Altar of Freedom ACW

I am finally getting back around to ACW gaming again.  This period has always held a special place in my gaming heart.  My interest in the Civil War started when I was a lad cultivated by the many road trips I took with my family south visiting various battlefields along the way.  Of course, Gettysburg will always be holy ground to me.  That interest blossomed into Reenacting with the 140th NYVI, playing Fire and Fury when I was stationed at Fort Bragg and latter Brother Against Brother for skirmish battles with my local club friends. 

Along comes Alter of Freedom and 3d printing.  This ruleset intrigued me with some of its novel ideas and mechanics and I really like the campaign scenarios.  I'm not really much for fighting historical battles because mostly those have an inevitable feeling and are constrained by - well - history.  I prefer to use plausible armies fighting in scenarios which are historical-adjacent (how's that for PC!).  These are much better games in my humble opinion as they allow the player to exercise strategic and tactical judgement and when combined with a good ruleset that encourages the use of period correct tactical doctrine make for a great well-rounded gaming experience.

Oh so many figures...

Most of the Horse and Musket periods however can be a daunting challenge based on the sheer number of figures required to field these large armies.   Even more so if you are a solo gamer or don't have support or interest by other members in your club.  Thank God for smaller skirmish or company level games that still let us dabble, but it's not just the figures.  I can buy mounds of figures easily enough.  It's all the painting and basing that comes with them!  I'm a decent painter but certainly not very fast and basing, while not difficult is rather monotonous to me.  

Enter 3d Printing

As you will see on this blog, I have found 3d Printing quite useful and rather fun to do.  I have accumulated some basic skills that allow me to produce most terrain.  My initial interest in the Napoleonic War ruleset Blucher led me to create 3d printed armies for it.  So, I thought to myself - why not do the same for AoF.  With this process, I could print large armies, fast, and at very low cost.

What's Needed for Gettysburg

As mentioned above, Gettysburg is a sacred place for me and represents one of the largest battles of the Civil War with regard to troops required on the field (50 Union Infantry BDEs and 37 Confederate).  So, I set about to make everything I need to play Gettysburg using AoF.

Infantry and Cavalry Brigades

In order to simplify play I wanted to continue to use the same measurements as listed in AoF for 6mm.  To do so, I used the same base sizes of 2.5"x1.25" for Infantry and Cavalry Brigades by creating a movement tray of this size.  In that tray, I created two stands, each with two Regiments on them in line of battle.  This system allows you to use the stands placed side by side to create a battle line of 2.5" or to rotate them into a column position with a front of 1.25".  I reduced the troop size to roughly 4mm so that the units look more like regiments.

Here are to Brigade in line being encouraged by their Corps Commander!

Artillery Batteries

I departed a bit with the Artillery base size choosing to use the same width of 1.25" but to extend the depth to the same as the Infantry and Cavalry Brigades.  This allowed me to depict both the business end of a battery (the guns) and the movement end (the limbers) while using the same movement trays.  I think this better represents the depth a battery takes up on the field and allows me to once again flip the stand to depict Limbered and unlimbered formations.   Not necessary for the game but fun to look at and gives you a better feeling of playing Civil War Armies.

Infantry Brigade in Column supported by a Limbered Artillery Battery

Other Accouterments

To round out the other necessities to play the game, I created Corps and Army Leader Stands, Corp HQ's, Army HQs, Supply/Ammunition Wagons, a train and a whole assortment of fences and fortifications.  For Houses I bought a ton of Monopoly houses on Ebay for a small price.

 

I'm working on the forces currently for the Vicksburg Campaign.  Grant's troops are split into 3 Corps.  Painting for some of the Artillery, Army Commander and Army HQ still WIP as you can see to the right.  28mm AWI Figure include for scale.

Test Confederates - one more butternut based and one more gray.

Rebels assault a Federal Division

Union Corps HQ

Primed Cavalry Stands

Sample of housing

House and figure scale

Conclusion and Other Observations

It's true that I have printed out the full orders of battle for both Armies at Gettysburg.  What might surprise you is that painting still takes some time!  They are not masterpieces in any sense - some sky blue to suggest the pants, some black and brown hats sprinkled amongst the ranks and a daub of flesh for the faces - paint the flags and you're done - oh and the ground.  That actually takes more time that you think but still way less than figures of larger scales.

So, what are the benefits - Cost is minimal, storage is very easy, playing space expands (Gettysburg can actually be played on a 4 x 6 table).  It gives you a sense of real scale.  While 28mm figures are lovely, they are always out of scale visually with the real thing.

What are your thoughts?

If you are interested in the Altar of Freedom rules you can pick those up from the guys at Little Wars TV.    Little Wars TV - Home  

What do you think of my approach?  Do you like the smaller more ranked figures and the approach I have taken?  Would there be interest in me making all of the items available to folks?

Till then...

FORWARD BOYS!

THE MEN WHO WOULD BE KINGS!

I have always been fascinated by the Anglo-Zulu War.  My adventure starting with the movie ZULU as a teenager - capturing my imagination with the heroic stand of the small British garrison.  But as a wargamer, I have always shied away from gaming this period due to the hoards of Zulus required to play any scenario.  Buying figures has never been a problem.  Painting them is a whole 'nother story.  So, this post is really about two things that have come together to allow me to finally game this period.  The ruleset "The Men Who Would Be Kings", with its skirmish-like approach to the period, and Citadel Contrast Paints.   

FRST THE RULES:

No doubt by now, many of you have found and use this ruleset if you are a colonial gamer.   I have had it for a while, was excited about it, but still scared of the Zulu hoard required.  A basic game of 24 points requires a Zulu force of 8 units (16 figures each) for a total of 128 figures.  Not hundreds but still significant.  I like the ruleset because it allows you to get a number of different troop types on the table with a reasonable amount of figures.  There are many reviews of the ruleset more eloquent than I could duplicate here so I will defer to them, but suffice it to say that they are a fun set of skirmish style rules with a number of interesting mechanics which can be played easily in a couple of hours without taxing your brain.  So, the first part of the entering this period was complete - ruleset selected!

NOW - Painting the Zulu Hoard!

I decided a while ago while painting armies for Infamy, Infamy, to try out the Citadel Contrast Paints.  They are not perfect.  They probably are detested by true masters of the paint brush but I have to tell you, for me, they are a wonderous miracle.  Not all of the colors are created equal or can be applied historically but enough of them I find to be very useful in such a way that my painting is now much faster.  Of course, this allows me to actually get some lead on the table and play a game.  The paints both nicely highlight and shade to a reasonable level with a single application.  I should also say that the paints are, relatively speaking, more expensive and I do use the Citadel set of primers.  As I said, buying things has never been hard - its making them useful that has been the struggle.  

So, enter the ZULUs!  How to paint so many figures.  Of course there is always the "brown" spray can method and the smaller you get the more potential this probably has but I am gaming in 28mm and looking for a nice balance between speed and detail.  What  I have found is that you can also mix these contrast paints with each other and with the Contrast Medium to make more acceptable colors.  In the case of Zulus, I make a Zulu skin color by adding 2 drops of Fireslayer Flesh with 2 drops of Cygor Brown and a drop or two of Contrast Medium.  Cygor is a very deep brown - almost unusable straight out of the bottle.  Fireslayer is a more reddish skin color.  When mixed together and diluted with a drop or two of contrast medium - you get a nice rich Zulu skin color - dark enough to shade recesses and light enough to give you texture on the highlights.  Here is an example of my work.  Pardon the bases.  I have not yet completed those.  Still working on getting all of the figures done.  A little dry brushing on these and they will look great!

Their are other "tricks" to using the contrast paints that I have learned through practice but I now use them extensively - even finding a mix for European skin as illustrated below with some Infamy, Infamy figures.  Using the contracts paints, I can now paint a unit of 16 Zulus in a day and am well on my way to completing my 128 figures!

Excited to have found a ruleset which matched my gaming expectations and desired complexity, and armed with the real possibility of actually painting enough figures to play, I ventured to create Unit Cards to teach my club the rules and to facilitate games.  We had our first game the other day with the cards.  All players including myself new to the rules.  The cards worked very well and true to form the British Garrison of Aaltenberg Drift withstood the Zulu onslaught.  It wasn't pretty - 2 British Companies melted away under assegai welding Zulus but the Sikhali Horse and the Reserve British Company stood their ground.  All in all a fun game. 

Below are some examples of the unit cards I have created.  I have them in MS PowerPoint so for each game I can select the cards I need, roll for the required traits and/or adjust the stats if upgrades are purchased and add the leader names.  I have cards for all available Anglo-Zulu war units including Limbers, Colour Sergeants, Machine Guns and Musicians.  My approach to TMWWBKs is to use a single Leadership value for each type of troop deployed.  I think that simplifies the record keeping a bit.  Units can still become leaderless but when properly lead all have the same leadership stat.  That can be diced for or pre-set.  By and large, I have not ventured down the Leader Trait path yet - for me I am not sure if those would enhance the game or take away from it.  On balance the traits seem to be overwhelmingly negative.  I understand adding flavor and friction but I think the core mechanics do that just fine.  

I also like the idea of having an overall Field Commander.  So, I created these cards and rules to go along with them.  The rules are in development - only played one game with them so far...

I'd love to know your thoughts on the cards and if you use Field Commanders, what rules have you created or do you use?

Forward Boys!

Movement Trays for Infamy Infamy

To Tray or not to Tray - That is the Question!

I am just getting started with building my Infamy Infamy armies.  So far, I have finished a couple of bands of Victrix Gallic Fanatics and Armored Warriors.  Working on the Gallic Cavalry next.  When that is done it will be time to turn to the Romans.  I am going with Caesarian Romans - trying to figure out which vendor to use but the front runner looks like Warlord Games (although the Foundry figures are nice too).  The key here is to match the size of the Victrix Figures.

In preparation, I thought I would design some movement trays that I can start printing on the 3D printer.  Here is what I have come up with so far for the infantry.

One (in red) to hold 8 figures in line or column (2 up) - basically Romans.

One to hold 6 figures (orange) in a skirmish/loose formation - archers, slingers, javelins for both sides.

For the barbarians, I am trying to decide if I should use a similar line formation or more of a column/mob formation.  I think I am leaning towards the column/mob block of figures.  That one can be used as if they are in "line" to attack or if they are in "column" moving - given that they are supposed to simply be a mass of men moving.  It also keep the two unit frontages equal.

In each one, you will see that I have added 2 cut-outs for 8mm micro dice to track shock and fervor.  If I understand the rules correctly - you only need fervor for the Barbarians.  Romans don't use that relying more on their drill.

What do you think?  

If you are a seasoned player - any ideas on how these would work?  Foresee any issues or suggest any changes?  

Next to design is the cavalry tray.

 Unit Cards for Lion Rampant    

I have created some unit cards for Lion Rampant.

Vauban's Wars - The Siege of Altenberg

A Playtest Siege

My interest was peaked early on by Eric Burgess' new Vauban's Wars ruleset.  I had seen posts about them off and on for a number of years and was excited to see that the rules looked very close to publication.  I reached out to Eric to see if I might be able to get a play-test copy of the rules so that I could get an early start with producing the terrain for this game.  As it turns out, he was gracious enough to engage me and in return I helped to provide some final edits prior to the printing. 

I think many of you will agree, that sometimes the preparation to play a new ruleset is the most exciting part.  These rules were particularly exciting as they offer the chance to use the 15mm SYW armies many of us already have in a new and exciting way and an opportunity for some serious 3D printing.  

The entire Fortress of Altenberg, defended by the Prussians and Besieged by the Austrians, is 3D printed.  The Fortress and Ravelins are based on STL Files from Laser DreamWorks (with some customization) while the Glacis was designed by myself using the wall files and some customization in Tinkercad.

I still have work to do like flocking the glacis and painting the trench gabions, but I was able to put together enough of a game for my son and I to try our hand at a couple of Siege Turns.

First, let me say a little bit about the rules.  This is a very comprehensive set of rules. It comes in at 90 pages and address all aspects of siege warfare very well. While its A LOT of content, the mechanisms are simple and straight forward, well explained and very well documented with a table of contents and many notations for various rules. So, while it is hard to remember everything as a new player, it is very easy to find the answer you are looking for. There are the usual set of QRS documents and other player's aids.

The game does have a very unique (and I think interesting) time scale. The Siege is played out in Siege Turns. It takes a bit to reorient one's mind to this as it's an extended abstract time period vs the very fixed time per turn feel we get playing tactical rules. The Siege Turn actions are governed by a deck of 14 siege action cards that each player flips and acts upon. A Siege Turn could represent a few days to a week. Since we are talking about days here and not minutes or hours, troops can move large distances and you can fire at virtually any time. If the siege culminates in an actual assault of the fortress then you switch from the Vauban's War Ruleset to the tactical rules you most prefer and fight the battle out.  I currently use Honours of War or my homebrew rules but am exploring Piquet also.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been printing out a 3D Vauban Fortification from STL files I purchased from Laser Dream Works.  Over the course of the last couple of months, I finished printing (more pieces than I needed as it turns out) but also created many custom pieces for the game.  I created a Glacis for the fort, 18th century Siege Mortars, Gun emplacements for trenches, Mine Entrances, a City Magazine, and other game pieces.  

So far the game tells a great narrative and is getting easier as we learn the action cards better.

Given the space I had to work with, I started my game out with the Austrians in the Second Parallel.  Above you can see that their sappers have created additional trenching to create the Third Parallel just short of the glacis.

and the Siege Drags On.....

For God Sake Boys - Forward....

Vauban Wars Fortification

The Vauban Fortress of Altenberg

Creating a 3d Printed Vauban Fortress fit for a King!

Off and on, I have been printing a Vauban Fortress for use in my SYW games.  Corona-cation has now given me the time and the imminent release of Vauban Wars by Eric Burgess, the excitement to complete these fortifications.  

I started printing the fortress in 2018 and completed a respectable little fort.  However, thanks to my continuing interest in 3D printing which has now graced me with two new, sizable 3D printers, I have tackled the project in earnestness.  My SYW scale of choice is 15mm so that has been my focus.  

Along with the files which I purchased from Laser Dream Works, I have created a number of customized pieces for myself using Tinkercad.  It is amazing how much you can do with this simple CAD program.

First let me say a couple of words about Laser Dream Works.  I have found Matt at LDW to be extremely helpful.  Any inquires are promptly replied to and he has gone out of his way to help me a number of times over the years as I have purchased files.  If you are interested, have a look at his site. He has some very nice ships as well.   laserdreamworks. 

If you have any interest in a siege warfare game, check out Vauban Wars by Eric Burgess on his Din of Battle Blog.  While I cannot profess to say that I know too much about the rules, the prospect of using my fort with siege rules designed for the era is pretty exciting.  Check out Eric's Blog at this link: Din of Battle Vauban Wars  The game is expected to be released later in July of 2020 per the most recent update.  They look to have been in development since 2013 or so and now ready for general consumption.  I am so looking forward to getting my hands on these!

So, without further ado, here is the Fortress of Altenberg.  Like any good sovereign, I reserve the right to tax the peasantry more and continue building or in this case printing additional fortifications to create an impregnable defense of my beloved city!

Here is the general layout.  Since all of these pieces are individual, there are many layouts that can be devised.  In this picture, what you see is over 7 feet of fortifications, housing 48 canons.  

The Fortifications of Altenberg

The width of the table this laid out on is roughly 7 feet.  If you look closely, you will see a small line just behind and to the left of the Gatehouse Entrance.  That is an Old Glory 15mm Prussian Battalion of 6 stands / 24 figures if that helps with the scale of this at all.

Looking down the fortification from Sea Bastion #1 and the outer works guarding the entrance to the Sea Gate.

View of the parade ground behind the fortifications.  Prussian 1st Battalion, IR3 doing some evolutions in line.

Here is the Battalion parading just inside the fortification behind the Gatehouse.  I can hear Soldat Kreutzer say to his Hauptman - "Ve ist goin to need zome more troops to hold zis.  Vhy us?".  "Soldat, because ve are heer, just uns, und nozbody elez."

Man the walls - The King is arriving!

Views of Bastion #2 and Bastion #3.

Views of the Inland Gate.  Bastion #3 on the left and Sea Bastion #4 on the right. 

Here is one of the customized pieces I have made for the land gates.  I will be creating a moat round the outside of the fortification.  I have not yet decided if it will be dry or wet?  I thought this would be a neat entrance.

So, that's it for now.  The printers are cranking as I type.  Just about finished with a second drawbridge for the other side gate.  The other printing is 53% done with creating this beauty!

Looking forward to testing my siege skills are well as my fortress designs using Vauban Wars!  Time to stop printing and start painting.  Let me know if you have any good ideas for creating a Moat.  I have thought about window film - either black or blue or maybe thin cork sheet that I can run on either side of the walls - outside to represent the ditch and inside a path along the walls?  Any other suggestions?

For God Sake - Forward Boys!

Smock Windmill

New 3D Printed Smock Windmill

Here is my version of a Smock windmill - created using a picture of one on Der Alte Fritz's incredibly helpful Seven Years War blog.  In fact, I see there was also some inspiration there for the first Post Windmill as well as the picture I posted.  

There are three main types of Windmills.  Post, Tower and Smock mills.  My first creation was of the Post variety where the body of the windmill is elevated and revolves around a centrally located Post.   Tower windmills are simply stationary beast.  These windmills operate with a fixed tower base but have a "cap" on top which rotates with the wind like the body of a Post windmill would. Smock mills are essentially Tower mills where the masonry tower has been replaced with a wooden skirt or "smock". 

Smock Windmill

I have been designing these for use on my 15mm SYW battlefields. This one tested my developing 3D modeling skills as it has compound angles to it but it has some neat features.  A nice stone foundation and the cap is on a peg so it can swivel "as the dice blow"!

In addition to the Smock mill I have included a Battalion of IR17 for scale.  Can't wait to paint this one up and picture Der Alte Fritz surveying the landscape as he sizes up his Austrian foes!

For God Sake - Forward Boys!