Too Long...

Well looking at the calendar I realize that it's been way too long since I've last posted.  It makes it appear like I haven't done anything...while that's true on the painting front, it's not true on the gaming and overall hobby front.  I haven't painted much...just finished up some 15mm horses for a Marian Roman army is all.  Next up are some 28mm Dark Ages figures for my friend Mike and I.

That said, I've been busy with my collection since the last post.  I acquired rather large 15mm WWII German and Soviet forces which has allowed me to get rid of some excess (I realized I didn't need 54 T34s!) and work on building out these armies for Flames of War to cover all periods of the war with different options.  I have some additional units to purchase, but I should be fairly set after that until the Barbarosa book comes out and I end up doing early war tank forces for both sides (currently working on completing infantry based forces). 

I also got rid of my 15mm DAK and picked up a nice 15mm Italian force suitable for the desert; I've added to it and can use it for early war through mid war.

I've been playing Black Powder and got in some games of Hail Caesar and Pike & Shotte and I enjoy those systems, so I'm going to be working on converting my 28mm ancients armies for use in HC.  I'm also going to work on a couple of 15mm armies for Pike & Shotte.

I've also decided to build a couple of forces for 28mm WWII skirmish.  A lot of the locals are playing Bolt Action and I'll be giving that a try, but I also want to check out some other rule sets that I haven't tried before.

That's it for now...look for more updates soon...hopefully!

28mm Black Powder American Civil War Battle 5-26-13

After a few weeks of planning and coordinating, 7 of us met up at Crusader's Retreat (a local game store located at 40th Street & Thunderbird in Phoenix) yesterday for a large ACW battle using Black Powder rules.  By large I mean both the size of the table and then number of figures.  The game was played on a 12' x 6' table and pitted 3 brigades of Confederates against 4 brigades of Union.  The total figure count for the game was around 770! 

Robert and I supplied all of the miniatures and Tim K, Robert and I supplied the terrain.  My contributions for the terrain were the church, camp, store, farmhouse and the vast majority of the fencing (all by Renendra...great stuff!).  I won't give a running commentary as this was really an introduction for us to see how well the game played with 7 players (no problems), with that many troops (again, no problems), using such a big table (wonderful, though Tom F did need occaisional assistance reaching the middle of the table as the tables were a little high), and that much terrain (definitely needed for ACW as it helps control movement and helps reduce the effectiveness of shooting).  We knew the Confederates would be hard pressed from the beginning as they were outnumbered 4 to 3, but two of their brigadiers seemed to be plagued by poor command dice and that really sealed their fate.

I believe that everyone had a great time and we will likely play again in the next couple of months.  For our next game we will be introducing some variability to unit size, unit quality, special rules, armament, quality of commanders, etc. as well as having the game be more scenario driven with objectives. 

The pictures below show the layout as well as the battle at different stages.

28mm American Civil War Union Command & Artillery

Here are pictures of the 28mm ACW Union Command & Artillery that currently complete my force.  All figures are by Sash & Saber and were painted by Philgreg Painters and myself.  I also did the basing (which I hate to do...).  Flags are from GMB Flags. These figures will make their debut on the table today in a game of Black Powder (I hope to have pictures and a brief AAR of that game posted soon).

Division General Birney

 Brigadier Burling

 Brigadier Graham

 Various Commanders

 Union 12-pound Napoleon Battery

 Union 10-pound Rifled Artillery Battery #1

 Union 10-pound Rifled Artillery Battery #2

Completing these allows me to place my ACW project to the side for a while (with the exception of using it in games that is).  Eventually I would like to add some cavalry along with some different command stands, but that's down the road.

28mm American Civil War - Union Infantry

As promised here are pictures of the 28mm American Civil War Union Infantry Regiments that I've just completed.  All figures are by Sash & Saber with the flags from GMB Flags.  Painting was done by Philgreg Painters and myself; I also did the basing.  As with my Confederates, I think I'm done building infantry and will likely only add different command groups going forward along with possibly doing some cavalry (both mounted and dismounted).

2nd New Hampshire Infantry Regiment

 3rd Maine Infantry Regiment

 7th New Jersey Infantry Regiment

 57th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment

 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment

 68th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment

 105th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment

 141st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment

I'll be posting up pictures of the Union command and artillery later this week.

28mm American Civil War - Confederate Command & Artillery

Here are some pictures of the American Civil War Confederate Command and Artillery that I completed last year at the same time I finished the infantry.  I didn't take pictures at the time, but in anticipation of a game a few of us have planned for the 26th, I broke them out to finish documenting the army as it stands.  I recently acquired a box of Perry Confederates that I'll be making the last two South Carolina regiment's from Kershaw's Brigade out of.  After that I will likely just add new command stands and some cavalry (both mounted and dismounted) down the road sometime as I'll have close to 300 infantry!  All of the figures are 28mm Sash & Saber and were painted by Philgreg Painters (I did the horses, cannons and basing).  Flags are the great GMB Flags.  A few of the photos are a bit off; I'll try to remember to redo them next time I'm taking pictures. 

Confederate General Barksdale

 Confederate General Kershaw

 Confederate General McLaws

 Various Confederate Commanders

 Confederate 12-pound Napoleon Battery

 Confederate Mixed Artillery Battery (12 pounder & 10 pound Rifle)

 Confederate 3" Artillery Battery

Up next will be some Union troops.

Kickstarter Plunge: By Fire & Sword

Well I finally took the plunge on a "kickstarter".  Earlier today I pledged "The Winged Hussar Retainer Level" for the By Fire & Sword miniatures rules (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1729776659/by-fire-and-sword-historical-tabletop-wargame).  I pledged $75 to cover the level of support I wanted along with postage.  Since the merchandise will be shipping from Poland I thought it a decent investment for a 400 page hard cover book.  The book is currently available in Polish, but after doing a small test batch of English copies that were released at SALUTE 2013 the company, Wargamer.pl, put up a "kickstarter".  You can find out more about Wargamer.pl and the rules at http://www.fireandsword.wargamer.pl/

Eventhough I have always loved this period and area when it comes to wargaming I had never done a "kickstarter" so I had reservations about the process.  After talking with some friend that had supported other "kickstarter" efforts and following the great write-ups about the rules on the Anatoli's Gameroom blog (http://anatolisgameroom.blogspot.com/) I finally through my support behind it.

Now I just have to wait for the rules.  This will probably push me into building armies for the game...sadly I sold off my Poles and Swedes years ago when I couldn't find any rules that I enjoyed and my gaming interests shifted; I wish I still had them, but this will give me an opportunity to start over and hopefully engage some of the other local players in the game.

Command & Colors Ancients: Epic Zama in 28mm

Here are some pictures and a brief write-up supplied by my friend Neil who has a wonderful set up for Command & Colors Ancients in 28mm.

Six of the North Phoenix Irregulars recently gathered at Imperial Outpost Games for another 28mm Command & Colors Ancients Epic scenario.  Our previous games have followed the career of Alexander the Great.  In this case, it was the decisive battle of the Second Punic War, Zama.  The scenario was played as written.  Two complete games were played over the course of a Saturday afternoon with players switching sides and roles (e.g., no one played the central sector/battlefield commander more than once).  While the second game was closer than the first (14 - 11 and 14 - 8), the Carthaginians were defeated in both games as their flanking cavalry tended to be out-classed and overrun while the five elephants in the center were never able to inflict sufficient damage  to fatally weaken the Roman center.  As before, a good time was had by all and we appreciate Imperial Outpost for hosting the game.

2013 Posting Negiligence

So it's April 28, 2013 and this is my first post of the year.  Sad, but true.  So, where have I been and what have I been doing?  Well, the bulk of my free time for the first 3 months of the year has been directed to a remodel/refresh of the house...you know, demo some stuff, get dry wall fixed, lay some tile, move furniture, move furniture again, paint, paint some more, sell some furniture, buy some new furniture.  Anyone that has gone through this process knows it can suck up a lot of time.  I still have some new light fixtures to install and we've decided to paint another room.  The good news is those couple of things will finish off this phase and we won't be moving on to the next phase until next year most likely.

With my focus on that project and several significant projects at work, it has been difficult to focus on gaming, especially painting.  That said, I have painted up a few 28mm models for my Union ACW force and I've actually gotten some games in.  You can check out my less than stellar record for this year on the side bar.

I think I'm shaking out of this "slump".  A few of us are planning a game of ACW Black Powder for later in May so that gives me something to work towards.  I need to finish up my ACW Union force for that game.  I also have handed off some terrain and some odds and ends to Tim at Saguaro Painting Service and have some other things lined up to knock off quickly after finishing the ACW.

I did get rid of my 15mm DAK army.  I had generally poor luck with it and wanted something different, so I used the proceeds from that sale to help purchase a nicely done 15mm Italian army for the desert.  It works for the mid-war period for FOW  and I plan on adding to it in order to be able to use it for early war.

I'm looking into what I would have to be able to use my 28mm Viking army for Hail Caesar and from the looks of it I would have to add 60 or so figures, most of which would be thralls and bondi.  This would give me a 400 point force and I may give it a try using Gripping Beast plastics to fill in the ranks.  Also, I'm very interested in the By Fire and Sword Kickstarter for their English rules; I really like this period and this may be the first Kickstarter I participate in.

Coming soon will be some pictures of more 28mm ACW stuff...stay tuned.