Battle of Soggy Bottom at Salute '18

[bigredbat]

TAG minis are a little smaller (I have some of their TYW)- many wouldn't care, but I am a tartar when it comes to size.

The town is almost all "Hovels"*- which have a good deal of character and a small footprint. These is a single 1/72 Hornby barn amongst them- which works really well alongside them.

*On the Hovels site it says the buildings aren't available- but it turn out they are if you ask.  :-)

[vodkafan]

Very nice setup, How do the bicorne and renegade and redoubt figures match size with Assault Group renaissance figures?  And also, that town is quite impressive, what buildings and makers are used for it?

They don't match. TAG fits with Old Glory and Dixon and Foundry, though.

[bigredbat]

And there's the old Foundry Perry range too- they are small but have tons of character.   Also the more recent Perry range.

[rampantlion]

Great looking game!

[Parrot]

I know Empress wasn't mentioned as one of the makers in that setup, but does anyone have an idea of how they stack up with the Assault Group and others?

[Sparrow]

Empress go quite well with Assault Group. As figures they really do stand out, though, due to quality of the sculptor and casting (but I am biased- see below). As the most recent range they also benefit from the latest research re appearance of troops etc.

My own ECW Armies are 95% Empress with odd Assault Group figure dropped in for variety re officers, drummers etc. I also have one Warlord plastic battalia which sits comfortably size wise (though not style wise  ).

It’s only right in answering this I’m open with everyone, I don’t work for Empress (or have any financial interest) but I’ve sponsored  this range from the outset as being an ECW geek I wasn’t happy with any of the existing ranges out there. I’m pleased to confirm the Empress range will keep on growing! Lots of plans for it!

I thought the ECW game at Salute looked brilliant! The terrain, in particular, has really inspired me! Thanks for all the effort in putting it on! Greatly appreciated ! (I’d better have a close look at the rules - they sound interesting).

[bigredbat]

Empress; yes I forgot about them. I started the project by buying a painted Bicorne/Renegade army and everything logically flowed from there. I did briefly look at Empress- they are very nice-looking minis. However, they have a distinctive style I wasn't sure that they would mix with what i already had. I really should get a stand or two painted, though. For much the same reason, I didn't include any Warlord, Perry or hte smaller ranges.

On a separate but related subject, I am tempted to get some minis painted for the TYW. This is an interesting challenge, because most of the TYW ranges are smaller than their Bicorne/Renegade equivalents. I habitually collect the larger 28mm ranges and I'm not sure how my brain would cope with this.  :-)

Thanks re the terrain comments. I am still working on the terrain- it needs to have a lot more tufts added and I want some "clutter" and additional civilians. It'll hopefully be more complete at Partizan.

[vodkafan]

On a separate but related subject, I am tempted to get some minis painted for the TYW. This is an interesting challenge, because most of the TYW ranges are smaller than their Bicorne/Renegade equivalents. I habitually collect the larger 28mm ranges and I'm not sure how my brain would cope with this.  :-)

Haha Simon I am exactly the same as you - I tend to go towards the biggest figures at any given scale and so my 28mm ECW has turned out to be a mix of Renegade, Bicorne and Redoubt (and I will add some 1stCorps).  I am frightened to do the TWY because with all the "little figures" out there I would be spoiled for choice and it would become a black hole....same as my aborted 1/72 WW2 I would want to buy everything...

[vodkafan]

About the Salute game, nobody else has seemed to have posted their first impressions so here are mine. I signed up for a place in the 2:30 game, a six player bash with 3 per side.  I took command of the Royalist Army of Oxford in the centre with about 5 regiments of infantry, the Royalist artillery and the King with his small mounted bodyguard. Young Robert (with dad watching patiently behind) was on my left with a mass of cavalry and John on my right with a mixed force...I didn't know any of our opponent's names ..we all had about 6-7 units each . Bear in mind that none of us had even read the rules. Simon and his team were there to help us run through the turns. The grid markings were very unobtrusive, in fact for me they were at times a bit hard to spot, but that may have been my eyes/the poor lighting.
It plays very fast indeed.  The game was over in two hours (I had to leave just before the final turn,sorry chaps ) . I played 5 turns in just over an hour and a half.  The units were very large, multibased, but would play just as well with Pikeman's Lament size units half the size. There is no casualty removal, units become disordered and/or pushed back when hits are taken, and then if things continue to go bad are just removed from play. In my opinion you need a lot of units for this game.
Combat was very brutal, a bit too brief as far as cavalry went in my opinion; cavalry units disappeared very quickly. Infantry units last longer.
Artillery wasn't terrifically effective, which is about what you would expect from the period, but it is always fun when you get lucky.
I got to fight my mixed pike/shot regiments (the very same ones pictured in the rulebook!) in extended melees over a couple of turns, which were interesting and quite fun. The author has tried to make it realistic to the period so units have a push of pikes then might  separate and go again. I felt the excitement of the argey-bargey and it was great when my little men prevailed and my opponent's disappeared.
For firing, if your unit is fired upon, you still get to draw cards  though it is not your turn, as you can return fire, which keeps engagement interest high. (I liked that a lot) I liked the idea of the ammunition and dash chits, but the victory medals just seemed a bit of chrome to me, although it could add to the fun element.
The most important thing I think I came away with is to remember to use your command move at the beginning of the turn! Put the officer where he can do the most good! Or regret it pretty soon after.
The only rule for basing is that a unit must fit inside the grid square; Simon's units are up to  250mm frontage so he uses 12" grids.  The grid size is completely up to the player. Units don't even have to be based the same! But with Pikeman's Lament size  units we could get away with 10" grid squares I think if we were pushed for space. I think it is a good game that we will stick with. I am reading through the rules now.

[bigredbat]

Thanks- I entirely missed the second game!  Did Parliament prevail?

Cavalry combat is, indeed, pretty brutal. :-)  In most games we expect one side to prevail over the other but be greatly reduced in effectiveness in the process (often pursuing them off the field). That said, a side with reserve troops should be able to captalise in the aftermath, either counter attacking the weakened foe or turning on the flanks of the enemy foot with lethal effect...

[vodkafan]

Hi Simon, well as I said I left before the end but it looked like it would only have lasted one or two more turns, and the Royalists looked on for a win to me, we had destroyed most of his pike and shot units in the centre, although it was far from decisive on the flanks...I didn't get to see the tally up of Victory medals at the end.