Projects and stuff

 Just a simple post, mostly to get me back into the swing of things with this site...

Here is a brief view of my projects:

Lots of the same from before, but some changes.

My sons and I have been focusing a lot of time and attention on Warcrow from Corvus Belli.  Warcrow is a fantasy skirmish game based on mostly original work by Corvus Belli, with a growing line of miniatures to support it.  We are big fans of Corvus Belli's sci-fi game Infinity, so Warcrow attracted us from the original Kickstarter.

Battletech is right up there as well, although we have not played for some weeks now.

And everything else is getting some small amounts of attention.  I recently received some 1/200 aircraft models - WW2 US and Japanese - and I will post about them soon.  There are plenty of options for naval combat, with WW1 ships just waiting, a few WW2 battleships waiting, and ironclads as well.  I do have my eye on the recently released 1/2400 Anglo-Dutch ships developed by League of Augsburg as well.

Malifaux is a newcomer to the desk.  This is another fantasy skirmish game, one that I have never played but have heard about from the 'Web and now from my sons who have picked it up.  'Bayou' is a faction of Gremlins in the game, and they attracted me by being a bit silly and comical.  I am not really sure how that will go - stay tuned!

I am also looking towards a medieval project.  The new 13th century figures from Victrix are quite appealing.  This would not be a skirmish game - larger battles would be the goal.  AS I have plenty of figures from other projects to work on at the moment, this will get more attention next year.

There are several projects missing from the list, however.  Spanish Civil War is gone, along with my Mesoamerican figures and Trojan War projects.  These have been sold or traded for the projects that are more active recently, or simply for $.  I have been doing some deep cleaning of my hobby storage, and making some difficult decisions on projects.  

The 15mm Greeks are on hold for now.  I am having a hard time getting myself to paint the figures, so they have been put aside for a time.

The GW stuff is on hold also; definitely no purchases for a long time now and it will be very difficult to justify more.

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... And back again

 Welp, it has been a while.

Lots of things going on - work and family and such - but not much desire to post here, until recently.  Now I hope to keep posting; there have been items to share but I'll keep those for later.

And, the usual table pic:

Covered with the typical chaos.  Step 1 will be to clean and organize so there is more than a few square inches of working space!

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Again with the delays...

 Welp, still here although hard to tell that recently!

Seems to be one problem after another and sometimes compounded - work getting worse with personnel shortages and technical issues, a bit of personal bad times as memories of my lovely wife that I thought were secured came flooding back, and assorted other things.  But, I am struggling my way through them...

The table, showing some actual progress which has not occurred for a few months - working on Infinity miniatures and some terrain for Warcrow.

Apologies to those bloggers that I try to visit; and I will attempt to keep in the swing of things here again.

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Working on some terrain

 Something a bit different - 28mm terrain:

Assorted conifers from Bachman, tree bases from Charlie Foxtrot, foreground ruins, runestone, and stela from Fenris Games, and the dark grey resin buildings in the background from Fogou Models.

Not much else getting done as cascading crises at work keep me otherwise occupied!

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Great War naval, the return

 The naval project, hinted at in my previous post, is indeed Great War naval in 1/2400.  This marks a return to one of my original historical projects, as I first dabbled with these dreadnoughts in the mid 1990's using the fine miniatures from CinC.  Another attempt in this century was made with 1/3000 ships and again with 1/1800, but nothing really stuck and many of these ships were accidentally discarded.

But, the world turns and so does my attention, and here we are back with 1/2400, this time with GHQ ships.  I am trying to guide this project along a few lines:  one, as a solo project I am going to try and not get too carried away with purchases (we'll see!); two, also along the lines of a solo project I am going to try and purchase these ships as they come on sale from GHQ or other sources; three, limiting the theatre of operations to the Baltic (and maybe the Black Sea); and lastly to not be too concerned with historical squadrons and just get a game on.

First up are some Russians:

GHQ lists them as BB-class, but in reality they are pre-dreadnoughts.  Slava and Tsessarevitch are survivors of the Russo-Japanese War, and Imperator Pavel is only slightly more recent.

A mixed bag of cruisers:

And a few German heavy units:

The shift away from purely historical encounters starts straight away with these selections.  SEYDLITZ, as far as I know, did not engage in any combat missions in the Baltic during the Great War, but I certainly will put her in harm's way.  And SEYDLITZ will not be the only one, as I intend to get the Russian Gangut-class battleships in action as well, eventually.

Next item on the list is rules.  I have some in mind already, old ones and newer ones to try out.

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A Brief review of 2023 and preview of 2024

 I am a bit late with this but let's move right along...

I can say with some confidence that 2023 was the year that I finally shifted my gaming gears out of neutral and got moving again across the tabletop.  Now, my gaming total was not as impressive as some, but more miniatures games were played than several of the previous years combined.  Here is the list:

        15 games of BattleTech

         4 games of Warhammer 40K 10th Ed.

         1 game of Infinity N4 

The boost that I needed occurred in the summer, when my local game store organized a 4-round BattleTech league.  The organizers made sure that I (and others in our little group) did not play against each other during the league.  This marked the first time in more years (maybe decades) than I can remember when I played a game against a total stranger.  Usually my gaming is with my sons or our little group, and playing against others was a bit of an eye-opener for me - for the better.

The games of 40K - against my sons - made me realize that I need to learn the rules better and focus my army along a different path.  The new edition of the rules seems to make large figure count forces, like my Orks, harder to play, but there are portions of the rules that I do not fully utilize which will make a difference once we get back to it.  Despite getting massacred in each game, it was fun.

Infinity is another game that I am still struggling along the learning curve.  It is quite different from 40K and other games but I think that once I figure out the basics it will be a lot of fun.

Concerning the Pile of Potential, I will admit that not much was painted in 2023.  I do not have a grand total but it was definitely less than 100 from all genres.  There were several bagsful of purchases especially for BattleTech, along with my 15mm Greeks.  However, I did make a considerable dent in the Pile by selling/trading approximately 700 figures in 2023.  A couple of projects went away, including my WW1 land forces and the last of my Tékumel fantasy figure collection.  Most of these were unpainted figures as I continue to sort through boxes of stuff.

And now for looking ahead at 2024:

A few changes from the previous posting of The Chart are evident (as marked in red above):

    40K slips down a bit as I rethink my troop choices;

    Goblins still in the top tier, especially as the new Fantasy Battle rules will launch soon - my sons and I are looking forward to them;

    BattleTech gets a big NO in the terrain department as we are finding that playing on mats is fine but terrain is best.  My oldest has started a BT terrain collection at the local store, and I have plans for my own collection;

    OGRE is warming up as there is to be one last crowd-funding campaign to start manufacturing the missing units from the current selection;

    The Greeks saw some progress, mostly in purchases as I finally acquired all of the Greeks I 'should' need;

    And Naval is getting under steam again but more on that later.

Gaming-wise I expect 2024 to continue with many games of BattleTech - my sons and I meet almost every Saturday now, since the league - but that might taper off as WFB comes about.  I have much to paint for my goblins but my oldest son's dwarves are waiting.  Warcrow will eventually ship later this year, and the solo projects might see some attention.

The Pile of Potential will continue to see reductions, but not nearly so drastic as previous years as most of the low-hanging fruit has been harvested.

Purchases in 2024 need to concentrate on terrain.  BattleTech, Warcrow, 20mm SCW, and others all need terrain.  Some figures will come in of course - I foresee a need for rank and file goblins for one - but those are secondary to terrain.

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Battletech stuff part 1 - Comstar

 Slow progress here, with work picking up tempo, holidays, and not feeling well recently.  I did get a bit done with some BattleTech figures:

Decal time for some proxy Comstar vehicles - from Death Ray Designs.  Takes a fair bit of time do apply them especially the checks, but they really make the vehicles stand out on a table.

And the decals are mostly done - I missed the checks on one of the tanks!  The mechs in the background are almost completely finished, just some basing details and varnish to go.

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Greeks, part 5

 Finally, a little bit of progress with my classical Greeks:

One stand of 15mm Spartan cavalry from Xyston.  These are on a super-size base - 80mm x 60mm - and are rated as 'Bad Horse' for Triumph.  Triumph has a few extra unit types compared to DBA; this would be Light Cavalry for DBA.  The base is not finished as I have yet to get an appropriate mat for the game, and I want to get some units painted before then.

Next element is some hoplites:

Fourteen hoplites for a Heavy Foot unit in Triumph, on a 80mm x 30mm base.  This element has a pair of the new thermoplastic figures from Plastic Soldier Company along with a dozen metal Xyston originals.

Slowly, but surely!

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SCW, part 8

 As I have not posted anything about the 20mm Spanish Civil War project for a long while, this entry is to bring myself back up to speed and to show the readers where the projects stands at the moment.

First up are some Republicans:

 

From the left:  a section of 15 infantry; infantry support - LMGs, medic, a 50mm mortar team, and platoon command with commissar; and 3 Renault FT tanks.  The infantry force organization is based on the España supplement for Chain of Command.

As one can see, they are in various stages of completion, with the front FT almost complete, just needs a bit of touch-up.  In all, close to being a useful force on the table.  Most of these miniatures are from Minairons - the tank commander is a French WW2 TC from AB Figures/Eureka Miniatures, and the kneeling/pointing trooper on the left is a kitbashed Zvezda WW2 Russian with a Minairons helmet.

And, some Nationalists:

13 infantry figures from Minairons.  Again, close to being done although I think the green might be too dark on some as these figures have yet to get a dark wash.

More vehicles were being worked on:

2 T-26s, 3 Pz-1As, 2 L3-33s, 2 UNL-35 armored cars, and 1 Ba-FAI armored car.  These are from Minairons except the L3-33s which are S-Model, and the Ba-FAI is a diecast vehicle I found on eBay and re-primed.  The sprues are WW2 Russians from Zvezda and Plastic Soldier Company that are being used for kitbashes and bits for other needs for the Minairons troops.

Out of sight is a paper ream box with plenty of other stuff, the ever-present Pile of Potential!

Not much effort is needed to get these figures ready for games.  The big obstacle is appropriate terrain, and that is on my 'Necessaries' list for later.

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The State of my Hobby, part 3

 So, where does all of this text leave me with regards to my toys?  How about a chart!

Hopefully that pic is readable.

I am going to start the periodic (and probably irregular) posting of this chart in the hope that it will keep me on course.  My hobby brain is wondrously capable of wandering off the path - which is to play games and not just think about them!

Out of all of these projects, the only one that is ticking off all of the boxes for play is BattleTech.  It has been the focus of much effort over the past 20 months or so.  Most of the others in Tier 1 just need as much concentrated effort as I put into BattleTech to become equally complete.  The exception is Warcrow, which has yet to be released.  The first miniatures, from the dungeon-crawler Kickstarter early this year, will be shipped Spring 2024, with the full tabletop game being released late Summer 2024.  Then why is it in Tier 1?  My sons are very interested and also backed the Kickstarter along with me; once the figures start to arrive they will get a lot of attention.  Also, I have a nice stash of terrain for 28mm which, when finished, will be used for Warcrow and potentially other projects.

Tier 2 is more problematic, and therefore more fluid.  My 1690 Ireland project, with very few resources here, should be lower on the list, but at the moment it is not.  I very much want to get this going, but there is a large amount of investment that has to occur first, both in purchases and thinking.  I have yet to decide on rules, and I want to have that settled first before more substantial shopping.

I am also giving more thought to naval and aviation.  Little to no terrain is needed to get started, and there are plenty of rules out there, especially for naval.  Obstacles at the moment include what era (for naval) and basing (for airplanes).  Lots to think about there, especially for naval, which can be discussed in another post!

Speaking of naval matters, I have imported all of the posts and comments from my other blog, Mini Ship Gaming, into this one.  More focus, more better, right?  

And to keep up the momentum for posting, there should be more posts about what I do play, historical or not.  In fact, I'll be getting together with my sons tomorrow; not certain about the game to be played but Warhammer 40K is likely.  Avert your eyes rross!!!

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The State of my Hobby, part 2

 (More plain old text follows ;) )

Besides the list of projects given in Part 1 of this series, there are more ideas, more miniatures in boxes  just waiting for a chance:

GREEKS  -  Despite having an actual plan for this project, it was set aside in the flood of Battlemechs that are continuing to cross my table.  However, it is not dead yet, and I am dusting it off for another go.  Originally, this project was a way to participate, if distantly, in the Society of Ancients 2023 Game Day - 2nd Mantinea, which took place about six months ago!  I intend to continue with the general theme of the project without the focus on that particular battle and move towards more of a Peloponnesian War outlook.  There was a brief moment recently where I thought 28mm might be a better match, especially with the quite close pricing of Victrix figures vs. Xyston (at least here in the US), but I am coming around to a preference for a more dense look for 15mm figures compared to the typical 28mm bases.  The issue of 'what rules?' has come up again, but I am thinking that Triumph and/or Basic Impetus will be suitable for my personal preferences.  This project will be almost 100% a solo effort, as, although I expect that my sons would be more than happy to play, I do not expect them to collect any units.

OGRE  -  Yet another sci-fi blast from the past, from Steve Jackson Games, OGRE is a game of near-future armored combat in a very different style from BattleTech.  In my view, it is sufficiently separate from BattleTech to warrant its own time on the table, with the added benefit of my idea to use historical WW2 camouflage schemes for the basic units (which should mollify my desire for WW2 micro-armour!).  With that being stated, it does have a low priority for my attention and might see some paint time once the Cold War project heats up.  I am intrigued by the idea of having a series of games using the same terrain for my Cold War/OGRE/BattleTech forces in separate scenarios.

SCW  -  Patiently waiting in the wings are my 20mm Spanish Civil War figures.  Plenty of figures are here but none are completely painted and I do not have suitable terrain yet.  This project also suffers from not having a set of rules selected, but one of the great strengths of skirmish games is the ability to switch easily from set to set.  Once I get more of the figures for the GW projects completed I want to get just a handful of troops finished for some small games.  This is another solo project.

TROJAN WAR  -  More dusty figures from the past, awaiting some primer & paint.  I have a large variety of 28mm figures from a number of sources that are ready for paint, but the original intent was to play large battles and stray away from the Iliad a bit.  As I type this, I am thinking that skirmish games might be a better option; the collection is large enough to support either direction although I do not have much in the way of chariots.

AVIATION  -  Several separate projects are lumped into this category - SCW, WW2 Pacific, and Aeronautica Imperialis.  Models are here and waiting (a common theme...) but my usual indecisiveness is slowing the process.  Basing is the issue with the historical projects, and lack of interest from others (and the shutdown of most of the AI models from GW - quelle surprise!) for the sci-fi stuff.  But, like most of my projects, once I decide on a path, then I will get going.  Similar to most if not all of the projects listed in this post, this is a solo endeavor.

NAVAL  -  These projects have run hard aground.  Naval gaming has been a staple of my gaming experience for decades (and I even have a separate blog for it), covering all time periods and scales.  But, for the past few years, I have not been able to get my head around even the simple thought of getting some ships on the painting table, and I just do not know why.  With plenty of ideas in my head, one would think that it could be easy to get on with it, but no.

MESOAMERICAN  -  This was a joint project between my lovely wife and myself.  Despite being amazingly colorful and interesting in spades, it has been difficult to think about working on this after my lovely wife passed away some time ago.  Whenever I look at the figures already finished, I can still hear her talking about Huītzilōpōchtli (the Aztec god of war) and other myths.  The recent closing of Outpost Wargame Services, the supplier of the vast bulk of our figures, after the sad and untimely passing of Jeff Bevan very nearly was the end of this project.  However, there is news of Badger Games (in the US) purchasing the 25mm figure lines, so there is a bit of hope.  This fire is not out, but definitely on a back burner for the time being.

WARCROW  -  Unlike most of the other games on this post, I have yet to receive any figures for this game, as it has yet to see publication.  Warcrow is the next game to be published by Corvus Belli, the maker of Infinity.  Warcrow is a fantasy skirmish game which will be launching next year.  My sons and I are eagerly awaiting this.

MEDIEVAL  -  This one is a conundrum.  On one hand, I have a small amount of painted 28mm 14th century Scots.  On the other hand is a large collection of unpainted 28mm Normans/Saxons/Irish/Norse.  The discovery of the 1066 cache is a recent surprise, as I had thought that they were already sent off in one of the sell-offs from either last year or the previous.  But no.  As this was another joint project with my lovely wife, she took some pains to keep it safe, and I discovered it during our Labor Day holiday week-end as I was sorting through more items that I just do not have room for anymore.  Oddly enough, I also discovered the 'long-lost' bolt from my father's venerable .22 cal single-shot rifle!  (My lovely wife was vehemently anti-gun, while I am just as vehemently for keeping old family heirlooms).  So, a choice beckons, as I can not possibly finish both projects.  I am leaning towards selling the Scots and proceeding with the 1066 project, as they would have more interest from my sons and myself.  

HORSE&PIKE&MUSKET&SHOT  -  The last project, of this list at least.  I have wanted to work on a 18/19th century project for some time, but I never quite decided which one, until a few months ago or so.  And that era would be circa 1691 in Ireland, the tussle between James II and William of Orange.  It ticks off many boxes for me, with plenty of books on the subject, a very well supported line of figures and other gaming supplies from League of Augsburg, and an interesting mix of English, Irish, Dutch, and Danish units, with enough space in between historical battles for other scenarios from my own hand.  

Well now, that is quite a selection.  By my unofficial count, there are 14 projects listed from this post and the previous one.  So much choice can be a bad thing - I remember long ago when WW2 micro-armour and predreadnought/WW1 naval were the mains, and I was just starting to dabble in 5mm ancients and ACW, courtesy of Wargames Illustrated and Heroics&Ros.

There is plenty of room for pruning this list, and there is plenty of opportunity for me to get cracking with a brush.  As always, coming up with a plan for each project will help, and then slotting that plan into the Big Hobby Picture.  To make sure that I am progressing, I am going to try and post more here as, sometimes, having an audience is a good thing and the simple act of typing should have an impact with keeping on target.

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The State of my Hobby, part 1

 (WARNING - A long wall of text follows...)

This is a bit of a sandwich filler post, as an attempt to get back into blogging again, and to keep a more concise (and therefore useful) train of thought towards my projects instead of just talking to the walls.

First off, a salute to those hobbyists that can either stick with a certain period over the years, or have the ability to process projects into a state of tabletop readiness quickly.  I find that has been lacking here for quite a long time, but I am getting there, mostly by cutting out stalled projects and finally finding a method of painting that works for me.

Without further ado, and no particular order:

BATTLETECH  -  Currently the #1 focus of my gaming endeavors.  First coming into print (under the name Battledroids) 39 years ago, the gaming group that I was in picked it up quickly and played many games, both for the group and at local shows, from 1985 to 1989, after which it went completely silent for us, with the group largely splitting up and real life pressures taking precedence.  But, two years ago it came back to my attention, with a successful kickstarter and some not so subtle hints from my sons that I should take a look once again.  I foresee that we will be playing BT for a long time!

GAMES WORKSHOP  -  Another games producer that my sons have dragged me back into (and I do not mind so much!), I am slowly building out both 40K (Orks) and Fantasy (Goblins) armies.  Another project that reaches back to the Eighties, this time I hope that much more gaming will occur.  I am not taking a power-gamer stance with either set (or any game really), and just collect what I find interesting despite its performance on the tabletop.  If I win, it will be all the sweeter!

MICRO-ARMOUR  -  Yet another blast from the past, but this time around with more focus (maybe).  WW2 and Modern gaming in 1/285 scale was a staple with the old group, and I seek to rekindle that.  This project, however, is entirely my own.  I am quite certain that my sons will play, but I have no illusions that they will collect any forces.  Right now, the plan is for 'Cold War' gaming with an eye to keep the collection of a modest size.  I have most of the miniatures that I want, largely from GHQ, and just need to get more progress on other projects before setting off on this journey in earnest.

INFINITY  -  Yet another sci-fi game that my sons have convinced me to start.  These are perhaps the best 28mm figures around, the newest metal miniatures at least.  My youngest is trying to get us to spend more time on this, as the rules are quite daunting though clearly laid out.  Again, I have most of the figures that I could ever need for this skirmish game, just needs more brush attention, and terrain.

Currently, the Big Four in my hobby circle are:  Battletech; Warhammer 40K; Warhammer Age of Sigmar; and Infinity.  These are systems that I could plan a game at the drop of a hat, and I can not foresee not having a unit of each of these projects on the go on my painting desk for the near future.  There are, of course, other projects lurking on the fringes, but that is the subject of another post.

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Painting table, September 2023

 Just a brief note to try and get myself back into a more regular schedule  -  Things are going on, miniatures painted, games played, etc!  Here is a not-quite recent pic of the hobby table:

Overrun with Battletech stuff, except for the far left corner!  Along with all of the collecting and painting, a local shop has a Battletech league running.  Today is the last day, and I'll post more about it in the future.

Another, more recent pic:

These camouflaged mechs are my first group for the 22nd Dieron regiment, part of House Kurita.  The background of House Kurita is somewhat based on current-day Japan, and my take on the camo for 22nd Dieron is similar to WW2 Japanese tank camo schemes.  They are not nearly done - washes, details, decals, and basing are needed before completion.

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Painting table, April 2023

 Well, 3½ months between posts was not the intended interval for this blog.  Also, I fell far behind in my blog-reading habit.  I am going to keep trying...

There have been activities behind the curtains though, and hopefully they will become the basis for more posts.

The painting table looked like this for a brief moment:

As one can see, plenty of Battletech miniatures continue to see attention, with Infinity and AoS figures lurking on the periphery.  The two rules sets are very recent additions to the library.  Recommended by another blogger, I am going to see if they might be used for my 20mm SCW project.

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Painting table January 2023

 Happy New Year everyone!

Well, here is the usual chaos on my table at the moment:

The now-commonplace assortment of genres and scales - fantasy, sci-fi, and historical - 6mm through 28mm.  The pile of 'stuff' in the center is yet more vehicles and now infantry with their bases for BattleTech.  

I continue to be amazed by interest that both of my sons have in BattleTech.  My original thought, when I bought the introductory box set last year, was that I would need to collect all factions for the game, paint them, and cajole my sons to play.  Boy howdy was I wrong, and we are in the process of collecting and painting more mechs, and now 3rd party vehicles and infantry, for the game.

Another popular game amongst my sons is Infinity.  This is a sci-fi skirmish game by Corvus Belli with some of the most finely sculpted and cast 28mm metal miniatures currently in production.  The troops in the middle of the pic above, both unprimed and in shades of red, are part of my collection.

Sci-fi is not the only genre getting attention here, however.  I am beginning to dust off some older historical projects, starting with some Medievals:

These units are for a 14th century Scots army:  Two units of schiltron on the left; and four Highlander units and their leader center and right.  They are not quite complete as their flags have yet to be purchased.  Somehow, these figures, and their unpainted counterparts, missed both the first and second sweep of 'disposals' last year, perhaps because I have a definite fondness for the project, which my lovely wife and I started way back when, and that a fair few were finished.

Here are the next two units, in a less finished state:

Two more schiltrons being sorted.  All of these figures are by Claymore Castings, now available through Antediluvian Miniatures.

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Shifting gears, again

 Just as I thought some momentum had been achieved, I was struck down by that viral fiend Covid about three weeks ago.  A mild case, to be certain, but it has been enough to derail my hobby plans.

A little more about old projects, and maybe something new, will be due shortly! 

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Painting table November 2022

 Still not in the habit of blogging, and reading other blogs, but I am going to keep trying...

Many things on the table, from trolls and squigs, to different scales and eras of tanks, to sci-fi figures and mechs!  And, finally, another unit for the Greek project - Spartan cavalry.

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New rules, future projects

 As my painting and gaming mojo comes back, I have been thinking about other projects, of course!  Here are a few that are at the front of the queue at the moment:

Two very interesting sets.  

Seven Days to the River Rhine covers the Great Conflict that never was - the Cold War Gone Hot in Europe.  This era brings me back to my early days of miniatures battles, as the gaming group I was part of was writing/testing micro-armour rules for both WW2 and 'Modern'.  Decades later, it is back, with a slight twist.  The idea that I have is more akin to the movie Red Dawn instead of the book Red Storm Rising, just at a larger level of gaming.  This would not be a skirmish game.  1/285 miniatures have been acquired for this project, now known as G22.

For Whom The Dice Rolls also caught my eye when published.  Do I need another Spanish Civil War project?  That is the question, and since I have two in the works already - 20mm skirmish and 1/144 aerial - the answer seems to be, err, yes!  My original thought was to do this in 6mm, but I am thinking 10mm might be better, as the 1/144 aircraft could be used for the ground battles, and the 10mm kit can be targets/scenery for the air-to-air segment.  To my eye, 20mm would be too large for this set, but I could be wrong.  More thought is needed.

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Issue with Blogger

 Just a brief note and request to my friends around the blogosphere - I am having issues with the 'My Blog List' gadget on Blogger, specifically I am unable to add or remove any listings.  Any solutions or hints?  The usual searches for answers from Blogger itself are not helpful.  I might need delete the gadget and rebuild the list.

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Greeks part 4

 After a confusing week of work, I was not able to get much done.

Here is the mostly finished base of skirmishers for the Spartan army.  You can see the extras in the background; they will make up most of the next unit in time.  Eight is the typical count in a pack of Xyston miniatures and I painted them all, not realizing that only 5 were needed.  Oops.

The base is from Warbases - the order came in, quite quickly I might add - and it is coated with the following:

A thin layer of the Vallejo texture is applied.  After it is dry, 24 hrs or so, a slightly diluted mix of Daler & Rowney Antelope Brown is brushed on.

But now, I am stuck.

The next step would be drybrushing to lighten the top, some flock and tufts added, then done.  But, I am not certain what colors to use as I do not have a suitable table topping to play on.  A good mat is the goal, so I will have to take a look around.  At least the last steps are easy enough, but I want to make sure to match the base to the mat reasonably closely, just for my OCD tendencies!

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