Tag Archives: miniatures

What’s Happening With the Lead Pile?

I have a lead pile. I’m sure you do too. It’s the nature of the hobby. It’s March 21, and unlike me, I don’t believe I’ve purchased a single figure, hunk of terrain or other associated game pieces this year. And I’m tellin’ ya it’s really hard.

Our Wednesday game group, a very fun social group of guys, has its fingers in lotsa stuff. In some ways I envy them. They are playing games I’ve never tried. I’m not sure whether I’ve avoided them because I’m just kind of a snob and stay away from the next new thing (though they aren’t new anymore.) Or maybe it’s just that I have my hands full and hope to concentrate on those things. Instead of me just blathering on without real context, let me give some recent examples.

I’ve now played two games of Flames of War using my podcast partner, Steve’s desert armies. Both games were really fun. However, of the games I’ve tried, it’s the one I’m most likely to stay away from. From a historical standpoint, I’m really not heavily into WWII land combat. I’d have to build two armies, because I’m just not tournament oriented. Steve showed you can do some scenario making, but even if I was to do that, I’m not sure what I’d do. It’s just not my period. I will happily play and enjoy every minute.

I played my first game of Bolt Action. The rules were just a blast. I think it’s because we kept armor to a minimum. There is lots of discussion in our group about adapting BA to Vietnam. There are some semi-official Vietnam adaptations, so I’m really interested. In fact, I’m hoping that this week some time I can get some time to review what I have and determine whether I have enough. Can’t imagine I don’t. I’ve painted all the figures I own except for a handful of ARVN guys. They’re all really big Gringo 40’s figures. I have David Sullivan’s figures as well, so there should be plenty to play with, plus he has some unpainted stuff. Worth investigating. However, I have been thinking about Warlord’s Korean War range . . .

Finally, I also played WWI Wings of Glory. I think I’d played once before years ago. Again, just a lot of fun. I got shot down, but enjoyed the heck out of the game. I’m pretty sure at some point I’ll order a few planes, plus the game expansion and a balloon. Just so I can add something to a game.

The challenge when you’re introduced to something new is to not rush out and buy shit piles of stuff that needs painting and maybe never get to it. I am 70 years old. I am a healthy 70 years old. I can still see. I don’t have arthritis in my fingers (unlike my poor beloved who is also a very capable quilter and has a hard time threading needles.) I love painting and I paint every night because a day without painting is like a Pacific Northwest day in December listening to Bill Withers sing “Ain’t No Sunshine.”

So here’s what the plan is for the Lead Pile for the moment:

I’m working on AWI stuff. At the present time, I have two separate AWI game projects. One is based for semi-skirmish games like Rebels and Patriots and the Take Action rules I’m helping to beta test. The other is more of a massed battle game played with Regimental Fire and Fury. For the skirmish based games, I really need some representative units. Continentals, British, Hessians, maybe some Provincial forces and some cavalry and a gun or two. The F and F stuff is all built around Greene’s southern campaign and those must represent specific units. I have loads of unpainted figures, but I will need a few more. I stated the goal of painting 400 AWI figures by the end of the year. So far I’ve finished 24. But I have more I’m working on now.

Finished Front Rank Hessian figures. I love me some Front Rank figs. They are well cast and seem so old school. They take my Hessian count to two units for semi skirmish.

Kurt and Mark said they want to do some MESBG. That’s all I needed to hear, because I have a fair number of Isengard figures. All orcs. It would be nice to finish these. They paint up quickly. I have the Isengard set from GW Lorri got me for Christmas in 2024. That’s 40ish figures, plus I have six Warg riders. I’d love to finish them and draw a bow around this project. I don’t expect to buy more figs, but I could see the potential. This month I’ve finished three Trolls and ten armored orcs.

Painting plastic figures isn’t something I do regularly, but that is different with my Middle Earth stuff. The Trolls had to have a pin drilled into their feet to get decent purchase on a base. Used Warpainter speed paint for their flesh. Different, easy. The Orc mob to the right is my third such collection. The fourth one will likely come in April. Trolls by an Etsy seller, Orcs by Games Workshop.

I also said I promised to paint some ships throughout the year. God knows I have lot of ships for almost every period and scale you can imagine. A couple of years ago Mark printed 18 Fletcher class destroyers for me in 1/1250. This month I painted six of them in the very basic Measure 21 blue gray on blue gray scheme. My guess is I’ll keep working on these until they’re done. But there is so much more. Some is mine, some I inherited. ACW ships, Lissa in 1/2400, Tsushima in 1/3000, German pre-dreadnaughts in 1/1250, WWII Japanese and Americans in 1/700. Love me some ships. Any ships.

Six Fletcher class destroyers, early production. STL’s from War Times Journal. Printed by my friend Mark Waddington. There are more to paint, but different versions. In Measure 21 camouflage, which is a darker blue gray, over blue gray. Some paint schemes are easier than others.

    Our Weekday Warriors game group has changed in the last year. We’ve added a couple of new members, lost a few others. That’s really changed the mix of what we play. Not as much SAGA, though that’s a game I still really like. There are more games that I’m less familiar with, but am happily willing to try. Introducing new things to the mix is good, if a little dangerous, because it always tempted the younger version of me to chase it. I think I’m more into re-purposing existing figures and projects than just buying more stuff and adding to Kevin’s pile of lead.

    IPMS Would Kick Me Out But . . . the Prince of Wales is Finished.

    When last we met I had finished the British destroyers for Force Z, and was about to begin working on The Prince of Wales.

    Well, it’s done. I took a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to build it. Relatively painless . . . sort of. In a painful sort of way. The PoW is far larger and more complex than the wee destroyers. Lots more pieces. I managed to only drop and lose one, the pontoon from the Walrus scout plane. The one major faux pas was not getting the hull to fit firmly down on the bottom piece provided with the kit. I had it glued and used rubber bands and a clamp, but no not good enough. The gap is plenty big enough for me to see, and everyone else I’m sure. I also managed to glue the main guns of turret A in a semi depressed state, and I wish that hadn’t happened. But the bottom line is this: each of these ships serves as a big ol’ piece of terrain. They don’t move, and will simply have to do.

    The painting was the real challenge. I brush painted the ship. I don’t own an airbrush, and just don’t see the need for one. I only build models as I need ’em and that’s not often. But painting the Prince of Wales was a big challenge because it is large and had a very elaborate camouflage for 1941. The Repulse is also camouflaged, but it’s scheme is pretty monochrome and blocky, all angles. The PoW’s scheme flows, includes several shades of gray, but additional shades of green and blue. I approximated it as best I could, but painting the camouflage, all the detail, usually multiple coats with my somewhat thin Lifecolour paints took more than a week.

    The good news is I’m ready for the Repulse. I was going to start working on it in between painting sessions, but I opened my box and found it missing an entire sprue, including most of the main deck. I had to re-order, and the new Repulse should be here tomorrow. It’s a Trumpeter kit and a bit different than my Tamiya Prince, but I’m looking forward to it. The original seller has offered to send me the missing sprue, but he’s located in Asia, so who knows how long that will take.

    One ship to go until everything is complete. I still need to finish up some rules issues. Chiefly I’m concerned with generating and recording damage to the capital ships. I’ve been looking at other rules sets and am not quite finding what I’m looking for. Maybe I need to look harder. First playtest on March 14th so I need to get on my horse.

    And Now For Something Completely Different

    Because I am Kevin the Retired, I can work on stuff whenever I want. Sort of. Unless I am Kevin the Grocery Shopper, or Kevin King of Laundry, or Kevin Keeper of the Aussies. The rest of the time I am Kevin the Retired . . . unless I am fixing dinner, or loading and unloading the dishwasher. Well . . . you get it.

    Anyway, I am trying to use daylight to build my ships for Force Z. My last post was about finishing the destroyers. Today, I began working on the Prince of Wales. Let’s just say it’s all a learning experience and believe me I’m trying to learn.

    It’s just a little too dark to work on the ships without some natural light this time of year, so I’ve been painting in the evening and watching Lost. Never watched it back in the day, so I’m catching it now. Just as my television choices are a little different I decided to drag something out of my drawers of shame that are a bit different too. I’m working on a 90mm figure of a Continental soldier in kind of adverse condition.

    I don’t know the figure. It is completely assembled. The maker’s mark says Worster. Worster Miniatures was acquired by Lost Battalion Miniatures. Lost Battalion is still around, but this figure is no longer available. I think I got it from American Eagles in Lake City after Charlie died and they “rescued” considerable surplus product from his apartment. I picked up a few of these “big boys” (as Doug Hamm calls ’em) at a pretty nominal price twenty years ago.

    So there’s a story here. There always is right . . . Back when I was very young, before I ever imagined playing a game with painted little men, I was attracted to toy soldiers. My Grandfather bought me a set of Scottish Britains in the early 60’s, and I acquired a few more–the plastic Britain’s Dee-tail range when I was probably 10 or so. I was a bad plastic modeler, and painted stuff with enamels. I bought my first 54mm figure, a Rogers Ranger figure by Monagram Merite when I was 12. I ordered figures from the Soldier Shop in New York and was an enthusiastic, if unskilled painter of 54mm figures for a number of years. I acquired figures throughout my 20’s and 30’s, but mostly they simply joined a stash of stuff. And there they’ve sat.

    I did recently paint a Monagram Berdan’s Sharpshooter, and I was pleased with how it turned out. I promised myself I’d paint more, but I haven’t. As I began painting the planes and then the ships for Force Z, I decided that I needed to paint something a bit different, that might be fun and relaxing, something that would be different. I ferreted around in my two drawers of strange and wonderful figs and pulled out this guy, and decided he was right up my alley.

    I’ve been really inspired by others who have painted the bigger figures. Victor Cina in Oregon has done some really spectacular painting. Busts and other figures. Though I don’t love busts I do really do admire his work. We spent some time talking about it at Enfilade last year over beers and what a wonderful evening. I don’t know if I can specifically say I learned something, but Victor did insist there was no right way to do things. That encouraged me, even if I didn’t exactly take the plunge immediately.

    I also saw that my friend Dean Motoyama was busily painting some resin Verlinden Napoleonics in 120mm scale. Dean is simply among the best, if not the best, painter I’ve ever known. He’s known for being able to produce figures almost overnight. But it’s not just the speed, it’s the quality. I got a chance to play a game at his home recently, and I took a look at his painted Verlinden guys, and I really liked what he did. They were clean and bright, the detail was all there, but they didn’t have a bunch of shading. Even so they looked great. It inspired me to try something big and colorful and see what I could do.

    I took a look at my guy, and the first thing I noticed was there was a lot of flash and a really nasty mold mark. Really unusual for a figure of this quality and this size. I did my best to clean it up with x-Acto and file, but I didn’t get it all sigh. I used to brush prime my big guys, but decided to spray prime this feller with Miniature Painter Desert Yellow, a color I increasingly prefer to Matt White.

    I decided to focus on different parts of the figure and paint them to completion. I started with head and worked down. I also made the determination after painting the neck cloth that covered our shivering soldier that I simply couldn’t do the three color shading thing. The figures was simply too large and the traditional lightening and darkening was simply too stark. So I decided to just lighten by drybrushing. It worked, and though I’m always a weeny about using colors that are too light, I did get some shading that may not show up well in the photos, but I like it.

    I wasn’t quite sure about what colors to use for a Continental soldier. He was kind of a tough guy to figure out. He clearly has a uniform coat, no tricorne, but a pretty nice cocked slouch hat. He has a cartridge box, pretty nice breeches, but he’s obviously chilly, and semi-shod. He’s pretty well dressed for Valley Forge, but I think most Continental soldiers weren’t well attired after the winters of 1777-80 at least and owing to the clear desire to stay warm in this guys accoutrements, I’m guessing he’s late winter or early spring. One of my favorite units of the American Revolution is the Maryland infantry. There were eight regiments of Maryland regulars raised during the war. I’ve painted a fair number of them for my 28mm American Revolution projects. I consulted Lefferts’ book on uniforms of the American Revolution and learned that in 1777, most of the Maryland units had blue coats faced red, so I was good to go. I decided the rest of our guy’s attire could be ad hoc, begged, borrowed and stolen as he could get them.

    In any case, he’s done. I don’t remember too many things I’ve painted I’ve been more pleased with. I’m eyeing my next project. I have a nice Andrea 54mm Richard Sharpe figure from the Bernard Cornwell series that is crying out for paint. From the storming of Badjaoz I think.

    Modeling: Gee I Wish I Was Better At This

    These are the three destroyers that escorted Prince of Wales and Repulse. They include the Australian destroyer Vampire, and the two British E-class Express and Electra.

    Over the years I’ve had all these genius ideas for games that required building plastic models. There was the Golden Age of Air Racing game. These mostly really old Hawk air racing models were pretty simple. I even bought an air brush and compressor that I stopped using after the planes were done. Pretty serviceable stuff. I built a model of a Littoral Combat Ship when Dave and I ran our Bulldogs Away game for a Gulf of Hormuz scenario back in the mid aughts. I took advantage of a local hobby shop’s estate sale of models. But there are some 20 boxes of 1/700 scale ship models sitting in my garage, none larger than an Aoba class cruiser waiting for construction.

    What would I do with them? Well they are mostly scenic pieces waiting to be bombed in an air game. I have a few Americans, including a Liberty ship. I have a lot of Japanese. Thinking Rabaul. I have two friends working on Bismarck Sea projects, so that’s probably unnecessary. The two Aobas are for the day after Cape Esperance and what happened when American planes based at Henderson Field tangled with IJN planes from New Ireland over the damaged, fleeing cruisers.

    This is kind of a tag-along I thought I’d go ahead and finish. It’s a Tamiya O/P class that I finished as Pathfinder with it’s green-gray/dark gray camouflage.

    Now there is Force Z. I ordered the necessary ships in November. There are three destroyers plus the two capital ships. I’m not dilly-dallying. I finished building and painting the small ships last night. Tomorrow, I’ll start on the Prince of Wales.

    This is so not my long suit. Painting figures just comes a lot easier to me. For painting, I always know what I’m trying to do. I know what colors I’m using. I know how to modify those colors if need be. I have appropriate brushes that I’m really picky about. I paint every day, it’s a matter of routine. For model building, I lack experience an confidence. I have to fight off urges to be impatient and press on when things should be drying. Ack.

    The Vampire was a V and W class WWI era destroyer in Australian service. Sunk in 1942 by Japanese carrier planes. The first of the destroyers I built and a good learning model.

    I have learned some lessons from building the destroyers. The models were Tamiya ship models and easy to work with. I made a commitment to actually using model glue, the Tamiya thin brush on glue that worked fine. In the past I’d used CA glue, which is pretty unforgiving and allowed me to accidentally glue searchlights to hulls and my fingers. I bought some really great tweezers for use on applying decals and that helped with some of the really small parts. Just a heads up, these were purpose-built tweezers for modelers that were really inexpensive on Amazon. I think it was three pair for about six bucks, and more than worth the cost. Yes, I’m sure they’re from China.

    The Express was the second of the two E-class boats. Always good to learn, and find a way to apply one’s failures.

    I also learned that sometimes things just have to dry before trying to move on. Honestly, the Tamiya glue acts fairly quickly, but it does its work by melting plastic pieces together. That can take some time. I can always fold clothes, take the dogs for a walk or read a book for a bit before heading back to the den for another session.

    Two views of the Electra. Electra was a challenge. Lost a boat davit somewhere on my dining room floor so she is short a boat. Managed to cover up the holes. Though I sprayed all the ships with primer after completion, Electra just didn’t want to take my Lifecolour light grey, so the base coat for both the E’s was Vallejo Sky Grey. Did complete the decks and camouflage with the Lifecolour paints.

    But amid all that learning there is still some frustration. Ships have lots of little pieces. Gun directors, searchlights, boats and boat davits. I don’t really have a model builder’s table, it’s a painting table littered with painting stuff. It’s easy to lose tiny pieces or, worse, drop them on the floor even if I’m being super careful. I can’t tell you how many times I managed to find a tiny 20mm gun lodged in a little fluff of dog hair on my floor. I actually managed not to lose anything. Well . . . there is the matter of some misplaced decals. Sigh.

    Painting is likewise a bit different. I’ve tried to use accurate naval colors based on what I’ve learned are the camouflage patterns on the British destroyers. HMAS Vampire is blacks and grays, while Express and Electra used grays, gray-green and blue-gray. I used the Lifecolor paint set for the Royal Navy. I’d used these paints before for 1/1200 scale ships and really liked them. The problem with many specialty paint sets, for me at least, is that many are really intended for airbrushing while I am a brush painter. So the paints tend to be pretty thin and require multiple coats. That’s a pain, but I lived through it.

    But the good news is that the three British destroyers are done. And they were just rehearsal for what is coming. This weekend I hope to complete the Prince of Wales. It is likewise a Tamiya model. I’ve popped open the box and looked at the directions, and like the destroyers is a lot of sub-assemblies that eventually all go together and then requires some paint. A pretty complex camouflage pattern. It’s too large to build at my painting table, so I’ve gotten permission to work at our dining room table, but at least I have a plan. The Repulse looks even more daunting. It’s a Trumpeter model instead of a Tamiya kit. 300 pieces. Lord.

    What’s the Plan for 2026?

    Last night I finished building Tamiya’s 1/700 HMAS Vampire which was one of three destroyers present in Force Z, my big 2026 project. It will get primed today and I’m waiting on my Lifecolour paint set to wrap things up. Model building is not my long suit, but hopefully this was a useful learning experience.

    Actually, before I leap into 2026, I want to just review 2025. I tend to get lost in David Sullivan’s passing and the resulting massive flow of David’s stuff into my possession. But honestly, it was a pretty fine year. I did lots of stuff. Or at least I think I did. Let’s see if I can actually remember–age, you know.

    I bought into Studio Tomahawk’s endless SAGA expansion and acquired the rules for Age of Chivalry. Hah! I didn’t buy a damn thing, I just remounted a handful of my gazillions of Hundred Years War figures and played with those. No, I haven’t been able to do a damn decent day of work with those bad boys, and have struggled to figure out how to win with them at all.

    But I did do some fun Hundred Years War stuff. I began the big remount with them, and probably got about two thirds of the remounting done. I painted all the stash of Old Glory figures I have. I ran my Shrewsbury game a couple of times before making it my main event at Enfilade. It was fun. I have plans for more HYW historical games using Lion Rampant, but it’s on the horizon, not in the painting queue.

    I wrapped up a years long project to finish all my Wars of American Imperialism project. It’s probably been about ten years since I began by working on the Philippine-American War, continued on into the Spanish-American War, dodged into the Moro Wars, and built the myriad naval forces for the period as well, finishing up with the Cuban Revolution of 1895. I ran a fun Cuban Revolution game in September and plan to run it again at the convention in May.

    Together with Michael Koznarsky and Mark Waddington I jumped into a Spanish Civil War project. It’s a big deal because we developed our own rules. I think we’ve done three rules tests and stalled out chiefly because Michael has had ankle surgery that at least for the moment leaves him pretty immobile. I did paint something on the order of 150 figures and 4 vehicles for the Republicans.

    Photos from our December game in George’s bunker. Still kind of figuring out the rules, but we’re close. It ended badly for the Americans with escorting Phantoms blasted out of the sky by MiG’s and ground fire. The Thuds jettsioned their loads and hoped to make it home.

    Two other items deserve mention for 2025. One is the two games of Airwar C21 I did with George Kettler. It encouraged me to paint every single Vietnam era plane I had, plus converted some buildings, AA and radar over. I added additional planes and painted ’em all. Moreover it sent me down a road believing I could do the air games Dave Schueler and I did six years ago. On Saturday I hosted a Song of Drums and Tomahawks game using figures David Sullivan and I did together. It went, well, in fact I believe it was actually fun, and I believe “The Search for Father Anthony,” a game I devised with the help of Chat GPT will be a game I run at Enfilade. I cannot begin to express the relief I have that a certain number of ghosts have been purged. I know you won’t understand, but trust me . . . some weight has been lifted.

    Scenes from The Search For Father Anthony, my Song of Drums and Tomahawks game from Dec. 27th. The game was fun and despite leaving my rules at home, pretty easy to run. I’ll do it again.

    So what was 2025 like? I painted about 810 figures this year. Some projects were finished and I think others came into more clarity. Worth mentioning, is that the end of my responsibilities to NHMGS have come into view and that is like deepening my respiration and lowering my blood pressure. I look forward, with enthusiasm, to just being Kevin Smyth, gamer dude. It’s like retiring for a second time. I’ve enjoyed my service, but I’m ready to blend into the woodwork.

    So here are things I’d like to accomplish for 2026

    Projects always come with new reading material. Christmas gifts from my beloved and understanding missus.

    One thing I’d like to do is continue painting AWI figures for Rebels and Patriots and Regimental Fire and Fury. My goal is to run those Nathaniel Greene battles for Regimental Fire and Fury, do semi-skirmish games in New Jersey 1777 and South Carolina 1780-81 for R and P. I just need more figures. I have ’em but they need paint. I’d like to complete 400 figures in 2025. It won’t wrap things up, but it will move the story along.

    I finished a unit of Hessians, Regiment Von Donop, for Rebels and Patriots. I’m not quite sure which figures these are, but I’m thinking Hinchcliffe or RSM, but certainly not newer guys. I have a couple more units of Hessians to paint for Rebels and Patriots.

    I did a lot of work with my Hundred Years War figures in 2025 and I’d like to continue to make progress with them. I have a couple of games I’d really like to run with them. One is the crossing of the Ford of Blanchetaque in 1346 and the other is the the Battle of the Herrings during the siege of Orleans in 1430. Unfortunately I don’t think either of those will be completed this year. However, I would like to continue making progress on this project. My hope is I can finish rebasing all my HYW figures, and paint another 100 figures.

    One thing I’d really like to finish for Enfilade is attention to some of my air projects. I simply don’t have as much left to do as I did a few years ago. I identified a lot of painted and unpainted planes I decided I’d never do anything with and gave ’em away. I held on to some WWII planes and acquired what I thought I’d need for Vietnam and the Pacific War. As I stated earlier, I finished all my Vietnam era planes and am just down to my Pacific War stuff. I recently committed myself to all the work needed to pull of the destruction of Force Z, the British fleet built around Prince of Wales and Repulse. This includes not only building five 1/700 scale ships plus about 45 planes, but developing a workable game and playable game rules. This will be my big Enfilade project. The planes and ships have been ordered, and things are already under construction. My goal is to have everything and built and painted by March 1st so I can start playtesting. Ambitious but doable.

    Flight Deck G3M Nells awaiting paint. They are half of the Nells needed for the Force Z game.

    Part of this project is to complete a set of scenario-specific rules. I’m a fan of David Manley’s excellent air rules, but in this case I can use them merely as a guide. The game is played by Japanese commanders in a cooperative manner. There will be no last minute rescues by the Australian Buffaloes and it will be up to me as game designer to make the game interesting by creating obstacles for the players to overcome. Working on the basic mechanics, but I haven’t gotten there yet.

    I have lots of other projects I could be fiddling with, and knowing me I likely will. But I think this gives me a basis on which to proceed. I am a daily painter, so it isn’t like I’m asking myself to do something I wouldn’t normally do. I usually shoot for something like 60 figures per month. During the dark winter months I get more painted, during the busy summer months, sometimes it is less but getting 700-800ish figures painted in a year is not something that is a stretch, all things being equal.

    I’m a User not a Maker

    I’ve shared my exploits as a 3D printing loser. It was an abject failure, mostly because I simply don’t have the stick-too-it-ive-ness to make it work. I offer nothing but plaudits and praise to those who do. I passed along my Elegoo and all its bits to my friend Mark, and I think he’s gotten his money’s worth.

    Though I am not printing my own stuff, I do see a ton of value in buying 3D printed goodies. The cost and the detail available from the printed goodies is often cheaper and better in what one might find in cast metal or resin. Molds don’t wear out, the prints are often cleaner than the castings. The downside is fragility. Though I have purchased some, I tend not to buy printed figures. Swords and spears simply break. If you drop ’em they might shatter. I’ve received printed horses that often arrive without tails and sometimes without legs. I think figures are where I draw the line.

    Sadly I can’t remember who printed these two delightful figures of Edward, the Black Prince of Wales in 28mm. Edward is a legendary hero in SAGA and he might help my doddering English HYW army. The same printer also did an excellent Edward III figure, mounted and dismounted. The miniature is well cast, and none of the detail, including the raised sword, seems particularly breakable. On the right a well printed Rohan horseman, Erkenbrand of Westfold.

    I have a fair number of printed ships. Mark has printed some beautiful War Time Journal models for me. Chiefly German pre-dreadnaughts, but also some very nice Fletcher class destroyers in 1/1250. WTJ used to print their own miniatures, but now they just sell their STL’s. Either you have to print them yourself, or they do have a couple of reliable printing services they work with. Neither the Germans or the American DD’s are completed, but I’m hoping I might have a shot at them this year. Matthew Lawson likewise does some great work for the American Civil War at his Brown Water Navy site. He is branching out into lesser known 19th century ships as well. I occasionally add to my ACW stuff which has grown obscenely large, and almost all of my Spanish ships from the Spanish American War come from Matt. Finally, David Manley and his Long Face Games designs have also done some terrific ACW stuff. These are printed by Iron Horse Collectibles and other in the U.S. and I am extremely satisfied with the quality of the designs and the prints. I often have to make masts for my pre-dreadnaughts, which isn’t a big deal (I have had lots of practice.)

    From the top, the three above are David Manley creations through Long Face Games. The ships are the Double End gunboat Cimarron, a Mississippi snagboat, and the ferry Hunchback. They are printed by Iron Horse Collectibles The magnificent Blackhawk tinclad below was David Dixon Porter’s flagship for his various operations in the Mississippi Valley campaigns. It is a great example of Matthew Lawton’s work over at Brown Water Navy.

    I’ve also done some work with printed 1/300 scale planes. Back in the day when Shapeways was a thing, I ordered some planes from them. I think it’s very unlikely I’ll ever buy another metal plane. I have lots and lots of them, from tiny fighters to really big ol’ B-24D’s. The printed planes have several tremendous advantages. One is their light weight. It has always been a challenge to plunk a big plane on a stand and not have it be dangerously top heavy. I have a few printed B-17E’s and they are so much easier to manage than the big metal Liberators. I have a friend who is doing some 1/200 Pacific War games and has a PBY that is just really big. But light as a feather. Another advantage is the prints are so much cleaner than the metal castings. Some of these molds are old, they are in desperate need of cleaning or replacement. I recently ordered some A-7 Corsair II’s for Vietnam and they were dreadfully cast. I also really like the detail the designers can build on to the model. No more trying to stick on racks of expensive bombs or other underwing stores. The down side is I found myself cutting off some centerline fuel tanks for my mounting posts. Finally, the printed planes are so much less expensive than metal. Better detail, quality prints, lighter and easier to play with, more detail, I paid about $5.00 each for some beautiful F-4C’s that would cost fourteen bucks from GHQ and probably wouldn’t be as good.

    Printed planes from Flight Deck Decals. From left, F-4C Phantom II, B-17E, PBY Catalina, and bottom, P-40B’s.

    My maker of choice for planes is Flight Deck Decals. They provide good service, generally have what I’m looking for, and they fit in my budget. Plus, I can get my decals from them. They have WWI, WWII and modern planes from P-26 Peashooters to B-52G’s and newer. WWI planes are offered in 1/144. The other planes are available in 1/200 and 1/300. They will tweak some things for 1/285 but it’s more expensive. They also sell STL’s if you want to print commercially. Other makers are out there too.

    Perhaps the real genius of 3D printing, isn’t the figures, ships and planes, it’s all the cool terrain bits. It doesn’t matter what one is doing in miniature wargaming, there is a ton of cool terrain bits to meet your needs. I’ve gotten a number of cool pieces. First on my list is a spiffy steam train with tracks. I haven’t used it yet, but I see a number of possibilities for the revolution in Cuba in the 1890’s or in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish put in a train north/south in Cuba and guarded it with blockhouses. Could be cool. I also got from the same maker, Guardian Hobbies on Etsy, a super collection of Spanish Houses, again for use in Cuba and Spain. For the train and the buildings the cost was, to me, reasonable. Not only that, but I’ve painted them and the buildings have made their way on to the game table.

    These are some terrain bits I’ve had printed from Etsy sellers for my table. Top left is a Spanish village with three buildings. Small, but just right for my purposes. I have some larger buildings if I need them. Upper middle and right is my train with five cars. I added the water tower. Came with six feet of mostly straight track. Below are my Rohan hills. They seem quite Peter Jacksonish and I really enjoyed painting them.

    I’ve picked up some great items for my Lord of the Rings projects. I have some super spiff Rohan hills. A variety of different but very usable hill for any skirmish project. I also have a few Rohan buildings that seem very Dark Agey in appearance I could use for other purposes. Those I haven’t finished yet.

    The list of possible terrain pieces or bits and accessories just seem endless. Buildings, trenches, very cool rocks, or just rocky spaces have caught my eye, but for now, I’ll leave well enough alone. Regardless whether I’m currently in the market or not, compared to alternatives, the 3D prints compare at least equally with the laser cut pieces, and so much cheaper than pre-finished options like MBA. Just in the interest of transparency, I have both.

    Preparing for 2026

    My lone tank, a Russian BT-5 in Spanish Republican colors, for my Spanish Civil War project

    The year is quickly winding down. I’d like to think 2025 has been a good year, though the month of December has been pretty lost to me. At 70 I’m still active, hearty and hale, but I’ve been on the verge of needing cataract surgery the past couple of years. November and December was the time I chose to make it happen. I’ve finished the surgeries and they are relatively nothing. But there are required follow up visits and taken together they all take some time. The good news is my vision is much better. I think I can probably function without glasses and I can definitely see better to read.

    Usually by now I have all my Enfilade projects carefully mapped out with most of the figures painted and playtests planned. At this point, I’m still up in the air about what I’ll be running in May. I will likely run my Mambi Justice game for the Cuban Revolution. After that it isn’t clear. I’m on the hook for an air/naval game on the destruction of British Force Z in 1941. You might remember it as the air attacks that sank the Prince of Wales and Repulse off the coast of Malaya. But I still think there is a lot of uncertainty about its readiness. Game three is still a blank slate.

    One thing that is clear is that my role in the wargaming community will change. On January 1st I will step down from my post as NHMGS President. I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve had a good run, but I’m ready to give up those responsibilities. It’s a leadership position I’ve held off and on since the early 90’s and honestly I don’t have the energy or the interest to continue. I’m active in that role without being controlling, but I think it’s time that others offer a different vision for the organization. There’s an entire world out there that does miniatures that is younger and doesn’t always do historicals that needs tapping. I think that is a job for a different, younger person than I.

    This will also be my last year as Enfilade director. It’s our final year under contract at the LaQuinta in Tacoma. My view is our experience there has been just adequate. The LaQuinta has treated us well, but it is a notch or two below what we need. Accessing food, the layout with the convention space down a long flight of stairs and no direct elevator access are issues. The space is smallish and can get loud. I know my successors are looking at other spaces. It just depends on whether it makes economic sense. After six years in charge, including the move in 2024, it’s time to let someone else tackle these issues.

    Increasingly my mind is more occupied with figures and games and what I hope to get finished and play with. Friends regularly bring to my attention new figure ranges, new rules and I desperately try to fend them off. I have all these other zillions (okay, thousands) of minis to complete for periods I’m really committed to and I don’t really want to start something new–until I do. Just to be clear, it has been a productive year. I keep track of my figure painting by months, and my goal is always about 60 figures per month. Some times I paint a bit less, others a bit more. At the time of my writing I am at 741 figures which would slight exceed my 720 figure yearly goal. Can’t complain.

    Bob Murch’s Crucible Crush figures we used for Song of Drums and Tomahawks. Great minis. David’s figures on the rectangular bases, mine on the round bases. And look, there’s a bear.

    One project I was able to complete in 2025 is all the Bob Murch Crucible Crush figures David Sullivan had to run any size game for Ganesha Games’ Song of Drums and Tomahawks. This is a true skirmish level game chiefly written for the French and Indian War. However Murch’s figures are really intended for earlier European contact during the Beaver Wars. I’ve written a scenario that I’m hoping to try out at the end of the month that could be entertaining. More games for this period and rules set would be fun. This is a completed project.

    Flight Deck printed MiG 17’s for NVAF by ErikGen Designs. Well-detailed and very light weight. It’s unlikely I’ll ever buy metal miniature planes again. Waiting for decals. The green, patterned planes come right out of Osprey’s “MiG 17 and MiG 19 Aces of the Vietnam War“

    I’m currently working on my Vietnam 1/300 air war stuff. I’m doing this with George Kettler and support from others. I’ve focused on painting all the planes I have, and have added a few more from the 3D printed versions offered by FlightDeck Decals. I’m down to my last handful of planes to paint, and then I want to shift over to scenics–terrain pieces, stuff to bomb/defend. George and I have played one game, and we’re trying to get one on the schedule before year’s end. We use David Manley’s AirWar C.21 game which is easy to learn and play. This will soon be a completed project.

    Prince of Wales Edward, the Black Prince is a legendary hero for my SAGA English HYW army. He is a 3D printed figure so hopefully his swords survive their first action. Yes, I did paint the heraldry. Very fun figure to paint.

    I have masses of other things to work on. A couple of SAGA armies to complete. I still play SAGA every month so it gets a workout. My Skraelings and my Irish, two very similar armies, are on everyone’s shit list. I still haven’t figured out my HYW English, though I did recently paint the Black Prince of Wales, Edward as a legendary hero. At least he looks good. There are bunches of ships and planes that need paint and I’ve committed to paint a little of each every month.

    Perry AWI riflemen awaiting the finishing touches on basing.

    There’s also my Spanish Civil War project. That’s currently on hiatus while my friend and colleague Michael recovers from ankle surgery. There’s still more playtesting to do of our rules. I’d really like to get more figures but oddly Empress Miniatures have taken their SCW range on hiatus too. They’re busy producing their new Arnhem range and their Spaniards are just not available at the present time. Sigh. I still have a couple of items to paint, so maybe I should just shut up and do ’em.

    All of my unpainted figures live in this Ikea Antonio rack system. I have two of them. Some are bulging with stuff, others a little less bulgey. The second photo shows my unpainted AWI stuff that is literally overflowing. Mostly Perry, some Old Glory. More in the garage. Yikes. The third photo is my HYW stuff. Not quite as desperate. Some Perry, some Old Glory

    My biggest piles of miniatures are my AWI and HYW projects. These projects both currently have more than 1,000 painted figures each. I have big plans for both, so I better keep working on them. This month I actually did complete some American riflemen for Rebels and Patriots. I also remounted some HYW figures. But there is so much to left to do. They are my big targets for 2026.

    In the maybe something new department, I will do some DBA in 2026. I gave away all of my 30ish armies a year ago. I don’t regret it. I hadn’t played with them in more than five years. I had a friend just getting started and he’s used the figures very strategically. DBA 3.0 was published and a 4.0 is in the works. Despite my DBA motto being “you can’t have just one (army)” I think I can be more rational about acquiring and painting. Another possibility is a Napoleonic skirmish project a friend recommended to me. Don’t know much (including the rules set,) but I am eyeballing those Perry 40mm figures for the Peninsula that seem so beautiful. If I could keep the commitment to under 50 figures, I’d be good with it.

    Changes of Pace

    The cover of our Spanish Civil War rules, nicely designed by Michael Koznarsky

    I’d like to say I have some new big ol’ project I’m rushing to complete, but that would be a fib. Actually September and October were filled with fun non-game things. In September Lorri and I used our timeshare to stay in Whistler, B.C. for most of a week. It was the perfect time, with the gondola to Blackcomb and Whistler mountains operating for one last week. Kids were back in school and we had a wonderful time just hanging out in the valley. In October, son Patrick and I flew to Albany and made the trip to visit the holy of holies, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. This was a bucket list adventure that included the Cooperstown visit, trek across New York to the Canada side of Niagara Falls, and then down to Cleveland for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Both trips were a delight.

    Before I left, I completed a pretty big project, my Cuban Rebellion/Moro Rebellion/Philippine Insurgency/Spanish American War projects. I’d also been working pretty hot and heavy with Michael Koznarsky and others on a Spanish Civil War project, including developing our own set of rules. There is more to come on the latter, but I’ll hold off until it’s a bit further along or at least until my brain is a bit more settled on what is happening.

    One thing I have been doing is working with AI on Chat GPT to help with developing player aids and scenario design. Chat GPT is free, though it does limit how much work it will do without a subscription. i don’t recommend it as design tool per se, but I have used it to help me gather information about the Spanish Civil War. It has helped me develop several scenarios for use with my Aztecs and Quetzacoatl Rampant, and it is helping with player aids for Airwar C21. Usually it successfully provides what I want, but sometimes it doesn’t help much. It’s worth exploring. Little Wars TV also has a video on YouTube about using Chat GPT for scenario design.

    Today is Halloween and the month is coming to a close, so here is what I’ve been working on and what I will likely be doing for the rest of the year. I’m still meeting with my Silver Kings group as often as possible. That’s 2-4 times per month. We’re still playing SAGA. I’ve had an offer to play my Skraelings. My answer is always “of course . . . muhahahaha” Everyone hates them. They’re painful to play, but honestly they probably have a 50/50 win factor. They have crappy armor, no legendary hero, and no mounted figures, no hearthguard. But they all throw or shoot things and make people crazy, so I love ’em. I also try to attend the games at Wizard’s Keep in Kent each month. It’s a great gathering with lots of different games played, so very worthwhile. I am gaming much more than I did before retirement.

    My hoard of SCW militia. About 120 figures of socialist and anarchist militia. Mostly based for urban conflict in Barcelona 1936.

    I’ve painted a lot of Spanish Civil War figures, as I’ve said, and my stash of unpainted guys have pretty much ended. We’re hoping to do another playtest of our rules on the 11th, so we’ll see how that goes. I have a few more figures coming, some vehicles and an anti-tank gun to finish, then I think I’ll put additional figures on hold for a while until we sort out some important rules issues.

    Republican Regular infantry from North Star Miniatures

    I’ve been in contact with George Kettler about playing some Vietnam-era air stuff. George has most of the planes needed. While I am slowly starting to complete my planes, I don’t feel the need to have them all done before starting something with him. I am working to try to complete some game aids for the Airwar C21 system. Hopefully I can get some AI help. If not, it’s Kevin alone doing my best Daveshoe impression, which isn’t very good. Finishing the planes I have is a September goal. There are about 20 Thunderfchiefs, Phantoms and Corsair II’s.

    Two-fifths of my printed train. It’s coming along.

    David Sullivan and I also did a project with Bob Murch’s Crucible Crush Flint and Feather figures. These are just gorgeous Native Americans representing Iroquois and Hurons during the early and pre-European contact periods. I had about two dozen and David had a few more plus some early Europeans with firearms. I painted all I had, but I took a couple dozen more that David hadn’t painted. I’ll add these to the pile and run some games using Ganesha’s “Song of Drums and Tomahawks.” These were fun rules that don’t require many figures, but having more is just fine, and it will be a way of resurrecting a David and Kevin project.

    I always have lots to do and paint so I won’t succumb to boredom any time soon.

    Bringing A Couple of Projects to a Close

    I’ve written a lot about how I’m project oriented and that one of my few strengths is the ability to persevere, to stick to it until a project is completed. This year it’s been a bit different, I’ve been able to stick to it until I’m heartily sick of it, do something else and come back to it.

    These are my Cuban rebels. These are all Old Glory figures, both foot and horse. They are basic but quite serviceable. The Rebel end of this project is now complete. I have nine 12-figure infantry units mounted in the Mersey-esque 3-2-1 configuration. I also have 24 single figures to play One Hour Skirmish Wargames for a total of 132 figures. In addition, I have five 8-figure cavalry units for a total of 172 figures.

    This has been especially true of my Cuban Rebellion Project. This is the Cuban Rebellion of 1895-98 that ends with the Spanish American War. Yes, it is somewhat unique, but it’s part of my web of projects that includes the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, the Moro War and the naval side of the Spanish-American War as well. And it’s good I’m bringing an end to things because I’ll be running a Cuban Rebellion game on September 20th so I’ll let you know how it goes. I still have a few figures I’m painting. I’m now down to my final two figures, a pair of American mounted officers. There is a part of me that would really like to order a pack each of Old Glory American Marines and American Bluejackets to add to my nest of One Hour Skirmish figures, but I really don’t need any for a larger game, and 30 of each is just too many. I finished the project with 108 Cuban infantry and 40 horse, and 180 Spanish infantry, 16 horse and two guns. So not huge but plenty of work, and lots of painted rayodillo. Ugh.

    I’m using Daniel Mersey’s The Men Who Would Be Kings. It’s been a while since I’ve played these, so there’s studying to be done. 1898 Miniaturas has done some really cool stuff for wargaming this period, providing some action OOB’s for TMWWBK, as well as stuff for Black Powder (boo, hiss.) I’ve created unit charts for my troops based on their ratings. I ran this game I called “Mambi Justice” on Saturday at Fix Bayonets in old Fort Steilacoom. There was lots of fire and burning things and I had a terrific time. It’s looking like this will be an Enfilade game.

    Another project that I’m nearing the end of, I’m not really nearing the end. I’m doing the Spanish Civil War with Michael Koznarsky, Mark Waddington and possibly others. These are 28mm Spanish Civil War figures, chiefly by Empress Miniatures, though today I’ve ordered some figures from Northstar’s fairly limited range.

    When did this all happen and why the Spanish Civil War? Well, when we were cleaning out David Sullivan’s garage, we stumbled across his small pile of Empress figures. Later in discussion, the group decided to do a project in remembrance of David and I suggested SCW. Believing it would require limited input from everyone they all said aye. Well limited means different things to different people and Michael and I have jumped in two-fisted. I think we both like the wide variety of troops and the clash of ideologies. The two of us have been cobbling together an SCW Daniel Mersey-inspired set of rules. Some day I hope to be able to share them right here. The rule writing has been really challenging and fun. Michael has been the editor and voice of reason. He’s also come up with super design and graphic ideas, so that’s been a great collegial experience.

    So what does it all mean? I’m currently in with about 100 Republican militia figures, including POUM socialists and CNT/FAI Anarchists. I’m adding a couple amazing (amusing?) improvised armored vehicles. I plan to keep adding other things to my pile. I have Republican regulars on the way. Would love to do some Basque Army units. Some Nationalist regulars and maybe some Falangist militia. Michael and Mark have a mix of other units including Carlists, Spanish Foreign Legion and Moroccans. The rules are intended to be semi-skirmishy and I want to avoid any sizable armored encounters. That’s for a different game, though I know some tanks are inevitable

    So, with the Cuban Rebellion finished, and the SCW project probably in a state of fits and starts, what next? I have a lot of figures to paint. My friend George would love to do some Vietnam War air battles and I would love to help him. He already has a lot of painted planes, and I have a lot of unpainted planes I’d like to paint. So that’s something I need to pull up on my list of to-do’s. A friend has contacted me about helping with a different air project, the attack on Force Z (the sinking of the Prince of Wales and Repulse in 1941.) That’s an Enfilade project and I’ve signed on to. Both the Vietnam and Force Z projects will get my nose back in David Manley’s air rules, which I’ve sworn I will do. There is some ship-building and airplane-painting needed, but nothing super major. Finally, I have my Blanchetaque game that will continue the Hundred Years War painting and basing. I’ve had enough of a break, that I can get things going again.

    Age of Chivalry: English vs. French, the primer

    Uh, oh, the French have moved just a little too close. Time to give them Wall of Arrows!!

    The Age of Chivalry is the latest expansion for SAGA. I’ve been excited for it to come out. I am a regular SAGA player, so the mechanics-building a warband, the mechanics, the SAGA board are familiar. More than anything, I was anxious to see how it all played out in a period I’m pretty familiar with.

    The English set up

    On Wednesday I played my English against my friend Kurt’s French. In AoC the entire English command is dismounted. Dismounted hearthguard (knights/men-at-arms), longbowmen are warriors, not levies, and there can be a unit of spear/polearmed, sword wielding warriors. A warrior unit may also be mounted.

    On the surface, the longbowmen seem uninpiring. They are some variable off of eight figures only half of whom can shoot. However, the bowmen at the heart of any Hundred Years War English army is strengthened by a host of SAGA abilities that boost their range (at the expense of damage), increase their damage at shorter ranges and even increase their melee abilities if they charge (as they often did.)

    The fighting ability of hearthguards are also improved by a variety of other SAGA abilities. However to use those, the board requires units to stick together. Many abilities may only be triggered by the proximity of other English units (within S). That’s a mistake I made that cost me a unit in my game with Kurt.

    The French advance, skirting cover where they can find it.

    A quick recounting of the game is this: I chose three four-figure hearthguard units and three warrior units numbering 9, 9, 6. That allowed me to boost my fire by one figure each turn. Kurt chose three mounted hearthguard of four figures, two foot hearthguard of four figures, and a levy crossbow unit of 12 figures.

    We played a simple “kill the warlord” scenario. In choosing terrain, I chose the ruins to anchor my left flank and a field to anchor my right. In the ruin I put a 9 figure archer unit and a MAA unit, in the center two MAA units flanking my six figure archer unit, and in the field my final 9 figure archers.

    Kurt placed a hill and two woods to try and screen his advance from bow fire , knowing I was not likely to come and get him. I did open fire on turn one at the 2L range allowed by the SAGA ability “Loose!” It’s a -1 to hit, but it also forced Kurt to play “Full Harness” allowing his units Resilience 2 which change hits to fatigue, but also slowed his movement to M. It wasn’t very effective though it did give him something to think about.

    Kurt’s pictures of the French advance as it unfolded. They had quite a ways to march, mostly under fire. The last image shows one of the mounted hearthguard unit depleted.

    By the end of turn four, things got interesting. Kurt was within 12″ and there would be no more -1 die rolls. Bow fire eliminated one of the mounted units. On Turn 5, with his dismounted units trailing behind, Kurt launched his leader at my archer unit in the field, and his hearthguard at one of my hearthguard units. The leader defeated my archers, but they still stuck around, with the leader taking two fatigues, plus one for the melee. The hearthguard vs. hearthguard battle was worse for the French, losing three figures, while my unit suffered no loss.

    I followed up Kurt’s attack with two of my own, finishing off two wounded mounted units. But I also moved one of my hearthguard units beyond support. Kurt finished the game by killing that unit off. I did little in turn 6.

    Nearing game’s end, you can see King Edward on the left urging on one of his hearthguard units. They’ve just finished off a French mounted unit. But they’re too far away from help and are about to get the chop from a French dismounted unit. Sad.

    The French finished pretty badly mauled. But it was a pretty difficult first game, with the English in a pretty strong defensive position and having to march across the table under the threat of fire. I thought Kurt did a pretty good job, but there were definitely lessons learned. The English hearthguard give as good as they get, even against cavalry. The archers are warriors and get to melee with all their figures, rolling as many dice as a hearthguard unit before looking at SAGA boards and fatigue.

    For the English I learned a few things. I don’t need to play “Grueling Advance” until the French get closer. That allows me to set up stakes or other obstructions that give fatigue to attackers. I was using it most turns. Pour dice into the Combat Bonus for archers for the first couple of turns. They aren’t rolling that many dice, so give ’em more for Loose! Don’t allow yourself to spread out. Many SAGA abilities only apply to units within S of other units, especially for melee. I haven’t quite figured out a plan for taking the English on offensive.

    I felt the game a relatively interesting feel for the period. If I have a complaint it is that as a skirmish, the English would likely have had some mounted units. It felt like we were trying to fight Crecy, or Poitiers, or Agincourt-relatively large battles, while the endless actions in Gascony over the course of the Hundred Years War, were small encounters with mixed mounted and dismounted troops. Really, my only complaint.