15mm Confederate Infantry with Blanket Roll

Here we have the 180 Confederate infantry at "right shoulder shift" with blanket rolls. I added some more splashes of color to the otherwise grey and butternut-clad infantry. 

Tomorrow I will post the command figures from this batch. Enjoy!

15mm Confederate Infantry in Light Equipment

The big 15mm ACW commission starts off with these 180 Confederates in light equipment. These troops are all at "right shoulder shift" with fixed bayonets.

Mitch's Confederates are representing Heth's Division on the first day at Gettysburg, so they get a mid-war mix of greys and butternuts.

As always, the Blue Moon figures are a treat to paint. They will look great ranked up in their units!

Watch this space over the next few days for the rest of the "right shoulder shift" Confederate infantry!

First 2026 Figures: 1/72 Plastic Napoleonics

As a fun little diversion over Christmas break, I have put a quick paintjob on two boxes of HaT Industries figures.

1805 French Line Infantry in greatcoats

8219 French Light Infantry Chasseurs (Marching)

Had the soft plastic soldier manufacturers produced packs like this from the beginning, I doubt we would ever have moved to metal. These are great little gaming figures.

My prep and sealing process for these is pretty foolproof. I've not had any flake since I started this. I wash the figures in liquid dish soap to remove the grease from them. I prime with a rattle-can grey or white plastic primer from Rustoleum. Once they are painted, I brush on Varathane "Ultimate Polyurethane" clear gloss interior and let it cure for three days. After all the basing is done, I seal with Testor's Dullcote from a rattle-can.

Now they need to start producing good cavalry figures too. I cannot find anything in soft plastic that looks great ranked up for gaming.

2025 in Review

 2025 was another fun year at the painting desk. Most of my painting was commission work, rather than for myself. 

I have included the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge points in brackets with my total below.

28mm Foot: 114 (570)
1/72 Foot: 656 (2,624)
1/72 mounted:37 (296) 

1/72 guns: 5 (75)
15mm Foot: 182 (364)
15mm Mounted: 99 (396)

That gives me a total of 4,325 points on the year, against an eighteen year average of 5,634, so this year was 23% below normal. It is under half of what I painted last year.

2025: 4,325

2024: 8,808

2023: 7,275

2022: 7,128

2021: 4,965

2020: 7,953

2019: 6,285

2018: 5,072

2017: 7,187

2016: 5,086

2015: 4,506

2014: 4,327

2013: 5,456

2012: 5,787

2011: 4,081

2010: 7,167

2009: 4,348

2008: 8,816

Since I started tracking my painting totals, only 2011 has been lower. That year I broke my ankle, remodeled a house, moved in, listed and sold my old house, and celebrated the birth of my second child.

Nothing in 2025 compares with the challenges of 2011, so why do the totals look so much lower this year? 

Primarily it's because because a large commission took up over two months' painting before the customer changed his mind and pulled the plug. That was frustrating, and it seems to have ended a friendship. The figures were about 95% done. It was hard for me to find much motivation after that, and I have only regained my painting stride over the past couple months.

2026 should see a return to form. I am working my way through a large 15mm ACW commission now, which feels like coming home. I am also looking forward to playing more games in 2026!

Classic Toy Soldier Napoleonics: French Infantry 25mm

I have two commissions cooking at once. In addition to Mitch's 15mm ACW army, I'll be painting 25mm Napoleonics for long-time patron Glenn Drover. 

We're going to tackle the Napoleonics in batches, and the first batch is French line and light infantry. Glenn wants the classic David Chandler / Jack Scruby / Don Featherstone look, with block painted troops sealed in clear gloss.

These 25mm Minifigs certainly look the part! I took these photos of the raw paint jobs. I'll leave the photos of the completed units to Glenn on his blog.

New Commission : 15mm ACW

 

It feels like ages since I have painted any American Civil War figures. Mitch Erickson comes to the rescue with a new commission: Heth's division on 1 July 1863, all based up for Fire and Fury Regimental! The figures and bases arrived today.