Christmas, Lost Mojo, New Figures and Books

Merry Christmas everyone!

It's been a little while since my last post, and for that I apologize. I was waiting for some figures to arrive in the mail before making another post, but since the military's mail system is slow as molasses they haven't yet arrived and I wished to post at least once more before year's end.

Unfortunately, I seem to have lost a bit of my painting mojo as of late, ever since I arrived at my first command and have yet to move off the ship. Navy ships are not known for the vat amount of space they afford their crews, so I have not the space for painting. But this hasn't stopped me from picking up a few figures, here and there.

I discovered a new local game shop here in San Diego, and there I was pleased find some Perry Napoleonic figures. So I picked up a box of 28mm plastic British Hussars, which I more than likely will paint up as one of the KGL Hussar regiments.

They are very nice figures, and I look forward to putting them together as soon as I move into a bigger place.

Additionally, I found an Essex miniatures British Rocket Battery caisson on sale online, and picked it up to complement the Minifigs Rocket Battery figures I picked up on eBay a couple of years ago. This is what's currently bogged down in the military mail system.

Finally, I have picked up a couple more interesting books. While out shopping for my mother's Christmas present today, I found a nice little second-hand book shop where I picked up the following two books cheap:

 

The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships  by C. Nepean Longridge is an illustrated guide to all parts of Napoleonic Wars-era sailing ships. from deck plans, obscure bits of rigging, guns, ship's boats, you name it. I rather wish I had had this book handy whilst I was reading Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin books in high school.

1815: The Armies at Waterloo by Ugo Pericoli covers the history and tactics of the Battle of Waterloo in its first couple of sections, but the last two thirds of the book is devoted to beautifully illustrated, full-color uniform plates of the different belligerents. While I don't game Waterloo, I am a sucker for books with uniform plates, and so I had to add this to my collection.

Well, that's about it. I get to go home for the first two months of January, which will be nice. I hope to get some painting done, hopefully. I would also like to do a "Year in Review" post, to cover what all I accomplished over 2015. Until then, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Thanks for looking,

-Chuck

Casualties

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since my last post here, but lots of real-life has prevented me from doing much painting, let alone blogging.

Today a long-awaited order from Brigade Games arrived, and inspiration struck me to do a very VERY simple conversion: a British casualty marker.

(Remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions.)

My new figures: British Command in Top Hats, two British flank company figures in round hats (these lads will "round out" my West Indies Regiment), and two French 8 pounder guns, which will complete my American battery. All are 28mm figures.

Here is my conversion fodder, a 28mm Sash & Saber American Civil War casualty figure. I saw this chap in my lead pile today as I was separating out my new figures and though, "with a little trimming that fellow could pass for a Napoleonic casualty." With that my interest was piqued.

Here's the final article, painted up and based. Really all I had to do was trim away the original figure's kepi and long beard (neither of which would become fashionable in Europe for another 50 years or so). A very quick and simple conversion.

A view from the other side. You can tell from this angle that his tunic isn't quite right for Naps, but I bet that if I hadn't pointed it out you wouldn't have noticed, now would you? The base is a 40mm x 30mm plywood Litko base that I had left over from another project; the perfect size for 28mm casualty figures, I found.

The Sash & Saber figure came from a large lot of mixed ACW figures that I purchased a while back for another project. By shoehorning him into my Napoleonic collection, I've added another painted figure to my totals, while getting to completely sidestep the purchase column! A coup! A coup d'état I tell you!

Now, the name of this post is "Casualties' in the plural, and so far I've only shown one casualty figure. Allow me to explain: two of my brand new figures are headless! Somehow, through malice or neglect (though I rather expect that Lon at Brigade was just extraordinarily busy and it slipped by him) neither my British sergeant nor drummer boy arrived with a top hat head, or any heads at all. This is a shame, but not necessarily a game changer. I will have to do some sculpting and modeling to get some new heads for these chaps, and as figure conversion is one of my favorite aspects of this hobby, I rather look forward to the challenge!

Coming soon: Some new heads for some British infantry. These new figures also give me a hankering to start on some more West Indies lads.

Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

28mm: New Figures, Caisson, and Whyte's Lights!

Hello everyone!

A lot has happened hobby-wise over the past few days, but I haven't had much opportunity to get it up on the blog until tonight. A couple of my orders came in, so I spent some time working on cleaning up some figures for the 1st West India Regiment, as well as putting together the MDF French Artillery Caisson from Blotz. I also managed to paint a stand of West Indies troops; so I've been pretty busy! Here are some pictures of my progress (remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions):

Two packs of Trent Miniatures "Chasseurs (Ste Dominigue)" received from Recreational Conflict. These are big, chunky figures with bold details. They are noticeably bigger than both Foundry and Knuckleduster.

My French Artillery Caisson from the British company Blotz. This is a very nice MDF kit. I took some pictures while I was putting it together, but I will post them when I finish painting it. This kit was a pleasure to put together and looks so good I'm (oddly) a little apprehensive about painting over it!

Cleanup of the Trent Miniatures begins. Out of all 16 figures, there was only one figure with any significant problems, namely the chap in front here who is missing the front half of his musket! The rear figure shows what he should look like.

And here's my fix. A few pieces of carefully carved styrene rod in three different sizes to represent the musket's fore end, barrel and ramrod. It looks pretty good, if I say so myself, despite this picture.

Everyone cleaned up and ready to go. In the background is a sneaky peek of the completed assembled caisson.

Finally, here we have the Light Company of the 1st (Whyte's) West Indies Regiment. The chap firing his musket is the figure I fixed with plastic rod. See? I told you it looks pretty good!

Uniform for these guys are long sleeved, red single-breasted jackets, with cuffs in the facing color, in this case white, and white loose trousers. Like many West Indies regiments in the field, these lads have gone barefoot and are wearing round hats, which support their green light company plumes. White crossbelts, black leather equipment and brown leather machete scabbards in addition to their India Pattern Brown Bess muskets complete their kit. 

The West Indies uniforms were inspired by a number of sources, namely descriptions of "West Indian tropical dress" found in Haythornthwaite's Uniforms of the French Revolutionary Wars, 1789-1802, plates 49 and 50. (This also marks the first time I've used this book, which I got for my birthday this year, as source material for some figures!) Even though these uniforms are from many years prior to the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, I find it hard to believe that, as remote a station as the West Indies was during the Napoleonic Wars and at the far end of a rather long supply chain, some elements of these uniforms would not still have seen use well into the 1810s. Also, the bare feet of the West Indies is well documented from the War of 1812, further strengthening the notion that the above uniform is far from implausible. Plus, these speculations have the added benefits of justifying the sculpting on the figures I bought and giving the entire unit round hats, which are awesome.

Coming soon: This weekend I plan on knocking out the artillery caisson, battery commander, and Brigadier General John Adair.

Questions, comments and criticisms are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

More Foundry Americans

Hello everyone!

Another order arrived in my mailbox today, this time three Foundry packs that I got deeply discounted online.

Two packs of American artillery crew and the American generals pack

And here they are all cleaned up

The artillery crews will be used for the American artillery battery I'm currently working on. Unfortunately one of the packs came with two dudes with ramrods, which is too many. This guy will be substituted with a spare American infantry officer I had from the infantry command pack, which I will paint up as an artillery officer. The four musket-wielding artillery figures will be pressed into service as infantrymen, as the uniforms were almost identical except in color.

One of the mounted generals will become Brigadier General John Adair, the Kentucky militia brigade commander at New Orleans. The foot figure in round hat will join Mitchusson's Regiment to replace the officer in round hat I stole from them last night, while the other (slightly modified) will become the battery commander for my American artillery battery. While I was cleaning up the mounted figures I managed to pop the sword hand off one of the figures--doh! I quickly fixed him up with some superglue and green stuff.

Not really in much of a painting mood tonight, so I'll set these aside for now. As always, the Foundry figs are really nicely done.

Coming soon: still waiting for lots of other stuff to arrive. If the mood strikes I may paint something during the week.

Questions, comments and criticism are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

U.S. Army Artillery Corps 12 Pounder--28mm

Hello everyone!

A bit of a late post for me, but I finished up the gun this afternoon and got all of the crew (which I finished last week) based up this evening, and I couldn't wait until tomorrow to get pictures up. Here they are for your enjoyment! (Remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions.)

The gun carriage was painted in the sky blue prescribed by US Army regulations in 1808, and all iron on the gun (to include the barrel) is painted black. The American Artillery Corps had guns during the War of 1812 which came in three main flavors: iron 12 pounder, iron 6 pounder, and brass 6 inch howitzers, all mounted on French Gibreauval carriages, as seen here. Of course, various state and local militias continued to use a myriad of whatever guns were available, including many guns left over from the American War of Independence. The above gun is in conformance with the 1808 regulations that standardized the Artillery Corps... almost. I've read that gun carriages were to have red wheel hubs, but I thought this looked stupid and omitted it. Gun carriage colors were often whatever color they were when the arrived in American hands, or whatever color happened to be locally available, so this change on my part is wholly justifiable historically.

Also, the base ended up being 45mm x 70mm, mainly because this size optimized my sheet of styrene that I use for bases. It turned out rather well, I feel.

Coming soon: we'll see what comes in the mail first. Odds are that's what I'll get started on first... the "ooh, shiny!" factor being high and all when a blister of figs arrives.

Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

The American Gun Has Arrived!

Hello everyone!

My French 12 pounder cannon arrived from Brigade Games today. She will be pressed into American service for use against the dastardly British circa 1812.

Unfortunately, I think that I am going to have to put my 28mm artillery on bases larger than the 40mm x 50mm bases I currently use for my 1:72/15mm artillery. There just isn't the room to fit both the larger gun and the figures around it. After doing some exploratory measurements, I believe that a 50mm x 70mm base will be the way to go; it will have the same general overall proportions as the smaller artillery bases, while giving me enough room for both crew and gun. That said, I'll start working on my new gun tonight!

Coming soon: my completed American artillery stand. I've also made a number of purchases since my last post, mainly 28mm figures. I went ahead and got all of the American artillery crew figures that I needed as well as a pack of American officers from Foundry, and two more cannons from Brigade Games. I also ordered some West Indies troops in round hats and some command figures, which will be the 1st West India Regiment that fought at New Orleans. They'll be an interesting mix of figures from a couple of different manufacturers, but I like mixing and matching.

Questions, comments and criticisms are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

US Artillery WIP 1

Hello everyone!

I spent most of today finishing up a War of 1812 American gun crew. These are 28mm figures made by Foundry. (remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions.)

Front view

Rear view

These guys are painted up in the uniform of 1812, with the blue coatee faced in red with yellow frogging and piping for the junior enlisted troops, while the sergeant (on the far right) has red cuffs and collar piped in yellow, with yellow frogging and epaulettes and a red sash, but with coatee tails in white instead of red. Why this peculiarity existed with noncommissioned officers of artillery is unknown to me, but I saw it represented in a number of uniform plates. All wear white gaiter-trousers over their shoes, as well as the early cylindrical-type shakos, made of either felt or leather. These have brass plates, white plumes and yellow cords.

Interestingly, the junior enlisted members of the crew wear both bayonets and prolongs, kit unique to American artillerists of the War of 1812. Most artillery batteries were armed with muskets for protection, and the crew retained their bayonets for these muskets as they worked their guns. The prolongs (leather baldrics attached to a length of rope, which sits coiled on their right hips) were used to physically move the guns over rough terrain; crewmen would literally hook themselves to the piece to drag it along. The figures carry cartridge boxes as well.

These lads are still on their painting bases because I am still waiting for my Brigade Games 12 pounder to arrive in the mail. I want to get the gun glued to its base and painted before I put these guys on it. I'm hoping that I will be able to get it and these four lads onto one of my standard 4cm x 5cm artillery bases.

Speaking of bases, I picked these up yesterday at a local hobby shop:

Citadel "Mordheim Turf" grass tufts

I've seen lots of other, very talented wargamers use tufts similar to these on their models, and I thought I'd give it a go myself. Kind of on the expensive side, but there are a lot of tufts in this container, so they should last a while. While I was in the shop I also picked up some thick plasticard for bases (I didn't think the thin cardboard I usually use would be sturdy enough support for a heavy 28mm gun and crew) and some styrene rod for flagpoles.

Coming soon: As soon as my gun comes in I'll get it painted up and these US artillery finished up. In the meantime I may start working on those greatcoated British infantry. I've decided to do a full battalion in 28mm, using 4 figures to a base, so 24 total figures. These will be the 4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot, which fought in the Peninsula and in the War of 1812.

Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

28mm Figures WIP

Hello everyone!

Just a quick post here. I spent the afternoon cleaning up my Foundry 28mm figures, and took a few pictures of the minis themselves. Enjoy!

B159 Command in Greatcoats

NUS018 Artillery Crew

NUS001 American Infantry Command

NUS014 American Volunteers

I went ahead and bought a 28mm French 12 pounder gun for my American artillery crew from Brigade Games, which should be arriving shortly. I've also updated my 2015 running totals with my new 28mm purchases.

Coming soon: I'll see if I can get started on painted up a few of these guys! Time to do some uniform research...

Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

What Have I Done?

I really need to stop looking in the bargain bin... all I end up doing is getting myself into trouble!

Hello everyone!

Well, I have a bit of a confession to make. Yes, I was trawling through the discounted section again, looking for anything and everything that I could possibly make use of (this tactic yielded the Field of Glory expansion from two posts ago), when I came across these fellows at 75% off:

Four Foundry Miniatures blisters: Napoleonic American Volunteers, Napoleonic American Artillery Crew, Napoleonic British Command in Greatcoats and Napoleonic American Infantry Command

Three packs of Napoleonic Foundry figures at 75% off! These packs usually run about $25 apiece, so the opportunity to snatch up four for the price of one was just too great, and I bought them.

"But Chuck!" I hear the cry. "You don't game in 28mm! You're a small figure man, fighting battles in the One True Scale!" Yes, I know. But I couldn't resist such an offer, and if THAT isn't a wargamer truism then I don't know what is.

I have long loved Foundry figures, but their high prices here in the States have prevented me from buying very many over the years. As such, I doubt that I will be getting any more. However, the packs that I bought are not really complete and/or usable in any kind of gaming, with two eight figure command packs, an artillery crew and a bunch of American volunteers. Yes, I could get several of them based up singly for skirmish gaming, but that leaves figures like ensigns sort of useless, and the artillery crew has no gun to crew!

So here I am with a bit of a conundrum: do I base up the majority of these guys individually for skirmish games, or do I use the majority of them to form the core of a couple of wargaming units for my existing 15mm/20mm armies, bolstered by the purchase of additional 28mm figures? I know I'll be buying a cannon for sure, but will it be based for big games or skirmish? Will there be other figures? I'm leaning towards the affirmative, which is a very slippery slope indeed... what have I done to myself!?

Personally I'm inclined to do a mix of both skirmish and wargame units, but I'd like to hear readers' thoughts. Mixing scales doesn't bother me particularly, not anymore, as I've seem plenty of online evidence of some beautiful games run with mixed scales. Besides, these are lovely sculpts, and there are lots of other very nice figures out there for sale. Oh boy, here we go...

Coming soon: Probably some of these new, lovely figures. I'll also have a look around the internet to see what I can come up with in order to fill out the units. I'll probably end up going with Knuckleduster... but Brigade has some nice stuff too that would probably mix well. Decisions, decisions...

Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck

Massena's Gold: A Black Powder AAR

Hello everyone!

We played my first game of Black Powder last night, and what a game it was! The game ended with an overwhelming victory for the French, and I left the table with some valuable lessons about the Black Powder ruleset; namely that I still don't  have them down 100%. Anyway, on to the report (remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions.)

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Late Summer, 1810, on the Spanish-Portuguese border...

The French army in the Peninsula under Marshal Andre Massena is forcing the British army under the Duke of Wellington to retreat as the French make their way towards Portugal. To many in Britain, the situation in Portugal seems hopeless, though Wellington has secretly been establishing massive defensive works around Lisbon to repel the invaders: the Lines of Torres Vedras. Meanwhile, Marshal Massena has dispatched a large escort to protect the payroll for his army as it makes its way through Spain. With Spanish guerillas plauging the French, such a tempting target as a wagon-load of gold was deemed to be worth protecting by a sizeable force: two small brigades. But guerillas aren't the only threats to the convoy; building massive earthworks is expensive, and a French payroll wagon would go a long way towards funding Torres Vedras. So a combined Anglo-Spanish force, also consisting of two small brigades, was dispatched to intercept the gold on behalf of the British.

The French objective was to move the wagon loaded with the payroll from their table edge to the far table edge within ten turns. The Allied objective was to stop them in ten turns, whereupon British reenforcements would arrive and surround and capture the French and their gold.

The table from the French side, with the stream to the front and the village beyond.

The table from the Allied side, showing the village, the roads, the woods and the stream with the old Roman bridge in the center and the ford to the right.

The initial deployments. The Allies could deploy up to the village, while the French could deploy along their own table edge. The French amassed most of their troops to their own right, with the artillery to the left, while the British brigade massed to their right as well and the Spanish held the center, near the village.

Turn 1

The Anglo-Spanish team won the initiative and began to advance. The British brigade pushed quickly towards the ford, with the 5/60th Rifles leading the way for the 45th Foot on the right. while the 74th Highlanders and the brigade commander pushed up the road towards the bridge.

I commanded the Spanish brigade, and on my first command roll I rolled double sixes--a blunder!

The Allied situation at the end of turn one. As a result of my blunder, instead of moving to occupy the village, the Regimento del Rey moved in march column up the road and halted, cooling their heels along the road outside the village, while my artillery battery moved into the middle of a field and just stood there, limbered, with my brigade commander. With the Spanish brigade's low staff rating, this is where my men remained for most of the game.

The French move. The first French brigade, consisting of the 3e Hussars, a battery of Foot Artillery and the gold-laden wagon, opted to move only their artillery forward up the left, skirting the treeline, while keeping the cavalry with the wagon. The infantry brigade, consisting of the 8e and 19e Ligne, pushed boldy forward, the 8e forming line at the foot of the bridge while the 19e pushed across the stream in attack column.

Turn 2

The British brigade starts turn two by pushing towards the stream. The 45th and 74th spread out in attack column as the Rifles push across the ford and into the trees on the far side.

The poor quality Spanish brigade commander fails his command roll and sits tight--no doubt hoping the Brits will bear the brunt of the actual fighting while he takes a siesta!

On the French left the Foot battery deploys on the stream bank, pointing a gun at the Rifles in the trees while directing the rest of the battery towards the advancing British brigade.

To the right, the hussars cross the stream in force, while the wagon is pushed up the center, protected by the 8e. The infantry begin to take pot shots at the advancing British.

Turn 3

The 4th Foot and the 74th Highlanders deploy into a long line stretching from the ford to the wood on the left. Meanwhile, the Rifles in the woods are feeling their oats and decide to charge the deployed Foot battery! The Spaniards are content to do nothing once again.

The brave men of the 5/60th rush in...

...and are completely decimated by close-range French canister. "A whiff of grapeshot" indeeed.

Turn 4



The British sit tight and exchange musket fire with the French across the stream. The Spanish fail to act in any way as the 19e Ligne charges the 74th Highlanders in the center.

 

On the British right well-aimed artillery fire from the Foot battery causes the 45th to retire one move in disorder. The British brigade commander is successful in rallying them, however. In the center the 19e and the 74th are locked in vicious hand-to-hand combat.

The resulting melee spells the end of both the 19e and the 74th, who destroy one another at bayonet point. The survivors of both units flee the battlefield.

Exploiting the gap in the line, the 3e Hussars charge around the woods, aiming for the Regimento del Rey, which has been sunning itself in march column outside the village.

Caught completely unawares, the flashing sabers of the hussars cut into the Spanish infantry. Those that aren't killed in the melee are routed off the board. The disciplined 3e Hussars remain in good order and look for new targets.

Turn 5

Under constant barrage from the Foot battery across the stream and with the French cavalry close, the British 45th Foot are compelled to retreat towards the village as they form square.

No doubt shocked at the savagery with which his infantry were destroyed at the hands of the Hussars, the Spanish brigade commander manages to order his artillery battery to deploy, firing into the cavalry's flank.

The hussars change direction and charge the guns. Though the Spanish unleash a load of canister on the horsemen, causing a casualty, the cavalry slam home unfazed.

The 45th fail another morale test and are compelled to retire one more move to the rear. Though amassing high casualties, the 45th stubbornly refuses to quit the field.

Turn 6

The Spanish artillerymen, facing an entire French cavalry regiment, don't stand a chance, and are destroyed in the melee. The Spanish briagde commander rides as hards and as fast as he can towards Lisbon, the Don undoubtedly wishing he had been given a more relaxing post as part of Wellington's staff.

The artillery defeated, the hussars attempt to break the British square. Though close to decimation, the plucky lads manage to repell the French charge while inflicting a few casualties of their own.

 

In the center, the 8e forms march column and crosses the old Roman bridge to support the cavalry while the Foot battery continues to pound away at the British square. Things are not looking good for the British...

...as the 45th crumbles away under the combined French onslaught. The British brigade commander can do little but offer the commander of the hussars his sword and hope his French counterpart is a gentleman.

Turn 7

With the British and Spanish brigades routed, the French push their wagon across the Roman bridge towards the village.

Turn 8

With the broken remanats of the British and Spanish fleeing west as fast as they can towards Portugal, on turn eight the French were able to get the wagon-load of gold to the far end of the table, securing their overwhelming victory.

The French destroyed or routed the entire Anglo-Spanish force and managed to get the gold to safety in eight turns, at the cost of a single infantry battalion. The British brigade commander was captured by the French while the Spanish commander got away; the Don will most likely try to convince all who will listen to him that his brigade bore the brunt of the fighting, defeated three French regiments single-handedly, and that the position of the slothful British, whose laziness caused his defeat, is untenable in Portugal. The French managed to escort Massena's gold to safety, while the British will have to find other means to fund the Lines of Torres Vedras.

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The game was played on a three foot by five and a half foot table with four players, each with a small brigade. The game lasted about three and a half hours.

Lessons learned: Mainly, I don't yet know the rules well enough to play or act as an effective umpire. I know that I did the hand to hand combat incorrectly, and the morale tests I'm 9/10 sure I completely bungled. I purposefully kept the special rules to a minimum because I was playing with my family (who played to humor me more than for a love of wargaming), and as such I was playing pretty fast and loose with the rules. The game played okay though, and we all had a big time, which is really all that matters. This wasn't a historical simulation, after all.

Coming soon: I'll start work on the 1/88th now, and maybe the Pavlovsk grenadiers. And maybe the Iron Duke himself; I just got my Christmas present to myself in the mail today, a box of AB figures from EurekaUSA, including Wellington. We'll see.

Questions, comments and suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

-Chuck