Casuatly/Morale Counter Dial Tutorial

I am into miniature wargaming for definitively aesthetic reasons, and prefer to create the illusion of an actual scene on the tabletop. To represent complex battlefield conditions and the less tangible aspects of the battles, such as morale and command coherency, one must either get heavy into the bookkeeping aspects of the games or use visual markers to note these conditions. Instead of my usual default of dice, I have gone about creating my own dial counters.

AWI British Command Group

As you may have glimpsed in the flag tutorial, I have finished work on the command group for the AWI British Marines.

Flag Graphic Tutorial

Previously, I showed my recent Marine Ensigns carrying their regimental standards. The process that went in to creating the flag designs deserved its own tutorial, as I think this can help other modelers & wargamers seeking to portray some of the more specific regiments in miniature.

AWI Marine Ensigns & Colours

One of the details that really enhances an tabletop army is a proper set of regimental colours, and since unit-specific flags add so much character to a miniature army, but British Marine Colours are somewhat difficult to come by (and a bit of a contention among reenactors), I settled on creating my own.

After doing some [somewhat dubious] research into the matter, I went about creating my flags based on some accounts of the Regimental and King's colours likely carried by the Marines in Boston and the early stages of the Revolutionary War. Several sources cite a tailor's receipt for silk flags, describing the use of the fouled anchor and the rose and thistle motif commonly used by most other regiments. While not explicitly mentioned, I included St. George's Cross on the Regimental since it is specified by the 1768 warrant, and the Marines did their best to be able to fit in when on land campaign alongside the army. (Also it adds a lot more visual interest).

I will do a separate post to describe the process used to design the flag graphics, so for now suffice to say it was done using the Adobe Creative Suite, and printed to scale (used same measurements as the flags printed in the Perry painting guide that came with the figures) on a professional digital press on nice uncoated paper stock, which was then glued in place with watered down PVA.

From here I'll be adding the rest of the set's command group: an officer on foot and musician.

May the Horse be with you!

Now that I've gotten my more serious title of the day out of the way, I can move on to puns and segue back to AWI Redcoats (anyone remember May the Horse be With You by Reliant K?)

Battle of Harlem Heights (Sharp Practice Skirmish)

Following the Battle of Long Island, the Continental Army slipped away from complete destruction across the river to Manhattan Island and New York City. In an attempt to trap them and end the rebellion, Lord Howe landed his army to the north, at Kip's Bay to cut them off in the City. The rebels, however, slipped away again, and fled up the island, with the Crown Forces in pursuit.

Landing at Kip's Bay

As a prelude to the write-up for my Battle of Harlem Heights scenario I wrote, I've staged a scene of the Landing at  Kip's Bay.

September 15, 1776, in the wake of the disastrous (for the Continental Army, anyway) battle of Long Island, saw Crown Forces land in strength at Kip's Bay, north of the city of New York, to cut off and capture the large metropolitan area. Under a heavy naval bombardment, the rebel militia forces faltered and broke, leaving the British troops to land almost unopposed.

The Yankees fled northward up the narrow island of Manhattan, pursued by the British Regulars, who would attempt again to trap and capture the army, putting an end to the Rebellion once and for all.

Connecticut Line Infantry

With all the new redcoats reinforcing the gaming table, the poor minutemen need a properly trained fighting force on thier side as well. To oppose the crown forces on tabletop, I've been preparing a group Old Glory continental infantry.

2nd Detachment of Marines (Perry Plastic Redcoats)

Now for a quick progress update on my ongoing AWI British Marines project.

Skirmish in the Northeast (AWI Sharp Practice)

Awaiting the coming storm.

A continental officer stands at the edge of a wood, watching the horizon. The sounds of the birds and the wind are joined, then replaced, the beating of drums. Over the crest of the nearest hill the glint of steel rises above the grass and the silhouette of those carrying it.

British Marines Shore Party

I have now complted the first 8 British Marines from the American Revolution. These Perry Brothers plastic figures have been a lot of fun to paint so far, but it has definitely been a learning process.

Marine Recruiting Sergeant

To help me fill out the ranks of my newly raised British Marines, I've painted up a Sergeant to do some recruiting on the painting bench. (He also makes up the second test figure).

As the test for NCOs in this new force, his coat is a bit brighter than the ranks he'll lead, as they would have been made out of a finer quality wool. His sash has the regiment's facing color in it.

Up next I'll be finishing out my first group. Thanks for reading!

AWI British Marines Test Figure

Allow me to excitedly show my latest test-model. This figure represents a hopefully company strength group of British Corps of Marines from the American War of Independence, and the model is one of the relatively-new Perry Brothers plastic redcoats. I've experimented with a new basing scheme hopefully evocative of the Northeast woodlands.

In the coming weeks I'll be working to build up his regiment, and will post progress as it happens, with the distinct possibility of a step-by-step on the paint scheme and basing, so stay tuned!

They made camp here (Sharp Practice Blinds, Part III)

An Iroquois war party investigates the remains of a hastily abandoned campsite deep in the woodlands. They followed a trail through miles of forest, but it vanishes at this site. Is this a trap?

Woodsman's Ambush (Sharp Practice Blind, Part II)

There! Behind that wall!

Sharp Practice Blinds (Hidden Movement Markers)

After playing a few games of Sharp Practice, I was convinced that something more photogenic than cards was needed to represent the movement of hidden troops within the fog of war.

Arming the HMS Sophie part 1

Having come across a good deal on a set of six turned brass cannon barrels at a local hobby shop, I am finally able to start properly arming my ship models. However, since they did not come with laser-cut wood parts, this means building my own naval gun carriages from scratch.

HMS Sophie Part 6 - Aft Cabin Renovation

Finally jumping back into my 28mm Royal Navy Brig project, it is time to revise the windows for the aft cabin. I feel my current version detracts from the rest of the model, so I am removing the part, and adding windows based on examples of 18th C. warships, and simplifying them to fit the look and scale of the ship.

29th REG'T Drummer, 1776

Continuing to flesh out the Crown Forces of my AWI collection, I have been working on a series of musicians and a standard bearer. Musicians are an interesting challenge to paint at this scale,
as their uniforms are much more intricate and complex than an infantryman's. The coats are made inverse to the rest of the regiment, most of the time. In the case of the 29th REG'T, this makes them yellow with red facings. Also noteworthy is that they are absolutely covered in a web of regimetnal lace. Not just outlining the buttonholes, but essentially outlining every major seam on the garment, and having a ladder of chevrons up each arm.

An interesting historical note: as a tradition, drummers in the 29th during the Revolution were black. This made a bit of a fuss while they were stationed in Boston during the occupation, as it was the drummer's duty to dispense corporal punishment. The slave-owning locals apparently did not enjoy watching them scourge white soldiers in the town square...

The next addition to my AWI British command will be a fifer, and perhaps the King's Colors.

Rebels' Redoubt: an AWI skirmish with Sharp Practice

Exploring the built-in diversity of the Sharp Practice ruleset for small skirmishes, I ran a game set during the American War of Independence. Dave and I played a scenario that had an outnumbered and outclassed Rebel force holding a dug-in redoubt with one functioning field gun against an onslaught of elite Redcoats.