Getting back to the Game

Apologia

To start with I am sorry for my absence over the past few months. To give the short story I have been unwell, for want of a better phrase, which put a halt to both gaming and painting. I’m happy to say that over the past six weeks I have managed a lot of painting and a couple of solo games plus a game against an old chum from the Guildford club. So this is by way of a catchup post, with pics of the most recent stuff off the workbench. I’ll try and get round to looking at some of the things in greater depth in later posts.

Painting

I have always found painting a therapeutic activity, and a great way of passing the time too. At the end of last month the other half went back home for Passover, so I took up the brush a few weeks earlier to get as much done as possible. With the place to myself I intended to colonise the living room and have a few games.

My 1806 Prussians are pretty much done. What I really needed to do was get my Frogs sorted out, or at least get enough done so I could have some realistic games. The ‘French Plan’ is to get a division completed plus a brigade of light cavalry and the supporting artillery. The result is that I now have 5 battalions of Ligne, 3 of Legere, a regiment of Hussars and one of Chasseur a Cheval plus a foot and a horse battery finished. Along with this I have figures to represent Friant, Gilly, Barbanegre and two ADC/Staff officers painted up. This was enough to evenly match the 1806 Prussians, and the 1809 Austrians I have done. Anyhow, here are some pics…..

Artillerie a Cheval and 5e Hussards

11e Chasseur a Cheval

1st Bn 15e Legere

5e Hussards

Arguably I should be focussing on the Austrians. Those who know me well will be totally unsurprised to find out that this is going to be my main army. The plan is ambitious, true. There is already enough lead to do the whole of IV Kolonne and this is well underway. I hope to do V Kolonne too; I already have six squadrons and three battalions of this force and will keep adding bits. The aim is to get all of this done for the 200-ers re-fight of Aspern-Essling next year. Yes, there is the issue of snowblindness. I am trying to do six German infantry and then six of something else; Gunners, Grenz, Cavalry or whatever. It helps things become less of a grind than they would be otherwise. Pullinger’s Art shop here in Kingston has been a good source of Acrylic colours, and their ‘Parchment’ Heavy Body paint has proved to be a great basecoat for off-white wool and pure white leatherwork. OK, pics time….

HusR10 'Stipiscz'

Lieb btn, IR8 'Erzherzog Ludwig' in Battalion Mass

There are other things. I am painting up some unpainted Flintloque stuff and some other bits and pieces in order to generate space and cash from ebay sales. These will all go into making more little men that I can use (more bits of V Kolonne). My one 28mm Marlburian Dutch unit has already gone to a mate. Also there are the Napoleonic Spanish and the WAS Italian period plus a 3lb battery for the 1806 Prussians. I have found, after a lot of looking, the Crusader 3lb guns ideal for this and as guns for the WAS Piedmontese infantry. As they are both mid-light blue they can double up. The figures that come with the Crusader guns become Spanish. Although you have seen the battalion before here is the Piedmontese Regiment ‘Diesbach’ with their newly painted battalion gun section…



Games, well, as this post is long lets leave them and the playtesting of suggestions for Art of Command to a later post.

K