Black Friday After Thanksgiving Napoleonics Game

Battle Report: (Please click on the title for the full gallery)

One of the DFW Irregulars' traditions is to play a post Thanksgiving Day game on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Most of us are and have been “hitched” for years; this game gives the best excuse for not doing the spousal shopping task as the commercialized Christmas season “opens” for business on that Friday as well. We decided on a Napoleonic game using Clay's “home brew-NINJA rules”. These rules have taken what we like best about several sets and melded together for a cool little set of rules that are simple yet subtle.

I set up the table in a 6'x12' configuration and put several farms, Botond House, Sandy's Mill, and a ruined medieval chapel in the mix. Allen Eldridge (The Terrain Guy-www.theterrainguy.com) brought me a new box of his new “Pin a Trees” to supplement my collection. His tree line is varied in color and contains deciduous and pine trees in the “railroad tree style”. They go pretty well with the natural trees I made with real twigs and such and were a lot easier (for me) to get to the table. Highly recommended! So highly I bought 68 of them and have ordered another 68!

We like to put figures on the table. We've got the space so why not!? Here's how the forces broke down.

Orders of Battle:

Russians:
The Russian force consisted of
23 Battalions of infantry (12 figure battalions)
3 Regiments of Dragoons (12 figure regiments)
1 Regiment of Kurassier (12 figure regiment)

1 Regiment of Hussars (12 figure regiment)
6 medium guns (4 crew per gun)

2 heavy guns (4 crew per gun)

Prussians:

The Russians were backed up by Prussians. This army is a classic Hinchcliffe army from the late 70s-early 80s. It was painted by Jim Cooper, originally owned by David Jones

and gifted to Clay.

It was cool to see this army on the table again. It consisted of: three

regiments of three

battalions (9 Battalions x 12 figures each plus each regiment had attached Jaegers. One regiment was Landwher (Conscript). One battery of guns. The three regiments of cavalry didn’t show…. (3 x 12 figure Regiments)-they never made their activiation rolls for the entire battle. That was pivotal.

Figure Totals: (No the table didn't collapse)

Russians:
Infantry: 22 battalions x 12 figures= 264 figures

Cavalry: 5 regiments x 12 figures= 60 figures

Artillery: 6 guns (4 crew per gun)=24 figures

6 Generals

Prussians:

Infantry: 9 battalions=120 infantry
Artillery: 4 guns with 16 crew
Cavalry: 3 regiments x 12 figures=Did Not Show*
3 generals

Allied Totals:

Infantry: 384 figures
Cavalry: 60 figures on table-paper strength 96 figures

Artillery: 10 guns, 40 crew

9 Generals including Tsar Alexander

Clay sent me the OB strengths in figures for the French and Bavarians. Thanks Clay!

French and Bavarian Infantry:

420 infantry

96 cavalry

16 artillery models and 54 crew

10 Generals (of this total, the Bavarians had 60 infantry, 2 guns and 8 crew)

Total Figures on the table:

Infantry: 804 figures
Cavalry: 156 figures
Artillery: 26 models and 94 crew

I got to see my old, trusty Heavy Cavalry Division consisting of the 2^nd Carabiners (1812 uniform-12 figure Regiment),

Westfalian Kurassiers (they're over 25+ years old and have never been on the table!-12 figure Regiment), Baden Dragoons (12 figure regiment), 5^th Cuirassier (French-25+year old Hinchcliffe Foremost 12 figure regiment) on the table again. That was cool!

French forces concentrated in the center of the table supported by a “mini-grande batterie” of medium and heavy guns.

They proceeded to press the Russian forces in the center. The Russians held stolidly for several hours (in real time) but were pressed back by the numbers of French. Botond House and the famous (at least to us) “Three Tittie Fountain” were taken by French leg ere.

On the flank, it was a hard pressed issue as the French advance slowed under a press of Russian conscript infantry. The French “converged heavy cavalry division” arrived on the flank and the Russians began to get nervous. Their cavalry had not made an appearance.

The mini-grande batterie made the Prussian advance untenable as it literally paved a “lane of death” through the Prussian ranks. The Prussian general lamented frequently on the tardiness of his cavalry. He had three regiments in reserve that could not seem to find the battlefield. Their non-appearance was pivotal in the battle. (No picture due to lack of physical presence) :)

French Heavy Cavalry division II was sitting in reserve and was not called upon to exploit the holes in the Russian lines. This game was a sluggo match with the pretty boys on pretty horses watching the action take place.

The Russians under Bob Hall were slowly grinding down the French. It seemed as if the French were like kicking an anthill; the more we “whacked”; the more strode down the road. Bob held the line and launched local counterattacks to keep the French from completely splitting the field in two.

Steve M. launched his Grenadiers (4 battalions) that made up his second line on the mid-left flank. These Grenadiers hit an elite French battalion and both battalions explod

ed in heavy causalities. Our game's combat system is simple, you fight a percentage of dice per figure depending on your morale grade. Elites fight 1 dice per 1 figure. The Russians hit the French with 8 causalities out of 12 figures. The French hit back with 9 causalities out of 12 figures. Both sides were staggered but both sides passed morale. Steve Bidwell kept the pressure on the Russians all day and captured a battery of medium guns. He received a battlefield honor for doing so, crewed the Russian guns with French infantry and TURNED the gun back upon the Russian Grenadiers. Bob and Steve looked at each other and knew it was going to be “one of those days”.

Scott kept the Prussians from advancing while Allen pressed the attack in the center. It seemed as if the French would not get stopped from splitting the Russian/Prussian forces. Steve Bidwell knocked a hole in the Russian flank with a Westfalian (?) kurassier charge that swept two battalions from the field. The Russian cavalry arrived and a standoff ensued on the left flank. Steve took the Kurassiers and Hussars (“The Crabs”) and moved them to shore up the center of the Russian flank. It was devoid of infantry at this point.

A hole developed in the French center between the first and second lines, exposing the French grande-batterie. Steve decided to stake the battle on taking out those guns. The “Crabs” (a job for Hussars or Chasseurs right?) took on the job, rolled their charge distance dice (normal movement + 2D6) and came up about two inches short of reaching the guns.

Steve's personal morale was broken at that point. A glorious try but as we all know “almost is only good enough for hand grenades and machine guns”.

The game was called as the Russians literally had nothing but several decimated infantry batallions, a battery of heavy guns, a shot up regiment of Hussars, and the Russian cavalry that sat on its collective saddles on the left flank keeping the French from sweeping the flank. A French victory on its way to Moscova!

Good game to all!

If you are interested in playing Napoleonics or other historical games in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, please drop us a line. We've been around for over 25+ years as a viable game group and play various periods of historical, and some non-historical games as well. Drop me a line: pilum40@sbcglobal.net

Renaissance Break-Earthworks/Fieldworks

Renaissance Break!
I put this Italian Wars period field works set together a couple of years ago. I used GW Empire figures as I was building a Warhammer Fantasy Battles Dogs of War army. As all things GW go, I outgrew that silliness and kept most of the figures. They work well for Pavia period artillery and crew. I'm upgrading the crew, gonnes but keeping the general design for general Renaissance, Thirty Years War and ECW usage.

Warlord ECW Artillery and Emplacement

I've been working on a Warlord 28 (?) ECW Saker box set lately. Here's how it went together and a little bit on how I put artillery pieces on my game table.

I painted the figures and gun model separately. The gun was made of resin and went together pretty well. No major mold issues were found on the model. The crew was flashy but no more than Old Glory. There were some weird pointy bits of flash that needed to be cut off. If they weren't, they'd tear up my Scharff paintbrushes.
I built the wood field works pieces from balsa. It went together easily and takes paint well. The gabions were a mix of Dixon and a resin set I picked up from a friend of mine. I liked the variance in "plashing". It made the emplacement different from the others in my ECW collection. I base coated the gabions with an old shade of Polly-S Ogre Dark Brown. I use this color for most undercoats requiring a deep brown with a flat hue. I always prime my figures white. I use Rustoleum Flat White primer. I don't mess around with anything else.

I use Minwax Polyshade Urethane when I want to add depth and seal pieces for the war game table. Some people use a "dip method". I find that to be tedious and messy.
My method is a little bit cleaner. I use a flat brush and paint a light coat on the pieces I want to stain. It really works well using this method. I clean my brushes with Turpenoid Odorless Turpentine. It definitely can be used indoors without spousal dissent.


My groundwork process has been adapted from Clarence Harrison (Quindia Studios). My complete ECW collection is done in this style. It's simple, easy to do and looks good on the table. I first paint the base with Vallejo Beasty Brown. I also paint the bases of the figures. I use hot glue to put the figures on the base. It works and works well. I use a thinned down Elmer's Glue (50-50 mix) to hold the ballast on the base. I use a mix of medium brown and fine brown ballast by Woodland Scenics. Let the ballast dry and then glue down some medium and fine rocks from Woodland Scenics. I also put a coat of Flat Finish on the base and figures after doing some dry brushing on the wood pieces. I used Vallejo Cobra Brown highlighted with Vallejo Iraqi Sand on the edges to bring out the highlights.

I added ballast to the gabions as well to keep some consistency for the emplacement. The Warlord figures are well animated and really do make the diorama work. I'm sure someone will pick nits on the colors but I wasn't there so I'll use the ole' artiste's eye!

Completing the model was pretty fun. My standard basing highlights are:
Dry brush Vallejo Iraqi Sand over the dark brown ballast. Painting the base before putting the ballast down tends to help with any areas that didn't work with the thinned down Elmer's glue.
I use an additional thinned down Elmer's glue solution to put down static grass in random areas. I know that the emplacements were probably similar to the trenches of WW1 in terms of mud, mess and torn up ground. I use the static grass to break up the colors of the emplacement. The rocks are painted Vallejo Basalt Grey. They are highlighted with Vallejo's Light Grey and then highlighted yet again with a light touch of Liquitex Medium white. Don't ask me why I use white but it just looks good to me and draws the eye to the emplacement.

Here's a pic of the completed Warlord Saker box set. It's expensive in comparison to Old Glory but the figures and project turned out well. It was fun to do....Recommended for those that putting an ECW collection together

Sniper Emplacement Update

Got the emplacement primed and the "wood works" base coated. The light brown stuff is Vallejo Pumice I tinted Iraqi Tan for my 1st Crusade project. This stuff is really cool. I've used Elmer's Wood Putty for years but this stuff just kicks its butt. One of my friends gave me the wicker works and the "pie shaped" gabion. It just looked the part.

Here's the emplacement with a coat of Vallejo's Game Color-Beasty Brown. This is the base coat I've used with the ECW collection to date. I bought about 24 bottles. Guess I'm the dummy and should have had Home Depot mix me a quart right? Nah, I'm just a slut to keep wargaming vendors in business. Just like the First Consul in Washington, I'm just spreading the wealth around a little. :) One of my friends gave me the resin pieces. He said he got them via E-Bay. If any one's interested; I'll drop him a line and see from whom he purchased. They really look nice. I've got a bunch so field works (get it?) will be next after King Chas I (pre ax man) gets painted. It just seems that this project goes on forever!

I should have the sniper emplacement done over the weekend. I'll bring out my gun emplacement over the weekend too. It's taken from Funken's Renaissance book and contains hand built fascines, lots of mud, some funny bits and will get re-crewed with ECW gunners and ECW period ordinance.

Keep checkin' back...and keep yourself outa' the ditch! It's supposed to be a gully washer here in Big D on Wednesday-Thursday.

Warlord Sniper and Arty update

I've finished the sniper and artillery crew figures. Am slogging together a mini diorama for the sniper. What have I noticed? The Warlord metal figures are definitely smaller than OG and have some weird sharp edges and points where the sleeves or cuffs are. I had to clean them up a little better than any Dixon but not as much as OG. The metal is more brittle than OG or Dixon. They may work as a unit but again; will NOT mix with OG. There's just a large size differential! Will post pics later today.

Warlord Artillery on the way-The Sniper too!

I've put the base coats on the Warlord artillery gunners and sniper. Will get a coat of Minwax on them, highlight and then get them based. Whew...all I have left in this project is to get the King's diorama and entourage completed. I'll paint up another Warlord infantry regiment before Millenium Con in Austin and use up the box. My plan is to give away any of the spare stuff left on the sprues. Drop me a line and I'll try to get them to you when I'm completed.

Saturday Update-Finally..A Head to Head Comparison

Dang...you woulda' thought that I was having a root canal by the length of time it has taken me to get this far on this unit. Geez...it's only 16 or so figures. The picture on the right is where the unit is at this point. I've put together a head to head gallery at Flickr. Please click here or on the title to take you to the gallery.

ALL THE BLUE FIGURES ARE WARLORD MINIATURES. THEY ARE THE MINIATURES WITH THE IN PROGRESS BASES AS IN THE INSET PICTURE

The unit is being based at this point. I've borrowed (stolen in a gamer's fashion) Clarence Harrison's basing style. It's simple and once it's dry is robust for fat war gamer fingers, dropping on the table, etc. This unit needs another24 hours for the basing sand and rocks to dry. I won't paint them until Monday afternoon at the least. I use Clarence's formula to the T. The bases get painted with Vallejo's Beasty Brown (I won't waste money on crappy GW paints-ever), let dry, painted again with a diluted Elmer's School Glue mix and dipped into mix of Medium and Light Woodland Scenics ballast (brown). The brown paint makes the places in which the ballast didn't stick invisible unless close. I then use a bright green static grass (again NOT GW) to work in on the bases. Clarence advised me to use a camouflage type of pattern so multiple bases go together well. Again, advise well taken to heart! It works and looks good.

Let's take a few moments to discuss head to head how Warlord compares to Old Glory, Dixon, Renegade, and Perry figures on the game table. As previously blogged, the Warlord figures look consistent with the other manufacturers on the game table. That's OK with me since I've got more to paint out of the box set. The OG figures are curiously chunkier than the Warlord (a little more well fed perchance?) and are a tad easier to paint. As has been blogged before, both sets of miniatures take my "git 'er done and don't Richard around with the project" style of painting. This may disturb more sedate and organized painters but; it works and looks PDG on my game table. Has for years!

In my opinion, Warlord figures will not mix well with OG, Dixon, nor Renegade but should mix quite well with Perry since these figures are on the scrawny side of 28mm anyway. I will paint another regiment or so plus some F'Lorne Hope to add to the collection. They do look fine when built into solely Warlord units. Funny how that works eh? It's a vast British conspiracy right? The Warlord figures just don't have the deep "cuts" (folds?) necessary for producing large amounts of contrasts on the figures. I'm not disappointed but probably just lazy...I would rather not do the Dallimore glop and paint every single musculature like a Rubens painting. I want to get things started, get things done and have units look good on the table in a reasonable time frame. Putting Warlord figures together is an extra time irritant for me. I knew that going into this mini-project. Would I buy more? I don't know. I want to see their cavalry just to see if I can paint plastic horses using my 30+ year old oil rub method. Hope Rustoleum primer sticks to horse's butts like it did to the musketeers.

For an inexpensive (relative term in any hobby) way for gamers to get started or add units quickly to an existing collection; Warlord ECW figures may be something to consider. I'm an old school lead junky and like the weight of figures on the table. I'd also paint Warlord figures if I was doing a demo game in which I didn't want my primary collection to get abused by fat, stinky war gamers with greasy hands from eating at Mickey D's.

We have a news spot here in Dallas called "Deal or Dud". I'd rate these figures a deal but if they don't get painted and still played....their OWNER is a DUD!