[Gone Fishing]

Agree with all the above – more incredible work. Thank you for sharing!

[Gone Fishing]

More superb additions to your collection! I especially like how Alvarado turned out.

“Sunny” Alvarado, with his distinctive red hair, is definitely one of the more interesting conquistadors. Hugely popular with his fellow Spaniards (supposedly he was genial, kind and generous to a fault with his comrades in arms), he was at the same time a ruthless monster to the native peoples unlucky enough to meet with him. Few mourned his passing (crushed by his own falling horse, if I remember correctly). A man of contrasts, to be sure, as you point out in your excellent blog post.

Looking forward to seeing pics of the game when it finally happens!

[Gone Fishing]

Breathtaking work. Truly.

[Gone Fishing]

Those have turned out extremely well, Mark. I’ve always thought games set on the lake featuring canoes and brigantines, or better, on both the lake and causeways, hold a lot of appeal and could make for some great games. Thank you for sharing this latest installment!

[Gone Fishing]

Whilst I would lean to seconding what CC says, I nevertheless agree with you all – it was one of those crucibles of history, and, as we all know, those can get bloody, with few true heroes on either side.

Thinking a good deal about my Maya/Yucatan project today and listening to lots of 16th century Spanish music (which is pretty incredible), so this reminder came at a good time.

Keep up the great work, Mark!

Daryl

[Gone Fishing]

And sorry Mark, I didn’t mean to distract from your excellent project and brushwork!

[Gone Fishing]

Kitfox wrote:

Gone Fishing wrote:

The truth is he was actually one of the more humane of the big name conquistadors (keeping in mind what the word means, obviously); he could be absolutely ruthless if you got in his way or he felt you were messing with him, but those two things aside, he would often work to protect the Indians from the depredations of his more ruthless countrymen. No doubt this was of small comfort to the Indians themselves, who had lost an empire, their freedom, much of their culture and wealth and all the rest, but it’s worth remembering things could have been much worse. The poor Inca had to deal with a series of psychopaths.

I imagine the former inhabitants of Cholula may have disagreed with this view, had he not massacred them and handed the survivors over to their enemies as slaves and sacrifices?

Kitfox, I can only suggest you reread what I said above, especially the second to last sentence. You are almost quoting me. So fear not, I think we agree here. Much can be said, indeed, has been said, regarding the massacre at Cholula – it wasn’t as clear cut as you are making it sound – but as I sense an argument brewing I’ll say no more and leave the last comment to you if you wish.

[Gone Fishing]

Mark, your posts on the blog really are very good. I love how you cover each subject, discuss figure choice, etc., and even give what paints you used! Well done.

I agree with what you say about Cortez. The truth is he was actually one of the more humane of the big name conquistadors (keeping in mind what the word means, obviously); he could be absolutely ruthless if you got in his way or he felt you were messing with him, but those two things aside, he would often work to protect the Indians from the depredations of his more ruthless countrymen. No doubt this was of small comfort to the Indians themselves, who had lost an empire, their freedom, much of their culture and wealth and all the rest, but it’s worth remembering things could have been much worse. The poor Inca had to deal with a series of psychopaths.

 

[Gone Fishing]

<p>Your good work continues with another great post. Funnily enough, I’d just ordered my copy of OHS this morning before coming here and seeing this latest installment. A good sign, I’m thinking.</p><p>Sorry to hear the cruise was weird. Honestly, I think that industry has been absolutely pummeled by all the events of the last year+. It might take them years to get back on their feet again.</p><p>Best of luck with the new job!</p>

[Gone Fishing]

Jozi, thank you for the response you gave to my question above. This new report was great fun to read; the play examples are especially helpful for someone who hasn’t seen the rules themselves.

Have a lovely cruise and best of luck with the new job! When all that gets sorted out, I’m looking forward to reading of Lt Barnaby’s future adventures!

[Gone Fishing]

I enjoyed your report very much, thank you. The snakes and ladders approach also is also intriguing. I’ve not seen the rules, so please excuse the question: would they be able to handle several hero types taking on larger numbers of low-quality mooks? I’m thinking Han or Rebel commandos taking on stormtroopers (ie. poor shots but lots of ’em!) or something similar.

Thanks again for sharing!

Daryl

[Gone Fishing]

OB, I’ll be following this with great interest. The whole of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, massive subject that it is, is probably my top historical interest, and of all the foes the conquistadors faced the Maya are probably my favourite. So your post is of great interest, as I say. Your figures look wonderful. Interested, too, in whatever rules you come up with.

If the subject takes your fancy, do take a look at the later conquest of the Yucatan as well. It’s actually a fairly gripping story, one that doesn’t get reported on that often, overshadowed as it is by the campaigns against the Aztecs and Incas. And then there’s the unusual fun to be had with not one, not two, but three of the principal characters sharing the same name: Francisco de Montejo (father, son and nephew). It can get a little bewildering sometimes.

You probably already know them, but two other sources besides Diaz might be of interest: for information on the Maya Fray Diego de Landa’s work is essential (a huge slice of what we know of them at that period comes from him); then there is the modern The Conquest and Colonization of the Yucatan by Robert S. Chamberlain, which is a very good read and hugely informative. Though out of print, it pops up on e-bay pretty frequently. You may know these books already, but I just thought to mention them on the off chance… Keep up the great work!

[Gone Fishing]

More excellent work. I too really like your King in Yellow – did you sculpt him yourself?

[Gone Fishing]

Thank you kindly. Off to check them out now!

[Gone Fishing]

You can also call them “gongfermors” if you want true authenticity.

Out of curiosity, where did you get the sewer flukes (the mouthy things), the bloated and melting zombies? I’m not seeing them on the CD site. Thanks so much for sharing. It’s all quite inspiring!

[Gone Fishing]

I forgot to mention that your skill with the game seems to have come a long way – you downed those enemy fighters pretty handily. Or is the Fokker a better plane than what you flew in the previous game? Whichever it is, you did well.

Also, I watched this episode with sound. Not surprisingly, it adds a lot!

[Gone Fishing]

Sounds like a pretty successful mission, all things considered. As I said with your previous post, I’ve enjoyed watching these. Thank you!

[Gone Fishing]

That was fun to watch. Even only joining as a spectator I found my blood pulsing as you flew by one another, guns blazing, followed by looking around frantically as you tried to see where the devil he had got to, so I can well imagine you were a sweaty exhausted wreck by the time of your final victory. I watched it without sound, so forgive me if this would have been obvious from the audio, but was your backup machine gunner killed early on? It didn’t seem he did much (or anything at all, for that matter) for most of the dogfight.

Anyway, thanks for that. Off to rest and calm the shaken nerves…

[Gone Fishing]

Very exciting news, congratulations! I’ve always felt SS&SS could use a little more love and support. Not into PDFs, but I’ll watch out for the paperback version.

[Gone Fishing]

I’ve always liked the look of that Acheson sculpt.

[Gone Fishing]

That is incredibly impressive, just begging to be fought over. Mark, I don’t post often, but must say I’ve followed your progress in this project with great interest and admiration. Superb!

Daryl

[Gone Fishing]

Ah, glad I asked. I might have to take a look at those (especially the former) as I’ve not seen them before.

[Gone Fishing]

That looks very nice indeed. I have the inexcusable habit of thinking I dislike 6mm, and then I bump into a game like this – and feel myself tempted. Your concluding comments are especially interesting. When you mention Neil Thomas’s rules, do you mean the One Hour Wargames set? Thank you for sharing!

[Gone Fishing]

Breathtaking work. (Am I repeating myself?)

[Gone Fishing]

Not sure I’m going to get around to reading the many chapters of your campaign, but I love what you are doing here. I’m also a huge fan of your dramatic painting style – very characterful and it really “pops” the characters in a most effective way.

Brilliant work, Padre!

[Gone Fishing]

Those really are very well done. I especially like how you do the (leather?) jerkins and eyes; metals are awfully good also!

[Gone Fishing]

Ben, I always love your projects. This is no exception. Very, very well done!

[Gone Fishing]

This probably isn’t what you’re looking for, but you could always fall back on the tried and true method of draping felt over a book or two. It can look surprisingly effective. For the more unusual, realistic, shapes you show above, experimenting with towels or other flexible objects could help you get the shapes you want.

Just a thought!

[Gone Fishing]

Some fun bits there. And yes, those tentacles are awesome!

[Gone Fishing]

Agree with all the above. Thank you, Mike, for a great site – with some of the best discussions in the hobby – and a Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Daryl

[Gone Fishing]

Yes, very well done! My favourite shot is of the Deep One glimpsed behind the broken wall.

[Gone Fishing]

Though it would be considered “big scale” in this thread, I had great fun doing up a 10mm Dungeon Crawl project, almost all sculpted by him.

[Gone Fishing]

6mmwargaming wrote:

Gone Fishing wrote:

(Speaking of Conan, there is a fellow on LAF that did some great work there. If it’s of any interest, do a search and you’ll find it.)

You probably mean this? https://miniaturescrum.blogspot.com/2020/03/striking-back-against-covid-19-free.html It looks great. Unfortunately I don’t have enough of the right figures but I will definitely steal some ideas from here.

Yep, that’s the one. Definitely a great source for mining ideas!

[Gone Fishing]

Funny you should post this, as I was just looking over my copy of SS&SS yesterday, pondering if it would work well for Conan and some Hyborian adventuring.

What a splendid AAR! Not sure where to begin: your figures are very well done, the table looks suitably atmospheric, and your report of the action both amusing and nail-biting. I thought the parties were going to lose! The end result is that I think I’ll be looking over the rules again today…Thanks so much for taking the time to share this.

(Speaking of Conan, there is a fellow on LAF that did some great work there. If it’s of any interest, do a search and you’ll find it.)

 

[Gone Fishing]

I’m so sorry to hear about this, Michael. How very difficult for you and your family, and while I haven’t had that exact issue with my children, I’ve had a number of others (one daughter leaving for a MRI in 15 minutes), and I know every parent understands what a stressful journey parenting can be – well worth it, but stressful. So, as everyone else has said, take care of yourself and your family – hobby things pale in comparison.

[Gone Fishing]

Excellent work!

[Gone Fishing]

Those Elhiem sculpts look very nice. It will be interesting to see what more they add to the line…

[Gone Fishing]

My approach is the same as Sane Max’s. I always try to sit on a new interest for four weeks or so before making a purchase, and have found that the lure of most “impulse buys” largely evaporates over this amount of time. One still has the fun of planning, sniffing around for possible purchases, rules, etc., but in the end it doesn’t cost a dime.

I don’t do conventions or video games, so that saves a goodly amount.

And I don’t buy in to kickstarters. If the range eventually hits the market and the interest remains I’ll buy it then.

Otherwise it’s open season, with the caveat that a small amount of wife dodging might be in order! 

[Gone Fishing]

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen mangroves modelled before. Very well done!

[Gone Fishing]

For the loss of just one bandit? I’d say that was a right slaughter! Out of curiosity, did your friend who played the villagers have a good time? I only ask because sometimes games can get so one-sided as to be a bit of a slog for the losing side, though maybe that’s only because I’m a poor sport!

Marvelous looking, though, as always. You have a bewildering array of minis and interests! Keep up the great work!

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