Dux Bellorum 7 Irish skirmishing slingers and some additions to the board

Here are 16 slingers for my Irish army for Dux Bellorum.  Four units of four, I need to come up with a sabot base for them that is 120mm wide but I think that might get delayed, anyway they're done now,six unknown metal figures from the big dark age Ebay splurge (all used up by Dux Bellorum bar one!) and ten plastic Hat  figures which are nominaly 28mm but are very slight and the detail is pretty soft,however I'm happy enough using them here and have some more that will be skirmishers in some other Dux Bellorum armies while some might be press ganged into a shieldwall!They do have the benefit of being really cheap, which I like!

Not much to say, various earth colours and they won't last long on the table in this game system, skirmishers in Dux Bellorum are particularly weak which some have called into question, Dan Mersey does say that this is deliberate as in this particular period and area skirmishers were the weak, young and old, so he didn't want them to be used as a skirmish screen, just hang around the edge and kick the enemy when it was down, survival being a  really good achievement!
In other news I've been working on gaming boards in my shed  and not really painting figures.

I now  have 2 6' x 4' boards, which I decided I didn't like just being green,although I did base out the new board in the same green masonry paint that I based the first one with. I wanted an arid finish, more like the basing on my Italian wars figures and actually quite a lot like the meads currently look,which is a bit of common ground near me where the New Model Army used to camp, so good for ECW too!
I went over both boards with the paint I use on my figure bases in a squigly pattern, then I  mixed up a wash and  stuck on some blended turf, I usually use woodland scenic but I added some Jarvis stuff that I had knocking around, I figure it's close enough for a base board, I've got to touch up the grid on the original board and add one to the new one.
What I also did was build 4 new trestles which now are a little higher to match my workbench which means my boards can but up against the bench and I  can incorporate it as a further 2' wide playing area,  it's also a better height for my aging back.
 In the picture is an old flush door ( painted grey) that I have kept to use as a workbench in the garden, which if used on top of my original trestles gives me a further 6' x  2' of space and happen to be the right height!
I can cover the bench or the other board with an OD blanket that my dad brought back from the Normandy beaches in 1944 and now lives in my shed,which I'm sure I've mentioned before.
I could do with getting another bit of material, although that would mean I would have           6' x  12' of playing area, I guess I'd better get back to painting figures to fill it up!
Oh and there is a  small Italian wars French force trying out the board, I think it works alright as arid land?

All the best Iain

Great Italian wars 41 another command stand

Here we have another Italian wars command stand.  This was the stand that was going to have last weeks spare monk on it but I figured two more command stands with monks was overkill! Instead we have a  warlord plastic standard bearer with Perry arms and head (once more donated by Norm,thanks Norm!) plus warlords younger Maximilian, which I have been informed by Oli (from his Comisado blog ) that it's a bit of a fantasy figure, based on a  posthumous portrait from over a century later  and his costume doesn't look like early 16th century to be honest.  So I decided to use him as a non specific prince and have furnished him with an advisor, Cesare  Borgia had Leonardo, Michelangelo styled himself as a military engineer at this time and this chap is extolling airborne assault a little ahead of his time! He started life as a warhammer/talisman plastic wizard but I saw him painted up on Robbie's Aut Caesar, aut nihil blog on wargaming the Borgias, an excellent blog for renaissance wargaming ,he has replaced the monk.

 The flag is really a medieval Sienne's flag but it will do until I can dig out something better once I have a printer!
Next up probably some Dux Bellorum types, I know predictable, although I think I could do with a parade of all my Italian wars figures ,everybody likes a parade?

All the best Iain

Great Italian wars 40 a Papal command stand and a pair of unnecessary guns

Here's a Papal command stand that I was trying to get done for a game of To the strongest with my daughter.  Too late but it was a fun game and she wants a rematch as I beat her but only just!
The landsknecht officer is Foundry as is the brother although he is from the conquistadors range.  The body of the standard bearer was part of a warlord plastics landsknecht sprue that Norm ( from Battlefields and Warriors blog) kindly donated to me ,his head is from the Perry plastic mercenaries box,his arms from the WOTR men at arms box the flag is of course from the excellent Pete's flags and I have as is clearly traditional painted the edges, it really helps!
The unnecessary guns are both from Foundry and the crew are from Old Glory. I say unnecessary as I have (as illustrated below) over invested in artillery pieces for this period and have over 3'0" of these. These are for the early period so at least I can use them for the WOTR,  I still have crew and guns for 3 more guns but I was thinking of building 3  or 4 of the war carts for Ravenna. At least I can now use them in siege warfare!
Anyway in addition is another brother who was going to go on another command stand but I figured that was overkill so he's the start of a Monks stand for Dux Bellorum.

 Oh and as nothing exists unless we have a image of it (thinking of you Jonathan!),here is some shots of the game, no AAR as I was too busy remembering the rules!

The last picture shows the command stand that has been replaced!

All the best Iain 

Early Imperial Roman 3 Resurrection Romans and some Newline Romans

More geriatric lead being reused. Here we have a unit of (mostly)Citadel Roman Legionarys bought at Games Day 1980 (a games day organised by Games Workshop but mostly other peoples games!) and painted in enamels that year.  The start of an army that never happened as I lacked opponents and couldn't work out WRG ancients on my own!
I've added a little lighter skin tone to some of them but otherwise they are as finished last century, the same is true of the three minifigs that make up their numbers in this unit, unlike the previous elderly pagans  who at least got a fair bit of D&D gaming in the 1970s, these chaps were painted and have sat waiting for the call for 40 years!
I have had to paint their shields, that's about it.
They've been based on 120mm wide mdf bases for  TtS!
Next up is a unit of Newline legionarys that came primed in white. I've gone for undyed tunics and I've invented a shield design that is close enough and good enough!

Side by side the late 20th century 25mm figures work pretty well with their 28mm  21st  century comrades, I think?

Next up, more Roman's? More troops for Dux Bellorum? Or maybe something more recent? I'm not sure to be honest!

All the best Iain 

All the best Iain