A Lonely Place to Die, Part Two

I'll have some thoughts on this game in a follow up in a few days...

A Lonely Place to Die

At long last... five years in the making... Adventures in the Desert, issue two!

 Part two hopefully by this weekend!

Back to the Sudan!

It's been a while since I visited 1885... I've added some units in the last year and never got around to blogging about them... More soon!

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!

Captain Rippington and the Canyon of Doom - Part Two

This took a little longer than I planned. I had some publishing duties on top of my normal day job, but here's the exciting conclusion to my game of The Sword and the Flame!

Whew! The game really came down to the last turn. I'll have one final post on this game with some thoughts on TSATF.

Captain Rippington and the Canyon of Doom, Part One

I finally had the chance to throw a few dice for my project with The Sword and the Flame!

These comic book style battle reports take quite a long time to make, but I'll have part two later this week!

Camels and a Horsie!

It's a great feeling to meet a hobby goal. This unit and the edition of a mounted Emir, completes my initial target to face off against my Highlanders.

Not a great photo, but I'll set up some proper shots on terrain when I get in my first game.

So for a quick recap, this gives me four units of Beja foot (two with spears, one with swords, and one with rifles), the camels, and a mounted Emir - 89 models in a relatively short period of time. Going forward I intend to add two units of Nile Arabs and a unit of Baggara cavalry. Beyond that? Well, we'll see. I may incorporate ahistorical things like Zanzibar slavers (I don't think they ranged up the Nile to Egypt), nefarious Belgian mercenaries (not really appropriate as allies of the Mahdi), or Central African style brigands (Rugga Rugga). I already have a large collection of these from the Wargames Foundry Darkest Africa range that will fit right in with a little rebasing. Of course, I can always add more Beja foot!

Up next - reinforcements for the Brits - a platoon of the IX Sudanese!

76 Models in Two Weeks!

That's it! Four units of Beja infantry (two with spears, one with swords, and one with rifles) for my Mahdist army!

And a few trees (I'm up to around a dozen - I've been fitting these into spare moments between units). Just twelve camel riders and a mounted Emir (got a head start on these today, though sadly I don't think I'll have much time tomorrow to make further progress over the weekend) and I'll be ready to march on the infidels!

I'm working on a small, straight forward scenario now, a reconnaissance in force by a British company to investigate reports of massing enemy troops in a nameless village east of Ginnis that could threaten the southern rail line. It will (hopefully) be the first shots in a mini-campaign!

Wounded Cameron Highlanders

I wandered off into rules in the last post, specifically about the casualty mechanics in The Sword and the Flame. Hits can kill figures outright or simply wound. A wounded figure cannot move on their own and must be carried by a comrade. The British suffer some pretty hefty morale penalties if they leave their wounded behind. The default mechanic in TSATF is tip lay the model on it's side to indicated the wounded. I'm not a fan of this as I think the bases sticking up in the air really detracts from the appearance of game.

The obvious solution was casualty markers. I'll remove wounded figures in the same manner as the killed, but use the marker to track the difference. Since I also didn't want to paint dozens of deaders, I decided to paint one for each unit and use a small d6 to track the number of wounded. In the event a unit is ever dragging around more than 6 wounded, I'm guessing they will probably be full on retreat. If not, I'll just drop another d6 next to the marker.

Simple, right?

Well, it would have been had I not decided to collect the Devils in Skirts. Perry miniatures doesn't make any wounded Highlanders for the Sudan. Neither does any one else I could find. That meant I would have to make them myself.

Using the Perry wounded in sensible trousers to do the heavy lifting, I set to with saw, file, and green stuff...

The model at the top has lower legs from a plastic Victrix Napoleonic Highlander and I sculpted the upper legs to give me a base for the kilt to drape over. For the one on the bottom, I filed the legs to remove the folds in the trousers and add the top of the stockings with putty. The kilts and sporran were added last. I lack the skill to mimic the tight folds of the rear of the kilt, but I'm happy with the end results.

Ok, back to the Beja!