An invite went out to all the Brothers to assemble in the understated elegance of my garage for the annual Christmas Big Bash- A large game with as many figures as possible on a 12' x 6'.
I settled on ACW, which has been a staple favourite for big games, as the period is reasonably popular with the lads and everyone has some understanding of it. We use a simplified form of Rank and File which are quick and easy to learn.
The ironic thing about was that as I began to work on it- I realised that the setup takes almost as long as the game.
A couple of days before the game I started preparations at 10am. When I took the final photo at the end of the post it was just before 6pm and I hadn't stopped for more than 15 or so minutes for lunch and to feed my pets. A very engrossing procedure!
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Laying out the foldable tables. Then a layer of wood for weight and rigidity.
With some of us being of stout physique, the table sneed to be able to take some pressure! |
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| Once the large wooden 'slats' go on, the green mat is rolled over them |
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| Empty table waiting for terrain. |
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| Laying the roads. i know that this sort of thin fabric strip is not to everyone's liking- but it is very cheap, flexible and means I can lay out a table fairly quickly. I used to have a lot of 2' x 2' wooden terrain tiles that i had made myself and were sturdy and looked great but they lacked the flexibility of this method. |
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| The river going on the table ( the roads will eventually go under the river) |
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| Tree, fields, fences, hills all start to go on. View from the southern end. |
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| View from the northern end- Wayne Hill, then Stones river and then the Round Forest that played an important role in the battle. |
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The river (not finished) and Waynes hill where Breckinridge's division will be stationed.
The Individual stands visible are the command stands for the infantry brigades.
I place them before I start placing the rest of the brigade. |
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| The Confederate field fortifications in the middle of the table |
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| Union artillery laid out and ready to be placed. |
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| Corps commander stands, division commander stands and brigade command stands. The labels on the right waiting to be attached to each one. |
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| The labels. Some of the command elements had stickers going back 25 years. |
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| Placing the Union troops. Johnson's and Davis' Divisions |
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| The Union center: Some of Sheridan's and Wood's Divisions |
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| The Confederate left- McCown's Division in line and Cleburne's Division behind. |
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Behind the extreme right of the Union line:
Baldwin's brigade of Johnson's Division |
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| Union Center |
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| Confederate center- Stone's river and Wayne's Hill in the distance. |
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| The table- ready to go !! |
Next- the Battle report!
Thanks enjoyed seeing the process …… and the reality of how long set-up takes!
ReplyDeleteThanks Norm- as i started- i began photographing it...and then realised it made an interesting post.
DeleteWhat a Grand Spectacle!
ReplyDeleteThanks JF- now to play the game!
DeleteThe fences really make the roads look very good. I do the same and sometimes sprinkle some fine Woodlands Scenics railroad ballast on top of the felt. Good old Baldwin, he has a hopeless position.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jim- I appreciate your comment. I might try the ballast next time. Yes Baldwin has Green troops, and is basically sitting on a hill, watch the right rear of the Union army....and Cleburne's Division will be headed his way sooner or later......it's gonna hurt.
DeleteWow - that did seem a mammoth task, John - makes me appreciate we are not so bad on our Sunday games, arriving at 10 am and not getting started till 11 (mind you, table is generally already set up by Barry or the person running the game!)
ReplyDeleteFor roads, we have several 2-liter plastic milk bottles full of a mix of model railway ballast and ordinary beach or builder's sand. The top of the bottle is just the right dimensions to pour out in a continuous line, then we smooth it down a bit and, hey, presto, reasonably realistic roads that can go anywhere you like - we sweep them up again at the end and 98% goes back into the bottle for next time (I am sure there is 1-2% wastage each time we do it!)
Hey Keith- when pack up happens i normally have a lot of willing hands and it gets done very quickly- but as I started working through this set up- I thought documenting it may be of some interest. I might give the railway ballast mix a try- although knowing my luck it will all end up all over the floor! A few people have suggested it to me since this post.
DeleteEnjoyed seeing your process. The end result is magnificent.
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard- the hope now is that the game is worth all the trouble.
DeleteNicely done nothing like a big ACW battle 👍
ReplyDeleteThanks Matt- yea big ACW has a certain charm to it!
DeleteLooking forward to the battle report
ReplyDeleteI hope all the effort is worth it!
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