Transfers

... we hates them. Or at least the fiddliness of placing them. Effect they give is so nice that I try to suffer through it. Ofcourse they do require finishing the edges.

Siirtokuva kilpiin on inhottavan pientä nysväystä. Lopputulos kuitenkin maksaa vaivan - varsinkin lähikuvissa. Tosin tämä välivaihe jossa reunoja ei ole siistitty on aika epäsiisti.

Janissaries and iberians WIP

Iberians  have been on active painting after Christmas. I had started them early in autumn, but they got kind of delayed and pushed back by gauls and others. In pre-X-mas purge they managed to keep a place on the table and have gone forward one colour at the time. Still lacking plumes, boots, shield decals for scutae and the crimson/red/purple details of their tunics. At this point I need to decide if I paint each unit with some defining details like plumes in theme or leave them a uniformly un-uniform horde.

Iberit jäivät pöydälle joulusiivouksessa ja ovat edistyneetkin väri kerrallaan. Vielä uupuu töyhdöt, tunikoiden reunoja, saappaita ja kilpien siirtokuvat. Tässä vaiheessa pitäisi tehdä päätöstä erottelenko yksiköt töyhtöjen ja viittojen teemoittamisella vai jätänkö koko iberilauman yhtenäisen kirjavaksi.

Janissaries - as well as By Fire and Sword - have been on a backburner for more than half a year. Now option of using Ottomans in Wilanov got me to pick them up and see what would be needed to finish them. What we have here is beginnings of a very weak janissary regiment - or as it happens just the amount of janissaries one can field in skirmish level of By Fire and Sword (list was published in the Armies 1 of By Fire and Sword.) Gamewise they are weird bunch - able to fight in open order, no fire discipline, poor tactical discipline, but proficient in use of their sabres with 2 close combat dice. So they move pretty fast and agilely, shoot poorly, hit hard but would seem to disappear if they don't beat the enemy with one charge.

Janitsaarit ovat olleet unohduksissa samoin kuin Tulella ja Miekallakin. Nyt kun Wilanovin turnaus lähestyy kaivoin ne esiin nähdäkseni mitä herroille on tehtävä. Tässä on hyvin heikon rykmentin runko - sattumoisin juuri sama määrä jonka saa pöydälle Armies 1 kirjassa julkaistun skirmish ryhmän janitsaariosastona. Sääntöjen mukaan aika sekalainen sakki, liikkuvat avomuodossa, huono taktinen kuri, ei yhteislaukauksia, kontramarssia tai muutakaan ampumisbonusta, mutta 2 lähitaistelunoppaa. Liikkuvat siis aika ketterästi, ampuvat melko kehnosti, lyövät lujaa mutta ovat taipuvaisia häipymään, jos eivät voita ekalla rynnäköllä.

Janissaries are often depicted in uniformcoloured robes. Since all of contemporary pics I've seen of them show them in clohtes of various colours I've made these first units in different coloured robes. They will be the less than elite unit when the janissary regiment is full strength. Still need to do plumes, slippers and bulletpouches. And fix the folded ends of the robes.

Janitsaarit maalataan usein univormuihin. Koska aikalaiskuvissa ovat useimmiten kirjavia olen tehnyt tämänkin sakin moniväriseksi. Saanevat täysivahvuisessa rykmentissä kaverikseen yksivärisiä eliittiyksiköitä. Vielä uupuu kengät, luotipussit ja töyhdöt. Ja aika monen kaverin kaavun liepeet ja vuori on korjailtava.

What was done in 2016 - what looms in 2017

Well my aim for 2016 was to get more stuff finished, work more organized and most important not start projects I would not finish.

Number of finished stuff for 2016 does not look too bad.

For By Fire and Sword

Tatars  3 bases warriors with spears, 6 bases rabble, 6 bases of warriors

2 wagons, one gun-limber

For BFaS  Carelian Defence force:

Lutheran peasant levy 8 bases

Viborg reiters, Recruit reiters and noble levy Adelsfana 14 bases altogether

And some provincial musketeers say 4 new bases and work on old ones.

For Carthage

Numidian skirmishers 9 bases

Numidian horse 6 bases

Iberian caetrati 6 bases

Iberian scutarii 6 bases

Gauls 6 + 6

Tarentine horse 6 bases

Libyan spearmen 12 bases

African veterans 6 bases

Italians by xyston 8 bases medium,  4 bases light infantry

8 spec ops operators in 20 mm

That is 117 bases of figures in 15 mm, 44 of those with horses. Perhaps more important is getting 3 complete playable entities out in form of Carelian defence force, amount of Punic forces enough for Sword and Spear and force that is playable in Spec ops. 

Still my table is cluttered with projects I have started sometime and which are not worked on actively. I have tried to reduce this by actively packing away stuff not currently worked on and to some extent this has worked. There are still quite as many semiactive and non-active projects, but they are not impeding work on the table and to large extent protected from the dust.

Works in Progress – or, if honest, works that have been started in the past:

Horde of janissaries, azaps and mixed light ottoman troops – in the dreaded almost finished state.

Unit of silahdar/sipahi of the porte – have been on and off the painting table and are close to finishing touches. Trouble with ottomans is that they have no urgent gaming need. The figures would be complement a division or Pike and Shotte Army and no game of either is in close plans.

Reiters – both “eastern” and imperial

Cuirassiers – Both reiters and cuirassiers would go for a Pike and Shotte game and there limiting factor would probably be amount of available musketeers and pikemen.

Irish/Scottish regiment of musketeers and pike – nice small project that may wait until projects that are further are gotten away

Unit of Polish Volunteers – started, would be needed for battle of Warsaw campaign to proxy Polish cossacks

Unit of tatars in commonwealth service – should probably worked in tandem with the volunteers to get them off the table.

Unit of landsknecht pike, small unit of Italian pike – begun just for fun, should be pushed a bit forward to bolster the number and raise the quality of pikes available for possible Italian wars game.

Unit of German very early reiters – almost finished – should be finished just to pad the numbers and clear the clutter

28 mm figures for Ronin – various to be worked after inspiration, to complement existing units and to lessen clutter.

The crusaders in 15 mm – still. So close to finishing that they should be pushed to finish during spring. Even more so since my opponent has finished his Moslems.

Gaul foot, gaul cavalry – horde is never larger enough. Finish the light cavalry soonish and try to get the mailed cavalry painted too to give legionaries and their cavalry bad times.

Ligurians and illyrians – just touch up, dip and flock the Ligurians and leave Illyrians to wait for inspiration.

Iberians and ibericelts – I have enough for Sword and Spear allies – 1-3 units are required for Hail Caesar division and they look pretty nice so crack the whip when inspired. And get some of horsies painted too since Iberian cavalry looks totally different from the Gauls and Numidians.

Italian Allies- no real hurry unless inspiration hits.

Elephants – stomp the imperialist!

the Civil war Spaniards – Republicans pretty advanced, Nationalists need more work. They were pretty quick to do so they should be finished so gaming can be attempted.