The Practice Game - More Photos

This is an overall shot of the board laid out and ready to start play, roughly 5' x 6', again this is half length versus the convention game.

The extemporized town for the practice game with a few stands of civilians milling about.

The native village and the herd of cattle.

The minor fortification - don't know why the image turned blue, probably some quirk of lighting.

An action shot.  The dark blue marker indicates a charge declared, the light blue marker the target of the charge, targets can counter charge or stand and fire.

Another action shot.  The green marker indicates a morale reduction, brown would be routing.  The bottom unit shows how colored tufts identify a specific six stand unit.  The red chip meant some serious damage was done - my casualty figures were not ready to go.

Another shot, with many casualty caps.  The white marker means that unit will have to perform a morale check during the appropriate sequence.

And a last action shot.  That gray marker on the right means that unit has fallen to half strength and can no longer attempt to rally.

Now I need to get back to work on painting furiously to get more units ready for the convention version of this game!  One full command of six units with command and casualty figures just needs last texturing and labelling.  Hopefully several more commands will be done in time.

The practice game

 

This was the only photo I took with my iPhone, a bunch more on my iPad but I need a new cable to transfer those images.  May wait until the actual game to upload more photos since this was only a half size practice game.  From last Saturday in June, 26th.  The convention game will be on July 16.

Reorganizing figures without rebasing or relabeling

So, in preparation for my mid-July convention game, I needed to do some significant reorganization but there is no way I will have time for any rebasing or reorganizing the figures and also get some additional figures painted, some buildings painted, and some terrain pieces built.  

I hit upon the simple expedient of using 'talus' and 'tufts' to define the "new" units.   In some instances, rather than talus I will use rail ballast - it is what I have on hand in sufficient quantity and variety of colors. 

As a for instance, I have constituted four units of a similar nature each with six stands where previously there had been six units with four stands each.  For this grouping, I made piles of white talus on each stand the group identifier and then each unit is further defined by different colored flower tufts: white, yellow, red, and blue.  

What I like most about this approach is that it is readily visible without having to look at the lettering on the base of the figures and without any visually distracting labels.

I only have 72 more units to finish (that is 432 more bases to go)!

Then there are the units I need to get painted to add to the mix - but those might be easily differentiated by how the figures get painted, well some of the units.  The native units will require a bit more finesse but might still be able to use the painted colors for some to differentiate, maybe.

Pirate Harry Doorknockin's Raid on Paynomore

Putting on a pirate game at a convention in July so back to work on some figures - need 48 figures to round out 8 partial units, already painted, as part of a Grand Reorganization to fit the collection to my rules of choice per my own lights, essentially going from 4 stands to a unit up to 6 stands to a unit with some special units up to 8 stands.  Also need a couple of new units of a special nature and more dead figures and then there will be few a 'bonus' figures for the game.  No need to buy anymore figures, though, have plenty on hand, more than needed actually.  Also need to finish a bunch of native figures as part of the game, figures that will double for a Caribbean setting and the Pacific Islands at times.  Might try to finish some of the native canoes but that is a wait and see part of the project.  

I might offer some of the surplus figures as prizes during the game.  Not sure what I will do with there overly Napoleonic marine units.  Will still have a smattering of figures in out-of-period hats like fore-and-aft naval hats but I will just consider those fellows to be trend setters well ahead of their time.

I've got a bit over ten weeks to paint about 240-250 figures which is well within my range of productivity, more if I do the canoes but not too many more, a couple of dozen figures or so at most.

Will also be adding some terrain.  Need to order a couple of walls for my star fort model to create my variation of Panama.  And going to build a rope bridge across a canyon between two native villages.  Otherwise, I should have what I need.  Though I might paint up a few extra buildings and, if enough time, build some better jungle trees.

The coolest part is the game will put almost all of my painted pirate collection figures into a game - not a ship game, a land game.  May be a couple of ships as 'decor', maybe with some boats landed, but only as decor, not part of the game.

Don't have the final tally but once the 'new' stuff is painted, there will be a bit over 1900 figures including the multi-purpose natives.

And looks like I will take one unit out of the pirate collection and switch it over to my western collection as temperance women and a half dozen as bar girls or such.

To the devil drink a toast!

Alive and kicking

Just a quick note to show I am still here - old operating system wasn't allowing access and could not update but have new computer.  Finally!   

Avoiding a Year off

As in not letting a whole year go between posts.  Pirates not abandoned, focus on other collections this year: AWI, Pony West, Colonials.  Will circle back to the pirates at some point.

Most "recent" Pirate Ship acquisition

Not really recent, been awaiting work for a couple of busily distracted years, but here is a 'new' pirate ship not yet removed from its stand and with its keel still in place.

 Just a couple of quick views similar to each other, evidence of eventual forward progress towards completion of the pirate collection.