January 2007 in review

Glacial would be the best word to describe the speed of my progress this month, but some items on the list received attention... The last miniature for my Tau army has been assembled and primed. This is actually quite a landmark for me, for rarely have I come this close to closure on a project. Most of my other projects have been open-ended, with minis being constantly added to the mix, leaving me with a pile of unpainted minis.

The Renaissance project is starting to actually take shape. Now, I just need to inject some funding into the works. Much of that will come from the sell-off of my unwanted gaming materials, on eBay or through other contacts. I'm waiting to re-start the sell-off until we are finished with the move (the move is getting closer also, once again just waiting on funding [sigh] ).

I have also decided to try and keep track of the books I've read during the year. I am currently reading Taylor's The Art of War in Italy 1494-1529. Earlier this month I picked up an interesting book by Eric Flint, 1632 link It is not bad if you are a fan of alternate history; a good page-turner even if the outcome is predictable. It is piquing my curiosity about the 30 Year's War, with a stirring description of the battle of Breitenfeld. Is it an accurate description? I don't know but I'll check on it.


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The Renaissance Project, part 1

I've been talking and thinking about my Renaissance project for quite a while. I have yet to make much progress, but here is what I have.

First off, I actually do have a plan! I need to work on four different aspects:

1. Research

2. Rules

3. Miniatures

4. Gaming

I have made some progress through the Research bit. I have a small but growing collection of books on the subject. These include Ospreys (doesn't every gamer have at least a dozen?) and some more scholarly works. Here is the list so far:

Osprey MAA # 58: The Landsknechts link
Osprey MAA # 94: The Swiss at War link
Osprey Campaign # 43: Fornovo 1495 link
Osprey Campaign # 44: Pavia 1525 link

These Ospreys have been in my collection for five years or so, and have been looked through extensively. They are an excellent way to whet one's appetite for more substantial reading material, and the color plates are helpful for painting.


The Art of War in Italy, 1494-1529 (Taylor) link
The Renaissance at War (Arnold) link
Artists and Warfare in the Renaissance (Hale) link

These volumes are more recent additions, with Taylor's book being a Christmas gift from my wife (yay!). Arnold's book is a very concise overview of the 16th century, being a part of the Cassell History of War series. I have yet to read Hale's book, but it is filled with illustrations and woodcuts by period artists.

Of course, I want to purchase more books. These will be added slowly, worked in with the schedule for miniatures purchases.


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What's on the table...

Happy New Year everybody!

Here is a pic on my miniatures workspace, which unfortunately does not look very different from the previous pic...



No Landsknechts on that table yet. That will happen later, in the spring.


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Merry Xmas!

Hello again,

I'm still looking at those photos of the previous 40K game... I think I will need the son to help me with the captions however.

I got some painting done; detail work on the Fire Warriors and Sniper Drones, and I finally glued together the last Sniper Drone controller. I just have two more Gun Drones to assemble before the entire force is up.

As the Tau are nearing completion, I am looking more and more at my Renaissance project. The rules are still the stumbling point, and along with that is the basing system. I am waffling back and forth about either single 20mm squares (Warhammer standard) or 60mm x 20mm stands (DBx standard). Single-figure stands will probably be the way, especially if I can find a good set of skirmish rules for the period. The single-figure stands can be used for the other multi-figure-base rules with slight modification. I will need to make unit trays for that, however; my son is making trays for his WH dwarves out of sheet plastic. I'm not certain how pikes work in a skirmish situation, but...


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Gaming again

Howdy,

Sorry for such a delay between posts. The wind-up for the wedding took a bit out of me...

I have finally managed to have a game, my first in quite a while. I played against my son in 40K, my Tau vs. his Black Templars. It was all over by the end of turn 4, but my son was a bit distressed in the pile of dead Marines my Tau left on the field. I have pics of the game that I will post soon.

Also, I dropped my son off at the GW Battle Bunker last Saturday for 'Tanksgiving', an all-vehicle free-for-all. He was quite happy with the outcome, having scored 12 kills and having 7 of 9 vehicles left by the end of the game. He walked away with a nice piece of terrain (Ork watchtower) and a Leman Russ model that he happily converted into a looted Leman Russ for his Ork force. I have pics of that also.

Not a bad holiday week-end!!


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