Conquistador-crewed Falconets & Lombards for my Brigantines in Feudal Patrol Games

Now that’s not a short title – and this was a big project. But as I shared in my last post on Building Cortes’ Conquistador Fleet, I needed to kit out my Spanish brigantines with artillery and appropriate crews for my scenarios for my games of Feudal Patrol^TM using my supplement for Civilizations Collide.

This post will cover that effort, as well as a brief review of the Army Painter “Speed Paints” that I used on the five crews. I also will share some additional photos of the firing/smoke markers and the storage/transport solution I arrived at for the fleet. The five are again El Dólar (The Buck), El Gregorio (The Greg), El Perro de Guerra (The War Dog), El Conquistador, and El Marcos (The Mark).

After looking at each ship, I decided that each crew would be a warband unto itself and be generally composed of three elements plus their Warband Leader:

1 Warband Leader
Rowing/tiller Element – 6 Conquistadors rowing (3 per side), plus one at the tiller acting as their leader (7 total in that Element)
Artillery Element – One falconet or lombard crew of three figures plus the gun with one of the crew acting as a leader
Arquebus/crossbow Element – One to four figures deployed in the opposite castle (fore or stern) from the ship’s Artillery Element

I needed a few criteria to be satisfied here. First, I wanted the 28mm crews and guns to be different both in terms of paint scheme and in terms of figures/poses. Given that, sourcing the crew proved to be a bit of a challenge. I found the one two-man crew set from Outpost Wargames (via Badger Games) that I previously painted for land warfare (detailed here) to be lacking for my needs here on ships due to size and composition. (I do like that set but not on a ship.)

Secondly, I wanted their bases to reflect a ship’s deck. And yes – my other Conquistadors would still have ground-flocked bases – but the artillery needed to belong to a specific ship in my view and look just like that. Thirdly, deck space on the ships was tight. So, getting a three-man crew to fit with any gun would require that I use smaller bases than my usual 1″ bases – and I ended up using Wargames Accessories square .75″ for the crew members and 1.25″ x 1″ steel bases for the guns.

Wargames Foundry has a nice set (#SB018) available from Badger, and I used two of them – less the halberdier that I added to my land-based forces (and also used some as leaders/helmsmen). For the other three, I did a cobbling together of figures and guns from Gringo 40’s, Iron Wind Metals, and Eureka Miniatures.

This project was going to have to be squeezed in between HAVOC 2022, my Florida trip, and get finished before HUZZAH 2022 where they would debut on the tabletop. I also received my Army Painter “Speed Paint” set and decided that this was a good time to try them out as completion speed was indeed of the essence.

The crews and guns ended up as follows for each brigantine:

El Dólar: a falconet and three crewmen from Wargames Foundry #SB018 to be deployed in the stern castle facing to the starboard side
El Gregorio: a falconet and three crewmen from Wargames Foundry #SB018 to be deployed in the forecastle facing forward
El Conquistador: a Gringo 40’s lombard (#CONQA3), crewed by three Iron Winds Metals figures #DH412 (wick/match), #DH413 (swab), and #DH414 (ram) to be deployed stern castle facing to the port side
El Perro de Guerra: a Gringo 40’s falconet (#CONQA2) , crewed by three Iron Winds Metals figures #DH412 (wick/match), #DH413 (swab), and #DH414 (ram) to be deployed stern castle facing to the port side
El Marcos: a Eureka Miniature’s lombard (#100CON12), crewed by one figure from Wargames Foundry #SB018 (wick/match), and two Iron Winds Metals figures #DH413 (swab), and #DH414 (ram) to be deployed in the forecastle facing forward

Mocking up the guns to see what size bases would work.

I broke up popsicle sticks and made each base look like the decks.

I lightly primed each figure and gun base lightly. I decided to paint the guns and then affix them to the bases.

I broke into the Speed Paint set and made a comparison chart.

First, I painted the guns.

I used mostly AP “Sand Golem” on the wooden parts of the carriages, with Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal” as the base colors for these. All of the paints used are listed at the end of this post for those interested.

I needed a painting plan (starting point anyway) for the 15 figures. I tried to use as many of the Speed Paints as possible.

I returned from Florida on April 28th – and HUZZAH was 13 days away! I hit the Speed paints again.

I did not take a lot of pics during the painting – but these are good I think.

By April 29th, I had basically had the figures painted and saw that washes on the metals and highlights on the flesh were definitely needed.

These are DH414’s on April 29. The flesh needed highlights.

A Wargames Foundry figure on April 29th.

Next up was varnishing on April 30th. I waited as I had read on Azazel’s blog that the Speed Paints can reactivate – so I wanted to leave 24 hours+ to dry.

I did see some of the Speed Paint (“Sand Golem”) on the guns reactivate and migrate – but that was it. It was easily fixed.

Close up showing the Speed Paint “migration” on this gun. Apparently the Speed paint reactivated and splashed onto the gun and wheels during airbrush varnishing. Again, easily fixed – but not desirable. I’ll use the Speed Paints again, but with caution.

I then needed to add smoke to the figures lighting the fuses – and make smoke markers for the falconets and lombards.

Added wisps of smoke to the matches. I think these came out fine for tabletop play.

Then I was on to making some big smoke markers.

Finished eye candy time! Here are the completed cannon crews on each ship – plus I loaded up the ships with their entire crews for good measure.

El Dólar

El Gregorio

El Conquistador

El Perro de Guerra

El Marcos

The Fleet Fully Crewed

Ready for HUZZAH! – oh wait, what about transport and storage?

Oh yeah, to get these ships safely to conventions I built a transport box for the hulls with posterboard and hot glue (and minor burns) and used a Really Useful Box for the sails (the crews go with my other figures). I also used the box to fit in my war canoe box.

All of this got done just under the wire – next up I’ll show you how they did at HUZZAH 2022!

(hint – they were a big hit)…stay tuned…

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

For all of my previous posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide” – please see this page.

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

War Games Accessories .75″ square bases
War Games Accessories 1.25″ x 1″ rectangular bases
Gorilla Glue
Elmer’s PVA Glue
Popsicle sticks
Army Painter Speed Paint “Sand Golem”
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Primer “White”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Poster tack
Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
Vallejo Model Air “Black”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Crusader Skin”
Citadel “Runefang Steel”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Malignant Green”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Magic Blue”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Cloudburst Blue”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Holy White”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Speed Paint Medium”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Blood Red”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Grim Black”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Plasmatic Bolt”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Hive Dweller Purple”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Orc Skin”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Gravelord Grey”
Citadel “Skrag Brown”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Fire Giant Orange”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Slaughter Red”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Camo Cloak”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Hardened Leather”
Vallejo Model Air “Chain Mail”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Pallid Bone”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Runic Grey”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Highlord Blue”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Zealot Yellow”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Absolution Green”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Purple Alchemy”
Army Painter Speed Paint “Dark Wood”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Off-white”
Citadel “Balor Brown”
Vallejo Model Color “Black Grey”
Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade GLOSS” (wash)
Vallejo Model Air “Armour Brown”
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
Vallejo Game Air “Black”
Vallejo Model Air “Base Grey”
Vallejo Game Air “Wolf Grey”
Pillow batting
Hot Glue

Conquistador Halberdiers and Pikemen – plus Pedro de Alvarado – for the Battle of Otumba

On July 20, 1520, Hernan Cortes and his Conquistadores found themselves at a significant historical juncture. They had been fighting the Aztecs in retrograde for weeks as they attempted to reach the safety of the lands of their Tlaxcalan allies. Every single one of the Spanish was wounded in some way or another – and they were exhausted from being pursued incessantly by the enraged Aztecs. Cortes and his men had been lucky to narrowly escape from the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan during La Noche Triste. The safety of the lands of their Tlaxcalan allies lay past a nearby mountain pass, just beyond reach.

The Aztecs, with vastly superior numbers, had managed to nearly surround the Spanish and deny them their route to safety. The Conquistadores now were desperately defending a rocky outcropping with pikemen, halberdiers, crossbowmen, and sword and buckler men. The Aztecs wanted nothing less than finishing off the hated Spanish – either by killing them outright or by taking them as captives for ritual sacrifice to their god of war, Huitzilopochtli.

Here, both sides would fight the Battle of Otumba, and the fates of both the Spanish Crown and the Aztec Empire were in the balance.

You can click on the links I shared above and learn more about the Battle of Otumba. It was a near-run battle – and Cortes and his men were truly in danger of being sent off to oblivion at the hands of the Aztecs. The short version is that Cortes recognized that the Aztec attacks on his position were being coordinated by banners and signalers – all led by the High Priest of Tenochtitlan, Matlatzincatl. Cortes left the infantry on the outcropping to gather together what little cavalry he still had left. Cortes then personally led a cavalry charge to take out Matlatzincatl – and succeeded. Supposedly, it was Cortes himself who was able to dispatch Matlatzincatl with his lance.

At this point, the Aztecs had never before seen nor fought against a cavalry charge. It was indeed one of epic shock and awe. After the death of Matlatzincatl and his signalers, the Aztec attack broke up for wont of command and control, and Cortes and his men were able to make it to safety. This would allow them to regroup, get reinforced, and eventually destroy the Aztec Empire. Therefore, this was probably one of the Aztec’s last and best chance to annihilate the Spanish. By failing to do so – though many more battles would be fought – the seeds of the ultimate demise of the Aztec Empire were irrevocably sown.

As one of my scenarios for my games of Feudal Patrol^TM using my supplement for Civilizations Collide, I have designed a gaming scenario for the Battle of Otumba. It is a skirmish-type scenario but one that will hopefully evoke the spirit of the battle. For the Conquistadores, I already have adequate cavalry figures for Cortes’ charge. As discussed, from my research it appears that the Spanish took up their defensive position on the rocky hillock using pikemen and halberdiers almost in an infantry square. As I only had one pikemen figure that had come from Eureka Miniatures as a war dog handler, that would be insufficient to say the least.

My digging around websites yielded me three sources that I drew upon to remedy this shortfall: Eureka Miniatures USA (4 halberdiers from #100CON03); Wargames Foundry via Badger Games in the US (2 halberdiers from two #SBO16 that were part of a couple of artillery gun crews); Gringo 40’s (UK) (8 pikemen from #CONQ4 and a Pedro de Alvarado figure.) All of these figures were 28mm scale and metal. This group would get me to where I wanted to be.

A side note about Pedro de Alvarado. He was a key lieutenant of Cortes and a prominent player in the Spanish Conquest. He was a redhead, which was a novelty to the Aztecs. He is remembered both for his skills as a soldier and especially for his cruelty and acts of mass murder on native peoples – both Aztec and Maya. However, he played a big role at many battles, including the Battle of Otumba, and as Gringo 40’s had his figure, I got him as well. As I always say, in the Spanish Conquest, there were few “good guys” on either side. History must be understood in the context of the period – and it was a brutal one.

These figures arrived in December, and were definitely in my sights as submissions for Dave Stone’s “Paint What You Got” painting challenge in addition to my war canoes and Aztec Serpent Statues.

I filed and washed the 15 figures in preparation for mounting for painting and priming. However, let me share a few notes. I liked all of the figures as far as the sculpts go. However, the Gringo 40’s pikemen were only available in one pose – which I ordered nonetheless as I figured that I could deal with via a painting plan (so they would look different enough from each other). These also had a pike included – but it was a soft metal pike that would not have survived a gaming session.

I replaced them with ones from North Star Military Figures cut to the same size as the originals. I have used these spears on other projects – notably my beloved Rooman Pikemen – and they are nice but VERY sharp (I recommend filing down the tips a bit or you and your players will have a hypodermic battlefield with real blood).

The Gringo 40’s also came with nice swords that I liked. Both the pikemen and the halberdiers needed a good deal of pin vise drilling to accommodate their weaponry. Alvarado came in two pieces but is a great sculpt. The Wargames Foundry figs were also two of the same – so more challenge for me to make their appearance dissimilar. The Eureka halberdiers were nice too.

After a nice scrubbing, all 15 ready to go forward to mounting for painting.

One of the challenges I found was airbrush priming of the pikes, halberds, swords, and Alvarado’s sword (and hands). This was difficult due to their being easily moved by the air pressure. I broke out my holder rack to use – and it helped – though I did need to deal with subsequently painting the parts under the clips.

After priming in white, I washed them all with a 50% thinned application of Citadel “Nuln Oil” as shown below.

I worked on the base coats by using an Excel sheet paint plan as I needed a lot of paints to make this work – especially for the pikemen. I did make use of several contrast paints here as well – but I used them in combination with other products to shade and highlight. When you are trying to give 8 different pikemen different beards/hair, tunics, leggings, etc., you do end up with a good number of permutations! As usual, I list of all the paints, inks, washes, etc. that I used at the end of this post if that sort of thing interests you.

Early base coating – it was tough to remember all the paints without writing them down. Some of these got striped leggings, others not. I did vary colors there as well.

Finally all of the figures here are painted, shaded, and highlighted – they still needed flocking and varnishing as you see.

I flocked the bases first with PVA glue and Army Painter “Brown Battlefields”.

Then I added pigments to the bases and fixed with thinner, and let them dry.

Once dry, I dry brushed them with three brown/tan tones, then applied matte varnish via airbrushing. This is the recipe I used for most of my figures for the Spanish Conquest.

After the varnish dried, I added Army Painter “Grass Green” and 12mm jungle tufts from Shadow’s Edge Miniatures. I did add the tufts as they will help the bases blend with my rocky outcropping/hill I have for the battle – and I have found them to be the best tufts on the market.

I numbered my halberdiers CHB 1-6 and my pikemen are CPM 2-9. Alvarado is Alvarado! So, here they are as completed – first Pedro de Alvarado from Gringo 40’s:

Pedro de Alvarado

Next, the halberdiers. CHB1-4 are from Eureka, and CHB5 and 6 are the same figure from Wargames Foundry.

CHB1

CHB2

CHB3

CHB4

CHB5

CHB6

Group Halberdier Shot

Halberdiers completed and ready for action.

Lastly, here are the pikemen, CPM2-9. All are from Gringo 40’s and are the same sculpt – but hopefully I have varied them enough in color and appearance.

CPM2

CPM3

CPM4

CPM5

CPM6

CPM7

CPM8

CPM9

Pikemen Group Shot

All 15 of these Conquistadores

You can almost here them yell their rallying cry, “¡Santiago!”

I am looking forward to their upcoming game at TotalCon36 in Marlborough, Massachusetts on February 27th. I am also running two other Spanish Conquest games there on Thursday, February 24 (Surprise Raid on the Aztec Outpost) and Saturday February 26 (Cortes’ Causeway Escape Attempt), as well as a What a Tanker game (France 1940) on Friday. Slots for all are still available – come on down!

I now have painted 92 Conquistador, 32 Tlaxcalan, and 109 Aztec figures since I started this project. I still have more to go – specifically brigantines and cannons with crews, and a good-sized group of Maya. I hope that you found this rather lengthy post interesting. Yes or no, let me know and thanks for checking in.

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

For all of my previous posts on games, units, and other projects for my 16th Century Spanish Conquest supplement for Feudal Patrol™ – “Civilizations Collide” – please see this page.

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

Gorilla Glue
1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
Gorilla Glue Gel
Poster tack
North Star Military Figures 100mm wire spears
Vallejo Mecha Primer “White”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Off-white”
Battlefront “Black”
Vallejo “Thinner Medium”
Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
Vallejo Model Color “English Uniform”
Vallejo Model Color “Black Grey”
Citadel “Troll Slayer Orange”
Citadel “The Fang”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Volupus Pink”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Basilicanum Grey”
Vallejo Model Color “Brown Rose”
Citadel “Runefang Steel”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Wyldwood”
Citadel “Skrag Brown”
Vallejo Model Color “Vermilion”
Citadel “Caliban Green”
Vallejo Game Air “Sun Yellow”
Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
Vallejo Model Air “Brown”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore-Grunta Fur”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Talassar Blue”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Sky Blue”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Grey Green”
Vallejo Game Ink “Black Green”
Secret Weapon Washes “Blue” (ink)
Vallejo Game Air “Wolf Grey”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
Vallejo Model Air “Dark Blue”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Aethermatic Blue”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Shyish Purple”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Magos Purple”
Vallejo Game Ink “Violet”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Blood Angels Red”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Turquoise”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Space Wolves Grey”
Hataka “Gris Blue Clair”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Ultramarines Blue”
Vallejo “Glaze Medium”
Citadel “Castellan Green”
Battlefront “German Camo Orange Ochre”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Light Steel”
Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
Vallejo Model Air “Black – Metallic”
Citadel “Waystone Green” (Technical)
Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
Vallejo Game Color “Bronze Fleshtone”
Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
Army Painter “Red Tone” (shade)
Citadel “XV-88”
Army Painter “Green Tone” (shade)
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade GLOSS” (shade)
Citadel “Drakenhof Nightshade” (wash)
Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” (wash)
Vallejo Game Ink “Green”
P3 “Red” (ink)
Vallejo Game Ink “Yellow”
Citadel “Lamenters Yellow” (glaze)
Battlefront “Flat Earth”
Vallejo “Satin Varnish”
Elmer’s PVA Glue
Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
Citadel “Karak Stone”
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures 12mm “Jungle Tufts”

And the winners of “Mark’s Conquistador Contest” are…

Don’t you love suspense? Well, I have just a tiny bit here for you all!

I started “Mark’s Conquistador Contest” – for my loyal blog followers back on December 15, 2020. It’s purpose was threefold: one, to give myself a challenge to finish off my last 89 figures (all Conquistadores) for my for Civilizations Collide scenarios for games of Feudal Patrol^TM ; two, to offer a prize of miniatures to worthy homes that could use them; and three, to have a fun journey along the way with my followers.

The entire project began nearly a year ago in April of 2020. I had spent the month of March 2020 and part of April 2020 doing my research, for the supplement and looking at sources for appropriate miniatures for the Aztecs, the Tlaxcalans, and the Conquistadores. I finished off 230 miniatures in total for the project.

I managed, with YOUR inspiration, to finish everything on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, 2021. This meant that I got the 89 done in 61 days – including all those holidays! That’s an average of 1.459 per day (according to my spreadsheet that all of you are completely unsurprised that I used).

Now finished – all of the Conquistadores together.

As for the contest – the three prizes were as follows (in no particular order):

The rules were as follows:

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 2^nd, 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, 1^st place gets first choice, then 2^nd, 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.

It’s been fun along the way – as people (Buck and Roger mostly) were telling me to SLOW DOWN. But, I kept on, hoping to get them done as well and as quickly as I could (sorry Buck and Roger!).

So here are the results – please join me in congratulating:

1st Place: Pete from SP’s Project Blog – nailed the date on the nose!

2nd Place: Mike from despartaferres/redcaer1690 – got second by the tiebreaker rule as he picked 6 days early but picked earlier than the third place winner who is.

3rd place: Leif (an email follower and fellow member of the my club The Mass Pikemen) who also picked 6 days away from 2/14 (but picked 9 days later than Mike did.

Congrats to the winners! Pete gets first choice, then Mike, and Leif gets what’s left. Just confirm in the comments section which one you want, and then email me your shipping information to MarkAMorin@aol.com (I’m sure that will work fine).

I will, as I intimated earlier, be doing this again (if there is interest) for all the terrain I have to do for the project. I’m hoping to have more prizes to give away (and maybe even better ones) but I need to get some game-specific stuff done in terms of game aids and the like first. I will NOT begin painting terrain before the next contest – which will begin, as this one did, with a blog post.

Thanks to ALL of you (even Roger😆) for playing and to ALL of you, more importantly, thank you for your encouragement and support!!! It really helped me and inspired me.

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”

And the Winners of “Mark’s Conquistador Contest” are…(this post).
Conquistador Cavalry. 24 figures total: Outpost Wargame Services #CON5 “Conquistador Cavalry in light armour 1” (4 horses & 4 riders); Outpost Wargame Services #CON6 “Conquistador Cavalry in full armour” (4 horses & 4 riders); Eureka Miniatures “Moving Horses” #100ANM05 (8 horses used as casualty markers).
Conquistador Falconet and Crew (Artillery). 3 figures total: Outpost Wargame Services #CONA1 “Falconet and Crew”.
More Conquistador Sword and Buckler Men. 8 figures total Outpost Wargame Services #CON001 “Sword and Buckler Men”.
Conquistador Sword and Buckler Men (Wargames Foundry). 18 figures total in three blister packs: Wargames Foundry #SB015 “Swaggering Swordsmen”, #SB016 “Brutal Sword and Buckler Men”, and #SB017 “Bold Bladesmen”.
Perro de Guerra (Conquistador War Dogs). 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)
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)
Merciless Adventurers (this post) – Wargames Foundry #SB014 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
Audacious Arquebusiers! – Wargames Foundry #SB012 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers!
Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
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!
18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
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
Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

Total figures completed to date for this project: 230 figures: 109 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans, 89 Spanish Conquistadores (ZERO more to go in Mark’s Conquistador Contest!)

Woo hoo!

Conquistador Sword and Buckler Men (Wargames Foundry)

The English term “Sword and Buckler Men” refers to what the Spanish called rodeloros (shield bearers) and espadachines (swordsmen). For those unfamiliar with the term, a buckler is a small shield held by the fist and used mainly to deflect an opponent’s blows (as opposed to mainly protecting against missile weapons). The Conquistadores were professional soldiers and veterans of many wars – and Sword and Buckler Men made up the bulk of their number. It is well-known that the Conquistadores had a major impact during the Age of Discovery/Exploration. They had fought extensively in the Italian Wars (1494-1559) and had the spirit of the men who had driven the Moors from the Iberian peninsula back in 1492 during the Reconquista. The Conquistadores brought their experience and their warfighting characteristics to the New World.

I have incorporated these into my games of Feudal Patrol^TM ) using my supplement for Civilizations Collide. I definitely need the bulk of my Conquistador forces to be made up of Sword and Buckler Men (let’s call them SABM for short). To reflect their elite status and general all-around technological and tactical excellence, they are pretty expensive point-wise versus most Aztecs. This is as it should be – as SABM had better weapons, armor, and experience. The Aztecs had numbers – which the Conquistadores made up with allies like the Tlaxcalans.

For my SABM, I got three blisters of Wargames Foundry 28mm metal SABM from Badger Games. Each had 6 figures, all Mark Copplestone sculpts (who also sculpted the arquebusiers I posted about previously here and here). These are really beautiful sculpts – and I am glad I got them. The three SKU’s were SB015 “Swaggering Swordsmen”, SB016 “Brutal Sword and Buckler Men”, and SB017 “Bold Bladesmen”. After I finished my War Dogs, I decided that it would be best to do all of these figures together. They are by the same sculptor, and I wanted to have some differentiation among them. I jumped into painting these 18 SABM on January 12th and finished them on January 28th (and I have 8 more SABM to do from OWS but that’s a future post). I was pretty happy with that pace of production given that I had a few distractions on the way (like snow removal, Board of Health work, auto repair, etc.). I also need to catch up on blog posts I follow – and I will indeed do that too.

For the contest that I am running (“Mark’s Conquistador Conquest”) – in which people could try to pick the date on which I would finish 89 Conquistador figures, this group made up a big chunk. As I am trying to finish sooner than later, I did NOT take many WIP shots. And as I have 18 figures here to share, I am going to just focus on the final products. I’ll also share my regular reference section at the end here (which I do use myself by the way!). This brings my total for the project to 195 figures – 109 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans, and now 54 Spanish Conquistadores (with just 35 more to go). I don’t know when I’ll finish, or who will win the contest, but it’s getting interesting to be sure. This group of 18 also counts as my third entry into Dave Stone’s Painting Challenge “PAINT WHAT YOU GOT CHALLENGE”.

I’ll cover each of the three blisters below – click on any image for a better view. I did not do an overall group shot as – well – 18’s too many to get in one shot! I numbered these CSW1 to CSW18. I tried to do more freehand on some of the trousers and leggings, varying the colors but staying (hopefully) true to the historical aspects of the period. Maybe you have a favorite – let me know!

SB015 “Swaggering Swordsmen”

CSW1

CSW2

CSW3

CSW4

CSW5

CSW6

SB015 Group Shot

SB016 “Brutal Sword and Buckler Men”

CSW7

CSW8

CSW9

CSW10

CSW11

CSW12

SB016 GROUP SHOT

SB017 “Bold Bladesmen”

CSW13

CSW14

CSW15

CSW16

CSW17

CSW18

SB017 GROUP SHOT

Thanks for looking and I hope that you enjoyed this post – always am happy to read your feedback in the comments section.

And now, to end, as is my habit, here is my reference section (so I might remember what the hell I have done on nearly 200 figures!):

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”

Conquistador Sword and Buckler Men (this post). 18 figures total in three blister packs: Wargames Foundry #SB015 “Swaggering Swordsmen”, #SB016 “Brutal Sword and Buckler Men”, and #SB017 “Bold Bladesmen”.
Perro de Guerra (Conquistador War Dogs). 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)
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)
Merciless Adventurers (this post) – Wargames Foundry #SB014 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
Audacious Arquebusiers! – Wargames Foundry #SB012 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers!
Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
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!
18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
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
Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

Total figures completed to date for this project: 195 figures: 109 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans, 54 Spanish Conquistadores (35 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:

Gorilla Glue
1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
Poster tack
Vallejo Mecha Primer “White”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore-Grunta Fur”
Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white)
Citadel “Ironbreaker”
Reaper MSP “Black Primer”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Dark Steel”
Vallejo “Satin Varnish”
Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
Citadel “Runefang Steel”
Citadel Air “Evil Sunz Scarlet”
Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
Army Painter “Red Tone” (shade)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Black Templar”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gryph-Charger Grey”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
Vallejo Game Air “Black”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Flesh Tearers Red”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Akhelian Green”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Magos Purple”
Citadel “XV-88”
Vallejo “Thinner Medium”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Dark Angels Green”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Blood Angels Red”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
Battlefront “Sicily Yellow”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Off-white”
Vallejo Game Ink “Yellow”
Battlefront “Dark Leather”
Vallejo Model Color “Vermilion”
Tamiya “Orange X-6”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Talassar Blue”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Militarum Green”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Nazdreg Yellow”
Vallejo Model Air “Silver”
Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
P3 “Blazing Ink”
Vallejo Game Ink “Black Green”
Battlefront “GI Green”
Secret Weapon Washes “Yellow Snow” (wash)
Battlefront “Chocolate Brown”
Citadel “Drakenhof Nightshade” (wash)
Vallejo Model Air “Light”
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade)
Citadel “Coelia Greenshade” (wash)
Army Painter “Light Tone” (shade)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
Vallejo Game Color “Bronze Fleshtone”
Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” (wash)
Citadel “Druchi Violet” (wash)
Vallejo Model Air “First Light”
Vallejo Model Air “Dark Brown”
Secret Weapon Washes “Armor Wash” (wash)
E6000 Epoxy
Battlefront “Flat Earth”
Elmer’s PVA Glue
Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
Citadel “Karak Stone”
Americana “Desert Sand”
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)

Merciless Adventurers

I have finished my second group of Conquistadores for Feudal Patrol^TM. 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 Patrol^TM 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 2^nd, 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:

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”

Merciless Adventurers (this post) – Wargames Foundry #SB014 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
Audacious Arquebusiers! – Wargames Foundry #SB012 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers!
Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
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!
18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
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
Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
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:

Gorilla Glue
1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
Poster tack
Vallejo “Surface Primer – White Primer”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
Vallejo Game Air “Black”
Citadel “Runefang Steel”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Cygor Brown”
Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
Citadel “Ironbreaker”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Aggaros Dunes”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Black Templar”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
Vallejo Model Color “Vermilion”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Skeleton Horde”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gulliman Flesh”
Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white)
Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Space Wolves Grey”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore-Grunta Fur”
Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Militarum Green”
Deka Lack “Dunkel Blau”
Citadel “Mechanicus Grey”
P3 “Cygnar Blue Highlight”
Battlefront “Chocolate Brown”
Citadel “Drakenhof Nightshade” (wash)
Vallejo Model Air “Light”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Akhelian Green”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Creed Camo”
Vallejo Game Air “Bronze Fleshtone”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Electric Blue”
Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Volupus Pink”
Secret Weapon Washes “Yellow Snow” (wash)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Plaguebearer Flesh”
Army Painter “Red Tone”
Citadel “Lamenters Yellow” (glaze)
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade)
Citadel “Coelia Greenshade” (wash)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
Vallejo Game Color “Bronze Fleshtone”
Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” (wash)
Battlefront “Flat Earth”
Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
Elmer’s PVA Glue
Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
Citadel “Karak Stone”
Americana “Desert Sand”
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)

Audacious Arquebusiers!

Finally I have finished my first group of Conquistadores for Feudal Patrol^TM. 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 Patrol^TM 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!

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

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”

Audacious Arquebusiers! (this post) – Wargames Foundry #SB012 (6 Conquistadores with arquebuses)
Mark’s Conquistador Contest – for my loyal blog followers!
Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
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!
18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
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
Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
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:

Gorilla Glue
1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
Poster tack
Vallejo “Surface Primer – White Primer”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
Citadel “Runefang Steel”
Citadel “Ironbreaker”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Skeleton Horde”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Cygor Brown”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Dark Steel”
Vallejo Model Color “Vermilion”
Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white)
Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
Vallejo Game Air “Black”
Vallejo Model Air “Armour Brown”
Vallejo Game Color “Bronze Fleshtone”
Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Dark Angels Green”
Army Painter “Red Tone”
Citadel “Coelia Greenshade” (wash)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Black Templar”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore-Grunta Fur”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gulliman Flesh”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Magos Purple”
Secret Weapon Washes “Armor Wash” (wash)
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade)
Army Painter “Purple Tone”
Battlefront “Flat Earth”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
Elmer’s PVA Glue
Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
Citadel “Karak Stone”
Americana “Desert Sand”
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
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:

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 2^nd, 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, 1^st place gets first choice, then 2^nd, 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 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”

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)
Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
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!
18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
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
Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

Side view – not including my Tlaxcalans – which would be 32 more figures.

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”

Montezuma and Chieftains – Wargames Foundry #AZ011 for Feudal Patrol (this post) – 6 Aztec figures (Montezuma, 4 Chieftains, 1 Warrior Priest)
Aztec Shock Troops – Cuachic Warriors aka The Shorn Ones – 8 Aztec cuachicqueh warriors
Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
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!
18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
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
Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
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:

Gorilla Glue
1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
Poster tack
Vallejo “Surface Primer – White Primer”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (shade)
Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white)
Vallejo Game Air “Black”
Vallejo Game Color “Bronze Fleshtone”
Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Volupus Pink”
Citadel Air “Evil Sunz Scarlet”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Darkoath Flesh”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
Green stuff (kneadatite)
Styrene tube
Styrene card
Plastruct Bondene Styrene and Plastic Solvent/Cement
Paper clips
Reaper MSP “Black Primer”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Blood Angels Red”
Battlefront “Chocolate Brown”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Ultramarines Blue”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Plaguebearer Flesh”
Citadel “Auric Armour Gold”
Vallejo Game Ink “Blue”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Warp Lightning”
Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
Vallejo Game Ink “Yellow”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Terradon Turquoise”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
Citadel Air “Balor Brown”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore-Grunta Fur”
Vallejo Game Ink “Green”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Wyldwood”
Citadel “Drakenhof Nightshade” (shade)
Vallejo Model Color “Glossy Black”
Army Painter “Red Tone”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Cygor Brown”
Vallejo Game Ink “Red”
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade)
Citadel “Flayed One Flesh”
Battlefront “Wool Brown”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Iyanden Yellow”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Talassar Blue”
Vallejo Game Air “Dead White”
E6000 Epoxy
Elmer’s PVA Glue
Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
Citadel “Karak Stone”
Americana “Desert Sand”
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
Army Painter “Meadow Flowers” (flocking)
Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)

Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021

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 am almost through my Aztecs – and I am excited to have the highest warrior group – cuachicqueh shock troops (the “Shorn Ones”) – next in the painting queue.

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”

Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple, Wargames Foundry AZ021 (this post) – 2 warrior priests, 1 priestess, 1 priest, 1 leader, and 1 signaler
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!
18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar – 18 Novice Warriors
Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
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
Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

Total figures to date for this project: 127 figures: 95 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans

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

Gorilla Glue
1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
Poster tack
Vallejo “Surface Primer – White Primer”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (shade)
Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white)
Vallejo Game Air “Black”
Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
Vallejo Game Color “Bronze Fleshtone”
Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Darkoath Flesh”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Basilicanum Grey”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Black Templar”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Blood Angels Red”
Citadel Air “Balor Brown”
Citadel Air “Evil Sunz Scarlet”
Battlefront “Chocolate Brown”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Warp Lightning”
Citadel “Auric Armor Gold”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
Citadel “Nuln Oil GLOSS” (wash)
Vallejo Model Color “Glossy Black”
Vallejo Game Ink “Black Green”
Vallejo Game Ink “Red”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Flesh Tearers Red”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Citadel “Contrast Paint – Volupus Pink”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Terradon Turquoise”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
Citadel “Bloodletter” (glaze)
Citadel “Blood For The Blood God”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Aggaros Dunes”
Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” (shade)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Grey Green”
Vallejo Game Air “Dead White”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Cygor Brown”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Turquoise”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gryph-Hound Orange”
Secret Weapon Washes “Fallout” (ink)
Battlefront “Sicily Yellow”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Wyldwood”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Leviadon Blue”
Vallejo Model Color “Gloss White”
Vallejo Model Air “Silver”
Citadel “Drakenhof Nightshade” (wash)
Elmer’s PVA Glue
Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
Citadel “Karak Stone”
Americana “Desert Sand”
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)
Shadows Edge Miniatures Tufts (blue and pink)

18 Aztec Novice Warriors for Feudal Patrol Walk into a Bar…

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.

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.

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, 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.

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.

AN25 – armed with a sling, no shield, and no armor. This is the first figure from the AZ028 blister.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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
Aztec Warrior Priests (painted as Tlaxcalans), Ral Partha 42-302, circa 1988 (this post) – 6 figures – 6 Tlaxcalan Warrior Priests
Tlaxcalan Novices, Elite Warriors, and Command Group – 18 figures – 8 Novice Tlaxcalan Warriors, 8 Elite Tlaxcalan Warriors, 1 Tlaxcalan Captain, 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower
Tlaxcalan Archers – 8 Veteran Tlaxcalan Archers
Aztec Game for Feudal Patrol across thousands of miles – via Zoom!
Aztec Snake Woman and Drummer – 1 Aztec General, 1 Aztec Drummer
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
Doubling Down – Aztec Veteran Warriors – 24 Aztec Veteran Warriors
Aztec Arrow Knights, Ral Partha circa 1988 – 6 Aztec Arrow Knights
Aztec Eagle Warriors from Tin Soldier UK – 6 Aztec Eagle Knights
Aztec Novice Warriors and a few Frinx – 12 Novice Warriors

Total figures to date for this project: 121 figures: 89 Aztecs, 32 Tlaxcalans

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

Gorilla Glue
1/8″ x 1″ Everbilt Fender Washers
Poster tack
Vallejo “Surface Primer – White Primer”
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (shade)
Vallejo Model Air “Weiss” (off-white)
Vallejo Game Air “Black”
Army Painter “Tanned Flesh”
Vallejo Game Color “Bronze Fleshtone”
Vallejo Model Color “Sunny Skin Tone”
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (shade)
Battlefront “Chocolate Brown”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Darkoath Flesh”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (wash)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Black Templar”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Citadel “Contrast Paint – Volupus Pink”
Secret Weapon Washes “Blue” (wash)
Secret Weapon Washes “Sunshine” (wash)
P3 “Red Ink” (ink)
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Snakebite Leather”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Aggaros Dunes”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Skeleton Horde”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Gore Grunta Fur”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Warp Lightning”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Blood Angels Red”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Ultramarines Blue”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Aethermatic Blue”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Iyanden Yellow”
Citadel Air “Evil Sunz Scarlet”
Citadel Air “Balor Brown”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Wyldwood”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Terradon Turquoise”
Battlefront “Wool Brown”
Vallejo Model Color “Glossy Black”
Vallejo Model Color “Dark Blue”
Vallejo Model Air “Moon Yellow”
Vallejo Game Air “Satin Varnish”
E6000 Epoxy
4Ground small talus pieces
Elmer’s PVA Glue
Army Painter “Brown Battlefields” (flocking)
Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Burnt Umber” (pigment)
Citadel “Steel Legion Drab”
Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
Citadel “Karak Stone”
Americana “Desert Sand”
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
Army Painter “Grass Green” (flocking)

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.

Thanks for looking!

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