Herero War - German See Battalion Comparisons

I have 15mm See Battalion Germans from three different companies, those being Old Glory 15s, Blue Moon, and JTFM, but I have not yet pulled them together for some comparison pictures.  I probably like the Blue Moon figures the most, because their posting reminds me of the Old Glory 25s I used to have, but the quality of the JTFM figures are nice, even if the range is rather limited.

So, this post is simply a few pictures to give the readership an idea of the sizing differences between the three manufacturers.  I hope the pictures tell the story.  For me, using individually mounted figures, some slight sizing differences is not a huge deal.  It is when the weapons are not consistent from one brand to another where I have a difficult mixing, or when the figures are just so obviously different in scale/size, like Lancashire...those are monsters!

left to right: JTFM, Blue Moon, Old Glory 15s

left to right: JTFM (x2), Blue Moon (x2), Old Glory 15s (x2)

From a quality point of view, the JTFM are a cleaner casting, with proportions, especially weapons, being the best, followed closely by Blue Moon, and Old Glory 15s last.  But the Old Glory 15s are still fairly decent figures, although they have less heft than the other two ranges.  I would not hesitate to blend JTFM and Blue Moon together, but not the Old Glory 15s as they look a little frail.  

Gotta Love the Spammers

It is always interesting to see where the blog viewers reside.  In many cases, the countries make sense - the United States because of the number of gamers and the fact I post about updates on a mostly American gaming site, the United Kingdom because of the number of folks who are also on that gaming site, Germany because the blog is indeed about German colonial gaming after all, and a few other countries like France because the Der Wind und der Löwe project has a multi-country aspect.  But some of the countries crack me up.  I mean, I understand the Russian count - they are trying to influence my gaming choices.  But Ukraine?  Indonesia?  Singapore?  Maybe there are a bevy of Ukrainian women or Asian ladies just dying to find love (don't tell my wonderful wife that Olga is chasing me).  I am actually sad that the Nigerian Oil Minister has not made his presence known.  I could always use 4.7M dollars!

I also find it interesting when bloggers will brag about the number of views they receive, because they most likely are not filtering out the crap views that inflate their numbers.  According to Blogger, I have over 25K views.  It is more likely half of that when looking at the "legit" countries.  

I know, a goofy post, but I thought others might find it amusing!

Herero Revolt - Sorting Day

Today was the day to sort the figures.  Why sort?  Because many of the figures from Old Glory 15s are in bags of mixed nationalities, for example the mounted officers pack has five different nations represented.  Taking the time to get them sorted down to their German or Herero representations allows me to determine if I need to order more of a certain type or if I have enough already.  It will also allow me to list the extra figures I will have for sale...I have no need for French or American generals or Italian bersaglieri, and if I can sell the extra figures then I can convert those funds into more packs suitable for Germans and Hereros!

Okay, here is the damage:

Germany

Senior Officers - 2 mounted
Schutztruppe - 48 foot and 16 mounted
Landungkorps - 25 (using Russian sailors)
Marine-Infanterie - 18
Bastards - none (can use Schutztruppe above)
Feldkanone - 2 guns with crew
Maschinenkanone - none
Revolverkanone - 2 guns mtd, 2 guns dis, with crew
Gebirgsgeschutz - none

Herero

Foot - 100
Shock Troops - none
Infiltrators - (can use Schutztruppe above)
Mounted - 16
Command - 2 mounted

There are a few holes to fill, but a bit better than I first thought.  There are no good proxies for the Maschinenkanone and Gebirgsgeschutz, and I need more Schutztruppe, but as Old Glory packs them in mixed foot and mounted bags, I am going to have far too many mounted Schutztruppe.  

The Herero War Review

I posted a short review on Amazon of The Herero War guide by Roy Jones and Eric Alvarado.  It is an excellent resource even if one does not plan on using The Sword and the Flame rules that the scenarios are written for.

Herero Revolt - Uitkomst Scenario

While it is available in other places, I have added the Uitkomst scenario, written by Roy Jones and Tim Abbott, to my Google Drive - the link is to the right.  This helps me, and perhaps you, find it when you want it, as I am trying to make this blog a "one stop shop" when it comes to gaming SudWest Afrika.  The scenario is written for The Sword and the Flame, but can be used for other gaming systems.

Herero Revolt - Flags

Warflags

As I have been able to secure the figures I need from Old Glory 15s (with a lot of assistance from Roy Jones who helped me select the most ideal proxies from the OG15 range), I now need flags.  Actually, I am not certain that the German forces in SudWest Afrika even carried flags or standards into the field (most likely they did not), but I still would like to add a splash of nationalist color and pride for the German side.  To that end, I need 15mm flags.

Photo from Cotton Jim's website

Cotton Jim's Flags happen to make a range for the Boxer Rebellion which includes a sheet of German flags, but the are the rather plan three part flag of red, white, and black horizontal stripes.  While I have heard that Cotton Jim's has great service, the German flag sheet is kinda blah in appearance.  Years ago when I had some Old Glory Boxer Rebellion 25mm Germans, I used a German flag from the Warflags site, and looking at the sheet they also have 15mm flags.  Should be an easy chore to print out a sheet, cut out a flag or two, mount on a pole, coat with some white glue, and give them a bit of a bend or two, and let dry.

One company I would really like to utilize is Flag Dude, but they keep going in and out of business.

Herero Revolt - Basing/Rules

I had ordered some "hoard" movement trays from Warbases a few months ago, so I thought it was time to get some of the figures based and provide a few pictures of how they will look.  Both the Germans and the Hereros used an open order formation, which I think using the Warbases movement trays replicates in a decent manner.  I am still looking at buying some different movement trays that will allow some flexibility in unit organization.  Litko also has a mix of movement trays, but their pricing for what I am looking for is several times higher than Warbases.  I use a mix of both Litko and Warbases, depending on pricing and what each company offers.

Basing will be in multiples of five, with each figure individually mounted.  This will make moving a unit easier due to using movement trays, and yet I can still have individual casualties removed from play.  This should allow flexibility with rules as well.  While I am planning on using Colonial Adventures as the primary set for this project, I can also use also sets for smaller skirmish level games, having picked up a copy of One Hour Skirmish Wargaming recently.  The mechanics are a bit different, in which they do not use dice at all, but opposing decks of cards for all actions and resolutions.  They are also very simple yet nuanced, perfect for convention settings.

Using the hoard bases with individually mounted figures does not lock me into one set of rules because of a specific figure mounting convention.  Time to go order more of these bases!

Old Glory 15s - Very Good Service

In previous posts I have lambasted Old Glory 15s for their lack of customer service and at times negativity at conventions (waaay back in the day).  I forgot to mention that when I placed my order with them back in January for the beginnings of the Herero project that I received very good service, and that the figures only took a couple of weeks to receive.  

Seemingly they have improved their service and communication, and will from time to time offer sales on their various product lines.  I signed up for their email list, and about once a month they seem to have a special on a specific range.  This bodes well as long as they can deliver their product and reply to customers in a timely manner.  I am hopeful my next order from them will go as smoothly.

Herero War - Units Needed

I received my second copy of The Herero War yesterday.  In purchasing this a second time I wanted to get a feel for what some of unit mix I would need for the various scenarios in the book.  By the way, the authors (Roy Jones and Eric Alvarado) have done a cracking job in detailing, very specifically, the various unit capabilities, providing details for the scenarios, and giving the colonial gamer a one-stop shop (or nearly so) for all things Deutsch-Südwestafrika.  

I have created a spreadsheet that lists unit types needed by scenario.  While not perfect as I had to assume a few things, it provides the framework around purchasing figures and organizing them as needed.  While The Herero War uses The Sword and the Flame to design the scenarios and special rules, I most likely will be using Colonial Adventures (formally a Two Hour Wargames product, now printed by Rebel Minis) with different unit sizes.  I still should be able to recreate the scenarios, but will have to play around a bit with the special rules and unit capabilities to mesh them into Colonial Adventures.  Enough prattling, here is the chart:

A Long Time....

It has been well over a year since my last post on the blog, but time to make 2020 the Year of the Herero.  Yes, flopping again on my stance of what colonial gaming I want to accomplish, so, perhaps keeping the Der Wind und der Löwe project as a secondary option, I really want to game a colonial conflict in its historical setting, and not the common Zulu, Dervish, or even Arab.  That means, in a way, starting over, as I had sold my humble beginnings of research materials.  So, Step One, order another copy of Dr. Roy Jones' The Herero War from Recreational Conflict.  Done.  Step Two, get over to Amazon and start creating a Herero War wishlist of desired books.  In progress.  Step Three, go place an order with Old Glory 15s.  Done, taking advantage of the last day of their Christmas sale.  This first order included at least one of every code found on the SudWest Afrika Figures page here on the blog.  

Okay, I've jumped in fairly aggressively with a large order of figures.  For terrain I have a decent foundation of desert-like buildings and some scrub-like trees.  I am going to pick up additional scrub terrain from Baueda.

Next step, once I receive The Herero War book again, will be to determine a scenario from that book and start building the various forces.