Fire & Maneuver: ACW Confederate Cavalry

My latest unit for Fire & Maneuver is a regiment of Confederate cavalry. This fine unit uses 28mm metal figures by Redoubt Enterprises and was painted mostly by Frank Patterson. I painted some of the horses and handled the basing.

Redoubt makes some very nice figures for the American Civil War. It is an extensive range with many unusual pieces, lots of excellent animation and variety with head and arm swaps. Their service is excellent. The flag is by GMB Designs.


I asked Frank to paint this as a "smart" mid-War regiment when CSA regulation uniforms were more available. They are armed with a variety of pistols, shotguns, rifles and carbines. I think they will serve well.

Fire & Maneuver: ACW Union Troops

With the help of Frank Patterson, I have made good progress building a new wargames army. This is an ACW Union "force" using mostly Redoubt Miniatures 28mm metals with a few Perry pieces. Unlike most of my collection that sits in cabinets and seldom sees the miniature battlefield, this new army was made with gaming in mind. 

I have used durable metal bases per Fire & Maneuver basing conventions.  In the past I have always used Litko wooden bases. I did most of the basing and helped paint some of the ordnance and horses. However Frank gets full credit for painting most of the figures and showing me how to paint to a good wargames standard. The flags are by GMB Designs.

We have one more infantry brigade to complete and a few wagons. The Redoubt figures are very nice, loaded with character and fun to paint.

Game Day: April 18th, 2015

Here are a few images of a fun ACW meeting engagement waged yesterday between Jeff Lower (Confederate) and myself (Union).

We used for the first time the full collection of Martin Robson figures I acquired last year. The 28mm all-Perry collection looked terrific on the battlefield. We also tried out my new Cigar Box Battle mat "Open Grassland, 6x4". It worked well and took the contours of the hill shapes placed under the mat. It has just enough stretch to avoid rippling or creasing and provided a smooth surface to slide the figure bases with ease.

Here is their link:

http://cigarboxbattlestore.bigcartel.com/products

Here is the battle as it developed. We randomized the entry of troops and their relative quality. The buildings are by Frank Patterson of Ledarmy who also made the roads.

ledarmy@gmail.com

The rivers are by Joe Linares of Wargamers Terrain. His link:

http://www.wargamersterrain.com

Reb General, Jeff Lower, takes his own photographs

My Martin Robson armies still need a few things, including cavalry, ammo wagons and limbers. As the game required some limbers to move the artillery, I used an image in Sam Mustafa's "Longstreet" which I rescaled to 28mm. A few of these became the gun team and limber bases for the respective armies!

Gun and limber base

The final result, a marginal Union victory.

Custom Scenery by Frank Patterson

These model houses and barns for the American Civil War (or American War of Independence) were custom made by Frank Patterson of Ledarmy. Frank also made the excellent modular roads which traverse the countryside on my wargames table. What makes Frank's structures so useful is that they do not have an over-large footprint but still add historical flavor and aesthetic appeal to the game table. Frank produces these and other custom items.

Frank can be reached at:

ledarmy@gmail.com

The "White" House

The Cabin

These buildings work perfectly with 28mm figures without "crowding-out" the battlefield.

The Woodman's House

The Big Brown Barn

The Big Red Barn

And one building I made myself from the Perry/Renedra plastic kit: 

"Meade's HQ at Gettysburg"