Went East, coming back now.

Well the last support for the Japanese WW2 force is now done. I have a game in mind specifically for them; plucked from Charles Grants "Scenarios For Wargames". Beyond that I have no idea how much I'll use them.

The Samurai however are presently on hold. Simple reason - paint. I want to paint them using shaded varnish techniques, one army in Red armour, the other in Black, there are historical forces to model them on, however, red is one of those colours. In enamel paint (my chosen medium) Red is highly variable, one tin can be runny, the next thick as pitch. I'm after a spray in a shade I like, to save time, but aside from the obscenly expensive GW red spray, I haven't got any options beyond car spray paint. I know it should work, and there should be a matt shade somewhere, but I lose the will to look.

As usual for wargamers distraction is the enemy of completing jobs.

I, ahem, aquired the first half of an army of Spartans. 60 figures 28mm from Black Tree Designs for only £40! Pretty good value. Sadly that means yet more red paint! Thankfully, metal miniatures and requiring a white undercoat means the pain won't be so bad. However the intention is to produce a display standard army for Warhammer Ancients, so no dip technique for these boys. Full on layered highlighting techniques, none of that cartoony black lining technique some 'professional' painters provide clients. An army of 120 men will take some time to finish, yet it holds a lot more appeal than starting the detailed and fussy samurai...

Meanwhile the 15mm Eygptians are now upto DBM army strength, with 10 chariots and 175 infantry. Good stuff.

The other issue however has been that napoleonics game. As a result books for research have arrived in the house. To touch upon a period of history that always struck me as intriguing. The wars of liberation in South America 1810 to 1840. Shambolic napoleonic warfare on a managable scale. Interesting? Hope so.

On the other hand, some items are going. Some of my fantasy collection, my 6mm ancients are selling up a storm on ebay, and next to go. Well possibly my Mongols; a full 20mm DBM army I've little interest to actually use and even less interest to paint an enemy force for. Kinda like fashion, they're on a shelf now with a time limit on them, if I don't touch again for a while, they're going.

We'll that's where things stand for now...