Borodino in 28mm

I've been working on the Borodino Project for quite a while.  It required units of French Allies including Saxons, Bavarians, Poles, Italians, Wurtemburgers, and Westphalians, as well as the main French army and Russian army.

Well, after more than a year of planning, buying buildings and terrain (Total Battle Miniatures); figures (Perry, Foundry, Front Rank, Paul Hicks, Calpe, Elite, and Westfalia); and contracting with some of the best figure painters currently working (Scott MacPhee, Artmaster Studio, Roger Murrow, and Darren Smith [Paxx88]), the game is finally ready to see the table.

Here are some pictures of the setup (though I am still waiting for a few units to arrive).

The town of Borodino is at the bottom of the picture, and the view is south. The Grand Redoubt is just south of Borodino, and the Fleches are at the top of the picture facing the massive French deployment.

The French forces south of the river (Ney, Junot, and Davout's Corps) prepare to launch the initial attack on the Russian Fleches.

The Fleches.

Poniatowski's Polish Corps prepares to move through Utitza on the way to attack the Russian left flank.

The Russians wait for them on the mound.

French Chasseur skirmish line in the woods north of Utitza.

Russian Opolchenie Militia wait behind the woods.

Another look at the French massed for attack.

And their Wurttemberg allies.

The center looking at the Fleches and beyond.

Vive le' Emperor!

Davout wishing he could re-direct the attack to his right.

French Cuirassier ready to go.

The French left looking at the Grand Redoubt and Borodino.

The cannon's muzzle in the Grand Redoubt.

Eugene's Italian troops on the French left.

Bavarian Infantry wasn't at Borodino in any numbers, but I've added them to Eugene's Corps.

The Russians wait for Eugene past Borodino in Gorki. Note: Uvarov and Platov's cavalry north of the River.

Russian artillery prepared in front of Gorki.

Kutusov and his staff watch the battle unfold.

Skirmishing flares up as the French attack begins.

Russian Hussars.

...and Cossacks in echelon behind them.

Russian Dragoons.

Russian Cuirassier.

Pas d' Charge!  The attack begins!

The Russians are here!

My new Russian Napoleonic Army is now complete.
Scott MacPhee did a masterful job painting them, as usual.
Their uniform color is spot-on, and every unit is unique.
The figures are mostly Perry and Foundry with a few Front Rank sprinkled in (Cossacks, Militia, and a couple of the Jaeger).

In the foreground are the Russian Jaeger, behind them is the artillery, behind them is the Grenadier infantry on the left and the Musketeers on the right, and behind them all is the Russian Guard.

The Russian Cuirassier.

And Dragoons

And Hussars

Russian Guard and General Kutusov and his staff.

The Opolchenie Milita troops.

And artillery.

Now that I have all of the units unboxed, and color coded for my Command and Colors: Napoleonic homebrew rules, I'm going to finish setting up the Battle of Borodino on my wargaming table.

Thanks Scott!  Love the figures.

Little Wars 2013

I attended Little Wars this year to run a Command & Colors: Ancients battle using slightly tweaked rules for the tabletop, and my new Second Punic Wars armies painted by the very talented Scott MacPhee.  I ran the Battle of Trebia on Friday at 5:00pm and again on Saturday at 2:00pm.
Here are some pictures of the game from Friday (I left my phone in the car on Saturday after taking some pictures of other peoples' games).

The Roman generals plan their next move.

The Carthaginian generals smile confidently.

THE SHOW
Friday:
I showed up on Friday at about 2:00pm and wandered around a bit before setting up; The vendor area had a nice selection, as usual, and the games that were being run looked great!
I ran my game at 5:00pm, and then went out to dinner with a friend. I stayed overnight at Pheasant Run even though I only live 25 miles south so that I could be up early and set up my flea market table.
Saturday:
I had decided to sell a few of my painted minis that I wasn't using, and some of my big box strategy games (Fortress America, Axis & Allies, Broadsides & Boarding Parties, Dogfight, and Battlecry).
Much to my surprise I had sold nearly everything on my table within 20 minutes.
Since I had a couple of hours before my game at 2:00pm, I shopped a bit and took some more pictures of the great tables. 

Here are a few pictures of the games that I saw on Friday and Saturday.

Very cool looking Waterloo game using classic 25mm figures.

Cowboys and Indians

Napoleonics

 

 

Tiki Island of Death (Just my guess.)

Good to see all the Napoleonic games :)

Love the terrain on this table!

Panzers ahead!

Trireme bumping.

Big table - small minis...

All in all a very fun couple of days.  The show itself was very well run, and the guys and gals that were in charge were great. All of the attendees were very polite and good to be around. At the end of both games that I ran, the players congratulated each other and offered to help me put the game away.
I'm very proud of my hobby, and those who share it with me.

I'll attend Little Wars every year that I'm able.

New Flags for my Frenchies

I recently noticed that some of my excellent flags from GMB have started to fade.  I contacted GMB and sent some pictures. Grahame was so great about it.  He explained that he had shifted to a new printer due to this issue (so the newer flags do not have this issue), and offered to replace the dozen or so flags that were fading.

In the meantime I was in the process of spiffing up my Napoleonic French units with some cool basing material from Army Painter, so I thought I might as well try a few of the Victrix flag decals.

Six of my French Infantry units have flag bearers. Five of them are now Victrix, and one is GMB.
Here is the GMB Flag for comparison (though sadly, I didn't take a great picture of the flag):

This unit was painted by Artmaster Studio (Really beautiful work).  The other units were done by Fernando.  All figures above are Perry.

I really like the GMB Flags. Their colors are vibrant, and the selection of flags is incredible.
I also really like the Victrix Flags. By gluing the flag decal to a painted piece of aluminum foil, the flag can be shaped into some very realistic configurations that look exactly like a flag blowing in the wind.

Here are some other pics of my French Infantry just for fun.

Front Rank Gun and Crew