Union Command

The next stage of the incremental painting of my ACW 6mm troops was another Union Regiment, and the Union Command figures. Since I painted my first Union unit I have acquired some of the Foundry three-shade system colours for this period - specifically Union Blue and Union Trouser Blue. I used these on all the figures here - the command elements are mounted so I can use a bit more variation in the horses.

Ramshackle Barn

One of my purchases from Fiasco last week, the Ramshackle Barn from Renedra, 28mm scale. The kit is fine, nothing dramatic, a basic barn with a lean-to shed beside it, and a few bits of clutter - ladders, pitchforks and an old cartwheel. I did the basic paint job with a variety of browns from Foundry, but the fun was adding the overgrowing vegetation. Most of this is from Lifecolor, using two of their sets - Lichens and Moss, which provides more substantial clumps of greenery, and Algae, which gives you finer layers. I also added some real bits of lichen, and other foliage clumps, to give the impression of nature taking back control.

 

Mandingo the Sheriff

It is Summer 1876, and our hero Mandingo is now Sheriff in the tiny town of Sick Dog's Paw in Wyoming. It's not quite clear why he has not returned to his Ranger duties - perhaps something to do with the ambush by Apaches of a patrol that he should have been with. Be that as it may, he is now the Law in the Paw.
In his first serious encounter, Mandingo had to intervene in a dispute between two Greenhorns, one of whom was threatening the other. Mandingo teamed up with the innocent party, and they went out to search the town. The bad guy jumped out and there was an exchange of shots, then he ran into Daffodil's Place and emerged on the balcony above the street. Mandingo ran into the corral opposite and fired, causing the opponent to duck back. However he emerged again and fired at the other greenhorn on the boardwalk below, causing him to retreat. Mandingo then used his Fast and Agile abilities to race up the rear stairs and into the building, firing out the window and putting his enemy out of the fight.

Mandingo about to fire out of the window and end the fight

 The next fight was a classic one on one shootout. A cowboy with a lot of experience (5-5-5) took on Mandingo. Neither man Flinched, so the draw went ahead - the cowboy rolling five dice and Mandingo six. He scored three successes to his opponent's one, so he rolled for shooting damage, causing a gut shot and winning the battle.

Mandingo shows his cool at High Noon

Mandingo had recruited five deputies, and they were involved for the first time when a group of seven drunken cowboys started causing trouble in Rogan's Bar. Two deputies (Deke and Ernie) were at the other end of town - Mandingo and the other three gathered outside the bar.

The lawmen prepare to break up the rowdy gang in Rogan's

Mandingo went in first and approached the nearest cowboy, asking him to leave quietly. On the Rep roll he passed only one out of two, so the cowboy started a fist fight. His Rep was 3 so he rolled that many dice against Mandingo's five. Mandingo won the first round by one, meaning a "Flurry of blows", depriving his opponent of one D6 in the next round. Down to two dice the cowboy again lost by one, another Flurry of Blows. Not surprisingly with only one dice left he lost by three in the next exchange, and that was that, he was carried out.

Mandingo tackles the first cowboy (in the blue shirt)

 Mandingo now approached another cowpoke, and this time when he invited him to leave quietly, the drunk complied, unwilling to risk a beating. This also caused two others close by to walk away quietly.

Mandingo approaches the last three drunks

While Abe escorted the three cowboys away, Bert and Charlie entered the bar, ready for trouble. Mandingo now tackled the most dangerous cowboy, with a 5 rep, with two others close by. However once more our hero passed both dice, and the leader left peacefully, followed by both his sidekicks. Mandingo had defused the situation without having to draw his gun

The leader of the cowboys decides not to risk the fight.

Apache Dawn

As promised I had a go at a few little fights with Six Gun Sound, and enjoyed them. They are from Two Hour Wargames, and share an initiative system with a lot of their titles - perhaps the best-known being NUTS. This means that when someone comes into sight, the sighter has a "Got a Shot" initative roll, and he may fire, or the moving figure may fire first - they exchange shots until one is hit or steps back, then the move continues. A different take, and I like the feel of it for gunfights - some details were obscure but after discussions on the THW forum I downloaded their (free) Chain Reaction 3.1 rules. These have an updated version of the reaction system which clarifies it well.

Six Gun Sound has a career campaign mode, and I started on with a Gunfighter character. The very first encounter I rolled, he is escorting some wagons when Indians attack. After Salute I bought various western figures, including a pack of Apaches from Foundry - and guess which pack I have not yet painted. So the campaign was on hold until I could give the Indians their warpaint. Also, over Christmas I got a couple of 4Ground kits - a Stagecoach and a building. I built the stagecoach, though the ambush is of dull wagons, but it's quite a nice kit. No driver or passengers yet, but Dixon have an order right now to fill that gap.