Ottoman Blues and a lack of time...

I was talking to my good friend and fellow gamer about how our hobby time is very limited these days and the frustrations that come from it. This year has really been difficult as far as time and schedules are concerned. Wargaming conventions have been missed, painting time is curtailed and gaming opportunities nearly impossible. Even when I do have time, often I am lacking the motivation or energy to take advantage of the opportunity. Until these realities change, I will try to take advantage of the moments I have and progress with painting miniatures so that they are ready to make war on the tabletop when the opportunity arrives. 

I recently completed a 6mm 17th century Muscovite army and a 10mm Macedonian army. With time limited, I am delaying the start of a new project. I am just painting figures that were partially painted and lingering on my hobby desk. The current task were a bunch of Crimean War Ottomans that I primed blue nearly 2 years ago! 

The figures are 10mm Magister Militum and were acquired right before MM went out of business. Luckily Peter Berry's Tenth Legion endeavor has acquired the 10mm offerings from MM. 

I think I primed them with GW Macragge Blue, applied a very diluted blue/black ink wash, dry brushed with more Macragge Blue. That was the plan at least, I'm thinking these may have just been primed only. Anyway, the figures are fairly straight forward to paint if a bit tedious with the white straps. 

References indicate the Ottoman uniforms and equipment were pretty rag-tag. I've thought about mixing in some random brown or grey pants and giving a few brown leather accoutrements or a varied blanket rolls. That may be too much effort. 

I should also point out something....I often go to great lengths to determine what a soldier's uniform looked like. Despite the efforts at historical authenticity, I will snib my nose at it and paint it differently for aesthetic purposes. With the Ottoman fellas above, the fez tassel should be a dark blue like the uniform. I intentionally went a light blue for the purposes of color contrast and diversity. I also added a yellow tassel button (I had seen some color plates showing a gold button, I went yellow instead) just to give the figures a little extra pop of color. 

I think I have 3 battalions worth of Ottoman infantry to finish (about 70+ figures). I'm not sure what is next after these guys are done. I think there are some Ottoman cavalry, 10mm Greek mercenary hoplites (earmarked for service in my Persian army), 6mm Scottish infantry for my Killiecrankie project and perhaps some other stuff too. While time is limited and schedules are wonky, it doesn't really matter which project I'm working on, what matters is that I make progress. Paint now (when I can) and game later.