Hm...I have lost track of the number of gendarmes I have painted. 🤔 Between no mojo, choosing rule sets and therefore basing I have actually not based any, but just occasionally painted a few more. 28 seems to be the number now, and I'll need to add more, these are sadly just 3.5 Furioso units... 🙄

The first online game after a summer break saw the notorious spy and womanizer Red Robford sneak away into a newly painted castle with Ms. Bottom to exchange... information... Unbeknownst to them a small French patrol has also occupied the castle, blocking their escape. Help is however on the way!

UPPDATERAS: Raffinaderi i ryska Saratov, raff samt oljepipelinestation i Samara bombade – minst tre mördade och 27 skadade i massiv terrorbombning mot Ukraina med 619 robotar – Estland åberopar Nato artikel 4 efter kränkning

My Spanish finally added to and re-based for Furioso; as two colunelas (pre-tercio formation), or as one small pike block and two formed shot, or alternatively (if I add fighting bases as these from the Swiss block) two small, one normal (three columns wide) or one large pike block (four wide).

Being a good boy and getting on with the Furioso re-basing and flocking; Landsknecht skirmishers for the pike blocks and the formed Spanish shot for the colunelas or separate shot units.

16 additional Spanish shot to rebuild my two made-up TtS "pike and shot" units to two proper Furioso colunela units, alternative one small pike block and two formed shot. These I now tarted up in all kinds of colours to mix up my parody-painted Spanish in red-yellow-black (right). 16 pike to go.

The 2nd unit of Italian targonieri, intended as generic Italian infantry before 1510, with exchangeable flags. Shield transfers are my own designs loosely based on historical examples and random drug dreams; they would really be more uniform in a mercenary or state unit.

As the Italian shield muppets are ready for basing I have prepared the 32 Spanish pike and shot needed to fill out my two TtS pike blocks into two Furioso colunelas, or alternatively one 8-base pike block and two 4-base formed shot. I'll try hard to paint these really badly to get them done...

The second great shielding is done...

"The re-basing of the Landsknechts", oil on canvas, 1513. Furioso on 60 mm wide bases, or Midgard in a pinch, is the chosen poison so my Landsknechts must go from 40 to 60 mm. The needed table size for Furioso remains a problem for online games though.

I'm picking up speed: I have after more than two years of careful planning flocked my Imperial/Spanish artillery by dousing it in PVA and burying it under a homemade flock mix. It's this kind of precision work that brings the hobby forward... 🙄

I have also finished the first two Midgard units of Italian targonieri mercenaries, with my own shield transfers. Note my patented replaceable flag system, with a tube 3D-added to the figure to hold a bristle flag pole, this so they can be anyone's mercenaries.

I have finally finished the Swiss pike block which has been sitting around for close to a year due to a crashed mojo. I'm quite happy with this, but I need another 3 "canton columns" to give me 2 Furioso or 3 Midgard units, which is something for my upcoming vacation maybe...

The Great Shielding continues... 😅 Still blown away by how good these transfers turned out. 🥳

What? Me assembling 15th century Italian pikemen!? Don't be ridiculous...

Smugness intensifies... 😇

If Smugness was one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse I would for sure be his stableboy! 😇 They are flimsy as duck and I have messed up a few, but the result is fantastic! 🥳🥳🥳 When printing and handling afterwards I did have problems with smudging, but with 3 layers of gloss varnish they are solid.

Finished another gendarme standard bearer. These I will add to annoy people; generic nonsense flags to liven things up, and then have yet-to-do ones with hollow hands for replaceable national flags for proper identification.

I have painted my first "targonieri", the heavy shield muppet infantry of 15th century Italy. Very easy to paint; apart from the humongous shield these gits didn't even carry their own swords, they had a page/servant hovering close by if so. If my transfers work these should look rather splendid! 🥳

Using Armoira to make "proper" Italian Renaissance "tabulaccio" shield designs after pictures on the interwebs. The tool is sadly not finetuned for Italian Renaissance needs so I'm using a pretty large mallet to produce pretty decent approximations, methinks. Google "tabulaccio" if you are bored. 😅

I think I'm happy with this lot; a Midgard unit on two 60x60m bases, also ok for Furioso. Not super-happy with the available poses I have committed the crime of "ball-jointing" some arms to get more "forward" in the fighting poses; this will not be visible after (my) painting. Heads to be added...

Messing around with the targonieri from my 15th century Italian KS I think they will look great on a 40x60mm base, for both Midgard and Furioso; although I'll have to invent the stats for them. They come with a very good tap and hole solution for the arms and heads but I think I'll 3D-assemble them.

My decal trial is (like all aspects of my life) a blinding success! My guessed-at cut out sits perfectly on the surface of the shield with minimal overlap. My move of the designs from Armoria's default positions also placed them well within this smaller surface, so now I can mass-produce designs! 🥳

I have gotten my late 15th century/Early GIW Italian KS delivered, so now we'll see if I can make my own shield transfers for them. First designs to be printed at work are just to try to pin-point the size and shape needed; the shields are quite oval but also curved with straightened sides, so... 🤔

Sadly inspired by @lordraglan.bsky.social's recent river terrain I have ordered a shitload of plastic plants, all of course highly indigenous to western Europe. 🙄 With a dry-brush here and there they could greenify my tables though, in a durable way...

My newly received "humongous castle" KS really seems useful in 28mm. The walls are either one or two levels tall. Yes, there's a 28mm Landsknecht at the bottom there somewhere...

Finished the last of four mounted arquebusiers for my "Imperial" Midgard army. These are really conquistadors in two poses which I have brutally decapitated and added some better heads on.

Grinding on with my "Imperial" army, be it "Imperial" or "Habsburg": another mounted arquebusier done. Primed in the intended horse colour and just the rider painted roughly with contrast paints. No one will see shit on camera anyway, and there are quite a few to do even for the Midgard army.

In the humongous task of clearing up in my apartment and throwing away 90% of everything I own, including all half-finished hobby stuff getting nowhere, the time has come to my painting desk. Sadly this is the "after" picture. 🙄

I have committed another gendarme, from the old white-primed ones. Yet again trying the AP Speedpaints I must say that the Polished silver worked really well. I wouldn't call this "polished silver" even with a gun to my head, but it's a pretty decent steel colour, and it covers better than expected.

I've finally finished this monster castle. 28mm Landsknechts for reference. I have on purpose given it various roofs and different stones in the tower to give it that "expanded and repaired over the centuries" look. Given the cost and effort it'll have to figure in every single game now, I guess. 🙄

And the main necromancer is done. I'll just throw in one of the unused skeleton captains as the sixth leader, another lowly champion.

The awoken ancient king. Unfortunately finished with my regular skill level but it is at least what the ancient Babylonians called "done". Just the main necromancer and possibly another champion left for my 550-ish points undead Midgard army! Plus a shitload of basing... 🙄

I should be sleeping but I made a quick and dirty job out of another undead hero; just plenty of contrast and speed paints with washes. I'm quite proud of my first ever flames though. 😇 I thought it would be cool with more ghostly blue flames but that effect felt beyond me, so here we are...

Well, I don't know about you but I think these look effing fantastic. 🥳 I might have to add flags to everyone, down to every single peasant...

With my old war cry of "History-schmistory!" I will test print these at work tomorrow...

Making generic bullshit flags for my heavy cavalry. Created using Armoria, and then Microsoft Publisher duplicated, the copy flipped horizontally and joined by an Office "shape". Really easy after I figured out the standard "design with white border" size that gives me a 20mm tall flag (35.4 mm...).

I started on the undead leaders, finishing the apprentice necromancer. Pretty happy with the result of contrast paints and uncontrolled chimpanzee screaming.

Desperately avoiding flocking my skeletons I painted another of the abandoned gendarmes. Ultra realism and historical accuracy are as always fully guaranteed.

I have printed several of his houses and scatter for a friend; very well designed items which print perfectly, in stark contrast to so many others I have tried...

I found 6 abandoned gendarmes, primed white, so I gave the AP metallic Speedpaints another go and in short: I still don't like most. The broadsword silver looks like a sticky gray and although I do like some of the golds they still need a wash to add a little definition. I do like the flow though...

Against all effing odds I have finished the last undead units; warriors with missiles. Now I just have four leaders and a shitload of basing to do and then I can establish that the army is unplayable and bin it. It totals 505 points and is intended for two players. #Midgard

Oh noes! 😓 Fine cheeses and collector's champagne... 😋😋😋

Against all odds I have managed to make the two dire bats look roughly like the same species. They'll be based on individual 60x80 mm bases, but I might zig zag them a little on a 120x120 mm tray for Midgard.

So...this happened... 💁

Against all odds I have actually finished something again; the ancient King's loyal guard, who has followed him into death and back. More sentient than the undead rabble they maintain their gear better, so a bit more shiny. Heavily dry-brushed to give them a more worn look.

I have just added storage space for another (maximum) 2688 28mm figures in IKEA's Harmatta letter boxes. This math kills me: 4 figures on a 40x40mm, 6x7=42 bases on one shelf, 4 shelves for 672 figures, 2688 in 4 cabinets. It's really like they are designed for this...

15th century Italians anyone? www.kickstarter.com/projects/upp...

Finished the first of the two dire bats intended for a Midgard unit. Just contrast paints with a dry-brush, but quite happy with the result; it looks like an animal (sooo many weird Google searches...) instead of just a generic "evil black bat". As an Imperial I wouldn't be worried. Much.

Am I checking if my fantasy Midgard trays also would work for the Sumerian KS? Absolutely not! What a stupid idea, get a grip of yourselves... 😠