Dutchies do AWI update

With a dozen or two players taking part in this project, it was pretty easy to pool our ‘desires’ and get a very big order off to Messrs Perry. But coordinating all that took some time (you try integrating that many wishlists, calculating everyone’s share and all that. Good to have an accountant in the group…) and now there’s another wait till the order is filled, shipped and distributed amongst all of us. So, apart from the few sensible people who already have ‘some’ figures ready to paint, most members of the group, such as Jeroen Stroomer and Jasper Leenarts, are looking for other things to do for this project.

Jeroen Stroomer: Having settled on the Hanging Rock scenario, it was time to delve a little into the background of the Rebellion. The scenario is an all American affair: rebels versus loyalists. Neighbours pitched against one another really shows how deep the resentment must have been. I will paint the loyalists, the men who were happy with the pre-war situation, driven from their homes and terrorised by the rebels to take up arms. Sometimes in militia troops, sometimes in more or less trained regiments. What did they look like? As with my last project (The 100 days campaign), I started digging for info about uniforms, only to find out that bookkeeping on uniforms and looks of regiments evolved a lot in the 40 years between the AWI and the battle of Waterloo. This meant a lot of freedom to choose miniatures. In the end I settled for British uniforms for the Loyalist Regiments (as they received uniforms from the British army) and chose to give the militia American style uniforms, which look more plain without the lace. Within the Perry ranges, I found a good mix of plastic and metal miniatures to represent them and I ordered more than enough. I don’t really need three boxes of plastics, but I do ‘need’  the free unique command model that comes with them. While waiting for the order to arrive, I painted a test model from a box I bought for Muskets and Tomahawks a while ago and so I have something to show you as well.

Jasper Leenarts: To be honest, I didn’t know much about the American War of Independance. It is funny how a project like this can change that completely. Wiki and google are your friends. But where to go from there? One of the battles we intend to do is the battle of Stono Ferry. Three players a side, using the Muskets & Tomahawks rules. I will be commanding a part of the Americans. That is set, what’s next?

Well, miniatures of course! There is so much choice. In the end I went with perry miniatures (69 models) and an indian chief from conquest miniatures. 70 models to paint, with a deadline. Help, what did I get myself into? And except for the indian chief, the models will not arrive before sometime in November. What to do until the miniatures are in the house? I still need to finish my SAGA Pagan Rus warband, glue my plastic Bolt Action US Marines together… But, I could also make some terrain for the project.

So the last couple of weeks, I glued together two houses and made a field for the AWI project. Until Crisis in Antwerpen, I will probably focus on my SAGA models and perhaps do some more terrain for the AWI project. After Crisis, I hope to start with my chief and some more terrain. But to be honest, I can’t wait till the collective perry order arrives late november!

As for myself, I am one of those people who already have AWI figures, both in the grey army, as well as painted and based (as admitted to in the first blog). It’s my job to paint a brigade consisting of loyalist batallions for Camden: the Volunteers of Ireland, the Royal North Carolina, the infantry of Tarleton’s British Legion, and a loyalist militia regiment and some artillery. I already have the VoI, and I painted a single base of a blue-faced loyalist regiment earlier this year. I’m working on another two now, mostly consisting of Foundry figures - a mix of both charging American and British figures with the lace cut-off - with a Perry officer thrown in. As you can see, I have one standardbearer in the works, and now I worrying whether I’ll need another. After all, they’re supposedly more British than the Brits! 

Whatever the outcome of that question, at least I’m well on the way with this project and I might actually have a shot at getting it all done well before 3AM on the night of Game Day. That’d be good…