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

Polish Voltigeurs Paint Tweak

Before:

Something about the pale yellow on their Czapskas just wasn't sitting right with me. I wasn't fond of the color to begin with and to have the top edging, the plume, the cords, and the cross on the top all in the same color didn't look right. So... I re-painted them.

After:

I like this yellow for the top edge and plume much better.
The top cross in black looks more accurate and less busy.
The cords in green also keeps the whole composition from being too busy and let's the eye appreciate the contrasts better IMHO.
The yellow in the 'after' picture is actually a bit more deep in real life (almost like a school bus) than is shown in this picture.

Before, the cross on the top of the Czapska was canary yellow.  Just too busy.  I like the simpler look better.

Ready for combat!

Napoleonic Allies Project

I am currently building out my Napoleonic armies to one day be able to fight the entire Napoleonic Wars using an updated version of my game Napoleon in Europe (let's call it '2') for the strategic side and my Napoleonic Command & Colors rules for the Tactical Battles.  In the shorter run, I want to be able to play the following campaigns: 1806, 1807, 1812, 1813.

To that end Scott MacPhee is painting up my Russian army, and I have contracted Artmaster Studio in the UK to paint up a selection of French Allies.  The first few units have arrived, and I based them up ready for gaming.

Two units of Bavarian Infantry (Front Rank).  A third is in the works.

A unit of Wurtemberg Infantry (Front Rank).  A second is in the works.

A unit of Wutemberg Chevau-Leger (Front Rank).  These were painted by Fernando Painting Service in Sri Lanka.

Two units of Westphalian Infantry (Elite Miniatures). I'm thinking about adding another couple of units, but using Paul Hicks' new Saxon scuplts. I know there are a few differences in uniform and kit, but I think the differences are minor, and the sculpts are really, really nice.

A unit of Italian Guards (Front Rank).

A unit of Italian Grenadier Infantry (Front Rank).

A unit of Fusilier Infantry from the Grand Duchy of Warsaw (Paul Hicks sculpts painted by Roger Murrow).

A unit of Grenadier Infantry from the Grand Duchy of Warsaw (Paul Hicks sculpts painted by Roger Murrow).

A unit of Voltigeur Infantry from the Grand Duchy of Warsaw (Paul Hicks sculpts painted by Roger Murrow).

A unit of Imperial Guard Lancers...just because (Perry Miniatures/ Artmaster Studios). I may use them for Polish Uhlans in a pinch.

I have the following uits still planned:

Polish (GDW):
1 Infantry
1 Hussar
1 Uhlan
1 Artillery

Saxon:
3 Infantry
1 Zastrow Cuirassier
1 Lieb Guard

Italian:
2 Infantry
1 Queen's Dragoons
1 Artillery

Bavarian:
1 Infantry
1 Chevau-Leger
1 Artillery

Westphalian:
2 Infantry
1 Chevau-Leger

Baden-Wurtemberg:
1 Infantry
1 Dragoon
1 Artillery

I'll use French Hussars and Dragoons as needed for allies as the differences are slight.

Can't wait to get Borodino, or Friedland, or Bautzen, or Lutzen, or Eylau on the table.