Of Dice and Army Men

Sunday, June 5, 2022

Fistful of Lead, Galactic Heroes - Star Wars

Good Day fellow Grognards and Young Guard!

Today we break from the 54mm AWI project and jump right in to Fisful of Lead, Galactic Heroes - Star Wars. If you aren't familiar with the Fistful of Lead series games by Wiley Games, I highly recommend you check out their website (see my favorites on this blog) as well as the numerous YouTube videos they have published demonstrating their games or just BS'ing with the Baron (Jaye Wiley) and his crew.

Fistful of Lead is a small skirmish game in general, with individual stats for each model. Those who enjoy Necromunda or Mordheim should enjoy Fistful of Lead. A core rulebook exists that covers basically and time period or genre you wish to game. Individual, more in depth books have been written to either supplement or flesh out the genre. Galactic Heroes is one of those stand alone books. Reading through it, you will quickly see it is excellent for gaming battles in Star Wars, Star Trek, Flash Gordon, and the like.

Today, I present some scoundrels or rebels to use in your games. Some are 3D prints acquired from ebay or Etsy sellers while other are repurposed models from games like Heroclix and Wizards of the Coast Star Wars. Both of the later had some serious scale creep issues with their figures, so many examples fit well into the 32mm or Star Wars Legion figure scale.

With the exception of the female leader below, all other models were repaints/ rebases from WOC Star Wars. I cut them from their bases, touched up paint jobs and added new basing and flocking.

Note, the female leader is actually a Herolcix model of Psylocke. Including removing her from her old base, cutting off the sword blade that was in her left hand, she was rebased and received a bolt pistol and holster from an old Beakie nose GW Space Marine bits piles. I cut off the bolter from another holster and glued the holster to her other hip, making her a two gun threat. A laspistol or blaster was then glued to her right hand. The laspistol was from an older Rogue Trader area pile of Imperial Guard weapons.

Next up is a mash-up of WOC Star Wars Gamorrean Guards with Rifles and a 3D print purchased online of a Gamorrean in some old Imperial armor and carrying a heavy weapon for some added firepower. Just the kind of brutes needed when walking the sandy streets of Mos Eisley.

Again, the scale creep of the WOC Star Wars figures makes them ideal for Star Wars Legion size (32mm) miniatures.

Next but not lastly, for this installment, I was able to find two Imperial Gunners to add to the forces. The gunners are again way out of scale for the WOC Star Wars figures, but make great 32mm Legion scale miniatures. With only rebasing needed, they fit right in.

Lastly, I'd like to finish up with General Secura! She needed a bit of touch up as her paint job from the shop was a little less than desirable. Once fixed, a simple rebasing was all that was needed. I did apply a black wash to her and attempted to heat and straighten her lightsaber. I'll have to give that another go, but her she is in all her glory!

PAINTED MINIATURES SCORECARD:

2021 Painted Miniatures: 169

2022 Painted Miniatures: 97

Next up...we are headed to the Dark Side, and will be taking a look at some Shoretroopers for Galatic Heroes!

Until next time, May the Force Be With You! GAME ON!

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!