Charge! Issue 7
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Issue 7
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| Page 1 | |
| From the Editor’s Desk by Scott Mingus |
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| Editor Scott Mingus discusses John Zabawa’s Gettysburg Miniature Soldiers in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, gives a recap of his presentation on John Gordon’s Brigade to the Gettysburg Civil War Round Table, mentions his book Enduring Valor: Gettysburg in Miniature, and talks about the upcoming Carlisle Gaming Convention, where the theme was Antietam. | |
| Page 2 | |
| Ebenezer Creek: December 8, 1864, Savannah, Georgia by Scott Mingus | |
| Scenario: Ebenezer Creek Type: Hypothetical Date: December 8, 1864 Scott Mingus has created a hypothetical scenario featuring a smaller tabletop that depicts possible fighting around Savannah, Georgia at the end of Sherman’s March to the Sea. McLaws’ Division of Hardee’s Corps squares off with John Geary’s 2nd Division, XX Corps. |
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| Page 5 |
| Making Model Wheatfields by Alan Sheward |
| Alan Sheward of Birmingham, England shows hobbyists how to create suitable looking wheat for 15mm scale. Sheward takes a readily available doormat of a suitable color that has a rubber base. The author trims the “wheat” to a proper height and also cuts away the rubber base until it is much narrower. He makes “cut wheat” from a simple hand brush or broom and glues clumps near the standing wheat. |
| Page 6 |
| Showing The Colors by Robert Sweeney |
| This article discusses methods for unit identification on the field of battle using flags of the proper scale. Included in the article are some nice recreations of Union and Confederate National flags, as well as some for various brigades, divisions, and corps. I believe these are for the 15mm scale, as the article does not specifically mention anything in this regard. |
| Page 7 |
| Low Cost Trees! by Scott Mingus |
| Editor Scott Mingus uses a trick from his old Model Railroading days to create clumps of low cost trees to fill in areas behind your better looking, more expensive tree models. He uses thick plastic sheet dividers from 3 ring binders, sponges or pieces of clump foliage from Woodland Scenics, roofing nails, and ground foam, among other things. |
| Page 8 |
| 6MM ACW Gaming by Terry Callahan |
| This article discusses the less widely used 6mm scale (Johnny Reb III uses 15mm by default). The author created the entire Shiloh OOB, which came out to roughly 4000 figures. He developed “assembly line” methods to quickly and easily prepare the figures for painting, finding that once he got the hang of it, he could do each figure in 90 seconds or less. Interestingly, the author used VCR Storage Cases to keep his models in good condition when not in use. Callahan and his group of gamers decided to use the standard 15mm distances and scale for the terrain. He discusses the pros and cons of doing this as well. Finding ACW buildings at the 6mm scale can be very challenging. The author concludes that Shiloh is not the best OOB to use to create armies because it lacks cavalry and because infantry units are too large. He solved that issue by using the cavalry units of each side at Chickamauga, and suggests that OOB as a good one to go with. |
| Page 11 |
| Confederate Gray by Peter Bernard Griffith II |
| Griffith goes over the prevalence of the color gray in the Army of Northern Virginia. The shades of “butternut” so often discussed were not as prevalent as is commonly assumed. After discussing why gray was the predominant color for so long, Griffith goes over the best shades of gray to use when painting Confederate infantry of the ANV. |
| Page 12 |
| Figure Conversion: Havelocks for a 1st Manassas Appearance by Larry Reber |
| Larry Reber shows how to quickly and easily create havelocks, or pieces of white linen or cotton worn to protect the back of a man’s neck and to prevent sunstroke. These items actually made the men hotter, and they were soon discarded as impractical. Reber uses “fast-food” type napkins to create the effect. He cuts these napkins into small strips and glues them to the head wear of a given model. After the glue dries, he simply snips the “tail” of the napkin off to create instant havelocks! The method works extremely well judging by the models Larry displays in the article. |
| Page 14 |
| The Battle of Iuka – A Game Scenario by Daniel Erdman |
| Scenario: The Battle of Iuka Type: Historical Date: September 19, 1862 Erdman here recreates the Battle of Iuka during the fall of 1862. Little was historically able to hold off Hamilton, and Sterling Price extricated his army from an attempted envelopment by Ulysses S. Grant. |
| Page 18 |
| Order Back Issues of Charge! |
| Page 19 |
| Visitors from Dixie! by Samuel P. Bates |
| This article excerpted from Samuel Bates’ 1876 work Martial Deeds of Pennsylvania offers a first person observation of Jubal Early’s Confederate soldiers during the Gettysburg Campaign. The account was related by a Mr. Gall of the United States Sanitary Commission. |
| Page 20 |
| Uniforms of the Iron Brigade by Marc Storch |
| The uniform of the Iron Brigade is commonly associated with (Hardee hats, frock coats, dark blue pants, and gaiters) is not as uniform as is commonly believed (no pun intended). Author Marc Storch discusses the variations these regiments used during different periods of the war. The gaiters went first, though some men still had them in late summer of 1863. Others exchanged their Hardee hats for western slouch hats common in the Western Theater on both sides. There is also evidence that the dark blue pants had to be replaced by the standard issue sky blue pants as well later in the war. Storch ends the article by reminding readers that these figures can also be used to represent U.S. Regulars or numerous western regiments, especially if you model them without the gaiters. |
| Page 22 |
| Maryland Heights (Harpers Ferry, VA) Saturday, September 13, 1862 by Scott Mingus |
| Scenario: The Battle of Maryland Heights Type: Historical Date: September 13, 1862 This scenario recreates the feeble Union attempt to hold Maryland Heights, overlooking Harpers Ferry. If this area fell, Harpers Ferry was doomed to capture. Historically, Kershaw drove Ford back over a mile, but the men rallied. However, near dark a junior officer inexplicably ordered a retreat, sealing the garrison’s fate. |
| Page 24 |
| Contacting Regimental Skirmishers in JR3? (Ask John Hill!) |
| In this special edition of “Ask John Hill!”, the game’s creator goes over the various ways to handle the situation where a formed unit or units runs into skirmishers. |
| Extra |
| Construction Diagram: Typical 2-Story House 15mm |
| The last page of the newsletter features a diagram that hobbyists can cut out and form into a Civil War era house in 15mm. If the gamer has a scanner, they can enlarge the diagram by 167% to model a 25mm version of the house. |
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