Los Conquistadors

As a follow-up to the Tlaxcallans and Mexica, here is my humble collection of Spanish conquistadors. For God, gold and glory, and all that. Not many, but an interesting mix of Monday Knight and Foundry. These were all painted some time ago, but they still look pretty good to my eye. Though you can see I never quite got around to adding banners to the command group. I do have a few more of these lying around in the "to paint someday" pile. I especially like the poor fellow with his hands tied, undoubtedly off to some grim end...

Meanwhile, South of the Border

Holy cow. Summer is officially over. The wife (a teacher) went back to work today, and the kids are in full-time day care. Big changes, and it will take a while to get used to the routine. But hopefully the change will allow some additional hobby time. Fear not, all has not been completely quiet on that front the last few weeks, and I shall strive to provide some updates on the various happenings the next few days.

Anyway, to today's topic. So what if there wouldn't have even been a border in 1521. At least not one we would recognize. But that was certainly an eventful year in North American history, what with the Spaniards conquering the Aztec empire and all that. Once upon a time, I had delusions of gaming this period. I had visited Mexico, and loved the culture and history (and the food). Colorful troop types, different levels of technology, what could be better?

Oh yeah, I forgot about the multitudes of Aztecs to paint, with all those colors. And the terrain, yikes. So much urban fighting, and building (and storing) all those temples and pyramids was daunting at best. So it never went beyond a handful of Monday Knight Productions and Foundry minis.

Today, I can't make up my mind. Sell them, or perhaps hold out hope that suitable rules may yet come along that allow small scale pre-Spaniard battles. The so-called "Flower Wars" between the Mexica and their enemies still has potential, in my opinion. Saga, perhaps?

It should also be noted I bought my wife a new camera this summer, so hopefully the quality of the photos here will improve. I may not use it all the time, but this collection was shot with the new camera with natural light, and I think the effect is quite good. These are the Mexica, a various mix of basic warriors, some suited warriers and, of course, the big fella, Moctezuma hisself.

Adding to the Gaming Project List

Holy cow, it’s the last day of July? Where is the summer going?

The other day I actually started compiling a list of gaming wants. Not really the same as needs, mind you. But wants. Some things to fill in gaps in existing projects in the hopes of kickstarting them. Some things for projects that barely got off the ground. Some scenery items. Actually, that last bit would really help if I ever actually did do a game. Specifically I’m talking about some ACW and WW2 stuff from Paper Terrain.

Suffice to say, the outcome was rather scary. Do I really desire that much stuff? Especially when there is so much to do as it is?

So I did the only logical thing. I placed an order to Eureka USA.

I’ve never actually had any Eureka minis, so that was a factor. But so was their line of Teddy Bears. Yes, you read that right: Teddy Bears. I have two daughters, remember? And, believe it or not, right now they are on a Yankee Doodle kick. They sing the song relentlessly. And make up words. Riding on a moose? Called it spaghetti? I have showed them some videos of fife and drums playing the tune, and they seemed to like it. So I ordered some SYW Teddy Bears fifers and drummers to paint up for them, with an ultimate goal of someday getting more and teaching them a rudimentary game of some sort.

At the same time, I ordered some Marbleheaders for my AWI project that I have had my eye on for several years, as well as some SYW Saxons to serve as Brunswickers on a future Saratoga project. Woe to me when the Perrys release their AWI plastic British and I can put Saratoga hats on them!

Finally, I threw a couple packs of Aztecs in their for kicks. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I have a very small collection of Aztecs I have thought about selling. But upon digging them out, they are pretty nice and I was rather proud of the paint jobs. Then somewhere I read it may be possible to adapt Saga to Aztecs. That’s a long-term project for sure, but just add it to the list.