Hats Off to The Crow

Since I’m currently dallying with Lion Rampant I thought I might have a go with The Men Who Would Be Kings (TMWWBK) that stable’s colonial variant.

The only collection I have mounted on single bases is for Yellow Ribbon a venerable and excellent recreation of Plains warfare. So, it is to be a "Hokay hey" outing if not one for "the most extraordinary horsemen I have seen yet” *.

TMWWBK requires you to compile the stats for each unit.  It’s not an onerous task but some thought is required and, being a Piquet devotee, I put each unit’s stats on a card replete with an appropriate image on the back.  You will see them when I report the game.

Over the years, I’ve read loads about the Plains Wars and looking at the options TMWWBK offers I could see my way clear to having everyone on the table pretty much operating true to form.  

The US cavalry would be fairly average regulars, many of them were appalling riders, relying on the advantages of carbine fire power and discipline.  A flag for these lads is needed here as you can see.  

The various Lakota etc. societies would be fierce, equipped with modern weapons and totally casualty averse.  The rest of the warriors, ditto but not well equipped at all.  Skirmishing would be easy but a successful charge would be a pony of a different colour.

Which brings me to the Crow.  The 1-1 scale of TMWWBK allows me to field a unit of Crow warriors, a rarity on the table in my experience.  

The numerically inferior Crow had been more or less fending off the more numerous Lakota for a generation but they knew it was a doomed fight.  

Never the less they stuck to it, and of course when the chance came, allied themselves to the expanding USA faster than you could say guns and ammo.  In the long run, it did them little more good than their Lakota foes but it was really their only option.

Today many of the Plains Peoples, Lakota, Dakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho and even Comanche have their aficionados.  Less so the Crow but they too fought for their land and the life of their people and really, you cannot do more than that.

* George Caitlin on the Comanche- Sadly no one makes Comanche in 15mm.

HAI!

I seem to have my hand in now with the Samurai painting.  I’m just waiting for some smaller Warbases* to arrive for the single model bases and I’m just about getting there.

I confess I’m wondering if the glued on sashimono and swords are going to stand the test of time and play-perhaps a dab of white glue might be in order. Better safe than fiddly as it were.

Anyhow here’s the bunch so far.

If Lion Rampant continues to charm I might do a more retinues for The Cid and the 100 Years War.  I've also got a load of surplus Irish and Norman figures, steady there OB, steady. 

Meantime I await more Carlist War stuff coming into production.

* Speaking of which there's an outfit with real business moxy, spotted the gap and straight in.  I use nothing else these days.

A Box of Samurai

Many years have gone by since a box of Samurai arrived on my doorstep. They were from Outpost who make interesting stuff. Having cut my teeth on the ‘The Seven Samurai’ as a child and owning a box set of the films of Kurosawa enthusiasm ran high.  I also had a couple of Stephen Turnbull books full of lovely images-it should have been a breeze of a project.

I painted ten or so figures and none of them looked right. Somehow or other, I wasn’t getting it.  So, the box went into a cupboard and its contents were consigned to the ‘maybe’ list.  Until recently that is.

Lion Rampant by the indefatigable Dan Mersey made quite a stir a couple of years ago, and recently I bought a copy.  Someone produced the stats for a Samurai retinue and I reached for my box of Samurai which had enough figures for both sides.

Progress is being made as you can see on this page.

Crimean War Bits and Pieces

I’m nearly there with my Crimea collection.  Just a few squadrons of cavalry and some more command bases and three battalions of French infantry and I’m done.

Here are some British command bases the figures are mostly from Irregular. I’m pleased with how they came out.  You can probably guess who’s supposed to be who give or take a forearm.

Some British artillery (Minifigs) and Rifles (Irregular).

One of 5 new Russian Battalions.

And a couple of bases of Chinese from Irregular which I bought out of curiosity.  They will do for anytime between the Opium War and the Boxer Rising once I get the flock off that chap’s trousers.

More Minifigs than ever

I now have more Minifigs than ever I had when they had a near monopoly on 15mm Gaming.  Partly I have come to appreciate their virtues and also, I cannot resist a bargain.  So here are my latest Crimean additions.

I’ve done the rosters, as we Piquet types say, for a ‘Not the Alma’ game and I’m hoping it will be a good one. 

It’s an interesting exercise in many ways. Most of the British, and some of the French are armed with the rifled musket-a huge advantage. I’m allowing a couple of Russian battalions the same but for most of the Russians effective firepower is a close- range affair. Not that they were all bad shots, they were trained to aim low and a quick look at the casualties they inflicted shows they could cause punishment.

Their artillery was probably the best of all the armies involved.  There was a draw- back, Russian standing orders forbade allowing the capture of their guns.  Accordingly, artillery units had an alarming tendency to retreat when the enemy got close, thus sparing the foe devastating canister fire. I might reflect this in the game any enemy within 200 yards and there will be a 50% chance of the Russian guns retiring.

Rating the various units is for me a work in progress, for the present Russian artillery, Zouaves,  Chasseurs and Highlanders are getting the highest rating. At the moment the rest of the British, French and Russians, and perhaps Turkish, are simply regulars. 

Command for everyone but the French is often thought woeful, I'm thinking that may be over simple so time to ponder. 

Oh, and I’ve made the Cossacks adequate fighters but quick to scarper.

I’m hoping the game will clarify my thinking especially around British Guards (Campbell more or less implied they should be shot for retreating) and the cavalry who were full of dashing courage but not particularly deadly.  The Russian cavalry were made up of good enough material but timidly used and again seemingly not very deadly in combat. The French Guards might get an uplift as might General Scarlett and some others. It’s the beginning of a learning curve as we used to say.

One thing I'm decided on is that the story of the upcoming game will be told through the eyes of the individual Brigadiers involved.

My Prussian Dragoons Are Done

Blue Moon cavalry come with enough figures for three units so of course I have three units of everything with a horse.  More than I might have chosen if I’m honest, still now they're all done.  

So here are the Von Normann Dragoons

The Von Blankensee Dragoons

And of course the Truchseb Dragoons that I finished earlier. 

That's it as far Prussian Dragoons go for me.  They do look nice though.

A Holiday Book or two

I often think good books make for good games. 

A good book packed with primary sources will tell you the actuality of how an army fought.  You know, the sort of little details that make a game genuinely interesting.

Carlists for example were like mountain goats speedily going where others could not, the Cristinos in the main were not so swift and the lads of the BAL (British Auxiliary Legion) were plodders by comparison.  It’s the sort of knowledge that gives us period flavour on the table.

I recently bought a bunch of Minifigs Crimean figures (An eBay bargain) you can see some of them on this page.  I think the Turks are particularly nice.  

So now I’m keen to play a Crimean Game and while I wait for the paint to dry I’m rereading my Crimean War Books.

So finally getting to the point of this post, if you’re interested in the Crimean War or just looking for a good read to while away a sun kissed hour I’d suggest getting either or both of the following:

The Destruction of Lord Raglan by Christopher Hibbert

The Crimean War: A Re Appraisal by Phillip Warner

Like my Ebay Minifigs they are great value and you won't regret it.