Update on what I am doing.

I haven't posted on my blog for a while so thought I should show what I have been doing of late.

First of all was the challenge to show your armies, well I only have two armies with me at the moment, The 6 mm ACW troops, so I laid them all out on my small table for inspection. Confederates on the left and the Union on the right.

I am working on the Tabletop Commanders Winter Warmer challenge also. The aim is to paint up something that has been hanging about in a cupboard or drawer, and need completing. The challenge runs from 1st October until the 31st December. I am attempting to complete my remaining ACW troops, about 1,000 of them, as well as beginning work on the 'Liberty or Death' box set by Warlord Games, for the AWI in 28 mm.

Below are three regiments of black hats, they will form the Union Iron Brigade.

Not forgetting my wargaming, I am fighting the Battle of Antietam in three phases. The table below is set out for the first part of the battle. The wheat field with its split log fence is on the left.

Looking at the table from the East. The Dunker Church is on a small plateau on the left (South) with Jackson's Corps defending. Hooker's Corps is to the North end of the table.

Looking North along the table from the rebel position at the Dunker Church.

The wheat field slopes down towards the Union positions, meaning they can't see what is before them.

The Confederates are up slope, but until they reach the crest by the fence surrounding the wheat field, their view is also limited.

On the left flank one rebel brigade has a good view of everything.

The battle rages.

The sprue of eight Woodland Indians from the box set, became my test figures. I am happy with how they turned out.

Various war painted warriors.

The 6 mm ACW part of the challenge is also coming along well. I forgot my MDF bases, so am currently unable to base up completed units, but you can now see six of the compartments have fully painted Union soldiers in them, one per regiment. The empty compartments show three more Union are on the painting table.

Here they are awaiting a blob of paint.

A sprue of ten Militia, are the next test figures for the 28 mm part of the challenge.

Some very good poses and a pleasure to put together.

Almost finished now, still a little highlighting to do and the bases to finish off too.

Yet more 6 mm Union on the painting table.

A sprue of twelve Hessians will be next for the 28 mm part of the challenge.

The Union army box is gradually filling up with completed units.

More thoughts on Stock.

After yesterday's blog entry, I actually rooted out a few bits and pieces, both to show you and also to remind myself just what was lurking, untouched and unloved in the storage boxes. Even I was amazed at just how many boxes of figures and also kits, sat there waiting to be discovered.

The 28 mm Romans from the two box sets are mostly still on the sprues but I did find that I had actually painted up about 20 legionaries as opposed to the half a dozen I thought I had done. A few are shown in the following two photographs.

They really are lovely sculpts and should really be seeing some action on the table top. With close to 300 figures  Roman, Celt and Ancient Briton, all to be painted, that is a project that will be tackled sooner rather than later, too long have they sat idle. All the painted figures are mounted on one penny pieces, I may continue that trend and simply put them on movement trays. The Hail Caesar or even the L'Art De La Guerre rules should do nicely.

My attention then turned to the 1/72nd scale figures that had been squirreled away, many have been painted and based, but far more sat ignored. One of my first finds was a kit for a castle and also a second kit for a fortress. Both by the same manufacturer and they were bought to be built as a larger castle, parts from the fortress being used to enlarge the castle kit. Lovely artwork on the box by MiniArt.

The kit itself is still sealed in a poly bag, unopened in the five or six years I have owned it.!

The instruction sheet is also still in the box.

The smaller fortress kit, which was and still is, intended to enlarge the castle. The extra walls and possibly the towers put to use.

Once again still sealed in its poly bag.

This was bought to be built and used in a Hundred Years War period or could also make an appearance as a Crusader castle in the Holy Land. An MDF base and some foam board is a must for this project.

In a couple of plastic tubs are some of the unpainted figures, a mixture of Hundred Years War and Napoleonics in this case.

Crusaders and Saracens as well as elephants and more Hundred Years War figures await.

 
In a second box lurk more figures, again a good mix of periods to have a crack at in here.

A real treasure chest of goodies and there are also a couple of cardboard boxes not shown, that are also full of 1/72nd scale treasures. Including Greeks, Persians, AWI British and Continentals, more Naps and even a couple of kits for assaulting the castle, namely a catapult and a battering ram!

Actually seeing and handling all this goodness has rekindled my desire to actually paint them all up and see them' do their stuff on the table top. I think you will agree, I don't NEED any more new shiny things for at least a year!