AWI Side Project - Perry, Victrix and Wargames Factory Kit Bash

Just a little WIP shot of some Perry plastic AWI British with Victrix Napoleonic arms/muskets and also Wargames Factory fur capped Grenadier heads. I wanted the figures in more skirmish poses than the marching and trail arms that come in the set. I also thought that Grenadiers "must" be wearing bearskins - even for the Saratoga Campaign.

Along with the Grenadier heads my buddy gave me, there are also some heads with Light Infantry caps (also Wargames Factory). This is a smallish project (at least for now), that will have units of 6 to 12 figures. It does sound like Rebels and Patriots, but I intend to use the Rebellion! Black Powder supplement.

EDITS: Just did up some of the Perry AWI Continentals with Victrix and Perry Napoleonic British arms/muskets. Scraped off the cuff lacing. Left the ends of the wings on the guy with pink arms, as it looks like the fringe on the buckskin coat. I was thinking about removing the musket slings and bayonets - to make them look more irregular. However, the muskets look a bit short without the bayonets.

And some British with Wargames Factory Light Infantry heads.

Also have a Bolt Action Franco Prussian War refresher game in a couple of days. In anticipation for this, I already laid out the board and arranged the figures in units to see how they look. I've actually hosted this game several times in the past, but it was over two years ago - and I'm hosting it again in September at our annual historical convention, Enfilade.

The figures are a mixture of Eagles of Empires, North Star, Perry and also a Mitrailleuse gun and crew by Spencer Smith.  I have enough units for 6 players, but looking forward to the new FPW range the Perry's are releasing. I hope to add some French Cuirassiers when available.

I will post pictures of the FPW Bolt Action refresher game once played. Until then, wishing good health and happy hobby pursuits to you all.

Pavlograd Hussars - Victrix and Perry Figs

Here's the completed 8-man unit of Pavlograd Hussars which are made up of Victrix and Perry plastics, and also a 3-figure metal Perry command set.

The figures with lancers were painted a few months ago using Victrix Polish Lancers and parts of Perry British Dragoons, as well as heads/kiwers from Perry Russian Infantry. The other figures are metal Perry figures, and also another plastic Perry Dragoon with Perry Russian Infantry head. The horse for this last figure is from a Perry plastic Austrian Hussar sprue.

The yellow braiding and lacing was officially changed from yellow to red in 1809, however, I kept them yellow as they look nicer IMO. They also are shown as yellow in some modern illustrations, including those by Osprey and Haythornthwaite.

I may someday up my cavalry units to the usual 12-figures, but for now these will be like the rest of 8-man units I have for Black Powder.

I've mixed Victrix and Perry foot before, but it's nice to see their cavalry also work well together.

On the gaming front, I have a Bolt Action Franco-Prussian War game scheduled for this coming Thursday. It's a refresher game as I haven't played Bolt Action for over a year, and don't want to appear too clueless in September when I'm hosting it at Enfilade. As for projects, I'm waiting on some Perry plastic Austrians and also a few more Imjin War 1/1200th ships from MT Miniatures. I also have Perry plastic AWI stuff for a smallish gaming project. Thanks for dropping by and wishing you all the best!

Imjin War Naval Gaming - Height of Battle - Playtest

My buddy Scott and I just finished an excellent playtest today. Suffice to say we had a great time and really enjoyed the rules. Below is a shot prior to the game with additional "turn counters".

Here are a few pics of the game. We used the ships from the starter set as well as some Chungnugong (small turtle ships) divvied up between the two sides (2 squadrons each). They were classed as they are for the Koreans, but for the Japanese we used them as stand-in Ataka Bune. The game flowed great and got in 3 complete turns. We were able to get into firing range within the second turn and boarding actions in the second and third turn. We plan to get more games in very soon - with more ships for both sides. 

Start of the game with Japanese nearest the frame. The O'Ataka Bune was the overall command ship. We gave the "admirals" of both sides "Good" ratings and the other squadron commanders "Average" ratings.

The dice indicate which ships are in firing range and will be used for scoring of hits once combined with the additional artillery factors depending on facing of the shot. The red and yellow firing template comes already laminated, as the rest of the gaming aids to include a QRS.

The Korean fleet, skillfully captained by my buddy.

I ran the Japanese side; and this was about the time I figured out that I should've been using more historical boarding tactics instead of shooting at long range.

The blue and white movement "sticks" are included in the starter set; the marking are in one inch increments and come with 30, 45 and 60 degree corners for turning. Most ships can only move up to 4 or 5 inches, so these are perfect for that. As for turning, the rules allow for two turns during a move - once at the start of the move and another mid-way of the move - up to the degree of movement allowed that particular ship. The only time we needed a measuring tape was for the max 12" distance of shooting heavy artillery cannon.

Boarding action - w Japanese Ataka Bune successfully boarding Korean ships.

Not to be outdone, Scott later charged into the action with his Panokseon and small turtle ship. We ended up with 3 Korean vs. 2 Japanese ships in melee.

The battle is getting hot - boarding actions and firing going on.

A great set of naval rules for this period - which include the few centuries before and after the Imjin War. The rules include stats for Chinese and earlier Korean ships as well.

MT Miniatures 1/1200th Imjin War Ships - Chungnugong (small turtle ships)

My buddy ordered a large pack of these smaller turtle ships called Chungnugong, and said he had too many and gave me 10 of them. They are smaller versions of the larger Geobukseon turtle ship. They are slightly smaller than the Panokseon, but have the armored rooftop like the larger turtle ship.

As with the earlier ships, they are based on plasticard with textured acrylic caulking. They were then sprayed with a white undercoat, and the main areas of the ship given a wash of Vallejo Skin Wash with a little Black Ink, and finally highlighted by dry-brushing. The "water" was painted with a watered down 65:35 mixture of Vallejo Dark Prussian Blue and Deep Green, then a very light dry-brushing of white for the waves/wake.

The Koreans now have enough ships for two decent sized squadrons - not counting the ships my buddy is still working on. The Japanese will definitely need some reinforcements now. 

The photo above shows the size comparison of these with a full-sized Geobukseon turtle ship and Panokseon. 

Plan on having a playtest soon - probably using these small turtle ships as proxies to supplement the Japanese until their actual ships arrive. Until then, thanks as always for stopping by and wishing you all the best.

Victrix Napoleonic Austrian Mounted Commanders and Skirmishing Infantry

Here are the two mounted commanders that came with the Victrix Austrian Grenadiers; along with the left-over foot figures.

There aren't enough grenadier bearskins for all of the figures, so ended up using some helmets and a shako for some of the foot. You would have to use bicornes for all of the officers and standard bearers to have enough bearskins for all of the foot.

The crested helmets really do give them an Austrian-look though.

Although there are no plans to build a sizeable Austrian force, I did order a box each of Perry Austrian infantry and cavalry. Maybe they'll be coupled with the Russians for some 6th Coalition battles. Anyway, just wanted to finish up the box of Victrix Austrian Grenadiers - hate leaving figures unused. Thanks again for stopping by the blog and hope you all are doing well and enjoying the hobby.

Victrix Austro-Hungarian Grenadiers

Here are the two combined grenadier battalions - one each Germans in all "white" and Hungarians in blue "tights". Still have several spare figures for skirmishers to do, as well as the two mounted commanders.

They're not ID'd as from any particular regiment, although the facing colors are listed as being used by several regiments. Tried to paint the facing color piping on the shoulder straps while leaving some white on the outside to represent the pack straps. Later saw some images showing the pack straps under the shoulder straps - should've painted the piping fully to reflect this - too late to go back now.

To highlight the white, a drop of Vallejo Stone Grey was added to give it a slightly darker shade than the white cross straps. As mentioned in the previous WIP post, the piping and lacing for the Hungarians' trousers were painted for effect rather than accuracy - i.e. only yellow for these (over a black basecoat) - not alternating black and yellow as they actually were.

For whatever reason(s), I never had a prior interest in Austrian Napoleonics, but after doing these few, I can see they are quite appealing with the various colored facings. Thinking of doing up some regular line infantry, but torn between the more "useful" shakos and the cool looking earlier helmets.

The grey colored plastics used for this set seems to be stronger (more durable) than the earlier tan plastic sets used for the French and British when first released.

Well, so much for now - happy to have these added these to the collection. Quite useful gaming-wise as they can be used for and against the French. Appreciate your stopping by and wishing you all the best.

Victrix Austrian (& Hungarian) Grenadiers - WIP

Although I don't intend to build up an actual Napoleonic Austrian army, I always liked the look of their grenadiers - particularly their odd-shaped bearskins and also the Hungarians in their sky-blue breeches with yellow/black piping. Couldn't pass up a box of the Victrix plastics and was able to break them down into two 24-man battalions - one each German and Hungarian - with a few spare figures for skirmishing. The set also comes with two mounted officers as well; quite a bargain box, IMO. Here they are with a fresh coat of Minwax stain.

The bearskins are nicely sculpted, as are their ammo pouches' brass emblems. I used a hobby knife to convert the round German cuffs to pointed ones and scraping away the gaiters as well for the Hungarians.

They were base coated white and then block painted. I did add a quick dry-brush to highlight the bearskins, and gaiters on the Germans.

The "knots" on the Hungarians' breeches were painted for effect rather than accuracy. Also, the stripes on the sides of the breeches are only yellow - instead of the actual yellow and black. I thought the two colors would look too "busy" - and also didn't want to go to too much trouble.

I initially thought of using these grenadiers in a small game based upon them facing the the Young Guard led by General Rapp at Essling. However, they could also be used as part of the Grande Armée or allied with the Russians in the 1813 Campaign.

Anyway, just waiting for my buddy to let me know when his Imjin War ships are ready so we can get a game in. I also signed up for our annual convention, Enfilade. It's usually held during Memorial Day weekend, but was rescheduled for Labor Day weekend. Well, so much for now - thanks for stopping by and wishing you all the best.

Imjin War - MT Miniatures "At The Height Of Battle" 1/1200th Ships

Here are the ships that come with the "At The Height Of Battle" starter set. My buddy is painting his set up and once he's done, we'll have a play test or two.

The ships are very nicely detailed and had no flash or other bits to clean up. Besides the "castle" for the Japanese O Ataka Bune command ship, the only components to put together are the sails (the small Seki Bune don't have sails).

To more easily identify the two sides, I gave the Japanese red and yellow flags and the Koreans black and dark blue.

After attaching the ships to the plasticard with textured acrylic caulking, they were given a white basecoat. Vallejo Skin Wash with a little Black Wash was applied over the ships to simulate wood. This was later drybrush to highlight the raised areas - including the oars (barely visible at the waterline, but they're there).

The sails were painted in layers - starting with a neutral gray, then two successive lighter layers with a little white added.

For the water, I used about a 65:35 mixture of Vallejo Dark Prussian Blue and Deep Green (it actually is a bit greener in-person - a sort of teal blue). The mixture was watered down a bit to allow it to seep into the acrylic caulking, and leaving the high areas lighter and having a translucent finish. Finally, a light drybrush of white was added to the crest of the waves and wake.

ADDENDUM: Found these pics from back when I was stationed in Korea (2002-2003-ish). We went onto a Turtle Ship replica at Namhae. We were the only ones there and no one else around - we went into the replica ship and there was a table with weapons and armor, so me and my sons put some on. We walked all around inside the ship and it had mannequins in period costume manning the ship and guns.

We just strolled onto the ship with no one around - no entrance fee that I could see. There was also a shrine up on the hillside dedicated to Admiral Yi. We check it out too - again, with no one around.

The armor was really heavy as it had metal plates sewn inside of the cloth.

While awaiting my buddy to finish his ships, I have a box each of Victrix Austrian Grenadiers and Perry AWI British and Continentals to peruse. Thanks for stopping by and hope you all are doing well and enjoying the hobby!

Perry French Foreign Legion - 1st Free French Division

Here's a squad of Perry French Foreign Legion to participate in the Western Desert Campaign. They can also be broken down into two smaller sections each led by and NCO.

Very simple color scheme using lightened Vallejo Khaki for the jackets and Dark Sand for the shorts; off white for the scarves and white for the kepi covers. The officer and two NCO's have uncovered kepis. They're based on Warlord Games plastic 25mm rounds to match the rest of the Western Desert Campaign figures I have.

These guys, along with the rest of the Free French forces, famously put up an heroic defense at the Battle of Bir Hakeim. Ultimately making a successful retreat and joining up with the British 8th Army and continuing the fight at the Second Battle of El Alamein.

I added this unit to match the DAK forces after bumping up their numbers with the Ramcke squad. Here's what they looked like with Minwax stain over a block paint job - I only highlighted their jackets and flesh afterwards.

Thanks for dropping by and best wishes to you all.