28mm Napoleonic Cavalry squadrons: Life Guards, Chasseur a Cheval, Chevaux leger and officers.

28mm Napoleonic Cavalry squadrons: In an attempt to boost my Napoleonic armies regularly I have decided to break down the proposed regiments into squadrons of six figures, that way at least I can field some well balanced armies quickly without having to wait a long time. So this month I have been mostly painting:

the British 2nd Regiment of Life Guards 1st Squadron 1815,  Waterloo Hundred Days Campaign.

The red uniforms come out nice and bright, whilst painting these I realized the crest wasn't very different from Austrian cuirassier helmets of the period.

and painted the
French 4th Regiment of Chasseur a Cheval, 1st squadron 1812-1815. 

One of my favourite French Cavalry regiments because of the colour schemes, green seems to go well with a lot of different facing colours, I'm going to want some more of these Chasseurs regiments.

and finally I bought the Bavarian command base from Perry miniatures to complete the:
Bavarian 3rd Regiment (Kronprinz) Chevaux-leger, 1st squadron.

The Command stand

the troopers were completed for my previous blog post.

and painted a squadron of the 1st Regiment of French Hussars for ebay...to fund the buying of more Stuff :) I got some bids on these Hussars already from some fantastic ebayers.

Also some French Infantry officers.

 this officer and the next are both the same code, it's interesting to see how different the faces can look, and of course the different horse colours help

This guy definitely has attitude.

Next will be a few Austrian squadrons comprising Cuirassiers, Lancers and Hussars.
Anyhow all the Best,
Peter.

28mm Napoleonic Chasseur a Pied, General Foy & Bavarian Chevaux-legers.

Time constraints and PC woes got in the way of my blogging again but here are a few projects I have completed over the last few weeks:
28mm Napoleonic Chasseurs a Pied French Imperial Guard:

18 figures make up this 1st battalion of the 1st Regiment Chasseur a pied of Napoleon Bonaparte's Imperial Guard.

Chasseurs a pied

Perry miniatures provide a nice variety of poses

flag by GMB shaped after pasting with pva glue

The Commanding Officer 1st battalion of the 1st Regiment.

Sapper armed with two pistols and an axe.

The French Imperial Guard Chasseurs a pied is probably my favourite french infantry regiment, though I'm not sure why?

General Foy's command base; A simple 60mm diameter mdf 2mm thick base with a Perry miniatures General Foy and two infantry officers having a heated discussion.

 Bavarian Chevau-Legeres:
The first faltering steps of my Bavarian contingent will be provided by the 3rd Regiment Kronprinz, I have to order the command stand and remaing troopers soon.

These troopers have a really nice shabraque design of light blue diamonds on white strip. By 1814 I think all the Dragoons were converted to these Chevau legere uniforms.

Anyhow tomorrow I'll put up my Greek Trireme for the Peloponnesian war campaign I'm fighting at the moment. It is a 1/300th Langton model so there is  a significant amount of construction involved.

Any hoo, all the Best
Peter.

Solo Wargames Campaigns Guide 2016 - The Peloponnesian War 431-404BC

Solo Wargames Campaign BLOG 2016.

Okay this will be the starting point for a small number of solo wargames campaigns played over the year, I've been meaning to do this for some time but due to work etc. have had to postpone this until now due to house moves etc.

So I'm still collecting figures which will comprise the core units/formations for the initial stages or opening moves for each of these campaigns, I will currently pick from the following historical periods:

The Peloponnesian Wars 431-404 BC
The Hundred Years War 1337-1453 AD                                  
The English Civil War 1642-1651 AD          
The French Dutch War of 1672-1678 AD                              
World War Two; Western Europe 1944-1945 AD                        

I may add a couple more depending on whether I have painted miniatures, terrain and scenery available.

Solo Campaign #1 The Peloponnesian War 431-404 BC.
Intro.
So It looks like I'll be starting with the Peloponnesian War, The map is provided by 'Clash of Arms' Games 'Epic of the Peloponnesian War' mounted behind A1 sized 600 micron acetate sheets with counters representing army formations of the various factions involved in the war.
[see pic]

A sample of the Athenian move spring 431 BC.

The game as a 'board game' I think is a little too complicated and involved BUT as a wargames campaign is ideal and it has a GREAT map covering most of the Aegean including Macedon, Thrace and the Persian satraps.
[see pic]

map currently centred on Athens, Thebes and Argos.

The miniatures will be mostly 28mm Wargames Foundry figures painted by me over the last few years or so, the Campaign rules will be from the board game with a few slight alterations, the battle mechanism supplied with the game can simulate the ebb and flow of battle when I don't wish to plant minis on the board, otherwise I'll us 6th edition Wargames Research Group Ancient rules to simulate the tabletop battles because I still like old fashioned style gaming, and I want to know why my troops are routing other than just bad dice roles, or DBA rules if I'm pushed for time.
[see pic]

Ye olde school of Wargaming 'Ancients'.

Wargames Research Group 6th edition

I think it's still possible to get a copy of WRG 6th edition Ancient rules from:  http://www.wargaming.co/recreation/details/pb6thedition.htm

De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA) fast play rules

So with the Peloponnesian war I have already run through a dummy campaign lasting several gaming days just to test the campaign mechanics, reaching a satisfactory conclusion, I can pick from the following scenarios:

The Argive league - introductory level, played to a maximum of 4 campaign years [can be finished in a week or so of real time play]
The Campaign Game - plays the entire Peloponnesian War, [not for the faint-hearted]
The Archidamian War - The beginning of the War medium campaign, played to a maximum of 10 campaign years [probably a month or so of real time play]
The Ionian War - the later stages of the War, played to a maximum of 8 campaign years [probably a month of real time play]

The main warring factions are:
The Athenian Empire represented by Blue counters on the campaign map
and the Peloponnesian (Lacedaemonian) League represented by Red counters

(with possible additional intervention of the Achaemenid Persian Empire represented by Purple counters.)

Depending on the scenario various factions will start active, whilst others will activate during the campaign such as the city faction of Syracuse in Sicily or the Persian satrap of Pharnabazus or Tissaphernes etc.

Prologue:
After listening to Librivox recordings of 'The History of the Peloponnesian War' by the Greek General Thucydides who by the way actually fought in the war and also having read the book some time ago I had a reasonable understanding of what happened during the war and why.

I had the option of just re-running the war as it was or playing it through using the rules, a reenactment would mean just replicating someones else's mistakes, making my own tactical and strategic mistakes would be far more entertaining.

So I opted for The Campaign Game - playing the entire Peloponnesian war.

The Boeotian army mobilizes against the independent town of Plataea.

I expect to drop in and out of this campaign as time and materials permit, for example I haven't acquired a city or town wall defenses or siege equipment as yet, also I have almost finished painting most the miniatures required for the initial stages of the game, though I will have to start on the mercenary contingents soon  i.e. the Thracians etc.

Regarding the Naval actions, I don't think I'll wargame countless hordes of 1/1200th triremes but just represent each fleet/squadron with a 1/300th model.

Any how I have just to acquire a few more things, then the initial moves will start this month hopefully.

Until then,

All the Best for 2016.

Peter.

German & American WW2 Armour & supports.

I've been a bit busy of these last few weeks, accelerating my collection of hardware for the upcoming World War Two campaign, so this post will be a mixed bag, starting with a smart little German 'Puma' eight wheeled armoured car, the sdkfz234/2 variant with 50mm L/60 KwK gun.

The Puma sdkfz234/2 

This particular model is a JTFM 'Diewaffenkamer' resin model with a 'Bolt Action' commander speaking into his headset.

Oils and enamel were used on the vehicle with with the addition of acrylics on the tank commanders face.

This reconnaissance armoured car had a rear driving position for a hasty retreat.

Nippy but expendable.

The aerial is a 3amp fuse wire which I'll replace with some 10amp fuse wire to make it more satisfactory.

Decals from Warlord Games

This vehicle will form the other half of my reconnaissance platoon for the German Battle Group.

The Wespe
The Wespe 105mm self-propelled gun provides indirect supporting fire for the German Battle Group.

A Warlord Games resin kit with metal parts

The Camouflage and washes are thinned oil paint mixed with enamels.

The Sdkfz251/D Halftracks.
JTFM enterprises in Canada provided the sdkfz251/D half tracks for the panzer grenadiers, the nice thing about JTFM Diewafemkammer range of vehicles is that they come with 4 panzer grenadier crew and plenty of stowage, spare helmets, MG42 machine guns, rucksacks etc. so no real need for sourcing extra bits of kit.

This JTFM model has the tracks cast as part of the main body just to make constructing the kit that much easier and faster.

Sherman M4A3 75mm Tank
And finally this week, forces representing the U.S.A in the form of a 'bolt Action' Sherman M4A3 75mm tank with crew provided by Warlord Games.

 The raw beastie, resin and metal kit from Warlord Games comes with one tank commander.

M18 Hellcat 'Tank Destroyer'
And an M18 Hellcat Tank buster with a 76mm gun. storming passed a knocked out panzer III.

The panzer III brews up as its ammo catches fire and burns off.

A very nippy little vehicle the M18 Hellcat can reach speeds of up to 60mph, capable of outflanking and out running the much heavier German armour.

Anyhow, got to order a few more items and then draw up a map of the combat zone....then let loose the Dogs of War.

until then,
Cherrio
Peter.

Oops and MERRY CHRISTMAS and have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR.