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Friday, April 24, 2020

Skirmisher Reorg

Rebasing and reorganization, the bane to many.  Me?  It is nothing.  Well, almost nothing.

Since my 28mm Napoleonic project confines itself to actions in the Iberian Peninsula, not a lot of different nationalities or troops are needed.  I rarely field more than 20 infantry battalions per side.  Therefore, tackling a rebasing project is not too onerous.   

The question some may ask is, "why rebase and reorganize at all?" Reasonable question.

The main reason for undertaking this activity is that my battalion-level (where a BMU is one battalion, two squadrons, or a section of artillery) rules have evolved over the years.

The first rules' iteration saw no company skirmisher deployments out from the parent battalion.  After much play with that scheme, I decided this level of action ought to include the ability to deploy skirmishers and have skirmisher interactions as a part of the battle narrative.

That decision resulted in fielding two skirmisher 'markers' for line battalions and four skirmisher markers for light battalions.  Each skirmisher marker was represented by one, singly mounted skirmisher.  This version of the rules allowed for opposed and unopposed skirmisher actions.  It worked but I found moving so many individual markers and conducting combat between the skirmishers was tedious and slowed play.

My dissatisfaction resulted in removing individual skirmishers entirely and abstracting their value into the parent's combat effectiveness.  No more skirmisher markers.  This situation worked well, sped play, and simplified combat resolution.  Still, I had this large pile of painted skirmishers that was leftover from the previous version.  It seemed wasteful not to bring the skirmishers back into the game.  This realization led to the current iteration of the rules with respect to skirmishers.   
Reorg/rebased British and allies
Under the current (and final?) iteration of the rules, each battalion receives one two-figure skirmisher stand.  This helps to solve the problem I faced in the second iteration of having too many markers to move and fight.  Wherein line battalions had two skirmisher stands and light battalions four before, now all infantry fields one two-figure stand.  Differentiation between the capabilities between light and line is resolved through varying the skirmisher stand's intrinsic combat effectiveness.  Skirmish markers continue with the notion of opposed vs unopposed combat but light battalions do so with more efficiency since their numbers are greater.
Reorg/rebased French and allies
Of course, I kept fielding new battalions throughout these different rules' iterations.  Units fielded during the "no skirmisher" phase, had no separate skirmisher figures painted.  This necessitated going back and painting about a dozen skirmishers in total before this reorg could be completed.  Luckily, for better or worse, my painting style never seems to change much so the new recruits fit in with their more veteran brethren.

42 comments:

  1. Ignoring the issues of rule changes Johnathan I find your basing a lovely and very pleasing to the eye feature. Personally when I wargamed Napoleonics in 28mm I simply had a maximum of 6 skirmishers per battalion. Simplistic but it saved me the basing issue.

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    1. Hi Robbie! Rules, to me, are often a WIP. Even commercially produced rules get careful scrutiny. With a little luck, I may have come to rest with this arrangement.

      Thank you for your kind comments reading the rebasing effect. Much appreciated. I went with hexagon basing for these skirmishing pairs primarily due to a large supply of such bases. Had I a similarly large stack of rounds, I may have gone done that route.

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  2. I have rebased hundreds of troops and always a job I wished I had never started. Those troops are gorgeous.

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    1. Thank you, George! The rebasing exercise holds some therapeutic value for me. And, it gives an army a new look!

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  3. That basing rationale is well reasoned and worth getting your 'forgotten' troops back into circulation. the figures are just lovely and demand to see daylight on the table soon .... perhaps with that nice church building that I like!

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    1. Hi Norm. I should get these newly rebased troops into action soon. My present difficult situation (well, besides the pandemic) is that my game table is covered by games. A large Spanish-American War setup is covering two-thirds of the table including the church you like. The remaining one-third has a Tigers-at-Minsk scenario in the design phase. I am moving TaM to 1940 Norway with an infantry action.

      Of late, I find myself more often at the workbench than the game table.

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  4. Representing skirmish action in operational Napoleonic games is always a vexed question. It's instructive to see how others manage it (and how it evolves in their experience). The hexagonal stands are an interesting decision as well.

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    1. Ed, skirmishing at the tactical level clearly vexes me as seen! As I mentioned above, the hex basing was out of convenience more than anything else. I had stacks and stacks of hexagons and no rounds. I wanted to differential skirmishers easily and using a distinctive basing scheme seemed reasonable.

      Your latest Romanians are certainly fab!

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  5. Lovely Napoleonic skirmishers ! As I'm only embarking on Napoleonic troops I'm mostly trying to get the parent units built and painted, no doubt when I need reference for skirmish representation I will return to this page!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you, Iain! The pair of skirmishers in the lead photo is from the 15th Legere which will be coming off the painting desk soon.

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  6. A task I would never take lightly! And that’s not just my soldiers are tiny.

    Out of interest what do you do with the skirmishers when the screen drops back to the main body? Move them to the flank?

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    1. When the skirhers are pushed back or displaced, I pick the marker off of the table. It could also be placed behind the parent too. In the next turn/phase, the skirmish marker can be redeployed from its parent as long as parent is not in Close Combat.

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  7. Nice work Jonathan, sometimes it is rewarding just to take something back out and rebase and reaorg.

    I have some French Voltigeurs on the paint table at the moment, like the others in my collection I will base them in pairs on a 40mm circle.

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    1. Thanks! It is sometimes rewarding to build a new armby simply rebasing. Had I piles of rounds, I likely would have done the same as you. Until the next reorg, it is hexes for skirmishers.

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  8. Fantastic looking miniatures Jonathan!

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  9. Well I hate re-basing so happy to hear it doesn't bother you much. They look great btw!

    Christopher

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  10. I have never rebase and I don't think I ever will, but you have done a lovely job on these skirmishers Jonathon, the multi sided bases are very aesthetically pleasing and the basing technique enhances the lovely paint work on your figures. Our group has generally gamed Napoleonic with six base units, one grenadier, one light and four centre. We just put two of them out in front of the remaining four to represent skirmishers and they fall back to rejoin the parent unit if and when circumstances dictate.

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    1. I know many have strong feelings regarding the effort of rebasing (many of the commenters here included!). The effort doesn't doesn't bother me too much. sometimes, it gives an army a new lease on life. Ask me how many times my 15mm Napoleonic Empire period cavalry have been rebased.

      Your solution for skirmisher deployment is a good one. My skirmishers are more used in the role of status markers with combat capability.

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  11. Definitely good to be able to use these lovely figures, in whatever fashion works for you. I've just been reading up on the French Revolutionary Wars and it's a challenge I think how best to represent skirmishers detached from their parent Battalion. Your solution seems as good as any I've seen.

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    1. I think it good to have a role for these skirmishing figures too. It seemed a shame to paint them and then not employ them on the table.

      Thanks for your comments!

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  12. Well worth the effort Jonathan and they look great. I'm with the others though in that I don't like the idea of rebasing, although I suspect it's one of those jobs that's worse thinking about than it is actually doing it.

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    1. Thanks, Lawrence! On rebasing, I am clearly in the minority on this point!

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  13. Always good to use surplus miniatures. No issues removing them from their original bases then?

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    1. I usually use white glue to affix figures to the wooden bases. After a soak in a tub of water, the figures pop easily off the base.

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  14. They all look very attractive, Jon.

    "The rebasing exercise holds some therapeutic value for me."

    Fortunately I have never yet acquired a malady that necessitates this kind of therapeutics! :-)

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    1. You’re funny, Peter! Glad you approve of the skirmishers.

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  15. I do like rebasing...And this job seems to be a great one, splendid skirmishers, well done!

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  16. Those hex bases are absolutely cool Jonathan! The question of skirmishers is indeed a thorny one in that it really does tend to slow play down. One of the reasons we play Age of Eagles is precisely because it eliminates the need to have skirmish stands on table and factors in their effect in the fire tables, resulting in a much faster and smoother game.

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    1. Thanks, Mike! When I play Napoleonics in 15mm, I do as you. That is, the effect of skirmishers is abstracted. In a lower level Napoleonic game in 28mm, it is fun to treat skirmishers more explicitly. In that way, I get two different types of Napoleonic games in two scales.

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  17. You've gotta do what you've gotta do. Good job they look so good. I like the base shape too.

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  18. Re-basing... yes it’s one of these things that if you are going to do it , just go all in and get it done...
    Which of course I haven’t done with the re-basing of my Crimean War collection... it is officially half started.

    Your Voltigeurs look splendid... another of my favourite Napoleonic uniforms.

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Half started is closer to the finish line than not started. Thanks, Aly!

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  19. Getting skirmish troops right is always a compromise. Interesting to read how your tastes have changed over the years regarding how they are represented on the table.
    Your rebasing looks great though. I hope this new scheme will last you for a long time before you decide you need to do it again. 😀

    While I do think hobbying is therapeutic activity; rebasing is usually the last on my list of possible projects. Just like we all know eating veggies is good for you, but that doesn’t mean you have to have asparagus. 😀

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    1. My tastes change over time, for sure. I also treat skirmishers differently given the perspective and level of game. My hope is that this basing scheme lasts at least until I next get this collection onto the gaming table. No plan survives contact, though.

      I enjoy rebasing...and asparagus.

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  20. I missed the post. Very nice bases. These skirmishers are perfect to slow down the great battle lines.

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    1. Good you came back and found it! Yes, these skirmishers will be useful in slowing down and harassing the battle lines.

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