Roosian Jaegers

For the first figure painting of 2024 it was back to the ongoing Crimean War project in the shape of a battalion of Roosian Jaegers. Of course the figures and equipment are all the same, just subtle differences in collars, shoulder boards and field cap bands. Oh, and black rather than white leather straps. The three bases of the battalion sport 30 figures in total, a decision I've often regretted as each base seems never ending. Here they are ~

The figures of course are from Great War Miniatures via North Star, flags are from GMB via Aly Morrison (thank you!) and bases from Warbases, who else! 

Just as the finishing post was in sight I had to send off an order for a couple of packs of British infantry to round out the gift from Aly towards the end of last year. You know how it goes, as you have to fork out for a usuary level postage and packing you may as well order some more figures while you are about it!! In my case a further Roosian battalion in firing pose and a British infantry regiment in charging pose, some in greatcoats as well.  That leaves me with two Roosian infantry and six British infantry battalions/regiments, two (Warlord Games) Roosian 12lb guns and crew, two Royal Artillery 9lb guns and crew and eight GWM Roosian Dragoons. Still sounds an awful lot to do...

So, to encourage my flagging spirits Phil and I are playing a first game on Tuesday. Here's a quick general photograph of the game at the off ~

More on this later in the week I'd hope. If you are interested, keep an eye out on the blog, my Farcebook page, LAF or LAofW forum boards.

Some Viking Mercenaries

In one of the 'Hail Caesar!' army lists I have seen for 'Late Saxons' a unit of Viking mercenary warriors is allowed, though they must be placed in their own Division and with their own general. I thought they would make a nice addition and so I bought two packs from Foundry at Partizan back in May last year. They went off to Phil/Olaf's Painting Service for painting sometime later and I duly forgot about them! On Tuesday last week when Phil arrived for our scheduled game he presented me with the finished figures. I've worked on basing them as and when, between painting Roosian Jaegers, finally finishing them last Friday!

There are three figures on the Command stand, two Foundry figures and a Footsore(?) Seer I picked up from Colonel Bill's. No doubt the latter would not fit to be seen close up if I had painted it? 

The remaining Viking figures I arranged in two ranks hoping to suggest a shield wall on the standard base size for the collection, 3mm Warbases 100x50mm bases. I'm confident you will agree that Phil has made a great job of painting them.

Just before Christmas I saw that Footsore were trailing a 2024 Kickstarter of 70 or so Vikings Matt has sculpted for them. I already have some of the Late Saxons he did for them, so I'll hope to add more Vikings at some point. He also did a few Mounted Saxons for them I've been eyeing up for a while now, so keep an eye out if the Conquest period floats your boat.

Roosian Cavalry in the Crimea

 As my loyal reader may recall, I spent what hobby time I had available over the Christmas - New Year period on rebasing the cavalry from the Prodigal Foundry Collection. I've already posted on the British cavalry, both Heavy and Light Brigades, so it's time for the Roosians to make their bow. 

In total there are four regiments, each of four bases of three figures. As far as us possible I've organised the figure layout to facilitate units of six figures utilising officers and NCO types as command on two bases. The regiments consist of Dragoons, Uhlans, Hussars and Cossacks ~

There remains  one unit of Dragoons by Great War Miniatures in the Lead Pimple, gifted me by chum Colin Ashton (at Carryings on up the Dale blog). I'd like to add more Cossacks in due course, possibly the Foundry ones with lances as I fear the GWM's ones will dwarf the Foundry figures, but we will have to see. In the meantime a photo which I hope captures the look of the Roosian cavalry on the tabletop battlefield ~

And finally, a bit of a fripary in the form of additional details added to a Foundry Dragoon casualty just for interest ~

Now though it's back to painting Great War Miniatures Roosian Jaegers. No rest for the wicked, though in my case the slightly naughty will have to do...

Вниз на ферму

Or for those amongst us who don't read Ukrainian all that well, if at all, that's 'Down on the Farm'! At The Other Partizan last October I picked up three MDF building kits from Warbases with a view to adding a small cluster of buildings to suggest a farmstead for use when my forthcoming Crimean War project reaches the tabletop battlefield ~

The kits are: the Animal Pen; the Village Well; and House #3. As with all Warbases' MDF kits they go together with the very minimum of fuss, though I did add a 40x40mm base to the well before painting commenced ~

Of itself MDF has very little texture, making dry brushing very problematic for me. {If these were resin buildings then I'd have painted them grey and washed then with Burnt Umber to suggest weathered timber}. With MDF I've opted for a dark first coat of Foundry Bay Brown, followed by lighter coatings of the mid and light Bay Brown triad. The chimney on the house I painted in a similar fashion using the Foundry Granite triad ~

I'm wasn't over pleased with the look at that stage so I added highlights using the same company's Spearshaft Shade. Perhaps some thatch on the house and animal pen shelter might be the way forward? Either way, there needs to be a good deal of further work on this to bring it up to scratch! I had two Lead Adventure pigs and a trough which would bring the animal pen to life I felt. The well is just fine for me, some texture and a few 'weeds' and perhaps a bucket from the 'Bits Box of Doom' I mentioned in the last post ~

Anyway, I have no thatch available as yet, though the pigs and their trough have definitely lifted the look of the animal pen. The house will pass muster for now at least. Thatch still seems the way forward while a base and some groundwork would definitely help lift the look on the tabletop battlefield. Whatever, it will have to do for now as I'm back to painting figures, Great War Miniatures Roosian Jaegers as it happens. Must get on with them now...

Call Out the Militia!

Phil and I renewed friendly hostilities here in GHQ with the first game of 2024, a small AWI battle pitching the Rebel Militia commanded by Ol' Independence or Death Bykleigh and the Hessian/Loyalist force lead by Von Robensähn. The game was played using Black Powder 2nd Ed as the rules, with one or two in-house modifications, and was set at 12 Turns duration. 

To win the game the Militia must prevent the Hessians/Loyalists from reaching their base line! In Turn 6 they can attempt to bring on a two regiment Virginia Continental Brigade and in Turn 8 a three regiment Maryland/Delaware Continental Brigade. In both cases by passing a Command Roll -1. As ever now an annotated photomontage to carry you into the action ~

Butler's Rangers, a large unit in rules terms with an amusette and 3lb gun, hold an advanced position on the Crown's right flank supported by elements of Tarleton's Legion and Loyalist cavalry.

A large Hessian Brigade will bear the brunt of the Crown's attack, supported in the distance by a small Loyalist Brigade. Von Robensähn can just be made out in the distance leading from the rear!

Hurrying -who am I kidding- to the defence are three small Militia Brigades supported by a rag tag of Mounted Militia and a Light gun.

The Hessians move off steadily, but slowly, forward towards the Rebel positions. The Jaegers take the lead hoping to disrupt the Militias' deployment with harassing fire.

It looks to me as if these boys are anything but keen to trade lead with the German mercenaries! They need to get into position along the fence line of the Hessians will make short work of them!

The lead Brigade makes it into position but it's fellows are proving very tardy in deploying.

Fortunately for their cause the Crown's forces are equally slow in getting underway! Three Turns gone already and not a shot fired to break the silence or steady the nerves.

Taking what comfort they can from the Hessians' sloth the Militia are at last getting into some sort of fighting order. The Light Gun has deployed and has several targets in its sights.

Suddenly the Hessians' sense the urgency of taking action and advance steadily to trade lead with the waiting Militia lining the fences. The Jaegers are moving onto the left flank to get around the American lines!

The lead flies thick and fast and casualties and Disorder begin to affect both sides. The second line on the American right is in Disorder and cannot react to the Jaegers working around behind them.

Turn 6 arrives and with it thankfully the small Brigade of Virginia Continentals. They move towards the threatened right, but not with the sense of urgency their commander would wish for!

The Hessians' are also taking casualties and much Disorder is disrupting both sides. All along the line of battle the firing is hot work, it is looking as if someone might break soon!

The first of the Militia have had enough and Break for the rear with shattered morale! The Continental infantry stand firm as the fleeing rabble push through them in their haste to escape.

The second Militia regiment breaks, the first Brigade is lost for the Americans, though the Virginians stand firm ready to meet the Hessian onslaught.

Along the battle lines fierce fighting rages as volley upon volley crashed out dealing Death and disorder to men of both sides!

The Militia are having the worst of the exchanges now and their Morale is creaking dangerously towards flight not fight!

The third Militia Brigade gets into action supported by some Rifle armed Mountain Men. Their combined first volleys break the King's Orange Rangers! The fighting seems to be moving in favour of the American cause...

I did say 'seems' didn't I? In Turn 10 it all comes unstitched for Bykleigh's boys, the impetus switches to Robensähn's Hessians as the American lines buckle under the pressure.

In Turn 11 a final Hessian volley delivers the coup de grace to the American army and it melts away as it's Morale shatters - three of the five Brigades being Broken then.

Cheered by a wounded Hessian musketeer Von Robensähn orders a General Advance from his tired boys to secure the battlefield as the Americans and their commander Bykleigh slink away.

A grand start to the year's action here in GHQ we both thought. The fortunes of battle went back and forth between the two armies until the crucial moment arrived. For us this is the main attraction of Black Powder 2nd Ed, the uncertainty that brings a feeling of the fog of war and the uncertainty of command once the action gets underway. 

The figures are all from my collection: Front Rank, Foundry, Perry Miniatures and Eureka Miniatures in the main. My original Front Rank figures in the collection were purchased at a Salute in Kensington Town Hall, back in the early 1980's? They stand up pretty well to the more contemporary look of Perry Miniatures and Eureka Miniatures figures to my eye.

Off We Go Again!

I took a much needed break from painting figures over the Christmas-New Year period. What hobby time presented itself unchallenged I gave over to rebasing the British and Roosian cavalry from the returned Prodigal Foundry Collection. I started with the British Light Brigade for no other reason than their Command stand was already textured for me! There were ten figures for each component of the Brigade: Lancers, Light Dragoons and Hussars. I had originally intended to base the cavalry in pairs, but in the end I opted for two bases of three figures and two of two figures. So, "the gallant six hundred" take a bow ~

The Heavy Brigade's turn for rebasing came next. There I had two Heavy Dragoon regiments of nine and eleven figures and the Scots Greys of nine figures. I have no recollection of why it's like this; remember I painted these back in the early 1990's and I've been to bed since then as they say! As luck would have it the group of 11 Heavy Dragoons contained two officers and two buglers, so I could use those duplicates to make up a Command stand and be left with three regiments of three bases, each of three figures! Here they are then, the Heavy Brigade and Command ~

Remember now, these are not fit to be seen close up according to ol' Black Bottle Bill, so those of a nervous disposition should look away now!

After that effort it's back to the Roosians, a mere sixteen bases of figures to finish off! More on those in due course, in the meantime let me end this blog entry by wishing you all "A Happy New Year!"