Dispatches from the front XXXV - Getting stuff done.

February already...

Whilst real life can often get in the way in the final quarter of the financial year, thank heavens for a hobby that keeps me occupied outside of work.

Sticking with the theme of getting stuff done it looks like February is shaping up to be another Crusade month, after the Cotswold day I still have a pile of Arab and Christian forces to get done. But first up a Sarissa Radio Station, a gift from a friend from his to do pile.

The Sarissa kits go together really well and a swift paint job and a bunch of posters to make it suitable for a number of games for Modern Africa and the Visitor mash up in Zikanga.

The Arabs are prepped and based over Christmas so time to get them on the paint table.

Meanwhile another year older a whole pile of inspiration for the year ahead.

So many plans so little time.

The Swamp Fox - Scenario 1

Time to get the freshly painted figures on the table.

I picked up The Swamp Fox from the Too Fat Lardies a few years ago but never had the opportunity or figures to use it. It tells the story of Francis Marion and contains 12 scenario's for the AWI war in the south. It should not take to much of a tweak to convert from Sharp Practice to Rebels and Patriots.

The Swamp Fox | TOOFATLardies

Scenario 1.

With the capture of so many Continental troops after the battle of Camden, Lord Cornwallis is having them moved to Charleston under guard. This is being done in manageable groups to try to stop the spread of disease. Marion has learnt that Captain Jonathan Roberts and a contingent of the of the 63rd Line are using the plantation house and have the prisoners encamped in a field. He is resolved to free his comrades. 

This game is won by the force which can break their opponent’s Force Morale. 

The Rebel's advance using the wood to shield their approach the POW comes into sight. The US is made up of two commands.

Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Horry - A Ruthless Commander driven by personal glory.  

Colonel Francis Marion, - Ball room dancer - Marion once per game can push his unit to move an extra 3" per game.

Instead of Big Men within Sharp Practice we rolled for officer traits using Rebels & Patriots and with 4 chits for the officers pulled these randomly at the beginning of each turn to decide the order of commands activating.

The Rebel's advance using the wood to shield their advance. They spot the Light Infantry acting as pickets, Not knowing that the British can not activate until the alarm is raised they fire on the pickets as soon as they spot them.

The Light section activate and sound the alarm and the regulars and Loyalist spill out from their barracks. Two commands. 

Captain Jonathan Roberts of the 63rd Regiment of Foot. - A Brutal Officer who can rally once per game if they lose a figure from the unit.

Captain Rampton Rigsdale & Provincial Regulars of the Prince of Wales American Regiment - An Officer in poor health who won't take his unit in rough terrain as he can't keep up with his men.

Despite the mass of fire being poured into the Light section they stand their ground allowing a British Reinforcements to move up the road and plug the gap on right.

The stubborn light company refused to budge. Lieutenant Colonel Horry advances his unit and screened by skirmishers finally drives the light company back at the point of the bayonet.

The militia and regulars line out as the British Regulars come into range. The training was beginning to pay off, they go into close order and save their first fire until the very last moment. With Red Coats falling they fall back to regroup.

On the Crown left the Provincials had reached the main road and Captain Rampton Rigsdale and the Prince of Wales American Regiment marched his unit in across the field. Colonel Marion was quick and had reached the fence line firing a blistering volley sending the Loyalists reeling.

With the right flank open and Americans amongst the tents, the British fell back abandoning the POW camp.

First game to the rebels and Colonel Marion.

Learns for both sides, militia need to get to close order to give them a better chance of following orders and for the Brits just because you wear a red cost it does not make you regular.

The conversion from Sharp Practice to Rebels & Patriots was relatively simple, each group of men in SP was a unit in R&P - I gave both sides between 4-6 support points to give some variety on the table top.

Uniforms of the American Revolution - Massachusetts Regiments -10mm Pendraken

This has probably been on the bookshelf for the best part of 25 years!!!

Finally a chance to turn inspiration into table top figures with the last of the current Pendraken Miniatures for the current phase of the AWI Project. 

Working on the early phase of the war I figured I would paint up a number of the Massachusetts Regiments using these plates as inspiration. 

I am really pleased with how they turned out and in this scale a couple of packs from Pendraken gives me at least 5 regiments for Rebels and Patriots. A strain on the eyes to paint to many at this scale, not that any of my gaming group can see them on the table top.... :-)

In the more common blue coats, two battalions under Colonel Patterson

Members of the 12th Continental Regiment in Dark Brown Tunics.

Members of the 14th Continental Regiment in Cream

Members of the 18th Continental Regiment in Cream Jackets, unbleached linin breaches.

Flags by Maverick Models, who have a great range in a range of scales including a number of unknown regimental colours to give units plenty of variety on the table top.

This gives the Americans some valuable reinforcements with some trained units to help stem the British advance, I need some wagons for the proposed Lexington & Concorde game and some additional buildings but this project is really coming together.

I quite fancy some German Grenadiers and what would be an AWI game without Tarleton's cavalry.

Spectre Miniatures - Special Operators.

When does everyone find time to paint their mini's?

Over recent weeks I have got into the habit of an hour before bed with a podcast or youtube channel for background noise. This one caught my eye of late 'Getting stuff done' - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3WA4igXEA1A

I suspect I am not alone in having a cupboard full of spare metal waiting to hit the table, so what can be achieved with some focus. The recent Africa game lead me to seek out a number of this left over projects.

These Spectre Miniature Models that had been hanging around for years.... I mean 10 years..... wow.

http://dusttears.blogspot.com/2014/12/spectre-miniatures-christmas-comes-early.html?m=0

These are great castings they really capture the feel of modern fighters the poses are very dynamic and the small arms to scale, I am thinking Private Military Contractors or Special Forces and the like. All it needed was a nudge to get them up the painting queue.

Its's good to be able to finally fill the last of the box with these, just need an excuse to get them on the table now.

Also the last of the African militia. - A General type perhaps looking back to his days at Sandhurst?

A pink haired fella - OK I was bored and he was the very last figure in the box. Who is going to be wandering around the African bush in a suit?

Next up more 10mm AWI and the last of the bare metal before the next purchase.

Return to Zikanga - Not quite operation Barras.

New Year and the prequel to a number of forthcoming linked scenario's.

Based loosely on Operation Barras: 2020

A patrol of 12 soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment and their Sierra Leone Army liaison officer were ambushed by the West Side Boys militia while traveling in Sierra Leone. The patrol was captured and taken to the West Side Boys' base in Gberi Bana

On 10 September 2000, a combined force of D Squadron, 22 Regiment Special Air Service (SAS), Special Boat Service (SBS), and 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment (1 PARA) launched an assault on the West Side Boys' base. The operation aimed to extract the hostages and neutralize the militia.

The rescue mission was successful, with all five British soldiers and their Sierra Leone Army liaison officer being freed. The operation resulted in the deaths of 25+ West Side Boys and the capture of 18 others. One British soldier was killed, and twelve were wounded.

In our scenario Zikangian regulars launch a divisionary attack on south of the village to draw out the militia men whilst waiting in the bush are 4 teams of special forces tasked with rescuing a team of UN observers who had been captured a few weeks earlier.

A large village in the middle of the table with several huts containing numerous militia men, trenches cover the river bank. At the rear of the village a lorry park of captured vehicles, together with a couple of armed technicals. 

At the far end of the table a small cluster of huts where the hostages were being held.

Dawn and the village was quiet with only one militia fire team awake, the village would spring to life once the firing starts.

The regulars push forward supported by an M113 clearing the first trench and drive into the centre of the village. Militia men pour out of the huts and fan out across the village. Slowly the regulars were forced back as casualties mounted no matter how many militia men they killed

To the north militia men grab there weapons and head to the main village.

With the firefight ongoing in the village many of the guards were stripped away from the compound, the special forces moved out from the bush. The specialists cleared the remaining militia men and secured the hostages. Too weak to move through the bush they needed to be escorted to the lorry park.

The militia men were forced to turn back to the counter the special forces stiffening their defences with a technical, for a moment it it's heavy machine gun put the rescue party under pressure. But some excellent shooting wrote off the red truck.

Superior training and some good fire and movement tactics allowed the specialists to make their way to the vehicles. 

The hostages were freed but with 5 elite special forces killed and the a section of regulars killed and being forced back from the village it was not the victory they had hoped for.

Across the boarder - Legs Akimbo fumed his plan was coming undone to raise his cause, now he would need to cross the border and come back to Zikanga.

Great fun and a great scene setter for future games.

Rebels & Patriots - Markers and British Light Infantry

The first off the painting table for 2025...

The British Light Infantry make an appearance.

Have decided on 4 figures to a base for line Infantry I needed something a little different for the lights to keep the uniformity of units on the table. Using Pill bases for skirmish troops, I opted for the square bases but dropped the figure count down to 3 and increased the bases to 4 for a unit to give coverage needed and slightly more spread out feel for skirmishers.

Not sure what's going on with the lighting, but the three extra units will be very useful for the march to Lexington in the coming months.

I do like the 10mm scale for the mass effect on the table, but on occasion my eye sight can let me down.... hidden amongst this little lot is a trumpeter who is facing backwards - how did I miss that when I stuck him on the base - I just will have to style it out :-)

I was toying with some additional disruption markers for the game, having picked up the Warbases tailored counters, they work fine for 28mm games but are a little overpowering in 10mm.

Chatting on the Facebook group about suitable alternatives cannonballs and flags were mentioned as disruption markers, these will be complimentary to the casualty markers and not be to over powering on the table.

The flags are from Maverick Models who do a great selection for the American Revolution across a range of scales, worth checking them out, ball bearings are from a Christmas cracker game which I had to break open.

 12 Markers should give me enough for a game.

These look a little better on the table and more subtle in games.

The units down in the first week and good progress on some of the other projects. Now to get these on the table top.