Painting Log 2021

The counts are in for the 2021 Painting Campaign.  

While I did not proclaim a figure count goal for 2021, I expected a total of near 900 figures would be a reasonable objective.  With an expectation for a steady diet of remote games (right!) and no new projects on the horizon (wrong!), I set my sights on a slightly lower total than the previous years.

What I did not expect was an explosion of remote gaming and two new projects.  Of the two new projects begun in 2021, the War of the Roses project wrapped up by year-end and the Sumerian project is making good progress.  As seen from the following charts, both War of The Roses and Sumerians made up a big chunk of 2021 output.

On to the numbers. 

The totals for 2021 were 1,103 painted figures amassing 4,297 Painting Points.  Much better than expected and certainly a nice sum.  Now, if I could only restrict new projects and new purchases so that I can make dent in The Lead Pile. 

Figure 1

When looking at painting production by era, Figure 1 confirms that WotR and Sumerian projects did, indeed, represent most of my painting output.  There were some Hittites in the Biblical grouping as well.  ACW was up there in figure count too but at 10mm, the figures do not count much in either time spent or painting points.  

Figure 2

Breaking painting totals down by scale, Figure 2 illustrates that 25/28mm projects dominated my efforts.  Surprisingly, 15/18mm figures saw very little activity in 2021.  Something I need to correct for 2022 to bring about more balance.  

Figure 3

On a Painting Point basis, Figure 3 demonstrates the usefulness of translating actual figures counts to Painting Points.  Both the WotR and Sumerian projects see their weight expand at the expense of the smaller (in size) projects.  With a translation from Actual to Painting Points, the WotR project's effort increases from about 28% of total effort up to 37% of total effort.

Figure 4

Converting the figure counts from Actuals to Painting Points (see Figure 4), the 25/28mm projects expand their percentage of effort (84.2%) while the 10mm ACW projects gets squeezed due to the heavier weighting of 25/28mm figures over 10mm figures.

With no new projects planned for 2022, what can I expect on the painting front? I have many projects that may contend for my time at the painting desk but laying down a few priorities may help maintain some focus.  Many of these projects already are in a gameable state with the exception of the Sumerian project which needs more units to field two playable armies.  Getting close but not quite yet on that one.  Where should I spend my painting efforts in 2022?

• Finish enough Sumerians to field two armies.
• Build a SYW French army in 18mm to complement my Prussian and Austrian armies.
• Expand the Biblical armies with additions to Hittites, Egyptians, and Babylonians.
• Expand the Samurai armies to include foot and mounted Samurai bowmen.
• Given the figure size mix from 2021, try to paint more 15/18mm figures than 25/28mm figures. 

If all goes well with the above list, perhaps 2022 is the year I begin a Trojan War project or expand the Franco-Austrian War project into the Franco-Prussian War by beginning a Prussian army?  Time will tell.  Since figures for both the Trojans and Prussians are already languishing in The Lead Pile, try to resist starting a new project requiring new figures.  We will see how that goes.

What are your painting plans for 2022?

Sumerian Recruiting Drive

With games three days in five, painting has taken a backseat.  A very backseat.  Meaningful painting sessions have been few and far between.  I did manage to sit down Wednesday morning for a short session to work on two SYW French battalions while I reflected on the group game on Tuesday.  Keeping current on battle reports is posing a challenge too. 

Anyway, to break up the recent diet of battle reports, on tap today are two units of Sumerians recently completed.  First up is a dozen spearman from Newline Designs Miniatures.  These spearmen have protective cloak with no shield.  Fine sculpts and a pleasure to paint.  

Second up is the second Lugal stand to emerge from the painting desk.  Like the first command stand, the stand comprises Lugal, driver, three runners, and battle cart with team.  This is a weighty piece having plenty of heft.  Again, these figures are all Newline Design too.  Very fine figures. 

More Sumerians are in work after having received a small box of Foundry Sumerians.  Expect more spearmen and javelinmen.  Also in work are three battle carts from Newline Designs.

With no more games on the docket for the remainder of the week (I may sneak in a game on Saturday), perhaps, I can return to the painting desk or catch up on a battle report or two.  Who knows?  The recounting of annual Painting Log Summary awaits too.  The list is long.  

Second Battle of Azukizaka

With the Samurai armies deployed for battle and a framework in place to play Basic Impetvs 2.0 (BI2.0) on a hex grid, Peter and I sat down across the remote gaming table.  Peter's seat was in Australia.  My seat was situated in my game room in Washington State 8,400 miles away.

The battle up for a refight was the Second Battle of Azukizaka in 1548.  The force composition and initial deployments came from the Commands & Colors, Samurai Battles website at,

Second Battle of Azukizaka

with initial tabletop deployments as,

Initial deployments

A brief background on the battle comes from the link above.  It states,

In 1548 Oda Nobuhide led an army into Mikawa, his objective being the Matsudaira’s capital city of Okazaki. Matudaira’s young lord, Hirotada, turned to Imagawa for assistance and agreed to provide his only son as a hostage in return for help, but the child was abducted by the Oda in route. Imagawa Yashimoto still fulfilled the bargain and called on his uncle, monk-general Taigen Sessai, to march out to meet Nobuhide. Sessai set up an ambush of sorts and although the fighting was desperate, Nobuhide was defeated and thus avenged the earlier loss at the same sight some six years previously (Mark McG).

Peter chose to take command of the Oda Clan leaving me in ambush with the Imagawa Clan.  In the game photos, red dice denote current VBU for Imagawa units.  Blue dice denote current VBU for Oda units.  The small green die shows a unit's current Impetvs.

Let's see how the battle developed.

The two armies are arrayed for battle.

View from Oda left.

View from Oda right.

Sessai wastes no time in advancing toward Oda Nobuhide.
Oda advances on left while holding in the center and right.

Seeing an opening in the Imagawa line,
Nobuhide launches a cavalry charge into Imagawa Teppo.
Teppo fire as the horsemen approach but the cavalry come on.

Teppo rout in the face of the charge
as the Oda spear engage the Imagawa first line.

In the center, Imagawa foot are driven back after
 furious close combat with Oda Samurai.

On the Imagawa right, Sessai brings up Ashigaru spear
 to prevent an Oda flank attack.

Oda cavalry drive deep behind Imagawa lines in pursuit.
In the center, Oda spear see heavy
losses in counterattacks and are driven back.

Watching his right give away,
Sessai orders an advance in the center and left.

Imagawa strength on the left looms large against the Oda right.
Oda foot turn to face this new threat.

With pressure mounting against the Oda right,
the center wavers while repositioning to face this increasing threat.
Oda Ashigaru spear are falling back in disorder.  

Sessai sends his two Samurai cavalry
 crashing into the Oda right.

Oda spear in the center hold
while Oda Samurai repulse the Imagawa attack.
For now, the Oda line holds.
Casualties climb for both combatants.

While the Oda cavalry regroup,
the Ashigaru attack.
The Imagawa right and center collapses. 

While the Imagawa right and center disintegrate,
The Imagawa left, presses on.

With the Oda right in shambles,
 Sessai turns his attention to defeating the enemy army.
Sweeping around the enemy rear,
 Sessai attacks in great force.

After passing completely around the Oda rear,
 Sessai's Samurai cavalry lead the way in scattering
the Oda foot.

Imagawa cavalry catches the enemy in the rear.

With Imagawa cavalry in pursuit,
the clock runs out for Oda Nobuhide.
Oda Nobuhide concedes the field.

After almost three hours of play, the clock ran out for Oda Nobuhide.  The battle was closely contested throughout play and the outcome was in doubt until the final turn.  With Imagawa Sessai gaining the initiative on Turn 9, he could choose where to attack in order to push Oda Nobuhide over his army's breakpoint.  Had Nobuhide gained initiative on turn 9, the outcome may have been different and the tables turned.

Thanks to Peter for a very enjoyable gaming session.  Peter is a savvy player and picked up the rules quickly.  The initial run-out of the rules worked well even though I made mistakes in some adjudications.  At least these misadjudications were applied evenly to both.  After the game, I re-read the BI2.0 rules and jotted down a few more notes and amended my QRS.

While it has been a very long time since either my Japanese armies or BI have been out for a spin, it was an enjoyable ride.  Great fun, actually.  Round 2 of the Second Battle of Azukizaka is up on the slate for the Tuesday group game.  With rules refreshed in my mind, my adjudications should be less pitted with missteps.

After a second game, I will have a clearer picture of the success of my work on converting Basic Impetvs to a grid.

Expect to see more of these armies in 2022.  Well, at least as long as I can find willing opponents!

On the Table Today Is...

View from behind Imagawa left

the Second Battle of Azukizaka in 1548.

After about five years (!), the Feudal Japan collection is back out onto the gaming table.  Five years?  It seems like only yesterday.  Pulling these armies from their boxes and arraying for battle have been a long time coming, for sure.  Much too long.  Attempting to make up for lost time, Azukizaka will be fought again on Tuesday. The scenario for this battle, I collected from the Commands & Colors Samurai Battles website.  Initial deployments for the two armies are shown in the photo below:  

Initial deployments

In the historical battle, the Imagawa clan under the leadership of Sessai attempted to lay an ambush for the Oda clan under the command of Nobuhide.  Nobuhide was defeated, reversing the victory over the Imagawa at Azukizaka six years earlier.

For this action, I return to Basic Impetvs. Again, another branch of my rules' collection not seeing action in many years.  Returning back to work I did earlier on converting BI to a grid, this prototype is ready for renewed trials.  With a few amendments to the game engine, BI ought to work on a grid.  Adding in a few rules to provide a flavor of Feudal Japanese warfare, I am ready for a test.  Expect more Samurai battles throughout 2022.

On another front, work begins on modifying code and tabulating the numbers for the annual Painting Log Review.  Even with nearly 100 games in the books for 2021, painting production was quite respectable.  Surprisingly, I managed to paint more than 1,000 figures.  More on this topic another time.

First, a game is afoot.

Battle of Bosworth

Bosworth Field is quiet

Back to the gaming table after the holidays!

For a return to remote gaming, Richard offered up the Battle of Bosworth using his Battle Commander rules.  One really interesting aspect of this game and Richard's interpretation is that both Henry and Richard III had a number of stratagems to consider prior to game day.  As Henry, commanding the Tudor Army, I faced two decisions.  I suspected my counterpart, Graham, as Richard III, faced similar decisions to make.  Neither commander saw the battlefield before play began so much was left to my imagination as to what exactly I faced.

On to battle!

Henry draws up Oxford on his left with guns in between.

Norfolk leads the Yorkist army as it approaches
Henry's position.
Richard follows closely in column.

William orders his battle to move to join Henry
 but he hesitates to commit.

Richard deploys into Battle and moves to come
 up alongside Norfolk.
Yorkist guns send balls into the ranks of
Henry's mounted MAAs.

Norfolk and Richard advance toward Henry.
Lord Stanley gets word that his son has been executed.
He sends message to W. Stanley and then marches out.

Henry continues taking fire from distant artillery
 but William Stanley moves to protect Henry.

Richard advances as Yorkist artillery and
archery pound Henry.
On the left, Oxford and Norfolk exchange archery fire
as they slowly close upon one another.
Tudor guns target Norfolk.

Norfolk strikes first sending his Battle into Oxford.
Lodged in melee, both fight furiously
 to gain an upper hand.

Lord Stanley, in the distance,
marches to the sound of battle.
Northumberland remains inactive.

While Oxford and Norfolk battle, 
Stanley attacks Richard.  Richard is wounded.
Tudor gunners abandon their pieces.

Norfolk falters and falls back with Oxford in pursuit.

The trap is sprung!
French pikemen and handgunners emerge
from ambush and head for Richard's flank.

Both Oxford and Stanley fight desperately in
hand-to-hand against the Yorkists as the French close.
Henry and his entourage break from artillery fire and retire.

Norfolk can take no more.
 His command breaks for the rear.
The French slam into Richard's flank
while Stanley hammers his front.
Wounded, Richard's courage cannot affect
 the outcome of battle.
Henry returns in time to see Richard defeated.
Richard will not remain king.

Henry will be King!  Long live the King!

Great start to the New Year!

Richard presented an engaging scenario with the ramifications of the decisions made and their consequences discussed long after the game ended.  Very entertaining and a big thank you to Richard for hosting.

Next Tuesday, I step up to the plate with a look at Samurai armies at the Battle of Second Azukizaka, 1548.

The Year in Review: Games Played

Rivoli situation about 1700

On the gaming front, 2021 turned out to be an extraordinary year.  I participated in more games than ever before.  Games played in 2021 were almost an order or magnitude greater than in past years.  Where a dozen games per year seemed the norm in most years, 2021 ripped away those long-held standards.  

Having rarely played more games than can be counted on two hands, I never made any effort in tabulating games played.  With so many games in the books for 2021, inventorying the results seemed a reasonable activity to tackle.  Was I surprised at the tally?

Yes!

The game count is quite astonishing, really, and these totals do not include many of my solo games, my Rivoli PBeM game, Steve's SCW PBeM campaign, and multiple games in each Commands & Colors' session.  So, total games played is actually under-counted!  The count of games played in 2021 is,

97!

That is correct.  97 games logged.  Much of the gaming increase is due directly to a move to remote gaming via Zoom.

Games were not concentrated in a few genres and rules but a wide assortment of periods, scales, and rules.  The count shows 23 different rulesets hit the table in 2021 with my long-running AWI campaign with Matt leading the way at 12 games.  That is a lot of rules to remember from game to game. 

Another look at the rules played, graphically, shows that the top five rulesets of Rebels & Patriots, Fields of Honor, For Whom the Dice Rolls, Knights of the Sky, and Commands & Colors made up almost 50% of games played.

Games by rules played

What about figure size or scale?  Was there breadth in that respect too?  Yes, breadth was in abundance.

Games played by scale/figure size

While 15/18mm and 25/28mm may have dominated games played, 1/72 comprised a large percentage of games thanks to Graham's many land games and Richard's numerous air games.

Games played by month

Were the games concentrated within a few months or evenly distributed throughout the year?  While the chart above shows spikes of activity where May, August, and October reached 11 games played, most months had at least seven games played. This is a lot of gaming!

Do I expect to see this same level of gaming in 2022?  Not fully understanding how I managed 97 games in 2021, duplicating the 2021 effort in the New Year seems unlikely.  Besides, I have a Lead Pile of unpainted lead to work through.

The next time I return to the yearly review, I dig into the Painting Log and see what 2021 held.