Favorite Units I painted in 2025

 

Wow. Where to begin?

1. Ogre: Infantry in Power Suits. These were not a challenge to paint but I think they look so cool!

2. Austro-Hungarian Naval Brigade from the SMS Zenta. Who would have thought that the Patriarch of the von Trapp Singers (The Sound of Music) was decorated for bravery during the Boxer Rebellion. Copplestone Miniatures Back of Beyond Russian Naval converted to Austro-Hungarians.

3. Imperial Japanese Infantry, Boxer Rebellion. Imperial Japan had the largest contribution of forces to the 8 Nations Alliance and I am really liking Crusader Miniatures new Boxer Rebellion range. Naval ensign hand painted by me.

4. Imperial Chinese Unit, Boxer Rebellion. You can never go wrong with figures from Wargames Foundry. Banners are from Crusader Miniatures. Flag hand painted by me.

5. Kansu Braves, Boxer Rebellion. Another winner from Crusader Miniatures and banners from Crusader Miniatures.

6. Imperial Chinese Krupp Mountain Gun. I think I'm seeing a pattern here. Figures by Wargames Foundry and gun by Askari Miniatures.

7. Musketeer Regiment Von Bose. I'm returning to an old favorite, personally and professionally (it's hard to take the history out of the military historian after numerous thesis', articles, dissertation, ect.) the American War for Independence. Proving to myself that I could still paint small figures in gaming detail, I'm going to use the Warlord Games Epic Revolution range in 13.5 mm. First up is the Musketeer Regiment Von Bose which famously fought back to back at the Battle of Guildford Courthouse.

Now it's time to get ready for the 2026 plan.

Favorite Figures I painted in 2025

 It's that time of year again for lazy writing . . . I mean showcasing what I have done this year.

Mike Mason aka as Special Agent Roger “Race” T. Bannon: A special agent from Intelligence One assigned to safeguard Jonny 24/7. He is also Jonny and Hadji’s tutor, companion and all around watchdog. He is an expert in judo (are we seeing a pattern?), having a third degree black belt and the ability to defeat notorious experts in various sporting techniques including sumo wrestlers. An expert with weapons he is also an excellent pilot. Rumor has it that there is a mysterious woman in his past . . .

This great figure comes from Pulp Figures and is part of the "Team Chase" pack. At first it looks like a simple figure to paint; but, if you want to replicate one of your childhood heroes, you better get it right!

"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 love Space Marines. This is my new commander of my heavy strike force for the game Xenos Rampant.

Naval Ensign of the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

My big project this year is the Boxer Rebellion. When I found out the von Trapp of the Trapp Family singers had participated and was decorated for bravery during the Boxer Rebellion, I knew I had to have the Austro-Hungarian Navy. And I needed a flag. I am particularly proud of this flag as it is entirely hand painted by yours truly. The figure is a converted Russian Navy guy from Copplestone Casting's Back of Beyond range.

Did I mention I was doing the Boxer Rebellion? For the Chinese forces, I decided to concentrate on the Chinese Imperial Army and this is one of the infantry officers. Figure from Wargames Foundry.

Standard bearer from the same unit and also Wargames Foundry. The banner is from Crusader Miniatures.

The great thing about Chinese armies is that you can never have enough flags! The officer with revolver has an open hand so I added a banner which is also available from Crusader Miniatures. The flags for the Kansu Braves are described as primarily yellow and red.

Shiba Gorō (柴 五郎, June 21, 1860 – December 13, 1945) was the military attaché assigned to the Japanese Legation in Peking. A warrior of exceptional ability. Figure from Crusader Miniatures.

"Growth", February 13, 2025.

I took up Watercolors 3 1/2 years ago (good retired stuff) and each year I participate in several shows; some are judged and others are not. My favorite show is sponsored by the Veterans Administration (United States) and for the second year in a row I was awared 1st Place in Watercolors at the regional Veterans Creative Arts Competition. The added bonus was also receiving "Best in Show". On to Nationals!

WizKids Deep Cuts Unpainted Miniatures: Wave 7: Pack Mule

The The 1st Madras Pioneers with supplies on the Northwest Frontier.

 Most gamers hate logistics in a game; but, the reality is that logistics are an important (ESSENTIAL!) part of warfare. As an exercise, I use to have my cadets calculate how much water is needed for an average US Army Mechanized Infantry battalion - and water is heavy. If I use logistics in a game, I like simplified rules such as knowing how many shots I have before running out of ammunition or a random roll. Having said that, you can have fun with logistics through escort missions of just having nice scatter pieces to be on the table. Having said that, these ridiculously overloaded mules from WizKids Deep Cuts Unpainted Miniatures are inexpensive and a quick way to get the logistics train rolling.

Bombay Sappers and Miners in China, 1900.

The mules come 2 to a pack, are semi-hard pre-primed resin. Essentially I just used GW Citadel Contrast paints to knock them out in about 2 days.

Not bad for (except the drunk mule that I need to straighten out) for approximately $11 USD.

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: The Austrian-Hungarian Naval Ground Contingent

 So why do the smallest contingent of the 8 Nations Alliance? I blame the von Trapp Family Singers.

As regular readers of my blog know, while recovering from foot surgery (hmmm . . . how long was I in the infantry?) I watched the movie The von Trapp Family: A Life of Music based on Agathe von Trapp's memoir (the oldest daughter), Memories Before and After The Sound of Music. Researching Captain von Trapp's military career I discovered: HOLY COW!!! HE WAS DECORATED FOR BRAVERY AS A NAVAL CADET DURING THE BOXER REBELLION! Thus a project was born.

The complete, 12 figure unit to use with The Men Who Would be Kings.

The figures are from Copplestone Castings Back of Beyond range and are Russian Naval Command and Russian Navy Sailors.  During this time, depending on the area and the region of service, many naval uniforms were similar and at the 28 mm scale the differences are so minor that it does not even matter. For example, you can use British Naval Brigade with Sennet hats for French Navy during the Seymour Expedition as that is what the French sailors wore. For the Legation defense, specifically the Peitang Cathedral, the French Sailors had the hat (I'll have to look up what it is really called) with the pom-pom on top.

Seekadet Georg Johannes von Trapp (accidentally painted as a Korvettenleutnant - the stripe around the cuffs should end at the loop for Seekadet), Matrose (Seaman) Antoine Antumac and Waffenmatrose Ernest Grbac.

Anyway . . . another reason I did the Austro-Hungarian Naval contingent was because of variety - you have to love having white figures in your force. My initial Field Force for the 8 Nation Alliance will be a generic for with units that will add variety and color to the tabletop.

Quartermaster Carl Raschka.

Seventy-five members of the crew of the SMS Zenta were attached to the Peking Relief Expedition. Later they would be joined by 160 sailors from two other Austro-Hungarian ships. In addition, before hostilities commenced, the captain of the Zenta, Fregattenkapitän (Commander) Eduard Thomann von Montalmar, one officer, 2 cadets and 30 sailors went to help reinforce the Legation Quarter. As the senior allied officer von Montalmar was placed in command. Now we have controversy - either through bad intelligence, a lack of good judgement or cowardice, depending on the source, von Montalmar had all forces fall back on the British Legation which allowed many Legation buildings to be burned and parts of the Legation Quarter to be seized. A counterattack restored the perimeter. He was relived of command. On July 8, 1900, he was mortally wounded by a grenade; some accounts state he recklessly exposed himself in combat to make up for the blow to his honor.

Matrose Joseph Basurina, the photo bomb known as Waffenmatrose Grbac and Matrose Nicolas Hranuelli.

The most famous action of the sailors was the storming of the Taku forts by naval personnel of the Zenta and German marines.

"The Capture of the Forts at Taku", by Fritz Neumann in the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University.

The figures were a blast to paint - nicely sculpted figures make the painting easy! Copplestone is one of my favorites and the figures were a joy to paint. Uniforms that are primarily white can always be a challenge. I primed them with Citadel Wraithbone Grey and then did the highlights of the white uniforms with Vallejo Flat White once or twice. Not bad for a quick and easy paintjob and it follows The Colonel's rule Number 1 of painting: Paint for gaming distance (unless you just have to paint a masterpiece of a special figure).

Matrose's Mathieu Simcic, Joseph Bozikoo and Yure Petrovac.

The valiant crew of the SMS Zenta.

The Boxer Rebellion Project, Part 6: We Need a Flag!

Naval Ensign of the Austrian-Hungarian Navy

I love flags! If I can get them on the Dining Room table (whether they were actually carried or not) I will get them on the table. Fortunately we have evidence that the Naval Ensign (flag) of the Austro-Hungarian ground contingent was carried by the sailors of the SMS Zenta and came from the ship. 

During its existence, Austria-Hungary did not have a common flag – a "national flag" could not exist since the Dual Monarchy consisted of two sovereign states. Until 1918, the War Fleet continued to carry the Austrian ensign it had used since 1786.

Naval ensign 1786–1918.

SMS Zenta in the Boxer Rebellion.

Instead of purchasing a commercial flag, this flag seemed easy to reproduce and paint. I wish I had taken pictures of what I did but I will try to summarize:

1. I used the image above as a guide and grabbed my handy-dandy rule and made a tricolor with an artists graphite pencil on regular printer paper. I did the right side of the flag first and then the left side with a small separation between them for the pole.

2. I sketched out the shield and crown sightly darker with my pencil

3. I mixed about 2/3 Vallejo Flat Red with 1/3 Vallejo Flat White and painted the red portions of the flag. As expected, I could see some of the crown through the paint of the upper portion of the flag.

4. I then used Citadel Yellow for the crown.

5. I went back to the red portions of the flag and painted them again (carefully) with Citadel Contrast Blood Angels Red.

6. After the contrast paint dried, I went back and cleaned up the crowns with the yellow and then added some red dots on the crown.

Note: I made the flag smaller than in real life.

7. Ta-Dah!