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.

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.

Napoleon is Coming... and Progress to Date

Well, after a long road painting up almost 1,000 10mm Napoleonics in three months, I am drained! What a challenge. Even though I have yet to reach my goal I continue my efforts of getting these little French and Russian armies completed - is an army ever really completed?! Anyway, I am quite happy with the results so far. This of course is my first go with 10mm scale miniatures, and all I can say is, if you want a mass look to your units, without losing lots of detail in the models, try 10mm. In addition - and this is a big one for me - they paint up fast! Can't beat them when you want to have lots of big units on the table.

 

The NEW Russian card deck for Blucher has arrived!

Rules-wise, I have pretty much decided that the Blucher rules are for me. Compared to what else is out there, the fact I can set up battles quickly, play out a mini-campaign, and not worry about weird rules mechanics, says it all. I will continue to play these rules and have many more planned scenarios and LIVE events to host on G+ Hangouts - always a blast!

Saxon's open a deadly fire on the advancing Russians. Units/BW's were only 3cm in this battle.

Next up on my painting table are some Cossacks! I have a full unit all ready to be primed. I should be getting to the actual painting before the end of the week I hope. This is a good thing as my Russians really need more cavalry units on the table.

Cossacks!

I also have a nice Napoleon model that I want to base up, not to mention a Kutuzov to face him. Of course a bigger base will be used, with lots of interesting models to set beside him. We shall see what I can come up with.

Napoleon I

Anyway, stay tuned for more Napoleonic goodness in the coming weeks. I have lots of interesting things to try - and NEW rules to have a go with as well.

Saxons once again fending off a Russian assault. Again, this was a battle with smaller sized units on a small table (2' x 3').

The French.

The Quest Continues...

Played a lot of Blucher over the past few weeks. I have to admit that it is truly a great game. An excellent balance between realism and playability; simulation and fun! Even though I have been playing other games off an on, I keep coming back to Sam Mustafa's awesome set of rules. I highly recommend Blucher if you have yet to give it a go.

In other news, I will be spending a little more time on Black Powder over the coming weeks. Already I have been building my army lists and scenarios I want to try. I have played these rules a few times now already, but have yet to sit down and have a real battle. So, this has become my focus for the month. Expect to see some BatReps/AAR's soon, as well as plenty of pics of my soldiers in action :)

 

 

All in all I am quite happy with my foray in Napoleonics. The 10mm scale is absolutely grand. They paint up fast and look fantastic. No turning back for me now!

 

Here are a few pics from my recent battles, including some awesome battles with the Tabletop Commanders on Google+ Hangouts. Always great fun.

The quest to find my "go to" rules for Napoleonics continues, with Blucher  in a dominating lead. Stay tuned for more good stuff

Russians and French go at it over on Google+ Hangouts. In this case me and Vince - and all the other TtC's -
square off using the Scharnhorst rules to set this battle up.

Ney, on a white horse to the left, leads an assault on a Russian defended hill. Ney would take that hill.

Clash at Sippitz Bridge, 1812 - Part 3 (Blucher BatRep)

Here is part 3, the final part, to the Clash at Sippitz Bridge AAR for Blucher. Take note this battle was played SOLO. If you haven't read the previous parts, here are the links below.

Part 1
Part 2

As the fighting had lulled over near the bridge, drums were beating on the Saxon part of the field. Knowing full well their orders to "...defend the gap at all cost" was about to be put to the test, the Saxon commander made a bold choice. Upon seeing the Russian columns of infantry pause their advance upon them, and taking on the example of the French dragoons, the orders were issued to advance on the enemy before them! Defensive posture abandoned, the white columns began their advance. Cannon let loose the final volley, and the drums beat a quick pace. The Russians would be caught flat-footed with such surprise.

The Saxon counter-attack!