Play Testing AofW's American "Uncivil" War Rules

Last night I had the opportunity to help Ernie (Architects of War) play test his new set of ACW skirmish rules titles American "Uncivil War".  Our game featured a Union foraging party whose mission was to gather up some supplies and get of the board.  Opposing them were a rag-tag assortment of Confederate troops and civilians and a lot civilian characters.  One tip -when you play the game in the future don't trust those rebel women - they're dangerous!

The game was a lot of fun and we tweaked the rules a bit.

I didn't take any pictures, but during the game I got to see some of the new ACW miniatures Ernie's coming out with as well as some breath-taking new buildings - there are a lot of great new stuff coming out for AofW!

Ernie put up a post about the game on his blog, where you can see pictures of some of the miniatures and buildings he's producing.

I also got to see the 28mm "bombed" house model, which I'm definitely buying.  It looks fantastic for the world wars or even a Sci-Fi /post apocalypse setting.

As for my own modeling efforts, I've primed and started to paint some Romans.  I'll put up a post when they look half decent.  Right now I'm testing colors and level of detail.

First Warlord Romans Assembled

The first batch of my Warlord Imperial Romans have been assembled and will be primed later today.  These lads are the Roman "Veterans" and were very easy to assemble even without Warlord's rather annoying aversion to instructions.  There was some minor surgery to the figs to match up the figures with sword drawn to empty scabbards.  A little work with the x-acto blade and "ta-da" an empty scabbard.

I like the detail on the figures and think they should be a lot of fun to paint.  Due to my recent poll and conversations with some friends I'll be basing for WAB and will likely use the formation in the second picture to take advantage of the rank bonus.  Still trying to figure out if I should go with 20 or 24 figure cohorts.  I am looking forward to the release of the Ancients version of Black Powder and it may give WAB a run for the money.

I haven't picked the specific Legion I will be modeling but it will be one from Trajan's reign.  Any suggestions  are most welcome.

As for shield transfers, I think I will be going with those provided from Little Big Man studios.  The Warlord boxes come with transfers which are nice, but a bit generic.

My total force is planned to consist of

60 Legionnaires
40 Veteran Legionnaires
20 Praetorians
12 Aux Cav
24 Aux Infantry
16 Aux Archers
1 Ballista
2 Scorpians
2-3 Generals / Legates

Bugs, Romans, Robots - Lend Me Your Ear!

This little guy came calling yesterday.  "Little" may not be appropriate from an insect point of view as he was almost 6 inches long.  I've always liked Praying Mantiss's and thought I'd share the photo.  While I've never seen one thist big before, they are fairly common here in St Michaels.  Unfortunately, there tends to be lots of other bugs for them to dine on.

Not much to report in the Wargaming department.  I've played a few rounds of WWI Naval and have finally started my 28mm Imperial Roman Army (Warlord figures).  I've assembled twenty or so and am still doing research on Uniforms and periods.  I want to model a specific legion.  Any suggestions are welcome.  I've acquired enough plastic figures for a 3,000 - 3,500 point army using Warhammer Ancient Battles (gotta love the cost of plastics).  The only metal figures I've got are some calvary and the missile troops.  Now for my standard plug - I got all my troops from Architects of War, and I highly recommend them - the service was very fast and they have just about all the Warlord plastic and metal figures in stock, which is more than I can say for most other US based online retailers.  AofW also just became the exclusive US distributor for Gripping Beast and those Vikings look rather nice.  Lets return to my normal ramblings.

There will not be much in the way of battle reports for the next three months as the games table has been transformed into a build area for my son's robotics' team.  I've got high hopes for this year as we have most of last years team members and some new one's whose fathers are (1) a mechanical engineer and (2) and electrical engineer.  With me being an economist my skills are somewhat limited.  Here's a link to the FIRST competition if your interested in learning more.

The Path to Miniature Wargaming

Warning: This post is one of those self-reflective ones that authors tend to love but elicit decidedly mixed reactions from readers.  Read on at your own risk, the blog owner takes no responsibility for any ill effects.

OK with the legal mumbo-jumbo out of the way, lets get on with it.  The other day, I was talking with a friend and we were both reminiscing on how we got into the hobby.  We're roughly the same age (late 40's) but come from very different backgrounds - my friend from somewhere near "Thunder Road" in the "Wilds of Jersey" and me from the deep south of the US, Bayou La Batre, Alabama (yes, there is such a place - it was in the movie Forrest Gump, so it has to be real).  While our backgrounds are very different, our respective paths to gaming where fairly similar.  That conversation made me wonder if it's a similar path for other gamers.  Now I'm not saying gamers are a homogenous group, but after experiencing a large number of "our kind" at Historicon this summer, I have noticed that the population had a large number of , ummm - shall we say, "similar properties".  Rather than discuss those, I'd thought I'd lay out the winding course I took to gaming:

Late 60's to the  mid 70's:
- Airifx 1/72 figures and Rocco Minitanks
Aside: I never played with any rules, my friends and I would set up our unpainted troops and throw or shoot stuff at them - last man standing wins!  At first we used rubber bands, then sling shots and finally ended up with bottle rockets.  During the heat of battle I learned the true value of suppressive fire on one's opponent rather than his troops.  I must confess that, as a youth, I was drawn to things that "blowed up, real good" and being in the deep south were things like safety regulations are viewed as Yankee impositions, access to fireworks was both easy and cheap.  Ahhhh, the glorious stupidity of youth.

Late Seventies to the Early 80's:
- 1/35th military scale models
- Board war games (SPI / Avalon Hill) - did anyone every really finish one of those monster SPI games?

Late 80's through the 90's
- I got out the modeling hobby to pursue silly things like climbing the corporate ladder and making money.  I also managed to get married and produce (with my wife, of course) a son - both of which were the most noble and finest accomplishments of my life.  (OK that was a bit maudlin, but it's my blog)

2002
- A return to modeling via scale model rail roading.  Now I have a confession to make.  The original entry into scale model rail roading was my son's Christmas present when he was 8 - an HO scale electric train.  We spent about 4 years building various layouts but both lost interest because after your done, all the trains do is go around in circles.  Some people like to simulate railroad operations with their layouts but playing at working in a distribution center never really appealed to me.

2007
My son discovered something called Warhammer 40K (via one of his friends).  Here was a hobby that combined the best of the rail roading hobby - scale modeling with both a sense of competition and the social aspect of gaming with others.  I was hooked and a new hobby was born.  I was also lucky enough to stumble onto to a local gaming group (ECAMGA) that is sponsored by my friend Ernie (mentioned at the top of this rambling diatribe) which really exposed to how a top-of-the-line gaming experience should be the setting and ambiance is as important as the game itself.  There's a bit of theater to staging a good games night that makes hosting an event both fun and challenging.

2010
My son being a teenager (15) has lost interest in modeling, but still likes to game.  He's more interested in competitive sailing (my other hobby) so I can't really complain.  I'm still going strong and now have a dedicated (liberated?) game room and armies/navies for a bunch of rule sets: Flames of War (US and German), 28mm French Napoleonics, 6 mm ACW, ACW Ironclads, WWI Naval, 1/1200 Sailing ships etc).  I am about to embark on yet another period - ancients via Warlord's Imperial Romans - every gamer needs a Roman Army, right?

While I enjoy painting figures, my favorite aspect of the hobby is terrain making - perhaps that's a sign I'm a recovering model rail roader?

Let me know your path into the ranks of the lead-addicted.

Architects of War Machine Gun Nest

I just finished my 28mm Machine Gun Nest kit from Architects of War.  A played a game a few weeks ago and had to attack one of these guys - let's just say the dice gods were angry at me.  The Kit consists of 2 resin pieces - the base and the top.  It also comes with 2 machine gun options a german version and a water cooled one that can be used as either a Browning for WWII or a generic maxim gun for WWI.

The casting of the resin piece is very nicely done.   There was no flash or any clean-up needed.  I primed the whole think black and then dry brushed all of the main colors on.  A little bit of ground foam and other scenery bits and there-you-go.

Here is a photo of the nest from the rear - kind of reminds me of a hobbit home.  I was going to paint a camo pattern on the tarp that covers the door but got lazy.

The top of the machine gun nest is removable, which one uses during a game to so the nest after it's been taken out (which I was never able to do in the game).  There are some nice details in the rubble which add some real character to the completed project.  I had a fun time completing the kit and highly recommend it.

Forests for 6mm American Civil War

Now with the WWI Fleet project moved from "build" to "game" status, it's time to move on to hosting another American Civil War (ACW) game using my 6mm armies.  New to this game will be the heavy forrest sections that my friend, Ernie of Architects of War fame, made for me.  The really cool thing about these forests is that they have removable tops that allow for easy access to move units that are in the terrain, as you can see in the next photo:

It's a very elegant solution and allows for some interesting gaming opportunities - Battle of the Wilderness anyone?  Ernie made a very useful PDF on how to make the forests which can be downloaded from the "How-To" section of his companies website.  The pieces he made for me will work with anything from 6mm to 15mm so expect also see them on Flames of War Battle reports.  In fact, Ernie has some truly impressive forest sections of similar design for larger scales (28mm+) in his personal collection - the tree trunks are about a foot long (he uses branches) and the canopy is another foot to foot and a half - amazing stuff when on the table.

I'll be making some more sections for my table.

I use Black Powder for my ACW gaming and will designate the new forrest sections as "Heavy Woods".  Normal woods add a +1 to saving die rolls but the "heavy woods" will add a +2 and visibility is limited to a base width (60mm).  There  will also be some special movement rules that can result in units getting "lost" and disorganized when moving through the woods.  I'll spring those upon the players and let you know how that aspect works.

WWI Fleets Completed

I finally finished my WWI fleets.  All the models are 1/2400 scale from GHQ and they are really top notch.  They're also a bit on the pricey side but this is a case where you get what you pay for.  The British fleet consists of 8 Battleships, 3 Battlecruisers, a Old Dreadnaught, 4 Destroyer flotillas, an early Aircraft Carrier, and an American Battleship.  It totals 18 ship bases.

The German fleet is a bit smaller, but still powerful as it boasts 6 Battleships, 2 Battlecruisers, 2 Light Cruisers, and 3 Destroyer flotillas for a total of 13 ship bases.  While the brits out number the germans, but the german ships tend to be a bit better so the advantage isn't that huge.  Out first test games, using the "Naval Thunder" ruleset and three ships per side were a blast.

Here's a closer view of the German Fleet.  I think the models came out nicely and building / painting them was a very nice break from 28mm figures.  I'm still experimenting with the sea color for the bases.  I'm leaning towards the lighter blue version which can be seen on the lower left Destroyer flotilla base or the middle front Battleship.

Both WWI naval rulesets that I use require splash markers to show which ships has been shot at - the rule concept is that ships become harder to target when multiple ships fire against it due to the shell splashes obscuring the target.  The markers are made from old washers, drywall anchors and Woodland scenics water effects.  My friend Ernie made me some other markers out of foam that are a lot nicer so I'll be copying those in the near future.

While there are a handful of ships remaining to be built, I think this will be all in the WWI naval category for now.  I have a very busy few weeks coming up - a business trip to Buenos Aires (always a nice city to travel too), hosting a 6mm ACW game for my club), and starting yet another army and period (28mm Imperial Romans).

WWII Test Game & Sailing

Last Saturday night Sean and I played in the second of two test games with our game club, ECAMGA, at Ernie's house.  Ernie, of Architects of War fame, was trying out some of his scenery and some homemade skirmish rules for WWII.  The first picture shows a shot from my son's anti-tank unit barely missing my Sherman.  Of course, I had just taken out his mortar unit a few turns earlier and you can see his reaction in the next photo:

It can be fun to show a 15 year old that his old man can sometimes figure out his schemes!  Check out the cool explosion pieces Ernie came up with - very creative.  I think he'll be posting a more detailed write up of the game on his blog so I will not go into a lot of details here, except to say the rules were a lot of fun.   As with any game at his house, the scenery and miniatures where top notch.  I should point out that the machine gun nest terrain piece proved to be very deadly in the game.  You might want to pick one up while supplies last.  Ernie assured me that the fabulous dice rolling that occurred when the damn thing shot at us is a function of the kit itself and not just luck.

Last weekend was a busy one for Sean and I - he had a two-day regatta (Sat/Sun) and we squeezed the game in on Saturday night.  The regatta went well for Sean - he placed third in his class (full rig lasers).  The weather on Sunday was pretty bad - 25 - 30mph winds and 3 foot seas so sailing was very rough.  At one point his boat cartwheeled and he got catapulted 15 or so feet out into the water.  Most of the boats had some minor hull damage and/or ripped sails but nothing major.  The only damage we sustained was a snapped tiller extension but Sean had a blast.

WWI Fleet Update

As mentioned in the previous post, I have made some good progress on my WWI naval project.  At left, is the current German High Seas Fleet, which consists of 5 Battleships, a Battlecruiser and 2 Light Cruisers. My initial try at basing is very basic for now - just black styrene plastic with a very basic sea background.  I will eventually magnetize the underside to help with storage.  The labels where made in Excel, which was extremely useful in sizing to match the bases.

The pride of the German Fleet is the Baden, with her 15 inch guns.  The remaining unfinished Germans ships include a Battlecruiser and some Destroyer Flotillas.

The Royal Navy consists of 5 Battleships, a Battlecruiser, and old Dreadnaught and an experimental aircraft carrier.  There's also a US Battleship thrown in for fun.

Here's a close up of the USS Pennsylvannia, sister ship to the Arizona.  It was a very powerful ship during WWi, mounting 12, 14 inch guns.  I have another unbuilt model so I can add in the Arizona.

Lastly, the pride of my Royal Navy Fleet, HMS Royal Oak.  Like the Baden, it also mounts 15 inch guns.  I also have a handful of Royal Navy ships to complete including some Cruisers and Destroyer Flotilla's.  I'm hoping to get a test game in with my son tonight to try out the models on the table top.

New Forrest Terrain - with a removable top!

I just received some new forrest terrain made by my friend, Ernie of Architects of War.  The pieces are really cool as they have removable canopies that allow for easier troop movement in the forests.  The terrain pieces are scaled for use with my 6mm ACW figures but also look like they can be used with up to 15mm figures also.

Ernie's forrest sections are really clever and he's posted a "how-to" PDF on their construction within the hobby section of his website:

http://www.architectsofwar.com/howtoinformation.aspx

As for progress on my projects, most of the past few weeks have been taken up with my son's sailing regatta's.  He took one first place and a second so it's been a very good week.  We've had heavy wind and that's a big factor for him.  On the hobby front, I've finished another 8 or so 1/2400 WW1 ships.  I'll post some pictures of the ships and the forrest terrain when I get a chance.