Royal Ecossais Second Wave

And on the last day of the year 2018, I'm posting the completion of the 2nd wave of the Gallian Regiment Royal Ecossais.  These figures have been waiting for four years to be completely outfitted.

These are from Old Glory's Jacobite range.  The flag they are carrying is the colonel's "white" flag blazoned with the Scottish thistle and French fleur de lis.  They join their compatriots of the "First Wave."  There will be a "Third Wave" next year as I outfit the grenadier company and the picquet company.

The complete regiment will see their first action on Saturday, January 19, 2019, as part of the Gallian contingent to the Imperial Armeeabteilung Kreis Obere-Sachsen.

I hope that everyone had a blessed and merry Christmas and that you will have a prosperous new year!

Almost Year-End Wrap-up

Christmas brought some gaming items:

An early war squad of 28mm British infantry from Warlord and an early war squad of 28mm Germans from Artizan Designs, both of which will be used as my "contribution" for our group's WW2 skirmish action.

A Great War Miniatures WW1 British artillery crew for my British 18-lbr I obtained several years ago which will be part of my Very British Civil War gaming.

Also for VBCW, a Warlord improvised armored car, the "Malcom-Campbell" which I just had to add as those are my two middle names!

It has a resin body and white metal wheels, bumpers, and half-rifles.  This will be a nice little addition to my VBCW forces.

And two books - The Komnene Dynasty, Byzantium's Struggle for Survival: 1057-1185 by John Carr and A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution by Craig L. Symonds.  Both should make interesting reading.

I've not completed as much painting this month as I wanted, mainly due to a nagging cough from a month-long flare up of my allergic rhinitis.  It has robbed me of my stamina later in the day.  I did remount some pre-painted 25mm MiniFig Wurttemburg troops (a battalion of line infantry and a battalion of light infantry) as well as painted a few figures to complete their organization.  they were used in a fictional 1813 battle preceding Leipzig that pitted a retreating French force and their pursuing Prussians.

As a result of that game, I spent several days going through my 25mm Napoleonic French and Prussian forces and laying out a schema of painting next year to try and complete some of the commands.  As part of that inventory I redid my Napoleon command group by removing a mounted escort (needed him elsewhere), changing Napoleon's horse (also needed elsewhere), and adding two Old Guard escorts (who were extra figures).  The result:

Napoleon, with his faithful Mameluke Roustam, an ADc on foot, and a sergeant and grenadier of the Old Guard keeping close watch.  All of the figures are Miniature Figurines except Roustam's horse which is a Warrior figure.  Roustam himself is an earlier MiniFig casting while all the others are later MiniFigs castings.

I'm still hoping to get 24 more Royal Ecossais figures completed by the 31st.  If so, I'll make them my last post of the year.

Here's hoping everyone had a blessed and merry Christmas and will have a prosperous New Year!

Mystery Napoleonic (?) Figures

I'm trying to identify the manufacturer of these Napoleonic (I think) figures.  They are "true" 25mm figures cast in lead, not pewter.  I got the group of three officers and 16 soldiers a number of years ago but as far as I can recall the seller didn't know the manufacturer.

MYSTERY SOLVED

Thanks to the help I received on TMP, I went looking for the Frontier Miniatures line.  Now evidently out of production, I did find some "no longer in stock" groups of Frontier figures on the Noble Knight Games site.  Once I looked at the pictures, I realized this is where I procured them.  And as others guessed, they do appear to be Crimean War figures.  But I'll probably still use them as Prussian landwehr.

Thanks to everyone who helped over on TMP!!

Officer and soldier

Number engraved on bottom

I think both figures are Napoleonic Prussian landwehr.  Both have the letters "CW" and a number [3 for the officer and 11 for the soldier] engraved on the bottom.

Any help would be appreciated since I'd like to get some more if they are still available.

Many thanks!!

Carpanian Regiment Clausthaler

I just added a new battalion to my Seven Years War imagi-nations forces, the Carpanian Regiment Clausthaler, named after a German beer.  It is patterned after the real-world Prussian Regiment Braunschweig-Bevern (#7).  The only distinctive change I made was to substitute a more redder "rose" for the pink rose listed on the Kronoskaf web site.

The figures are 28mm Old Glory SYW Prussian infantry and the flags are from the Warflag web site.  The battalion, like all my SYW imagi-nations forces, is organized for Bill Protz's "Batailles de l'Ancien Regime" (BAR) rule set.

Please click on the photos for a larger image.

Configured in two "companies" with three ranks each per the BAR rules.

Configured in a two-deep single line for use with other horse and musket rule sets.

Next month I hope to add another two companies to the Gallian (read French) Regiment Royal Ecossais.

Union Reinforcements

I'm continuing to slowly add to my 15mm American Civil War forces, this time some Union elements.  My ACW focus is central Tennessee with the Union XIV Corps of the Army of the Cumberland facing a modified Hardee's Corps of the Army of Tennessee.

Please click on the photographs for an enlarged image.

The figures are all 15mm Old Glory miniatures.  The units are organized for the "On to Richmond" rules.

Major General George Thomas' command group, XIV Corps

Brig Gen Absalom Baird, 1st Division command group, XIV Corps, and his division artillery
(4th Indiana Battery and H/5th US Artillery, armed with rifled guns)

Brig Gen John Starkweather's 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XIV Corps
(24th Ill, 79th Penn, and 1st and 21st Wisc Regiments)

More will slowly be added.

Royal Ecossais Regiment

Finally after almost four years, I've finally finished the first two 12-figure "companies" of the Royal Ecossais Regiment ( link ).  And they look just as good as I hoped they would!

They are the Old Glory Jacobite range figures with everyone wearing a bonnet.  The flag of this "battalion" is the ordnance color with its dark blue field adorned by the thistle and fleur de lis.

As I stated in my 2015 post, they are organized in 12-figure companies for Bill Protz's "Batailles de l'Ancien Regime" (BAR) rules.

This "battalion" will join my Gallian army detachment that is part of the Reichsarmeeabteilung Obere Sachsen (Imperial Army Detachment Upper Saxony).

I still have another two-company "battalion" plus the grenadier and piquet companies to paint.  Gives me something to do and keeps me off the streets.

No More an Unknown Soldier

Some months ago, I purchased a batch of Franco-Prussian War figures that included 24 painted Prussian infantry mounted four to a stand.  I had never seen this type of sculpt but I figured that they were an older sculpting just from the more slender appearance.

Unfortunately the bases were too big for the rule set I use, Chassepot and Needlegun.  So I was forced to soak and separate the figures from the bases, which went without any problems.  Once the figures were cleaned of glue and flocking, I searched for any markings.

Here is a picture of one of the infantrymen showing the round base.  There were no markings on bottom of the base but there was something engraved on the top.

As I looked at all of the bases, there were several where the base color had remained in the etching.

And lo, almost like the "One Ring," I could discern the word "Willie."  These were vintage Willie figures!!

So now I have a battalion of Willie German infantry.  With a little judicious repainting, mainly the cuffs, they have become the 2nd Battalion, 1st Hessian Infantry Regiment, Lieb Garde, of the 49th Infantry Brigade, 25th Ducal Hessian Infantry Division, IX Corps.  Their compatriot 1st Battalion is composed of vintage 1" Scruby figures.  And being the Lieb Garde, it is only fitting that both battalions be composed of such vintage figures.

Gotha Raid on a Bridge

Lats Thursday several of the retired Jackson Gamers gathered for our weekly lunch and game.  This time we again flew the "unfriendly" skies of war-torn Europe using my Wings of War/Wings of Glory airplanes.  The scenario originally was for two German Gotha bombers to raid targets behind the allied lines with six allied two-seaters operating in defense.  But I only had enough maneuver cards for three allied planes so I reduced the bomber strength to one.

The bomber (flown by me) had a choice of two targets.  I chose the bridge which was only "protected" by one allied fighter.  It was an interesting mission as I overflew my turn-in point for the bomb run and had to make a different approach.  I think that mistake sealed my doom as you'll see below.

We had a plethora of engine's smoking and catching fire on both sides as well as many machine guns jamming.

As usual, please click on the pictures for a larger image.

After making the turn toward the bridge target, my Gotha is pursued by two enemy fighters.

After the successful bombing run, I head for home, pursued by all three enemy fighters.  "Ace" pilot Lord Sterling (red shirt) ruefully considers the consequences of allowing the Gotha to get away.

But I didn't.  The Belgian "ace" Russ shot me down just before I could cross the front lines.

Having missed my turn-in point was my downfall.  That extra set of maneuvering I had to do was what sealed my doom.  But it was a fun and exciting game especially as machine guns jammed just at the worst (or best for the traget's point of view) times.  At one time I had both my forward and aft guns jammed for a series of three maneuver cards.

Killing the Wako

Last Saturday, five of the Jackson Gamers met at Russ' house for a samurai game using his magnificently painted 25/28mm figures.  Russ had set up a scenario where a local daimyo's forces were attacking a wako (pirate) base.  Three of us controlled the daimyo's forces and two controlled the pirates.

My command, on the right flank, consisted of six ashigaru units, five with melee weapons and one with bows.  We used a highly modified samurai warfare version of the venerable "Rules by Ral."

Here are a few pictures I took using the camera on my phone.  They are not the best since I have an inexpensive phone (not really needing anything better).  I had forgotten to bring my regular camera.

My command marches forward towards the wako village.

My target was a small stretch of wattle wall just to the right of the main gate.

But we were distracted by a couple of ambushes.  On my right one of my ashigaru units spotted some pirates hiding in rough terrain.  They got the jump and charged me but my men fought them off and forced them to fall back.  I followed up and destroyed those pirates.

While on my left a group of armed peasants tried the same thing but, seeing my staunch fellows, couldn't get up the nerve to attack.  My ashigaru charged them and they wouldn't stand, fleeing to the rear.  My men followed them through the rough terrain and scattered them completely.  That's two enemy units destroyed!

After my bowmen had softened up the defenders, I launched my first attack.  I could only fit one unit at a time into the attack.  My first unit didn't do so well, eventually losing all but two men  and fleeing to the rear after the unit's samurai leader was killed in the attack.

My next unit didn't do so well either, losing its samurai leader and half the ashigaru.  But the defenders had been whittled down.  Maybe my next attack would be successful.

But my third attack was also unsuccessful though this unit's leader wasn't killed.  They would rally and come back to support my final attacks.

My final attack killed two of the last four defenders but lost five of their own.  I still had another complete unit to throw in when the pirates, realizing further resistance was futile, threw down their weapons.

While I was involved attacking on the right flank, my two compatriots launched their attacks on the center and left.  The center force consisted of two mounted and three foot samurai units and aimed for the main gate.  The left flank force had the same composition as mine.  Both ran into ambushes but successfully fought them off.  Their attacks finally went in and destroyed almost all the pirates causing the game to be called.

We had a good game, especially using Russ' exquisite figures and his wonderful terrain.  Russ is a retired college art professor and has a deft hand with a paint brush.  We always enjoy his games.

September American Revolution Painting

As I stated in my August American Revolution painting post, I only had two more units to paint in this current batch of figures.  They were the Loyalist 3rd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers and the American 6th Virginia State Line Regiment.  The latter is a speculative unit designation.

As usual, please click on the pictures to get a larger image.

The 3rd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers, is a Loyalist unit that saw action both around New York city and in the south so it gives me different battle options.  They are wearing the earlier green coat.  The figures are all Custom Cast.  With white facings the battalion carries a British-style white regimental color.

The 6th Virginia State Line Regiment is a speculative unit designation although Virginia did have a number of state line regiments.  The uniforms are a mix of two of the different French coats and pants mixes that were provided to them as well as some brown dyed British coats.  The figures are a mix of vintage Scruby Miniatures, older Miniature Figurines, and Custom Cast.  Even though two of the 3-figure stands are wearing light infantry regalia, the entire unit is a standard line infantry battalion.  The flag is a speculative one based on the Virginia seal.

And I thought that I would again show the method that I use to identify each unit.  I developed a Word table form that has one row of cells containing just the unit identification that is just tall enough to cover the back of each stand and then a row of cells that is almost as wide as the stand and contains the unit designation, the manufacturer of the figures, and the month and year in which they were painted.

The British, German, and Loyalist units have red unit labels while the Americans have blue unit labels.

The labels are arranged in thin and then thick rows.  After printing, I cut them apart, remembering not to separate the two parts of the label.  I score the dividing line and fold the label, then glue it to the base with standard PVA  (Elmer's) glue.

Next up in October are more "companies" for the Gallian (French) Royale Ecossais Regiment and, hopefully, two small Carpanian (Prussian) battalions for my Imagi-Nations armies.

"A Bridge Not Too Far"

Several weeks ago a small group of the Jackson Gamers joined in a Wings of War/Wings of Glory WW1 aerial game.  I decided to give one of my newly acquired "giants" an outing.  A Caproni bomber, escorted by two SPAD XIIIs was to bomb a bridge behind German lines to disrupt the flow of enemy reinforcements and supplies to a crucial section of the front.  The Germans spotted the approaching giant and scrambled four Albatross D-Vs to engage the bomber.  The ensuing action was captured by an Allied photo reconnaissance aircraft.

The Caproni and one of its SPAD XIII escorts in the foreground and the four German Albatross in the background.

As an Albatross draws a bead on the Caproni, so does its rear gunner on the Albatross.  Unfortunately the Albatross' machine guns jam!

And down the Albatross goes under the deadly fire from the Caproni's rear gunner.  Unfortunately the Caproni took some hits from another Albatross which wounded its rear gunner.

The SPADs engage the Albatrosses as the Caproni lumbers toward the target,

Reaching the bridge, the Caproni releases its bomb load, but its aim was a little off and it only crated the far side approaches to the bridge.  By this time the front gunner had also been wounded and the Caproni couldn't return any fire on the annoying Albatrosses.

One of the SPADs shoots down another Albatross as the Caproni, with an engine on fire, returns to the dubious safety of the Allied lines.

This was the first outing with a heavy bomber.  Although the target was missed, at least two of the German fighters were shot down.  I think that with more "practice" the bomb aimer can do a better job.

August American Revolution Painting

Three more units joined my American Revolution armies during August, two American and one Hessian.

Please click on the pictures for an enlarged image.

This is the Hessian Grenadier Battalion von Lengerke, composed of the grenadier companies from the regiments Prinz Karl, Wutginau, von Donop, and von Trumbach.  They will join the Grenadier Battalion von Linsingen (see July painting post) and two yet to be painted British grenadier battalions to form the Grenadier Brigade commanded by British Colonel O'Hara.
They are a combination of Miniature Figurines, Custom Cast, and Grenadier figures.

This is the 14th Continental Regiment, originally organized by John Glover of Massachusetts as "Glover's Marbelheaders."  Although they didn't last long in reality (summer 1775 until December 1776), they will form part of the regular core of my Continental army.  The hand-painted Pine Tree flag is speculative for this unit.
They are Miniature Figurines "Marblehead" figures, except for the officer which is a standard MiniFig AWI officer.

And finally, this unit replicates my interpretation of Smallwood's Maryland Regiment.  Although for most of their active service they were clad in hunting smocks, I'm showing them in their Continental best.  The flag is purely speculative, based on some images of surviving Maryland revolutionary flags and the heraldic colors of the Calvert family.  Before and during the Revolutionary War, the Calvert heraldic colors were associated with Maryland.  The stripes are hand-painted while the central blazon was printed, sized, and glued on the flag.
They are Custom Cast figures, 15 metal and 3 plastic.  Yes, I said Custom Cast plastic figures.

These are two of the Custom Cast figures I used.  Can you tell which is plastic and which is metal?

Well, the one on the left is plastic while the one on the right is metal.  Both bear the Custom Cast imprint on the base.

I do not know who actually made the plastic copies of the Custom Cast metal figures.  I got them as part of a large acquisition of figures from a well-known miniature gamer.  The others included gunners and various poses of regular and militia infantry, all matching metal Custom Cast figures.

Only two more units to paint, the 3rd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers (Loyalist) and the 6th Virginia State Line (American, with speculative unit designation).  After that I'll take a break from the American Revolution and either get back to my Seven Years War imagi-nation 28mm figures or my American Civil War 15mm figures.

Flying the (Not So) Friendly Skies

Col Campbell has gone into the aeronautics business, obtaining a large horde of Wings of War/Wings of Glory WW1 aircraft.  I ran my first game last Saturday with some of our gaming club.  There were six players (3 Allied and 3 German) who each controlled two fighters.  After a brief "basic pilot's school" they went to "Fly the Friendly Skies" of 1918 France.

Here are some of the pictures I took during the game.  Please click on them to get a larger image.

A British Sopwith Snipe smokes after taking fire from a German Albatros.

The "Red Baron" dodges Rickenbacker's SPAD XIII while another Albatros seeks a foe.

One of the first casualties, a British Sopwith Snipe

Planes speeding by each other as they try to outmaneuver the foe.

Rene Fonck's SPAD XIII goes down.

More swirling planes trying to get a bead on the foe.

The Allies are starting to look outnumbered in this "furball"

And Rickenbacker goes down with an engine fire and severe rudder damage.

It was a learning game for everyone, including me as game master, but everyone seemed to have fun trying to outfly their opponents.

We'll definitely be trying this again, maybe using either some 2-seaters in a light bombing or recon role or some of the "giant" bombers I got.

July's American Revolution Additions

Well, I fell a little short in painting this month due to various and sundry real-life issues.  But I did get all of my artillery gunners, guns, and a limber painted as well as another Continental regiment.

As usual, please click on the pictures to get a larger image.

The 16th Massachusetts Regiment is composed of Miniature Figurines from several different countries.  The firing figures are a mix of pre-1780 and post-1780 Continentals, British, Brunswick dragoon, and French.  I figured I could use all of them since the Americans would get whatever uniforms they could.  The Pine Tree flag is from War Flags and is a purely speculative use for this regiment.

The American artillery park consists of two 6-lbr and four 3-lbr guns and a light howitzer.
The crews are a mix of Miniature Figurines,  Custom Cast, and Musket Miniatures figures.
The two "batteries" (light howitzer and 3-lbr gun) on the left are painted as if they were from the Rhode Island Artillery Regiment. including a gunner carrying the regimental flag (from War Flag).

The British artillery park consists of two heavy and two light 6-lbr guns, two 3-lbr guns, and a light howitzer.
As with the Americans, the crews are a mix of Miniature Figurines, Custom Cast, and Musket Miniatures figures.

The Hessian artillery park consists of two light 6-lbr guns.
The crew of the left has three Miniature Figurines and one Hinchliffe figures
while the crew on the right is all Wall Miniatures figures.

My only limber (for now) is from Custom Cast via Iron Brigade Miniatures and the Lost Battalion Miniatures.

Finally I thought to show you a modification I made to several Miniature Figurines castings to act as battery commanders for some of my American and British "batteries."  MiniFigs has in its AWI line a casting (AWI-31, Glover's 14th Continental Marine [sic] officer) that is reloading a pistol, holding it directly in front of him.  Lord Sterling, my good wargaming buddy, had modified this figure into an officer holding a telescope.  I emulated his idea by using a pair of pliers to straighten and reshape the pistol into a telescope and to bend the arms up so it appears he's looking through the telescope.  I think they turned out rather well.

That's all for this month.  Next month I hope to get the 14th Continental Regiment painted to complete my initial goal of 12 infantry units per side.  Then I've got the von Lengerke (Hessian) Grenadier Battalion and Smallwood's Maryland Regiment in the painting queue.