Terrain Building: A light trench

Building An Earthwork:

This was something that was easy to do and turned out OK. I used a few scraps of the fine textured pink/blue styrofoam (not the corse white styrofoam) and carved out a section that looked like an earthwork. I then glued it to a thin piece of cardboard and let it dry overnight. I then painted the entire piece with many layers of dark brown paint, and then added some sand to the mix. After the sand had dried I dry brushed several lighter shades of brown over the entire earthwork and added some green flocking. Overall I think it turned out OK, and I'm looking forward to building a few feet of these! The only significant mistake I made was to spray the earthwork with a matte finish. The finish ate away some of the styrofoam and I had to go back over it and repair / repaint a few patches.

The 2nd Delaware holding the earthwork. These are mostly 15mm Freikorps figures.

Another picture of the earthwork and defending Union infantry regiment.

Johnny Reb Scenario: Pitzer's Run, Pennsylvania, July 2nd, 1863

Pitzer's Run Scenario

We played this scenario this evening and had a great time. This is a small scenario from the original "Johnny Reb"

scenario booklet that came included with the rules. Pitzer's Run is an introductory scenario perfect for

teaching new players the "Johnny Reb" rules. The historical setting is the second day of Gettysburg, where Gen. Sickels orders Col. Berdan to scout into Pitzer's woods near the flank of his Corps. Berdan and his men, the 1st batt.,1st USSS and the 3rd Maine enter the woods and encounter two CSA infantry regiments, the 10th and 11th AL.

The scenario - this is a small battlefield - only 2x2 ft.
It fits nicely into a corner of the gaming table!

The Union 3rd Maine. This is a 15 figure unit mostly consisting of old
Frontier 15mm ACW figures. Essex mtd officer.

The battlefield - showing the wooded terrain, stream and troops.

The Union - I realized that I didn't have a 1st USSS (Berdan's) painted so
I had another small unit already painted that served in their place for today. This scenario
inspired me to go down to Wargames soon and pick up a unit of Berdans Sharpshooters to paint!

The encounter in the woods. This picture shows the rebel position beter. Most of the rebs
are also Frontier figures.

The wargame - we removed the trees for ease of play and allowed the players to deploy their troops in secret. We then placed the troops on the table and used sighting rolls for visibility. I thought it would be difficult to teach two new
players how to play with the hidden picket rules. I am teaching my sons how to play!

The 1st USSS advances over the steam. This turned out to be a mistake, since they became
isolated from their supporting unit. The Union player had been first firing for the first two turns but wasn't
able to inflict many casualties due to poor die rolling and poor sighting rolls! This caused him to advance in frustration to get a little closer in range.

The turning point! After a few turn of shooting at each other in the woods, the CSA saw
a great opporunity to charge the  isolated 1st USSS.

The CSA coordinated charge with both units routed the 1st USSS, but fell short of impacting the 3rd Maine in line. The scenario ends when one unit is removed and the players agreed that the USA would withdraw from the woods after seeing the 1st USSS rout.

A picture of the routed 1st USSS with the 3rd Maine still holding the line!

The 3rd Maine facing the 10th and 11th AL. The rebs are in disorder and it might be
the perfect time for a counter-attack!

The 1st Tennessee

The 1st TN Infantry Regiment

This is the completed unit that was shown as a work in progress on my mess of a painting table last post. I recently finished them and decided to take a few pictures. I painted them as the 1st TN in 1862. This is their second battle flag (the first was captured during an ambush at Cheat Mountain in 1861). This "Polk" pattern flag was captured at the battle of Perryville on October 8th, 1862 by the 1st Wisconsin Volunteers! These are "new" 15mm Essex ACW figures. Here is a great link to some information on the flag's of the 1st TN.

http://www.first-tennessee.co.uk/articles/flags.htm

1st TN Infantry Regiment



1st TN from a different angle, defending a rail fence. The fence and
stone orchard wall were made by my friend Howard Whitehouse a few years
ago for a Chickamauga project I was working on.



A typical gamer's painting table!

Painting Table

This is where I paint and work on my hobby. It's a corner in my garage that is usually a mess and has about

10 different projects going at once! If you look carefully you'll see 15mm ACW, 15mm mtd officers

for the SYW, AWI, and NAP periods, 28mm GW trolls, 28 War of the Roses, 15mm napoleonic buildings, my coffee, and lots of other odds n' ends! Probaly looks a lot like your table, right!

Where the magic happens!

Work in progress - I'm painting the 1st TN in 15mm. These are Essex
figures I picked up at Wargames.  I'm paiting them as the 1st TN circa 1862 with the Polk pattern battle flag.

25mm American Civil War Miniatures

25mm Johnny Reb Figures

Here are some pictures of some troops in my 25mm ACW collection. These are all based for Johnny Reb 1.

I've mainly been painting and collecting troops for the Western Theater (specifically the battles of

Spring Hill and Franklin, TN). I generally like to paint based around a specific, historical order of battle.



25mm 1st Corp figures. I really like these dynamic looking firing figures. I painted these
as the 54th GA.



25mm Dixon (mostly) Union figures hold a rail fence line.

CSA Artillery hold the line! Here are Ferguson's S.C battery and Phillip's TN battery.
These are vintage Old Glory figures.

Union troops advance past one of the Perry Twin's plastic buildings.

1st Corp mounted officer and Dixon private. I made the rail fence from
some scrap pieces of balsa wood. The trees were made from twigs I
picked up up in the yard!