Before any concerned blog readers think I have some sort of problem with my eyes, I should clarify it's about an inability to mentally focus on producing something of note. I have not touched a paintbrush in a long time now....
Mostly it's due to two factors; depressing grey days; I really need bright daylight to even get motivated to paint; secondly, time....
The weekends go very fast. My last leave over Christmas was stymied by illness and prevented me from doing much of anything. I seem to find the weekends taken up with things I didn't have time to do during the week, so have not even forced myself into doing much except tidy up and think.
I'm conscious I should be focussing on Pavia. To that end I have been translating (with the use of a translation pen) an Italian book I picked up from eBay. I was looking for more information on the Mirabello palace and the park walls, primarily their appearance. Sadly, much is lost. The best we can hope for are the various woodcuts, paintings and tapestries of the battle.
What it has done is completely change my thinking on the battle. What I have realised is that all the modern accounts are selective, ignoring some sources at the expense of others. There is a well reasoned argument, supported by a contemporary source (from Pavia) that the entry point must have been the Duo Porte in the east, not the Porte Pescharina - the latter would have needed the Imperialists to break through TWO walls - the walls enclosing the new park and then the walls of the old park - which none of the sources mention. Often modern accounts just repeat the Pescarina gate theory without addressing the problem of the two walls - in some cases the map cuts off the new park wall altogether!
There is the possibility that the Old park wall was already breached or that the new park wall was in disrepair, but the sources are clear that the Imperialists broke into and pulled down the park walls to gain entry, which delayed them. There are also doubts about the French King's location - the Repentina may just have been a rural cottage and the Duke of Milan's Kennels pure invention....
Along with these doubts has come even more discouraging news. I had been toying with putting Pavia on as a game at a show. I had thought about Britcon, only to discover that this year due to Nottingham University not accepting external bookings, it has had to move to Leicester. Logistically this is too far for me. That leaves the Newark shows, but I'm now getting cold feet about the whole idea. I have even found myself wondering whether I shouldn't just go back to my idea of DBA sized armies or even using the 15mm I have.
The lack of producing anything has also led to considering renovating or restarting old projects rather than new; that is projects I never finished but have painted stuff for. In this mood I have found myself looking at my SYW but more particularly, French & Indian War. I have the figures, a lot of the French and Indians are done, so I have found myself buying large pine tree models from eBay....
I have struggled a bit to find a set of rules I like; before anyone suggests any I have explored many! I need a set that can cover both battle and skirmish - most F&IW rules cover the latter or require large figure to man scales. I quite liked Habitants and Highlanders, but don't like the predictable shooting. I have dug out the old WRG 1685 to 1845, but have also toyed with VnB variable scales. I suspect it may end up as a Frankenstein of several......
