Sunday, January 26, 2014

Interacte: Something different...

This posting is something of a an intermezzo between my previous and my intended next posting.  Looking at Bob Cordery's Itchy and Scratchy rules concept, and the armies he pictured in his (at this date) last posting, it seemed to me a good idea look again at my Ruberia-Azuria War.  Here's where the project is at so far...
ESCI Zulu Wars and NW Frontier British and Sepoys.  Now forming the
Ruberian armed forces.  The sepoys probably won't remain sepoys...
 Above, rather a bad photo of the Ruberian Army as presently constituted.  It is wanting its Gatling guns, still. I suspect that the Itchy and Scratchy concept would tend rather to subsume Gatlings and mitrailleuses, but I can think of ways around that.  One is to re-scale my armies - double the number of elements, say, per Division.  Actually, my original project had 3 stands per Ruberian Infantry Division.



1st Cavalry Division, Ruberia.
More or less consistent with Mr Cordery's vision, above is Ruberia's I Army Corps: 3 Divisions of 2 Brigades apiece, 1 Cavalry Brigade, Artillery Brigade, and a Corps command element.  Bob doesn't show this last in his organisation, but it does occur to me that such an element can represent 'Corps troops' - engineer/pioneer train, command, and possibly logistic support as well.  Just a thought. As it happens I don't have too many command figures, so I might have to rethink this (bigger Corps maybe?).

Ruberian 1st (and only) Cavalry Division (above, right).  These were given to me years ago (by Mark, of the Chasseur-a-cheval blog spot, clearing out surpluses), and as I hadn't the heart to do anything with the excellent paint work, all I have done is rebase them.

1st Army (?) Azuria: I, IV and V Army Corps.

Army of Azuria - or at least part of it.  Or maybe it is one of several Azurian armies.  Here, this comprises I, IV, and V Army Corps.  Each Corps comprises 6 Infantry Brigades (3 Divisions), 1 cavalry Brigade and 1 Artillery Brigade (48 guns). I really would like to add a mitrailleuse stand... 
1st Cavalry Division, Azuria, comprising 2 Cuirassier and
1 Lancer Brigade.








 Azurian Cavalry Division: 3 Brigades, plus command.  Should I add a horse artillery element? The stands, by the way, are much deeper than Bob Cordery's, to accommodate the rather looser formations of the second half of the 19th Century, more or less in accordance with the Phil Barker Horse Foot Guns game system (which I'm unlikely to take on).  
Azurian  Brigade, Imperial Artillery.  At 48 guns, this would comprise
2 x 24-gun regiments.
Above, a close-up of a heavy artillery element in progress.  well, I would call it progress had any actual work be done on it for the last mumble years.  It is an ESCI Napoleonic British piece, its barrel replaced by what you see here as a rifled gun reinforced at the breech.  That knobbly bit at the back is from a brand of toothpick very useful for war gamers.

1st (Ruberian) Cavalry Division with Royal Horse
Artillery attached.
Finally, another look at Ruberia's Cavalry Division - and Mark's paint job - with a smaller rifled artillery piece intended as horse artillery.


7 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. You have reminded me of what I had forgotten I wanted to add: what figures made up the Azurian Army: ESCI Foreign Legion (IV and V Corps), Revell ACW Union (I Corps, 2nd and 3rd [Zouave] Divisions), ESCI NW Frontier sepoys (I Corps 1st [Turco] Division), ESCI cavalry, modified ESCI and Airfix Napoleonic artillery.

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  2. I haven't really been following Bob C's rules posts of late. Can you give an elevator summary of what these rules are all about? It looks grand scale as you are talking about Corps level stuff.
    A charming collection of figures in your pictures.

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    Replies
    1. Possibly the simplest answer is this link:
      http://wargamingmiscellany.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/the-itchy-and-scratchy-rules-mark-2.html
      There are some naval rules as well.

      As for the Ruberian/Azurian armies, I haven't done anything substantial with them for years, now. Thuis might be the wake-up call for them!

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  3. I've posted some new "delves" on The Laughing Owl which you might want to check out . . . also I'm asking for suggestions as to where to go next with the new group of adventurers:

    http://laughingowlers.blogspot.ca/


    -- Jeff

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  4. Some great conversions there; that heavy gun is a real stand out!!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, James - I quite like the look of it myself (Those ESCI Napoleonic pieces make great conversions, I have to say). I tend to like the 'sepoy' figures for Turco or Zouave types in the Azurian (BLUE) army. Also ESCI, I rather their late 19th century British and French Foreign Legion figures as some of their finest.
      Cheers,
      Ion

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