Muskets & Tomahawks...Finally.

Having painted up some figures to try out the rules"Muskets & Tomahawks" some time ago I haven't had the opportunity to get the figures to the table. That changed when I recently got a game in against Eric. 

So having scheduled the game I quickly did a basing session because until I had some sort of gaming deadline it was hard to get motivated to get that done. So with the bases done the day before the game I headed to Eric's to fight out a French & Indian War scenario.

The based forces ready to go. Eric had painted up some French so it turned out all he needed was one of my Native units for the battle.

 

The board set up and initial setup. The Wolf figures represent hidden units while the stone walls mark the edge of the playing surface.

The British Regulars marching down the road flanked by two hidden units, one Rangers and the other Natives.

The French.

As the game progressed the Regular units faced off against each other with the help of my Rangers on the left flank while on the right my Natives tried to tie up two other French units, one native and one Canadian Militia.

The French allied Natives close in while my Rangers maneuver to block them.

The overall picture of the battle at this point with the Canadian Militia in retreat on the right.

I was a little pressed for time so I forget to take more pictures as the battle progressed but the game finished with only a few of my Rangers left alive from my entire force, having secured the right flank of my British Regulars while all that remained of the French force were a few of their Regular infantry. The game was a draw though Eric pulled out a marginal win by accomplishing a side mission for his officer while I did not fulfill mine. His officer was an old campaigner whose mission was just to survive and my officer had lost the faith of his men and thus had to singlehandedly kill 3 enemy figures, he managed 2 before getting cut down!

The game was quick to learn and quick to play while also being fun. The card activation mechanic seemed to give a good feel for the capabilities of the different styles of units represented such as the Native and regular soldiers while keeping the game flowing well and throwing in the unpredictability of which unit would be activated next.

We will probably get in another game of this fairly soon and I will try to get pictures of the full game.

Progress

I wasn't getting much hobby or gaming stuff done between work and the ongoing kitchen renovation with a washing machine break down thrown in there for good measures.

But in the last week I did get in some catch up gaming and painting in. Tristan and I played a game of Dust Tactics. This is the first game I have played in awhile and the first with the new rules. The game plays almost as quick as the previous edition. You do have to throw a lot more dice for combat resolution and there seems to be more incentive to use reactive fire.

I also started running a new Star Wars Edge of the Empire game. The first session was played using the Beyond the Rim adventure with new players and new characters. I think they had fun and quickly moved through the first few encounters. The next session is planned in a few weeks.

I also painted some miniatures finishing off the Woodland Indians for the French. My friend Eric picked up some regular French soldiers and is going to paint up a unit allowing us to get in a 200pt battle soon. The fact that Eric is painting up the last unit required gave me the incentive to finish them off. I will work on my other figures for Muskets and Tomahawks after we have had a few games.

I also received a replacement track section from Warlord Games for my Churchill tank that I had purchased awhile ago but came with two right track sections and no left side. I put the kit together and I am glad they sent both sides as the new ones where slightly smaller than the original. I assume the new sides must have been made from a resin that shrank more. I had to modify the pegs as well to get the sides to attach properly and in the right location. All assembled and primed it looks fine.

And finally I painted up a unit of Viking warriors for Saga. I will paint up a few more figures before having a basing session for Saga and Muskets and Tomahawks.

Dust Tactics underway. Our first time with version 2 and with a "big toy" on the table.

The Allies getting the advantage. We called it shortly after this.

I was rolling well, the Allied star is what I was looking for.

A Woodland Indian warband allied with the French.

My first Viking warriors ready to join my painted Berserkers.

The Bolt Action Churchill Mk VII together, primed and ready for paint.

Getting Back to Some Painting Projects

The family went on a camping trip to Cape Breton and we visited Fortress Louisburg like we usually do when we are in the area. Though it has been a few years since our last visit. The weather was cloudy with a few showers but overall it was a pleasant visit. The point of this is that when I got home, newly inspired by the visit, I started back into painting my French & Indian War figures from Conquest Miniatures. I finished off the first French unit, a unit of Compagnie de la Marines and started a unit of Woodland Indians which should be finished this week. That leaves one more unit to paint, do the bases and then ready for a fight using Muskets & Tomahawks.

Tristan and I also finished putting together our Saga forces after which we played a 4pt (the size of our forces at present) battle. We played the first scenario which has the players trying to kill each other's warlord. The game was quick and was deadly and was a lot of fun to play. Tristan won on points as our warlords killed each other in the same combat. We did do a couple of things wrong dealing with the special rules for the warlords which we now know and it was an easy game to pick up and play.

Tristan and I also put together a small Planetary Empires map for 40k and are starting a small Imperial vs. Orks campaign. We our using our own campaign rules but keeping it very simple. We are ready to fight our first battle after maneuvering our forces on the map.

I almost forgot that Ian had dropped in on his way to the airport and we played a game of Vikings by Z-Man Games. A fun game that we picked up pretty quick and though Ian won it was a pretty close game.

The role playing games have been on a short hiatus but will be starting up soon. I have to make up a new character for Call of Cthulhu and will be starting up a new Star Wars game with the group I play D&D 3.5 with as well as restarting Dragon Age.

I picked up the new D&D players book and after a quick read I think I will like it much more than the previous edition. I also finally got the new Dust Tactics rules and unit cards which the retailer was having a problem getting in.

Fortress Louisburg.

The main gate.

The boys on a cannon.

I thought this would make a great wargames room!

Playing Vikings with Ian and Michelle, Ian looks impressed with Michelle's next move!

The setup for Saga, one primed hoard vs. another!

The first completed French unit.

The French Officer.

The Woodland Indians in progress.

Another 3 underway.

Getting some paint on my Saga Viking Berserkers. I think these minis will paint up pretty fast.

The new D&D and Dust Tactics books.

The British Are Coming

Thanks to a sick child I had some time to finish off my British Regular Infantry for the French Indian Wars while he was recuperating. With this unit finished that makes 200pts for the British. I have the next batch of figures primed which are the Compagnie Franches de la Marine as well as starting a small building kit. 

I also received word from Warlord Games saying that they are sending me the replacement part for the Churchill kit I have that was mispacked with two track sections for one side and none for the other. This was quite quick and if I receive the part in a reasonable time then I am very happy with their customer service.

Making the flag for the unit. A piece of wire for the flag pole. A thin piece of plastic card. I used the needle nose pliers to hold the card flat along the edge that will be attached to the pole while I used the heat gun to soften the plastic and form some waves.

I had already drawn the lines on the card so that I could paint the flag. 

I then attached the card to the pole with green stuff. I also used some liquid green stuff later to smooth out the joint.

The completed flag.

The troops.

The drummer.

The officer.

One of the soldiers marching.

And firing.

The flag bearer.

The flag bearer with the flag, I think I should weather the flag a little.

The French primed and ready for paint.

The building glued and primed.

French & Indian Wars

Painting the British Regulars is taking a little longer than expected between real life getting in the way and figuring out how to paint all the details on the models. I decided after painting the base coats from last post that the best way to proceed would be to paint one model up so that I can follow the paint scheme on the rest of the models. Of course the officer and drummer are painted a little different so those will be completed last. So I have one completed model and the others are following.

Other projects include a couple of buildings for Muskets & Tomahawks from Pegasus Hobbies and a Bolt Action Churchill MkVII. Unfortunately the Churchill has two track assemblies for one side and none for the other side. I have sent a request for a replacement part to Bolt Action so we will see what happens.

Hopefully I will have bases for the Conquest Miniatures soon and I will base the British force before moving onto the French force.

I also played a few turns of the Fortune and Glory boardgame I bought on Free Comic Book Day and it seems like a lot of fun so when I have a block of time I will lay a full game. I can't leave a game set up or the cats will loose pieces!

The Churchill kit with the two tracks for the same side.

The first completed British regular.

From the other side.

And the rest waiting for the finishing strokes.

Free Comic Book Day!

Last weekend was Free Comic Book Day and this has become an annual family event. For the 3rd year in a row the whole family headed into town to visit a few comic & game stores. As has become the tradition we picked up our friend Shawn on the way in and hit our first store, Monster Comics, which also has a store wide sale. My youngest picked up some free comics and some Mario figures while my oldest bought a boardgame, Gearworld the Borderlands by Fantasy Flight Games while I picked up a couple of rpg's,13th Age by Pelgrane Press and Fiasco by Bully Pulpit Games and a couple of boardgames, Fortune and Glory by Flying Frog Games and Love Letter by AEG. We have yet to play any of these but I am looking forward to giving them a try. From there we all went for lunch and then another comic store, Strange Adventures before dropping Shawn off at one more store on our way home. A good day!

Also over the weekend I played a game of D&D 3.5 continuing the Shattered City campaign run by Suzanne and I also ran a game of the Dragon Age rpg this being the 3rd session of that campaign with a total of 4 players now that my son has joined in.

By the end of the weekend I almost felt gamed out!

I have continued painting miniatures for Muskets & Tomahawks working on a unit of 10 British infantry and the British commander but did not get a chance to finish off the unit. Hopefully I will get the time this week and then I will start the French forces.

Also this month is our annual boardgame weekend, Cottage Con, held every year at my friend's cottage. This is always a lot of fun and I am looking forward to it. Next month we are trying a similar event we are calling Cottage Quest for a weekend of RPGs' . A bunch of us are all chipping in to rent a cottage and we are planning on running a bunch of different games with a few of us taking turns being the GM's. If this works out well it will become an annual event as well.

And now a few picks of my Brits.

My commander so far.

Marching.

Firing.

All the troops that are underway.

More Miniatures

The next few posts including this one are going to be a little different than my usual in that I am going to post the (hopefully) weekly work on the two projects I have going on, Muskets and Tomahawks and Saga. For M&T I am painting up two 200pt armies, one French and one English and for Saga I am working on a Viking 4pt starter army. 

I am hoping that by doing a weekly post then I will continue painting until the units are done and I won't drift off to another project. Then I can get the armies to the table reasonably quick and fight a few battles with them.

I managed to finish off a unit of Rangers for M&T and started work on some of the Saga miniatures.

The unit of Rangers.

And the start of my Vikings.

My Warlord, Berserkers and Hearthguard units prepped and on their bases.

And here they are with the painting started.