Re-basing 28mm Normans and another try at 15mm General De Brigade.

 Quite a few years ago now I painted up a 28mm Norman Army and later added a 28mm Norman force for Saga (a game that I never got on with). For some time now I have been thinking of re-basing all of my Normans into one combined army. We recently had a go at playing the new 'On Bloody Ground' rules based specifically in the 1066 era. Having really enjoyed the rules it has finally spurred me on to rebase my Normans, the progress is as below. 

Light cavalry with javelins.

Spearmen

Formed and skirmish archers.

The whole force so far, just 4 units of infantry left to re-base. 

This will result in an army of 11 units by painting up 4 new mounted figures and an extra 10 infantry to add to the existing forces. All rebased in a manner that by using varying movement trays I will be able to use my Normans in a whole range of rules. I am most looking forward to trying 'On Bloody Ground' in 28mm but I need to rebase my Saxons and Vikings too and they will need a lot more new figures painted. Maybe I shall try a small Norman v Norman game first with a few 'Freebooter' units added in from my Saxons and Vikings.   

Before playing our game of 'General de Brigade' today we took a look at our new 15mm buildings which arrived a few days ago. This was a club order to 'Hovels' for a range of 15mm buildings to suit a few of the 15mm projects we are currently doing. We all really like these, preferring the etched detail of the resin models over the flatter mdf models. 

Some plain models for me and Ian to paint up from a range of 15mm periods. 

Nigel opted to buy pre-painted models including this lovely windmill...  

...and part of a well know Napoleonic farm.

Nigel did buy the whole farm. 

So on with the game. We simply deployed a few battalions each across the table from each other and used the game to try and finally work out mainly the orders phase. 

I sent my light cavalry off on a reckless 'Assault'.

Overhead view of the main battle. 

Nigel's French take up position. 

My light cavalry rout after being hit on both sides by artillery then fail to charge only for Ian to really put them to the sword with his light cavalry, you can see the remains of the first unit routing. 

The 95th skirmish against the French near the farmhouse. 

So how did we find playing General De Brigade today. Ian and Nigel had played a very small game last week so were more clued up on the order system so we got through that phase of the rules more comfortably than last time but it still seems slow and cumbersome. Missile Fire and Melee are quite quick to resolve but then the Morale phase throws in lots of looking things up in the rulebook. Overall General De Brigade seems to slow moving for our more relaxed style of play. They would better suit regular Napoleonic enthusiasts eager to play a game over a full day. Next time we are thinking of playing Fortitude and valour, a free set of rules available from the Perry Miniatures website, and at 8 pages long an easier read.