May 09 Painting Output

I was a little disappointed by my lack of painting production for May. The disappointment is tempered somewhat, however, by the other hobby things I accomplished that probably contributed to my lower painting output. Finishing bases and various little terrain projects or touch-ups take up a fair amount of time each month but aren't reflected in the painting points. So, for May I was able to finish one Napoleonic 28mm Spanish cavalry unit and two Austrian artillery batteries (photos of these hopefully soon). These gave me a total of only 28 points for May. This is compared to my projected 59 points (not a good investment, if you had put money on my estimate). For June, I think I'll be a little more realistic, especially given that it's now summer and much of my hobby time has been reserved for outdoor house projects and weekend get-aways. My current plan is to have finished five 28mm Austrian Napoleonic mounted command figures and a 14-figure Continental line unit for my 54mm AWI collection (note to self: I really should get some pictures of this slowly growing project on the blog). These two projects will give me 31 points for June. I was looking at some other bloggers' efforts and their painting point outputs and mine seem rather meager in comparison but I try and remember to keep it in context. Gamers paint at different speeds, with differing qualities, and for different reasons.

Carlist Wars Navarrese skirmishers from the collection of Vidal Bairos.

My Carlist Wars confederate, Vidal, sent me the picture above of his first unit painted for our mutual project. These are Navarrese skirmishers from the Carlist army. Once again, these are from the superb Perry Miniatures range. I can't say enough about these figures. They are wonderfully sculpted and quite easy to paint! As my part of the project, my initial force will look something like this:

Isabellinos (or Cristinos)

12 x line infantry (center companies)
12 x line infantry (center companies)
12 x line infantry (elite companies)
6 x line cavalry (lancers)
1 x artillery piece (w/4 artillerists)
3 x mounted command

While this may seem like a small force, it is intended for Sharpe Practice, a pseudo-skirmish horse & musket rule set. Vidal is building a similarly-sized force for the Carlists. We hope to be able have games that can be challenging and fun and small enough to be completed in an evening of gaming (while still imbibing good wine...and cookies baked by my ever-patient wife). Also on the horizon are some Spanish/Mediterranean style buildings, some of which I believe Vidal already has in his collection.