Dark Ages Painting

This is the first unit of Ceithern. They started a drab grey and where intended to be my “Green” unit. The plan is to mix the units up a bit as I go on.

It doesn’t look like it (due to how your eyes work Byron tells me) but there is a lot of flesh to paint on these fellas. Just need to do this 5 more times!

Horn blower. Footsore only do one Irish musican so I am going to have to get creative with these.

Champion, look he has an actual metal sword! I am going to do more to him to make him special!

So we are 5 days into painting this lot and although a good start we have a long way to go!

Will try and get these polished off at the weekend!

Dark Ages Army

On Friday night I visited my good friend Mark Farr from Footsore Miniatures who had sorted out the first part of my Dark Ages army. He very nicely had got me some banners and pikes too!

Nice drop of packaging

Here are all the toys!

Assembly began Saturday morning, slightly hung over due to my friend Tim and his ace plan of drinking Laphroigh!

Unit 1 going on 20mm citadel bases, cause I have loads!

First 24 assembled, very bored of drilling hands already with 44 more to go 😦

Grey spray for those. I am using different sprays to add variety to the drab colours basing the models.

Brown unit, I am doing the shields separate but am learning that they don’t like staying stuck to the models!

Unit three, dust coloured. The final list isn’t decided yet so with a bit of mixing and matching I can reconfigure units to different sizes.

Dusty slingers!

So the first 95 models are assembled, based and sprayed. I got 20 Fianna and 24 Combrogni (hard Irish men and common British warriors) at the show so we are at around 140 with some more bits to add.

More tomorrow as some painting has occurred!

The Other Partizan

So Tom and I headed over to “The Other Partizan” yesterday to collect toy soldiers. He was getting some French men for the French Indian War project and I was collecting my Irish – more on that soon.

The chap on the left is called Steve (I think) and has put this gorgeous game on. That is Tom at the end sporting his ever thinning hair!!

Lots of beautiful toy soldiers.

Each of the features of the board are removable so that the period can be shifted depending on what you want to play. I thought that was very clever!

Great show my final haul was 20 Fianna, 24 Combrogni, 5 Paints, 3 Trees, 40 Spears and a dirty burger!

15mm ACW

So last night it was over to Owen’s for American Civil War 15mm. I got to meet his daughter’s boyfriend Nat who was going to be commanding the Union whilst I as always took the confederates. I am on the right!

Nat’s mission was to exit via the road on my table edge.

Owen uses an adapted version of Black Powder with rules for troop experience and different firearms.

Nat was on his first go so just blazed away for the majority of the battle. I simply went for disrupting as many units as possible to minimise Union movement and shooting.

Up close the two sides blaze away across the fences. I asked Owen to make me a load of these fences in 28mm and there are no prizes for his response!

The Union in this battle had a significant number advantage so  casualties for me were far more costly.

In the end my centre broke leaving Nat free to race through the gap. There was nothing I could do to stop him.

Fantastic game and a brilliant set up. Thank you Owen for wargames, hosting and chicken!

Daemons vs Orks 40K

This is not quite a battle report but mostly some photos of set up. I am using my new flames of war mat and used the Orks to battle the evil Daemons.

 

I was battling an old work colleague Marco. He has done all the hard work and made an unstoppable Daemon Horde, it turned out to be unstoppable!

Here is the handsome lad himself, for those vast quantities of single ladies reading this blog and dreaming of netting themselves a hunky Italian wargamer with a respectable job, he is currently on the market!!

Down the table shot. This was the end on turn one and then making pizza for the family and beer distracted me from the mission of photos.

Marco easily beat me and my MSUs with Orks worked poorly. I keep saying it but I need to get some more bodies on the board to start the winning process.

Thanks for the game Marco and I will endeavour to produce a better battle report next time!

Red Coat Close Ups

As requested here are some close ups of the Red Coats. You will note the green trim as I want them to be from Nottingham. Now living in Nottingham and having had, in the past to travel frequently to the US I figured I had some empathy with these fellas.

GB suggested penny basing to keep them nice and tight when formed up. I feel a Warbases order coming on!

I thought they were tidier when I took this photo. But here are the first 19. I built another 11 last night so will be ready for war fairly soon.

19 Redcoats “Dave Done”

Are you nearly ready for some “Lasy of the Mohicans” action. I need about 8 more dudes to get me to the starting force but that is well doable. Let’s see what the other boys come up with. And Tom is still making disgruntled noises about historical accuracy. I will get some Highlanders at some point but that is a little way off with the Irish looming.

I do note as a side bar that I have been talking about this Irish army much as very shallow movies talk about the major half time plot device!

I also have to say that I think in all my years of painting toy soldiers these are the most Toy Soldiery Toy Soldiers that I have ever done. I recommend getting a box to anyone as you will enjoy the whole experience.

Anyway onwards and upwards!

Wolfe’s Army

Through the post came this little gem. Giving me some cool painting ideas.

I am now looking forward to a relaxing weekend where I can read this through and become inspired.

I also want to get into the background for the Age of Arthur stuff!

More FIW Progress

The text and email chatter is aplenty and the lads are all engaging in the Muskets and Tomahawks project. There is some talk that the quality of soldiers out there is variable and a close inspection is recommended.

My Perry’s fellas are doing well. I need to finish off the black, do a brown strap, highlight the grey and the white and white line the hats. Sounds like a lot but I reckon that can get sorted pretty quick.

I will probably get another group including command done then shelve this as I have an Irish army to paint for an Age of Arthur tournament that Tom is taking (making me go) to for my Birthday – I think the timing is coincidental.

Anyway with 150 Irish to go there is a long road to the 12th November! I am looking forward to it. Though Tom is going to have to teach me to play.

Beginning of a French Indian War Force

So on Saturday morning full of head cold I toddled over to Caliver Books. What I hadn’t realised was that it was Claymore Wargames show so most of the stock was absent. I was after these fellas:

Now as discussed at the Sherwood, Hucknall, Ilkeston Team gathering the difference between these and the chaps in the FIW is minimal. And even GB (a stickler for these things) agreed they would be fine. Only once they where half painted did Tom start with his chiding about them being from the wrong period. I will just paint them really nicely and that will show him!!

And yes one remained behind when I went to spray them so I have 19 not 20 in progress, 😦