Being careful of what you wish for....

Now lets be completely clear about this - I am absolutely delighted to have acquired not only a copy of Volley and Bayonet (1st Edition) but also the ACW supplement for good measure, courtesy of one of my blog readers and all round good fellow, Nick Atkinson (many thanks once again Nick!). The only note of reservation is probably as much a nod to my guilty conscience as anything else - especially in connection with the ACW river fleets I have that have lain forlornly in need of some painting TLC for what seems like an age. Try as I might I think I have just about run out of excuses or futile justifications as to why these have yet to be completed but now that I have the tools to really tackle the land element in terms of material (block armies, Hexon terrain and not one but two very good rule sets) and so I really must roll up my sleeves and get on wth it.

 

The first order of business will be to take V and B and 'Hex' it. I already have a number of ideas as to how this can be done so the preliminary testing could probably be undertaken fairly quickly. Assuming all is well I will knock up the obligatory play sheet which will then lead me to the next step which may be slightly more problematic. There is a campaign system in the ACW supplement based on the boardgame 'A House Divided' - not surprisingly really as this was also designed by Frank Chadwick. This covers the entire war which is a little on the grand side even for me and also the naval side is, I believe, abstracted somewhat. I have a couple of sets of naval rules that treat the land side similarly so finding a happy medium with both the land and naval side equally represented and united by a common set of rule mechanics will be what I shall aspire to. A naval version of Volley and Bayonet may be the solution and I know this has been tackled for the age of sail and also for ancient galleys so it must be 'do-able'. The finishing of the ACW ships must now be accorded priority and for two reasons. Firstly because I will be able to use them purely in their own right and secondly because I will need them for support to the land element. Cynics could also add a third - because they have been sitting around for long enough!

 

1815 and all that goes with it has now shifted slightly simply because the orders of battle are already in place and so once the hex based rules have been tackled this will be ready to go. I have some campaign specific units to label up but little more than that really. In fact the only task I need to tackle is how to tie in the divisional level units from Columbia Games: Napoleon to the Volley and Bayonet brigades. In theory this should be easy enough - which probably means it will be anything but!

 

Back in the world of Memoir of Battle I shall be making use of the C and C Napoleonic blocks as well as my normal military symbol variety - indeed, for the 20th century stuff they will be obligatory - and looking very closely at the offerings on the Junior General website. Once I have the Spanish expansion for C and C Napoleonics I will certainly look to tackle some of the more obscure actions of the Peninsula War as well as exploring the possibilities of the South American Wars of Liberation for something a little different. My initial forays into the Roghan Valley on the North West Frontier will probably be block based as the 54mm figures are still sitting in boxes (although they have bee organised into units) and awaiting not only reinforcements - not that many though - but also painting!

 

Axis and Allies: Angels 20 is still shy a starter set so I will attempt to pick a final copy up for use with the Battle of Britain set up - which will need to be painted in due course but will not even be attempted until after the missing set has landed safely.

 

That all looks like a lot but aside from the two painting tasks all else falls under the heading of 'cerebral projects' which are far easier (at least they are for me) to fit in.

Nothing like a plan, is there? And that is nothing like a plan, is it?