Greetings from Italy

Started by flyingsuppo, 05 January 2021, 07:57:03 PM

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paulr

Welcome aboard Sir :-h

Plenty of good advise already, 6mm buildings with 10mm troops is particularly useful when working with limited space. You can have several smaller buildings in the space that 1 opr 2 10mm scale buildings would need

Little Wars TV has just started a series on Wargaming for beginners which may be very well timed for you, it is aimed at the Viking era but a lot will translate directly to ACW


Feel free to ask any specific questions you may have, the friendly bunch here will happily come up with multiple contradictory answers :)
Lord Lensman of Wellington
2018 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2022 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2023 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!

flyingsuppo

Everyone,

Thank you for your suggestions and recommendations.  I'm impressed by the quantity of responses I have received in a very short period of time.  Your welcoming comments and insightful assistance has made me realize that this group is truly special, and I am glad to be a part of it.  I look forward to researching Bloody Big Battles, Altar of Freedom, and Portable xyz further.  I also plan to subscribe to Little Wars TV. 

Just another quick question: I noticed that there are miniatures in different poses, to include charging and shooting.  Do I need an equal number of bases in both poses?  Will I be swapping them out during gameplay based on their actions? 

Thanks again for the warm welcome.

mmcv

You could go for different poses and swap them out but I suspect that way madness lies! The poses are more to give you variety for the aesthetic of your units. Generally rules won't dictate figure poses, they'll be more concerned with representing formations with number of bases or status markers.

As far as figure poses go it's more a case of how you wish to represent them, some people like having all the troops in a single pose, whether it's in action or at rest, while other people like a dynamic mix for variety.

Historical wargaming tends to be quite flexible and forgiving to the gamer given the vast range of figures available in different sizes and encourages more of a DIY attitude than you would find in game sets from a single manufacturer.

A good first step would be to look through a few rules (and find videos on them if possible for a taste) as that'll help decide how you want to put your armies together, e.g. how many bases do you need per unit, what formations need to be represented, how many units a side for a standard battle.

A lot of rulesets are aimed at bigger figures and spaces so don't necessarily be deterred of a ruleset requires 300mm wide bases and an 8ft table, quite often there'll be means to scale that down to reasonable kitchen table sizes as well. What size of table do you think you'll have to play on?

sean66

Welcome Commander.
if you are just starting out both time and space will be limited.
if you download the rules below they are a quick and easy 4 page ruleset for the ACW.
http://www.oldgloryuk.com/data/free_rules_downloads_pdfs/simple_acw_rules_for_regimental_level_games.pdf

This will help you to.
1 decide if its the way you want to go (with minimal cost)
2 decide on the figures you'll need (the rules are for 40mm figures but with 24-28 miniatures a unit. (so a bag of miniatures will give you the unit, and a command bag will give you enough figures for 2-3 units command).
so a good starter place would be 2-3 units each side and a few small artillery pieces either side. I'd wait to get cavalry and start building up your forces till you have decided
that you are interested enough to move the project to a bigger project (this will happen trust me)
Quick terrain can be simulated by using matchsticks as snake fences (I know out of scale but for a start )
also because you are in Europe you can go the VAT free option on the website (just remember to put your civilian address down not your APO. otherwise your figures will take a journey to US first before coming to you.
Regards
Sean


Orcs

Welcome to the forum Commander.

I generally use Black powder with the Glory Halleluiah supplement. That way you only need 3 bases for a standard unit or 4 for a large one.

However i like the original Fire and Fury rules so have based my 10mm using Fire and fury base sizes (5 infantry or 2 cavalry)and then got Leon to supply Sabot bases so I can use them with my friends Black Powder armies that are based on 30mmx 30mm squares.

Army packs are a good deal to start off with. If you know the bases sizes you want Leon can supply those at the same time. He will also produce Custom sizes if you need them. the ACW range has been redone recently and is lovely.






The cynics are right nine times out of ten. -Mencken, H. L.

Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well. - Robert Louis Stevenson

Westmarcher

A warm welcome from me, also  :-h  Spent many a holiday (vacation) in the Bay. On one trip to Naples, I visited Solfatara, a mini caldera I believe, full of sulphuric gas outlets. Too close and you would drop dead. At one point the tour guide picked up a large rock and dropped it. It was like standing on a giant drum. Who knows what was (or rather, was not) beneath us. In retrospect, it seems mad to have taken a tour there at all. I also understand NATO HQ is located in a giant caldera. Do you work there and if so, does everyone tip-toe about?  ;)  As you know, the area also abounds with history (Pompeii, Herculaneum, etc.). No doubt you've visited Capri - if you haven't already done so, I recommend you leave the tourist crowds behind and walk up to Tiberius's villa - the views are terrific. Anyhoo ...

I get the impression that miniature wargaming in small spaces appears to be becoming a more popular subject these days. Partly recognises that we don't all live in big houses (particularly in Europe). Possibly also because many of us are getting on a bit and standing around leaning over large tables for hours on end ain't so attractive. If you've had a long hard day at work, a comfy chair is also appealing.  (I also suspect that recognising our days are numbered, with so many other historic periods we would like to war-game, us older guys don't want to embark on too large a project, particularly if you are a painfully slow painter like me!  :-[ ) Free time is also a factor, so games that take up more than, say, 2 to 3 hours can play havoc with the family's need to use the dining room/kitchen table and our need to finish the game. With small tables and small scales meaning small collections (initially!), this ticks another box as far as storage is concerned. Also, bear in mind you don't have to have massive armies to have a good game. I therefore endorse Paul's (T13A) suggestion to look at Jemima Fawr's solutions (i.e., smaller bases and home-made measuring sticks). A look-in on fellow forumites' blogs (e.g., Norm and SteveJ) may also help with further ideas on 'wargaming in small spaces' (links to their blogs can be found in any of their posts on the forum).

As far as poses are concerned, it's not only aesthetics but sometimes affects the amount of figures you wish to place on a base; marching figures tending to take up slightly less space than dynamically posed ones (the former also tend to be easier to pick up when based without being impaled by a charging bayonet). Rules are also down to personal preference. Don't be surprised if you end up buying a number of rules before you find the right set for you. Surfing the internet for reviews on rule systems is also worthwhile. This gives you a feel for the game itself and the basing systems used. Don't be afraid to adapt any rules to your own preferred basing system - many of us do that. In most rules, the author sets down his own preferred basing method but this does not necessarily rule out other systems. Your ideal base system should help you play as many of your favourite rules as possible. But I recognise you've got to start somewhere so think about the formations you might have to depict in your games. For example, if you want to have the ability to arrange your units in Line, Attack Column, Square (granted, unlikely for ACW) and March Column, I reckon you will need a minimum of 4 bases per unit (I prefer square bases). If you are not too fussed about March Column, you can get by with 2 rectangular bases per unit (simply place a marker beside the unit or leave a space between 2 bases placed one behind the other to depict March Column). Also have a think about how you are going to base your artillery and how much crew you wish to include.  Have fun!


I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.

steve_holmes_11

Welcome commander.

The hardest part about getting started is the sheer range of options available.
Rules, figure scale/size: which lead on to basing system and figure supplier.

You've had some excellent advice above, so I'll simply rehash a few rules of thumb that I wish I had known when getting started.
* Do you have gamer friends, or friends who are interested in becoming gamers - if so, have a chat with them about preferences and plans - it's fun with more players.
* Ignore any USA Vs UK nonsense you might see on other discussion groups. The hobby had slightly different origins each side of the Atlantic, but players, models, rules and language are close enough to be mutually intelligible.
* Start small - you'll see whether you like it, and can always scale up later. This implies selecting rules that provide a good game with a few units per side, but don't grind to a halt with double that number - come back and ask about this.
* Keep an open mind. One thing often leads to another in this hobby. Before the paint dries on your last butternut Reb, you'll likely have developed an interest in Leading some of George Washington's lads across an icy river.
* Some gamers (Certifiably crazy in my view) also play Navy and Air games. You might take a quick look at American Civil War naval actions (They're usually comfortably small) as something that plays quickly. Ironclads, Monitors, Screw Frigates or the occasional blockade runner mission.

Most of all, have fun.

Scorpio_Rocks

Hello Commander - (XCOM flashbacks...)

Welcome aboard and can I add to the voices that recommend 6mm buildings to go with your 10mm troops - ground scale and troop scale very rarely correlate and the smaller footprint means less space needed and better relation to ground scale.
"Gentlemen, when the enemy is committed to a mistake - we must not interrupt him too soon."
Horatio Nelson.

FierceKitty

Do have a look at Leven's range of 6mm buildings for the War of Northern Aggression; they're irresistible.
I don't drink coffee to wake up. I wake up to drink coffee.

flyingsuppo

My first attempt at painting 10mm miniatures.  What do you think? 

paulr

 :-bd =D> :-bd

Those are looking really good

One small observation, if you paint the edges of your flags it removes the sharp contrast with the white paper. Because of the small area of paint the colour match doesn't have to be too close
Lord Lensman of Wellington
2018 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2022 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2023 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!

mmcv


Steve J

Really nice work and I agree with Paul's comments about the edges of the flags.

Duke Speedy of Leighton

You may refer to me as: Your Grace, Duke Speedy of Leighton.
2016 Pendraken Painting Competion Participation Prize  (Lucky Dip Catagory) Winner

Lord Kermit of Birkenhead

Good stuff but you need to do the bases
FOG IN CHANNEL - EUROPE CUT OFF
Lord Kermit of Birkenhead
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