Mounted Arquebusiers

Casting Room Miniatures (an arm of Wargames Foundry) recently offered a 20% discount.  Having never given them much notice, the offered discount, favorable exchange rate, and free shipping were too much to resist.  Frequently on the look out for Reconquista, Great Italian Wars, and Trojan War era figures, I found all available at Casting Room.

Figures do not maintain the same crispness of sculpting as other Foundry figures.  Some, as in the arquebusiers shown here, have arms seemingly too rounded at the joints.  Anatomy appears a little "off" on some figures as well especially in facial features.  Could be simply my personal preferences in sculpting style coming to the fore.

Despite these few caveats, the trio of mounted arquebusier look very good to me.  The horses, themselves, match up very well with both Foundry's Renaissance horses and Perry's Stradiots.  Besides the mounted arquebusiers shown here (and a second trio to be fielded later), mounted Norman knights and Trojan chariots were added into the order to reach the ever important free shipping minimum order value.

Action at Brawner's Farm - BatRep

With the lead up to the Action at Brawner's Farm detailed back in June (see Action at Brawner's Farm - Scenario), I recently gathered the troops for a refight.  The action begins at 5:15pm with elements of Jackson's Corps springing a surprise attack upon King's Division as it marches along the Warrenton Pike.  With limited daylight, Jackson must strike swiftly to take advantage of this surprise before the Federals can react.  As fate would have it, Jackson's attack struck the later acclaimed Iron Brigade under Gibbon and Doubleday.  This would be the Iron Brigade's baptism of fire.  As game moderator, I did not take many notes during the heated action so photos must relay the narrative.

The action opened with Confederate artillery catching the Federals in column marching east along the Warrenton Pike.  We pick up the action after the initial Confederate artillery fire. 

Surprised and taking fire,
Gibbon and Doubleday deploy their regiments to the north of the pike.

As the Federals deploy,
Jackson becomes impatient that his commanders are not acting.
Grabbing the 26 GA and 60 GA,
Jackson,himself, strikes off for Brawner's Farm.

Jackson leads the Georgians to take Brawner's Farm

Deployed, the Federal infantry advance through the woods
 to threaten Brawner's Farm and discourage artillery fire

Doubleday sends two regiments into the woods on the Federal
 left to pin half of the Stonewall Brigade.

Taking casualties, the Stonewall BDE holds its ground

Will stalemate on the left, Federals mass their guns
 and advance upon Brawner's Farm in the center.

Jackson beats the Federals to the farm and digs in
 for the assaults that will be coming.

Jackson takes fire but holds the farm

Federals close in on Jackson at Brawner's Farm.

With his subordinates inactive, Jackson must hold on
as the Union wave crests on his position.

Jackson's position is threatened on both flanks

Taking heavy casualties,
the Stonewall Brigade falls back from the farm.

Federal guns pound the Rebel positions disordering
all of the Confederate formations.
In the confusion, Jackson falls from his horse.
Mortally wounded!
Jackson is carried from the field.

With the Confederate center reeling,
 Doubleday pushes on against the Rebel right.

With no response from the Reb forces lingering in reserve,
Rebels fall back to the copse of trees seeking reprieve
 from the ferocious Federal artillery.

Heavily outnumbered, Confederates hug the treeline
in search of shelter.

Rockbridge battery deploys near the railroad cut and
begins lending support while Maryland and Courtney batteries
 take up positions near Stony Ridge.

Two battle lines are drawn up as Confederates
cling to the bank of the railroad cut.

Finally!  As dusk looms, Trimble and Lawton snap into action.
Both formations step out of the railroad cut. 

With night approaching and Jackson lost, Ewell calls off
the attack to regroup and reconsider his options
for the morrow.

With heavy fighting, both forces were approaching heavy casualties.  Although Gibbon was roughed up and would unlikely offer much resistance to combined attacks by Lawton and Trimble on the Federal right, Ewell had no stomach for continuing the fight.

The loss of Jackson will be felt, no doubt.  In the Iron Brigade's baptism of fire, they came through to fight Jackson to a standstill.  Gibbon and Doubleday gain a victory for their actions on the field this evening.

What if Ewell had pressed on as night fell?  Could Lawton and Trimble have tipped the balance and gained victory from the jaws of defeat?

Cycling the Palouse - Hangman Valley to Tower Mountain

View looking down into valley

Cycling the Palouse; I never tire of taking the bike out for a spin in the afternoon under the warm summer sun.  After 20 miles navigating the rolling Palouse, the five mile climb from the valley bottom at Hangman Valley Golf Course up to Tower Mountain was tackled before heading back to town.

Elevation Profile: Hangman Valley to Tower Mountain

The climb out of Hangman Valley to near the top of Tower is a nearly relentless push upwards over the entire five miles.  As seen from the map above, pitches in the last mile reach 22 percent!  That is a tough slog and quite steep especially when viewed at road level.  Temperatures in the mid 80s F add even a bigger challenge. 

Last two miles of the climb where the road ramps up.
Tower Mountain in background.

As seen from the map. the last three-quarters of a mile are the most difficult.  After climbing onto the lower approaches to the summit, the road makes a 90 degree left turn and heads seemingly straight up.  The steepness of the last ramp up cannot be accurately gauged from the photos.  The following photos snapped on the descent suggest the road is quite tranquil.  Looks are deceiving!  The climb leans toward violence rather than tranquility.      

On the descent 1

On the descent 2

On the descent 3

On the descent 4

On the descent 5

A tough five miles to end a ride but the views and satisfaction are worth the effort.  Temperatures will soon be relaxing into the fall so these climbs will be more pleasant.

Heavy Casualty Markers for RFF in 10mm

Brady-esque post battle clean up

Having mustered the 10mm ACW collection out for a Regimental Fire & Fury (RFF) game on the 27th, inspiration struck to paint a couple of Heavy Casualty Markers for the game.  Painting inspiration sparked after the game so no markers were seen in the Saturday game.  Since neither side reached the Heavy Casualty threshold, this point was moot.

The inspiration had actually struck in the weeks leading up to the game since my most recent order from Lancashire Games included several packs of Blaze Away 10mm ACW figures.  Before thoughts returned to the 10mm ACW project in anticipation of the upcoming game, Blaze Away was not on my figure radar having fielded the 10mm ACW collection solely from Old Glory 10s.  In a lark, several packs of Wounded and Horse Holders were added into the more traditional 1859 resupply.

Since only one marker per army is needed, these are quick additions towards "game enhancement."  Each market has two stretcher teams with wounded and three casualties strewn around the base.  Is there any question that these compositions depict a "heavy casualty" battlefield situation?  I think not.  When one of these is plopped onto the gaming table, it is clear that one side is facing an uphill battle from this point forward. 

Second French Empire Hussar Regiment #2

Continuing on with the 1859 project, a twelve figure regiment of French hussars departs its bivouac on the painting desk.

Figures, like so many recently, are from Lancashire Games.  Again, excellent sculpting as I have come to expect from Lancashire.  With their brown jackets and light blue trousers and shakos, these fine fellows can be recognized as the 2nd Hussar Regiment.

Note that some troopers carry a firearm strapped to their back while other do not.  Rather than a purposeful decision, my guess is the absence of firearm is due to the vagaries of the casting process.  This argument is strengthened by finding a loose firearm sliding around in the pack.  Nevertheless, fine sculpts.  One more curiosity present on the French hussars.  I bought these dozen horsemen in a Battle Pack listed as containing 12 Chasseurs a Cheval and 12 Hussars.  Without a photo of the figure available on the website, I wonder if these are actually Chasseurs d'Afrique?  Perhaps the Chasseurs d'Afrique and hussar figures are interchangeable?  When painting, no recognizable hussar braid was visible on the jacket but perhaps only the dolman is worn?  A dozen Chasseurs d'Afrique should be ordered to compare with the hussars and confirm. 

Cycling the Palouse - Wildfire

Two weeks ago, several wildfires broke out near my fair city.  With temperatures in the mid-90s F, very little ground moisture, and high winds, conditions were ripe for disaster.  Disaster struck.  The ignition points of the two closest fires were about five miles north and about eight miles south of the house.  Luckily for us, wind direction guided the fire away from Spokane proper.  After several tense days of watching evacuation zones and a return to cooler temperatures, the fires were contained.

The fire south of the city cut across a narrow valley often a part of my regular cycling routine as I head out onto the Palouse.  Altering my normal southerly route until the situation stabilized and clean up could be addressed, I finally returned to this route midweek.  With news reports of several homes lost to fire, my thoughts focused on assessing damage as I cycled out of town.  In the photo below, the wildfire swept up and over the hill in the background.  

To my surprise, I passed no homes or ranches destroyed by the fire.  In several instances, evidence of fire stopped only yards from a home.  These families were fortunate, indeed, and must have suffered great anxiety as the flames bore down on their property.  Dotting the roadside were numerous reminders of the work done.  Besides a charred landscape, those reminders included hand painted signs thanking the firefighters and farmers for their diligent work in saving their homes from destruction.

As I neared the steep climb out of the valley and up onto the Palouse Plateau, the destruction came into view.  The fire had swept down and across the narrow Latah Creek Valley from the west and up the canyon walls on the east.  The Valley Chapel Road switchback climbing up and out of the valley and onto the rolling farmland on the plateau witnessed the fire sweeping across it.  Both sides of the canyon were scorched by the wildfire and a heavy smell of smoke lingered as I climbed the hill.  As I reached the Longhorn ranch near the top of the climb, the fire line stopped.  While devastating, the fire seemed to cut a narrow swath across the valley without touching any of the homes in that narrow strip of farm and woodland.

With trees scorched and all underbrush burned away, it will take time for the now, barren landscape to recover.  The results could have been much worse.

French Chasseurs a Cheval in 1859

Work continues on the 15mm 1859 project.  Fresh off the painting desk is the French 4th Chasseurs a Cheval regiment of four squadrons.

Figures are Lancashire Games from the 19th Century ranges.  As seen before, the Lancashire cavalry are single pose without either command or variation.  To my eye, the cavalry look a little on the slim side when looked at from fore to aft (see photo below).  Still, solid sculpts with fine detailing that fit in well on the gaming table alongside regiments of either Old Glory or Mirliton cavalry.

One more regiment of twelve French cavalrymen are in work at the painting desk.  Next up will be more Lancashire French hussars.