Desk Upgrade

I've replaced my decades old piece of hardboard with a new A2 cutting mat because, no matter what I did, I couldn't stop the hardboard sliding on the glass top of my desk.

I hoped the mat would be non-slip, but it isn't. I ended up using two strips of double-sided sticky tape underneath the mat; so problem solved!

The mat was £10.00 from The Works (UK), but be prepared to ask if they have any in stock. They are too big to be displayed with their regular items. Mine was tucked away at the back of the shop in a dusty corner. Even the staff weren't really sure if they had any. They are available online.

15 mm Medieval Georgians (Essex Miniatures)

Preamble

The genesis of this batch of figures began with a slip of the keyboard. I spotted 52 Essex early medieval riders (no horses) on eBay. At just over £10.00 delivered I couldn't resist.

There were 12 Crusade era figures amongst the job lot of Byzantine figures. Specifically, a couple of Syrians (CRU39a) and ten Georgians (CRU28). Perfect for four units of heavy cavalry for my allied Ilkhanid Mongol army. I've painted these figures twice before: in 2000 and in 2011.

15 mm Pyrrhic Cavalry (Donnington "Originals")

Background

In 2024 I took a Late Macedonian army to the King in the North competition. I had originally planned to use borrowed figures, but was lucky enough to finish painting everything I needed in time for the October event. I wanted to begin with a fairly plain, almost “vanilla”, Hellenistic army that I could adapt afterwards into other, more exotic forces.

As it turned out, the Late Macedonian army was perhaps a little too plain. It’s very solid, but it lacks a certain something in competitions. There aren’t quite enough units with real striking power, and I found myself relying too heavily on a small number of pike units to both hold the line and breakthrough.

After several competitions, I began browsing through the Art de la Guerre (ADLG) army lists to see what other options I might have. I briefly considered a Seleucid army, but eventually settled on a Pyrrhic army. That choice meant I needed to paint a few extra units: elephants, some hoplites, and of course some different cavalry.

Appropriate cavalry

These new cavalry units caused me the most "trouble".

New Improved

Introduction

After many years posting at least once a month, it's been six weeks since my last post. That's a long gap for me. It was brought about by quite a few factors. Some, like the Christmas & New Year holidays, were expected, but others were not (DIY for example).

Back in mid-November, I mentioned I was taking a break from ADLG for at least a year. The plan was to start fresh in 2026. That gave me about six weeks to wrap up all the ADLG posts I’d been planning (plus one that wasn’t). I managed to get the final post done just after Christmas. Since then, I’ve been keeping busy, but mostly behind the scenes.

With the weather grey and overcast, painting was out of the question - one of the drawbacks of relying solely on natural light. Looking for a way to fill the dark days, I turned to a bit of archiving. That small task soon led to some weeding, which in turn became a full-blown project lasting several weeks.

What follows is an account of that venture - a post about blogging and technology. You have been warned!