Off the Work bench - Mike W, 12/02/18

Monday 12th February, what's OFF MY WORKBENCH

So I'm back from my holidays and have been painting away for the last week and have exceeded my expectations on how much I have got done.

Before sunning myself in Spain for a week I prepared 24 x 28mm North Star figures to represent the French 'Royal Italien Regiment of Foot', I have painted these fellows a umber of times before to represent various other regiments.

North Star 1670 Figures - French Royal Italien Regiment of Foot

Anyway, job done and they turned out pretty good - if I say so myself!

So - how did I exceed myself - well I also ADDED TO MY WORKBENCH on 5th February, 10 x 28mm Wargames Foundry Mountain Men to represent Tennessee Voolunteers in the Texas War of Independence Collection and 8 x 28mm Wargames Foundry Maroons - for the Anglo-Dutch Collection.

28mm Wargames Foundry Maroons

28mm Wargames Foundry Mountain Men

Using the Mountain Men as additional Tennesee Volunteers allows me to create a second ten man company, to work with Crockett's own company. The Wargames Foundry figures integrate very well with the Boot Hill figures in terms of size and style. These chaps are all clad in buckskins and are very beardy! Rather nicely, one is in a top hat and tails with buckskin leggings and a couple of the fellas seem to have gone very native - all adds to the diversity & flavour of the period....

Two of the Mountain men were painted red to bulk out the small company of Alabama Red Rovers that I already have painted.

Figures representing 2 x Alabama Red Rovers and a Standard Bearer for a Texian Volunteer Company Tennessee Volunteers (2)

Tennessee Volunteers (1)

The final figures painted were the Maroons, eight in total who were added to another eight that I'd painted at the end of last year and so missed this blog exercise! For those not in the know, Maroons were escaped / freed slaves who held out in more remote areas of a number of the Caribbean islands who armed themselves and fought long guerrilla wars against British, French, Dutch and Spanish colonial powers.

Newly painted Maroons

Still partially finished unit of 16 Maroons

I plan to use them as auxiliaries in either Caribbean or African West coast scenarios to give a little additional flavour and excitement to the more exotic theatres of the Anglo-Dutch wars.

The final point of note this week was that the weather took a brief turn for the better - sunshine and that means I could start spray varnishing some of my backlog pile of units! If I get time,maybe some of these will get photograhed and added to the blog.

So what's going to be added to my workbench this week? Not decided yet but likely a 12 man regiment of Anglo Dutch Horse or a 28 man regiment of foot - either will be painted up as Dutch.

Other possibilities include more Texians or Mexicans, I have a package of these due from Colonel Bill's this week (Along with another Squadron of Austrian / German Cuirassiers for the 1670s)