It’s that time of year in the uk when the short days encourage indoor hobbies like wargames and there is no better way to improve your figure painting volumes than by joining a challenge or simply painting with friends online or face to face.
This years “paint what you got” has me trawling the paint queue rather than the metal/plastic mountain.
So first up are these Danish Guardsmen in their 1848 finery.
By 1849 they had swopped the late napoleonic style red coatees for dark blue tunics following the fashion set by Prussia and Piedmont in the early 1840’s. However they kept their bearskins.
So these figures show the twilight of the “Napoleonic style”.
I used British grenadiers from Strelets Crimea range. These are 1:72 plastic injection mouldings. The style is squat and bulky – note Strelets figures vary by sculptor.
Generally plastic injection figures look far better painted so don’t be put off by your visiting plastic soldier review. Indeed the reviews are candid but then again Pauls Bods blog https://paulsbods.blogspot.com/2021/03/vikingsaxon-shield-wall.html shows you that even the most unpromising figures can be transformed through a decent paint job. Pauls Bods site has numerous plastic examples of exemplary painting.
Finally strelets are an Ukraine company and continue to produce a vast range of figures and have done so throughout the Russian invasion.
So as we approach yet another unwanted anniversary go buy some Strelets, preferably at your nearest bricks and mortar model shop.
The Corinovans are in retreat, “B” division has been destroyed holding the coastal city of Viana and now inland, “A” division is dangerously exposed to isolation by the rampant Gombardian forces.
Remnants of “B” division and elements of “C” division in retreat, continued to try and intercept Gombardian thrusts on “A” division’s eastern flank.
My previous Fauxterre post covered the strategic situation that lead to this action.
The game
Essentially this is an escalating engagement and I simply used the scenario from Neil Thomas’ “An introduction to wargaming”. His World War Two rules reflect his simple yet interesting approach you can find in his more popular books like one hour wargames, C19th Century European warfare or ancient and medieval warfare.
The rulebook offers four scenarios
Encounter
Frontal assault
Surprise assault
Escalating engagement
I opted for an escalating engagement action reflecting the chaos of a rapid advance experienced by both sides.
I took the real world unit lists in the book and came up with two slightly different lists for the Gombardians – plenty of armour like Germans while the Corinovans were more likely to field infantry like the French.
I used my own table for observation – everything had an observation rule to help cause friction that’s required for a solo game.
The scenario set victory conditions based on three shared objectives – the winner having two or all three at the end of the game. I had a count down variable tracker but this had not expired when one side patently had run out of forces.
The three objectives were the
Town
Sawmill
Orchard
Both sides quickly acquired either the sawmill or town.
It remained simply to fight it out for the orchard.
As the table was created first before selecting the scenario it was also the case that the opposing forces diced for arrival points.
Each side had 9 units and deployed 3 units to start but I also applied scenario requirements that all six remaining units arrived on an improving odds dice throw each turn.
Here is some of the key action.
The base cloth can use its grid but today I am using Neil Thomas rules with measured distances Gombardians enter the town The walled orchard – soon to be the centre of attention In the distance an old sawmill nestles beneath the hillThe gombardians venture cautiously through the townThe Gombardians enter the orchardUnknown to them the Corinovans had entered the orchard at the same time in some strength, fighting eruptsThe gombardians already had one of the three objectives- the townMore gombardians pass through the town while the Corinovans have already taken the third objective – the old sawmill. Both sides have to secure the orchard to meet their orders
The action now centres on the walled orchard
The gombardians are beginning to wear down the Corinovans in the orchardThe Corinovans launch an attack past the orchardMore gombardians arriving through the town A defiant single soldier from the first gombardian assault hangs on frustrating the Corinovans The newly arrived gombardians decimate the Corinovans attacking past the orchardThe Corinovans benefit from some excellent barrage though, in turn decimating the gombardians
The battle moves toward a conclusion
The gombardians are now driven back to the town areaA few Corinovans hold the orchard and so have secured the “two objectives” orders. The gombardians have failed and decide to withdraw leaving the town in the possession of the Corinovans.
The Gombardians had arrived with armour which fits the scenario of a fluid front in the campaign situation. But they did not have enough infantry to take on the Corinovans in the congested orchard area.
The army lists therefore helped create an asymmetric game and the armour heavy force on this occasion lost.
So AHPC16 is upon us – well the 21st December is storming towards me far too fast.
In previous years – well the last two to be exact – first year I started preparing on the 21st way too late and then last year did prepare one primed unit beforehand but held off having a plan before knowing about the themes which then derailed me with a sci fi bug.
I found I was doing stuff (deciding about theme models or simply digging out figures to clean and prime) but not actually painting colour – much before the January deadline loomed into view!
So this year I started my plan in November!
And I have primed some of the planned pieces.
And I decided to ignore the theme and just see what came along.
And lucky me this years three themed pieces have fallen nicely into place within my plan.
Declining Empire should see some planned 1848 Hungarians appear
Childhood toy memory fortunately gets the wild geese treatment from the 1700’s
And rebels hopefully will see some Covenanters appear before the various deadlines
Alas last years failed star of my show might fail to appear yet again. As its anniversary related this is a constant theme – I started my 28mm stoke field armies in 2015……still not much progress ten years on!
And now I have scenery options nudging their way into my plan.
I was hoping to get some more Fauxterre 1930 kit done.
Then there were the 1848 Hanoverians, 1848 Neapolitans, 1700 French Dragoons, 1848 Roman infantry all crying out to be on the plan – the list goes on and on.
Way too much of course for this painting snail, which having done a plan shows so well. It means the exercise has proved its worth already.
However real life is very very busy right now so I might fail on all fronts!
Fauxterre 1930 remains a work in progress, no gaming for eons and painting units seems endless. This could be because I get distracted!
In this case distraction of the aviation sort occurred at a couple of wargame shows.
The Other Partizan in 2024 fielded a luscious blue biplane. A suitably inter war affair still includes cavalry and tech like biplanes although I think this demo game was Russian Civil War era.
I was gifted an old second hand biplane and eventually it ate my brain and had to be made. And thus triggered me digging out a bricks and mortar store purchase – another biplane.
Of course these models offer little to an empty wargaming battlefield!
This has been my Fauxterre experience – lots of distractions.
Anyway first up lots of make photos
Planes creep into the production lineBiplanes are fiddly but we got thereThe Czech transfers were ancient compared to the Henschel onesAirfix Henschel was easy to build with good connections The Kovozavody model instructions looked almost as old as the aircraft!Instructions were ok fit was reasonable if a bit off in placesThe Two Plane build
And then came the painting which took a lot longer than I expected. Then the Matt varnish would not Matt. At least both transfers went on a treat.
Plane from 83 squadron of 5th Air Regiment in Brno Another letov S-16 this time from no. 63 Squadron 2nd Air Regiment in Olomouc – a crack squadron of very experienced pilots.
Did I tell you I had two S16’s……
Airfix Henschel 123Just the one plane in Spanish civil war markings for the German legion
So my Fauxterre forces have some bombers and fighters to go with a floatplane spotter. Progress of sorts!
Simply to find such a rare beast in a bricks and mortar setting made me buy it. I mean I had no interest in anything beyond my recently set limit of 1870 (up from 1735 due to discovering the wargame delights of 1848).
I bought it, I read it, I was energised! Suddenly I had this idea to start a small side project with limited objectives.
Buy from real shops – bricks and mortar
Use the book idea
Limit the forces to those in the book
Use Fauxterre
Fauxterre has become my catch all imaginations world for gaming ahistorical forces and situations. Although it is really fantasy that term implies dragons and otherworldly ideas. So Fauxterre 1930 was born – one of several realms……
In this case instead of Red v Black I would have Ochre (Vossakia v Azorians) Brown. Ok so the Vossakians look a lot like Russians and the Azorians have more the a passing resemblance to early war US troops.
Charles Grant used readily available models and figures in 1/72 and 1/87 and also used hannomags for both sides.
The theme with ahistorical imaginations gaming is you can mix it up.
Despite deciding to follow the book process I did not want the book period of late WW2. Instead I wanted prewar – biplanes, poor tank development and hardly any blitzkreig etc. ok so monoplanes and tank modernisation would figure alongside motorised units. In other words a bit of everything.
And then I created two projects after rushing to buy the figures in my local shop which I liked. Yes the plastic soldier company Russians were suitable for 1930’s use and so were the US soldiers (1942 m1 helmets though) but for some reason I had a split personality moment and opted for them to be later prewar!! While some other shop bought figures became early prewar: This was solely due to wanting some Adrian helmets in the period. Of course in TORCH 1942 you get Adrian helmets up against M1’s but that’s yet another story.
Confused? Yep the problem with making it up is being consistent with your invention……….no chance!
Back to Fauxterre 1930. I quickly got plain infantry for both sides painted then read about the PSC US support troops scale problems – this typical dip in the project track simply derailed the whole thing!
It’s just one of those things. Since then the project has acquired a lot more equipment (all in the paint queue) and other figures (all in the paint queue) and even some aircraft – yet more distraction.
Finally though, I have managed to heave some figures over the line.
Back to the Russians again, I do like the sculpts (except the flat guy who seems to be reaching between two walls…..)
Anyway first up we get some machine gunners
Then we have some mortars light and medium?
Then we get a couple of anti tank rifles
And finally a couple of 37mm anti tank guns.
In the foreground gun said squeezed sculpt is almost facing camera – ok he looks alright after all……..just real shoulder ache.
Not sure when the next completion might appear though. Either way these chaps will join the infantry who have already had some escapades
A long while ago I had the desire to make some adobe buildings for cowboy skirmishes. However despite having the figures (admittedly only primed) and then my “what a tanker” playing partner getting “what a cowboy”, it still did not look good. Fortunately the challenge rolled up and provided the impetus I needed to get this project over the line – along with some more conventional items. Amazing where “cardboard packaging” can take you!
I have an old card table earmarked for skirmish play. The adobe buildings were just how they came out of the product boxes 😆 I then added some extra roofing with card and tissue paper plus pva. The two right hand regular buildings are from warbases basics rangeYou can’t beat Dixon 28mm cowboys for styleLots of yellow ochre – the left hand building has received a dry brush. The packaging designer kindly included a base skirt which was decorated with pva and budgie grit.Dry brush done and doors and windows (cornflake package) painted and dry brushed Sunrise – the Mexican is at a disadvantage although he aimed firstPistol high – who will bite the dust?We may never know 🤠A real New Mexico example in Santa Fe. For my quick build models I omitted the exposed logs – maybe next time.
So that’s it, 8 weeks of one hot dry summer and I have massively exceeded my expectations. I completed a lot of items and even though I started even more they are at least started and now have real homes rather than their sales boxes (thanks John the Varnish!)
For the analysts….. completions were
First module of my port,
two adobe buildings,
six earthen defences,
one artillery position
one aircraft base
flexible roads recoloured
two hills now also become a green defensible position
repaired damaged cardboard church
new self coloured HO Germanic church
two warbases Wild West buildings
two very old bellona low relief terraced houses
Two straight drainage ditch pieces
Finishing off stuff and even repairs/reworkings proved very satisfying.
The “starters” all happened to be kits and kicked off my challenge.
Blotz models Bronze Age fortress
Italeri French railway station building
Italeri north Italian church
warbases north German church
At least I have the measure of these pieces not least where and how to store them.
I probably have too many churches now……..
Funny that I did not finish the kits that I started the challenge with – given they were my absolute main targets – instead I started raking out cardboard and home building………
Last year I started painting my Low relief housing. I bought two of these terraces back in the 1970’s and somehow these bellona pieces have not fractured into pieces. They are injection moulded and were the “resin prints” of their time.
One terrace in basic coats sat on my first port moduleLow relief was popular railway modelling idea taken up by bellona
So I gave them a go and I must say the sculpture is brilliant. They were fun to paint. You can still buy injection moulded models – amera sell them via eBay in the uk. Alas I haven’t seen any terraced buildings.
Two terraces book ended by my hovels Dutch buildings with EWM latex roadways and then the ditchNatural morning sunlight catches the detail well
In front of them are some early war miniatures road sections (flexible latex) last year I painted them but didn’t like the finish so they were back in the mix for a dry brush.
Finally there is the ditch. Basically more packaging fell into my eye line and I immediately thought – that’s useful. This is new packaging (not from the mountain!) and made the back end of the challenge displacing some other contenders.
They required no preparation.
Galena students burnt umber is rich and oily giving good coverage on this very dense cardboard The ochre coating was necessary but not too obvious before the brandy cream which was a semi dry application Very pleased with the low reliefs and also with the roadway while the ditch was an out of the blue late late entry which has exceeded my expectations
I gave the packaging a coat of burnt umber then one of yellow ochre and then brandy cream! dry brush before an autumn variety of Javis static grass. The ditch water was done with Paynes grey tube acrylic and then a shade of paynes grey with some ivory white added as a top coat.
Final shot which shows the early morning in colour somewhere in Rugia plus Mr Varnishes armour! (you know who you are 😊)
I have just discovered that Ron Kay of Irregular Miniatures has died at the age of 98. He was full time on the team until 93, casting figures for all us hobbyists. He carried on as a part time member of the team still handling the big and complex castings. “Hats off” as they say.
I did not know Ron personally but seem to remember him at the Irregular stand at wargames shows.
I can do best by sharing some of my Irregular Miniatures collection and sending my condolences to Ian Kay and the Irregular family.
Irregular have provided me with some great 20mm figures that helped me build my 1848 forces.
1848 Danish Infantry repurposed from Irregulars colonial range1848 Duchy of Parma artillery Duchy of Modena Dragoons which were Neapolitan Dragoons 1848 Rumanian infantry which were ww1 Austrians 1848 Roman Legion which were ww1 Austrians Colonial British posing as 1848 Danes1848 Garibaldeans in red and blue shirtsNeapolitans posing as 1848 French1864 Dane’s which were ww1 Austrians 1850 Dane’s which were ww1 Austrians Grand Duchy of Tuscany Infantry repurposed from the colonial range
The thing about one hour wargames is it’s genuinely “pick up” attraction. If you want to throw dice, move figures and get that war game with a purpose feeling for minimal preparation, then I find it’s a winner.
Yes, the mechanisms are abstract but you have to compromise somewhere and Neil Thomas rules generally offer that blend of compromises I like.
In the first game the Royalists held the hill with some rookie blues and grays in actionThe royalists divide their forces to hold both enemy objectives The royalists include this new blue unitRoyalist artillery hold the town road The royalists are none other than DanesDanish volunteer horse make up the royalist cavalryMore Dane’s this time by HatStrelets Danish Royalist GuardsEverything hung on the defence of the town
Rebel forces enter the fray
A mixed brigade of cavalry The rebels mass their infantry before the town The royalists are caught outThe rebels quickly assault the town The royalists seek to outflank the rebel attackThe rebel cavalry attack the rookie blues royalists
Rebel victory
The rebel attack on the town is overwhelmingThe rebel cavalry destroy the royalist right wing infantry The rebel cavalry move on the second objective – the hillThe royalist defence stiffens around the town The rebel cavalry are destroyed Rebel infantry struggle in the townThe royalist cavalry rush to aid their compatriots in the town but it is too late
So the second battle ends in Royalist defeat. It’s all square and all to play for…..
The royalists needed to escape through the town and up the great road……
Rebels held the river line woods The rebel cavalry brigade – lucky toys and hat miniatures Irregular miniatures garibaldeansMore irregular miniatures garibaldeansStrelets rebel sharpshooters hold the town roadThe royalists pour forwards The royalists choose the remote river crossings on their left wing to make progress The royalists are peppered by the rebel skirmishers The royalists attack the townThe royalist left wing cavalry lead the way The rebels abandon the river line The royalists begin to make progress The rebel cavalry are swept awayThe rebels are fleeing pell mell Some royalists race up the great road The royalist cavalry take a beating getting to close to formed infantry The royalist cavalry break The last few royalist units must make good their escape up the great roadAgain the rebel infantry shoot well The last royalist infantry are driven away
And so victory to the rebels in the action and also the short campaign.
Today of course saw the end of 3 days of fighting at Gettysburg – the great Union victory which along with the capture of Vicksburg saw the war finally turn against the Confederate Southern States.
I just missed the end of AHPC15 with some 1848 era artillery.
Rather than park them like last year I decided to get these Properly finished.
Three types of artillery on showI have added to my Danish artillery Irregular miniatures bell shako British do good service as Dane’s of the 1840’sGuns were different to the Russian 1850’s version.Full complement with earlier model to fore.These are 1848 Duchy of ParmaSame manufacturer as the Dane’s Same guns as the Dane’s B and B Miniatures provided these chaps posing as 1848 Schleswig Holstein rebels. They are actually 1870 Prussians One 4 pounder horse gun and one 6 pounder field gun both rifled breechloaders But it’s hard work getting pickelhaubes for the 1840’s and the figures come with the guns – waste not want not. At three feet I can live with the difference.
The Wargaming Erratic 