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)