The Tactical Painter
@tacticalpainter.bsky.social
I asked Chat GPT to create an image of British soldiers in Normandy 1944 in the style of an IWM photograph. One should have a Bren gun and they should be in action. WTF is this…
November 14, 2025 at 7:32 AM
I asked Chat GPT to create an image of British soldiers in Normandy 1944 in the style of an IWM photograph. One should have a Bren gun and they should be in action. WTF is this…
I ran four participation games of a Chain of Command scenario set on Saipan in 1944 back in January in the Lard Zone at CanCon in Canberra. Pleased to say, it's now available as an article in the most recent issue of Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy #138.
November 10, 2025 at 9:09 PM
I ran four participation games of a Chain of Command scenario set on Saipan in 1944 back in January in the Lard Zone at CanCon in Canberra. Pleased to say, it's now available as an article in the most recent issue of Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy #138.
I’ll be running four Chain of Command games in the Lard Zone at CanCon in Canberra in January. If you fancy some gritty, late-war urban combat on a 20mm table, this might be of interest.
October 1, 2025 at 11:17 PM
I’ll be running four Chain of Command games in the Lard Zone at CanCon in Canberra in January. If you fancy some gritty, late-war urban combat on a 20mm table, this might be of interest.
Indeed. I have a few of those on the bookshelf 😉
September 20, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Indeed. I have a few of those on the bookshelf 😉
Appropriate time of year to be reading this. Entire forests must have been consumed printing it, but to call it comprehensive would be understatement. I think it’s in 9 point and at 500 pages, that’s a lot of words. Half way through and excellent so far.
September 19, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Appropriate time of year to be reading this. Entire forests must have been consumed printing it, but to call it comprehensive would be understatement. I think it’s in 9 point and at 500 pages, that’s a lot of words. Half way through and excellent so far.
I picked up two dozen of Eureka's 28mm Ragged Continentals at the MOAB show in Sydney last October. Finally getting around to putting paint on them. Lovely figures, full of character.
September 15, 2025 at 9:59 AM
I picked up two dozen of Eureka's 28mm Ragged Continentals at the MOAB show in Sydney last October. Finally getting around to putting paint on them. Lovely figures, full of character.
Yeah, when I was doing a bit of research I noticed that too. I have another MDF building that has the timber pronounced, but I think it’s over exaggerated (something that’s not always an issue when working in miniature).
September 8, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Yeah, when I was doing a bit of research I noticed that too. I have another MDF building that has the timber pronounced, but I think it’s over exaggerated (something that’s not always an issue when working in miniature).
Finally getting around to adding some German style buildings to the collection. These are 20mm MDF from Sarissa Precision. Added stuff like chimneys, thatch and roof tiles. Now my German tables can start to actually look German, rather than Norman.
September 7, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Finally getting around to adding some German style buildings to the collection. These are 20mm MDF from Sarissa Precision. Added stuff like chimneys, thatch and roof tiles. Now my German tables can start to actually look German, rather than Norman.
New buildings for Germany and the eastern front. Tinkering, as usual, with a few Sarissa 20mm MDF buildings. Two German farms and barns and two of the Russian townhouses. Planning on playing the CoC campaign Westwind Konigsberg. Did it with Normandy buildings the first time. #spreadthelard
August 27, 2025 at 10:22 PM
New buildings for Germany and the eastern front. Tinkering, as usual, with a few Sarissa 20mm MDF buildings. Two German farms and barns and two of the Russian townhouses. Planning on playing the CoC campaign Westwind Konigsberg. Did it with Normandy buildings the first time. #spreadthelard
Found an excellent use for a spare figure from a set of British engineers from AB Figures. Wasn’t sure if there was any use for a man hammering in a sign. Then I read the new rules for Mines in Verges in CoC v2. End result, one new game marker and one less unpainted figure in the lead pile.
August 17, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Found an excellent use for a spare figure from a set of British engineers from AB Figures. Wasn’t sure if there was any use for a man hammering in a sign. Then I read the new rules for Mines in Verges in CoC v2. End result, one new game marker and one less unpainted figure in the lead pile.
Bots will be bots. I shouldn’t be too surprised that a game report entitled ‘Escort Duty’ gets picked up by a bot that then posts a comment with links to a Turkish escort agency. I’m not saying there aren’t wargamers to whom that’s of interest…..I just don’t think that’s why they visit my blog.
August 6, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Bots will be bots. I shouldn’t be too surprised that a game report entitled ‘Escort Duty’ gets picked up by a bot that then posts a comment with links to a Turkish escort agency. I’m not saying there aren’t wargamers to whom that’s of interest…..I just don’t think that’s why they visit my blog.
Hoplites sir, thousands of ‘em. Well, 1200 to be precise. Big game set during the Greek Punic Wars on a 15x6 table with an awful lot of figures. Our host really knows how to put on a monster game….
August 2, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Hoplites sir, thousands of ‘em. Well, 1200 to be precise. Big game set during the Greek Punic Wars on a 15x6 table with an awful lot of figures. Our host really knows how to put on a monster game….
Henry V fought a duel with Bourcicaut. The King came off worse, but survived (just). However, with the French confined to attacking on a narrow front, across a muddy field, the game ended with an accurate and historical result. Kudos to Midgard.
August 1, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Henry V fought a duel with Bourcicaut. The King came off worse, but survived (just). However, with the French confined to attacking on a narrow front, across a muddy field, the game ended with an accurate and historical result. Kudos to Midgard.
Guess what? The French floundered in the ploughed field (rough terrain) while being peppered by archers. French heroes earned reputation leading charges but fighting out of rough terrain was debilitating.
August 1, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Guess what? The French floundered in the ploughed field (rough terrain) while being peppered by archers. French heroes earned reputation leading charges but fighting out of rough terrain was debilitating.
Having added extra figures to my HYW we had enough for a 300pt game of Midgard using the Agincourt lists from @mogsymakes.bsky.social. We went for a very historical scenario of the battle to see how well the rules would play out against the historical result.
August 1, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Having added extra figures to my HYW we had enough for a 300pt game of Midgard using the Agincourt lists from @mogsymakes.bsky.social. We went for a very historical scenario of the battle to see how well the rules would play out against the historical result.
While I was painting Saxons I took the opportunity to paint more armour, this time Perry HYW French men at arms. I’ve always wanted to do bigger battles and have several Perry boxes of unpainted figures. Now as good a time as any to paint them. Why? Trying to do Agincourt using Midgard on Friday.
July 29, 2025 at 9:39 PM
While I was painting Saxons I took the opportunity to paint more armour, this time Perry HYW French men at arms. I’ve always wanted to do bigger battles and have several Perry boxes of unpainted figures. Now as good a time as any to paint them. Why? Trying to do Agincourt using Midgard on Friday.
A few more wounded senior leader figures for CoC. When a leader takes a wound that effects him for the remainder of the game I’ll replace the original figure with one of these. Glorified game markers essentially. Conversions of various AB and PSC figures. #spreadthelard
July 21, 2025 at 10:06 PM
A few more wounded senior leader figures for CoC. When a leader takes a wound that effects him for the remainder of the game I’ll replace the original figure with one of these. Glorified game markers essentially. Conversions of various AB and PSC figures. #spreadthelard
Used more of the same figures for a Line of Communication marker. I knew I’d hung on to those figures for a reason.
July 20, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Used more of the same figures for a Line of Communication marker. I knew I’d hung on to those figures for a reason.
A quick Chain of Command Replen Point for my Japanese. More spare figures from the Airfix Jungle Outpost, the gift that keeps on giving.
July 20, 2025 at 10:21 PM
A quick Chain of Command Replen Point for my Japanese. More spare figures from the Airfix Jungle Outpost, the gift that keeps on giving.
Russian guns in a Sydney park, a case of 19th C recycling. Surplus captured guns from the siege of Sevastopol were sent around the empire, these are not the only ones I’ve seen dotted around Australia. Ex-Russian naval 36 pounders in this case.
July 14, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Russian guns in a Sydney park, a case of 19th C recycling. Surplus captured guns from the siege of Sevastopol were sent around the empire, these are not the only ones I’ve seen dotted around Australia. Ex-Russian naval 36 pounders in this case.
The Ibis. From holy to lowly. To the ancient Egyptians it was sacred. To the modern Australians it is the ‘bin chicken’.
July 14, 2025 at 7:05 AM
The Ibis. From holy to lowly. To the ancient Egyptians it was sacred. To the modern Australians it is the ‘bin chicken’.
A Plastic Soldier Company 1/72 Churchill that's been sitting in the paint queue. No longer. I have one of most variants, but needed two of the same for a recent Scottish Corridor game (I was going to proxy a CS 90mm gun, but didn't need it in the end). This time I'll be ready with the right one.
July 3, 2025 at 8:28 AM
A Plastic Soldier Company 1/72 Churchill that's been sitting in the paint queue. No longer. I have one of most variants, but needed two of the same for a recent Scottish Corridor game (I was going to proxy a CS 90mm gun, but didn't need it in the end). This time I'll be ready with the right one.
Love my AB dead cows, no Normandy game is complete without them!
June 29, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Love my AB dead cows, no Normandy game is complete without them!
I don’t know how you ‘accidentally’ end up with a Saxon warband, but I’ve managed to do it. I started off making 6 slingers from a Dark Age Warriors box for my Germanic tribes. Decided I might as well make and paint the rest in the box. Suddenly I’m ordering more. It’s a sickness, I tell you.
June 27, 2025 at 2:24 AM
I don’t know how you ‘accidentally’ end up with a Saxon warband, but I’ve managed to do it. I started off making 6 slingers from a Dark Age Warriors box for my Germanic tribes. Decided I might as well make and paint the rest in the box. Suddenly I’m ordering more. It’s a sickness, I tell you.
While the UK swelters, Sydney has the winter it pretends it doesn’t have. Sure, it’s not a northern hemisphere winter, which is just as well, because the city is built for summer 😱
June 19, 2025 at 9:17 PM
While the UK swelters, Sydney has the winter it pretends it doesn’t have. Sure, it’s not a northern hemisphere winter, which is just as well, because the city is built for summer 😱