10mm ACW Part 3

After a long delay, the 1st Battle of Kernstown finally took place.
We used a combination of 'RF&F' and 'They Couldn't Hit an Elephant' from Two Fat Lardies.
RF&F was used to resolve combat while TCHAE covered movement. The two rule sets worked
well together and after a rather slow start and a little tweaking the pace picked up and we all agreed
that the 'feeling was right.'
The table was 6' x 4' and the troops were deployed historically.
Objectives were Pritchard's Hill in the center and the stone wall near the Glass house on the left.
Control of both objectives by one side at games end was necessary for a major victory.
If neither side controlled both objectives a casualty count would decide which side scored a
minor victory.

The lighting was not good in the gaming room so none of the pictures I took came out well enough to post but I like to see pictures as much as the next guy so here are three showing the initial deployment of three of the units involved in the battle.

Turner Ashby's Cavalry watching the Confederate right.

Sullivan's Brigade on the Union left moving through the woods toward Kernstown.

And finally, Fulkerson's Brigade moving to the stone wall on the Confederate left.

We were unable to finish the game which was not surprising being our first go with these rules
but we all agreed that the game had the right feel to it and the card driven movement added a good deal of uncertainty to the game play.
When we ended the Confederates held the stone wall and the Union sat atop Pritchard's Hill.
The Union had the heavier casualties but that may have changed had the game done on as scheduled
so we called it a draw and everyone left happy.

10mm ACW Part 2

The painting is now pretty much complete. There's some touch up and a bit of flocking to be done but in all I'm nearly there.

Some of the Confederate guns. Danville Batteries on the left with the brown carriages, Rockbridge Batteries in Red. The Confederates will have 10 Batteries, the Union 9.

Turner Ashby's Cavalry will hopefully provide the intelligence that Jackson needs if he is to succeed. General Jackson believes the he outnumbers the Federals when in fact they greatly outnumber him.

Two Brigades of the Union Army under the command of Colonel Nathan Kimball will enter North of town. The Third Brigade, Tyler's will arrive later in the day as reinforcements.

Union infantry headed for battle.

To be continued...

10mm American Civil War

I'm going to be putting on the Battle of Kernstown later this summer so I thought I'd pick up some 10mm figures. I bought some Old Glory, Pendraken and had some AIM command figures which have been gathering dust, unpainted for years now.
The Old Glory come in strips of five but don't fit on the 1" base so I just snipped off a figure.
We're  using "They Couldn't Hit an Elephant" rules from Too Fat Lardies. I like the uncertainty and friction that the provide.
The Confederates are just about complete and the Federals should be finished by the end of the week.

I'll post an AAR. This is my first go around with TCHAE rule set so I'll let you know what we thought of them.

Here are a few pictures of the Rebels preparing to meet the Union just north of Kernstown March 23, 1862.

General Jackson surveys his troops.

Garnett leads a Virginia Brigade.

The stands are 1" x 1/2" representing 100 men.

Some Blue Moon Artillery, ACW

I'm trying a different painting technique here using more dry brush then I usually do.

The Union didn't come out as well as the Confederates though.

The blue uniforms were just too dark to pick up the undercoat. I tried using a navy blue but it came out looking too purple. For now I'll stick with the midnight blue from Creamcoat.

The Office

Thought it might be a good idea to show you were I work.
It's pretty typical of a wargamer's workbench, a little chaotic but familiar and comfortable.

The set up is right when things are where they are when you need them.



Some minis to the left of the table ready to be painted.

The day I took these pictures I was working on some 15mm scale buildings.
I rough cut some balsa and then covered the structure in joint compound.

One of the finished buildings.

And another.

Civil War Generals, Stone Mountain Miniatures

I like Stone Mountain Miniatures. The figures are well proportioned and easy to paint.
I recently purchased their Civil War Personalities packs and painted them up in no time flat.
I was impressed at how recognizable the figures were when finished.

All of the following are 15mm.

The Generals are available through Stone Mountain in packs of six at $7.50 +s/h.

Scale Creep Miniatures

I made my first purchase of Scale Creep Miniatures recently and I must say, I'm very happy with castings.
As the name implies (or states) these figures are on the high end of the 15mm range coming in closer to 18mm. But how much larger are they? To answer this I did a size comparison between Scale Creep, Blue Moon and Battle Honors.
Battle Honors are considered 'true' 15mm figures meaning that they measure 15mm from heel to eye level.
Blue Moon markets their figures as 15/18mm and are 'true' 18mm.
After looking at them side by side it appears that Scale creep falls between the two, closer to 18 than 15.
I wouldn't mix the figures in the same Regiment but I would Brigade them together.

Blue Moon on the left, Scale Creep in the center, Battle Honors on the right.


Another look.

 I like the Scale Creep figures and I'll be adding more to my collection.
I particularly like the officer.

At 54cents a figure they are competitive and well worth the price.
My next purchase will be Confederates

Pass Through Fire

Pass through fire is firing that occurs during the defensive fire phase when an enemy unit moves through the arc of fire of one of your units. The rules I use state the you should make a 'mental note' of where you would like to fire at that unit. I'm not big on 'mental notes' so I use props to remind me.

Example
A Confederate column begins its movement outside of the arc of fire of the Federal Battery.

During its movement the column passes through the artillery's arc of fire and end its movement once again outside of the arc.

Rather than trusting my memory and relying on 'mental notes', I place a marker at the spot I will be firing on the column during the defensive fire phase.

This works well for infantry firing defensive fire at a retreating enemy when you want your troops to fire before the enemy gets beyond short range.

Ongoing Projects

My first love was, and still is AWI, Revwar, The Revolution. I painted my first minifigs in 1972. 25mm.
Sadly they are long gone but in their place are Blue Moon 18s.
I began painting these about a year ago. The British are nearly complete, the Continentals are 80% there.
At this point I'm looking at rules trying to find the set that feels right for me. There are a lot out there.
British Grenadier looks good. The RF&F variant isn't bad but doesn't address Lt Infantry, Indians or Militia well enough and that's a problem. There are also a number of free rules online that could provide a basis for a home grown set. My ideal set would put an emphasis on leadership, moral and training.

Another ongoing project is my Baccus 6mm AWI as well as 6mm ACW. These were based for Polomos rules. Here's a sample:

6mm Union

6mm AWI

My most current project is ACW 15mm. The Battle of Kernstown.
I'll post some pictures once the armies are more organized.

Roads and Creeks

Here are a couple of quick ways to make roads and water.
In the first method I use 3Ms indoor/outdoor tread. It's 1" x 5 yards at about $9.

It has an adhesive bottom so it will stick to your gaming surface and follow contours nicely.
I like the texture and the look. Even unpainted, it looks like a road.

Rather than applying it directly to your gaming table, you can mount it on corkboard, balsawood or a number of other surfaces. In doing so you can add flocking to the edges of your roads & creeks.

Another method I use is paintable sealent. I spread it out on silpat, a flexible baking sheet, and let it harden overnight. The following day it's ready for painting and flocking.

Hope you found this helpful.

A little ground cover

Nothing says dull like a flat mono colored gaming table But it doesn't take much to change all that. Every real battlefield has a varying amount of trees, woodland, hills, rivers, roads, ponds, fences, walls, houses and so forth. The list is a long one but don't be daunted by it. Making your own terrain can be fun and a welcome break from painting those little men.
  Corduroy is perfect for plowed fields. Cut out the desired shape and simply glue it ( I use hot glue) to a base. Something as simple as cardboard. Add a perimeter of stonewalls or fences, a little foliage and you've got a nice little field.

Teddy bear fur works well as an open green field and really helps to break up the table.

Again I just glue it to a base, cardboard was used here and then add the finishing touches of fence and foilage.