Experimenting: how to write a battle report

It is just a vignette, showing some of the IDF miniatures I just finished to base... but I am very intrigued by the idea to write my battle reports in this format...

On the workbench: Marlburians infantry

I spent my weekend working on completely different figures in a different period, but it happens that I have some nice pics showing the progress made in past weeks on my Marlburians. And since I have not posted a good, colorful pictures in a while, I thought this may well be a good occasion. None of these units is completed yet, but they are moving along the production chain, and (I guess) can already make a good showing of themselves.

First, a unit made by Essex miniatures. Painted to represent an Irish, "Wild Geese" battalion, Albemarle. On occasion, the very same uniform will also do for the Saxe-Meiningen regiment of the Palatine Electorate. (And yes, if you really have to, the Imperial Osnabruck regiment has basically the same outfit, too, with white gaiters -- and on 15mm miniatures, from 3ft away, probably nobody will notice...)


Next, a French regiment -- it may equally be Normandie, Navarre, or Piemont. For sure, not the most flashy uniform: grey and white. But these are "Vieux Regiments" who deserve a spot on my table. (These, and the following three units, are Minifigs figures bought by the always nice and incredibly helpful Tom Dye.)


Third, a little jewel. The picture is unfortunately overexposed, and it shows in light blue what, in reality, is just a medium "Bavarian" blue. These are grenadiers from the Spanish "Milano" regiment, which, as a matter of fact, is not really Spanish but Italian. Milano being the birthplace of yours truly, this unit could not be left out. Kudos to Charles S. Grant's "Armies and Uniforms of the Marlborough's Wars vol. 2" for publishing a truly inspiring plate of the Milano Regiment.


Then, the Swiss of the Stuppa Regiment. Again, the exposure is off, and a medium blue is turned into a light blue that requires some mental and visual adjustment to be seen in its real color. This unit was a lot of fun to paint. And, once again, on a "as needed" basis, these miniatures can double up as Dorrington Irish.


Last, but not least: the Tercio Amarillo Viejos! Here's Charles S. Grant is inconclusive, as he reports about contradicting sources: some put the facing of the unit in red, other authors in blue. I have not made my mind yet, but at the moment I am inclined to go for the blue option. I have to say -- the yellow turncoat looks spiffy on my table!


There are two other groups of figures I hope to showcase soon: the infantry cheaters, that is SYW miniatures partially converted to look credible on the field half a century earlier, and some cavalry. Look for the next installment in this continuing series!

Busy life

Life has been busy chez DestoFante. Between traveling and work, with a move weeks away and a baby due August 15th, I am actually surprised I can still squeeze in one hour or two for painting or catching up with the hobby. Of course, the choice is between coming here, and talking about the hobby, or sitting to the table and practicing the hobby. You guess how my time is distributed... But then, I realized that to my readers I may appear as a complete wargaming slacker! So, here a few topics for posts I promise I will write soon, if not exactly right now.

• Cold Wars. I manage to squeeze in a cameo appearance for 36 hours at Cold Wars, the HMGS-East spring convention in Lancaster, PA. I did a little shopping, as you may expect, and also had a few thoughts about the state of the hobby. I need to write a thoughtful post about those, and share a few pictures (eye-candies always welcome!)


• My Marlburian project continues in full swing! A couple of weeks ago I made some significant progress, short of a great push but enough to feel a sense of accomplishment. Photos to follow, hopefully soon.


• I also saw some progress in my colonial project: there are several Abyssinian units almost ready for dipping and basing, and so several other European miniatures. It didn't help that I had to wait for almost one months to receive Litko bases, but the quality of the product is so good that the wait is worth. Of course, I got a little derailed by some tangential thoughts. I really would like to play some "Hunting the Slave Traders" games in Sudan, circa 1880. This would be more of a "Dark Africa" than a "Sudan" project, and unfortunately "Dark Africa" in 15mm doesn't offer the same variety of opportunities as it does in 25mm. I still need to do some thinking about that.


• Further diversions. You may remember from here and here that I also harbor a closeted interest for the modern period. I have sketched some good detail about an African imagi-nation, the Republic of Lopongo, where to carry campaigns in style of Bongolesia and Ztum-Setum. That project has slowed down in 2009, but it is not forgotten. Also, years ago I began to paint some IDF and OLP miniatures from Peter Pig and QRF. I fully understand that the topic is politically charged, and I keep quiet about it; yet, this past week, I decided to take a step and I bought the PDF version of two "TooFatLardies" items, "Troops, Weapons & Tactics" and "Rock the Casbah." Once again, Rich Clarke did it for me. As in the case of "B'Maso", the quality of these products is excellent. They deserve a full review. It now seems that a "Lebanon 1982" project will be in the offing...

So many topics, so little time... I hope this will just serve as "menu" of posts to come, but in the meanwhile: back to table to get some painting and photographs done this afternoon!

15mm slave traders -- OG15 SYW Ottomans?

Just posted on TMP, but I know there is a lot of XVIII century expertise here too, so I will repeat the question.

I am looking for good/passable stand-ins for African slave traders in the late 1800s. Think Gordon.

One option would be a mix collection of Colonial Egyptians, Sudanese, and Beduins, maybe with an occasion Crimean War Turks.

Another option is to look at the SYW Ottomans in the Old Glory 15 range, about which, unfortunately, I do not know anything. They are supposed to cover the 1700-1820, so I should be able to make some quick conversions without pushing the envelope too much. But what which bags should I consider? Bashi Bazouks? Nissam? Janissaries? Sekans? I am not familiar with any of these types, and no pictures are available at OG15. Anyone familiar with the ranges could provide some quick summary and/or description? Recommendations?

Thanks in advance, guys!

Building a bridge to somewhere (*)

As explained in PaperTerrain website, "There are one 3-arch bridge, two 2-arch bridges and two 1-arch bridges included in the set. Unlike most of our building models, these bridges are designed to have a reinforcing layer of foamcore or balsa wood in the side supports. The foamcore or balsa is not included in the kit and must be provided by the buyer. The bridges come in two different color stones: brown and gray. You may select all brown, all grey or a mix."

So, after I left the office, I stop at a nearby hobby store, bought one sheet of foamcore, and came straight back home to work on the smaller of the bridges in the set, the one-arch brown stone model.

As for all the other PaperTerrain models I built in the past, good instructions are included in the set, so all boils down to some skill in cutting the paper card-board. Not a big deal, and something I carefully accomplished in a few minutes.

In the case of this bridge, though, there is a tricky part: the additional foamcore board to make the structure more robust. Here's I ran into some troubles: apparently, my strong glue was not strong enough to glue anything but my fingers. After a few botched attended, I grew very frustrated and I turned back to my trusted Elmers. The problem is that Elmers is a "wet" glue, far from ideal for a paper structure -- although a strong cardboard paper, in this case.

Apparently the change in strategy worked, and I was able to complete the project. It became evident at this stage, though, that I had previously committed a sin of omission: I should have primed the foamcore in dark brown first, as now I will have to retouch some spots where the white material shows from the paper junctures. Here's a few pictures (unfortunately a little on the dark side) about the completed bridge.




I spent part of my evening on a little project that has been in the pipeline for some time now: building one of the PaperTerrain bridges.

A final note on the reinforced structure which supports the bridge. Because of the problem with the glue, I opted for some little nails to keep the structure together. I took a picture of the bridge upside down, where you can spot a nail that did not go through straight.



Conclusion. I really like this bridge, and despite a few headwinds I had to face during the construction, I think I learned a few tricks and that the next time everything will work in a much smoother way. The bridge looks good, and it will look even better after a few retouched. Overall, I recommend you to give PaperTerrain -- definitely worth it!


(*) "We don't need bridges to nowhere anymore: we need real bridges to take real people to real jobs" -- DestoFante speaking to the media in his professional capacity.

Resist resist resist

I am resisting thus far, but for a long time I had been complaining for the lack of 15mm miniatures for French Indochina... well, not anymore!

Eureka has just released a full range, and it looks excellent! Both French Legionnaires and VietMinh. And the Legionnaires would look so good in French Algeria, too...

Congratulations to Nic Robson for filling this exciting niche! As for myself... I am resisting... for a while...

Announcement

If you noticed a drop in the frequency of posts in recent weeks, you are right but it goes with cause...

Mrs DestoFante and yours truly announce their first baby, due on August 15th. Sex still TBA, but we will be back with an update in the first week of April. In the meanwhile, we have been working on a relocation, from the North Side of Chicago to the South Loop.

Currently, Mrs DestoFante is in great spirit and health -- she is actually performing on a Midwest operatic stage. I am also in great spirit and health, and I just completed a cameo appearance at Cold Wars. A report with photos and comments will follow soon.

On other, un-related issues: the NCAA committee rejected an at-large bid to the basketball team of George Mason University, thus denying the American public the opportunity to enjoy high quality basketball during the March tournament.
As a result, wargaming activities will continue with no further distraction during the next four weeks.

Historicon to relocate to Baltimore in 2010!

Read the news on TMP.

I congratulate HMGS-East on the decision!

I was expecting to see Cold Wars move rather than Historicon, but the decision is ballsy and long due. It made little sense to have two, and for a few years three, conventions in a rural location such as Lancaster. The convention has clearly outgrown the Host, whose quality is, to say the least, lackluster, despite some recent efforts to add some variety to the food they provide.

Baltimore offers MUCH better access – by airplane, for all of us leaving away from the East Coast; and by train, if you want an alternative to driving. Hotels will likely be more expensive, but I will save money on the rental car. And I am thrilled to have the food variety that downtown Baltimore offers, compared with the modest offerings available in Lancaster. Contrary to some comments read on TMP, the city of Baltimore has shown some excellent progress in revitalizing the downtown: it is a fun, hip place to be, with excellent restaurants and a variety of activities available for the whole family.

I think the move really introduces some differentiation in what HMGS offers. Our "Northern" members will still enjoy one convention in Lancaster, if they do not want to take the trip down south; yet, Baltimore might open the opportunity to attract new people who had been reluctant to travel to rural PA.

For once, I say "BRAVA HMGS"!

The myth of "the great push"

Wargamers live with their myths, both collective and individual: realistic "rules", historical "accuracy", the most accurate uniforms painted on the most accurate figures, and so on. At the individual level, my personal, biggest myth is the idea of the "great ___ push". The "great Napoleonic push." The "great Colonial push." The "great WWI push." By this expression I mean to refer to the large quantity of half-painted miniatures I have sitting in boxes in my wargaming closet. The idea -- the dream, the myth... -- is that if I could only have 36 hours of undivided attention to dedicate to complete the project, in tayloristic fashion, I would indeed be able to complete my project "du jour." Of course, real life doesn't work like that, and the idea of a great push remains a myth. And yet it is an inspiring myth, and a comforting one. I know I am not the most systematic wargamer, I know I have tons of lead in a variety of stages of preparation, and in most cases I do really care about bringing a project to completion, at least in the sense that I want to be able to move some basic armies to the field to play some games. Wargaming projects never end, and there will always be the need for an additional unit, some more cavalry, a few more guns, a nicer officer figure, more suitable terrain, and so on. But if I could only, in one week-end sitting, through a "big push," bring to completion what I have preparing thus far for a long time, and complete a couple of armies in one long session... Ah, the myth of the great push!

In search of a spiritual moment

I've been looking for a missionary. I thought it would be a great addition and add a lot of character to my colonial games. Missionaries can contribute a lot to the morale of the troops, but they seem particularly suitable to spring interesting situations: you need to escort them to long-lost missions around the world -- clearly in enemy's territory; you need to keep them supplied; you need to keep open the communication routes to their missions. And, last but not least, you need to protect them from hostile actions.
Thus, the question is: where do I recruit suitable missionaries/monks/friars/priests?
My first stop was Peter Pig's Wild West range, which offers at #69 a "priest with donkey." To tell the truth, I was not much impressed in the first place, and the bag ended up lost in my closet (I suspect the cats have something to do with the mysterious disappearance, but so far they have not confessed yet.)
Fortunately, there are a few other options to explore.
In the Mexican-American range, Minifigs includes "priests and padres. Alas, no pic available.
Essex provides "assorted praying monks" in its Crusade/Medieval range. You get even better luck if you are looking for Warrior Monks, whom Essex offers both in stationary and advancing poses.
Old Glory 15mm has a bag of monks under the "Pilgrim" category in the Crusades range. According to comments posted on TMP, "one is carrying a cross but others are armed with clubs or rocks."
Museum Miniatures gives you the choice between two "religious pack": praying monks and praying nuns, presumably also from the Medieval range. Caveat emptor: the website is a nightmare to navigate. Nevertheless, if you prefer your nuns, well, not praying, but fighting, you can go back to Peter Pig and pick their feisty ones from the WW2 range -- too bad the pic seems to have been dropped by the site, because these club-swinging nuns were something, I tell you - almost like the nuns in charge of my kindergarten back in the days.
I have not searched further, maybe going upscale looking for a pope or at least a cardinal, who would look great in my Risorgimento games.
Further recommendations would be very welcome. Ite in pace.