Armoured Dwarf

 

 

 

Painting Night

Painty Time!

Now the new house is getting sorted and most of the decorating has been done, I can finally start to turn my mind to the painting of the figure variety. The last few months have been quite frustrating for me as I have been so busy with the house and work. I still read other gamers Blogs daily and even sit through countless painting films on YouTube getting my painting fix wherever I can.

One of the reasons I have missed it so much Is I have started to realize just how important painting is for me to relax and unwind after a working day.
My job is one of creating loads of stories for books and short films which means I have real problems shutting off and relaxing when I get home, my mind is always working overtime on ideas. Painting allows me to concentrate on just one thing and a really simple thing at that. What colour to use on a certain jacket or belt is a great way to focus my mind and this helps to shut everything else out. You also get the added satisfaction of seeing pieces finished and watching the collection grow. All in all, painting is very rewarding and I have started to really miss it.

My only problem is I've been away for so long I'm not sure where to start. I am still caught in a fantasy frame of mind and so might have a go at finishing my Dwarf army for HotT. I just love those old Eighties miniatures. Anyway, enough preaching to the converted, hopefully see you soon with another batch of angry Dwarves.

Secundus.

Thorgrim Ironbreaker

The mighty Dwarf prepares himself for another adventure...

Thorgrim vs Gothbag

 The final showdown between heroes, round and round they went. Thorgrim down a wound and a fresh Gothbag determined to claim another trophy head for his collection.

 One swift stroke cuts Gothbag's legs from under him and the great orc goes down.

 Thorgrim continues his search for death after killing 37 gobliniods of varying strengths.

 Eagle's eye view of the valley.

The score sheet. The ones in pencil are the new ones added when I realised It might take a few more Goblins than first thought.

 Surprising, I haven't played the game for many years but I thought he would kill around fifteen or so before being hacked down. I have a feeling he could of gone on all night as I was getting some really bad dice rolls for my part. A great laugh though and some very old memories, I think we will be seeing more of Thorgrim in the future.

Thorgrim's Eighties Adventure

 After hacking his way through fifteen Goblins, Thorgrim looks around to see another war band running his way. My friend joked that I was sneaking Orcs into the war bands to give them an edge but in the end it made no difference, they were all butchered in turn.

 By this stage we started to realise the whole one sided scale of things and even made this rather cruel looking orc a champion...he was slaughtered before he could raise his axe. So on they came, wave after wave of angry goblins, incensed by this hairy trespasser. More came and more fell to Troll Biters swift strokes.

 The game had turned out to be so much fun that we had completely lost track of time. I had work in the morning and my friend still had to be dropped home. So to finish things off and by 'things' I mean Thorgrim, we decided to test his steel against an Orc Minor Hero.

This may have seemed a shame but Thorgrim was not tiring and the game had to come to an end sometime. Gothbag Gutdrinker would finish him for sure, for Thorgrim had already taken a wound from the wolf. Around and around they went both exchanging blows and both saving with their armour. Finally in one epic last effort Thorgrim scored two hits and they both turned into wounds. In one stroke Gothbag had his legs cut from under him and was slain. Thorgrim had survived Goblin valley.

Thorgrim's Eighties Adventure

 Arrrr this took me back, I haven't played Fantasy War Hammer in many decades. It was great to just reach into an old box, grab a handful of figures and roll a few dice. I didn't even spend very long picking Thorgrim, he was just the one with the best paint job in the unpainted hordes. Great fun. Here he is striding into Goblin valley. I was very intrested to see how many goblins he could cut through before he was taken down.

 

 Back in 1984 this is how we used to play, hundreds of unbased, unpainted figures all advancing in mobs. We didn't really care much for units or formations, it was just about having hundreds of figures on the table. For this reason we never actually finished any games right to the end. Although really we didn't need to, after a few rounds it was obvious who had won . We never really got into points either so my poor old Orc army was always shot to bits by thousands of Wood Elf archers before they could get close.

 It was all in a days gaming though and if one orc did well then that was enough for me. By 'well' I mean actually got to kill an Elf. After a few hours pushing the unpainted hordes around we would scrape them all into a box again and rush to watch Robin of Sherwood at six o'clock, ready to do it all again the next week.So setting up a quick table brought the old memories flooding back.

The rules used for this challenge were WH 2nd edition, these are the ones I remember and the closest to hand. Champions, Minor Heroes and Major Heroes all seem to have become a thing of the past in later editions which surprised me. I hadn't realised the rules had changed so much in my many years away from it. From what I can tell the next edition is greatly improved. I couldn't help buying an old tattered copy of eBay and I loved the 'level' system for characters, much better.Anyway I digress, let's get back to poor Thorgrim.

 Thorgrim had already cut through quite a few goblins before this picture, I had taken to removing the casualties and reusing them. I soon realised this didn't look very impressive for a photo Blog and put them back to keep a visual record of the slaughter. A Dwarf major Hero vs waves of Goblins, I knew he would do well but I soon realised it was a massacre!

Part of the reason for the epic death toll was the fact that my poor gobbos had to get a seven or more to hit , this meant rolling a six then rolling again to get a 4,5 or 6. This would count as a seven, after that I would have to roll again to see if the hit was a wound. The very few that did hit never managed to wound. Only the wolf managed to get a lucky bite in that got through the Dwarf's mail. However, like the games of old, this lucky roll was enough to make my night for me and the game turned in to one full of laughter and much noise.Even though my lucky wolf never lasted long enough to get a second taste of Dwarf, he did me proud.

                                                                    to be continued.....

 

Thorgrim's Goblin Saga

 

 

 

Dwarf Hero vs Goblin Horde

I get thousands of letters everyday here at Iron mitten central, but I received one yesterday that really got me thinking. Alison Barker from Skipton in Yorkshire writes:

Dear Secundus,

 I love your blog and read it every day. Your pictures are great and your painting is okay, but I need to know,  how many goblins does it take to bring down a Dwarf Major hero in War Hammer.

      yours faithfully Alison

Well this letter played on my mind for a while and after giving it some thought there was only one way to find out. Digging out my ancient War Hammer 2nd Edition rule 'box',  I got to work. First of all I contacted a very old friend of mine, a War Hammer expert, then we raided my old figure collection to fight out a game.

The results were quite surprising...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Here's to the next one...who knows I might just get to do a bit of painting, but don't hold you breath.

Life has got pretty crazy this year and only promises to get crazier next year.

HotT Work!

This is my little nod to the HotT game by doing my own version of the front cover. It shows two armies which I plan to paint up. A heroic High Elf champion cuts a swathe through a horde of Dark Elves.

I still haven't got around to painting yet, but that doesn't mean I have stopped thinking about it and planning stuff. The good news is now I have a room with a gaming board in it, so a test game of Clash of Empires might be in order. It's a game we've been meaning to play for a least a year, but life has got in the way.

Not long now before brush town!

The new house is almost in order which means soon I can put down the big brush for painting walls and pick up the tiny brush for figures! I have been getting quite bad painting withdrawal. I keep buying war games magazines and reading Blogs that make my creative juices boil over, so I'm more than ready.

Over the last couple of years I have wandered into many different eras of history with my painting. Although this was good for keeping me going, trying to pick up the brush again has left me spoilt for choice. I have seen other artists make 'to do' lists on their Blogs and now I can see why, it gives them a little more focus and something to keep them from straying off the path. For me there are only two things that I am burning to get on with. First is the rebasing and expansion of my 28mm ACW for 'Regimental Fire and Fury'. I have read and heard great things about this game and I really want to up date my old minis so I can play it.

 The next item on my 'to do' list is to paint up some more elements for HotT. There is so much imagination in this game that It is almost overwhelming. The sheer number of elements and basing ideas are a creative's dream and I can't wait to get stuck in to those big diorama style bases.I have about eight more elements of Dwarves to do but many other classic Fantasy armies are waiting in the wings for their turn.

Still, I 'm not their yet and still have another month or so to go. Also there is a surprise bundle on it's way which may complicate my painting plans...

Band Of Brothers

I was sent this wonderful shot of us at Leipzig the other day  and had to share it. It certainly sums up the atmosphere of the day with huge clouds of gun smoke blocking out the sun. I was a little apprehensive about going abroad to fight but now I think I'm hooked, the next one is coming up soon and is in France.

These big events are defiantly worth traveling to, for the sheer scale of them can't be matched at home.

The 3rd Prussian Brigade March to Victory.

An amazing experience and one that will stay with me forever.

Here our unit forms the center of the 3rd Prussian Brigade as we march to take a bridge at Leipzig. Pushed back three times we finally gain the ground with the aid of a Swiss regiment who changed sides towards the end of the battle.

I have been back a day already but I am still on a high from the event. Re-enacting in England I am used to seeing just a few units of French on the field, I was blown away by the numbers on the weekend. Thousands of Frenchmen in massive regiments of every shape and description.

 The noise of our Brigade charging at the point of bayonet still gives me a little shiver when I think of it.

French Cuirassiers

Off to Leipzig!

I'm off to Leipzig this weekend to give Boney the boot from Germany. After his little trip to Moscow he hasn't got a lot to throw at us I hope, so I'm rather hopeful. Anyway wish me luck!

I have promised my wife a cuirassier's helmet...with the head still inside it of course. Apparently the trick is to knock 'em off their horse first, then it's as easy as killing a turtle...or so I've heard.

It's Friday! Yeeeaaaahhhhh

                                       "They're ancient Celts nan, It's what they did..."