Farewell 2020!

 🎲🥳🎲🥳🎲

Hi folks! I just wanted to wish everyone in the group a Happy New Year. Fantastic Battles was only released two months ago and already we have established a nice little group on Facebook - even though Covid restrictions have prevented many of us from actually playing! I can't wait for the situation to continue so we can all start to meet and roll dice again. Thanks to your support, the digital version of the rules has even earned a silver 'Best Seller' badge on Wargame Vault and hasn't dropped below the top five titles since release. Now, just watch my hubris as it drops way down tomorrow! 🤣😂🤣😂 Although I already have armies of Halflings, Goblins, Wyld Elves, Ziggurat Dwarves, and Greeks in 10mm, I have a new 28mm project lined up for 2021 - Project Troy... I'm not a fast painter, especially not with big figs, but I'll keep you posted! If done properly, the army should also serve for l'Art de la Guerre and Hail Caesar.

6mm Austrian showcase for Bataille Empire - or, softly softly, catchee Hapsburgs

It has taken almost a full year (the first unit was completed on the 18th January), but my first 200 point army for Bataille Empire is now finished and awaiting table-top deployment. Of course, given the state of the world, it will probably be quite a few months before they get used in anger.

When we decided to venture into 6mm Napleonics, I wanted a fairly generic and middle-of-the-road army. My thoughts first turned to Sweden as something a little left of centre, but having struggled to find suitable proxy figures, I settled on Austria - an army I played more than 20 years ago in 15mm for Napoleon's Battles. 

Foolishly, we opted for 'shako' era, rather than 'bicorn' era Napoleonics. I say foolishly because I didn't realise at the time that post-1808, every Austrian infantry line regiment required six bases (or to put it another way, 96 figures!). Astute readers will observes a direct correlation between the minimum number of line infantry required by the army list, and the number included in my army...😁

The army composition is built around the 1809 Danube campaign list in the rules, but is not based on any historical order of battle per se.

The vanguard division (never leave home without one!) is far-and-away my favourite. With a jäger battalion, the Archduke Charles Legion, and some flashy Hungarian chaps swinging their curved sabres from the backs of flighty horses, there is something for everyone. The army list only allows for a single competent general, so I figured this division needed it more than most.

The infantry division requires four regiments of line infantry. I used figures in the 1806 helmet to represent my German veteran line. The Hungarian and Moravian regiments are properly attired in 1809 shakos. The regiment of Bohemian conscripts are technically wearing brown landwehr coats, but for now they will substitute as conscripts.

The heavy cavalry division of cuirassiers. Subtle as a brick, but more expensive to feed.

 

6mm Napoleonic Austrians - Splenyi's (51st) Infantry Regiment

Nominally the 51st Infantry Regiment (drawing recruits from Hungary and Romania), whose colonel-in-chief was Feldmarschalleutnant Gabriel Splenyi von Mihaldy, I am oh-so-delighted to present the last* of the infantry regiments for my Austrian corp for Bataille Empire.

This army was my big project for 2020 and, while I have done a raft of other stuff, it has continued to loom ominously in the corner. Delighted that I am on course to finish it up by the end of this most challenging of years. 

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*Last is such a definitive term...

 

Blood, Sweat and Cheers - light gladiators

Almost giving me a full compliment of 28mm gladiators, here are a veles ('The Caledonian') and sagitarius (Paris) for my Blood, Sweat and Cheers ludus. Both figures are from Crusader Miniatures, although the veles has been gallicised with a hefty moustache and torc.
 

Ludus in a box!

Blood, Sweat and Cheers 2nd edition

 

At the start of the month I sent off the updated BSC rules to Ganesha and the files at the various retailers have now been updated. The cards themselves have not changed - but the free pdf rules have been expanded to add clarity, a campaign system for competing ludi has been added, and there are also now simple guidelines for solo play.

The revised rule booklet (8x A5 pages) is available here.

A professionally printed card deck is still available from DriveThru Cards here, or a pdf (print and play) version of the rules can be bought direct from Ganesha Games here, or from the Ganesha Gumroad store here.

I owe my thanks to the following for their playtesting, comments and suggestions: Laura Wright, James Bryant, Brett Hodgson, Jim Latimer, Andrew Common, Andrew Murrell, Andrew Brown, Massimo Moscarelli, Diego Chisena, Diego Riccitelli, Joel Lawson, Victor Jarmusz, Steven Jarmusz, Craig Whiting, and a special show of thanks to Alan Saunders for his help and contributions to the 2nd edition. 

To celebrate the 2nd edition, and to continue fleshing out my 28mm ludus, I 'celtisiced' a veles from Crusader Miniatures, giving him a magnificent greenstuff moustache and torc. Bring on the Christmas holidays so I can slap some paint on him.