MY WARGAMING CORNER

Burgos Regiment

2012-01-05T00:39:00.000-08:00

The Royalists wore a white summer uniform, short jacket and covered shako. These figures were part of the first release but I have now got round to painting up a test unit as the Burgos Regiment weasring this distinctive uniform.

Liberators reinforcements on the way

2012-01-04T14:02:00.000-08:00

The next batch is now up and running in the form of artillery. First up is an Argentine artillery crew with a 4lb cannon.

The carriage is based on one of my Gribeauval types with a new barrel. The four crew are almost finished so next up will be some Spanish crew.

Liberators available now

2011-11-17T07:08:00.001-08:00

The first figures are now available, as are a few flags to go with them. The listing is as follows

ARGENTINE ARMY OF THE ANDES

These figures are wearing the distinctive short tailless jacket as worn by the infantry of San Martin's army of the Andes

SAI 1 Infantry officer standing, urging the men forward, wearing tail coat and bicorn
SAI 2 Infantry ensign marching, wearing tail coat and shako
SAI 3 Infantry Sergeant advancing, wearing short jacket and shako
SAI 4 Infantry drummer marching, wearing short jacket and shako
SAI 5 Infantryman marching, shouldered musket, wearing short jacket and shako
SAI 6 Infantryman marching, musket supported, crossed arms, wearing short jacket and shako
SAI 7 Infantryman marching, musket at the slope, wearing short jacket and shako
SAI 8 Infantryman marching, shouldered musket, wearing short jacket and forage cap
SAI 9 Grenadier marching, shouldered musket, wearing short jacket and shako

SPANISH ROYALISTS

These figures are wearing the Brin summer uniform, white short jacket and trousers with shako covers.

SRI 101 Infantry officer advancing, shouldered sword wearing tail coat and bicorn
SRI 102 Infantry ensign advancing, wearing tail coat and shako
SRI 103 Infantry Sergeant advancing, wearing short jacket and shako
SRI 104 Infantry Sergeant advancing, wearing short jacket and shako
SRI 105 Infantryman advancing, musket at 45 degrees, wearing short jacket and covered shako
SRI 106 Infantryman advancing, levelled musket, wearing short jacket and covered shako
SRI 107 Infantryman advancing, musket at the port, wearing short jacket and covered shako
SRI 108 Infantryman advancing, musket at 45 degrees, wearing short jacket and forage cap
SRI 109 Grenadier advancing, musket at 45 degrees, wearing short jacket and covered shako

Flags available

PATRIOTS

Sheet 1101	Army of the Andes	Army of the Andes flag
Sheet 1102	Army of the Andes	7th & 8th Infantry
Sheet 1103	Army of the Andes	1st & 11th Infantry
Sheet 1104	Chile	National flag 1817
Sheet 1105	Chile	Infantry
Sheet 1106	Army of the Andes	Grenaderos a Caballo & 9th infantry

ROYALISTS

Sheet 1151	Royalist	Generic colours
Sheet 1152	Royalist	Corona Regiment
Sheet 1153	Royalist	Conception Regiment
Sheet 1154	Royalist	Arequipa regiment
Sheet 1155	Royalist	Talavera regiment
Sheet 1156	Royalist	Burgos regiment
Sheet 1157	Royalist	Infante Regiment
Sheet 1158	Royalist	Valdivia regiment For more information Parkfield Miniatures

Liberators 6

2011-11-10T01:39:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update, not much done this week as my workspace has been invaded by our living room furniture due to a new carpet being laid today so hopefully this evening I can get the cupboards back in place and resume work on the artillery crews.

Ok, the figures are running well, a few glitches but I think I'll have all codes ready for Warfare next weekend. Flags are also coming on so expect to see about a dozen for both Royalist and Patriot armies.

I have also managed to get some packs ready for the display racks. The packs will comprise eight line infantry (two each of four codes), command will be four figures (Officer, drummer, ensign and Sergeant) whilst the Grenadiers will comprise four identical figures, at least for the time being. The packs are generally only to make show sales easier so the figures will also be available individually at 85p each.

These are all 28mm figures and compatible with most other manufacturers wares.

So I think I will have managed to meet my target date of Warfare for the first batch of figures for these conflicts.

I am at present working on artillery crews for both sides and there will also be a 4pdr gun, I already have 8pdr and howitzers should they be required. Then Royalists in their 1815 uniform and Cazadores de los Andes along with some cavalry if only I can get the horses to come out right!!

For the time being that is enough but next year I intend starting on some British Legion figures so stay tuned. I will get some more photos done as soon as I can.

Liberators 5

2011-11-05T06:20:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of running the molds for these new figures and wanted to see what they came out like. I have now painted the first unit for my army of the Andes, the Argenting 11th regiment. I am going to start small and aim for Chacabuco, which was fought in 1817, but the armies should eventually allow me to refight most ofthe battles of the army of the Andes.

Anyway, just a taster of the new figures which I am aiming to release properly in time for Warfare with the figures being available singly or packed up in multiples.

Liberators first casts

2011-10-25T03:02:00.000-07:00

I have now had a chance to run the molds and am busy painting the figures to see how they come out.

I have a few photos of the wip and am aiming at releasing these at warfare in reading next month.

Liberators update

2011-10-13T00:51:00.001-07:00

In case anyone was wondering where I had gone, the masters have now been sent off to be put into black rubber. With any luck I'll have the molds back in a week or so, then I can start casting these little buggers up and see what I missed on them.

Anyway, I'll be posting pictures of the castings when done. I can't wait to get painting these.

Liberators 4

2011-09-29T01:26:00.000-07:00

Now I have the figures up and running I thought I'd make some flags to go with them.
First up is the flag of the Army of the Andes

More to follow including those for the Spanish.

Interestingly each battalion of both sides only carried one flag, for the Spanish the first battalions carried the Coronela, a colour with the royal coat of arms, the other battalions carried the sencilla or de ordenanza consisting of the red cross of Borgoña with region coats of arms in the corners.

Liberators 3

2011-09-24T02:20:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update at the moment to let you know where I am with this new project. I am almost ready now for the first batch to be complete ready for mould making and then casting. With luck these should be ready in time for Warfare in November.

First up, the Army of the Andes wearing their short jackets the Argentines of San Martin wore when they crossed the Andes. These were the first I did and made these marching with various arm positions to give a little variety in a unit.

Next we have the first of the royalists wearing the summer dress white short jacket and covered shakos. Again these all have slight differences, mainly in the position of the musket.

Each side has a flank company man and one infantryman wearing a forage cap together with officer, drummer and ensign figures, only on of these as the battalions only carried one flag each.

Now I am only left with the NCO figures I want to be able to package the command up as a pack of four figures.

South American Wars of Liberation 2

2011-09-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

Now for the Royalists. The first two are a Fusilier and a Grenadier/flank company advancing. I have chosen to model these, at least to begin with, in the brin uniforms worn at Chacabuco and Maipo. The main reason was to begin with figures that were more difficult to find as a lot of the uniforms otherwise were similar in style to Napoleonic uniforms. Thus I have begun with the both the Argentinians and the Spanish wearing the short coats.

The uniform consisted of a shell jacket with piping and trousers. Both of these were made in brin, an off white fabric, as was the shako cover.

For the Spanish I am starting with variants of an 'advancing pose' if only to differentiate them from the Argentinians already done.

I have decided that the packs will consist of eight infantry or four flank company figures or four command. Of course, keeping with tradition the figures will also be available singly when they are done.

New for Vietnam

2011-07-17T07:05:00.000-07:00

First up some figures for the US platoon command from Parkfield Miniatures

And second some NVA carrying AK 47's and a RPG.

I shall be using these with my new rules which are supported via a Blog providing suggested scenarios and specific rules for playing the scearios.

keep low, move fast

South American Wars of Liberation

2011-07-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

I have now decided which direction to take, and my next range of 28mm figures will be for the South American Wars of Liberation. I have started working on figures for the Argentine army, concentrating in the first instance on the Army of the Andes due to the distinctive uniforms worn by some units.

The first figures are for the Argentine units involved at the battle of Chacabuco and wear the short jacket. The picture above shows the ensign, drummer, grenadier (wearing the distinctive bag attached to the shako) and an officer urging the men onward.

The second picture shows four marching infantry, in various poses including one wearing a forage cap, which appears to have been quite a popular item of headwear. Next up will be some Spanish and then Chileans or Cazadored de los Andes.

I have chosen to start in the middle of the period as the early years are fairly well catered for at present by many Napoleonic types whereas the later years showed some uniform adaptations and changes.

I'll keep you up to date as I do more.

Hopefully these will be ready for release later in the year, when I have enough to form the basics for either side, and will be available individually as well as in packs.

More information can be found at the Liberators web site, run by John Fletcher who has produced three books so far as a guide to Napoleonic Wargaming in South America, as well as the Liberators Yahoo Group.

I suppose I chose the period as it is ideally suited to wargaming, colourful armies and generally relatively small battles.

Vietnam Bunker

2011-05-05T04:10:00.000-07:00

I felt it was time to have an enemy bunker either as a stand alone item or to use as a tunnel entrance in our games. Thus with a bit of card, some milliput, a few cocktail sticks and some sand I set about creating a master that was to be cast.

The idea is to be able to place my half figures inside so it was made hollow with a detachable roof. Then a mold was made and the whole thing was cast in resin. The first cast didn't come out too well but I have decorated it and will be using it myself.

Below is the painted and decorated item ready for use, with a couple of painted figures inside for effect.

Royal Wedding 21 gun salute

2011-05-01T01:41:00.000-07:00

On Coombe Hill, nr Aylesbury, on Friday 29th April The Garrison Artillery re enactment group fired a 21 gun salute at midday to commemorate the royal wedding. Below are some pictures of the 25 lbers used for the event.

'Nam game

2011-04-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my son is home for a few days and we decided to have a game, trying out the new rules we are currently working on covering post WWII skirmish games and as we have enough stuff for Vietnam we decided that a platoon of American infantry would be travelling across country to seize and secure a Ville, with support from an M48 and a Huey Hog, maybe this was, in hindsight, far too much firepower.

Anyway, with the M48, too big I know at 1/50 but at least it played its part, supported the US infantry along the track with one squad on the right and two on the left of the road.

The target, the Ville where it was believed some VC were hiding and using it as a base for their harassing operations.

The Americans started off passing an old French pill box on the road side, a mistake as it was later discovered to be the main VC entry with tunnels stretching along under the road to the Ville and beyond. The command squad moves up using the armour as cover.

To the left side of the road the US advanced over the open ground up to the tree line and then into the forest where they took up position to secure the left flank. The Americans were lucky as the VC didn't appear and they were clear to secure the Ville, with the M48 taking up position on the t junction covering the American line of advance.

The squads took a building each to secure and didn't find any sign of VC activity.

.However, now the local VC were roused and started to appear, mainly from the old French pill box, streaming onto the right flank of the Americans from the rear as well as across the open ground to the left of the track only to come up against the flank squad who had taken up position in the forest and had managed to remain unscathed after being ambushed by a small contingent of VC.

The VC approached the Ville through the elephant grass flanking the road only to come under fire from two squads and the M48 firing Beehive rounds as soon as they poked their heads out from the high grass. This section was repulsed but not after causing a number of casualties to the US force in the Ville.

The Huey eventually appeared and fired into the pill box, destroying it as well as the enemy entry point, thus no more VC would be appearing but the Huey was shot down by a number of AK47 wielding VC and one with an RPG. With both pilot and co pilot out of the action meant it was down and out.

All in all a good game, the VC came very late to the party but did manage to bloody the American's noses before being out gunned and forced to withdraw.

The game was enjoyed over a nice bottle of red wine as it should be.

More pictures and information on the game can be found here

http://dannyboy1989.blogspot.com/2011/04/play-testing.html

Vietnam Reinforcements

2011-03-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

A couple of shots of our M113's for taking the troops to the front as well as providing a bit of additional firepower. These are the Parkfield 1/55 scale models

Courtesy of Ebay, a Corgi H13 Bell helicopter, I know this is Korean vintage but I believe these were used in Vietnam at least in the early years until the Huey became the helicopter of choice.

Next up a Corgi truck for transporting the troops

And last but not least a bit of additional firepower in the form of a Cobra attack helicopter.

Black Powder for Williams wars in Ireland

2011-03-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

The League of Augsberg period is a colourful and interesting period to wargame as it covers a period in history that saw the demise of the pike and the rise of the bayonet.

I have two armies for the wars in Ireland and having tried a number of different rules that failed, for me, to capture the feel of the period, decided to adapt Black Powder as it seems this set of rules is popular at my club. I know it is not to everyones taste but we have found it does give a good game for a club evening.

Therefore I have come up with some adaptations for Black Powder to allow me to fight the period as well as have some fun. One specific change is not to have supports in melee resolution unless the supporting unit charged with the unit in combat as a support and is capable of threatening the enemy unit in combat.

What follows is my interpretation, which is likely to change over time, using infantry units of three bases of six figures and cavalry squadrons of two bases of three cavalry figures.

Black powder also provides suitable unit stats, or Useful Rules as it says in the book, which allow for different unit capabilities.

BASIC RESTRICTIONS

No double or triple movement within 12” (engagement range) of formed infantry

No movement for die roll greater than command number apart from Raw units for which there will be no movement allowed if the command roll is equal to or greater than the command rating of the commander.

No voluntary interpenetration is allowed, troops may only flow round friends if there is a gap at least a base width. Any other interpenetration will cause disorder to both units.

Platoon firing infantry will get the First Fire bonus only on the first turn of firing, as after that point, with all the chaos of battle and smoke, any firing is likely to become more ragged thus any bonus will be lost.

SIZE OF UNITS

Type of troops	Standard size	Large	Small	Tiny
Infantry	18 (three bases)	24+	12-18	5-6
Cavalry	6 (two bases)	9+	3
Artillery	1 gun and crew

COMMAND

Command modifiers
Per 8” distance from commander to unit	-1
Enemy unit within 8” of unit receiving order	-1
Column, limbered artillery	+1
Column, limbered artillery on road or track	+2

MOVEMENT

Move distances
	Command roll -3 or more	Command roll = or -2	Command roll = or -1	Charge
Infantry, limbered artillery, wagons	12”	8”	4”	6”
Cavalry,	22”	16”	10”	18”
Manhandled light artillery	6”	4”	2”	-
Commmanders on foot	12”	-	-	-
Commanders mounted	18”	-	-	-

SHOOTING

Ranges
Pistols and thrown weapons	4”
Bow and arrow	8”
Muskets	8”
Light artillery	24”/12”/6””
Artillery	32”/16”/8”

Shooting to hit modifiers
Artillery shooting at column or square	+1
Close range (4”), closing fire, skirmishers	+1
Shooters Shaken or Disordered	-1
Target skirmishers, deployed artillery or Not Clear	-1
Artillery at over half range	-1
Cannon shooting overhead	-1

Size modifiers
Large Unit	+1 dice shooting	+2 combat
Small Unit	-1 dice shooting	-2 combat
Tiny Unit	1 dice only shooting	1 dice only combat
All musket unit	+1 dice shooting

Formation modifiers
Column	May not shoot	Fight 1 dice
Square	Shoot 1 dice	Fight 2 dice per face

Tactical modifiers
Enfilading infantry	Shoot X2 dice
Enfilading artillery	Shoot X2 dice

MORALE

Save modifiers
Infantry in column unless hit by artillery	+1
Target within woods, hedgerows or similar (light cover)	+1
Target within buildings/fortifications (heavy cover)	+2
Hit by artillery fire at long range	-1
Hit by artillery at medium or close range	-2
Target in melee with mounted includes pikes	+1

MELEE

Combat to hit modifiers
Charging	+1
Won last round of combat	+1
Pikes in unit (first round only)	+1
Shaken or disordered	-1
Skirmishers	-1
Engaged to flank or rear	-1

Combat result modifiers
Support to rear (friendly unit charging with chargers)	+1
Square vs cavalry	+3
Per flank support (charging with chargers and threatening enemy in combat)	+1
Occupying buildings (size)	_1-3

UNIT STATS

Unit	Type		Melee	Shooting	Morale	Stamina	Special
Foot Guards	Elite	Rank firers	7	3	3+	4	Crack Reliable Steady
Veteran British Infantry	Elite	Platoon firers	6	3	4+	3	First Fire Reliable Steady
British Infantry	Line	Platoon firers	6	3	4+	3	First Fire Reliable Steady
Dutch Guards	Guards	Platoon firers	7	3	3+	4	First Fire Crack Reliable Steady Elite
Dutch, Danish Infantry	Line	Platoon firers	6	3	4+	3	First Fire Reliable Steady
French infantry	Line	Rank firers	6	3	4+	3	Reliable Steady
Old Irish Infantry	Line	Rank firers	6	3	4+	3	Reliable Steady
Newly raised Irish infantry	Raw	Rank firers	5	2	5+	2	Unreliable Freshly Raised
Williamite Cavalry	Line		7	1	4+	3	Reliable Steady Stubborn
Jacobite, French cavalry	Line		7	1	4+	3	Reliable Steady Superbly drilled

First Fire	+1 dice on first shot of battle
Crack	Re-roll one failed morale save if you have no casualties already
Reliable	+1 command
Steady	Passes first break test of the battle
Elite	Overcome disorder at start of command on roll of 4+
Tough fighters	Re-roll one missed combat attack
Unreliable	No move on equal command roll

Stubborn	Re-roll one failed morale save
Superbly drilled	Free move if command failed
Marauders	Ignore distance modifiers for command
Freshly raised	First shot or melee, roll 1XD6 1 Terror-all shots and melee dice require 6 to hit 2-3 Panic- all shots and melee dice require 6 to hit 4-5 Sterling Job-no adverse effects 6 Huzzah-1 extra dice for shooting or melee this turn

Examples for the Jacobite wars in ireland:

Elite British units would include Senior infantry regiments such as Kirke’s Lambs, Dumbartons (Royal Scots), Footguards and Cavalry Lifeguard.

Guard status would be reserved for the Dutch Gard de Voet and Danish garden til Fods.

The majority of Jacobite regiments in Ireland would be Raw with some of the more senior regiments, such as The Grand Priors Regiment would be Line.

New rules on the horizon

2011-03-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a set of modern skirmish rules with my son catering for small actions from WWII to the modern day. Currently we have been testing them for Vietnam, using the new Parkfield Miniatures range of 28mm figures, as well as a coupe of WWII LRDG games.

We have been playing the rules at some of the local shows on the circuit and they have been well received by the players.

At the moment the plan is to have a blog on which we post scenario ideas as well as specific rules and variations to suit a particular game. The rules are almost done now and we have the first couple of scenarios up on the blog (Keep Low, Move Fast).

We fully expect the rules to be available in the next couple of months.

Overlord 2011

2011-03-07T01:28:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, 6th March, we ran a participation game at the show in Abingdon. basically the aim was for an American platoon to undertake a security sweep of the main track along which supplies ran back and forth.

The US players each had a squad and the VC was run by random cards and the umpire. All started quietly enough but things soon became messy as the US discovered the VC had laid a mine in the road and some local units were still in the area.

The game was run using our new modern warfare skirmish rules which worked well, the players soon getting the hang of the mechanics of moving, firing and calling in fire and air support.

What follows are some photos of the games we played. The idea is to publish the rules in a couple of months and create a blog for specific scenarios ranging from WWII to the modern day.

The US advancing, the cards are used to mix up the turn sequence as well as randomising any enemy activity during the game, so the players do not know who will move first or whether the cards are actually enemy or civilians.
An over view of the table, which was covered with light scrub and stands of trees.

A US squad approach the abandoned village, which was torched as it was cleared.
The US transports waiting for the call
Platoon leader, RTO and dog team waiting in the tree line

Air support was called in, along with a medevac, just in case
All in all a good game with some enough enemy activity to keep the US players on their toes throughout the game. I think I need more trees!!

Hooches for Vietnam

2011-01-24T12:42:00.001-08:00

I decided to add a bit more variety to our Vietnam games and have now made a couple of hooches. I suppose I should have taken some step by step pictures but I'll outline the method here.First I found some thick card, around 3mm thick and drew the outlines of the buildings, cutting them out I put them aside and raked out some old hessian we had lying around. Onto the hessian I stuck the building sides with PVA glue and put them aside to dry.

The next stage was t ocut the roof shapes, again out of card, as well as some triangular pieces as strengtheners. Thes were stuck together into the roof shape and covered with more PVA to which was stuck some teddy bear fur. More PVA was spread over the fur to make it rigid.

The hessian backed pieces were cut out and stuck to card bases, cut to size and the edges shamferred, then cocktail sticks were cut to length and stuck as uprights adjacent to the openings. Once this was all dry, about 24 hours, I coated the roof sections with magic wash and then dry brushed. The building walls were also dry brushed until I had achieved the desired effect.
To add variety one of the roofs was covered with corrugated card, fortunately this was a dark blue colour so no shading was necessary and then dry brushed. The first coat was a fairly heavy dry brush of pale flesh and silver, then more flesh as a lighter dry brush. Finally, using wood brown, I gave a final light dry brush to give a sort of rusty effect.
I made three as this would be sufficient at the moment for our games and help to fill the table with terrain.

PICTS

2011-01-12T11:16:00.000-08:00

I have decided it is about time to get on with my Arthurian project, potentially making use of my old set of WAB rules, but may well give other skirmish sets a go.

I now have one unit of Sub-Roman British and two units of Picts. I am aiming for three units of British and four of Picts plus some skirmish archers for both sides as a starting point. This was always intended to be a skirmish game and a small diversion so no huge armies here, in fact I think this period is best played out as a skirmish anyway.

So here are my first couple of Pict units.

All figures are from my range for Parkfield Miniatures.

Vietnam game

2011-01-03T02:25:00.000-08:00

Last week, my son and I decided it was about time we had a game before I took him back to university. So we dusted off the Vietnam stuff and gave our rules a playtest. The scenario included a couple of US squads in two M113 vehicles with an additional M113 as Platoon TAC HQ.

The target was an old French bunker which the US intel believed was being used by Charlie, so the US had to destroy this bunker.

They began approaching up the track to a junction alongside some paddy fields and debussed from the vehicles, which went into over watch whilst the troops deployed. There was a small hooch adjacent to a river which, it transpired, was a VC entry point and as the troops were clambering out of their transports Charlie opened up on the Americans, narrowly missing the transport with an RPG and causing a couple of minor injuries to the US troops.
Eventually, the US advanced and destroyed the hooch along with Charlie and advanced towards the old bunker. It soon became clear that the VC were using the bunker as firing came from the building and the US squad advancing along the paddy fields came under fire from a previously unsighted ambush. This latter was quickly dealt with by the M113 crews firing their .50 cals.

Meanwhile, the second US squad was approaching the bunker and, with a few well aimed grenades from their squad grenade launcher and following up with some timed charges, managed to destroy the bunker denying this strongpoint to the VC.
All in all a good test of the rules with both of us playing the Americans and the VC forces being randomly controlled by cards and dice.

Game in a Box

2010-12-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking for a while about having a game in a box which I can take to the club as a standby game if necessary. The first is 1/600 WWII aircraft.

British fighters and German bombers will allow me to game quite a lot of scenarios based around the summer of 1940.

'Nam Huey

2010-10-10T03:45:00.001-07:00

First reinforcements for 'Nam

2010-10-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

I haven't made a plastic kit for a few years so this was quite a novelty. I purchased a 1/48 scale Revell huey Hog for my Vietnam games and spent the weekend putting it together and painting it.
I found some went together quite easily, other parts, mainly the hull sections, needed a little help by using clips to hold it while the glue set enough. The clear plastic, with realistic gluey fingerprints, were a challenge.
I still have the decals to apply but I think the painting part is done, maybe a little more weathering but it is good enough for gaming albeit a little delicate, I'm a little worried about the rotors, I might resort to leaving them off and using blu-tack when gaming. Oh well, I'll just have to be careful. Now to sort out a flight stand for it.
My US forces now have some aerial transport and fire support.

Colours 2010

2010-09-18T05:17:00.000-07:00

A few shots of the participation Vietnam game umpired by my son, Daniel, using a set of rules we are working on.

The playing cards provide activation for individual fireteams with the highest scoring card going first.

Below, some US grunts come under fire, the markers by each figure indicate wounds, with each figure being able to sustain two wounds, the third takes that figure out of the game.

A US fireteam cautiously passes a hooch by some paddy fields.

The table, the rock outcrops not only add interest they also indicated the points where the VC would randomly appear during the game based on a random activation decided by cards and dice.

US helmet and accessories

An overall view of the table, with teddy bear fur terrain

A couple of shots of some Parkfield Miniatures US infantry

Another shot of the table

And the new racking-expect everything to be in packs sometime

Tank driving

2010-08-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

I took my son tank driving today, he drove, I took the pictures.

So, at Armourgeddon in Leicestershire they have a number of vehicles to drive but also a few standing around, which by the look of them do get driven, so here is a selection of photos from today. below some of the 15 FV432's available to drive.

Vietnam play test

2010-08-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

Having started a new range of 28mm Vietnam figures for Parkfield Miniatures, I decided it was time to come up with a modern skirmish set of rules. So, our second playtest in preparation for a participation game at Colours entailed a couple of US infantry squads attempting to return to the LZ to be picked up by the waiting helecopter transport. Of course I don't have any Hueys yet so these were imagined.

The Americans began by splitting and soon found themselves attacked from their right flank by VC appearing from the building near the paddy fields on the river bank. These were dispatched and one squad approached the building to ascertain it was clear of hostiles.

The seond squad found themselves a little bogged down by a largish force approaching from their front through the trees. Using cards and hidden movement keeps up the suspense as it is in no way certain whether any of the cards indicate an enemy presence. Unfortunately for the US player they did and a number of VC appeared in the tree line and commenced a firefight with the US infantry.
The cards in the above picture are to indicate initiative, who goes first, and the white markers are pin markers which affect morale.

These proved somewhat more resilient and managed to cause two US casualties before the Americans managed to call in fast air, with the gunfire narrowly missing themselves as the Vc were so shot up they decided to withdraw. The US stuck in place attempting to ward off the ensuing VC attack. A few rounds of fire soon pinned the VC and demoralised them.

Soon more VC arrived in the tree line but by now the Americans had managed to call in the Hueys and the door gunners straffed the tree line causing some VC casualties and ensuring they kept their distance as the choppers approached and picked up the Americans from the clearing.

All in all a good test of the rules as although the US player succeeded to get to the LZ and get out he did suffer a few casualties en route so not all plain sailing.

We have tried the rules with modern British forces in Afghanistan and they gave a reasonable game then as well. We will be bringing the game to Colours as a participation to further test the rules and see if anything needs to be changed.

A few shots of my new Vietnam stuff

2010-06-01T07:20:00.001-07:00

Parkfield Miniatures 28mm Vietnam

2010-04-05T12:47:00.001-07:00

Click here to go to the web page for these new figures

Picts

2010-01-10T01:58:00.001-08:00

I have now started putting a small Pictish army together for use with the Crusader Rules to do battle with my British army, also a work in progress. I wanted to show off a few pictures of the Picts in progress.
I have decided to use three figure to a base with four for veteran units and two for skirmishers. This actually accords with the number of hits each base can take in the Crusader Rules.
Now back to the painting table to finish off the first couple of units of Picts, more pictures to follow.

First unit of Romano-British

2009-10-23T12:40:00.001-07:00

Painted up as more of a regular veteran unit

Smuggling game at SELWG 2009

2009-10-19T10:52:00.001-07:00

The game was run by my son, Daniel, using Parkfield Miniature's Johnny is gone for a soldier napoleonic Peninsular skirmish rules but had smugglers pitted against revenue men supported by the local yeomanry.
The smugglers prepare to haul their load to their secret hiding place out of reach of the revenue men.
Setting off from the boat, the smugglers cross open land before they get to the road, coaxing the horses across this marshy land.

The picture above shows a Rifles officer home on leave conversing with the local magistrate in the village.
The revenue men advance across the fields behind the village in an attempt to stop the dastardly smugglers hauling their ill gotten gains to their secret hide away, probably beneath the floor of the local hostelry.
One of the groups of smugglers splits up to do battle with the yeomanry who have to try to get hold of one of the wagons of contraband for themselves as they haven't been paid for a month.
A view down the road towards the village shows a wagon ion the distance disappearing behind some trees.
A group of smugglers led by the infamous Scarecrow prepares to fend off the approaching revenue men.
The smugglers attempt to outflank a group of yeomanry.

The game seemed to be well received and was a draw with one group of smugglers managing to outwit the revenue men whilst the yeomanry managed to take on of the wagons for themselves.

COLOURS 2009-a few shots of the ECW game

2009-09-14T06:44:00.001-07:00

Update

2009-06-26T02:48:00.000-07:00

Recent activity

I have been very slow in updating this blog but I have been working on many different projects.

Firstly I am in the process of play testing a set of rules for the AWI period that will hopefully extend through the war of 1812 in the colonies and up to the ACW with a figure to man ratio of 1:20. The main principle is activating units to act, or not, and do what you want them to. They are simple but not simplistic, just how I like my rules.

The first real play test involved a few amendments and tweaks and I am now ready to give them another go.

Secondly, using a similar system I have started to write a set of dark age rules for Parkfield’s Arthurian figures based around warbands, warlords and small scale combat. These are in their first draft at present awaiting a first play.

Apart from that it seems that shows have taken over recently with Farnborough last weekend, where my club put on a game using beneath the Lilly Banners (photos can be seen on the club's blog-http://thamesvalleywargamers.blogspot.com/ )and Rampage this coming Sunday. Then I hope to settle down a bit and get some projects finished.

quick and easy rail fences

2009-04-26T01:46:00.000-07:00

I wanted a few more fences for my FIW games, so having looked out my window decided to cut a few twiggy branches off the Lilac bushes at the bottom of my garden. These were sized by eye to get them around the right size and a number were taken indoors for trimming.

I cut a number of lengths around 2" in length and some card bases (about 3/4" x 6") but they could be any size to suit. using contact adhesive I stuck a layer onto the card to make the base, overlapping each onto the previous. Then stuck another layer in a similar manner onto the first layer. Using natural twigs does negate the need for painting the 'branches' as they are a very natural colour already.

Once dry, the whole was given my usual sand treatment, painted, dry brushed and flock applied. Using PVA glue I coat the base then dip it into a container of sand. Once dry this is given a coat of paint to suit the basing I want, in this case Dulux 'Mud Hut' from a tester pot.

Once this is dry I then dry brush, using one or two lighter colours and wait for this to dry thoroughly. Using more PVA and an old brush, dab the glue into patches then sprinkle flock onto the base, blow off the excess and you have your base. If required you can then add any small bushes or clumps of grass to finish off.

Tower of London Artillery

2009-04-16T00:24:00.001-07:00

yesterday, due to it being the school holidays, we took a trip to the big smoke to see the Tower of London where I took a few pictures of various artillery pieces there. Above is a Russian gun on garrison carriage taken as a prize after the Crimean War.

Above we have a British 19th century 24pdr cannon on garrison carriage. next, below, a couple of shots of a British napoleonic 6pdr field gun with the axle boxes clearly shown.

The next piece, sitting outside the Tower is a bronze 24 pdr gun and plaque describing the piece.

Now more napoleonic pieces, this time French 6pdr field guns, is this the colour we should be achieving on our wargaming models?

last but not least a more up to date 25 pdr field gun.

I wanted to get some shots of Henry VIII's armour and weapons but photography was not allowed.

Further thoughts on Beneath the Lilly Banners

2008-12-11T01:39:00.001-08:00

Having played these rules a number of times there are a few things that seem slightly peculiar. the first is infantry not being able to charge home against other infantry (unless they are defending an obstacle) without the target being shaken, but I guess this is down to the officers in the line seeing the enemy breaking off from the rear and ordering a close to combat. We are just getting used to this aspect of the game.

Another thing is cavalry, not closing to charge due to failing morale and turning tail and running away. maybe a stand would work better but that is the rule so that is what we play. It is possible for raw cavalry to rout drilled cavalry as the jacobites have done this on a number of occasions.

The rules for cavalry, however, work as it is not possible to turn on a sixpence (this is similar for infantry) and requires them to position themselves prior to charging a target. Squares are another problem, to form or not to form is the question. This period allows for infantry to meet cavalry in line due to the defensive nature of the integral pikes so why even attempt to form square in the face of cavalry.

The size of game is also important. The mechanisms are simple and seem to be designed for larger games than we have been playing at present and I would think that you would require somewhere around five or six squadrons per side and perhaps two large brigades of infantry or even better, three brigades.

More on this in the future when I have increased my army sizes but so far the rules work well and apert from a few things that don't seem right would, I think, work better with more troops on the table.

Die Kriegkunst-first game and review

2008-11-03T00:37:00.000-08:00

The American left flank awaiting the attack

Last night we tried Die Kriegkunst out, the new Seven Years War rules from Partizan Press but as we didn’t have any 7YW figures to hand we used our AWI collection just to see how the rules worked out.

To start with, the rule book is nicely presented with a number of illustrations and well laid out with page references indicated on the reference sheets. As we have played General de Brigade a number of times we understood the basic system so were able to play the game mainly from the reference sheets.

Although the rules are not specifically for the AWI they did seem to work and gave a game that flowed and played fairly quickly.

The game began with the American militia supported by poor regular troops ensconced behind walls and fences protecting a village. The British advanced on the defences in two wings with a brigade on each of the flanks. A small game but we wanted to see how the rules worked.

The British right flank advancing

After a couple of turns it seemed that the Americans were more resilient than we at first thought, especially as they were protected by walls. As the game progressed we got into the realms of morale and actually a melee (which the British gallantly retreated from having crossed a wall and were then charged by militia which were obviously led by Mel Gibson.

The movement sequence of the rules worked well as did the firing with the American skirmishers on the left flank inflicting almost no casualties. Artillery fire is also well covered but we did come to the conclusion that canister range seemed a bit long, although the British artillery did manage to shred an American battalion advancing up the centre road.

Melee was perhaps a mistake as once the British had crossed the wall they were disordered and pushed back by the charging militia having inflicted no casualties from firing as they charged.

The British right flank advancing on the AMerican left

American skirmishers evading the British attack on the left

The basic mechanisms will be familiar to anyone used to the GdB mechanism and we had a couple of occasions to test the Double 6 table and the Threat to General. Our major failing stemmed from a misunderstanding of the implications of certain orders, you do not want to get to within canister range with no ability to charge! Canister range is longer than the charge distance and due to the restricted table size we had little opportunity to engage not in canister range, and when the dice rules are high with canister it is deadly!

The major difference from GdB is restriction on the charge distance and on certain manoeuvres, but like the parent the game is easy to learn, realistic enough, but still fun. We did not get on with British Grenadier due to the disruption points, they may be realistic but if you only have 3 ½ hours to get a result they make the game feel too slow.

Die Kriegkunst is quite bloody, get your tactics wrong and have a bad roll of the dice and you will suffer. But as we found when faced with American rabble steely Brits even when reduced to a single company can still hold their morale and fall back behind a formed unit having done their bit!

The best bits of the GdB system are the neat mechanisms for charging and morale which create a realistic basis for the game with enough tailoring to individual situations but without endless tables to consult or such reliance on the luck of the dice roll as to leave you feeling completely without control of the situation.

We played with two brigades per side and reached the stage after three and a half hours that it was apparent that the American rabble had beaten off the gallant Brits, but we shall return with light infantry to screen us and restore the pride of King George next time.

The figures used were a mixture of Perry and Parkfield played out on david's new teddy bear fur terrain.

The rules were played and reviewed by the Thames Valley (Gentleman) Wargamers

Burgundian artillery

2008-07-07T03:30:00.001-07:00

I have been finalising some artillery for the Burgundians and have just about done a light cannon and bombard

Another Beneath the Lilly Banners game

2008-06-09T00:54:00.000-07:00

Although I enjoy line ‘em up and play type games, I also enjoy creating testing scenarios, this one found a small force defending a bridge expecting reinforcements against a much larger force trying to take the river crossing. The above picture shows the initial Williamite deployment.

Defending the bridge were William’s forces with one elite infantry unit (Kirke’s Lambs) one drilled infantry unit and a militia unit, two squadrons of cavalry were posted on the opposite side of the bridge. The picture above shows the initial Jacobite deployment.

The remainder of the protestants, including Dutch, Danish and the Royal Regiment were to arrive on the roll of one D6 (on turn 1, roll a 1, on turn two roll a 1 or 2 etc). The die rolling was good but the roll for percentage of the total force that could move was bad and the reinforcements didn’t start arriving until turn 4.

The Jacobites were tasked with taking the bridge with three squadrons of Irish cavalry, two French infantry units and a Guard unit (all drilled) and three units of raw infantry.

The Jacobites got the ball rolling by moving in to the attack and their artillery up front caused terrible damage to the cavalry, causing them to turn tail and manoeuvre out of the way. Meanwhile, Kirke’s, out on the right, was positioned behind cover and bore the brunt of the Jacobite left wing with the small gun falling prey to the Jacobite artillery but managed to halt the Irish charge against them.

The Protestant Irish crossed the bridge and immediately fell prey to the Irish artillery and decided that enough was enough and routed. Hanmer’s regiment on the Protestant left fared no better, at the first sign of a charge by the Irish horse they turned tail and found themselves between a wall and the enemy cavalry. However a long volley from the Royal Regiment from the other side of the river caused a few casualties to the Irish horse but not enough to really make a difference.

The bridge caused quite a bottleneck with William’s forces coming to a standstill as routing units ran past them shaking the Danish and halting the Dutch.

All in all we had a fun game and although we didn’t come to a conclusion decided that the Protestants would actually be hard pressed to do anything other than withdraw in good (?) order.

Hanmer's regiment caught between a rock and a hard place

The Jacobite charge falters against the teadfast Kirke's lambs.

Burgundians

2008-05-07T06:06:00.000-07:00

These are the first of my Burgundian Gendarmes. The red I found are best using a Vallejo Gory Red then Red with highlighted by using a small amount of yellow added.

Yellow is another difficult colour. The base coat is dark flesh then Vallejo sunblast yellow followed by a coat d'armes brighter yellow then white added for the highlights.

latest sculpting

2008-04-25T02:02:00.000-07:00

I have recently been working on some 20mm WWII figures including a British para standing holding a mug of tea (or something stronger) and a tank crewman wearing a pixie suit, the latter just needs the arms finishing.

I also thought I'd have a go at a 28/30mm figure, here is the result, an alien hunter, 28mm to eye level. I wanted a fairly casual pose but holding a gun, so here is the result. He just needs a bit of cleaning up and a base.

Our first club AWI game

2008-04-23T01:26:00.000-07:00

Overview of the set up, British attacking from the left.

Ok, so last night we played our first AWI club game using British Grenadier and I think we all decided that the disruption point system in the rules really affected our enjoyment of the game, it played nothing like the Napoleonic or ACW rules from the same stable. The figures were a mix of Parkfield, Front Rank and Perry.

We decided that the rules may well run smoother without the disruption caused from firing and would then count as disorder markers rather than being the main rule mechanism which we felt was wrong, but then what do we know, we are only gamers?

Anyway, here are a few piccies of the game with the British attacking Americans behind the fences. Boy was our die rolling bad!! The initial set up (we do like lots of terrain) with the British on the left attacking the fence line along the road lined with militia.

The game commenced with the British attempting to dislodge the Americans from behind the fence line but the British right flank got bogged down with disruption points and one unit failed to charge home. Another unit managed to close to melee with a New Hampshire regiment but got pushed back during the second round of melee, both ending the combat with three disruption points and still in contact.

On the British left flank, they were being shot to pieces by militia and began to waiver, again due to a combination of disruption point accumulation and poor die rolling.

All in all a game which seemed slow and cumbersome, but we enjoyed the spectacle and decided that a few house rules should be in order. The first of these would be to cease using disruption points from firing, just from terrain and movement penalties in an attempt to speed things up a little.

Secondly to reduce the number of movement dice rolled when moving through disrupting terrain, thus a unit moving through a field would only have one movement die and would therefore not be able to fire as well.

Maybe a second game is in order with these amendments then we will see how the rules work and if they provide a game we can enjoy more.

The American left refusing the British right
The American militia line the fence

Beneath the Lilly Banners Wargame rules

2008-04-15T00:28:00.000-07:00

I received my rule set yesterday and what an impressive work it is. It comes across as a work of love and the book lives up to expectations. The cover art (available for purchase separately from http://www.quindia.com/) really sets the scene.

Inside the full colour rules are well laid out and take the reader from initial troop types and their classification in the rules to basing, again with colour pictures of based units to indicate the method of basing, to starting the game. The rules have been tried and tested for many years by Barry and provide for a fairly fast playing game.

There are a few mechanics that might seem odd to start with, such as the number of units that may move in a turn depending upon the commander's rating which does provide an interesting game and takes that god like ability away from the players without distracting from the game.

The turn sequence is well laid out with the main rules providing more detailed explanations again with plenty of colour photos of Barry's collection of figures dotted around.

After the main section of rules are additional rules for the Great Northern War and Eastern European warfare during this period covered (1660-1715) and a brief rundown of the main conflicts during the period in question.

The reference sheet, which is separate, is laminated and agin all in colour. There are no army lists, but then again this is not a competion rule set, so a little research is needed although three scenarios are included in the rules to get you started.

I have played the rules previously when they were available as a free download so already know how they play, but the new published version is even better and at £15 compares favourably with other rule sets released recently in terms of playability and presentation.

The rules are introduced as a fast play set covering the period, but how fast is fast? The games I have played so far have been fun and played in an evening, so well suited for club games. The mechanisms are easy to understand and although at first play some seem a little obscure, the rules work without excessive book keeping, which has got to be a bonus, and the results are realistic.

All in all a nicely presented set of wargaming rules for the late renaissance period that allow you to play small or large actions without the need for lots of paperwork. If you have an interest in this period then I would recommend these rules as a good place to start. Also Barry is a nice chap and will normally respond to any queries fairly quickly on his web forum.

They are available from Barry's League of Augsberg website(http://www.leagueofaugsburg.com/index.php)

First game of British Grenadier

2008-04-07T00:35:00.000-07:00

As the title says, I tried out British Grenadier yesterday for the first time. Although I haven't got all my figures painted yet I decided to have a go with one British Brigade attacking a couple of American brigades in a defensive position. I played the British against my son playing the Americans.

The game started with the British advancing, my dice rolling was rubbish and my son seemed to get most initiative rolls.

The British advance into trouble

The initiative was almost always won by my
son who also managed to roll better dice than me
and soon started causing more casualties than
I would have liked.

The British right flank soon started to reduce in numbers and the indian skirmishers failed to make it into contact with the Americans esconsed behind their defences.

Meanwhile on the American's right the militia brigade came under attack and soon started to wonder why they had advanced so far forward, but at least they were behind a wall in the field.

The game ground to a halt as we both came to the conclusion that neither of us had the upper hand and during a cup of tea decided that it was an honourable draw.

I felt the game could have gone smoother,
but then this was my first play of the rules
and a lot things seem to be glossed over in the
rules where they could have been explained better especially the use of disruption points and their effects.

Generally the rules seem to be overcomplicated in some areas and over simplified in others, but maybe the GdB forum will clear some of these things up.

I will continue using the rules and hopefully will eventually get to grips with them although they seem to be well written a lot of things could have been included to make game play easier such as describing melee better as I got lost on a number of occasions trying to decypher the written word especially when working out the results of melee.

Another thing that needs clearing up is how disruption points work specifically those caused through firing and moving as there seem to be only obscure references to this rule and the means of removing them appears to have been an afterthought.

Generally they seem to be well written, although they could have been explained better with more examples of play.

All in all a bit of a chore playing these rules and will need quite a lot of playing to get to grips with the subleties of them. I'll post further thoughts on the rules as I play them more, but I think I will stick to them for the time being as I don't really want to discount them out of hand after just one game.

Rear Guard map and scenario

2008-03-13T07:34:00.001-07:00

The table is about 5' square.

The Williamite force consisted of five infantry battalions, two squadrons of cavalry and one field gun. Two of the infantry battalions are elite, the rest are drilled.

The Jacobites had two drilled Irish battalions and two light guns deployed with two drilled French battalions and three squadrons of cavalry behind the hill and thus out of sight at the beginning of the game.

The two wagons were just to the left of the hill heading along the road to the bridge. The remainder of the table is strewn with rough ground, fields and hedges to create, what we call, traffic management problems.

Rear Guard action

2008-03-13T01:24:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I last posted, so I thought I would tell you about my latest game. The scenario was lifted from Table Top Teasers(http://steve-the-wargamer-teasers.blogspot.com/)
entitled Rear Guard, which I found on the web and is a fantastic resource for scenarios for those that can remember the originals in such wonderful publications as Battle for Wargamers.

The Jacobites were tasked with holding off the enemy advance until nightfall (12 turns) as well as getting the straggling supplies to safety, the Williamites were to advance and take the bridge as well as capturing the supplies if at all possible.

Jacobite infantry on the hill with their brigadier cowering amongst the rocks in percieved safety

We used Under the Lilly Banners rules and it was a couple of turns before the Williamites managed to get everything on the board, the cavalry managed to get on first turn and began to move towards the Jacobite right flank causing some confusion in the ranks as the cavalry and the French infantry behind the hill to start off to refuse the right flank.

The Jacobite Line across the hill and protecting the wagons on the road

Meanwhile the Williamite infantry advanced on the Jacobite left with Kirke's and Hanmer's regiments taking casualties from the Jacobite guns on the hill causing them to stagger until their cavalry decided it was time to charge the guns resulting in the gunners running away.

Williamite cavalry advance by squadron supported by Danish and Dutch infantry

Meanwhile the supply wagons had worked their way behind the hill and across the bridge bringing much needed supplies to the main Jacobite army.

Supplies cross the bridge with Jacobite cavalry forming up in the background

The Jacobite cavalry waited in the rear, moving to left and right having obviously only undergone basic manoeuvre training prior to the battle and ended up in line awaiting the Williamite breakthrough on their left flank.

Jacobite cavalry waiting, and waiting, and waiting

In the end, by turn 12 (nightfall) the Jacobites had succeeded in holding off the Williamite vanguard and got their supplies off the table with the loss of two guns and a regiment of infantry who were broken in melee by a combined Dutch and Danish brigade.

Turn 12 came all too quickly and signified nightfall at which point the two armies would make camp and await the dawn. The Jacobites at this point were to withdraw under cover of darkness to join their main army on the other side of the river having done their job and delayed the enemy as ordered. Mind you, the French started to retire before nightfall as they wanted to ensure they got the best seats in the local hostelry.

All in all a fun game with plenty of laughs, beers and discussion. The rules worked well with a specific scenario and I, along with many others, are awaiting the imminent publication of Beneath the Lilly Banners.

The Williamite artillery

Sudan game

2008-01-13T04:47:00.000-08:00

Last week at my local gaming club I organised a game using the Sword and the Flame rules set in the Sudan around 1899 with one Sudanese platoon and a half squadron of lancers in camp awaiting the river boat with reinforcements.

The Sudanese platoon was split in two with one half in the camp and the other half returning from a reconnaissance expedition. The game started with the Recce platoon entering one table edge and lots of dervishes entering from another corner trying to catch up with the returning troops.

Whilst this was happening the camp was awoken by shouts from the pickets and slowly the sleepy troops came to and prepared to defend the zariba against the dervish hordes.

The picture shows the dervish cavalry charging the zariba and their infantry charging towards the retreating Sudanese and have managed to overrun one wounded figure who eventually succumbed to the onslaught from two of the dervishes.

Meanwhile on the dervish right the fuzzy wuzzies were approaching the zariba with the intention of catching the Sudanese inside in a pincer movement. The cavalry managed to get across the obstacle and force the troops inside to retreat and attempt to regroup between the camp and the river. meanwhile the lancers formed up and charged towards the dervish cavalry who also turned and charged towards the oncoming lancers.

In the nick of time the riverboat arrived with a platoon of British infantry and a maxim gun on board which forced the fuzzies to abandon their first target and attack the newcomers who put ashore a half platoon which was defeated by the native onslaught. The captain decided to cast off and attempt to rescue the remaining Sudanese infantry which had now formed a rough square and was holding its own against the dervish onslaught.

The native cavalry had run away after defeating the lancers but was now returning to the fray when the call went up for the dervish force to withdraw having bloodied the imperial nose somewhat and managed to kill the senior British officer present, who went down without a murmer.

All in all an interesting game and I guess the players all enjoyed the experience as we talked and laughed about it afterwards over a pint.

Pirates

2007-10-22T01:20:00.000-07:00

I have now painted the new Parkfield pirate gun crew and naval cannon. The cannon is from the French-indian war range, the barrel and bucket are from the artillery accessories pack from the AWI range.

I decided that I wanted to base these together and modelled the planking from milliput.

New stuff

2007-10-20T06:01:00.000-07:00

I have not been idle, in fact I have been busy making some artillery for the Parkfield Miniatures Peninsular War range of 25mm figures. Next to do some crews for these and I'm hoping to get these out for the end of the year.

The two guns above are British 6pdr and a howitzer, those below are French 8pdr and howitzer.

The Buffs

2007-10-15T00:40:00.000-07:00

The 3rd Regiment of Foot landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1781. The 3rd was one of the last British Regiments in the south, leaving America in December 1782.

The 3rd Regiment of Foot, Royal East Kent Regiment, raised in 1663, known by the ancient title of the "Old Buffs".

2nd New Hampshire Regiment

2007-10-15T00:27:00.000-07:00

Second New Hampshire Regiment of Infantry, 1777 Continental Line

This regiment was organized May 20, 1775, under the command of Colonel Enoch Poor. In 1777, we find it under command of Colonel Nathan Hale, who was taken prisoner with the entire regiment at Hubbardton, Vermont, July 7, 1777.

Captain Caleb Robinson's company wore sky blue coats faced with red and lined with white, which was probably the uniform of the regiment at that time.

Their waistcoats and breeches were of buckskin, and their stockings of white or gray wool and crossbelts of buff leather, which the Americans adopted before they were authorized for the regular British Army. The buttons were of pewter stamped, as were the buttons of the Continental Army at this period, with the state and the number of the regiment.

The 2nd NH would see action at the Battle of Trois-Rivières, Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Hubbardton, Battle of Saratoga, Battle of Monmouth, the Sullivan Expedition and the Battle of Yorktown.

The colors of this regiment, one a light gray-blue and the other buff, were taken by the British at Fort Anne two months before the battle of Saratoga.

Victorian artillery

2007-10-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for a couple of weeks, so whilst I finish off a couple more units for the AWI, here are some pictures of a 6pdr taken at Pendennis Castle in Falmouth a couple of years ago.

Latest project

2007-09-21T10:48:00.001-07:00

I have been considering the American Revolution as a wargame for a long time now and have at last decided to give it a go.

With the publication of British Grenadier, and having played with general de Brigade and Guns of Gettysburg, I decided now was as good a time as any to get into the period. I like larger units and the scale in these rules seems to suit me with units between 16 and 24 figures strong.

Using Parkfield Miniatures 25mm figures I started with the Royal Highland Emigrants (84th Foot) in highland dress.

The "Royal Highland Emigrants" were raised in 1775 and was one of the few Provincial Regiments to become a Regular Army Regiment.

The 1st Battalion were recruited mainly from the "Mohawk Valley," trained in Quebec
And fought at Ft. St. Johns PQ 1775, Quebec City PQ 1775-76, Upper New York Raid 1777, Lake Champlain Raids 1778, Mohawk Valley Raids of 1780-82.

The Uniform of the Royal Highland Emigrants was initially the Green of the Royal Provincials, but when they became the 84th Regiment of Foot the uniform become similar to that of the Black Watch and was the only Highland Regiment to keep its Highland Kit throughout the Revolutionary War.

I also painted a couple of American militia units, because I wanted to, and it allowed me to try out a few different painting techniques, especially on the faces. I find faces are the most difficult part of painting the figures, except whites, and if the faces look ok then it leads me on to the rest of the figure.

I have now almost completed another British regiment, the 3rd, and found that red is probably one of the most difficult colours to paint, especially on a black undercoat, so am still experimenting but these were painted using Miniature Paints Plum Red as a base then painting Coat d’Arms Russett Red over with highlights of Coat d’Arms British Scarlett. I have just to finish the basing and then I will be moving on to an American unit.

At the moment I am painting up what I want to in terms of units but will aim to have enough to at least have a go at some of the smaller scenarios in the rules and am initially aiming at Bunker Hill as a starter game.

League of Augsburg figures size comparison

2007-09-18T01:07:00.000-07:00

I have been asked whether the Parkfield Miniatures Glorious Revolution figures are compatible with Dixon and Foundry and have kindly been sent some photos showing the three manufacturers' figures side by side.

In the first photo Dixon, Parkfield, Dixon, Dixon, Parkfield.

The second photo shows Unsure, Foundry, Unsure (possibly Foundry), Parkfield, Parkfield, Foundry.

Under the Lilly banners

2007-09-12T00:34:00.000-07:00

At present the rules are free from Barry Hilton’s League of Augsburg website but I understand that he is soon to be publishing the rules in full colour and with many amendments.

I have wanted to try these rules for a while now. On first reading they appear well laid out and easy to follow with each section easily identifiable. The rules have no formal army lists, so a bit of common sense is needed to create armies and set up games.

The fighting is by base, rather than numbers of figures with an infantry base having six figures, a cavalry base having three and artillery having numbers of crew depending upon whether it is light, medium or heavy.

Line infantry have four bases of figures, three musketeer bases and one base of pikes placed behind the others to indicate that pikes are present and militia have just three bases with the central one including pikes. Cavalry are based in threes with six figure representing a squadron. Guns are based individually.

The rules include an interesting section which is dependent on the quality of the commander and limits the number of units that may move in a given turn, thus providing some of the fog of war. There is also a long list of events which are randomly diced for but I would suggest these are only used once you are familiar with the rules.

OUR FIRST GAME

Jacobite deployment

Our first game started off with each side having two brigades of foot, one of cavalry and some guns. The game was a meeting engagement to see how the rules worked.

This was a fictional engagement between the forces of William of Orange and that of King James, set somewhere in Ireland.

Both sides began to edge forwards but due to the command and control, not all units were able to move so the initial moves were a bit slow but we managed to get to grips with the move order.

Williamite deployment
The Jacobites lost a gun early on due to some nifty shooting by the Williamite gunners (lucky die rolls) but this left a gap for the cavalry to move into and threaten the Williamite right flank.

Meanwhile on the Jacobite right, the Guards were under fire from a Dutch regiment and a raw Irish regiment, the Guards eventually gave way but the Jacobites were fairing somewhat better on their left as their cavalry decided to charge Kirke’s lambs. The first squadron bounced off having taken some well aimed fire as they approached (more lucky die rolling) but in the next turn another squadron managed to get into melee with Kirke’s regiment and another closed with Hanmer’s regiment in the centre.The Williamite left flank

Hanmer’s took a pasting and turned tail but Kirke’s stood firm, at least for the moment.

Unfortunately we ran out of time, but for anyone interested in the later 1600’s, Under the Lilly Banners makes for a good game. There are a few areas where more explanation is required, especially cavalry versus infantry melees as the infantry seem unable to fight back after the first turn making the outcome fairly obvious, however if infantry stand and fire and inflict enough casualties then the cavalry are likely to run away.

All in all a good set of rules and an interesting game and now I am waiting for Barry to publish the rules.

The figures are all from the Parkfield Miniatures 25mm Glorious Revolution range and the rules are available from barry at The league of Augsburg web site (but you have to register first) the link is on the list to the right of this page.

First game of Gloire with smugglers.

2007-09-09T02:34:00.000-07:00

My first game of Gloire at my wargaming club was between a small gang of smugglers attempting to get a wagon of contraband through to safety. The Revenue men were aware of the arrangements and laid in wait for.

The smuggler gang, under the command ofThe Scarecrow were to get a wagon of booty across the board and over the bridge to safety preferably whilst allowing the Scarecrow to escape into the misty marshes to fight another day.The revenue men laid in wait and after a warning shot was fired all hell broke loose with smugglers falling and the revenue men chasing the wagon which one failed twice to grab hold of the horse and reinit in.

We had a great time playing, although i don't think I managed to use all the rules, and much merryment was had, it was even suggested that we could play again sometime so it can't have been bad.

Anyway, we all seemed to enjoy the rules and I am now preparing some pirates for further adventures.

The figures are all from the parkfield Miniatures Rogues and vagabonds range and the scenery was all scratch built. Some years ago I made up some terrain boards but they are too bulky to use too often, but for this game only one was required.

Gloire is available from Rattrap Productions (http://www.rattrap-productions.com/Gloire/Index.html), who also publish .45 Adventure and Under the Black Flag, the new pirate supplement for Gloire.

Sculpting

2007-09-09T02:29:00.001-07:00

I have now finished my next few pirate figures for Parkfield Miniatures including a Colonial Island Governor and a ships cook.

These figures are a lot of fun for me to sculpt as there are very few uniform details to worry about. also I like to try to make some figures that can be used for other ranges, thus the Governor could also be used as a ranking officer for the Glorious Revolution range of figures, a lord of the manor with the smugglers or even a pirate captain himself.

One of the other figures is of a ships cook, complete with cleaver and bottle (for use in the cooking).

The figures are now released and can be seen at http://www.parkfieldminiatures.freeservers.com/

For the bases I decided to try something different to the norm and modelled the deck planks and the stone paving using milliput with a scalpel used to mark out the detail.

Glorious Revolution

2007-09-09T02:29:00.000-07:00

For a long time, I have been wanting to game The Glorious Revolution. Don't ask me why, I just thought it would be different.

Recently I found the League of Augsburg website and obtained a copy of Under The Lilly Banners so set to rebasing my figures and adding to them. The basing seems to suit what I am after and the rules are simple to read. I haven't tried them yet but will try to write a report once I have played a game.

The period interests me because it pitted English against English and both sides included in their ranks Irish and French, although William also had with him Dutch and Danish contingents. Thus far I have English and Irish regiments painted up, with a token Dutch unit.

King William of Orange landed in Torbay on 5th November 1688 and thus the revolution began between Catholics loyal to King James and Protestants who sided with William. The main battles took place in Ireland and included many better known battles such as The Boyne and Aughrim.

2007-02-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

Hi, I have now decided to have a go at blogging and here is my first attempt.