Happy New Year 2025/2026

 Happy New Year. Somehow, it is now 2026. Linear time continues to surprise me.

 But I got quite a lot of done throughout the year (even if it didn't all end up here on the blog, the disadvantage of doing many smaller things). The total numbers:

• 293 Human Infantry-sized (incl. 1 Cannon & Crew, counting as 4)
• 30 Cavalry/Ogre (or equivalent)
• 3 Bigger beasties (at least 60mm round base)
• 9 Objectives
• 9 15mm tanks/AFVs

Not bad at all. Almost managed to hit 365 minis, aka a mini a day (somewhere in November, that looked quite possible, but then there came some slower projects). The absolute majority of these were in one way or another intended for SAGA, and other than the 9 tanks, all in 28mm. I had plans to branch out to smaller scales, but that obviously didn't happen. My massive pile of Epic Hail Caesar still lies untouched...

But what did I get finished, then? 

Beginning with the biggest: my Normans

These were a huge undertaking (mostly painted in 2024), and was a relief to get done (and to a quality that I am satisfied with). I then had the joy to bring them to my first international tournament in SAGA: The World Cup! A Team tournament, and my team was mostly there because Sweden needed some representation, and the A-team were busy organising the whole thing. Still, I did my part and we didn't end up last. We'll see if it happens again...

There were then the matter of the Undead horde. They began more or less by accident, but got finished over the summer (again, a significant part were painted earlier than 2025). Quite fun to paint (and very relaxing, a lot can be accomplished with washes, and gore hides the mistakes), especially the big dragon. Still, they haven't seen a game yet, so I guess I need to get to that in 2026

Last major SAGA army: the Irish. As expected, they were very fast to paint, especially as I nailed down my Speedpaint technique with these (and did a guide for it). They also got to see the table, and got to melt some opposition (reminding me that they are not a suitable opposition for someone playing their second game of SAGA... oops)

 There were also the barbarians I finished early in the year, for Frostgrave. However, that game has been quite calm since, so they remain in their box.

What else has been painted? Well...

There were some Texas Rangers, for Dead Mans Hand (that we play pretty much every summer, letting me have my own minis for it for the first time). And I just had to make them in two versions, both mounted and on foot (it even got relevant in the game, that I could mount up them!)

And also some uniformed Cavalry (amusingly enough, on foot), for the same. These are recently finished, so haven't had a game yet. Also, very old sculpts, and new plastic replacements arrived a few days ago... we'll see which ones get to see the table.

 

Also, I did mention some tiny tanks and AFVs. We'll see when I get around to doing the rest of the company...

And also a variety of smaller stuff and one-offs (incidentally, the collection of Lizardmen is starting to get up in size...)

And finally, I made what was, in hindsight, possibly a bad idea. I painted some samurai (from the ever loveable Bad Squiddo Games). Because I had an itch, and thought this would take care of that itch...

It did quite literally the opposite. So now I have a "samurai" army, that is rapidly expanding in scope to two, or possibly 3-4. With an initial idea to run these as counts-as SAGA: Age of Chivalry (several of the factions there could do quite well as various samurai clans). But it also got me looking into Test of Honour, and oh dear. At least it's a "true" skirmish ruleset, where you don't need too many minis. So we all know how that will end...

But what about 2026? 

I think my my  main goal for the year, will be to paint at least 6 "big things". Be it dragons, buildings, ships, mechs, or whatever comes in front of me. I have a fair amount of buildings that need to be assembled and painted, as well as several Blood & Plunder ships (no, I am not giving up hope about that game). And we'll see what else happens. I doubt I'll reach that 1 mini/day, since the big things will still only count as 1, as they say. I currently have 6 projects that are in focus, hopefully I manage to remain focused on those:

• Teutonic Order (possibly my most ambitious yet, in regards to already planned parts)
• French (I should be able to finish them relatively soon, I think... but I've said that before)
• The Samurai (I only count them as 1, but they could probably count for at least 2...)
•  Saxons (should be small and simple, even if I expand them into "generic Germanics" as it rolls along)
• Knights Templar (another small one, since they're an elite army... even if I consider doing some advanced basing on them)
• Arabs (I have big plans for them, but the immediate goal is a small 6 point warband for SAGA, with very few options... we'll see how that ends up going)

Then there will of course continue to be the various small stuff and cool minis I just had to paint... But that should be the gist of it.

Once again, Happy New Year

/Fool  

New Years hobby resolution once again

Another year over, and the new one's just begun (as the song goes). And as the hangover subsides, it's time for me to look over how my hobby resolutions for last year went, and make some new ones.

• Paint the rest of the No Peace Beyond the Line kickstarter

As I put it down on the list, I knew this would be the main thing I would paint. And I can't say I was wrong.

• 50 Dutchmen

These got done, and expanded upon as well, so this is an unmitigated success.

• 40 generic europeans (which will be distributed among my other forces... don't know which yet)

Another unmitigated success... which then got expanded upon even further as I began the Scottish Militia

• a Piragua

I thought this was done, but somehow I managed to screw it up. She's currently stripped and waiting for take two. Bother.

• the Fluyt "Amelia"

As can be seen, she's done, and a beauty too. Even managed to get me going for painting more ships, size be darned (and aint that a good thing)

• The Galleon "Santa Barbara de Nicomedia"

Of course, that doesn't mean I've had the time to actually paint them all. Galleon is somewhere soon-ish in the queue, but not yet.

• My Blood & Plunder Natives need reinforcements. Get those, paint them

The natives most assuredly got reinforced.

• Finish my Blood & Plunder Frigate (this one should be easy, at least...)

Got her done early in the year, possibly because she was already halfway there by last January. And a small part of me wants to get another...

• Once the other B&P ships are finished, get a Bark (tentatively named Lydia) and paint it.

Lydia is bought, primed and waiting next to the Piragua... but not quite yet.

• Frostgrave

As with Blood & Plunder, I had several subsections and a plan (of sorts).

• The gnolls I didn't manage to get done 2018. Aiming for 20 fellows, with useful armaments for both normal Frostgrave and Ghost Archipelago

Yep, they're finally done. And just in time, too. We'll have to see if I get some silly ideas and expand them further.

• The all-female warband from the latest release of plastic female soldiers (all assemled already)

Not at all surprising, these got done quite fast. Lovely sculpts of lovely subjects tend to get punted to the front of the queue.

• At least three winter-themed treasures (all I have so far are very obviously summer/tropically themed).

Sort of done. One of these looks suspiciously green, but magic, dude. Ain't gotta explain jack all... I will probably expand with another treasure next time I paint Frostgrave stuff.

• Various monsters from Maze of Malcor

The monsters got delayed until "after the gnolls", and... well. The gnolls are done, so hopefully this year.

• Chain of Command (in 15mm)

Game's kind of died out again, but I should at least finish the projects I've started.

• The 21 Panzer Divison  platoon really needs some support. Get to it.

Done and ready for a game. And I might have to expand them as I find some of weird and wonderful machines the 21st drove in France.

• Get them some opposition: a british rifle platoon (with support)

Due to a combination of not finding the kit I wanted, and the game dying out, I haven't even looked all that much at these. Perhaps for the future.

• Concurrently to the above, paint more 15mm tanks. Try to clear out the "to paint" shelf, then get started on the "to build" piles and whatever else I have scattered around.

I got some done, so there's now slightly more space on the shelf (that promptly got occupied by some pirates)

• Finish up an understrength company of canadian Sherman tanks (5 to go, but they need to be assemled as well)

These are done, at least. I have no idea what to use them for, but done's done and a good one.

• Oathmark is set to release heavily armored dwarves. I will need at least one box of 30.

Done, at the same time as I expanded and/or (temporarily) finished my band of dwarves. Well, 20 of them, at least. The rest are currently spared for some ideas to finish bouncing around and get nailed down.

• Paint up more Landsknecht (there is a list)

Got a few done, but I've mostly been distracted by other stuff. A prime example of the hobby flame burning hot, but not so long. That said, I've recently gotten to use them for SAGA: Age of Magic, and something has rekindled here. Hopefully I get at least a pikeblock finished this year.

At least the knights on monsters (Creatures for AoM) got done. That was a project that got put on hold for too long.

• Perry Miniatures are releasing Agincourt mounted knights. Get them, assemble them, paint them. Possibly as a second army for The Ninth Age.

They're assembled, but it has not been a good year for painting horses here, so there's still not a speck of paint on them... However, I have some ideas for SAGA: Age of Magic here as well, so I might finally get them done, or at least 25 of them.

• If the fellows at the club get their Napoleonics going, I will probably have to join in. For that, I need to decide on what regiment of redcoats to paint.

The fellows didn't get it going, so I haven't bothered to look at these... not too much, at least. I'm tempted to do some (british) Highlanders, though.

• Time and money permitting, I'll try to get a wargaming table of my own.

Time and money hasn't permitted, so nope. I will probably put the very idea on the backburner for now, and figure out solutions "later".


Of course, I didn't only paint what I had made a resolution though (although these resolutions and a painting planner has meant that the amount of unplanned stuff has been reduced).

First and foremost of the "oopsies" would be the Scottish Militia for Blood & Plunder mentioned above. And somehow, a Tartana managed to sneak its way onto my shelf. It's currently primed and waiting for some paints (that's ship #3 on the "soon" list).

There is also the fact that Gaslands Refueled exploded at the club, so there's been a pair of cars for that. And there might just be some more, if it continues to be as popular (one wants options to play with, y'know).


Of course, I can't exactly show how I managed to fulfill all resolutions and not follow up with new ones. As with last year, these are more guidelines and less rules, but they do keep me focused. Anyway for 2020, my resolutions to paint are:

• Bad Squiddo Games released some Amazons in a kickstarter. I got them, just need to paint them (which should be quick, as they're already primed and waiting)
• Bad Squiddo Games also released some Dwarves at the same time. These are not primed yet, but should also get some loving paint. Possibly, I'll combine them with some Oathmark and/or Atlantis Miniatures Dwarves.
• The Landsknecht need more love. Let's aim for the pikeblock being done, and hopefully some crossbowmen as well.
• Shipwise, I have a Bark, a Tartana and a Piragua that need some paint (these are all from last year, and primed, so should be quick)
• Expand the Blood & Plunder French with some more Sailors (also primed and ready)
• Similar for the Blood & Plunder Spanish, one starter box should round out my force nicely.
• Dito (although smaller) for the Blood & Plunder Dutch, they can do with a few more sailors, mostly to get up to units of 8. And maybe a second unit of Enter Ploeg
• The Galleon! Keep the shippainting going, get this humongous thing done.
• Firelock is also releasing a 6th Rate Frigate for Blood & Plunder... I need it! Even if it's supposedly almost as huge and the Galleon
• Oak & Iron is incoming. Since I intend to run demos for this come Gothcon, it will be catapulted to the front of the queue as soon as I get it.
• Blood & Valor (also from Firelock) is coming, I should probably look into it (which means whichever plastic ww1 army I find most interresting... or go with Italians, because my competence at the table shouldn't prevent me from playing historically)
• Take 2 on the Mace of Malcor Monsters for Frostgrave.
• Victrix Vikings have caught my eyes, and I'm tempted to get a pack to paint as Jomsvikings for SAGA
• Perry Mounted Knights are assembled, but still waiting for paint. Let's try to do something about that. Perhaps I can use them for SAGA: Age of Magic...
• Speaking of SAGA: Age of Magic, I have 2, or potentially 3, new ideas for warbands, either on their way (yay, kickstarters), or at least planned for purchase as soon as the FLGS gets them. (I'm being non-specific in the interrest of being coy with the fellows at the club, always fun springing surprises on them)

Any bets for how much of this I actually manage to get done?

Happy New Year

/Fool out

Chain of Command - 15mm Panzergrenadier Platoon

Time for something different, both smaller and more modern than my usual stuff. Finally finished a platoon for Chain of Command for myself. And it only took a year, too...

For theme, I elected to go with a platoon from the 21st Panzer Division in Normandy, because they have some fascinating vehicles and because I enjoy reading Panzer Commander (by Hans von Luck, who would be in command of the 125 Panzergrenadier regiment of the 21 Panzer during Normandy).

The main platoon, with HQ group and 3 squads, as well as Patrol Markers (with several village names from around Caen, some of them well known).

Each squad consists of a junior leader and two teams with 4 and 5 men each, as well as 2 MG42s (and an extra man for carrying the squad allocated panzerfausts, he can be replaced by an ordinary rifleman once those are used up).

And of course the platoon HQ, with the Lieutenant (more often a senior sergeant at this time of the war...) and two men with a Panzerschreck (do not apply armour to a panzergrenadier platoon, they have plenty of counters...)

For support, there is a fourth squad of Panzergrenadiers from another platoon, but otherwise similar to the in-platoon squads (except they don't count as platoon casualties in campaigns, gamey but might be necessary... and more men on the ground is always useful).

There is of course also a second senior leader (either this platoon were lucky and had two men competent enough, or there's some support from the company... or it's two understrength platoons working together, the justifications are endless). In any case, provides some welcome extra command and control of the battle.

Thematically, it feels wrong to not have a heavy machine gun available. Might not always be the most necessary (not when you have 6-8 LMGs available), but eh.

When you need some heavier firepower, you call in the regimental mortars (or any of the other artillery available). And hope you have a spotter who can actually call them in.

 
And, in case on Panzerschreck team wasn't enough, here's a second. Because screw tanks.

And in case you want something with more range, there's also a 5cm PaK38. Its small size would make it easy to hide, and while it might not have enough punch to take out enemy tanks from the front, lighter armour will do best to stay away.

What's better for getting around than a car? Two cars! (One Kubelwagen, and one heavier Steyr, but gamewise the same).

... or there is the Sd.Kfz.250/9, a halftrack converted for recce purposes. A 2cm autocannon generally hits the right point between cheap and lethal when the main fight is infantry vs infantry. And being (nominally) armored itself isn't a bad thing.

For your heavier anti-tank needs, there is always the mobile bush... I mean the S307(f) PaK40. More mobile than towed anti-tank guns, and at least somewhat armoured. The bad point is that it is taller and harder to hide, but hopefully liberal application of bushes should help there.

Last I checked, there were no rules for this vehicle in Chain of Command. I could of course stat it up, but for quick play and ease of use, I will probably run it as a counts-as Marder.

Finally, there's a Panzer IV, because how can you have germans without the workhorse of the Panzer arm?

With some extra bushes for protection and hiding from the ever-present allied air forces. Not as much as some other vehicles (*cough*S307(f)PaK40*cough*), since it has to be mobile (or prepared to be mobile), but hopefully enough.

"Please think I'm a bush, please thing I'm a bush..."

All in all, a decent force with plenty of options. Doesn't make it worse that Panzergrenadiers are generally considered the strongest platoon for their force rating in Chain of Command, borderline broken if you ask some... time to get some games in and figure out how to use them (and maybe how to counter them). Just need to get a Lorraine Schlepper or two for maximum HE power too.

Bases were washers, 15mm for ordinary soldiers, 20mm for leaders and MG teams (the latter with gunner and loader on the same base), 25mm for the larger guns. Squads and teams are denoted by "pixel pearls", with one color being unique for each of the larger squads (giving Green, Yellow, Orange and Blue squad), another color for HQ (Light Green) and smaller support choices occasionally sharing (pink for anti-tank choices, red for primarily anti-infantry).

Oh, and I accidentally painted a pair of bunkers at the same time... I have no idea what to use these for, but since I had them, might as well paint them, I guess.

/Fool Out

More Shermans

A combination of heat and work have reduced my hobby time to a smidgeon of what it used to be, but I got something painted, at least.

Specifically, the better part of a squadron of Canadian Shermans. (Well, the last 5, I've had 7 painted for a while, but didn't want to showcase them until they were all finished). The models are Battlefronts old British Shermans, in resin (with molded on stowage) and metal. Except for one of the Fireflies, he's plastic, because I didn't have a fourth resin/metal firefly.

12 Shermans in a row... sounds like the start of a horrible nursery rhyme...

First platoon, with 2 Sherman 75s and 2 Sherman Fireflies, for maximum Firefly goodness (and what some troops might have late in the war).

In case one wants to run them somewhat earlier, one or two tanks can be borrowed from the HQ and replace the Fireflies, giving a troop of 4 ordinary Sherman 75s (or a reduced troop of 3).

From the rear, it's possible to see the troop markings. Specifically, these have Division and AOS markings on the stowage bin.

Similarly, second troop has 2 Fireflies and 2 Sherman 75s...

... or 4 Sherman 75s with some borrowed from the HQ.

Here, the Division and AOS markings are on the hull, next to the stowage bins instead.

Finally, the 4 HQ tanks by themselves. Can't have a Squadron without some leaders.

The markings are for C squadron, 29th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment), making this fellow potentially David Currie (look him up, splendid leader during the war who got a Victoria Cross for his actions during the Normandy campaign).

Now, I just need to find a game to field them in (still not being happy with Flames of War)... oh, well, if I ever get around to making some Canadians for Chain of Command, (some of) these will be good support.

Hopefully, my radio silence won't be for as long next time...

/Fool Out