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)......