25mm Black Powder Clash

Thursday night was a big night. After about 16 months of grueling painting, I finally got to see all my boys take the field.  If you'll recall, a few months back the Basement Generals ran a Regimental Fire & Fury scenario using many of my figs, but we used a lot of Jason's as well.  It was rewarding to see a lot of hard work on the table at once.

This was our first run at ACW in 25mm using Black Powder, and it went off without a hitch.  The Baron had the terrain laid out nicely and had put together a scenario that I couldn't help but to throw out 'Petersburg.'  Two Reb brigades along with three gun sections would hold the left flank of CSA breastworks while a few units of cavalry would try to mess with the Yank's apple cart.  The U.S. would throw a full division and a couple of gun sections at the Rebs. The Union left decided to go George Custer and take care of business on its own while the middle went the calculated push route. The right thought better to rest before getting in the fight which made it more difficult for the Reb cav to sweep around behind the Union right. While the Union left began to dissolve, the middle and right eventually made it to the wall and even breached the defenses but were pushed back.  All in all if was a lot of fun and allowed Jaye and Scott shared some funny stories about a dear friend who had recently passed away. Prayers out to Tom Bajt's family and friends.

U.S. lines deploy for battle.

 C.S.A. defenses.

 The Yankee left runs in whoopin' and a hollerin'.

"No other terms than unconditional and immediate surrender. I propose to move immediately upon your works." -U.S. Grant

The Union right in deep strategical thought.

Reb cavalry hit the Union right.

Tough fighting at the wall.

The Reb left wavers, but eventually repels the Union assault.

share some funny stories about a dear friend who had recently passed away. Prayers out to Tom Bajt's family and friends.

Re-Basing Project

It is my wish that at least one person considering this hobby for the first time will spend some time thinking about how they will base their minis.  I think I mentioned in one of my early entries that I decided on how I'd base mine before I'd even played a game or read a ruleset. Regimental Fire & Fury was a set that I kept seeing pop up, so that's the direction I went.  The first pic shows how I initially based all of my infantry and dismounted cav stands (minus command stands which I based 40x40 from the beginning. These are on 40x20 bases:

RF&F actually calls calls for 3 minis per rank and file infantry stand, but I chose two for the simple fact that 25s take more time to paint.

After recently playing an ACW (15mm) game at the Baron's using Black Powder rules in order to try a set that would allow for faster play, I decided to combine my infantry bases so everything would be based to a 40x40 stand. I would add that this basing would favor Foundry's Bull Run to Gettysburg rules too (in my humble opinion, Foundry needs to do some work on their quick reference sheet). The process of doing this did not take quite as long as I anticipated. I have a mix of wooden Litko, plastic Renedra, and custom-cut metal bases.  I found that superglue bonds all for these materials quite nicely (or at least until you can bond them further with Elmer's).  Lying them on a piece of aluminum foil allows for easily peeling them off with out them bonding to a workbench or cardboard. Once dried, I applied a bead of Elmer's and flocked.  The Elmer's penetrates the joint where the superglue didn't. Here is the finished product:

 I am pretty happy with the results.  I am preparing myself for a base or two breaking apart during play sooner or later, but for the most part they seem pretty durable.  In addition, these bases can continue to be used with RF&F with the use of markers.

The bottom line is, if you're weighing options on how to base, be patient. Talk to as many people as possible (especially the members of your group) and try to play a few scenarios using different rulesets.  On a side note, the 40x40s cut the number of bases you need to handle in half, which saves time, and that is a good thing.

Mounted ACW Personalities

I recently finished up some generals I'd been putting off doing because I loath painting horses. They are a mix of Dixon and Redoubt. I've expressed my dissatisfaction with the quality of Redoubt and these did nothing to change my opinion.  Most of the horse castings were just flat out bad and the riders were not much better, however, they are an improvement over some of the infantry and dismounted cavalry I've painted. I really hope Redoubt gets their molds cleaned up, as I believe they could have some nice stuff if they do.  What bothers me most is the condition they sent this stuff out in.

The Dixons, while they look like...well, Dixons, are fun to paint and in my opinion are very clean castings.  

Major General George Pickett

Lieutenant General A.P. Hill

Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest

General U.S. Grant

Major General John Buford

Major General John Reynolds

Major General William Tecumseh Sherman

15mm Black Powder

Thursday night the Baron and the Basement Generals ran a non-historical ACW scenario using Black Powder rules. Back in January we ran a Regimental Fire & Fury scenario using 25s.  Being relatively new to the hobby, I don't have a lot of experience in the differing rulesets, but have read through my RF&F rulebook a few times. I believe it is a set that attempts to make a solid run a re-creating an ACW battle as closely as possible, but with all the detail involved, it is very difficult to complete a scenario in a three hour evening with more than 4 players. So, the quest has begun in finding a set that is more conducive to allowing for faster game play. Another set I have purchased and hope to try eventually is Foundry's Bull Run to Gettysburg.  It as well appears to be more simplified when compared to RF&F.

Thursday's game involved a Union-occupied town flanked by their camp on one side and a foundry on the other, locations serving as victory points. The game began with a single Union unit on picket duty in the middle of the field.  Less than half of the total Union brigades would begin the battle off the field, so good rolling (which I have yet to master) would be a must in order for re-enforcements to arrive in a timely manner.  Take a look at the Baron's Blog for a full battle report.

While I had to leave the battle early (not to mention my Union forces on the right flank holding the foundry were carved up in short order), I enjoyed the game a lot.  The game flowed very well, almost to a fault if the rolls weren't going your way.  With these rules, a unit could dissolve very quickly if carelessness and lousy rolling entered play.

 The sides square off

 A lone Federal Unit of Zouaves is about to get a big surprise

 The Rebel left wastes no time in getting into the fight to take the foundry

 Heavy fighting ensues

 Heavy hand to hand combat thins out the Federal brigade garrisoning the foundry

Two Federal brigades re-enforce the right, but fail to put up much of a fight