Back to the Italian Wars

After the deep dive into the differences between charge types and when to use them in Basic Impetvs, time to return to the painting desk and something a bit lighter.  Although, I know that the intricacies of Basic Impetvs are not of universal appeal, I do appreciate those readers who weighed in with their thoughts.  These rules' ruminations seemingly clog my mind frequently so putting them down for later reference is a worthwhile diversion from normal programming.

With that prologue out of the way, time to get to the topic at hand.  Today's topic is what figures have recently mustered out from the painting desk.

Out from the painting desk today are two bodies of Men-at-Arms for the Great Italian Wars.  All ten figures are from Wargames Foundry.  The flags, I think, are all from Pete's Flags.  Another five of these MAA remain in The Lead Pile to push into the painting queue another time. 

On the gaming front, Richard hosted another of his Koenig Krieg games in a remote setting and played on hexes.  Dan and I split command of the Prussian Army while Lee and Ray commanded the Russians.  For me, the highlight of the game saw one of my infantry brigades back off the ridge line in the best Wellingtonian fashion to protect itself from artillery fire.  This brigade later re-emerged over the ridge to hit the unsuspecting Russian infantry in the flank, destroying two infantry regiments.  Caught the Russians off guard with that ploy!  Great fun!  For a full battle report, visit Richard's blog at The Battle of Fernspiel, A SYW Remote Encounter.

Next game up on my table provides a look at the 1800 Battle of Montebello.  Since this is a meeting engagement with reinforcements for both armies arriving throughout the battle, the first trial with be a two-player affair.  After Game #1, I can reassess to see if this scenario can easily accommodate multiple players without having some players sit idly by for a long time.  First game is on Monday.

For now, back to the painting desk and preparing for Montebello.

Assyrian Horse Archers

Looking back at the Painting Log, nearly one year has passed since the Biblical collections last saw some new recruits.  Where does the time go?

In one of my recent digs into The Lead Pile, I unearthed eight Wargames Foundry Assyrian horse archers.  There are only eight of them, why not push them into the painting queue and slide them over to the "Finished" side of the painting ledger?  Why not, indeed!

This is exactly what I managed to do!  Out from the painting desk today are eight Assyrian horse archers formed up into two stands.  Lovely figures.  Notice that these bases have been given the new and improved dice tray.  Having given the tray upgrade to the Sumerian collection, next time the table is clear, perhaps I can pull all of the Biblicals out of boxes and stick dice trays onto all of them?  There are a lot of stands in this collection.  An order to Warbases may be needed to complete this project but at least I can get a start.

I am not done with painting Biblicals or Ancients, quite yet though.  I see a number of units working their way through the painting queue.  After those, in-progress units make it out to the other side of the Painting Ledger, a return to painting 15mm horse & musket is in order.

Later today I introduce a handful of non-wargamers to "tabletop miniatures gaming" known to many of us as "wargaming."

Another Mixed Bag!

While I await inspiration to recount my tale of the last fight at Zallaqah, I offer up a second mixed bag of activities.  No, not a bag from Santa yet!  Zallaqah game photos have been resized and curated so at least some progress was made.  Battle report maybe next time?  Until then, a game teaser from the early battle action.

Zallaqah

At the painting desk, multiple units are seeing work, and a steady flow of figures is migrating upstairs to the photo box in the office.  On the painting productivity front, December will likely see the best month of 2025.  That is good news.  Looks like I will fall just short of painting 900 figures for the year.  Very good news!

Anyway, next off the painting desk is a fifteen-figure unit of Gurkhas for the Great Game project.  These figures are from Wargame Foundry's Indian Mutiny range.  Nice figures but, perhaps, a little smaller than some of the other figures in the range.  Based in open order, they will complement the British Army in dealing with more irregular tasks.

I mentioned in other posts, Nancy has been experimenting with 3D printing at the local library.  Before each tutorial visit, she asks if I have any small(ish) stl files she could take to try.  On the latest outing, I sent the culvert file offered as a free gift from Sabotag3D for completing the 2025 WSS Great Wargaming Survey.

I asked for the culvert to be printed in two scales for both 15mm and 28mm.  They turned out quite nice, I think.  Next up, both need a slap of paint.

Speaking of the WSS GWS and free gifts, I used the 5-pound voucher to order a digital back issue of WSS magazine.  With thoughts turning back toward WotR, I ordered issue 98.  The voucher easily covered the cost of the digital edition.

If you completed the survey and have yet to use your voucher, do so before the voucher expires at year-end.

As always, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, good gaming, and hopefully, something wargamery in your stocking.

Swiss Handgunners

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.

More Hittites

With summer just kicking off and the month of June winding down, activities on the hobby front are seeing signs of renewed life.  From May's low figure count in the Painting Log, June will see a marked uptick in output.  Not quite a hundred figures will pass out from the painting desk but it may be close.  Still one week to go before closing the books on June.  

With two games last week and one game yesterday, gaming is starting to work its way back on track too.  All three games were refights of the WotR Battle of Mortimer's Cross.  The first was a F2F game chronicled here.  The second was a remote game with Peter and the third was a four-player remote game with the Rejects.  Games 2 and 3 are yet to be chronicled.

Mortimer's Cross with the Rejects

Anyway, back to the painting desk.  Mustering out today is another body of Hittite spearmen.  These fourteen figures are mostly Wargames Foundry with the odd Newline Design figure tossed in for good measure.  A return to the SYW/WAS may be out next from the photo booth. 

Weather has been good on the Palouse and outdoor cycling has picked up accordingly.  While my lingering and annoying cold/flu bug has forced continued workouts on the indoor trainer, mileage outside increases.  Late spring and early summer are colorful times with the bright yellow blooms of rapeseed blanketing the landscape.  Seems many more fields of yellow this year than in recent years.  Nice contrast to the blue sky and the green, forested hills. 

Next time, hopefully a battle report!

The Dirty Dozen

Actually, the very dirty fourteen!

Being knocked back from illness the last week and having to wipe away a couple of games from this week's schedule, I am surprised at how much more I feel motivated to paint.  The absence of any games to plan, host, and write-up, has given me more time to think about activities at the workbench.  More accomplished than simply thinking about painting activities.  I have gotten down to business with a few meaningful painting sessions as my recovery allows.  I even managed to stick together a dozen Perry WotR mounted men-at-arms.  Glad I don't need to field masses of these mounted horsemen.  Short bursts may be all I can muster, for now, but good progress is made on a number of projects.    

Off the painting desk today is the first of two bodies of Hittite spearmen.  Figures are mostly Wargames Foundry with an odd Newline Designs' figure tossed in for good measure. 

These fellas look a bit dirtier and more campaign-worn than usual.  I may have applied the stain a touch too liberally this time or may not have wiped away quite enough.  Anyway, these dirty warriors join the ranks of the Hittite Army.

For now, back to the painting desk.

Assyrians and a Pair of Games

In between pushing out additions to the 18mm SYW/WAS collection, I try to plug in a 25mm Biblical unit or two to break up the process and stick in some variety.  Today's offering is one such distraction.

Out from the painting desk today is a twelve-figure unit of Assyrian Auxiliary foot.  Figures are Wargames Foundry.  These dirty and seasoned hard campaigners are ready for service once gaming returns to Biblicals.  Hittite reinforcements are not far behind.

Besides the five-game series on Monday refighting Cunaxa, two more gaming sessions were logged into the Games Played book this week.  Tuesday saw Matt and I battle over the Brandywine battlefield (see Battle of Brandywine Part 2).  On Thursday, I joined Tony (Prometheus in Aspic) in a five player, WSS battle he hosted remotely.  This may have been the first multi-player remote game that Tony has hosted.  He took on the task with confidence and the game progressed with ease.  Great job, Tony!  Oh, by the way, Mark and I came out on top in this clash with a score of 11-3.  Decisive victory!

Tony's BatRep can be found at, WSS Action at Damebrunnen.  Great fun to actually get to play with these fellas rather than hosting.

Assyrian Auxiliary Infantry

With games on Monday and Wednesday this week, refining QRS for another WotR game set for next week, and assorted other distractions, I have been finding little time to sit down for any meaningful time at the painting desk.  I did, however, manage to push out a 14-figure stand of Assyrian Auxiliary foot.  Figures are Wargames Foundry.  These scruffy looking lads were a nice change of pace from the predominately SYW figures marching across my painting desk of late.  

More Biblicals are in work including Babylonian and Hittite foot and a sizable batch of 18mm SYW units waiting to come up in the photo booth.  Also coming out from the workbench are two bodies of WotR foot knights.  Perhaps, I can carve out some time this weekend to get some painting done?  First, I must reset the table for the next game. 

While I briefly mentioned the Po River battles in the previous post, I have yet to chronicle the Solden Hill Battle on Monday in a third playtest of WotR' rules.  The game was a success, but my Lancastrians fell to the cunning play of my opponent.  It was another near run battle, but a game-ending flank attack spoiled an otherwise positive outing.

Yorkists attacking Somerset on Solden Hill.

With a little luck, I can put together a battle account before the next WotR game on Wednesday.  Only a few modifications made to the next iteration of the QRS to simplify the process and reduce possible harm inflicted from one anomalous event.

Foundry Matchlockmen

With a steady diet of battle reports of late, time to slip in a short painting update to break up some of the detailed battle accounts.  There remains one more Adobe Wells game to chronicle but I am still sorting photos and putting the pieces of frantic action into place.  As a teaser, consider what the narrative is behind the scene below:

Back to today's figures...

Mustering out today are 24 matchlock men from Wargames Foundry's Sikh Wars range.  These warriors will be absorbed into the Native contingents for my 25mm Great Game project that continues to simmer away very slowly on one of the back burners.

Nice figures and a pleasure to paint.  Lots more figures to parade through the photo booth.

Back to the Brushes

With game reports seemingly monopolizing blog posts in June, high time to return to featuring some of the units crossing over the painting desk of late.  While productivity with the brush began the month with a bang, as the days of June tick by, time at the workbench has dropped.  Some of this loss of productivity is within my control.  Some of it not.  Of course, gaming and reporting on gaming consumes my limited time but as the weather heats up cycling moves up the priority list as the mileage increases.

One local highlight is that the Post Street Bridge has finally reopened after a four-year reconstruction project.  Long delayed by COVID interruptions, the bridge is finally back in service.  The original, 1917 bridge has been converted primarily into a pedestrian and cycling friendly crossing of the Spokane River.  The vantage point from the bridge is one we have not seen in, well, four years.  That is, a handsome view of the upper falls and the two foot bridges connecting Canada Island to the north and south banks of the river.  If you look closely, a tiny person can be seen on the footbridge to offer a sense of scale.

Upper Falls from "New" Post Street Bridge

Whoops, I digress.  Back to the painting table.

Off the painting desk today are two, nine figure stands of Swiss crossbow for the 28mm Great Italian Wars project.  Discovering that more crossbow were needed after fighting Fornovo, I placed an order to bring in more crossbowmen.  Figures are Wargames Foundry.  I have an equal number of Swiss arquebusiers to push into the painting queue at some point.  Not yet, though. 

Finally, I received a package this week from Ray of Postie's Rejects fame.  Having recently sent off a CARE package to Richard with some "spare" FRW figures that Ray may be able to press into service as well, in the post was a soft package from England containing the item below and a nice note from Ray.

How about that?

The Rejects have graciously accepted me as a full-standing member of Postie's Rejects (American Chapter, of course).

How cool is this?

Thanks guys!

Pass the Pathans

With overnight guests and a steady parade of grandkid birthday parties (three), one recital, and very little quiet, not much was accomplished over the weekend just past.  There was some time during the early morning hours to work at the painting desk before the house sprung to life with a three-year tearing through the house.  We did have to explain the difference between grandpa's toys and the three-year old's toys.  Luckily, the little one was not too interested in my toys.  

I did manage to finish a 15-figure band of Pathans to add into the 19th Century Great Game project.  Figures are Wargames Foundry.  These three stands are based as irregulars more suitable for harassment than stand up fights.

This week looks relatively quiet on the gaming front until Friday when I host a refight of the Bassignana battle with four players.  With quiet returning to the house and rain coming down in a steady pour today, perhaps I can spend some quality time at the painting desk?  Lots in work with a decidedly WAS/SYW flavor but with a few surprise project additions as well.  

There is still a Bassignana report from last week to write too.  Until that time, below is another teaser from the battle showing d'Aix' Piedmontese holding the high ground as the French contemplate an assault.