Ragbones | 24 Apr 2017 8:47 a.m. PST |
Last year I posted links to photos of my 15mm Hollywood version of the Mahdist assault on General Gordon at Khartoum. Thanks to Bill at Bill's Gamers Garage, I now have wonderful looking and wargame-functional earthworks that are more "historical" than the city walls used in my previous games. Not that there's anything wrong with the Hollywood style; I just wanted the ability to game it both ways depending on my mood. Bill is a wizard at terrain making and a really great guy. A shout-out, too, to Last Stand Dan, for facilitating my introduction to Bill. They've helped create a dream come true. Here's a link to a few photos of some of the terrain: link I asked Bill to build a lot more pieces than what's shown because I wanted the flexibility to increase the size of the game when my gaming room increases in size next year and to give me flexibility in arranging the fortifications. The Egyptian and Sudanese infantry and officers are Mike's Models while the artillerymen are Essex. The fleeing civilians are Peter Pig. The buildings are mostly older Crescent Root resin buildings now sold by Razor78 at The Art of Wargaming.There are also several buildings from The Miniature Building Authority and a couple of unknown provenance that I picked up at a convention flea market. In reality, the defenses constructed by Khartoum's defenders were approximately a mile south of the city but I wanted to use some of my buildings to add immediacy to the game and to dress up the table. Later today I plan on setting out the Mahdist attackers. Last year we used a mix of David Bickley's "A Good Dusting" and Tim Wright's unpublished, long-time convention favorite, "Sand and Blood." This time around I'm going to give," The Men Who Would Be King," a try. Each section of the entrenchment is defended by one 12-figure unit of Regulars (per TMWWBK) with the exception of the Kalakala Gate, which is a larger piece and is defended by two units of Regulars. There are four artillery pieces currently set out. I'm thinking about adding a fifth before the game starts. By way of comparison, here's a link to a few pictures of the Hollywood Khartoum: link |
Perris0707 | 24 Apr 2017 9:01 a.m. PST |
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Gone Fishing | 24 Apr 2017 9:23 a.m. PST |
Simply amazing. Both look really good, and should give you a wide range of possible scenarios. I'm intrigued by those popular convention rules. Is there a place to find them? Many thanks for sharing! |
Ragbones | 24 Apr 2017 9:47 a.m. PST |
PM sent, Daryl. Tim's rules were never published and as far as I know are not available on the web. |
Oh Bugger | 24 Apr 2017 9:47 a.m. PST |
First rate stuff there Ragbones. |
aegiscg47 | 24 Apr 2017 10:09 a.m. PST |
Good job of getting things right. Most colonial gamers have this idea that the city was surrounded by walls, towers, and gates, which it wasn't. |
sausagesca | 24 Apr 2017 10:24 a.m. PST |
Agreed. I have been seeking out period renderings of the earthworks. Are your models based on available images or just a guess based on textual sources? |
Rhingyll | 24 Apr 2017 10:48 a.m. PST |
Wayne – Very nice! It is always fun to play games on tables with terrain that is realistic looking as well as functional. |
Gone Fishing | 24 Apr 2017 11:37 a.m. PST |
Thank you, Wayne! PM sent. |
Hal Thinglum | 24 Apr 2017 12:28 p.m. PST |
Hello Wayne – to me, both of your approaches look great. Congratulations. Great job with 15mm. I remember you doing the Mike's Models. Thanks for sharing. |
Ragbones | 24 Apr 2017 2:01 p.m. PST |
Sausagesca, the earthworks are based on written sources and a couple photographs I found online from another gamer's Khartoum. All kudos belong to Bill Daniel for figuring out how to do it and then making it a reality. He's really a wargame terrain wizard. Each attacking unit of Ansar will have to stop movement upon encountering the sand berm and roll a D6 for casualties suffered during the crossing of Gordon's exterior defenses not depicted (broken glass, fougas mines, and possibly hidden pits). At least that's how I plan to initially handle it. Guess I'll see if it works. Thanks everyone for the kind comments. |
Smokey Roan | 24 Apr 2017 3:00 p.m. PST |
Great stuff. More accurate than Hollywood. |
Ragbones | 24 Apr 2017 4:03 p.m. PST |
Yeah, but Hollywood is so much fun, too! |