Quick Paint Tests

I am making slow progress on getting my mid/late 19th century armies to the table. I am still undecided about color schemes but wanted to see some options side by side.  Below are some examples of what I've already painted.  

I had some other football players, but none looked appropriate

I completely forgot that I had already painted a light and dark blue army.  After seeing it next to some other options, I think it fits well as a military uniform.  I really like the green uniforms, but I need to use most of my greens on foliage. The football player is from Techno Bowl, probably the best game I've ever played.  It's a great mix of luck, strategy, and customization.  The only downside is that it is impossible to play solo well.

One of the blessings in disguise of 3D printing is that the process isn’t perfect. Sometimes models fail for unexpected and unexplained reasons. If the errors aren’t too catastrophic, this leaves you with a small number of otherwise useless models. These make great test subjects for painting. I gave two failed prints a quick mockup.  Cieland's light and dark blue was up first.   The first step was ensuring I don't want white pants/helmets.  The white pants and helmet looks very tropical.  My terrain is more arid than tropical.  

After adding dark blue paint to the helmet and pants, the uniform looks decidedly less tropical.  Completing the model with flesh tone faces, brown and silver firearms, gold spikes on the pickelhaube, and regimental cuffs, will yield a viable Cielandic uniform.  

Sicora's red uniform is up next.  It is intended to be roughly inspired by Victorian Great Britain.  I'm not striving for complete imitation, it just needs to look British enough that it could be used in a historically inspired scenario.  As with the other uniform, I started by painting the Tunic and then adding color and evaluating the combinations along the way.

The all white uniform could be OK but it looks rather Napoleonic to me.  By the mid/late 19th Century most European nations had moved away from white pants.  I can't imagine trying to keep a white uniform looking good in the field.

I didn't have any khaki paint available so I had to move straight to Home Service Uniforms.  I know the late 19th Century Home Service Uniform had a spike on the helmet, but with my impressionistic (low detail) modeling the only uniform difference would be the height of the helmet. I like this scheme better.  It really helps develop the toy soldier look I want and keeps me from developing theater specific uniforms.  

The photo above shows the sample models at roughly 3 feet.  They look distinct enough for me.  I don't really like how "symmetric" the uniforms are, but I don't know how to fix it.  I opted out of light color pants for both.  I could probably reverse Cieland's tunic and pants color, but if I expand the line in the future, France and/or US would be next.  Reversing Cieland's scheme would very closely mimic US uniforms.  

Cieland Uniform Plates

 Similarly to Sicora, the Cieland uniform design is committed, but the color scheme is not.  All units in the Cielandic Army wear short tunics and pickelhaube helmets. To be most historically accurate, the tunic should be dark blue and the trousers should be dark gray.   If my modeling skills are sufficient, they should invoke a Prussian impression.  I do like the Prussian color scheme and it would contrast well with the bright red Sicoran uniforms, but the bright blue uniforms from my 18th Century army (featured in late 2018) still capture my imagination.  Striking a balance between being able to use the force in historically inspired and purely imagi-nation settings is proving difficult.  

Bright blue would have been a historically difficult proposition.  Bright blue dyes were very expensive compared to red, yellow, or natural shades.  Outfitting an entire army in bright blue would have been very expensive, leading most countries to use a cheaper dark blue dye or avoid it entirely. I am leaning towards going full imagi-nation. In an imagi-nation setting, it is very easy to rationalize a cheaper light blue dye or a reason for the nation to be wealthy enough to afford enough expensive dye to uniform the army.  

Prussian Infantry for Reference

  

Regular Pattern

Possible Guard Uniform

Tropical Pattern

 

Sicoran Uniform Plates

I have good news to report.  Troops from two separate armies have been printed and primed.  Each force is comprised of four units of regular infantry, a field artillery battery, and a cavalry detachment. Six tiles of forest coverage and a pair of one tile built-up-areas.  This is the bare minimum to play a reasonable game of The Portable Wargame, One Hour Wargames, and my own rules in development. One of the forces is inspired by the British army of 1870. This force will become Sicora as described in a previous post.  

I'd like to ensure that my units are clearly inspired by British uniforms, but won't be strictly adhering to historical uniforms. I'm steering away from the historically correct home service navy blue pants and helmet. The other army is wearing pickelhaube helmets and I'd like them to have navy blue helmets and pants with a brighter (roughly Bavarian) blue tunic. For the same reason, I'll also be omitting the fact that artillery and cavalry troops wore blue tunics. Possible uniform options are shown below.  Units will be differentiated by cuff color and/or marked on the base, I still haven't decided.  I greatly appreciate any feedback and/or preferences.

Probably closest to Home Service Uniform

White helmets to blend all-black and all-white

This option may be too "Napoleonic" for 1870

Iconic Campaign look with early khaki

Hot off the press

 Progress is being made.  I have printed functional test prints of pickelhaube wearing cavalry and infantry as well as pith helmet wearing artillery.  

Primed artillery, infantry, and unprimed cavalry

The wheels printed quite wobbly

Top view: infantry in forest

Front view: infantry in forest

Primed Infantry 

The terrain shown in previous posts has also been test printed and is awaiting priming.  I have not yet attempted painting, but am realizing there are going to be a lot of hard to reach areas.  The undersides of the artillery pieces and transitions between legs and bases look especially challenging. I should have realized this during my design phase, but it didn't occur to me.  One option is to remove the bases and print the grouped figures as one piece and then attach to a base later.  Unbased figures are appealing if I want to commit to gridded games that don't need a base anyway, but one of my primary goals for this project was to keep flexibility.  

Another option would be to leave an indentation in both the base and figures to fill with small magnets.  With two small kids running around, I don't like this option.  My 2.5 year old daughter loves to pick up the test prints and admire them (at least I have one fan).  Once she's a little older I'll probably be designing a teddy bear army for her.  Ganesha Games sells a very compelling introductory wargame which I think she'd like (https://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?products_id=13).  I'll probably end up sticking with the pre-based figures and just deal with the difficult painting.

Introducing The Combatants

Sicoran Empire

After losing its continental territories to Cieland, Sicora has been relegated to their home islands and overseas territorial possessions. They are still a significant player in the political sphere with colonies spread across the globe.  Their grudge against Cieland burns deep in their chests.  For his entire reign the King has ended all public speeches with, "Ceiland will be destroyed." regardless of the speech's subject.  He is determined to return Sicora to its former glory.  

The Sicoran military leads the world in artillery development.  The Sicoran general staff view artillery as a force multiplier to overcome their comparatively small population.  A small but well-disciplined Sicoran infantry corps is augmented by conscripted auxiliaries drawn from throughout the empire.

Cieland

Cieland's history is defined by its rivers.  Early in its history, raiding parties used the rivers to travel upstream to sack religious sites and other undefended targets. As power centralized and peace spread, the rivers became the lifeblood of Cieland.  Trade barges floated down the rivers towards the delta in the fall with the grain from the fertile uplands. Cieland's nobility are accustomed to being able to import luxury items from across the globe, but the average citizen lives with few luxuries.  Those who can afford transportation to New Cieland stand to earn lucrative wages working for the New Cieland Trading Company.  Some are desperate enough to enter into long-term labor contracts with NCTC in exchange for transportation.

Cieland's nobility has a proud history of fighting from horseback.  Although the role of cavalry has diminished drastically with the advent more accurate rifled muskets, Cieland continues to mount as much of its military as possible.  Local dragoon units served with distinction in the previous wars with Sicora.  In peacetime the dragoons serve as constables and deliver the post, keeping their horsemanship skills sharp.  

    

New Cieland

During the Second Age of Exploration, Cielandic explorers encountered many novel plants and animals, but only one has had as much impact as Cieland Spice. To manage the massive import demands, Cieland authorized the creation of the New Cieland Trading Company.  New Cieland's governor oversees spice plantations, processing houses, and the ports that send Cieland Spice back to the home country.  Since its inception the NCTC has had issues with pirates capturing and ransoming spice transports.  Rumors abound that the pirates may be being encouraged and paid by the Sicorans. The Cielandic crown has been threatening military occupation and charter revocation if the governor cannot put an end to the piracy problem.  

The NCTC Guard exists to defend the spice plantations, processing, and shipping operations of the company.  Because it is intended to be a purely defensive force, the company charter severely limits its size and composition.  The vast majority of allowable artillery pieces are mounted on the transport ships.  The few remaining pieces are scattered throughout the region in small garrison forts.

The background of the three major combatants will continue to expand as necessary to provide interesting encounters.  

Deciding to not decide

I've decided that developing imagi-nations is the best way for me to handle colonial wargames.  This way I don't have to decide which nations, theaters, and conflicts I want to portray.  Bob Cordery's work seems to be able to handle several generations of uniforms from the major powers of the day.  I don't have bandwidth or desire to paint British uniforms with shakos from the Indian Mutiny through the scarlet tunics and pith helmets to the tan and pith helmets by the end of the 19th Century and enemies for them from each campaign.  

Bob's blog features Little War armies  (http://wargamingmiscellany.blogspot.com/search/label/Little%20Wars)  which I have emulated previously one this blog with Army Red and Army Sand.    It should be fairly evident that my Army Red is based on Britain c. 1880 and Army Sand is modeled on Egypt.  An Egyptian analog is a compelling inclusion in my project because they fought alongside and against Britain.  I will be expanding on this idea to develop two "European" powers, an organized "Colonial" force and a "Tribal" force. The colony will be the center of whatever narrative develops as it fights alongside its parent country against piratical shore/river raids and incursions from the rival continental power as well as against the parent country in its bid for independence. By creating 4 forces, I can fight a wide variety of conflicts.

Below are some uniform possibilities.  I like the paint colors I used for my Army of Five Rivers for an 18th C campaign. Assuming the Army of Five Rivers survived the ensuing century, it may have developed the following uniforms. 

Infantry in Home Service Uniform

Infantry in Campaign Uniform

The Red King will probably be reprising his role as well, likely modeled on Queen Victoria's forces.

Get on with it!

     I've made the decision that playing some game is better than playing no game.  I've been enamored with Bob Cordery's blog and own his entire series of wargaming books despite only have played a handful of games.  The Facebook page for the rules highlights a wide variety of games played.  Hopefully I can add to the community and offer an example of a truly untalented painter enjoying the hobby. 
    I'm moving forward 3D printing and painting forces for the Colonial version of his rules.  I can squeeze 25mm figures on 30mm bases.  This balances my terrible painting skill with my desire to maintain a compact game.  3D printing my forces is also cheaper for me than buying lead or plastic figures.  Assuming the printer is paid for through other hobby enjoyment or sales of other things printed (it is), a stand of 3 25mm cavalry figures (base included) costs me less than $.50 USD. I don't think I could get that kind of deal elsewhere. However, I have to compromise on detail to make this work.  My 3D printer cannot handle some of the more detailed models at 28mm or smaller meaning I have to do the design work myself.  I think this compromise is more than fair for most games.  
    This is my first attempt at designing units with a built-in base. I prefer the look of non-based units but, based units give the flexibility to be used in gridded games as well as free moving games that require units to be in base to base contact.  All of my units are designed to print with significant overlap between individual soldiers.  This improves their ability to be printed, reduces my painting workload, and provides a more massed look.  The cavalry and line infantry will very nearly fill the base width, but no parts of them exceed the base. 

25mm tall figures on 30mm square bases

    The next step is determining which nationalities/conflicts I'd like to represent. I'm not opposed to getting into what-if scenarios and imagi-nation actions, but I'm limiting myself to one set of terrain for now.  Doubling the amount of time painting terrain and designing two sets of  trees/buildings/cover just isn't appealing right now.  Perhaps eventually the forces will deploy to more exotic locales but for now all splendid little wars will all be fought in similar climates. I'm leaning towards a brown/sand board with terracotta tile roof and stucco buildings.  This could be used from the Mediterranean, to the Southern US/Mexico, and even Spanish Colonies in the Caribbean or Pacific.  I think this gives me the best "bang for the buck".

    Expanding the range to include melee units is also a priority. I don't have much work done on melee weapons.  Straight swords and spears are designed from previous ancient design work and are ready for lancer cavalry and sabre cavalry, but curved blades and 19th Century shields are not complete.  

Where I've been...

 I've been busy. I have separated from Active Duty and started a new job.  This involved moving nearly 1,000 miles and purchasing our first house. The kids are growing like weeds and we are blessed that we have remained healthy.  Between getting settled into the new job, home maintenance, and keeping up with the kids, I haven't had much time for hobbies.  I've been reading a lot of rule sets and think I'm still in the process of looking for my unicorn game.  I want something:

Gridded - probably squares, but hexes would be ok (its just harder to do terrain and show linear warfare).

Uncertain turn length - Not a I-go-U-go game.  I want my militia troops to refuse orders and give the initiative to the enemy. 

Simple processes - The process for activation, shooting, melee, and rallying should feel similar.

Unit Diversity - Elite, Regular, and Light regular infantry should feel different from irregular sharpshooters.  Militia should exist and be unique.

Solo - I need a game that I can play without finding an opponent.  After having moved and working remotely, I don't know anyone involved in wargaming.  

Small footprint - Table space is limited in the new house.  Especially table space out of the reach of my toddler.  I'd prefer less fiddly markers.

If you know of a game that fulfills the majority of my wants, please let me know.  

I have accomplished increasing my terrain for 18th - 19th Century.  Both of the following have been printed to fill a 2" square grid.  They are 1" tall when printed to fill the cell. The figures are rendered at 25mm.

Connected Rowhouses

Regular Infantry in the woods behind a small farmstead.

A small farmstead

To The Checkered - Playtest

I playtested  To The Checkered as posted yesterday.  It needs some further work.  Prior to posting, I tweaked the Random Events table to reduce the likelihood of very involved events occurring, but I swung the pendulum too far.  With a 50% chance of experiencing a random event, too few events were happening. I've playtested at 67% chance of random event.  This felt too predictable.  I did not upload this version. It wasn't fun.

As a result of this playtest, I re-tweaked the random events and made some clarifications to the rest of the rules.  I think it's playable now, but it remains un-tested.  

To The Checkered

 I've determined a name for the NASCAR themed, Charioteer (THW) inspired racing game: To The Checkered.  The rules are posted here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qxKc8XjeYc_Fz5Is1F_7SQFITewVa0PZ/view?usp=sharing

I'm very interested in any feedback, especially related to the NPC AI.  It still makes too many dumb decisions.

If you want the 3D printable files for the cars, or driver information sheet shown on the blog, please let me know.  

3D Modeling Continues

 With my relative success of the NASCAR themed game, and the ongoing Stanley Cup games, I thought I'd give making a hockey themed board game a try.  I'm still working out the details, but I'm imagining lines of players comparing offensive to defensive skills, eventually resulting in the shooting skill of a line of players being compared to the goalkeeping skill of a goalie. Of course this game would need some miniatures, so I spent the better part of my free time today designing a hockey player which would represent all but the goal keeper.  Some working images below.  I'm not particularly fond of the gloves yet.

  

Most of the model was repurposed.  The body and legs are from American Football miniatures I created for a game called Tech? No! Bowl.  It's a great 2 player game, but my normal opponent moved across the country, then I did too.  The head is from the Colonial Wargame miniature line I've been developing and highlighting here.  The padded shorts, arms, stick, and helmet were purpose built. I think the model clearly invokes a hockey player without adding too much detail.

Race Day

With the Indy 500 and the a prime-time NASCAR race, it's the perfect weekend to play a racing game.  The long weekend provided a great opportunity to stretch the game over several sessions. I played the firsts section Saturday morning before the kids got up, then Saturday evening after the kids fell asleep, and concluded Sunday morning, writing this post along the way.  

The rules are inspired by Charioteer by Two Hour Wargames, but have been drastically altered to suit something like stock car racing.  In total, I probably spent two hours playing as all six cars.  The AI I developed for the cars is tolerable, but makes too many bad decisions for it to be running loose on its own. I'll keep tweaking the rules and if I ever get them to a shareable quality, I'll post them here.

Pre-Race

A beautiful day here at the track.  Bud Busch’s engineer must have gotten something right because he aced the qualifying laps and will find himself in pole position. The rest of the field’s times were much closer with  Ronny McDonald and "Bull" Dozier separated by less than one second. 

Lap 7 of 50

The first excitement came on the 8th lap when Arnold challenged Busch in the first turn. Arnold unsuccessfully attempted a bump and run to gain the inside advantage but was blocked. Undeterred, Arnold completed the pass on the outside. McDonald saw an opening and pushed his luck on the now 2nd place Busch.   Busch blocked the pass, but in doing temporarily losing control and falling back to 3rd.  

Laps 8 through 36

The middle portion of the race saw a few minor lead changes after Bud Busch's fall from the front.  The #50, driven by E. Pluribus, has been struggling to complete passes at the back of the field despite using all his focus.  Lap 24 looked like it was going to be a critical lap, but at the last minute, all spotters directed their drivers to draft the car in front of them.  

Lap 36 of 50

Busch's #13 took serious damage early in the race, forcing him to pit early.  He returned to the field with fresh tires and rekindled optimism for lap 36.  Ronny McDonald has led the pack since Busch's fall from the front.  In the middle of the pack "Bull" Dozier's #25 bumped the #45 of  Jimmy Arnold, causing him to touch the wall and letting "Bull" push his way to the #67's bumper.  By some great luck, Arnold held off E. Pluribus's outside pass attempt despite the #50 having one of the fastest straight-line speed cars in the race.  

Lap 41 of 50

Knowing he's better in the turns "Bull" Dozier, tried an outside pass on Rob Grainger's #67, but he didn't back down.  After trading paint, Grainger holds off the pass but loses temporary loses control, before pulling his car back on the racing line.  Bud Busch takes advantage of his new tires and passes E. Pluribus in a wide turn and sets himself on the #25's bumper and gave him a nudge.  They switched lanes but Dozier was able to hold off the pass. Can anyone catch the #39?

Lap 50 of 50

The last lap!  Everyone pushed their cars to the limit.  Rob Grainger pushed his #67 and took the lead in the final straightaway.  Seeing McDonald's lead falter, "Bull" Dozier attempted to pass by bumping McDonald's bumper.  The pass was ultimately unacceptable and further damaged Dozier's already crippled car.  Busch took advantage of Dozier's weakness and passed on the inside but got himself stuck behind the now second-place #39.  E. Pluribus pulled up to the side of Dozier, traded paint for several hundred feet and ultimately surrendered.  Jimmy Arnold, with fresh tires, pushed to the outside and made an easy pass on E. Pluribus. He then pulled up alongside the battered #25.  After trading paint again, Dozier surrendered 4th place to Arnold who now had his eyes set on the red #13.  Despite his recent pitting, Arnold could not overtake Busch before running out of track.  

Final Results

1st Place #67 Rob Grainger - 2nd Place #39 Ronny McDonald - 3rd Place #13 Bud Busch - 4th Place #45 Jimmy Arnold - 5th Place #25 "Bull" Dozier - 6th Place #50 E. Pluribus.

Possible Changes to Rules

Increase likelihood of incurring wear points.  Not enough pitstops.

Rework AI logic for Bump & Run.  As written it happens too much.

Cap Focus Expenditures at final value +3.  

Reduce passing in Random Events Table.  

Army Sand

Army Sand is the governmental force for the conflict in which Army Red will be inserting itself.  Army Sand is comprised of two infantry columns each with two units of regulars, a unit of reserve infantry and a field artillery detachment.  The cavalry column is comprised two units of lancer cavalry.  Army Sand's desert climate does not readily provide the fodder and grain required to keep significant cavalry forces in the field so they rely on massed conscripted infantry.  Their cavalry mostly provide scouting and intelligence gathering allowing the slower combined infantry and artillery columns to engage the enemy.  The infantry's regulars have generally competent unit level officers, but each column acts independently of each other on campaign making organized campaigns and combined operations difficult.  

I still need to determine how the rebels will be uniformed/trained.  I'd really like to have a cavalry heavy force, focusing on mounted infantry and utilizing Gatling guns in flying columns, but it doesn't fit with Army Sand's geography.  I would also like to design better European mid/late 19th Century terrain which would allow me to field a Prussian style army in its home country.  It just looks odd to have dark blue uniforms and pickelhaubes in the desert.   

Fortifiying the Plan

 My last post indicated that Army Red would likely be seeing action in a desert campaign.  I have designed fortified walls to augment the buildings I had previously designed.  Some images showing all types of wall are below. 

I have built a corner tower, corners, straight sections, and wide city gates.  I believe I have succeeded in representing a desert fortified wall without adding so much detail that it limits its use to a specific historical setting.  These walls may fit from antiquity through the late 19th Century.  I may add a second story section to the city gates and an inside corner, but what I have is a good start.  Below is a sample 8x8 grid with my desert buildings.

The wall pieces can also be arranged using the corner tower and 3 corners to build a small fortress/outpost as seen below.  

I'll keep working on the terrain to include some sources of light cover like forests/vineyards and water features as well as developing a backstory for Army Red and its currently undeveloped opponent.

Desert Buildings

In keeping with my simplistic unit design, I knocked out some desert buildings.  They're pretty modular to accommodate different purposes/designs.  I think I should be able to adjust them to Mediterranean style by adding tile roof to each building.  I plan on extending the range to include wall segments that will have ramparts large enough to for the artillery and infantry to occupy.  I will also probably need to make rocky outcroppings and fields/vineyards/orchards to serve as suitable cover/concealment.

I guess this means that the campaign for Army Red will be set in a desert location.  I'm thinking that the first campaign could involve Army Red intervening in a civil war/succession crisis in a desert nation.  I assume that means valuable trade resources and/or strategic ports are at stake.  Perhaps Army Red's perennial adversary Army Blue will join to support the local opponent to Army Red's ally.    

 

Red Expeditionary Force

I've been daydreaming about getting the Colonial Portable Wargame onto the table for over a year at this point, but haven't gotten around to it.  I might attempt a virtual version on my computer using the 3D modeling software I designed all of my models with, Google Sketchup.  My laptop takes up much less space, is easier to get going in short notice, and I can leave a game up without my risk of my toddler daughter becoming interested in the game and "playing a few turns herself."  

Regardless of which medium the games get played in, I will need at least two armies, terrain, and a campaign backstory/narrative.  In my previous attempt at historical wargaming, I opted for imagi-nations and think I will likely do the same for Colonials.  This allows me to not worry about the minutia of the uniforms, historical army composition, or ensuring my games are historically appropriate.  An added bonus of doing Colonials as imagi-nations is getting to avoid the negative connotations/implications of the actual history.  

I'll go back and add backstory later, but the first army (Army Red) is inspired by the mid/late 19th Century British and Roman Republican armies.  Both forces featured a core of well trained and disciplined infantry and artillery, but were relatively weaker in cavalry and skirmish/light infantry branches compared to their rivals.  They also both relied on local forces to augment their core forces which fits well as an expeditionary force. Below is the force Red will bring on campaign.  The cavalry force comprises of a squadron of lancers, a squadron of dragoons, and a field artillery detachment.  The infantry force is a unit of light infantry (front), two units of regular line infantry and an elite unit of guard infantry.  Also accompanying the expeditionary force is a centralized field artillery detachment and two support/teamster units.  

Along the way they will pick up local reinforcements of local skirmishers, cavalry, and possibly Red military advisors will even be able to train up some locals into competent artillerists or drill the local militia into a regular infantry force.  

Army Red

 

From left to right. Skirmish Infantry, Carbine Cavalry, Regular Infantry, Gatling Gun, Field Artillery, Regular Infantry (again), Skirmish Infantry (again), and Lancer Cavalry in the right rear.  

In my limited free time, I designed some very simple 19th Century armies for use with The Portable Wargame, and other simple wargames.  Above is "Army Red", based on a historical force also famous for wearing red uniforms. A typical field force for "army red" will probably be 6-8 units with 4 units of regular infantry, but I generally use the scenarios from One Hour Wargames as a basis for army compositions.  

The next step is determining what "army blue" will look like.  I may end up designing my own terrain as well.  If so, desert buildings are very easy to model, which makes an Egyptian/Turkish adversary attractive.  But after having reread The War of the Worlds, a Martian invasion force seems like it could be a lot of fun.  If I go this route, I would probably still need a European opponent to fight alongside and against "army red".

I still haven't given up on my own rules, but am really struggling with the AI to control the opponent.  Controlling an army in the field is a bigger challenge to program than the cars in my racing game from previous posts.  In that game cars roll 1D6 each turn.  AI cars become more defensive and passive as they acquire damage, but in that game cars move through specific phases as a field.  In order, all cars choose whether to pit, pass, or draft (choosing a lane in the process).  Then they all are subject to random events, followed by cars attempting to complete their passes (assuming they're still in a good position).  

Expanding the Range

 

So remember before I got distracted....

I was working on a range of low-detail units for Bob Cordery's Portable Colonial Wargame.  I think they're pretty representative of the historical uniforms that they're meant to represent, but I'd be interested in seeing what you guess they are intended to be.  I'm working through some irregular uniforms as well, but am struggling with the non-firearm weapons.  After finishing the irregulars, I'll decide on an "army red" and "army blue" for use with the scenarios from One Hour Wargames and start the 3D printing/painting process.  Cavalry will be 3 mounted figures with sabers, lances, or carbines,  gatling and field artillery pieces are manned by 2 figures, regular infantry is in blocks of 6 and skirmishers are in blocks of 4.  I haven't decided if this project will be hexagonal or square gridded.  I already have a 8x9 hexagonal gridded surface, but there's a piece of grass green duck cloth in my wife's remnant pile that is about 20x30 and calling my name. I have 3D printed test pieces in scales down to 18mm, but a better printer could certainly handle 10mm or smaller.  

I've been pretty busy on the personal front since the last post, which was admittedly too long ago.  I've been very busy at work and in December, our second child was born.  He's been keeping us busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Now that football season is over, my schedule should be a little more freed up for hobby time.