It Troubles Me So...But They Have to Go

Readers and casual observers will note that I have been a HUGE fan of the Knuckleduster Miniatures range, such a fan that the owner even made a very cool logo for me to use here on this blog.  But life, in all its glory and splendor, at times does not allow one to see a miniatures wargaming project come to life.  That is the case with my War of 1812 28mm Knuckleduster figures.

I live currently in a large one bedroom condo with my fiancee, and we simply do not have the room for any 28mm gaming projects...the dining room table is only so large!  And while we are looking for a two bedroom place, the second bedroom will be used as an office/study/den, which allows me to pursue other interests, such as reading and writing hiking materials.  So, I must pare down the wargaming collection, going to 10mm and 15mm wherever I can (probably using Blue Moon Manufacturing, as those figures will work for smaller battles on the dining room table).  At this time we really do not want to buy a home, and we like where we live as we can walk to have a meal or a beer with ease, and homes in this area are rather pricey and huge for two people!

So, I am selling my Knuckleduster figures.  These are all in their packs (meaning they are new), and I am moving them for 50% off their retail prices.  I am only selling to someone in the States (I hate filling out international mailing forms), and am offering them at this point as one lot.  I only take PayPal, and buyer will pay for shipping.

Here is the list.  Unless otherwise noted, there is one pack per code.:

US001 - US Regulars, 1814 Marching (6)

US002 - US Command, 1814 (2)

US006 - US Militia Advancing (2)

US007 - US Militia Skirmishing (2)

US009 - US Infantry, 1814 Advancing (2)

US010 - Gen. Brown and Aide

US011 - Brig. Gen. Scott and Ripley

B001 - British, Stovepipe, Marching (2)

B003 - British Command, Stovepipe, Marching

B009 - Glengarry Lt. Inf. Skirmish Command

B010 - Upper Canada Militia, Skirmishing

B011 - Upper Canada Militia, Advancing

B012 - Canada Sedentary Militia, Advancing

Total is $110.00, plus $6.00 for shipping.  Contact me at preds81 at yahoo.com.  First come, first sold!  SALE PENDING!

The 15mm Project

U.S. Marines - Picture from Thoroughbred website

In my most recent post I had made mention of possibly switching scales from 28mm to 15mm.  Of course I had completely forgotten about the 15mm War of 1812 figures I already have when I wrote that post a few days ago.  Rummaging around the storage unit a few days ago I came across five packs of the MiniFigs War of 1812 range, mostly U.S. militia in top hats, and several months ago I had placed an order with Thoroughbred Figures for some of their fine U.S Marines and Tripoli Pirates from their Sea Eagles range.  So, I already have some figures for 15mm already in place!  I highly doubt if I will use the MiniFigs castings, as I will more than likely stick with 28mm, but some of them might come in handy for other projects.  However, the Thoroughbred figures are definitely on the horizon as a future project!

The purchase from Thoroughbred was a result of several thoughts coming together into one idea.  First, I have some excellent Middle Eastern/North African terrain already in place for Ambush Alley/Force on Force.  Second, I like the Ambush Alley/Force on Force rules quite a bit, and thought moving them into the early 19th Century would not be too far of a stretch.  (The Marines would be the regulars and the pirates would be the insurgents, the Marines would all have one fire die per figure, the Tripolitians would have one per two or even three figures and would have to rely more on the sword.)  Third, while not exactly the correct decade, the exploits of William Eaton (along with Lt. Presley Neville O'Bannon) in 1804-1805 is the stuff of legends.  Taking a handful of Marines and hundreds of Arabs, Eaton led this hodge-podge force across the desert and took the city of Derne (Derna).  Kinda on the cool side of the scale, yes?  Gaming some small skirmishes like this would be a nice way to get double duty from my terrain while allowing me to paint up some cool looking uniforms.

So I placed that order with Toby at Thoroughbred and received very shortly thereafter a nice mix of U.S. Marines and heathen pirates.  If you have never ordered from Thoroughbred, it is very simple.  Send Toby and email of what you want, he'll fire back a PayPal invoice and you make your payment.  I think my entire transaction, from initial email to receiving my figures was less than THREE days.  Pretty darn quick!

The Marines are in a variety of poses, some obviously more suitable for ship actions (example - the figure on the far left of the photo), but I think all will be just fine for the shores of Tripoli.  The pirates are also in many poses, and include some gun crew poses as well.  Again, no worries there as having the occasional archaic artillery piece might be an interesting way to give the Tripolitians some additional firepower dice (which I think they will need). 

I will mount the figures on individual 15mm round bases from Litko AeroSystems, placing commanders/leaders on 20mm bases.  This makes it easy to identify leaders in a smaller scale and works very well for my moderns.

More on this project over the next several months as I use it as a diversion for both the main War of 1812 project as well as my Ambush Alley modern and sci-fi projects.

Can't Keep Up!

Has it really been since August since I have posted?  Indeed it has.  In that time, work has gone crazy, I've been active with hiking and backpacking, and I have worked on a few other gaming projects, all of which has kept me from here for far too long.

Because of space considerations I had given some thought to chucking the entire 28mm War of 1812 project and going with 20mm (Frying Pan & Blanket Amalgamated) or even 15mm (MiniFigs, Falcon Figures, or the forthcoming Blue Moon Manufacturing).  Luckily, I have yet to start any chucking process, and with all the releases from Knuckleduster over the last eight months and with the purchases I have already made, it would be difficult to start anew.  But, in a way, I think I might have to.

Nearly 100% of my current Knuckleduster collection is for the later war period, say 1814ish.  This works great for the Mackinac project, but not so well for earlier period battles set in the Old Northwest, such as Tippecanoe, River Raisin, Brownstown, Fort Meigs, the Thames, etc.  These are skirmishes and battles that I have a greater interest in because I live closer to many of these sites, as compared to a Mackinac or a Lundy's Lane.  Living closer gives me more access to walk a battlefield and to find re-inspiration.  I live about seven hours from Lundy's Lane, and maybe ten hours from Mackinac Island, so it is difficult to get to those locations.  Compared to the less than three hours from Fort Meigs or Tippecanoe, and you can see perhaps what I mean.

So, what to do?  While the Mackinac battle interests me, I think focusing on a River Raisin or Tippecanoe might be a bit more enjoyable.  The figures I have already won't "work" for these earlier fights (yes, I am anal retentive when it comes to having correct figures representing historical units), so I can't even get double duty from them.  If I go strictly to earlier period figures (mostly Americans) I can cover most of the fights within the Old Northwest.  So, do I sell my later period Knuckleduster figures and buy earlier period ones, still have space issues to deal with at the condo, do I go to the Frying Pan range, which is fairly complete and far cheaper to purchase (and also would take less room on the tabletop), or do I shrink it down even further and go to 15mm, which can be as expensive as 20mm and yet do not quite have all the offerings I desire?  Maybe I should post a poll and let the readership decide! 

Regardless, stay tuned because one way or another I need to figure out this current conundrum!

New Brits from Knuckleduster!

Yes!  Forrest at Knuckleduster Miniatures has taken a giant step forward (at least a giant step in my feeble mind), having just released several new packs of British infantry wearing Belgic shakos!  I was hoping for these to be released one day, but that day was sooner than expected.  About a year ago I had mentioned to Forrest the need for Belgic shako wearing Brits, citing a few examples besides New Orleans where the British wore the Belgic versus the stovepipe shako.  The Gods must have influenced him to see the light, and sure enough, BAM, here they are!  This works perfectly for me, there were units at Mackinac Island that had the Belgic shako while other units wore the earlier stovepipe.

Timing is also great since Knuckleduster is running a Labor Day sale with 20% off all their products (on orders of $100.00 or more).  Get cracking, go place an order!

Oh, and while we weren't looking, that Forrest guy snuck in another pack of Brits in the earlier stovepipe shako!  Now all we need are some U.S. figures in the early war uniform (well, along with artillery crew and guns, and some cavalry).

To the figs: