The Temple of the Golden Guacamole.

It's as hot in the UK as South America so what better than a game set in the Jungles of the new world as Spanish conquistadors attempt to raid a sacred Aztec temple while determined local warriors stand in their way.

The self-proclaimed explorer Don Fernando de la Siesta, having heard rumours of a temple holding piles of gold, leads an expedition inland (But is hindered by being forced to roll to see which side of the river they land.)

Unfortunately for him, the temple is protected by the fierce warriors of High Priest Tlacotzin "The Slightly Irritated", who have no intention of letting a group of heavily armoured strangers walk off with their sacred treasures.

As dawn breaks, the conquistadors march through the jungle towards the Temple of the Golden Guacamole, while drums echo across the valley rallying warriors to block there advance (Also rolled for random entry).

As is the way for random rolls, the Spanish are heavily weighted on the left flank, whilst the bulk of the Aztec Warriors appear on the right.

Breaking the curse of newly painted figures, Spanish horsemen ride down a unit of unbloodied warriors, they were looking for captives such as their way, while the Conquistadors were happy to hack them down in droves... 

The invaders were not having all their own way, despite the bang and flash of gunpower scaring some warriors away, a number of Spaniards were captured, being dragged out of the shield wall for sacrifice later.

The Aztec warriors rushed to defend the temple as the native left flank collapsed, fearful of dogs and horses.

The temple fell to the invaders as the Aztec warriors were routed from the table, having been ridden down, attacked by dogs or shot at by fire sticks. The gold was secure... but 5 men were missing.. feels like a rescue is in order.

A fun encounter and nice to get the extra Aztecs on the table.

Although I do sense I will need a number of extra warriors to hold the Spanish at bay, thanks to David over at I Live with Cats: Quetzalcoatl Rampant who created the first draft of modifications to the Lion Rampant rules.

Aztec warriors - Wargames Atlantic.

Aztec month is nearly complete and pressure is on complete the latest batch of Mexica Infantry. The limited clothing and equipment allowed me to turn these around within a few days.

I am aiming to cluster these together into the various military ranks with Aztec culture. Individual fighters advancement was not simply on surviving battles, but on capturing enemies alive. Taking captives brought prestige, social advancement, and access to increasingly elaborate weapons, armour, and insignia.

The hierarchy described in surviving sources such as the Codex Mendoza should probably be viewed as a guideline rather than an absolute rulebook which is perfect for what I am after and the Wargames Atlantic sculpts come with enough variety to represent the various classes, but for now pic's of the mass.

Commoners or Yaoquizqueh - The lowest tier of Aztec warriors. These men had yet to capture an opponent and would have formed the bulk of an army's manpower - these will be presented by those in simply a loin cloth, armed with spears, slings and bows together with wooden clubs.

Low-Status Warriors or Telpochyahqui - Warriors who had captured their first enemy, these will be wearing the ichcahuipilli or quilted cotton armour, I have armed this in the main with the macuahuitl, or edged wooden club.

The additional Eagle Warriors might have to wait, they are primed and based but I am running out of days - August is back to the Sino-Japanese War although it would be good to sneak in a game with these extra warriors and the latest Spanish additions.

They it's a wait until Christmas to see if another box appears :-)

Cortez Cavalry - Lion Rampant

According to accounts Cortez took 16 cavalry when he left Cuba in 1519 - so 12 should be more than enough for my needs.

Two units of 6 from Wargames Atlantic designed for Lion/Queztacoata Rampant to strike fear into the hearts of the Aztec warriors....

I broke the units up into a lance and sword unit, following the theme from the foot troops and common colours for each type, I suspect the Jungle and general wear and tear would have meant they would have had less of a uniform in reality but they fit with the broader theme of the Aztec project.

Half way through the month - now for more Aztecs the clock is ticking.... 

Dust & Tears Campaign - Game 3

After the battle at Marmistra the remaining party made good progress and the Port of Alexandra came into sight, when the dice let them down and an encounter was triggered

Stripped of a number of their heavy cavalry this encounter might be more challenging within only one unit of Knights.

The pilgrims edged forwards one unit of Elite Knights, accompanied by 2 Spear units, 2 missile units, a warrior unit and 1 skirmisher screen.

8 Arab blinds were spread across the table, the Christian mission to cross the wadi with as much of the party as they could. To the front of the party Arab forces appeared, light cavalry blocked the advance of the Christian forces.

The Arabs rushed forwards showering the skirmishers, felling 3 of their number, they scuttled backwards.

Warriors charged the Christian line but were counted by the knights who pushed them backwards, the fanatics are great in attack but not so good in defence.

The Arab forces fell backwards, driven further backwards by a volley of crossbow bolts who took out a number of Arab archers who struggled to match them for accuracy.

The Christian blood lust was up and having dispatched the warriors followed up crashing into the Arab cavalry. The way to the wadi crossing was open.

More Arabs appeared on the far side of the wadi. A greater push is going to be needed.

A tough fight and a number of Christians fell before they could break the Arab defenders.

As the Arab defenders fled, the Christians took stock, adjusting for losses, the Pilgrims pressed on.

1 Knight Unit, 1 Warrior Unit, 2 Missile Units, 1 Skirmish Unit, 1 Spear Unit.

Outremer - Christian Missile Units

What comes first, the painting or the gaming?

Sometimes you need to keep the games going, to drive the painting on. Only a few more Crusader Units left before the decks are clear. 

12 Crossbow Men, with a number in white smocks to show their commitment to the cause.

Next up 12 Archers from Fire Forge Games, these go together really well and are quick to paint.

Dropped into Warbases Midgard movement trays to keep the units together.

Now for the next outing as the march to Jerusalem continues.

Lion Rampant - Scenario 7 Hold on Tight.

Lion Rampant is one of those rule sets that always seems to give a great result as the turns swing from one side to the other and so it proved recently 

48 Points aside split into 2 factions each. we play through Scenario 7 in the book - Hold on Tight in this case a dried up well in the middle of nowhere, they definitely cant be enough water for all of the combatants in this encounter.

The Muslim forces had the numbers with a whole wing of cavalry whilst the Christians took the less numerous route choosing a balanced force with Elite Knights in each force. 

Opting for a quick land grab the Arab horse sett off towards the Christian lines, one of the two heavy cavalry units had the bloodthirsty trait, my hope would that take down one of the Christian Knight units to 50%, making them susceptible to the bow armed light cavalry.

The templars were drilled and motivated and made short work of the Arab heavy cavalry, who failed to get them below 50%, however whilst they were tided down the Arab cavalry were able to hit the Christian Crossbows, battering them them for a turn. Confidence was high in the Muslim ranks... but casualties were mounting...

On the right flank the Templars had reached the Arab lines and were carving through the lightly armed spearmen driving them backwards from the well. The remaining Arab cavalry were too few in number to stop the assault. 

The Christian heavies marched forward and the well was in their control and there was nothing that the remaining Arab defenders could do to shift them.

It was going so well in the beginning for the Arab forces pinning the Christian forces on their start line, I should have pulled back and hit them with more archery fire rather than a death charge into the mass foot ranks... who knew that light cavalry would come off second best against heavily armoured foot.

Great fun and the Christian pilgrimage presses on to Jerusalem. 

Next time 

Saladin & the last of the Arab Cavalry.

A break in the rain, long enough to varnish these - Yes the last of the Arab cavalry for the Crusades. Please no mounted troops for a while.... :-)

Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub - Recapturer of Jerusalem in 1187

Cast in metal from Gripping Beast it took a little but of cleaning up, but he is quite imposing and perfect for a General figure with Lion Rampant.

The last Arab cavalry. In the paint queue for a year and now complete, I think 16 units might be too many but lets see when they take to the table in the coming weeks.

Now back to the Chinese.

Charge !!!! - Back to the Crusades...

The Chinese have taken a bit of a back seat lots of prep done and the foundations to make them ready for the finer detail in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile as we turn into February and prompted by, one of my gaming group launching a monthly painting challenge with the theme for the month of Charge!!!!

Yet another unit of cavalry for the Outremer project....

Rather worryingly these fine fellows were first under coated in last January. So the perfect excuse to get them table ready....

Great castings from Footsore and some extra Arab Heavy Cavalry for Saladin's army.

As with pervious units shield decals from Little Big Man Studio's so much easier and look so much better than had painted.

One more cavalry unit to go... before all of the Arab forces are finally complete....

Dispatches from the front XXXVII - Last post of the year.

It's been a while since the last dispatch from the front....... 

Time for an end of year review and some annual awards to dish out..... :-)

Unit or Unit of the Year.

Looking back over this years painting efforts I thought it would be interesting on which units where the most enjoyable to get on the table. 

The paint count this year was not to bad at all.

Over 150 15mm Foot Figures, 24 Cavalry, 220 28mm Foot, 30 28mm Mounted Figures and around 20 buildings and Terrain pieces.

The winner has to be the men of Massachusetts. 

At the time these 10mm Pendraken miniatures were far too many in one go... but 10 months later and reflecting on the overall output it was great to get 5 units on the table in one go. 

Rule set of the year.

It has to be Lion Rampant - They are so flexible and have provided numerous well balanced games. The Outremer games have kept the paint table ticking over.

More next year that's for sure.

Game of the year.

This was a tough one, but based on the look, feel and challenge playing VC forces against a mobile well armed US force it has to be La Drang Valley - Dust, Tears & Dice: Ia Drang Valley 1965 - Force on Force. We played using Force on Force which gave a great feel for the period.

Book of the Year.

Saul David - Tunisgrad a great read that takes you from the trenches to the generals map table. Inspiration for future games that's for sure.

Near miss.

This was a fun one... Projects or Rabbit holes that almost resulted in another project - Inspiration can come from a range of things. A weekend trip to Barcelona and a sense you had seen this building before. 

Several years ago I completed a Nationalist Spanish force - I was almost tempted to build an CNT Militia force I put it down to too much sangria.

Find of the Year.

Blitzkrieg Workshop - Printed and Painted WW2 vehicles - Items for sale by blitzkriegworkshop | eBay

£22.50 for a ready painted Tiger I

Now that's good value for money.

Save from the brink.

I must be getting old but the past 12 months I have seen several trusted brands wind up or retire. It was great to see Pendraken acquire Ironclad Miniatures and keep them in the market they had a great range of figures and terrain it would have been a shame to see them disappear. 

It's been a productive 12 months it was good to finish off the American War of Independence project with more than enough completed for most encounters especially using the Rebels and Patriot rules they play really well and have resulted in some great games - This year finally Lexington and Concorde over a couple of days.

The Crusades project is almost complete definitely a project that got out of hand.... so many cavalry. I bloody hate cavalry. With two more Arab units to go... the aim is get these done before the return to work on the 5th.

So what for 2026

The Christmas haul is a hint.

The occasional Aztec project continues with some additional cavalry, more Japanese for the January project more on that below and some US Rangers for Operation Torch - Curse you Saul David.

I have taken my first dip into 3D prints, having purchased the occasional mini this is the first major army purchase. I can't see myself buying a printer especially as there are lots of people popping up with print on demand businesses. Good to get a friendly local supplier who I can chat to about purchases and get them picked up within a few days. 

A couple of shots of the work in progress.

With an eye for the lesser known periods I fancied some Chinese for WW2 I already have plenty of terrain for the Far East and Japanese troops already painted they seemed like the perfect choice. There are some great files available for the Chinese army in a mix of headgear and supporting armour from Panzer II's to French FT17's.

These are the first batch a mix of the 88th Division in German kit.

Plenty more in British Issue helmets.

With a mix of uniforms ranging from Blue to Khaki they will certainly look that little bit different on the table... Not overly bother by Rules at this stage - Perhaps Chain of Command, Bolt Action V2 or even Xenos Rampant (Tweaked for WW2)

Having gone all in and purchased enough for 6-8 squads plus supports it will be a refreshing change from the Crusades.

Have a great new year everyone.