Sarissa Precision: Skirmish Compound Charlie (Or how to make a Quick village on the Colonial Frontier!)

 

"Dad you need at least one village for the Anglo-Russian War."

So Honorable Son #4 sent me an MDF building pack from Sarissa Precision called Skirmish Compound Charlie. Skirmish Compound Charlie consists of the following products from their Alamo model:

1. Alamo North East Corner (A018).

2. Alamo South East Corner (A027).

3. 2x Alamo West Wall Building (A022) each with two buildings.

4. Alamo East Wall (without gun ramp) (A032).

Perfect for my colonial battles. These are great models but pay attention to the instructions. They are not difficult to put together (each one took me about an hour, not counting time for glue to dry) but I did accidently put one base upside down and skipped a step on another building for an inner wall. Fortunately in both cases the glue was not completely dry.

What I love about what Sarissa does is their Terrain Tile system which allows you to rearrange the buildings how you like (or keep them separated if you want). Here are just some quick samples as I was fooling around:

The well is from Battlefield in a Box for Flames of War from their WW II Desert War collection. The well is scaled for 15mm but I have used it numerous times for 25/28mm and it works fine. Speaking of working fine, the buildings are perfect for 25/28 mm scale. Below are some miniatures from Pulp Figures which I am using for Militia/Bandits/Tribal Infantry, etc. (very versatile figures!).

Moving along the roof.

Access from the roof.

Roof tops come off . . .

As does the upper portion of the building allowing you to put figures in the structures.

For destroyed buildings or buildings that are ruins, during the game I will just permanently remove the upper half of the building.

The Royal Guard of Chaimbellistan prepares to defend the as for right now unnamed village. Trust me, it will have a name before the game!

Mr. Kipling asking Brigadier Alfred Tramontin if the British Indian Army will arrive in time to stem the Russian horde.

Supplies are being stored.

Keeping a sharp lookout.

I haven't decided if I'm going to paint them or not (the laziness factor) so for now they will just be what I call Light MDF Brown which coincidentally is the traditional color of buildings in Chaimbellistan!

Fourth Quarter 2021 Update: How did the Plan go?

Here is the plan I developed for 2021; let's see how it ended up:

1. The French and Indian War. His Most Catholic Majesty, King Louis XV has requested politely (something about it being a pain in my neck if I don't get going) that I finish the initial French force for the French and Indian War. I'm planning on using one of the suggested force listings from Rebels and Patriots (Paid Link):

a. Two units of Light Infantry at 6 points each (Compagnies Franches de la Marine). ALL COMPLETE!

Unit #1

Unit #2.

b.  One unit of Skirmishers (Canadian Militia) for Rebels and Patriots (Paid Link) that are Sharpshooters at 6 points. COMPLETE!

c. One Large unit of Aggressive Natives at 6 points for Rebels and Patriots (Paid Link). COMPLETE!

2. The Great Game goes Hot! The Russian Empire vs. The British Empire in a fictional (and I mean fictional) war in Central Asia that impacts the British Raj. I'm planning on using both The Men Who Would be Kings (Paid Link) and In Her Majesty's Name (Paid Link) for all of the fun. It will take place between 1895 and 1920 so I can pick what figures I think look cool for the fight; in other words, be prepared for uniforms and troop types that don't go together historically (I said it would be fictional!). And what's not to like? It will have Wolseley Helmets (just like fezzes, Wolseley Helmets are cool), Russian spies, Political Officers, dashing semi-historical uniforms, Maxim Machine Guns, Pathans, Sikhs, Cossacks, Boris and Natasha, mustaches on stiff upper lips, etc. The conflict will start with a disputed succession of a princedom and a threat to the Khyber pass. The opening shots have been fired! 

 

Initial Russian Field Force: COMPLETE! But . . . Force Creep! I've added the Putilov 76mm gun to the Imperial Russian Army. COMPLETE! Maybe those Cossacks will show up by the end of the year?

"Well done General, we now have enough troops to deal with the Britishers and their lackeys."

The Izmaylovsky Lifeguards

14th Frontier Guards

Imperial Russian Naval Brigade

Russian Maxim Machine Gun

Putilov 76mm Quick Firing gun

The British Raj: The Initial Force is complete - PLUS SOME EXTRAS! As expected (see above) I'm expanding the British Indian Army with more Indian Forces. I completed two more British Indian Unit (Jacob's Rifles) and the 1st Madras Pioneers which will be in the British Indian Army and also Princely State units. I'm planning on adding at least one more British Indian Unit by the end of the year which might be some cavalry.

The 19th Punjabis

The 14th Sikhs

The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)

Indian Army Maxim Machine gun

The Royal Regiment of Chaimbellistan

Tribal Infantry for both sides!

Jacob's Rifles (also known in the Princely State of Chaimbellistan as the 1st (Swords of Judgment) Regiment of the Royal Chaimbellistan Army).

The 1st Madras Pioneers. 

Swap out the flag stand and now they are the 2nd (Thundering Herd) Regiment of the fictional Princely State of Chaimbellistan.

Test figure for the Sikh Squadron, 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry.

3. The adventures of the TFS (The Free Ship) Audacity. Rules will probably mostly be IHMN Edition 2 ( I also need to finish painting the Audacity). PAINTED AND COMPLETE!

TFS Audacity

Picture of Lady Helen Quartermain and some of her crew that was used in the Second Edition of In Her Majesty's Name.

4. Paint some old GW Phoenix Guard for Honorable Son #5 (The Skirmisher). They will be used as some sort of elite infantry in Dragon Rampant. (Paid Link) 

Almost done!

 

5. Try to finish the generic Scottish Infantry (two units) for my English Civil War project. If I really get on a roll, I'll add two units of Scottish horse and one Scottish Artillery Piece. ONE UNIT COMPLETE.

6. Keep my hobby self-funded with commissions and eBay (if interested in any commissioned work feel free to contact me at nreinwald@yahoo.com):

8. I built some more terrain for the French and Indian War using Rebels and Patriots (Paid Link) and the Anglo-Russian War using The Men Who Would be Kings . . . other games!

Yep, showing off Jacob's Rifles from Perry Miniatures again but with some of the new terrain.

The Imperial Russians get to use the new terrain too!

Trees using Litko bases.

Sarissa MDF Buildings.

A watermill.

And more hills, trees and rocks:

9. A nicely converted figure to use with In Her Majesty's Name.

10. And of course games!

Well, that was the plan for 2021. I hope you and yours are doing well!