Minor update

Apologies for the lack of posts recently, I've been incredibly busy, working away a lot in the week and lots of housework to catch up on at weekends. Hopefully I'll be more settled in a month or so.
Anyway, I did manage a few games with my brother over the bank holiday weekend. I took quite a few snaps, mostly on the proper camera. Below is one off my phone from the second game, where the British were assaulting French siegeworks hoping to spike their guns artillery.
We are still settled on Sharpe Practice as a ruleset but are adapting to suit larger units, 16-25 men. Those 10 man units just didn't look right!
Unfortunately this means we need to paint more minis to bulk all of our units out. The game below was really stretching our painted collections. Never-ending, this project!
Thanks for reading - more picks and BatReps when I get chance.

Preparations

So, I'm still to-ing and fro-ing a lot with work but the next gaming session with my brother has snuck up on me, being the end of August. Hopefully we'll get a couple of games of Naps in, would be nice as I've been beavering away painting in the year since we last broke them out.

So, as well as finishing units off (some more redcoats, guerillas and Spanish ideally) and finishing off a few terrain bits (earthworks, hills and 2-3 buildings). I also need to craft a couple of scenarios.

My best workable idea so far is a small French force stamping out disorder in a Spanish town. I was thinking roaming mobs of irregulars bolstered by a small Spanish garrison. Somewhat one-sided towards the Frenchies but I thought it would be an interesting scenario to game. This was thought up well before the weekend's trouble in London, by the way!

I'm torn on whether this is a good enough excuse for another Perry order, particularly for some of their ACW rioters. I think with a couple of tweaks they'll be useful as civilians in the Peninsular as well as Pulp gaming. But I'm not sure I need more to work on with an already tight deadline!

For a second game I can easily pull something more standard together, Redcoats against French.

Plenty to be getting on with...

Another update!

The Missus has been busy all day organising a Hen Party, giving me time to potter about the housework and, of course, get some painting time in.
I dug out a unit of Spanish Napoleonic infantry to finish off. I'm pleased with the result. I say Spanish, the figs are actually plastic Victrix Imperial Guard. I couldn't resist picking some up. And was inspired by this site:
http://www.balagan.org.uk/war/peninsular-war/painting-guide/spanish-infantry.htm
In particular the note about Spanish light typically wearing their brown greatcoats in the field. This posed quite a problem with which heads to use - if 1806 regulation, they should have bicornes. Alas, i didn't have anywhere near enough bicorne heads for a unit. So I fudged it with some shakos with white covers, which I understand were issued later. Annoyingly, the standard snapped and wasn't repairable, but I plan on getting banners on wires eventually anyway (probably from Flag Dude in the US).
So, sacrificing historical accuracy in exchange for an opportunity to buy and build some of the lovely Victrix IG. History buffs do forgive me...
Any thoughts?

Lack of updates

Morning all!
Apologies that I've been very tardy with my blog, for reasons of a house move and a new job which means I'm away a lot in the week. This has also meant my painting time is minimal.
It would have completely flatlined, but for me putting together a mobile painting set, a snap of which is below. I can just about fit 8 or 9 paints, small jar for water, brushes, pallet and a handful of minis into a small Tupperware box at the bottom of my suitcase. As long as I pick up a newspaper, I've got enough to do basecoating and washes at least.
After two weeks, it is going pretty well, with fair progress on both halves of a unit of redcoats.
Next is to check out the LGS where I'm staying for further inspiration (and shopping)...

Just a little snap

To keep my post to picture ratio up, the aforementioned Churchill, Daimlers and Pulp Toff. On the latter's base you can find a new discovery to me - mininatur tufts. Layering them with flock can create really dramatic effects, perhaps pricey but I think it is worth it.

Busy busy (and not in a gaming way!)

Oops, no post for a fortnight. Reason being I'm gearing up to move house over the next fortnight, including lots of decorating and cleaning to do. I'm also moving posts within my job, which I'm excited about. It will be a busy month and so I doubt I'll get any painting in.

Having said that, I have managed to tidy up a few loose ends on the painting front, finishing the WWII bits I grabbed at Salute, including a beastly Churchill Crocodile. I also knocked out a new, as-yet unnamed pulp companion for when we pick that up again. Pics when I get chance. Finally, some progress on a small unit of Nap Spanish light infantry, though time is up to get them finished.

I also got a very enjoyable evening of board games in last night, before packing them all up tonight! We busted open a new one I picked up by accident (honest! Story another time perhaps) called The Speicherstadt. A neat simple little auction game, which mixed concepts from a few Euro games I've played before.

Anyway, all the best to my readers, apologies in advance for the upcoming quiet period.

British Foot Artillery, and a cunning transportation solution

Another week, and another photo of my British Napoleonics, this time a battery of the Royal Foot Artillery:

Miniatures are Victrix plastics, with Architects of War hedges filling the background and Hovels ltd atrillery emplacments. These were a bargain and painted up brilliantly but have yet to see the tabletop. The smoke is the best material we've found to date, the lining of Perry Miniatures blisters. This is much, much more natural-looking than cotton wool. Progress on Napoleonics has stalled as I worked on the WWII project, but I hope to put some time in soon.

I'm also often trying to find an 'optimum' solution for tranposrting figs. I've got a Figures in Comfort case that I love, but they are a bit too pricey to have enough to hold all of my various forces. So, for plastics and odd scales I've been experimenting. Here's the solution for my 28mm Napoleonic British:

So, top left to bottom right we have 95th Rifles, KGL light dragoons, Royal Foot Artillery, 28th North Gloucestershire Light, 28th North Gloucestershire centre, two unpainted units of redcoats, and finally the 42nd 'Black Watch'. Since I took the photo the painted 42nd have doubled, and the Rifles have been finished. Redocats next, when I can bring myself to it!

It is a standard A4 box file, lined on the bottom with sticky-backed steel sheet (I got mine from Principles of War). The troops are then based on Gale Force 9 magentic bases. The Colours are just short enough to fit in. The magnets are strong enough to rank the models up, they don't move as long as you don't shake the box too vigourosly. The only ones I would be worries about would be my Perry metal cavalry.