Looking to the Future

It is New Years Eve, a universal time to pause and look to the future. For me, 2019 will bring forth many new changes, particularly in my personal life. Those, however, are for a different blog and a different time. As for my hobby, I have some clear goals for the New Year.

First and foremost is to put the hoards of figures I have painted into action. I want to play some Sharp Practice II games in both 28mm and 15mm. I have a huge frontier fort in 15mm to use with my French and Indian War figures that should be very fun. I also have a large collection of 28mm figures for both the AWI and the Napoleonic Wars.

For Christmas I took advantage of Novus Design Studios' terrific holiday sale and purchased a ton of their 15mm road and river sections. I have added some details to all of the road sections and I am anxious to get them onto the gaming table.  These are a little larger than I would like for 15mm, but they are very nice pieces and will add a lot of realism to my games.

I am sure that much of my gaming in 2019 will by of a solo nature, but I would like to continue to host games for the students at my school.  This is a labor of love as it takes a lot of time and energy without any tangible paybacks. But my years of teaching are drawing to a close, and I know that I need to make the most of these last three semesters to pass on this wonderful hobby to the next generation.

I find it hard to justify the purchase of many more miniatures for my own personal use as I have far more than I can use reasonably. So, I hope that I will be able to pick up some significant commission work as I love to paint miniatures. I had some terrific patrons this past year; I hope to pick up a couple more in 2019.  If you need some figures painted up quickly and at a reasonable price, please keep me in mind.

I hope you have a great New Year. Thanks for following my blog.

God bless you and yours,

Duke

RFF Game Report

Six players eagerly gather in my classroom after school this afternoon for a game of Regimental Fire and Fury. Only two had ever played this set of rules before, so there was a bit of a learning curve to overcome, but the students caught on very quickly.

The rebel players started out aggressively attacking the Union brigades defending the ground in front of Cemetery Ridge. Perry's brigade on the right was able to turn the Union left flank and Mahone's Virginians were able to do the same on the left. In the center, Wight and Posey's brigades took heavy casualties and were unable to close with the enemy.

It was declared a Confederate victory. Our lone female commander leading Mahon's brigade was the player of the game. She rolled several tens when resolving melees. It was really uncanny how consistent she was in this. In the end, it resulted in her side winning the engagement.

Wright's brigade and Pegram's artillery battalion at the beginning of the game.

Wright's brigade attacking the Emitsburg Road.

A closer look at Wright's men.

Looking north down the Emitsburg Pike.

Mahone's brigade breaking through the Union right.

Posey's Mississippi brigade attempting to hit the center of the Union line.

Wright's brigade later in the game getting chewed up attacking the road.

At game's end, the Union right has been turned.

Here is a link to a video of the kids in action.

YouTube link

Upcoming RFF Game

This Friday I will be putting on a game using the Regimental Fire and Fury rules.

I have used these with students before with great success. We all like how stands are removed. I have lots of casualty stands that show where the losses take place as the battle progresses which adds a lot of realism.

We will be using a scenario from the Summer Storm scenario book. It covers the Battle of Gettysburg.

We will be using the scenario that is based on Anderson's attack on Cemetery Ridge towards the end of the second day of the battle.

There is a lot of artillery on each side. The Union has a slight numerical edge, but the rebels' troops are of higher quality in many cases. I anticipate 8 players showing up and that our game will last about four hours.  I plan to take pictures and post a report after the game.

General de Brigade Battle Recap

I had my first true battle with my 28mm collection of Napoleonic peninsular collection. It was a very fun afternoon of gaming. four players participated and I was the game master. We played for about three and a half hours and, though debatable, we played to a result: a very close victory for the Anglo-Portuguese players as they barely held the ridge.

The game begins with the French attacking in allied middle while pinning the two flanks.

Early on in the action.

The Confederation of the Rhine regiment moves steadily through a small wood to engage the allied left.

A crucial cavalry engagement takes place, with French dragoons defeating British hussars. A pursuit roll determined that the dragoons had to chase after the defeated light cavalry. This spared a British foot battery, at least for the moment.

A second regiment of French dragoons moves into position to continue the assault on the center.

A couple of turns later, the French columns stumble up the ridge into sheets of cannister and musketry.

The German battalions are poised to attack a Portuguese regiment holding the extreme left of the allied line.

On the opposite end of the table, the terrain slows down French efforts to turn that flank.

The French try once again to come to grips with the Portuguese battery, and once again they are halted in their tracks.

About two thirds of the way through the game the leading French brigade is forced to take a brigade morale test. It failed! The 45th de Ligne is taken of the table due to excessive casualties while the three other battalions are forced to pull back, their supporting artillery battery goes low on ammo. This was a stunning reversal.

A couple of turns later the same fate overcomes the dragoon brigade.

The French horse battery targeted a highland battalion. over the course of several turns it inflicted over 50% casualties on the unit.

At game's end, the brigade on the French left had been able to drive back the British units on that flank. However, a full fresh brigade awaited them if they continued the attack.

I broader view of the table at end of the game. In the upper right a third attack on the Portuguese battery can be seen. But it, too, has been halted by the stubborn gunners.

The game really came down to two double sixes rolled by the British players. These resulted in one brigadier being mortally wounded and another lost for a critical turn.  The French players quite capably regrouped and continued to put pressure on the Anglo-Portuguese line.

100,000 Views

Today my blog reached a significant milestone of 100,000 views. Compared to other sites, that is a small number, but for me, I am pleased to know that others are enjoying my offerings regarding my hobby. I certainly enjoy what others post online. To all of you who have taken the time to peruse my posts, thank you. I look forward to the next 100,000 views.

General de Brigade Game set up

I am hosting a game this Saturday with four anticipated participants. I will be using my 28mm Peninsula figures for the first time. I have labeled each unit to make it easier for the players to know their ratings.  The scenario has a French division with supporting cavalry assaulting a ridge held by two Anglo-Portuguese brigades. The French do not know what lies beyond the ridge, so must be careful. Initially, the French outnumber the Allies by a 3/2 margin and can expect another full brigade of eight battalions and a battery to add weight to their attack. Will the allies have anything to counter punch with? Hmmmmmm. We will find out on Saturday.

The French Center of 5 battalions and a battery

The French commander

The French commander close up

A French medium battery

The French left

French dragoons and supporting horse artillyer

French left from the allied side

The extreme French right, a Confederation of the Rhine regiment

Then on the allied side...

The allied left

A highlander unit on the left

Labels to help the players

A Portuguese battery

A Portuguese battalion defends a villa on the right of the line

A Portuguese battalion on the left

A British unit supports a Royal Foot Battery.

Using 28mm figures will be a much different game than our normal 15mm battles. This one should be much more visually appealing and more personal, if you will. I will post a report as soon as I am able.

More Italians and a New Terrain Matt

I finished two more battalions of Italians, one line and one light. I used a different technique for the white using a undercoat of spice tan and then blending that with ivory and then a final highlight of ivory mixed with white. I am very pleased with how it turned out.

The new matt is from Killing Fields Terrain. It was $75 plus $8 postage. I ordered it on Monday and it arrived on Friday. It thought it would be a little longer, but the width is perfect for my table. I like how it looks and I can now put hill pieces under it so contours will look much more natural.

1st Italian Line Regiment

3rd Italian Light

Older unit from the collection.

Another unit from the collection

British 32nd Foot

A highland regiment

Two Swiss units defending a ridge

A French regiment of two battalions marching to the flank

Two Portuguese battalions

The Swiss from the front.

Two more Portuguese battalions

Portuguese riflemen

Here is a link to a video I posted on Youtube: Youtube link