Its been a loooong time

Its been almost 2 years since the last time I updated this blog. The truth is that ever since I moved back to Greece life changed completely.

Mind you, I never stopped painting but the main focus of the local gaming clubs was -and still is- fantasy wargaming. Therefore my precious napoleonics got a prominent position in my glass cabinet and I took my fantasy armies to the field.

I never forgot though the great times I had with the West Tokyo Wargamers and for this reason I always hoped that one day I would find people in Athens that would want to game Napoleonics in 28mm.

Eventually I saw some wonderful looking Scots on the Steve Dean forums painted by a fellow Greek.  The good news is that this guy (Andreas is his name) is located here in Athens and regularly meets and games with some friends in my local gaming club!

The moment I have been waiting for has come and after meeting with Andreas in the local club we agreed that we should arrange an introductory game of Black Powder at some point in April or May.

This means that my 7 battalions of French and my 6 Battalions of Prussians will take the field in the near future!
Obviously this had a great effect on my painting mojo and I have resumed painting in earnest! Rest assured that I will be updating this space soon! Another French battalion is about to arrive ready for inspection!

In the meantime here is sometihng completely irrelevant to Napoleonics...

An Athenian Hoplite by Victrix.


When I saw the "new" Ancient Greek by Victrix I was so excited that I immediately bought a box of them just for collecting purposes. I now realise that I like the sculpts so much that I might end up painting an army of them.... oh dear....

 Anyway I hope you like it.. My next update will probably be much richer! 
Watch this space as I will be updating it very soon!

Odessa Regiment - Half way there...

Well as you can see from the picture this battalion is still missing half of its figures (my Shevardino OoB lists the Odessa regiment as 32 figures strong) but I thought that I should share my progress with you. After all it always helps to hear some constructive criticism and comments :)

The flags are missing but I should have them in my hands some time this coming week.

Figures are Perry plastics and I can say that they are a joy to paint! I guess I am a Perry fan-boy.... 

Hope you like them!

13th legere flank companies

Well its about time that I update my blog so without further ado I present to you the flank companies of the 13eme legere!

Expect another update soon . This time involving two companies of Russians... 

Figures are all Perry.

On Russian Green

Well it has been quite some time since I updated this space so I believe an update is in order.

Although I still have not finished my Prussian brigade and I still have quite a few unpainted packs of metal French (Perry) I succumbed to the shiny new toy syndrome and bought myself a boxed set of Russian infantry from the Perrys.

As usual, the quality of this set is very high and the detailing on the models is excellent. My only complain I guess are the bayonets. Some of them are not that well cast and I need to be careful when I start cleaning the figures.

I am planning to organise my Russians around the forces that fought at the Shevardino redoubt. Therefore as a starting guide I am using the OoB from the GdB scenario book.

That means that I need to paint at least 11 battalions of 32 figures each.... wish me luck and most of all wish me patience...

I guess I will start with the Odessa regiment. After all its the first on the OoB and according to my Osprey it was also the first regiment within the Division. That means that I will need to paint them in red shoulder straps with the number 27. Easy :)

Now the real problem is getting the Green look nice on a figure of only 28mm... The purists out there will tell you that Russian Green was almost black but if I go for the right shade (that mind you no one can replicate 100%) I would end up with a black and white horde of figures.... What I am thinking of doing instead is to paint them in a dark shade of green (probably shaded with a black wash) and highlighted by mixing a cream colour to the green. Alternatively I could highlight them using a yellowish green but that would make them too fantasy like so I guess thats not an option.

So what is your opinion on the matter? Would you forgive me if I didnt paint them with a very dark green? I dont have access to the foundry paints so I guess I cant use their 3 shade green paint. I have access only to vallejo and citadel paints... 

and a picture to celebrate the beginning of my work on the ruskis :)

Work started on another French Line Battalion!

A couple of weeks ago I updated my blog trying to motivate myself to paint more.
Unfortunately it didnt work as I wanted... The only thing I managed to paint ever since, was another company of Prussians for my West Prussian Musketeers regiment so now I have two companies done. Two more to go...

On the other hand however I finally decided to start working on some more French line infantry. I went again for metal Perry figures and I chose the ones standing at attention. For some reason I think these minis really look cool.
Now I must find the discipline to paint them all...

Once I paint these guys I will allow myself the luxury of buying some more stuff (i.e. get my greedy hands on some Perry Russians)

Lets hope I paint them soon.... 

An update at last!

Well, first of all a Happy New Year to all of my fellow hobbyists out there! May 2012 bring you happiness, health and joy and may you conquer the lead mountain ! I am sure that the last part is near impossible for most of us especially if we consider the speed that many companies release new figures ( I am thinking of the imminent release of the Russian Perry's).

The past few months have been filled with big changes in my life. First of all I decided to leave Japan and to move back to my native Greece. Despite the crisis home is always home and being back to Athens after three and a half years feels quite well.

Hobby wise unfortunately I am no longer able to enjoy gaming with the West Tokyo Wargamers. On the other hand however, I have finally the available space to showcase my Napoleonic collection!

On the painting table unfortunately I have lost my edge. These prussians and nassauers have been sitting on my desk for more than 3 months and from the speed I have been painting lately I cant see those two battalions getting completed anytime soon...

Lets hope 2012 will give me the discipline to paint these two battalions ....

13th Legere - 1st Battalion

After many months in a semi-complete stage I finally finished the 1st Battalion of the 13th Legere. Hopefully in the next months I should be able to paint the 3rd Battalion as well and complete the 13th Legere...

Figures as always are Perry and the Flag is GMB.
Hope you like them!