"Geste et Geste. Nil Separatum Est"

Starting off, I'd like to apologise for the lengthy gap is posts.  Sorry about that.  I've been very busy working on a 7TV game set in 1970 Philadelphia, and have been conducting research and making visits into the same. I should be able to work up a crossover scenario or two for the Victorian (or at least Edwardian) era as a result.

In fact, it was due to the dearth of posts that I decided to pick up some of Askari Miniatures "Beau Geste" personality miniatures.  At least give'em a review. I'm also working on finishing some of the Martian Trieste Company miniatures for IHMN/S:1889. Now on to Fort Zinderneuf:

Ali Ibn Maurer and Askari miniatures have done an excellent job in capturing the personalities of the protagonists of "The Last Remake of Beau Geste", which is, of itself, a film that is perhaps, more funny than not. Rumour has it that constant studio interference dulled the humour, and having seen the film years ago, I'm inclined to agree.  That said, the figures are excellent.

Figures by Askari Miniatures

Animation: 4.5

Detail: 5

Proportions: 5

Variety:5

Overall: 4.75 out of 5

The only missing item is the Ann-Margaret miniature.

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WIP - French Cloudship on Mars

Ironclad Miniatures in the UK have a nifty small Martian Cloudship available that I'm modifying for use by the French on Mars.

To begin, the French colony doesn't have the ship building capacity which the British enjoy in Syrtis Major. With a limited ability to build modern aerial gunboats, the authorities in Idaeus Fons must improvise, and the French-Martian Colonial Airfleet is comprised mostly of native, wooden designs in French service.

Resin bits by Ironclad Miniatures

Since my cloudship was going to be retrofitted with steam, dans la méthode des Américains, I wanted extra space for the steam engine, so I replaced the deck supplied with a new deck, cut from light balsa and basswood. The lower hull will remain the same, save for the addition of an air-screw or two.

Miniatures by Askari

Depicted for the reader's gentle delectation are four French Naval artillerymen, from Askari Miniatures. I am debating placing a half-height deck house/covered hatch in the centre, but have yet to find a model I like....

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Steppe Martians

Here are some RAFM Steppe Martians, which I was able to finish over the (US) Thanksgiving weekend.

The colours were inspired by Native American Plains Indians, including the "paint" scheme of the gashants. Spears were (Old Glory?) tips added to piano wire.

RAFM minis are fun to paint - pity the line is still so limited.

These minis will probably do double duty, in both British service (as Graham's Irregulars) and French service (as Xanthe Desert Goumiers). I still need to paint European officers for the respective nationalities.

RAFM Steppe Martians
Animation: 4
Detail: 4
Proportions: 4
Variety: 1
Overall: 3.25 out of 5

Release the harka!

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Société Impériale Martien de Trieste

Here's a little writeup, designed to introduce the Hapsburgs into Space 1889/IHMN

The Imperial Martian Society of Trieste is an Austrian commercial enterprise, based in Trieste, and offers passenger and cargo service between Trieste and Mars.  This is often through leased tonnage on British, French, Russian or German ether flyers.

The Austrian Government is primarily concerned with thwarting Russian ambitions in the Balkans, and as a result of this lack of interest, Austria has no territorial concessions on Mars. Austrian commercial factors trade through the Martian enclaves of friendly countries, especially Prussia, Russia, Britain and France. The Martian Trade consists of exported foodstuffs such as wheat, rice and flour and finished goods such as metal tools and cookware. The Trieste Company also trades (by special order) in heavy machinery: locomotives, boilers, pump and drive engines.  

The Trieste Company is currently looking toward expanding their interest in the Hesperian/Cimmerian Basin, an area relatively untouched by the other Great Powers.

Troops: The Trieste Company has few regular troops, instead relying upon hired irregular bands of Hesperian or Cimmerian Canal Martians, commanded by officers of the Royal and Imperial (KuK) Austrian Navy, along with some mounted contingents. These are occasionally stiffened by a company or platoon of sailors from the Imperial (KuK) Austrian Navy.
 
Uniform: Crewmen and Officers wear a version of the Imperial Austrian Postal uniform (itself based on the army pattern): dark blue tunic with light blue trousers and a low-crowned shako. Working/field order consists of a white, naval-style jumper with a white field cap or dark blue beret.

Weaponry: Single-shot breechloaders (M1867 Werndl/Holub) or Lorenz rifled muskets for the European troops. Pattern 1842 Augustin muskets or rifled muskets for company/martian troops. 

Miniatures available: Any good Martian figure for the local troops. Any good late 19th century Austrian sailors for the "on loan" company troops. Use Austrian naval officer miniatures for the Postmaster/Officers.

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Up the Chari Creek

Had another opportunity to play the French Conquest of Chad .Went to Ellicott City to play an evening game with Bob Giglio's crew, using Soldier's Companion (Mk. II).


The scenario was based on the Battle of Kouno, 28 October, 1899, on the Chari River which flows from Lake Chad in French West Africa.


The main French column entered on the board edge, while the commander was aboard the river steamer.  The natives were lying doggo on the coast line, while a  flotilla of canoes, filled with warriors, began to issue from the village, across the sand bar.

Steamer Leon Blot

As any old colonial player knows, there is an instant where the leading European units make contact with the natives, and one side "recoils". In this instance, it was the French, as the commander, caught off guard for two rounds, who had to contend with small arms fire and attacking bands of spear-weilding tribesman.

Hostile River Bank

The steamer happily continued up stream, lobbing the occasional shell in support of the main column.

Dervish launch the first charge

It is a testament to the quality of the Tirailleurs Seneglais that, after falling back, they rallied, at one point even launching a frenzied counter attack. This helped swing the balance against the Dervishes, and stemmed the attack. With the return of the steamer and the reserve ammunition barge, the French were in position to resume the advance, but with darkness falling and scads of dervish occupying the village stockade, the assault would needs wait until the following day.

Tirailleurs flanqued!

On the river, the steamer Leon Blot attempted to push on toward Rabeh's kraal, only to be  met with a flotilla of war canoes. The superior speed of the steamer allowed the Blot to steam past the boarding hazard, only to realise that the main column was in danger of running out of ammunition, and had to come about and run the gauntlet a second time.

RAMMING SPEED!

Post Game Thoughts

The "minute de fou" or mad minute ability give the Lebel breech-loader a hella-lot of firepower, which was extremely effective in sweeping away entire warbands of dervish - this despite having armed all of the natives with various firearms and even a battery of cannon. Despite the danger of jamming, neither French commander hesitated to use this, effectively doubling the French fire power. The French commander, Jeff H. at one point remarked "Nous n'apportons nos fusils de les regarder!*"

Hats off (chapeau!) to Bob G. for researching an oft-overlooked scenario in Colonial gaming (Bob credits Ian Croaxhall for supplying the original data). This campaign is actually an indirect result of the battle of Omdurman, as the remnants of Dervish army, shattered by Kitchener, moved east beyond Kordofan and towards Lake Chad - putting them and their leader Rabeh az-Zubeyr on a collision course with the French.

Landing more ammunition

The French Regroup

Grappling attempt

The Village Boat Landing

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 *"We didn't bring our rifles to look at them..."

"With Fury Unabated..."

It's been some while between posts - unfortunately, there hasn't been much opportunity for VSF gaming this year. (Hat tip to Alpini Jeff for the nice piccies.)

Downtown Alexandria

So it was fortuitous to be invited to a playtest of Bob Giglio's most recent Colonial Epic - the Invasion of Alexandria - or as he entitled it "With Fury Unabated".  This was a cleverly concocted game with lots of buildings, which made for a lot of fun.

Mob Storming the Customs House

Running off a bad lot

An Honest Merchant - or a latent radical?

In a nutshell, the players take the parts of the British Marines and Bluejackets as they land in 1882 Alexandria in an attempt to rescue European civilians and protect European property from the riotous followers of Colonel Achmed U'rabi.

Royal Navy Landing Party

Civilians waiting to be evacuated

Storming the British Legation

"You are NICKED, my gyp darlings..."

The ruleset was Bob's Modified "Soldier's Companion II" which addresses some of the perceived shortfalls of the original Soldier's Companion by Frank Chadwick.

Yanks having the odd pot shot.

"Right, we'll go round the back..."

"The Flag was still there..."

The game was, in turn, inspired by the "55 Minutes at Peking" games we ran in the early '90's, which came from an article by the Staines Wargame Club in Miniature Wargames magazine. And there ends our pedigree.

The British and Bashi Bazouks defend the Armoury

"There they go, lads! After 'em!"

(Pictures to be uploaded as soon as we determine whatever blogger's problem is. Three computers, same result. Edit: It was Microsoft's Internet Explorer causing the problem. Typical.)

Post Game Thoughts:

If I were forced to give a criticism, it would only be in comparison to the pace of the inspirational "55 Minutes at Peking". The Staines wargamers created a hectic, breathless game where the players barter, shout and plead with each other for help, and the referees really ARE out to get you.  Bob's game was less frenetic, which might actually reflect the age and temperment of the players, and no harm done.

Bob also added some clever random events, and some events triggered by certain conditions being met.  The Khedive arrives if the British can capture the main gate to the palace. Random armed crews from merchant steamers may arrive; bolstering the British or patronising the local wine shop.  My own lads at the armoury were assisted by the fortuitous arrival of a band of bashi-bazouks, who assisted in the defense and actually ran off a mob of wrong sorts.

Rally to the Khedive!

In conclusion, this was an excellent game, played to conclusion in about 4 hours, covering an often-overlooked action of a little-gamed conflict. Full marks for originality and research. Well done!

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Elves as Steppe Martians

Hat-tip: The Miniatures Page

Picture from Combat Zone Chronicles:

 Here's a link to a nice article by Canadian wargame enthusiast Gisby, proving that when the main miniature manufacturer let's them down, the Fans Will Find a Way:

http://combatzonechronicles.net/cozoxc/1889.htm

Well done, Gisbs!

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Legio Skorosiam

Just finished to 95% (once again, I still need to put it the eyes) but well pleased with the colour scheme of this Skorosian company of the XXth "Dauntless" Legion, miniatures by RAFM.

The original GDW text called for russet as their distinctive colour - I went a trifle redder than russet and gave them a white base uniform.  Rather Roman, innit?

Seen below parading near the Grand Canal of Skorosia (or else larking about the front garden).  The shield-gunners are still massed with the rest of the shooters, as the Kaiser's advisers have yet to retrain this legion for the Sturmtaktik.

These are part of my Fadathi War Soldier's Companion campaign project, which is still slowly building.

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Æronef vs. Ærial Gunboat

Discussion on The Miniatures Page encouraged me to descend into the crypt and dig out my old 25mm aerial gunboats.  These had been used for a single game of Sky Galleons of Mars back in the mid-to-late 90s.

Above is a comparison of the Ironclad Aeronef vs the smallest British "Aphid" - although I think I was building the "Penelope" as I note the plethora of Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon and a rather prominent ram.

These are made of card stock and foam core on blue DIY/Dow insulation board formers, with thin wood decking. Ship plans are available in GDWs "Cloudships and Gunboats", now available from Heliograph Publishing Inc.

I am a little embarrassed at the poor quality and lack of important detail on these scratchbuilt models - my only defense is, in may callow youth, I was rushing to finish and we only played once, because we had issues keeping the stands upright. 

Later on, a friend of mine welded the pipes to steel railway washers, which gave them more stability.  Adding a few more washers, usually of a larger size, also increased stability - though these stands shown are not yet safe for any kind of carpet. A larger 4" OD washer is needed.

Being older and wiser, nowadays I would use a flange and pipe arrangement, or else cut these from clear Lucite. I will probably exchange the black rods for clear Lucite ones.

"Look Sarge, he didn't even paint the stacks..."
"...typical..."

The current project will be to refinish this and bring it up to spec, along with several others that are currently languishing in mothballs.

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28mm Aerial Steam Launch from Ironclad Miniatures

Pictured is a 28mm aerial steam launch from Ironclad Miniatures - picked up by yr humble correspondent back in 2008 (have I mentioned lately that I work slowly?). This model holds a special nostalgia for me, as back when we played the Space:1889 RPG, our British Army player-characters operated from one of these, along with our new allies, the Royal Navy.

The reader may be amused when I write that I primed this model about a year ago, and that it has gone away with me on vacation with every intent to paint it at least twice, but I could not decide upon the colour scheme.

The problem I had was that the Royal Navy (of which Britain's fledgling Aerial Service is part) have peacetime and wartime livery for Her Majesty's Ships. Peacetime vessels are painted with black hulls and buff upper works, while wartime paint is a mid-to-light grey.

Ironclad Aerial Launch - pictured are two RAFM Historicals for scale.

In the end, I went with a very dark grey hull with light grey upperworks, adhering as it were to the wartime colours in the peacetime scheme. I don't know why, but it works for me. I also found some vertical pipe-stands used in some of our old 25mm Sky Galleons of Mars games from the 1990's, one of which made for a handy flying stand.

This is a resin-cast model that is a joy to assemble. There were almost no bubbles in the resin, and they were confined to the underside of the deck. Nicely detailed with just the right amount of rivets. It does weight a respectable amount, and I'm probably going to add a larger base to the pipe-stand supporting it.

Armament consists of a single 25mm Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon miniature by Richard Houston - now available again from The Virtual Armchair General. This is labelled as "37mm" which translates to the 1-lbr HRC in Soldier's Companion.  The weapon is swappable with other miniatures, such as a Nordenfelt or Gardner gun or even a rocket tube, which would make for quite a nasty surpise for a wooden, Martian ship.

Let that be a lesson to the three-toed, yellow pongos...

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Painted: French Marine Artillerists from Askari Miniatures

My 28mm French Marine Artillerists (aka les Bigors) from Askari Miniatures have been waiting patiently for several weeks, as they were finished earlier this month - it's just taken me some time to take the photies.

Askari miniatures do paint up nicely.  I decided to opt for the 1889 uniform colours for the first batch of figures, I will follow up with either white tropical dress or, more likely, khaki for the next set. I have used Armory (and now Citadel) white prime since forever as it gives the miniature a happy glow.

"Tirer sur la vache..."

 Since the readers seem to like these battery-in-action tableaux, I'm including two for your delectation. The gun is from the Old Glory Spanish American line.

Nous sommes ouverts pour le commerce. Nur kasse.

The business-end of a piece de 90mm emplacement. Cash only.

Next to pick up some of Askari Al's Schutzetruppen, and the inter-colonial fun begins.

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2nd Mœris Lacus Dragoons

Another unit for my "Drums along the Shastapsh" campaign - the 2nd Mœris Lacus Dragoons.

These are the junior squadron in the Mœris Lacus Trucial Military District.  They wear the green "Parhuni" styled turban, with surplus "Oxford Mix" trousers reinforced with leather from local sources on the inside leg and seat of pants. They have a modern khaki tunic, with orange facings.

Although displaying the Wilkinson-pattern light cavalry sabre, they are also armed with a Parhuni long knife for dismounted work, along with the pattern 1878 Martini-Enfield carbine. 

Orange shoulder tabs

Figures are from RAFM.

As a junior formation, they rate a very modest T1 in Soldier's Companion - however, as mounted natives, they are very useful for scouting work and vedette duty.  They are unlikely to stand very long under fire, but we'll eventually see, along the Mœris-Shastapsh canal, of what what mettle they're made.

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Raid on Kraag Sagonaar - La Part Deux - The Raid Commences

French Militia skirmishes with Hill Martian Mercenaries

L'armée Coloniale de Mars arrived in two parts - the main body, comprised of the Native Tirailleurs and Militia, arrived after a day's march across the Eastern Tempe Steppes. There was no rolling for fatigue, as le indigènois were already acclimated to the Martian environment.

The Marines and Sappers arrived via flyer - we deemed it logical that the best troops would protected until their superior firepower and fighting quality could be brought to bear.

View of the approaches from the Royal Kraag

 Turn 1, 2: The Tirailleurs and Militia entered the board while the aerial flyers headed straight for the objective (the peak with the special sirdique liftwood).  Dicing for wind direction gave the French the wind they needed for a straight run toward the peakwith the kite. We weighted the dice slightly in favour of the French for the wind direction, for the first turn only, because we decided they wouldn't launch an attack with the wind against them, élan be damned...

Tirailleurs in blue and Militia in Khaki advance toward the objective

French aerial flotilla under fire

 The hidden High-Martian batteries atop the surrounding peaks opened fire - usually needing a 6 to hit due to the height and speed of the cloudships. The High Martians crew their guns with captives, which doesn't help for accuracy, and they were armed with a mix of power grapnels, heavy guns, rod guns and rogue guns.

When a power grapnel hit, the speed of the target ship would be reduced, giving the larger guns a better chance to hit.

Throughout the game, the French Commander, Colonel Montrie, kept the gunboats moving, and minimalised the damage taken.  There was very little damage done, while Le Rapier shot up the Martian batteries with shrapnel, Hotchkiss shells, and bullets from mitrailleuse and Lebel rifles.

The Objective - the red fronds are the Special Liftwood

Turn 3, 4:  In the playtest, the French assault suffered a setback when the kite was grounded about 12 inches from the objective - this was not repeated in the convention game.  The French kite sailed right up to the peak where the sirdique grew, tossed grappling lines, and indigenous Martian sappers began to clamber down the ropes.

Up to this point, the High Martian players were unaware of the French objective - they could be coming to rescue the numerous slaves, both Martian and Human, who worked the liftwood groves.  Or they might be attacking the Royal Kraag itself, in an attempt to capture King Xaathgar.  Once the kite came aside the peak, the French intentions were made plain.

Flying Martians rally before a charge

Turn 5, 6:
Bands of flying martians began to issue from the Kraags,  while down on the ground, warbands of slave-soldiers, including captured humans, began to fire on the advancing Tirailleurs and Militia.  

Slave troops are a distraction at best: they fire as green - you don't want to shoot your own potential rescuers, their morale is Green, and if they fail a morale roll, they break and surrender to the nearest European troops...and wouldn't you?   

They did give the advancing ground troops something to worry about, which is all we really wanted.

Tirailleurs and Militia form back-to-back

 As the pressure built up, the Tirailleurs and Militia fell back, formed two double lines in open order and fought "back-to-back".

They held off the hordes of Martian Bazingers with Gras rifles and old rifled muskets (probably the Minié, though Chassepots would make more sense).


Coming Up Next: The High Martian Fleet arrives...

Post Game Thoughts:

We probably should have had the ground-based troops dice for fatigue and drop outs - if only for realism's sake.  The trek across the steppe would make an excellent role-play scenario, as the Franco-Martian troops attempt to evade High Martian scouts (with the help of some cloudships) while dealing with the local fauna and the semi-disgruntled Militia.

The slave troops were Bob's idea - and while I didn't like them at first, Bob convinced me that for a convention game, everyone must be kept busy.  In retrospect, I think we'd use some Hill Martian mercenaries, working for gold or weapons.