Off the Painting Table (May 2020)

I have completed the initial batch of formed infantry for both AWI armies I am currently building.

A unit of Loyalists (De Lancey’s) with their distinctive white hats (which shows they are ‘good’ Americans, because a white hat always denotes the ‘good’ guys). I have given the unit a single Union flag.

For the Rebels, I wanted an unusual unit and choose the Virginia Convention Guards in green jackets and hunting caps. I gave this unit a National flag.

Lastly I painted a brown coated unit, the 1^st Pa. They actually look better than I expected.

So, next up for both sides are units of skirmishers, an artillery piece and generals, plus sundry markers etc.

Off the Painting Table (March 2020)

I have been struggling to decide on my next project, but the cancellation of Salute and other shows due to CoVID19 prompted me to come up with a decision and buy some figures. I’ve decided to focus on the American War of Independence in 28mm. Next I looked up various OB’s but the brigade structure appears to be very fluid, so I planned to focus on one battle and Monmouth looked good. When the Perry boxes arrived, I flicked through the British painting guide and the name of the 55^th Regiment of Foot stood out i.e. The Westmoreland Regiment. My wife hails from Cumbria, a county that is an amalgam of the old counties of Westmoreland and Cumberland. I immediately abandoned the notion of historical OB’s, and will instead use British regiments with a personal connection. It is almost certain that the wife’s ancestors would have served in the local regiments at the time of the American rebellion! So, below is my first unit, the 55^th Westmoreland Regiment of Foot.

I’ve not yet decided on a set of rules to use, but I thought a 16 figure unit looked about right. I did consider using a larger number of figures, but on a 6’x4’ table this would have severely impacted on the number of units that could be fielded. I finally have a project to work on. I still need to do much reading and research concerning organisation etc. For example do loyalist units (e.g. De Lancey’s battalions) carry flags? If so, what did they look like? Anyway, next up is the 34^th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot.

A painting year, 2019

The year of 2019 has come to an end and I can look back on what I have managed to paint. I am a ‘sad’ gamer who logs all the items painted, generally in chronological order, so here is my 2019 list:

Number	Scale	Period	Manufacturer	Notes:
77	15mm	Ancient Spanish	Lancashire Games
90	15mm	Ancient Italians	Lancashire Games
80	15mm	Ancient Gallic foot	Lancashire Games
20	15mm	2 Elephants & Generals	Lancashire Games
75	15mm	Sea Peoples	Lancashire Games
15	20mm	Wild West	Kolossal Games	Western Legends figures
22	28mm	Wild West civilians	Blue Moon
455	15mm	Han Chinese	Lancashire Games
24	28mm	Marlb. Infantry	Warlord	For ‘pirate’ militia
23	28mm	Pirates	Foundry
2	1/700	Nap. Naval	Warlord	Plastic sloops
2	1/300	WW2 coastal naval	Warlord	Vosper MBTs
1	15mm	Modern naval	??	Coast Guard vessel
225	10mm	C19th figures	Pendraken

 

Actually, 2019 was a quiet year in terms of painting. I completed my Punic Wars armies (15mm) and added a couple of large Han Chinese armies (15mm), all thanks to Lancashire Games. My 10mm Pendraken C19th armies have increased and I hope to get these on the table in 2020. Otherwise it has been odds & sods. My lead pile is all most at zero! I need inspiration!!

Off the Painting Table (Oct 2019), part 2

I have pretty much reached the bottom of my painting pile, and so I have painted a few ships.

I am not especially interested in naval wargaming, but I had a couple of plastic sprues collected from magazines. The Napoleonic ships (for the newly released Black Seas rules) are 1/700^th scale and are slightly larger than my existing ships of the period i.e. 1/1200^th. They may prove useful in single ship combats.

The other sprue was a pair of Vosper MBT’s for Cruel Seas, but WW2 narrow seas gaming is not my ‘cup of tea’, so these models are likely to be sold on in a B&B sale. I also painted a ~15mm coast guard vessel (I cannot remember where I acquired this), which may be used as a feature in future AK-47 games.

So, now my painting gear will be cleared up for a while, at least until after Warfare in mid-November.

Off the Painting Table (Oct 2019)

As a stop-gap between projects, I decided to paint a few more figures for my Pirate collection. All were from Wargames Foundry. I really like and enjoy painting their Swashbucklers range.

Firstly I needed a few ex-slave figures, and these will nicely fill in as Spanish Lanceros for the Blood and Plunder rules.

I also bought some Royal Navy figures from a slightly later date (Napoleonic) which will add to my existing British naval forces.

On the gaming front I have focussed on solo games using Sword and Spear rules with my Greek & Persian Wars armies. This rules work really well for solo play and bring to life these armies, who are normally rather bland under other rules systems. I plan to use my Punic Wars armies next, because I’ve never tried them with S&S, so it should be interesting.

My gaming activity is basically on hold until the Warfare show in November, when I hopefully will be inspired again.

Off the Painting Table (Aug 2019)

I have finally finished my Han Chinese armies!

I feel relieved to have completed this project; it dragged on a bit with so many crossbowmen. Overall I’m fairly happy with the results. The Lancashire Games figures look OK. I did not go for a ‘uniform’ look across the army, but did give most units a uniform colour scheme within the unit. I plan to use these armies as Han and late Warring States forces, and they should morph nicely.

I have almost 900 points (Impetus) in total, so I can easily field pairs of armies with a range of variations. I have 4 units of peasants, so rebellious Yellow Scarf or Red Eyebrow forces can be fielded.

Their first outing will use the Impetus rules, but I want to draw up some Sword and Spear lists to use as an alternative.

Off the Painting Table (July 2019) part 2

The Western theme continues. I bought a box of 20 Wild West figures produced by Blue Moon whilst at the Partizan show a few months back. Any Western town needs a good smattering of civilians to add colour and break up play a little, so these figures will do nicely.

The figures are well produced and have a lot of character. The ‘soiled doves’ contrast nicely with the various shopkeepers and more prim townsmen and women.

I enjoy painting these small projects; they break up the ‘monotony’ of larger projects, such as my Han Chinese. I now feel re-energised to get back and complete those few pesky Chinese that have been awaiting my attention.

Off the Painting Table (March 2019)

I have done it! My Punic Wars armies are complete as far as figure painting is concerned. First I finished the 4 units of Gallic cavalry (more stripes etc.), then a few Roman velites, next assorted generals, and finally 2 excellent Xyston elephants.

Gallic Cavalry

Velites and assorted Generals

One of my Elephants

Ahead lies a few weeks of intensive basing before the armies can finally take to the table. I have still to buy some base camps (which can wait until Salute) and some slingers would be nice.

Off the Painting Table (Feb 2019); part 2

I have painted the horde of Celtic warriors that I have been dreading. Friends have asked why I dislike painting the Gauls? Firstly, both their shields and fabrics are multicoloured with a variety of stripes, cheques, plaids and borders; a real pain to paint. Secondly, based on my experience of Lancashire Games Spanish foot, the range of figure poses and variants may be limited.

I discounted the second reason immediately I opened the package; there were at least 12 different figure sculpts and Lancashire Games supplied 80 figures instead of the expected 60! I was well chuffed! Painting did prove a strain. I decided to paint them as a single batch and by halfway I was regretting the decision. Once completed, I think  I am happy with their appearance and would highly recommend others to consider Lancashire Games if interested in building a Gallic army.

The end is in sight for my Punic War armies. Next a batch of Gallic cavalry, then Generals and elephants!

Off the Painting Table (Feb 2019)

I have been struck down for a week with man-flu, so it took longer than expected to complete my Italian allied forces for the Roman Punic war army.

I have completed 4 units if light-medium (FL) foot, 1 unit of heavy foot, and 2 units of cavalry. I wanted the Italians to look similar but different to my more regular Roman troops. I painted the plumes and shields in uniform colours within each unit, but did introduce some patterning on the shields and varied the tunic colours. I also did not use a maniple style of basing, and I added a couple of velite figures to the bases to distinguish the light-medium foot from the heavies.

Next up are the hordes of Celtic warriors. I have been dreading these, but they can no longer be ignored!

Off the Painting Table (Jan 2019) part 2

Well, the second Roman legion did not take long to paint, I think the uniform character helped the production line. This time I went for a simple blue shield colour, and I plan to leave the more ornate designs for use by the Italian allied forces.

There is now light at the end of the tunnel in relation to my Punic War armies. Next up is the Italian foot, followed by Roman cavalry, then a horde of Gallic types. Finally, I plan to paint the elephants and general figures. I hope to get the painting finished by the end of February, and the basing done in March.

Off the Painting Table; Jan 2019

Over the festive period I have continued painting units for my Punic Wars armies. I have completed the Spanish contingent made up of Lancashire Games figures. I have 4 units each of Scutarii and Caetrati, plus 2 units of cavalry. The figures wear white tunics with a purple border and the shield designs are fairly Gallic in appearance (I took my inspiration and ideas from looking at 28mm decal designs on the Victorix website.).

It should be noted I have also finished the Numidian forces, but I have not photographed these because they are dull and boring.

I have a horde of Gallic figures to paint, but I don’t think I can face them immediately. Instead I think I will focus on my next Roman legion using Xyston figures. The better sculpts make these a pleasure to work on.

Review of the painting year; 2018

The year of 2018 has come to an end and I can look back on what I have managed to paint. I am a ‘sad’ gamer who logs all the items painted, generally in chronological order, so here is my 2018 list:

Number	Scale	Period	Manufacturer	Notes:
300	15mm	WW1 French	Lancashire Games
3	15mm	WW2 French S-35 tanks	Battlefront
8	1/600th	ACW Naval	Peter Pig	Plus Medium fort
6	28mm	Samurai	Col. Bills
12	28mm	Town Militia	Fireforge
15	28mm	Farmyard animals	Warlord Games
12	28mm	Gladiators	Black Tree
12	28mm	Spanish Guerrillas	Eagle Figures
1	20mm	WW2 building	?
12	28mm	Medieval Levy Archers	Gripping Beast
73	15mm	Carthaginians	Lancashire Games
25	15mm	Numidians	Lancashire Games
66	15mm	Republic Romans	Xyston Figures
24	28mm	Markers

 

Actually, 2018 was a quiet year in terms of painting. The only major projects completed were my WW1 French army, and my ACW riverine fleets for use with RFCM Hammerin’ Iron rules. Otherwise it has been a bit ‘bitty’ and lacking focus. I’m currently in the middle of my 15mm Punic Wars forces, which should be completed in early 2019. I’m really searching for inspiration at the moment but have enough to keep me occupied until Salute in Spring.