6mm Napoleonics

[Mike the Pike]

'Tis the afternoon of Sunday 18 June 1815. The ground under foot is a quagmire of mud, blood and gore. The air is stifling, thick with acrid smoke from musketry, cannons and half a dozen large fires. The screams of the dying intermingle with shouted orders, bugle calls and of course the drums. Their deep bass voice calls the 'pas de charge', the rhythm that has driven Napoleon's legions to victory time and time again. Punctuating the beat are calls of 'Vive l'empereur!'

As the smoke clears for a moment the sun glints from a dozen bronze eagles as the blue clad French forces advance once again. There seems to be no end to the columns marching across the shallow valley and up the shallow slope. It seems the red clad soldiers facing this blue wave cannot possibly hold against such an inexorable tide.

Then, he is there. 'Old Nosey' himself. He calls out "Up, Guards, and at 'em" and as ones the ranks of previously prone red coats stand to. Further calls steady their ranks and bring muskets to the ready. Can these thin ranks repel the advancing hordes or will Napoleon win the day?

[Mike the Pike]

The Other Dave and I have recently made a (very) modest investment in 6mm Napoleonic Miniatures and rules from Baccus miniatures with an eye to revisiting the battles of the Napoleonic era.
http://www.baccus6mm.com/index.php

We haven't played any games yet but hope to before we get too much older. It seems a very interesting system, not least of all because it can be played at 2 different levels (Division size or Corps level). The other interesting point about the game system is that army quality is generated randomly at the start of the game. That should definitely make things interesting!

If you are interested in joining in the fun, have a good look around the site I linked above, and TODs first minis here http://www.nagoyahammer.com/forum/viewt ... f=13&t=321 and tell us what you think.

[me_in_japan]

While I have no intention of ever playing any form of historical wargame, I did read the baccus website and was thoroughly entertained by his ranting. I also reckon he's dead right on all points. Unfortunately, I will happily plonk myself into the "painter and modeller" camp, rather than the "wargamer" camp, so 6mm holds no appeal for me. That said, good luck to all ye who sail in the good ship 6mm napoleonics. I'm looking forward to seeing some epic games in progress at Joshin next time

[The Other Dave]

His rants are awesome, aren't they? I also tend to agree with him, but then I would, being Nagoya's resident 6mm evangelist, heh.

I've been fiddling with army lists - to the extent that one can, anyway, since armies are rolled up randomly before the battle (one of the Polemos system's little quirks) - and found that the starter set skews heavily toward cavalry, for 1815 Brits anyway. A booster pack of 12 more infantry bases is probably going to be in the cards before I can play any reasonably-sized games. (On the other hand, that's only like 11 GBP, so bring 'em on!)

Still, I'm having a good time painting, and learning part of the fun of doing up historicals: lots of autodidactic goodness! Which era is this army I got from? (Belgic shakos! That means 1815!) Is my shade of red too dark? (Probably!) Is the braid on belgic shakos the regiment's facing color, or something else? (I don't know! I just did them up like gold braid, or tried.) Would 2 or 3 ranks deep be better? (For the British, shallower ranks, apparently!) Is the Union Jack carried to the left or the right of the regimental banner? (I think I got it right!) Why doesn't Baccus sell Hanoverian or Dutch troops, if they were such an important part of the British army? (I don't know! I'll just use British for all of them! Did they wear the same uniforms? I don't know! Let's find out!) Et cetera. It's fun!

[Primarch]

Man, painting 6mm stuff is for guys who can see. Count me out I'm afraid.

[Mike the Pike]

@Prim: You know you want to. Go on, all the other kids are doing it
Besides, no need for clear vision. Painting these guys is a cinch. Base uniform colour + pick out a few details + musket bayonet = finished. No washes, highlighting blending whatsoever. Couldn't be simpler. I'll even let you play the Spanish.

[Primarch]

The Spanish eh?
Sounds tempting.....

[Admiral-Badruck]

Looks really cook man I just wish I had the dinero para un ejercito nuevo...