Saturday, March 2, 2024

Flag-Flying Parade

Having cleared the table from the long-running Lake Trasimene series of battles, thoughts turned to the next collection to see action on the table.  After some discussion and encouragement, the 28mm Great Italian Wars collection was picked as the next focus of gaming.  Of course, my decision may have been influenced just a little bit by the recent arrival of Rodolfo Verginella's, War Game Scenarios: The Italian Wars Battles 1494-1559.

Since the Punic Wars figures have been packed away and the table cleared, I thought, why not pull all of the figures from boxes and bring the whole collection out for a parade.  Why not, indeed?  A parade will give me a chance to see exactly what I have and what I may be tempted to add to the collection.

After arraying the armies out on the table, the project headcount shows,
  • 6 guns
  • 77 horse
  • 525 foot
Figures are a mix of Wargames Foundry, Old Glory, The Assault Group, Artizan, Perry Miniatures, and Casting Room Miniatures.  Nice assortment, I think.

Without further ado, on to the parade...







Anything of note lacking in the collection?  The collection could use more mounted Men-at-Arms and several units of crossbow skirmishers. That is only a first cut.  There may be more to add.  Eight pike blocks ought to be sufficient, no?  I may place a small Foundry/Casting Room Miniatures order but it will be relatively small.  I want to maintain the, now, two-month progress on keeping The Lead Pile count in deficit goal for 2024.  This goal took a modest blow with the receipt of Newline Designs' shortened February sale.  I need to focus more on painting.
Results of Newlines' February sale. 
First game is slated for next week in a very small battle suitable for two players.  The players are both new to Basic Impetvs and one is new to remote gaming.

Should be fun.

84 comments:

  1. These look splendid as you change focus from one period to the next. That's quite an array of banners.
    While this is a period that interests me I have no plans to create my own armies for it, so I enjoy seeing other people's efforts. Thanks,
    Stephen

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    1. Thanks, Stephen! The colorful uniforms and especially the variety of colorful flags make for a visual spectacle on the battlefield.

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  2. Avery nice parade indeed and the array of banners certainly add to the whole scene, a lovely collection and a good mix of figures, like Stephen the period interests me but not on my schedule at the moment and I too enjoy seeing others collections.

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    1. Glad you like them. sometimes we must vicariously through others' work.

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  3. Oooh pike blocks. Love it. Veeeeeeerrrrry nice.

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    1. Pikes are steel with very sharp points. I drew blood more than once pulling them from boxes.

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    2. Good…that’s as it should be… ;-)

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  5. Great post Jonathan, that is a beautiful Italian Wars collection. I am looking forward to seeing pictures of the games.

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    1. Thank you, Oli! Nothing like your fantastic collections but I am content with the results.

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  6. Well I'm very glad you decided to do a parade Jon, as you have a lot of lovely figures and units there:)! I think the Italian Wars are pretty hard to beat in terms of pure eye candy. As a result it's always something that appeals to me, but I have plenty of other stuff going on as it is. Maybe a project for the future?

    After all of your recent games, let's hope you can find some more time to paint. I'm hoping mine picks up again one my Arnhem campaign has finished...

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    1. Yes, your suggestion prompted me to form up a parade before striking off into the next battle. Since the table is rarely clear of troops, I had a small window to bring them all out. Besides, I get a reminder of what has been accomplished and what still needs work.

      I have been getting in some meaningful painting sessions between games but writing and publishing BatReps has taken up much of my blog real estate.

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  7. One thing to love about the period is the plethora of standards. Eight pike blocks could be enough. Besides adding or removing musket or swordsman or cross bow sub units is half the fun. The spectacle is there. And the scale is right. What could go wrong? Good by to the lakeshore hello skull duggery.

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    1. The colorful uniforms and colorful flags make the period a handsome one on the gaming table. Yes, goodbye to Trasimene!

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  8. Excellent eye candy Jon. Magnífico.
    Chris/Nundanket

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  9. Very pretty. Can't see anything obviously missing except an entire army of Spaniards :) I agree a few more men-at-arms wouldn't go amiss. Maybe some more Italian ones? What rules will you be using?

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    1. Very pretty! Yes, I need an army of Spanish would be useful. For rules, I have used Impetvs (Basic) and To the Strongest!. For the battle upcoming, BI will be in play.

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  10. Jaw droppingly beautiful array! This must have been one of the most colourful periods EVER!!!

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    1. Mike, you are very kind! This has to be one of the most colorful periods.

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  11. Beautiful - this is going to look splendid.

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    1. Thank you, Norm! For the first game, we start out small with seven units per army.

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  12. That's a fantastic collection for the Italian Wars. Looking forward to seeing it in action

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    1. Glad you like them, Neil! A small part will be in action later next week.

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  13. Amazing looking collection Jonathan.

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    1. Thank you! The collection is very colorful and looks great en masse.

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  14. Outstanding! A most excellent parade and very inspiring. I really enjoy when individuals post a collection like you have.

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    1. Much appreciated, Mark! It is fun to pull collections out occasionally for a parade but they are much more interesting when fighting in battle.

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  15. Magnificent Army!

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  16. Oooh - very impressive. And so many attractive flags too! Yum. :-)

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    1. The flags really make the army 'pop' don't they?

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  17. That is an outstanding collection Jonathan and indeed nothing like a good set of flags! I ordered 18mm Blue Moon Italian wars as I quite like the look of them and I think I may have chance of making two forces, but I still have some 28mm stuffed away in case that falls through....

    Christopher

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    1. Glad you like the collection and the parade, Christopher! I look forward to seeing your Italian Wars project in whichever scale you settle upon. You could do both!

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  18. I used to think that I had lots of Italian Wars figures... A brilliant collection. I'm looking forward to commanding a small selection.

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    1. Thank you! You will get your chance at command very soon.

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  19. Very nice Jonathan! - I spy French, Swiss, Milanese and Black Band Landsknechts
    Pete's Flags?
    Do you use Gonsalvo's adaptations of To the Strongest?
    Neil

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    1. Thank you! Yes, flags are Pete's Flags and when I play TtS!, I use Peter's (Gonsalvo) adaptations.

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  20. Beautiful Jonathan, and most impressive arrayed on parade. I really like your choices of colours for these. They look suitably bright but not garish, which is a difficult balance to get right so effectively.

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    1. Thank you, Lawrence! I tend toward a pastel palette. My Minwax topcoat tends to dull colors a bit too.

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  21. That is a lovely collection Jon and well worth a parade - even if they were not also slated to appear in your next tranche of games! Do you ever look at Oli's blog Camisado - he has some really inspirational stuff from this era on there.

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    1. Duh - I should have read the other comments before adding mine - I see Oli has already commented on your collection!

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    2. Thanks, Keith! Yes, Oli's blog is very inspiring. Wish I could paint like he does. But I cannot.

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  22. Toy soldiers on parade: an excellent "in between" games type of post. The fifth image down, in particular, really shows off the forest of flags effect of this era.

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    1. Yes, there is a veritable forest of flags. I reckon that is a big attraction to the period. While the table is devoid of a game, why not have a parade? That was my thought, anyway. Back to gaming, painting, or GWS analysis next time.

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  23. I'll just whip these out...!
    Glorious and wonderfully colourful.
    Regards, James

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  24. A parade is really the only way to know for sure what’s in a collection. Plus it’s nice to look at. Everyone loves a parade. Even the dead love a parade.
    I don’t know if the great Italian wars are great, but your troops certainly are. Very fine collection. 😀

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    1. Thank you, Stew! I think the Italian Wars had a good publicist and eventually everyone bought into the conflicts being Great.

      This exercise did bring up a few units that I could use to rejigger the balance of arms. Unsurprisingly, other placed this afternoon.

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  25. Looks fantastic Jon, and I look forward to seeing them in action! The flags really add something great to already colourful figures. Way beyond my skills, so I think if I ever got tempted by this period I would go with 6mm (maybe even 2mm) and go very big on the flags, they should still look good!

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    1. Thanks, David! You will see parts of the collection soon, I hope. The flags really do bring an even bigger blast of color to the already colorful figures. Not tempted yet?

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  26. What a splendid array Jonathan. And who could fail to be impressed by the standards. Having now bought the War Games Scenarios booklet I will be interested to see what you think of it. I, of course would have made a bee line for Marignano or Pavia or... Two thoughts to perhaps strike dread - a) can you EVER have too many pike blocks and b) an iconic statement from Yarkshire "96 figures? is that an army or a pike block?" Will the lead pile strike back. Farqs

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    1. Glad you like the array of figures! This week’s game is an intro to both rules (both players) and remote gaming (one player). Since this is an intro on at least two fronts, players requested a small game so as not to be overwhelmed. I will work My way into the larger battles. Pike blocks of 96 figures are obscene! Mine are only 39 figures.

      I will be interested in seeing what you think of the scenario book. First up, for me, is Sanguetta.

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  27. A mighty fine array there Jonathan. Your collections are impressive and seem endless.

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    1. Thanks! My collections fall under the “Armies Without Boundaries” camp.

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  28. Nutritious photos Jon - excellent. I know little about the period, but it's obviously a visual treat!

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  29. Wonderful looking collection Jon most impressive ….but clearly needs expanding ?

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    1. Thanks! The first scenario picked required crossbow skirmishers. I have none. Clearly, the collection is not complete.

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  30. A splendid parade! Always a joy to see other folk's collections out on display.

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    1. Thank you, David! Seems everyone loves a parade.

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  31. What a flagtastic display Jonathan…
    I look forward to seeing these lovely toys in action…

    All the best. Aly

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    1. "Flagtastic"! I like it! The toys will be out on the table and in action soon.

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  32. A splendid final performance in this six act play Jonathan…
    So… How do you think this scenario would work with your Italian Wars collection?

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Interesting question. I will give this some careful thought.

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  33. They look great, Jon. Not really much more you need (maybe an organ gun or two if you don;t have them already). Util you start with poles, Ottomans, Hungarians, Molavians, Russ etc! :-) I haven't done that - Joe has those pretty much covered.

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  34. Simon has the "official" Renaissance rules in process, but don't expect anything soon! Sounds like I should get that scenario book!

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    1. Have your TtS! amendments progressed since last time you shared your updates? Time will tell how useful the scenario book is but it has 20 scenarios. The book seems expensive for what you get but what isn't now?

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  35. That's a real ocean of flags and is looking stuning. I see why you prefer smaller scales of figures as you have so many periods on your table.

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  36. A spectacular and gorgeous parade, no doubt!

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  37. Wow, this is colorful period for sure. I have never seen such pretty artillery crews. The many flags are amazing. I know virtually nothing about the period, but I'm still looking forward to this new series.

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    1. Thanks, Vol! You will get a chance at pushing the figures around the table.

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  38. Excellent Great Italian wars figures, you do of course need some more Spanish, I'm working on a 96 figure Swiss pike block, converting every figure because I'm a masochist and about to prime a Sforza command base, it's a fantastic period and I'm looking forward to the battle with bated breath!
    Best Iain caveadsum1471

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    1. Yes, I could use some Spanish. Perhaps next time TAG offers a sale? Maybe I should look into Old Glory and see what they offer?

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  39. James Roach's Spanish are Old Glory, no longer a particularly cheap alternative over here, mine are a mix of Old Glory and Foundry but TAG do some lovely figures as of course do Steel Fist but they make Foundry look cheap!
    Best Iain caveadsum1471

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    1. Thanks! Old Glory are still relatively cheap here. I will look into them but I am trying very hard to either cut back purchases or paint faster. I am failing at both!

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