Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Age of the Big Battalions => Topic started by: Cat on November 07, 2021, 08:55:31 PM
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I've played DBN sporadically, but at every convention opportunity, since 2.0 came out. Our DBA crew is gearing up now to play DBN regularly too.
I have one 15mm Russian army on standard 40mm bases that I've brought to conventions. For the club, we've agreed to us 15mm figures on 60mm wide bases. This allows more figures, but also the ability to adjust the number of foot per stand to show troop quality.
For line infantry: 10 = elite, 8 = regular, 7 = militia quality.
Light infantry in skirmish formation: 8 = elite, 7 = regular, 6 = militia quality.
I'm also using the position of cavalry on the stand to show quality
All horses abreast = elite, half or more forward = regular, more than half back = militia.
With 1 horse on a magnet, the quality can be shifted from regular to militia by repositioning that horse. And that 1 horse can be removed from a stand of Light Cavalry to deploy it as Skirmishing Cavalry.
I have a ton of figures to rebase, and decided to start with the small Westphalian army because it has a good variety of troop types for testing out the basing scheme.
At the typical unit size of 1 stand = 1 brigade, this is the entire Westphalian army (with 1 extra line infantry to bring it up to 12 points)!
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After a lot of work in the fall of '21, DBN got set aside for numerous other projects in '22. Back in the works now as the primary project to kick off '23. Hope to get this on the table before spring rolls around.
Not so glamourous, but critical work for bringing this to the club, is getting travel/storage boxes ready. 60mm wide bases don't fit in my standard DBA Plano boxes.
Best solution for economy of space storage in my basement was to Plano-fy a stack of 2" deep large flat mailer boxes. Glued in Cheerio box dividers, and then wide magnetic strips.
The heavy steel angle braces make perfect weights for holding everything flat while the glues set. (The big box hardware store has plain flat braces, but none of those actually lie flat — they're all bowed a little bit, and too heavy a gauge to think about straightening without a forge.)
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It's a thing often neglected, the means of safe transport. Good work.
I play and enjoy DBA and have been a bit curious about DBN so I look forward to seeing any games you get to do.
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I do most of my gaming at the local store and conventions, so safe transport is definitely a key component.
Quite looking forward to getting regular games in here now too — very happy that we have a quorum of folks interested from our regular DBA group.
Alex Tetso, the author, has a YouTube channel with quite a few great gameplay vids up:
https://www.youtube.com/@DBNwargaming/videos
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Ah thanks for the link!
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Oh, and tactical viewing tip for anyone tuning in to the DBNWargaming channel — these aren't scripted or edited, so as with many gaming vids, I often turn the playback speed up to 1.25 or 1.5.
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First box is now operational. To facilitate sorting out which stand goes where, I've painted national markings on the backs of the bases. The major powers will be easy with a single colour. The minor states will need two or three and distinguishing patterns.
Shown here from left to right: Westphalia, Naples, and Berg.
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The army of the Kingdom of Naples is now fully complete. This is more than enough stands to field the entire army at the usual DBN scale of 1 stand = 1 brigade. By borrowing 2 stands from Westphalia, it covers all the line troops at 1 stand = 1 regiment, which will be handy for developing a Tolentino scenario.
2 of the stands have the right facing colours to provide a contingent for Lippe, and 3 for Berg.
The bulk of the line troops are militia quality — half conscripts, half convicts, and all eager to desert at the first opportunity.
The Guard troops, line foot artillery, and 7th Line Regiment (Reale Africano) are regular quality. The 7th had full training and several years experience in the French army before being transferred to Naples; and for black men speaking French with a Caribbean accent desertion isn't a viable option, so they are quite reliable.
The Guard Horse Artillery is downgraded to militia quality though just to reflect that it is understrength compared to standard artillery units.
Murat himself commands the army from his tiger-skin draped horse (fun with green putty).
Guard cavalry stands have 1 horse each on a magnet so it can be removed to show when the unit is deployed as Skirmishing Cavalry.
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I look forward to seeing your Tolentino sceanrio.
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I quite like the look of the 60mm bases: they give you more room to play around with the positioning of figures, and that creates interesting looking units.
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That looks really impressive en masse. I agree with blacksoilbill about the 60mm bases.
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Thanks folks!
My primary goal with the 60mm bases was to allow room for variable numbers of infantry and variable spacing of cavalry to facilitate quickly identifying troop quality, especially during big games.
It turns out to have the other visual advantage of giving the whole army a more dynamic look.
The bigger bases could also allow for packing more figures in, and that look has its own merits. But I am quite pleased with the choices here.
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Quite the lovely wee buggers, I must say! :D
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Hanoverians and some KGL are done.
This is nearly the entire Hanoverian contingent at 1 stand = 1 battalion, I'll add a few more Landwehr later.
Also finished up the Hussars of the KGL because it is important to easily distinguish them from British cavalry on the gaming table — the German troopers are not as obligate impetuous as their British cousins. Their mellowness is indicated by chamomile tea flocking (otherwise, we'ld be squinting at the colours of stripes on their trousers to tell them apart from British Hussars!)
The KGL can deploy as Skirmishing Cavalry, and so one figure on each stand is magnetised to be removed when they take the field in skirmishing mode.
Backs of bases are marked red with yellow stripes for Hanover, blue stripes for KGL.
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Your figs continue to look good. Well done!
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Thanks CapnJim!
On the less glamourous side, but still adds sparkle to the gaming experience, I've also been working on deployment markers and range rulers.
Cut out some mat board markers to place in the map corners during deployment. Blocks off the 'don't deploy here' zone and marks the forward edge of where you can deploy.
Also begun colouring in a stack of laser-cut range rulers. Sprayed them light grey and using Micron Art pens to colour.
For folks in the US, Things From The Basement makes these in 40mm and 60mm widths.
https://www.thingsfromthebasement.com/store/p900/DBN_Rulers_%28De_Bellis_Napoleonicis%29.html
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In the UK you can get the 40mm range sticks from Warbases. They dont list them on their website so you need to you contact them to order.
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In the UK you can get the 40mm range sticks from Warbases. They dont list them on their website so you need to you contact them to order.
Ah, that's good to know. I suspect they could do 60mm on request, TFTB is certainly very good at that sort of service. Just have to note that it's not a simple 'make it larger' — the 100 Pace bands increase from 25mm to 40mm, a bit longer than 1.5x.
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I've long used stone-texture spray paint on felt for my scatter terrain. I do a solid base coat in one colour, then light top sprays in other colour(s). Each can has a variegated mix of colours to start with, and the end result gives a very nice texture and colour blend.
Had to make a new pile of pieces in sizes to fit for the DBN games with 60mm bases. (The pile for DBA with 40mm bases would all be on the small side, many too small.)
For this project, I levelled up on spray painting fields. Made a stencil to lay on top of the fields to add stripey furrows secondary colours on top of the base coat.
Must confess that the stencil was quite over-engineered. I had a big bundle of balsa wood stringers, and dug into that to build the stencil. This took a lot longer to build than I had anticipated, and then it also took long than anticipated to clean after painting all these fields so I might use it again in the future. Turns out that it would have been much quicker to just cut a simple stencil out of cardstock.
: P
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A great deal of the 1815 British are ready. They still need heavy cavalry, Foot Guards, KGL infantry, and a few odds and ends to round out the OOB for a quad-sized Waterloo game.
For the quad game, each stand of artillery will be represented by 2 gun and 2 limber stands on their sabot. For a regular game, the 2 limber stands can be placed together for a baggage element. Artillery shown here along with a regular baggage element of caissons.
Here's an assotment of British and KGL light cavalry. The KGL are marked with blue stripes on the back edge of their bases and chamomile tea flocking on top to help tell at a glance which ones are not impetuous.
"Has Wellington nothing to offer me but these Amazons?" — Rod Steiger.
Fortunately, I enjoy painting plaids in 15mm.
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An assortment of line infantry, including the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. IMHO, the Royal Milliner really slipped up giving the 23rd bearskins but not the Foot Guards, sheesh.
52nd Light Infantry that did carry their colours at Waterloo. As an elite unit, I've based them with 10 figures in close order and 8 in open. Also shown are 3 battalions of the 95th, as elite jagers, they have 5 figures per stand. The 2-figure stands are detachments for occupying hard points.
I'm not sure what manufacturer the 52nd are, I picked them up as part of a large lot. At some point, I might rebase and countersink them into their base to reduce their height — they tower over the old 2nd generation MiniFigs. (I'm still bitter that MiniFigs went all scale-creepy with their 3rd gen resculpts, grr. I miss the days of 15mm toe-to-eye figures!)
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Some fine looking blokes there, to borrow a term from your side of the pond... :D
Nicely done!
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Thanks, CapnJim!
Yes, we do use that term sometimes on this side of Lake Champlain.
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Now, the French begin to ascend the mountain of flocking madness:
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Thanks, CapnJim!
Yes, we do use that term sometimes on this side of Lake Champlain.
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Oops. :D
Oh well. I just saw you're in Boston...I used to live in Rhode Island years and years ago....Michigan now..
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super-looking collection.
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Thanks, Bloggard!
This past week, worked on more terrain specifically sized for DBN. With 60mm wide bases, the recommended minimum for scatter terrain is 7.5cm and max of 30cm, larger if called for in specific historical scenarios.
For the hills, I settled on a practical minimum of 11–12cm. That allows for a top plateau of 60mm to accommodate an artillery base, plus 25–30mm for each slope (on 3/4" thick insulation foam).
I got a couple of the 6'x4'+ (actually c.6'6"x5') New Grasslands fleece mats from Cigar Box and cut out several game mats. (2) 3'x3' for small games, that can be overlapped for larger ones, and (1) 4'6"x5' for larger games (and the leftover 2'x5' strip can be used to extend to 4'6" x 7').
The other leftover pieces, I've used for covering matching hills. Because the insulation foam was getting covered, I didn't need to use a hot knife to cut and seal the edges. Much easier and quicker to cut with a large cold French knife from the kitchen.
3M Super 77 spray adhesive worked great to attach the fabric. Theoretically, this works best at 60º–80º, but it turns out that a sunny 50º day in March out in the back yard is just fine. At this temperature, the glue stayed tacky quite indefinitely and was easy to work with. Then I brought the finished pieces inside and put them on top of the radiator with the heat turned up to 60º+ to cure.
I cut the fabric with a little bit of excess all around. Assembled in two batches over two days.
The first batch, I trimmed the excess off with an XActo knife right after gluing it on. I was able to cut right along the bottom edge of the foam for a tight fit. But after those ones had cured, the stretchy fabric had pulled back up a wee bit. The second batch, I let cure and then trimmed with scissors.
In both batches, there were spots where the fabric wasn't completely stuck on right at the edge of the foam. More stuck with the first batch than the second. For all of them, I went over the edging with a brown magic marker, then sealed the seam with a bead of Gorilla gel super glue.
Once the super glue set, I smoothed over the bottom surface with a big shop file. The fleece with the hardened glue filed pretty nicely. A few spots where I hadn't trimmed super close, I snipped again with the scissors.
For DBN game mechanics, it's important to know where the edge of the top elevation is. So I marked the side rim of the plateau with the brown marker, and added feathered stripes down part of the slope, and blended this in with my [now somewhat brown] fingers. Portions of the slopes that are impassable, I marked with brown and black markers.
Finished up 12 pieces of general scatter hills, and sized them to go with a variety of scenarios, plus an extra large hill for Liebertwolkwitz (and that will probably work into Tolentino too), and an extra large L-shaped ridgeline for Quatre Bras.
There's still some leftover fabric to use as I figure out more specific needs for Tolentino. I'll definitely need to make one hill that will hold the village of Monte Milone once I have the village done and can fit the hill underneath it.
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Your terrain work is very clever. I especially like the idea of the texture paint for your scatter terrain.
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Thanks. I've used the texture paint for ages and love it.
Because Rustoleum (and the paint industry in general) got hit hard by supply chain issues over a year ago, the basic Forest Green textured spray has been out of stock since then. Should be coming back anytime now [I hope].
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The entire Brunswick Corps is all flocked now, and can field the 1815 Corps at one stand per battalion for smaller level scenarios. The cavalry and artillery work across both time periods.
Because I had so many figures painted for the Brunswick-Oels Jagers in the Peninsula, I was able to base them as different troop qualities. There are two stands with 7 figures for regular quality Light Infantry in 1809–1810, and then three stands with 6 figures for militia quality Light Infantry in 1811–1814 when the quality of their replacement recruits dropped off dramatically. The green jacketed rifle troops remain as regular Jagers throughout the Peninsula.
Way back when, I painted these right after completing the Highlanders as a treat to do something easier! Painting all 6 flags for the 1815 Line infantry was an entertaining challenge though.
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Nice work on the flags!
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Gawd bless ya, Sir, for your love of 2nd Gen Minifigs. I believe the rot set in when they swapped the original Higgs brother for his younger version and he then appears to have over-reacted to the "accusation" that their poses were "too wooden". Result: carnage and the loss of one of THE nicest ranges of figures ever produced, IMO (the current infantry command and artillery crews have some nice figures, it's true, but the rank and file are "meh!" and the cavalry - both horses and riders - qualify at double- if not triple-"meh!". Incidentally, I have LOADS of the 2nd Gen figures, including the entire Household and Union brigades at about 1:10, that I'm now much too shaky-and-flaky in the eye and hand departments to ever paint properly. If you have any needs/wants do let me know via PM.
Just on a technical note, the Peninsula "Owls" only ever had enough rifles (95 of their original 1809 German versions, they were never issued Bakers) for one company of skirmishers, which was made up by combining the survivors of the two "scharfschutzen" companies of the old 1809 "Black Horde". It is now thought that the other two skirmish companies had Brown Bess, like the main body of the battalion, and the same all-black uniforms, only the rifle-armed company wearing the green jackets and grey trousers. My Sharp Practice 2 Peninsula Brunswickers have integral skirmishers for the 9-company main body (it was a light battalion, after all!), one of which appears to have been grenadiers, supported by a mix of rifles and muskets from the 2nd KGL Light (also in the 7th Division), and some 2nd KGL Hussars.
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Thanks folks!
And yes Herr Baron, the MiniFigs 2nd generation are the bestest! We hateses the 3rd gen with their scale creeps and everybody at mad sprints and every horse in Europe, including artillery trains at full gallop all the time, grr.
Actually, I would be happy if any company was still making new sculpts at ~14.5mm toe to eye. 15mm has been abandoned as a size for Napoleonics, grr. Essex started doing some new and improved sculpts awhile back, but then stopped.
Indeed, I am very wealthy in Owls rifles. Originally painted for Empire III or Napoleon's Battles, and MiniFigs US sold infantry in blister packs of 24.
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Just noticed this thread. Thx for sharing.
Might I suggest that you invest £10-£15 in a coping saw for cutting foam board hill shapes and slopes. Far, far easier than using a knife and a very useful tool in any event.
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Hmm, interesting tip.
I have a coping saw. I could see that being handy for more complex cuts. The knife worked easily enough and cut cleanly with some small shavings falling loose. I suspect the saw would create quite a pile of staticky foam bits sticking to everything in sight.
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Foam board saws well and the 'dust' isn't anything like as 'sticky' as polystyrene. For small jobs I cut inside and hoover. For bigger jobs (say, cutting up a dozen 2'x2'x1" tiles at the same time) I do the cutting with a tarp / groundsheet laid down.
A coping saw is good for cutting anything up to a 1:3 gradient - that is shallow enough for troops to stand on without slipping down and is pretty close to the natural drop of a cloth laid over hill shapes. A fret saw is useful for cutting shaped edges deep across a tile.
Here is a blog link showing my process of cutting hill shapes:
http://olicanalad.blogspot.com/2015/04/take-to-hills.html
For straight cuts for anything 1" deep or less, the best tool is a Stanley knife and a steel rule.
I've cut up heaps of this stuff to make shapes to go under my 'table-cloth'. I've now settled on slope tiles (all with 1:3 slopes) and spacing tiles, all 8" wide and used up over 24 2'x2'x1" tiles so far. That's a lot of cutting lol
I can now make some pretty impressive ridges, etc. Here is my table for Vimeiro - the contours were done on the image (using MSPaint) to better show the hill shapes on the photo (the camera doesn't pick them out like the eye does) they are not the table.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uoMlk1zGYOM/YazA0kOmKhI/AAAAAAAAPzo/d4rPyWRLdT01QfViwpQenO7FwvbrFjxfQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/Vimeiro2.jpg)
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Ooh, lovely table Olicana!
Scatter terrain for generic points games in DBN has size limits, which makes sense given the small size of the board. Historical scenarios are set-up to whatever size is needed. Then, there was another factor of wanting the top plateaus to be a minimum of 60mm across to hold an artillery stand which constrained total width at the base.
1:3, aka a 33% grade is definitely ideal, but was too luxurious for this.
So I did some slope testing with the stands for the game. Infantry at 30mm deep would need to not slide off. With 3/4" thick foam ~19mm high, going out to 30mm worked, even dropping to 25mm in a few spots. Mostly a ~60% grade, with some parts going up as steep as ~75%. This has proven to work well in games. (For standard DBA games with close order infantry on 15mm deep bases, these hills would not work well at all.)
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A handful of new stands ready for tomorrow's gaming.
A couple of stands of Foot Guards, 10 figures each for elite status. They'll get some more stands and with flags later. And some KGL light infantry in close and open order, plus a detachment for strongpoints (kneeling and prone poses help conceal the MiniFigs 3rd generation scale creep).