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.

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?)

British Shermans, Part III

Since discovering the solution (pun!) to properly thinning Vallejo paint for airbrush use, I've set out quickly retouching some of my unfinished and not-quite-the-way-I-hoped 15mm Sherman tanks.

British 8th Foot, War of 1812

My commissioned set of 8th Foot, War of 1812 is now complete. The company is made of a mix of Front Rank and Foundry figures, which blend quite nicely.

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.

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!

Navy Basing Update!

While my paints were out for the Marines, I also worked to resolve the  now long-standing beach basing conundrum. My previous attempt (and 1st prototype) did not fully convey the mediterranean shore as well as I would have liked. Rather that jumping straight into a major overhaul, I tried to see if I could work with the existing basing and correct it toward my originally intended look. This was accomplished by tinting the water with a dark blue & green mix, blending it out lighter toward the shore, and then applying a thinned layer of my wet sand color (British Uniform) on top to mute it down a bit. it might be a little unrealistic to have such a deep color so close to shore, but I believe it balances the minature and gives some much-needed contrast on the base while also mirroring the deep blue of the sailor's short coat.

This is a lot of words to say that adding a little sea green really makes the scenic base read visually more as a beach. Further changes down the road would be darkening the seaweed and rocks to increase contrast to the sand, but I may save those for the next figures...(And of course there are some edges to clean up...)

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!

Petit Armée

One of the best parts of making new gaming friends is the expanding of your games repertoire. My friend Andrew has introduced me to a fun little game in Petit Armée.

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.

1812 Sharp Practice Meeting Engagement

Returning once again to the War of 1812, I introduced a combined force of British Regulars with native allies in a game against the US line in another Sharp Practice match with my friend Dave.

Don't forget your Old Shipmate (Navy basing part 1)

Having completed painting the uniforms of my Royal Navy Landing Party, it is time to give some attention to their bases.

8th Regiment of Foot, 1812 (WIP)

Having completed my test model, I have been working on my commissioned 1812 British regiment. 

The force is a part of a series of figures I have been painting for my friend for gaming the War of 1812 using Sharp practice ruleset. The models here represnet the 8th Regiment of Foot, which fought in America during the war. They wear the blue facings of a royal regiment, and fielded in the earlier stovepipe shakos. The models are still WIP, but nearing completion.

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.