Republican Romans

These are the first Aventine Miniatures I've ever painted. And I have to ask myself, how is it that I took so long to get on the Aventine Train? They were such a treat to paint that Aventine is now one of my favorite miniature makers. The only thing holding me back from a big spend is they're ruthless about taking down their ranges when they show any mold lines. As a small operation, that means whole ranges are off their site at any time. That's ok. I've got them bookmarked and will swoop in once their Steppe Tribes and Sassanid Persians are back.  

Painted for a Saga campaign but it'd be nice to find a way to use them in a bigger battle. In Saga, I've been running 3-4 points of warriors, 1 point of levy javelin (velites) 1-2 of hearthguard (triarii).  They're another fun board to run with a number of powerful combos.

Don River Cossacks for Bolt Action

While painting my Cossack cavalry, I painted 30 on foot and thought "That's the start of my next project." Cavalry in WW II dismounted before/once shots were fired, so that's the basis of this version. Also, I've never seen a "foot Cossacks" Bolt Action army so I decided to fix that. Different is good!

These are mostly Copplestone Casting Miniatures superbly sculpted by Mark Copplestone. Mixed in are some Siberia Miniatures and Warlord Games Soviet plastics with headswaps.  

I really enjoyed this project greatly and will continue to add a few more units and bits of character to the lot. I'm planning to debut them at a local Bolt Action event next month. Cheers and I hope you're staying warm!  

Cossacks for Bolt Action

Bolt Action has been pushing for my #1 game spot based on a mix of our active community of great players and the many local events.  The Snafu-Bolt Action podcast team hosts an amazing 3 day event each November.  Day 1 was a themed 800 point Recon Rumble that required a transport seat for each infantry/foot sloggers OR a horse. I chose to paint 30 mounted and 30 dismounted Don River Cossacks. Figures are a mix of the superb Copplestone Castings "Back of Beyond" figures and 3D prints too. 

Cavalry in Bolt Action is suboptimal and tricky to run. They're big, hard to hide, they can only fire 6" when mounted and they can't go down to grab cover.  I only got 2 practice games in with them before the game day so my expectations were very low.  Imagine my surprise when I got Major Wins in games 1 and 2. For game 3 table assignments, the TO said I was on playing for a top finish on table 1, Pavlov's House. I briefly panicked, then bought and guzzled a tall Red Bull.  Game 3 was a nailbiter against a superb opponent. The early game was good to me but it started to slip away in the middle game and towards the end. As time expired, I just managed to rush my cavalry off the table to score my 3rd major victory!!! To make it even better, my Cossacks scored "Best Painted" in a large and lovely field of Bolt Action armies.  I was and still remain over the moon about it.  

Pavlov's House table with working streetlights!

My "I can't believe it" face looks surprisingly like El Duce.

I found a Russian company that sells Cossack heads so I put in an order to create an all Cossacks on foot Bolt Action force. I've got the Warlord Game plastic ready and waiting!  And for January, we're planning to start a Stalingrad campaign. My goal over winter break to find, build and paint a ruins table.  It is a great time to be gaming and I hope all is well in your corner of the gaming world!