More to follow soon....
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Thursday 12 December 2013
Cold War Soviets 1987
Here's the first models for the 18th Guards Motor Rifle Division's 369th Tank Regiment. Being part of the Soviet Forces based in Czechoslovakia I get to use one of my favourite 6mm T-72 models (Heroics and Ros SM62). First up is a single tank company of 3 platoons:
Battalion command stand consisting of a BTR-50PU (SM18) and a T-72BV (SM62):
BTR-60PB (SM16) engineer transports (1 platoon each for the Tank Regiment, BMP Regiment and the Division Engineers):
Regimental AA Platoon of a ZSU-23-4 (SM37):
More to follow soon....
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More to follow soon....
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Sunday 17 November 2013
AAR - A Test Game
Having just returned from holiday yesterday afternoon and having re-read BKCII I thought it was high time I got a game in to re-familiarise myself with the rules. I also had a few ideas that I wanted to try out on the table.
Scenario:
To keep things simple I went with the encounter scenario from the rulebook set in the summer of 1944. The battlefield features a central road running in a valley between both armies, both sides of the table feature various numbers of small hills some of which are wooded.
House Rules:
I thought seeing as I have large amounts of 6mm completed for the 1 to 1 scale games I used to do I'd try out BKCII at this figure scale (lets call it squad scale as opposed to the usual platoon scale). To do this I used/came up with/amended the following rules:
1. Use the Commanders optional rule but amending note 2 for this rule so that commanders aren't forced to move first and removing note 3 completely as I felt that a commander could move and command his troops without penalty (however this penalty could be applied if a CO/HQ moved out of a command post).
2. Companies with more than 1 HQ stand (for example a tank company with a HQ tank and a deputy HQ tank) could use that reserve HQ to take over command of the company if the main HQ was lost.
3. Replacement of lost HQ's - I decided not to allow this seeing as I was using the commanders rule. If a formation lost its HQ I would still allow it to activate at a -1 (perhaps representing a junior officer attempting to take command) or be taken over by a higher HQ.
4. For better trained formations I'd allow a platoon HQ stand to give more tactical flexibility.
5. For formations that fail to activate at all I'd allow a higher HQ to try and activate them (with appropriate penalties depending on doctrine and distance).
6. Although not used in the game described below I thought that off table artillery ought to be represented as a single model per battery hence they'd keep the same stats as per the rules. I may well also use the reduced artillery fire zones optional rule.
7. Hits stay on. I did also think of using ARV's to remove a hit by activating beside a damaged vehicle, this gives a reason to use all those painted ARV's I have.
The Forces:
For last nights game I selected the following:
Russians -
1x T-34/85 CO(CV8) (battalion commander)
2 Tank Companies, each with: 1x T-34/85 HQ(CV7) (company commander) and 3 platoons each with 3x T-34/85.
Germans
1x Pzkpfw IVH CO(CV9) (Company HQ) and 1x Pzkpfw IVH HQ(CV8) (deputy company HQ)
2 Panzer Platoons, each with 1x Pzkpfw IVH HQ(CV8) (platoon HQ) and 4x Pzkpfw IVH's
1 Panzer Platoon with 1x Panther G HQ(CV8) (platoon HQ) and 4x Panther G
The reason for the mixed company was simply because I couldn't find the box with the rest of the Pzkpfw IV's in!
The Game:
Turn 1:
The Germans activate first and the Panther platoon moves out in wedge formation on the German right closely followed by one of the Pzkpfw IVH platoons with the Company HQ tanks taking up the rear. The other Pzkpfw IVH platoon takes up hull down positions on two hills on the (defensive) left flank.
The Russian tank companies are both deployed in platoon columns in a reverse V formation. One company is deployed on the right and the other on the left with the Battalion HQ in the centre between them. The right hand company moves off first and deploys its platoons in to line whilst still maintaining the V formation. The right hand platoon is then hit by opportunity fire from the hull down Pzkpfw IV's which although causing ten hits in total fails to destroy a single tank, though all 3 tanks are damaged and surpressed.
The left hand T-34/85 company fails its activation roll so the battalion HQ has to intervene to get them moving and deployed in to line (they were also in a V formation). This company halts just before it climbs the hill separating (and shielding) it from the advancing German right wing.
Turn 2:
The hull down Pzkpfw IV's activate and destroy 2 of the T-34's they fired at last turn, fortunately for the T-34's they fail to activate again. The Panthers are next to activate moving down the hill on the German right flank and in to the valley. On their next activation they open fire on the right hand T-34 companies leading left platoon suppressing 2 of the T-34's. The remaining T-34 from that platoon Op fires the Panthers damaging but not suppressing one of the tanks (which managed to save 4 out of the 5 hits). The right hand Pzkpfw IV platoon fails its activation roll whilst the Company HQ moves up to a hull down position on the hill.
Both of the Russian companies fail to activate so the Battalion HQ has to get involved again and manages to push the left hand company forward and gets one of its platoons in to a hull down position on the hill. The right hand Pzkpfw IV platoon and the Company HQ both Op fire this platoon knocking 2 tanks out and damaging a third. This set back must of been the reason for the Battalion HQ to fail to activate again hence ending the turn.
Turn 3:
Both Pzkpfw IV's platoons fail to activate this turn but the Panthers make up for that by rolling a double 1 and proceed to shoot up the remains of the right hand T-34 companies leading two platoons, one Panther is suppressed by Op fire and then is forced to fall back as the T-34 Company HQ opens fire on it. The Panthers activate again and destroy the T-34 HQ and force the leading tank of the third platoon to fall back damaged. The Pzkpfw IV Company HQ activates and engages the final remaining damaged hull down T-34 from the platoon that was decimated last turn. The 2 HQ tanks score a total of 5 hits but only one is saved and the T-34 is destroyed which means the Russian Battalion has now reached its breakpoint.
The T-34 Battalion HQ succeeds in passing the break test and the Left Hand T-34 company moves another of its intact platoons forward to engage the Panthers. Although they manage to damage and suppress a couple of Panthers the Op fire from the Pzkpfw IV's is deadly causing another pair of T-34's to burn. At this point I ended the game as the left hand T-34 company had failed to reactivate and the right hand company wouldn't move at all (having lost 70% of their number who can blame them?).
Observations:
Overall everything worked well and the game flowed well even though I was a bit rusty. Points to note for the next time:
1. The Russians definitely needed at least 1 more battalion as a 2nd wave. That said things may well of been different with the forces I did use had the Germans not had the Panthers with their 4+ saving throw and slightly better gun.
2. I must check if hull down vehicles count as hull down when the observer is at the same height as they.
3. I really must remember to reset the camera as the pictures I did take didn't come out well at all - unfortunately I'd left the detail setting on hence the reason there are no photos with this post!
I'm having another go today with different forces.
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Scenario:
To keep things simple I went with the encounter scenario from the rulebook set in the summer of 1944. The battlefield features a central road running in a valley between both armies, both sides of the table feature various numbers of small hills some of which are wooded.
House Rules:
I thought seeing as I have large amounts of 6mm completed for the 1 to 1 scale games I used to do I'd try out BKCII at this figure scale (lets call it squad scale as opposed to the usual platoon scale). To do this I used/came up with/amended the following rules:
1. Use the Commanders optional rule but amending note 2 for this rule so that commanders aren't forced to move first and removing note 3 completely as I felt that a commander could move and command his troops without penalty (however this penalty could be applied if a CO/HQ moved out of a command post).
2. Companies with more than 1 HQ stand (for example a tank company with a HQ tank and a deputy HQ tank) could use that reserve HQ to take over command of the company if the main HQ was lost.
3. Replacement of lost HQ's - I decided not to allow this seeing as I was using the commanders rule. If a formation lost its HQ I would still allow it to activate at a -1 (perhaps representing a junior officer attempting to take command) or be taken over by a higher HQ.
4. For better trained formations I'd allow a platoon HQ stand to give more tactical flexibility.
5. For formations that fail to activate at all I'd allow a higher HQ to try and activate them (with appropriate penalties depending on doctrine and distance).
6. Although not used in the game described below I thought that off table artillery ought to be represented as a single model per battery hence they'd keep the same stats as per the rules. I may well also use the reduced artillery fire zones optional rule.
7. Hits stay on. I did also think of using ARV's to remove a hit by activating beside a damaged vehicle, this gives a reason to use all those painted ARV's I have.
The Forces:
For last nights game I selected the following:
Russians -
1x T-34/85 CO(CV8) (battalion commander)
2 Tank Companies, each with: 1x T-34/85 HQ(CV7) (company commander) and 3 platoons each with 3x T-34/85.
Germans
1x Pzkpfw IVH CO(CV9) (Company HQ) and 1x Pzkpfw IVH HQ(CV8) (deputy company HQ)
2 Panzer Platoons, each with 1x Pzkpfw IVH HQ(CV8) (platoon HQ) and 4x Pzkpfw IVH's
1 Panzer Platoon with 1x Panther G HQ(CV8) (platoon HQ) and 4x Panther G
The reason for the mixed company was simply because I couldn't find the box with the rest of the Pzkpfw IV's in!
The Game:
Turn 1:
The Germans activate first and the Panther platoon moves out in wedge formation on the German right closely followed by one of the Pzkpfw IVH platoons with the Company HQ tanks taking up the rear. The other Pzkpfw IVH platoon takes up hull down positions on two hills on the (defensive) left flank.
The Russian tank companies are both deployed in platoon columns in a reverse V formation. One company is deployed on the right and the other on the left with the Battalion HQ in the centre between them. The right hand company moves off first and deploys its platoons in to line whilst still maintaining the V formation. The right hand platoon is then hit by opportunity fire from the hull down Pzkpfw IV's which although causing ten hits in total fails to destroy a single tank, though all 3 tanks are damaged and surpressed.
The left hand T-34/85 company fails its activation roll so the battalion HQ has to intervene to get them moving and deployed in to line (they were also in a V formation). This company halts just before it climbs the hill separating (and shielding) it from the advancing German right wing.
Turn 2:
The hull down Pzkpfw IV's activate and destroy 2 of the T-34's they fired at last turn, fortunately for the T-34's they fail to activate again. The Panthers are next to activate moving down the hill on the German right flank and in to the valley. On their next activation they open fire on the right hand T-34 companies leading left platoon suppressing 2 of the T-34's. The remaining T-34 from that platoon Op fires the Panthers damaging but not suppressing one of the tanks (which managed to save 4 out of the 5 hits). The right hand Pzkpfw IV platoon fails its activation roll whilst the Company HQ moves up to a hull down position on the hill.
Both of the Russian companies fail to activate so the Battalion HQ has to get involved again and manages to push the left hand company forward and gets one of its platoons in to a hull down position on the hill. The right hand Pzkpfw IV platoon and the Company HQ both Op fire this platoon knocking 2 tanks out and damaging a third. This set back must of been the reason for the Battalion HQ to fail to activate again hence ending the turn.
Turn 3:
Both Pzkpfw IV's platoons fail to activate this turn but the Panthers make up for that by rolling a double 1 and proceed to shoot up the remains of the right hand T-34 companies leading two platoons, one Panther is suppressed by Op fire and then is forced to fall back as the T-34 Company HQ opens fire on it. The Panthers activate again and destroy the T-34 HQ and force the leading tank of the third platoon to fall back damaged. The Pzkpfw IV Company HQ activates and engages the final remaining damaged hull down T-34 from the platoon that was decimated last turn. The 2 HQ tanks score a total of 5 hits but only one is saved and the T-34 is destroyed which means the Russian Battalion has now reached its breakpoint.
The T-34 Battalion HQ succeeds in passing the break test and the Left Hand T-34 company moves another of its intact platoons forward to engage the Panthers. Although they manage to damage and suppress a couple of Panthers the Op fire from the Pzkpfw IV's is deadly causing another pair of T-34's to burn. At this point I ended the game as the left hand T-34 company had failed to reactivate and the right hand company wouldn't move at all (having lost 70% of their number who can blame them?).
Observations:
Overall everything worked well and the game flowed well even though I was a bit rusty. Points to note for the next time:
1. The Russians definitely needed at least 1 more battalion as a 2nd wave. That said things may well of been different with the forces I did use had the Germans not had the Panthers with their 4+ saving throw and slightly better gun.
2. I must check if hull down vehicles count as hull down when the observer is at the same height as they.
3. I really must remember to reset the camera as the pictures I did take didn't come out well at all - unfortunately I'd left the detail setting on hence the reason there are no photos with this post!
I'm having another go today with different forces.
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Saturday 9 November 2013
Men at Arms Completed
Here's the finished Men at Arms unit complete with their close order movement tray:
Overall I quite pleased with the way these have come out, though to be honest I could never do masses of 28mm in a short period of time like some people do but at least I can do them in a way that I'm happy with.
Now back to something smaller.....
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Overall I quite pleased with the way these have come out, though to be honest I could never do masses of 28mm in a short period of time like some people do but at least I can do them in a way that I'm happy with.
Now back to something smaller.....
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Wednesday 6 November 2013
Men at Arms
Here's the (almost) completed Men at Arms, all that remains to be done is the bases. I decided (on my wife's advice) to tone down the blue of the painted helmet, so it's now much more subdued compared to what it was. To be honest I couldn't find any evidence to support the brighter, more modern looking blue.
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Monday 4 November 2013
WotR WIP
Just some WIP shots of the 3 men-at-arms I'm working on at the moment. These are just about to receive washes and highlights for their clothing, belts, scabbards and my first attempt at a painted helmet (it appears quite bright at the moment but it will get much more colour depth as I apply the shading). The armour itself is actually finished, basically what I do with armour is dry brush the black undercoat heavily with Citadel Chain Mail paint then pick out the joins between plates, rivets etc with black. Some areas are also touched up with a detail brush (00) and the chain mail (if the figure has any) is washed with a thin black wash to make it appear different to the plate armour. The detail of the armour the designer has moulded on to these figures is really really good so they're actually quite rewarding to paint.
These are codes WR63, WR58 and WR71 respectively from the Front Rank WotR range.
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These are codes WR63, WR58 and WR71 respectively from the Front Rank WotR range.
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Saturday 2 November 2013
WotR Basing & Painting
I've now based all of my finished WotR figures on 25mm round bases from Minibits:
Here's all 8 figures:
The method I've used for basing the figures is as follows:
1. Paint the figures metal base dark brown (in this case Coat D'Arms brown horse tone) before attaching it to the MDF base.
2. Coat the base (but not the top of the figures metal base) in PVA and cover in grit (approx 1mm round). Leave to dry.
3. Once dry paint the grit and base edge in dark brown, I tend to water down the paint to make it flow easier around the grit.
4. Using the Baccus basing system dry brush coats dry brush each colour on gradually reducing the amount of paint used for each of the three coats (base, mid and top).
5. Once dry seal the base with a layer of mat varnish - its important to do the edge as well as that helps protect it.
6. Apply static grass randomly to the base leaving some of the grit showing. The static grass used in this case also came from the Baccus Basing System.
Another thing I've also added is some of the Dux Brittaniarum movement trays from Warbases which I've painted/flocked to match the figure bases:
All of the trays come pre-assembled and the Minibits bases slotted in easily (that was a relief!). I'm quite impressed with these and will be adding more for this and other periods. The movement trays allow me to have individually based figures but still be able to move lots of them around easily and they increase my options as to how I can arrange the figures. The trays are available in 12 versions (2 slots up to 12 slots) and I picked up the two 5 slot ones they offer (2mm top layer types).
Finally here's another pair of archers I completed and based (stage 2) earlier today:
These are codes WR2 and WR20 from the Front Rank WotR range.
I've just cleaned up ready for painting another pair of archers and three more men-at-arms which will complete the first 3 'units' of 5.
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Here's all 8 figures:
The method I've used for basing the figures is as follows:
1. Paint the figures metal base dark brown (in this case Coat D'Arms brown horse tone) before attaching it to the MDF base.
2. Coat the base (but not the top of the figures metal base) in PVA and cover in grit (approx 1mm round). Leave to dry.
3. Once dry paint the grit and base edge in dark brown, I tend to water down the paint to make it flow easier around the grit.
4. Using the Baccus basing system dry brush coats dry brush each colour on gradually reducing the amount of paint used for each of the three coats (base, mid and top).
5. Once dry seal the base with a layer of mat varnish - its important to do the edge as well as that helps protect it.
6. Apply static grass randomly to the base leaving some of the grit showing. The static grass used in this case also came from the Baccus Basing System.
Another thing I've also added is some of the Dux Brittaniarum movement trays from Warbases which I've painted/flocked to match the figure bases:
All of the trays come pre-assembled and the Minibits bases slotted in easily (that was a relief!). I'm quite impressed with these and will be adding more for this and other periods. The movement trays allow me to have individually based figures but still be able to move lots of them around easily and they increase my options as to how I can arrange the figures. The trays are available in 12 versions (2 slots up to 12 slots) and I picked up the two 5 slot ones they offer (2mm top layer types).
Finally here's another pair of archers I completed and based (stage 2) earlier today:
These are codes WR2 and WR20 from the Front Rank WotR range.
I've just cleaned up ready for painting another pair of archers and three more men-at-arms which will complete the first 3 'units' of 5.
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Sunday 27 October 2013
WotR Part 4
A change of colour scheme for the archers:
And another Man-at-Arms in very detailed German armour:
All figures are Front Rank (codes WR24 (archer) and WR64 (man-at-arms)).
I'm planning to do a test paint this week with a couple of Aventine Miniatures Thureophoroi. They did take a bit of assembling (they have separate heads) but they're really nice figures so it was worth the effort.
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And another Man-at-Arms in very detailed German armour:
All figures are Front Rank (codes WR24 (archer) and WR64 (man-at-arms)).
I'm planning to do a test paint this week with a couple of Aventine Miniatures Thureophoroi. They did take a bit of assembling (they have separate heads) but they're really nice figures so it was worth the effort.
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Saturday 26 October 2013
WotR - More Archers Completed
Another pair of archers completed. I don't think I'm getting any faster but feel that I'm getting neater and my black outlining is getting slightly thiner:
All figures are Front Rank (codes WR7 (green trousers) & WR27).
Finally here's all of the archers completed so far:
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All figures are Front Rank (codes WR7 (green trousers) & WR27).
Finally here's all of the archers completed so far:
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Wednesday 23 October 2013
Wars of the Roses Progress
I've managed to complete two more archers tonight, it's still taking me longer than I would like (2 sessions) but I'm happier with the results of this process than I was using the dip method (the figures are brighter). The method I've used involves a combination of shading and highlighting of the base colours so it does take longer than simply blocking out the colour and painting on the Army Painter "dip".
The next batch will have more variation in clothing colour but will still have some red and white to match in with the retinues red and white colour scheme.
All figures are Front Rank (codes WR23 & WR19).
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The next batch will have more variation in clothing colour but will still have some red and white to match in with the retinues red and white colour scheme.
All figures are Front Rank (codes WR23 & WR19).
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Sunday 20 October 2013
Wars of the Roses Test Paint
These are for a Wars of the Roses skirmish game we have been thinking about recently. I thought I ought to have a go and see if I could actually paint figures for the era:
All figures are Front Rank (codes WR12 (archer) & WR65 (man-at-arms)).
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All figures are Front Rank (codes WR12 (archer) & WR65 (man-at-arms)).
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Saturday 19 October 2013
Napoleonic Planning - a Basic Outline
This is the basic outline of what I have tentatively planned. It's all based on the armies present at the Battle of Salamanca in 1812:
Anglo-Portuguese:
6th Division: (Major-General Clinton)
Hulse's Brigade:
1/11th Foot Regiment
2/53rd Foot Regiment
1/61st Foot Regiment
5/60th Foot Regiment (1 coy)
Hinde's Brigade:
2nd Foot Regiment
1/32nd Foot Regiment
1/36th Foot Regiment
Rezende's Portuguese Brigade:
1/ & 2/8th Portuguese Regiment
1/ & 2/12th Portuguese Regiment
9th Cacadore Battalion
Artillery:
1 Battery, 8th Battalion (6pdrs)
French:
3rd Division: (Général de division Ferey)
Menne's Brigade
1/ & 2/31st Légère Regiment
1/ & 2/26th Ligne Regiment
Arnaud's Brigade
1/, 2/ & 3/47th Ligne Regiment
1/ & 2/70th Ligne Regiment
Artillery:
7 Battery, 3rd Horse Artillery
All the above's based on various Nafziger lists (see here for the full free collection) and does need some more research.
I'll probably add a cavalry element to each army as well. At the moment the 47th Ligne is about 1/3rd complete, I have all of the French sitting ready to be painted but have yet to invest in the British. I've done some research in to the uniforms and organisation of the Portuguese but I need to complete this before ordering any figures. As I understand it I will need figures in Stovepipes to represent post 1811 Portuguese, I just need to get my head around which of the Adler British figures would best represent them. I also need to figure out whether the 2 battalions in a Portuguese Line Regiment fought as separate battalions or were combined together - its a case of do I need to represent them as 2 manoeuvre units per regiment or only the one?
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Anglo-Portuguese:
6th Division: (Major-General Clinton)
Hulse's Brigade:
1/11th Foot Regiment
2/53rd Foot Regiment
1/61st Foot Regiment
5/60th Foot Regiment (1 coy)
Hinde's Brigade:
2nd Foot Regiment
1/32nd Foot Regiment
1/36th Foot Regiment
Rezende's Portuguese Brigade:
1/ & 2/8th Portuguese Regiment
1/ & 2/12th Portuguese Regiment
9th Cacadore Battalion
Artillery:
1 Battery, 8th Battalion (6pdrs)
French:
3rd Division: (Général de division Ferey)
Menne's Brigade
1/ & 2/31st Légère Regiment
1/ & 2/26th Ligne Regiment
Arnaud's Brigade
1/, 2/ & 3/47th Ligne Regiment
1/ & 2/70th Ligne Regiment
Artillery:
7 Battery, 3rd Horse Artillery
All the above's based on various Nafziger lists (see here for the full free collection) and does need some more research.
I'll probably add a cavalry element to each army as well. At the moment the 47th Ligne is about 1/3rd complete, I have all of the French sitting ready to be painted but have yet to invest in the British. I've done some research in to the uniforms and organisation of the Portuguese but I need to complete this before ordering any figures. As I understand it I will need figures in Stovepipes to represent post 1811 Portuguese, I just need to get my head around which of the Adler British figures would best represent them. I also need to figure out whether the 2 battalions in a Portuguese Line Regiment fought as separate battalions or were combined together - its a case of do I need to represent them as 2 manoeuvre units per regiment or only the one?
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Sunday 13 October 2013
Napoleonics - Test Figures
Here's some of the first batch of test figures, please feel free to let me know what you think good or bad:
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Update
Just a quick update today. I've not managed that much recently as one of our cats suffered a serious leg injury and lost his leg as the damage was too extensive to repair.
Firstly I've completed the rebasing of the first batch of Anglo-Zulu War figures. This means I now have a total of 2 "Brigades" of troops for Black Powder so should hopefully be able to try the rules out soon. The British "Brigade" is a bit of a mismatch of units consisting of 1 company of Natal Native Contingent, 1 company of British Regulars and 1 detachment of mounted volunteers (the Natal Carbineers). I'm not 100% sure how this would fare on the table top. The Zulu "Brigade" on the other hand is pretty uniform having 4 warrior bases and 1 of skirmishers. Overall I'm pleased with the way they've come out.
I've also found a very good painting guide on the net for my Adler Napoleonic French (see here for the guide). I painted up a batch of 8 figures as a test and it was quite easy following all the steps. I'm now confident I can attempt the rest of the Division....
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Firstly I've completed the rebasing of the first batch of Anglo-Zulu War figures. This means I now have a total of 2 "Brigades" of troops for Black Powder so should hopefully be able to try the rules out soon. The British "Brigade" is a bit of a mismatch of units consisting of 1 company of Natal Native Contingent, 1 company of British Regulars and 1 detachment of mounted volunteers (the Natal Carbineers). I'm not 100% sure how this would fare on the table top. The Zulu "Brigade" on the other hand is pretty uniform having 4 warrior bases and 1 of skirmishers. Overall I'm pleased with the way they've come out.
I've also found a very good painting guide on the net for my Adler Napoleonic French (see here for the guide). I painted up a batch of 8 figures as a test and it was quite easy following all the steps. I'm now confident I can attempt the rest of the Division....
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Sunday 6 October 2013
More Anglo-Zulu War Bases
Here's the latest set of bases starting with No. 1 Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Natal Native Contingent. The majority of men in this company came from the amaThembu (meaning people of the Thembu), they provided all of the rank and file along with a much smaller number of NCO's (usually 10). The company also had a few European officers and NCO's who were nominally in charge but often didn't speak the language of those they commanded! The Europeans themselves often came from different countries so communication between Europeans must of been somewhat difficult as well! (The Regiments European Officers and NCO's were English, Irish, French, German, Danish, Swiss, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Belgian and American).
Note the two Rifle armed figures standing out in front of the rest of the company - these are the amaThembu NCO's, being the only Africans in the company with fire arms they were sent out in front to engage the enemy with rifle fire. I presume that they would fall back within the company as the enemy approached. The Rifles were probably Enfield Breach Loading Rifles though some Martini-Henry Rifles were issued to the 3rd NNC they mostly ended up with the Europeans or with the second battalion. The companies firepower is diminished by the lack of training and the small issue of firearms.
Next up is A Company 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot. This battalion had been in Africa for many years by 1879 so probably didn't look quite as smart as they do here. A Company was commanded by Captain William Degacher (modelled with a blue coat which many officers wore in preference to red) and was probably about 80 strong when it crossed the frontier in to the Zulu Kingdom. Unfortunately none of the officers and men survived iSandlwana.
Finally these are the first pair of Zulu "brigade" command stands. Each features a couple of Indana's (leaders) and a couple of Zulu Warriors acting as bodyguards.
All figures are Baccus from packs CBR8 (mounted officers), CBR9 (Natal Native Contingent and European NCO), CBR2 (British Regulars), CZU1 (Zulu Warriors) and CZU3 (Zulu Command). Bases are all by Minibits.
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Note the two Rifle armed figures standing out in front of the rest of the company - these are the amaThembu NCO's, being the only Africans in the company with fire arms they were sent out in front to engage the enemy with rifle fire. I presume that they would fall back within the company as the enemy approached. The Rifles were probably Enfield Breach Loading Rifles though some Martini-Henry Rifles were issued to the 3rd NNC they mostly ended up with the Europeans or with the second battalion. The companies firepower is diminished by the lack of training and the small issue of firearms.
Next up is A Company 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot. This battalion had been in Africa for many years by 1879 so probably didn't look quite as smart as they do here. A Company was commanded by Captain William Degacher (modelled with a blue coat which many officers wore in preference to red) and was probably about 80 strong when it crossed the frontier in to the Zulu Kingdom. Unfortunately none of the officers and men survived iSandlwana.
Finally these are the first pair of Zulu "brigade" command stands. Each features a couple of Indana's (leaders) and a couple of Zulu Warriors acting as bodyguards.
All figures are Baccus from packs CBR8 (mounted officers), CBR9 (Natal Native Contingent and European NCO), CBR2 (British Regulars), CZU1 (Zulu Warriors) and CZU3 (Zulu Command). Bases are all by Minibits.
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Tuesday 1 October 2013
AZW British Infantry
Still no sign of any bases yet but I have been working my way through the first batch of British Regulars. Admittedly I did find these hard going but they did come together in the end which is good considering I have another 174 more to do.....
Here's the first 18:
A close up of one of the 8 figure painting strips:
The command strip including a Colour Sergeant at the end (you might just be able to pick out my attempt at a sergeants stripes on his right arm):
The other end of the painting strip:
I'm toying with the idea of using these across 2 bases rather than just one as I originally planned (and also increasing the number of bases that make up a Zulu "unit"), each base would represent a half company (2 sections) which coincidentally was a real sub-division of a British Company in 1879. The two bases would, of course, operate as one unit.
Having 9 figures (8 privates and 1 officer or NCO) per half company might make the base appear underpopulated in comparison to the 24 figure Zulu bases but a British infantry company would of been deployed in a very open skirmish order with up to 3 yards between men (they don't call it the thin red line for nothing!). So there's historical support for my basing ideas.
All figures are Baccus from pack CBR2.
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Here's the first 18:
A close up of one of the 8 figure painting strips:
The command strip including a Colour Sergeant at the end (you might just be able to pick out my attempt at a sergeants stripes on his right arm):
The other end of the painting strip:
I'm toying with the idea of using these across 2 bases rather than just one as I originally planned (and also increasing the number of bases that make up a Zulu "unit"), each base would represent a half company (2 sections) which coincidentally was a real sub-division of a British Company in 1879. The two bases would, of course, operate as one unit.
Having 9 figures (8 privates and 1 officer or NCO) per half company might make the base appear underpopulated in comparison to the 24 figure Zulu bases but a British infantry company would of been deployed in a very open skirmish order with up to 3 yards between men (they don't call it the thin red line for nothing!). So there's historical support for my basing ideas.
All figures are Baccus from pack CBR2.
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Saturday 28 September 2013
Natal Carabineers
Another re-based unit. These are the Natal Carabineers who took part in the first invasion of Zululand in January 1879. Part of this unit fought (and died) at iSandlwana.
First up we have the mounted version of the unit:
Finally we have the dismounted version of the unit:
All figures are Baccus from packs CBR12 (mounted figures) & 13 (dismounted figures).
That's it for now on the re-basing front as I've run out of bases till the next batch arrives from Minibits. Time to paint some more figures....
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First up we have the mounted version of the unit:
Finally we have the dismounted version of the unit:
All figures are Baccus from packs CBR12 (mounted figures) & 13 (dismounted figures).
That's it for now on the re-basing front as I've run out of bases till the next batch arrives from Minibits. Time to paint some more figures....
- Posted using BlogPress
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