Private McBain's Bairn

Scotland's regiments have a long and proud history, although actually I should say 'regiment', as we've only got one now, formed from the merger of Scotland's previously remaining six regular and two territorial regiments in 2006 (see footnote).

Edinburgh Castle from the Grassmarket on a braw day. I can see my house from up there you know.

Anyway, one of the many great things about living in Edinburgh (apart from it also being in Scotland) is that there is a lot of military (and other) history to experience, particularly if you make a visit to Edinburgh Castle, which is easy to do on a regular basis if you are member of Historic Scotland (£5 a month for family membership - go to Edinburgh Castle twice in a year and it pays for itself).  

Edinburgh Castle on another braw day.  My house obscured by extinct volcano and castle.

However, the point of all this tourist board stuff is that Edinburgh Castle has some fine regimental museums that are well worth a visit including one for the Royal Scots.  There is a walk-through exhibition there and, currently reading about the War of the Spanish Succession, the following caught my eye (click to enlarge).

Mind you, saves on day-care costs. 

This is a depiction of a private soldier of the Royal Scots, being Orkney's Regiment, standing over a fallen frenchman at the battle of Malpaquet in 1709, all of which you get to see from quite close up.  The quality and arrangement of the uniform and equipment are fascinating (if a bit dusty) and of course I was interested in the uniform details because (should the figures I ordered ever turn up) I will be painting up a couple of regiments of redcoats to start with.  The point being that according to Charles S Grant's book The Armies and Uniforms of Marlborough's Wars (Vol 1) facings for this regiment were originally white but changed to blue at some point, evidently before Malpaquet, as shown here.

But if you look closely there is something else going on here, for this is the eponymous Pvt McBain and just before the battle, McBain's wife, who was with him on campaign, "handed over their three-week old baby son to him saying she would follow the Colours no more.  Having nowhere else to put him, McBain placed the baby in his knapsack where he remained, and survived throughout the battle."

Now that's what you call a braw bairn.

Footnote
Battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland
1 SCOTS The Royal Scots Borderers (itself an amalgamation of the Royal Scots and Kings Own Scottish Borderers)
2 SCOTS The Royal Highland Fusileers
3 SCOTS The Black Watch
4 SCOTS The Highlanders (Seaforths, Gordons and Camerons)
5 SCOTS The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
6 SCOTS 52nd Lowland Regt (TA)
7 SCOTS 51st Highland Volunteers (TA)

DBA Camp

Just a few shots of a camp I made originally for DBA 1.0, back in the day.  It's constructed of carved polystyrene on a cardboard base with sharpened matches placed around it as a palisade.

The figures inside are 15mm Chariot (now Magister Militum) figures and these ones are their hoplites (HOG002).

And here are some Phrygian auxilia cautiously peering over the palisade waiting for Thracians (or similiar) to attack.

Lydians vs Thracians - A Solo DBA Game

Here is a report of a solo DBA game I managed to fit in during the festive season.  The idea was to try to use the solo rules mechanisms (for DBA v2.2) from the Fanaticus Form (which apparently are a combination of the "Random Terrain Placement" mechanisms of John Meunier and  "De Bellis Solitarius" by Chad la Mons).

Note that as I'm waiting for DBA v3.0 to come out I am still using v2.0, although as it's only me it makes no odds (and I've still got my DBA v1.0 on the shelf, neatly covered in brown paper). Anyway, here we go.  Basically this was a face off between some Thracians (I/48) at the top of the board and Lydians (I/50) at the bottom.

The rules are divided into three main elements, comprising placement of terrain, initial deployment and then the 'tactical engine' covering the actual game play.  For the latter, die throws determine the range of tactical options that the non-player army can deploy in any particular move, modified by how the battle is going, losses, etc.

Intial deployment

Move 1

Move 2

Move 3

Move 4

As you can see, on the one hand there is the inexorable and disciplined advance of the Thracians, contrasting markedly with the ragged and chaotic attempts at redoployment by the Lydians, not assisted in the least by persistently low PIP scores.

Move 5

Move 6

An ominous development for the Lydians in Move 6.  The Thracian infantry (with their general in the centre) take up a defensive position on the (non-paltry) river bank as their light horse rush across the river (after throwing a 6 for a 'high aggression' stance) to attack the Lydian light horse and hoplites oposite them, before they have had a chance to form up properly. 

Move 7

Close up of light horse action on the right.

 

Move 8

Thracian aggression pays off and the Lydians lose one element of Paphlagonian light horse and have one element recoil.

Move 9

However, Thracian success is short-lived as the Lydian light horse moves back into the line and destroys the opposing light horse whilst the Lydian hoplites push back the Thracians to their front, who retreat back across the river.

Move 10

Move 10

The Lydians are annoyed now and, having formed up, storm en masse across the river to attack the waiting Thracians.  Not the best idea possible but at least a conclusion was quickly reached...

Move 11

Finally, the Lydian knights and hoplites make contact!  However, the Lydian general (me) should not have underestimated the difficulties of attacking a defended river bank.

Move 12

The attack across the river has mixed results, by which I mean does not go well for the Lydians.  On the right the Thracian light horse is forced to recoil and flee by the Lydian hoplites but in the centre there is disaster.  Due to appalling die throws (and tactical stupidity on my part) the Lydian knights in the centre are pushed back by the Thracian auxilia and in the very centre the Lydian general's element is destroyed.  Game over.

I'm sure there was General element in the middle there a moment ago.

Not a pretty sight.  However, at least it was a chance to get some armies out of the red tool box (all Chariot Figures, at the time of writing marketed by Magister Militum) and to try out my recently painted DBA board and new river sections as well as the Solo DBA rules. Overall I think they worked well, although there is still an element of judgement in deciding what to do when presented with various tactical options.  Worth another bash though which I will report on in due course.

It'll all end in tears.

Armourfast T34/76

I'll confess that I don't paint as much as I should and certainly I haven't painted any armour for a very long time.  However, this week I finished a couple of Arnourfast T35/76 that were assembled last summer.  This was mainly an exercise in weathering techniques and to try out a few ideas I'd seen discussed on the internet.

The main colour is acrylic Tamyia "J.A.Green" (XF-13).  Over this I added various rust spots and lines around hinges and other areas I thought might go a bit rusty, for example around the exhausts.  Tracks were painted black and then with a metalic gun metal/steel colour (a humbrol enamel).  I then gave the tracks a thin wash of rust colour, Revell acrylic "Reddish Brown" (37).

The whole model was then given a black wash and dry brushed with acrylic Tamiya "Dark Yellow" (XF-60) to pick out edges and any raised details (XF-60 happens to be the recommended base colour for german tanks).  Numbers were added by hand (might try to find decals next time).  Then came the interesting bit - adding the mud.  For this I used Revell acylic "Dark Earth" (82) thinned down, which was washed over the wheels and mudguards a few times

I then loaded up a stiff brush - one of the cheap nylon ones for children you get from IKEA and, using my thumb, sort of flicked the thinned paint in various places to simulate mud that had been thrown up onto the tank.  I may have overdone this a bit but it was fun.  The last thing was to add some more black wash around the exhausts.

Overall, they have turned out OK although I think that a little more contrast would be good.  Next time I'll make the black wash a bit thicker and add more rust spots - the detail isn't that deep on these models so more contrast between dark wash and lighter highlights will be required.  Also, I will add a bit more detail, hawsers, tarpaulins and whatnot and might even paint on some suitably stirring slogans - I did try it this time but couldn't paint them small enough so that the words would fit.

Armies and Uniforms of the WSS (Vol 2)

As with all my various wargame projects, which as you may have noticed always have incredibly long and overlapping timescales, I am laying the ground by buying books, reading widely, and speculating imaginatively what it would be like to paint and then wargame with such and such an army, before moving egregiously on to the next period. I’ll run out of periods soon.

However, it is fun to collect good books; and we should be thankful that there continues to be a growing interest in wargaming with many excellent wargaming books (and rule sets) constantly being produced. Below is my latest purchase, which was an obvious addition after recently buying Vol 1 from the excellent Caliver Books (see earlier post below).

Right lads!  Don't fire until you see the whites of their....er....cravats?

If you only have the first volume I would heartily recommend getting this book as well. Not only has it twice as many plates as the previous book, but it also describes the war in more detail and rounds out the narrative with more information on actions in Spain and Italy (including the involvement of the Papal states).

The main thing though is that it gives a lot of detail on Spanish armies (of both sides) as well as the armies of Portugal, Savoy/Piedmont plus additional plates covering British and French uniforms that apparently couldn’t be fitted into the first book. There are also some details of the main battles in Spain and Italy and of course the well known engagements in the Low Countries.

This book therefore is an essential purchase for me because although my intention is, for the first time, to build an army of redcoats (and supporting Dutch) to (one day) face Geoff’s (Roundway) French, I think it will be interesting to build up a Spanish army, as they were an effective fighting force, often deployed with French allies, sported some colourful uniforms and also had the opportunity to fight over some pleasant Iberian terrain. Which can’t be bad.

Panthers in Skirts

Spring must be in the air because I'm feeling the urge to make things again.  I'd actually constructed these Armourfast 1/72 scale Panther Ausf. G a while ago and as they are modelled with side rails I decided to add some side skirts to them (Schürzen).

The plates are basically 15mm by 10mm (approx.) rectangles that I cut from thinnish plasticard just glued on so that they were slightly uneven with variable gaps between them.  Having looked at various photos on-line there seems to be some variation in the number and dimensions of plates that were generally used.  I went with five on each side to match the Hasegawa Panther in the background, which comes with Schürzen fitted as standard.  Similarly the fastening arrangements seemed to differ so I just added some little slips of cut up business card to represent these - it'll be good enough for wargaming, that's my mantra.

Books of the War of the Spanish Succession

A couple of books arrived this week, one from Amazon and the other from Caliver Books.  Geoff has been slowly building up a French army for this period using Roundway figures and I had not really paid much attention to it, until now.  So, I thought I'd get a few books on the period to see how it went (I have form in that direction).

Actually Steve the Wargamer's WSS project pages have provided very useful information (including comparisions between different figure manufacturers) and pointed me in the right direction.  The first was the David Chandler book The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough, which is mainly about organisation and tactics although it does list every engagement in an Appendix (not bad second hand for £10 plus p+p).

The other book that arrived was CS Grant's Armies and Uniforms of Marlborough's Wars Vol 1.  This is an excellent book with very fine illustrations mainly by Bob Marrion and includes comprehensive tables of coat colours and facings for what appears to be all of the regiments of Austria, Bavaria, England (Britain after the Treaty and Acts of Union of 1707, technically), Denmark, the Netherlands, France and Prussia.

It all looks very interesting although I'd hoped that Spain would be included in this book (I've never had any Spanish troops, nor fielded the redcoats for that matter).  However, puchasing Vol 2, to get information on the Spanish armies as well as other minor states, will be no hardship if it is as good as this volume, I think.

Freighters and Drifters

A major issue for naval squadrons operating during wartime far from home base, and with the risk of internment if they lingered too long in port anywhere, was the continual problem of coaling and resupply.

As I've blogged earlier I'm thinking of some sort of WW1 early war campaign using the Berthier Campaign Manager based on the attempt of von Spee's East Asia Squadron to get out of the Pacific, into the Atlantic and possibly even make it back to Germany (or internment in Montevideo or similar).

SS Titania

One of the support ships that von Spee relied on was the Titania, completed in 1897 in Newcastle upon Tyne for the Finnish Merchant Navy.  It was subsequently converted to a supply ship in 1914 and was sunk at Mas a Fuera on 19 November 1914.

SS Titania - Navwar 1/3000

This is the Navwar version - not quite the same colour scheme as the one I found on the photoship website - so I may redo it in a more tropical guise.  One of the scenarios I was thinking about, particularly for an SMS Emden campaign, was the difficulties of warships and supply ships trying to meet up without being detected and this is where the Titania would come in.

SMS Emden

In addition, there are options for ships such as the Emden preying on merchant ships as it did successfully in the Indian Ocean and elsewhere.  Navwar do various cargo ships but I thought that something called the A/B Standard ship would fit the bill.  Here is the War Brahmin, listed as a freighter of this type.

A/B Standard Ship - War Brahmin

According to the Navwar website these ships date from 1917 and many operated into WW2 so, although a bit late for the Emden era, it will do and can also be used for WW2 actions, should I ever get around to them.  Here is the Navwar version of this class of ship.

I was a bit closer to the mark with the colour scheme with this one as you can see.

Craddock's Squadron

First post of the year here - it's been a bit of a slow start this year, wargaming-wise.  This is mainly because I've been away on business - twice - to Istanbul, and it's not even February yet.

However, having managed to get the German East Asia Squadron sorted out here are some pics of their heroic and ill-fated opponents - the ships of Admiral Kit Craddock's squadron.  As before these are Navwar 1/3000 scale vessels.

HMS Good Hope

Craddock's flagship, HMS Good Hope (1902) - so outdated that the broadside batteries could not be used in rough seas - which was naturally a significant factor in her loss at the Battle of Coronel (1 November 1914).

HMS Monmouth

HMS Monmouth - an obsolete armoured cruiser (1903) that was just as useless in bad weather as HMS Good Hope.  Also lost at Coronel.

HMS Glasgow

HMS Glasgow (1911) - by far the fastest of Craddock's ships (she looks it) but unarmoured and armed only wth two 6" and ten 4" guns.  However, she was fast enough (at 25 kts) to evade destruction at Coronel and later to take part in the Battle of the Falklands where revenge was exacted, lucky for Captain Luce.

Otranto

The Otranto, a relatively slow and unarmoured 12,000 liner fitted with eight 4.7" guns and not really fit to form part of a light-cruiser hunting squadron.  I thought I'd paint this in cruise liner colours, just for a change.

HMS Canopus

HMS Canpus is the big old battleship (1900) that got left behind at the Falkland Islands, that may, or may not, have made a difference at the Battle of Coronel.

Having finished these, I'm ordering a few more ships from Navwar to try to work though a planned mini campaign (using the Berthier Campaign Manager) recreating (sort of) the voyage of the German East Asia Squadon from the Pacific into the Atlantic.  It's all written down on paper - I just need time to put it into action....

A River Runs Through It (Hence the Bridge) No.2

As with many developments, it is all well and good to complete the basic engineering design work, but the visual impact of any new structure imposed on the environment has to be taken into account and completed to a minimum standard at the very least (otherwise local planning authorities and NIMBYs get upset).  Here, therefore, is the finished bridge I started here, with some Magister Militum (formerly Chariot) 15mm Paphlagonian light horse for scale.

The first thing I did was to create the low culvert under the bridge using a small flat rounded file, and then texture the whole structure with fine sand glued on with PVA.  I also added some coarser sand to the river edges after priming them with a sandy colour to match my other river sections.

Once dry I gave the bridge a light going over with a stiff paintbrush to remove loose grains and undercoated it with a brown emulsion called Raw Earth (from a Fired Earth tester pot).

The bridge was then finished with a heavy dry brushing of off-white emulsion on the walls and parapets and a sandy colour I use for all my desert terrain on the road.  Once dry everthing was lightly drybrushed with white acrylic, and Javis-type static grass was added to the river banks.

My river sections and a bridge are now complete and two new projects have arisen as a consequence.  One is to make some road sections to lead to the bridge and the other is that I really should get around to rebasing my 500pt Lydian army, but it makes me tired just thinking about that...

...oh, and to any regular readers (I think there might be a few) a richt guid New Year tae ye, and hopefully we will all get more time to work on even more interesting and rewarding projects in 2013.