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Friday, July 8, 2022

SYW French Command

What does my newly-raised French army require to see action in battle?  Well, leadership, of course!  To solve this immediate shortfall, off the painting desk are five command stands.  With a quartet of command stands sliding over to the completed side of the painting ledger, my small French army is ready for battle.  They need not wait long for battle opportunity.  I plan to put the French straight into action on Tuesday.  Figures are Eureka Miniatures.

Tuesday's battle will see the French take to the field in a War of Austrian succession battle at Bassignana.  The battle will pit a French/Spanish army against a Piedmontese/Austrian army.  Work progresses at a feverish pace as I prepare for Tuesday's game.  I considered using Honours of War as the rules of engagement but decided against forcing yet another new set of rules onto the group (for now).  Given that, effort focuses on creating a variant to Fields of Honor that the group has seen in action for both AWI and FAW.  Besides making rules' adjustments to accommodate a new period, play switches to a non-gridded playing surface.  My SYW infantry bases are too large for four-inch hexes so the table is opened up to measurement rather than counting hexes.  We will see how this experiment goes.
Adding to game preparation pressures, two games are on the schedule for the weekend with one game each on Saturday and Sunday.  Luckily, I am participating in and not hosting the weekend games.

52 comments:

  1. Super stuff. AWS in Italy is an interesting sidebar. Always fancied having a bash at Velletri ever since I read The Wild Goose and the Eagle.

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  2. PS that was me, Chris/Nundanket by the way

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    1. Thanks, Chris!

      Well, Bassignana will be out on table for a while. You can take command when your schedule allows.

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    2. I’ll get reading!

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    3. If you stumble upon a good account, let me know.

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  3. Beautiful looking command minis Jonathan!
    Warm regards

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  4. Compromises, always compromises, at least they figures are a pleasure to see. What could possibly go wrong?

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    1. The wargaming hobby is filled with compromises and choices. I suppose something for everyone!

      What could go wrong? Well, if you played with the UK MNG group remotely, you would not need to ask this question!

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  5. Very commanding they are too, grand additions Jonathan.

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  6. Great looking command stands and nice to have games with figures of whatever variety!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks, Iain! Yes, a string of figure games on the slate.

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  7. Those Eureka figures really are very nice and as always, you have done a splendid job on them. A minimum of three games in the offing....lucky you!

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    1. Eureka cavalry are my favorites, I think. Sculpting is occasionally suspect but I love the big horses.

      Records will show three games in four days starting Saturday.

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    2. By the way, what conflict is FAW....?

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    3. Oh right....makes total sense...I even considered that might be what it was....but I have never heard of it before?!

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  8. Those are some stern looking commanders there Jon!

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    1. I hope they lead with the same determination. Well, at least when under my command! Thanks for stopping in, Mike!

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  9. Lovely work and I particularly like the figures in mirlitons. Nice to see you participating rather than hosting games for a change. Hopefully it will be a nice change of pace for you.

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    1. Thanks, Lawrence! Participating rather than hosting is a much more relaxing experience but we all must pull our weight at the game table, don't we? One big benefit of hosting is that I typically choose the battle and rules.

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  10. They are a lovely group, Jonathan.

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    1. Thanks! This may be the only time the group will be seen in the same place.

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  11. Painting miniatures and playing games; you’re living my dream. AND living it more frequently. πŸ˜€πŸ˜€

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    1. Stew, I no longer have a houseful of kids or a job to distract me.

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    2. Like I said; The DREAM!! 😝

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  12. Lovely commander figures Jonathan. Hope all goes well for your War of Austrian Succession game. Though surely, with your experience, a remote game without hex is no experiment... and will be enjoyed by all. I look forward to your AAR. Or should we be drawn back into that another time?

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    1. Thanks, Richard! Translating player orders through me to table is less ambiguous on a grid but not much extra work. Yes, I suppose this is beyond experimentation at this stage. An AAR is definitely in the plan.

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  13. Superb wotk there as always Jon. Let's hope they perform well on their debut. HoW would be my preferred choice, but a good idea to stick with something that the chaps already know for remote gaming.

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    1. Thanks, Steve. I still waffle between using HoW and FoH. The rules used may be undecided until Tuesday although I know players have D10s but not sure on the availability of Avg Dice.

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  14. Some lovely command figures there Jonathan, you must have a very understanding missus.

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    1. Thanks, George! Yes, Nancy is mostly understanding about my time but not so sure of the hobby in general.

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  15. Lovely set of command stands Jonathan!

    Christopher

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  16. Very elegant bases for your commanders. I wish you a lot of success with Bassignana. Cheers!

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    1. Thanks, AndrΓ©! Basing for this collection is simple with flock only. Still much work to do before I am ready for Bassignana.

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  17. Very attractive command stands - I always feel command stands need some flags though. Strange that... ;-)

    Cheers,

    David, a vexillomaniac.

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    1. Thanks! I agree that flags look good (especially yours!) but some of these commanders will see double duty. At Bassignana, some may see employment in Spanish service.

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    2. Thank you! I do understand - it's a pity there is no easy way to swap flags...

      Look forward to the battle.

      Cheers,

      David.

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    3. Looking forward to a battle report or taking a command???

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    4. Ah yes - I would love to lead your splendid troops in battle again. Do you have openings in this upcoming battle? I know we did talk about it ages ago. I will email you about it! Thanks.

      Cheers,

      David.

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  18. War of the Austrian Succession--now there's a niche, particularly (and a grand one!). The command stands are worthy of the genre (they do stand out by their nature in our collections, I think). The hussar in mirliton in particular kicks them up a notch!

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    1. Ed, the hobby is full of niches. How often do we see Franco-Austrian War (one of my favorites) or the 1848 Hungarian Revolution (one of your favorites) out on the gaming table? Not often enough, I wager!

      Adding a hussar to the general staff command stand provides some needed color, I think. Glad you concur!

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  19. Excellent command stands Jonathan. The Eureka figures are great sculpts and you have finished these off with style.

    Ross

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  20. Nice work there on the Command Groups Jonathan. Yes, the Eureka sculpts are very nice indeed. Best Wishes. KEV.

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    1. Thanks, KEV! The Eureka cavalry sculpts are superb.

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  21. Nicely done Jon looking forward to seeing the french out in battle πŸ‘

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    1. Thanks! I look forward to seeing the newly-raised French in battle too.

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