Little Wars 2024, A Review....

 WARNING! VERY PIC INTENSIVE

Please be patient as the pics and site uploads. 

Please click on the pics to get a larger image.

And now...back to our regularly scheduled program....

An Overdue Update...Part 2 (Pic Intensive)

 Continuing from the first part....

So with the figures getting painted as I said in the previous post, I started alternating between figures one week, and scenics/terrain the next. This has been working out pretty well for me. 

I've also been able to do some scratchbuilding too.

Piers and hovels....

One of the things that I realized I needed for my pirate games, (besides houses on the island), were piers, wharfs, etc.

So I decided to try my hand at a little scratchbuilding.

Two buildings and two piers later, I am pretty happy with the results.

(Buildings are made out of foam core with coffee stick timbering. The roof is cardstock and will be thatched using the cheap towel method. The piers are made out of dowel rods and coffee stir sticks.)

(Both docks showing the variation...)

(A little bit larger hovel build of the same material as the previous one. A Foundry figure is for size/scale. The roof will be "thatched" using the bath towel method.)

Once I get the thatch done on these two buildings, using the bath towel method, I'll go ahead and post up pics of the completed project.

The Wharf....

My wonderful wife, (Gawd bless her!), and I were having the discussion the other day about piers, docks, wharves, etc. It all came about because of the song by the late Otis Redding "Sitting on the dock of the bay".

I looked at her and said "You know, I simply don't understand this song title, because if he was truly sitting on the dock of the bay, then he would actually be IN THE WATER!"

So my wife patiently explained to me that people use the term "dock and piers" interchangeably. 

"Or perhaps they are too stupid to understand which is which?" I asked her.

She rolled her eyes at me.

So I realized that I needed wharves for my upcoming pirate games. The piers need to have the wharves.

So it was "scratch-build time" (again). 

For this project, I used a piece of packing cardboard to make the main body of the wharf, approx 1 1/2 inches thick, E6000 adhesive, a couple of sheets of G scale dressed stone block plastic sheet, and some thick dowel rods.

(Packing cardboard from my box of "odd stuff that I might be able to use.)

(This is good stuff...)

(The plastic sheeting for the stone siding...)

(This is what the sheet siding looks like. Easy to cut, glue, and paint....)

(The main form sprayed black.)

(The final product assembled. Now all I need to do is paint it.)

(With some 28mm figures for scale/size...)

These were actually pretty easy to do and the hardest part was making sure the cuts were straight and then the holding them together with the rubber bands while the E6000 dried.

I have two more in the making....

The barn....Yes, another barn....or something....

A while back I was wandering through my local Goodwill and found yet another toy barn for sale. My Goodwill is finally getting to the point of having some cool and nice stuff coming into it that can be possibly be used for gaming.

So I saw the $1.99 price tag and grabbed it.

I decided to go with "kinda-sorta" the same method I used for the Western one that I did a while back.

But decided to go "half stone-half wood", to give it a little more variety.

(The barn as brought in from Goodwill. Notice that the doors are missing. This is usual for Goodwill playset toys. Parts are always missing, but this can be easily remedied....so I hope.)

After cleaning it up, I rand a spray of black primer over the inside and outside of it to get rid of the orange read color and to help cover up much of the maker markings on the inside.

(A black primer base, courtesy of a rattle can...)

Afterwards, I used the remaining dressed stone sheets from the wharf project onto the bottom half of the barn and then the upper half was the coffee stirrer sticks again. Some rubber bands to help hold some of the more issue prone sticks in place and it's done. 

(The product under construction....)

I think overall, that I am happy with the scenic builds and the "Week of figures, week of scenics terrain" process is working pretty well for me. I'm getting more done, and not burning out as much, although the apathy still comes.

A Modge Podge Comparison....

I like Modge Podge.

A lot can be done with it terrain and scenic wise. It just requires some knowledge and patience.

I've been looking at building up watery areas and was curious about how Modge Podge compared to areas painted with straight paint vs areas painted with watered/thin paints.

So I grabbed a stick and did a quick comparision.

I used an Apple Barrel Bright Blue and painted the left half of the stick with straight paint, (not thinned at all), while the right half of the stick was painted with thinned water. This took a little longer as I need 3-4 coats of paint to get a good solid blue color.

I then applied a coat of Modge Podge Glossy onto both sides and let it dry.

A few hours later, I came back to check it. 

(The results...)

I don't see much of a glossy difference, however, I do a difference in the "blue depth" of color on the left over the right. This shows me once again, that I would do non thinned paints for "deeper water" when using modge podge.

Speaking of Goodwill....

As I said previously our goodwill is starting to get some cool stuff into it toy wise.

I was cruising the store one day and found something on sale for $2.99 cents.

I checked him out. His batteries were weak, but he still worked.

And me being the sentimental slob that I am, bought him and brought him home.

Donated toys need good homes too.

("Welcome to Altair IV Gentlemen....")

(The Goodwill tag.... Classic Robot goodness for only $2.99...)

"Forbidden Planet" is an amazing film for it's time, and even for today, and it is one of my favorite sci-fi films, so thus it was only natural for him to come home with me, get cleaned, and get new fresh batteries.

He now sits in a place of honor on my bookshelf.

TV....

Like a lot of people that work, I often times keep the tv onto something as background noise while I work. Sometimes it is Spotify playing, or WW2 British Homefront Radio. Sometimes it is ST DS9. 

And sometimes it's movies or adventure shows.

One weekend morning I found this...

(If you watched this as a kid, you are awesome!)

(I'll be honest. This is the ONLY Hanna-Barbera thing I actually liked...)

And then there was good old combat action!

And then on March 17th, I had my obligatory watching of my favorite movie.

(Sigh...)

During the month of March, I started experimenting once again with certain drink recipes...

("Aye Murphy....Pour me a good one there laddie...")

(Pay no attention to the blue colored drink that you see, NOR should you pay attention to the Romulan Warbird slipping across The Neutral Zone, on it's way "home"....)

And of course, with the upcoming State of the Union Speech, I HAD to have something to drink to get through that. 

(Alcohol helps me understand his ramblings better.....)

So I decided to suck down one of these...

Remember....it means...."No Worries"....

But it wasn't all drinks...

Yes there was food involved!

Wonderful things like my wife's flat iron ribeye's.

(mmmmm....steeeeaaaaakkkkk.....)

And the rest of the meal....

(My wife definitely knows how to fix food!)

But sometimes neither of us feel like cooking, so off to eat we go.

And a lot of times it is usually off to our favorite Mexican food place here in town...

(Our Eclipse meal. We figured that if the slim possibility that the apocalypse DID happen during the eclipse that we didn't want to face oblivion on an empty stomach. This was my meal. Tostada, tamale, enchilada, taco, rice and beans, and two extra tacos; washed down with a corona.)

And then the eclipse happened...

So the eclipse was happening and our town was in the way of "the darkness".

It was a pretty fun ordeal.

My wife and I ate good Mexican food, (see the previous delicious picture), and then got home as the sky was starting to darken.

(The sky grew a hazy dark gray, and one could see the government jet chem trails...errr.... I mean "Contrails".  Really I need to stop reading those conspiracy sites...)

(This should be interesting...)

So then I started trying to get some pics.

These pics were taking looking through the lens of the standard "eclipse glasses" that everyone was wearing.

The camera is actually the camera from (of all things) and Iphone 8!

Essentially the camera lens is held up to the glasses plastic lens film, and photos are taken.

(And in the beginning....)

(And then it started to happen...)

(Ooooohhh....look at that.)

(My final and best pic taken of it. Yes...with the camera from an Iphone 8...)

During the dimming, I went out and took a pic of our house, aka "The Old Girl".

I wanted to get a good shot of it, and I did.

While not totally dark, you can see the effects of the skies on it.

Another chance to take a photo of this house under these conditions won't be available for approx. 90-225 years depending....

A friend of mine looked at this pic and said "Yes. Definitely haunted."

I won't tell you to pay close attention to the windows.

And then because we weren't swallowed up in an apocalyptic fury, we celebrated with strawberry mimosas!

(Bottoms up and toasting the Eclipse!)

And that my friend is pretty much the end of it.

Oh sure I could show you pics of the wonderful Easter "Boozy Chocolates" that I got for my wife and me, or pics of our flowers in the backyard, etc., and perhaps a few more miniature pics, but we shall leave them for next time.

I hope you have enjoyed this entry, and all comments are appreciated.

Stay tuned! More to come!

Thanks for reading!

An overdue update Part 1....(Pic Intensive)

 I blinked my eyes and suddenly it went from my December update, to now....

Actually no it didn't.

I've just been horribly apathetic about updating my blog, (and pretty much anything and everything in particular to be exact). February and March are usually "blah months" for me, and then suddenly April and May is here and things are revving up like a bootlegger getting ready to make his night-time run across county lines. 

So I've been doing some painting, as well, as working on some scenics as well as other things, (Food, The Eclipse, Easter, April 9th, and all sorts of other things that make my life what it is...)

Plus the fact that I have been getting ready for Little Wars, has pretty much put most of my days into a rush.

But let's plod on shall we? 

This entire update will be in two parts to keep the reader from getting tired, and overwhelmed with everything.

WARNING: This post is pretty long and pic intensive, so grab a drink, relax, and soldier on!!!!

(Click on the pics for larger versions of the image.)

More paint than I know what to do with....

One of the issues with mini gamers is the fact that we never, ever, seem to have "the exact, right, color of paint for what we need. So we have massive amounts of browns, greens, grays, metals, whites, flesh, etc. To be honest it's quite horrible at times how much paint we can get. Then there are shades, inks, washes, contrasts, mediums, glazes, etc. which only adds to the chaos of our worktable.

I found myself in the same quandary, and realized something must be done.

The logical solution was to get rid of the paints that I never used, or didn't use, or didn't like, or couldn't use, etc.

But nay! I say. I hurled this silly notion back into the recesses of my brain. For there would be one day, perhaps not this day, but one day that I might need that particular color of "English Ivy Green", or "Goldenmist Yellow", or even "Banana Creme", or "Pink Parfait", (which oddly enough I have used a few times...

So instead of sending those poor paints into the trash can, I decided to do something. 

Remember those paint racks I got a few months back and finally got all of my paint in them? Well I couldn't get them all in an area where I could work, UNTIL, the idea hit my head!

"Eureka!" I shouted, (well actually kind of quietly said to myself so as not to startle my wonderful wife (Gawd bless her!). I took my four foot gaming table extension and added it as a side piece to my worktable, forming an "L of sorts, (actually more of a "T"), and upon it placed some of the paint racks to allow myself access to those paints that I needed. 

(From this...a recently cleaned room with a clean table, and a side table crammed with paint racks...)

(To this. An addition that allows me access to the paint racks...and gives me a little more work space, which seems to always be in short supply with me.)

(A close up view of the new setup. It's not optimal because I still have a couple of racks that are difficult to reach but it lessens the amount of difficulty.)

(Two of the racks on the table, and seeing that it still allows me to see the TV screen. I was worried I was going to have to go with an eventual wall mount, (which may still be in the future). And I am still debating on replacing the 4ft table here with a 6ft table to see how it works. Btw, the resin building is part of the now discontinued coaching inn from Tabletop World.)

I'll be fiddling around with this a little bit more after Little Wars and I will see how it goes and keep y'all updated on this one.

While I was painting, I realized that "once again", Citadel/GW had changed the size of their paint pots again, (yes!), making them "smaller" than the previous size.

Case in point:

 

(Less paint/shades, but the same price...for now, before it goes up again...)

I'll be honest, I am not happy with yet another Citadel paint point size change, as they have changed their paint pot sizes and shapes so many times, it's ridiculous. I am going to take some photos in the future of all the different variations of containers that I have from them. 

A discussion with a friend of mine about this, and he said that they also recently changed their formula for their shades to make it less blotchy and "better". Because of this, it wouldn't surprise me to discover that "Once again, prices are going up."

Oh and speaking of prices.

This is what USD $35.00 will get you in paints at my LGS.

(Approx. $35.00 right there...)

So now that I have rattled on about paints, and stuff, it's time to look at what I have actually gotten done, (figure painting and more)...

Painting Figures....

So I was back to painting figures. 
Last year I was trying to do the "4-5 figures a night, then a week" thing to get my count up. This year, I am trying something different. I am working on figures one week and then the next week I am working on terrain/scenics. This keeps my mind fresh, keeps me from figure burnout, and gives me a chance to work on long neglected scenery projects.
And I have still been pushing hard into the 18th Century, getting a few of them painted up pretty well.

Lord Mitchell

18th Century Aristocrat (from Wargames Foundry).
Painted in a mix of Vallejo, Reaper, GW/Citadel Colors, and Craft Paints.
Mounted on a flat washer base.
And now, what you've all been waiting for....the backstory.

"Lord Mitchell was not a pleasant man.
Some would say he was arrogant, while a few also included words such as "pompous" and "condescending", (as well as a few other choice, colorful, words that shall not be mentioned here for the sake of the ladies and well behaved children.)....
Indeed, for he wasn't a pleasant man. He was grumpy at everything and disdainful of everyone so it would seem. This list of "Things and people that annoyed, irked, and irritated him", included, (and not necessarily in this order):
* Chatty, Frivolous, women.
* Housecats.
* Spaniards.
* Flat Beer.
* Anything and anyone related to "France".
* The Dutch.
* Small, noisy, children.
* Well, children of all ages more or less.
* The Portuguese.
* Weak wines.
* The colonists in "The Americas".
* Overcooked vegetables.
* Undercooked vegetables.
* Slow delivery of his goods to market, thus possibly robbing him of greater profit.
* Small, yapping dogs.
* Slow, plodding, servants and field hands.
* Nosy, meddling, busy-bodies (usually older women), who he believes are intent upon meddling into his affairs, (personal and business), and thus robbing him of greater profit.
* Taxes.
And so on....and so on.....
And let's not even mention "The Irish" to him now shall we?
Yes, Lord Mitchell is indeed, NOT a pleasant man.
Effective and efficient in whatever he sets his mind to? Yes.
Charming to those he is around? Only when he needs to be. "
Figured named after my best friend, Mike Mitchell.
Any resemblance to him in any manner, form, looks, or thought is entirely coincidental....

The "Fabulous Foursome"....

18th Century String Quartet, (Eureka Miniatures).
Painted with a variety of craft paints, GW/Citadels, Vallejos, and Reapers.
Mounted on small, flat washers.
And now the backstory....

"The Fabulous Four; (From L to R;) of John, Paul, George, and Rhingold play their splendid and immensely popular tunes to yet another appreciative, (and well paying crowd). As of this moment they are stringing furiously through their recent extremely popular piece called "I desire to holdeth thy hand"....

Sneaky Frenchman....

Everybody needs at least one "Sneaky Frenchman" in their 18th Century games. I believe this fellow will do the job needed, so here he is....

Figure from Eureka Miniatures.
Painted with a mixture of Craft, Reaper, Vallejo, and GW/Citadel paints. 
Mounted on a flat washer.
VERY lightly shaded.
Backstory:

"It's a fragile, uneasy truce that holds between the great powers of Europe, and it's an even un-easier one that exists here on the island, and in the city. Due to the ever changing national flags on the governor’s flagpole, a wide mixture of people coexist side by side, (sometimes nicely, other times not so nicely) with each other.
Today, a Frenchman arrived.
Andre Javier LeBoche (The "J" in his middle name is pronounced "Hah", so "Javier" sounds like "Haaaaaah-vee-air". Don't ask why. He's French you know...), dressed in his daily finery, takes his initial look at the dreadful place that he had graced his feet to be put upon the ground here. With an agreed land grant, and some "business proposals", (as well as doing a little shall we say "shady work" for his majesty, King Louis XIV), he isn't particularly impressed with what he sees and "tsk tsks" quite a bit at everything, from the appearance of the port, to the sounds of the barnyard animals nearby, to the barking of stray dogs. He realizes that he has his work cut out for him, as he establishes himself, (and a French presence) in this rough, uncivilized, outpost of English barbarity."  He shudders momentarily in revulsion as the idea of "What the food and wine must be like here." flows through his thoughts. 
"Nevertheless...." He says to himself with a slight sigh of resignation that only pale skinned, unmarried, women and French aristocrats can do, "I must plod on with my tasks and my orders.".....

Jefferson Thomas....

 

Completed.

Aristocrat, from Front Rank Miniatures.

Painted with a variety of Reaper, GW/Citadel, and Craft Paints.

Shaded with Reikland Fleshshade, and Agrax Earthshade.

Mounted on a flat washer.

Backstory:

"Among the cargo contents of the good ship "Sparrow", which had arrived in port this morning, were 60 kegs of black powder, 15 casks of wine, 38 bolts of cloth, 15 barrels of salt pork, numerous crates of odds and ends, some furniture, four goats, 2 kegs of iron nails, some Irish, and a young man named Jefferson Thomas, who stepped foot onto the pier with a head full of ideas, a heart full of hope, and eyes full of wonder. He saw many opportunities here on this island, and was looking forward to putting his talents and skills to good use...."

I have only recently started getting figures from Brigade, Perry, and Front Rank, in this genre period, and this is one of my first FR figures painted. I was very impressed with the detail.

Boys Playing "Soldier"....

(An all to familiar scene in any time period or genre. Young boys, playing at "soldier"....)

Completed.
Perry Miniatures. 
18th Century boys playing soldier.

Groundwork by Woodland Scenics.

Mounted on a flat washer.
Painted with my usual variety.
Shaded and sealed.

"All boys play soldier.
Some boys once they become men, become soldiers.
And when soldiers die in battle, the most common thing that is heard as their dying words is the little boy, once again calling for his mother...."

As with the Front Rank figures, these Perry figures are very nice and have excellent detail.

Treasure Island...

Foundry has had a set of Treasure Island figures in their inventory for a long time now. Once upon a time it was eight figures in a pack, but not it's only six, which is a bit of a shame, but nonetheless, they are indeed beautiful figures which complement their pirate range.

I finally got around to finished a couple of them I had started years ago, (one of them back n 2017!).

Blind Pew...

 

(We all know this guys story...)

You know who...

Completed.

Foundry pirate from their old “Treasure Island” set.

Painted with a variety of Reaper, Vallejo, and Citadel paints.

Ground work/flocking is Citadel.

Mounted on a flat washer.

Spray sealed and brush matte varnished.

I’m pretty proud of the work that I did on this piece.

Backstory:

None needed. We all know who he is…

I really enjoyed finally finishing up Ol' Long John here. I had started him back in 2017 and then he just sat and languished. It's a good feeling when you finish long overdue figures crying to be completed.

The next day, I had to go to the VA clinic in the town up the road from me, and once I was done there, I was hungry, and for some reason, I got to thinking about the figure, and suddenly I knew where I wanted (and had) to eat.

(I'll admit it. I'm weak and this is my guilty pleasure...)

(I simply couldn't help myself....)

And now, back to figures....

Another Aristocrat....

Another 18th Century Aristocratic figure.

Yeesh, these guys are crawling out of the woodwork.

 

Completed.
Aristocrat figure from Front Rank/Gripping Beast.
Painted with a variety of GW/Citadel, Reaper, Vallejo, and some craft paints.
Mounted on a flat washer.

Backstory....
"Young Robert Corbyn Ainsworth stands on the wharf and gets his first look at the port on the island that he has just stepped foot upon, after a long trip by ship from Liverpool.  
He sighs to himself. 
Robert is the son (although not officially recognized) of Lord Ainsworth of Upper Snoxbury in England. His father, (after having dalliances with one of his housemaids, which produced Robert, and his younger sister Sarah), in a manner as to keep a scandal from brewing and tongues from wagging, has sent the young man to "establish himself and his families name" upon the island, and "to make good of himself."
"It is difficult..." he said to himself as he gazed at the splendid squander which was before him, "...to establish "the family name" as it were, for a family and a man that barely acknowledged me, after his romping behavior with my young, naïve, mother all of those years ago.  Still, it's a better chance I have here, than back home. At least for a few years."
He sighed heavily at his predicament and then began the slow walk, carefully avoiding the mudholes, slop holes, and small masses of horse, cattle, and dog droppings that seemed to be piled upon the stinky, muddy, streets which led to places that he wished not to think of."

Household Servant...

 

Completed.

From the Brigade Games pack: BG-MSW009, "Milady and her household staff."

Painted with GW/Citadel, Vallejo, and Reaper paints.

Mounted on a flat washer.

Backstory:

"Henry Witherspoon moved quickly down the hallway making continuous "tut tut tut tut tut" sounds as he scurried along his way; his mind full of things and issues and goings on that were completely irrelevant, inconsequential, trivial, and didn't affect him in any manner whatsoever.

But that didn't stop him from worrying and fretting over them...."

Lady...

Completed.

Figure from the Gripping Beast Pack GB3 "Civilians-Aristocrats"

Painted with Craft, GW/Citadel and Reaper Paints.

Mounted on a flat base.

Backstory:

"Amelia needed a husband.

Not one of the four that her parents had picked out for her. Heaven knows that she was looking for someone to give her heart to and to live her life with. A nice life with perhaps a child or two, (no more), and a nice house with a small, loyal staff. Good food, and wine, and her books. How she loved her books!

"Books put silly ideas into young girls heads!" Her father said angrily after he caught her reading yet again.

"But I like poetry!" She said to him.

"Hmph!" Her father replied. "Do poems put a pound in your pocket or your purse? Do stanza's put shillings in your palm? Do ink stained pages full of silly written prose and prattle put wine, and food on the table? Does one poem you read even kill one gutless Frenchman, or cowardly Spaniard? NO! And yet here you are, with your nose in a book! AGAIN! READING!"

"Oh Amelia...." Her mother would sadly say. "Why aren't you more favorable to Edwin? He comes from a good family."

Amelia rolled her eyes and sighed. "Mother, he told me he want's at least six children, and I have no desire to become a brood mare to him. Plus....well....he has an issue with gas."

"Gas?" Her father said.

"Yes Papa. He is more than a bit....shall we say...."Flatuent"???..."

Yes it was true....Amelia needed a husband and fast, or she feared that "Gassy Edwin", "Pale, Sickly George", "Albert with the bad teeth", or Phillip, (whom Amelia felt actually seemed more interested in her brother David than her), would soon be discussing wedding nuptials with her parents."

"I need a husband....and fast." She thought to herself."

Annoyed Gentleman...

Completed.

A figure from the OG Pack: "Fat Governor and His Creepy Assistants"...

Painted with GW/Citadel, Vallejo, and Reaper Paints.

Shaded with GW/Citadel Agrax Earthshade.

Based on a flat washer.

Backstory:

"Lord Oswald was not a happy man.

True he wasn't as much of an arrogant, pompous, man such as Lord Mitchell, but he could be unpleasant in his own ways, which is why small dogs, and children stayed far away from him and out of his reach.

Right now he was annoyed at being told the amount of money that someone was "offering as a gift, (read: "bribe")," for his favor to get something done that required the authorities to look the other way. What annoyed and angered him wasn't the fact that people thought this his ethics, morals, and standards weren't above being bribed, but that the amount of money he was offered for the bribe was piteously low, even lesser than he would have imagined.

"Hmph!" He said to himself. "I DO have my standards !"....."

Fop!

Completed. (Though I wish I hadn't....)
18th Century Fop.
Painted in a wide variety of colors.
Based on a flat washer.

Backstory....
Now everyone! Sing the song, ONE MORE TIME! And this time, with feeling!
"Every-body ought to have a fop!"
(sing to the tune of "Everybody ought to have a maid.")
There's no real backstory here. Well, to be honest there is a backstory, but it's a bit "disturbing" to write up....

Country Gentlemen....

Completed.

Two 18th Century Townsmen, by Perry Miniatures.

Painted in different colors and styles to show variety.

Backstory:

"Enter Statler and Waldorf...."

One of the things I like about having dual figures is that you can experiment with different painting variations and then do a side by side comparison of them. In this case, I happen to like both of them. Close enough for conformity, yet far enough apart for variety.

Field Hand...

Completed.

Perry Miniatures, Field Hand.

Painted with my variety.

Groundwork from Woodland Scenics.

Mounted on a flat washer.

"Danny O'Boyle wiped his the sweat off of his head and caught his breath. It was another day of working long, hard, hours in the fields, under the hot, hot, sun for his Lordship's benefit, as a means to pay off his passage from Ireland to here. Two more years of servitude to Lord Mitchell and he could be released. But for now, it was working in the fields, and eating corn slop and maybe a bit of fish for his meals."

Household Servant...

Completed.

18th Century Servant by Eureka Minis.

Bottle from Tabletop Worlds.

Painted in my usual variety.

Shaded with Citadels.

"Snivellers stood quietly by as Governor Whitehall, Lord Mitchell, and other gentlemen sat around the table, looking at papers, and a map and discussing matters of great importance with scowls on their faces. He sighed to himself, as he held the tray with the bottle of port on it, knowing that it would soon be called for, taken, and emptied out into numerous glasses, whereupon he would be called to get get another.

He waited patiently knowing that eventually he would be dismissed and he would be able to get about his own personal affairs, which included imbibing his own secreted bottle of port, and perhaps visiting his friends at a local wine seller.

Sigh...such was the life of a servant."

Completed.

Foundry Shepherd.

Painted with GW, Vallejo, and Reaper Paints.

Mounted on a flat washer.

Shaded with Agrax Earthshade.

Backstory:

"Fernando had seen a lot in his life.

Starting out in Spain, and finding himself in the army, with bullets whizzing all around him. Then finding himself on a ship in the King's navy as English cannonballs flew past him, tearing into the hull, deck, masts, and his fellow shipmates.

He was blessed by the grace of God, to come to this island.

And now, he is a simple shepherd.

He has a small 2 room hut he lives in, (the second room built by himself with care and pride), and a few simple pieces of furniture, he has built himself. At the foot of his bed is his wooden trunk with his few precious personal items, including a drawing of his wife and daughter who died of sickness so many years ago, as well as a piece of his army uniform he keeps as a reminder of worse days.

For now, he has little money, but needs to buy little. He has his gray sheepdog, Alfonso, and together they spend the days on the island in the meadows, watching the flock of sheep he is paid to watch.

It's quiet, easy, simple work with no bullets, cannonballs, screams of the dying, and the smell of battle, blood, and death all about him. The madness of war is not for him.

Here he stands, under a tree and watches his flock, and is at peace with himself, and God, and listens to the sheep baa, and lets his heart, and soul heal...."

The Dog...

Completed.

Big, Gray, Shaggy, Sheepdog.

Foundry.

Painted with Reaper and Vallejo paints.

Groundwork by Citadel and Woodland Scenics.

Mounted on a flat washer.

Backstory:

"Woof, Woof! Bark, Bark, Bark! Grrrrr. Woof! Woof! Woof!

The Sheep...

Completed.

Sheep.

Foundry.

Painted with Vallejo and Reaper paints.

Groundwork by Woodland Scenics and Citadel.

Mounted on flat washers.

"Baaaaah!  Baaaaaaah! Baaaaaaaah!!!!".....

The Full Scene...

(A pic of what the full flock setup looks like.)

So this ends Part 1 of my 2 part entry. Simple due to the fact that I am trying not to overwhelm the reader with "too much" in one post.

Part 2 is on it's way and it includes, scenics, terrain, food, movies, odds and ends, an eclipse and all sorts of stuff.

Please let me know what you think, as all comments, etc., are welcome and appreciated!

More to come, stay tuned!