1st Corps ACW Review

I finally made the plunge and bought some 1st Corps ACW figures. I had been a little worried they would be true 25mm and be quite small, a fact I found with their Roman range. However, the figures were a good size and fitted in well with all of the other mid range figure companies, Foundry, Crusader, Dixon, Old Glory, Perrys etc.

 I think these figures must be selling well as they did have a little flash on them and needed a little clean up. Also I thought the rifles were a little on the large size, but nothing I couldn't live with. After a tidy up and a closer look I found that I liked these figures quite a lot, It's nice to find a new range that fits with your old stuff. The sculpting was good and I will defiantly be getting some other packs to add into the mix. Their iron Brigade looks good and so will be on the wish list.

So all in all these figures are recommended and they are fairly priced too, being under a pound a piece in the deals 1st Corps do.

 I have fallen back in love with lots of old companies I had turned my back on in favour of Foundry. Dixon are said to be pumpkin heads but I like them, they add a lot of character to formations and have a charm all of their own, they also paint up well. Here we can see a 1st Corps figure next to a Dixon one, the two match in size and will mix very well together in a unit.

 Another size comparison showing a Dixon, 1st Corps, Crusader figure. All these mid range figures mix well together.

Crusader, Dixon,1st Corps, Steve Barber models.

The causality pack is also recommended as they have many poses and some that can be used as men struggling to the rear, great for fighting units.

                                              
 1st Corps have learnt from other ranges over the years (Sash and Sabre) and have produced codes with multiple variants in. This vast host of poses looks great and is one of the strengths of this recent range. It might be worth buying a right shoulder shift pack as well to mix in with these advancing men to give even more of a mix of poses.

 From what I can see most of these men are in forage caps rather than kepis. This is fine as again I haven't many figures in this head wear. On opening the pack I was a little put off by this fact until I researched it on line and found the peaks were really small. At first I thought it was poor sculpting, but it's right.
 Also a lot of figures in this pack were in shirts and made the unit look like a battle hardened tough fighting mob. Perfect for my Irish Brigade unit I thought to myself.

 Here is a Renegade figure with a smaller crusader drummer. The Renegade figures are the only ones I would put together in the same unit without mixing them as they are quite large. Saying that, the odd one or two here or there won't hurt, my units are all about variety of poses.

Painting by Don Troiani

Irish brigade at Gettysburg, note the shirt. I think these 1st Corps figures will be my Irish Brigade now. I have also fallen back in love with Old Glory figures and was thinking of ordering their Irish Brigade until these guys turned up.
These advancing 1st Corps figures with their bayonets and shirts just kind of tick all the boxes of a tough fighting veteran unit for me...job done!

Irish Brigade 1863 uniform?

I've been trying to research the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg for a war gaming unit and have come across many uniform varieties. Is there anyone out there that knows more about this subject.

At the moment I'm thinking about a unit in late war sack coats with maybe a few New York shell jackets sprinkled around. The coats will be all blue and without the green cuffs and collars that most uniform guides favour.

I have learned so much from readers that I thought I would throw it out for any advice. Many thanks Simon.

Dice markers for Bonnie Blue flag

I have been very taken with a set of easy to learn ACW rules I found on the Cavilier books site. I am always on the look out for interesting rules to do with the ACW as it is my first war gaming love. 

Being badly Dyslexic I have always struggled to learn most rule sets that go into loads of charts and detail but this set was simple enough to learn and gave a great taste for the period. So that said,I set out to collect the few counters I would need to play it.

 Basicily each unit requires an rating to see how much more attrition they can take before they quite the field, this is done with dice. I had tried to get mini dice locally but failed, so managed to secure some 12mm D6, these I thought though were getting on the large side. However after many frustrating phone calls my Pay Pal account was fixed and I could go to my favourite store...Warbases. They had everything I needed, including the coloured mini dice and even holders for them to sit in.

 I came up with a simple plan to hide the dice from view once on the table and to add to the scenery. These little markers will be covered in tufts and bushes to hide the dice from the opposing player. The less visible dice on the table, the better.

I have big hopes for this game and I'm desperately trying to get as much done before the curse of the war gamer gets me and I see something else which pulls my attention away. For this reason I am avoiding Salute and war games magazines like crazy.

These dice are 7mm and are perfect for hiding behind lines of guns or Infantry.

ACW Artillery base size and colour?

 I'm trying out two options here, the long 120mm x 60mm and the smaller 80mm x 60mm. The smaller one makes more sense with turning arcs etc but the longer base gives more room for diorama. I'm using Infantry for layout and positioning only.

 I've done a lot of research about the gun colours, Olive green is mentioned but these guns always look more grey/green to me. I've found some great Tamiya paints which should cover this, they also do a good grey green which so far is my favourite. It's the first one on the colour strip.

 Warlord ECW horses help map out the size of the Limber base (120mm x 60mm) just so I can get an idea of the over all size of the unit when attached to the Limber.

 The Artillery base sizes next to each other. I think as long as the canon is set back from the edge and towards the middle the base shouldn't look too big. This also gives some nice space at the front to place the rammer and bucket etc.

The last paint colour here is a blue from Tamiya again this will be used to paint a couple of Confederate pieces.

Back on the old ACW trail again...

 Just thinking out aloud about some Artillery bases. Looking through my MDF collection I found I had a load of 120mm x 60mm bases I had bought for a rule set that never happened. I was thinking these could do for the section base. They already fit the four horse limber team, but I thought they might be a little long for the gun section. I noticed the Perrys include 100mm x 50mm bases for their guns in their plastics kits so I'm not too far off. The extra mm could help with the larger redoubt figures...anyway food for thought.

It would be nice to use all six figures that come with most Artillery sets and a long base could be the way. The pics above are just to help me place the team around the gun and the spacing with the figures. My limbers will be on the 120mm x 60mm horse team base. 240mm could make for a long Artillery base when on the move...I'll have to see when I get home.

The Lady of the Forest...the Birch.

 I have been buying a lot of cheap trees from Amazon lately and giving myself the challenge of painting them quickly with spray paints. This is very rewarding and enjoyable, trying out slightly different colours. Some of these trees will be turned into Aspens with dots rather than stripes on the trunks.

 I will also give some Autumn leaves to add some variety. These birches will come in very handy when playing the French and Indian War. By sticking them on round bases I can scatter them around homesteads etc and provide some cover for sneaky skirmishers.

Had great fun preparing these probably because they are so quick and easy to do.

Flocking Middle Earth

 Moria is over run with goblins..! Bolg's bodyguard lead the assault and push the Dwarves back deeper into the depths.

 I found some time last night to put some extra touches on some recent eBay purchases. Gearing up for my 'Battle of the Five Armies' games, I realised I didn't really have any mountainous terrain. This is something I had to rectify!

 I love this model...and they call it a MINE...a MINE!

 This will be great for my Dwarven stronghold and make a great objective in a game.

 I also purchased some cheap hills/rocks. I thought these would be handy for must eras and fitted nicely with my latest interest in the French and Indian war.

 My eBay resin rocks finally get their flock and tufts and so are now finished. It's hard to make yourself crack on at night when your tired, but the sense of joy you get when everything is done is amazing.

 Some extra love was put into this already amazing model. I didn't really have to do much on this one just add some more flock and tufts.

 These large rocks were given patches of granite grey paint and green washes. Then flocked and tufted like everything else.

 They will also make great bases for my Goblins to spill out of. They are covered in deep cracks and crags, these from a distance look like deep tunnels and caves.

The sun finally comes out and the grass starts to grow again. Job done!

WIP Gundabad Troll

 This weeping giant is someone you don't want to run into on a dark night.

 Dark Alliance 20mm plastic troll with green stuff mask and wooden club.

Militia man French Indian War.

Militiaman 1746

A quick sketch I did on an I pad to teach myself how to colour the line of the drawing. It's very quick but does show my new interest in the French Indian war.

LOTR Snow Troll

 I have been playing around with the idea of creating some Snow trolls for my Gundabad army. This army is already getting very troll heavy as I bought two forge world 'War beasts' for Christmas.

 Any how, with the release of another box of Dark Alliance war trolls, I got the idea of creating two Snow dwelling nightmares. I took my reference from the non-cannon game 'War in the North' and the Snow trolls created for that game.

 When I saw the 20mm new hard plastic trolls from DA with a leather hoods I got the idea of an easy conversion. The idea from the game is that these trolls cover themselves in the remains of their victims high up in the mountains, so lots of fur and natural hide with horns and tusks.

 I like this idea as It does make them stand out from other trolls in Middle Earth and gives them a distinct character. Also makes them look very wild and feral.

 I took far too long puzzling over how to class them in Dragon Rampant but then hit on a fantastic idea. I will make them Lesser war beasts so they will be fast and fierce in combat. However the main selling point for me was the fact that they will have three hit points each, this is the same as all my other smaller trolls. This pleased me because I am sad...no I mean because I didn't want these trolls to be weaker than my others in wounds. Also I will give them the 'Venomous' trait to give them more chance of inflicting damage, this represents their immense strength and foul temper.

 As well as fur I left a lot of raw skin exposed on the hides and a few tusk like horns. I can't wait to start painting them up, partly because I have been waiting for YEARS to put some snow on a base...now's my chance at last.

Got to have some snow on a Snow trolls base right?!

Resin Rocks from eBay

 Still on my fantasy journey I bought some resin rocks from eBay. They will look great for the Battle of the Five Armies. These were pricey coming in at £25, but they are good and paint up very well. These are painted with GW granite with brown and green washes.

 These have been made by casting slate fragments, It's a good idea and the results are very effective. If I had the time I might even give it a go myself...but that is a pipe dream :).

4x4ft PVC Battle mat from Amazon.

 Treated myself to a 4ft by 4ft battle mat off Amazon. It is very nicely detailed and really does look good from a distance. My only niggle is that PVC has a slight sheen to it and does reflect harsh light. Still at £40 I still think it was a good buy. At this price you could collect a small collection for different battles. A snow one would be nice. Might need to do some more research...maybe a cloth mat that could be rolled up would be better.

 The pattern is heath land I think, I thought it works on a number of eras and scales from sci-fi to ECW.

Belated happy new Year!

VTOLs inbound

A sketch of my VTOL idea of three medium class and one heavy class.

 Slightly dis appointed last night as I went to add the liquid masking fluid to the last two models, only to discover it had gone really watery and unusable for what I need. I might try keeping it in the garage to cool down as it might have been the temperature that effected it.