The 2025 Plan: 3rd Quarter Update

 

Each year I make a plan for my (primarily) miniature painting activities. The year 2023 was the year of "The Big Move" and my plan for 2024, well, fizzled. Not that I'm complaining. Hey, when 4 grandchildren arrive in less than 2 years it's time to celebrate! I'll pause on my hobby activities to spend time with those bundles of joy. I now consider myself a professional grandfather. 

It's been another interesting, but satisfying year. Well . . . I had foot surgery that I knew was eventually coming from my distinguished (HAH!) career as an Infantry officer. Who knew that during a recovery that I would watch a moving about a bunch of singers in one family that would launch me on a project that is almost exclusively dominating my hobby activities! I haven't been this excited since I did my Pashtun project for the North West Frontier - and like all great projects it will never be complete.

Speaking of projects . . . 

"Growth", February 13, 2025.

I took up Watercolors 3 1/2 years ago (good retired foogie stuff) and for the second year in a row I took 1st Place in Watercolors at the regional Veterans Creative Arts Competition. The added bonus was also receiving "Best in Show" this year. Now I'm just waiting to see if I'll be moving on to Nationals later this year - I just missed the cut last year. Okay let's get back to my favorite subject: Toy Soldiers.

With the abbreviated plan (foot surgery) I am quite pleased with the results so far:

1. Take some pictures of my newly painted 28mm Ghurkas for the Northwest Frontier from Perry Miniatures and post them. I love the rules The Men Who Would be Kings as I am definitely a Hollywood kind of gamer when it comes to Colonial Gaming. DONE! 

The 1st Battalion, 3rd Ghurka Rifles are ready to leave the depot. Figures by Perry Miniatures.

In addition, I need to take some pictures of "Team Chase" (okay, it's Jonny Quest) from Pulp Miniatures by Bob Murch (contact Bob Murch by email if you are in the states for updated pricing information with the new tariffs) for an exciting, adventure filled post! DONE! Note: I'm thinking of some new figures for next year to send this crew of intrepid heroes on a fun filled pulp adventure.

2. Finish painting the Ogre miniatures for Honorable Son #4 (The Flying Engineer). DONE!

The Ogre Mark III.

Heavy Artillery.

Infantry in powered armor.

3. Paint a Sikh unit and British mountain gun for the Northwest Frontier. If I have more time also a British Infantry unit and another group of Pashtun tribesmen. The Sikh unit from Perry Miniatures is complete with a bonus that it can also deploy for my new project. Not only will it see duty on the Northwest Frontier but will do double duty as the 1st Sikh Infantry, Punjab Frontier Force in China (See Paragraph 6). The British mountain gun is on the back burner for now but when I get to it, it won't take long to do.

If there's a piper, I'll paint it. The unit is also from Perry Miniatures for the game The Men Who Would be Kings.

4. Finish my "German" Division for the French Army for the Peninsular War. I'm currently not on planning any artillery. Not yet but still coming. I currently now have all of the figures/units I want courtesy of WoFun Miniatures. All units have been put together and based - I just need to finish the bases. You can see below how the units will look and how I am doing the bases with the picture of the Rhine Battalion Number 3 (Frankfurt). Net up will be the contingent from the Duchy of Baden with future posts with a little history attached. Another project on the backburner. I did start the bases for the Baden battalions and just need to add some static grass. I really want to do a big battle Napoleonic battle in the Peninsular by the end of the year.

Confederation of the Rhine Battalion Number 3 (Frankfurt), converted Dutch Infantry from WoFun Miniatures.

5. "The Search for Charlie". Okay, it's time to get this campaign started and find out what really happened to Charlie - and Sam is pissed. Coming soon! This has slid a bit to the back burner - though I did purchase some recent, secret terrain for the adventure! This has really slid - but SHHHHHHH! Sam made have found a clue and the next chapter could happen before the end of the year.

Sam has the Nazi goons right were he wants them.

New Goals:

6. In addition I have decided to paint a new unit of an army I have never done before. Time to pick one out.

Ta Dah. I did exactly that. While recovery from foot surgery (technically I still in the recovery phase - 3 weeks to go!) I watched a historical drama about the Von Trapp Family singers. Yep, the basis for the Sound of Music. I knew that Georg Von Trapp was a naval war hero in the Austro-Hungarian Navy during World War I, but that was the extent of my knowledge. So with a little research . . . GREAT SCOTT!!! HE FOUGHT IN THE BOXER REBELLION AS A NAVAL CADET IN THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN NAVY! New Period.

Cadet Second Class Georg Von Trapp. Figure is from Copplestone Castings Russian Naval Command from the Back of Beyond Range.

It's been a while since I have been so excited about a new project and especially with figures (Imperial Japanese and Imperial (Qing Dynasty) Chinese. What's great about doing the Boxer Rebellion is that I basically have all of the forces I need for the 8 Nations Alliance. By adding Austro-Hungarian Sailors and Japanese Infantry, I can give the 8 Nations Alliance the right look for a generic force using the rules The Men Who Would be Kings. Speaking of Japanese Infantry:

Japanese Infantry from Crusader Miniatures.

The Austrian-Hungarian Naval Ground Contingent.

Most of the British Forces of the Relief Expedition were Indian so the 1st Sikhs, Punjab Frontier Force will join and my already painted Bengal Lancers will be along for the ride. I already have Russian forces so for now the Relief Expedition is done (though I'm sure I'll add more forces for the Legation). Now the majority of the painting will shift to the Chinese forces, both Boxers and Imperial Chinese Army. My latest purchases are the new Kansu Braves from Crusader Miniatures and some Chinese banners.

The first infantry unit for the Tenacious Army of the Imperial Chinese Army. Figures from Wargames Foundry and banners from Crusader miniatures.

Captain General Nieh Shih-ch'eng of the Tenacious Army  Shih-ch'eng of the Tenacious Army. Figures by Wargames Foundry, banner from Crusader Miniatures and gong by Pulp Figures.

The first infantry unit for the Tenacious Army of the Imperial Chinese Army. Figures from Wargames Foundry and banners from Crusader miniatures.

Chinese Krupp mountain gun Model 1895. Figures from Wargames Foundry and gun from Askari Miniatures.

Next up and the unit I am currently working on will be the Kansu Braves from Crusader Miniatures.

7. I'm also going to work on my forces for Xenos Rampant. I have more figures - not sure when I'll get around to them. No longer a goal this year.

I did however painted a Strike Force Commander and another figure for my Mobile Infantry that looks remarkably like a Space Marine.

"As a Space Marine officer, I prefer not to wear my helmet into combat. Heads up displays, thermal imagery, communication nets, real time location and the status of my Marines - plus the protection it provides are for sissies. Plus I can see my chain sword better without it.

I painted this guy too: 

8. Why not; time to do some more armies for One Hour Wargames.

We also got a game in against Mr. Babbage on the Northwest Frontier!

Now that I can sit and paint again, the production line should start speeding up.

That's the big (abbreviated) painting/hobby plan and so far so good! There will be games, more Warhammer 40K Fire Team (yes they sucked me in), some French and Indian War action, Pulp fun and of course a return to the Northwest Frontier. 

The Boxer Rebellion Project, Part 10: Generic 8 Nations Field Forces of General Gaselee's Relief Force

For my first 8 Nations Alliance Field Force to use with The Men Who Would be Kings, I'm focusing on General Sir Alfred Gaselee, GCB, GCIE, second relief expedition. Why? All of the 8 Nations Alliance forces provide variety and color, but I choose this because I already had some figures for the force though I painted some more to add the color and historical makeup of the Alliance.

In the summer of 1900, when the Boxer Uprising in China was at its height, Gaselee was chosen to command the British element in the international expeditionary force, and on 3 July 1900 promoted to major-general. Gaselee was nominally put in charge of the Second Expedition because the Eight-Nation Alliance refused to the allow the Japanese general Yamaguchi Motomi to lead it, even though he was the highest-ranking officer present. As a reward for his services, he was created Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) on 24 July 1901.

Here are some of my "generic Field Forces" I'm going to use first with a 24 point limit: 

1. Japanese Infantry Unit.

    Regular Infantry: 6 points.

    

    Total: 6 points.

The Japanese had the largest contribution to the 8 Nations Alliance; plus the new Crusader Miniatures look cool.

2. Indian Infantry Unit.

    Regular Infantry: 6 points.

    Total: 6 points.

The British were strapped for manpower with the Boer War. Most of the British troops came from India including the 1st Indian Brigade which consisted of the 1st Sikh Infantry Punjab Frontier Force, 24th Punjab Infantry, and the 7th Rajput Infantry. 

3. Austrian-Hungarian Naval Brigade.

    Regular Infantry: 6 points.

    Total: 6 points.

Come on! You knew von Trapp and company would be included!

Gun and crew from Tsuba Miniatures.

4. Russian Artillery.

    Well Drilled Crew: 6 points.

    Total: 6 points.

The above is actually an Imperial Russian Putilov M1902 76mm quick firing gun which was first used in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. Close enough for now until I get an older gun.

Total points: 24.

Or . . . 

1. Japanese Infantry Unit.

    Regular Infantry: 6 points.

    

    Total: 6 points.

Figures from Copplestone Castings.

2. Russian Infantry Unit.

    Regular Infantry: 6 points.

    Poor Shots: -1 point. Russian firing doctrine emphasized volley fire and not individual marksmanship.

    Unenthusiastic: -1 point. Infantry were conscripts from the East Siberian Regiment and were not quite up to Western (and Japanese) standards.

    Total: 4 points.

The above is my version of the The Izmaylovsky Lifeguards Regiment circa 1905. Evantually I will get some earlier Russian infantry for the Boxer Rebellion.

3. Austrian-Hungarian Naval Brigade.

    Regular Infantry: 6 points.

    Total: 6 points.

4. 1st Bengal Lancers.

    Regular Cavalry: 6 points.

    Lancers: +2 points.

Total: 8 points.

The 8 Nations Alliance did not have a lot of cavalry and the 1st Bengal Lancers did yeoman service. The above are Perry Miniatures painted as the The 10th (The Duke of Cambridge's) Bengal Lancers (Hodson's Horse) and they will do the trick.

Total points: 24.

So far that's what I'm doing though eventually I will have some troops for Admiral Seymour's relief attempt, the follow-up expeditions after Peking was captured, and the Legation defense.

The Boxer Rebellion Project, Part 7: We Need a Flag?

Hey! I made another flag. Yeah . . . about that.

I used the same technique that I did with the Austro-Hungarian Naval Ensign. I was, how would you say, sloppy on this flag. First of all, with the black fringe seen in many contemporary paintings it initially made the red on the flag look darker. Hey I will just lighten up the red! Ooops, I spilled the white paint.

Oh well, I guess it won't look too bad at gaming distance. Then I carefully folded the flag together with some white glue and yep, I forgot to pre-fold the flag before the glue. It did not match up at all. After some serious folding, and repainting the edge and trying to get the creases out . . . well you can see the result.

Then: Surprise! When I went to glue the wire staff to the figure I had forgotten to check the fit before I added the super glue. Of course I got super glue on my fingers and messed up the staff under the flag with super glue. That's what I get for not taking a deep breath and giving a day.

"Look Mom! No hands!"

Okay. Maybe I'll pretend it is battle damage. I paint for gaming distance, and at gaming distance it doesn't look too bad. I'll have to decide later if I'll use one of the excellent flags from Flags of War and get a staff from Tsuba Miniatures. Plus I'll file the palms of the hand!

Group shot! It doesn't look too bad at gaming distance.

 

The Boxer Rebellion Project, Part 5: Imperial Japanese Infantry Painting Guide

Whenever I start a new period or unit, I make sure I put how I painted the unit into my journal. Before I purchase figures, I first do my research and kinda/sorta figure out how I want the unit to look - then I purchase figures! As I started my Boxer Rebellion project, I decided to use the new Imperial Japanese Infantry from Crusader Miniatures. Always prime your figures as paint sticks to paint. Whether you use white, black, pink is up to you. If you use contrast type paints you will need to prime in white or light grey. For these figures I used Citadel Bone Wraith (not as dangerous as a Banshee) Grey for my primer.

Photograph of Japanese Infantry, Chinese Relief Expedition, 1900. Photograph by Captain C.F. O’Keefe, via National Archives, U.S. Naval Historical Command, and Library of Congress.

1. I started with a coat of Citadel Contrast (CC) Darkoath (BWAH HAH HAH!) Flesh and then painted the garters with CC Skeleton (no bones about it) Horde.

2. Let's talk about painting Japanese uniforms with the Infantry yellow branch color.

CC Darkoath (BWAH HAH HAH) Flesh, CC Skeleton (no bones about it) on the gaiters and CC Ultramarine (For the Emperor!) Blue on the cap.

3. The Japanese uniform was heavily influenced by the German Army at that time. For that color, I usually do a base of Vallejo Prussian Blue with highlights of Vallejo Dark Blue. I compared that with doing a heavy coat of Contrast Ultramarine (For the Emperor!) Blue and found I got almost the exact color for the uniform. I decided to go the speedy way and used Contrast Ultramarine (For the Emperor!) Blue. When I paint I like to do all of the same colors of a figure at the same time. Fortunately . . . I had painted a test figure and decided to do the cap as a separate step due to leaving where the Infantry branch color of yellow would go due to the challenges of painting yellow. The cap is the most challenging part with the yellow branch colors on dark blue.

4. I highlighted the skin with Vallejo Dark Flesh.

5. Now it is time to paint the uniform jacket and pants CC Ultramarine (For the Emperor!) Blue. Optionally you can paint the jacket, pants and cap - or just the pants - however you like to paint white on figures. Here is an reenactor wearing the white summer uniform.

Japanese ranker painted with Contrast Ultramarine (For the Emperor!) Blue. Skin has been highlighted on the "high points" with Vallejo Dark Flesh.

Imperial Japanese Infantry NCO, circa 1895 to 1905 painted with Vallejo Prussian Blue and then highlighted with Vallejo Dark Blue.

6. I went back and painted or cleaned up any areas that would have yellow with white; the collar, the trim on the cap and the trouser pants.

 

7. It's yellow time. For yellow on figures I use various paints depending on the look I want the figure I want to have. I have had great success using Vallejo Yellow Ochre, Vallejo Flat Yellow and Citadel Sunburst Yellow. I wanted to try CC Iyanden (a planet in Star Wars?) Yellow since I was primarily using contrast paints for this unit. It looks okay . . . on some of the figures there was a reddish hue (note the standard bearer in the background of the photo below) and I later cleaned those up with Vallejo Flat Yellow.

The cap and the trouser stripe look great, but the excess paint on the collar looks reddish - I later fixed that with Vallejo Flat Yellow.

8. I'm not going to bore you with each step I did with the rest of the colors of the various parts of the figures. Most of us have our own preferred order for painting; I like to start with the faces and some of the best figures I have seen are painted with the faces last. They're your figures and we all have a way we like to do them. Anyway . . . here are the colors I used to complete the figures:

Cap straps, visors, bayonet scabbard and hair: Vallejo Flat Black.

Haversack and strap: CC Skeleton (no bones about it) Horde.

Metal: CC Basilicum (German for Basil) Grey.

Rifle, Canteen and strap: CC Gore Grunta (I don't even want to ask) Fur.

Straps, ammo pouches and rifle sling: Vallejo Mahogany Brown.

Bayonet: Vallejo Silver.

Boots: CC Templar (and we know what happened to them!) Black.

Epaulets: Vallejo Flat Red.

To replicate the Imperial Star on the cap, which unfortunately is not sculpted on the Crusader figures, I did a black dot with Vallejo Flat Black and then a dot of Vallejo Shiny Gold on top of that.

Tah Dah!