Sunday, December 25, 2022

Yorktown Inventory

Having recently bought 10 horsemen to add to my small collection of BMC Yorktown figures, methought it time to take an inventory of just what I have. Here they are, laid out on my kitchen table.

I've placed them in 'units' of 10-12 foot figures, but have no real formal organisation except insofar as the larger contingents represent the major principals of the American War of Independence; the smaller the  allies (French) or paid mercenaries (German - I've painted them up as Brunswickers, and given them a Brunswick battle flag).  The battle flags are my own modifications on some of the figures, the pole made from slender skewers, and the flags printed off from some online source.  Before printing, I used Microsoft Paint to skew the image vertically, to give the flags better 'drape'.

Inventory:

1 Field Emplacement
2 Field cannon
2 Siege Mortars

USA:
5 Cavalry
5 Artillery (Officer and 4 gunners)
1 Mounted Field Officer
2 Officers on foot
1 Flag
3 NCOs
24 Musketeers (4 wearing brown jackets + NCO may represent a skirmishing group)
Total: 41 figures

French Allies:
1 Mounted Officer
1 Foot Officer
1 Flag
10 Musketeers
Total: 13 Figures

British Red Coats:
5 Cavalry
5 Artillery (Officer and 4 gunners)
1 Mounted Field Officer
2 Foot Officers
1 Flag
2 NCOs
22 Musketeers
Total: 38 figures

'Hessians' (actually Brunswickers):
1 Foot Officer
1 Flag
12 Musketeers
Total 14 figures.

Overall that gives me 54 on one side and 52 on the other. I have deliberately made the gunners fairly ambiguous, as I can think of scenarios in which the cannon will be on one side or the other, rather than evenly split.

This has been one of those little sidelines that have been sadly neglected for years, yet the limited numbers ought to make gaming with them quite convenient.

18 comments:

  1. I could see them working very well with Commands and Colors Tricorne (AWI). Hex based, 4 figure units.
    Neil

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    1. Neil -
      Hadn't crossed my mind, but it introduces a whole new dimension!
      Thanks,
      Ion

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  2. What made me think of this was this blog:

    https://edmontonwargamer.blogspot.com/2018/12/monmouth-courthouse.html

    Neil

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    1. Thanks for the link. Neil. That action looked pretty good. I quite liked my earlier 'kleine krieg' idea (http://archdukepiccolo.blogspot.com/2011/01/ambush-at-conrads-creek.html) but this sort of thing can lead to bigger battles. I have a friend who has his own small inventory of BMC Yorktowns, as well.
      Cheer,
      Ion

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  3. That is a lovely collection, I really like the figures, should make for some really good games.

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    1. Hi Donnie -
      It's small enough for such games to be easily set up and put away. I don't know why I don't do so more often! The BMC figures are pretty crude for their size, but they have character and paint up well.
      Cheers,
      Ion

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  4. Nice collection, dining room battles are wonderful.

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    1. pancerni-
      I reckon! It will never be a large collection in terms of numbers - I have just about all I want or need of these fellows. But they'll be fine for the little small squabbles that take place on the fringes of great events. I have about 4 scenarios in mind, a couple quite large.
      Cheers,
      Ion

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  5. Your not-so-little fellas are lookin’ mighty fine Ion. 👏👏👏
    I look forward to hearing news of their exploits on the battlefield.
    I suppose, as we all get older, the larger scale figures will be easier to paint and push around on the tabletop. That begs the question, of course, so why am I buying so much 2mm scale stuff?
    I trust you & yours had a good Christmas. Here’s hoping for a good ‘23.
    Cheers,
    Geoff

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    1. Geoff -
      Nice quiet Christmas - the way I like 'em! I did have some early action with a few of these guys (see link in reply to Neil Patterson). But I have a few more in mind.

      Speaking of the really small scale, I do have quite a bit of 6mm WW2 stuff that I occasionally hoik out, look at, and put away again. Brits and Germans. Don't really know what to do with them, truth be told.

      I've never looked into the 2mm line. I don't know much about it at all, or anything about what an army would look like. I'd probably be inclined to using them for strategic games, rather than tactical. But even grand tactical (army level) games would be playable on a very small surface, it seems to me.

      Maybe you buy so much 2mm because you are an empire-building megalomaniac bent upon conquering the planet. Or something. :-D I can cotton to that!
      Cheers,
      Ion

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    2. My 2mm armies are mostly on 20mm frontages (so 1/2 “standard” DBA) which means I can play games on a really small tabletop. So, not necessarily armies with lots, lots, lots of bases - rather I can go with around the standard DBA 12 bases per army, but just have more armies/periods. So far I have a “campaign set” comprising Huns, generic Germanics/Goths and Patrician Romans and a biblical set featuring Mitanni and Syria-Canaanites. Awaiting painting I have late 17th century Polish and Ottoman Turks as well as both Royalist and Patriot armies for the Latin American Wars of Liberation. Rules? Mostly DBx versions, The Portable Wargame and One Hour Wargames.
      Too many plans, never enough time.
      Cheers,
      Geoff

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    3. With such armies, Geoff, even with a small battleground, one may claim mastership 'of infinite space'. With 1-inch squares, that 15-inch by 18-inch board I made up would have given you a fine 270-cell square grid or over 300-cell hex board - a vast battlefield.
      Cheers,
      Ion.

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  6. Would love to see that 6mm WW2 stuff...of course all those who have large scale armies are intent on world domination...just like me !!!!....Regards.

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    1. I reckon, Tony. I may 'do' an article on them. Unfortunately, there isn't all that much infantry. I started a project with a friend (actually he was the prime mover), and we had a few battles in which I handled the British/ Commonwealth. Actions were Northern Europe. I seem to recall fielding a small regiment of Shermans and Fireflies. I may have floating around/ buried in a pile somewhere, one of the battle maps...
      At any rate, we both moved on to other projects and never really got back to this one. The friend finally moved out of town about twelve years ago.
      All the best,
      Ion

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  7. They look great! If you find you are looking for rules, I have heard good things about All the King's Men which were designed for the period and are still available on the Wayback Machine (https://web.archive.org/web/20160927092623/http://www.allthekingsmentoysoldiers.com/ATKMRulesforDownload.pdf) and they would require only minor changes to the numbers required for the units to match your collection.

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    1. John Y -
      I'm always interested in looking at other rule sets, even though I often make up my own! Thanks for the link!
      Cheers,
      Ion

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  8. A very nice collection of 54's - hope you get some games in with them ION. Cheers. KEV.

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    1. It's about time I did, Kev. It has been a while since the clash at Conrad's Creek (back at the beginning of 2011...). I've been enjoying your naval projects lately!
      Cheers,
      Ion

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