2mm armies – The Wargaming Erratic

My recent painting blast over winter had dried up with the end of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XIV. It broke my preoccupation with the mid 19th century.

The Danes and Germans are sat there in the various painting queues but making no progress.

Green-shoots anywhere?

something different maybe?

yes!

It is a case of returning to an old favorite. Ancients.

In fact two threads emerged from the languid waters I found my wargaming boat resting in. One followed the other.

The first, which I will cover in another post was partly prompted by Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy recent magazine running a Bronze Age theme: I have lots of Bronze Age figures for a long abandoned project.

But the impulse here was mainly due to Curt’s Trojan horse entry for the analogue hobbies painting challenge 14.

http://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2024/03/from-curt-last-post-of-challenge-xiv.html?m=1

Curts fantastic Trojan horse entry for AHPC14

These chaps have dwelt long in the deep halls of the plastic mountain- just maybe they will get some paint – finally – who knows?

The second concerns DBA. DBA got me back into the hobby after an almost 20 year break. It also propelled me into 15mm scale at the time – the late 1990’s. Those armies had since lain unused for years as 1/72 and 25/28mm tempted me back to bigger figures.

I dug them out – quite a mixed bag – could I run a campaign using the 1st or 2nd Editions 6 nation offering. I mulled this over before the figures went back into a slightly more accessible store and the unpainted ones joined the paint queue jostling with mid 19th century Danes and Germans.

And then I went to York one weekend for the annual open studios tour. Somehow somewhere I came away with the urge to craft. Note – not paint.

The next minute I was cutting card and with drawing pens to hand inking DBA bases. I had picked a campaign and lacking the right figures thought I would simply play empty bases. I have done this many a time and its a very enjoyable digression. And then I remembered all these 2mm armies currently in vogue plus that crafting itch had not been sated fully. And so out came some discarded HEAT board gaming counter sheets! minus the useful counters. Maybe I could use these “blocks” to suggest groups of soldiers?