Toy Like Spanish Successionish project

[olicana]

Under To The Strongest rules (grid based rules for ancients, but) two units are allowed to occupy a single 'box' as long as they face the same way or opposite ways, so making the boxes slightly bigger (say 150x150) might not be a bad thing. If you are looking to grid based rules you definitely want to take a look at these (if you haven't already); they are innovative, elegant and very good fun.

[Matty]

There is a ECW version of To the Strongest and I've been thinking about how those sort of rules but with a few simple modifications might actually be a better place to look than horse & musket rules that are more concentrated on the Seven Years War through Crimea.  I have pike sculpts I could print if I really wanted to do a League of Augsburg/Nine Years War thing with these figures.  I like the whole late 17th to early 18th century period a lot.

There are versions of Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame which have two units per grid space as well.

I'm going to have a think, read some reviews, contemplate printing the pike sculpts and maybe this project will switch up a bit.  Could be the Nine Years War is a more suitable period for what I'd want and that might impact my basing decisions after I look into more rules options.

[Matty]

Printing a bed of pikes made it all clear.  50mmx40mm bases.  Each base is 6 figures making up either a colour party, pikes or muskets.  4 bases per battalion, going with a six inch grid for when I play with one. Cavalry will be on the same bases but turned 90 degrees, 2 per base, 3 bases per regiment.  Dismounted dragoons will just be the infantry with no colour party or pikes.  Artillery can go facing the 40mm side like the cavalry with the crew on a second base.

When I want to play a portable/tiny board game type game, The individual bases will fit in 2 inch hexes and things will get more abstract like a colour party being brigadier's battalion.

[olicana]

Show us what you've got.

It makes perfect sense to me. Even in grid games at the tactical level, formation is generally important - otherwise, it's just a board game with counters in a space.

The question of board game vs miniatures game (in the wider sense) is a bigger one. What are you trying to achieve?

It's a massive decision, and having gone through the same thing recently with my Sudan choices I don't envy you.

My advice is this. Boil it down to basics. What do you want? It's that simple at the end of the day. Everything else is crap.

[Matty]

This is what I'm currently thinking.  The colour party can also be placed behind the pikes or the two bases of musket can be pushed forward.  The officers in the back will be individually based and be used to indicate anything in the rules that might be needed.  They'll also be the test figures for painting the 24 other figures.

I'm very happy with the pike shafts even in resin.  I used 20% sirayatech tenacious by weight and as thick as they are, they're quite robust.  We'll see how they'll handle, but I don't expect too many problems.

[Roo]

These look very cool, cannot wait to seem some painted.  Are you going glossy style or shaded etc?

[Matty]

I'm thinking clean block painting and then stark black lining.  Matte finish except for any metallic which will be gleaming. Sort of like a comic book.  They have no eyes sculpted at all so I may do dots for them like Tintin.

[Roo]

Sounds like a great plan! 

[vodkafan]

I like the look of your battalion now you have worked out the basing. Like everyone else I am looking forward to seeing them painted.

[Matty]

Got a couple battalions, some cuirassiers and a cannon+crew primed via airbrush.  Going to be brush painting enamels for these.  The secret is the same as acrylics-- thin your paints (though not with water obviously).

Decided to go with an imaginary Spanish/allied force drawing from forces present in Catalonia, Milan and Flanders based on what colour uniforms I want to paint.  I'm going to avoid the mostly white uniforms of Flanders and mostly red uniforms of Milan and lean more towards the regional teracos.  I'll have plenty of opportunity to paint white/light grey when I do the French.

[Rommel]

Lovely, would like to do a army with these minis!

[bigredbat]

I really like the elook of those minis- great fun! I look forward to seeing them painted.



I spend an awful lot of time fretting about basing, and came up with this; 3 bases of 9 minis in 3 ranks.  I fudged it by including an extra command mini on the central base, so ended up with 28 minis in total.  Often, I have an extra round base with a colonel and drummer on it, placed in front of the unit. Some units might have an extra round base with 2 grenadiers on it, or they could be on a strip attached to one wing.