Closing In On The End Of Summer

 Well summer is coming to a close, and it looks like the heat and humidity is going to start coming down again. Not that it has kept me from painting, but it does make it hard to get things primed. Probably be able to do that again next weekend. I have been making steady progress painting through the summer and I should be able to continue it through the rest of the year. So, without further ado, here we go....

First up is the first half of my Ptolemaic army I got in the War & Empire Kickstarter by Forged in Battle They make some really nice ancients in 15mm and they have a Dark Ages line as well. 

Thorakitai

Thorakitai

Thureophoroi

Agema

Colonist Cavalry

Got a pretty good start on this army. I'll probably finish it up later in the year, once I drill out hands and glue in pikes on 96 phalangites, something I need to do soon. The figures have nice detail and there is a decent variety in each pack. I discovered while going through the figures for the army, that I had neglected to get skirmishers. Not sure how I managed to forget them, but, I did. Thankfully Noble Knight had a pack, so I did not have to pay crazy postage for the one pack I needed. I had also discovered, while digging through the KS figures, that they had given me two sets of the stretch goal commanders. That meant I had two models of Porus on an elephant. Since I already had generals for that army I paired them up as another unit of elephants! One can never have too many elephants in an Indian Army.

I also found out I was a figure short for my Skythian generals, so out of the generals mentioned above, I pulled out a figure of the Sassanid King Shapur. Figured he looked suitable for the part. He is the one on the far right. My Ancients are all based for Impetus.

Next, I got back to a project I had started a couple years ago. I was having them painted by Hoard Painting back then, when I had more money than time. Now since it is somewhat the opposite I picked up the brush myself to finish (or get closer to finishing) the project. I wrapped up the French cavalry and Artillery, then got started on the Saxons.

I was also taking inventory of the project and realized I had no Russian artillery painted. I thought I had at least gotten the crews done, but nope, they were all sitting there waiting to be painted. I had just passed them up. I also had a few Prussian guns I needed to add.

Other than a few command stands this completes my Prussian, Austrian, Russian, and French armies. I still need to do about half the Saxons, the British and their allies, and a handful of Bavarian allies for the French. Most of the figures are Old Glory 15's, the Saxon Artillery is all Minifig. They are all based for the Age of Honor rules, a supplement to Age of Eagles, which is a cousin to Fire & Fury. The could also be used for Frederick's Battles, the Napoleons Battles offshoot. Either way I'm covered.

I did a couple unrelated batches. First some Zanla/Zipra types for Bush Wars.

I remember getting a suggestion from a member of the FB Bush War group to give one of them a gold lame shirt. I did not do that but I did mix in some "civvies" These guys are all 20mm Liberation Miniatures.

Last, but not least, are a few Landsknechts in 28mm.

I really hit a roadblock with these, mentally. Not so much the colors, I used Pinterest to find Landsknecht images and saved them in a folder. Then just went down the images for color schemes. Really quick and easy. The actual painting is what got me. I have the same issue when doing samurai. I usually get past it once I get into the painting, but this time I couldn't shake it. So Instead of fighting it, I finished these and set the rest aside for another time. Probably use these for a Lion Rampant/Pikemen's Lament style game.  I do have to give a shout out to Athena Miniatures I had purchased these on a Kickstarter. After many delays and problems, the original owner had sent my stuff, but, to my old address,evem after I had notified him, and he had acknowledged my new one. He had sold the line to Athena, who picked up the banner and got me my stuff on their dime. I can't say enough good things about a miniatures company like that. Especially since it was a rather large order .

Well that is all for this round, next time I'll have a special project that I started in July, as well as some other goodies I hope you are all well out there, and just keep gaming!

The Battlefield of Mine Creek

 A couple weeks ago they were having a Heritage Day at the Mine Creek Battlefield so I headed down with the girls to see what it was all about. Located about 45 minutes south of the Kansas City area it is a little over midway between KC and Ft Scott. You may have seen my post from 2018 where we went to a few locations around KC and Ft Scott If not, here is a link to it We had briefly stopped at the battlefield because I has seen a sign for it on the way to Ft Scott. This time I wanted to go see the visitors center since it was closed the first time. It is a very small and somewhat cramped VC, it has a decent amount of stuff none the less.

Couldn't get a very good shot of the gun. It looked to be a smoothbore, but I am not too sure what type. It was iron.

They also had a room telling the story of the battle with some uniforms and such

The item I found most interesting was the flag for the 11th Kansas Cavalry

Outside there are a number of placards outlining the battle  This one really helps to see where they all were. It is a small site so easy to view from the VC location.

These two show the battle lines, and the ensuing battle. Ever since I came upon this particular battle, I have wondered at Benteen's aggressiveness, outnumbered almost 3-1, and his utter lack of it at the Little Big Horn 13 years later.  Here are some of the other placards.

The battle field now, is covered in prairie grass, as I imagine it was back then. Certainly much of it was trampled prior to the battle, due to Prices army having moved through the area.  Here are some shots from one of the trails they mow through the park.

Much of the grass ranges from 4' to 6' high. I did not hike the trails as it was over 90 and quite humid. I plan on going back to the trails when it is cooler. The treeline in the back ground is the location of the creek. The last picture was taken in the direction of the VC. I took a few pics of the event itself. It was rather small, but given the park is located in the middle of nowhere I think the attendance is what you could expect. Here are a few shots I took.

The last is a 12# mountain howitzer. There are additional pictures of the event on their Facebook page for those that may be interested. Definitely going to get back there and walk the trails this fall. I should have a post with more painted minis coming up this week as well.