Isn’t it amazing how when you  are trying to avoid something, everything else grows in importance. Virtus is a week away and I should be painting camels, Early Arab camels. I should be painting camels but a parcel arrived. Wargamers will know that the arrival of a parcel needs a certain amount of circumspection. Too eager and the spouse suspects something. Too nonchalant, and she knows somerhing. I left the parcel at the post office and waited….

Sally 4th generously took up my idea for Blucher bases and went into production. I was obliged to invest in the product that I had suggested. I should be painting desert dwellers but this was shiny and new. 28mm figures on six inch bases? I can sense your derision. James was vocal in his scorn but Steve had gone to the other extreme and is busy creating miniature masterpieces, some figures being made from MDF.

I of course had gone to the other extreme. I was reasoning that I wasn’t getting much use out of my American Civil War collection and it was time for something drastic. The units without skirmishers seem a bit bare but most units in Chamberlain have such a screen. The beauty of the Blucher variant is that you do get an army with two hundred or so miniatures.

It would be a big task to rebase but Friday night was babysitting with the wife’s kids. I did the Confederates in an hour and was so pleased that I prepared the Union troops. All thoughts of the desert were lost. More units mean a shortage of flag bearers and Santa may have to remedy this. Most of my miniatures are Renegade sculpts so I may have to send off to pre- Brexit France for more Forgotten and Glorious minis.

I must remember not to use Goblin green ever again! The bases are large and we will definately need a eight by six foot table. Hopefully the basing will look less Spartan wghen I’ve set to work with sand and tufts. At the scale of brigades, we can also use the Volley and Bayonet scenarios, in addition to Fire and Fury battles. I love how Blucher plays and how the troops manouvre. Artillery also needs to go on the Christmas list. Every gamer wants to refight massive battles with cannons after all.

It was getting late and I remembered that I had only prepared the camels and not the riders. Why not tackle the Union cavalry? This really is a force multiplier, one Black Powder unit becomes two brigades. The larger base allows that very fashionable large diorama unit ala Impetvs.

It was only Midnight and the clank of the bins had yet to herald the return of die Fuhrer. Time to rebase all my English Civil War collection. Mentioning fashion, the 3-2-1 basing system needs an article all of its own. I believe that in its home Sweden, it is called the 1-2-3 system!

The next week will be devoted to painting camels I promise. Just two errant list submitters and the Virtus runners and riders will be published here first so keep an eye out. The plan for next year is to launch a dedidicated website for events and larger, invitational games so 2019 is looking to build on the success of this blog. Now, what spraycan do I use for camels…

……….