Was fiddling with some 25mm WWII figures over the weekend…
Decided to re-mold the Scruby 25mm figures for use in my small WWII project. I’ll need to supplement with some plastic figures, but that should be ok-fine.
For pictures and a bit more info check the HistoriFigs website.
And since the theme of these restorations is the Boxer Rebellion, I thought it might help f I had a war game project in mind while working on these. I’m thinking Bob Cordery’s The Portable Wargame; that would make for a nice, simple game with a small footprint.
Now to define a game/armies that can be put together with these figures (see post on Historifigs for figure list). Feel free to comment or write with your thoughts, ideas and suggestions.
I started a 54mm ACW project some number of years ago and never got very far. Partly because I’m a really slow painter and partly because I couldn’t really decide what I wanted to do.
Fast-forward to a couple weeks ago when I uncovered several boxes with partly finished projects. One of these boxes contained several unfinished Confederate Infantry figures as well as an artillery crew.. I’m still not fast and not really all that good, but the figures are coming out ‘ok’.
Not shown is the artillery crew I finished last night as well as two more infantry figures to fill in the holes at the far end of the line.
I’ve even figured out how I will use the figures when I’m done…
I’ve decided to go the small game route; rules will be The Portable Wargame. Game will be played on a 4′ x 4′ square gridded surface (6″ squares an 8 x 8 grid). Games will be as small as 8 units per side with 12 to 15 units per side as a maximum size. My Infantry units will be 4 figures each. Artillery 3 crew figures + 1 gun. Cavalry will be two figures. The armies will be matched and likely a bit larger than maximum size to allow things to be mixed up a bit. While the confederates have a good start, I have yet to start on the Union troops. I always have a hard time with Union troops, but I was sure to cast some, so I could get a start.
Overall my figures will be mostly Scruby Miniatures. I have some Imrie / Risley Artillery crew that will be mixed in. I plan to use plastic horses for cavalry rather than Scruby horses (at 1/4 pound each the Scruby horses are just plain heavy and expensive). I know I have some other 54mm figures tucked away and as I find those, I’ll mix in any that mix in well. My plans call for each side to consist of:
Plus anything else that strikes my fancy (Zouaves and perhaps Lancers).
If anyone is interested in painting some Union troops, perhaps we can work out a deal? Trade or pay or a mix?
Just a bit of show and tell today. I recently acquired some new toys from Nick Nascati. The toys are in the form of 40mm Trident figures that Nick painted and used for his war gaming…
Figures just un-packed
We have a nice mix:
The unpainted figures are some HistoriFigs pieces that I will be painting and adding to the mix
Will likely start with a few games using Song of Drums and Tomahawks from Ganesha Games and then try a few different sets of rules for skirmish games and then try some ideas I have for games using a modified version Commands and Colors; perhaps Battle Cry based or perhaps Commands and Colors, Tricorne based – likely a combination of the two and, maybe, on a smaller grid…
A summary of a forgotten article by Joseph Morschauser…
The Time: Fall 1972. The Publication: Donald Featherstone’s Wargamers Newsletter #128, November 1972. Turning to page four (4) we find a regular section entitled: Counsels of War. For this issue the author is Joe Morschauser. Here we learn of Joe’s latest (1972) war gaming project…
Along with his other projects, Joe was planning on a very small modern (WWII being modern in this case) setup for use with restricted-time games, games that would last about two (2) hours. If one can’t fit in a massive sized WWII game, one must compromise and play what fits available time and space.
His idea was to use a tactical map to cover larger scale battles; he would then take out smaller pieces and play these battles out on the table-top. Examples described include: 1) An armored thrust consisting of no more than half-a-dozen tanks and related equipment with infantry setup for a meeting engagement with a rear guard section of a retreating army. 2) A deep penetration mission of the type fought in the western desert; to take out a fuel supply or ammon dump. These were the types of missions Joe was seeking to setup and play on a small table with limited time. Similar in concept to his earlier games set in Africa during the Great War.
Joe goes on to describe his proposed mix of equipment: the early, less powerful tanks of WWII (PZ III, Matildas and the like) plus the related Infantry types. Due to his dislike of moving individual figures the plan was to mount (infantry) figures in groups on stands. Rifle teams, MG teams and Mortar teams as the basis with AT teams as appropriate. The thought was that these team based stands would counter balance the power of the armored vehicles. As well, as making the game turns faster; fewer pieces to move allows for faster play.
Sounds like Joe had the formula he needed for his target game. I have yet to uncovered any related follow-up articles or letters on this same topic. As such we do not know how this game plan worked out…
N-Gauge on 2″ hex grid
My first thought on reading this piece was that it matched quite well with a project I started several years ago. I was planning a very similar game using the Scruby N-Gauge figures. Not surprisingly the content of the line matches what Joe had in mind for his game. Perhaps Joe planned on using Scruby figures? (See a sampling of my Scruby N-Gauge figures above, no infantry, but a placeholder infantry team stand is shown) Finding this article puts me in the mind to revisit that abandoned project; doing something very much like Morschauser describes and my, revised, game will indeed be grid based. My treads and wheels are all, just about, good to go. It was my Infantry organization that never came together. I just never liked what I came up with (that’s why I didn’t include any in the picture above). My recent reading and doodling may finally bring me to an ideal Infantry organization (pretty much as described in Joe’s article). Additionally I’ve been working on a set of hex tiles to use on the game table (not sure if I’ll want 2” or 3” for the N-Gauge, but 3” would be more flexible overall, so they get a +1 for now). My target for game board space requirement is nothing larger than 4′ x 4′
