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 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:
Run convention games at TotalCon, HAVOC, HUZZAH, BARRAGE, and the Fort Devens Game Day (and a few more maybe) –
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
Get my handicap below 14 (if I have enough non-gaming time!)
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
Figures painted (19):
12 Aztec Novice Warrior figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#WF AZ018 Novice Warriors II)
7 Power-Armored Frinx figures painted/repainted for Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games (25mm/28mm scale) from Archive (#2040)
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).
8 Aztec Cuachicqueh (the “Shorn Ones” shock troops) figures assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#AZ006 Cuachic Warriors- body suit and back banner)
1 Aztec Warrior Priest figure assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#AZ011 Montezuma and Chieftains)
Figures converted (1):
1 Aztec Chieftain converted to one with a signaling drum from #AZ011 Montezuma and Chieftains
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”
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”
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 forFeudal 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:
You must be an email or WordPress follower of my blog.
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!
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).
Only one entry allowed per follower except as described in (5) below.
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.
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!
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 figuresWargames 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 figuresOutpost 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”
Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers! (this post)
Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
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 wanteda 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”
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”
In the Civilizations Collide supplement (described on my last post) that I wrote for Feudal Patrol™, priests and shamans can be bought for points and deployed along with units. In the game, a warrior priest can both boost the fighting morale of your own troops as well as erode the morale of your defeated non-Spanish enemies. Plus, they can fight as heroes as well.
For my Aztec forces, I needed to paint up some more warrior priests. I already had one figure that I have painted from Wargames Foundry Heroes of Tenochtitlan (seen here). I also have six warrior priests for the Tlaxcalans (seen here), so this disparity needed to be fixed.
Originally to meet this figure deficit I purchased the Wargames Foundry blister pack AZ021 “Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple” from Badger Games as I believed that this would get me six Warrior Priests. There is nothing historic about the name, but it sounds very Aztec! However, the pack was a bit different than I had expected. As you will see, two are definitely good as warrior priests, two are priests/priestesses who probably hung around the temple, and two are a command pair. No worries, as I can use all of these one way or another. The figures are metal, 28mm in size, and sculpted by Josef Ochmann. This group was in very good shape and was easy to prep for painting.
I did not take very many shots this go around – but my painting approach was similar to my previous posts which are catalogued below if you are new to this project. So without further ado…
Eye Candy
First, the two warrior priests – I think these will be fine on the tabletop battlefield, though underarmed a bit:
AWP2 – this figure is armed only with an obsidian dagger, and no shield or armor.
AWP3 – this figure reminded me of IRO’s stuff! He is armed only with an obsidian dagger, and no shield or armor, but is slick with blood after a captive live sacrifice. The dark war paint on his face and body and the skull on his hip were painted according to an Osprey image I had. I tried not to overdo the blood, but I think he would be pretty bloody.
The next group includes a priestess and a priest that do not look overly worthy of battle, but I can always put them in if needed or use them in some other way. Besides, they could be an objective possibly. I thought I’d paint them anyways – and give them flowers on their bases.
AP1 – this Priestess is admiring some turquoise jewelry or some such thing. I would have her armed with only an obsidian dagger, and of course no shield or armor. I tried to give the dress a pattern, but this was not squarely in my wheelhouse. Maybe that’s why I gave her a tuft of flowers as compensation?
AP2 – this Priest was not my favorite, though I did like experimenting with his headdress and his garb patterns. He is also armed with only an obsidian dagger, and of course no shield or armor. He also was missing some fingers. Maybe that’s why I also gave him flowers!
The next two really are a command group pair, and I will use them together as a higher commander of a warband or better.
AZC1 – this leader is dressed as an Eagle Warrior. I painted 6 Eagle Warriors early in the project that you can see here. I really liked this figure. I will treat his weapon as a tepoztopilli, and give him credit for his shield, some cotton armor and his helmet. He of course will need his assistant with the conch shell and drum to send battle signals out.
AZC2 – the leader’s signaler with a conch shell as a horn and a drum. I really liked this figure, though getting the shell right was a conundrum. I am only giving him a hand axe and but he gets cotton armor but no shield. So, he’s a bit vulnerable.
Here’s a group shot:
Thanks for looking – and please let me know your thoughts and feedback in the comments section. Do have a favorite? I do hope you enjoyed this!
I have always wanted to be part of a putting together rules for a tabletop wargame. Now, I can officially say that I can check off that box on my life’s “To-Do” list – at least in a smallish way.
Feudal Patrol™– Buck Surdu’s rules 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.
It is a fantastic skirmish system, similar to his Combat Patrol -WWII™and Albedo Combat Patrol™ systems. Unlike many other games, the Combat Patrol family has eliminated the clutter of multiple charts and markers with the use of specialized playing card decks. The decks in each game enable players to resolve movement, melee, missile fire, morale, cover protection, and more all from a single 50 card deck. Feudal Patrol™ is appropriate for periods when melee dominated warfare instead of firepower – so the 16th Century and earlier, as well as being adaptable for fantasy gaming. To be clear, I am not totally unbiased. I have been friends with Buck for nearly 40 years since our cadet days at West Point, and I did participate in several playtests of these rules and helped as I could.
As for a good review of Feudal Patrol™ by a more neutral party, there is a fine one on the BoardGameGeek website by Scouter (Brian Ivers) that you can see here. You can see that this is a game worth checking out. Here’s a snippet from the review:
Overall an Excellent effort by Buck and his band of Tabletop warriors. The cards and rules were purchased by me under a pre order program through On Military Matters. The rules were produced by Sally4th, a wonderful company out of the UK. Noble Knight games are also a US conduit. The amount of support available for this product is excellent, this can be found on both Buck Surdus web site as well as Sally4th. And Google Groups IO page. Buck has produced an excellent You Tube video introduction to Feudal Patrol. https://youtu.be/SlpLbMdgVv8
My official copy of the rules arrived in early November! The book looks great, and the layout inside is equally nice.The inside cover. Thanks for the shout out Buck! BTW, the “Ma’k” is a nod by Buck to my Massachusetts accent that I will never lose.
Buck asked me if I was interested in writing a supplement for the rules. I was very interested and thought it would be a fine opportunity to check the box I wrote of above. I also wanted to develop a skirmish game for the Spanish Conquest as the period and the garb of the period was fascinating to me. So I agreed, and did a lot of research on the period, and developed my supplement to Feudal Patrol™ that I called “Civilizations Collide”. That supplement is a FREE download – and I hope all who read this will download it and please take a look (after all it’s free! – did I mention that?). Plus it has a lot of pics of the miniatures that I have painted up (and more will come in this blog of course!
As readers of this blog know, I have been also actively painting figures for the period from many companies. You may want to get started – so as a help, here is my list of what I have found available:
Naismith and Roundway sells some (I have not bought any yet) here – 25mm
Even the old Ral Partha (which I have), now sold by Iron Winds Metals, has some here – 25mm
All of these are still commercially available. I do prefer the 28mm over the 25mm, but I do use both
Thanks for checking this out and a real big thank you if you downloaded the supplement! More to come!
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”
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! (this post)
Well, not exactly…more like into one of my storage boxes to await a future game…but now that I have your attention, welcome!
A completed slinger from this project. Nine of the 18 figures that I will discuss and display here are armed with slings. In my game, these Aztec slingers are very accurate – and very dangerous. Most Aztecs learned how to take small game with slings from a very young age. The Conquistadores described taking many grave injuries and casualties from slingers like these.
I just finished adding 18 Aztec Novice Warriors to my forces for games of Feudal Patrol™ – using the “Civilizations Collide” supplement that I have discussed previously on several posts (you can see list of these posts at the end of this post if you’d like to see what you’ve missed). I had needed to add some more novices to pair up with veterans for the game. Aztec veteran warriors would have novices attached to them for training and development in the tactics and techniques of Mesoamerican warfare. Aztecs preferred capturing their enemies versus killing them – after all, they wanted live captives for sacrifice.
Under veteran tutelage, novices would try to capture enemy warriors. Their success at this would allow them to gain rank as well as increased Aztec societal and cultural prestige (depending upon the number and quality of the captured enemy warriors). This increase in rank would also be shown by the warriors having the right to wear different and fancier uniforms. Of course the captured warriors would be most often sacrificed alive on the altar of Huitzilopochtli in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.
Returning to the gaming project, I now have figures for 30 novices and 27 veterans, which should put me in good stead game-wise. These figures came from Badger Games and were manufactured by Wargames Foundry. The 18 figures discussed here came from two blisters of AZ016 “Novice Warriors I” and one of AZ028 “Novice Warriors III”. All were sculpted by Josef Ochmann. I previously painted up 12 from AZ018 “Novice Warriors II” that I posted about here. These were similar to those models, and most of this group are armed with slings. Unfortunately, for the non-slingers, there were no other weapons in the AZ028 blister, just shields. Not a problem, as I had some Outpost Wargames Services extra weapons and some extra shields already painted up for any non-slingers (Badger also sells OWS). I am sure that Badger would have taken care of it if I let them know (they are great), but I had the situation under control.
I must say that the Foundry mold lines here on some of the models were a greater problem than those I have painted before from OWS. I tried my best to fix what I could without destroying the figures, but there’s only so much one can file away before the cure becomes worse than the disease. I am going to jump right into some pictures and then as usual some references for those interested in that sort of detail.
Mounted and ready for painting.Early flesh tone work.Completed.Completed and removed from the specimen jars – ready for eye candy!
Because I had bought two 6-figure blisters of AZ016, I wanted to paint them differently enough so that they would be interesting on the tabletop. I will show the similar poses together, and then the single poses.
I have numbered my novices AN1 to AN30, with this project concerning AN13 to AN30.
AN13 and AN19 – armed with a tepoztopilli (obsidian-edged thrusting spear pronounced tay-pose-toe-pee-lee) and a shield, but no other armor.
AN 13 and AN19 figures from the front.AN13 and AN19, the view from the side.
AN14 and AN20 – armed with a cuauhololli (round-headed wooden club – pronounced kwa-ho-lolly) and a shield, but no other armor.
AN14 and AN20 from the front.AN14 and AN20, reverse angle. As these are all novices, I did not give them overly fancy shields.
AN15 and AN21 – armed with a cuauhololli (round-headed wooden club) and a shield, and quilted cotton armor called ichcahuipilli (pronounced each-ca-we-pilli).
From the front, AN15 and AN21. I painted the shields and ichcahuipilli drawstrings differently.AN15 and AN21 from the shield side. AN21 has feather frets on his shield.
AN16 and AN22 – armed with slings, no shield, and no armor.
AN16 and AN22 looking very choreographed from the front. Note the blue and red arm rings and earrings as differentiators for the tabletop.AN16 and AN22 looking no less choregraphed from the back!
AN17 and AN23 – armed with slings, no shield, and no armor.
AN17 and AN23 looking a bit more ominous than the previous pair of slingers. I did not like the size of these figures’ left hands. A shield could have hidden that but I did not think that having slingers should be so equipped. AN17 and AN23 reverse view.
AN18 and AN24 – armed with slings, no shield, and no armor.
AN18 and AN24. These were my favorite sculpts from the AZ016 blister. I really thought the faces were great.AN18 and AN24, reverse view.
AN25 – armed with a sling, no shield, and no armor. This is the first figure from the AZ028 blister.
AN25 looks for a target.AN25 reverse angle.
AN26 – armed with a sling, no shield, and no armor.
AN26 from the front. The figure is similar to, but not exactly the same, as AN17 and AN23, but I am hoping that the yellow earrings will stand out on the tabletop.AN26, reverse angle.
AN27 – armed with a sling, no shield, and no armor.
AN27 from the front, with some yellow color for his hairband and earrings. I liked the sculpting of his face too.AN27 from the back side.
AN28 – armed with a macuahuitl (an obsidian-edged club/broadsword), a shield, and no armor.
AN28 from the front, moving to attack. This is the only figure in this group to be armed with the common macuahuitl (pronounced ma-kwa-wheat). The macuahuitl came from a previously painted OWS kit. You can see an interesting video on this weapon later in this post.AN28 from the side, ready to hack and slash.
AN29 – armed with a tepoztopilli and a shield, and quilted cotton armor (ichcahuipilli).
AN29 front. This was my least favorite figure of all of these – I just did not like the face, though here it looks ok. The weapon is also from OWS.AN29 from the side.
AN30 – armed with a bow, no shield, and no armor.
AN30 from the side. I really liked this figure, plus he is now the only Aztec I have with a bow. Bows were much more the choice of peoples like the Tlaxcalans (as shown here), but Aztecs did use bows at times too.AN30 showing the side with the quiver.
That’s a lot of troops – and this month (October 2020) I have painted 42 in total after adding these 18 – a record for me. And I still have 2 days left, but likely this is it for October. I am nearly through what I need to paint for the Aztecs – then I can move on to the Spanish.
And as for the video I promised, here it is below. A group in Baltimore built a macuahuitl. I found it interesting, even though they did not know the correct pronunciation of macuahuitl! There’s obviously an old gamer there as shown by the paints used. Enjoy!
That’s all for this post. I’d be interested in your thoughts on this post and the project in general. Let me know in the comments section, share this post if you’d like, and as always, thanks for looking!
Project production to date – 121 figures…and counting!
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”
18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar (this post) – 18 Novice Warriors
Please let me know your thoughts and feedback in the comments section – I really appreciate learning any impressions or thoughts in general (or specific) that you have.
Mark A. Morin 