Black work Day 1

So I shall be doing a log of this black work, as there have been a few comments about black being difficult to work with.

To start, I have only basic materials to work with - my base coat is the cheapest gray I can find (the other option is white and I really do not like the effect that white base creates for military uniforms - great for fantasy with bright colors) and I use Golden Acrylics from tubes - mixing all my own colors, except for burnt umber (also Golden from tube) and Green. (this time I am using DecoArt crafters paint - Hunter Green) For some inspiration my eldest son walked in wearing black corduroy pants, so I quickly snapped a picture.

As you can see the pants have 'bright' gray highlights, with the black lower ... this is the trick in getting black to look right on minis. With this group I am doing one troop in brown/black undercoat (which will end up with a more weathered look) for the light infantry and a blue/black for the rest.

I did brown for the flesh undercoat and the muskets & packs, then a thick wash of the primary colors.

Overall a good start with base coating in the morning and painting in the evening.

BACK in BLACK

A fresh inspiration. I have opened up some space in my storage system to permit some new metal to get painted. This time some 'improvised' Brunswick troops.

I say 'improvised' as I am using Austrians as the Brunswick troops, I did some sculpting of the plumes that I have seen depicted in a variety of sources. Hawthornewaite mentions the artillerymen as using Hussar costume, since I do not have any gunners in stovepipe with hussar uniform, I am using French Horse gunners for the task. With the sharp looking black uniforms and the subtle piping used on these uniforms all should be done very quickly. I was prompted to move on this project by the lack of any Black troops for the Quatre Bras scenario. More will be coming for my black legion, with some death's head Hussars and a force of Uhlans (raised in 1813-14 and used at Quatre Bras and Waterloo). Also on the horizon are a force of Dutch, I was going to add some more Frenchmen, this way I get to have troops for double duty!

Star Wars For Sale

25mm Minis from the West End Games line for use with Star Wars Miniatures Battles.

The Rocketman has decided to close his store and now I find myself with 50 miniatures and limited storage space for them.

So I shall start with a sale here before moving on to eBay:



Tatooine: 15 minis in the set with sand flocking on hex bases, all minis gloss sealed. Luke (x2), Han, Chewie, Ben Kenobi, R2D2 & C3PO (on the same base), Jawas(x2), Gonk Droid, Greedo and 5 Stormtroopers.update 29 June: GIFTED away now gone.




Heroes & Villian: 11 minis in the set with grass flocking on hex bases, all minis gloss sealed. Luke (x3), Han, Chewie, Ben Kenobi, Leia (x4) and Darth Vader.

Asking $74, shipping extra
For any 'individual mini' asking $15 each.This set is still available.




2 Sets:
Death Star(grey bases): 16 minis in the set on hex bases, all minis gloss sealed. Luke (x2), Han (in Stormtrooper disguise), Chewie, R2D2 & C3PO (on same base), Ben Kenobi, Leia (x2), Darth Vader, Imperial Officer, 4 Stormtroopers, and 2 Bounty Hunters.

Bespin (pink bases): 8 minis in the set on hex bases, all minis gloss sealed. Luke, Han , Chewie, R2D2, C3PO, Leia, Darth Vader, Boba Fett.
update 29 June: GIFTED away, both sets are now gone

There you have it the current lot for sale, more to come ...

Some Star Wars Minis

In preparation for sale at Rocket's store in Courtenay, here are some "May the 4th be with you" minis.


Mostly rebel heroes you can see Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie and the droids along with Obi-Wan.



All three boys have been asking about these minis and when they would be done and if they were going to 'get them'...



Of course so such game pieces would be Star Wars with out some "Revenge of the 5th" and some stormtroopers.

Battle of Gorodetchna
(2nd Run) in Fast-Play Grand Armee

On March 31, Peter (of Duchy of the North) and I had the opportunity to have time to game.

I suggested a few different options that I had immediately available and he chose to go to east Europe in 1812 with a run at Fast-Play Grand Armee and the Battle of Gorodetchna.

This would be a second go-round with the rules set for me and I let Pete choose the side he wanted. He chose the attacking French-Austrian forces.

As before the Russians were set out in full view of the French, then they chose where to make their moves ... mostly off-map to the crossings of the river.



Pete opted for a fast moving cavalry force to come into the center, with part of the French forces to go to the long flank. Support of a mixed division was given to the left flank (which faced the Russians at the start).

I took advantage of my prior experience by having the large division of the Russians get full advantage from the wing commander attached (so that lapels could be grabbed if needed - something that the Russians needed a LOT of last time I played).

Also I made sure to keep the Russian Cavalry properly positioned to the flank of the Division. The massed Dragoons had little choice but to be in column and ready to move out to the left wing once clear of the swampy ground.

Ultimately the dice rolls early went horribly wrong for the Austrian forces and only so-so for the French ones ... this created a HUGE opportunity for the Russians - that was squandered by the Russian Cavalry commander standing totally still for a whole 'pulse' just when MOVING was the most important thing!

The French Grenadiers managed to get into the gap between the river and swamp - plugging it totally against the Russian Dragoons, meanwhile the mixes Austrians on their left wing were being mauled by effective use of combined arms by the Russian leading division ... not to mention that the Russians won the initiative rolls for the first three pulses!



Likewise the French cavalry moved into position to take on the small mixed Russian left flank force ... now totally cut off from the main body ...



Once again the combat die rolls of Pete were horrible, the Grenadiers managed to hold their ground - at terrible cost! Worn down to just a fraction of their strength while the Dragoons were equally damaged, there were more dragoons coming with no such quality to support the French Grenadiers. More over in the artillery exchanges the French had lost a whole battery, while the Russians were merely driven back to re-consolidate their batteries and come on again ...



Nasimov, commanding the leading Russian Division was able to totally clear away two Austrian Divisions opposite him, and once the Russian Dragoons were halted by French Grenadiers they fell upon the remaining Austrian Artillery sending it fleeing from the field!

Now the French went for the throat on the Russian Left, alone with his Division Count Lambert was to hold off two French Cavalry brigades and face off against an Infantry Division. Losses were high on both sides, yet the Russians managed to just stay alive on the table, while the French losses were enough to take off two units.

In the middle of the afternoon of the first day of battle, Prince Schwarzenberg of Austria was to call off the attack and order a general retreat.

Generallieutenant Tormassov, with no orders other than to hold his ground would be content to let them march off.



Photos of this battle were poor as my 'steady hand' was not so steady this day ... many pictures were just too blurry to use.

Next up ... Quatre Bras in Fast-Play Grand Armee, I have the troops and tags all printed up in color!

Fairy Queen

On a bit o a fantasy trip this week ... got a request do to some goddess minis and decided to try my hand at the fairy folk.

Now I get to see how well they sell!

Pete and I did another Gorodetchna last weekend, been too busy to get the post up about it ... and the pics are terrible (I must use the tripod more).

Expect it in another 10 days.

Cheers