Basing

-
One of the reasons I started this blog was as a repository for all the scraps of paper that constituted my notes/research for this project. This post is, therefore, a blatant example of a note from me, to me. It is an attempt to save myself having to go and measure bases every time I want to order some more.

Basing is a bugbear of many gamers: rulesets are often very specific as to the number of figures to bases ratios, and base sizes. I can see the point for competition gaming, or gaming against a number of regular opponents. As I don't do any of that sort of nonsense, and provide both sides, as long as I am consistent there isn't really a problem.

All my bases are Warbases premier 2mm thick bases. Sabot/movement trays (2mm top layer) and casualty markers are also from Warbases.

Bases are finished using a variety of muddy brown paint/grit mixes, then adorned with Antenocitis' DecorPlus gamer static grass and a variety of tufts from MiniNatur (short tufts codes beginning 717-xxx). There are also a few cork chipping boulders thrown in for good measure. Recently discovered Gale Force 9 spring undergrowth which I am now a big fan of, slowly adding it to my already ''finished" bases.

Note: Antenocitis' DecorPlus gamer static grass is no longer available, an almost identical match is Gale Force Nine green static grass.

I am particularly taken with using Citadel Stirland Battle Mud (not Stirland Battlemire, which is really thick and paste like) textured basing paint (in other words mud brown paint with a drop of PVA and some grit in it). I did dally with trying to make my own but colour consistency was very unreliable between batches, so I've gone back to Stirland Battle Mud with a wash of Miniatures Paints chestnut ink.

I want my armies to look like those represented by Streeter. Particularly my regiments of foot, which has led to thirty four man regiments (16 musket, 12 pike, 2 halberdiers, 2 officers, a drummer and a standard bearer). These are based in 4s on 40mm x 15mm bases (halberdiers have a base each), 12 bases fit a 120mm x 60mm sabot/movement tray (two are blanks to fill in spaces).

Firelocks: are based four figures to a 40mm x 15mm base, 6 bases fit a 120mm x 30mm sabot/movement tray, giving 24 men to a unit. These are my only units not to have a standard, they do however have an officer and a drummer.

Dragoons are represented on foot. There are 12 fighting men based individually on penny sized bases, these fit two 3 x 2 penny sabot/movement trays. Rather than having a token representative horse holder I decided to have 1:1 horses to men; one horse holder has three horses on a 40mm x 40mm base (of which there are six bases per unit); and a command stand of mounted officer, mounted standard bearer, drummer on foot and his empty horse again (newer dragoon units now have a mounted drummer) based on 40mm x 40mm. This gives a 21 man unit.

Cavalry is based on 60mm x 30mm bases, four horsemen to a base and 16 men to a unit; one stand having a trooper, officer, trumpeter and standard.

I currently field three different sizes of artillery pieces: light guns are based on 40mm x 40mm, medium on 40mm x 50mm, and heavy guns on 40mm x 60mm bases. Light guns have two horse limbers on 30mm x 70mm, medium and heavy guns have four horse limbers based upon 30mm x 80mm bases. Scots frame guns are on 40mm x 30mm, with their pack horses on 30mm x 40mm.

Siege parties: grenadiers, and harquebusiers on foot are based on penny sized bases; petard teams on 30mm diameter bases. 

Siege engineers: based on penny sized bases, with a 4 × 2 movement tray.

Command stands: individual generals are based on 30mm diameter bases, commanders in chief are based with a personal standard bearer on 50mm diameter bases. Second in commands are identified by having a dog. Each side also has a preacher based on penny sized base.

Baggage train: my convention here is two wheeled carts on 30mm x 60mm, and four wheeled carts on 30mm x 80mm. I've added some suitable marching figures alongside my carts, superfluous I know but makes them look nice.

Every unit has a custom casualty marker depending upon their allegiance, complete with dead person.

Civilians: are based upon round bases: individuals on penny sized, small groups on 30mm diameter, and vignettes on 50mm diameter bases.

Clubmen: are based four figures to a 40mm x 15mm base, 6 bases fit a 120mm x 30mm sabot/movement tray, giving 24 men to a unit. Command is separate from units (to help give them an unorganised look) a drummer, standard bearer, a random citizen and a preacher share a 40mm diameter base.

On the underside of the bases there is an identification code system: this is purely so I know which base goes with which unit.

The top right corner has a faction colour code: Parliament is orange, Royalists are red, Solemn League and Covenant are blue, clubmen are white, Montrose's Army green. 

The unit name is written on movement trays or command stands, and a unique unit code is added: e.g. RF4 Royalist Foot regiment 4, PA Parliamentarian  Artillery, SLCF2 Solemn League and Covenant Foot regiment 2.


This example is Parliamentarian foot regiment #3, which is Colonel Charles Fairfax's regiment.

If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider supporting the blog. 
Thanks.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

English Civil War Flags

-
Image
This week a bit of a book review. Which is a bit odd, because it is two books. Steve Archibald published his first volume with Redcrest Books a couple of years ago. The first volume covers English and Scottish Foot Regiments. His second volume covers Cavalry Cornets and Guidons. Both books are well researched: anyone familiar with the source material will be able to see that the author has gone back to primary source material to check the designs rather than simply rehash the Military Modelling flag articles from 79/80. You'd be surprised how many other authors and flag manufacturers have used the MM articles as their source material. The giveaway that the author went back to original source material Many flags were only described, rather than illustrated, in source material - so they are only an artist's interpretation. Publishers of flag books take note: this is how to do a flag book - full colour illustrations! The Foot volume starts by explaining the differing flag systems.
Read more

Sashes*

-
Image
Hold your horses partner, as the denizens of the former colonies might say. Sashes? If you mean the fancy silk thing worn by officers in C17th portraiture then you are in the right place, but they weren't called sashes. Thems were called scarves. Now we've got correct nomenclature out of the way we can move on. Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes 1641, by Michiel Janszoon van Mierevelt You will often see portraits of Charles, his sons, and his nephews wearing blue  sashes  scarves. Only these aren't sashes, or even scarves. These are ribands, signifying that they are members of The Order of the Garter. The Order underwent a bit of a renaissance during Charles' reign, and also his eldest son's, no doubt as a means for raising revenue. Charles wearing the Order of the Garter riband, Sir Edward Walker wearing a rose scarf and a riband signifying that he is Garter King of Arms  But first let's start with who wore scarves and how they wore them.   One only has to look at portr
Read more

Coat Colours Part 2: Royalist Regiments of Foot

-
Image
Continuing my therapeutic blogging (write rather than rant) antidote to incorrect English Civil War coat colour tables for wargamers, I give you the Royalist Regiments of Foot Part 1  Parliamentarian coat colours Part 3  Scots coat colours Part 4  Dragoons, Horse and the New Model Army coat colours and information about the  Trained Bands Same rules apply here, as they did with the Parliamentarian coat colours: Regiments often got renamed when command passed to a new colonel - these regiments are listed under their first name e.g. Jacob Astley's Regiment was originally Richard Fielding's Regiment. Coat colour notes refer to contemporaneous references and some of the deductions made by Reid, Spring,  Peachey and Prince. You will also notice that some regiments have several coat colours listed. Where there is some question around a coat colour I have tried to give an explanation or provide notes. Don't forget the golden rule of ECW coat colours: there was no uniform
Read more

Which Figures?

-
Image
I see the ECW as the complete antithesis of Napoleonic gaming. I have thousands of Napoleonic figures, old school 15mm Naismith and Heritage, all in the same pose, neatly turned out in matching parade ground uniforms. That's how it should be, that is how I imagine lines of uniform troops shooting bravely at one another (maybe not in their Sunday best, the Funcken's have a lot to answer for with their Napoleonic uniforms books.) The ECW, however, is a completely different kettle of fish. Random uniforms, a mix of reds in a single red coated regiment, different hats, their own trousers (as opposed to standard issue). So a wide range of figures, poses, tweaked to give a ‘group of individuals’ look that I wanted. Plus I had a few other questions that needed addressing. Pikes Pikes are a thorny issue. Have a look on fleabay, search ‘ECW infantry’ to see some beautifully painted miniatures (and some not so beautiful ones too) armed with what looks like over cooked spaghetti. Sepa
Read more

Parliamentarian Artillery (Again)

-
Image
Due to continual 'ah, but I need to represent this unit' type scenarios I came to the conclusion that I needed some more artillery for my armies. This coincided with the demise of Naismith-Roundway and I thought I wouldn't be able to get matching limbers.  Thankfully, I discovered KeepWargaming who have a dwindling stock of Naismith figures. I quickly purchased all of the limbers in their stock room.  (So expect similar artillery posts about the Covenanters and the Royalists.) So here are my final planned Parliamentarian figures: two minions, crews and limbers. Figures from PP, the gun is listed as light gun. I must confess that I wasn't totally happy with my cannons. Historically the metalwork was most probably black, but it just looked much too flat. So I decided to paint these differently. I decided to use Foundry blackened barrel. I have two shades of the paint, the lighter version being used for the wheel tyres (my thinking being that the paint would be more worn)
Read more

Coat Colours Part 1: Parliamentarian Regiments of Foot

-
Image
When I first started my Civil War gaming project I relied upon the many ECW coat colour tables on wargaming websites. As my project has progressed, my library has got bigger, my research has gone back to primary sources rather than relying upon second and third hand sources; and I have noticed quite a few errors in these lists for wargamers. I have also noticed the same errors appearing in multiple lists.     As a result of continually seeing 'the London Trained Bands and their Auxiliaries wore red coats' (there is no evidence supporting this at all, the evidence, whilst not explicit suggests that the London Trained Bands wore civilian clothes - some of the Auxiliaries might have been issued with blue winter coats) I decided to write my own list.  So here it is. If your allegiance lies elsewhere you might want to look at  Part 2  Royalist coat colours Part 3  Scots coat colours & Part 3B Montrose and the Irish Brigade Pa
Read more

York and Marston Moor

-
Image
This post, has, by default turned into part 4 of my Rupert's March North series (even though it predates the series by several months). Still not had the call up from BBC2 for a miniseries - bet Ben Fogle gets the gig, or Professor Alice (lovely speaking voice, as my mum would say). York, as the country's northern capital had an important part to play during the Civil War. The siege, Rupert's relief of the siege and the resulting battle of Marston Moor have a lot to offer the wargamer. First we need to learn a little bit about York's place in English history and why it was very important during the Civil War. York was England's capital in the north (shades of Game of Thrones I know), strategically very important as a muster point for any military action against Scotland. Heavily fortified since Roman times, the city was also an important religious centre as well as being a seat of government. Fast forward to the C17th: the north is pretty much under the control of
Read more

Battle of Winwick, 19th August 1648

-
Image
Update: developers have finally been given the go ahead to build warehouse units on the Parkside Colliery site which covers the Parliamentarian lines on the battlefield. So go and visit before the views of the lines are lost. (On the plus side, the developers have to provide a battlefield trail and signage.) The Battle of Winwick, also known as the The Battle of Winwick Pass, and the Battle of Red Bank (I've also seen it referred to as the Battle of Warrington) was the culmination of the Battle of Preston  . The defeated Scots Royalist Army had fled from Preston pursued and harried by Parliamentarian soldiers from The New Model Army and The Northern Army. Those soldiers who hadn't deserted the Scots/Royalist Army rallied and mounted a last stand on the outskirts of Warrington at Winwick. Lobster pot helmet on display at Warrington Museum and Art gallery As the fighting was almost continuous over the course of three days, Winwick is often described as a continuation of th
Read more

Essex C17th Gentleman's Coach

-
Image
I quite fancied a coach, no other reason that it would look nice on the battlefield.  No doubt Robert Morley as the Earl of Manchester had a hand in this 'need'. A little bit of research (i.e. Google) showed two options available. Magister Militum and Essex both having a C17th gentleman's carriage in their listings. But no picture on the Essex website. A little more Googling brought up a review: the writer* ditched the Magister Militum offering as it was too complex and fiddly to build. So I ordered the Essex one on the strength of it (and my experience of having had a run in with MM Scots frame guns, which are really fiddly to assemble, which went in the bin). The coach arrived promptly, along with a restock of brown paint... must be more harquebusiers in the offing. The coach body comes in three parts: two sides and a roof. Attached to the body are the springs - take very great care not to damage them!  Unfortunately the two halves needed considerable greenstuff action to
Read more

The Auxiliary Regiments of the London Trained Bands: Blue Coats?

-
Image
Regular readers (hello both of you) will know that I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about Wargamer Facts ™. Here's the latest Wargamer Fact ™ to go under the KeepYourPowderDry investigative microscope. Having seen the phrase "the Auxiliaries may have received blue coats" many times I decided to look into the source of this information. Just as another  wargamer fact asserts that the London Trained Band wore red coats*, this "blue coats" fact would   seem to be on equally shaky ground. 1939 Player's Cigarettes card: Trained Bands of London But first, who were the London Trained Bands and the Auxiliaries? The Trained Bands were a system of militia organisation formalised by Elizabeth I to negate the need for a large  standing army. Organised locally, and administered by local dignitaries, men of good standing (in other words, what we now consider to be 'middle class'), were compelled to join the local trained band. In early Stuart times arms and ar
Read more