Warfare Miniatures Painting Competition

We are running a painting competition focusing on the new WARFARE MINIATURES range!

To enter, all you have to do is paint a regiment of WARFARE MINIATURES. 16 figures minimum, no max but ideally they could be up to 4 stands of 6 models if based for BLB. Alternatively they could be based however you like.

The units will be judged by myself, Barry Hilton, David Imrie and Dave O'Brien. The competition will run over September and October in order to give people enough time to get a unit finished. The units can be painted in any style, to any standard. We'll be judging them 'as a unit'.

The prizes are I think quite nice:

1st Prize : Signed copy of Beneath the Lily Banners plus 8 packs of any WARFARE MINIATURES code combination the winner chooses. There will also be an additional 'specials' pack which will for now remain a mystery.

2nd Prize: 8 packs of any WARFARE MINIATURES code combination the winner chooses.

3rd Prize: A signed copy of Beneath the Lily Banners

4th Prize: 4 packs of WARFARE MINIATURES code combination the winner chooses.

5th Prize: Set of BLB order markers code as the winner chooses.

You do not need to send the units to us. All you need to do is post minimum 2 photos showing at least a front and rear view. Post your photos in the Warfare Miniatures Competition Thread on the LoA Fighting Talk forum. There is no limit to the number of entries from a single individual. You MUST have painted the models yourself to qualify.

Look forward to seeing the entries!

Cover Sketch for a New Book

With BLB2 behind us, the next book is on the way - no rest for the wicked.

This will be for the Crimean War, working title is FOUR EMPIRES, and you will need a copy of REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE to play. However, even if you don't use our rules, this book will be a great reference because we intend to cover the armies and uniforms in detail from a wargamer's perspective. Of course there will also be tons of photos of well painted minis on fantastic terrain, all the rules you need to bring R2E to the Crimea, and a turn-by-turn battle report.

No date has been set for release... watch this space!

Fife & Drum Miniatures

With all of the AWI posts loading up the blog, Jim Purkey of Fife & Drum Miniatures wrote to me a while back and asked if I'd like some samples of their new AWI militia models. The only models I have to compare them with my Perry minis. The photos below feature Fife & Drum on the left and Perrys on the right.

First of all, let me say that my photos do not either brand justice. There is an art to taking pictures of unpainted castings that I don't have down. These models were sculpted by Richard Ansell. All of the models I received are accurately proportioned and well posed. The castings are very clean with very little flash or mold lines. The details, particularly on the faces and hands*, are nicely sculpted and the models carry a nice variety of equipment for that campaign look.

The models are a bit smaller and much slimmer than the Perry and I'm not sure I'd mix the two in units, but I would have no problem fielding them in units along side my existing units. The range is expanding - the continental greens look even better than the militia and the new mounted officer looks fantastic.

Thanks to Jim for sending the models. I haven't had time to paint anything of late, but I intend to paint some of these when I get the chance (and I will of course post them here)!

*Not to take away thunder from F&D, but maybe this adds another thing in their favor. One of the problems I've had with the Perry AWI models has been the hands. Many of the 'open handed' officers have 'paws' with short stubby fingers. A pointing officer's extended finger is only moderately longer than the thumb next to it. Some of the hands holding weapons seem to only have three fingers! My Napoleonic Perry minis don't suffer from this so I'm not sure why my AWI models are so afflicted... maybe they were simply bad casts? Anyway - Bravo to F&D for the hands on their models.

Go West, Young Man

I am off to Texas in a few hours. I'll have my laptop with me, and I'll be checking in from time to time, but my wife has to go to El Paso for an operation and I will be riding shotgun - posts will be sparse for the next ten days or so. However, Flag Monday will proceed as scheduled with another Virginia flag tomorrow and a series of variations on the stars and stripes lined up for the entire month of July!

North Carolina Militia

I finally got my photography (and painting) lights worked out and I was able to snap some pics of my latest militia unit. I really like the way the stumps and logs worked out. I am also very happy with the way the flag looks in action!

Thought this unit was worth some more photos...

The third unit is underway...

The Boys From Carolina

Here's a finished unit sporting one of the South Carolina flags I posted a few days ago (as usual, you can click on the photo to see it full size). I purposely chose a plain, pointed flag pole so I can easily swap out the flags for different scenarios.

My plans for the militia are to build nine stands of marching troops (like the lads above), nine stands of shooting troops, and four stands of advancing troops (these will be mostly in hunting shirts to represent the Virginia militia). Along with the separate command stands, this will allow me to field five units of four stands, six units of three stands and one of four, two units of six stands, and many other combinations (you get the idea) and still preserve the basic marching/firing/advancing battalions. Being able to swap the flags lets me change the weight of states represented as well.

I'll post a pic of a shooty battalion later this week...

Militia Vignettes

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my armies will be based on 50x50mm stands of 4-6 models each for infantry. I want to build a lot of character into the units and maybe one in four stands will be true vignettes...

My plan for command is to base three models on half hexes in the manner of the Napoleonic units Barry Hilton and Dave Imrie. This makes it easy to combine the rank and file stands in any combination and still ensure that the unit's colors will be in the center of the unit, no matter the formation.

I'll have shots of a couple of finished units next week!

Answering the Call

Recruits continue to swell the ranks to see off the forces of King George. These models are not arranged in any specific way at the moment, merely stacked up in a neat line for the group photo. My plan is to base like poses together - i.e all marching, advancing, firing/loading, etc. My order from Litko (100 50x50mm bases) was posted yesterday so the next photos will be based properly.

The more I read on the period, the more my plans evolve. Right now I am planning on five units of four stands each - 3 units of South Carolina Militia (The models above are representative of the typical appearance of these units), 1 unit of North Carolina/Georgia Militia (a 50/50 mix of earth-toned hunting shirts and models above), and 1 unit of Virginia Militia (mostly in green-dyed hunting shirts). Again, depending on the scenario, these may be mixed in any combination of 2-6 stands, but in general it helps me to have a plan for the collection...