More Rough Shots of Latest Additions

I was able to add a couple of limber horses and a rider to my Perry British wagon.

These are the Spanish general officers I received in my latest order from Triangle Miniatures.

Spanish metal casualties.

Perry plastic casualty figures. You can never have enough casualty figures.

Rough Shots of Latest Additions

I picked up a box of the Perrys' latest plastic offering, French chasseurs a cheval. I also purchased a unit of Spanish troops from Triangle Miniatures down in North Carolina.

In my opinion, the Perry chasseurs are vastly superior to the Warlord games ones. They just have better detail and animation. I used a darker green and highlighted up from there. I like the effect.

The Perry metals were a nice change from the plastics I have been doing. I put together a unit of 24 figures using three different packs. I also picked up a pack of mounted officers and one of casualties. Very nice indeed. This particular regiment was of very low quality during the war, but it will sure look great on the table. The officers were particularly well done.

Finally, I had a Perry wagon, but it 

Final

Perry Napoleonic Caissons

I recently ordered some products from Triangle Miniatures in North Carolina. The 15% discount was helpful and the postage was very reasonable. They had the artillery caissons in stock and I received them within a week. Fantastic! The back ordered some Spanish figures they didn't have in stock, and I look forward to getting them soon.

Here is how the caissons turned out.

This is the British limber. I have two additional horses and a rider that I will use on a wagon that needs them.

This is the French limber. 

I am very pleased with how these turned out. They are easy to paint with lots of nice detail. As will all metal figures, they are pricey, but I think they will make a very nice addition to my collection.

Sharp Practice 2 Game

I had the distinct pleasure of hosting a game today for a new friend and his son. Tom contacted me via email, having seen this blog, and let me know he was going to be in town. We made a date for today and I am so glad that he initiated a meeting. We had a chance to discuss our pursuits in this amazing hobby and then adjourned to my garage for a game of Sharp Practice. It was the inaugural game for the 28mm Napoleonic figures I recently based.

Tom took the British force, comprised of 108 points; his son Jeff took the French with 104 points worth of troops. The objective was a marooned British wagon in the middle of a small Spanish town. Whether it contained the payroll or a cache of gin was not clear; either way it was of great value to both sides.

This was the first foray for both Jeff and Tom into Sharp Practice. They picked up the mechanics pretty quickly and off we went. Both sides sent skirmishers around the town while the regular infantry marched as quickly as possible along the road into the town. The French lights quickly gained an advantage over the two groups of British riflemen and drove them back on their starting point.

In the town, the British arrived a little ahead of their French counterparts. The Frogs got a bit bottled up at their entry point, but soon used their command cards to get a couple of double moves that propelled them into the village. Volley followed volley and men began to drop at an alarming rate. Several officers were knock out, making command quite difficult. The British were successful in securing the stranded wagon, but ended up losing the game to their moral dropping to zero on the very last turn.

It was an enjoyable afternoon, and I am so grateful to Tom and Jeff for the time we spent together.

Action from inside the town. This is the second wave of French regulars entering the fray. The first formation had been forced to withdraw having lost over half their men.

This shot is taken from behind the British lines.

This group of KGL grenadiers is rushing back to defend the British entry point.

Sharp's two groups of riflemen have been thrashed.

These are the French skirmishers that did the thrashing. Note that they haven't lost a single man.

This is what remained of the first French formation that entered the town. They left over half of their number dead in the village square.

These three groups of French light infantry were able to scale the low wall and blast a group of British infantry out of the house to upper center of the picture.

This is the British group that was forced to withdraw from the house. Note they have suffered 9 shock and only have five figures left.

On the final turn of the game this formation of British infantry suffered enough casualties that it had to roll on "the bad things that happened" table. The British dropped to zero as a result, giving the French a narrow victory. The stranded wagon can be seen to the rear of the formation.

Game over!

The movement trays are scratch built by me. They worked out pretty well. The scratch built buildings also added a lot to the game.

Hand Painted Waterloo Chess Set

I was able to pick up a pretty great resin chess set that I thought would paint up pretty well. I was not disappointed. I would love to order another set or two, but they are now out of stock. I think I may have nabbed the last one. I hope there are more out there, because this was a fun project.

The British/Prussian pieces. The castles on this turned out particularly well.

I thought the Napoleon figure was excellent, as well as the cuirassier knight pieces.

Sharp Practice Peninsula Battle

I had the good fortune of hosting a game of Sharp Practice for five students this week. Our last engagement was with 28mm AWI figures. For this go around we took out my 15mm Napoleonic collection. However, we kept the ranges the same as for 28mm.

This is the table. The French DP is at the bottom of the screen, the British at the upper right.

The British Army

The French Army

The mission was for the French to get a supply train across the length of the table. The Brits job was to prevent this. The French started with 11 morale points, the British just 9. This two point differential would have a profound impact on the game.

The British players aggressively moved toward the French DP and the town situated on the cross roads. The French had a hard time unclogging the congestion around their deployment point, but were able to get their two troops of dragoons down the road and within striking distance of the town.

A group of British grenadiers impetuously tried to get into the town ahead of the arrival of the dragoons. They fell an inch short and had to take on the mounted French in fisticuffs. The red coats lost the combat, but not as badly as one would have thought.

This game we did a better job of keeping track of "Bad Things that Happened" which impacts army morale. As a result of their forced withdrawal, the British lost a point on the morale table.

Each side thrust more units toward the town and crossroads. The cavalry of both sides were caught in the open and riddled by controlled volleys of musketry. Leaders were lost and morale points continued to decrease.

A major error of judgement occurred when the French player mistakenly thought that the chip for his supply train had not yet been drawn. He had four command chips at his disposal, but failed to use them before the Tiffin chip came up. His three wagons and group of grenadiers sat idle as a formation of three British units charged home. The French grenadiers were driven off and the wagons seized; a disaster for French arms!

Both sides attempt to secure the key crossroads and town. A German unit has taken up a position in front of the town. The all important supply train is trying to make its way past the town ahead of the advancing British and Spanish.

 All would have ended well for the British if the Tiffin chip had come up, but fate played a cruel trick on the celebrating allies. The token representing the German formation appeared, allowing the green clad infantrymen to advance and fire upon the remnants of the British grenadier company. It was a lethal volley that forced two "Bad Things that Happen" rolls. The net result was that the British morale fell to zero, ending the game.

This is the end of the game. The three German groups can be seen surrounding the space that had previously held the now destroyed British grenadiers.

It was a good game, and our understanding of the rules improved greatly. One particularly interesting event was a shot from a British artillery piece at the French gun resulted in five kills! It was a remarkable event. It was decided that the accompanying caisson had been hit and the explosion wiped out the entire crew.

Latest Punic War Addtions

I couldn't resist the new elephant set Victrix put out recently. It was relatively easy to assemble. If you are thinking about making the purchase, I would say also getting the decal set from Little Big Man Studios is a must. You can tell from the photos below just how much they add to the model. I applied them to the tower prior to attaching it to the body of the elephant. This made things much easier. The set was about $11, but I think it was well worth it. They are perfectly designed for this particular set. I purchased the Carthaginian set, but there are sets for Numidians and Romans as well. The accompanying infantry figures can be assembled to represent any of those three nationalities.

Along with the elephants, I picked up a box of Rome's Italian Allied Legions along with two sheets of decals for them from LBMS. There were sixty figures. I used just 43 to make up my legion.  I thought it would be Republican Romans just packaged differently, but this was not the case. The velities and the command figures are the same as in the Republican pack, but the heavy infantry figures are in different armor. The head options are different as well. It was a good purchase.

My next installment will come about when the Victrix Gauls are released, which should be very soon. I am also thinking of adding some Greeks, as they were involved in some of the battles that took place in Sicily. Realistically, though, I am just looking for more figures to paint!