Regiment Lyonnais PART II half of the musketeers done

 Hi friends,

Four years have passed since I painted the first base of my Régiment Lyonnais, and, as usual, projects take longer than expected… but finally I managed to get back into it. 😄

At last, I’ve completed the second base (out of three) for the unit. This time, I focused on musketeers.

For this base I went for a mixture of manufacturers, trying to get variety without losing coherence. I included one1898 Miniatures (30YW range), two Avanpost Miniatures, one Perry Miniatures ECW and finally  couple of Warlord Games leftovers I had in the bits box.

Blending ranges is always a bit of a gamble, but I think it works quite well here. The slightly different styles actually help give that “campaign-worn regiment” feeling, also the reason is that I have a pile a of miniatures of at least 5 or 6 manufacturers in my stock pile...

Regarding the painting of the musketeers, I kept a fairly muted palette, in line with early/mid XVII century French troops, but with some blues and yellows for laces (as seen in the color plates of Helion book about the French Army during 30 Years War). As usual, I paint with Vallejo Model Color and Foundry Triads, but also Citadel for washes.

For the base, sand, painted in earth tones, static grass applied sparingly and a couple of flowers to break monotony.

I’m quite happy with how this base turned out.

Now… only one more base to go to complete the Lyonnais!

More Civilians, Militias and Miquelets or XVII c. guerrilla mountain skirmishers. Part II

Hello guys,

following the first part: 

https://spanishleadpainting.blogspot.com/2025/12/coming-back-to-siege-of-gerona-1684.html

I have painted six new miniatures for this 17th century civilians and militia reinforcements for my 30 Years War project but also my late XVII c. projects like 1672, and siege of Gerona 1684.

For this, I used three miniatures from Bloody Miniatures, which I absolutely love. These are the first ones I’ve painted from a couple of dozen I own, and I’m very happy with the result. The idea is to use them as armed civilians or musketeers for the Thirty Years War.

I also converted an artilleryman from North Star 1672 to represent a night watchman, adding a plastic lantern or oil lamp.

Another miniature is a second friar (I painted another in December) from Perry Miniatures, originally from their Carlist Wars range and armed with a blunderbuss. However, it works perfectly well as a 17th-century friar.

Finally, this is a miguelete/miquelet, wearing the typical Catalan cap, the barretina. On his feet he wears alpargatas, traditional Spanish peasant footwear that has been used for centuries. The miniature was originally a guerrilla fighter from Perry Miniatures’ Napoleonic range, but I removed the anachronistic elements and replaced the sabre-armed hand with a metal, Northstar 1672 17th century musket. I also added a plastic Thirty Years War powder flask from a Warlord Games set.

For painting I used Foundry paints triads (Dark African flesh, Buff, Rawhide, Spearshaft, Forest Green) and Vallejo Model Color.  For  matt varnish I use Ultra matt from Greenstuff world which I recommend.

I also painted a small trench made of resin

I will add more of these, because I want a full second Miquelet unit using these Perry Guerrillas converted, as well as Bloody Miniatures.

Again all the unit so far.

Mighty Empires XVII c. Part II.

 XVII C. Mighty Empires Campaign Map – Part II

Hi guys, 

in this post let's talk about scales, miniatures and tabletop experiments...

In the first post I introduced the campaign map inspired by Mighty Empires, adapted to the 17th century.

In this second part I want to focus on something just as important: how to represent the campaign physically on the table, and which scale actually works best once everything is laid out.

1) From file to table: printing the map on canvas

One of the most satisfying steps was printing the map on canvas, using the maximum size allowed by the plotter.

note the size of the map next to a 28mm musketeer 

Seeing it laid out physically is very satisfaying, the quality of the print was beyond my expectations, because is larger than the original size of the game in paper.

The canvas surface works perfectly with tokens, avoids glare, and gives the whole setup an almost period-appropriate feel very fitting for the 17th century.

2) The second step was purchasing 17th-century miniatures in 2 mm, mainly tercios and pike-and-shot regiments from Irregular Miniatures.

The idea was never to use them as tactical units (although I am tempted!), but as army tokens at campaign level.

At this scale, a small block can convincingly represent an entire field army. You lose individual detail, of course, but you gain something far more important for a campaign map: clarity and a strong sense of strategic movement.

For this type of game, 2 mm works remarkably well.

the forts, towns and cities are maybe, bigger than I would like, but I think they will do the job. But of course you can use paper o card counters as in the original game.

These Irregula Miniatures models were not meant for play yet, just to see how they interact visually with the map. Do they help reading the territory? Do they get in the way? Do they add atmosphere or simply clutter the table?

So far, the answer seems clear: used sparingly, terrain adds structure and context without stealing the spotlight from the campaign tokens.

I am not sure of the size of the round bases... for big armies maybe 5mm diameter round bases ? do they hide too much terrain under them ?

The 10 mm experiment: Pendraken order:

Still undecided, I decided to push the idea further and placed a custom order with Pendraken Miniatures, this time in 10 mm.

The concept is the same , campaign tokens,  but with far more recognisable formations: visible pike blocks, musket lines, and a stronger visual identity.

I will paint a few of these and see if they do the job better than the tiny 2mm scale.

The key question is :

Does the visual gain justify the loss of scale and table space?

Early impressions suggest that 10 mm looks great,It becomes more “miniatures-driven”.

At one point I even considered something more extreme: using 1/72 scale plastic figures, both from the Thirty Years’ War and the Nine Years’ War.

The idea didn’t last long, but it’s worth mentioning. The result would be spectacular — but it would probably turn the campaign map into a semi-permanent diorama rather than a practical gaming tool. Still, I wouldn’t rule out a limited test at some point.

My conclusions so far are:

1) 2 mm is excellent for strategic-level campaigns

2) 10 mm is visually tempting, but needs careful balance

3) Terrain should remain minimal and functional, probably I will combine cardboard terrain tokens (forts etc) with 2mm metal and resin.

4)Printing the map on canvas was absolutely worth it

I’ll keep experimenting until I find the right balance between playability, visual appeal and historical atmosphere.

There will definitely be a Part III.

Cheers!

1/1200 Mad for War: 30 Years War's Galleons and fort.

 Hi guys, 

Happy New Year!

Today I’d like to share two small additions to my Spanish fleet in 1/1200 scale, both built and painted for naval wargaming in the Mediterranean during the Thirty Years’ War and Franco Spanish War. The models come from Ark Royal Miniatures, produced under the Warfare Miniatures range, a line nowadays well known among small-scale naval warfare lovers.

The models are a 38 gun frigate/galleon,  an  old merchantman and a 3d printed naval fort. The ships although modest in size, play an important role on the table top.

I also bought scenery in 2mm from Irregular miniatures , intended both for Mad for War naval rules and my campaign map game (see previous post).

The first model is a small merchantman, lightly armed and clearly intended more for patrol, escort, or convoy duties than for line-of-battle engagements. Unfortunately, I no longer remember the exact catalogue reference, but its compact hull and reduced artillery make it immediately recognizable as a secondary combatant rather than a major warship.

For painting, I aimed for a restrained and practical look: muted hull tones, simple decoration, and weathering that suggests long service at sea. In Mediterranean scenarios, this type of vessel works perfectly as a support ship, a scout, or an objective vessel—valuable but vulnerable if caught by heavier enemy units.

The second model is the 38-Gun Frigate, a much more aggressive and versatile design. Fast, well-armed, and capable of independent action, this type of frigate represents, along the galleon/Man o'war, the backbone of many Spanish naval operations during the conflict.

I painted her to stand out slightly more than the galleon, with sharper contrasts and cleaner lines, with paper flags attached.

Both ship's flags are metal painted and paper printed,  the paper flags are slightly oversized, but I don't care about that, because the are easier to identify from distance in games.

Both ships are intended primarily for Mediterranean naval battles, where shorter engagement ranges, coastal actions, and sudden encounters dominate play. In the context of the Thirty Years’ War, they fit naturally into scenarios involving Spanish–French naval rivalry, convoy interceptions, and regional control, but also massive fleet actions.

I started painting this range back in 2023, and I am very happy with it, at 1/1200 scale, these models strike an excellent balance between detail and playability, allowing entire squadrons to be deployed without overwhelming the table.

Now my entire fleet so far:

4 galleys, 2 small galleons/frigates,  a yacht and an armed merchantman, all of them Ark Royal Miniatures , and a 3d printed galleon by Turner miniatures.

Cheers

XVII c. "Mighty Empires" campaign map

Hello guys, 

This time I have a slightly different project, a campaign map stand alone game made up of a mixture of two systems:

1) A board game called "Army of Roussillon" by Red Sash games.

2) "Mighty Empires" a discontinued campaign game by Games Workshop in the 2000´.

For a long time, I have wanted a campaign system that sits comfortably between three different experiences I enjoy as a wargamer:

* The simplicity of campaing games like "Mighty Empires" and its micro scale,

* the historical depth of games like "Army of Roussillon",

* and the immersion of fighting real tabletop battles with miniatures with rules like Pike & Shotte, Beneath the lily Banners or Impetus Baroque, etc.

This project, which I call "Mighty Seventeenth" (sorry, it's too obvious), is my attempt to combine those elements into a single, playable framework.

A campaign game which allow the players to fight the battles in a tabletop with 28mm miniatures or 15mm or whatever.

For several months or even years, I was looking for inspiration, and my first stop was Sidney Roundwood's blog  https://sidneyroundwood.blogspot.com/2020/09/in-cold-season-of-year-miniature.html   This is one of my favorite wargamers ever, his content is fabulous.

Although he literally built the map in hexes, like in the cardboard original Mighty empires, I wanted the reflect the real map, in A1 scale, so roughly 594mm x 841mm in order to use counters or tokens with small scale miniatures as "armies" , the idea of building and painting the hexes was discarded due to the sheer scale of the project.

The Core Idea

At its heart, Mighty Roussillon is a strategic campaign game set during the War of the Grand Alliance in Catalonia (1689–1697). But as it is a board game for experienced wargamers, I find it time consuming to learn and too complex for my taste, with loads of tables to roll the dice.

https://redsashgames.com/lace-wars-series-games/army-of-roussillon.html

The campaign is played on the "Army of Roussillon" map, which already captures the geography, routes, and key strongholds of the region. Armies move across the map, clash, besiege cities, and gradually wear each other down.

The design goal is simple:

make operational decisions matter, without turning the campaign into a bookkeeping exercise.

Why a Hybrid System?

Pure campaign games often become too complex to finish, while very abstract systems can feel detached from history.

Mighty Seventeenth (my own version) tries to sit in the middle:

 simple enough to keep the campaign moving,

detailed enough to feel historically grounded,

flexible enough to integrate different tabletop rules.

The system works even if you never play a single battle on the table — but when you do, it feels meaningful.

I will use  painted mini armies as Physical Tokens

Instead of cardboard counters, armies are represented by small miniature bases, ideally in 2-15mm scale, I have to decide which one to choose.

 5–10 infantry figures, a standard bearer, and mounted on a single scenic base.

Each base represents an entire operational army, not individual regiments.

Strength is tracked with "Force Points", which rise and fall as the campaign progresses. This keeps the map readable while making the campaign feel physical and alive.

I will try to 3d print tokens as castles in the real theater of operations, like the following fortresses of Castellfollit, Hostalric or Cardona.

                                                

                                                   This is the original Mighty Empires game

How Turns Work (In Broad Strokes)

Each campaign turn represents roughly one month and follows a clear sequence:

1. Weather and random events introduce friction.

2. Armies choose a strategic posture (March, Defensive, or Offensive).

3. Armies activate, move, and potentially fight.

4. Battles are resolved quickly, either abstractly or on the tabletop (with the rules you prefer)

5. Supply, fatigue, and morale are updated.

                                        More examples of possible 2mm terrain in 3d, Lerida Cathedral.

-

Battles, Sieges and Wear...

Battles are intentionally resolved fast at campaign level.

A single dice roll, modified by terrain, posture, and army condition, determines the outcome.

Sieges are handled with a few simple rolls over time, creating pressure without stalling the game.

More often than not, campaigns are decided not by annihilation, but by fatigue, logistics, and failed offensives.

Guerrilla Warfare and the Local War.

An important part of the Catalan theatre was irregular warfare. in this custom game, guerrilla forces (miqueletes, local militias) do not win battles directly, but they: slow movement,  disrupt supply,increase fatigue, and shape where armies can safely operate. They are always present, but never overwhelming.

Also Naval power matters, but it does not dominate the game.

Each side has a limited fleet that can blockade coastal cities, support sieges, enable landings, or contest enemy control at sea.

Everything is resolved with the same simple mechanics used on land.

From Campaign to Tabletop:

When a clash feels important, the campaign can seamlessly generate a tabletop battle: Pike & Shotte or Epic Pike & Shotte, BLB, or Baroque for large engagements.

And Encamisada, Donnybrook, Pikemans lament  or similar rules for skirmishes and raids.

The result is then fed back into the campaign using simple guidelines.

This is not a commercial product or a “perfect simulation.” It is just a personal campaign built to be reused, modified, and enjoyed over time. I will have the board printed after Christmas, I hope.

                                                            2mm terrain for 3d printing

ideas of towns tokens from Lead Adventure Forum

                                                        Original tokens in Mighty Empires

That, for me, is enough.