Goodbye 2018

Another year, another squillion miniatures have passed through my hands. Some of them have stuck around. The lead pile has actually decreased (slightly) as I have clarified what projects I want to work on.
As you can see by my sidebar total, I haven't exactly set the world on fire with my painting total this year. And most of that was in November and December!

Italian Stallions

Italian 15mm was the major part of the beginning of the year. I swore that I would never paint 15mm again several years ago but the temptation of Battlegroup wafted past me by Man Cave Paul and Dux was too strong to resist. I bought most of my army pre-painted but as always happens, I just needed a couple more miniatures...
Needless to say, my man cave is now awash with tiny Italians.
Later in the year I decided it was time to finally bite the bullet and build some Napoleonic forces. encouraged by excellent games of General D'Armee with the Carpenter men and Sharpe Practice with Paul, Dave, Alan, Phill, Aled and especially Gavin.
As mentioned in a previous blog I took it as an experiment, used three different techniques and ended up with a process and a result I am happy with.
It didn't hurt that I had a beautifully pro-painted force to inspire me as well.

A gorgeous Indian Mutiny game

I had the chance to play a lot of games in 2018 (part of my don't let the opportunities pass by policy) including a cracking couple of huge games at Gavin's, a big Bolt Action and a superb The Men Who Would Be Kings Indian Mutiny game.

Marty and Paul both hosted terrain making and painting days. No better way to spend a lazy day than hobbying with good friends, helped along with adult beverages. Some really nice terrain was the result (despite the aforementioned beverage consumption!

Superb Sarissa built at Marty's

I can't forget Slaughterloo. Dave K hosted a 6 (or 8?) player game of my favourite system. And this of course inspired me to paint more forces.
The very end of 2018 saw me get involved in two Challenges; the first was the Painting and Sculpting Miniatures (in association with Footsore) 30 Minutes for 30 Days November challenge. What rollicking (and sledging) fun that was. And the discipline was was so helpful to my overall output.
I found that challenge the perfect lead in to The Challenge. I have decided that despite previous years' bad luck, I would give the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge another go. I have been pushing myself to do at least the 30 minutes a day I started in November, helped along with painting days with Paul, Alan, Aled and various other Odinians. So far so good.

My first AHPC entry for this year

Overall, this has been an excellent hobby year, made all the more so by my great friends in Odin's Night Games Club. You people really make life more fun.

A Wander Into Wellington's Army

I have always loved Napoleonics but until recently I have never painted anything for the period with the exception of my vast Slaughterloo armies. As I have been enjoying Sharpe Practice II and General d'Armee with borrowed forces I thought that it was time to build my own armies.

As I have not painted any historical figures for this period (most people, wrongly obviously, don't count Slaughterloo figures as Historical) I needed to establish the technique. So I decided to undercoat 15 figures, five each in white, grey and black, to see how that changes the method. I am painting British infantry in the test and first group.

First five, white undercoat

These were the first five done, using the white undercoat and finished with Army Painter Soft Tone.
I am not happy with these first five, I think they are washed out and I found them really challenging (hard!) to paint.

And then fortune intervened. I lucked into 120 odd pro-painted French and British for an excellent price. Not only did I have a substantial kernel to build my army around, they were partially based and saboted, just what I wanted to do.

The basing and painting production line

I then spent a couple of days really looking at the deceptively simple pro paint job. I can't match the quality but I thought I could use it's example to improve. They were obviously done with a black primer. So on to the grey and black undercoats. At the same time I decided to finish basing the bought ones, and carry the same basing scheme through to any I painted. At first glance, from a distance, they will hopefully look similar.
The grey undercoat was easier to work with than the white but the black was easiest of all. I also changed to a Strong Tone Quickshade, mainly to try for more definition, particularly with the grey base. Not 100% successful.

I will paint the rest of the British on a black undercoat and sparingly use the Soft Tone (mainly on the trousers) to give a bit of definition.

Black base to left, grey to the right. Black is the winner.

Challenge done but not completed - lessons learned

I have finally finished the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. I loved it and it drove me crazy. When I initially considered the Challenge I thought that I could maybe get 250 points (based on 5 points per 28mm infantry, 4 per 20mm etc) because I am a very slow painter. However there was only the choice of 500 point intervals so I went for 500, lowest I could choose.
As it turns out I only made it to 216 points. There were many personal challenges along the way, not least of which was my eyesight. I ended up purchasing a flip down magnifying visor (as used by watchmakers) which helps a lot.

Me with my total output from the Challenge, wearing my new magnifying visor and traditional painting fez.

To be eligible for the Challenge a miniature could be cleaned up and undercoated before the start but no additional paint could be applied. It also must be completely finished, including basing, to be earn points. Herein lies the greatest lesson learned - I have way too many unfinished miniatures. Ranging from one or two colours applied, or nearly fully painted through to fully painted but no basing done. This is not acceptable.

So, from now on I am keeping a tally on the blog with two divisions;
Painted Miniatures - meaning painted this year from scratch through to finished as determined by the Challenge requirements.
Finished Miniatures - these are miniatures that I have started previously, or purchased part painted or similar that have done the extra work on to be totally finished. Including magnetizing the bases.
This will be a summary tally on the side of my blog and a more detailed running one at the end of each post. Maybe this will help my output. Or make my shame public.

Type	Painted	Finished
28mm Dark Ages Infantry	12
28mm Empire/Lion Rampant Infantry	8	11
28mm Empire/Lion Rampant Mounted	1
28mm Slaughterloo Infantry	4
20mm WWII	11

A week of great buys and great friends

I just wanted to share this with you because if you read my blog, I know you will understand. Way back in the 1970s I received this kit for my 12th birthday and I loved it. It was probably the first non-Airfix kit I ever built and is part of the first real wargames army I ever collected. Sadly that original kit is long gone, the victim of air rifles, matches and the other stupid things we did as kids.

I was only talking about it at work this week and how excited I was to receive it so many years ago. I was at a swap meet today and they had one. Not the best or most accurate kit ever but an important nostalgic purchase. Of course I bought it. It will never be built but will be a reminder of how exciting it was to discover 1/72nd modelling and wargaming back in my childhood. Who would have thought that it would be how I made my living?

Another thing I found at the swap meet was a Meccano Spitfire kit. I collect everything named as a Spitfire aircraft and I have a particular fondness for only vaguely Spitfire-like objects called Spitfires. The brand vs substance of them really amuses me.The Meccano Spitfire is one of these. It "kind of" looks like a Spitfire, or at least parts of it do. I have wanted one ever since I saw it in a catalogue some years ago. Despite having worked in the toy business and having a good relationship with the Meccano distributor in Australia, I was never able to get one. Today I found one, still sealed (BNIB) and for about 50% of the original RRP. What a bargain. Straight into the games room with this one.

Spitfire?

It has been a successful weekend hobbywise. I managed to get four more figures finished for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, Albion Orcs for Slaughterloo.

The cartoony style is deliberate and they are done to match some second hand figures I picked up a couple of years ago. Love this game and these guys.

I also had a chance this week to catch up with my good friend Shayne from Campaign Books and Game Logistics. A retailer from Brisbane, he was down for the Rugby Sevens and took the time to visit us at the warehouse. We also had a lovely dinner with our families at an Italian restaurant in Haberfield. It's great that I can work in an industry where friendship is as important as business.

The Best Napoleonics Games Ever Made? Slaughterloo!

After a very long hiatus I managed to get in a game of Slaughterloo! with David K. We have always loved this Napoleonique Fantasy game. It has very simple but demanding rules that make for a fun and challenging game.

The Centre of the table

For those not familiar with the game, Slaughterloo is a mass battles game by Alternative Armies set in a fantastic world that roughly mirrors ours in the Napoleonic period with fantasy races representing each nation -the British are Orcs, French are Elves, German states are Dwarves and the Russians are Undead. With various other races scattered around the map - a personal favourite are the Todarini (Italians), frogs who don't do much at all except march around in pretty uniforms.

Zoltan's 666th Foot advance

Today we played the Undead vs the Living Alliance (Elves + Orcs) in a simple 1750 point per side game. Dave controlled the Undead while I took command of the Living Alliance division.

One of the mechanics of the game is that any living unit (ie not Undead) can make a single action such as move or fire automatically. To do any more than a single action you need to make a Form test with modifiers for the more actions you are attempting plus Disorder etc. Undead must make a Form test to do anything - they're dead so they don't exactly leap into action. So I tried to do more than one action with all my units in the second turn of the game. They ALL failed and became Disordered. The sneaky Undead passed all their tests. The game went downhill from there for me.

Umm, lads...are there Jagers in those woods?

On my left flank, my Orc Line Infantry ground to a halt in the face of withering fire from the Undead Dwarves of the Krautian Fleshless Legion and the Undead artillery. 

My Elf Line Infantry fired at no effect on the Licantzrop Jagers sneaking through the woods.

Sharke and the Rifles face down the Graviski Infantry

In the centre and right flank I had more success (just) with Sharke's Orc Rifles and 1er Velite Grenadiers De La Garde Mordred as they steadily advanced upon the Zombie Line Infantry. In the centre Sharke's Rifles took heavy fire from the Undead Gravinski Infantry but their stiff green upper lips held firm and they hung on and returned fire.

The Licantzrop Jagers leap out of the woods

Then disaster struck! The sneaky Jagers leaped from the woods and took on my Orc Line Infantry in melee - in the flank! We tussled for a couple of turns but the Orc's fate was sealed. They were soon annihilated and my left flank started to collapse. Soon my artillery piece was threatened, all was looking very bad.

On the right flank the Zombie Line Infantry were being steadily eroded by the combined fire of the Elf Voltigeurs, Chasseurs and Grenadiers. I killed their officer which rendered them unable to move and I took the opportunity to peel off the Voltigeurs to threaten Dave's centre and one of his Graviski Re-Animators (pesky devices by which the Undead can increase the size of their army by re-animating any casualties - from both sides!) and it looked like I could save the game.

Graviski Infantry flanked by the Reanimator Unit and Undead Artillery

My optimism proved to be unfounded when the Jagers continued their rampage across the field by assaluting my artillery unit, wiping them out in a single melee round. That took my army past it's break point and they fled screaming from the field, no doubt traumatized by their close encounters with the Undead Legions.

All in all, a rollicking fun game, perfect for the holidays. And yes Buck, I did use some of the 4Ground La Haye Saint set on the table.