Tag Archives: Drums In The Ohio Valley

French and Indian War: British Royal American Regiment from Blue Moon Manufacturing

Following the defeat of General Edward Braddock at the Battle of the Monogehela in July 1765, the British Parliment decreed the creation of the Royal American Regiment to defend the North American colonies against the French and their Indian allies. Consisting of an unprecedented four battalions of troops, the regiment would go on to be one of the most prominent non-regular British forces throughout the period.

I took a number of models from the Blue Moon Manufacturing (part of Old Glory) Drums In The Ohio Valley Braddock’s Battle British boxed set to paint up into a representaion of this famed regiment. With red coats and blue cuffs and facings, the troops present a look that seems halfway between British and Americans.

Blue Moon castings are typically hefty and tall for 28mm comparisons, but these molds are reasonably thin and scale easily with just about any other manufacturer’s figures. There are a lot of poses in this small box with both standing and kneeling firing sculpts as well as men at the ready, loading and on the run. The cast bases also provide a bonus of no extra basing needed.

The regiment would go on to serve the British Empire for some 200 years around the world as the King’s Royal Rifle Corps. Together, these Blue Moon models make for a good representation of this famed unit’s beginnings during the French and Indian War.

French and Indian War: British Grenadiers from Blue Moon Manufacturing, AW Miniatures and Conquest Miniatures

Blue Moon Manufacturing (part of Old Glory) is one of the older manufacturers of wargaming miniatures still around today. Their French and Indian War figures hail from their Drums In The Ohio Valley 28mm line which includes small packs as well as thematic boxed sets.

I cobbled together my British Grenadier force by starting with four models from the Braddock’s Battle British boxed set and then added an additional blister pack of six more models. The figures are sculpted in firing, march and shoulder arms poses, creating a fearsome ranked line of soldiers. Blue Moon casts are of a more traditional 28mm scale with thick, tall figures appropriate for the imposing presence grenadiers presented on 18th-century battlefields.

I finished off my grenadier unit with a single officer model from AW Miniatures. This one figure has become one of my favorites in my entire collection, with his mitered hat resting on one knee and sword drawn to one side. I also added in a drummer from the Warlord Games British Rehular Infantry box featuring an old sculpt from Conquest Miniatures.

The AW Miniatures officer scales well with the bulkier Blue Moon figures, and the drummer is a bit on the smaller size perhaps as a younger, less experienced recruit. Together, across three manufacturers, the ranked line of British grenadiers present well together on the table.

French and Indian War: French Canadian Militia from Blue Moon Manufacturing

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Having some French and Indian War British Regular Infantry from Blue Moon Manufacturing under my belt, I turned to them again to build out more of my French Canadian forces. Their FIW 28mm figures line called “Drums In The Ohio Valley” has a box of twenty figures named simply “The French” and is themed as part of Braddock’s Defeat.

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Blue Moon’s box of irregular French includes an officer and 18 figures in varying poses loading, walking, aiming and firing. A big bonus with these models is their cast round bases, giving them a nice heft and no need for any additional basing. My one pet peeve is the inclusion of a (for me) unnecessary casualty figure.

Aside from a minor complaint about one of twenty models, these Blue Moon miniatures scale nicely with my other Canadian Militia from North Star. I particularly like the various firing poses and two command figures gesturing orders to their men, ready to attack in the 18th-century North American wilderness.

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French and Indian War: British Regular Infantry from Blue Moon Manufacturing

 

In continuing to build out my collection of  British Redcoats for the French and Indian War, I’ve turned to Blue Moon Manufacturing — an old standard in wargaming miniatures.

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Blue Moon produces a tight selection of metal 28mm figures in a line called “Drums In The Ohio Valley.” I picked up a box of 30 marching British which includes two commanders, two NCOs, four flag bearers, two drummers and 20 soldiers marching at shoulder arms. The officers all come resting with pole arms, something commonly found in FIW miniatures but little seen in the wooded areas of battle of the period. Four flag bearers were twice as many as I needed and the drummers are nice to have but not necessary at the skirmish scale and rulesets I play. I set these figures aside for another day and turned to the many body of troops.

IMG_9554Blue Moon British stand ready to receive paint

Since these models are going to be sharing the table with my other British from Conquest Miniatures sold by Warlord Games, I made some immediate comparisons in casting and scales. The Conquest figures tend to be a bit thin and lean toward 25mm. The chunkier Blue Moon miniatures are a full 28mm and more heroic in scale. My Virginia Provincials from Galloping Major scale more equally with these Blue Moon models.

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Thick base (right) filed to a thinner height (left)

A main factor in driving the size differential among manufacturers is that the Blue Moon British stand overly tall on thick bases. I had been forewarned of this but I was pretty surprised at how this little extra amount of metal made the size noticeably different. With some tedious cutting and filing, I brought them down a bit in height to be a bit more in line with the height of the Conquest models.

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Brass rod inserted as a flag pole

The flag bearers also required some small brass rod to be cut and inserted through holes I drilled through their hands. This gave me the excuse to acquire a pin vise drill, a long overdue addition to my hobby kit. In all, there was a lot of prep work on the Blue Moon figures before I could start any painting.

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My painting area swarming with British being prepped for painting

The Blue Moon line of figures fits exactly with my focus for the war. I’m painting all my British soldiers of the period to represent the 44th Regiment of Foot mostly for their presence in the Ohio Country, specifically in the Braddock Expedition and the Battle of the Monongahela.

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Based and ready for priming

After basing the models on washers, filling the bases with rough wood filler and spraying a black primer coat, I blocked in the colors. I didn’t get carried away on exact colors, relying on a basic red for the coats, waistcoats and pants, basic yellow for the facings and a brown buff for the leggings.

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Coats and leggings blocked in starting on hat trim

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Details begun on the lapels, turn backs and cuffs

The cuffs were done in two steps, first with a thick bright white stripe and then finished with a thin line of yellow. With a fine brush, white details were added on the basic black tricorn hats and on trim to the waistcoats and lapels.

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Equipment straps and white uniform detail progressing

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Most colors blocked in and just needing some final details, clean-up and shading

Details were finished off with the same brown buff on stripes and belts, a basic brown to the guns and metal to finish off the guns, bayonets and officer swords. Finally, flesh and eyes were painted. Exposed skin and the leather leggings and straps got a careful light coat of brown wash to finish the painting. I had leftover flag photocopies from my previous British so my standards would all blend together nicely. Finally, the bases were covered with my favorite groundcover – Green Adirondack from Scenic Express.

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