| Khaine | 15 Oct 2002 6:58 p.m. PST |
Hello all. Here's a question for you. I have been a long time 40k and FB player, but i am looking to maybe branch out into Civil War, American Independance, or Nepolionics. I really dont know which to get into, or what rules to use. Can anyone be of some help? Web Pages for this stuff would be great too. What Scale is most used? 15mm? Too many questions :)
|
| Mark Wals | 15 Oct 2002 7:31 p.m. PST |
hello Khaine
You picked a couple of the most popular areas to look into. You'll find 15mm in any of the above eras is a very enexpensive way to go. OLd Glory sells figures for all 3 stated eras for about $22.00 a bag per 100 infantry or 30 horse and rider figures, very inexpensive. THere are other figures which are good quality as well which I have not bought such as Fantassin from spain, and essex.
THe rules you pick are a mater of personal choice. ACW gaming is probably most popular in Johnny Reb first and Fire and Fury second. JR is battalion/regiment level each figure represents 30 men. F&F is brigade level and each stand represents 200 or so men. They are simularly based and can be used for either system. There are LOTS of Napoleonic rules out there. Shako, Valmy to Waterloo, and Napoleons Battles all share the same basing system. Naps Battles is out of print but I hear a reprint is in the works. I believe Shako and Valmy to Waterloo are both still available I think. Furthermore www.wartimesjournal.com has Republique available on line or it did last time I checked. You should always be able to find Napoleonic players in some of your bigger metro areas. As off yet there are no big AWI rules out. I have Guns of Liberty which is battalion based and of course Age of Reason covers the period. I suggest joining a HMGS chapterin your area if you are in the states.I hope you find an area you'll like and decent historical gamers to help you on your way. Sincerely MArk W. |
| Mr Canuck | 15 Oct 2002 11:38 p.m. PST |
Hello Khaine Welcome to historical gaming. If you're wanting to check out the Wartimes Journal site you'll find it here:
wtj.com And for any additional info on any chosen topic/period, just do a search on google.com and you should find more info than you could possibly want! KH |
| Vis Bellica | 16 Oct 2002 12:36 a.m. PST |
If you want info on 19th Century military history, and a plethora of battle reports showing the flavour of the period, try www.sirgarnet.com |
| 60th RAR | 16 Oct 2002 6:32 a.m. PST |
There are unofficial Warhammer variants for American Civil War and Napoleonics, as well as a 40K variant for WW2. Since you are familiar with the system, you might want to start there. I have always enjoyed Johnny Reb, also. You might want to consider sticking to 25/28mm figures, the historical ones are much cheaper than their GW counterparts. Both Old Glory and Sash and Saber (www.sashandsaber.com) make figures for ACW and Nappies. I have recently discovered the Sash and Saber figures and they are very nice. Both companies run around $1 per infantry figure. |
 Saber6   | 16 Oct 2002 6:34 a.m. PST |
From a practical point of view, 15mm is a great choice. Lots of variety, small enough to store, large enough for detail. ACW is a good place to start as the armies are very much alike in equipment and organization. Another beauty of this period is you can use the same figures and basing for the majority of the rules. Personally, I like Fire and Fury. Relatively simple, fast and fun. Johnny Reb is also fun, though I find it slows down if there are multiple charges in a turn. Good Luck! Post your location and there might be a Grognard to help you through the transition! Mike Fairfield, CA |
| Bob Runnicles | 16 Oct 2002 8:06 a.m. PST |
For Napoleonics, I like Shako. I generally use Chariot or Essex 15mm, although I've experimented with Adler 6mm on 15mm bases which look pretty cool. If you want to go the 25mm route I recommend Front Rank for Napoleonics, they are really nice figures. Ruleswise ACW has a ton of available systems; depending on what scale you want to play will have a big effect. From the same people that did Shako (and Armati, Tactica etc for Ancients) they have Mr Lincoln's War for ACW and a set called Patriots & Loyalists for AWI. Old Glory do minis for AWI in their usual big bags.....good value, but not much help if you only need a couple of figures! Ultimately a good place to start is to just go to the relevant area of this website and start surfing :} Bob |
| Mike OBrien | 16 Oct 2002 8:35 a.m. PST |
Hi,
try Guns of Liberty, from Musket Miniatures, for the AWI. These rules are my personal Holy Grail of Horse and Musket rules.
For ACW try Fire and Fury.
I too recommend 15mm from the point of painting time, cost and table space.
Welcome to the hobby and if you are in the Sacramento CA area feel free to come by the Miniature Wargaming Society of Sacramento's monthly meetings. |
| John Carroll at work | 16 Oct 2002 8:37 a.m. PST |
One advantage to the American Revolution is that important historical battles can be reproduced on a tabletop at 1:20 scale. The armies were very small. This is approximately the scale of Patriots and Loyalists. (I use "1776" rules, but they are way OOP, and PAL is my new favorite.) You can do a battle like Guilford Courthouse or Cowpens with less than 150 figures per side. This means that nice big 25mm figures, with all of their advantages in spectacle can be used. Front Rank figures are absolutely superb, if a bit pricey. Old Glory rate a solid B+ at greater economy. Hinchliffe will also do. For British, I made one regiment each in the basic facing colors: blue, white, yellow, buff and green. Do the grenadiers and light infantry for each regiment, separate and converge them into their own battalions. Throw in a Highlander unit and a few guns and you have a good solid force. You can then add Tory regiments, Hessians, a Light Dragoon unit. For Americans, do a few command stands, and paint a bunch of generic blue coats with red or buff facings, stands with just hunting shirts, plain coats, etc. You can also do favorite elite units. Many manufacturers do Prussian SYW, and these will also make fine Hessians or Brunswickers. French and Indian Wars militia also make fine Minutemen. |
| paintingbird | 16 Oct 2002 9:39 a.m. PST |
If you mean ENGLISH civil war, try English Civil Warhammer. It's based on Warhammer Fantasy Battle.
|
| companycmd | 16 Oct 2002 9:51 a.m. PST |
You're probably better advised to start with 20mm plastics because you can usually get 100's of figures for less than $30 USD off eBay or actual vendor sites. 15mm is probably going to continue it's popularity but I personally would NOT go there. In fact, if you want my entire 15mm ACW collection just email me at companycmd@juno.com, as I have decided 20mm plastics are better for a lot of reasons. When going to plastic troops you'd save yourself a LOT of money and frustration. For rules, your best bet as a new gamer are the Hex Command series from Imagine Image Multimedia, specifically Hex Command Gunpowder, which are just about the best free rules you'll ever find and after playing them you probably won't bother with any other rules, at link |
| Mark Wals | 16 Oct 2002 10:39 a.m. PST |
Indeed plastics are cheaper( I've got an epic scale Romsn and Carthaginian for Armati |
| Mark Wals | 16 Oct 2002 10:41 a.m. PST |
Indeed plastics are cheaper( I've got an epic scale Romsn and Carthaginian for Armati I'm working on ) but I've found their level of detail is wanting and they are more difficult to glue,prime, and paint than metals. |
| Khaine | 16 Oct 2002 11:28 a.m. PST |
alas, i am canadian, so no visiting sacrimento or any other things like that :( I am not really that versed in any of these eras, but would like to know more. I have been watching Ken Burns Civil War lately, so thats the way i have been leaning, though everyone i know says dont do civil war its boring. (not too sure why) i hold a special place in my heart for 28mm but i dont know if that will be too expensive for what i would need (large armies?) I dont know anyone who plays, so it would most likely be just myself and my roommate.
|
| Jakar Nilson | 16 Oct 2002 12:42 p.m. PST |
Hey Khaine, wher're you now? Toronto? Vancouver? Calgary? St. John's (great place, only place I could find Warzone minis...)? I can't help you for many places, but if you're near Ottawa, there definatly is plenty going on. Then again, by now you wou've noticed. Anybody from another city of the world's second largest country? |
| Khaine | 16 Oct 2002 1:21 p.m. PST |
London Ontario to be exact. Sorry |
| Jakar Nilson | 16 Oct 2002 5:23 p.m. PST |
Well, there is in Kingston (that's 1/3 of the way between Ot & LD) some stuff done by the RMC (I'm mostly aware of the DBM tournaments, since every other member of my club gets geared up to participate...). Try to check through HMGS (Historical Miniature Gaming Society) sites, as I'm sure there are some other affiliates in the rest of the province. |
| Steve Hazuka | 17 Oct 2002 6:47 a.m. PST |
Is London to far from the Detroit area? There is a con this weekend that you could check out. It's called Pro or Con. Give it a look! Aye! I live in the Detroit area keep in touch! |
| 60th RAR | 17 Oct 2002 7:05 a.m. PST |
A lot of people find the ACW boring as there aren't any dashing cavalry charged. Battles tend to be dominated by the infantry and artillery. Most of the flavor in the ACW comes from (imo) the personalities involved. If you have a deep interest in the period, I don't think it will bore you. There are some skirmish rules out there (Brother against Brother?) that would be great for 28s. If you are going the Fire and Fury or Johnny Reb route you might want to go with 15s or plastics unless you have a large gaming area. |
| (Leftee) | 17 Oct 2002 10:11 p.m. PST |
Read a History of the Period -generalized as well as say personal memoirs to get a feeling for the genre. Watch some movies of the period, however flawed the anorak brigade thinks they might be they gave a general flavor. Chose to play skirmish, tactical or grand tactical.
Chose a scale based upon the above.
Chose a ruleset based upon the above.
Then chose figures. My recomendation is to view a few of the games at a convention or gaming store/club. Good Grand Tactical Rules are:
Fields of Honor 10mm, 15mm
Tactical:
Chef de Battalion, Age of Reason -for AWI 25mm.
Skirmish:
Numerous. 25mm |
