A Time for Rebellion!

Considering all the politics that have been put out there these days, it is only fitting that I start an army that rose up against their oppressors ( be they real or self imposed I guess ).

Another day and another army.. my Bolt Action armies are still in full swing, and still having fun playing them ( even if my last 2 games opponents say otherwise ). But with that the idea to start a new game system is abound, and another club member had some models ready for American War of Independence. And since he sits over here in the UK, he has the mighty Red Coats going ( and has been for a bit it seems ) so it was only natural then that I picked up the filthy colonials to rise up against him.

Of course it is only after I order up the starter box from Warlords recent sale that I realise in the rules we will be using ( Muskets and Tomahawks ) that the French forces were on the side of the Americans, and filled their ranks with Canadians! Damnit! Oh well.. some shifty proxing might happen at some point then :) ).

Starting off, I do what I always do, and that is to jump off the deep end for collecting. I picked up the Rebels starter army box, that had a deal that it came with an extra cannon.

As you can see there are quite a few models available here with 120 Regular/Irregular infantry near the top, 40 Militia at the bottom, a Cannon, and an officer ( mounted ). But with the deal I also got another cannon/officer sprue so I can make 2 mounted Officers, and 2 Cannons. Though with some conversions I think I can make a total of 4 cannons with crew ( as the cannon types are separate but use the same wheels ) and could maybe make some Light Troop Officers on foot instead of always being mounted.

So far however I have assembled enough to get in a 200 pts game ( there about ).

Mounted Officer - 25 pts for the American Officer, 2 pts for the mount, 1 point for the Cavalry Sword.
10 Continental Infantry ( Regulars ) - 80 pts, but have the Firing Line ability ( better abilities when formed up ).

10 Continental Light Infantry ( Irregular ) - 90 pts and have the scout ability ( better movement in woods ).

It scares me that this is enough for a game at the moment, but I am very curious how it will all play up in the end though. But that won't happen until they are all painted up though so that it is more interesting for both sides ( and nice photos can be taken as well! ).

I tried to model the Line Infantry to be more stoic and static.. like they were in a firing line. Whereas the Light Infantry I see them moving through the woods etc, and thus more cautious or prepping for the right shot.

As a quick update this morning, I did get another 20 models assembled last night to go with the force. Doubling the Line and Irregular forces within the army. Giving me a good 4 units of 10 to play around with, and giving me a bit more variety to play with.

As for colors however though is where I need to settle on. And that will mean having a look at the different regions and colors that were available for the uniforms.

Having a look on Perry Miniatures webstore, I can see a variety of colors, along with a reference to where they might have originated from. Of course I could just ignore this all, and just paint them blue.. but having an idea of where they come from will make the painting more interesting as well.

It seems that the traditional Blue with White pants comes from the NY region. And this would be where most of the fighting might have taken place, but I really do like the 5th Connecticut Regt colors. It allows me to have the blue coats, but add a bit more interesting colors into the pants with them being green. Red undercoat also makes the painting a bit more difficult maybe, but more interesting all the same.

I also like this as I plan to be quite heavy on the Militia. Although they are piss poor for stats, and morale and blah blah.. I do like my Horde formations. And I think having a good collection of them popping out of the woods supporting the Irregulars later on ( when bigger games happen ) will make for some interesting match ups. And I plan on them being able to harrass the line units while the Irregulars and Regulars go and focus on trouble spots or smash through a line.

Will see how it goes.. but at least basing for this force will be easy. Some dirt, and a lot of static grass will be applied throughout the army.

For now, let's see when I can get these painted up and get started with a demo game or 2 with them. Very curious how the rule set will be or if we will switch over to one of the many other versions available out there covering this era and period.

But for now.. the weekend! Huzzah!