By Fire & Sword 100 Day Challenge (Part 1)
Last year I decided to make a big effort to assemble and paint some of my By Fire and Sword miniatures. I did this by following a self-imposed 100 day challenge. Nothing too onerous, just a commitment to do something everyday for 100 days in a row (barring illness or travel for work). Sometimes I would get a lot done, but more often I would only manage to work on a few models.
I managed about 60 days before other commitments interfered, but in that time assembled, undercoated and based 219 cavalry (73 x bases), 135 infantry (45 x bases) and 6 light artillery bases.
On 1st January 2018, I restarted the 100 day challenge with a slight variation – Any day that I play a game of By Fire & Sword is now also counted towards the 100 days. My target is to get enough miniatures painted to play Task Force level games.
I plan to stop assembly / basing by c. day 25 and will then move onto the painting.
Days 1 to 12
I started by applying ‘dirt’ to the models that were based during the previous 100 day challenge. I use Tamiya’s Soil Effect – applied with a paint brush, which is regularly dipped into water to help ‘wash’ the dirt into place. I usually apply this to half the base at a time which makes the miniatures easier to handle.
The Soil Effect works well for light guns – when it is partially dry, the gun can be carefully pushed into it so as to make some indentations. The gun is removed and the Soil Effect allowed to dry. Once dry, the gun sits in place reasonably well and can be removed from the base if the crew are killed.
I still need to apply the Soil Effect to some of the bases from the previous challenge, including: Transylvanians, Pike & Shotte regiment, a few bases of Polish cavalry and three Polish light guns.
I also introduced the game to a friend with a small demo game on day 5 (7 points of Swedes vs. 5 points of Tartars). We did not play a scenario and had a good run through the rules.
Days 13 to 15
For days 13 to 15, I focussed on more Transylvanian miniatures and assembled, undercoated and based:
- 12 x bases of Seimeni.
- 4 x bases of Haiduks (2 x mounted and 2 x dismounted).
- 8 x bases of Szekely handgunners (4 x mounted and 4 x dismounted).
On day 15, I started to clean up the miniatures from the Transylvanian High Command set.
I use Selley’s glue to attach the miniatures to the bases (I score both surfaces with a knife to improve adhesion).
This glue has a consistency like toothpaste and any models with an uneven base can be easily positioned upright. This saves time as I don’t have to clean up the base on each of the miniatures.
The Selley’s glue dries white and is not as strong as superglue, but it is easily covered up with the Tamiya dirt which dries hard and provides extra adhesion.
Days 15 to 20
The Seimeni were quick to assemble so I decided to work on some more infantry. I assembled, undercoated and based:
- Transylvanian High Command set (1 x base for General and 6 x bases for other commanders).
- 30 x bases of Cossack Moloitsy (24 x bases with muskets and 6 x bases with commanders).
- 2 x bases of Cossack Plastuny Scouts.
The Cossack Moloitsy with spears (16 x bases) are all assembled and undercoated ready for basing.
I will probably move back to the Transylvanians once all the Moloitsy are based. Next in the queue: Comitatus Cavalry and Szekely Cavalry.