Garish Gauls... and Worlds of Wizardry!

I had some leftover Gauls from my last pack of Old Glory figures, so I decided to finish them off.

With many Warbands now being'Deep" units in To the Strongest!, these extra troops should come in handy.

A bit heavy on the Command figures, but that meant less shield patterns to paint!

Flowing cloaks are always fun to paint and shade. Maybe if I am ambitions, I will go back and add checks, etc to them!

Tremble at the fury of our charge, ye Roman Dogs!

    Just a week ago, we returned from a short vacation in Orlando, FL, visiting Universal Studios. We had a great time there staying at the convenient and excellent (if pricey) Royal Pacifica hotel on site. We arrived on Wednesday in the early afternoon, and left Saturday morning. We had a super time there. I would heartily recommend visiting Universal in late September; the crowds were small, the waits for attractions minimal, and the weather was hot but tolerable. Our last visit there was roughly 15 years ago, so a lot had been added in the interim. We were especially interested in the Harry Potter themed portions of the park, although many of the other newer attractions were outstanding, including the new Minions attraction, Revenge of the Mummy, and (surprisingly), "Jimmy Fallon Live". We enjoyed getting thoroughly soaked on the two main water rides... after we were already drenched by a Florida deluge/thunderstorm!

Track 9 3/4, reached  via a disguised breech in the walls of the station...

The Hogwarts express, ready to depart from London to Hogsmeade... and Hogwarts!

Entryway to Hogsmeade, after exiting the station there. 

An impending Florida afternoon thunderstorm lent a suitably eerie look to the late September sky.

View of Hogwarts Castle in the distance... home to spectacular and immersive ride in and  through the skies around the famous school of Wizarding!



A trio of muggles. While it looks like winter with the "snow" on the buildings and the grey skies, it was of course 90 degrees F outside!

"Wands by Gregorovich"; the interactive wands have cool effects in certain location in both Hogsmeade (Islands of Adventure park)  and Diagon Alley (in Universal Studios proper). The Hogwarts Express connects the two.



The entrance to the amazing "Escape from Gringott's"attraction. The flame projects even further than shown here, and the heat is easily felt in the alley below!



For those partying late, you can always try to catch a ride on the Knight Bus!

2nd Quarter 2018 Statistics

Well almost 3 months later, here are the stats for the 2nd Quarter of 2018!


Expenses:

April 2018
Brigade Games $61.70 (remainder of the Spanish Cavalry figures, French Intelligence officer).

May 2018
Front Rank $102 (Nassau Infantry regiment,, Spanish, French, and Bavarian officers). Lodestone Kickstarter (buildings) $280.

June 2018
Staples 58.83 (Really Useful Boxes w/ $25 off coupon).

2nd Quarter Totals:  $502.53  Still well over budget, although the KS was the big (and unanticipated) item this quarter, and I think that will be a good investment for the long haul. And here we have Lodestone appearing, a word that became famous last month in the search for the "highly placed official in the Trump administration" who authored the anonymous NY Times editorial!

Painting:

April 2018
20 Spanish Cavalry, (8 Hussars, 6 each Garrochistas and 2 Line Cavalry Regiments) - 200 pts
18 Spanish Infantry (Regiment del Rey) - 90 pts
2 mounted Spanish Officers 20 pts

May 2018
36 Spanish Militia - 180 pts
24 Spanish Guerrillas - `120 pts

June 2014
6 Spanish Cavalry (completing Garrochistas and the 2 Line Cavalry regiments) 60 pts
3 Spanish mounted officers, 6 foot figures/command and 1 dog(!) - 62 pts
6 pontooniers - 30 pts
1 Foot and 1 Mounted French Intelligence officer - 15 pts
18 Spanish Light Infantry, 1805 uniform - 90 pts
18 Gordon Highlanders - 90 pts (Highlanders should count double, shouldn't they?!)

2nd Quarter: 957 points, all Napoleonic, and almost all Spanish, as expected. Painting will doubtless slack off a lot in the 3rd quarter, as usual!

Fresh off the Vine(yards)

Having some decent looking Vineyard terrain that was also practical for the wargamnes table has been one of my terrain objectives for some time. My freind Michael, aka Wargamer Rabbit, has a great tutorial on how he made his. I had been meaning to give his method a try, but.... it had yet to happen!

As some readers might recall, I saw this rather nifty item in the Flea Market at Historicon; $10 for a bag of 10 pairs of shrubs/grapevines... or 3 bags for $20!  So I bought three, thinking they would be pretty easy to turn into vineyard terrain. 

I get to work on them last week. I decided to use some of the many Litko 60 x 20 mm MDF bases that I had on hand. 2 clumps of two fit very well onto each of these bases, which I first painted dark brown. 

Taking WR's advice, I painted the edges and underside of the bases dark brown as well, to avoid the distraction of unpainted MDF seen on overturned sections. There was enough of these shrubs/vines in the three packs to make 15 sections, or about 30+ inches of terrain. 

I then applied white glue and fine "earth" flock to the bases. Here's the finished product on a light green terrain cloth. 

A view down the rows. Note the colored flock (actually lilac colored, rather than pink), sort of suggesting grapes. 

Top down view of the rows of vines. 

Here's a picture on my usual grey background (which is the cover for our outdoor hot tub!). I find this background, and diffused natural light on a cloudy day, gives much more accurate colors

In vino veritas!

6th Anniversary Give-Away at The Palouse Wargaming Journal

My freind and fellow blogger Jonathan, is celebrating the 6th anniversary of his blog Yep, "Crazy Jon" is at it again, and giving away free (wargames) gift cards. Free stuff!  How cool is that? :-)

I imagine many of you already follow Jon's excellent blog, but if not, why not check it out, follow it, and toss your hat into the ring for the drawing? For those of you who do, well, don't be a party - pooper, and pile on!


Here's the link to the Giveaway post.

And so, it has come to the Triarii!

I just finished off this group of Triarii. No great accomplishment; they were about 90% done before I left for Historicon

 I actually brought them with me, planning on doing the couple of hours work to complete them while I was there... but it never happened... I was having too much fun to spend time modeling!

  I had brought proxy troops for them anyway, so they weren't strictly needed. These are 28 mm Old Glory figures. 

 The Triarii (singlular, Triarius) were of course the old veterans of the Legion, and during the Punic Wars, were equipped with long spears instead of the pila. They formed the "last reserve" of the Legion. 

Thus the Latin saying, res ad triarios rediit, "it has come down to the Triarii". meaning that the situation is so desperate thatit is down to the last line of defense.

Spanish Napoleonic Army Review... and facing tables for Line Infantry, 1808.

The entire 1808 Spanish army deploys for review!

In total the Army has 10 Line Infantry units, 4 Militia infantry units, 3 Light Infantry units, 2 Grenadier units, and 24 Guerrillas, totaling 390 figures.

The cavalry arm has 2 units of Heavy Cavalry (Cavaleria de la Linea), 2 units of Dragoons, and one each of Hussars and Garrochista lancers, for a total of 48 figures.

The artillery arm has four batteries, one of them 12 pounders, and 6 stands of 1 figure representing engineers, sappers, pontooniers, etc, for a total of 32 figures and 8 guns. 

Senior command includes 12 one figure generals, and 3 three figure stands, for a total of 21 figures. 

Grand total for the army is thus 491 figures and 8 guns, all painted between September 2017 and June 2018.

Right flank of the formation, with the Garrochistas leading, and Guerrillas trailing. All of the cavalry here are the superb Brigade Games figures, sculpted by Paul Hicks. 

The light blue faced Almansa Dragoons, and the "red faced" Del Rey Cavalry provide the punch (if that can be said of any Spanish cavalry!)

Motley Crew #1 of Guerillas, with their leader, Don Julio Sanchez. 

The right center has a unit of Cazadores (light infantry; Cazadore means hunter, just like Chasseur and Jager)  in their earlier uniforms in the lead. 

The green faced Militia Honrada de Coruna stays safely to the rear! Perhaps the imbibed a bit too much rioja last night? Eagle figures were used for these. 

The line infantry core is composed of 4 units using Three Armies figures - The regiment Del Rey in the 1802 uniforms (medium blue coats faced black), the Voluntarios de Castilla (crimson facings), the Swiss Redding, Jr  with dark blue coats faced scarlet, and the Irish Irlanda regiment, wearing light blue coats faced yellow. Uniform designs by Godoy. Admire them as they strut down the runway!  :-)

In the center are the three Artillery batteries, all Brigade games figures, and support /technical troops.

In support behind the guns are a uinit of Cazadores, the Ordones Militares line (dark blue facings), the Sevilla line (black facings), and the combined Grenadier corps (Granaderos). Brigade games figues, except the Grenadiers, which are a mix of Front Rank and Three Armies. 

Supporting from the rear are two units of Brigade Games militia - the yellow faced Voluntarios de Navarra, and the light blue faced Voluntarios de Madrid. 

In the left center we fing a unit of light infantry in the more "modern" 1805 uniforms, dark blue coats with yellow facings in this case. These are Eagle figures. 

The four line infantry regiments, composed of Miniaturas Dos de Mayo figures, are the Reina (violet facings), Burgos (green facings), Valencia (light blue facings), and Guadalajara (scarlet facings) regiments. Bringing up the rear is the Militia Honorada de Lorca (red facings, Eagle figures). 

Stationed on the Left is the remainder of the cavalry. In the lead are the infamous "Run away Marys", the beautiful Maria Louisa Hussars.

In dark blue coats buff facings and white lace is the Algarve Line cavalry.

The Numancia Dragoons are a blaze of color with their striking yellow uniforms and black facings. 

Finally there is the cloud of Motley Crew #2; more Guerillas. Both such are a mixture of Brigade Games and Eagle figures. The vast majority of the flags are by Adolfo Ramos, with a few additional standards printed out from the Warflag site. 

This army is now essentially complete. Were there to be a reason to do so (? the battle of Ocana), the most I could see adding to them would be 2 more line (or "footguard") units, 2 more stands of grenadiers, and 2 more militia (? Perry figures), plus a unit of Cazadores a Caballo when somebody makes them in 28 mm. 

When I was busy painting all of these troops, I didn't have time to present the facing colors of the bulk of the Line infantry. That omission is hereby remedied! As regular readers may recall, each of the units in the army has a post devoted specifically to them as well,.  

Facing Colors for the Spanish Line Infantry 1805 - 1811 (or whenever the uniforms wore out, etc) 

Note that although all three sources assign the same facing colors to the same regiments, there are minor differences in the details.Where in doubt, I'd bet on Bueno's v errsion All the regiments had white turnbacks piped in the facing color, and shoulder straps in the facing color piped in white. White items (collars, cuffs, or lapels) were also piped in the facing color, while facing colored items were always piped in white. 

Facing illustration from Jose Maria Bueno, "El l Ejercito y la Armada en 1808"

(The Army and the Navy in 1808). 

Spanish Regimental Distinctions, 1805

(per Rene Chartrand’s Osprey)

(The Spanish regiments were not actually numbered, but I believe these correspond to the Bueno diagrams above). They follow the order in which the regiments were raised. Several trace their origins back to the famous Tercios of the 1500's.

Rgt #	Name	Cuffs	Lapels	Collar	Buttons
1	Rey	Violet	Violet	Violet	Brass
2	Reina	Violet	Violet	Violet	Pewter
3	Principe	Violet	Violet	White	Brass
4	Saboya	Black	Black	Black	Brass
5	Corona	Violet	Violet	Violet	Pewter
6	Africa	Black	Black	White	Brass
7	Zamora	Black	Black	White	Pewter
8	Soria	Violet	Violet	White	Pewter
9	Cordoba	Scarlet	Scarlet	Scarlet	Brass
10	Guadalajara	Scarlet	Scarlet	Scarlet	Pewter
11	Sevilla	Scarlet	Black	Black	Brass
12	Granada	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	Brass
13	Valencia	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	Pewter
14	Zaragoza	Green	Green	Green	Brass
15	Espana	Green	Green	Green	Pewter
16	Toledo	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	White	Brass
17	Mallorca	Scarlet	Scarlet	White	Brass
18	Burgos	Green	Green	White	Brass
19	Murcia	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	White	Pewter
20	Leon	Scarlet	Scarlet	White	Pewter
21	Cantabria	White	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	Pewter
22	Asturias	Green	Green	White	Pewter
23	Fijo de Cueta	Green	White	Green	Pewter
24	Navarra	Blue	Blue	Blue	Brass
25	Aragon	White	Scarlet	Scarlet	Pewter
26	America	Blue	Blue	Blue	Pewter
27	Princesa	White	Violet	Violet	Pewter
28	Extremadura	Crimson	Crimson	Crimson	Brass
29	Malaga	Blue	Blue	White	Brass
30	Jaen	Blue	Blue	White	Pewter
31	Ordonnes Militares	White	Blue	Blue	Pewter
32	Voluntarios de Castilla	Crimson	Crimson	Crimson	Pewter
33	Voluntarios del Estado	Crimson	Crimson	White	Brass
34	Voluntarios de la Corona	Crimson	Crimson	White	Pewter
35	Borbon	White	Crimson	Crimson	Pewter

Spanish Regimental Distinctions, 1805

(per Funken) - the most logical presentation!

Name	Cuffs	Lapels	Collar	Buttons
Rey	Violet	Violet	Violet	Brass
Reina	Violet	Violet	Violet	Pewter
Principe	Violet	Violet	White	Brass
Soria	Violet	Violet	White	Pewter
Princesa	Violet	White	Violet	Pewter
Saboya (Savoy)	Black	Black	Black	Brass
Corona	Black	Black	Black	Pewter
Africa	Black	Black	White	Brass
Zamora	Black	Black	White	Pewter
Sevilla	Black	White	Black	Brass
Cordoba	Scarlet	Scarlet	Scarlet	Brass
Guadalajara	Scarlet	Scarlet	Scarlet	Pewter
Mallorca	Scarlet	Scarlet	White	Brass
Leon	Scarlet	Scarlet	White	Pewter
Aragon	Scarlet	White	Scarlet	Pewter
Granada	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	Brass
Valencia	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	Pewter
Toledo	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	White	Brass
Murcia	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	White	Pewter
Cantabria	Sky Blue	White	Sky Blue	Pewter
Zaragoza	Green	Green	Green	Brass
Espana	Green	Green	Green	Pewter
Burgos	Green	Green	White	Brass
Asturias	Green	Green	White	Pewter
Fijo de Cueta	Green	White	Green	Pewter
Navarra	Blue	Blue	Blue	Brass
America	Blue	Blue	Blue	Pewter
Malaga	Blue	Blue	White	Brass
Jaen	Blue	Blue	White	Pewter
Ordonnes Militares	Blue	White	Blue	Pewter
Extremadura	Crimson	Crimson	Crimson	Brass
Voluntarios de Castilla	Crimson	Crimson	Crimson	Pewter
Voluntarios del Estado	Crimson	Crimson	White	Brass
Voluntarios de la Corona	Crimson	Crimson	White	Pewter
Borbon	Crimson	White	Crimson	Pewter

Swiss Regiments, 1805 (as posted previously)

Regiment	Cuffs/Turnbacks	Lapels	Collar	Buttons
Wimpfen	Scarlet	Scarlet	Scarlet	Pewter
Reding Senior	Scarlet	Scarlet	Scarlet	Pewter
Reding Junior	Scarlet	Scarlet	Scarlet	Pewter
Betschart	Scarlet	Scarlet	Scarlet	Pewter
Traxler	Scarlet	Scarlet	Scarlet	Pewter
Preux	Scarlet	Scarlet	Dark Blue	Pewter

Irish/Foreign Regiments, 1805: (as posted previously)

#	Regiment	Cuffs/turnbacks	Lapels	Collar	Buttons
36	Irlanda	Light Yellow	Light Yellow	Light Yellow	Brass
37	Hibernia	Light Yellow	Light Yellow	Sky Blue	Pewter
38	Ultona	Light Yellow	Sky Blue	Light Yellow	Brass
39	Napoles	Light Yellow	Light Yellow	Light Yellow	Pewter

Ultona = Ulster,  raised in 1709, Napoles = Naples, an Italian "Foreign" regiment. 

All regiments had light yellow shoulder straps piped white as well.