Model Ranges

Here's an overview of most of the models I've designed for wargaming.  They are all 3D printable at 28mm scale (middle of head @ 27mm) or larger. I have not tried printing any smaller, but there's no reason to think that it wouldn't be possible with the right printer.  They could be used to replace blocks in Command and Colors type games, or ranked up and based for any number of games. 

18th Century
I'm still working on this range, but thought I'd share my progress.  I'm pretty happy with how the hair under the tricorn turned out.  Militia units will be based on the same models, but painted in muted/non-uniform color patterns.  Regular troops will have natural hair colors, while generals retain the powdered wig.  This range will likely expand to include grenadiers mitres and bearskins as well as cavalry units wearing Tarleton helmets.   

Colonial
This range was created out of a desire to actually play a game and not fiddle with rules.  They are intended for use with The Portable Wargame.  I have not yet finished a "native" army for them to fight.  The plan is for the native counter army to wear Ottoman style fezzes, with roughly half of the units wearing zouave style pants.

Napoleonic

This was the first range I designed, that I would call a success.  The Napoleonic range is built around the idea of having four unit types: Line and Light Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery.  All headgear is interchangeable with minimal effort.  Possible headgear includes: Crested Helmet, Landwehr cap, Shako, Shako with Pom (not pictured), and Bearskin (not pictured).  Most European nations could be modeled using these headgear types. 

Wargaming on the Beach

My wife and I own a teardrop camper.  It's not much more than a queen size bed, TV, air conditioner, and a few shelves inside.  Outside there's a galley with a small refrigerator, sink, and propane stove.  It's a mini camper, but so far it's been mega fun.  To see more about the camper and our trips, visit my wife's blog at .minicampermegafun.blogspot.com

Our Mini Camper and Chairs

Morning View:  Ocean Between Campers

We took advantage of the three day weekend, stretched it to a four day weekend, and went camping on the beach.  I thought it might be fun to try to get a short game in one morning.  I generally fish early morning, but I don't have saltwater gear yet so I brought my wargame.  It fit in a shoebox with room to spare.  If that's not the definition of portability, I don't know what is.  On Saturday morning, I set up a "mountain pass" type map and used what I could remember of a One Hour Wargames  scenario.  I clearly didn't have something set up right though.  Blue started with two units and Red started with all six.  Blue's reinforcements arrived at the end of the second turn, but because of where the objectives were placed, Blue still got to the pass before any Red units could get through.  Red did make an attempt to flank around, but was repelled.  After the failed flank attack, Red's fate was sealed.  I did try to play on Sunday, but it was too windy and the felt mat kept blowing around and throwing units to the sand.

Late Game:  Blue Presses the Attack

Things Learned:

I think I made a workable solution to "combined attacks".  In the current rules after being attacked by a singe unit, the attacked unit would roll to resolve any hits.  This could result in that unit retreating, which would put them out of range for melee combat that could have otherwise happened.  To solve this all units who can attack the defending units roll, and hits are tallied.  Then the defending unit rolls one dice for each unit that tallied a hit.  The defender could then take one dice as their result.  This has a tendency to give the defenders a much higher chance of rolling "retreat with -1 hit", but also results in much bloodier combat as it is possible to attack with multiple units.

I need to design a general unit.  I haven't decided if the general would increase dice rolls by one for attackers, or remove hits, or both.  

I need to work some way of locking units into melee if the defending unit does not retreat.  I tried a quick "fighting retreat" scenario, but it was very easy for the retreating army, as they could always move towards their objective, even if they were engaged in melee the prior turn.  

Painting Progress

Although I have an extremely simple painting style, it takes me a while to actually get things painted.  I don't see how people paint hundreds of these.  I've got the coats, pants, muskets, and packs painted.  Now I have just the faces, headgear, musket barrels, cannons, limbers, and horses remaining.  Hopefully I can get finished up soon.  I'm getting anxious.  Then my next project will be the terrain which I'm still modeling in SketchUp.  I've got some evergreen trees that clump together, some basic European houses, a church, and a set of "fortress" walls.  The fortress walls are designed to look somewhat like a star fort, but square to fit the grid-based nature of the game.  More printing, more painting....
The colors chosen for the armies were chosen to look vaguely historic, but not necessarily historically accurate.  I guess that makes the armies imagi-nation forces.  A backstory might give players more connection with their forces and make the game more interesting.  I'm not going to go full bore on the backstories and histories for the nations that would field the forces, but I might write a 1-2 pager for each.
If When I get the units and terrain painted, I plan to run a few test games and then jump into a small campaign.  Bob Cordery writes about smaller campaigns in his Developing the Portable Wargame book.  His method seems to give a good feel of campaign progression without causing a whole lot of extra management.  I might pick random scenarios from One Hour Wargames  to determine the battle.  The winner from the previous battle could pick their initial position for the next battle.  This way the same battle wouldn't be fought over and over again if neither side has a clear advantage.  I'd like to eventually work up to what they do on napoleonicwargaming.blogspot.com, but that would violate my cheap, compact, and fast limitations. 


If you've played some of the scenarios from One Hour Wargames which are your favorite?  are there any that would make a good campaign if linked together? 

More Models Coming Soon!

I think I successfully got a believable enough tricorne model designed.  Now to print and paint.  If it looks like it will be a success I'll put it out on thingiverse.  I know more people do imagi-nations with tricorne wearing troops than shakos.  Maybe someone will find a non-descript model useful for their imagi-nation army, since it isn't supposed to be just like an existing nation's uniforms.  Most people are probably good enough at painting to add extra details like cuffs and facings.  I'd really like to see what a better painter could do with these.  I think I'll stick with the shakos for my army though. 
I got to the tricorne by trying to make a believable bicorne.  The bicorne has eluded me for some time now.  I really could use a General to lead the Napoleonic armies, but have yet to develop a bicorne model that doesn't look exceedingly stupid.  Maybe some day...





Opinions/thoughts/feedback on the tricorne model is greatly appreciated.



Painting Models

My models are very simply painted.  They do not have faces, shadows, shading, buttons, buckles, shoes/boots, straps, or anything else that would be expected on modern plastic or metal miniatures.  What they do have is a coat, pants, musket, pack, headgear, and a spherical head.  That's it. The simple paint scheme is due to two primary factors. 
1: Materials
In an effort to remain budget friendly, I did not buy expensive brushes that would get torn up in painting the relatively rough PLA plastic my units are printed in.  I already had access to my wife's collection of cheap acrylic paints, so I just used those.  In reality the materials probably only have a minimal effect on the finished product.  The biggest reason for my results is my lack of skill
2: Skill
This is the biggest driver of my simple painting schemes.  I have little (no) painting skills.  I read "Grid Based Wargaming" and wish I had half of the skill required to paint 28mm miniatures in his "simple" and "fast" fashion.  He was very generous in explaining how he gets the results he does, but I think skill and experience is the missing link for me. 
My 3D design skill also influenced my simple paint scheme.  It would look odd to me to have detailed paint on simple models.  This simple modeling carries over to the terrain that I'm designing and will be similarly simply painted.


Here are some partially painted models.  For reference, the "equator" of the head is 27mm for the artillery unit.  As you can see there are some serious scaling issues going on here. 

 

Issuing Orders

I don't currently have unit formations written into my game rules.  It seems that almost every Napoleonic themed game has some level of unit formation.  Are there any sources which describe what level of detailed commands were issued at what level? 


In my v1.0 rules, players command roughly division sized forces.  From the reading I've done, it seemed that battalions were the basic operating units.  It would then seem (from my experience) that for the most part, the battalion commander would receive orders such as go there, assault that, or hold this.  He would then reissue the command with additional detail such as formation, speed of movement, and/or precise route and timing.  Is this understanding historically accurate?  I know there's no such thing as absolutes, and every military regulation has a waiver or exception, but in general, what orders did the division commander issue?  Which issues were issued at lower levels? 


In the wargames where players can/do control division or larger size forces, are players playing the role of multiple people?  Do they know/understand that?  How does it affect play?  Please feel free to respond to any/all questions in the comments. 

Wargaming on a budget

As I get started in wargaming, I'm trying to keep my cost down.  I'd love to have hundreds of very high detail metal miniatures and piles of terrain, but those are out of the picture for now.  In this post I will attempt to show that with a little hard work (and some tempering of expectations) wargaming can be done on a modest budget.

Please pardon the unfinished painting of the units, bad lighting and bad photography.  This image is intended to show a somewhat encompassing image of the text in this post.



Terrain:  Currently my terrain is felt. It was bought at the chain craft store.  A 3'x3' piece of green costs somewhere around $5 USD.  I bought some 9"x12" pieces in other colors to cut up to represent hills, forests, roads, water, and built-up areas.  Each piece cost about $1 if I remember correctly.

Board:  $0.  I put the felt directly on the kitchen table.

Miniatures:  Ok so here's where I cheat a little.  I own a 3D printer.  I had it before I started putting this wargaming idea together.  I designed and printed my own range of vaguely Napoleonic miniatures. (Link: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2521148) Each stand cost me less than $0.25 USD in plastic.  I count my printer as a hobby, so I don't include my time as an expense.  Each vaguely divisional force is made up of six units, so a playable force costs $3 before painting.
My wife is a pretty crafty lady so we already had a small collection of cheap acrylic paint laying around.  I used that.  If I had to buy it all I think it might cost between $5 and $10 depending on how many colors you use.

Dice: Purchased from amazon $5.

Grand Total:  Less than $30.  Not too shabby.

I promise pictures are coming to the blog shortly.  I just need to find some time to actually take them.