Returning to Black Powder/Glory Hallelujah Rules.

Due to continuing eye infection problems, I have temporarily given up painting for a while. Instead, I shall play a few games, which in my case is what all the painting is about anyway.

It's been a long time since I used the Black Powder rule set, in actual fact, I think I only played it once. I did play quite a bit of its supplement, Pike & Shotte, which uses basically the same mechanics, but obviously with a few period specific alterations. I have the Glory Hallelujah supplement, so once I am up to speed again with basic BP, I shall employ the modified rules that GH has to offer.


The table laid out for a training battle, measures 43 inches by 28 3/4 inches (110cm x 73cm). A little small, but big enough for the 6mm troops I shall be using. I will simply substitute, moving and firing distances with centimetres as opposed to inches. I have included a little of everything, terrain wise, in an attempt to bring most of the rules into play.

A walled farm complex will allow assault/defence of buildings and the crop field will be classed as rough ground.

The raised hill in the centre, with its rocky outcrops will also be rough ground.

Views of the hill.

The scrub around the field edges and alongside the road, are not classed as fixed terrain, and can be moved out of the way. They are for aesthetic purposes only.

The crop field is simply a piece of a carpet tile and the split log fencing is home made. The walls around the farm are resin pieces, bought from a model railway shop, and are designed for 'N Gauge.'

The trees are a mixture of 4Ground and others purchased from a Chinese dealer on ebay.

The hill is a pair of socks placed beneath the battle mat, and arranged to form a realistic looking hill and ridge. The rocks are from my garden and are mostly granite chippings with a couple of pieces of slate.

Scrub and bushes are common lichen, nothing fancy at all.

The battlefield will be fought over a few times, as I reacquaint myself with the rules. First with just a single, mixed brigade on each side. Then increase to a couple of brigades aside, and finally I shall then fight a battle using the GH supplement rules.

Should be fun, and takes away the frustration of not being able to paint.

More War of the Roses units completed

Taking a break from my 6mm American Civil War armies, I was about painted out after working on them for the Black Powder Challenge for the last six weeks. So a for a change of scene and scale, I thought I would return to my War of the Roses in 28mm figures.

First up was another box of infantry and the two Yorkist factions both received a unit of archers to add to their crossbowmen and firearms troops. Also a second unit of Bill Men have been completed. These fellows are not in any of the four retinue colours and so can be allocated to whichever Lord is in need of reinforcements for any given battle in the campaign. Like wise, the foot knight are also in neutral and can be allocated as needed.

Here are the archers, bill men and one unit of six foot knights.

Bill Men in neutral colours allowing them to be allocated to any retinue.

The very first unit of foot knights, in Lion Rampant these are in units of six men, I have based them in two pairs of two and two single bases.

Archers in twelve strong units.

The boxes of Perry foot knights actually contain 38 figures, so that will allow me to build a total of six units per box. The extra two figures are for a command stand. I have two boxes of these so will be able to make up a total of twelve units, hopefully that should be more than enough for my needs.

I think a few 'get to know the rules' sessions are in the offing now in readiness for beginning the War of the Roses campaign I have been planning. So lots of variety on the go for me. Speaking of which, I haven't forgotten the 6mm ACW, and will be painting up a couple of units of Zouaves for each side once the foot knights are completed. I am still researching which Zouave units to paint up. The Battle of Hangman's Creek is currently being played on the table, using Black Powder rules, photos will be uploaded to the blog on its completion.

The Battle of Hangman's Creek - Intro

I am about to attempt my first ever ACW battle using the Black Powder rules. The scenario is taken from the rule book and involves a division per side in an attack/defence type fight.
This is the map of the scenario, the Confederates will come on to the table at the top of the picture, three brigades in all. The objective is to capture as many muskets, balls and shot as they can carry away from the armaments factory situated in the lower right of the map. It is just approaching first light and the Union troops are in their camps. One camp can be seen on the map to the West of the town, another is camped South of the town off the map and a third, also in camp to the East of the town further along the road from the factory. The Divisional and Brigade commanders for the Union side are all in the house at the North edge of town. They will have to rush to call out their respective brigades and form a defence, before the Confederates can sweep down onto the camp, town and factory. The Union have a regiment on picket duty on the ridge to the North and also one regiment beside the factory.

Left side of the table showing the camp and the farmhouse to the north.

Centre of the table, showing the town and the ridge beyond with a cornfield in between.

Finally, the right side of the table, showing the river snaking down the table from top to bottom and the armaments factory at bottom left.

The whole Confederate Army so far...

As promised some photographs of the whole Rebel force laid out on the table. I completed the final four units late yesterday afternoon and managed to take two or three photos in the failing light, so today hopefully, I have done them justice.

A low level shot of the whole force.

The whole force from higher up. Generals at the front, artillery and limbers, cavalry on the wings and of course the infantry at the rear.

Looking across the massed ranks of infantry.

From a little lower down for a close up of the troops.

Dismounted and mounted cavalry troopers on the flank.

Six artillery pieces and their limbers.

A unit of red coated Zouves in the infantry ranks.

More cavalry on the other flank.

Looking down the table at the massed ranks.

Finally, a shot of the whole force.

Although I am looking to fight the battles using the 'Altar of Freedom' rules, I decided to invest in a copy of the 'Black Powder' rules. I do already have a copy of 'Pike & Shotte' by the same company and quite like the mechanics of the game. I will of course need to scale down movement and ranges, also work out a command system, as this game is really designed for 28mm. It looks at divisional sized battles, whereas of course, I will be fighting Corps or even Army sized battles.

To experiment with the rules, I particularly like this encounter at the back of the book, it looks an interesting scenario to play and a perfect way to introduce myself to the rules.

I can recreate the map on my war gaming table and of course have enough troops to fight the battle. My bases are of course different to those recommended but I will find a way around that.

As you can see it comprises of a division for each side, broken down into three brigades and should prove very interesting to play.

Black Powder Challenge 2015 - Completed!

A momentous day for me, I have completed the last four Confederate infantry units for the Black Powder Challenge. That is a total of 25 units of infantry now finished for both the Union and the Confederacy! 50 units each of 36 soldiers which by my maths equals 900 men each or a total of 1,800 men. I have managed to do the lot in under a month too, so much for Christmas.

As I have just finished the last batch and it is getting quite dark, plus there is a gap in the constant showers of rain we are having, dashed outside to take just a few hasty shots to upload. A full photo session of them will take place on the gaming table later.

The 25 compartment storage box from Wilkinson's (UK) store, each base is 60 x 30 mm and they slot in perfectly, a proper army in a box.

All the units in their compartments.

Finally, a couple of them perched on top.

I also received my copy of 'Blucher' rule set during the week to go with the cards for the Hundred Days campaign and also received my copy of 'Black Powder,' the latter I have been promising to purchase for over a year. So tonight, the brushes and paints will be getting a well earned rest, I shall be cracking open a couple of cold ones from the refrigerator and and having a good read!