GdB, and Some Painting Progress

Haven't played a game in a while now - not since my Blucher BatRep I did over on YouTube. However, I have been reading up on the General de Brigade (GdB) rules. Although I am not new to the system I have never really sat and read through the rules. SO far I am very impressed. Although somewhat complex in certain areas, it has a very Napoleonic feel to it - nothing generic about these rules! As to be expected really. Coupled with the fact the rules are of a tactical nature, they could quite easily become my "go to" set of rules for Napoleonics! GDB is now on my list of games to play next - working on setting up a BatRep as I speak in fact.

I also finally finished off another unit of Cossacks, not to mention the four French limbers. I tried texturing the bases of the Cossacks a little different this time around. Instead of hiding the models bases with spackle/joint compound I tried using a mix of PVA white glue with some sand/grit mixed in. not a new method in the hobby, but a method I myself never really tried. I made a relatively thick paste from this. When thick enough I covered the bases with a good layer of it, hiding the bases of the models and adding some natural looking texture to the wood bases they sat on. Not too bas in the end - it dried very quickly and didn't lose shape. A few hours later I was able to finish the bases off completely with various flocks. I liked the results overall and I didn't have to wait too long to finish off the bases entirely. I will be using this method in the future whenever I don't have my trusted spackle.





Fresh Anti-shine came in to finish off my Cossacks. I also picked up some
blue/white dice for my French :)





A look at the limbers and Cossacks after giving them a wash/dip.



 

The completed French limbers along with some guns and extra crew. The limbers turned out really well and I plan on making lots more for both sides in the 1812-14 campaigns.

 

The Cossacks also turned out well. The PVA/sand mix worked out really well for texturing the bases. The four closes in the picture are the newest additions



Next up on the work table, I will be putting together some ideas for the camp I am planning - see my earlier post. I already have the (very) thin card I will be using for the various tents. But I also want some other bits as well, such as musket stacks, camp-fires, wagons, etc. So I may have to look around a bit more.

 

For painting, I will definitely be working on some more Russian cavalry. At the moment I have another unit of heavy cavalry and perhaps some more hussar. The French will be getting some units of Swiss as well! I am really looking forward to adding some red-coated infantry to the otherwise sea of blue & white.

 

Swiss!

 

Until net time my friends...

 

~K

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some New Units Started, Camps, and Basing in GdB

Well, winding down now after a pretty active week of wargaming. Had a great time playing some Blucher set in 1812 Russia. A French force - including Lannes, who died in 1809 actually - vs. a Russian army led by Kutuzov himself. Great battle. I won't spoil the outcome as I did make a video of the BatRep which you can find here at this link. In addition, I also managed to get in some Paint & Chats this week with some of the other Tabletop Commanders.

French advance on a Russian held village.

One thing I have been debating is how I will go about basing my Russians for use in General de Brigade. As some of you may know, Russians are mounted on wider bases with more figs than the French. I included some pics below. Currently all of my Russian infantry are mounted just like my French. Being a purist of sorts leads me to ponder how I will handle this. I really do love the idea of the Russians on wider bases (and fewer bases in all compared to the French battalion - sounds old school because, well... it is old school :) Still not sure where to go with this. But I am quite keen on mounting on the bigger bases. GdB is a really wonderful set of rules and I am pretty sure I will be playing a lot of games using them. However, if I do so, I then need to figure out what to so with the Russian infantry I already have based. So, I will ponder more. Any ideas, feel free to let me know what you think.

Miniatures I am currently working on in the PAINT & CHATS. Mostly all
Russians except for the French limbers.

The basing for French infantry in GdB is exactly how I base my miniatures now - although I use more figures.

Russian base sizes for GdB. My current basing uses smaller bases - same as my French.

Another project I am planning on starting soon is that involving making a camp - tents and what not - for my armies. Been looking up all kinds of pics on the net for these. I will be making these by hand of course, so any information I can find would be great. More on this project later. Needless to say, I am very excited to add a camp. All those fun little tents, flags show staff tents, perhaps some camp follower wagons, etc., will just be  a nice add to any battle.



The Russians advance to a crest line where some well hidden French lie in wait.

The French prepare to bombard the village prior to an assault.

Again, if you are interested in watching the video of the Blucher BatRep I did this week, just click this link here and it will take you to the video over on YouTube. I also made a lot more videos for Blucher and other rules, so check out my channel too :)

Till next time...

~K

My Experiences so far with Horse & Musket Era Wargaming

Well, it has been just over six months now since branching out in to Napoleonic wargaming. Like I have said before, Napoleonic history is nothing new to me, but wargaming it is. I have learned many things about the tactics and doctrines, dress and motivations of the armies - especially the 1812 era French and Russians. It has been a great learning experience to be sure. However, I have also learned something about myself; my hobby interests. For one, I have discovered that this period/era has tickled my imagination like no other to date. I am not quite sure why this is really. Perhaps it has something to do with all the recorded drama I have at my fingertips - all the great historical references and such. Not that the other periods I am interested in are devoid of such. For some reason this era has caught my imagination like no other. Secondly, it has made me consider periods outside Napoleonics but still within the historical horse & musket era - the American War of Independence (AWI) for one. The AWI is an era that has always been part of my life, having grown up in a colonial home, being saturated with the Bi-centennial celebrations of 1976, and being directly involved with Colonial reenactment through fairs and such - my mom was very active in such events. I collected tons of little  toy soldiers of the AWI as well, and oh boy did I fight some awesome battles! All in all, this whole Napoleonic project has really opened me up to a whole new set of experiences within the hobby of wargaming. In fact, I have already began working on my next big project - yes, the American War of Independence! I recently started a new blog called Flint & Feather Wargaming, which will cover my journey through the early wars in America during the 18- early 19th century. But I won't get too deep in to that project here as this blog is all about the European conflicts of the horse & musket period.

Russians advance.

As for Napoleonics itself I have really had a blast so far. Trying out all kinds of rules sets, exploring the different conflicts and armies, as well as the major characters of the wars, has been amazing. I have a lot of friends to thank as well for adding to my inspiration. Many of my fellow gamers interested in the era were always quick to help me out with small details on uniforms or battles. I am really thankful for these guys. I often find myself relaxing from a long day by just setting down at my wargame table and having a go. No points, no real scenario, just moving my little guys about engaging in battle. Perhaps it is just the newness of this period for me. Maybe; maybe not.

French deploying with the rise of the sun.

 At the moment, I am looking to deepen my knowledge of the 1812-1814 campaigns, on land and sea. So many great books and references out there. For rules, well, my quest for my "go-to" set continues. I have tried a number of them so far, most finding a permanent place on my bookshelf. However, I have yet to try them all, and still the quest continues. General de Brigade  holds a lot of promise at the moment however. I pretty much have discovered that the tactical level of battles - that is where battalions are the basic unit, and formations changes rules the day - is where my main interest seems to be. As much as I love the grand sweep of divisions and corps on the battlefield, it is in fact the lower level of detail that gets me inspired the most. The "in your face" level of combat is just so exciting to me during this period. So, onwards I go. Lots of exciting rules yet to try.

Again, the French move out in the early morning hours. Battle awaits.

Anyway, just though I would post some of my observations on my experiences so far. I am pretty excited to be exploring the hobby again. Bottom line is that I am loving this period a great deal. So stay tuned my friends. More goodness is to come.

~K

March Attack and Other Bits

Over the past couple of weeks I not only managed to finish off a four stand unit of irregular Cossacks but also had a great time playing a setoff rules called March Attack, by Crusader Publishing. This battle was pretty big and used most of my collection so far. Played on my standard 6' x 4' table using the mixed ground Cigar Box mat I really enjoy.

Saxon and French columns assault the Russian defenders.

My Russian Cossacks as well as some other minis I finished off recently :)

The rules worked out really well with divisions moving under various orders to capture objectives, defend objectives and otherwise lend support to each other. One aspect of the rules is that it allows for large battles at the battalion level - in other words your basic unit on the tabletop are battalions. The rules have an almost perfect balance between large scale grand tactics, and small scale battalion tactics - there are unit formations like column, line, and square that can be adopted.

Bloody fighting at a farm defended by the Russians. The small red dice are used to track current CV levels - the
combat value of units.

 All in all I really enjoyed the battle. It played very quickly and I caught on to the rules after only a couple of turns in. Granted, the rules seem confusing and look cumbersome but really they are not. The concepts are actually very easy to grasp and the rules are indeed well explained and written. Take note however, these rules may not be to every ones taste. There is no point system or army lists, and the rules do make use of written orders for divisions - which I really like and use with all my SOLO games anyway. They do force you to plan ahead and come up with a plan something I feel is critical in SOLO gaming.

The Russian defenders are reinforced!

I will be playing these rules again for sure. I do have to admit however, I am more of a fan of the gritty tactical level with BIG unit sizes - March Attack units are only two stands in size! SO no, these are not likely to become my go to set of rules at the moment. Yes, the quest continues. However, I must admit that I really am enjoying the Black Powder rules at the moment. Very fun and has some nice details.

The fighting was brutal but the French and Saxons managed to break the defenders after a long fight.

French under Davout assault the heights defended by a division of Russian grenadiers.

Russian and French columns about to collide.

Units in March Attack are two stands in size, allowing you to represent column, square, or line formations.

Some Plans for the NEW Year

Well, after some adventures with my Napoleonics (which I am quite happy with at the moment) I am itching to get going with some plans for my ancients hobby. First up I have quite a ways to go expanding my Gaul and Polybian Roman armies. I try and add a new unit for both every week or so, and so far so good. The painting continues.





Some of my completed ancient armies.

Hosting some LIVE plays over on the Tabletop Commanders has been a blast. Recently I did some Blucher games and learned a lot about how to improve the quality of the videos. For those not in the know, a LIVE play is a game session played LIVE over Google+ Hangouts. For more on this check out the Tabletop Commanders link here on my blog. Anyway, I will be planning a Basic Impetvs battle next month for everyone. Been a while since I last played this awesome system. Although L'Art de la Guerre  is my rules of choice for ancients wargaming, Impetvs will always have a place on my bookshelf. Regardless, stay tuned for that as I will have more information on the details of the event - and results - later.
Another thing I want to finish is my last DBA campaign between the Gauls and the Romans. If you check my past posts here on the blog you will notice I never got around to finishing that last campaign - I think we did two battles so far? Anyway, I definitely want to pick that up soon as well. That campaign, by the way, is a playtest of our two-player campaign rules we have been working on. You can find the latest version of that in the files section here on the blog.

As far as what NEW projects I want to get to this year, I am not so sure. My options are plentiful, that's for sure. I still want to build some NEW armies for the early dark ages, as well as some early Greek stuff. However, first up will be the period that has my attention the most, which is the early republican Roman ear. I already have a start on Later Seleucids and Numidians, two armies which I will be expanding soon. Carthaginians and more Successors (Ptolemaics and/or Macedonians?) will eventually be in the works as well. But again, my hands are full with my current plans, so I will not get ahead of myself yet. Oh, and there is of course my massive re-basing of my Feudal English armies as well! As many of you might know, all these miniatures were mounted for Impetvs. However, I have since lost faith with that mounting system - the bases are just too big and clumsy for me as I like lots of terrain on the table. SO now I am re-basing everything over to the DBx standard. This will take some time.

King Henry III of England: mounted and ready for battle!

Some of my Impetvs based feudal English in need of re-basing.

So there it is; plans for the year - or at least the coming few months. I hope you all stay tuned as I get more and more done and add some awesome content to the blog.