AWI/ACW Buildings and Bases

 

I had these lovely buildings made for me a while back by Oshiro Models. I asked for them to be unbased to cut down on the footprint if I needed to squeeze them in somewhere. Unlike Napoleonics for example, where a couple of buildings might represent a small hamlet, individual buildings on an AWI/ACW battlefield usually represent just that - individual buildings. House to house fighting was fairly rare in these conflicts, so it is quite important to prevent them from dominating the table space too much. That said, they can look a bit "bald" on their own and the bases set them off nicely I think.

The small yard bases is simply placed adjacent to the church; although it isn't too clear in the photo, there is room at the front to enter. Nice and easy to make and the tree adds a little something too I think. 

And here it is in its natural state.

Here is one of two barns that James made for me; A nice natural wood effect.

This time the base is designed so that the barn can rest on top of it with a little post and rail fencing, stones, flock and tufts to finish it off.

All in all, worth the effort I think and I will do the same with some of the other buildings as I try and make my battlefields a bit more attractive and interesting. I am also working on a load of fencing; post and rail and worm and am looking at adding some very attractive stone fences cast by Battle Honours. I have also recently picked up some very nice "short haired" teddy bear fur on EBAY which should make great looking wheatfields. Hopefully I can do an ACW battle report soon to show it all off. 

Terrain of course is just as time consuming as painting figures but really worth it if, like me, you are really into the aesthetic side of the hobby.

Napoleonic Prussian Reserve and Landwehr Infantry

 

Bagration to Berlin has been absorbing a lot of my hobby time recently, but I am still working on other projects when time allows. The latest Napoleonic additions are some Reserve and Landwehr units (2 of each) to support the 5 line units already completed, making 9 in all - about half of the planned total. Figures are, as usual, Wargames Foundry purchased 18 months ago during the annual Christmas sale and very nice they are too despite their age. Full of character and enjoyable to paint.

Here are the two Reserve units. These are in the light grey uniform; the next two will probably be in blue for a bit of variety.

                             

Here are a couple of shots of one of the Silesian Landwehr units. As usual I have "scruffied" them up a little for that 1813 Prussian campaign look.

Finally the two Reserve units in a bit more of a close up. All the flags as usual by GMB.

The plan is to be able to field a Prussian army of around 18 infantry units, 8-10 cavalry units and half a dozen batteries plus command - enough for a full day's gaming, without the need for Russian support. Still a fair way to go but steady progress. The longer term aim for my 1813-14 Napoleonic collection is a Prussian and Russian force that can fight independently or together against a core French line force, supported by Italians (already painted), Bavarians, Saxons and possibly Poles. Later on I am hoping to add a decent force of French Guards: Old, Middle and Young to round things off. Still a long term project with everything else that is going on.

After a bit of a lull, I am again pressing on with phase 1 of my 7 Years War collection, which is shaping up nicely. I have knocking on for half of it done and not too far from getting it on the table, which I am really looking forward to. We can then start to playtest the rules; a blend of card driven and Honours of War plus a few tweaks of my own. With 30 figure infantry units, which look great deployed in line, it should be quite a spectacle. Watch this space.

Some New German Armour: StuG IIIs

 

For the last couple of months or so I have been making a real effort to get my WWII collection moving in the right direction. After publishing the Seelow Heights volume a few years back, I sold off most of the vehicles and many of the figures that I had used to illustrate the book, intending to do something different for the next project. Now that "Bagration to Berlin" is well underway, I needed to get cracking on all the new stuff that I will need to illustrate the book. As well as new terrain boards and buildings, this has included a large number of new vehicles and here are some of the first off the production line.

Here is the StuH42 105mm howitzer version. I believe around 1,200 of this version were produced intended primarily for use against soft targets having a much more effective HE round.

All are the excellent Plastic Soldier Company StuGs with the crew figures coming from a variety of sources. I have gone fairly heavy on the stowage on these which really helps to make them stand out. In many of the photos I have seen, assault gun crews seemed quite willing to load their vehicles with such stuff, whereas it seemed to be far less common with panzer crews. The basic colours were done with an airbrush and everything else painted by hand. 

I must have nearly 100 German vehicles alone to do as I can't seem to stop buying the damn things, so a long way to go. Lucky that Rome wasn't built in a day!

A New WWII Writing Project

After the 18 December post, I have had a few people ask me if I am intending to do another WW2 book along the lines of the Seelow Heights volume I published a few years back. It is something I have been thinking about for a while, but have been a bit absorbed with a couple of Franco-Prussian projects. Having completed the monograph on the mitrailleuse in 1870, something a bit lighter certainly appeals and I have been looking at doing another late war Eastern Front scenario book. The initial research has gone quite well and over the last few months I have been working up a number of the scenarios. 

The working title is: Defeat in the East: Operation Bagration to the Fall of Berlin, A Wargamer's Guide. A bit of a mouthful, but just about describes it. The idea is to present a larger number of scenarios than the 12 in my Seelow Heights book. I felt that given the breadth of the subject it probably needed more like 16-18, with plenty of background narrative, information sidebars and of course lots of eye candy! 

I am also intending to include as a bit of a supplement a copy of the quick play rules we use when playing at my house, which we have found to give a fast moving and enjoyable game (when playing with the wider group and usually on a much larger scale, we still use Rapid Fire!). Over the next few months I will try and post regular updates on both the progress with the book itself and the building of the terrain and forces for it. 

After I published Seelow Heights, I sold off most of the vehicles that I used in the photos as I wanted to present something different if I did another Eastern Front book. Only recently have I started to ramp this up a little bit and I now have a reasonable amount done both in the vehicles and terrain department; these will both feature extensively in any accompanying photos. To get things started here are a couple of the buildings that I have managed to finish.

Both buildings are EBAY purchases, completely re-painted of course and with additional detailing. I really like these types of buildings as they are ready made (which appeals to the lazyness in me!) and usually reasonably priced (which appeals to the Yorkshireman in me!). Size-wise they are spot on. Incidentally, if you want to see a real exponent of the art and someone I have shamelessly copied, I definitely recommend his thread on the Wargamers' Forum:

panzerfaust200 - Neustadt WIP (reborn) - The Wargamers' Forum

His Neustadt project has to be seen to be believed.

Below is the SS command group seen planning its next move in the photos above. I absolutely hate painting camo uniforms of any kind, especially SS, but needs must. Am aiming for  couple of battalions plus regimental support assets, so around 120 figures or so. Will do some in greatcoats for a late war autumn/winter scruffy campaign look, but the majority will be in camo smocks.

I will try to keep this thread updated as regularly as I can - there are still several tons of work to do on both the writing and the modelling fronts, but it is a project that has really got my imagination going. As I am now retired and have a very understanding wife, progress will I hope be rapid. I look forward to hearing what you think of it all.

Another Partizan Show - Will I Never Learn

 

Three years ago, as I documented on my 12 June 2023 post, I went to Partizan and spent quite a while watching and drooling over David Imrie and Dave Andrews' lovely ACW demo game. So impressed was I that I started, or rather re-started a collection for myself. In the intervening time I have built up a reasonable force of around a dozen regiments a side plus supports and done a quick play home brew set of rules as well. Since then it has become a firm favourite with the Monday Night Gamers and we have had quite a few really enjoyable encounters. Whilst the collection was by no means finished, other projects had taken the spotlight and I hadn't done much with it recently. Until Partizan.

This year David, Dave and the other Bodkins put on another beautiful looking game based on the early clashes on the first day of Gettysburg. Buford's cavalry, supported by a couple of infantry brigades were trying to hold back a growing tide of  advancing Confederate infantry and a great scrap it was. The game and the supporting information, which was also very nicely done, looked great. The very friendly Bodkins were only too happy to stop and chat not only about the game but how they had done the figures, terrain and so on. A great advert for the hobby.

The unintended consequence unfortunately was that I had another rush of blood to the head; a rush that seemed to bypass my brain, and I ended up somehow with an armful of Perry plastics boxes and dismounted Union cavalry and horseholders to add to the alpine pile of shame in my wargames room. Will I never learn! 

Never mind. Below is the evidence I offer in mitigation for my actions m'lud. 

 

Case dismissed on the grounds of intolerable provocation! 

Back to WWII next after this little diversion. See you next time.

28mm AWI British Dismounted Light Dragoons

 

Probably the last additions to the AWI collection for a while as work continues on WWII, the new scenario book and 7YW.

These chaps represent a dismounted troop of the 16th Light Dragoons, again from the Perry range. Supposedly they were armed with short rifles, which makes them an interesting skirmish option in our games.

Will hopefully be able to share some of the work I have been doing on my WWII Eastern Front collection soon.

28mm AWI British Grenadiers

 

Another gaping hole filled in my AWI collection, this time for the forces of the Crown. The 18 stands can be formed into two large or three smaller battalions and did sterling service in their baptism of fire a short while back, inflicting horrible punishment on an exposed American light infantry battalion:

Nations In Arms: AWI Battle Report

Figures of course from the Perry range.

Apart from a few odds and ends, this will probably mark a bit of a pause in work on the AWI collection as I am pretty absorbed with WWII and my rapidly growing 7YW collection which is really starting to take shape now. Still a firm favourite with the Monday Night Gamers though and I hope to do more AARs in due course.