Category: Miniatures & Gaming

Perro de Guerra (Conquistador War Dogs)

Dogs have been used in warfare for centuries. The Conquistadores used perro de guerra (war dogs) extensively in the Americas. They proved to be dreadfully effective weapons against Aztec and Inca troops. The Aztecs had only ever seen little Chihuahuas that they used primarily used for food.

By contrast, the Spanish had huge mastiffs, molossus dogs, deer hounds, and greyhounds. Many of these dogs were absolute behemoths – up to 250 pounds and three foot high at the shoulder. They were bred for war, and often wore armor with spikes and even spiked collars, and were more than capable of disemboweling an enemy with fangs alone. Here is an excellent post on these war dogs that does a nice job of summarizing the history of their employment in battle by the Spanish – I think it’s worth a look.

In addition to the horrific physical damage that they could do to opposing human beings, these war dogs caused opposing forces great psychological damage – to include inducing panic. The war dogs were new to Mesoamerica and quite deadly. In my supplement for Civilizations Collide (for games of Feudal PatrolTM ), the war dogs can both augment the attack of their owners and cause panic among their foes. Also, they can defend a fallen master against being dragged away for ritual Aztec sacrifice. To sum it up, they were viciously effective historically and can add quite an interesting element to a game.

A few years ago I remember playing one of the previous versions of the Sid Meier’s computer game Civilization – and the Spanish had Conquistadores as special units. It always struck me as interesting that the Conquistadores had war dogs with them as part of the animated unit icon in the game. When I began this project, I knew I’d have to find some 28mm war dog figures. I did find two sources for them: Outpost Wargames Services CONS6 “Wardogs” (available in the US from Badger Games) and Eureka Miniatures #100CON13 “Dog Handler and Dogs” (available in the US from Eureka US). The OWS SKU has 8 armored war dogs in two poses. The Eureka SKU has a dog handler armed with a pike and 4 different (and mostly smaller war dogs. Unlike what I wrote in my previous post, here I found the Eureka figures to be the better sculpts. But both are fine – we are talking about dogs. But BIG dogs. As far as basing, I needed to use a 1.25″ washer with some plastic card to cover the hole for four of the OWS and one of the Eureka models.

The eight OWS figures mounted for painting.
The dog handler and the four Eureka war dog figures. I don’t have a role for a dog handler in the game, but he’ll do fine being armed with a pike – and a stick (for the dogs I guess).

So then the issue was how to paint them. I looked at Osprey books, and on-line research on the different kind of dogs that were used. The picture below shows how I chose to proceed – more or less.

Clockwise from top left, a light-colored molossus dog, a darker molossus, a greyhound or deer hound, and a mean looking mastiff.

I decided to airbrush the different base coats and then go from there. The OWS ones were all armored with what appeared to be a braided cotton blanket. Half of these were made leaping forward (the leaping ones reminded me of Krypto) so there was a pillar underneath four of those models that needed obscuring. The second four OWS looked as if they were running. The Eureka ones had only spiked collars, but looked much meaner. My painting of these models took a few turns as I experimented with contrast paints, different dry brushing, and shading, as well as pigments.

The OWS war dog sculpts looked like Krypto to me.
I airbrushed different colors for the base coats of the war dogs. In the back you see the horses that I will use as casualty markers for the upcoming cavalry, but they are not part of the post here (but are part of Mark’s Conquistador Contest).

I then dry brushed the dogs’ coats. Then I ran into a new issue – how to paint eyes on a dog? I decided to use an off-white background with a ruby-red ink for the pupil – and leaving some of the off-white paint visible. I then made sure that the dogs’ faces were distinctive as the sculpts allowed me to be. I think my success was mixed, again these are dogs – but you can be the judge.

For the armor blankets (or whatever they were supposed to be called), I tried using contrast paints, then washes, and I was not happy as the dogs needed to be dirtier. What dog doesn’t roll around in the dirt and get dirty?

Therefore, I then went with a heavy use of pigments over the contrast paints and fixed the pigments with water. When I went to remove some of the excess pigments with Vallejo thinner and a cosmetic brush, some of the contrast paint started to roll up and come off – NOOOOO! After this, I just used water and a much lighter touch (though the first model I had to dirty up more to cover the damage as you’ll see below) and it worked ok. The next issue was that now after I had applied the pigments that the different colors that I had given the bands holding the armor on became pretty much brown. This meant that I needed some other way to distinguish them in games from a tabletop player distance – so I used some differently-colored flowered tufts. We older gamers need some help seeing ya know!

An OWS war dog after I finished removing some of the pigments. You can see the pillar supporting the model front here. I also added more washes after this. The dog’s face and paws have a glossy look, not because he had been drinking, but because I usually try to protect any inks or contrast paints that I used. Final varnishing is gloss then matte so any shininess is removed.
The group ready for flocking.
The models finished – you will see close ups below.

I numbered the war dogs as CWD1-8 for the OWS models and CWD9-12 for the Eureka models. The pikeman is CPM1. All of the dogs are slightly different in paint scheme – I hope. Click on any image for a bigger view:

Outpost Wargames Services CONS6 “Wardogs”

CWD1

I obscured the support posts on these with the bushy light green tufts. The flowered tufts are from Army Painter of Shadow’s Edge Miniatures. The back of this model is where I added more pigments to offset the paint loss I described.

CWD2

CWD3

 

CWD4

CWD5

CWD6

I only had one focused shot!

CWD7

CWD8

Eureka Miniatures #100CON13 “Dog Handler and Dogs”

CWD9

CWD10

CWD11

CWD12

CPM1

GROUP SHOTS

Lots of war dogs coming at you!
What’s for lunch? Or who? An unlucky Jaguar Warrior I guess…

This group counts as my second entry into Dave Stone’s Painting Challenge “PAINT WHAT YOU GOT CHALLENGE”.  For those of you interested in the progress of the “Mark’s Conquistador Contest” – and as always I do hope that you enjoyed reading this post – and please let me know your feedback in the comments section. After adding these 13, I have completed 36 figure and I now have 53 more figures to go. I am trying my best to get them done quickly and well.

Progress through 1/12/2021.

Lastly, our buddy TIM always ends his posts with a joke. I don’t always, but as a lot of you are from the UK, Australia, or other Commonwealth countries, AND as I am from NEW England, I thought I’d share the following picture from good old Worcester, MA – as it is too true.

Keep watching and hope you’ll stay with me!

And now my reference section (so I might remember what the hell I have done!):

Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:

Previous posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide”

  1. Perro de Guerra (Conquistador War Dogs) (this post). 13 figures total: Outpost Wargames Services #CONS6 “War Dogs” (8 war dogs); Eureka #100CON13 “Dog Handler and Dogs” (1 dog handler/pikeman and 4 war dogs)
  2. Conquistador Foot Command, Crossbowmen, and a Couple of Officers. 11 figures total: Outpost Wargames Services #CONC1 “Conquistador Foot Command” (a leader, a banner bearer, a drummer, and a bugler); Eureka #100CON04 “Crossbowmen” (5 crossbowmen); and Eureka CONC1 “Conquistador Officer” and an unknown SKU officer (2 officers)
  3. Merciless Adventurers (this post) – Wargames Foundry #SB014 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
  4. Audacious Arquebusiers! – Wargames Foundry #SB012 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
  5. Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers!
  6. Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
  7. Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
  8. Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
  9. Civilizations Collide – The Wars of the Aztecs, the Inca, the Maya, and the Conquistadores is now available as a FREE Download for Feudal Patrol™ – plus a Feudal Patrol™ review!
  10. 18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
  11. Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
  12. Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
  13. Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
  14. Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
  15. Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
  16. A June and July Jaguar Warrior Frenzy (plus some Aztec Veterans and a Warrior Priest to Boot) – 3 Aztec Veteran Warriors, 17 Jaguar Warriors, 1 Aztec Warrior Priest
  17. Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
  18. Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
  19. Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
  20. Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

Total figures completed to date for this project: 177 figures:  109 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans, 36 Spanish Conquistadores (53 more to go in Mark’s Conquistador Contest!)

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE CONQUISTADOR FIGURES:

  1. Gorilla Glue
  2. 1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
  3. 1/8″ x 1.25″ Everbilt Fender Washers
  4. Poster tack
  5. Vallejo Mecha Primer “White”
  6. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  7. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  8. Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
  9. Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
  10. Vallejo Game Air “Wolf Grey”
  11. Vallejo Game Air “Black”
  12. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Cygor Brown”
  13. Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white)
  14. Citadel Air “Balor Brown”
  15. Vallejo Model Air “First Light”
  16. Vallejo Mecha Color “Off White”
  17. Vallejo Model Air “First Light”
  18. Vallejo Model Air “Dark Brown”
  19. Vallejo Model Air “Panzer Dark Grey”
  20. Vallejo Model Color “Neutral Grey”
  21. Americana “Buttermilk”
  22. Citadel “Runefang Steel”
  23. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Volupus Pink”
  24. Secret Weapon Washes “Ruby” (ink)
  25. Army Painter “Strong Tone” (shade)
  26. Reaper MSP “Grey Liner”
  27. Army Painter “Light Tone” (shade)
  28. Army Painter “Mid Brown” (shade)
  29. Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
  30. Battlefront “Sicily Yellow”
  31. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Blood Angels Red”
  32. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Aggaros Dunes”
  33. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Flesh Tearers Red”
  34. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Dark Angels Green”
  35. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Ultramarines Blue”
  36. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Talassar Blue”
  37. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore-Grunta Fur”
  38. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Black Templar”
  39. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Militarum Green”
  40. Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade)
  41. Vallejo Game Air “Bronze Fleshtone”
  42. Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
  43. Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
  44. Citadel “Ironbreaker”
  45. Vallejo Model Color “Brown Rose”
  46. Secret Weapon Washes “Armor Wash” (wash)
  47. Battlefront “Flat Earth”
  48. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  49. Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
  50. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
  51. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Wyldwood”
  52. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
  53. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
  54. Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
  55. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  56. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  57. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  58. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  59. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  60. Americana “Desert Sand”
  61. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  62. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)
  63. Army Painter “Meadow Flowers” (flocking)
  64. Shadow’s Edge Miniatures grass and flowered tufts (various)

Conquistador Foot Command, Crossbowmen, and a Couple of Officers

At the end of 2020 I had 11 Conquistador figures nearly – but not completely – done. I had written a few blog posts earlier this week, and I wanted to wait a bit to share a blog post on these eleven that I finished earlier this week. I know that there is interest from several of you in the “Mark’s Conquistador Contest” – so here is an update on my progress and some pics of the completed figures so you can see how you’re doing.

This post concerns three groups of 28mm metal figures: one from Outpost Wargames Services (#CONC1 “Conquistador Foot Command”; and two from Eureka Miniatures (#100CON04 “Crossbowmen” and two single officer figures – 100CON06 and an unnumbered one). I got the OWS ones from Badger Games and the Eureka ones from Eureka in Australia – but since I have learned that there is a Eureka US distributor.

Conquistador Foot Command

The first group of figures that I finished included a four-figure group called “Conquistador Foot Command”. I am unaware of the sculptor. I am including these as the first of (hopefully) several more entries in Dave Stone’s Painting Challenge “PAINT WHAT YOU GOT CHALLENGE”. The group included a leader, a bannerman, a drummer, and a bugler. The bannerman (CFC2 below) will count as my first official figure of 2021 for Ann’s “First of the Year Painting Challenge”. I did like the sculpts though they are a bit “bulky” compared to my previous Wargames Foundry Copplestone figures, and were fun to paint. From top to bottom, are some WIP shots.

These are numbered for me as CFC1 to CFC4. Here are the completed figures below (click on any image for a bigger view):

CFC1

CFC2

Again, this is my first figure of 2021. The banner here is a representation of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary that Hernan Cortes used during the Spanish Conquest. I printed it off on my computer printer ad affixed it to an old RAFM halberd that I modified. Here are some WIP shots of that process:

CFC3

CFC4

Group Shot

I will probably use this group as an ensemble, or possibly some of them. I will enjoy seeing them on the tabletop.

Crossbowmen

These five came from Eureka and took the long trip from Australia. I wanted a number of crossbowmen to complement the arquebusiers I had already done. The figures are much slimmer than I would have preferred, and no where as detailed anatomically on the faces and on the legs, which made painting them a bit less fun (and effective). You can see some of my issues below but I think that I did the best I could with what I had to work with here. But they are less expensive, and Eureka was nice enough to throw an extra figure in the mix that you’ll see under the officers. Here is a WIP series of shots from top to bottom:

These will be fine for the tabletop, but I’m less than fully happy with them. I numbered them CXB1 to CXB5.

CXB1

CXB2

CXB3

Not happy with the legs…

CXB4

This figure and CXB5 are the same – I tried to give each a different color scheme. These faces were not well-sculpted.

CXB5

Conquistador Officers

I ordered one officer figure from Eureka, and as I wrote before they did throw in another figure for free – and that one was my favorite of the Eureka stuff. I gave each some facial hair. I numbered these COF1 and COF2, and will use them as leaders in Feudal PatrolTM.

Here are a series of some WIP shots from earlier to later:

And now the finished figures:

COF1

COF2

My favorite Eureka figure.

And lastly, a group shot of all of these figures:

I hope that you enjoyed reading this post – and please let me know your feedback in the comments section. I now have 66 more figures to go – and I have already a good start on the remaining ones. Keep watching!

And now my reference section:

Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:

Previous posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide”

  1. Conquistador Foot Command, Crossbowmen, and a Couple of Officers (this post). 11 figures total: Outpost Wargames Services #CONC1 “Conquistador Foot Command” (a leader, a banner bearer, a drummer, and a bugler); Eureka #100CON04 “Crossbowmen” (5 crossbowmen); and Eureka CONC1 “Conquistador Officer” and an unknown SKU officer (2 officers)
  2. Merciless Adventurers (this post) – Wargames Foundry #SB014 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
  3. Audacious Arquebusiers! – Wargames Foundry #SB012 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
  4. Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers!
  5. Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
  6. Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
  7. Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
  8. Civilizations Collide – The Wars of the Aztecs, the Inca, the Maya, and the Conquistadores is now available as a FREE Download for Feudal Patrol™ – plus a Feudal Patrol™ review!
  9. 18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
  10. Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
  11. Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
  12. Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
  13. Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
  14. Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
  15. A June and July Jaguar Warrior Frenzy (plus some Aztec Veterans and a Warrior Priest to Boot) – 3 Aztec Veteran Warriors, 17 Jaguar Warriors, 1 Aztec Warrior Priest
  16. Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
  17. Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
  18. Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
  19. Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

Total figures completed to date for this project: 164 figures:  109 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans, 23 Spanish Conquistadores (66 more to go in Mark’s Conquistador Contest!)

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE CONQUISTADOR FIGURES:

  1. Gorilla Glue
  2. 1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
  3. Poster tack
  4. Vallejo Mecha Primer “White”
  5. Vallejo “Surface Primer – White Primer”
  6. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  7. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  8. Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
  9. Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
  10. Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white)
  11. Vallejo Mecha Color “Off White”
  12. Vallejo Game Air “Black”
  13. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Cygor Brown”
  14. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore-Grunta Fur”
  15. Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
  16. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Black Templar”
  17. Citadel “Runefang Steel”
  18. Battlefront “Dark Leather”
  19. Battlefront “Gunship Green”
  20. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Magos Purple”
  21. Citadel “Evil Sunz Scarlet”
  22. Citadel “Ironbreaker”
  23. Battlefront “Worn Canvas”
  24. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Militarum Green”
  25. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Iyanden Yellow”
  26. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
  27. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Wyldwood”
  28. Vallejo Mecha Color “Dark Steel”
  29. Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
  30. Secret Weapon Washes “Yellow Snow” (wash)
  31. Vallejo Game Ink “Yellow” (ink)
  32. Vallejo Game Ink “Blue” (ink)
  33. Vallejo Mecha Color “Electric Blue”
  34. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
  35. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gryph-Charger Grey”
  36. Vallejo Game Ink “Red” (ink)
  37. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Nazdreg Yellow”
  38. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Creed Camo”
  39. Army Painter “Purple Tone” (wash)
  40. Army Painter “Red Tone” (wash)
  41. Citadel “Drakenhof Nightshade” (wash)
  42. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Blood Angels Red”
  43. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
  44. Reaper MSP “Black Primer”
  45. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Flesh Tearers Red”
  46. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Aggaros Dunes”
  47. Vallejo Model Air “Light”
  48. Secret Weapon Washes “Armor Wash” (wash)
  49. Citadel “Coelia Greenshade” (wash)
  50. Vallejo Model Air “Duck Egg Green”
  51. Vallejo “Satin Varnish”
  52. Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
  53. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Volupus Pink”
  54. Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” (wash)
  55. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Dark Angels Green”
  56. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Talassar Blue”
  57. Vallejo Game Air “Bronze Fleshtone”
  58. Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
  59. Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
  60. Vallejo Model Color “Vermilion”
  61. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Akhelian Green”
  62. Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
  63. Citadel “Lamenters Yellow” (glaze)
  64. Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade)
  65. Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
  66. Battlefront “Chocolate Brown”
  67. Battlefront “Flat Earth”
  68. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  69. Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
  70. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  71. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  72. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  73. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  74. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  75. Americana “Desert Sand”
  76. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  77. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)

Sci-Fi/Pulp/Retro Diorama

This is a New Year’s Eve post from my Aussie buddy, IRO who can be found at https://imperialrebelork.wordpress.com/2020/12/31/sci-fi-pulp-retro-diorama/ and thought I’d share it. He incorporated one of my creations (my Mark 1 Sphere Tank) into a wonderful retro sci-fi diorama. Very cool, and thank you so much IRO!

Hello all, Well it’s 11:09pm on New Years Eve and I’m typing out a blog haha, I know how to party! I have a nicely aged Scotch beside with some Bob …

Sci-Fi/Pulp/Retro Diorama

Mark’s Conquistador Contest – It’s On!

In any auto race, the signal to start is the waving of a flag. The one you see here is my making of Hernan Cortes’ banner of the Virgin Mary that the Conquistadores carried in Mesoamerica. It indeed will be carried by one of the soon-to-be-finished figures in the contest, so I thought it would be appropriate. Well, midnight passed last night and the Mark’s Conquistador Contest has officially started, and the flag is waved.

I have tabulated the list of entrants that you will see in the Excel chart below – sorted from earliest pick to the latest one.

You guys knew I’d have to have a spreadsheet!

I have listed the blog handles and the blogs of those who entered if you’d like to check them out. And you should if you do not know them. Click on their comments avatar to see them as they can be found in the comments section on the original contest post here. You can find most everyone on WordPress. However, a couple of entrants haven’t a blog to my knowledge (Leif Magnuson and Dave Wood), while Dave Stone is on blogger, and Buck has his own website. Buck is also on the HAWKS site with his fellow HAWKS Greg and Chris (cjpalmer), though Greg also has a WordPress site.

The contest is on!

We have 18 entrants. The average of the dates chosen was March 24th, 2021. The dates have a 101 day range, with Mike at despartaferres picking the earliest (February 8th) and Roger at Rantings From the Wargame Table playing the long game at May 2oth. The good news is that there will be no ties – as all dates are different and none are equidistant from the average.

I am making good progress and will be posting about that shortly. I know that many of the miniatures will take me longer to paint, and some much less. And I do have an airbrush…at this point, it’s anyone’s game. So stay tuned! Thanks to all who entered and good luck!

As a reminder for what the prize choices are for the three top winners:

2020 Hobby, Gaming, and Blogging Roundup

2020 was – HOPEFULLY – a once-in-a-lifetime experience. As we all did, I had highs and lows on the personal side of life, the hobby side of life, and the golf side and others.

First, my deep thanks for all of you who regularly follow this blog and share your feedback with me. My thanks also to those whose blogs I follow. Your work inspires me.

As readers of this blog know, I am currently knee-deep in finishing up my forces for Feudal PatrolTM games. But I did set some goals back in January 2020 – so here I’d like to examine and share how I did – or did not do – versus those benchmarks, how my production was in 2020, how the blog did, and my personal highs and lows. I’ll also set some 2021 goals for myself. This is really to hold myself accountable here – and please know I’m open to any and all feedback.

How did I do versus my 2020 goals?

These are the goals I set for myself and how I did:

Games:

  1. Run convention games at TotalCon, HAVOC, HUZZAH, BARRAGE, and the Fort Devens Game Day (and a few more maybe) –

I did get to run four games (at the time it felt like too many) at TotalCon before the pandemic hit – two were Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games – “Space Cowboys versus Giant Zombie Cosmonauts” and “Attack of the Warbots” with my mostly OOP collections from Archive Miniatures, Mega Miniatures, War Games Supply Dump (and my own creations).  The other two were scenarios for What a Tanker© that I have created and discussed previously in this blog: Battle of France May-June 1940 and Normandy Breakout!. I also ran one Aztec game virtually for Feudal PatrolTM using my “Civilizations Collide” supplement. The rest of the conventions never had a chance.

2. Grow the Mass Pikemen Gaming Club with new members and new GM’s

We had two gaming sessions before the pandemic – and we did add more members.

3. Support the Historical Gaming Club of Uxbridge 

Well, that only happened until the pandemic.

Models

  1. Build a suitable force of French and German tanks for the Battle of France scenario for 80th anniversary of this event.

I did accomplish this but did not get to run anything for the 80th in May-June. I did get to run the game at TotalCon.

2. Build 2 or more new platoons for retro sci-fi games of Combat PatrolTM

Did not happen.

3. Start the Nomonhan project (or Khalkhin Gol).

Did not happen – but will eventually.

Other:

  1. Complete a supplement for Feudal PatrolTM for Mesoamerican warfare (Aztecs, etc).

Yes – this was a big part of my February and March. Civilizations Collide was published on the Sally 4th website and Buck Surdu’s website as free downloads. This is the accomplishment in 2020 of which I am most proud.

2. Be productive, but never sacrifice quality

Well, you dear reader can be the judge of that. I did paint 181 figures this year versus 153 in 2019. My project total was only 403 versus 775 in 2019, but I did a lot of scratch-building numerous game aids (410 to be exact while I only did 146 in 2020), so my production was different. Still, almost 181 figures is a lot!

My 2020 production summary.

3. Grow the blog and find new ones to follow!

I definitely did both of these. As for the blog, it grew by about 12% in terms of views and visitors, and my followers are up too. My posts were fewer by five – so that is something I need to work on.

4. Entertain my audience!

I think so – again – you are the judge of this, not me!

Golf

  1. Get my handicap below 14 (if I have enough non-gaming time!)

I did not achieve this. As my golf summary page shows, I only got down to 17.4. I was able to achieve a personal goal in that I got my first eagle in June!

Personal Highs for 2020

  1. Serving my Town (East Brookfield, MA) as the elected Board of Health Chairman during the pandemic. Duty called.
  2. Getting my supplement for Feudal PatrolTM published, Civilizations Collide.
  3. Seeing my Mark 1 Sphere Tank brilliantly displayed (just yesterday!) on IRO’s blog.
  4. Getting the eagle.
  5. Getting interviewed on the Imperial Rebel Ork podcast.

Personal Lows for 2020

  1. Losing my Dad in February. This was one month before the pandemic really hit, so at least he did not die alone. Miss him terribly.
  2. COVID-19 Pandemic, aka the China Virus. ’nuff said.

My goals for 2021

Well, its time to set my goals for 2021.

  1. Paint 250 figures or more.
  2. Complete the figures and terrain for Civilizations Collide.
  3. Complete my figures for Wars of Ozz, ok at least 40 of them.
  4. Paint up a platoon from Wargames Supply Dump for Combat Patrol™ .
  5. Attend and run games at conventions or club nights or both, if possible – to include Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games, What a Tanker©  Battle of France May-June 1940, and Aztec games (live or virtually) for Feudal PatrolTM using my “Civilizations Collide” supplement.
  6. Get my golf handicap down below 15.
  7. Play golf (in season) at least twice a week.
  8. Make between 30 and 36 blog posts of value and quality.
  9. Get back on the Imperial Rebel Ork podcast.
  10. Build a new garage. Well, pay someone to do that.

Again, thanks to all who make the time to read this blog – Happy New Year!

Lastly, here follows a detailed list of the 2020 production!

A list of my 2020 production

I do keep a running tally of my production:

2020 Total Miniatures & Projects to Date: 403

  • 181 figures painted
  • 0 figures cast
  • 58 figures assembled
  • 0 terrain pieces made or assembled
  • 15 terrain pieces painted
  • 3 figure conversions
  • 0 creation or component sculpted or scratch-built
  • 0 molds made
  • 146 game pieces/game aids made and/or painted

January: 34 projects

  • Figures painted (9):
    • 9 French tanks/armored cars painted for What a Tanker© for France 1940
      • 3 AMC 35 tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Old Glory (#CD606)
      • 1 Char D1/D2 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#FFV10)
      • 1 FT-17 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Peter Pig (#PP252)
      • 1 Panhard 178 armored car (15mm/1:100 scale), from Peter Pig (#PP25)
      • 2 Panhard 178 armored car (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#FAC01)
      • 1 R40 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#FFV13)
  • Figures assembled (14):
    • 3 French tanks/armored cars assembled for What a Tanker© in France 1940
      • 2 Panhard 178 armored car (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#FAC01)
      • 1 R40 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#FFV13)
    • 11 German tanks/armored cars assembled for What a Tanker© in France 1940
      • 2 Panzer 35(t) tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#GFV28)
      • 2 Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-rad) armored cars (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront (#GE320)
      • 2 Panzer 38(t) tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront (#GE022)
      • 5 Panzer IV tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Zvezda (via The Plastic Soldier Company (#6151)
        • 3 built as Panzer IVB
        • 2 built as Panzer IVD
  • Game pieces/game aids made or painted (11):
    • 11 dashboards built for French 1940 tanks in What a Tanker© games
      • 2 Panzer IVA dashboards
      • 3 AMC 35 dashboards
      • 1 Char D2 dashboard
      • 1 FT-17 tank dashboard
      • 3 Panhard 178 armored car dashboards
      • 1 R40 tank dashboard
    • 6 unit data cards made for my Retrovians use in Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games
    • 3 vehicle data cards made for my Retrovians use in Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games
    • 3 vehicle data cards updated for my Mark 1 Sphere tanks use in Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games
    • 34 casualty cards made for my Retrovians use in Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games

February: 126 projects

  • Figures painted (11):
    • 11 German tanks painted for What a Tanker© for France 1940
      • 2 Panzer 35(t) tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#GFV28)
      • 2 Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-rad) armored cars (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront (#GE320)
      • 2 Panzer 38(t) tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront (#GE022)
      • 5 Panzer IV tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Zvezda (via The Plastic Soldier Company (#6151)
        • 3 built as Panzer IVB
        • 2 built as Panzer IVD
  • Game pieces/game aids made or painted (115):
    • 11 dashboards built for German 1940 tanks in What a Tanker© games
      • 2 Panzer 35(t) tank dashboards
      • 2 Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-rad) armored car dashboards
      • 2 Panzer 38(t) tank dashboards
      • 3 Panzer IVB dashboards
      • 2 Panzer IVD dashboards
    • 104 “Bonus Attack Cards” built for What a Tanker© games
      • 50 German cards
        • 16 Infantry Assault cards
        • 6 37 mm anti-tank gun cards
        • 3 88 mm anti-tank gun cards
        • 7 Artillery HE Support cards
        • 10 Air Support cards
        • 3 Artillery Smoke Support Cards
        • 2 Radio problem cards
        • 2 Quick Repair cards
        • 1 Heinz Guderian Arrives! card
      • 54 French cards
        • 20 Infantry Assault cards
        • 7 25 mm anti-tank gun cards
        • 4 47 mm anti-tank gun cards
        • 10 Artillery HE Support cards
        • 4 Artillery Smoke Support Cards
        • 2 Radio problem cards
        • 2 Quick Repair cards
        • 1 Charles de Gaulle Arrives! card

March: 0 projects

I did a lot of research in March and wrote Civilizations Collide, a supplement for the upcoming Feudal Patrol™ card-based wargaming system from Buck Surdu.  The supplement covers the Spanish Conquest, to include the Conquistadores, the Aztecs of the Triple Alliance, Aztecs of the Aztec-Chichimec Alliance, the Maya, and the Inca.  I cannot quantitate this as a hobby project, but it certainly was one!

April: 19 projects

May: 36 projects

June: 2 projects

  • Figures converted (2):

July: 21 projects

  • Figures painted (21):
    • 3 Aztec Veteran Warrior figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#AZ012 Heroes of Tenochtitlan)
    • 2 Aztec Jaguar Warrior figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#AZ012 Heroes of Tenochtitlan)
    • 1 Aztec Warrior Priest figure painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#AZ012 Heroes of Tenochtitlan)
    • 7 Aztec Jaguar Warrior figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#AZ015 Chimalpopoca’s Jaguar Warriors)
    • 8 Aztec Jaguar Warrior figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#AZ5 Jaguar Warriors)

August: 6 projects

  • Figures painted (3):
    • 2 Aztec Command figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#AZG001 General as Snake Woman Priestess w/Drummer)
      • 1 Snake Woman General
      • 1 Drummer
    • 1 Folder Bot 3000 figure painted for Combat Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Armorcast Terraform Terrain Ltd (#Folder Bot 3000)
  • Figures assembled (3):
    • 2 Aztec Command figures assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#AZG001 General as Snake Woman Priestess w/Drummer)
      • 1 Snake Woman General
      • 1 Drummer
    • 1 Folder Bot 3000 figure (aka Bender) assembled for Combat Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Armorcast Terraform Terrain Ltd (#Folder Bot 3000)

September: 28 projects

  • Figures painted (8):
    • 8 Tlaxcalan Archers painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TX4 Tlaxcalan Archers)
  • Game pieces made (20):
    • 20 Skull tokens assembled for Feudal Patrol™

October: 89 projects

  • Figures painted (42):
    • 8 Tlaxcalan Novice Warriors painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TX2 Tlaxcalan Novices in Padded Vests)
    • 8 Tlaxcalan Elite Warriors painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TX3b Elite Warriors in Feather Costume)
    • 1 Tlaxcalan Captain painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TXC01 Tlaxcalan Captain with Conch Blower)
    • 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TXC01 Tlaxcalan Captain with Conch Blower)
    • 6 Aztec Warrior Priests painted as Tlaxcalans for Feudal Patrol™ (25mm scale), from Ral Partha’s 1200 A.D. line, circa 1988 (#42-302 Aztec Warrior Priests)
    • 18 Aztec Novice Warriors painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry  Aztecs line (12 from 2 blisters of #AZ016 Novice Aztec Warriors I, 6 from 1 blister of #AZ028 Novice Aztec Warriors III).
  • Figures assembled (32):
    • 8 Tlaxcalan Novice Warriors assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TX2 Tlaxcalan Novices in Padded Vests)
    • 8 Tlaxcalan Elite Warriors assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TX3b Elite Warriors in Feather Costume)
    • 1 Tlaxcalan Captain assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TXC01 Tlaxcalan Captain with Conch Blower)
    • 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TXC01 Tlaxcalan Captain with Conch Blower)
    • 6 Aztec Warrior Priests assembled as Tlaxcalans for Feudal Patrol™ (25mm scale), from Ral Partha’s 1200 A.D. line, circa 1988 (#42-302 Aztec Warrior Priests)
    • 8 Aztec Novice Warriors assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry  Aztecs line (6 from 2 blisters of #AZ016 Novice Aztec Warriors I, 2  from 1 blister of #AZ028 Novice Aztec Warriors III).
  • Terrain pieces painted (15):
    • 15 cacti/desert bushes painted, weathered, and flocked (from JTT Scenery Products SKU #441980)

November: 24 projects

December: 18 projects

Merciless Adventurers

I have finished my second group of Conquistadores for Feudal PatrolTM. These are a group of six 28mm arquebusiers from Wargames Foundry  called “Merciless Adventurers” and they indeed represent the title well.

They are, like my last group, beautiful sculpts by Mark Copplestone, and I got them from Badger Games. I will use them in Feudal PatrolTM games using the supplement I wrote for the Spanish Conquest called Civilizations Collide.

For those of you who are in – or interested in jumping in and trying to win some free miniatures – you can still by joining “Mark’s Conquistador Contest” . Click on the contest link for the rules and to see the prizes described on that blog post – but you must enter by midnight EST (US East Coast time) on January 2nd, 2021.  You do this by posting a comment that “you are in” on the contest blog post in the comments section on that blog post (not this one – but I always appreciate feedback on this post as well). There are other simple rules to make it fair for all – but there’s no risk on your part – except that you must become a follower (email or WordPress) of my blog to be eligible to win. And that is free too!

This project brings me up to 12 figures completed out of the 89 – and maybe I night get one more unit done before New Years! Stay tuned…

Here are a few WIP – trying to do more painting and less photos but here are what I have:

  • Mounted for painting
  • Primed and washed 12/19
  • Early work 12/19
  • Base coats done 12/22
  • Figures painted by 12/24
  • Basic flocking and varnish by 12/25
CAB9 here all done by 12/25 (except adding static grass), which you’ll see below.

I designated these arquebus-armed Conquistadores as CAB7 to CAB12. I did change my color choices as I went along, and used a number of glazes, washes, and even contrast paints as base paints and/or glazes. Check them out below, and click on any of the images for a larger view!

CAB7

I tried to paint some darker stripes on the hose and trousers here. I love the facial expressions on this group.

CAB8

I went with lighter blue and red (vermilion) color scheme on the stripes here – and I do like it. This guy has a great glare under that hat.

CAB9

I went with black and red (vermilion) color scheme on the stripes here – and I think it complemented his intense face.

CAB10

I went a bit simpler on the lower body here so as to let the shoulder pads stick out more. This guy also has a great glare under that hat.

CAB11

I wanted this figure’s leather armor to be a but lighter – and I achieved this a bit unusually. I base coated the armor with Vallejo Model Air “Light”, and then glazed with the Citadel contrast paint “Plague Bearer Flesh”, followed by a highlight with “Light”. I think it came out the way I wanted – and not too greenish – it should be all right for the tabletop. He has a shield, but that will only help if he is in melee, which as an arquebusier, I’m sure he’d rather avoid.

CAB12

I also experimented a bit with this one. I saw some images of conquistadores with some yellowish and red colors on their lower bodies. I made the choices you see below. I like the color contrast with the blue blouse – but feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments section on how I painted him or any of the others.

GROUP SHOT

Thanks for looking – only 77 more figures to go – remember to enter the contest if you have not yet done so – and let me know what you think of these good bad or otherwise. Stay safe!

Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:

Posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide”

  1. Merciless Adventurers (this post) – Wargames Foundry #SB014 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
  2. Audacious Arquebusiers! – Wargames Foundry #SB012 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
  3. Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers!
  4. Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
  5. Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
  6. Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
  7. Civilizations Collide – The Wars of the Aztecs, the Inca, the Maya, and the Conquistadores is now available as a FREE Download for Feudal Patrol™ – plus a Feudal Patrol™ review!
  8. 18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
  9. Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
  10. Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
  11. Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
  12. Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
  13. Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
  14. A June and July Jaguar Warrior Frenzy (plus some Aztec Veterans and a Warrior Priest to Boot) – 3 Aztec Veteran Warriors, 17 Jaguar Warriors, 1 Aztec Warrior Priest
  15. Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
  16. Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
  17. Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
  18. Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

Total figures completed to date for this project: 153 figures:  109 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans, 12 Spanish Conquistadores

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE CONQUISTADOR FIGURES:

  1. Gorilla Glue
  2. 1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
  3. Poster tack
  4. Vallejo “Surface Primer – White Primer”
  5. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  6. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  7. Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
  8. Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
  9. Vallejo Game Air “Black”
  10. Citadel “Runefang Steel”
  11. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Cygor Brown”
  12. Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
  13. Citadel “Ironbreaker”
  14. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Aggaros Dunes”
  15. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Black Templar”
  16. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
  17. Vallejo Model Color “Vermilion”
  18. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Skeleton Horde”
  19. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gulliman Flesh”
  20. Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white)
  21. Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
  22. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Space Wolves Grey”
  23. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore-Grunta Fur”
  24. Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
  25. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Militarum Green”
  26. Deka Lack “Dunkel Blau”
  27. Citadel “Mechanicus Grey”
  28. P3 “Cygnar Blue Highlight”
  29. Battlefront “Chocolate Brown”
  30. Citadel “Drakenhof Nightshade” (wash)
  31. Vallejo Model Air “Light”
  32. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Akhelian Green”
  33. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Creed Camo”
  34. Vallejo Game Air “Bronze Fleshtone”
  35. Vallejo Mecha Color “Electric Blue”
  36. Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
  37. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Volupus Pink”
  38. Secret Weapon Washes “Yellow Snow” (wash)
  39. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Plaguebearer Flesh”
  40. Army Painter “Red Tone”
  41. Citadel “Lamenters Yellow” (glaze)
  42. Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade)
  43. Citadel “Coelia Greenshade” (wash)
  44. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
  45. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
  46. Vallejo Game Color “Bronze Fleshtone”
  47. Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
  48. Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
  49. Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” (wash)
  50. Battlefront “Flat Earth”
  51. Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
  52. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  53. Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
  54. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  55. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  56. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  57. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  58. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  59. Americana “Desert Sand”
  60. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  61. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)

Audacious Arquebusiers!

Finally I have finished my first group of Conquistadores for Feudal PatrolTM. These are a group of six 28mm figures from Wargames Foundry armed with arquebuses (hence they are called arquebusiers). The figures were sculpted by Mark Copplestone and are really nice. I got them from Badger Games. For once, I did not need to paint or assemble any extras like shields or banners!

I will use them in Feudal PatrolTM games using the supplement I wrote for the Spanish Conquest called Civilizations Collide. Firearms in Mesoamerica were subject to some tough conditions climactically and also there was the issue of powder and ammunition supply. In the game, arquebus fire does create a bit of panic on the receiving end, but the weapons can misfire and be put out of action for the duration of the game (or even put the firer out of action with an explosion).

Arquebuses were used by many armies. The Spanish used them extensively in the 15th and 16th Centuries, notably in the Renaissance Italian Wars, and the Spanish Conquest. They were the first reasonably portable shoulder-fired firearm used. Arquebuses were complex to fire, and could misfire or even as previously stated – actually explode in the bearer’s face. However, it was easier to arm and to train troops with an arquebus than with a crossbow. The addition of a serpentine firing device to arquebuses led to the type sometimes being called a matchlock. Once volley fire tactics were developed, the use of the crossbow was eclipsed, though clearly there was a period of overlap – particularly during the Spanish Conquest.

For those of you in the “Mark’s Conquistador Contest” (which is still open if you want to try to win some free – yes free – miniatures), this is six down, and 83 more to go! Entry is still open until Jan 2, 2021 – so click the link, check it out, and join in!

  • The blister as received
  • After priming and a dark wash
  • Progress through 12/17/20
  • Progress through 12/18/20
  • 12/19/20 – ready for flocking and varnishing!

These were great fun to paint – and I still got to use a bit of color on them. From Steven’s Balagan blog, Osprey books, and good old Google, I got some decent concepts on historically-appropriate painting schemes. Apparently there was some grubbiness to them – but surprisingly, also some style and panache. I designated these arquebus-armed Conquistadores as CAB1 to CAB6. Check them out below, and click on any of the images for a larger view!

CAB1

This was the first figure that I tried to paint stripes on the hose. It was a new challenge, but I think it came out all right for the tabletop.

CAB2

The blister pack I got had two of the same pose (erroneously) – this is the same pose as CAB1 but I used a different color scheme (sort of reversed).

CAB3

This guy looks ready for action – a real veteran.

CAB4

This Conquistador was the grubbiest-looking of the lot, so I gave him a grungy-look to his leather armor. He has also adopted native footwear – Aztec style sandals.

CAB5

This Conquistador has also adopted native sandals – and he has red pants anyways (just in time for Christmas!)

CAB6

For the first time in months, I got to use a shade of purple – in this case on his blouse. No purple on Aztecs! Apparently some of the Conquistadores liked a plum-like shade (some style from Italian campaigns maybe?). Also, to vary the leather browns on armor, I actually used a dark flesh tone (“Gulliman Flesh”) on the kilt. I think it worked.

GROUP SHOT

Definitely “Audacious Arquebusiers”

I hope you enjoyed this post – and I’m off to paint the next group! Six down, 83 to go! Merry Christmas to you all and stay safe!

Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:

Posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide”

  1. Audacious Arquebusiers! (this post) – Wargames Foundry #SB012 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
  2. Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers!
  3. Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
  4. Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
  5. Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
  6. Civilizations Collide – The Wars of the Aztecs, the Inca, the Maya, and the Conquistadores is now available as a FREE Download for Feudal Patrol™ – plus a Feudal Patrol™ review!
  7. 18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
  8. Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
  9. Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
  10. Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
  11. Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
  12. Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
  13. A June and July Jaguar Warrior Frenzy (plus some Aztec Veterans and a Warrior Priest to Boot) – 3 Aztec Veteran Warriors, 17 Jaguar Warriors, 1 Aztec Warrior Priest
  14. Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
  15. Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
  16. Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
  17. Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

Total figures completed to date for this project: 147 figures:  109 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans, 6 Spanish Conquistadores

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE CONQUISTADOR FIGURES:

  1. Gorilla Glue
  2. 1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
  3. Poster tack
  4. Vallejo “Surface Primer – White Primer”
  5. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  6. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  7. Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
  8. Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
  9. Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
  10. Citadel “Runefang Steel”
  11. Citadel “Ironbreaker”
  12. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
  13. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Skeleton Horde”
  14. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Cygor Brown”
  15. Vallejo Mecha Color “Dark Steel”
  16. Vallejo Model Color “Vermilion”
  17. Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white)
  18. Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
  19. Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
  20. Vallejo Game Air “Black”
  21. Vallejo Model Air “Armour Brown”
  22. Vallejo Game Color “Bronze Fleshtone”
  23. Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
  24. Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
  25. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Dark Angels Green”
  26. Army Painter “Red Tone”
  27. Citadel “Coelia Greenshade” (wash)
  28. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Black Templar”
  29. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore-Grunta Fur”
  30. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gulliman Flesh”
  31. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Magos Purple”
  32. Secret Weapon Washes “Armor Wash” (wash)
  33. Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade)
  34. Army Painter “Purple Tone”
  35. Battlefront “Flat Earth”
  36. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
  37. Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
  38. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  39. Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
  40. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  41. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  42. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  43. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  44. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  45. Americana “Desert Sand”
  46. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  47. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)

Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers!

Welcome to Mark’s Conquistador Contest – a FREE chance for you to join me on my next part of my journey to field troops for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest game supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide” – AND to have a chance to win – yes WIN – some free miniatures! Read on!

I have participated in a few painting challenges from others over the years – and those are great fun. But I am currently so desirous of seeing my Conquistadores painted up and ready for gaming that I will not stop until they are done and game-ready to my standards (such as those are). So I won’t be joining any challenges (unless they dovetail with me finishing my Conquistadores). However, I thought of another way to get you involved on this project other than just reading this blog. What about having my readers compete and guess the date that I’ll actually finish the Conquistadores? And what about offering actual prizes just to make it interesting? That’s exactly the genesis of Mark’s Conquistador Contest.

I have filed, washed, and partially based the force. I have not yet primed anything, and expect to start that on December 15th. I decided that I wanted to get all my filing of mold lines and washing (yes I wash all my figures before painting no matter what they are made of) done, do a massive priming session, and paint away. How long will this take – YOU get to guess.

My goal is to have some fun, and reward my followers and share some stuff that I enjoy. Secondly, it’s to get more followers and to grow the community. Thirdly, it’s to have fun (yes that’s fun twice). I do not currently monetize my blog, and I’m not looking to anytime soon by the way. Here are the rules:

Rules of Mark’s Conquistador Contest:

To enter and to win:

  1. You must be an email or WordPress follower of my blog.
  2. You must pick a date (day, month, and year) that I will finish the Conquistador miniatures shown here in this post.  Finishing means, to me, that I am ready for the figures to be shown on my blog and used in a game.  That is my call!
  3. You must let me know that you want in on the contest by midnight EST (US East Coast time) on January 2nd, 2021.  You do this by posting a comment that “you are in” here on this blog post in the comments section with the date information requested above in (2).
  4. Only one entry allowed per follower except as described in (5) below.
  5. If you get another person to follow my blog, you can earn another entry!  For each new follower that credits you as a referrer, you can get another entry.  All that person needs to do is comment on this post as in (3) above stating that he or she is “in” and who the referrer is.  The referrer can then reply to that comment with an additional entry date.
  6. Winners will be whoever is closest to the date I announce as the “completion date”.  That can be earlier or later – for example picking a date that is one day before is as good as if it’s one day after.  As there are multiple prizes, 1st place gets first choice, then 2nd, then third.   If two people pick the same date, ties will be broken by who submitted the date first.  I reserve the right to add more prizes! 
  7. I also reserve the right to be the final judge on the contest – somebody’s gotta do that. When I finish, I will announce the winners.

So as for prizes, they will be metal miniatures – mostly old and vintage lead – and in original packaging. Great stuff I love but may not be able to paint soon – and which deserve a home. And I will pay to ship them to the winners (including the US, UK, Australia – as long as I don’t need to hit the lottery for shipping)! So here are the current three prizes (and I may add more):

Three vintage Ral Partha Aztec Blisters (25mm)
Three Minifig blisters for the English Civil War (15mm)
Two Vintage Ral Partha blisters from their colonials collection (25mm)

Again, depending on participation and interest – I may add more. Hell, even if you win and don’t have a plan for them, these could be used as trade, or you could just tell me to reward the next player as victory is enough for you?

Your next questions should be – “what exactly is Mark trying to paint?” and “how fast is he?”. For the second question, just check out my pages that show my previous projects. For example, 2020 is here, and 2019 is here, but I list all my projects from 2016 onward under the “Miniatures and Projects” dropdown. This menu lets me track all I have done – and how, and can give you an idea. There is a bit more I have to do here than just painting – there is some assembly too. Here are the Conquistador subjects of my quest and this contest below:

Wargames Foundry SB012 “Audacious Arquebusiers” – 6 figures
Wargames Foundry SB014 “Merciless Adventurers” – 6 figures – all with arquebuses.
Eureka Miniatures 100CON04 “Crossbowmen” – 5 figures. Crossbows are separate and shown below.
Eureka Miniatures 100CON06 “Officer” and an unknown bonus officer that they gave me – 2 figures
Outpost Wargames Services CONC1 “Conquistador Foot Command” – 4 figures. There is a bannerman with no banner that I will make a standard for, and a few shields you’ll see below.
Outpost Wargames Services CONS06 “Wardogs” – 8 figures. This is the first group of war hounds I have.
Eureka Miniatures 100CON13 “Dog Handler and Dogs” – 8 figures. This is the second group of war hounds I have. I’m going to make the handler a pikeman as in my game the dogs can be added to any figure for points – I have no need for a handler alone.
Wargames Foundry SB015 “Swaggering Swordsmen” – 6 figures – all with shields shown separately.
Wargames Foundry SB016 “Brutal Sword and Buckler Men” – 6 figures – all with shields shown separately.
Wargames Foundry SB017 “Bold Bladesmen” – 6 figures – all with shields shown separately.
Outpost Wargames Services CON001 “Sword and Buckler Men” – 8 figures. There are at least 6 shields I’ll do here – maybe 8 – not sure yet as two of the figures have two-handed broadswords.
Outpost Wargames Services CON5 “Conquistador Cavalry in light armour 1” – 8 figures (4 riders and 4 horses). There are also shields. I made two armed with lancers and two with swords. Note my rigging for painting riders – and yes those are screws with washers on old paint bottles.
Outpost Wargames Services CON6 “Conquistador Cavalry in full armour” – 8 figures (4 riders and 4 horses). There are also shields. I made two armed with lancers and two with swords. Note my rigging for painting riders – and yes those are screws on bottles again.
Eureka Miniatures 100ANMo5 “Moving Horses” – 8 figures. Obviously not moving, but de-based and mounted to be used as hacked up and downed horses that could be used as cover or block movement.
All the previously alluded-to shields for the cavalry and infantry, as well as crossbows, a banner pole, and a pike.
Outpost Wargames Services CONA1 “Falconet and Crew” – 3 figures (2 crew and 1 falconet (small cannon)). I’ll paint parts here before assembling the falconet.

If you’re counting (and that helps) that’s 89 figures – if you count each cavalry as two figures (horse and rider). I used a lot of poster tack and bottles as you see all of them collected here with some of my painting guide resources.

I hope that you enter and wish you the best of luck! Referrers always welcome – just need to follow the rules and importantly be one of my blog followers. Hell, I need the luck too – this is a lot of lead!

Stay tuned for updates as I finish pieces of this project – and I really hope that you find this fun. I’ll leave a synopsis as usual like below. Stay safe!

Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:

Posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide”

  1. Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers! (this post)
  2. Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
  3. Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
  4. Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
  5. Civilizations Collide – The Wars of the Aztecs, the Inca, the Maya, and the Conquistadores is now available as a FREE Download for Feudal Patrol™ – plus a Feudal Patrol™ review!
  6. 18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
  7. Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
  8. Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
  9. Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
  10. Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
  11. Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
  12. A June and July Jaguar Warrior Frenzy (plus some Aztec Veterans and a Warrior Priest to Boot) – 3 Aztec Veteran Warriors, 17 Jaguar Warriors, 1 Aztec Warrior Priest
  13. Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
  14. Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
  15. Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
  16. Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

Total figures completed to date for this project: 141 figures:  109 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans, 0 Spanish Conquistadores

Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol

There were at least two men named Montezuma in Aztec history. The most famous were Montezuma I and Montezuma II. Montezuma I (1398-1469) became the Aztec emperor in 1440. This happened after both the assassination of his brother Chimalpopoca and the subsequent death of his half-uncle Itzcoatl (both had succeeded Montezuma I’s father, Huitzilihuitl, the first Aztec emperor). He had been a general in the Aztec army, and was elected “Great Speaker” which meant he spoke for Tenochtitlan and other tribes under Aztec control. Under his rule the Empire of the Aztecs of the Triple Alliance was established and its power in Mesoamerica was consolidated.

Montezuma II (1466-1520) was the great-grandson of Montezuma I. He is more widely known as he was the Aztec emperor that made contact with – and later was made prisoner by – Cortes and the Conquistadores. His, and the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire, is a complex story that fills many a book – and is too great to recount here. Montezuma II saw the expansion of the Aztec Empire to its greatest heights, and also saw it fall. His final humiliating act was to be forced by his Spanish captors to appear on a balcony to entreat his people to back off their siege of the Conquistadores. He was then killed by his own enraged Aztecs while speaking to them by a thrown or slung rock.

Both of these men named Montezuma certainly sacrificed thousands upon thousands of victims on the altars of their god Huitzilopochtli. There are also multiple spellings for Montezuma – but I will use this one!

“Emperor Montezuma and Chieftains”

In my supplement for games of Feudal Patrol™, Civilizations Collide, Montezuma (either one) can be deployed as an overall commander or as a hero. In this role, he can stiffen his own troops resolve – as his presence on the battlefield reminds all of his minions that the price of failure or retreat is a trip to the sacrificial altar. I have discussed the game on previous posts, as well as my supplement. See the links at the end of this post to learn more. You can download Civilizations Collide for free on Sally 4th’s website here or the Feudal Patrol™ website here.

Wargames Foundry makes AZ011 “Emperor Montezuma and Chieftains”, and I acquired a blister from Badger Games. All are 28mm, and metal. The figures are of Montezuma (not defined as to which one), four battle chieftains/leaders, and a warrior priest. I did not take many WIP shots of all the figures – but this time I’ll handle each one in turn and share a bit about each one, starting with Montezuma.

Click on any of the images for a larger view!

Montezuma

This figure really challenged me, but the sculpt was quite nice, and my favorite of the lot. I really wanted his cloak and feather work to pop. I ended up using a lot of inks on all of these figures here – and I used a gloss varnish over them to protect the work. This proved to be a good call (similar to what I did with the Shorn Ones).

  • Here I have painted the cloak red and given it some depth. The edge was done with a black-lined off-white border.
  • I then used a blue ink on the off-white, then did a freehand pattern in off-white over the blue ink border. Similarly, I inked the feather headdress with yellow and green.

Below, you will see final shots of the completed Montezuma figure. I used a yellow ink (Vallejo Game Ink) to achieve the color on off-white on the cloak border. I’m pretty happy with the shading on the cloak. This was the most freehand detail that I’ve attempted on a cloak. I was inspired by cloaks that I have seen done by The Imperfect Modeler on his blog – an example of his artistry can be seen here – check him out.

Aztec Chieftain/Captain (ACP1)

I designated this figure as ACP1. These chieftains (ACP1-4) will be leaders of warbands or higher, but will serve under the generals. The first one looked almost like a Shorn One except for the haircut. I did not really like the face on the sculpt, but overall I think it’s ok. His crown was odd compared to other Aztec stuff I’ve seen, so I made it yellow. He’s armed with a tepoztopilli (an obsidian-edged thrusting spear) and has a nice big shield that both were part of the figure. His tlahuiztli (suit) is supposed to be feathered.

AZTEC CHIEFTAIN/CAPTAIN (ACP2)

This figure had an almost Roman-like look – except the tall feather headdress gives it away. That, and it has a feathered tlahuiztli that I painted blue also. This miniature had a drum for signaling mounted on the rack on his back. This drum would motivate me to use it as an example and make a drum for the ACP3 figure as you’ll see later (which had nothing on its back rack). He is armed with a macuahuitl (obsidian-edged club/broadsword), and his shield was a Wargames Foundry one that I repainted and gave a more fancy look with the two-colored circle and frets.

AZTEC CHIEFTAIN/CAPTAIN (ACP3)

This figure made me think a bit and as previously mentioned caused me to put a little more work into it. It had a back rack, but nothing to put on it – and the painting example on the websites did not either. Why would it have a rack without anything to carry?

Therefore, I decided that a small signaling drum would be appropriate to sculpt and add. I used some styrene bits, paper clip wire, and green stuff to make a drum. View the gallery below left to right and top to bottom.

  • Here you see ACP3 on left (no drum) with ACP2’s drum.
  • Started w/a styrene tube and thin styrene circles for the top. Then I drilled two holes for paperclip wires.
  • Love this stuff to bond styrene.
  • I used two paperclip wires for the mounting to the figure’s back rack.
  • I then filled the tube with Gorilla Glue, adding two more wires vertically to seat into the green stuff bottom, and let it dry.
  • The drum is shown here before adding the green stuff.
  • The sculpted drum is complete next to ACP3.
  • ACP with the drum mounted.
  • ACP2 (left) and ACP3 (right) with their respective drums.

Here is the completed ACP3 below. I think the drum worked out well enough for the tabletop. It has a macuahuitl behind the shield. The figure’s shield frets were a bit uneven, so I did not give them any additional painting details. I wanted the shield to be eye-catching – thought the white rim here is a bit more bright in the photo than in real life.

AZTEC CHIEFTAIN/CAPTAIN (ACP4)

I looked at this figure and frankly thought the helmet and headdress to be a bit odd for an Aztec warrior. Still, if it’s in the blister, I paint it! I did also give it an updated small shield. This figure is also armed with a macuahuitl.

AZTEC warrior priest (Awp4)

This is the one warrior priest in the blister. It actually looks inspired by the image in John Pohl’s 1991 Osprey Book Aztec, Mixtec, and Zapotec Armies – Men-at-Arms. That image shows a Zapotec (as opposed to an Aztec) warrior priest wearing the flayed skin of a defeated enemy. Now, Aztecs did also flay their enemies (in addition to sacrifices and other horrors). Diaz (a contemporary of Cortes and the author of the 16th century book The History of the Conquest of New Spain) described finding the flayed (and yet still-bearded) faces of fallen Conquistadores hanging in captured Aztec villages and cities. My guess is that it is likely that an Aztec warrior priest could have worn a flayed enemy skin to intimidate his enemies on the battlefield. In any case, this is the fourth warrior priest I have painted.

The figure’s flayed suit was somewhat negatively affected (less realistic) by the position in which the flayed feet were sculpted in my opinion. The flayed hands hang loosely over the warrior priest’s hands, and look appropriate (for flayed hands). However, the skinned feet stick out here oddly as you’ll see below. I am sure they would have flopped loosely – as indeed the ones do in Pohl’s book. The back banner was pretty large and came in two pieces. I needed to use green stuff to reinforce part of it but I thought it fun to assemble.

  • The Warrior Priest before assembly.
  • Assembled and ready for priming.

Lastly, I did not know what color a flayed skin would have. I’m assuming it would be like a tanned animal skin, but that would not negate any necrotic colors (or smells I’m sure). Luckily, I’ve not seen (or smelled) anyone who has been flayed!

So, I decided to use a couple of paints – Citadel “Contrast Paint – Plaguebearer Flesh” highlighted and dry brushed with a layer paint – Citadel “Flayed One Flesh”. Not sure if this worked – you can let me know! His suit is a bit on the zombie green side. The figure is tall, and also armed with a macuahuitl. The shield design is adapted from Steve’s Balagan.

GRoup shot

Emperor Montezuma and Chieftains completed!

This group of Aztecs completes (for now) the ones that I need for the games I have planned. I have painted 109 Aztecs since April, and 32 Tlaxcalans. I have 81 Conquistadores to do next.

On my last blogpost, I got a request from fellow army builder and blogger Alex. He has a blog worth checking out called Leadbaloony – It’s a Lead Thing ~ (sorry no balloons). His painting is exquisite. Alex wanted a picture of my entire Aztec army – so I will try to comply below!

Here you go Alex, 109 Aztec Warriors!
Side view – not including my Tlaxcalans – which would be 32 more figures.
Opposite angle

To paraphrase Chief Brodie in Jaws, I’m gonna need a bigger boat box!

I’ll have to break these into two boxes for sure, especially to travel to conventions and game days at the Mass Pikemen Gaming Club post-COVID 19.

Thanks for looking at these and following this journey. I hope to get going on the Conquistadores and some Things from the Basement terrain (from the Lost Archipelago collection) I just ordered from Badger Games.

I hope you stay with me as I round the corner on his project! These will be in games, some even virtually. As always, let me know your thoughts and ideas about these figures. Stay safe!

Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:

Posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide”

  1. Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol (this post) – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
  2. Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
  3. Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
  4. Civilizations Collide – The Wars of the Aztecs, the Inca, the Maya, and the Conquistadores is now available as a FREE Download for Feudal Patrol™ – plus a Feudal Patrol™ review!
  5. 18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
  6. Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
  7. Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
  8. Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
  9. Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
  10. Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
  11. A June and July Jaguar Warrior Frenzy (plus some Aztec Veterans and a Warrior Priest to Boot) – 3 Aztec Veteran Warriors, 17 Jaguar Warriors, 1 Aztec Warrior Priest
  12. Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
  13. Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
  14. Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
  15. Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

Total figures to date for this project: 141 figures:  109 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans, 0 Spanish Conquistadores

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE AZTEC FIGURES:

  1. Gorilla Glue
  2. 1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
  3. Poster tack
  4. Vallejo “Surface Primer – White Primer”
  5. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  6. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  7. Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
  8. Citadel “Nuln Oil” (shade)
  9. Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
  10. Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white)
  11. Vallejo Game Air “Black”
  12. Vallejo Game Color “Bronze Fleshtone”
  13. Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
  14. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Volupus Pink”
  15. Citadel Air “Evil Sunz Scarlet”
  16. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Darkoath Flesh”
  17. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
  18. Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
  19. Green stuff (kneadatite)
  20. Styrene tube
  21. Styrene card
  22. Plastruct Bondene Styrene and Plastic Solvent/Cement
  23. Paper clips
  24. Reaper MSP “Black Primer”
  25. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Blood Angels Red”
  26. Battlefront “Chocolate Brown”
  27. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Ultramarines Blue”
  28. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Plaguebearer Flesh”
  29. Citadel “Auric Armour Gold”
  30. Vallejo Game Ink “Blue”
  31. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Warp Lightning”
  32. Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
  33. Vallejo Game Ink “Yellow”
  34. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Terradon Turquoise”
  35. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
  36. Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
  37. Citadel Air “Balor Brown”
  38. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore-Grunta Fur”
  39. Vallejo Game Ink “Green”
  40. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Wyldwood”
  41. Citadel “Drakenhof Nightshade” (shade)
  42. Vallejo Model Color “Glossy Black”
  43. Army Painter “Red Tone”
  44. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
  45. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Cygor Brown”
  46. Vallejo Game Ink “Red”
  47. Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade)
  48. Citadel “Flayed One Flesh”
  49. Battlefront “Wool Brown”
  50. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Iyanden Yellow”
  51. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Talassar Blue”
  52. Vallejo Game Air “Dead White”
  53. E6000 Epoxy
  54. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  55. Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
  56. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  57. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  58. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  59. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  60. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  61. Americana “Desert Sand”
  62. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  63. Army Painter “Meadow Flowers” (flocking)
  64. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)

Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones

The super elite troops of the Aztec Empire were the cuachicqueh (kwa-cheek-kweh). These were their imperial shock troops, and held prestigious social status. To be able to join their ranks, a warrior would have had to have captured 6 or more enemy warriors, as well as demonstrated other acts of bravery.

A cuachic (kwa-cheek – the singular is cuachic, the plural is cuachicqueh – yes still more tough-to-pronounce Aztec words!) was a member of the ultimate Aztec warrior caste. They all had passed on the opportunity of becoming captains or officers in order to remain hardened elite front-line warriors. Their appearance was striking. They wore a distinctly yellow tlahuiztli (tu-lah-huz-ly) suit, had shaved heads with mohawks, and often had fierce yellow, red, and blue war facial paint. The Shorn Ones sported unique and colorful back banners to intimidate any foes. They were called “The Shorn Ones” due to their mostly-shaven haircuts. Cuachicqueh swore to never retreat in battle – and if any did – they would agreed to dispatched by their own comrades for this dishonor.

I was really looking forward to adding cuachicqueh to my Aztec forces for games of Feudal Patrol™, using my supplement, Civilizations Collide. I have discussed the game on previous posts, as well as my supplement.

As a reminder Feudal Patrol™ – Buck Surdu’s rules and the decks of cards for “Skirmish Miniature Gaming in the Ancient, Medieval, and Fantasy Periods” is now available commercially. In the US, it can be bought from On Military Matters website here.  It is also being sold in the US by Noble Knight Games website here. In the UK, it is being sold by Sally 4th on their website here. My supplement for the period is a free download on Sally 4th’s website here or the Feudal Patrol™ website here. Cuachicqueh can have a big impact in the game if used properly.

In my game, the cuachicqueh have special abilities – in addition to being total bad-asses on the battlefield. They can operate in smaller units. They can also act as berserkers. Tactically, their greatest advantage is that they can – through the use of obscene gestures and insults – provoke an enemy to charge them – even if that charge causes the targeted enemy to abandon a good and protected defensive position to its detriment. This ability has a good historical basis.

To understand this, imagine you’re a good Tlaxcalan bowman, safely ensconced behind a nice wall. Yet the cuachicqueh in front of you have just insulted and offended you and your people so gravely – that you rush out to ostensibly try to attack the miscreants. Your hasty assault only to serves the cuachicqueh – who now, as the Aztecs best, engage you in vicious melee – minus the protection you just abandoned. It’s not for nothing that cuachicqueh were the toughest of the Aztecs.

I bought some of these Aztecs in AZ06 “Cuachic Warriors – Body Suit and Back Banners” (from Badger Games here). The SKU came with eight 28mm metal figures complete with weapons, shields, and back banners. The figures were cast by Outpost Wargames Services in the UK. The figures were in really great shape and needed little cleanup. Initially I was a bit apprehensive about assembling and painting them due to the proximity of the back banners to the figures’ heads. I tried to use green stuff to achieve some degree of separation on the first two figures but abandoned that approach as I did not think that it added enough benefit structurally. I also worried that it would detract from the models’ aesthetics. In the end, good old Gorilla Glue worked just fine on the remaining ones and I just worked around the banners and heads intersections while painting. I decided to mount the back banners and the weapons before priming, and do the shields separately.

As a resource, I used the many books that I had with some nice plates showing the dress of the Shorn Ones. Clearly, they dressed similarly – and their shields were similar (but not identical). Trying to get the yellow tlahuiztli suits correctly colored was a challenge. Painting anything yellow, especially a dullish yellow, is always a painting challenge. I hope these will look good on the table. The back banners took some methodical planning and measuring (as you’ll see below) for painting as the stripes needed to look symmetrical.

I took some group WIP shots below (with comments) that will show this group’s progress, and then I will share some eye candy of the finished figures. I’ll conclude with a summary of where the overall project is so far, plus links to the previous posts (in case you just joined me here), and the paints I used if that sort of thing is interesting to you (if not that’s why it’s why it’s at the end!).

Here you see the primed figures with the back banner marking lines set. The back banners’ proximity to the figures’ heads is clear here.
I washed the figures with Citadel “Nuln Oil” to help with overall creation of depth, and then began the early flesh tones as shown here. I knew war paint would come later, but I find painting the faces first as if there would be no war paint helps make war paint look better, especially around the eyes.
I darkened the flesh and used Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white) on the sandals, loincloths, and straps to overcome the Nuln Oil.
My start on the yellow tlahuiztli suits. This would take much highlighting and shading. I found Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” very helpful against the yellow inks (yes that’s plural – inks!) and contrast paints.
I then moved on to shading their heads to simulate close-shaved heads (they’re the Shorn Ones not the Bald Ones). I also added war paints to most of the faces.
At this point, I moved on to the back banners. I wanted these to pop, so I used “Weiss” again under a number of inks. Here you see the off-white between the earlier-painted lines on the back banners.
The back banners with the colors added. Some of these back banners resemble flags of the US or even the LGBT Pride Flag, but these were actually the colors used by the Shorn Ones in the 16th century according to my research. I varied the colors of the “feather balls” immediately above the back banners in accordance with the Osprey resource books. Also, historically the 9-dotted field on the back banners had either a bluish or light brownish background, so I adopted this as well. Hopefully this will help with tabletop identification as well as the back banners, the poses, and the war paints.
At this point in painting this group, I began to worry that sealing inked areas on these with an airbrush application of Vallejo “Mecha Varnish Matte Varnish” could possibly activate the multiple dried inks and ruin the models. Yeah, that was a bit scary! So I decided to seal the faces and back banners with Vallejo “Gloss Varnish” as that would seal those surfaces and also allow them to stay a bit brighter. I don’t think I needed to worry, but in any case this approach (IMO) worked well. You can let me know if you agree or not. Then I flocked the figures and moved onto the shields.
Here I just started painting the shields – and I have not gotten to the feather frets. I use poster tack over gloss-varnished surfaces to try to paint both sides safely. First do one side, let dry, then the other.
After a few iterations of painting and lining, the shields were done and I also varnished them with the Vallejo “Gloss Varnish” for the same reasons as I did the faces and the back banner. At quick glance, most cuachicqueh shields look similar, but these are all different. Just look closely!
Here the shields are mounted with a “sandwich” of 2 drops of Gorilla Glue surrounding a dab of E6000 epoxy in the middle of the shields. This combination yields a quick hold with the Gorilla Glue while the E6000 cures over 24 hours and provides a stronger and slightly more flexible bond. You also see that I have added pigments to the flocking on the bases. These are ready for base dry brushing followed by an application of the matte varnish. Lastly, I add static grass.
The eight models are shown here completed and “frolicking” on the various images and pages that I used as painting guides.

The eight are numbered for my cataloging system as ACC1 to ACC8. Now, let’s move to:

Eye Candy

Click on any of the images for a larger view!

ACC1

ACC1 – armed with a macuahuitl (obsidian-edged club/broadsword) and a non-fretted shield. He has war paint, and his back banner has the bluish background with red and yellow stripes. The back banner feather ball here is reddish.

ACC2

ACC2 – armed with a tepoztopilli (obsidian-edged thrusting spear) and a fretted shield. He has no war paint, and his back banner has the brownish background with blue, yellow, green and red stripes. The back banner feather ball here is light blue.

ACC3

ACC3 – armed with a macuahuitl and a fretted shield. He has war paint, and his back banner has the bluish background with red and white stripes. The back banner feather ball here is reddish.

ACC4

ACC4 – armed with a tepoztopilli (obsidian-edged thrusting spear) and a fretted shield. He has war paint, and his back banner has the brownish background with blue, yellow, green and red stripes. The back banner feather ball here is slightly orange in color.

ACC5

ACC5 – armed with a macuahuitl and a fretted shield. He has no war paint, and his back banner has the brownish background with blue, yellow, green and red stripes. The back banner feather ball here is dark blue.

ACC6

ACC6 – armed with a macuahuitl and a non-fretted shield. He has war paint, and his back banner has the bluish background with white and red stripes. The back banner feather ball here is orange.

ACC7

ACC7 – armed with a macuahuitl and a fretted shield. He has war paint, and his back banner has the bluish background with white and red stripes. The back banner feather ball here is dark blue.

ACC8

ACC8 – armed with a macuahuitl and a fretted shield. He has war paint, and his back banner has the bluish background with yellow and red stripes. The back banner feather ball here is reddish.

Group Shots

I hope that you enjoyed looking at this post and these figures. This is my penultimate (love that word) Aztec post – the last will be one with Montezuma, some Aztec captains and some warrior priests. Six more Aztecs, and then it’s on to the Spanish Conquistadores!

I’d love to know if you have a favorite – and any thoughts or questions and suggestions that you may have on the work here are always appreciated.

Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:

Posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide”

  1. Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones (this post) – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
  2. Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
  3. Civilizations Collide – The Wars of the Aztecs, the Inca, the Maya, and the Conquistadores is now available as a FREE Download for Feudal Patrol™ – plus a Feudal Patrol™ review!
  4. 18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
  5. Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
  6. Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
  7. Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
  8. Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
  9. Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
  10. A June and July Jaguar Warrior Frenzy (plus some Aztec Veterans and a Warrior Priest to Boot) – 3 Aztec Veteran Warriors, 17 Jaguar Warriors, 1 Aztec Warrior Priest
  11. Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
  12. Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
  13. Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
  14. Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

Total figures to date for this project: 135 figures:  103 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE AZTEC FIGURES:

  1. Gorilla Glue
  2. 1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
  3. Poster tack
  4. Vallejo “Surface Primer – White Primer”
  5. Vallejo “Flow Improver”
  6. Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
  7. Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
  8. Reaper MSP “Black Primer”
  9. Citadel “Nuln Oil” (shade)
  10. Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
  11. Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white)
  12. Vallejo Game Air “Black”
  13. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore-Grunta Fur”
  14. Vallejo Game Color “Bronze Fleshtone”
  15. Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
  16. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Volupus Pink”
  17. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Darkoath Flesh”
  18. Citadel Air “Evil Sunz Scarlet”
  19. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
  20. Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
  21. Secret Weapon Washes “Yellow Snow” (ink/wash)
  22. Vallejo Game Air “Moon Yellow”
  23. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Iyanden Yellow”
  24. Secret Weapon Washes “Sunshine” (ink/wash)
  25. Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
  26. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Basilicanum Grey”
  27. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
  28. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
  29. Battlefront “Wool Brown”
  30. Vallejo Game Ink “Yellow”
  31. Vallejo Game Ink “Blue”
  32. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Blood Angels Red”
  33. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Talassar Blue”
  34. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Ultramarines Blue”
  35. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Fyreslayer Flesh”
  36. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gryph-Hound Orange”
  37. Citadel “Troll Slayer Orange”
  38. Vallejo Game Ink “Green”
  39. Vallejo Game Air “Dead White”
  40. Vallejo Model Color “Glossy Black”
  41. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Warp Lightning”
  42. Citadel Air “Balor Brown”
  43. E6000 Epoxy
  44. Battlefront “Chocolate Brown”
  45. Americana “Kelly Green”
  46. Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” (shade)
  47. Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
  48. Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade)
  49. Citadel “Contrast Paint – Wyldwood”
  50. Elmer’s PVA Glue
  51. Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
  52. Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
  53. Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
  54. Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
  55. Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
  56. Citadel “Karak Stone”
  57. Americana “Desert Sand”
  58. Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
  59. Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)