I've been lurking a while and posting a little so I'd best introduce myself...Hi, my name's Bob...I'm a wargamer...
I was introduced to gaming in the late sixties/early seventies by my eldest brother Johann. My first games were using Airfix Romans and Ancient Brits with a "one side of A4" set of fun home brewed rules which my brother drew up. I moved onto Napoleonics with Featherstone's Horse and Musket rules then into WW2, Airfix again, with WRG Armour and infantry 1925-1950 which I stuck at for a while before going to college and experiencing some of life’s darker pleasures, which drew me away from playing with toy soldiers for some considerable time ;)
Several years and a change of continent later, I started playing with Spencer Smith 30mm plastics and WRG 1685-1845 rules and built up a couple of small fictitious armies which saw some action with one or two ex-patriots where I was. I returned to the UK, specifically the Isle of Man in the early 90's but it was only in 1998 or 99 that the bug bit again and having left all my wargames gear back in the far east I decided to build two small 6mm SYW, still using WRG rules as their companion publication "Seven Years War Army Lists"
Well things spiralled out of control, as they do, and I currently have about 55,000 figures spread through the Medieval, ECW, SYW, Napoleonic, ACW and WW2 eras, all 6mm, and I still want to add the Great Italian War to bridge the gap between my medieval and ECW armies.
I'm lucky enough to have a dedicated wargames room with a permanent table and 400 feet of sturdy shelving for figures, terrain boards and scenic items but still have a few feet of empty shelving which taunt me when I peruse my collection so perhaps I will have to add that missing 6mm US heavy division to the gap on my Spearhead shelving, or perhaps paint all those landing craft I bought back in 2000 or maybe those gliders which I acquired from... somewhere.....
Anyway...for some time now I have been wanting to fight some AWI small actions but didn't want it to be another half shelf of figures similar to my 6mm SYW stuff so I looked at and test painted some 15mm figures, but wasn't happy with their size or my painting techniques. Then Pendraken announced their imminent VAT rise so I took the plunge. And what a nice plunge it was too. There’s no rush on this project and I try to paint three or four batches of eight figures per week. My first brigade, Vaughn's comprising of the 4th,23rd, 28th and 49th foot ought to be complete by the end of the month, and blooded by the end of the year. I'll post photos of both events. My next project will be a small colonial/WW1 East African affair some regulars and local militia with the odd armoured car, the project after that...mmmhhh...
I've been picking up a lot of great tips and have seen some very inspirational photos both on this forum and its many associated blogs and I hope that I too will be able to add my own wargames interpretation to these pages for the scrutiny of my peers.
Cry havoc...
Hi Bob, welcome to the Forum. I'm looking forward to seeing those AWI on the table! 8)
You're an ex-patriot? What lost your country your affection?
Hi Bob - another AWIer is always a good thing :)
Morning Bob, welcome aboard - always good to hear from people with extensive 6mm lead piles ;)
Greetings and welcome
Welcome Bob.
Cheers - Phil.
Hi Bob,
That's an awful lot of 6 mils you have there. Tens must be a bit of a culture shock? ;)
Welcome Bob :-h
'evening chaps, thanks for the welcomes.
To Leon and Goat Major - I'm looking forward to using them, they really are a satisfying size. I just need to decide on which rules. I currently favour "Loose files and an American scramble" by Andy Callan or "John Bull/Patriots" by the Perfect Captain with thoughts towards "British Grenadier" by Eclaireur for more formal actions. However, I've always felt that an adaptation of WW2 Crossfire could work quite well for small actions in this theater...oh well,lots of play testing to do over the coming months!
To Fierce Kitty - I lived in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, from 1981 to 91 but am more than happy to be back on the Isle of Man. It's oddly pleasant to have cold rainy days instead of continuous heat and sunshine - though it would probably be nicer if there were less of them.
To Hertsblue - As I mentioned I just got carried away. The bulk of the lead is consumed over-populating 15mm bases. With Age of Eagles as an example I mount the bulk of my troops in three ranks of five figures with officer, musicians etc to the rear. The British in two ranks of seven with officers to the rear. Cavalry too are six figures to a base for most types but eight in two ranks of four for heavy cavalry. Nostitz' Austrian cuirassier division is 320 cuirassiers strong and makes quite an impression when fielded! Other scales use similar loading systems so you can see how the numbers built up so quickly. On the other hand, perhaps I should have only made two Napoleonic armies rather than eleven!
The scaling up to 10mm certainly is quite shocking and I can see my paint bills rising dramatically over the next few years. But the quality of the figures and multi-posing is spot on and it is well worth the awe of seeing such statuesque minis crowding near my paint brushes anxiously awaiting their turn for a splurging of colour.
To all others thanks for the welcome.
There are a couple of dubious photos posted on my photobucket page. I've only recently started taking pictures - sorry...started trying to take pictures of my games. I will see about investing in a tripod asap to remove the shake!
http://s1106.photobucket.com/albums/h371/wargamesbob/6mm%20wargames%20tables/ (http://s1106.photobucket.com/albums/h371/wargamesbob/6mm%20wargames%20tables/)
I live in Bangkok myself, so I know what you mean about the weather. But I see you're an expatriate, not an ex-patriot, then.
Quote from: wargamesbob on 07 October 2011, 09:01:36 PM
'evening chaps, thanks for the welcomes.
To Leon and Goat Major - I'm looking forward to using them, they really are a satisfying size. I just need to decide on which rules. I currently favour "Loose files and an American scramble" by Andy Callan or "John Bull/Patriots" by the Perfect Captain with thoughts towards "British Grenadier" by Eclaireur for more formal actions. However, I've always felt that an adaptation of WW2 Crossfire could work quite well for small actions in this
British Grenadier is very good and gives an excellent period feel. It has a variable scale meaning you can easily fight at 1:5 through to 1:20. It uses the same disruption points system as Loose Files ( I think!). I would recommend getting a copy, and certainly the scenario books too
Others have reported good results with Black Powder. if you base your line infantry on 20 x 20 bases then they should be good for both systems.
adapting crossfire is lateral thinking of the finest kind :) i'm now tempted to mod 40k to this period :) seriously for small actions there is a Sharp Practice supplement for AWI which might work well - but you might have to base the figures individually :-\
Oh and nice pics btw !