War of Jenkin's Ear - Continued

I have been working on some models for the supplement. I have managed to make a 3d model of a Piragua and a South Carolina Scout Boat. Using the images of them in Larry Ivers book on the war, British Drums on the Southern Frontier, I think I have made a nice workable model of each boat. The piragua comes in a about 134mm in length in 1/100 scale and 45mm in 1/300 scale. This makes them handy little watercraft in relatively calm waters.

The first drafts of each were a little rough but I learned much in the attempt.

The squared stern vessel is the Piragua. Having a forward and an aft hold, the ships must have been cramped. Large numbers of troops and gear were hauled by the Spanish from Havana to St Simons Island, Georgia. I imagine it would be similar to driving to Orlando from Atlanta with my extended family in a subcompact car. Possible, but very uncomfortable. They could carry a swivel gun or two as defensive weapons but typically were unarmed.

The Scout Boat didn't have a hold area and was more heavily armed. Equipped with three swivel guns, these boats made up the bulk of Oglethorpe's naval contingent. It was made to navigate the rivers of Georgia and travel well inland to search for hostile Indian war parties.

I am currently printing the second iteration of both vessels. I still need to figure out how they will print in 1/300 scale. The side walls of the piragua was so thin in places, that it didn't print the first attempt. At a mere 4 1/2cm in size, the piragua is rather dainty in the small scale.

The next vessel that I will try to model will be a rowed Galley. Several were part of the naval force Spain unleashed against Georgia.With a little luck, I can make a working model.

If you are interested in helping me complete this project, I have opened an account at Ko-Fi.com. I will be giving away all of the models that I am making for the supplement to those that are willing to help me get this thing to completion. Thank you.

Update: Here is the first printing that I did with the new vessels.

I am redoing the models again to give them thicker walls to hopefully get them to print in both 1/100 and 1/300.

Edit, here are some I have been working on. The top two are Se Dog Miniatures hulls that I have shown before here. The two large vessels are Simon Mann models from Wargame 3d. The closest one is a row boat from Sea Dog Miniatures. The remaining two are my 1/300 models. I have one more update that I need to print and try.

War of Jenkin's Ear - Update

Well, the book is mostly done. I have some editing to do on the text and I am still fiddling with the To Covet Glory addendum. What am I working on then? Well, I got a new to me book called British Drums on the Southern Frontier that is about the history of Georgia during the period. It is just fantastic. The problem is, I really haven't made the time to dig deep enough in it. The author, Larry Ivers, covers the establishment of the colony as a military colony. He details the forts that existed prior to Oglethorpe's arrival and the changes he made to the defense of the Colony. He dives into the political animosity that existed between the leaders of Georgia and South Carolina and the lack of support offered between the two. He covers the dynamics of the relationship between the settlers and the Indians and the role Oglethorpe played in turning some hostile tribes into allies.

It is a fantastic resource on the period and also covers the earlier actions of the War of Jenkin's Ear in Florida. A topic that I may revisit later. But for now, I am keen to create a new map detailing the Fort Locations in South Carolina and Florida. One thing that struck me, is the concern expressed by South Carolina in the 1730s about the possibility of a French incursion from Louisiana into South Carolina. Several of the South Carolina forts were established to create an early warning system to protect not only against Indian attack but for the French as well. That is a war game possibility that I hadn't really considered. While nothing really came out of it, it was a real and present threat as the War of Jenkin's Ear (1739 to 1748) gave way to the War of Austrian Succession (1740–1748). With the British joining in by 1742, they turned their attention towards the French elsewhere. Following the failed Spanish invasion of Georgia, Oglethorpe's troops were really in no condition to take up the offensive again. But what if they did? A raid into French Louisiana was theoretically possible. Had greater cooperation existed with South Carolina, it might even have been possible.

What is really interesting is the detail on the troops availible to Oglethorpe in the whole of the colony and not just in the particular battles of the WOJE. All in all, it is a great read and well worth digging into.

First Purchases

I found a couple of items from Noble Knight and eBay. I picked up a Winter Soviet Company Box from Battle Front and a German Winter Platoon. This should give me a base Chain of Command force for the 3rd Battle of Kharkov. Looking forward to starting on these.

I also picked up some more British for my War of Jenkin's Ear project. I now should have 3 groups of 8 for my British Regulars. I will mark these for the painting table first. I want to finish this supplement soon. I still have some Spanish to paint up as well that were bought last year. Also managed to pick up more Indians as well to strengthen my Indian allies. This should give me enough for at least the British or Spanish to have Indian Allies. Not sure I have enough for both.

Also looking to try to get into Role Playing again after a long time. Looking at Adventures in Middle Earth. Now I just need to find a group.

Happy New Year - Plans and Preparations

At the start of the year, I am contemplating the hobby projects that I am planning for this year. I think I have settled on 4 main projects.

#1 - Chain of Command - Third Battle of Kharkov

This one is just starting out. I am just gathering sources for this one. The Third Battle of Kharkov features plenty of armor and much of it mid war stuff that should make it more popular. This one I don't expect to finish out until 4th Quarter of the Year, provided I can find good accounts of the action rather than the large overviews that I have round so far. The action takes place out in the country side as well as plenty of house to house fighting.

#2 - Chain of Command - 3rd Armored Division

This is being spawned by a book I am currently reading - Spearhead by Adam Makos. Among the battles covered by the book is the acquisition of the Pershing tank by the 3rd Armored Division and its employment in battle. It features a good account of the battle for Cologne where a Pershing took out a Panther tank in the town center. The battles are broken down into small enough encounters that make them ideal for Chain of Command.

One battle in particular captured my attention. This was the first combat deployment of the Pershing. I am trying to find a good account outside the Spearhead book. There is an armored assault across a field that is covered by dug in 88's. What struck me as interesting was the solution to the problem of the 88s. Given the size of the engagement, my thought was that this might be a great scenario to try with 6mm miniatures. (of course I have sold off all of my 6mm stuff.) The Americans would have a tough go with this scenario. I have no idea when or what shape this project will take.

#3 - War of Jenkin's Ear

I have the project nearly complete. I am play testing scenarios now. This one should see the light of day within a couple of months. I still have some miniatures to paint up. I am looking to get some Blue Moon Miniatures to fill out my Indians with a storming party. I have plenty of Peter Pig Minis to paint up to round out my Spanish Regulars and Grenadiers. I have some Khurasan British to paint up as the 42nd Regiment of Foot. Need a few more to finish them off. I'm a little disappointed that they only have marching poses.

The play test that I did on the last Games day revealed that I need to paint up more fort wall sections. I thought I already had done them. Turns out, I had not.

#4 - Infamy, Infamy

This project is a whole lot of fun. I need to do more play tests. But I have been shopping for STL files to round out my terrain. Speaking of STL files, for Christmas, I got a new 3d printer. Very excited about it. I have finished setting it up yesterday and will do a test print tonight. Once that is done, I will be printing up a whole bunch of stuff for all of the projects above.

For Infamy, I am getting closer to having all of the troops that I want. I have a full centuria of Auxilia and enough additional auxilia for two more centuries. For the oposing forces, I have enough Celts for a British force. I have the lead for the start of a German force. I had done more research on the German Limes and am anxious to get this on the table.

I just jumped in on the Kickstarter from 3d-Print-Terrain.de. I used it as an opportunity to grab his earlier Rome kickstarter. Two more days for this one to end. In his Rome kickstarter he has some awesome fort pieces that will let me build the forts that I want to build. In addition to the fort pieces, there are limes towers, palisades, legionary fieldcamps, a forum, temples and some city buildings.

Also on Thingiverse I found a temple of Hercules that I want to build. Plenty to use to make a nice Vicus for a fort. I just need to figure out a bath house.

Anyway, we will see how well I do with this plan. Happy New Year.

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