Meanwhile, South of the Border

Holy cow. Summer is officially over. The wife (a teacher) went back to work today, and the kids are in full-time day care. Big changes, and it will take a while to get used to the routine. But hopefully the change will allow some additional hobby time. Fear not, all has not been completely quiet on that front the last few weeks, and I shall strive to provide some updates on the various happenings the next few days.

Anyway, to today's topic. So what if there wouldn't have even been a border in 1521. At least not one we would recognize. But that was certainly an eventful year in North American history, what with the Spaniards conquering the Aztec empire and all that. Once upon a time, I had delusions of gaming this period. I had visited Mexico, and loved the culture and history (and the food). Colorful troop types, different levels of technology, what could be better?

Oh yeah, I forgot about the multitudes of Aztecs to paint, with all those colors. And the terrain, yikes. So much urban fighting, and building (and storing) all those temples and pyramids was daunting at best. So it never went beyond a handful of Monday Knight Productions and Foundry minis.

Today, I can't make up my mind. Sell them, or perhaps hold out hope that suitable rules may yet come along that allow small scale pre-Spaniard battles. The so-called "Flower Wars" between the Mexica and their enemies still has potential, in my opinion. Saga, perhaps?

It should also be noted I bought my wife a new camera this summer, so hopefully the quality of the photos here will improve. I may not use it all the time, but this collection was shot with the new camera with natural light, and I think the effect is quite good. These are the Mexica, a various mix of basic warriors, some suited warriers and, of course, the big fella, Moctezuma hisself.