End Of The Week Barely (33)

So here I am again at the end of the week. It has been interesting in terms of getting stuff done and I will sleep well tonight. In the end the planned project for the week is done. I have some shields to glue on but will wait till the bases are done before I do that.

As for the bases, these now have two textures and most have a few rocks on. I have a few things to work out for the artillery and flamethrower stands. I would be painting them now but I need the glue to dry.

This is a unit of lancers. I recognise the lances may be a bit short but I have to store them. They need shields attached but these are done.

Then I have a unit of mounted knights with knightly weapons. Just clubs with pointy bits.

Just so I can cover the bases there are a couple of mounted bodyguards. One for the commander and one for a planned mounted chaplain.

Having read the rules I wasn't sure if a mounted commander was a good idea. It seemed a good idea to have at least one. So this is it. It also means that I have two commanders with sufficient painted units to create two small forces.

Finally I have the artillery crew and flamethrower. Nice to haves but not essential. These are the only ones not based yet. So when I finish these and paint the bases I can call this project done. Which I won't be doing just yet but I am claiming it as a bingo win. 

Now I have to work out what I am going to do next week. There are some crossbowmen I want to put together. Then there are a couple of units of line infantry ready to go. Or maybe something else. I could do with a unit of hussars. Kinda want to have a unit of heavy cavalry. Not sure if I like the idea of painting more cavalry. 

Been thinking a lot about my daughter this week. Have been missing her. The place has seemed empty without her.

Hard Week Coming To An End

My time this week has all been about making things hard for myself. It's been mostly about painting cavalry minis, which is something I don't do a lot of. So for some reason I decided to paint fourteen of them in in week. For perspective, it's at least twice the numbers I have painted in the last three years and probably five years.

The burden I put upon myself, and it feels like one, is to finish, ish, an army. An army I have gone to town on (in terms of numbers at least) despite promising myself I wouldn't. I look upon painting horses as a challenge. With human minis the paint process seems easier. In general it's all the same except perhaps the hair. With horses there are multiple different colours. Each colour has the same basic profile but requires a knowledge of different patterns. If you can tell the difference between blaze and snip, and star and stripe then you know what I mean. When I paint horses I want to get the white bits in the correct place.

So there are a few details left to finish. Highlighting, some metallic area and of course the aforementioned white bits. Time I was back at the coal face during which I will take consolation from the fact that they are not actual Napoleonic minis and the fact that I intend to paint some more. At least as many again if not a few more.

Start Of The Week - Sludge Cavalry And Heavy Weapons

It is starting to feel like I need to put my money where my mouth is. My plan was for twelve cavalry and half a dozen foot, probably with a small artillery piece. When I have looked again there were fourteen mounted figures. Somehow I had forgotten about the mounted commander with a standard bearer or a couple of mounted bodyguards.

In the fairly recent past I have discussed my love / hate relationship with horses, especially the 28mm painted ones. Fourteen cavalry is a big ask for me. A lot are covered in cloth, knights are a little ostentatious for my liking. The infantry are easy enough and I have the planned shields done already.

Somewhere along the line I need to have something prepped for next week. My heart tells me to prep the next twenty four infantry. This would be eighteen crossbow equipped infantry and sux crossbow equipped jagers. 

When I started this project it was abundantly clear to me that if I ever wanted to get a game together I would need to field two forces. This involved paying for and painting them. This was, err, perhaps a little off putting. In the past I have been able to do so but I think the last time I did this was not in this millenium. I was worried that I was going to struggled to get to where I wanted to be in this regard. With the figures in the queue I should be able to get there quite easily. If anything I should be able to field two larger forces.

End of the Week (23)

Despite Google, this was another good week. The New Cruelty is pleased. 

The eighteen figures of the pikemen unit is a bit of an affectation. I am not sure if I will use them. They are here really for completeness. I guess it means that I am getting closer to being able to field two forces.

I put a little bit more effort into the two officers. Again, I am not sure if I will need them but they give me options. Something to do though.

Now for the other ranks. I have done three arcanists but wanted a sorcerer as well. This is the guy in blue. I hadn't done an army chaplain. The chaplain brings some useful glam to the army. As he is likely to be important he rates some bodyguards. These were done in the same livery. I could have just used bodyguards from the pool of what I have finished but, well, you know.

I have tried to keep, as best I can, to the idea that weapons and colours define the mini. It just makes it easier if bodyguards have axes, infantry where green and if you are clerically orientated you are rocking purple. So officers carry swords and knights use maces (the closest thing I could come up with to knightly weapons).

Then the pikemen need shields. Don't start. The arms were designed for shields and looks odd without them. So maybe they are spear rather than pike. I am trying to get ahead so I need some shields for the lancers. Don't start. It's my army and I want what I want and again the arms are designed for shields. Then I need some for random officers, knights and bodyguards. They look too clean and too French.

Next week is also looking good. Time is on my side so I might push the numbers a bit. As a form.of motivation I put up a weekly plan. I was thinking that I might be starting to burn out on the Sludge front. This isn't the case. If anything the opposite is true. So it's looking like more Sludge. Whilst I have promised myself that I can buy some more minis, I am also kinda doing a deal with myself (although it seems like the devil) not to buy any more minis untill I finish what I got in February. 

I was planning on doing the same numbers again but adding in my flamethrower team. Whilst most of the Sludge stuff is technically a conversion, this is a bit more chop and change. Looking at what is prepped, it's going to be cavalry. I have six lancers, four mounted knights and a mounted commander with standard bearer. So that sounds like twenty six minis.

Carry On Regardless

I am still struggling through. I am finding not being able to watch TV in my usual way is somewhat off putting. Eventually I managed to sit down but it is oddly affecting my flow.  I am also used to falling asleep as  I watch YouTube. I would not have thought the absence of Google would have affected my life as much as I did. This should probably worry me.

Progress is not as fast as I would have liked but it is happening. I should get some more done tomorrow and I have Sunday late afternoon and evening to finish off. S I am pretty confident that I will finish by close of play n Sunday. Assuming I don't get sidetracked into my fourth playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077.

This is my thirtieth post for 2025 putting me at about the same number as I have managed in the last three years. It does feel a little like Blogger is dying and that I am falling in love with something that is past its prime again. A bit like most of my relationships and everything I am painting for Sludge. The story of my life.  

Fecking Chromecast

A good chunk of my house and life is tied up with the internet. Its how I listen to music, watch TV, not to mention this blog. Over time I have become welded to Google. This was not something I wanted t do. If anything it is something I raged against for some time. Bit by bit I have been drawn in. Now my lifestyle depends, to some degree to Google.

When I paint, or do design stuff, write, as well as just surfing the net, Google is at the heart of it. The room in which I paint has a TV which, through the magic of Google, I can watch TV and YouTube through a Chromecast. But not today. Or yesterday and probably not tomorrow. The wise ones online tell me they have deliberately bricked it. It was just a mistake, A worldwide mistake. In and of itself it doesn't matter that much. What it tells me is that this could have been something else. I am not talking Y2K, This is something that demonstrates that random stuff by one of the biggest companies in the world can just go wrong. Modern technology eh?

So I haven't done that much over the last couple of days. In spite of this I did manage to transfer some ink to usable bottles. I like this stuff but using in from the pot is hard work. I resent paying for the plastic bottles but I guess these were cheap.

At the weekend I went to a car boot and got some more minis, Probably not the best deal ever but I haven't spent any money on myself for since York. Some syuff for the Viking / Northmen game (Normans count right?) and some stuff that is prebuilt, half painted and perfect for Sludge. The Normans are for another time but the rest of it, about twenty minis will get done pretty quickly. I have yet to make my mind up if this counts as a purchase as I don't usually include anything that is second hand and brought for well below market price.

The real highpoint of the day was seeing my daughter. It's odd but everything seems to revolve around her. She makes me smile. 

The End Of The Week (23) - Just For Funsies

A good week on the hobby front. The New Cruelty is happy. I had some fun and got to see my daughter three times. There was a nasty note to end the end the week though.

I am still ahead of the game. Three small units for Sludge and some bodyguards. I got some stuff primed and prepped for the week ahead. All in all I can't complain. This is the army do far.

Whilst I can argue that this is it, I am short on cavalry. That I probably don't need. I have been thinking about this for three years now. In my head I should probably go all in.

I have another three full units plan and some light infantry. If I push it, there is lots to do. Let's face it, it's not like I am going to run out of figures. Just in the loose stuff I have figures for probably three armies.

My plan calls for me to start and finish a full unit of pikes next week. There are some other bits and pieces I plan to finish. I am going to look back at this process and think I enjoyed it. This is not my best work ever. But you don't have to use everything as an opportunity for development. This is just for funsies.