10mm Black Powder

I have been busy with a few things lately.  One of which is the decision to purge my 28mm ACW collection.  The reasons for this are many, but it basically boils down to doing what makes me happy.  I originally thought I would just replace my 28's with 10's as that is the scale I want to use for Black Powder.  I purchased a few packs of Old Glory 10mm and painted up a few units.  One is a standard sized unit for Black Powder and the other would be a small sized unit.  These were a breeze to paint and look better from a distance which is the way it should be...10mm is for a massed look, and too much detail actually gets lost too close up.

My gaming friends are sticking with 28mm for Black Powder and are doing ACW and Napoleonics.  I don't want to duplicate their efforts initially, so I need to figure out a different period that I can do both sides for so they don't have to worry about it and I can be able to host games on my own.  I'm looking at the Crimean War, the American War of Independence, the Franco-Prussian War (and others during that timeframe), and the Sudan.  I'm not sure what I will end up doing...

February Update - A Good Year So Far

Just taking a few minutes to give a short update on what I've been doing on the gaming front so far in 2015...

I've played a good variety of games so far with Flames of War, Pathfinder - Skulls & Shackles, Hail Caesar, By Fire and Sword, and GMT's Great Battles of the American Revolution: Saratoga all seeing table time so far this year.  I have more games of each of those lined up in the next few months, so I will not be wanting for gaming opportunities in the near future.

I've also been doing well working toward my 182.5 hour goal for this year.  So far I'm at 22 hours invested and I have a pretty decent return to show.  I've got 31 new figures painted which definitely puts me on a pace to beat last year's pathetic total; and the 141 figures I've based up so far have surpassed last year's basing total by a large margin.  I have also done a lot of reorganizing in my hobby storage which accounts for the majority of the non-prep/paint/basing time.  The 22 hours isn't too bad considering I was out of town for work for a week.  I need to try to bank some time though because I have another trip coming up in March.

The biggest accomplishment so far is getting the last two painted regiments of 28mm ACW Confederates based up; the 7th & 15th South Carolina from Kershaw's Brigade. This brings my total ACW Confederate infantry count to 280 figures!   I also rebased all of my 28mm ACW artillery onto multi-figure bases with the gun.  Originally the crew figures and guns were all individually based and that was just a pain when playing.  This definitely has me looking forward to getting in another big Black Powder game...maybe in April sometime.

7th South Carolina



 15th South Carolina

 Confederate 12-pounder's

 Extra Confederate Regimental Command Stands

 Confederate Rifled Artillery

 Union Rifled Artillery - first lot

 Union Rifled Artillery - second lot

 Union 12-pounders

 

Up next I'm working on prepping a large 15mm Jordanian force for Battlefront's "Fate of a Nation" Arab-Israeli game to be followed by finally starting on a 15mm Polish Skirmish Force for By Fire and Sword.  I will try to remember to give a recap/AAR of my next By Fire and Sword game.  Well, that's all for now...take it easy.



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.

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.

28mm American Civil War Confederate Infantry - Barksdale's & Kershaw's Brigades

It's been a few months since I posted and I haven't accomplished much, but I have been working on a task that I really dislike; basing figures.  I've just completed basing 8 regiments of 28mm American Civil War Confederate Infantry that were painted  by Philgreg painters for me last year.  All of the figures are from Sash & Saber with flags from GMB flags (they are great)and are organized with 7 stands of 4 figures each.  This configuration will allow me to increase and decrease the regiment size depending on the scenario and ruleset being played; I will likely use them for games using Black Powder and my friend Don's Action Front rules that are under development along with possibly breaking out that old standby, Johnny Reb III. 

The units represent Barksdale's Mississippi brigade and 4 of the 6 units in Kershaw's South Carolina brigade of McLaws Division at Gettysburg.  I hope to run a refight of the Peach Orchard for the 150th Anniversary next year and this will be the core of the Confederates.  I am not working on the commanders and artillery support with a December 2nd target date for completion to use them in a game of Black Powder.  The Union forces for this scenario are currently off to Philgreg being painted and I will have to deal with basing when they get back...ugh, did I mention I hate basing?

Anyway, there are the units:

21st Mississippi

 18th Mississippi

 17th Mississippi

 13th Mississippi

 8th South Carolina

 3rd South Carolina

 3rd South Carolina Battalion

 2nd South Carolina

I would like to eventually add the two remaining regiments from Kershaw's Brigade, the 7th & 15th South Carolina.  I may also look at adding different command stands from other regiments so I can do different brigades and battles, but first thing's first...artillery and command for this group.