AWI - Rebels and Patriots - Game Markers

 Welcome fellow Grognards and Young Guard!  

Today we make a brief step away from a Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far Far Away and jump back to AWI or Revolutionary War gaming!

As a fan of the Osprey Daniel Mersey titles, I decided to make my own set of game markers for Rebels and Patriots.  They are loosely based on the markers used for Dragon Rampant that can be commercially purchased.

The difference in my markers is that I placed the unit status on one side and the effect on the opposite side for quick reference.

If you followed by Fistful of Lead marker creation post, these were made in similar fashion.  I had to lay out the chips on a word document as a table and then printed them out.  These paper markers were glued to square wooden chips from Hobby Lobby.  Instead of applying Mod Podge to these, I chose to use clear gloss spray paint.  This is much faster and works just as well.

Hope you enjoyed this little diversion...so get your chits together and GAME ON!

PAINTED MINIATURES SCOREBOARD:

2021 Painted Miniatures: 169

2022 Painted Miniatures: 215

AWI 54mm French and British Artillery

 Good Day fellow Grognards and Young Guard!

We are quickly approaching the anniversary of the the D-Day invasion.  I haven't dusted off my WWII miniatures in some time.  Years ago, it was a ritual for the gaming crew to meet on the weekend closest to the anniversary and run an invasion related game.  Unfortunately, it has been some time since that has occurred.  Definitely looking to renew that tradition.

Until then, I offer you some further AWI 54mm project work focused on Artillery.  Below, are some images of both a French and British Artillery teams.  The majority of the teams are BMC/ Americana figures, including the artillery pieces.  I did substitute officers from the Armies in Plastics line.

First up....54mm AWI French Artillery.

Secondly, the AWI 54mm British Artillery.

PAINTED MINIATURES SCORECARD:

2021 Painted Miniatures: 169

2022 Painted Miniatures: 86

Next up...a change of pace.  No, I haven't finished painting all of my 54mm AWI.  I still have a unit of Woodland Indians, a Militia Cavalry Regiment and a Militia Regiment to paint at a minimum.  Taking a breather, I'll be sharing some of my efforts focused on a game from Wiley Games, called Galactic Heroes; part of the Fistful of Lead series.

So until next time, wait to the close and give them the grapeshot!   GAME ON!!!

AWI 54mm French Grenadiers

Welcome back fellow Grognards and Young Guard!

I hope you are enjoying this series on my 54mm AWI project.  This year, I have dug deep to get this thing in gear and build forces for the major antagonists and their allies.  I must admit, there is still a gap in my Hessian forces.  As Bono said, 'I still haven't found what I'm looking for'.  Sooner or later, I will find the Hessian Grenadiers that will be the 'must have'.  Until then, enjoy the French Grenadiers below.  

All models are BMC/ Americana models with the exception of the standards and the officer.  Those are from the Armies in Plastic range.  As you might have guessed, due the similarities in styles of uniforms of the periods, these miniatures often just need a different paint job to reflect their given country.  Again, a shout out goes to Warflag.com for the free banners, resized from 28mm to 54mm.

The Grenadier below are from Bourbonnois Regiment.

PAINTED MINIATURES SCORECARD:

2021 Painted Miniatures: 169

2022 Painted Miniatures: 72

Next on deck, I'll be showcasing units of both AWI 54mm French and British Artillery.

Keep sharp, steady arms and GAME ON!!!

AWI 54 mm French Line Infantry Regiments

 Welcome fellow Grognards and Young Guard!

As promised, today's blog will be covering the 54mm AWI French Line Infantry Regiments I recently completed.  It was a very long time coming, but before and after Siege of Augusta 2022, I was able to focus efforts to knock them out.  All figures below are from Armies in Plastic and the banners are from Warflag.com, resized from 28mm to 54mm.

The units below all served in the Colonies during during the American Revolution.

First up, the Soissonois Infantry Regiment.

Next, the Saintonge Line Infantry Regiment.

PAINTED MINIATURES SCORECARD:

2021 Painted Miniatures: 169

2022 Painted Miniatures:  60

Next up...AWI 54mm French Grenadiers!

Until Next Time...Fix Bayonets!  and GAME ON!!

AWI 54mm Loyalist Infantry - Butler's and Queen's Rangers

Cheers Fellow Grognards and Young Guard!

It's time for another installment of 'Of Dice and Army Men'! Today I will be posting some new additions to my 54mm AWI armies.  I was able to dig in and finally get to the regiments I had set aside for Butler's Rangers and the Queen's Rangers.  Dressed in green, black and white, they surely make for sharp looking regiments.

These two regiments are loyalist, raised in the colonies.  Many of the officers had experience fighting in the French and Indian War.  Osprey has some excellent material written on the Loyalist forces and their origins in the colonies.  I learned of some Pennsylvania Loyalist regiments founded close to where I grew up.  Who knew?

Just for note, I want to give a shout out to www.warflags.com.  All of the regiment flags used on my AWI units are from their free library.  Great stuff to be found there.  I highly recommend checking them out.  All flags are set for 28mm, so I just sized them up to 54mm.  I think they look great!  All figures are from Armies in Plastic.  The standard bearers were conversions from a rifleman loading a rifle and using his ramrod.

Butler's Rangers:

 Queen's Rangers:

PAINTED MODELS SCORECARD:

2021 Painted Models: 169

2022 Painted Models: 34

Until Next Time...Keep your musket at the ready and GAME ON!

54mm AWI Loyalist Cavalry - Tarleton's Legion

 Good Day Grognards and Young Guard!

Last year I was delighted to find a range of 54mm AWI models that exhibited a high level of detail.  In my humble opinion, they are second to none.  The company is LOD Enterprises.  A hair larger than the Armies in Plastic and BMC/ Americana models that dominate my collection, it is not significant enough to keep from using them.  They match well against the size of the AIP Cavalry already in my collection.

I can't wait to get these models on the table.  There was a small issue with my purchase.  One of the mounted troopers was missing a sword scabbard, so the guys at LOD made it right and sent me an entirely new model to fill my ranks!  Shame GW doesn't give customer service like that any more!

I promised I'd send LOD some pics of the finished troops on the wargame table, but due to my game being derailed by snow at SOA 2022 in January, they have yet to get to the table for gaming.  I will make good on my promise to the good folks at LOD!

In the meantime, here are some pics of the troops I staged.  As you can see, they are based on Tarleton's Legion. They are Loyalist troops raised in the colonies to fight for the crown!

PAINTED MODELS SCORECARD:

2021 Painted Models: 169

2022 Painted Models: 10

(I promise, there are many more to come!)

Until next time, keep your powder dry and your saber sharpened!  CHARGE and GAME ON!!!!

Terrain on a Budget 2

 Welcome back Fellow Grognards and Young Guard!

Today's post will be a quick one, showing off a little gem I found on the shelves of a Dollar Tree last year.  Only this year, working up to my 54mm AWI game for Siege of Augusta, was I able to finish this project (literally the night before the convention started in my hotel room).

If you haven't been in a Dollar Tree, you should honestly stop in from time to time. I have stumbled across items that can be repurposed for wargaming.  Often around Christmas or Halloween, the have items that make good wargaming terrain with a little TLC.

This time, I spotted a bag of 54mm Cowboys and Indians. It came with a wagon and a horse, some cowboys and some Indians as well as a campfire and a cooking pot and hanger.

Having hot glued the campfire and the post legs to some thick cardboard, I then base coated the assembly. A short time later, after some quick paint work, I flocked the base and....TA DAA!  Campfire for my AWI camps.

PAINTING SCOREBOARD:

2021 Painted Models: 169

2022 Pained Models:  4

Until Next Time...Keep the campfires burning...and GAME ON!

54mm AWI Continental Light Dragoons

 Greetings Grognards and welcome to another installation of 'Of Dice and Army Men'!

It has been some time since my last post, so I do apologize.  Much to do on the home front these days, but finally had a chance to make good on my original promise of getting those 54mm AWI Continental Light Dragoons painted and ready for the table.

So, without further delay, I'll get stuck in....

All of the models (6 for this unit, however 5 come to each AiP box set) again are from the Armies in Plastic line of 54mm soldiers.  Being made of soft plastic, they do present some challenges.  Just as with my British Light Dragoons; sabers, pistols and rifles were going to present an issue for paint adhering even if made specifically for plastic.

All figures were first washed with warm soapy water and left to air dry.  This was to remove oil and mold release agents.  First, using a modeling knife (carefully...) I trimmed away the portions of the tricorne hats to give them more of the dragoon helmet look.  Refer back to my article on the 54mm AWI British Light Dragoons for full details. Once again some pipe cleaner cuttings were used to make the whispy horse hair trails/ tassles/ 'thingees'...(with the later probably being the more technical term).

The sabers, pistol and rifle were all given a good old coating of mod podge.  This would help allow them to flex but still hold paint.  Next was a good old base coat in gray with the Rustoleum plastic primer.

After drying, I selected the first victim, er...volunteer from the squad to be my test paint.  I like to select one model to test out the paint scheme before I go crazy over the rest of the troops, only to hate it and then have to start all over again.  Always good to avoid that nonsense whenever possible.

I started with the officer of the troop and went for the look of the American 3rd Light Continental Dragoons.  Their jackets would be white with blue trim.  The bugler would be a reverse of this color pattern.  I painted the officer all of the way through and once done, went back over the blue with a more royal blue.  I am very pleased with the outcome.

Next was the bugler.  Painting him all the way through, I was glad I had gone with the more royal blue as it really popped for this jacket, making him standout and it looked more historically correct.  

After that I powered through the remainder of the troops.  The next day, I was able to gently brush on stain to get the detail wash.  The temperature around here was changing to colder weather, so they had to dry two days in the garage before hitting them with a good old matte coat of spray to knock down the shine.

Overall, I really like these guys and can't wait to get them on the table.  I'm thinking about taking them to Siege of Augusta in January 2022 (check the link on my blog webpage view) for some Rebels and Patriots games.  Also, may run them with a modified Firepower rules from Perry Miniatures.  I like the spectacle of the large figures at a convention.  I run 54mm Civil War as well and may drag them along, but that's another story...

Hope you enjoyed the latest, so that checks off another army from my list.  Updated scorecard below.  Not quite getting to all of the goals so far, as the pile of unpainted has grown..no multiplied exponentially is more like it.  Somehow I found myself going back to old school 3rd Edition Warhammer 40k.  There is now a Chaos Night Lords army on the table, built and waiting to be primed.  All figures were ebay rescues.   So now the big question is do I finish the Night Lords or move back to finish up the elves I have rescued for Dragon Rampant?  We'll just have to see.  So until next time...

Keep your saber sharp, your powder dry and your pistol at the ready.   GAME ON!!!

Next...hmmm...let me know what you would like to see next...Elves or Night Lords?

2021 Painted Miniatures Scorecard

Unpainted:  Classified

Painted:  169