Napoleonic Wars | Devereux's Volunteer Company of Misfits & Ridiculous Diversions

A First Glance

An gaggle of Grognards, Old Guard Grenadier ready for a primer coat.

15mm Old Guard Grenadiers newly mounted on painting caps

I like a tan shade with a lot of tooth. Krylon™ matte tan primer fits the bill; will not obliterate details at 15mm-18mm; covers well with thin (really thin) application; has a quick nearly odorless dry. I have to admit, the details on a mini are the main reason I choose one over another producer.

After a long session of painting straps, webbing, and various accoutrements, I will happily paint a battalion in great coats and shako covers. My collection has minis from several producers.

I enjoy the firing pose with fixed bayonet ready-for-action.

Very detailed for a 15mm mini

This mini is incomplete at this time. It is my study for blocking in the painting. I paint in assembly line fashion with ‘uniform’ armies like the French of Napoleon, King George’s Loyal Army, and Romans.

The remaining battalion await en billet for their turns under the lights.

And a back view; see how thin I primed this mini; note the bottle cap for the evidence.

Part of the technique calls for patience to add several thin layers of color. Smooth paint mixing is another quirky skill I am trying to master. Then the illusion of light with shadows and brightness must be natural for the mini otherwise I turn out a ‘painterly’ product with a tinge of the ‘artificial’ look I try to avoid.

I like hints of shadow over against something ‘staged’ mainly because I am not very proficient at painting, yet.

Bon chance!

This is an impression or perusal of Napoleon at War, a Napoleonics rules set by Man at War / Spain that our ‘games group’ has elected to use. This is anything but a review.

As I read the rule book, Napoleon at War, I do appreciate the clarity of the presentation. Rules can be dry reading and tedious. The design is good; the illustrations accommodate the text marvelously. The illustrations and graphic embellishments enhance the text. Some have complained of errors in the narrative, however, my copy is well edited.

The rules as a whole have received good marks for playability, ‘and so say all of us’. That was the tag line at my local games shop.

Please wait a minute, group, I like the evaluation en masse approach, but I have searched for several years for fun, easy, straightforward rules. Let me make up my own mind. Thank you.

Now, I think Napoleon at War has achieved the “straightforward” criteria nicely. I am reading through the book at a little less than half finished with the ‘Combat Phase’ at present. I have finished ‘Movement’ and ‘Firing’. So easy to play will prove out or not later.

I like the Command and Control mechanic Man at War has as a feature of play. On another point, I was a bit perplexed by ‘move the General or Sub-commander last’ idea, however, after some thought I suppose the rule will work well on the table. Such common sense notions are welcome. One can discern play testing was done by and with the same wily scoundrels we all encounter whilst gaming.

I am committed to the Spanish War of Independence or Peninsular Campaign. My favorite units are the Spanish Partisan forces. Irregular units was one of the reasons I chose the Peninsular theater of operations. The Guerrillas were particularly telling on the outcome of the long war in Spain. Further personal interests with Wellington, Diez, Soult, Ney, and de Marmount as well as other considerations from Goya (The Third of May 1808) to Cornwell (Sharpe) influenced my decision to fight in Spain, figuratively. Keep the pun, please.

Well done, Sirs. The principals at Man at War deserve hearty congratulations. Thus far, the rules appear to be very playable. Now to see if my initial hope will be well founded on the game table.