Redcoats and airbrushes

I've previously used an airbrush to paint 15mm Sasanians, with reasonable results, and I thought I would like to try something similar to get some basic effects on the 1745 Hanoverian red coats.

Overall, the effect I was going for was a somewhat dirty red, pretty bedraggled by the elements. After all, key battles in the campaign were over the winter, from September to April, so everybody should be wet, cold and bedraggled. The image that everyone is familiar with, by David Morier:

Was a studio portrait, using nice fresh uniforms. Contemporary sketches by the Penicuik artist, show a very different picture. Looking at the last few sketches on this page:

https://jacobitereenactors.wordpress.com/photos/the-penicuik-drawings/

You can see tricornes flattened out, coattails unbuttoned, and a variety of equipment. With the exception of the flattened tricornes, the Flags of War figures are a nice representation. So these men will be weary and unshaven, uniforms faded and mud spattered.   

First step was an undercoat of spray-can black. I don't buy or use expensive primers, and the usual car spray paints seem to do a good job.

Then the first step, a fairly dense base coat of Tamiya Hull Red, which is actually a nice leathery colour.

After the first spray

The Tamiya paint airbrushes beautifully, especially if it is thinnned at about 50/50 with their own thinner Tamiya X20A

Dragoons

At this stage, I am just trying to get  relatively even coat. Varying the paint pressure, distance etc provides some basic contrasts.

Red coats

These have now had an overall light coating of Vallejo Flat Red, then a second top down over-spray, to give a nice feeling of light and shade.  I am going to purchase some Tamiya Red though, for when I do the next batch of redcoats. The Vallejo is a great brush paint, but just doesn't spray as nicely as the Tamiya.

When this is all dry, I am going to go back and add some highlights. I am not quite sure what to use, I am tempted to use Vallejo Dark Vermillion for the officers, and a lightened Flat Red for the rank and file, to try and get the effect of the better quality cloth for the officers. A few discreet experiments will be required I think.

And while the airbrush kit is out, time to do some of my WW2 Japanese for Chain of Command. The Tamiya Dark Yellow makes a great base colour for Japanese uniforms.

More 15mm Vikings

These guys have been on the painting table for a week or two, I undercoated and applied the base flesh colour, then just got distracted with the arrival of new figures from the 1745 Flags of War Kickstarter.

So the last two days, in between some plumbing, some paint stripping etc... I managed to get some additional colour down. Now the army is 86 elements in size, and when I counted, I was surprised to find I have painted up 43 so far! Halfway exactly. I reckon I should now split them up into maybe another 4 batches and charge through, and kick off the basing.

So should I start them now or maybe take a break from the Vikings, and do some Hanoverians? 

Anyway, here's the boys. It's interesting, but the camera (Samsung S10) seems to really flatten out the colours. When you look closely; for example at the red cloaks on the generals, you can see there are shadows and highlights there, but the camera has made them almost disappear.

Bondi

General

Huscarles

Viking Mounted

A Necessary Evil?

As every wargamer knows, regardless of how much you defer it, how many figures you paint or discussion you have, at some point the lead hits the tabletop and you need to decide what rules to use. Preferably of course, you will have decided much earlier, and sorted out basing... a whole other issue.

I was having a chat with some wargamers, one of whom I was meeting for the first time, and as he lives nearby, I was trying to figure out whether we had any rules/scales in common, so we could play a game. I was trying to remember just what I had played, had thought about playing, played and hated, or conversely, always wanted to try and never got round to it.

Being a confirmed tragic, I thought a spreadsheet would be ideal to track them. Plus, with lock-down, I am getting fed up with DIY, and after strenuous effort my muscles ache too much to hold a paintbrush steady. I've re-organised my DVD & book shelves, I'm replacing the sink taps, I've resurfaced tables, painted doors, stripped varnish, worked in the garden...  etc. so this is by way of amusement.

So these are all the rules I currently have in hard-copy on my shelf. There are actually a few more, but they form part of a book, such as Lost Battles, or Little Wars, so I haven't included them. I got to a nice round 50, of which I have actually played about 30 or so. I reckon a 60% Purchase to Play (PtoP) ratio would be pretty high for a wargamer...   so what's your PtoP ratio?

(NB- the term scale is an entirely subjective view of whether the rules play for a small, medium or large engagement.)

Name	Scale	Period	Theatre	Played It
DBMM	Large	Anc/Med	Land	Y
DBM	Large	Anc/Med	Land	Y
WRG 7th Edition	Medium	Anc/Med	Land	Y
Crusader Ancients	Medium	Anc/Med	Land	Y
FoG	Medium	Anc/Med	Land	N
DBA	Small	Anc/Med	Land	Y
Dux Bellorum	Medium	Dark Age	Land	N
Dux Brittaniarum	Medium	Dark Age	Land	N
SAGA	Small	Dark Age	Land	N
Lion Rampant	Medium	Medieval	Land	Y
Tercio	Medium	16-18th Cent	Land	Y
DBR	Medium	16-18th Cent	Land	Y
Gush WRG Renaissance	Medium	16-18th Cent	Land	Y
FoG - Renaissance	Medium	16-18th Cent	Land	N
Galleys & Galleons	Medium	16-18th Cent	Naval	Y
Principles of War	Large	17-18th Cent	Land	Y
Polemos ECW	Large	17-18th Cent	Land	Y
Maurice	Large	17-18th Cent	Land	N
Horse Foot & Guns	Large	18-19th Cent	Land	Y
WRG 1685-1845	Medium	18-19th Cent	Land	Y
Sharp Practice 2	Small	18-19th Cent	Land	Y
General d’ Armee	Large	Napoleonic	Land	Y
Age of Eagles	Large	Napoleonic	Land	N
Grande Armee	Large	Napoleonic	Land	N
Polemos Napoleonics	Large	Napoleonic	Land	N
General d’ Brigade	Medium	Napoleonic	Land	Y
Song of Drums and Shakos	Small	Napoleonic	Land	N
Langtons SCA Quick Play	Small	Napoleonic	Naval	Y
Principles of War 19th Cent	Large	19th Century	Land	N
Polemos FPW	Large	19th Century	Land	N
DBSA (Pre-Dreadnought)	Large	19th Century	Naval	Y
Age of the Dreadnought	Medium	E. 20th Cent	Naval	N
Blitzkrieg Commander	Large	WW2	Any	Y
Airfix Battles	Medium	WW2	Any	Y
Rapid Fire	Medium	WW2	Any	Y
Chain of Command	Small	WW2	Land	Y
What a Tanker	Small	WW2	Land	Y
Cold War Commander	Large	Modern	Any	Y
Force on Force	Small	Modern	Any	Y
AK47	Small	Modern	Land	Y
Shipwreck	Medium	Modern	Naval	Y
Future War Commander	Large	SciFi	Any	Y
Full Thrust	Large	SciFi	Naval	Y
Aeronef	Large	Steampunk	Naval	Y
Imperial Skies	Large	Steampunk	Naval	N
[RPG removed]
Fear & Faith	Small	Horror	Any	Y
Warhammer (1st Edition)	Medium	Fantasy	Any	N
HotT	Small	Fantasy	Any	Y
Geezers	Small	Street	Land	Y

Something Personal

I've always made sure this is very much a wargames blog, and not a personal blog, so you never get to hear what I've had for tea, or how my employment interfered with wargaming, but this matters.

Thirteen years ago, she and I drove the 400 miles to collect a couple of tiny Labrador puppies. Those years have been where they became so much a part of us, that we never even thought about it. They were put in boxes and shipped halfway round the world when I needed to go back to the UK to see ailing parents. They've chased rabbits on multiple continents, and walked hills thousands of miles apart.

But big dogs, with big hearts, don't last for ever. So after a long time of declining health, perhaps no longer able to sort out young ridgebacks, snatch birds out of the sky, or live in fearsome reign over the cats of the neighbourhood; when a Labrador no longer eats, and can no longer stand up without help, today we took him to the practice, and lay beside him and held him as he breathed his last.

So today I said goodbye to my best friend. When the tears stop, I may paint again.

Virtual Wargames Club

I am pretty confident that most wargamers, in the UK at least, will know the name Phil Olley. Well, as we are all still in lockdown and unable to go to club meetings or play face to face. Phil came up with the bright idea of a virtual wargames club;

http://philswarcabinet.blogspot.com/2020/04/vwc-first-meeting.html

This morning, thanks to Phil's organisational skills, a bunch of wargamers got together on Zoom. Technical issues aside, (my laptop deciding not to play nicely) it was great to meet a fine bunch of folks from as far afield as Pennsylvania and Michigan, and a pleasant surprise to discover there's a bloke whose wargaming is limited to a cupboard under the stairs, and who lives in the same city as I do. (Hi Martin!)

Introductions took a while, and I'm thinking that if further members join in, as I hope they will, then it might be an idea to have a potted Biography so that much time isn't taken up with introductions.

All sorts of stuff got discussed, what we were up to, beards, Pike and Shot rules, drilling the National Guard in a virtual way, painting and DIY. (Ok, that was just me having a whinge as usual). Although I'm a bit left out, as it seems I am about the only one present without an ImagiNation  - something I shall have to give thought to. Perhaps my Flags of War 1745 figures could proxy. We shall see.

All up it was brilliant to get together and just chat about wargames. I'm hoping it's going to be a regular thing, with a weekly get together online at least till lockdown is over and quite possibly beyond.

Thanks Phil!

Lockdown Procrastination

So over three weeks of lockdown. For me it's not much of a difference. The only thing I miss is the monthly club meeting. But following blogs and forums keeps me amused, and engaged with the hobby.

There are some very cool things, like Osprey Publishing's free eBooks...  thanks Osprey. Essentially, each week they add 5 free eBooks to a list you can download for free.

Somehow I haven't found much time for reading though. I have my partner, dogs, a garden, and the former has a list of home improvements a mile long. So I've stripped varnish off the staircase, an ongoing and horrible job, still incomplete, transplanted 8 rosebushes, stripped back and varnished a table, cleared out the shed, cleared out the boiler room/cupboard, moved rubble, demolished a cubby house etc. etc.

So in amongst all this, what of wargames?  I have three main projects on the go at the moment. Vikings in 15mm, for DBMM, as they fit into the Warfare 2020 Theme, scheduled for Ascot in November. (Assuming we aren't still in lockdown!) These have been progressing slowly in small batches, and I am in no real hurry. I just usually have 6-8 elements worth beside me on the painting table. Sometimes I knock over the batch in two evenings, but the latest batch has been there for a few days with not much appreciable progress.

The second project is 28mm Jacobites and Hanoverians, for Sharp Practice 2, (Currently hugely discounted!) using the 1745 article in the 2017 Too Fat Lardies Summer Special.

I bought into the Flags of War Kickstarter in two batches, which arrived much to my delight, as they are truly lovely figures. So far though, I have just been prepping the figures and bases. I made a final order of some Hanoverian dragoons, just before Iain shut down the Flags of War sales, but they haven't arrived yet, so I have been deferring actual painting.

Once the dragoons arrive and are prepped, I won't have any further excuse, but I am wondering how to base my mounted. I have some 60 x 30mm pill bases in the base stash, but these are too big for regular troopers, so I am now going to have to hunt down some smaller pill bases and sabots, with the problem that my usual supplier 'Warbases' is closed for the duration. I would rather stick with one supplier, but that might not be an option, so I shall see what Charlie Foxtrot or Supreme Littleness have, assuming they are still operating.

The final project is my ongoing Chain of Command forces and terrain. I have a weakness, as do many wargamers, for focusing on pretty figures and not spending enough time on the table. So one of my resolutions was to spend more hobby time on terrain.

So what have I been doing? Well.. I needed some more dirt roads, and a railway track:

I added in a level crossing.. not sure whether there should be fencing or warnings/barriers, so I left those off. And a set of buffers so the line can end neatly. I have some rail offcuts to add to this too.

And I was rummaging in the shed, (as you do) and realised that while I had painted up command markers (flags) for yellow and green for my 'Le Cedres' Sharp Practice AWI scenario, I hadn't painted the numbered chits, and that the original blue and red chits had seen some bleeding of colour and needed touching up. So now I have a decent set of markers painted and sealed in four colours.

So that's it. Hopefully will see those dragoons, sometime soon, and kick off the 1745 painting, in the meantime, there's some Vikings needing attention.

Stay safe and well out there.

  

Genius?

So yesterday, I was prepping some of the Warbases 1p sabot bases I use for Sharp Practice. In this case, this involved applying white glue to the top of the base, and then covering in sand to get a texture. (Later I will add cat-litter rocks etc..)

Having applied sand, I leave them to dry a little, then go back and scrape inside the recesses with a sharp knife to remove the inevitable overspill. It's time consuming and messy.

Here's an example of the sand finish, these aren't the sabot bases, but markers I did for wounded leaders. Sabot bases from Supreme Littleness, skulls were in my accessories box.

So as I looked at the finished result after a couple of hours.. it occurred to me I could get virtual identical results if I could buy a 'top' for the base, cut from medium Sandpaper to the same spec as the base, and just stick that on.

So I can't believe no-one has suggested this? If Martin (Warbases) is watching...  personally, I think it's genius, and a real timesaver.