Starting Points

 

Facing down a long tour in Germany, I was looking for inspiration to start a new project.  (I already have a sizeable Wurttemberger army for my 6mm Napoleonic collection, as well as a mass of 28mm Landsknecht.)   I had a small apartment in Vaihingen, which lacked space for any type of gaming.  I opted to purchase a new LED light, and brought a handful of paints to get myself started.  I brought a few dozed unfinished skirmishing figures to work on in my limited spare time.

One of my first museum visits was the Württemberg State Museum in the Old Castle in downtown Stuttgart.  After wading through approximately 10,000 Celtic armbands I saw a small collection of Renaissance era armor and equipment.  On the wall a small plaque set the stage:

Interesting stuff. I already planned to visit the Nordlingen battlefield when the opportunity presented, as well as the Bavarian Military Museum.  Nordlingen was an interesting hike, and the vignette in Ingolstadt (below) sealed the deal for me:  Thirty Years War is was to be!   

 As mentioned previously, I found a box of Warlord 28mm Curassier at a small game shop in Boblingen to get the project started. I would also be remiss not to point out how much more common Army Painter paints are at the German hobby shops I visited.  It was actually refreshing to find an alternative to the standard GW displays that are so ubiquitous here in the US. 

The basing was actually done once I returned stateside.  Gluing and pinning the models was the first hurdle to overcome, followed by finding time to paint.  

For the paint schemes, I decided to try the slap-chop method that has been making the rounds this past year.  It is an ideal method for those of us with limited space and resources.  A black undercoat followed by a uniform grey drybrush and a final white drybrush.  Follow this up with your favorite contrast style paint (I have been playing with AP speed paints mostly).  Lastly apply some highlights and you have some surprisingly table ready painted models.  

I was looking at expanding my tiny collection, but was stopped short when I discovered Warlord would be releasing their own Epic Thirty Years War (13mm) collection in the late Spring.  I had more than enough other models to paint in my skirmish project. (More on those someday).  I decided to pre-order a large box and get started after I finally made it back home.  I suppose I will pick up the the thread from there.