The Battle of Front Royal, VA, June 23, 1862 - Johnny Reb 15mm

This is a game board that I built especially for this scenario. It is a fun, small, tactical scenario that was published in the scenario booklet that came included with John Hill's "Johnny Reb" rules. I ran this game at Nashcon last year and we all had a great time! Here are some pictures of the game:

A playtest at home. The board is styrofoam mounted to
some plywood. I painted the styrofoam brown and then
dry brushed and flocked it. 

Another shot of the terrain during a playtest.

Union trrops move in disorder towards a bridge. I built the bridges from
scraps of balsa wood. I didn't make them "kid proof" however, and my kids have
pretty much destroyed them now!

The fight for the bridge - the white pipe cleaners indicate casualties. The cotton ball
indicates that the bridge is on fire! The orange marker indicates that the unit is
low on ammunition and the red marker shows that is also routed! There is a lot going
on here!

The CSA generals, Chris W., and John O.

The Union general, Ken J.

Here is a link to some information on the battle:

http://www.angelfire.com/va3/valleywar/battle/frontroyal.html

2mm ACW

I love these little guys! I had painted these figures a few years ago, but they never made it out of their cigar box very often...until recently. There is a great group of local DBA gamers that has rekindled my interest in playing on this small scale. I have always like the concept of gaming the "big battles", and this is the best way to do it in an hour or two! I had originally built my orders of battle for Gettysburg, but I have reorganzied everything for the battle of Stones River. Here are some pictures of these little 2mm guys in action. Each stand represents a brigade or a battery. I have been using standard DBA rules with modifications from the Wrexham and District Wargamers "DBA Extension for the American Civil War" by Craig Cartmell.

http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/acw.html

2mm Infantry brigades. These were purchased from Irregular Miniatures. I have some more figures I still need to paint.
I also have been making some towns, fields, orchards and farms for this scale. I will post some pictures when
these are completed.



2mm Division




CSA Infantry advance!



Union infantry move into a small woods.

Mounted Cavalry.

15mm Seven Years War

I've been finishing up a few odds and ends with my 15mm SYW collection. I've found that I needed to paint

a few more mounted officers for the Prussians and Austrians. I haven't had the time to start any major

new periods, so I've been adding to my existing figure collections. I now game the SYW with my modified DBA style rules, but I have also played and enjoy: Warfare in the Age of Reason by Tod Kershner, The Final Argument of Kings (modified Johnny Reb for the SYW by Dean West), Koenig Krieg by Barry Gray and "Frederick's Battles" by Greg Savvinos, Tony Mathers and Michael Bornstein (modified Napoleon's Battles for the SYW). My figures are based for Koenig Krieg, which was the system the local club was using when I lived in Atlanta.

On the painting table - 15mm Essex SYW Prussian
mounted officer. I just finished painting the Austrians.

15mm Old Glory SYW Austrian Kuerassiere

Regiments F. Herzog and Serbelloni 

How I make 15mm / 28mm trees for my games

These trees can be made cheaply and quickly, and they look realistic. They can be somewhat fragile and care should be taken in transport and storage. I have had some friends ask me how I make my trees, so anyway, here goes:

 I round up some nice twigs from my yard! Trim off the parts you don't need, and saw off the end so that you have a flat surface. Look for twigs that
are "Y" shaped and are in scale for 15mm / 28mm. Most trees will work
for either scale, but large 28mm trees don't fit in well with 15mm figs! I generally mnake trees that
will work with either way, but I have made some large trees just for my 28mm games.

Insert a tack or large flathead nail into the base. You can ad a touch of glue when you do this.
This provides much needed support.

Push the tack into the base of the tree. This will provide
stability.

Glue the tree to the base. I generally use card or small pieces of balsa. I make single tree bases as well as
groups of trees.

A whole forrest of trees drying. I use the paint bottles to
help support the trees while they dry and I will let them dry overnight. I use
wood carpenter's glue. These trees are so easy to make, that I make them in large
batches. I would say make 12 or so your first time and then make them in batches of 24+.

Once dry, I spread glue on the entire base and cover
with some sand to add texture. You might get some warping with card bases. If that happens I
either trim the base and/or ad some weight to the base (like a stone).

Dry brush a few lighter shades of brown over the sand and
glue on a few rocks, sticks, etc.

The finished product! I add a little green flocking to
the base and then the foliage. I buy the foliage at
a model railroad store. Just look for something that
looks natual and can be glued to the tree tops.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! This time of year always gets me excited about adding more troops to my 15mm AWI collection. I have spent a lot of the morning watching "Revolution" on the History Channel! The AWI is one of those periods that I like well enough to game in second scale, like 28mm or 54mm. The Perry's have some fantastic 28mm AWI figures that always tempt me, and "All the King's Men" have some great 54mm AWI figures.

I've also contemplated doing a 1:2 scale (or maybe even 1:1) small 6mm or 10mm AWI battle. I think that would look great on the table! The battle of Gloucester, 3rd October 1781 has only 192 British Legion cavalry, 120 Queens Ranger's infantry and 100 17th foot for the British. The Americans have 300 Lazun's Legion cavalry, 300 Lazun's Legion infantry, and 500 VA militia. Not too bad in 6mm scale at 1:2.

I have been playing AWI using my own home-brewed version of large-scale DBA, which I call "An Appeal to Heaven". I'm currently reading "Black Powder", and might go that route if I decide to build large units in 28mm. If I go for a skirmish size game I'll probably use "Brother against Brother", or "Woodland War" (Sword and the Flame variant).

One great source of AWI information I enjoy is the Canadian Wargamer's "The White's of their Eyes" (Bruce McFarlane). I don't use their rules, but the uniform info, scenarios and campaign information is wonderful.

I picked up a booklet called "Skirmish Battles of the AWI" by David O'Brien at a convention a few years ago an it's also a great resource for small battles. Highly recommended! 

15mm Old Glory Continental Line battalion holding
an apple orchard. The Hessians are marching their way!

15mm "Johnny Reb" game - continued

The battle continues...if you have been following our hypothetical "Johnny Reb" Chickamauga scenario, then here is the latest update! We have left this game set up on the gaming table and keep returning to it from time to time to complete a few turns. I like being able to leave a game set-up, since I enjoy the in between turn player strategy talks, taunts and boasts!

The battle has turned into a huge fire fight in the woods in front of the cross-roads (the CSA objective). The Union is very strong in the center and on their left flank, but things have been shaky on the USA right flank, especially now that the CSA artillery is moving into that area.


It looks now like the USA can win if they successfully counter-attack in the center. If they wait too long the CSA has a great opporunity to win by moving the artillery towards the Union right flank and blasting away!

The view from the CSA side in the center of the battlefield.

CSA Artillery moving up. This will be be a big game changer on the CSA left
and Union right flank.

An overview of the center of the battlefield.

Great miniatures sale at Wargames!

Wargames is selling all their Essex 15mm and 25mm figures at 50% off! Now is the time to stock up! They still have all of their remaining Dixon figures at 75% off! I'll be headed down there soon! The owner, Baxter, does internet sales too, so you might want to check out their website:

http://wargamesminis.com/