Black Powder AWI Battle Report

After months of conflicting schedules and just general busyness, I was finally able to get to my friend David's house last weekend for a bit of wargaming. He invited another gamer, his neighbor Stephen, and we enjoyed a day of Black Power action, recreating a British raid on a colonial stronghold during the Revolutionary War.

When we arrived, we found that David had already set up the field of battle, and prepared the forces. Stephen and I would command the British troops, and a band of privateers, while David led the colonial rebels.

On the left flank, Stephen was in charge of the privateers, accompanied by some Royal Marines. They would assault the rebel fort. On the right, Stephen led a column of infantry, while I commanded another column of infantry and a small detachment of cavalry. Stephen had played using Warlord Games' Black Powder rules before, so we let him control the bulk of the British forces, while I concentrated on learning the rules.

Here you see the peaceful village, unaware of the destruction that is about to visit them.

 The British forces begin the advance along the right flank.

An overview of the field. The privateers and marines are at the top, assaulting the fortress. The advancing infantry and cavalry are at the bottom.

In the middle of the field, some hearty militiamen wait for the inevitable...

After burning the first home (which unfortunately turned out to belong to a local royalist... ooops!) the cavalry advance on the next homestead.

Some natives gather and concentrate behind the woods, waiting for the moment to strike.

Meanwhile the cavalry torches another home, this one at last belonging to a rebel. But the forces of independence have a small unit attempt a counterattack.

In the center, the British forces finally arrive at the wall. Natives wait in the cornfield as the militia prepares to receive the attack.

To the north, the Royal Marines have made landfall, but find their way across the bridge blocked by a ragtag unit of rebels.

Meanwhile, the privateers (really no more than a bunch of pirates) assault the fortress.

The natives must be driven from the woods - whatever the cost.

The British are charging in multiple locations as once, as the center column makes contact with the rebels - driving them off!

On the bridge, however, the marines are driven back. Cowards!

This overview of the right flank shows the successes of the British advance. Three houses are burning (though only one belonged to a rebel... someone is sure to file a complaint!), the natives are close to being defeated in the woods, and the left column has beaten back the militia, taking a solid defensive position along a road.

One unit of rebels rolls a blunder...

... which moves it into the perfect location to be charged in the rear by the cavalry and destroyed!

By the time we had to stop play, the right side of the board was solidly in control of the British, with four houses burning (50% of them rebel) and the American colonials in retreat.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable game. I like the way the Black Powder rules flow. I will need more practice with them to feel fully comfortable, but it was a good first game for me. David did a great job of hosting and teaching the rules, and it was good to have Stephen on my side to keep David honest. :)

I don't see myself getting into Napoleonics and large scale horse and musket gaming in a big way, but I am looking forward to some more Black Power at David's in the near future.

'Til next time.

Gruntz Transports from Matchbox Trucks

Well, it's been a bit since I was able to post. Real-life family issues have kept me occupied, but hopefully things have settled down now enough for me to get some more hobby and modelling projects finished.

Last week I was able to finish up a couple more GZG Colonial Legionnaire squads for 15mm science fiction gaming, particularly Gruntz.

Painting up the squads was pretty straightforward, I used the same color scheme I used for the earlier troops. The only difference is these guys had helmets. I must say I prefer the legionnaires with the kepis, and will be getting more of those to flesh out my units.

In my eternal search for cheap gaming models, I came across a Matchbox truck that looked promising. It's their version on an International CXT, which is apparently the largest pick up truck in the world.

It looked to be about the right size, and at 98 cents it was worth taking a chance.  Once I got it home I checked it with some 15mm GZG UNSC Marines.

It looked okay, but I wanted to check the actual dimensions. I measured it and compare it with the real truck. The Matchbox is a little oversized, but well within what I'd consider reasonable tolerances.

International CXT Actual and Scale Dimensions

	Actual	1/100 Scale	Matchbox Model
Length	21.5 feet (6.6 m)	2.58 in	2.8125 in
Width	101 inches (2.6 m)	1.01 in	1.125 in
Height	9 feet (2.7 m)	1.08 in	1.1875 in.

The next day I picked up a few more, and began the conversion process. I began by disassembling the truck into its component parts. This required drilling away the rivets that hold it together, but was pretty straightforward.

I wanted to enclose the truck bed. The model comes with a covered bed, so rather than cut through the metal, I just added another surface and some side panels from styrene. Yes, technically not realistic, but otherwise it would mean a lot more cutting and filing than I wanted to deal with. It's a compromise, but one I can live with.

I made two open-bed trucks, and a third with supports that can hold a canvas canopy.

One other change I made was to cut the window out of the back of the plastic insert that represents the glass. On the left is an unmodified window insert, and the truck on the right has the rear window section removed.

The reason why I did this, is that without the rear window, I can fit two troops on penny bases in the bed of the truck.

Here you can see one of the converted and primed trucks, beside an unmodified one.

I spray painted a sand basecoat on the trucks, then added some rust, a little brownish wash, and a light drybrush. I also masked off where the wipers would clean the windscreen, and then dirtied up the glass. Also, I added a drop of glue to the wheels to lock them. Otherwise, when placing the trucks on a slope or incline, they'd roll right off!

The end result, sitting beside the regular, unmodified truck:

Here is my current fleet of three. The only thing I may still do is add a canvas cover to the truck with the cover frame.

And finally the transports with their accompanying squads:

I must say, I really enjoyed making these. First, the price was certainly about as good as it could get. $3 for the fleet. And I really do like the look of them, if I do say so myself. They are generic enough that they could almost pass for anything from a vintage truck, to a modern truck, to a near future sci-fi or post apocalyptic setting. I have one unmodified truck left, and I am not sure whether to convert it into a vehicle for a post-apocalyptic warband, or maybe a command truck for my Gruntz force. When I decide, I will certainly post it here.

'Til next time.

First Painted Figs of 2012!

Well, this weekend I decided that I would do some painting - no matter what. I am still not 100% organized in my basement work area, but I had not painted any figures yet in 2012 and it was time to remedy the situation. And since on Friday night the tornado sirens went off in my county and we had to be in the basement anyway... well, what could be better than taking my mind off the possible danger by painting up a squad of 15mm FSE Colonial Legionnaires from Ground Zero Games for Gruntz!

First I prepped the figures, cleaning them up and basing them on pennies. For the Dragoon halftrack from Old Crow, I added magnets for the turret to hold it in place, while allowing full movement.

I primed them black, then gave them a basecoat spray of "sand." I added a little flesh on the faces and hands, then I used a lighter sandy color on the body armor, and a darker brown on the boots. A quick wash, and we're done! The joys of 15mm - at least the way I paint them - is that there's no need to stress over every little detail. Just get the basic colors where you want them and you're good to go.

And here's the completed squad and transport - and ready for Miniature Monday to boot. On the halftrack I painted some stripes in brownish yellow, then drybrushed a lighter shade over the whole thing. Pretty quick and simple, but I am very pleased with the results. My first fully painted figures of 2012! (I have to admit I think I may have already surpassed my 2011 total...)

I thought I'd write a few words about the Ground Zero Games 15mm figures. Overall I really liked the legionnaires alot, enough that I am going to make them the mainstay of my 15mm force. As you can see on the images below, there is some flash that needs to be cleaned up, primarily between the legs and under the arms. The one thing I was not terribly pleased with were the faces. Especially in the case of the bare-headed squad leader, the face was a fairly shapeless blob. Fortunately, at this small scale I do not think it makes a huge difference, but I have seen other 15mm figures with crisper detail.

And for your patience in following this post to the end - a teaser of my next several projects on my workspace. I have some more GZG 15mm figures to add to my Gruntz force - this time it's FSE Legionnaires with helmets, UNSC hardsuit marines, and "sci-fi Egyptians with Jackal-head helmets" (also known as Horus Jaffa from Stargate!). Plus, I found a toy car, in a drugstore of all places, that I simply had to have - a 1955 Chevy Nomad! It is slightly oversized for 28mm, but after I get done converting it I don't think it will be that noticeable. It will become the main ride for one of my "road warden" bands for a post-apocalyptic setting I am still working on. More details to come as I move forward with that project.

'Til next time!

Gruntz! forces arrive from the UK!

I got a call at work today saying a package had arrived from the UK! I rushed home, eager to open. I knew what it was - I had sent off some of a  force of old Epic metal tanks and a titan the week before to Robin Fitton, author of the award-winning Gruntz! 15mm sci-fi rules, and he had agreed to set me up with some 15mm figures and vehicles to get started. He'd also generously provided me with a copy of the rules.

Even though knew generally what the contents would be, I had no idea of the specifics. I eagerly tore into the box, and pulled out the first squad: Jaffa from Stargate! Or at least a very close approximation.

 

Next up - some wasp-like aliens armed with guns in addition to their stingers:

There were several whole groups of humans in different armors and with different weapons. It's hard to see details, but the group on the left look like SWAT guys and have a small mech-like walker. The squad on the right look like rebels in Hoth gear from Star Wars!

There were guys in different types of power armor (or are they robots?) as well as some more alien types (left).

Now for the vehicles. There's a very cool speeder bike that is very Star Wars-ish, and some sort of hovering drone or probe.

This guy is not terribly tall, but those plasma guns on his arms look deadly!

Three tanks! Two tracked, with different weapons, and a hover tank with a big gun.

My personal favorite, a futuristic halftrack with a small turret and some missile pods. I just need to figure out where they go. I managed to track this one down (no pun intended) - it's the Dragoon Halftrack from Old Crow models. These will definitely go on my list to get some more.

And lastly, a painted squad with a small APC armed with a cannon of some sort. It's attached by magnets, so it rotates freely. These guys are all decked out for some urban combat - I am loving it!

I cannot say how pleased I am with the trade. I love surprises, and opening the box from Robin was a treat!

More importantly, after a first read of the rules, I must say they are terrific! And since they are not tied to any one line of figures, all of what you see above can be used together. The game includes rules for working up stats and point values for any unit you choose, so you are not limited to one manufacturer, or even one scale. I suspect the rules would also work for 28mm actions as well.

I am very much looking forward to painting up some of the squads and the tanks and playing my first game of Gruntz!. Of course, as soon as I do I will share the details here.

Robin, thank you! I cannot wait to get started.

'Til next time.

2012 Resolution - Organizing is underway

Quick update: despite a busy Super Bowl weekend (YES! The Giants beat the New England Patriots, again!) I did manage to make some good progress on organizing my work and game space in the basement.
First, a quick look at the "before":

Among the things I was able to get done, I have the bookshelves re-ordered so that I can actually access and find any books I may need for reference.

And the various rulebooks, supplements, etc., are now beginning to see some sense of order - again, so that when I am looking for a particular game I can find it without digging through a pile of stuff.

And let's not forget the boardgames

Also, I have set aside a couple of shelves for my paints and some figures. I am not sure yet if I will keep my "in progress" minis here, or turn it into a display area for my completed models. I use cheap plastic spice racks to set the figures and paints on.

I have some larger shelves up for bins, and I hung a flag over the front to make it look neater.

I have space now for my rolling racks of plastic drawers, and I have started to sort and organize my tools, supplies, etc., into those drawers. No more digging through a ton of clutter just to find the superglue! No more accidentally and painfully  "finding" an Xacto knife blade! (And to appease the obsessive side of my psyche - labels! Tons of labels on drawers, magazine boxes, etc.!)

And, I hung a small set of display shelves. While sorting through boxes as I was organizing, I found some metal minis from the late 70s which were the first ones I ever painted when I was in my early teens. For now, they can sit on the shelves. The plastic GW horse at top left was painted by my daughter - she painted her first mini when she was three! :)

So, this is what the overall area looks like:

I have some other "real world" tasks to concentrate on during this week, but I hope to get some time in the evenings and next weekend to finish off the organizing and finally be able to get started gaming, painting and modeling! There is still quite a bit left to do. I still need to carve out a space to have a gaming table or two set up, and I need to keep going through bins to sort and organize. Time consuming, yes, but the progress I have made so far has got me excited about getting the job done and enjoying the fruits of my labor!

In the meanwhile, I have found a new home for a bunch of my Games Workshop Epic suprlus armor. At this moment, a formation of Leman Russes, Predators and more are making their way across the Atlantic. In exchange: a copy of the Gruntz 15mm sci-fi rules from their creator, Robin (@inrepose), and some 15mm figures to be able to put together a starting force and get some games in.

Yes, I know, 15mm sci-fi was not on my list of games/genres to concentrate on in 2012. But I saw on Twitter that Robin was looking for some Epic models, and since I happened to have some surplus I reached out to him to see if he was interested. I'd recently seen some fantastic images of  Gruntz games and 15mm sci-fi models, and I was intrigued enough to suggest a swap. In the end, I get  some cool new rules and models, and the only out-of-pocket cost is the shipping cost of the Epic tanks to the U.K. It doesn't get much better than that!

'Til next time!