more 'jungle' scenics ...

I'd accumulated various jungle bits plastic trees and the like. Needed some medium height jungle bases so onto the gaming table for a sort through, plus available bases

 having found some more bases after a rummage, went to work fixing the foliage/trees onto the bases. For the foliage items, I drill a hole in the bases and push the stem part through and fix with superglue.

 bases painted and scatter applied ....

just right for the edge of a jungle area or for use near buildings etc....

Spanish forces for the Caribbean

and lastly the Spanish forces for the Yucatan area....

Milicias de pardos (new unit, Old Glory figs with Front Rank officer), plus Artillery

Milicias Blancos (new unit, mostly Old Glory figs)

 Batallon de Infanteria de Castilla Fijo

French forces for the carribean ...

figures tidied up, touched in and bases spruced up ....ready for action ....

French colonial troops

local militia....

artillery and marines ....

British forces for the carribean ...

a bit of sprucing up for bases and a couple of new flags stands have the British troops sorted out ....

4th, 3rd, 63rd foot (Jacdaw figs, my Fenwick units with some new alternate flag stands)

61st Foot (old glory figs)

Artillery and a detachment of the 64th foot

Caribbean - a couple of generic units

a couple of units for use by any side; a selection of figures from the cabinets with bases refreshed and shown here in sabot bases

First a naval landing party...

and a unit of militia...

Supply train ...

Spanish supply train heads up to a small fort....

[new items: 3 muleteers, some grenadiers of the local Yucatan regiment, couple of sentries for the fort]

having a faff about ...

I am currently in the process of re-organising the troops etc for the caribbean; the aim is to have for each of Spain, France and Britain approximately 90+ figures each.

My 1/1200 ships will be organised into a British squadron, with others having to double as Spanish or French (unless  I buy some more..)

Red Jack returns ...

Red Jack the pirate has returned to the Caribbean, he has landed in the Yucatan and has gone inland via a river in search of mayan gold. They had set off from an old mission outpost and after a day found some ruins -one small gold idol was found with some jade pieces - enough to make the trip worthwhile. 

---oXo---

They got lost in the jungle on the way back, they stopped on a rise, one of the had men shimmied up a tree and could see a glint of water in the distance - the river ?...

 At the boats by the river, since Red Jack was late back one of the men blew a small horn every five minutes or so...

 Hearing the faint sound of the horn, Red Jack and his men headed towards it ...

 They paused for a moment near a small pool where a large cat-like animal was having a drink,  they waited to see what it would do ...

 the cat moved away into the undergrowth, Red Jack led his men round the undergrowth which the cat had gone into ...

As they moved on a large crocodile was seen .....

 As they skirted a large pool, they could see the crocodile basking in the sun ...

 some natives had spotted Red Jack and and his men ...

 the native hunting party moves up to take a closer look ....

 As the pirates near a patch of dense undergrowth two of their men go down, hit by arrows ....

 The pirates move up and fire into the undergrowth ....

 they skirt round the patch of undergrowth, while firing into it .....

 they heard the sound of the horn again, much nearer - they head onwards and finally arrive at the old mission outpost....

they are soon back in the boats and off down river on their way back to the ship ....

Spanish Troops ...

With the presence recently of French ships in the region, the commander of Spanish troops in the Honduras is reviewing one of his battalions...

[ a quick touch in and minor repaint and some new flags for an old unit, to provide the core of a small Spanish force for future games]

Slithering snakes ...

A monk and native guide has taken Randell and Hopkerk to see some of the large snakes that are to be found in the forest...

[snakes - a couple of toy snakes picked up while browsing some local charity shops, one has been repainted; not the right colour scheme for an anaconda or boa-constrictor - but snakey enough for me 😃]

to the mission of San Cristobel .....

Messrs. Randell and Hopkerk are on their way to the mission of San Cristobel to meet with the monks to learn about the region from them. They have a small military escort of provincials plus an officer and NCO from the regular garrison troops.

---oXo---

At the mission, the monks go about there normal routine ...

 the expedition column finds a small clearing in the jungle, after a short break they decide on the direction to go in .....

 they are on the last leg of their journey and have to pass through a low lying area to get to the mission which is on higher ground ....

 the column sets off ...

 the lead soldier gets stuck and starts to sink in quicksand, he throws off his coat as he struggles ....

but before the others can get to him he has been sucked under. The column avoids the area and crosses a nearby stream ....

 as they skirt a marshy area, they see some of the local natives who are watching them intently ....

 as they continue they are shadowed by the natives (who think they might attack their village)...

 the natives getting nervous fire their bows, killing two of the provincials.  The provincials return fire, killing two of the natives ....

 the natives melt away into the undergrowth .... the column continues on through the jungle ...

a couple of large feral pigs disturbed by the presence of the column rush at the nearest soldiers, one pig is shot the other runs straight into another soldier

 who goes down badly winded but OK, the surviving pig runs away.. a couple of natives are still watching them ....

 The column arrives at the bridge near the mission where they are greeted by one of the monks ....

 who leads them into the safety of the mission ....

The expedition arrives ....

There have been a spate of new arrivals in Malize to help with the expansion of the colony. A shipload of settlers and a small geographical and scientific expedition.

The expedition is lead by messrs Randell and Hopkerk, with them are a group of surveyors and mapmakers; plus artists to record wildlife and plants.

The surveyors are set to work marking out plots in cleared land for the new colonists...

one of the artists is already at work recording the local wildlife....

while other members of their team are busy, Randell and Hopkerk discuss where the should go for the their first expedition in land ...

perhaps the maya ruins at Cochumel, or the caves near Comayagua, or a search for the rumoured mayan gold in a lost city in the deep jungle. These are  all very tempting but they decide on a trip to the mission of San Cristobel to meet the monks there and obtain the native language dictionary that the monks have compiled .....