A part of me wants to just crack on with my first battle of Rolla but another annoying perfectionist voice is telling me that I have waited 45 years or so as a Toy Soldier player to launch a project this big so why not get all of the bits and pieces in place first. One of the hold-ups has been a system for dismounted cavalry. I cracked this relatively recently. A "Light Cavalry" base with more than 2 points will dismount as a Linear infantry base which can be populated using my tray system by 2 x 30 mm square bases. Each of those single 30 mm square bases can be used as the dismounted "skirmish" base produced by a 1 point mounted Volley and Bayonet ACW cavalry base. As there are 6 cavalry figures for a single point mounted cavalry base I have tried to replicate on each dismounted base with at least 5 figures including a horse holder with two horses and a standard bearer and troopers.
I have noted that the Volley and Bayonet rules allow basing for figures less than 15 mm for artillery on 1.5 inch squares (rather than having to produce the 3 inch depth). This looks better but I will use a deeper base when the artillery is limbered. You can see above my first confederate smooth bore artillery piece representing a small battery. The buildings on the left of the picture are my first attempt at a 3 inch x 2 inch "village" base. I have left space in each corner for a 30 mm (my 1.5 inch square) cavalry skirmish base. All of my built scenery is at 6 mm scale and this seems to be working well with 10 mm figures. Red Vector make a good mdf 6 mm fence section with a base which when quickly painted and flocked comes up well. I have invested in a lot of stuff from Timecast as well including the latest rubber fields. These come up really well with a good coat of cheap Burnt Umber from the hobby store and and some Javis field scatter. I am starting to get the look I want.
The Union forces at Rolla include elements from the 1st and 2nd US cavalry these troopers made the leap to the tabletop last week before I set off on a short holiday. I will need a couple of dismounted bases as well for these guys.
S&A scenics are providing the real background for my tabletop in terms of roads, streams, hills and good set of trees to get me going. I have heard that any civil war battlefield should just be over populated with trees so I will set to work with that. I have painted up a model Appomattox court house model bright red in homage to the original Rolla court house on my battlefield.
Elements left to complete include at least two bases for limbered artillery, a couple of leadership bases and probably one more Union massed infantry base. The Union forces at Rolla are a single 3 point map counter in the War Between the States Game (c. 3,000 bayonets) which could either represent on Volley and Bayonet tabletop as two massed 3 point brigade bases or a single full strength 6 point brigade base. I think the latter is a better representation for the union forces. Smaller contingents for this small initial battle. On the scenery front I am now almost there. Trees, trees and more trees and a couple more village enclosures. I could do with quite a few more fence sections as well although I note that fences were much rarer in the Western theatre than in the East so I won't beat myself up if every road is not lined with fences.
See you in Hell Bill Yank ! See you in Hell Johnny Reb !
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