After a couple of weeks of gaming and analytics focused activities, attention returns to the painting desk. Both of those activities have the capability to expand to consume most of my available time so it is nice to get a reprieve to pick up the brush.
Of course, increased roadwork out on the bike in warm weather leaves me without a lot of motivation to accomplish more than sit in the game room and read rather than actually getting a bit of painting accomplished. Yardwork is constantly calling as well. Still, I push through the pain... Anyway, mustering out from the photo booth today are two, nine figure stands of Swiss handgunners for the Great Italian Wars project. Figures are from Wargames Foundry. Nice figures and good to add some Swiss handgunners into the mix. Work at the painting desk is focusing on 15mm FPW figures, at present, with more Prussians and Bavarians seeing action. A couple handfuls of Prussians commanders are being readied as well. An order from Lancashire Games is winging its way to me although the latest reports suggest that it is held up in Irish customs. Please, let my figures go! Before any FPW figures decamp from the painting desk, some WotR cavalry may be up next.
On the blogging/tech front, I have been giving Perplexity's Comet browser a test drive as my default browser. So far, I like the integration of Perplexity's AI engine integrated into a browser. Given that Perplexity is my favored AI engine, nice to have browser integration. Will I go back to my "old" default browser? Stay tuned for further updates on the tech front
Until next time.
Nice work Jon, going all high tec ah, on the AI??
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ray! I use Perplexity quite regularly for searches.
DeleteNice painting Jon. Clearly all the bike riding helps with motivation / activity.
ReplyDeleteThe Foundry Swiss are a bit of a hidden range - I forget the designer - I have an army from when I worked there - still in the pile of shame, awaiting a Burgundian wars project that never happened!
Neil
Thanks, Neil! The Foundry Swiss is a bit of a hidden range. I wonder if they were originally sculpted under Casting Room Miniatures and then moved to Foundry's offerings? I would enjoy seeing your Burgundians take shape. "Pile of Shame"? Some refer to it as "Pile of Opportunity!"
DeleteI think the Swiss were sculpted by Dave Andrews.
DeleteThank you, Phil!
DeletePile of Shame v Pile of Opportunity. And there you have the difference in UK and US cultures!
DeleteNice looking unit you’ve pulled out there Jon.
Chris
Cultural difference? That might say a lot...
DeleteGlad you approve, Chris!
" I wonder if they were originally sculpted under Casting Room Miniatures and then moved to Foundry's offerings? "
DeleteI don't think so. There was no Casting Room when I worked there.
Bryan Ansell had this idea that sculptors had to meet the "Foundry style" - any new sculptors had to undergo a "training period" and lines were labelled as such. For example the Camerone range were Mike Owen's. It seems this went out the window after I left and ranges were commissioned without Bryan's approval....these ended up in the Casting Room range.
Dave Andrews was one of the original Foundry sculptors - exGW. I didn't know the Swiss existed until I worked there!
Neil
Thanks for the added Foundry history, Neil! Interesting.
DeleteSwiss look great. Your experience with the browser /AI soounds
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteInteresting.
ReplyDeleteI was waiting for the last word to drop!
DeleteA fine looking unit Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated!
DeleteVery nice looking units Jon, Foundry has so many gems of ranges in their catalogue and these are certainly one of them, very nice indeed.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Donnie! Foundry has many great ranges and many have stood the test of time.
DeleteSuperb work on the handgunners. Out of interest, what's your process for basing?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Richard! Paint base, flock base, and stick on a few tufts. Pretty easy.
DeleteThank you, Jonathan. That does sound nice a quick.
DeleteYou’re welcome!
DeleteGreat work Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteSome great looking Swiss Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, Christopher!
DeleteLove the Swiss. I always wonder which end would be safer when I look at handgunners.
ReplyDeleteI tried a bit of AI animation the other day to see what putting a bit of movement in to photos of figures might look like as it seemed a fun thing to do, but gave up after a frustrating couple of hours yielded only a video of a two-headed three-armed knight on a five-legged horse.
Thanks, Lawrence! You should post your animation. It might be fun for a laugh. My AI efforts are only searches.
DeleteThe Swiss look great and looking forward to seeing your FPW stuff
ReplyDeleteThanks, Neil!
DeleteVery nice-looking figures Jon. I can't quite figure out how the Irish customs got involved in an item travelling from Lancashire to Washington state - your ICE team haven't got an Irish woman in a detention somewhere, have they?? Could be retaliation! Based on a true story!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.1news.co.nz/2025/08/20/kiwi-mum-speaks-to-media-after-three-weeks-in-us-detainment-centre/
Thank you, Keith! Evidently, Ireland is a customs processing and logistical hub for UK to US packages. Thanks for including the link to the article. Interesting. When I travel internationally, I always doublecheck to make sure my documents are in order. I was especially careful when visiting Peru and Egypt.
DeleteA couple of good looking units you have managed to complete with all the other demands on your time.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Peter! Sometimes, I feel like I am barely treading water...
DeleteReally nicely rendered handgunners: the way you detailed the faces brings through a distinct sense of personality for each. Had not heard of that browser. I'll have to add it to my options.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ed! If you want no ads returned in your searches, give Comet a try. Comet can also automate tasks.
DeleteLovely work on those gunners Jon:). Fingers crossed your package might arrive before the tariffs come into play. There has been some delay this side of the pond with Royal Mail because of this issue, as everyone appears to be struggling to figure out who pays, where and when etc:(. As for browsers, I'm happy with Chrome. I did read that AI uses 20x the energy compared to a Chrome search, with one AI facility requiring the same power as Miami!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Figuring out who pays, collecting the money, and getting the fee to the US Government seems to be a major challenge. Hopefully resolved soon. Data centers use a lot of electricity but I am not sure that each search uses the power equivalent of Miami. I may return to my old browser but for now I’m giving Comet a try on my laptop. Still using my old browsers on tablet and phone.
DeleteIt's the data centre that uses the equivalent energy of Miami: each AI search uses 20x that of Google one. All of this according to a recent Radio 4 programme.
DeleteRe the impact of tariffs, I saw this article the other day......
DeleteNZ Post has suspended some postage services to the United States, citing “some restrictions ... while formal processes around the new US tariffs are being finalised”.
On NZ Post’s website, the company says a number of postage services have been suspended following “the removal of the duty-free threshold” and the introduction of the tariffs, which are due to apply on items arriving in the US from August 29.
Those services - including Economy, Economy Tracked, Economy Plus and Courier - were suspended, for both individuals and businesses, from Friday “until further notice”. It was still possible to send items sent via Express, and letters sent via Economy Letters
Not that this will affect many wargamers, I don't suppose, not many figure producers her in NZ (although once upon a time, all FoW was manufactured here!)
I wager everyone gets this sorted quickly. Some figure manufacturers have said they are working to clarify who pays what so that normal service resumes post haste.
DeleteGreat looking figures Jonathan.
ReplyDeleteI will be impressed with AI when it can do the yard work 😂
Thanks, Ben! Perhaps robots will be doing yard work soon?
DeleteGrand additions to the forces Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anon!
Delete