Plans for 2011

As the painting continues on a number of projects I am prevented from posting more photos for a couple reasons.

First, a few projects are awaiting one or two paints that have been lost in the mail for over a month. Rather than temporarily mix a replacement, I'll wait for the replacement package to arrive. These are colors that are going to be used throughout a few forces so want to maintain consistency.

Second, I need a new camera. I've been looking around for an inexpensive camera with a good macro setting and macro focal point. I think I have found a suitable candidate in a Sony Cybershot.

Unable to post any new pictures for a few days I'd thought I'd release my list of wargaming goals for 2011.

1. Paint a considerable portion of my 25mm AWI collection.
2. Finish painting 3 out 4 current FoG armies. (Mid. Rep. Roman, Later Mac., Spartan, Classical Indian)
3. Complete collecting 15mm Napoleonics and 25mm ECW for next year's projects.
4. Paint some more ACW units.
5. Dabble in FoW and WFB.
6. Keep up my reading in periods of interest.
7. Nurture my wife's and kids' interests in the hobby.
8. Purchase a few miniatures for PITS.
9. Upgrade my terrain.
10. Buy some Crescent Root Studio buildings.
11. Continue my search for other gamers in my area.
12. Get to a convention or two.

That's it, that's my humble "to do" list for 2011. With lots of spare time on my hands compared to my normal coaching schedule I should be able to get close to meeting these goals.

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WIP Von Donop

     After the move and the organized chaos which is Christmas, work has finally begun again on my AWI's. I'm starting with the 30 figure regiment of Von Donop's Hessians as prescribed in the BG Scenario for Brandywine. Along with the 30 musketeer regiment I'm doing a set of 6 Von Donop Grenadiers for use in a combined grenadier battalion. I chose a large regiment like this to get myself trained back into painting after such a long layoff as well as the desire for a large enough unit to help smooth out any rough edges working with 25mm for the first time in years. Its already proving a challenge as I attempt the eyeballs and other greater spots of detail.

     Also on the painting table are some more 15mm Rep. Romans for fog as well as Ancient Spanish Cav., Numidians, and some successor cav. Another project is the finishing off of my "War Room" as moving back to our larger home allows great space and opportunity to design it as I choose, with only suggestions from the wife. However at present my attention is focused on getting my brush wet in AWI.

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Moving, Remodeling, and Fusiliers

After our 2 year expedition into Minnesota, I've moved my family back to our larger home in Iowa. As unpacking continues there are a few remodelling tasks at hand, but the one I'm focused on the most is of course, my wargames room. I should be up and running again by the end of next week.

Whenever I have extended periods of downtime I tend to buy lots of lead, and this time around is no different. I've bought a few more ancients to take on, but most of all I've refocused efforts on my AWI project. I have nearly all the figures purchased for Brandywine and am making a few purchases for a southern conflict, maybe something with French. Other periods I've recently purchased into or will shortly, 1809 French/Bavarian/Austrian, Sudan (can't decide between 25/15mm), more ACW, and want to get into either the TYW or ECW. I've had an interest in the ECW ever since I got my hands on an early copy of Miniature Wargames featuring an article about Montrose's campaigns. I remember writing a paper about him while in the 8th grade and getting an F, because the teacher thought I just made this person up. A few days of presenting the research material cleared up that.

Along with lead, I've purchased more uniform research tomes and a few books for period reading. I'm about halfway through "FUSILIERS" by Mark Urban and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Urban's writing style is enjoyable and the wealth of information about this regiment and the personalities involved with it are beyond measure to anyone looking for a good period read. My favorite AWI book prior to this has been "Almost a Miracle" by John Ferling. It now has competition.

This winter should be a very productive one on the wargaming front or at least the painting table. After a number of years of non-stop coaching I'm taking a year off to help my health and spend more time with my family. My oldest son and daughter have been wanting to get involved in painting as well so I'll have a couple of assistants. Stay tuned, I promise more frequent posts in the near future.

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Cretans

Today saw the completion of my first set of Cretan archers. The models are of Xyston make and purchased through Brookhurst. This first set is of 8 bases for those armies in FoG that allow up to 8 bases to be used. My MRR list allows for up to 6, but I'm keeping the bigger picture in mind. The next set I do will consist of 12 bases in a different color scheme.

These minis were a real joy to paint. Simple archers yes, but the smoothness of their design, plus an opportunity to play with hues of red, made them that much more enjoyable. I stepped outside my usual Foundry and Vallejo ranges to a nice craft paint called "barn red" in order to find the top color I wanted for their tunics. I painted the models out from the concept of that color; first with the darker undercoats and then with good contrasts in the straps and bags. My general thinking on the color scheme is that they were mercs so they can afford something snazzy, not too snazzy, but better than your average LF.

After painting these, I can't wait until I get to my Antigonid and Classical Indian lists made up mostly of Xyston models.

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15mm Numidian Review (pt 1)

Filling the time when my wife and kids are gone is usually an easy thing to do in this hobby. However, tonight I had paint and primer to watch dry and nothing in the ready stage to paint or put on the blog. My Cretan archers are watching their bases dry and the Roman command is freshly primed. Naturally its time for a completely unscientific, unbiased, and uncomplete...err incomplete (I was on a roll) review of two 15mm ranges of Numidian light horse.

Since I'm about to prime figures from Corvus Belli and WarModelling as possible allied additions to my MRRs they drew the wonka ticket in the comparison lottery. I'm not comparing these in hopes of a "these are better" result, but rather to serve as an information review for those of you looking for a particular look and have questions. I will be producing this without regards to any particular sequence or any real standard. (Note: The figures provided in this review from CB are from Pack 1 of the numidian light horse as by the time the wife approves my monthly allowance, everyplace is out of Pack 2. Things look promising at the Warstore and I hope luck holds till mid January.)

The first thing I always notice about miniatures is that which I have to tackle first and that's flash. In both cases, wow, holy flash. Either I've wronged the flash fates or flash has gotten worse over the last decade. Mold lines and flash were abundant in both cases. The mold lines on the CB's hair was a trick as filing it down interrupted the waves in the hair and took some exacto remodelling to get back.

Once I got the flash situation dealt with and the figures scrubbed I was ready to go ahead and take the size/proportion comparison photos which comprise the bulk of this review. The CB horses and riders are separate as are the shields. The WM figures have 2 molded together and 2 separate while in both cases shields are cast on the figures.

CB Horses

CB Riders

WM Horses

WM Riders

Horses Front and Aerial

Summary
As far as size goes you can see that the WM horses and riders are slightly taller than the CB counterparts. However CB produces a much more robust horse which is something I particularly like. At this point both lines have their merits and it will be a question of personal taste for each gamer deciding. For me the WM horse necks seem a bit long and out of place, but I've heard arguments to the contrary. I'm anxious for these to join the painting cue. When they get onto the painting table I'll continue the review of them as painting subjects. A preliminary look would make me believe different painting styles could benefit these minis uniquely as the WM at first glance make me think they could be a great speed painting subject.

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Triari

During the last moments of Christmas day I finished basing the completed triari for my first legion of MRRs. These are OG 15's and painted up well. These minis represent a couple of firsts for me.

Xyston Spears
I substituted the wire that came packaged with the minis with the spears available through Xyston. My first concern was attaching them as I've rarely encountered this situation aside from the odd standard bearer. After much trial and error I've decided on a method of scoring ridges on the spear and model before applying JB Weld for its fixture. During the painting process they had many an opportunity to come off but always stayed firmly attached.

LBMS Transfers
Back in '08 when I was buying lead and hatching this project I had decided that the triari in each legion would go beyond a plain shield design to further suggest their status. I quickly decided to go the way of LBMS as they offered transfers to fit OG15s. When it came time to try them for the first time I had my doubts, but having read many an endorsement I took the plunge.
At first my doubts were given validation, but only due to my own oversight and possibly some clarification needed by LBMS on their site although I do not fault them. I had purchased the minis and transfers at the same time last year and did not have the minis prior to ordering the transfers. If I had, I would have seen that the OG triari shields are of a slightly different proportion than those of the hastatai/princeps. Not only are the triari shields longer, but the center of the shield is further down the axis. This contrasts with the hastatai/princeps center being exactly that, center. The problem is of course that the transfers are made with the hastatai/princeps in mind.
Rather than withdraw I reinforced the situation and made some slight trimming adjustments and made them fit as best I could. After this I needed to touch them up considerably to match the shield colors and contours. I had a couple of areas of buckling due to the slightly different shape, but that was easily dealt with buy making a small cut and allowing an overlap which after touch ups is not noticeable. Despite the oversight and the extra touch ups I'm happy with the finished product and will use them again. If I have one tip to give any first time LBMS user, its to not get discouraged. At times it may seem like they might not look as good as you hoped, but with a little help and after drying, varnishing etc, they turn out just fine. Even the simple act of application gets easier by the time you get 16 minis done, so keep trying, LBMS has a great product.

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Hastatai & Princeps

Today I finished the 16 bases of Hast/Princ belonging to the first legion in my MRR project. Unfortunately the light I had always used to photograph with burned out and I had to send away for a new bulb, so please forgive the ad hoc lighting.







These are Old Glory's 15mm hastatai and princeps advancing figures. I painted them using the simple technique of 2-3 shade colors over a black primer. At the end of the day I'm pleased with how these turned out, but I feel I can do better on the next legions whenever I choose to take on those.







Once I finish the triari and a group of Cretan archers my next step is undecided. I may go right back into painting the next legion or take a break and do some of the Antigonid force I've collected or put paint to that mound of lead under my desk, aka. an ancient Spanish army from Corvus. There is always the repainting of the my poor AWI Hessians that were lost to an unfortunate Armory Sealant malfunction.

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