US Marines

I finished painting my US Marine contingent and I tried out something new as part of the painting process.

Here is one of the finished figures:

At this point in the past, I would have taken the time and black lined the entire figure.

Instead, I tried out a new shading wash using a mixture of artist inks and Pledge floor wax.  Here is a photo with the shading applied:

I kind of like the shading.  It gives the figure some depth, but it also looks much more the part of a 19th century soldier.

Regimental Fire & Fury for the War of 1812

In case you missed it on my regular gaming site, I thought I would give you a battle report on a game I hosted yesterday at our wargames club.

I had an opportunity to host a Regimental Fire & Fury war of 1812 game yesterday at the club.  The game went very well. Here are some photos of the game. My thanks to Bob, Paul, Mike and Matt for playing in the game!

The Stalwart Warriors! (l to r) Paul, Bob, Mike and Matt.

Americans defending Farmer White's Fields.  The photo shows American artillery supported by the 3rd US Volunteers behind them, Pennsylvania Volunteers on their flank and further to the left, the NY Greens Volunteer Regiment.

A close-up of the NY Greens under fierce attack by the Voltigeurs Canadiens ably supported by the 100th Regiment of Foot.  The Voltiguers' attack was very successful as they swept the NY Greens from the field.

Not seen very often in the War of 1812 - British and Canadian cavalry charging the 9th US Infantry.  The 9th successfully held off the attack.

The British and American battlelines face-off.  The Voltiguers have taken the position from the NY Greens and they continue to advance.  The 103rd Regiment of Foot moves up behind them in support.  On the right the 100th Regiment of Foot with 3/1st Foot on their right prepare to engage the Americans.  The American lines include (from l to r) a NY Militia Battalion, a composite Rifle Battalion, the 2nd US Artillery (serving as infantry) and the 1st US Infantry.

I wanted to include this picture to highlight the great terrain from my friend Andrew.  These are his fields and the buildings in the upper right-hand corner are just really beautiful!  They make a perfect farm for old-man White!

I had a great time putting on this game.  I have run the scenario on four occasions using Volley & Bayonet Wing scale.  The games turned out fine, but I really enjoyed changing over to the F&F rules for a change of pace.  I am thinking that this will also make a great scenario for the new computer moderated rules that my friend AJ is working on.

The battle ended up being larger than I anticipated and so we did not get to a complete conclusion.  I hope to run it again this summer here at the house so we can hopefully fight the whole game.  As it was the Americans held onto the farm and could have pretty easily held the small bridge which was a tertiary victory condition.  The British caused more casualties then they took, and I think given a few more turns, they would have given the Americans a run for their money in the fight to control the farm.

The players also provided me with some great feedback on the victory conditions which I will incorporate into my next game.

Overall I would say that this was a very successful game which I hope players enjoyed participating in.