Rebels and Patriots - same scenario, different war

My second game of Rebels and Patriots was against my most frequent sparring partner, Ian. It was the same scenario as in my first game, 'First Clash at Lament Ridge', but set in the American Civil War.

Ian is a strong believer that rules covering an extended time period should nevertheless deliver a satisfying degree of period specificity. In his words:

"Do these rules really work in letting you believe that one week you're playing AWI and the next ACW? For me, not having played twice, the answer was "yes" because I realised, as a result of what you said, that the key lay in army creation and that's the important point. If you remember, we talked about the possibility of creating silly armies which would still be legal under the rules, but serious players like you and I can create period specific armies which would look and play quite differently from each other."

I couldn't express it better myself so I won't.

Once again I've got limited figures so I drew up the Company lists in advance.

Rebs

Veteran Line Infantry, Aggressive, Poor Shooters 6
Veteran Line Infantry, Aggressive, Poor Shooters 6
Veteran Line Infantry, Aggressive, Poor Shooters 6
Skirmishers 2
Skirmishers 2
Skirmishers 2
24
   
Yankees

Green Line Infantry 3
Green Line Infantry 3
Green Line Infantry 3
Green Line Infantry 3
Medium Artillery 6
Light Cavalry 6
24

Ian's Officer got Fortuna Belli giving a reroll of any set of dice once per game. I got Army Engineer which allows you to put one unit in breast-works if Defending.

Ian explained his strategy:

"I chose tactics that I would use in any game - the bulk of my forces looking to seize the objective, cavalry watching one flank, artillery in the best place I could find for covering as much of the battlefield as possible, leader in the centre to maximise coverage."

My strategy was to press forward behind a protective screen of Skirmishers and, as far as possible, to avoid the enemy artillery. Ideally I would Attack to close quarters as my Confederates were Aggressive but Poor Shooters.

It was a close-fought game that could have gone either way. Ian's Officer's unit was routed and Ian hit 50% casualties, but he controlled the objective for two turns to my one, so Ian was judged to have won. However, this game was a little rushed in some respects and we missed certain tests and factors owing to lack of familiarity with the rules. Had we properly played by the book I think the outcome of the game would have altered to the detriment of the Union side, so there's probably not much point in tracing the course of the battle in detail. The pictures show the general flow.

A number of observations might be made. In no particular order:

• In comparison with my first game, this one involved much more use of Close Order
• I began to appreciate the fundamental importance of Disorder and Rallying.
• Green affects Activation etc but not the actual Firing/Fighting factors. So as long as they obey orders, Green troops can be pretty deadly.
• I didn't make a determined effort to charge home, but I wonder if I would ever have made it. Perhaps the target needs to be Disordered first. This could be quite a challenge for Poor Shooters.
• Officers are vulnerable. You really don't want to lose a unit, lose your Officer and lose 50% of your Company at the same time.

 

Prior to starting and given the use of so many Skirmishers,  we spent some time at the beginning wondering whether my Line Infantry could charge through my Skirmishers, a common tactic in other rules. First of all there would need to be a gap that allowed the formed unit to see the target, but what happens if the charge falls short?

Rebasing incoming 28mm ACW figures

I base my individual 28mm figures on 2p coins but some of the recently incoming American Civil War figures were already nicely based on 2mm MDF discs, so I decided to leave them as they were and to add steel paper so they will 'stick' to my magnetic-lined storage boxes.

The figures rebased on coins will be finished to match by adding filler, sterilised builders sand, and small clumps of foliage. The filler hides the edge of the figure bases. Builders sand is already brown so doesn't need to be painted. The sand is sterilised to avoid mildew and this is achieved by cooking in the oven in an old tin.

 The cavalry will be getting rectangular steel bases to give them a bit of stability.

The artillery pieces are being mounted on MDF and steel paper with the filler added first as they have no moulded bases to level off.

De-basing incoming 28mm ACW figures

These eBay figures are much nicer than their basing. My
own strategy is to make the basing better than the figures!

As I have only limited time to paint, I’ve been looking to eBay in recent times to raise 28mm armies for Rampant games. I’m buying only ready-painted figures, but rebasing remains an issue.

If the basing is completely inappropriate (e.g. multiple figures on rectangular bases) it has to go. OK, I know you can play these games with multiple-based figures and record the casualties, but it’s not my preference.

Even if figures are based singly, it’s probably best to rebase them in order to achieve uniformity in an army put together from different sources. However, it’s a shame to destroy nicely decorated bases and sometimes quite difficult to do so without running the risk of damaging the figures.

My latest acquisition were some ACW figures - painted Federals and unpainted Confederates (which I will probably sell on). The figures had been stuck onto MDF, then into plastic movement trays and finally covered with a thick carpet of flocking material which may have been applied with a hot glue gun and was still extremely gooey.

I prized the MDF out of the movement trays and then stood the figures in warm water to weaken the MDF. Then I used a scalpel to cut and scrape away the MDF and flock. Finally I used a cotton-bud dipped in Isopropanol to rub off some of the remaining flock and glue. In some cases, however, the Isopropanol  just made everything more sticky, so I returned to the hot water treatment which seemed to shrink, harden and loosen the glue rather than spreading it about.

I'm hoping that repeated immersion in hot water isn't going to cause the plastic to degenerate during my lifetime, but I don't have a lot of choice. The figures have been coated with Army Painter Quickshade or similar. This is giving them good protection, and there is no visible damage to the paintwork.

I don’t have to achieve 100% removal of the offending glue and flock as the new bases are going to be textured and reflocked anyway, but it’s good to get the old flock off the figures’ ankles.

Bloody Big Battles! - Gettysburg game blow by blow

This is the blow-by-blow account in photos of the BBB! Gettysburg game which I first reported on here. It was difficult to recall all the detail even directly after the game, and harder still at this remove in time. But if you study the photos you should be able to follow the main flow of the battle.

Unfortunately, it's a little difficult to tell the two sides apart in the photos. It may be clearer if you click on the photos to enlarge them and look for the ID markers which are predominantly grey or blue. The large numbers are turn indicators for the benefit of the camera.

The battle was fought on a blown-up version of the map. The map squares are only 8" square, but the figure bases are only 20mm square (instead of 25mm) so the table and the units are more-or-less in proportion.

Deployment. Union troops are deployed around Gettysburg or moving north-west towards Gettysburg up the Baltimore Pike. Two Confederate units are shown in the north-east moving south to turn the Union left flank and threaten the Union supply line.

Union troops (nearest) form line. As the Union commander I am feeling relatively secure, but that's mainly because I hadn't actually read the scenario in detail...

Bloody Big Battles! - Gettysburg game overview

The 2D battlefield was not only uninspiring
but unexpectedly awkward to use.

My friend Ian and I played the Gettysburg scenario as we were keen to see how BBB played for the American Civil War and because I have always had a particular interest in this iconic battle. As usual I took a lot of photos during the game and will post a blow by blow photo report in due course. However, such AARs take a long time to write so I’m starting with an overview which is arguably more interesting.

The game is divided into three days. In real time we took about ten hours (with breaks) getting through deployment, 8 full game turns, 2 night intervals, and an assessment of turn 9 probabilities. We could have gone quicker if we knew the rules better and played them more often.

Bloody Big Battles! - Preparing for Gettysburg

In an ironic reversal of using my block armies with 3D scenery, my next game will be played with actual figures but on a 2D printout of the Gettysburg scenario map.

I've printed the map at 2/3 scale which allows me to get two 8" map squares on an A3 sheet of paper, and better matches the 20mm-wide bases of my ACW armies. (Actually 40mm counting as double bases.)

In previous games I've found it very useful to have a counter for each unit with its stats. I've now extended that to include any relevant lines of command as identifying that caused some problems in my last game.

I've also tried to make the unit ID counters more distinctive and attractive. It doesn't matter so much when using figures, but all block armies look the same! This gives them a bit more character.

Bloody Big Battles! - Behind the 2/3 scale idea

I wrote about the accuracy of using Hexon to reproduce BBB terrain maps at 2/3 size but I didn't fully explain how I came to that idea in the first place.

BBB scenario maps are very considerately designed for a standard 6' x 4' wargaming table. I can create an area of that size at home but it requires extension boards. It would be a little easier to play on my dining-room table without extension boards. Also, my 10mm American Civil War armies use 20 mm bases (rather than 1" bases) so the 2/3 size is a better proportional fit. (To be exact the bases are 40 mm wide, but I am counting them as double bases and making up some 20 mm wide ones for singles.)

Another advantage of the reduced size is the ability to print the 8" map squares 2-up on A3 paper. This means I can play on the printout of a map rather than having to set up 3D scenery. There are times when this could be advantageous.

It's obviously a good option for my ACW armies but I was also considering it for any future armies so I floated the idea on the BBB Yahoo Group. Rules author, Chris Pringle, suggested combining the 2/3 map size with normal size bases but reducing the number of bases in each unit. I didn't immediately warm to this idea but then I realised it would allow me to play at both scales without irretrievably committing myself to smaller bases.

For someone of my clumsiness 1" bases are fiddly enough! In extremis I could also borrow the 1" square bases from my Seven Years War Maurice armies.

Chickamauga for beginners

An early test game. The ratio of trees and open spaces should really be reversed, but this fulfils the need for a simple participation game.

Tonbridge Wargames Club are putting on the Second Day of Chickamauga Battle Cry scenario as a participation game at the Cavalier show later this month. The game will be played with lead miniatures on Hexon.

This is a collective effort and I'm just one of the people helping with it. At some point I am planning to fight this battle with Bloody Big Battles!, but Battle Cry is a quick, fun game and ideal as an introduction to wargaming for beginners of all ages.

For those not familiar with the 'Command & Colours' series, Richard Borg's Battle Cry is a hex-based board game that comes with its own plastic miniatures and 2D terrain counters.

Hammerin' Iron

Monitor vs Merrimac

Enthusiasms come and go, and plans and projects leapfrog one another before they can be finished or even started. But interests can also do an orbit and come back into view. Such is the case for me with American Civil War ironclads in general and Peter Pig's Hammerin' Iron game in particular.

The fascination began as a child when, inspired by one of Don Featherstone's books, I scratchbuilt from plasticard models of the Merrimac and Monitor. They certainly weren't accurate scale models but I think they captured the look and feel. An indecisive game between two ships, however, was rather unrewarding.

Games and painting 2014

Irregular Wars playtest with counters

My painting to-do list was becoming oppressive, so last year I decided to note what I managed to do rather than what I planned to do. It didn't increase my productivity but it made me feel better. For the first time, I also recorded the games I played.

In first place was Irregular Wars with 14 games. These were all playtest games and consumed most of my wargaming attention for the year. They were played with counters as I still haven't completed any IW armies.

Second place went to Crossfire with 5 games - one Spanish Civil War, one Normandy and three played on my 'Crossfiregrad' (Stalingrad-esque) cityscape.

Now for the runners-up. I played two games each of Command and Colours Ancients, Dux Bellorum, Galleys & Galleons (playtest) and my friend Ian's developmental ancient rules, and one game each of Impetus, Maurice, WWII Micro Armour, Corvus II, Flanders Fields, Warmaster Ancients,  and my friend Ian's developmental WWI game.

10mm ACW Confederates

As for painting/modelling, I finally completed my 10mm American Civil War armies. I haven't yet played a proper game with them, though they did take to the table in connection with playtesting some hex based Nineteenth Century rules that I'm developing. I also added the finishing touches to the 'Crossfiregrad' cityscape.

Finally, I 'progressed' the 15mm Portuguese/Dutch/Spanish and some scenery for Irregular Wars, the 1/450 pirate ships and scenery for Galleys & Galleons and some 10mm ACW buildings. I aim to finish all these ASAP in 2015.

10mm ACW: The Grand Review: Part 4: The Cavalry And The Commanders

Now for the cavalry and generals. I resent having to paint horses - so much more painting but still only one figure! And don't mention artillery limbers. Having to paint them is a deal-breaker for me when it comes to choosing rules.

10mm ACW: The Grand Review: Part 3: The Artillery

Herewith the Confederate and Union artillery. In a Civil War battle being with the artillery was the safest place to be.

10mm ACW: The Grand Review: Part 2: The Union Infantry

Next up it's the boys in blue. I selected the figures and painted these to give a very uniform appearance in order to accentuate the contrast with the Confederates, although I doubt if any army in the field was ever as regularly equipped as the regulations and uniform books imply. (I also know that the Confederates could be very well supplied.)

10mm ACW: The Grand Review: Part 1: The Confederate Infantry

My 10mm American Civil War armies are at last complete. Painted, stained, grassed and Ardcoated. Thank goodness. As promised/threatened, I'm now going to photo them all so you can see how they've turned out. The photos reveal both the good mass effect and the not quite so good close-up effect. First up it's the Confederate Infantry.

I like irregular armies and I prefer painting infantry, so the Confederate
Infantry are my favourite, even though they took more time to paint.

10mm ACW: visible progress at last

Union infantry after washing and drybrushing

Keen to generate some space for starting work on my 15mm Irregular Wars armies, I'm having a real drive to finish my 10mm ACW ones. Since my last post on this subject I decided the figures looked rather dark, so I chose very light colours for any finishing details, especially Confederate hats and caps. Although these are relatively small areas, this really lifted the appearance of the stands.

10mm ACW - Drinking paint since 2008

Confederate infantry

I seem to have bought my 10mm ACW armies in mid-2008 and they are still drinking paint. These are the figures I based before painting for 'quickness'. I admit that other projects have intervened, but part of the reason for lack of progress has been the awkwardness of painting these figures and the tedium it induces.

The figures are a mixture of Pendraken and Minifigs. They mix OK but the Minifig muskets/bayonets are very thin and delicate and IMO that just isn't practical for wargaming figures. I'm hoping that two good coats of Ardcoat will strengthen them a bit, but it's an act of desperation to rely on varnish to hold things together.

If I had my life over again I'd stick exclusively to Pendraken, but at the time their ACW range was incorrectly modelled with the blanket rolls over the right shoulder, so I thought the Pendraken figures needed some dilution.

10mm ACW - basing before painting

My last post described using a white undercoat, washes and a stain to paint 20th Century figures. For my more colourful 10mm 1690 armies I spot painted over a black undercoat, but I find it increasingly difficult to see detail on a dark surface. More recently I have also experimented with the method very ably demonstrated by Nik Harwood (http://nikharwood.pbworks.com) in which figures are based first and then given a dark brown undercoat, followed by spot painting of the bits you can see/reach. I am using this approach for my 10mm ACW armies currently under the paint brush. It works, but I found it rather like painting through a keyhole so I doubt if I will use it again.

Figures based but not painted. They are a mixture of UK Minifigs and Pendraken (old range). The idea was that I could start using them in games, but 10mm muskets and bayonets are a bit fragile without reinforcement with paint and Ardcoat.