Showing posts with label Napoleonics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Napoleonics. Show all posts

Saturday, 18 May 2019

La Garde march North!


Here are another detachment of La Garde just about to march to Leven via Newark.  These grognards are exceptionally well travelled, having flown to Paris where they were painted by chum Lionel Bechara, posted to Scotland where chum Saxon Dog detailed and weathered them, then back down to me for basing* and now back up to join their comrades for the coming Waterloo game in Glasgow. There will be around three times as many when they are all finished and assembled. 

*I didn't have time to tuft- I'll leave that to David, who can take proper photos.

Saturday, 23 March 2019

Gardes, Gardes!


I was doing a photo shoot yesterday for some new Flatpack Terrain river and track products that I'm selling, and found I needed some marching figures. In my loft I found these; they've not seen the light of day in five years or more (photo is clickable). My Napoleonic collection remains somewhat "in the closet", but I couldn't resist setting them out for a photo, especially as I'm currently working on a related project (below) with chums David Imrie and Lionel Bechara.

Lionel painted and David has highlighted and weathered.

With six battalions each of 24 Garde Chasseurs, it occurs to me that I'm within shouting distance of being able to field a full eight battalion division of them, which, with the Garde Grenadiers, would give me all the Old Guard infantry for Waterloo or the winter 1814 campaign. I also have most of the Young Guard, already based, much of the Garde cavalry and some of the artillery. It strikes me that they would work very nicely on a 20cm grid. Now if someone would only write a decent set of grid-based card-driven Napoleonic rules... ;-)

Tuesday, 17 May 2011

My Very Own Spanish Ulcer

I've started a new blog, that I'll split off posts about Horse and Musket Period games into; I've called it "My Very Own Spanish Ulcer", because I can see that this will constitute a painful distraction from Ancients... 

So far I've bought around 400 Napoleonic Minis, mostly plastic, and I expect to start painting them up in 2 or 3 weeks time.  I've some innovative ideas about how to roll out a French army for the Peninsula, very quickly.... more anon.

Saturday, 5 March 2011

"Whilst the Balance of his Mind was Disturbed"

Early this week I was scoffing painkillers like smarties, whilst browsing eBay, and I did something I would never normally consider; hit a "buy it now" for an army in a new period.


I now own 5 battalions of Victrix Napoleonic French Line and 3 regiments of Hussars.  The minis I bought are quickly painted, using army painter I'd judge, but not badly executed and good value for money.  With a little TLC they will look fine (nothing like as good as RTB's or Saxon Dog's, though!).  Mon ami Greg is also pursuing a similar project, nice painting there, too.  These are the first modern plastics I've owned; disconcertingly light.  But nice.

My plan is to round this force out with some artillery and a regiment of heavy cavalry, and use it with Command and Colors Napoleonics.  My intention is that this will only ever be a side project to my ancients...

Tuesday, 4 January 2011

Command and Colors Napoleonics


I played my first game of Command and Colors Napoleonics, tonight.   Now, I don't even particularly LIKE Napoleonics as a period, but I was very impressed with this game.  If you've played Command and Colors (Ancients), you can pick up the rules inside 15 minutes; yet, at the same time, the game play is different  enough  to give variety (my initial feeling is that the system is even better than the Ancients version).   Also the cards and the blocks are beautiful, which helps to make it a pleasure to play.  My impressions may be slightly coloured by the fact that I won, and drank half a bottle of a very fine French wine in the process!

Two things that I preferred about Napoleonics, compared to Command and Colors (Ancients), are that the impact of generals seems to be rather reduced (I've always thought them too effective in the latter), and that units become less effective as they suffer casualties.  I would have imagined that this latter feature would slow the game down, but it doesn't.  Artillery adds an interesting extra element to the game, and can combine with infantry and cavalry to deliver powerful attacks.  Richard Borg has given different nationalities of troops,different characteristics, which adds a nice flavour.

You can order it from here or your FLGS.  RTB, if you are reading this, you now have no excuse for getting your minis on a gaming table!  ;-)