A Day of Basing

I finally found some time to base up those old fantasy figures I have been dabbling with lately. The two Dwarf bases were done the traditional way, painting PVA inbetween the figures than dipping the base in sand. Painted with Foundry's sand a, b and c from their paint range. The Goblins, due to their crowded base were just dipped in static grass after the PVA treatment. Grass tufts and stones were then added to bring a bit of further detail to the base. This is the way I normally work, just by using the static grass with extra colours of static grass added for contrast. Silflor grass tufts are excellent for adding character. I'm not really one for spending too long on my bases and always tend to take the quickest option. The sandy Dwarf bases are my exception because the figures took a little longer to paint. I am just a lazy baser I have come to realize to my shame.

Dwarf Adventure Party

"Where's North from ere?"

Goblins!

Based at last!

The Poisoned Shot, Brampton Bryan Castle, 1643

In 1643, Lady Brilliana Harley, a puritan at heart, held Brampton Bryan Castle against a Royalist force sent to take it. She had fifty men against a force of some six hundred. The siege lasted six weeks and saw the Royalists plunder her lands and lifestock, drive away her tenants and smash the family church. They even used the church as a platform for a canon to bombard the castle until not a roof remain within the place. During the siege her cook was shot by a poisoned bullet. This small detail caught my imagination and inspired the picture above. I researched the matter further and found that soldiers could poison their shot with a solution of copper and Yellow arsenic. This meant that any hit, no matter how minor, could result in an agonising death. Sieges certianly brought out the darker side of warfare.

Blew Coat

Well here I am, all wrapped up in my new pikeman clobber. Everything is still very new looking but after Nantwich that will be no longer a concern.

I have always been taken with the idea of being a soldier on campaign and so have added a blanket roll and a snapsack over my armour. I have even started toying with the idea of painting up a regiment or two of parliamentarian troops. Having joined a whole regiment of Royalist wargamers, I thought it would be useful to paint up some of the enemy if I ever I wanted a game. The great thing about re-enacting the period, is that you get to see and experience all the equipment and gear. Making painting reference a real joy, recalling actual pieces and events. The problem these days is I have started to dabble in many different eras and so never really get to finish anything. The war gamers curse I'm afraid, oh well at least I'm thinking of painting again and that can only be a good thing.

Colonel Henry Lunsford at the storming of Bristol, July 1643.

 

Here we see Colonel Henry Lunsford leading from the front during the brutal street fighting in the storming of Bristol. In a few moments he will lose his life, shot dead at the top of the Christmas Steps. For many years after, the steps were known as Lunsford's stairs, in honour of his memory.

Prince Rupert was so impressed with the courage and fighting spirit of the regiment, that he took it as his own and renamed it, giving it his own name.

 Thus Prince Rupert's Blew coats were born and went on to greater deeds of bravery, fighting for their doomed King in the English Civil War.

Fun with Goblins

I thought I would have a little fun today as I'm struck down with a bad cold. What better way to cheer yourself up then get mucky with Goblins...

 An early Gnoll figure

These are very old sculpts again from the early 80's and like the early Dwarves, have loads of character. I am going to base them ready to play Hordes of the Things, so with a 60mm wide front. To get more on this 'Horde' base I'm going to make it deeper than usual, at 60mm rather than 40mm. A true horde of unwashed critters to swarm over anyone who stands in their way.

 Basic base colours before a wash of brown ink was added.

 They are painted quickly using just base colours. Mostly WWII German uniform colours for skins tones, then washed with Delvan mud ink wash from GW. Nice and quick and effective.

The red/brown skin tone is musket brown from Foundry.

 To get the true feeling of the base being a horde, I added a few extra tiny Lesser Goblins at the back. It's numbers that count with Goblins.
The figures are old Citadel Greater Goblins/ Gnoll sculptures. I like them a lot and will try to give each Goblin horde it's own identity. This group has one side of its face covered in  white warpaint.

German uniform grey and greens made really good skins colours for these chaps.

Dwarf Adventure party WIP

 Right well then, here they are, a party of greedy Dwarves. As with all adventure parties...when word got out of riches to be made, the number of the party seemed to double. I had planned on around four with one fully loaded pony, but this later grew to seven (funny enough) and an extra donkey for good measure.

Even though the armoured Halfling was painted and varnished and ready to go, he had to be left behind due to space restrictions. In other words...they left without him!

 I had great fun planning and putting together this base. I tried to tick off all the boxes that would make a good adventure party, so we have a cook, a thief and an old adventurer who has seen better days. He looks like he moans a lot but every party needs one of those. A bit of hired muscle and some brainy types.

 Out in the day light at last. A very rare female Dwarf armed with a meat cleaver and various food stuffs.

 Here is a side view showing the lightly armed thief with his swag bag and dagger, the fact he is next to the pack pony and the loot, has not been lost on the rest of the party. Keep an eye on that one.

 I liked the fact that the pack pony had a crossbow in it's bundles, very dwarven I thought.

 As you may have noticed all of the figures are ancient citadel sculpts, these two in particular are very old. I recognise the fella with the poleaxe from the Dwarf King's Court box set. Although this one has been resculpted with a pack on his back. He is the old worrier and fits in nicely with the character of the base.

 A throng of Dwarves, the party is lost in the rabble.
 To paint them I used Foundry Flesh A and B only to shade their skin. I practiced leaving black undercoat when I painted them and was pleased with the effect. The eyes took a little time compared to what I'm used too. After I had laid down the base colours I gave them a wash of GW brown Ink and then highlighted with the base colour again. Nice and quick and simple. Leaving the black undercoat was something I have been planning to do for ages and finally got a chance to try it with these Dwarves. I think it's very effective from a distance and put a lot of fun back into the painting process for me. I also had great fun painting the faces and leaving crease lines around the eyes to age to the characters.

 I thought I had better give the party some beef, so at the last minute recruited the guy with the axe to take point on the base. Anyone attempting to cut their way to the swag will have to come under his swift axe strokes first.

Then there's the brains of the outfit, The two experienced and wise looking gents discussing which way to take next. Some of these old eighties figures are just overflowing with character and it's great to dust them off and use them after all these years.

 They're off through mountains cold to dungeons old, with more than a little back up it would seem. The adventure party has been mounted on a 60mmx60mm base to give me a bit more room to play with. In HotT it's just the frontage you have to worry about which is 60mm. I'm not quite sure what game I'll end up playing with these mini's but as long as the frontage is the same I don't really think it will matter too much.

Next up I need to base the last two bases painted, the boring bit I always think and so leave it until I have a few to do...yawn.

HotT Dwarf bases

 An old adventurer takes his place in the shield wall to protect his lands. I based this old guy on Balin and gave him a white beard and a red hood. Come to think of it, the guy next to him with the big axe would make a great Dwalin!

 Two companies of Dwarfs based on 60x40 bases. These are bigger than recommended in the rules and have double the allotted figures, but I like my armies to be big and look like armies. An army of 30 figures was never going to sit well with me. However, It will take me longer to field an army now though.

 I could always speed up the painting process by missing out the eyes etc but these old rare figures deserve a little time spent on them I think.

These are great old sculptures from the earlier 80's and although they have loads of character, I replaced their basic shields with new fancy ones of the Internet.

Back on the Fantasy Trail

 Well it's been a while again since I've picked up the brush and found time to do any serious painting, so I've had to come up with a painting plan.

 My new plan is to have fun and enjoy painting again by not giving myself too much to do. I scaled back from huge regiments of 40+ figures to just six at a time. This allows me to enjoy it and stop it becoming too much like hard work. I have cleared the table of Union troops and cleared the mind.
At the minute I'm working on six more Dwarves for my HotT army, they are old figures so deserve a little more time and effort in my eyes.

I found myself coming back to HotT as I loved the idea of the bases and the chance for lots of little dioramas. My fall back plan if I really can't get on with the rules is to use the figures for other games, using a D6 to mark the causalities behind the base. They will still have a frontage on 20mm so nothing really has changed, they will just be in blocks and look nicer. I quite like the idea of each six man base being a company of Dwarves for the story telling sake.

I have to say painting up fantasy figures does give you a great chance to be creative and use your imagination which I love. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in to all my old Goblin and Orc figures and turning them into horde bases of 8+ figures. The rules warn that creating hordes can get addictive and I can already see why.

Blew Coat

I'm glad my helmet doesn't cover my massive white sideburns...

I've just found out today that If I want to publish any more photos on Blogger, I will have to pay about £3 a month. Oh well I suppose I have been Blogging for years now and while cartoons are nice it wouldn't really be a war gaming Blog without photos. Not really sure what to do at the mo.

Blew On Blew

This was my first taste of battle, the re-enactment of Newstead Abbey 2012.

 My world shrank to a couple of feet radius as I just listened out for orders and followed those around me. It was great fun and very exciting. The highlights for me were the murmurs that went through the ranks as we took up position opposite the enemy, some of which were old rivals. On the day we fought against another Blew coated Regiment, I'm not sure but I think they must have been the Blew trayned band of London.

When the pike blocks broke apart there was some confusion about who was on whose side as we ran back to our positions. I couldn't help but think of the reality of the moment and what it must have been like back then with both sides uniformed in the same colours. A problem that had echoed in civil wars before and since this one.

The picture says it all really, hard work but great fun.

Prince Rupert, England's Wolfe With Eagle Claws

Puritan propaganda at its finest. A bloody handed Cavalier is portrayed as a wolf with Eagles claws. Firing up the Parliamentarian war machine against the unholy murdering royalist monsters.

"The cruell impieties of blood-thirsty royalists and blasphemous anti-parliamentarians under the command of that inhumane Prince Rupert, Digby and the rest, wherein the barbarous crueltie of our civill uncivill warres is briefy discovered"

Fake Wood cut

The regiment passes hands to the new commander.

I thought it would be nice to illustrate this moment and to make it look 16th century by faking a wood cut look. I found it really fun to do and quite refreshing. I will do more!

Parliamentarian troops

Here is a shot of Parliamentarian troops marching off the field at Newstead Abbey this year. It was a very wet day that Sunday but It was my first taste of battle and I loved it. I was fighting against these guys and will add some more pictures soon.

Picture: Zoe Herbert-Jackson

Confederate Horseman