March 2025 - round up from the Napoleonic Wargames Blogging world

Calpe

Von Peter Himslef has declared: the 4/132nd Ligne is now complete with a casualty marker and skirmisher base.  Huzzah...!

and Calpe miniatures are back in production again  at Gripping Beast  phew...

Aly came across some relics from Waterloo Uncovered. 

Small scale gaming from https://battlesin6mm.blogspot.com/ 

Lechdorf is a fictional game" What follows is a report of our most recent Napoleonic engagement using the Volley & Bayonet rules and 6mm miniatures. This fictional engagement is set in 1809 where the French have crossed the Danube east of Vienna and are confronted by the Austrians. It is considered to be just prior to the historical Battle of Aspern-Essling"

Hinton Hunt Austrian Grenadiers are getting fresh paint.

and still in Old School Miniature Minions declares 

The 2nd Battalion of the 4th Infantry Regiment of Baden is done.  

Blunders on the Danube has been prolific this month... the Cazadores caught my atention

Also prolific is Don't Throw a one - loved these limbers: 

Scrivland coninues to churn out Prussians

Epic scale 1813 battle:

" I also wanted to cram as many troops on the table as possible to stretch Lasalle, designed for Divisional games, to Corps size."

Chasseur is catching up posting some amazing painting "These are Victrix figures which are my favourite Austrian plastic kit due to the options. This is another 3 boxes making four units of 36,"

Computer moderated Albuera: "And things got going pretty quickly. Both Belette’s and Furet’s brigades launched an all-out assault on the Allied right and the village of El Tejón. None of this preliminary bombardment and softening up the enemy stuff. Straight in with the bayonet. Except you have to get through a fair amount of lead first to say nothing of struggling across a river or a bridge to get to grips with your opposite number."

Will has got some Italians painted and this post on the Alumwell show: 

I played my first Napoleonic Wargame in years today... thank you Alumwell and WMMS.

I've been running this blog for ages but have not gamed for years.  That changed today :-) Hurrah 

My wargames partner died a few years ago and it took me at least two years to get painting again and I've felt odd about getting the figures out.

I know there is lots of ways to wargame but I really wanted a big Napoleonic game experience. If you look back on this site you'll find quite a few 28mm figures  I had - had painted but also sold.   I have lots of 188mm AB Figures that we used to game with.. and soon I'll use again.

But thank you WMMS and the Alumwell Show - and especially the Pheonix Wargames group for arriving with a 28mm Plancenoit participation game. 

It's why we do it.

I walked around for a while and then plucked up the courage to ask if I could play - I loved it - four turns on the Prussian side (always been a collector of Prussians)  - fast, simple and clear club rules - and a feel for the period, plus friendly people and wonderful figures. 

Hurrah - just what we do. I had that feeling of being absorbed and sucked into what's going to happen,... it's why we game. 

So it's the first time in years. Thank you.   Here are the few pictures I took... and further down some other photos and reflections from the first proper shows of the year in the Midlands...

20mm is the true scale for WW2

I know most of the modern trends are that you game in 15mm or 28mm - but I've always thiought 20mm the perfect balance... and today reinforced that for me... 

This is the battle for Bras - part of Operation Goodwood... Rapid Fire rules... sorry I didn't catch who but a brilliant game.

Shows are for anyone to get their toys (models) out... 

It was Fab to see personal games, not just clubs....

Two stuck out for me - the first this WW2 game from a one man show - he wasn't there but his son told me this was his Dad'd hobby, he painted at home, had loads of fads and this late WW2 colelction was just one of them.  This was his yearly sharing of his passion.... 

and I loved this game of Torgau - a battle I didn't know with an incredible flank march - and those old school Minifigs - complete with blacklining and yellowing polyurethane varnish. Thanks for gthe loveley chat too. 

Printed figure companies and cast companies are becoming alike....

I noticed this company Imperator Models  that does printed figures - selling just as the traditional cast companies do...

Loved the show - thank you all.

Napoleonic Wargames Blogs for February 2025 - fab month - thank you :-)

Juicy Hamburg

My favourite post this months probably has to be the report on Hamburg Tactica - with it's 1813 theme...  games and diorama and all sorts!  Have a look. 

"The theme of this year's convention was the "French period" in northern Germany, in this case the time of the War of Liberation of 1813/14."

Book for Danish Fans 

Helion Books have blogged about Davout and Bernadotte and their new book (or soon to be new) on he Northern Coalition against Napoleon: The Campaigns of Bernadotte, Britain and the Swedes 1810-1815 .   A geat excuse to buy a load of Perry Danes! 

Rules

Blunders on the Danube shared a set of rules for Napoleonics on gridded tables. 

"These rules are based upon Steve's "Eagles Cheaper than Brain Cells" over at the Sound Officer's Call blog, which are them selves descending from Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames. I have also borrowed some ideas from Martin Rapier's OHW variant that I used at Historicon last July. 

I used them for a solo game and then a FTF game in the past month. Here they are with a few minor modifications based upon those games, which will appear as write ups on the blog soon."

and some neat Portuguese Cavalry 

6mm 1815 whatif..

I'm loving this Volley and Bayonet what if - Wellington crosses into France and clashes at Montclairen.  I used have 6mm and used V&B - and now - as with all sales, regret selling them! 

Cold metal...

Don't throw a 1 has painted this set of stragglers for the Retreat from Moscow.

Hinton Hungarian

The old schoolers will enjoy this Hnton Hunt Hungarian.

Logistics

Wider social media users may have already seen Chasseur's French wagons...

Bloody Big Pyrenees

Bloody Big Battles are fighting in the Pyrenees in 1813 - and it's tough

"It's a challenging one to bring to the tabletop, as the Battle of the Pyrenees was less a battle and more a week-long offensive, involving over 100,000 men and encompassing multiple engagements fought across 1,000 square miles or so of very mountainous country."

Cavalry - loads of them!!!  

Some fab Chasseur a Cheval over on the Chasseur blog: beautiful painting. 

 

 

and also French Cavalry - some stunning painting over on the A Military Gentleman blog. Well worth a click thro9ugh and a good look at the pics. (I think these might be 18th century - but hey ho!) 

That's how cavalry should look!!! 

6mm Reinforcements...

Loving these small scale Prussians (I've a soft spot for the the Prussians) over on https://scrivsland.blogspot.com/