September 2026 hobby update

Hobby time was a bit limited in September.  At the beginning of the month, I was really busy with work and then we went away for a week. On my return, work was just as bad and home wise wasn't much better!  I’ve also spent a fair bit of time on retirement planning as thankfully it's not that far off now.  

Completed

I finished off the following:

  • Essex Miniatures 15mm Castilian hand gunners.  These were very simple figures which didn't take too long to do.
  • Essex Miniatures 15mm Castilian Gendarmes.  Horses aside, these were even simpler, being clad head to toe in armour!  I can't recall ever painting fully armoured figures and they're so easy.  The thought of adding more fully armoured troops to my Castilian forces just for ease of painting is very appealing!
  • Essex Miniatures 15mm Granadan Noble Cavalry.  These took a bit more time to do.  I used a similar palette to the rest of my Moor force, but with deeper colours to try and reflect their status. 

With the above finished, the first stage of the Fall of Granada project is complete.  Time to get them on the table.
  • On my return from holiday I turned my attention to some terrain and made and painted another 20mm building.  This'll do for anywhere from the Middle East to Afghanistan, although I'll be using it for my Anglo-Sikh Wars games.  As with the previous two I made it's an MDF kit that I've "plastered" with a mix of old Vallejo diorama paste, tile adhesive/grout and PVA.  I painted it with a mix of emulsions and cheap craft paints.

In progress

The following are on the table as we end September:

  • 6mm Baccus Seven Years War Austrian Grenadiers.  After working almost exclusively on 15mm figures for the last few months, I thought I’d have a change.  At the moment I'm not feeling the love for 6mm and I put them to one side to make the buildings.  I hope I break through that as I've got 96 of these and another 96 Prussian Grenadiers to do.
  • I’ve also assembled and textured the last of the Middle Eastern buildings.  For this one, I textured it before I built it and it was easier to do.  Typical that you only discover these things when it’s the last one!  This will be painted and finished next month. 

Gaming

No gaming this month as I didn't have enough spare hours together to set up and play.

Incoming & outgoing

After last month’s spend up, I didn't buy anywhere near as much in September:

  • Influenced very much by my reading (as always), I bought a sprue of Warlord Games Epic Pike & Shotte infantry.  I was intrigued by what they were like and wanted to see if I could use them as a cheap way to bulk up my late 16th Century forces.  Alas, they're not up to the job (I really don't like the ranked musketeers) and they'll go straight onto eBay.
  • “The Nine Years War 1593-1603” parts 1&2 by James O’Neill.  A cracking pair of books from Helion’s “from Retinue to Regiment” series were my only other purchases.  Helion keep bringing out fascinating titles right up my street and I keep buying.  

Ramblings, Reading & Research 

I've made much quicker progress with the late 15th Century Fall of Granada project, and that's made me think about what's next.  I have quite a bit of stuff to get on with, all it's bits and pieces for existing projects.  I really don’t have the mental capacity to start anything new at the moment.

On to Reading and I've read one factual and one fictional historical book this month, both of the very highest quality:  

  • "Civil War, The Wars of the Three Kingdoms” by Trevor Royle.  At 823 pages, it took me the best part of a month to complete, but is an absolutely superb book.  As well as covering the civil wars It takes the reader right from Charles 1’s ascension through to the Restoration.  I really can’t praise this book highly enough.  It’s exactly what I want from a history book in that it gives a balanced factual account, without pushing any agenda, which isn't easy to do when dealing with such emotive happenings and divisive characters such as Cromwell and Charles 1.  
  • "Heartstone" by C.J. Sansom.  Yes, another 16th Century novel.  It's probably my favourite period and Sansom's Matthew Shardlake novels are some of the very best, if not the best.   Set against the background of the abandoned French invasion of England in 1545, Shardlake is sent on a case for Queen Catherine Parr.  It's such a superb book I was thoroughly emersed in it and sad when it finished.  What's even sadder is that C.J. Sansom passed away in 2024 and on top of that he couldn't complete all the Shardlake novels he had planned.  I only have two left to read now.

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