1/16 scale Knight

So I've been working on my first large scale figure. A Miniart 1/16th scale knight. I had purchased this a few years ago at a Oregon model show and I've finally got the nerve up to try and paint it.  So all of my oil paint practicing has led me to this.  I'm happy with how the model turned out paint wise. The figure itself was a pain to put together and was not well made at all.  It is all plastic and most of the parts did not fit together with out lots of work and putty. The decals were extremely brittle and most of them tore when attempting to apply them. 

A little size comparison with a 28mm figure.

Vows of Iron: Battle for Sicily!

This past weekend I ran a Vows of Iron game. I took a historical backdrop and created a fictional battle.  My idea was this: The Pope had grown tired of Frederick the II's willingness to allow Muslims and Jews to live in Sicily without persecution. The Pope contacted Philip Augustus and bestowed upon him the charge of a crusade to rid Sicily of Frederick and the Muslims and Jews.  The back ground is true to a point. The Pope did excommunicate Frederick the II for allowing Muslims and Jews to live under his reign and the Pope did call for a crusade against them called "The Sicilian Vespers" but the battle I depicted on the table did not happen.

The above rosters for the battle came from Piquet's "Beat the Drum" system from the rule system Band of Brothers.  The armies are little larger than what the rules Vows of Iron states but it worked out.  I did keep the army break points at 20 each.  This seemed to work out as well.  

The Sicilians line up for battle.                      The French are lined up and ready to attack.

Jeff, Andrew (Frederick the II) and Andy prepare their troops for battle

Dave, Peter (Philip Augustus) and Tim prepare their French forces.

And me, your humble game master.

The Frederick's commanders react to some French Taunting.

Opposites views of the battle.

Both armies lurch forward towards each other.  Several turns of movement brought them close enough for the knights to roll for their impetuous status. Most failed and charged at their enemies. 

The Center witnessed the bloodiest fighting with Frederick and Philip leading from the front.

Melees abound!!! Much blood was shed.

More views of the bloody center melees.

Some of Frederick's troops falter and fall back.

Frederick's right clashes with the French left and are pushed back.

Frederick's right holds it own against the French causing many casualties.

Frederick's infantry on the left holds on the hill waiting for the French. The knights smash into each other just below the stream. The Sicilian captain dies in battle. The first major death of the game.

More action from Frederick's left and center. The French right commander also perished in combat. Both sides were starting to loose fatigue points now.

The center of the battle was a whirling mass of melees that sucked in troops and it caused Frederick's troops to falter and their cohesion slipped away as their fatigue points dropped to zero.

The aftermath from the battle saw the Pope happy to have vanquished Frederick and Philip gained new territory for the French crown.

The game itself ran very smoothly, I had to spend some time looking up rules because it had been awhile since we played but everyone enjoyed the game and the out come hung in the balance for awhile. Both sides were close to breaking until the last few turns that saw the French win a couple of decisive melees which caused some of Frederick's troops to be destroyed or routed that then caused multiple "crisis tests" that only snowballed as more of his troops failed their rolls.

For the next battle I'm going to try and throw different troop types to see how they react with the rules and get a good feel for the rating system.  The group overall enjoys the rules and we will continue to play them. 

Vows of Iron: Game #2

Hello everyone!

The group got together this past Saturday and we had another run at the rules "Vows of Iron" by Allen Campbell, Vows of Iron. I introduced the rules to three new players and had four returning players from the last game.  That made it easier as the referee for this game.  Also one of the guys, Jeff, had purchased the rules and had read them before the game!!  Over all I spent a whole lot less time looking things up and spent more time taking photos and adjudicating situations than last time.  

This battle was, again, the scenario in the back of the book. French vs. the Holy Roman Empire and for the most part a pretty evenly matched game.  I did use the extra Unit Captain for both sides. 

The initial layout for the table. French forces are on the left. The Holy Roman Emperor's forces on the right.

The top three photos are the French forces. The commanders setup their own units.

The next 3 photos show the Holy Roman Empire's forces. The players were allowed to setup their forces as they saw fit.

The opening couple of turns saw the forces marching towards each other.  Once they were within 20" the Impetuous Knights had to start making rally tests to hold if they passed or to charge if they failed.  Most of the knights passed their checks throughout the game.

Getting closer in the middle too.  The Holy Roman Emperor allowed the French King to do a lot of the closing in.  

The Roman Empire's Lone Unit Captain said "the hell with it all" and charged full force into the Van of the French army.

The Rear battles fought each other to a bloody pulp all night. Once they started their melees they were locked causing fatigue hits but not enough to cause serious damage until the end.

The Main Battle between the Emperor and the King was also bloody with each side trading blows but not enough to knock each other out.

The Emperor's Unit Captain has been captured!!!  He would later be escorted back to France for ransom. 

The Rear battle seesaws back and forth. Swords swinging, men falling and the Emperor's Crossbowmen on the hill fought valiantly against the knights. Holding their own for several turns. 

The Main battle lines continue to slug it out. Fatigue points are climbing! Who will break first!

The Van side of the battle goes all in. Both sides trading blows with units routing.

The Rear side of the battle still struggling against each other. A slug fest at its finest.

The Emperor's center starts to crack. A few units have routed and some have only 1 or 2 fatigue points left.

The Van side of the battle continues to trade stand for stand.

The Rear side of the battle for the Emperor starts to falter with a unit of knights being wiped out but the Kings knights are also flanked! Things don't look good.  

The Emperor's center is crumbling. 

The final straw to break the Emperor's army when the Van loses another unit the break point drops to zero.  A glorious victory for the French King and he gets to partake in collecting the Ransom of one of the Emperor's Commanders.

The French commanders from left to right: Kevin, Andy, Andrew, as the French King, and Tom.

The disheartened Emperor's commanders from left to right: Gabe, Dave, as the Holy Roman Emperor, and Jeff.

We had an enjoyable three hour battle.  Within two or three turns everyone was pretty much running the game without me.  The 3 new guys, Gabe, Dave and Tom enjoyed the rules and want to go again. Now that I've gotten a couple of games under my belt I'm going to start planning battle with more variety of troops on the board and see how things go.

We really enjoy the rules and they play smoothly.  I recommend them.