HOORAY!!! The Alamo Diorama and display are finished I can get back to painting and reading something else. If you are near Saluda, SC sometime stop by and I’ll give you a personal tour of the display (which used a Hudson and Allen Alamo, Old Glory and Cannon Fodder Miniatures).

I had been working on a major campaign before the Alamo thingy and I am now back to it. Years ago I conducted a play by mail campaign on an imaginary continent and I had done a lot of work on the continent and will use it all for this. But I will be using it for more than just a campaign rather into the future as I also wish to pit colonial powers against each other.

I have some ten to fifteen powers (which may be too much for solo gaming) plus five or more unaligned countries as well as native populations an occasional lost tribe/city and unexplored areas.

I have begun readjusting my forces to reflect the colonial powers and have added several fictitious ones (Ruritania from the Prisoner of Zenda and Freedonia from the Marx Bros.’ Duck Soup). I really do not want to repaint forces so that I will change cap color for pre-painted colonial forces and new uniform schemes for unpainted new figures.

For rules I will be using The Sword and the Flame, 800 Fighting Englishmen and The Sun Never Sets. These will each have some modifications for various national attributes and my paperwork. Each unit will be placed on a file card using TSATF unit roster so that it can be used for half company to battalion actions. There will also be characters that may effect the action and they also will have cards.

All this thinking, no comment please, has got me reinvigorated for gaming. Hey, I just learned one of my expeditions found a stargate!

On another front, I have finished basing over 300 figures that I painted last year but never got to. My next big painting project will be all those natives from Foundry’s Darkest Africa that I never got around to well over 300 left. I am thinking that I will spray prime as usual but then spray with Games Workshop’s Bestial Brown followed by dry brushing with darker and light colors. Then comes my Castaway Arts British and Dervish camel and cavalry 60+ camels and 24 horses not to mention the accompanying mounted and dismounted troops.

I also plan on working on my scenery that I put aside last year and will report on it shortly. I have a few articles in hand, Don Featherstone has been kind enough to send me a few articles that I will retype and publish one each month for the next three months, Thank You, Don! But don’t let that fool you I still need articles.

DON’T FORGET, PLEASE, IF THE NUMBER ON YOUR MAILING LABEL IS 136 IT IS TIME TO REENLIST FOR THE HELIOGRAPH FOR ANOTHER YEAR.