In proper order - Järjestelmällisesti alusta loppuun

Yea, right that would be the intelligent way of approaching this. Instead I packed away most of the cossacks and pancerny and started working on the hussars. (And Petyhorchy - on the side.)

Olisi oikeasti fiksua viimeistellä ne melkein valmiit pois alta. Kun tarmoa tehdä kuitenkin on rajatusti aloitin siitä mikä on kivaa, pienestä husaarieskadroonasta ja sutien puhdistamiseksi ylimääräisestä väristä tein siinä ohessa vähän juttuja petyhorcheille. Husaarien peitsien liitos keskellä on aika viheliäinen keksintö.

More Poles - Lisää puolalaisia

Painting has stalled once again with other hobbies taking precedence.
We did manage to have a game of Blood and Plunder - first game of autumn season.

I did do some inventory of painted stuff and decided I needed more Polish cossack style cavalry to round up my choices if we get to play division game again - and also in case of doing skirmish games with Polish lists. So I got the box of Warsaw 1656 cavalry regiment. I already had in my stash a box of pancerni and a box of petyhorchy. I assembled the whole lot to be able to prime this outside before he outset of the winter.  I was positively surprised by the sculpts of the cavalry regiment cossacks. I was already bored with the cossacks in skirmishbox and cossack box, so finding all new sculpts here I was a happy camper. Mixing pancerni and cossacks I assembled the troops as 2 elite banners of pancerni, 2 elite banners of cossacks, banner of cossacks with spears and pancerni banner. (Elites have shields to mark them.) Petyhorchi got lances but no shields.

Petyhochy with lances, elite pancerny, elite cossacks, cossacks with spears and some more pancerny

Maalaus on ollut hiljaista. Listojen vilkuilu ja figujen  inventaario toteamaan, että puolalaisdivisioona oikeastaan kaipailee mahdollisuuden tehdä 2 ratsurykmenttiä ja kahakkalistoillakin lisäpancernylle ja kasakoille olisi tarvetta.  sai minut hankkimaan Varsova 1656 ratsurykmentin. Kokoilin sen ja varastosta löytyneet pancerny ja petyhorchylaatikot. Mukavaa kyllä rykmentin kasakat ovat uusia skulpteja.

Kasakkarykmentin ja petyhorchin jälkeen kokoilin QR miniaturesin husaarit. Inhottavat kaksiosaiset  peitset ja se,e ttei husaareille ole kahakkapelissä ole ollut juuri tarvetta on viivyttänyt näiden kaverieden kokoamista. Ovat varusteiltaan 1600 luvun alkua ja joukossa näyttäisi olevan varsinaisten husaarien lisäksi myös seuralaisia. 

Some hussars from QR miniatures. Equipment of early 17th century. Guys with capalinas, the brimmed iron hats,  might be companions  instead of true hussars. Inspiring sculpts and may get on the table with the 1656 cavalry as Lithuanian hussars even though they are fifty years early.

On other hand I should finish the guys below to have space on the table to start with this new batch.

Ennenkuin pääsen puolalaisten pariin, pöydältä pitäisi kuitenkin viimeistellä edelliset projektit. Sipaheja, renesanssireitereita, tataareja, puunilaisia ja ligurialaisia. 

Patching

I have painted pretty little in May, life has been hectic.
The imperial tercio has gotten some more details and I've been adding color to some reiters and pancerni that I had left inked. Still a bit unsure if the effect is actually worth the time in compariosn to just using a tinted glaze. I know that in hands of my regular gaming opponent it does give stunning results. So it is probably worth the effort in the long run.
I have also tried to get some order to the things on the table and reorganized way I store stuff waiting to be painted. 
In similar vein I looked on the figures I've had on the skirmishes to see what work they need.

Hussars, Pancerni and some Ottoman Cavalry.

 And noticed all my spear and lancearmed horse have been struggling without. So some work with superglue was required. Pancerni will be ready by just getting color and varnish on spears - other troops require more brushwork.

Muscovites at the river

 As weaker player my opponent got to choose the scenario taking river crossing and buying fortifications to bolster his defences.
As special effects he got one company of field dragoons delayed and unexpected reinforcements.
He deployed field dragoons with spears and halfmuskets on the bridgehead position leaving a squadron of reiters to keep the ford together and boyar sons as cavalry reserve beyond the bridge.

I had in my muster Gosievski foray - banner of hussars, company of dragoons, two banners of reiters and two weak banners of cossacks.

On round one I unleashed dragoons and reiters to shoot on the dragoon musketeers while cossacks got to pepper the spearmen. Dragoons on other side of river responded to fire and the Muscovite reiters advanced. For change Polish were in firefight and winning.

Round two Muscovite drew his musketdragoons from the bridgehead to the bridge, launcehd an ambush to my flank and advanced with his reiters.
I grew impatient and sent a banner of cossacks to charge the obstacles while continuing the fire and turning with my hussars to meet the new threat.
Cossacks were repulsed with bloody nose.

Round three - my dragoons occupied the banja at riverside, my right poured fire onto Russian dragoons and hussars jockeyd for charge position.
His reiters used musketeers as cover and tried to get a charging position. The musketeers-dragoons scored hits on the hussars who casually ignored these. Picture from early phases of round four. My well drilled reiters reformed and prepared to caracole the dragoons out of the field. Right wing tried to finish the spear dragoons with fire and dragoons in the house received defence order.
His reiters withdrew from threat of my hussars and his border dragoons took postition at the side of the house, ready to attack . Nevertheless, they received fire both from my dragoons and the caracoling reiters.

 Round five his delayed troops consolidated a position on the riverbank giving casualties to my cossacks but failing to dislodge them - leaving the bridge contested. My cossacks had spent their ammunition, but the reiters finished the lonely spear dragoons at the bridgehead. On his right his dragoons assaulted my dragoons in the house, but were repulsed. His reiters withdrew from the scary hussars who slowly loitered forward.

On round six hussars charged the hapless remanats of the dragoons and swept them off the table, but nothng else happened. Victory to Poles since I took no casualties and inflicted acceptable casulaties on the russians. Bridge was contested so none got advantage from that. More tactical game than the previous ones. Hussars did not really  achive that much, but their deterrent get the Muscovite reiters neutralized. Shooting the bridgehead was accomplished, but took too much time.

Painting - work continues.

WIP seems to be constant theme here.
I got my brave hussars to stage where they have their primary colors on. Tidying bases, inking and detail work remains. Roughly at midpoint from finished I figure, but hour or two from stage where I could get them on the table.

Hussar clothing should probably not be uniform. Variation here is very subtle though. Lances are painted separately except on the test figure on the right. Mixed in their is one Wargamer figure, rest are Legio Heroica. At this point I decide to base the guys since I have tendency to get green on figures when painting bases - corrections can be done at same stage as painting over inked figures.

Hussars have been the main project, but on the side Polish king Jan  with his retinue has been getting some treatment. 

Cossacks and Pancerni by QRminiatures are painted and inked. Some higlights and they are ready for varnish and grass. See the grass stained hooves...

Answer to Swedish firepower?

Since impact of cossacks and reiters was not enough to break the Swedish line it is time to muster Polands finest and finally get the hussars I got from Legio Heroica on the bases and into colors.

12 hussars, four bases, is not that much but it will certainly give the Crown regiment more punch. Here testing if the figure can be painted with the wings on. Yes - a tad ackward, but can be done. Gluing the wings was again task I really did not like.