Sunday 26 March 2017

Update Time

No game in the loft since Sacile but I haven't been idle I have done a fair amount of painting. As I am utterly incapable of sticking to one thing I have done little bits of a lot of things.



French Revolutionary Wars

I have been studying and gaming the Napoleonic Wars for about forty years. As you can see from this blog it isn't the only conflict that I am interested in but it has been the chief focus of my hobby. It struck me a few years ago that the early part of the period (or the period just before if you prefer)gets little to no coverage. There are few books on the period and you hardly ever see any games dedicated to it so I decided to do something about both. I shall, however, just talk about the gaming for now.

One of the challenges of this period is a lack of troops, particularly in 1/72nd scale so I will hav eto convert and bodge most of them. The chaps pictured are my attempt at British light company troops around 1799 as I am intending to refight the Helder Campaign. They are converted from HaT Brunswick Avant Garde figures. I gave them a green stuff crest and I had given them coat tails before I realised that they were quite short by this point in the war so I cut them right down again. I should also have shaved off the running horse it seems but it is not actually visible in normal light.



Here they are again.



Russian Jager - Esci Prussians...



Some opposition - Grenadiers of Vandamme's division. Not the best photograph - this is just on the book case behind the painting desk.



Remember that Chosen Men  project I was talking about? Well these 1/32 Chasseurs are intended to participate. I you are going to skirmish then why not in glorious 54mm? Again these are conversions; this time from Supreme which are I believe copies of Italeri figures. The elite company chaps are made from the French 'cavalry' or officer, or whatever he is meant to be. I have given him an Irregular Miniatures colpack head and made a cross belt from wine foil and a miliput cartridge belt (which you can't see). The centre company Chasseur was a British Light Dragoon. I trimmed a few bits off and painted him green - I think he is passable?

Bush Wars

In addition to all the painting (the above is just the tip of the iceberg) I got a game in at Irregular Miniatures HQ. The pictures don't really do it justice but we had a nice game using some rules I wrote for these figures, inspired by AK47 Republic but more in keeping with our usual style of play. This was the third game in the series and featured a straight fight for possession of vital (but fictional) settlement in an area of Zumbara sympathetic to the
rebels.



The village; all is quiet - modelling and painting by Ian Kay.



Zumbaran government forces make a dash for the objective.



But it is a trap and the lead elements are wiped out as the rebels arrive in force!



Government forces are attempting to outflank the rebels on the right but continue to pour troops into the village (probably a mistake) - Government forces painted by me.



Ian's elite rebel yellow berets lay down a withering fire from the edge of the village. Lets just say it didn't go well for the government troops and having lost the previous two encounters they are probably now hiding in the bush while the rebels effect a regime change in Zumbara.

Might have lost every game but they were fun to paint and the game was a nice change from the usual. All figures are from the Irregular Miniatures Modern Africa range with vehicles from a range of sources including Tesco (container lorry from scenario 1) and the £1 shop (funky technicals that I have manged not to photograph but have proven quite effective).

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