Seven Years War Association Convention Is Coming

Just a reminder that the SYWA Convention is fast approaching. Dean West has organized a terrific game list. See below for more info on location.
Thanks'
Paul Petri
sywconvention.blogspot.com
Game List
2015 SYWA SPRING CONVENTION GAME SCHEDULE
THURSDAY EVENING EVENTS
Many attendees arrive at the convention on Thursday afternoon. In general, party atmosphere dominates the proceedings as old friends and new come together to set-up and arrange the tables in the game room and in general assure that all is in order for the convention official opening on Friday morning. Some game masters set-up their scenarios on Thursday evening, so that their battle is ready to begin promptly on Friday when a sufficient number of newly arrived members sign-up for the game. This year, there may very well be a "pick-up game" or two on Thursday evening if there is interest.
FRIDAY EVENTS
10 AM TO 3 PM SESSION
TABLE 1 – Seven Years War Battle in Western Germany: It is 1760, and a large French army under General Du Muy marches to take Prince Ferdinand's outnumbered Allied army in flank. The allies meanwhile maneuver to block the bold Frenchman's maneuver. Paul Petri hosts, using With Drums Beating rules and 10mm figures. 4 to 6 players
TABLE 2 – The Battle of Eutaw Springs, Sept. 8, 1781: We will refight this historical AWI battle using a scenario designed by the late Jim Mitchell, and using modified rules which combine Jim's Yankee Doodle rules with the late John Hill's Across a Deadly Field innovative Active-Passive turn sequence. The game is an opportunity to enjoy the war game design prowess of two of our greatest and departed gaming heroes. Patrick Lebeau hosts using 28 mm figures. 6 to 8 players
TABLE 3 – Action at Altenbrunsler: In an attempt to gobble up an isolated Hessian garrison at Altenbrunsler, Baron de Clozen has crossed the Eder River at Ellenburg with 6,000 men. The Hessian general Graf von Kanitz and his 1,500 men must either defend the town or attempt an escape. Alex Burn hosts, using Final Argument of Kings rules and 15mm figures. 2 to 4 players
TABLE 4 – U.S. Navy in the AWI: Each player will command one ship in a series of small scenarios: Break-out of the frigate USS Alliance; Yankee Privateers vs. Convoy and USS Alliance vs. Her Majesty's ships Atalanta & Trepassey. Lynn Langer hosts, using Age of Fighting Sail rules (brand new high resolution rules for single ship or squadron actions) and 1:1200 ships. 2 to 6
TABLE 5 – Blood on the Tundra – Set in 1740, Cossack servants of the Czar attempt to exterminate the Siberian Chukchis, but these Stone Age reindeer herders will not submit. It is a game of cat and mouse but who is hunting who? Chris Engel keeps it weird with this guerrilla war scenario using BOTT, guerrilla rules, and 15 mm figures. Up to 6 players
TABLE 6 – reserved for India game set-up
TABLE 7 – Great Northern War Battle: This scenario features beautiful Swedish and Prussian 28 mm figures. This game is hosted by
Danny Fogelman and Ken Bunger using Beneath the Lily Banner rules. 6 to 8 players
Table 8- The Battle of Cowpens – Tarleton and Morgan face-off in a refight of this historic AWI battle hosted by Michael Wedding,
using Guns of Liberty rules and 15 mm figures arrayed on a gorgeous terrain mat. 6 to 8 players
3 PM TO MIDNIGHT SESSION
TABLE 1 – Get Them Wagons Runnin': AWI skirmish game hosted by Herb Gundt and Tom Osborn using modified Brother Against Brother rules and 28 mm figures. 4 to 6 players
TABLE 2 – continuation of Eutaw Springs. When concluded, Dean West will set-up a SYW game using Final Argument of Kings TABLE 3 – SYW Battle – Dale Wood and Scott Stensland host, using AOR rules and 15 mm figures.
TABLE 4 – Arethusa vs. Belle Paul; The first Anglo-French naval action of the AWI. This sea battle Hosted by Jeff Knudsen using Captains Bold rules (A beer and pretzels game of frigate duels) and 1:1200 ships. 2 players
On Table 4, a second Knudsen scenario will follow the small Arethusa vs. Belle Paul scenario:
Naval Action off Lagos, August 1759: What if De La Clues squadron had not become split-up the night before the battle? Could he have successfully engaged Boscowan's British and then joined Conflan's fleet for the invasion of Britain? Jeff Knudsen hosts using Admirals: A Game of Fleet Actions in the Golden Age of Fighting Sail and 1:900 ships. Up to 4 players
TABLE 5 – Anglo-Dutch War Naval Battle: A bloody confrontation at sea set in the late 17th century. Tod Kershner hosts using Warfare at Sea in the Age of Reason rules and 1/1200 Langton ships. 6 players
TABLE 6 – Battle of Bungapat: In India, the French are defending the religious rights of the Bungerite people from the intolerance of British East India Company and its forces. Juergen Olk hosts this massive battle, using Currycorne rules and 25 mm figures. This game will play out over both days of the convention and can accommodate a large number of players.
Table 7: Continuation of Great Northern War battle
Table 8 – Battle of Trenton: A refight of the famous AWI battle that gave the rebels hope. Hosted by Jim Purky using Fife & Drum rules, 30 mm figures, and custom made terrain by Herb Gundt. 4 players

SATURDAY EVENTS
9 AM to 6 PM SESSION/Break/GAMING UNTIL MIDNIGHT – We will break for Prof. Duffy's presentation, and then resume gaming TABLE 1 – Get Them Wagons Runnin': AWI skirmish game hosted by Herb Gundt and Tom Osborn using modified Brother Against Brother rules and 28 mm figures. 4 to 6 players
TABLE 2 – Ohio Frontier Aflame: The French & Indian War heats up in the Ohio Territory as the tribes go on the warpath. The scheming Europeans send their soldiers, frontiersmen, and Indians against opposing settlements. Mike Stelzer hosts this wide ranging battle using Song of Drums and Tomahawks rules, and 28 mm figures. 2 to 8 players
TABLE 3 – Chevert Attacks: On the eve of the main battle at Hastenbeck, French General Chevert leads an elite force of infantry against the strong points covering the Hanoverian right flank in the vicinity of Varonburg. A stiff fight ensues. Jude Becker hosts, using Age of Reason rules and 28 mm figure. 6 to 12 players.
TABLE 4 – Les Corsairs Francais: A group of Dunkerque corsair privateers escorting their prizes takes refuge in a cove in the English Channel, but are attacked there by a Royal Navy squadron intent on preventing them from escaping while recapturing those prizes. Jeff Knudsen hosts, using Away Boarders! rules and 1:600 ships. Up to 6 players
TABLE 5 – Attack of the Embattled Farmers: An AWI skirmish scenario inspired by the British retreat from Concord. In order to get their cargo safely across the game board, British regulars must run a gauntlet of fire brought down on them by "those damn rebels." Tod Kershner hosts, using Iroquois Terror rules and 28 mm figures. Up to 8 players
TABLE 6 – Battle of Bungapat Continues
TABLE 7 – Saving Pomerania!: King Frederick's territory of Pomerania has been invaded by Swedish forces. To resist the Nordic horde, the local Prussian commander scrapes together whatever local forces are available, largely second line troops, and marches to engage the foe. Ken Bunger hosts this game, using Tricorne rules and 28 mm figures. Up to 6 players
TABLE 8 – Snow in Silesia – King Frederick launches a Winter campaign in Silesia in hopes of decisively defeating Prince Charles of Lorraine's Austrians before the year 1758 ends. Jim Purky hosts, using Fife & Drum rules and 30 mm figures. Up to 8 players
TABLE 9 – Battle of Weigelstein: 42 mm SYW armies battle it out to claim Weigelstein. by Phil Petti and Alex Csukor host, using modified Charge! Rules. 4 to 6 players
TABLE 10 – The Battle of Schnitzelbank: The Prussians engage a powerful Austro-Russian army near Schnitzelbank. Todd Fisher and John Read host, using Empire & Revolution for the SYW and 15 mm figures. 6 to 8 players
At the conclusion of Professor Duffy's presentation which begins at 6 PM , the Teddy Bear game will commence on Table 4
TABLE 4 – Teddy Bear Game: Fur flies and paws flail as Freddy Bears struggle for battlefield dominance. Animal lovers Brian Vizek and Herb Gundt host, using ? rules and burly 28 mm figures. BRING YOUR TEDDY BEAR UNITS. 10 to 12 players
We're trying something new this year. On Saturday – each game master will have his own table for the day. Game masters should plan to set-up their games on Saturday morning (or Friday night if table is open). However, game masters can CHOSE when they wish to commence their game, as long as at least five games commence at around 9 AM. Somewhat staggered start times should assure that all games are well attended.
NOTE: Jeff's Les Corsairs Francais scenario will start at 9 am and will probably conclude around 1 pm. When it does end, Brian and Herb should plan to set-up the Teddy Bear game on Jeff's TABLE 4.
Ongoing games can be played out after Professor Duffy's presentation, and empty tables can be used in the evening for "pick-up" games.
PLEASE DIRECT YOUR QUESTIONS TO:
Event Coordinator Dean West Horseholder45@ Yahoo.com

Battle of Lobositz PDF Available

Now that I can download PDF files into the new Fife & Drum Miniatures website, I think that I will start posting some of the old historical battle accounts that Jim Mitchell and I wrote for the Seven Years War Association Journal when we were editors, on different shifts:

Battle of Lobositz PDF

I get a fair number of requests for back issues and articles and it occurs to me that the new Fife & Drum Miniatures web site is the right place to make the articles available for free. It is my intention to have the web site be more than just an on line store for the purchase of miniatures, I also want it to be a place where enthusiasts of 18 Century military history can go to obtain information on battles, wargame scenarios, painting guides and much more.

I was able to reduce the size of the Road To Philadelphia 1777 PDF file from 17MB to around 800KB, thanks to Henry Hyde, who generously sifted the document through his magical software and reduced the size of the document without losing any resolution in the pictures. Thank you Henry. :)

Philadelphia Campaign of 1777 PDF Posted on Web Site

The British Are Coming!

I have downloaded a PDF file article covering the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777 and posted it on the new Fife & Drum Miniatures web site. The article provides some uniform information and provides some hints on how to organize your armies and get ready to play this historical period.

Click on the link to visit the page so that you can download the article.

Fife & Drum Website PDFs

This is just the first of what will be many similar PDFs covering the Seven Years War/War of Austrian Succession and the American Revolution (AWI). I plan to add uniform painting guides, How To Do It articles, wargame scenarios and much much more on the Fife & Drum website .

Blogger Technical Assistance Requested

For those of you who are using Blogger blogs, how do you set up your comments so that you can reply directly to the person who made the comment? For example, if four people leave a comment, I have seen blogs where the blog owner can reply to each comment, directly below said comment. I have never figured out how to do this, so I have to post my responses at the end of the comment chain. How can I change this?

Grenadiers de France Greens and Much More

Grenadiers de France

I received the latest pictures of Richard Ansell's work on the Minden SYW range today including the Grenadiers de France, shown at the top of the page, three SYW Personality figures (Fermor, von Browne, and Prinz Moritz) and 8 different Russian artillery crew (4 loading poses and 4 firing poses). The Zieten personality figure is a work in progress and he should be ready for viewing within a week, I would imagine.

I run out of words and superlatives to describe each new batch of figures that we get from Richard. The facial expressions on the personality figures are wonderful and the Fermor figure is one of the most amazing mounted general figures that I have ever seen. The Russian artillery crew really look the business and they give me a great sense of anticipation for how the eventual Russian range will look.

Take a look at the figures (click on the pictures to enlarge the view) and enjoy!

Russian General Fermor

Prussian General Prinz Moritz

Austrian Marshal von Browne

Russian artillery crew firing.

Russian artillery crew loading.

I might as well show you pictures of the Russian artillery pieces that Robi Baker created. These pieces are now in production and will be available after the Kickstarter backers get their cannon models. Actually, I have pix of the actually castings to show. I will fix this later today.

Russian artillery casting (L-R) 12-pd Unicorn, Shuvalov Howitzer, 6-pd and 12 pd cannon. Two-wheel ammo cart in the background . There is also a 4-wheel model that will soon be added.

Minden Austrian Pictures

Austrian Musketeer Regiment with GMB Designs Flags. (click picture to enlarge)

I have been taking a lot of new pictures of the Minden SYW figure range in order to add pictures to the new Fife & Drum website. I sort of stumbled onto the concept of flipping my iPad camera upside down so that the lens is on the ground level. This leads to a better looking picture in terms of assessing the height of the figures and I can easily crop out any of the foreground turf in order to focus on the figures.

Please visit the new Fife & Drum Miniatures web site at the link below:

Fife & Drum Minis Web Site

Please note that the Fife & Drum website illustrates figures for both the Fife & Drum AWI range as well as the Minden SYW range. I have decided that the term "Fife & Drum Miniatures" will apply to the entire company as a form of product branding, but within that brand, one can find the separate AWI and SYW figure ranges.

Closer view of the Austrian Musketeers - Minden Miniatures

Croats skirmishing. This picture depicts all of the different Croat variants in the range.

A Mass of Croats Ready To Cause Some Trouble

I have grown to really like the Croat figures in the Minden range. Their animation really lends themselves to creating little dioramas on each stand, such as having the kneeling figures crouching down behind rocks and trees.

Converged Austrian (German) and Hungarian Grenadiers. The mounted officer  is the musketeer colonel with a grenadier head swap. I hope to add such a figure to the Minden range eventually, sculptor's time permitting.

Cuirassier Officer, Austrian Officer and a Hungarian Officer.

jjj

Russian Artillery Has Arrived!

I received a new shipment of castings from Griffin Moulds today and am pleased to report that the four Russian cannon: Shuvalov Howitzer, 12-pound Unicorn, 6-pounder and 12-pounder have arrived. I also received the new Austrian 2-wheel and 4-wheel ammunition wagons and can start shipping everything next week, after I take care of the Kickstarter backers first.

I have to say that sculptor Robi Baker did a fantastic job on rendering these models and Griffin Moulds did their usual excellent job of casting figures that HAVE NO FLASH ON THEM! I think that when you spend your hard earned money on Wargame figures, that you should at least expect the company to remove the flash and the metal spiders, etc. I hand pack each order myself and inspect every casting that I ship for flash and I remove any that I find on the figures. And Griffin does such an excellent job on their casting that usually there is not a single piece of flash on the models that I see when I open the bags of inventory.

Austrian and French artillery crew are also back in stock and I now have the missing andirons that are attached to the front of the Austrian 3 and 6 pounders and 7-pound howitzer. So I can start filling the rest of the Austrian cannon for Kickstarter backers.

I am out traveling for work and so I will have to wait until Friday to take pictures of the new models in the artillery range.

New Fife & Drum Web Site - Work In Progress

I have started on the layout for the "official" Fife & Drum website that will feature the products from both the Minden SYW figure range and the F&D AWI figure range.

The home page will act as the gateway to our three product ranges: AWI, SYW and Artillery Equipment, with each range having its own tab and eventually, on-line shopping

Fife & Drum web site

The URL is: fifeanddrum-minis.com, but you can reach it directly by clicking on the link above.

The shopping cart feature is not plugged in, but that will be one of the next things that I work on.

Click on the picture gallery tab on the web site to see some of the pictures that I have uploaded.

I will continue to blog on the Der Alte Fritz Journal blog, but the website will be for figure orders, work in progress information, pictures, rules and much more.