I am acutely aware that my blog posts are becoming a little rare of late! A combination of real world commitments and, dare I say it, a lack of wargaming mojo. I have the Roman invasion of Britain battle on the board but it is progressing at a snails pace. I do though try and maintain some sort of momentum in painting and modelling. Even if it is only half an hour during the morning.
To that end, here is an update on what I have been working on. Since January it has all been terrain, ships and planes. This is probably just about the longest spell where I have not painted any figures. A couple of weeks ago I decided it was high time that I made some progress on other projects. First up was Pony Wars.
A complete pack of Baccus "Settlers and Civilians" beckoned and here is the completed figures prior to basing. They have received a gloss coat so a little shiny! My aversion to large bases means that basing will be a rather protracted affair, especially as they will, for the most part, be in singles or doubles.
Continued -
Half a pack (60) of mounted braves have been prepped and ready for priming. 60 is the maximum mounted figures I can comfortably paint and therefore the remaining 60 will immediately follow.
The total mounted braves will be 480, a little less than the 600 recommended in the rules. It appears many others do not paint the full amount and manage fine so I shall see. If necessary more can be added later. Once these are all completed it will just leave the odds and ends, such as US infantry, artillery, characters and so on. Wagons and terrain will complete the project.
In the absence of battle reports I intend to post more updates on how the various projects are progressing.
Well those figures do look rather wonderful Jon and as always, hard to believe they are 6mm. Finger injury aside, I'm struggling too to find any mojo for gaming or painting, due to my parent/carer responsibilities and frankly the glorious weather these past two weeks. With still another week of the same forecast, I expect little change...
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Steve. Same here with the weather. We are enjoying it while it lasts! That and our childcare duties with our two very young granddaughters has left little time for the hobby.
DeleteTwo very young granddaughters means lots of fun for years to come. Watching my two has been rewarding for 17 years. As they get older you might get opportunities for game partners.
ReplyDeleteYou never know. Struggling so far with the older of the two who did not grasp the importance of forming her dolls into a square!
DeleteThe figures look wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI have a question regarding your basing system. Is the basing system, as described on your Ancients Rules, universal for all the periods you play? For some reason I had it in my mind that you base your cavalry on 18x18 bases but those rules say 20x15.
Many thanks Berg. Just to complicate matters I do have slightly different base sizes for some periods. As Pony Wars is a large skirmish I have gone for individually based or doubles which, I am sure, many would find too fiddly in this scale. I am fine with it though. So for mounted I have them on a 10mm frontage per figure with 15mm depth. Because of the large number, I have some mounted braves 3 figures to a base (30mm x 15mm). Foot are 8mm frontage with 10mm depth. Hopefully that answers your Q.
DeleteThank you for your answer. I should have clarified that it was regarding the ancient, ACW, ECW, Napoleonic and the War of the Ross.
DeleteNo problem Berg. Yes they are pretty standard across my periods. 20mm frontage x 15mm for cavalry 3 to a base. There is a slight difference for ACW where I have 2 figures on a 15mm x 15mm base. Originally I played Fire & Fury and it better suited those rules. The 18mm x 18mm refers to the Zulu Wars where I had slightly larger bases to accommodate the irregular look of the Zulus.
DeleteThank you, good to know! I thought the 2 cavalry figures for the ACW might have represented mounted infantry.
DeleteDon't sweat the Mojo, it will, like Mary's lamb, return all by itself. Keeping us hungry is not a bad thing; that way we treasure each post all the more.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Pony Wars civilians they're great, being a bit gloss helps them stand out nicely despite being 6mil. Also 480 mounted braves is plenty, the numbers suggested in the rules is what the author was using for demo games and demos always err on the side more is better. I reckon 300 is more than enough for a game.
Many thanks for that Rob. Encouraging to know that I should have enough mounted braves. Did not relish the prospect of painting 120 more! They will be sprayed with a couple of coats of matt varnish after basing, but yes gloss does make them pop more.
DeleteAs ever Jon your figures look amazing - the detail on your 6mm puts my own feeble painting skills to shame. I'm currently trying to finish off some 1815 Nassauers and Hanoverians, but work and family commitments do have a habit of interrupting.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that you are lacking in the mojo department - I shall box up several litres of pure mojo and have it shipped it to you!
I look forward to further Pony Wars eye candy, the Roman battle report when it comes, and in the longer term perhaps a return to the Napoleonic campaign?
Many thanks Dave. I have no doubt the mojo will return soon, especially if the weather turns! I will definitely be returning to the Nap campaign - my favourite.
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