The Bots are back

 If my hit rates to the blog are to be believed one of three things is going on!

1.  I have become increasingly popular as a blogger

2.  There are far less blogs to read out there, or

3.  AI bots are trawling blogs for data to use in large language model AIs.

I have gone from barely crawling into the 20 - 30 hits per post to a steady 150ish and those hits are almost instant after I hit post!

I don't really think I have become better at blogging as unlike Mary Poppins I'm not "practically perfect in every way" and the content can't be that interesting to a general reader with no interest in wargaming. I also haven't noticed a major falling off of blog posting either, which leaves me to believe that the AI web crawlers are back.

Is anyone else finding the same thing?

Looking at Command and Control again

In the comments in my first post about this topic  (You can find it here >Small but Perfectly Formed: Command and control in wargames.<) Rob pointed me in the direction of a long out of print set of rules which had looked at the same points I was mulling over.  These are 'Napoleonic Rules for a Large Scale Action with Small Scale Miniatures'.  The rules were published in 1980 and had come up with a set of mechanisms to cover pretty much the exact issues I identified.  No point reinventing the wheel I thought and promptly hunted down a copy on Scribd.  After a read through and some note taking I was in agreement with Rob, almost half a century ago the same issue had come up and been solved by smarter minds than mine!

(AI image) This is the chain of command...don't make me use it!

The rules use a variable bound mechanism which was in vogue back then and which has fallen out of use since but it doesn't make much difference to the C2 rules involved.  It listed change of situation triggers, possible reactions to those changes and who can act on the triggers.  It also gives guidance on ranges over which triggers can be identified.  The core concept is that command and control are exercised at separate points in the chain of command and no one  (other than the CinC) can simply issue orders to attack, unless it is for a counter attack to defend the subordinates formation.  

Each link in the chain of command consists of a superior who issues commands and a subordinate who must execute them but can determine how that is done.  Orders have to pass down the full chain of command between an officer who is entitled to give a command and the officer who executes it,  and that takes time.  Essentially this consists of time in transit and time to read and execute the order.  In the absence of new orders a formation simply gets on with the last instructions unless attacked when it is entitled to defend itself.  I rather like the simple underpinning concept of "If tell you to jump all you are allowed to do is ask 'how high'."

The basics of the rules are as follows.

1.  The game starts with the CinC writing orders for the overall objectives of the subordinate commands.  These are broken down by Corps, Division Brigade objectives as required.  I can see fun and games arising in multi player games where three or four players are acting as Corps or Divisional commanders and have to translate Army level orders to their own subordinates objectives.

2. These initial orders are followed unless a change of situation is seen by an Army, Corps or Divisional Commander.  Brigades and Battalions can only deviate from orders if forced to act in self defence when attacked.  In that latter case all they can do is defend and/or or seek new orders from above.  Only the CinC has full freedom of action.

3. Change of Situation triggers are restricted to ten cases, see the tables below.  Each one has a limited set of responses available (also shown on the table below).

4.  Most responses only allow the parent formation to change orders but that requires a message moving from them to the subordinate formation and in some cases vice versa all of which takes time.

5.  Units engaged in firefights or close combat cannot respond to changes in situation or seek new orders.  This means that generals need be able to see what is happening to their commands to be able to influence the fight as the units at the sharp end are locked in place.

Permitted Responses to a change in situation

These possible changes are not mutually exclusive.  They include options for both the affected unit and that units superior.  So (for example) the subordinate unit could go on the defensive and seek new orders while the superior commander seeing the situation could send orders to other units in response

Triggers and options

The rules don't take into account failures to follow orders correctly and other areas of friction as it seems to be assumed that orders are not open to interpretation and are followed to the letter.  While this may be the case in most situations there are always occasional  'outliers' where subordinates have ideas of their own, for good or ill!  They also don't appear to be written to cover Army through to Battalion chains of command or the freedom of action granted French Corps commanders (Q was that really a thing on a big battlefield or just while Corps were acting independently?)

That said, looking at the above I think I have enough to work with to create some simple C2 rules.  Lets see how it goes.

And just like that

 Like what you may wonder?  As well as what happened 'just like that'?  Or maybe not of course.  You may recall that I was bemoaning the lack of local wargaming opponents and saying how I had taken a chance on sticking my head over the parapet to ask on a local Facebook page if there were any local wargamers in my small slice of North Lincolnshire.   The answer appears to be no and that the nearest historical gaming groups are either in Hull or Grimsby.  As a result I resigned myself to solo gaming for the foreseeable future.

Well 'just like that' I had a message from an ex member of Hull University Wargaming Club firstly asking if the same chap who had been a member back in the mid 1970's.  The answer being yes I was indeed a member some fifty years ago.  It turns out the ex member (no names no pack drill applies as not everyone wants their details splashing all over the net) was still in touch with a couple of gamers from back then and that they had been getting together for games meet ups.  The amazing bit being he lives less than fifteen miles away.  As a result I have an invite to a three day gaming session later this month and I'm in touch with some friends I haven't seen in half a century!

I don't think it will be figure gaming as the people concerned were fans of the hex map strategy games especially the really huge ones.  War in Europe was a favourite although they did draw the line at SPI's Campaign for North Africa.  But hey a wargame is a wargame on a table with figures or on a hex map with counters.  Watch this space for a follow up game report towards the end of the month.

The grand parade of recycled wood dust

Also known as MDF, a strange material made of wood fibres, resin and wax.  It contains Formaldehyde which is not a pleasant substance and sanding is not recommended as the dust is potentially hazardous,  On the other hand it does make some excellent miniature figures and it's cheap (a recuring theme in my thinking you will have gathered by now!).  Once laser cut and engraved by the talented Walt of Commission Figurines, painted and based by yours truly they create a rather nice effect for not a lot of time and effort.

As always with 6mm figures the trick is to paint for the overall effect of the unit once it is based up, rather than creating individual masterpieces.  This especially so with the MDF figures and I have realised that painting them in an almost toy soldier style works well.  To be honest there is almost no scope for traditional high lights and ink washing is pointless as there is nothing to pick out.  A little creative paining of brighter shades along arms legs and shoulders some darker creases on the legs is about the best that you could do an guess what?  At arms length it hardly shows up so I didn't bother.  Even if I did I'd limit it to the front of the front rank and the rear of the rear rank and perhaps the left and right files outer sides.

So having made my excuses for a only using a limited paint scheme, here's what the result looks like massed together.

The Anglo-Spanish Army as it currently stands

The gallant losers, er,  I mean the French

Last but not least I have my first unit of French foreign troops the 4th Swiss Line Infantry.  Included in the front line of the above picture.

The Swiss, they look better at table top distance

Swiss rear view

I ran out of grenadiers in bearskins so sneaked an elite in shako figure into make up the shortfall.  I'm quite taken with the red and sky blue jackets.

All for now the next post is about something completely different. 

White Paint Pens - part two

I tried the paint pens this week.  They are not the perfect solution but they are neater than my freehand, more consistent and a lot faster.  They do need a good shaking before each use otherwise the paint and medium separate.  I was hoping for a perfect 0.7mm or 0.5mm line and that isn't what I got.  In both cases the line is thicker as the paint spreads.  In fact the 0.7mm nib gives a narrower line than the 0.5mm as it has a tapered nib while the smaller nib is more like that on a fine liner pen.  I'd say the 0.5mm gives a line closer to 2mm while the 0.7 is around 1mm. As a result both need a bit of touching up after the paint dries but not a huge amount.  The paint goes on smoothly and dries quickly and most importantly is a good solid white even over a dark base coat like Dark Prussian Blue. 

Part painted and pre touch up on the cross belt, but you can see the coverage is good

With a paint brush I can get a better result than  the above about 25% of the time.  The problem is the other 75% of attempts!  I tend to be a bit messy with the initial coats anyway and tidy up any over painting at the end so touching up cross belts is no biggie.

After a tidy up

I shall persevere with the pens as I think that with more practice I could probably get a more consistent and thinner line. The main point is that overall I'm no worse with the pen than I am with the brush and it is a lot faster in use.  The time on touch ups is still less than the faffing about trying to get a brushed line right.  So for me pens are useful, if you are younger than me and have good eyesight and coordination the paintbrush may still be the best solution.

Command and control in wargames.

I recently came across an interesting discussion on TMP about command and control (C2) in Napoleonic wargames (it's here if you want to read it [TMP] "Command and Control rules in Napoleonic Rule Sets" Topic).  Which of course got me to thinking about how this is handled in Valour and Fortitude (Spoiler Alert - it isn't covered in any detail).  For me the lack of any certainty in C2 is a key part of pre modern wargame period and as such should be included in most rule sets.  So of course I started tinkering based upon the ideas thrown up in the forum posts.  Oh it's worth bearing in mind that some of my posts are an attempt to clarify concepts I have in my mind by writing them down in way that other people (that's you BTW) can follow.  This is one of those posts!

I have written it down so there can be no confusion! Thirteen fish and chips but no salt or vinegar on mine.  Grouchy wants haddock, Ney wants sole and the rest are cod.  Ten mushy peas and three curry sauces, and bring the change back!  Do you understand the order?

As I see it the issues boil down to:

1.  Who can give orders or change orders, 
2.  What trigger events should allow the initial orders to be changed,
3.  How many orders can be issued per turn per commander,
4. What should those orders be,
5.  How long do they take to get to subordinates,
6.  How to model failures in arrival and mistakes in applying them,
7. Who can only execute the orders.

Some or all of the above have variable answers based upon the level a game is set at of course.  A game set at army level may not use individual battalions to execute orders.  Instead it may only go down to brigade level.  On the other hand a game set at corps or a division level may go down the command structure to battalion level.  This also impacts the scope for initiative to be used as a battalion commander will see less of the battlefield events than a division command as he is busy at the down and dirty end of the fight!  That means that they see less events that might trigger a change of orders, its a kind of target fixation.  

So lets look at a full army level C2 position and go through it step by step.

1. Who can give orders or change orders

Obviously the overall commander can issue orders to any subordinate.  I'd also consider that at the other end battalion commanders have no scope to change their orders, they just have to execute them.  In between those two extremes things are a bit cloudier though.  Corps, division and brigade commanders are given an objective but have some scope to decide how to achieve that, although that reduces as you move down the chain of command.  I could see an argument for brigade commanders to be in same boat as battalion commanders

2.  What trigger events should allow the initial orders to be changed

Another obvious starting point here, if a commander isn't aware of a thing it can't trigger a change.  This is linked to my comment on target fixation.  The nearer to the fighting a commander is the less he sees of the overall picture.  Also the lower down the chain of command the less they should be focussed on anything beyond their formations objective.  I'm considering some kind of situational awareness limit on what a subordinate commander can react to.

3. How many orders can be issued per turn per commander and what should they be

How many orders can be issued a turn depends on how decisive a commander is and how long a turn length is being used.  Note that decisive is not the same as good, a commander can be decisive (i.e. quick to make decisions) and still get the decisions and hence the new orders wrong!  

As for turn length V&F doesn't define things like time and ground scale, which is an issue to my mind,  I had to do it myself based on weapon ranges in the rules compared to reality.  For 6mm figures I eventually settled in 1cm to 20 yards/paces/metres (I'm not picky at 6mm scales).  From that I could approximate turn length from movement distances.  Infantry movement tuns out to be around 80 paces/turn in line which using an average of British and French normal marching pace length and rate gives just under a 90 second turn!  For an army level game this seems far too short to me.  How I wish the designer had done some math rather than using what felt right (see my note at the end)! So lets fudge the answer and call a turn 30 minutes.  So that's how long a general has to digest information and spit out any changes to orders.  

Lets also decide that generals come in only five flavours excellent, good, average, poor and bloody useless (aka atrocious).  The better the grade the more new orders can be generated each turn.

4. What should those orders be

I'm on firmer ground here as I considered this topic when writing my pike and shot rules and one suggested solution on the TMP forum matches my view.  So initial and new orders should be one of the following:

Attack an objective [a named location or formation] then once that is achieved change to defend

2.       Defend [a named location]

3.       Manoeuvre [to a named location] if attacked this changes to defend.  This includes a retire order

4.       Reserve – Standing by awaiting an order 1-3  

5. How long do they take to get to subordinates

Another fairly straight forward aspect.  Calculate the number of moves for a horse at maximum move rate to go between general and subordinate and at the end of that number of moves the messenger should arrive.  Once the new orders should be with the subordinate roll a D6 on a 1-2 they arrive straight away on a 3-6 they are delayed dice again next turn.  Remember the subordinate doesn't know new orders are coming so doesn't know they are delayed or even that the messenger was killed on route.  If after double the transit time the message hasn't arrived the commander may resend an order as the aide has not returned and can be assumed to be wounded or dead.

6. How to model failures in arrival and mistakes in applying them

If no new orders arrive the subordinate continues to follow his previous instructions unless he is entitled to issue orders to his subordinates.  If he is at the end of the food chain tough.  Carry out the last order until the morale test lets you run away!  otherwise some kind of test to see if the subordinate has the brains to see a change is needed.  A poor or atrocious commander may also misinterpret orders.  So roll a D6; on a 1 take more aggressive action, on a 2-5 follow orders and on a 6 take less aggressive action than ordered.

7. Who can only execute the orders.

As with point one this depends on the level of action being covered by the rules.  For army level games I would suggest that Battalions have no ability to change orders so can only execute the order given.  All other links in the chain have to execute their orders subject to discretion on how to do that.  That discretion should reduce the lower down the chain a subordinate is.  For example a brigade commander might be allowed to keep and decide when to release a reserve but little else.  A division commander might be able to determine what each brigade shall do to achieve his objective but can't change the overall objective.  While a Corps commander (especially a French one) is entirely free to make any decision they see fit unless given a direct order to follow.  Allied Corps should be prone to doing their own thing especially if Spanish.

Next time I will try and put some flesh on the bones of this post by creating some rule ideas for C2 for V&F.

Notes

I found a rather useful article on line on march rates here > Napoleonic Infantry March Rates – Rod's Wargaming <.  The opinion of the author, based on Dundas' drill regulations of 1792 is that lines and attack columns did not march at different rates.  So that's a popular wargames rule trope busted.

White paint pens

One of the trickier aspects of painting the MDF figures which have been occupying my time recently are the cross belts.  I'm over 70 now and the eyes are not as good as they were, so painting very thin white lines becomes a hit and miss task at best.  So I decided to try one of the newer technologies available paint pens for this.  After a bit of research (Ok two minutes reading Amazon reviews) I took the plunge and bought a pack of four from Pinturale Arts.  These are two each of 0.7mm and 0.5mm tipped pens which I hoped would create the fine lines I need for cross belts and the edging to horse blankets.  I have used permanent ink pens for a number of years but find that they are not always as light fast as claimed so I was not entirely convinced that these would do what they said on the tin.

These are they (or them?).

The pens them selves are quite slim so probably don't hold much paint but at under £10 for four that is less of a worry than with the more expensive makes.

Sorry about the image quality but, you know, a pen is a pen

To use them simply shake for 30 seconds and pump the nib a few times to prime it and off you go.  I tried out the 0.7mm nib and as expected the line was wider than 0.7mm but not by too much and once some of the ink had flowed it became a little more precise.  Coverage was good and it is easy to get a line unlike my attempts with a size 00 brush!  The label showing the nib size was hard to see so I took the precaution of writing on the barrels with a Sharpie so I can see what's what easily.  Once I have some more infantry ready to paint I will try the smaller nib on cross belts and report back.

Napoleonic reinforcements and painting confusion

 As mentioned in my last post I came home from holiday to find my order from Commission Figurines sitting on the door mat.  I wasted very little time before getting them sorted out.  Well I say wasted, does unpacking the car, taking suitcases upstairs, the washing to the utility room (AKA a cupboard with a washing machine and tumble drier) and feeding the dog count as wasted?  Don't bother answering Mrs E has firm views on these things and I'm not going to argue.  But sorted they eventually were.

The point of this order was to give the French something like parity with the British on a battalion to battalion basis.  I get less French infantry units from each pack than I do British as I base them with more figures per base, so I needed to balance things out.  Of course I completely blew that plan by also buying packs for creating British allies in the form of Portuguese and Spanish infantry.  Of course, it's the latter nation which is causing the painting confusion.

All of you Napoleonic War old hands will already have faced this particular problem.  It's the Spanish supply system, or rather lack of one that's the issue.  They had uniform regulations, but once the French controlled (and I'm using controlled in it's loosest sense here) most of Spain, Spanish uniform was, well, not particularly uniform!  I make it three sets of official uniform regulations, plus various ad hoc uniforms followed by at least one set of British supplied kit on top.  Most of which seem to have been in use at the same time or at least overlapped each other to a fairly large extent.  Oh how I have enjoyed researching the topic.  It's safe to say that my brain hurts at the moment.

First two Spanish Battalions one militia (brown coats) and one Regular Army (White)

I'm currently looking at the period before British supplies started to arrive in bulk, which was from around 1811.  So I finally decide that to aid identification old regular army and militia should be in white, but with a sprinkling of brown.  New volunteers and new militia should be in brown and later war units in blue coats.  Light Infantry will vary and any formed guerrilla units will be a hodgepodge of colours but predominantly browns.  Head gear will be Bicornes, round hats (the top hat looking things) or shakoes as required.  Bicornes for early war regulars and militia, top hats (actually stovepipe shakos as the brims don't show at 6mm) for local Junta raised militia and volunteers and French style shakoes for later war or units who pop up as wearing them early in the war.  All of which is probably subject to change as things progress across the painting table!

Rear view of the above.  The engraved detail is not bad at all.

From what I can see the engraved relief on the backs of the figures is created by laser engraving 'pecking' out small chunks of the MDF.  The detail is rather surprising if that is the technique used.  Flags are freebies from the the net sourced from M S Foy's excellent blog Prometheus in Aspic Prometheus in Aspic: Homebrewed Flags - more 1809 Spanish and another excellent site  'JJ's Wargames Blog' JJ's Wargames.  The latter being especially helpful with advice on uniforms for the Spanish.

Thankfully for the Portuguese hardly varied their uniforms at all probably as they had a decent supply system after 1808! 

Back from the Lake district

Not that you probably spotted that I was away!  Mrs E and I took the caravan to a rather nice caravan site between Keswick and Penrith for a few days R & R.  No TV very little internet connectivity and no blogging.  It was very relaxing.  The weather was kind and mostly only rained at night.  There is something very soothing about the sound of rain on a caravan roof, as long as you are inside the caravan at the time of course.  Our dog enjoyed the experience of running around in Crow Park and swimming in a couple of lakes and almost everywhere was dog friendly.  If you are in Keswick I can strongly recommend The eatery next to the Lakeside Theatre the food is really good and they have a few dog snacks available.

Brougham Castle Keep

Another view of the Castle

On the military front we visited Brougham Castle (pronounced Broom, so I suspect JBM has had a hand in this).  Carlisle Castle was closed while were there as it was before 10.00am and we got engrossed in other stuff (More food actually I can vouch for the chocolate cake in the Tullie Museum cafe).  On the History front we made our annual trip to Castle Rigg Stone Circle and also took in Long Meg and her Daughters as well.

Long Meg herself along with Mrs E and Mabel

Other than that we walked, drank beer and ate more than we really should have done.  It was horrible, honest.

'Surprise view' above Keswick.  Derwentwater in the foreground.

On my return my order from Commission figurines had arrived.  This consisted of one pack of Infantry in Bicornes to be used as Spanish in 1805 issue uniform or as militia, one pack of French Line with Grenadiers in Bearskins to be used for Spanish Grenadiers and French Line (I mistakenly thought it was a pack consisting of just grenadiers), two Packs of Infantry in Belgique Shakos for use as Portugeuse in Barretinas, two packs of French line in Shako, and some strips of Skirmishers and generals.  The skirmishers all seem to be French looking but at 6mm after a paint job I doubt anyone will be able to tell what style of Shako is portrayed.

I'm already wondering which packs would be the best bet for additional grenadiers for the Spanish, but won't be ordering anything until I have painted the 600 plus new figures that just arrived!  Pictures of those will follow (eventually).

Painting is back to normal

For the last few weeks painting has been a chore, not because I lost my painting mojo but because the heat made the paint go off far to quickly.  I still managed to get things done but only by dint of avoiding trying to work at the hottest part of the day.  It was the same problem with glues for basing  blink and it had gone off!  But as of this last few days we have had some very welcome rain and temperatures are actually below the seasonal average so painting is back on.

However, to paint I need good tools and I'm reluctantly coming to accept that my favourite paint brushes are coming to the end of their useful lifespan.  I can't complain they have served me well for over a decade, but their ability to hold a point has gone.  These were my first Kolinski sable brushes and to be honest they were inexpensive, given their quality, at under £5.00 a brush.  I bought some brushes from Rosemary and Co a few months back and those are very nice but I bought too many size 1 and not enough zero's or smaller.  I have to say though that I am impressed with them so far, as the points hold well even after a lot of use, and they clean fairly easily.

In respect of my painting output I have had a lot of MDF come across the painting table in the shape of the Commission Figurines Napoleonic stuff I bought at Joy of Six.  I have painted all of the British Foot I bought there, most of the French and I'm now working on some of the French mounted Dragoons.  Finding uniform details, especially for mounted types, has been a steep learning curve for someone like me with only a passing interest in the period prior to starting this project.  I used to have a hardback Osprey compilation on French Napoleonic Cavalry a few years ago but foolishly, I got rid of it as Napoleonic's were not my thing ....Doh!  Note to self never throw away reference material.

Valour and Fortitude updates

Just a quick heads up to say that the updated version of Valour and Fortitude (Version 4) is now available to down load from the Perry Miniatures website.  I have read through it and the changes are fairly minor with one exception.  Skirmishers are now automatically treated as deployed which is dealt with by giving an extended shooting range to eligible units. That means that many units now have a short and long range band rather than a single range band. Units which opt to use volley fire use the short range as they are considered to recover skirmishers first before firing (well shooting your own lads is unsporting).  Artillery also has two range bands, the short one to represent the use of cannister. Some other rules have been clarified, to deal with some issues the player base brought up.    The one exception to minor tweaking is the big reduction in shooting values for Napoleonic troops. Units which might have had a shooting factor of 3 or 4 now have a factor of 1 or 2!  This change seems to be to reflect the use of very short range fire which is part of the close assault combat.  In this it is doing the same thing Altar of Freedom does and considering assaults as a mix of short range fire fights and bayonet charges.

I don't think the changes change my view of the rules as being what I'm looking for they are still fairly simple but have subtleties hidden in the special rules for each army.

On the painting front I now have eight battalions of British painted and based along with five of French. I have French Dragoons on the painting table so I'm nearly ready for a test game. The British are line infantry with a half battalion of rifles, while the French are three Line and two Light battalions.  I have placed an order for more figures to include some that will become Portuguese and some skirmishers and commanders.

Now me being me and being unable to help myself I have made a couple of changes to the rules as written (in keeping with the spirit of the rules though, honest!).  Firstly I'm basing battalions on a single 60 x 30 mm  base.  Secondly I'm using slightly less figures per battalion than the minimum that the rules recommend.  It doesn't make a huge difference as the rules don't count figures other than to consider if a battalion is larger or smaller than the norm.  My British have 20 figures in two ranks, while the French have 30 in three ranks.  This makes depicting open order tricky so to do that I will add a 60x 15mm base of open order figures to the front of the battalion to show that status.  For march columns I will just place a marker showing the front of the column and put the battalion base at right angles to normal so the 30mm edge becomes the front.  While that means that the figures would be facing the wrong way it is a quick fix until I mount some figures in a column formation.  I'm not sure how the rules deal with the various different attack columns frontages yet but I will get my head around it eventually.  For the moment to depict an attack column I will place the 60 x 15 base at the rear of the unit. I am slowly learning about the period as before Joy of Six I didn't know that attack columns could even be on different frontages or when they were used.

One other thing I have learned is that you get an awful lot of infantry for £4.00.  Even with base costs and estimated painting and texturing costs the troops below came in at just under £6.00 all in.  Skirmish bases are not textured yet as I need to add some firing skirmish figures to each base, which should be with me in the next few days.  Flags are home printed and slightly over scale.  MDF bases from Warbases and flock, sand and glue from my existing supplies.

£4.00 for two packs of infantry gives me this!

Best Napoleonic fact I have learned so far, is that Marshall Massena lost the battle of Bussaco because he was too distracted to coordinate the attacks of his three divisions.  The reason he was distracted?  His mistress was flaunting herself topless in a hussar uniform!  I suppose that would do it.  I haven't learned which regiment of Hussar's uniform it was though.

Thoughts on ...Valour and Fortitude Napoleonic rules

Yes, alright it's yet another new rabbit hole, I know I promised not too, but they were free.  You know free, my favourite price point and all that.  It's Napoleonic's that historical period that I don't do, except that now there is a distinct possibility that I'm going to be doing them.  In my defence I'm doing it on the cheap and in 6mm (well you have to be able to see some of the uniforms) but I haven't become a button counter, honest.

The rules don't come as a book so there is no front cover to show you!

You know how it is, the figures looked nice at Joy of Six, they were cheap, oh so cheap and just one purchase couldn't hurt, could it?  Next thing you know I'm looking up Italian uniforms for the Peninsula War.  Which are white, by the way, I mean which genius thought that one up?  How did they ever think they could keep them white in the field, what with black powder weapons, and mud and blood and such like.  Mind you it will make painting them easy when I get to them.

On a slightly less over-excited topic though: the rules.  As you might know I have tried Napoleonic's a couple of times and simply couldn't find a rule set that clicked with me.  So while I was wondering what to do with nearly 400 MDF figures I started searching.  A couple of sets caught my eye but none of them were quite what I wanted.  Then I hit on Valour and Fortitude (lets call it V&F going forward) they use battalions as the combat formations but can be played with brigades as the combat unit with very little change and others have done that with no problems.  They have the right level of granularity for me and I could download them for free so if I find I don't like them all I have wasted is some printer paper and ink.

The rules are fairly simple, the core mechanisms are contained in four pages (three really as the first page is just the definitions), plus a page for a QRS and another two for optional rules, even then most of the optional rules cover changes for different scales.  On top of which, each army has a separate two page list of unit types, unit sizes and special rules, plus a fate table.  Game play is IGOUGO, with dice controlled brigade activations, the play sequence is Fate > Fire >  Action > Melee.

The fate phase is where the fate table comes in.  This is a set of thirteen events or traits that are triggered by drawing a playing card each turn.  Some are used at once others can be held onto and used in a later turn.  The effect of the cards is not huge and doesn’t look like it would have a huge impact on the game play.   Next up is shooting and units which have now decide to  shoot cannot take an action in the next phase.   The action phase is where units may choose to move, reform, double, retreat, assault or rally.  Any action requires the unit to pass an action test, although some fate cards can overrule this.  Double is used to bring reserves forward and does what the name suggests, allows a longer move.  Reforms allow changes of direction and or formation and can be combined with movement, while rallies can remove hits.

I keep reading that the rules feel like Black Powder light, but can’t comment to that having never played Black Powder.  All fairly straight forward really.  It's the Army sheets which add the granularity and flavour.  These cover most of the popular Napoleonic armies and minor nations, plus ACW, AWI and British Civil Wars. The rules and all the other free stuff can be downloaded from here Valour & Fortitude - Perry Miniatures.  These are currently (Late July 2026) the 2nd edition, version 3.1 but there is an update to Version 4 due any day now.

As soon as I have enough troops painted and based I will run a solo test game with my usual explanatory sub sections.  That may be a while as so far I have painted four French battalions and only one British one, no cavalry or artillery.  In fact I haven't even bought any artillery yet!

More Joy of Six purchases painted.

A dearth of posts followed by a glut of posts.  Yes my blogging does remind me of buses!  It’s a lot like my painting progress too.  I haven’t painted much of anything for a couple of months and in the last week I’ve painted 80 of the MDF infantry and nine H&R tanks.

It’s those tanks which are the subject of this post.  If you have read my post covering this years Joy of Six show you will know that I bought two KV-1’s and seven T-70’s for use in the Fistful of T34s campaign from Little Wars TV.  If and when I get around to that.

A pair of KV-1 the camera accentuates the  dry brushing effect

The H&R castings are not quite as detailed as the GHQ ones but they are nice and paint up well.  The lack of detail is partly because the H&R castings are a slightly smaller scale than the GHQ ones.  The great thing about H&R, though, is that they are sold individually rather than in packs.  Which means that I can buy exactly what I need.

A KV-1 flanked by a pair of T-70s as a size comparison

Compared to some of the other things I have been painting recently World War Two Soviet armour is a nice relaxing break!  Undercoat in white, give a single colour top coat of Vallejo Russian Uniform (a nice drab green with a tiny hint of brown to it) and dry brush with Vallejo Bone White, then pick out the tracks and exhausts and that's it done.  Easy peasy as they say.  They are crying out for some tiny red star decals but I don't have any to hand at the moment but that's a job I can pick up later.

I have tried out a black background for these shots and used the diffuser light box I made a couple of years ago.  The different background helps define the models and to my eye makes colours pop more.

The French units pop more against black.  Oh. and yes I spotted one flag is upside down!

Back to Manassas once more

For a replay of First Manassas 1861 to introduce a new gaming friend to Altar of Freedom.  The scenario is an interesting one as it uses a 6' x 4' table but with a low unit density.  The battlefield is dissected by Bull Run creek which can only be crossed at a handful of bridges and fords which focusses the initial action towards those points. 

The Federals under McDowell (played by Stephen the new guy) have the objective of breaking the Confederate Army.  To do that requires them to break five Confederate brigades. While the Confederates have to do the same to the Federals (also needing five Brigades destroyed)  or to be contending the settlement of Centreville.  Which means being within musket range of any part of the town.  This is because Centreville is on the road to Washington.  The Confederates (played by me) are under the overall command of Beauregard but also have Joe Johnson as second commander.  

Both sides Generals have a mix of good and bad traits just to make things interesting.  McDowell has an additional HQ (useful for rallying broken brigades, or at least trying to) but on the negative side is inept which means no two divisions can have the same priority point bids so attacks cannot be coordinated.  The Confederates have restrictions through Beauregard who has to withhold half his priority points until the turn end phase and has a random minus one or plus two priority point adjustment each turn.  Did I mention that five times out of six he will get the minus option.  Johnson at least is more positive he can reroll one shooting roll, for any of his brigades, each turn.

Last time out I played as the Federals and tried to follow McDowell's historical plan.  It didn't work! This time I was the Confederates and decided to push over Bull Run to threaten Centreville while holding the Stone Bridge and Fords until I saw what the Federal plan was.  I decided to ignore the Sudley Springs crossings based upon the time it would take for McDowell to get troops over them and around my flank.  The Confederates have to deploy first anywhere south of Bull Run.  The Federals deploy second but are restricted to a four square foot area around Centreville which then extends along the north table edge to a depth of one foot and ends two feet short of the corner where Sudley Springs is located.

Turn one initial deployments with Confederate lines of advance marked in Red

The Federals deployed defensively covering the Potential lines of attack over Bull Run and showed no intention of swinging wide around the Confederate left.  This allowed Stephen to off set McDowell's command issues by leaving one division in a static position in front of Centreville.  For most of the Game he also managed to gain control of the turn clock which allowed him to slow it down sufficiently to ensure that three divisions were always activated.  I Started by pushing Johnsons troops over Bull Run and moved a small portion of Beauregard's division to cover the crossings.  The Confederates don't have the same problem with activation as they are organised in what are for all intents and purposes two Grand Divisions.  What is a problem is the number of available priority points as there are not enough to gain the first activation and to control the turn clock and because of his traits Beauregard's division was usually slow to activate.

The situation at the end of the first turn (11.00am)

The Federal's hold around Centreville and prepare their line in the woods (top of the picture).  Their centre advances into the woods west of the ridge Centreville stands on which is a slow process as woods are rough terrain with a big move reduction (Shown by blue arrows) . On their left Stephen reenforces his line opposite the Stone Bridge.  Johnson has a toehold over Bull Run but hasn't deployed in a firing line and I totally forgot to move Stuart's Cavalry brigade at the far end of the table (DOH!).  The massing of troops opposite the bridge worried me enough to detach two infantry brigades and send them to support the defence there.  At least those Damn Yankees aren't heading for the Sudley Springs crossings!

The end of Turn 2 (12.00 Noon) Fighting has broken out in the woods

Turn two sees my infantry pushing into the woods on the North side of Bull Run and skirmishing with the Federals.  You can see fatigue markers starting to accumulate (the white and green discs).  I remembered to advance Stuart's cavalry brigade this turn !  The Federals have closed up on the Stone Bridge but the extra two brigades of infantry are helping hold the position.  Stephen is getting to grips with fighting an army level action now and has understood that fighting on the defensive is a better option for his green troops.  His experience with Napoleonics is also coming into play as he understands the importance of supporting his infantry with aggressive use of artillery.

As the day wears on the fighting in the central and eastern sectors really starts to heat up and the first brigades start to flee to the rear in rout.  By early afternoon neither side had made any progress at the Stone Bridge, over at the east end of the field, with artillery and musketry driving back any attempt to gain a foot hold over Bull Run.  However, in the centre the Federal defence had been driven back through the woods in the centre and more and more Confederate units were crossing over to add to the pressure.  South of Centreville Federal counter attacks were holding the Confederates off and there was an entire division in and around Centreville which hadn't been committed to the fighting.  This was mainly due to the way Stephen had marshalled his priority points to offset McDowell's negative command traits.  By keeping a reserve he could give more priority to the other three divisions, which was a clever move.

Things were heating up (both on the table and in my conservatory)  as the game entered its closing moves.  Faced with the possibility of having his army split by the Confederate push against his centre, Stephen elected to consolidate by pulling back from the Stone Bridge so he could reinforce the centre of the battle line.  Given that neither side was anywhere near breaking the Confederates needed to close on Centreville to achieve their secondary victory condition.  I was making slow progress to the south of Centreville but was having more success in building for a 'left hook' into the flank and rear of the Centreville defence.  Stephen basically closed the door on that idea by bringing troops west from the Stone Bridge area.

The end stage of the battle

Red arrows show the confederate advance over the Stone Bridge and the wavy red line the extent of their advance.  Blue arrows show the Federal retirement from the bridge and the advance of the reserve Division south of Centreville.  The Federals were slowly giving ground to the North East to protect the roads toward Washington and to refuse their right flank while the Confederates are slowly pushing forward onto that flank.  The delay is due to the need to get over the bridge and deploy into line again coupled with Beauregard's command problems.  This is pretty much where we were when the game ended.  Both sides had lost two brigades, but the Federals were carrying slightly more fatigue markers, although these were being rallied off as troops pulled out of the front lines and reorganised.  I'd call it a draw as neither side had managed to break the required five brigades and the Confederates didn't look like they were going to contest control of Centreville anytime soon.

It was a good game with a new opponent who picked up the rules and tactics really quickly.  Altar of Freedom gave their usual entertaining game with command and control issues to wrestle with throughout.  I only managed to gain control of the turn clock once in the entire game but it didn't really hamper me too much.  I hope Stephen enjoyed it as much as I did.

More MDF Napoleonics

Next up on the painting table is a test unit of the British Infantry from Commission Figurines MDF range of 6mm figures.  Unlike the French figures these are not cut with shouldered muskets.  I prefer the shouldered figure outline as it gives more shape for the eye to grab hold of at arms length but it probably makes the figures a bit more robust.  My British unit will have less figures than the 30 man French one.  I'm going with 20 figures in two ranks to show the 'thinner' British line formation.  It also makes the pack go further!

These figures are trickier to paint than the previous French offerings as I have to paint in white cross belts on to the contrasting red coats.  The nature of the MDF figures means that there is almost no relief for the paint brush to follow, so that needed a steady hand and a good eye, which at my age is a big ask!  I had to go back with the red to tidy up in some cases but eventually I got them as I wanted.  OK lets be honest, almost as I wanted.  The picture in my mind's eye is always neater than I achieve in reality but I long ago learned that the difference between the two is what drives me to improve (and should be ignored when necessary).  Next time I might try to add the cross strap for the back pack as these look very 'chocolate box soldier' like.  It's probably the lack of anything which suggests the lace across the coatee's chest area that is the issue but I can't think of any way to paint them which wouldn't end in a messy splodge!

You can see the blockiness of the figures in this shot

I went with a white undercoat and first painted in the red coatees.  This stage can be as messy as you like, as everything done after this stage will tidy it up.  Grey trousers for the majority came next with the officers getting white to help set them apart.  Remember that these are painted in right up to the waistline as the coatees were cut short at the front.  This was followed for black for shakos and boots.  Then it was time for the detail.  Black backpacks and cartridge box, mid blue canteens, light grey blanket roll. brown muskets and (gulp) white cross belts.  Last was flesh to the faces and hands, your choice of turnback colour and the plumes.  It sounds a lot but other than the cross belts it is just a dash or a dot of colour where required.  The only other thing left was to paint in any shoulder straps.  It was at this point I realised I hadn't painted a drummer in reverse colours (oh buggah) so back to the painting table had to go.

It's an OK paintjob I'm sure I can do a better job with practice.

A little bit of tidying up  on the shoulder straps might help with the overall look.  I did think about adding Skirmishers to the base but decided against it for two reasons. Firstly that having a separate narrow strip that could be placed in front of the base as required might be useful in some rules and second, I haven't bought any skirmishers yet.  MDF bases are going to help with the survivability of the figures so an order will be on it's way to Warbases in due course.

For reference I found the Baccus 6mm painting guides helpful along with several painting blog posts I found online (especially Steve's Balagan).

MDF Napoleonics

So after my trip to the Joy of six show, I promised to show you my attempts at painting Napoleonic infantry.  Specifically some French infantry.  So here they are.

You can easily see the difference in colour between the undercoats used.

I had to change my normal painting style for 6mm figures as these are laser cut MDF.  Because of this, they take paint in a different way to metal castings as it soaks into the MDF.  I tried two different styles of painting, one was undercoating in white and the other in black.  I then block painted the flesh, clothing and weapons. I also added a home drawn and printed flag.  I  know this is oversized but I think recognising the flag is important at smaller scales.  I picked out some of the laser engraved detail using a very fine indelible black ink pen to give definition.

If you look carefully, you will see some of the blue coats are darker than others. Those are the figures which were undercoated in black. I'm unsure which undercoating style gives the best result, especially at anything more than close range viewing. The figures were fairly easy to paint. For those under the coated in black a stripe of white up the centre of the front of the body for the vest and turn backs and breaches with blue added to the edges is the bulk of the figure painted. It's the same system for those undercoated in white but without the need to overpaint the areas which will end up white.   I think I will stick with the white undercoat system and buy a bottle of Vallejo Prussian Blue to offset the lightening effect of the undercoat.

What really makes them pop is adding the fine detail. This includes things like turn backs on the sleeves, shako plates, pom-pom colours, backpacks and blanket rolls.  Unlike metal figures, I have not given them an ink wash as there isn't sufficient sculpted detail for the ink to pick out. At the moment these figures are not varnished but I am considering using a spray on varnish to give some protection.

Picking out some detail really helps bring them to life.

I have based the figures on cardboard (as a test) and used my normal texturing system of fine sand topped with patches of flock.  Currently, these are on a 6 cm x 3 cm base, but I’m still unsure as to how I will base them going forward as I am not yet sure which rules I will use.  That said I prefer the large unit look of this batch to the smaller base I tried first.  I think these are rather nice given that they are essentially 'thick' flats.  There is enough detail from the laser engraving to help show the edges of clothing so that gives a guide for where colours will change.  At arms length they look very little different to their more 3D metal cousins, unless you squint along the lines where they look more 'blocky'.  However, at the price point these little chaps come in at they are hard to beat.  the unit shown above consists of 30 figures and I estimate it cost under 50p including basing materials!

Joy of Six 2026

After last year's Joy of six I wasn't convinced that I would stir my stumps and attend again.  This was partly due to the heat and partly due to the low interest shown by event participants in interacting with the attendees.  However, this year's show rolled around and I thought I would give it another chance.  The heat had reduced from the earlier 30 degrees plus to something more British and there were grey clouds on the horizon, perfect.  Of course this being me I set off in a short sleeved shirt, shorts and sandals, without a jacket!  Fortunately the rain held off.

As normal I parked at Nunnery Square park and ride and hopped onto a tram to complete the trip into the city centre.  I went one stop further than in previous years and alighted at Castle Square (a huge 100 metres or so further!) but, and this is a huge but, the walk to the venue is much easier from that stop as it is a straight and level walk along Arundel Gate to Sheffield Hallam University.

This year the entry cost was £6 which I think is a whole pound up from last year.  That still represents good value though.  A couple of traders and games had cancelled and to my mind it was slightly less busy than last year.  Both of which I suspect was due to the heat of the previous few days.  Even so there was still a lot of 6mm goodness to see.  Better yet the game teams and the vendors were more than happy to chat.  Must have been the heat last year then.

I always start the same way at this show, which is to take a stroll around and see what the games look like.  There was the usual range from Mech's firing missiles and lasers at each other in far future cityscapes through to Greeks having a bit of a barney at point of spear, and pretty much everything in-between.  The standard of games was up to it's usual standard with some really nice terrain on display.

Having had a quick look around I turned my attention to the traders and actually bought some stuff, unlike last year. Heroics & Ross provided me with some World War Two tanks and AT guns which I will need for the Fistful of T34s campaign.  True to form I bought some totally useless Soviet light tanks (well marginally better than the German stuff I already have, a couple of KV-1s who will masquerade as KV-1s flamethrower tanks, a couple of Pak75 AT guns and some artillery crew figures.

More pitiful tanks although the KVs are a bit moreof a beast

I then wandered over to Brigade Models to pick up a Gettysburg Seminary and Cemetery Hill gateway.  These will come into play later if I can arrange an Altar of Freedom game covering (yes you guessed it) the three days of Gettysburg.

If you have seen the movie Gettysburg you should recognise these buildings

Lastly on the buying front, after a look at Commission Figurines display table, I bought some of their 6mm MDF Napoleonic figures.  At £2 for 96 infantry its a gateway drug for the period!  I spent a whole £10 and came away with 192 British Inf in stovepipe shakos. 192 French Infantry in Shakos and a pack of 36 French Cuirassiers/Dragoons. I have already painted a sample to see how my usual technique for 6mm has to be amended for MDF figures (spoiler - it changes a fair bit.  but more on that in a later post).

Commission Figurines Display, Napoleonic's closest to the camera

The MDF figures have a fair bit of detail laser engraved on them, more than I expected to be honest.  Oh and as a warning if you buy any don't throw away the little MDF 'pips' that are in the bags of infantry, those are the drums for the command strips.  Don't ask!  Fortunately there are plenty of spares in each pack.

Sorry about the gratuitous thumb shot, but look at the engraved detail.

It was back to the games next and I took a seat in the Cold War gone hot participation game put on by "Gaming at Si's House".  This used the Battlegroup Northag rules and was fairly enjoyable, despite my complete inability to make a comms check to call in artillery on the Soviet hordes!  This was almost certainly the most popular participation game at the show. 

My view of the table, it got busy soon after this with Soviets galore entering at the far end

Other games were there aplenty.  Visually my favourites were The Strength and Honour demonstration game of Civitate 1053.  Terrain was good and the extension to cover the Feudal period worked well. period.  The players were happy to spend time explaining how everything worked and I gained a couple of clever ideas on how they set up the terrain.

Civitate - it's terrain like this that make games in smaller scale 

More Civitate action can you see the grid markers, I couldn't

A lot of games had terrain that I would be proud to replicate.  Here is another good looking table from the Loft of War who put on Langoot 1748.  As with Civitate the ground colours aren't overly intrusive and aren't a single monotone green.  Plus the game looked like it was being enjoyed, which is the whole point I suppose.

Games Ranged from Classical Greece through to a couple of Science Fiction games.  The latter were popular with the younger attendees.  In fact I saw a number of children at the show, and they didn't look like they were unhappy to be there either.

This was a different take on things, one concept over three periods

Above is a set up which took me a minute to understand.  It is urban warfare in three different periods including a future mech warfare set up at the far end.

I was very happy to see a participation game of Alter of Freedom underway.  I like those rules as they put players into a different gaming space by focussing upon the Army commander level where they have to worry about the tempo and timings of the army and also have subordinates who may not be exactly as good as they might like.  The scenario was Gaines Mill 1862 part of the Peninsula Campaign.  Compared to the last AoF game I played this is a smaller board with more troops, so it is crowded.  When I was watching Dave was explaining the priority point bidding system to a player who was coming up against the restrictions his subordinates were imposing on him by the abilities (or lack of them).

Gaines Mill 1862 using Altar of Freedom run by Dave Benton

Overall there was a lot to see and do and plenty of things to spend money on.  I always feel it's nice to see things in the flesh before spending and the option to do that for 6mm stuff is fairly limited.  Players and vendors were relaxed and happy to chat which was a marked improvement on last year.  My doubts have been quashed and I hope to be able to attend again next year.

Last but not least.  As a taster here is a picture of the first Napoleonic's I have painted since my Airfix days.  The pom-poms finishing but I need me to decide how I'm organising them as units before I paint them in the right colours.  Undercoating is a must as MDF soaks up paint and dulls the colour and I can't decide on whether to prime them in black (as below) or in white.

Poor image these little devils are hard to focus on.  My first attempt at Nap's in fifty years!