Government Army for Killiecrankie

I've had some travel these past few weekends which has impacted my productivity. I know that these armies won't be complete for the Fall In convention, I'm hoping I to get gameable forces to get in a game with my good friend Rob. Mackay's army isn't complete just yet but I figured I would give a progress report.

First up is Kenmure's regiment. I have two battalions of this regiment. These were one of the units raised prior to the battle. The other regiment was Leven's, which I plan to field on the tabletop with bonnet conversions (if I am pleased with the green stuff  attempts at bonnets)..

Next up is Ramsay's regiment, one of the units of the Scots Brigade. I should mention that the government flags are from Barry Hilton's League of Augsburg range. Beautiful flags, Ramsay's has an interesting design with the chevron and creature (seal?) on the chevron.

Balfour's regiment, all of these fellows are in red coats faced white.

Bellhaven's and Annandale's horse. I decided to paint one of the units in blue (a common color for militia).

Both Bellhaven's and Annandale's horse are small units, just detachments.

Next up are Lauder's grenadiers. These were a converged group of grenadiers from the various units who operated as the vanguard of Mackay's army.

The Scottish grenadiers at the time wore a stocking cap with brown fur upturned liner. In order to replicate this look, I used Baccus' French dismounted dragoons from their WSS range. 

At Killiecrankie, the Scots government army likely had some "leather guns", for my army I opted to use a small gun from their Sun King range. I painted the barrel a black so that one mistake it as a leather gun. 

Scottish gunners wore a similar headgear as the grenadiers. Again, I opted to use converted French WSS dragoons. I should point out that the gun's apparently weren't very effective in the battle. There is an account of one of their shot becoming lodged (and stopped) by a highlander's targe. 

Here re see the command bases, Mackay is on the right and Balfour is in the buff coat on the left.

The full Scottish government army thus far. I still need to paint up five more infantry brigades.

 

A Chilean Detour...

I don't often travel for work, although the opportunity is always there I try to avoid it as much as possible. Sometimes, I can not avoid it....as I was making significant progress with my 6mm Killiecrankie project, an unavoidable work trip would require me to Santiago, Chile for 3 days. It would be a whirlwind of meetings but I wanted to make it worth my while in terms of my hobby and passion of wargaming miniatures and military history. 

Prior to the trip, I targeted two museums I would try to visit: Museo Histórico y Militar de Chile (Chilean Military History Museum) and Fundación Museo Guerra del Pacífico (Museum of the War of the Pacific). 

On the second day of the trip, I made a rather difficult trip to the Chilean Military History Museum. 

The museum was in a barracks style building and had displays beginning with the indigenous populations and their contact with conquistadors and covering up to 1970s or 1980s. 

My primary interests were the Wars of Independence (I have partially painted armies in 15mm) and the War of the Pacific (partially painted armies in 10mm and babies navies in 1/2400). 

Throughout the museum there were awesome dioramas of battle scenes. The figures ranged between something similar to HO scale all the way up to 54mm or so. In the picture above, the diorama is a clash between conquistadors and the indigenous tribes. 

The museum also had displays of mannequins in uniforms which were quite interesting. These two fellows are from the War of Independence wearimg various fatigue caps. 

I believe this is a diorama of the battle of Chacubuco (1817). In this battle the Patriot forces of San Martin defeated a Royalist army. 

This is a diorama of the Battle of Rancagua during the early years of the war of independence (1814 perhaps), in this battle the Royalist forces were victorious. 

This rather interesting diorama is the battle of Yungay in 1839 from the wars of confederation. I have to admit I don't know much about this period of conflict. 

There were some nice exhibits of the War of the Pacific which showcased weapons and uniforms. On display were a helmet and cuirass from the Bolivian cuirassiers which was interesting to see. 

The museum had a video presentation for the War of the Pacific but I didn't have time to watch it. Since it was quickly approaching the closing time for the museum, I walked through the later sections a little more quickly and snapped photos. 

The museum touched upon some civil wars or revolts and WW1 and WW2. There was a full-size replica of a German trench and also of cross-cut M3 Stuart tank. 

The museum appeared to finish up with military equipment from the 1970s and 80s as well as an expedition to Antarctica. 

On the way back to my hotel, I stopped off at Palacio de la Moneda which is the presidential palace. A coworker and I discussed the 1973 coup which ousted Salvador Allende from power and saw a siege of the Chilean Presidential Palace. We had both saw the movie Civil War on the 9 hour flight to Chile and we remarked on the irony of seeing that movie and it's final scene and walking by Palacio de la Moneda. 

Time wouldn't permit a visit to Fundación Museo Guerra del Pacífico which is a shame..much like Southeast Texas and the battlefield site of Palo Alto, I don't anticipate coming back to this part of the world again. However, my mind has gone to my unfinished projects for the South American Wars of Independence and The War of the Pacific. While I may never revisit this corner of the world again, I can at least revisit these projects.

Jacobites Completed!

Managed to push through painting the last of the highlanders and got the basing done. I have enough spare figures for a few more units, even after using some for Weem's highlander company that fought for the government army. I also painted up Purcell's Irish as well, this means I have finished the Jacobite army for Killiecrankie. 

Here we have Purcell's Irish offering a nice visual contrast in their off-white uniforms. 

And here are the three highlander units I just finished up. If I'm not mistaken the black and yellow saltire is that of the Campbells (who I don't believe were present) but they will be for the Argyll Uprising. I believe the yellow standard with a mailed arm with sword is that of Clanranald and the yellow and red banner is the war flag for the Camerons.

And finally we have the entire army. Six units of highlanders, Purcell's Irish, two cavalry detachments and the command bases of Ewan Cameron and Viscount Dundee. It's a small army but I think it will provide a nice game for Tercios with 8 full units, a couple of detachments and two commanders leading them.

As mentioned above, I finished my first government unit which is a detachment base (30mm square) representating Weem's independent highland company. This closeup of Weem's highlanders shows off the very nice sculpts with multiple poses. I have several units of red-coated infantry underway and will be anticipating a parcel in the mail from Baccus that will allow me to complete Mackay's army. More updates to come.

Mackay's Army Plan

As I grind through the final three highlander units for Dundee's Jacobite army, my mind is already thinking how I will tackle the opposing government army. 

With thoughts regarding construction and game balance, I wanted to downsize the government army a bit. On paper, Mackay should have dealt with Dundee without issue, he had nearly double the men and half of them were veterans of the Scots Brigade. In additional m to the numerical and qualitative superiority, the government troops were also better equipped. If this was all replicated on the tabletop, I'm not sure how even of a fight it would be. 

To balance the armies out a bit, I plan to represent some of the government regiments as one battalion instead of the two that were present. Rather than 12/13 units of infantry, I will give them 9 units of infantry and several detachments. Weem's highland company will be a detachment and Lauder's grenadiers will be one or two detachments. Government cavalry will be two detachments and a single base of light artillery will complete the force. 

I think I will give the government army two commanders, obviously Mackay will be the chief commander and either Balfour or Hastings will be the other. Maybe I will give them three commanders...we'll see. 

The bulk of the figures used will be from Baccus' Sun King range: SKW01 (matchlock) and SKW03 (pike). Kenmure's regiment will probably be represented with ECW Scots Covenanter pike and shot. They will be the sole unit in hodden grey and bonnets... although I may call an audible at the last minute and paint them in red jackets. 

Weem's highlanders will be leftover figures from the Jacobite army and the cavalry will be SKW04 and SKW05 (horse and dragoons). Lauder commanded about 200 grenadiers pulled from the various regiments and they wore a soft cap with fur trim. The artillery crews were supposedly in similar headgear. 

For Lauder's grenadiers, I plan to use dismounted French grenadiers from the Spanish Succession range (WSS13)...right now the plan is to use some of these figures (or rather their heads) for some conversions of artillery crew. I only need to do this to about four figures so I think I can manage it. 

That's the plan, let's see how well I manage it. 

I feel like I should also mention that my primary source of reference for my planning, organizing and painting has been Stuart Reid's book "I met the Devil & Dundee". It covers every aspect of the battle of Killiecrankie (background, the battle and aftermath, nature of warfare, unit composition and uniform information). I can't recommend it enough. 

For Argyll's Uprising, I will be relying on Stephen M. Carter's "One King!: A Wargamer's Companion to Argyll's & Monmouth's Rebellion of 1685". It provides everything you need to know for both Argyll's and Monmouth's uprisings...there are even hypothetical scenarios and assessments of the various personalities involved and their motivations. I initially purchased it because of my interest in the Monmouth Rebellion but it will be invaluable for my plans to wargame the other uprising that occurred in 1685 a bit further north of Sedgemoor. 

Raise the Clans!

I've been making progress on my 6mm Killiecrankie project. Since the last post, I've added a third highlander unit, two detachments of Jacobite cavalry (a base of Highlander gentlemen and Dundee's followers from the Royal Regiment of Horse) and the two command bases. 

Here is the Jacobite army this far. I plan to add 2-3 more highlander units and also an Irish infantry unit. Then it's on to the Government forces. 

First up is the third highlander unit. I'm trying to use flags that can do double duty for both Killiecrankie and Argyll's Uprising (although I imagine the Red Lion Rampant wasn't used for the latter). I have the remaining highlanders primed and ready to be painted. 

Here we have an image of the two cavalry detachments, based on 30mm squares (same as artillery). I plan to use the Tercios rules and since the detachments aren't full units, I will give them diminished stats similar to light horse. The rules allow for detachments of infantry but not of cavalry. I don't think this modification will affect gameplay whatsoever. 

The gentlemen highlanders. I have them a muted palette of blues, greys, greens and red browns. The figures are the Scottish ECW cavalry, I modified a few by removing helmets and adding bonnets. If I was to do another base, I would keep the helmets. 

Next up are the rather smartly attired Royal Regiment of Horse. These guys represent the men from Dundee's regiment that decided to follow their commander in support of the Jacobite cause. We don't know if they retained their uniforms but Stuart Reid suggests that they probably would have. I think the scarlet and yellow uniforms add a nice splash of color to the muted colors of the Highlanders. 

Finally we have the command. These two bases represent James Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee (Bonnie Dundee) and Ewan Cameron of Lochiel. 

For Bonnie Dundee, I tried to make the lowlander Jacobite as bonnie and flamboyant as possible. He is in his bright scarlet uniform with gold trim and a loyal trooper from his old regiment riding alongside him. 

Lastly, is Ewan Cameron of Lochiel. Ewan was quite the imposing figure with dark hair and a mustache that curled up like the "moon's horns". According to Reid, Ewan was described as being armored (helmet, leather cuirass and chainmail) so I opted to use a rather gallant looking sculpt in armor from the ECW Scottish Generals pack to depict the warrior known as the "Ulysses of the Highlands ". I was even able to add a mustache to the sculpt! 

Well, that's it this far. I have the next batch of figures prepped and primed, more highlanders and the Irish. That will complete the Jacobite army and then I will tackle the Government forces. I plan to use a mix of figures from the Sun King and Scottish ECW ranges to represent Mackay's government army. I think I will downsize the government army (I will get into that later) which will have about 9 infantry units, two cavalry detachments representing militia horse, some "leather gun" artillery and two commanders.

 

6mm Highlanders

 I started these little fellows before the trip to Scotland and I was in a rush to finish at least one base's worth. I completed painting that initial batch and they were all very vibrant in greens and reds...however after reading Stuart Reid's book on the battle of Killiecrankie, I was reminded that plaids in the late 17th century were much more drab in browns, blues, muted greens and reds, violets and grey. I painted up another batch of figures on this more accurate and muted palette to dull down the flamboyant fellas of the initial batch. 

I have enough figures painted for 3 bases (2 shown here, still working on the basing of the 3rd). The plan is to paint up about half a dozen bases along with some cavalry and commanders. 

These little buggers will be used for the Argyll Uprising, Killicrankie and whatever hypothetical scenarios I dream up. 

Claymore 2024

As mentioned in previous posts, I had scheduled a vacation to Scotland centered around attending the Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo. The other big event I planned to attend would be the Claymore Convention held at Edinburgh College. 

I had a wonderful time, it was very interesting to see the difference between the UK shows and the American conventions. I was really blown away by the friendliness of all the vendors and fellows I chatted with at the flea market and around the games. 

I also had an opportunity to meet some people behind the miniatures and rules I have loved for decades. 

Beautiful displays of Baccus' 6mm offerings in the image above. I ended up placing three orders for pickup from Peter Berry, but the real prize was to finally have a chat with the friendly man I have been ordering from for the past quarter century or so! Peter was as much of a gentleman in person as he has been over email. 

Another notable I was able to meet was Leon from Pendraken (figures seen above). If you follow this blog, you are probably aware that I participate in the Pendraken painting competition most years. I have been a fan of the Pendraken ranges for decades and it was an absolute honor to discuss the hobby and other topics with Leon. I have never really had an interest in the Korean War but I ended up purchasing Chinese and Americans in winter gear...perhaps I can base them with a wintry snow effect...

These are some of Barry Hilton's 1/4800 gems for WW1 naval gaming. While I didn't pick up any of these, Barry was nice enough to sell me a sample pack of his 1/2400 Anglo Dutch Wars ships. These are absolute gems with so many unique and distinctive designs for specific ships of the war. 

Conrad Cairns is subject matter expert when it comes to the Carlist Wars. I am a proud owner of his wargaming guides from both Perry and Helion. In the picture above, you can see some of his brilliant 28mm Carlist figures. It was a real treat to chat with Conrad. After the convention, I realized Conrad also wrote "African Knights" which dealt with the militaries of African kingdoms like Sokoto and Bornu...I wish I had asked him about that..

I spent quite a bit of money and was happy to do so.  Here are some photos of other games I saw in the few hours spent at the convention.

I believe this warship was part of game involving 28mm figures and the siege of Havana or something. Absolutely brilliant stuff.  UPDATE: I was mistaken in my description, this beautiful setup was titled "Descent on the French Coast" and was a Seven Years War display game set up by some gentlemen to honor the memory of their friend and fellow gamer who passed away. I can think of no better way to honor a friend than this. Stunning tribute. My thoughts and prayers to Stuart, his friends and loved ones. 

10mm demo game of Test of Resolve...really neat stuff! The fellows responsible for these rules have recently released a Hundred Years War variant. Since I have already purchased their original War of the Roses set, I decided to purchase this new release. As appealing as the 10mm stuff is, I do have quite a bit of 15mm HYW lead sitting around from an abandoned project.

A really nice looking 15mm refight of the battle of Breitenfield. The use of flooring mats for a game mat was really neat idea.

Early WW1 grand tactical game using 10mm figures (Pendraken I believe). I think it was the battle of the Marne.

Flags of War was showing off a new rules and range called Border Wars that looked like a skirmish style game to fight border reiver actions on a 4x4 gaming area. Similar to Grey for Now games Test of Honour, units were prepackaged with unit cards and such. The ruleset looked to be impressive as well. 

Anyway, I look forward to visiting other UK/European wargaming shows in the future...Peter Berry did say I should attend Joy of Six sometime!