"Reload the Cannon!"

     Well, that was certainly a wild ride! 2016 is almost gone – imagine that. I have to admit, I certainly had some amazing battles, painted up some glorious miniatures, and read through quite a few rulebooks. Remember all those?!

One of many Blucher games I played.

The Saxons on Parade!

Finally finished off my first regiment of Saxon infantry on a 1:5-8 figure to men scale. Quite big units I must say. Like the Russians, the infantry companies are mounted on the bigger 4cm frontage bases; four companies to the battalion. Keep in mind I have not included a fifth grenadier company for either battalion in the regiment - at least not at the moment. This is mainly due to the fact I just don't have any proper figure to represent them. Unfortunately, the Old Glory "Allied" elite infantry pack does not include the shako with tall plume! Of course, the grenadiers have such a tall plume. So, it looks like I have to buy another pack of elites, this time with a proper shako.

The Saxons so far. Note the battery of Saxon med. field guns deployed to flank.

Blucher Action and Some Terrain

After a little diversion in to WW II last week, I opted for a game of Blucher to finish off my weekend. What a great battle it was too. I wont say who won or go in to too much detail regarding the fight, suffice to say I changed it up a little and had a blast.

This weeks battle was a blast. Frst time I actually used the cards with my miniatures. I liked it a lot

Some Changes and Pics :)

Been very busy with school as of late. I did manage to get some things done including getting a start of my Kutuzov command base :) I'll share pics of him when I get it done by the next post.

Been messing around with the background colors as well to the blog. I figured a little color change was in order.

Ayway, henre are some pics of my latest efforts so far on painting and re-basing the boys. Enjoy :)

Re-basing Project: BIG Units! :()

After playing some really awesome battles with General de Brigade - GdB, I have really taken a strong liking to these rules. I am not sure if it is the scale of play - tactical/divisional, or just the flavor is has for the Napoleonic wars. All I know is it really is both entertaining and educational! When I say "educational" I should probably say that it is more of a boon to the learning experience rather than something that "educates", although it does do that for me in many respects. This is a huge plus for me as I love to learn about the period. It has inspired me to want to learn more about this fascinating period of military history. But anyway, before I bore you about my passion for these rules, I should move on to something else.

The French brigade advances!

RE-BASING!!!

Yes, you heard me. I have recently begun re-basing my infantry! Oh the dread! Ahhh... it's not too bad actually. All I am really doing is adding a third rank to my infantry bases to allow a more realistic and eye-catching look to them. This has always been something of a bugger with me: not representing all the ranks in our little battalions. Two is fine really, but still! So, here I am, re-basing my troops. Frontages remain the same, although since I am such a great fan of the GdB system, I am putting my Russian infantry on slightly wider bases - 40mm wide as opposed to the 30mm wide for all my other troops. Russian companies were a bit larger than the French, so wider frontage it is. I like the look too! I will say however, with all this re-basing, my number of units has decreased big time! Before I could field a battalion with about 45-60 10mm figures. With the new basing, I am representing these same units with 85 - 90! Wow! However, have a look at some of the pictures. Just amazing if you ask me. What do you think? Is it worth the effort?

A French brigade deployed. The three battalions are at a 1:5-8 model to man ratio, in three rank companies.

The battalion on the far left in column has all six companies present. The other two have both detached their
light companies; one also has no grenadier company.

Two battalions of the St. Petersburg regiment. I still have to re-paint some of the pom-poms to the appropriate
company colors. These are company sized bases. Note that the Grenadier base is actually only a platoon
in strength. The lights are also not present yet - which are also only a platoon in strength.

Another look at the Russians.

All my other troops - artillery and cavalry have no need of re-basing. So they will remain as they are for the time being.

A French battery of 8lb guns - no howitzer section. A full unit as I will use them in GdB.

Another look at the battery deployed.

As for being able to use these newly based troops with other rules, I can say that it is no big deal. In fact, with other tactical games such as Black Powder, it has no effect at all really. Rules such as Blucher, Lasalle, etc., that call for a universal base size are really no issue either. In fact, I think the bases width differences between the Russian and French infantry only adds to the realism, in my opinion. I am sure some may disagree. No matter. I could always use trays if need be.

Anyway, that is my post for the week. Till next time...

~K

GdB and the Napoleonic Experience: UPDATE!

Been playing quite a bit of General de Brigade. I must admit I am quite taken by these rules. They have a lot of elements I really enjoy about Napoleonic wargaming. They really take you on to the battlefield with their rich flavor and detail without bogging you down with useless rules which add little to the overall feel. With that said, I can safely say that GdB will be my rules of choice for Napoleonic wargaming. That being said however, I do plan to continue with Blucher as my rules of choice for playing larger actions on a grand scale. There are also some other rules I am not remiss to playing again for a change of pace - March Attack stands out. But all in all, I really do enjoy the level of game play that GdB represents. Truly a fun and informative set of rules to experience. So, with all that said, expect to see more content here on the Shako & Bayonet for GdB :)

In other news, I had a wonderful time hosting sessions 1-3 of the Tabletop Commanders MEGA 24-hour Paint & Chat over the weekend. What an experience that was! Although I was exhausted after the first 20 hours, I did have a blast and managed to get a bunch of things done. For one, I got a start on my encampment, basing and painting up five plastic tents which are actually HO scale! This works out for me even though I collect mainly 10mm for my Napoleonics. If you do a little research you will find many different styles and sizes of tents used by the various armies of the 18-19th c. Have a look at the pics here and see what you think.

Russians and French go at it over some Stone walls and tents!!!

A company of French line marches about camp. HO scale plastic tents - originally made by Atlantic.
Mounted on thin card and flocked.

Also completed were some stone walls I found in my attic I made way back in the 80s! I remember that all I did to make these was to crush - in a vice - some large stones from my driveway. I used superglue to put them together back then so they are like concrete! All I did was re-base them and give them a little dry-brushing. Turned out pretty good actually. I remember I scaled them for 15mm but I could tell right away I could still use them with my 10mm. So I am happy with them. Besides, I also want to stary collecting 15mm as well, so useful no matter how you look at it.

Stone wall sections. I mounted them on thin balsa wood bases, decorated with flock.

Well, that's about it for this post. Not a big update, but progress. I hope to get some more games of GdB and Blucher in soon and hope to post more AARs as well. Oh, and of course, work on my encampment will continue - going to be scratch-building the remaining tents!

Stay tuned my friends...

~K

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.

Random Thoughts on Napoleonic Rules

(NOTE: Random thoughts alert! I am writing this way too early in the morning for me.)

For anyone that follows my other blogs - or YouTube channel - you will know that the Napoleonic period is new to me in terms of wargaming. Not that I am new to the history, as new to collecting and fighting battles on the tabletop. However, I did read quite a few rules sets back in the day, such as WRG 1685 rules, Napoleon, Napoleon's Campaigns in Miniature, Empire V, Tricolor, etc. I even played a few battles with my 1:72 scale plastic toy soldiers. However, this exposure led me to believe that I would never be able to afford all the real painted -up minis the period seemed to suggest I needed. I mean, back in those days you needed hundreds upon hundreds of painted miniatures to fully appreciate the era. The research was no big deal, although that could also be somewhat intimidating.



My growing collection of 10mm Napoleonics.

Progress: Izoum Hussars!

I finally finished these guys off and added them to my growing mass of Imperial Russians. Not my best effort, but they will add some strength in opposition of the French. The basing was a little different, kind of like what I did with the artillery pieces - started with a darker shade of brown earth tone. I am still not fond of this color scheme, preferring the lighter chestnut tone. The lighter tone makes the figures stand out on the tabletop even more.

Hussars support the assault!

Cannon, Flags, and Hussars... oh my!

Well, I finally got my two batteries of Russian cannon based up. They look pretty damn good if you ask me. The only thing I did a little different on these guys was painting the bases a little darker brown than I usually do - I prefer the lighter earth tone. However, they do actually stand out a little bit. Perhaps this is a good thing as being able to distinguish these guys from the French is kind of important in this scale - 10mm. Anyway, I am quite happy regardless.

The Russians Are Coming!!!

Very excited at the moment. I finally finished off my first TWO units of Russians today: two battalions of the St. Petersburg division.