Throwback Thursday - Nile Paddle Steamer

 Maybe not technically a "throwback" post. Last year was dismal for me maintaining the blog, but I had a wedding to help plan, so I had other things on my plate. I wasn't idle on the modeling and painting front - I just didn't have the time to post about things very often. So... Throwback Thursday. As I can, I'll blog about stuff I did last year (mixed in with the new stuff).

First up is a Nile paddle steamer I built for my growing Sudan collection!

This ship was constructed with parts from the Southern Belle kit from Lindberg, but I had to modify things pretty extensively because it's too small for 28mm. The paddle wheel alone is worth the price of the kit!

I was extremely happy with how this build worked out. I'm planning on getting another kit to add a second gunboat at some point. I already have a couple of pirate ships I can press into service as Dhows for a grand encounter on the Nile! I have a small contingent of Royal Marines setting on the desk (and that Nordenfelt Gun see in the last pic) waiting for paint.

I won't drone on about how it was built, but I'll be happy to answer questions. The modifications are mostly balsa and matboard. The sandbags were purchased on Etsy and various other details came from stuff I had lying around.

I'll dig out another project and present it for Throwback Thursday as I have time!

Eppinger's Dragoons - Part One

I've been wanting to do this unit ever since I got into the period - somewhere around 2006. I actually purchased the models from Wargames Foundry, but other projects took precedence (we began working on Republic to Empire) and the models sat in a box (they're still there as far as I know).

In 2010, my real love for the period was solidified when Barry and I met at Historicon for the first time and put on the Battle of the Boyne as one of our games. No, Eppinger's Dragoons weren't present at the part of the battle we portrayed, but the game launched my desire to build armies for Beneath the Lily Banners. Our meeting also revealed the first fledgling steps (I got to see the samples of the first run of castings) of a new company - Warfare Miniatures.

My full investment in the period was delayed until Warfare Miniatures was up and running. Since I was starting out fresh, I wanted to use primarily the models we would be promoting. This meant I would be limited in my choices for a while. However, I needed tons of infantry and there were plenty of those in the first wave! I set out on the journey, content to wait for Eppinger's squadrons to become available in the future.

Now, there are only so many sculpts you can commission at once and ranges have a way of growing organically. One thing leads to another and soon you are buried under new models! The gaps in the range are always closing. It's only a matter of time before Warfare Miniatures has models for every practical troop type in the theater. 

Painted and photographed by Barry Hilton in the last century - the inspiration for my unit!

But I've been waiting for these mounted, fur-capped gentlemen forever, despite my whining (Argh! Fur-capped Austrians? Why do we hate the French?). Warfare Miniatures does have a set of splendid Mounted French Dragoons in caps, so the other day I decided to stop being lazy and make my own. I'm not an accomplished sculptor, but have enough confidence in my skill to add a fur texture to the existing bases of the caps. Each became successively easier once I'd gotten the hang of it. All it took was adding a tiny sausage of putty (no, that's too much... nope still too much... even less than that) around the cap, shaping it with my only actual sculpting tool, and then working in the texture with an X-acto blade. In about an hour, I was able to tart up twelve troopers. Huzzah!

Only twelve? Well, yes... I'm mixing in a few models in hats. The officers likely wore hats and I've seen several other representations of this regiment (including Barry's) drop in a few among the rank and file. I think it adds the look of a hard as nails regiment on campaign.

I've used the "regular" Warfare Miniatures horses rather than the ones that come with the dragoon castings. My initial units of dragoons were assembled before we had the ponies. I didn't want my elite troopers looking into the navels of their counterparts on the other side! Here's a few WiP, ready for action!

I have no doubt Warfare Miniatures will announce the release of mounted French Dragoons next week, but I'm really proud of how this regiment is progressing. It's cool to have a unit that's unique in the world! Even Barry doesn't have this unit (yet) in hunky Warfare Miniatures glory!

More soon!

The Walls of Limerick, Part III

I've made some progress on my project for the Guns of August show this summer. It is August 24th-26th and I am definitely attending, though I will only be there Saturday and Sunday. The plan is to run the game twice on Saturday and once on Sunday. I have more detail to do on the walls of Limerick, but some of that will be easier do once the models are attached to the tiles. Before doing that I wanted to build the glacis and covered way that had been constructed outside the walls. The photos aren't great because the expanse of white foam fought all efforts to get decent contrast and the results are a bit over exposed, but you can get the idea.

The gabions are plastic kits of Renedra Limited. These come in halves which worked out perfect to model the fort because I wanted them half buried in the front wall.

The glacis will be a longer slope when I break out the filler to blend all of these features into the board. Multiple layers of texture and scattered debris like buckets, spare timber, and fascines will all be added at some point. However, my next step is to turn my attention back to the walls, fixing them permanently to the tiles and adding another layer of detail to them.

Luckily, these two tiles will represent the bulk of complex modeling. I need to make six more tiles, two with smaller trenches and one with a river shore, but they should be quick work after these. The remaining tiles are pretty much flat and open. I also need to build a small redoubt for a gun that stands just outside the gate and a larger one for the Yellow Fort.

I've also started the expansion of the units I'll need to put on the game at 1:15 or 1:10 give or take... this means standard infantry units of five stands rather than three, though my Danish Guard will weigh in at SEVEN stands! Luckily, due to the fact that a standard two-stand squadron in BLB actually represents two squadrons at the normal scale, I have all of the horse I need to cover the squadrons I'll use for this game.

Twelve more models to go for this battalion... more soon!

The Walls of Limerick, Part II

A little bit of math, lots of carving, and possibly some harsh words later...

The initial step, and the most important to get right, was to layout the front wall. This is where most of the harsh words came in. All of the angles had to meet up with each other and line up with the edges of the boards.

The walls were detailed by carving scattered stones with a scalple and then going over all of the cuts with a ball point pen. The pen makes a nice bevel on the edges of the stones and ensures the detail won't be filled in by the layers of paint coming up. Cutting the stones in initially with a blade means you can use a piece of balsa wood to press some of the stones into the surface which adds a cool bit of detail with very little extra effort. I'm going to add a few stones cut from slivers of foam that will stand out from the wall as well, adding yet another layer.

The windows were pressed down in the same manner as I just described. When painted it will add to the illusion of depth.

Very pleased how well all of the parts actually fit together...

So here's where I am after the weekend. The angled wall with the walkway will be attached to one board and the citadel and it's adjoining wall be attached to the other. The central wall with the gate will remain loose so it can be replaced with a section of rubble. No, this wasn't deja vu - I explained this in the first post, but I thought it made more sense now that there are photos!

Next up are the details.. gates, doors, trapdoors, stairs... stay tuned!

Oh! And thanks to everyone who reached out to send me photos from Limerick - your contributions are much appreciated!

The Walls of Limerick, Part I

Every so often I get the urge to launch some sort of stupid large project. Ever since my partner's series on the Walls of Derry, I've wanted to do something similar. My trip to Derry last year reinforced the desire. Finally, I'm planning to run some games at a small local show if my schedule works out - The Guns of August in Newport News, Virginia. Rather than just set up something from my existing collection, I decided to build a new table and go all out.

Sorting through the mound of books I've collected on the campaign of Ireland, my first inclination was to do something around Derry again. However, then I stumbled on the first siege of Limerick. Gamers often ignore sieges thinking them to be dull., static affairs of battering walls with cannons, but both Derry and Limerick feature several small actions in the form of sallies that make perfect tabletop games.

On August 20, 1690, the besieging Williamite army launched an assault from their siege trenches to capture Yellow Fort, a small, open-backed redoubt outside St John's Gate. It took several attempts, but they were successful. The Jacobites responded in force with a sally by four battalions of foot and three squadrons of horse, countered in turn by more infantry and cavalry from the Williamites, including one of my favorite unit - the Danish Foot Guard.

To bridge the gap between the small forces involved in the initial assault and the battalions that later took the field, I've also decided to reduce the man to model ratio which will give me foot battalions of five to seven stands rather than the standard three. This will allow me to represent the detachments with a significant number of models rather than the 4-5 each would muster at the default scale.

I'll go into more detail about the scenario and forces involved in a later post, but for now I just want to introduce the project.

The walls of Limerick were between 25 and 30 feet high with a narrow walkway on the top. A ditch was excavated outside the stone wall and the spoil used to build a counterscarp, covered way, and glacis. The tiny section of wall I'm building is St John's Gate, seen above on the left end of Irish Town. The old citadel near St John's Gate was pulled down and replaced with a new bastion and an earthen demilune constructed outside. My first step for any project like this is sketches which I then take to the computer to make a scale diagram. This was extremely important for this project because there are very few right angles and it was going to be a pain to make sure everything lines up properly.

I spent a lot of time messing around with scales and angles to decide exactly how to lay this out. There were a few things to take into account...

1. I wanted to avoid a 'square' table. By this I mean 95% of games you usually see... side A is lined up on this table edge and Side B is on the other. The historical design actually helps this as the wall runs away from the gate at an angle. The battalions will actually end up facing down each other diagonally across the board.

2. I wanted the fortress to be permanently attached to the boards, but I wanted to keep things flexible so I can use these for other scenarios. What I decided was to use 2x2' boards. The bastion would be attached to one and the wall to the other, with the gate section remaining loose and 'bridging' the boards. This will allow me to replace that piece with a breach to play another style of game. Not sure if that makes sense, but it will be illustrated as the project progresses.

3. I wanted the counterscarp (and the siege trenches - more on that later) modeled as a permanent part of the boards, but decided to build the demiline as a separate model so I can use it as a redoubt in other games. The Yellow Fort will also be a separate model.

4. I wanted to be able to expand this in the future, possibly boards BEHIND the wall for urban based scenarios.

5. So, yeah - I'm building a new 4x8' table, the walls of Limerick, probably a few city buildings, siege trenches, and oh, and I need to paint around 120 infantry to bring my units up to strength at this scale... by the end of August.

Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy and I'll get into the actual construction in the next post...

A Guide to Basing - The Quindia Studios Way

Which means lazy! I've gotten a couple of questions recently about how I base my models and I thought I'd detailed this here before, but... well, I couldn't find it so here you go. This is an easy method that still gives good results.

I mainly use three materials, fine ballast from Woodland Scenics, coffee grounds (the same as the mid-level texture on my terrain boards), and static grass - usually from Games Workshop because that is what is always available locally. Of course there can be more details, but this is the basis for almost every model in my collection.

When making units, I try to keep in mind where the bases will join those of their comrades to get as seamless appearance as possible. I apply white glue directly to the base and spread it around with a damp brush. I use the base as a pallett initially. just getting a small amount on my brush and carefully applying glue around the feet of the models before thinning out the rest.

I have two tubs of basing material. The initial dunking is in the coffee grounds, and I just dip in a corner or two, or else pick up a pinch with my fingers to sprinkle a trail down the center. Then the lads are placed in the fine ballast and the extra shaken away. I use my finger to brush away any stray bits on the edges so I can line them up properly on the table.

I let this dry, normally over night, and then add paint directly on the texture, taking advantage of the natural color of the materials as my base. I use Wargames Foundry Base Sand A and use sort of a heavy dry brushing technique. Then I pick out out some of the larger chunks with Wargames Foundry Slate Gray A and highlight with Slate Gray B.

WHen the paint is dry, it's back to the glue. I only put one dot on the base of a single model and maybe two on a larger stand. A little goes a long way with this step and I want my earth to show through. I use a damp brush to randomly push the glue around and skip around to the base to make small tufts. Then they go into the third tub...

That's it! Sometimes I might add larger tufts of grass or stones, bits of fencing, discarded weapons, etc, but for the most part I try to keep things simple. I have more models to paint and I don't have time to hand paint mushrooms and the like. This style also matches my terrain boards well.

Hopefully this was helpful! I keep meaning to do more in the way of hobby articles rather than just 'look at the new thing I painted', but life has been stupid busy of late. In any case, the next time someone asks me about basing I will be able to find the article!