Pony Wars - Cowboys.

 A quick update and three extra bases to support the cavalry as they seek the elusive Sioux. 

These are from Baccus Pony Wars Range and include a couple of Boers to make up the number.

Under the Sharp Practice amendments they will be classed as scouting cavalry and within the game will be mounted without the option to dismount.

Next up the last of the 6mm

Mexican Revolution - Mud & Blood - Part 2

At the close of day one we left the fight for the town nicely poised both the Federales & the Zaptistas  forces had rushed to grab as much of the built up areas as possible. The Federales had entered the church grounds and were sheltering behind it's high walls with Zaptista's on all sides.

It was nice to turn up and be straight into the action. The Federales waited for a number of turns waiting for the cards to land in the right order and then stepped up to the wall, the turns leading up to that the Rebels had the initiative and went on to over watch, which would have stopped the Federales dead.

The Government troops blazed away looking to drive off the gunners and beat back the riflemen, whilst another group ran out of the compound and captured the machine gun after a bloody fight. The battle was starting to turn.

With the centre falling back the Zaptista's pushed down the right had side. The police unit in the compound could do little to stop this as to come outside was sure to result in a bloody firefight where they were now numbered 2:1.

In the centre the Zaptista's prepared their assault on the church having reinforced the attack by falling back from the left flank.

They had to hurry as the Federales pushing up the left hand side with a number of infantry squads.

The attackers drove off the government troops who had over run the machine gun and drove the Infantry back into the church grounds but caught in the open they took heavy casualties and were forced back.

The rebels morale faltered, whilst they were pushing on the one flank, the Church was firmly under government control and the loss of the heavy weapons made victory difficult.

Game over.

A great game and nice to get all of the toys on the table. Mud & Blood was showing it's age a little when compared to some of the refined mechanisms in Sharp Practice 2 and Infamy Infamy. We might give this another run out using Sharp Practice and some modifications.

It's certainly given us a taste for the bigger games.

Wagon's ho! - Baccus 6mm

On the home straight now. At least until the next parcel arrives from Baccus... These are great castings the packs come with both horse and ox options.

Six wagon should be enough to give me a reasonable wagon train for the cavalry to defend or for the Indians to raid. 

There was a slight over hang on the large prairie wagon but I wanted then to fit the medium Flames of War Bases, the schooners are a great fit and will also double up as transports for the soon to arrive US Infantry 

I also cleared the specialist pack for Pony Wars Rules in the shape of the Armoured Wagon, Stage Coach and Gun Runners.

I still have the luggage to add to the roof, but this will make for some interesting Hollywood scenario's as it races across table being chased by the angry Indian war party.

I might need to think how I tweak the War Wagon for the Sharp Practice games. knocking out the wagon might be a struggle, but I guess I am not the only one in seeing the very obvious four weak spots at the front :-)

Marked as Gun Runners in the rules, I opted for a US Cavalry supply wagon and single escort, again plenty of scenario's spring to mind.

That's all Folks.

Mexican Revolution - Mud & Blood - Part 1

Over a cuppa the other week we chatted about games and periods that have had limited game time or in some case have simply never made the table.

The Mexican Civil War was a great example, my wargaming buddy started out his collection as a faction for the multiple western skirmish rules which got out of hand, but the whole force has never made the table.... So here goes.

A straight standup fight between the Federales & the Zaptistas using Too Fat Lardies - Mud & Blood Rules spread over a couple of days. 

The Objective hold the town and beat back the attackers.

The Zaptistas get an early break and rush forward securing several of the outbuildings and pushing forwards towards the Church in the centre of town.

On the Federale left a lone Police unit is one of a few units who had been able to make it far enough forwards with order to block the rebel advance.

Meanwhile on the right the Federales deploy their heavy machine gun covering the road in the far corner as infantry rush forwards.

The race is on and with the Federal Cavalry (ok British WW1 proxies) first to dismount and scale the wall they felt they had a slight advantage but who would be brave enough to pop their head up as there were a lot of Zaptista's surrounding the Church.

The Zaptista's massed in the opposing compound.

With Zaptista's now starting to lap around the Federale flanks the seen is set for quite the bust up in the days ahead....

Perfect Six Miniatures - Pony's & Buffalo's

As the ticker clicks down on the latest order from Baccus, a quick turn around from the guys at Perfect Six Miniatures and their latest releases in the form of Buffalo and Dead Pony's.

These ponies are great to add additional shock markers for the natives or civilian units,

Two dice frames which gives me up to 12 shock points against each unit.

Three to four packs of Buffalo gives me quite a herd, I based them on warbases circular bases to give me several choices for the great hunt.

Another tick box for the Pony War's rule set, but also the occasional interruption for a random event within Sharp Practice.

That's all Folk's.......

Second Schleswig War 1864 - A cold front opens up

Wow these look huge compared to the 6mm from Baccus over the past 3 months.

A good friend of mine has been quietly building up his forces for the Dano-Prussian War of 1864, an interesting affair which takes place as the Prussians start to flex their muscle and a precursor to what was to occur in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870

The Danes had it tough fighting a largely defensive war against the armies of Prussia and Austrian. Let's see if history can be changed...

Cracking castings from Northstar and a great paint job which really captures the period and the fighting which took place in February in the frozen conditions.

We gave Eagles of Empire Miniatures rules a run through, designed for the Franco Prussian War, they had some interesting mechanisms where you receive points for capturing objectives, these points can be spent on reinforcements, unit characteristics or victory points. (It's the first to 18 points in the game).

Some nice ideas, but some tweaks maybe to balance the stoic Danes and the nibble Prussians and their new military doctrine.

Baccus Pony Wars Reinforcements

One of the great advantages of the Baccus queuing system is the it allows you to clear the decks as you watch the ticker click down, Looking at Pete's latest update I still have 300 orders in front of me before my latest consignment is shipped so that gives me the momentum to get some of the remaining bare metal painted.

Last weeks game was great fun, but like most gamers what it needs is that 'one' extra unit.

In 6mm who can really tell what's on a base? - Two groups of Wood Cutters/Civilian Contractors/Civilians/Dismounted Scouts together with a stand of horse holders. These are made up of the civilian and Boer packs from Baccus and will be a useful addition to support the cavalry or be rescued.

Nothing can stop the Pony Express or for Sharp Practice games a useful messenger from the Officer in Command.

Crow Scouts and their leader the Chief of Scouts. Useful for picking up trails and spotting the elusive Sioux, The Crow, Arikara & Shoshoni Scouts made up the largest contingents of Indians fighting for the US, dressed in a mix of US Uniform and native dress together with a red sash or arm band to help them be recognised from the 'hostiles'.

The Indian gain reinforcements in the shape of Smoke Signallers, these will extend the command range of the Indian Big Men and serve to warn the braves of the approaching US forces.

The smoke is detachable......

Not a bad output a few more odds and ends before the postman knocks.