Der Wind und der Löwe - Rules Revisit and Bases

After pulling out my copy of Colonial Adventures, printed now by Rebel Minis, but originally a Two Hour Wargames product, I believe they will be the rules of choice.  While they call for twenty figure units, I think they will work fine with the fifteen figure units I am organizing.  Having played some of the other Two Hours offerings, I like their reaction and reputation driven rules.  Of course, rules are always open to change!

As for bases, Litko used to be my go to company as they make high quality bases in a huge variety of shapes and sizes.  But lately I have been looking for a more affordable alternative, and Warbases offers just that.  I can still buy the sizes and thickness to match my Litko stash, but the pricing is noticeably less expensive, even with the shipping from overseas (they are a UK based company).  So, I have ordered a slew of round bases, and some movement trays for both mob and formed units.

Der Wind und der Löwe - First Factions Ordered

Placed a small order today to create the first factions, German Seebattalion, Egyptians for the Khedive's forces, and Tauregs.  Using the Old Glory Army Card and placing my order on the Old Glory 25s site, one can save a nice chunk of money, comes out to be less than a quarter per figure.  

Units will be fifteen figures, mounted individually on 20mm round bases.  The Seebattalion troops will be painted in the standard tropical uniform for China, circa 1900 (see picture from the German Colonial Uniforms website).  The Egyptians will have their white uniforms most noted for the Sudan.

Which Country Would You Choose and Why?

Since Blogger no longer allows polls, we'll have to conduct this "poll" via the comments.  

If you were doing a multi-national colonial mashup like the Boxer Rebellion with many powers involved, which nation from the following list would you choose and why?

Austria-Hungary

France

Germany

Great Britain

Italy

Russia

United States

And yes, I left out Japan and others as my intent is to cover the nations in my Der Wind und der Löwe project.

So, what say ye?  Leave a comment with your choice and reasons why.

Romania?

All of a sudden, the Romanians are interested in this blog.  Looks like they are vying with Russia to be the world's greatest hackers.  This blog certainly does not cover Romania, and I would find it difficult to believe that Romanians care about German colonial gaming!

Dintr-o dată, românii sunt interesați de acest blog. Se pare că se luptă cu Rusia pentru a fi cei mai mari hackeri din lume. Acest blog cu siguranță nu acoperă România și mi-ar fi greu să cred că românii se ocupă de jocurile coloniale germane!

Die Rumänen interessieren sich plötzlich für diesen Blog. Sieht aus, als würden sie mit Russland konkurrieren, um die größten Hacker der Welt zu sein. Dieser Blog deckt sicherlich nicht Rumänien ab, und ich würde es schwer finden zu glauben, dass Rumänen sich für deutsches Kolonialspiel interessieren!

Lancashire Review - Thar Be Monsters!

"Are these 20mm?" I thought to myself when opening the bag of goodies sent from Lancashire.  Of course I have seen their figures before, but that was years ago, and even though many gamers comment on the huge size of the Lancashire miniatures on the various gaming forums, I had forgotten just how large they can be!  Measuring about 18mm from sole to eye, I would also called them hefty, or chunky, or thick, in terms of girth.  Lancashire has even gone as far as to start calling some of their ranges 18mm, which I think is a more accurate portrayal of many of their "15mm" figures.  

Taking advantage of a recent sale, I ordered some of the East Africa Germans from their World War One range, as well as a few packs of Bedouin foot, also from the World War One list.  Pricing for a foot infantryman during the sale was only .28 cents per figure, which is about as cheap a 15/18mm figure as you can find on the market today (and the normal price is .32 cents per foot figure).  Now, while Lancashire might not be the top of the line figures out there, they are serviceable and animated, and one will have a difficult time snapping a sword or bayonet!

These are some of the nicer figures I have seen from Lancashire.  As mentioned, they would rate 18H on the Barrett Scale as they are tall and hefty.

I will update this weekend with a few pictures as compared to JTFM and Thoroughbred.

Der Wind und der Löwe - Small Update

Flags - Some months ago Sgt. Guinness (what a nice chap) sent me some Italian flags, so now I have Italian, Red and Green Crescents, American, Spanish, French, and of course German flags for the Der Wind und der Löwe project.  

Figures - I still haven't ordered any Blue Moon figures.  The project interest waned as I moved a bit more into other periods.  But now Lancashire Games has released a few packs of German East African troops for the Great War, and they may be quite useful, although Lancashire has a reputation for making very large 18mm castings.  As far as styling goes, they look like some of the best work Lancashire has going.  They only have infantry, infantry command, and uhlans at the moment (and I have no need for the latter), and I have not heard of any plans to expand the range, but taking advantage of a sale of their already reasonable prices I placed a small order today (which included some of their Bedouins) to see how they compare to the JTFM figures.

Order Arrival

Some weeks ago I placed an order with JTFM for a pack each of their German and French regulars from their When the Navy Walked range.  In both cases the regulars are very suited to colonial style troops, as both packs are wearing sun helmets.  The figures are on the large side of 15mm, measuring 18mm from sole to eye.  There are two poses per pack, advancing and firing, with six of each pose per pack.  The figures are cleanly cast, and fairly proportionate.

I placed my order on January 3rd, and received them from Canada on February 20th, even though the figures were actually shipped on January 8th (delays evidently caused by Canada Post).  While the cost per pack is only $6.00 Canadian, shipping is on the high side.

My next order will be from Blue Moon and I will be able to provide comparison pictures at that time.

Some Musings/Updates

In a recent fit of organizational need, I took some time recently to get my gaming closet a bit organized.  My wife and I live in a two bedroom condo, and the second bedroom serves as our den/office with two computer tables, bookshelves, and my gaming "stuff" in the closet, and due to volume of the latter, that also spills out on the den floor.  Granted, a couple of piles are items to sell or give to gaming friends, but Lord what a clutter it was, and bothering the wife to boot.  So, I was highly motivated to get the closet organized and the overflow cleaned up.  Made massive headway and the den looks much larger somehow, with all the organizing and combining bins that I was able to tackle.  Now it will be time to start pulling out the Fantassin/Warmodelling/Capitan/Stonewall Spanish I recently picked up from Scale Creep and get them on bases.  I will also need to order some movement trays/horde bases, but that can wait a bit. 

In getting the closet organized I realized that I have a ton (for me) of desert terrain from the various buildings and terrain bits I have picked up over the years.  I really need to get it all out and set up for some pictures to share.  I can fill a four by four table (maybe larger) nicely with a village and outlying hills and rocky outcrops, a desert stream, and a fetid pond.  I really just need to paint up the walls from Crom's Anvil, and base and drybrush the palms from same, and the desert terrain is DONE.

A reminder to those who may find the German colonial wars as interesting as I do...years ago I created a Yahoo group for Ost Afrika, which then morphed into all German colonial wars (from a gaming perspective).  While I no longer moderate the group, you'll still find some good links and files there.

For rules there are a ton of options (discussed previously) but I am really leaning towards Colonial Adventures.  I picked up a hard copy of CA along with the campaign supplement recently, and I believe they will offer a simple and fun game for conventions.

Flags have been flowing in from Sgt. Guinness, he sent United States and Spanish flags from his collection recently.  I definitely have a collection for several factions now.

Book Review - The German Colonial Empire

I was able to take advantage of a deal on a gaming site for a copy of The German Colonial Empire by Woodruff D. Smith (274 pages.  Published by The University of North Carolina Press, 1978).  Hardcover copies are currently being offered at $100.00 or more, so dropping $17.50 (including shipping) on a copy that is in excellent condition was a no brainer.

The book is divided into four parts that cover the following subjects:
The Origins of Germany's Colonial Empire
The Colonies: 1885-1907
Colonial Politics in Germany, 1890-1906
The Dernburg Era and Its Aftermath

Each part has three or four chapters.  The subject matter is from a social-political-economical point of view, there is very little military coverage.  For example the Herero and Nama Wars are covered in a short two pages at a broad brush level.

Overall, if you come across this title for under $20.00 it may be worth your while to understand Germany's path into colonialism as the book does provide a decent amount of coverage for each colony and protectorate.  However, it is extremely lacking in what most wargamers seek, substantial military history and/or scenario generation.

The 25th Post - Did Someone Say...Flags?

It is interesting at times how connected we can be using this big old world wide web, and how fellow gamers I have never met can be so generous.  Jeff Baumal (he of the excellent Sgt. Guinness blog) saw my post here on the blog about obtaining The Flag Dude's products for my Der Wind und der Löwe project, and let me know the status of The Dude.  Jeff also offered to send national flags for a variety of European nations (Spanish, French, German), and also sent me some great flags for Turkish and Egyptian troops.

There was a time I never thought this blog would make it to 25 posts and I gave some thought to shutting the blog down due to the frustration with the Herero Revolt project, but with the new direction for 2018 there is new life, and 2018 has already turned into the most prolific year the blog has seen to date!

Der Wind und der Löwe - The Spanish

While nicely painted, there is too much white poking through

Okay, so this is a bit of a detour, but a recent amount of activity on The Spanish-American War Yahoo group, which I happen to be the moderator of, got me interested in buying some figures for the land side of the war.  It just so happens that Scale Creep Miniatures is clearing out their stock of the old 15/18mm Fantassin then WarModelling then Capitan and now Stonewall Figures, so I  bought nearly all the available Spanish packs.  They arrived yesterday, and while Scale Creep did not have enough Spanish left for a full blown Spanish-American War project, they did have enough to provide a new faction for the 2018 project.  While I would prefer to have Spanish figures in sun helmet for that colonial vibe, these latest additions to the lead pile will do well enough.

I grabbed a mixture of marching and firing infantry, with infantry command, as well as cavalry with command, and a couple of packs of mounted leaders and aide de camps.  It would make for one powerful faction for the project, with two units of infantry, a couple of units of cavalry, and high command.  

For uniforms, I am going to go with the rayadillo overseas uniform, which many gamers interpret as a white uniform with blue stripes.  This is mostly true, but the number of thin blue stripes actually give the uniform a overall light blue hue, so a light blue gray would be better suited.  This article on the 1898 Miniatures site shows the effect I will be aiming for, as well as the picture of these actors from the movie 1898, Our Last Men in the Philippines.

Crom's Anvil - Order Received

Oh boy, the goodies from Crom's Anvil arrived today!  I placed my order on January 7th and today is the 23rd, so a total of sixteen days from Old Blighty.  Considering that the one terrain piece was built upon order with an email or two back and forth between the owner (Mike) and myself about the style of the terrain piece and the cost of shipping to the United States, I think the timeframe from day of order to day of receipt is pretty darn good. 

Packaging was ideal, with enough bubble wrap to keep the various pieces from taking any sort of abuse from the Post Awful (actually, the vast majority of interactions I have had with the U.S. Postal Service have been rather good).  

The stone walls (140mm long by 15mm wide by 20mm tall) and pillars (50mm tall by 15mm wide by 15mm deep) are a cleanly cast resin, with no defects or bubbles to speak of.  The trees are some sort of commercially made palms, and stand about 4" in height (100mm).  I decided to buy the ones that were not already painted, but as they are they will be easy to finish with a bit of highlighting and wash on the trunks and then based.  

The hand crafted piece measures 80mm by 60mm and has three bushes that are 20mm tall.  The bushes look to be manufactured by the same outfit that made the palm trees.  Mike threw in a few extra tuft bits that I will add to a couple of other terrain pieces I have.  A nice gesture on his part.

Overall, I am very pleased with my first order from Crom's Anvil.  I look forward to ordering more terrain offerings from them in the future.

Der Wind und der Löwe - Flags

There are a few sources out there for colonial flags, but I believe, as I only need a flag or two for each faction, I will use the venerable Warflag website as opposed to buying flagsheets from Cotton Jim, which would leave me with a slew of extra flags, or ordering from Flag Dude.  While I have ordered some very nice War of 1812 flags from Flag Dude in the past, the owner seems to be extremely hit and miss with communication and fulfilling orders, and admittedly I just do not have the tolerance for inconsistent customer service (see my rant about a certain miniatures company in a previous post).  So Warflag it is, and best of all, they are free!

Warflag offers the following countries/factions in their colonial range that fit the Der Wind und der Löwe project:  France, Germany, Italy, United States, Arabs, and Egyptians/Sudanese.  For my initial builds, this works suitably well, as I will be starting with Germans, local Khedive forces (Sudanese), and Arabs.  If my gaming buddies want to provide other factions, they will have to source their own flags. 😉

Der Wind und der Löwe - The Factions

NOTE:  If you have extra figures from the various packs pictured below, I am looking to obtain extras from specific packs.  Please see my Bartertown ad.

These are the ramblings regarding the various factions and their motivations.  This post will be added to from time to time as I flesh out the project.  All pictures are from the Blue Moon site.

Al-Faqihwit - a village who's small size belies its importance as a supply hub for explorations into the desert.  The Khedive of Turkey maintains a small military force in the area to "keep the peace" as well as to keep tabs on any discoveries the various explorations may dig up.  Will disrupt Russian plans if possible.  Force pool is two units of Sudanese led by Muhammad al-Alam.

Arabs - Having been pushed away from the coast, they still have benefited from interactions with the colonial powers in terms of trade and providing guides to the archaeological teams that roam the desert.  However, they want to control Al-Faqihwit and will act with whatever faction that will help them take over the village.  Led by Imraan al-Omar.

Tauregs - Wary of all, they have become less and less tolerant of incursions into their territory.  Rumors are they will strike Al-Faqihwit and destroy the village that supports the infidels.  Will attack the French if a favorable opportunity presents itself.  Led by Faraj al-Mohamed.

Americans - A supporter of exploration, but not to the point where it will insult the local factions (Arabs and Tauregs).  Typically will support the British in most actions, but will always try to do the right thing while protecting its own citizens and interests.  One unit of Marines led by Lieutenant Gavin Wood.

Germans - A bit of an enigma.  At times chivalrous, at others devious, the Germans will play any and all sides.  One unit of Seebattalion led by Leutnant Einhard Gräbner.

French - If the British are present then the French will be as well.  The French will take any opportunity to disrupt British influence as they seek sole control of Al-Faqihwit.  The main financial supporter of the various explorations.  Will only cooperate with other factions if that cooperation benefits their own end game.  One unit of marines led by Lieutenant Mathis De Saint-Pierre.

Italians - Will typically support the Germans in most efforts, and are harsh in their treatment of the locals.  They see the region as part of their domain, and hence will attempt to disrupt any other faction from taking control.  One unit of Bersaglieiri led by Tenente Alvise Cannone.

Russians - Brutal, will take any chance to attack the local forces as long as the other factions maintain a neutral stance.  One unit of sailors led by Leytenant Sergei Mikhailovich.

British - The British seek to control the local area through their "enlightened" administration.  One unit of Royal Marines led by Lieutenant Rowen Harrington.

Austrians - In lock step with the Germans and will follow their lead in all things.  Will try to hinder Italian goals.  One unit of sailors led by Leutnant Vass Flórián.

Others:
Local citizens will include Arab, African, and Victorian period civilians, along with archaeologists and explorers.

Der Wind und der Löwe - Moving Right Along

I am looking at Rampant Colonialism and Colonial Adventures as the top prospects for rules.  I have a hard copy of the latter, along with its campaign supplement, on their way.  I also plan on obtaining a copy of The Men Who Would Be Kings, and perhaps Flying Lead as well.

On the terrain front, my order from Crom's Anvil will be winging its way across the pond shortly.  

Next steps will be to start buying figures, and pitch the multi-factional idea to my gaming compadres.  My initial thoughts would be have any player who is interested choose one colonial power and also provide a unit of bad guys so that the force pool has plenty of figures from both sides to choose from.

My own purchase from Blue Moon will be the Germans and a unit of Arabs, probably Tauregs.  I also want a local force, so a unit of Egyptians or Sudanese will work for the Khedive's forces.  I need to really lay out a bit of the background and the various forces in more detail in a future post.

Adding to the Terrain

Wall section - all pictures from Crom's Anvil site

These trees are taller than my current ones

While I think I have enough terrain to fill a small tabletop for a desert setting, I decided to place an order today at Crom's Anvil for a few more pieces.  From their selection of items I purchased some stone walls and pillars (to give the small village I have some sort of defensive works), a prepainted bushes piece, and ten tall trees that will add another level of height to the board.  Once added to Deimos Design buildings, the David Glenn shanties, and The Terrain Guy trees and gaming tiles, I should have a fairly full setup.  I also have some finished rock outcrops and fields for troops to use as cover and/or concealment.  In a skirmish-type setting, one needs a variety of terrain!

Placing an order with Crom's was a snap as they take PayPal.  Once I receive the pieces I'll take a few pictures and create another post showing how the pieces look upon arrival.  I'll also pull out all my terrain and take some pictures on the entire layout.

Neat little piece of terrain

Der Wind und der Löwe - Rules?

I pulled out my copies of Rampant Colonialism (RC) and Soldier's Companion (SC) a couple of nights ago (and found out that somehow I have two copies of the latter), just to get a feel of what type of rules I want to use for the new project.  Before I go any further, I must say that I am not a huge fan of The Sword and the Flame...I know, a blaspheming heretic, right?  I just didn't like the feel of TSATF when I played them many years ago.  It has been years since I have played SC as well, but from what I remember it gave a decent game, especially with the fieldcraft ratings and rules.  But I believe all the aforementioned rules have a slightly higher command structure than what I envision.  I see each player running a faction, maybe 10-15 figures, or a machinegun with crew, and that is all the command they would have.  I know that TSATF and SC can provide fairly bloody combat results, meaning that a unit of figures could take several casualties in one turn, which would not work for my 10-15 figure commands as a player could get knocked out of the game fairly quickly.  Potentially not a good gaming experience.

What I seek then is something a bit smaller in scope.  I was taking a look at The Men Who Would Be Kings, but in reading several blog reviews it seems to be larger in scale as well.  Fire and Steel seems to be a decent set of rules, but perhaps a tad too small scale as one tracks wounds and each individual figure has three actions, which I see bogging down a game with multiplayers.

So, I am looking for something in between and am open to suggestions. 

When the Navy Walked 18mm

German regulars - picture from JTFM website

After clarifying shipping costs from Canada to the United States (and having my question about said costs answered via email in just a few minutes!), I have placed a small order for two packs of figures from the JTFM Enterprises Landships range.  There are just eight packs of infantry in the range, two each for Britain, Germany (Prussia), France, and the United States, each country having a pack of regulars and one of elites.  In this case the pack of German and French regulars are figures suitable for colonial gaming, and I am hoping they will be suitable size-wise with the Blue Moon figures.

The packs I believe just have two poses and no command figures.  There are twelve figures per pack, and packs cost $6.00 Canadian (.40 cents per figure USD).

So, order placed the evening of January 3rd for figures shipping from Canada to the U.S. - I'll update when they arrive so that folks can gauge shipping timeframes.

Some Updates

A post three days in a row!  A miracle compared to one post for all of 2017.  Perhaps having a bit of a new direction will also continue to drive more activity for the blog.

I have added a couple of files to download - Tuan, a set of Boxer Rebellion rules from Cellmate, and the Age of Stanley, a Volley and Bayonet modification for Africa, from where it comes I do not know.  Let me know if you have any issues with the links.

I've also added a new page, called Der Wind und der Löwe for my new foray into multinational intrigue and conflict set somewhere in North Africa.  For now it just lists the figures I plan to use.  I do hope to develop a background soon, which will carry through a few posts as I develop each faction and their motivation.

I've added a two blogs to the blog list as well.  Sour Kraut & Fried Rice has very few posts (three as of this writing), but it does focus on the Boxer Rebellion.  The Sgt. Guinness blog covers a wide variety of topics, but does have several posts dealing with The Wind and the Lion.  The terrain for those cinematic games is very good, something to aspire to with my own setup. 

2018 - Der Wind und der Löwe - A New Direction?

I have been doing a slew of Googling the last few days (and having to work a late shift on New Year's Day leads to a mass amount of boredom which in turn leads to a lot of time playing on the internet), which is inspiring me to get some colonial gaming projects worked on in 2018.  With the release last year of Blue Moon's Boxer Rebellion range, coupled with my frustration with the poor customer service from a certain company for the Herero project, perhaps some sort of gaming compromise can be had.  

While I wouldn't mind doing a true Boxer Rebellion setting, the expense of those Blue Moon Legation buildings, along with the fact that they do not have lift off roofs keeps me from buying what are pretty much the only game in town for 15mm Chinese buildings.  Remembering the great fun I had playing in Irishserb's Ponape multinational extravaganzas some years ago, but knowing that I cannot do 25/28mm due to space limitations, another direction must be taken.  Having a pretty decent amount of North Africa/Middle East terrain, I am thinking that a The Wind and the Lion based setting would work well.  It would still offer the colorful multinational factions that I and a lot of gamers enjoy, allow me to use existing buildings and terrain, and deal with a miniatures company that offer reliable service and fair pricing.

The various factions can all be handled using Blue Moon - not only for the western powers that are already covered in the Boxer range, but also Arabs from their French Foreign Legion line.  If wanted, askaris could be added from the Deep Dark Africa range and Egyptians as local forces from the Sudan Campaigns listing.

I wouldn't necessarily do a straight movie adaptation, but use the setting more as a background.  The various guys I game with can pack a faction to provide and that will give the setting a bit of a Boxer Rebellion feel, just in the desert.  I think I'll focus on the Germans, some Arabs, and perhaps some Egyptians to get things started.  I may consider buying some stone walls from Crom's Anvil to provide my town with a bit of defenses.

Okay, so yes, this does move away a bit for the main topic of this blog, the Herero Revolt.  But it would still be a gaming project that would involve the Germans, and could fill a bit of a hole until I decide if that certain gaming company is worth my time and money.

15mm German Colonial Figures

Lancashire Germans

I am trying to gather together, in one spot on the interweb, a listing of all those companies making some sort of 15mm German colonial troops.  If I have missed any manufacturer, please let me know!

Figures

Blue Moon Manufacturing - Boxer Rebellion (Seebattalion)

JTFM Enterprises - When the Navy Walked (Seebattalion)

Lancashire Games - Boxer Rebellion (Seebattalion)

Old Glory 15s - Boxer Rebellion (Mounted officers, Far Eastern Brigade infantry and cavalry, Seebattalion)

Splendid Little Warriors - Wind and the Lion (Infantry and field gun with crew)