"Battle of Vimeiro Hill, 21st August, 1808" Topic

Last week we played the second scenario in Jonathan Jones' O'er the Hills Peninsular War scenario book. This is the third time I have played this scenario, and it has always proved to be a very hard nut for the French to crack! This attempt was no exception, but it was still fun to play.

The full battle report can be found here:
link

And here are a few pictures from the action.

The terrain looks great! It's always a pleasure to see terrain like this. I think it makes the hobby much more attractive to onlookers.

Thanks, Ereimover. For me wargaming is a visual medium, and seeing my toys running around in a miniature world is half the fun.

I have the same attitude, but not nearly as much skill at creating the miniature worlds. Very nice looking game. I really like your farm fields.

Game looks great!
My friends and I, here in paradise, are torn between functional/practical terrain and rolling, undulating, picturesque ground.
We have well painted buildings, nicely flocked trees, but our hills are usually more abstract. We've tried 'hills under blanket' battlefields before, but the troopers keep sliding down and it's hard to define where crests are. Also, tanks tend to alter the landscape on their way to the top…
Seems like never the happy medium.

So true! My lead Portuguese horse especially kept wanting to take the slide down the hill! And the flotsam on the battlefield does get carried along at times – I always have to ramp back my fetish for terrain in the interest of playability. It's a fine balance.
I generally place a line of trees along the crest, but even those do a fair bit of walkabout during the game.

Don't worry. Real battlefields were also different before and after the battle… :-)

Fewer livestock, I'm sure. ;0)

GREAT looking table and terrain!

Tell us more about how you achieved the nice flowing contours!

Thank you, Desert Fox. It really is the "hill under a blanket" technique. A few years ago I lucked into some sheet leading that my brother-in-law acquired at a renovation. I use this over my styrofoam hills to firm up the contours before I cover it with my ground cloth, but I think it is hard to find. Someone suggested a midnight raid on the parish church.
I also throw down some flat pieces, or even a rag or something in the non- hill bits under the ground sheet just to break up the flatness.
If you check out my blog you will see a page post at the top that walks you through some WWII game boards I set up.
Hope this helps!

Nice looking game and I bet it played just as well. Bravo!

Excellent stuff Bill.
On the contours- really not that difficult to achieve- wouldn't go the lead route myself but then I don't host games here.
'Shaped' edges of polystyrene sheet, glued together to make significant permanent shapes or not, as you choose, under a multicoloured 'sheet' of whatever you choose.
I'm starting to use the modern expanded plastics 'boxing' from electronics for the same thing. Much lighter! Of course I've still unused/ uncut sheets of rubberised-horsehair in storage too!
regards dave

Brilliant! Beautiful game!