Author Topic: Bridge, AAR & completed Cantonment for "Bala Hissar or Bust!" update April 25th (Read 6247 times)

Mad Guru · « **on:** January 20, 2016, 03:22:37 AM »

Needed to replace a very European/N. American looking bridge I was using as a placeholder in the terrain set-up for a scenario recreating the British retreat from Kabul in December of 1841-'42, so built my own more appropriate replacement out of blue foam, with some Model RR stone and brick trim to help with the finishing touches. If you'd like to see a ton more WIP pics of the build, please visit my blog at the LINK below, and thanks in advance for your time should you choose to do so:

http://maiwandday.blogspot.com/2016/01/building-bridge-to-kabul.html

The layout used two different bridges over the Kabul River, as well as two over the much narrower Canal. I already have one gorgeous bridge, built for me by Chris The Model Maker, so though I knew I could not build something to rival Chris's work, my humble ambition for this second bridge was that it not look completely out of place on the same table as his. Not quite sure but I'd like to think I pulled that off.

Here are some pics:

OSHIROmodels · « **Reply #1 on:** January 20, 2016, 08:10:37 AM »

That works well

cheers

James

Atheling · « **Reply #2 on:** January 20, 2016, 09:42:00 AM »

Excellent work as per MG- very effective, good looking and game friendly piece

Will hop over to your blog for more details ASAP.

Darrell.

Mad Guru · « **Reply #3 on:** January 21, 2016, 09:42:10 AM »

Thanks, James, and thank you, Darrell!

Feeling pretty good about the bridge above, I decided to build a more appropriate replacement for one of the two gateways I've been using for my Kabul city walls. The old one was a European Medieval gate, so really didn't look the part. This new one, while simpler, will fit far better in the Afghan setting.

As with the bridge, I built the gateway with blue and white styrofoam (though at much faster speed, taking just one night!) and am now in the midst of covering it with spackle. When that dries I'll paint it to blend in with my pre-existing set of city walls and towers. It's a very simple piece, as you can see here:

marianas_gamer · « **Reply #4 on:** January 21, 2016, 12:48:56 PM »

Nice work on both!
LB

miltiades · « **Reply #5 on:** January 21, 2016, 12:53:36 PM »

HOW WONDERFUL WONDERFUL!

Atheling · « **Reply #6 on:** January 21, 2016, 01:22:05 PM »

More terrain building par excellence MG

Darrell.

pocoloco · « **Reply #7 on:** January 21, 2016, 02:18:04 PM »

Fine work!

Both are worth fighting over

chicklewis · « **Reply #8 on:** January 22, 2016, 01:29:37 AM »

That's a VERY FINE bridge, Ethan !!

And the MadGuru Gate is coming along splendidly.

Mad Guru · « **Reply #9 on:** January 26, 2016, 09:57:34 PM »

Thanks very much, Chick, that means a lot coming from you!

UPDATE:

Finished texturing and painting the gate for the walls around Kabul. Nothing fancy but it fits much better with the pre-existing city walls than the Medieval European gate I had pressed into service as a placeholder...

Hoping to play this scenario for the first time ever this coming Saturday, using Second Afghan War troops to fill in for First Afghan War ones. Also haven't "Winterized" the layout yet, but hopefully all that will come in time.

If you want to see a few more pics, please feel free to visit my blog at:

http://maiwandday.blogspot.com/2016/01/kabul-gate-completed.html

dhtandco · « **Reply #10 on:** January 26, 2016, 09:59:41 PM »

I like those a lot, inspirational !

Marine0846 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 28, 2016, 01:35:01 AM »

Very well done.
Fits in well with your walls.

Mad Guru · « **Reply #12 on:** February 04, 2016, 07:49:00 PM »

Thanks very much for the kind comments, dhtandco and Marine0846!

This past Saturday we played the scenario for the very first time, 6 players* in total, 3 vs. 3, with me doubling up as GM and commanding the Afghan reserves behind the walls of Kabul.

(*Amongst them LAF's own Arundel, AKA: the "Other Daryl"!)

A lot of fun was had by all, but some shortcomings were discovered in the balance of forces, as is sometimes the case with the first play-test of a more complicated colonial scenario. Sadly the game was also cut short, after about 4 hrs, when several of the players had to head back home from LA to San Diego, a 2+ to 3 hour drive, depending on traffic.

Still, a very good time was had by all, and despite coming up short, the Anglo-Indians managed to protect their 4 Baggage Train units from suffering any casualties at all, which was a bit of a triumph in and of itself, even though none of their troops managed to reach the safety of the Bala Hissar fortress.

In the aftermath of the game the collected players came up with a bunch of great ideas for slight adjustments to the scenario, which I'm confident will strike a more equal balance and allow the British a much better chance at success, while retaining the, "flavor," of the setting and the somewhat desperate circumstances for the British side.

For this I must sincerely thank my fellow gamers, who came up with most of the ideas for improvements and made the entire day a purely positive experience, despite the shortcomings of my scenario design!

You can read more details at my blog, where I've posted a little more than 100 pics of the game. If you do choose to visit, thanks in advance for your time!

The high point for the British was probably the dashing performance of their 2 Bengal Cavalry units. The Brits split their army in half and sent each half down a different road to the two gates of Kabul, both led by a unit of Bengal Cavalry.

Along the way, both units swept multiple Afghan Tribal Inf. and Cav. units out of their path, mostly by causing their opponents to fail "Stand And Fight" morale checks and route away before any contact was made.

The closest the Brits got to their objective was when one of the already bloodied Bengal Cavalry units charged for the Western (Kohistan) Gate, but the Afghan defenders opened fire from the ramparts, leaving only a single Sowar in the saddle, who then turned and raced back down the road to rejoin his more slowly advancing comrades.

I'm really looking forward to running this game again, hopefully before too much time passes.

Until then, here's a LINK to my blog post:

http://maiwandday.blogspot.com/2016/02/bala-hissar-or-bust-aar.html

...and some pics of the game: