My latest "Longstreet" Campaign game!

Hi all!

Well, I played my latest campaign game of "Longstreet" a WHILE ago (I think back in April!) against the cavalry master himself, Barry.  However, I never posted the photos!

My force is at the top of the above photo.  I was VERY cavalry heavy, which was rough for me... I am not used to cavalry:)

Here are my boys defending the field and the crossroads.

Barry was using some loaned troops, including this skirmisher marker I made up.

Here you can see Barry stretching his line out, attempting to surround my more compact force.  I was hoping the terrain and his oncoming troops would minimize the impact of his artillery.

My reserves begin to move up.

With cavalry threatening my left flank and a ton of federal infantry on my right, I was trying desperately to keep my flanks secure.

My boys started throwing up earthworks in front of them.  I figured I wanted to stay on THIS side of the hill and field in order to protect myself from the federal guns.

I wrote this battery off, figuring I would let it fight to the death in an attempt to kill some boys in blue and to slow down the enemy so that I could get reinforcements to this flank... I simply didn't have enough infantry to cover the whole line.

The Federals hit home!

Unfortunately a bad set of rolls (I think he rolled 13 hits out of 15 rolls) and then a unit getting JUUUUSSSTT caught in the flank did in one part of my lines.

My rebs fall back, still firing...

In the end my boys simply didn't have enough troops, and thankfully I hit my breakpoint before Barry could slaughter too many more of my brave boys.

Now, thanks to the fantastic campaign system, my army isn't destroyed.  In fact, due to reinforcements it came back VERY different!

The army consists of...

31st NC, 6 stands of eager veterans with a hero
11th SC, 5 stands of seasoned veterans with a hero and sharpshooter
30th NC, 8 stands of eager Old Reliable veterans with a hero and sharpshooter

I also picked up two new units of infantry...

22nd SC, 6 stands of seasoned veterans
11th NC "Berger's Zouaves", 6 stands of seasoned recruits

4 stands of cautious veteran cavalry
7 stands of eager veteran cavalry

1 light rifle and 1 heavy rifle
1 napoleon

I also gained the Indian Wars personality trait, and a promotion to 4 eagles 1863 III.

Here is a shot of the 30th North Carolina... brave lads, these guys are!

And here is the 11th South Carolina... also SO beat up.  Uniforms in disarray, dead everywhere... I love my boys, and can't let them die!  Compare them now to the start of this terrible conflict!

They were a pretty sight when they first marched out of Charleston!

So!  That's where we left off!  I know that the campaign has slowed a bit, but I am sure I'll get at least one 1864 game in there somewhere!:)

A celebration contest, with a great prize!

Hi all!

Well, as anyone who reads this blog knows, The House of War is being converted into The Kid's Bedroom of Peace and Happiness.

So a sort of sad time, toy-soldier-wise, for the blog, as I won't be able to post as many photos and eye candy of the troops and terrain and all that fun stuff that I hope has made this blog worth checking out over the years.

So!  I thought a little contest with the idea of highlighting some of the fun blog posts from the past would be fun way to wrap it up!

First...

The Rules:

In the comments section of this blog entry, just post a link to a blog entry from The House of War that you've enjoyed from over the last six years, with a brief description and link.

One catch... you can't post that has already been posted by someone else.

From all of the posts I'll pick a single random one as the winner.

That's it!  Simple, right?

What Does The Winner Get?:

Thanks to rules author Sam Mustafa, we have a prize!  Sam offered up a copy of his rule set "Maurice" and a set of the game cards as the prize to the winner.  It is a GREAT set of rules, able to simulate any number of conflicts from the age of linear warfare.  And it doesn't just work for the tabletop... it even has a whole campaign system and ImagiNation creation system built in!

So... whether it is a rule set for a period you already game, or if this is a perfect chance for you to get a set of rules for a period you might not have ordinarily tried out... well, I think it is a great opportunity for any miniatures lover!

So!  Please take a few minutes and look back over any of the old blog posts you may have enjoyed at the House of War... maybe you'll find one you didn't remember, or never saw, and will enjoy it!

Latest game of X-Wing

Hi all!

Well, here are just a few photos from my latest game of X-Wing!

To add some spice, my buddy and I tackled this one a bit different... we bought each other our squads!  I gave him two Scimitar bombers with proton bombs, Darth Vader, and Vader's two wingmen, Mithel Mauler and Backstabber.

He gave me Jan Ors with an Ion Turret and Squad Leader, and then three Rookie X-Wings, all with astromechs... an R2, R2-D2, and the new guy who repairs shields (whose name I cannot recall... damn numbers and letters!)

So he came at my forces in the Mighty Ducks flying V, and I responded by going head to head with him, both of us blasting away.

As expected we jousted a bit, and when I turned to come back at him he dropped both his bombs.  Dumb me, when I looked at the range of the bombs I was, for some reason, thinking of 1 MOVEMENT, not 1 RANGE, and figured I was fine... but then when I realized what an idiot I was, ALL FOUR of my ships took hits!  Yikes!  It was crazy... by the end of the game I had two X-Wings down to one hull each, even though they hadn't lost any shields yet!

I did manage to get an awful lot of guns on target, though, and the two X-Wings really beat the crap out of the TIE Bombers... and then Jan Ors finished it off with the Ion Turret!

There was quite a mess in the center of the table, as the two sides beat on each other, stripping shields and blasting apart solar panels.

Finally I turned one of the Rookies into range one of one of the TIE Fighters, and with Jan Ors extra die... well, that TIE Fighter didn't last long.

And Jan, with the Ion Turret, actually finished off the last TIE Bomber, stripping its last damage off... two dead TIE Bombers killed by an Ion Turret!  What are the chances?

So overall a good game!

Two more zombie survivor ladies done

Hi all!

Well, two more survivors done!  On the left an older Latina woman, blasting away at something.  On the right, an black woman with sunglasses, a gold choker, and an AK.

Here they are from the back, with the usual selection of packs and canteens and the like.

I am up to five female survivors now... here they are all together!

Next up?  Two male survivors.

The miniatures find a new home...

Well, at least SOME of them do!

So, I finally finished building and putting on the new shelf fronts, and overall I think it turned our really nice.  The War Den is coming together!:)

Unfortunately, a lot of figures didn't make it to the display... no 15mm ACW, no 10mm Napoleonics, no 25mm Russian artillery... but I don't have a lot of space, so choices must be made!  A mistake?  Should the 15mm WWII Germans go, in favor of something else?  They DO take up a LOT of space... thoughts?

Some of the antiques in their new home

Hi all!

Well, as I mentioned, I am currently taking apart the House of War.

That said, all is not lost, as soon I'll be having the DEN of War... albeit without a war-games table.  But still, it should look good for the time being.

Here is one of the cabinets downstairs with its new occupants... my two original packs, my original cartridge box, a repro sword and a repro kepi!

I was hoping to get one or two more things in there, but it was not to be... too crowded!

Anyway... more on the way, as the shelves will be done shortly!

The end of the House of War...

Hi all!  

What on earth is happening with that empty cabinet...?

Well... it's a bittersweet moment here at The House of War.

As many of you know (or at least whoever has kept up on this blog) I have a happy little son.  He is two and a half, and just about the kindest, most lovable child I've ever known.  He loves toy soldiers, and his toy cars (and repairing them) and is a great kid.

And now we are expecting #2... a little girl.  My collection is (OCD) complete!

However, that comes with a caveat... the toy soldier room now has to be converted over to a bedroom:(

Down will come the table, the cabinets will disappear, the prints and antiques will come down... all of it.  

Now, there IS an upside... we have a GREAT downstairs den that doubles as a guest room.  It has lots of wall space, wood paneling, great shelves, a lit gun cabinet... and guess who is taking it over to display his figures?

Yep... me!  So, I'll have some updates over the next few months as I disassemble the table and take apart the room... but the FIRST task was building these sliding-door cabinet fronts to keep my boys safe!  I'll have the "how to" soon, but thought folks might like a peek!

Some day the House of War will return... I do anticipate, someplace down the line, having a permanent man cave in a future home, with several tables and a lot of other extras.  So, someday, I'll be back with something great.  In the meantime, however, a lot of the great photo opportunities will be on hold, with only the smaller projects and all featured.

So!  I hope everyone can stick with me while the House of War becomes something else!

Four new 25mm Wargames Factory Apocalypse survivors assembled...

Hey all!

Okay, I assembled four more!  It is funny... these individual figures paint up SO fast that I am CONSTANTLY having to assemble!  These four should see me through a few days, at least...

I hate the sandals, though, on the fat guy... on the next one I have to sculpt some shoes on there.

Three more 28mm Apocalypse survivors painted

Hey all!

Well, I got paint on my next three survivors... a serious looking young lady with an AR, a guy in a dirty orange sweatshirt, and a guy armed with a Louisville slugger baseball bat.

Overall, again, I am happy with how they turned out.

And here is the whole group together!

Three more zombie survivors built and awaiting paint...

Hi all!

Well, three more assembled and awaiting paint!  I used the center guy's tie to actually be a backpack strap.  Overall they turned out well; I think they'll look good painted.