Arm & Leg Cuirassiers and fighting Johnny Reb

A few weeks before Christmas there was a conversation in our house that went like this:

Mrs S "What do you want for Christmas?"

Me "Dunno"

Mrs S "Is there any Hinton Hunt you need?"

Me (thinking need? need? need?) "Well come to think of it, there are some Prussian Cuirassiers on eBay that I need"

Mrs S "Why don't you bid on them then?"

Me "Because they're rare and they'll go for a silly price and I'm not paying that!"

Mrs S "But why not bid a silly price if you want them?"

Me "Because it's a matter of principle, I'm a pensioner and I won't pay more than three quid for a cavalry figure"

Mrs S "But if you want them...."

Me "um, er... no I won't.. no... no..." ...CLICK

Costing an arm and leg, 12 x PN77 Prussian Cuirassier, lovely vintage castings, yes really, really lovely and so worth it honest...

Goya came over today to indulge me in a game of Fire & Fury with my 15mm ACW collection. Despite having had the ruleset for 30+ years I have only ever played one game using them and that was a multi-player game back in the 90s and frankly I had no idea what was going on.

I convinced Goya to take the role of James Longstreet as I have an aversion to playing the Confederates. The scenario was a simple encounter battle with the aim of taking possession of a vital road junction.

The Rebs are on the left whilst my own command (part of General Porter's V Corps) are on the right.

Goya moved first and we were both quite amazed at the speed of his 'foot cavalry' as they fair zoomed along the road towards the crossroads.

At the same time Anderson's division rolled forwards. The figures are mostly a mixture of AB and Old Glory but there are some Freikorps and even the odd Essex in there too.

I responded by sending the Iron Brigade forward in column but this proved to be a mistake.

General Porter surveys the scene from the top of the hill.

The Rebs however seemed to get the better of the fight with two of my five brigades 'Swept from the field'.

The Louisiana Tigers sweep up the hill towards General Porter uttering a fearfull Rebel Yell.

We both agreed that we really like the game system, particularly that the morale element is built into the combat mechanisms. I'm thinking we might give it a run out again.

Have a Happy New Year!

Pomeranians done - woof!

Just to remind you that a Pomeranian is for life and not just for Christmas. These have been quite a lot of work and I hope you like them.

I really do like painting Prussian infantry as it takes me right back to those early teenage years although these probably look much better than the ones I painted then.

I often forget to show the backs of my figures so this is to prove that I do paint the whole figure.

No, no, no - not that type of Pomeranian!
(this image has been shamelessly taken from the internet if I have offended Mr AI I apologise)

The musketeers are all vintage castings generously donated by Ian earlier this year*. The figures have waited patiently for 50 years to have a coat of paint, they are:

21 x PN.5 Private, with separate musket (one converted to standard bearer)

1 x PN.1 Officer, charging

1 x PN.6 Drummer

1 x PN .7 Officer, marching

*the officers were supplied courtesy of Rob.

This has been an exceptional year for this project as the painted Hinton Hunt forces have expanded by 272 figures. This is largely due to the influx of Austrian figures from Don W and the help with renovation works from Goya - a big thank you to both.

Have a good one and see you on the other side...

Pomeranian Progress and the Battle of Rohr

A few distractions on the painting desk have caused a drop off in Prussian production although I can now report that I am halfway through the unit. Also done and dusted is the standard bearer and flag. The bearer is another conversion of PN5 and the flag this time is a printed paper one.

My other Prussian musketeer units have old Revo paper flags but I have run out of those and wanted something that would fit in. I found this one on line and have given it a couple of coats of gloss varnish to stiffen it.

On Thursday I was lucky enough to be invited to Goya's seaside residence for a game of Command & Colors Napoleonics. This time it was Austrians versus French at the Battle of Rohr from the campaign of 1809.

I played the French and with a 3:2 advantage in units thought I would have no problem smashing the Habsburg lackeys. How wrong I was.

As usual at Goya's there were a mixture of Hinton Hunt and Minifigs S-range figures on the table.

My masterstroke - playing the 'Grande Manoeuvre' card enabled me to turn the Austrian right but in the end my men were just blown away by their superior firepower and the game ended in a French defeat. Those buildings are really nice plastic ones Goya picked up for a song.

After lunch we swapped ends for a re-match but this one was in the balance when I had to head for home.

The scenario turned out to be a lot trickier than it looked as although the French had an advantage in numbers those Austrians with their bigger units were hard to shift. I'd forgotten how much fun CCN can be and the rules are very easy to pick up again after a break which is perfecrt at my age.