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.

2012 - Looking Back & Looking Ahead

Well another year has come and gone and it's time to reflect on what I managed to get done this year and what I hope to accomplish in 2013.

It was a great year for completing projects for me...not that all of the projects that were finished were done entirely by me, but still it's nice not to have to worry about them any longer.  The projects that I now consider completed include: my 28mm Mitanni, 28mm ACW Confederates, 15mm Polish 1st Armored, 15mm Polish 10th Mechanized Brigade, and Mike's 28mm Republican Romans.  In addition, I purchased a couple of painted armies that add to my available forces:  15mm Polish 1st Parachute Brigade & 15mm Sassanid Persians.  All in all, 2012 was the best hobby year I've had in the past 5 as far as basing and painting figures goes.  I hope I can keep this momentum up in 2013!

As for games, Flames of War was probably my most played game in 2012.  I played some one-off games, but also participated in several local tournaments which I enjoyed.  I hope that the tournaments keep occuring on a regular schedule in 2013.  I also played games of Might of Arms (15mm Ancients), Clash of Empires (28mm Ancients), Napoleon's Battles (15mm Napoleonics), Command and Colors Ancients (both the boardgame as well as with 28mm figures), Black Powder (28mm ACW), Action Front (28mm ACW), SAGA (28mm Dark Ages) and Combat Commander: Pacific (great boardgame).   Wow, that's a lot of games!  I hope that I can continue to play a good variety of games on a frequent basis in the coming year.

2012 also saw the end (with one exception) of my gaming GW games.  I still enjoy Warmaster and will continue to play it, but going into 2012 Lord of the Rings had been my main GW game.  I enjoyed it a lot, but the new army books they put out and the price increases associated with Finecast and repackaging the figures, let alone the new Hobbit price increases just ended it for me.  Maybe I played it too often and just got burned out, but strangely I don't feel that way  about Flames of War, even with them constantly updating army books; I think the game and the company (GW) just ran it's course with me...I sold off all of my LOTR stuff and I'm done.

Looking ahead to 2013 I hope to complete some more projects with 28mm ACW Union being my first priority followed by 15mm Marian Romans, 28mm Andalusians & 28mm Byzantines.  I may had a couple of regiments of 28mm ACW Confederates to round out Kershaw's Brigade, but that is not a top priority.  I am in the planning stages for a 15mm Late War German infantry force and am looking forward to the Early War Eastern Front books for Flames of War.  Also, several of the locals are talking about doing Napoleonics in 28mm for Black Powder; I believe I'll be contributing to this effort.  I would also like to give Hail Caesar a try, either in 15mm or 28mm...

Lastly, I continue to search for a stand-alone project that I can do on my own...I still have some ideas, but like last year I have not committed to anything.  10mm Pike & Shotte for Eastern Europe or Thirty Years War, modifying Bolt Action for WWI or Russo-Polish War or Alternate WWI, The Great War for WWI, and 10mm Lord of the Rings for Warmaster are all on my list of possibilities at the moment...let's see what 2013 brings!

15mm Sassanid Persian Army

Recently my friend John offered his very nice 15mm Sassanid Persian Army up for sale for a great price.  I've always wanted a Sassanid army and at one point in time I had an unpainted army in both 10mm and 28mm.  Anyway, I couldn't pass up such a nice army at such a great price, so I'm now the proud owner of an army I've always wanted to have.  I will use it for Might of Arms mainly, though I've had some discussions about giving Hail Caesar a try in 15mm, so we'll see.  The army is all Old Glory 15's with the exception of the skirmishers which are Essex.

Skirmishing Slingers

 Skirmishing Archers

 Light Cavalry #1

 Light Cavalry #2

 Heavy Infantry Spearmen & Archers

 Elephants

 Generals

 Clibinari #1

 Clibinari #2

 Cataphracts

 Medium Archers

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.

Command & Colors Ancients in Miniature: Guagamela in 28mm

On September 1, Neil put on another game of Command & Colors Ancients in Miniature using his 28mm collection.  This time he ran a slightly modified version of Guagamela.  He took out the three elephants from the Persian side in the C&C scenario and replaced them with another heavy chariot in the center and an additional medium cavalry in each wing located along the baseline.  Thus three units were exchanged for three units and the number of cards and banners needed to win remained the same.  Each side had players for each game.  I commanded the center of the Macedonian line in the first game as well as serving as overall commander; I kept feeding the right flank cards to help Alexander and the Companions crush their opposition while our left flank barely held on.  The first game ended in a Macedonian victory. 

We switched sides for the second game and I commanded the Persian left against Kevin whom had Alexander and the Companions.  Kevin is a notoriously good roller no matter the rules set and the die type, so I figured I was done for.  However, I managed to shoot both Companion units out from under Alexander!  In this game the Persians started off really well and had a comfortable lead in units destroyed then suddenly the Macedonians had two good turns in a row and they were only one unit behind.  The game ended though with Al committing the Persian heavy cavalry in the center and taking out the last unit needed for a Persian victory!

Here are some pictures from both games.  Thanks to Neil for bringing everything and for Imperial Outpost Games for hosting the game.  Until next time...

 Game 1 Deployment

 Game 1 Deployment

 Alexader and the Companions

 Persian Heavies in the Center

 Macedonian Center

 Game 1 Coming to a Conclusion

 I Hate Those Chariots!

 A View From The Persian Center

 Early In The Game

The Macedonian Center Advances