This week I have mostly been......painting Spencer Smiths

As I thought I'd been neglecting my existing projects, I decided to tackle the half-finished army of Banst...

It was a bit of a change to swap to normal acrylics on a black undercoat after all the flats using Contrast paint on white...

To be honest, I'm not sure how the Contrast paints would have coped with the heat (I use a palette); as it was I had to extemporise a wet palette to cope with the paint drying too rapidly.

Quite aside from the challenges mentioned, I have to say I found it a slog to finish off the army; not sure why, but it didn't come easy. It was only when I completed the last of the infantry that I felt I was going to get them finished....

Still need to varnish, make flags and base with labels. Those jobs can be done after work next week and will hopefully keep up motivation. Still feels like there's a fair bit to do on the project.

Here is the army in their box, painted and on temporary card bases for painting:

The |Elector (top left) looks on with his son-in-law (middle) and Von Reuthen - more Fimo "Grotesques":

Infantry:

Cavalry:

Artillery:

The Elector, Erich Helmut Graufuchs, Kurfurst von Banst is an interesting character; when creating his personality, he turned out to be: War Dominant (equivalent to highest military skill), scandalous past, clumsy, elegant and a martinet.

Creating a matrix for how states view each other, it turned out he was either neutral or hostile to everyone else! In many cases, this was reciprocated! These seems to be a back story involving two Hrvatskan twin sisters, married to the rulers of Dupanen and Sinistria which may explain the scandal in the past and current hostility!

I see the army as one using innovations along the lines of Marscall du Saxe and his Legion with Neoclassical helmets....

His son-in -law is Gunter Elster Wealth high as main motivator, a well practised intriguer and unfit.

Herbert Kiefer Graf von Reuthen is Wealth (moderate), huntsman, friends in high places, elegant and a martinet...

Clearly discipline is strict in the Banst army...

A proper parade to follow when finished.

Yet more Swiss Reislaufer

Finally worked my way through the remaining Swiss.

Command (with a French flag this time).

Pike (finished)

Halberds

Zweihander

And finally for the Swiss my interpretation of Cardinal Schinner (with a stray French Gendarme).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matth%C3%A4us_Schiner

I also took delivery of the remaining "possible Hyborian Zinnfiguren in the style of Tony Bath (provenance uncertain)". I spare the reader any pictures of how they arrived bent into something resembling a creature from a  David Cronenberg film!

Unbent, still a few breakages including missing heads from elephant riders! After spending a couple of hours unbending I couldn't face getting out the super glue....

A Hyborian mystery?

One of my obsessions is Tony Bath's Hyboria campaign - from encountering it in Battle then Military Modelling magazine in the later 1970s and early 1980s.

Some of his ideas have ended up in the Soldier King project, from his Setting Up a Wargames Campaign,

Famously, Tony Bath used flats, homecast copies with units painted in the colours he designated for each of the nations. Anyway, hunting eBay, I came across some mixed lots of figures which included some of these:

I thought "they look familiar" and after a bit of searching identified where I had seen something similar:

Copyright https://classicwargaming.blogspot.com/p/hyboria-tony-baths-flats.html

It was the colours and the use of a letter on the shield.

There were also these which again were vaguely familiar...

Same figure is here with different colours....

Copyright http://www.rudi-geudens.be/html/tony_bath.htm

The figures themselves are made of very soft metal, probably lead and consequently have suffered a lot of damage from bending, paint flaking and breakages.

I cannot directly attribute them to Tony Bath, but they are almost certainly homecast, do not appear to be factory painted (I've seen examples of some of the figures in original factory colours) and if not from him are probably contemporaneous. They mimic the sort of colour schemes he used, although I have yet to find a full list of what he used for each nation, just Aquilonia, Nemedia and Turan which none of these match exactly. It looks as if there were colour combinations....

There was also this figure:

Now Donald Featherstone's Wargames Battle of Trimsos has a "Thurn" not "Tharn" regiment....

The lettering and colours look a bit like some authenticated Tony Bath figures, but I cannot be sure these are too. All I know is they came from a fleamarket or auction sale.

The figures have required un-bending and repairs and desperately need the paintwork repaired. This has left me in a quandary; do I go for conservation in case they are actually original Hyboria figures or do I repaint to a better standard? Do I keep the colours?

The idea would be to make DBA sized armies (the number of figures don't give much choice in the matter) for Hyboria. The consensus on the VWC was to repaint completely.....

They will probably go on the back burner but I'd be interested in opinions on conservation or repainting from any blog readers. Additionally if anyone has more information whether these are Tony Bath's figures or not, I'd appreciate any comments....

Postscript

Some more similar figures have turned up from internet searches:

https://wargameamateur.blogspot.com/2011/10/ancient-flats.html

http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=248078

I note the comment "the provenance is uncertain."

I am expecting the rest of the seller's figures - around 280!

Plodding Pavia Project Progress

Slow progress. Last weekend saw no painting achieved, despite having some more Zinnfiguren cleaned and primed. Instead, there was lots of mulling about colours and sorting out "the room", which doubles as an office and workroom, moving the printer where it can now be accessed (for some scanning); the downside is the paints are more difficult to get to.....

Not sure if it was a bit of painter's block or just worn out by work, or a combination of the two....

My "mulling" over colours led to a decision to incorporate some blue. I also decided to concentrate on just the pikes, take my time and enjoy painting rather than hammer away to get everything that's primed painted.....

So the results of yesterday and today.......more Swiss Reislaufer.....

Still need a little work, flesh and metal highlights, perhaps some feather work, definitely less of a chore.

Project Pavia progress....

Time for what Stew calls a "PB&J" post.....

While the focus purely on Pavia has started to blur a little, with thoughts turning to other battles such as Ravenna and the original aim of a simple Machiavelli campaign with armies to match, it has helped to maintain interest in the Italian Wars Zinnfiguren project......

More Swiss have been cleaned up.

Mostly pike, some "Zweihander" and halberds, another command stand and a couple of figures for Cardinal or Bishop Schinner, present at Marignano....

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matth%C3%A4us_Schiner

In addition, several packages have appeared......

These are some of the fruits of recruitment from German suppliers....

Kilia Landesknechts and mostly mounted commanders including a nice Louis XII

Wilken, lots of arquebusiers, some more Spanish, Gendarmes and a very nice Francis I

The always reliable, Berlin Zinnfiguren, more Landesknechts and a few Gensdarmes / commanders.

For those of a certain age, ordering is akin to the early days of wargaming, lists of figures without pictures, archaic payment methods and figures arriving packed in little boxes (often of tobacco products it seems). Some editors have entered the C21st with websites and carts, payment via PayPal etc, but others have to be ordered by email or letter, with payment by Bank Transfer. Delivery times vary enormously depending on whether stock is held or casting to order. Some do have pictures and / or line drawings, but some rely on your knowledge of the engraver and editor....

Also terrain....

Tree armatures and rubberised horsehair. 

I'm currently agonising on park walls as sources give different designs and it's looking like scratchbuilding may be required. Added to which, I'm also having doubts about Mirabello and what it looks like! 

In the end, I think I'm going to aim for what is in the various woodcuts, paintings and tapestries for an "impression" of the battle rather than 100% historical recreation (after all the Imperialist troops are not going to be wearing white shirts over their clothes!)

Another week passes.....

I'm conscious I have not posted since 1 June, but truth be told I have little new to post by way of painted figures or similar....

So, what have I been up to?

Well last weekend after getting the Swiss done, I ended up going back and fettling the flags (as well as an earlier one - adding a white cross) and touching up bits  I'd missed, I'd contemplated cleaning up some more, but was waiting for a few figures.....

They arrived last week, this weekend I have spent sorting out what has been in small boxes (mostly Spanish) to take stock, in inevitably discovering some French / Swiss lurking....

James Fischer (https://soloslowwargaming.blogspot.com/ and https://waterloo2015.blogspot.com/) reminded me I was promising more flats to come. I've sort of got bogged down on French and there has been a bit of "project creep" shall we say.....

As I have expanded the armies to allow for options as well as enough to refight battles, I have inevitably started looking at some of those battles. Stumbling across the College of Kings blog (https://www.collegeofkings.com/category/italian-wars/) I was reminded that next year is the 500th anniversary of Pavia (1525).....

I'm aware both Martyn and Ken the Yarkshire Gamer (https://yarkshiregamer.blogspot.com) are planning huge games for next year. The thought occurred, "I bet it would look good using flats...."

Thus, "Project Pavia" has entered the planning stage!

I have a lot of potential terrain in 15mm, including Italian city walls and bits collected for a Mirabello castle. Besides figures, I would need park walls and winter trees (battle was in February) and possibly fortifications (although these and the city could be omitted). Most of the figures already exist in the painting queue, although more arquebusiers are called for. And so, besides books for source material, I followed Phil Olley and shamelessly copied his bare trees using Woodland Scenics armatures and horsehair see https://philswarcabinet.blogspot.com/. Finding some big Heki tree frames means I have the woods sorted (useful for Finnish Winter War).

Up to now, I have mostly acquired Zinnfiguren via eBay; however, I took the plunge and entered the world of German Zinnfiguren editors, ordering direct. Many have web shops with carts and take PayPal, some speak English and have translation pages and show stock availability, others speak and write only German, only accept bank transfers and cast to order. Thankfully, Google translate and patience helps. Most frustrating, is few have pictures, some even lack line drawings of the figures! A lot is about knowing what you are ordering before you do! I have various orders in different stages of completion....

Looking at Pavia, the usual problem of numbers arises; what was soon apparent was I needed more Landsknechts.....

The French have 4,000 plus and the Imperial army according to some, around 12,000....

At a 1:100 ratio thats about 160 figures.......hence a quick order to the ever reliable Berlin Zinnfiguren (https://www.zinnfigur.com/) for more, plus a bath of oven cleaner for some badly painted 2nd hand figures means the French have theirs sorted.....

Whether it takes off, it is at least a good motivator, although the butterfly is thinking of WW2 (NW Europe and Western Desert)......

Wo ist all das Geld geblieben? Point d'argent, point de Suiss!

Yet more Swiss mercenaries join the ranks.....

Command stands

Halberds

Arquebus

Pike

Some grouped together

Still have a few more pike to paint.

For those puzzling the title, the German means !where has all the money gone?" The French is the motto of the Swiss - "No money, no Swiss!"