Fred’s 2023 Painting and Gaming Diary

[fred.]

Here we are again - time to start another painting diary thread to welcome in the New Year. Another attempt to document what I do gaming wise over the year. I have come to realise that doing updates manually leads to a lot of gaps - this has very much been brought home by sites like Strava that very much automate the logging of my cycling activity.

I think painting diary updates are often stalled by needing to take and upload photos - so perhaps I will aim to put in some more text based updates, which may be less interesting to the audience, but will at least let me know what I have done by the end of the year. And practically the workflow for adding photos is pretty streamlined - if the Imgur step could be lost that would be a bonus - but its hardly onerous.

Another new feature for this year will be to keep a running total of what I have painted - as I really have no idea what volume of figures I paint in a year - it must run to 100s as most are 10mm, but beyond that its a wild guess!

Some painting!

ECW and Empire

The GW Empire figures are a bit of a carry-over from last year, but got varnished this year, and will get based this year. The ECW regiment has been undercoated for months, so was a good one to get finished to clear some space in my ready shelves.  These may be mis-named as they seem to have become holding shelves...

The ECW figures are a mix of Pendraken pike and I think Old Glory Shotte. Need to crack on with basing these as they may be needed for a game on Friday evening.

[fred.]

World War I

From my ruminating and reflections on last year, I'm feeling that more WWI painting would be good. I've already got 3 decent sized forces painted, 1914 French, and 1916+ British and Germans, although all 3 still have a fair amount of unpainted stuff. My smallest painted force is 1914/5 British but I do have a good amount of figures on hand for this force.

Gaming wise my oppo has 1914/5 Germans and 1916+ French so we are in a good place between us army wise.

1914 French Force

I think this is still my largest WWI force, but the two late war ones are catching up!



The figures were initially collected for GWSH (Great War Spearhead) so I think of them as company bases, in battalions and regiments, comprising a division. But they have mainly be used for If the Lord Spares Us (ITLSU) which is a step down so bases are platoons, in companies and battalions, comprising a regiment.



3 x Infantry Regiments, each of 12 infantry stands, 3 MGs and HQ (16 stands with 44 figures each 132 in total)
1 x Trailleurs Senegalese regiment as above (44 figures)
1 x Engineer stand (3 figures)
6 x command stands (14 figures)
10 x casualty markers (10 figures)

9 x Mounted Dragoons (18 cavalry)
5 x Dismounted Dragoons (14 figures)

7 x 75mm guns (30mm bases) (7 guns 16 figures)
2 x 75mm guns (50mm bases) (2 guns, 2 vehicles 11 figures)
3 x 155mm guns (3 guns 9 figures)
3 x HQ / FO (5 figures)
1 x Limber and team (6 cavalry, 2 figures, 1 gun, 1 vehicle)

Total
Stands - 111

Figures - 248
Cavalry - 24
Guns - 13
Vehicles - 3


There isn't too much unpainted



A part painted 75mm limber and team - this is going on to the paint next pile as I think just 4 horses need painting to finish this. There is also a second limber to add to a deployed gun.

Then there is an Infantry regiment - c45 figures. Two Chasseur battalions c25 figs. Another 75mm limber and team, and around 8 mounted dragoons.

[fred.]

1914/5 British

This is very much a starter army still! With just 5 battalions in GWSH terms, with a mix of standard khaki clad infantry, and Royal Naval Division troops. 



Much easier to enumerate
BEF - 8 infantry (24 figs), 3 MGs (6 figs), 1 Command (2 figs) , and 1 Engineer (3 figs)
RND - 12 infantry (36 figs), 1 command (2 figs)

3 x 18 pdr (3 guns, 6 figures)

Total

Stands 28

Figures - 79 
Cavalry - 0
Guns - 3
Vehicles - 0


There is a fairly big lead pile to be going on with and the first ones to be picked up are some cavalry and some Scots infantry.



Although I have now realised that I am short on Scots infantry, as while 2 battalions would work fine for GWSH, 2 companies is a bit light for ITLSU.

[pierre the shy]

1914/5 British

This is very much a starter army still! With just 5 battalions in GWSH terms

There is a fairly big lead pile to be going on with and the first ones to be picked up are some cavalry and some Scots infantry.

Although I have now realised that I am short on Scots infantry, as while 2 battalions would work fine for GWSH, 2 companies is a bit light for ITLS.

Looking really nice Fred 

You're pushing my resolve posting these ITLSU armies...Looking for an old ITLSU battle report for a reply I did a little while ago I came across a reply from Leman from 2014 about suitable Pendraken "substitute" figures for depicting the Belgian army in their "pre Yser" uniforms since I have lots of German Cavalry already and always wanted to do a refight of Haelen.......even got the book "Battle of the Golden Helmets" last time I was in Foyles in London!

German Cavalry and Jagers - tick
10mm Belgian MG Dog cart models - tick
Spreadsheet of Pendraken figures need to depict Belgian Cavalry Division and 4th Combined Infantry Brigade in ITLSU terms - tick   

My resolve to treat 2023 as a year of only competing existing stuff has lasted 3 days, but not sure it will get to 4! 

 

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Nice Forbes!

[fred.]

Thanks both 


Pierre - I think if you already have 2/3rds of the figures for a Halen project, there is only one sensible outcome? Either way if you can share the list of proxies that would be cool, Belgians are lurking on the 'maybe purchase' list, I suspect they are behind Russians, which makes them very unlikely for me.

[paulr]

     

Do I detect an answer to my "what am I going to paint this year" question

[Ithoriel]

Good looking stuff, fred.

As to the Russians and Belgians, I've always been more drawn to The Masurian Lakes and Tannenberg than to The Marne or The Somme. Looking forward to maybe seeing some Russians. Though that may be more temptation than I should be exposed to.

[fsn]

Indeed. I've always thought if I did WWI it would be August 1914 (with lots of pretty uniforms) or late 1918 with tanks and cavalry having broken "through mud and blood to the green fields beyound". I've also a hankering for the Austrians, so the Battle of Lemberg?




Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! No more projects! No more projects! NO mOre prOjEcTs!

[fred.]

We've played a lot of 1914 games - very sweeping with colourful uniforms (especially the French) - then you get a bit too close and artillery starts blowing holes in units, get closer and the MGs (not too many at this time but enough) start chipping away, and then when you get too close it is a barrage of close range rifle fire and lots and lots of casualties. 

Cavalry have lots of mobility so can exploit into gaps - then find themselves under sustained fire, and die rather rapidly. It is a brutal period of war fare.

We've played less late war stuff - probably 1917 trench battles if they were to be characterised, these have proved hard to get force ratios right. But even with fairly few defenders its a slog for the attackers. 

Strangely although we have mainly used the ITLSU rules we haven't gone to the Middle East in our games! We have discussed it, but not committed to any purchases yet.

[fred.]

First finished figures of the year!

Slight cheat as some were started at the very end of last year. But it's the finishing that counts. They probably need a matt spray and flags - but the painting is done, and that is the marker I'm using.



At the back some GW Handgunners and crossbows to round out existing units to 3s.

At the front an ECW foot battalia- pikes and command are Pendraken shote are Old Glory.

Painted totals for 2023: Foot 61 : Cavalry 0 : Guns 0 : Vehicles 0

[Leon]

Excellent, that's a quick start!

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Nice Fred,
Just ahead on 166 foot, nothing else! 

[paulr]

    

[fred.]

Thanks all - good to get a few bases done early on!

Just ahead on 166 foot, nothing else! 

Remember its fsn you need to worry about not me!