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 Continental and French Officers

 Greetings Fellow Grognard and Young Guard!

Today's post is about officers!  Without good leadership, an army is just a rabble!

Below I have for you two officers that have joined the ranks of my 54mm AWI troops.

The first is a conversion of a BMC/ Americana figure of Lafeyette.  I cut off Lafeyette's head and replaced it with the head from an Army in Plastic model I had in the extras bin.  I pinned the head and body together and secured with glue.  The conversion was fairly easy.  Painted and ready for action,  I present some pictures below.

Next up is a French Officer.  The model is a BMC/ Americana Lord Cornwallis model.  No conversion work, just a simple alternate paint scheme for the French army.

PAINTED MODEL SCORECARD:

2021 Painted Models: 169

2022 Painted Models: 36

Next Up:  AWI 54mm French Grenadiers!

Until then...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!!!!

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

54mm AWI British Light Dragoons

Greetings fellow Grognards!  Presented for your enjoyment, another installment of Of Dice and Army Men!  (insert Twilight Zone music here).  As promised, this week I bring to you the completed AWI 54mm British Light Dragoons!

To be quite honest, I was in a painting funk.  Seeing these unpainted figures on the shelf was unsettling.  I really wanted to paint them, but just lacked the energy to 'git 'er done'.  These troopers are again from the Armies in Plastics line and I have wanted to add them to the army for a LONG time.  I had thought seriously about cutting the heads off some of my extra Prussian BMC/ Americana troops, head swapping them and then doing some Dremel work to get the helmet shape I needed for the Dragoons.  Maybe it was the conversion work that had me on pause.  Then it hit me; (insert flash and clap of thunder) being soft plastic, I noticed I could actually shape the tricorn hats with which they wore into the Dragoon helmets!

I usually like to start with one figure as my prototype and convert and paint them all the way to the pre-wash stage.  I work out the bugs and hopefully end up with something I can live with.  Well, after converting the first Dragoon and painting him out, I was quite pleased.  Now the fires were stoked!

I pressed on converting the head gear on the remainder and gluing on some fuzzy pipe cleaner to simulate the helmet fur/ tassels/ thingies....this technique seems to be paying off as I used it also on my Continental Light Infantry!  See previous post for more details.

Looks good to me, but you be the judge.  Only one hang-up issue was the sabers.  I knew they were going to be trouble in soft plastic due to the flexibility.  The base coat, although made to adhere to plastic, just didn't take.  I thought about cutting them off and cutting plasticard to shape of the blades and inserting them in the hilts, however, I thought I'd give the Mod Podge coating trick a try.  I painted on mod podge matte on the bare saber blades, let dry and then painted onto the mod podge.  So far so good.  There are articles about this method on the net.  Google and enjoy!

In Patriots and Rebels, this unit can be used as Light Cavalry or Mounted Skirmishers.  I have listed them below for both for reference.  The points work out the same as shown below, but the units due have some unique options and skills inherent with the troop types.  The Light Cavalry option gives them an option for Evade or Counterattack.  Mounted Skirmishers offers Evade only but you can upgrade to Sharpshooters for 4pts or Good Shooters for 2pts.

Light Cavalry (6 trooper unit)  4pts.

    Aggressive 1 pt.

or

Mounted Skirmishers (6 troopers)  2 pts.

    Mounted  2 pts.

    Aggressive  1 pt.

British Light Dragoons

There you have it, another one bites the dust! 

Until next time...GAME ON!

2021 Painted Miniatures Scoreboard:

Unpainted: 1620 (note: slight increase as I ran afoul of ebay treasures, again!)

Painted: 162

NEXT UP:  54mm AWI Continental Light Cavalry