A command stand and some bits and bobs! Great Italian wars 52

 This command stand was started during the Analogue Hobbies painting challenge but I've only just finished it . It depicts Caterina Sforza,  a member of the Sforza family who ruled Milan  born 1463 and died 1509. She was the ruler of Imola and Forli with her first husband  and after his death as regent for her son , not considered a role for a woman at the time, nevertheless she did so.She seized the castle saint Angelo in Rome whilst secen months pregnant during a papal election and  held the fortress of Ravaldino after the murder of her husband, where ,in response to threats against her children she is said to have raised her skirts and told her children's captors to go ahead and hang them, she had the means of making more! Not sure it's actually true as Machiavelli is the source and he'd also had a run in with her, capable of extreme brutality, hunting down both her lover's killer's and their pregnant wives , children and infants , extreme even by the standards of the day. She campaigned against the Venetians, gaining the nickname the Tiger of Forli and defended Ravaldino against the French army supporting Caesera Borgia who was carving out a kingdom in the Romagna, ultimately she had to surrender to the French , sword in hand and after a period imprisoned in Rome's Castle Saint Angelo she finished ip in Florence where her third husband (a Medici) had been from. The Caterina figure is from Bad Squiddo, the hair's a bit of a lump and I don't think the armour is elegant enough for a renaissance princess, it's more ammunition quality I feel? I've painted her in blue and white as I found some references for that. The banner bearer is a Perry plastic from the 15th century  mercenaries box and is about right for period, the landsknecht is somewhat anachronistic but I wanted someone who looked like a guard and he fitted the bill, he's also a lovely Foundry figure. The banner is Sforza Milan so also not entirely accurate but close enough I think! 

Hosted some bolt action games from the market garden supplement, a bit more gamey than Steve Js rather more realistic campaign on his http://wargameswithtoysoldier1685-1985.blogspot.com/ still entertaining, I  just supplied the terrain and following a leaf out of Norms book i used partially completed buildings! 

The scenario called for buildings along both sides of the road lengthways on a 6' x 4' board and while I could have used medieval and Italian wars buildings I thought it wouldn't look great and it didn't take long to knock up ten foamboard ruins on hardboard bases, they're loosely based on the mdf terrace/ row houses I inherited from Des which are elsewhere on the table, we did find with those that because they were so small they were difficult to access so I've gone for something more like a house and a half with a bit more space within the  ruin and I've planned them as pairs so that two would give you the equivalent of three buildings, although they work fine on their own. I don't think they look too bad in black, the plan is to gradually add sills, floorboards some brickwork, render, roof framing and tiles as the campaign goes on, they might be finished by the end but I rather doubt it. The other reason for these is my niece has expressed an interest in some sort of miniature game D&D was mentioned which I no longer have but I do have frostgrave and probably the figures to go with it and you need a lot of ruins for that game, also Mordheim is very popular at the club so I hope to get some use out of them, a couple of them together would probably be not far off what a built up area in 1813 should look like for Valour and Fortitude/Blackpowder if I wanted to be realistic? Food for thought anyway, lot's of other stuff nearing completion! Partizan  coming up next weekend and I'm aiming on going, hope to see some of you there?

All the best 

Iain