(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Partially-Painted/Printed Pledge” [III/IV] February 2026

Last month's output was largely dominated by "Games Workshop" and "Wargames Foundry"

Sadly there can be little doubt then when compared to some of my past January outputs, the last four weeks have proved pretty disappointing productivity wise. Indeed, I didn't manage to pigment even half of what I achieved just a couple of years ago in 2023. Having said that though, a lot of time was lost due to a slow start, and currently my enthusiasm for the hobby is so strong - especially for "Wargames Foundry" and their Napoleonic range, that I fully expect to make up some ground throughout February.

In addition, I've temporarily postponed a couple of new projects I had begun to 'scratch away' at, in favour of firmly focusing upon my Partially-Painted/Printed Pledge (PPPP) and making far more in-roads towards my target tally for that. Last year I managed to finally finish 246 points worth of semi-completed figures, and was planning to better that this time round. However, having just past my personal challenge's half-way stage, I've only got 119 points tabletop ready - so have set aside my plans for Napoleonic cavalry and cannon units (some of which have literally just arrived through my letter box), and swapped them out for a sizeable selection of already-based Austrian Fusiliers, Moscow Militiamen and Frenchmen marching in greatcoats.

"In military operations, hours determine success and campaigns."

To get things off with something of a bang I have finally managed to get a coat of "Vallejo" Matt Varnish on an eighth skirmisher I have had loitering around my painting desk for quite some while. Found inside the “Wargames Foundry" blister FN054 - Light Infantry Chasseurs Advancing, the miniature Frenchman was undercoated using a little "Vallejo" Surface Primer Black and "Citadel" Abaddon Black, before having his uniform/cuffs layered in "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade.

The soldier's various leather straps were treated to some White Star by "Two Thin Coats", before being 'weathered' with some watered-down "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Furthermore, I 'picked out' all of his extra details, using colours such as as "Vallejo" Heavy Green and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green for the man's epaulettes and sabre-briquet ribbons, "Vallejo" Sombre Grey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil on his bedroll, and "Two Thin Coats" White, Skulker Yellow, and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade for the Frenchman's helmet plume.

January 2026 - "Blood Bowl", Napoleonic Soldiers and Super-Heroes dominate the current chart

Alongside my burgeoning Black Powder collection, I am also planning on working through a number of primed "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" models I've had lurking in a drawer beside me for many a month. Whether this encourages to return to the company's skirmish ruleset "7TV" I don't know. But there's a good chance many of the figures will make an appearance on my "Silver Bayonet" tabletop as I primarily use Karl Perrotton's miniatures for any encounters my warband might have with wandering monsters, the Undead or musket-carrying bandits.

Lastly, I'm still very much in the mood for producing various items of scenery with my "Bambu Lab" A1 Mini, and am quietly working away in the background on some of the terrific terrain I received as free STL (Standard Triangle Language) files from "Steamforged Games" as part of their Warmachine 3D: Gravediggers release in April 2025. I've also got a bit of a backlog building courtesy of "Saucermen Studios" and their "Beyond The Trenches Of Despair" Kickstarter. So expect to see a fair few Whether ruined walls, trench systems, bunkers, towers and concrete barricades appearing over the coming months.

"Of All Of The Small Winged-Fairies..."

"...Pixies are the most frequently encountered."

This 28mm scale metal miniature of a Pixie is sold by “North Star Military Figures", and is one of the five models which can be found inside their blister TSB022 - Pixies for The Silver Bayonet. I recently picked this set up whilst at "Warfare 2025", as they feature in the original rulebook's bestiary, and I'm rather keen to own figures (in some fashion or another) for all the monsters it covers.

The tiny, mischievous sprite was primed using "Vallejo" Beasty Brown, and had its leggings shaded with a little "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. The little prankster's top was then treated to a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. Both the trousers and top were subsequently dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Beasty Brown or Heavy Red as appropriate.

"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue."

The miniature's flesh was patiently picked out in "Vallejo" Escorpena Green and sploshed with "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green. Whilst its gnome-like hat was simply given a lick of "Vallejo" Heavy Blue, washed in "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade, and carefully dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Blue. At this stage I was also "umming and ahing" as to whether to give the wee fellow a white beard, eyebrows and hair curl as per the 'official' paint-job, or simply leave these details with just a covering of "Citadel" Abaddon Black.

The model's wings actually gave me a bit of a pause for thought, as originally I was thinking about using one of my Scale Color Metallic pigments by "Scale75" on them. However, in the end I decided that I'd just give them a coat of "Two Thin Coats" White Star, douse them in "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and later dry-brush the areas with (more) White Star by "Two Thin Coats". This very straightforward approach appears to have turned out rather well, and gave me an excuse to keep the Pixie's facial hair plain black so it didn't clash with its supposedly gossamer wings.

"Big Mr Tong" WIPs - These Power Armoured Troopers have been base-layered and shaded

In addition to the first of my unhelpful fairies I have also completed a fifth 28mm scale metal model from the “Wargames Foundry" pack FN054 - Light Infantry Chasseurs Advancing. This Napoleonic Frenchmen was predominantly pigmented using "Vallejo" Heavy Blue, "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade, White Star by "Two Thin Coats" and some heavily watered-down "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and is hopefully the first of four identical sculpts I plan to use so as to double my French force's skirmisher line.

Lastly, I've made a bit more progress on my five freshly 3D printed Power Armoured Troopers by "Big Mr Tong". These somewhat upscaled STL (Standard Triangle Language) files have been based-coated in "Scale75" Thrash Metal and shaded with "Citadel" Nuln Oil in order to help me better see all the details of the sculpts - as well as remove the odd support I missed having removed them from my resin vat. And stand approximately 42mm tall so they 'fit in' with the official figures produced by "Modiphius Entertainment" for "Fallout: Wasteland Warfare"...

"You Are Under Arrest, British Scum!"

 "Come out from hiding!"

This 28mm metal model is produced by "Athena Miniatures" as part of their Apocalypse Survivors range, and comes from the company's AS12 Russian NBC four-figure set. I've been working on a dozen of these sculpts since stumbling across them whilst at "Warfare" 2024, and with this final figure now finished intend to use them for some classic "Invasion!" skirmishes set during the classic comic book strip created by Pat Mills for "2000 A.D." in the late Seventies.

The Soviet Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence trooper was initially undercoated using a couple of layers of “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, and shaded in "Citadel" Nuln Oil. He was then dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII so as to bring out all the folds/creases in his rubber suit, and subsequently had his buttons 'picked out' with a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

The Russians and British square of against one another whilst investigating some grisly murders

This fairly simple palette meant that the miniature was predominantly finished quite quickly. However, I thought the model looked a tad plain, so decided to break its overall look up a bit by using a smidgeon of "Vallejo" Neutral Grey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil on both the Russian's gloves and over-boots. I also thought the soldier would look more menacing if I painstakingly applied some "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil to his firearm and eye lenses. As a final touch then trooper's respirator and rifle butt was given a lick of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and a splash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

In addition to my painting, I have also managed to play another game of "The Silver Bayonet" by "Osprey Games". This time round we decided to have a straightforward shootout between a force of British adventurers and my Russians, so chose to use the rule-set's opening scenario - The Investigation. However, rather than have a Hobgoblin suddenly appear during the battle, we decided to have a (Straw) Troll emerge instead.

The Russians bravely look for clues whilst being peppered by the British infantrymen

Things definitely got off with a better bang for the British as their 95th Riflemen managed to successfully pepper the Russian infantrymen. The sharpshooters' more accurate rifles clearly gave them a distinct advantage over their musket-wielding opponents, and began racking up hit after hit. Disappointingly, a good deal of the recruitment costs spent by Tsar Alexander I's officer had been foolishly placed at the feet of a peasant who claimed he could transform into a formidable Were-bear.

Once the (Straw) Troll appears the British quickly ask the Russians for a ceasefire

But after a few rounds, during which the Moscow Militia came under increasing fire, there wasn't a sign of the huge hairy animal anywhere to be found. Instead, the Russian's brave leader uncovered the aforementioned large (Straw) Troll which had been slaughtering the locals, and quickly agreed with Major Sharpe of the British contingent to combine their forces to confront the brute. This team-work seemed to be a splendid idea, and before long the monster terrorising the English line was taken down.

"My Mommy Always Said There Were No Monsters."

"No real ones. But there are."

These 10mm scale metal Xenomorphs are produced by “Pendraken Miniatures” as code SFC2 Medium Creature Type 2 from their Alien Creatures range, and come in a pack of five single-pose sculpts. Intriguing however, the sculpts are probably closer to 15mm scale (from head to tail-tip), so surprisingly sit down on the tabletop with my old collection of aliens by "Ground Zero Games" rather nicely.

I also thought these deadly extra-terrestrials would fit in rather nicely with the Monster May(hem) Challenge currently being held over on the "Dead Dick's Tavern and Temporary Lodging" blog, as its rules specifically state that the entries needn't be limited to fantasy-based beasties. And frankly, I think there's only a few people who wouldn't think of H.R. Giger's creature from the 1979 film "Alien", if they were asked to name the most famous science-fiction monster of all time.

The models themselves were pretty simple to pigment, largely thanks to a double coat of "Citadel" Abaddon Black doing most of the work. The miniatures were then dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, drowned in "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and later had their domed-heads touched up with a little (more) Abaddon Black, so as to make them slightly stand out from the rest of their horrifying horde. 

The Russians and British approach a revenant infested ruined chapel

Alongside my painting, I have also managed to play another game of "The Silver Bayonet" by "Osprey Games". Having previously tackled a couple of the rule-book's PvP (Player verses Player) Scenarios, this time around we thought we'd try a co-operative game of "The Ruined Chapel", and set up a disconcertingly small 30" x 30" board accordingly. In addition, I dug through my collection of scenery and placed a ruin, six gravestones, four clue markers, half a dozen (straw bear) Revenants and plenty of trees as the set-up instructions directed.

As I wanted to use some of my Russians by "Wargames Foundry" for this battle, I selected a sword-wielding Officer, a pair of (recently pigmented) Moscow Militiamen as Irregulars and a lone Infantryman. Whilst my ally went with an assortment of British soldiers from so many different manufacturers as to almost set off my OCD (Obsessive-compulsive disorder). Fortunately, they were being led by a certain Major Richard Sharpe, so I had high hopes that the quartet would at least do a sterling job on the tabletop, even if their different physical sizes was rather jarring to me.

Just as soon as a Vampire appears the British flee from their position

Sadly, things went wrong straight from the start as my Officer bravely marched up to the closest Revenant emerging from behind its gravestone, and was savaged to death. To make matters worse, my British compatriots - having deployed in a corner opposite my own forces - realised that they were too close to one another and couldn't manoeuvre as they had hoped. This caused Wellington's men to waste some actions rejigging their respective positions, and set them up perfectly for the Vampire which appeared right behind them at the end of Turn One.

Disappointingly, things did not get any better for Major Sharpe's contingent in the subsequent fighting, as his soldiers failed to cause any damage whatsoever to the deadly blood-drinker in their midst. Admittedly, some musket fire did start to take its toil upon a pair of Revenants that were closing in upon them from the ruin. But both Richard and his fellow Rifleman took some significant damage themselves in return. Indeed, it eventually became clear that the surviving members of the group needed to head south away from the Vampire as fast as their mud-splattered boots would allow them.

***** 'Bravely ran away, away! When danger reared its ugly head, He bravely turned his tail and fled. Yes, brave Major Sharpe turned about. And gallantly he chickened out. Bravely taking to his feet. He beat a very brave retreat, Bravest of the brave, Major Sharpe!' *****

The brave Russians attempt to hold line against the Undead, as the British flee for their lives

Happily however, despite losing my Officer early on, the rest of my plucky Russians got busy bagging plenty of Revenants with their withering gun-fire. This eventually allowed my Infantryman to head into the ruin unmolested, and discover a bag of Silver Shot for his musket. In addition, the top fellow then uncovered a Small Icon, which would soon be needed to save him from the foul jaws of a Revenant.

Outside, an already dire situation was worsening for the remaining British, as a second Vampire emerged from the surrounding woodland to join his fellow Nosferatu in stalking Major Sharpe. Setting up a firing line along the southern-most edge of the map, both forces combined their musketry in a last ditch effort to keep the Undead horde approaching them at bay. This did momentarily appear to be working as one of the blood-drinkers was finally wounded. But in the end Richard and my Russian in the ruin fell, and this caused the rest of our fighters to understandably retreat back into the forest...

"The People Playing The Bears..."

"...Either dress in costumes made of straw, or are actually wrapped in straw."

These 28mm scale metal models of four Strawbears are produced by “Crooked Dice Game Design Studio” and can be bought as SKU: MINI 466 from their Children of the Fields range. The single-cast pieces can also be purchased as part of the Lincolnshire-based company's four-figure Mummer Procession deal, along with a Hobby Horse, Accordionist and Drummer.

The highly-detailed sculpt actually came about as part of the manufacturer's successful "Children of the Fields - Folk Horror 28mm Miniatures" Kickstarter in May 2018, and was unlocked as the campaign's £22,000 stretch goal. However, I picked this particular quartet up as part of a larger pre-order directly from company owner Karl Perrotton when I recently visited his stall at "Warfare" 2024 - as I want to field a considerable number of the Strohbären as 'generic' Revenants for "The Silver Bayonet" by "Osprey Games".

"Black Site Studios" WIPs - Three primed NASA Astronauts ready for some shading

All of the miniatures were primed using a couple of coats of “Vallejo” Dark Yellow and liberally drenched in “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. Each figure was then heavily dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Dark Yellow, and then Buff, using a large, soft-bristled make-up brush. I next decided to break up their palette a little bit more by sporadically applying splotches of “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade and Biel-Tan Green to certain areas of each model, and ultimately blended all these colours together with a second dry-brush of (more) “Vallejo” Buff.

With half of my Strawbear reinforcements finished, I've made a bit more progress on my squad of NASA astronauts from the "Lunar" range by "Black Site Miniatures". This five-model force has actually been assembled with a homebrew version of "The Silver Bayonet" in mind, and should prove fairly straightforward to get tabletop ready on account of their predominantly "Two Thin Coats" "Celestial Blue" palette - albeit I do plan to apply a little "Vallejo" Heavy Blue to certain areas just to break the colour scheme up a little bit.

Undead Egyptian Mummies attack both the British and French forces searching for treasure

I have also managed to play a second adventure for my ongoing "The Silver Bayonet" campaign featuring my British (Coalition) warband. Once again sticking to the recommended 3x3 foot table size - as opposed to the significantly larger cloth mat we've previously been playing on - my forces attempted to both discover and then capture "a powerful artefact" during scenario "The Revenants". As before, this confrontation was fought over an Egyptian-flavoured battlefield, where a tomb packed full of undead Mummies (which looked rather suspiciously like the Osiran Sutekh's service robots) rather inconveniently disgorged its protectors upon my alliance of Green Jackets and Russian infantrymen.

To make matters worse, my opponent's competing French force was lead by none other than General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie himself - who rather disconcertingly lived up to his fearful reputation by repeatedly surviving sword-fight after sword-fight with my Junior Officer throughout the encounter. Ultimately, Napoleon's fiendish Frenchmen found and then fearfully fled the desert sands with the valuable curiosity intact, despite a desperate attempt by Russian fusiliers to chase them down before they could escape...

"The Soviet Union Was Able To Pull Ahead..."

"...And claim a major victory by landing on the Lunar surface."

This 32mm resin Russian Astronaut is produced by "Black Site Studios", and forms part of the Lunar Core Game pre-order I made with the American-based manufacturer way back in July 2021. These days the figures are available as either part of the five-figure set SKU: LNR6805BSS - Soviet Cosmonauts, or the manufacturer's current Two-Player Starter Box, and was rather patiently assembled from an almost overwhelming number of tiny pieces which came inside the starter box.

To begin with the rocketeer was super-glued to a "Citadel" 30mm circular stand, as opposed to one of the bases which came with the kit, and then armed with a whopping great ceramic tiled panel and a brain-bustin' monkey wrench. The fearsome spaceman was then undercoated with plenty of "Two Thin Coats" Sanguine Scarlet, drenched in "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, and dry-brushed with (more) "Two Thin Coats" Sanguine Scarlet.

"Black Site Studios" WIPs - Three primed NASA Astronauts ready for some shading

As I wanted the Cosmonaut's equipment/weaponry to stand-out from his suit, and felt that the coated LI-900 silica ceramics would be light coloured, I decided to pigment the model's shield using a combination of "Two Thin Coats" White Star and plenty of watered-down "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. The panel's rim and interior was later treated to some "Vallejo" Gunmetal, "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and a dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Gunmetal. Lastly, I picked out some of the stray wires protruding from the piece with either "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade, or "Vallejo" Escorpena Green and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green.

The miniature's face-plate was carefully painted using some "Vallejo" Gold over a Heavy Sienna basecoat, and subsequently shaded with a little "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Whilst it's large wrench was given a lick of "Scale 75" Decayed Metal, washed with "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and given a dry-brush of (more) "Scale 75" Decayed Metal.

The French win a narrow victory in "The Silver Bayonet" by killing a homicidal Hobgoblin

Alongside finishing off my Soviet Cosmonauts, as well as starting my NASA astronaut squad, I have started a campaign playing Joseph A. McCullough's "The Silver Bayonet" ruleset by "Osprey Games" using a selection of my Napoleonic miniatures. We've gone right back to the first of the scenarios to begin such an adventure, and stuck to the recommended 3x3 foot table too - as opposed to the significantly larger cloth mat we had been playing on. Having fought "The Investigation" a few times, I also thought it might help mix things up a bit if the two opposing forces fought over an Egyptian-themed field, rather than a European one.

Perhaps the biggest impact for my (up to this point) unbeaten British (Coalition) party was how much more quickly the French came within musket range of my green-jacketed Riflemen. Admittedly, my forgetting to use their +2 Accuracy bonus didn't help either. But compared to our previous encounters, it wasn't very long before Napoleon's men were peppering my elite sharpshooters with plenty of withering fire. Needless to say, I never properly recovered from this increasingly frantic exchange of lead balls, and narrowly lost the scenario by a single Victory Point when the French surprisingly cut down the vindictive Hobgoblin who had been slaughtering nearby settlers...

"On July 9, 1810..."

"...After the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by the French Empire..."

These two 28mm scale metal models are sold by “Wargames Foundry", and can be purchased as part of their identical eight-figure blister FN175 - Imperial Guard Dutch Grenadiers In Greatcoat Marching. The company's Napoleonic French range was sculpted by Michael and Alan Perry, and I was lucky enough to pick this set up in person when I visited the manufacturer's premises in Newark, late last year.

"Initially numbered the 2nd Foot Grenadiers Regiment of the Imperial Guard", the pair were initially primed using my usual mixture of "Citadel" Abaddon Black and Vallejo Surface Primer Black, before their trousers and various leather straps were layered with "Two Thin Coats" White Star, and 'weathered' with some heavily watered-down "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. I then applied some "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade to each miniature's great-coat, as well as 'picked out' all the details around their waists - such as drinking bottles, swords and ammunition pouches.

"...The Dutch Grenadiers were incorporated into the French Imperial Guard."

To be honest when I had first selected this particular blister off of the showroom's rack I hadn't spotted half the equipment attached to each soldier's rear, so was originally a little despondent when I later saw just how much stuff each Frenchmen carried. However, despite having decided early on with this painting project that I wasn't going to go mad with buttons, small straps and cuff /collar braiding, I did feel elements such as the tassel tied around on the sword-hilt were worthy of some time, so gave them a lick of "Two Thin Coats" Sanguine Scarlet and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. Furthermore I applied "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson onto the two models' epaulettes, bearskin tassels and grenadier emblems.

One of the big motivators behind my current passion for all things Napoleonic is undoubtedly Joseph A. McCullough's "The Silver Bayonet" ruleset by "Osprey Games", and recently I was able to play a couple of the game's opening scenarios - pitching my British (Coalition) warband against a fiendish French raiding party. Littered with various buildings, a spot of marshland and a river running into a pond, the tabletop was somewhat larger than the 3x3 foot one recommended in the book. However, it gave us plenty of room for manoeuvring and exchanging musket balls across the village/town before each side closed upon the clue markers.

The British Officer leaves with the artefact whilst the French continue fighting Straw Bears

The first conflict was based upon the scenario "The Investigation", and was frankly a bit of a one-sided affair as the murderous Hobgoblin killing the locals was soon revealed by my forces, and then shot to pieces by a pair of British Green Jackets using their famous rifles. This caused us to quickly slap a disused barn into the centre of the battlefield so we could give "The Revenants" a try instead, and this battle against a horde of animated Strawbears (by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio" was much closer.

Indeed, there was some ferocious firefights between the Russian Infantrymen I fielded and some of the French side's more colourful characters - such as the Occultist, who successfully twice cursed one of my fusiliers during the skirmish. On the other side of the battle, my Riflemen were outnumbered by muskets and became locked in a truly deadly battle of attrition, with lead balls flying all over the place. In the end though, my Officer was able to snatch the missing artefact and bring it safely back behind the British line, whilst my opponent's Commander, Doctor and Sapper were still busy fending off the straw-based revenants around the village pond... 

"Despite Its Much Greater Accuracy At Long Range..."

 "...The rifle is still a relatively uncommon weapon."

This 28mm scale metal miniature of a Rifleman is sold by “North Star Military Figures", and is one of the eight models which can be found inside their TSB031 - United States Unit box for The Silver Bayonet. I recently picked the set up whilst at "Colours 2024" and was rather disappointed to see that the sculpt is a little large when compared to my ever-growing Napoleonic collection by "Wargames Foundry" - which happen to be a little smaller and stockier than many modern-day releases.

The crack shot was undercoated using my mainstay mixture of "Warlord Games" Pitch Black and Vallejo Surface Primer Black, before having his boots treated to a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Using the 'official' paint scheme as a guide, as I simply have no idea when it comes to American uniforms of 1812, I then applied plenty of Wyvern Green by "Two Thin Coats" and "Citadel" Nuln Oil to the chap's heavy overcoat.

"North Star Military Figures" WIPS - This Light Cavalryman will be predominantly blue and white

I next tackled the two satchel bags sat around the marksman's wait with a couple of coverings of "Two Thin Coats" White Star and a little watered-down "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, before tackling the soldier's rifle using "Vallejo" Gunmetal and Heavy Sienna. The hand-weapon was later shade with "Citadel" Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade where appropriate. I also took this opportunity to patiently trace around all the ruffled lining on the miniature, as well his Shako's cord, with a smidgeon or four of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

Finally I 'picked out' the Rifleman's badge in "Vallejo" Gold and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, as well as his plume with "Vallejo" Heavy Green and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green. I did however, stop short of tackling the model's long hair with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna - as it appears to have been pigmented brown on the "North Star Military Figures" website - as the detail was so fine on the casting that any paint on its edges repeatedly rubbed away whilst the fellow was being (man)handled. Obviously, the American was ultimately going to be varnished. But I still thought it would be far easier and quicker for any future repair jobs to just give the area a lick of "Citadel" Abaddon Black - plus, I rather liked the look of the guy's thin face poking out from a dark mass of hair and headwear.

"Black Site Studios" WIPs - Three Russian Astronauts

With a quarter of my boxed set already 'in the bag', I have perhaps unsurprisingly moved on to another miniature from my purchase - a light cavalryman. This hand-axe waving maniac appears to be wearing a similar overcoat to my Rifleman, so I'm looking forward to tracing out all the red trim again once the time arrives. Furthermore, the horseman has caused me to return to Aly Morrison's range of 1812 figures for "Wargames Foundry", and start thinking about a small contingent of President James Madison's men fighting in Napoleonic Europe.

Lastly, I've found the time to make some progress on all five of the Soviet Cosmonauts I own by "Black Site Studios". This quintet basically just need to have any metallic parts painted and washed before receiving something of a tidy-up, so I am already itching to get the opposing NASA Astronauts assembled. I did purchase a load of different sized resin Shell Holes from "Magnetic Displays" whilst at "Colours 2024" to use as moon craters, so may well start basing them up too...

"Every Country Has Their Experts..."

"...When it comes to investigating the supernatural."

This 28mm scale metal miniature of a Supernatural Investigator is sold by “North Star Military Figures", and is one of eight models which can be found inside their TSB031 - United States Unit box for The Silver Bayonet. I recently picked the set up whilst at "Colours 2024" and was rather pleased to see that the sculpt actually fits in perfectly well with my ever-growing Napoleonic range by "Wargames Foundry" - which happen to be a little smaller and stockier than many modern-day releases.

The monster expert was undercoated using my bog-standard mixture of "Warlord Games" Pitch Black and Vallejo Surface Primer Black, before having his shoes 'picked out' with "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and his trousers pigmented with "Vallejo" Earth. The moustached man's pants were later shaded with some "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

"North Star Military Figures" WIPs - This Rifleman is just having his final details 'picked out'

I then applied some "Two Thin Coats" Cold Corpse Blue to his jacket, darkened the coat down with "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed it with (more) Cold Corpse Blue by "Two Thin Coats". The chap's saddle-bag was efficiently painted using some "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. I also took the time to patiently splodge each of the Investigator's buttons with a smidgeon of "Vallejo" Gold and a dollop of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

Finally, the miniature's scarf was treated to a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, and the pages of his book given a lick of "Two Thin Coats" White Star and a weathering of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. I did toy with the notion of making the tome's cover red or brown. But in the end kept it pure "Citadel" Abaddon Black - suggesting it might actually be a bible rather than a diary of some kind..?

"Black Site Studios" WIPs - Three primed Soviet Cosmonauts

My plan is to actually have the contents of the United States Unit box entirely painted before I attend the Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre in November for this year's "Warfare" wargaming show, so with this in mind I have already got going on the set's Rifleman. I must confess that this soldier's dark green and red uniform has really ignited an enthusiasm for the "Wargames Foundry" War of 1812 range, so I may well 'sneak' some Americans into my next Napoleonic order with the Newark-based manufacturer.

Something which has caught me completely off-guard though, is my discovery of the old Lunar - Core Game I pre-ordered from "Black Site Studios" way back in July 2021. This box has been sat in a cupboard since it arrived, as frankly I was rather put-off by all the tiny resin cast pieces the astronauts came in. But as I fancied something simple to paint alongside my Napoleonic soldiers - and these astronauts will receive pretty straightforward colour schemes, I thought I'd invest some considerable time in assembling the five Soviet Cosmonauts which were in the set...

"So Far, The 1813 Campaign In Germany Had Proved Indecisive."

"Napoleon had won victories at Lutzen, Bautzen and Dresden..."

These two 28mm scale metal models are manufactured by “Wargames Foundry", and can be purchased as part of the eight-figure PN063 Infantry in Peaked Cap Marching blister. Sculpted by Alan Perry, I purchased this set way back in July 2023, and now, in the short-term at least, hope to use most of it's contents as Prussian Infantrymen for The Silver Bayonet by "Osprey Games".

The soldiers were primed using a couple of layers of "Vallejo" Sombre Grey, and originally formed part of a batch-paint which would have seen the entire packet completed simultaneously. However, despite numerous attempts across the years such a technique simply doesn't work for me as I find the process utterly overwhelming once I reach the minutiae - so eventually they were progressed as a pair. 

"...Whilst his marshals had suffered defeats at Gross-Beeren, the Katzbach and Kulm."

Due to following the colour scheme shown on the Nottingham-based company's website, as I really have no idea as to Napoleonic Prussian uniforms, I applied some "Vallejo" Stormy Blue to the miniatures' jackets, and subsequently darkened them down with a splash of "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I then used a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson for the cuffs, collars, cap bands, and gun straps, as well as "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna with plenty of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade on to his rifle and backpack.

I also applied some "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil onto the metallic areas, such as their gun barrels, bayonets, and water bottles. Before tidying up the boots, extra baggage, leather straps and epaulettes with "Citadel" Abaddon Black - a colour choice which apparently designated the models as being Fusiliers.

"North Star Military Figures" WIPs - A Sailor, Supernatural Investigator and Native Scout

Sticking with my love of The Silver Bayonet rule-set, I've also settled down to pigmenting the eight figures found inside the official United States Unit warband box by "North Star Military Figures". I picked this particular starter unit up recently whilst at "Colours 2024", and had been hoping I might be able to mix them in with some of my "Wargames Foundry" miniatures. Sadly, some of these sculpts are noticeably larger than my old Perry soldiers, so I'll probably simply stick to the range for use when playing the game using its more supernatural elements and wandering undead.

To begin with I thought I'd work on some of the specialists I haven't fielded before, such as the Supernatural Investigator, Sailor and Native Scout. My plan is to complete the box by the time I visit "Warfare 2024" in November, and there pick up at least another warband, as well as some of the paranormal figures in the range...