Photodump Vol.2: Fantasy

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Yes I said there was more.  Here some of it is.  I've left a couple of bits off this list, for, well, reasons.  But still, lots to show:

The Nighthaunt collection so far

Yes, I met at least one self imposed target for the year, and painted over a thousand points of spooky boys.  That said, GW also changed the rules in the year, so it's entirely possible these don't represent a legal army of any sort.  Not that it matters when to date they've only played games of Dragon Rampant!

 

 Loved painting this one

 

Then there was a little progress on the Turnip28 models.  These are slow burn thanks to being so heavily converted, and sometimes a slow paint job to boot.

Commander of the 51st Parchdale Regt.

I also worked on some Turnip-specific scenery:

 

Underneath it all is a Twiglets tube

I've done a couple of rescue jobs as well, figures with no real use other than as shelf ornaments.  I suppose the former could go easily in my Orc forces if desired.

Resin Grimgor Ironhide

1984 GW (D&D) Elf

The latter was a quick NMM practice piece, more on that below.  Next, two more characters for Blackstone Fortress:

Rein and Raus

Finally I finished the last model for a Warhammer Underworlds warband.  

Vasillac the Gifted

Another NMM (Non-Metallic Metal painting) piece, I decided to do all the Underworlds models this way as a learning exercise.  NMM is HARD, no two ways about it, but after a dozen or so models I think I'm beginning to get an idea for it.  The gold here looks pretty good, though the Iron/Steel needs a lot more practice!  This figure would also have been a lot easier to do if I hadn't glued it down immediately.

Ho hum.

Again, the Instagram (see previous post) has more pictures, including some other items that are a bit more off-topic.

Next time, some passing pictures of games...

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Through mud and blood, for Turnips...

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I got introduced to the weird world of Turnip28.

And momentarily I dismissed it.

But under the first impression, the soil was good.  After a little more investigation, I discovered a fascinating world of kitbashing, freeform creativity, in a bizarre post-apocalyptic, post-Napoleonic world.  The opportunity to build skirmish sized forces using the contents of my extensive bits box eventually proved too much to resist.

Consequently, I am here so far; the bulk of two different regiments: 

Chaff of the 51st Parchdale

A Stump Gun of the 27eme Oignans Blanc du Pied

Fodder and a Toady for the 27eme

Rootlings of the 27eme

Grogs of the 51st

Bastards [Heavies] accompanying the 27eme

The models above feature a range of parts from more or less every Perry & Victrix set I've ever bought, alongside some Fireforge & Northstar bits, as D&D Cannon barrel, bits of wood, card, sprue, lots of Greenstuff, grass tufts, UV-cured resin, and foraged roots and plants from my local woods!  When the rules are simply make what you like to no more than a general theme, the world is your oyster.  It's like 40k back in Rogue Trader times!

As to the painting, we are in rather more uncharted territory.  

The paint palette here is very limited.  I chose to try a thing called the Zorn palette; in essence restricting yourself to an extremely limited range of colours; in fact ideally only four: Black, White, Red and Yellow.  Other than metallics and weathering that is all I used; except that the 27eme got a small amount of Prussian Blue added, as that is one colour the other four cannot make, and I did add a basic Green for doing the foliage.

It is remarkable what you can achieve this way, and tonally it pulls everything together.  But what really kicked it up a level into a 'Grimdark' look, is Oil paint.  Everything was finished with a number of oil washes, which can be applied and then selectively removed to give a subtle, grimy look.

Nonetheless, I've ended up, after all my griming, dusting, and weathering, with what for the genre are still rather 'Poppy' models.  Not as grim as many.  But they've been a fun diversion.

Another 20 or so models and I 'll have two full forces.  Some of the remaining pieces will be rather more wacky; but that therefore means they'll take rather longer to finish.  Still maybe in the new year I can actually put them on a table...

Something to work towards.

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2021: Year of Diversions

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Or, I have a problem sticking to one thing.

Progress on the Africans continues well, but there is nothing finished to show today.  However any number of other things have either been started or finished - sometimes it's hard to differentiate between the two.

so, a couple of pieces of graveyard themed terrain got kinda out of hand:

The Realm of the Dead

Yeah, I ended up doing an entire table's worth of terrain; well to be fair, enough for two tables at least.  A solid mix of GW terrain sets, parts from Reaper and Mantic, 3D prints and scratchbuilt parts; plus a terrain cloth of similarly coloured faux-suede.  Good fun and other than railings and roses (and interminable skulls) easy to do.

a Reaper Miniatures graveyard walls set, plus lots of bits

Just part of a GW graveyard set

All this is leading somewhere surely?  Well of course, by a process of leftovers from commissions and financial spendthriftery I've ended up with a pair of 2,000 point Age of Sigmar armies.  At least I've made a good crack at one of them so far; the Nighthaunts, a.k.a. Spooooky Ghosts!

Crawlocke the Jailor

30 Chainrasps

There's a few more bits done, making so far for 44 models - about half the army, but mostly of the cheapest unit cost models, so a good 1,500 points to go.  And just as GW announce another edition of their chuffing rules (these of course could be passed over in favour of Dragon Rampant, given my past opinions on Age of Sigmar!)

As to the other force, it predictably is Stormcast Eternals, as they are so common you can pick them up cheap all over the place at present.  I've done a couple of test models, but that is all so far:

It was for a painting challenge however!

So I pushed out the stops...

I also turned some eBay money last year into Blackstone Fortress, mainly for painting.  I've done a few of the models so far, but this is the best:

UR-025

I'll continue to pick at these, but one of the models in the game reminded me of the Eldar I used to own (and love) and made me wish I could dabble in those again.  Well, 40K Killteams promised to scratch that itch, and soon I was working on some Exodite warriors as yet another side project:

Guardians of a Maiden World

Some ancient monoliths

Of course, they're Aeldari(TM) these days, but who's quibbling.

It's all a bit fantasy and Games Workshoppy by my past standards here.  And true, but of late GW figures are getting as good as their prices imply (sometimes!) and certainly get the painting motivation going.  Still one more 'fantasy' project kicked off and has no GW models in it, just an old-school aesthetic influence.

Turnip28* is a weird alternate history game based on a stagnated Napoleonic society infected by poisonous root vegetables, fungi and cultists.  The look is as if John Blanche was the Duke of Wellington's war artist and medieval armour was in vogue for trench warfare.  It's wild!  The Creator began with the world first, and then backfilled rules, the explicit initial intention being to kitbash models from the ranges of historical miniatures already on the market, which to gamers raised on a diet of GW and other fantasy miniatures' ranges, seem ludicrously cheap, encouraging experimentation.

Copyright: Max FitzGerald

Well, what do I have literally tonnes of bits lying around spare of?  It was a no-brainer to at least have a go:

Some Chaff

But history buffs, fear not; I still have hundreds of good proper Napoleonics to get to in time.  And as of yesterday, another historical project has been proposed, something perhaps with a more biblical bent...

I hope I can finish a few of these this year; and as the UK finally crawls out from under its COVID rock, play a few games with them too!

.*(scroll down for the free basic rules) 

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Painting from lately....

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Hello, occasional readers.  This is your, now, very occasional writer.  This is just some progress photo's for those who haven't switched to stalking my Instagram (see below).

Reaper Bones Stone Circle terrain piece.

One of a set of Ogres, painted using undershading techniques

A Warhammer Underworlds Medusai

This lovely model got me featured on the Warhammer Community Twitch stream; which certainly felt like a feather in the old cap!

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/800419392?t=00h41m14s

Age of Sigmar Nighthaunts

A Banshee

Chainrasp Horde

Lord Executioner

The Nighthaunts are on eBay presently, but I may yet pull them and add a another model or two.  If they sell, they sell.

However, the main effort of the past two months has been the moving of TML towers to another new fastness.  This time we hope it's one that will stick, as we have a permanent dedicated studio/games room.  But more on that in another post...

Laters.

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An Actual Game

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Yes, I know.  Many gamers have already cautiously put their heads out of their burrows and in some cases probably never retreated to them.  But for myself, I guess I took to caution, and it has only been now after 5 months' in just the company of my beloved, and occasionally - once permitted - close family, that I have finally been ready to open up the doors to TML Towers, on a limited basis.

So with distance, ventilation, sanitiser and appropriate caution, I welcomed James over for a game of nostalgia...

Hordes of the Things

I guess I last played Hordes *mumble, mumble, mumble* years ago, whilst for James, it was his introduction to wargaming via his father.  As his lockdown project he had been working on a range of opposed armies for the game, and I was more than happy to give them a run out.

My host

I chose the Elves, to face James' Vampiric undead.  The forces, as befits HOTT were 15mm scaled and formed of around a dozen elements making up a 24 point force.  We played on a slightly oversized table around 27 inches square, with the Elves attacking and the undead defending their stronghold; a cave entrance to the underworld.

Our view of the Undead horde

Hordes makes a lot of a small table, with incredibly short movement and shooting  ranges, but it does work.  You have time to maneuver and strategise, you have room to retreat and reorganise.  Our advance nonetheless took time.

The Undead approach in a great mass

For those unfamiliar, HOTT uses a simple commander system, based on DBMM and DBA.  Being from the Phil Barker canon this is no surprise.  Indeed I always thought HOTT the best of the Barker rules.  Anyway, at the start of a turn you roll 1D6 and that indicates your command points.  Moving a single element costing 1 point, but units in a group all move together for a single point, there are few exceptions, such as Wizards, but for the most part it is a simple scheme.  

Ray Harryhausen Approved

I attempted to draw the undead towards what I considered a strong position with spears flanked by missle troops in strong ground.  My cavalry to threaten the enemy flank.  

"You shall not pass"

For his part, James advanced en-masse, with his own strong flanking force to threaten my right.

Coming on Strong

Battle opened truly with highly effective Elven shooting, then close combat.  As with all the DBX family HOTT uses a simple opposed D6 roll once for each element to resolve combat.  Generally you need to double an opponents result to destroy the, other wise merely beating them will make them withdraw a base depth, but again exceptions apply.

The Elves began strongly, and the Skeletons were soon being smashed in great number.  But James was able to get his Werewolves and Vampires into my Right, where they became a thorn in my side.  

The too and Fro of HOTT combat

ON my left however, Half my cavalry had survived long enough to be joined in combat with the enemy General and his allies, by a selection of foot troops.  The Elves were able to push the Sorcerer and his minions back, but not finish them.

The Crux

At about the same time, James was able to sneak an attack in on my Wizard General with his Vampires, but the assault failed and the sneaky daylight dodgers were sent running.  My centre line was finally in a position to advance, covered by my Archers attempting to contain the Werewolf menace.  James committed his Ghouls to try to finish off my Behemoth - a Tree Ent - but to no avail...

Victory!

Whilst both out Generals survived, I had destroyed more than half of the enemy army - in points value - for the loss of only one element of Knights and one of Archers.  On this day, the forces of good Triumphed.

So quick thoughts; it's nice to finally get a game in!

Also HOTT, still stands up.  Sure the rules, like all Barker systems, are written in a manner intended to be bullet proof for tournament play, and so are in a form of exhaustive legalese of which the kindest thing I can say is that is thorough.  It is not the easiest read.  However, I personally still think HOTT was the best of the bunch, and the most fun to play.  I reminds me of Dragon Rampant in some ways, in that it is very open.  You can build pretty much anything and find a way to use it.  Want an army of Mecha, Wizards, Dinosaurs, Penguins?  Sure, it'll work.

The practicalities of playing, in warm summer months, not too bad.  I could open the french windows, circulate lots of air, and stay my side of the table to maintain proper distances.  That all worked well enough to try it again, if we both stay healthy of course.  When the autumn and winter beckon, if things don't improve that may not be so practical, but we can make gaming hay whilst the sun shines.

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Warcry - Corvus Cabal

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Regulars will recall my Xmas present to myself.  Well about a month ago I began the painting process.  And now after four hours of assembly and basing, a couple of hours of clean-up and well over twenty hours of painting, they are finished:

The entire Warband

I'm not gonna lie, these were hard!  More and more patient, difficult, intense painting was required on these than any other project I've carried out in the last few years.  But the finished results I think really speak for themselves.  I'm ecstatic with how they've come out.

 

I'm especially happy with the flesh tones.  It was two even thin coats of a mid flesh shade, then glazed with a couple of passes of red-brown in Vallejo Glaze Medium.  Then I reapplied the flesh, followed by a couple of highlights blended with a lighter flesh shade.  Most of the work involved a mix of glazes and multiple highlights.

  

 

Most of the poses are constructed of four or more parts, with a handful of options.  Computer modelling allows for incredibly dynamic and natural poses, but.... they are an absolute pigs to assemble and paint.

  

The female models in the set are great, anatomically believable, neither musclebound hulks nor struggling to move with the burden of unbelievable front bumpers!

 

 

 

 

 

The crow here is attached by one tiny leg joint.  It broke four f***ing times in the painting!  Nevertheless it is one of the nicest of the models.

 

 

 This was the showpiece model that sold me on the set to be honest.  I love the look of it.

 

Now the thing is, I don't even intend to play the game, or probably, keep these figures.  I think they are going to go up on Ebay at pro-painted rates.  If they sell for what I think they are worth I can reinvest in a whole new painting project.

After all, I've had my fun with them.

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