28mm ACW Federal camp

Following on from producing the Confederate camp site, I've now finished off the Federal camp, again using Renedra plastic tents and Perry Miniature figures. This one is a bit more stark compared to the Rebel camp in that I've chosen not to include a tree in this diorama. I read somewhere a few years ago that the Confederates liked to camp adjacent to or within wooded areas, while the Feds preferred more open area for their camp sites. Whether this is true or not, that's the reason I added a tree to the Rebs' camp and not to this one. 

The Federal camp that follows the same layout as the Rebel camp in a previous post.  

I wanted to make the camp fire the focal point for these dioramas.

I particularly like the figure cooking steaks in a fry pan over the fire. The fire comes as part of the plastic tent set.

I still have some spare tents, so these will be used to create a couple of small camps for picquets or to place within fortifications. All I have to do now is finish off re-basing my two AW armies so I can put them to good use on the gaming table.

Thanks for taking a look.

Until next time! 

Berdan's Sharp Shooters

The silver lining to the Great Confinement is that I've had a little more time to catch up on some smaller projects that had just never seemed to get done before. One of these was the re-basing of a unit of Dixon ACW 25mm Berdan's Sharp Shooters that I had bought secondhand off one of the other Southern Strategists. This unit had seen a bit of action in the past and needed a bit of tarting up, plus re-basing. The tone of green used by the original painter is a bit duller than I would have used myself, but this didn't concern me enough to re-paint them. With the re-basing done and a few painting 'touch ups' these blokes are ready to take on the rebels.

I intend using these guys primarily as skirmishers in extended formation, which historically was their role when they were formed and which they performed exceedingly well as. However, I can also use them as a formed line unit if required.  

These figures came with squirrel tails attached to their kepis, which was a common practice for a small number of Union regiments, the most notable coming from Pennsylvania. I don't think Berdan's 1st US Sharp Shooters followed this practice, but it would appear they now do in my miniature Union army.

 Until next time!   

Confederate Camp

During the lockdown I've been working from home and haven't had as much free time as I had hoped. However, I have managed to start and complete a few small projects that will hopefully add a little spice to the gaming table. One of these projects was a small Confederate camp site using Renedra plastic tents and 28 mm Perry Miniatures. I made the most of a Renedra sale earlier in the year and bought a few more tents than I needed, but I'm sure I'll find some use for them all. I used a small piece of 6 mm thick mdf as the base (instead of my usual 3 mm bases) in an effort to prevent any warping in the glueing and painting process.   

The tent set comes with small camp stretchers, one of which I placed in the officer's tent.

I've tried to create a casual early war camp scene with the fire as the focus.

I might even add some straw coming out of the  open tents as bedding for the enlisted men.

I'm reasonably happy with how the tents turned out by starting with a light grey undercoat, followed by a Ghost grey top coat, washing with a sepia wash, then a dry brush with more Ghost grey. 

I really like the pose of this bloke smoking his pipe.

 A Federal camp is almost near completion, so I hope to be posting some shots of that soon.

Thanks for having a look. Until next time! 
   

Fortified farmhouse in 28mm

Although people may struggle with the enforced lock-down currently in place in many countries around the World, I suspect I'm like most wargamers who will see this as a great opportunity to catch-up on starting or finishing projects that have lingered due to real life getting in the way. In New Zealand the period of lock-down is initially for one month, but most likely to be longer than that. Nobody could have foreseen the serious situation we now find ourselves in, but eventually this time will pass; although sadly at the cost of many lives. In an effort to retain what sanity I have left and to avoid 'cabin fever' I've decided to attempt to be disciplined with my time to get the most out of this break. This includes a daily walk with my wife when the weather permits and I have just started reading Shelby Foote's 3-volume monograph of the American Civil War. I've had these books for 26 years and only just read the first few pages today! I've also been planning for the last month to add a post on the new 28 mm fortified farm house terrain piece that I've recently completed. I'm quietly proud of how this has turn out, but can't claim all the kudos for it. The two buildings are mdf flat pack models that I purchased through Titan Terrain from Dunedin here in NZ (www.titanterrain.nz). These were easy to make and are of a style that I can use for multi periods for games covering the British Isles and Western Europe.

Aerial view of the farm. I particularly like the generic farm house that could be anywhere from rural Ireland to Northern France. The  wattle and daub barn might not be an exact fit with the house, but I liked the contrast from old and new style buildings.  

The walls are made from thick artist foam board, while the capping is made from old bits of Balsa wood. The corner stone effect was made by gluing cardboard. The gates and gate posts are also made from Balsa wood. 

I decided to cut the corner of the wall boundary so that the tree was placed outside the wall. I though this would make it easier to place stands of figures inside the compound without damaging the tree over time. 

The wrought iron effect on the gate was achieved by using a pen to push in some dents on the reverse side of small strips of card, then painting them gun metal, finished with a dry brush of silver. The brick paving came from a roll of vinyl bricks purchased from our local Christmas shop. The dry brushing really worked well in providing an aged look. 

This fenced farrowed field is another small project that I started back in the Christmas holidays and have only now managed to photograph. The farrow effect came by gluing down some corrigated card, then adding small grit to help make it look like dirt. I hope to use this for FIW, AWI and ACW games.

          That's it for now. Thanks for taking a look... and until next time!

Lally's Regiment and a few others in 28mm

It's been a while since I've posted and, thanks to my patient wife, this technophobe has resolved some technical glitches so that I can get posting again.
My New Years resolution is to concentrate on getting my SYW armies to a point where I can play some sizable games as well as some FIW skirmishes. The first newly painted unit is Regiment de Lally, the most junior regiment in the Irish Brigade of the the French Army.

Given my family's association with this regiment I don't know why I hadn't painted it up before now. Captain (later Colonel) Robert Stack led a company of the regiment as part of the Irish Picquets at Culloden and was wounded. He was one of a number of  French officers who ended up in the Inverness Tollbooth for their troubles. He was later transferred to Carlisle Castle and while waiting to be exchanged he met his future English wife there.   

The regiment also fought as part of the Irish Brigade at Fontenoy where in the intense battle seven members of the extended family were either killed or wounded fighting for the French king. As usual, the flags are by GMB.

During the SYW the regiment served in India. Another member of the family, Captain Thomas Stack had command of a company, but was captured at Pondicherry and later exchanged. Seems there's a recurring theme about family members becoming prisoners of war.  

Having fought throughout the War of Austrian Succession, the Jacobite Rebellion and the Seven Years War, the regiment was absorbed into Dillon's Regiment in 1762 as part of reforms within the French army.

These are some of my most favourite poses of  the Front Rank figures. To me the stance of the fusiliers is saying 'Come and take me on if your think you can..I'm ready for you' in that typical Irish way. By the 1750s many of the rank and file were from other nationalities, such as the German states, France and Spain. However, the officers remained almost exclusively Irish, where patronage led to employment for much of the displaced Irish Catholic gentry.  

These individually based British officers are also fresh from the painting table. Some of the Southern Strategists are getting into skirmish gaming and I thought I had better have some officers to lead my small units for the FIW games we have planned. 

I made sure I had officers with colour facings that related to the units that already have painted.

The French also needed some skirmish leaders, so I recently painted these blokes up as well. The grey-coated figures are for French line troops, while the red coated officer is for  Irish Brigade troops and the blue-coated figure can be used for the Royal Ecossais regiment.    

No prizes for guessing the surname of this dapper officer of Lally's Regiment

Another one of my favourite poses...'Pot that officer over there, old chap. There's a good fellow.' 

In keeping with skirmishing the SYW, I recently finished tarting up these Redoubt Roger's Rangers. I had purchased them second-hand at a swap meet several years ago, but at that stage they had only been undercoated in black. 

  Thanks for taking a look. The next post will show some of the terrain building I been up to.

Until next time!

Peninsular 28mm Sharpe's Practice game

 Recently the Southern Strategists put on a 28mm Peninsula Sharpe's Practice game to refresh ourselves with the rules. We all like the period and the semi-skirmish type rules make for a playable game time-wise for Wednesday nights when we meet once a fortnight. This game also gave me an opportunity to give my freshly painted, superbly sculptured, Brigade Games 'Sharpe' character figures their first taste of combat. The scenario involved a band of Spanish guerrillas defending a town from a French force, while waiting for support to arrive from British regulars. Ultimately, the French were able to gain a foothold in the town by seeing off the guerrillas, but couldn't dislodge the British regulars who arrived just in time as the depleted and demoralized guerrilla band were running off to avoid the French bayonets. Although the French had the slight upper hand, as a commander on the British side, I was happy to accept a draw as the French had suffered more casualties which rightly balanced things out...at least in my mind.

The village of Buenos Chichotas under attack from the French. The guerrillas had done a runner at this point. 

The defending Spanish guerrillas (left) fighting it out over control of the church with the first French unit to enter the village.  

What was left of the Spanish guerrilla band, now led by Father Ted Crillyjoz, retreating from the village in haste. 

The Royal Artillery in action. It certainly played a significant role in the high French casualty rate.

Sharpe and his Chosen Men putting their Baker rifles to good use in the orchard on the left flank of the village. They were eventually forced to withdraw slightly to prevent being outflanked when the Spanish fled.

The French approaching the town early in the engagement.

Sharpe and Co. making their way into the town to support the Spanish. This superb village was scratch-built some years ago by Rodger Wood of  'Rebel Barracks' blog fame.

The dastardly French coming on 'in the same old style.' Superb Front Rank figures in marching order.

Sgt Obadiah Hakeswill leading a company on the left flank of the British line. This figure was converted by Rodger Wood.

Sharpe entering the village through the main gate, followed by Sgt Harper.

The Spanish guerrilla commander, El Moustachio, encouraging his men in the defence of the village. He would pay the ultimate price before the battle was over. A mixture of Front Rank and Brigade games figures.

The Spanish defending the buildings at the edge of the village. They put up a gallant fight, but realistically were never going to match the discipline and fire power of the French regulars.


Thanks for taking a look.

Until next time!