Bostich.comboard and miniature gaming

Commands and Colors: Ancients is a great game and system by Richard Borg available from GMT Games. It depicts battles in the ancient world from 3000BC to 400AD of varying scale. Much more can be said and is at BoardGameGeek.com, so I’ll let the great content there speak for the game.

For me the only real downside to C&C:Ancients for me is the portability: the base game has over 340 5/8″ wooden blocks, and there are currently 6 expansions for the base game. While not horrible to carry, it is a touch on the heavy side so it’s only likely to make it to the away table if pre-planned. Read the rest of this entry »

So I finally got one block put together and painted, yay Family Day!  The stated downside of having Advancing Leveled figures has come to fruit and after some testing I have just decided it’s best if I leave them as-is.  Moving the guns/bayonets so as not to interfere with the back rank of the next unit just leaves them looking odd.

This means while my units will look fine in line or square formation, they will be slightly separated in column or attack column.

Appologies for the dark picture, better pics when the unit is finished and I have some of my better gear available.

For readings on the Peninsular Armies try these great books available from Amazon.ca:

One of the big challenges with miniature gaming can come from not actually having miniatures for the game you’re hoping to play.  True, this is not likely if you’re an old-timer but for those new to the hobby it can be a big roadblock.  How many times have you seen people playing with black-primed or even bare metal?

Here’s another option I think works great for historical gaming: Counters!

French Cuirassier close on the 1/42nd Highlanders

It may seem counter-intuitive ;) but I’m talking about using the base-size for a given system, some good graphics, and some foamcore board to make nice big thick game-sized counters.  This is a really good way of quickly trying out a game system to see if it works, or works for you.  In addition if you are a member of a weekly gaming club it allows for small and light transport of an entire army for an evening game.

Are nicely painted well based miniatures better? Hell yes.  Counters however, can be a quick and dirty way of getting some play time. If you’re lucky: before your friends move on to another game.

I’ve uploaded a sample .PSD you can use to make your own counters for Lasalle, only Infantry and Artillery bases are shown:  Lasalle Counter PSD (168kb)

Painting is underway.  I primed the regiment using Liquitex Neutral Gray Gesso first.

Below is an example of the work in-progress:

Not sure how to paint the kit.

Luckily I have since found very good examples of how to paint the kit on the Victrix website.  So far so good though.  I’m not that great a painter, so from the 3 foot rule perspective these are coming out well.  The neutral grey was a good choice as the regiments at Salamanca wore grey pants.

Living in an apartment/condo has always presented challenges as a miniature painter.  I don’t have the luxury of a garage or basement or back yard to spray-prime in.  When I first started painting I would save up miniatures all winter and as soon as the first clear/not windy/not humid day presented itself I would prime like a maniac on my balcony.

The number of days favorable to priming at my apartment were few enough that I was encouraged to find alternatives.

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