Talons, Claws and Rotten Dice, Great Northern War battle from Wargames Illustrated 386 Battle of Pole Krwi July 1705

While I was living in South Korea, I picked up 2 Osprey Books on Peter the Great's Army. When I moved back to Nova Scotia in 2015, I had to jetison some of my libray in order to buy food. Both books I sold to a used book store in Dartmouth.
However, I have 18th century figures which were marketed for the Great Northern War which I have painted as 18th French and English for my conflicts here in Nova Scotia.
I have enough troops as Russians and Swedish. The fun bit of this conflict is that the figures will be a mix of nationalties.

Swedish Army:
13 Squadrons Horse blades (cavalry armed with swords)
4 pike and shot regiments (flintlock muskets)

Russo-Saxon Army:
5 dragoon squadrons swords, pistols
1 squadron of Cossacks
7 Regiments armed with muskets
2 field guns
1 light gun

The Russians have to stop the Swedish Army advance.
Picture courtesy of Wargames illustrated July 2019, issue 381

Black powder games to make a comeback

I've had 2 issues with doing this era, distractions with other eras, and my battle with depression.
I just haven't had the motivation to finish projects however there are several from last year I will attempt to finish this year. With the current Covid 19 Crisis, my son and I should be able to get a few battles on the go.

Double Dutch! UK invaded 1667 and 1688

Another fun idea from Wargames illustrated August 2019 edition.
Bonus use of my pike and shot units to mix in with my early 18th century kit.
Me thinks an attack on Languard fort is in order. Just need to find the time to do so.
I have a castle which can fill in as the coastal fort.
The Dutch can be in blue coats from my 1640s style while the English will be in Red.

Pirate action, somewhere in the Carribean 1700

Ian and I wanted to do a Black Powder game. However, the garage is a bit too cold. One of the future house projects is to either get the wood stove in it certified, the electrical system hooked up again or some other heat source. 

These figures were from his toy sets he got when we first came to Canada on a visit back in 2013. Little did we know that two years later we would move back.

The pirates on their ship were trying to capture supplies from the pirates on the beach. Luckily for the beach pirates, the ship guns fired poorly

King Phillips War 1675 Governor Winslow Attack on Connecticut River

This battle comes from a variety of sources. The inital idea came from the August 1999 issue of Miniature Wargames. In their Renaissance section an article by Simon Lee War in the Colonies: King Philip's War 1671-1676.

Roger Marsters Bold Privateers: Terror, Plunder and Profit on Canada's Atlantic Coast (2004) gave me some more ideas. The rules used were Slitherine/Osprey's 

Field of Glory Renaissance.

 New England troops, a combination of Pike and Shot with some ship guns, prepares to advance on the French and Indians who are blocking the river valley.

A large body of Huron warriors have rallied to try and drive the English from the Connecticut river valley. 

Winslow's force consists of several regiments of militia, most armed with pikes and matchlocks, a few with flintlock or doglock muskets

The French forces however all have flintlocks. They have barricaded their end of the valley with fallen trees and some basic earthworks.

The English artillery open up and smash some of the fortifications to bits. 

This enrages rather than discourages several groups of Hurons who charge out and engage the militia in impact charges.

The miltia pike and shot blocks are unable to make much headway towards the lines.

More and more Hurons rush the militia who are stalled in their advance.

One group is broken apart and slowly cut to pieces.

The first line of militia pike and shot blocks begin to fall back. 

The militia units with more advanced firelocks begin to open fire holding back he surge of warriors

However, it proves to be too little too late

With a broken line and no clear way to break through, Winslow orders a withdrawl. New England may now be open to invasion!

pike and shot vs fantasy

Ian painted up his metal fantasy figures he was given before he left Japan. 

He then took our Aztec and Amerindian figures to add to his fantasy

And attacked a castle held by our European style Pike and shot figures

Pike and Shot action after many months

 Ian decided to set up an ECW themed game whereby a Scottish army invades England, forcing the English player to withdrawl into a castle. He forgot that to storm a castle, one needs to keep your artillery from being taken out by enemy cavalry.

Strangest Weapons of the Middle Ages

 A bit earlier than what I do, however, I do have some figures for The Hundred Years War

The King's Men for On the Seven Seas

These figures I have done up for a variety of periods from 1680 up to about 1765. Granted, by the upper time period, they are stretching it just a bit.

The first figures up are a generic Grenadier/Marine unit, originally a Zeveda Russian Infantry of Peter I for the Great Northern War. I have painted these up as a Grenadier company of the 17th Regiment, but can also become a Marine unit.

I also have a Grenade/Hand mortar fellow, and some choice officers.
Unfortunately I found this gaming system to be too complex with musket, pistol and cannon firing. So it was one of the few and only Osprey publishing book I willingly parted with.

Ye Mutinous Crew of Scurvy Dogs, part 2

Well, this time, I've repainted some Accurate AWI figures as pirates/privateers, or buccaneers.

I decided these crew would be mostly musket and pistol armed. The officers have swords.

 These figures can be either pirates, buccaneers, privateers or colonial rangers, The Pirate flag denotes them for what they are.

Ye Mutinous crew of Scurvy Dogs

After rumminging through my figures, I decided to paint these fellows as pirates/privateers and buccaneers for my On the Seven Seas game which I will set up soon.

A collection of motley looking characters. Many of them will be repainted to represent sailors of the 18th century. I will make sure they are generic enough to be for other battles in other actions.

A mix of civilian militia and ranger figures

Two of the Osprey books I have for my Piracy campaigns.

Host the Jolly Roger! 

Building a Pirate, Privateering force

I got Osprey Publishing's On the Seven Seas yesterday in the mail. It's an interesting set of rules for doing Pirate and Age of Sail boarding and landing actions. It fits into my own wargamming interests. I may pass on purchasing metal pirate figures, and see if I can build groups with the figures I own now.
Added with my historical literature I have here, I can set up some interesting games.
Pictures of Privateer and Naval crews from some of my previous games

 this shot taken at the Maritime Museum of The Atlantic, Halifax, Nova Scotia