Experimentation, Calculation, and some French

 Hi all,

Bit of a mixed bag today.  Some pictures of the test figures I did for my Perry French (loosely based on the livery colours for Jean de Bethencourt, more on him in another post), along with some hobby rumblings about productivity, project planning, and realistic expectations.

First "test" minis for the 100YW French.  A man at arms, and some scruffy spearmen.

I've been caught in a bit of a loop lately, with the Magpie very much in the picture, thinking about possible projects.  In addition to the ones that are at least semi-active (currently 6mm Naps and 7YW, 28mm French HYW, Vikings, and Covenanters, 28mm Bolt Action, and at least 4 GW projects), I am pondering 28mm English HYW, Saxons, Successors, my much ignored Carthaginians, and god knows what else.

I quite like the Perry kits.  Tons of options, cross compatible, and with a little attention, capable of tremendous variety.

The reality is, of course, that I can't possibly do all the things.  I am probably trying to do too many things already, if I'm being honest.  Or at least, too many things at once ;)  So, I figured it might be worth thinking through what I could realistically accomplish over the next few years, and compare it to what I might want to do.

The figures are, in terms of proportion, quite "fine".  Slimmer and more human than the chunky, heroic style you often see.

Last year, I managed to paint something on the order of 200/50 foot/horse 28mm or equivalents.  That's pretty productive, at least for me, and represents a kind of "peak" opportunity.  Despite the various dislocations of Covid, working from home, the lack of a commute, etc., meant that I actually had more opportunity to paint than under "normal" conditions.  So, say around 200 figures as a reasonable, productive, but not overly ambitious production for the year.

Even compared to some older Perry sculpts (I was hoping, for eg., to mix in old Bretonnian models), they're not a good fit - at least side by side.

While I'm not temperamentally inclined to long-term planning. I can at least sort of imagine a state 5 years from now.  Given the estimate above, it's reasonable to think I could produce about a thousand figures in that period. Vikings and French HYW account for about 120 of that total (figuring a Lion Rampant force at about 60 figures per).  I probably have the same number of GW figs waiting for paint, across all those projects, or a bit more - say 150.  I'd like to bring my Royalist force up to the same size as the Covenanters, and grow both.  That's another couple hundred figures.  I'd like to finish off my 6mm Russians, match them with French, and add to my SYW.  Call that another hundred or so.

I've been experimenting with multi-figure basing on rounds.  A few people on the Lion Rampant FB group put me on to it, and I really like the effect.

So, just the projects that (at least right now) I'd be really interested in pursuing, total up to between 550 and 600 "figure equivalents", give or take.  Realistically, about three of my five years.  Just the Lion Rampant forces alone would take up a significant proportion of the next year, with any balance easily absorbed by Covenanters and GW.  Adding any additional project (like the successors army I keep thinking about) would thus either have to wait a couple years before I could reasonable expect to begin work on it, or would have the effect of stringing out existing projects over a longer time frame. 

The Spearboss.  I figure he's a little older, a little richer, and has had time to get some decent armor.

The latter, at first glance, seems like death to a project.  Pretty much every one I've ever abandoned has ended up in boxes or sold because I stretched it out over too long a period, and never got enough done to really game with them (something I'm concerned about with the Carthaginians).  However, as I look back, quite a lot of my "active" projects have stretched over multiple years, and have gone through fallow periods.

If nothing else, this will be a chance to work on my metallic techniques.  Aiming for some smoother finishes over time, I think,

If I started something new, say successors, it's probably realistic to say I might devote half of my remaining "5 year potential" to the project, maybe 200 figures (with the rest eaten up by expanding existing forces, new shiny things, etc.).  With smaller units to start - say 16 figures, that's about a dozen or so.  Which is actually not too bad.  Possible, anyways.

Assorted scruffy lads

The side my opponent will never see ;)

Overall, I think the lesson is a new, major project isn't realistic in the short term, at least without it displacing something I'm currently using, and want to accomplish.  But in the medium term, it's viable.  So maybe the goal is to stockpile resources towards that possibility, look for deals / sales, etc. and in the meantime, enjoy what I've got in front of me?  What kind of crazy advice is that? ;)

Ochone! Ochone!

 Hi all,

My nefarious, Skeletor-worthy plans are showing fruit.  Actually managed to get the Cub to play some historicals, at his suggestion ;)  Broke out the Scots and Royalists for some Pikemans' Lament.  24 points.  We both had Pike with Shotte wings.  He had good dragoons and gallopers, I had okay trotters and dragoons, with an edge in numbers rather than quality.  As it was his first game, we played the simplest scenario, Ga Pa, which is basically about taking out opposing units, and protecting yours.

The Cub is rapidly emerging as the terrain maker in the family.  He spent a chunk of the Christmas holiday putting together stuff for the old GW Bretonnian jousting game (which he played out with the Puddin').  The Windmill was a kit he put together, and the the house he scratch-built.  

The game unfolded in three phases.  The first involved the Cub charging his elite gallopers into the guts of the Scot infantry (deployed on the right).

This turned out to be a pretty good plan, as he managed to shatter one shotte wing, and generally put the bulk of my Scots on their back foot.

I was able to drive his cavalry back, but he made morale rolls with distressing frequency, and was able to keep hammering them in on a regular basis.  This had the effect of both keeping me more or less on my side of the table, and getting some decent hits on my infantry.

In the meantime, he drove his infantry forward on my left.  We'd had a quick chat about how pike and shot units worked together in the period, along with game mechanics, and he'd clearly taken the conversation to heart, as he used his pike quite effectively to block my cavalry from his shot wings.

On the right, the remnants of his gallopers continued to stall a good chunk of my army, despite my swinging a unit of trotters across to reinforce.

At this point, the game swung solidly in his favour.  A couple of abysmal morale rolls in response to shooting sent my cavalry fleeing from the field, and the Cub was free to swing his infantry over to put more pressure on my right.

There were certainly some things I could have done better (particularly in the use of my dragoons and terrain), but it was a solid game, and the Cub played well.  He's familiar with the core mechanics from Dragon Rampant, and used his units together quite effectively, coordinating his shot with both the pike and various horse units at different times in the game.  I thought he did quite well, and earned the win.

It was such a delight to get to play historicals with him.  SciFi, and so some degree fantasy, remain his main interest, but here's hoping I can tempt him into the occasional game in future.  I suspect working up some more Vikings and French for a Lion Rampant game might help in that regard, so I will see what can be done there.

Almost . . . there . . . .

 Hi all,

We are well into the post-Christmas fugue state, in which the passage of time blurs, days become unknowable, and only the slowly-dwindling pile of leftovers marks the looming presence of real life.  Sooner or later, I'll snap out of it, and realize how much work has piled up over the holidays, but for now, I'm enjoying denial.  

Most of the haul.  Missing are some tins of preserved fish, and new whisky glasses.

Christmas was low-key, but fun.  We had a delayed Christmas dinner, as the Cub didn't join us until Boxing Day, but we made the most of it once he was here.  The kids, as usual, ended up with a pile of stuff, the Beloved got a mess of books, a rather snuggly sweater, and some films, and I even got a bit of geek-related gear in the form of a couple of Perry 100YW boxes.

Burgeoning Scots.

As far as the year goes . . . it went.  We continue to be (knock on wood) ridiculously fortunate here in Monkeyland, as we've had work that was both safe and secure throughout, and no one has caught the plague (despite a couple of near misses).  I can't pretend that going on two years of working from home, and relative-but-real social isolation, haven't taken a toll, but compared to a range of entirely probably "might have beens", we're doing okay.  I can only hope that we'll keep doing as well in the coming year.

Bulked out the Horse to 12 figures.  Or 2x6 for Pikemans' Lament.

Hobby's been fairly productive this year.  I've been more or less sticking to my "do what you feel like doing, and don't push it when you don't" approach, and have gotten a fair amount done as a result.  As predicted, ECW and 40k took the lead in terms of both gaming and painting, with AoS and 6mm showing some production, but less than expected.  Flames of War mostly fell off the radar (a lack of gaming opportunity meant a loss of interest), and some of my historical projects ended up advancing less than expected (notably Carthaginians).

Dragoons join the fray.

That said, I ended up close to 40 28mm cavalry figs, almost 200 28mm foot, and a selection of other things (itty-bitty ships, 6mm units, terrain, etc).  For me, that's pretty good productivity.  I may even have whittled down the lead pile slightly, depending on how one rates "non-standard" painting, like large figures and 6mm units.

The "full" unit of P&S, with bulked out pike, and be-flagged shotte.

I imagine this coming year will be much the same.  Likely projects include:

1. ECW.  This remains a strong contender for both painting and games.  I seem to able to maintain sufficient running interest in these that I basically alternate between them and other projects.  The Scots have been the primary beneficiaries, now that I have enough Royalists for an opposing force, and I've been both adding units, and expanding the ones I have.  I'm within striking distance of a Pike and Shot multi-unit batallion, and will treat myself to a command stand when that milestone is achieved.  Pikeman's Lament continues to give fun games, and I've begun exploring options for larger scale gaming in the period.

More Dragoons, and another pike unit should finish the first batallion off.

 2. 40k/AoS remain games I'm likely to get to play, and continue to enjoy to paint.  In addition, if you believe the internets, this year might be my GW annus mirabilis, as a number of the factions I play are expected to see new rules and figures.  These include Beasts of Chaos, Ogors, and World Eaters / Khorne, with prospects of a dedicated faction book for the latter.  I've begun cloning my organs in preparation for the financial hit, so am hopeful that the rumors pan out.  Failing that, the Cub remains an ethusiastic opponent, and I'll get in games with him while I can.

Going to need some more command bases.

3.   28mm Medievals.  There's a couple of variations here, but grouped together they make the period a likely prospect.  I continue to pick away at my vikings, and there's some local guys interested in gaming early medievals, so the prospect of some summer raiding is good.  I'm looking forward to getting some of the just-aquired Perrys done up, but gaming with them might have to wait until I can also get some opposition painted. Depending on how the year goes, 100YW could feature largely, but it's hard to predict right now.

Royalists.  Didn't really grow past the "starting opposition" stage, but who knows?

Less likely, but still possible, include:

4. Bolt Action.  I've got more than 500 points of Soviets painted up, and have enough bods left over to expand to 1000 points.  Action here will likely depend on gaming opportunities.  There are some local players, but getting games in will be very much dependant on the plague receding.  As we are (locally), at what is hopefully the height of an Omicron-driven case spike, prospects for games seem a little gloomy right now, but fingers crossed this year goes smoother than last.

Royalist dragoons.  Same figs, twice the floppy hats.

5.  6mm.  Blucher saw a fair bit of productivity at the start of last year, and I'm only a few units away from a small, but complete and playable, force of Russians.  I've also been thinking about digging into my SYW stuff of late.  The 6mm bug seems to strike me randomly, but I wouldn't rule it out.

They probably deserve the "bulking out" treatment.  I mean, the feathers alone . . . .

Beyond that, who can say? As I think I noted around this time last year, I'm learning not to look too far ahead these days.  There's enough instability flying about that predictions seem less useful than a willingness to adapt to what may come.  In the meantime, here in Monkeyland, life is pretty good; my family are here, we're all well, and I still have the opportunity to not only indulge my hobby, but to natter on about it to the ether ;)

As I'm not likely to post again before the New Year, best wishes to you all.  May the New Year bring you health, joy, and prosperity.

FMB

Merry Christmas

 

Merry Christmas all,

We are well into Christmas mode here in Monkeyland.  Most of the baking is finished (I have one more batch to do tomorrow), shopping is done (except for a grocery run tomorrow),the tree and house are decorated, and I am slowly coming off the roof from work, and the accumulated insanity of the last year.

The aforementioned tree.  It's there, under all the decorations, somewhere.

Cub is at his mom's for the day, but I should be able to pick him up on Boxing day, plague permitting.  We're jowls-deep in an Omicron-driven case spike here, and restrictions are changing by the day, it seems, but fingers crossed all will be well.  We are all, knock wood, healthy, and have been pretty vigilent about doing what we can to reduce risk, so I'm hoping our plans will unfold as intended (more or less).

Got the gronkasaurus to hold still for a pic, but she remains unconvinced.

Hobby has slowed, what with the holiday business, but I'm hoping to carve out a little time over the next few days.  Until then, stay safe, enjoy your families, and I wish you all happieness, and the joy of the season.

Vikings. Also thoughts and plans.

 Hi all,

Been a busy month or so in Monkeyland.  End of term, the onset of winter, and escalating plague numbers have meant that while some hobby's been accomplished, probably less than I'd hoped, and there's been little motivation for blogging.  That said, my grades are in, I've made at least a start on Christmas baking, and I've had a chance to take some pics and think about the coming season.

First of the Victrix vikings.  Good variety of poses, great variety of heads and arms.

I have it on reliable authority that Santa will be bringing me the makings of a 100 Years War French force, by way of a box of Perry Agincourt French Infantry, and Mounted Cavalry.  This will likely be my new project for the new year, and I'm fairly stoked.  I'm fond of the period (via the usual books and movies), and am keen to do up some French (which seem woefully under-represented on the table; everyone does the English, can't imaging why?).

Little dark, my apologies.  Sculpting is clean, nice details, not a lot of flash or lines.

Prospects of a new project have me going through the usual mental gymnastics of thinking about rules and basing.  There was an interesting podcast from the Plastic Crack boys the other day, where in the process of discuss "ancients" (which also seemed to include medievals), they made the point that rules preferences are very much driven by a couple factors; the kind of game you like, and the kind of game you can get local players to play with you.  While that's a bit of a truism, it hit home pretty hard for me, and I think solidified some of my thinking on the project.

Loving the Santa hat head.  Definitely going to play with the set to make a proper Santa.

Anyone who's followed my meanderings over the last several years (we're in year twelve, for those counting), knows that I've played around with ideas for a "big" ancients project for a while.  I picked up some Victrix carthaginians a while back, eyeball their successors line on a regular basis, and have repeatedly made plans for huge, sprawling projects in a range of scales.  But they never seem to get off the ground.

Decent mix of armoured and unarmoured bods.  I made a mess of regular dudes with helm, shield, and either axe or spear.  Saved the swords for hearthguard types.

The problem is, I think, that those huge games require years of dedication to pull off.  I'm a hobby magpie, usually have multiple projects on the go, and even when I do manage to amass a large collection of something, struggle to find opponents with comparable collections, and time and space for a massive game.  Case in point, the Cub and I are planning a BIG 40k game for the holidays, but realistically, this is a once, maybe twice a year undertaking, and the armies involved have taken more than 5 years to amass.  The thing is, however, that I've been able to play with them along the way.  This is less possible with a lot of the historical armies I'm interested in.  Small unit pike actions just don't make a lot of sense, and if I'm doing Carthage or Antigonids, I'm aiming for big battles anyways.

Also gave the elites the bigger shields.  Some really dynamic poses with these guys.

With medievals, however, there's a sweet spot.  The same troops show up in small actions as big battles, and so collections can be gamed as they grow.  I've noticed this with my vikings (which I've been picking away in in between other projects), and think it will also apply to the French.  When I start them, I don't need to aim for anything huge.  Two or three dozen foot, and a dozen or so  mounted figures, are enough for a game of Lion Rampant, and I can add units as I go.  Moreover, even if I can't find someone with another medieval force, painting up opposition isn't that hard, because of the numbers involved.  This has worked out pretty well with the ECW stuff I've been messing with for the last year or so, and I think is the way to do for me in the future.

Kept the mail dark, but might break down and brighten it.

The big question that remains, is the perennial one of basing.  When I did the ECW stuff, I went with square, Warlord style basing, with the assumption that it would be compatible with Pikeman's Lament, but suitable for larger games in the future.  I think with the 100 Years War project, I'll invert that logic; I'll base for Lion Rampant, and deal with "big battle" compatibility if and when that possibility arises.

Berzerkers mandatory.  For Khorne! . . . oops, wrong game.

There was a fellow on the Lion Rampant Facebook page who recently posted his War of the Roses stuff, based on rounds, in a style inspired by Dalauppror.  Infantry based 1, 2, or 3 to a base, and cavalry generally 1 or 2.  It looked really good, and I think works for medievals in a way it might not for more coherently linear periods.  Cavalry on rounds is something I'm used to from Lord of the Rings, and always thought it looked well.  I'm going to try the "multi-figure on rounds" basing for the next batch of vikings I put together, and see how I like it, but I think it'll be the way to go.

Probably should add a little more depth of color to the furs.

There's been some other stuff finished up, both historical and fantasy/sf, and no doubt I'll be able to claw out some time to get caught up on posting.  Hopefully, the plague won't cancel Christmas, as I'm really looking forward to it.  We won't have the Cub Christmas day (he's at his mom's), but he's supposed to join us Boxing day (aka St. Stephen's), and Puddin' will thus have Christmas morning to herself.  I'm staring down a week of power baking, and then hopefully a few days to relax.  If I do this right, I'll have enough leftovers that I can simple point the hungry towards the fridge for several days following . . . .

FMB

Inter-generational conflict

 Hi all,

Have gotten in a few games with / against the kids over the last couple weeks, including a ripper of a 40k game against the Cub, and a multiplayer Dragon Rampant game against both the Cub and the Puddin'

The 40k saw me taking 75 PL of World Eaters against the Cub's Salamanders, and it was a solid game.  Cub is a far better player than he was even a few years ago, and the last several games we've played have been pretty tight.  This one was a neck and neck race until half way through turn 4, where I managed a couple of clutch plays that put me ahead to take the game.

There were also some solid cinematic moments, including a clash between his dreadnaught and my hellbrute, in which the latter reamed the former with a multi-melta shot, was in turn charged and destroyed by the imperial, and then blew up, taking out the Astartes dreadnaught in the conflagration.  Unfortunately, I got so caught up in the game, I forgot to take pictures ;)

Dragon Rampant saw Puddin take a list made up of some of my old Bretonnian figures, a couple of heroes from the Reaper pile Cub's been painting, and a Gold Dragon (a D&D fig?) the Cub got for his birthday.

Cub took a similar mix of figs - some of my Bretonnians, some Reaper figs he ran as vampires, some kobolds, and a GW OG Daemon Prince ;)

I took a bunch of Beastmen, which I ran mostly as bellicose foot, scouts and light missiles.

We played a modified version of the Ringbearer; basically, each of us designated a unit as carrying a McGuffin, and there were bonus points for eliminating that unit.  However, if anyone's force was reduced to just the McGuffin unit, everything blew up.  Not to foreshadow anything.

Cub and I advanced out, and began to tangle, eventually whittling down each other to a couple of units.

Meanwhile, Puddin' decided to play it cagey, and hid her force behind a bunch of terrain, encircling her dragon with everything else.  Not at all telegraphing what her McGuffin unit was ;)

When we asked her why she wasn't coming out to fight, she quite matter of factly informed us that she was waiting for the two of us to tear each other up, and then would swoop into scoop up the win.  Kid is savage.

What actually happened is that I managed to take the Cub's force down to one unit, which turned out to be the "ringbearer", which blew up the game.  We were limited to points scored for side quests (the Cub picked one up for doing 3 strength points damage in a turn), and kills.  Cub and I tied on the latter, and his single point from quest completion gave him the win.  Puddin', who'd finally emerged from hiding to sweep us off the table, was left with none.  Her plan was sound, but she needed to work on the timing ;)

It was a fun game, and it was great to get to play with both of the kids.  While Puddin's not as enthused about mini-gaming as the Cub, she does seem to enjoy DR, especially the ability to pick and choose minis from the household's growing collections.  Games of Dragon Rampant also make for a nice break from the two of them ganging up on me in Munchkin, so there's that ;)

FMB