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Saturday, January 7, 2023

ECW Horse and a Fort

The first week of the New Year begins with a bang!

Not only do I have a few year-end wargaming wrap-ups to pound out, another installation of the Great Wargaming Survey analysis to finish, but I hosted three remote games too.  Add into those activities some time at the painting desk and it has been an busy week.
While finished units are lingering in the photo shoot queue, I managed to get one of these loiterers off the To Do plate.

Mustering out today is a nine-figure regiment of ECW horse regiment from TAG.  Good sculpts and a joy to paint but the swords seem a wee bit spindly and fragile.  We will see how they hold up under the rigors of battlefield conditions.  I may be reaching near the bottom of The Lead Pile for TAG ECW figures picked up in a large lot many years ago.  Hooray for that!
After a nearly two-month delay, a HUGE box plopped onto my doorstep this week.  Inside was a very well packaged walled desert town for 28mm figures.  This piece is massive with a footprint of about two feet square.  Beautiful work.  I am shocked it made it through the post intact.  Roofs are removable and many of the gates open.
My plan is to push this piece into service for North Africa, Middle East, Spain, and perhaps even the Northwest Frontier. What about the American Old Southwest sans dome?  Why not?  I may simply use it as a backdrop too.  Perhaps I need a new project to more frequently employ this grand feature?
On the painting desk is another WotR Battle (Somerset) of 52 figures and several War of Austrian Succession infantry regiments.  Oh, I have battle reports to write too.

52 comments:

  1. That walled town is simply superb. It looks meaty, but a 2’ footprint means it is obviously even more-so than the photo suggest - a very nice acquisition.

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    1. I should have placed a 28mm figure or two next to this behemoth to provide a sense of scale.

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    2. It would be good to see a figure next to it if you have the time of course!

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    3. Yes, it would. I will put this on the list of things to do next time I have the camera with me in the game room.

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  2. Superb work on the cavalry Jon, and the cityscape does make me think 'Star Wars' actually. Granted - Tatooine is actually Tunisia...

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    1. Thanks, Darren! Star Wars? Oh, that is perfect since I am building small Star Wars Legion forces.

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    2. Agreed. Watch Andor and there are lots of nice town scenes that this set up would fit with

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    3. Cool! This may just the motivation needed to bring these newly painted figures to the table.

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  3. Excellent unit of horse, and that fort is amazing.

    So, can you paint with one hand and type with the other????

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    1. Thanks, Greg!

      "So, can you paint with one hand and type with the other????"
      Unfortunately no but I can think about writing while painting...

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  4. I'm always in awe of your output; all that painting and yet you still find time for gaming, often with people on the otherside of the world.
    It's clearly magic unless you have a clone or captive workforce in the basement! ☺
    Neil

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    1. Much appreciated, Neil!

      Most of my gaming tends to be with people on other sides of the world. In both directions!

      Magic? No. Perseverance mostly and a few nights with not much sleep.

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  5. No slowing down in 2023 Jonathan. Gorgeous cavalry and impressive fort. I would never have the storage capacity for such a big terrain piece.

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    1. Thanks, Richard. Beginning the year with a flurry of activity is no guarantee I can sustain it. We will see.

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  6. And I thought I had been doing well with gaming output Jon! The ECW cavalry look great, but win, that town is stunning! Looking forward to the reports on this weeks trio of games, as well.

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    1. The town is quite cool, isn't it? It is a real monster on the table. On the gaming front, I reckon gaming most days of the week is not impossible when playing remotely, in theory. Since the last three games were all refighting the same battle, I may have to create medley of the three in order to get anything published.

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  7. Are you not tempted to get the walled town into a game immediately?

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    1. I am, for sure! My problem is what? Besides, my table is currently under Japanese occupation forces.

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  8. The cavalry look great and that walled town is superb

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    1. Thanks, Neil! The town is how I pulled it from the crate.

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  9. Lovely ECW cavalry Jonathan. TAG figures are very nice indeed. The walled town looks great. Who did you purchase it from?

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    1. Thanks, Lawrence! The town was purchased from an eBay vendor, smallworldgames.

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  10. Blimey Jon, you really have started the New Year with a bang! How you manage to fit it all in I'll never know. Cracking cavalry and a lovely and large fort there. I look forward to seeing it in action at some point.

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    1. I have, for sure! Sometimes, I wonder how I fit it in too. As Darren suggested above, perhaps a Star Wars debut featuring the walled town may be coming? Perhaps as a backdrop to a Reconquista battle?

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  11. Nice roundheads! Those buggers were terrors during the civil war

    That town is gorgeous!

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    1. Thanks for the horse compliment. The town is a beauty.

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  12. As already said an ECW or TYW game to get that great looking cavalry and a fort story are coming soon, right, eh? Please!

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    1. Well, the gaming table sees a Samurai battle raging over a series of games. After that, a return to the Franco-Austrian War for a few battles seems likely. Cannot say when ECW will return to the table. As for the town making an entrance, I have no idea!

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  13. Ya clearly have too much going on 😀
    Where’d the walled town come from?

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    1. Probably correct. The town is from an eBay seller, smallworldgames.

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  14. Lovely cavalry Jon, as you say the fort may be best employed as a backdrop, but it is a lovely piece 👍

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    1. Thanks, Matt! The town is too large for a grid game but maybe not to large for a big battle?

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  15. A very fine start to the year and that fort is quite something and very versatile.

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    1. Phil, I agree! This is good start to the year. I hope to see the town out on the table at some point.

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  16. A fine looking unit of Horse, Jon. With no sashes or plumes, this could conceivably be a regiment for either side, although obviously intended as Parliamentarian.

    The town looks great, and the Star Wars adaptation idea is genius!

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    1. Thanks, Peter! Yes, I expect these troopers to play both sides of the fence.

      That was a brilliant suggestion to use the town as a Star Wars setting. Now, I need to look into some rules of play.

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  17. Lovely find on the building complex, nice work on the horse. Are we going to get to see the full ECW set out for a glamour shoot?

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    1. Thanks, Markus!

      A parade review is possible if (and when) the gaming table is not occupied by a game (or two). Your request is noted!

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  18. Sweet! What a great start to 2023 with both cavalry and terrain. The TAG figures have always been a favourite of mine even though my ECW collection is from Warlord Games (Good deal on evil Bay).

    Looking forward to seeing more as the weeks progress.

    Cheers, Ross

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    1. Thanks, Ross! TAG figures are really nice. I have done of their figures for my Great Italian Wars collection too.

      Plenty more to share over the New Year.

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  19. Great throughput for early in the year Jon. And that fort is a wonderful model and I am sure will do great and varied service.
    Richard

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    1. Thanks, Richard! The walled town is, indeed, a terrific piece of terrain.

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  20. I like your style to simplify the horses and the cavalry have an excellent appearance. Great work! It reminds me of my dragoons waiting to be painted for HoW.

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  21. Ah, that town……..

    Don’t you ever eat? Or sleep?

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  22. Lovely looking cavalry Jonathan…
    And a cracking piece of terrain…

    All the best. Aly

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  23. Splendid looking troop of horse and nice walled town, northwest frontier after star wars?
    Best Iain

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