TACTICA Preview - Battle of Panama 1671

[Gorac]

Hi,

our wargaming club "Kurpfalz Feldherrn" ist going to show the battle of Panama 1671 on Tactica 2009. Henry Morgan and his Buccaniers raided the town and defeated the Spanish. We have three scanarios on this topic. One battle in 15mm scale and two skirmishes in 28mm. The scanarios are related and can influence each other. All three are participation games.
Please find the step-by-step documentation of this project here (in German): http://www.sweetwater-forum.de/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=1607

Hope you like the pics and to see you in Hamburg.

Cheers,
Gorac

[argsilverson]

Wunderbar!

[warrenpeace]

Great project!!!!! 

I was reading a lot about that campaign this last summer.  Wonderful subject for wargaming!

[cianty]

I hope I get to check this out on Saturday! The table looks splendid. Seems I have to work my way through that thread...

[Goomb]

Wow!  That table looks very nice!  I don't speak or read a lick of German, but I really like the work done to date.  The 28mm fort shown looks like it is really coming along.  What cannons are used (the ones in the fort on Page 3 and 4)?

I also recognize the numerous GW figures used.  I have several 6th Edition Starter Set Empire troops as well.  Very nice to see how they fit in for something like this.  Can't wait to see it all painted and played out.  Make sure you post some pictures from the actual game!

Goomb

[Gorac]

Glad you like the stuff!

@Goomb
The cannons were designed by Rusus: http://www.rusus.de.vu/
They are not in the webshop yet, but you can ask Rusus by mail. No problem. The cannon (2.00 EUR) and the wheels (0.50 EUR / 4 wheels) go extra.

The GW Empire figures do a great job in every Renaissance scenario. But here they are just dummies. There are more Foundry Spaniards to come within the next two weeks.

This Wednesday we will have a test game for the second 28mm skirmish scenario (the one with the bar). So the pics will be on on Thursday.

Gorac

[PeteMurray]

Wie schon ist Panama? Sehr schon, by the looks of the pictures! 

[Goomb]

Thanks for the link.  There is some nice stuff on that site!  Another question I have: where did you get that nice sentry turrent (you can see it in the distance in the second picture on the Saturday post)?  I saw similar ones in the fort in Old San Juan, and this model looks the part completely.

Bravo!  Looks like a lot of fun!  Oh, yes, GW troops look right at home here too.

Goomb

[Gorac]

The sentry turret is scratchbuild. I saw some pictures in Osprey's "The Spanish Main 1492 - 1800" and simply had to have one of those for my scenario. I used a 40mm diameter plastic pipe and cut the door and the loop-holes in. It was pain! The plastic of the sanitary pipes is very hard and I had to use an electric jigsaw. My problem was, that I could not find a suitable cardboard pipe and I was stuck to the 40mm because of the roof. Here I used a 40mm styrofoam ball that I cut in half. The rim under the roof is made of cardboard, the little ball on top is a wooden pearl.

[Goomb]

Oh, good work, mate!  I would love to see some close-up pictures of it.

I should post up some of my piccies from a tour of the Fort San Juan in 2006.  I actually stepped into one of these things and thought that it protected the sentry, but it lack the range of fire.  Thinking back, it was a VERY informative tour since there was so much to see.  In fact, I did a Wiki search on Fort San Juan, and it pulled up this cool pic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_San_Crist%C3%B3bal_guerite,_San_Juan,_Puerto_Rico.jpg

Very cool stuff!  Sets the scene of a Spanish fort at that time very well.

Goomb

[Gorac]

Thanks for the link. That really is a splendid picture of a sentry box.
I will take some close-ups tomorrow and post them here tomorrow. Today I don't have the time.
Ehm, the pics of the other skirmish scenario I promised for today, won't come. We had a test game yesterday, but I forgot to bring my digicam   

But here are some pics of a crucifix I designed for the buildings the catholic Spaniards. They are not in the sweetwater-forum-thread, so I post them here.

From left: Green Stuff original, plaster copy, painted copy, 15mm mini, 28mm mini



and a close-up of the painted cruixifix

[warrenpeace]

Scarry cross!

Was reading last summer that the Spanish had the militia organized into racial companies: white, indian, black, meztizo, mulatto... Not sure how different that would actually look on a game table.  Would that fit into the battle scenario?

Tactica is happening in another week or so, isn't it?  Really looking forward to pictures of the game on the convention website.

[Gorac]

@warrenbrun
I don't know how the Spanish militia was organized. In the skirmish games this will have no influence.
In the 15mm battle we will have a cattle herd on the battlefield that the Spanish/indio farmers try to lead towards the Buccaneers to confuse them. That really happened but the plan ended in the musket volleys of the buccaneers. We tested it several times and it is great fun when the herd stampeds in a random direction as soon as the herders a dead

Ok, here are the close-ups of the sentry box.

[Goomb]

Any updates?  How did it turn out?

Captain Goomb

[Gorac]

Yep, there are updates.
Yesterday we had our last test game with all three scenarios. Unfortunately I only have pictures of my skirmish-table.

This was the very first attemt for the table layout end of Nov 08
It didnt change that much since. On the left the watchhouse, the wall for the cannons and the rocks. On the right hand side the main house and the sentry box (with twin lasgun) 



This is the table now. Almost finished, only some details like grass on the big rocks missing. And there are still some dummies to be replaced with Spanish cannoniers.



Close-up of the cannons



The main house. The roofs and a wall are detachable for better playing reasons.



The yard, the main house and the stable



Buccaniers attacking the watch house



The other side of the main house




More and more professional pictures can be found on the Tactica website after the event next weekend.