Author: World2Dave

Bits and Pieces

Not loads, but a few items were progressed this week. I finished some 6mm FPW Bavarians that were mostly done back in August, which means the Bavarian corps is now complete. 🙂

Also, I painted the Fenris Games treasure chests that will one day be used for Frostgrave objectives:

Next, a horse and limber (Front Rank) for my 18th century Fleurian Legion artillery:

I have also painted a battalion gun for a new battalion that I’m basing, and which will be the subject of its own post soon (I hope!)

Finally, I painted a first Conquest Games plastic Norman Knight for my Lion Rampant force. It was a simple paint job and a nice easy figure to paint, which gives me some confidence that I’ll get at least a unit done for the November multi-player game.

 

I’d like to get a game in sometime soon, so will have a think about what I might manage to get set up next weekend.

A belated start to my Lion Rampant force

August kind of got away from me hobby-wise, with a lack of opportunities to get anything done. One thing that was delayed was making a start on my Lion Rampant force, for which I’d bought the first figures but had barely managed to open the box.

I’ve got a multi-player Lion Rampant game weekend in November, in celebration of Goat Major recently joining the ranks of the seriously ancient. I’m looking forward to this event and would feel a bit guilty if I didn’t bring any figures of my own along so, like others, I’ve committed to turn up with whatever I can get done in time. It’s actually serving as a useful preliminary deadline for Ayton 2017 (we like to plan ahead!), which will be LR-focused and should see a very interesting collection of retinues turn up for a weekend mini-campaign.

My force, with pretty much anything from 1000-1500AD to choose from, is going to be based on the Normans in Italy in the late 11th Century. This suits me for a number of reasons;

  • I’ve always liked Normans, and was painting them in 15mm (TTG figures) over 30 years ago
  • I’d rather paint them than anything more ‘High Medieval’ with all the heraldry, etc
  • I can extend things imagi-nation-wise to cover the earliest Medetians, which I see as being Norman adventurers who decided to grab a nice bit of sunny coastline
  • By adding some Saracen allies I can re-use those figures as natives for my colonial Sharp Practice project
  • Nothing much else really appealed as it’s not a period I’ve ever really considered doing at this scale

After a lot of looking around on the web, I settled on the plastic figures from Conquest Games as the core of my force – certainly for the mounted element. There’s plenty of variety in the box, and enough for 15 figures. I need 6 for a unit of ‘mounted men-at-arms’ (Knights to you and me) and 6 more for a unit of mounted serjeants. I’ll divide them on the basis of how much armour they’re wearing and work out some colour schemes for them.

For now, I need to plough through the inevitable grind of preparing and sticking them together. The lances will generally be replaced with brass ones and I’ll add a banner or two.

First go:

 

My leader with some of his bodyguard unit of Knights:

I’ll come up with a name for him and some more background fluff in due course.
9 more to go, but I might get one painted soon just to see how they’ll look.

Simple buildings for the islands

Now I’m back from my hols, I thought I’d follow up the last post with the other naval game scenery I finished in August:

As you can guess, they’re Monopoly buildings. I picked up a cheap set without chimneys from ebay and have decided on basic clusters of 3 houses for settlements and 2 hotels for industrial or military (ie. when placed next to an airfield or harbour) centres.

A quick paint job and I’ve got 4 town and 3 industrial bases, with enough to do the same again if I decide I need them.

I just need a handful of very simple trees now!

New Islands

I’ve been meaning to make some new islands for my scratchbuilt inter-war naval games, and finally got round to it. I like the all-beach surround look so simply used 2 layers of plasticard, one painted sand colour, the other green.

They’re bare at the moment, but the flat template allows me to place on settlements, fortifications, harbours, troops, etc. I’m thinking that the odd palm tree will make them right for the pacific and the odd deciduous or fir tree will transport them to the Med or Baltic. Buildings are on the way and I’m hoping they’ll work OK.

I think I prefer this look to my older islands (below), which are textured, but the new ones are more ‘toy soldier’ and hit the spot a bit more for me nowadays.

Airbase (why they didn’t pick a bigger island is a mystery!):

Next, a test model of the Mark 2 landing craft. This holds a single infantry base. I’d like to have double the capacity but it would mean landing craft the size of transport ships, and although the scales are all over the place by necessity already, I think that would take things a bit far! A couple of old landing ‘barges’ are in the picture too for comparison. These are smaller and more non-descript but don’t carry the troops very well. I’ll probably keep both types for variety, and now just need to knock up a couple of dozen more of the new style from thin card.

 

Then I think there’ll need to be some action, so I must think up a scenario and plan a game or two..

A Return to the Renaissance

.. Specifically the 17th Century wars between the Grand Duchy of Medetia and the Kingdom of Fleurie.

It’s been a while (over 3 years as it turns out) since I last deployed these 6mm armies and played a game. The terrain was still on the table from the recently-played Franco-Prussian War battles so I decided to recycle things and change the setting from Alsace to Northern Italy. I set things up pretty randomly, aiming for a nice looking table with a few interesting features.

The key feature and focus of the scenario was the small Medetian fortification of San Michele, a watchtower positioned in the bend of the river, and currently under siege by the Fleurian army. Makeshift defences have been thrown up by the defending garrison, and they are about to receive an attack from two directions at once. Overlooking everything is the hilltop town of Belletri, surrounded by its vineyards and orchards.

With a perfect sense of timing, the main Medetian army has arrived on the scene and what was just an attempt to capture a small outpost is about to expand into a major battle. It should certainly be colourful.

No lengthy battle report, but plenty of pics (click to expand as always) and the odd caption to go with..

The battlefield and initial Fleurian deployment as they prepare their assault:

 

 

 

 

Massed Fleurian and allied cavalry:

 

The Medetians arrive with masses of their own:

 

And then there was a lot of fighting, some intense action, and gallant moments:

 

Naturally the first Medetian casualty was an important General…

Push of pike (diagonal for some reason):

 

 

Fleurian mercenary pike come up to support the cavalry:

Dragoons dismount among the vines to harry the enemy:

Reinforcements arrive, Hungarian types for Fleury:

Cossacks for Medetia:

Exiled Scots for Fleury:

The battle rages in the centre:

 

Heartened by their army’s success, the Medetian locals tool up and get stuck in, managing to bring down the newly-arrived hussar commander!

 

Finally, as the afternoon wears on, the Fleurians are exhausted and concede the field:

Leaving the fortress in the hands of its tenacious defenders:

I enjoyed this game a lot, and it wasn’t clear until the very end who was going to come out on top. The figures are now back in their storage trays, and I won’t leave it so long until next time.

Franco-Prussian War Campaign – Part 2

The action resumed this weekend, with further battles as the German III Army pushed forward on both flanks, keeping up the pressure on the French.

The campaign account continues..

6th
August: Two battles were fought on this day, at Sturzelbronn and Walburg.
The Battle of Sturzelbronn
On the northern flank the Bavarian II Korps encountered
elements of V Corps at Sturzelbronn in the foothills of the Vosges and
immediately engaged, 3rd Division following 4th Division
into action. The French began the action with their 1st Division
deployed in key positions, being successively reinforced from the south by the
tired but still spirited 2nd and 3rd Divisions who had
fought at Worth 2 days previously. The French 1st Division took
heavy casualties from massed Bavarian batteries and fell back, while both sides’
cavalry divisions were used aggressively, causing considerable disruption to
the enemy. Eventually their losses, coupled with the collapse of their left
flank (and the loss of no less than 3 generals), forced the French to cede the
field to the Bavarians and withdraw toward Bitche, and away from the rest of
MacMahon’s army.
The battlefield near Sturzelbronn, looking east:
The French 1st Division looking fairly frail as they take up their defensive positions. They’ll be casting anxious glances to the right in the hope that the rest of the Corps arrives before the Bavarian hordes do:
Naturally the Bavarians win the race, and they waste no time in forming up for an assault while their artillery masses in the centre:
Despite some stubborn resistance, the French left flank is pushed from the farm complex and the overall position is compromised:
On the other flank Bavarian Cuirassiers pin the arriving French reinforcements with a sudden charge:
Simultaneously the French cavalry had launched an attack of its own over the hill behind the Bavarian flank and chaos ensued for a while. Not standing around to be routed, the French took advantage of the confusion and withdrew to the west.
The Battle of Walburg
Meanwhile to the south MacMahon saw an opportunity to strike
a counter-blow at the over-extended German left flank, but his surprise advance
to Walburg on the Sauer by a now-concentrated 7th Corps met
unexpectedly strong opposition in the form of Prussian V Korps supported by IV
Cavalry Division. In this meeting engagement the Prussians, after careful study
of the ground, executed a very aggressive plan, launching the cavalry forward at
the outset on the left to pin back the French, allowing time and space for a
grand battery to assemble in the centre. Although the cavalry were decimated by
close range fire, the well-placed artillery did likewise to the arriving French
cavalry and reserve artillery in the centre. On the Prussian right the 9th
Division took heavy losses from Chassepot fire while getting into position for
an assault which, late in the day, put enough pressure on the French left to
compound the collapse in the centre and forced a withdrawal from the field. The
French had fought well and retreated in good order towards Hagenau, while the
Prussians were left in no condition to follow up their narrow victory.
As in previous encounter battles, the Germans chose to concentrate their strength to allow their massed batteries and infantry assaults to negate the advantage the French Chassepot would have over a wider front:
With the grand battery already formed and doing severe damage to the French, the IV Cavalry Division erupts from the woods on the flank to buy time for the infantry to assemble:
On the other flank the French fired into the masses as fast as the could, but still they came on. More Prussians attacked from the woods, turning the French position:
Once the cavalry had done its job (at great cost), the other Prussian division formed its own sledgehammer to crack the French right:
General view, as the Prussian commander re-aligns his massed Krupps:
The decisive moment, as the French centre collapses in the face of massed shellfire and the arrival of the Prussian infantry on the hill (despite the latter having taken severe casualties in the process):
Final positions, with too few French left holding the line. Their flanks had held to this point, but a general retreat was ordered when the centre gave way:
The campaign was reaching its climax then. With French losses
mounting and the advancing Germans splitting the Army of Alsace, MacMahon would
be forced to pull back to re-group for what might be a final stand. Although he’d
lost contact with the retreating 5th Corps, which would now come
under the control of the equally beleaguered main army to the west, he still
had 1st and 7th Corps reasonably concentrated and with a
few days’ rest they should be able to put up a decent fight if suitable ground
could be found for a battle. Staff officers hastened west to identify the
Position Magnifique upon which the defence of Alsace would depend.
Crown Prince Frederick William received the reports of the two
battles with some relief, neither action having been sanctioned, or expected,
at the start of the day. His two Corps commanders had acted aggressively however,
and secured victories which gained important positions and served to split the
enemy army. Despite the cost, the campaign was progressing well and, while
orders went out to halt the advance and for the army to re-group, the Prince
gathered his commanders and staff to plan the final act in the battle for
Alsace…
Situation at the end of 6th
August:

The rotated counters denote the formations that fought on the 6th.

We’re looking forward to a grand finale at the next session. 🙂

Franco-Prussian War Campaign

The Franco-Prussian War began today, with some initial map moves and a couple of frontier battles fought in 6mm. Simon is playing the Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, commander of German III Army tasked with crossing the border into Alsace and defeating the French defenders under Marshal MacMahon (me).

 

Campaign Account
 
Opening Clashes
(12/07/2015)
 
1st August
1870: III Army crossed the border and attacked the French 2nd
Division (of 1st Corps) stationed at Wissembourg. The lead divisions
of Prussian V Korps and Bavarian II Korps pushed forward, the former taking much
heavier casualties than the latter during the battle. The French were
reinforced by 1st Division from the south and by a brigade from 5th
Corps stationed to the west. These arrivals helped to stabilise the collapsing
position of the beleaguered 2nd Division, but only long enough to
allow the inevitable retreat to be conducted with some degree of order. The
German artillery, massed in large batteries, dominated the battlefield and
successive French formations were pulverized on coming into action. The
French withdrew south to Soultz, retreating further when Prussian XI Korps
followed up after the battle.
The Battle of Wissembourg:
The initial French positions, somewhat scattered and with the Bavarians already marching into Wissembourg:
Reinforcements arrive to prop up the French left flank:
On the opposite side of the field, Prussian dragoons form up in the woods to threaten the French right flank..
While massed Prussian battalions storm over the railway line:
French cavalry charge into the flank of the Bavarians as they debouch from Wissembourg, and in a relatively bloodless fight tumble them back again, relieving pressure on the defenders for a few precious minutes:
2nd August:
V Korps remained at Wissembourg for two days to recover, while the much less
molested Bavarian II Korps moved west to Lembach to protect the right flank of
the advancing German army. The Baden Division followed XI Korps, although its
Wurttemberg allies were slow in rousing themselves to cross the border, as was
Bavarian I Korps which was held in reserve due to its relative lack of campaign
readiness at the outset of the war. IV Cavalry Division moved up through
Wissembourg and Soultz to be in place to support the rest of the army’s advance
south.
3rd August:
Other French formations were beginning to converge on the forces retreating from
Wissembourg, the remaining 2 divisions of 1st Corps concentrating at
Hagenau, and elements of 5th Corps coming down from the eastern
slopes of the Vosges towards Sturzelbronn and Reichshoffen. 7th Corps
was beginning to entrain further south nearer Belfort, ordered by Marshal
MacMahon to come north to reinforce the worsening situation. The Baden Division
probed as far as Walburg, with an unidentified French screen withdrawing in
front of them.
4th August:
Taking the lead towards the south west, XI Korps approached Worth, where to the
north of the town they encountered a French force assembled  from 1st Corps’ 3rd
Division and, eventually,  three brigades
from 5th Corps that had moved forward overnight on orders from the
Marshal. In a bend of the river Sauer the close terrain forced the two armies
together into a hard-fought battle. Repeated French spoiling attacks and counter-attacks
delayed and, in places, even pushed back the Prussians whose left flank could
make little headway until events unfolded on the right. Here, the 4th
Cavalry Division came up in the afternoon and pushed past the open French left,
threatening the road west to Reichshoffen.  In the centre a very powerful central
artillery line was established, comprising no less than a dozen batteries which
systematically destroyed the French centre and reserves. With their flank and
rear threatened and the Prussians preparing to renew their assault along the
line, the French used their remaining intact units to cover their retreat and
break off the battle.
The Battle of Worth:
The Prussian XI Korps deployed aggressively and attacked in a well-organised manner. From the outset the French were hard put to protect their lines of communication.
Once again, French cavalry bravely deny the enemy space and time to deploy. Although this was an early sacrifice of much of the cavalry division, by the end of the battle it had brought dividends in terms of the delay it had caused the enemy’s central attack:
The dastardly German commander plots his attack. I can apologise for the sunny, washed out appearance of the photos, but not for the sartorial elegance:
French infantry make a final counter-attack to hold back the enemy, it was just enough to buy time for the retreat:
The Prussian IV Cavalry Division pins down the French left wing and the defenders know it’s time to fall back before they’re cut off:

 

5th August:
With their stout defence at Worth just sufficient to protect both of their
possible lines of retreat, the French chose to fall back to the west, in the
direction of the main army and to maintain communications with the rest of
France. This had the potential of splitting the Army of Alsace, with the rest
still to the south east and the Germans in a position to exploit their central
position between them.
Positions as of the end of the 5th August, with the rotated counters donating the units which fought the battle near Worth:

Hopefully there’ll be a chance to progress the campaign soon.

Insulation Foam Walls Test

I have plans to make some simple ruins for the Frostgrave fantasy game setting, and for other 28mm gaming purposes. I will mix and match between bought stuff (mainly MDF) and scratchbuilt. For the latter I’ve decided to try XPS insulation foam board, so I ordered some sheets in 6mm and 10mm thicknesses to have a go with.

So far I’ve only managed a few minutes with this material – which involved snapping off a small piece from the 6mm sheet and etching some stonework on one side with a biro. This was much easier and quicker than I expected and I slapped on some undercoat and a couple of grey drybrushes to see what it would look like painted.

I’m happy enough with the results and look forward to trying some proper pieces, L-shapes, etc, with the 10mm material.

Before:

After:

I don’t have particularly grand architectural plans, I just want some wall ruins, with some window and door openings and a few partial upstairs floors to get a bit of height on the table. I think I need a quiet Sunday to really get going on this, but that may be a while away as things stand.

The ease with which this material can be carved has given me some other project ideas, so I may see if thinner sheets are available too.

Some Fantasy Dabbling

It’s been a bit quiet on the Medetian front of late, caused by the usual excuses of a busy time at work and lots of other commitments. Still, I’ve managed a few bits of effort here and there – mostly around something new (which of course I need like a hole in the head..)

For quite a while now I’ve been thinking about trying to find a way of playing some fantasy games, based on a party of adventurers and some linked dungeon-crawls – you know the sort of thing. There are lots of games out there for this type of thing, including boardgames and board/figure cross-over games, etc. I hadn’t done a lot of research and was even thinking of designing something myself (and was a bit put off by the idea of having to obtain lots of floorplans or 3D dungeon scenery), so nothing was really happening with this idea. Then along came Frostgrave, which looks very nicely done, and likely to be spot on for me.

I have a reasonable head-start with stuff for this, including winter/snow terrain boards (although I appreciate that you can ignore this element of the background and set your games in any type of setting), buildings (although more on that later) – and lots of old figures from D&D and Rolemaster days.

I had a bit of nostalgic fun looking through these veteran figures from the ’80s and selected the most suitable for use with Frostgrave. They’d need re-painting but doing them one at a time should be quite good fun, so I’ve re-undercoated and re-based some. Where they were slotta based, I’ve done some fudging to get them onto 2p coins. I haven’t decided on the basing style yet, in terms of surface texture and painting, so for now I’m just giving them a smoothing coat of plaster to make things match.

Initially I’m working on two parties (referred to as Warbands in the game), one ‘good’ and one ‘evil’ in style. This is just for fun really, and to differentiate between the figures in a reasonably logical way. I’ve also got quite a few suitable monsters and other nasties that might be encountered, so should be able to get some early games in (when my pre-ordered rulebook arrives) without too much work.

The first few done:

 

Good old traditional adventurer types will fit into the henchmen categories, and a wizard with a pointy hat and staff will always be useful:

A Wizard and Apprentice team:

GW Empire Militia kit bashing. Lots of potential in these figures, from the 12 I had on sprues I’ve managed to make (in Frostgrave terms) 6 Thugs, 2 Infantrymen, 1 Archer, 1 Crossbowman, 1 Tracker and a Thief:

Of which two have been painted so far:

More old figure candidates for a possible repaint (not that I’m really likely to need more, but hey):

Some treasure markers to paint (Fenris Games):

Ideas on scenery next..

 

New Boats from Partizan

In the limited browsing/shopping time I had at Partizan I did manage to pick up a few bits and pieces, including some ready-based S&A hedges and treasure chests from Fenris.

I also added to my growing collection of 28mm boats, with a couple from Empress Miniatures and one from Coritani. Both types are excellent – a bit bigger than the ones I’ve got, and good value too (Empress £10 and Coritani £8). Everything is resin except for the Coritani mast, which is wooden.

I’ve now got them painted up, which was a simple job and done to match my other related stuff. The two from Empress are very suitable as ship’s boats or launches, and the Coritani one comes with a mast and some stowage.

The seats come out of the bigger boats, to allow more figures/cargo, etc, to fit in. Very handy. I’ve also left the mast and stowage loose for the other boat so that I can use them in different ways.

 

I’m very happy with them, they’re handy additions for river and coast-based skirmishes, and suitable for a wide spread of periods.