So, the next step of the project is costing it all out.
What am I committing to buy here?
Totting things up, I can see I am looking at 160 Landsknechts, 72 cavalry, half a dozen guns and about 20-30 gunners to service them. Then there are the stray command vignettes, assorted whores and powder monkeys, the odd casualty figure and so on; say another 20 or so. Half a dozen artillery pieces.
Costing up the foot figures - there are in the region of 210 figures. Thats GBP315 at GBP1.50 each. Here though I am in the happy position of already having about 20 in hand already, so that lessens the pain somewhat. 30-odd pounds worth of pain relief, in fact. So lets say about 285 pounds for the Foot.
The cavalry - 24 are Willie "specials" from Tradition of London and will set me back somewhere in the region of GBP90. Hell. Although on the bright side, the first 8 have already been bought and paid for, so another 60 to spend. The remaining 40 will set me back another GBP116.
Lets say another 25 pounds for artillery.
Potentially a few buildings, items of fortification and so on, but some can be drawn from stock and others will not be needed immediately, so that can be put aside for now.
So what are we looking at at this point? If we total it all up we find we are at about GBP486.
Considering I'll be buying all this in dribs and drabs over the next year and a half to two years, I probably won't be getting any postage discounts, so add another 30%. GBP631.80.
Converting this to Australian dollars at todays' prices, we see that the project will come out at something in the order of $1036.01.
This seems like a lot of money and to tell the truth it is - about half a new hot water service. It is also about half of my annual hobby budget, at a guess, especially if I take into account what I spend going up to CanCon for our demo games. Still spread over two years it's not so bad, about a quarter of my annual spend, and amortised over the lifetime of the pleasure I shall get from them the price starts to seem less and less.
9 comments:
At moments such as this I am apt to reflect on the words of our Mentor and Inspiration, the Great Brigadier.
'The Best Is Good Enough'
I have was.ted far more money buying figures I did not really want because they were cheap.
Go for it.
arm upegica
I look at it this way - once the money is spent, it's spent and you can get on with enjoying the figures. And the Brig always has it just right.
I'm with young Master Preece on this one. Forward.
I really wonder sometimes what people spend a year on this hobby.
Probably best not to think about that last question to much. And "assorted whores and powder monkeys"? Sounds like there might be at least a 2000-word article there!
Best Regards,
Stokes
What stops me from doing something like this is the multi-year commitment. If you can, and will, complete the project, I say go for it.
FMB
Have you decided on a war for the Landsknechts and Gentlemen to indulge in? If twere me, I'd go for the late Italian Wars or the early French Civil War and include some Spanish from their Conquistadore range. Then I'd start with forces for a small skirmish of the sort one finds in Mont Luc.
Perhaps a Spanish detachment sent out to seize a bridge guarded by Landsknechts in German pay. Say a Spanish General with escort a company of 8 musketeers and another of 8 sword & bucklermen, a troop of perhaps 8 mounted arquebusier and some mercenary landsknecht say 8 arquebusier and 24 pikes/halberds.
The French would have a General and a troop of gensdarmes, a cannon, 8 arquebusiers and perhaps 24 pikes and others.
So starting forces of around 100 figures but including all arms and a game on the table. If not tired of stripes by then you can increase.
Did you know that in Inuit, RossMac is the word for the Devil?
It's six in the morning and Mr MacFarlane kindly produces a purchasing schedule AND an opening scenario for me.
You talked me into it.
This talk of the Spanish flushes out one of my hidden agendas for this collection - to feed my "1565 Project".
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