Update

10mm project is moving along, I have painted up some infantry and cavalry. A little off pace but plugging away. I will try and get some pictures up soon. I may get to go to the SYW convention yet, looking like 60/40 so I had best get to painting up the Bavarian cavalry. I had a painters moment last night. I was painting some 10mm Wurttemburg Infantry and finished a stand when I looked over and saw an old GamesWorkshop Empire Greatsword figure that I had primed black a while back. I have not played Warhammer in years but something inspired me to pick up the little guy and have a go. Before I knew it, it was one o'clock in the morning and I had a really nice looking fig finished. I am a little tired this morning. I had no idea it was so late I was just caught up in the moment painting away and listening to music. I have based IR-Owens for Cavenderia and will try to finish the bases for a photo. I have believe my next post will be a bunch of pictures of everything I have been painting. It has been a little bi-polar all of the different projects, even painted up some 10mm Napoleonic miniatures, why? I don't know, however just a quick post wanted to share my Zen painting moment and hope you all have one soon.

State of Cavenderia

I have been painting quite a bit lately and formulating some plans. I have been painting 28mm Crusader Cuirassiers as Bavarian Taxis Cuirassiers for the Seven Years War Convention. I have nearly completed Cavenderi IR-Owens as Old Glory 15mm figs and have started painting 10mm Old Glory figs as the Reichsarmee. I have also painted up some 15mm Old Glory Egyptians for my Sudan blog but I digress.

I have been threatening to play a game for a long time but never manage it. Therefore, a plan must be put into place.

1.) I have four sets of rules that I wish to play with escalating bases needed for each system.
2.) I can paint 10mm figs the fastest usually painting up 10 figs or one 30 x 30 mm base during my lunch hour at work.
3.) I have complete reference materials for most historical SYW armies, Pengal and Hurt, Biles, Osprey and web sites.
4.) I have a pretty good relationship with my old glory distributor.

Step one.
Might and Reason Sam Mustafa: only requires two (2) bases per unit, i.e. brigade that means I can reasonably paint up three (3) units a week and should be able to paint up two (2) small armies in a month. So my plan is to play a game of Might and Reason around the first of March.

Step two.
Piquet Field of Battle: requires four (4) bases per unit. i.e. brigade, so if I repeat the exact same painting plan as the month of February I should have enough units to play a game of Piquet Field of Battle by early April.

Step three.
Die Kriegspeil: I just purchased this set of rules and have read through it, looks as if most units require six (6) bases per unit i.e. battalion, so I can sprinkle in some grenadiers and follow the same painting scheme allowing me to play a game of Die Kriegspeil in May.

Step four.
Fire and Fury for SYW, large units are required for this game, if I follow my same painting output I could generate eight (8) bases per unit by June.

I have selected the Reichsarmee to paint up as this will let me paint many different uniforms and flags. I think for the allies I will paint up the Hanoverians and Brunswickers. Additionally, I intend to play some additional rules sets when able, Pro-Gloria, Warfare in the Age of Reason, both of which I already have and probably purchasing BAR and Koenig Krieg.

I will attempt to update daily during this run if not at least weekly. Looking forward to this project. I also hope to catch up on some of my old projects, the documentary of the Reich Duke Wilhelms visit and Cavenderi fiction, the fate of poor Dukas has been suspended for some time.

Hope everyone is well.

ciao,

Update

Have been neglecting the blog for a bit. I have started a new weight loss blog and have been updating it daily with exercise, diet, etc. Blogs tend to focus me and allow me to set goals. So here are a few goals for this blog.

1.) Weekly posts at a minimum.
2.) More Cavendarian painting, I have been painting up ACW and medieval 10mm lately
3.) Start working on some terrain
4.) Complete more Cavenderian fiction
5.) Finish the movie of the Reich Dukes visit, old news now but need to complete.

As stated above I have been painting but not SYW, since my trip to Gettysburg I have been painting 15mm Battle Honor ACW and I have been working on some 10mm Old Glory medieval halberdies for a game. I have a new pack of 15mm SYW Austrians ready to paint up as Infantry Regiment Christie so hopefully more Cavenderian units are on the way. I also hope to put up a tutorial on how I paint 15mm figs per a couple of requests. Finally, I need to start planning what 28mm regiment or squadron to paint up for the 2010 SYW convention. I have been enjoying reading all of your blogs in the interim and hope to start contributing again starting now.

One last note, after hearing a newsman refer to Somalian pirates as Somali, I am wondering if the plural of Cavenderian peoples should be Cavenderi.

ciao,

Update

Has been a while since my last post, quick update. I have been working on a movie to document the Reich Dukes visit to Cavenderia, as a first attempt the film is taking a while but I hope to have something up soon so the entourage can move on to other imaginations. The Dukas game was played to a satisfactory outcome and I will try and post some fiction this weekend. I have been busy sending out figurines to fellow gamers in Europe and have been working on some American Civil War (ACW) figures for a Brother vs. Brother scenario for Charcon, the SYW western theater stuff will not be ready in time. I will continue to paint the French, Brunswick, etc. for next years SYW convention and am planning on putting together another big battalion for that event, probably Crusador Hungarian Infantry painted as IR-Prinz Geoffrey and maybe a small Hussar unit. I am headed to Blacksburg, Virginia this weekend to help the wife sale T-shirts for the Alma mater (Marshall University) and watch the Herd play the Hokies, free ticket perk for selling merchandise. We will also be going to Cincinnati for our anniversary in a couple of weeks and I look forward to meeting Mark of www.deepfriedhappymice.com fame and Scale Creep minis. I am also starting two (2) new endeavours 1.) a weight loss blog 2.) a gaming company with some pals. The weight loss blog is not for the weak stomached masses as I will be posting photos of my progress, but if you are fat like me I encourage you to take up the challenge. The game company will be mostly small PDF family type games, no war games planned for now and working toward a stable of quality, quick fun board, card and mini rules. We are treating the company as an importer example, if you see our label and liked a previous game you will probably like this one. Sorry for the digressions from Cavenderia. I am also going to try and increase my Cavenderian output both fiction and figs to at least weekly posts. Hope everyone is doing well. If you are ever in Huntington, West Virginia shoot me an email, we will have a drink. Almost forgot my article for Dadi@Piambo is out with the fall issue excited to get my copy.

ciao,

Trapped in Fairmont

After having a wonderful time in Gettysburg this past weekend my lovely wife dropped me back at the hotel in Fairmont for one (1) more day of work here. However, do to unforeseen circumstances I will once again be staying in Fairmont, the hotel staff and I are on a first name basis. Hopefully my work will be complete tomorrow and I can return to my wee castle were stacks of metal figures are begging to be painted.

Once I am able to return home I can proceed with Cavenderian reports. I hope everyone is well and at their homes.

ciao,

State of Cavenderia

News of Cavenderia from the Prinz's castle pictured left. The Rescue of Spyridon Dukas scenario has been played with a nice twist to the end a fiction will follow soon prior to the arrival of the our esteemed cousin Wilhelm Beerstien and Young Basil King of the Romans. I will be publishing a photo journal of the royal visit this weekend. I still have to paint up the 15mm royal coach and a few additional figures to create the vignettes of the Horse Festival and fleet inspection. So early this week the battle report and story of the Dukas rescue attempt and this weekend the royal visit. Additionally, inspired by http://theolddessauer.blogspot.com/ Steve Turner's blog, I ordered and completed painting a Colonial British officer from Peter Pig as my Belgian observer Captain Lucian Verbeek. The figure turned out really nicely, I have never seen Peter Pig minis before, they are true 15mm so a bit smaller than Old Glory but really well made. I hope to have some pictures of Captain Verbeek on his Pinto up very soon. I will be mailing him to Steve similar to my Cavenderian diplomats which reminds me I have had the Diplomat for Jean Louis done since March and have not managed to get her in the mail. My apologies to Monte-Cristo and I will certainly have to get that accomplished as well. The one year anniversary for this blog is August 28 and I will have to do something special. I did not realize I started my blog on Der Alte Fritz blog anniversary until around September last year so I may move the official anniversary date to September 1. I am headed to Gettysburg to visit the battle field and take a tour in two weeks and so have been having the itch to paint and play some ACW probably will work some of those into the mix as well. Hope to have many new blogs published this month and my article in Dadi @ Piombo should be out this month or September so look for that if you subscribe.

Ciao,

Back at home.

I have been Columbus on business the past two weeks and sorely missed our imagination groups. I am home now and am looking forward to building my coach and painting up some 15mm men this week. While out of town I picked up two (2) boxes of Zvezda plastic army men, the infantry of Peter the Great. I will be painting them up to play as an imagination in my friend Ray's campaign with his new generic soldier rules. They are very nice figs for 72nd scale plastic and at 48 figures for $8.00 USD very affordable. I look forward to posting more often and getting some pictures up. I really must get to painting up some more diplomats and sending Jean's ambassador to France. I have been reading several others blogs and looks as if things are going well for most of our band of imagination players. Look forward to posting more often in May.

ciao,

Hallmark Coach

My hallmark coach arrived from scalecreep miniatures yesterday. I have my camera this week but no way to download until next week, I will be in Columbus, Ohio for the week. Look forward to assembling and painting it prior to the Reich Dukes visit. Spent an enjoyable evening last night play testing a set of rules my friend Ray is writing. The rules will cover ancients to Colonial. Ray originally wrote the rules because he had so many 1/72nd sets of miniatures he would pick up on a whim and wanted to generate a system to use them all. It is a nice game, troops deteriorate throughout the game starting fresh and slowly become exhausted. There is no turn sequence with each side activating a couple of units then back to the other side. As you activate units they become fatigued, disordered, etc. Anyway, had a great time, good snacks and good friends to play with. I will try and get some pictures of the new coach and some of the anatolian sekhans and dellis I have been working on. Short post tonight as I am quite tired from working around the house all day. Hope everyone is doing well.

ciao