My Old Reference Scrap Book

I also found this old thing while packing today, my old reference scrap book. This was me coming of age in the modern world and realising the potential of the internet. 

We take the internet for granted now but back in 2003 it was all new to me and I wasted no time to gathering up pictures and details for projects. Having them all in one place was very handy and I must have used all these pictures at one time or another. 

 

My First Ever Historical Rules

Packing up some shelves today and I came across this old chestnut, my first ever historical wargames rules.

I played this game around 1883/4 I think with my first historical figures, 15mm Minifigs. Being dyslexic I struggled even more so back then than now, so came to an arrangement with my school friend. I gave him the rules to learn, while I painted the armies. The result was three very memorable games. Being a novice I remember having a whole regiment armed with shot guns... I think I must have got confused as I have 18 figures armed with shot guns. These I know now were obviously meant to be Confederate dismounted cavalry in the basic Minifig sculpts.

Proper old school with tables and tables of factors and percentages. I think when I get set up in my new house I might try to give them a go just for old times sake.

I would have bought these rules from the ‘Guard Room’ in Dunstable in the early Eighties.

It’s weird to think of a time before mobile phones and computers but these rules are a testament to those simple days. They have the look of a church magazine with their hand typed layout and stabled blue cover. 

I put some of these pictures on to a ACW Facebook group and the response was surprising. There were loads of players who remember this game, most of which owned a copy. One guy said they had played a game last week and was still enjoying it. Once I repaint my confederate forces I’m going to give these old rules another spin.

 My rules of choice at the moment are Bonny Blue Flag and there is more a pasting similarity between the two systems. Both rules use a list of minuses and pluses to reach a number that will give a casualty score. Although it has to be said the lists in Circa 1863 are three times as long. My take on Circa 1863 now is that it is really detailed, with loads of options  that can effect the result. A slower game to play, but one aimed at the real aficionado of the era. A player maybe, who reviles in all the nuances of the period, getting your regiment to lie down to reduce casualties etc. 

 

Sash and Sabre Skirmishers 28mm

I added these close ups and a shot of the entire pack, lovely range of figures!

 

Well after I painted up some advancing Sash and Sabre infantry I got off eBay, I was so impressed I ordered another pack from Old Glory UK. Wow! These figures have so much character and every one is a different pose in a pack of forty. Price wise they were very reasonable being a pound a figure with a five pound postage charge added to that. 

The figures themselves are very well sculpted and tend to lean to the small size. Height wise they are great but their heads can look small compared to other makes. However, they do mix in nicely and the character of these guys outweighs any worries about size.

This figure blew me away... I love him! An officer advancing under fire, crouching down with his Army Colt at the ready. Beautiful!

For size, here is one next to a Foundry Confederate. The two figures compliment each other very well height wise. You can see from this guy what a great character has been captured in the sculpting. Although they are skirmishers, all these Union troops come in full kit including a backpack.

These forty skirmishers will be mounted on 40mm round bases and be spread out four figures to a regiment. I may need more but these guys are a great start.

Federal Troops 28mm

To add some more variety to the Sash and Sabre figures I added some 1st Corps and Foundry sculpts. Hopefully these extra poses with make the unit a little more disorganised and energetic. Some of the 1st Corps figures have small heads and these tie in nicely with the finely detailed Sash and Sabre figures.’ At the double quick boys!‘

There’s some lovely characters in the Sash and Sabre figures, I love this old looking guy with glasses.

I used the Perry standards that come with the plastic skirmishers set as they match the size of the others from GMB. I will tatter this up with holes and tears later to make it a bit more battle worn.

It’s a long road to Richmond! The fresh troops lumber off towards Richmond, all of them trying to get as much fresh air as they can to wash the fug of Strong tone dip out their heads.

 I’m trying a slightly new technique with these guys, just one flesh tone before the dip. Once the varnish is dry I will go back and just highlight it again with the same colour. Hopefully with the flesh tone looking good your eye won’t notice the simple nature of the rest of the painting. 

Time has pasted... and I have now had time to highlight the flesh and tidy up a few missed things like shirt cuffs. I was going to leave the stones on the bases in their natural colours but they look so much better painted grey with washes of brown and green.

The Irish Brigade 28mm

Well, they are done and based today and it was nice to try out the new skirmisher bases. Bonny Blue Flag normally has three skirmishers per regiment, based on single bases. However, this is not great for storage so I thought I would try them on 40mm bases in pairs. It’s the old comrade in arms technique with one guy loading while the other fires. I tried to get this look with the bases. Also I like the fact that I have another figure per unit.

The skirmishers can cover the regiment as it gets to work knocking down the rail fence.

In Bonnie Blue Flag skirmishers sit behind the main formation until deployed, then they are placed out front to form a screen. I chose round bases so they can be angled 360 degrees. This will look good when covering the flanks of regiments.

I was so taken with the Sash and Sabre miniatures that I ordered a unit of skirmishers from them too. This will give me a unit of 40 figures to split up into very nice looking mini dioramas. The figures used in this regiment are mainly Redoubt Enterprises sack coat skirmishing, with Steve Barber Irish heads.