New Russo-Japanese range previews!

[Scott Blair]

Delighted to help here! Like you I debate scale for this one. I have collected 28 mm Tsuba for skirmish but this was a war of big battles in the main. Ideally fight as a linked campaign and even bring in naval elements given the nice micro ships out there.

I have toyed with Mud and Blood and can see that working quite well. There is a set of battalion /company level  called Ikonki as well via Wargames Vault.

I did a brigade level action a few months back using Bloody Picnic. Worked quite well. Russian victory secured by a dragoon counterattack on a faltering Japanese .

Be keen to see how your project goes!

Scott


quote author=mmcv link=msg=349499 date=1668112317]
Scott, many thanks for this. Definitely one high on my to-do list.

I've never been quite able to settle though on whether it would be better suited to skirmish level actions or bigger battles, there's scope for both! Would be interesting to do a linked series of the smaller battles through Liaodong, or a huge Mukden game.

Rule wise, for really low level skirmish stuff the lardies rules Through the Mud and Blood (and their Chain of Command variant of it) could work quite well. For the larger battles BBB as you say has some interesting scenarios, and Great War Spearhead II could potentially work too.

Definitely one for the future 
[/quote]

[Scott Blair]

Tony! Scott here. Phil is working on Chinese ie Chunchu Bandits, foot and mounted. These might afford some additional options for you.



Catch up soon,

Scott

Thanks for that GOM. I'm using some of the Afghan troops in woolly hats already and have some of these sets for another project. They may be a bit archaic though - need to dig out some pictorial references again.

Tony of TTT

[fred.]

We've used If the Lord Spares Us for a lot of WWI gaming for both western front 1914 and 1917/18. It takes a little while to understand the rules, but overall gives a good game, and seems to have that WWI feel. 

I'd certainly think it would work for Eastern Front, and probably RCW. 

[paulr]

I think it would do reasonably well for the Russo-Japanese War as well

[Nouseforausername]

WOW. These are perfect to plug gaps in the WW1 codes I have needed for russian forces and back of beyond gaming... Even if current world events have somewhat curved my interest. These still look excellent!

Not that I need anything else to add to the leadpile of shame...

[streetgang]

...Out of interest do you plan on using a particular set of rules? I have used Bloody Big Battles with success.

Scott

Scott: I plan to use a non-commercial set I played at a convention called Take Action. They are a one page (front and back) quickplay set intended for WW1. The basic maneuver group is a 4 base battalion with separate command base. I typically play with a couple brigades per side.

I own BBB but never played them, will have to give them a try.

[Nouseforausername]

I plan to use a non-commercial set I played at a convention called Take Action.

Quickplay is always alluring. You wouldn't happen to have a copy of those rules you'd care to share, would you?

[Scott Blair]

Hi StreetGang!

Intrigued by the idea of a one page set of rules. Not least for a modern period. If you could share them I suspect that would be much appreciated here.

BBB gives a good game. Gets you to think about how to rate troops. For example do RJW Russians get ragged volley? Should Japanese automatically charge on a roll of double six? BBB also works for early WW1.

Scott

[streetgang]

I will reach out to the author and ask if he minds me posting the rules.

[Nouseforausername]

I will reach out to the author and ask if he minds me posting the rules.

Thanks!

[FierceKitty]

When is that priest likely to become available? I have a job for him.

[paulr]

When is that priest likely to become available? I have a job for him.

Cat's still think of themselves as gods  

[Leon]

When is that priest likely to become available? I have a job for him.

Should be end of Feb/early March I'd think.

[The Baron]

  I've only just retrieved a bag of Russo Japanese figures and proxies (I bought years ago)from the pile of shame with a view to getting them painted. 
Now I find that you're revamping the range which leaves me very conflicted as I'm sad (the older figures are much smaller), happy (because the new figures look to be aiming for a more complete range) and scared (Because I might have to choose between clothes or shiny new toys!).

[John Cook]

.....scared (Because I might have to choose between clothes or shiny new toys!).

Don't worry about it, naked wargaming can be fun

[The Baron]

Don't worry about it, naked wargaming can be fun

So long as I have my ornamental codpiece to protect against superglue accidents I should be fine

[The Baron]

It has also occurred to me that the Japanese infantry could also be used for the Satsuma Rebellion and the "History and Games Lab" have recently published a book on that conflict using "The Men Who Would be Kings" as a basis for gaming.

[Bunny]

Morning Forum!

First off-loved the snowball quip!

I am the mad ( or sad)  man who commissioned this range. It reflects years of interest in this war which some historians are now calling World War Zero. Lots of hints in the conflict of what was to come and it of course laid the way for Pearl Harbour in more ways than one.

It has great scope as a period and when combined with some of the lovely ship models out there from 1/600 Old Glory to 1/6000 Hallmark, and perhaps some of the boardgames out there, you have the makings of great combined arms miniatures campaigns.  I favour 1/2400 War Times Journal models. For land battles I have used Bloody Big Battles inspired by the Two Marshals Blog. Bloody Picnic works and am also looking at WW1 Spearhead.

I am really  excited and really grateful to Techno for sculpting and to Leon for agreeing to this one. 

Ok, some more thoughts.

Can the figures be used for other periods? Definite use for WW1, not least the Russians-and also for RCW. Effectively the same kit and even some of the heavy weapons have later use. For example the M1900 field gun was a reserve weapon in WW1.

Japanese and Russians could see service in the Boxer Rebellion ( and I think that period is on a to do list for Leon somewhere). Japanese could fight Chinese in 1894/95. Russians in what if encounters with Boer War British on the NWF.

And can you use WW1 and other codes to supplement? Yes. The 76.2mm field gun from the Russian WW1 range was the gun which became the main field gun weapon in the RJW and saw a lot of service with the Russians and also, when captured, by the Japanese. So that code can be used with the new range. In addition most of the WW1 and RCW codes are of use.  Not least cavalry and cossacks.

As for extras-well-I am a bit of a sad completist.

Techno is now doing-

1. Russian Frontier Guard gunners and mounted.

2. Russian improvised trench mortar and crew.

3. Japanese improvised trench mortar and crew.

4. Japanese assault engineers ( for those Port Arthur moments).

5. Dismounted cossack Madsen LMG and crew (a Danish weapon and the first LMG to see action ever-and still in use by the Brazilian police on drug cartel raids).

6. Japanese with captured Madsen LMG.

7. Mounted and dismounted Chunchu irregulars.

I am also really stunned at the lovely comments from the Forum for a topic that is so off beat but has such great potential. As ever thanks!

No doubt I will ramble on more in due course.....

Scott 






 

Would be great for Back of Beyond scenarios

[jaztez]

"Timescales shouldn't be long on this lot as we'd like to have them done and released before the end of the year."

So.....as it's now 6 months later....Hows it going?

[Leon]

"Timescales shouldn't be long on this lot as we'd like to have them done and released before the end of the year."

So.....as it's now 6 months later....Hows it going?

Getting there, the additions to the range added more moulds to the process and then Covid at Christmas and other projects with urgent deadlines got in the way of this range.  There's about 10 moulds left to be made, 5 of which are in the moulding room waiting to be done this coming week.  I should have another 3 moulds cleaned up on Monday so we'll be almost there by the end of this week. 

They'll need spinning / blackwashing / photoing for release, so with two shows over the next two weekends I'll probably have to wait until after Partizan for that.