Rangers, Compagnies Franches, and American Indians

I made several additions to my "French and Indian Wars" forces in anticipation of a game on Saturday, February 16.  I guess I needed an incentive to get these figures painted.  They will reinforce my Britannian and Gallian field forces.

The first group are 12 American colonial rangers from the old Conquest line (now made by Warlord Games), packs C and D.  They will join the rangers from packs A and B that I had already painted to form a ranger company.

The figure on the left with the map will actually be a senior officer for my Britannian force.

The second group are Blue Moon's French box from their "Drums in the Ohio Valley" range.  These are rather large figures with a large circular base.  I had to mount them on 1" square bases.  They are a varied lot of Compagnies Franches de la Marine colonial infantry.  Theses units were raised by the French Navy who had jurisdiction over the overseas French colonies.  they join two other previously painted units.

The figure in the tricorne in the center will actually be a senior officer for my Britannian force.

And finally I have a "hand me down" unit of Gallian "courier de bois" (woods runners) and Huron Indians manufactured by Frontier Miniatures which no longer exists (unfortunately to my mind).  The Hurons are armed with bows, muskets, and tomahawks.  Along with their Gallian associates, they will be the Red Rock Clan.  We think that they were painted either by the late Mark "Doc Ord" Stevens or by the late Andrew Doyle.  They were gifted by Mark to my friend Lord Sterling who then gifted them to our friend Steve H.  Not having a need for northeastern woodland Indians, Steve then gifted them to me.  They are mounted on US pennies so I glued them to 3/4" washers to give them some additional height since almost all my French and Indian War figures are 28mm in size.  I still need to do some touch-up painting on their bases.

The Red Rock Clan with their Gallian associates

Here are a couple of close-ups of the figures:

Courier de bois leader

Huron Indians, showing base label

I'll be posting pictures of my game on Saturday at a later date for your enjoyment.

1st King's Dragoon Guards

The 1st King's Dragoon Guards joined the Electorishe Armee Thueringen late Friday evening after a forced march.  They got their baptism of fire at the Battle of Hesselbach (battle report to follow on the Jackson Gamers blog - see link at lower left).  This 12-figure squadron are Dixon Miniatures.  These particular figures do not have the "pumpkin heads" that some other Dixons do.

The King's colours are from the Kronoskaf SYW Project web site.

Colonel Bland, the regimental commander, leads the squadron in its evolutions.

These were nice figures to paint, with the details being well defined but not, to my eye, too exaggerated.

Bayou Wars Pictures - Part 3 (Encounter at Fort Fromage)

Well, I finally get the pictures of my game at Bayou Wars edited and posted!  And I can hear nearly everyone say, "It's about time!"

On Saturday morning (June 11 -- one month ago), I ran the Fourth Annual George Carr, Sr. Memorial Colonial game.  This time I set it in the French and Indian War time period with an imaginary encounter between the Gallians (AKA the French) and the Britannians (AKA the British).  I use The Sword in the Forest variant of Larry Brom's venerable The Sword and the Flame rules and troops painted by Mark Stevens and me.  The trees were courtesy of the Brom family.

The situation pitted small Gallian and Britannian forces intent upon seizing the ruins of the old Gallian Fort Fromage in the Fondue Gap through which ran Cheddar Creek.  The Gallians advanced from the north and consisted of the Gallian Regiment Beaujolais (four companies), two companies of Compagnies Gallien, three companies of Canadien militice, two Gallian light guns, and two allied Indian warbands.  The Britannians advanced from the south and consisted of the 5th Foot (three companies), a company each of the 15th and 60th Foot, three companies of provincial regulars, two companies of rangers, light infantry, and allied Indians, and two Britannian light guns.

The figures are a mix of 28mm Dixon, Old Glory, Conquest, former London Warroom (now Dayton Painting Consortium), and a mix of other older manufacturers whom I cannot recall.  But they all blended very well when committed to the Field of Mars.

And now we'll let the pictures tell the story..  As usual, please click or double click on a picture to get a larger image.

The Britannian commanders:  Ed (right wing with Rangers and Light Infantry; Mark (Britannian force commander with Britannian 5^th Foot); Charles (left center with Provincial infantry); and Ken (left wing with Britannian 15^th/60^th Foot).

The Gallian commanders:  Bill (right wing with Compagnies Gallien and Beaujolais pickets); Clay (right center with Canadien militice); Martha (Gallian force commander with Regiment Beaujolais); and Phil (Gallian left wing with allied Indians).

The Britannians get into Fort Fromage first.  Martha consults her combat tables to determine how many troops to throw against them.  Clay and Phil watch as the action develops between Ken and Bill (out of picture to left).

While Charles’ Britannian provincials contest the western hill with Clay’s Canadien militice, Ken’s Britannian infantry begin their long clash with Bill’s Compagnies Gallien.

In the distance, Martha’s Beaujolais infantry assault Mark’s Britannians in the ruins of the fort.  In the foreground, Charles moves additional Britannian provincials against the Canadien militice.  In the far background the Britannian rangers and light infantry begin their fight against the Gallian allied Indians.

Charles and Ken watch the action as the Gallians and Britannians fight over the ruins of Fort Fromage.

Ed ponders his options as the Britannian right wing commander against the sneaky Gallian Indian chief – Phil the Younger.

While Ken and Charles look on with grins, Bill lobbies his commander, Martha, for a fire card for Clay’s Canadien militice.  His infantry are tangled in a melee with Ken’s so he doesn’t require the card.

The action continues and is especially fierce within the ruins of the fort where Britannians and Gallians exchange point-blank range volleys.

While Ed’s rangers and light infantry exchange a volley with Phil’s Indians on the low ground to the left, their other forces fight tomahawk against tomahawk on the wooded hill.  Mark’s gun has fired laterally against the Gallian Indians and he has moved his grenadiers up in support.

Ken’s 60^th Royal Americans clash with Bill’s Compagnies Gallien on the other flank while their supporting infantry looks on.

In the foreground, Ed’s command has taken the hill from Phil’s Indians and forced the rest of Phil’s Indians back with several good volleys.  In the background however, Martha’s Beaujolais Regiment has pushed her husband’s Britannians out of the ruins of Fort Fromage, quite a coup for the Gallians.  Now, can they hold it?

Martha repositions her Beaujolais in the fort, ready to resist any further Britannian attacks.  In the background, Ken’s Royal Americans appear to have been beaten by Bill’s Compagnies Gallien.  But Ken is ready to carry on the attack with his 15^th Foot.  Between the two actions, Charles and Clay continue to trade volleys on the western hill.

A closer look at the action between Ken and Bill (right side of picture) and Charles and Clay (left side of picture).

Martha’s Gallian Regiment Beaujolais is ready for the Britannians, having been reinforced by some of Clay’s Canadien militice with their gun.  Charles has redeployed some of his Britannian provincials to bring additional firepower to bear on the Gallians.  But do the Britannians have enough force to drive the Beaujolais from the fort?

Ed rearranges his Britannian rangers and allied Indians to consolidate his hold on the eastern hill.

Charles reaches in to reposition some of his Britannian provincials facing Clay’s Canadien militice on the western hill.  Clay looks like his troops have the western hill well in their control.

So, who won?  Each side's mission was to occupy the site of old Fort Fromage and repulse any attempts by the other side to occupy the area.  Additionally each side was to consider occupying one or both of the hills that bordered the pass.  The Gallians had occupied the fort ruins and the western hill, plus they had both of their guns still in action.  The Britannians only occupied the eastern hill and had one of their two guns still in action.  The game master (me, of course) ruled that the Gallians had secured the victory, this time.  In an earlier playtest (see link), the Britannians had won.  So goes the vagaries of (pretend) war.

Two More Leaders

After my play test game last Saturday, I realized that I really needed two more leaders who were more in keeping with the commands they would be leading.  So I dug around in my 18th Century boxes and came up with a Britannian Ranger leader and a Gallian Indian Ally leader.

The Britannian Ranger leader is one of a batch of tricorne wearing figures I bought via eBay.  He is a French officer from Front Rank's American Revolution line (French AWF-17).  But painted with a green coat, buckskin pants, and deer hide mitasses, he has become the leader on my combined Ranger-Light Infantry-Allied Indian "battalion" for His Britannian Majesty's forces in the 'Murica colonies.  Re-purposing with a vengeance!

Another "find" in the 18th Century troops boxes was this Old Glory Indian.  He had been purchased as part of a batch of painted figures, so he needed just some touch-ups and selected repainting to become the war chief of the Gallian allied Huron Indian war band.

They will both see action in June at our regional gaming convention - Bayou Wars.  My game will be on Saturday morning (see the PEL for details).

Britannian Provincial Infantry

Captain "Red" Green's independent company of provincial infantry has just joined the Britannian army in the 'Murican provinces.  This company was raised from "over the mountain" boys who have much expertise in fighting "Injuns and other critters" in the deep woods.  As such Captain Green has outfitted them with green hunting shirts and deerskin trousers.  The Britannian commander hopes that they will help counter the Gallian woodsmen and Indian allies (link and link).  They will be operating in conjunction with the Britannian rangers.

Clicking on the pictures will result in an easier to see larger image.

Here we see them in all their glory, with Captain "Red" Green in the center.

The company is composed of one former-London Warroom (now Dayton Painting Consortium) Spanish non-commissioned officer figure as Captain Green and nineteen Old Glory FIW-13 Courier de Bouis [sic] frontiersmen.  These particular figures wear either a cocked hat or a slouch hat.  They are all armed with musket, tomahawk, and knife.  There are seven distinct poses which are shown below:

Three of the poses plus Captain Green (far right).

The other four poses.

Now that these have joined the Britannian forces, the Gallian commander will start to raise a counter-force of two 20-figure companies of woodsmen (using the Courier de Bouis [sec] figures in soft caps).

5th Foot_Drilling

Once all elements had closed on ColCampbell's Barracks, Major General Manly-Barton orders the 5th Foot out on the parade field for some drill.

As the divisions march and countermarch, General Manly-Barton rides around the formations watching with an eagle eye for any faults.

But he can spot none, as the Lieutenant Colonel, commanding, has ensured his company officers and sergeants have prepared the men for these exercises. With his being the first of the Britannian regiments to arrive in Carpania, the Lieutenant Colonel, commanding, wanted to make an excellent impression on General Manly-Barton.  I think that he has!

Britannian 5th Foot, Part 4

The color guard of the 5th Britannian Foot has finally joined the regiment, bringing with them newly issued colors.

The lieutenant colonel, commanding, gestures as his ensigns with their color sergeants, march forward with the colors.  The flags came from the Kronoskaf Seven Years War Project page of the 5th British Foot.  I resized them and printed them on a color laser printer.  As with the rest of the 5th Foot, the figures are Dixon.

This completes the 5th Foot, unless I'm able at some point in the future to acquire an additional 12-figure division.  Probably tomorrow I'll post some pictures of the entire regiment as it drills at ColCampbell's Barracks.

Britannian 5th Foot, Part 3

Finally, the third division of the 5th Britannian Regiment of Foot have joined their comrades, marching into the barracks yesterday after completing the issue of their uniforms and weapons.

Major General Manly-Barton reviews the 3rd division, 5th Foot, after they arrive at Col Campbell's Barracks.

The third division, all Dixon figures, is composed of one officer (second from left, front rank), one sergeant (right figure, rear rank), one drummer (in front of sergeant), and nine hatmen.  The officer is ordering his men to "Preseeeeent  Arms!!" as General Manly-Barton  approaches.

The color party, one officer, two ensigns, and two color sergeants, await final finishing details, basing, and attachment of the flags.  Their picture should be posted tomorrow as well as a picture of the completed regiment.

Britannian 5th Foot, Part 2

The Grenadier Company of the Britannian 5th Foot was completed last night and is now safely settled in their barracks for Christmas Eve.

The Grenadier Company is composed of an officer (in cocked hat), a sergeant (with halberd), a drummer, and nine grenadiers, all Dixon figures.

They and the rest of the denizens of Col Campbell's Barracks wish a

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS 

and a

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

to one and all!!

Britannian 5th Foot, Part 1

Tonight I completed two divisions of the Britannian 5th Foot Regiment.  These 24 Dixon British infantry are the first unit in a brigade that will be commanded by Major General Manly-Barton, Colonel-in-Chief of the 5th Foot.  Some of their in-progress pictures were featured in previous posts.  This unit is organized for "big battalion" gaming using Bill Protz's rules, Bataille de l'Ancien Regime [link].

The 5th Foot was part of the second reinforcement contingent to His Britannic Majesty's Army in Germania.  It is the senior regiment of that six regiment contingent.  For additional information on the "real" 5th Foot, see this Kronoskaf link.

As usual, please click on the pictures for larger images.

First, the Colonel-in-Chief, Major General Manly-Barton.

He is a Dixon mounted British officer who continues to wear the regimentals, although the coat has been heavily embellished with silver lace.

The 1st division of the regiment, consisting of one officer (second from left, front rank), one sergeant (far right, rear rank), one drummer (far right, second rank), and nine privates.  Notice the sergeant is checking on the alignment of his men.  You can almost hear him saying, "You there, Jones, watch your dressing, you slovenly excuse for a soldier of the King!"

The 2nd division of the regiment, with the same composition and placement as the 1st division.

I am painting the 3rd division and the grenadiers, and still have to do the color party.

And a picture of both divisions, 1st on left and 2nd on right, with Major General Manly-Barton in the center.

Britannians - Continuing the Work

I've done a little more work on the Dixon figures, getting the lace painted on the first 12-figure division, including the drummer.

The drummers were the most intense to paint since each regiment's drummers seem to have worn a different amount of lace.  I had to guess on this regiment (the 5th Foot) since I didn't have a picture of its drummer.  Here you can see a drummer both before (right) and after (left) the application of the lace, plain white in this regiment.  I haven't decided if I want to try to do a replication of the regimental shield (St George killing the dragon) on the front of the drum.

The hatmen of the center companies were a little easier than the drummers although nine of them more than made up for the single drummer.  Again, a before (right) and after (left) picture.  The belting and muskets haven't been done yet.

Finally a picture of the two officers and two drummers in the first two 12-figure divisions.

More anon.

Britannians - Works in Progress

After completing the painting and "dipping" on the Screaming Panther Clan, I started on the first two "divisions" of the Britannian 5th Regiment of Foot and a mounted officer.  Although this regiment was part of the second contingent sent to fight with His Britannian Majesty's Army in Germania, it will also see double duty fighting the Gallians and Asturians in the 'Murican colonies.

These figures are Dixon, with the classic Dixon "pumpkin head" on the infantry.  Up close the heads do look unusual but I think from a distance in an organized unit that the heads will not be so apparent.  The figures have been primed with gray Liquidtex gesso before I started painting them with acrylic craft paints.  I mount my foot figures on large headed finishing nails and my horses on plastic 2-liter soda bottle caps.  As usual, please click or double click on the images for a larger picture.

Britannian mounted officer

Sergeant and nine hatmen

When I complete these figures, I plan on posting a comparison between the various horse and musket manufacturers I have.

Gunners and Some Comparisons

First I have some pictures of the newest additions to my imagi-nation armies, some guns and gunners.  Then some comparison pictures of the three manufacturers' gunners.  As usual, click or double click on the pictures for larger images.

I've just completed three gun crews and two guns (the third gun having been painted some time ago) for my Britannian, Gallian, and Kreis Obere-Sachsen forces.

First up is a Britannian 6-lbr and its 5 man crew.  The gun is a Miniature Figurines (if I remember correctly) model while the gunners are RSM-95 figures.  This is the second 6-lbr for my nascent Britannian forces.

Next up is a battalion gun for my Gallian forces.  The gun is a "Scruby" (now manufactured by Historifigs) small Napoleonic cannon which will be playing the role of a "Swedish" style 4-lbr.  The crewmen are RAFM French gunners painted as two artillerymen (in blue coats) and two artillery laborers (in grey coats).

Last is a battalion gun (another "Scruby") for my nascent Kreis Obere-Sachsen forces (one of the Reichsarmee circles).  The gunners are Miniature Figurines SYW French gunner figures.  The one of the right rear has been modified by cutting off the lintstock and gluing on a lever.  The color scheme comes from a Reichsarmee gunner's uniform posted some time ago by David Linienblatt of the Not by Appointment blog.

I also thought that I would include some side-by-side pictures of the RAFM, RSM, and MiniFig gunners so you could get an idea of their comparative sizes and hefts.

RAFM (left), RSM (center), MiniFig (right)

You can  see that while the RSM gunners are a little taller than the other two, they aren't completely out of scale.  I cheerfully use many different manufacturers on the battlefield and once the action starts, the differences tend to disappear.

Sailors and Marines

Last night I completed the sailors and Marines that I had on-hand for my upcoming Capitania General de Florida game which will involve some naval action as well as land action.  Some of the figures in the pictures below have been painted for a long number of years and some were just done this month.

As usual, please click on the pictures for a larger image.

These stalwart officers will command the row-galley and some of the gunboats.  All four were recently painted.  The front three are 25mm Miniature Figurines while the one in the back is a 25mm Abbott figure.  The officer in the center is from the old MiniFig Pirate line.  The one of the left is from their Napoleonic special wagon set.  The one of the right is labeled as an AWI figure but I couldn't find a correlation of his number to the current list.

These armed sailors are also 25mm MiniFigs.  The three firing figures are from the AWI line and the three in the rear are from the old Pirate line.  I have others of these that I use as New England Continental regimentsin my AWI American army.  Three are old figures that have been painted for years and three were just painted.

These 25mm MiniFig sailors are all from the old Pirate line and have been painted for years.

These are RAFM figures from their F&IW line.  They are supposed to be SYW era British Marines but the small mitres don't exactly match what was being worn at this time.  So I've painted them as grenadiers from the 24th Foot who just happen to have been seconded for naval duty.  They will appear again as part of the converged Britannian grenadier battalion in later battles.  They were just completed last night.

The galley and the gunboats require gunners to serve their artillery and these 25mm MiniFig Pirate line gunners will fill the bill.  One figure (second row, far left) is from the Napoleonic special wagon set.  Four of the figures have been modified to hold a lever used to train the guns.  All were recently painted.

These are the rest of the gunners who have been painted for several years (or longer in the case of four of them).  All but two (center rear) are 25mm MiniFig Pirate gunners.  The two that are different are from a manufacturer whose name I have forgotten.

I wish that I had more of the old MiniFig Pirate line figures.  They made excellent ship's crew and gunners.  But I'll just have to get by with what I have for my game in two weeks.  Between now and then I'll be laboring to paint the guns for the ships and get the ships ready, including equipping them with sails.