Painting again: Odds and Ends

Greetings Gentle Readers,

Not much to report other than painting is progressing on a number of fronts:

Just completed the Sarissa Steam Launch for a planned Indian Mutiny skirmish. I am working up some of Warbase's/TFL's garden structures for Bolt Action in Normandy. There is an X-wing miniature undergoing a repaint, plus a Red Box fantasy figure who (as Hereward the Wake) will lead my doughty Saxons against the Norman invaders, probably using Lion Rampant.

As regards the painting area as a whole, I may be extending it upwards to accommodate all the little bits and pieces that accumulate on the paint table, plus the tools that are currently hidden below the table in a sizeable toolbox - I find myself continually stopping to grab this tool or that tool which then lurks on the desk for days! Add in all the various putties, fillers etc and a few of these from Ebay seem quite a good idea:

A few of these would also increase the fort-like aspect of the painting area thus enabling me to withstand sieges and sorties from daily life, making me feel more secure and comfortable and relaxed - which after all are three excellent reasons for having a hobby in the first place.

Until next time...

Back in Business - Let's Rock!

Greetings Gentle Readers,

I have set up my painting table again after a hiatus of almost a month, although it feels like longer! My mojo is fired up, inspired by all you lovely figure painters out there so apart from some wallpapering tomorrow I am pretty much good to go. This makes me happy.

Isn't that a lovely sight? A completely empty painting table - The world is my oyster!

Incidentally, whilst sorting my paints, I came across these two little antiques. I think they were bought over thirty years ago and I'm still using them! They are Rose metallic powders - you used to add them to a clear medium if I remember rightly. Nowadays I add them to any gold paint I'm using for an extra lustre. Anyone else still use them?

Until next time...........

A Veritable Cornucopia of Nonsense.....

It has been a frenetic week at work my friends, compounded by an impending week's leave (hurray!) which meant attempting to second-guess anything that might occur whilst I'm off and pre-empt it. Sigh.

Nonetheless I managed to get some work done on some Reaper Bones figures. Now I'm used to the plastic-type material I am enjoying painting these, plus they are uber-cheap.  I suspect those die-hard fantasy figure painters online who spend countless hours on an individual figure, creating a superb work of art, prefer their metal counterparts. To their Michelangelo, I am merely a jobbing painter and decorator as it were, but it keeps me happy, especially if I can turn out a useful item for the collection! When I used to GM on a regular basis I wouldn't want to put a figure on the table that I'd spent three days painting (it might get damaged!) - an item that represented (reasonably well) what the players were facing was more than adequate, and I've stuck to that as my painting maxim ever since. I could, with a lot of effort,  turn out something that made the onlooker go 'Wow', but why would I want to?!

Hasslefree

 

Reaper Bones

 

 

I also received a little order from Battlezone Miniatures this week, just a few figures I liked the look of and fancied painting - I think they are old Grenadier sculpts, but don't quote me. They are very reasonably priced and should be fun to paint up.

 

 

 

 

The Current Wife came up trumps this week with a charity shop purchase designed to gladden my heart - a rectangular ceramic palette to match my chrysanthemum one (who can say 'Chrysanthemum' without thinking of Monty Python?).

 

 

 



I have a number of plastic ones from various sources but they are invariably throwaway items, whilst the ceramic ones always scrub up like new, so are much more environmentally-friendly (if that's your thing).

 

 

 

But wait, what is that sneaking onto the paint table? It looks like....no, it can't be, not another new project??!!

 

Peter Pig English Civil War (of which more later)....

 

And finally.... Some of you may have noticed that my painting music (right) generally changes on a weekly basis. Whilst I don't listen to it exclusively it is usually the one album that is played repeatedly that week. The current one is XII from Barclay James Harvest, an excellent sub-prog band from my younger days. I was fortunate enough to see them live, and very good they were too. If you want to hear the genius of just one of their members (the late lamented Woolly Wolstenholme) then try this from YouTube: Galadriel

 

Best listened to after a couple of hefty merlots, this is the musical equivalent of an angel licking your soul....

And yes, I was extremely careful about the spelling of that last sentence!

I can't think of a nicer way to celebrate my 60th post.

 

 

 

Until next time.......

 

 



 

PTS, Therapy and Bargains

It's Paint Table Saturday and normally by now I would have squeezed in a Sunday or mid-week post for those of you with nothing better to do but read this nonsense (no offence...). However, the first full week back to work has been ridiculously busy, and somewhat intense in nature. Nevertheless I managed to carry on with some more dungeon scenery from the collection of unpainted stuff in the Shed of Delights. After a tough day at work I find these little items extremely therapeutic - I can make up colour schemes, even invent little tales around each piece as I paint them. No pressure to get the uniform correct or churn out masses of troops, so they have proved ideal for my current circumstances - I may never use them, but I have enjoyed painting them, and they've helped me switch off.

 

 

Once again most of the items are from Scotia Grendel. I also found time to knock up a dungeon adventurer or possibly a dungeon hireling from a Fireforge plastic Foot Sergeant:

 

 

 

 

 



I shall have to improve his base at some point - perhaps one of those fancy cast-resin items with sculpted flagstones. 

I also picked up some great bargains in North Star's January Sale, although I fear these are now sold out. £4.90 per pack of 8 figures - now that's a bargain!

 

 

 

These are all Crusader Miniatures - I love their chunky no-nonsense look. Despite the Christmas rush, and North Star being extremely busy I had these within days - Excellent work Nick. I haven't always been a fan of North Star's customer service - they botched up the first three orders I ever made to them! Now, however the service is always good, and they do a huge range of great figures. They are also now importing Bob Murch's delightful Pulp figures. Whilst they (and Pulp gaming in general) is a temptation, I shall try and abstain. I just wish they'd been around when I used to run my Call of Cthulhu games - they would have been fantastic on the tabletop!

 

Anyway, January continues apace. I am very much looking forward to participating in Roy Williamson's Play-by-Blog western gunfight: I am The Ysabel Kid, and I am one mean 'ornery SOB!

 

 



 

 

Until next time............................

 

 



Paint Table Saturday - The First of 2015

Not much to report due to the festivities. I will not be predicting what I'm up to this year in terms of wargaming and painting plans as I am too fickle to stick to anything for long! I am going to try and not be influenced by the dual anniversaries of Agincourt and Waterloo, as I need a new project like I need a hole in the cliché, so I will just go with the flow I think.

And as if to prove it, I've been randomly painting some dungeon scenery just for the fun of it:

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. Possibly.

Until next time..........

PTS (without the paint...) and more Perry Plastics

Paint Table Saturday came and went without the paints coming out of storage due to a combination of work commitments and ill-health. Nonetheless I managed to get the rest of the 'extras' for Lion Rampant ready:

Six mounted men-at-arms and twelve mercenary pikemen. These are ready for undercoating (if the weather ever improves) although the mounted leader's horse needs rebuilding as I'm unhappy with how I've configured the horse's armour - Scanning the web it appears it's not just me who's had trouble. It's an issue of marrying up the front plates with each other and having the moulded strap supports finish in the right place.

I also completed a small piece of scenery - the Perry open wagon for the same period:

 

 

The corks in the background will enable me to paint the knights once they've had pins inserted somewhere in their anatomy. Of all the plastics I've cleaned up ready for painting, the pikemen have proved the easiest, and I like the look of the completed figures:

 

 

 

 

 Gods willing I'll be able to get the paints out this coming week - I now have a considerable backlog to apply the brushes to, and Naval November is also ticking away....

 

 

Until next time..............

Paint Table Saturday

Just a (relatively) short post as it's a hectic Saturday at Pendragon Towers, not least because we are off to see Julia Fordham tonight on her Porcelain 25 Tour. I am most excited, being a long-time fan who has yet to see the songstress live. Her intimate small-venue gig will be preceded by good curry and followed with good company and merlot. Roll on!

On the Paint Table today - My prepped retinues for Lion Rampant. These Perrys seem to have taken an age to prepare, and have been augmented with a handful of Crusader Miniature archers, as I was starting to suffer from Plastic Paralysis..... I know people offer painting services, does anyone do preparation services?!

Still to do the additionals (mercenary crossbows, mounted knights, pikemen, etc) but this is enough to get me started, not least because our guest lodger (daughter's continental boyfriend) has departed which means I have the dining room table back - the paints come out of storage tomorrow! Hurrah!

In the centre of these Wars of the Roses troops stands the incongruous Mariel Twinspar. She is a female pirate by Reaper Miniatures, and I plan for her to be my contribution to Roy Williamson's Naval November themed paint-up. She has a resin timber-effect base I had lying around which seemed appropriate. There may be another item for Naval November later this month, it just depends on workload:

 

I have completed both my Secret Santa and Santa Clause obligations, so am ahead there at least. I have also completed Bernard Cornwell's The Empty Throne:

I view the Uhtred novels in the same way I do beers - There're no bad ones, just some better than others! This one is a splendid romp that slows about midway, but then picks up again and delivers a very wargameable (is that a word? Google+ doesn't think so.....) action toward the end, albeit at large skirmish level and requiring a bit of scenery! Recommended, as are all Cornwell's Saxon Stories series.

Until next time...................

Paint Table Saturday - Lion Rampant

After my adventures in Normandy, and a heavy week at work, I finally got my painting table partially set-up again, and I'm playing around with a couple of retinues for Lion Rampant using Perry Miniatures' Wars of the Roses range in both metal and plastic. There should be enough figures to give me a few different options re troop types.

Firstly I need to check out what I've got for the Foot Men at Arms:

Bases are MDF from Warbases, and back left you can see my newly-reorganised tool box. I am also still using my £5 IKEA painting tray - this is easily the longest I have had the same painting tray for, since I started painting - a real bargain!

I should also mention that the closing date for this year's Secret Santa is October 19th, so nip over to The Blog with No Name to enlist in time for this Christmas' fun!

Until next time.....

PTS, Update and Off to Normandy

Some progress on the medieval buildings for Lion Rampant - the Tabletop Workshop Chapel, and I have started Total Battle Miniatures' Market Cross:

 

 

They both need some major dirtying-up yet though!

 

During the week I received these - also for Lion Rampant, which will temporarily go into the Shed of Delights until I start assembling my medieval forces:

 

 

 

I completed my Santa Clause gift for a fellow Blogger, and have taken some photo's so I can post about it next year(!). I have also entered this year's Secret Santa, so looking forward to finding out who I'm buying for.

 

Neil Thomas' Microwave Wargaming  One-Hour Wargames popped through the door courtesy of Grumpy Mailman so I shall take that away with me next week - The cover is definitely different from Amazon's pre-order picture, it now has a WW2 theme. I like it less:

 

 

 

 

 

 

On that note I will be in Normandy with my mate Mog visiting all the pertinent sites next week, so looking forward to that immensely, not least because I love both red wine, and rustic farmhouse cider, as well as visiting battlefields! Hence, no blogging until I return with a loaded camera and some duty-free goodies. The downside is I have to clear my painting set-up from the dining room table before I go!

 

 

Have a peep here at Gingerbhoy Roy's Blog and have a go at his Naval November theme paint-up - I'm going to - another good excuse to stretch the painting muscles!

 

 

Until next time.........

Paint Table Saturday - All Change!

I have temporarily side-lined my 15mm AWI in order to get on with another project that has been thrust into my beleaguered brain by the publishing of Lion Rampant. So if you were expecting some AWI here, it will be back, but in the meantime you can blame Dan Mersey!

 

As always I've started arse about face by knocking up some scenery before the figures in order to set the mood as it were (anyone else do this?), in this case the lovely Perry medieval cottage.

 

As for the figures, well a brief walk to The Shed of Delights (where I store my Lead and Plastic mountain) led me to these:

 

 

 

So the medieval period has obviously been a project-in-waiting for me, and the waiting is now over thanks to what appears to be an excellent set of rules. They are very good value for money, and full of lots of inspiring art and photos. I can see these being used for periods other than those it was designed for - the dark ages, for example, and Lord of the Rings also comes to mind. There are now a few AARs online and a couple of reviews. I've read through the book twice and checked out the optional rules on BoardgameGeek, and I'm looking forward to this as an on-going project.

 

Until next time............

 

All Hail the Royal Mail

Surprisingly my last post got the most page views of my (albeit short) blogging career, which suggests that my terrible sense of humour is more entertaining than my hobby-related stuff! Yikes!

Moving swiftly on, our postie (who is one of the grumpiest people ever born) came up trumps with two lovely packages. Firstly my pre-order of Lion Rampant by Dan Mersey, via Amazon:

 

I'll let you know what I think of it once I've had a good read.

Then my (discounted) goodies from Peter Pig - more Continentals and some more British dragoons:

 

 

 

Paint Table Saturday this week showed Tarleton's boys, some guns and command figures, plus the ongoing little churchyard:

 

 

The churchyard needs a little more paint, some flock and shrubbery before it's finished, but I am relatively happy with how it turned out, simple but effective:

 

 

This week I also managed to complete the Hessian Jagers and Fusiliers:

 

 

I actually really enjoyed painting the Fusiliers. They are meant to be Von Dittfurth's battalion, and I love their 'toy soldier' look. I am not a great fan of  'old school' wargaming - complete with lime green table - nor the fad for imagi-nations, but I can perhaps see the attraction of the uniforms.

 

Until next time..................

 

 

 



 





Paint Table Saturday

Continuing my goal of completing two small armies for the AWI, I have been working on some Indians to act as skirmishers for either side - these are almost finished:

 

 

Plus some Hessian Jagers which I failed to finish, despite my best intentions:

 

 

 



Nonetheless I got quite a lot of painting done this week despite my working life being very demanding.
Yesterday my back order of Tribal Class Destroyers sailed in from Magister Militum ahead of schedule which was nice.

 

 

Looking ahead, in a few weeks time my mate Mog and I shall be visiting Normandy for the first time, walking the beaches and museums, plus a trip to Pegasus Bridge, the Falaise Gap and Hill 112, so expect this blog to suddenly go all WW2 when I get back! I shall take plenty of pictures to bore you with too!

 

Until next time.........

Paint Table Saturday

Got some more done to the dreaded highlanders for my AWI British Army. These have been a real bugbear and I re-started them once - It happens sometimes with figures that you just have to stop and start again because things are definitely not going right.

Thankfully they are nearing completion now! I like the buff leggings so I'll probably try those on some other troops (I am obviously the Gok Wan of Wargaming)!

This means that the forces of the Crown almost total eight battalions:

 

 

I think 9 or 10 battalions plus a small amount of cavalry and artillery will suffice for now to get gaming (although I haven't even started the Continentals yet!). I can always add more later if the games seem to need it. Still not sure if I'll use Will McNally's rules (http://willawi.blogspot.co.uk/) or a version of Andy Callan's classic Loose Files & American Scramble (http://www.wfgamers.org.uk/resources/callan/lfas.htm), or something else entirely.

 

I've also been working on some scenery so will post some photos of that soon.

 

Until next time............

Paint Table Saturday and New Scenery

I had to put the highlanders to one side as I was getting frustrated with them JUST NOT GOING RIGHT! I shall return to them once I have calmed down a bit.....

As a consequence I started the British Grenadier battalion, but didn't get far:

 

I also dug out a piece of scenery I bought a while ago - a 15mm Militia Blockhouse. I appreciate this is probably/possibly a bit anachronistic for the AWI, but I'm sure there must have been a few still in use during the conflict?

 

 

I am still undecided when it comes to laser-cut scenery - some of it looks great, whilst some of it looks exactly like what it is - some bits of wood glued together! We'll see how this turns out. It's a pretty simple shape and should lend itself to a small, irregular stockade with maybe a small cabin included.

 

 

Until next time........

 

 

 

Paint Table Saturday - AWI Reinforcements

I am trying some speed painting techniques in order to increase the production rate of my AWI battalions. This is a Peter Pig Guards battalion painted with strong tone from Army Painter. I've yet to work up the red and white before adding some detail. Of course, at 15mm tall, once they're on the table top they'll just look like red and white blobs, but you do your best don't you?!

 

I also found time to base up a selection of wagons I've had for a while - a selection of PP and Hallmark if I remember rightly:

 

 

I'll probably do them in a light brown/fawn and then a dark wash, with a drybrush to bring out the detail.

 

Until next time.....