:00.000-08:00

Started on the sashimono for some Perry mounted Samurai. The designs are taken from the excellent Samurai Archives forum.

The initial pattern was roughly sketched with a pencil

These guys will be the general and lords for a Late-Japanese WAB army using the list in the new Armies of Antiquity supplement. I don't have the supplement, but a buddy let me use his book for the list. I understand that the supplement is mainly geared for tournament players. I wished they had continued on with the more detailed/specific supplements - like the cancelled Divine Wind and Successors book.

Hopefully I can have these guys done before a game this coming Saturday; if not, I have some TAG Samurai to fill in.

Black Powder French Command Stands

2012-01-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

Ready for the game later this month, two more French command stands. The Cuirassier will command the brigade with heavy cavalry and Lefebvre-Desnouettes will be the overall commander. Although Lefebvre-Desnouettes was captured in 1808 and never returned to the Peninsular, he'll continue to command the French for Black Powder purposes.

The Guard Artillery officer and two musicians are also Front Rank figures; the remainder are from Foundry's Napoleon & Staff set. Granted the guy with the spy scope is a Marshal, but let's just say he's helping Lefebvre-Desnouettes out - making sure he doesn't get caught by the British.

The ADC has a red arm band signifying he's on the staff of a general of division, so he must be just delivering a message to the general of brigade.

Comparison shot per a TMPer's query:

Front Rank Cuirassier General - WIP

2012-01-14T20:22:00.000-08:00

Finished the second Front Rank French officer. He'll command the brigade that has the heavy cavalry unit.

Another fine Front Rank sculpt - as you can see this one has the saddle and figure cast as one piece. He'll be mounted on a round stand along with a couple of additional foot figures.

Front Rank General Lefebvre-Desnouettes - Ready to Command

2012-01-14T12:52:00.000-08:00

Here he is in the full-dress uniform as commander of the Guard Chasseurs a Cheval. He'll be on a round command stand for Black Powder next. Actually, I going to start on another Front Rank French commander first.

The postman also delivered a copy of Over the Top and Vlad - I had taken advantage of their sale recently. It only took 9 days to get here.

Front Rank General Lefebvre-Desnouettes - WIP

2012-01-13T17:07:00.000-08:00

The camera flash washes out the colors and details a bit, but wanted to show you this very nice Front Rank character figure. He's General Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes (easier spelled than pronounced, I presume). He was captured by the British in the Peninsular, broke his parole while in England and took part in the 1812 Russian Campaign, 1813 campaigns, and commanded the Guard light cavalry at Waterloo. He survived all of this and yet drowned along with all hands while crossing the Atlantic in 1822 to return to France from his exile in America - a grim reminder of the hazards of the day. Interestingly enough, the ship he was on that sank was called the Albion.

He's in the uniform of the Chasseur a Cheval of the Imperial Guard.

The horse is done too now:

16th Dragoons - Elite Company

2012-01-13T09:45:00.000-08:00

Here they are, ready for a Black Powder battlefield, either on their own as a Small unit or combined with a unit of Cuirassiers and Carabiniers to form a Large unit.

The main reason I painted them up as the 16th was due to the musician's fantastic uniform. He's illustrated on the cover of a uniform book I've had since a kid; later I found a Knotel print of the same figure.

The horses have been painted in the usual way - a basic block paint job, followed by a stain of Minwax Tudor Satin. It's really taken the anxiety of doing up cavalry units. Make sure you spray the stain after its dried with Testors Dulcote.

Next up will be those Front Rank Napoleonic characters - need a few more command figures for Black Powder. Later on I may also work on several Perry mounted Samurai - I've decided to go with a Late-Samurai army from the new Armies of Antiquity WAB supplement for the annual local convention Enfilade! in May.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Perry French Dragoons - WIP

2012-01-08T17:20:00.000-08:00

Feeling guilty as these guys kept getting pushed back in the paint queue, I went ahead and started on them. I'm glad I did as they painted up pretty quickly. Here's a small unit of French Elite Dragoons. The remnants of the box that were previously painted for my buddy - the guys in Spanish brown cloth. Horses are next.

These are painted as 16th Dragoons. There's a Knotel print showing the trumpeter dressed like this - the epaulettes are all white in the print, but since I started with red, as in another illustration of the same figure, I left the crescents red. At first I thought they'd be used as a Small unit (for Black Powder), but I think I'll add them to the 14-man Cuirassier/Carabinier unit to make it a large unit of combined heavies. That should scare the enemy.

On another subject, my buddy let me check out some of the army lists in the new WAB Armies of Antiquity. Boy did it change my Early-HRE Clerical army; took away the Hungarian Light Horse, as well as the Carrocio! I revised the army as a Communal one - no restrictions on Merc troops. I pointed it up to 2,000 for use at the next Enfilade! Pat Lowinger of Northwest Historical Wargames, formerly of Socal Warhammer, is GMing it - more of a friendly bring your 2K army and play kind of thing than a tournament. While looking at the Samurai list, I was bummed to see it ends before the introduction of firearms. However, I did manage to create another 2,000 point army with my existing figures based on a Late-Japanese (aka Samurai) list. I had been waiting to acquire some unit standards, but the new AoA doesn't even allow it; to get a +1 bonus for combat resolution, you can attach the general or a lord to the unit; also giving it a re-roll for failed break tests. Otherwise, I think the local WAB guys will continue using the old supplements.

Drumbeat V - 1/7/12

2012-01-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

Attended Drumbeat V up in Lake City, WA (just North of Seattle) today. I mainly wanted to get in a Black Powder game hosted by John Kennedy of The Panzer Depot. Luckily I did just that; John let me run a brigade of the Austrian left flank. It was a river crossing scenario, with an allied French-Bavarian army vs. Austrians. There was a lot of hand-to-hand combat going on all over the table. The Austrians eventually losing the battle. The figures were either John's or the other Panzer Depot regulars.

There was another Black Powder game in the afternoon using the Last Argument of Kings supplement. Dick Larsen, who hosts Drumbeat, ran the game. I sat this one out as I left before the second period would end.

Other games from the morning period included Kevin S. and Dave Shoe's ACW naval game. Looked like a lot of fun as their games always are.

Wes Rogers ran another one of his Seven Years War games - always with really nice (and plenty of) figures.

I think this one is a Force on Force game - it was listed as an afternoon event, but maybe there was a free table so they ran it in the morning too.

There were more than enough games for both periods; there were a couple of TSATF games, and DBA players made a good showing; Mitch B. hosted a big Tactica game. This was my first time at the new location in Lake City, and most of us walked over to Dick's Drive In to grab some burgers and greasy fries for lunch. Another fine game day with great games and good people. It was good fix, as I'd not gamed for awhile, and I got to play another Black Powder game to boot.

ADDENDUM: My oldest boy (12th grader) just got home from his first day with the Washington State Air Guard. He'll go to basic training after graduation in the summer. After talking to him about his day, he said I had a package in the mail - it was the Front Rank figures I just ordered last week through Triangle Miniatures. Super fast shipping and just in time to get them painted up for a Black Powder game later this month. I needed a few more commanders; they are General Charles, comte Lefèbvre-Desnoëttes, General Rowland Hill, and a Cuirassier General. They look excellent! Note the Cuirassier guy has his saddle molded onto his body, and the other two don't. The catalog does tell you which horses to order with which figure - so make sure you follow the instructions.

Now the Perry French Dragoons have to go on the back burner once again. And I actually started on them last night. Poor guys.

Curteys Medieval Bowmen

2012-01-01T15:22:00.000-08:00

Just a small batch of figures to start off 2012. These are very nicely sculpted Curteys figures that had been sitting around unpainted for some time. I was prompted to paint them to beef up my Early-Holy Roman Empire WAB army. My WAB interest has been re-energized due to a projected WAB "tournament" at this year's Enfilade! convention in May.

These guys were painted up pretty quickly with basic block painting and then given a wash of Minwax Tudor Satin stain. In fact, waiting for the stain to dry took longer than the actual base painting.

Here is what I use for the staining process - An old, fairly wide tipped brush; Minwax Tudor Satin stain, which I scoop out with a small plastic cup. This way I can re-seal the can and keep it from drying out too quickly. Latex gloves are nice to have, but not necessary. Finally, I've started to use a paint thinner for areas that pool too much of the stain.

Best wishes to all in 2012!

79th Highlander Command Stand

2011-12-30T10:32:00.000-08:00

Painted up some "spare" Victrix figures for another Black Powder command stand - this one for the 79th Cameron Highlanders. Since I chose to use only standing figures for the basic unit, this is a good way to utilize the kneeling figures. The kneeling guys were originally painted up as 42nd Highlander, but a simple repaint of their facing in green, as well as adding a few red and yellow over stripes to their tartan converted them to 79th. I've seen the 79th's piper wearing a regular red coat with green facings, but I like the reverse colors better for this unit.

I hope to get in on a Black Powder game next week at game day up in Seattle - Drumbeat.

Black Powder Skirmisher Basing

2011-12-26T08:36:00.000-08:00

Plasticard bases with magnetic tops were cut into round bases for the pairing of skirmishers already singly-based on metal washers. This way they can still be used as single-based figures for Sharp Practice games. As they are paired, the British Rifles, along with attached Portuguese Cacadores, will be in two separate 12-man Small units.The French Voltigeurs will be part of mixed formations; their parent units one each Legere and Line battalions. Although mixed formation shooting values are limited to 1, they do receive a re-roll for missed shots being Sharp Shooters. Mixed formation units are also screened by the skirmishers so receive a -1 to hit as targets. They also get to use normal Closing Fire as a charge response since the skirmishers would return to their place in the line or attack column.

For a playtest game, I'm thinking of having three smaller brigades instead of two larger ones per side. Since the game will ultimately be hosted at a convention, this will allow for more players and, hopefully, faster playing with less troops per player to move around.

Merry Christmas from the King's German Legion 1st Hussars!

2011-12-24T17:11:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone from the KGL 1st Hussars!

Perry British/KGL Hussars - WIP +1

2011-12-23T15:48:00.000-08:00

Another quick update, as I may not get around to painting much with the Big Guy's birthday coming up. Managed to paint the heads & busbies, as well as the lining for the pelisses. After debating between the 15th Hussars and the 1st KGL, the latter were settled upon for this unit. The visored busbies are unique to the KGL. The sculpting seems to reflect the Germans' preference for wide sideburns. I didn't realize until after I started painted them that the troupers' flounders for the busby cords are sculpted on the torso. You may want to line up the cords when gluing the heads onto the torso. I removed and re glued one head to more properly aline the two items.

Perry British Hussars - Horses Painted

2011-12-18T11:43:00.001-08:00

Finished the horses, and think I've decided upon the 1st KGL for the riders. The officer's shabraque is colored for this unit - although usually depicted with dog toothed border.

Except for the musician's grey, the rest of the horses were given a quick block paint job and then a wash of Minwax Tudor Satin stain. The blue cloth was given a little bit of highlights first. Here they are prior to staining.

Although not as varied and colorful as the French, the British Hussars have a smart appearance.

A Few More Black Powder Casualty Markers

2011-12-15T21:17:00.000-08:00

This time for cavalry units - one each French and British Hussars and a French Cuirassier. As the earlier infantry casualty figures, they're based on cheap plastic poker chips that have received a little bit of dry-brush treatment.

These were made from spare parts from Perry and Victirx. The legs are spares from a Perry French Hussars box; heated and bent appropriately for fallen casualties.Green Stuff was used as filler, as well as for belts and the tops of the Cuirassier's boots. The sabretaches were cut out from sample credit cards - the French one has a print out of the design (created by TMPer Aldo) added to it. The sabretache straps were cut from bond paper.

Except for the horses, the British Hussars haven't been started upon as I'm still undecided as to which regiment they'll represent. I'm stuck on either the 15th or 1st KGL. The main difference is the 1st KGL trousers are dark blue as their dolmans. Both units have exceptional battle records; the 1st KGL probably being the better though.

71st Highland Light Infantry - Ready for Battle

2011-12-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

Here they are mounted on Litko 40X40mm plywood bases - for Black Powder. The colours are actually a spare from a box of Victrix. The flags are folded as much as possible to disguise the fact that they're for the 92nd.

Also completed is the Spanish Hacienda kit from Brigade Games. The veranda base is secured with a couple of brass rods. It's suggested that the model be attached to a base to protect it better; I may do this later. Here it is with the Warlord vivandiere as well as some Front Rank Spanish G's.

Next up are the new Perry British Hussars. I think they'll be 1st KGL guys.

Old Glory Highland Light Infantry - Painted

2011-12-10T16:12:00.000-08:00

Just need to add the colours - after I drill holes into the hands of the ensigns. The original poles were too flimsy so I cut them off at the hands. Otherwise, I really like these 1st Edition Old Glory figures. The detail is good and the poses look right for being ranked up in close order.

Now the British have six battalions of infantry as the French. After the Perry British Hussars are painted, another Black Powder game will need to be played.

Old Glory Highland Light Infantry - WIP

2011-12-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

Just a little update before I head out the door and run errands for most of the day. The dicing pattern on the shako bands are done - except for the green spot where the red lines cross.

Spanish Buildings and British Reinforcements

2011-12-07T21:40:00.000-08:00

The Brigade Games Hacienda is painted. It needs a base before attaching the roof for the veranda. The building was primed white and the roofs and floors were primed black. The railings, doors and flooring were painted browns. The roofing was painted a light brownish red - basically a mixture of red, yellow and brown. All the pieces were then given a stain of Minwax Tudor satin. After the stain was dry the parts were sprayed with Testors Dullcote. Finally the stucco areas were give a dry brushing of white. Here is the Hacienda along with another building treated the same way.

Here is the Hacienda prior to being stained with Minwax.

On Monday I finally received the Old Glory British Light Infantry that I bought off of a fellow TMPer. These will be painted as 71st Highland Light Infantry - they'll have that cool diced pattern on their shakos.

And to top it all off, a box of the new Perry British Hussars arrived today. It was pre-ordered from Maelstrom Games in the UK. It took less than a week for it to arrive - free shipping, and they give you money back credit for orders too. Highly recommended.

The hussars will be painted as either the 15th Hussars or 1st KGL Hussars. They'll be wearing busbies in any case. Oh, the poor French Dragoons will once again be put on the back burner; I need to beef up my British first - especially with their first cavalry unit.

Work Bench Update - 12/4/11

2011-12-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

Nothing special, just added some epaulettes to these Perry French Dragoons to indicate their elite status. I also added a plume, raquettes and cord to the bearskin of the musician.

I plan to paint them up as the 16th Dragoons - the musician will be in full dress like the one on the cover of this old uniform book.

I'm also working on a Spanish hacienda from Brigade Games. My buddy who I painted the balance of the Perry Dragoons gave it to me as part of the "payment" for the work. He's already given me another Spanish building too. These will come in handy for both Black Powder and Sharp Practice games.

I used Green Stuff to help hold the walls and pieces together - then added some Super Glue.

Black Powder Command Stands

2011-12-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

Picked up some plywood discs from Jo-Ann's yesterday for .29 cents each. They measure 3 1/4" in diameter, and about 3mm thick. A magnetic sheet was also picked up so I could use figures that were already individually based on either washers or metal bottom bases in the case of the mounted figures. I wanted to keep these figures as singles for Sharp Practice games. Here are three British and two French command stands. I need to pick up a few more mounted commanders to flesh out both armies.

The magnetic sheeting was added to the tops of the discs after cutting them a little smaller in diameter. The individual figure bases were than outlined with a ball point pen. Acrylic caulking was squeezed around the outlines and allowed to harden a bit.

More acrylic caulking was then added to fill in around the outlines for the bases.

Sand was added in irregular patches and after it was dried, the stands were painted a dark brown, followed by dry-brushing of lighter earthy colors. Besides static grass, taller grass (painted brush bristles) and rocks (aquarium pebbles) were also added.

I didn't add any period specific articles as I plan to use the same stands for Hail Caesar command bases.

Warlord Vivandiere & Donkey Painted

2011-11-28T17:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this was a nice interlude before painting up another battalion of infantry. It is a very nice set; both the vivandiere figure and the donkey are cleanly sculpted and details are easily made out. I highly recommend this set to anyone interested in livening up a Napoleonic battlefield.

I have no idea what the veggies are supposed to be, but I kept thinking broccoli and celery.

Here they are next to a Perry figure for comparison.

I'm hoping the Old Glory British Light Infantry I picked up off a fellow TMPer arrive this week. I'm also waiting on a box of the newly released Perry British Hussars. Once they are both painted, another Black Powder game will soon follow.

Warlord Vivandiere - WIP

2011-11-28T11:57:00.000-08:00

While awaiting the arrival of some Old Glory British Light Infantry, figured I'd knock out the Warlord Vivandiere that was ordered a while back. Still need to finish the burro. It's a nice model, and I hope to get the nice Eureka model also.

She will be useful in Sharp Practice games. The model comes with two choices of heads and right arms. The other hat has a rounded top, and the other arm wields a pistol. Here's a link to a nice blog entry of vivandiere reenactors.

Perry RHA Based

2011-11-26T14:03:00.000-08:00

Here are the Perry 9 and 6 pounders based.

I also rebased a couple of Sash & Saber French 12 pounders. These were initially on bases with only the guns, with the crews singly based on washers. Technically, the 12 pounders were assigned to the Guard, so these Line crews shouldn't really be with these guns, but...

Royal Horse Artillery - Completed

2011-11-23T21:44:00.001-08:00

Old Glory limbers and Perry Guns w/crews. The guns need to be based along with their respective crews.

This is a pretty good set - as it comes with two limbers with not only drivers, but gunners seated upon the limbers. The Old Glory French limber set only comes with drivers.

And the Perry guns with crews.

I've been reading the Osprey Salamanca book that I just won off of ebay. Really good read with nice illustrations. Plan to play out a portion of the battle the next time we play Black Powder. Happy Holidays all!

Royal Horse Artillery - WIP +1

2011-11-20T16:30:00.000-08:00

Here's the current progress on the crews - Perry gun crews in the front and the OG guys in the back. I love the animated facial expressions of the OG guys.

The jackets haven't been highlighted yet; nor have the red facings been added.

The limbers and horses have been mounted - here they are with the Perry guns - a 9 and 6 pounder.

I ran out of acrylic caulking and tried using some spackle I had in the garage. Acrylic caulking is better for adhesion of figures; I ended up using some white glue to hold some of the horses down.

Royal Horse Artillery WIP

2011-11-19T11:50:00.000-08:00

Started on an Old Glory limber set, as well as two Perry guns - one each 6 and 9 pounder. Here are the horses, limber and gun carriages with basic block painting prior to a Minwax stain.

And the pieces after the stain - along with the guns added to the carriages.The gun and limber crews are next.

Napoleonic Infantry Rebase Complete

2011-11-16T21:19:00.000-08:00

Okay, so all of the Victrix, Perry and OG 2nd Ed. guys have been based or rebased as the case may be for the earlier washer-based figures. There are six French battalions, of which five are 24-man, and one 36-man.

The British are currently at five battalions, four 24-man, and one 32-man - the Guards battalion. Thanks to another TMP buy, I'm waiting on the arrival of a pack of Old Glory (1st Ed.) British Light Infantry. These are planned to be painted as 71st Highland Light Infantry.

So, in the end there will be six infantry battalions each for the French and British. Enough to flesh out two or three brigades per side.

Next on the painting schedule are some Perry British RHA and Perry French Dragoons - the left overs from the ones I painted earlier for my buddy. I hope to play the next Black Powder game based upon the Battle of Salamanca. This battle had the British and French forces pretty evenly matched; the British victory earning Wellington the reputation of an offensive general as well.
As far as the OG 2nd Ed. French go, I'd say the 1815 (& likely the 1812) guys are a decent match for Perry French in both style, uniform and size. The Perry are a bit more robust, but not so bad to look out of place - possibly even in the same units. (ERRATA: The OG bayonets are a little thicker than both the Perry & Victrix ones.) The 1809 OG 2nd Ed. French are a little smaller - even compared to the 1815 guys. Mainly they are little shorter; however, if you add some height to their base, as I did with plasticard, they look okay in their own units. The Victrix French, as well as their Highlanders are taller and larger overall than both Perry and of course the OG guys. In fact, the Victrix French and Highlanders are larger than even their own British regular infantry sets. Anyway, they all are not so bad to look out of place on the table next to each other. Especially when the cannons roar and the smoke fills the air.

OG 2nd Ed. 4th Swiss Infantry

2011-11-13T19:39:00.000-08:00

Finished the remainder of the OG 2nd Ed. French - painted as 4th Swiss Infantry. I read that the red took on a violet shade in sunlight. I mixed a little bit of blue into the red for the base coat to give it a slightly darker look than the British red coats.

Here are some surviving examples of Swiss infantry coats - the two on the left are from the late 18th Century; the two on the right are from the Valaison Battalion.

A period illustration of 4th Swiss Regiment officers - in 1812 Bardin regulation uniforms.

NHMGS Game Day - Museum of Flight - 11/12/11

2011-11-12T16:55:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Kevin Smyth and crew, another great game day was held at the Boeing Museum of Flight. As always, the games are held under the SR-71 Blackbird.

This year, I finally played a Wings of War game - hosted by Lloyd B. He really made the game easy to understand and accommodated players of all ages and experience (or lack thereof as in my case). I really liked the rules and love the pre-painted aircraft. Actually I've always admired the models, but didn't want to get them if I didn't like the rules - I guess I'll be getting a couple soon.

There were three or four games in the morning period, Wings of War being one of them. Here are a couple of the other morning games.

There were several DBA games going on also. In the afternoon, I got into Bruce M.'s Robot Gladiatorial game - this was another fun game and the first time I played a set of gladiator rules. Bruce's rules are always geared for fast-play and no sitting around being bored. However, that said, most of the players, myself included, kept rolling incredibly bad and the fighting was a bit more prolonged than he had intended.

All in all, another great time and what a great venue. Kevin being an educator gets us in with free passes as it is Educators Day. Due to low-lighting in most of the aircraft display areas, I didn't take any pictures of the awesome number of WWI and WWII aircraft. However, I did want a picture of this model of a German airship. It looked just too cool - sort of VSFish.

Here's link to Dave S's blog with more photos of the event - including closeups of the Axis & Allies WW2 air game - and a nice review of the game. Sounds like something else I will pick up.

OG 2nd Ed. 1815 French - Completed

2011-11-08T21:56:00.000-08:00

Just need to base them, but they are done with painting. The last OG 2nd Ed. unit will be a mix of the left overs from the 1809 & 1815 packs. Enough for a 24-man unit which I think I'll paint as Swiss 4th Regiment with red coats and light blue facings.

The flag for this unit is a spare that came with the Perry box.
NOTE: I see now that I forgot to paint the tops of the officers' boots - will take care of that before they get based.

OG 2nd Ed. 1815 French - WIP

2011-11-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

Hot on the heels of the 1809 guys, here are their 1815 brethren so far. As you can see, they're wearing the 1812 "Bardin Regulation" coats with closed lapels. The painting sequence: 1) Flesh with a wash; 2) Metallic buttons, shako plates and chin scales, etc.; 3) Red piping and collar (Voltigeurs yellow collar w/red piping), Grenadier and Voltigeur shako bands and epaulletes; 4) White piping - cuffs and collar, lapels, turnbacks and straps. This time the strip of cloth at the cuffs beneath the buttons were painted blue before painting the buttons. It's really hard to tell if it's dark blue or black anyway - being confined to such a small space once the red & white piping are added.

This is how they looked with the metallic parts, red piping and elite company colors painted.

Next, the red cuffs and blue coat will be painted - which avoiding the areas already painted and allowing for "blacklining" will not be too much to do.

OG 2nd Ed. 1809 French - Done (well just about)

2011-11-05T01:21:00.000-07:00

Just need to finish the drummer - after I find a nice uniform. Thanks to the generous amount of flags Victrix supplies, this unit will have the one for the 2nd Line. Here they are less the command group, based on 40X40mm Litko plywood bases. Using some creative basing to raise their height a bit, they look okay next to the Perry guys on the far left in the photo. Victrix are a bit larger all around, but since they'll be in separate units, they should be fine.

Napoleonics have a lot of details to paint on the back of figures too - it's like painting twice as many Ancient figures.

Once I finish the other two OG units I'll finish painting & flocking all the bases - including the earlier ones with Victrix and Perry figs.

ADDENDUM: Painted the drummer with light blue coat and yellow facings - this combination was used for at least the 42nd Line.

OG 2nd Ed. 1809 French - WIP +1

2011-11-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

Your faithful host posting another WIP on these nice OG 2nd Ed. Napoleonics. Continuing with Doug Hamm's method of a reverse sort of painting. The order being the piping (both red & white), cuffs and color, lapels, small clothes, breeches, shako cords, and blue coat proper. The metal buttons were painted earlier. Oh, I painted the Grenadiers' plumes and epaulettes too as I didn't want to waste any of the red I had in the palette. I'm still deciding on the drummer's colors.

Interestingly, very little time was spent with the blue, as there isn't very much of the blue cloth showing.

Full disclosure: the strip below the cuff buttons are still black - I couldn't fit my brush in between the buttons to add blue - maybe I'll paint that little strip blue on the next batch of French.

Here is how they looked with the the red areas painted - that is, the piping, collars and cuffs. The ones in the back have the base dark blue added to the coats. White was added to the blue for highlights.

Here is how the looked with the white added - cuff and color piping, straps, lapels, turnbacks, small clothes and breeches. I'll soften the folds of the breeches with a gray.

OG 2nd Ed. 1809 French - WIP

2011-11-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

Just a quick WIP update. Using a method picked up from Doug Hamm (Larry Leadhead's alter ego), the buttons and other metallic parts have been painted before the coat itself. Next will be the piping and cuffs, collars and lapels. This is a reverse order of the usual way most people paint - myself included. However, it works well with Napoleonics as it allows for areas of the black undercoat to remain - in effect already having areas blacklined.

C in C 1/1200th Ancient Ships

2011-11-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a generous TMPer, I managed to pick up about 60 of these ships for less than .50 cents each, including shipping. These should be more than enough for future Roman Seas games. Half will be painted with blue markings and the other half in red. I hadn't really heard of C in C before, and after reviewing their site, I saw that these ships are now out of productions (no images). I bought these sight on seen, since their other products, like WW2 aircraft look great. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw them today for the first time. They seem like a good match in size with the Langton and Valiant ships I previously acquired - the painted examples in the photo.

I'll start on them after the Old Glory French - which are just primed at the moment.

Old Glory 2nd Edition Napoleonics (25/28mm)

2011-10-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

Got these last night at the Fright Night game; tagged onto my buddy Scott's OG order. Well, as I had read on TMP, these are on the smaller side of 28mm. I will keep them in their own units, so hopefully won't look too out of place next to their taller Victrix brethren. I ordered one each of the 38-figure 1809 and 1815 unit packs - with command and elites along with center troops. I should be able to build three 24-man units (battalions) with a few spares left over. The 1809 guys are forward leaning in their march poses - which doesn't help their height. The 1815 figures look pretty good next to Perry French - very similar in their pose and style. However, even they are a bit more slender than the Perrys. Here are some comparison photos - the second photo has a thin "cheater" plasticard under each OG figure to help the illusion of height. The OG bases are pretty thin compared to both Victrix and Perry anyway.

Anyway, they are a good deal and I just had to have some French infantry in full dress with gaiters (the 1809 guys).

Here they are with their "cheater" plasticard lift kits, and broken down into three 24-man battalions. One each of 1809 and 1815 uniforms, and a third with a mixture of both 1809 & 1815 uniforms. Four spare figures left over - a command and an infantryman. These should be "it" for French Line infantry; added to what are already painted, the total will be five Line infantry battalions of 24-figures and one Light infantry battalion of 36-figures - not counting some single-based skirmishing Voltigeurs. I may one day add a Guard infantry unit.

Fort Steilacoom - Fright Night Gaming - 10/29/11

2011-10-29T23:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Lawrence, Damond and Bruce S., a fun (and a bit spooky) night of gaming was held at Fort Steilcoom's historic officer's quarters tonight (10/29/11). At the last two Fix Bayonets! game days, a few of us discussed the possibility of a having a game night close to Halloween at the Fort. Thanks to Lawrence being a member of the historical society (or is he the president?), we got to do just this. Bruce S. ran a fantastic scenario set during the later part of the 19th Century on the Austro-Hungarian border. In fact, Dracula's castle was on the table. There were all sorts of forces ranging from Zouaves on loan from the Pope to Pumpkin-headed demons. I ran a unit of Hungarian Chasseurs. The ones I didn't manged to get killed off ended up joining the ranks of Zombies. Here are a few pics of the game - most of my photos were blurred due to us playing only by candlelight.

The game was called a victory for the forces of Evil - well, better on the gaming table than elsewhere. After the game, Lawrence showed me and Adrian a spookier place. It was the building next to the one we played in - Quarters Number 3.

Lawrence said he has experience a lot of unexplained activity in the building - and some of the other ones. He spends a lot of time here as part of the historical preservation society - in which he is a reenactor too.

Suffice to say, it's a spooky place; and sharing the grounds with the Western State Hospital - with some dangerous characters locked up right behind the place only adds to it's "charm." Oh, I almost forgot to mention, but Lawrence said once he found a woman recently released from the hospital living in the building we gamed in. There were no signs of forced entry when he went in. When he asked the woman how she got in, she replied that the people running around on the roof let her in!

1:1 Poseable Droog Action Figure

2011-10-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

Picked this up off of ebay - most of the parts were made in Hong Kong, I think.

Still searching for a Durango 95 to go with it. Oh, oh, I hear Mr. Deltoid knocking at the front door...

Black Powder Napoleonic Rebasing

2011-10-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

Using some nice Litko 40X40mm plywood bases (3mm thick), I managed to rebase all of the Victrix and Perry plastics I had on metal washers. These are all the line infantry types - I left the Voltigeurs on their washers for skirmishing & also for Sharp Practice gaming.

Here are the French - two 24-man Line units (Victrix), and one 24-man Light unit (Perry) - also 12 more Perrys that need to be increased to 24.

Next the British - four 24-man Line units (all Victrix) with colors representing the 3rd "Buffs", 27th Inniskilling (colors from the Perry box), and 42nd Blackwatch and 79th Cameron Highlanders; in the rear are the recently painted Perry infantry - still needing colors for the 2nd Coldstream Guards.

Acrylic latex caulking was used for texturing as well as attaching the figures. Once the caulking is dry it'll get some paint and static grass.

Perry Nap. British Infantry - Completed

2011-10-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

Still need to get their colors (2nd Coldstream Guards) and base them, but they are essentially finished. After the Minwax Tudor stain was dry, Testors Dullcote was applied. The red coats were highlighted, and the faces were given a wash of Vallejo reddish brown ink/stain - just to soften the flesh. The high areas of the faces were touched up with Vallejo Skintone - which what was used as the base coat for the flesh before the Minwax stain.

I'm happy with the way they turned out and especially since I managed to finish them before picking up some OG 2nd Edition French tomorrow. A fairly large re-basing/basing project is next; all the line troops (like these British) are going onto Litko 40X40mm plywood bases - four figures per base. The French Voltigeurs and British Rifles will remain on 20mm round metal washers. This is recommended for skirmishers in Black Powder, and will also allow them to be used in Sharp Practice games too.

Perry Nap. British Infantry - WIP +3

2011-10-27T22:24:00.000-07:00

Finished the basic block painting; will give them a Minwax Tudor stain tomorrow.

These guys are painted as Guards. The sergeant has gold lacing and cords, as well as chevrons. I'll add highlights as needed after the stain. Hopefully the smaller details will not be obscured by the stain - like the lacing on the cuffs and buttons. Should be okay.

Perry Nap. British Infantry - WIP +2

2011-10-26T22:14:00.000-07:00

Managed to add the red to the jackets and blue facings. Since I've decided to make this a Guards unit, the NCO will have gold lacing - including his rank chevrons - cool!

I'll give the red some highlights before the Miniwax stain; however I could just as well add the highlights afterwards.

To top off the day, a copy of Hail Caesar and the order of Litko bases arrived thanks to the Post Master General!

Perry Nap. British Infantry - WIP +1

2011-10-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

Over a black undercoat, the flesh and white items have been painted. Nothing special; just trying to stay within the lines as the figures will be given a Miniwax stain after all the basic colors are painted. Next willlikely be the red coats and blue facings; these will be given a little bit of highlighting - same as the black items like backpacks and headgear. ADDENDUM: I forgot to credit Doug Hamm (of Larry Leadhead fame) for instructing me on this technique a couple of seasons ago. Thanks again, Doug.

I'm trying to push myself as the Old Glory order of 2nd Edition French infantry will be picked up from my buddy on Saturday - at the Fright Night game.

Perry Nap. British Infantry - WIP

2011-10-24T19:28:00.000-07:00

Using some spare Victrix parts, the box of Perry British Infantry has been assembled. There are 36 Line Infantry figures in the box, and also four Riflemen. I'm only using 32 of the Line figures - less two officers and two infantrymen. This makes them in multiples of four - which is how they'll be based. I going to class them as a Large unit for Black Powder; giving them a Stamina rating of 4. Most of the other line infantry units I have, both French and British, will be 24-figures strong; and classed as Regular sized. These British will be in blue facings and be either a Guards unit or KGL. Maybe in the future I'll add a Guard unit to the French of equal size and rating.

They will be primed black and given a decent block paint job prior to a Miniwax "dip." Hopefully I can have these done before an order of Old Glory 2nd Generation French arrive. I'll be at old Fort Steilacoom on Saturday night for a "Fright Night" of gaming. The place is haunted and shares the grounds with Western State Hospital. Criminally insane folks are there - and aren't invited to our game.

Martian VSF Game - 10/22/11

2011-10-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

Participated in a large VSF game today at The Game Matrix. Mark W. hosted a Martian game using his modified TSATF rules. He and several others had brought so many cool figures, I didn't need to use the Japanese forces I brought. The scenario had a British steam tank broken down on the far end of the table, with several units of supporting infantry, and a supposed rescue unit of the majority of British forces coming on the opposite end. All British forces started with figures on the table. The Martians, with German allies, came on the board on blinds. Dave S. and I ran the British with the broken down tank. There was over a dozen players and things got really busy after a few turns. It was a long day, but good times. I didn't really know what was going on in the center, where all of the heavy action was going on, but it seemed like the Martians were getting the upper hand. Here are a few photos I took - you may want to put on sunglasses.

I ended the day with a final charge into a German machine gun team, and ended up destroying them. Not a bad way to end the game.

During the game, Adrian and I discussed the possibility of using Sharp Practice for a smaller VSF type game using my Japanese and a still-to-be painted Martian forces he bought from Dale M. today. We might even host a small game at Enfilade! next May. Speaking of Dale, you can visit his website for many more photos of this game. Anyway, the game has rekindled interest in VSF/Steampunk - something I know very little of.

79th Cameron Highlanders - Victrix

2011-10-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I did go ahead and repaint some of the previously painted 42nd Highlanders. All I did was add red and yellow overstripes to their kilts; as well as paint over their blue facings with green. After I add a command group of two colors and two musicians, they will be a 24-man unit.

The remaining 42nd Highlanders have 28-figures, but four of them are kneeling figures, so I may not use them. 24-figures is considered a "Regular" sized unit for Black Powder - basically a battalion. I don't think either Highland unit ever had more than one of their battalions in the Peninsular at any given time, so I figured I'd have one of each. I'm hoping to remove most of the figures I have on washers and rebase them four each to a 40X40mm wooden Litko base.

Napoleonic Projects - Pending

2011-10-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

Well, no sooner than I was about to add some red and yellow stripes to some Highlanders - to convert them to a unit of 79th Cameron - my Architects of War order arrived. So, I either go forward with the work on the Highlanders, or start on a couple of Perry RHA units and a new Perry British infantry unit - likely a Guards or KGL unit; also, a Warlord Vivandiere and donkey completes the order.

Tomorrow I head to The Game Matrix to participate in a large VSF game - something do do with Martians - using a modified variant of TSATF. I'm bringing my Japanese RJW troops; we'll see if they can be involved.

Black Powder - First Game - 10/16/11

2011-10-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my gaming buddies, Scott A., Adrian and James, an enjoyable intro to Black Powder was gamed today. Although it was the first time with the rules, all of us had a great time and the rules were really easy to understand and get through; we even used Congreve Rockets. The scenario we used was a scaled down version of the "El Perez" game illustrated in the rule book. The three British brigades needed to get at least half of their forces over a river via the one bridge. Two French brigades were to come on the table opposite the bridge to stop them. A small French garrison was on the other side of the river to make things interesting. Most of the units, both cavalry and infantry were Regular sized; only the units of British Rifles, Spanish Guerrillas and the French garrison were classed as Small. Here are a few photos I managed to take during the heat of battle.

The British went first, with some of their forces making for the bridge while others remained in place to hold off the advancing French. In fact, half the French failed their initial movement commands and remained off the board until their next turn.

Here are the stoic British rearguard.

The French right had a brigade including Hussars, infantry and artillery facing off a British brigade of 42nd Highlanders and 95th Rifles. The Hussars losing their round of close-combat ended up having to leave the table after a Break Test.

A fair portion of British managed to reach the bridge but were held off by the small French garrison who took up positions in a church. I failed to caption the photo - but the unit in the rear of the column are British Marines that my buddy Scott brought to the game.

Soon after the French Hussars left the field, a unit of French infantry closed in for combat with the Highlanders. NOTE: upon reviewing the Black Powder Forum, it appears the French infantry shouldn't have been in Attack Column within the town street - they should have had to reform (another Command/Movement) upon exiting the town into an Attack Column.

French heavy cavalry on their left flank. The supporting infantry having left the table due to results of a Blunder of rolling two 6's.

Here's a photo I lifted off my buddy's Face Book. In the true spirit of the rules, I ensured my gamers had ample sandwiches and brew.

After enough French units left the table due to Break Test and Blunder results, we called the game an eventual British victory. Although, I have to admit that small unit of French Voltigeurs in the church were still holding off large numbers of British bottle-necked at the bridge. All in all, we really enjoyed the rules and are committed to building up more forces for a rematch using another scenario - probably a more linear battlefield. A meeting engagement may work for this. I highly recommend Black Powder to anyone who likes simple and fast-play rules, while still maintaining a semblance of historical accuracy. One feature of the rules that I initially had some reservations with, the Command portion, actually ended up one of my favorites. I liked how the commander had to make his intentions known prior to his die rolls, and having to deal with the consequences should the roll end in a failed command or even worse, a Blunder!

Warlord Praetorians - Second Unit Completed

2011-10-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Dave at Warlord who kindly sent me a sprue of parts that I was missing, as wells a full decal sheet - I was able to finish this unit. Since the sprue included additional figures, I added a figure to each unit; bringing them up to 21-men each. Here is the second unit with LBMS transfers.

And the two Praetorian units side by side - the red shields are included in the box and are traditional water-slide types.

As these are my first EIR units, it is similar to building a Napoleonic French army by starting with Old Guard, or a WW2 German army with King Tigers, but since they were acquired as a trade off for building some Victrix, I don't mind.

Tomorrow, I'm hosting a trial Black Powder game with a few buddies. We're using the "El Perez" scenario in the book; although scaled-down and modified with the far fewer figures than the Perrys used. The scenario, for those without the rulebook, has the British needing to cross the river in a fighting retreat. The French come on if they roll successful Command rolls. Although I think I read the rules correctly and the units can opt to use a one move Initiative move if they want to, ensuring they will at least get on the table.

Above is the set up before several more buildings and the river and bridge arrive courtesy of one of my buddies. Also, two others are bringing additional British troops - a Rocket unit and some British Marines. The table is 8 X 5 feet - looks tight, but at least we should get a good familiarization with the basic rules.

Perry Napoleonic Casualties - Black Powder Markers

2011-10-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

To get ready for a trial Black Powder game next weekend, figured I better paint up some Perry casualties that were sitting unpainted for some time. Up until now I've only played Sharp Practice with Napoleonics and that system has individual figure removal so never needed these figures. Well Sharp Practice does have to keep track of Shock points, but I've used D10's for this in the past.

The figures are mounted on cheap plastic poker chips that have received a little dry brushed highlighting. Two of the French are Lights and the rest Line; the British have varied facings. The one British guy with his musket was done previously, but I don't plan on adding muskets to the rest - mainly for ease of handling. The plan is to use a marker with figure for the first casualty, and plain red or blue chips for subsequent casualties - placed under the first one.

Warlord Praetorian Guard - One Unit Completed

2011-10-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

Even though I ordered enough blue shield decals for both boxes of figures, I decided to use the red set that came with one of the boxes. This way the two units will be a little different looking, while still somewhat uniform (armor-wise).

The second unit is still awaiting the missing helmeted heads, as well as the blue shield decals. Otherwise they are also completed.

I may order the Optio pack and add one to each unit to bring them up to 21-man units. This way they can be in three ranks of 7 figures - for WAB 2.0.

Warlord Praetorian Guard - WIP

2011-10-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

Couldn't resist working on these guys before the weekend. I sprayed them with Krylon Mettalic Silver as a basecoat (thanks to a tip from James B's blog; then gave them a basic block paint job; although the Centurions' capes were given some highlights. They were then given the Miniwax Tudor Satin treatment - brushed on. Finally they were just given a coat of Krylon Matte - I didn't use Testors Dullcote, as I didn't want the armor dulled too much. Krylon Matte actually gives a more satin finish. Here they are, minus the musicians, standards, and the few still waiting on missing helmets.

This is what they looked like prior to the Miniwax treatment - they reminded me of what my Airfix guys used to look like when I first started the hobby.

The bases will be flocked next. Also, waiting on some blue shield decals to arrive before starting on the shields. I'm thinking these may be perfect for Saga - I understand you don't need large amounts of figures.

Project Plastic + 2

2011-10-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Finished the two boxes of Warlord Praetorians. However, there is now a mystery - for some reason, I'm short four helmeted heads & six crests. I could've sworn the sprue trees (2 in each box) were intact when I opened them. Nothing left on the trees except shields and a few spare arms, pila, and some helmets that have no heads in them - weird. I hope I can get replacements as I wanted them in to units of 20. Otherwise they are nice figures and rank up well - even the pila throwing poses.

ADDENDUM: I just rec'd an email back from Dave at Warlord Games - he's sending me the replacement parts. What a great company!

Project Plastic +1

2011-10-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

All of the Victrix British are done. Actually I need to let my buddy know if he has one of the sprues. I didn't have the one with the drummers and sergeants. Otherwise there are enough here for two each Light and Line battalions. EDIT: my buddy emailed me back and had already put together the sergeants and drummers - so they are all ready for his paint brush.

Here's a picture of what I mentioned in the previous post; about gluing the two arms together first with Testors modelling cement. This allows easier (read: less fiddly) attachment to the body. It's actually the way this similar arm-pose is cast for the Perry French infantry set. That is, both arms are already attached together.

And soon after - before the cement is completely dry - you should have more than enough time to do this.

Next up, the Warlord Praetorians.

Project Plastic

2011-10-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

One of my gaming buddies has been sitting on a couple of boxes of Victrix British for a couple of years. He has been put off, like many others, by having to glue the parts together. I told him I'd do this for him; he wanted to pay me, but I told him not to worry about it. I said it wasn't a problem and it is kind of therapeutic for me. He insisted on giving me two boxes of Warlord Praetorians for the work. Who am I to deny this - plus I still have left over silver spray paint.

I managed to complete one box of the Victrix after our Great War game today. It's all production line stuff and the hardest thing was getting the metal Light heads onto the bodies. Super glue was used for this, but the rest of the parts are glued together with Testor's modelling cement. I find this the best for plastic. Anyway, one box was enough for two 24-man battalions, including command.

I'll get the other box done tomorrow - after I go to the pistol range on Fort Lewis with my older son. The other box should be a lot faster without the need for metal heads.

ADDENDUM: For the poses requiring the two arms to hold the musket, I've found it best to glue (w/Testor's modelling cement) the two arms/hands together first. Wait about a 30 seconds to a minute and then glue the now one component onto the body at the shoulders. Since the modelling cement is still tacky, you can adjust the position of the arms while they still remain together. In fact, it's sometimes best to let the modelling cement to dry a few seconds before sticking the pieces together. You can even adjust the position of the pieces for several minutes thereafter if needed. Besides gluing the metal Lights heads on, I only use super glue to strengthen or fix broken or weak parts, like bayonets or musket slings by dropping little super glue onto the offending area/part. Granted all of this isn't as fast as pulling out complete metal figures from a bag, but such is the case with these.

The Great War - 10/1/11

2011-10-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

Well several of us showed up at The Game Matrix this morning and got in a nice rules familiarization of The Great War. We ran through most of the rules except for Pinning, for some reason or another. One thing we seemed to have gotten wrong last time was the firing of the 57mm cannon from the A7V. It appears, Pat L. got it wrong with using the direction dice after setting the blast marker. Apparently the direction dice isn't used after placing the marker after a successful hit. Anyway, Tom D. played his French against my Germans on one side of the table. While Bruce M. with an almost identical force of Germans on the other side went up against James' British. A couple of other gaming buds read up on the rules for us when we had a gray area - actually quite a few times really.

Bruce's larger A7V (not sure of the maker, but it's about 1:48 scale), and matching large Renegade figures.

Here's a close up of my Old Glory A7V with new markings on the front.

Here the Germans on my side of the table are taking the first British trench. They were soon decimated.

A few turns later had the German infantry practically wiped out, with only the tanks and HMG crews left. We decided we probably need to play out this scenario a few more times; and likely aren't ready to host a game at Museum of Flight.

Copplestone - III. Seebatallione - Ready

2011-09-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, only eight figures, but these paint up really quickly. A basic block paint job followed by Miniwax Tudor stain, and finally Testor's Dullcote. I am very impressed how the stain works it way into the folds and crevices, yet doesn't obscure small details - in this case the tricolor on the helmets. Also, Tudor stain seems to work very well with whites.

They'll be ready for this Saturday's The Great War game - need as many Germans as possible - seems everyone else wants British.

Copplestone - III. Seebatallione WIP

2011-09-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

Finally started on these guy - won them off of ebay for a good price sometime ago. I held off painting them because a couple of them had rifle barrels broken off. I ended up putting pins in those and adding some Green Stuff for the sights. They painted up really fast. I used Krylon Khaki for the basecoat and then added some highlights of Vallejo German Camo Beige with a little white. Here they are prior to getting a dip in Miniwax - maybe tomorrow.

Here's a cool site for German Colonial troops
I plan to use these guys in a game this Saturday. Later they'll be used in a Tsingtao scenario using The Great War rules.

Old Glory A7V - Crosses Added

2011-09-25T15:18:00.000-07:00

Fueled by a recent The Great War game, crosses were finally added to the Old Glory A7V tank that was painted sometime ago.

The crosses were painted on since I wasn't sure if the available decals would fit in the tighter areas. Still need to give the tank a name; was going with Mephisto, but then I'd need to paint the little devil guy and the area on the original doesn't match the model. The model has the covered view ports where the actual one doesn't.

Speaking of The Great War - my buddies and I have a game scheduled this coming Saturday; probably a play-test for game next month at Museum of Flight.

Crusader Spanish Scutarii - Completed

2011-09-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

Added the shields; about half of them are LBMS transfers and the rest hand-painted simple designs.

The bottom two rows are the shields with LBMS transfers. The top two are the hand-painted ones - the one on the top right is a spare Gripping Beast Celt/Gaul shield. One more shield was needed as a Wargames Factory converted Numidian was added to the unit; plus the command set doesn't supply one for the musician.

This unit will be part of a Carthaginian 2nd Punic War in Italy army.

Fix Bayonets! 9/24/11

2011-09-24T17:32:00.000-07:00

Another winner 2nd year in a row. This is a smallish game day put on by a few local gamers at an historic venue; Fort Steilacoom. It is held in quarters number 2 - the fort's original commanding officers quarters. Here it is restored with a bunch of Canadians marching out in front.

In the first period, I got into a Command & Colors game hosted by Mike G. His figures are superb, and the game was quick and fun to play - first time for me.

In the afternoon I ran a Sharp Practice game. It's really cool to host a game with players who've never played the rules before. The game is fast-play, and the only thing new players have a little trouble with is the concept of Initiative and Actions. It was French victory - the Artillery Train managing to make it to the safety of the garrison. Here are some snapshots I managed to take of the game.

A couple of photos I lifted from my buddy Adrian's blog - View from above the French garrison; hussars riding out to search the woods for guerrilla activity; 12th Legere within garrison walls; cuirassiers rounding bend in the road to the right. In the distance British troops - 60th & 95th Rifles, as well as 23rd Fusiliers.

And the ever "loyal" Spaniards under Tuco; a mandatory unit for Sharp Practice (at least Peninsular scenarios).

Perry Foot Dragoons - Completed

2011-09-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

Didn't spend too much time on these guys; I used Miniwax Tudor stain over a basic block paint job. Then gave them a little highlights on their coats and helmets.

The swords and slung reversed and hiked higher up for dismounted movement.

These will join the small mounted detachment that I painted for a fellow gamer here. He'll be back next Friday from his battery recharge in Hawaii - hope he likes them - if not, I'll keep 'em:)! Tomorrow is a game day at Fort Steilacoom - Fix Bayonets! I should use these guys for the game, nah! I have enough figures, but dragoons in Spain would be most appropriate. After that, I will finish up the Crusader Spanish Scutarii - the LBMS transfer came in for them the other day.

Droogish Interlude

2011-09-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

Not at all wargaming related, but figured I'd post it anyway. It's part of a costume I'm putting together for Halloween - at least for work that day. Maybe they'll escort me out of the building and be part of my record for mental instability. Anyway, these are my take on the bleeding eyeball cufflinks worn by Alex in "A Clockwork Orange" - as if you astute blogites wouldn't already know. Here are the components used - some liquid latex, "vampire blood" and last but not least eye ball cufflinks off of ebay.

Here they are together; the latex backing on the left hasn't completed cured - it should become transparent like the one on the right. They will be trimmed once the "blood" is dried. Viddy well, viddy well. EDIT: This "blood" doesn't dry - I washed it off and will use paint instead.

Okay, now back to my rum and coke and block painting some Perry foot dragoons.

The Great War - Trench Terrain!

2011-09-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

Several of us showed up at The Game Matrix today hoping to meet a few gamers new to the area. However, they had to cancel at the last minute. Luckily I brought my French Poilus and Germans - including an A7V. As it turned out, we had more than enough figures and terrain to get a good game on. Bruce D. brought some of his French Foreign Legion - actually early-WW2, but looked fine on the table. James Ruth brought some of his British and a fantastic 8X4' modular trench terrain piece he scratch-built.

James is quite the terrain builder too - he has also built a fantastic looking Vauban fortress in 28mm - yet to be gamed! Anyway, here are some pics from the game. The scenario had the Allied British & French moving through No-Man's Land to oust the Germans from their trenches.

It ended in an Allied victory after numerous waves of Allied infantry attacks, and when the German A7V's 57mm cannon dropped their rounds short and killed off their own infantry.

Pat Lowinger (former host of SoCal Warhammer Radio) actually showed up at the tail end of the game. It was great meeting him in person and talking to him. In fact, a couple of us stayed quite a while after the game getting to know him better and discussing some near and long term gaming plans. Welcome to the Pacific NW, Pat!

Perry Mounted Dragoons - Finished

2011-09-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

Only six, so it didn't take too long to finish this project. As noted in the previous posts, this is a group I painted for a gaming buddy - he is currently braving both blazing sun and the ever-present danger of volcanic eruption on the Big Island of Hawaii. It'll be up to him to properly base them upon his return in a few weeks. I also apologize up front for the way Blogger now views pictures - irritatingly (to me) in a slide show format. Hopefully an option for the earlier way will appear.

Once again, the use of Miniwax Tudor Satin stain really sped up the project. The mounts were given the treatment after a basic block painting. Actually, the horses were given a little bit of highlights prior to the dip; and the saddle cloth did get a little highlight after the dip and subsequent Testor's Dullcoat.

After the Miniwax stain:

Now I head out the door for some WWI The Great War gaming with some veteran gamers who've recently arrived to the local area. Plan to post an AAR and some pics when I get back. The foot dragoons (only 8) will also be started.

Perry Dragoons - WIP + 1

2011-09-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

Riders are done; save their scabbards and muskets. Will work on their mounts next.

They're painted for Peninsular scenarios with Spanish cloth for the line troopers. The officer is well-off enough to have retained a coat of green, as well as providing his musician with a coat in the usual reverse colors.

P.S. I saw a post on TMP about this new way Blogger is posting images (as a slide show) - I don't like it either & hope they go back to the regular way of viewing images.

Perry Dragoons - WIP

2011-09-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

Here are some Perry Dragoons that I'm working on for a local gaming buddy. He wants them in Spanish brown cloth. I'm thinking the trumpeter should be in reverse facing colors and maybe the officer - in bearskin - should be in green. I'll ask him if this is okay.

In addition to these six mounted figures, I'll also paint up some of the foot figures too. He only asked for the mounted, but I told him I don't mind painting the foot guys too.

On the gaming front, I will meet a few new to the area gamers this Sunday at The Game Matrix for to get in some WH The Great War. Pat moved up from Southern Cal; and Tom from Connecticut, I think. The following Saturday is a game day at Fort Steilacoom for the second annual Fix Bayonets! I will host a Sharp Practice game in the afternoon.

Crusader Spanish Scutarii - WIP

2011-09-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

Haven't added their shields yet - ordered some LBMS transfers for most of them. I really like Crusader Ancients; they are purposefully posed and perfect for ranking up, yet have some individualism. I've always wanted some Scutarii mainly for their cool shield patterns; However, I wasn't keen on building an army just for them. Luckily, these can be used in a 2nd Punic War in Italy army list from the WAB supplement. I plan to use some of my existing Greek Hoplites as Trained Africans, as well as other units from the Macedonian/Successor armies.

They were given a wash of Miniwax Tudor Satin; a new can I bought after the other can got air in it and the stain got dried out. This time around I transferred some of the stain into a plastic container and sealed the can for later use. Here's how the Scutarii looked in their very basic block paint job. I've found that as long as you paint fairly cleanly, the stain will do a lot of correcting. For instance, you can paint belts and straps without worrying about going over the "lines" too much, as the stain will do a good job black-lining. Also, you can always go back and touch up figures - if you want to.

Speaking of stain - I tried a little bit of Miniwax Bombay Mahogany, since the local Walmart doesn't carry Tudor Satin. As you can see it is too red, and stains light colors heavily. I ended up re-painting this test figure and gave it a a proper Tudor Satin stain. BTW, I managed to return the can for a full refund - as I only used tiny bit and was careful to keep the lid area clean.
Here are the unpainted Crusader figures, along with one plastic Wargames Factory Numidian - since I wanted a 21-man unit - three ranks of 7.

While awaiting the LBMS shield transfer, I plan to start on a few Perry French Dragoons that a gaming buddy asked me to paint for him.

Langton 1/1200th & Valiant 1/900th Ancient Ships - Ready for Battle

2011-09-09T18:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, only eight total ships, but it's a start.

Here are the three 1/1200th Langton ships - two quinquereme and one trireme (the one with two masts/sails). One of the quinquereme has a catapult. Really tiny stuff, but looks pretty much like what it should be.

And the five 1/900th Valiant pentekonters - which will be used as liburnians.

As you can see, they are all in a red/yellow color scheme borrowed heavily from the designs Eric Hotz created for his Roman Seas paper ships. My buddy already painted his Langton ships in blues; but I actually like red better anyway. Hope to get in a small Roman Seas refresher game soon.

Langton 1/1200th & Valiant 1/900th Ancient Ships - WIP

2011-09-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to putting these fine models together - without tweezers too! The top row are Langton 1/1200th models - left to right, trireme, quinquereme w/furled sail and quinquereme full sail. The curved part of the stern for one of the quins was missing, so I fashioned one out of an old credit card. The bottom two rows are Valiant 1/900th pentekonters; but will be used as liburnians. The bases for the Valiant ships was made from plastic styrene and textured acrylic caulking.

Old Glory 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers

2011-09-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

These are the guys that TMPer VirtualScratchBuilder so kindly gave to me after I posted a want ad on TMP. They've been given the "dip" of Miniwax Tudor Stain. I was a little afraid they'd be too dark, as the stain had gone thick and lumpy since the lid wasn't sealed properly - I had hammered the lid shut too hard and bent the rim. I chucked the can after this dip with over 80 percent of the stain remaining - I hate wasting stuff, but it was no longer any good. I'll get a smaller can and be more careful sealing the lid.

Here they are with a basic block paint job - a Victrix guy next to them for comparison. I converted the ensign guy into a sergeant. The tip of his spontoon has a cross-bladed yari point that came from the Perry set. It was reshaped a bit with a nail file. This will be a nice Group for Sharp Practice. The 23rd served in Egypt, the Peninsular, and even Waterloo; most-likely never wearing their bearskins in action, but they look cool!

I also test fired the Walther P1/P38 yesterday morning. It seemed to shoot low - I aimed with the top of the front sight post flush with the rear sight aperture. The shot group circled in red was the first magazine where I aimed in the center of the target. The one circled in green was the second magazine after aiming at the top edged of the target. The blue circled grouping is by my buddy Scott - he had aimed at the top edge of the target too. Winchester 115 grain ammunition was used.

I've since read that others have had the same experience - that is, it seems to fire low. Someone suggested using 125 grain ammo, but I think I'll stick with 115 and just adjust my aiming point. The last time I fired a weapon was in 2007 with an M9 Beretta - when I was still in the Army.

Perry Foot Samurai - Completed

2011-09-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

These guys are from packs SAM19, SAM20 and SAM22; all with spears.

They are tough to rank up with spears and sashimono - in fact there's about a 10mm gap between ranks here.

Closer-ups:

They will form the sole foot samurai unit - still need to add a command group.

Perry Samurai - WIP +2 (Sashimono)

2011-09-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

Painted the sashimono for the foot samurai.

The designs are taken from the painted screen depicting the Siege of Osaka Castle. The basic patterns were first drawn/sketched with a pencil.

The simplest patterns were used to facilitate painting. There are a few really cool sashimono on the screen; for example there is one with a skull, and another with a hare. I might attempt those for the mounted samurai. I know a lot of folks paint the sashimono for a unit of samurai with the same mon, but I wanted the variety. Incidentally, the painting was commissioned by Kuroda Nagamasa, who participated in siege - and also happens to be my Army General. Here is an excerpt from a site about Osaka Castle - "When Kuroda Nagamasa was tasked with his part of the Summer Battle of Osaka, he engaged the services of a team of painters to document the scene. 5071 people are depicted in the screen, and 21 generals. Kuroda took the painters with him to the battle, thus the screen was painted from actual visual experience on site."

Ancient Naval Project (Waiting in the Wings)

2011-08-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

Ever since playing Roman Seas a few years ago, I've had a bug for Ancient naval warfare - at least the gaming side of it. I once had a decent sized fleet of paper ships in 1/300th scale, but sold it off after I decided to use 1/1200th scale ships. I somewhat regret doing this for a couple of reasons, one I sold it to someone outside of the local gaming group, and for another I've yet to replace it. Anyway, I've acquired a few 1/1200th & 1/900th models; still to be painted.

The 1/1200th are Langton that Kevin Smyth was kind enough to sell for a bargain price. The 1/900th are Valiant models that were also bought for a good price at the last Enfilade! convention. The two scales seem to be compatible with each other. This especially so as the basic construction of the ships are similar and the main difference is the size. My gaming buddy Adrian and I are seriously contemplating fleshing out our respective fleets with some Navwar models.

BTW, I spent a relaxing evening sipping Bloody Marys and cleaning my Walther P38/P1. I spent the day at work daydreaming about it; plan to hit the firing range on Sunday with another gaming buddy, Scott A. with his Colt .45. Should be interesting - two of the mainstay sidearms of WW2.

EDIT: I found this great site on painted Langton models by one Mr. Watkins. I will definitely be referring to this site.

EDIT+1: Another great site; this time with an awe-inspiring amount of ships.

Picked up a Walther P38/P1 today

2011-08-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

Got a call this afternoon that the Walther P38/P1 was ready for pick up; that is, my background check was completed and the real me must not be on file. Anyway, it's even nicer than I remembered from quickly looking it over on Saturday. I thought there was more wear, but it looks fine. I'll try and figure out what year it was made using the serial number.

Disassembled - as far as I want to for now anyway - along with the two magazines, and cleaning kit that came with it. I'm not sure what that chain thingee is; it has a bore brush clipped to it. Yes, I will definitely spend some time cleaning it this weekend - or maybe tomorrow night.

Hope to test fire it at the range this weekend. BTW, I'm not a gun collector, but this is a nice historic piece. This is actually only the second gun I've ever owned. I once had a .380 over 20 years ago; it was for personal protection, but I got rid of it after a year or so. This pistol was acquired as sort of a fluke. My wife mentioned we should get something for home protection - so I was initially looking at shotguns (Mossberg 500 or 88), but just last week the local Cabela's said they had a "very limited stock" of P38/P1's going on sale this past Saturday - first come first served. I lucked out and got the very last one - missing a holster, but who cares. I have a Bianchi holster (the US military issue for Berettas) - fits good.

Perry Foot Samurai - WIP + 1

2011-08-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update before taking a break. Actually not so much a break, but will go in my backyard to cut out some bamboo to transplant in another area of the yard. Anyway, painted the crests and metal ornaments for the swords, as well as cloth ties for the arm and shin armor. Some of the figures also had thigh armor (haidate); these were painted too.

Kept the painting to basic colors; the sword scabbards are either black, for the guys in russet or red armor; and russet color for the ones in black armor. For the sword grips, red, blue or green was dabbed along the grip to make it appear as lacing.
I think all that's left to paint is the clothing - which only show up in small areas from the armor. That and their sashimo - which I'll take a little time researching for nice ones. Oh and their spears still need to be made out of brass rod. I'll try to make these a little nicer than the ones the Ashigaru have.

Perry Foot Samurai - WIP

2011-08-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

Finally managed to get some colors onto these figures. These are three packs of foot Samurai wielding spears. Started on the armor first (besides their faces) as I wanted to get all the troublesome lacing out of the way. The sculpting is very nice, but I wish they'd exaggerated the lacing to ease painting.

This morning I lucked out and was able to buy the last Walther P38 the local Cabela's outdoor store was selling as limited stock. In fact, they had just put up a sign that the P38's were sold out before my number was called. I stuck around to check out a Mossberg 88 shotgun. When I mentioned I had really came for a P38, the salesman said there was one left. Apparently the guy before me changed his mind because it was the display model and didn't have a holster. They knocked off the price and I was able to get it for about $330.00. Of course, these are pre-owned guns that were purchased from Germany. I think Cabela's unloads these every so often in "very limited" quantities (their terminology). Anyway, I have to wait about 5 days for the background check. I'll post pics of it after I pick it up.

Truants Final Game for 2011 - 8/26/11

2011-08-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

Hosted a Sharp Practice game today at the Game Matrix. This was the final Truants game for the season. Several of the Truants managed to make it in for the game today. Bruce and Al ran the French, and Adrian and Scott the British. The scenario was a French plan to ambush and destroy British and allied forces. The French commander, Colonel Steve Zissou "the Mad" had devised a scheme to trick the British into thinking an artillery train was carrying gold to their garrison. Unfortunately, the plan sort of back fired as the British, with units of 42nd Highlanders as well as two units of British Rifles used superior fire power to send the French scurrying back to their garrison. As I was GMing, I only managed to take a few photos - not one of the artillery train, unfortunately.

In spite of most of the players being new to the rules, as well as me being a bit rusty with them, we all had a good time. We even discussed adding some house rules to make them flow better. One was changing Formations. We think a Big Man with appropriate Initiative should be able to change his Formations without having to roll for movement to succeed. Just the cost of the Initiative should allow this.
EDIT Here are a few more photos taken by Adrian (lifted off of his Facebook): Guerrillas on a hill spying the French.

Hussars taking fire from their right flank - prior to charging into the Highlanders in column to their front.

Also, I had recently posted a "Want Ad" on TMP for Old Glory French Middle Guard and/or British Fusiliers. TMPer VirtualScratchBuilder quickly responded that he had a few spares and sent them to me free of charge. They look great and size up well with Perry and Victrix.

Old Glory Ashigaru Units Completed

2011-08-21T16:22:00.000-07:00

Finished basing the Ashigaru spear and teppo units:

Here they are with the previously completed bow unit. Just need to get some command figures. I heard some plastic Ashigaru were supposed to appear soon, but it's just as well I already have these. They're nice enough and I'll likely buy other stuff instead. BTW, the Perry Samurai will add some pizaz to the the army as they'll have sashimono. I'm not entirely convinced all Ashigaru wore sashimono anyway.

Now I can get started on the Perry foot Samurai; or maybe the Crusader Spanish Scutarii.

Old Glory Ashigaru Spear & Teppo - WIP +1

2011-08-20T23:44:00.000-07:00

Well, finished painted & dipping these guys today. Nothing fancy, but still pretty good for me considering I didn't work on them until after a day trip to Bremerton Naval Base. Actually just spent some time driving around Bremerton and stopping in the BX. Pretty sparse compared to Fort Lewis or McChord Air Force Base - or as they are now called Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Anyway, here are the Ashigaru still wet from their dip. I'll spray them with Dullcote tomorrow after they're dried completely.

How they looked prior to the dip with just basic block painting and a little bit of highlighting on the black portions.

I'll post better pics after they're based. Then I'll have to get started on those marvelous Perry Samurai.

Old Glory Ashigaru Spear & Teppo - WIP

2011-08-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

These figures are not bad at all - IMO. Some of the individual poses are quite nice, actually. Funny how some OG sculpts, even within the same pack vary in quality. One would think this is would be common, but taking the Perrys as an example and all of theirs are uniformly excellent. Overall though, I'm quite happy with these guys, especially since I got them a discounted price from Warweb.com.

These will be painted in a production line system, like the earlier archers were. Basic block painting of flesh, the minimal areas of exposed clothing, and the little bit of lacing on the armor. Once the paint is blocked painted, they'll get a dip in Miniwax Tudor Stain. They will also be based the same as the archers were - mostly on four to a 40X40mm bases, with a few singles.

Truants Game Day - 8/19/11 - War of 1812 Naval Action

2011-08-19T16:35:00.000-07:00

This is our second to last Truants game day this year; Mark and Kevin need to get back to schooling another generation of young Americans soon. Today's game was hosted by Dave S., a US Navy veteran with a love of it's history. Here you can see one of his many fine handmade ships for today's game. EDIT: The ships were actually scratch-built by Mark W. - my apologies. The scenario was based on the Battle of Lake Ontario (another oops, I initially thought it was Lake Erie - oh, well, they're both Great!), and we used rules Dave designed himself. The turns are based on activating ships in order of highest cards assigned to individual ships. All ships get two cards, and the player can select which one to use - consulting with fellow players on the same side is allowed. I liked this sequence, although I felt placing the cards next to the models at the start of each turn distracts from the otherwise nice setup.

Here are the US ships, whose guns far outclassed and outnumbered the British ships' guns. Even the small schooners initially being towed had some heavy firepower.

Along with Bruce M. and Adrian, I ran some British ships. The two I had were small and had only guns on the port and starboard side. In fact, none of the British ships had guns on the bow or stern. Most of the US ships had these. Here is the ending stages of the battle - clearly an American victory.

All the players agreed the firing mechanism was fine; just enough detail, but not super chart heavy. There was some recommendations for tweaking little things - like speed and turning, but nothing big. I think keeping the cards with the players and not next to the ships would make the game look nicer while being played.

I'm hosting next week's final Truants game for the season. It'll be a Peninsular War skirmish game using Sharp Practice. Haven't played the rules for sometime, so should be refreshing. I really like these Sharp Practice for "black powder" era skirmish. However, for larger games, I'm going to try using Warlord's Black Powder.

Finally, when I got home today - the long-awaited (about a month) order from Warweb.com arrived. Well-worth the wait. It contains the Old Glory Ashigaru spearmen and teppo to fill the rank and file of a Sengoku army; and also several packs of Crusader Spanish Scutarii to add to a planned Carthaginian army.

Simple Peninsular Terrain

2011-08-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a simple layout with easily transportable terrain that will be used for an upcoming Sharp Practice game. Since the game will be held at our FLGS, The Game Matrix, I wanted stuff that was not only easy to set up, but also easy to store and transport.

The ground cover is a cloth which has been given some variation of color - mainly light green & tan. Two low hills were created using some packing material that was cut into irregular shapes, and stuffed under the cloth.

One hilltop is forested, and the other has a church which will be a garrison for the French.

I've had the pine trees for a long time and can swap them out with other types using the bases that have slots for the trees. The roads were a prize I won from the recent Enfilade! convention. They were donated by Wizard Kraft Modular Terrain. Here, the recently completed French Artillery Train along with some Perry and Victrix figures are testing these fine roads out

Looking at the set up now, I think I'll either pull the walls back or remove them altogether - to allow more space for cavalry to maneuver.
ADDENDUM: I rearranged some things to allow a larger area to maneuver forces - the two hills were moved back towards their edges; and the walls were moved away from the roadside and more or less enclose the church/garrison.

Black Powder and Other Things

2011-08-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

A copy of Warlord's Black Powder arrived yesterday in the mail. Skimmed through much of it last night until being overwhelmed by cheap wine. At the same time, I'm getting ready to host a Sharp Practice game in a couple of weeks. Haven't played it in over a year, but it's all coming back pretty well. The two figures are Victrix models that I just painted as they were "needed" for the Sharp Practice game. One a Big Man, the Pioneer to fill the ranks.

It's nice to know the current basing of my Napoleonics will work with Black Powder. The individual figures are on 20mm washers - which are then mounted four to a stand for line units. Rifles and other skirmish type troops are mounted either as singles or two to a stand. As far as the basic rules go, I'm glad I slept on the movement portion. Last night I initially had trouble reconciling the commands for movement - specifically when does the movement end and a new one begin. I think I have it now - but, a playtest will tell for sure.

Another recent project was trying to get my pale green gaming table cloth a little more varied in coloring. Using a discount coupon for Jo-Ann's, I picked up a set of "camo" fabric paint.

At first it looked promising, but after the colors dried, they seemed to have faded back to the original pale green. The cans don't cover that much area too; and not really worth the price (before the discount, for sure).

Not wanting to spend another dime on this project (at least for now), I delved into my left-over spray paints and thought the "Sweet Cream" that was used as base flesh coat for some Gauls awhile back would work. I ended up emptying the can and it looks okay. Could use some highlights of other colors here and there. Good enough for now, though.

Old Glory French (Nap.) Artillery Train

2011-08-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

These were also given a quick basic paint job, and then a Miniwax Tudor Stain "dip." I don't think there's a faster way to get models ready for the table (painted ;) ).

Here's a comparison photo of sorts; beside the two OG models are Victrix and Perry models. I think they fit together very well.

I was lucky enough to have scored the OG model for $10 dollars at the Bring & Buy table at our local convention, Enfilade! Doug Hamm brought it all the way down from British Columbia - what a great deal. Thanks, Doug. These models will be used in a Sharp Practice game in a couple of weeks.

Wargames Factory Numidians - Javelinmen

2011-08-09T06:25:00.000-07:00

Well, here they are; nothing fancy, but solid and useful figures for a range of Ancient armies. Not bad for about .60 cents a figure. They are pretty durable too; I dropped some of them onto a concrete floor while spraying them with Dullcote. They sort of bounced off the floor undamaged.

I will likely build 10 slingers as well. I do need to get bucklers for all of these guys too.

Dipping Projects

2011-08-07T17:48:00.000-07:00

Determined to use the quickest method to get figures ready for games, I managed to get two projects knocked out today. One being the Wargames Factory Numidian Light Infanty; the other an Old Glory French Artillery Train set. Here they are fresh from getting a dip in Miniwax Tudor Stain:

This is right after I gave them all a very basic block paint job. In fact, a pretty big brush was used for most of it; only used a smaller brush for some areas of the French Artillery Train guys.

After they're completely dried - at least 24 hours; I'll hit them with a dull coat spray and finish basing/flocking them.

1st Corps Imitation Legion - Finished

2011-08-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

Only 12 for now - these were part of the packs that came from an ebay win. I mainly wanted the Hypaspists in the bid, but these are nice and have several possible uses. In addition to Imitation Legionaries, they could be used as Carthaginian Veterans (w/captured Roman gear); or maybe even Thorokites. Of course, I'd have let my opponent know that their weapon not really pila - they just appear to be.

I used Veni Vidi Vici decals for the shields. They are sold as 15mm, but they fit well enough.

Truants ACW Naval Game - 8/5/11

2011-08-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

Somewhat slower than we were last year, we faithful Truants showed up today at The Game Matrix for another great game. This one was an ACW naval game GM'd by Kevin Smyth. I think the rules are called "Ironclads." Most of the other players were familiar with these rules, but as I'd only played these rules once before (last year, at that), it was bit intimidating at first. Of course, the other Truants are always helpful trying to bring me up to speed. After about 8 turns, I think I actually understand the basics now. Anyway, it was a really fun game, and pretty fast considering it does require a lot of chart referencing. For more about the rules and models, please visit Kevin's blog.

Along with Mark and Chris, I ran some of the Union vessels. The one on fire is the Rhode Island, run by yours truly. The fire was initially started by hits from the Confederate fort, but I helped increase the level by consistently bad die rolls - trying to put it out.

Here's the other ship I ran, the Kearsarge; which I managed to keep afloat even after an attempted ramming by a Confederate ironclad.

This is one of our, Union, ironclads run by Mark. He did really well bombarding the fort and keeping his distance from Confederate ships.

The game was called a Confederate victory by a narrow margin. Their fort was likely to fall to offshore bombardment, but the wooden ships that Chris and I ran were taking a beating from the Confederate ironclads. We were at a disadvantage as the scenario had us towing (and greatly slowing our movement) boats with mine clearing personnel from an earlier mission. We eventually ended up cutting their lines to fend for themselves, but by then it was too late. We should've cut them free early on and headed full-speed towards the fort and assist in reducing it with gunfire. That's what I think anyway. Not sure what next week's game will be, but I will likely host a Sharp Practice or Great War game the week after.

ADDENDUM: For more detailed report of this game, please see Kevin's blog.

Wargames Factory Numidian Light Infantry - WIP

2011-08-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

Glued the parts together for 12 javelinmen:

Also put together some test/sample figures for a bowman, couple of slingers, musician and standard bearer. There is another simpler standard that appears to be horsehair topped. The bows and quivers with arrows are particularly nicely sculpted. The sword and scabbard are a bit oversized, but still nice. This set is great for a parts bin as it has a lot of standards and horns for musicians.

The javelinmen will be painted block-style in basic colors and then given a dip in Miniwax Tudor Stain. Plan to add bucklers so they don't get auto-killed on hits. Since I have enough Cretan archers already, I'll probably finish the rest up as slingers. I already have a lot of Redoubt slingers from their Trojan War range, but as they are stark naked, I think these tunic wearing guys will look better for later periods. Now I'm off to my FLGS to check in on a Truants game.