It's been a little quiet on the Warring Clans front lately, but not because I've lost interest. Quite the opposite! I'm still just as excited about the project as I was on Day One. But, as often happens, real life and work commitments have stepped in and stolen most of my hobby time.

Painting up the Retinue

The truth is, as much as I'd love to sit and paint my warriors myself, I had to admit something: if I want to playtest these army lists before the next decade, I'm going to need a bit of help.

So, I did what any good general would do: I called in the cavalry. Or, in this case, Jez Allum, a top-tier painter and good friend who has kindly agreed to take on the challenge of painting my first retinue.

Jez, being the absolute legend he is, has already assembled the Fireforge minis on the Wargames Atlantic bases George insisted we use and got them underway, and has begun applying paint to my brave Japanese warriors. As you may already know, I'm a bit stubborn about this: I simply won't play with unpainted miniatures. It's just a line I've drawn in the sand (or rice field, in this case). So thanks to Jez, the dream of seeing these warriors take the battlefield sooner rather than later remains very much alive.

Meanwhile, hobby progress hasn't completely stopped on my end.

Preparing the Battlefield

George and I have been working on the plans for our first battlefield, and I'm honestly buzzing about how it's shaping up. The theme? A Japanese farming village, packed with:

• Traditional wooden houses

• Rice stores (because what's a Sengoku-era village setting without food worth fighting over?)

• A shrine to the ancestors

• Plus plenty of trees, walls, fences, and scatter terrain to make the board rich, lived-in, and, crucially, gameplay-ready under The Barons' War ruleset.

And yes, we're thinking tactically here: line of sight blockers, hindering terrain, soft/hard cover, and the kind of layout that supports great narrative play while keeping things tight for testing purposes.

To bring this village to life, we have repurposed a winter board originally used for a different game with the intention of moving it from winter to spring. We've been printing numerous Japanese building STLs from 3D Alien Worlds on our resin printers, and I must say, the detail is outstanding. The textures, wooden roof slats, plastered walls, tatami mats... it's all there. These buildings will give the table the authentic, cinematic feel I aimed for when starting this project.

So yes, while it may look like Warring Clans has been quiet, it's all still happening, just moving through the inevitable ebb and flow of hobby time. I've got support on the painting front, terrain printing is in full swing, and the vision for the first playable forces and battlefield is finally taking shape.

Stay tuned for more updates as we start getting more paint on models, buildings on bases, and begin the road toward our first test battles. As always, thanks for following along and for being part of this journey!

The links below are to product creators mentioned or shown in this blog post:

Jez Allum: https://www.facebook.com/jezspaintingblog/

3D Alien Worlds: https://www.3dalienworlds.com

Fireforge Games: https://fireforge-games.com

Wargames Atlantic: https://wargamesatlantic.com/