Photos of Great Games at Advance the Colors 2025!

    An overview of Advance the Colors 2025 with the Friday evening games in session

I was very happy with the success of our recent convention, Advance the Colors 2025. It was our 30th anniversary, so we were hoping for a show worthy of three decades. It was likely one of our highest attendances ever -- nudging ever so close to the 250 mark. ATC is the flagship convention of the Great Lakes chapter of the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society. Our chapter is mostly composed of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, with some members from surrounding states tossed in. It's a great group of gamers, very friendly and welcoming. Since Covid, the convention has been held in the Mercantile Building of the Clark County Fairgrounds, Springfield, OH.

    Abel D's samurai games using Test of Honour rules are a regular feature of our area conventions

I help organize and run the convention, so have a personal stake in it, of course! So, I wanted to post some of my favorite pictures that I took of various games being run. I'll let the eye candy speak for itself. Our date for next year is Oct. 9-10, 2026, if you want to put it in the calendar of your phone. We'd love to see you there! Hope you enjoy the photos...!

    An enthusiast of all things aerial, Bill W (with beard) teaches some World War I Check Your 6!

    Bob L's game of the 19th century Carlist war in Spain is one of the interesting periods covered

    Chris VF ran a number of demo games, including this War of Spanish Succession battle in 25mm

 

    Andy S puts some 'English' on his dice rolls in this Company of Heroes boardgame-Minis cross

    Damon R's very cool Sci-Fi speeders and race track was quite the draw with players having fun

    Danny M ran a number of games of World War II 'What A Tanker!' on both days of the convention

 

    Derek J closed out the convention Saturday night with his Colonial Boer War battle 

    Close up of JR's 'Dust 1947' battlefield with alternative World War II troops battling it out

    One of the several demos of Impetus ancient warfare run by the vendor Griffon's Lair

    Players having a good time in Homer's Saturday afternoon Colonial game set in the Mahdist War

    Jason S runs the 'Battle of Severn' - an English Civil War struggle actually fought in America

    More Colonial warfare set during the Boer War, this sprawling game being run by John W

 

    'Sharpe Practice' is a popular rules set and John S ran it to a good crowd on Saturday

    One of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, Jim B, helps run Kaiju Double Crush on a gorgeous tabletop

 

    Cinematic shot of Kim Y's 'Battle of Patriot City' - a superhero battle royale on a stunning tabletop

    'The Shot Heard Round the World' by Larry from Gettysburg Soldiers & Jim W was a popular event

    Miniature Building Authority ran modern demos on a beautiful table featuring their terrain

    Gordon & Mike came down from Toledo to run a World War I land battle for players on Saturday

    The Motor City Gaming booth staff run a father and son through how to play Konflikt '47

    CJ brought his massive pirate ship to the convention for numerous games of 'Mutiny on the Sea Jay'

    A staple of area conventions is the redoubtable Paul M running 'Age of Steam' naval games

    Gaming from recent headlines -- Phil D ran 'Battles from Ukraine' on both days of ATC

    Con Director Randy provides the 'Boom!' sound effects in Damon's World War I aerial game

    Closeup of Rich S's galleys in a naval clash that kick-started the convention on Friday morning

    Rich B of RRB Minis ran a Sci-Fi free-for-all Friday night in 'Science Grab on Sita'

    Chris V returned to ATC to run another of his show-stopper games in the 'Battle of San Juan Hill'

    Sporting his bicorne, Steve V runs one of his 3, well-attended Napoleonic clashes over the weekend

    'Avast Ye!' shouts GM Ted B, as he directs the pirate battle with Lego ships raging on the floor

 

    Tim P runs one of his ATC Hobby U classes on Friday, teaching gamers to make their own scenery

    Budding cavemen around Tim R's 'Paleo Wars' game, seeking to secure the most loot for their tribe

    Todd S teaches players the popular 'Trench Wars' system and its Weird World War I wackiness

    Thomas C directs a game of Wings of Glory for World War II, as bombers try to complete a run

    Board member Troy H walks players through the tactically interesting 'Conquest' rules set

    GM Brad R gives Jenny some hints on how to survive the attack of 'Zombies on the Moon'

    One of tourney organizer Tim P's beautiful Bolt Action tables being fought over on Saturday

    UK gaming celebrity Graham of 'Graham's Wargame Vault' playing in one of the 2 Saga tourneys

 

    Team Yankee & Flames of War enjoyed a Renaissance of record player numbers over the weekend

    Alan & Richard laying the groundwork this year for a new tournament at ATC - Art De La Guerre

Advance the Colors 2025 Purchases

 

    This was a landmark year for our chapter's flagship con -- the 30th year of Advance the Colors!

I went into Advance the Colors expecting to spend some money with the vendors we had coming. The fact that I am also the Vendor Coordinator at the convention meant I would also be purchasing items as a "thank you!" to them for attending and supporting our convention. Some of my favorites had booked their dealer tables, too -- at least when it comes to buildings and terrain. And when I received my quarterly profits from sales of our First Command Wargames sales the night before the convention (as well as being paid back by some of the Board members for their polo shirts), it was just like making money in a flea market. I would turn around and spend it in the dealer area...ha, ha!

    A gift from Graham of Graham's Wargame Vault who was visiting from England to attend ATC

My first stop was with one of my favorites, Miniature Building Authority. This was actually my fourth time seeing him at a convention this year. Kirk is such a nice guy and is always so positive about attending conventions that you can't help but want to spend money on his excellent products. I had noticed that his stock of MBA's trademark resin buildings had been going down, and the proportion of 3-D printed ones was going up. I asked him about it and he admitted that it is difficult nowadays to keep the resin ones in stock from his manufacturers overseas and domestic. Since I like both 3-D printed and resin terrain, that is not a problem for me. I would happily buy either!

    One of Miniature Building Authority's newer, 3-D printed buildings that I bought at ATC 2025 

In fact, I picked up three of his newer, 3-D printed buildings at the show. They are modern-style buildings that look like they could be used for just about any place in the world and at anytime in the last century or so. The first one I picked up is called Large Concrete Building. It comes in three pieces -- the ground level with its walls & floors. The second piece includes the ceiling or roof of the first level. It also has one much smaller room, along with the a large floor/balcony. You could put all kinds of things on this balcony from a rooftop garden to clothes lines for laundry, to a little cafe.The third piece is the roof of the 2nd story room. 

    These buildings are modern ones that can be used in a wide variety of locations and settings

The next building I picked up from MBA is called Long Metal Building. This is divided into three rooms, each of which has windows to the outside. There is one door and the building has a detachable roof. Although the vertical panels on the outside face of the building are probably meant to be painted as metal (considering the name), I don't see anything that would keep you from painting them as wood or some other material. It has a flat roof that would be ideal for various scatter, such as air conditioners, vent fans, billboards -- whatever. 

    This Small Metal Garage will be a great addition to my modern or post-apocalyptic games

The last building is the smallest and is called Small Metal Garage Building. It has the same vertical panels that the Long building has, and of course, a wide garage door in addition to a standard door entrance. The garage door is a removable flat piece, as is the roof of the building. Once again, this is a flat topped roof, so there are possibilities of putting scatter on it that will personalize and bring it to life. I really look forward to getting these painted up. I could see them being used in both "first world" and "third world" locations. There are lots of opportunities to modify or jazz up these buildings with paint, scatter, or other items.

    The four Pacific Huts on stilts that were a perfect find at ATC 2025 for my 28mm Vietnam project 

My next stop was at Diabolical Terrain. I am a regular customer of Ron Weaver's, having bought quite a few of his 3-D printed products over the years. So, his stuff is definitely another of my favorites. I had picked up the rest of his Tatooine buildings for my Star Wars games at Historicon, so I was kind of curious what he would bring to Advance the Colors to tempt me. One quick walk through his space and I knew what I was going to buy! Something I had never seen before at his stand at previous shows, were his Pacific Huts on stilts. These look a LOT like my own scratch-built Jungle Huts, though a bit smaller. I virtually let out a whoop when I saw them -- they would be perfect for my Vietnam games! They come disassembled with the stilts needing to be attached to the underside of the buildings. I guess that means you could make a base with the stilts on it, but not attach the building itself to it for flexibility of use. Then you could set the building down onto the stilts or onto your gaming mat for without stilts. I'll glue mine all together, though (except for the detachable roof). The sides of the building are modeled to look like they are woven from cloth or vegetation. All have airy windows and porches, so look perfect for a hot climate. The roof is designed to look like thatch. I picked up W2-PT Pacific Hut #3, W2-PT Pacifi Hut #4, W2-PT Pacific Hut #5, and W2-PT Pacific Hut #6. Essentially, I grabbed all the ones without the railings or screens on the porch. Being for my Vietnam project, these will probably be the first of my purchases that I paint up.

    Huge time-saver over my laborious dowel post and wire weaving method of making a wattle fence!

My final purchase from Diabolical Terrain were some wattle fence sections. Although labeled as Wooden Fence and Wooden Fence (Gate) on the website, these are proper woven wattle fences common in Dark Ages and Medieval Europe. In fact, I scratch built one of these for a small field awhile back. Once I saw these fence sections, I picked one up and walked it over to Ron. I asked him if he knew how much time he saved me by selling these. He chuckled. I plan to paint these up soon, too, as there's nothing keeping me from using these in my Vietnam (or Dark Age, Medieval, or Fantasy) games. Each section is about six inches long and you can use them in a number of configurations -- small pens, large ones, fences abutting a home, etc. 

    I really like the dilapidated and tumbled-down look of this ruined corner of a fortress or walls

Keeping things on the building theme, another of my up and coming favorites to buy 3-D printed buildings or terrain from is Scott Gray of Sword & Scabbard Games. This is the fourth time I have seen his booth at a convention this year. Hailing from nearby Indiana, Scott stocks various 3-D printed items and can always be depended upon to be selling painted armies, as well. I bought a number of things at his booth at ATC because I don't think I did at Historicon. He always carries interesting looking ruins, and I made it a point to get two that caught my eye. The first appears to be the corner of a ruined fortress made of stone or brick. I really like how the pile looks like it is in the process of tumbling down. This will likely see use in my 28mm Fantasy or Dark Age/Medieval battles or skirmishes. 

    The arches give this corner ruin from Sword & Scabbard Games the look of a religious building look

The other ruin looks a little more pristine, as if it has been weathered or possibly even pilfered for stones by residents. The arches give it either a classical era look, or perhaps from a religious building in the Middle Ages. Either way, it is generic enough that it can be used in a variety of settings. Hmm...seems to be a theme of my purchases this year! I like how it is a multi-level piece that figures can climb and use in a skirmish. I realized awhile back that I have a definite lack of these type of pieces, so have been trying to pick up more that have multiple levels that can be climbed by figures in a game.

    2 Medieval looking town buildings that could be used in either fantasy or historical skirmishes

I was intrigued by these next two buildings I picked up from Sword & Scabbard. They look to be a great fit for either a Fantasy, Medieval or Renaissance era town. They have that slightly ramshackle fantasy look, but also the stone and timber of the Middle Ages. Their tiled roofs and steep gables have the proper Middle Ages vibe, and I love the screened windows! I especially like how the one on the left has part of the building set up on pillars overhanging the entrance way. These can join the Duncan House I got from RRB Minis & More for a great start to a medieval or fantasy town setting for skirmishes. The roofs all come off, which is something I insist upon in my purchases anymore. I don't really see the need to buy solid buildings, considering how much of my miniature gaming nowadays is skirmish.  

Dry stone wall sections (& animal pen?) that I couldn't resist picking up from Sword & Scabbard

The final things I got from Sword & Scabbard were some dry stone wall sections that Scott says were meant for Dark Ages or Medieval Scotland. They do have that Celtic look about them, but I think they could be used for 28mm Fantasy, as well. I bought one angled section, as well as one that includes a rounded pen (for sheep?). If I use it as ruins, I don't need to find a gate for the pen. Otherwise, I'll need to find or build something to keep all the sheep from getting out! These will paint up ridiculously quickly, I think, and are generic enough they will doubtless find their way onto many an upcoming battlefield.

    Griffon's Lair carries 6' long 'Scenery Stripes' in a variety of patterns, including these cobblestones

Speaking of stone and towns, I had been eye-balling this purchase the last two conventions! It is a roll of neoprene material printed with a cobblestone street pattern, which I picked up from Griffon's Lair. I finally pulled the trigger at ATC and bought it from them. It is from Deep Cut Studios and includes six feet of cobblestone street pattern, 3.5" wide (9cm) and 2mm thick. It also includes two rounded, half circle sections. Griffon's Lair carries a variety of these "Scenery Stripes," including dirt or tarmac roads, and rivers. The only thing that worries me about them is cutting them to size to use in a game will be permanent. Sure, I can shove the cut sections back together again, but I want to be careful about how I chop up this six foot roll of material!

    After liking how the Dirty Down Rust worked, I look forward to trying out this Moss effect

I was so excited to see Griffon's Lair still had one of their cobblestone rolls left that I forgot to look around at the rest of their booth. While owner Steven Holowienko was ringing me up, I noticed that he also carries the "Dirty Down" line of specialty paint effects. I have a bottle of the rust effect and like it. I noticed that he carried the Moss effect, and since that is something I really don't have a handle on how to paint on my buildings or scenery, I thought I'd pick it up. Maybe I will try it out on some of those dry stone walls that I picked up from Sword & Scabbard? I am sure there are many YouTube videos out about it that give suggestions on how to use it, so I'll likely watch some of them for ideas first. 

    Various metal scatter I picked up from RRB Minis & More (and ONE miniature...)

Last but not least was my visit to my friend Rich Brown and his RRB Minis & More booth. Unfortunately, Rich had been unable to 3-D print the main item I was going to buy from him at ATC. It is another medieval building in the "Duncan House" line that he gave me at Battles at the Brewery. I liked how his photos of it looked and asked him to print it up for me. However, problems with his 3-D printer kep him from getting it done in time. Hopefully, he will have it fixed and readied for me before I see him at Hold the Line convention at Camp Perry, OH, Nov. 14-15. In the meantime, though, I sorted through his scatter metal pieces from the venerable Reviresco line. I have picked up numerous computer monitors and other things for Sci-Fi buildings from him before. This time, I grabbed some things to glue onto various buildings, including vent vans, metal doors, and tube ventilators (pictured above). I did break my vow to buy no more miniatures until after the end of the year when I saw the HWV-24 Power Loader, aka Walking Forklift. This would be perfect for an Aliens scenario, right? Hopefully, the miniature inside looks sufficiently like Sigourney Weaver...ha, ha!

    2 crag pieces that I picked up from RRB Minis & More at the last minute as Rich was ringing me up

As Rich was beginning to ring me up, I looked over and saw some 3-D printed crags on his shelves. I snagged a couple of them to add to my Canyon Rocks and Stacks that I painted earlier this year. Rich hadn't brought most of his 3-D printed stuff because he rented only two tables. He admitted to me later in the show he should have gotten a third table! 

    Tufts I use on my bases -- Dad's Armies carried my favorites, so ATC was a perfect place to restock!

Okay, so I lied. My purchases at RRB Minis & More were not the last! One of the things I did this year as Vendor Coordinator for ATC 2025 was wheel around a rolling cart filled with cold water and snacks every 2-3 hours to the dealers. All of the vendors said they really appreciated the service. It also let me check in with them regularly throughout the weekend. Even if I did not buy something from one of the vendors (we had 12), they knew I appreciated them by my regular visits to their booth. While stopping by Dad's Armies booth, though, I noticed that John carried my favorite type of tufts for miniature bases. I picked up one each of the ones I use the most. 

I'm sure that preparing for Advance the Colors put my painting and terrain making schedule behind. Hopefully, now that it is past, I will get back into the swing of things quickly. I'll do another post with photos from the various games at ATC, but after that, expect to see some more Devilry Afoot figures! Oh, and I have updated my Acquired vs. Painted lists below. I'm sure that the fact that I was significantly ahead in Terrain and Scatter had nothing to do with the fact that most of my purchases at ATC were in those categories! Nothing at all...move along, nothing to see here...!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 289
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 231

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 136
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 201

'I Don't Take Orders from Stinking Morgul Rats' - Gripping Beast Armored Goblins

    First batch of 28mm Gripping Beast armored goblins for my Dragon Rampant army

The 2026 project -- an orc and goblin army for Dragon Rampant, 2nd Edition -- continues to move along. I chose seven figures from the horde of unpainted 28mm Gripping Beast lead I picked up from my friend Jeff, and got them ready for painting. I believe all the poses are from the Armored Goblins pack. I had to glue on their shields and put weapons into their hands, which at times is a blessing and a curse. It is nice to be able to create a little more variety with the weapons, but equally it can be a pain in the butt to attach the darned things sometimes! I used Gorilla Glue superglue for the initial attachment, then reinforced it after it had hardened with two-part, 5-minute epoxy. Sometimes, I have to use soft gray tack to hold the figure in an odd position while the glue dries, but it all worked out fairly painlessly this time.

Poses are fairly similar as I sorted through the unpainted horde looking for ones that looked alike

When attaching the weapons, I immediately forgot about the advantage mentioned above and gave spears to all three of the under armed poses and short swords to the three with their arms held back. D'oh!! The one with his arm over his head was given an ax. Thanks to my brain lapse, there isn't as much variety in pose and weapons as I'd like with this batch of seven figures. And why seven? Well, I was looking for a group that had similar equipment and dress, and these seven fit the bill. I guess that I was thinking that it would make it quicker to assembly-line paint them if they were dressed and equipped similarly? Of course, seven figures is a pretty small assembly line, by most people's standards. However, it is right in the six to eight figure batch "sweet spot" I prefer for my 28mm figures, though!

    I really like the expressions & animation on these goblins -- they look to be snarling or semi-scared!

After the epoxy had dried thoroughly, I primed them with Liquitex White Gesso and let them dry overnight. I gave them my standard recipe for orc and goblin flesh that I have used so far on my other three batches. I begin with a Walnut Brown base coat, dry brush them Raw Sienna, and then highlight them Khaki. Next, I used one of my all-time favorite colors for the base coat on their chainmail -- Iron Wind Metals Steel. This is a very dark metallic, which I then dry brush a silver over once it has dried and "shrink wrapped" to the miniatures. I had recently purchased a new Brushed Silver craft paint and decided to try it out on these. I liked the effect. However, I admit I would be hard pressed to pick out the difference between mail highlighted with the Brushed Silver as opposed to my normal silver!

    I used the same basic dark or pale clothes colors I've been using for this army, so far

At this point, they were ready for their clothes to be painted, which in this case was a tunic. Some of them also had trousers underneath the tunic, but some did not. I referred to my list of acceptably ugly colors to paint orcs and goblin clothes and picked one out for each figure and set those bottles behind it. While painting this project, I will stay on the lookout for more colors in a grayish, pale, or dark versions of colors so that my entire army isn't painted just the same 8-10 colors...haha! From that point on, it was my usual routine of base coat one day and dry brush the next. Tunics, then trousers, then footwear, and so on.

    All of the shields lined up so you can see the designs I chose -- I'd love to hear feedback on these!

However, for the first time in four batches of orcs or goblins, though, I had to paint shields! I didn't want to limit myself to Mordor orcs with their red eye, or Isengard with their white hand. I wanted them to be more generic. I didn't want them all be blank, either. So, I sat down and brainstormed what types of things orcs or goblins would put on their shields: skulls, moons, mountains, spiders, wolves, flames, fangs, etc. Then, I did Google Image searches (with the key word "clipart") and copied and pasted images of these things that I liked into a Word document. I even did Google searches to see what the internet said about what designs orcs or goblins would have on their shields. One page mentioned "tribal symbols," so I did a search for that and found several really cool pages of crude, tribal-like images that I thought would work perfect for my army's shields. 

For most of the shields, I painted it a base color, dry brushed it, and then used my black or dark brown micron pen to draw the design image on the face. I filled inside the pen outline in with paint most of the time, or if I wanted the design to remain dark dark, sometimes just colored in the whole image with the pens. I felt that the designs stood out too much, though, and looked a little too bright. However, when I did my last step of painting, the black wash, it seemed to fix that. I felt that the black wash did an amazing job of muting the shield. Will I continue to give every orc or goblin their own unique shield design? I'm not sure, at this stage. I am happy with how these looked, though!

Final look at my first armored goblins -- many more needed to fill the ranks of my orc & goblin horde!

I know seven figures doesn't go a long way towards finishing a Dragon Rampant army, but these are the size batches I like to work with. I just don't see myself ever priming and painting 50 miniatures at a time, nowadays. That's. Too. Much. Like. Work! So, this will have to be incremental progress for the rest of the year and possibly well into next year. Since I've decided to also work on my Devilry Afoot project simultaneously, that will likely slow it down even more. Oh well...that's the way it goes! I will get the figures I bought all painted someday, though I'm not sure my 2025 totals for Acquired Miniatures vs. Painted will ever make it into the green and "positive" range. To get there, I need to paint 57 more miniatures AND not buy anymore by the end of the year. Will I make it? My pessimistic guess is no, but we shall see!!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 231

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 40
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 200

Devilry Afoot: First Figures for a New Project

 

    My first group of six 'Hunters' for Devilry Afoot -- a cooperative supernatural monster hunting game

There's an outside chance I may squeeze in my first game of Devilry Afoot in honor of Halloween this month. Just in case that happens, I wanted to get a batch or two of miniatures done for the main characters and their followers. I've decided that each of my players will control one Hunter and one Follower. In these rules, Hunters are divided into five different Archetypes:

• Gentleman
• Goodman or Goodwife
• Religious
• Scholar
• Soldier

    I went back and forth between several rules & eventually decided on trying these cooperative ones

I am setting my games in the tiny, new settlement of Franklinton in the Ohio territory of frontier America. The games will take place in the late 1700s and early 1800s, prior to the War of 1812. As such, I have plenty of appropriate figures for the "Soldier" archetype (and probably followers, too). I think my French & Indian War armed civilians will also work for a "Goodman" (or Goodwife), as well. The nicer dressed leader types could be Gentlemen, too, I guess. However, when it comes to Religious or Scholarly types, I had very few figures. Thus, my purchase at Historicon this summer to enable me to field those archetypes.

    I'm calling him the 'Monsignor' - on the Brigade Games site he is in the 'Cardinal & M'Lady' pack

As such, this first batch is fairly heavy in Religious and Scholarly types. I have another batch of six primed and with the flesh done waiting in the wings, too. Those come later, though. Let's talk about these first six miniatures I just finished! They are all 28mm metal and from a variety of sources. My favorite miniature of this crew, so far, is one that I am calling the "Monsignor." He is from a Brigade Games two-figure pack called, "Cardinal and Milady." The lady I will discuss in a moment. She is also part of the first batch of six. Anyway, the Monsignor (or Cardinal) is wearing a cool robe, sash, and mantle, along with a "beanie" type cloth cap. Very appropriately for the game, he holds a nasty looking spike dagger behind his back in one hand while raising the other in a benediction or blessing. I love the folds and drape of his clothing, and I think the blood red and black color scheme works really well for this figure. You may ask what is a cardinal doing on the rough frontier of America? In my story, he is a visiting Catholic priest ministering to the needs of some converted native Americans who live near Franklinton (which is early Columbus, Ohio, where I live). More on the story below of the how Hunters came to be in this small, frontier village!

    One of my favorites from this batch, he is a Crucible Crush Puritan who I added a lantern to

The other religious type is from Crucible Crush. His outfit is a century or so out of date, but I think he still has that frontier preacher look about him. Yes, he is from the English Puritans pack, but just look at him! He is clutching his holy book to his chest, his arm is raised in calling down God's fury on the heathen demons of the frontier. Can he be more perfect for a game of Devilry Afoot? I painted him pretty much identically to the picture on the Crucible Crush website. The severe black and white color scheme just screams frontier preacher to me. I am envisioning him representing the Franklinton's local Protestant deacon or preacher. He is obviously filled with God's righteous anger and bravely steps forward to hunt down the servants of the Devil prowling around the village!

    Sarah Starling, wife of Franklinton founder Lucas Sullivant, was a skilled nurse - a perfect Scholar!

A female scholar is probably a rarity in frontier America, but I figured it would make for an interesting character. I may make her a healer or herbalist, or some sort of doctor. I figure that the chauvinism of frontier America might be overcome if the woman has badly needed medical skills. Those in need might just look the other way at the impropriety of a woman openly practicing her craft! You know - necessity and all that!! This would be even more likely if said female doctor is relatively high up in the social standing of the town. In my research, I discovered that the wife of the village founder, Lucas Sullivant, was devoted to nursing the needs of the sick in the village. She even lost her life during the War of 1812 taking care of the sick soldiers stationed in Franklinton during a Typhus epidemic. So, perhaps she is Sarah Anne Sullivant, wife of the village mayor? The figure is from the Bad Squiddo Games pack, Beer Maiden and Scholar (she's the scholar, of course!).

    One of the founders of the Franklinton society of supernatural hunters - young lady Marib Domigan

The other female character is the aforementioned Milady. Wearing a voluminous hoop dress, bewigged, and carrying a Carnival mask on a stick, you may wonder how she could ever belong with a group of hunters of supernatural monsters! Right?? Well, if you look at the way she is holding that rapier, you would realize this is no idle patroness of dance balls. She is nobility, for sure! How else would she have had the leisure time to be trained in the art of the sword? In fact, she is actually one of the founders of the club of Franklinton men and women who hunt the horrors of the frontier. To them, it began as a game. She and her male cousin (next batch of figures) read about supernatural hunters in Europe. They decided to mimic the fun by collecting stories of supernatural occurrences here in the Ohio Territory. They were delighted when they discovered the first account of a mangled farm animal on the night of a full moon. And they giggled as neighbors reported drumming and strange animal cries on dark nights. And then suddenly...it wasn't a game, anymore. They were on to something!! I painted her in a dark green outer dress with pale yellow inner skirts. The white wig and mask is concealment, keeping her identity safe from those outside of their secret society. I like how she came out, and even if none of my players choose her as their Hunter, she will be an important part behind the scenes!

    Lawyer and hobby naturalist, Orris Parish, is skeptical of the whole supernatural angle

The two male scholars are both from the same pack from Brigade Games. Owner Lon Weiss very helpfully found this pack for me in the Napoleonics section when I described what I was looking for. It is the French Scientists/Savants pack of four miniatures. I picked out my two favorites from among them and included them in this first batch of six. If you click on any my above links for the half dozen figs in this batch, you'll notice something different. Lanterns! At Historicon, I also picked up a pack of 28mm lanterns made by Bad Squiddo Games when I was shopping at the Badger Games booth. They appear to be made from 3-D printed material, as the thinner parts are fairly brittle. Otherwise, they're perfect for Hunters or Followers to be holding aloft. Whether a character (or monster) is in the dark or light is important for Devilry Afoot. As you can see, three of these figures have a lantern added to their raised hand. I used superglue to attach it, and then added a thin streak of epoxy to it once the glue dried. The bond between the lanterns and their hands seem to be fairly sturdy (with the primer and paint on top of it), so hopefully none will pop off when playing!

    An occultist is key to a group of supernatural hunters, and Scholar Jacob Shade fulfills that role

These scholar figures are obviously at the later end, time-wise, of the figures I'm painting up for this project. The Protestant preacher above is at the early end. I tried to mix up the colors of the Hunters, but keep them in a darker tone. I also tried to mix in something on each that has the Iron Wind Metals Blood Red color that you see on the Monsignor's robe. It's not exactly a sinister color, but suggests something darker and more secret. For some, their sash is in blood red. For others, it might be a simple accent on an article of clothing (the band in the preacher's hat). I like how all of these came out, though, and am very happy with this batch of six. I kept going back and forth on which figure was my favorite. The Monsignor was my early favorite, and may still be the one I like best. However, I also really like the female scholar. And what's not to like about the fire and brimstone Protestant preacher? I'd be curious to hear from my readers which ones they like best...

    A final look at the first group of six Hunters (from a variety of sources) that I painted up

The lanterns were painted bronze and then highlighted with gold. After that was done, a dark black vehicle wash was added to give the lanterns an old and well-used look. Finally, I did the glass. I used a dull yellow on most of the glass, with a watered down pale yellow in the center. Once spray coated, I added in a clear gloss over the glass. Hopefully, this makes it look like it is shining more than if it were matte. I have the next batch of six figures waiting in the wings, too. One of them is a young nobleman, but most of the others are meant to be armed Followers. I chose rather rustic looking ones for them, except for one servant in fancy livery. More about those in a future post, though, as I have a batch of Gripping Beast goblins in front of them.

    I love the look of these 3-D printed lanterns from Bad Squiddo Games

Also, I decided to use my "standard" flocking system for the Devilry Afoot figures. I am trying to limit any unique period or location-specific flocking, nowadays. I want to be able to use figures together that were ostensibly painted for different projects as much as possible. So, stay tuned to see if I actually do run that first game of Devilry Afoot around Halloween or not. Sorry for this past week's break in posts -- Jenny and I went to visit friends on Long Beach Island in New Jersey for a few days. Now that I am back, hopefully the pace of production will resume!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 214

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 40
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 200