This is the odd man out. I have close to 40 figures on my painting table. Five assorted projects and this is a sole figure. No friends, no units. However it is the only miniature I have managed to finish painting in over a week. Just thought I should share it as everything else qualifies as WIP. Since paint was first applied to the horse at least three years ago I didn't include it as an entry into the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.
This was a Sampan from Sarissa Precision that I picked up a while ago. Last night I decided I to try out some water effects. A layer of fine sand texture paint, painted with inexpensive Dollarstore DecoArt Acrylic paints. First a Copenhagen Blue, followed by Tropical Blue, finally topped with Sea Spray. I recently received two 1/2400 Fleets from Tumbling Dice and was thinking about the bases upon which the ships will nest.
I also dug out 4 packs of Pulp Figures, part of the China Station Line. They will be my next entry into the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.
Finally started work on the Arthurian Warband. A WIP, I would like to finish the cavalry within the next two weeks.
Amongst the goodies I received from Graham on Sunday morning was the latest installment for my French Army for the French and Indian wars. Nine natives, painted to the standard for which Graham is known. IMO, they look fantastic.
I went out for a breakfast today with Graham and Luis. Graham had deliveries for both of us. My package included 3D printed movement trays that I requested for Infamy Infamy Ruleset by Too Fat Lardies. The cavarly and command stands will be useful for other games, such as SAGA or Dragon's Rampant. The recess area of the infantry trays will only match up with a dozen stands of Gauls that I purchased online. These base elements are not to WRG/DBX standards.
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| Assorted Movement Trays, Figure for Scale |
All movement trays measure 90mm x 65mm x 3.25mm thick. For the infantry trays, there is a centralised recess of 61mm x 52mm x 2.5mm deep. A smaller, second recessed box of 12mm x 12mm is located in the lower right corner. A die will be used to track casualties since it is not possible to remove figures.
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| Sample of Prebased Gauls in Movement Tray |
These trays are for the figures featured in my October 18th 2025 blog entry Gaelic Forces Arrived. The Gauls fit snuggly in the tray. There is no loose movement. My original plan was to use blue Reusable Adhesive Putty to hold the elements in place but I do not think it will be necessary.
I also requested a dozen trays for loose cavalry figures. These trays measure 90mm wide x 65 mm deep x 3mm thick, with slots for three pill ovals of 50mm x 25mm. I also asked for three 60mm square trays to use as command stands. The only requirement was to be able to support two mounted figures. Graham provided me with both the square trays I asked for, and a circular option. The round stand is clearly the winner.
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| Cavalry Figures fitted for a Command Stand |
A line paraphrased from a game of Viking 878 that we played a few years ago. Mike actually quipped, "It takes a pillage to raze a church" and I made the next logical leap. These were some ruined walls that came with an order last year. For the life of me I can't remember where from. I checked my emails without success of finding the source.
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| My trusted Centurian is there to show scale. |
I thought it would be a good time to try out using Krautcover Scenics - Tales from a Forest Moon to enhance the debris look of a ruined building falling into itself.
I believe that this was the old Aventine Hellenistic/Carthaginian elephant before they made the switch to resin. I painted the elephant and howdah early last year when I first purchased this Warband. However the 4 crewmen have sat around gathering dust. Since I was working on the Greeks it was only natural to finish this option as part of the The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.
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| Aventine Hellenistic/Carthaginian elephant |
These figures were posted as part of The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. 12 Companian Cavalry. I had another 24 figures of the same pose based to WRG/DBX standards as part of my Ancient Greeks and that was the same fate that awaited them until I started playing SAGA.
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| 12 Companian Cavalry - Warbands or Hearth Guard |
The Fernig Sisters Co-op Campaign set, part of the latest kickstarter by Tundraworks Miniatures arrived in the mail on the weekend. The figures look fantastic. In addition to the packages listed below I also received the Women of the Revolution miniatures set. In total 216 infantry, 24 cavalry and 6 guns with crew. Plenty of revolutionary zeal to go around.
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| Women of the Revolution |
Félicité Fernig's French Army:
6x national guard units
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| Example of the National Guard |
1x veteran legere unit
2x heavy cavalry units
3x artillery sets
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| Example of the Cavalry |
Théophile Fernig's French Army:
1x veteran line unit
2x national guard units
2x grenadier units
2x heavy cavalry units
3x artillery sets
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| Example of a veteran line unit |
This afternoon I was introduced to Battlegroup Kursk, a ruleset by The Plastic Soldier Company. We were six players playing on a 6 x 8 foot tabletop at the Abyss. I elected to play Soviet and was given command of six T-34s. After my force had been reduced to one tank, I took command of three T-70s.
Having been recently introduced to Battlegroup NORTHAG, I was interested to see how similiar the game flowed. One new action I appreciated was the ability to double tap. The option of two shots was unavailable with the modern period rule set. There are a few changes I would like to see. For example, you had multiple chances to acquire a target. IMO if you fail the first attempt then you should not be able to try again in the same turn.
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| At the end of the Game - A Bloodly Affair |
We kicked off play at about 2PM and were finished just after 5 o'clock. My command was the 5 burning T34s on the right side of the playing field. A sixth is below the hill's crest but within 5 inches of the red objective marker, allowing the Soviets to claim the point. After the majority of my tanks were brewed up, I was handed three T-70s to have fun with. They had started near the white farm building (another objective) at the far end of the table and rushed across the open ground, closing with the enemy. I reached shelter in the central woods, which is covered with smoke, but under the gaze of two of the Tigers. In the final move of the game, two of the light tanks outflanked the big cat and opened fire on its exposed side. Unfortunately it was to no avail.
A fun afternoon, rolling dice, with a friendly group of like minded gamers. At the end of the day, everything but the Tigers seemed to be burning. I was content to be the target while my comrades destroyed the enemies of the Soviet peoples. I was only able to claim one destroyed PZ III, despite my losses.
