Thursday, March 20, 2025

Caesarian Romans


For a long time I've wanted to do Caesarian Romans in particular the Wargames Foundry ones as I always really liked them and to this day still consider them the best out there. I don't know why I never got around to doing them, but finally acquired some in a trade with my friend Mike. 


Once I started painting them I was having so much fun, I ordered a large amount of them in a Foundry sale which is only really how I can get them with the price increases, shipping and customs and all. Since I paint pretty slow by the time I need more miniatures some sale is bound to be happening. I suppose it's that way for many of us metal miniature painters as I still paint relatively few plastic and resin miniatures for many reasons that are commonly known like assembly, heft etc.


Somebody gave a great description of the Foundry Caesarian Romans looking like they are fighting on rugby pitch which translates to brutally fighting in a no quarter given or asked toe to toe manner which will really contrast well to the sophisticated look of my Hellenistic opposition I have planned. Plus Caesar vs Pompei , Spanish, Gaul and Germanic tribes and Spartacus Slave revolt all sound intriguing to do as each presents a completely different game. 



Lately I've been putting all my Dark Ages and Ancients on single bases and using blue tack to hold them onto movement bases which holds surprisingly well. I hate re-basing and I don't like sabot bases either and this seems the best solution for me to keep pace with my changing taste in base sizes I seem to go through. For example These bases are 120mm x 60mm, but I'm thinking of trying 100mm frontage to get a quicker start on gaming which won't be an issue as all I need to do is buy new movement bases rather than any dreaded re-basing.


I decided to give them a look that says they have been fighting for some time so I gave some with shield designs and others with just red to show not enough time to paint their shields as the next fight is already coming up. They are all in red to show a bit of a veteran status and one off the more experienced units..

Thanks for viewing!

Miniature Company- Wargames Foundry

Saturday, February 15, 2025

Confederate Cavalry

 

This will be third submission to the challenge and my second cavalry. I painted a union cavalry and now I'm adding a confederate to keep pace with the union. I really would like to find a way to paint cavalry quicker, but how I prefer my models to look pretty much requires the same method every time. Something about old dogs and tricks comes to mind....


The figures are once again the very lively and characterful Sash and Saber range which are really fun to paint and make you hum a civil war tune as you go through the process.



The paints I used were mostly Foundry as they have been my go to brand for many years plus of course the ever trusty Vallejo line with some Mig pigments for weathering rocks and stuff.


I'm not sure what I'll paint next as I still need more cavalry and dismounted cavalry for ACW, but some of my other collections are really in need of some additions right now.

Thanks for viewing!

Miniature company- Old Glory Sash and Saber

Saturday, January 25, 2025

Union Cavalry

 

Adding more ACW to my collection. I'm kind of reluctant to move to other periods at the moment as I really need to add some units to play some scenario's I have in mind. This is the first cavalry unit I've done for this collection as cavalry always lags behind with me.


Almost all my major collections are lacking in cavalry and that's because I really don't like painting horses with all the straps and flesh to cover not to mention the riders typically have more fiddly bits then infantry! However, this year I've decided to try and put my head down and get some finished so I can increase the scenario's to play.


The figures are from Old Glory Sash and Saber line which really pack some character which I tend to lean towards. They are not as big as Perry and certainly not Redoubt, but work great in their own units. The colors used were mostly Foundry paints with some Vallejo here and there.



Next up probably more ACW and cavalry, but I really never know if that will be the case.

Thanks for Viewing!

Miniatures- Sash and Saber

Christopher

Thursday, January 2, 2025

Hello 2025 and some ACW Causalities to start off

Happy New Year everyone! I've decided to enter the AHPC once again this year in the hopes it will get my painting back on track. It did feel odd not being a part of the event and watching from the sideline after so many years participating so it's good to be back as it's tradition after all! 

I've decided to start off with some ACW casualty figures as they are very much needed, but haven't got to them yet for reasons unknown. These will likely be my first of two batches as I will need more.


The figures are from Redoubt miniatures which are probably my favorite ACW figures as they really do pack a lot of character and are very painter friendly. The figures are large so you really can't mix them with other ranges very well, but in their own units work great.

I can't say what I'll do next because even I don't know, but I have been keeping the ACW theme going pretty well last year so an odds on favorite that will likely be next.....maybe. 

Other things this year is I tried two new games. The first was Hail Caesar which had mixed results as the QRS is really bad and therefore caused us to have go back and forth trying to find rules which really turned off two of the players, but I came to the conclusion it's a very nice game once you learn the rules and more importantly decide how you are going to play them. Will it replace Impetus for me?....probably not however it's a game I would like to play more of as I see a lot of fun potential. 

The other game was Lion Rampant which I thought was a solid set of rules for a beer and pretzels kind of game. Very easy to learn and quick to play. That said it doesn't fill me with excitement to play or collect for, but for a pick up game here and there it will do fine.

The game that I'm most excited to try out is Midgard as the idea of heroic leaders has some appeal without them completely dominating the game. I suppose somewhat like WAB used to be, but with different mechanics. 

Thank for viewing!

Miniature Company-Redoubt Miniatures   

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

ACW Command Stands

 

Finally got around to adding some command stands for my ACW armies although to be honest I've had these done for a few weeks already. Although I haven't posted much lately I have been busy with my ECW renovation project that I'll show when I'm done(Almost there just a couple more units).






I think the commands are Longstreet for the confederates and Reynolds for the union although I just use the commands for whatever I need for the scenario and do not worry so much if they are the exact leaders or not except perhaps Lee who is just too obvious I suppose.
 
The figures are a mix of Perry and Redoubt which do manage to fit together even if the styles are quite different oddly enough. The troops have to be in separate units as it's much more noticeable.








I did manage to get my collection on the table for Brawners Farm scenario from the Infernal Rebel Yell scenario book from Brad Butkovich using Field of Battle 3 rule set. It was a heck of a game where it looked like the rebs where going down in defeat, but managed somehow to claw a victory. A very tense game! Sadly my pictures did not come out, but my friend Mikes did and I recommend you go to his blog post for the complete game which he did a fine job of making a narration of it.


Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company- Perry, Redoubt

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Early Saxon/Germanic Collection rebased and the current state of my Late Roman/Germanic Collection

 



I took a break from ACW to re-base my Saxon/Germanic army for use with skirmish and army based games like Impetus, TTS and the upcoming Midguard rules by James Morris.

Why did I do this when I already had sabot bases for the figures you may ask? Well after seeing James Morris units on what I would call movement bases for individual figures rather then sabots I loved the look and flexibility as the figures could be moved around on the base rather then in a fixed sabot. With that in mind I set to work on my re-basing project to movement bases!


  

This flexibility allows me to make a unit a heavy or light one by removing or adding figures that does not leave a hole like a sabot base does. Also I can move the figures closer or farther apart whenever I want without needing a different sabot base and of course I can place the figures closer together.

 


James used magnets which is useful, but this requires where the figures are to be free of basing material which I don't like as it looks too smooth compared to the edges and limiting. I decided to use blue tack to hold the figures in place and it works very well!


With this method I can use my figures for any system be it skirmish or army based as I'll just need the base size requirements.:-)


I made the movement bases 3cm high which allows me to handle the base and not the figures which is something I've really come to prefer these days.

Usually I find re-basing a chore, but this time I had quite some fun as I didn't need to hammer and cut rather just make the movement bases themselves and transfer them from the sabot bases to the movement trays.




Not content to stop there I also re-based my friend Nick's excellent Late Roman/Arthurian collection shown above that I luckily purchased from him. It did require more work as I needed to completely re-do his bases to match my own collection, but worth the effort!



Just to round things off I thought I would show my Foundry Late Roman collection shown above which is based for Impetus, but can also be used for TTS and Midguard as well. These are a mixture of both my own(lighter based) and Nicks Late Romans(that I got off him,darker based) although I need to re-do his bases to match mine as can be seen if you look close.

Oh one cannot forget casualty counters either as I really like having these. These are also a mix of my own and Nick's already with matching bases.

So am I done? The answer is no not even close as I plan to use these collections for small skirmish all the way up to very large battles with multiple players! I think we all have a little megalomania in us(even if it takes years to get there)!

Thanks for viewing!

Miniature Company- Footsore, Gripping Beast, Westwind, Wargames Foundry