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!

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...)