Winston Smith | 23 Jan 2015 6:27 a.m. PST |
So, how do YOU do it on the table? In "real life", like at King's Mountain, the Patriot forces put scraps of paper in their hats. I believe I read that in another battle, Crown forces used hemlock leaves and the Patriots used oak. That seems to me difficult to tell apart. I am thinking about a King's Mountain game soon. Luckily for me, I am always experimenting with different basing techniques, they will look different. What do you do? |
Winston Smith | 23 Jan 2015 6:29 a.m. PST |
What inspired me to do KM was finding some forgotten Loyalists I had set aside. They are OG Continentals painted with red coats. Good thing red coats tend towards British… The militia, on the other hand all look alike. Sort of. |
cosmicbank | 23 Jan 2015 6:51 a.m. PST |
The American peoples army vs The peoples Army of America vs the Army of the American people. Is amazing how close AWI is to a Monty pthyon skit. |
Winston Smith | 23 Jan 2015 6:57 a.m. PST |
Splitters! I have not done any battles with Ethan Allen. Yet. |
Dale Hurtt | 23 Jan 2015 7:34 a.m. PST |
Generally indicated by which way the troops are facing. Towards the Patriot baseline, Patriot militia. Loyalist baseline, Loyalist militia. :) |
zippyfusenet | 23 Jan 2015 8:30 a.m. PST |
You can sort the units by manufacturer: the Dixons are Loyalists, the Old Glorys are Patriots. You can give officers and the occasional NCO uniform coats. You can add a flag, the Rattlesnake vs. the Red Ensign. Or you can do one thing or both for one side, to make them look a little more organized, while the other side remains more raggedy. Um, how do you tell your militia units apart, when they're all on the same side? Sometimes I resort to pasting gummed markers to each base. Red stars are Albany militia, green stars are German Flats militia. Red dots ate Miamis, blue dots are Pottawatomies – I have the same problem sorting Indians into units. |
M C MonkeyDew | 23 Jan 2015 8:42 a.m. PST |
I am with Dale. Which side they are on at the moment depends on which side of the table they deploy on. Also having two standard bearers, one for each side, per unit helps as I use individual basing. Might be less desirable for multiple figure stands though. Bob |
GiloUK | 23 Jan 2015 8:42 a.m. PST |
My Patriot militia units have flags; my Loyalist militia units don't. |
doc mcb | 23 Jan 2015 9:20 a.m. PST |
I agree with the above consensus. I use the same stands for rank and file militia whether Loyalist or Patriot, with command stands that are either uniformed or carry standards, or both, to show the side. |
TodCreasey | 23 Jan 2015 10:54 a.m. PST |
I find my club tends to say "who are the brown guys" and that sort of thing so making them authentic makes for a weaker game. I do something like Red for Crown Regulars Green for Crown Militia Blue for Rebel Regulars Brown, Grey or Tan for Rebel regulars And then I will even group similar figures into the same command to make the game easier. An easy sacrifice to be able to glance at the table and know what is going on. |
Sundance | 23 Jan 2015 1:18 p.m. PST |
Have to agree with Dale as well – which way they are facing – owners of troops better know which ones are theirs! |
Dave Crowell | 23 Jan 2015 1:48 p.m. PST |
The ones that are shooting at you are *probably* the enemy. It is a two edged thing. On the plus side the same figures can be used for both sides. I make command stands or officer makers with clear affiliation that I can put with the units to tell them apart. In other periods I have done things like marking bases with a pebble, foliage clump, etc. Coat colour is a good idea. |
Supercilius Maximus | 23 Jan 2015 4:35 p.m. PST |
I believe white and red armbands were worn in some parts of the Colonies. |
epturner | 23 Jan 2015 10:07 p.m. PST |
Skulking for the Loyalists? Cringing for the Patriots? Yes, that was a poke to Mr. Winston Smith… Just saying. Eric |
Supercilius Maximus | 24 Jan 2015 6:05 a.m. PST |
You realise that's the equivalent of poking the bear around here, right? |
B6GOBOS | 24 Jan 2015 6:43 a.m. PST |
My militia are all in civilian clothing with a few hunting shirts mixed in. Some officers have uniforms others not. Usually not a problem telling sides apart since Jim is pushing crown forces tonight and Andy pushing rebels. Historically in the south units switched sides so I make them generic as possible. I am finishing one unit of all black ex slaves with a liberty flag to fight for the british. |
Gnu2000 | 24 Jan 2015 10:40 a.m. PST |
Which units switched sides in the South? |
B6GOBOS | 24 Jan 2015 4:30 p.m. PST |
When the 71st regiment was ordered to Camden the sick of the regiment were to be escorted down the Pre Dee river to Georgetown by loyalist militia. En route the escort changed sides and the 71st lost over 100 men as prisoners. |
Thomas Mante | 26 Jan 2015 8:15 a.m. PST |
At least some Loyalists at Camden in early September 1780 were wearing "red Rags in their Hats, for Distinction" according to this battleofcamden.org/allman.htm |
B6GOBOS | 27 Jan 2015 6:31 a.m. PST |
Thank you. Never saw that before |