New Units for Chocolate Box Wars

 My painting table has definitely been slanted towards CBW armies lately, especially focused on American Civil War (ACW) Union and Confederates. Here are some photos of my recent figure painting.

In CBW a command stand option in the army build is called a “Chief of Staff”.  Here is my Confederate Chief of staff. A Perry Miniatures artillery officer. I painted this myself. 

For the Union I added a dismounted cavalry unit that I can use as my Light Infantry selection or even a Rapid Fire unit given their carbines.

The other stand of Union dismounted cavalry. 

Staying on the Union cavalry theme, here is my “Uhlans” option for the Union Army. These are the 6th Pennsylvania Volunteers- also known as “Rush’s Lancers”. I have always been fascinated by this unit and CBW is the perfect chance to do them up and get them on the table!

I hope you like these units. I now have three complete armies for CBW - Union, Confederate and British N. American Interventionists. I am rounding out some additional units so I can fill all of the available army building options so stay tuned for more photos in the (hopefully) near future. 

Game Stuff This Week

This week has been pretty busy on the hobby front. I got some painted figures delivered in the mail. These are for my expanding Chocolate Box Wars (CBW) collection. I also got to go to my friend Ed’s house on Friday evening for a game night. 

First, the painted figures:  These are some really nice Confederate figures that I got on EBay. I will use these figures including infantry, both regulars and zouaves, a commander figure and an artillery piece and crew. Here are some photos:

Maryland Guard Zouaves. Perry plastics. 

McClellan’s Zouaves S. Carolina. Perry plastics ACW Infantry. 

Louisiana Tiger Zouaves. Perry plastics. 

Artillery battery. Early Perry plastics. These are smaller than more current models. 

Regular infantry. Perry plastics ACW. 

These entire order of regular infantry. 

These are some really well painted figures. I find that sometimes you get lucky on EBay and this is definitely the case this time for me. With the 36 regulars and 18 Zouaves, I have 9 infantry units and the required artillery battery for my CBW force. Combined with the Confederate Cavalry regiment and commanders that I have, the force will be ready for use. Exciting to have my third CBW army ready to play!

I also got to help Ed prepare his Baroque Wars scenario for this week’s club game night. This is a homegrown set of rules for 6mm grid-based game system. The scenario is a re-creation of the Battle of Rocroi 1643 in the later stages of the Thirty Years War. Ed developed the game system and you can find his blog page about the rules at this link: https://edmwargamemeanderings.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_28.html

I didn’t take any photos during the game. I was separated from my phone and I was having too much fun to step away from the table. Take my word for it. The figures, although small by today’s standards, are superbly painted.  Ed has uploaded some photos at his link above but the figures are much better in person. 

Chocolate Box Wars - First Armies

 I have been playing a lot of Chocolate Box Wars (CBW) during 2024.  This is a set of homegrown rules by my friend Ed of Ed M’s Wargames Meanderings blog https://edmwargamemeanderings.blogspot.com/. You can find everything about CBW including rules, playing aids and extensive material on building forces in different areas around the world. This is a great game focused on the mid 19th Century (1840-1880) rifle-dominated battlefield. There were a myriad of wars, small and large, where weapons became more deadly and leaders struggled to determine the best tactics for the new age.

Ed and others in our gaming club are collecting and building European based armies.  Just so we have more options for gaming, I decided to focus on N. America.  My first army is the Union Army of the American Civil War (ACW).  Here are some photos of my Union troops:

Here is my complete Union Army ready for combat.  

My Union army is composed of (left to right) four regular infantry regiments, the Berdan Sharpshooters, a Zouave regiment, Iron Brigade regiment and artillery battery, 2nd Dragoons cavalry regiment, a command stand and an ADC (second in command) stand.

A work in progress shot of my Iron Brigade veteran infantry unit. 

Work in progress of my Union artillery battery. 

Having the Union Army, I now needed an opposing force.  I decided to raise a British force based on the excellent Perry Miniatures British Interventionist Forces. With the Fenian movement threatening an invasion of Canada at the end of the ACW, the British moved several units to reinforce Canadian militia units along the Niagara Peninsula.  The British were also supportive of the Confederacy and so these forces along the northern border could have engaged in combat with Federal forces.  In fact, I am working on a scenario for a future club game night that I call ‘The 2nd Battle of Lundy’s Lane’ with an 1866 version of the War of 1812 battle.  Here are some photos of my British CBW forces:

 

My British Army ready for battle!

My British Army is made up of (from left to right) a Confederate infantry regiment Auxiliary unit, four regular infantry units (including a Gurkha battalion), a Royal Artillery battery, the combined Guards light Coys, the 42nd Royal Highlanders veteran regiment, the 11th Hussars and my commander and ADC.

A work in progress of my British 11th Hussar Regiment.

A work in progress of the combined Guard light companies which is my light regiment. 

These forces are great base forces for my CBW armies. I am adding to them and will publish more photos as I get into 2025. I also have a new front on the N. American area of operation. I am currently basing forces for a Maximillian Adventure of my own - a ‘What if?’ of the Union Army chasing Franco-Mexican Imperial forces along the Rio Grande River.  Who knows, maybe some rouge Texas Confederates will join the Imperial cause in fight the hated ‘Bluebellies’!