Just a bit of everything!

The discovery of 3mm figures has certainly had some effect on my enthusiasm for the hobby, something about the mass effect when drawn up just appeals to my minds eye of how an army should look. Alongside that was the rediscovery of DBA v1 which gives me just the kind of game I used to enjoy, while apparently simple they present lots of tactical challenges. not unlike a game of chess. With 4 ancient armies painted it was time to get out the simple 2 x 2 cloth covered foamboard, bang down some clump foliage and a hill and were off.

 It's 60AD and the Iceni are revolting! Roman governor of Britain, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus has rushed back from campaigning in Wales to quash the rebellion.

It's been many a year since I played these rules so had to take it slowly. My deployment was probably not the best but I wanted to see how the different elements handled and was especially keen to get some combat between the Legion (Blades) and the Warbands as well as getting the light chariots into action against different types of opponents. The combats between the Legion and the massed Warbands actually proved fairly evenly matched despite the basic +5 v +3 factor with push backs going both ways which in turn allowed for additional overlap factors. I was surprised how broken up the ranks of the Legion became in the prolonged contest as I had expected them to just roll through. Light chariots count as 'cavalry' with a basic +3 against foot but I used them mostly on the flanks against Auxilia and Roman light cavalry where they did pretty well. There was lots of drawn combats that carried over into a second bound and push backs and pursuits that went back and forth before one element was finally defeated. The game ended in a 4 to 2 Roman victory but I think a more experienced DBA general could have fought a tactically better battle. Still, I enjoyed myself and thats what counts for me and I'm very keen for more. I now have the Carthaginians and Late Romans set up for another game although they almost came a cropper when our cat decided to sit on the board between the facing armies!

I'm now making progress on the 3mm ECW armies which are intended for the C&C ECW variant by 'Foy' using both the command  and chance cards. A few initial unit types, pike and shot, pike heavy, Trotters and Gallopers. Also a couple of command bases.

Beside the above I'm still bashing out the Epics strips, this month has been ACW, French Napoleonic, Prussian Landwehr and finishing off with more ACW's so keeping me busy.

3mm ECW regiment of foot - a quick post!

The announcement of the 13.5mm plastic Warlord Epic ECW's drew me back into thinking about what has always been my favourite period, and so combined with my new found love of the 3mm little guys I painted up the first regiment of a new project. I'm rather pleased how it turned out.

Figures by Magister Militum, 60mm x 25mm mdf base, filed to reduce that sharp edge. Flags added from paper over the small metal cast on flag as too small, cut down and painted.

Catching up!

 I'm really grateful for all of the comments on the last two posts and I'm gradually replying to each of them so I'll catch up!  I tend to mostly do computer stuff in the mornings with my coffee and then try to keep focused once I start painting when I listen to lots of YouTube videos as I paint - taking out YouTube 'Premium' ad free was the best thing I have done for a while, the ads were annoying the hell out of me when trying to paint! I play a wide range of  videos from historical, Thames mud larking, painting tutorials, DBA battles, true crime the list is endless but I need something in the background when painting I find. Another thing I'm doing is to revisit some old Vinyl albums via YouTube. It struck me recently that I have lost the pleasure of putting an album on and playing it through from start to finish as it was intended to be enjoyed complete  with crackling as it begins. I have spent years playing odd tracks and I'm really enjoying this. I'm very much a 70's hard rock man who got drawn into the whole Punk movement before going back to heavy rock again and then into the 80's. I'm finding some true gems again, James Gang 'Bang' a real blast from the 70's and the wonderful T.Rex * 'Slider' album that bought back so many memories, how could you not love a track like Baby Boomerang :)

Anyway I digress, here are more 3mm Hoplites, there will be 8 elements of these which should look quite solid when complete. 

* Nostalgia corner! 

Quick funny story re Marc Bolan - my late Uncle Ted and my Dad knew his father from drinking in a pub in Putney South London  where his father lived in a council flat. When he became wealthy he bought his Dad a Rolls Royce which made quite an impression on the sprawling estate of high rise flats!

The blog lives!

Really pleased with the supportive comments on my post of yesterday, thank you and I will reply to each individual comment as I think it's important to do so. Some very valid points made and I totally agree that the formats are very different, especially around the transient nature of social media posts compared to blog posts. I was looking back through here yesterday and became aware that in many ways it's actually rather like a diary, recording not just hobby events but also life events. Blog was started at a very low point in my life, shortly after I was referred to the care of the local Mental Health team and extremely vulnerable, it was actually my consultant psychiatrist who suggested that I use my hobby as a means of recovery and therapy, thus the title. Life has moved on since then and it's all recorded here through the hobby.

There is no doubt that I have lost much of my interest in wargaming, it's as if my brain will no longer allow me to identify with those little soldiers on the table as I once did, certainly back in my days of Johnny Reb II when I was right there beside the little guys! Still, I do very much enjoy the painting aspect and the concentration required to paint for up to 5 hours solid is excellent therapy. I'm now putting in up to 25 hours per week painting on commission with evenings and weekends off so still have time to do a bit for myself. I'm now very much focused on the Epic's as demand is high for painting them and I have established a method that allows me to produce good results at speed. There is also high demand for 15mm/18mm scale painting and I have a few hundred AB Napoleonics booked in from July onwards and ongoing ECW's for Graham. I'm now generally taking bookings for July onwards and I'm surprised how long customers are happy to wait to have their figures painted! I'll keep going for as long as I'm still able, maybe cutting back a little when I hit my state pension in January :)

So, the blog will live on, maybe I'll separate the commission/hobby posts going forward.

Thanks you again for the comments, much appreciated and gave me something of a boost.

A few shots of recent commission work, the January batch of Prussians for Tony2 and last weeks Peter Pig ECW's for Graham. This week I'm catching up with the January ACW Epic batch for Chris, short month! I have a mountain of Epic plastic sprues for four customers to gradually work through over the coming months.