2021 in Review

It is that time of year again, when I total up my Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge points.  Almost all of my painting this year was in service of two commissions, Carl's 40mm ACW armies and John's 15mm Napoleonic French.  I also painted some 28mm colonials for my friend Kevin and some 1/72 plastics with my daughters.  Practically the only figures just for me were four sticks of 6mm ACW.

 40mm Foot: 145 (1,015 points)
40mm Mounted: 7 (105 points)
28mm Foot: 123 (615 points)
28mm Mounted: 2 (20 points)
28mm Guns: 2 (20 points)
1/72 Foot: 182 (728 points)
1/72 mounted: 1 (8 points)
15mm Foot: 865 (1,730 points)
15mm Mounted: 145 (580 points)
15mm Guns: 22 (88 points)
6mm Foot: 112 (56 points)

That gives me a total of 4,965 points on the year, quite a fall-off from last year's 7,953 points.  15mm Napoleonics are demanding, for sure, and that's what I spent most of my time on this year.

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

I have been painting 5,788 points per year, on average, so this year is not quite the steep fall-off that it seems.  Still, I would love to get those numbers up in 2022.

Painting is only half of the hobby, of course.  How about gaming sessions?  They were almost non-existent this year.  My group got together three times.  I hope this also improves in 2022, as I miss seeing my friends.

15mm French Allies Infantry

I finished these figures on Christmas day.  Here we have John's French allies, a regiment each of Saxons and Poles.

Saxon Infantry Regiment Prinz Anton

Polish 2nd Infantry Regiment

 

These were the final two units for John's French army.  It is complete!  I will try to get some photos of the whole army before the new year.  Then it is time to tackle John's Anglo-Allied army, an equally large task!

15mm French Line Infantry

These 252 French line infantry are ready for John's army!  All figures are an the Bardin uniform.  I always lavish a bit of extra care on French line infantry because they will appear on every single battlefield.  I make sure to include all the piping, two tone facings, and so on.  This is the best I can paint.

This force has six battalions of 42 figures each.  These images may get repetitive, but you should be able to get a good look at every single figure.  As always with AB Miniatures, some of the bayonets needed a reinforcing drop of epoxy.

All that remains for John's French army: a battalion each of Poles and Saxons.

 

Dark Age Vikings

My daughters and I have continued to work on our Dark Age project.  This ship's crew of Vikings will make a fitting opponent for our Saxons!

12 Archers

25 Warriors

12 Hearthguard and Skipper

Entire Ship's Crew

 

Most of the figures are from Black Tree Design, but a few are Wargames Foundry.  Next we will add some suitable buildings.

My November

The blog has not seen any updates because I have been busy painting!  These 252 French line infantry are ready for detailing and highlighting!

 

28mm Back of Beyond

In the absence of my regular gaming group, my kids and I have been gaming together. We are painting figures for a pulp campaign, long on story and short on tactics.

My daughters and I have fielded these eight adventurers from Copplestone Castings. They block painted and applied Minwax Polyshades "Tudor."

 I see some colorful escapades in our future!

15mm French Guard Grenadiers a Pied

These 78 figures make John's French guard complete!

I have moved on to the French, Polish, and Saxon line infantry.
 

Wars of the Roses in 28mm, Yorkist Artillery

I have enjoyed watching Jon's Wars of the Roses project take shape. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to join him.  I placed a large order with Perry Miniatures and waited for my figures to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

My intent is to use the figures for "To the Strongest!" with a 4" grid.  I am building both armies for the battle of Tewkesbury.  All figures will have 60mm frontage.  The medium foot will be in two ranks, 40mm deep, while deep units, artillery, and cavalry will be on 60mm squares.

I started with some metal cannon and cannoneers.  These will all be part of Edward IV's army, and I figure that any artillery would have been part of the king's household troops.  As such, these men will wear the livery of York.

I started by painting the guns in medium flesh.  Once that dried, I streaked oil paint over the entire thing, letting some of the flesh peek through.  This technique makes for a fairly convincing wood grain.  I used raw umber on the left and burn umber on the right.

I changed how I painted the figures, breaking from my usual technique of building highlights.  Instead I block painted these, applied ink washes, and highlighted with the same colors as the block shades.

 

Because I am sneaking WotR figures in during my commission work, I will not be able to paint many of these at a time.  That will actually work out well for me, since I will be able to hand paint the livery in smaller batches.