WOW! Where does the time get off to? Five weeks since the last posting? Heartfelt sigh.
So what have I been up to wargaming-wise? I've been finishing up some of those excellent Zvezda GNW Swedish Dragoons as my "Hayburningnag Dragoons". Three boxes will give you enough figures for a "Grant - Wargame" sized regiment of 1 Colonel, 2 Officers, 1 Standard, 1Bugler, and 24 other ranks, with some figures left over for Brigade Staff, Couriers, or Escorts. The boys at Squadron Mail Order were having a sale, so I went ahead and got enough for the "Roadapplegang Dragoons" and the "Knackerbound Karabiniers" as well. (As the names might suggest the Markgraaf does not have a lot of confidence in his cavalry.) They are reasonably priced and easy on the ol' Warchest, so even the most cost concious Monarch can recruit with confidence. Don't be put off by the timeframe. They are tricorne wearing Heavy Cavalry. If some eagle-eyed opponent spots a uniform detail in this scale, just say that your Imagi-Nation is very conservative, militarily speaking, and that "The Socket Bayonet is just a passing fad. Real Men Use Plug Bayonets". If he keeps it up, field a unit of pikes in the next game. Good stuff all around.
With their release of the Russian Artillery of Peter the Great and the Prussian Grenadiers of Fred the Great (I wonder why they avoided some of the more accurate nicknames of the past like Aethreld the Unready or John Lackland? I can see the troops really getting fired up to campaign with Wilhelm Augustus the Barely Adequate! Ha, ha, ha!), it looks like I'll be a regular customer of the Michigan Toy Soldier And Figure Company for the forseeable future. Check out their website at www.michtoy.com for an excellent source for figures, paints, brushes, books, etc.
I've also got an order in with Mr. Mike Tabor's HistoriFig Company for some of those classic 25mm Scruby SYW Le Noble Jagers that I will paint up as my "Ulster Jagers". (As an added benefit, they make great "stand ins" for AWI Butler's Rangers!) Included in the order are some 25mm AWI figures that I'm anxious to get my grubby little cotton pickers on too: Morgan's Riflemen, Hunting Shirt Infantry, Indians, Tarlton's Dragoons, Mounted Infantry, and some command! WOOF! They mix in well with the figures from Zvezda, Airfix, Revell, Italeri, and Hat Industrie, so a wide variety of units can be fielded.
More years ago than I like to recall, I took Bruce Quarrie's advice from his excellent book, "Napoleonic Campaigning In Miniature" to heart, when it comes to painting a couple of armies. Like most great ideas it is so simple that you shake your head and say in a sotto voice to yourself, "Why didn't I think of that?!"
Start with painting a Line Infantry Unit. Once that is COMPLETELY finished and ready for the tabletop, paint up an opposing Line Infantry Unit. Paint up a Cavalry Unit for each side, then a couple of Artillery Batteries. Add a Supply Wagon Train Unit, then paint up a couple more Infantry Units. The jist of the idea is to vary the type and nationality of the units, so that you have two balanced forces (Not necessarily identical!) to set upon the tabletop. I have found that among the main advantages is that you avoid "Painter's Burnout" (NOOOooo! Not another Highlander Unit! The plaid! The plaid!), and if it's an era that you're not sure you want to commit major bucks to, you can still have some cracklin' little actions without having to 'prentise out the firstborn, or take out a third morgage on the ol' family estate. By the time you're ready to field Guard Units, your experience with the lowly Line types, will make your elite troopies martial display something to marvel at.
Last, but not least, I've been kicking around the idea of combining Graf Bogy's (of Hesse-Fedora fame) canvas cloth General Purpose battlefield with the Perfect Captain's Battlefinder tabletop terrain layouts. Seven foot by five foot canvas dropcloths would be ideal to represent their 6 by 4 area. When painted with all the detail of rivers, roads, fords, forests, fields, etc., then draped over the table and the edges clamped to the table's edge, the only things left to be added would be any hills, ridges, and buildings. Each battlefield could be unique and easily rolled up until the next conflict. BWAHAHAHA! The World Is My Oyster!
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7 comments:
I've been trying to paint up different types of units and sort of alternating between side. I also like to throw in some other tidbits every so often, like vignettes, characters, animals, etc. Or some terrain pieces for a change of pace.
Another thing to keep in mind, I think, is scenarios you can play with your forces as you build them up. I think that helps with the motivation, too. Scenarios can give you some specific goals to aim for (troops, terrain, etc.).
The drop cloth idea sounds interesting. I hope you'll post pics if/when you put this into practice. :)
Good sound ideas, sir. I particularly like the painting and drop cloth ideas.
-- Jeff
Dropping on your blog reminded me of the lovely "Mack the Knife" ... I suspect that he'll need to be getting out the old whet stone again soon ... strange rumblings from the Tannes Mountains around the old village of Ausfhart (near to Einfhart, the family seat of the house of Fhartzen) ....
:)
Arthur
SO promising!
Looking forward to enjoy the discovery of your regiments 'in their painted flesh'.
Your painting 'alternated schedule' sounds as a sound idea -then, tell us more about the intended "opposition" to Raubenstadt? For practical reasons Imagi-Nations have often to be created by pair (to start with...): it's that, or having your beloved brainchild torn by an ugly civil war...
Do you already have a precise idea of the intended (I don't write 'definitive': wargame armies never cease to grow) Raubenstadter OOB? Do you fill a scrapbook, as Pjotr does?
The canvas battlefield is also intriguing.
Glad to see a trumpeter in your cavalry establishment: I don't have my 'War Game' at end but as I remember C. Grant regrettably omitted him while -while a cavalry musician can be so colorful?
Staying tuned for future develoments -and images!
Jean-Louis
Hi Guys!
I like to think of it as "Great minds thinking alike", rather than, "Mediocrity seeking a common level" (Like when I invented wargaming back in the Fourth Grade 1964), but check out www.deepfriedhappymice.com. In their "how-to" section is a illustrated tutorial on how to convert a painter's dropcloth into a wargamer's tabletop battlefield. However, I would suggest putting the dropcloth into a laundry bag, then put the bag into the washer and dryer. The hot water and the hot, dry air will "tighten" up the weave, particularly if the cloth has any raw unfinished edges. The laundry bag will prevent any unravellings from wrapping around the agitator and the drying drum. Be sure to iron out any wrinkles before painting. Jackson Pollack better watch out.
By using the new acyrlic housepaints, when the mat is thoroughly dry, it can be rolled up and stored in one of those shipping tubes. The acyrlic paint should have enough flexability to allow the mat to be stored in the tube without flaking off. Slap a number on the lid, and the correct mat can easily be brought from storage to the table. (The Perfect Captain's Battlefinder has so many battlefields, that I'll have to rig up a special storage rack to put the tubes in!)
Jean-Louis: Raubenstadt's main opfor these days is the armed forces of the Prince-Bishop of Spires. Units like "The Mandatory Volunteers", "The Half-Pay Gentleman Pensioniers", "Holtzermann's Infamous Half-Battalion", and my personal favorite, "The Invalid Garrison" commanded by one Von Keillor from the Lake Woebegone region, are scattered throughout, and always good for a laugh.
As far as having a bugler in the Cavalry TO&E, I like the look of the reversed colors, and as long as the moral can be calculated to come up to 6, it works for me.
Still haven't mastered the art of the digital camera yet, but I have high hopes for the near future.
Hi Guys!
I like to think of it as "Great minds thinking alike", rather than, "Mediocrity seeking a common level" (Like when I invented wargaming back in the Fourth Grade 1964), but check out www.deepfriedhappymice.com. In their "how-to" section is a illustrated tutorial on how to convert a painter's dropcloth into a wargamer's tabletop battlefield. However, I would suggest putting the dropcloth into a laundry bag, then put the bag into the washer and dryer. The hot water and the hot, dry air will "tighten" up the weave, particularly if the cloth has any raw unfinished edges. The laundry bag will prevent any unravellings from wrapping around the agitator and the drying drum. Be sure to iron out any wrinkles before painting. Jackson Pollack better watch out.
By using the new acyrlic housepaints, when the mat is thoroughly dry, it can be rolled up and stored in one of those shipping tubes. The acyrlic paint should have enough flexability to allow the mat to be stored in the tube without flaking off. Slap a number on the lid, and the correct mat can easily be brought from storage to the table. (The Perfect Captain's Battlefinder has so many battlefields, that I'll have to rig up a special storage rack to put the tubes in!)
Jean-Louis: Raubenstadt's main opfor these days is the armed forces of the Prince-Bishop of Spires. Units like "The Mandatory Volunteers", "The Half-Pay Gentleman Pensioniers", "Holtzermann's Infamous Half-Battalion", and my personal favorite, "The Invalid Garrison" commanded by one Von Keillor from the Lake Woebegone region, are scattered throughout, and always good for a laugh.
As far as having a bugler in the Cavalry TO&E, I like the look of the reversed colors, and as long as the moral can be calculated to come up to 6, it works for me.
Still haven't mastered the art of the digital camera yet, but I have high hopes for the near future.
Funny you should mention names like 'Wilhelm Augustus the Barely Adequate.' I had a land in a D&D campaign where the very prosaic common people dubbed their rulers names such as 'Abdul the Indifferent,' 'Fatima the Mildly Unpleasant' and so on. ;)
I agree with the Quarrie method too and I'm slowly building up my ImagiNation armies on that basis. Next on my list is the Rumtopft Dragoons. After their heroic showing at the Battle of Viehdorf I feel I should have my own regiment of them rather than a proxy!
Your idea for the dropcloth is inspired! It's compact to store and easy to use. I'll look into it! =)
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