40mm AWI American Infantry

 Another unit off the painting table fairly quickly.  This time the first of the AWI 40mm American forces.

54mm Airfix French Old Guard

 

 

Next off the pile of nearly completed units and finished is a unit of 12 1/32nd Airfix French Old Guard.  These figures, when almost complete, took part in a refight of Leipzig in a big lawn game with 54mms - which has to be 5 years ago!

These figures were the very first Airfix set that I ever painted as a wargamer when I was playing Little Wars. Now this lot are finished and based and painted to a standard that my 13 year old self could have only marvelled at with all the struggles with Humbrol Enamel.

40mm AWI Light Infantry

 Next off the Painting Bureau of Shame (tm) are 12 40mm AWI Light Infantry

This completes the 5 units needed for an initial British force for Rebels and Patriots.

I still need to get some flags and make a couple of movement trays for the Light Infantry.

Next up are the Americans who have been started and hopefully won't take a year to fnish like the British did...

3d Dendermonde Model

 As this afternoon's planned activity hasn't happened I spent some more time putting together a 3d Model of how the layout might look...

More on the Dendermonde Project

 

I have played around with the model more and am happier with the shape of the Bastions.  I have put in the ledges around the outside - which are accessed from the sally ports and allow the garrison to access the Ravelins, etc across the flooded ditch.  The shape on the right of the ditch is where the sluice gates will be.

The long wall on the left will have a gate and a road that runs into the demi-lune, out again and across the glacis.

I have then taken the models and reduced them to outlines and laser cut them from card.

The figures are 25mm Minifigs.

The area behind the bastions and city walls is where the town and citadel will be.

The small pieces of card beyond on the ravelins and demi-lunes mark the start of the Glacis which will stretch to the edge of the far board.  I think I have worked out how to cut this from standard triangles and rectangles now.

The whole thing is 5' wide by 4' deep and there will be the same size area for the besieging lines.

I need to work out how I'm going to build the ditch with some texture and also indicate when it has been flooded.

I would reiterate that the intention of this project is not to create an accurate Vauban walled city.  It is a recreation of the original Ron Miles Siege of Dendermonde article (hence the odd Bastion shape) and an attempt to create something my 13 year old self couldn't afford or manage in 1977...

40mm AWI Grenadiers

 Next off the painting table (also known as the Painting Bureau of Shame) are 12 40mm AWI Grenadiers from Front Rank.

Painted Toy Soldier glossy style as they will eventually be used for playing The Wargame.  At the moment I am building towards Rebels and Patriots.  One more British unit to go and then onto the Americans.

These have probably sat in the Bureau for over a year waiting to be finished.  Just a unit of 12 light infantry left....

Initial Sketches for Dendermonde

 I have made an initial sizing sketch in google Sketchup of how I think the layout of Dendermonde will look.

This shows 3 Bastions, 3 Ravelins, 2 Demi-lunes and the Glacis.  Still not quite sure about the shape of the Bastions.  I am basing my designs on the original Dendermonde article rather than any models of actual Vauban forts.  They might need to be a little less pointed.

 

Ron Miles admiring his city with a bastion in the centre.

 

The model takes up 60" across from table edge to table edge and is 28" deep which means I might need to reduce the depth of the bastions to make them less pointed and thus less deep.

The Glacis shape also needs to be played with.

But it is a good initial start and once I have played with it a little more I will cut out the shapes from Card and see how it looks on the table top.