Where Are My Green Flags?*

The next regiment up is the 28th Massachusetts of Farnsworth's brigade.  The 28th was held in reserve of Schurz's division on August 29th and saw little action, despite the battle raging to their front.  On the 30th, however, they partook in the bloody back-and-forth that characterized the Union retreat and lost upwards of 110 killed, wounded, or missing.

At this time, the regiment carried the so-called Pilot Flag and not its later, more famous standard.  The Pilot Flag was difficult to reconstruct, since the few existing images of it are incomplete or somewhat unclear, but I think I got it just about right - apart from the grey blob on the right side, which I learned later should really be an Irish wolfhound.  At the front is Lt. Colonel George Cartwright, wounded during the day's action.

For information on the 28th Massachusetts, I direct all interested parties to the website of the "recreated" regiment, from which I learned much of what I know about the 28th.

*On the Peninsula,  Edwin Sumner, when calling for the Irish Brigade to be sent into action, would ask, "Where are my green flags?", though the 28th would not join the Irish Brigade until late in 1862.  This will likely be my only "Irish" regiment, however, and in any case there were a substantial number of Yankees in the 28th.

The Grass is Greener

The Bull Run project continues - somewhat haltingly, and slowed by my habit of working on units piecemeal based on funds and availability of desired miniatures.  I've also finally gotten around to basing the soldiers properly; for months I was unable to figure out how to get the "right" green for the grass.  In addition, I was always disappointed by how dull my flags looked - until I realized I had never done the fringes, cords, and tassels. So all that has been adjusted, and there are more units in the works.

In no particular order:

Col. Addison Farnsworth

Brig. General Julius Stahel (converted from a plastic cavalryman)

27th Pennsylvania

41st New York

10th New York

5th New York

Christmas Tithe

Here's the annual Christmas package for my young relative.  I've never enjoyed painting horses before, but these were fun, especially the Appaloosa.

And a rail fence for him as well.

Good News, Everyone!

It's been hard to find time to work on my projects, hard to find the money for new miniatures, and hard to summon the energy to keep at it.  But I've been chipping away at things steadily.  The real difficulty is that it's been hard to finish units because I don't have enough men for the regimental bases, so there are two nearly-done regiments and two nearly-done command stands.  I was able, however, to complete one brigade-level command base, that of Col. Addison Farnsworth, who led the 3rd brigade, 1st division of Jesse Reno's (IX) corps.  Which means, of course, that his two regiments will follow in due course.  I like to imagine that he's a distant ancestor of that most famous of Farnsworths:

The blue jackets (and colors generally) came out a bit bright in the photos, but I may start switching to a darker blue altogether for some of the regiments to show the variety of shades of blue that would have been found in Union armies.  The dyes used were of better or poorer quality, differed in hue from contractor to contractor, and often turned lighter over time as they were bleached by sun exposure.  The base of course will get more interesting when I eventually have enough change to order the right static grass.

Dungeons Deep and Caverns Old

     A big update here to make up for the radio silence of the past months.  This is the entrance to the dwarf-mine my little company of dwarves is trying to reclaim.  I began planning this project probably four years ago but couldn't get myself to stick with it long enough to finish it - until recently, that is, when I decided to discipline myself and complete it.

     I had originally planned to make one 2x4ft. board, only to realize after I'd started that it was too big to fit through the doorways in my house.  I cut it in two, but the cut wasn't as clean as I would have liked, so there is a fairly large seam between the two halves that I'm trying to find a way to conceal.  The first board (the flat, easy one) I finished a while back, long enough ago in fact that it has rather a different feel and a slightly different color from the newer mountain-side (probably dust in the static grass).

Warg-riders chase after the company as it nears its destination (seam partially visible below).

A rear-guard is formed while the sages of the company try to open the gate.

The mesmerizing blue waters of the lake draw the attention of the company's pony.

The dwarves approach the gate, furtively observed by some goblins.

Up the causeway!

The "foyer" which will connect to the next board.

There are a number of additions and slight alterations still to be made: ripples onto the streams, a way to conceal the seam, extra rocks and hillocks, perhaps a dwarf monument.  Also I will need some suitable names for the terrain features.  There are imperfections, in particular regarding the match between old and new boards, but overall I'm quite pleased.  To be frank, I was rather disappointed with myself for not having had the gumption to see this project through, so it feels good to have finished it at long last.

Birthday Present

I finished these for a young relative of mine who had his birthday a few weeks ago. Federal ordnance rifle and the 11th Mississippi.  He's getting to have a nice little ACW collection now.

Goblin Reinforcements

Assorted goblins, including a shaman standing in as the Goblin chieftain.

I tried to give the troll a greenish tint, like it has in the book (the book troll also has toeless feet, but I like the toes too much to get rid of them). Unfortunately, the photos are a bit blue in tone.

I attempted to show the stone floor buckling under the troll's footfall.  Not sure how well it came out.

A bat swarm from Reaper miniatures, flying through the rubble.

This more of less finishes my goblin force.  There may be a few additions in the future, but for now it's done.  Now, to build their stronghold...