Action in the Vendée

Today's game was set in the Vendée in 1793, where the locals have rebelled against the Republican Government. To bring the rebels back into line, three demi-brigades have been sent with specific instructions to hunt down the leaders, in particular François de Charette.

In the quiet countryside the locals were going about their usual business, working in the fields, the woodlots and the dairy.

But in the town the more radical Republicans were dealing with their opponents in a brutal manner.

One of the Republican demi-brigades was already in the town, while others will approach on converging roads. The Vendéeans, however, could ambush them from any house, wood or hedge and then vanish again when they moved out of line of sight.

The first ambush!

The republicans react

Another ambush

The Republicans bring up the guns

The "Infernal Columns" - the Republican infantry - pour down the roads and through the peaceful fields

The Republicans are sweeping the fields

The cavalry made a brief appearance, before being shot to pieces...

The Republicans filled the lanes

And the guns came forward into the front lines...

Yet another ambush!

More Republicans!

Finally the Republicans wore down the Vendéeans resolve. Two of their units had been scattered and two of their leaders were captured and sent to the guillotine. Two units remained, but they were in a poor way. The rebels, along with Charette, dispersed into the countryside to fight another day.

The Republicans could claim some success, but the failure to capture Charette allowed the revolt yo continue.

More Winter Buildings

I have three scratch built Russian buildings in construction, but I am waiting on a stock of my preferred epoxy putty to arrive to complete them.

In the interim I have assembled and painted two Sarrissa MDF kits. Since they represent a more upmarket rural structure than I have done so far (maybe they are the homes of the local Party officials) they have a bit more colour to them.

They get the snow treatment all the same...

Winter Building Number Four...

Well the days after our return from Singapore have been rather pedestrian. Partly because of some mixed weather, but more because I have been under the weather with that bloody awful cold that I brought back with me.

But I've never been one to sit around doing nothing I have launched back into the winter buildings. This is another peasant house and the basic structure again was to be wooden. A common practice was to coat the timber with clay not as a decorative feature but  as additional insulation. It wasn't like a stucco surface found in the Mediterranean countries that completely conceals the bricks, the clay was just slapped on and the outline of the wooden walls was visible, as in this image...

I also like that chunks of the clay could break off, exposing the timber beneath, like this model...

I like the idea of some walls being clay finished and some not.

I also want to get away from the rectangular shape so this building will have a small covered porch to the right of the front face, while an extension will be on the opposite face. Around the base of the building will be a narrow band of stone.

The roof will be thatched, BUT because the rectangular core is the same size as Building Number One, the roofs between the two buildings can be interchanged. 

So here is the basic build with the timber cladding in place and painted where it will be exposed, prior to the application of the 'clay'.

For the clay cladding I have used an artist modelling paste. I found that one coat didn't cover the wood enough, so a second coat was applied, using a paper towel to get the daubed effect. A thinned wash of sepia dirtied up the clay cladding.

The roof for this model will be thatched, but the material I will be using for the thatch has not arrived, so it will be a week or so before I can get started on it. All the same you can get an idea of the basic shape from  the form.

And these shots demonstrate how the roof from Winter Building Number One can be interchanged.

Also completed in this batch is an outhouse and a crane well.