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For the last year I've been getting into historical wargaming, for the first time in over 26 years. My very first wargame was playing with WW2 plastic army men and firing sticks via spring cannons when I was 10. I actually started wargaming getting some 1/72 scale Napoleonic figures when I was around 18. I played a few games at a local club but I saw some 40K and WHFB games...and didn't return for 25+ years.

GW and their prices have cured me of that. I started another Imperial Guard army to take my mind of things 2 years ago but paying $40 for ONE FIGURE was a disappointing and discouraging experience. One day I might go back to building my super heavy tank army, but there doesn't seem to be any new IG army ever coming out :(, and the whole GW-nothing-but-Space-Marines-count has got me off them.

I do not recall now what got me interested in it again, but I've gone back to the local clubs for historical Napoleonic wargaming. The first rule I found of historical wargaming is "play what everyone else plays locally". Which is Field of Glory Napoleonic 2nd edition. This came about because after the first edition some locals decided to re-write it and get the local club players converted. As it's pretty much written FOR club and tournament play now, I suspect that wasn't too hard. Local is Australia/NZ. I'm lucky in that one of the co-authors was able to show me how to play the game and loan me an army to play several times. There are other people playing Black Powder and some sort of home grown rules I would like to play at some point.

I didn't progress much in building my own army using 18mm AB figures because painting my first unit of Portuguese line infantry too forever. And my eyesight is not great and my care and ability to paint figures has never been much good. When I discovered Stonewall Figures does painted battalions for 19 pounds each, I was very happy. It's still an expensive habit, but it's worked out to be about $50 AU each month has gotten me a full FOGN Anglo-Portuguese army after a year.

I need to file off the stand to remove flash, base them, wash them and put flags on, but that's 1/10th the time of painting them myself.

While all this has been going on I was able to play several games locally..and lost a lot. I decided very quickly I needed to keep a blog diary of my battle experiences to actually learn from my many many many mistakes. In my first FOGN tournament (still borrowing 1/2 the army) I was actually able to get a full victory, a tactical victory, a complete loss and fight the best ranked player to a minor loss/draw.

The blog is https://comstarshistoricalwargames.blogspot.com/

Currently I'm basing another 1/3 of the army, but I need to order my bases before I can go much further.

I hope to complete the army over the next few weeks and then start playing some solo games using Charles S Grants programmed solo wargaming scenario's. Then get a proper French Peninsula OPFOR army and a Spanish allied division and then corps.

I also need to get some terrain, which I think I will buy too. It needs to be easy to move and carry to other places, so plastic rubber mats, hills, trees, roads, rivers and buildings will be the order for that, though I might experiment making my own hills, roads and rivers for solo gaming.

Eventually I also want to get back into Oathmark (which got put on hold) and a Black Powder 28mm army, though I'll have to paint them myself...so that's going to be on hold for while.

What I'm currently working on:
https://comstarshistoricalwargames.blogspot.com/2021/02/more-units-from-stonewall-have-arrived.html#more


The first third of the army (still missing flags)
https://comstarshistoricalwargames.blogspot.com/2021/01/one-divisonalmost-completed-loa.html


Battle reports newest to oldest:
A British Army training exercise - Anglo-Portuguese Army vs Anglo-Portuguese Army

The third attack on the Lines of Torres Vedras

Austrian Infantry army attacks the Lines of Torres Vedras

Russian Grenadier army attacks the Line of Torres Vedras

A record of the latest disaster Anglo-Portuguese vs Moldova in Spain 1809

Anglo-Portuguses vs a Russia 1815 Infantry corps

Invasion of France and the battle of Nivelles

Refighting the battle of Talavera - a 3vs3 team game of a historical battle

The 1st Battle of Canoroa - French vs Anglo-Portuguese

Rommel you magnificent bastard. I read your book! Fighting a Moldovan army

My first FOGN game


If it's not breaking any rules I will keep this thread updated with my progress.

I have got another two divisions on their bases.

All figures are from Stonewallfigures.co.uk, and were pre-painted. 19 pounds per battalion, 6 pounds per gun.

Units from left to right are: Portuguese Line Infantry, British Guard Infantry, British Light Infantry, Royal Artillery 9 pounder, 6 pounder x3, Royal Horse Artillery 6 pounder, Portuguese 6 pounder, British Dragoons.

I did a grey rock base, then yellow dry brush and then a dark green dry-brush/paint. I tried to cover up the areas that didn't have rocks on them with the dark green.

I did a darker green this time, which I think works better than the previous batch.

I still need to use a wash on everything, do some touch ups like red on the artillery torches, glue on grass tuffs, put black on the end of guns and paint the bases edge (maybe do a dark brown) and the never yet done flags.

I have a number of citadel washes (all the main colours) and the army painter wash collection. I used Nuln Oil on the first group you can see pictures of, but I think it's way to dark. I think I'll maybe use Army Painter Light Tone wash? Or Agrash Eathshade? Or a blue/red/brown/green citadel washes based on the unit's primary colour?

I really should have spray painted the bases first before putting anything on them - maybe a very dark green?


So I need some advice if anyone has an opinion or experience:

What colour should I paint the bases before putting stuff on them?
What colour should the base edges be?
What colour(s?) wash should I use?

Fantastic! Just saw your blog. Will enjoy reading the BRs. Do you like FoG?

Wow, pre-painted. I might be in love.

Do they have a US distro? I wonder?

 doktor_g wrote:
Do you like FoG?

Yes. It's rules are a bit weird in places - but the results are very representative of a Napoleonic battle. I really needed to read Oman's book on Wellington's tactics BEFORE I learnt them all from first principles by losing a lot of battles doing so!

I'm stuck waiting to get more bases before I can finish the army I want to play with, but I hope to do some solo battle reports using Charles Grants Programmed wargames once I get them. Also being in Australia, we can actually play together.


The figures don't have a US distributor that I know of - it's hand done I believe by Stonewall figures in the UK. There are places that do painting for you, but I haven't found any that are so comparatively cheap or fast - and it only took 2 weeks for some to arrive from the UK last time.

2nd group of my FOGN army washed. (Close ups can be seen on my blog).

I have washed the second group of my FOGN Anglo-Portuguese army. This time I used Army Painter Quickshade Wash Soft Tone. I agonized on which colour to do, but decided I wanted to keep as much colour as possible.

The two on the right are washed, the two on the left are not.


A close up. Washed is right, unwashed left.


Only the 9 pounder in the bottom right is not washed here.


Left is washed, right is not washed.


The white horse needed the most work, to keep it going too brown. I still need to put some bushes down, paint the edges (think I'll go with a dark brown), varnish and then put the flags on.

Or is put flags on and THEN varnish?

Also, Army Painter says on their website for Reds and Blues to use STRONG tone, not SOFT tone. Which would you do for 18mm Napoleonic figures?