AB French Ligne Infantry in Bicorne

After seeing few new recruits for the 1799 project muster off the desk since mid-summer and with thoughts of gaming Montebello in my head, painting returns to the 1799 project.  Off the painting desk, this time, are 26 18mm AB figures to muster two battalions.  

Having examined Orders of Battle for the Battle of Montebello in 1800, I found Austrian light infantry and grenz were needed.  So, what do I put into the painting queue?  Two battalions of French Ligne infantry destined for the 100th Demi-Brigade (regiment).  Yeah, I know.

While I could have pulled Austrian grenz and light infantry from my 1809 Napoleonic project, I really wanted to field the early light infantry and grenz.  A bit picky but I did want the earlier uniform representation and AB figures.  Anyway, one can always use more French ligne, right?  I thought so. 

With the 1800 battle of Montebello delayed until I can field the missing links, progress is being made on the 1859 version of the battle.  The terrain has been placed to cover the scope of both the 1800 and 1859 battles.  While both battles included the town of Montebello, the 1800 battle featured Montebello as a western French objective and the 1859 battle featured Montebello as an eastern French objective.  The battlefield expansion to include both battles, opens up the scope of each.  Possibly confusing now but all will be made more clear when the battlefield is displayed.  

For now, back to the painting desk.  A few units are in queue and awaiting their turn in the photo booth too.   

28mm ACW Project Brigade Review

Here is my little Federal brigade comprising three foot regiments, four gun sections, and more than its fair share of commanders.  The brigade is ready for action!

Infantry and one command stand are Sash & Saber.  Guns, crew and two command stands are Old Glory.  Left in The Lead Pile are a handful of infantry, not enough to field a fourth regiment, and an Old Glory Federal camp scene.  The latter was picked up as an Old Glory Army Card bonus from several years ago.  To paraphrase Walter Brennan, "One of these days I'm gonna climb that mountain."  The Lead Mountain, that is.

Four Federal gun sections

140th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment

10th New York National Zouaves

114th Pennsylvania Rgt Collis' Zouaves

10th NY National Zouaves

The third regiment in my 28mm Federal brigade marches off from the painting desk.  That regiment is the 10th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment or the National Guard Zouaves.

Figures are the last of the Sash & Saber Zouaves I picked up years ago.  While the sculpting is generally quite good on Sash & Saber figures, I found many of these Zouaves to have a number of misshapen faces.  No matter, from eye to table distance these ugly mugs will not be noticed.

With their colorful and flamboyant uniform, these recruits will brighten up the typically dreary ACW battlefield.  Having two Zouave regiments in my brigade, they may not find glory on the battlefield but will look smart trying!

With three infantry regiments and four guns in the brigade, I think it time to pull all of the troops out for a parade review.  That parade review will be coming up soon. 

Assyrian Chariot #3 Rehab

Chariot #3 of nine goes in for a bit of rework.  Like chariots #1 and #2 before, yoke needed to be removed and flipped and one wheel needed reaffixing.  Riders needed to be resituated in their cab.Finally, some minor paint touch-ups before staining and mounting on a new base.

As I work through each of the chariots, visions of fielding these machines on the gaming table are becoming more frequent.  Spread out onto the desk are Army Lists to help in solidifying a force to build.  With enough chariots to field four Impetvs-sized BMUs of two chariots each, these four chariot elements are sufficient to complete two armies under Basic Impetvs. 

Three down, six to go.  Oh, and an order to Foundry is off in a call for reinforcements.

Basic Impetvs 2.0 - In Time for Christmas

The release of Basic Impetvs 2.0 has been announced.  Pre-ordering is underway.  With my pre-order placed, I received an email confirmation from Lorenzo.  All is good!  BI2.0 will be available in hardcopy and pdf.  While original BI was free, BI2.0 is not.  The good news is that the pdf price is a modest $4.99 and will be available through Wargames Vault.  Shipping for the hardcopy will be in about two weeks and delivery before Christmas.

I have been looking forward to the new release of the excellent "Basic" Impetvs for a long time.  Will EVADE make it into BI2.0?  Will a unit's Impetvs Bonus remain intact until the unit has dropped below 1/2 VBU as in Baroque?  Will we see the introduction of separate commanders?  I hope so!  Having not played BI in long time, I have forgotten what else I had on my inclusion Wish List.

Details of this release can be found at the Basic Impetvs Homepage.

28mm ACW Federal Guns

As the year draws to a close, pushing a few units into the painting queue to reach a project milestone is often considered.  Such is the situation with my very limited scope 28mm ACW project.  Several years ago, a few regimental packs of Sash & Saber figures along with a quartet of Old Glory Federal guns and crew were purchased.  The goal was to build a small brigade-sized force to throw into battle in one of Scott's ACW games.  Even though Scott has a large collection, I always enjoy being able to contribute figures for the table.  Will I be able to keep the project at a token force?  I think so. 

The first step towards that goal was to field the 114th Pennsylvania Regiment (see: Collis' Zouaves) about a year ago.  The second regiment mustered was the 140th NY Volunteer Infantry Regiment (see: 140th NY) this past summer.  Today, four Federal guns and crew are called up for service. 

One more infantry regiment remains to deploy to complete the brigade.  Despite the progressive rarity of Zouave units as the war wore on, the third regiment will be a second Zouave regiment.  Perhaps a bit anachronistic but I am drawn to the colorful Zouave uniform.  That Zouave regiment will be mustering out shortly.

Assyrian Chariot #2 Rehab

On to the next in a long line of planned Assyrian chariot refurbishments.  Having tackled the first of nine recently, the plan is to forge ahead to refurbish and rebase the remaining eight chariots.

Chariot #2 on the work desk required wheels to be reattached and the yoke to be removed and repositioned.  With a few touch-ups, a Minwax stain and a new, smaller base, this war cart is ready for action.

Having finally overcome the inertia to rehabilitating these models, thoughts are turning towards building two Basic Impetvs forces for a small game.  While the Foundry figures are excellent (the nine chariots are all Wargames Foundry), Newline Designs is getting consideration for building out the foot troops.  Especially with a Christmas sale in progress, Newline represents a very good value.

Two down; seven to go.