Thoughts on artillery

I've been terribly busy with work so the painting total for May has been truly pathetic, just 20 figures finished for the entire month. Quite appalling. I might get a few more in before the end of the month, but maybe not.

 I like to get in a little painting session most mornings before I head off, just 15 or 20 minutes, you know, cup of tea, bit of quiet morning radio. You 

can't actually get a massive amount done but it adds up. Anyway, this past month I've been leaving an hour or so earlier, so no chance of getting anything done, and in the evenings I'm too knackered.

Thought though, can take less energy, and I've been thinking about artillery in ITGM.

This was prompted by something in Noel's blog  http://garagegamer.blogspot.com/  where he mentioned they were playing a game using smaller sized gun batteries. I've done this a few times, where normal battery sizes are reduced by one gun, and its usually resulted in an excellent game.

Austrian 6lb battery: This could go down to a 3 gun battery

So, thinking about this leads to possibly expanding some rule changes to go along with this reduction.

I've always resisted tinkering with ITGM, its always seemed a case of "its not broke, so why fix it?" and to a certain extent I still adhere to that. Whatever set of rules, whatever period, there are ALWAYS knock-on effects from even the tiniest rule change. As long as these are foreseen then all well and good, but they often aren't. However, I think I can say I'm probably as familar with ITGM as much as anyone so I reckon I can cover most eventualities.

If we reduce battery sizes (4 gun down to 3, 3 gun down to2 and 6 gun down to 4) then obviously this will reduce the effectiveness of artillery on the battlefield (and I can already hear the Russian players squealing in protest). This needn't be the case. To compensate for reducing battery sizes one simply increases the number of batteries. Whats the point? I hear you say? It means individual batteries are not so powerful, are not quite so immune to enemy action, and would need to be sited more carefully and protected by infantry, cavalry or terrain.

There are a few other rule changes concerning artillery I'd like to throw into the mix while we are about it.

Horse artilley fire twice in a turn if stationary.

Why?

I've never read anything that supports the notion that horse gunners employed a higher rate of fire. I HAVE heard that when PG originally wrote the rules he lacked horse batteries so made the few he did have more effective.

So I'd do away with that rule. With most horse bttys now being only 2 guns (except Russian and Prussian which would be 3) it would make them less devastating. At the moment there is a tendency in games not to have that many of them. I think I'd sooner see more small battys than the occasional larger one.

Russian horse guns: Not so fearsome if there were only 3 guns and they fired just the once per turn

(from J.Lander's collection)

The benefit of having 2 gun bttys means that their frontage is less than a 6 man cavalry squadron, so providing they are anchored on terrain, or other troops then they can't easily be charged. They are however quite vulnerable to counter-battery fire..but it would be the same for both sides. 
Another rule I would do away with is firing guns overhead (as opposed to howitzers) from the flat up onto hills and vice-versa. It didn't seem to happen much from what I can gather. No problem with firing over friendlies from hill to hill.  

French foot artillery: Connoissuer figures 

Lastly, there is the minus 4 incurred by guns firing cannister at single rank cavalry. Noel is convinced this is a misprint which has been followed by convention for years.

If one reduces the battery sizes, and does away with the minus 4 against single rank cavalry then it actually ends up about even (the guns might be a little ahead) when you look at the fire tables.

So, those would be my changes.

Incidental problems would be to do with the possibility of more formations with muliple bttys which would lead to more Grand bttys and convergence of fire. Therefore care would have to be employed in how you construct OB's. 

Take a "typical" game.

lets say currently you have 3 corps, each  of 10 btns and a cavalry regt each with a 4 gun btty. Plus a reserve btty of 4 guns. You also have a cavalry corps with a 3 gun horse btty    

A total of 19 artillery models. If one reduced the btty sizes this would go down to just 14 models.

This may not be desirable. How to solve this? Giving extra bttys to formations willy-nilly might not be the answer because one increases the ability for units to converge fire. One solution could be in this instance to fiddle about with the poundage, ie allow some or all of the guns to be 12 pdrs, or one could perhaps give the cavalry corps 2 x 2 gun bttys. Or one could give some of the infantry outfits additional 2 gun horse btty's to accompany their inherent cavalry, and introduce a another rule forbidding convergance fire between horse and foot from the same formation.

Just a few thoughts.

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Fast Horses

Front Rank (left) Elite collectors series (right) undercoated with 2 light sprays of tan, in this case from Army painter

Work has taken over lately so my painting output has plummeted, however, a few of you have expressed an interest in how I paint horses using oils. This is a very fast method for getting an effective look on brown horses without too much fuss. It doesn't work for grey horses, and black horses....well, I just paint them black.

 I did do some pics a while ago when I painted the Austrian dragoon regt but they were a bit pony....Pony?...oh dear, sometimes I'm just too funny...Pony...Geddit?...(For those of you not familar with rhyming slang...), anyway, these are from some more recent general figures.

So, the first pic shows 2 horses just after getting a couple of coats of tan paint. It really can be just about any brownish paint. Whatever you use for the base will ultimately dictate the predominate colour for the end horse. For most cavalry units I would do some in this pale tan, and some in a darker  brown to get a bit of variation. The method doesn't change at all irrespective of what you use as a base (as long as its some sort of brown).  Add in some blacks and greys and you get a mixed unit.

Once the basecoat is dry I block in the leather work and mane/tail in black. On  the Elite horse on the left I've left the mane and tail to be coloured later.

Now the main event, applying the oil paint: I use good old Windsor & Newton Burnt Umber. You can get it in any art shop.It needs to be thinned with white spirit to a thickish wash sort of consistency. You will just have to experiment with this. Then, just brush it on. It doesn't matter if it slops over the black bits you've just painted, just make sure you get a decent covering.

Then, you need to leave it a little while. Depends a little on air/room temperature, but 5 mins is probably about right. When you first apply the oil it will look wet and glossy. Quite quickly it will begin to dry a little, and start to turn to a more satin finish. This is the moment when you need to wipe it off. For this you need a dry clean soft cotton. I use an old Tee-shirt.

This needs to be done fairly gently, just lightly rub over the flanks of the horse. Use steady, LIGHT touches, removing the top coat of the oils. This will leave the undercoat still stained a little, and also leave heavier deposits in the folds and defined muscles on the horse. I usually leave the front and underside of the horse. This adds a bit of shadow.

I've wiped the Elite horse on the left, but not the right hand nag. See how there is still a bit of paint in the folds and on the underside.

Now I've wiped the Front Rank horse on the left. This looks a bit pale. If you are not happy with the result the solution is a very simple one; repaint with oils, just slap on another coat, and repeat the process.

So, thats it after a single coat and gentle wipe. Looks alright. This horse I want to have a pale mane and tail so I've now blocked those in with Vallejo ivory. 

The Ivory is now washed over with a burnt sienna wash.

Next, the black, reins, is dry brushed with Vallejo German Grey, which is pretty dark, and the tail/mane dry-brushed with ivory again.

The Front Rank horse after dry brushing on reins, mane and tail plus a further really light dry brush with a pale grey (Vallejo Neutral Grey). The brass is touched in with ..brass, and any white bits (blaze, socks) primed also in Neutral Grey before finishing in white. If you want to do eyes (and actually can paint horses eyes- most people, including me, can't) then fine, go ahead. 

One final point: Don't attempt to use a spirit based varnish within 24 hours. Water based types aren't a problem, but spirit gloss varnishes put on too soon can be a bit disastrous. Leave it a day and its fine.  

TA-Da!! the finished product with a general sat on it, a Front Rank gabion and some yellow flowers .

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MayDay Parade

All of the Austrians to date: 5 German line, 1 Hungarian, 1 Grenzer, 18 skirmishers, 1 battery, 36 Dragoons,

April was a busy month, so sorry for my lack of posts here. I'm afraid blogging is the first casualty in the time stakes when it comes to work, painting, home stuff etc. Sometimes something has to give.

Despite this my painting total for April was bloody impressive even if I say so myself, 130 pieces all told. A dragoon regt (counts as 72 pieces), another 48 of German line, 6 skirmishers, and 5 mounted generals. Not bad going at all. I didn't even really feel I was making a special effort. Most of the cavalry I got done while I was down in Devon at Easter, and the infantry were done over the odd week-end plus evening, likewise the skirms and general figures. Generals are always pretty easy as you can usually get an entire figure finished in an evening and still have time for everything else. 

Dragoon column led by a spiffy officer

The dragoons were not quite what I expected, when I ordered them, I'm sure I asked Mr Moreby for all the figures to be with sword down, but given that with the rest of the order I'd asked for max variation he gave me half sword down and half "waving sword about overhead, unlike any cavalryman, ever" pose...in the end I'm glad he did, I replaced the rather fat little curved sabre with a very straight (and probably overlong) flattened pin, which looks a bit more like a  pallasch, then, I cut a 'v' in the shoulder of the sword arm, which allowed me to bend the pewter arm round to something which resembled ' a point' , well, at least a bit more than the original. 

GMB standard as ever- annoyingly Elite don't make an ensign figure

The trumpeters got similar treatment to bend the trumpets round in front of the figure (I hate that blowing the trumpet over the shoulder look), and added cords out of 5 amp fuse wire twisted in the Dremel.

I'm happy with the net result, at first I wasn't, but I these lads are growing on me.

When I thought about doing this unit I had in mind a regt which uses the same figures at the WHC by Doug Mason. It's beautiful, some of his best work. To this end I took a few pics of what he'd done the last time I was there in order to get some references of what he did, so I could try and emulate it. Comparing the 2 now I'm not even close, ...to quote Samual Jackson in Pulp Fiction: "Not the same ballpark? It's not even the same sport"....(he wasn't talking specifically about wargames figures but you get my drift)

A few head twists and arm conversions, all sabres replaced with pins, wire trumpet cords added

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Devon interlude

A couple of weeks again I took advantage of a friend's offer to house sit her house on Dartmoor while she is abroad. A very pleasant few days, which including being able to paint up the first Austrian cavalry regt (pics coming soon!).

The highlight of the trip however was inviting myself down to Noel's (25mins away) to have a look at his Smolensk game which I knew was in progress. I had intended just to nip down and have a chat and a laugh for a couple of hours. As it happened, one of the Russian players was absent so I was recruited to play on the Russian left flank for the evening. Great fun. I was playing against Eric who had massed plenty of cuirraissier plus copius quantities of infantry, but had plenty of ground to cross and would be funneled into a cone,so I thought I might be able to make a fist of it. The extreme left was a bit iffy though, if the Russian cavalry didn't do the business, then I was stuffed. They duly didn't. Failing to win 3 melees in quick succesion the French were rampant. Finally the dice intervened, The French rallied and clattered into the Russians  who were caught at the halt..I outnumbered them but was subsequently 5 casualties down before the melee ...I think I had 37 die to roll to Eric's 28...I rolled 12 sixes!!....still only winning by 7...Eric obliged by only managing 6 more hits meaning I'd won by 1!...This held the French but meant he still had the numbers, as related in Noels' blog it wasn't to prove enough.  http://garagegamer.blogspot.com/

Lots more pics of Noel's cracking collection and table and a less garbled account of the game can be found there.

Russian infantry advance into no-man's land and dither about

Elsewhere I committed the most elementary wargames mistake. Years ago, I recall geting some good advice from Mike Ingham. He told me to always make sure that when you commit a formation, have a clear idea of where its going and what you want it to do when it gets there. Now that sounds pretty basic, but its incredible how many gamers just point their troops in a direction and wait to "see what happens"...check it out the next time you watch a game...anyway, I did exactly this in the Russian centre. I rolled forwards with about 8 btns with vague ideas of catching the French in the flank as they advanced onto Smolensk. However, I went on too narrow a frontage, against larger numbers. I only worked this out when I got there, huddling behind a rise beyond which were hordes of Frenchmen....Not a smart move.

Neil spots my error, and displays his concern

If I went "over the top" I would get mullahed, so...I dithered...shocking..they just milled about under desultory artillery fire. Not a great moment.

The situation on the Russian left: French cavalry being temporarily repelled while Russian infantry and artillery mass in favourable terrain

The infantry on the left were better off. Again, outnumbered, but I had a decent position. Lots of rought terrain to sit a battery behind and a narow gap in which to fight the French with a village to provide fire support. Eric duly advanced into the teeth of the Russians and took a bit of a pasting on the way, this resulted in a big old duff-up between 6 Russian units and 5 French. The dice were pretty average and I couldn't get the big hits against the French. The melee resulted in a vicious draw with both sides pushed back.

The game was well- set but that was all we had time for that evening.

All in all, a highly enjoyable night, and I must thank Noel for his hospitality, plus of course Eric, Neil, Andy and Dom for putting up with me and my "London Ways"....(whatever they are?). 

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Austrians going great guns

I'm making decent progress with the Austrians, even if I do say so myself. I've now finished 5 48 man btns, 12 skirmish figures plus this battery pictured. I've also done the guns and half the crew for a second battery.

On top of this I'm 2/3rds of the way through a sixth 48, which I'm hoping to complete this week/end, though it might be tight as I'm away for work for 3 days tomorrow.

Anyway,its decent progress given my 2 year timeframe for finishing this stage (this stage? Gulp!) of the Austrian army, puts me about a quarter of the way through the infantry which I reckon is pretty damm good.  

Most importantly, the psychological aspect is fine too, I'm not remotely bored with painting white infantry, quite the opposite, and on the whole my technique is improving both in terms of quality and speed which is really encouraging. I even now look foward to starting yet another 48.

However, I'm not going to do that, once these 6 btns are complete (tonight!) I will start on some cavalry,probably a dragoon regt in white. I expect this to take a little while, I will replace the swords with pins and have to convert a standard bearer as Elite don't make one (havn't worked that one out yet, but it can't be too tricky). I'll also do a "how to" on the horses as I go.

These guns are straightforwards to do. I went for a speed paint on the gunners which were a doddle. An evening's work for 8 (no muskets, no backpacks!).

I sprayed them with a desert tan primer, then painted the black plus grey highlights, washed the tan coats in burnt umber oils, did the flesh, washed and highlighted, facings in sienna finished in red. Grey/white belts and breeches which are then gone over in white. A few yellow and gold touches, and they are done.

The figures are half and half Elite and Connoissuer. I had about 30 gunners from Connoissuer sitting in "the Box" so I've just added extra Elite figures to bulk them out. I would have done seperate batteries but the pose mix of the Connoissuer stuff I had was a bit uneven so I decided to mix them. I think they look just fine with a mix any way. I have enough figures for about 4 x 4 gun batteries so they will become the 6Lber crews then the 12lbers will get all Elite crews. That is a little down the line though, I'll get these 6lb units done before worrying about that.

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bits and pieces on an idle saturday

Massed French Cavalry: 3 Cuiraissier regts, 1 Carabinier, 2 Polish Lancer, 1 Polish Cuirassier, the Zastrows, Westphalian Guard Du Corps, 3 chassuer regts all supported by 4 Horse batteries

- All from mine and John Lander's collections.   

Been a busy week, for a multiplicity of reasons, work plus I was away for a long weekend. I only mention this because the proposed house move (its been proposed for at least 10 years) may actually be taking shape. While I was away we found a property which sort of ticks all the boxes (there are a lot of them to tick). However, amidst all the discussion of domestic arrangements there was only one thing I was actually focusing on, which was the early comment made by my missus, while looking at the 2 outbuildings, which was "Of course, you'd better have the bigger one".....

We'll see...Long way to go yet, I don't even know for sure if the owner wishes to sell (its unoccupied).

Meanwhile, the Hungarians are getting a bit of attention, might finish them this weekend. Not mad keen on how they have turned out, no idea why, it might just be the figures.

Next up will be another helmeted unit, followed by artillery, which will give me a small corps of sorts, 6 btns, skirmishers and artillery. Enough to tack on to some Prussians or Russians for a game.

Whilst at John's the other week we did talk about expanding my Austrians....via a purchase...watch this space.

So for a diversion; a few pics of some French cavalry, a big old Cavalry Corps, (well, more like 2 really) with 7 armoured regts, 2 lancer, 3 light and 12 guns.

A good mix: Back rank (yellow facings) Connoissuer figures. Middle rank(red facings) Old Glory, Willie figures officer and trumpeter (a FANTASTIC figure) and Foremost. Front rank (blurry) Old Glory,and Foremost. 

Not  a bad turn out. John and I have a decent amount of French heavy cavalry apart from dragoons of which we only have 2 - there are a couple more lancer regts knocking around, plus several light regts of French and allies. Believe it or not, I would actually like at least 1 more French Cuirassier regt, if for no other reason than  because 3 is such a rubbish number. One day.

2 of the French armoured regts, both painted by the late Ian Stables

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And now for something completely different

The View from the Howdah

Something for a bit of a change, previously unseen on this blog; Ancients!

I went to see John a couple of weeks ago and gave him a small gift of a big piece of bunny-fur for him to experiment with. While it was rolled out on his table and we were discussing it's possibilities we thought it looked just right even unpainted for trying out his latest mini-project (mini by John's standards) of Romans and Carthaginians in 54mm.

He has had the Carthaginians for a while but recently took some time out from his world of 1/35th WWII in order to produce some Roman opponents. He reckons it took him about 3 months for a DBA army. Here are some of the results

The Battle opens: Cavalry skirmish on the flank. Warbands advance in the centre 

Most of the figures are from HaT models, with a few conversions, notably the Elephants and the cavalry, spears are all replaced by steel versions. All these figures are John's work, 54mm (naturally) and very fine they are too, he thinks the whole lot might have cost about £50...cheaper than 25mm metals.

We played the game effectively on a 9' b 5' which gave ample room.

The lines close: Legionaries duke it out with spearmen and auxilaries

While Ancients is a world I enjoy visiting, I wouldn't want to live there, if you know what I mean.

I've had plenty of ancient armies over the years but its not really my thing deep down. Having said that, I really enjoy simple Ancients games like DBA. No frills, quick, just pure tactics.

The game we played was a great example, a little hesitency on my part almost lost me the game, and John capitalised. We eventually closed, and he managed to destroy 4 of my elements to my 2.This meant a win for Carthage. We decided to play out the remainder of the turn. There were only 2 combats remaining. I would have to win and destroy the enemy in both of them in order to gain a draw. This I duly did! Thats my kind of game, down to the last throw of the dice. Its what wargames should be about.

The final turn: sticky time for the Romans

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