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| What's in front of where I an sitting right now |
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| Early morning cuppa... |
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| The board I used for spray undercoating |
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| More horsemen. The polystyrene board on the left houses a whole other project. That really ought to be decluttered! |
Bur wait! There's more: 33 more horses and their riders... I quick estimate indicates I have over 250 horse to distribute between the two armies. The Imperialists are slightly the larger force, but the Swedish, supposedly, the harder hitting
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| Oh yes: the chessboard. For analysing my online games. I no longer play 'real time' but more in the way of 'correspondence chess'. |
Another view of my desk top. I am starting to form the habit of listening to stuff on YouTube and elsewhere whilst painting stuff.
... and here, in front of some scattered Swedish pikemen, a 6-figure unit of Swedish Cavalry, counting as 'Swedish Cavalry' under the PP&S Wargaming convention.
When I began this project, I had the numbers - the whole aimed-for armies - clear in my mind, and I was able to get the figures for those numbers. Unfortunately I have after near-on 30 years no clear memory of the numbers involved. I think the Imperialist army was going to have 188 foot and 120-odd horse, not counting command stands, plus 5 cannon. Something over 300 figures. The Swedish were to be a deal smaller - a little south of 300 figures, at any rate. As the project now stands, the latter will comprise, apart from the horse, seven 20-figure battalia (140 figures right there), with several 6-figure (2 stand) units of commanded musketeers. I have yet to decide whether the kneeling fellows with light muskets/carbines(?) will be dragoons and forlorn hope, or that the forlorn hope to be a line of single commanded musketeer stands.
Now, I'll have to sort out who goes where...
When I began this project, I had the numbers - the whole aimed-for armies - clear in my mind, and I was able to get the figures for those numbers. Unfortunately I have after near-on 30 years no clear memory of the numbers involved. I think the Imperialist army was going to have 188 foot and 120-odd horse, not counting command stands, plus 5 cannon. Something over 300 figures. The Swedish were to be a deal smaller - a little south of 300 figures, at any rate. As the project now stands, the latter will comprise, apart from the horse, seven 20-figure battalia (140 figures right there), with several 6-figure (2 stand) units of commanded musketeers. I have yet to decide whether the kneeling fellows with light muskets/carbines(?) will be dragoons and forlorn hope, or that the forlorn hope to be a line of single commanded musketeer stands.
Now, I'll have to sort out who goes where...
For all that Ion, it looks like you're having fun sorting it all out....
ReplyDeleteDo I spy enamel paint in little tins?
Way back when, in the Jurassic before acrylics, I had to learn to paint with gloss enamels as that's all I could get...
Neil
The joy of enamels, with Polycleanse on the side. The olfactory nature of painting in those long ago days.
DeleteAlan Tradgardland
Neil and Anon -
DeleteI mostly paint with the Vallejo acrylics, but the way I destroy paint brushes, I find the old Humbrol gloss colours useful in certain circumstances. Especially if I need to paint thin lines without the paint drying out too quickly on the brush. I find that back in the mid-90s I painted some horse using a nice gloss 'chestnut' colour. That colour was useful for other things as well.
Cheers,
Ion
Looks like you had a productive day plus a plan formulated, all in all a good day. Enamels, how I hated them, my painting was awful, not that it's much better now, but a least acrylics are more forgiving! Nice figures too.
ReplyDeleteMore than one day, Donnie! One small problem, which I will have to mention in a future posting, concerns unit sizes - especially the horse. Originally I was going to give the Imperial horse 10-figure units in 2 ranks (individually mounted figures) and the Swedish 8 figures in a single rank. The Imperialist were to rely on firepower; the Swedish on shock.
DeleteWell, that will have to change. We'll come to that eventually...
On painting styles, I adjust according to figure styles. One thing I am grateful for: I can see now a hell of a lot better than I could a few years ago, even in the early 2000s.
Cheers,
Ion
Very productive, and such huge numbers of figures!
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack -
DeleteSomehow the thing is a lot more than I remembered! The Imperialist foot was pretty much done more than 20 years ago, as were 5 Swedish battalia. I thought the Imperialist horse were finished, but, though there are several 'finished' units, there are lots more to do!
Onl project c s are funny aren't they? But you TYW stuff is looking grand.. Have I mentioned how I recently bought a load of 20mm Persians, only discover I already have loads of Persians in the loft? Along with (another) complete Macedonian army, which I'd completely forgotten about. Old age is a terrible thing...
ReplyDeleteMartin -
DeleteI do seem to recall mention of the forgotten load of Persians. Not the Macedonians, though. The serendipitous manifestation of a project already begun might seem something of a boon! It may be no bad thing for the Persians to be far larger than your Macedonians. There is potential there for a campaign something along the lines of the Woodscrew Campaign I wrote up a couple of years back.
Meanwhile, I have organised the sword waving horsemen into 5 12-figure units. These will all be Swedish. That leaves 6 figures over, who might fetch up as the horse elements on dragoon stands. The Swedes will also get a unit of cuirassiers - Saxon or Bavarian allies or something.
Cheers,
Ion
The Thirty Years War - I must admit it is a lot more colourful than the ECW (War of the Three Kingdoms). What wargamer wouldn’t want a swarm of wild Croat cavalry in his army? Michael Caine’s The Last Valley is a cracking film and very inspirational (even if the reality of the 30YW was rather grim). I’ll be interested to see how you get on with this project - my 30YW armies are in 2mm, although I do have a few 28mm troops for skirmishing.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Geoff
Geoff -
DeleteMy Imperialist army boasts a swarm of 6 Croat figures (3 2-figure elements) - actually HaT Mamelukes, but they are a pretty good approximation from a figure point of view. Wish I'd kept the other six, now. Those 6 figures, by the way, have featured in the Turcowaz army in the Kavkaz campaign. That army really is short of cavalry.
I'd like to see something of your 2mm 30YW armies in action. I've just looked up 'The Last Valley' and have half an idea I might have seen it on TV about a zillion years ago. Must check it out.
Cheers,
Ion
I'm going back to a project that I started only a few years ago, but even so am struggling to remember my plans as I may have some notes somewhere, but cannot find them. Then there is the small matter of little bags of figures (luckily in this case) re-appearing as I try to get back into the swing of things!
ReplyDeleteSteve -
DeleteI can relate! I'm finding the best method is to lay out the figures I have on a flat surface sufficient to accommodate them, match them up into units and commands, and work from there.
Right in front of me now are my 5 12-figure mounted swordsmen units (each of which will be divided into 6-figure tactical units for game purposes). There's probably more red than there should be for Swedish, but that's too bad. They all - nearly all - have blue saddle blankets!
The sixty horse en masse looks formidable
The Swedes will also get a couple of 6-figure cuirassier units. I made a couple of the cuirassiers into flag-bearers, but seem to have given them Swedish flags. Not sure what I was thinking. They'll keep them, though... Revell were fairly lavish with their command figures. Have yet to sort where most of them go...
Decisions, decisions...
Cheers,
Ion
I'm impressed, Ion.
ReplyDeleteStuff just mounts up doesn't it. I started playing DBM after retirement and the little b****rs just breed like crazy!
Regards, Chris.
Thanks Chris -
DeleteThere is always something to catch the attention - and to take it away. But this was one project I had planned out ahead of time, all the kit, even unto writing my own rule set. If I can find the battle maps I might do a nostalgia piece on that. Then DBR came along, gradually beat down my resistance, and completely bolloxed the whole project. There was no way back.
I did add a couple of things - the Croats and the Swedish battalion guns - and somehow I acquired FOUR boxes of Revell artillery but otherwise the inventory is (I think!) as it was intended 30 years ago.
If it turns out that I can't (or don't want to) go the PW route, I do have an alternative in a rule set called 'Victory without Quarter' - a horrible title, but what I've read of the rule set, might well fill the bill.
Cheers,
Ion