After my last Anglo-Zulu Wars game I decided that dice as casualty markers just don’t cut it. I have a good stash of the wonderful casualty/turn markers from Warbases in the UK. I also had some Zulu casualty figures from Black Tree Designs. Seemed obvious really. The bases have the numbers 0-12 so can be used for both recording casualties or as turn markers.
My troops, both French and British have finished the winter campaign season and have returned home to their barracks in the Woolshed. They have fought at Waterloo three times, Quatra Bras and Ligny over a three month period. They covered themselves with glory, except for the last game when I was commanding my own troops and made two command rolls in five turns of Black Powder gaming.
I was unable to attend the first two games due to work and family double-bookings so dropped my guys off to the Waterloo Commemoration Game coordinator’s place way back in June. On the way, I was about two kilometers from his place when a guy pulled out of a gas station right in front of me forcing me to brake way heavier than I wanted to. I heard the models jump around and was too afraid to even look in the boxes – I left that for Paul.
Well after three months my guys are home and I assessed the damage. You know, I was pleasantly surprised. Nothing that cannot be fixed with a few hours work one evening. I did learn one thing – my fears for the strength of my Victrirx British infantry were well founded. All the damage to my Brits was to Victrix miniatures. None of the metal infantry had so much as a bent bayonet and the Perry plastics came through totally unscathed.
As far as stragglers go – one base of Perry British Riflemen. I am sure they will straggle in over the next few months.
I recently took delivery of my custom 70mm Cavalry Casualty bases from Warbases, The first two completed bases are Perry Miniatures Dutch/Belgians doing duty as French cavalry. I wanted them to take a fallen horse without any of the model hanging over the edge. While a bit larger than a dice marker, I hope they will add a visual aspect to my next wargame.
A French Dragoon
A French Chasseur (this was a Dutch/Belgian Light Dragoon)
I have really got into doing some extra stuff that make wargames more fun recently – terrain, vignettes, command and casualty bases. To that end I have just completed some more. These are all Perry Miniatures. I got hold of their British Infantry Casualties (Code BH55) and Dutch/Belgian Cavalry Casualties (Code DB42) sets. Once again I am using the excellent Warbases 40mm casualty bases I acquired a month or so ago.
The British set contains six figures, including one vignette piece. First off a rifleman.
Flank Company or Light Infantryman (top) and Centre Company (bottom) bases.
A dead Highlander. I was quite pleased how the kilt came out on this guy. I have two regiments of Scots to paint and the kilts were putting me off. Now to see how I manage 24 at a time.
An infantryman taking a shot – a pose somewhat reminiscent of the famous photo by Robert Capa (staged or not)
Finally a vignette base showing a soldier helping a wounded officer.
The Dutch/Belgian cavalry casualties are not being used as is, but paint converted to be French cavalry casualties. First off a French Chasseur.
A Dutch Carabineer doing duty as a French Line Lancer Elite Co casualty.
This guy is now a casualty for my French Hussar regiment.
The next two have not been based yet as I wanted to mount them on larger versions of the bases. Warbases are making them especially for me but they have not arrived as yet. A Dutch/Belgian light cavalryman doing duty as a fallen French Chasseur and another Carabineer being a French Dragoon.
For some time I have been meaning to make some casualty bases for my Napoleonic armies. I never really thought about how I wanted to use them. Traditionally a dice behind the unit was used, or even a bunch of figures. I found the former too detracting from the spectacle of the game, and the latter adding too much clutter to it.
I was surfing the Lead Adventure Forum and on this thread saw a picture of exactly what I was looking for. A few questions later and I was looking at Warbases. Warbases is a UK based company that makes the usual laser cut MDF bases, buildings and war-gaming accessories, amongst other things. I immediately put in an order for 20 of the 40mm casualty bases with turning lug and not long afterwards our rural postman was delivering a small package to the Woolshed way down south in New Zealand.
This is what I found inside:
The numbers go from 0 to 12. They are cut from 2mm MDF so have a total height of a shade over 6mm.
So here are the first ten bases I have made up from some random casualty figures I already had (Front Rank, Warlord Games, Perry and Essex amongst this lot). Being the person I am I have been scouring manufacturer’s web sites for casualty figures and have orders for Perry, Eureka, Front Rank and Hinchliffe figures in the works.
Wargaming and Roleplaying in the wilds of rural New Zealand
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