A Case of the Butterflies. . .

Beautiful to look at , but very, very dangerous from a wargaming perspective.

In light of a recent conversation I had with a wargaming friend while in Berlin, I find myself lately pondering how I might use those unused Waterloo-era Napoleonics. These, some of you might recall, have been in careful storage since the early 2000s when I made the radical switch from 15mm to 30mm, and the Grand Duchy of Stollen project with its imaginary mid-18th century focus began.

In theory, it all seems so simple. So plausible. So reasonable. So do-able.

Here's my thinking on all of this. Think more like a general instead of a company officer. Make the game a more abstract exercise. Use the hundreds of figures I have painted already, transfer them to small, square basswood bases, and paint up the few remaining that I might still need. The figures become purely symbolic, a dozen or so (for infantry) representing various divisions and, in a few cases, brigades. Each base can then be modeled as some kind of interesting mini-diorama or vignette rather than trying to represent actual late Napoleonic tactical formations like lines, columns, or squares. Easy, right?

And yet, I know from experience that the Napoleonic road leads to an inescapable mire. Figurative Belgian mud. Hobby quicksand. Or, to put it another way, trying to reduce the entire Waterloo campaign to an attainable corps-level collection and playable game seems like a temporal sinkhole that leads nowhere. Except to madness. And still these thrilling, Peter Gilder-inspired thoughts plague me during the hours of consciousness. The Waterloo campaign was my first wargaming love after all.

Perhaps, it is a very good thing that all of my stuff remains in storage, and current living space very limited, given our temporary housing situation. Sigh. Far better to steer the course and continue with my tri-cornered hats and mitre caps in their semi-fictitious context once we are again in a house equipped with a Zum Stollenkeller Mk II.

-- Stokes

The 18th century? What's the Fascination?

Hessian musketeers by All the King's Men Toy Soldiers of Snellville, Georgia, U.S.A. Just a quick post post today, but I thought the above question might be interesting food for thought. Obviously, there is an array of possible periods, theaters, and conflicts that might catch our eyes. But what is it about the era 1700-1799 -- either real, or imagined? Is it the commanders and politics? The fairly straightforward tactics? The myriad of uniforms and flags? The variety and scope of the conflicts? The patchwork of various and sundry petty states, (at least in Central Europe)? I'm very interested to learn your thoughts. Don't be a lurker! Please leave a comment -- or even two or three. Have a nice day everyone!

An Early July Hussar Update. . .

Marginally neater in appearance with green bases, girths, and ivory horse markings added, but I need to neaten up some hooves now before moving onto the rest of the tack. W here in the world did June go? While I still ponder the answer to that question, how about a quick painting update on the first batch of 14 Minden Austrian hussars and Nadasdy? Good. I'm glad we are of a like mind. Still on the sloppy side, but I've managed to move things along, painting the green bases, white (ivory) horse markings, and beginning the miles and miles of tack adorning the various horses. I always like to begin with the girths spanning the horses' ribs which helped hold the saddles in place. Even with the figures mounted individually on temporary painting bases, these can be kind of tricky to access, but there we are. I've also used various Army Painter washes (Mid-Brown and Strong Tone) as well as their Speed Paint (Grim Black) to make the manes and tails of the horses a bit m...

Basic Reds Done at Last. . .

S till quite a way to go with the current batch of 20 human figures and a horse (of course), but they're actually starting to look like something after all of the red distinctions. Quite a bit of painting in hour-long sessions the last week as and when time has allowed. Mostly applying the basic dark red to facing areas and turnbacks followed by the inevitable touch-ups to clean up wobbly edges and those misplaced, minute splotches of Citadel Khorne Red. They're looking like so many Austrian infantry regiments of the era at this point, but the eventual flags will turn them magically into the Anhalt-Zerbst Regiment, more or less, of the AWI period. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. One frustrating point (ahem) of sad discovery. I've started trying to use those Winsor & Newton 'Series Seven' brushes (#1 rounds) purchased last spring, and the blasted things simply will not keep a point. Very frustrating since I have heard over the y...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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