Agenda and other issues

Well, now that 2015 is rolling along, how about another one of those posts about what might get accomplished in it???

First off, 2015 has been declared the unofficial 'Year of Tékumel', as it was 40 years ago that the RPG Empire of the Petal Throne, by MAR Barker, was printed by TSR.  In honor of that, I am going to continue to work on my Tékumel miniatures, always with an eye to completing the goal of finishing my Ruins of Thámerü scenario, someday.  I have a fair number of Tsolyáni forces waiting for the production of the bulk of their opposition, the Yán Kór, to resume.  In addition to the Thámerü forces (an element-based force), I would like to get some skirmish forces together for Tékumel as well.

Alongside these troops, the Tékumel naval project waits patiently in the background.  

Not to be forgotten is my Mesoamerican project.  This one is going to be a bit slower of a wick to burn, but there are many miniatures to choose from.  Hopefully the budget will hold up to the task.  Some progress has been made, including this:

This is the 2nd edition of Irregular Wars, a rules set based on small unit forces during the Renaissance, including army lists for European, Mesoamerican, Middle Eastern, and Asian armies.  It has only just arrived, so a more detailed review will be forthcoming.

The medieval project, based around the fine miniatures from Claymore Castings, is being put on hold for the time being.  Just too much on my plate right now.  Besides, my lovely wife is more interested in the Mesoamerican stuff...

Speaking of a plate full, I also received this recently:

The latest book from Neil Thomas.  I will flip through the pages with starry eyes, and dream of one day having yet another project to accompany the many fine scenarios listed in it!  I can almost see starting up a 10mm project for the Seven Year's War...



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Galleys & Galleons, part 2

After a multitude of delays, from holidays to a pronounced avoidance of the painting table, a small measure of progress has been made.  Here is a pic:

This is the assembled Figurehead small English squadron for the Armada period, in 1/2400 scale.  These vessels are not very large - those bases are 40mm long and 20mm wide!  But, for small miniatures they are very nice.



Here are some close-ups:

The largest ships are these:  FR30 Race built galleons, based on Ark Royal.  One can see that there is a good amount of detail, including flags from each mast.  These miniatures are three-piece kits, with the fore and main masts being separate from the hull.

The other two large galleons are:  FR31, based on Revenge.  These are also three piece miniatures.

Here are three of the six small galleons (FR32).  This pic only shows three, as I had misplaced the other pack until just before the squadron pic was taken.  In contrast to the larger galleons, these smaller galleons are one piece castings, making assembly just a matter of removing a small amount of flash and making sure the bottom of the hull is flat.







Last but not least:

This is pack FR34, showing a large pinnace (left) and a galleass (right).  One piece castings, these small ships still have a lot of detail.





Unfortunately, my slow pace of assembly/painting means that the next game of Galleys & Galleons will use the counters again...

A new year...

Happy 2015 everybody - a bit late I know!

Just a brief post for now:

My painting table as of today.  

I will try to have a more substantial post later.


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Another year!

Happy New Year everybody!

It has been a little too quiet on this blog, but there have been some stirrings of late.  Just before the holidays, I had the inklings of getting the troops (and monsters!) back onto the painting table.  Also, there is a nice little project that another enthusiast has been working on which has put some energy back into this project.

There are a few things that I need to straighten out first:

1.   The first quarto of my Boschenburg troops need to be finished - they are mostly done;

2.   Baskets need to be completed as well - a couple are finished, but the grinnlings and that big fellow from last year are waiting;

3.   Rules - many contenders;

4.   Basing - my little experiment with Warbases did not work out so well as I ordered the wrong sizes!  However, subsequent orders, for other projects, have shown that they should work well.  Now, do I stick with 20mm or go to 25mm for the humans?

Galleys & Galleons, part 1

Last weekend, my lovely wife and I sat down to give Galleys & Galleons, the renaissance-era naval rules now in playtest, a go.  You will need to forgive the pics, as I do not have miniatures painted up, and I forgot to get my blue felt out for an appropriate backdrop!

This pic was taken after the full first turn.  The table is roughly 3 feet square, and we are using counters out of the Close Action game by Clash of Arms.  We kept details simple for this first game - 3 galleons each, with equal stats.  My wife is closing fast, as she rolled very aggressively (and well) throughout the game.  At this point, two of my ships are in irons - i.e. pointed into the wind.  It is an omen of things to come!

A few more turns in, and I am trying to shake my squadron back into a line.  My ships are taking damage, and Little Miss Horatio Nelson is about to break my line!

Even though one of her ships is out of contact, things are not looking good for me.  Yes, that ship of mine got raked and will strike its colors in the next turn, and the one on the right side is about to get raked, catch fire, and explode (!) in the next turn.

Here is the next to last turn - my last ship is trying to get off the board. She agreed that if my last ship could sail off the table, that it would escape as my wife's ships would need to return and claim the surrendered vessel.  Fortunately for me, my last vessel escaped...





So far, the verdict on the rules is quite favorable.  Even my lovely wife enjoys them, and she is a hard sell on sailing ship games.



As I would rather play with miniatures than counters:

Here is the start of a fleet of Figurehead 1/2400 ships on the workbench.  The bases are just temporary until I can order some better ones.