Back to painting

We had intended to continue with the Pont de Mouette game last Friday but unfortunately work has got in the way of enjoyment and the game has been postponed by a week. As a consequence I was able to 'lay down' some acrylic paint and reduce my lead mountain to something more like a small hillock.

I have been quite responsible in the recent past and have tended not to buy and 'store' figures  on a whim. That is, of course if you exclude my 10mm Pendraken Austrian army I bought at Salute !

As a result I am now down to my final batch of 'Armed Civilians' that I can use for Maquis, VBCW, ACE or Weird War depending on the circumstances. We are now using Bolt Action rules and I can be confident of fielding the following platoon sized unit in the very near future.

3 x Sections each containing a LMG, SMG and 8 Rifles
1 x Command Unit of 4 figures (plus VBCW flag bearers if needed)
1 x Anti Tank Section with Boys Rifle
1x Demolition/Sabateur Section of 4 figures with explosives

I am working on the basis that the Demolition Section effectively replaces a Support Section found in a more conventional Platoon/ Zug. The only thing I will be short on is vehicles so I suppose I will be trawling eBay for Lledo trucks next month.

This weekend I have managed to get 80% of the last section finished. On top of that I found a few 'spare' Artizan figures that I have painted. These include a couple of 'Naval' types one armed and one unarmed as well as the Artizan Priest and Cprl Millar figures. The sailors may get used in the next 'big' game when we play that in the early part of next year

If these aren't' t finished by Friday then they will be pretty close to it. At least the end is in sight and I am getting the satisfaction that I suspect most people feel when they finally ' finish' a unit.

I have started putting the occasional non combatant figure in the painting mix as well. These figures add life and spice to the table and can occasionally be a gaming distraction but the variety they provide whilst painting rank and file gives encouragement to finish the task.

I had been contemplating where to go next figure wise, but I think my arm may have been forced. One of the guys at work is in the process of clearing out his loft prior to moving and has ' found' what he describes as 'hundreds' of figures. From what he has said it looks like I will be heading to the Crimea with a load of Foundry figures in tow.

Still that may be the excuse I need to buy Black Powder even if I find it more difficult to justify the Vickers Mk CO Light Tank and BEF support.