Projects Update

28mm Napoleonics:
All of the Napoleonics listed in the 04AUG post are finished. That includes three French guns and crew, two French limbers and teams, and eight French hussars. Additionally, the four British guns have been rebased onto 60mm squares. I placed another order to Front Rank for three French artillerymen to crew my last Sash & Saber gun, eight French Dragoons, and two British limbers and teams.

My 'test' battalion of French Line arrived from Elite Miniatures with the post on Saturday and hit the priming table. The figures are gorgeous and will fit in nicely with Front Rank. Front Rank figures are a little more hefty than the Elite figures but the sizes match up favorably. The Elite French are really works of art with great character. Peter Morseby has a summer sale through August which allows 48 packs for the price of 40. I'll be ordering more to increase the size of my Peninsula Project. Project planning is one of the many joys in this hobby. After receiving the Elite figures, I set to work planning an order to take advantage of the summer sale. What began as a small, shared project with a friend several years ago (I was only supplying the British contingent for small-scale actions) has blossomed into a self-contained Peninsula project with continued development on the horizon. Currently, I have enough figure to field brigade-level engagements. One question always in mind is, "when is a project finished?" I really have no definitive answer since project "scope creep" is prevalent in almost all of my projects.

Colors and Command: Ancients Game.
Scott and I met at Austin's Saturday afternoon for an afternoon/evening of kibitzing, dinner, and a couple games of C&CA. I watched the first game by looking over Austin's shoulder as Austin faced off against Scott. Scott took game 1 and then the game was reset and I took Austin's place in a rematch. Game 2 ended in the same result but it was a near-run affair as Scott took the game 5-4. I enjoyed the game and this was a nice departure from our more intense wargames. On initial playing, C&CA represents a good Beer and Pretzels candidate for an evening's activity. I don't see why you couldn't play on the existing mapboard with the miniatures. I read that these 6's are on 20mm squares and would provide a purpose to my Carthaginians. An enjoyable game that might benefit from a possible flank/rear attack modifier. Perhaps, add 1 die if in a flanking position? With my aging eyes, I had great difficulty reading the info on the blocks. Translating the game to miniatures would enhance my experience. It's tough getting old. I look forward to another game.

15mm Second War of Italian Independence Project:
Sixteen Austrian Jagers have been added to the 1859 project. The figures are Freikorps and the jagers fit in nicely alongside the Old Glory figures. Some of the Freikops figures are smaller than Old Glory so it is refreshing when the figures are compatible. I decided to field the jager battalion in two, half-battalion stands. I'll do the same for the French chasseurs and Sardinian Bersagliari. Still debating how to field the Austrian Grenz battalions. Although the OBs show them deployed in single battalion formations as light infantry, Grenz doctrine was not much different from the line. In 1860, this distinction was entirely lost and Grenz battalions were fielded in regimental strength. To provide a light infantry component to each Austrian division, I'll likely field the Grenz in half-battalion strength to allow greater flexibility. There, I was easily convinced.

18mm 1799 Italian Project:
Added two battalions of French legere (13 figures each) to the project. The legere most likely wore bicorn in 1799 but I purchased AB early legere in shako with side plume for this project. Once my research pointed to bicorn for the lights, I ordered additional AB's in bicorn for subsequent, early legere. I may continue to use these for the 1799 project or send them into the later imperial period collection.

18mm SYW Project:
On the painting table are 23 Eureka Prussian foot to be painted as one battalion of Wurttembergers. This will be my first allied foot to join the Austrians and they will be fielded as the von Roeder IR with its rose-colored facings.