25mm Nap Russians - Infantry 2

Time for some more Napoleonics!

This is another unit of my Russian infantry for my 25mm Napoleonic armies. Like the majority of my army, these guys are wearing their greatcoats, prepared for the nasty Russian winter.

I have four of these units of infantry, each with 32 figures, and another of 32 Grenadiers. Honestly it is a fairly big number for a unit, but in games I can always break it into two decent sized units of 16. As before, I went with the drab brown color, even though some people insist their coats should be grey... I have seen brown for greatcoats before, and I just felt it was more drab and dirty looking, which fit the feeling of the army well.

I originally bought all of my Russians in one big go, as one of the Foundry army packs, with a few extra units (such as the cavalry) as add-ons. Flags, as always, courtesy of The Flag Dude.

New 15mm Scenery - Cornfields

Hey all,

Well, it is the Thanksgiving vacation, and I am up at the in-laws for the vacation... but that doesn't mean I won't give anyone looking for toy soldier pictures something to be thankful for!

So here you go; my new 15mm cornfields that I purchased down at Fall In!

They are courtesy of Battlefield Terrain Concepts... they aren't too fancy, being just clipped bits of a small artificial wreath, but to make them takes a while, so I figured a few bags couldn't hurt. They really add another important level to the battlefield... adding these, while already having the wheat fields, really helps the table achieve that layered 3-D effect that is important to a really beautiful wargames table.

In these shots I've surrounded the fields with some fences I built... they cover up the edges nicely and help pull it all together.

I have a few more half-finished posts that I'll put up in the next few days as well, so keep dropping by when you are in between turkey sandwiches!

Warhammer - Skaven Plague Monks

Hey all,

Well, it has been awhile since I posted... sorry, work is at the busy time... however, I am also getting my Warhammer Skaven army ready for sale, so I thought I would post one or two shots of them! Hope the historical folks don't mind!

Anyway... as noted, I have a decent sized Skaven army. This here is a unit of Plague Monks that I did. They are led by a Plague Lord. The standard is a crucified Averlander... this was made as a mocking of my best buddy's Averland army, as they would face eachother across the table... I think it is rather amusing.

BTW, just for reference; this unit has been hit with ArmyPainter Quickshade of the Hard variety. It worked pretty well at picking out the shadows.

Overall this is one of my favorite units... real nasty guys!

A game a buddy and I are working on...

A bit off topic this time... in a way:)

My college roomie and I are working on a game at the moment. He wrote the engine, and I did the graphic work. Right now it is a dungeon crawl through Middle Earth, in somewhat standard fantasty fare... if more interesting news comes up, I'll share... in fact, we might need a few playtesters, so if you have an interest...!

Now, this isn't my first game... I also helped make Napoleonic Total War for MTW and American Total War as well, and helped on Napoleonic Total War 2... but this is the first from-scratch game, so it is fun!

I have lost that +3 stiletto, unfortunately, but made up for it with a +1 studded gambeson. Sweetness!

EDIT: Here is my latest screen! Thanks to a bunch of fighting in close combat I've morphed into a warrior... also, I've upgraded my gear a bit! I've killed my first Cave Troll and a pair of Mordor Captains... the Troll was the toughest of the lot for sure, he did a LOT of damage... used up almost all my food then!

Anyway, back to toy soldiers soon!

15mm ACW - Federal Infantry 3

After a bunch of posts of the whole mess, I thought I would finally get back to a unit showcase!

This is a traditional unit of blue-clad Federal infantry. I have a bunch of these guys, all the same blue and wearing the standard issue kepi (for the most part.) Most of my ACW troops are interchangeable among units, with a single exception on the Confederate side and three or four exceptions on the Federal side (two units of Black Hats and two units of Zouaves...) You can actually see one of the aforementioned Zouaves, albeit dead, on one of the stands of this regiment... I thought that would tie them all together nicely!

Figures courtesy of Battle Honors.

The table gets a bit full...

Well... some more of my Confederates have hit the table, and... well, with two boxes of troops to go, I clearly have too many!

It is funny now to look back on my old school troops and realize I painted a LOT of these guys! They've been sitting at a friends house for maybe 10 or 12 years at least, and only just came back to me (thanks to Fall In and that same friend packing them all up for me!) And holy cow...

So... I clearly will need to take some off the table.

Also, I have a bit of work to do on them, really, if I am smart... I should really replace the flags of the units that have the old-school Stone Mountain lead flags. I am not sure I will NEED to, though... I think I might just take a bunch of the guys off the table, as it is so full now that it looks a touch ridiculous.

Anyway... here are two shots of the forces; one of the Confederate attack, and one of the Federal defense. I am sorry I couldn't get higher-res pictures so you could really see each unit, but I think you can get the idea!

I also took a pair of shots of troops advancing to the fight!

So... next up will be, I think, taking a few troops OFF the table and trying to "craft a narrative" to the set-up... at the moment, the narrative is "get as many troops on the table as possible!" which makes for full set-ups, but not necessarily nice looking, natural ones.

The Confederates start to enter the field...

Just the latest in the new 15mm ACW set-up... I'll get the rest of the southern troops on the field this weekend! Just FYI, they are all, so far, my "old school" troops.

New War-room decoration; Confederate Kepi

I was recently given a "donation" of sorts as a new decoration for the war room!

This very nice Confederate kepi is completely hand-stitched, with the tarring all done by hand. It fits me rather nicely, actually, and adds a wonderful ACW feel to the room.

To ensure it hangs well and without damage, I cut out a rounded piece of pink insulation foam that fits inside it perfect, and then put a nail into THAT in order for the hat to hang.

Next up... hopefully FINALLY getting my original pack hanging, although this seems to be a VERY difficult proposition:(

15mm Federals hit the table...

I've started getting some Federal troops on the table!

Like at Fall In, I am mixing my current collection with my "kid" collection, which I painted when I was in late elementary school and high school. In this particular set-up the newer troops will be on the Federal left flank, and the old school troops on the Federal right. I'll get some photos up later (as I get more troops on the table) of the older troops.

The photo on the left shows some Federal Zouaves advancing towards a field, well-supported by some infantry from New Jersey.

The photo on the right shows some 1st US Sharpshooters skirmishing at the edge of a wood held by Union troops, as a unit of Federal troops advances down the road. Sorry there are two photos of Zouaves; they just look so nice!:)

Tomorrow the Confederates will arrive!

New 15mm ACW set-up

Hey all, Well, I've finally (after a MONTH) got the figures back on the table. I am working on a new 15mm ACW set-up... they take a while to "mature," but this is what I have so far... I'll put up more photos soon, along with a new display piece for the wargames room!

The current set-up was originally supposed to be just a touch inspired by Gettysburg (thanks, Fall In!) with the Round Tops on the one flank and Culps Hill on the other. You can see the vaguely Devils Den-ish area in front of the Round Tops and the Wheatfield just beyond the woods next to it. However, once I reached that point, I just went as the scenery allowed. The flock really helps; I still have another big jar of it that I could use, but I think for now it is fine. I actually use the flock both to cover edges and also to help accentuate low areas and high areas... I tend not to flock the higher areas so they look a bit lighter. I think it works, visually.

I'll put up more photos as I work more on the table, and of course when the troops actually arrive... it takes a while before it looks its best!