New Project: AWI for Sharp Practice

Sometime back in September i started painting up the American War of Independence miniatures I have had sitting around since just before I left Ontario. I used them as a test bed for using GW contrast paints.

generally speaking, I really like the contrast paints. I wish their coverage was a little more universal across the line though. some are go on way to heavily, and do almost no shading. and some are way too week. weak enough you might as well just use a army painter wash.

That said, the Black Templar(Black), Dark angels Red, Apothecary White and Skeletal Horde(off white/light tan). Dark angles red is perfect for black powder era British red coats. i use 3 parts Talasar Blue to 1 part Ultramarine Blue for Napoleonic french/AWI American coats.  for green coated troops I'll be using 1 part Dark Angels Green to 1 part Ork Flesh. and for brown coats I'll be using 1 part Snakebite leather to 1 part Cygor brown. These mixes tend to give me a colour I like, with the right tone and amount of coverage(shading and highlighting) I'm looking for. they go on in basically one coat and save me a lot of time.

Fife and Drum British artillery, Perry everything else.

New york VOlunteers(3rd American Rgt.), Perry Plastics

British 62nd Regiment of Foot.  Perry metal minis

(left) Maryland Continental Infantry
(right) Pennsylvania Continental Infantry

(back) Perry Ammo cart and Fife and Drum 6Ib Cannon,
(Front left) Perry Amusette team
(Front Right) Pennsylvania light infantry

(middle)Deployment points, (Front)moveable deployment
points, and (back) Mule train

I made some Deployment points out of some Wizkids Deep Cuts barrels and crates.  i added in some TAG muskets and swords, some buckets from the Fife and Drum artillery accessories, a a few extra hats from the Perry plastic boxes. the mules are also from the Wizkids Deep Cuts RPG minis line. there are some fantastic little bits of scatter and scenery. I used some casualties from the AWI British plastic box to make the moveable deployment points.

I'm particularly proud of the Continental light infantry Amusette team I kitbashed.  This is actually one of the Perry Jager Amusettes. I cut off the tricornes and affixed some spare Continental light infantry caps in their place. I wanted an american amusette because i know that the Virginia state Armoury and nearby Rappahanock Forge made amusettes for the American army. in fact 6 still exist in collection in the US to this day. but absolutely no one makes a team in 28mm.


I do have more planned for the AWI project.  I have more green coated Infantry, the Kings Carolina Rangers, to paint.  I also have 16 more Continental infantry in light caps.  I also have 2 Fife and drum Limbers for the 6Ib cannons and a pair of Fife and Drum 3Ib grasshopper guns and limbers. i also have enough figures left to make another unit of American infantry, something in brown coats. I'm doing the green and brown coats for a splash of colour.

Finished Imagination Army: the Electorate of Lustigzollern-Großgesaß

 About 2 years ago I started playing Beneath the Lilly Banners. I put on a bit game at the Mayday convention(in... May).  For the game i added larger cannons to my existing 2 3Iber crusader teams, as well as finishing off the line infantry. I also painted the full regiment of Osterhaagen Dragoons.

Map of the Electorate

Earlier this year I also finished off  2 Converged grenadier battalions, 2 more 3Ib cannon teams 6 pandours and 8 jagers.

Electorate Artillery Park.  4 3Ib cannons and Crew by Crusader,
2 6Ib cannons, Crew, and carts/limbers by Front Rank

24 Köztársaság Pandours by Crusader, 6 Mounted Pandours from
Front Rank, and 8 Perry Hessian Jagers.

2 Battalions each of Traugott Regiment(left) and Fenstermacher
Regiment(Right). Front Rank figures.  1 Crusader Converged
grenadier battalion at the back

Kurfurst(left) and Kurprinz(right) Regiments by Crusader miniatures.
Converged Grenadier Battalion in the rear, also Crusader)

Metzger Cuirassier(left) by Crusader. 
Osterhaagen Dragoons(right) by Front Rank.

 At this point, I may reorganize the cavalry command figures into a command stand stand for each regiment, and I need to purchase a a pair of limbers to finish off the artillery.  I also have some Allied troops  for the Aquilonian Army(small nation to the East of the Electorate) using Eureka Arquebusier de Grassin. 

Long Time No See!

well I'm back for what is hopefully not another few and far between post.

I've been fairly unmotivated to post since I moved to Alberta.  The Historical gaming scene in edmonton is much smaller then I had grown used to in Hamilton, Ontario.   For a while some local guys and myself tried to host a monthly game day at the clubhouse in my condo subdivision, but after 2 years we weren't making enough money to break even on the rental fee. so we shut it down.  the local cons are almost entirely devoted to Mainstream and tournament related games like Warhammer 40K , Kings of War, and Bolt Action. 

I have discovered Beneath the Lilly Banners for my Imagination armies. Its a great set of rules, and the 3rd edition makes it a little easier to use armies from a slightly later period.  they released the  eastern wars supplement, With Talon and Claw, which introduces some Polish and Ottoman specific rules, both of which are armies I use in whole or part in my Imaginations.

For the One small historically oriented Convention we have in Edmonton, MayDay, I always help out and host a big game as well as smaller games.  I've run  a 10 foot napoleon game using Field of Battle, Imaginations using Muskets and Tomahawks and Beneath the Lilly Banners, a Big Chain of Command Battle of France game.  I've used all of these to get some serious work put in on  the related projects.


I've Expanded my Ottoman army substantially to include more heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and non-Janissary infantry. My Electorate  army(imaginations) is all painted, and i only have a few figures left for my Polish.  I've expanded my 28mm WW2 collection to include French Cuirassier Portes, German Schutzen, and more tanks and support teams for both sides. I've also reorganised my Soviets into early war squads to fight the Japanese I've added, with tanks for both sides.

I now have a 28mm Napoleonic Prussian brigade painted, with a 2nd one waiting to be painted.  sadly there is no one I've found who seriously plays big battle Napoleonics here, so all the unpainted stuff I have for that project has languished in its boxes.

I've also recently  begun painting my long awaited AWI project for Sharp Practice.

I don't have decent pictures of all of this available yet, but here is some pics of my Ottoman army as it stands now:

Ottoman Akinji light cavalry, TAG miniatures

Ottoman Artillery.  TAG guns and crew, Front Rank carts and Limbers

Ottoman artillery from another angle

Timariot Sipahis, TAG minis

Janissaries, TAG Minis

Levant, TAG minies

Tufekci Skirmishers, TAG minies

Ottoman Command Stands, Tag Miniatures

TAG Sipahis of the Porte, TAG miniatures

I still have 1 unit of Sipahis of the Porte(Kapikulu) waiting to be painted, and I've added a large bombard with crew to the artillery recently, but no picture yet.

Here's to hoping I post more often!