Sharpe's Practice - ACW 28mm

 On April 30th, Graham hosted a Sharpe's Practice game for 4 players at the Abyss. William provided the scenario, Graham the terrain and both supplied the troops. John and myself were willing bodies in the front lines. Here are some photos from the evening's encounter.

Ball's Cross Roads August 21st 1861, resulted in a confederate victory, when Lt Carter and his three units of Volunteers, suddenly appeared at the edge of the cornfield in front of the Union troops and unleashed two  devastating volleys of fire into the massed enemy columns slowly advancing through the orchard. Union forces under William and John, Rebs under Graham and myself. 

Upon revisiting the rules, it was discovered that the deployment disk which allowed Lt Cater's Volunteers to appear was most likely too forward. None the less, IMO it will become a gaming moment to recount.

LOTRs - Haradrim or Southron Easternlings 28mm WIP

Yesterday, Chris a local brush for hire dropped off his latest work for me. After completeing the Orcs I asked him to work on my collection of the men of the east. These figures were from Harlequin Miniatures LOTR line.  Seaching online I believe I have one box of each of the following and that the line was 32mm figures, not 28mm.

Herumor's Southron Spearmen. LRB003 Harlequin, 

Ar-Feinel's Corsair Spearmen. LRB012 Harlequin 

and Castamir's Corsair Archers. LRB010 Harlequin. 

Each box contained15 figures, 12 fighting men, and command. All were ebay purchases many years ago. I will finish the bases this weekend.

Harlequin Miniatures - 28mm LOTR Orcs - Batch 2

Another 20 Lord of the Rings Orcs from the old Harlequin Miniatures line are complete. As with the first batch and as part of my ongoing triage I commissioned a local painter to paint theese figures.

 Outside completed projects, the figures I amassed over 50 years is roughly divided into 1) projects I will paint 2) projects that I will commission to have painted and finally 3) miniatures for projects that I will never use and must thus must desposed of.  I thank Chris for his assistance in helping me move forward with my Orc Warband. 

Now that the Canadian tax season is almost behind us, I hope to devote more time in applying brush to metal. Belonging to the Montréal Historical Wargaming Club has provided much needed focus for various projects. The group really forced me to up my game and akso helped reduce my mountain of shame. 

Harlequin Miniatures - 28mm LOTR Orcs - Batch 1

 This is the first half  of a group Lord of the Rings Orcs that were painted for my Army of Darkness. I am basing the figures to match the orcs I originally painted in 2010. The figures were produced by Harlequin Miniatures, the company which had the rights to LOTRs before Games Workshop. IMO the Harlequin orcs were closer to my idea of orcs, than those of Peter Jackson. My introduction to both LOTRs and DnD  dates back to the early to mid 1970s in high school. My dream then, to field an orc warband on the tabletop. 

HOTT - Dwarves 15mm

This was an army that I inherited almost 10 years ago. The figures are from Black Raven Miniatures.  Recently I was able to have it painted and I now have a fairly large dwarven force assembled to go up against my Undead. Other than the command stands I attached the figures to metal bases and I actually like the bare metal look. 

First Dwarven Corps - Still waiting for the glue to dry.

Complete Amy in it's storage box. Enough figures for three HOTT armies.

DBA Camel Army - Museum Miniatures - 15/18mm

Museum Miniatures offered a some camel figures that look like a generic line. I purchased 6 packs of  15/AC71 Camel Lancers and another 6 packs of 15/AC72 Camel Archers.  It is enough to provide 12 DBA elements. Now I have to locate an army list to fit them in. Otherwise I'll just use them as a HOTT nomadic desert warband.

Painted by Old Guard Painters

This was a spontaneous purchase on my part last year when Museum Miniatures offered their annual 25% off sale. I thought the figures looked nifty and as you can see they painted up really well. Although they are advertized as 15mm, IMO they're closer to 18mm. 

The Court of Sinister Doctor Koo

This is my second straight entry using figures from Pulp Figures China Station catalogue. PCS-01 The Court of Sinister Doctor Koo, or as advertized The Greatest Criminal Mastermind of the Far-East, perhaps the world! Definately an entry for any sort of foray into the world of pulp. 

Pulp Figures - Chinese Porters

I am a fan of Bob Murch's Pulp Figures. This was 3 packs of  PCS-09 Chinese Bearers from his China Station range. It was intented to be completed as part of the  Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge but due to time constraits it wasn't finished in time. They are intented to serve as for a backdrop for Daredevil Adventures taking place in China of the Warring Warlords period.  Ideas flow, a party of porters hired by a scientific expedition, a forced work gang for a local warlord, or dockhands on a river side seaport. 

I choose to work on these figures as I completed the Sampan. I figured a work crew unloading the boat was a great combination. I also tried something a little different with some of the bases. The other night I saw a Youtube video where it was suggested using cut up stir sticks to provide a wooden planking on the base. I applied this effect to approximately six figures to create the impression that they are engaged in work on a wooden wharf or pier.   

I also completed a separate barbarian warrior miniature. I'm unsure of its origin, but it was a slot-a-base mini. I wanted to experiment by clipping it off at the soles of the feet to see how it would attach to a base. The inspiration came from the concept of mounting figures on clear bases. Although I didn’t have any clear bases at hand, I was eager to test how straightforward the process would be.

And he appears to be missing a hand.

MTB02 - French Army - French and Indian Wars Part 3

Sunday morning I met with Luis and Graham for breakfast. Graham delivered the second batch of figures from MTB02 - French Army - French and Indian Wars. Twelve very well painted Canadian Militia figures, produced by North Star Military Figures and are included in the French Army boxed set for the French and Indian Wars. Beautifully painted figures.

Late Roman Cavalry

 This unit was also painted as an entry in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, as well as to provide some much needed troops for my Late Roman Saga Warband. It consists of a Warlord with a Draco bannerman and a 8 man Warrior Unit. This was the project that was start and go in the middle of the night during the long winter season. I am afraid I am of an age where getting up in the middle of the night, and being awake for a couple of hours is quite common.  A good time to paint. 

I purchased an unpainted Arthurian warband second hand in 2024. However it came without any horses for the calvary. I had tried various solutions including some Persian plastic horses that I had stored away but nothing meant with my satisfaction. In the end since the figures originated with Gripping Beast I wrote to the source and inquired if they could sell me the horses separately. Loki from the Beast responded positvely.

Late Roman Levy - Slingers

This project began on Thursday evening after I signed off work and was intented as an entry in the recent Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. Twelve Late Roman slingers, or a Saga Levy. The work was completed in 15 stage, at all hours of the day or night. From the first application of paint applied to the trousers (AV Game Color 72.037 Filthy Brown to the final stage of a coat of Mod Podge applied to provide a sealant for the Meadows of Purity Krautcover Scenics. I just wanted to see if I could push it throught in about 60 hours.

A Walk in the Sun

This was a free sprue from Warlord Games advertizing their French Line Infantry. I have some plastics in my collection of figures but I prefer metal. This project had just the right amount of model work that appealed to me. Glue on a head, attach the backpack and roll. No fuss, no muss. I have never got into painting Napoleonics and I don't have a lot of knowledge of the period. This was a simple project.  Only six figures and my Spanish Guerrillas do need a target to ambush. I went for a ragtag look. The greatcoat made it easy to paint.

March or Die - French Foreign Legion

 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.

25mm Sampan - Floating Down the Yellow River

 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.

28mm WIP - Arthurian Warband

 Finally started work on the Arthurian Warband. A WIP, I would like to finish the cavalry within the next two weeks.

MTB02 - French Army - French and Indian Wars Part II

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. 

3D Printed Movement Trays

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.

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. 

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.

Cavalry Figures fitted for a Command Stand

 

It takes a Pillage to Raze a Village

 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. 

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.

25mm Hellenistic/Carthaginian Elephant

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. 

Aventine Hellenistic/Carthaginian elephant

The base is covered with Krautcover Scenics - Soil of Sparta. I like the look it provides to the base.