Resolutions 2010

Happy New Year everyone!

My resolutions are pretty simple.

-Finish my Bunker Hill project for my AWI demo at TACTICA in February.

-Finish my Trojan project for TTU in July.

-Not make anymore large scale commitments from scratch.This turns into a real lead stone around ones neck.I miss the freedom of painting what I want and when I want.So after the summer,I'll only commit to things at my club and small scale projects.Freedom is my goal.Large scale commitments feel like a job and I don't like that.I'm going to keep it fun and stress free as it should be.

-I'd like to get started on my Fallschirmjäger for both FOW and DH.Begin some Samurai,Swiss and Assuryians for WAB.Try getting some ECW on the blocks.Above all just do what I want and when I want.

Cheers
Christopher

AWI Casuality and Disruption markers

British Grenadier systems works well with a few markers.They reduce record keeping and add that little bit of flavor to the battlefield.I first got the idea from Tarleton's blog(Giles)and decided I liked it a lot.Thanks Giles!:-)
First up is some causality figures that rotate as causalities are taken and removed after a complete rotation.In British Grenadier most units are 4 models to a base(some have 6)and so I decided on a triangle numbered 1 to 3 as the most practical.
The stones are used to mark a units disruption level that goes from 1 to 3 and is a special feature of British Grenadier that isn't used in the other GdB rules and really helps add the feel to the period.I've started off with 6 pieces per level.
Stones-Mine
Miniatures-Perry

Quick note on the redoubt

A question has popped up on two sites about how the cannon was placed in such a fortification.
I thought I would just answer it briefly by saying thick planks to either side of the redoubt were placed to act as a ramp and the cannon was hauled over was one option or simply moving the artillery in before completing the redoubt.:-)

Cheers
Christopher

Bunker Hill full picture redoubt

This is the Bunker Hill redoubt and one of the three fletches I made for an up and coming event using the British Grenadier AWI rule set at next years TACTICA event in Hamberg where we will be putting on a demo of The Battle of Bunker Hill.
The redoubt is pretty simple as was the actual one on the day of the battle.I'm not even sure they reinforced it with planking,but I wasn't happy with just a simple earth embankment and so I took a bit of artistic license and added a very simple planking scheme to the walls of the redoubt.I added some of my miniatures to get a sense of scale and I think the size will work nicely with what we have in mind.
BTW this Bunker Hill is the actual model for the game and the other one in the diorama's is only a corner piece used for an advert.The background is largely for color as I'm putting the focus on the redoubt.
Redoubt-Mine
Miniatures-Perry

Taking a closer look at dipped Trojan spearmen

Here a a few closer looks for those that asked and that I haven't had time to put in.However,they are not to close,because pictures to close up can appear distorted.
There is a slight shine on the mini's that isn't very noticeable in person,so I think the lighting is doing some of it.I also use GW satin purity seal on my mini's as it doesn't come out shiny if your careful and offers nice protection in addition to not dulling a model down to much.I need to give a further inspection on the models and tone down any that are still to shiny.It was late when I applied the protective coat and took pictures.(My excuse at any rate):-)
I painted the skin tone a bit darker to reflect their Mediterranean background and choose some pretty bright colors for the clothes as this seems to really work for biblical period miniatures in my view.
I only added quick highlights to the speartips,crest,and clothes.I did not highlight the flesh,bone,leather and wood as this would have been very time consuming and defeating the purpose of army painter to produce units quicker then normal.
The shield cow hide patterns do not have army painter used on them and are hand painted to look like cow hide(I tried anyways).I wanted this hallmark of the Trojans to look nice and put a good foot forwrd here.:-)
A special thanks to Saxon Dog for the tips and advice on using army painter.:-)
I need more practice as I'm still leaving pools here and there on the mini's and I'm still unsure of just how much to use on them.Next up are some skirmishers where I can get some more practice.I'm hoping to be comfortable with the process before tackling any chariots as they are the center piece of Biblical armies.
Miniatures:Wargames Foundry

Trojan combined Spearmen /archer unit

Well folks here they are!This is my Trojans using the dip method.When you factor in time spent vs results then I must say I'm quite happy.I wasn't able to time myself,but it sure did speed up the process.The thought of painting all the flesh in my normal method makes my heart skip a beat!
The dip was brushed on and will require a few more practice runs before I get it just where I want it.
Army painter was brushed on everything except the shield cow hide patterns in which I hand painted this.The reason I hand painted the shields is I wanted the shields to look nice, because this is largely why I collected a Trojan army as I really like the cow hide on a large shield pattern and think of it as the hallmark of a Trojan army.I tried to achieve the hair like appearance these shields would have.
As far as highlights,I only applied a few light highlights to the clothes and spear tips.I applied no highlights to the skin,bone,leather or wood as that would have been very time consuming and thus defeating the purpose of using army painter.
The spears are very long as I've seen in some depictions.They run close to looking like pikes,but I like this look and choose to go with it.
The concept behind my army is a Trojan army close to the time of the Trojan war itself and therefore I will be mixing in early and late style equipment which many historians and the Iliad itself imply.
I personally don't care for light bases,but I cannot have a dark brown one for the Middle East/Asia and so I did some viewing on the internet and saw areas of a reddish desert color and I liked it and went with this tone as a compromise.I decided also to keep the grass dried and sparse in keeping with the region.
I also went with a very wide frontage as I both like the wide look and also to prepare for the soon to come updated rules(WAB2).
I hope some of you like it and I'm curious to hear what you think.:-)
Miniatures:Wargames Foundry

Going for a "Dip"

Well,after a lot of asking questions around and viewing results I've decided I will give army painter a go.
I have a lot of miniatures sitting on my shelves(whole armies)that will probably never see a gaming table unless I try a different method.
I want every figure I paint to look great and that's fine if you only collect a few skirmish units or 1 or 2 armies,however I collect far more miniatures then that and basically I'm just wasting a great deal of money.Every time I look at my armies covering my shelves I feel overwhelmed and stressed.
After viewing several painters I realized army painter is my answer.I'll continue to paint some of my armies in my traditional manner and some other ones I'll go with army painter in order to finish some things.
What I like about army painter is the flexibility it seems to offer.Most other methods at 25mm or larger require you to completely paint them to include highlights in order to have a good result and cutting corners won't work.Army painter allows you to just paint the base colors and apply the shade giving you a decent result that is fine for the wargaming table.However,you can add highlights and "upgrade" the miniatures for a more pleasing appearance if you wish and that's very nice if you change your mind at anytime and decide you want a more quality finish.
For myself I can see this method will speed up my painting regardless if I do a basic job or add highlights for these reasons alone:

White or gray undercoat-I normally prefer a black undercoat,but I'll use white or gray when using army painter so the colors don't get lost.The big benefit will be it's easy to apply your paint in one coat saving quite a bit of time.

Black lining-No need for this with army painter and again this will save buckets of time as I won't need to keep re painting the black lines to keep them straight or from spillage.

Eyes-No need to do this tedious process that consumes massive time as it's a waste of time if your using army painter.

Less steps-You need only paint one shade per color and this of course saves massive time and even if you highlight that is only 2 steps.

If you combine all that listed above in terms of time,then of course my painting time will be hugely reduced!(Yipeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!)

It will be nice to paint some armies with my normal method and then paint some others in the loose army painter style and actually get some things finished.
I'm looking forward to trying this out and I really hopes this works as I really want to look at my mini's and think it's possible to play them all someday!

Well,I need to order some army painter tomorrow or this weekend and get started on my Trojans(Yep,decided I'll try AP with these too) and some ECW.Fingers crossed!:-)