The Alchemist

As a hobbyist and wargamer, often times I'm not using products straight from the tin or bottle. Paints aren't always the exact hue that I want, inks and washes need to be diluted, etc. Improvisation and customization are commonplace. 

I've created many different formulas only to forget the exact ingredients and measurements once the initial batch is done...this leads me trying to recreate mysterious concoctions and makes me feel like some kind of alchemist searching for his recipe to make "gold".

Something as simple as variations in static grass or flocking turf for a basing project has caused me great headache. My WW1 1914 project has spanned several years. My original basing for my French and Germans featured a certain green flocking turf with ample amounts of shrubs (below). 

Years later, I tackled some Belgians for the project (above). I went with few shrubs (easier for gaming and markers) but I learned that I was out of the original flocking turf and went with an approximation that isn't quite a match. 

A similar incident happened with my Crimean War project. Some of my Turks have a vibrant green static grass while others have a dull and muted tone of grass. Not enough of an issue to rebase but enough of an issue to annoy me. 

I really need to start writing down these formulas for my various hobby "gold" recipes....

To the Strongest!!

Back in 2019/2020, I posted about the To the Strongest project my buddy Rob and I embarked on

 I managed to finish Carthaginian and Polybian Roman armies in the span of a year. They were initially purchased at the Wally's Basement flea market of Cold Wars 2019 and one year later, Rob and I braved the onset of Covid to play a battle of TTS with my freshly painted armies. We had a blast (as we constantly slathered ourselves in hand sanitizer) and later played them at one of the later conventions with our buddies Bill and Matt. 

At some point shortly after these games, I purchased more armies to build Macedonian/Successor, Persian and Indian armies. Time went by, Rob never finished his armies (I think his Romans were partially started), Bill purchased Gauls but these never got off the ground and the impetus for the project stalled. 

Recently Rob decided to try and kickstart his TTS armies and this gave me motivation to start painting my remaining armies. 

I love elephants and the Indians have them and chariots in droves. I love colorful pastels and the Persians offer these in the cacophony of colors their soldiers wear into battle. As much as I wanted to resume the project by tackling one of these armies...I decided the responsible thing to do would be to finish the Macedonians first. This army will do double duty as a generic Successor army with the inclusion of elephants and I can use them against the Romans and Carthaginians. From there I can move on to "guilty pleasure" armies of Darius and Poros. 

I managed to paint up my first Macedonian unit. I went with a unit of phalangite pikemen. These fellas represent a "silver shield" unit of veterans. They have red tunics and pikes since red is the color of war, white linen cuirasses and silver armor. I think they came out spiffy. I already prepped and primed two more like units and started painting one of them. I did some inventory and realized my Persians and Indians needed some additional units so I placed a few orders to Old Glory and Tenth Legion for cavalry/chariots and elephants respectively. 

The armies will compromise almost exclusively of Old Glory 10mm with the exception of the elephants which are mostly Magister Militum (now Tenth Legion) and Pendraken. Hopefully more updates will be consistently posted and this project won't languish again. Wish me luck! 

Some Scenery

I've had these scenery items painted for a month so now but I finally have snapped some photos of them. Scenery is something that I tend to neglect, I have a lot of unpainted items that desperately need to be painted. At any rate, let's showcase the progress I've made recently. 

These bases come from Total Battle Miniatures 3mm village and farm tile range. First up are some Western Europe farms and villages. These will make nice little objective and table scatter for 6mm battles from the 18th and 19th centuries. I have Baccus armies for the War of Spanish Succession and Wars of German Unification. 

Here are the Russian/Eastern European village and farm tiles. A bit drab in natural wood colors, I imagine I will use these for 17th century battles in the Baltic and surrounding areas. I have 6mm Danish and Swedes for the Scanian Wars and I plan to add Ottomans, Poles and Russians as well. 

Last up are some 15mm fuel and ammo caches for my AK-47 Republic Krapistan project. These will make nice game objectives for the various factions to try and capture. As I make more progress with my scenery I will continue to post my finished pieces. 

Norman Army (and 1066 Project) Complete!

Despite an operational pause during the painting for the weeks leading up to the Pendraken painting competition, I pushed through and finished the Norman army for Big Battle Ravenfeast. I need to see the scenery needed for the refights of the three battles of the 1066 campaign but I should have most of it and what I need (some Saxon buildings and army camps) should be minimal. 

Here is the full army with an impressive mounted contingent. I have to say that this was probably the easiest of the armies to paint. The Vikings for whatever reason, were the ones that were tedious...and that was the first of the three armies I tackled. 

The shock arm of the Norman host, their mounted knights. I developed a pretty quick .method for painting these fellas. The shields were pretty easy too. You might notice one knight with a green shield that is a bit struggling...he sits in his saddle at a nearly 45 degree angle. It seems he slipped a bit during gluing or perhaps he's had too much wine. 

Here are the Norman infantry, which are Old Glory's "Heavy Infantry".mostly chain mail and shields, I was able to breeze through these sculpts. 

The three bases represent the Flemish infantry under Bishop Odo's command. I opted for the OG "Medium Infantry" for these guys since they have inferior ratings to the Norman infantry. Out of the various sculpts within the Norman army, these were probably the most annoying to paint because of the shield position. 

Two bases of crossbow and two of archers represent the ranged capability of the army. The Old Glory crossbowmen only come in one pose, I would have preferred a second pose but I'm not too bothered. The archers actually have two poses and I painted a bunch of the standing pose but I couldn't find them ast the time of basing so I just used the firing pose. Good enough. 

And lastly here are the three command bases representing William, Eustace and Odo. I thought about converting the sword in Odo's hand into a wooden club but I just wanted this army painted and on the table. 

Now I just need to get in some tabletop battles with these three armies. With the completion of this project, the question becomes what is next up? 

Most Welcome News...

As you may have guessed from my blog posts, I am a lover of 6mm and 10mm figures. Some of my favorite manufacturers over the years have been Baccus (6mm), Pendraken and Magister Militum (both 10mm). 

Not too long ago, I remember I was in a hotel room in McAllen, Texas when I learned that Magister Militum was closing up shop. This caused a panic as I had multiple projects involving MM figures that were half-complete or never started (WW1, Crimean War, Biblical, etc.). I placed several large orders but I knew that I hadn't ordered everything that I needed. 

Magister Militum closed and I waited for someone to purchase the 10mm historical ranges. A few months back I learned that this had happened but didn't know who the buy was. Today I was delighted to learn that Peter Berry and Baccus acquired the rights to the Magister Militum 10mm historical ranges. It is of great comfort to me to know that I can continue on finishing the various projects that I either never completed not ever started. 

And the results are in ..

Well the Pendraken painting competition results are in and, while I didn't have the success I was hoping for, I did manage to win the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category with my  Sardaukar from the movie Dune. 

It's funny how things occur, the Sardaukar were probably the fellas I put the least amount of effort into. I used a black SpeedPaint from Army Painter and then added green visors and some small details. 

The figures I placed the most effort into were my 10mm Sassanid Persians although I didn't necessarily think they came out the best. I was most proud of my Korean War Chinese, I really liked the end result and the snow effects. I also had some sentimental attachment to them because I purchased them directly from Leon over at the 2024 Claymore convention and had told them I would paint them up for the competition. 

There were some incredibly painted entries in the various categories and I am fortunate to have had some success. I appreciate those that voted for my entries so a thank you to all of the people who voted and participated. 

I have always enjoyed the competition, it's motivated me to paint some things that have languished in the queue. However it the 2025 competition may have been my last, at least it will be the last time I specifically paint for the competition. As I get older my eyes aren't quite what they used to be and I suspect that my painting quality will begin to noticeably suffer (if it hasn't already). I have also learned that photographing your minis is almost as important as painting them and I have accepted the fact that I'm not a very good at taking photographs.

I may enter something from time to time but I won't pre-plan projects specifically for the competition. I have been left with a large collection of partially painted projects that way and now it's time to start focusing my painting towards completing projects. However, I think I will use the prize gift certificate to purchase some 10mm Irish and English for the Nine Years War. Maybe a small new project...and who knows, maybe I will enter them into the 2026 Pendraken competition. 

Cold Wars 2025

At the end of February, HMGS held the 2025 Cold Wars convention. Cold Wars always seemed to be the runt of the three major HMGS conventions and recently had take a few years hiatus so it was a surprise that it made a comeback. The venue choice was an old one from year's past...the Eisenhower Conference Center in Gettysburg, PA. 

Decades ago, I remember going to an HMGS convention at the Eisenhower but I didn't really remember much about my experience. 

Work has been pretty chaotic and demanding recently and this was an opportunity for me to meet up with my friends Bill and Rob. We could push some lead, roll some dice and share a beer. 

The Eisenhower was a short drive and upon arrival I was a little underwhelmed with the facilities. There were two hotels (Eisenhower and Aspire) and an old indoor sports complex. Games were held at both hotels while the sports complex hosted registration, Wally's, the vendor Hall and tournaments. The buildings were spread out on the site but we were blessed with mild weather so it could have been much worse. In addition, the food selection left a little bit to be desired. 

Enough of the negativity, the games were good and I ended up purchasing more than anticipated. HMGS put together a convention that allowed me to play games, but hobby stuff and spend time with friends...and that's all that matters. For that I am grateful. 

Bill, Rob and I played a game of Blitz Bowl where my Skaven lost 11-0 to the Dwarf team handled by Rob and Bill. I really enjoyed the game and need to paint up all the other teams I own. 

The star of the convention was Kurt Vonnegut's long lost boardgame GHQ. The well-known author was apparently a little-known board game designer. GHQ is a mix of WW2 and Chess. It really makes you appreciate the primacy of combined arms. There is artillery (motorized, conventional and heavy), infantry (motorized and foot) and paratroopers. 

Friday night we managed to continue our tradition of playing in Brian's Friday Night naval game. Brian is the best game GM and his games are always a blast. This game was the much loved, Form on the Admiral's Wake. The scenario was a Napoleonic clash between British and Franco-Spanish fleets. 

I was an admiral with British and we lost pretty convincingly. We had some interesting personalities on both sides and it was really entertaining to see how their various gaming styles came though on the tabletop. Always so much fun, win or lose. 

There were some very cool looking games and I have to thank Rob for taking these pictures.  

Friday's Wally's was pretty disappointing but Saturday brought some good stuff being sold. I purchased a bunch of 15mm Aztecs from Gladiator/Black Hat, 15mm resin supply dumps and a large bag of 6mm Baccus War of the Roses (which turned out to have more 6mm ACW, 6mm Gauls and 15mm WW2 Japanese than WotR figures). 

At the vendor Hall, I picked up a really cool book by AK Interactive which depicted armored vehicles used by various factions of the Lebanese Civil War and also a book on the battle of Salamis. 

One of the first projects that I completed was my 15mm IDF and PLO for the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. I was always tempted to expand out my armies to include a few Lebanese factions. Perhaps the eye candy will inspire me to get that kick started. 

Despite my initial misgivings, the convention turned out to be very rewarding in various ways. Most important was the opportunity to spend good time with great friends.