Front Rank General Lefebvre-Desnouettes - WIP

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

Merry Christmas everyone from the KGL 1st Hussars!

Perry British/KGL Hussars - WIP +1

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

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

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

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.