A change of plan........

 A couple of posts ago I said I was going to try and not start anymore new projects until I get through some of the lead mountain, well suffice to say that my good intentions have flown out the window! A new project is on the cards but rather differently for me I am actually planning it out!!!  I usually batter on with no real plan, adding units here and there and then lose interest and put it aside for something new, no plans and all over the place, but this one I have actually put some thought into it, good fro me!!!

I am starting out on a Thirty Years War project, have always fancied doing this but went down the ECW route instead, but now I am ready to give it a go, I am going to use The Assault Group figures as they have a good range of Germans, Swedes, Danish and Scots from the ECW range and they are lovely figures.

My aim is to do it in chunks, first phase 3 x 24 men infantry, 2 x 9 men cavalry and 1 gun and crew, when phase 1 is done, rinse and repeat a second then a third time, this will allow me to firstly get some units on the table to try out some different rule systems, then be able to game bigger battles then finally to game even bigger battles. As I will be doing both side it is a long term project with plenty to do and plenty to focus on.

Feeling very enthused by this project, plans are in place, first order will be in very soon and we can get this whole thing off the ground.  Focus will be my usual problem but I really aim to give this a good go, fingers crossed!!!

Sad Times

 Just heard this morning that Graham Cummings has passed away, I knew he was in hospital from a blog post he did a few day ago but this is a real shock.  Graham wa a real gentleman and alway had time for me when I was asking advice etc. from him. He helped me out out on uniform details for the WAS project I was doing and that was a real boon for me.

A couple of years ago I invested in a project he started after he had sold Crann Tara, for a range of SYW Prussians and Austrians, he did all the donkey work all I did wa bung some money into the pot, a nice range was sculpted and cast and the figures are lovely, in the CT Minden style. He decided that he wa going to change his hobby direction so sold me the rights, masters etc for this range at a very good price and was a real help in the many, many questions I had for him! Nothing seemed to be a problem and he alway got back with an answer and some good ideas that I will be taking forward in the future.

Rest easy Graham you will be missed by your friends and my condolences and thought to his family at this hard, sad time.

Realisation!!!!!

 2024 is not too old and I have come to the conclusion that I have too many unpainted figures!! Unreal I know but that's the truth!  Like most wargamers I buy way too many figures and have them sitting in a pile waiting to get round to them, but this year something is going to change!

I am not going to buy any new lead until I paint what I have, into my 18th projects and I have a tonne of bare metal, so enough to keep me busy for most of the year,when finished then I can buy what figures I need to round of projects or ad new units.  I also have enough Carlist War  bare metal to keep me going for a while before I will need to purchase the outstanding units required.

The only things I will be buying will be ready painted "old school" ECW for that project and that is only when I find the right figures, these usually only require a bit of touching up and rebasing, so not much work required there.

Hopefully I can stick to this and reduce the lead mountain and finally finish some units and maybe even some projects!! Fingers crossed!!  

A new year.....

 Well here we go, the first post of 2024, I had a bit of lack of motivation in the first week of the new year, I had painted up the first 10mm Prussians but found them a hard go, nice figures from OG but I really did not enjoy painting them, put them away back in their box and will look at them another time.  This put me off really starting anything else so the first week of the new year saw nothing done. This past Sunday saw me finally enthused enough to start a new unit and it is a 16 man regiment for my Piedmontese project, Keller a Swiss regiment in the pay of Piedmont, nice uniform, blue and red always go well together in my opinion.  I have also another 16 man Saxon unit primed ready for paint to be daubed on once Keller are done, plus a 9 man Saxon cuirassier primed and ready.  I think I can safely say my mojo has returned!!

Christmas time!!!

 Well just a small update on what's been happening up here in the far north, hopefully you all got loads of hobby related presents and are enthused for the new year ahead!

I have been doing a bit of work on my First Carlist War project with a 16 man Isabelina unit done and 2 guns and crews for them done also, two line squadrons of cavalry and another four units of infantry on the bench awaiting their turn but they may have to wait their turn as another project hits the table!

I have had a load of Old Glory 10mm Prussians for the SYW primed and read for months but have not done anymore than that but I feel it is time to get this project on the go and so they have jumped up the queue and come away from the pile of shame!!

I'm not going to make any resolutions or promises for the coming year as I know only too well that the butterfly will take me to who knows where!!

More Christmas goodies

 

Here are a couple of more purchases for my old school ECW project, under the Christmas tree for opening on the day itself.  A nicely painted squadron of horse and a regiment of shot with command and a couple of extra pikemen by the look of it, all Hinchliffe and bar from a bit of tidying up they should be good to go. The shot may need to be gloss varnished by the look of the picture but that's easily enough to do.

I should have enough now for three or four pike and shot regiments and the first of the cavalry, all in all a good start to my project and something to look forward to when the big day arrives!!

Latest purchase

 

Bought this little lot of ebay, and very happy I am with them. I have a load of Empress lovely ECW figures but really fancy doing some "old school" style gaming for this period. Hinchliffe figures were the first metal ones I ever bought so this is the way I am going.  They look to be painted decently and bar some tidying up they will do as is.

Watching another couple of items on ebay that finish early next week so fingers crossed I will get them as well.  The ones I won cost £14.99 plus postage so pretty decent haul for that money.