Flags of War - Government Cavalry

Along with the Infantry I've posted previously, the Kickstarter by Flags of War, also funded two packs of Government Dragoons for their Jacobite Rising range.

First, the troops pack, which had sculpts shown during the campaign:

Really nice sculpts, great casts - and simple two-piece minis (horse and rider) to put together.

The command pack wasn't sculpted until after the campaign had concluded but I knew I wanted them so took a punt - I hadn't been disappointed with anything form Flags of War before, so they had my trust to do a good job!  The trust was well founded:

Superb stuff, I'm sure you'll agree - my poor quality photos do not do these justice!

Now, the Jacobite campaign included Bonnie Prince Charlie - the Government commander released this time is the Duke of Cumberland:

You can tell he's a perfect mini to represent an officer... he's pointing!

Flags of War - Government Infantry

Flags of War ran a Kickstarter campaign to fund the start of the Government side miniatures for their Jacobite Rising range.  Of course, having a selection of the Jacobites already in the collection it makes sense for me to have a force to pit them against, so I picked up a few packs to start me off.

First up, the Government Infantry Command to lead my unit:

The Ensigns will have their poles and finials added in due course!

Of course, those chaps need some troops to head up - first the Government Infantry - Firing:

To round out the unit, and to maximise variety given the smaller game-size I tend to play, a pack of Government Infantry - Reloading:

The reloading minis in particular have a lot of character.

The campaign also funded a pack of Government Grenadiers in firing pose - I picked up two packs so that I could make a unit of 6 (typically elite-style infantry in the system I'll likely use):

Flags of War miniatures are amongst the best for this setting - I'm looking forward to their artillery release to add to the Government troops!

Flags of War - Royal-Ecossais

To strengthen my existing Jacobite force I decided to add the Royal-Ecossais.  As with the rest of my miniatures for this setting, I got them from Flags of War.

Of course, I got the Command pack to lead the unit:

The two chaps on the outside will get suitable poles and finials - I have the standards from Flags of War ready to use too.

Of course, I needed some troops - I started with a pack of Firing Royal-Ecossais:

And to finish off a pack of Kneeling Firing Royal-Ecossais:

Like my other Flags of War minis these are top-notch - absolutely lovely sculpts and quality casts.  I really recommend checking out Flags of War if you are interested in wargaming the Jacobite Rising in 28mm!

The Universe of Battle - The Union

As readers of previous posts might recall, I had planned a special tribute project to my late father.  So, I sorted out lists of minis I needed to make it a reality and placed an order with Perry Miniatures.

I'll run through what I've got - first up the Union side of the project.

First up some Line Infantry (Veteran) - made up of packs ACW82 and ACW83 - I'm fielding these as an Irish Brigade:

Next, another Line Infantry (Veteran) - this time packs ACW33 and ACW19 - I'll be using these to represent the Garibaldi Guard:

Next up some Skirmishers (Sharpshooters) - pack ACW86:

Finally for the Union side - Medium Artillery - pack ACW17:

As always with Perry Miniatures, the quality is superb - characterful sculpts with minimal clean-up required.  As you can see in the pictures above I've used the hybrid basing - I've done this a lot with Rampant style games from the Osprey line for ease of gaming.

The Universe of Battle - Prologue

This week we said goodbye to my dad. He’d suffered with ill health for a long time, but this most recent hospital admission was one too many. He passed peacefully surrounded by the people he loved.

Without my dad I do not believe I would be the gamer I am today. Growing up surrounded by Tolkien books, Star Wars films, boardgames and the Atari 2600; fantasy worlds and gaming was always part of my life. And I’m thankful for that more than I can express.

However, I have a regret. For a while I had planned to put together two small skirmish forces to play a game with my dad once they had operated on his cataracts. Unfortunately, due to one health issue or another, they were never able to operate, so my plan never came to pass.

So instead, I am going to honour my dad by doing this whole project from start to finish and playing a game with my mom.

I have vivid memories of my dad watching The Civil War documentary series (the Ken Burns one) back in the day so had planned to put together an ACW game – so that’s what I’m going to do. I’ve taken the name that I’ll use for posts relating to this project from that series as a little nod to the source.

I’ve settled on Rebels and Patriots for the ruleset as it won’t need too many minis. I’d considered using the Perry Miniatures Battle in a Box for the miniatures, but, having read some reviews of the contents (as awesome as they are), they didn’t fit my vision for the forces I wanted so wouldn’t work.

Instead I’ll be picking individual packs from the Perry Miniatures metal ACW line. I love Perry metals and have used them across a few other systems already, they are one of my go to providers for historical skirmish games.

So, first up the Union side:

Line Infantry (Veteran) – 6 points
Line Infantry (Veteran) – 6 points
Skirmishers (Sharpshooters) – 6 points
Medium Artillery – 6 points
24 points total

Then the Confederates:

Line Infantry – 4 points
Shock Infantry (Aggressive) – 7 points
Light Cavalry (Aggressive) – 5 points
Skirmishers (Good Shooters) – 4 points
Skirmishers (Good Shooters) – 4 points
24 points total

I’m planning to get the standards for the units that have them from Flags of War, which should set them off nicely!

I’ll also pick up a couple of scenery elements for the project – that Perry farmhouse kit looks rather nice...

Watch this space!

Flags of War - Jacobites

A while ago I backed the campaign by Flags of War to get their Jacobite Rising miniautres range off the ground.  This first release included Lowlanders, Royal Ecossais and, of course, Highlanders.  I opted for enough packs to make a couple of units of charging Highlanders - I'm theming them very very loosely on the Atholl Brigade (so chose the Atholl flags as part of my pledge).

First up, here's the Highlander command:

I got two packs of these - one for each of the units - but they are the same so thought no one would want to see two of the same picture!  They are, like all of the minis I received, full of character and detail without being covered in all sorts of random stuff.  I've got the poles (and finials) for the standards but think I want to trim them down a little but they are just too tough for even my heavy duty clippers!

The first unit is charging Highland muskets:

I took a pack each of the jackets and shirts versions to give maximum variety in the unit.  These will look awesome - but all that plaid is a little daunting to paint I must admit!

I also got the charging Highlanders with broadswords - again a pack each of shirts and jackets:

Unlike the rest of the range these melee fighters have seperate arms (in the main) and a few options.  I've given most the classic broadsword and targe combo, but a couple have pistols in place of their shield and one crazy chap has his dirk at the ready.

I also chose the 'charging characters' pack:

These are (L-R) Alexander MacDonell of Keppoch, The Red Fox, John Roy Stuart and the unnamed Highland Officer with Claymore.  These sculpts are particularly characterful (and considering the minis I've got from this range are all absolutely awesome that's saying a lot).

Finally there was the freebie - but what a freebie! - HRH Prince Charles Edward Stuart (yes, Bonnie Prince Charlie):

You can't really see it, but the saddle is finely detailed with a monogram. A superb miniature.

Next up I'll be texture dipping the bases and, eventually, priming them ready for painting.

 Now, I originally figured I'd use En Garde! as the ruleset for these - but I also think that The Pikeman's Lament will work well too, which also means I'll get more use of the minis as it has a higher model count for a game.  I've gone for individual basing (unlike the other TPL stuff I'm working on) so that I can get easy double-duty out of the minis.

I know that the Government troops are next on Flags of War's list - but I'm really hoping they do the Irish Picquets at some point as based on the quality of these Highlanders I have high hopes of adding their Irish allies to the force!

EDIT: Since posting this Rebels and Patriots has been released and is another candidate for games with these minis, so I've added it to the Labels for this post.