Sunday, 16 June 2024

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!)

14 comments:

  1. Lovely new toys Neil…
    There is something very attractive about a box full of shiny flats…

    All the best. Aly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Looks and feels very similar to the mid 70s buying Hinchcliffe figures and opening the boxes.


      Willz.

      Delete
  2. Thanks Aly. It is akin to a Christmas morning unpacking them!
    Especially when all you have seen are the line drawings.....although most match the drawings exactly, unlike some modern 3D figure manufacturers..
    Neil

    ReplyDelete
  3. Superb additions to your collection. I must admit the old school feel of how they are ordered and the boxes they come in just adds to the whole thing, great project!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Donnie. It did feel a bit like ordering figures from Hinchliffe or Peter Laing with them arriving in little boxes. The hard bit is when you have unpacked them, it's almost impossible to get them back in the same way! It takes a few Tetris attempts to repack in the same box.
    Neil

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  5. You are a temptress sir, it takes all my will power not to start this period of gaming Niel😀.

    Willz.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Willz,
      Flats are more addictive and tempting than Spencer Smiths!
      It was blurry views of Alex's Gendarmes that took me down this road.....
      Neil

      Delete
  6. lol, almost all posts are PBJ posts. It's a staple!
    nice collection of incoming supplies you got there. Should be enough to keep you occupied and off the streets and out of trouble. 😁

    ReplyDelete
  7. Stew,
    It will take more than this to keep me out of trouble!
    In the UK it's Jam not Jelly (that's something else in the UK) but still PB&J......☺
    Neil

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  8. You are amassing a sizable and very shiny collection. The flats look neat even without paint.

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  9. Thanks Jonathan. The detail really comes out with primer. The Contrast paints work really well as they don't kill that detail. Unless you are a really good painter, it's difficult to make layering techniques work. I've seen a few flats where the painter has applied a thick flat one colour coat and there's no visible detail.
    Neil

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  10. Classic model soldiers, Neil!

    ReplyDelete

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