converting covenanters...

One of the challenges of collecting 54mm English Civil War figures is that it is a pretty specific area of interest and few figure manufacturers pay a lot of attention to it. Consequently, except for indulging in some more expensive metal figures for commanders, etc, I'm pretty much limited to using the 'A Call to Arms' figures. While it is a nice range, there are some figures which are inconvenient for wargaming and I don't expect to seem many (if any) more poses released. Therefore, it is time to try my hand at converting 54mm plastic figures to add variety, especially among officers and standard bearers.

a gathering of horse, part deux...

Ha! Auto-Focus-Nemesis strikes again! Nevertheless, an eight figure squadron of 54mm cavalry makes for an impressive sight. I really do like these figures. Once again, a forthcoming game proves to be a wonderful inspiration for getting things done.

let slip the dogs of war...

Big-Fig Battle Day finally arrives. I must confess... I've had a decadent wargame weekend. On Saturday I participated in a Zulu vs. British game. On Sunday we play-tested Quindia Studio's 'Victory Without Quarter' ECW rules. Both days were exquistly fun. And, now that I think about it, both games were played with plastic figures. The colonials and Zulus in 20mm, the ECW in 54mm. Hmmm... perhaps I'm overcoming my long standing prejuduce against plastic wargaming. As much fun as the Zulu game was, I was really looking forward to seeing the big-figs in action. I dragged my 4x8 sectional wargaming table out of the basement and overlaid the dining room table a full two days before the game. My wife was quite indulgent with me, bless her heart. This was the first game I've hosted in over five years.

junior officer granted brevet...

My collection is a bit shy on command figures. Eventually I'll have to jump into conversions simply to have enough flag bearers. But I've been stalling on that. This gregarious sergeant is a stock figure. He'd probably make a good addition to the line troops but due to the shortage of gentlemen he'll be receiving a field brevet. Over on the Helmet blog there are some shots of this figure having undergone some conversion work to a standard bearer. Hmm... where'd I put that Green Stuff?

treasures from the columbus toy soldier show...

 I've attended a number of wargaming conventions over the years. But the Columbus Toy Soldier Show on October 3rd, 2007 was my first 'Toy Soldier' show. It was a pretty smallish one-day affair with thirty or forty dealers in attendance.

yellow dogs...

The fourth 24 figure unit has been completed. Notwithstanding that all my other units are generic, for some reason I think I'll label this unit as Talbot's regiment. The yellow coats would be appropriate but I'm not sure about the color of the pants. Nor am I sure about the correct flag to use for Talbot's regiment. While the few sources I've consulted all agree on the 'talbot hound' device, the flag itself may have been either yellow or white. I'll probably go with yellow.

the artillery park...

In a previous post I mentioned picking up some artillery pieces at the Columbus Toy Soldier show. Cool stuff. It was a pleasure painting them, no eyes, no belts, no draped fabric to shade. Just hardware. Wood, bronze and iron. I had previously slapped some paint on a BMC American Revolution cannon but hadn't bothered to finish it. But once I got some paint on the other three gunnes, I had to do some detailing on the little BMC.