Sharp Practice – ACW for Pennies on the Dollar.

Hi everyone,

I spent the weekend working on the fields and I finally got them all done. I focused on making them functional and cheap as possible. Altogether I have eight field pieces and I think that is enough to add variation to the 4” x 4” gaming board.

There you have it. Eight fields that cost me less than 10 euros to make.  In truth I could have trebled the amount of fields for the same price, but I was only looking to fill a small gaming table and I have more interesting things to work on – if I am being honest!

So until next time stay safe and have fun.

NR

Hi everyone,

A short post, but something slightly different yet still relevant.  My terrain for this project revolved around a farm, but there was one element still missing – farm animals.

Luckily enough, Pegaso Hobbies produce a wonderfully little 1/72 box set with all the farm animals I needed in one set. They also have the same set in 1/48 scale, which is perfect for Silver Bayonet!

Below are the first animals that I have painted up from the set.

The next set of animals will be the pigs, dogs and foul.

So until then stay safe and have fun.

NR

Hi everyone,

I have painted up some more farm animals, specifically the dogs, chickens, and I think the turkeys.

I also decided to build a pig sty for the pigs in the set, rather than just paint them.  It took more time but I think it is worth it.

That is all for now. The next group of animals are the cattle.  There are twelve in the set, and I will put them on three bases.

Until next time take care and have fun.

NR

Hi everyone,

I finally finished the farm animal set with the 12 cattle that come in the box set. I repainted some of the cows because I painted them white with black spots and they just looked out of place.

I think they have a more ‘herd look’ to them now than before, with the majority of them being reddish. Overall this set gives the terrain an air of ‘life’ to it.  I am very pleased I bought and painted them up.

That is all for today.  Hope to bring more next week as I come closer to closing this project for good.

Stay safe and have fun.

NR

Hi everyone,

I  have just finished the first of two Confederate cavalry units.  I put them off for a while because I was distracted by the 1/72 Farm Animals. I really enjoyed painting the animals up because they were something different.  Now, though, I really need to get this project finished, because I want to start a new army soon for a campaign that is starting soon in January or February next year for Kings of War.

In the meantime I will strive to get this project done, but I might shorten it a bit.

The Confederate cavalry was a bit more demanding than the Union cavalry because they are more diverse when it comes to uniforms, but I opted for more uniformity in order to speed up the painting process.

I have also finished cleaning up the second unit of horses, that I will paint in one go.  I always paint the horses first for some reason – don’t ask me why?  I just do.

That is all.  Hopefully the second unit will be ready sometime next week and Stage 4 will be ready.

Until then stay safe and have fun.

NR

Hi everyone,

Finally, the fourth stage of this project is finished and I now have two cavalry units for both forces.

I don’t mind painting horses, if I only had a single horse to paint, but 32 horses  can be a struggle.  First of all, it takes twice as long to paint up a cavalry unit than an infantry unit, and secondly the reins can be very very taxing to paint.

Now it is on to Stage 5!  Here I will paint everything else that remains.  Going through what I have left, I have decided to paint up 2 more infantry units for each force, a canon and crew for each force and several characters.

After that this project will be closed and I will more on to my next army (It is for Kings of War).

Until next time stay safe and have fun.

NR

Hi everyone,

So begins the last stage in this project!  Hopefully, I will be able to wrap up this endeavor within a month – if time and schedule permit.

I have gone through everything I have left and I have decided what is to be painted and what is to be thrown away.  The decision was based on the requirements of the game.

The first up this week is the cannon crew for the Union.  In Sharp Practice, the maximum number of crew for artillery is 5 soldiers – so I painted up 5.

Next, I painted up a bannerman and drummer for the Union as well. I will be painting up another two for the Union later on.

Last, but certainly not the least is another leader for the Confederates.  They only had four and I needed another one to bring them on par with the Union.

I have already started working on the next two and final infantry units for the Union.  These models require a lot of cleaning unfortunately before priming and painting.  The bright side is when they are finished so will be the army!

Until next time stay safe and have fun.

NR

Hi everyone,

I have finally finished up all the troops for the Union.  The Zouaves came out a bit dark, but they are presentable enough. The wash I gave them was too concentrated, but they fit in well with the Italieri Zouaves, since I kept the same colour tones.

The Union troops came out fine and fit right in.  All I have left for the Union are another musician and bannerman which I will paint up at the end with some special characters.

That is all for this week.  I am now moving on to the last Confederate troops.  Hopefully this project will be over soon.

Until next time stay safe and have fun.

NR.