Quick Paint Tests

I am making slow progress on getting my mid/late 19th century armies to the table. I am still undecided about color schemes but wanted to see some options side by side.  Below are some examples of what I've already painted.  

I had some other football players, but none looked appropriate

I completely forgot that I had already painted a light and dark blue army.  After seeing it next to some other options, I think it fits well as a military uniform.  I really like the green uniforms, but I need to use most of my greens on foliage. The football player is from Techno Bowl, probably the best game I've ever played.  It's a great mix of luck, strategy, and customization.  The only downside is that it is impossible to play solo well.

One of the blessings in disguise of 3D printing is that the process isn’t perfect. Sometimes models fail for unexpected and unexplained reasons. If the errors aren’t too catastrophic, this leaves you with a small number of otherwise useless models. These make great test subjects for painting. I gave two failed prints a quick mockup.  Cieland's light and dark blue was up first.   The first step was ensuring I don't want white pants/helmets.  The white pants and helmet looks very tropical.  My terrain is more arid than tropical.  

After adding dark blue paint to the helmet and pants, the uniform looks decidedly less tropical.  Completing the model with flesh tone faces, brown and silver firearms, gold spikes on the pickelhaube, and regimental cuffs, will yield a viable Cielandic uniform.  

Sicora's red uniform is up next.  It is intended to be roughly inspired by Victorian Great Britain.  I'm not striving for complete imitation, it just needs to look British enough that it could be used in a historically inspired scenario.  As with the other uniform, I started by painting the Tunic and then adding color and evaluating the combinations along the way.

The all white uniform could be OK but it looks rather Napoleonic to me.  By the mid/late 19th Century most European nations had moved away from white pants.  I can't imagine trying to keep a white uniform looking good in the field.

I didn't have any khaki paint available so I had to move straight to Home Service Uniforms.  I know the late 19th Century Home Service Uniform had a spike on the helmet, but with my impressionistic (low detail) modeling the only uniform difference would be the height of the helmet. I like this scheme better.  It really helps develop the toy soldier look I want and keeps me from developing theater specific uniforms.  

The photo above shows the sample models at roughly 3 feet.  They look distinct enough for me.  I don't really like how "symmetric" the uniforms are, but I don't know how to fix it.  I opted out of light color pants for both.  I could probably reverse Cieland's tunic and pants color, but if I expand the line in the future, France and/or US would be next.  Reversing Cieland's scheme would very closely mimic US uniforms.  

Cieland Uniform Plates

 Similarly to Sicora, the Cieland uniform design is committed, but the color scheme is not.  All units in the Cielandic Army wear short tunics and pickelhaube helmets. To be most historically accurate, the tunic should be dark blue and the trousers should be dark gray.   If my modeling skills are sufficient, they should invoke a Prussian impression.  I do like the Prussian color scheme and it would contrast well with the bright red Sicoran uniforms, but the bright blue uniforms from my 18th Century army (featured in late 2018) still capture my imagination.  Striking a balance between being able to use the force in historically inspired and purely imagi-nation settings is proving difficult.  

Bright blue would have been a historically difficult proposition.  Bright blue dyes were very expensive compared to red, yellow, or natural shades.  Outfitting an entire army in bright blue would have been very expensive, leading most countries to use a cheaper dark blue dye or avoid it entirely. I am leaning towards going full imagi-nation. In an imagi-nation setting, it is very easy to rationalize a cheaper light blue dye or a reason for the nation to be wealthy enough to afford enough expensive dye to uniform the army.  

Prussian Infantry for Reference

  

Regular Pattern

Possible Guard Uniform

Tropical Pattern

 

Sicoran Uniform Plates

I have good news to report.  Troops from two separate armies have been printed and primed.  Each force is comprised of four units of regular infantry, a field artillery battery, and a cavalry detachment. Six tiles of forest coverage and a pair of one tile built-up-areas.  This is the bare minimum to play a reasonable game of The Portable Wargame, One Hour Wargames, and my own rules in development. One of the forces is inspired by the British army of 1870. This force will become Sicora as described in a previous post.  

I'd like to ensure that my units are clearly inspired by British uniforms, but won't be strictly adhering to historical uniforms. I'm steering away from the historically correct home service navy blue pants and helmet. The other army is wearing pickelhaube helmets and I'd like them to have navy blue helmets and pants with a brighter (roughly Bavarian) blue tunic. For the same reason, I'll also be omitting the fact that artillery and cavalry troops wore blue tunics. Possible uniform options are shown below.  Units will be differentiated by cuff color and/or marked on the base, I still haven't decided.  I greatly appreciate any feedback and/or preferences.

Probably closest to Home Service Uniform

White helmets to blend all-black and all-white

This option may be too "Napoleonic" for 1870

Iconic Campaign look with early khaki

Hot off the press

 Progress is being made.  I have printed functional test prints of pickelhaube wearing cavalry and infantry as well as pith helmet wearing artillery.  

Primed artillery, infantry, and unprimed cavalry

The wheels printed quite wobbly

Top view: infantry in forest

Front view: infantry in forest

Primed Infantry 

The terrain shown in previous posts has also been test printed and is awaiting priming.  I have not yet attempted painting, but am realizing there are going to be a lot of hard to reach areas.  The undersides of the artillery pieces and transitions between legs and bases look especially challenging. I should have realized this during my design phase, but it didn't occur to me.  One option is to remove the bases and print the grouped figures as one piece and then attach to a base later.  Unbased figures are appealing if I want to commit to gridded games that don't need a base anyway, but one of my primary goals for this project was to keep flexibility.  

Another option would be to leave an indentation in both the base and figures to fill with small magnets.  With two small kids running around, I don't like this option.  My 2.5 year old daughter loves to pick up the test prints and admire them (at least I have one fan).  Once she's a little older I'll probably be designing a teddy bear army for her.  Ganesha Games sells a very compelling introductory wargame which I think she'd like (https://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?products_id=13).  I'll probably end up sticking with the pre-based figures and just deal with the difficult painting.

Introducing The Combatants

Sicoran Empire

After losing its continental territories to Cieland, Sicora has been relegated to their home islands and overseas territorial possessions. They are still a significant player in the political sphere with colonies spread across the globe.  Their grudge against Cieland burns deep in their chests.  For his entire reign the King has ended all public speeches with, "Ceiland will be destroyed." regardless of the speech's subject.  He is determined to return Sicora to its former glory.  

The Sicoran military leads the world in artillery development.  The Sicoran general staff view artillery as a force multiplier to overcome their comparatively small population.  A small but well-disciplined Sicoran infantry corps is augmented by conscripted auxiliaries drawn from throughout the empire.

Cieland

Cieland's history is defined by its rivers.  Early in its history, raiding parties used the rivers to travel upstream to sack religious sites and other undefended targets. As power centralized and peace spread, the rivers became the lifeblood of Cieland.  Trade barges floated down the rivers towards the delta in the fall with the grain from the fertile uplands. Cieland's nobility are accustomed to being able to import luxury items from across the globe, but the average citizen lives with few luxuries.  Those who can afford transportation to New Cieland stand to earn lucrative wages working for the New Cieland Trading Company.  Some are desperate enough to enter into long-term labor contracts with NCTC in exchange for transportation.

Cieland's nobility has a proud history of fighting from horseback.  Although the role of cavalry has diminished drastically with the advent more accurate rifled muskets, Cieland continues to mount as much of its military as possible.  Local dragoon units served with distinction in the previous wars with Sicora.  In peacetime the dragoons serve as constables and deliver the post, keeping their horsemanship skills sharp.  

    

New Cieland

During the Second Age of Exploration, Cielandic explorers encountered many novel plants and animals, but only one has had as much impact as Cieland Spice. To manage the massive import demands, Cieland authorized the creation of the New Cieland Trading Company.  New Cieland's governor oversees spice plantations, processing houses, and the ports that send Cieland Spice back to the home country.  Since its inception the NCTC has had issues with pirates capturing and ransoming spice transports.  Rumors abound that the pirates may be being encouraged and paid by the Sicorans. The Cielandic crown has been threatening military occupation and charter revocation if the governor cannot put an end to the piracy problem.  

The NCTC Guard exists to defend the spice plantations, processing, and shipping operations of the company.  Because it is intended to be a purely defensive force, the company charter severely limits its size and composition.  The vast majority of allowable artillery pieces are mounted on the transport ships.  The few remaining pieces are scattered throughout the region in small garrison forts.

The background of the three major combatants will continue to expand as necessary to provide interesting encounters.  

Deciding to not decide

I've decided that developing imagi-nations is the best way for me to handle colonial wargames.  This way I don't have to decide which nations, theaters, and conflicts I want to portray.  Bob Cordery's work seems to be able to handle several generations of uniforms from the major powers of the day.  I don't have bandwidth or desire to paint British uniforms with shakos from the Indian Mutiny through the scarlet tunics and pith helmets to the tan and pith helmets by the end of the 19th Century and enemies for them from each campaign.  

Bob's blog features Little War armies  (http://wargamingmiscellany.blogspot.com/search/label/Little%20Wars)  which I have emulated previously one this blog with Army Red and Army Sand.    It should be fairly evident that my Army Red is based on Britain c. 1880 and Army Sand is modeled on Egypt.  An Egyptian analog is a compelling inclusion in my project because they fought alongside and against Britain.  I will be expanding on this idea to develop two "European" powers, an organized "Colonial" force and a "Tribal" force. The colony will be the center of whatever narrative develops as it fights alongside its parent country against piratical shore/river raids and incursions from the rival continental power as well as against the parent country in its bid for independence. By creating 4 forces, I can fight a wide variety of conflicts.

Below are some uniform possibilities.  I like the paint colors I used for my Army of Five Rivers for an 18th C campaign. Assuming the Army of Five Rivers survived the ensuing century, it may have developed the following uniforms. 

Infantry in Home Service Uniform

Infantry in Campaign Uniform

The Red King will probably be reprising his role as well, likely modeled on Queen Victoria's forces.

Get on with it!

     I've made the decision that playing some game is better than playing no game.  I've been enamored with Bob Cordery's blog and own his entire series of wargaming books despite only have played a handful of games.  The Facebook page for the rules highlights a wide variety of games played.  Hopefully I can add to the community and offer an example of a truly untalented painter enjoying the hobby. 
    I'm moving forward 3D printing and painting forces for the Colonial version of his rules.  I can squeeze 25mm figures on 30mm bases.  This balances my terrible painting skill with my desire to maintain a compact game.  3D printing my forces is also cheaper for me than buying lead or plastic figures.  Assuming the printer is paid for through other hobby enjoyment or sales of other things printed (it is), a stand of 3 25mm cavalry figures (base included) costs me less than $.50 USD. I don't think I could get that kind of deal elsewhere. However, I have to compromise on detail to make this work.  My 3D printer cannot handle some of the more detailed models at 28mm or smaller meaning I have to do the design work myself.  I think this compromise is more than fair for most games.  
    This is my first attempt at designing units with a built-in base. I prefer the look of non-based units but, based units give the flexibility to be used in gridded games as well as free moving games that require units to be in base to base contact.  All of my units are designed to print with significant overlap between individual soldiers.  This improves their ability to be printed, reduces my painting workload, and provides a more massed look.  The cavalry and line infantry will very nearly fill the base width, but no parts of them exceed the base. 

25mm tall figures on 30mm square bases

    The next step is determining which nationalities/conflicts I'd like to represent. I'm not opposed to getting into what-if scenarios and imagi-nation actions, but I'm limiting myself to one set of terrain for now.  Doubling the amount of time painting terrain and designing two sets of  trees/buildings/cover just isn't appealing right now.  Perhaps eventually the forces will deploy to more exotic locales but for now all splendid little wars will all be fought in similar climates. I'm leaning towards a brown/sand board with terracotta tile roof and stucco buildings.  This could be used from the Mediterranean, to the Southern US/Mexico, and even Spanish Colonies in the Caribbean or Pacific.  I think this gives me the best "bang for the buck".

    Expanding the range to include melee units is also a priority. I don't have much work done on melee weapons.  Straight swords and spears are designed from previous ancient design work and are ready for lancer cavalry and sabre cavalry, but curved blades and 19th Century shields are not complete.