Storm The Farmhouse - Battle of La Haye Sainte - Game Day

Hello everyone! Been a while since I've posted, but just got back from a great game day at the Chehalis Veterans Memorial Museum. I was able to host my La Haye Sainte game using One-Hour Skirmish Wargames rules with six players. The game went well, and a lot of good suggestions were made by the players, as I'll be hostiIng this game again at Enfilade in May. There were several other games going on in the morning session as well as mine, so felt very fortunate to have my game filled. I stayed for the afternoon period and played in a Chain of Command game.

I almost was a no-show for the event as we had snow all day yesterday here in Steilacoom. Other areas had heavy rain, including where the museum is located in Chehalis, Washington - which is prone to flooding. However, the snow had melted off the roads in the morning, so I put on my big boy pants and heading down to the event. Glad I went as today was very sunny and beautiful. The picture below is from yesterday when I was conducting winter warfare training in the backyard with my sole trooper.

The weather today in front of the museum - there were several folks who didn't show up thinking today would be bad too. The weather here in the Pacific Northwest can be very goofy!

Here are pictures from the games today.

Above: French dragoons and sappers attempt to breakdown the defenses in the front of the farmhouse. This combined unit was later destroyed after failing a morale test - they took a lot of casaulties from British Rifles coming out of the sandpit.

Above: British Rifles advancing and firing on the French - all the players started with 12 figure units. I plan to reduce the Rifles unit to 8 figures, as they were a bit too powerful with their rifled muskets.

Above: Nassauers advancing to assist the KGL in the farmhouse.

Above: French Light Infantry Carabiniers assaulting the low walls of the farmhouse. Several made it over the wall and fought in hand to hand combat.

French Voltigeurs advancing towards the rear of the farmhouse.

A spectacular Battle on the Causeway Aztec v. Conquistador game run in both the morning and afternoon periods.

Games like this one made me feel fortunate to have players in my game. There weren't that many attendees - maybe 25 or so - mainly due to yesterday's weather.

Kevin Smyth's WW2 Pacific Theater game. He said the game didn't quite go exactly as he had envisioned. The Japanese, due to unusually good die rolls, managed to sink all of the Allied ships early on.

Wings of War WW1 aerial game.

The Patrol Phase of the Chain of Command game I played in, in the afternoon period. Note the laser doing the back azimuths for figure placement from the "locked" Jumping Off points. Although I only play these rules when my buddies host games, I do enjoy the Patrol Phase.

I ran a platoon of US Paratroopers, and thanks to very good shooting die rolls managed to destroy a platoon of Germans on their right flank.

Besides the gaming going on upstairs, the first floor has an excellent museum. It is privately funded, and showcases the sacrifices of veterans from the local area. These include those from the American Civil War to present. I took pictures of a few of the memorial displays from recent conflicts.

The one below includes the veteran's Cub Scout uniform.

Here's a picture of some of the many small arms displays throughout the museum. All of the items in the museum are private donations.

So, all in all a great game day - especially considering how I almost was not going to attend it. Thanks for stopping by, and wishing you all the best.

More Eureka Hawaiians

Finished another set of Eureka Hawaiians. Along with the earlier two sets, should have enough for a 6-player Tribal game. May have to pick up a few warlords and/or heroes, possibly from Paymaster.

Painted the feathered helmets and capes of the chiefs/ali'i in more of a red color, as opposed to the more yellow ones in the earlier sets.

The flesh tone is a bit lighter than the previous ones, as I wanted to vary their skin colors a bit.

All three sets (21-figures each) together. 

This was my first painting project for over a month, as I've been a bit lazy and been doing other things. Anyway, just a quick post to keep the blog alive. Also, will be hosting a One-Hour Skirmish Wargames Napoleonic game next weekend at the Chehalis Veterans Memorial Museum. It'll be the first game since the Black Powder Dresden game back in January; hard to believe it's already March! Best wishes to you all!

Storm The Farmhouse! La Haye Sainte One-Hour Skirmish Wargames Set-up

Some staged shots of a La Haye Sainte game using One-Hour Skirmish Wargames rules I will be hosted next month at the Veterans Museum in Chehalis, Washington.

I've used this scenario several times before using Black Powder on a larger table which included actions around the farm as well as the farm itself. This time, the game will be concentrated on the actual assault of the farm.

Newly arrived Nassauers assisting the KGL troops.

Major Baring commanding on horseback.

The back of the barn, missing the doors as they were burned for firewood the cold night before by the defenders.

View looking into the courtyard from the main house.

The little pond from which retreating Luneburg troops used their cooking pots to put out the fires.

French Carabiniers assaulting through the orchard.

French Voltigeurs supporting Engineers/Sappers who broke down the main gate to the farm.

A unit of 95th Rifles manning the "Sand Pit" on the far edge of the table.

The dashing Lieutenant Colonel Sharpe stroming out of the Sand Pit to attack the Prince of Orange.

Oh, and here's the 54mm figure of a Kospoth Regiment grenadier which I painted for my buddy who had an ancestor serve in that unit in the 1790's.

So much for now, nothing in the paint queue at the moment. I might work on the St Chamond 3D printed tank I've had sitting around for awhile. Until next time, thanks as always for visiting, and wishing you all the very best.

Eureka Hawaiian Ali'i

Here are the rest of the figures from the two full sets from Eureka. They are the Ali'i in feathered capes and helmets.

I probably should've used more red, as yellow was a more prestigious color since it was scarcer. Most of the birds the Hawaiians obtained the feathers from are now extinct - due to this practice.

The longer capes were worn by the highest ranking chiefs, and the shorter ones for lesser chiefs. The gourd helmet was also worn by priest (kahuna) for certain religious ceremonies.

Besides finally finishing these Eureka figures, I started on a 54mm figure for a buddy. It will represent an ancestor of his that served in the Hessian Von Kospoth Regiment. According to research he had done, the grenadiers of the regiment wore a bearskin, instead of the more common mitre. I used Tamiya epoxy modelling putty to convert the mitre to a bearsking. I left part of the original front plate visible. Here's what I have so far.

According to the researcher my buddy contacted, the uniform is similar to this one, except it had open lapels (like this figure), and white facings.

Otherwise, not much else going on except for the local (American) football team, the Seattle Seahawks winning the Superbowl yesterday. Not a great fan of sports, but it's always nice to have a local team win something this big (at least for Americans). Best wishes to you all!

Eureka Hawaiians - WIP +1

Still need to work on the high-ranking guys, but finished the rank and file warriors. I went over the flesh with highlights as the Minwax darknened them a bit too much. Also, added tattoos to a few for variety.

Thanks for checking out the blog, and best wishes to you all!

Eureka Hawaiians - WIP

Minwax'd the rank and file figures. Will work on the high-ranking warriors with feather capes and  helmets next.

Prior to the staining; added a wash of Vallejo Ink flesh over the flesh basecoat.

Fairly simple paint job of flesh colors, off white loin cloth, and yellowish, dried leaf coats. The high ranking warriors will add a splash of color, and make them easy to identify on the table. Thanks again for stopping in, and wishing you all the best.

Eureka! The Hawaiians Are Here!

Started a new project, after a short hiatus from the hobby. On a whim, I ordered the remaining figures from Eureka USA's Hawaiian range. They only had two packs which included figures from all of their individual sets. Came out to 42 figures total - not a bad start for a Tribal game in the future. I did communicate with Rob, the owner of the store, and he said he'd be getting more figures in sometime later. I may get another full set pack. Anyway, gave the figures a basecoat for the flesh - will add stains later to give them more of a "Polynesian" look. Otherwise, I've already submitted four games for Enfilade, our big annual convention in May. I'll be running two games each of La Haye Sainte and Peninsular War - both using One-Hour Skirmish Wargames rules. I'm also playtesting the La Haye Sainte game at a game day in March at the Veterans Museum in Chehalis.

When I was in the Boy Scouts, around 12 or 13 years old IRRC, we had a Jamboree on the island of Molokai where we earned our Hawaiiana badge. It was a week camping in Halawa Valley, a notoriously spooky place with stories of a headless priest who supposedly hung himself in an old church nearby. Dog-headed men who lived in the valley who would drag you out of the tent if you slept with your feet facing the opening. I thought, if you slept with your head towards the opening, they'd drag you out by your head too. There was also a three-legged dog that would glide down the dirt road leading down into the valley, and a ghostly Hawaiian woman who'd drag you into the small bay at the end of the valley. It was probably told to us so we wouldn't go down to the beach by ourselves.  Oh, on the last day of the Jamboree, we all wore a malo (loin cloth) which we had painted with Hawaiian designs and went off on own into the valley for the day. I made a spear and a hardened the tip in a fire, and ran around the valley trying to spear fish in streams. Never could, but had a great time - it was like being back in ancient times. 

Here's a pic of me holding a spear with a billfish point - it's from a few years ago when I was visiting Hawaii.

Well, so much for the long trip back in time. Wishing you all the best and hope your year is going well.

Black Powder, Battle of Dresden, 1813 - My First Game in 2026!

Wrapped up a very nice Battle of Dresden game using Black Powder. There were 7 players, 4 commanding the Allied army, and 3 commading the French. It was a close battle with lots of back and forth action, especially between cavalry. Small skirmish units were able to occupy the smaller buildings in the center of the table. We played 6 turns ending with a very close French victory. They held their positions around the city, although their cavalry brigade on their right flank took heavy losses. 

The Allies were allowed to go first, since the French were already in a defensive position in the city. The Russians made the first move by advancing well into musket and cannon range. They wanted to force the French out from their positions.

French left.

French Dragoons and Lancers forcing Russian infantry into square.

French Carabiniers and Cuirassiers on their right.

Russian infantry advancing.

French infantry within the city defenses.

Prussian Dragoons and Uhlans advancing.

Austrian and Prussian cavalry advancing in front of their infantry.

French heavy cavalry in combat with Prussian Dragoons.

Center of the battlefield. 

Around turn 5.

Austrians attacking the French right.

Russian infantry awaiting movement orders (they had a few failed command rolls).

Russian Grenadiers. 

Russian Uhlans charging into French Dragoons.

Prussians advancing in the center.

French and Austrian infantry clash. 

Action on the French left. 

It was great to finally get all of the models onto the table - including the large buildings that were put together last year. The players, most of whom have only played Black Powder once or twice before, all said they had a great time and enjoyed the game. I think the rules are great for fast play and we were able to get 6 full turns in within about 4 hours. A great start to the gaming new year! Thanks for stopping by and hope you all are doing well!