ACW Black Powder Supplement is coming

Warlord Games has announced that their ACW supplement for their Black Powder Rule set isn't far off   - i really hope its of a larger size and more like Pike and Shotte as the period deserves real attention - im certainly prepared to pay more for more info and detail.

Here is a pic of the artwork that's going to be used on the cover. No other info at this stage but ill post it here on the blog when i find out more.

KCS on the painting table 15/12/15

On the painting table update

Had a good day of painting today. Only the skin and a bit of work on the rifles to go. :)

Also just to break up task i started work on Robs first box of artillery.

Really getting into the flow of painting Union troops. Hopefully Rob will have a couple more boxes ready for me to start work on this weekend.

A couple of other lads from the club have also expressed interest in my painting their confederate and union troops (At this rate our huge game we have planned for April next year will be 80% painted by me.  That a scary thought as at last count the total amount of regiments that will be on the field will be around 45!!!  That's a lot of painting on my part  - Still i love a good challenge.:)

Painting table update, Federal Zouaves.

Quick update on the Federal Zouaves ive been working on for Rob.

Unfortunately a trip for an ultrasound and a big session of pain slowed my painting to a crawl today.
I did however manage to get 6 of them finished.

It should be a damn fine looking unit once i finish all 24 of them.  not the best photo im afraid but it gives you an idea..

Federal Zouaves - The 74th!

Today I started painting Robs Zouaves. I wanted to get these done asap as i knew that a lot of work would need to go into them (since i haven't got too far with the Wheat's Tigers (More on them soon).

I possibly made the task a little harder for myself by choosing to paint up the 74th (probably one of, if not the most colorful of the federal Zouave regiments (or company in the case of the 74th which never got past a single company in size). As Rob is a good mate and knowing his army isn't going to have a lot of colour i wanted to do something special for him.

I've only managed to get all the base colours on and apply and ink but by the end of tomorrow i should have all the highlights on.

Here's a couple of pictures. They look pretty messy at this point and when i look at them i always doubt that they will look good finished but i know they will.

Half the base colours applied.

The blue applied along with the bags and canteens.

The ink applied - super shiny!!

Federal troops finished

Today i finished up Robs first Union regiment.

Hopefully rob will let me take pictures of them once he has based them all up.

They are a little shiny as they haven't had any varnish yet as Rob likes to use a different varnish than i do.

Pretty happy with how they have turned out and so was Rob so that's the most important thing.

Now back to painting some of my confederates before i start on more of Robs Union regiments.

Why the confederate lost the war...

Hi Guys

Just came across this very interesting university lecture.  Far from being a dry retelling of what ive heard or read before its actually a very interesting look at the confederacy and the southern soldier.

Worth a look.

Ps: I should have some pictures of some based Confederate troops with flags in the next couple of days.  Been doing a lot of work on my Painting Service Blog and its slowed down work on everything else.

Mark
:)

Welcome new followers and its competition time!

Hi Guys

Just wanted to say a quick welcome to the new people who have joined this blog. Great to have you here.

Now i know ive been a little quiet on this blog but that's because ive been working on a lot of stuff on my main blog as i am getting ready to start contract painting again. I'm learning how to do youtube videos and ive been revamping the blog with pricing structures (all of which should go live within the next day or so.

Anyways on to the competition!

I want to get more people looking at my content so i figured a small competition might be a nice way to attract some more followers.

So onto the details: what im going to do to coincide with the relaunch of my miniature painting service is paint up a single figure on a small diorama like base to the very best standard i can. The level i would do if entering a Golden Daemon or other well known painting comp. The miniature may have upwards of 20 hours spent on it (if not more!!). Once done it will be nicely packaged in a box for safety.  I'm going to give it to one of my blog followers including shipping it to them track and trace anywhere in the world at my own expense as a thank you for watching my blog and also as a way to show what im capable of producing.

Whats the catch - there isn't one! (well there sort of is).  There wont be a winner announced until this blog gets to at least 50 followers (After all its the point of the competition right. :).

Now im going to run a similar competition on my other blog as well so if you signed up on both you have a chance to win two miniatures (and they will be totally different subjects). For this blog i think its fitting that i do up a metal confederate soldier by Perry miniatures. I'm thinking of having him walking along a path following a fence line - or something along those lines.

Now what do you need to do - not much, just help spread the word about the competition, my blog and painting business. Once that Blogger followers counter hits 50, i'll randomly generate a number for each follower and get the computer to pick who is going to win the model. Simple right.

Now it might happen quickly, it might take a while - or it might never happen. no matter what the case is im still going to paint the model and will blog about it and possibly use it as a subject matter for youtube videos.

Anyways welcome once again to my new followers and id love to hear what you guys think about the competition.

Till next time, hope you all have a great week.

Mark
:)

Painting table progress

Hi guys,

Here's a few quick progress shots of Robs Union troops. This unit should have been all finished for tomorrow but ive had a few health issues this week that have slowed me down. Only about 2 hours of painting left to do on them so ill probably do that whilst the guys are gaming tomorrow so that rob can take them home to base them.

A group of 8 that are finished.

Also last week i forgot to post up this shot of my next confederate unit. You will see they are being painted on the sprue! More about this craziness soon.  

Hope everyone is having a great week, catch you next time.

New weeks painting table

Lots of things up on the painting table this week.

First up Robs first Union regiment (Well Regiment and a half as there are 36 figs here)

Work also very slowly continues on the Wheat's Tigers Rifles. (At the rate im going i'll finish they around Christmas)

Other things on the painting table are English civil war related and the reason for so few updates over the last couple of weeks on this blog as my ECW force nears completion in time for our big multiplayer game next month at the South Auckland Wargames Club. If you want to see what ive been up too there check out : http://kiwi-colour-studio.blogspot.co.nz/.

Painting desk update

Been a slow week for painting but ive finally finished Rob's unit Cavalry.  I think they have turned out great and like the way they look compared to the confederate ones i finished last week.  The two armies are going to look great on the table facing each other.

 They Just need a coat of varnish and bases and they will be done.

Rob hope you like em :)

Civil War Weapons Documentary

I found another good Documentary on You Tube, this time in regards to different weapons of the civil war. Very interesting some of the weapons that were being used and even more interestingly weapons (like the Gatling gun) that were designed and could have been used to change the outcome of the war but due to shortsightedness or bureaucratic reasons weren't deployed.

If you haven't seen this one before i think you will find it interesting.

New Week, New Models on the painting table

So Straight after finishing up my Confederate Cavalry Rob dropped off his first couple of union units for me to paint up. I decided since i was having fun with horses id start on his cavalry unit.
This would be fun as Rob had assembled them all with hats rather than caps like i had and with a different uniform colour it would be interesting to see how the same box can cover both sides of the conflict.

As the union had a lot more resources and tended to be more uniformed than the confederates i decided to do all the horses in the same base colour. I will have verity in the unit by doing different placings for the horse markings etc.

Along with the cavalry the second unit of Rob's is a infantry unit.  I've noticed the the Perry's first plastic box has slightly shorter troops than the newer confederates. This isn't a big issue as they will be on the opposite side of the table as my troops but i can see why people on various sites and forums are asking for a new union specific set to be done by the Perry's. (it would be great to see a set in full coats).

I'm hoping to have both units done by the end of the week.

Painting Table update - unit finished!

That's right i finished a unit. My first confederate cavalry unit is finally finished.  What i thought would be a nice quick unit to paint turned out to be a lot of work. (Mainly because i changed my mind on how to paint them three times!!)

When i first saw the Cavalry box set from Perry Miniatures i thought it looked nice - the horses were fantastic and i thought the riders were just ok.  Once i cleaned them up and sprayed them black i begun to see all the little details on them like the small buckles and clasps etc..  Truly a nice set of miniatures to paint.

Ok enough talk - onto the pictures :)

The colours aren't really popping in these photos but im sure you will get the idea and once i get them based and a flag on them and take some shots in my light box setup im hoping they will look really good.

Let me know what you think guys.

Now on to the Zoauve unit.

Quick painting update

A quick painting update on the Confederate Cavalry.  Some tidy up work to do as well as the hats and the carbines. But overall they are looking alright.

New Photography set up

I just did a quick post on my new Light box setup over on my other blog. Feel free to check it out at http://kiwi-colour-studio.blogspot.co.nz/2015/11/new-light-box-setup.html

Another quick painting update

The horses for my first confederate cavalry unit are all but done. I'm quite happy with the result. The colours seem to pop well and still stand out across the table.

Today i hope to finish the crew and then it will be back to infantry for a while.

Painting Table update.

Today was a good day for painting.

At the rate im going im hoping to have this Confederate Cavalry unit finished by the end of Wednesday.

On the painting Table

So not a huge amount of progress last week. I spent a bit of time on my back last week so i didn't end up where i wanted to be, none the less some progress was achieved so that's better than none.

The confederate cavalry got built. (minus the hats)

I also nearly finished another Confederate unit of infantry and made a solid start on another unit.

I'm hoping this week to build my Zouave unit The Tiger rifles.



I've been looking forward to doing this unit as it will be a nice change from the basic confederate troops.

I also spent a bit of time researching light box table setups as im really wanting to improve the photos on my Blog (Especially once things get fully finished). Id do a separate Blog post listing what ive purchased and once it all arrives in the post my thoughts on it and value for money.

A line of Corn

Here's a few quick shots of the 6 bases of corn that ive done so far for my first field.

I think they have turned out quite good and i think the cut down stalks make them look better overall now than the uncut 2" stalk.

Now back to basing up a pile more :)

Corn Fields - Part Two

Hi Guys

In my last post i did a very quick look at a product i found from JTT Scenery Products - Corn Stalks - perfect for ACW gaming.

In this post i want to go over my basing format and step by step guide for how i'll be making my corn fields. This is the process i will be doing to be able to create some large cornfields.

As i said in my last post im basing everything on 40mm x 40mm 2mm thick wooden bases. I use War Bases products as i find there customer service and speed of delivery is great.  

I'm using 40mm x 40mm bases as these are the same size as my unit bases which means i can remove cornfield bases to have infantry units actually in the corn fields.  This should allow the lads to take some nice pics for their blogs and also be nice and usable for gaming. Allowing different field shapes to be formed easily.  I will possible do up a few triangle sections as well but for now lots of square bases is the way to go.

Edit: It occurred to me after id written this blog post that my Cavalry will be mounted on 50mm x 50mm bases. For a second i was scratching my head thinking bugger!! but then it occurred to me that cav had travelling through terrain in Black powder as it slows them to a crawl so i doubt anyone will take cavalry into the fields and if they do it will still work - it will just look a little messier than i hoped. 

After a lot of deliberation on how tall the stalks should be i cut about 8-10 mm off each stalk.  As i'd read a report that the corn was about 7' high at Gettysburg at the time of the battle i decided the stalks needed to be shorter. They aren't hard to cut shorter so it doesn't add too much to the overall time to do a base.  

Anyways on with the tutorial.

Step  1 - Drill out 5 holes

Step 2 - Score some lines into the base with a craft knife. (you can skip this stage but the next step is easier if you do this.)

Step 3 - Putty up the base. I use Selly's Rapid Filla Colour smart. (But any putty will do) Don't worry that you are covering over the holes.

Step 4 - Using an old large brush i stipple the surface of the putty when it's about half dry. This gives a nice textured surface.

Step 5 - Get your drill bit that you used earlier to drill the holes. Wet the end of the drill bit and then push it through the holes you made earlier. Keep wetting the drill bit before you do each hole.
 

Step 6 - After about an hour the putty should be completely dry. Paint the base black. (As i had my airbrush out and was about to undercoat some confederate cavalry i figured id just spray the bases but obviously you could do this stage by hand).

Steps 7,8,9 Using a triad of browns (Dark to light) apply the darkest colour as a base coat. When dry apply the next to colours as dry brushes.

Step 10 - Using a very small amount of super glue, glue in the 5 stalks of corn.

And your all done. Do that about a hundred more times and you should have some great looking cornfields.  Ill put up a picture once i have a few dozen bases done up to this standard.  When im at that stage ill do a part 3 covering the edging of the fields and the bases ill be using for that purpose.

I hope you like the process and overall look and hope you find it useful.  Key an eye out for part 3 in the future.

Corn Fields - Part One

So whilst ive been slowly working on figures ive been giving some thought to terrain themed specifically to the American South. Cornfields and Cotton fields are the first two things that come to mind closely followed by wooden fencing.  I've decided to tackle corn fields first.

I looked everywhere for different options. From ways to make it yourself to commercial options nothing was good value for money for how many i need to do larger fields - then i found these!!!

They are made by a company called JTT Scenery Products.  Available all over e-bay for about US$ 6-7 a packet which contains 28 individual corn stalks (as seen above). (the link is below to the seller i used - very fast prompt service and im definitely going to be using them again!.

E-bay link.

So with corn stalks in hand i had to decide how to use them.  I've decided to mount them on 40mm x 40mm bases so that they are the same size as an infantry stand so that as units move through the fields the bases can be rearranged etc..

The next pic shows off the height of the stalks and the way im looking at doing them 5 stalks to a base. The stalks are 2" tall and i think look about right next to an infantryman. (Maybe a little tall been a long time since i was in a corn field last and i was only a lad back then so everything seamed taller).  Checking with a couple of my war gaming mates that actually come from America and are big ACW fans they seem to think that the height and spacing look about right - so that's good enough for me!!

And here is what 6 stands worth (one pack plus two extra stalks) look like:

In part two i'll do a step by step on how im going about basing them.

So what do you guys think - good product or not worth the money and better to make corn stalks yourself? For me time saved is worth the money and personally for NZ $10 these things are awesome - even if i am going to end up spending several hundred dollars on them to do some big fields.

Keen to know what you guys think.

On the painting table update

So rather than finishing anything ive already almost finished, today i started another confederate unit. (So many to go!)  Unfortunately I didn't get very far before my back really started playing up but i guess something is better than nothing.

Oh i also glued together a couple of Confederate Cavalry.

More Documentaries

After watching all nine episodes of Ken Burns: The Civil war i found myself wanting more. So i found these.

Civil War Minutes:

Two Episodes for Confederates and two for The Union.

                                                        Confederate - Volume One

                                                         Confederate - Volume Two

The Union - Volume One

The Union - Volume Two

I found these videos to be rather interesting and im interested to see what you guys think. 

Monday Painting Table

Sorry for the lack of posts for the last couple of days. My camera in my phone deciding to stop working.  I dug up an older phone to take its place.  The camera isn't as good as my other one but the pictures it takes will do for now till i can get a better one.

First up on the bench are 2 more units of Confederate soldiers lined up with the basic uniforms done.

Work still needed to be done:

Guns need the metal areas done and the wood grain effect added.

Buttons and belts need to be done.

Highlights added to the boots and belts.

Skin highlights to be added.

Also on the workbench for this week is my first unit of Confederate Cavalry.

Obviously a bit of work to go on these :)

Ken Burns: The Civil War

Searching my way through You tube for ACW documentaries i came across the Ken Burns Series The Civil War. It consists of 9 episodes,  over 6 hours or more of video. They look like they will be interesting to listen too whilst i paint my southern lads.

I've linked the videos here for reference.

Episode 1- The Cause 1861

Episode 2 - A Very Bloody Affair 1862

Episode 3 - Forever Free 1862

Episode 4 - Simply Murder 1863

Episode 5 - The Universe of Battle 1864

Episode 6 - Valley of the Shadow of Death 1864

Episode 7 - Most Hollowed Ground 1864

Episode 8 - War is All Hell 1865

Episode 9 - The better Angels of our Nature - 1865

As i haven't watched the series yet i cant comment on how good it is but it has some good reviews on Amazon and i imagine if i like it i'll buy the DVD  set.

If anyone following or watching my blog has watched this series id love to know your thoughts on it.

Now to watch episode 1 and put stage 2 of the grey on another 48 figs.

Lego ACW!!!

You really never know what you will find on the internet when you do a search. I went looking for American Civil war documentaries and found this little creative gem.

If ACW Lego had been around when i was a kid (or now for that matter!!) i would totally have been doing some civil war gaming like this.

My favorite bit has to be the melee combat scene - too funny.

Now this little video is done by someone under the name of Dino5500 and its obviously a bit of light hearted fun. Looking through the comments on youtube it's obvious that you cant post anything at all these days without someone having a go at you or turning it into something political which is a sad state of affairs.

Anyway's i hope you guys find it entertaining.  

Welcome

Welcome Phil and Spiro to my blog, Great to have you both here. :)

Interesting Facts about the American Civil War

I found this on the internet yesterday. it shows a whole series of facts about the civil war highlighting the differences between the Northern Union and the Southern Confederacy.

Interesting info and well laid out.  

When you look at the numbers its hard to imagine that the outcome of the war could be anything but the result that it was. Interestingly the Union forces were over twice the size of the Confederacy yet they ended up taking nearly 60,000 more Battle deaths, 60,500 deaths due to disease and 101,149 more soldiers wounded.  Those southern lads really fought hard.    

First Followers

Welcome Francis and Rodger to my new blog, and thank you for your comments. :)

Hopefully i can keep putting up interesting content whilst i journey into the realm of ACW War gaming. This is something i have wanted to do for quite a while and now the perry's plastics have made it an affordable exercise.

If anyone has suggestions of what i can add to the blog to improve it please let me know.

First unit Nearing compleation

So the first unit is coming together well and is close to completion.

Test base for ACW confederate army

This is my first test base for my Confederate army.  I will add a painting guide for those interested at a later date.

Keen to know what people think. Im going to leave the basing of the bases until i have the whole army complete so i can do it all in one go to make sure everything matches.

First confederate test figure

This is my first test figure for my ACW Confederate infantry.